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

[korme]

I'm doing Rtts as a pitcher, starting pitcher. I chose it because I only have to commit to playing like 30 games a year, which is good because I was getting annoyed with the load times for the at-bats. Also, I seem to be better, quicker.

[JS19]

Has anyone tried the sliders online? I'm giving some thought to d/l one for HOF, any suggestions?

[Calis]

Originally Posted by Shorty3281

I'm doing Rtts as a pitcher, starting pitcher. I chose it because I only have to commit to playing like 30 games a year, which is good because I was getting annoyed with the load times for the at-bats. Also, I seem to be better, quicker.

That's the main problem with closers. If you're only facing maybe 3 batters per game you're spending a hideous amount of time on loading screens. The main reason I don't play that career more.

[darkenigma510]

Originally Posted by Calis

I think "speed through play" is a terribly misleading phrase to use in this situation. Sure it's quicker, but it's still slow as hell in this instance. It's definitely not a solution for this.

I'm still playing RTTS and enjoying it, but one of the things I really like RTTS for and would like it even more is the ability to sit down and play a quick game or two. If I have 10-15 minutes to sit down I'd like to be able to get through a game, but in that 10-15 minutes a majority of the time 8+ minutes of it are spent on the bases doing jack squat. I enjoy playing a slower more plodding guy, but I feel like I'm being forced into making speedsters if I want to get any enjoyment out of half the game, and even then I don't think it'd be that enjoyable.

Sucks, because I love the mode otherwise but man that's testing my patience.

RTTS would be perfect in one-pitch mode. For example, when I am fielding, I don't have to sit through all the pitches to wait do some fielding. Baserunning should really be the same (or have the option for that).

[darkenigma510]

GUys, three ways to help RTTS go quicker, esp on base:

1) Fast Play On

2) Turn Pitch Count Slider all the way to the left

3) Move Foul Tip Slider to the left (although this will impact your at-bast as well).

I just tried it and Number 2, especially, helps to reduce those epic 10 pitch at-bats while you are on base. try it and let me know how it works for you.

[SackAttack]

We still need two or three owners for the MLB 08 League for anybody who hasn't taken a look over in that thread yet.

[Sweed]

Originally Posted by JS19

Has anyone tried the sliders online? I'm giving some thought to d/l one for HOF, any suggestions?

I'm using these All-Star level sliders by Skyboxer
http://www.operationsports.com/forum...tar-mlb08.html
They play a great game of baseball for me. Many at OS believe all-star plays a better game of baseball than HOF this year. YMMV.

They are posted online on sportconnect, or whatever they call it. Not sure of the exact name but it's something with Skyboxer and I think OS (for operation sports) at the end.

If you use them it is suggested to use "classic pitching" instead of the meter. If you use the meter turn up the cpu hit quality three clicks.

[LionsFan10]

A little off the subject at hand here, but GameSpot finally posted their review of MLB '08: The Show and it got an 8.5 out of 10.

hxxp://www.gamespot.com/ps3/sports/mlb08/review.html?sid=6187985

Points of concern were load times, not many "new, notable features", as well as RttS still having some "issues."

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Some good stuff over at Operation Sports. The MLB 08 team is answering questions about the game's AI in the forums. Really nice to see a big development studio take time to answer some of the gamer's questions and find out where their game needs to improve. It would be great to see more of this from other development studios.

http://www.operationsports.com/forum...back-town.html

[Calis]

Am I crazy or is it mass-producing save files when I save or is it auto-saving?

I swear I'm consistently overwriting the same game when I play, but I just went through and I have a pretty lengthy list of saves, all from the same career.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Calis

Am I crazy or is it mass-producing save files when I save or is it auto-saving?

I swear I'm consistently overwriting the same game when I play, but I just went through and I have a pretty lengthy list of saves, all from the same career.

You're crazy.

I haven't had that problem. I do wish that the selection on the save screen would default to my previous saved game, but it unfortunately defaults to the 'Save New Career' option, which can lead to accidentally creating multiple saves if you aren't paying close attention.

[Calis]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

You're crazy.

