House Rules?

[SittingDuck]

ORIGINAL: KG Erwin

As for turning off finances, I could devote a new thread to that, and I just might. [;)]

Well, I would sure be interested in reading some pro/cons of the whole thing.

[waltwa]

the trading A1 is pretty weak. i was offered soriano and got him for not very much and then was offered mark prior for a reliever.

what's the answer? some games have trading A1's that are a little better but they all have weaknesses. the answer is to make this game multiplayer friendly. ultimately you have to trade vs. humans in order to get some real competition. now i know someone will say you can rip off humans just as easily. that is true but when that happens i don't worry about it and also many online leagues have trade commissions that will not allow obviously unfair trades.

realistically it is probably better to figure out some really good house rules before someone will create a really good trading A1

[SittingDuck]

I agree in that house rules will at least make the game more enjoyable and challenging.  That's why I would like to start pooling people's ideas for house rules in the hopes that everyone can personally adopt some ideas for themselves.  Hopefully this can get us further along while Shaun works on the trade AI.

[waltwa]

when i said the answer was too make the game multiplayer friendly i meant that was A PARTIAL answer to the problem of a weak trading A1. the complete answer may be decades. it just doesn't seem like an easy problem to overcome so the short term answer may have to be multiplayer and/or house rules. the trading A1 in puresim can surely be improved but to get it to the level of 2 human players is something that i have not seen done in any baseball sim.

there are scenarios when barry bonds at his peak may be a good trade for an average prospect. not many but it is possible and for a computer to see these types of possibilities just is not something that is right around the corner.

i have been a solo player for a long,long time and only over the last 2-3 years have started playing multiplayer. i think multiplayer is a real key to making a game financially successful for the developer. i was very surprised when i started to get more involved with puresim to see that online leagues were non-existent. i don't think the game in its present form is a multiplayer friendly game. as a strict business decision that is an area that i would head into wholeheartedly. if you have a chance go to the ootp forums and check out the online league section. you will see 100's of online leagues of every type. that's 100's of people who have to buy the game to play as most leagues require ownership of the game.

[XCom]

I think you will start to see online leagues sprout up as people become more familiar with the new version of Puresim and become a little tired of playing against AI.  The game is actually becoming more and more friendly to multiplayer online leagues.  I think Shaun sees this and the business opportunity available...we just need some leagues to start up to get things going.
 
As I've said in the past, I'm in the process of converting my online FPS BBPro98 league over to Puresim.  We will probably start up late in the summer using Puresim.  I already have many owners staying on after the switch-over, but there will be a few open teams.  So, if anyone is interested in getting into an online multiplayer league and can wait a few months before the simming starts up, PM me.  The league will maintain the current rosters from our BBPro league so the teams will already be intact.  I'm sure there will be some growing pains, but I'm excited about the opportunity that Puresim is providing!

[BleacherBum]

Rules I've used...

1) Reduce franchise points of my team, at least 20% less than lowest CPU team
2) In the initial draft, I set caps on the number of 5 yr, 4 yr, 3 yr contracts so that my team suffers turnover in the first few seasons just like the CPU teams
3) Players can only play positions they know (boldfaced on defense chart).  Minor league players can learn a 2nd position once in their career, but not one that is in red.  Also has to be an easier position on the defensive spectrum.
4) Check the CPU rosters and see if they are holding onto worthless aging vets in the minors.  If so, cut some of the dead weight from the CPU teams.
5) Only trade when offers are presented.  An offer can be extended to a 2 for 2, but no more.  Also limit # of trades in a season.
6) Set a cap on salaries you can pay bench players - avoids hoarding of talent.
7) Require players of a certain age or experience to move to your major league roster or be released - again, avoid hoarding talent.

[SittingDuck]

Those are some good rules - some being variants of which I've used in the past and had forgotten.  Thanks.

[Abev]

I never got how ppl thought PS is too easy? I set up all of my assn's with 2 leagues, 3 divs each, 4 teams in each (24 team total) and I set my team as the lowest payroll, and put 3 other high (top 10%) payroll teams in my div. No house rules. No worries about the trading AI.
 
IMO the challenge of PS is to win with less money than everyone else, while getting the most out of lower salary players.  Isn't that what a GM is supposed to do?

[Claymore Cut]

ORIGINAL: Abev

I never got how ppl thought PS is too easy? I set up all of my assn's with 2 leagues, 3 divs each, 4 teams in each (24 team total) and I set my team as the lowest payroll, and put 3 other high (top 10%) payroll teams in my div. No house rules. No worries about the trading AI.

IMO the challenge of PS is to win with less money than everyone else, while getting the most out of lower salary players. Isn't that what a GM is supposed to do?

The only problem that crops up is abusing the trade AI, which is true of any of these games.

[BleacherBum]

ORIGINAL: Claymore Cut
The only problem that crops up is abusing the trade AI, which is true of any of these games.

Not true. For instance, in my experience with PS over the years, I've seen high numbers of questionable CPU Roster decisions, especially as careers progress. Also, the CPU has struggled developing the talent that it drafts, especially pitchers. These types of things lead to inferior competition. OOTP has similar issues that degrade the competition over time.

Trading gets a lot of attention because its an easy way to fleece the CPU teams. But even if you eliminate trading, you'll find that as your careers progress its easy to dominate. Also, other flaws take more effort to discover. Its easy to spot bad trades on the wire, especially when you are on the other side. Take some time and look at the CPU teams' lineups and rotations throughout the season, especially toward the end of the year. Investigate how they manage their minor league talent. Check on the free agent signings they make - are they filling the right needs, and spending wisely?

To be fair, I have not played PS 2007 enough to say whether these specific AI flaws persist in the game. I'll be pleasantly surprised if they don't. More later, as I find time to progress with a 2007 career.

[akcranker]

This is a very interesting and informative thread.  Deserves to be stickied or something.

[SittingDuck]

I'm going to start archiving them in the first post of this thread, so people can have one reference for house rules and pick/choose as they see fit.

Ideally we can also suggest variations of house rules we've used or someone else posts.  Something we think might help.

In the end, I think house rules are important when dealing with an AI.