During Thursday's Twitch feed, the MLB 15: The Show team showed off a revamped Diamond Dynasty mode. While there are a lot of things to be excited about with any new version of The Show, improvements to Diamond Dynasty (DD) mode are certainly an intriguing and welcome change.

If you haven't experienced DD before, it's The Show's version of EA's innovative Ultimate Team mode. The gist of these modes is to collect some kind of currency, spend it on packs of virtual cards, and build a competitive team. EA has mastered the art of making Ultimate Team addictive -- and squeezing you for a little extra cash after you've bought the main game.

I first played Ultimate Team way back in 2008, where it resided in UEFA 2006-2007. Initially I was captivated by the fantasy nature of the mode, and collecting cards reminded me of my childhood. In fact, it was shortly thereafter I wrote this article proposing such a mode in a baseball game.

The Show finally delivered that in 2012, but I was a little disappointed. It relied heavily on developing fictional players; MLB players often felt like a stopgap. Of The Show's three main modes, it was always the one I played the least. Generally, it was tedious and clunky. Thankfully, the development team at Sony San Diego seems to feel the same way. The changes touted during the Twitch feed certainly seem to address some of my issues with the mode.

First, they have gotten rid of contracts. This incessent need to manage how long players can play for you has been a staple of these modes from the beginning. At first, it was kind of neat, and provided another layer of decision making. But eventually, it seemed, collecting the contract extensions became more important than the players themselves. And, as the modes became more complex, this level of tedium was more annoying than interesting.

Now, when you get a player he's yours -- no expiration. I love that. I also like that MLB players are all that you will worry about. Enough with the fictional guys who grow into statistical monsters. This change also helps put the focus back on collecting.

Speaking of collecting, the universal rewards system should help alleviate the need to "grind," allowing you to earn currency by playing Road to the Show and Franchise. This works for me, as I spend most of my time there anyway. Ironically, the ability to collect stuff by playing those modes should increase my desire to play DD.

I also like that they haven't gotten rid of the creative aspect of the game entirely. Your homegrown star will reap the benefits of the equipment rewards and give you another reason to invest time into the mode. That said, I wish there was some connection to Road to the Show, even if it was a player import feature. I'd like to eliminate the need to re-recreate "myself" within one title.

Of course, with part of the DD focus being challenging other users, the mode's success partly relies on how stable The Show's online gameplay is. Online has been the franchise's Achille's heel; as online goes, so does Diamond Dynasty.

Time will tell if the changes to Diamond Dynasty will improve its longevity, or if, like the past few years, I abandon it by June. But, at least from the changes advertised, the 2015 version should be closer to the game I hoped it would be back in 2008.