Adding Baseball Cards

[okcochise]

Thank you. I am not sure what ballpark was represented as being LAWrigley in the 1961 mod, but it was not the one with the brick left field wall without bleachers. I did not recognize what the park was in the 61 mod as it was not anything I had ever seen. I found the one that was posted though so I added it and now its correct. Thanks for the info. I will continue playing the mod and see if any others are needed. Great job to all who contributed, These parks are gorgeous!

[stecropper]

okcochise

Thanks for noticing LA Wrigley in TC61* not being the most accurate version. Reason being is TC61* was released initially prior to that version being available and then unfortunately overlooked for the latest update of TC61* last year.

It is now part of TC61* base and much appreciated that you pointed it out.

TC61* is going to have one final update once it under goes what I term being Strat-O-Maticized. The upcoming TC62 has already been Strat-O-Maticized and each other of the '60s Mods will be eventually as well.

Strat-O-Maticizing is a process I now go through to synch all of the players ratings for Bunting, Steal Aggressiveness, Base Running, Speed, Fielding, Range, Throwing Accuracy & Arm Strength with those reflected in that specific year within the Strat-O-Matic game. Also Pitchers Pick-Off rating. I have a very high regard for the accuracy of Strat-O-Matics ratings and feel this final touch for these full season mods truly enhances their realism.

Thanks Again,

Don

[okcochise]

That is great, Don! You guys are fantastic! Using the ratings from Strat is brilliant. I have an observation that I would like to make. I am not aware where Vin Scully comes from with regards to his announcing for this game. Mel Allen I believe comes from Old Time Baseball and Ernie Harwell from APBA's BBW, Some of the names seem to be voiced incorrectly by Scully. If there was a way to use Harwell, I am surprised the choice wasnt made to just use him on his own. His explanations of the plays for BBW are quite good and he says all the names for everyone correctly. Please excuse me if my suggestion is off the wall. I cant even imagine how you guys did what you did to use the voices.

Thanks for the thorough job guys! The game is a joy to play :)

[stecropper]

The Legends from the Booth project (Vin, Mel & Ernie) was done by OTBJoel. That project is probably the most amazing thing/accomplishment I have had the pleasure of experiencing from this site. It was over 3 years in the making and that was at a very aggressive and consistent pace.

Like many/most of the mods here --- they are 1st personal mods done typically by individuals that make them initially for their own use (thus in their own preferred way) and then secondarily for the purpose of sharing them with the members here at mvpmods.

I too am a huge fan of Ernie Harwell from BBW and realize the massiveness of his audios in that game in both play-by-play and player names. But trust me, so does OTBJoel. He is truly a Master at all that Baseball Announcers audio stuff as he had done that level of Legends from the Booth mod for the High Heat game as well. Although Harwell's available audio clips may be much more broad than Vin's are I certainly understand the choice of making Vin Scully the primary Announcer in the booth due to his popularity being much more broad than Ernie's. Plus I believe OTBJoel had spent a good deal of time on the West Coast where certainly Vin's voice is much better known & recognized than Ernie's. But what ever the reason --- I am so thankful he perservered those several years and allowed us to enjoy such a MasterPiece of work.

Don

[okcochise]

Thanks again Don. I love the insight you have on some of the history of this great game and the folks who have not only kept it alive but who have enhanced it beyond what it was meant to be.

Being someone who loves old ballparks, I couldnt resist trying out 1956 last night. Polo Grounds and Ebbetts were beautiful. One thing I noticed though was that there appeared to be an issue with the color of the bottom window. It was black and it seemed to blank out a lot of the data. You could see the pitcher and batter's name, but the pitch count and score was could not be seen. When a batter comes up, the data that shows his batting stats was also not visable.

I then moved on to 1969 to see Jarry park. Unfortunately, 1969 did not load at all. As the splash screen attempted to load, it went black and I got the microsoft message whether or not I wanted to send the error in. I wasnt sure if the file was corrupt or what so I went back to 1964 which I knew worked. Well it no longer works either. Same error. I havent done anything new on my computer so I am not sure what happened. I read some of the support pages and saw that it referenced files that may have gotten messed up (ballpark etc). I guess when I get home tonight I will just reinstall the 2005 game and see if it works.

