Operation Sports MLB 13 The Show Community Impressions Thread

[itbeme23]

Got three games in yesterday, all Dodgers vs. Angels.

- Presentation is better. I like seeing the little things like players running out on to the field at the beginning of the game, or the new score bug, or the new OSDs. These aren't things that hit the ball out of the park (pun intended), but it's good to know that SCEA put the time in to make these subtle changes. Commentary is still mediocre, and it does begin to stale fairly quickly, even with the addition of Steve Lyons. They need to overhaul that for the PS4 version.

- Being a Dodgers fan, I was pretty impressed with all of the player models and stances, EXCEPT for Matt Kemp's batting stance. One word: terrible. However, on a good note, Andre Ethier's player model looks ten times better than last year's, and his stance looks a lot more true to life. Kudos on that, SCEA.

- I didn't experience any of the Pitch Stutter issue that a lot of people are talking about. I did the game update at the beginning, and downloaded the newest roster, then I disconnected my PS3 from the internet. I don't know if that helped or not, but I didn't notice any stutter in the 3 games that I played.

On the subject of pitching....

1. I tried Pulse Pitching on HOF level, and got absolutely CRUSHED by the Angels in the very first game that I played. I was pitching with Kershaw, and I think I gave up 8 runs in the first 4 innings. I wasn't a fan of Pulse Pitching last year, but I thought I'd give it a try again this year....not happening. Once I switched to Meter pitching, which is what I used last year, things seemed a lot more manageable. I ended up restarting that game, and got into a pitcher's duel with Kershaw and Weaver, which I ended up winning 1-0 . I will say that pitching seems to be more difficult this year, as I was only able get out of the 6th inning with Kershaw. CPU hitters seem to be EXTREMELY patient, definitely more than last year. I haven't touched any CPU hitting sliders just yet, and their strikeout numbers seem to be pretty good at default. I think I fanned 5 or 6 with Kershaw in 6 innings of work. That was the only game where I gave up one run, as I gave up 7 and 8 runs in my final two games using Meter (HOF level).

2. CPU pitching needs a lot of work. With sliders at default, it's nearly impossible to get realistic balls to strikes ratios, because the CPU pitcher is constantly pounding the strike zone. The difference between this year and last year is the pitcher isn't just painting the black, but there are significantly more meat pitches down the middle. Either way, it amounts to the same result, which is an extremely high strike percentage, especially first pitch strike percentage. As a result, pitch counts are pretty low, because of the high amount of strikes, and the lack of walks issued. I had a game versus Joe Blanton (Angels #5 starter), and he ended up with a 77% overall strike percentage, and 87% first pitch strikes. I ended up using my CPU pitching sliders from last year for the last game I played, and it seemed to help. I'm going to use those as my base moving forward.

3. I am not a fan of this "expanded timing window". Like everybody else, I was extremely early on almost every pitch with pitch speed at default. I'm usually a pretty patient hitter, but the CPU pounding the strike zone coupled with this new timing window really screwed up my hitting. I use timing hitting on All-Star, but I wasn't seeing the increase in hitting like most have experienced. My timing was so off, that I was barely able to muster 4 hits in that first game pitcher's duel. I've worked my Pitch Speed slider up to 7, and I'm finally starting to see decent results. I wish SCEA wouldn't have touched this part of the game. If it ain't broke, then don't fix it.

- I like the hit variety that I saw. I saw everything from the Angels yesterday. Solid singles, doubles down the line, gappers, Home Runs (even saw a Grand Slam by Trumbo), and the coolest thing to see were those end of the bat little bloopers that fell in for hits. This aspect of the game was VERY well done.

- I'm pretty sure fielder arm strength needs to be toned down. I didn't see outfielders gunning anybody down at first or third, but I did see infielders (namely Callaspo and Aybar) making those Jeter-like jump throws to first for outs. I think those types of plays should be designated for the Derek Jeters of the world....not scrubs.

- Don't know if it's just me, but it seemed like fielder reaction was just a bit....off. It just seemed like the fielders were just a tad bit slower or faster reacting to the ball of the bat. Definitely didn't feel as natural as last year. I'm sure this will be fixed via sliders.

[CarrotJuice]

Only played 3 innings this Am. Game is noticebly improved from last year. Especialy ball physics. Everthing across the board seems much more polished and fine tuned. My "The Show" addiction will continue.

