Alright Boyz!! Here we go, MLB 2k7 impressions.. - Page 4

Mike1409 · 04-06-2007, 07:34 AM

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/778/778472p1.html

So this year was a do over, and next year will be the greatest.

Does this mean we will get a do over with our purchase price?

Mizzou B-ball fan · 04-06-2007, 07:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike1409

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/778/778472p1.html

So this year was a do over, and next year will be the greatest.

Does this mean we will get a do over with our purchase price?

Any chance you can post that text?

As Bill Harris has mentioned, he's not buying any sports games anymore without renting them first.

Mike1409 · 04-06-2007, 07:52 AM

Here is the article.

MLB 2K7 Postmortem
We look ahead to MLB 2K8 and get a peek at The Bigs with the game's producer.
by Jeff Haynes

April 4, 2007 - In late February, Kush Games and 2K Sports released the latest chapter in their baseball franchise, MLB 2K7. While the title managed to fix a large number of problems from last year's title, it featured a number of visual glitches, baserunning and fielding issues, as well as other problems that turned up to replace them. Earlier this week, 2K Sports held a wrap up session with Ben Brinkman, the producer of MLB 2K7 and a select group of journalists. The reason for the gathering was simple -- Brinkman wanted to go over the good and bad points of this year's title, as well as discuss what his development team hopes to achieve with MLB 2K8.

Brinkman started the session by going over the reasons why 2K7 was essentially designed as a "do-over" title. As fans know, 2K7 adjusted just about every aspect of gameplay in response to 2K6's lackluster performance. This massive facelift to the game was done in place of significant new features for a key reason, as Brinkman stated. "MLB 2K7 was the first step in a long process of reinventing the 2K Sports baseball brand and the MLB franchise. 2K7 was year one of that, and a lot of that was just getting back onto stable ground -- getting back with the people who play our game and putting something out there that they're happy with, they have a blast playing and that they can play for an extended period of time. I think we delivered upon that, especially given the short timeline with which we had to create that game."

MLB 2K7 looked great this year, but had some gameplay issues.

However, Brinkman was adamant about not wanting to rest on these laurels for recovering the franchise. "The game we're working on right now, MLB 2K8 -- we've got a boatload of things that we want to do. Just regaining credibility and stable footing is not good enough. Our goal now, and it's a lofty goal, is to make the best sports sim out there. We're going to do everything we can to reach that goal. Everything we do we have to look and say, 'Is this something that will contribute to the best sports sim out there?' It's a good process and it's forcing us to be really smart about what we're doing and make good decisions. That said, I'm really excited about the future of this franchise."

The floor was then turned over to the journalists, who were asked to list their top three issues with MLB 2K7, as well as what their thoughts on how to make next year's title much better. One of the first problems raised was the fielding issues that still plagued 2K7. Last year's Pure Motion Physics system made getting jumps on a pop fly extremely difficult because of the fielding animations and slow response time on making cuts for the ball. This year was better, but user controlled players would take headers into the wall instead of climbing them to deny runs -- an ability that the computer would constantly do to rob players of homers time and time again. Brinkman agreed with these criticisms, stating quite bluntly, "I personally think that whole fielding system sucks."

Fielding could be somewhat hit or miss.

It was suggested that next year's game feature an improved focus on the fielding mechanics, especially because it isn't as tight as the pitching or batting system. In particular, the new focus needed to cover everything from basic catches to more acrobatic moves like jumping catches and dives. What's more, these defensive maneuvers should be available without being prompted to flick the right analog stick at specific moments to trigger a canned animation, which took away from the realism of the play. Brinkman agreed with what was stated, indicating that he and his development team would be heading into the motion capture studio later in the week with the mechanics of catching the ball in mind. "Basically, the issue with catching a batted ball is that you need to have so many different situations taken into account because you not only want to allow for the user to do things that aren't predictable but make it look good when they're doing it. That was one of our decisions that we made last year, and a lot of the problems that you're describing are a direct result of not having enough catches captured to solve these problems. As a result, we had to take some control away from the user, which I'm vehemently against, and that's something that we're going to remedy next year."
Brinkman indicated that the way they're planning on fixing the catching issues is by capturing a massive number of catches from various positions which will alleviate canned animations and make players look much more fluid in the infield and outfield. In particular, they're working on restoring all of the control that was wrested away from users in this year's game without constantly using a right stick indicator on screen to tell someone when they need to jump and when they need to dive. In fact, Brinkman doesn't like having the icon pop up, but accepts it as a necessary evil to help players along.

He did mention that elements of this system could be overhauled for 2K8, however, which he tied into the overall goal of next year's game. "We've got some cool ideas on how to make this work well with the game and make it not feel like you're playing a video game but make it feel like you're getting this information that's helping you become better at the game in a less overt way than just putting a right stick indicator on the screen. The overriding goal of the game for 2K8 is not only fielding but throwing as well: 'total control at all times.' We don't want it to ever feel like the CPU is taking over -- even when they're catching the ball and they're clearly taking over, we don't want it to feel that way."

The design team is focused on making MLB 2K8 both realistic and fun.

"We want it to be really fast and fluid and not hitchy like when you're in the fly ball circle. We want it make that more fluid and realistic. Everything that you just described are things that we're going to remedy in 2K8. Pitching's fun, batting's fun, but I want baserunning to be fun, I want fielding to be fun, I want fricking sitting through action replays to be fun. I want the whole game to be fun, not just pockets of fun. I think everyone here is working towards that goal. We want the whole experience."

