MLB 08: The Show.........

[Icy]

I disabled the sysaxsis fielding controls as i'm not a big fan of them. What is a nice touch is that if you own a dual shock 3 pad, the game has vibration. I recently imported a dual schock 3 pad (only for sale in Japan right now) and it's great to have vibration again in the Ps3 as the Xbox 360 and Ps2 have.

About pitching, if was exactly the same way past year, you must be confussed with another game. Past year you also selected first the pitch, then location and then X to pitch. A good feature this year is that for breaking pitches, you can can see where the ball is going to end after the break before you throw, so you can adjust properly the location (you can turn this off if you want).

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by Icy

I disabled the sysaxsis fielding controls as i'm not a big fan of them. What is a nice touch is that if you own a dual shock 3 pad, the game has vibration. I recently imported a dual schock 3 pad (only for sale in Japan right now) and it's great to have vibration again in the Ps3 as the Xbox 360 and Ps2 have.

About pitching, if was exactly the same way past year, you must be confussed with another game. Past year you also selected first the pitch, then location and then X to pitch. A good feature this year is that for breaking pitches, you can can see where the ball is going to end after the break before you throw, so you can adjust properly the location (you can turn this off if you want).

I didn't play last year's game. Couldn't find it at a price I was willing to pay by the time I got my PS3.

I have played previous MLB XX games, though, and I don't remember any of the more recent ones making me throw the pitch with X instead of holding down the specific pitch's button to start the meter.

[Icy]

Demo impressions and long gameplay videos in pastapadre, the first video is great as it starts from the game presenation and covers the whole 1st inning.

http://www.pastapadre.com/2336/initi...the-shows-demo

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Man, this is just filthy goodness from my initial impressions. Can't wait to get the full game and feel out all of the modes of play.

[CraigSca]

I played a 7-inning game last night due to extra innings. The only thing I saw that was lame was the beach ball being bounced around in the stands. It looked like a hyper pong game running amock in the stands.

Other than that, the gameplay, presentation and the graphics were all outstanding. I can't wait until the 4th. THIS is what sports games are supposed to be like.

[MizzouRah]

Finally played this demo.. I'm VERY impressed with the gameplay, which is what matters - the pitcher/batter interface is quite impressive. LOVE the battle fouling off pitches.

Graphics are great, but I still give the nod to MLB 2k. That game is absolutely beautiful, but I'm not sure it will come close to The Show's gameplay

[Mike Lowe]

Not sure if this has been posted but in just about 4 games (3 innings) I actually got hit by a pitch!!!!!!!!! I checked my swing but the pitch came in and got me on the elbow or back (can't remember).

I've also hit a ton of doubles which is a HUGE change! Can't wait for this to come out!

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

I played a 7-inning game last night due to extra innings. The only thing I saw that was lame was the beach ball being bounced around in the stands. It looked like a hyper pong game running amock in the stands.

Other than that, the gameplay, presentation and the graphics were all outstanding. I can't wait until the 4th. THIS is what sports games are supposed to be like.

Honestly, the beach ball didn't bother me as much as the "eight carbon copies of the same guy standing up and doing the same thing every couple of minutes."

I thought we got past that with the 16-bit era. If you're going to go all out to make the game look gorgeous, try to minimize the ugly stick factor with your crowds, huh?

[Icy]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

Finally played this demo.. I'm VERY impressed with the gameplay, which is what matters - the pitcher/batter interface is quite impressive. LOVE the battle fouling off pitches.

Graphics are great, but I still give the nod to MLB 2k. That game is absolutely beautiful, but I'm not sure it will come close to The Show's gameplay

Did you finally buy a Ps3?

[korme]

I've actually held off playing the demo... I'm afraid I'll be too emotionally depressed that I can only get 3 innings in... who am I kidding every time I read this thread I get closer to downloading it.

[SackAttack]

Shorty - if the game is tied at 3, it'll let you go until somebody wins.

My first game went 8 innings. Can't substitute players, though...although the AI can. Grr.

As an aside, I snagged a copy of 07 for $10 on eBay this morning. Should tide me over for a few weeks.

[korme]

My first thought is that I like the presentation and hope it's much like that in franchise mode.

For instance, when Youk came up to the plate, it showed his regular statline- but on the bottom it said "0 Errors in 1,087 chances", I think that's pretty cool. You usually don't see an errorless stat or something close get listed in a game, so maybe they will have interesting wrinkles like that on display from time to time. That's what baseball is all about.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Icy

Did you finally buy a Ps3?

No, but my neighbor has one.