I haven't had that problem. I do wish that the selection on the save screen would default to my previous saved game, but it unfortunately defaults to the 'Save New Career' option, which can lead to accidentally creating multiple saves if you aren't paying close attention.

Hmm, maybe so, but I swear when I'm overwriting saves it's just creating a new one.

I'll have to see if anyone else is having this issue.

[Calis]

There it is, it's actually mentioned on pages 2-4 of the thread that Mizzou Fan mentioned earlier.

Originally Posted by Operation Sports

I'm not sure it is an autosave bug as much as an "oversave" bug. If you are playing RTTS, the autosave works fine. if you manually save it, it then has two RTTS files. If you try to overwrite one of the save files (preserving the two), it creates a third instead. Ad infinitum.

So it sounds like the overwrite isn't working and it's just creating a new one.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Calis

There it is, it's actually mentioned on pages 2-4 of the thread that Mizzou Fan mentioned earlier.

So it sounds like the overwrite isn't working and it's just creating a new one.

Is this on the PSP version? I'm playing the PS3 version, so that may be the difference.

[Calis]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Is this on the PSP version? I'm playing the PS3 version, so that may be the difference.

PS3. Maybe not everyone is running into it, but at least a few are. Not a gamebreaker by any means, but it's a slight annoyance to have to go back through and delete them all.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Calis

PS3. Maybe not everyone is running into it, but at least a few are. Not a gamebreaker by any means, but it's a slight annoyance to have to go back through and delete them all.

Weird. I'll have to double check my HDD and see if I missed something.

[CraigSca]

I'm getting it, too - everytime I save my "season" it creates a new file. This is on the PS3.

[atatange1]

I have a question for you guys. This is my first time with The Show and I started a RTTS with a SP. At first they had me in the bullpen but I moved my way into the rotation and eventually was the ace of AA. But now I am back in the bullpen , I guess due to not achieving the goals they set out for me. I instead focused on pitching attributes, completely ignoring the goals they set out. This must be why I was removed. Do you guys follow the recommended advancement goals or focus on areas that will make your player better? If I continue to ignore them will my pitcher (by far our best AA pitcher) be promoted?

edit: It looks like I might have been put into the starting rotation (the first time) after an injury, since I have played some more and they put me back in the starting rotation after an injury, which is wierd since when I'm starting I'm classified as the AA Ace.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by atatange1

I have a question for you guys. This is my first time with The Show and I started a RTTS with a SP. At first they had me in the bullpen but I moved my way into the rotation and eventually was the ace of AA. But now I am back in the bullpen , I guess due to not achieving the goals they set out for me. I instead focused on pitching attributes, completely ignoring the goals they set out. This must be why I was removed. Do you guys follow the recommended advancement goals or focus on areas that will make your player better? If I continue to ignore them will my pitcher (by far our best AA pitcher) be promoted?

edit: It looks like I might have been put into the starting rotation (the first time) after an injury, since I have played some more and they put me back in the starting rotation after an injury, which is wierd since when I'm starting I'm classified as the AA Ace.

In the 07 version of The Show, a premium was put on ratings for advancement. This year, building up your player as you suggest without meeting many goals will slow your promotion speed. You don't have to nail down every single goal all the time, but it's a good idea to attempt to meet at least 2/3 of your goals just to show your coaching staff that you're moving forward.

[SackAttack]

This game has until tomorrow night to show cause why I *shouldn't* give it about a 7.

Fucking ridiculous. It freezes on the "press start" screen half the time - only PS3 game out of a dozen to cause that problem even once - and what's worse is defense is FUBAR - especially if you're a pitcher in RttS.

Three times this has happened to me today. Field a ball, press the circle button to throw to first, and have the pitcher turn and throw the ball to third instead.

Groundballs go right past non-reacting middle infielders, and freaking David Ortiz went first to third on a hit to straightaway left field.

Some of that might be reparable via sliders, but this "throw the ball to third and allow a run to score instead of ending the inning" shit is getting real old, real fucking fast.

[Eaglesfan27]

That is what a recent reviewer on OS just gave it, and I think they do some of the best reviews as they spend weeks on a game before they officially review it.

[rowech]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

This game has until tomorrow night to show cause why I *shouldn't* give it about a 7.

