[sub]Disclaimer: I have no official interest in Sports Mogul products. I’m just a fan who wants to their continued success.[/sub]
A new version of best (IMHO) baseball management game is expected to be on store shelves by 15 April. On the heels of the success of its Baseball Mogul 2002, Sports Mogul, Inc. entered a deal with Monkeystone Games to publish the 2003 version. How good are Sports Mogul products, you ask? So good that Microsoft tried to buy them out but had to settle for licensing the simulation engine for their Baseball 2001 instead.
Here’s a list of features for Baseball Mogul 2003:
[ul]
[li]Officially licensed product of the Major League Baseball Players Association. Includes real player names, photos, and statistics, with the latest rosters for the 2002 baseball season [/li][li]New player scouting reports. Now with complete year-by-year stats for each each player. See each player’s historical stats, and track their year-by-year stats for each simulated season, too. [/li][li]Additional player stats. Track player performance in spring training and in the postseason. [/li][li]Play-by-Play. Watch each at-bat of a game, and see the game as it unfolds. [/li][li]Stadium construction tool. Build a better ballpark, or move your team to a new city and build one there. [/li][li]Concession prices. Set the prices of hot dogs, drinks, and ice cream in your ballpark. [/li][li]Enhanced minor league control. Tell your minor league managers what kind of rookies they should recruit, both by position and by skill. [/li][li]Fantasy draft option. Build your dream team from scratch. Take turns choosing your favorite players from among all the players in the league, while the computer managers build the opposing teams. [/li][li]Generic photos for new rookies. Added realism for your new players. [/li][li]Improved news headlines. Now includes quick and easy scanning and reading of news articles in the daily newspaper. [/li][/ul]
If any of this appeals to you, please encourage the continued retail presence of Sports Mogul product by purcasing Baseball Mogul 2003 from a retailer near you.
I fully expect Football Mogul 2003 to be on shelves in time for Christmas. The good people at Sports Mogul will have its hands full for a while, updating their online version of Baseball to include the new features. They’ve promised to work on Football once that’s finished.
I can’t tell you what a thrill it has been to discover that so many other people get a kick out of this stuff. I thought I was the only one that preferred managing to the actual game ( I mean, the video game version of the actual game.)
I gotta tell you, though, that after playing it recently, Out of the Park 4.0 is better. It’s terrific in every respect. If you like baseball management games you can’t go wrong with OOTP 4. Finances, free agents, drafting, working guys up from the minors, and statistical replay that’s not only ultra-realistic, but can be adjusted to reflect different time periods. It’s the best there is. Its statistical replay is more accurate and more customizable than Mogul, the interface is generally better, and IMO the AI is way ahead.
That isn’t to say you shouldn’t try the Mogul games as well. You cannot have enough baseball management games on your computer, as far as I’m concerned.
Actually, I’ve played OOTP3 but I still prefer Baseball Mogul. Out of the Park is geared toward those who want everything in their simulation; that’s just too much detail for me. I also think some of Mogul’s details are better: the scouting reports, news articles, finances, and trading. With the new features, its stats will be on par with OOTP. I expect a future version, or even a patch for 2003 will include the ability to keep track of all-time career and single season records, one of the few things that OOTP has which Mogul needs to implement.
BTW: there seems to be a feature missing from the official list: the ability to set HOF requirements, as in OOTP.
That build your own stadium thing sounds cool. How is it implemented? Is it a 3-d type thing like those golf course creators or is it just fill in the numbers for seats, luxury boxes, concession stands, restrooms, etc.
I’d say it’s substantially better. The overall changes aren’t huge, but the cumulative effect is significant.
The financial system is better modelled, and the free agency seems better implemented. Most importantly, the AI is a LOT smarter; it’s very, very hard to exploit holes in the AI. Opposing teams seem very aware of where they are on the development cycle; poor teams will trade veterans for prospects, teams in tight races will trade prospects for veterans, but rarely will a team make a move that doesn’t fit its needs.