Getting a Little Burned Out/Bored With This

[Ted]

Hey guys, I know I'm always a little prone to rant, but I feel I've been more obnoxious lately. What I'm wondering, is am I just tired of doing this? Have the things that are obnoxious about the game began to outweigh the enjoyment. One reason for all the podcasts (sorry Kyle, I'll get our up soon) is that I'm trying to find something to keep me interested. I definitely do not like the way the game is moving. (I'm not going to debate specifics here, that's not the point, but for context: OOTP is of course a baseball sim, and seems to try to follow MLB trends. That makes sense. I however, do not LIKE the way MLB is trending in terms of roster management, etc. I think the increasing "realism" of the game actually detracts from the fairness and fun of our competitive environment.) However, I do think that if I wasn't kind of bored, these things would bother me a lot less. Instead, I'm dealing with more random junk than I want to. Most of the time, I find myself more annoyed by the results of a sim than interested or entertained. Again for context, roster development is far more fun for me than "winning". My greatest enjoyment comes from nursing my drafting and trading so that I can always see my roster six or seven years out, watching players grow, fitting together a puzzle as a I lose pieces to aging and free agency. Winning and championships are fun, but are in a lot of ways more dependent on luck (especially championships) than building a good franchise from top to bottom. However, with teh increasing "realism" it just seems like player development is essentially a complete crapshoot, a literal minefield of injuries, random lumps and disappointment. The game is moving towards a model where quantity of prospects is more important than quality, and trading hordes of half developed players to augment the big league club for shots at the postseason is the best method. That bores the shit out of me. It's less nuanced. The only real plan is to accumulate then consolidate, rinse and repeat.

Or maybe the game isn't that different, I've just had bad luck (not San Antonio bad, but it's been pretty awful recently in my minors. Like I said earlier, literally one out of my top 15 pitching prospects hasn't had a major injury in the last year). Maybe I'm just a bit burnt out.

I imagine that many of you, having been around for so long, have gone through periods like this. I do not necessarily want to quit, but the number of times something irritating happens and I just throw my hands up and say, "F it, I'm done with this", is getting alarming. So does anyone have any advice on ways to combat this? I thought about changing teams, but I'm just one of those guys who gets so attached to a franchise and players that this really wouldn't be fun for me. I may as well leave and come back when I start jonesing for a team to run. I thought about trying a different roster strategies, but the only way to make a quick change would be to bow it up. I've done the tank and rebuild and have had success, and can't really imaging anything more challenging than trying to remain competitive every year.

Anyway, any advice would be appreciated and thanks.

[Spiccoli]

I could see getting a little "burned out" after being as good as you've been.... Why not change teams like the Genius did? Take over a perennial struggling team and have it rise out of nothing?

One of my plans is to change teams someday if I'm ever able to win a Championship. Might even change teams someday if I don't make it, but I wouldn't do that for several more seasons.

The pitcher injury thing is a different discussion...

[agrudez]

We're not on the same wavelength for the things you've vocalized as what bothers you recently so I can't really speak to that. I will say, though, that I find when I get hyper focused on one thing it often burns me out and drives me crazy. It's happened to me with OOTP, online DND, Everquest, WoW... pretty much every hobby I've ever had and got super obsessed with. I feel like, for me - as someone with an addictive personality - diversifying my interests helps me from going down an insane rabbit hole on one specifically. At the moment I am into online DnD, chess and OOTP - so when one pisses me off I can ignore it for a bit and salve the frustration with the others.

[Ted]

We're not on the same wavelength for the things you've vocalized as what bothers you recently so I can't really speak to that. I will say, though, that I find when I get hyper focused on one thing it often burns me out and drives me crazy. It's happened to me with OOTP, online DND, Everquest, WoW... pretty much every hobby I've ever had and got super obsessed with. I feel like, for me - as someone with an addictive personality - diversifying my interests helps me from going down an insane rabbit hole on one specifically. At the moment I am into online DnD, chess and OOTP - so when one pisses me off I can ignore it for a bit and salve the frustration with the others.

The hyper focus on one thing is a real issue for me too. Maybe, I'll just half ass it for awhile here.

[usnspecialist]

You half assing it is still good enough to out perform and produce a vast majority of this league lol. Also I know I have said this to you privately, but selfishly I hope you don't leave.

