Making a decision

[Exorcst]

Ok Im making a decision between this and a couple competitor's for my sim choice.

I am loving the screen shots and the depth of this game.

My only drawback is that it doesnt come automatically with 2006 rosters.

How hard will it be to update that. I know I read where some said that someone puts out a player pack or something.

Also,
The online portion of the game. Some guys from work and I are interested in starting a league and only have us play vs. some computer oponents. Is that possible? and we would all need a copy of the game?

[BruceM]

It's a given that there will be at least one, if not two or three user created 2006 rosters sets available for download when the game is released.

[MorseMoose]

Originally Posted by Exorcst

Ok Im making a decision between this and a couple competitor's for my sim choice.

As an OOTP user since OOTP4, I have yet to be disappointed (although because of money constraints I didn't purchase OOTP6).

Originally Posted by Exorcst

My only drawback is that it doesnt come automatically with 2006 rosters.

Correct. Because of license issues, it can't. However, as BruceM said, every version as far back as I can remember, there has been several roster sets of the current year. I don't remember waiting more than a week or so for an updated roster set.

Originally Posted by Exorcst

How hard will it be to update that. I know I read where some said that someone puts out a player pack or something.

Each league (as of the past) have had individual folders with an extension ".lg". All you have to do is download this file and you put it into the OOTP folder. You open the league in the game and you play.

Originally Posted by Exorcst

The online portion of the game. Some guys from work and I are interested in starting a league and only have us play vs. some computer oponents. Is that possible? and we would all need a copy of the game?

I'm not completely sure I understand. The way I understand is you have 5 or 6 guys that want to play in a 30 team league where the rest are computer owners. If that is the case...you can do that.

It is possible for you to only have one copy of the game, however because of the depth of the game, it is VERY useful to actually have the game. If you are all going to be playing at work, one copy may suffice as you could all set rosters and make trades on the one computer. However, the more games, the more fun everyone can have and the more in depth people can go.

Hope that helps!

[Exorcst]

Thanks for your responses.

You said different people will come up with Roster sets... what would be the difference? What the ratings that they have the players set to? And if so, is this a game where you could tweak the settings?

For ex. I was looking at the competitors online version, and they have Affeldt with his stamina set at a rating of like 29... a relief pitcher. With the exception of one year he has been a starter, so if I came up against something like that in this game, would it be possible for me to tweak it. I know in fictional leagues, that kind of stuff doesnt matter. But the thing that will give me enjoyment in this game is being able to start with my home team, the horrible Royals, and seeing just what I could tweak and how I could use my mad skillzzzzz to make them better. 4-5 seasons in the game and it will mostly be fictional players anyway, but I'd like to start off with my dream game.

[MorseMoose]

Originally Posted by Exorcst

You said different people will come up with Roster sets... what would be the difference? What the ratings that they have the players set to? And if so, is this a game where you could tweak the settings?

Like you said, the different rosters are different people's analysis of statistics and what they think the player should be or might be. And yes, you can change ratings if you feel they should be different.

Originally Posted by Exorcst

For ex. I was looking at the competitors online version, and they have Affeldt with his stamina set at a rating of like 29... a relief pitcher. With the exception of one year he has been a starter, so if I came up against something like that in this game, would it be possible for me to tweak it. I know in fictional leagues, that kind of stuff doesnt matter. But the thing that will give me enjoyment in this game is being able to start with my home team, the horrible Royals, and seeing just what I could tweak and how I could use my mad skillzzzzz to make them better. 4-5 seasons in the game and it will mostly be fictional players anyway, but I'd like to start off with my dream game.

You can change that in the game. If you really wanted to, you could make Doug Mientkiewicz a terrible fielder and a .700 hitter that would hit 99 homeruns in a year. Of course, that wouldn't be any fun. You can change just about anything (with limitations...of course).

[Exorcst]

Well looks like my decision is made.

34.95 feels a bit steep. but I want a good sim bad..

Yeah you are right tweaking it so the numbers are outrageous is not fun, but sometimes you need to just make it a little more realistic.

[MorseMoose]

Yep. However, my biggest problem is that I can't take a step back when I'm playing with my favorite team. I've always tweaked my favorite team (the Twins) a little bit because I'm a little bias. I have trouble not doing so, but I'm not hurting anyone.

$34.95 is expensive, but the OOTP4 and OOTP5 haven't disappointed me. I'm not sure they could. They are extensive and deep - almost too deep for the casual baseball fan. However, I don't consider myself a casual baseball fan.

