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

[SSWood10]

Demo looks great, as expected, and love the feel of the analog pitching. Looking forward to getting underway.

[jdlsantos]

I'm more of a lurker on this site but I would like to say what the demo looked like for me IMO.

First off I don't care about the analog controls, tried them for about 5 minutes and they didn't feel as intuitive as the pitching meter, button hitting and button throwing.

I see not many people have checked out any of the old digital controls for the game. Hitting now has 4 options, power(Square), normal(X), contact(Circle) and bunting(Triangle) on the face buttons. Contact batting is an awesome feature IMO since it can be very useful in moving runners over to another base and not risk hitting a hard liner to a fielder. The PCI is more dynamic now as well, when I would go to check my swing info I noticed when a power swing was used with a weak hitter the PCI shrunk! Awesome new feature and makes hitting a little harder.

Analog throwing. The less said the better.

Analog pitching, I only used it for about twenty to twenty-five pitches and I couldnt accept it as the future, it felt very unresponsive to me, which I think it's because it's too sensitive. Whatever the case was I went back to the meter.

Now to the positives. Batter Views!!!!!!!

Catcher 5 is full of win. The multiple telecast views I'm going to use for pitching, I love that I can move the pitching meter which is going to take a while to get used to, but so far I'm loving the abundance of views availible now.

The new pickoff fixed cam is pretty cool too.

Defense. I felt like the defensive animations in '09 and '10 were so bad. I was using auto-fielding(no auto-throw). Now with the new animations the defense felt real fluid, and no more outfield wall vortex, which is a very welcomed feature, I'm also liking the difficulty of hitting the sweet spot of the throwing meter.

The positives I mentioned were things I was hoping the game would eventually have and I'm happy with the (even though it's a demo)end result. The positives supremely outweigh the negatives for me so far mainly because I can remove the analog features which I'm not a fan of. It doesn't make sense to me, one complains about the face buttons are old school, etc., yet the analog features limit you to the sticks and forgets about the other 8 buttons availible to you. Call me an old school gamer, whatever, I'm just happy the devs didn't remove the old controls.

[nmycon]

Quote: Originally Posted by jdlsantos

I love that I can move the pitching meter which is going to take a while to get used to, but so far I'm loving the abundance of views availible now.

im excited about the ability to move the meter as well!

what they did with the demo was replace the button meter with the analog meter, the button was small enough that you could see the pitcher and meter at the same time

the analog meter is so small that you cant really focus on the pitcher when aiming for the top of the meter, i think if the analog meter was positioned beside the pitcher it would look much better

[Kearnzo]

Just hit a shot into the Cove with Cruz. Absolutely CRUSHED it opposite field. Awesome view on the replay as well, high above the wall, showing the ball land in the cove and splash.

Cruz was on a tear in the game. Had 2 bombs, and his third at bat was a flyout to the track in deep center. Also had a line drive HR with Andrus to eventually give me the win.

The more I play with timing hitting and classic pitching, the more I realize how much better this years version is. Everything I disliked last year got some love.

Oh, and IMO, the best camera for picking up the ball and judging balls and strikes is Wide Offset. Reminds me of MVP's camera. I'm much more patient with this view, and able to time up the ball much better.

[ntdgg711]