I have to say, of all the games I have ever owened, this one with the Classic seasons offered really makes it seem like I am out at the ballpark in the 60s. I love it, thanks!!!

[stecropper]

okcochise,

Sounds like a problem with the installs to me more so than a problem with your computer or files getting corrupted already.

Make certain you install each separate TC Mod year into a completely separate clean/new version of MVP 2005 Baseball with the 2nd or later patch installed. Then once installed you can rename that directly to what ever you wish so it is unique from the others.

Installing these Full Season Mods on top of each other results in problems.

There is a thread in here on how easy it is to install Multiple Years of TC Mods on the same computer. Heck, I have like 20+ of them installed on mine.

Really glad you are enjoying these. Please let of know of any issues and/or ideas/suggestions you may have. We always appreciate hearing from those using these mods.

Take Care & Keep Swingin' that Bat !

Don

[okcochise]

Thank you Don. This helps a lot. I was just readding it over and over in the same folder. I will do what you have done and install it multiple times. That will definitely help.

I meant to comment, the ingenius detail that guys have done to truly simulate player's styles is outstanding. From Juan Marichal's high kick to Pete Rose's slumped over stance. Bob Gibson looks really good too with his wind up. I have no idea how you guys did this. But wow, it really looks great! Thanks again for all you do!

[okcochise]

Don, your instructions on how to use multiple mods worked perfectly. I found the thread that detailed how to do everything and it works great, thank you. I really appreciate your being gracious enough to answer my questions. I have two more including when approximately your 1962 TC will be made available. That is a fun season to replay.

My other question has to do with the downloadable uniform files. I figured out how and where to use the stadium mods, but I have not been able to figure out which folder to place the uniform files. I am not sure how many are really needed since they appear to be there for most seasons, but I did notice that the uniforms for the Expos are not from 1969. I thought I would try to find an update for that season. Might not even be available, I dont know. Anyway, there must be a way to use the files that are available but I havent seen a thread that addresses it.

Thanks again,

Jeff

[stecropper]

Jeff,

The uniforms (along with fonts for uniform #s; fonts for player names; player faces; umpire uniforms and more) are contained within the models.big file in the main "data" directory. There are several ways to update models.big such as with Kraws InstallerThingy; Kraws TiT; EAGraph; Biggui etc etc etc. There should be instructions in the forums on how to use those things. I use Kraws InstallerThingy which was his predecessor to the more functionally rich TiT tool.

However, the TC69 Uniforms for the Montreal Expos are correct for 1969. You may have overridden them with another mods files. Check to see if they have the 1969 100 Years patch on their sleeves --- if not then you have likely overridden them with another mods models.big files.

In most Total Classic mods you should seldom have to update any uniforms or stadiums (etc.) as most are current versions. But, of course, occassionally there might be an updated version available. Just make sure you are using the Total Classics Mod in it's entirety and don't have mods mixed up between each other ---- otherwise things are going to be pretty mixed up in many ways. You can check the date the specific Total Classic Mod was last updated and feel fairly comfortable any individual uniform, stadium, etc etc type mods prior to that date have been included.

Jarry Park "perhaps" is not the most current version in the lastest release of TC69. If not, then you can pull one from the download section and install it. In the one I have currently installed on my system it is the most current version but I am unsure if I have installed it since I last uploaded TC69.

TC62, in all honesty should have been released a month or so ago as I was extremely close to finishing it but got caught up finishing a TC64 Dynasty I was playing while building TC62 because that Dynasty became very interesting entering the September part of the schedule. I have just finished that TC64 World Series a 7 game fiasco between the White Sox & Giants so I will now be getting back to finishing up TC62 after a month or so total absence from working on it. But to give you an estimate on when it will be available is something we just don't do around here anymore because we never know what might take us away from working on these mods. But as you might suspect it should be within a month or two, perhaps sooner --- then again perhaps later.

