Baseball Mogul 2006 Feature Poll

[DrDoom]

Here is the poll Dr. Doom promised. Sorry if I missed anything.

[boomboom]

as much as i want the Historical Rookies, I like playing with Make believe rookies too,

I WANT ALL-TIME LEADERBOARDS!!! that is the most important to me at least!!!

[GM24]

So whats important out of this? This is what I think.

Historical Rookies, All-Time Leaders
For obvious reasons... the demand. Although I consider them to be more novelties more than anything else.

Expansion, Contraction
I'd like to see something like this in historical leagues... Teams could move or there could be expansion teams. I guess an expansion draft would happen in the off season right after the playoffs... you would pick 5 players that could be eligible... the team(s) that draft select 25 players from 25 different teams. And then the expansion teams get the 1st picks of the draft.

And then with contraction, any player who isnt a free agent at the end of the year gets dumped into a draft pool and i guess you draft it similar to a fantasy draft, worst team going 1st.

Would be pretty neat.

bat pitcher 8th
Or anywhere. I like to bat the pitchers 8th if I were to have a speedy 9th place hitter to complement the top of my lineup. I forgot to check it, but i think it would be a good little addition.

expanded minor league system
I dont really wanna see a whole lot more players, but I'd like to be able to assign players to different minor leagues. There could be something under the team menu called 'Minors...' and this a pool of (no more than 20) players that you can mark as either AA or A, for what league they are in. Or you can press auto-sort. The single A league would be considered more developmental, if a player of yours has a contact or any other improvable rating in the 50s, time with single A coaches will improve this faster than in double A and may not improve at all if they are rushed to AAA. How well players improve will depend upon your farm system spending, of course. These players would be drafted out of HS and college, maybe even overseas if your scouts are well paid... these players might be judged on a 2-8 scale for 'tools'... The salaries of players in AA or A would be very low... maybe $50-200,000 depending on where they were drafted. But they would make the ML minimum when promoted to the

40- man roster
The 40 man roster would include 15 AAA players and the 25 on your active roster. It would be almost identical to the Team Roster... screen of today, with a few changes. Selectable bench preferences, so that each player on the bench is given a primary role (not nesecssarily binding) as discussed in the thread titled "Brian Daubach". It would also allow for there to be one less or one more player on the bench than normal so that there could be 10 or 12 pitchers on staff. I suppose a problem with this is that once a player is promoted to AAA it might be tough to demote him.

Waivers
It would be alot simpler than MLB rules. Basically a computer team evaluates the value of its players and those that have a negative value get put into a waiver pool. Also any player (making more than minimum) with say 6 major league years in AAA would get put on waivers automatically. This could help prevent big market teams from stockpiling players. A human team could also place players on waivers.

Revenue Sharing
Revenue sharing is a must, but... there cant be so much revenue shared that it upsets the nature of the Mogul Rating. Basically the idea is that X% of a teams revenue is put in a pot and then doled out evenly to each team. It would happen on a daily basis... think of it as an expense and then a source of revenue. The percent would be modifiable, you would have the option of having 0,10,20,30,40,50% sharing. Default could be, oh, 20%. No salary caps, floors, please. Maybe a luxury tax for exceeding 117M, or 137M, or 157M of 15%. Maybe.

...

platoon splits?
This would be interesting... it would put a new premium on switch hitters and lefty specialists. I like the idea that it would be generic splits... I'm not really sold on this idea. In the course of the season everything will even out. It would be an interesting challenge, but The thing I hate MOST about baseball games is SETTING FOUR LINEUPS! But, I'm open to it, as long as you only set 2 lineups and DH would be automatic for NL teams. Players would have contact vs. L/R and power vs. L/R... it would be faded and lined up next to a players contact & power number ratings.. thats kind of how I imagine it.

One more!

Splits tab
It would keep track of vs. L/vs. R, home/away, and pre/post all-star break. The stats would be for This Season, Last Season, Career, and AAA (with the exception of home/away of course.) It'd be a 4th tab, a tab like Transactions, Fielding etc.

So those are my comments on how to make BBM better. I think next year is going to be big for BBM... OOTP isnt going to release a baseball sim next year... they partnered up with SI (makers of Championship Manager). Not that BBM and OOTP compete or anything. I know that BBM is more of a finanical simulation.

Forgot somethings
Retired Players
I'd like to be able to see players that used to play for me here, or that low round draft pick that bounced arund and found a niche with some teams. Obviously there would be some memory issues with the amount of retired players this could add up to, but Id like to see players with 10 years experience that retired and check out their player cards.

Manager Mode
Like Play by Play except you have some control over decisons for your team...I read a request for this in a review for BBM... I have a problem with the one in OOTP becuase the games are so long and you have too much influence over the outcome of the game... I like the one in MVP baseball 2004 which is very simplistic. I'm not sure if this is the direction that Clay wants to go with BBM.

Other than that, umm... I want pitchers bunting more often and players stealing third with none out or two out to happen less often. And the pitchers on bench in the all star game thing straightened out.

By the way, position players do pitch if the game gets out of hand. You can look at my dynasty or maybe I'll pull out a boxscore sometime. OK, I'll shut up now!

[boomboom]

Here is my list-

1. Alltime leaderboards, an alltime must have!
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2. Able to enter Year-By-Year stats...
3. $$$ in 10 of thousands instead of Millions, (2k5) only
4. Import rookies, but I would like it to be varible...with sometimes they are ****, other times they are great.
5. Expansion mode, if you play historical, at the end of 1992, the Marlins and Rockies would appear or just two teams.
6. Updated Cities that come with the game. Since this game is a financially based game, The Writters of this game should have this updated so it is accurate.
7. Transaction log that is more organized, Milestones with Milestones, Injuries with Injuries...this one will probable move up the list soon, since it is annoying to look at.
8. Able to control games in Play-by-play....options for pinch hitters, steal.......ect
9. Hiring and Firing of Managers....and managers would have Scouting report pages too, showing there records each year and ablities, With ablities being judged by (ex. Bill James book to baseball)
10. getting the split stat bug removed forever.

