Cal Ripken's Real Baseball
Encyclopedia
Cal Ripken's Real Baseball, also known as Real Baseball Online (RBO) or Ultimate Baseball Online (UBO), was the first free-to-play
baseball
based massively multiplayer
online sports game
(MMOSG). Operating from 2003 until 2008, the game was developed and published by Netamin Communication Corporation. The game was designed to allow 18 human-controlled players to compete simultaneously in virtual game, though the number was later reduced due to lag issues. Former Major League Baseball player Darrell Evans
served as the game's spokesperson/ambassador prior to Cal Ripken's endorsement of the game. After Real Baseball/UBO ceased operation in 2008, a fan-led open source project was attempted before Real Baseball's direct successor, Big League Online, was released for beta testing in early 2011.
served as the game's "Ambassador" for part of its history. After the release of Ultimate Baseball Online 2006 (known simply as UBO), the game had officially ended its Beta phase. Netamin announced a monthly subscription fee for UBO in September 2006, consisting of a $7.95 monthly fee for early adopters and a $9.95 monthly charge for new players. The subscription fee was met with negative reaction by players, prompting Netamin to create a new season and league system, while making the game free to play for those only participating in pickup baseball games.
The game still had its share of bugs and other issues, as explained in the download page on CNET.com the game was in beta testing and still free and would be improved over the next few months. Even though the game got a visual face lift problems still presisted. Players angry over the subsciption fees lashed out at what were known as "General Managers" or "GM's", people who worked for Netamin who overlooked games and tournaments online on the games message boards. Player reception to paid service led Netamin to try to find other ways to attract players and defray costs, eventually leading to in-game advertising
.
Netamin offered discounts to players who signed up for six months or one year subscriptions and gave away free months of subscriptions for winning in tournaments but nothing lured gamers to want to stay. Netamin then tried to offer new players a limited time free play where they could download and play the game for free, but once they reached a certain level were forced to pay to continue to play. This also failed, and Netamin was at a loss to gain subscriptions. With seasoned players leaving the game and new player not sticking around to pay for the game Netamin was forced to end subscription fees and once again offer the game to play for free. Netamin had a new idea, don't charge players to player the game but to have in game advertising from sponsors to help pay for the games costs.
Netamin then partnered with Hall of Fame baseball player Cal Ripken, Jr. to help promote the game, renaming UBO "Cal Ripken’s Real Baseball". The newly named game launched from Disney’s ESPN The Weekend on February 28, receiving over 10,000 downloads within the first 72 hours of availability. Cal Ripken’s Real Baseball enables gamers to compete in a Massively Multiplayer Online Sport Game (MMOSG), meaning each position on the field is manned by a human player in a 3-D virtual stadium, except the catcher position. Players can create their own characters and build their skill level (player stats) through successful play on the field against other real human players. Unlike current video games that aim to simulate professional sports, Real Baseball (RB) delivered a third-person perspective of a character, created and developed by the player, interacting online in real-time with teammates and opponents playing from numerous locations. “I am very pleased that Cal Ripken Jr. and Netamin have come together to create a fun, innovative, and technologically patented Baseball Game for fans worldwide to enjoy,” said Marc Beckman, founder and CEO of DMA
. “From a business POV, the match makes a lot of sense; Cal will provide the programmers with a certain level of authenticity that would not be achievable otherwise.”
and synchronization
issues, and games rarely ended with all their original participants. This prompted a later revision in the game where Netamin only allowed ten human players total between two competing teams. Game characters are based on a level of ranks for a specific range of levels, from 0-99, with 99 being the maximum level attained. The game-coded team names of Home and Away teams are used instead of the player created team names; therefore, players can play with each other in normal servers regardless of the team they belong. Servers are divided by players under level 10 and over level 11. Team play is only enforced however, as expected, in Team Tournaments and the UBO League. Game settings also allows the option day and night of three, six, and nine inning
games, with extra innings if necessary in two stadiums.
Batting power was supposed to be amplified through the addition of parameter points in body strength and stamina. Stamina was never implemented.
