Out of the Park Baseball 2011 for iPhone/iPod Touch

Discussion in 'Upcoming iOS Games' started by OOTP Developments, Mar 31, 2011.

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  1. OOTP Developments

    OOTP Developments Well-Known Member

    #1 OOTP Developments, Mar 31, 2011
    Last edited: May 4, 2011
    Hello friends,

    we've just officially announced Out of the Park Baseball 2011 for iPhone/iPod, the game is very close to being finished and will be released May 5th.

    Many of you may not be familiar with the game "Out of the Park Baseball" (OOTP). It is a long running series of baseball management games for the PC and Mac since 1999. The game is widely regarded as the best baseball management (or simulation, what ever term you prefer) game on the market, winning all sorts of awards (i.e. PC Gamer Sports Game of the Year, Metacritic PC Game of the Year etc.). In fact, it still is the second best rated PC game of all time on metacritic.com.

    Last year we began development on an iPhone/iPod Touch version, and now we're very close to finishing the project. iOOTP is driven by the ultra-realistic baseball simulation engine of OOTP 11 (PC version) and offers an easy to pick up and enjoyable baseball management experience. So if you've ever thought you could run your favorite baseball franchise better than the real life GM/manager, you now have the chance to prove it.

    The game lets you take over any Major League team (real 2011 opening day rosters plus top prospects included), create a fictional league or play one of three included historical leagues (1923, 1965, 2004, more available through in-app purchase). iOOTP is a career simulation, so the game does not stop after one season. You can draft & develop new players, see your veterans retire (any maybe get elected to the Hall of Fame), sign free agents, make trades, negotiate contract extensions and so on. Guide your team into the future!

    For more info, please check our latest newletter with the official announcement: Out of the Park Baseball 2011 for iPhone / iPod Touch Announced!

    We've also opened the official game forums over at our OOTP Developments forums, check out FAQ and other info here: iOOTP 2011 Forums

    If you'd like to find out more about the OOTP series in general, please visit the official OOTP 12 website.

    We're sure that if you enjoy baseball, you will enjoy iOOTP quite a bit. :)

    Looking forward to your feedback!
    Markus Heinsohn & Sebastian Palkowski, Developers iOOTP 2011

    PS: Here are some screenshots:
    [​IMG]

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  2. tonydeli7

    tonydeli7 Well-Known Member

    Feb 25, 2010
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    Freelance Computer Engineer
    Greece
    Nice! Even though I'm not from US, I like baseball..

    This is the "Football Manager" of baseball.. :p

    Waiting for it!
     
  3. dizzydank

    dizzydank Well-Known Member

    Dec 23, 2010
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    Assitant Managing Editor - Games, AppTudes; TV/Mov
    portland, ME
    about time we got a good baseball sim on the iOS... can't wait to get my hands on this!
     
  4. Marc Vaughan

    Marc Vaughan Well-Known Member

    Apr 15, 2010
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    I concur - OOTP is a great game imho and I'm looking forward to this becoming available :D
     
  5. statnut

    statnut Well-Known Member

    May 23, 2009
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    I've been tracking this since they announced it last summer and can't wait.
     
  6. walsh06

    walsh06 Well-Known Member

    IM really looking forward to it. I like baseball but games can take a while to get through seasons. This would be faster with having all the awesome strategy and management of baseball. Cant wait.
     
  7. OOTP Developments

    OOTP Developments Well-Known Member

  8. unbrokenchain33

    unbrokenchain33 Well-Known Member

    Feb 22, 2010
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    late April release?
     
  9. OOTP Developments

    OOTP Developments Well-Known Member

    Yes, we aim for late April.
     
  10. TiltMyTouch

    TiltMyTouch Well-Known Member

    Jun 10, 2010
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    Can't wait for this. Hopefully there will be more management games for other sports down the road, too.
     