Don

[okcochise]

Once again I appreciate your response, Don. I spent a great deal of time last night getting each TC mod in their oun clean folder. When I tried Montreal, I am pretty sure I saw the red and blue trim at the shoulders which is something that came later and was not there for 1969. I could be wrong though. I havent changed anything with any of the TC's except that I added LA Wrigley to 1961, I will play it again tonight and confirm it. You select a jersey when you start the game so maybe I selected the wrong one.

I am anxious to begin a dynasty where you play a real schedule and I can begin reviewing the stats. I am unsure whether or not I want there to be transactions, injuries etc. I would prefer I think to replay the season as it happened. Maybe that isnt even possible. Anyway, it will either be the '61 Braves, '64 Braves, '67 Cubs or '69 Cubs that I take my first stab at.

Thanks again Don,

Jeff

[stecropper]

Jeff,

In Dynasty mode for "most" of the Total Classics Mods you will want to turn off Call Ups, Trades, Injuries etc as only the 25 players on the Major League Teams are accurate. The Minors are not represented accurately in many of the Total Classic mods (but are in a some of the most recent years mods) thus if you leave those things on then the rosters will become really mixed up with non accurate players for those years.

In TC61* and all other prior years TC Mods that didn't play a full 162 games in each league you will need to use the Short Season Projector tool in order to advance to the Playoffs. Then you would likely want to use the Playoff Creator Tool to make certain your playoff matchups are like they should be. The game has a hard coded rule that you have to have 3 divisions in each league with a minimum of 2 teams in each league thus the league alignments are not as they were in those specific years but the Playoff Creator Tool allows you to adjust the Playoffs/Series Participants according to how the overall standings were for your Dynasty.

Don

[okcochise]

Thanks again for the info, Don. I saw where to turn injuries off but I never clicked on call ups or trades so I will do so to turn them off. From what I have read, you can at no time view any other team's games, correct? You can only view (full game w/stadium) your own team's games? I will check out those utilities also.

Thanks again :)

[stecropper]

Jeff,

One of the most valuable Tools developed by tywiggins (I think?) is the Team Changer. It allows you to switch between teams you are controlling during a dynasty and even has a function that let's you play each and every game on the schedule if you care too (that function does not work very well during the Playoffs however).

There is also a boxscore saver, also by tywiggins, that allows you to save the boxscores at the conclusion of each game. But, you are right -- if you don't play a game you cannot view it's boxscore but you can at least see the linescore for every game. And you also can not view the up to the minute scores of other games during the course of the game you are playing. But you can see the scores and linescore for each game that day before and after the game you played that day by visiting the Schedule area.

Other great tools, which I use a great deal, are the MVPSavReader tool that produces up-to-date Standings; League Leaders; Team Stats; Individual Player Stats by Team; etc etc ..... The MVPEditor (not to be confused with Robert Glasses MVPEdit tool) allows you to change player attributes during the course of a dynasty. MVPEdit by Robert Glass is what many of us use to edit Player attributes (but not during Dynasty play). There is also the fabulous Ratings Calculators by DylanBradury that many also use to create players.

Other than those mentioned above I use the Playoff Creator & Short Season Projector a great deal.

BTW --- I have used 98 of your 1962 Baseball Cards to update my Portraits for TC62. I actually made a couple from your set that were missing (Ruben Gomez, CLV & Jim Marshall PIT). I only replaced those Players Portraits in TC62 that did not have an actual individual Topps 1962 Card published with yours. But as you can see out of 500 active Players in TC62 almost 25% of them didn't have an individual 1962 Topps Baseball Card that year. Yours that I used are identified via a small white dot in the lower right corner.

Take Care & Thanks Again for those fabulous Baseball Cards --- they will certainly make any future project I undertake a lot easier while enhancing the quality of the Portraits as well. In TC62 the quality of the Portraits are not exceptionally high but I rather think that adds to the realism of the mod because in 1962 TV Sets weren't that clear either.

