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Game Settings

The second tab on the left side of the Create New Game screen displays the Game Settings screen:

Game Settings Screen

This screen sets important global variables for your baseball universe. The settings on this screen affect every league in your world, although they do not affect other saved games. Use the links below to jump directly to a particular set of options:


Note: The above links will not work from within the in-game browser. However, they all simply link to sections lower in this page, so just scroll down to find the appropriate section.

OOTP also has some additional global options ("Report Options" and "Global Database Functions") that are only available after the creation of a game, from the Global Setup screen.

Scouting Settings

Scouting Settings allows you to change the way the game's scouting systems operate in your game.

OptionDescription
Use Complete Scouting System If this box is checked, OOTP's scouting system will be in use. If scouts are turned off, all player ratings and potential values you see in the game will be the actual values.
Scouting Accuracy This allows you to select how accurate scouts are in your game world. This can be set from very low to very high. There is also an option called "100% accurate." This option is specifically for use by people who really don't want to deal with scouting, but still want the the game to periodically generate newly-scouted players.
Scouting Report Updates This allows you to determine how often player scouting reports are updated: monthly, bi-monthly, or only at the start and end of the season.
Report History This allows you to determine how many scouting reports are retained for each player: all of them, one per season, or none at all.
Reports of Retired Players This allows you to determine whether or not scouting reports are retained or deleted when the player retires.
Player Rating Scales

OOTP uses a number of ratings to describe the abilities of players and coaches. These rating scales can be changed at any time. They don't actually change player ratings, just the scale on which they are displayed. Player ratings are defined in more detail in Current Ratings and Potential Ratings, but the numeric range you choose is strictly a matter of preference.

OOTP supports any of the ratings scales listed below. In each numeric scale, the higher a player's rating, the better he is at that particular skill.

NONE displayed
1 to 5
2 to 8
1 to 10
1 to 20
20 to 80 (in increments of 5)
1 to 100

'NONE displayed' will prevent ratings from displaying. Even if ratings are not displayed, they still exist and are used by the computer in decision-making. They are simply not visible to the human player. You can change rating scales at any time during a game without adversely affecting your league.

OptionDescription
Player Ratings Defines the scale used to view current player ratings.
Player Potential Defines the scale used to view player potential ratings.
Other Ratings Defines the scale used to view other player ratings (such as speed and baserunning skills).
Show Ratings greater than Max By default, OOTP limits ratings to the scale defined. However, if this option is enabled, some exceptionally rare players might have ratings above the top end of the defined ratings scale. For example, on a scale of 1-100, there could be players with 120 ratings.
Show Potential less than Actual By default, OOTP limits ratings to the scale defined. However, if this option is enabled, there may be some cases where a player's potential ratings are lower than their actual ratings. This could be an indicator that the player's current performance is an anomaly.
Overall/Potential Rating Scouts in OOTP give each player an overall rating. You can choose not to show these overall ratings, use a 20-80 scale, or use a star-based system. The star-based system displays player ratings from one-half to five stars, in half-star increments.
Overall rating based on AI evalution, not pure ratings By default, OOTP overall ratings are based purely on the player's pure ratings, and are not affected by the AI's evaluation of the player. You can change this to Based on AI evaluation if you want overall ratings to be based on the AI's evaluation instead.
Overall rating based on all players, not position By default, OOTP overall ratings compare players to other players at the same position. For example, shortstops are rated relative to all other shortstops. If you select this check box, the game will instead rate all players compared to all players in the entire league, across positions.
Coaching Staff Settings

Coach/Scout Settings Defines the scale used to view coach/scout ratings. See Coaches and Personnel for more information.
Use Complete Coaching System If this box is checked, OOTP's coaching/personnel system will be in use. If coaches are turned off, all teams are treated as if they had an average coaching staff. 'Coaching' in this case includes other team personnel such as team trainers.
Facegen Settings

OOTP can create fictional pictures for your players and coaches. Fictional faces appear with their team's cap and jersey, and their logos as well. Faces are divided into several facial types. They can be displayed at multiple angles with multiple backgrounds, and change as players age or gain weight.

OptionDescription
Player Pictures for
  • All Players - All players in your game will receive fictional player pictures.
  • Major League Players Only - Players in the major leagues receive fictional pictures. All other players will not automatically receive pictures.
  • No Fictional Pictures - No players will receive fictional player pictures.
Create Player Pictures
  • Upon Player Creation - Fictional pictures are created at the time players are newly created, such as when an first-year player draft pool is generated.
  • On Demand - Fictional pictures are created automatically whenever required to display the image on-page. For example, when you open a player's profile, the picture will be generated.
Update Player Pictures
  • Yearly Only - Pictures are updated on January 1. Updates include changes based on age, weight, or team.
  • Always if Needed - Pictures are updated immediately. Updates include changes based on age, weight, or team.
Coach Pictures for
  • All Coaches/Scouts/Managers - All coaches, scouts, and managers will have fictional pictures.
  • No Fictional Pictures - No coaches or other personnel will receive fictional pictures.
Player Injury, Fatigue, and Suspensions

These options affect how player suspensions, injuries, and fatigue are handled in your universe.

