Usage shows that 65% play modern MLB, 25% fictional & 10% historical

[Sweed]

Originally Posted by dave1927p

Guess the only way to find out for sure is to have the tracker track it. Otherwise it's just all of us speculating

Yeah, I think that just about covers it It's pretty much the same back and forth on the forums we get during every pre-release season

[The Wolf]

Yes, but now we can tell the fictional crowd that we don't care about their weird minority requests!

[kingcharlesxii]

Originally Posted by The Wolf

Yes, but now we can tell the fictional crowd that we don't care about their weird minority requests!

Oh c'mon, Arena Baseball is clearly the key feature that OOTP is missing and is preventing it from being bigger than Madden.

(I actually like all the weird minority requests, they keep the game fresh for me!)

[MarkInCincy]

We need softball leagues for men, women and coeds, with fast and slow pitch options

[CONN CHRIS]

I have always played fictional set ups with real DB so I assume that my games show up in the fictional 25%. However, every time that I want to check something specific out, I start a modern MLB quick start, play around a bit and eventually delete it. I would bet that I account for 5-10 Modern MLB games (which I don't actually play) for every one fictional game (which I actually play) in that count.

Perhaps I am an anomaly.

[RchW]

Originally Posted by CONN CHRIS

I have always played fictional set ups with real DB so I assume that my games show up in the fictional 25%. However, every time that I want to check something specific out, I start a modern MLB quick start, play around a bit and eventually delete it. I would bet that I account for 5-10 Modern MLB games (which I don't actually play) for every one fictional game (which I actually play) in that count.

Perhaps I am an anomaly.

I think you are like many fictional players. Do you start a new fictional game each version, or do you import? There is some question (and I haven't read every post) that imported games do not count. If so that would under-represent fictional players like me who have leagues as far back as v8.

[David Watts]

Originally Posted by CONN CHRIS

I have always played fictional set ups with real DB so I assume that my games show up in the fictional 25%. However, every time that I want to check something specific out, I start a modern MLB quick start, play around a bit and eventually delete it. I would bet that I account for 5-10 Modern MLB games (which I don't actually play) for every one fictional game (which I actually play) in that count.

Perhaps I am an anomaly.

You're a Tiger fan so being an anomaly is probably a given

[CONN CHRIS]

Originally Posted by RchW

I think you are like many fictional players. Do you start a new fictional game each version, or do you import? There is some question (and I haven't read every post) that imported games do not count. If so that would under-represent fictional players like me who have leagues as far back as v8.

I generally start all over with each version so my fictional games are being tallied by the great eye in the sky on that front.

[rudel.dietrich]

This is why OOTP has left me behind and my playtime has went from over 1500 hours a year to less than 100 for OOTP 16
The feature list every year simply does not appeal to me and the features that are included are always half baked and often times never correct


Winter ball was introduced over a decade ago but still does not act like winter ball
Feeder leagues are still a mess by feeding too much or too little talent into your league
Last year we got owner goals but they are a mess and good for comedy value
Financial options are still far too limited
Independent leagues need work
Scouting has been a mess since it was included in the game and never improved upon. EHM and FM have far better scouting systems.
Building stadiums is still not an option and neither are more advanced financial options




Is the game still fantastic?
Yes of course

But the series has leveled off in terms of improvement and this forum has turned into a series of fanboyish yes men who Markus can no longer rely on for reliable opinion.


The game is still fantastic and by far the best baseball simulation and IMO the 3rd best sports sim of the market.
But it has turned from a yearly buy into something to purchase every 2-3 years.


And the trend seems to be moving towards making it a modern MLB simulator.
And I am okay with that. The game still works as a baseball universe simulator
But the way the game is used and consumed seems to be that people want MLB play.


And I still have yet to feel like I am an actual GM. People have resisted having more in depth options in regards to finances and actual GM duties.




So lets the flames begin. But this is my opinion of this series in 2016.
Still excellent, still the best, but stagnating and worth a purchase every other year or every 3 years.

[Assos]

Wow! Anyway I strike it, I am in the minority! I have only a handful of times started a modern game, it is always until late last year, historical. I have evolved or some would say devolved into the world of fiction. I am surprised, I had hoped that some players would go deep and try out the vast world of history or create their own world.

