OOTP Does Football - American Style

[Steel Dragons]

I think we could do OOTP football league if it involved less writing :)

[roncollins]

I think we could do OOTP football league if it involved less writing :)

That's true. But the writing is one of the major things that differentiates the PEBA from all the other inferior leagues. :)

[Steel Dragons]

Plus the seasons are much much shorter :)

[Rory]

Badger wrote:

But, curious your opinion Rory as someone who has lots of experience with FOF .. Where do you feel it is lacking and that an OOTP football game could surpass it?

I have guys in my 2 leagues that are what I would consider experts with FOF. Some have been playing it since the first version came out. I started with the FOF2007 version and atm 1 league I'm in just started the new FOF7 version and the other isn't converting over til we finish with the season were currently in. They'd be the ones to really get down and dirty with. But I can give you my opinion on it, and it's just my opinion cause I'm wrong a lot....just ask my wife.

FOF is fully customizable. Amount of teams, divisions, league names, team names, city names, logos, injury rates, how accurate the scouting is for the league on scales 1-100, player names, playoff system, what your cap is and at the rate it increases each year if you choose, i could go on and on. I play in one league that has NFL teams and divisions but fictional players and one league that is fully fictional including logos and helmets. There's something about the fictional characters and teams that appeals to me. Matter of fact when I stumbled across PEBA that's what first caught my eye. But some people like to play in history leagues or leagues with real players, so there's that option too.

As far as game play, I think it will be pretty tough for anyone to one up FOF. Jim has done his homework, especially on this new version. Renegotiating contracts with some of your stars(not all of em) can be tough. If they're good they want to get paid. Managing your cap, injuries, your drama queens, your ticket sales, team continuity etc can be quite challenging. You have your team leaders, mentors and regular joes. When a players birthday is, what school he went to and what town he is from all (or some) can have a factor in whether he gets along with the teams positional leader which affects team continuity. What does his birthday have to do with it? That has to do with his astrological sign and the team leaders astrological sign. Does a capricorn get along with a taurus? That's just an example of how detailed FOF is.

Badger wrote:

That being said, the game feels very "sterile" ... Lower on the immersion factor.. and of course, lack of customization (personally I don't want to recreate NFL, or even play modern day NFL).

I wasn't sure if you were talking about FOF or BTS. I'm not sure what BTS is. But if you were talking about FOF......thats where OOTP caould improve on FOF. I think the visuals create that feeling in FOF. OOTP has great visuals in my opinion. The layout, the way you move about in OOTP is pretty kool.

FOF is text based like OOTP baseball is and when I watch a sim of a game i can get into it as if it were a real game.......somewhat. The play results need a little more detail in FOF. Can't really have too much or it would be a clutter so I think there's a fine line. Personally I like dots. I don't really care for Madden mode, I like dots with numbers on em. I'm prolly weird I know. If anyone is familiar with an online game called Pigskin Empire(PE). I loved watching those dots run around(or slide) the field. Some were fast some not. With the dots I could see if that incomplete was because the receiver didnt get open, it was a good defensive play or the QB just missed him. In text you really dont get that feel. And the Live play calling option against a real person is a blast. Thats a Pigskin Empire option. That would be another kool option for OOTP football.

If Pigskin Empire and Front Office Football were to have sex, that baby would be the ultimate sim football game.

Disclaimer: None of the claims or comments posted by this bonehead reflect the opinions of PEBA, OOTP, FOF or PE and any reproduction is prohibited without written consent of the National Sim Football League

[Apollos]

Beyond the Sideline Football will reach Beta in about a year, with a shipping date sometime in 2015.

Rats! Alas, it doesn't dampen my enthusiasm for the game. The stuff posted thus far literally sounds like this is going to be OOTP Football, which is great news for those of us who have been waiting for them to take the sport on. Can't wait!

[Mike Dunn]

Details were released this morning. It looks great, although we have to wait a year:

Beyond the Sideline Football will reach Beta in about a year, with a shipping date sometime in 2015. The game will offer these features:

A realistic modern day American football experience with all current rules and regulations.
All 32 real American football teams with their real players and current rosters.
A realistic 2D game engine that represents all the action on the field, with the ability to call plays and watch them unfold, complete with the roar of the crowd and other sound effects.
You dictate the action on the field: Set depth charts and develop strategies around your preferred style of play.
FaceGen support allows realistic images of all players.
A complete box score for every game played in the league during its history, so you can always look back on thrilling victories and agonizing defeats.
The ability to sim decades into the future and watch teams' fortunes rise and fall as dynasties emerge, crumble, and eventually renew themselves.
You call the shots from the front office: Participate in the draft for your team every spring; trade players; and negotiate contracts with draft picks and free agents.
All of the (non-playable) Division I colleges as well as many more, with real players, so you can draft the next crop of superstars every year.
A living, breathing world full of news articles from around the league and a message system that lets you field offers from other GMs and hear what your players have to say.
Complete histories, including stats, transactions, injuries, and contracts, for all players who have participated in a training camp during the past decade.
Nearly 50 tracked stats, allowing you to go beyond the usual numbers and dig deep into players' performance.
Each player features a Health Scan that lets you quickly assess their current situation by showing you which areas of their body are hurt, which areas are okay, and which ones are worn.
Customization options, including the ability to change team names, the number of teams, the league structure, the league's country, and a variety of settings.
Many benefits from utilizing the OOTP code base, like the user-friendly interface, online league support, HTML output, customizable text database and much more!

