Last year's thread
For those new, Out of the Park Baseball is a game that allows you to simulate an entire baseball universe, managing teams on the field or from the front office, and playing out season after season. Last year we created a fictional baseball universe, and then led a franchise made up of Swampers through a simulated season.
- This will be a direct continuation of last year's game, picking things up for the new season.
- I will manage the daily lineups and depth charts of the Swamper team(s), with in-game results simulated by the computer.
- Major roster moves or other important team decisions will be put up to Swamper polls.
We'll also be setting up a second team for the season (see the next post for details).
This year's version of the game comes out on March 22, after which I will import our league and get everything set up. Our season will be run to roughly coincide with the real-life MLB season. A few other things:
- The process of doing the weekly updates last year was pretty time-intensive, so I'm thinking of an alternate approach for this year. There's a way to export all the game's files as HTML and then post them to an online space where they can be browsed through in their entirety, like navigating an ESPN site. I'll see about doing this for the stats, standings, etc., with a shorter weekly summary calling attention to the most noteworthy news.
- Last season saw some inordinately high offensive numbers around the Swamp Baseball League—there were players with 72, 64, and 58 HR, and 8 players hitting over .350. For the upcoming season, I'm going to adjust some things on the back end that should moderate this a bit. Not a return to dead-ball era levels or anything, but stats should look more historically "normal."
- Most of the new features for this year are under-the-hood things, but of note is a substantial upgrade to the in-game graphics. It's not going to look like MLB The Show or anything, but should be pretty neat to see. I'll see about posting some highlight videos during the season.
===== HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED =====
If you participated last year, your in-game persona will roll over to the new season.
If you didn't sign up last year, and would like to see yourself in the game, post here or send me a PM with the following info:
-Preferred position (list at least two)
-Preferred uniform number
-How you bat/throw (Right/Left/Switch)
-Your hometown
Also—There is an add-on program that lets you add your real face to the game. If you'd like to do this, send me a clear, front-facing photo and I'll get it in.