Best sim by sport?

thesurreallife · 03-01-2003, 09:20 PM

Which game is better?
Puresim or OOTP?
Fastbreak or Jumpshot?
I just started playing FOF for football.
Is that the best?

Primarily for single play but I like something that has a lot of options?

I am a newbie looking to buy some more games.
I've tried every demo imaginable and have had a crash course on being a sim junkie. I am hooked but want to hear other opinions as I'm this close too taking part of my student loan and just buying every game out

FBPro · 03-01-2003, 09:40 PM

OOTP
Jumpshot
FOF

OOTP is just way more flexible than PS and quite a bit farther along also. Can be played both solo and in online leagues which doubles it's value, while PS is solo only.

I don't play alot of hoop sims just like the look and feel of JS more.

FOF has no competition currently, though several possible lurk on the horizon.

Blackadar · 03-01-2003, 09:48 PM

OOTP, by a longshot.
FBB, by a hair.
FOF, by a mile (what else is there?)
CM is the king.

Easy Mac · 03-01-2003, 09:51 PM

Baseball: Options wise, OOTP5 wins hands down. So far, at least initially, they seem to have made the single player game better. I enjoyed Puresim more than the last OOTP in single player mode, but I think the verdict is still out on the latest version. OOTP5 is in the lead though.

Basketball: I liked Fastbreak more than Jumpshot, it felt like a better single player mode. But Jumpshot has more customizeable options. Fastbreak creator also has a college game coming out soon.

Football: Right now FOF is pretty much all there is. I enjoy it, but if you've played previous FOF versions, this one might not be the leap forward for you (but you're a newbie) The only other game is football mogul, but it is no where near as polished.

Soccer: Championship Manager . Hands down. Its the easiest to get into and the most engrossing. By far the best sports sim on the market. No offense to SAAP, which is good in its own right, but in terms of immersion, CM wins easily.

Hockey: Eastside Hockey Manager (free). Pretty much the only one out there right now. It is fairly slow, due to being written in Visual Basic, but very indepth. The creator has teamed up with the CM creators for the next version of EHM, due next year.

Other games out there:
baseball:
baseball mogul - see football mogul comments above.

basketball:
franchise hoops - still in beta, it has a way to go the last i saw

football:
football.net - by the ootp guys. due out fall of this year i think.
fls football - made by our sabotai. not sure of the release date yet.

hockey:
WoHoMan - a simple hockey game, ok for a brief spin

soccer:
total club manager - made by ea sports, so be wary.
football fanatic (free) - simple and addictive
major league soccer manager (free) and WoSoMan - very simple, but an easy diversion
ultimate soccer manager - an oldie but a goodie.
united states soccer manager - still in development, looks ok.

cmp · 03-01-2003, 09:54 PM

OOTP
Fastbreak
FOF

SplitPersonality1 · 03-01-2003, 10:58 PM

Baseball - based on current reviews - OOTP5 - I have not played it yet - check out the threads on this board to get a feel for the game.

Football - FOF/TCY

Pro Basketball - I'd go with Fastbreak over Jumpshot, but it's a tough call

College BBall - Tournament Dreams

Soccer - CM - the best there is.

Honolulu Blue · 03-02-2003, 11:39 AM

There are actually two types of sports sims - the STAT SIM, which is an attempt to accurately recreate statistics for a particular season; and the CAREER SIM, which tends to be less accurate game-to-game and season-to-season, but allows you to play as a coach/GM/manager for many seasons.

With that, my recommendations:

BASEBALL
Stat sim: Diamond Mind Baseball
Career sim: OOTP
Honorable mentions: Full Count Baseball, Strat-O-Matic Baseball (both stat sims), Baseball Mogul (career sim)

FOOTBALL
Career sim: Front Office Football. Also works OK as a stat sim, but not perfectly.
Honorable mention: The College Years (career sim, college). This one won't work as a stat sim (no real players) but can be addictive anyway.

