- Posts: 523
- Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2012 1:35 pm
Thu Nov 20, 2014 5:03 pm
Hey guys,
First, the user "Valen" noted that we did not update the ATG 8 Player Spreadsheet after the recent additions. Good catch and thanks for letting us know. Here's an updated spreadsheet with the players added. The spreadsheet on the ATG 8 player page should now also be updated. The added players have a note of when they were added in the same column where other players were tagged as new to ATG 8 or were updated. The next time we add players to ATG we'll make sure to update the spreadsheet at that time as well.
Now, we occasionally receive questions on the Mystery Game but over the past two weeks they've come in a bit more than usual. So I figured now is a good time to review what they are.
We offer four different "Mystery"player sets: Back to the '90s, Back to the '80s, The '70s Game, and Superstar Sixties. Each mystery game generally plays the same as a normal Baseball Online player set with one exception: for each available player there are 5 different Strat-O-Matic cards but only one of the five cards is used. The card used is never revealed to you until the end of the season.
For example, in the Back to the '90s set, Rickey Henderson's 5 years are 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, and 1996. You might get his MVP year, or you might get a sub-par year. You can try to determine which card he has from how he plays for you, but beware of an unlucky (or lucky) string of dice rolls on a card. Even his MVP year may under-perform leading you to believe it's another card, only to turn it around once you trade him to another team.
The stat line shown for each player is the average of the 5 seasons. However don't use that to determine how a player 'should' perform for you as it might not represent the card you have. Also, no two players are the same; even if they're averages are similar. For example, let's say both Player A and Player B show a 5-card average of .300. However in Player A's 5 seasons he hit .361, .300, .306, .293, and .240. Player B hit .300 in all 5 of his seasons. Do you take the chance on Player A to try and get his .361 season or do you play it safe and take Player B knowing you will get a card which hit .300. That choice is up to you and these crucial decisions can determine how your team performs. To view the 5 possible seasons a player has, just click on their name and you can see the cards just like any other player set.
Although the hitting and pitching probabilities will vary for each year for each player, all other ratings are the same for all 5 years. For example, although Henderson hit .325 in 1990, .268 in 1991, etc., and his probabilities for getting base hits and homeruns will vary depending on which year your league has, his fielding, stealing, baserunning and bunting ratings are always the same. Similarly, although Kevin Brown will strike out more hitters if his year were 1998 as opposed to 1993, his endurance, hold, balk and wild pitch ratings are constant and known.
The only other differences between the 'Mystery' games and are other player sets are the free agent penalties and minimum salary. The default free agent penalty is 5/10/20% (5% for games 1-41, 10% for games 42-80, 20% for games 81+), as opposed to the straight 20% it is for other player sets. The cheapest available player has a $750,000 salary, up from $500,000 in standard player sets.
I've said this before but the Mystery Games have also been my personal favorite type of game we offer. I have always tried to get players with fairly consistent cards, both in statistics and 'balance'. Although this ensures that I won't have an awful card in my line-up it does take away the chance of getting a superstar year from a cheaper player. Again, it's up to you how you want to choose your players! I hope this clears up some of the questions we've received about Mystery Games.
That's all I have for this week. I hope everyone has an excellent Thanksgiving next Thursday. I'll be back in December - likely with good news for ATG players... If anyone has any questions please e-mail us at onlinegamesupport@strat-o-matic.com. Have a happy Thanksgiving and I'll talk to everyone in two weeks!
-John
First, the user "Valen" noted that we did not update the ATG 8 Player Spreadsheet after the recent additions. Good catch and thanks for letting us know. Here's an updated spreadsheet with the players added. The spreadsheet on the ATG 8 player page should now also be updated. The added players have a note of when they were added in the same column where other players were tagged as new to ATG 8 or were updated. The next time we add players to ATG we'll make sure to update the spreadsheet at that time as well.
Now, we occasionally receive questions on the Mystery Game but over the past two weeks they've come in a bit more than usual. So I figured now is a good time to review what they are.
We offer four different "Mystery"player sets: Back to the '90s, Back to the '80s, The '70s Game, and Superstar Sixties. Each mystery game generally plays the same as a normal Baseball Online player set with one exception: for each available player there are 5 different Strat-O-Matic cards but only one of the five cards is used. The card used is never revealed to you until the end of the season.
For example, in the Back to the '90s set, Rickey Henderson's 5 years are 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, and 1996. You might get his MVP year, or you might get a sub-par year. You can try to determine which card he has from how he plays for you, but beware of an unlucky (or lucky) string of dice rolls on a card. Even his MVP year may under-perform leading you to believe it's another card, only to turn it around once you trade him to another team.
The stat line shown for each player is the average of the 5 seasons. However don't use that to determine how a player 'should' perform for you as it might not represent the card you have. Also, no two players are the same; even if they're averages are similar. For example, let's say both Player A and Player B show a 5-card average of .300. However in Player A's 5 seasons he hit .361, .300, .306, .293, and .240. Player B hit .300 in all 5 of his seasons. Do you take the chance on Player A to try and get his .361 season or do you play it safe and take Player B knowing you will get a card which hit .300. That choice is up to you and these crucial decisions can determine how your team performs. To view the 5 possible seasons a player has, just click on their name and you can see the cards just like any other player set.
Although the hitting and pitching probabilities will vary for each year for each player, all other ratings are the same for all 5 years. For example, although Henderson hit .325 in 1990, .268 in 1991, etc., and his probabilities for getting base hits and homeruns will vary depending on which year your league has, his fielding, stealing, baserunning and bunting ratings are always the same. Similarly, although Kevin Brown will strike out more hitters if his year were 1998 as opposed to 1993, his endurance, hold, balk and wild pitch ratings are constant and known.
The only other differences between the 'Mystery' games and are other player sets are the free agent penalties and minimum salary. The default free agent penalty is 5/10/20% (5% for games 1-41, 10% for games 42-80, 20% for games 81+), as opposed to the straight 20% it is for other player sets. The cheapest available player has a $750,000 salary, up from $500,000 in standard player sets.
I've said this before but the Mystery Games have also been my personal favorite type of game we offer. I have always tried to get players with fairly consistent cards, both in statistics and 'balance'. Although this ensures that I won't have an awful card in my line-up it does take away the chance of getting a superstar year from a cheaper player. Again, it's up to you how you want to choose your players! I hope this clears up some of the questions we've received about Mystery Games.
That's all I have for this week. I hope everyone has an excellent Thanksgiving next Thursday. I'll be back in December - likely with good news for ATG players... If anyone has any questions please e-mail us at onlinegamesupport@strat-o-matic.com. Have a happy Thanksgiving and I'll talk to everyone in two weeks!
-John