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The Best New Feature Announced in MLB 15 The Show is...? (Roundtable)
 
There has been a slow trickle of information coming out of the SCEA camp when it comes to MLB 15 The Show. We've learned, for example, that the game will have a major graphical improvement along with a new radio show. There will also be licensed equipment and what Sony is calling the Human IK engine.
 
What has you most excited for MLB 15 The Show?
 
 
Phil Varckette: This has to be the new Human IK Engine. Anytime animations are redone to look more realistic and behave more human-like is a good thing. I'm really excited to see the new engine in motion. The Show has been lacking any real innovation for years. I feel like if something isn't done with this game, it will start to suffer the wrath of OS. Last year was the first time I can remember a large contingent of unhappy OSers. Some, including me, felt it over-promised and under-delivered.

Jayson Young: I am most excited for MLB 15: The Show's "major graphical improvements," assuming that those improvements include running at 60 frames per second, in every MLB stadium, from the opening pitch to the final out, without any dropped frames.

The frequent stuttering in MLB 14: The Show would often throw off my timing while fielding and batting, plus it made most of the cinematic cutaway shots look choppy and ugly. I am even willing to sacrifice less detailed and/or less varied crowds if that would result in a smooth frame rate this season.

Robert Kollars: I am excited by a lot of what has been announced so far. The new emotion and lighting engines sound great, but the overhauled franchise experience is what has me most intrigued. The Show does a fantastic job already in this mode, but there is room for improvement, and I can't wait to hear how deep it actually goes.

With Just over two months left before retail release, it should be a lot of fun for fans of the series, as new information will start to come out consistently.

Ben Vollmer: It is hard not to be excited about a commentary overhaul. Despite the game's careful attention to detail, the commentary has always felt generic and dull compared to everything else. If The Show gives half as much attention to the commentary as it does the rest of its presentation (stadiums, audio, ect.), then we are in really good shape.

I am also intrigued with the idea of a fresh franchise mode. Even though the mode has always felt steady and almost uniquely functional amongst the sports game genre, it didn't have that extra something that would keep me hooked on the same franchise for years. The possibility of having a similar mode to NBA 2K's "MyLeague" is really exciting for me, as someone who loves to customize their experience.

Caley Roark Both the Human IK Engine and the overhauled franchise are the improvements I'm looking forward too.

MLB 14: The Show's franchise isn't bad, but it's neither tremendously deep or strategic. It's pretty much contains all of the features you'd expect, wrapped in a less than exciting package. Compared to the management modes in Madden and NBA 2K15, The Show's franchise mode can feel a bit dry.

As for the Human IK Engine, it's seems like another small but important step in making The Show feel truly next-gen. Similar to the real camera angles, the real-time cut scenes, and last year's lighting, this addition looks to be a major visual upgrade.

Matthew Coe: The improvement I'm most looking forward to is overhauled commentary. When it's bad ... it's really bad. It can be an instant immersion killer, a major no-no in modern sports games. Better commentary, along with a hopefully louder, more emotional crowd, will go a long way towards putting MLB 15: The Show back at the top of my most wanted list.

Which feature are you most excited about, OSers?

MLB 15 The Show Videos
Member Comments
# 21 BA2929 @ 01/27/15 03:49 PM
For me, it's directional hitting.

At least, if it's what I think it is. Which would be exactly what the MVP series had. They haven't really expanded on it yet that I've seen.
 
# 22 dorian813 @ 01/27/15 05:06 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by HypoLuxa13
I'm in the same situation as you, except it is more like 90% of the reason I bought a PS3 and 90% of the reason I just bought a PS4 at Christmas time. So even though I didn't play MLB 14 on PS4, I'm expecting a lot out of it for MLB 15. Hopefully the changes and improvements they've revealed so far pay off.
If I was being honest with myself, the Show is probably about 90% of the reason I got a PS3 as well.
 
# 23 garyjr33 @ 01/27/15 05:14 PM
I want the franchise mode improvements since that is the mode I play the most.
 
# 24 @legendm0de @ 01/27/15 05:52 PM
How much of an advancement they have made with the new HumanIK engine might be the most important.
 
# 25 Herschie @ 01/27/15 06:02 PM
And here you got me all excited that we had some actual news about this game!
 
# 26 Ghost Of The Year @ 01/27/15 06:47 PM
Carry over saves, as technically Show 15 will be the first time we have any practical application for it.
 
# 27 garyjr33 @ 01/27/15 08:40 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ghost Of The Year
Carry over saves, as technically Show 15 will be the first time we have any practical application for it.
I am really looking forward to this as well. They need to incorporate this into all sports games. It is a game changer.
 
# 28 ARMORALLL @ 01/27/15 08:40 PM
To finally be able to play a game under a closed roof in April... Oh wait!

But honestly I thought we might have some more info to go on at this point. That has me feeling skeptical now.
 
# 29 Bobhead @ 01/28/15 12:31 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Introvese
i dont get why the Show team is so secretive all the time. u guys are the only game in town. hell COD & *** Creed have other games announced weeks after release lol


i just want info dang it lol
Because those dev teams were probably working on those new games the entire time leading up to it., When games are selling millions and millions of copies you have the luxury of assembling multiple dev teams to simultaneously work on a bunch of different things within the same franchise. So one team works on Black Flag and another team is already working on whatever the next Creed game is after Black Flag. Maybe you even have a third team brainstorming for the THIRD game beyond those two.

Since MLB The Show does not have that pull, SCEA cannot afford that kind of manpower.
 
