Developer Chat

SimLeague Baseball

tzentmeyer

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

10:00 AM - 5:00 PM EST


The LIVE portion of this chat will begin on

Wednesday, April 26, 2006 at 10:00 AM EST.

Thanks for reading, everyone. The last few days have been crazy and there has been a ton of talk in the forums. We'll answer as much as we can today starting with the recent SimLeague Baseball changes. There are a couple things we can't discuss for legal reasons including licensing issues and financial matters. Other than that, we'll try and answer everything. We'll move onto Hardball Dynasty talk once all the SimLeague questions have been answered.

"All teams purchased prior to 4/25/2006 will still have access to the original player database"- WIS Does that mean the teams in leagues not currently full will have access to players that newly purchased teams do not? (skonley - Hall of Famer - 10:03 AM)

That's correct. Any team purchased prior to the 25th can still use the full player database. This means if you purchased a team on 4/20 and don't build the team until 8/20, it will still work with the original player database.

1. Will you leave the now deleted player designations as they are on the new spreadsheet or will you give the palyers fictitous names. (alston - Hall of Famer - 10:04 AM)

The new salary spreadsheets include the new player names, such as SF OF, B0.

It is frustrating that one way or another the site keeps changing every year or so (i.e. salaries keep changing, relativity changes significantly, etc.) Just when you find a winning combination, the site changes and you have to start all over again. Now this.... I have a team ready to go in the Draft Centre but was not planning on launching the team until July. Does this mean I may lose a few players because they are now going to disappear? Or, will their names change only? Or? (esplanade - Hall of Famer - 10:07 AM)

Following the 10/3/2005 salary update, we wanted to hold off on any major changes for as long as possible for this very reason. We want to get back into the habit of doing more frequent minor updates/additions rather than major game-changing updates. The next update will include a fix for the high end A+ range fielders and catcher arms. The player rename change wasn't a planned update.

For theme leagues, will there be any utility added for a league commissioner to easily check that owners have not deliberately mis-named players? Or will the commish have to go through every roster and cross-check salaries? (rockrobster - Hall of Famer - 10:12 AM)

This has already been added. There are asterisks next to players names on the Theme League Commish Rosters page, in the Actual Stats section of the Team Stat Pages, and on the Waiver Wire. We hope this helps. Along these lines, the Alphabet Soup theme leagues should still work since the behind-the-scenes info has not changed. The Theme Wizard is still smart enough to know what letter a player's last name starts with even if it isn't displayed.

How did the rumor get out that some player salaries were changing? That's what I was reading last night, but now it appears (per Admin's post) that salaries are not changing... (ozomatli - Hall of Famer - 10:14 AM)

The initial spreadsheets we posted came from our test database where some info is different. It was correctly shortly thereafter.

Who is the guy with the "DEV_CHAT:/" across his face? (ozomatli - Hall of Famer - 10:17 AM)

It's either HOU 3B, A1 or SD 2B, B3. I can't remember.

what up admin overall changes look fairly small from the spreadsheet it this true or is the sky falling (johndish - Hall of Famer - 10:19 AM)

We hope the sky has not fallen. We've done everything we can (interface additions) to make the transition as painless as possible. As our users make suggestions to improve the process further, we'll continue to incorporate them.

Here's a couple of suggestions for the rename function (1) - Allow people to see the database name as well to ensure compliance with theme league rules (2) Use the database name, not the renamed name, for records (biglenr - Hall of Famer - 10:21 AM)

We aren't able to use certain real player names at any point moving forward. Only previously purchased teams can use them. As a result, we can't display them in the records or the theme commish roster page.

I'm sure there will be plenty of heat! I will just watch the carnage!! (GJohnson - Hall of Famer - 10:23 AM)

You must have been busy, because the forums were definitely hot. I'd compare them to OAK OF, A0's temper (formerly CLE OF, A1 and LA OF, A1).

Please give a summary statement outlining: a) current situation b) how we got here c) where we go from here The fact that there has not been a statement to customers (other than a vague yet cryptic site mail) communicating an apparent major shift in how the site works is pretty lame. No, let's communicate nothing, then let our customers go crazy on the forums!!! Facts please. (LeBuckos - Hall of Famer - 10:27 AM)

We regret not being more forthcoming with our original forum post. An updated post was made several hours later that night to clear things up. Next time a major announcement is made, we'll be much clearer with what has changed, how that affects who and what, and what's been done as a result.

Are the player name changes a) short term necessity b) long term or c) unavoidably permanent? Will WIS provide a way to connect the real players to their pseudonyms? (Donburgh - Hall of Famer - 10:29 AM)

Player name changes are at the very least short-term. Things can change, and we're hoping for the best. From reading the forums, it appears some of our users have already done some work tying original and renamed players together.

I accept that naming can be fixed. I'm very worried about search. Guidance has said that any team purchased prior to 4/25/06 will have access to database with names. Will that continue for an extended period? If I basically keep one team as my "roster creation" team, will I be able to seach months from now? even next year? what if y'all update the database, new salaries etc - will a magic pre-4/25 team still have access to names? (mamxet - Hall of Famer - 10:31 AM)

As long as a team was purchased prior to the 25th, it will have access to the original player database. Many users use the same Spring League team over and over again to help with the drafting process.

Can you please remind me to go make my draft pick at 11am... Thanks... (david_brent - Pro - 10:32 AM)

You got less than 30 minutes...

I haven't actually looked at the new data base but I understand the player designations are , like: for John Patterson :WAS NL P L0 What is the significance of the "L0" at the end ? (tegesta - All-Star - 10:33 AM)

If a team has 3 1B from that season, they are listed as A, B and C ordered by Last Name. The numeric designation includes 0 for a full-season, 1 for a partial-season and 2 for a combined season. This was done to help with theme leagues.

Any chance that you could come up with a consistent rename for the lost player identities? ie. Naming all their seasons by the same anonymous name (rookie year in wifs for example "PIT NL 1986"), so that players could still be searched for their entire career? (cretins - Hall of Famer - 10:36 AM)

Our choice for consistency was from year-to-year rather than career.

It is my understanding that it will be possible to change the name of a player after drafting him. Would it be possible to change the name while searching and then save the change so that next time I search it would still have the name I put in? (zimbabweguy - Hall of Famer - 10:37 AM)

That's a good suggestion we'll add to the list.

A sim league baeball question unrealted to the recent events with MLB - when can we expect the next sim baseball product update with new pricing structure/game logic, etc? I personally would like to see the range factors play less of a role in todays game. (SpotSell - Hall of Famer - 10:39 AM)

The range factor update will come after the HBD release. Early June is probably a conservative estimate.

Has there been any thought to changing the game engine "Brain?" I am specifically referring to the preponderance of dropped infield flies (that can't be right) and the often ridiculous pinch hit choices (rawagman - Hall of Famer - 10:41 AM)

The plan is to eventually bring over the HBD improvements to SimLeague Baseball once it has been tested and perfected (or at least as close as possible).

Is there an alternative to names other than SF OF, BO. ? (stlyward - Hall of Famer - 10:43 AM)

There are always alternatives. If someone can think of a naming convention that makes significantly more sense than this, we'll consider it. The important thing for us was coming up with a scheme that is consistent across the board and contains all the important aspects of a player record.

Admin indicated in the advance material that a "chg player name" option/menu would be added. Where is it and exactly how does it work , ie how do you use it in practice? (tegesta - All-Star - 10:48 AM)

It's in the GM's Office. Prospect rename leagues had become increasingly more popular over the last year so this was going to be added at some point anyway. Now, this cuts the customer support middle man out of the pipeline -- no more sending prospect spreadsheets back and forth to start a rename league.

How are the changes going to affect our ability to search the database? For example, if I am doing a twist team, how can I easily list all of Barry Bonds' seasons at one time? (odalisgagne - Hall of Famer - 10:54 AM)

In the Player Search, you can still search the same way as before. The results will include the adjusted player names rather than the ones you are used to seeing.

