MLB 2K11 Developer Diary #3 - Pitching and Hitting

[duke776]

A pitch control slider!!!!!!! Yes! I love it. Everything else they had in here sounds really great too. I truly hope the demo in not too far away like he said.

[rudyjuly2]

Love the pitching slider and the fact opposite field power is toned down. Tons of great stuff in here. Looking really good!

[Razorblade]

With pitching slider we will be able to walk batters now and that was the MAIN thing that killed the game for me last year...If the cpu wanted me to throw 3 balls in a row I made a deal with myself that every time that would happen I'd throw the 4th one in the dirt just to make it seem like I walked a batter.

[jeffy777]

Quote:

Once we had the physics and hit types behaving properly, the next step was to improve the visuals of the swings. We removed every single contact swing, both one-handed and two-handed, from MLB 2K10. We re-shot new contact swings that look much more natural and smooth. Batters will step into their swing rather than stepping, pausing and then swinging. In addition to the contact swings looking more realistic, the batter also looks a lot better when leaving the box on his way to first. Gone are the days when the contact swings looked choppy and sluggish. Also, a concept of acceleration allows the player likenesses to shine through even in the first few steps to first base after making contact. Guys like Carl Crawford get out of the box much quicker than someone like his new teammate, Adrian Gonzalez.

I'm really liking the sound of this too.

[jr86]

Agree. Lot of good stuff here. Especially like the bit about strikes not always getting called if the corner of the ball touches the strikezone....that used to drive me nuts in 2k10.
If the onfield action is as good as all the info we have received this is going to be a cracking year to be a baseball fan.

[Blzer]

Quote: Originally Posted by Money99

I hope that you can still hit a decent amount of homers using contact swing. I'm still of the belief there's no use for a variety of types. It should be completely stats based.

Very much agreed. I also hope this year I can actually make contact with the ball instead of getting "Very Late Swing" even though I feel like I'm timing it perfectly or early. I always try and pop in MLB 2K10 because quite frankly the game is very fun for me, but if I can't make contact or check swing, where does the fun go?

[BigBlue]

I sure hope that middle relievers, setup guys, and closers have drastically lower pitch count limits than starters. Relievers should tire faster and not be allowed to throw 80 pitches in a game by human or CPU ai managers. I once faced a reliever for 8 innings (extra inn game) because my opponent didn't feel pressured to change him, regardless of how patient at the plate I was.

This will certaintly be a great test of CPU ai and how far 2k has truly come with this game. March 8 can't get here fast enough.

BigBlue

[ripwalk]

Quote: Originally Posted by bulls23

Extremely happy with these improvements. All they need to add are rain delays and retractable roofs and you have the best baseball game of all time.

Umm, I think that might be jumping the gun a bit, considering all you've seen is the features in writing at this point and some cinematic trailers for the most past. Also, most would agree the last game in the series still had a lot of rough patches needed to be ironed out.

I wouldn't jump the gun too much - everything sounds great, but if you put your expectations THAT high you are much more likely to be let down.