# 30 Sco291 @ 01/29/15 01:13 PM
God how I miss scheduling promotions and setting ticket prices/tv contracts. I think the devs may possibly underestimate how much depth that kind of thing can bring to a game like baseball. Wish they never got rid of it!!
 
# 31 KeanuReevesRules @ 02/03/15 03:44 PM
I agree with many of you that are saying the Radio Show is the best new feature, but if that is the best.... IDK... Seems disappointing to me.

I actually traded my MLB 14 in towards Madden when GameStop had a promotion going that got me $40 for The Show because I thought I would be getting MLB 15 at launch.

With what seems like a rather minimal list of real improvements, I might actually just re-purchase 14 and play some Franchise Mode and take my time with it until MLB 15 comes down in price in mid-Summer as always.
 
# 32 countryboy @ 02/03/15 04:05 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by KeanuReevesRules
I agree with many of you that are saying the Radio Show is the best new feature, but if that is the best.... IDK... Seems disappointing to me.

I actually traded my MLB 14 in towards Madden when GameStop had a promotion going that got me $40 for The Show because I thought I would be getting MLB 15 at launch.

With what seems like a rather minimal list of real improvements, I might actually just re-purchase 14 and play some Franchise Mode and take my time with it until MLB 15 comes down in price in mid-Summer as always.
did we read the same Fact Sheet?
 
# 33 bronxbombers21325 @ 02/03/15 04:37 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sco291
God how I miss scheduling promotions and setting ticket prices/tv contracts. I think the devs may possibly underestimate how much depth that kind of thing can bring to a game like baseball. Wish they never got rid of it!!
I miss setting promotional dates. Promotional dates are such a big part of baseball where there are so many games. I'd love to see that back. I'd like to have the ability to set ticket and food prices back as well. I would go in after every home game and check out how much I had made from each item.
 
# 34 Bobhead @ 02/03/15 10:46 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by KeanuReevesRules
I agree with many of you that are saying the Radio Show is the best new feature, but if that is the best.... IDK... Seems disappointing to me.

I actually traded my MLB 14 in towards Madden when GameStop had a promotion going that got me $40 for The Show because I thought I would be getting MLB 15 at launch.

With what seems like a rather minimal list of real improvements, I might actually just re-purchase 14 and play some Franchise Mode and take my time with it until MLB 15 comes down in price in mid-Summer as always.
Quote:
Originally Posted by countryboy
did we read the same Fact Sheet?
He must be caught in the matrix........
 
# 35 ShowTyme15 @ 02/03/15 11:03 PM
He
Quote:
Originally Posted by KeanuReevesRules
I agree with many of you that are saying the Radio Show is the best new feature, but if that is the best.... IDK... Seems disappointing to me.

I actually traded my MLB 14 in towards Madden when GameStop had a promotion going that got me $40 for The Show because I thought I would be getting MLB 15 at launch.

With what seems like a rather minimal list of real improvements, I might actually just re-purchase 14 and play some Franchise Mode and take my time with it until MLB 15 comes down in price in mid-Summer as always.
Whatever you say Special Agent Utah.
 
# 36 hitstreak13 @ 02/03/15 11:54 PM
Honestly, one of the biggest feature that I am interested in is the player progression system. This would allow guys who are on a tear to be traded while their value is high. I wonder if this is similar to the 2k system where a player who was, say an 80 overall, would tear it up for 4 week and increase to 88. I was able to land a better prospect from a contender because they were in need of my SS who was hitting like .363 over the month long stretch with many clutch hits. You could feel the momentum of those who were on a such a streak.




Very exciting.
 
# 37 RicoLaguno @ 02/03/15 11:59 PM
I would like them to announce a Stadium Editor Feature.....of all the sports games, Baseball would benefit the most with the ability to build your own ballpark because the field dimensions and walls could actually play a factor in the outcomes and dynamics of a game.

I think Earl Weaver baseball years ago on the Amiga had a very rudimentary baseball park editor but it was awesome because you could change the dimensions of the park and height of the walls which really had an amazing impact on the batted balls

I would love to see this in MLB
 
# 38 geisterhome @ 02/04/15 06:06 AM
Still not sure if I'll get this game but I have to say that The Show 14 has become unplayable for me at this point.
 
# 39 HustlinOwl @ 02/04/15 11:13 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by geisterhome
Still not sure if I'll get this game but I have to say that The Show 14 has become unplayable for me at this point.
LMAO, I swear some of these members are never satisfied with what we have here in this Dev team

http://www.operationsports.com/forum...&postcount=958

Quote:
Originally Posted by geisterhome
Played The Show again after a couple of months and I gotta say despite all the minor issues bugging it, it's still a great game to play and gameplaywise the sports game that is closest to the real thing.
 
# 40 KeanuReevesRules @ 02/04/15 03:52 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by ShowTyme15
He
Whatever you say Special Agent Utah.
  • Licensed Equipment - This doesn't matter to me at all. I don't spend my time looking at East Bay catalogs like I did in middle school during the mid-90s.
  • Year-to-Year Saves - This is one thing I am happy about and it gives me good reason to wait until MLB 15 comes down in price.
  • Universal Rewards - Meh...
  • Legends - This doesn't do much for me as I don't play Ultimate Team/Diamond Dynasty type games... also, I always disable Legends in order to keep my Franchise Mode sim.
  • Major Graphical Improvements - This is expected annually... Yes, it is nice - but not a 'feature'.
 


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