MVP 2005 - It ships today

[FBPro]

I've found that if you use a RP several days in a row that his stamina is reduced, instead of being rated at 44/44 he will be 38/44. It doesn't always work this way but I've seen it more than once.

[SackAttack]

That's what I was hoping to see, FBPro, but so far I haven't. I'll keep my eye on it.

[Eaglesfan27]

I've seen it when I try to use Wagner more than 3 days in a row. But, he can go up to 3 days in a row without any problems.

[TRO]

If you are pulling your pitchers when they still have 50%+ stamina, do you really think they need extra rest?

I pitch with my guys down to the 30s, usually to a pitch count of 70-85. I haven't gotten far into my dynasty yet as I've mostly been doing slider tweaking in exhibition play.

By pitching my guys so long, I find I can start walking guys unintentionally and have true mistake pitches. The computer still makes outs off of mistake pitches just like we can.

[jbmagic]

wow, just looking thru Sunday Ads at circuit city, they have MVP 2005 for the PC for 19.99 on sale.


i might go pick this up soon, last time i bought a pc baseball game was High Heat 2004. i hope its better.

[MizzouRah]

Pick it up already.


Todd

[CamEdwards]

you bastards got me to buy the game yesterday. of course i was up until 1:30 playing the game. hitting is incredibly tough for me, but the pitching seems to be a little too easy. might have to change the camera angles around.

that being said, this is an incredibly cool game. glad so many people have recommended it.

[CraigSca]

I actually won my first game, after an 11-game losing streak. Since then, I swept the Tigers in a short 2-game series and then lost to the Red Sox. Therefore, I'm sitting pretty at 3-12 - ha!

I've noticed that it's beneficial to go for the uppercut swing with power hitters...I've been launching the occasional long ball that way. I actually scored 7 runs in a game (doubling my output year to date)! Alas, I gave up six runs in the top of the 9th and lost to the Yankees, 11-7.

This game is still fun, and I feel like I'm getting better and better.

[MizzouRah]

Hey, I'm in a 6 game losing streak, 9.5 games behind the Reds, but alas we meet!!

I've switched my hitting view to the "center" cam instead of "hitter's eye". My hitting is terrible, but I actually scored some runs last night.


Todd

[Lonnie]

I find the homerun derby helps my batting. You get rapid fire pitches all over the strike zone and at different speeds. After about 10 rounds with it I've started to pick up offspeed pitches easier and locating the delivery.

The batting mini-game helps some, but you always know which side of the plate the pitch is coming. In the HR derby it could be anywhere.

I've getting the hang of the untimed pitching mini-game as well. At first I was just trying to hit the biggest color group for the high points per pitch. I found it better to use the first 9 pitches to clear out the trash and make the biggest congruent block to hit with your payoff pitch. I had one pitch last night that was 23,000 points.

[samifan24]

AAA Omaha does not have numbers on the back of its home jerseys. How did no one catch this?

[jbmagic]

ok guys

i join the club and bought MVP 2005 the PC version on sale for 19.99

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by samifan24

AAA Omaha does not have numbers on the back of its home jerseys. How did no one catch this?

Because nobody cares about AAA?

Seriously, they don't in real life but do in the game, or vice versa?

I did think it was a nice touch that they got the fact that the Dodgers won't have names on the back of their jerseys this season, into the game.

[CamEdwards]

w00t! just had my first two homer game and we beat the Blue Jays 3-1.

[Easy Mac]

I've only played it for a day last week, but I must say I love the music. It started me off with the Zutons "Pressure Point"... I was stoked to see that I already owned the music it was playing... it validated my existence

[Bearcat729]

Since I own so many of the songs already I've been turning down the sound and listening to WOXY instead.

[samifan24]

Originally Posted by Easy Mac

I've only played it for a day last week, but I must say I love the music. It started me off with the Zutons "Pressure Point"... I was stoked to see that I already owned the music it was playing... it validated my existence

The songs are starting to creep up on me. "I got a funny little feeling...." but I can't get into the Zutons or Dropkick songs though.

[samifan24]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

Seriously, they don't in real life but do in the game, or vice versa?

They don't in the game but do have numbers in real life.

I wasn't aware the Dodgers were going the Yankees route.

[Pumpy Tudors]

I like watching the credits in this game (in the "EA Sports Extras" menu).