[forbes]

All the above ideas are great! The one thing I'd like to see is now that we have a draft:

We should have expanded contract negotiations, such as arbitration, and compensation in draft picks for teams thata lose their free agents to other teams (the draft picks coming from the teams that sign free agents). I think this would do a lot for balancing out the teams in the game.

[GM24]

Draft compensation is a good idea, forbes. I see poor computer teams, or computer teams in debt that have to replace departed players with total ****, instead they can have at least sub-standard replacements. I talked about this at length in this thread (http://forum.sportsmogul.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=55102) .

I only have a vague idea of how arbitration works... After three years of major league experience an aribter decides how much money a player should make for the next season, this repeats until the players 6th year in the league and then he becomes a free agent... is that correct? Its very confusing to me... I know that when I used to play OOTP I had no idea if a player was going to leave or if his contract was automatically extended. I cant support it though if it means players make more money... I'm the "Mogul" here not the player :D

All time leaderboards... this would be records for the major statistical categories for a single season, and also career, and maybe even rookie records? This could mean that (most) retired players would stay in the games memory, which would be awesome. It might also mean a change in the way year by year stats are stored, which would mean the end of the split stat bug, and maybe the ability to enter year by year stats... and both of those things would mean a much larger save file and probably not backward compatible with other versions. Hmmm... I'd pick the AT leaders.

Yeah, more accurate revenues + revenue sharing would = one happy guy.


Lets not have complete control of the game, we arent the managers here, but lets have some more influence over the managers. Assigning bench roles and smarter play (no stealing 3rd or tagging 2nd w/ 2 out, ever) is good enough for me. Then again, pitch by pitch play would appease alot of fans and reviewers. Meh.

Are you sure you want to be able to hire and fire managers, boomboom. It's not that much fun. Its just an added pain really. How about a press that tells you what a terrible owner you are for trading a star player. That would be fun... to kind of gauge fan reactions... I dont know.

Aye... thats all I got. If half the things talked about in this thread were added into next years version it would be such a great game. However I'm sure Clay has even better ideas than we do about what direction to go in with this game.

[forbes]

Not so sure about the rules of arbitration.... I was just thinking that there should be some way to develop players in the minors AND still have several years in the majors before they start asking for the free agent money. It really sucks when you have been grooming guys in the minors, finally bring them up and the next year they want a contract extension for $10-15 million, which no sane person should pay to someone who has one year of big league service.

[RotoChamp2]

1) 40 Man and 25 Man Rosters
2) Arbitration
3) Major League and Minor League Rule V drafts (takes place of the current Minor League Draft).
4) Include LH Reliever slot in Bullpen. More weight towards matchups.
5) Managers, coaches, scouting directors, owners (unless the player is considered the owner).
6) Amateur Draft, as opposed to Minor League Draft. (would take place in mid-season).
7) Include all minor leagues teams, divisions, and leagues. Also include the Arizona Fall League and various Winter Leagues to help prospects grow.
8) Top Prospects listing under the "News" menu
9) More Cities allowed in the game. This game tops out around 83

[GM24]

Lets not turn this into OOTP, please.

I might as well do a list while I'm here. Its going to be alot different from all of yours. Alot of this comes from playing this game in depth with my dynasty.

1. Tweaked computer manager AI, particularly with stealing, bunting, intentional walks eg. National League style baseball. I dont really feel like going into detail. Another time perhaps.

2. Bench roles. Let's take out the guesswork in who my defensive replacement is. If there could be an ability to staff 12 pitchers, that would be dandy.

3. Waivers. Like a modified free agency, with players that teams would be willing to give away for free. Also, players with a certain amount of experience that are in AAA would be put on waivers, unless they are injured, these people would be listed as [DL] and can stay there until you activate them, even if they are no longer injured.

4. Revenue sharing, Luxury Tax. To give the Expos a dying chance, and to discourage higher market teams from gobbling up free agents, if possible.

5. 3 bean salads available in concessions

Let's stop there for now. I just think these four (or five) things are important to improve playability of the game.

[oriole^]

Once again, good show, Doom. I'm not Clay, but I have designed stuff, and respectful feedback like this would be extremely valuable in the design process for the next version.

[DrDoom]

Originally posted by oriole^
Once again, good show, Doom. I'm not Clay, but I have designed stuff, and respectful feedback like this would be extremely valuable in the design process for the next version.

Thanks oriole^. Doom really hopes that this thread will be useful to the people at Sports Mogul.


Originally posted by Crispy984
Lets not turn this into OOTP, please.

I wouldn't worry too much about BBM becoming an OOTP clone. I believe Sports Mogul knows their core audience well enough to not make that mistake.

[TobyLane]

The one thing I always wanted was to have contracts that arent $5M for four years but $3M for the first year, $3.5M for the second year, $4M the third year and $6M in the fourth. This is a game focused on finances, this would make the game more realistic and add a lot more strategy when making trades and whatnot. Of course I have no clue about programming so that may be way too difficult to do.

[Northern Brave]

1 - Hire/Fire managers
2 - Ability to trade for draft picks in trade function
3 - All-Time records would be nice for both team/league

[SouthernYankee]

The hiring and firing of a manager would be good.

This would mean the strategy dialog could be removed from the game.

This is because BBM could generate say 50 managers at game start. These managers would have strategies already built into them so you don't even have to worry about changing the strategies.

Having news stories talking about fans getting unhappy with your manager would be good also, and of course stories about how great your fans think your doing.

The game could also take retired players after say five years of retirement and turn them into managers basing the strategies off of the players career numbers.

Oh, and only players who say played at least 15 to 18 major league seasons could become managers.

Let me create my own manager also

BBM 2K6 is going to kick tail.

I'll pay $30 if some of the features in this thread are added in...maybe even more.

[RotoChamp2]

Originally posted by SouthernYankee
The hiring and firing of a manager would be good.

This would mean the strategy dialog could be removed from the game.

This is because BBM could generate say 50 managers at game start. These managers would have strategies already built into them so you don't even have to worry about changing the strategies.


I understand where you're going with that idea, but I'd have to disagree. In some cases, the General Manager dictates the strategy that's used. A good example of this is Oakland and Toronto, where the front office's strategy is related to the manager. Art Howe isn't, and has never really been, a good manager. He was hired because he was good at following the company line and doing what he was told.

