OOTP 2008

by sledridge on Dec 17, 2007 10:21 PM EST

Has anyone bought or played it yet? They dropped the price to $19.95, so I was thinking about giving it a try. From what I understand, they include ML players now. I know there are a few here that have played. Let me know what you think about it.

I've play 6.5 to death. I haven't been able to get into any of the versions since.

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I played 2007

OOTP 2006 was something of a disaster, but I've played 2007 (which is the same as version 8, as I understand it--2007 was under Sega, while version 8 is independently published) quite a bit.

Version 8/2007 is much improved. I personally don't much like the scouting system (I turn it off), but the rest of it is fabulous. More features than v.6.5, more stats, better financial and player development engine, and yet--once you get used to the new interface and use some of the hotkeys--still easy to navigate. Also seems less easy to rip off the trade AI (though it's certainly still possible). FaceGen also adds a ton to the believability to fictional players, if that's your style. I strongly prefer fictional leagues so that I don't get upset when someone doesn't perform like they do in real life.

As for MLB players, I haven't kept up on the forums over there, but I think at this point there are just fan-developed roster sets--nothing official. But the fan stuff is supposedly pretty good, and you can get photo packs and such if you like as well. But as I said, I prefer the fictional players & leagues.
-j

On Baseball and the Reds

by JinAZ on Dec 17, 2007 10:49 PM EST reply actions

You don't find that it's harder...

to get into the game?

It's certainly easier for me. You don't have to learn all the players from scratch. Even if the ratings aren't perfect, at least you have some familiarity with them.

What do you not like about the scouting?

by sledridge on Dec 17, 2007 11:49 PM EST reply actions

Not really

I usually sim for a decade or so to get some history going, and then take over a team that's been awful. And then I usually just trade away everyone over 28 or so, and get the best major-league ready prospects I can. Those are the players I get attached to. And as I said, FaceGen helps a great deal in terms of making the payers more like real life.

I've tried playing with real rosters a few times and they just make me mad. The ratings rarely match how I'd rate players (I could change them, of course, but that feels like "cheating"). And even when players are rated properly, I just get really irritated when players underperform. :) So, at least for my tendencies, fictional rosters work best, because then I have no preconceptions from outside the game for how a player should perform.

As for scouting, the biggest thing for me is that it's so slow. They opted for realism, in that you have multiple scouts (who may disagree on player rankings). And you have to physically send them to scout players, which can take anywhere from a few days to a year, depending on how big an assignment it is (e.g. one player = ~2 days, one league = 9 months).

They do have a "quickscout" feature that gets around this issue, but it's less accurate. Finally, at least in version 2006, a scout's preferences in terms of power vs. speed, etc, can have an enormous difference on his valuations of player skills. In the end, I just found it too cumbersome to use and turned it off. Since I did that, I've been having a great time.
-j

On Baseball and the Reds

by JinAZ on Dec 18, 2007 6:45 PM EST up reply actions

I still have OOTP 5

I like it a lot. I got OOTP 2006, if that is the year they made the huge upgrade to the international. I didn't like it at all. I think some of it may be I am too lazy for it. Atleast I knew most of the players in OOTP 5. It is difficult to learn a completely knew league. I liked that OOTP was based on MLB.

The Dusty path to the World Series!

by justin0070000 on Dec 18, 2007 12:32 AM EST reply actions

2007 > 2006

2006 was a disaster. Financial engine was hopelessly broken, player development was shaky to say the least, and the interface was bad. All of that is much improved in 8/2007.

I still think the interface requires a few too many clicks in some places, but the shortcut buttons they added, as well as numerous small usability improvements have made it pretty easy to get around.

... Also, it's been a while since I played 5, but I honestly can't remember a time when OOTP actually shipped with MLB players. Could be wrong, but I don't think they've ever had a license. But there were major debacles with the various community groups that put together roster packs for 2006. Those are now out, however, and you can download "real" rosters from several sources.

It is always surprising to me how much people like real rosters, as I just can't stand 'em. But hey, to each his own. :)
-j

On Baseball and the Reds

by JinAZ on Dec 18, 2007 6:52 PM EST up reply actions

well in OOTP 5

you can compare the fictional stats with real stats. Most of the big league players are real. Like "Junior" Shaddle who is a center fielder for Cincinnati, had idenctical stats as Griffey, or Bobby Heil who pitched for Cincinnati had identical stats to Graves.

The Dusty path to the World Series!

by justin0070000 on Dec 18, 2007 8:33 PM EST up reply actions