Moving away from the fielding problems, the session turned to the AI in the game, in particular the throwing intelligence where a computer player would throw a ball to the wrong teammate, thereby allowing a free base to be taken in almost any situation. In fact, players that were good enough with the advance and retreat commands could often fake out the computer. Brinkman specifically addressed this, mentioning that the team had analyzed the entire throwing AI system and have re-written a lot of the code for 2K8 to make the players much smarter and make better decisions on the field. "We've added logic to the game where a baseman will hold the ball, make smarter decisions and wait longer before he makes a throw decision. This will not only make the player look more intelligent but it will also eliminate "user tricks," like running forward, returning to a base and then going to the next base by tricking the AI. The AI throwing system will be much more robust in 2K8, for sure."

The throwing AI is being completely overhauled.

Another issue that was brought up was changing the presentational aspect of the game to highlight a lot of the big moments of a game. In 2K7, players got a replay of certain moments during a game, but it never carried the weight or import of a key double play or a home run that completely changes the momentum of the game. Brinkman made a specific point in highlighting how the team has made emphasizing these moments key to next year's game. "That is something that we're going to focus on the presentation side in 2K8 -- really paying off those big moments and making them feel really special. You just did something really cool and we're going to have a cool treatment to pay it off: some cool audio tied into it. If you hit that big home run in the 8th inning, we want to pay that off so you not only feel special doing it but it looks special on screen as well."

Making special moments isn't the sole focus of the presentation of 2K8; Brinkman also alluded to the fact that it was somewhat harder for players to gauge how their performance was during a game, which is something that the development team is planning on working on for the new title. "I think we didn't do a very good job this year of communicating to the user what they did right and wrong and we've got some new systems for 2K8 that we're going to implement, whether it's throwing, pitching, batting, where one of the focuses is going to be feeding back to the user whether they did something awesome or messed something up."
Since presentation was on the minds of everyone in attendance, criticism quickly turned to the announcing team of Jon Miller and Joe Morgan. While Steve Physioc and Jeanne Zelasko were praised for fresh dialogue and their presence during the loading screens before each game, Miller and Morgan were universally panned as having stale and canned information from game to game. Suggestions ranged from Physioc and Zelasko taking over duties in the booth to a new television style presence that possibly made the commentary much more natural. Brinkman agreed with these criticisms, indicating that a certain level of the dialogue issues were much more logistical than Kush would like.

"I think that there are certain areas where we're a little deficient on speech, and I think that's one of them. In a perfect world, Joe and Jon would work at Kush games, and we could just hit them up and say 'Hey guys, want to record this line today?' But part of the reality with those guys is because they are the top announcers in baseball, they're also very hard to get time with. So there are situations like that where we know that we need to add more content. Speaking of the intro, part of the reason why we went with Jeannie and Steve is because we couldn't get that extra time with Jon and Joe, because they'll sign up for X amount of days during the year and that's all we get. It's a double edged sword: You have them and they're awesome, but there's not a lot of them, or you go with someone else, who might not be as awesome but you have a lot of them. You've got to weigh your options. We love Jon and Joe, but there are a lot of negatives in working with them in that respect."

Stadium detail helped heighten 2K7's presentation, which will be carried over for next year.

The last complaints about MLB 2K7 revolved around the franchise mode. In particular, the lack of minor league teams made the franchise play feel somewhat shallow. Brinkman was quick to answer this, stating that there would be ninety minor league teams that would be playable in MLB 2K8. Additional comments relied around the lack of trade system logic, even though the trade finder made certain contracts easy to find and fill, and a weak economic system that was based solely on ticket sales. The level of depth of handling the front office felt particularly flimsy. Brinkman deflected some of that criticism with a personal observation about all-encompassing franchise features. He stated that he has never been a fan of owner modes in sports titles, mentioning that entire games can be built around the minutiae of managing an organization without actually playing the sport. He did elaborate on the new direction for next year's franchise mode, however.

"I think for MLB 2K8 our focus is going to go back to the General Manager and running the organization. With the introduction of the minor leagues, there's going to be a lot more gameplay, and we're coming up with cool ways of making it worthwhile to play these games as well, so they're not just there in the background for you to just call guys up and send them down. We want to encourage you to play the games." However, he did put a large emphasis on making sure that most of the concerns raised about the franchise mode would be addressed in 2K8.

Expect to manage major and minor league teams in 2K8's Franchise mode.

"We're not going to just pay it lip service. We're going to make it awesome. We want the whole core gameplay experience to be there so that people want to play not only the 162 game season of their major league team, but the season of their minor league teams. Obviously, that's farfetched, but we want people to feel like that, and we are going to focus more on the GM aspects of the game. The owner mode wasn't 100% in 2K7."

Toward the end of the session, Brinkman gave his final thoughts about where he and his team want the direction of the MLB 2K franchise to go. "Our philosophy around here is to make the best sports simulation on the market. When this game leaves the building next year and hits store shelves, we want to feel like we did everything we could. The game is polished, it plays great, it's got depth, it's got features that people want, and we've got everything taken care of."

As a thank you for the journalists, we were treated to a sneak preview of 2K Sports' upcoming arcade baseball title, The Bigs. With the exception of a lone screenshot released last Halloween, there hadn't been any footage or information about the game. Apart from rapidly showing off various players, all of whom seemed to have the same visual detail found in MLB 2K7, the teaser trailer highlighted some of The Bigs upcoming features. Gamers will be able to create their own player, giving them various "attitude" features like tattoos, American flag bats and other uniform altering details. These players can be run through various training drills, including batting practice and speed drills, and be put into various game situations to see whether or not they can make the big plays when their team needs them. Like other arcade baseball titles, players will be able to expect thrown balls with flashy comet tails or other supernatural effects, although we were told that there would be no fights or charging the mound in The Bigs.

We'll have more information on MLB 2K8 and The Bigs as it's released.

Mizzou B-ball fan · 04-06-2007, 07:57 AM

Wow. Why would they release an article detailing how bad the current version of the game is when it's only been out for a couple of months and is still on the shelf? Worse yet, why would he term the current version as a 'do-over'?

sooner333 · 04-06-2007, 11:57 AM

I think he was just saying that last year's was so bad they had to do it over again. I agree, though, that this isn't really the right time for this article.