So while I'd like to see managers in the game, and I think there's some merit to strategy rankings for them, I'd like to still be able to control the club's strategy from a control box. Perhaps - taking your idea one step further - if you hire a manager that doesn't fit your team's style of play, or the strategy dictated by the front office, it could have a negative effect on the ballclub.

[GM24]

How about an "auto-sort" button for strategies?

Setting the strategy sliders is what I consider to be one of the more challenging aspects of Mogul... you can eek some more wins out of your team if you have set the sliders in a way that compliments your team's strengths.

But if you dont want to worry about it, then press the auto sort button in team strategies box, bam, done. Move on.

[TwinswillWin]

a utility player option and. A have a player that was label as an IF main postion 3rd base, but my third basemen was hitting .300+ and with at least 25 hrs a year so I put him in LF and he played strong making 4 errors and by far was among the best in LF but didn't win a gold glove. Next Year i traded away my CF in the offseaon and he played CF great 1 error then next closet was 2 errors Jim Edmonds won it.

[goyanks225]

How about having a DL rather than just taking players out of the line-up?

[TwinswillWin]

how about if your simming a guy gets hurt have the DL thing and when he is able to return stop game play and have a pop-up that says hes able to return to the line-up cause i accidently once simmed through a season without one of my main guys cause i had so much else on my mind.

[jjtheindianboy]

I would like to see a players stats for each month. Maybe another tab on the player's screen when you select him. It would have his monthly batting stats/pitching stats. And then maybe we can have players of the month, batter and pitcher, for each league. It would be a pretty cool thing to have i think. Along with the splits, for like home and away stats.

Also...how about batting stats for the pitchers. I think it would be interesting to be able to see that without having to go to your roster menu and choosing a heading for it and then looking at your pitchers.

just a few ideas.

[seand89]

I think that monthly stats and awards would be a great idea. Every month in baseball I can't wait to see who will win player of the month, and having that in BBM would be great.

[boomboom]

one thing I like in ootp, is who's hot, who's cold.

I think that would be a great addition to Mogul, but it isnt a necessity

[TwinswillWin]

A list I would more than like to see.(Not in this order)

1. MLBPA licensed
2. New Picture for Agents or mix em up.
3. Triple Crown Transaction.
4. Ejections and Suspensions.
5. Manager Hiring and Firing.
6. Utility Player Position.
7. Instead of sending injuried players to the AAA send them to a DL list.
8. When a player recovers from a 30+ day injury a pop-up telling you they are able to return.
9. Have TV stations bid for your Team Contract. (higher rated TV stations add some fan support.)
10. Suveniors Sales.
11. Move the Pitchers batting spot(love to see a pitcher lead off)
12. Improved Manager AI.
13. All-time Leader Page
14. Historical Rookies.
15. Promotional Days like Bobblehead free hats Player signed memorablia.
16. Go More in depth on the Concessions. Like Fenway has Fenway Franks.
17. Ability to elect Team captains.
18.Ability to vote for the MVP Gold Gloves kinda like the Managers do.
19.The Game Looks great.
20. First hit first Home run etc etc.
21. Fan Favorite Factor like a 0 is not one 5 is a fan favorite. If you trade em away you lose some fan interest.

If I think of more I'll post them

[TwinswillWin]

22. More realistic Last Names I know you need some for certain letters but I've never seen anyone with the last name Zilberfayz or Steinmentz

[boomboom]

Originally posted by TwinswillWin
A list I would more than like to see.(Not in this order)

1. MLBPA licensed
If I think of more I'll post them

Points killed mogul....no MLBPA license please. I dont mind points, but most customers perfer real dollars...also there is no need for the License becasue of the contract Clay has with Sean Lahman.

[TwinswillWin]

eh?

I hope i didn't say i wanted points (I could have) I do prefer dollars instead.

[Clay Dreslough]

This poll is quite helpful. One possible item to add:

"Interactive, pitch-by-pitch gameplay"

Would Baseball Mogul benefit from being able to interact with an enhanced Play-By-Play screen? At the least, being able to choose when to pinch hit and bring in relievers. At the most, being able to do things like guess which pitch the computer was going to throw next?

Clay

[Khakhan]

Originally posted by Clay Dreslough
This poll is quite helpful. One possible item to add:

"Interactive, pitch-by-pitch gameplay"

Would Baseball Mogul benefit from being able to interact with an enhanced Play-By-Play screen? At the least, being able to choose when to pinch hit and bring in relievers. At the most, being able to do things like guess which pitch the computer was going to throw next?

Clay

This sounds quite a bit like the way MVP Baseball 2004 did it, which was great. It would be a wonderful addition especially for those close games.

Guessing the pitch would be alot of work for you, having to code kinds of pitches into the pitchers and all that. Too much minutae for a financial sim.

[Lobsteve]

You know, I hope you never implement 'interactive play-by-play' as the game stands now. As it stands you are the General Manager of the team. You sit up in the skybox and make dicisions from afar and have to rely on your managers to manage the game itself.

Now, if you had the option to be hired and fired in different positions, you could be hired as Manager of the team and be able to control all aspects of the team on the field, but none of the financial aspects. Hired as GM and control everything as it is now, but no game control. Hey, even hired as pitching coach and just have input on the pitching staff.

But as it is now, the game is much better without the interactive play-by-play. And thank goodness.

[DrDoom]

This poll is quite helpful. One possible item to add:

"Interactive, pitch-by-pitch gameplay"

Would Baseball Mogul benefit from being able to interact with an enhanced Play-By-Play screen? At the least, being able to choose when to pinch hit and bring in relievers. At the most, being able to do things like guess which pitch the computer was going to throw next?

Clay

Thank you Clay, Doom is quite pleased that you find his post useful. As far as pitch-by-pitch game play goes, I think it would be a great addition to the game. It would add a whole new dimension to the game as well as increase the game's replay value. However, I don't feel that this is something that should be at the top of the list of priorities for additions to the game but that is just my opinion.

Anyway, Doom is unable to add this to the poll because Dr. Doom is not a moderator but please feel free to have it added to the poll yourself.

