Small-town fictional ballparks

[English_Ray]

Hey all, I have just finished putting together some ballparks for my newly planned small-town fictional league, and I thought I'd share them in case anyone is interested.

My league is going to be starting in the 1920's, hence the kind of mottled look, as I was trying to make them look slightly old-photo-y, but they could easily be done without. These are also team- and league-specific, but if anyone is interested I could easily put together some generic ones.

Let me know what you think!

My generic minor-league park:


Team-specific ones:

[justafan]

These are great! I think I like 'em more than the ones I just did.

[English_Ray]

Originally Posted by justafan

These are great! I think I like 'em more than the ones I just did.

You're very kind, justafan, but I reckon these are about 100 times easier to put together than your awesome contribution!

[English_Ray]

Just in case anyone is interested, here are some player backgrounds for the same sort of parks/time period:

[sluggo523]

Really like your parks there. Just what I am looking for, for my small 8 team league. Question though. Have you worked on the ball graphics for the playing field? Does it look ok? And do you put your players on the field or leave them off? I have the ball park creator that you used to make the fields, but have always stayed away from it because the infield is so small. But I do like what you have done, and may have to try it out.

[English_Ray]

Originally Posted by sluggo523

Really like your parks there. Just what I am looking for, for my small 8 team league. Question though. Have you worked on the ball graphics for the playing field? Does it look ok? And do you put your players on the field or leave them off? I have the ball park creator that you used to make the fields, but have always stayed away from it because the infield is so small. But I do like what you have done, and may have to try it out.

They look pretty good with the ball graphics - I have all the players on the field, except the pitcher, hitter and runners. I'll get an in-game screenshot up later to show you how it looks.

I am having a couple of problems at the moment (not connected to the pictures I'm sure!). Both occur when the animation is on - one is that the players names move from where they are supposed to be; the other is that the right field line wall distance moves away from where I have placed it in the editor. I'm assuming that it is something to do with the resolution I play the game at, but I haven't checked it yet...

[English_Ray]

Ok, here is a shot of how they look in-game:



And here is with the ball-flight in action. As you can see, some of the names and distances have gone walkabout. I'm actually going to cross-post this in Technical Support to see if anyone there knows whats going on

[sluggo523]

Thanks for posting the pictures. They do look really good. I may have to try and put some of these together for myself. Strange about the names and distances, may have to use a copy of yours and set it up in the game to see if that happens to me as well. I did notice in your picture you put in the tech thread, that you had to push some of the infield ball locations in the outfield. That is what I was wondering about, with such a small infield. But I don't think that will take away from that looks in the game.

Edit: I just tried one out in my game. All the names seem to readjust during the ball movement. The fields all adjust to the 2nd data line and are centered in it (there abouts). The batters and runners seem to adjust up and to the left of there position. I just think that is the way the game works. The problem with the outfield number, not sure why that does not show up in the right location. Even in the default park, the number is moved to the left of its position, strange. Not sure if the issue has been raised or if there is anything that can be done about it.

[English_Ray]

Originally Posted by sluggo523

Thanks for posting the pictures. They do look really good. I may have to try and put some of these together for myself. Strange about the names and distances, may have to use a copy of yours and set it up in the game to see if that happens to me as well. I did notice in your picture you put in the tech thread, that you had to push some of the infield ball locations in the outfield. That is what I was wondering about, with such a small infield. But I don't think that will take away from that looks in the game.

That is probably more to do with me not bothering to look where the labels are actually meant to go! I expect they would probably be fine being put in the correct locations.

Hopefully someone techy will be able to figure why the names are moving around for me...

[ATLGary]

I LOVE those park pics you have done!!!! I will enclose the one I took from Teflon and have been using in my league but I lack the ability to modify the other three parks in my league to look like this.....could or would you be interested in helping me????

If you think you could help, let me know and I will send the other three "fictional parks" over to you.......

THANKS!!!!!

[English_Ray]

Originally Posted by ATLGary

I LOVE those park pics you have done!!!! I will enclose the one I took from Teflon and have been using in my league but I lack the ability to modify the other three parks in my league to look like this.....could or would you be interested in helping me????

If you think you could help, let me know and I will send the other three "fictional parks" over to you.......

THANKS!!!!!

I can certainly have a go - it would make things a lot easier for me if you have the wall distances already! I won't be able to do the top-down view of the stands like in your example though - thats beyond my abilities I'm afraid.

[ATLGary]

I will send all four parks so you can try to see if you can work with them....just fields would be fine....I dont HAVE to have stands, etc.....

I will list each park with capacity and wall distances and attatch the pics for you to use!!!!

1. Parkway Field (25,000)
NPC's Parkway Field is gonna be an interesting place to play the outfield. With a fairly short distance (330 down the line 345 to left field) and the "Red Monstah" 40 foot brick wall, whoever plays left for the Browns is going to have his hands full.
In watching some of the players invited to New Perth City for tryouts a number of the outfielders misplayed balls lined off the wall which led to the ball caroming back and being fielded by the 3B or SS!!! Another factor is not only are bricks hard (be interesting to see how many LF's crash into it!!) but the construction is not the smoothest leading to some strange bounces and lots of triples.
The Browns CF will have an easier job as LC is a more reasonable 380 while CF is a fairly short 390 which should lessen considerably the ground he will have to cover. The CF is going to have to help out the RF though as the deepest part of the park is RC at a whopping 420 while RF is 405. The 'Red Monstah" tapers to a mere 15 ft from LC to C but still is brick. From there the wall turns into a wooden fence a paltry 5 ft in RC and RF and then only 3 ft in RF. We saw a number of players flip over those walls while making running catches during the workouts.
The ballpark's groundskeeper has planted a variety of rose bushes in deep right center field and beyond the short right field fence - adding to the outfielders woes. Also he maintains an orchard of apple and cherry trees beyond the outfield fences. The stadium sits next to a world-famous brewery, Pioneer Beer.

