Game play impressions

TheDROCK · 03-12-2007, 04:32 PM

I posted this on the preview forum but thought I would add it here. Thought some of you who play out your games would like to read this:

First off, I've brought EVERY version of OOTP including the very first one. As with most everyone else, I was amazed how much was added to the ga,me in each version leading up to 6.5. Now 2006 was to me a disappointment. It just wasn't as much fun to play as the previous versions.

I'm strictly a solo player who likes to play out every game for my team. I've never played online so I can't write about any of those features since I never use them.

I never found the interface on 2006 to be unbearable. Once I got used to it, I actually liked it. And the more I used it, the more stuff I found. That wasn't the killer for me in 2006.

I like to play out my games, but I was tremendously frustrated with 2006 because the game play was tedious. It seemed to take forever to play out a game. The PBP was excessive, every out was made by some sensational fielding play and the more I played, the more I started simming just to get to the offseason so I could enjoy the game. But that's not how I like to play. So I probably played 2006 less than I did any other version.

So i want to talk about the game play I've seen in 2007 and remember this is only after about 10 games. But so far, the game plays as well as 6.5. I like to play in one-pitch mode and the game plays much faster than 2006. The game responds right away when I hit the enter button. There is no pause like in 2006. One of my games was a 3-1 pitchers duel. It took me less than 10 minutes to play and yet the game was exciting down to the last batter. Thats what I like.

Also the PBP is 200% better. Baseball can be a boring game. Each team is going to make 27 outs in a 9-inning game and 25 of those outs may be routine fly balls to the left fielder and two-hop ground balls to the shortstop. That's what we're getting in 2007. Every time the ball was hit in 2006, you knew the fielder was going to make some unbelievable fielding play. (Those fielders could really play defense in 2006). Now the game feels more realistic and more what I want.

Two complaints about the PBP: 1) I still wish we could get important stats included like how my centerfielder leads the league in HRs. There are a few stats thrown in, but I wish there were more. 2) There is one bad line in the PBP where it says a team "is still trailing, 0-3." Baseball scores are always listed with the high score coming first. This should be an easy fix.

Also, thank you for including the pitcher warmup and making it the default setting. In fact, I didn't even know about it until midway through my first game when two of my better relievers got rocked and cost me the game. I couldnt figure out why they couldn't get anyone out, but i noticed the bullpen section during the second game. It adds so much more realism when you play out the game.

Thats about it so far. Adding FaceGen was a stroke of genius for you guys. It's great seeing what your players look like. And I just made my first uniforms and I have a feeling many people will spend hours putting these unis together and forget to play the game itself. It's a tremendously cool feature.

Sorry this is so long, but I want to add one last thing and this is the most important one. I've had more fun playing 2007 for these few hours than I ever did with 2006. I couldnt wait to get up this morning to start playing again and I'm gonna hate when my preview ends on Tuesday. It's gonna take forever for March 23 to get here.

Andy · 03-12-2007, 04:41 PM

That's good to hear. I play out all of my games too, and felt it got a little tedious at times in 2006.

Simmo13 · 03-12-2007, 04:43 PM

Good post. Thanks. Like you I play solo, play out all my teams games and feel very similarly regarding 2006 PBP and interface. Looking forward to bullpen warmup and face-gen and many of the other improvements.

kagnew35 · 03-12-2007, 05:16 PM

I have one pet peeve, i am still seeing "away team" instead of visiting team. Away teams are in star trek, not baseball.

Muppetus Galacticus · 03-12-2007, 05:28 PM

Good post DRock, I also prefer to play out my games so I'm glad to read of the improvments.

BusterKing · 03-12-2007, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheDROCK

Also, thank you for including the pitcher warmup and making it the default setting. In fact, I didn't even know about it until midway through my first game when two of my better relievers got rocked and cost me the game. I couldnt figure out why they couldn't get anyone out, but i noticed the bullpen section during the second game. It adds so much more realism when you play out the game.

Thanks for posting your comments about the game. I'm usually also a pbp OOTP player but OOTP2006 took me away from it because of all you have already mentioned. I am very happy to hear about all of the improvements.

A few questions for you regarding the pitchers warmup. How those the team AI handle them (do they try and match up lft vs lft or rgt vs rgt)? Do we see who's in the bullpen for the AI team? Does the weather make a difference with the relievers? Are we notified when the pitcher is ready?

Thanks.

rasnell · 03-12-2007, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BusterKing

A few questions for you regarding the pitchers warmup. How those the team AI handle them (do they try and match up lft vs lft or rgt vs rgt)? Do we see who's in the bullpen for the AI team? Does the weather make a difference with the relievers? Are we notified when the pitcher is ready?
Thanks.

Rain delays can definitely affect the fatigue for a starter. You do not get a message when your pitcher is ready, but you can go to the roster to check and see the "cold, warming up, or ready" message.

I think it takes about 12 pitches for the reliever to be warmed up. A visit to the mound can help this along, too.

I'm glad that it's back in the game. Adds to your in-game fun and need for strategy.

