Last year, I was very excited to play the new version because the developers had done the hard work of adding the complete history of the Negro Leagues to the game. That was a year after they had added complete historical minor league rosters dating back to 1919. With all of that added detail behind them, this year apparently the focus was on improving gameplay. And they succeeded.

My usual focus when I play OOTP is to serve as general manager. The game allows you to play as GM, or manager, or both (or play in commissioner mode, but it’s more fun to me to control one team). That is the main reason I enjoy the game so much—it is a mental challenge rather than a typical video game which emphasizes your reflexes. But I’ll be honest: I found managing games a little boring in previous versions of OOTP. Making the roster moves and simulating games to see the results meant time flew by in the game—a season could be played out in a few hours. But managing a game, even with the ability to see the result of each at-bat with just one button click, made things drag a bit.

But with the improved gameplay, managing a game is much more entertaining now. The biggest changes this year are much better 3D players and stadiums. This means you can watch miniature but lifelike figures run the bases, make diving catches, and even celebrate on the field after a win (no Salvy Splashes, though. Yet.). And you can watch these “players” do this in beautiful renderings of major-league stadiums. Here’s a shot of Kauffman Stadium:

This all adds a feeling of realism to the game, and makes playing through a game instead of simulating it more fun and intriguing, almost like watching a game. I think part of that is that the developers did a great job of getting the little details right. For example, a runner on a single will round first base before retreating, or a player might make a leaping catch at the wall, or the catcher and infielders will throw the ball around the horn after a strikeout. So it does feel a little bit like you’re seeing a game on TV.

Acting as a manager is also more appealing with the improved in-game manager screen. All the info you could need is right there for you, with several widgets that can show or hide even more info—stuff like weather conditions, out of town scores, defensive positioning, and even a graphic showing a Gameday-style pitch plot for the previous hitter. Speaking of defensive positioning, I don’t remember seeing this many options for infield and outfield shifts before. About all that is missing is pulling an outfielder in to be a fifth infielder.

There are plenty of improvements for the general manager types out there, as well. The in-game AI was improved, and so was the roster management and trade decision-making. Even better, the scouting reports have been revamped and improved to add more detail. For example, here are the reports (which seem pretty accurate to me for Mike Moustakas and prospect Richard Lovelady:

There are a host of other improvements to the overall game experience, too; I’m a big enough nerd to appreciate the ability to change the fonts, but stuff like user voting for year-end awards, tournament modes, and 800 custom team logos for fictional leagues ought to excite just about everyone who is interested in creating their own league or taking over a current or historical team. If you’ve ever wondered if you could do a better job than a general manager or manager, OOTP is the game for you.

This alternate history is brought to you by the newest version of Out of the Park Baseball (OOTP), a text-based simulation game. Just like last year, I was given the opportunity to try out a copy of the game (which last year received Metacritic’s 2016 PC Game of the Year award). And just like last year, and every year since I was introduced to the OOTP world, I am impressed by not just the gameplay, but the various upgrades from the previous version.

I always enjoy OOTP, mostly because it’s a thinking game, and not dependent on reflexes like a video game might be. Rather than play as an actual (well, virtual) player, in OOTP you can be the general manager or manager (or both) of a current or historical major or minor league team. Or you can set up a league on your own and be commissioner if you just want to see how the whole thing plays out.

My usual method of checking out OOTP’s new features each year is to take over the expansion Royals and see how soon I can get them to the playoffs. But this time, I tried something different, as mentioned above. That’s because, just a year after OOTP added accurate historical minor league rosters dating back to 1919, they have partnered with the fine folks at seamheads.com to introduce accurate Negro Leagues rosters in this edition of the game.

For a historical buff like me, OOTP has long been a great way to explore baseball’s past. Adding in Negro League players makes a great game even more awesome, and perhaps even educational. At last, great players like Josh Gibson and Cool Papa Bell can get their shot at the majors. And I would be lying if it didn’t give me a little thrill to see Buck O’Neil on a major league roster. I think any Kansas City baseball fan can appreciate that.

Of course, that very welcome addition to the game is not the only improvement from last year’s version. The 3D mode (available for games you are managing or simply want to watch) is upgraded, allowing users to save highlights and watch them later. It also looks better, with more detail and improved on-field player pawns.

Also, for those of us who like to play as a general manager, OOTP has improved our ability to track team chemistry. This is a very nice development. Now teams have a special screen dedicated to this important part of the game—you can see who likes the manager and who might wish he’d get canned soon. You can also see which players fit into several new categories—some players might be called sparkplugs, while others might get the prankster label, and some get the dreaded selfish or unmotivated tags.

Other improvements include a new system for detailing injuries—some may be listed as day-to-day, or minor, but affecting some aspect of a player’s ability. From there, it’s up to you if they belong on the disabled list or if you’ll take your chances on them not getting a more serious injury.

