MLB 10: The Show

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

There are something like 130 or 140 A & B rated players in AA and A. If you average that out, it's about 4-5 per team. Considering some of those players will pan out, and some wont, I think it's not a bad figure.

The people who post at OS are a bunch of kids with nothing to do but find something about a game they don't like, then post about it as if the sky were falling. About 2 or 3 posts out of every 50 in those threads is actually worth reading.

Apparently human controlled teams are making random trades now.

Personally it isn't an issue for me since I usually wait until the opening month of the season to start a franchise. If by then it isn't fixed I'll be upset.

[PurdueBrad]

This may happen for everybody, and if it does, then it's no biggie. I got selected in my first season to the Futures Game in Anaheim. First time seeing the big league stadium and it's impressive. I went 1-4 but we lost 4-1. But really cool I must say.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

Nah, no patch. It will be anywhere from 3 weeks to 2 months before we see any patch IMO. I believe whoever the team is that would be doing the work on the patch itself has been on a break since last wednesday or friday.

If he hasn't played it yet, he could be getting the 1.06 patch which was released the day after release. Agreed that the major patch won't be out for a few weeks.

[Sun Tzu]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

If he hasn't played it yet, he could be getting the 1.06 patch which was released the day after release. Agreed that the major patch won't be out for a few weeks.

Good point. Either way, you don't have to "do" anything to get a patch, it's automatic...you'll know.

PurdueBrad - Lucky bastard. I wasn't selected to the Futures game at all. What team were representing?

[PurdueBrad]

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

PurdueBrad - Lucky bastard. I wasn't selected to the Futures game at all. What team were representing?

I represented Team USA. It was actually pretty cool. Although the funny thing is that I was immediately put on the trading block after the game (I think two days later). Luckily I didn't get traded at the deadline since the Rays only have 4 total 3Bs (including me), 1 has been injured all year, and the guy in Triple A is sucking. I keep hoping I'll get the call to Triple A but no luck yet.

Current stats: It's August 5'th, year 1. 18 years old
.281, 22 doubles, 5 homeruns, 41 RBIs

[Icy]

Game just arrived in Spain today, the wait for shipping was killing me, time to start a new RTTS!

[TroyF]

Incredibly dissapointing this year. I didn't think the trades could be fixed by a roster patch and they can't. That makes RTTS and Franchise essentially worthless for now. I'll play a few games at the classic stadiums and start playing Mass Effect 2 until they get it right.

[CleBrownsfan]

I still have faith they'll be able to fix the bugs in a later patch. But it is sad that I paid $60 for a game I have played less than 2 hours

[PurdueBrad]

So quick question for someone that understands the issues. I started my RTTS the day after I got the game as a third baseman for the Rays. There are 4 third basemen in the system and I'm considered the #2. How will the potentials bug affect my RTTS or will it? Thanks in advance.

[TroyF]

You usually move up in RTTS due to injuries or guys being traded. (it has very little to do with ratings)

How the trade bug will impact your career? In my case, I was traded within the first 2 weeks of my career. I was traded 3 more times in the following year and a half. Trades around the league were screwy. For example, I was traded for Josh Beckett straight up in that first trade. Minnesota dealt Jim Thome of Barry Zito.

Essentially, if you are just worried about your guy playing games and not concerned at all about being traded or the team you are on making nutty trades and moves, you'll be fine. I can't get serious about a career with that happening.

[Sun Tzu]

Originally Posted by PurdueBrad

So quick question for someone that understands the issues. I started my RTTS the day after I got the game as a third baseman for the Rays. There are 4 third basemen in the system and I'm considered the #2. How will the potentials bug affect my RTTS or will it? Thanks in advance.

Well, the "killer bug" in Franchise is the CPU will make trades for your team without your knowing even if you have trades set to manual. There is also a Waivers bug where if a Human team claims a player from trade waivers, the CPU wont pull them back. Both of these are known bugs, and SCEA has officially said they know how to fix them...so we're just waiting on the patch.

