Clay Dreslough
08-29-2001, 03:17 PM
Baseball Mogul Online Beta Testers,
I'm posting to announce some recent changes to Baseball Mogul Online, implemented to address issues brought to our attention by beta testers. I apologize for the lack of warning. I tried to get an e-mail sent out last night (at about 4:30 after getting the new code launched).
Here are some of the problems revealed by the beta test, and our current solution. Please praise or criticize these solutions on the boards (http://forum.sportsmogul.com/forumdisplay.php3?s=&forumid=44) (or directly to me (clay@sportsmogul.com)). We need this feedback to build the best possible game.
1) Offseason free agent bidding was awkward. I tried to design a system that would create an auction environment while still allowing players to be signed early in the off-season, as in real life. But some free agents were disappearing before everyone had a chance to bid on them.
Solution: Create a new system where free agents don't sign until the next simulation, no matter how much they are offered. Also, add a 'Max Bid' option so you can protect against being outbid while you are a away from your computer. (This new system is described at http://www-1.sportsmogul.com/bb/Help/Free_Agents.htm -- please let me know if this page confuses you, as I'd like to make it as clear as possible).
2) Players were gaining an unfair advantage by signing the best free agents to huge long-term contracts. Although the teams ended up deep in debt, the long-term contracts allowed them to have a dominant team for many years. This strategy is leading to a great disparity in a lot of leagues, where a team might win 100 games and still be 15 games out of the wild card race. In present day baseball, a team with 90+ wins usually has a decent chance at a playoff spot.
Solution: Create a 'Payroll Limit' based on your projected revenue. Add 25% of your team's Cash to this Payroll Limit (so that teams can build up Cash and then blow it all on a run for the pennant, within reason). Teams above this 'Payroll Limit' are still able make trades, and sign contract extensions, but they are unable to sign Free Agents.
This is not a "salary cap" per se. It represents guidelines created by the league to keep thing competitive and prevent teams from getting buried in debt. Note that we wanted to have some leeway with the Payroll Limit, so we intentionally left open some loopholes. For example, you can raise your Payroll Limit by cutting your expenses. Then, after you've signed a free agent, you can return your expenses to your desired level.
3) Many players were e-mailing me because their team had fallen deep into debt (or they inherited a team in debt) and they couldn't dig their way out.
Solution: This is related to #2, except that the excessive payrolls were occuring by accident. With guaranteed contracts, it's not easy to dig a team out of a hole like this, so we felt the Payroll Limit system would help prevent problems like this in the first place. Moreoever, we added a 'Budget' entry to several screens. This 'Budget' number doesn't restrict your team, but it does give a clear indication of where your team's budget should fall if you wish to stay in the black.
4) Small market teams have a severe disadvantage. This isn't as much of a problem in the CD-ROM game where you only have to outsmart 29 computer GMs to climb to the top. But in a multiplayer league, it takes a lot of fun out of playing. Although we implemented a scoring system (http://www-1.sportsmogul.com/bb/Help/Scoring.htm) to address this, most people don't play this game for "Mogul Points", they play for a chance to "win it all".
Solution: Raise the revenue of small market teams, and lower the revenue of large market teams. Because these changes were made at the same time that I added the Payroll Limit, some of the big market teams are going to be put in a tough position. But they should be able to trade some of their expensive players to the poorer teams that now have a bit more to spend.
I'm sorry if these changes caught you off guard -- I made the decision to squeeze these changes in before Labor Day and that may not have been the best decision. Thanks again for your effort in beta testing this product.
Sincerely,
Clay Dreslough
President
Sports Mogul Inc.
clay@sportsmogul.com
www.sportsmogul.com
I'm posting to announce some recent changes to Baseball Mogul Online, implemented to address issues brought to our attention by beta testers. I apologize for the lack of warning. I tried to get an e-mail sent out last night (at about 4:30 after getting the new code launched).
Here are some of the problems revealed by the beta test, and our current solution. Please praise or criticize these solutions on the boards (http://forum.sportsmogul.com/forumdisplay.php3?s=&forumid=44) (or directly to me (clay@sportsmogul.com)). We need this feedback to build the best possible game.
1) Offseason free agent bidding was awkward. I tried to design a system that would create an auction environment while still allowing players to be signed early in the off-season, as in real life. But some free agents were disappearing before everyone had a chance to bid on them.
Solution: Create a new system where free agents don't sign until the next simulation, no matter how much they are offered. Also, add a 'Max Bid' option so you can protect against being outbid while you are a away from your computer. (This new system is described at http://www-1.sportsmogul.com/bb/Help/Free_Agents.htm -- please let me know if this page confuses you, as I'd like to make it as clear as possible).
2) Players were gaining an unfair advantage by signing the best free agents to huge long-term contracts. Although the teams ended up deep in debt, the long-term contracts allowed them to have a dominant team for many years. This strategy is leading to a great disparity in a lot of leagues, where a team might win 100 games and still be 15 games out of the wild card race. In present day baseball, a team with 90+ wins usually has a decent chance at a playoff spot.
Solution: Create a 'Payroll Limit' based on your projected revenue. Add 25% of your team's Cash to this Payroll Limit (so that teams can build up Cash and then blow it all on a run for the pennant, within reason). Teams above this 'Payroll Limit' are still able make trades, and sign contract extensions, but they are unable to sign Free Agents.
This is not a "salary cap" per se. It represents guidelines created by the league to keep thing competitive and prevent teams from getting buried in debt. Note that we wanted to have some leeway with the Payroll Limit, so we intentionally left open some loopholes. For example, you can raise your Payroll Limit by cutting your expenses. Then, after you've signed a free agent, you can return your expenses to your desired level.
3) Many players were e-mailing me because their team had fallen deep into debt (or they inherited a team in debt) and they couldn't dig their way out.
Solution: This is related to #2, except that the excessive payrolls were occuring by accident. With guaranteed contracts, it's not easy to dig a team out of a hole like this, so we felt the Payroll Limit system would help prevent problems like this in the first place. Moreoever, we added a 'Budget' entry to several screens. This 'Budget' number doesn't restrict your team, but it does give a clear indication of where your team's budget should fall if you wish to stay in the black.
4) Small market teams have a severe disadvantage. This isn't as much of a problem in the CD-ROM game where you only have to outsmart 29 computer GMs to climb to the top. But in a multiplayer league, it takes a lot of fun out of playing. Although we implemented a scoring system (http://www-1.sportsmogul.com/bb/Help/Scoring.htm) to address this, most people don't play this game for "Mogul Points", they play for a chance to "win it all".
Solution: Raise the revenue of small market teams, and lower the revenue of large market teams. Because these changes were made at the same time that I added the Payroll Limit, some of the big market teams are going to be put in a tough position. But they should be able to trade some of their expensive players to the poorer teams that now have a bit more to spend.
I'm sorry if these changes caught you off guard -- I made the decision to squeeze these changes in before Labor Day and that may not have been the best decision. Thanks again for your effort in beta testing this product.
Sincerely,
Clay Dreslough
President
Sports Mogul Inc.
clay@sportsmogul.com
www.sportsmogul.com