Screenshots: 6.5 vs. 2007 and Explanations

[reds1]

Great summary, Jestor! Thank you for taking the time to do this. The standings page, transaction page and the coloured bars are the things that I really like about 6.5 as well.

[rdomico]

A big difference between 6.5 and 8 is the number of minor league levels you can have. Since 6.5 had a set number of levels, it is easier to design a nice screen.

I am not sure how you could make 8 as nice as 6.5 because of that, but I am sure someone will come up with some good ideas.

[English_Ray]

Originally Posted by The Wolf

OOTP 9 Design Team:

Are you paying attention here?

I hope they are, but I also hope that the next version won't have a sudden change back to the v6.5 days, interface-wise!

This is a great thread, and I hope that no-one will mind if I weigh in with my my two penn'orth as well.

Firstly, I should say that I haven't played v6.5 since v2006 came out, so my comments on that are based entirely on the screenshots, and my (hazy) recollections. Also, I came to OOTP via SI and Football Manager, so I am very used to the look of the interface.

Standings

Starting with the first screenshots, the standings page, I absolutely agree that it would be great to have the league leaders back. I always spend loads of time on v8's Stats page anyway, but it would be awesome to have the top 3 in each stat readily at hand when you're looking at the standings. That being said, I wouldn't want to standings themselves to go back to the v6.5 presentation. I like having the games played and the magic number (would like the elimination number too, but hey...!). And I like having the whole name of the team, rather than just the city. I know its only minor, but its important to me.

Roster pages

Ok, main roster pages. To be honest, I think this is the area that I have fewest thoughts on the differences. I guess the main thing is that with v8 the information is split over two different tabs. In a way I think this works really well because you can have all the stats, standings and news overview at hand if you want, or you can have the detailed roster breakdowns. Perhaps there is something to be said for having it all together, but its not a major consideration for me.

Also to answer a couple of Jestor's points on this, while there isn't a hot/cold streak table as such, you can see who's hot and who's not from the icons down the left on the roster view. I know its not quite the same, and is probably one of those things that went missing in the new versions that was nice to have about. The other point is on viewing minor affiliates. If you are on the roster view, and then choose your affiliate from the tab in the bottom right, then it will take you to that teams roster, filtered in the same way as you were looking at your team (at least I think it does, someone check, quick!). Plus you can still include all players, or 40-man roster players on the view from the drop down.

Pitching/Lineups

The pitching and lineup screens are probably the ones where in my view v8 has the biggest advantages. Having the width is such a big advantage, it, along with the customizeable views, means that I can have every single bit of info, rating or stat on screen at once. This is massive when I'm setting my pitching staff or lineup. I also disagree about it being easier to have the staff down the right as opposed to across the bottom. I find it pretty much exactly the same wherever it is. There is one thing that annoys me on the pitching view though. Why, oh why does it go spot starter-middle reliever-mop up? Thats not the right order!!! Drives me mad...

Its the same deal on the hitting screens, having the depth chart along with the order is so much better. Especially for stupid people like me that put someone into the starting SS spot, and then immediately forget his name when deciding on the batting order... Two points I do agree on - yes, while its not a particular problem for me, I can see that the red numbers on v8 aren't that easy to read. I also see the point with the lack of contrast between LHP/RHP/DH/non-DH tabs. Making them stand out more certainly couldn't hurt.

Transactions

Then there's the transactions screen. Ok, it is definitely great to have all the boxes on screen at once. No question. But, I like that I can choose what info is displayed in the boxes in v8. I think having different colours for the different boxes definitely should come back, its only a little thing, but it does make it easier, and quicker to move players around. What I would say is that if you can fit more boxes on the screen, then great. But please please please don't do it at the cost of making the font smaller/columns more compact. I am pretty young, with excellent eyesight, but the last thing I want to do after working on a computer all day is to have to squint at the screen trying to figure out whether my AAA third baseman is hitting .261 or .281.

Anyway, thats all pretty much a long way of saying that I prefer the new interface to the old. Sure, there are elements that used to be done better, but in my eyes the changes from v6.5 to v8 are for the most part good ones.

