Yeah, I've been playing BBM since 2005 and I've enjoyed most of the changes, but there have always been a couple things that never quite settled with me. The first one here is the only one that seems fairly unanimous and should definitely be implemented ASAP. The rest of mine are just suggestions to help make BBM a little more realistic and to keep file manipulation from happening too much.
1) The biggest thing, that matty also mentioned, is low minors. When we condensed from A and R ball to just A/R, I was more surprised than upset. Like he said, I would rather 3 tiers of minor league ball than just one. I wasn't expecting a change like that, and I would strongly encourage moving it back in the next patch.
2) I'd like to preface this entire point by suggesting making this all a clickable option in League Settings. How about an option for 40-man rosters? I understand they can be a pain in the ass to keep up with as far as PTBNL and Rule 5 works, but at least make it an option for single-player or league purposes. And on that note, optioning players between the majors and minors instead of being able to outright demote a 33-year-old to AAA or something would make the game more realistic. Give the player the option to be demoted, released, waived, or traded. And again, all of this could be made "un-clickable" for the simplicity of league play.
3) International FA. I've seen this tried in a bunch of leagues over the years, but it screws with the natural talent pool/distribution too much when you create/modify players to be "International Free Agents". Guys coming over from other leagues/continents is common in baseball, and it would add a different dimension to the offseason. Again, for the sake of league simplicity, this could also be made optional for league play.
4) Winterball. Like with International Free Agency, this can only be done in league play by manually adjusting player ratings. In this league, we have a grotesque form of it, but it doesn't represent accurately how it really works. Young guys go to WB IRL to work on specific sorts of things that are keeping them from being good players. Several years ago there were leagues where you could pay a certain amount to increase a certain skill, whether it's increasing a righty batter's contact versus RHP or increasing a pitcher's velocity or anything like that, you could have it built into the game so that it doesn't screw with the talent distribution like it does here. If there is a way to do that without "killing" other players, that would be ideal. I know that's one of the main things that continually frustrates others and me as well.
5) I Liked player personalities. I don't remember when BBM did away with them, but it helped see how your players' personal traits meshed together. Player personalities are the same reason why real life Moneyball doesn't work. There is still the option to have their "Happiness" dictate their salary demands and performance, but I think having a team full of personalities that fit well together should help performance.
6) Coaches. It's always been something that's just been absent from the game, and that could be by design. Managers IRL do and should have an effect on player and team performance. To combat the issue of revenue/money disparity with the rich teams just buying the best ones, they could also develop like players do, and could include having players be able to turn into coaches for a team after they retire. It's just an idea, and I have no idea how it would would work. It could be a step up from Strategies though, which we have now.
That's all I've got for now. I'd like to again add that I've been playing BBM for just about a decade, and I've loved every new version of this game. I think any of these options would be great additions to the game. And I know my fellow GMs here are furious about some of the things I suggested, so for 2 through 6, if they are discussed, make sure they're all just options that are clickable in League Settings, League, Editor, Player Editor, or Advanced Tools.
~ Brad Hickox
First Class Mogul - Cleveland Indians
No Strike Mogul - Los Angeles Dodgers
Oh that reminds me of another one! Pinch Hitting and Pinch Running are always a big part of my game. Instead of there being 5 (or 6 in the NL) generic Bench spots, we could have each one correspond to a specific substitution.
Bench 1: PH 1 vs RHP
Bench 2: PH 2 vs RHP
Bench 3: PH 1 vs LHP
Bench 4: PH 2 vs LHP
Bench 5: PR 1
Bench 6: PR 2
We have specialty relievers, why not expand that to bench players? Each one might already have its own sort of distinction, but I've never heard about it, and if it does exist, why not make it obvious for people? And these 5/6 are just kind of ideas. I think at bare minimum there should a specific one for:
Pinch Hitter vs RHP
Pinch Hitter vs LHP
Pinch Runner
1) The biggest thing, that matty also mentioned, is low minors. When we condensed from A and R ball to just A/R, I was more surprised than upset. Like he said, I would rather 3 tiers of minor league ball than just one. I wasn't expecting a change like that, and I would strongly encourage moving it back in the next patch.