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by samifan24

They don't in the game but do have numbers in real life.

I wasn't aware the Dodgers were going the Yankees route.

Yeah, it's McCourt's attempt to reclaim "tradition."

Right after trashing the cheap seats at Dodger Stadium to put in $85 seats and ditching Ross Porter for a former Yankee broadcaster.

Because, y'know, tradition is important.

[Bearcat729]

I just got a strange email.

The Red Sox traded Jody Gerut to the NL All Stars for Willie Bloomquist. Time will tell if this trade will favor either side.

Now how can teams trade with an All Star team?

[SackAttack]

I like the emails from other teams saying they want to talk trade with you, but it would be nice if it would pull you to the trade screen instead of the trade block, so the player they've got and the ones they want are already listed and you can get an idea of what they want in return.

[Bo Jackson's Hip]

Originally Posted by Bearcat729

I just got a strange email.

The Red Sox traded Jody Gerut to the NL All Stars for Willie Bloomquist. Time will tell if this trade will favor either side.

Now how can teams trade with an All Star team?

Please tell me that you're joking! If this happens alot, I'm going to be pissed.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Bearcat729

I just got a strange email.

The Red Sox traded Jody Gerut to the NL All Stars for Willie Bloomquist. Time will tell if this trade will favor either side.

Now how can teams trade with an All Star team?

Haven't heard of this one yet. Where did the player go?


Todd

[Bearcat729]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

Haven't heard of this one yet. Where did the player go?


Todd

When I watched the scroll at the bottom of the screen it said that the Trade was Boston and Minnesota so perhaps it was just an error in the email.

[jbmagic]

Hitting Tips for MVP 2005

http://www.theperfectgame.net/forums...showtopic=1398

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Bearcat729

When I watched the scroll at the bottom of the screen it said that the Trade was Boston and Minnesota so perhaps it was just an error in the email.

Whew.


Todd

[Eaglesfan27]

Earlier tonight I played my third game of a series against the Brewers. They had beaten me the previous two games and seemed to be a problem for me like others on here. Except they were beating me with big homers! Lyle Overby (sp?) hit 2 homers against me in the 1st game and 1 more in the 2nd. In any case, I pitched much better in the 3rd and had a 3 hitter with very selective pitching.

However, I was much more proud of the fact that I decided I was going to be very patient while hitting. It worked, I had 3 walks and 22 hits! I only had 8 runs, but they were mostly from strung together hits as opposed to most of my previous offensive outbursts which had been due to homers. 22 hits was almost twice my previous high

[MizzouRah]

Good for you EF!

I finally won my 7th game of the year tonight 5-4 over the Padres. Gruzzy drove in 4 runs as I really like the "center" view much better than the "hitter's eye".


Todd

[samifan24]

I just finished my 5th game in Owner Mode as my Indians. I've scored 21 runs and given up 21 runs as well. I won 9-6 over Detroit in the 5th game and scored 6 runs in one inning. Is this comparable to what you guys are seeing? I feel like pitching is tough but hitting is getting easier. Either I'm getting better or I'm just beating up on the Tigers because they're the Tigers. Any thoughts?

[Eaglesfan27]

I think the general feeling has been that pitching is easy (until you turn off the pitching cursor and possibly some other options) and that hitting is hard. For me, pitching was easy at first and is now just about right with the pitching cursor off. Hitting is still tough unless I really concentrate and make myself be patient.

[Young Drachma]

Mine keeps crashing. Does that happen to anyone else?

[SackAttack]

Something I've noticed about pitching is that on any difficulty level, you can ratchet the sliders 40 points either + or - (+ is easier, - is harder) to sort of customize the pitching and hitting difficulty. I've stepped back down to pro for hitting - I can't catch up with the fastball very effectively on All-Star - but I cranked the pitching difficulty way up.

What it does is shrink the 'sweet spot' for the pitching meter, and so far it's been much more difficult to hit my spots, and much more rewarding when I do.

Good times.

Also, I simmed a season so that I could get the field seating and see what effect it might have. The verdict: negligible, except in the playoffs, since you only get 2,000 seats down the lines. I wonder if you can purchase it multiple times to get more.

Finished with $10m in profit after the CPU offered me cheapy Simontacchi for $6.5m Nomo, so I should be able to build the next level of seating now, too.

