Suggestions: The Interface (GUI)

battists · 07-02-2007, 10:15 AM

This suggestion thread is designed to collect suggestions for the next version of OOTP, on the following topic:

The Interface (GUI)

Includes
- Things related to the visual design of the game that would improve ease of use

Excludes
- Most anything related to the interface is fair game, but try to keep it focused on the interface itself, not the game engine.

Instructions
We will use this thread to collect suggestions on the above topic. Later on, we hope to present this information back to the community in a way that would allow you to vote and prioritize certain features.

If you would like to participate, here are the rules!

Only 1 suggestion per post.
Suggestions must be on-topic for the thread.
Constructive, non-inflammatory suggestions only.
No comments on others' suggestions are necessary. That means, we don't need 15 posts in the thread saying "Great idea!" or "I agree!"
Please don't link to other forum threads as your way of making suggestions. ("My suggestion can be found HERE.") If it's important enough to you that you want it in this thread, then it should be important enough to put it in the format I've asked for here!
You can certainly post suggestions that conflict with or build upon earlier suggestions.
Mockups are welcomed, they really help Markus see what you're interested in accomplishing.

Format for Suggestions

Suggestion
What is your suggestion? Be as specific as possible; include the screen you're talking about, if applicable.

Reason
Why do you think this is important? If this is to correct what you perceive as a problem in OOTP 2007, what is that problem? Be as specific as possible.

Priority
In your opinion, how important is this suggestion?
High (MUST have), Medium (should have), Low (nice to have))

Thanks for participating!

Steve

CHCfan · 07-02-2007, 10:55 AM

Suggestion
Better calender screen. The Schedule tab for individual teams currently features a calander showing the scores of that month's game.

My suggestion is that more info be displayed on this screen. The pitching match-up, for instance. After a game is simmed, the day's calender box would change from pitching matchup to include the game's score, HRs hit, and maybe the abbrev. boxscore (R H E for each team).

Reason
This would be ideal for people who like to sim day by day, but are really only concerned about their own team while doing so. As it currently is, we can go to the league's schedule page and quickplay our team's game... But then we need to scroll all the way back down to it to see how the game went, and we need to finish simming the rest of that day. Not a terrible inconvenience, but if your main sim-style is one day at a time, it can feel very tedious.

Priority
For my simming-style the priority is high. Otherwise, I think it would be a welcome change (more info generally = better) for even non day-by-day simmers, so overall probably a moderate priority.

Thanks.

Cras · 07-02-2007, 02:17 PM

Suggestion

Make the history sections of the game look more like CatoBase and include the features and stats that CatoBase had and that have not made it into v2007. The screens that need to be fixed are the team history pages, the league history page, a team's history, the managerial leaderboards, include progressive leaderboards, make it easy to see when a player has won a championship, won an award, was an all-star, has been inducted to the HoF. Include the past schedule screen that CatoBase had. Add the division history screen, past salary, team leaderboards (Most Wins, Most Wins in a Year etc.), and postseason leaderboards.

Reason
This is a main reason why I now hesitate to call v 2007 a clear improvement to 6.51 w/ Cato. At the moment 2007 is better in terms of customising things, financial, contracts, but the history keeping is so inferior that it becomes a big problem for me.

Priority

High, the game needs to be an improvement over 6.51 w. Cato in all respects, not just a chosen few aspects. Otherwise there will always be those who will never let 6.51 die.

Kelric · 07-02-2007, 02:33 PM

Suggestion
Add the ability to switch to pitch-by-pitch mode or one-pitch mode on the Game Options screen before every game. I'd suggest keeping it in the Game Controls screen as it currently is as well, so you can switch back and forth during the game.

Reason
I always play one-pitch mode and it is a minor annoyance that I can have the game remember how I want my play-by-play presented for every game, yet I have to use this button in game for all 162 games a year.

Priority
Low. It would be great to have, but it's not all that important.

