What should I buy?

thesurreallife · 02-06-2003, 06:47 PM

After years of playing Madden and Live and Hockey Franchise modes and rarely playing out a game a friend introduced me to a whole world of games. So I come here to ask the experts what one game should I buy. I tried the FOF demo. Is that the game to buy?
Where can I find more games? I am an amateur but am fascinated by this, but I dont have much money left to throw around. Are these games much better than the video games?

Thank you

Doug5984 · 02-06-2003, 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by thesurreallife
After years of playing Madden and Live and Hockey Franchise modes and rarely playing out a game a friend introduced me to a whole world of games. So I come here to ask the experts what one game should I buy. I tried the FOF demo. Is that the game to buy?
Where can I find more games? I am an amateur but am fascinated by this, but I dont have much money left to throw around. Are these games much better than the video games?

Thank you

It really depends what sport is your favorite....I would say the best text based games are:
Front Office Football 4
The College Years
Tournament Dreams College Basketball
Championship Manager (Soccer, I havn't played it but I think this is considered the best text based game out there)
Out Of The Park Baseball
PureSim Baseball
and East Side Hockey Manager (There is a free version out there, but it is kinda slow...and the creator of this game just teamed with the makers of Championship Manager and they are creating the super Hockey Game- EHM: FE...due out in a year but should be an amazing game).

My personal favorites are FOF4, and TCY.

bamcgee · 02-06-2003, 07:05 PM

Opinions are a dime a dozen as to the quality. Some of these choices are more in-depth and complicated than others.

I've found that FOF has always had a nice balance between stats, complexity, and playability. The interface really lags behind some of the competition though. Lots of clicking.

I never got into the College Years because I never got into the recruiting, a core aspect of the game. Taking that combined with the FOF interface and I jumped ship.

TDCB is decent - ok recruiting, but I find the games to be a bore.

Championship Manager is the best, very enjoyable text sim. Extremely immersive. And I knew nothing about soccer before picking it up - plus the new edition comes out in March I think. Very excited.

I'm not a stat junkie so I always enjoyed Baseball Mogul - it's very easy to play. Maybe too easy. OOTP is probably a better sim overall - depends on how much detail you want. Never played the others.

vex · 02-06-2003, 07:22 PM

I personally still favor TCY. (The College Years)

It's College Football -what I like
Has the recruiting aspect- which I love
And you can go through a season fairly fast

It's all according to your taste in sports and games.

McSweeny · 02-06-2003, 07:26 PM

CM is by far the best out there

FOF, TCY, OOTP and the rest are all a nice diversion and held my attention for good chunks of time. However, i've been playing CM forever and i don't think i'll be stopping ever. I truly am an addict

bbor · 02-06-2003, 07:36 PM

Welcome...to Text sim addicts...enjoy your stay

02-06-2003, 07:44 PM

Hello, my name is couriers and I'm a text sim addict.

thesurreallife · 02-06-2003, 10:45 PM

Thank you for the welcome. Is it OK to be a text sim addict?
Thank you for the help. I am not sure exactly what I am looking for in a game yet so be patient with me still. I love the stats in the games and would probably enjoy something that doesn't require me to think too much just yet. I am not much of a soccer fan so that would probably rule that out at the moment anyway. I have found a few online tonight but I am still pretty lost. My favorite sport is pro football, then basketball, then baseball.
Am I correct in assuming that FOF is only available via mail?
I dont think I want to wait?
Was that just a symptom of addiction by the way?

Swaggs · 02-06-2003, 11:31 PM

I would suggest FOF4 or OOTP4 if you are new to the genre.

FOF4, in my opinion, is the tightest sports sim around. TCY is great, too, but may be a little overwhelming to start off with. FOF4 is a great "gateway" game for new simmers.

OOTP4, is as good of a choice as FOF4, depending on your preference between baseball and football. OOTP4 also allows for multiplayer, online leagues, which offer up a challenge that single player games can not match.