[michaelg123789]

Originally posted by DrDoom
Thank you Clay, Doom is quite pleased that you find his post useful. As far as pitch-by-pitch game play goes, I think it would be a great addition to the game. It would add a whole new dimension to the game as well as increase the game's replay value. However, I don't feel that this is something that should be at the top of the list of priorities for additions to the game but that is just my opinion.

Anyway, Doom is unable to add this to the poll because Dr. Doom is not a moderator but please feel free to have it added to the poll yourself.
You talking in the 3rd person again Doom?:D

[vale]

Well number one on this list for me is the career marks stuff. I enjoy watching records assailed, and whenever I am mogulling, I always have www.baseball-almanac.com open to be on the lookout for record breaking seasons or careers. It would be nice to have it built into the game.

I love the milestones stuff. I would like to see that expanded and improved upon. I also am not certain that the hitting streak stuff is kept track of correctly. It could be that it is breaking up hitting streaks when someone sits out a game. Anyway, I'm not sure how much room is available to store these things, but these are some other potential milestones and streaks:

Hitting
10+ RBI in one game
2+ HR in one inning
5+ RBI in one inning
Inside the park homerun
Grand slam
Triple crown (I agree that it is special enough to include even though the other three are right there in the milestone already)

Pitching
Consecutive strikeouts streak
4+ strikeout in one inning
Scoreless Innings Streaks
Winning Streak
Save Streak

Fielding/Misc.
Games played streak I'm not sure this would come into play as I rarely see players play 162 games a season for me.
Errorless games streak
Triple play (credited to each participant)
Unassisted triple play

I know some of those are more oddities than milestones, but they are all things that have some interest.

Realistic expansion and righty/lefty splits would also be nice. Also the salary cap/salary min with a redistributed luxury tax to enforce them would be nice in my opinion to discourage the hoarding of high priced superstars and also discourage the hoarding of all the young talent.

I don't think loyalty(player to team, team to player, player to fans) has anything to do with professional sports anymore. See Roger Clemens, Carlos Boozer, and the Los Angeles Lakers. So I don't like the idea of any loyalty ratings.

Attitude might be relevant. A guy with a good attitude might not be out for one game when he gets a broken toenail. A guy with a bad attitude, might sit with what he claims is a pulled hammy, feel good enough to go for the all-star game, then be back out when the regular season resumes after the break. It could also be relevant in things like running out ground balls, pop ups where a poor throw.

The other stuff is minor or completely unimportant to me.

[DrDoom]

Originally posted by michaelg123789
You talking in the 3rd person again Doom?

What kind of Dr. Doom would Doom be if Doom spoke any other way?

[Ken Moore]

Let me get this outta the way..yea, I am old.

Okay, many of the features I would like to see put into the game are already mentioned. One I would not like to see is the interaction aspect. It is difficult to be the owner, GM and the manager of a team, so perhaps an option to be one of these, but that, to me detracts from it being a financial sim.

As for the stats and minor leagues, might I suggest something along the lines of the stats as they were kept and displayed by Tony LaRussa's Baseball Game (for the Commador 64 if memory serves, hench the 'old' reference) which presented so many stats that it could be overwhelming at time; and something similar to the minor league management used in the High Heat series. With this you can colabrate with the manager (or dictate as the case may be) as to which minor leagers should be moved from A to AA to AAA to the Show.

If something like this is implemented, I would also like to see a 'lock out' for post season after a certain date...which escapes me for MLB right now. The exception would be, of course, incase of injury.

This is a very good game with the potential to be exceptional; as long as it is not overburdened to the point of becoming burdensome for the gamer.

I very much enjoyed both these games for different reasons, just as I enjoy BBM05 for the mogul aspect as opposed to being the bench manager.

Ken:D

[Psycho666]

I hope that "no trade" clauses will be included in the Expanded Salary Negotiations feature. For ex: while attempting a trade, the player with the "no trade" clause can stop a trade from happening via a pop up message. Also, having some sort of page where all players were placed on the trading block would be useful. This would give you a more realistic approach to trading when it comes to buying or selling.

Maybe i'm asking too much or it's that time of the season. :)

[goyanks225]

Originally posted by Psycho666
Also, having some sort of page where all players were placed on the trading block would be useful.

That would mean other teams put players on the trading block.

[Jeff Olsen]

Originally posted by Ken Moore
Tony LaRussa's Baseball Game (for the Commador 64 if memory serves, hench the 'old' reference) Yeah, that was probably the last game ever released for C64 and MS-DOS platforms.

[egswanso]

Originally posted by Jeff Olsen
Yeah, that was probably the last game ever released for C64 and MS-DOS platforms.

i had 'color baseball' for the tandy (on cartridge, i think) where the players were stick figures (one team red, the other blue) and there was a great bug in that you could position your catcher in front of the batter and toss the ball to him... strike.

that's how i once 'pitched' a perfect game with 27 strikeouts. Not the most realistic of games...

Think about that before complaining about BBM :)

[Ken Moore]

I was playing the game for a bit today and got to thinking after I realized I was selling out every home game it would be nice to have the option to add some seats without having to build a whole new stadium. Then I thought, wouldn't it be nice if I could just pay for improvements instead of building a new stadium.

So, what I would like to see is several of the items listed under building a stadium also be made available under an improvements option.

The ones I would like to see are 1) Additional Seats; 2) Adjusting distances to fences; 3) Comfort and 4) Changing from Natural Grass to Turf or vise versa.

Second, and along the same lines, I would like to see one of two or both of these implemented; Loans made available to clubs to build a new stadium and, or having the ability to set up an escrow account so I could put some money in there that cannot be touched until I have enough to build a new park. The later is simply because sometimes, frankly, I forget why I have let some top players go and have all this money lying around. I am old, remember?:D

There was one more item, but I forgot what it was. If I could remember to keep a pad by the computer I could write stuff down, but then again, I don't remember what I did with all my pens and pencils. ;)

Good Gaming,
Ken

[michaelg123789]

Originally posted by DrDoom
What kind of Dr. Doom would Doom be if Doom spoke any other way?
I honestly don't know, but I reckon I'll figure it all out someday;)

[jamesfinch]

How about a proper expansion draft at the start of a game? You could be the owner of a brand new team and have to got through the same problems that a new GM has to go through. Trying to build a team with has-beens and overpaid rubbish.

