Matrix Games Forums

I have the PureSim 2004 edition and played around with it a bit yesterday to get a feel for whether I'd be interested in the 2006 edition (I tend to skip editions in 'annual' games).

I do have some questions...

How faithful is the game to the 'era'? When setting up a league it didn't look as though I could specifically choose the era, just the starting year. If I pick 1901, will the stats look similar to what they were in the deadball era? ie, single digit HR leaders, etc? And does the underlying engine change parameters depending on what year it is, or are the players created with different ability ratings to effect the different feel of different eras?

Are there any long term 'dynasty' type forums I can look at to get an overall feel of how the game works over the long haul?

Are there any online leagues with web pages that I can take a look at?

How faithful is the game to the 'era'? When setting up a league it didn't look as though I could specifically choose the era, just the starting year. If I pick 1901, will the stats look similar to what they were in the deadball era? ie, single digit HR leaders, etc? And does the underlying engine change parameters depending on what year it is, or are the players created with different ability ratings to effect the different feel of different eras?

The engine parameters are driven by an .XML file, which is editable with any text editor.

One of the adjustments which you can make from the .XML file is a series called 'TIME_PERIOD_ADJUSTMENTS' - if you search for that string in puresim.xml, you can find the adjustments which were available for PureSim 2004.

On a year by year basis, both 2004 and 2005 let you adjust the odds of a player getting out, hitting a single, double, triple, or home run, and of getting a walk or a strikeout.

So, that's the underlying engine changing parameters depending on what year it is.

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Obviously, if you 'import real players' using the Lahman database, then the stats that the players are imported from are governing their creation, giving them low 'current ability' totals. It doesn't seem like it 'reinforces' with the engine changes - Shaun's done a good job balancing those two together - but over time, it seems that young dead-ball era hitters 'develop' power beyond what they 'should' have.

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Also,

If you just 'create a league' and go, you're not guaranteed to see single-digit home run leaders.. because your players are playing in modern big-league bandboxes, not the cavernous outfields of 1901. You do need to adjust the ballparks to roughly approximate their historical dimensions to get a true 'low home run totals' league.

You'll also get better approximations of real-world stats by importing the real-world schedules rather than using the game's default, modern-era-style schedules.

Finally, there are a number of factors which aren't adjusted for - errors comes to mind, along with pitcher usage. In both PS2004 and PS2005, you wound up having to modify the base engine values in the .XML to get these things to more accurately reflect that 1901 era.

One thing you can't adjust is the use of the closer, which is really a post-World-War II invention; even if you have the .XML correct for PS2005, when Cy Young enters the 9th inning with a 2-0 lead, he gets pulled for the closer.

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I can't speak precisely to PS2006 as neither I nor anybody else on the forum (save Shaun) has seen it yet.. but Shaun is aware of the issues. He doesn't list any era-specific modifications in his last official News Release, but he has been responsive to the concerns of era simmers in the past.

News Release link: http://www.puresim.com/ps2006_1.html

Someone has done a deadball xml file and it is available on this forum. Actually you need to copy and paste and then save to xml. A search for deadball should get you there.

G,

I have been playing a MLB Career Lague with real players beginning in 1901 and am just finishing up 1913. The single season HR record is 10 shared by 3 players (Charlie Hemphill, Ty Cobb and Dutch Zwilling). I am using a slightly modified xml but nothing relative to power. I found strikeout totals for my pitchers to be low (I am playing with the DH rule) so I pumped up the K multiplier a little.

J

Oh, nice - your data is more recent than mine.

Did you make any ballpark dimension changes?

I did make park changes. I assigned modern parks to the appropriate teams.