I just completed a full sim from 1900-2025 on Action! PC Baseball, which I'm currently recapping on my Substack. I am also in the early stages of a similar full sim using Diamond Mind Baseball and, in DMB, I'm currently working on a replay of the 1998 Yankees and Cardinals seasons.
I did the full sim for a couple of reasons. First, I think that, if I'm going to replay seasons, the context should be within a world created by that game. So for example, the 1927 replay exists within the context of that full sim project. Gehrig's 209 RBI set a record, not because it's more than Hack Wilson had, but rather since it was greater than Ruth's 194 in 1921, in that full sim replay. And Gehrig's 37-game hitting streak set a record since Jesse Burkett had the high of 36 games in 1900, for that sim. For anyone who wants to follow along with that replay, I won't spoil whether or Gehrig's RBI record is still standing and, since I look at hitting streaks as I write up each set of recaps, I have no idea whether Gehrig's hitting streak is going to be broken or not.
It feels really strange right now knowing that, as my 1998 replay just starts May, I really have no idea what the record is that McGwire and Sosa are chasing. I just haven't gotten far enough in the DMB full sim to have any clue.
The other reason why I'm doing the full season is I created a custom version of Bill James's similarity scores in which I also added OBP to the mix. I'm going to use that at the end of the project to compare how the two games did when it comes to statistical similarities to the majors.
When I was participating in mail/draft leagues, I used to auto-play (BBW) the preseason games to see if my teams were competitive.
Later, when I started doing replays, I used auto-play (DMB) to pre-play the seasons a few times to determine if the overall season stats and individual results compared favorably to the actual results.
That gave me more confidence in the results. For example, if the '62 Mets started 10-0 or the 1927 Yankees 0-10, then I could confidently chalk it up to bad luck, and not a problem with the game. I don't do that anymore, although sometimes I wish I did.
In my replays, I usually try to play every game. I enjoy playing the games. That is why I do replays. When I played baseball and later softball, I did so because I enjoyed playing the games. The same is true with replays.
I think there are different ways to experience a season.
For many people, following a replay through box scores, standings, and league leaders taps into those mornings of going right to the box score section of the sports page to see what you might find.
The game being used might be different, but it is not really all that different from the way you prefer to play with OOTP.
I play these games in a variety of ways. Sometimes I play every game. Sometimes I control just one team. Sometimes I am 30,000 feet in the sky, just watching a season unfold. Each approach gives me something different.
For me It is about the shifting role, not what is more legitimate or what counts. Really the only person that can judge what counts is the person playing.
My 2 favorite sport sim games, if you will, are Baseball Mogul & Action PC Football (their golf sim is excellent, as well...imho). Anyways, for me being able to 'auto sim' these games is a great way to test their statistical accuracy per generating results. Of course, it is not the best way; but it does assist in allowing me to get a, fairly, good idea if the current version is working up to my standards.
Per Baseball Mogul, the last 3 versions (23, 24, & 25) have been superb per my tests; & I suspect 2026 (which I own) will be similar, once all the bugs are worked out...like any new release.
Action PC Football has no equal per my test results, as well; so yes, Auto Replays have their use...for me.
I agree. There are just many different levels of immersion. In a real baseball season people do not watch or listen to every game of every team in a season. These games can allow you to play them all if you choose to. But not doing that, is still playing just in a different way. It kind of recreates the fan perspective.
Like so many things in life, I think that the question of whether to autoplay or not autoplay is in the eye of the beholder. Personally, I do not autoplay any games in a full season replay; I manually play them all. That manner of playing gives me a more immersive feeling in the season. I can understand, however, why some folks prefer to autoplay some or many of the games. Maybe it's a time issue and autoplay helps move the replay at a pace they enjoy, or perhaps there are some teams that just don't interest a replayer and autoplay allows them to avoid that which they don't find interesting, like a 4-game series in August between a couple of teams that are 18 games off the pace. I don't think autoplaying makes it less of a replay, it's just not my preferred style.