Fucking ridiculous. It freezes on the "press start" screen half the time - only PS3 game out of a dozen to cause that problem even once - and what's worse is defense is FUBAR - especially if you're a pitcher in RttS.

Three times this has happened to me today. Field a ball, press the circle button to throw to first, and have the pitcher turn and throw the ball to third instead.

Groundballs go right past non-reacting middle infielders, and freaking David Ortiz went first to third on a hit to straightaway left field.

Some of that might be reparable via sliders, but this "throw the ball to third and allow a run to score instead of ending the inning" shit is getting real old, real fucking fast.

What do you mean by that last part?

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by rowech

What do you mean by that last part?

Runners on first and third, say.

Two out.

Groundball back to the mound.

Pitcher fields it, I press the circle button, which according to the 'controls' screen in options is supposed to throw to first base.

Pitcher turns in the OTHER direction, throws the ball to third.

Now, the runner on third came home because there were two outs. The runner on first advanced to second, the batter makes it safely to first.

Hey, look! 1st and 2nd, still two outs, the run scored, I've failed my RttS objective of "not letting the run score," and the third baseman is sticking the baseball down his pants to make his package look bigger!

Okay, maybe not that last, but the rest of it is bullshit.

And it, or a variation thereof, has happened three times today. The first one was when both my pitcher and third baseman attempted to field a bunt between the mound and third. Pitcher flipped it to the third baseman, who tried to get the out at first. I can *almost* rationalize that one away as "if he takes the time to turn before he throws, he can't get him, but maybe this way he can."

But the second and third times happened pretty much as I described it at the start of this post.

Total bullshit.

[SackAttack]

Not that I've had many opportunities to test this one, but maybe one of you guys playing RttS with a position player can check and see if it happens.

I managed a single in my third spring at-bat (probably my 4th spring appearance overall), and stole second on a lark. Throw beat me, but came in offline, so I got the steal.

Pierre singled me to third. Left-handed pitcher tries to pick Pierre off first base, no dice. I take a larger lead off third in case he tries again, and he does. I take off with the pickoff attempt. After catching the ball, instead of throwing it to the catcher, who hasn't GONE anywhere, the first baseman tries to race me to the plate, to no avail.

Granted, hard to get as angry about that when it happens in your favor, but if the AI showed the initiative to do something like that after I tried to pick somebody off, and the same thing happened, I'd be standing there helpless while a run scored, so I'm really hoping that was just a case of binary brainfart there.

[rowech]

SackAttack -- does that happen only on the RTTS mode? Any idea if it happens on the PSP version or if you've played on the PSP what your thoughts are.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by rowech

SackAttack -- does that happen only on the RTTS mode? Any idea if it happens on the PSP version or if you've played on the PSP what your thoughts are.

I haven't played the PSP version. It's sitting here, but I think I'm going to end up assigning it to someone else. I've been focused pretty closely on the PS3 version.

EDIT: I notice it happening most readily on the RttS mode. I can't remember it happening on Franchise or Season, but I wouldn't swear it hasn't, either.

[SackAttack]

Just spent over an hour nosing around at OpSports to see if anybody else was having this problem.

Apparently in RttS, the fielding controls are from the perspective of the player. Thus, if the pitcher picks the ball up in front of the mound and wants to throw it home, gotta press triangle.

That explains why the ball was going to third when I hit circle. Gonna have to fix that the next time I play, because I was about ready to tear my hair out over that one.

Thank God it wasn't a bug. I would have given the game a 7 or so and killed somebody, and maybe not in that order.

[rowech]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

Just spent over an hour nosing around at OpSports to see if anybody else was having this problem.

Apparently in RttS, the fielding controls are from the perspective of the player. Thus, if the pitcher picks the ball up in front of the mound and wants to throw it home, gotta press triangle.

That explains why the ball was going to third when I hit circle. Gonna have to fix that the next time I play, because I was about ready to tear my hair out over that one.

Thank God it wasn't a bug. I would have given the game a 7 or so and killed somebody, and maybe not in that order.

So now what are you thinking it is? Thoughts on it versus 2k8?