How about it? Also, perhaps every ten years or so another team could be added, and perhaps the schedule could change from 162 games? More interleague to less interleague, GM votes on such things etc. Any thoughts?

[Clay Dreslough]

Originally posted by jamesfinch
How about a proper expansion draft at the start of a game? You could be the owner of a brand new team and have to got through the same problems that a new GM has to go through. Trying to build a team with has-beens and overpaid rubbish.

How about it? Also, perhaps every ten years or so another team could be added, and perhaps the schedule could change from 162 games? More interleague to less interleague, GM votes on such things etc. Any thoughts?

I see these ideas as falling under the "Realistic Expansion/Contraction" category above (a popular feature suggestion, I might add).

Clay

[punkviper]

speaking from a pizzazz standpoint:
humanizing the game via attributes like "morale" and the hot/cold streak option, along with injured player percentages (85% healthy) and coach hiring/firing might go a long way in shedding the image that Mogul is tired, stale, and retreading old ground.

are these things integral to the game?
no.
but they sure do look nice for the promo materials.
look what that stuff does for Championship Manager.

[tbear2b]

In addition to a lot of the suggestions I have liked so far, I think one of the things that should be expanded is the financial end of the game. Simple things like adding in merchandise sales. Individual players who do very well could boost sales even if the team is doing poorly. So merchandise might be an amount based upon how well the team is doing as well as how it star players are doing, since fans will buy more memorabilia for the Timberwolves because of Kevin Garnett than simply because the Wolves are good.
Just a simple thought that I don't remember seeing mentioned here.

Other than that I really am a big stats guy, so I would like to see more milestones, all-time leader boards, more options for outputting stats, and an option to have ALL players who retire have their cards saved so that you can, at any point, look back at that player's stats. I'm not sure how that would eat up space, but if it worked well, it would be nice.

Thanks Clay for producing an excellent game.

[BluesBroSJ]

all i have ever asked for is historical rookies......i would pay 30 for the game if that feature alone was added

[liveandletdie]

I would also being able to see players numbers and edit them, and say a player is traded to you and has the same number as one of your players already, it can ask you what you want to change the number to.

[SoulD]

though its now rare these days, i'd love to have a way to keep a player who is loyal to the team(WANTS to play for your team rather than run out after money). i think itd be cool to have "trait settings" for player motivation(some care more for money, others care more for winning, others want their HOME team to win so they want to stay, etc)

SoulD out. :)

[TheLeiterSide]

Among all things, I'd like to see a full minor league system. There are so many young players that I sign and trade for right off the bat, that my AAA is filled with these guys, while another guy I want, maybe like Fred McGriff, or some other veteran, is still a free agent.

Which brings me into wanting 40-man rosters. The more bench players I have, the better. Same with pitchers. If that was a feature, I wouldn't have to trade Scott Strickland everytime I play as the Mets, just so that I can put John Franco in the bullpen :p

[JimBones]

One thing i liked about the older Mogul versions was the unpredictability. I had a few players hit 70+ homeruns, which some ppl complained about as unrealistic, and then Bonds. Thus I would like to have a OPTION to have more variablity. I play BBMogul precisely because it does NOT model fthe actual game stats too closely. I like to be surprised every season.

[TyCobb]

My Closers never make it to Cooperstown! (no relievers only, in the hall) a guy Saves 500 games and then is forgotten by the baseball world!


Also i would like genetic cloning and being able to purchase Ted Williams DNA is a must...........;)


well i do want half of those things anyway!!

[poccri]

Last Seven Games (or Last Month)
How about showing a pitcher or batters "last 7 games" or "last month" stats, perhaps a TAB on the player screen. Would be very useful when simming month to month

More LEADERS categories displayed
It would be nice to see more leaders all on the same screen instead of changing headers all the time. I would like at least Avg HR RBI W ERA K displayed at same time when i view, but still let me change them if i want.

All time list - Real Time
Have a real all time leaders list with active players from game showing up on there as they progress (like bonds will have 2nd most HR, etc.)

Show more on schedule screen
How about showing opponent's record, Opp. last 10, me vs. Opp. and possibly starters for those games.

Lineup and Pitching Splits
It would be nice to have a diff lineup for leftys and rightys and a Lefty pitching specialist.

Retired Players
I'd like to be able to see players that used to play for me, or a draft pick that I traded who became a star. It sucks when a guy retires and I can't see his stats unless he was a HOFer.

Interactive Sim
Able to control games in play by play mode, some options like pinch hitters, pitchers, stealing, etc

Utility Player Position.
A slot for a guy who can play multiple infield positions without a penalty

Greater restraint on AI releases
I can't count how many times I have seen a ROY, MVP or Cy Young get released by his team the year they won the award. I guess this would fall under loyalty.

[boomboom]

instead of the expanded contract negioations, I would like to see the expansion options, Right now if you start a new team, you dont get a draft pick your first year, you dont get year-by-year stats your first year.....these are bugs, also the schedule gets messed up. This option is already in there, it just needs to be fixed. An expansion draft would be really cool, but you would need a 40man roster first.

I would just like to say thanks clay for 2k5, it is the best yet!:D
And BMO is fun as hel! too!:D ;) :p

Bobby

[TwinswillWin]

Originally posted by poccri
Last Seven Games (or Last Month)
How about showing a pitcher or batters "last 7 games" or "last month" stats, perhaps a TAB on the player screen. Would be very useful when simming month to month

More LEADERS categories displayed
It would be nice to see more leaders all on the same screen instead of changing headers all the time. I would like at least Avg HR RBI W ERA K displayed at same time when i view, but still let me change them if i want.

All time list - Real Time
Have a real all time leaders list with active players from game showing up on there as they progress (like bonds will have 2nd most HR, etc.)

Show more on schedule screen
How about showing opponent's record, Opp. last 10, me vs. Opp. and possibly starters for those games.