Ktulu · 07-02-2007, 02:36 PM

Suggestion

Currently, if you play "talent only", there are many screens which are designed to show ratings that will show no information when they could still show the potential ratings of players in place of the actual ratings. Some of these screens include the transactions screen and (most importantly IMO) the main pbp screen.

Reason

"Talent only" players still want to have the potential ratings available to them. It is a pain to have to click on each player to see his potential.

Priority

I would say this is a high priority for those who play with ratings off, especially online leagues.

injury log · 07-02-2007, 03:02 PM

Suggestion

Preserve the player link arrows when returning to a screen that can use them. This seems to have disappeared in '07, but existed in '06. To explain: If I go, say, to the Free Agents list in the Transactions pane and open a Free Agent player's profile, in the top right I will have link arrows to the previous and next free agent, allowing me to quickly skim through the pool of free agent player profiles. This is brilliant, and very useful. If I go, say, to offer a contract to a free agent (or indeed to any other screen), and then click the back arrow to the player profile, these arrows will have disappeared, replaced by a scouting drop-down menu. If this is a design decision, I can't think what the rationale might be.

Reason

Would save a lot of time when perusing the free agent list, making waiver claims, etc.

Priority

Since I haven't heard anyone else mention this on the forums, I suppose the priority is low, but it seems easy to implement. I'll post this to tech support in case it can make it into the next patch...

Burgandy · 07-02-2007, 04:55 PM

Suggestion

I really, really want to see Player Personality ratings added to the View and Filter tabs. (Leadership, Intelligence, Work Ethic)

Reason

Obviously, to more quickly locate players personality traits match a need, and to filter out those with poor work ethic, etc.

Priority

HIGH, as I've seen this suggestion before and many seemed to agree. This would save loads and loads of time when shopping for free agents and drafting.

Geebob · 07-02-2007, 05:01 PM

Suggestion
Team Strategies are a pain in the neck to set up, especially if you are running multiple leagues. It would be much easier to have a personal default which could either be copied into the new league, text edited, or set up as a template.

Reason
Unfortunately many players don't use the team strategies at all because they are tedious to set up. Adding multiple leagues or starting a new league, makes you question whether it is worth it or not. (It is, btw)

Priority
This is a GREAT feature of the game, which is some players don't bother to work through in detail. Either the screen must be made simpler or the process to imput the data in the first place must be improved.
For me ... HIGH.

battists · 07-02-2007, 06:44 PM

Suggestion
Add statistics, at least key ones, to the filter options.

Reason
No way currently to sort by "players hitting over .250", for example. Especially important for manual HOF selection and so forth.

Priority
High

battists · 07-02-2007, 11:17 PM

Suggestion
Add the ability to copy depth charts.

Reason
Currently, you can copy lineups, but not depth charts. Since depth charts are often more complicated than lineups, it's frustrating to have to set them up between 2 and 4 additional times for each team.

Priority
High (if only because it seems like it should be relatively easy to accomplish)

Syd Thrift · 07-02-2007, 11:47 PM

Suggestion
------------
Add a quick ability to customize screen colors without having to create new skins.

Reason
-----------
I like the two skins the game comes with now, don't get me wrong, but when everything is more or less brown and green or else red, white, and blue, why not allow people to set, say, 3 or 4 different colors of their own a la Windows 3.11?

Priority
-----------
Low, but it would still be nice.

battists · 07-03-2007, 12:07 AM

Suggestion
When selecting a ballpark for a team, have the drop-down be alphabetized by park name.

Reason
Currently, the drop-down is pretty much in random order. For larger leagues, it's very frustrating to try to find the right park to assign to your team!

Priority
High (if only because it seems like it should be relatively easy to accomplish)

endgame · 07-03-2007, 12:32 AM

Suggestion
On the Manager's Home Page, add a line that says Yesterday's Game with a brief recap of the result and score or show No Games Played.

Reason
Quick and easy reference; utilizes some dead space with useful info.