I just completed a full sim from 1900-2025 on Action! PC Baseball, which I'm currently recapping on my Substack. I am also in the early stages of a similar full sim using Diamond Mind Baseball and, in DMB, I'm currently working on a replay of the 1998 Yankees and Cardinals seasons.
I did the full sim for a couple of reasons. First, I think that, if I'm going to replay seasons, the context should be within a world created by that game. So for example, the 1927 replay exists within the context of that full sim project. Gehrig's 209 RBI set a record, not because it's more than Hack Wilson had, but rather since it was greater than Ruth's 194 in 1921, in that full sim replay. And Gehrig's 37-game hitting streak set a record since Jesse Burkett had the high of 36 games in 1900, for that sim. For anyone who wants to follow along with that replay, I won't spoil whether or Gehrig's RBI record is still standing and, since I look at hitting streaks as I write up each set of recaps, I have no idea whether Gehrig's hitting streak is going to be broken or not.
It feels really strange right now knowing that, as my 1998 replay just starts May, I really have no idea what the record is that McGwire and Sosa are chasing. I just haven't gotten far enough in the DMB full sim to have any clue.
The other reason why I'm doing the full season is I created a custom version of Bill James's similarity scores in which I also added OBP to the mix. I'm going to use that at the end of the project to compare how the two games did when it comes to statistical similarities to the majors.
When I was participating in mail/draft leagues, I used to auto-play (BBW) the preseason games to see if my teams were competitive.
Later, when I started doing replays, I used auto-play (DMB) to pre-play the seasons a few times to determine if the overall season stats and individual results compared favorably to the actual results.
That gave me more confidence in the results. For example, if the '62 Mets started 10-0 or the 1927 Yankees 0-10, then I could confidently chalk it up to bad luck, and not a problem with the game. I don't do that anymore, although sometimes I wish I did.
In my replays, I usually try to play every game. I enjoy playing the games. That is why I do replays. When I played baseball and later softball, I did so because I enjoyed playing the games. The same is true with replays.
I think there are different ways to experience a season.
For many people, following a replay through box scores, standings, and league leaders taps into those mornings of going right to the box score section of the sports page to see what you might find.
The game being used might be different, but it is not really all that different from the way you prefer to play with OOTP.
I play these games in a variety of ways. Sometimes I play every game. Sometimes I control just one team. Sometimes I am 30,000 feet in the sky, just watching a season unfold. Each approach gives me something different.
For me It is about the shifting role, not what is more legitimate or what counts. Really the only person that can judge what counts is the person playing.
My 2 favorite sport sim games, if you will, are Baseball Mogul & Action PC Football (their golf sim is excellent, as well...imho). Anyways, for me being able to 'auto sim' these games is a great way to test their statistical accuracy per generating results. Of course, it is not the best way; but it does assist in allowing me to get a, fairly, good idea if the current version is working up to my standards.
Per Baseball Mogul, the last 3 versions (23, 24, & 25) have been superb per my tests; & I suspect 2026 (which I own) will be similar, once all the bugs are worked out...like any new release.
Action PC Football has no equal per my test results, as well; so yes, Auto Replays have their use...for me.
Auto play is much like watching a game on TV.
I agree. There are just many different levels of immersion. In a real baseball season people do not watch or listen to every game of every team in a season. These games can allow you to play them all if you choose to. But not doing that, is still playing just in a different way. It kind of recreates the fan perspective.
Like so many things in life, I think that the question of whether to autoplay or not autoplay is in the eye of the beholder. Personally, I do not autoplay any games in a full season replay; I manually play them all. That manner of playing gives me a more immersive feeling in the season. I can understand, however, why some folks prefer to autoplay some or many of the games. Maybe it's a time issue and autoplay helps move the replay at a pace they enjoy, or perhaps there are some teams that just don't interest a replayer and autoplay allows them to avoid that which they don't find interesting, like a 4-game series in August between a couple of teams that are 18 games off the pace. I don't think autoplaying makes it less of a replay, it's just not my preferred style.