Don

[okcochise]

Thanks for the heads-up on the utilities. I will check those out. I finally began a dynasty by choosing Milwaukee from 1964. I won the first game but lost game two. Incidentally, glad you found some 1962 cards to use. I have another update that I will be posting soon. Included are nice color cards of Tommie Agee (Indians), Joe McClain (Senators) and a really nice Tony Cloninger (Braves). There are also some better cards of several Colt .45s players, mostly black and white ones.

Would I be assuming incorrectly regarding the handling of relief pitchers by the computer if I thought it seemed very 2000ish? I had Cloninger pitching in game one and he was doing pretty well. I may have pinched hit for him myself in the 7th but what followed did puzzle me. Jack Smith came on to pitch the 7th and blanked the Giants. He was replaced by Clay Carroll in the 8th who was then replaced by Bob Tiefenauer in the 9th. The Braves lead 4-1 from the 7th on. Carroll was pinched hit for and I would have done that too. But I saw no reason to remove Smith unless the program is reflective of the current mentality of baseball managers today who believe there must be set up men and closers that you religiously go to. Perhaps there is a way to program the manager?

One last question today. I finally tried some new visuals for the game choosing "reverse" to look from behind pitcher in addition to choosing the highest resolution. I really like both options. My question is this. For the other PC game that I play, ActionPC Baseball, the use of baseball park backdrops are used. Of course the best view is directly behind home elevated so you can see both foul poles and the sky line above the bleachers. MVP game has gorgeous ballparks and I would love to use a "still" from several of the more obscure parks. Is that at all possible? I have seen in between innings the camera pan the park and although not directly behind home plate, it has got me wondering if that is something that could be done? If I knew how to post photos in this forum, I would post something so you know what I am talking about that I am after.

[okcochise]

Don,

I downloaded the MVPEdit that was on here and I figured out that I needed to find an mbe file in order to access the photos. It looks though that the mbe file is in the total conversion "pre" install folder. Does this mean that I would edit that, add all the photos I want and then install the season to a clean folder? I dont see any other way to do it. I added all the 1967 Orioles, started a game and of course none were there.

Another thing. The 1961 and 1964 installs do not have mbe files. So does that mean I cannot edit the photos from those seasons? Converting all my photos to bmp and 128x128 is not hard at all. But before completing such a task, I definitely want to make sure I am doing it right.

Thanks again, Don.

Jeff

[okcochise]

My assumption was incorrect. I am not sure where I was adding the Orioles photos to but after reinstalling 1967, they were not there. I went back to that mbe file that came with 1967 installer and the Cards I added were there. There were no other mbe files on my computer so I am puzzled as to how the mvp-edit could work. Its easy enough to use but if the cards are not going to show up in the game, no sense going to the trouble of converting the cards to bmp and changing their size to 128x128.

[stecropper]

Jeff,

This will be quick but I wanted to at least point you in the right direction with MVPEdit. I am not on my computer so I will be writing this from memory.

MVPEdit is a tool that allows you to edit the things found in the games data/database directory. Mostly player ratings, attributes & stats and such.

You first must have an .mbe file that MVPEdit works with. You can IMPORT from MVPEdit the files located in the games data/database directory to CREATE an .mbe file that you give a unique name to. You can also just copy an existing .mbe file and place it into the MVPEdit directory like the one found in the Install files of some mods. Once you edit it then you must EXPORT it back to the games data/database directory for it to take effect. Make certain during the IMPORT & EXPORT functions that you are pointing to the data/database directory not just the data directory.

Updating Portraits with MVPEdit you have to have the .bmp 128X128 files in the MVPEdit directory (normally you would use a separate directory you created within the MVPEdit directory that contains all the Portraits you plan on using). You then go to a player and click on his Portrait and a pop up screen comes up that allows you to change his Portraits to a New One by clicking and pointing to the new one). This change happens immediately to the games data/frontend/portraits.big file. But you have to have MVPEdit OPTIONS (I think found under the Tools tab) pointing to the correct MVP Baseball 2005/data directory.

