Worst Pay-to-Win Game in the History of Pay-to-Win Games

[Bunktown Ballers]

Originally Posted by ignats75

There's so many other things with the game that makes one think there is partiality to cetain MLB teams and players when making cards....Cease and Alcantara should be 100 cards with good rating but NOT. Those are just 2 of many examples. Both are in the CY Young chase...very possibly both could win..who's to say....The hitters.....everything so wonky. Why do Live cards perform way down from others? I'll quit with that before I get threathened again from OOTP

[bailey]

Originally Posted by Bunktown Ballers

Whew..I'm glad others think this way too. I only play 1 team now instead of the 3 offered. I also hate the "taxing" of owners when selling a card by taking 10%

I can agree with you partially on this one. They have to have a 10% tax to prevent people from buying cards and then reselling them for 1 point profit. This would clutter the card shop and put stress on the servers and every game like this charges "tax". But, what I hate is taxing the quicksell value. So, if you sell a diamond for 4001 you get 4000, but if you sell it for 4444, you still get 4000, a 100% tax on the amount above quickselling it. The tax should only be charged on the amount above the quicksell value. So, if you sell a diamond for 4444 you get 4400.

[HondoLane]

Originally Posted by bailey

The tax should only be charged on the amount above the quicksell value. So, if you sell a diamond for 4444 you get 4400.

I really like this suggestion - you should seriously implement this by next year, OOTP Team.

It would give a lot more value to live cards and give a reason for people to put them on the market and not just quicksell.

[HondoLane]

Originally Posted by Bunktown Ballers

Cease and Alcantara should be 100 cards with good rating but NOT. Those are just 2 of many examples. Both are in the CY Young chase...very possibly both could win..who's to say...

The ratings engine OOTP uses doesn't really care about traditional stats - it is focused mostly on a similar system to FIP, rating a pitchers stats that a pitcher has 100% control over - walks, strikeouts and homeruns. There is real value and logic in this - this is how major league teams rate pitchers in large part because it is a better predictor of future stats than past stats.

Dylan Cease had a 3.41 FIP last year, with a .310 BABIP against (league average is about .300) - he was a little unlucky on BIP so his ERA was 3.91 (above his FIP). This year, he has a 3.00 FIP with an unsustainable .262 BABIP against, resulting in his inflated traditional numbers. He's also been lucky to have given up a lot of solo homers despite leading the league in walks.

Similar story with Alcantara.

All of the pitchers who are rated above them basically have better FIP.

Originally Posted by Bunktown Ballers

The hitters.....everything so wonky

The hitters ratings engine is a bit closer to the traditional stats - they are using some form of OPS+ to determine the overall rating. The closest way to follow along is probably just OPS. As the OPS of a player goes up, the overall goes up; and vice versa.

I agree, some of the ratings themselves (the original baseline) don't really make sense to me, but it's still easy to follow for updates.

Originally Posted by Bunktown Ballers

Why do Live cards perform way down from others?

Due to the high availability of the live cards (70-80% of cards, not sure the exact figure) it only makes sense that the 'inserts' (so-to-speak) will hold a lot more value. And I'm glad it's that way. I pulled 17 of ONE diamond player over the last 6 weeks. I've never even pulled three of the same diamond non-live card the entire year.

There are still some usable live cards - for tourneys, and a couple of the perfect relievers can play at the high levels.

[LeeD]

It's not difficult at all to acquire the complete set of Live Cards. If they were seriously playable all the way up then there wouldn't be any reason for OOTP to hold out their hands and entice people to pay for points, which is how they fund this always imperfect but overall quite good baseball sim. There's also the realism issue. How many current players are all-time greats? Very few; and Perfect Team is a game which populates with the all-time greats as the year progresses.

[HRBaker]

Originally Posted by Ty Cobb

My personal approach is to write off Perfect League, as I'm not going to spend the money to compete there...and I do know it generally takes money.

I set my sights accordingly. If I can consistently win at Silver and Gold, leaving Diamond and above for the whales...I'm OK with that. I reconcile it by reminding myself that I'm clearly strategically gifted enough to compete, just not monetarily able. It assuages my ego and doesn't insult my intelligence.

If you can't set your sights in a realistic fashion, I imagine life in general will be hard, let alone OOTP, and that's unfortunate.

this - This - THIS !!! (highlight is mine)

A couple things everyone needs to understand...

1. The game is an income asset to COM2US and the OOTP folks, thus real money will ALWAYS get you more. Criticizing them for wanting to pay payroll not only isn't fair, it's ignoring the fact that this is a business - and if they don't make payroll, the game is dead.

2. If your not spending money but you like the concept, forget about Perfect and Diamond levels. If your good at what you do and spend a lot of time at it, you can achieve and hold onto a GOLD level team. The top two tier are for the whales, and the few F2P teams that either get lucky or even outperform themselves.

That said, I have three teams.

#1 is in "Our League" (historical only - no money) which had exceptional luck in the beginning - getting me to Diamond by the 6th week - then the team crashed and burned. Currently in Bronze for the last 8 weeks. Roster consists of 2 Perfects and 24 Diamonds.

#2 is a regular F2P team that is bouncing around between Silver (currently) and Bronze. Roster consists of 9 Perfects and 17 Diamonds.

#3 is a regular F2P team and is the least successful. It's never done better than Iron (currently) and consists of 4 Perfects, 17 Diamonds, and 5 Golds.

The highlight of the year was weeks 3-10 with team #1 where I was in Diamond once and Gold 6 times. Now in week 22 and my best team (#2) in Silver, there isn't much to look forward to until March, so I've transitioned to "packs only" and check on things once or twice a week.