[Barkingturtle]

"Majority" is just a friendly way of saying "lowest common denominator."

Be exceptional. Play fictional.

[swampdragon]

I always take a look at the modern setup, paddle around and look at the ratings, and play a few days of the current season, just as a way to familiarize myself with the game and the 2016 teams..

Then I settle into a historical replay and stay there.

[Sweed]

Originally Posted by rudel.dietrich

This is why OOTP has left me behind and my playtime has went from over 1500 hours a year to less than 100 for OOTP 16
The feature list every year simply does not appeal to me and the features that are included are always half baked and often times never correct


Winter ball was introduced over a decade ago but still does not act like winter ball
Feeder leagues are still a mess by feeding too much or too little talent into your league
Last year we got owner goals but they are a mess and good for comedy value
Financial options are still far too limited
Independent leagues need work
Scouting has been a mess since it was included in the game and never improved upon. EHM and FM have far better scouting systems.
Building stadiums is still not an option and neither are more advanced financial options




Is the game still fantastic?
Yes of course

But the series has leveled off in terms of improvement and this forum has turned into a series of fanboyish yes men who Markus can no longer rely on for reliable opinion.


The game is still fantastic and by far the best baseball simulation and IMO the 3rd best sports sim of the market.
But it has turned from a yearly buy into something to purchase every 2-3 years.


And the trend seems to be moving towards making it a modern MLB simulator.
And I am okay with that. The game still works as a baseball universe simulator
But the way the game is used and consumed seems to be that people want MLB play.


And I still have yet to feel like I am an actual GM. People have resisted having more in depth options in regards to finances and actual GM duties.




So lets the flames begin. But this is my opinion of this series in 2016.
Still excellent, still the best, but stagnating and worth a purchase every other year or every 3 years.

Well you are entitled to your opinion but if you think the game is stagnant you couldn't be more wrong. Under the hood improvements to games played, roster management, player development have taken OOTP from an I win the championship every year to a game where I go many years without making the playoffs. And this was mostly done with a programming team of 1 man until last year. Not the team of coders FM throws at a game.

Put that team of FM coders on all of the issues you raise and they would be squared away in a year of two at most. FM sells because it focuses on real players and real leagues. Markus is taking OOTP the same way and at the same time all of those improvements also help the fictional crowd.


Winter ball would work fine if OOTP had some type of player loan capability that FM has so a player could move between teams. Easier to add if one has a team of coders but I have no doubt it will come someday.

Yes, when some features are added it takes a version or two for them to fleshed out. Again a product of not enough coders. Real leagues, just like for FM, will bring in more sales and more coders. Nothing hard to understand here at all.

FM is great no doubt. But honestly I'll take OOTP 6 days a week and twice on Sunday. Go to the FM boards and every year read the posts about what a mess the actual playing of a football game is until it is patched 3 times. You know the actual playing out of a football game, the kind of most important thing to get right if you are simulating a sport. Don't get that with OOTP. Player development and archs are at worst FM's equal and I'd argue much better.

Yep, all fanboy yes men, you are of course right. Do you read the arguments that go on here on either side of an issue. How in the hell would Markus leave here thinking it's easy to placate this bunch of easy going yes men?

What it comes down to is what you want added hasn't been and so you're you're not happy. The games just not as good as it should be according to you. How does that make you different than anyone else that hasn't gotten their way?

[swoboda]

I am pretty much in agreement with sweed, even though I was a Baltimore Colts fan and hated Roman Gabriel . ;-) First I don't mind that the game puts out new features that still have room for improvement just so long as they're functional, and I always find one or two things each year that make it worth buying the newest addition. Last year the game was worth it just for the hover popups alone. My sports sim history goes back to Micro league baseball and football as well as Tony LaRussa baseball and old time baseball, and while I have some different priorities for improvements for ootp over the years, I can appreciate how this game appeals to a wide variety of consumers who use it in different ways and I find the company's ability to keep us all reasonably satisfied worthy of praise. If the game did not generate endless hours of fun entertainment I wouldn't waste my time with it. I would count myself as a supporter not a yes man.

