Out Of The Park Baseball 2017 is coming next month. And I’ve got some thoughts on what I’m most looking forward to:

• Historical Minor Leagues!

Minor League teams from 1919 to 2015 will be available for the first time. This is going to be really neat. I can presumably do a tournament of the best affiliation-era Red Wings teams now, and others probably will be able to do things like having an “independent” Pacific Coast League during the 40s and early 50s.

• Historic Exhibition Mode!

In past OOTP, to have the 1927 Yankees play the 1975 Reds required making your own league that happened have both of them. This time, though, there will be a option that means you can just do that. Here’s hoping OOTP Developments also allows minor league teams, international teams, and fictional teams (like the MARIOners) to be used in this.

• Real player photos out of the box!

In the past, you had to download the faces from modders to appear in the game’s “FaceGen” system. But due to a license with the MLBPA, that no longer is going to be an issue.

• Better 3D!

The 3D engine of OOTP has always been better in theory than it has in practice, but judging by the images shown on the preview page, it’s going to be making a significant improvement. Something much needed.

• Improvements to other parts of the game!

More realistic career arcs, auto-created game stories, a better interface… while they won’t be as “sexy” as the better 3D, Minor Leagues, or exhibitions, these are all going to make the product a better game as a whole.

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Get hype!