Shop player function question

[BusterKing]

So how is this feature working in 2007? Better then 6.5 I hope.

Can beta members comment on this please?

[Comedian2004]

IMHO,

I think it works great. I personally think that it gives too many choices when the trade difficulty is set to normal, but when you raise it to high, it cuts down on the offers, sometimes not giving any. It does seem to give you deals which are more favorable to the other team, but that makes sense, as you are shopping around, trying to get rid of a player. I have found some very good trades doing this though.

[molarmite]

Originally Posted by Comedian2004

IMHO,

I think it works great. I personally think that it gives too many choices when the trade difficulty is set to normal, but when you raise it to high, it cuts down on the offers, sometimes not giving any. It does seem to give you deals which are more favorable to the other team, but that makes sense, as you are shopping around, trying to get rid of a player. I have found some very good trades doing this though.

I agree and although I never used it in 6.5, it's been a great help if you're trying to find players. When I actually get to playing, I'll use it all the time.

[PSUColonel]

How exactly does this feature work?? I hope it's not a "quick trade" option, where you can just trade players very quickly with little or no haggling going on like in OOTP 2006

[rasnell]

There are several things that make trades much easier. I love the ability to right-click on the name of a player from any hotlink anywhere in the game and it jumps you directly to the "shop player" window or to the "trade" screen that you're all used to in OOTP 2006.

For example, if you see a news story about a competing team's player leading the NL for the week in hitting, you can right-click his name in the e-mail or news story and choose "Trade for Player." It immediately jumps you to the traditional trade window with his team and the player already selected, waiting for you to try to structure your own deal.

With your own player, you can work the same function. But you have this new choice of "Shop Player."

As noted above, it will instantly report on all the teams that will make a deal. I agree that Normal difficulty returns an awful lot of players and is a little too easy. But Hard is very realistic and, quite correctly, will return no deals especially if you're trying to dump payroll with an aging veteran and expecting to get prospects. You're not going to be able to scam the AI. I keep testing with trades at "Hard" and "favor prospects" so that it's very difficult for me to steal away talent without having to give up a lot.

I'm not bothered when my difficult settings return no trade offers. That's exactly the level of reality I want. I should be forced to get stuck with some of my bad free agent deals. Previously, I thought it was too easy to build a dynasty, take advantage of the AI and just keep winning. I remember many of us posting last year about having to have house rules just to make this thing more competitive. I'm not having that problem now. It's a real juggling act to stay at the top.

Trading in OOTP 2006 was really annoying. OOTP 2007 is much more user friendly.

[Qrusher14242]

It sounds great. Trading was one of the worst parts in 2006. Thats why i usually just use it to sim, cause trading took waaay too long.

[PSUColonel]

How does the AI handle waivers?

[rasnell]

Sorry to say that I usually turn waivers off. Others may have tested more in that area.

I'll start a new league and test that. You've got me curious.

[khucke]

Is there an option to trade a high-salaried veteran plus money, to help pay for his contract and thus making him more attractive to another team?

[BruceM]

Originally Posted by khucke

Is there an option to trade a high-salaried veteran plus money, to help pay for his contract and thus making him more attractive to another team?

I would think, or hope, that when you shop a player(s), you can add what you want before hitting the "shop player" button. In this case, add the player plus $$$.

[dougaiton]

Originally Posted by BruceM

I would think, or hope, that when you shop a player(s), you can add what you want before hitting the "shop player" button. In this case, add the player plus $$$.

Unfortuanetly, you can't do that. Essentially, the 'shop player function' is a different 'function' than the normal trade window, so you don't have access to the same range of options. It's a good suggestion, though.

Note that if you do find an offer you like, the trade should be completable immediately.

[Raidergoo]

Originally Posted by PSUColonel

How exactly does this feature work?? I hope it's not a "quick trade" option, where you can just trade players very quickly with little or no haggling going on like in OOTP 2006

It works like 2006, but smoother. If you want to execute a trade instantaneously using the "force trade" button, you will pay (usually through the nose) for the privilege with extra talent.

I find when I shop player (say a league average MR), that the AI gives me decent 1-1 offers, except for the occasional real blooper. Then, I gravitate to that player. Next, I start examining him. Yes, he's a 4 star RF that my scout likesa lot (say Tony Oliva), but he's 34 years old, has three years left on his contract, and he's hitting .231 with 6 HR at the All Star break.

[CHCfan]

so are the offers the AI gives you for your shopped player, all one-for-one deals or do they sometimes offer two or more players?

[rasnell]

They are one-for-one deals. However, here's what is so quick and smooth about the process.

