Suggestions: Trading

[battists]

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

Trading

Includes
- Things that would make trading more intuitive or more realistic, in any style of league

Excludes
- Probably don't need suggestions like "improve trade AI"

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!

1. Only 1 suggestion per post.
2. Suggestions must be on-topic for the thread.
3. Constructive, non-inflammatory suggestions only.
4. No comments on others' suggestions are necessary. That means, we don't need 15 posts in the thread saying "Great idea!" or "I agree!"
5. 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!
6. You can certainly post suggestions that conflict with or build upon earlier suggestions.
7. 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))


Handy Cut-and-Paste Suggestion Form:

Suggestion


Reason


Priority


Thanks for participating!

Steve

[battists]

Suggestion
Improved draft pick trading

-Allow tracking and trading of draft picks up to 5 years in the future.
-Allow re-trading of picks
-Make it clear when trading picks what # in the round the pick is. During the year, this would be an estimate based on current standings. After the season, this would be actual. For example, "3rd round pick (#8 in the round)" or "3rd round pick (#54 overall, projected).

Reason
Greater flexibility around draft pick trading. Vastly important for online leagues.

Priority
High

[injury log]

Suggestion

Allow package deals when Shopping a player, i.e. allow the OOTP manager to offer a player plus cash, or multiple players simultaneously, when Shopping Players.

Reason

I can appreciate that this might be difficult to implement fully; ideally the AI teams could also respond with packages, which could get complicated. I think it should at least be possible to offer cash along with a player when Shopping; it can be very difficult to get a response when shopping a high-salaried player even when willing to offer to pay the player's contract. Adding flexibility to Shop Player would make the function more useful.

Priority

Medium.

[Muzamba]

[Muzamba]

(See image above)

Suggestion
An advanced trading block on the trade screen. It would include a space to drag-and-drop players who are either being actively shopped or whom the organization is merely listening to offers for. (Which category a player is placed in would determine how many offers are received and how angry the player might become for being shopped around.) It would also include a list of players who are currently demanding a trade, as well as which players are currently untradeable to the selected trade partner due to no-trade clauses and 10/5 status, and a place to display untouchable players.

Reason
Having all this information easily visible on the trade screen would simplify the process of making trades. Differentiating between players who are being actively shopped vs. those whom a team is open to offers for would add a strategic element to constructing trade offers and make it easier to know how serious a potential trade partner is about moving a player.

Priority
MEDIUM. Since this information already exists within the game, albeit scattered in different places, I can't justify giving it the highest priority. I still think it would be a very handy addition to the trade screen.

[Muzamba]

(See image above)

Suggestion
A Team Needs table (center of screen) that breaks down not only which positions a team has a need at, but how much of a need they have, and whether the need is for starters, reserves, and/or minor leaguers. (In the above mock-up, a green box means the team is set, yellow means there is room for improvement, and red means they are in dire need. As you can see, a team can have different levels of needs for starters than they do for bench players or minor leaguers.)

Reason
The way the game currently lists these needs - a text description in the Trade Summary box - is cumbersome and makes the information difficult to visualize. A color-coded table would provide a clear, concise overview. Clarifying the need for either starters, reserves, and/or minor leaguers and how much of a need there is for each would further simplify the trading process.

Priority
Despite the fact that this information is already displayed in OOTP '07, it is so irksome that I feel this is a HIGH need. Plus, having the added Starters/Reserves/Minors component makes it even more important.

[Muzamba]

(See image above)

Suggestion
Miscellaneous trade screen additions. This includes the ability to add a "Player to be Named Later" into a trade. (AI could perhaps offer a list of 5 players they would accept in return at the end of the season.) Also, a Submit button, a Counter Offer button, a Save button, and a Clear button.