I'm waiting on MLB 2k8 before deciding if I want a ps3 or not. More than likely I'm going to wait for awhile as I want an HD DVR first.

[Big Fo]

How hard is it to draw walks in this game?

[darkenigma510]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

How hard is it to draw walks in this game?

Depends on your patience but if you are skilled or use the guess pitch feature, you should be able to draw some walks.

[Calis]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

No, but my neighbor has one.

I'm waiting on MLB 2k8 before deciding if I want a ps3 or not. More than likely I'm going to wait for awhile as I want an HD DVR first.

This game is really pushing me towards getting a PS3, but I still can't justify the $400 or whatever it'd be total for one game. I love the series, but not THAT much.

I'm still thinking about it though, as sad as that is. If The Show portion has been tweaked a bit I'd be in heaven, mostly with the roster management which it sounds like it has, and also if there's more bonus in making a defensive player, I'd like to be able to get points for that.

I'm holding out hope that MLB 2k8 will be fantastic and I'll be happy with that. It wasn't close last year for me though.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Calis

This game is really pushing me towards getting a PS3, but I still can't justify the $400 or whatever it'd be total for one game. I love the series, but not THAT much.

I'm still thinking about it though, as sad as that is. If The Show portion has been tweaked a bit I'd be in heaven, mostly with the roster management which it sounds like it has, and also if there's more bonus in making a defensive player, I'd like to be able to get points for that.

I'm holding out hope that MLB 2k8 will be fantastic and I'll be happy with that. It wasn't close last year for me though.

I'm in the same boat. MLB2k8 does look promising in previews, but this game looks amazing.

[darkenigma510]

I think MLB2k8 should be decent enough to buy if you are a baseball fan...its graphics are slighty better than the Show's graphic...but I doubt it will surpass the Show in 2008. That being said, I think the PS3 is a decent purchase, if you can afford it, considering the 80G version is backwards compatible with PS2 games, and its a decent Blu Ray player also.

[CraigSca]

I know this is a canned video, but check out "The Stolen Base" here: http://www.us.playstation.com/MLB08/...s3.asp?q=video

[darkenigma510]

Slightly off topic...but did they ever patch the Franchise mode in MLB07?
I bought the game a month or so right after I bought my PS3 but noted that there are no CPU trades at all in Franchise. Doesn't really matter too much, I guess since the new game is coming out but just curious...

[SackAttack]

Gonna be on a conference call with 2K about MLB2k8 on Friday. They asked for 3-5 questions, and I think mine were all over the place because of some of the stuff they're doing with that game.

One of the pitfalls of platform agnostic development versus platform exclusive, I guess.

[MizzouRah]

Don't get me wrong, The Show is quite beautiful and plays a great game of baseball per this demo, but the pitching and hitting are the same from 06 and I'm already bored with the demo. My neighbor is happy!

I know 2k8 won't be the end all of baseball games, but I'm excited to try the new pitching, fielding, and hitting mechanics.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

The Show schmoe.

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

Graphics are great, but I still give the nod to MLB 2k. That game is absolutely beautiful, but I'm not sure it will come close to The Show's gameplay

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

I know 2k8 won't be the end all of baseball games, but I'm excited to try the new pitching, fielding, and hitting mechanics.

I think you've made it pretty clear where your preference lies.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

Gonna be on a conference call with 2K about MLB2k8 on Friday. They asked for 3-5 questions, and I think mine were all over the place because of some of the stuff they're doing with that game.

One of the pitfalls of platform agnostic development versus platform exclusive, I guess.

Did you ask Brinkman what year of the rebuilding phase they were in now?

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Did you ask Brinkman what year of the rebuilding phase they were in now?

No, because I can do basic math. The first game he worked on for 2K was Major League Baseball 2k7. They're getting set to release Major League Baseball 2k8.

What year of the rebuilding phase does that sound like to you, sir?

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

No, because I can do basic math. The first game he worked on for 2K was Major League Baseball 2k7. They're getting set to release Major League Baseball 2k8.

What year of the rebuilding phase does that sound like to you, sir?

That and I thought I remembered him saying it'd be a three year rebuilding plan. So this would make them 2/3 of the way through.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by TroyF

That and I thought I remembered him saying it'd be a three year rebuilding plan. So this would make them 2/3 of the way through.

Yes sir.

Incidentally, assuming we receive The Show this year, would you prefer to cover that or MLB 2k8 (I've requested the PS3 version there)?

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

I think you've made it pretty clear where your preference lies.

Last year for sure since I only have a 360.