In RTTS, neither of these really affects you. I've heard some people complain that they got traded around several times as a prospect, but the same thing happened to me last year (I was traded 4 times before I was 21) so this is just another case of someone not liking something that happened to their player and blaming it on a "bug". If you started your RTTS before yesterday, then you're playing with a moderately F'ed up roster that has several star players with terrible potential ratings, causing them to crash after the first season and retire very early. However if you started Monday or later you should be A-ok. However if you did start before monday, and if you're ok with a handful of stars crashing and retiring right away, then keep on truckin! Whatever patch hits later on shouldn't require you to restart, so I say go nuts.

[dubb93]

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

I believe whoever the team is that would be doing the work on the patch itself has been on a break since last wednesday or friday.

Who in the hell decided to go on break with franchise mode unplayable b/c the computer makes trades for the human player without their permission with trades set to human controlled? That is seriously bush league. I was waiting this out, if they went on break with that monster bug I don't even know if I will pick this up down the line.

[Sun Tzu]

Originally Posted by dubb93

Who in the hell decided to go on break with franchise mode unplayable b/c the computer makes trades for the human player without their permission with trades set to human controlled? That is seriously bush league. I was waiting this out, if they went on break with that monster bug I don't even know if I will pick this up down the line.

This is pretty much industry standard actually. The dev guys are almost literally working around the clock the last few weeks before launch. I've known a lot of guys that worked at EA, and they would look white as ghosts up until the day whatever game they were working on dropped.

Additionally, it should be noted that the people who "test" games for bugs at these companies are in no way sports specialists. They use the same testers for all games. So for example the same person who tests MLB The Show, also tests Heavy Rain, and earlier they were testing SoCom. That is a big reason IMO that sports games ship with an unusually high number of bugs, because the people testing the games don't (for the most part at least) understand the strategy of the sport and how it "should" play.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by dubb93

Who in the hell decided to go on break with franchise mode unplayable b/c the computer makes trades for the human player without their permission with trades set to human controlled? That is seriously bush league. I was waiting this out, if they went on break with that monster bug I don't even know if I will pick this up down the line.

I'm not defending The Show for the bugs this year. They are game breaking bugs that these guys usually don't let happen. I have no idea what happened to them.

That said, the cycle of a video game is difficult. In the final weeks before a game goes gold, they can work over 80 hours a week. By the time that stretch is done, they are exhausted, need to see their families, and need to get out of the office for awhile.

Generally, it's much better for them to take a couple of week break and recharge their batteries than just start on a patch and put out a substandard patch. While I'm pissed off right now about the shape the game was released in, I can understand the human issues which cause their need for a short break before starting on the patch.

One other reason they go on short breaks before starting the patch: it gives people time to find all of the problems with the game. They only have a limited number of patches on a console. If they fix what's out there now and a new one pops up after this one is out, that second problem will likely not get fixed.

[Cuckoo]

I'll wait to see what happens with the next patch, but it's looking more and more like I'll just stick with last year's version. That and College Hoops 2k8 are probably two of my most-played games ever.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by dubb93

franchise mode unplayable b/c the computer makes trades for the human player without their permission with trades set to human controlled?

I'm no programmer, but I can't conceptually figure out how this could ever happen. What a complete joke. How long until someone realizes that the computer is playing your games for you?

[RainMaker]

Really disappointed in the effort this year. A series I thought could do no wrong up until this version. I'm just going to stick with 09 as it looks like you can get a decent haul for 2010 on Ebay.

[rowech]

I'm cerainly disappointed but we all know this stuff will be fixed. It doesn't excuse it but given some of the stuff that gets cranked out, it's still a great game at the core.

[RainMaker]

So is 09 though. There isn't a huge jump from 09 to 10 so why sit around and wait for them to hopefully fix some massive bugs.

I guess I also feel that if these bugs slipped through testing, I don't even want to know what will happen when people get deeper into franchises and RTTS.

[rowech]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

So is 09 though. There isn't a huge jump from 09 to 10 so why sit around and wait for them to hopefully fix some massive bugs.

I guess I also feel that if these bugs slipped through testing, I don't even want to know what will happen when people get deeper into franchises and RTTS.

Because I already traded in 09...

