Enhancements in version 9

Last updated: March 1, 2004

This page presents a partial list of the enhancements that you will see in version 9.

Playing games

Direct internet play support. In version 9, you can play games head-to-head over the internet without using a third-party product like NetMeeting.

Customizable play-by-play font. In version 9, you can choose any font family and size for the play-by-play commentary.

Expanded play-by-play. The commentary now shows much more awareness of game situations, prior game events, and relevant statistics. We've added a very large amount of new text to our play-by-play library. And we've begun adding park-specific plays.

Game log. In addition to the boxscores and play-by-play scoresheets that have always been part of our game, version 9 adds a textual game log similar to those you see on major web sites today. For an example, see the recent simulation we carried out for ESPN.com.

Player-specific manager tendencies. Manager profiles have been expanded to allow you to specify tendencies for individual players. This provides you with an increased ability to influence how the computer manager chooses tactics in game situations involving those players. These player tendencies are optional, so there's no need to spend time setting them up if you're content with the team's manager tendencies and the computer manager's ability to make good decisions based on player ratings.

Outfield assists. Improved the computer manager's decisions on baserunning plays, reducing the number of trailing runners who are being thrown out and bringing outfield assist totals down to more realistic levels.

Brawls. The likelihood of a brawl is now tied to the number of HBP that have occurred in the game. In other words, a brawl is more likely to erupt in a contest where two or more batters have been plunked.

Catcher fatigue. Previously, a tired catcher would underperform at the plate but remain at full strength in the field. Now catcher fatigue affects defensive performance as well.

Unrated catchers and pitchers. We increased the defensive penalties when an unrated player is used at those positions.

Play-by-play speed. Separate options for the delay between messages and the delay at the end of each play give you more control over the play-by-play speed.

Generating reports

Report groups. In version 9, you can create groups of reports to be generated with a single command, with the option to send the output to a file in either plain-text or HTML format or directly to a printer.

Web site generation. Report groups are also the basis for generating an entire league web site consisting of linked reports at the organization, league and team level plus any saved boxscore/scoresheet files. Because these report groups and the individual reports are customizable, you can design the web site to include the information you want and nothing else.

Expanded HTML support. Statistical reports are now formatted as HTML tables using fonts and colors to improve the presentation. Cascading style sheets hold the formatting information so advanced users who are familiar with HTML can control how these reports are formatted.

New analytical statistics. Several reports have been updated to include modern statistics such as total bases plus walks (TBW), component ERA, runs created ERA, strikeout/walk ratio, and WHIP. These statistics are also available to be added to your custom reports.

Encyclopedia

We have developed a powerful new encyclopedia that enables you to store and report on the results of multiple DMB seasons. The encyclopedia includes all of the standard DMB reports for individual seasons plus career leaderboards and career batting and pitching reports for players.

Miscellaneous

Expanded rosters. The roster limit has been raised from 60 to 80 players. This was motivated primarily by a few recent real-life teams that have used as many as 59 players in the regular season.

Voiding draft picks. Whether you're running a human draft or a computer draft, individual draft picks can now be voided. This is useful when a team loses the right to use a pick as a penalty for a rules violation, because it has already reached its roster limit, or for any other reason. Voided picks can be reinstated if they were voided in error.

Creating organizations. It is now possible to create an organization after a season has been started. If you're playing the season with two leagues that are to meet, and you didn't remember to set up the organization before the season starter, you can create it in time to set up your championship series.

New transaction types. We have added new real-life transaction codes for the bereavement list that was introduced in the recent collective bargaining agreement and for players who die during the season.

More databases. Version 8 limited you to 100 DMB databases. This limit has been raised to 200, and the list of available databases is now sorted to make it easier for you to find the one you're looking for.

Updated historical info. The master era and player files have been updated to include the 2001 - 2003 seasons.