Real Baseball Online (RBO) hosted seasonal leagues that featured multiple teams of different levels playing against each other for the championship. Managed by Netamin and Game Masters, there were three league classes: MVP, All-Star, and Major. Current Leagues include a 10-game regular season for all participating teams, 3-game wildcard
playoffs, 4-game division finals, and a 5-game league championship
for eligible teams. Press Coverage and Awards are also presented during the league seasons written by the official RBO players who are better off writing than playing the game. Winners of RBO Leagues qualified for the Best of RBO competition, which never took place.
here
Free-to-play
Free-to-play refers to any video game that has the option of allowing its players to play without paying. The model was first popularly used in early massively multiplayer online games targeted towards casual gamers, before finding wider adoption among games released by major video game...
baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
based massively multiplayer
Massively multiplayer online game
A massively multiplayer online game is a multiplayer video game which is capable of supporting hundreds or thousands of players simultaneously. By necessity, they are played on the Internet, and usually feature at least one persistent world. They are, however, not necessarily games played on...
online sports game
Computer and video games
A video game is an electronic game that involves human interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. The word video in video game traditionally referred to a raster display device, but following popularization of the term "video game", it now implies any type of...
(MMOSG). Operating from 2003 until 2008, the game was developed and published by Netamin Communication Corporation. The game was designed to allow 18 human-controlled players to compete simultaneously in virtual game, though the number was later reduced due to lag issues. Former Major League Baseball player Darrell Evans
Darrell Evans
Darrell Wayne Evans is a former third baseman and first baseman in Major League Baseball who played from 1969 to 1989 with the Atlanta Braves , San Francisco Giants and Detroit Tigers . He is also the former manager and director of player personnel for the Victoria Seals of the Golden Baseball...
served as the game's spokesperson/ambassador prior to Cal Ripken's endorsement of the game. After Real Baseball/UBO ceased operation in 2008, a fan-led open source project was attempted before Real Baseball's direct successor, Big League Online, was released for beta testing in early 2011.
Development and history
Netamin Communication Corporation was the developer behind Real Baseball Online (RBO), with the company having been founded in 1999. Netamin became the world's first company to develop the technology to build a Massively Multiplayer Online Sports Game (MMSOG), led by its found and CEO, Andy Wang. Early in its development the game was associated with ESPN, with alpha testing having finished by March 30, 2003. Former Major League Baseball player Darrell EvansDarrell Evans
Darrell Wayne Evans is a former third baseman and first baseman in Major League Baseball who played from 1969 to 1989 with the Atlanta Braves , San Francisco Giants and Detroit Tigers . He is also the former manager and director of player personnel for the Victoria Seals of the Golden Baseball...
served as the game's "Ambassador" for part of its history. After the release of Ultimate Baseball Online 2006 (known simply as UBO), the game had officially ended its Beta phase. Netamin announced a monthly subscription fee for UBO in September 2006, consisting of a $7.95 monthly fee for early adopters and a $9.95 monthly charge for new players. The subscription fee was met with negative reaction by players, prompting Netamin to create a new season and league system, while making the game free to play for those only participating in pickup baseball games.
The game still had its share of bugs and other issues, as explained in the download page on CNET.com the game was in beta testing and still free and would be improved over the next few months. Even though the game got a visual face lift problems still presisted. Players angry over the subsciption fees lashed out at what were known as "General Managers" or "GM's", people who worked for Netamin who overlooked games and tournaments online on the games message boards. Player reception to paid service led Netamin to try to find other ways to attract players and defray costs, eventually leading to in-game advertising
In-game advertising
In-game advertising refers to advertising in computer and video games. IGA differs from advergaming, which refers to a game specifically made to advertise a product.The IGA industry is large and growing...
.
Netamin offered discounts to players who signed up for six months or one year subscriptions and gave away free months of subscriptions for winning in tournaments but nothing lured gamers to want to stay. Netamin then tried to offer new players a limited time free play where they could download and play the game for free, but once they reached a certain level were forced to pay to continue to play. This also failed, and Netamin was at a loss to gain subscriptions. With seasoned players leaving the game and new player not sticking around to pay for the game Netamin was forced to end subscription fees and once again offer the game to play for free. Netamin had a new idea, don't charge players to player the game but to have in game advertising from sponsors to help pay for the games costs.