Priority
Low (nice to have))

JerryArr · 07-03-2007, 02:13 AM

Suggestion
An option to display (or not display to save space) a player's pitching AND hitting stats, where applicable, ie Babe Ruth.

Reason
I want to see how Babe Ruth did as a pitcher, or one of many regular pitchers as a hitter (ie Zambrano).

Priority
Medium High

Hazza · 07-03-2007, 05:33 AM

Suggestion

Show and update your W/L/GB in the "simple" simming screen (not the leaderboards) while simming games, as opposed to when you are done simming that "batch."

Reason
So you can sim faster, but still know how your ball club is going.

Priority
Low

injury log · 07-03-2007, 07:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hazza

Suggestion

Show and update your W/L/GB in the "simple" simming screen (not the leaderboards) while simming games, as opposed to when you are done simming that "batch."

Reason
So you can sim faster, but still know how your ball club is going.

Priority
Low

Releated to the above:

Suggestion

When your team is in first place, rather than display Games Behind in the top right corner of the screen, show Games Ahead. Visually, the display should look different from the Games Behind display (perhaps in a different colour), to avoid confusion.

Reason

More useful at a quick glance than merely seeing that you are "- GB".

Priority

Low

CBL-Commish · 07-03-2007, 10:41 AM

Just a small tweak to Kelric's suggestion:

Suggestion
Add the ability to switch to pitch-by-pitch mode or one-pitch mode on the Game Options screen before every game, including in games you're only watching.

Reason
Currently there is no option to watch a game in one-pitch mode.

Priority
Low. It would be great to have, but it's not all that important.

CBL-Commish · 07-03-2007, 10:44 AM

Suggestion

Order the league selection drop-down, either alphabetically or in decending order of league classification.

Reason

The menu is currently ordered only by whatever (often haphazard) order you created the leagues in your universe. I have the Majors first, but also the major league-level Continental league about 23rd. The Japanese Leagues are in there somewhere, but the Korean and Taiwan leagues are down below a bunch of indy leagues. There's no rhyme or reason to it, and no way to change the order.

Priority

Medium. Would be very helpful in large universes.

battists · 07-03-2007, 11:01 AM

Suggestion
There might be disagreement on this one, but:

Configure the icons at the bottom of the screen (pitching staff, transactions, etc.) so that they bring you to that screen for the currently selected team, instead of the major league team.

Reason
Right now, if you're setting up your AAA lineup, for example, and want to get to the pitching staff screen for AAA, you have to click on the pitcher icon, which takes you to the major league pitching rotation. You then have to select the team again from the Affiliated Teams menu.

It would be nice if it remembered which team you were "working on".

Priority
Medium

battists · 07-03-2007, 11:02 AM

Suggestion
Add a Roster icon to the tool icons

Reason
I don't know about everyone else, but I use the Roster more than almost any other page, but there's no quick icon to jump back to the roster. I've bookmarked it, but it seems like it would make sense to have an icon for it.

Priority
Low

07-02-2007, 10:15 AM	#1 (permalink)
battists Administrator Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 13,530	Suggestions: The Interface (GUI) This suggestion thread is designed to collect suggestions for the next version of OOTP, on the following topic: The Interface (GUI) Includes - Things related to the visual design of the game that would improve ease of use Excludes - Most anything related to the interface is fair game, but try to keep it focused on the interface itself, not the game engine. Instructions We will use this thread to collect suggestions on the above topic. Later on, we hope to present this information back to the community in a way that would allow you to vote and prioritize certain features. If you would like to participate, here are the rules! Only 1 suggestion per post. Suggestions must be on-topic for the thread. Constructive, non-inflammatory suggestions only. No comments on others' suggestions are necessary. That means, we don't need 15 posts in the thread saying "Great idea!" or "I agree!" Please don't link to other forum threads as your way of making suggestions. ("My suggestion can be found HERE.") If it's important enough to you that you want it in this thread, then it should be important enough to put it in the format I've asked for here! You can certainly post suggestions that conflict with or build upon earlier suggestions. Mockups are welcomed, they really help Markus see what you're interested in accomplishing. Format for Suggestions Suggestion What is your suggestion? Be as specific as possible; include the screen you're talking about, if applicable. Reason Why do you think this is important? If this is to correct what you perceive as a problem in OOTP 2007, what is that problem? Be as specific as possible. Priority In your opinion, how important is this suggestion? High (MUST have), Medium (should have), Low (nice to have)) Thanks for participating! Steve

