Out of the Park 13 - Up for Preorder and On Sale (Until February 15)

son_of_montfort · February 01, 2012, 11:37:12 AM

The very very good baseball management simulation Out of the Park is now entering its 13th season! The newest iteration has some really compelling new features that make it worth the upgrade IMHO (I usually only buy every other iteration, so I skipped 12).

Optional Real Time Mode - You can set the game to run through the events of the day, like you are actually managing under pressure. The speed can be set by the player and, of course, you can always play the classic turn-based mode.
Expanded Storyline System - If you have played Football Manager (soccer) then you might know what this is like. You get events that you have to make a decision on and that decision will effect certain aspects of your team. It was in OOTP 12, but is apparently has been beefed up for 13.
Cleaner interface and better AI

Get it here for $34.99 until February 15, then it will be $39.99. Also, you get entered for a chance to win an iPod Touch or several giftcards to Amazon.com or iTunes.
http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/newsletters/nl0087/

Release is early April and usually this is pretty accurate.

If there is enough interest, we should think about setting up a Groghead Fantasy league. I don't know if we have any baseball fans here. I'm not too interested in real life baseball, but I love these management sims because they are, largely, a nice mix between RPG and war game - even if the subject matter is something real and non-war related. You have logistics, training, "battles," leaders, and units - not too far of a stretch!

Grim.Reaper · February 01, 2012, 06:50:19 PM

I have purchased every version of this since I think version 3 or 4. I'll have to admit, I rarely make it through complete seasons, but still enjoy them:)

What I am actually looking more forward to is that OOTP is releasing a hockey manager sim at the end of 2012....love hockey much more.

Still on fence with this purchase since not sure any of the new features are all that great.

Bison · February 02, 2012, 01:02:16 PM

Yeah I cannot figure out why they haven't made a hockey or football manager game yet. I have to believe a football (American) would be a HUGE hit.

gabeeg · February 02, 2012, 01:19:49 PM

I have always been intrigued by OOTP...the last 2-3 version have gotten more and more compelling...may have to pull the trigger. I am just not sure I would play it enough to justify the purchase though.

By the way for American Football, Football Mogul is now free http://www.sportsmogul.com/games.html ...and it is pretty good.

Bison · February 02, 2012, 01:31:29 PM

Thanks for the link gabeeg. I'll need to check it out when I get a chance.

Steelgrave · February 02, 2012, 10:55:39 PM

SoM, I haven't bought a new version of OotP in maybe 5 years. You think 13 is gonna be way better than 12? Because 12 is only $19.99 vs $34.99

son_of_montfort · February 03, 2012, 12:38:57 AM

Quote from: Steelgrave on February 02, 2012, 10:55:39 PM
SoM, I haven't bought a new version of OotP in maybe 5 years. You think 13 is gonna be way better than 12? Because 12 is only $19.99 vs $34.99

LMAO... I just KNEW I would accidentally hit my magic "modify" button instead of "quote" at some point. So... yeah... for a while it looked like you were answering yourself in my voice...

Anyway... I skipped OOTP 12, so I don't know. I figured that - having skipped OOTP 12 when it was $35+, I saved that money to get OOTP 13 at the full price. I suspect the improved AI and UI will be nice. Not having seen the story events from OOTP 12, having them be expanded in 13 will look like a huge leap from 11. I've asked people if upgrading to 12 was a significant leap from 11 and the answer was an equivocal "meh, probably not, unless you need the newest and shiniest or want to join an MP league using it." But the thing all people I asked stated was "I buy this to support the developer I love." So there is that factor.

I actually waited to get OOTP 11 until it was $19.99. I'll admit, I didn't put a lot of time into it. But I played the heck out of 9. I hope to resurrect this trend in 13.

Compass Rose · February 03, 2012, 02:40:47 PM

I own OOTP9, 11, and 12, and I have no plans on ordering 13 at this time.

I am starting to get to the point where I am getting tired of paying money for a game and paying to be a Beta tester, too. If you follow the OOTP forums, their are still people having bug issues with 12, which according to OOTP Developments, they are finished updating.

I got zero play with OOTP12 due to the fact that they change several of the files that use to be very user friendly to modify your custom leagues how you wanted to. With 12, it is a very complex process and I would have to say that 98% of the members out there have no clue how to do it. It also would help if OOTP started including a manual with their game versions. Whenever a new version is released, game owners are forced to look at the previous version's game manual, which by the way, they haven't released a PDF version of it since OOTP9. Currently the only way to view the 11 and 12 manuals is to use a in-game link to connect to the web, to get the web version of the manual.

So as of now, I am creating a brand new fictional league, which I have been working off and on for about 1.5 years. I still have work to do to make it playable however, I am forced to use OOTP11 to create it, not 12.

Time will tell if I get 13.

In my view OOTP is still the best baseball computer out there. It is just a shame they are not more "consumer friendly".

Steelgrave · April 10, 2012, 07:26:45 PM

Annnd it's live, boys and girls.

http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/index.php

Grim.Reaper · April 10, 2012, 07:37:46 PM

Have had it since last Friday when the pre-order folks got it. Overall, nice changes to the UI in my opinion. Not sure I'll ever use the real-time mode, but kind of an interesting feature. The thing I really hate about this series is that it usually takes a number of patches before all the little issues are corrected and by that time it is August when the season is almost over. I really wish they would release in February so it gives them time to work out the kinks before the start of the season.

