How goes it in Back to the '80's land?

[Coffeeholic]

Looks like you guys are still going at it with guns a blazin'? 8)

Sure hope TSN/SOM will break down soon and give you guys some new cards to play with.

What seems to be the consesus: More '80's cards or a whole new set from another decade?

[SEANCALHOON]

If they did another Decade that would be neat. I even think that the 90's would be great. Although there is some mix with it being so close, that would be great. Plus that was my teen/college years so it would be neat to see those players again.

That or have a 1900-10 or 1910-20 decade. Or to get enough teams, have the dead-ball era.

[YountFan]

That is one of the advantages of the 80's game..the cards do not get old. The players are familar, but you never know who the cards will be distributed and/or interact with each other. That makes it like not other game and Stratdom
YF

[PillPop]

>The players are familar, but you never know who the cards will be
>distributed and/or interact with each other.


I know exactly how the cards will be distributed: I get all the bad ones.

[honestiago1]

The game never gets old due to the randomness. I would also add that the private and/or special rules leagues keep things fresh. In our Am-Nat league, I have the worst defensive team I have ever drafted. it is also the very slowest. Being a pitching-defense guy who likes speed if he can get it, I have learned a lot about the benefit of such players as Wockenfuss, J. Thompson and Kemp. I looked at platoon players more after working with this team, and drafted some for my next team (which is off to a nice, but not overwhelming 6-3 start).

I am always learning something (including today, when I have learned that my pinch-runner backup 2B, Julio Cruz has either his .209 or .222 card) :(

[Sykes25]

I'll say this again for the 1000th time....

80's is great the way it is, but we need...
- Salary fixes on MANY players. I'm about a week away from having hard data to share
- A few extra players who played in the 80's but excelled in the late 70's or early 90's.
- Salary cap options for theme leagues
- The new interface being used for 200X and 1969 seasons

It's a great product that has picked up steam as auto-leagues are filling in 1-2 days tops, but the product needs to be tweaked just a tiny bit to be more marketable without pushing out it's current player base.

[Outta Leftfield]

[quote:17729eab19="Sykes25"]I'll say this again for the 1000th time....

80's is great the way it is, but we need...
- Salary fixes on MANY players. I'm about a week away from having hard data to share
- A few extra players who played in the 80's but excelled in the late 70's or early 90's.
- Salary cap options for theme leagues
- The new interface being used for 200X and 1969 seasons

It's a great product that has picked up steam as auto-leagues are filling in 1-2 days tops, but the product needs to be tweaked just a tiny bit to be more marketable without pushing out it's current player base.[/quote:17729eab19]

Sykes, these are great points. When I get a minute I'm going to start a thread called something like "Tweaks Needed for the 80's Game" and start by quoting these points. It looks like TSN is starting to pay attention to the game, which seems to me also to be gaining steam--leagues filling MUCH faster than in the past--so maybe if we focus on these points and pile on a bit, we can actually get those tweaks to the game. :D

Meanwhile, Coffeeholic, why don't you jump back in? The game seems to be getting better with a lot of new managers combined with a veteran core who provide a really high level of competitive play. And with the vets sharing tips with the newbies, the level of play seems to me to keep rising.... :wink:

[1crazycanuk]

[quote:411fee2d60="PillPop"]>The players are familar, but you never know who the cards will be
>distributed and/or interact with each other.


I know exactly how the cards will be distributed: I get all the bad ones.[/quote:411fee2d60]

LOL I feel that way too. I bet I got the worst card for every player on my team.

[BRIANCHIVIS]

[quote:0cfb23e3dc="YountFan"]That is one of the advantages of the 80's game..the cards do not get old. The players are familar, but you never know who the cards will be distributed and/or interact with each other. That makes it like not other game and Stratdom
YF[/quote:0cfb23e3dc]

Quite. Well said YF. I have heard the cards are based on the league batting averages. This means that a pitcher from say 80 would perform like his card against other cards from THAT YEAR. Now if you take that same pitcher and put him in a year against cards from say the explosive 90's he may get shelled.

That being said, think of all the possibilities. You ahve all ten years represented, but to what degree. Even a good hitters card will not perform exactly the same from league to league.

I played one season of 2005. I was so bored because I built a team and watched it cruize to the tittle. I think I made two trades all season, and one was a guy taking an injury prone Chavez off my hands and giving me a cheaper guy to drop and save ca$h. How much fund did I have, ZERO. Now compare that to my 80's experience where I have to scrape and claw to make a viable team because the guys I thought were going to perform did not. #%#$^& Jason Thompson.

The mystery card concept is the real winner. That is what can not be simulated in tabletop play. That is what causes the league average batting to float up and down, that is the reason the game is interesting.

We have 69 now, watch it die a slow agaonizing death. How many times can you watch Bob Gibson dominate a leage filled with guys who cant hit?

If SP was smart they would offer a bunch of choices using the mystery card. 50's, 95-05, 80's, 70's, 75-85, and watch the money roll in. Well wait, I cant afford that much money.

I think they could make a mint by taking the hall of famers and running a mystery card format with that.

[PillPop]

I guess I'm not a genius like you, Chief 78. I have to actually work a little to make my 69, 2005, and ATGII teams successful. in fact, I expect getting to know the ATGII card set will take even longer than learning the 80's set. Putting a good team together using obscure cards from a shallow 1969 player pool is a challenge as well.

The mystery card is a cool concept, don't get me wrong, but it also enables you to win or lose on pure luck. You get good cards or you don't. Take it from someone who's looked at crap cards now for four or five straight seasons. It's really not fun to draft Dave Winfield, get his worst year, and watch him suck s**t for you.

While I enjoy playing 80's, I never cease to be amazed at the zealotry of this community. In fact, methinks thou doth protest too much. I think 80's zealots are bummed that the other games are more popular and need this kind of we're-better-than-you clubbiness to make themselves feel better.

Get over it, guys, it's a fun game and it's different from all the other Strat formats. If they were all mystery card, how boring would that be?