Why not give the renamed players unique names, stuff out of a name generator. That's what usually happens in those licensed console games - they made Barry Bonds into an old white dude named Dowd on one. Man, that Dowd could hit! Anyway, it would better allow for career searches, which are important for progressives. (bosoxbill - Hall of Famer - 11:00 AM)

The naming scheme is consistent in the same fasion. We felt having randomly generated names would blend in with the 75% of unaffected players and add to the confusion. This way, it's obvious that the player is not an original player name.

Sorry, still confused. We'll be able to change the names to what we want, but it just can't be the real name...?... (mpitt76 - Hall of Famer - 11:01 AM)

Players can be renamed anything, as long as it doesn't contain profanity and must consist of alpha characters.

How will drafting for progressive leagues be affected? My main concern would be for players that played in multiple positions and are drafted as utility players. (firechief - Hall of Famer - 11:02 AM)

I don't believe this should be affected. Can you restate the question if you believe otherwise?

Will this transcript of this Chat be avialable here for some period of time ...so I can come back and go through the whole thing ? tegesta (tegesta - All-Star - 11:04 AM)

Yes, it will be up indefinitely.

Is there anyway to impliment something in the Theme League Wizard requiring players to be renamed with their real name? (TulsaG - Hall of Famer - 11:06 AM)

The Theme League Commish Roster page should cover this.

Any thoughts to adding a Rookie designation th the search function so we can input a year and see all 1st year players in the database for that year like we can for MVP? (crickett13 - Hall of Famer - 11:07 AM)

This is something on our list of future player search additions. First Year or Last Year.

Who is the earliest MLB alumnus whose rights are being "protected" by renaming? Earl Averill Sr., Cecil Freaking Travis, anyone before that? (johndewan - Prospect - 11:09 AM)

That would be the esteemed 1888 CIN AA OF, A0.

Rumor has renaming players such as "Schmidt" banned due to profanity. You guys already working on that? (biglenr - Hall of Famer - 11:10 AM)

That has already been fixed. An error message was being displayed when it shouldn't have. Much like George Carlin, we have a list of potty words that can't be used.

Is it possible that 2 players from different eras could have the same "name", as NY OF L1 from 1905 and 2005? (TumH20_Bops - Hall of Famer - 11:12 AM)

No, because we include the league designation in the naming convention. There have never been, to our knowledge, two cities in the same league at the same time.

With the recent changes regarding player names a Owner Review system may well be a good idea. For example if you are shopping at Amazon.com for a DVD you could click on the user review tab and see what others who have bought this DVD thought. A simaler system in wich a owner could give a quick scouting report about the player maybe even giving said unidentified players real life name, how he normalizes, or just a quick note on how the guy did for you. Steve Mutzu LeMay Ripper's (Lemayripper - All-Star - 11:13 AM)

That's an idea we've discussed in the past. It's still on our potential addition list.

In the Theme League Creation screen, could there be a checkbox to disallow changing real players names? (bobd4967 - Hall of Famer - 11:14 AM)

Players that have been unchanged cannot be renamed. That's the only current limitation.

Ok, what happens when the salaries change. Some poor sucker in open league is going to have someone with the old salaries pop in because it is a pre-things changed purchase. Oh yeah (Ban Crestin) (comedian2000 - Hall of Famer - 11:17 AM)

When we change salaries, only the salary changes and nothing else. This won't cause any problems. Also, the currently salary algorithm appears to be the best it's ever been so we don't have any reason to change it at the present.

How will the Blacklist function in the Theme League wizard work now? Will the blacklist form the Original Blacklist league still ave all of the players it had before if I copy that league when i start the next one? (sweetsalve - Hall of Famer - 11:18 AM)

It's based on a number rather than a name, so it will work just fine.

What about certain players (i.e. Jason Schmidt, John Tudor, Mariano Rivera) who are deemed profanity when renamed? (cardinaldave - Hall of Famer - 11:21 AM)

That was a bug that was corrected. Those names aren't vulgar names like that Sterling pitcher.

We probably could have prepared better to purchase teams if we had more than 24 (or so) hours to react. Why hold your cards? COuld the "sky is falling" mentality be prevented along with all the hate mail? (Bilfert - Hall of Famer - 11:23 AM)

We provided as much advance notice as we could. Wish it could have been more.

It there any way I can see first hand the new player list without purchasing a new team? (mickpb - Hall of Famer - 11:24 AM)

There are links to the salary spreadsheets in the main forum update thread. This contains the renamed player names.

Suggestion for Theme League Format material: There should be an item requiring the theme league sponser to state his (or her) position on realignment of teams. If it is not random, then some statement should be required in advance. tegesta (tegesta - All-Star - 11:25 AM)

This is also something we want to automate via the Theme League Wizard. It's a common suggestion that needs to be introduced.

So, for a real-life example, if I do a Player Search for Last Name = "Bonds", I will see Bobby Bonds and SF OF for multiple years... right? (toddcommish - Hall of Famer - 11:26 AM)

That's correct.

So that I understand correctly, we can still ask the search engine to look for a last name, ex: Pujols, and the results will spit out something like STL 1B 06. Then we can "re-name" that player accordingly. Is this correct? (bullet6464 - Hall of Famer - 11:27 AM)

Yes, you can search for whatever you want and, yes, you can rename them whatever you want.

I think this is all a plan to kill my WiSviewer... (comedian2000 - Hall of Famer - 11:27 AM)

Perhaps.

Why so such a big deal over names? I know it's it legal stuff that the admin can't control but this is crazy. (espnjunkie - Hall of Famer - 11:31 AM)

We hope the lack of names doesn't prove to be an insurmountable hurdle. We realize it makes drafting more difficult but we're hoping the interface changes lessen the blow. Plus, much like previous updates, any change always leads to more theme league ideas.

If WIS adds a $2.50 surcharge for each team, can a subsidiary law firm be created to handle HBD related divorces?? (bigyunit - Hall of Famer - 11:34 AM)

We hope rather than a divorce it's more along the lines of the "Big Love" series -- room for both.

Can we expect to see an increase in cost and if so, by what percentage can we expect that to be? (Jdh34 - Hall of Famer - 11:38 AM)

No, we don't forsee a price increase for SimLeague Baseball.

Not being able to use the names of about 25% of the players is going to take a lot of fun out of the game. Are we going to have to pay the same rate for teams or will you be lowering the price? (nasty_llama - Hall of Famer - 11:39 AM)

We also don't forsee a price drop for SimLeague Baseball anytime soon. Of all our games, we still feel it's the best deal when you consider the season length, number of games, etc.

How will this affect other simleagues? Could we see other leagues or unions demanding similiar or at least equivalent licensing fees? Will there be a price increases to other sims to offset any losses you may incur because of this? (ziggy79 - Hall of Famer - 11:42 AM)

The 4 professional leagues handle licensing separately so one does not directly impact the other. So, this shouldn't affect our other SimLeague games.

I am a theme league player. I understand how players with partial seasons are ID'd together with the A1, A2, A3 designation, which is good. But concerned with how to ID same player with partial seasons with 2 or more teams. 69 SD OF A1 and 69 LA OF B0 and 69 LA OF B1 could all be the same guy. Easy to see that the LA guys are the same but now clear how the SD season would be. Any thoughts? (SteveBobLDN - Hall of Famer - 11:45 AM)

From those designations, you can't tell and there wasn't an easy way for us to carry this conflict across. We hope the other interface changes are enough to help with this.

How many more people have to ask if they can type in PUJOLS and see all of NL A0 1B 05 seasons before we get to some Hardball Dynasty questions? (tooly_mctool - All-Star - 11:46 AM)

According to the simulation, about 6.7.

Why aren't you guys answering my questions? (ozomatli - Hall of Famer - 11:46 AM)

There are some we can't answer (as mentioned in the intro). Hardball questions will come after the SimLeague questions.

Kyle, to add onto an earlier question, do you have any idea what's going to be included in the "Range Factor Update"? Also, will testing be conducted for it over at the test site? (ozomatli - Hall of Famer - 11:48 AM)

We'll run several internal test leagues and then 1 outside test league on our test server. Basically, all fielders with the same letter grade will be handled the same (pre-normalization for fielding era).

