Strat-O-Matic Baseball Version 11.0 CD-ROM

[gerrygeil]

Hope this doesn't fall into a "customer service" question. But what is suggested if you are thinking of buying the version 11 cd rom game? I am fairly new to strat-o-matic and would like to play on my own to attemtp to figure things out and have more fun!

Does the CD rom game come loaded with players? I just wondered because I saw a few "seasons" of cards you could buy on he internet website.


Thank you for your help or suggestions.

[Mean Dean]

The problem isn't that it's a customer service question, the problem is that it isn't a Sporting News question :P But, I'll tell you anyway. The only thing you really need to get started is the latest version of the game, with "card image." That comes with the 2005 season (you have to wait for the next version, which won't come out until February '07, to get the '06 season.) The "card image" refers to the fact that, based on the SOM board game, each hitter and pitcher has a "card" that is used to determine the results of the plays. You don't need to worry about the cards if you just want to play a few games, but if you're going to get into the TSN game or even become an expert at the computer game, then you'll want the card images, since that's what it all boils down to.

Whether you want to get anything else depends entirely on how much a fan of historical baseball you are. If you have fond memories of a specific season, of course you can buy that particular one. And the career historical disk, which gives you "career" cards for every player in history, is a very good deal. But if you don't want to overwhelm yourself with information or financially, really, all you need to start off is the game with card image. (The "ratings disk" is also very useful if you're going to be playing TSN. That's a spreadsheet that sums up numerically how good the cards are.)

[gerrygeil]

Dean,

Thank you for the reply. So, the only "cards" will be for players from 2005? Correct?

Is there a site that describes "Strat-O-Matic Baseball Version 11.0 CD-ROM" better?

How much would it cost to get "career cards". I do love the historical players more than the current players...

I know this isn't a sporting news question, again I greatly appreciate your feedback and suggestions!

[Mean Dean]

[quote:e8d24ebfbc]So, the only "cards" will be for players from 2005? Correct? [/quote:e8d24ebfbc]Yup.[quote:e8d24ebfbc]Is there a site that describes "Strat-O-Matic Baseball Version 11.0 CD-ROM" better?[/quote:e8d24ebfbc]Well, I know what you're getting at here -- the SOM web site isn't terribly descriptive. You can download a demo [url=http://www.download.com/Strat-O-Matic-Baseball/3000-7427_4-908701.html]here[/url] (it's of a very old version, but the basic gameplay hasn't changed.) You can also request a brochure through the SOM site, which they will snail mail to you. Those are a lot more informative (and I don't know why they're not on the website.) The [url=http://www.stratfanforum.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=6]SOM Fan Forum[/url] has a much higher percentage of people who own the computer game than this board does. Or, of course, you could google.[quote:e8d24ebfbc]How much would it cost to get "career cards".[/quote:e8d24ebfbc]$49.95.

[NFLed1]

Strat CD-ROM games are great and if you are interested in a forum on it there is a great and very active (and moderated) forum at www.stratfanforum.com (as a disclaimer I am an outside beta tester for a couple of Strat's games). One feature of Strat CD-ROM games is that you can play live over the internet head-to-head which works great especially for football (considering the nature of the sport) but also for the other sports including baseball; or you can play against the computer. The company is very small so the games don't have all the fancy graphics you might expect but they have been around since I believe the late-50's or early-60's (with the board games the CD-ROM games are a direct translation of) and they really know what they are doing (and they do it well) when it comes to strategic and statistical realism.

[MoCrash]

I would suggest getting v.11 with the 2005 card set and the Hall of Fame card set. Instead of specific years, unless you have a fondness for a particular season and want to recreate it, I'd wait until you joined a NetPlay league until ordering. At $28 a pop for season authorization codes (all of the seasons are on the disc, but you can only those for which you have a code), it can get rather pricey, so I only order those past seasons which my leagues play. However, the HOF set is commonly used, as many leagues allow you to use 2-3 players to bolster rosters. You may also choose to have the color ballpark feature, for an additional charge (SOM charges for everything, without any discounts).