[LionsFan10]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

Just spent over an hour nosing around at OpSports to see if anybody else was having this problem.

Apparently in RttS, the fielding controls are from the perspective of the player. Thus, if the pitcher picks the ball up in front of the mound and wants to throw it home, gotta press triangle.

That explains why the ball was going to third when I hit circle. Gonna have to fix that the next time I play, because I was about ready to tear my hair out over that one.

Thank God it wasn't a bug. I would have given the game a 7 or so and killed somebody, and maybe not in that order.

This is exactly what it is, granted ... it only took me one throw to say to myself "ohh, it's all in reverse now." The first time I scooped up a groundball on the run, and pressed triangle to start a double play and instead threw it home, I figured it out real fast.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by LionsFan10

This is exactly what it is, granted ... it only took me one throw to say to myself "ohh, it's all in reverse now." The first time I scooped up a groundball on the run, and pressed triangle to start a double play and instead threw it home, I figured it out real fast.

I might've figured it out sooner too had there been a play to another base where I could've said 'circle is going to third...triangle is going home...HMM."

But since all three were to first...

[DeToxRox]

Ugh I can't wait for this roster update. I am pumped.

[CraigSca]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

This game has until tomorrow night to show cause why I *shouldn't* give it about a 7.

Fucking ridiculous. It freezes on the "press start" screen half the time - only PS3 game out of a dozen to cause that problem even once - and what's worse is defense is FUBAR - especially if you're a pitcher in RttS.

Three times this has happened to me today. Field a ball, press the circle button to throw to first, and have the pitcher turn and throw the ball to third instead.

Groundballs go right past non-reacting middle infielders, and freaking David Ortiz went first to third on a hit to straightaway left field.

Some of that might be reparable via sliders, but this "throw the ball to third and allow a run to score instead of ending the inning" shit is getting real old, real fucking fast.

Hey, about the freezing thing on the start screen. That only happened to me once, on the initial night it was out. Apparently they were doing something with the servers so they could make a change for head to head play. Just log out of the internet on the PS3 and the game will come right up (that's where it hangs - when it's trying to connect to the servers). The next day I turned autologin back on and I haven't had a problem since.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

Hey, about the freezing thing on the start screen. That only happened to me once, on the initial night it was out. Apparently they were doing something with the servers so they could make a change for head to head play. Just log out of the internet on the PS3 and the game will come right up (that's where it hangs - when it's trying to connect to the servers). The next day I turned autologin back on and I haven't had a problem since.

Which is fine on launch day, but if it's an ongoing phenomenon (and for some, apparently, it is), well, that's just as valid a gripe as long load times.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

Just spent over an hour nosing around at OpSports to see if anybody else was having this problem.

Apparently in RttS, the fielding controls are from the perspective of the player. Thus, if the pitcher picks the ball up in front of the mound and wants to throw it home, gotta press triangle.

That explains why the ball was going to third when I hit circle. Gonna have to fix that the next time I play, because I was about ready to tear my hair out over that one.

Thank God it wasn't a bug. I would have given the game a 7 or so and killed somebody, and maybe not in that order.

No disrespect to you, SackAttack, but the above rant where you complained about 'throwing to third' is a big concern among reviewers in the gaming community. In this thread alone, you've complained about the ball continuing to be thrown to the wrong base and the fact that you couldn't hit the ball at all.

Later, it was pointed out by other posters that the throwing mechanics in the field on RTTS correlate to the bases that you want to throw to and that hitting the ball well requires that you use the left analong stick to target the location of the pitch. Both of those situations are CLEARLY defined in the manual.

In recent years, independent reviewers have increasingly failed to fully read the manual of each game they review before they begin gameplay. They just assume, especially with sports games, that they can just 'figure it out'. As a result, there's an increasing amount of reviews that are released with inaccurate information related to a 'bug' that turns out to be a lack of game knowledge by the gamer.

The reason I say I don't mean to specifically target SackAttack was because he at least went into a forum with knowledgable posters to verify what he was having problems with on a game, but how much time could have been saved in regards to the time spent reviewing this game if you would have checked the manual first? These kinds of oversights if published in a review can really hurt the credibility of both a website and the review community as a whole.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

Which is fine on launch day, but if it's an ongoing phenomenon (and for some, apparently, it is), well, that's just as valid a gripe as long load times.

