MLB '16 & '17: An Experiment and Observation

[countryboy]

First and foremost, let's please keep this thread civil. I don't want this turning into a thread where issues with '17 are brought in and harped upon. They have their own threads for discussion.

Next, I want it to be known that I am thoroughly enjoying '17. This is in no way an attempt to bash the game nor the devs. It's just an observation.

Last night I was having a discussion with a friend about '17 and some of the "issues" that were present in the game so far. Some I've experienced and others that I haven't. But we were just talking about how this year's game felt different than '16. Granted a lot of that probably has to do with the new ball physics and new player quirks, and so on, but still something just felt different about this year's game. He made a mention that he was becoming frustrated with '17 and thought about going back to '16 for the time being.

After hearing that and our discussion, I thought, I'm going to pop in '16 and play a game or two, just to do a little experiment if you will. Just see if our feelings were "correct/justified".

Well, after playing two games of '16 last night, I have to admit that there is a difference between the two. What that difference is, or translates to, I'm not sure. But whether correct or not, '16 just felt more "natural" to me. Now this could be very well because '16 is very similar to the baseball games that I have played my entire life, and didn't consist of the new ball physics which have undoubtedly changed baseball games. Maybe I'm just not used to the impact that the new ball physics have on the game. And that very well could be. But to say that '16 didn't feel "better" to me than '17 would be a lie.

As I said, it felt "natural". Nothing felt forced, which sometimes I feel happens in '17. Playing '16 I felt that hits were earned whereas in '17 it feels that hits just happen at times to happen. '17 feels more offensive, whereas '16 feels more balanced. Again, this all may be due to me having to get used to something different (ball physics) which didn't exist in this magnitude in the 30+ years that I've been playing baseball games.

But after playing '16 for again 2 games last night after playing 50 or so of '17, I came away with the feeling that '17 needs a bit more fine tuning to accommodate the new ball physics and player quirks. '17 just feels, well a bit unbalanced. Again, I'm not saying this to slam '17 or call it a horrible baseball game, or anything of the like, just pointing out an opinion as to the different feels between the two games in a year's time.

Please note that all games played on '17 and '16 were played with the exact same settings, HOF across the board with no slider changes.

And yes I know that I can adjust sliders on '17 to try and "balance" the game to my liking, but to be honest, I hate adjusting sliders. I feel that once you start changing them, you are continuously playing the game to see that your sliders are providing the outcome that you desire instead of playing the game to play the game.

Now what does all this mean? I don't know. Am I giving up on '17 and going back to '16? I don't think so, but again I don't know. But this was an interesting experiment. I was generally surprised that I was able to enjoy '16 as much as I did after having played '17, and even more surprised that it seemed to play a better game of baseball at this point in time.

Some other takeaways:

* Commentary definitely better in '17
* PCI seems to be a bit smaller in '16 vs '17
* Less meatballs thrown in '16 vs '17
* And of course, the intro in '17 is far superior to that of '16

I would be curious if anyone was to try this out and play '16 on the same exact settings that you're playing '17 on and see how you feel.

[Councilmann_Jamm]

I feel like the PCI is huge on every swing. I strike out alot and don't get alot of hits (I've played like 7 games) but every time I look at the PCI it's covering the batting zone

[Armor and Sword]

The sheer amount of natural new fielding animations and the the ball physics of 17 make 16 obsolete for me.

And I played 16 till the day before I got 17.

This was a huge leap in gameplay for me this year.

A good gameplay patch and I guarantee you will put 16 back on the shelf for a permanent vacation.

The game needs some fine tuning. No doubt.

But it is miles ahead of any previous iteration in terms of gameplay.

Miles ahead.

Sometimes change is difficult to process at first. We all wanted that leap in gameplay and we certainly got it.

It is going to have growing pains and that is what patch 1.04 will address.

Some growing pains in coding and logic for certain options that are used to play (QC/QM). And obvious major server issues that will be addressed.

But overall in franchise mode, I have had a robust gameplay experience and far above any version before it.

Nothing has felt forced. In fact quite the opposite.

Far more organic, far more unpredictable.

Just far more better. I am seeing different things in terms of hit variety, fielding animations, humanity AI decisions on fielding.

It has been incredible.


Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports

[countryboy]

Quote: Originally Posted by Councilmann_Jamm

I feel like the PCI is huge on every swing. I strike out alot and don't get alot of hits (I've played like 7 games) but every time I look at the PCI it's covering the batting zone

Yes playing '17 and then '16, it appears that the PCI is bigger in '17 thus allowing more contact, and by association, more solid contact.

[bredfan]

To be honest, other than the "hard changes" like the commentary, I don't see much difference at all between the two. If you put the games side by side and muted them, I'd have a hard time telling which is which.

That's not a knock, just my personal observation.

[countryboy]

Quote: Originally Posted by Armor and Sword

The sheer amount of natural new fielding animations and the the ball physics of 17 make 16 obsolete for me. And I played 16 till the day before I got 17. This was a huge leap in gameplay for me this year. A good gameplay patch and I guarantee you will put 16 back on the shelf for a permanent vacation. The game needs some fine tuning. No doubt. But it is miles ahead of any previous iteration in terms of gameplay. Miles ahead. Sometimes change is difficult to process at first. We all wanted that leap in gameplay and we certainly got it. It is going to have growing pains and that is what patch 1.04 will address. Some growing pains in coding and logic for certain options that are used to play (QC/QM). And obvious major server issues that will be addressed. But overall in franchise mode, I have had a robust gameplay experience and far above any version before it. Nothing has felt forced. In fact quite the opposite. Far more organic, far more unpredictable. Just far more better. I am seeing different things in terms of hit variety, fielding animations, humanity AI decisions on fielding. It has been incredible. Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports

Again, I want to make it clear that I'm really enjoying '17. And in a lot of ways it is far better than '16. And I don't disagree that a gameplay patch will cure some of the issues that '17 is having.

It was just something I did after a conversation with a friend and I was surprised at how '16 felt in comparison.

[Armor and Sword]

16 was a great game. It was the best version of this game to this point.

I have been happy with every new release since I started playing this game. I think the only 2 that after looking back were nothing really new for me were 13 and 14.

12 was a new level and a breakthrough and 15 and 16 were jumps, but 17 has been a giant leap in every aspect.


Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports

[KnightTemplar]

Good objective observations.

When I first popped in '17 I was disappointed. It did lose something and gained something I thought was odd. I couldn't hit on my usually settings, but then I'd blast these long home runs. I perused the boards for answers, but, I've always felt that using other peoples sliders was never the answer as we all have our own abilities playing this game (that's why SDS loaded the game with options/settings/sliders).

On my own, I have now entered a comfort zone and there's no way I could go back to '16 (just the create-a-player would stop that). The more I play, the more I see hit variety. I see threads that start "I never see.......", "anybody else have this problem......", etc. and tend to ignore them because I DO see balls hit over outfielders heads, I don't see outfielders tracking down every fly ball, etc.

'17 has grown on me, but I do understand when you talk about a certain difference in feel. It was there for me.