The Wolf · 03-12-2007, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kagnew35

I have one pet peeve, i am still seeing "away team" instead of visiting team. Away teams are in star trek, not baseball.

Excellent point. Anyone in power paying attention?

Fibonacci · 03-12-2007, 09:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rasnell

Rain delays can definitely affect the fatigue for a starter.

I would hope that this also applies if a relief pitcher was in at the start of the delay....

discodude5 · 03-12-2007, 10:49 PM

I'm strictly a solo fictional player and I've only tried playing out games a couple times in the past, same thing with historical leagues but after all the positive reviews from the preview winners I have no idea what I'm going to do.
There's just so many choices, it's awesome.

Dargone · 03-12-2007, 10:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kagnew35

I have one pet peeve, i am still seeing "away team" instead of visiting team. Away teams are in star trek, not baseball.

A term used in FM, so I'm used to it. However, it would make sense to change it for baseball I think...

MizzouRah · 03-12-2007, 11:08 PM

Great news!

It's been awhile since I played every game with ootp, but it's nice to read this.. as 2006 was quite a disappointment in this area and I simmed almost every game.

You can really get a good feel for your team when watching every game.

BusterKing · 03-12-2007, 11:41 PM

Playing every game gives more meaning to your league.

You get to know your players and get attached a lot more to them.

For those who never tried it, you should really give it a shot.

Oxydizer · 03-13-2007, 06:27 AM

I play all my games out, even with 2006, which was very diffacult for me, but I did it anyways. I really enjoyed the 2007 preview, now with ten days to go, I'm on the final revision for my new solo league.

The Wolf · 03-13-2007, 08:29 AM

Playing out your games makes the sim come alive.

silvam14 · 03-13-2007, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oxydizer

I play all my games out, even with 2006, which was very diffacult for me, but I did it anyways. I really enjoyed the 2007 preview, now with ten days to go, I'm on the final revision for my new solo league.

Just a question, but when you say play out all of your games, do you just mean your team, or all of your leagues games?

I am having fun in my league just watching each game in my USBL Major league(I usually sim half innings at a time until it gets interesting in the later stages of the game) I have really gotten to know all of the players and it makes it more exciting to evaluate the trades between computer teams to try and guess who got the better deal, and then watch it play out.

I will eventually settle down with my own team, but I still think I'll always want to see how games play out around the league.

Gastric ReFlux · 03-13-2007, 09:30 AM

I'm very glad to hear that the ingame experience sounds much improved, especially the one-pitch option. Some of the most fun I had in 5.0 -- 6.5 was playing leagues where I managed a significant number of the games. In 2006, it just wasn't as good despite certain improvements in the PbP text, there were also some notable mistakes as mentioned in the opening post.

greendiver · 03-13-2007, 09:48 AM

For those of you who had the preview, how do you find the new short play by play? Does it significantly shorten the time it takes to play out a game?

CBL-Commish · 03-13-2007, 10:25 AM

Is the one-pitch mode tied to the don't stop between plays checkbox? I loved that you no longer had to endure a clickfest to watch (not manage) a game in 2006, but the long, drawn-out pitch-by-pitch mode ruined it.

Autism Speaks · 03-13-2007, 11:13 AM

Great post man. Thanks.

03-12-2007, 04:32 PM	#1 (permalink)
TheDROCK Minors (Double A) Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 139	Game play impressions I posted this on the preview forum but thought I would add it here. Thought some of you who play out your games would like to read this: First off, I've brought EVERY version of OOTP including the very first one. As with most everyone else, I was amazed how much was added to the ga,me in each version leading up to 6.5. Now 2006 was to me a disappointment. It just wasn't as much fun to play as the previous versions. I'm strictly a solo player who likes to play out every game for my team. I've never played online so I can't write about any of those features since I never use them. I never found the interface on 2006 to be unbearable. Once I got used to it, I actually liked it. And the more I used it, the more stuff I found. That wasn't the killer for me in 2006. I like to play out my games, but I was tremendously frustrated with 2006 because the game play was tedious. It seemed to take forever to play out a game. The PBP was excessive, every out was made by some sensational fielding play and the more I played, the more I started simming just to get to the offseason so I could enjoy the game. But that's not how I like to play. So I probably played 2006 less than I did any other version. So i want to talk about the game play I've seen in 2007 and remember this is only after about 10 games. But so far, the game plays as well as 6.5. I like to play in one-pitch mode and the game plays much faster than 2006. The game responds right away when I hit the enter button. There is no pause like in 2006. One of my games was a 3-1 pitchers duel. It took me less than 10 minutes to play and yet the game was exciting down to the last batter. Thats what I like. Also the PBP is 200% better. Baseball can be a boring game. Each team is going to make 27 outs in a 9-inning game and 25 of those outs may be routine fly balls to the left fielder and two-hop ground balls to the shortstop. That's what we're getting in 2007. Every time the ball was hit in 2006, you knew the fielder was going to make some unbelievable fielding play. (Those fielders could really play defense in 2006). Now the game feels more realistic and more what I want. Two complaints about the PBP: 1) I still wish we could get important stats included like how my centerfielder leads the league in HRs. There are a few stats thrown in, but I wish there were more. 2) There is one bad line in the PBP where it says a team "is still trailing, 0-3." Baseball scores are always listed with the high score coming first. This should be an easy fix. Also, thank you for including the pitcher warmup and making it the default setting. In fact, I didn't even know about it until midway through my first game when two of my better relievers got rocked and cost me the game. I couldnt figure out why they couldn't get anyone out, but i noticed the bullpen section during the second game. It adds so much more realism when you play out the game. Thats about it so far. Adding FaceGen was a stroke of genius for you guys. It's great seeing what your players look like. And I just made my first uniforms and I have a feeling many people will spend hours putting these unis together and forget to play the game itself. It's a tremendously cool feature. Sorry this is so long, but I want to add one last thing and this is the most important one. I've had more fun playing 2007 for these few hours than I ever did with 2006. I couldnt wait to get up this morning to start playing again and I'm gonna hate when my preview ends on Tuesday. It's gonna take forever for March 23 to get here.