BTW, I haven't really played this very much recently...has a patch been issued to fix some of the issues (such as the entire franchise mode)?

MizzouRah · 04-06-2007, 12:29 PM

Quote:

Brinkman agreed with these criticisms, stating quite bluntly, "I personally think that whole fielding system sucks."

""

Eaglesfan27 · 04-06-2007, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

""

That's the main reason I wasn't an early adopter. Glad I didn't after hearing about the other problems. I'll be watching for reviews of next year's version before buying as well.

Mizzou B-ball fan · 04-06-2007, 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

That's the main reason I wasn't an early adopter. Glad I didn't after hearing about the other problems. I'll be watching for reviews of next year's version before buying as well.

Are there any other baseball options on the 360 right now??? MVP???

Eaglesfan27 · 04-06-2007, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Are there any other baseball options on the 360 right now??? MVP???

Nope. I'm playing OOTP and MVP 05 (with the 07 mod) on the PC for my baseball needs.

Plenty of other fun things to play on the 360 (I'm playing college hoops at the moment, but plan on getting past a part I'm stuck on in Gears of War this weekend as well.)

MizzouRah · 04-06-2007, 02:22 PM

I have The Show for the psp and ootp on the pc!

Logan · 05-14-2007, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Are there any other baseball options on the 360 right now??? MVP???

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Nope. I'm playing OOTP and MVP 05 (with the 07 mod) on the PC for my baseball needs.

Plenty of other fun things to play on the 360 (I'm playing college hoops at the moment, but plan on getting past a part I'm stuck on in Gears of War this weekend as well.)

I've been fixing for some baseball for a couple weeks now, and since I just have an original XBox, my options were pretty much limited to 2k7. Reading the reviews of that version, it's even worse with some ridiculous player ratings (JD Drew - 100 overall, Cliff Floyd - 99, Shawn Green - 98, etc).

So finally, I said screw it and ordered a copy of MVP 05 for about $8 shipped. I played the hell out of it on PS2 before my system died, and it was just awesome. I can put up with doing some ratings adjustments and then going to town on the game.

If anyone wants a PS2 copy for a few bucks, let me know

.

RainMaker · 05-15-2007, 02:37 AM

You guys suck. Get me all excited for 2 pages and then pull the rug out from under me. I was excited about this title.

I was thinking of getting it strictly to play with friends. But after that article that was posted, I don't think I even want to support a company that does that to customers.

MizzouRah · 06-28-2007, 01:43 PM

New update today!!

New fielding camera called "pole" which pans out when fielding. Other fixes as well.

(this coming from the os users)

Will check it out tonight when I get home.

Mizzou B-ball fan · 06-28-2007, 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

New update today!!

New fielding camera called "pole" which pans out when fielding. Other fixes as well.

(this coming from the os users)

Will check it out tonight when I get home.

I'd love to hear what (if anything) they've fixed regarding the actual bugs. Bill Harris just posted the other day that he couldn't believe they still had not fixed the glaring issues with the game, which he called a 'beta'.

MizzouRah · 06-28-2007, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

I'd love to hear what (if anything) they've fixed regarding the actual bugs. Bill Harris just posted the other day that he couldn't believe they still had not fixed the glaring issues with the game, which he called a 'beta'.

I don't take everything Bill Harris says as gold either.

I'm playing the heck out of this game, bugs and all... it has great moments.

If they did fix the camera angle, I'll be very happy.

rowech · 06-28-2007, 02:31 PM

Let me know what you guys find out. I keep thinking about giving it a shot but all the bad words after about a week of the game have kept me from it.

MizzouRah · 06-28-2007, 02:46 PM

From what I've read, the new camera angle is like the old World Series game where it's high above the plate so you can see the whole field.

I'll post later tonight when I get home.

If they fixed the issue of players coming off the DL, I'll have to start a new franchise as I have injuries turned off.

Maybe someone from 2k sports will post the fixes.

Pumpy Tudors · 06-28-2007, 03:26 PM

Other news (which I didn't think deserved its own thread): "The Bigs" released today. It's a more "arcade" type game, also done by 2K Sports. I don't know the release dates for every system, but I know it's at least out for 360, PS2, and Wii today. There's definitely a PS3 version which might also be out today, although I'm not sure about the date.

I'm going to try to rent "The Bigs" for the 360 and see what it's like. From what I've read, the pitching and batting control systems are a lot of fun on the Wii, but I haven't read anything about the 360 version specifically. I do know that "The Bigs" does not include a season/franchise mode. Instead, it has a "Rookie Challenge" mode, which sounds to me like something along the lines of the "NBA Street" series. What I mean is that you create a player, and then you advance by winning games or completing challenges. You cannot be a pitcher in Rookie Challenge mode, but all of the other positions are available.

Anyway, that's pretty much all I know about that game. If I can't find it for rental tonight, I might just end up buying it this weekend. There aren't any other games I want to buy until NCAA hits stores in three weeks, so I can afford to drop some cash on a game like "The Bigs" which looks like some old-school baseball fun.

To bring it back to MLB 2K7, if the franchise problems have been addressed in the latest update, that might be enough for me to pop the game back into my 360 for the first time since its release week.

MizzouRah · 06-28-2007, 06:32 PM

Played a game with the new "pole" fielding camera and I'd have to say, the game plays like a whole new game as far as fielding is concerned.

The fields actually look big like they should and catching and fielding is much easier now.

I'm happy thus far.

