Anyone else just not getting into OOTP5?

[Maple Leafs]

Just wondering if I'm the only one. I bought the game two weeks ago, and have played through two seasons (maybe three or four hours total play time). I had some spare time over the weekend, but just didn't have any urge to boot it up.

I can't put my finger on it, but something about the game just doesn't "do it" for me. I liked v4 and played it quite a bit, so I'm not sure what the problem is. I like the new interface, but other than that I'm not really getting into any of the new features. I haven't tried Manager Mode yet, so that could be worth a shot. And I'm sure the new rosters, when the come out, will help (the current ones are good but not great).

But overall the game just seems slow, and a little bloated. Sims are slower, play-by-play is slower, the new HTML reports seems to take a while to generate, etc. I realize that there's a ton of information being processed in the background, but I still find that I just can't get immersed in the game when I'm spending so much time just sitting there waiting for things to happen.

On top of that, there are so many cool things I'd like to see done with OOTP -- more robust trade negotiations, more interaction with players, a better fan interest model, more in-depth contract negotiations, more challenging coach/scout strategy, etc. -- that it was disappointing to see so much of that stay the same. It just feels like v4.3, with the exception of the interface (which I do like).

Anyone else feeling the same way? Or should I go back and give it more time to take off? I realize that a few hours isn't much time to give a new game, but I got into v4 right away. Maybe I was just expecting too much?

[korme]

Duh - you haven't even tried manager mode yet. Problem number 1, Sean.

[Marmel]

I turned the 'simulate minors' option off and the speed is now almost on par with version 4. I simply couldn't play with the slow speed the minor simulation caused.

Of course, if minor league stats are critical to you enjoying the game, this is not much of an option, however, there is enough to look at stat wise at just the major league level for me, so I never looked at Minor League stats anyways.

You should try manager mode. I never cared for version 4 of the game, but with manager mode, version 5 is very playable, and more enjoyable than I thought it would be. Having said that, I still don't think this is a top-notch baseball text sim, although it is probably the best one out there.

[Maple Leafs]

Yeah, maybe I'll give manager mode a try. To be honest, the concept doesn't do much for me. I prefer to pick a franchise and stick with them throughout the game, so the whole "fired/hired" thing is a turnoff, and I don't think the "married with kids" aspect will add much. But that said, manager mode seems to be getting pretty positive reviews from most folks, so I may give it a try.

[Anrhydeddu]

To me, the competitiveness of the AI is somewhat of a holy grail in text sims (FOF4 fails miserable in this) and I did not have high expectations that OOTP5 would be better. So far, it has exceeded my rather low expectations but time will tell how long that will remain. The one thing I really hope for in an update would be a much more robust trading system. I don't have much problems with the trade AI (unlike others) but it does seem to be quite limited in its mechanics, more so than FOF. But I do look forward to playing Manager mode sometime, I think that will offer an exciting and interesting replay value.

[Tarkus]

I"m enjoying OOTP5, but unless they fix those ten or so annoyances I posted a while back it's going to get old fast. Each time I have to resort something it really really starts to get to me.

Tarkus

[Ksyrup]

I've already spent tenfold the hours with OOTP5 that I spent with FOF4. I'm enjoying it quite a bit.

Manager Mode is cool, although I've still not gotten an authoritative answer as to whether the difficulty levels of Manager Mode do anything other than make the owner/manager relationship easier/harder. If not, then I think I'll actually prefer the easier level, since that would make it more realistic in terms of getting 3-5 years to build a dog of an organization into a winner. My sole experience has been with a horrible team, and I was only given 2 years to make them a .500 team on the "hard" level with a "normal" owner. It just wasn't possible, unless I tried all the tricks of the trade associated with OOTP, and I didn't want to do that.

If it does change other things (I've heard that it might make free agency easier), then I might not use it as much. Right now, my current career is just a test, anyway.

Either way, I'm having a lot of fun with the game. I was up to the wee hours a couple of nights ago, and I haven't done that with any game since FOF2K1 - not even OOTP4, and certainly not with FOF4 (for whatever reason).

