Four Keys to Success for MLB '11: The Show

[johnpreyes]

Quote: Originally Posted by Blitzburgh

I love the game but hitting for me is way to frustrating with their camera angles. This is a must change for me. Give me the options like 2k does.

What bothers you about the camera angle? Also, how is 2k's camera?

[GoldenGlove]

Hmmm...

I see a lot of people boasting about the game's unpredictability, but I find the game to be random for me and pretty predictable for the CPU. I know what is likely going to happen in most games that I play in this game.

For the most part, my games go like this: I pitch well for most of the game. Then the CPU scores once, and momentum takes over. ITS like an unstoppable force when it starts. The game was 1-1 heading in to the inning, now its 1-6 in the 7th inning. Completely annoying when you have it happen over and over again. And I have tried everything. One game I was playing Texas in a close game into the 8th inning. Peavey pitched lights out, gave up 2 runs through 7, so in the 8th I go to the pen. I'm going with the match ups. I forget who the guy's name was, but I remember what his batting average was against lefties... .062. Now who wouldn't put in Matt Thornton to face that guy expecting an out? Anyway, the guy fights off countless pitches then nails one off the fence to knock in 2 runs to make the score 4-1 in the 8th. Tack on another 2 after that...all with 2 outs. Sorry, but stuff like that shouldn't happen every game I play. There's always some BS play that occurs when I play the CPU. And I mean ALWAYS. And all while that is happening I am getting dominated at the plate. And when I do put good wood on the ball its either a line out or an easy play for the CPU in the outfield. To say that that right there infuriates me would be an understatement.

[ehh]

Playoff mode would be a great addition, I would use it probably more than franchise.

Hitting can use tweaking but not an overhaul, I hope they do not use analog hitting next year or if they do they at least leave the current system in place as an option.

[Yankees_CT]

I agree with the playoff mode and the user control sliding. But I would like SCEA to leave the hitting where it is. I swear if we get complete control over hitting it will end up like MVP or the 2k Games. A complete homerun-a-thon. I hate those games because of how easy the hitting is, but love how tough it is in The Show. Nothing is more satisfying then getting a hit in that game.
A lesson the developers could take from perhaps the MVP series is the fielding/fielding throw mechanics. Its seems they had a more intuitive scheme.

Again though, SCEA please DON'T change hitting...and if you do keep the legacy option in there.

[addybojangles]

"Roster Auto Load"

Shocked this hasn't made it in yet. And I agree, the interface needs an overhaul (yes, an overhaul).

[aukevin]

I'm on board with #3 and #4 (Dynamic rosters and Playoff mode). One of the other two keys definitely needs to be an online that works. Online leagues in The Show are painful and they have been for 3 years now.

Oh yeah, and try not to release a patch next year that breaks something (2 years in a row now).

I don't have any complaints with the hitting or pitching in the game, but improvements can always be made. I just hope if they do go to analog controls that they continue to tweak and make improvements on the non-analog controls as well.

[swaldo]

This looks similiar to the article you wrote last year "Three Things MVP 05 Still Does Better" where you were promptly slammed by several people including Brian SCEA (The Show's senior developer) regarding the batting system. So do you feel 'The Bigs 2' batting mechanic is better than MVP and if so how does it differ?

http://www.operationsports.com/feature.php?id=885

Also, in that article you stated "2009 is a great year to be a baseball gamer, but 2004 was even better." That's funny because you just said in your radio show that NFL2K5 is basically old news and how football gamers need to move on. Ask anyone around if Madden or 'The Show' has the better reputation and most will tell you 'The Show." And this year it didn't make the changes you wanted so I guess that means you're still gaming away with MVP? Or is 'The Bigs 2' so good that you finally sent it off into retirement?

I'm not trying to be a jackball, I'm just giving you a hard time. I do enjoy your contributions to this site but I just had to say it because I'm a big 2K5 football fan.

Anyway, I do agree with you in some areas. I also feel there is too much randomness to 'The Show's' hitting results. And I haven't had long term exposure to 'The Bigs 2' batting mechanic, but I listed below their batting instruction guide which was taken from the demo...

“You can aim your hits. If you time your swing well, you will hit the ball where you were aiming. The batter has a hitting advantage when the ball is hit in his wheelhouse.”

Really, is that it? I mean you can do the same thing with 'The Show's' left stick (you don't even need to use the right influence stick.) Just aim inside and swing early if you want to pull the ball. If you want to hit a sac flyball aim under the ball and use power swing, if you want to hit a grounder the opposite way just swing late and aim high. I think your main issue is that hitting doesn't consistently feel rewarding, and that's something I agree with and should be improved upon in The Show.

Here is my idea of the ideal hitting system:

- Cursor based batting: it used to be clunky so I think it kinda got a bad rep. However, that is no longer the case so hopefully you explored that angle before writing this article?

- Also, I agree "Hitters Eye" was brilliant in MVP. That should be an option in all baseball games.

- Quick swing feedback: I want to click a button after a pitch and see the motion of the pitch from start to finish. Kinda like going into instant replay but it does it for you automatically and fast. High Heat had a great one.

- Custom Camera angles. Anyone remember the baseball game where you could enter your own completely customized camera angle and adjust it in a tweak file? "Yea, my favorite is behind catcher, low angle at 2.6." It was Front Page Sports baseball or High Heat PC I think.

- What ever happened to moving batters around in the box? If someone is pitching me outside I want to move forward in the box and make that pitcher think. Remember ABC's "Monday Night Baseball" back in the 1970's? One time Steve Garvey stepped backward in the box when the pitcher was checking a runner and he didn't notice. He then threw an inside pitch and Garvey smashed it for a home run (because that "inside pitch" was now more like a middle pitch and right in his wheelhouse! Especially online, this could lead to some real cat & mouse strategy. There's alot of other uses for this, such as if you're facing a knuckleball pitcher there are two theories - step all the way up in the box to hit the ball before the big movement, or step all the way back towards the catcher so you can see the ball as long as possible.

-Another thing MVP did right is that they had a "Charge Mound" feature. I guess the MLB doesn't want that in games but hey it's baseball and would be great.

- There needs to be a better injury system in baseball games as well. At times hitters should get injured when they get plunked by a ball, and they could get injured in a brawl as well so there should always be a risk/reward thing with pitching inside or charging a mound. I want to see more "nagging" injuries as well, so if a report says a player is at 70% then his ratings will go down, while a player at 100% might play at a level above his top ratings. I've heard some MLB players say they don't work out towards the end of the year because they are too banged up and sore, so they save everything left for the games. Men love to make decisions so make us make decisions - do we use that slightly banged up player or rest him? The playoffs are coming up and we're 2 games on top with 10 games to go. I need him but is it worth the risk? If I rest him he could really be productive in the playoffs but we might lose the division without him. Choices, choices.

[noe1else]

Correct me if I'm wrong but wouldn't introducing a new hitting system pretty much entail a hole new game engine. If so I don't consider that even an option...