OOTP 13

[Exodor]

OOTP13 is now available for pre-order

And it sure looks pretty

The usage tracker of OOTP 12 showed us that contract info is the 2nd most viewed section in the player screen (trailing the profile). So we thought we'd add that info to the profile to save you some clicks.

Oh, God, thank you Markus. I don't know how many times I bring up player just to check out their contract.

As a solo player this is probably the most interesting new feature:

Interactive Storylines

OOTP 13 takes the storylines introduced by OOTP 12 to the next level with a layer of interactivity that brings you even closer to the general manager's office.

Here's an example: Your team is mired in a bad slump, and your star player takes his grievances to the media. Do you fine him to set an example, with the possibility he could become even more upset and see his morale decline? Do you ignore the incident and risk losing the respect of other team members? Do you take the drastic step of labeling the player a cancer and releasing him or arranging a hasty trade?

The decisions you make influence the way storylines develop. No two are ever alike, and they have wide-ranging effects on injuries, fan interest, team chemistry, player morale, player ratings, player potential, owner attitudes, and much more.

This system is optional, so you can turn it off if you want. We imagine there are many big league managers who would love to do that in real life.

[Sudy Nym]

But I just bought the last one and only logged like three hours in it.

And darn it, I forgot to submit my grand ideas in the suggestion forum during the early development period, again.

[Baroquen]

But I just bought the last one and only logged like three hours in it. .

This is about how I feel about it. I love/loved the game. The new feature(s) sound cool. I don't mind supporting Markus by buying versions of the game. But I barely touched OOTP12. In fact, I'm not sure I've even spent an hour or two with it yet. As nice as the improvements look/sound, I'm not sure I'd get my money's worth out of it.

/Finding my seat on the fence....

[Sudy Nym]

Part of the trouble is last year's late release, so it won't have been a full 12 months by the time it's available. And the pre-order discount isn't as sweet as it used to be. Whether I pick it up will probably depend on whether we get the new OO league off the ground, finally. I know I'd still find online leagues addictive, but I don't have the patience to hop in a random one and get to know a whole new set of GMs these days.

[Kelric]

We'll get the OOTP12 league going. I figure we'll keep the existing threads going until the end of the month in case anyone wants to jump and and vote, then just start new ones with people interested in the new informal league.

As for OOTP13, I like all of the cosmetic changes I see except for the icon bar being on the side. Why that change? Almost every software program I know of has their icon / menu bars on the top and/or bottom. Why move to the side?

[Sudy Nym]

I kind of have to wonder if after twelve versions of the game, some things are getting changed just for the sake of change. As long as they're minor things not stealing development time from important features, that's fine. But honestly I miss the days of the 6.5 and earlier when the interface fit like a glove and never changed much.

[dbemont]

Pre-order placed.

[Exodor]

We have a release date!

If you pre-ordered OOTP 13, you'll receive it three days early, as promised, on April 6. Everyone else will be able to buy it on April 9.

iOOTP 2012, the latest version of our iOS game (runs on iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad), will hit Apple's App Store on April 5.

I've already pre-ordered OOTP13 and I'll pick up the new iOOTP as soon as it's on the app store.

[MindToyGames]

I pre-ordered (sort of reluctantly) and ended up winning one of the $100 Amazon gift cards given away for pre-order people. Yeehaw! (And I never win that kind of stuff)

[Kelric]

Randomized historical database? Finally! I'll buy it just for this feature now.

[Exodor]

Randomized historical database? Finally! I'll buy it just for this feature now.

Yeah I just saw that in today's Road to Release.

This will be my first new league in years - my current was started with OOTP8.5 ( I think. It's been so long I dont't remember!)

[Mr Bismarck]

Randomized historical database? Finally! I'll buy it just for this feature now.

Can you explain a bit more about what that means?

I'm English and it's baseball, so explain it like I'm five.

[Hrnac]

Randomized historical database? Finally! I'll buy it just for this feature now.

Can you explain a bit more about what that means?

I'm English and it's baseball, so explain it like I'm five.

This means that historical players will debut randomly in a given league. You could have Ty Cobb appearing one year and Babe Ruth the next. It's a fun feature for those who want a different historical experience.

-Hrnac

[Mr Bismarck]

Ah thanks - that does sound cool if you're someone with a good knowledge of baseball history.

I haven't bought a version of this since OOTPIX - I'm tempted here though. How is minor league management now? It seemed a bit shaky in the version I had, like it was put in as an option without being heavily playtested.