McSweeny · 02-06-2003, 11:35 PM

don't rule out CM just because you are not a soccer fan. Many people around here knew nothing about soccer until they started playing CM. I myself had a passing knowledge of the game but by no means was a fan. Until I play CM. Took me a few shots to get the hang of it, but now i am totally hooked. I follow the EPL and my boys over at Nottingham Forest almost daily now. That's how good that game is

Go-Buckeyes · 02-06-2003, 11:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by couriers
Hello, my name is couriers and I'm a text sim addict.

And I'm "Go-Buckeyes" and when I grow up I wanna be just like "couriers"

Text sims are so much better...I mean, my daughters could bust my ass at any video game...just through superior dexterity..I want to know that my own mental input will affect the outcome of my game, almost totally...then again, I'm one who remembers Pac-Man being a bit of a mental challenge

Blackadar · 02-07-2003, 06:12 AM

FOF and OOTP are great games and wonderful ways to get addicted to text-based sports sims.

However, once you go to the complexity of CM, you'll see why that one is the king.

Bee · 02-07-2003, 06:18 AM

You may want to download a few other demo's and EHM to see if the genre is for you.

If you find yourself enjoying it, I'd suggest FOF4. While CM is the better game IMO, it takes more patience to get into if you're not a soccer fan.

Welcome to the board.

Ben E Lou · 02-07-2003, 06:20 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by McSweeny
don't rule out CM just because you are not a soccer fan. Many people around here knew nothing about soccer until they started playing CM. I myself had a passing knowledge of the game but by no means was a fan. Until I play CM. Took me a few shots to get the hang of it, but now i am totally hooked. I follow the EPL and my boys over at Nottingham Forest almost daily now. That's how good that game is

One warning, not EVERY non-soccer fan gets into this game. I bought CM, and it was obviously very deep and very well done, but ultimately, the game's the thing, and I found the actual games to be insignificant and meaningless to me, so it ruined my enjoyment of the game. The stats meant nothing to me.

If football is your main thing, I'd definitely give FOF4 a shot--and yes, the fact that you don't want to wait is a tell-tale sign of an impending addiction. Embrace it. Join us. Turn to the dark side. MUHAHAHAHAHA (rubs hands together while laughing maniacally...)

Bee · 02-07-2003, 06:33 AM

Just to add a little to SkyDog's post. A lot of non-soccer fans have also tried starting careers in CM several times before it became interesting to them. For non-soccer fans, I think it often takes several attempts to really get into the game and sometimes that doesn't even work. I'd definitely go with FOF4 if your favorite sport is pro football and you decide to the genre is for you.

Buzzbee · 02-07-2003, 06:35 AM

If you want to see what the games are like, I strongly suggest loading the demo's, where available. The demo for FOF4 will give you a taste of what to expect, but in my opinion doesn't give you the full flavor. The CM demo on the other hand will definitely give you enough meat to determine whether you will like the game.

I, like a lot of others on the board know diddly-squat about soccer, but found myself drawn to the game and even going to Mexican restaurants just so I could watch a little bit of a match.

However, if you're new to text sims, then you might initially stick with Football, since that is the sport you enjoy the most. From there, you might find that you enjoy it so much, you might want to branch out to OOTP or CM.

Enjoy, and we'll see you in re-hab. Oh, and if you're married, call the lawyer and get ready for the divorce proceedings.

Swaggs · 02-07-2003, 10:33 AM

Like SkyDog, I tried to get into CM and was impressed with all of the management options and the depth, but the game just did not interest me and I quickly found myself coming back to the warm comfort of FOF.

moriarty · 02-07-2003, 11:47 AM

Well, since we're being repetitive here...

Like Bee's post, I downloaded the CM demo and didn't really get into it. After constantly hearing great things about it, I gave it another shot (and downloaded Marc's free guide) and I've been hooked ever since.

And like McSweeney, I'm frequently off to the bars on Saturday mornings to watch the EPL.

But if you want something familiar, and simpler ... start out with FOF. That's how I got hooked on the whole sports text games and I think it has better stats (top x record holders, hall of fame, etc.) than CM.