[Ryan S]

Can anyone tell me what controllers can be used for the game? I assume it is somewhere in the readme file.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

Something I've noticed about pitching is that on any difficulty level, you can ratchet the sliders 40 points either + or - (+ is easier, - is harder) to sort of customize the pitching and hitting difficulty. I've stepped back down to pro for hitting - I can't catch up with the fastball very effectively on All-Star - but I cranked the pitching difficulty way up.

What it does is shrink the 'sweet spot' for the pitching meter, and so far it's been much more difficult to hit my spots, and much more rewarding when I do.

Good times.

Also, I simmed a season so that I could get the field seating and see what effect it might have. The verdict: negligible, except in the playoffs, since you only get 2,000 seats down the lines. I wonder if you can purchase it multiple times to get more.

Finished with $10m in profit after the CPU offered me cheapy Simontacchi for $6.5m Nomo, so I should be able to build the next level of seating now, too.

I remember reading somewhere that there are at least 5 different levels and locations of seating. So, I'm sure that you will be able to purchase more seating for your club.

Meanwhile, I'm 3 million in the red despite dumping Kenny Lofton and his weak arm in center. I also dumped Polanco for salary reasons alone (well that wasn't the only reason, I really wanted the very good prospect and Lofton alone wouldn't get it done.) I packaged Lofton and Polanco for a very good prospect in center field who will hopefully be ready in a year or two.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I remember reading somewhere that there are at least 5 different levels and locations of seating. So, I'm sure that you will be able to purchase more seating for your club.

Oh, I pretty clearly can. It's just a matter of how much additional seating (and, as a result, revenue) that will generate.

[MizzouRah]

I find the pitching on AS defaults - btp view, cursor on fade, everything else off - to be quite perfect as far as challenge goes for me. Hitting, well not that I'm back to the "center" view, my hitting is coming along fine. Had a bases clearing triple last night with Gruzzy last night. Barely won 5-4. haha..

MLB is out today, so I'm interested in how it compares to MVP.. well that and I've read the manage only mode is kind of neat, with a view from the dugout.

Todd

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

I find the pitching on AS defaults - btp view, cursor on fade, everything else off - to be quite perfect as far as challenge goes for me. Hitting, well not that I'm back to the "center" view, my hitting is coming along fine. Had a bases clearing triple last night with Gruzzy last night. Barely won 5-4. haha..

MLB is out today, so I'm interested in how it compares to MVP.. well that and I've read the manage only mode is kind of neat, with a view from the dugout.

Todd

I agree with both paragraphs (well the concept of both - I actually use the hitter's eye, but think the pitching challenge is just perfect with cursor on fade and everything else off or alternatively I sometimes use the pitching cursor off.) I can't wait to hear about MLB, and if it is worth it for the manage only mode. If that is well done and the dynasty mode is well done, I might buy a second console baseball game for the first time ever. Especially, since I can't play MVP too long or I lose the necessary concentration for hitting well.

[CraigSca]

Todd - when you say everything else is off for pitching, are you turning the vibration off as well?

[Young Drachma]

It works fine, except in Owner mode for me. Whenever I try to save in Owner mode, it gives me some invalid memory location and crashes. Otherwise, the game works perfectly and smoothly. (PC version). It's good and just what I needed right now, a baseball game.

[jbmagic]

on hitting, do you guys use the left analog stick and point to your hot spot and hold it there before they pitch? or you guys just hitting the button and not using the left analog stick?


and for pitching i need some tips. do you guys try to hit the cold spots (blue) and never pitch in the hot spot (red)?


thanks

[mgadfly]

Originally Posted by jbmagic

on hitting, do you guys use the left analog stick and point to your hot spot and hold it there before they pitch? or you guys just hitting the button and not using the left analog stick?


and for pitching i need some tips. do you guys try to hit the cold spots (blue) and never pitch in the hot spot (red)?


thanks

I usually don't push the left analog unless I'm sitting on a certain pitch (usually a fastball on the inside half of the plate or something I can push on the ground behind the runner on base). When I get to two strikes, which is often since I take pitches trying to get that inside fastball, I stop messing with the analog because I just want to concentrate on my timing.