[Sun Tzu]

One word for all the people are just driving this game into the ground right now...

spoiled

[Tigercat]

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

Additionally, it should be noted that the people who "test" games for bugs at these companies are in no way sports specialists. They use the same testers for all games. So for example the same person who tests MLB The Show, also tests Heavy Rain, and earlier they were testing SoCom. That is a big reason IMO that sports games ship with an unusually high number of bugs, because the people testing the games don't (for the most part at least) understand the strategy of the sport and how it "should" play.

EA's biggest testing facility is at LSU, and they try to only let in sports gamers, and last I heard that site only tests sports games. Then again, that is EA's big cash cow, so they can afford that sort of thing.

[Sun Tzu]

Originally Posted by Tigercat

EA's biggest testing facility is at LSU, and they try to only let in sports gamers, and last I heard that site only tests sports games. Then again, that is EA's big cash cow, so they can afford that sort of thing.

I hadn't heard of that site, but I lived 10 blocks from EA headquarters in Redwood Shores, CA for 25 years. I know all of the testing done there is done by random kids hired at $15/hr.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

One word for all the people are just driving this game into the ground right now...

spoiled

Another word for people who don't drive a game into the ground when something as ridiculous as the computer trading players on human controlled teams:

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

I hope I don't come off as a fanboy .

[Sun Tzu]

This isn't EA we're talking about. With EA I expect squat for support, and subpar patches that cause more problems then they fix. With SCEA, well at least with this specific title, they have a near perfect track record with fixing whatever bugs ship with the game. I think a lot of people forget all of the "game killing" bugs that shipped last year. It took them 3 months to fix all of them, and when the last patch came out you were required to restart your franchise/RTTS for the patch to take effect. The short term memory loss of some gamers just baffles me.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

I hadn't heard of that site, but I lived 10 blocks from EA headquarters in Redwood Shores, CA for 25 years. I know all of the testing done there is done by random kids hired at $15/hr.

I'm kind of surprised that they don't send out a few Beta copies to some of the more well known guys on the OS boards. I think for the cost of 3 Beta copies they could probably find almost all the major franchise bugs they needed. Instead of some random college kids, why not put it in the hands of the most diehard fans who will dig deep and probably do it for free?

This goes for all sports games. I mean fuck, why not let the best roster guys on the board do the rosters for you too?

[Sun Tzu]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

I'm kind of surprised that they don't send out a few Beta copies to some of the more well known guys on the OS boards. I think for the cost of 3 Beta copies they could probably find almost all the major franchise bugs they needed. Instead of some random college kids, why not put it in the hands of the most diehard fans who will dig deep and probably do it for free?

I've often wondered that myself...I just don't get it. Site aside like 10-15k and do just that. They would save god knows how many payroll hours that they would have otherwise spent on working on patches 2-3 months out.

[PurdueBrad]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

I'm kind of surprised that they don't send out a few Beta copies to some of the more well known guys on the OS boards. I think for the cost of 3 Beta copies they could probably find almost all the major franchise bugs they needed. Instead of some random college kids, why not put it in the hands of the most diehard fans who will dig deep and probably do it for free?

This goes for all sports games. I mean fuck, why not let the best roster guys on the board do the rosters for you too?

Yeah, but why do that when consumers can be your testers? I know it is cynical but I said it earlier in this thread, there's a "we'll slap a patch on any problems" attitude that seems to have infiltrated most games so why bother beta testing as long as it is relatively or sort of stable.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

This isn't EA we're talking about. With EA I expect squat for support, and subpar patches that cause more problems then they fix. With SCEA, well at least with this specific title, they have a near perfect track record with fixing whatever bugs ship with the game. I think a lot of people forget all of the "game killing" bugs that shipped last year. It took them 3 months to fix all of them, and when the last patch came out you were required to restart your franchise/RTTS for the patch to take effect. The short term memory loss of some gamers just baffles me.