BASKETBALL
The only one I've tried is Coaching a Dynasty (career sim, college). It's a good game, though the revised version - Tournament Dreams - is rumored to be better.

SOCCER
Championship Manager is the most sophisticated sports career sim around and is recommended if you're interested in soccer at all.

OTHER SPORTS
These are all career sims:

* Hooves of Thunder or QuarterPole Plus (horse racing) - Neat simulators of being a stable owner without having to shovel manure. Both are buggy and quirky, but satisfying for awhile if the subject interests you.

* Grand Prix Wizard (F1 auto racing) - Old, quirky, runs in DOS, but fun.

* Greyhound (greyhound racing) - Really old, runs in DOS, but fun.

bosshogg23 · 03-02-2003, 12:50 PM

For basketball there is also Simgalaxy which is a free online game. You play 60 game seasons, with playoffs, trades, contract extensions, etc.

It certainly doesnt have the depth of a single player game, but it is fun.

JerseyShore · 03-02-2003, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by bosshogg23
For basketball there is also Simgalaxy which is a free online game. You play 60 game seasons, with playoffs, trades, contract extensions, etc.

It certainly doesnt have the depth of a single player game, but it is fun.

Checked it out, looks like it could be a fun game. I signed up and am going to try it out.

sabotai · 03-02-2003, 01:53 PM

Baseball: Puresim. It's single player game, for me, is a lot more solid than OOTP.

Football: FOF, what else is there?

Hockey: EHM, what else is there?

Basketball: Fast Break

Soccer: CM

FBPro · 03-02-2003, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by sabotai
Baseball: Puresim. It's single player game, for me, is a lot more solid than OOTP.

Football: FOF, what else is there?

Hockey: EHM, what else is there?

Basketball: Fast Break

Soccer: CM

OOTP5 is MUCH more challenging now. IMO

sabotai · 03-02-2003, 03:13 PM

I would hope so, cause OOTP4 was one of the easiest sims I've played.

And I won't know until they release a demo. No more buying before a demo can be played. TDCB taught me that.

(If they did release a demo, I must have missed it. If so, linky?)

lynchjm24 · 03-02-2003, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by sabotai
I would hope so, cause OOTP4 was one of the easiest sims I've played.

And I won't know until they release a demo. No more buying before a demo can be played. TDCB taught me that.

(If they did release a demo, I must have missed it. If so, linky?)

No demo - but so far in manager mode it's been a lot tougher. I'm under .500 in 5 years running the Jays.

EagleFan · 03-02-2003, 03:40 PM

Baseball: OOTP
Pro Football: FOF2001
College Football: FOF:TCY
Pro Basketball: FBB/Season Ticket Basketball 2003
College Basketball: TDCB
Hockey: EHM
Soccer: CM

I couldn't get into the build of PureSim that I tried but that was the first version, not sure how the new one is. Also Baseball Mogul never really did anything for me, but I may have let the early versions of the game spoil me on that series. I've been a baseball stat junkie and BM always seemed to have such randomly created tstats that I just couldn't get into it.

The other football options are pure jokes with Football Mogul and Season Ticket Football. Don't even bother with STF unless you really feel like torturing yourself, the interface seems like it was designed by one of those tic-tac-toe playing chickens, actually they would probably have designed a better interface. .400 Software Studios has a football game coming out later in the year, could be what those looking for multi-player have been wanting. There is also a project called Division Rivals, sort of a FBPro kind of game but I won't really get any kind of hope for it until it actually gets closer to being a reality.

I don't have any experience with Jump Shot Basketball so I really can't comment but that's about the market for basketball right now. The creator of FBB/STB2003 has a college game coming out which will allow exported players much like TCY.

Keep an eye on EHM's move to SI Games. Adding the CM interface could really make it a great game. Also on the hockey front is a hockey game coming out from .400 Softeware Studios as well. It could be a good time coming up for hockey games when those two games come out.