[Anthony]

manager mode is a very welcome feature. i don't pay much mind to the wife/children aspect (only because i can't hold a girl for longer than a season for some reason). it's very cool to be given a small amount of time to turn a team around, i find myself being saddened not being able to see some of the young guns i assembled develop. i had a really good team going w/ the Marlins, i really put something nice together and we were about 2 years away from winning the division with ease. never got to see it through. it's cool.

i don't pay much mind to the minors. like it was mentioend above, there's too much going on in the majors with guys i'm paying milions to to worry about minor league kids.

[Tarkus]

Originally posted by Ksyrup
I've already spent tenfold the hours with OOTP5 that I spent with FOF4. I'm enjoying it quite a bit.

Manager Mode is cool, although I've still not gotten an authoritative answer as to whether the difficulty levels of Manager Mode do anything other than make the owner/manager relationship easier/harder.

I was asking the same thing. Does anyone know exactly what the difficulty level impacts?

Tarkus

[astralhaze]

Originally posted by Tarkus
I was asking the same thing. Does anyone know exactly what the difficulty level impacts?

Tarkus

Yes. It impacts the difficulty of the tasks the owner expects you to perform and how much patience they will have with you.

[Barkeep49]

Originally posted by Hell Atlantic
manager mode is a very welcome feature. i don't pay much mind to the wife/children aspect (only because i can't hold a girl for longer than a season for some reason).

Well from what I know about you being cocky isn't the problem so I hazard to say that you need to be funnier to keep the women.

[Blackadar]

Ok, I must be missing something. I own OOTP5 and have selected managerial mode, but I can't find anything about girlfriends, wives, limited time to run a team, anything.

Where the hell is all of this stuff?

[FBPro]

If you are playing MM you will get either "personal diary" entry or email(don't remember which) saying that "I have meet a girl named..."

[Tarkus]

Go to League/Manager Screen and there is a diary on the bottom. Then you can get even more options about divorce and info on your kids but selecting Private Section.

Tarkus

[Tarkus]

dola

And as far as girlfriends and wives go, it does seem difficult to keep them, I've been through a lot and no one seems to stick around long. Even my pregnant wife left me.

Tarkus

[Ksyrup]

Originally posted by Hell Atlantic
it's very cool to be given a small amount of time to turn a team around, i find myself being saddened not being able to see some of the young guns i assembled develop. i had a really good team going w/ the Marlins, i really put something nice together and we were about 2 years away from winning the division with ease. never got to see it through. it's cool.

Absolutely. In my 2-year stint with the 1980 Padres, I took a horrible team and won 54 games in year 1, then improved by 16 games the next year. I had 2 <25 year old stud pitchers and had a very good Lloyd Moseby and just-drafted Cal Ripken Jr. in the minors at the time I was let go. I was really looking forward to turning that team around.

In the case of really bad teams, I think the hard difficulty levels expect too much, too fast. I took over a Padres team that finished above 6th place once in 12 years before I took over. For my owner, a normal one at that, to expect .500, was asking a lot. I don't see the Tigers asking Alan Trammell to get to .500 in Year 1. An aspiration, sure, but not realistic.

But if the easier levels make it easier to sign free agents, build fan support, etc., my only choice will be to live with it or just not use it at all.

[kcchief19]

Anrhydeddu, I think the world of you, but I'm continually amazed at how often you and I come to opposite impressions on the OOTP franchise.

However, I am with you on the trade AI. My only complaint thus far is the quality and quantity of computer offers. I don't get many trade offers (I have trading set to normal so I don't get "fantasty"-level trading), and the ones I do are usually a washed-up vet and never-will-be rookie for one of my stars.

I still think the overall AI of OOTP is horrid, however. In 2005 as manager of the Cubs, I found myself in a one-game playoff against the Giants. We are going through the lineup setups and I see an odd name battting eight in the Giants lineup -- A. Rodriguez. Yes, Alex Rodriguex and his 50-plus home runs and .350 batting average was batting EIGHTH! And I run auto-manager on computer controlled teams, which is supposed to correct stuff like this.

