[Ben E Lou]

Alrighty, I'm going to do this similarly to the way I did the OOTP preview, just sort of "dynasty-style." Feel free to post questions/comments.


STARTUP
First off, the game can be started in any year from 1901-2005. Past seasons are compatible with the Lahman database. You can also use a custom roster set, created by yourself or other users. Then, when picking a team, the following options are available (as per the BM2K6 Help File):

NEW GAME DIALOG
The New Game Dialog lets you set all the parameters of your game of Baseball Mogul before you begin play:

Mogul Name: Type your name in this field. This is the name by which your accomplishments will be recorded in the Baseball Mogul Hall of Fame if you earn a place.

Team City: Choose the city of the team that you would like to play from among the list. Because New York and Chicago each have two teams, they are each listed twice. If you wish to play a New York or Chicago team, be sure you have selected the exact team you wish to play.

Team Name: This field contains the name of the team you are controlling. You can personalize your game by editing this name.

Difficulty: This controls the intelligence of your computer opponents during Baseball Mogul. On the lowest and highest difficulty levels, the game engine and financial model are also altered somewhat. On the 'Fan' level, you actually have an easier time being profitable than the computer-controlled opponents. But on the 'Mogul' level, the cards are stacked against you.

The levels of difficulty in Baseball Mogul are:

• Fan (Beginner)
• Coach (Intermediate)
• Manager (Difficult)
• Mogul (Very Difficult)

After you have selected your team and preferences, click the 'Play' button and Baseball Mogul will take you to the Standings Screen at the beginning of your first season. Your team is capitalized among the list of teams in your league.

Advanced New Game Options

There are three items advanced users can employ to provide variety in a new game of Baseball Mogul:

Shuffle Players
This randomly distributes all the players in the league. If you've gotten tired of starting with the standard team rosters, you may wish to choose this option and see how you do with a random selection of players to start with.

Equalize Cities
A team's success in Baseball Mogul depends largely on the resources of it's home city. Checking 'Equalize Cities' causes all cities to be given the same population and financial stats. This will put all teams on a level playing field as far as monetary resources. When running a league, you can combine this feature with a draft (using Roster File) or with Shuffle Players to create a more balanced game. Team financial stats are equalized only if you choose Equalize Cities AND Shuffle players.

Simulation Mode
Part of what makes Baseball Mogul enjoyable is the degree of unpredictability each time you play. One young player might develop into a superstar the first time you play, and be mediocre the next. Simulation Mode removes much of this randomness from Baseball Mogul. Players will mature and age along pretty much the same career path every time you play in Simulation Mode. This is useful if you wish to use Baseball Mogul as a tool to predict the outcome of a baseball season or a player's career. Or if you just prefer a more predictable version of the game.

Draft Players
Checking this box will initiate a Fantasy Draft at the start of your new game.

I don't see the option that I'd best want to start with: fictional players. Here's hoping that Clay will add a fictional universe creator before release. I'll definitely make that suggestion. With no fictional option, I decide to start with the 2005 Atlanta Braves. (Surprise, surprise)


In the next post, I'll take a look at the drop-down menus and see what's new there.