I haven't tried Sick as a Parrot, or any of the other soccer sims for that matter. I can see how good CM is, which is why I picked it for soccer, but can't get into the soccer thing. I have tried and tried and tried.

Also, keep an eye on Title Bout Championship Boxing. That sounds like it has a world of promise if you like boxing.

G-Man · 03-02-2003, 03:55 PM

As mentioned before there are basically two different types of sports simulations:
(1) Replay which tries to recreate accurately a prior season and
(2) Sims - which try to let you create the sports world according to your management (or general management) style. This can both be fictional or with real players though the stats on the real players are not nearly as accurrate as the replay based simulations.

So lets rate the replay category first:

Baseball - Diamond Mind is the best replay simulation on the market for any sport! The time and effort put into this game is second to none, unfortunately it is reflected in the price of the game and the season disks. Runners up are: Full Count (Haffner Games), Action-PC (fairly new so the jurys still out), stratomatic and APPBA.

Football - Action PC, which I found a little better than 3 in 1 by Haffner. Action seems to have greater depth and detail. Microleague used to have a fairly good game out in the mid 90s, even had some graphics that were kind-of kool as well.

Basketball - Again its Action PC versus Haffners NBA game, both decent games.

Hockey - I only know of Haffners Hattrick Hockey here which is a decent game.

Now lets get into the Sports Sims Simulation games that I like:

Baseball - OOTP5 leads the strongets field for sports simulations here, followed by Puresim and Baseball Mogul.

Football - FOF4 and FOF-TCY (The College Years) are far ahead of Football Mogul. TCY is only enjoyable if you do not mind fictional players.

Basketball - TDCB is far superior and enjoyable to FBB. Yes TDCB is for college and FBB for pros so you may want to try both. .400 is also currently working on a pro basketball game similair to TDCB that may be out in March!

Hockey - Eastside Hocky manager looks to be the best here though I have not spent much time with it yet.

I must warn you to get into this EXPLOSION of sports simulations slowly or you may end up facing the same problem that I am now facing - I simply cannot find the time to play all these awesome simulations that are currently on my computer: OOTP5, FOF4 and FOF-TCY, TDCB, FBB, Diamond Mind Baseball, Action PC Football and Basketball and finally Sports Mogul!! What a delightful problem. Why I remember not too long ago when I couldnt find a decent sports simulation at all!

03-01-2003, 09:40 PM	#2
FBPro College Starter Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: SE	OOTP Jumpshot FOF OOTP is just way more flexible than PS and quite a bit farther along also. Can be played both solo and in online leagues which doubles it's value, while PS is solo only. I don't play alot of hoop sims just like the look and feel of JS more. FOF has no competition currently, though several possible lurk on the horizon. __________________ GM RayCo Raiders-est. 2004-2012 Charter member of the IHOF-RayCo GM GM Tennessee Titans PFL 2011-2014 GM Tennessee Titans FOWL 2020-2025

03-02-2003, 03:40 PM	#14
EagleFan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Mays Landing, NJ USA	Baseball: OOTP Pro Football: FOF2001 College Football: FOF:TCY Pro Basketball: FBB/Season Ticket Basketball 2003 College Basketball: TDCB Hockey: EHM Soccer: CM I couldn't get into the build of PureSim that I tried but that was the first version, not sure how the new one is. Also Baseball Mogul never really did anything for me, but I may have let the early versions of the game spoil me on that series. I've been a baseball stat junkie and BM always seemed to have such randomly created tstats that I just couldn't get into it. The other football options are pure jokes with Football Mogul and Season Ticket Football. Don't even bother with STF unless you really feel like torturing yourself, the interface seems like it was designed by one of those tic-tac-toe playing chickens, actually they would probably have designed a better interface. .400 Software Studios has a football game coming out later in the year, could be what those looking for multi-player have been wanting. There is also a project called Division Rivals, sort of a FBPro kind of game but I won't really get any kind of hope for it until it actually gets closer to being a reality. I don't have any experience with Jump Shot Basketball so I really can't comment but that's about the market for basketball right now. The creator of FBB/STB2003 has a college game coming out which will allow exported players much like TCY. Keep an eye on EHM's move to SI Games. Adding the CM interface could really make it a great game. Also on the hockey front is a hockey game coming out from .400 Softeware Studios as well. It could be a good time coming up for hockey games when those two games come out. I haven't tried Sick as a Parrot, or any of the other soccer sims for that matter. I can see how good CM is, which is why I picked it for soccer, but can't get into the soccer thing. I have tried and tried and tried. Also, keep an eye on Title Bout Championship Boxing. That sounds like it has a world of promise if you like boxing. __________________ The EagleFan YouTube Channel - Reactions Soarin' & Scratchin' YouTube Channel - We react to music, videos, TV, we talk, we are planning some field trips Soarin' & Soothin' - Meditation, Relaxation, and Sleep Aid; mental health is important