OOTP5 fixed a few little things, although my overall review would say that aside from manager mode, the game is a patch of v4 with a new interface.

While I think manager mode is a step in the right direction for SP, there isn't a lot of "meat" there. It's basically hiring and firing of the manager -- that's it. The wife and kids stuff is just fourth-grade eye candy. It's pointless and silly. It feels like a tacked on option from Inside the Park, which I'm sure it is.

[MizzouRah]

Originally posted by kcchief19
Anrhydeddu, I think the world of you, but I'm continually amazed at how often you and I come to opposite impressions on the OOTP franchise.

However, I am with you on the trade AI. My only complaint thus far is the quality and quantity of computer offers. I don't get many trade offers (I have trading set to normal so I don't get "fantasty"-level trading), and the ones I do are usually a washed-up vet and never-will-be rookie for one of my stars.

I still think the overall AI of OOTP is horrid, however. In 2005 as manager of the Cubs, I found myself in a one-game playoff against the Giants. We are going through the lineup setups and I see an odd name battting eight in the Giants lineup -- A. Rodriguez. Yes, Alex Rodriguex and his 50-plus home runs and .350 batting average was batting EIGHTH! And I run auto-manager on computer controlled teams, which is supposed to correct stuff like this.

OOTP5 fixed a few little things, although my overall review would say that aside from manager mode, the game is a patch of v4 with a new interface.

While I think manager mode is a step in the right direction for SP, there isn't a lot of "meat" there. It's basically hiring and firing of the manager -- that's it. The wife and kids stuff is just fourth-grade eye candy. It's pointless and silly. It feels like a tacked on option from Inside the Park, which I'm sure it is.

I think it's a little more than a patch of v4, you can tell Markus did alot with stat expansion and overall toughness of the game. I haven't really tackled the game yet because it's tournament time and hockey is front row for me right now, but once baseball season is upon us, I'll see just how easy/hard it is to win the World Series with no house rules. I've heard the FA process is much improved over v4.


Todd

[AgPete]

Originally posted by Maple Leafs
Just wondering if I'm the only one. I bought the game two weeks ago, and have played through two seasons (maybe three or four hours total play time). I had some spare time over the weekend, but just didn't have any urge to boot it up.

I can't put my finger on it, but something about the game just doesn't "do it" for me. I liked v4 and played it quite a bit, so I'm not sure what the problem is. I like the new interface, but other than that I'm not really getting into any of the new features. I haven't tried Manager Mode yet, so that could be worth a shot. And I'm sure the new rosters, when the come out, will help (the current ones are good but not great).

But overall the game just seems slow, and a little bloated. Sims are slower, play-by-play is slower, the new HTML reports seems to take a while to generate, etc. I realize that there's a ton of information being processed in the background, but I still find that I just can't get immersed in the game when I'm spending so much time just sitting there waiting for things to happen.

On top of that, there are so many cool things I'd like to see done with OOTP -- more robust trade negotiations, more interaction with players, a better fan interest model, more in-depth contract negotiations, more challenging coach/scout strategy, etc. -- that it was disappointing to see so much of that stay the same. It just feels like v4.3, with the exception of the interface (which I do like).

Anyone else feeling the same way? Or should I go back and give it more time to take off? I realize that a few hours isn't much time to give a new game, but I got into v4 right away. Maybe I was just expecting too much?

It sounds like v4 was your first OOTP? I felt the same way with OOTP4 you feel with OOTP5. OOTP3 was my first version and I was disappointed with v4 because it changed very little. OOPT5 is a huge improvement over v4 compared to v4's improvements over v3. While many of the mechanics are still in place and I admit that's a disappointment, OOTP5 is so much easier to navigate than the earlier versions. I'm very impressed with the user friendly interface in v5. As with most computer games, sequels can usually be disappointing because they're still the same game and the novelty wears thin unless there are huge changes.

[Ksyrup]

For a 5th generation game, I think this one is quite a bit different - for the better. Think about it - when you've gotten this far with one game, you really don't want too much to change, do you? Sure, there are certain things that for some reason have hung around far longer than they should, but for whatever reason, I've been able to enjoy the game despite those annoyances.