The problems are related to router/firewall issues. Place a call to support to rectify those issues. Shouldn't take more than a few minutes and should save you a lot of time.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

In recent years, independent reviewers have increasingly failed to fully read the manual of each game they review before they begin gameplay.

Number one, screw off - I DO read the manual before each game I play. I've been anal like that since I was 12 years old.

And, frankly, some of the problems I have with hitting/offense in general are endemic to the game. The issue with balls not getting behind outfielders? That's not me. That's a balance issue with outfielder speed. Line drives not getting to the gap? Same thing.

Players getting doubles on balls that fall in front of outfielders? Outfielder arm strength issue. Balls always going to the cutoff man when you throw to a base? Same thing.

You can beat the 'sliders' drum all you want to, but the point is that there is a minimum level of expectation that I have for a baseball game out of the box, and MLB 08 requires an awful lot of work to get to that level. It's the best baseball game this year, and maybe even in the last several years, but some work is definitely required to uncover it, and that leads to my next point.

Number two, even if I didn't, you need to realize that part of what reviewers do (ideally) is assess a game based on how the average public is likely to receive it.

Guess what? They largely DON'T read manuals.

They fool around and try to figure shit out on their own. Or did you think that developers spend so much time on tutorials in games like Oblivion because, hell, they have nothing better to do?

Can't slam a reviewer for getting so tied up in minutae that they forget to talk about whether the game is any fun or not, and then insist that they engage in a practice that their audience almost certainly will not.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

You can beat the 'sliders' drum all you want to, but the point is that there is a minimum level of expectation that I have for a baseball game out of the box, and MLB 08 requires an awful lot of work to get to that level. It's the best baseball game this year, and maybe even in the last several years, but some work is definitely required to uncover it.

I totally agree with this point. Sliders are a crutch for sports game designers and their testers. Proper testing and design of sports games shouldn't need a slider system. I haven't even touched the sliders and the game plays extremely well in its default state.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

I totally agree with this point. Sliders are a crutch for sports game designers and their testers. Proper testing and design of sports games shouldn't need a slider system. I haven't even touched the sliders and the game plays extremely well in its default state.

Parts of it do. Parts of it are broken. Like I say, it's a beautiful game, and for being broken, it plays really really well.

But perfect it ain't, and there are fundamental flaws with the default settings.

Stealing bases, for example, is ludicrous. The computer doesn't take advantage of it like you could, and if YOU don't take advantage of it you may never notice, but I stole three bases in one game recently. With my *pitcher."

Without messing with sliders, a really late jump is about the only way you're going to get nailed.

As I believe I mentioned, runners are going to go first to third on virtually all hits to the outfield, because without messing with sliders, the outfielders don't have the arm strength to get the ball in to third on a ball hit to left field before the runner can take it.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

Parts of it do. Parts of it are broken. Like I say, it's a beautiful game, and for being broken, it plays really really well.

But perfect it ain't, and there are fundamental flaws with the default settings.

Stealing bases, for example, is ludicrous. The computer doesn't take advantage of it like you could, and if YOU don't take advantage of it you may never notice, but I stole three bases in one game recently. With my *pitcher."

Without messing with sliders, a really late jump is about the only way you're going to get nailed.

As I believe I mentioned, runners are going to go first to third on virtually all hits to the outfield, because without messing with sliders, the outfielders don't have the arm strength to get the ball in to third on a ball hit to left field before the runner can take it.

FYI.......Bill Abner discussed similar concerns in his latest blog entry. I'm with you in that I don't like having to adjust sliders.

http://nutweasel.blogspot.com/2008/03/more-mlb-08.html

[darkenigma510]

If you thnk this game is bad for tweaking sliders try MLB 2k8 where you need to set up days of lab experiments to get it just right.

[korme]

Anyone know why some guys like Jay Bruce aren't in the game? is that because he's never played a big league game? And if he eventually makes the 25 man roster, will he be in a roster update? Thanks dogs.