OptionDescription
Enable Injuries When this check box is deselected, no players will experience injuries.
Injury Frequency Determines how frequently injuries occur in your universe. The higher the frequency, the more injuries will occur. The value can be set from Very Low to Very High. The default setting (Normal) is the classic OOTP setting, which is somewhat lower than real-life injury numbers. The High setting approximates realistic modern day injury settings. But be forewarned! You'll be surprised at how many injuries GMs have to deal with!
Delayed Injury Diagnosis Delayed Injury Diagnosis means that when a player is injured, the extent and exact nature of the injury will not be readily apparent to GMs. The GM will be informed as soon as the team trainers have a better idea of the injury. This can be set to "Occasionally" or "Never."
Hide Injury Rating Controls whether or not you can see a player's Injury History in the Health Status section of the Player Profile or in views.
Position Player Fatigue Controls how quickly position players become fatigued during the season. The value can be set from None to High.
Enable Suspensions When this check box is deselected, no players will experience suspensions due to in-game brawls, etc., but not including drug-related suspensions.
Suspension Frequency Controls the frequency of suspensions when they are enabled. Options range from "very low" to "very high".
Enable Drug Suspensions When this check box is deselected, no players will experience drug-related suspensions.

See Suspensions, and Injuries, Fatigue, and Aging for more information.

Player Personality Settings
OptionDescription
Show and use player personality ratings Players in OOTP have distinct personalities based on a number of personality ratings. If this option is checked, the game will display these player personalities in the player profile and use them in game decision-making. See Player Personality for more information.
Show and use player morale ratings Players in OOTP have morale, which affects how they play, and of course whether they are interested in signing a contract with your team. If this option is checked, the game will display player morale information and use it in game decision-making. See Player Morale for more information.
Player Development Settings

The Player Development Settings allow you flexibility regarding OOTP's player model. The first several options in this section are modifiers. The default setting of 1.000 for modifiers produces results that are consistent with modern-day baseball. You can change these modifiers to suit your baseball universe. To decrease a modifier, enter a number less than 1. For example, a modifier of .500 should roughly halve the expected results. To increase a modifier, enter a number greater than 1.

OptionDescription
Batter Aging Speed This modifier affects the speed with which players lose their hitting skills as they age. The lower this modifier is set, the more slowly players will lose their skills as they age. So, a modifier of .500 would result in players maintaining their hitting skills much later in their careers. A modifier of 1.500 would cause players' hitting skills to drop much earlier in their careers.
Batter Dev. Speed This modifier affects the speed with which players' hitting skills develop. The lower this modifier is set, the more slowly players will develop their hitting skills. So, a modifier of .500 would result in players developing hitting skills much more slowly. A modifier of 1.500 would cause players to develop hitting skills much more quickly.
Pitcher Aging Speed This modifier affects the speed with which players lose their pitching skills as they age. The lower this modifier is set, the more slowly players will lose their skills as they age. So, a modifier of .500 would result in players maintaining their pitching skills much later in their careers. A modifier of 1.500 would cause players' pitching skills to drop much earlier in their careers.
Pitcher Dev. Speed This modifier affects the speed with which players' pitching skills develop. The lower this modifier is set, the more slowly players will develop their pitching skills. So, a modifier of .500 would result in players developing pitching skills much more slowly. A modifier of 1.500 would cause players to develop pitching skills much more quickly.
Disable Player Development Select the Disable Player Development check box if you do not want players to develop in your game world. This option is generally used by historical simulation fans who want the game to generate very specific statistical results, which could be thrown into disarray if player skill levels change during a season.
Disable Player Development for Draft-Eligible Players Select the Disable Player Development check box if you do not want players who are draft-eligible to develop, unless they're playing in a feeder league.

Note: As a rule, it's safest to make only small changes in modifiers at first, until you are more certain of the effect.

Retiring Players Options

This option allows you to automatically delete players from the game database if they have retired without ever playing in a major league. This can potentially help keep the size of the database file down somewhat, and some players feel it removes clutter when looking at league history. This option is turned off by default, meaning that all player history is retained forever.

Stats Settings
OptionDescription
Keep career L/R splits This setting has no effect on game play, but gives you some control over the game's usage of disk space and memory.
  • Keep All - Saves the player's career left/right splits (highest disk/memory usage).
  • Major League Stats Only - Saves only the player's major league left/right splits.
  • Keep None - Does not save career splits (lowest disk/memory usage).
Keep career fielding stats This setting has no effect on game play, but gives you some control over the game's usage of disk space and memory.
  • Keep All - Saves the player's career fielding stats (highest disk/memory usage).
  • Major League Stats Only - Saves only the player's major league career fielding stats.
  • Keep None - Does not save career fielding stats (lowest disk/memory usage).
Keep career postseason stats This setting has no effect on game play, but gives you some control over the game's usage of disk space and memory.
  • Keep All - Saves the player's career postseason stats (highest disk/memory usage).
  • Major League Stats Only - Saves only the player's major league postseason stats.
  • Keep None - Does not save career postseason stats (lowest disk/memory usage).
Financial Settings

The financial coefficient is an easy way to adjust the monetary figures that appear across your entire league. Changing this value will cause a corresponding increase or decrease in financial values throughout your universe. For example, if a player has a $1,000,000 contract, changing the financial coefficient to 1.100 would cause the contract to become a $1,100,000 contract.