[Sweed]

Originally Posted by swoboda

I am pretty much in agreement with sweed, even though I was a Baltimore Colts fan and hated Roman Gabriel . ;-) .

Well that's kind of harsh I actually liked Ron Swoboda

[actionjackson]

Originally Posted by swoboda

I am pretty much in agreement with sweed, even though I was a Baltimore Colts fan and hated Roman Gabriel . ;-) First I don't mind that the game puts out new features that still have room for improvement just so long as they're functional, and I always find one or two things each year that make it worth buying the newest addition. Last year the game was worth it just for the hover popups alone. My sports sim history goes back to Micro league baseball and football as well as Tony LaRussa baseball and old time baseball, and while I have some different priorities for improvements for ootp over the years, I can appreciate how this game appeals to a wide variety of consumers who use it in different ways and I find the company's ability to keep us all reasonably satisfied worthy of praise. If the game did not generate endless hours of fun entertainment I wouldn't waste my time with it. I would count myself as a supporter not a yes man.

I lost the hover popups when I upgraded to Windows 10.

[swoboda]

Originally Posted by actionjackson

I lost the hover popups when I upgraded to Windows 10.

??? I'm on Windows 10 and my hover popups are working. You'll need someone beyond my technical capabilities to figure that out.

[actionjackson]

Originally Posted by swoboda

??? I'm on Windows 10 and my hover popups are working. You'll need someone beyond my technical capabilities to figure that out.

I'm not worried. It'll work again with 17. It was pretty bizarre though.

[Lukas Berger]

Originally Posted by rudel.dietrich

EHM and FM have far better scouting systems...
So lets the flames begin. But this is my opinion of this series in 2016.
Still excellent, still the best, but stagnating and worth a purchase every other year or every 3 years.

Not going to flame you, it's your opinion after all, but I'd argue everything you said is far more true of FM than of OOTP. I do agree on FM's scouting system and there are quite a few other things FM does better as well, but so what?

There are also things OOTP does better, historical and fictional play along with customization options being three massive advantages for OOTP. Not to mention how much more robust OOTP's use of facegen is, with uniforms showing and able to be customized, real faces able to be added (or even included with the default game this year) etc.

Don't get me wrong, I love both equally. I work with OOTP because it's the smaller company and they need the help more. If FM was the littler guy, I'd probably have spent my time helping there.

OOTP has added a truly enormous amount of new features over the last 2-3 years. Just historical minors and international leagues alone are bigger, fresher and more impactful features than anything FM has added in a half decade. Because they aren't your personal thing doesn't make them unimportant or show the game is stagnant.

If you want to talk about a stagnant game, that's FM. They literally haven't added a major feature in 3-4 years, and yet with each new version they manage to break the match engine even more. Sure they fix it up by patch 3 or so, but it's constantly released as a mess and it feels like there's no innovation or creativity to the series anymore.

As I said, I love both games equally, and have probably spent significantly more time playing FM over the years than OOTP. I'm not biased in favor of OOTP, it's more like having to choose your 'favorite' child as a parent, impossible to do.

Thing is OOTP is still growing and improving. Maybe not in the direction you'd prefer, but it is doing so none the less. FM is simply resting on its laurels despite having 10 times the budget and staff of OOTP.

This is the first year I've ever not bought FM going back to the early days of Championship Manager and unless they can come up with main features a bit more impactful than bloated filler like "manager on the touchline" and "expanded press interaction", either of which wouldn't even be important enough to be mentioned in an OOTP release (believe me, there's better stuff than this in OOTP17 than Markus hasn't mentioned yet), yet are basically the two biggest FM features this year, I doubt I'll buy it next year either.

It's become a yearly roster update, no more. That's valuable and there's nothing wrong with that, but you can basically get it for free from mods to last year's version, so what's the point in buying the game? Not to mention all the trouble you have to go through to download new custom league files just to get Japan, the French lower leagues and all the other countless leagues not included with the game working again.

It doesn't even really support the devs since they're already minting money. Your $50.00 isn't going to matter to them or help the game improve, while your $40.00 does matter to OOTP and it will help the game get better.

[Assos]

Originally Posted by lukasberger

(believe me, there's better stuff than this in OOTP17 than Markus hasn't mentioned yet)

Oh you tease us!