Netamin then partnered with Hall of Fame baseball player Cal Ripken, Jr. to help promote the game, renaming UBO "Cal Ripken’s Real Baseball". The newly named game launched from Disney’s ESPN The Weekend on February 28, receiving over 10,000 downloads within the first 72 hours of availability. Cal Ripken’s Real Baseball enables gamers to compete in a Massively Multiplayer Online Sport Game (MMOSG), meaning each position on the field is manned by a human player in a 3-D virtual stadium, except the catcher position. Players can create their own characters and build their skill level (player stats) through successful play on the field against other real human players. Unlike current video games that aim to simulate professional sports, Real Baseball (RB) delivered a third-person perspective of a character, created and developed by the player, interacting online in real-time with teammates and opponents playing from numerous locations. “I am very pleased that Cal Ripken Jr. and Netamin have come together to create a fun, innovative, and technologically patented Baseball Game for fans worldwide to enjoy,” said Marc Beckman, founder and CEO of DMA
Designers Management Agency
Designers Management Agency is the first talent representation agency to provide new business development services to designers and brands within the luxury sector...
. “From a business POV, the match makes a lot of sense; Cal will provide the programmers with a certain level of authenticity that would not be achievable otherwise.”
Gameplay
Real Baseball was a massively multiplayer online sports game capable of fielding up to 18 players a game, occupying all active positions in the game of baseball. However, players often refuse to field 18 due to lagLag
Lag is a common word meaning to fail to keep up or to fall behind. In real-time applications, the term is used when the application fails to respond in a timely fashion to inputs...
and synchronization
Synchronization
Synchronization is timekeeping which requires the coordination of events to operate a system in unison. The familiar conductor of an orchestra serves to keep the orchestra in time....
issues, and games rarely ended with all their original participants. This prompted a later revision in the game where Netamin only allowed ten human players total between two competing teams. Game characters are based on a level of ranks for a specific range of levels, from 0-99, with 99 being the maximum level attained. The game-coded team names of Home and Away teams are used instead of the player created team names; therefore, players can play with each other in normal servers regardless of the team they belong. Servers are divided by players under level 10 and over level 11. Team play is only enforced however, as expected, in Team Tournaments and the UBO League. Game settings also allows the option day and night of three, six, and nine inning
Inning
Inning is a municipality in the district of Erding in Bavaria in Germany....
games, with extra innings if necessary in two stadiums.
Batting power was supposed to be amplified through the addition of parameter points in body strength and stamina. Stamina was never implemented.
RBO League
Real Baseball Online (RBO) hosted seasonal leagues that featured multiple teams of different levels playing against each other for the championship. Managed by Netamin and Game Masters, there were three league classes: MVP, All-Star, and Major. Current Leagues include a 10-game regular season for all participating teams, 3-game wildcard
Wild card (sports)
The term wild card refers broadly to a tournament or playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal play.-International sports:...
playoffs, 4-game division finals, and a 5-game league championship
Championship
Championship is a term used in sport to refer to various forms of competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.- Title match system :...
for eligible teams. Press Coverage and Awards are also presented during the league seasons written by the official RBO players who are better off writing than playing the game. Winners of RBO Leagues qualified for the Best of RBO competition, which never took place.
RBO Promotions
Hats, shirts, pens, keychains, and Darrell Evans autographed baseballs were given away as prizes for entering tournaments. Pay to play tournaments were added to fund prizes for the teams who entered. In-game advertisements were later added to fund future prizes such as "The Best of UBO" tournament that never happened. Players were also able to purchase higher leveled characters in the game. Past prizes included iPods, PSP's, Tickle Me Elmo dolls, Domino's Pizza, Michael J. Fox Bobbleheads, Giftcards, and level upgrades.Reception
The game received a variety of press coverage, and some differing opinions about the game. Specifically for UBO 2006, GameShark rated it a "B-", while Operation Sports rated the game an "8". Additional reviews and press coverage included:Shutdown and baseball MMOSG future
Real Baseball Online became inaccessible to play in October 2008. The main webpage of Real Baseball posted a statement saying, "The service for Cal Ripken's Real Baseball is currently halted until further notice. We apologize for any inconvenience." Not long after, Netamin's own corporate webpage ceased to exist, cementing the demise of the game. A fan-initiated open-source project titled Multiplayer Baseball Online was in active development from about early 2009 until mid-2010, when the project was halted. Sometime during 2010 a new company carried over the previous Real Baseball game into a new endeavor called Big League Online. Big League Online is currently in the beta testing phase, and new members can sign up for free.here