Maybe to avoid clutter, you can describe what sorts of questions you can't answer and why? (rawagman - Hall of Famer - 11:49 AM)

If it involves licensing, fees or finances, we can't discuss them.

In sim live it seems like there are a lot of line drive double plays on hit and runs and stealing seems way too hard if a runner is held on 1B. Any thoughts on changing this. Also does holing a runner on increase the chance of a hit like it should? (crickett13 - Hall of Famer - 11:50 AM)

Holding a runner on does increase the likelihood of a hit. There are several engine logic issues (such as the LD DP) that we want to tackle once HBD releases.

Are there any plans to look at reducing the effects of the extreme ballparks like Petco, Coors, Mile High, etc. Ruth hitting 80 HRs in Coors is believable. Reitz hitting 80 triples in Mile High is ridiculous. (Contracted - Hall of Famer - 11:53 AM)

Yes, this is a somewhat common complaint involving the extreme parks. It's tough, because we use actual stats everywhere and the ballpark effects are the actual numbers. Part of the problem is the fact we don't normalize stats by ballpark. We decided last year (based on the opinions of many users), that adding ballpark normalization to the stats would complicate things far too much and wouldn't be worth it. So, we're left with looking at adjusting the extreme ballpark factors.

why aren't site updates sent directly to our private emails? (rawagman - Hall of Famer - 11:55 AM)

We prefer to keep announcements on the site (SiteMail, League Office Forum, and main forums). Many users give us outdated or alternate emails that aren't checked frequently.

Kyle, could you beat Tom in an arm wrestling match? (ozomatli - Hall of Famer - 11:56 AM)

We'll let you know in a little bit...

I thought it was an english thing and you were just ignoring my questions.. glad to here your ignoring other people as well... Can you leave the ground out to CF play in... its my fav... (david_brent - Pro - 11:58 AM)

I've run 50 test leagues and can't duplicate that bug. So, yes, it will remain.

Speaking of double plays, why is it that it always occurs as a second base to first base? So often, especially when the bases are loaded, my teams will attempt that double play only to fail and let a run score. Will we be seeing home to first double plays, which even if it fails, you've prevented a run? (speed796 - Hall of Famer - 11:59 AM)

These are part of the additions to the HBD engine that will eventually be simulating SimLeague games. Much more variety across the board.

Fixed? Do you mean, seriously, to tell me that "Mariano Rivera" is NOT a curse word? Put him back on that restricted list, along with Barbara Streisand. (bosoxbill - Hall of Famer - 12:00 PM)

I'd like to add several other players on my fantasy teams to the curse word list, but I've shown some restraint. Same goes for MO.

Can you provide the Blacklist? The players whose rights of publicity were protected by depublicizing them, such as the immortal Jimmy Smith? (johndewan - Prospect - 12:03 PM)

Any active player or player that is part of the Alumni group had to have his name removed. This affected a small portion of the player database (< 25%).

Can you confirm that bosoxbill really is Bill Simmons?... (david_brent - Pro - 12:04 PM)

We can never discuss user info. Except kyleboon.

Since Normalization rules SLB, would you consider putting in a drop down box similar to the one for ballparks that could list the various league averages? This would help since the ERA+, OAV+, etc only tell half the story. (Weena - Hall of Famer - 12:04 PM)

That's a good idea. We'll add it to the list.

Is there any consideration to giving us the option of choosing who should be the first pinch hitter off the bench? And how about moving the pitcher into a spot other than 9 in the batting order? (speed796 - Hall of Famer - 12:06 PM)

Both have been incorporated in HBD and both will eventually make it to SLB.

Well...now that the overreaction is over (...and me offering to give you free money and all) is in place it is possible to do one of the following: Provide WHIP+ statistics, or conversely allow the USER to build their own formula to place in the drop down menu based on the relevant data set. Thanks. Tim (dalailama12 - Hall of Famer - 12:08 PM)

WHIP+ would be easy to add. The other would be more difficult -- we'd have to look into it.

I think it's a shame that you're going to gimp the superb glovemen, instead of raising their cost so you can't field a team full of them. For the record. For your files. Defense should have a big impact when you have it. Stuff like that is appreciated by Joe Morgan and myself, even if you computer nerds with your SABR and OBP disregard it. (bosoxbill - Hall of Famer - 12:10 PM)

Have you read the Fielding Bible yet? We love defense, too. In the short-term, we think the fairest thing to do is group players by letter grade. In the long-term, we plan on improving our fielding stats/usage across the board (as it is applied in HBD).

I hearby give you permission to tell them that I'm not Bill Simmons. (bosoxbill - Hall of Famer - 12:11 PM)

There you have it.

In the new update is there any chance of getting acctual range factors and fielding %s rather than letters? I like the fact all A+s are not equal. (TulsaG - Hall of Famer - 12:12 PM)

Once we get to improving our use of fielding stats, we'll add this data to the player search. This won't be anytime soon, though, because it's a significant undertaking.

Will the spreadsheet always be available? I downloaded a copy of each part for myself, but for those that diddn't having the spreadsheet will be critical. (mickpb - Hall of Famer - 12:13 PM)

Yes, we keep salary spreadsheets available until the next salary update is released.

Have you any plans to improve the TOC... I like lots of owners have theme league teams waiting months for a TOC to fill... can you add an option so that theme leagues can be set up without the WS teams going to the TOC but with the Post Season Prizes increased... For example having a progressive team in a TOC is pretty much pointless... (david_brent - Pro - 12:13 PM)

Yes, we need to re-evaluate our Tournament of Champions.

A stat I would love to see added is salary/cost per plate appearance and salary/cost per inning pitched (SpotSell - Hall of Famer - 12:15 PM)

Never thought of that. It's been added to the list for a future update.

Is it really necessary to sim only one game a day in the TOC? Why aren't three games simmed like in the regular leagues? (speed796 - Hall of Famer - 12:19 PM)

Since TOCs are so rare for most users, the idea was to drag it out for suspense.

I'm off to the pub.. Can I get you anything? While I'm there is there any chance of increasing the number of stats that can be searched on at anyone time? (david_brent - Pro - 12:20 PM)

Guiness for me, please. I don't see us expanding the search any further due to technical reasons. The Player Search for MLB is already our highest hit/most expensive page.

Can you add AB/HR+ and/or HR/100+ for hitters to the searchable stats in the draft center? (TulsaG - Hall of Famer - 12:21 PM)

Sure.

Well that looks like all of the simleague baseball questions, Time for Hardball? (UtahCubs - Hall of Famer - 12:22 PM)

Good idea. We'll start answering HBD questions in a few minutes. Time to eat a quick lunch.

For the long term, have you given any thought to making the size of leagues customizable? For example, a 16-team league, etc. It would make replay of historical seasons easier to do. (rockrobster - Hall of Famer - 12:27 PM)

Yes, it's under consideration. This is a major change, though, because it's related to the foundation of our leagues. We plan on issuing several surveys after HBD releases to gauge interest in potential changes. This one will be in the list.

Jack O'Connor died in 1937; the MLB Players Alumni Association was formed in 1982. How could he possibly be a member of it? (johndewan - Prospect - 12:28 PM)

I imagine the player's estate was involved in signing up. Are you the Fielding Bible author?

To go along with Brent's question: Any chance of removing the "stuck" stat columns (like HR and SPD for hitters) and adding a couple more user-defined boxes for us to use? Or is the answer still the same? (ThaReverend - Hall of Famer - 12:29 PM)

Anything is possible. We keep the basic stats for new users. Perhaps the Advanced Search Intreface could display alternate categories. We'll have to look at it and gauge interest.

something else that would be great in the draft center would be the abilty to cap your search baased on the actual dollars you have left to spend. For instacne if you have 4.4 million left for one player, you have to look at all guys between 4-5 million that fit your criteria. (SpotSell - Hall of Famer - 12:30 PM)

Yes, this is used in other SimLeague searches and will be added soon.