[KentAZ]

Hitting is much, much easier this year, no doubt. And as others have noted, I'm seeing a lot more strikes from the CPU pitchers, so I'll have to adjust that.

I haven't seen any stutter thus far.

Everything is more polished--animations, fielding, cuts, etc.

I like Lyons, but at some point the commentary will need a complete overhaul. Play-by-play is great, but there still is very little interaction between the commentators and long stretches of silence. NBA 2K is still the gold standard when it comes to commentary, and hopefully SCEA will emulate that in future releases.

Soundtrack is the worst I've heard, but I don't buy the game for that. Thank goodness the game allows you to replace it with your own list!

[ill23matic]

At some point I hope SCEA addresses what seems like 70 to 80 pct of the balls you absolutely piss on going right to fielders. I understand "that's baseball" , but in RTTS especially, the majority of the balls you square up that aren't fly balls are right at an infielder, pee rods for grounders and liners. I've seen my average in RTTS drop 30 points the last few weeks and I am squaring up everything. This has always been like this for RTTS, so I don't know if there's some logic put in place that tames your batting average on higher difficulties or what. I'm averaging a Double play groundout every 10 at bats or so and most of them are balls I piss on. B comparison, i lead the team w 17 and the next closest guy is 8. I have pretty solid discipline at the plate with less than two strikes and before that, look for pitches up in the zone. A lot of these GIDPs are meat pitches.

The most frustrating is, vets of this series know hot and cold streaks are everything. You will be on a hot streak and square up balls on 16 of 20 ABs, but go 2 for 20 in that stretch, turning your hot streak into cold. It's almost like its the game forcing your guy out of his hot streak instead of you as a hitter taking yourself out of it by having poor at bats. If you are hot and piss on balls in 16 of 20 ABs, your average drops, yes, but you still are technically seeing the ball well and not in a cold streak

[johnnyg83]

Loving the game: hit variety, stadiums, fielding, mistakes being made.

Is anyone actually seeing "worse" graphics from last year? I wonder if it's my TV. The pitchers on Catcher View while hitting seem especially jaggy. As do the stat and information overlays.

[imfletcher00]

I have not seen this yet, but last night I was pitching and the CPU foul tipped a pitch into the catchers glove!!

The sound was perfect and and it seemed very natural and organic.

I am not sure I remember that ever happening before and I damn glad it did.

+1 2013 the Show.

[TGov]

I like the idea of Diamond Dynasty but I feel my problem isnt with the mode itself but with certain things with the mode. For 1... its online, Im not a huge player online but Ill play a few games. Also, you only have so long with your players, I like the limitations with the MLB players but I wish there was something different with the Dynasty ones, I just dont feel a need to use my $ to train them when theyre going to be gone in 30 games...
I love creating and customizing my team and putting it together...
I remember a game where you could create a team and replace a real one in Franchise, maybe something like that would be better for me...
Either way Franchise mode is my baby, I cant wait for the OSFM rosters to come out cause thats what I invest most of my time in...
Other thoughts...
RTTS is awesome, I love the zooming in and out of the field and FF, also the audio and visual are wonderful...
I really like the HRD presentation, really nice HR view from the player POV...
I dipped into Postseason mode, didnt last ong as I lost in the Wild Card game, lol... but it was a wonderful experience, Ill probably play another, loved the atmosphere...

I think the overall thing that brings this game together is what separates the modes, anyway you slice it, this is a baseball game, you play ball with a team or player, thats the game... BUT they individualize the modes so well where you can play all the the different modes and feel like its a different game in a way, I that respect the creator of this game nailed it...
The only thing Im having a problem with is adjusting the speed and testing out batting views, so overall I cant say I dont like anything right now, great jobs guys!

[bakan723]

Quote: Originally Posted by slthree

I'm a person who doesn't just want to hear "fielding is better". I want specific examples to support that statement. Before I bought the game I pm'd 2 guys I trust to ask about that subject specifically. So, let me give you an example of how fielding is better. In 12, almost every foul ball was tracked down and caught, save those that went into the crowd. The outfielder rating didn't seem to matter. In just a few games I've seen no less than 3 foul balls, deep down the outfield lines NOT be caught. I mean, balls you expect are easy outs. In all 3 cases the outfielder had poor speed and poor fielding ratings. I was stunned. The better outfielders get to those balls. Bravo Sent from the best smartphone in the world using Tapatalk 2

The big question from me regarding the fielding is...does the cpu still go after balls for you on manual ??