[Calis]

Originally Posted by Shorty3281

Anyone know why some guys like Jay Bruce aren't in the game? is that because he's never played a big league game? And if he eventually makes the 25 man roster, will he be in a roster update? Thanks dogs.

Yeah I think there several guys they have to wait until they have an at bat in a regular season game to add them.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by Shorty3281

Anyone know why some guys like Jay Bruce aren't in the game? is that because he's never played a big league game? And if he eventually makes the 25 man roster, will he be in a roster update? Thanks dogs.

Folks who aren't yet a part of the MLBPA cannot show up until they play their first game, yeah.

I know that's why you don't see Kosuke Fukudome on the Cubs yet, nor Hiroki Kuroda on the Dodgers.

They'll get added as part of a roster update since they'll be on the 25-man roster come Opening Day.

If Jay Bruce makes the 25 man roster for Opening Day, yes, he'll be in a roster update. If he does so later in the season, then I would imagine he'll show up if they release a roster update after he gets his call-up. If they don't, then no, he wouldn't.

[SackAttack]

So, uhh, RttS might need a little work.

I just got called up from AAA to the majors right before the trade deadline. Started as a reliever, but my second appearance was a start against the Diamondbacks.

After the game, I get notified that I'm going to be (at least temporarily) in the starting rotation. See, apparently Matt Kemp had to go on the DL, so I needed to take his place in the rotation. That was weird enough.

I go look at transactions, and when the Dodgers called me up to join the bullpen, they kinda sorta sent Brad Penny to Las Vegas. Now I'd like to write that off as "injury rehab," but he wasn't listed as having suffered an injury at any point.

Picture Marge Simpson doing her disapproving noise, and that's kinda how I'm feeling about that move.

[LionsFan10]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

So, uhh, RttS might need a little work.

I just got called up from AAA to the majors right before the trade deadline. Started as a reliever, but my second appearance was a start against the Diamondbacks.

After the game, I get notified that I'm going to be (at least temporarily) in the starting rotation. See, apparently Matt Kemp had to go on the DL, so I needed to take his place in the rotation. That was weird enough.

I go look at transactions, and when the Dodgers called me up to join the bullpen, they kinda sorta sent Brad Penny to Las Vegas. Now I'd like to write that off as "injury rehab," but he wasn't listed as having suffered an injury at any point.

Picture Marge Simpson doing her disapproving noise, and that's kinda how I'm feeling about that move.

Oh man, that's no good.

[TroyF]

Add me to the group who is just about finished with RTTS and the game as a whole. Here is my experience with the RTTS mode:

I create myself as a power hitting LF in the Colorado Rockies organization. I use default sliders at All Star level and decide I won't change them until I'm at least 5 seasons into my career. (if I'm doing great, we'll see how it handles it, if I suck, same thing)

Year 1:

I dominate AA. I end the year hitting .412 with 28 HR, 112 RBI, 35 SB (I'm slow as mud by the way), and lead the league in average, ops, slg, obp and RBI. I do not get called up to AAA at any point.

Year 2

I start the year in AA again. I have 27 at bats in AA and am a man amongst boys. IN 27 at bats, I produce 17 hits, 12 for extra bases. I fet the call up to AAA.

At AAA I'm doing so/so. I'm hitting .298 with an .OBP of .334 and very little power in 100 at bats. I get a message that Jason Hirsch (a SP) has been placed on the DL and there is room for me at the big league level. I've been promoted.

I figure I'll platoon behind Matt Holiday. I was wrong. I'm thrown in as the starter and #5 hitter. I hit at a .338 clip with 13 HR until mid August. (In about 225 at bats. Then I get a message stating that Hirsch is off the DL and that I'll be taken out of the starting lineup. Holliday is reinsirted as the starting LF and I become a PH every game. I end the year with a .339 average and 16 HR. We win the WS with me PH and Holliday starting. I win rookie of the year.