HBD - how about we start off with a nice sized general introduction? (rawagman - Hall of Famer - 12:41 PM)

Hardball Dynasty -- where to begin? There will be 32 franchises in a world. There will be private and open worlds. When you sign up, you'll be able to choose from 1 of 90+ cities and will be able to name your team. Denver Bullets, for example. The city will have an associated ballpark. You'll then be responsible for setting a franchise budget for the season which includes player payroll, prospect payroll, coaching staff payroll, scouting payroll (college, high school and advance), medical and training budgets. Each will affect your team differently. In the offseason and as GM, you'll be responsible for re-signing departing free-agents, avoiding arbitration, holding arbitration hearings, making trades, signing free-agents, assembling a 40-man roster and hiring coaches. Competition for coaches and free-agents is tough, because you're competing against 31 other owners.

i call dibs on a HBD team (speed796 - Hall of Famer - 12:42 PM)

Good -- here's more info: It's then Spring Training time where you can have any player throughout your entire system participate (rookie ball to big league ball, 6 levels in all). You'll see your players develop (or slide backwards) based on player ratings, playing time, coaching staff etc. Then it's time to set rosters for the regular season. Each level has a regular season, but the only one that counts towards prizes is the big league level. The other levels are important, though, because that's how develop talent. The number of managerial settings and player settings has grown tremendously including defensive replacement, player rest and pinch-hitting hierarchies. Each level will have an All-Star Game. There will be a Futures Game. Each level will have a playoff.

your adding Hardball Dynasty dose this meen simleague baseball is over (gees51 - Hall of Famer - 12:46 PM)

Not at all. It's a totally different game. Here's more (stupid character length restrictions): During the season, there will be an Amateur Draft you'll prepare for. International Prospects will crop up along the way. the number of stats tracked has more than quadrupled. splits. fielding. everything you can think of. You'll be able to track a player's progress throuhgout the season. Each player has more than 20 ratings that affect play. Then, at the end of the season, you'll be able to stick on and roll the season forward. We already have a slew of additions in mind for down the road, so the game is deep. But we've got page-specific help on each page, a tutorial, and a step-by-step schedule to follow. You don't even have to control the minor league teams if you don't want to (AI will handle the teams). We have recommendations on just about every page to help along the way.

How much will it cost? (talltrekkie - Hall of Famer - 12:48 PM)

TAG - KyleBoon in now. The price has yet to be determined. I just wanted to get this question out of the way early.

What does create a world mean. (shiva51 - Hall of Famer - 12:50 PM)

He's talking about the "Create a world" link on the Hardball teaser page. This refers to the ability to create a private world for you and your 31 closest friends. None of the links on the teaser page are active yet. We hope that private HBD worlds are as popular as SIM League Baseball theme leagues.

Will owners be able to get together and put together a hardball dynasty league in the same fashion as simleague owners have in the past (ie through the classifieds or private leagues)? (MGreenwell - Hall of Famer - 12:51 PM)

Absolutely!

How much time do you think a user would have to devote to one HBD team to be able to play successfully? (ozomatli - Hall of Famer - 12:53 PM)

HBD is probably the deepest game we've ever released. The number of options and the amount of control you have is huge. However, we've added lots of "recomended" settings that are specific to the individual players on your team. You can have AI manage day to day settings of the minor leagues if you wish. We've worked hard to ensure that an HBD user can spend as much or as little time as they want managing a team.

There should be a Hall of Fame for players that do great in HBD, is this possible? (amdhv9 - Pro - 12:56 PM)

There is a hall of fame. After every season, some players will retire. We won't make them wait 5 seasons to be eligible, but instead we'll elect players right away.

Are there going to be injuries on HBD? (amdhv9 - Pro - 12:58 PM)

Definitely. Every injury that occured in real life in 2005 is in the game. The amount you spend on your training budget will affect how often players are injured and the amount you spend on your medical budget will affect how quickly the return to the game.

What the learning curve on Hardball dynasty going to be like? Espcially for guys that me that found baseball later in life and have nothing like the understanding of the game that most American's do... (david_brent - Pro - 1:01 PM)

There is a learning curve for sure. Even players who know a lot about baseball will have a learning curve. Do you know what it means to be designated for assignment? What about the effect of option years and being on the 40-Man Roster? Luckily there is an extensive help system in place to make the learning curve as short as possible. Plus tinmanpb will personally answer any questions you have in the forums.

Is there any way from that I'll be able to stop Hardball Dynasty from controlling my life? (tooly_mctool - All-Star - 1:02 PM)

You'll need a young priest and an old priest...

I am fairly new to the site, tell me what Hardball Dynasty is and how it differs from regular sim leagues as far as management and also as far as price. Thanks.. (biffle - All-Star - 1:06 PM)

The biggest difference is that HBD is completely ficticious. All the players are represented by over 20 ratings that affect their hitting, pitching, fielding, durability etc. In sim leagues, you hear people tell you to never use the waiver wire, in HBD if you're not checking the waiver wire, you're doing something wrong.

can you add something to the chats to indicate who's responding? kyle, tom, admin, tinman, etc.? (schedule1 - Hall of Famer - 1:07 PM)

Everything before I said TAG was TZentmeyer. Everything after is kyleboon (me) unless we say TAG again.

Is the Hardball Dynasty SIM engine the same as the SimLeague engine? (tooly_mctool - All-Star - 1:13 PM)

Kinda sorta maybe. We rewrote the SIM League engine for a few reasons (technical mumbo jumbo here) but they are highly similar. They use the same event tree etc. After rewriting, we added a bunch of new features. After HBD releases, one of the first things we will do is have simleague baseball use the new improved engine.

HBD is a Dynasty type game so am I correct to assume that you can keep the same team season after season and continue building on the previous one? (Weena - Hall of Famer - 1:14 PM)

Absolutely. Also, I don't think we've mentioned it yet, but an HBD seasons lasts 84 days (Assuming every playoff series goes 7 games). There's lots to do!

Salary cap? How will an owner determine what he/she can spend? (okoutlaw - Hall of Famer - 1:19 PM)

Currently the budget for an entire franchise is 185,000,000. The default budget has the player payroll set to 105,000,000 and you can increase or decrease it from there by adjusting the other categories. I don't have the min and max in front of me. Also, there is a cap on the amount of money 1 player can make in 1 year, and a few other checks to try and avoid rediculous contracts.

Why does the chat always end with gees51? (bosoxbill - Hall of Famer - 1:20 PM)

TZ's fault. I think he fixed it.

what's the maximum amount of managerial control that we'll have? can wel, for example, see simmed results and make managerial changes for all levels, A, AA, AAA, etc.? how many levels will there be? (schedule1 - Hall of Famer - 1:22 PM)

You will see results from all levels of minor league baseball even if you aren't managing each level on a day to day basis. There are 6 levels - Rookie, Low A, High A, AA, AAA and then of course ML.

Will I be able to rename my HBD players? (bosoxbill - Hall of Famer - 1:24 PM)

No, and when you see the player names I don't think you will want to. Every world has an average of 2.5 player's named 'Banana'

Will the size and/or wealth of the city you choose have an impact on your budget, as it does in real life? In other words, will Kansas City have a harder time than New York? (rockrobster - Hall of Famer - 1:25 PM)

No. We decided only to bring the GOOD aspects of baseball over to this game. Also, you'll notice that many of the cities have small ball parks. That's because for all 90+ cities we used the actual major or minor league stadium in that city as the HBD ballpark. All of them have their real life effects and stadium size listed. A few cities didn't have stadiums so I named them after myself.

What cities will be available for franchise locations? (r0b0t - Hall of Famer - 1:25 PM)

TAG -- tzentmeyer back. We have over 90 cities in the game spanning the 30 major league franchises, historical cities and AAA cities along with some extras just to represent all areas.

With reqards to the Hardball Dynasty, how much is it going to cost? Also, will you start with multiple worlds so each of us can join or will there be only a couple of worlds? Thanks. Zach Braun (zedonk) (lwbraun - Hall of Famer - 1:26 PM)

We'll be starting with just a couple worlds to limit problems when we launch (because there are always problems no matter how much testing we do). This way, we limit the damage. Once the initial kinks are worked out, though, we'll go full blast.