I agree, the short term memory loss is baffling. Last year there were only a handful of major bugs that shipped with the game. Probably the most discussed but was where the game locked up on you sometime in your third year of rtts. The work around was found in a day and involved saving often your third year and then simming past the date. (I simmed it until I went 0-8 over the two days and sped right through it)

The other major bugs were really not a huge deal. The hit streaks with the announcers would be wrong for example. (they'd say you were on a 13 game hitting streak when you had only hit in 12, that type of thing)

I got through 12 seasons of RTTS mode last year and I started that career the day the game came out. There was an odd ball FA signing here or there, but nothing and I mean NOTHING like what has transpired this year.

What we are dealing with here is exactly what EA would be crucified for. They put out a product that clearly underwent little testing. (how do you NOT find out that trades are being made without human approval or look at the types of trades made in both franchise and RTTS mode? This is stuff we can find out in 25 minutes of testing, not something like last year where you had to play through three years before you found the bug.)

I'm not throwing a fit about it. I'm just a little disappointed in the team this year. I think they dropped the ball and that's not something I expect to happen with this franchise. My big concern is if they'll be able to fix all of these issues or not. Trade logic that messed up isn't always easy to fix. I'll be waiting to see if they do it.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by PurdueBrad

Yeah, but why do that when consumers can be your testers? I know it is cynical but I said it earlier in this thread, there's a "we'll slap a patch on any problems" attitude that seems to have infiltrated most games so why bother beta testing as long as it is relatively or sort of stable.

But these companies are testing them and spending money on it. It's just they are incompetent at doing it and not finding the right issues. I guess I'm saying is that this would make more sense than the current setup of having people who have no idea what the game is supposed to do testing it.

[PurdueBrad]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

But these companies are testing them and spending money on it. It's just they are incompetent at doing it and not finding the right issues. I guess I'm saying is that this would make more sense than the current setup of having people who have no idea what the game is supposed to do testing it.

I agree with that Rainmaker. I'm actually quite skeptical anymore of how much of their budget is testing as I think they've been able to get lazy about it. But I do agree, rather than blow their money having their "experts" test the games, give it to some independent experts/veteran gamers for true feedback.

[JetsIn06]

MLB '10 The Show Tips and Work Arounds - Operation Sports Forums

Workarounds for most bugs.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by JetsIn06

MLB '10 The Show Tips and Work Arounds - Operation Sports Forums

Workarounds for most bugs.

These all seem great if you are playing franchise. Sadly, I play RTTS pretty much exclusively and there is zero work around for that trade logic. Maybe I'll try some franchise for the hell of it.

[PurdueBrad]

Just finished my first RTTS season in MLB 2010. Hit .279, 7 homers, 58 RBIs in Double A. Got a 2 year contract at $550,000 per year inked for next year as the starting Triple A third basemen. Hopefully all goes well at the next level. No Spring Training invite though.

[Sun Tzu]

Originally Posted by PurdueBrad

Just finished my first RTTS season in MLB 2010. Hit .279, 7 homers, 58 RBIs in Double A. Got a 2 year contract at $550,000 per year inked for next year as the starting Triple A third basemen. Hopefully all goes well at the next level. No Spring Training invite though.

Nicely done. I went the same route as a SP, but got sent back down to AA after one of their hot SP prospects failed to make the opening day 25 man roster. Thankfully I put together some strong outings and was re-promoted to AAA.

My first year in AA I finished 12-2 with a 2.39 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. I led the league in Winning percentage, ERA, WHIP, and Walks . I didn't get invited to the futures game in year 1 like you (booo), however I did make the All-star game.

I was also traded from the Rays AA affiliate (The Biscuits) to the Pirates AA affiliate (Altoona Curve) 3/4 of the way through the season. I guess I was on the trading block for a while after complaining too much .

[EagleFan]

Originally Posted by PurdueBrad

Just finished my first RTTS season in MLB 2010. Hit .279, 7 homers, 58 RBIs in Double A. Got a 2 year contract at $550,000 per year inked for next year as the starting Triple A third basemen. Hopefully all goes well at the next level. No Spring Training invite though.

Well done.

[EagleFan]

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

Nicely done. I went the same route as a SP, but got sent back down to AA after one of their hot SP prospects failed to make the opening day 25 man roster. Thankfully I put together some strong outings and was re-promoted to AAA.