  11. OOTP Developments

    OOTP Developments Well-Known Member

    With iFM (soccer) and iOOTP Baseball 2011 (baseball) you got two out of 5 major sports. :)
     
  12. New England Gamer

    New England Gamer Moderator
    Staff Member Patreon Silver Patreon Gold Patreon Bronze

    Jul 30, 2009
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    When OOTP - wheeeeeennnnnnnnn

    (yeah resorting to whining now)
     
  13. TiltMyTouch

    TiltMyTouch Well-Known Member

    Jun 10, 2010
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    Then there are three more to go!
     
  14. OOTP Developments

    OOTP Developments Well-Known Member

    We just posted the second Road to Release article:

    Welcome back to the Road to Release for iOOTP Baseball 2011, a portable version of Out of the Park Baseball planned for late April release on iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. In the first installment, I started a new 2011 season and took over the Boston Red Sox. I showed you around the game and set up my team in preparation for Opening Day. Today, I will begin my season and play out the first game in Texas.

    The real Boston Red Sox lost their first 3 games in Texas, so let’s see if I can guide my Red Sox to a better start.

    [​IMG]

    Above is the Home Screen from last time. As you can see, my first game is tomorrow, so I just tap "Finish Today" on the right side.

    The game simulates the day and now I, one day later, I have the option to play out my game.

    [​IMG]

    After tapping "Play at Texas," I come to a screen where I can set some options. I could let the CPU handle parts (or all) of my job, I can decide between full Play by Play (PbP) detail or just one line describing the play, and I can set how fast the text should be presented.

    [​IMG]

    I want to make all my own managerial decisions, so I leave those settings on the defaults. I do the same with the PbP detail. The Play by Play database in iOOTP Baseball 2011 is rich and varied, so it’s a lot of fun to follow the detailed descriptions while managing my club. It’s like listening to a radio or TV announcer call the action.

    Next, the starters for today's game:

    [​IMG]

    For me, lefty Jon Lester takes the mound against Brandon Webb.

    On the last screen I get to set my lineup:

    [​IMG]

    I prepared the lineup during my last article, so I can just move on to the game. iOOTP uses the preset lineups you created before the season starts, but sometimes you might want to shuffle your players if you want to give someone the day off or if you’re looking to shake a sleepy offense out of its doldrums.

    Now it’s time to play ball!

    [​IMG]

    Now let's take a look around the game screen. On top you always see the most important information: the score, base runners, outs, and the inning. The bottom bar has all the buttons necessary to play out a game:

    Quickplay lets you jump ahead a half inning or an inning, or you can just finish the game.

    Swing (it reads Pitch when you’re on defense) starts the at-bat; with my first batter up and the bases empty, I’ll tap it to get the action started.
    Strategies gives you such options as steal a base or put on a hit-and-run, and the baseball field icon lets you switch to different views. We’ll get to those buttons in a moment.

    [​IMG]

    That's the first part of the Play by Play text, giving you some basic information about the game. Then Ellsbury leads off with …

    [​IMG]

    ... a line drive single to right, and my leadoff man is on base!

    Take a look at the new situation: Ellsbury on first base, Pedroia at bat. Ellsbury is fast and a good base stealer (Speed 20, Stealing 20) and the Texas catcher has only an average arm (Catcher Arm 9). See the screenshot:

    [​IMG]

    Let me show you more options you have: the middle part of the screen is used to display different views you can switch between. The default is the Field View, on which you can see the batter, pitcher, defense and base runner, with the most important ratings displayed. Long-time OOTP players will recognize this view.

    I want to put pressure on the pitcher early and try to steal second base, but first I want to check the pitcher’s ability to hold runners. To do so, I switch the view to Batter/Pitcher by tapping the baseball field icon at the bottom of the screen and selecting that option.

    [​IMG]

    Note that this menu also lets you view the team rosters, the scoreboard and next three batters due up, the in-progress box score, and basic information about both teams (the number of available pinch hitters and pitchers, as well as basic team stats). From Field View, you can tap any player’s name and see basic information about him, including his biographical details, ratings overview, and stats from the past three seasons.