Easy Mac · 02-07-2003, 11:57 AM

If you want to start out simple, probably baseball mogul, any dan ryazansky game (wohoman and wosoman).

The next level would be Fastbreak Basketballl or Jumpshot, if you like pro basketball.

If you want to delve right in, I'd say CM is by far the best. FOF and TCY are a close 2nd, but there is a lot of "tedious" micro-management. IT's a huge change from Madden and its kin. OOTP for multi-player baseball, though some beleive the single-player is lacking. Puresim, I've found, is a pretty good solo-baseball sim, but you need to have a beast of a computer to run it remotely fast.

thesurreallife · 02-07-2003, 01:27 PM

Thanks for the welcome.
Well I disregarded some more important things to try different demos today. I would say that is not a very good sign for my future. I tried FOF4. I agree. It doesn't really go far enough but I like what it has to offer. It definitely appears much more detailed than Madden.
I also played OOTP and CM. CM managed to confuse me. It may be too much for a newbie like me especially since I have limited soccer knowledge although I don' dislike the sport.
I will try some hockey and basketball. Right now OOTP is in the lead even though I am not much of a baseball person, but that is only because I want to play this weekend. How long does it take to get FOF? Any other games not mentioned I should be aware of?
I am amazed how much I have to choose from and what a difficult perhaps life changing decision I am about to make

Qwikshot · 02-07-2003, 01:51 PM

CM is great, you'll learn as you go along...it's by far the most in depth text sim out there...I played it couldn't understand, but I picked up on much, ran a few good teams...the new game should even be better to understand what is going on...

Neel · 02-07-2003, 04:51 PM

As a Madden player since 1992, and a new FOF junkie, I would ask this question...
Do you want a video game where everything centers around the graphics of the game itself, with little team management options and crazy stats arena style, or something closer to the real thing where your time invested is really management, and the game just tops it off.

I sold my copy of Madden 2003 on Ebay. It seems to be a series where the code writers are not really football fans, where FOF is created by someone who is.

Buzzbee · 02-07-2003, 04:55 PM

CM can certainly be daunting. It took me three tries to really get immersed in the game. Each time I tried the demo, I learned a little bit more. The thing that helped me the most was reading Radii's CM dynasty thread in the Dynasty Forum on this very board. I'm willing to bet that whatever game/games you decide on, the dynasties can go a long way in indoctrinating you to the game.

Also, in wanting to play this weekend, I can certainly understand that!! However, consider your decision carefully. Don't base it on one weekends play, but on what you hope will be MANY weekends playing.

Blackadar · 02-07-2003, 08:06 PM

CM has a HUGE learning curve since it's so complicated. But after you get in it, WOW!

thesurreallife · 02-08-2003, 07:46 PM

Ok
First I am not that worried about wasting my money for one game, but that is the reason why I am limiting my purchase to ONE game.
I tried the two basketball games and EHM. Well EHM did run slow so I didnt really have a lot of patience for it but I am sure I will go back to playing it soon.
I really liked both basketball games. I am not sure which one to choose so because of this I will probably just order OOTP tonight and then decide on ordering FOF or CM later on. But first I will check out PureSim too.
I am exhausted but its been a lot of fun

bosshogg23 · 02-08-2003, 07:58 PM

Puresim is alot of fun. Runs quite slow though.

Try downloading Puresim 1.09B. It lets you play for 7 days before ya have to buy it. Otherwise its the full version. Right now the Puresim 2003 demo only lets ya play a season(I believe).

illinifan999 · 02-08-2003, 09:13 PM

I am one of those soccer haters. I knew nothing about, it, and despised the fact that I was even trying to see how it played.

