Well, that wraps up another IPA season.
I am currently using OOTP19 for the league, but plan to convert to OOTP20 and OOTP21... will not use OOTP20... will skip it... I want to get to OOTP21 for its improved animation... I hear it is much better than OOTP19 or OOTP20.

It will just take me a while to do it... so be patient... as you know, I am computer-challenged... conversion never comes easy for me... too many times I reach a point where I am not sure of what to do next.

I have to get a backup on an external hard drive before I attempt conversions... I don't want to corrupt my league after 63 seasons.
It takes endless hours to convert each time because there are 5-6 million files to be transferred.

Wish me luck.

i converted my dynasty from 19 to 21 as well. It was a test run. But it looked fine. i'm waiting for January 1st for the "official" conversion.

Good luck.

Thanks Dark Horse.
But you are a lot smarter than me when it comes to computers.
But hey!... I did it before... went from version 12 to 19 and all went well.

Look out OOTP21, here I come!

Will be eagerly awaiting the return of IPA league! Always fun to read! Hope the conversion goes smoothly!

Thanks for following it, Sizeman21... looking forward to your new dynasty.

Getting ready to convert OOTP19 to OOTP20 and then to OOTP21.

Normally, I wait a year before I play a new version, so it is as good as it is going to get... this year I'm going to go to OOTP21 right away... hope I won't regret it... hope it is free of major problems.

I'm anxious to see the new animations... they say they are really improved.

Hope so.

I backed up the IPA this morning using the backup mechanism in the game... I hope if I have a problem, all I have to do hit "restore" and I will be back in business at the same point... hope the backup in the game is reliable... in my 18 years playing OOTP I used it one time previously when my game got corrupted and it did not work... I lost about 5 seasons of the IPA at that time.

I am now backing up the game on an external hard drive... it has 7,000,000 items to transfer... expected to take 23 hours.

From 10:30 am to 7 pm it has completed 33%.

If I get a good backup pm on the external hard drive, I will then convert OOTP19 to OOTP20 and then to OOTP21.

It looks like it may take 3 days or so due to the size of my league.

Backup for the IPA and NIRL-SIRL on an external hard drive looks like it went well on the first look... it took 24 hours to save... will find out when I convert to 20 and then 21 to see if everything transferred property.

I did convert the NIRL-SIRL to OOTP20 and then to OOTP21.
Everything is there on first glance... this league is ready to be played, once I get access to it.

Before I can play it, I have to convert the IPA to OOTP20 and then to OOTP21... so I'm 2-3 days away from beginning the 64th year for the IPA and the third year for the NIRL and second season for the SIRL.
IPA season 2064 and NIRL-SIRL season 1953 up and coming.

I'm guessing it will take about 24 hours to convert the IPA to each of the new versions.

It only took 10 minutes to convert the NIRL-SIRL to OOTP20 and only 10 minutes to convert to OOTP21.

OOTP19 converted to OOTP20 quite well... only took 6 hours.
Everything seemed to there... almanac, league history, team rosters, logos and such... this was just a quick check of major items in the games.

I will now convert OOTP20 to OOTP21.

The IPA and NIRL-SIRL should both be in business tomorrow.
I will start working on the team rosters and lineups for the NIRL and SIRL tomorrow... that is only 24 teams... the IPA will take much longer due to the 64 teams in it.

So far, so good... with the league conversions.

All is well... everything is converted to OOTP21.

Will start working on the new rookies for the 2064 season.

Should begin play in a week or so.

Sorry, the two conversions have occupied my time... haven't been able to spend any time on the Islandian Pro Alliance.

I got the North Island and South Island leagues up and running for the new season.

Will begin adding new free agents to the IPA teams today.
May take a week or two to get it all done.

One disappointing item about the conversion... Scores of previous seasons are not there in the Almanac... don't like it, but I can live with it... I think I had this happen when years ago I tried to convert OOTP12 to OOTP13... that's why I played it for about 7-8 years until this year.

The animation is much improved in OOTP21... it is worth all the time spent.

Still, it has goofy flaws... double to right center field... ball went through the fence... my center fielder and right fielder also ran through the fence and were last seen chasing the ball.

Still a great game... I can live with its imperfections.

Did 16 of the 64 team rosters... added three rookies to fill most needed spots in the roster.

Should finish this in 1-2 days and then it's season 64 in the IPA.

Whew!

Just finished updating all the team rosters with the new rookies.
I let the AI select them, but I shouldn't have... the talent level of the rookie class is a lot weaker than the way I usually do it... I made sure the talent level is good enough to play in the league... most of the rookies the AI generated will never play in the IPA.

I will probably go back to the old way next season.

But the good news is the 2064 season will begin very soon with the preseason preview.