Mizzou B-ball fan · 06-29-2007, 06:44 AM

Patch is mentioned here. Said that the ERA bug is fixed and the pole camera, while it causes framerate issues, is an improvement.

http://dubiousquality.blogspot.com/2...-yes-they.html

Pumpy Tudors · 06-29-2007, 07:26 AM

I ended up buying "The Bigs" last night, and I had a lot of fun playing it for about an hour. I am a bit concerned about replay value with it, as I am already something like 6% through the Rookie Challenge. The game may have some additional life through XBox Live multiplayer, but we'll see.

I definitely recommend it as a rental, at least. Again, it's arcade-style. There's no season mode (though Rookie Challenge is a pretty good stand-in for a season mode), there's no stat tracking, and the rosters are pared way down, but I found the game to be loads of fun.

Pumpy Tudors · 08-20-2007, 09:02 AM

Bump

I believe I bought this game on release day (or very close to its release day), and I wasn't terribly pleased with it. I finally got around to applying the patch last night, though, and I'm stunned. It really is like a whole new game with that new fielding camera. I found some sliders on Operation Sports, and I started using them. I played 7 innings of an exhibition game, Pirates vs. Reds. I had a lot of fun with it. It may be August, and football's starting up, but I'm going to start a franchise in MLB 2K7 tonight.

I hope that 2K Sports can put out a great 2K8 product from the beginning. For me, 2K7 was a disappointment, but they fixed it up big time. It just took a while. Hopefully, we won't have the same situation next year. 2K7 is a hell of a fun game now.

MizzouRah · 08-20-2007, 10:27 AM

Glad you're enjoying it PT - I'm still playing it as well.

Mike Lowe · 08-20-2007, 10:56 AM

Did they fix the franchise problems? The gameplay was never an issue for me but the franchise was jacked up.

I'm still playing The Show which is absolutely stellar (PS3).

Pumpy Tudors · 08-20-2007, 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Lowe

Did they fix the franchise problems? The gameplay was never an issue for me but the franchise was jacked up.

I don't know for sure. If I remember correctly, the issue with star players getting dumped to the minors was addressed, but I don't know any more than that.

Mike Lowe · 08-20-2007, 05:05 PM

What about the beanball marathons?

Pumpy Tudors · 08-20-2007, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Lowe

What about the beanball marathons?

Beats me. I didn't even know that that was an issue in the first place.

Mike Lowe · 08-20-2007, 05:37 PM

Oh, there were about 20 suspensions a week around the league for pitchers beaning hitters in simmed games. It actually happened quite a bit during gameplay too. I'm glad to hear they made a patch but it will take a lot of convincing for me to no longer think this game is a pile of trash. I tried to love it but just couldn't. This has been a bad year for sport games all around man.

MizzouRah · 08-20-2007, 09:15 PM

I haven't seen any beanball issues and the game has been quite playable since the patch. I usually play the first game of a series and then sim the next two. Definitely got my money's worth out of this one.

Pumpy Tudors · 08-20-2007, 10:17 PM

I just started my GM career with the Cardinals. I open the season against the Mets, and give up homers to Beltran and Alou to fall behind 3-1 going into the bottom of the 9th. I have the 2-3-4 spots in the order coming up, and I'm facing Billy Wagner. I know the fastballs are coming.

I pinch hit for Adam Kennedy and put in Gary Bennett. Bennett grounds out. Ugh. Up comes Pujols. I read Wagner's second pitch perfectly and line it up the middle for a base hit. That brings up Scott Rolen. Wagner runs the count to 2-0 and desperately sends a fastball over the plate. In return, I desperately send that same fastball over the center field fence to tie the game. The next batter is Jim Edmonds. Edmonds hits a deep fly ball to center field, and for a moment, I think I just won the game with a homer. Oops. The ball only got to the warning track, and Beltran hauled it in. The rest of the 9th inning is uneventful, and we go to extras.

Sadly, I start the 10th by giving up a single to Luis Castillo, and then Jose Reyes doubles him home. I get out of a huge jam and head to the bottom of the 10th with a 4-3 deficit. So Taguchi singles, and Yadier Molina bunts him over. Chris Duncan comes up with the tying run on second. Now, Duncan's obviously got power, but with the lefty Wagner still on the mound, all I'm hoping to do is make contact. Duncan grounds out to short, and Taguchi moves to third. That brings up David Eckstein. Unfortunately, the game ends with Eckstein grounding one to short, and Reyes makes a diving stop and throws to first to end the game.

That's the most exciting game of baseball I've played in maybe two or three years. It was great, even though I lost.

Logan · 08-20-2007, 10:31 PM

That's right, bitch!

sooner333 · 08-20-2007, 10:42 PM

I would play this game, but I just can't win at it. I'm not one who likes to win every game, but I think of the last 20 games I played, I haven't won a single one. I can't hit at all...either method.

Pumpy Tudors · 08-20-2007, 11:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Logan

That's right, bitch!

I guess I'll have to save revenge for hockey season.

MizzouRah · 08-21-2007, 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

I just started my GM career with the Cardinals. I open the season against the Mets, and give up homers to Beltran and Alou to fall behind 3-1 going into the bottom of the 9th. I have the 2-3-4 spots in the order coming up, and I'm facing Billy Wagner. I know the fastballs are coming.

I pinch hit for Adam Kennedy and put in Gary Bennett. Bennett grounds out. Ugh. Up comes Pujols. I read Wagner's second pitch perfectly and line it up the middle for a base hit. That brings up Scott Rolen. Wagner runs the count to 2-0 and desperately sends a fastball over the plate. In return, I desperately send that same fastball over the center field fence to tie the game. The next batter is Jim Edmonds. Edmonds hits a deep fly ball to center field, and for a moment, I think I just won the game with a homer. Oops. The ball only got to the warning track, and Beltran hauled it in. The rest of the 9th inning is uneventful, and we go to extras.