07-02-2007, 10:55 AM	#2 (permalink)
CHCfan All Star Reserve Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Lincoln, NE Posts: 800	Suggestion Better calender screen. The Schedule tab for individual teams currently features a calander showing the scores of that month's game. My suggestion is that more info be displayed on this screen. The pitching match-up, for instance. After a game is simmed, the day's calender box would change from pitching matchup to include the game's score, HRs hit, and maybe the abbrev. boxscore (R H E for each team). Reason This would be ideal for people who like to sim day by day, but are really only concerned about their own team while doing so. As it currently is, we can go to the league's schedule page and quickplay our team's game... But then we need to scroll all the way back down to it to see how the game went, and we need to finish simming the rest of that day. Not a terrible inconvenience, but if your main sim-style is one day at a time, it can feel very tedious. Priority For my simming-style the priority is high. Otherwise, I think it would be a welcome change (more info generally = better) for even non day-by-day simmers, so overall probably a moderate priority. Thanks. __________________

07-02-2007, 02:17 PM	#3 (permalink)
Cras Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Chicago Posts: 2,574	Suggestion Make the history sections of the game look more like CatoBase and include the features and stats that CatoBase had and that have not made it into v2007. The screens that need to be fixed are the team history pages, the league history page, a team's history, the managerial leaderboards, include progressive leaderboards, make it easy to see when a player has won a championship, won an award, was an all-star, has been inducted to the HoF. Include the past schedule screen that CatoBase had. Add the division history screen, past salary, team leaderboards (Most Wins, Most Wins in a Year etc.), and postseason leaderboards. Reason This is a main reason why I now hesitate to call v 2007 a clear improvement to 6.51 w/ Cato. At the moment 2007 is better in terms of customising things, financial, contracts, but the history keeping is so inferior that it becomes a big problem for me. Priority High, the game needs to be an improvement over 6.51 w. Cato in all respects, not just a chosen few aspects. Otherwise there will always be those who will never let 6.51 die. __________________ The Greatest Chicago Baseball Clubs Ever 1.) 2005 Chicago White Sox 2.) 1919 Chicago White Sox 3.) 1917 Chicago White Sox 4.) 1959 Chicago White Sox 5.) 1994 Chicago White Sox www.one.org Last edited by battists : 07-02-2007 at 02:55 PM.

07-02-2007, 02:33 PM	#4 (permalink)
Kelric Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Greater Boston Area Posts: 2,512	Suggestion Add the ability to switch to pitch-by-pitch mode or one-pitch mode on the Game Options screen before every game. I'd suggest keeping it in the Game Controls screen as it currently is as well, so you can switch back and forth during the game. Reason I always play one-pitch mode and it is a minor annoyance that I can have the game remember how I want my play-by-play presented for every game, yet I have to use this button in game for all 162 games a year. Priority Low. It would be great to have, but it's not all that important. __________________ Co-Commish of the Overlords Baseball League. Owner of the Boston Red Sox, 656-422, .608% (1930-36). 1930-34, 1936, American League Eastern Division Champions. 1936 American League Champions and World Series victors. Yay! 90-65, .580% vs. the New York Yankees.

