Some exciting new features are in Strat-O-Matic Baseball 2013, the Windows game now available for pre-order and that will be available for delivery on SOM’s Opening Day, Feb. 8.
 

If you’ve ever regretted autoplay or remote league play when a no-hitter or fantastic finish happened without you, give it up for Game Replay, which lets you relive those games at-bat by at-bat, or savor a replay of your greatest games.
 

The headliner in an array of forthcoming improvements, Game Replay offers a re-creation in a generic, graphical stadium and a text description of each pitcher, batter and base runner.
 

Adjust the replay speed to suit you. Adjust the stadium angle to your viewing preference. You have the choice to start the replay after you know the final score, or without knowing it. Then relive the drama.
 

As always, the annual Windows release is essential to play the latest seasons. This time, that’s eight new seasons: 2012, 1961 and 1938 in Deluxe, Super-Advanced format, and five specialty seasons in computer “Chevy” format – 1891, the 1920, 1931 and 1942 Negro Leagues, and the 1973 Japanese Central and Pacific Leagues season.
 

With 1891, Strat-O-Matic now has all 137 Major League seasons from 1876-2012 available in the Windows game. All have As Played files and all but 1943-46 have individual pitcher hitting cards.
 

Always up to date as the sport changes, the Windows game no longer will limit season-long rosters to 75 players, with no more than 25 pitchers. Now it’s 150 and 35. That takes care of today’s Major Leagues, where roster moves have multiplied as bereavement leaves, paternity leaves, 7-day concussion DLs and other new rules permit player replacements. 
 

Speaking of injuries, gamers now can use them – limited to the current game only – when using Automatic Lineups and Transactions.
 

Version 2013 also displays some cool, new stats: Box scores show Runners Left in Scoring Position with 2 Outs. The Relief Pitching Report shows Blown Saves and Holds. Team win-loss totals are displayed in the team-vs.-team grids and elsewhere.
 

The Computer Manager, typically smarter with each version, will take more of the game situation into account when deciding to make throws to third base. It will do a better job of limiting player overuse and make smarter position-player substitutions.
 

A new function, Copy Computer Manager Logic, permits copying Manager Tendencies, Super Hal Bullpen Logic and Super Hal Baserunning from one team to another, or to all teams in a league. This will be a great time saver for those who like to apply standardized computer manager logic settings to all teams in the league.
 

More convenience for those who use the Updated or As-Played rosters, but who want to choose their own starting pitchers: A new League menu item clears the Starting Pitcher Schedule for all the teams in a league.

Another new function, Import Team Ballpark Codes, allows gamers “to set the ballpark codes for all of the leagues you own with just a few clicks of the mouse,” the Help File reports. “Instead of manually typing in ballpark codes for each team in each league you’ll be able to do this once, then import the codes for each league in a matter of seconds.”
 

The automated Fielding Chart now can be closed with the Enter key instead of point and click.
 

No longer is it a problem if a play-by-email league commissioner forgets to turn on the various subset stats before sending out the league files. Now, subsets can be turned on after-the-fact. They and updated streak information appear when the Rebuild League from Game Files feature is used. 
 

Everybody knows that making regular backups is wise. But most of us fail to do it anyway. From now on, the program is set to automatically pause and back up any leagues that have changed since you last started the program.

From the Help File:

NEW FEATURES AND IMPROVEMENTS IN STRAT-O-MATIC BASEBALL 2013

1) Game Replay Feature – Watch an entire game replay before your eyes with the exciting new Game Replay feature! There are many ways to enjoy Game Replays. For instance, when you autoplay a season you miss out on the in-game excitement of great performances (like no-hitters or 3-homerun games). With the Game Replay feature you can now watch those games play out in detail. Additionally, if you are in an email league you now simply get your results by opening up a boxscore and reading it. No anticipation of the game-winning rally is experienced – it all hits you in the face. But with Game Replay your opponents can send you the files and you can watch the games play out experiencing the highs and lows of in-game drama! Finally, you may just feel like reliving some of your greatest Strat-O-Matic games, and with the Game Replay feature you can do just that. The Game Replay feature is customizable, and it allows you to speed up or slow down the action to any speed you desire. After the game is over a boxscore is displayed so you can enjoy that as part of the experience as well.