My first year in AA I finished 12-2 with a 2.39 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. I led the league in Winning percentage, ERA, WHIP, and Walks . I didn't get invited to the futures game in year 1 like you (booo), however I did make the All-star game.

I was also traded from the Rays AA affiliate (The Biscuits) to the Pirates AA affiliate (Altoona Curve) 3/4 of the way through the season. I guess I was on the trading block for a while after complaining too much .

Not moving as quickly but so far 5-2 with an ERA a little over 2 for the Bowie Baysox (Orioles AA) team. Looks like I have a good chance of making the All-Star team. Should be 8-2 if it weren't for a couple blown leads by the pen but can't complain as we're in first place by 6 games.

I just wish my team had some offensive stars as we seem to win with pitching and singles hitters. It's not quite as entertaining to watch my team hit.


I know there are complaints about the game but I am enjoying the hell out of it so it's worth the money for me.

I also found out what happened with that weird situation when it jumped to me being on the mound after a visit to the mond by the other team (there were 2 outs and the baseruner was either picked off or caught stealing and for some reason the game didn't show that event). That makes me feel better about it as it seemed like there was a weird bug when it happened.

[PurdueBrad]

EF and SunTzu, nice job pitching. Glad you guys aren't in my league!

I'm loving me some Triple A pitching though. As a Durham Bull, I went 7-18 in my first series, hitting 2 doubles, 2 homers, and driving in 4 runs. I like Triple A!

I was on the trading block last season at the deadline (not sure why) but no movement thankfully.

[EagleFan]

Originally Posted by PurdueBrad

EF and SunTzu, nice job pitching. Glad you guys aren't in my league!

I'm loving me some Triple A pitching though. As a Durham Bull, I went 7-18 in my first series, hitting 2 doubles, 2 homers, and driving in 4 runs. I like Triple A!

I was on the trading block last season at the deadline (not sure why) but no movement thankfully.

Can I have your autograph before the price goes up?

[EagleFan]

dola: PB, how are you at drawing a walk? I am almost happier when I get a walk as a hitter than when I get a homerun. The low pitch is the toughest for me to judge.

[FBPro]

I've been playing PSP The Show since it came out, but just got a PS3 and wow. Loving it so far, almost 100ab into my RTTS season sadly just hitting in the .220-.240 range 3xb hits. Hope I'll pick it up soon but loving it.

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

dola: PB, how are you at drawing a walk? I am almost happier when I get a walk as a hitter than when I get a homerun. The low pitch is the toughest for me to judge.

Use 1/4th classic guess pitch. Then guess the X pitch and low. Low pitches are hardest to judge so it helps a ton.

[DeToxRox]

I just finished a season as a CF:

.284/2 HR/43 RBI/65 BB/82 K/33 SB/10 CS (Got cocky)

[Sun Tzu]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

I just finished a season as a CF:

.284/2 HR/43 RBI/65 BB/82 K/33 SB/10 CS (Got cocky)

I've heard that you get negative points if you steal a base without a green light. I have yet to start up my RTTS batter career (waiting for Knights full minors roster for that one) so I don't know how all of that works yet.

Do you always have the "go signal" even starting out? How much has baserunning changed since last year (where you just moved the L stick towards the next base)?

PB and other hitters, I agree that drawing a walk is extremely difficult. I can't comment on this years game, but I'm guessing it's very similar to last year. Low pitches are the hardest to judge for me too, especially curveballs...I swear I struck out 50 times a year on balls that bounced on the plate. I played about 10 years as a 3B last year and I struck out over 100 times every year, and drew very, very few walks. My best year was when I hit .320 with 31 HR and 90 RBI, which I promptly followed up with a year where I hit .289 . What's weird is for my SP career I was traded all over the place...I think I played on 6 or 7 different teams by the time I retired. However as a batter I spent my entire career in the Phillies organization.

[Icy]

I have started an RTTS as RF/LF in All Star difficulty with no sliders changes and i'm enjoying it even when i struggle in AA.

After the first month my stats are .235 avg, 2 RBI, 2 BB and 15K. I also K a lot and it pisses me off, as most of the times i strike out in 3-2 favorable counts and after fighting the k with like 3 foul balls.

