Questions From Prospective Buyer

marklaker · 04-02-2005, 12:19 PM

I'm considering buying this game, but before I do I have a couple of questions I would appreciate someone's help with. First off, I'm a devoted OOTP enthusiast who loves the idea of an evolving fictional universe. Having browsed the forum I know there are plenty of fictional fighters available but no career mode for this version. Is there a means to age your fighter to simulate career progression/decline? How cumbersome and effective is it? Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to answer my inquiries.

maxx · 04-02-2005, 03:21 PM

You can "age" a fighter by changing his Career Stage setting (Beginning, Pre-Prime, Prime, Post-Prime & End). It is very easy to do through a drop-down menu and it does have a significant effect on your fighter.

You have to make the change manually for each fighter, so you can't do a bulk Career Stage change. However, if (like in my universe) your fighters are all ageing at different times that's not really an issue.

Of course, it's a one-size-fits-all adjustment to the fighter's ratings. If you're using historical fighters it doesn't attempt to replicate the individual fighter's actual career arc. Instead, the program takes a fighter's Prime ratings and makes a standard adjustment downward from there depending on the Career Stage you choose.

I have been using the Career Stage setting to age my fighters since the game came out & have been pleased with the function.

meade95 · 04-02-2005, 04:54 PM

Doesn't the career stage (pre-prime, prime, post prime, end) only work if one is fighting out of the "retired" side of the game? -

Meaning when using "active fighters" who are labeled as "post-prime" ....this label of "post-prime".... doesn't effect their ratings additionally (to what their ratings currently show)....does it? - (meaning they fight using what their current ratings show.....there is no decline "tweak" added to those ratings.....correct?) -

That is what my take on this was -

That if one wanted to use the career stage you had to set your universe to fight out of the "retired" stage not the "active" stage -

maxx · 04-02-2005, 06:14 PM

Yeah, your fighters have to be set to Retired and Prime for the career stage function to work properly. If you're creating a universe of entirely fictional fighters it's no problem b/c you set them at Retired/Prime to begin with [Marklaker: "retired" doesn't mean the fighter will be retired within your universe, it's just a designation the game uses to show whether a real-life fighter is currently active or retired in the real world].

Using the active "real" fighters in the game creates the much discussed issue of having to retire all of them and adjust any non-Primes to Prime. The game provides an easy -- although historically very inaccurate -- way to do this on a global basis. Otherwise, you have to make the Prime adjustment by hand.

marklaker · 04-02-2005, 09:27 PM

Thanks so much for your assistance. Let me make sure I have it right....when I import the fictional fighters I set them all to retired + whatever stage I want them to be in at that moment (i.e., prime, post prime, etc.). Correct?

Thansk again, Maxx!

javier_83 · 04-03-2005, 12:01 AM

yes the best aprt is that in the options section you can put all the figthers on retired

maxx · 04-03-2005, 01:20 AM

If you're creating fictional fighters -- or importing them from elsewhere -- you start by having their "Era" set to Retired and their "Career Stage" set to Prime. By designating the Era as Retired, the game automatically adds a second category under the Career Stage called "Default to Use." The Default to Use category has a drop-down menu you use to designate the actual career stage the game will use for the fighter when running a sim.

If you plan on using the fighters that come with the game, they come in 2 categories. First, there are fighters that in real life are retired. In the game, they're already set to Retired/Prime. All you need to do is adjust the Default to Use category. Second, there are fighters that in real life are active. For those, you have to retire them all and -- for any fighters who are not currently in their prime -- adjust the ratings to Prime. It's this latter adjustment that causes the most headaches. The game will do it for you with the simple click of a button or two, but the the results are not historically accurate at all. To do it all by hand, though, would be quite a task (personally, I use the game's function and readjust some of the most egregious ratings because -- for my universe -- I like using real fighters but ease of use and functionality takes priority over historical accuracy).

So, when running an ageing universe using Career Stages as the ageing mechanism, your Era is always set to Retired, your Career Stage is always set to Prime, and your Default to Use is manually adjusted to reflect the fighter's current level (beginning, pre-prime, etc.).

To get a feel for how all this works, you might try downloading the demo.

Good luck.

mh2365 · 04-03-2005, 02:56 AM

Well this is something I did not know. I thought if they were set at active then the Career stage still mattered in the fight. If it doesn't then that definately effects my universe as I set the fighters currently being used to active.

maxx · 04-03-2005, 04:59 AM

If the fighter is set as Active, the game will use the actual ratings you see on the rating screen when simming the fight. It will not make any adjustment regardless of how you designate career stage.

For example, if you pit Active/Prime Floyd Mayweather against Arturo Gatti then Mayweather will win approximately 62% of the time. Keep Mayweather Active but change his Career Stage to End and he still wins about 62% of the time. No change. This is because the game does not apply its Career Stage calculation to Active fighters and instead assumes that the actual values on the ratings page reflect the fighter's current career stage abilities.

Retire Mayweather and switch him to End, though, and Gatti wins about 95% of the time. Huge turnaround. Here, the game assumes that the values on the ratings page represent the fighter at his Prime and so it must adjust those ratings to reflect the different career stages you choose. In this case, Mayweather becomes a human punching bag.

So, if you're going to age fighters based on Career Stage, it only works if the Active fighters are switched to Retired and their ratings are adjusted to Prime.

04-02-2005, 12:19 PM	#1 (permalink)
marklaker Minors (Single A) Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Cheyenne, WY Posts: 82	Questions From Prospective Buyer I'm considering buying this game, but before I do I have a couple of questions I would appreciate someone's help with. First off, I'm a devoted OOTP enthusiast who loves the idea of an evolving fictional universe. Having browsed the forum I know there are plenty of fictional fighters available but no career mode for this version. Is there a means to age your fighter to simulate career progression/decline? How cumbersome and effective is it? Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to answer my inquiries.