----- Dimensions -----
LL 330
LF 345
LC 380
CF 390
RC 420
RF 405
RL 335
----- Wall Height -----
LL 40
LF 40
LC 15
CF 15
RC 5
RF 5
RL 3

2. Ellsworth Park (22,230)
Built at the turn of the century, Ellsworth Park reflects its era. The fences are deep and the walls are high to protect the park’s near-by neighbors. Homeruns are still a rare commodity in the 1900’s, so the hitters of that day would not find fault with the configuration. If anything, they would appreciate the spacious power alleys that enable them to leg out more doubles and triples. Accordingly, outfielders playing in roomy Ellsworth Park are well-served if fleet-of-foot.
The stadium seats 22,320. A roofed section of box seats wraps around the infield with bleacher seats extending down the lines to the foul poles. The park is constrained by its surrounding neighborhood, so the designer had to be imaginative in the placement of additional seating. An elevated center field grandstand was built to protrude slightly over the field of play so as not to interfere with the street beyond. Thus a ball hit into the grandstand, some 417 feet from home plate and 8 feet above the field, is a home run, while a ball that is hit over the center fielder’s head a somewhat shorter distance can potentially roll to a farther extent under the grandstand. It requires brave fielders to chase a fly ball at full speed to deep center as the grandstand supports provide a rude interruption to unwary fielders.
The manual scoreboard in left field sits atop a deck that extends the length of the left field wall. This enables four rows of seats to fit in beneath. Any batted ball landing in the seats or on the deck is a ground-rule double. Thus, a ball hit to left field must completely clear the 25 foot wall or 29 foot scoreboard to be considered a homerun.
The wooden wall in right field is 16 feet high topped by a 4 foot screen to shield the nearby street and houses from baseballs. Lefty sluggers still aim to pull the ball, however, in the hopes of rattling easy doubles off of it.
Ellsworth Park has seen many years of service, and there are plans to add a second deck to the infield seating in the near future.

----- Dimensions -----
LL 340
LF 358
LC 395
CF 417
RC 400
RF 361
RL 348
----- Wall Height -----
LL 25
LF 29
LC 25
CF 8
RC 20
RF 20
RL 20

3. Parade stadium (35,500)
Built nearly a century ago, Parade Stadium has been a home to baseball from the deadball era to the present day. Much of the story of baseball in Breda has unfolded within the red brick walls of this grand old park. Nearly demolished in the late 1940s in favor of a multi-purpose arena, Parade Stadium received an 11th hour pardon - being granted landmark status following an exhaustive effort by a group of concerned citizens. In addition to its rich baseball history, this stadium has also been host to everything from heavyweight prize fights to political rallies.

The ballpark itself is unassuming - a sturdy, comfortable configuration that may be lacking in glitz but but not in functionality. The sightlines for baseball are still unmatched even in modern stadiums. Concourses have been remodeled over the years to better handle traffic. Additional restrooms and concessions were also added as the need arose and the teams' clubhouses have been rebuilt to current big league standards. A level of luxury boxes were added between the first and second decks in the infield grandstand, but were placed as unobtrusively as possible to preserve the classic profile of Parade Stadium. All in all, this charming ballpark should continue to provide a gracious home to baseball well into its second century.

Left Field Line: 318
Left Field: 348
Left Center: 369
Center Field: 403
Right Center: 377
Right Field: 358
Right Field Line: 335

Fences: 8 ft

4. Metropolitan Park (35,500)
The "Met" is the second largest baseball park in the nation of Breda. Located in the Aberdeen suburb known as the South Shore. The South Shore has become a location where many mill workers and businessmen have come to live due to the easy access to the Tri-Cities of Aberdeen, Portsmouth, and Oxford. The 41-foot right field wall protects the local townhomes from incoming baseballs. Local children hang out on Metropolitan Avenue beyond right field hoping to get a free souvenier. In the summer afternoons, many games of stickball are played on Metropolitan Avenue outside the stadiums enormous wall and sometimes a line drive from one of these games enters the stadium causing the local children to scatter before the local police arrive.

A second deck has been added to the left field stand increasing the seating capacity to 35,500.

----- Dimensions -----
LL 334
LF 365
LC 390
CF 447
RC 393
RF 360
RL 329
----- Wall Height -----
LL 12
LF 12
LC 12
CF 20
RC 41
RF 41
RL 41

Thanks brother!!!!! This will be an awesome addition to my league!!!! I will send the rest of the stadium pics in the next reply...Ill send them in the order they were listed above!

[ATLGary]

Thanks again!

[English_Ray]

How are these? After I had made them, I suddenly wasn't sure whether you were after them to match your example or to match mine - hopefully I understood you right! If not, or if you want anything changed, let me know.

[ATLGary]

would you be willing to do some more for the future expansion of my league.....these look awesome!


If you are willing, Ill send some more parks to you...


Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[BoofBonser26]

English Ray, your parks are simply beautiful. I think I drooled a little bit at the in-game screenshot. Incredible work!

[BoofBonser26]

Also, did I see a mention of a program you used to generate the field diagram? If so, what is it?

[SittingDuck]

This is just an incredible thread.

[sluggo523]

I think I have the same one, but I don't have much info about it, it is call ballpark. I have version 1.0 which is a beta version. I have been looking for it, going through all of my baseball websites that I have bookmarked and can't seem to find it. I think that the program was made for DMB, but I am not even sure about that. The end product does look like ballparks that are around for that game. Hopefully English_Ray has more info, and maybe were to get it.

[pstrickert]

Here it is: BALLPARK