I might get a ps3 someday, so I played the demo this year and I do like a lot about it. I just think the pitching is getting a bit stale. Who knows though, it still might push me to get a ps3 if MLB 2k8 doesn't deliver.

..and as far as your comments on Brinkman and 2k, he's done a hell of a job so far with the series and it seems to me he's done a lot this year.. and while you're bitching, it's on the ps3 as well so maybe you can keep your sarcastic comments to your self until you play it.. or do you only play ps3 exclusive games?

[CraigSca]

Well, the game itself may again suck, but thank goodness 2K studios was able to implement Big-Head mode in MLB 2K8!

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

..and as far as your comments on Brinkman and 2k, he's done a hell of a job so far with the series and it seems to me he's done a lot this year.. and while you're bitching, it's on the ps3 as well so maybe you can keep your sarcastic comments to your self until you play it.. or do you only play ps3 exclusive games?

Brinkman is probably second only to EA Sports developers in the lack of responsiveness to customer needs. This has nothing to do with the consoles. I played MLB 2K7 last year on the PS3 and it was just as bad as its 360 counterpart. When a developer states that a game is in a 'rebuilding mode' that won't be complete until next year's version, that's very concerning.

With that said, comments on how bad that franchise is belong in the MLB 2K8 post. People in this thread want to talk about The Show.

[Icy]

New RTTS mode video, i'm salivating about it:


MLB 08: The Show RTTS 2 from pastapadre on Vimeo.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Icy

New RTTS mode video, i'm salivating about it:

VERY nice. I really like the improved box score. The point totals next to each successful play also are nice as I never could figure out what went into the scoring totals at the end of each RTTS game in the 07 version.

I'm not sure whether or not I'm crazy about the base coach signaling. As long as it's not used too often, it probably is OK. I just like to steal a lot and don't want the coach telling me what to do.

The single most important improvement that is needed in the game over last year's version is proper promotion of players based on both stats and ratings, rather than just ratings. If they can do that properly, there will be a lot of happy gamers.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Brinkman is probably second only to EA Sports developers in the lack of responsiveness to customer needs. This has nothing to do with the consoles. I played MLB 2K7 last year on the PS3 and it was just as bad as its 360 counterpart. When a developer states that a game is in a 'rebuilding mode' that won't be complete until next year's version, that's very concerning.

With that said, comments on how bad that franchise is belong in the MLB 2K8 post. People in this thread want to talk about The Show.

[Icy]

MLB 08 THE SHOW Weekly Update: Road to the Show 2.0

+ Posted by Eddie Cramm //

Hi everyone. Eddy Cramm (Sr. Designer) and Aaron Luke (Designer) here to bring you the next installment of our MLB 08: The Show blog posts. This time around we are going to talk about some of the details behind Road to the Show. Coming into this development cycle, we knew we were dealing with a feature that was very well received by the public in its first go-around. That being said, we still saw a lot of room for improvement. We decided to focus on three main areas, but honestly, we ended up changing a lot more than that. We wanted to add depth to the game play experience to better reflect what a player has to do as he develops in a professional system. We wanted to give the gamer more information up front so that he had a better understanding of how his decisions are affecting his career player. And we also wanted to really improve the management system so that goals and movement happened as realistically as possible.

This year’s edition boasts enhancements to nearly every aspect of the mode, so much so that we’ve dubbed it Road To The Show 2.0. Starting with the front-end aspects, the PS3 Create Player system has received a major overhaul to include modifiable geometry of nearly every aspect of the head and face. If that weren’t enough, we’ve also added several new batting stance and pitching style animations, along with a handful of new player accessories to aide in the customization of your created player.

RTTS 2.0 features an all-new Advancement System that acts as a road map for the player’s career progression, featuring advancement goals given by the team’s manager. The RTTS player is evaluated based on the player’s current skill set (attribute levels) and the player’s statistical performance; to decide what role within the organization the player will be given, as well as what skills are lacking and need attention. Advancement goals are then given, which encompass both attribute improvements and statistical goals, for the sole purpose of improving the player’s skill set to reach the next level. The goal durations will range based on the type of player you are. Starters will have longer durations, with higher expectations, whereas bench/bullpen players might have shorter durations and slightly lower expectations. Once you have achieved enough goals, or your player is simply too good statistically to be ignored, you will then become qualified for the next step in your career.