[crobillard]

Love the authenticity. You hit the nail on the head for me. I like to diversify my interests and switch focuses often. It helps me keep wanting more time with each thing until I'm complaining about how much time I don't have. That's my sweet spot. Btw, if you like online DnD, check out a board game called Gloomhaven. It's awesome. It's on Tabletop Simulator too. I run a LFG Discord for finding groups to play with. If you're interested hmu.

[Ted]

You half assing it is still good enough to out perform and produce a vast majority of this league lol. Also I know I have said this to you privately, but selfishly I hope you don't leave.

Dude, I seriously doubt this. I've been going full bore this whole time, and while yes I've had success, the difference between that and non competitiveness is paper thin.

[Joshua Biddle]

Agree with what others said re: diversifying interests. Have teams with all of the major sports and a few other sports, so when I personally feel like rage-quitting over a bad sim for one of the sim teams, I can cool off, and feel like rage-quitting over another.

[agrudez]

Love the authenticity. You hit the nail on the head for me. I like to diversify my interests and switch focuses often. It helps me keep wanting more time with each thing until I'm complaining about how much time I don't have. That's my sweet spot. Btw, if you like online DnD, check out a board game called Gloomhaven. It's awesome. It's on Tabletop Simulator too. I run a LFG Discord for finding groups to play with. If you're interested hmu.

I'll have to check that out - thanks. At the moment I'm DM'ing/playing 5e on rpgcrossing. If you wanted to check that out I could get you started in some of my games. It's great that it's a forum so that you can do it during business hours (like OOTP).

[aaronweiner]

My team has been a bit plug and play lately, so that's been easy.

I usually concentrate on the finances when I think about the league at all - how do I schedule extensions, what can I do to keep the team together, that sort of thing. Right now laser focused on Dempster.

[recte44]

Imagine doing all the grunt work- that’s a burnout.

[jiminyhopkins]

*Unpopular Post Alert*













Some of you people care WAAAAAY too much about this sh!t. It's just a computer game.


*End of Unpopular Post*

[Lane]

*Unpopular Post Alert*













Some of you people care WAAAAAY too much about this sh!t. It's just a computer game.


*End of Unpopular Post*

Ah, but it's not!

A solo OOTP game is just a computer game. An export only league is more computer game than not.

But this league is a community and much more than just a computer game. I think that's why many of us are here. If we just wanted a computer game, there's plenty of ways to enjoy OOTP with far less work.

[Ted]

*Unpopular Post Alert*













Some of you people care WAAAAAY too much about this sh!t. It's just a computer game.


*End of Unpopular Post*

Actually I'm on board with this. My level of frustration is simply too high for a game. The problem I'm having is I suck at not getting super focused on any game, to the point where it stops being fun.

[JimBob2232]

Interesting post...

I cant say I am bored at all. Part of the thing I love about this game is that its unpredictable. The best team doesnt win. So how do I put a competitive team on the field EVERY year. How do i simultaneously win now, while growing for the future.

I wish i had a little more time to dedicate to it..but I wouldn't say I am bored in the least. For every prospect flame out, there is some guy who comes from nowhere. Some guy you picked up as a 23 year old FA on his 7th team who makes it to an all star game. Some guy from Ghana (http://montybrewster.net/BBA/HTML/news/ ... 36154.html) who might be the first player ever from there who is on his 5th team, finally made his debut and is playing surprisingly well.

I do wish OOTP made it a little easier on the commish. I am waiting for a different model where OOTP hosts the game, auto sims, and we maybe pay OOTP a small amount each season or something. I think OOTP could take this to the next step by auto simming maybe 1 day every 4 hours or something. Then it would be essentially in real-time, with all trades processed by the in-game GUI.

But for me...I love this league. There is nothing else like it. I just want to WIN.

[Ted]

Interesting post...

For every prospect flame out, there is some guy who comes from nowhere. Some guy you picked up as a 23 year old FA on his 7th team who makes it to an all star game. Some guy from Ghana (http://montybrewster.net/BBA/HTML/news/ ... 36154.html) who might be the first player ever from there who is on his 5th team, finally made his debut and is playing surprisingly well.