Now I still don't like soccer, but I will watch the Wold Cup. I still find it to be a bit boring. However, I love CM. The player personalities are great. If a player is getting injured a lot, you can send him for surgery or just let him keep getting injured. For help I'd say the dugout helped me alot.

thesurreallife · 02-09-2003, 01:29 PM

I was all set to buy OOTP and saw that a new one is coming out soon, so I held off, tried PureSim. Looks and plays great but it just didn't seem enough like Baseball to me. I guess because of no real players. It also was a little slow. I may need a new computer soon.
So after all of this I didnt buy anything. I will be playing the Hockey game and the seven day trial version of Jumpshot, while I wait for FOF. And yes I will give soccer another tryout too.
I see that some games have online leagues. Am I correct in saying that FOF doesnt allow for this?
Thanks guys

bosshogg23 · 02-09-2003, 01:35 PM

Correct, no online leagues for FOF.

In Puresim you can download the Lahman database and use real players. It adds something to the game.

02-06-2003, 07:36 PM	#6
bbor Pro Starter Join Date: May 2001 Location: toronto	Welcome...to Text sim addicts...enjoy your stay __________________ Pumpy Tudors Now that I've cracked and made that admission, I wonder if I'm only a couple of steps away from wanting to tongue-kiss Jaromir Jagr and give Bobby Clarke a blowjob.

02-06-2003, 11:31 PM	#9
Swaggs Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000	I would suggest FOF4 or OOTP4 if you are new to the genre. FOF4, in my opinion, is the tightest sports sim around. TCY is great, too, but may be a little overwhelming to start off with. FOF4 is a great "gateway" game for new simmers. OOTP4, is as good of a choice as FOF4, depending on your preference between baseball and football. OOTP4 also allows for multiplayer, online leagues, which offer up a challenge that single player games can not match. __________________ DOWN WITH HATTRICK!!! The RWBL Are you reading In The Bleachers?

02-07-2003, 06:35 AM	#16
Buzzbee College Starter Join Date: Jun 2002	If you want to see what the games are like, I strongly suggest loading the demo's, where available. The demo for FOF4 will give you a taste of what to expect, but in my opinion doesn't give you the full flavor. The CM demo on the other hand will definitely give you enough meat to determine whether you will like the game. I, like a lot of others on the board know diddly-squat about soccer, but found myself drawn to the game and even going to Mexican restaurants just so I could watch a little bit of a match. However, if you're new to text sims, then you might initially stick with Football, since that is the sport you enjoy the most. From there, you might find that you enjoy it so much, you might want to branch out to OOTP or CM. Enjoy, and we'll see you in re-hab. Oh, and if you're married, call the lawyer and get ready for the divorce proceedings. __________________ Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it. - Lou Holtz

02-07-2003, 10:33 AM	#17
Swaggs Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000	Like SkyDog, I tried to get into CM and was impressed with all of the management options and the depth, but the game just did not interest me and I quickly found myself coming back to the warm comfort of FOF. __________________ DOWN WITH HATTRICK!!! The RWBL Are you reading In The Bleachers?

02-07-2003, 01:51 PM	#21
Qwikshot Pro Starter Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: ...down the gravity well	CM is great, you'll learn as you go along...it's by far the most in depth text sim out there...I played it couldn't understand, but I picked up on much, ran a few good teams...the new game should even be better to understand what is going on... __________________ "General Woundwort's body was never found. It could be that he still lives his fierce life somewhere else, but from that day on, mother rabbits would tell their kittens that if they did not do as they were told, the General would get them. Such was Woundwort's monument, and perhaps it would not have displeased him." Watership Down, Richard Adams

02-06-2003, 07:05 PM	#3
bamcgee High School JV Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: San Francisco, CA	Opinions are a dime a dozen as to the quality. Some of these choices are more in-depth and complicated than others. I've found that FOF has always had a nice balance between stats, complexity, and playability. The interface really lags behind some of the competition though. Lots of clicking. I never got into the College Years because I never got into the recruiting, a core aspect of the game. Taking that combined with the FOF interface and I jumped ship. TDCB is decent - ok recruiting, but I find the games to be a bore. Championship Manager is the best, very enjoyable text sim. Extremely immersive. And I knew nothing about soccer before picking it up - plus the new edition comes out in March I think. Very excited. I'm not a stat junkie so I always enjoyed Baseball Mogul - it's very easy to play. Maybe too easy. OOTP is probably a better sim overall - depends on how much detail you want. Never played the others.