But in the end, looks like this one has some decent potential...

son_of_montfort · April 11, 2012, 03:56:25 PM

The size/scope of this release is astounding. If you want, you can manage in a real MLB world with a number of minor leagues in a fairly detailed tiered system. I can't handle that depth, so I created a real 2011 league with no minor leagues, then went into the options and deleted the American League (cause I don't care about them) and released all players to a fantasy draft. So I have an empty LA Dodgers roster and ready to do my picks!

Of course I learned how to do all this after starting up about 6 experimental games!

All in all, it looks like a good ride!

Nefaro · October 28, 2012, 04:51:56 AM

Quote from: gabeeg on February 02, 2012, 01:19:49 PM
I have always been intrigued by OOTP...the last 2-3 version have gotten more and more compelling...may have to pull the trigger. I am just not sure I would play it enough to justify the purchase though.

By the way for American Football, Football Mogul is now free http://www.sportsmogul.com/games.html ...and it is pretty good.

I've just created a new dark interface skin for Football Mogul. I've been using the new 2013 edition, but the interface doesn't look to be any different than the free FM2012 version so it'll probably work on that one, too.

Here's what it looks like, as opposed to the default Bright White & Blue that grew a bit tiresome:

Here's the link to the Thread with the stuffs: http://forum.sportsmogul.com/showthread.php?209397-RoboDark-Skin-Mod&p=1599654#post1599654
An extra D/L location: http://www.gamefront.com/files/22549665/RoboDark+Skin.zip

Football Sim Necro!!! :D

*****

ALSO - Which other sports sims do you guys enjoy most, out of the bunch? Not just football, necessarily. Did any of you give Out Of The Park 13 a go?

Grim.Reaper · October 28, 2012, 05:54:46 AM

Football mogul is one of those games I wish I liked since I have been craving an American football game like ootp for years. Way too light for me plus the developer does not seem to put much time into it each year. I use to play front office football but has kind of gotten out dated, plus I was never a big fan of having to fill out the details of situational play calling screen. Also tried pro football simulator and just too many little things on that one for me to take seriously.

Still stunned some developer like ootp's developer has not attempted to really take the football market by storm.

Nefaro · October 28, 2012, 06:59:01 PM

Quote from: Grim.Reaper on October 28, 2012, 05:54:46 AM
Football mogul is one of those games I wish I liked since I have been craving an American football game like ootp for years. Way too light for me plus the developer does not seem to put much time into it each year. I use to play front office football but has kind of gotten out dated, plus I was never a big fan of having to fill out the details of situational play calling screen. Also tried pro football simulator and just too many little things on that one for me to take seriously.

Still stunned some developer like ootp's developer has not attempted to really take the football market by storm.

Yeah, I also have the other two football sims (FOF2k7 and Pro Football Simulator) and all three of these have their downsides.

As you mentioned, the FOF downsides include all the annoying percentage matrices you gotta mess with to set your play strategies (which isn't very Football-like at all) and I also don't like a couple issues with the game outcomes - a high amount of fumbles being one (people report that good WRs also far outstrip the personnel quality at any other position for yardage production).

But one thing FOF does wonderfully is give you challenging contract negotiations and roster management, and that is the bread & butter of these kinds of management sims IMO. That's where Football Mogul needs extra work - the contract negotiations & player management. Pro Football Sim has a decent base to work with, but it also feels unfinished and feature incomplete. But at least Football Mogul and PFS come with historical teams and drafts, which FOF doesn't (I think it comes with 2007 and a newer 2010 or 2011 season in the latest update?).

Anyway.. I have complaints about missing features and/or odd imbalances with all three american football games. FOF is the most detailed, and if I was forced to choose just one of the three, it would probably be that one. But I find it's interface a bit more annoying and the aforementioned game strategy charts kinda suck me out of the immersion. FM's UI is much more friendly but it's also a 'Lite' version and not terribly deep. PFS holds the middle ground, but just isn't quite a finished product IMO. With more development time, I think PFS could probably rival FOF but things have slowed some on the new feature front there (for the time being?). They're all still damn fun, each with their strengths, and quite addicting once you get the sports management itch.

I'm looking for some info on the strengths & weaknesses of the baseball sims out there. There are certainly more of them, and they've obviously had a more reliable development pedigree over the years, so I'd expect them to be more refined than the seemingly short & unfinished spurts in football sims. I'm not a huge baseball fan, but have enough knowledge of it to drop in & learn something detailed without fear of running into a learning cliff. Recommendations?

Grim.Reaper · October 28, 2012, 07:11:48 PM

I think there are a handful of baseball sims out there.

OOTP - It seems like this one is the most popular and full featuered career baseball sim out there. The biggest downside for me is the vast size of the game can confuse some folks and I wish they would release the game before the season so all the patches would be released earlier. Seems patches continue to come out which always makes me hold off.

Baseball Mogul - Not a big fan of mogul series, just like football....just a little too light for me. But some folks like it because it is more simplistic.

Puresim - Not a big fan of this one either although it is decent base game. Just too may ups and downs in its development history for me to rely on it, plus I think the final version came out near the end of the season, although it was in beta forever.

ActionPC Baseball - This is only a season replay game, but if you like that sort of thing, I think it is the best one like it. I like all of DKSports games, but they are not career sims. You just replay single seasons. Great thingabout this company's games is they offer full money back before 30 days without any questions asked. You don't here about this offer with games usually.

Strat-O-Matic Baseball - Never played this one but it is also only season replay and seems to compete with ActionPC.

I am sure there are more out there, but these are the ones I most hear about....

If I had to choose a career game it would be OOTP and for single season I would choose ActionPC Baseball.

Just my two cents...