03-02-2003, 03:55 PM	#15
G-Man High School JV Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Seattle, Washington	As mentioned before there are basically two different types of sports simulations: (1) Replay which tries to recreate accurately a prior season and (2) Sims - which try to let you create the sports world according to your management (or general management) style. This can both be fictional or with real players though the stats on the real players are not nearly as accurrate as the replay based simulations. So lets rate the replay category first: Baseball - Diamond Mind is the best replay simulation on the market for any sport! The time and effort put into this game is second to none, unfortunately it is reflected in the price of the game and the season disks. Runners up are: Full Count (Haffner Games), Action-PC (fairly new so the jurys still out), stratomatic and APPBA. Football - Action PC, which I found a little better than 3 in 1 by Haffner. Action seems to have greater depth and detail. Microleague used to have a fairly good game out in the mid 90s, even had some graphics that were kind-of kool as well. Basketball - Again its Action PC versus Haffners NBA game, both decent games. Hockey - I only know of Haffners Hattrick Hockey here which is a decent game. Now lets get into the Sports Sims Simulation games that I like: Baseball - OOTP5 leads the strongets field for sports simulations here, followed by Puresim and Baseball Mogul. Football - FOF4 and FOF-TCY (The College Years) are far ahead of Football Mogul. TCY is only enjoyable if you do not mind fictional players. Basketball - TDCB is far superior and enjoyable to FBB. Yes TDCB is for college and FBB for pros so you may want to try both. .400 is also currently working on a pro basketball game similair to TDCB that may be out in March! Hockey - Eastside Hocky manager looks to be the best here though I have not spent much time with it yet. I must warn you to get into this EXPLOSION of sports simulations slowly or you may end up facing the same problem that I am now facing - I simply cannot find the time to play all these awesome simulations that are currently on my computer: OOTP5, FOF4 and FOF-TCY, TDCB, FBB, Diamond Mind Baseball, Action PC Football and Basketball and finally Sports Mogul!! What a delightful problem. Why I remember not too long ago when I couldnt find a decent sports simulation at all! __________________ Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" Last edited by G-Man : 03-02-2003 at 04:00 PM.

03-01-2003, 09:48 PM	#3
Blackadar Retired Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Fantasyland	OOTP, by a longshot. FBB, by a hair. FOF, by a mile (what else is there?) CM is the king.