2) I'd like to preface this entire point by suggesting making this all a clickable option in League Settings. How about an option for 40-man rosters? I understand they can be a pain in the ass to keep up with as far as PTBNL and Rule 5 works, but at least make it an option for single-player or league purposes. And on that note, optioning players between the majors and minors instead of being able to outright demote a 33-year-old to AAA or something would make the game more realistic. Give the player the option to be demoted, released, waived, or traded. And again, all of this could be made "un-clickable" for the simplicity of league play.
3) International FA. I've seen this tried in a bunch of leagues over the years, but it screws with the natural talent pool/distribution too much when you create/modify players to be "International Free Agents". Guys coming over from other leagues/continents is common in baseball, and it would add a different dimension to the offseason. Again, for the sake of league simplicity, this could also be made optional for league play.
4) Winterball. Like with International Free Agency, this can only be done in league play by manually adjusting player ratings. In this league, we have a grotesque form of it, but it doesn't represent accurately how it really works. Young guys go to WB IRL to work on specific sorts of things that are keeping them from being good players. Several years ago there were leagues where you could pay a certain amount to increase a certain skill, whether it's increasing a righty batter's contact versus RHP or increasing a pitcher's velocity or anything like that, you could have it built into the game so that it doesn't screw with the talent distribution like it does here. If there is a way to do that without "killing" other players, that would be ideal. I know that's one of the main things that continually frustrates others and me as well.
5) I Liked player personalities. I don't remember when BBM did away with them, but it helped see how your players' personal traits meshed together. Player personalities are the same reason why real life Moneyball doesn't work. There is still the option to have their "Happiness" dictate their salary demands and performance, but I think having a team full of personalities that fit well together should help performance.
6) Coaches. It's always been something that's just been absent from the game, and that could be by design. Managers IRL do and should have an effect on player and team performance. To combat the issue of revenue/money disparity with the rich teams just buying the best ones, they could also develop like players do, and could include having players be able to turn into coaches for a team after they retire. It's just an idea, and I have no idea how it would would work. It could be a step up from Strategies though, which we have now.
That's all I've got for now. I'd like to again add that I've been playing BBM for just about a decade, and I've loved every new version of this game. I think any of these options would be great additions to the game. And I know my fellow GMs here are furious about some of the things I suggested, so for 2 through 6, if they are discussed, make sure they're all just options that are clickable in League Settings, League, Editor, Player Editor, or Advanced Tools.
~ Brad Hickox
First Class Mogul - Cleveland Indians
No Strike Mogul - Los Angeles Dodgers
(05-21-2014, 05:41 PM)mattynokes Wrote: 5) Changable Depth Chart: Drop-down boxes to select a three-deep depth chart at every position. Maybe I want my starting 3B as my #2 1B or my 4th OF on the bench to be the #2 at each outfield spot. Sometimes the decisions Mogul makes is perplexing, when you have a healthy and rested option that didn't play.
Oh that reminds me of another one! Pinch Hitting and Pinch Running are always a big part of my game. Instead of there being 5 (or 6 in the NL) generic Bench spots, we could have each one correspond to a specific substitution.
Bench 1: PH 1 vs RHP
Bench 2: PH 2 vs RHP
Bench 3: PH 1 vs LHP
Bench 4: PH 2 vs LHP
Bench 5: PR 1
Bench 6: PR 2
We have specialty relievers, why not expand that to bench players? Each one might already have its own sort of distinction, but I've never heard about it, and if it does exist, why not make it obvious for people? And these 5/6 are just kind of ideas. I think at bare minimum there should a specific one for:
Pinch Hitter vs RHP
Pinch Hitter vs LHP
Pinch Runner