02-06-2003, 07:22 PM	#4
vex Grizzled Veteran Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Tulsa	I personally still favor TCY. (The College Years) It's College Football -what I like Has the recruiting aspect- which I love And you can go through a season fairly fast It's all according to your taste in sports and games.

02-06-2003, 07:26 PM	#5
McSweeny College Starter Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Somerville, MA	CM is by far the best out there FOF, TCY, OOTP and the rest are all a nice diversion and held my attention for good chunks of time. However, i've been playing CM forever and i don't think i'll be stopping ever. I truly am an addict

02-06-2003, 07:44 PM	#7
couriers	Hello, my name is couriers and I'm a text sim addict.

02-06-2003, 10:45 PM	#8
thesurreallife n00b Join Date: Feb 2003	Thank you for the welcome. Is it OK to be a text sim addict? Thank you for the help. I am not sure exactly what I am looking for in a game yet so be patient with me still. I love the stats in the games and would probably enjoy something that doesn't require me to think too much just yet. I am not much of a soccer fan so that would probably rule that out at the moment anyway. I have found a few online tonight but I am still pretty lost. My favorite sport is pro football, then basketball, then baseball. Am I correct in assuming that FOF is only available via mail? I dont think I want to wait? Was that just a symptom of addiction by the way?

02-06-2003, 11:35 PM	#10
McSweeny College Starter Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Somerville, MA	don't rule out CM just because you are not a soccer fan. Many people around here knew nothing about soccer until they started playing CM. I myself had a passing knowledge of the game but by no means was a fan. Until I play CM. Took me a few shots to get the hang of it, but now i am totally hooked. I follow the EPL and my boys over at Nottingham Forest almost daily now. That's how good that game is

02-07-2003, 06:12 AM	#12
Blackadar Retired Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Fantasyland	FOF and OOTP are great games and wonderful ways to get addicted to text-based sports sims. However, once you go to the complexity of CM, you'll see why that one is the king.

02-07-2003, 06:18 AM	#13
Bee Pro Starter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Fairfax, VA	You may want to download a few other demo's and EHM to see if the genre is for you. If you find yourself enjoying it, I'd suggest FOF4. While CM is the better game IMO, it takes more patience to get into if you're not a soccer fan. Welcome to the board.

02-07-2003, 06:33 AM	#15
Bee Pro Starter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Fairfax, VA	Just to add a little to SkyDog's post. A lot of non-soccer fans have also tried starting careers in CM several times before it became interesting to them. For non-soccer fans, I think it often takes several attempts to really get into the game and sometimes that doesn't even work. I'd definitely go with FOF4 if your favorite sport is pro football and you decide to the genre is for you.

02-07-2003, 11:47 AM	#18
moriarty College Starter Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: A negative place	Well, since we're being repetitive here... Like Bee's post, I downloaded the CM demo and didn't really get into it. After constantly hearing great things about it, I gave it another shot (and downloaded Marc's free guide) and I've been hooked ever since. And like McSweeney, I'm frequently off to the bars on Saturday mornings to watch the EPL. But if you want something familiar, and simpler ... start out with FOF. That's how I got hooked on the whole sports text games and I think it has better stats (top x record holders, hall of fame, etc.) than CM.

02-07-2003, 11:57 AM	#19
Easy Mac Registered User Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Here	If you want to start out simple, probably baseball mogul, any dan ryazansky game (wohoman and wosoman). The next level would be Fastbreak Basketballl or Jumpshot, if you like pro basketball. If you want to delve right in, I'd say CM is by far the best. FOF and TCY are a close 2nd, but there is a lot of "tedious" micro-management. IT's a huge change from Madden and its kin. OOTP for multi-player baseball, though some beleive the single-player is lacking. Puresim, I've found, is a pretty good solo-baseball sim, but you need to have a beast of a computer to run it remotely fast.

