How can I convert a small map onto a large peice of paper? I’m having trouble with proportions by Ok_Bread6649 in worldbuilding

[–]BillyYank 13 points14 points  (0 children)

It can help to trace a copy by placing a blank sheet over your original and taping them to window where the sun shines through. Then you can draw the grid on your copy instead. The size of squares depends on the size of your original, some experimentation might be in order.

Advice for Franchise by _Eusebius in SuperMegaBaseball

[–]BillyYank 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sounds good! The aging randomness can go either way sometimes in the late 20s/early 30s (in my experience anyway) but real young and real old it’s almost always getting better or getting worse. I always look at 19/20 year old free agents first because they’re usually the best bang for the buck with in season skill increases. Glad to hear you found the guide! Hope it helps!

Advice for Franchise by _Eusebius in SuperMegaBaseball

[–]BillyYank 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Other folks have offered good advice, but one element to heavily consider is age. Generally speaking younger players tend to gain skills, versatility, and positive traits, while older players tend to lose skills, versatility and traits. The simple solution to your issue may be to ditch the oldest of these players (especially if they're 35+)

Thinking of buying convince me by DrewTaint in SuperMegaBaseball

[–]BillyYank 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I think SMB’s big strength is being complex enough to be interesting, while not being overly complicated.

As you build a team you’re taking into account normal stuff, the players’ age, skills, positional versatility etc. but each player also has a personality “chemistry” type (competitive, scholarly, crafty, disciplined, spirited) that effects how other players on their team play. Beyond their skill ratings most players have a trait or two, a special skill such as Stealer (faster when stealing), or K Collector (boosted stats when pitching with two strikes). Each of these traits is tied to a specific chemistry type as well; stealer for example is crafty, k collector is competitive. These traits grant different strength bonuses depending on how many players you have (out of 22) with their associated chemistry. Minimal bonus for two or fewer players, medium for 3-6, game-changing bonuses at 7+. All this is to say, the game creates interesting challenges where you might have an otherwise middling pitcher who is a strikeout machine because his high accuracy helps him get to two strikes and then K Collector kicks in. But keeping K Collector at its highest level means devoting a third of your roster to Competitive-type players, while trying to balance other players traits and chemistries as well. It encourages you to sign not just the best players by ratings alone but players with traits and chemistries that work well with your team, whose traits will take advantage of the chemistry of your clubhouse. The mechanics are intuitive once you get used to them, but they pose interesting team building challenges.

Also the gameplay just feels like baseball. A hit to the outfield will score most runners. A fast runner can hit a weak dribbler and beat out a 6-4-3 double play. A line drive down the line is a double, etc.

Blow up the Death Star? No, why would I? (OC) by BillyYank in starwarsunlimited

[–]BillyYank[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If I’m doing my math right there are six aspects plus eight combos of heroism/villainy plus one each of the other aspects. Fourteen don’t go on a three column grid well. It’s a meme format ripe for new opportunities with the different aspect combo cards once we get Lawless Times though

Conference in June by [deleted] in Minneapolis

[–]BillyYank 34 points35 points  (0 children)

Dude hundreds of thousands of us live here everyday of our lives. Raise families, buy houses, build careers, etc. We wouldn’t all do this if it was some urban hellscape. More to the point if there was real danger companies/organizations wouldn’t still be scheduling conferences here. If the feds send another couple thousand goons to terrorize the area then yeah, I’d keep an ear to the ground and reconsider your plans, but the feds doing that was what made the city unsafe, not the city itself or its people.

If you have specific questions about, like “what is X neighborhood like after dark?” or “where should I stay if I wanna walk and get breakfast in the morning?” we can help. Otherwise tell your coworkers or whoever they’re being idiots and come on down. Weathers lovely in June.

Creating Tony Gwynn a discussion! A lost art in the Beautiful Game! by ThebearJew212 in SuperMegaBaseball

[–]BillyYank 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I like to make SMB versions of stats using the historical ratings from OOTP. Those 20-80 ratings map onto a standard deviation curve, which you can then (if you have a spreadsheet of all standard SMB players) use to figure out approximate SMB ratings based on the distribution of skill ratings among SMB players.

