CHdaughter **HOF/HOF** 2011 Slider Set

[coreyhartsdaughter]

Here's my go at 2011 (4th Annual!) SHOW Sliders. As always, your mileage may vary - unless you're my clone, in which case I bet these work pretty well.

Overall, I feel the game mechanics are VERY much improved this year. A big Kudos to San Diego Studios and SCEA. Personally, there still exist a few slight (probably algorithm based) nuances, namely errors, but 'll take it.

It's of my opinion that these will ONLY play right on Hall of Fame.

Hitting Difficulty: Hall of Fame
Hitting Interface: Timing

Pitching Difficulty: Hall of Fame
Pitching Interface: Meter

Quick Note: For you Franchise guys, if you use this, or any slider set with the injury and stamina sliders modified, make sure you set those back to default before simulating the other games. (Otherwise you'll see a rash of simulated injuries and bloated reliever appearances).

Added 3 following tweaks on 4/22:

CPU Solid Hits +1 (5 to 6)
CPU Strike Frequency +1 (2 to 3)
Fielding Errors -1 (10 to 9)

HUMAN

Contact: 4
Power: 5
Timing: 6
Fouls: 6
Solid Hits: 4
Starter Stamina: 6
Reliever Stamina: 2
Pitcher Control: 4
Pitcher Consistency: 4

Nothing too exciting here. Many of the slider sets posted thus far are falling right around here. Maybe the only things worth mentioning is the bump to Fouls (6, to increase counts), and a ding to both Contact and Solid Hits (4/4). The decrease to Solid Hits is to lower BAIBP vs OBP and SLG.

The decrease of Contact relates to the ratio of perfect timing swings and misses. An average hitter should not be putting a bat on almost every perfectly timed swing. Frustrating sometimes? Yes. But I'll take realism over angst. If you're swinging and missing on 1-0 curve balls or sliders, sliders aren't your problem.

The intangible here is CPU Pitcher Confidence. When it gets high, USER Contact at 4 seems like a nightmare, while if you get rocking at the plate (or you have a hot batter), contact (independent of result) is almost a foregone conclusion.

I also turned API OFF. Even though I would only use the suggestions 50% of the time, it definitely makes pitching to the CPU much more challenging.

COMPUTER

Contact: 4
Power: 5
Timing: 5
Fouls: 5
Solid Hits: 6
Starter Stamina: 6
Reliever Stamina: 2
Pitcher Control: 4
Pitcher Consistency: 5
Strike Frequency: 3
Manager Hook: 6
Pickoffs: 4

Again, nothing too shocking here. A ding to CPU Contact to bring their misses and chases to realistic level (relative to the HOF AI.)

The only other thing worth mention are the Control / Consistency settings. I've seen a lot of sets where they lower both or consistency rather dramatically, and can't quite figure out why.

I believe lowering consistency causes the CPU to miss their target more and by a wider margin (think missing the yellow line when pitching), thus creating more 'mistake pitches' or 'meatballs' further from where they intended. (You can experiment yourself, lower the HUM Consistency and start missing high and low from the yellow line - the ball get's considerably more random the lower the setting, and not necessarily always out of the zone - a common misconception.)

I'd imagine there is a direct correlation of meatball pitches when the CPU is behind in the count and this slider. If you're seeing too many balls hitting the center of the zone on 3-1 or 3-2, or even 2-2, your consistency slider may be askew. I'm positive the CPU AI is not trying to put every ball in the zone when they're behind in the count. Especially at HOF.

Control was also dropped one to decrease the HOF pitchers skill at putting the ball exactly where they want it, and USER batters being able to make contact. I'd love to go through and drop every pitchers control rating by 10 (the caveat of video game ratings existing in a box versus real life), but one click of the Control slider accomplishes approximately the same thing.

This also helps to allow the user to work counts:

http://img852.imageshack.us/f/mlb11theshow.png/
http://img847.imageshack.us/f/mlb11theshow1z.png/

UNIVERSAL

Pitch Speed: 4
Fielding Errors: 9
Throwing Errors: 7
Fielder Run Speed: 2
Fielder Reaction: 7
Fielder Arm Strength: 5
Baserunner Speed: 5
Baserunner Steal Ability: 5
Baserunner Steal Frequency: 6
Wind: 4
Injury Frequency: 6

The biggies here are the Fielder Reaction to 7, and default Arm Strength and Runner Speed. I've already posted considerably elsewhere on this subject, but ultimately this is to cut down on awkward infield hits, and runners scoring sac flies on shallow fly balls or singles to right or left field with a runner on second. I can't figure out why everyone is lowing Arm Strength.

In years past I can count on one hand how many guys I've thrown out at home trying to tag or score on an shallow fly ball, or from second. This happens every day in MLB, maybe their isn't a play because a runner isn't going to test someone's arm, or he's slow or a poor base runner - but the USER or CPU should have to at least think twice about trying to tag from third or score from second. The result shouldn't be a foregone conclusion.

Furthermore, in baseball, balls are fielded rather regularly from just behind second base by the SS or second basemen. At default reaction, guys don't have a chance in hell to make this play. They may not make the throw in time (due to the animation), but this play is made all the time in MLB. To this end, with lower arm strength and lower base runner speed, you see a lot a guys with average speed 3 or 4 whole strides short of first on a ball hit to the left side of the infield, no way...any MLB player is within a stride or two of that bag (well, maybe not Prince Fielder).