Sadly, I start the 10th by giving up a single to Luis Castillo, and then Jose Reyes doubles him home. I get out of a huge jam and head to the bottom of the 10th with a 4-3 deficit. So Taguchi singles, and Yadier Molina bunts him over. Chris Duncan comes up with the tying run on second. Now, Duncan's obviously got power, but with the lefty Wagner still on the mound, all I'm hoping to do is make contact. Duncan grounds out to short, and Taguchi moves to third. That brings up David Eckstein. Unfortunately, the game ends with Eckstein grounding one to short, and Reyes makes a diving stop and throws to first to end the game.

That's the most exciting game of baseball I've played in maybe two or three years. It was great, even though I lost.

You playing on defaults?

Nice game!!!

Pumpy Tudors · 08-21-2007, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

You playing on defaults?

Nice game!!!

No, I'm playing on sliders that I found on Operation Sports. I don't have any big complaints after the two games I've played with those sliders. I'm a little concerned that CPU hitters aren't swinging at enough pitches out of the strike zone, but I should wait until I play worse teams than the Mets before I say that for sure. The only other thing is that maybe it's going to be hard for me to get extra-base hits. I know the Cardinals don't have a lot of speed, but I had Pujols rip one down the line, and he was barely around first by the time Alou picked up the ball. I know the outfield was shifted toward left, but Alou was on the ball awfully quickly. Anyway, in that one game I described, I believe I had 6 or 7 hits, but they were either singles or homers. It's just one game, though, so I'm not worried at all yet. It's just something I'm going to look for, although I don't know if I'll be able to correct it.

I'm looking forward to getting revenge on the Mets tonight!

MizzouRah · 08-21-2007, 11:57 AM

The game is quite addicting.

Pumpy Tudors · 08-21-2007, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

...maybe it's going to be hard for me to get extra-base hits. I know the Cardinals don't have a lot of speed, but...

This excerpt makes me a little sad because I became a Cards fan back in the early '80s. As a kid, I watched Vince Coleman, Ozzie Smith, Willie McGee, Andy Van Slyke, and Tommy Herr. The Cardinals I grew up with were built around speed. It's been weird for the past few years to see the Cardinals become a completely different team. I admit that I nearly started my franchise with the Pirates just because they have at least 2 or 3 guys who can run.

In my search for a silver lining, however, I see that the owner wants me to get rid of Jim Edmonds. Maybe I can dump him and try to get a little speed on my team. Maybe I can even try to turn these Cardinals back into baseburners. That sounds like an exercise that's better kept to a text sim, but I might try it out in MLB 2K7 anyway.

MizzouRah · 08-21-2007, 08:51 PM

They wanted me to get rid of Eckstein.

MizzouRah · 09-08-2007, 09:16 PM

Still playing this game.. wow. Everyone talks of MLB The Show, but this game is a "must have" if I'm new to the Xbox 360 scene.

06-28-2007, 03:26 PM	#168
Pumpy Tudors Bounty Hunter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Pittsburgh, PA	Other news (which I didn't think deserved its own thread): "The Bigs" released today. It's a more "arcade" type game, also done by 2K Sports. I don't know the release dates for every system, but I know it's at least out for 360, PS2, and Wii today. There's definitely a PS3 version which might also be out today, although I'm not sure about the date. I'm going to try to rent "The Bigs" for the 360 and see what it's like. From what I've read, the pitching and batting control systems are a lot of fun on the Wii, but I haven't read anything about the 360 version specifically. I do know that "The Bigs" does not include a season/franchise mode. Instead, it has a "Rookie Challenge" mode, which sounds to me like something along the lines of the "NBA Street" series. What I mean is that you create a player, and then you advance by winning games or completing challenges. You cannot be a pitcher in Rookie Challenge mode, but all of the other positions are available. Anyway, that's pretty much all I know about that game. If I can't find it for rental tonight, I might just end up buying it this weekend. There aren't any other games I want to buy until NCAA hits stores in three weeks, so I can afford to drop some cash on a game like "The Bigs" which looks like some old-school baseball fun. To bring it back to MLB 2K7, if the franchise problems have been addressed in the latest update, that might be enough for me to pop the game back into my 360 for the first time since its release week. __________________ No, I am not Batman, and I will not repair your food processor.

06-29-2007, 07:26 AM	#171
Pumpy Tudors Bounty Hunter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Pittsburgh, PA	I ended up buying "The Bigs" last night, and I had a lot of fun playing it for about an hour. I am a bit concerned about replay value with it, as I am already something like 6% through the Rookie Challenge. The game may have some additional life through XBox Live multiplayer, but we'll see. I definitely recommend it as a rental, at least. Again, it's arcade-style. There's no season mode (though Rookie Challenge is a pretty good stand-in for a season mode), there's no stat tracking, and the rosters are pared way down, but I found the game to be loads of fun. __________________ No, I am not Batman, and I will not repair your food processor.

08-20-2007, 09:02 AM	#172
Pumpy Tudors Bounty Hunter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Pittsburgh, PA	Bump I believe I bought this game on release day (or very close to its release day), and I wasn't terribly pleased with it. I finally got around to applying the patch last night, though, and I'm stunned. It really is like a whole new game with that new fielding camera. I found some sliders on Operation Sports, and I started using them. I played 7 innings of an exhibition game, Pirates vs. Reds. I had a lot of fun with it. It may be August, and football's starting up, but I'm going to start a franchise in MLB 2K7 tonight. I hope that 2K Sports can put out a great 2K8 product from the beginning. For me, 2K7 was a disappointment, but they fixed it up big time. It just took a while. Hopefully, we won't have the same situation next year. 2K7 is a hell of a fun game now. __________________ No, I am not Batman, and I will not repair your food processor.