When will the rewards center be updated to have Hardball Dynasty selections? (gomiami1972 - Hall of Famer - 1:26 PM)

After we launch HBD. Sometime in May.

Will Hardball Dynasty be similar to Hoops Dynasty, in that you can own a franchise for a number of consecutive years ?? (kcg67 - Hall of Famer - 1:28 PM)

Definitely. Rather than advancing from Division III to Division I, though, you'll remain with the same organization. The "Dynasty" term fits, because you'll be trying to win today and tomorrow. Player Development, roster management, and player contracts will play a huge role.

What will the cost be for a season of HBD? Will there be a multi-season discount? (dmurphy104 - Hall of Famer - 1:29 PM)

Pricing is still up in the air. A multiple-season discount is a good possibility. One thing we're doing with HBD that we don't do with the other dynasty games is we'll allow you to purchase generic HBD seasons that you can easily transfer from one world to the next.

With the worlds being a lot smaller than the other Dynasty games will we be able to have private worlds? Or will the managers be first come first serve in each world? (jerico18 - Hall of Famer - 1:30 PM)

Open Worlds will be first come, first serve. Private worlds will be similar to Theme Leagues in that you'll have a certain number of days to fill it with people you've invited, then it'll open to the public.

How much will Hardball Dynasty cost? When will it start? Will clones be allowed? I define a clone as any duplicate player,regardless of which season is used? (norm - Veteran - 1:30 PM)

Since it's based on fictitious players, clones won't be a concern. Having a guy named "Lefty" that actually throws right-handed will be, though.

With all the in-depth GM duties required in Hardball, will there still be 3 games played daily? (okoutlaw - Hall of Famer - 1:33 PM)

Yes, 3 games per day. Managning the big league team will require the same amount of time it takes to manage a SLB team with the addition of handling injuries. The AI will run the minor league teams unless you want to take over. You'll have control of having the AI manage a minor league team's position players, pitching staff and/or injury-related moves. It's very flexible.

Since it seems there will be a limited # of HBD worlds available at the beginning, are you going to take any steps to limiting the # of worlds a singe ID can join (and maybe something to limit alias use, althought I know that is more difficult)? (acn24 - Hall of Famer - 1:35 PM)

We don't view this as a concern since the first couple worlds will be run with our full focus in order to check for any bugs or problems that snuck out. After that, we'll greatly expand the number of worlds. Since worlds are smaller, waiting lists won't be nearly as long as the other dynasty games.

is the HBD game engine the exact same one used in Sim Leagues? Or is it different in some way? (bigal888 - Hall of Famer - 1:36 PM)

Total rewrite, although it maintains some of the same flow as the SLB engine. We've greatly improved the engine and there is a lot more in it. The new boxscores are phenomenal and the number of stats tracked is deep.

Who usually wins the weekly poker game? (ozomatli - Hall of Famer - 1:37 PM)

kyleboon. Tinman loves to get a lot of chips and give them away to whoever wants them (Edited by someone who knows better: This may have been the case 1-2 years ago - now it's pretty much the opposite).

Will there be some sort of limit to the number of worlds available in HBD (like in the other dynasty games) or will it be more like the SimLeagues where there will be as many worlds as there are groups of 32 people willing to fork over the cash? (natas46 - Hall of Famer - 1:38 PM)

It'll be somewhere in between, leaning more towards the latter.

Is WiS intention to phase out SIM and encourage users to Hardball or some other product in the future......? (SteveBobLDN - Hall of Famer - 1:40 PM)

Not at all. SLB uses actual players (which appeals to a certain group of people) and HBD uses fictitious players (which appeals to a certain group of people). We envision quite a bit of overlap and feel each game will serve a different need (which is to dominate in all things baseball!)

I think private "worlds" are critical for HBD - playing in good leagues with known, quality owners is what I miss about your other dynasty games. (bosoxbill - Hall of Famer - 1:41 PM)

We agree. It's one of the core strengths of SLB we wanted to bring over to HBD. Friendships formed over leagues has been a huge part of our site's success. Bringing this into a HBD world was a must.

How much is HBD going to cost per season? Wwill you be offering a TOC for HBD? What will the reward structure be for HBD? (LocoHombres - Veteran - 1:42 PM)

We imagine a tiered world structure will develop in the future.

True or False, the pain and labor of making HBD is relevently close to actually going through labor. (blackmink18 - Hall of Famer - 1:44 PM)

Absolutely FALSE. Making a game is supposed to be fun and it has been.

how long will one season last from start to finish? (speed796 - Hall of Famer - 1:44 PM)

If you happen to have a team that reaches the playoffs and goes the full length of the series all the way thru, it will be 84 days.

Yes, tell me more. Sounds pretty f'n sweet. (biffle - All-Star - 1:47 PM)

Player and manager ejections. Contracts with player/team/mutual options. Signability concerns in the Amateur Draft. Expanded standings. Awesome League Leaders page. Tandem starters. Game Highlights for around the league.

In HBD, how important will the city you choose to put your team in be? Will it have a major impact on free agents, fans etc. ? (TulsaG - Hall of Famer - 1:48 PM)

It won't affect play at all but is more a cosmetic/personal thing. To even the playing field, all franchises compete under the same set of financial constraints.

Kix is mother approved, Is HBD wife approved? Seems very time consuming. (blackmink18 - Hall of Famer - 1:50 PM)

we hope so. while we're sure you can waste an entire day looking at all the features in HBD, we've gone out of our way to simplify the process for this very reason. It's supposed to be a game, not work, so we've introduced page-specific help, a tutorial, and recommendation buttons on every managerial page. The Minor League Console will be huge, because it will allow you to have the AI control any or all minor league levels.

When do you plan to release the much anticipated split-DH, with DH in the AL and pitchers hitting in the NL? (brygold - Hall of Famer - 1:50 PM)

We brought it into HBD, so it will be ported over to SLB sometime thereafter.

A regular sim league is about 7 weeks then the playoffs. How long is a HBD League/Session? (Panzer Gen. - Hall of Famer - 1:52 PM)

72 days which includes the offseason, spring training and regular season.

Every injury? I'm hoping to see some humorous off-the field injuries. (blackmink18 - Hall of Famer - 1:53 PM)

Yes, we will introduce some additional injuries. The plan is to allow winning users to introduce items into the game including Scout names, Umpire names, Player names, injuries and more.

What kind of era will HBD have? Deadball? Modern? a mix? Or will it be different with each world? Is there an option to choose what kind of era you watn to play in? (TulsaG - Hall of Famer - 1:53 PM)

While it will depend on the makeup of the world, it has been geared towards modern play.

Will HBD incoprorate LIVE play? (bosoxbill - Hall of Famer - 1:54 PM)

Not initially, but the engine has been build with LIVE play in mind. So, at some point in the future.

Will there be a waiver wire? How about the rule 5 minor league draft ? (mrploppie - Hall of Famer - 1:55 PM)

There will be a waiver wire. The Rule 5 Draft is something we plan on introducing in the near future. It plays a key role in the 40-man roster process.

HD: When you first start, is your team just basically a randomly assigned group of vets, journeymen, rookies, etc? I assume all beginning teams are roughly equal? (mfahie - Hall of Famer - 1:56 PM)

All beginning teams will be created in the same fashion. While some may have better big leaguers, others will have better prospects. It'll be a diverse mix of geezers, veterans, players in their prime, up and comers, fringe big leaguers, prospects and non-prospects.

Is there anyway to turn off the darn automatic refresh buttong, I'm getting annoyed trying to to find where I got cut off from the last refresh (blackmink18 - Hall of Famer - 2:01 PM)

Yes -- just increased it from two minutes to 5. It'll be updated within the next 10 minutes.

Will it be possible to make a private world open to the public? I imagine there will be a lot of private worlds with open spots after each season. Will there be an option when joining a public world to either join an existing one or a new one? (xpoemtl - Hall of Famer - 2:02 PM)

Yes on all accounts. It will be similar to how SLB works in terms of signing up. The bonus is you can go in and view any HBD world at any time. We broke an HBD world into 4 sections, and you'll be able to view the World section of any HBD which includes all the info you'd be able to see in a newspaper or website (standings, stats, etc).