The rebuttal I hear most often for raising fielder reaction is that too many line drives are snagged. I'd be willing to wager that said animation will occur regardless with the gold glovers. Not to mention the fact that line drives are snagged all the time in MLB - I don't know the ratio of line drives for outs versus hits, but belive this is why the statistic BABIP was created, to factor out the luck of such hits.

As an example, just a few games ago Chipper Jones made a diving stab at third and threw me out. A true Web-gem play. That's probably a (weak) hit with lowered Reaction or Arm Strength, even more so if Runner Speed is decreased. I've see no decrease in extra base hits with the bump to reaction.

PERSONAL SETTINGS

Plate Coverage Indicator: OFF
Bunting Interface: Classic
Guess Pitch: Off
Pitch Confidence: ON
Balks: ON
Baserunning Interface: Classic
Baserunning Decsions: Assist
Batting View: Catcher
Pitching View: Catcher
Fielding View Offense: Medium
Fielding View Defense: Medium
Fielding Decsion: Assist
Auto Throwing: OFF

Auto Sliding: Assist
Pitch Callout: Full
Pitching Ball Marker: Fade
Plate Coverage Indicator: OFF
Swing/Pitch Indicator: ON
Runner Windows: ON
Strike Zone: OFF
Hot Zones: OFF
Tag Up Indicator: ON
Catch Region Indicator: ON
Catch Position Indicator: ON
Rob HR Indicator: ON
Vibration: ON
Warm Up Pitchers: ON
Check Swing Appeals: OFF
Umpire Close Plays: ON
Umpire Balls & Strikes: Variable
Ejections: ON

Well, love them or hate em' here they are. I'm always down for civil discussion and debates. Cheers!

[Heroesandvillains]

Congratulations, Coreyheartsdaughter (yes, I save your full name for special occasions)!

I'm sure to be promptly cherry picking from you in no time.

Did you match Contact and Control via SCEA recommendation, or via your observations, or a little bit of both?

I've come to terms with your description of the CPU consistency slider. I was in denial for quite a while, but now really see it's impact in the CPU pitching logic (especially when they get stressed). That said, I have no issue with it at 4, myself.

Do you use contact/power swing? Any house rules?

[coreyhartsdaughter]

Quote: Originally Posted by heroesandvillians

Congratulations, Coreyheartsdaughter (yes, I save your full name for special occasions)! I'm sure to be promptly cherry picking from you in no time. Did you match Contact and Control via SCEA recommendation, or via your observations, or a little bit of both? I've come to terms with your description of the CPU consistency slider. I was in denial for quite a while, but now really see it's impact in the CPU pitching logic (especially when they get stressed). That said, I have no issue with it at 4, myself. Do you use contact/power swing? Any house rules?

Thanks mate.

I don't think I've used power swing yet this year.

No house rules. (besides not being an idiot and swinging at breaking stuff or low pitches when I'm ahead in the count...)

Regarding Contact and Control, yes...sorta. I just kept hitting in the timing only exercise and in-game against top level and low level pitchers, high and low confidence, until I could say 'ok, that makes sense, i could see how that is the result' more often than not.

Obviously, this makes the sliders slighted to personal preference, but I feel I have a pretty good grasp on the game of baseball, and The Show.

[erictred]

thanks CHD for posting these, I've been looking forward to them as I settled on using your sliders last year and was really sold on your philosophy after playing a really realistic franchise year.
I haven't tried HOF yet as I still play on All-Star, but I'm considering giving HOF a try.
Also, I've still been using zone hitting. there's been quite a bit of discussion in the slider forum concerning preferences for zone or timing, and I'd be really interested to hear your thoughts as to why you prefer timing. that's another switch I've been considering, since I have the feeling that zone hitting using the pci is significantly less forgiving if you guess wrong on the location of a pitch, causing much lower averages. I'm getting quite a few walks (about an average of 5 per game, many more than last year), but it just seems like my type of hits is limited to homers with a few singles and not much in between...and I seem to be striking out quite a bit more than last year when I don't spot the pci correctly.
As a note, I've been using a modified version of TNK-Psycho's sliders this year up until now

[jrt3177]

CHD, sliders look good. Quick question... do you use analog or classic fielding?

[coreyhartsdaughter]

Quote: Originally Posted by jrt3177

CHD, sliders look good. Quick question... do you use analog or classic fielding?

Thanks man.

Classic

Cheers!

[coreyhartsdaughter]

Doesn't get much better than a box score like this. (I was AZ)



For those that are reluctant to drop to strike frequency 2, check out Pelfry's strike frequency below. For reference, I struck out 7 (Young had 4) times and had 22 misses.



As an aside, has anyone contemplated taking Starter Stamina to 6? He went 7 innings, 105 pitches, and was almost gassed. I don't have a huge problem with that, but I do have a problem that during a franchise he wouldn't have full energy his next start. That ain't right.

[steelcityjames]

i would turn the stamina up 1 or 2.... pitchers should be ready for their next start.... it's only right