We spent a lot of time dealing with the balance of this mode. In order for a mode like this to feel right, there has to be a sense of realism as to how you progress. If we push you through too quickly, you don’t feel rewarded and if we hold you back you will feel helpless. So when we started balancing things the first question we asked was, “When does a player hit their peak?” With some research we found that most Major Leaguers start hitting their prime around 28 years old. So using that as a point of reference we started looking at how many years does a ballplayer play to get to this point. We determined that it is 9 years into a professional career on average for a player to work their way up from the minors to that peak level. So using that information, and knowing how many attribute points the player has available to him before he maxes out, we adjusted the criteria so that you will progress and regress at a very realistic pace. Knowing that you can relate your performance directly to how it happens in the pros is totally satisfying and makes the mode that much more enjoyable.

The manager messaging system has been revamped as well to provide the user with career progression specific messages including: organizational changes, advancement goal progress and results, and promotion/demotion related messages. The previous “good game” style messages are a thing of the past, so you’ll need to pay more attention to your messages in order to keep up with the organization. Statistically speaking, we’ve gone and added a new Game Stats tab within the RTTS Locker Room screen that displays all of your player’s stats for every game within the current season. This new screen will display every game the RTTS player participated in – whether you actually played the game or simulated through it – for the entire current season. For position players, you’ll have an at-bat-by-at-bat display of your stats including how you reached base and where you ended up, or how you recorded an out. Pitchers will have inning-by-inning stats that show your pitch count based on the strikes vs. balls totals along with the hits allowed, earned runs allowed, walks allowed, and strike outs recorded within each inning.

The in game situational goals have received several improvements including broadening the goal result types, the addition of training points to the varied results, and an on-screen display of the result and the points earned/deducted. This year you will be rewarded for positively performing towards your goal, so even though you may not have achieved the goal entirely, if you aided the club in your efforts, you’ll still be rewarded. Achieving and failing goals will net training points that will vary based on the goal type and the current game situation. A simple goal of reaching base safely will reward fewer points in the beginning of the game, than it would in a leadoff slot in the 9th inning. Upon completion of the game and returning to the front-end, you’ll be presented with the Career Update screen where you’ll notice we’ve added an entire breakdown of every training point your earned (or lost) based on the type of stat or goal they apply to.

Within the gameplay, we wanted to add goals and situations that really detail what it is like to play the game. Last year we focused on the basic events: hitting, baserunning, and fielding the ball; but there is a lot more that a ballplayer needs to know to be successful. So this year we added fielding situations where you may have to position yourself correctly for a double play or be in the right spot for a cutoff. You will have to make sure that you cover the base on a steal, or on the back end of a double play. Personally, my favorite feature is an element in baseball that has existed forever, but is never utilized in games - 3rd base coaching signs. This year, one of your goals might be “Check your 3rd base coach for a sign.” If you get that, your goal is to know what that sign means and act accordingly in game. Your base coach may also ask you to sacrifice, hit and run, steal, or just swing away. As you progress through RTTS, you will have different levels of help to learn the signs. In AA, we will pretty much spoon-feed you the correct answer, but once you get to the majors, you will be expected to know what the signs mean. This is by far my favorite addition to RTTS because it adds a level of authenticity that baseball video games have lacked.

Overall, RTTS 2.0 has a lot more depth, balance and logic than the inaugural version and will really give you the sense of what it’s like to work your way up the professional ladder like no career mode ever before. If you liked Road to the Show last year, you will love it this year. And if you didn’t like it last year… you will probably STILL love it this year! And if for some reason, you still don’t like it this year? We have a lot more in the works for next year.

Thanks for your time and we will see you in The Show!

[Icy]

Dola, it seems that RTTS is finally going to be more realistic, can't wait!

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Icy

Dola, it seems that RTTS is finally going to be more realistic, can't wait!

WOW!

Thanks for posting that, Icy. That info alone seemed to cover almost every complaint I had with last year's RTTS mode. REALLY excited that they're going to address the promotion issues that plagued last year's version of the game.

[CraigSca]

While I know they are "just" developers, the fact that they had to research when ballplayers hit their peak is a bit disconcerting to me. It's a well-known fact that you hit your peak at 27 - I thought these guys would know baseball enough to "know" that going in. Still, from the gameplay this game rocks, so I'll assume it won't matter that much in the long run.

[markprior22]

I have a 360 so I will be playing The Show on my PS2. Hope it is decent also. Most of the info out there is (understandably) for the PS3.

[Balldog]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

While I know they are "just" developers, the fact that they had to research when ballplayers hit their peak is a bit disconcerting to me. It's a well-known fact that you hit your peak at 27 - I thought these guys would know baseball enough to "know" that going in.

I'm guessing it is just marketing speech, I highly doubt SCEA just lets these guys say what they want.

With some research we found that most Major Leaguers start hitting their prime around 28 years old.

Sounds better than...