[Kelric]

Ah thanks - that does sound cool if you're someone with a good knowledge of baseball history.

I haven't bought a version of this since OOTPIX - I'm tempted here though. How is minor league management now? It seemed a bit shaky in the version I had, like it was put in as an option without being heavily playtested.

No idea. I've never played the game as a minor league manager. I always take the role of a GM (who sometimes miraculously becomes the manager for playoff games).

[Exodor]

OOTP13 is now available to pre-order customers!

Downloading now - and backing up my long-running league before I transfer it over.

[Exodor]

Found my first awesome bit.

On the player history screen there are now tabs that let you look at specific types of history. You can see just injuries, just how their ratings have changed over time or just their contract/ transaction info.




one of the things I like to do in my leagues is shortlist a player whenever I trade or release him and then check up on him years later. Previously it was a pain to scroll through the player history to find the transaction where I dumped him. Now I can filter and find it quickly.

Awesome. Heck, that's worth $30 to me right there. And I haven't even played with the random debut database thing yet.

[Exodor]

This random db feature is so much fun.

Created new league and populated it with random players then held the inaugural draft.

The first player chosen? Dan Brouthers

#2? Mickey Mantle
#3 Sandy Koufax
#4 JR Richard
#5 Rube Waddell
#6 Noodles Hahn

I took Chief Bender #7 overall.

All of them playing in a 2011 league.

I passed on Lou Gehrig because he's already 37 years old.

[Kelric]

Never pre-ordered. I'll get it soon. I hope.

[Baroquen]

The random DB feature is one I'll probably enjoy eventually. And hopefully I'll like some of the UI changes, as I there are some quirks that could use some sprucing up. But can't justify dropping full price on this right now. I've got every version since before the SI purchase days, and OOTP12 works just as well for me at the moment. Maybe I'll get it on a sale, or go with a "Madden plan" and get it every other year. Looking forward to hearing impressions though.

[Octavious]

I think football manager killed this series for me. Being able to see the games play out is so big for me. If they could wrap micro league baseball into this game it would be perfect. Sadly I don't see that ever happening.

[Jaddison]

I started a scrambled DB historical league and began as AAA manager. Interesting seeing the various players all over the place.....they just shipped Darin Erstad down to me as a fading 33 year old outfielder......dude is none too happy about it either

[Hrnac]

I think football manager killed this series for me. Being able to see the games play out is so big for me. If they could wrap micro league baseball into this game it would be perfect. Sadly I don't see that ever happening.

You can see the games play out. It's called playing them. Remember that baseball is not a fluid sport like soccer so playing out the games is a rather fun experience. Combine that with the outstanding PbP and sound effects and one can create a pretty fun baseball experience. In the end though, you gotta do whatever floats your boat.

-Hrnac

[Octavious]

The way it plays out isn't to my liking is the problem. Well I haven't tried it in a few versions so maybe it's a bit better. I'd just love love love if it played liked micro league and you saw the fielders running around and stuff.

[Jaddison]

you do see the fielders "chase" balls. You can do pitch by pitch including seeing where the pitch went and velocity. You can control base runners. If you want something like an xbox or Playstation baseball game this won't do it.

[baelthazar]

Ok... So I'm trying to start a game and when I finally got into it I found myself overwhelmed. I think it may be that I have too much to handle with the minor leagues. Anyone have any suggestions for how I should set up a decent learning game? I was thinking a one league game, with 16 teams in two divisions. I do want some future players, so should I have at least one minor league (or does the game simulate the appearance of new players in their absence)?

Anyway, I'm most interested in a fictional league where I can get all the things I can do down before moving on to something more complex.

[Hrnac]

Ok... So I'm trying to start a game and when I finally got into it I found myself overwhelmed. I think it may be that I have too much to handle with the minor leagues. Anyone have any suggestions for how I should set up a decent learning game? I was thinking a one league game, with 16 teams in two divisions. I do want some future players, so should I have at least one minor league (or does the game simulate the appearance of new players in their absence)?

Anyway, I'm most interested in a fictional league where I can get all the things I can do down before moving on to something more complex.

To simplify things I would recommend either using 1 or 2 levels of minors or just use the reserve roster. I like the reserve roster myself since it allows me to focus on the main league without having to worry about overseeing tons of minor league stuff. You can move players to and from the reserve roster as needed and I just pretend that they play their games and stuff in the background.

You still have a draft with the reserve roster, and with a fixed number of players, there is a bit of roster management that will need to be done as well.