02-07-2003, 01:27 PM	#20
thesurreallife n00b Join Date: Feb 2003	Thanks for the welcome. Well I disregarded some more important things to try different demos today. I would say that is not a very good sign for my future. I tried FOF4. I agree. It doesn't really go far enough but I like what it has to offer. It definitely appears much more detailed than Madden. I also played OOTP and CM. CM managed to confuse me. It may be too much for a newbie like me especially since I have limited soccer knowledge although I don' dislike the sport. I will try some hockey and basketball. Right now OOTP is in the lead even though I am not much of a baseball person, but that is only because I want to play this weekend. How long does it take to get FOF? Any other games not mentioned I should be aware of? I am amazed how much I have to choose from and what a difficult perhaps life changing decision I am about to make

02-07-2003, 04:51 PM	#22
Neel n00b Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Seattle, Washington	As a Madden player since 1992, and a new FOF junkie, I would ask this question... Do you want a video game where everything centers around the graphics of the game itself, with little team management options and crazy stats arena style, or something closer to the real thing where your time invested is really management, and the game just tops it off. I sold my copy of Madden 2003 on Ebay. It seems to be a series where the code writers are not really football fans, where FOF is created by someone who is.

02-07-2003, 04:55 PM	#23
Buzzbee College Starter Join Date: Jun 2002	CM can certainly be daunting. It took me three tries to really get immersed in the game. Each time I tried the demo, I learned a little bit more. The thing that helped me the most was reading Radii's CM dynasty thread in the Dynasty Forum on this very board. I'm willing to bet that whatever game/games you decide on, the dynasties can go a long way in indoctrinating you to the game. Also, in wanting to play this weekend, I can certainly understand that!! However, consider your decision carefully. Don't base it on one weekends play, but on what you hope will be MANY weekends playing. __________________ Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it. - Lou Holtz

02-07-2003, 08:06 PM	#24
Blackadar Retired Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Fantasyland	CM has a HUGE learning curve since it's so complicated. But after you get in it, WOW!

02-08-2003, 07:46 PM	#25
thesurreallife n00b Join Date: Feb 2003	Ok First I am not that worried about wasting my money for one game, but that is the reason why I am limiting my purchase to ONE game. I tried the two basketball games and EHM. Well EHM did run slow so I didnt really have a lot of patience for it but I am sure I will go back to playing it soon. I really liked both basketball games. I am not sure which one to choose so because of this I will probably just order OOTP tonight and then decide on ordering FOF or CM later on. But first I will check out PureSim too. I am exhausted but its been a lot of fun

02-08-2003, 07:58 PM	#26
bosshogg23 College Benchwarmer Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Philly	Puresim is alot of fun. Runs quite slow though. Try downloading Puresim 1.09B. It lets you play for 7 days before ya have to buy it. Otherwise its the full version. Right now the Puresim 2003 demo only lets ya play a season(I believe).

02-08-2003, 09:13 PM	#27
illinifan999 Pro Rookie Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: VA	I am one of those soccer haters. I knew nothing about, it, and despised the fact that I was even trying to see how it played. Now I still don't like soccer, but I will watch the Wold Cup. I still find it to be a bit boring. However, I love CM. The player personalities are great. If a player is getting injured a lot, you can send him for surgery or just let him keep getting injured. For help I'd say the dugout helped me alot. __________________ Chicago Eagles 2 time ZFL champions We're "rebuilding"

02-09-2003, 01:29 PM	#28
thesurreallife n00b Join Date: Feb 2003	I was all set to buy OOTP and saw that a new one is coming out soon, so I held off, tried PureSim. Looks and plays great but it just didn't seem enough like Baseball to me. I guess because of no real players. It also was a little slow. I may need a new computer soon. So after all of this I didnt buy anything. I will be playing the Hockey game and the seven day trial version of Jumpshot, while I wait for FOF. And yes I will give soccer another tryout too. I see that some games have online leagues. Am I correct in saying that FOF doesnt allow for this? Thanks guys

02-09-2003, 01:35 PM	#29
bosshogg23 College Benchwarmer Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Philly	Correct, no online leagues for FOF. In Puresim you can download the Lahman database and use real players. It adds something to the game.

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