03-01-2003, 09:51 PM	#4
Easy Mac Registered User Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Here	Baseball: Options wise, OOTP5 wins hands down. So far, at least initially, they seem to have made the single player game better. I enjoyed Puresim more than the last OOTP in single player mode, but I think the verdict is still out on the latest version. OOTP5 is in the lead though. Basketball: I liked Fastbreak more than Jumpshot, it felt like a better single player mode. But Jumpshot has more customizeable options. Fastbreak creator also has a college game coming out soon. Football: Right now FOF is pretty much all there is. I enjoy it, but if you've played previous FOF versions, this one might not be the leap forward for you (but you're a newbie) The only other game is football mogul, but it is no where near as polished. Soccer: Championship Manager . Hands down. Its the easiest to get into and the most engrossing. By far the best sports sim on the market. No offense to SAAP, which is good in its own right, but in terms of immersion, CM wins easily. Hockey: Eastside Hockey Manager (free). Pretty much the only one out there right now. It is fairly slow, due to being written in Visual Basic, but very indepth. The creator has teamed up with the CM creators for the next version of EHM, due next year. Other games out there: baseball: baseball mogul - see football mogul comments above. basketball: franchise hoops - still in beta, it has a way to go the last i saw football: football.net - by the ootp guys. due out fall of this year i think. fls football - made by our sabotai. not sure of the release date yet. hockey: WoHoMan - a simple hockey game, ok for a brief spin soccer: total club manager - made by ea sports, so be wary. football fanatic (free) - simple and addictive major league soccer manager (free) and WoSoMan - very simple, but an easy diversion ultimate soccer manager - an oldie but a goodie. united states soccer manager - still in development, looks ok.

03-01-2003, 09:54 PM	#5
cmp Pro Rookie Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Grand Rapids, MI	OOTP Fastbreak FOF

03-01-2003, 10:58 PM	#6
SplitPersonality1 College Benchwarmer Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Grafton, WI	Baseball - based on current reviews - OOTP5 - I have not played it yet - check out the threads on this board to get a feel for the game. Football - FOF/TCY Pro Basketball - I'd go with Fastbreak over Jumpshot, but it's a tough call College BBall - Tournament Dreams Soccer - CM - the best there is.

03-02-2003, 11:39 AM	#7
Honolulu Blue Dynasty Boy Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Michigan	There are actually two types of sports sims - the STAT SIM, which is an attempt to accurately recreate statistics for a particular season; and the CAREER SIM, which tends to be less accurate game-to-game and season-to-season, but allows you to play as a coach/GM/manager for many seasons. With that, my recommendations: BASEBALL Stat sim: Diamond Mind Baseball Career sim: OOTP Honorable mentions: Full Count Baseball, Strat-O-Matic Baseball (both stat sims), Baseball Mogul (career sim) FOOTBALL Career sim: Front Office Football. Also works OK as a stat sim, but not perfectly. Honorable mention: The College Years (career sim, college). This one won't work as a stat sim (no real players) but can be addictive anyway. BASKETBALL The only one I've tried is Coaching a Dynasty (career sim, college). It's a good game, though the revised version - Tournament Dreams - is rumored to be better. SOCCER Championship Manager is the most sophisticated sports career sim around and is recommended if you're interested in soccer at all. OTHER SPORTS These are all career sims: * Hooves of Thunder or QuarterPole Plus (horse racing) - Neat simulators of being a stable owner without having to shovel manure. Both are buggy and quirky, but satisfying for awhile if the subject interests you. * Grand Prix Wizard (F1 auto racing) - Old, quirky, runs in DOS, but fun. * Greyhound (greyhound racing) - Really old, runs in DOS, but fun.

03-02-2003, 12:50 PM	#8
bosshogg23 College Benchwarmer Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Philly	For basketball there is also Simgalaxy which is a free online game. You play 60 game seasons, with playoffs, trades, contract extensions, etc. It certainly doesnt have the depth of a single player game, but it is fun.

03-02-2003, 01:53 PM	#10
sabotai General Manager Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The Satellite of Love	Baseball: Puresim. It's single player game, for me, is a lot more solid than OOTP. Football: FOF, what else is there? Hockey: EHM, what else is there? Basketball: Fast Break Soccer: CM

03-02-2003, 03:13 PM	#12
sabotai General Manager Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The Satellite of Love	I would hope so, cause OOTP4 was one of the easiest sims I've played. And I won't know until they release a demo. No more buying before a demo can be played. TDCB taught me that. (If they did release a demo, I must have missed it. If so, linky?)

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