I can't speak against the other games (I'm assuming Baseball Mogul) because I've never played them. However, OOTP is a game that isn't set to recreate baseball history. It is set to create. Think of it as an alternate reality.

Hope you enjoy the game! I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy it.

[Exorcst]

Do they do ones for other sports? Especially football.

[Raderick]

Originally Posted by Exorcst

Do they do ones for other sports? Especially football.

Front Office Football seems to be king when it comes to (American) football sims. Maximum Football recently came out I believe, but I don't know much about it to make an opinion one way or another.

(English) Football Manager 2006, the game I'm playing right now is no doubt the best text game on the market. No game can go as deep as this. It is what got me interested in the sport.

[MorseMoose]

Originally Posted by Exorcst

Do they do ones for other sports? Especially football.

I'm assuming you mean does OOTP make other text games. The answer to that is YES! There is a boxing game (look all the way down at the bottom of the forums for more information).

There is a football game, basketball game, wrestling game, produced or currently being made by Grey Dog Software [http://www.greydogsoftware.com/]. You can find demos here of all the games.

A new basketball game and golf game can be found at a former-400 and former-Grey Dog software programmer Gary Gorski [http://www.wolverinestudios.com/]. From my knowledge, Gary's stuff is top-notch. As a personal note, I'm looking forward to the golf game. I'm not a huge basketball fan, but I've heard good stuff.

There is also a nascar game, football game and a potential hockey game being made at Medley Games [http://www.medleygames.com/].

Like Raderick said, Sports Interactive has a hockey and soccer game made/produced [http://www.sigames.com/].

There are plenty more, but these are just a few examples.

[disposableheros]

dont forget, tim, that Gary Gorski (and our very own Cuss, a.k.a. Cuss16) have abandonded ship over at Grey Dog. he and his new games can now be found at http://www.wolverinestudios.com/.

[MorseMoose]

Originally Posted by disposableheros

dont forget, tim, that Gary Gorski (and our very own Cuss, a.k.a. Cuss16) have abandonded ship over at Grey Dog. he and his new games can now be found at http://www.wolverinestudios.com/.

Oops. I forgot that Gary started his own company. I'm looking forward to that golf game...A LOT!

[jm47048]

So I have a question... What's the story with the Lahman Database? Is this no longer compatable with the game in 2006? I mean if it is, it should be easy to create a league and import. I have seen this question asked several times and no one seems to have a clear answer.

[Boozie1580]

2006 will support Lahman just like the old versions, won't it? I haven't heard anything different. If you're asking because of the "exclusive license" BS that Mogul advertises, that just means that they're the only company who can package it with the game. The Lahman DB is still public domain, so anyone can download it or make a game that supports it, OOTPD just can't sell a game pre-loaded with it.

[Exorcst]

If we can do that with that database, where do we go to get it, etc.

[MorseMoose]

Originally Posted by Exorcst

If we can do that with that database, where do we go to get it, etc.

www.baseball1.com

For the version 5, which I recommend you checking out if you haven't already, it was just an import the file.

I don't know how or if (for 100%) if it will work for the new version. I assume it will and I assume it will be similar in importing a past league.

[Nihilianth]

how about past leagues? i have a league in which im 27 years old, and probly headed for the hall of fame in 6.5. can 6.5 leagues be updated for 2006? (lol this was probly asked a million times by now...sorry if it was )

[MorseMoose]

Originally Posted by Nihilianth

how about past leagues? i have a league in which im 27 years old, and probly headed for the hall of fame in 6.5. can 6.5 leagues be updated for 2006? (lol this was probly asked a million times by now...sorry if it was )

If you mean importing your OOTP6.5 league into OOTP2006, then yes, you will be able to. Some things may be lost, however.

[Nihilianth]

well, hopefully, my stats will stay the same so i can still shoot for the hall of fame if i do decide to import it. most other stats, i wont really care too much about.

[Sweed]

Originally Posted by Exorcst

Well looks like my decision is made.

34.95 feels a bit steep. but I want a good sim bad..

Yeah you are right tweaking it so the numbers are outrageous is not fun, but sometimes you need to just make it a little more realistic.

You won't be disappointed. I've been playing since v4 and the game gets deeper and better with each new version. The $34.95 is a bargain when you consider the hours of enjoyment you will get from the game. It is easily the best gaming money I spend every year.

With regard to the real rosters my experience has been that the user created rosters are for superior to anything that comes in any licensed sports sim I have ever played. These guys are very good at what they do and take a lot of pride in their work.