Ver 1.80 Broadcast Feed, Pickoffs, Foul Flies, FA Ranks

Version 1.80 is out. The centerpiece is the broadcast feed on the match screen: an announcer and an analyst carry the game in conversation, and this is now the standard view. Pickoffs, rundowns and balks and catcher foul flies join the plays on the field, and the FA market shows each player's FA rank before you sign him.

Follow the game as a broadcast

• The match screen's feed now has a Broadcast style. The announcer calls each pitch and the result of the at-bat, and the analyst adds a remark when the situation calls for one. Runners in scoring position, how today's starter is doing, the head-to-head record between batter and pitcher: what you are looking at right now finds its way into the conversation
• Starting with this version, Broadcast is the standard view. The familiar Play log is still there: switch the default in Settings under "Match feed style". During a match, the chip in the feed header switches the view for that game only
• There are several analysts and the assignment changes from game to game. Each has his own tone and angle, so the same situation can sound different

Pickoffs, rundowns and balks

• With a runner on base, the pitcher may throw over before the pitch. The runner may get back safely, or get caught off the bag and end up in a rundown. How quick the pitcher is to the bag and the runner's speed and judgment decide the outcome
• Balks happen too. Every runner moves up one base, and a runner on third scores
• All of these show up on the base display, in the play log and in the broadcast, and the outs and runs are recorded in the stats. Their frequency is tuned to real professional baseball

Foul flies to the catcher

• A foul pop near home plate can now be caught by the catcher for an out. The better the catcher's fielding, the more often he gets to it
• The catch counts as a fielding chance for the catcher. The at-bat results list and the broadcast label it as a foul fly to catcher

FA ranks in the FA market

• The FA market list and the negotiation panel now show each player's FA rank (A / B / C) before you sign him. The rank comes from his salary standing at his former club
• Under the player-compensation system, signing an A- or B-rank player from another club triggers compensation. Use it to decide whether a signing is worth it. Hover the rank chip for a short explanation

Bug fixes

• Fixed an issue where some players' growth rate could change when a save was loaded or a new season started
• Fixed a few cases where runs and outs on the match screen were not refreshed right away

A first look at the next major update, Ver 2.00

Watch on YouTube
Teaser video (YouTube)

• In the next major update, Ver 2.00, you will be able to play matches in 3D: watch the players on the field as the game unfolds while you run it
• The teaser shows the mood we are going for. Release timing and details will follow in a later announcement

Previous updates (v1.75 to v1.79)

These shipped after our last announcement (v1.74).

• Add players from a CSV to a game in progress (v1.79): from the import section in Settings, add players from a CSV made with the bundled tool to the farm team of a club you choose. When the 70-man roster is full they join on a development contract
• Bundled AbilityEstimator (v1.79): the "star rating" mode is back. Set eye, contact, power, speed, arm, fielding and more with stars to build a player without stat data. Random generation and appending to an existing player CSV are also available
• Preseason box scores (v1.78): preseason games now keep their pitching changes and batting results so you can look back at them
• Auto Roster (v1.78): fixed pitchers never moving between the first and farm teams even with all auto-roster options on, and the roster-move setting not being confirmable. Also fixed farm players demoted during the preseason being blocked with "cannot play for 10 games"
• Creating and signing players (v1.78): fixed tryout signings not starting at pro year 1, and quick-edit players being created without sub positions
• In-game substitutions (v1.78): fixed rest substitutions ignoring fielding aptitude, and the position-swap screen now shows aptitude
• FA and contracts (v1.76): fixed a crash that could happen the moment an FA negotiation succeeded
• Match records and display (v1.76): fixed inherited runners being charged to the relief pitcher, a run scored on a passed ball being shown again as "1 run added" at the end of the at-bat, and command buttons going dead when a cut-in was closed with the Space key in pitch-by-pitch mode
• Retirement approval (v1.76): fixed the approve button being pushed off screen for players with long records
• Season awards (v1.75): fixed titles that could be left vacant

Thank you for all the reports and requests. As always, more to come.