This game is way too easy.

[ohms_law]

I've been playing Baseball Mogul for years now. I find the 2007 version to be the easiest by far. I play solitaire in Mogul mode and manage my team through each individual season.

So what, in your opinion, would solve the problems that you're bringing up here?

From my perspective, it seems like your main complaint is that you can sell players to the AI for cash. I would counter that the AI never sells players, either to your team or any other AI team. The option is ther for you as a user, if you wish to use it, but it's not a part of the AI's game. Therefore, in my mind, it's a built in "cheat" system. If you want to be challenged, don't use "cheats". The AI is pretty tough if you play the same game that it's playing.

This is the same thing as playing a FPS or console game and using a "passcode" or a "trainer". Sure it's cheating, but it's cheating that you have permission to use if you want to. If you do use that sort of thing though, how can you complain that the game is too easy?

[boomboom]

why do you guys like playing against the computer....

it really does suck...so I suggest trying BMO...want a challenge, play against 30 human owners...now that is tough

CLICK HERE TO TRY Baseball Mogul Online...

[ohms_law]

In the interest of full disclosure, you want Clay to stop developing BBM and only work on BBMO boomboom.

[HoustonGM]

BaltimoreChop: Like ohms said, it seems that what you're doing, while available, is the reason you're winning so much . I play my games as realistically as possible. I don't trade for draft picks until they've played at least one year in the minors. I never buy players from other teams, and I never sell players to other teams. I only use cash to even out a trade if it's slightly uneven. Make your own artificial rules and it becomes more of a challenge.

[BaltimoreChop]

Yes, it is obvious that this is what one has to do. They have to institute their own rules in order to make an incredibly easy game, harder. Although I didn't have to do nearly as much to make the 2003, 2004, or 2005 versions more challenging. The game has far more weaknesses in its strategy and AI than it did 3 years ago. This is true for trading, player development, budget management, and other areas.

For example the salary negotiations. It makes no sense when a player's contract expires and the little screen pops up and they ask for $17M/yr to re-sign. But if you release them and go into the Free Agent screen, then they only want $6M/yr to sign. So the whole "feature" with negotiating a contract while the player is still on your roster is a waste. I always release every expiring contract and opt out of every arbitration. Then I re-sign many of them off of the free agent list. However in real life, this usually works the opposite way.

Note that I stated I had already instituted rules to cut down on advantages, and even after losing many of my best prospects to expansion drafts, it was still childsplay to dominate the game. I guess I have to keep instituting more and more self-imposed rules to make the game a challenge.

The 2007 version feels like there has been a lot of effort to add stuff into the game, but at the expense of weakening the underlying framework. I've reinstalled the 2004 game and play it sometimes because it poses more of a challenge to build a dynasty and has more year-to-year fluctuation in the players production.

Why not play in human leagues? I don't have the consistent time to keep up with them. My time comes in spurts.

[HoustonGM]

Yes, it is obvious that this is what one has to do. They have to institute their own rules in order to make an incredibly easy game, harder.

If you play it realistically, it's not incredibly easy.

For example the salary negotiations. It makes no sense when a player's contract expires and the little screen pops up and they ask for $17M/yr to re-sign. But if you release them and go into the Free Agent screen, then they only want $6M/yr to sign. So the whole "feature" with negotiating a contract while the player is still on your roster is a waste. I always release every expiring contract and opt out of every arbitration. Then I re-sign many of them off of the free agent list. However in real life, this usually works the opposite way.

I've never seen such an extreme example. However, this might be due to the fact that with personalities, the player really doesn't want to play for your team, but since having players outright refuse hasn't been implemented yet, they ask for ridiculous amounts. The amount listed on the free agent dialog is also different then the amount a player will ask for when you open up negotiations from there. Players ask for different amounts rfom different teams.

Note that I stated I had already instituted rules to cut down on advantages, and even after losing many of my best prospects to expansion drafts, it was still childsplay to dominate the game. I guess I have to keep instituting more and more self-imposed rules to make the game a challenge.

It's not like only trading players for players is a rule that requires time and effort...Just think realistically.

[JayC]

During this period I have never once cheated by altering a player in Commissioner mode. Or forcing any trades.

One way to guarantee that you build a superteam is to sell off your best players when they have 1 year left on their contracts, you can get 60-80 million for each. Then you use this money to buy all of the top draft picks.

That's the thing: you're looking at some of the options the game gives you as "cheating," while using another one that has essentially the same effect: it gives you a big advantage over the AI. To me, using that last trick is just as much "cheating" as the first things you mentioned. Makes no difference to me whether it's something you have to go into Commissioner Mode to do or not, to me it's gaming the AI... when the AI's my competition that's not, to me, a challenging approach.

I also give myself some restrictions that the AI doesn't have, which both make the game's challenges more realistic to me and shift a little advantage to the AI (which needs it). I can't just shuttle players between the minors and my team repeatedly; I keep track of their "options." Or put them through waivers: I've worked out an approach to simulating that. If one of my veteran players is injured, I either have to keep him on the 25-man roster until he can play again or put him on the DL -- if I do that, he has to stay there at least 14 days. In the playoffs, I create a roster at the beginning of each series and can not change it. If a player gets injured, I have to finish the series without replacing him.

Basically I want to give myself management challenges that come as close to those in real life as possible (and I'm patiently hoping to see realistic roster rules implemented in the game at some point). That the AI doesn't have all of the same challenges makes the game a little tougher, and that's a bonus.

[ohms_law]

I'd also like to point out that you need not really do anything extra, such as tracking players "options", etc... You can use simple and easy house rules that effectively limit your power over the AI.

• You cannot initiate trades that involve cash.
• You cannot sign Free Agents on day 1 that Free Agent Signings open up.

Those two rules effectively place you on exactly the same rules as the AI. The AI cannot make trades where one party or the other only receives cash (and note that those sorts of trades are generally "outlawed" in MLB anyway). Additionally, we as users are given the benefit of first right to negotiate with players. If you negotiate a contract with a player currently, the AI has no chance at all of out bidding you. Therefore, limiting yourself to say that you cannot sign a player until the day after Free Agent signings open up (note that you can use F12 to advance one day rather than advancing all the way to the Amature Draft) puts you exactly even with the AI in terms of Free Agent signings.

I will say that I strongly agree the Free Agent system does need work. The instant signings system is fundamentally flawed, but that need not ruin your whole experience with the game. You can effectively work around the problem of instant signings.
The Cash in trades issue is different though. That should not be removed in my opinion, simply due to the fact that it's completely optional whether or not you utilise it.
The AI is largely improved over the AI in Mogul 2004, for many reasons. There has been several specific issues that have been fixed, and it's behavior in regards to how, when, and where to play players on the roster have been addressed. I'm not saying that the AI shouldn't be improved further, but to say that it's completly worthless when you are able to cut it's legs out from under it isn't very fair.