It's a well-known fact that you hit your peak at 27

And I'd guess the actual age is 28 due to their wording rather than yours.

I'm just speculating though.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by markprior22

I have a 360 so I will be playing The Show on my PS2. Hope it is decent also. Most of the info out there is (understandably) for the PS3.

I think this is the route I'm going as well, as I think MLB 2k8 is probably a year away from being a great franchise and I'm a year away (at least) from getting a PS3.

[Balldog]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

..and as far as your comments on Brinkman and 2k, he's done a hell of a job so far with the series and it seems to me he's done a lot this year.. and while you're bitching, it's on the ps3 as well so maybe you can keep your sarcastic comments to your self until you play it.. or do you only play ps3 exclusive games?

I rarely agree with MBBF but Brinkman is still riding on his fame from MVP 2005.

MLB 2K7 was nothing great. Almost unplayable if you want a realistic yet fun game of baseball. God forbid I miss time the pitching mechanic and the ball is out of the strike zone instead of right down the middle. Even then the CPU would swing and miss, ground out, or hit a homerun.

Don't get me started on the fielding. How about the jerseys blowing in the wind like a flag, WTF! I could go on but I don't care to.

I generally buy anything 2K puts out, but this year I won't be buying MLB 2K8. I'll be buying a PS3 and getting The Show.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Balldog

I rarely agree with MBBF but Brinkman is still riding on his fame from MVP 2005.

MLB 2K7 was nothing great. Almost unplayable if you want a realistic yet fun game of baseball. God forbid I miss time the pitching mechanic and the ball is out of the strike zone instead of right down the middle. Even then the CPU would swing and miss, ground out, or hit a homerun.

Don't get me started on the fielding. How about the jerseys blowing in the wind like a flag, WTF! I could go on but I don't care to.

I generally buy anything 2K puts out, but this year I won't be buying MLB 2K8. I'll be buying a PS3 and getting The Show.

Now I can finally get away from this depression I've had waiting to see which game you were going to buy. THANK YOU!

[dime]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

Now I can finally get away from this depression I've had waiting to see which game you were going to buy. THANK YOU!

CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!

[Balldog]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

Now I can finally get away from this depression I've had waiting to see which game you were going to buy. THANK YOU!

Interesting considering you said earlier you were going to buy 2k8. Sorry I'm not swinging from Brinkman's nuts.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Balldog

Interesting considering you said earlier you were going to buy 2k8. Sorry I'm not swinging from Brinkman's nuts.

At least Brinkman didn't sit on his ass and keep the same ol same ol pitching, hitting, and fielding control schemes. Quit swinging from The Show's nuts, will ya?

[dervack]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

With that said, comments on how bad that franchise is belong in the MLB 2K8 post. People in this thread want to talk about The Show.

Seriously? Uh, weren't you the one to bring up Brinkman's name? Or is that your selective memory working overtime again?

[Balldog]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

At least Brinkman didn't sit on his ass and keep the same ol same ol pitching, hitting, and fielding control schemes. Quit swinging from The Show's nuts, will ya?

The vast majority love the control schemes, why change them? I see your point, but if what they are using works there is no need to change it.

You prefer graphics and gimmicky control schemes. I prefer gameplay.

I'm done with the topic, I'm not sure why you got all defensive but sorry for you dissing Brinkman and MLB2k#.

Like I said, I almost always buy everything 2K puts out but baseball is my favorite sport and MLB2K series just doesn't cut it for me. Shit, I gave my opinion again.

[Big Fo]

Video games. Serious business.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by dervack

Seriously? Uh, weren't you the one to bring up Brinkman's name? Or is that your selective memory working overtime again?

I didn't bring up 2K8 in this thread. MizzouRah did that. I only comment after it was brought into the thread.

[CraigSca]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

At least Brinkman didn't sit on his ass and keep the same ol same ol pitching, hitting, and fielding control schemes. Quit swinging from The Show's nuts, will ya?

Todd, I'm not sure why you're doing this, but you're coming across as incredibly defensive here. Personally, I'm from the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" school. I've loved The Show's simple controls since 06 (?). Each year they've added more realism but have kept the great gameplay and intuitive controls and I'm thanking my lucky stars.

Last year I think the graphics were much better on the next-gen version of 2k7 vs. The Show (again, if you can get past the Jello-effect uniforms blowing in the wind). This year, I don't really think so. They may "possibly" look better in screenshots, but the animations, like last year, seem to have hitches in them. I know you really took to 2k7, and I gave it a shot but was never able to (hence the reason I went back to the Show).

Here's hoping we both find enjoyment with our chosen games.