Although I have complained about various parts of the game, I can't blame my "non-success" on anyone but myself (and a bit on Lady Luck). Had I spent more time or money on my teams, I'm sure they would have done better, so it rests on my shoulders.

Back to Ty Cobb's post, EXPECTATIONS are directly related to how much time and money your willing to put into it. It's not OOTP's fault they need to make payroll. It's a business, and if they stop making enough money, the game WILL be left for the dustbin of also-rans.

[Fabtron7]

Originally Posted by HRBaker

this - This - THIS !!! (highlight is mine)



2. If your not spending money but you like the concept, forget about Perfect and Diamond levels. If your good at what you do and spend a lot of time at it, you can achieve and hold onto a GOLD level team. The top two tier are for the whales, and the few F2P teams that either get lucky or even outperform themselves.

I will say the BFF guys have turned being F2P into an art and I think the majority of them are in diamond or higher.

[bailey]

Originally Posted by HRBaker

If your good at what you do and spend a lot of time at it, you can achieve and hold onto a GOLD level team.

I wholeheartedly agree with setting expectations according to how much time and money you want to invest in this hobby.

But, the highlighted quote is not just wrong, but borderline offensive.

" If you are good at what you do and spend a lot of time you can achieve and hold onto a DIAMOND level team, and foray into Perfect League often."

is the correct way to say it.

[HRBaker]

Originally Posted by bailey

I wholeheartedly agree with setting expectations according to how much time and money you want to invest in this hobby.

But, the highlighted quote is not just wrong, but borderline offensive.

" If you are good at what you do and spend a lot of time you can achieve and hold onto a DIAMOND level team, and foray into Perfect League often."

is the correct way to say it.

If someone is going to take my comments offensively, then they are a bit too sensitive. It's common knowledge that there are ALWAYS exceptions to the rule, but the law of averages defines what is "usually" possible.


My entire post was meant to be informative, and balance the opinions of anger versus support. If one took offense to my comments, they missed the point.

[bailey]

I said it was borderline offensive. As if anyone who learns the game to know what they are doing and spends a lot of time on it can only make GOLD league, unless they get absurdly lucky, is just ridiculous.

[Ty Cobb]

Cut the drama. If you genuinely think Baker meant to offend, you need a dermatologist because your skin is too thin.

[HondoLane]

Originally Posted by Ty Cobb

Cut the drama. If you genuinely think Baker meant to offend, you need a dermatologist because your skin is too thin.

Looks to me like the comment was hyperbolic and Baker is the one who is being too serious - I don't think Bailey is actually offended; he's simply making an objectively correct statement.

Diamond is EASY to make as a F2P, not just something a lucky few can get. My two extra teams that I literally check on once a month are in Gold and Diamond and are mostly comprised of perfects, of course. Is it my extreme luck of never having a big pull all year? Damn, all those pulls I didn't get - yeah, that has to be my advantage!

Now, for the more serious here - I'm being lighthearted. That last part is a joke.

EDIT: One overlooked thing in this discussion that just came to mind - how late did you start your team(s)? If you started your teams on opening day (for PT) then Gold and Diamond are easy, even if you don't strategize much. If you started late, it can be a lot harder to catch up and get to Gold and Diamond.

[Ty Cobb]

Actually, the teams I started later are far better. That's generally the case for me. I was a late bloomer, what can I say?

Also, if I see something not there, I apologize. The whole 'offensive' thing has frazzled my nerves to an obscene point.

[bailey]

Originally Posted by HondoLane

Looks to me like the comment was hyperbolic and Baker is the one who is being too serious - I don't think Bailey is actually offended; he's simply making an objectively correct statement.

Exactly right. You and I must be outliers.

I think if you start later, like next Monday, you are in the best position to take advantage of the low price of the live card missions. I started this team in 2035 and is currently in diamond for the first time. The pitching staff is top shelf at #1 in runs allowed, but the batters are #15 in runs scored. I expect a winning streak to start any sim now.

[HRBaker]

I apologize if I offended anyone and for offering an opinion. One thing is sure, the forums were a lot more fun before PT.

[Ty Cobb]

Amen to that.

[HondoLane]

Originally Posted by Ty Cobb

Actually, the teams I started later are far better. That's generally the case for me. I was a late bloomer, what can I say?

Also, if I see something not there, I apologize. The whole 'offensive' thing has frazzled my nerves to an obscene point.

Yeah, it's clown world. I get it, brother!

[bailey]

No hard feelings, I hope. I hope we can disagree for many years to come.
My biggest weakness in this game is impulse buying rather than waiting for my buy orders to fill. Just this moment when I wasn't even drinking, and without any inkling that just 30 minutes ago I would do this, it was just my pure bad luck that I realized that with just $100 worth of perfect points, I would have enough to buy LE Pujols. But, rather than do that, I withdrew my unfilled buy orders, sold all my unlocked live cards below silver, sold a few more live golds, and diamonds and voila! With the press of a buy now button, there it was on my team, #31.

[Ty Cobb]

I'm always up for good healthy disagreement. It's how we improve ourselves and our world.

En garde!!!

[HondoLane]

Originally Posted by bailey

No hard feelings, I hope. I hope we can disagree for many years to come.
My biggest weakness in this game is impulse buying rather than waiting for my buy orders to fill. Just this moment when I wasn't even drinking, and without any inkling that just 30 minutes ago I would do this, it was just my pure bad luck that I realized that with just $100 worth of perfect points, I would have enough to buy LE Pujols. But, rather than do that, I withdrew my unfilled buy orders, sold all my unlocked live cards below silver, sold a few more live golds, and diamonds and voila! With the press of a buy now button, there it was on my team, #31.

That card is so fire, I don't think it counts as an impulse buy, sir.