Out of the Park Baseball

Out of the Park Baseball, abbreviated as OOTP, is a text-based baseball simulation for career, historical, and fictional play. OOTP was originally written in 1998, when lead developer Markus Heinsohn sought to combine realistic replay baseball simulation with career play to satisfy hardcore fans and casual gamers alike. "A friend of mine brought home a bat and a glove from a trip to Miami, so we started hitting tennis balls into the neighbor’s gardens. That was in 1991," Heinsohn told Inside Mac Games in a July 2012 interview.^[1] "We then formed a baseball club and started playing in organized baseball leagues in 1994. In the meantime I played all sorts of baseball computer games, but there was no management-related game that I liked, so in 1998 I decided to simply develop my own game, just for fun. When it was done in 1999, I figured it was probably good enough to earn some money with it, and that’s when it all started."

Starting with OOTP 16, the game has licenses for Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball. The license covers historical MLB teams too. The mobile version is covered by the license too, and was renamed from iOOTP Baseball to MLB Manager.^[2][3]

In September 2013, OOTP Developments branched out into ice hockey with the release of Franchise Hockey Manager, which features 23 leagues, including the NHL, KHL, and many others. In January 2014, the company announced that an American football sim named Beyond the Sideline Football was in development with a release date to be announced.^[4]

History

The first version was released in May 1999 with the help of sportswriter Sean Lahman, who sold the game through his website. This initial version received attention from several online gaming sites. The breakthrough release came in 2001 with OOTP 3.

In 2002 Heinsohn joined with other independent developers to form .400 Software Studios to publish OOTP 5. Heinsohn and a few others split from .400 Software Studios in mid-2003 to continue work on the OOTP series as well as Inside the Park Baseball.

In 2005 OOTP was purchased by Sports Interactive, makers of Football Manager and NHL Eastside Hockey Manager, though Heinsohn remained the game's primary creative force. Out of the Park Baseball 2006 was released on May 31, 2006. Sporting a rewritten codebase and several new features, it was met with mixed critical reaction.^[5]

Out of the Park Baseball 2007 the eighth iteration of the game, was released on March 23, 2007, to much better reviews than its predecessor.^[6] Out of the Park Baseball 2007 was Metacritic's second highest rated game on the PC platform with a score of 96 out of 100, scoring higher than The Orange Box, and second to Half-Life 2.^[7] Metacritic removed the game from the "Best PC Video Games of All Time" list in 2015 after being there almost nine years, due to a new review threshold limit.^[8]

On September 20, 2007 Sports Interactive announced the amicable severance of relations with Out of the Park Developments and the OOTP franchise.^[9]

In December 2007 Out of the Park Developments released Out of the Park Baseball 8, a simple update of OOTP 2007 that adjusted for the split from SI and added a few new features.^[10]

Since OOTP2006 the user interface utilizes the P.I.S.D. Ltd platform libraries for cross-platform portability.^[11]

OOTP Developments released OOTP X (10) on June 5, 2009. OOTP 11 was released to the masses on April 14, 2010.

In October 2010 OOTP announced that development had started on iOOTP, a version of the game for iPhone and iPod touch.^[12] iOOTP became available at the App Store on May 5, 2011.^[13]

On May 13, 2011 it was announced that OOTP 12 was expected to be released to the general public on June 22, 2011 and on June 20 for those who pre-ordered the game.^[14] OOTP 12 was shipped to the general public on June 22, 2011 and on June 20 for those who pre-ordered the game, as expected.^[15]

On April 5, 2012 iOOTP Baseball 2012 Edition was released to Apple's iOS App Store.^[16] New features in iOOTP 2012 included 2012 major league rosters, detailed player histories, a revamped user interface, a new fictional setup, the ability to use pitch-by-pitch mode, the ability to use the DH in any league, and more. The iPad HD version, which takes advantage of the iPad's larger display, was included free, as in the 2011 version.

On April 9, 2012 OOTP 13 was released to the general public after an April 6 release to those who pre-ordered the game.^[17] New features in OOTP 13 included: 2012 major league rosters; a real-time simulation mode that lets players watch games play out in real-time (or at a faster speed); interactive storylines that allow gamers to make decisions when situations happen (i.e., a star player becomes difficult—player can release him, trade him, or ignore the problem; each choice impacts fan attitudes, player morale, etc.); a revamped pitching model that more closely mirrors real life, where most drafted pitchers are starters and later become relievers, rather than being drafted as relievers; and random historical debut, which allows real players to show up at any point in history (perhaps Ruth shows up today and Koufax is drafted in the 1930s).

In addition, OOTP 13 offered a revamped user interface, more custom playoff options, Associations that can combine multiple leagues and share free agents, rules, and more, core gameplay engine and AI improvements, and more.