 

2) Maximum Pitchers on Roster – The file structure, game code, and statistics package have been upgraded to allow up to 35 pitchers on a team’s roster. The old limit was 25 pitchers. More and more frequently real-life teams are using greater than 25 pitchers during the course of a season. This was causing problems with us being able to fit all the pitchers on each team, which had implications for the as-played seasons. 

 

3) Maximum Players – The statistics package has been upgraded to allow more players to be on a team during the course of a season. Previously the maximum total was 75 players. This limit has been increased to 150. The old limit was almost exceeded by certain MLB teams that in recent years have promoted and demoted more players than previously done. In addition, in certain draft leagues where there is a very high rate of player movement the old limit had been reached on a few occasions.

 

4) Game Notes – The Game Notes feature has been improved as follows:
 

·  Game Notes now displays the probable starters for all remaining games in the current series.

·  Game Notes can now be viewed after the game is started (Note: these are the same pre-game notes displayed at the start of the game, they are not recomputed during the game). You can use the new menu item or the "N" key to display the Game Notes during a game.

 

5) Computer Manager Player Control Improvements – Code has been added to better control overusage (when that option is turned on) and to improve substitutions so that players are used out of position much less frequently than in the past.

 

6) Commissioner’s Fix – Sometimes the commissioner of a play-by-email league will forget to turn on the various subset stats before sending out the league files. In previous versions of the program this presented a problem. If the game files were used with the Rebuild League function the subsets could not be built (because they were not selected to be created in the game files). So commissioners had to use the Import Subsets feature to rebuild the league (using a restarted league). While this gave the desired subsets, it did not give accurate streak information. The game has been improved so that you can now turn on subsets after-the-fact, and they will appear when the Rebuild League from Game Files feature is used. So both the subsets and streak information can accurately be rebuilt by saving game files. 

 

7) Automatic League Backups – At the point that you are about to exit the program, this feature will automatically pause and backup any leagues that have changed since the current execution of the program began. We highly recommend that you use this feature for maximum safety. It is turned on by default. You can use the checkbox on the Miscellaneous Options screen to toggle this feature on or off.

 

8) Boxscore – The boxscore now lists Runners left in scoring position with 2 outs (Abbreviated as RLISP 2-out).

 

9) Injuries with Automatic Lineups & Transactions – You can now use the Max Rule "Limit all injuries to current game only" with Automatic Lineups and Transactions. Previously no injuries would occur when Automatic Lineups/Transactions were being used. Now, by turning the main Injury Rules on and selecting the Max Rule "Limit all injuries to current game", you can have in-game injuries while using Automatic Lineups and Transactions.

 

10) Import Team Ballpark Codes – This feature will allow you to import ballpark codes for teams.   You’ll be able to set the ballpark codes for all of the leagues you own with just a few clicks of your mouse! Instead of manually typing in ballpark codes for each team in each league you’ll be able to do this once, then import the codes for each league in a matter of seconds.

 

11) Copy Computer Manager Logic – The new Copy Computer Manager Logic team menu item displays a dialog that allows you to copy any or all of the following items from one team to another:

 

·  Manager Tendencies

·  Super Hal Bullpen Logic

·  Super Hal Baserunning 

 

In addition, you have the option of copying one team’s computer manager logic to all of the teams in a selected league. This will be a great time saver for those who like to apply standardized computer manager logic settings to all teams in the league.

 

12) Clear Starting Pitcher Schedule – This new League menu item allows you to clear out the Starting Pitcher Schedule for all teams within a league. This will come in handy if you prefer to use Updated or As-Played Rosters but not use the real-life starting pitchers for each game.