07-02-2007, 02:36 PM	#5 (permalink)
Ktulu All Star Starter Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: BC Posts: 1,300	Suggestion Currently, if you play "talent only", there are many screens which are designed to show ratings that will show no information when they could still show the potential ratings of players in place of the actual ratings. Some of these screens include the transactions screen and (most importantly IMO) the main pbp screen. Reason "Talent only" players still want to have the potential ratings available to them. It is a pain to have to click on each player to see his potential. Priority I would say this is a high priority for those who play with ratings off, especially online leagues. __________________ WHBL - Calgary Nighthawks All-Time Record: 1035-749 .580 Seasons over .500: 11 Seasons under .500: 0 Americas Cup Championships: 2002, 2003 North American League Pennants: 2001, 2002, 2003 NA West Division Titles: 2011 Wild Cards: 2001, 2002, 2003 "The ice is getting even more thinner, my friend!"

07-02-2007, 03:02 PM	#6 (permalink)
injury log All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: London Posts: 1,956	Suggestion Preserve the player link arrows when returning to a screen that can use them. This seems to have disappeared in '07, but existed in '06. To explain: If I go, say, to the Free Agents list in the Transactions pane and open a Free Agent player's profile, in the top right I will have link arrows to the previous and next free agent, allowing me to quickly skim through the pool of free agent player profiles. This is brilliant, and very useful. If I go, say, to offer a contract to a free agent (or indeed to any other screen), and then click the back arrow to the player profile, these arrows will have disappeared, replaced by a scouting drop-down menu. If this is a design decision, I can't think what the rationale might be. Reason Would save a lot of time when perusing the free agent list, making waiver claims, etc. Priority Since I haven't heard anyone else mention this on the forums, I suppose the priority is low, but it seems easy to implement. I'll post this to tech support in case it can make it into the next patch...

07-02-2007, 04:55 PM	#7 (permalink)
Burgandy Minors (Single A) Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 85	Suggestion I really, really want to see Player Personality ratings added to the View and Filter tabs. (Leadership, Intelligence, Work Ethic) Reason Obviously, to more quickly locate players personality traits match a need, and to filter out those with poor work ethic, etc. Priority HIGH, as I've seen this suggestion before and many seemed to agree. This would save loads and loads of time when shopping for free agents and drafting. Last edited by Burgandy : 07-02-2007 at 05:11 PM.

07-02-2007, 05:01 PM	#8 (permalink)
Geebob Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Mwaaakee, WI Posts: 128	Suggestion Team Strategies are a pain in the neck to set up, especially if you are running multiple leagues. It would be much easier to have a personal default which could either be copied into the new league, text edited, or set up as a template. Reason Unfortunately many players don't use the team strategies at all because they are tedious to set up. Adding multiple leagues or starting a new league, makes you question whether it is worth it or not. (It is, btw) Priority This is a GREAT feature of the game, which is some players don't bother to work through in detail. Either the screen must be made simpler or the process to imput the data in the first place must be improved. For me ... HIGH. __________________ DDBL: Langlade __________________________________________ Are deaths always avenged? Is there a deserving consequence for every act of evil? Maybe in television, but in life, I'm not sure. Mengele died on a beach in South America, P-a-u-l -W-o-l-f-o-w-i-t-z and Donald Rumsfeld still have paying jobs and, oh yeah, the Baltimore Orioles have to play baseball in the same division with the Red Sox and Yankees. So... *David Simon (creator of Homocide* and The Wire) on the HBO Message Board**

07-02-2007, 06:44 PM	#9 (permalink)
battists Administrator Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 13,530	Suggestion Add statistics, at least key ones, to the filter options. Reason No way currently to sort by "players hitting over .250", for example. Especially important for manual HOF selection and so forth. Priority High

07-02-2007, 11:17 PM	#10 (permalink)
battists Administrator Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 13,530	Suggestion Add the ability to copy depth charts. Reason Currently, you can copy lineups, but not depth charts. Since depth charts are often more complicated than lineups, it's frustrating to have to set them up between 2 and 4 additional times for each team. Priority High (if only because it seems like it should be relatively easy to accomplish)

07-02-2007, 11:47 PM	#11 (permalink)
Syd Thrift Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 2,553	Suggestion ------------ Add a quick ability to customize screen colors without having to create new skins. Reason ----------- I like the two skins the game comes with now, don't get me wrong, but when everything is more or less brown and green or else red, white, and blue, why not allow people to set, say, 3 or 4 different colors of their own a la Windows 3.11? Priority ----------- Low, but it would still be nice. __________________ Back to the ol' standby, the Thriftlon Reports! As geeky as they are boring! http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...78#post2163378 People love me! "You're a guileless, witless puke. I'd like to say that that makes us even, but, alas, nothing ever will. Thank Heavens!" - An anonymous fan!

