Stay tuned for a review of OOTP 14 in the next week or so!
Here’s more about why you should be excited about OOTP:
OOTP Developments today released Out of the Park Baseball 14, which goes further than any other baseball game on the market when putting players in the shoes of a major league General Manager or Commissioner. The $39.99 game runs on PC, Mac, and Linux.
Curt Schilling, likely Hall-of-Famer and former pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Boston Red Sox, remains an avid OOTP fan, saying in an interview conducted for the OOTP web site: “There is no comparison to any sports sim I’ve ever played.“
Schilling has been joined by pro wrestler Steve Corino, who said in an interview, “I never get tired of playing,” and by current Oakland A’s reliever Pat Neshek, who said, “This game has it all.“
“Baseball’s beauty lies in its complexity, and OOTP 14 immerses players even deeper in a sport that continues to captivate fans more than a century after its two primary leagues were founded,” said lead developer and lifelong baseball fan Markus Heinsohn.
• 2013 major league teams and rosters, with player ratings officially based on Baseball Prospectus’ PECOTA projection system, which has proven to be the most accurate player stats projection system on the market.
• All levels of minor league rosters, with thousands of real players. OOTP 14 also includes more real June draft prospects than ever before, with hundreds of them featured this year.
• A completely recoded player origin system, with five different methods for players to enter the league: the First-Year Player Draft, with the option to tweak nationalities; International Amateur Top Prospects, who are usually 16 or 17 years old; Established International Free Agents, allowing GMs to discover their own Ichiro or Yu Darvish; International Scouting Discoveries; and Players From Independent Leagues.
• Recoded player creation algorithms that ensure more stable long-term simulations and more realistic player careers and stats output.
• A new fielding ratings development system that reflects the reality that players typically shift to the right side of the defensive spectrum as they age. For example, a highly-talented shortstop may end up becoming a below-average corner outfielder during the waning years of his career.
• A recoded scouting system and better player development tracking.
• More information in the Real-Time Simulation mode introduced in OOTP 13. Now players can view the current batter-pitcher matchup, past plays, win probability, and more.
• Improved AI trading, along with a “Not Interested in Player X” function that prevents the AI from repeatedly offering the same player. Many other aspects of the AI, including roster management and contract negotiation, have been improved too.
• An improved interface that includes a new graphical depth chart screen, a new playoff analysis screen, better depth charts and pitching staff control, a “Pitch to Contact” option when playing out games, and more.
• Many more added features, including a Free Agent Draft, Achievements, one-click joining of online leagues, many more storylines, and other enhancements.
OOTP 14 lets players run a major league team from top to bottom, setting lineups and pitching rotations, determining defensive and offensive strategies, and making dozens of game-time decisions, such as when to steal a base or employ a hit-and-run. A play-by-play text stream, combined with a visual representation of what’s happening on the field and such audio effects as the crack of the bat and the roar of the crowd, make an OOTP game session feel like a radio broadcast.
Between games, players define scouting budgets, make trades, handle the amateur draft, scour the waiver wire, sign free agents, negotiate contract extensions, demote underperforming players to the minors and call up hot prospects, manage team finances, and more. Many tasks can be delegated to computer-controlled personnel, letting players focus on the aspects of baseball management that appeal to them most.
Athletes perform in a consistent, realistic manner over ten, twenty, even fifty or more simulated years, letting players watch as their own Hall of Fame grows before their eyes. OOTP’s innovative FaceGen feature also allows players’ images to automatically change with age and when they switch teams.
In addition, this year’s iOS version of Out of the Park Baseball, iOOTP Baseball 2013, continues to be well-received at the App Store since its release on April 4, 2013. “iOOTP 2013 is an easy recommendation for baseball lovers,” wrote Randy Dankievitch at Games Reviews.
iOOTP Baseball 2013 sells for $4.99!