Anyhow...back to work(!)

[Elendil]

Originally Posted by Jestor

Major statistics at a glance for majors and minors
To be honest, this might be an option where it should be toggable whether you view statistics or ratings. For me personally, I use statistics + ratings for my minors to decide whether they should move up, but I always use statistics as a baseline.

In 2007 you can toggle between statistics and ratings for each level in the Transactions screen.

[Charley575]

What are you talking about? I've never had any problem distinguishing boxes in the current transaction screen. They are clearly labeled. Also, you can toggle rating and stats already. Remember this, too. OOTP 2k7 is a much more complex game than 6.5. You can totally customize the minor leagues which you could not do in 6.5. In 6.5, you had three levels of minors and that was it. In 2k7 there is no limit. One organization can have an unlimited number of minor league teams, so it's just not possible to cram it all into one screen like before.

You make some good points about some small cosmetic things, but honestly I have no problem with the current interface save this one:

STOP MAKING THE LISTS RESET! Do you hear me Markus? If I'm in the draft screen and I want to sort by fielding ratings to find say, the best fielding shortstops, when I switch back to batting ratings to see if any of them can hit, the list resets. What a bunch of bull.

Other than that, I have no real issues with the interface.

[silvam14]

Originally Posted by Charley575

What are you talking about? I've never had any problem distinguishing boxes in the current transaction screen. They are clearly labeled. Also, you can toggle rating and stats already. Remember this, too. OOTP 2k7 is a much more complex game than 6.5. You can totally customize the minor leagues which you could not do in 6.5. In 6.5, you had three levels of minors and that was it. In 2k7 there is no limit. One organization can have an unlimited number of minor league teams, so it's just not possible to cram it all into one screen like before.

You make some good points about some small cosmetic things, but honestly I have no problem with the current interface save this one:

STOP MAKING THE LISTS RESET! Do you hear me Markus? If I'm in the draft screen and I want to sort by fielding ratings to find say, the best fielding shortstops, when I switch back to batting ratings to see if any of them can hit, the list resets. What a bunch of bull.

Other than that, I have no real issues with the interface.

Wow! Now that is what I call vim and vigor!

I do agree about the lists resetting though. Gotta fix that.

[silvam14]

I should say that as someone who plays out all of my league's games (majors only) I don't check the standings on a regular enough basis to care about if the leaders are there or not. But I am starting to understand how someone who sims might find that mighty useful

[Jestor]

I'm on my way to work right now, but when I get back, I'll comment on the screens I think 2K7 does better, since that was requested.

While I was getting ready for work, I remembered I forgot to check the draft and free agency screens in 2K7, since it's been so long since I've run either one of those.

When I get home, I'll check those and if I think 6.5 the better of the two in either or both cases, I'll post a screenshot comparison. Otherwise I'll include them in my 2K7 Better comments.

Thanks for the feedback, guys! Sounds like we have a nice dialogue going here of what works and what doesn't for people in both versions, along with some things about 2K7 (such as the resolution thing), that some of us didn't know before.

[johnnybourbon]

1st post on the board, guys, so take it easy on me.

I've been a baseball fanatic since I was very young, and have made it up through the different computers and baseball sims since the mid 80s.
I started off with Statis Pro Baseball (board game) to another that I played with my baseball cards that I don't remember the name, to Micro League Baseball (which lasted a solid decade), a brief stint with Baseball Mogul, Front Page Sports Baseball '98, OTTP5 and now OOTP8. I'm a self admitted dynasty stats junkie, so OOTP8 is a EXCELLENT game for me. We're talking about the ease of the screens, though.

I'm the kind of guy who's upgraded my sports game every other year (I did so with EA's NHL, NBA Live and NCAA College Football series...baseball sims were the exception to this). From my past experience, I've noticed that each new version (think new versions of Windows as well) takes a lot of getting used to. While many parts of the experience are similar, there always is a time spent feeling out the new screens, info and depth of the new version. Making the jump from OOTP5 to OOTP8 was not an easy one, there was so much new stuff, I almost didn't know where to begin. Now 5 months into my 1st new dynasty season, I'm comfortable saying that this is the best baseball sim game that I've ever participated in playing.