Again I think I'm just having a run of bad luck. In the last decade or so, I've gotten maybe one "out of nowhere" guy for every five flameouts. Losing the OOTPOU development tracking functionality has really been shitty for me, because it was a major way I had fun looking for interesting players. As far as I can tell, there is nothing in stats plus to replace it (I can't find a way in stats plus to look at development for free agents).

[Ted]

Also, I may have overstated how much I "don't care about winning." I don't set winning as a goal. The goal for me is to have a strong franchise. Keep a strong minor league system. Maintain a solid revenue stream. Have a solid contract structure. I feel if I do that, winning and even championships, are byproducts.

I think one way to look at things if you are struggling is to stop asking, "How do I win this year?" and instead ask, "How do am I going to field a competitive roster in five years?" Who on my team now will be there? Who will I need to replace? Who will I have to let go because they will price themselves out of usefulness? When I lose player X, how will I keep revenue up? If I solve all those questions, I will win division titles, and I will win the odd championship here and there.

The problem I'm having is that recently I feel I'm running into more obstacles than I want to. More little annoyances that add up. Each one of them individually is no big deal, but in total they just are starting to make it not worth it. If I have to do a complete teardown, I will likely stop playing. I find no challenge in that. I'm not saying I know it will work out, but rather if it doesn't, it was purely due to factors outside my control (injuries, lumping, etc). Without those, I guarantee that I could blow my team up right now and field a 100 win team in four seasons. That's just dull (too little unpredictability, and too easy to accumulate talent). And having that fail due to randomness is even more pointless. But you can have the outcomes be too random. I don't play slot machines because there is no skill involved. I feel like OOTP is moving more and more towards forcing a tank and rebuild strategy, and is becoming more like a slot machine. While it may be more "real", it's also more random, and more likely to wreck your best laid plans. Many people here like that, and that's fine. I don't, and I wonder if it's time for me to step away as this is becoming a style of game I don't like.

[recte44]

Interesting post...

For every prospect flame out, there is some guy who comes from nowhere. Some guy you picked up as a 23 year old FA on his 7th team who makes it to an all star game. Some guy from Ghana (http://montybrewster.net/BBA/HTML/news/ ... 36154.html) who might be the first player ever from there who is on his 5th team, finally made his debut and is playing surprisingly well.

Again I think I'm just having a run of bad luck. In the last decade or so, I've gotten maybe one "out of nowhere" guy for every five flameouts. Losing the OOTPOU development tracking functionality has really been shitty for me, because it was a major way I had fun looking for interesting players. As far as I can tell, there is nothing in stats plus to replace it (I can't find a way in stats plus to look at development for free agents).

You do realize we still have OOTPOU development right?

[Ted]

Interesting post...

For every prospect flame out, there is some guy who comes from nowhere. Some guy you picked up as a 23 year old FA on his 7th team who makes it to an all star game. Some guy from Ghana (http://montybrewster.net/BBA/HTML/news/ ... 36154.html) who might be the first player ever from there who is on his 5th team, finally made his debut and is playing surprisingly well.

Again I think I'm just having a run of bad luck. In the last decade or so, I've gotten maybe one "out of nowhere" guy for every five flameouts. Losing the OOTPOU development tracking functionality has really been shitty for me, because it was a major way I had fun looking for interesting players. As far as I can tell, there is nothing in stats plus to replace it (I can't find a way in stats plus to look at development for free agents).

You do realize we still have OOTPOU development right?

Cumulative dev reports don't work. You can only get the standard reports.

[GoldenOne]

I'm not saying I know it will work out, but rather if it doesn't, it was purely due to factors outside my control (injuries, lumping, etc). Without those, I guarantee that I could blow my team up right now and field a 100 win team in four seasons. That's just dull (too little unpredictability, and too easy to accumulate talent). And having that fail due to randomness is even more pointless. But you can have the outcomes be too random.

Give it a shot then. We all deal with the same randomness. I get it, to you its just too much. That's life though. Not saying the randomness makes life fun but it makes this game a little more fun. There does seem to be a lot more longer-term injuries than what might be considered to be "normal" but that should be part of the fun. If you've built up your team well enough then give that youngster a chance a year earlier.

Instead of blowing it up though, maybe you convince the Board that next season is the one to expand again (maybe do that before we recreate the EBA) and you literally start from scratch. Take a different tact this time around. Follow Randy's lead and just win now and try and keep winning. Change it up.