Year 3

Holliday gets hurt to start the year so I'm the everyday LF. I tear the cover off the ball and am having a huge first month and a half. (hitting .440 with 10 HR). Holliday comes back and takes over the starting LF job and I become a PH again until after the all star break, getting a spot start here and there. After the all star break there is another message (Franklin Morales is injures so I'm going into the starting lineup) I take over again and have a monster finish. I end the year hitting .380 with 25 HR and 93 RBI in 385 at bats. (yeah, I need to adjust the difficulty) I also finish with 1 assist because my arm is weak as hell and my defense sucks ass.

Not to worry, I win a Gold Glove. I didn't commit an error because I never tried to throw the ball anywhere, but I won a gold glove. Woo Hoo.

Year 4

In the offseason, the Rockies release Matt Holliday. Not trade, not lose to FA, they release him. They offer me a two year deal at about 750k per year which I accept, because it's the only contract offer I have. (boy, you'd think hitting .380 with 25 bombs in 380 at bats would get me a couple of offers, especially as a 21 year old who is still growing in potential? Nope)

Holliday signs with the Phillies, who now have Howard, Holliday, Utley, and Rollins. Nice.

----------------------------------------

As for the games themselves, here are some thoughts:

LF and RF are way too fast on balls hit down the line. Only a single 2b out of every 5 balls hit down the line. That's not right.

If you are on 2B on a ball hit to SS, you can run to third and they won't try to throw you out.

Stealing bases on default is ridiculously easy. I'm slow and steal over 20 a year at a 74% clip.

I love the OF throw system.

The game is pretty.

The variable ump is sweet.

Out of town scoreboards are terrific.

The game is fun to play, which is the one thing leading me back despite my issues.

Were I reviewing the game, it'd get a 7.5, though on Game Nikki that would be jumpd to an 8. (no .5's allowed) This isn't the classic some are portraying it to be. It's a solid baseball game and probably the best on any console (I haven't yet played 2K8), but it's not the end all of baseball games and I would not buy a PS3 strictly for this game.

FWIW: I do have a life, I've just been down with strept throat this week and put a good 25 hours into it when I haven't been sleeping.

[Logan]

Your Years 1-4 sound pretty similar to what we had happening last year Troy.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by Logan

Your Years 1-4 sound pretty similar to what we had happening last year Troy.

Fairly similar, but with a twist. Last year I literally spent three months on a big league roster without even getting an at bat. That didn't happen this year. I got a pinch hit at bat a game when I wasn't starting.

It's bizzare that I simply moved an all star LF to the bench because a SP was hurt. All of my promotions inside and outside of the starting lineup happened because of SP injuries or recoveries. Strange to say the least.

The game is fun, but RTTS just seems broke to me.

[JS19]

Haven't touched RTTS mode yet, so no input there. I am, however, curious if anyone has found a set of sliders they find to work well? I took advice earlier in the thread about a set of sliders for All-Star difficulty, and I suppose they have worked slightly since the games are a little closer, but overall the game is far too easy.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by TroyF

Add me to the group who is just about finished with RTTS and the game as a whole. Here is my experience with the RTTS mode:

I create myself as a power hitting LF in the Colorado Rockies organization. I use default sliders at All Star level and decide I won't change them until I'm at least 5 seasons into my career. (if I'm doing great, we'll see how it handles it, if I suck, same thing)

Unfortunately, some fairly hefty slider work IS needed. I'm also not thrilled with the fact that the center fielder will casually scoop the ball up on a grounder up the middle, while the runner on first will fly around second and take third unchallenged most of the time.

Stealing bases on default is ridiculously easy. I'm slow and steal over 20 a year at a 74% clip.

Whereas, on the other hand, the AI is pretty touchy about leadoffs, and the players seem pretty slow to get back once you tell them. My character is a pitcher, and if he takes *one* step further than the default off the bag, he draws a throw. I have yet to successfully get back in time, despite being ONE step further off the bag.

Oh, and I drew a throw on 3-2, 2 outs, with the bases loaded. That's crap.

The game is pretty.

Yes yes.

The variable ump is sweet.

Lots of fun as a pitcher in the show trying to find the strike zone.

Were I reviewing the game, it'd get a 7.5, though on Gamenikki that would be jumpd to an 8 (no .5's allowed).

Depends on the prevailing tone. .5's don't necessarily get a bump. Might get dropped down to a flat 7. Depends on tone!