Reason
The PTBNL would give an extra option to add to a trade and since it's a part of the real game, it should be in OOTP. The Submit button would allow you the option (depending on game settings) to see an opposing team's comments prior to actually submitting a proposal. The Counter Offer button would solicit a counter-proposal from the other GM. The Save button would allow you to keep the a constructed trade in place while switching from team to team and to let you exit the trade screen without having to rebuild your trade once you return. Conversely, the Clear button would clear the proposal.

Priority
Practically speaking, the PTBNL is LOW, since it probably wouldn't dramatically alter the outcome of most trades and would rarely be used. (However, as mentioned, it is part of baseball and making OOTP accurately reflect the rules and business of beseball should be of the utmost importance.) The buttons are more a matter of convenience than anything, so I'd rate them LOW as well. (Actually, I don't recall if the Counter Offer function is still in OOTP '07. If it isn't, bringing it back is a HIGH priority.)

[injury log]

Suggestion

Grant amateur draftees no-trade clauses for their first season, or for the first 12 months after they sign their first contract. This should be made optional in the Game Setup amateur draft options, as I imagine some would not want to use it.

Reason

In real life, amateur draftees cannot be traded within 12 months of signing their first contract. I'd prefer if this were modeled a bit more accurately in OOTP.

Priority

Medium.

[battists]

Suggestion
Trade filters.

Allow GMs to configure trade filters, very much like the filters used on the data screens. Basically, a GM could configure a list like this:

players under 26 years of age
can play 2B, SS, 3B
total contract value under $3 million

These filters would be used to create a list of things you are looking for. You could create multiple trade filters.

For example, in addition to the above filter, you might be looking for a veteran lefty out of the pen for the stretch run:

role = MR
throws = L
league level = MLB
stuff, control, movement >= 10 (out of 20)

Or some such.

In addition, there would be one additional checkbox on the screen, saying "Allow offers that don't meet these criteria?"

So, basically, you can define exactly what you're interested in. If you don't check the checkbox, the AI will NEVER offer you trades that don't match your criteria, so you can filter out all of the useless trade offers, and even in online leagues, GMs can see through the game what you are looking for.

Reason
Very difficult to get the AI to offer you trades that are actually interesting to you. This would help guide the AI and really, it would make the AI seem much smarter, too!

Priority
High

[redsoxford]

Suggestion

Allow players who have a no-trade clause accept a trade if they are happy to waive the clause.

Reason

This would allow the 10/5 rule to be built into the game if required (with obvious user preferences if they wanted 11/7 or something)

Priority

Medium-High

[CBL-Commish]

Suggestion

Have an option to allow only player-for-cash trades with other leagues and/or inside leagues.

Reason

This mimics real life transfers of players from indy or foreign leagues to MLB-affiliated teams (or vice versa). There are almost never player-for-player trades between Japan and MLB, or the Northern League and MLB, but players are essentially sold from one league to the other all the time.

Also, in leagues using rules similar to European soccer trades are rare. Even inside leagues selling players are far more common than trades.

Priority

Medium-high. This is one of the key stumbling blocks to getting indy/foreign leagues to interact with affiliated leagues in a realistic fashion.

[ctorg]

Originally Posted by CBL-Commish

Suggestion

Have an option to allow only player-for-cash trades with other leagues and/or inside leagues.

Reason

This mimics real life transfers of players from indy or foreign leagues to MLB-affiliated teams (or vice versa). There are almost never player-for-player trades between Japan and MLB, or the Northern League and MLB, but players are essentially sold from one league to the other all the time.

Also, in leagues using rules similar to European soccer trades are rare. Even inside leagues selling players are far more common than trades.

Priority

Medium-high. This is one of the key stumbling blocks to getting indy/foreign leagues to interact with affiliated leagues in a realistic fashion.

An addendum to this:
Assuming this is implemented, the AI should actually initiate and make these trades. In other words, it is not only something that should be allowed to happen. It is something that should happen, and with relatively high frequency.

[Raidergoo]

[quote=Muzamba;2244363]Before I add specific suggestions, I want to make sure this image is displaying correctly. So if one of the moderators could confirm, I'd appreciate it.