Will I have control over whether my teams issue intentional walks? (bosoxbill - Hall of Famer - 2:03 PM)

Yes, there's a manager setting for IBBs.

So if we dont know already, we will know a lot more about contracts, rosters, transactions and all things real life GMs must deal with? Can you arrange it so players request trades from certain teams? (biffle - All-Star - 2:04 PM)

Yes. In addition to incorporating a bunch of GM-related topics, we also do our best to present the rules and reasons behind these types of moves/rules. Players will demand trades, but that won't be part of the initial release. They'll reject trades if they are a 10-5 player or have a no-trade clause, though.

So it doesn't make sense to even SELL single-season HBD teams since the focus seems to be on long-term development. I see a problem from abandoned teams, nobody is going to want to take it over, especially with such a small universe (32 teams). (toddcommish - Hall of Famer - 2:06 PM)

That's something we've thought a great deal about and will play a role in the number of worlds we open. We'll always want to fill a world before creating a new one. When you take over a lousy team, though, you'll have early draft picks, have more money for free-agency and can change a team's future rather quickly. All coaches sign 1-year deals, so you'll be able to lure away the best coaches if that's your strategy. we've got numerous checks in place so a owner won't tank a team for the future.

Will there be a draft to start the season? If so, how will order be determined? (blackmink18 - Hall of Famer - 2:07 PM)

No draft. Players will be created and dispersed. the Amateur Draft occurs midway thru the season. You'll have a great deal of control over the players you sign then.

Can you give us any advice on what to say to our wife/girlFriend/Partner when they complain about the amount of time we spend on HB dynasty or what we are doing?... (david_brent - Pro - 2:09 PM)

Yes, explain all the alternatives you coud be doing: gambling, getting loaded, chasing after high school girls, etc.

Any chance Tulsa, Ok...Driller Stadium made the cut? (okoutlaw - Hall of Famer - 2:10 PM)

No Tulsa, but an Oklahoma City.

Are HBD franchises stocked with players prior to the first season? Might there be an option for a full draft to precede the first season? (MGreenwell - Hall of Famer - 2:11 PM)

I don't think so. With so many players in a world, it would be an incredibly time consuming process we don't think many owners would be interested in. But if there's heavy demand for it, never say never.

Will advanced statistics be compiled such as range factor, isolated power, etc. ? And will those statistics be kept for your entire franchise, from the majors on down? (MGreenwell - Hall of Famer - 2:11 PM)

Yes, those stats will be available for every single player. (Plus plenty of other stats)

Any International cities? Beating American's at their own game would be even more fun from our own country.... (david_brent - Pro - 2:12 PM)

Yes, some cities from Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico.

If I spend thirty bucks on a HBD team, and my starting pitcher gets injured (1) picking up his suitcase before leaving the team hotel, or (2) banging his head against the dugout wall in an effort to fire the team up in the midst of a pennant race, I will be uber-pissed. What are the chances of this happening? (tooly_mctool - All-Star - 2:12 PM)

Approximately 0.0000000001

In the play by play will it tell you if the pitcher breaks the bat over his knee? (UtahCubs - Hall of Famer - 2:12 PM)

We'll add that...

Do you think it will be difficult to get into a world right away? (TulsaG - Hall of Famer - 2:13 PM)

Our first couple worlds will consist of some of our beta testers. It may be difficult to get into the first two worlds, but not after that.

will you quit having the stupid chat jump back to the top of the window everytime a new post is made - I was in the middle of reading something!! oh and would it be possible for someone to have one HBD team for, let's say, 250 years? (bigal888 - Hall of Famer - 2:14 PM)

We hope we took care of the first one (5 minute refresh rate now instead of 2). 250 seasons is possible, although that will take nearly 80 years to accomplish. we'll have to introduce player deaths somewhere along the way.

In Hoops Dynasty, coaches can preview rosters before deciding to pick a team. Will HBD have the same option? (Weena - Hall of Famer - 2:16 PM)

Yes.

How will recruiting for the first year go? Recuriting a whole major league team AND a set of minor leagues sounds like LOTS of work. Will you be giving every franchise a "starter set" of major leaguers? (bosoxbill - Hall of Famer - 2:16 PM)

There will be no recruiting at the start of the season. Random player disbursement. Free-Agency and Coach Hiring is similar to recruiting in that you're bidding against 31 other owners for services. The Amateur Draft uses your scouting departments, so there's some involved there, too. If you have low scouting budgets, you might not have any info on some of the players ranked high on other owners' lists.

In order to extend or sign players to contracts for multiple years in the future, will you have to have the same amount of seasons already prepaid (similar to not being able to redshirt players in HD w/o at least a prepaid year banked). (krw160 - Hall of Famer - 2:17 PM)

No. We have salary checks in place that limit the impact a future season can have on a contract. You'd have to hurt yourself for a season in order to hurt the franchise for the future.

Will HBD have management crisis events, too -- like the Hoops Dynasty injuries, leaving for NBA, grade problems, etc.? (Braziman - Hall of Famer - 2:17 PM)

Injuries are definitely a problem. Players probably won't leave for the NBA, unless you signed Michael Jordan to a minor league contract (with a spring training invitation). At the time of release, really the only delima you'll have to deal with will be injuries. Players won't be late and they won't get in fights. We may add that at some point in the future. Or maybe players could refuse to switch from 2nd base to left field.

will there be relocation of franchises, expansion and contraction? (schedule1 - Hall of Famer - 2:18 PM)

Relocation will definitely occur. Expansion and contraction may occur, but it will be much further down the road.

Will those advanced stats (epecially fielding!) be available in traditional sim leagues too? (newarkwilder - Hall of Famer - 2:18 PM)

We will add those stats to sim leagues at some point in the future. Look for that sometime later this summer hopefully.

Will teams generate revenue? or will every team start off with the same amount of money every year? (thurrikane - Pro - 2:19 PM)

In order for the game to be fair, all teams will play under the same set of financial terms. The budget can be distributed differently, but the overall cap will be the same.

Will the ratings be displayed with #s or letter grades? (TulsaG - Hall of Famer - 2:20 PM)

#s between 0 and 100.

A nice little add on I'd like to see is head to head record with a certain owner. Is it doable? Is it doable within your lifetime? (deathinahole - Hall of Famer - 2:20 PM)

HBD will have it from the get-go. Moving it to SLB could be in the future.

As a follow up to my earlier question... I play the game in real life (very badly) so I understand the rules, how a team plays and tries to win... The kind of stuff that is still a mystery to me in things like the rule V draft, how the real WW works, when you should or shouldn't call up or send down players... Would you say for people like me now is a good time to learn, before the game goes live?... (david_brent - Pro - 2:22 PM)

No, we wrote HBD for the casual fan. Part of the strength of HBD is how we went about bringing in all the rules. We want to teach the game and the rules rather than give an advantage to someone who happens to already know how the 40-man roster works. Lots of on-screen help and advice for many of the rules/strategies.

If we don't spend all of our budget, will there be carryover money for the following season? (Weena - Hall of Famer - 2:22 PM)

It's TBD. My gut says no.

Since we will have the ability to hire coaches in HBD, can we also fire them during the season? (Weena - Hall of Famer - 2:22 PM)

Firing coaches is something we have on the radar, but it won't make the first cut. Since coaches only sign 1-year deals, a bad signing won't hurt you too long.

Has there been any consideration given to the idea of a major league coach hiring other users to manage one of the minor league programs? (sethstorer - Hall of Famer - 2:23 PM)

Yes, it was our initial design but was scrapped due to the many problems that could arise from it. Injury at the big league level would mean the AAA manager would lose his best player. Lots of domino effects that could result in upset users.

Will the Cubs win today? (UtahCubs - Hall of Famer - 2:23 PM)

I hope not.

are you concerned that if one HBD team gets people 6 sets of sim results and 6 chances to manage that users' interest in simleague teams would go down? if i want to have 3-5 active teams, it sounds as if 1 HBD team will give me that. also, how 'bout a world: cresten? (schedule1 - Hall of Famer - 2:25 PM)

Yes, it's a concern. but we feel very strongly that the games are so different that it won't be a major problem.