[stecropper]

Jeff,

Got a short break from my company so here goes a quick response (hopefully it makes some sense):

1) The game engine can't be modded so relievers basically perform more like the 2000s vs the 1940s or so. But with MVPEdit you can set things in the Manager Team Tendacies area like how often do you pull a starter, how often you use pinch hitters etc etc. This does help out a bit in this situation. Plus giving Pitchers more Stamina keeps them in longer. I have many complete games from starters. But it is definitely leaning more towards the 2000s than the earlier years due to how the game engine is programmed. Things like not having a 4 man rotation for computer controlled teams is also a game engine factor we have to live with. But these truly are minimal.

2) Using a still photo as a stadium backdrop is likely non doable. But I am not a stadium modder so I would have to leave that to them to answer with certainty but I do know a tad bit about how this game works and I don't think that can be done.

Perhaps it would be best to talk over the phone about some of your questions since it appears you are going to jump head first into this game and these tools. The more you play it the more you appreciate how grand it is. Send me an email at stecropper at aol dot com and I will provide you my cell phone number. I love talking to folks about this game.

Don

[stecropper]

Oh Jeff before you go to far with your Portraits you might want to investigate the 2XPortraits. I plan on messing with them on my next project if there is a next project but I havn't experimented with them as of yet. I believe them to be 256X256 bmps vs the 128X128 which would be really good for the high quality Photos you have in your collection.

[okcochise]

Thanks Don. I thought I nailed it in terms of following your directions, but alas I must be missing something. I imported data from 1964. I then added new photos for the 1964 Baltimore Orioles. I exported back to the data/database folder for 1964 and then started a game. The photos were not there. The reason I know something is off is because when I went to adding new photos, there were no existing ones found. Now how can that be? When I went back into the game, the photos that came with 1964 were still there. So why were those not being found? The fact that the files didnt really export to 1964 leads me to believe I am not doing something right.

Let me jot down my exact steps.

I accessed MVPedit.

I imported files from data/database from 1964 folder.

I saved it as 1964.mbe.

I added photos for all 1964 Orioles.

I exported back to data/database from 1964 folder.

Thats it. Anything here jump out at you?

I just did something else you said to do which was to go into Tools to point it at the 1964 data/database folder.

Upon trying this again, when I load the Orioles, none of the photos come up but not only that, I am not able to add any. I click the no photo found and nothing happens. So no idea why because that was never the problem. That said, it still isnt finding the existing photos that load when the 1964 Orioles play. I think until those load, I will be wasting my time because whatever I am doing, its not affecting anything.

[okcochise]

I saw the 2xPortaits somewhere but when I tried to convert them to 256x256, it didnt work. But maybe that was when I was trying to use the other editor called Portrait maker. It wanted a photo at grayscale too and I didnt feel like doing that as well. The bigger the photo though like you said, the better my cards will look. I just cant seem to lick this thing. Shame because I feel ambitious enough to add all my cards to 1964. Wonder why I cant add new photos now.

So let me make sure I understand, Don. If I do like you have instructed, when I click on a player, the photo that I have seen in the game should come up, right? Then I just replace him. What or why would these guys not have any photos being found?

Edited June 17, 2012 by okcochise

[stecropper]

^{Jeff, In the Tools / Options box it should be set to just the MVP Baseball2005/data directory not the data/database directory. When you Import or Export you need to point it to the data/database directory and not just the data directory. You will get the hang of all of this is time --- it just takes a little trial and error.}

^{If you do not see the current existing Portraits when you pull up a player then you don't have it pointed properly.}

[okcochise]

Bingo, that did it! Thank you Don! I am going to have fun doing these photos! Thanks for all the help you have so graciously provided.

[okcochise]

Hi Don,

I have a friend who would also like to download some of these classic seasons and he has registered and can log in. But now more than a week later, he still cannot post or download anything. I registered more than a year ago. I forget, how long does it take to be approved? He sent a couple emails to administrator without replies.

Thank you,

Jeff

[stecropper]

Jeff, Send a PM to Jim825 with the information and I am certain he will correct the situation.