-Hrnac

[Exodor]

If you go into your manager options you can set it to manage the minor leagues for you. You can have it set lineups and handle minor league promotions/demotions. It won't release anyone or promote them to the majors for you but it will handle all the tedious aspects of MiLB management.

[baelthazar]

If you go into your manager options you can set it to manage the minor leagues for you. You can have it set lineups and handle minor league promotions/demotions. It won't release anyone or promote them to the majors for you but it will handle all the tedious aspects of MiLB management.

That is probably what I wanted. I may set it to two tiers of minor (or maybe just one) and manage the minors for me. I really didn't need to be General Manager, just team manager.

[baelthazar]

OK, one more question. I'm having trouble setting up a league that uses historical current players but allows me to draft (i.e. playing a Fantasy baseball league style)? I would even love it more if I could limit to only the National League.

[Exodor]

OK, one more question. I'm having trouble setting up a league that uses historical current players but allows me to draft (i.e. playing a Fantasy baseball league style)? I would even love it more if I could limit to only the National League.

Once you've setup the league but before you do anything else go to League Setup and at the bottom of the screen go to Functions.

You should see an option that says "release all players and schedule inaugural draft"

I used that when setting up my random debut league. When the league was first setup it assigned players to teams - I dumped them all into a pool and ran my draft.

[The Meal]

I can haz moar impressions, plz?

[dedewhale]

I bought game today for first time in 2 years. Navigation and UI are terrible so far. No idea how to get to certain screens and buttons seem to be all over and randomly placed. Maybe it will get easier so far super unhappy.

[Jaddison]

I can tell you my triple A career is a bumpy ride before the major league opening day as they continually parade people up and down and the fading major leaguers are not a happy lot.

The interface is pretty good...after poking around I can find most things...I do wish there was a defensive screen that let me see positions and their backups

[Exodor]

I can tell you my triple A career is a bumpy ride before the major league opening day as they continually parade people up and down and the fading major leaguers are not a happy lot.

The interface is pretty good...after poking around I can find most things...I do wish there was a defensive screen that let me see positions and their backups

Closest thing I know of is the depth chart screen but it shows the lineup, not th defensive positions.

[Kelric]

I can tell you my triple A career is a bumpy ride before the major league opening day as they continually parade people up and down and the fading major leaguers are not a happy lot.

The interface is pretty good...after poking around I can find most things...I do wish there was a defensive screen that let me see positions and their backups

Closest thing I know of is the depth chart screen but it shows the lineup, not th defensive positions.

Go to the set your lineup screen and just filter by position.

[dedewhale]

three questions.

1. how do I return to the main splash screen with load new game/ continue game/ addon download link? I cant find it without exiting the game and reopening it.
2. how do I go back to a screen without hitting the back arrow? example: doing an initial draft and I select a player and then I read three or hour screens and want to get back to the player list. Is the only way hitting back 4 times instead of a return to main screen?
3.Under league setting...there is a checkbox for "Use complete scouting"...the options are then "Low through 100% accurate? I want some scouting element, is there a recommended setting with Coaching Off?

[Sarkus]

I love these type of games but for years played a competitor exclusively and only last year decided to give OOTP a try, via the free OOTP 8 version. Since a new version is now out I'm thinking its time to pick up the lastest version.

But, I need to get a better idea of what the new version adds, because the reason I never bought OOTP12 was that OOTP8 seemed so comprehensive. And for the most part I don't play with historical players or leagues so the latest rosters aren't a big thing. Instead I enjoy creating my own leagues with fictional players. And I'm not a manager, preferring to play this type of game purely as a GM.

So what does OOTP13 give me that OOTP8 does not in that regard? Have they ever given you the option of hiring managers and staff beyond the scouts that were in OOTP8? Are there restrictions on league creation that might limit my options (though OOTP8 seemed pretty wide open in that regard)?, etc.

[dedewhale]

finally got comfy with the controls and got a fictional league going (still not a fan of the interface) and began simming 1 day at a time for 5 seasons. Im season 5 I finally got the World Series and was so immersed and having super amounts of fun.

So what happens...the game crashes during the sim of the first WS game. Since I was so into things I had not saved all year and lost everything for season 5. The game never crashed before this. The only restore point is Jan 1 at the beginning of the season. I am so upset that this happened....I don't know if I can pick it back up for awhile.

I had 1 player that I drafted turn into a super star in season 5, set a new league record for RBI's and home-runs...I also made numerous trades getting rid of bad contracts, all lost. SOOOOO SAD

[WPD]

Not that this helps you recover your lost season, but you should be able to change the auto-save to do it more than once a year.