08-20-2007, 10:56 AM	#174
Mike Lowe College Prospect Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: San Diego, CA	Did they fix the franchise problems? The gameplay was never an issue for me but the franchise was jacked up. I'm still playing The Show which is absolutely stellar (PS3). __________________ Be fulfilled. Be grateful. Be good to one another. @MikeLowe47 @SimSportsGamin9 Website \| YouTube \| Discord

08-20-2007, 05:05 PM	#176
Mike Lowe College Prospect Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: San Diego, CA	What about the beanball marathons? __________________ Be fulfilled. Be grateful. Be good to one another. @MikeLowe47 @SimSportsGamin9 Website \| YouTube \| Discord

04-06-2007, 07:34 AM	#151
Mike1409 High School Varsity Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: St. Pete, FL	http://ps3.ign.com/articles/778/778472p1.html So this year was a do over, and next year will be the greatest. Does this mean we will get a do over with our purchase price?

04-06-2007, 07:52 AM	#153
Mike1409 High School Varsity Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: St. Pete, FL	Here is the article. MLB 2K7 Postmortem We look ahead to MLB 2K8 and get a peek at The Bigs with the game's producer. by Jeff Haynes April 4, 2007 - In late February, Kush Games and 2K Sports released the latest chapter in their baseball franchise, MLB 2K7. While the title managed to fix a large number of problems from last year's title, it featured a number of visual glitches, baserunning and fielding issues, as well as other problems that turned up to replace them. Earlier this week, 2K Sports held a wrap up session with Ben Brinkman, the producer of MLB 2K7 and a select group of journalists. The reason for the gathering was simple -- Brinkman wanted to go over the good and bad points of this year's title, as well as discuss what his development team hopes to achieve with MLB 2K8. Brinkman started the session by going over the reasons why 2K7 was essentially designed as a "do-over" title. As fans know, 2K7 adjusted just about every aspect of gameplay in response to 2K6's lackluster performance. This massive facelift to the game was done in place of significant new features for a key reason, as Brinkman stated. "MLB 2K7 was the first step in a long process of reinventing the 2K Sports baseball brand and the MLB franchise. 2K7 was year one of that, and a lot of that was just getting back onto stable ground -- getting back with the people who play our game and putting something out there that they're happy with, they have a blast playing and that they can play for an extended period of time. I think we delivered upon that, especially given the short timeline with which we had to create that game." MLB 2K7 looked great this year, but had some gameplay issues. However, Brinkman was adamant about not wanting to rest on these laurels for recovering the franchise. "The game we're working on right now, MLB 2K8 -- we've got a boatload of things that we want to do. Just regaining credibility and stable footing is not good enough. Our goal now, and it's a lofty goal, is to make the best sports sim out there. We're going to do everything we can to reach that goal. Everything we do we have to look and say, 'Is this something that will contribute to the best sports sim out there?' It's a good process and it's forcing us to be really smart about what we're doing and make good decisions. That said, I'm really excited about the future of this franchise." The floor was then turned over to the journalists, who were asked to list their top three issues with MLB 2K7, as well as what their thoughts on how to make next year's title much better. One of the first problems raised was the fielding issues that still plagued 2K7. Last year's Pure Motion Physics system made getting jumps on a pop fly extremely difficult because of the fielding animations and slow response time on making cuts for the ball. This year was better, but user controlled players would take headers into the wall instead of climbing them to deny runs -- an ability that the computer would constantly do to rob players of homers time and time again. Brinkman agreed with these criticisms, stating quite bluntly, "I personally think that whole fielding system sucks." Fielding could be somewhat hit or miss. It was suggested that next year's game feature an improved focus on the fielding mechanics, especially because it isn't as tight as the pitching or batting system. In particular, the new focus needed to cover everything from basic catches to more acrobatic moves like jumping catches and dives. What's more, these defensive maneuvers should be available without being prompted to flick the right analog stick at specific moments to trigger a canned animation, which took away from the realism of the play. Brinkman agreed with what was stated, indicating that he and his development team would be heading into the motion capture studio later in the week with the mechanics of catching the ball in mind. "Basically, the issue with catching a batted ball is that you need to have so many different situations taken into account because you not only want to allow for the user to do things that aren't predictable but make it look good when they're doing it. That was one of our decisions that we made last year, and a lot of the problems that you're describing are a direct result of not having enough catches captured to solve these problems. As a result, we had to take some control away from the user, which I'm vehemently against, and that's something that we're going to remedy next year." Brinkman indicated that the way they're planning on fixing the catching issues is by capturing a massive number of catches from various positions which will alleviate canned animations and make players look much more fluid in the infield and outfield. In particular, they're working on restoring all of the control that was wrested away from users in this year's game without constantly using a right stick indicator on screen to tell someone when they need to jump and when they need to dive. In fact, Brinkman doesn't like having the icon pop up, but accepts it as a necessary evil to help players along. He did mention that elements of this system could be overhauled for 2K8, however, which he tied into the overall goal of next year's game. "We've got some cool ideas on how to make this work well with the game and make it not feel like you're playing a video game but make it feel like you're getting this information that's helping you become better at the game in a less overt way than just putting a right stick indicator on the screen. The overriding goal of the game for 2K8 is not only fielding but throwing as well: 'total control at all times.' We don't want it to ever feel like the CPU is taking over -- even when they're catching the ball and they're clearly taking over, we don't want it to feel that way." The design team is focused on making MLB 2K8 both realistic and fun. "We want it to be really fast and fluid and not hitchy like when you're in the fly ball circle. We want it make that more fluid and realistic. Everything that you just described are things that we're going to remedy in 2K8. Pitching's fun, batting's fun, but I want baserunning to be fun, I want fielding to be fun, I want fricking sitting through action replays to be fun. I want the whole game to be fun, not just pockets of fun. I think everyone here is working towards that goal. We want the whole experience." Moving away from the fielding problems, the session turned to the AI in the game, in particular the throwing intelligence where a computer player would throw a ball to the wrong teammate, thereby allowing a free base to be taken in almost any situation. In fact, players that were good enough with the advance and retreat commands could often fake out the