Lineup and Pitching Splits
It would be nice to have a diff lineup for leftys and rightys and a Lefty pitching specialist.

Retired Players
I'd like to be able to see players that used to play for me, or a draft pick that I traded who became a star. It sucks when a guy retires and I can't see his stats unless he was a HOFer.

Interactive Sim
Able to control games in play by play mode, some options like pinch hitters, pitchers, stealing, etc

Utility Player Position.
A slot for a guy who can play multiple infield positions without a penalty

Greater restraint on AI releases
I can't count how many times I have seen a ROY, MVP or Cy Young get released by his team the year they won the award. I guess this would fall under loyalty.

these all sound like the features in OOTP. Baseball mogul should be different from OOTP and stand out.

[Clay Dreslough]

Originally posted by poccri
More LEADERS categories displayed
It would be nice to see more leaders all on the same screen instead of changing headers all the time. I would like at least Avg HR RBI W ERA K displayed at same time when i view, but still let me change them if i want.


You can do all this using the 'Roster' screen on the 'Team' menu. Select one league, or all players, then click on the headings you want to sort by.

Clay

[Blinkbizkit21]

Hello guys, thanks for taking the time to read this and consider the changes i would like to see implemented in the next version of BBM.

1) Draft Pick Compensation for loss of Free Agents and Arbitration built in to negotiations. For example, The Red Sox Pedro Martinez is a free agent. If they lose him they get whatever signing teams first round pick plus a compensation pick. Also Mark Bellhorn isnt a Free Agent. He is ARB elligeable. So you either have the option to nontender him and make him a FA, or go to arbitration.

2) An option to hire/fire coaches.

3) Just like injuries have things like suspensions, etc.

4) Multiple levels of minor leagues. Like AAA, AA, A. This would mean you could have more prospects.

5) Use the 25 and 40 man roster. So if you want to get a new player on the roster, you have to send down or place another player on waivers. This would be great, because it takes some skill to sneak a player through waivers.

6) Waiver Wire in addition to FA pool.

7) Free agents dont all get signed right away.

8) A Disabled List! Instead of having guys just injured. How about a disabled list. Then with the implementation of the 25/40 man roster you can bring guys up. 15 and 60 DL lists.

9) Rule V Draft. This would make the game alot more indepth. This way you would have to promote prospects or lose them. It also allows a team to find some good young talent on other teams and have to keep them on the major league roster.

10) Please make trading block more realisitc. I can put up Tim Hudson for trade and get offers of like Brandon Lyon and Kaz Ishii. These are nowhere near fair value. But if i want to trade for Tim Hudson i have to give up nearly my whole team. Please work to balance this out.

11) Make OBP a searcable item when searching for players.

[dabluebery]

Hey,

I want to chime in. I like the all-time leaderboards. I think it would be awesome, especially coupled with an option for my FAVORITE feature...... real rookies.

I've said in other threads, that if real rookies come in BBM2k6, I'll buy 2 copies. I promise.

Rob

[Clay Dreslough]

Originally posted by dabluebery
Hey,

I want to chime in. I like the all-time leaderboards. I think it would be awesome, especially coupled with an option for my FAVORITE feature...... real rookies.

I've said in other threads, that if real rookies come in BBM2k6, I'll buy 2 copies. I promise.

Rob

Real rookies meaning?

1) That if you start play in 1938 as the Red Sox, Ted Williams appears on your roster at the beginning of 1939 [we call this "historical rookies"]

2) That the database we ship with for the 2005 season needs to include more AAA, AA and A players [don't have a name for this, but would probably call it -- "better database with more 2005 minor league players"]

I assume you mean #1

Clay

[boomboom]

Originally posted by Clay Dreslough
Real rookies meaning?

1) That if you start play in 1938 as the Red Sox, Ted Williams appears on your roster at the beginning of 1939 [we call this "historical rookies"]

2) That the database we ship with for the 2005 season needs to include more AAA, AA and A players [don't have a name for this, but would probably call it -- "better database with more 2005 minor league players"]

I assume you mean #1

Clay

I believe he means Historical Rookies, as much as this would be a great feature....I would rather see all-time leaderboards....I would also like to see 2-4 more addition things in order for me to spend $20.00 again.

Bobby

[Remianen]

Great thread!

Things I would like to see (which may blur the line or close the gap between BM and OOTP):

Expanded Salary Negotiations (Counteroffers, Option Years, Signing Bonuses, No-Trade Clauses etc.)

-An absolute must for me. This is where I most enjoy going up against the AI. When it comes to determining the value of a player, it goes far beyond $X for Y years. There are some players that you'd gladly offer a no-trade clause to (probably in exchange for a lower salary) or even give a bloated player-option. I'd like to be able to negotiate contracts that are personalized to my franchise and my vision for said franchise. Remember the feeding frenzy that surrounded Kevin Brown's free agency? The Dodgers landed him in large part because they were willing to give him a certain number of uses of the corporate jet, to assuage his family responsibilities.


Full Minor League System (3 separate minor league teams with their own lineups and schedules)

One of my favorite parts of OOTP, easily.

Player Personality Ratings (Loyalty, Attitude, etc); Player Morale, Happiness, Hot Streaks etc.

Another fav from OOTP as well as Front Office Football: The College Years.

Realistic Expansion/Contraction

For sure, since I don't see a team leaving Washington, DC to relocate to Ottawa or something.

Manager Signings/Firings

Another thing that adds to the "meta-game" of managing a franchise. I don't think anyone would dispute the fact that if the Yankees were managed by Bobby Valentine rather than Joe Torre, their fortunes would probably be much different.

Platoon splits (lefty/righty stats and lefty/righty lineups)

This is used every day in every level of baseball. Would be a great addition.

Editable Number of Pitchers Per Team and Roster Sizes

More options to personalize your league/game is never a bad thing IMO.

Enhanced Play-By-Play: Triple Plays, Double Switches, Taking a Base on Defensive Indifference, Ejections, etc.

This is one of the many things I loved about Earl Weaver Baseball.

Salary Caps and Revenue Sharing

No. No no no no no. If it is added, PLEASE make it an option. Revenue sharing IMO is too much like communism and penalizes teams for excellence. If Montreal or Milwaukee cannot/will not support a franchise, then Montreal/Milwaukee should not HAVE a franchise. This is business, after all.