On April 4, 2013 iOOTP Baseball 2013 was released to Apple's iOS App Store.^[18] New features in iOOTP 2013 included 2013 major league rosters, achievements, a redesigned interface, new trading AI, a new player development system, more realistic player creation, historical career play with real rookies imported each season, and more. The iPad HD version, which takes advantage of the iPad's larger display, was included free, as in the 2012 version.

On April 12, 2013 Out of the Park Baseball 14 was released to everyone who pre-ordered the game; the general worldwide release was April 15.^[19] New features in OOTP 14 included: 2013 major league rosters; a recoded player origin system, allowing, for example, foreign players to be signed as free agents, like Ichiro Suzuki and Yu Darvish were; a recoded scouting system; a new fielding ratings development system; a new Player Development Center for tracking purposes; achievements; new trading AI; more realistic player creation; a new in-game "Pitch to Contact" option; and more.

On April 24, 2014 Out of the Park Baseball 15 was released on Steam.^[20] It was released on April 18, 2014 on the OOTP Developments web site.^[21] New features in OOTP 15 included: Opening Day 2014 rosters for all major and minor league teams; support for 3D stadiums and 3D in-game ball flight; support for 7 real international leagues with real teams and players in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and other countries; a new optional ratings system; a revamped interface; historical league improvements; and more.

iOOTP Baseball 2014 was released on the iOS App Store on April 17, 2014.^[22] New features included: Opening Day 2014 rosters; the ability to edit players; a redesigned interface; iPhone 5 and full Retina Display support; and more.

On January 23, 2015 Out of the Park Baseball 16 was announced for PC, Mac and Linux. Featuring a new license with Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball, along with reworked finances, a new managers and coaches system, new independent leagues, and more, it was expected to be released in March of that year.^[23] OOTP 16 was released on March 23, 2015.^[24]

On the same day, OOTP Developments announced that iOOTP Baseball would now be known as MLB Manager, and the 2015 version would also be released in March for iOS and Android, with the MLB license applying to that game too. New features were due to be announced in February.^[25] MLB Manager 2015 was released on March 26, 2015.^[26]

Out of the Park Baseball 17 was released on March 22, 2016 on PC, Mac, and Linux. In addition to the MLB license added the previous season, OOTP 17 also features the MLBPA license. A host of new features were added, including the ability to play Historical Exhibitions against any teams ever in the "era" of the user's choosing. A "16 in '16" tournament was set up by the development team based upon ranking all-time teams by famous baseball writers such as Tim Kurkjian, Neil Paine, Mark Simon, Brian Kenny, Ken Hirdt, C.J. Nitkowski, and others. The 1927 Yankees were the tournament champions. Out of the Park Baseball 17 wound up as the highest-rated PC game on Metacritic with a 92 rating, tied with The Witcher 3 for much of the year.

Prominent OOTP gamers

Some renowned sports figures have played the game, including writer and statistician Bill James, sports journalist Roy Firestone, and retired MLB pitcher Curt Schilling.^[27][28] Other ex-MLB fans of the game include Jeff Montgomery, Don Stanhouse, John D'Acquisto, and Lary Sorensen, who all participated in the 2012 Seamheads Laundry League, an online OOTP league that also featured ESPN's Eric Karabell and Jerry Crasnick, among other journalists, bloggers, podcasters, etc.^[29]

On March 24, 2012, Curt Schilling was given an early look at OOTP 13 and tweeted: "WOW! Early first look at #ootp13 seems like they really upped the bar! New UI is outstanding so far!"^[30]

Houston Astros pitcher Pat Neshek is also a fan, commenting in a tweet on August 12, 2012: "Spent the day off yesterday playing OOTP13 Baseball for most of the day. Talk about addicting."^[31]

In addition, professional wrestler Steve Corino is a fan of the game. On November 23, 2012, he tweeted: "Totally addicted to this 'Out Of The Park Baseball 13' game. Anyone play it out there?"^[32]

Boston Red Sox principal owner John W. Henry is an OOTP fan as well, commenting: "Last year, I explored OOTP 15 and was amazed by the breadth and depth of it."^[33]

Gameplay

OOTP presents a minimal graphic depiction of a baseball diamond with text indicating positions and on-field action. Scrolling text allows one to follow the game as it unfolds. The game offers HTML reporting ample enough to engage baseball fans. Third-party developers have contributed utility programs that assist gamers in creating leagues, players, logos, and other game enhancements.

Other versions

In 2001, a retail (physical media) version of OOTP3 called Season Ticket Baseball was released.^[34] Released a year later was its sequel, a retail version of OOTP4 titled Season Ticket Baseball 2003.^[35]

In 2004, Heinsohn released Inside the Park Baseball, which tracked the progression of an individual baseball player. Gamers followed a player’s career from before the draft, through the minor leagues, until possibly called up to the Major Leagues. Inside the Park Baseball was designed to work alongside OOTP 5, whereby one might insert a player into an OOTP 5 season.

References

External links

• Official website
• iOOTP on the App Store
• OOTP at GM Games OOTP News, Online Leagues, Dynasties, and Discussions.