 

13) Computer Manager – The Computer Manager has been improved so that it will make better decisions regarding throws to third base. The weighting on factors such as keeping a double-play in order, preventing the potential tying run from getting into scoring position, and other game situations and factors have been adjusted. While these adjustments have been made, please remember that the computer manager will never be able to be as adept as a human being when it comes to properly weighting the vast number of possible situations that it must account for when making its decisions.

 

14) League Standings Display – The league standings display has been improved as follows:
 

·  It now shows league-wide totals for wins, losses, and winning percentage for the following categories: home games, road games, games vs. left-handed starters, and games vs. right-handed starters.

·  The Team vs. Team Won/Loss grid now has team totals for wins and losses.

·  The Team vs. Team Runs Scored grid now has team totals for wins and Losses.

 

15) Animated Fielding Chart – The Enter key can now be used to activate the "Show Result" button. After the result is shown hitting the Enter key again will close out the dialog.

 

16) Relief Pitching Report – The Report Writer Relief Pitching report now displays Blown Saves and Holds.

 

17) Synchronize Stats Function – The Synchronize Stats feature has been improved to better resolve problems where Multi Team Player stats were not accessible for players who are in the Free Agent Pool. This situation can sometimes occur in email leagues due to when and how statistics are imported into the league statistician’s computer.

 

18) Support for new Wild Card Playoffs – For leagues with a year of 2012 or greater two Wild Card team leaders/winners will be shown in the League Standings Wildcard section. In addition, Playoff Leagues have been improved to support the one-game Wild Card playoff.

 

·  Pitchers were being allowed to be included in Preset Lineups at regular positions. This is not valid and will no longer be allowed. This problem was causing batters to "disappear" out of the pre-game lineup screen.

·  The steps to un-assign an encyclopedia for a league are to Select Statistics/Assign Encyclopedia Database to Notebook and then click "Cancel". However, this was not working for all leagues. This problem has been resolved.

·  The team ERA and Batting Averages were incorrect on the Career Totals tab of the Team Notebook.

·  When a successful squeeze ended the game for the home team, the game was adding 1/3 of an inning to the pitcher’s totals. In reality, the play would be scored a FC-Sac with no out being recorded.

·  Certain players who were set to "Don’t Bunt" were shown as trying to bunt for a hit when playing against the computer manager.

·  Playoff leagues were allowed to be created from leagues that were not started. This has been corrected. Note that playoff teams must have statistics in order to be valid, as certain statistics (such as pitcher usage) are carried over into the playoffs.

·  Some reports were crashing when the "Color headings on reports" Miscellaneous Option was checked off.

·  You cannot use Actual Pitcher Hitting Cards for non-league games between teams from different leagues (because the 99 files are tied to only one league). However, the game was not preventing this, so actual pitcher’s hitting was working for only the home team. Code has been added to prevent this option from being used for non-league games between teams from different leagues.

·  Two Entry Pictures for Comiskey Park were showing as entry pictures for AT&T Park.

·  When the computer manager visited the mound it would sometimes say that the manager was leaving the pitcher in to face the batter. However the batter was the previous batter not the one that was at the plate.

·  The Encyclopedia Career Tab was not showing for players who had the same last name as another player.

·  A number of data corruptions were traced back to a loophole that allows stats reports and roster reports to be open during a game. Code has been added to prevent you from changing those reports once a game begins. After the game ends you will be able to change the reports once again. Hint: Another way to accomplish report viewing during a game is to launch a second copy of the game to view reports. However it should be stressed that you must not alter any data for any league with the second copy of the game or you risk corrupting the data from your game!!!

·  If scheduled games were played out of order the Pre-Game Notes had incorrect usage for who’s hot/not. Playing games out of schedule order is not officially supported and can cause some statistical problems. We were able to add code that might fix the problem for this report. However we will again state that we highly recommend that you play games in schedule order.

·  When attempting a sacrifice bunt and receiving a 1-and-2 count reading the lower percentage of a successful sacrifice is displayed. However, if you canceled the bunt attempt and subsequently decided to try the sacrifice the percentage displayed was the original higher percentage, not the lower percentage that took into account the fact that it is harder to successfully sacrifice bunt with 2-strikes.