Enchanced Injury Engine (the ability to play hurt, e.g. "he's at 85%" etc.)

YES!

Stadium improvements (e.g. luxury suites, additional seats); Expanded revenue options (merchandise, concessions, media contracts etc.)

More options = good

Three-way trades

This would rock and would probably replace the need for cash trades. When X team wants your player but you want someone from team Y, doing the 3 way would possibly help facilitate that.

[dabluebery]

Yes, Clay. I mean "Historical Rookies." I couldn't care less about the present / future. A better database of current players would be interesting, but I really HATE playing a sim past about 20 years, when all the historical players are gone. My whole roster ends up being this guy;

Reginald Vanveenendaal, and he's 5'4, and weighs 140 pounds, and hits 50 homers every year. Love that random function....

Anyway.... yes. Historical Rookies. And I'll buy two copies.

Now, so I fit in with everyone else on the forum, I'll exaggerate the request to include the following totally OVERKILL features;

.....It won't be enough to add them in according to when they show up in Lahman. You've GOT to search Lahman for anyone who was of baseball AGE when going forward to the next year.

For example....

It's obvious to everyone that letting Chris Hammond fester at Triple-A Nashville in 1989 was the biggest mistake the Reds ever made, after his sparkling 16 wins and 1.72 ERA at Chattanooga in 1988. I need him on that roster in 89.

Or, when I'm the Mets in 1978, I'm going to foresee the potential hole at catcher I'll have in the early to mid 80's, and I'm going to HAVE to prevent trading Hubie Brooks for Gary Carter. But how am I going to do that unless I can lock up Geno Petralli in the 78 Amateur draft? We ALL KNOW that Clint Hurdle isn't going to work out..... I can go on......

Historical Rookies. Two Copies. Reasonable Circumstances. Or else..... I'll just buy 1 copy.
Rob

[JoeyD23x]

I think as a minor difference in Baseball Mogul 2006 is that they should have a special section for signing people who have already retired, i sometimes get players who retire in their 40's but are still doing well, maybe we should make this a small feature so you may keep him for another couple of years

[LetsGoOakland]

Anything that would deter from the speed of the game would be terrible. I love the ease and quickness of the game. It has a great layout, easy to understand and move around (compared to something like OOTP baseball). This idea of minor league (AAA, AA, and a few A teams) gets me worried about bringing down the speed. I don't mean how fast the game simulates, I mean managing a team. Maybe just having a AAA team may be a better option? I hope everyone keeps this idea of speed (both game play speed and how fast someone can just get it going and set up a team) when they choose which features they want.

-Will

:)

[Jeff Olsen]

Originally posted by JoeyD23x
I think as a minor difference in Baseball Mogul 2006 is that they should have a special section for signing people who have already retired, i sometimes get players who retire in their 40's but are still doing well, maybe we should make this a small feature so you may keep him for another couple of years Or do away with the mandatory retirements altogether. There's no reason to force retirement upon players just because they reach a certain age. If they're still capable of doing their job, let them play!

[SoulD]

just curious. will there also be a "team/league" editor?(ie. adjust the number of teams, # of teams in leagues, etc) just thinking about when I tried to make the Japan Baseball League data file for simulation..... ;)

[LankfordFanClub]

The one problem I see with letting players play forever is that Baseball Mogul already has a problem with a lot of players reaching the established hitting milestones (500 HR, 3,000 hits), so imagine if some player with a looong peak gets generated. Yikes.

[Clay Dreslough]

All,

Please chime in on this new poll about a "Full Minor League System" (http://forum.sportsmogul.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=65251).

Thanks!

Clay

[mooseman74]

I think players should be able to play longer too....look at Julio Franco...he'll be what....47 next year? I think if they could play up to 50 or so and have the game determines when they quit based on how much they're playing...if they're still on the big league roster...and how they're performing....similar to how a real player would decide. I know not many would make it to 50..but at least the odd one might....the way athletes are performing in their 40's right now it'll probably happen in the not too distant future.

[Clay Dreslough]

Interesting point on playing into the 40s. Right now a guy will generally play until around 45 if he's still productive, but the standard of productivity varies by player.

On the flip side, I see a lot of HOFers hanging out in AAA for 2 years before retiring. This doesn't seem normal. Then again, some guys like Rickey Henderson will stay in organized ball until you carry them off the field.

Clay

[LankfordFanClub]

Yeah, the Hall of Famers sticking around bothers me, too. (It seems like they'd find a job on some bench somewhere on reputation)

It also adds some annoying little "2 GS, 8 IP, 6.50 ERA" stat lines to otherwise sterling careers.

[jonnymo]

For every Ted Williams,

Year Ag Tm G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BA OBP SLG
1960 41 BOS 113 310 56 98 15 0 29 72 .316 .451 .645

there are plenty of Mel Otts,

1946 37 NYG 31 68 2 5 1 0 1 4 .074 .171 .132
1947 38 NYG 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000

Enos Slaughters,

1959 43 NYY 85 117 10 20 2 0 6 22 .171 .269 .342

and Eddie Murrays.

1997 41 ANA 55 167 13 37 7 0 3 18 .222 .281 .317

With pitchers, this desire to play until they can't walk on to the field can be even more noticeable. Consider the final seasons of 43-year-old Steve Carlton (0-1, 16.76 ERA), 48-year-old Phil Niekro (7-13, 6.30), and even the great Cy Young, who at the age of 44 went 7-9 with a 3.78.

I say let them play until there is no longer a market for their services.:cool:

[Electricbassguy]

I want every single one of those :-D

[Electricbassguy]

I hate that players always retire at 45... It's annoying. I mean... maybe a really crappy team needs an aging has-been...

And I think getting a 3,000th hit or other milestone should be recorded... and should increase attendance on the day they get it

[jonnymo]

Originally posted by Electricbassguy
Bill Mueller is the best third baseman. I know you disagree, but I still think he is the best third baseman.