Given the ongoing continuity of HBD, would we eventually be able to hire a former player from our team who has retired as a coach? (Weena - Hall of Famer - 2:27 PM)

Yes, it's already in there.

Will there be point values assigned to each player for trade purposes? (blackmink18 - Hall of Famer - 2:28 PM)

Yes, each player has an Overall Rating. He also has a Projected Overall Rating and this value depends on your franchise's Advance Scouting Department.

hey, if a manager gets ejected... could he get suspended? could we be locked out of our manager's office? that would be cool + hilarious. and how 'bout world: cresten? (schedule1 - Hall of Famer - 2:29 PM)

Players can get suspended, but not managers (at least not yet).

Season/career ending injuries? Team morale (Milton Bradley per se) effect? Option to supply team with performance enhancers...? (okoutlaw - Hall of Famer - 2:29 PM)

Season-ending injuries, yes. Injuries can snowball, so that may amount to a career-ender. No roids yet. No team morale yet.

Will there be historical stats built in (for season one) for the "geezers", "veterans", and other players to help us determine if they're going up or down (toddcommish - Hall of Famer - 2:29 PM)

No. The players who exist for season 1 will not have stats for season 0, season -1 etc. Once season 2 rolls around, all the season 1 stats will be save however. I think part of the fun will be figuring out how well a guy does.

Are the minor league teams going to be in different cities? For example, can we develop hitters in Denver and pitchers in Southern California to build their stats in certain areas? (toddcommish - Hall of Famer - 2:30 PM)

While the minor league teams play in different ballparks, we don't list separate cities for them. It's to ease in understanding what franchise is which.

If I choose not to let the AI manage my minor league teams does that mean that I could be able to set six teams per game (rookie-MLB)? Also can I manage the MLB and AAA only and let the AI manage the rest of the teams? (Weena - Hall of Famer - 2:31 PM)

Yes on both accounts.

2.5 bananas per world? How many pancakes? (This is in case ceez is not here to ak himaself.) (peajay - Hall of Famer - 2:31 PM)

I just checked and it doesn't appear the Pancake is in our name database. Is that a first or last name? Also, what's the ethnicity?

I don't want to be a party pooper, but I really care more about the SimLeague play with real guys than about HBD with fictional ones. (I don't even like AAA in SimLg!) Are you still taking questions about SimLg, or only HBD? (cesarano - Veteran - 2:32 PM)

We're still taking SLB questions, but we'll wait until all the HBD questions are answerd until we return to the SLB questions.

what's the incentive for users to join a world that's in progress? if people start dropping out, what happens if it's difficult to find a replacement, will AI just take over the team? (schedule1 - Hall of Famer - 2:34 PM)

Joining a world in process won't be much different from joining a world from the start. the team will have a random set of players (which could be worse but not considerably). We won't have AI control an entire team, so a world won't proceed until a franchise is filled. When a user signs up for an open world, he'll move into a disbanded franchise.

Will we be able to sign players from other countries (Japan, Cuba, etc.) without drafting them? (TulsaG - Hall of Famer - 2:34 PM)

International players are on our list to have in for game launch. However, we may not have time to fully test this last feature and it may slip a month or so. The way it works is that your international scouting department will alert you every so often about a player. You will then be able to try and sign that player. Multiple franchises may find the same player at the same time. The frequency this occurs is affected by your international scouting budget.

Did Salt Lake City and Franklin Covey make the cut of cities and stadiums? (UtahCubs - Hall of Famer - 2:35 PM)

SLC made the cut.

AS far as a draft for players to start a league do you think in the future you could have the option to have a 25-round draft and then fill the rest as normal. (UtahCubs - Hall of Famer - 2:36 PM)

Maybe

Will there be any suspensions for off the field problems, fighting, corking bats etc.? (TulsaG - Hall of Famer - 2:36 PM)

Eventually.

Will there be an attendance number for each of the games. (UtahCubs - Hall of Famer - 2:37 PM)

Not at first. It wouldn't add to anything so it wasn't included.

Will I be able to give my private world a custom name? (bosoxbill - Hall of Famer - 2:38 PM)

As long as it fits the parameters (under a certain lenght, no profanity, etc.)

what will the worlds be called? world: NY AL OF A0 in honor of, say, mantle? or just world: cresten? (schedule1 - Hall of Famer - 2:38 PM)

I was thinking name the first world Baby Ruth in honor of TZ's favorite candy bar.

Do you know the capitol of Asyria yet? (sbob85 - Hall of Famer - 2:39 PM)

no, I'm still waiting on my Google search to come back.

Will finances be part of HBD, e.b. ticket prices, concession, etc., ala BB Mogul? (tombarrister - Hall of Famer - 2:39 PM)

Yes, but not to that level. We cover different departments that, to me, are more important.

This question may have already been asked, but will HBD be likes Hoops where owners would start off manages a single a team then move up to the pro's or will each manager be responsible for all levels of teams? (Pi_Kapp - Hall of Famer - 2:40 PM)

Every manager/gm is responsible for an entire franchise. We looked at other models but finally decided on this one.

Are the fictional players going to be based on real-life players in the way AAA players are now? (bosoxbill - Hall of Famer - 2:42 PM)

No, these ficticious players are entirely fake. We will someday make AAA players based on HBD players.

So, HBD is some sort of communist paradise? (ziggy79 - Hall of Famer - 2:43 PM)

In communist HBD, the players manage you!

Will HBD have coaching options similar to the other dynasty games (like a small-ball team or an Earl Weaver-style team)? Or is this the kind of thing that we can control by hiring different coaches? (newarkwilder - Hall of Famer - 2:44 PM)

coaches will have different ratings. Each team also has managerial settings, so you have control of both.

will HBD be able to factor in player intangibles - players who always hustle, who always do the right thing fundamentally at the plate and in the field, 'character' players? i'm thinking of franchises who develop players to play 'the dodger way' or 'the oriole way'. And a request to include Fort Myers, Florida in the list of cities :) (havel211 - Hall of Famer - 2:46 PM)

There's a Makeup player rating that influences the player in numerous ways.

You mentioned that real stadiums will be used. How will seating be affected, since some of the smaller stadiums may only have seating for a few thousand? (tombarrister - Hall of Famer - 2:47 PM)

We care more about the park dimensions and how it plays rather than seating capacity since ticket sales won't affect the game.

Will each player have a pop-up window like HD and GD? (blackmink18 - Hall of Famer - 2:48 PM)

Yes and they are very deep.

So will a theme league that prohibits clones block someone from picking up PIT OF 1991 and SF OF 2001? (toddcommish - Hall of Famer - 2:50 PM)

Clones are based on player IDs, so it will continue to be smart enough to prohibit this.

Is it still OK to ask SimLg Baseball questions? Hope so! I ask the inverse of Speed796's ques: Could the World Series be one game a day, instead of 3? It it shame for it to zoom by in two days. (Speaking unfortunately only as a WS oberver, not as a participant.) (cesarano - Veteran - 2:51 PM)

While we could to this, I think the majority likes the 3 games a day so they can get their free team faster.

Any chance of getting the rename players feature to work for all players? Maybe even as a selectable option for theme league commissioners? (cptcrackers - Pro - 2:52 PM)

In order to prevent further confusion, we prefer to leave the other players untouched.

I was out drinking all last night so I missed the MLB SIM league portion of the chat, but I hope y'all can fit this in anyway. My first reaction to all this name coding and renaming players functionality was that it would be really cool to create a theme league where everyone would have to rename players using their social security and credit card numbers. However, it looks like the rename function only accepts letters and not numbers. Any chance y'all will change this? (JohnGPF - Hall of Famer - 2:53 PM)

Since there haven't been any players in the history of baseball with a number in their name, we prefer to follow the same guidelines.