I can't really explain it, but I've almost flip-flopped my feelings about the OOTP and FOF games. I used to love FOF and think OOTP wasn't developed enough; now I am really enjoying OOTP and finding FOF to be going in a direction I'm not interested in. Maybe the fact that baseball is my favorite sport by far plays into the switch, especially now that OOTP has greatly improved from versions 2 and 3. I guess I'll know the answer if Jim creates a baseball game similar to FOF and I can't get into it.

[cincyreds]

No fanboy intentions here, but I am enjoying the heck out out of it. Maybe it's because I have rebuilt my Reds into contenders again.

1st season I finished 73-89, 5th in Division. I had a solid draft getting 3 quality SP's.

2nd season, I finished 74-88, 5th in Division. I had another solid draft getting 3 more SP's, 2 RP's and the best OF in the draft.

3rd season we finished 101-61 and won our division. I am currently in a dogfight with the Dodgers in the NLDS with the series tied 1-1. My Reds won game 1 6-2, then lost the game 2 5-1, with game 3 set for tonight.

So far I am having good time with it.

[Anrhydeddu]

Matt/kcchief: We all see what we want to see and get out of it what we want to.

[TroyF]

Anrhydeddu,

I've played many games I've REALLY wanted to like and REALLY wanted to play a lot. The original OOTP was one of those games. I desperately wanted a great career baseball sim and wanted OOTP to fill that need. It failed miserably. It repeated those failures in versions 2 and 3. (for me)

I'm actually enjoying OOTP5, but I don't necessarily think that we always "see what we want" or "get out of it what we want" either. There are enough annoying things in OOTP5 where I could honestly see someone who really wanted to enjoy the game being either turned off by it completely, or never really getting as immersed in the game as they'd like.

Just my nickel,

TroyF

[Anrhydeddu]

I know what you are saying, Troy. It's just that I've spent too much time wanting to like a game or setting too high expectations or wishing a game would be different instead of focusing on those games I do like. In other words, I think accepting the things I cannot change is far more healthier.

I spent too much trying to change Civ3, FOF4 and other games that it really doesn't matter. I was a little critical of OOTP4 and have found OOTP5 to be much improved. But as there are faults (as there are in every game), OOTP5 is very much fun for me to play, for what I want to get out of it. If we can learn to moderate wanting to like something and not to have high expectations, there would be far less tension on line.

[Schmidty]

In OOTP5, the increased amounts of info is a feature, but to me it has been a hindrance.

Everything in the new version seems cluttered and small. I can only play the game for a short amount of time before I get sick of the "look" of things.

Hopefully, OOTP5 will grow on me, because I like the idea of some of the new features and would like to explore them further.

[TroyF]

Anrh,

I agree with what you're saying friend.

Still, sometimes expectations have nothing to do with it. You want to like the game, but just don't. Thankfully, I'm not having that problem with OOTP5.

My problem with OOTP5 is that I've been putting too many hour into work and haven't had a real chance to get into the meat of the game yet. My hope is this week, that will change.

TroyF

[Craptacular]

I'm not getting into OOTP5. Perhaps I should acquire it. Would it be a good game for someone who loves the game of baseball but hates MLB with a passion?

[Anrhydeddu]

Crap, which is why I play historical seasons.

[KWhit]

Originally posted by Craptacular
I'm not getting into OOTP5. Perhaps I should acquire it. Would it be a good game for someone who loves the game of baseball but hates MLB with a passion?

Absolutely. Fictional leagues are the best. I create my own league with new teams/logos and fictional players. The new Almanac feature and HTML reports makes it easy to see your players as real people and really get into their careers.

[GoldenEagle]

I think OOTP is the best out there, but it could be approved on alot.

[McSweeny]

or improved even

After spending a week with this game on a regular basis it seems that I will not be returning it for a refund. IMO this version has a lot to offer in regards to advancements. The new Manager Mode is exactly what I look for in a management simulation so that will satisfy me for some time to come. The new Almanac is an excellent feature that will now limit the amount of out of game work that I tend to do while creating a league with some history behind it. The improved Trade AI is excellent as far as I’m concerned and will continue to please me without question. These three areas alone make this version well worth the purchase price.