For pitching, I have turned everything off except vibration. I usually nibble on the outside edge of the plate a lot as I try to prevent them from pulling the ball. My rule is that I can only look through the hot-cold zones (by pressing the white button and looking at the player card) before each inning begins. I just do this to simulate the imperfect memory of the catcher (I figure they might have this information in the dugout where he can review it, but after he goes out there he has to call the game by memory).

I've learned to pitch outside the zone a lot, and I try to never leave anything in the middle of the plate.

[Lonnie]

Pitch location and timing are more important than where you aim it with the stick. You don't aim for a hot spot, you wait for a pitch in a hot spot. Use the stick to try to pull, push, get under, or chop down at the ball. The hitting tips you posted earlier explain it well.

I would suggest not even using the stick until you are comfortable hitting and then start using it to correct the mistakes you see the most of. Once you start reading the pitches and pitch location then you'll know what to do with the stick.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

Todd - when you say everything else is off for pitching, are you turning the vibration off as well?

Yes, vibration off is a must, imo. I like the fade for the cursor because even though you have a brief moment to hit your spot, that still doesn't mean it won't be that hitter's hot zone. (hot/cold zones turned off) Pitching from behind the pitcher is a must as well. It's much harder to hit spots with that view.

Originally Posted by Lonnie

Pitch location and timing are more important than where you aim it with the stick. You don't aim for a hot spot, you wait for a pitch in a hot spot. Use the stick to try to pull, push, get under, or chop down at the ball. The hitting tips you posted earlier explain it well.

I would suggest not even using the stick until you are comfortable hitting and then start using it to correct the mistakes you see the most of. Once you start reading the pitches and pitch location then you'll know what to do with the stick.

Excellent post, and I agree 100%. The cool thing about this type of hitting is you can actually try for a pop fly to bring that runner home from third, aim down at a low pitch to move the runner to 2nd on a hit and run, etc...

I only hit up on the stick when I need a homerun (late in the game) or I see a fat pitch coming my way - especially when the red circle appears up in the zone.

The thing I like about the center view vs the hitter's eye view is the pitcher is further away and gives me more time to diagnose the pitch coming my way.


Todd

[jbmagic]

my problem with hitting, is i am trying to swing most of the time.. a lot of times i dont see where the pitch is going and not reacting fast enough not to swing.

also having trouble waiting for a pitch to come to the hitter hot zone?

any tips on looking at the ball, when the pitcher throws the ball?

[CraigSca]

All I can say, jbmagic, is practice. It's frustrating at first...but then 10 games into the season you'll score 4 runs in a single inning and you'll want to wake up the entire family and call the neighbors in.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

All I can say, jbmagic, is practice. It's frustrating at first...but then 10 games into the season you'll score 4 runs in a single inning and you'll want to wake up the entire family and call the neighbors in.

That isn't just me that had that reaction

My wife is still wondering what the big deal was.

[MizzouRah]

Play the hitting mini-game and the home run derby.. over and over again. Then, play it some more.


Todd

[jbmagic]

thanks

this game is really awesome and fun.


i was using my left analog stick all wrong, i tought it was for aiming and guessing where you think the pitch will come at. and i was going on the direction with my left analog stick to where the batter hot zone was. i feel so stupid.

i realize now its more for pulling a pitch, hitting a ground ball, or to trying to lift the pitch up regardless where the pitch location is.


and i need to practice to be more selective when hitting and seeing my first walk in the game.

[Pumpy Tudors]

I should also point out that it's a bad idea to always stay out of an opposing hitter's hot zone. Yes, you probably want many of your pitches to be near the cold zones (if they have any), but I'll tell you this much: if I know that every pitch is coming to my cold zones, I'll just drive them to the appropriate place. If my cold zones are all on the inside half of the plate, I'll just pull every pitch. Will I hit homers? Probably not. I will get enough hits to be competitive, though. You have to challenge hitters sometimes. If your pitcher can throw 97 MPH, zip one of those bad boys through the hitter's hot zone. Make the hitters play your game. Now, if your pitcher has a shitty curveball, no, you probably don't want to hang that in the hot zone, but if you have an "out" pitch, that's the one to put near the hot zone occasionally, because the batter is probably more likely to take a swing at it.

I don't know exactly how hot zones work, but I imagine that the hitters have only slightly greater contact abilities in them. I think the biggest boost from the hot zone is in the power factor. The hitter can't use the power on a pitch that he can't hit. Challenge them with your best stuff in their best spots.