[jarmenia]

Originally Posted by Jestor

Exhibit #5. Transaction Screen

What resolution are you playing on? I'm playing at 1680x1050 and can get all 9 of my transactions screens on one page, easily readable, and in any order I want. That's a huge benefit to OOTP 6 and earlier.

[jarmenia]

One of the other things that seems to be forgotten by people is how much more customizable 2006+ is than 6 and previous. Because of this, the screens need to be more dynamic and thus its harder to design a perfect screen.

[satchel]

It was a great idea to post screen shots and point out the specific advantages and disadvantages of the two interfaces. Many people in the community, including myself, have commented and complained about the differences, but until now, no one had illustrated things very well.

[Cooleyvol]

All these images have me wanting to fire v6 up when I get home!

[ctorg]

Originally Posted by jarmenia

One of the other things that seems to be forgotten by people is how much more customizable 2006+ is than 6 and previous. Because of this, the screens need to be more dynamic and thus its harder to design a perfect screen.

I don't think that's forgotten. I doubt too many people here would give up the customizability to have the better screens. But there are some areas, like the standings screen with the leaders on the side, that people have been clamoring for since the SI version of the game came out. While many other cries for a return to old ways have died away, some have remained, and those should be taken seriously at this point, I think. Enough time has passed that it's not just an issue of people needing to get used to the new version, I think.

[Ktulu]

-Another way to improve 2k7's transactions screen (perhaps simpler than the last) would be to add more subscreens (e.g. the disabled list). I understand you can get to some of these by the pull-down menus, but one click buttons are so much faster (that's a big difference between the two throughout: menus are good for lots of selections and little room, but if you've few selections and/or enough room then one-click buttons are so much better). You've got disabled and trade subscreens, add waiver, DFA, minor league subscreens, maybe even more.

These subscreens already exist as "sub tabs" at the top of the screen. You have "Overview", "Disabled List", "Minor Leagues", "Waivers & DFA", "Player Trade Status", and "Transaction Log".

[Neags23]

Even after seeing these screenshots, I just don't see any advantages of 6.5 over 8 other than the standings screen.

Everything 6.5 can do (other than the standings screen) 8 can do better. And it's much easier to read, and just looks better/cleaner.

[endgame]

Originally Posted by Neags23

Even after seeing these screenshots, I just don't see any advantages of 6.5 over 8 other than the standings screen.

Everything 6.5 can do (other than the standings screen) 8 can do better. And it's much easier to read, and just looks better/cleaner.

I very much appreciate the Jestor gesture. If anything, whether we agree or not, it has helped clarify some of the distinctions people have had a difficult time articulating previously.

But I'm with you Neags, all of this seems a "click or two away" within the modern iteration and, as a rule, I don't have much difficulty with its layout. I will say, however, as many have advocated, I do wish there were a way to access the screen (very similar to the front page OOTP6+) that we see while simming in OOTP8. I find that screen very appealing for a quick gathering of info, including leaders.

[Neags23]

Originally Posted by endgame

I will say, however, as many have advocated, I do wish there were a way to access the screen (very similar to the front page OOTP6+) that we see while simming in OOTP8. I find that screen very appealing for a quick gathering of info, including leaders.

"

[silvam14]

Originally Posted by Cooleyvol

All these images have me wanting to fire v6 up when I get home!

On the other hand, while seeing those screens makes me reminisce of old OOTP days, it also makes me thankful for the new versions as I would not be able to do much of what I am doing in my solo league.

Just to show how different people's brains work.

[johnnybourbon]

Originally Posted by silvam14

On the other hand, while seeing those screens makes me reminisce of old OOTP days, it also makes me thankful for the new versions as I would not be able to do much of what I am doing in my solo league.

Just to show how different people's brains work.

right silvam, of all the sims that ive played, no other one scratches the surface of the detail given in v8.
Like I said above, it does take some getting used to (the transaction screen in particular), but once you know where your "preferred screens" are either by bookmark or by mouse-click order, you are set.