07-03-2007, 12:07 AM	#12 (permalink)
battists Administrator Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 13,530	Suggestion When selecting a ballpark for a team, have the drop-down be alphabetized by park name. Reason Currently, the drop-down is pretty much in random order. For larger leagues, it's very frustrating to try to find the right park to assign to your team! Priority High (if only because it seems like it should be relatively easy to accomplish)

07-03-2007, 12:32 AM	#13 (permalink)
endgame Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 5,609	Suggestion On the Manager's Home Page, add a line that says Yesterday's Game with a brief recap of the result and score or show No Games Played. Reason Quick and easy reference; utilizes some dead space with useful info. Priority Low (nice to have)) __________________ "Try again. Fail again. Fail better." -- Samuel Beckett We live in the shadowlands. The sun is always shining somewhere else. __________________

07-03-2007, 02:13 AM	#14 (permalink)
JerryArr Minors (Single A) Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 66	Suggestion An option to display (or not display to save space) a player's pitching AND hitting stats, where applicable, ie Babe Ruth. Reason I want to see how Babe Ruth did as a pitcher, or one of many regular pitchers as a hitter (ie Zambrano). Priority Medium High

07-03-2007, 05:33 AM	#15 (permalink)
Hazza Minors (Double A) Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 122	Suggestion Show and update your W/L/GB in the "simple" simming screen (not the leaderboards) while simming games, as opposed to when you are done simming that "batch." Reason So you can sim faster, but still know how your ball club is going. Priority Low

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07-03-2007, 10:41 AM	#17 (permalink)
CBL-Commish All Star Starter Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Maryland Posts: 1,263	Just a small tweak to Kelric's suggestion: Suggestion Add the ability to switch to pitch-by-pitch mode or one-pitch mode on the Game Options screen before every game, including in games you're only watching. Reason Currently there is no option to watch a game in one-pitch mode. Priority Low. It would be great to have, but it's not all that important. __________________ For the best in O's news: Orioles' Hangout.com

07-03-2007, 10:44 AM	#18 (permalink)
CBL-Commish All Star Starter Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Maryland Posts: 1,263	Suggestion Order the league selection drop-down, either alphabetically or in decending order of league classification. Reason The menu is currently ordered only by whatever (often haphazard) order you created the leagues in your universe. I have the Majors first, but also the major league-level Continental league about 23rd. The Japanese Leagues are in there somewhere, but the Korean and Taiwan leagues are down below a bunch of indy leagues. There's no rhyme or reason to it, and no way to change the order. Priority Medium. Would be very helpful in large universes. __________________ For the best in O's news: Orioles' Hangout.com

07-03-2007, 11:01 AM	#19 (permalink)
battists Administrator Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 13,530	Suggestion There might be disagreement on this one, but: Configure the icons at the bottom of the screen (pitching staff, transactions, etc.) so that they bring you to that screen for the currently selected team, instead of the major league team. Reason Right now, if you're setting up your AAA lineup, for example, and want to get to the pitching staff screen for AAA, you have to click on the pitcher icon, which takes you to the major league pitching rotation. You then have to select the team again from the Affiliated Teams menu. It would be nice if it remembered which team you were "working on". Priority Medium

07-03-2007, 11:02 AM	#20 (permalink)
battists Administrator Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 13,530	Suggestion Add a Roster icon to the tool icons Reason I don't know about everyone else, but I use the Roster more than almost any other page, but there's no quick icon to jump back to the roster. I've bookmarked it, but it seems like it would make sense to have an icon for it. Priority Low