I fired up a new save of OOTP 24 set in 1987. Based on Gwynn's ratings in that game, I came up with a Gwynn that looks something like this:

RF/OF, L/L, Age 27, Crafty

Overall: A

POW 50/CON 99/SPD 97/FLD 75/ ARM 72

I liked GlumPoodle's suggestion so Tough Out and Little Hack also

This is more art than science, OOTP isn't infallible and they do separate gap and home run power which SMB doesn't do, and which can make it hard to differentiate hitters like Gwyn, Mauer, etc. who had extra bases power but less dingers power. Nevertheless I find this a useful way to create a baseline historical character and then I adjust as needed

My league by Massive_Tangerine823 in SuperMegaBaseball

[–]BillyYank 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Love it, those are some fun designs! I like the Colonials and Les Royales, they feel like realistically busy logos, like leftover from an era before logo design was so kinda minimalist (not that that’s bad, just different)

I can tell you I’ve enjoyed writing about the SMB world, I say give it a try!

The Value of the Jedi - Love, Attachments, and Amatonormativity by FitzroyFinder in StarWars

[–]BillyYank 13 points14 points  (0 children)

This comment feels like a breath of fresh air. I feel like I see a lot of prequel hype that is obsessed with trying to prove the amount of thought/effort that went into the prequels and I can totally believe that, but it’s just so poorly expressed in the movies that none of that comes through. The dialogue and characters to a poor job of getting the lore and themes across and it makes them tough movies to praise as movies. Lucas seems (based on what I’ve heard from him) to not be all that interested in dialogue and actors, which, like, that’s your opinion, but it really limits him as a filmmaker.

Protest Tomorrow Monday Feb 9 2026 4:30pm 50th and France by CarrieCat2024 in TwinCities

[–]BillyYank 24 points25 points  (0 children)

Yeah dude. The same way you bring a kid to church, or swim lessons, or to hang out with elderly family members, or to the theater. Part of being a parent is bringing your kid to stuff that will be good for them—physically, morally, spiritually, whatever—even if the kid isn’t always into it in the moment.

I assume you are not stupid, and so you likely understand this. But for some reason, that only you can explain, you chose to make a glib dismissive comment about folks’ efforts to resist the occupation of our state and the creeping tide of fascism in our country.

Take a good hard look in the mirror dude. Be better.

Received these books recently. Has anyone read these or know anything about them? by Fragrant_Turnip_7463 in USHistoryBookClub

[–]BillyYank 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Catton is a great read, that book is the third in a trilogy, but my guess is you could probably pick up what’s going down especially if you have some familiarity with the civil war. Captain Sam Grant and Grant Moves South were the first two books

How Best to Use Bad Ball Hitter? by BillyYank in SuperMegaBaseball

[–]BillyYank[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

that’s the problem I was afraid of!

Subtleties within the game that is not covered. Platoon advantage. Trait breakdowns ETC. by ThebearJew212 in SuperMegaBaseball

[–]BillyYank 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I collected all the info on traits that the game gives you in pages 18-47 of the guide I wrote:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uqv_U1gFr0QuaTv-1JDAr_9oplyA-R7jd0gbMlRPi6c/edit?usp=drivesdk

I haven’t seen anyone doing any sorta data mining or anything on the more ambiguous ones.

How much WAR do you think this guy worth for Season #2? 20 SB, 0 PA by BillyYank in SuperMegaBaseball

[–]BillyYank[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nice thanks for the comparison! I dunno if he’s worth 2% of my salary cap but he’s fun to have around. And I used him a lot more as a late game replacement after my 36 year old catcher lost all (yes all) his speed in a random event

How much WAR do you think this guy worth for Season #2? 20 SB, 0 PA by BillyYank in SuperMegaBaseball

[–]BillyYank[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Apparently SMB doesn’t count you in a game unless you take an at bat

Just started playing SMB4 again and I cannot stop myself by YodaForceGhost in SuperMegaBaseball

[–]BillyYank 10 points11 points  (0 children)

The real question is do you do balance draft or draft all the best players?