computer. Brinkman specifically addressed this, mentioning that the team had analyzed the entire throwing AI system and have re-written a lot of the code for 2K8 to make the players much smarter and make better decisions on the field. "We've added logic to the game where a baseman will hold the ball, make smarter decisions and wait longer before he makes a throw decision. This will not only make the player look more intelligent but it will also eliminate "user tricks," like running forward, returning to a base and then going to the next base by tricking the AI. The AI throwing system will be much more robust in 2K8, for sure." The throwing AI is being completely overhauled. Another issue that was brought up was changing the presentational aspect of the game to highlight a lot of the big moments of a game. In 2K7, players got a replay of certain moments during a game, but it never carried the weight or import of a key double play or a home run that completely changes the momentum of the game. Brinkman made a specific point in highlighting how the team has made emphasizing these moments key to next year's game. "That is something that we're going to focus on the presentation side in 2K8 -- really paying off those big moments and making them feel really special. You just did something really cool and we're going to have a cool treatment to pay it off: some cool audio tied into it. If you hit that big home run in the 8th inning, we want to pay that off so you not only feel special doing it but it looks special on screen as well." Making special moments isn't the sole focus of the presentation of 2K8; Brinkman also alluded to the fact that it was somewhat harder for players to gauge how their performance was during a game, which is something that the development team is planning on working on for the new title. "I think we didn't do a very good job this year of communicating to the user what they did right and wrong and we've got some new systems for 2K8 that we're going to implement, whether it's throwing, pitching, batting, where one of the focuses is going to be feeding back to the user whether they did something awesome or messed something up." Since presentation was on the minds of everyone in attendance, criticism quickly turned to the announcing team of Jon Miller and Joe Morgan. While Steve Physioc and Jeanne Zelasko were praised for fresh dialogue and their presence during the loading screens before each game, Miller and Morgan were universally panned as having stale and canned information from game to game. Suggestions ranged from Physioc and Zelasko taking over duties in the booth to a new television style presence that possibly made the commentary much more natural. Brinkman agreed with these criticisms, indicating that a certain level of the dialogue issues were much more logistical than Kush would like. "I think that there are certain areas where we're a little deficient on speech, and I think that's one of them. In a perfect world, Joe and Jon would work at Kush games, and we could just hit them up and say 'Hey guys, want to record this line today?' But part of the reality with those guys is because they are the top announcers in baseball, they're also very hard to get time with. So there are situations like that where we know that we need to add more content. Speaking of the intro, part of the reason why we went with Jeannie and Steve is because we couldn't get that extra time with Jon and Joe, because they'll sign up for X amount of days during the year and that's all we get. It's a double edged sword: You have them and they're awesome, but there's not a lot of them, or you go with someone else, who might not be as awesome but you have a lot of them. You've got to weigh your options. We love Jon and Joe, but there are a lot of negatives in working with them in that respect." Stadium detail helped heighten 2K7's presentation, which will be carried over for next year. The last complaints about MLB 2K7 revolved around the franchise mode. In particular, the lack of minor league teams made the franchise play feel somewhat shallow. Brinkman was quick to answer this, stating that there would be ninety minor league teams that would be playable in MLB 2K8. Additional comments relied around the lack of trade system logic, even though the trade finder made certain contracts easy to find and fill, and a weak economic system that was based solely on ticket sales. The level of depth of handling the front office felt particularly flimsy. Brinkman deflected some of that criticism with a personal observation about all-encompassing franchise features. He stated that he has never been a fan of owner modes in sports titles, mentioning that entire games can be built around the minutiae of managing an organization without actually playing the sport. He did elaborate on the new direction for next year's franchise mode, however. "I think for MLB 2K8 our focus is going to go back to the General Manager and running the organization. With the introduction of the minor leagues, there's going to be a lot more gameplay, and we're coming up with cool ways of making it worthwhile to play these games as well, so they're not just there in the background for you to just call guys up and send them down. We want to encourage you to play the games." However, he did put a large emphasis on making sure that most of the concerns raised about the franchise mode would be addressed in 2K8. Expect to manage major and minor league teams in 2K8's Franchise mode. "We're not going to just pay it lip service. We're going to make it awesome. We want the whole core gameplay experience to be there so that people want to play not only the 162 game season of their major league team, but the season of their minor league teams. Obviously, that's farfetched, but we want people to feel like that, and we are going to focus more on the GM aspects of the game. The owner mode wasn't 100% in 2K7." Toward the end of the session, Brinkman gave his final thoughts about where he and his team want the direction of the MLB 2K franchise to go. "Our philosophy around here is to make the best sports simulation on the market. When this game leaves the building next year and hits store shelves, we want to feel like we did everything we could. The game is polished, it plays great, it's got depth, it's got features that people want, and we've got everything taken care of." As a thank you for the journalists, we were treated to a sneak preview of 2K Sports' upcoming arcade baseball title, The Bigs. With the exception of a lone screenshot released last Halloween, there hadn't been any footage or information about the game. Apart from rapidly showing off various players, all of whom seemed to have the same visual detail found in MLB 2K7, the teaser trailer highlighted some of The Bigs upcoming features. Gamers will be able to create their own player, giving them various "attitude" features like tattoos, American flag bats and other uniform altering details. These players can be run through various training drills, including batting practice and speed drills, and be put into various game situations to see whether or not they can make the big plays when their team needs them. Like other arcade baseball titles, players will be able to expect thrown balls with flashy comet tails or other supernatural effects, although we were told that there would be no fights or charging the mound in The Bigs. We'll have more information on MLB 2K8 and The Bigs as it's released.

04-06-2007, 07:57 AM	#154
Mizzou B-ball fan General Manager Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Kansas City, MO	Wow. Why would they release an article detailing how bad the current version of the game is when it's only been out for a couple of months and is still on the shelf? Worse yet, why would he term the current version as a 'do-over'?