Unlike several others I believe that the interface is an advancement on last years version despite having certain inherent flaws, like the removal of buttons for the replacement of a drop down menu, which would work better if it didn’t always default to the top option when changing what player positions to view in the roster. The vast amount of information that is now provided in all aspects of the game is amazing and the overall layout of that information is crisp and clean. The stat engine is wonderful and works well for the depth that I enjoy in a simulation. Speaking of depth, the ability to choose at any given time the amount of or lack there of according to your own personal desires at that given time is what all management simulations should strive for.

On another note, the sounds are a nice addition and will hopefully continue to be improved upon to hopefully one day resemble the Broadcast Blast that APBA provided. To date there has yet to be a Play by Play that even comes close to listening to good ol’Ernie Harwell calling the game with the sounds of the crowd and the hits in the background.

Although there are several areas, especially the ones mentioned above, that could use some work for future versions there is nothing that falls short of hitting the mark for the most part. All in all this is much more than a simple update to the previous versions and gives an excellent sense of what we can expect from the developers in versions yet to come.

OOTP5 has allowed me to recreate the three different leagues that I had going with OOTP4 without a single problem what so ever. Having a National League that is simmed on a monthly basis, a Florida State League that is simmed game by game as well as a MLB League, using TotalMinors Rosters of course, allows me to follow the game on several different levels. This only adds to the enjoyment factor of the game and will most likely provide me with endless hours of staring at the computer screen deep into the night and well past my bedtime.

Two Thumbs Up.

[Anrhydeddu]

couriers, those are excellent thoughts. I had wondered what happened to your three leagues since I did not see any analyses from them.

[Joe Stallings]

On another note, the sounds are a nice addition and will hopefully continue to be improved upon to hopefully one day resemble the Broadcast Blast that APBA provided. To date there has yet to be a Play by Play that even comes close to listening to good ol’Ernie Harwell calling the game with the sounds of the crowd and the hits in the background.

I'm glad you like the audio; one of my 'other jobs' at .400 is as the audio designer for all of our games Then again, some suggested my 12-minute Tournament Dreams soundtrack mix sounded like 80s porn music...

But to a more serious note. Markus and I discussed implementing audio play-by-play, and it was in the initial design for OOTP 5 way back when. However, I don't think Markus sees the payoff for it, nor do I suspect, would many FOFCers.(?)

Me on the other hand, I would like to see it. IMO, a solitaire game of APBA Broadcast is one of the purest baseball "experiences" you can have on a computer (or console or any other medium). It *really* does give you that sense of listening to a game on the radio during baseball's golden age.

But with limited budgets and development resources, you have to pick your spots (APBA for instance doesn't have career mode or any kind of in-season trading or roster management AI).

[HornedFrog Purple]

Joe, how about a configurable play-by-play event template, which you could make your own commentary. I think somewhere I brought it up but the user could make their own based on radio play-by-play personalities or whatever ever else they wanted to. In the playing of the game, you could select which "commentator" you would like for each game.

I am just referring to text only, not audio.

Excellent idea HFP.

[MizzouRah]

Ahhh.. the days of Tony LaRussa baseball and announcers to pick from.. anyhow I love the (what little) audio there is in ootp. I'm actually shocked at how good it coencides with the game that's being played.

Nice job Joe and I hope it only gets better or perhaps, more enhanced?


Todd

[cincyreds]

I think OOPT5 is great!!

It is one of those games that some people say no too, until they try and then they really like it.

[Maple Leafs]

You know, I read the subject of this thread and thought "hey, that's exactly how I feel! Cool!". So I opened up the thread and browsed through a few of the comments, nodding in agreement.

Total time before realizing that this was actually my own thread from last month, bumped back to page one: several minutes.

I think maybe I've been standing too close to the microwave.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally posted by Maple Leafs
You know, I read the subject of this thread and thought "hey, that's exactly how I feel! Cool!". So I opened up the thread and browsed through a few of the comments, nodding in agreement.