·  When a fielding error occurred during a squeeze play, and it was the first batter the pitcher was facing, the pitcher was not allowed to be relieved for and was forced to face another batter.

·  If a balk, wild pitch, or passed ball occurred during a dice roll for an at-bat then the defense was not receiving control as it should have thereby allowing the offense to proceed with another roll of the dice before the defensive alignment could be reset.

 

20) New Seasons – Support for the new 2012, 1961 (Deluxe Super-Advanced), 1938 (Deluxe Super-Advanced), 1891, 1920 Negro League, 1931 Negro League, 1942 Negro League, and 1973 Japanese Baseball has been added. 

 

21) Ballpark Photos 

·  7 new ballparks pictures – Houston (night), Los Angeles NL (night), Miami (day and night), San Francisco (day), Toronto (day and night)

·  33 new ballpark entry pictures – Boston-16, Los Angeles-2, Miami-10, Texas-1, Toronto-4

 

·  Over 1,370 new lines of Nickname play-by-plays have been included!

·  All 30 team play-by-play files have been edited and updated for 2011 season. 

 

23) Roster Improvements and Corrections   
 

– An amazing effort by the ROSTER CORRECTIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS TEAM brings you these upgraded rosters. Continued improvements include Computer Manager, Pitcher Hitting, and Play-by-Play tweaks. Not only that, but they also have provided an enormous service to the Strat community by making available Actual Pitcher Hitting Cards for all seasons. Each season had changes as described in this list:
 

All of the 20th century sets listed below have had player names standardized according to the Retrosheet player naming convention. (See Credits / Other Statistics.) This project will continue with subsequent Game releases until all of the U season sets have been edited for player name conformity.
 

Some of these sets include a Read file which may be found inside the roster’s zip file.
 

– 1876 – 1900 Player name conformity; Various minor corrections

– 1884 Improved lup file

– 1940 Improved Team CM settings; Player name conformity

– 1941 Player name conformity

– 1942 Improved Team CM settings; Adds 99 set; Player name conformity

– 1943 Improved Team CM settings; Player name conformity

– 1944 Improved Team CM settings; Player name conformity

– 1945 Improved Team CM settings; Player name conformity

– 1946 Improved Team CM settings; Player name conformity

– 1947 Improved Team CM settings; Adds 99 set; Adds PBP; Improved lups; Player name conformity

– 1949 Improved Team CM settings; Improves AL lup; Player name conformity

– 1950 Improved Team CM settings; Player name conformity

– 1953 Improved Team CM settings; Player name conformity

– 1954 Improved Team CM settings; Player name conformity

– 1956 Improved Team CM settings; Player name conformity

– 1959 Improved Team CM settings; Adds 8 PHC; Player name conformity

– 1960 Improved Team CM settings

– 1963 Improved Team CM settings

– 1964 Improved Team CM settings

– 1965 Improved Team CM settings; Corrected AL lup file; Removed LF on LAN Parker

– 1966 Improved Team CM settings

– 1967 Improved Team CM settings

– 1968 Adds 13 PHC

– 1975 Improved Team CM settings

– 1978 Improved Team CM settings

– 1981 Improved Team CM settings; Player name conformity

– 1984 Improved Team CM settings; Player name conformity; Corrected PHN Koosman Run rating

– 1987 Improved Team CM settings; Player name conformity

– 1988 Improved Team CM settings; Player name conformity

– 1989 Improved Team CM settings; Player name conformity; Removed BAA Gagne

– 1995 – 1997 Moved pitchers from FA to team rosters; Improved trn

– 1999 Moved pitchers from FA to team rosters; Improved trn

– 2000 Moved pitchers from FA to team rosters; Improved trn

– 2002 – 2009 Moved pitchers from FA to team rosters; Improved trn

– 2010 Moved pitchers from FA to team rosters; Improved trn; Adds SFN Ford

– 2011 Debuts Multi-card AP set; Improved lup, trn, and schpit; Moved pitchers from FA to team rosters; Adds BOA Gathright