Scheduling issues.

[SackAttack]

It looks as though I'm scheduled to play 25% of my road games in the month of April. We've played 10 straight already, and it looks like there's 12-13 more games left on the road trip before we get our first home game.

Has anybody else run into anything like that, either at home or on the road?

[Le Grande Orange]

If you've got an unusual league alignment, then what you're seeing is the schedule created from scratch by the game. It's done the best it can, since programming a utility which can generate realistic schedules (which actually means different things in different years) while accommodating the almost unlimited numbers of potential alignments that can be created.

The game does ship with a number of schedule files derived from real-world league schedules which naturally will be much more realistic, or at least look like what many should expect them to look like.

To use these, your league alignment needs to be the same as any of the alignments that have been used in the major leagues over the years.

[SackAttack]

My league setup is identical to that of current Major League Baseball.

[Le Grande Orange]

Check your settings for:

• The number of games (e.g. 154, 162, etc.)
• Interleague games (Yes/No)
• Balanced schedule (Yes/No)

For a current-day MLB-style arrangement, the selections should be, in order, 162, Yes, No.

If you've changed any of these, or if your alignment isn't 5-5-4 in the first sub-league and 5-6-5 in the second, the game won't load a real schedule because the settings won't match.

[SackAttack]

All I did was rename the teams. I didn't touch the defaults otherwise.

[gmo]

At the moment the game does not include schedule files named properly for the game to recognize them and load them automatically for a fictional league that matches the current configuration of MLB.

However, if you saved also (do not replace) the game-included "major_american_league_ml_c_2006.lsdl" in the data/schedules folder under the long name "ILY_BGN_G162_SL1_D1_T5_D2_T5_D3_T4_SL2_D1_T5_D2_T 6_D3_T5_C_empty.lsdl" then the game would load it.

EDIT - or you could manually load the "major_american_league_ml_c_2006.lsdl" file or any of the other historical schedules from years that match the current MLB configuration.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by gmo

At the moment the game does not include schedule files named properly for the game to recognize them and load them automatically for a fictional league that matches the current configuration of MLB.

However, if you saved also (do not replace) the game-included "major_american_league_ml_c_2006.lsdl" in the data/schedules folder under the long name "ILY_BGN_G162_SL1_D1_T5_D2_T5_D3_T4_SL2_D1_T5_D2_T 6_D3_T5_C_empty.lsdl" then the game would load it.

EDIT - or you could manually load the "major_american_league_ml_c_2006.lsdl" file or any of the other historical schedules from years that match the current MLB configuration.

What're you saying? The schedule files are named improperly and so rather than load a realistic schedule, regardless of league structure, it's generating this 23-game-road-trip crap?

[Le Grande Orange]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

What're you saying? The schedule files are named improperly and so rather than load a realistic schedule, regardless of league structure, it's generating this 23-game-road-trip crap?

No.

The game, with a fictional league other than the default ones included with the game, looks for schedule files based on the league alignment and the three items I mentioned earlier. But the file name for that situation has to be the generic "ILY_BGN_G162_..." that gmo mentioned, or else the game doesn't find a match and generates a schedule instead. The generic name allows any fictional league with the appropriate settings to use the file.

The schedule files with the game have specific names. This allows historical leagues to load the schedule up directly; the same is true for the included default leagues. But fictional leagues need the generic name for the schedule file.

For space reasons, specific-named schedule files were sent out as part of the game.

As gmo mentioned, make a copy of the MAL 2006 schedule file, name it as he indicated, and then any new fictional league you create will be able to use that schedule file. Alternatively, you could use the schedule import function to directly import the schedule you want.

Incidentally, 23 game road trips may not happen anymore, but they did in earlier years. The Houston Astros had a 26 game road trip back in 1992 because Republican National Convention took over the Astrodome for a couple of weeks; you have to go back awhile before that though to find a similar number.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by Le Grande Orange

No.

The game, with a fictional league other than the default ones included with the game, looks for schedule files based on the league alignment and the three items I mentioned earlier. But the file name for that situation has to be the generic "ILY_BGN_G162_..." that gmo mentioned, or else the game doesn't find a match and generates a schedule instead. The generic name allows any fictional league with the appropriate settings to use the file.

I'm using the default structure, though. I haven't changed anything except for the team nicknames, so that default schedule is ridiculously borked.

Incidentally, 23 game road trips may not happen anymore, but they did in earlier years. The Houston Astros had a 26 game road trip back in 1992 because Republican National Convention took over the Astrodome for a couple of weeks; you have to go back awhile before that though to find a similar number.

It's not the length of the road trip with which I have an issue. It's the length of the road trip at the start of the season. RNC happens in July, not April.

[gmo]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

I'm using the default structure, though. I haven't changed anything except for the team nicknames, so that default schedule is ridiculously borked.

Did you create the standard MAL league or did you create a custom league and give it the same structure as MLB?

Are you still in the preseason? If so, on the Options screen under Game Setup > League Setup, do you have a line in the schedule options section saying something like "Schedule was editted or generated", or do you have a line saying "Schedule loaded from file:" then showing a filename?

[Le Grande Orange]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

I'm using the default structure, though. I haven't changed anything except for the team nicknames, so that default schedule is ridiculously borked.

There is no default schedule being used because there is no default schedule for a newly created fictional league (which is what you said you did).

There are default schedules for the default leagues which are included (i.e. the MAL and its minor leagues). There are default schedules for those doing historical leagues. But for wholly fictional leagues, freshly created, there are not.

A renaming of the copy of the MAL schedule file (or any of the historical major league schedule files from 1998-2006) to the generic name gmo mentioned will get you files which newly created fictional leagues will be able to draw upon. Either that, or use the import function to import one of these schedule files.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by gmo

Did you create the standard MAL league or did you create a custom league and give it the same structure as MLB?

I clicked "Major American League" and then edited team names.

Are you still in the preseason? If so, on the Options screen under Game Setup > League Setup, do you have a line in the schedule options section saying something like "Schedule was editted or generated", or do you have a line saying "Schedule loaded from file:" then showing a filename?

Nope, season's already started, so I don't have that there right now. I didn't look at the schedule until after the first ten games of the road trip, when I wondered why I was playing so many road games off the bat.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by Le Grande Orange

There is no default schedule being used because there is no default schedule for a newly created fictional league (which is what you said you did).

I wasn't as clear as I should have been.

By fictional, I mean I'm not using the Lahman database or any roster set based on real players.

[gmo]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

I clicked "Major American League" and then edited team names.

Did you change the name of the league? What was the start year?

If it was still called "Major American League" and starting in 2006, then the game should have loaded an included schedule.

If you renamed the league to something else, then I believe everything functioned as designed. Unfortunately schedule generation is exceedingly difficult to program, so game-created schedules will most likely be disappointing if your expectation is something that looks very much like modern MLB.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by gmo

Did you change the name of the league? What was the start year?

If it was still called "Major American League" and starting in 2006, then the game should have loaded an included schedule.

If you renamed the league to something else, then I believe everything functioned as designed. Unfortunately schedule generation is exceedingly difficult to program, so game-created schedules will most likely be disappointing if your expectation is something that looks very much like modern MLB.

I did rename the league to Major League Baseball, but it started in 2006.

I'm going to be very disappointed if schedule generation is such that changing the name of the league fools the game into designing a goofy schedule instead of saying "Oh, there are no other fundamental changes to the league, I bet Schedule X would be appropriate."