Matrix Games Forums

After reading MatrixGames' JosephL's thread about his experiences with the game, a couple of questions have come to mind.

I'm a long time player of Out of the Park Baseball and previous to that Baseball Mogul. I like a game with a lot of depth, and that is challenging. OOTP does both.

- Can games be simmed?

- How long does it take to play a head to head game? Can this be shortened (like Madden to shorter quarter lengths)? I like Online leagues for a true challenge, but if it takes too long to play out games then I would hope some leagues will sim instead.

- How hard is the AI to beat? Is there a difficulty level? If there is, what does the difficulty level do? I don't like a higher difficulty to basically cheat, so I'm hoping that isn't the case.

- Will the game have realistic stats? For a first time player Joseph L had not only a 400 yard passer, but a 300 yard rusher in his first two games ever! This will definately kill the realism for me. Is this common?

- Can games be simmed?

Yes, there is a button on the league schedule page that allows you to simulate a game. A simed game takes a couple of minutes depending on your regulation league quarter length.

- How long does it take to play a head to head game? Can this be shortened (like Madden to shorter quarter lengths)? I like Online leagues for a true challenge, but if it takes too long to play out games then I would hope some leagues will sim instead.

There is no online in this game. Leagues managed via commisioners

- How hard is the AI to beat? Is there a difficulty level? If there is, what does the difficulty level do? I don't like a higher difficulty to basically cheat, so I'm hoping that isn't the case.

The AI is as good as people make it. About 80% of the AIs ability depends on how well the plays the game has loaded are created. Some of the AI, like pursuit and evade, are obviously real time calculations, but what happens before the ball crosses the LOS really depends on play design.

There is no skill slider although you can create leagues with players of different skill level.

- Will the game have realistic stats? For a first time player Joseph L had not only a 400 yard passer, but a 300 yard rusher in his first two games ever! This will definately kill the realism for me. Is this common?

As was mentioned in the thread, it goes back to the plays used. Most of the beta testers are not getting these sorts of results. A couple of the testers have created a wide range of plays and playbooks that they will make available to download when the game is released. While the plays shipping with the game are rather generic. The ones Old Coach as created do a very good job of emulating American football offensive styles from various eras.

BTW 400 yards passing is a typical day at the office for Canadian ball and probably pretty close for Indoor football too.