OOTP has also added some real-life touches, such as the Arizona Fall League and tournament setups like the World Baseball Classic and the Olympics, or the ability to create custom tournaments with modern or historical teams. There is even an option to set up a relegation league, for those of you who find that appealing in English soccer (raises hand).

And of course the option for online play is still there; in fact, OOTP also introduced Challenge Mode this year, where players can compare accomplishments via online profiles and leaderboards. The game has always supported leagues that play online, but this is perhaps the first step in improving the game’s online experience for all players.

As always, OOTP has produced an enjoyable, highly addictive game. Whether you want to run a historic team, take over a current team and see what their future looks like, or just make up your own league, you can do it with OOTP.

I’d love to tell you that the signings I made catapulted the Cubs to the World Series, but I can’t. At least not yet. Chicago reached the All-Star Break at 37-43. However, both Gibson and Brown will be starters in the All-Star Game. It’s unfortunate that in real life these men never got the chance to do so, but at least in this alternate history they can. And that’s what makes OOTP so enjoyable.

To be specific, this game is OOTP 17, and as always, it is a heck of lot of fun.

If you’re not familiar with OOTP, it is a text-based simulation game. That means that rather than controlling a joystick, you have to use your mind. It’s not a test of reflexes, it’s a test of mental ability. To me, that’s a lot more fun than your average video game. OOTP is fully customizable, meaning you can immerse yourself in every conceivable detail of a game. Want to manage your team pitch-by-pitch for 162 games? You can. Do you prefer to put your team together, cross your fingers, and hope they play well (this is my usual method)? You can do that, too. Prefer something in the middle? That’s OK, too.

The thing about OOTP is that each version has been an excellent game, and every year I wonder how the OOTP team will top themselves. I don’t envy them this task; by now, my expectations for them rival what Yankees fans must have felt about their team in the 1950s.

This year, the OOTP team topped themselves by adding accurate historical minor leagues from 1919 through 2015. So if you start a historical season (my favorite way to play), your team will have their correct minor league affiliates for that year, filled with real players. Better yet, those players will have their actual stats with them, thanks to a new database of more than 150,000 minor league players. Then, those minor leagues change the way they did in real life, with affiliations switching just as they did in history.

Another nice addition for us history buffs is the ability to play a historical exhibition, whether a game or a series, between teams from different seasons. So if you want to check out whether the 1985 or 2015 Royals are the best team in franchise history, this is as good an opportunity as you will ever get.

If starting in the present and going forward is more your speed, you will be pleased with the ability to add independent minor leagues and several international leagues (including Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Mexico, Cuba, Italy, Australia, and The Netherlands), all with accurate rosters, biographical info, and ratings.

Ah, the ratings. Here I must point out that after years of having Baseball Prospectus provide player ratings and projections, OOTP has switched to the ZiPS projection system for current major leaguers and a very healthy chunk of the current minor league players. I suppose we can debate the merits of ZiPS and PECOTA some other time (since you’re probably a Royals fan, I expect you have a few things to say about PECOTA), but it’s something to be aware of.

As an added bonus for folks who like to play with current players, OOTP has added an official MLBPA license, allowing the game to use FaceGen likenesses of current major leaguers. No more searching through user-created modifications to add player photos (unless you want to!). As a testament to OOTP’s desire to get things right, one of the first free updates for the game this year involved making those FaceGen images better. For example, here is how Salvador Perez looks:

And here’s Lorenzo Cain:

But they still have some work to do on this, I think. Here’s Eric Hosmer:

I mean, it sort of looks like him. I guess. If you squint.

Anyway, that’s a minor quibble, and it’s easily overlooked when you consider the many additions the OOTP team made to this game. From small but pleasing touches to auto-generated game recaps and WPA graphs in the box scores, to big and welcome changes such as improved AI and varied approaches to roster building from your competitor GMs, the developers have improved an already amazing product.

And I didn’t even mention the improved 3D graphics. Since introducing 3D graphics for in-game viewing two years ago, OOTP has steadily improved them. Now they include better stadium models and player symbols that move with the action. Here are the Royals turning a double play:

Finally, another change you can enjoy whether you prefer historical, current, or completely made-up scenarios is the move to multi-core processor support. This means simulations go much faster, and after running through a season on my preview copy of the game, I can confirm that.

Once again, the OOTP team has outdone their previous effort. It’s pretty amazing, really, and I look forward to seeing what they come up with next year. In the meantime, OOTP 17 will be an excellent way to pass the time (especially if your favorite team has two straight off-days!).

“Out of the Park Baseball 17″ is available on PC, Mac, and Linux platforms. You can also purchase it through Steam. Find your version on the Out of the Park Developments website. A download code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of review. Also, a mobile version (iOS and Android) is now available under the name MLB Manager 2016.