Total time before realizing that this was actually my own thread from last month, bumped back to page one: several minutes.

I think maybe I've been standing too close to the microwave.

I'm impressed that you admitted that.

[Vince]

Originally posted by HornedFrog Purple
Joe, how about a configurable play-by-play event template, which you could make your own commentary. I think somewhere I brought it up but the user could make their own based on radio play-by-play personalities or whatever ever else they wanted to. In the playing of the game, you could select which "commentator" you would like for each game.

I am just referring to text only, not audio.

I agree with Couriers...that's an excellent idea. This way, you could also store the user created files outside of the game, and it wouldn't drag on load times. I think this could work for audio files as well as text files, but I'm not sure about that...my technical knowledge of programming isn't quite at that level.

[Alan T]

Originally posted by Joe Stallings
I'm glad you like the audio; one of my 'other jobs' at .400 is as the audio designer for all of our games Then again, some suggested my 12-minute Tournament Dreams soundtrack mix sounded like 80s porn music...

But to a more serious note. Markus and I discussed implementing audio play-by-play, and it was in the initial design for OOTP 5 way back when. However, I don't think Markus sees the payoff for it, nor do I suspect, would many FOFCers.(?)

Me on the other hand, I would like to see it. IMO, a solitaire game of APBA Broadcast is one of the purest baseball "experiences" you can have on a computer (or console or any other medium). It *really* does give you that sense of listening to a game on the radio during baseball's golden age.

But with limited budgets and development resources, you have to pick your spots (APBA for instance doesn't have career mode or any kind of in-season trading or roster management AI).

To be honest, I havent even turned the sound/audio features on in ootp5 since I got it. I do not know what they are even like. I tend to only play ootp5, or fof or any other simulation game only when I am doing other things like watching a ball game on tv, watching a movie, driving down the road, etc.

Count me in the group that would rather no effort made for audio and much more effort put in to some other areas that I would love to see improved (the biggest problem I have are the player-owner (you) interactions. They always have felt cold, unrealistic and contrived. )

Overall though, I spend more time playing ootp5 than any other game, so guess I like it

[CamEdwards]

Originally posted by Joe Stallings
I'm glad you like the audio; one of my 'other jobs' at .400 is as the audio designer for all of our games Then again, some suggested my 12-minute Tournament Dreams soundtrack mix sounded like 80s porn music...

But to a more serious note. Markus and I discussed implementing audio play-by-play, and it was in the initial design for OOTP 5 way back when. However, I don't think Markus sees the payoff for it, nor do I suspect, would many FOFCers.(?)

Me on the other hand, I would like to see it. IMO, a solitaire game of APBA Broadcast is one of the purest baseball "experiences" you can have on a computer (or console or any other medium). It *really* does give you that sense of listening to a game on the radio during baseball's golden age.

But with limited budgets and development resources, you have to pick your spots (APBA for instance doesn't have career mode or any kind of in-season trading or roster management AI).

Well I for one would LOVE to see play by play added.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally posted by CamEdwards
Well I for one would LOVE to see play by play added.

Talk about your shameless plugs!!!

[Joe Stallings]

We could have Cam do the PBP and 'Dog doing the soundtrack.

[Joe Stallings]

erm, no, not GrantDawg.

[korme]

Originally posted by HornedFrog Purple
Joe, how about a configurable play-by-play event template, which you could make your own commentary. I think somewhere I brought it up but the user could make their own based on radio play-by-play personalities or whatever ever else they wanted to. In the playing of the game, you could select which "commentator" you would like for each game.

I am just referring to text only, not audio.

Not only is this a great idea, but .400 wouldn't have to make any 'template broadcasters'.. I can just see this becoming a big OOTP Mod hit, with many people contributing.

Good idea, reminds me of Zeus Wrestling way back when.

[markprior22]

Play OOTP5 some every day and enjoy the heck out of it

[GrantDawg]

Originally posted by Joe Stallings
erm, no, not GrantDawg.

Hey! I'm don't sing that bad! I do mean National Anthem. Matter of fact, it is dream of mine to sing the National Anthem before a ballgame.

I would love pbp by the way.