Out of the Park Baseball (OOTP for short) 17 is a text based baseball simulation. It contains features for historical gameplay, single player gameplay, custom universe/leagues gameplay and online multiplayer gameplay. The game allows you to take an active role in developing rosters and teams, or managing them. This is done through being a General manager, a manager and even play as the commissioner(you are able to play all three at once, or any combination of the two).

OOTP 17 offers new features over previous editions. They now have full support from MLB and MLBPA(obtained through licensing), so you will have accurate rosters, faces(done through facegen models) and with no worries that they will disappear. Simulation speed has been increased as the new code is allowing the use of multicore processors, which is a huge benefit. The AI also has been enhanced to be smarter in how they draft players, manage players, and develop teams. They will also make decisions depending on your goals and strategy. These are just some of the major changes that OOTP has offered over previous editions.

OOTP has one of the strongest modding communities around for sport simulation games. The community greatly enhances the vanilla gameplay. For instance, historical gameplay has accurate rosters, player attributes, statistics and settings for the era you choose to play(you can play from the grass roots of baseball, negro leagues, or any specific season). You can choose to play it as a single season campaign or start a franchise and build your league from the 1880’s to whenever you choose to end(the starting point is up to you!). The community also offers tools to develop uniforms and baseball caps, and there’s literally thousands already pre-made for you to use if you want to choose from them.

The gaming modes available(and some of this is a repeat of above, I apologize), are single player, and multiplayer. Single player modes allow you to play out single exhibition games with modern and historical teams. You can play as MLB teams, which will have player accurate rosters and attributes. You are also able to create your own fictional leagues, which is a massively popular feature for many players in the OOTP community. You can start from any time frame, and you can customize the league to fit your needs or gameplay style(there are many sliders to adjust to your likings, and needs). Regardless of the league, the game will track and keep a massive history of your statistics as your world/league develops.

The game also features multiplayer gameplay where you can compete in leagues against others, which will put you against the most difficult of opponents(or easy, if they don’t know what they’re doing ;) ). The league will track statistics as if you were in a single player franchise. Many leagues out there have dedicated websites where you can follow the action of the league as it unfolds. It is really a neat feature.

The development team is very active and proactive in fixing bugs and glitches within their games. You don’t have to worry about issues going unnoticed or fixed, and they are very open minded to additional features they may have fixed(as long as they are deemed reasonable of course). The best way to suggest and fill out bug notifications is to use the main forums on their websites, which is ootpdevelopments.com . The community is also very helpful in helping new players learn and teach players about the game(I myself have helped a few players learn the game of baseball and the workings of OOTP).

In conclusion, after 2000+ hours of OOTP 16 gameplay, and 1200+ hours of OOTP15 gameplay, I can honestly say this is the best addition to the series to date. I have never had a game give back so much in value then what OOTP has. It is simply the best baseball simulation on the market(possibly the best sports simulation as well). The game is very polished, and if you are a baseball fan, or a sports fan, I highly recommend that you take a chance on OOTP17. You will NOT be disappointed.

This game is a 10/10 for me. I hope to see you on the field! Feel free to add me if you need any help with this game, or series! I am always willing to help out new players get established in this great sports simulation!