The attentive people at Out Of the Park Development have already released the 5th major update for OOTP12, so maybe I should take a pause from simulating seasons with OOTP12 to let you in on all the fun. Yes, it is super addictive. Buy it now, before it gets scheduled like heroin or cocaine.
OOTP12 buy it here. My quick recommendations, for those who want to avoid the ramblings of a baseball addict:
1. if you never used OOTP before but you like baseball, get it now. The fictional simulations are amazing! Your players will age, disappoint and surprise in a vaguely predictable way, just like the major leagues. You can create every aspect of your league, even team colors and player mustaches. I use the historical simulation with actual teams and players, so I can make up for the faults of whichever monkeys were running the Mets when I was growing up.
2. if you have played an earlier version of OOTP: The changes and updates from the prior version make for a worthy upgrade. The quality of play and accuracy has improved significantly. Their update system functions by allowing their fanatical users to communicate with each other on the OOTP forum and recommend changes to the OOTP creators, who are very sensitive to the users’ needs. IOW, if you get OOTP12, you will have input into the changes put into OOTP13.
(End of quick recommendation)
My first baseball high came at a young age.
By the age of 7, I realized I would be a dedicated baseball fan for the rest of my life. At that age, studying box scores was a morning ritual, except I prayed for a Kingman homerun and not eternal health. I was obsessed. What kept me from being put in a home for the mentally ill was the simple fact that millions of other people were just like me. I was normal! Soon I found friends who shared this disease. Together we started slow, trading baseball cards. I traded Johnny Bench for Ron Hodges, and was proud of it (don’t you mock me! My friend was a Reds fan, so I could take advantage). Eventually we found simple game simulations, and we bloodied our fingers flicking at metal spinners while recreating a season.
The evolution of the baseball simulation is not a myth, from board games like strat-o-matic, statis pro, and pursue the pennant, to computer games like Earl Weaver baseball. Those were wonderful times, but increased computer power and memory meant improved simulations, up to Diamond Mind Baseball and then OOTP.
The perfect or best baseball simulation is still yet to come. The way we will reach is through the constant changing and upgrading the product. DMB used to do this. They would drastically improve the AI and simulation accuracy with every new version. Then, in 2006, the company was sold and they appear to have stopped the progress. So, OOTP took the baton…
OOTP is the best baseball simulation because they realize their audience all have unique ideas about what makes the perfect simulation. My recent historical simulation starts with the 1968 season and I use the DH in both leagues. Four teams make the playoffs, I prefer 16 teams but the software does limit the number of postseason teams to 4. My schedule includes teams from both leagues, and I can take advantage of the upgraded storylines and manage pitch by pitch, or I can regulate myself to GM and only deal with roster moves.
The key to OOTP’s future success is to continue to add user options, and update accuracy of the computer AI.
Here are some other reviews of OOTP12: (reviews)
SkeptiSys 