Ambitious Wishlist ;P
Started by
mikecos23
(joined · 11 posts · 26 karma)
, ago
Hey Harlin, really congrats on pulling off this wonderful sim. Even with these first releases/updates, I don't feel like you are far off from some of the "big boys" of online (Strat, ABPA and Dynasty) ! I appreciate how well developed this sim is - honestly I worked on my own sim for a few months and kept hitting breaking bugs , so I finally just gave up.
Anyway, I think the community will certainly want to make a "wishlist" of ambitious elements that can be developed. JUST a wishlist, I understand if none of these things can actually implemented.
- A more fleshed out player card. The player card view is always one of my favorite things about baseball sims. A couple "nice to have" enhancements would be being able to add a player pic/baseball card image and seeing a players real life career stats up until the season you are playing. These really add immersion.
- Allowing the end users to upload their own team and league logos. I know this might be an issue with server space (along with the player pics) but it does really add to immersion.
- Having some type of 3D ball flight on field - again I know that is def intensive, but
it certainly adds to immersion. In my opinion I think Action PC Baseball (ironically lol) does this best. OOTP always feels a bit canned and unnatural to me.
I think you'll find there is a truly supportive community for this hobby that is ready to support as well. People like Beatles Eternally, who is a true gem with his broadcasts, or even someline like myself who put out mods for games like OOTP, Digital Diamond and Action PC for years (I have a few decent historical logo sets an d an"ok" full set of historical ballparks.)
This is a such an exciting sim and just want to give you another THANK YOU !
Michael
Comments
Harlin
(joined · 239 posts · 389 karma)
, ago
Beaties, I got a chance to watch your latest video and hear your thoughts on player images. I think allowing users to upload their own player pictures could be doable, and it's something I'd be willing to explore further.
Official team logos are a different matter, though. I researched this a while back, and there are some significant trademark and licensing concerns. One possible workaround might be to allow users to store their own logos locally in their browser rather than uploading them to ActionSims' servers. I'd still need to look into the legal implications, but that might be a way to make it work. The downside is that this could be a fairly fragile solution. If someone clears their browser storage, switches browsers, or moves to another device, those images could be lost or unavailable. So there are some practical issues to consider as well.
BeatlesEternally (joined · 21 posts · 51 karma) , ago
Still not a huge issue as it's pretty easy to restore them and if the game can recognize them, then all is well. Besides, I've been moving among devices for years with Action PC Baseball and images are a snap to restore.
As for logos, the user can either post them on a free image hosting site with an account or upload them like ballparks.
The ONLY thing Harlin you cannot do is distribute the logos when the game is monetized. You cannot be held liable for how an end user utilizes logos.
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Thank you so much for the kind words! Being mentioned alongside Strat, APBA and Dynasty is quite a compliment and I really appreciate it. It's also great to hear from someone who has worked on developing a sim himself. You certainly know how challenging it can be!
I think all three of your suggestions have merit and they're worth considering.
On the player cards, we actually already display career statistics on each player's detail page. Player images would certainly be a nice addition but that's where things get a little more complicated. Historical photographs, baseball cards and other player images can involve copyright and licensing issues that we have to be careful about.
The same applies to team and league logos. Technically, allowing users to upload their own images wouldn't be particularly difficult but there are legal considerations involving copyrighted and trademarked material. Since ActionSims is currently free, I have to be mindful of the costs and legal responsibilities involved. Some of these features may have to wait until we're in a better position to address those issues properly.
The 3D ball flight is an interesting idea, too. That would be a fairly significant development effort but I can certainly appreciate how much it could add to the experience. My priority right now is getting the underlying baseball simulation as accurate and enjoyable as possible before taking on something that ambitious.
I really do appreciate the wishlist and I hope people continue sharing their ideas. I can't promise that every suggestion will make it into the game but I do consider them as I plan future development. There's still a tremendous amount I'd like to accomplish with ActionSims and I'm trying to approach it in a way that keeps the project manageable and sustainable.
Thanks again, Michael. I really appreciate your encouragement and your enthusiasm for the game!