MLB 2K11 My Player and Franchise Mode Improvements (ESPN The Gamer)

[jeffy777]

Sounding better all the time. It seems like VC is really polishing the game up this year and working out the kinks.

[ryan36]

So my concern is that with pitch count being the only indicator, the ai better take pitches, and we better be able to walk people...

otherwise starters will never get tired.

[bcruise]

This is interesting:

Quote:

""Last year, it didn't really matter what a fielder's rating was. Everyone basically made the same plays. But this year everything is based on the fielding rating. How we do this is, when the ball is hit, you see the ball shadow, and the worse your fielder rating, the bigger the initial shadow on the ball and the longer it takes to show where the actual ball will land. So for a guy like Andres Torres, the initial ball shadow shows up almost immediately and it's only a tiny bit bigger than the actual spot, so you know you've got it. But with a guy like Pat Burrell, the initial shadow is huge and we delay where the actual ball mark shows up to make it even more of a struggle. Now, if you're missing fly balls, it's because you've got a Burrell-type guy out there on the field."

I hope it affects the AI in the same way it would us (CPU Pat would have trouble finding the ball just like we might). No game has really done this that well IMO.

Like others have said I'm intrigued with the pitch count idea. 2k is thinking outside of the box on ratings just a bit, and and I'm interested to see how it goes.

[jeffy777]

Quote: Originally Posted by ryan36

So my concern is that with pitch count being the only indicator, the ai better take pitches, and we better be able to walk people... otherwise starters will never get tired.

Well, the AI took pitches in 2K10, but walking AI batters was the issue because of the overly accurate pitching. It sounds like they've addressed the pitching accuracy, so I think this will be good.

[hitstreak13]

Quote: Originally Posted by ryan36

So my concern is that with pitch count being the only indicator, the ai better take pitches, and we better be able to walk people... otherwise starters will never get tired.

Very good point Ryan. I wish they didn't get rid of the energy meter (or percentage). I mean, even if it is a game, I dont see the need to get rid of it. They should simply keep it in the pause menu so you can determine whether or not its time to bring someone else in. I am a bit concerned that during simulation, CPU controled teams will be throwing complete games left and right because they had a few 1-2-3 innings, therefore are way below their pitch count.

[JayhawkerStL]

Quote: Originally Posted by ryan36

So my concern is that with pitch count being the only indicator, the ai better take pitches, and we better be able to walk people... otherwise starters will never get tired.

We are going to have to see it in action, and worse, probably do some sliders adjustments. You are right that this could really be exposed as a problem.

I'm hopeful that they finally got the pitching down right.

[SoxFan01605]

Quote: Originally Posted by hitstreak13

Very good point Ryan. I wish they didn't get rid of the energy meter (or percentage). I mean, even if it is a game, I dont see the need to get rid of it. They should simply keep it in the pause menu so you can determine whether or not its time to bring someone else in. I am a bit concerned that during simulation, CPU controled teams will be throwing complete games left and right because they had a few 1-2-3 innings, therefore are way below their pitch count.

If it is entirely based on pitch-count, then yes, it could be a problem. I'm not sure this will be the case though. As some of us said in the other thread about pitch count, it sounded more that the indicators for stamina/energy were removed...it never said that the concept of stamina was. Pitch count mainly determined pitcher stamina in 2K10 anyway, so it seems that, at it's worst, it would probably be at least on-par with 2K10.

I disagree about putting an energy bar in the pause menu. If it is more an indication and tracking change than base function, as I suspect it is, I think it adds a nice layer of strategy to franchise and career modes. Managers and players don't get a bar that pops up that say "you're pitcher has 23% left." Conceptually, if we are relying on pitch count and visual/performance indications to make such decisions, it's far more immersive.

Of course, that depends on how well the system itself works, but again...it's impossible for any of us to say at this point.

[Yeah...THAT Guy]

I'm just hopeful that with the DPR hopefully stats won't be so average. Guys like Cliff Lee pretty much consistently went like 13-11 every year. If you had a guy hitting over .280 he was having an incredible year. Stuff like that.