Unlike past year, this year i'm hitting better slow and curve pitches than fastballs as i'm always late to those.

Still enjoying it as i like to start struggling in this kind of career games and slowly improve my player, feels more realistic than tearing up AA and AAA in my first year.

One thing the show should add is a mode like NHL10 does with "Be a Pro" where you can either start as created rookie or to continue the career of a real player from any team. It would be a nice different feeling when you want to play directly with an already developed player in the MLB.

[PurdueBrad]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

dola: PB, how are you at drawing a walk? I am almost happier when I get a walk as a hitter than when I get a homerun. The low pitch is the toughest for me to judge.

I am much better at hitting homers than drawing walks I think I drew 4 walks in the first season, although (and you'll be happy to hear this EF) I was hit by a pitch 19 times. I've already been hit twice in 9 games at Triple A.

Yeah, the low pitches are brutal to judge, so my guess a spot is normally low (although during my hot streaks I've noticed I tend to look at the outside pitch a lot more).

What are the differences between the guess a pitches (i.e. the "1/4'th classic")?

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by PurdueBrad

I am much better at hitting homers than drawing walks I think I drew 4 walks in the first season, although (and you'll be happy to hear this EF) I was hit by a pitch 19 times. I've already been hit twice in 9 games at Triple A.

Yeah, the low pitches are brutal to judge, so my guess a spot is normally low (although during my hot streaks I've noticed I tend to look at the outside pitch a lot more).

What are the differences between the guess a pitches (i.e. the "1/4'th classic")?

1/4th breaks it down into 4 zones so you have a bigger area to work with I believe.

I never used the default one so I am not sure.

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

I've heard that you get negative points if you steal a base without a green light. I have yet to start up my RTTS batter career (waiting for Knights full minors roster for that one) so I don't know how all of that works yet.

Do you always have the "go signal" even starting out? How much has baserunning changed since last year (where you just moved the L stick towards the next base)?

PB and other hitters, I agree that drawing a walk is extremely difficult. I can't comment on this years game, but I'm guessing it's very similar to last year. Low pitches are the hardest to judge for me too, especially curveballs...I swear I struck out 50 times a year on balls that bounced on the plate. I played about 10 years as a 3B last year and I struck out over 100 times every year, and drew very, very few walks. My best year was when I hit .320 with 31 HR and 90 RBI, which I promptly followed up with a year where I hit .289 . What's weird is for my SP career I was traded all over the place...I think I played on 6 or 7 different teams by the time I retired. However as a batter I spent my entire career in the Phillies organization.

Yeah you lose like 2 points I think. If you take the bag you get like 10. I need to double check.

I take a lot of walks now because I never swing first pitch and I usually take on 3-1 counts also.

What also helped is moving my chair closer to the screen and really watching the ball out of the pitchers hand. More often then not you can get a good judge of where it is headed.

[EagleFan]

Started a 3B career last night. Just one game so far. Was 1 for 3 in my first 3 at bats with no strikeouts and felt in control. Then a reliever from HELL came in and struck me out twice. He was throwing off speed crap in in the 60 MPH range for the first part of the at bat and then with two strikes blazes a freaking 98 MPH fastball by me each time. I hope to hell he doesn't follow me up the ladder, and if he does I hope he ends up in the other league and not in my division.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

Started a 3B career last night. Just one game so far. Was 1 for 3 in my first 3 at bats with no strikeouts and felt in control. Then a reliever from HELL came in and struck me out twice. He was throwing off speed crap in in the 60 MPH range for the first part of the at bat and then with two strikes blazes a freaking 98 MPH fastball by me each time. I hope to hell he doesn't follow me up the ladder, and if he does I hope he ends up in the other league and not in my division.

I hate those types of pitchers. I remember one guy who just owned me last year and he did follow me up the ladder. His three pitches were: 1) A fastball that touched 97. 2) A change up that went around 83-85. 3) A knuckleball.

The SOB always seemed to get the knuckler over for strikes. I had to guess fastball and hit the first one even near the strike zone. I don't have the stats like '10 would for me, but I would guess in my career I hit under .100 against the guy.