Attachment 696075
Thursday, April 3, 2063

2064 IPA PRESEASON PREVIEW
What lies in store for the Islandian Pro Alliance fans all across the Islands for the new 2064 season?... will the rich get richer, the poor get poorer... will there be any surprises this year?... will the defending IPA Pro Cup titlist, the surprising Hartsdale Hellcats, win it again?... will the Oxford Red Caps regain their TU North throne from the Hellcats?... will the Rolling Hills Racers dominate their division again?... we'll know most of the answers at the end of September... and we'll definitely know it all by November... till then, we'll just have to guesstimate and prognosticate as best we can... last year we didn't come close... not one soul mentioned Hartsdale winning the Pro Cup... not one of the top six picks made the Pro Cup Finals... only one of the six teams won their divisions... that was the overwhelming favorite, the defending Pro Cup champion... yet Rolling Hills fell in the first round of the playoffs to South Fork.

Here we go once again for the 64th time... let take a quick perusal of what could happen in the Islandian Pro Alliance this year... let's hope we do better in our forecasts this year... the baseball writers and broadcasters are picking Rolling Hills and Oxford to fight it out once again in the Tycobbian Union... Wynnamac and Rocky Rapids are favored to battle it out in the Ruthlandian Union... when it's all said and done, the Rolling Hills Racers will win it all.

Sure they will...

Around the IPA very quickly... Glasco is the choice in the tightly-bunched Ruthlandian North, but it will be a free-for-all with Valmara, last year's winner LaGrange, Taranto and Far Mountain... anybody could win.

I speak a Slavic language a little bit... so I may be a little partial to the Valmara Vipers... been a closet fan since the beginning of the IPA years ago... Viper outfielders Jet Kazmarek and Jan Szymanski are two of my favorites from the early years... Kazmarek was a great hitter, but a lousy fielder a la Babe Herman... he is the all-time best hitter in the IPA with a career .350 BA and nine batting titles... Szymanski was just a fine center fielder, clutch hitter and a winner... he got a late start in the IPA... Szymanski was already 29 when the IPA had it first season in 2001... he batted .269 in six seasons with 147 homers and 550 RBIs... never forgave the Vipers for trading both of them... love the Valmara logo and nickname, too... two of their grandsons are starters on the '64 edition of the Vipers, second sacker Vladimir Szymanski and right fielder Dominik Kazmarek.

The Ruthlandian South Division is another tight cluster of clubs... the Claxton Diamonds might win their second pennant in a row, but it will definitely not be easy... Waleska, San Dimas, Belair Beach and St. John will have a few things to say, too... absolutely no clear-cut favorite... neither the RU North winner, nor the RU South winner, is expected to do much in the postseason... both divisions are weaker than the RU East and RU West.

Perennial Ruthlandian East power Wynnamac is the top-heavy choice to make shambles of the pennant race... the Macs are back after winding up second the last two seasons to the Elnora Clippers... Eastshore, Sugar Valley and Elnora will fight it out for the runner-up spot in the standings, but the Sundowners are favored to win by a wide margin.

It should be quite a race in the Ruthlandian West this year... perennial bridesmaid Sligo is forecast to wind up second for the fourth consecutive season... the Rocky Rapids Snappers are predicted to take the division title in a super-close battle... no one else is given a chance... Volusia should end up third... last year's winner Colfax is picked a distant fifth this year... Fort Benton is rated the fourth-best club.

Personally, I'm pulling for the Sligo Rovers... which, of course, will jinx them.

Last year in the Tycobbian North Division the Oxford Red Caps folded in September and blew the pennant, beaten out by the Hartsdale Hellcats in a sudden-death playoff... and as we know, the Hellcats won the whole shebang, the Pro Cup trophy... boy, the Red Caps really missed out... it was their year to win it all... the experts are thinking Oxford is ready and able to do it right this year and win it going away by double digits, like they have done in quite a few recent seasons... the Red Caps have won 5 of the last 7 TU North crowns... would you believe Hartsdale just might be a one-year wonder?... the baseball gurus are picking them sixth this year... do you really think Mahaska, Blue Lake, Luxora and North Hills will all finish ahead of them?

Sorry, don't reckon so.

Down in the Tycobbian South Division it will be just a two-team dogfight between defending champion Summerland and the resurgent San Alejo Montaneros... no other challengers... three clubs will battle at a distance for the third spot, Cape Coral, Southport and Colchester.

Over in the Tycobbian East, High Mesa gets a very slight nod over last year's champion South Fork... it could be a five-team affair with Red Bluff, Tuckanarra and Hillsboro on their heels... should be a fan-friendly pennant race this year... all kinds of teams will be in the tussle.

What has happened to my Midway Wolves?... nowhere in sight... superstars Norishige Ito and Daryl Vale are two of my all-time favorites, but the Middies are a mediocre team... can Ito still do it at age 36?... hope so, never like to see a superstar play too long... Vale may be a little past his prime at 28, but can still do a fine job, but his glory days may have past... hope I'm wrong... don't think Vale will be playing at age 36.