Let's say you shop your individual player that you're trying to unload because of his payroll cost and fading stats. You'll right-click his name and choose one of many actions that you can take with this player. In this case, "Shop Player."

A screen pops up almost immediately with a number of possible players that would be offered with the names of all the teams. In some cases, a team might list several individual players that it would deal.

You simply click the trade link for any one name. You jump to the familiar trade window where that team and that player are already selected, and your "shopped player" is also in the window.

You can now do this deal exactly as shown. Or, you can begin offering the player and money, adding more players and seeking more players, whatever normal trading you would want to try.

Another style of drafting is just as easy. I like to keep looking at the top prospects in all of baseball. While looking at this html list, you can simply right-click on that player's name and initiate "Trade for Player." Same trade window pops up and you can begin structuring your deal.

There is yet one more new feature added that is wonderful. You're in the trade window; you've added more players and money to the deal; and it's still not quite satisfactory to the other team. There is a new button to click where you ask the owner what would it take to finalize this deal. A list will be generated of the additional players you would have to trade to finalize this.

What I love is that if you put your league settings at hard for trade and have the AI favor young prospects, you will definitely have to give the AI a better deal than you're getting in trade to make the deal work. I love it. Makes it much more challenging and very hard to simply dump your high-paid free agent just because his numbers are starting to fade.

I like it when I really wanted to dump a $15 million, 34-year-old who might just be past his peak and go get an obvious hot new prospect on the "top prospects" list and realize the AI is going to make me give up even one more big star to make this deal happen. I'm finding myself doing some serious thinking and hesitating before clicking "complete the trade." OOTP 2007 is a lot more challenging and fun, in my personal opinion.

One other nice touch: The trade info box will tell you how much you would be cutting or adding to your payroll in every deal on the table, it's instantly calculated.

[PSUColonel]

Is the shop player feature handled basically the same way "adding plyers to the deal" is done in CM? Basically the other team gives you a list of their own players they'd be willing to deal to you, you choose one,(or multiple players) propose the trade, and then later on the other team will let you know. I'm kind of hoping that it isn't a list of players that will simply automatically trade away, (thus making a deal immediate ala 6.51) and taking all of the art of negotiation out of it. Can anyone answer this?


even in FOF, there is quite a bit of negotiating that needs to be done to strike the right deal..to me this is what makes being a GM fun and realistic. If this aspect of the game is ruined, it would be a huge disappointment for me.

[Raidergoo]

Originally Posted by PSUColonel

Is the shop player feature handled basically the same way "adding plyers to the deal" is done in CM? Basically the other team gives you a list of their own players they'd be willing to deal to you, you choose one,(or multiple players) propose the trade, and then later on the other team will let you know. I'm kind of hoping that it isn't a list of players that will simply automatically trade away, (thus making a deal immediate ala 6.51) and taking all of the art of negotiation out of it. Can anyone answer this?


even in FOF, there is quite a bit of negotiating that needs to be done to strike the right deal..to me this is what makes being a GM fun and realistic. If this aspect of the game is ruined, it would be a huge disappointment for me.

Shop player is not instantaneous, if I recall. "Make this work" is, that I know for sure.

The shop player deals are not blockbuster type deals, they are one for one, and the AI does not seem to offer to give away the farm.

[PSUColonel]

Originally Posted by Raidergoo

Shop player is not instantaneous, if I recall. "Make this work" is, that I know for sure.

The shop player deals are not blockbuster type deals, they are one for one, and the AI does not seem to offer to give away the farm.

Ok, so I should have substituted "make work" for "shop player"... either way...this isn't good news. I don't understand why trades MUST be instintaneous. The other reason this isn't good(and perhaps even a bigger one) is that with a trading system like this, it becomes too easy to make "the perfect deal" and get the absolutely best deal possible from the AI, hence ripping it off and building a far superior team over the AI controlled teams.

[Raidergoo]

Originally Posted by PSUColonel

Ok, so I should have substituted "make work" for "shop player"... either way...this isn't good news. I don't understand why trades MUST be instantaneous. The other reason this isn't good(and perhaps even a bigger one) is that with a trading system like this, it becomes too easy to make "the perfect deal" and get the absolutely best deal possible from the AI, hence ripping it off and building a far superior team over the AI controlled teams.

"Make it work!" is pretty vicious AI looting of a human team.

[PSUColonel]

Originally Posted by Raidergoo

"Make it work!" is pretty vicious AI looting of a human team.

well, maybe so, but it's what most will do in the interest of time rather than actually trying to hammer out a deal. and what happens when the AI starts undervaluing certain players that human teams don't? (which usually always happens)

[zukes]

You are pretty skeptical. Two beta testers have said that if you use the "make it work now" you get the short end of the stick. What more do you want?