When he played for the Cubbies, I wasn't impressed. However, as a Sox fan, I must agree. :D

[boomboom]

Originally posted by Mogul2000
, "Ruth says he will 'die wearing Yankee pinstripes' - inks new deal."

sorry he didnt, his last contract was with some mexican team, but before that was with the Boston Braves.....;)

Actually, I would love to see player loyality, and a scouting report for contract talks....simular to the message in current scouting reports....

Also bidding on free agents is a nessisity and a Trading block simular to BMO would be great too.....

Actually if they make 2k6 more like BMO, the game would rock!:cool:

[Jeff Olsen]

Originally posted by Electricbassguy
And I think getting a 3,000th hit or other milestone should be recorded... That part already is, it's under Transactions. Along with 2000th Hit, 2500th Hit, 200th Win, 250th Win, etc.

[TwinswillWin]

i really like the player personality idea if you go indepth with it. If you got a guy who was a media darling you would see spikes in your TV revenue. If you got an ******* the papers would write about his bad nights or ignore him completely. Team leaders would contact you to try and improve team chemistry

[Jtmac00]

I voted for the minor league system, but I feel that there should be some way you can target what you want in the draft. Instead of it drafting people at random. So if you already have a stud first baseman, there's no reason to draft one with your first pick in that years draft.

[Jeff Olsen]

Originally posted by Jtmac00
I feel that there should be some way you can target what you want in the draft. Instead of it drafting people at random. You're not playing 2K5, are you?

[the1111wish]

make this more like out of the park.........................................................waits to get torn a new *******

[Jeff Olsen]

OOTP doesn't even have half of the expected additions. So there. :p

[boomboom]

Originally posted by the1111wish
make this more like out of the park.........................................................waits to get torn a new *******

?? OOTP will never be Mogul, Vice-versa, SM has more potential then ootp, with a better game engine....OOTP is Feature happy...with many bugs.

[the1111wish]

I have been a fan of Baseball Mogul since the begining but when I found out about OOTP I was blown away. In Mogul you cant even play the game. The minors suck...do you want me to go on?

[Jeff Olsen]

The games have different goals. BBM has always focused mainly on the GM but includes some FM duties like setting the lineup and rotation. OOTP is a broad-range game that covers the FM, GM, and owner pretty much equally. Comparing the two is virtually pointless.

[the1111wish]

The 2 pretty much have the same target audiences.

[dejapooh]

Originally posted by SouthernYankee
The hiring and firing of a manager would be good.



The game could also take retired players after say five years of retirement and turn them into managers basing the strategies off of the players career numbers.

Oh, and only players who say played at least 15 to 18 major league seasons could become managers.



Intereesting idea, but how would someone like Tommy Lasorda become a manager? He only had 4 games in the bigs and became one of the most successfull managers in the history of the game.

[thurm12]

Ok, I haven't played Baseball Mogul since 1999 and I just downloaded the Mogul 05 demo and I see much room for improvement. In my opinion, the reason to own a game like Mogul is to have a much superior management system such as in the 20th century it did; however, now All-Star Baseball for ps2 as well as other games have far succeeded the reality that Mogul possesses. That said here are the required improvements in Mogul for me to consider buying again:

Advanced Minor League System
Obviously a lot of you do not like this idea, so I say that there should be an option that allows for an AAA, AA, and A clubs at the minimal or you can have a bare min. farm system of AAA. I personally must have a huge realistic farm system.

Realistic Player Negotiations
Mogul can take a page from another game, Madden 2005, and see how easy this is. Obviously on a PC, Mogul should one-up this negotiating system and add factors such as the no-trade clause, option years, bonues/incentives, and the 10/5 rule that MLB has. Also negotiating with players before they have one year left on their contract would be nice (especially for pulling a Billy Beane and signing your super stud Tim Hudson/Mark Mulder to lower contracts)

Multiple Team Trading, Arbitration, Rule V, DL, 40-Man Roster
I don't have to say much about these, they are just musts for any realistic baseball game. Um definitely player arbitration/non-tendering players would be an amazing feature!

Coaching Staff
Not only should Mogul have a detailed manager mode, pitching coaches, hitting coaches and bullpen coaches as well as a minor league director are MLB ecessities so Mogul needs them as well.

Baseball Draft
For one a 10 Round or so MLB draft would not be bad. Obviously it could be shorter but its also not as long as the real draft. Please no draft trades because that is not allowed in MLB.

Foreign Players Entering FA Market
I believe this is overlooked by many, and it should be few and realistic. A cuban defector or two each offseason for free agency. Less than one japanese player per season, but teams should have to bid for negotiating rights like in real life.

Top Prospect Mode
Maybe try and get Baseball America's help or something but a top 10 or each organization and a top 10 for each position in the minors would be an amazing feature for the game!

Express Interest in Opponents
I believe the best thing to call this would be like a reverse trading block. GMs should have a way of telling you their interest in your players and you should be able to express interest in the opposition. For the trial, a low, medium, and high interest could start us off. This would be an intriguing element.

Player Personalities, Fan Support
Players should be loyal or greedy. Also players could be much more likely to play in their hometowns than to play 3000 miles from home.

Options
Included in the 40-man roster portion should be player's having option years and such that players must be placed on waiver when they run out of options. A very good starting place would be to look at ASB franchise of games for ps2/xbox. They are good with this.


It appears to me that most of this forum is more of a casual fan whereas I am closer to obsessed and am looking for the most realistic management mode available. I believe Mogul should be able to be scaled down for the casual fan but actual insane people like myself would more than love to have as much detailed management as possible. Seriously, sit down with say John Schuerholz or Billy Beane and see what they have to say about the game.

[gocubs]

I think all of those features would be great for Mogul. One thing that might be cool though is promotions. Have a promotional tool bar, so you can add some promotions like bobblehead night, free cap night, etc. I think that would be cool to add to Mogul.

[dejapooh]

I would love to see the ability to retrain a player for a new position in AAA. When a player is good in 2 or more positions, we need to see their ability at each position...

[streak]

I would like to see the option of being able to play more than one team manually. If this were available the game would be vastly improved.

[Gocardinals]

Once when I simulated the 1998 season (as the Cardinals GM), Mark McGwire hit 62 home runs and the program treated it like nothing.