04-06-2007, 11:57 AM	#155
sooner333 College Starter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Norman, OK	I think he was just saying that last year's was so bad they had to do it over again. I agree, though, that this isn't really the right time for this article. BTW, I haven't really played this very much recently...has a patch been issued to fix some of the issues (such as the entire franchise mode)?

04-06-2007, 02:22 PM	#160
MizzouRah Hall Of Famer Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Troy, Mo	I have The Show for the psp and ootp on the pc!

05-15-2007, 02:37 AM	#162
RainMaker General Manager Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Chicago, IL	You guys suck. Get me all excited for 2 pages and then pull the rug out from under me. I was excited about this title. I was thinking of getting it strictly to play with friends. But after that article that was posted, I don't think I even want to support a company that does that to customers.

06-28-2007, 01:43 PM	#163
MizzouRah Hall Of Famer Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Troy, Mo	New update today!! New fielding camera called "pole" which pans out when fielding. Other fixes as well. (this coming from the os users) Will check it out tonight when I get home.

06-28-2007, 02:31 PM	#166
rowech Pro Starter Join Date: Feb 2006	Let me know what you guys find out. I keep thinking about giving it a shot but all the bad words after about a week of the game have kept me from it.

06-28-2007, 02:46 PM	#167
MizzouRah Hall Of Famer Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Troy, Mo	From what I've read, the new camera angle is like the old World Series game where it's high above the plate so you can see the whole field. I'll post later tonight when I get home. If they fixed the issue of players coming off the DL, I'll have to start a new franchise as I have injuries turned off. Maybe someone from 2k sports will post the fixes.

06-28-2007, 06:32 PM	#169
MizzouRah Hall Of Famer Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Troy, Mo	Played a game with the new "pole" fielding camera and I'd have to say, the game plays like a whole new game as far as fielding is concerned. The fields actually look big like they should and catching and fielding is much easier now. I'm happy thus far.

06-29-2007, 06:44 AM	#170
Mizzou B-ball fan General Manager Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Kansas City, MO	Patch is mentioned here. Said that the ERA bug is fixed and the pole camera, while it causes framerate issues, is an improvement. http://dubiousquality.blogspot.com/2...-yes-they.html

08-20-2007, 10:27 AM	#173
MizzouRah Hall Of Famer Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Troy, Mo	Glad you're enjoying it PT - I'm still playing it as well.

08-20-2007, 05:37 PM	#178
Mike Lowe College Prospect Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: San Diego, CA	Oh, there were about 20 suspensions a week around the league for pitchers beaning hitters in simmed games. It actually happened quite a bit during gameplay too. I'm glad to hear they made a patch but it will take a lot of convincing for me to no longer think this game is a pile of trash. I tried to love it but just couldn't. This has been a bad year for sport games all around man. __________________ Be fulfilled. Be grateful. Be good to one another. @MikeLowe47 @SimSportsGamin9 Website \| YouTube \| Discord

08-20-2007, 09:15 PM	#179
MizzouRah Hall Of Famer Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Troy, Mo	I haven't seen any beanball issues and the game has been quite playable since the patch. I usually play the first game of a series and then sim the next two. Definitely got my money's worth out of this one.

08-20-2007, 10:17 PM	#180
Pumpy Tudors Bounty Hunter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Pittsburgh, PA	I just started my GM career with the Cardinals. I open the season against the Mets, and give up homers to Beltran and Alou to fall behind 3-1 going into the bottom of the 9th. I have the 2-3-4 spots in the order coming up, and I'm facing Billy Wagner. I know the fastballs are coming. I pinch hit for Adam Kennedy and put in Gary Bennett. Bennett grounds out. Ugh. Up comes Pujols. I read Wagner's second pitch perfectly and line it up the middle for a base hit. That brings up Scott Rolen. Wagner runs the count to 2-0 and desperately sends a fastball over the plate. In return, I desperately send that same fastball over the center field fence to tie the game. The next batter is Jim Edmonds. Edmonds hits a deep fly ball to center field, and for a moment, I think I just won the game with a homer. Oops. The ball only got to the warning track, and Beltran hauled it in. The rest of the 9th inning is uneventful, and we go to extras. Sadly, I start the 10th by giving up a single to Luis Castillo, and then Jose Reyes doubles him home. I get out of a huge jam and head to the bottom of the 10th with a 4-3 deficit. So Taguchi singles, and Yadier Molina bunts him over. Chris Duncan comes up with the tying run on second. Now, Duncan's obviously got power, but with the lefty Wagner still on the mound, all I'm hoping to do is make contact. Duncan grounds out to short, and Taguchi moves to third. That brings up David Eckstein. Unfortunately, the game ends with Eckstein grounding one to short, and Reyes makes a diving stop and throws to first to end the game. That's the most exciting game of baseball I've played in maybe two or three years. It was great, even though I lost. __________________ No, I am not Batman, and I will not repair your food processor.

08-20-2007, 10:31 PM	#181
Logan Head Coach Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: NYC	That's right, bitch!

08-20-2007, 10:42 PM	#182
sooner333 College Starter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Norman, OK	I would play this game, but I just can't win at it. I'm not one who likes to win every game, but I think of the last 20 games I played, I haven't won a single one. I can't hit at all...either method.

08-21-2007, 11:57 AM	#186
MizzouRah Hall Of Famer Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Troy, Mo	The game is quite addicting.

08-21-2007, 08:51 PM	#188
MizzouRah Hall Of Famer Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Troy, Mo	They wanted me to get rid of Eckstein.

09-08-2007, 09:16 PM	#189
MizzouRah Hall Of Famer Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Troy, Mo	Still playing this game.. wow. Everyone talks of MLB The Show, but this game is a "must have" if I'm new to the Xbox 360 scene.

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