04-02-2005, 04:54 PM	#3 (permalink)
meade95 All Star Starter Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 1,784	Doesn't the career stage (pre-prime, prime, post prime, end) only work if one is fighting out of the "retired" side of the game? - Meaning when using "active fighters" who are labeled as "post-prime" ....this label of "post-prime".... doesn't effect their ratings additionally (to what their ratings currently show)....does it? - (meaning they fight using what their current ratings show.....there is no decline "tweak" added to those ratings.....correct?) - That is what my take on this was - That if one wanted to use the career stage you had to set your universe to fight out of the "retired" stage not the "active" stage - Last edited by meade95 : 04-02-2005 at 04:58 PM.

04-02-2005, 06:14 PM	#4 (permalink)
maxx All Star Reserve Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 711	Yeah, your fighters have to be set to Retired and Prime for the career stage function to work properly. If you're creating a universe of entirely fictional fighters it's no problem b/c you set them at Retired/Prime to begin with [Marklaker: "retired" doesn't mean the fighter will be retired within your universe, it's just a designation the game uses to show whether a real-life fighter is currently active or retired in the real world]. Using the active "real" fighters in the game creates the much discussed issue of having to retire all of them and adjust any non-Primes to Prime. The game provides an easy -- although historically very inaccurate -- way to do this on a global basis. Otherwise, you have to make the Prime adjustment by hand. Last edited by maxx : 04-02-2005 at 06:16 PM.

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04-02-2005, 03:21 PM	#2 (permalink)
maxx All Star Reserve Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 711	You can "age" a fighter by changing his Career Stage setting (Beginning, Pre-Prime, Prime, Post-Prime & End). It is very easy to do through a drop-down menu and it does have a significant effect on your fighter. You have to make the change manually for each fighter, so you can't do a bulk Career Stage change. However, if (like in my universe) your fighters are all ageing at different times that's not really an issue. Of course, it's a one-size-fits-all adjustment to the fighter's ratings. If you're using historical fighters it doesn't attempt to replicate the individual fighter's actual career arc. Instead, the program takes a fighter's Prime ratings and makes a standard adjustment downward from there depending on the Career Stage you choose. I have been using the Career Stage setting to age my fighters since the game came out & have been pleased with the function.

04-02-2005, 09:27 PM	#5 (permalink)
marklaker Minors (Single A) Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Cheyenne, WY Posts: 82	Thanks so much for your assistance. Let me make sure I have it right....when I import the fictional fighters I set them all to retired + whatever stage I want them to be in at that moment (i.e., prime, post prime, etc.). Correct? Thansk again, Maxx!

04-03-2005, 12:01 AM	#6 (permalink)
javier_83 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 2,369	yes the best aprt is that in the options section you can put all the figthers on retired

04-03-2005, 01:20 AM	#7 (permalink)
maxx All Star Reserve Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 711	If you're creating fictional fighters -- or importing them from elsewhere -- you start by having their "Era" set to Retired and their "Career Stage" set to Prime. By designating the Era as Retired, the game automatically adds a second category under the Career Stage called "Default to Use." The Default to Use category has a drop-down menu you use to designate the actual career stage the game will use for the fighter when running a sim. If you plan on using the fighters that come with the game, they come in 2 categories. First, there are fighters that in real life are retired. In the game, they're already set to Retired/Prime. All you need to do is adjust the Default to Use category. Second, there are fighters that in real life are active. For those, you have to retire them all and -- for any fighters who are not currently in their prime -- adjust the ratings to Prime. It's this latter adjustment that causes the most headaches. The game will do it for you with the simple click of a button or two, but the the results are not historically accurate at all. To do it all by hand, though, would be quite a task (personally, I use the game's function and readjust some of the most egregious ratings because -- for my universe -- I like using real fighters but ease of use and functionality takes priority over historical accuracy). So, when running an ageing universe using Career Stages as the ageing mechanism, your Era is always set to Retired, your Career Stage is always set to Prime, and your Default to Use is manually adjusted to reflect the fighter's current level (beginning, pre-prime, etc.). To get a feel for how all this works, you might try downloading the demo. Good luck.

04-03-2005, 02:56 AM	#8 (permalink)
mh2365 Banned Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: louisville Posts: 14,963 Warnings: 2	Well this is something I did not know. I thought if they were set at active then the Career stage still mattered in the fight. If it doesn't then that definately effects my universe as I set the fighters currently being used to active.

04-03-2005, 04:59 AM	#9 (permalink)
maxx All Star Reserve Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 711	If the fighter is set as Active, the game will use the actual ratings you see on the rating screen when simming the fight. It will not make any adjustment regardless of how you designate career stage. For example, if you pit Active/Prime Floyd Mayweather against Arturo Gatti then Mayweather will win approximately 62% of the time. Keep Mayweather Active but change his Career Stage to End and he still wins about 62% of the time. No change. This is because the game does not apply its Career Stage calculation to Active fighters and instead assumes that the actual values on the ratings page reflect the fighter's current career stage abilities. Retire Mayweather and switch him to End, though, and Gatti wins about 95% of the time. Huge turnaround. Here, the game assumes that the values on the ratings page represent the fighter at his Prime and so it must adjust those ratings to reflect the different career stages you choose. In this case, Mayweather becomes a human punching bag. So, if you're going to age fighters based on Career Stage, it only works if the Active fighters are switched to Retired and their ratings are adjusted to Prime.