MLB 11 The Show Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here

[josh44]

My Impressions are from about 3 hours worth of playing a couple of games as the giants a couple as the rangers and a couple only batting.

Note i play on veteran on MLB 09, All Star is definitely a lot harder.
I'll start with Analog Hitting:
Pro's- It feels even more rewarding when you get a ball in play. The motion feels right for me although i think i prefer just pushing up than pulling back and then up.

I can check swing with the analog hitting. I am big on check swinging since when i use X i'm nearly check swinging every 2nd pitch lol. I just have the habit of tapping X.

Con's- Extremely difficult to get the timing right. I believe this is due to the fact that you have to pull back at the release of the pitch then you only have probably half a second-a second to see if the pitch is hittable. If it were just the push up motion it would be easier to get the timing down. I also believe that its harder to pick what pitch is coming because your trying to time the release perfectly.



NO ZONE!!! This is what is annoying me the most about it. I like to use the PCI to be able to watch pitches into the strike zone. It makes it easier for me to tell if its going outside or going in. You cannot move the PCI with analog hitting. I know the contact is related to the timing but too many times i get perfect timing and no contact or just missed contact. It feels like it is being taken out of my hands. I would like to see zone hitting and analog hitting mixed together.

Went back to zone hitting for a game. Got a 3 run HR in the first inning. Kinsler and Hamilton got base on balls and Beltre hit a 3-2 pitch down the middle into left field for a HR, just made it. This really made me question if i wanted to go back to Analog hitting.

Seems to be a lot of popups with analog hitting as well. Even when i smash an infield ball it finds a fielder but i understand that the game can sometimes be like that.

Have joust found out that you can direct the RS a bit to the left or a bit to the right for inside/outside pitches so that may help my situation a bit.

Analog Pitching:
Pro's: IT IS AWESOME i love this feature and it just feels so much better than tapping x three times. It will be hard to master but i feel like it will be easier to master than the meter pitching. If you look at the Analog meter you'll see a line towards where your aiming. Just by looking at that line i seem to be more accurate with the RS. Feels great getting a strike out with it as well.

AI Batters seem a bit more aggressive with outside pitches. Its good to see and the 12'oClock curve is working as well. Never worked too well in MLB 09 but in this demo i've gotten some good strikes with it.

CONS: Only con so far for me is that sometimes it seems like i've flicked the RS a bit to the left but it goes right. Maybe its just me aiming poorly but it just seems a bit odd at times.

On All Star batters definitely punish any bad pitches. I think i may need to use sliders for pitching because in veteran i find it to easy to paint the edges and get strikeouts while in All Star i'm punished for any bad pitch. It seems like Veteran is a lot more forgiving with your RS accuracy while All Star is not only unforgiving but the batters are as well. A mix between the two would be great.

Fielding: Love this as well. My first throw i tapped O and then flicked the RS towards home when the dude was running to 1st base LOL. However after that one problem i have not had any trouble with it. Seems actually pretty simple. Just remember that no matter where your are LEFT is 3rd Up is 2nd right is 1st and down is Home. Try to release the RS just as the meter fills up to get a good throw. I also had a failed and a successful throw to 2nd from the catcher to stop a stolen base.

[K_GUN]

played 3 games

LOVE analog pitching
Love analog fielding
love true zone hitting

done playing demo though...not *polished* enough for me--(yes i get it--it's a demo.)

back to mlb 10 to finish up my season....8 games left...should be done around....march 8th....hell of a coincidence.

[Skyboxer]

Quote: Originally Posted by swaldo

- In the backstop area (behind the catcher) there are electronic advertising banners. For example a red "State Farm" banner will appear one minute then a blue "Welcome Home Vets" banner shows up. The problem is the pitching meter sits in front of it, and sometimes the banners will switch right in the middle of your pitch. It psychs me out every time.

You can move the pitching meter......

[Gagnon39]

I like analog batting and pitching but I'm striking out ALL THE TIME. Maybe I just need more practice.

[Entiae]

After playing some more, I'm starting to give up on analog batting. I just feel like I have to focus too much on when to start my stride. It's really getting frustrating.
In the next game I play I will try the Timing Only system. I'll still use analog pitching though. I'm not very good at it but I like it.

[Mom41]

Quote: Originally Posted by Sharp3500

After playing some more, I'm starting to give up on analog batting. I just feel like I have to focus too much on when to start my stride. It's really getting frustrating.

I understand this frustration about the stride but it's one of my absolute favorite parts of the analog batting. The load/stride makes it feel so much more like you're facing a real entity on the mound, a real person that you're competing against, not just a ball coming at you.

[Golds]

Analog Pitching - Pretty easy to pick up and play. Makes pitching more challenging and definitely makes it more fun. I used to be able to strike a batter out with a 1-2-3 punch without even paying attention. Now I can slow my pitches down when I'm in a hole and don't want to miss the zone, or I can rocket one in there with the pitcher's prime pitch.

Analog Fielding - So easy. I haven't thrown an error yet and have only received the "red warning" once (my first throw in the demo). All that is needed is soft touches and not cranking the stick to the direction of the base. I don't really see any difference between button or stick for fielding, but I guess it's nice to know that when you throw an error it was your fault. Not some AI animation.

Analog Batting - Pretty hard. I think the hardest part for me is forgetting that all I need to do is push up and to the left or right. I find myself hesitating because I want to follow the ball (like in zone batting). I love the fact that you need to learn your players' "step ins" when swinging...some take long big steps and others very quick. I have always been a great hitter in this game, but I will definitely need to play the game alot to make it second nature to me (which is actually really cool).

Graphics - Can anybody give me some insight on this? The graphics are great, I'm not ripping on them at all, but I see some jaggies on straight lined objects on the stadium as well as the base path lines. Also some on other areas. Is this just me or is it simply the demo's graphics? I'm trying to figure out if it's my 3 yr old 42" LCD HDTV just not performng the way the TV's do on the videos with Russell's interview or if it's just the game. The graphics are great, I'm not ripping on them at all.

[Drew127]

Liking the demo, but I can't get over why we can't change the focal point in the custom cameras. We can do it on replays. I really wanted to have a hitting camera similar to the one in MVP 2005, the default hitting cam in The Show is close...I just wanted to change the focal point so the pitcher doesn't look as far away.

The zoom button doesn't change the focal point at all. I hate complaining but I don't understand why this was left out...