03-12-2007, 04:41 PM	#2 (permalink)
Andy All Star Starter Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Dayton, OH Posts: 1,516	That's good to hear. I play out all of my games too, and felt it got a little tedious at times in 2006. __________________ Blog My Myspace My CD Collection

03-12-2007, 05:16 PM	#4 (permalink)
kagnew35 All Star Starter Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Las Vegas, Nev Posts: 1,221	I have one pet peeve, i am still seeing "away team" instead of visiting team. Away teams are in star trek, not baseball. __________________ Elder Statesman of the Board http://www.soxxcountry.com/ site with Duffys Tavern Live OOTP Chat Room Soxx World of Baseball Commissioner

03-13-2007, 06:27 AM	#14 (permalink)
Oxydizer All Star Reserve Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Clinton, Illinois Posts: 566	I play all my games out, even with 2006, which was very diffacult for me, but I did it anyways. I really enjoyed the 2007 preview, now with ten days to go, I'm on the final revision for my new solo league. __________________ My website for graphic Modifications for all OOTP games. Latest release: New circle logo's

03-13-2007, 08:29 AM	#15 (permalink)
The Wolf Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Baying at the moon Posts: 3,434	Playing out your games makes the sim come alive. __________________ __________________ "The main problem we face is that when it's 8 AM in London and 3 AM in New York and midnight in L.A., it's still 1968 to Democrats and 1566 in the Middle East."

03-12-2007, 04:43 PM	#3 (permalink)
Simmo13 Major Leagues Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: those blue remembered hills Posts: 422	Good post. Thanks. Like you I play solo, play out all my teams games and feel very similarly regarding 2006 PBP and interface. Looking forward to bullpen warmup and face-gen and many of the other improvements.

03-12-2007, 10:49 PM	#10 (permalink)
discodude5 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Saskatchewan Posts: 146	I'm strictly a solo fictional player and I've only tried playing out games a couple times in the past, same thing with historical leagues but after all the positive reviews from the preview winners I have no idea what I'm going to do. There's just so many choices, it's awesome.

03-12-2007, 11:08 PM	#12 (permalink)
MizzouRah All Star Starter Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Troy, Mo Posts: 1,675	Great news! It's been awhile since I played every game with ootp, but it's nice to read this.. as 2006 was quite a disappointment in this area and I simmed almost every game. You can really get a good feel for your team when watching every game.

03-12-2007, 11:41 PM	#13 (permalink)
BusterKing Major Leagues Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Sudbury, Ontario Canada Posts: 346	Playing every game gives more meaning to your league. You get to know your players and get attached a lot more to them. For those who never tried it, you should really give it a shot.

03-13-2007, 09:30 AM	#17 (permalink)
Gastric ReFlux Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Member #3409 Posts: 8,334	I'm very glad to hear that the ingame experience sounds much improved, especially the one-pitch option. Some of the most fun I had in 5.0 -- 6.5 was playing leagues where I managed a significant number of the games. In 2006, it just wasn't as good despite certain improvements in the PbP text, there were also some notable mistakes as mentioned in the opening post.

03-13-2007, 09:48 AM	#18 (permalink)
greendiver Major Leagues Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: New Freedom, PA Posts: 425	For those of you who had the preview, how do you find the new short play by play? Does it significantly shorten the time it takes to play out a game?

03-13-2007, 10:25 AM	#19 (permalink)
CBL-Commish All Star Starter Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Maryland Posts: 1,322	Is the one-pitch mode tied to the don't stop between plays checkbox? I loved that you no longer had to endure a clickfest to watch (not manage) a game in 2006, but the long, drawn-out pitch-by-pitch mode ruined it. __________________ For the best in O's news: Orioles' Hangout.com

03-13-2007, 11:13 AM	#20 (permalink)
Autism Speaks Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2002 Location: Supporting Autism research causes Posts: 2,870	Great post man. Thanks. __________________

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode