Ootp5 Patch 5.10 Released

[Ben E Lou]

http://400studios1.inetu.net/files/ootp/ootp510.zip

"THE LIST":
-Improved roster handling AI
-Added the option to set the minimum player salary
-Adjusted Fan Interest to account for Wild Card races and reduce the importance of Promotional Days.
-Tweaked AI Initial Draft Strategy
-Improved player development algorythms, allowing some more fast developers and more variety in aging curves.
-Recoded the trade screen and added better trade AI.
-Altered September 1, promotional AI.
-Fine Tuned salary demand AI to make stats have a larger impact on the players demands.
-Contract extention Offers now aren't "official" until you submit them to the player
-Pitch around option now results in more walks.
-Added import/export to the ballpark editor
-Added league leaders report to the league leaders screen
-Added minor league leaders report to the league leaders screen and to the league HTML output.
-Corrected bug that created the league folder when an invalid database path or year were entered for the Lahman DB.
-Fixed Disappearing Minor League Player Problem
-You can no longer change other teams tendencies in Manager Mode
-Fixed Contract Conversion Bug (OOTP4->OOTP5 conversion)
-Fixed bug where a reliever couldn't be removed if he recorded 1/3 on a CS or PickOff.
-Fixed RTE while in Manager Mode while looking at teams during the postseason without a Managerial Contract.
-Fixed Blue Screen of Death Crash in Windows 2000
-Fixed issue where injured players were healed in the offseason only to appear injured again the next season.
-Ejected players will no longer remain in the game after a brawl.
-Available Coach/Scouting Report should now show all available coaches.
-All team emails should now show up in the HTML reports.
-Fixed ST display issue where players were switched if the +/- button was pressed.
-Replay leagues do not allow manager careers anymore.
-Team Records vs. LHP and RHP now display correctly.
-Commish Password now protects the minor league options setting for online leagues.
-FA process is now password protected. The commish password must be entered to "process" a day or all days.
-Fixed display issues when it starts to rain, or after a foul ball.
-Leftover players from the Amateur Draft are now free agents.
-Commishes should now be able to import single games.
-Corrected Play at Home Game Leagues Password issue.
-GM's should now be able to see the FA contract extension request, even with a commish password set.
-You should get a job offer each time after you are fired as a manager, beginning the next season.
-Imported pitchers should now correctly be assigned a SP endurance.
-Game now allows you to import after 2002 from the Lahman DB.
-Creating an experienced player is more likely to give you an experienced player rather than an overdeveloped youngster.
-Can now create players and make them eligible for the Amateur Draft.
-Game will now provide an "estimate" inside the team salary report of what the player may get in arbitration.
-Fine-tunded the effect of fatigue on overworked pitcher
-Fixed players emailing requesting an extension only to say its "too early in the season."
-Fixed being able to sign a coach during the season with non-existent cash.
-Corrected Rare bug where a player could be put into the game twice.
-Fixed bug that disallowed signing of extensions when you had the money available, because "it would put you over the cap".
-Scouts and Coaches sort should now be "sticky"
-Fixed bug where the hitting streak displayed on the league leaders was the longest streak of all time and not the longest of the season.
-Can now immediately select DH as a position for your player in the minor league lineups.
-Adjusted substitution logic for ejected or injured players.
-Fixed "mystery injury" bug
-Fixed blank range, player valuation bug.
-Fixed bug where a pinch hitter for the pitcher who didn't bat could be forced to pitch to a batter.
-Setting a nickname no longer changes a players ratings
-Dropped Third Strikes now correctly scored a strikeout with batter reaching on a PB
-Fixed bug that resulted in relievers starting several days in a row when the "highest ranked" rested starter was injured during a sim.

[GrantDawg]

-Contract extention Offers now aren't "official" until you submit them to the player

That is the best fix Marcus has ever added.

[Anrhydeddu]

Originally posted by GrantDawg
That is the best fix Marcus has ever added.

That's the only one I didn't understand. Please explain?

This update/patch list is mind boggling. I took a few days off from OOTP5 to play Civ2 now I can't wait to get back in. Do I assume correctly that all of these should with existing careers?

[Ben E Lou]

Originally posted by Anrhydeddu
That's the only one I didn't understand. Please explain?

A VERY annoying thing about renegotiation has always been that when you change an offer, it is submitted immediately, rather than after pressing a button. In other words, if you want to change both the amount offered AND the number of years, it has counted as two different offers.

[Anrhydeddu]

Thank you, that makes sense and I am glad it is now better.

[Ksyrup]

-Can now create players and make them eligible for the Amateur Draft.

This one was driving me crazy. I thought there was a way to do it, but couldn't find it. Now i know I'm not crazy.


-Game will now provide an "estimate" inside the team salary report of what the player may get in arbitration.

Excellent!

-Scouts and Coaches sort should now be "sticky"

Bravo - it's about time!

[JPhillips]

I once accidentally offered a player 45,000,000 instead of 4,500,000. The offer was considered official and I couldn't resign him because he kept saying that my last offer was 45,000,000. Very irritating. Thanks for the fix Markus.

[MizzouRah]

Quite an extensive list of fixes. Bravo to Markus!

I think I'll wait a few days to make sure there are no new bugs with the patch before implementing though.


Todd

[Daimyo]

Wow. After reading that I am very glad that the FOBL has so far resisted the upgrade.

[cincyreds]

Thanks, SkyDog for the update! Looking forward to getting home now and d/l it.

[TroyF]

Figures,

I'm spending 95% of my time playing CM and now Marcus fixes my most annoying problems with OOTP.

Oh wel, I'll find some time to get another career going.

TroyF

[Anrhydeddu]

Originally posted by TroyF
Figures,

I'm spending 95% of my time playing CM and now Marcus fixes my most annoying problems with OOTP.

Oh wel, I'll find some time to get another career going.

TroyF

...and which ones were those? While that list is great, I didn't see anything that had been showstoppers - at least for me. All games have annoying things (including Civ2 which I am playing now), it's just a matter of atittude, I suppose.

[TroyF]

Some of the bigger ones for me were the stats not having an impact on contract demands, some crashes, and the annoyance of having the "you don't have enough money to sign free agents" problem (as you can probably guess, I play with a cap and resigning players is essential to my strategy. I could work around it, but it was incredibly annoying).

Were any of them showstoppers? Not really, but when CM came out they were enough for me to concentrate on CM. I doubt I'll play CM a heck of a lot more until EP3 comes out in a few weeks so I'll get another OOTP career going in the meantime.

TroyF

[Calis]

I'm just curious on this, CM always had a large amount of this, but I'm not sure about OOTP, I'm really just wondering, I'm by no means a baseball fan, but I don't really hate it either. Basically what I'm curious to is if OOTP is good enough that it could MAKE somebody a fan? Do you think someone with a passing interest in the sport would enjoy the game?

[Anrhydeddu]

Troy: Agree on stats/contract demands; never had a crash and the third one is puzzling. I, of course, play with a team cap (no AI cap though) and wouldn't ever see such a message. When do you see this problem and what in the list fixed this?

[GrantDawg]

Originally posted by Calis
I'm just curious on this, CM always had a large amount of this, but I'm not sure about OOTP, I'm really just wondering, I'm by no means a baseball fan, but I don't really hate it either. Basically what I'm curious to is if OOTP is good enough that it could MAKE somebody a fan? Do you think someone with a passing interest in the sport would enjoy the game?

Doubtfull. Good game but not to that level.

[Anrhydeddu]

Calis: I would honestly say no. CM, imnsho, is very overrated in its ability to draw in non-soccer fans. Even though there are some anecdotal evidence that it does, I believe that there are many more who wouldn't touch CM because it is soccer. But back to OOTP, I love it because I can play historical careers (which means more to me than the current players/league). That is my connection or "hook". The other thing, of course, is online leagues which I am not sure whether they would be better or worse for a casual fan.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally posted by Anrhydeddu
CM, imnsho, is very overrated in its ability to draw in non-soccer fans. Even though there are some anecdotal evidence that it does, I believe that there are many more who wouldn't touch CM because it is soccer.

I bought it and tried it, having been told it would draw me in. I gave it several runs, but the bottom line for me was that the games themselves were meaningless, and never drew me in.

[TroyF]

Anrhydeddu,

I recently got a guy who hates soccer at work to try CM. He'd never watched a game and had no idea what "Real Madrid" "Inter Milan" or "Roma" meant.

This was about a month ago. Last night I saw him at work visiting a soccer site, one which was talking about the Scottish Premiere League. He said he'd started a CM career in Scotland (just picked a league at random) and wanted to see some of the real life stats of "his" team. He was excited to see that they would be on Fox Sports World in the next week or two.

I don't think CM is overrated in that regard. I think it's good enough to suck people in. I know from personal experience it got me hooked. I just with there were more Serie A games on TV, as that's been my prefered league in CM. I'd love to be able to watch some of "my" players.

As for the contract bug, I think I typed the message out too fast. Basicly, when you are playing with a cap and try to sign an extension to someone, you'll get a message stating you are over the cap and can't sign the player to the extension. Here is an example:

I have a current payroll of 83 million dollars and a cap of 85 million dollars. I have a player making 6 million dollars this year who I sign to a 5 year extension at 9 million a year. The game will tell me if I make the signing I'm over the cap and cancel the transaction.

The game didn't take into account that the9 million dollar deal would count against NEXT years cap, and that by not signing other free agents I'd have more than enough money to make the signing. The only way to make the signing work was to go into edit mode and alter the cap# or make the player sign the contract. It's bad enough that it was doing this to my team, I can't help but think it was doing it for the computer teams as well, which would have caused some Free Agents to hit the market that should have never been there.

TroyF

PS: Calis, no, I do not think OOTP is on that level yet. If you enjoy text based sims, you could probably get into it, but I'd doubt it.

Skydog and Anrh,

I don't think "everyone" can get into CM. It's an in depth game about a sport most Americans could care less about. Heck, there are still things about the game that I don't understand. Still, it's a text based game which sold 125,000 copies in its first weekend of release. Granted, the Europeans love their soccer, but that is still an unbelievably large number for a text based game. I know IRL of three friends who I've got hooked on the game who weren't soccer fans and another who was a soccer fan but hated text based games. For me, the evidence is overwhelming.

[Calis]

Sorry, I didn't mean to come across as EVERYONE will love CM, but I personally had no interest in soccer at all, when I first played CM2, and I fell in love with the sport, and now am pretty much a fanatic. I definitely agree that there's a large soccer bias that will stop people from ever enjoying the game, no matter what it does.

That's what I meant to ask, if OOTP had that certain spark that could really pull you in, the answers appear to be no, it sounds like a great game for fans of baseball though, and I still might give it a shot, I used to love baseball, I've just become very distanced for lack of a better term from the sport for the last several years.

I love a good text sim though, I'll have to think on it. Thanks for the info guys.

[GrantDawg]

I never cared for soccer before CM (or at least before I found a soccer management sim). Now, I'd rather watch soccer than baseball.

[Anrhydeddu]

I have a current payroll of 83 million dollars and a cap of 85 million dollars. I have a player making 6 million dollars this year who I sign to a 5 year extension at 9 million a year. The game will tell me if I make the signing I'm over the cap and cancel the transaction.

I'm not doubting you but even when I did play with a league cap, I had never seen this (and I pay close attention to things like this). The amount of money available for Extensions = Last Year's Revenues - Next Year's Payroll + Cash. I had not ever seen that it miscalculated that since 4.0. Are you saying there was a problem in which Markus fixed in this regard?

[Anrhydeddu]

I used to love baseball, I've just become very distanced for lack of a better term from the sport for the last several years.

Same here. That's why my very first OOTP career was starting with the 1970 Cincinnati Reds (and every career since then started before 1970).

[Ben E Lou]

Originally posted by GrantDawg
Now, I'd rather watch soccer than baseball.

That statement alone should get you forever banned from Bulldog Nation.

[Fidatelo]

I'm just a casual baseball fan (I pretty much only watch during the playoffs), and I am very much getting more into it because of OOTP. I'm understanding the stats better and find myself wanting to watch games that mean nothing (ie any game during the regular season). OOTP might not be quite as immersive as CM, but it's still a large step up from a game like FOF in my opinion.

[GrantDawg]

Originally posted by SkyDog
That statement alone should get you forever banned from Bulldog Nation.

Hey! The Dawgs have a soccer team, too.

[Alan T]

Originally posted by Anrhydeddu
Calis: I would honestly say no. CM, imnsho, is very overrated in its ability to draw in non-soccer fans. Even though there are some anecdotal evidence that it does, I believe that there are many more who wouldn't touch CM because it is soccer. But back to OOTP, I love it because I can play historical careers (which means more to me than the current players/league). That is my connection or "hook". The other thing, of course, is online leagues which I am not sure whether they would be better or worse for a casual fan.

I bought CM a year or two or three ago, even though I dont watch soccer ever. I found that I loved the financial engine and the league structure. I liked the game as a sound game and only really hated the gui, but the AI was very solid. I ended up shelving it though as it was unexciting for me after the initial purchase thrill.

I bought fof2, fof2k1, fof2k2 and fof4, played them alot when I first got them, then when football season ended, so did my real heavy playing of the games...

I have found that I play ootp year round, every version.. never really been shelved more than a week or two at a time..

The bottom line is.. I am a diehard baseball fan.. over every thing else. Played baseball simulation board games growing up, and loved it for ever.. ootp5 probably is not the best made game of the bunch and I have many complaints with it... but its the one that keeps me there because of the sport I love.

[Ksyrup]

My favorite sports, in order - baseball, football, hockey, tennis, basketball, ... soccer.


FOF Series - I wore FOF2 and FOF2K1 out. I have never really been able to get into FOF4 at all.

OOTP Series - I bought OOTP2 and 3, got bored with both pretty quickly. OOTP4 was the first of the series that held my interest. OOTP5 is even better.

TDCB - Have not bought, probably will not buy.

CM - SackAttack was nice enough to send me the 00/01 version. I tried, I really tried. But I simply can't get into the game.

I cannot stand the relegation system. I don't like the idea of teams moving in and out of leagues, nor the idea of purchasing players in the manner in which it is done in soccer. I like (or am too used to) a strict major/minor league system (or pro/college). There is structure to that kind of arrangement, and I can't handle the soccer system, which just feels like a jumbled mess.

There are too many leagues and teams, none of which feels like a major or minor league since I don't have any historical knowledge about soccer. I don't understand the relationship between the leagues, or between the teams in various leagues, etc. I feel like I need to know these things for the game to make sense and be enjoyable.

Same comment on the tactical aspects of the game of soccer itself. Without understanding, there is no enjoyment for me. I'm the equivalent of someone playing OOTP but not understanding the difference between, and purpose of, LH and RH lineups. I could play OOTP that way, since the game auto-generates lineups, but then where is the fun when the game is doing all of the work? I had this same feeling about TCY, frankly. It got to the point where I was delegating everything but recruiting to the AI, then I even started doing that, and I realized that I was just watching the computer play a game. That's not fun.

I wish I could take all of the great non-soccer aspects of CM and put them into games I want to play. Or, more accurately, I wish the developers of the game I want to play would implement some of these great features into their games. They are trying, but it doesn't seem like anyone is getting close to CM. It's just that the game itself is not interesting to me.

[Celeval]

Originally posted by GrantDawg
Now, I'd rather watch soccer than baseball.
Originally posted by SkyDog
That statement alone should get you forever banned from Bulldog Nation.

Hell, I'd rather watch Curling than Georgia Baseball anyway.

Of course, Georgia Tech is 28-6... how are the Dawgs doing again?

Kevin
[Couldn't Resist]

[Calis]

Originally posted by Ksyrup
I cannot stand the relegation system. I don't like the idea of teams moving in and out of leagues, nor the idea of purchasing players in the manner in which it is done in soccer. I like (or am too used to) a strict major/minor league system (or pro/college). There is structure to that kind of arrangement, and I can't handle the soccer system, which just feels like a jumbled mess.

Heh, just funny you would say that, I guess this is how opinions differ, I found this to be one of the things I love the most about CM/Soccer in general. It's fricking cutthroat, there's no bonuses(a la drafts) for finishing last, it really adds to the atmosphere when you have the teams fighting at the top, but you also have the teams fighting to stay alive in the bottom. Just adds so much to the competition. The fact that a no name club could rise through the ranks and eventually play in a major league, just adds that whole Cinderella aspect.

I also think the buying of players is kinda interesting as well. Now, we could also go in about this is detrimental also, as the big teams get bigger and the smaller teams just keep struggling, I don't think it's better than the system we use in American sports, but I think it's a very interesting alternative.

[TroyF]

Anrhydeddu,

Yep, it was a big bug, one I ended up facing all of the time. From the fix list above:


-Fixed bug that disallowed signing of extensions when you had the money available, because "it would put you over the cap".

The example I gave above was one of many where this came into play. Annoying. . . VERY, VERY annoying.

Ksyrup,

The way players are bought and sold drove me nuts for a long time in CM. I'm a "salary cap" type of guy who feels that Everton should have the same chance to win as Manchester United.

I still don't "like" the way it is handled, but I've gotten over it to the point I can play the game now. When I'm playing with a BIG market type club like Inter Milan, I enjoy playing the George Steinbrenner buy/sell everyone strategy. (obviously for a challenge with one of the big clubs, you have to set your goals high to make it fun)

When playing with a lower division side, I'm enjoying the challenge of holding onto players and keeping team morale up when we lose yet another star.

If I had my way, I'd still prefer an equal economic system. I think there was a someone who designed a "Super League" of sorts where there was no relegation and all of the teams were money makers. I'll have to try that sometime down the road.

TroyF

[Anrhydeddu]

I'm the equivalent of someone playing OOTP but not understanding the difference between, and purpose of, LH and RH lineups.

Ummm, that would be me. I have always played with identical RH/LH lineups because I just don't see that it makes any difference. You field your best 8 players regardless of R/L and in most cases for me, those backing up are there because they need to backup in multiple positions. Even if they bat from the other way, the better starting usually always perform better on both sides than one going up against a R-L situation. Plus it's a whole lot easier to manage the roster that way.

[Maple Leafs]

Originally posted by Anrhydeddu
Ummm, that would be me. I have always played with identical RH/LH lineups because I just don't see that it makes any difference. You field your best 8 players regardless of R/L and in most cases for me, those backing up are there because they need to backup in multiple positions. Even if they bat from the other way, the better starting usually always perform better on both sides than one going up against a R-L situation. Plus it's a whole lot easier to manage the roster that way.

Now if only the game would let you set one lineup and use it across all situations, rather than having to do it four times...

[Anrhydeddu]

Four???? Someone actually plays with DH??? I am so ashamed to have read that.

[Maple Leafs]

Originally posted by Anrhydeddu
Four???? Someone actually plays with DH???

Settle down, grampa.

[Ksyrup]

My point is not that you play that way, but that you understand why there are two different lineups. I have platooned in certain circumtances in OOTP.

This is just an example of understanding baseball (the game) and the translation to enjoying OOTP that is missing for me with soccer and CM.

[tucker342]

-Scouts and Coaches sort should now be "sticky"
THANK YOU

I was never able to get into CM, maybe I should try again...

[FBPro]

I've also tried to get into CM a number of times, but "no dice", I'll watch soccer, but baseball over it.

[GrantDawg]

Originally posted by Calis
Heh, just funny you would say that, I guess this is how opinions differ, I found this to be one of the things I love the most about CM/Soccer in general. It's fricking cutthroat, there's no bonuses(a la drafts) for finishing last, it really adds to the atmosphere when you have the teams fighting at the top, but you also have the teams fighting to stay alive in the bottom. Just adds so much to the competition. The fact that a no name club could rise through the ranks and eventually play in a major league, just adds that whole Cinderella aspect.

I also think the buying of players is kinda interesting as well. Now, we could also go in about this is detrimental also, as the big teams get bigger and the smaller teams just keep struggling, I don't think it's better than the system we use in American sports, but I think it's a very interesting alternative.

I'm with you. I love the regulation/promotion idea. If you can't compete, go to a lower division. It is the essence on free market play.

[lynchjm24]

Originally posted by Anrhydeddu
Ummm, that would be me. I have always played with identical RH/LH lineups because I just don't see that it makes any difference. You field your best 8 players regardless of R/L and in most cases for me, those backing up are there because they need to backup in multiple positions. Even if they bat from the other way, the better starting usually always perform better on both sides than one going up against a R-L situation. Plus it's a whole lot easier to manage the roster that way.

I think that's my beef with OOTP5 now. Much better game, but every player has the same L/R split. The rosters that those guys put together for 2003 do a nice job, but every player the game creates seems to have the same split.

Platooning is a huge part of baseball - remember the platoon advantage is almost universal .

[Mota]

CM made me a soccer fan. Not a huge one, but enough that I'll read the headlines in the papers and try to keep up on the good teams.

It's THAT good. That being said, a great simulation of a sport that I'm a fan of will sway me over and get the majority of my playing time. OOTP has been fantastic. FOF was great although to be honest, I'm bored of the game. I've only played 2 seasons of FOF4 and really have no desire to play any more.

But I keep coming back to CM and it keeps sucking me in. It's when that one player starts complaining because you subbed him and then when you transfer him out, the entire team rebels against you. Now THAT is a great game! It really makes you feel like you're managing a team of real players, not managing a spreadsheet (which I find FOF is stuck at).

That being said this thread is about OOTP, and let me say that I'm really excited about this patch. I will be installing it tonight and giving it a try!

[kcchief19]

I recently got rogered by two bugs on this list, so I'm glad to see them fixed. I had a rough first week of the season and went back to see what happened. After the first day of the season, a "mystery" injury hit my No. 2 starter, so two relief pitchers started the second and third games of the season, hosing my bullpen and screwing up my rotation.

Glad to see those two bugs are squashed. That "mystery" injury bug was much too prevalent.

[Kevin]

As far as getting drawn in, I use OOTP as a substitute for baseball as I'm tired of the real thing. I'm more interested in my fictional players than any real major leaguer.

[Ksyrup]

I'm still a baseball fanatic, but I have to say that OOTP has replaced fantasy baseball in my life. I now have no desire to play in any fantasy baseball leagues. I still watch the real thing religiously, though - usually while simming my league games!

[Daimyo]

I haven't played v5, but in v4 platoons were critical in OOTP. The ratings may be equal, but check out the pefformance of a LHB vs a LHP. There aren't many LHB in OOTP playable vs LHP. The same effect happens with RHB... unless they're studly, the RHPvRHB matchup is so unfavorable, they will always underperform their ratings. Also LHP are drastically inferior to RHP. If anything, OOTP takes the splits to a further extreme than real life.

[Anrhydeddu]

I had a chance to load up 5.10 last night and the first thing I did was to look at the new trade screen. This has always been my most favorite element of a sports sim and I was very happy to see the new robust trade mechanism. I typically could spend anywhere from 30-60 minutes seeing what all of the trade options I have to get/trade a certain player(s) and then evaluate the best one. Now I can do that in much more logical manner. For a trade junkie like me, this enhancement is worth the price of the game. Now for the next upgrade, I would love to see "Shop Player" and being able to trade draft picks, please.

[KWhit]

I agree that the new trade interface rocks. In a way, though, you can shop a player now, though, on that screen (you just have to go through every team, unfortunately).

Ok, so is it now worth upgrading from OOTP4 or is it still a personal preference in the long run?

[astralhaze]

The new trade screen looks nice and the computer telling you what players it would need or give to complete the deal, but the trade AI is now seriously screwed up. Last night I asked a team about a 4 1/2 star 3B prospect who had just finished his second season in AAA with great stats both seasons. They asked for a one star veteran 3B with terrible talents across the board. This has been reported by several people on the .400 boards so it is not an isolated incident.

[Draft Dodger]

Originally posted by couriers
Ok, so is it now worth upgrading from OOTP4 or is it still a personal preference in the long run?

I think it's worth it. there are a lot of little things (career minor league stats) that I've been wanting for a while.

I still wish I could put the OOTP4 interface on this bugger, but, on the whole, 5 worth the $35 to upgrade to me.