Out of the Park Baseball
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Out of the Park Baseball 8 | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | OOTP Developments |
| Publisher(s) | OOTP Developments |
| Platform(s) | Mac OS X, Windows |
| Release date | December 2007 |
| Genre(s) | Sports, Simulation |
| Mode(s) | Single player Multiplayer (Hotseat, TCP/IP) |
| Media | Digital Download |
| System requirements | Windows: Windows Vista or XP, AMD or Intel Dual Core 2 GHz, 1 GB RAM, 1024x768 32-bit display, 1 GB HD space Mac OS X: Mac OS X 10.4.8, PowerPC G5 or Intel Core Duo 2GHz, 1 GB RAM, requires OpenGL support for face generation |
| Input methods | Keyboard, Mouse |
Out of the Park Baseball, abbreviated as OOTP, is a text-based baseball simulator for career, historical, and fictional play. OOTP was originally written in 1998, when lead developer Markus Heinsohn sought to combine realistic replay baseball simulation with career play to satisfy hardcore fans and casual gamers alike. The game does not hold a license from Major League Baseball.
Contents |
[edit] History
The first version was released in May 1999, with the help of sportswriter Sean Lahman, who sold the game through his website. This initial version received attention from several online gaming sites. The breakthrough release came in 2001 with OOTP 3.
In 2002, Heinsohn joined with other independent developers to form .400 Software Studios to publish OOTP 5. Heinsohn and a few others split from .400 Software Studios in mid-2003 to continue work on the OOTP series as well as the upcoming Inside the Park Baseball.
In 2005, OOTP was purchased by Sports Interactive, makers of Football Manager and NHL Eastside Hockey Manager, though Heinsohn remained the game's primary creative force. Out of the Park Baseball 2006 was released on May 31, 2006. Sporting a rewritten codebase and several new features, it was met with mixed critical reaction.[1]
Out of the Park Baseball 2007, the eighth iteration of the game, was released on March 23, 2007.
On September 20, 2007 Sports Interactive announced the amicable severance of relations with Out of the Park Developments and the OOTP franchise.[2]
In December 2007 Out of the Park Developments released Out of the Park Baseball 8.[3]
Since OOTP2006 the user interface utilizes the P.I.S.D. Ltd platform libraries for cross-platform portability. [4]
The next version of Out of the Park (version 9) will be released on June 18th, 2008.[5]
[edit] Gameplay
OOTP presents a minimal graphic depiction of a baseball diamond with text indicating positions and on-field action. Scrolling text allows one to follow the game as it unfolds. The game offers HTML reporting ample enough to engage baseball fans. Third-party developers have contributed utility programs that assist gamers in creating leagues, players, logos, and other game enhancements.
[edit] Other versions
In 2002, Heinsohn released a retail version of OOTP called Season Ticket Baseball, available on physical media. A sequel, titled Season Ticket Baseball 2003, was released the following year.
In 2004, Heinsohn released Inside the Park Baseball, which tracked the progression of an individual baseball player. Gamers followed a player’s career from before the draft, through the minor leagues, until possibly called up to the Major Leagues. Inside the Park Baseball was designed to work alongside OOTP 5, whereby one might insert a player into an OOTP 5 season.