    However, you’ll want to use the Batter/Pitcher screen to see more in-depth ratings for both players, which will give you better information for making decisions.

    [​IMG]

    As you can see, Webb has a Hold rating of 9, which is average. I will take my chances. To order the base runner to try a steal, I switch back to Field View (you can use any view you want when executing decisions; I just use the Field View most of the time) and tap Strategies:

    [​IMG]

    You can see the different options you have above. I tap Steal 2nd Base ...

    [​IMG]

    ... and Ellsbury is out at second base. Texas had a feeling I might try that, so they called for a pitch-out, which gave their catcher with an average arm a much better chance at throwing out Ellsbury, despite his speed. Now I have one out and Pedroia is still at bat.

    I will finish my offensive half inning and welcome you back when Boston takes the field ...

    [​IMG]

    As you can see, nothing more happened: after Ellsbury was caught stealing, Webb retired the next two batters. Now Lester is on the mound, so let’s check out your options on defense. In iOOTP Baseball 2011, you can set your defense separately for the infield ...

    [​IMG]

    and the outfield ...

    [​IMG]

    You can position your defense according to the current situation. Is it a close game with a runner on third? Bring the infield and outfield in to defend against the run at home plate. Are you facing bases loaded with one out? Set your infield at normal depth for your best shot at a double play. Have a hunch that the next batter will try to lay down a sacrifice bunt? Bring in your first or third baseman, or both of them.

    Those are the basics of managing, so I’ll continue my game and check back in when it’s done…

    Wow, what a game! I took an early 1-run lead in the second inning, but Texas came back in the 4th with 2 runs and added another in the 8th inning. Up by 2 runs in the top of the ninth inning, Texas brought O`Day in to close the game, but my batters got the best of him and I was able to score 3 runs to take the lead! Looking to seal a stunning come-from-behind victory in the bottom of the ninth, I brought in my closer, Papelbon, to finish the game and he delivered a strong 1-2-3 inning with 2 strikeouts. Take a look at the box score, which scrolls so you can view all the information:

    [​IMG]

    Part 2:

    [​IMG]

    Part 3:

    [​IMG]

    That was a nice way to start the season: an exciting Opening Day victory that should provide some nice momentum.

    That`s it for today. You now have a good idea how to manage games in iOOTP Baseball 2011. Next time I will set up my team to allow me to simulate games without handling the managing, which is useful if you want to quickly get through chunks of the season. Then I will simulate a few weeks and show you all the player, team, and league information at your fingertips as you undertake that marathon known as the baseball season.
     
  15. unbrokenchain33

    unbrokenchain33 Well-Known Member

    Feb 22, 2010
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    how often are there roster updates? Every couple of weeks?
     
  16. New England Gamer

    New England Gamer Moderator
    Staff Member Patreon Silver Patreon Gold Patreon Bronze

    Jul 30, 2009
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    If only we could do the same to the REAL season...sigh.

    I am REALLY looking forward to this release!
     
  17. tomheroes

    tomheroes Well-Known Member

    Jul 15, 2010
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    This is a must buy when it comes out. I have played the PC version and loved it and it will be great to have a portable version as well.
     
  18. OOTP Developments

    OOTP Developments Well-Known Member

    The game ships with opening day rosters. And since you start your league on opening day, it would not make much sense to update the rosters afterwards. So there will be no 'roster updates' per se. However, we might include a tweaked opening day roster set in a future update/patch.

    Hope that helps!
    Markus
     
  19. tonydeli7

    tonydeli7 Well-Known Member

    Feb 25, 2010
    590
    1
    18
    Freelance Computer Engineer
    Greece
    Looks very good! :)
     
  20. walsh06

    walsh06 Well-Known Member

    Dammit I'm getting way too excited for this. The more I see the more I love it. The game has a lot of depth which is great. What price are you releasing at as I need to save some on my account for it's release.
     

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