And-- fictional leagues!

And:

BTS Football is being created by lead developer Francis Cole, who previously worked on Football Manager at Sports Interactive and joined Out of the Park Developments in October. He is a lifelong football fan and even created a football simulation as part of his college studies.

"I've known Francis since my days working at Sports Interactive," says OOTP Developments co-founder Markus Heinsohn. "He is a tremendously talented programmer who knows American football as well as anyone I've ever met and he has been working on his own football gaming projects for years. I am convinced that his skills, combined with our experience creating award-winning sports management games, will result in an amazing American football game which will bolster our product lineup for years to come."

We'll need some football smilies for the forum!

[Alleghenies]

I can't wait!!!!

[Coqui]

any reproduction is prohibited without written consent of the National Sim Football League

Get out of my bedroom, NSFL!

[Nigel]

I'd have a go at a PEBA football league. I've had a passing interest in football over the years but not really gone that deep into it, I'd probably class myself though as reasonably knowledgeable though and I'm sure I'd pick it up after getting my arse whopped by all you lot

[klewis]

I am in wait and see mode with this OOTP endorsed football sim. I don't think I have time for another sports sim in my life so it wouldn't bug me too much if I missed out on this upcoming game. If I do buy it, it would probably after several iterations where they worked out the kinks.

I think baseball was made for software simulation. Baseball is lush with numbers, stats and splits. Moreover, baseball is essentially a one-on-one sport (pitcher vs. batter). Football, on the other hand, is harder to quantify.

In terms of pure sports authenicity, I think I will always enjoy baseball sims more. I have throroghly enjoyed OOTP. Having said that, I suppose I will always have the itch of playing a football simulator. There is one aspect missing in baseball that I would love to have my hand at - gameplanning. The ability to disect your opponent and to maximize the skillset of your own team is pure geekdom.

I have played FOF before. I welcome new competition. Hopefully, this would mean a more robust football sim market.

[Rory]

Featherheads wrote:

I have played FOF before. I welcome new competition. Hopefully, this would mean a more robust football sim market.

Here-Here....I'll drink to that.

I was reading through some of the Q&A posts on the OOTP forum and there are a lot of em. People are pretty excited that OOTP is diving into the football world. If it matches their baseball product, there's gonna be good times ahead.

[Akira]

If there was an American football sim as detailed and rich as OOTP that would be spectacular. No doubt it would take years to reach that maturity level. I for one would love to be in a PEBA style football league. Looks like we'll have a year to plan that.

[Cole]

FOF is fully customizable. Amount of teams, divisions, league names, team names, city names, logos, injury rates, how accurate the scouting is for the league on scales 1-100, player names, playoff system, what your cap is and at the rate it increases each year if you choose, i could go on and on.

Wait, what?? You can play fictional leagues with fewer than 32 teams in FOF???

That's news to me ... I always thought one of the big knocks against the game was a lack of customization in terms of number of teams, divisions, etc... Basically, that you are locked into the NFL-style 32-team format?

I am very interested to hear how you can customize the amount of teams? I have only played it briefly but I see no such option.

If I could create a smaller, fully fictional league I'd likely be more interested in FOF7 while I wait for BTS.

[Apollos]

FOF is fully customizable. Amount of teams, divisions, league names, team names, city names, logos, injury rates, how accurate the scouting is for the league on scales 1-100, player names, playoff system, what your cap is and at the rate it increases each year if you choose, i could go on and on.

Wait, what?? You can play fictional leagues with fewer than 32 teams in FOF???

That's news to me ... I always thought one of the big knocks against the game was a lack of customization in terms of number of teams, divisions, etc... Basically, that you are locked into the NFL-style 32-team format?

I am very interested to hear how you can customize the amount of teams? I have only played it briefly but I see no such option.

If I could create a smaller, fully fictional league I'd likely be more interested in FOF7 while I wait for BTS.

I'm with you, Cole - I haven't figured out how to do any of these either. I'd most likely attribute it to the antiquated UI, but I'd also love for someone to show me how to manually expand the league.

[Robert_Ogden]

I can't wait to see this game. I'm not a huge fan of FootballMogul. I think that the OOTP company can do a better job with it.