Will player stats remain identical or do they have to be changed too? I mean, if I look up a guy who, oh I don't know, won 31 games in 1968 -- that stat won't be massaged to 30 so that we can't figure out who he is (wink, wink)? Does the MLBAM own player stats, too? (dmaxie61 - Hall of Famer - 2:54 PM)

Stats will remain the same.

Back to Sim Leagues for a sec... Could the trade notification process be improved? It'd be nice if a smail was generated when you were sent a trade proposal. Also, it'd be great if you could click on the green T in the Team Center and go directly to the proposals page. (xfl outlaw - Hall of Famer - 2:55 PM)

Both are good suggestions. We'll add to the list.

what's the reasoning behind not raising the $80mil cap in SLB open leagues? will future updates of SLB allow a manager to put a pitcher in another spot in the order, and use a pitcher in the field (i've noticed a number have defensive ratings at other positions)? (havel211 - Hall of Famer - 3:13 PM)

We feel $80M is still the best level of competition, even with the 10/3 salary update. Pitchers will be able to bat in different batting spots once the HBD changes are ported over. as far as pitchers in the field, that probably won't be done.

i just got here so i hope this hasnt been asked...is there a way on the next update you could make it where we can have control over who our pinch hitters are...who in what situation or at least who i would want to hit first or with the game on the line... (Save_Mr_X - Hall of Famer - 3:13 PM)

This is another feature from HBD that will eventually make its way over to SLB.

Any plans to allow searching by generic log5 calculations in the draft center? (newarkwilder - Hall of Famer - 3:16 PM)

We've only received the suggestion a couple times before. If there's demand, we could look into it.

what are the chances we could sim 4 or 5 games a day...i know it has been discussed before...maybe 5 is a bit much but the extra game to 4 would be nice... (Save_Mr_X - Hall of Famer - 3:18 PM)

3 seems to be the perfect amount for the majority. While we occassionally get a ticket questioning this, it seems like the majority is ok with the current schedule.

Are there any plans at all to add a situation element to when relievers can come in? In other words, not just which inning a certain reliever is eligible, but also what the lead or deficit should be in that inning? (cptcrackers - Pro - 3:58 PM)

This is pretty much already covered by the combination of Pitcher Role and Min Inning Available and Use Closer in Save Situations Only

I think you would hear a lot more demand for log5 calcs if more people knew they were what mattered. Ultimately, they'd be much more useful than IsoP or SecA etc. On another note, going back to a previous question: what about progressive league-only TOCs as a possibility? (newarkwilder - Hall of Famer - 4:05 PM)

When we re-evaulate TOCs, we'll keep progressive leagues in mind.

As a follow up to my question about using numbers in the rename player function. There are, I believe, 5 players in MLB history who do in fact have a number in their legal name, although it is represented as a Roman numeral rather than a good old fashioned American number. Will the player rename function as it now exists at least allow us to use the alpha-characters to properly represent Roman numerals correctly in player names? as opposed to the "ii" we have been subjected to in the past? (JohnGPF - Hall of Famer - 4:11 PM)

Roman numeral characters (I, II, III, IV, V, etc.) should be fine in the rename process.

Has moving to a new bulletin board system be considered? Something like vBulletin. The current messageboard system for posting and searchng is fairly rudimentary. I hope you'll consider it. (Zamdrist - All-Star - 4:13 PM)

Yes, we have had reworking the forums in the pipleline for the last year, but it keeps getting pushed back.

On Save Mr_Mr_X's question about number of games per day. I see the need for 3 a day in Sim leagues, perhaps in Live Leagues we could have the option for more per day. H2h guys play heavy for 2 weeks and then leagues "die." Waiting 2 months to see if you make the PL is a complete drag. (Bilfert - Hall of Famer - 4:15 PM)

Never releaized that was a problem. If all games are finished ahead of time, you can always contact support to adjust the schedule.

Is it one and only one shot to rename a player, or can you rename a guy over and over (like Jose Uribe)? (toddcommish - Hall of Famer - 4:47 PM)

you can rename him over and over again until the end of the 3rd day of the season.

Any chance that you will add Negro League players to the SLB data base? Will any of your HBD franchises be outside of Us and Canada (like San Juan? (dontrellew - All-Star - 4:48 PM)

Yes, there's a chance. It's a matter of gathering the data. San Juan is in HBD.

In Sim baseball, does it hurt your team at all (other than RS record) to rest them at the end of the season before the playoffs? It seems like some players "lose their focus". Are hitting streaks completely random events (what I mean is, is there something programmed for a player to go hot or cold)? (dontrellew - All-Star - 4:48 PM)

hot/cold and streaks are purely random.

Early May or Late May? (mpitt76 - Hall of Famer - 4:49 PM)

Yes

Are the testers going to get a free team when it's all released, considering how helpful thye've been? :-) (randallball - Hall of Famer - 4:50 PM)

Only if they sing our praises in the forums. Also I accept bribes. (kyleboon)

HBD question: Will the city a user chooses eliminate the availability of that city from the other 31 users? Or will it be possible to have 32 teams from Philly? (markbl - Hall of Famer - 4:50 PM)

Only 1 city per world, except cities that historically actually had more than 1 team.

Did you guys literally tag each other in? Are you dressed up like the Bushwhackers? (r0b0t - Hall of Famer - 4:51 PM)

We're dressed up as the Legion of Doom.

Is this the new record for the longest Developer Chat? (randallball - Hall of Famer - 4:53 PM)

Yes. By about 5 hours. This record will never be broken. Also, having a dev chat that ends at the end of a workday and starts at the beginning of the next isn't allowed to challange for the record.

Are you guys excited to see me? (sbob85 - Hall of Famer - 4:59 PM)

Asyria was founded in 950BC. In 880BC the capital was moved to Nimrud. In 705BC the captial was moved to Ninevah. In 612BC the Asyrian empire fell. Does that answer your question?

how do I become a tester (trezeguet - All-Star - 5:01 PM)

Right now we're full. But sitemail me and we can talk about it when we need to fill another world. Me=KyleBoon (yes I know I could get a lot of sitemails because of this)

Will you be introducing realistic IBB rates in the MLB Sim anytime soon? They are non-existant now. (deberly - Hall of Famer - 5:02 PM)

Yes. we'll bring over the HBD IBB setting once it's out and polished.

will be able to use our HBD teams in SL live Simmatchup ect...? (trezeguet - All-Star - 5:03 PM)

Not in simmatchup. Yes for live games, but not right away.

Will their be a league creator wizard to make different sets of rules (DH, no, yes, 1/2, etc.)? (randallball - Hall of Famer - 5:04 PM)

Not right away. The plan is that in between seasons, rules can change. We haven't added this yet though.

Smart marketers would pre-sell the first wave of franchises to the early adopters (for a premium price) like the Xbox 360's and let them work out the bugs rather than giving the first wave to testers. Not a question, just an observation. (toddcommish - Hall of Famer - 5:04 PM)

Our early adopters usually make up the largest segment of our testing group. Typically, they are our Hall of Fame users who have been with us a long time.

I've been discussing this with a few users and nobody seems to know for sure. We know HR are normalized but what about doubles and triples? Thanks! (ThaReverend - Hall of Famer - 3:35 PM)

Doubles and triples are not normalized. The distribution of extra-base hits is decided based on the batter's 2B and 3B per hit ratios along with the pitcher's normalized ERA. The distribution is also affected byany "lost" homers due to the pitcher giving up fewer homers than the average pitcher.

Thanks everyone for asking questions today. We'll continue to answer the ones that remain (and aren't related to licensing or financing and that haven't been answered already). We continue to look forward to feedback regarding improvements and enhancements to both Sim League Baseball and Hardball Dynasty.

Search Options

View Upcoming Chat List

This chat session has ended.

For more information or to join a league, visit the SimLeague Baseball home page.

SimLeague Baseball

Terms of Use Customer Support Privacy Statement

© 1999-2024 WhatIfSports.com, Inc. All rights reserved. Use of this website (including any and all parts and components) constitutes your acceptance of these Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. WhatIfSports is a trademark of WhatIfSports.com, Inc. SimLeague, SimMatchup and iSimNow are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts, Inc. Used under license. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.