The financial coefficient is a strict multiplier. For example, lowering the financial coefficient might lower player salaries, but it would not change the curve of salary distributions. See here for more information on OOTP's team financial model.

Note: When you change the financial coefficient, values such as the 'typical salary' values in the league setup will change automatically. For example, if your typical coach salary was set to $200,000, and you change the financial coefficient to .500, the typical coach salary would become $100,000. However, you must switch tabs before the changes will become apparent. To make sure you are looking at the most recent information after changing the financial coefficient, click on any tab and then return to the tab that you want to view.

Player Evaluation AI Settings

AI options control how the game's artificial intelligence selects team lineups and evaluates players.

OptionDescription
Ratings Weight The % of AI player evaluations attributed to the player's perceived ratings
Current Year Stats Weight The % of AI player evaluations attributed to the player's current year statistics
Previous Year Stats Weight The % of AI player evaluations attributed to the player's previous year statistics
2 Years Ago Stats Weight The % of AI player evaluations attributed to the player's statistics from two years ago
Trading Settings

These options affect how trading is handled in your universe. Individual leagues also have other trade-related settings.

OptionDescription
Trading Difficulty This option determines how difficult it is to trade. The harder the difficulty, the more computer general managers will ask for in trades, and the less likely they will be to fall for bad deals. The value can be set from Very Easy to Very Hard.
Trading Preference This option determines whether computer general managers favor veteran players or young prospects in trades. The value can be set from Heavily Favor Veterans to Heavily Favor Prospects. In addition to this global setting, computer general managers also value players differently based on their preferences. See Coach / Personnel Personalities and Strategies for more information.

Also see the section on Trading for more information.

Other AI Settings
OptionDescription
Lineup Selection
  • Traditional - The AI will choose lineups using traditional theory, which factors in both player ratings and L/R split ratings.
  • Sabermetric (Splits Favored) - The AI will choose lineups based on Sabermetric theory, which uses exclusively L/R split data to make decisions.
Auto-Save and Log Options

The Auto-Save and Log Options section contains a few additional choices for administering your league. These options mainly give you some flexibility in terms of what files OOTP saves over the course of your game's history. Depending on what you're interested in, adjusting these settings can drastically impact the size of your league files.

OptionDescription
Auto-Save Tells the game how frequently to auto-save the progress in your game. You can choose never, once a year, once a month, once a week, or daily. The time frames given are in-game times, not real world times.
Save Box Scores from . . . Allows you to choose which box scores will be saved. The more box scores you save, the more space is taken up on your computer. You can choose to save box scores from all leagues, human leagues, human organizations, human teams, all major leagues, or none. Box scores and game logs are stored and overwritten each season. Each game in your universe is given an ID. For example, the first game on the schedule is game 1. The box scores and game logs for game 1 will be saved until the next season, when game 1 of that season is played. At that time, the old game 1 box score and game log will be overwritten. Therefore, if you want to save all your old box scores and game logs, be sure to back them up at the end of each season, or consider using OOTP's Almanac.
Save Game Logs from . . . Allows you to choose which game logs will be saved. The more game logs you save, the more space is taken up on your computer. You can choose to save game logs from all leagues, human leagues, human organizations, human teams, all major leagues, or none. Box scores and game logs are stored and overwritten each season. Each game in your universe is given an ID. For example, the first game on the schedule is game 1. The box scores and game logs for game 1 will be saved until the next season, when game 1 of that season is played. At that time, the old game 1 box score and game log will be overwritten. Therefore, if you want to save all your old box scores and game logs, be sure to back them up at the end of each season, or consider using OOTP's Almanac.
Save Replays from
. . .
Allows you to choose which replays will be saved. The more replays you save, the more space is taken up on your computer. You can choose to save replays from all leagues, human leagues, human organizations, human teams, or none.
Keep news logs . . . Allows you to define whether to discard old news log files to save disk space. You can choose to keep none, all, or just the logs from the last two or ten years. Discarding news log files means that you will no longer be able to read news articles from those years.
Keep injury logs . . . Allows you to define whether to discard old injury log files to save disk space. You can choose to keep none, all, or just the logs from the last two or ten years. Discarding injury log files means that you will no longer be able to see injury reports from those years.
Keep transaction logs . . . Allows you to define whether to discard old transaction log files to save disk space. You can choose to keep none, all, or just the logs from the last two or ten years. Discarding transaction log files means that you will no longer be able to view transaction logs from those years.
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