I can confirm it is not.

EDIT

It seems to have been fixed.

[Le Grande Orange]

Suggestion

Add the abililty to mimic some of the trading rules used in past years. For example, trades between the AL and NL were restricted. A player had to clear waivers inside his own league before he could be sent to the other league even before the trade deadline, and during the off-season as well. This meant relatively few players moved between the leagues.

Reason

It makes historical leagues more accurate and it gives fictional leagues more flexibilty in how they are set up. It also adds more challenge to the player; if you can't trade between your leagues easily, that obviously makes it harder to be a good GM.

Priority

High, in my opinion. I have a series of these sorts of "prior major league rules" suggestions, and since they add more historical accuracy as well as more variety to how fictional leagues can be set up, I'm a strong proponent of these suggestions. (Others will, most likely, disagree with my priority ranking and probably only rate them a medium.)

[Burgandy]

In addition to Battists suggestion about trade filters

Suggestion

A) Being able to filter who you "shop around" for, or what you will take for a player you're shopping, or alternately or in addition... B) Getting the list in a roster format that shows all scouted attributes, and the date scouted. Then you can just filter the proposals in that view.

Reason

Helps reduce your results from shopping around to only those offers you may take seriously. Eliminates the time taken in reviewing 50 different players that may be offered to you.

Priority

Medium.

[Burgandy]

Suggestion

Make it possible to shop around 2 or more players in one "proposal".

Reason

It would increase other struggling AI teams' chances of landing prospects that will help them build for the future when contending teams can shop groups of prospects for that one solid player at the trading deadline.

Priority

Low to medium, only since I can at least still use the "Make this happen now" button to make a 2-for-1 or 3-for-1 for a better player.

[Muzamba]

Suggestion
Implement the 10-5 Rule, so that any player with 10 years of major league experience and 5 years on the same team automatically receives a full no-trade clause. As mentioned earlier, this and all other NTCs should be revocable by the player if their mood changes.

Reason
All standard MLB rules and procedures should be in the game. In the OOTP context, it adds a strategic element to trading.

Priority
Super-Extremely HIGH!

[Muzamba]

Suggestion
Allow players to be granted partial and/or limited no-trade clauses. This could work in one of two ways, depending on how complex you want it to be. The simpler version would allow a player who accepts a Partial NTC to submit a list of teams he will (or will not) accept a trade to. The more advanced version would allow for either a Partial NTC, wherein a player could choose 5 or so teams he WILL accept a trade to, or a Limited NTC, wherein the player would choose 5 teams he will NOT accept a trade to. In either case, the listed teams should be determined in the same manner in which the player's free agency preferences would be chosen. As with all other NTCs, players should either drop their NTC, or incrementally lower their NTC (full to partial, partial to limited, limited to none) if their mood changes.

Reason
Mainly because it's a standard clause in real life players' contracts. Also, as a fictional league commissioner, it allows for more control over where your players move. (All NTCs should be fully editable!)

Priority
Super-Crazy Extremely HIGH!!! (This may very well be the one feature I personally am jonesing for the most.)

[Muzamba]

Suggestion
Make sure all no-trade clauses can be edited.

Reason
More control over the game.

Priority
HIGH-ish. Now that we have an Editor/Importer for '07, NTCs can finally be edited at will. Of course, there's no guarantee a new one will be created for '08. So this function really should just be built into the game itself.

[endgame]

Suggestion
Establish a basis to weight players on Shortlists for potential trades, whether it provokes the AI to make the player Untouchable or to offer the player up in a future trade. (Does the AI effectively use an unseen shortlist for evaluation and interest?) Make the AI 'aware' of the human-controlled team's shortlist. Allow room and range for varied GM perceptions of that level of interest.

Reason
AI's responsiveness appears more logical based on some knowledge of the human player's interests.

Priority
Medium