Beta 1.1 bug; suggestion

[kisner]

I tried managing in playoffs (usually I just quickplay the games). Several issues:

1. Bottom left & bottom right are the batter and pitcher boxes. Frequently these indicate the incorrect "hand" for the player. This is the main "bug."

2. During one game, my lineup box was 3B side, but my individual player/pitcher box was on 1B side. Only happened in one game. Minor bug.

3. Lineup boxes and individual player/pitcher boxes "disappear" after a pitcher substitution or when something like "infield in" is announced. This makes it awkward to strategize. Not a bug, but I think the lineup and player/pitcher boxes should be permanently displayed.

4. During Game #1, I attempted 2 sac bunts -- both were doubleplays. I never bunted again in the series, especially after the other team bunted into a DP in the same game. Not sure if the other team tried to bunt aside from that one time, but there were no "sac bunts" mentioned in the play-by-play. A potential bug.

General comments:

1. Tagging up and advancing after a flyout, stealing a base, bunts, and hit & runs are all strategy options. But the game doesn't tell you how these "work", since we don't know what the chance is to advance a base, etc. Without some indication of general percentages, there is no real strategizing. For instance, does every hitter have the same bunt and H&R chance? It seems VERY easy to tag up and advance to 2nd on a flyout, but I have no idea if I was just lucky or in 1902 outfielders were easy to run on.

2. When setting up the league, I chose to "model it" after 1957. I was under the impression that this would make that the baseline for things like how many homers would be hit and how many K's would be recorded. I seem to be wrong about that -- even guys with very high PH numbers only hit ten homers or so in a season in my 1902 season -- so what DOES that entry of "1957" do?

[puresimmer]

ORIGINAL: kisner
1. Bottom left & bottom right are the batter and pitcher boxes. Frequently these indicate the incorrect "hand" for the player. This is the main "bug."

Thanks, I'll have a look.

3. Lineup boxes and individual player/pitcher boxes "disappear" after a pitcher substitution or when something like "infield in" is announced. This makes it awkward to strategize. Not a bug, but I think the lineup and player/pitcher boxes should be permanently displayed.

This is an option that you can toggle

4. During Game #1, I attempted 2 sac bunts -- both were doubleplays. I never bunted again in the series, especially after the other team bunted into a DP in the same game. Not sure if the other team tried to bunt aside from that one time, but there were no "sac bunts" mentioned in the play-by-play. A potential bug.

Yes SAC bunts are not mentioned. I think you just hit a run of bad luck with the DP's

1. Tagging up and advancing after a flyout, stealing a base, bunts, and hit & runs are all strategy options. But the game doesn't tell you how these "work", since we don't know what the chance is to advance a base, etc. Without some indication of general percentages, there is no real strategizing. For instance, does every hitter have the same bunt and H&R chance? It seems VERY easy to tag up and advance to 2nd on a flyout, but I have no idea if I was just lucky or in 1902 outfielders were easy to run on.

I like it the way it is. You have some info, know where the ball was hit and how strong the OF's arm is.

2. When setting up the league, I chose to "model it" after 1957. I was under the impression that this would make that the baseline for things like how many homers would be hit and how many K's would be recorded. I seem to be wrong about that -- even guys with very high PH numbers only hit ten homers or so in a season in my 1902 season -- so what DOES that entry of "1957" do?

The year means a LOT. Ratings in PureSim are all relative to the association, so a 100 Power in 1900 is NOTHING like a 100 Power in 2004.

[kisner]

I know part of your design model is to "hide" what's really happening from the players. But here are my points:

1. Certain players are "known" to be good at bunting or H&R. Some players never bunt. There should be some sense of what rating matters in these strategy options, or whether every player is treated the same.

2. In real life, a player will advance from 1st to 2nd on a flyout once in a blue moon. In the games I managed, it seems like a runner has the option to advance on every flyout. This makes the advance on the out too common.

3. Hiding general "chances" to bunt steal or advance on a flyout has the following effect: I bunt twice and hit into DPs both times, so what I learn from the experience is NEVER BUNT. In the real world, we learn whether a guy can bunt during practice and spring training... performing these strategies at the MLB level is not trial & error. Baseball is a game filled with stats and percentages -- it's a tactician's game with a very sharply defined set of probabilities.

***

Regarding a league's setup year, what I was hoping to be able to do is "normalize" things across a hundred years or so of history. I would like to set up a "history of baseball" in which players are just as likely to hit fifty homers in 1905 as they are in 2005; hit .400 in 1920 and 1990; etc. That way I could "prove" whether Ty Cobb is the greatest, or whether it's Willie Mays or Babe Ruth who deserves the appelation.

Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems like it would be pretty easy for your to add an option to "freeze" things like HR frequency across time in this fashion.

[kisner]

You mention there is a way to keep these "always" on the screen (so they don't disappear after a new pitcher is brought in, etc. Where/How do you change this setting?

[puresimmer]

On the game screen when playing a game, click "Play Options". When the Play options dialog appears, check the box that says: "Information Windows Always Visible".