- Posts: 208
- Joined: Sun May 17, 2020 7:20 pm
So, guys, clearly my previous thread was going nowhere and this is my new attempt at getting something positive going. As you know, there are those that believe some of the game results are legitimate and those that think they are tampered with. I think we can disagree with civility, it's really not a big deal. That said, one thing I think we can all agree with is that the game would be in its best form if we all knew the rules. An even playing field, no pun intended.
I am returning from a long hiatus and having fun, but there are SO many rules, even multiple rule sets, and I have not been able to pin down exactly which rules are being used with 100% certainty. I have visited Wikipedia and found a great deal of potentially useful information, assuming it is all active. I can say that personally, I find it very difficult to learn exactly how to play the game. I would very much appreciate Strat-O-Matic creating an official rule set here on the website so there is absolutely no ambiguity. I think that is a very reasonable request as from what I have seen, there is some confusion among the player base on how various things work.
Manager settings need to be more clear. How does the Very Aggressive base stealing setting work exactly? We know the success rate should decrease, and the number of stolen bases should increase, but it is not clear if and when the setting should be used without experimentation. That is generally not the way games work, typically you have the full set of information and then make your decisions.
We do not know exactly why "HAL" makes certain decisions. One thing that has not changed over the years is the threads asking for explanations of what is going on when suboptimal decisions are made such as shuffling around fielders into mathematically weaker defense. This is really not good for the game, it is a disheartening way to lose and a lame way to win.
How does the Steal More setting work exactly? How about double base singles? Are they 100% turned on? What about weather conditions? I assume they are turned off but I don't see any proof of that. Why is it that players with the Don't Steal setting turned on will occasionally attempt to steal?
Here is the big one: How does homefield advantage work? Here a quote from the wiki: "This option forces a statistical advantage of approximately 10 points (.010) on the batting average for the home team. This is the traditional major league difference between batting averages at home and on the road."
Okay, so what does that entail? If the game is using simulated dice roll results to determine what happens during the game, how does that additional factor work? This may or may not appear obvious to some but I don't consider this to be a concise explanation of the rule.
Why are bullpen roles often ignored? I will set a reliever to middleman that is rested and he does not come in and I proceed to lose the game after spending $6M on him. What caused that to happen?
How do intentional walks work? Are they thrown out at random? I see intentional walks on the worst hitters in the game. Why? Is it best to just turn IBB off on all pitchers then? If so, why is this not patched?
The wiki mentions bullpen priority but the game does not follow it. Is the rule not active?
Can we get clarification on exactly how the infield in setting works? Is there ever a reason to not set it to 1st inning or 5th inning? I don't see the advantage to setting it to 2nd, 3rd, or 4th.
What did I miss? I'm sure you guys must not know how certain rules or features work. My friends and I just want to play the game on even footing, we don't want to guess. We would love to see all of the rules clearly and concisely written and displayed, all in one place, with no ambiguity. This really should be a wish that is granted as all games have rules and the players, the paying customers, deserve to know them.
I am returning from a long hiatus and having fun, but there are SO many rules, even multiple rule sets, and I have not been able to pin down exactly which rules are being used with 100% certainty. I have visited Wikipedia and found a great deal of potentially useful information, assuming it is all active. I can say that personally, I find it very difficult to learn exactly how to play the game. I would very much appreciate Strat-O-Matic creating an official rule set here on the website so there is absolutely no ambiguity. I think that is a very reasonable request as from what I have seen, there is some confusion among the player base on how various things work.
Manager settings need to be more clear. How does the Very Aggressive base stealing setting work exactly? We know the success rate should decrease, and the number of stolen bases should increase, but it is not clear if and when the setting should be used without experimentation. That is generally not the way games work, typically you have the full set of information and then make your decisions.
We do not know exactly why "HAL" makes certain decisions. One thing that has not changed over the years is the threads asking for explanations of what is going on when suboptimal decisions are made such as shuffling around fielders into mathematically weaker defense. This is really not good for the game, it is a disheartening way to lose and a lame way to win.
How does the Steal More setting work exactly? How about double base singles? Are they 100% turned on? What about weather conditions? I assume they are turned off but I don't see any proof of that. Why is it that players with the Don't Steal setting turned on will occasionally attempt to steal?
Here is the big one: How does homefield advantage work? Here a quote from the wiki: "This option forces a statistical advantage of approximately 10 points (.010) on the batting average for the home team. This is the traditional major league difference between batting averages at home and on the road."
Okay, so what does that entail? If the game is using simulated dice roll results to determine what happens during the game, how does that additional factor work? This may or may not appear obvious to some but I don't consider this to be a concise explanation of the rule.
Why are bullpen roles often ignored? I will set a reliever to middleman that is rested and he does not come in and I proceed to lose the game after spending $6M on him. What caused that to happen?
How do intentional walks work? Are they thrown out at random? I see intentional walks on the worst hitters in the game. Why? Is it best to just turn IBB off on all pitchers then? If so, why is this not patched?
The wiki mentions bullpen priority but the game does not follow it. Is the rule not active?
Can we get clarification on exactly how the infield in setting works? Is there ever a reason to not set it to 1st inning or 5th inning? I don't see the advantage to setting it to 2nd, 3rd, or 4th.
What did I miss? I'm sure you guys must not know how certain rules or features work. My friends and I just want to play the game on even footing, we don't want to guess. We would love to see all of the rules clearly and concisely written and displayed, all in one place, with no ambiguity. This really should be a wish that is granted as all games have rules and the players, the paying customers, deserve to know them.