Hi everyone, my name is Mark Little and I am the Senior Producer for MLB 2K10. I just spent the last hour reading through the comments posted on OS about our recently released gameplay video (http://www.facebook.com/MLB2K/). I'm sure there will be lots of questions coming for next week, and I'll do my best to answer as many as possible. Just so you know, we do watch and listen to what is being discussed on the OS forums.
Is the PS3 version on par with the 360 version this year visually? Is the game locked at 60 FPS and are the jaggies addressed with anti-aliasing?
Mark Little: We made big improvements to the visual quality on the PS3 (and 360 for that matter). We definitely reduced the jaggies and sizzle in the game, but we didn't stop there. We also improved many other areas like players, lighting and overall color balance.
To be completely honest, the 360 and PS3 do look a little different (color, brightness, contrast) but that is a result of the difference between the consoles. It is like the difference you see when you look at all the TVs in an electronics store. Overall, the quality of the PS3 visuals are on par with the 360.
Frame rate on the PS3 runs at a smooth 60 FPS, there should be no concerns here.
During what different times of day can you start a game?
Mark Little: There are three times of day to select as the start time for your games: Day, Afternoon and Night. We wanted to ensure you get the experience of playing baseball under the hot noon sun all the way through the day until you are playing under the lights. Once you start your game time advances with each inning, so Afternoon games will start in warm sunshine and end under the lights.
We also ensured that all the stadiums are properly oriented so that the sun crosses through the sky in the correct direction and casts shadows in the correct direction.
Has the online frame rate and lag been improved?
Mark Little: With all the improvements we made to the game this year we also focused on ensuring that frame rate is solid. The result is better online frame rate and reduced lag. Games will play out much smoother online this year.
Within the new My Player feature will we be getting different camera angles for each position, or will we just get the regular camera angles?
Mark Little: As you may have read in the My Player Developer Insight written by fellow producer Mike Del Santo (http://community.2ksports.com/commun...d=1393155&l=12, Part II is here), we created a new player-perspective camera for My Player. This camera adjusts to the play situation to provide you with the best experience of making the play with your player. So as an outfielder trying to catch a towering fly ball the camera is different than when fielding a grounder as the shortstop. The player-perspective camera puts you right into the action.
Have you guys kept in the ability to edit the camera while pitching and batting this year? In other words, is it similar to the system in last year's title? You guys seemed to be on the cutting edge of this type of ability, and I'm wondering if you chose to stick with it.
Mark Little: Absolutely. You still have the ability to select between multiple batting and pitching cameras and then fine adjust your favorite into what suits your needs. As you may have read in the Developer Insights (http://community.2ksports.com/commun...d=1326197&l=12), we spent quite a bit of time working on new batting and pitching cameras to improve the play experience.
After reading through comments posted on OS about the recent gameplay video that was released, I know that many are skeptical or non-believers about the new cameras and that is OK. Give the new cameras a try for a bit, it is definitely a big change but many really like the new cameras after playing a few games. If the new cameras are not to your liking then pick from the other cameras and adjust them to your liking.