Quote: Originally Posted by jdlsantos

I'm more of a lurker on this site but I would like to say what the demo looked like for me IMO. First off I don't care about the analog controls, tried them for about 5 minutes and they didn't feel as intuitive as the pitching meter, button hitting and button throwing. I see not many people have checked out any of the old digital controls for the game. Hitting now has 4 options, power(Square), normal(X), contact(Circle) and bunting(Triangle) on the face buttons. Contact batting is an awesome feature IMO since it can be very useful in moving runners over to another base and not risk hitting a hard liner to a fielder. The PCI is more dynamic now as well, when I would go to check my swing info I noticed when a power swing was used with a weak hitter the PCI shrunk! Awesome new feature and makes hitting a little harder. Analog throwing. The less said the better. Analog pitching, I only used it for about twenty to twenty-five pitches and I couldnt accept it as the future, it felt very unresponsive to me, which I think it's because it's too sensitive. Whatever the case was I went back to the meter. Now to the positives. Batter Views!!!!!!! Catcher 5 is full of win. The multiple telecast views I'm going to use for pitching, I love that I can move the pitching meter which is going to take a while to get used to, but so far I'm loving the abundance of views availible now. The new pickoff fixed cam is pretty cool too. Defense. I felt like the defensive animations in '09 and '10 were so bad. I was using auto-fielding(no auto-throw). Now with the new animations the defense felt real fluid, and no more outfield wall vortex, which is a very welcomed feature, I'm also liking the difficulty of hitting the sweet spot of the throwing meter. The positives I mentioned were things I was hoping the game would eventually have and I'm happy with the (even though it's a demo)end result. The positives supremely outweigh the negatives for me so far mainly because I can remove the analog features which I'm not a fan of. It doesn't make sense to me, one complains about the face buttons are old school, etc., yet the analog features limit you to the sticks and forgets about the other 8 buttons availible to you. Call me an old school gamer, whatever, I'm just happy the devs didn't remove the old controls.

alright, let's get real. if you don't wanna try anything NEW, then disable all the analogs and play the same game as last year. If you like a challenge and expect that the game developers KNEW what they were doing by adding analog, then play this year's game as intended - analog.

Granted, it's frustrating as heck to try to get the timing down with ALL the analog controls - hitting, pitching, fielding. But you know what? once I get used to it, this is gonna be the best baseball video game ever.

Everyone needs to quit whining and complaining and just play the game. If you wanna play same controls as in the past, fine - just keep in mind you're gonna be missing out on MLB '11s full potential.

[Pezell04x]

So i've played the demo a handful of times (probably 5 or 6).

The analog pitching is tight. I love it and I picked them up pretty quickly.

The analog hitting is hard as hell. I'm very, very, very bad at hitting. I don't know how to bunt, except I did it once on accident but really had no idea what I was doing. I also don't know when the best time to push on on the R stick is. Is it when the pitcher is about to throw the ball? It's very confusing.

Also, I can't make contact on the ball. In the 5 or 6 games played, I probably have two hits. It's (or should I say I'm) pretty bad at it. Any tips for this?

The fielding feels natural but I still catch myself pressing circle or triangle to throw the ball. It's a habit that can easily be broken.

Overall I like the demo, but the frustration of batting may not make this a day 1 purchase.

[nmycon]

Quote: Originally Posted by Pezell04x

I also don't know when the best time to push on on the R stick is. Is it when the pitcher is about to throw the ball? It's very confusing.

you want to swing when you players foot touches the ground

therefore, the time to start the stride is not determined by the pitcher's windup as much as it's determined by the players stride animation. Some players have short strides, so they can start when the ball is released.

Other players have high leg lifts, so they need to start their stride as the pitcher is moving his leg forward

[Knight165]

Quote: Originally Posted by Pezell04x

So i've played the demo a handful of times (probably 5 or 6). The analog pitching is tight. I love it and I picked them up pretty quickly. The analog hitting is hard as hell. I'm very, very, very bad at hitting. I don't know how to bunt, except I did it once on accident but really had no idea what I was doing. I also don't know when the best time to push on on the R stick is. Is it when the pitcher is about to throw the ball? It's very confusing. Also, I can't make contact on the ball. In the 5 or 6 games played, I probably have two hits. It's (or should I say I'm) pretty bad at it. Any tips for this? The fielding feels natural but I still catch myself pressing circle or triangle to throw the ball. It's a habit that can easily be broken. Overall I like the demo, but the frustration of batting may not make this a day 1 purchase.

Pezell...

As the pitcher comes to the top of his pitch motion....that's when I pull back on the stick(pulling back and holding beforehand will induce a penalty)....as the pitch comes in....push up....it's almost like one smooth motion. I pretty much do the motion as if I'm going to swing at everything....and just let go if I don't like the pitch.
Then start introducing the inside/outside element once you feel comfortable doing it straight up and down.
Bunting...is to either the right or left(don't pull back on the stick)....and is either held from before pitch for a sac bunt(let go if the pitch is not to your liking)...or a late push left/right for a drag.
By pushing left/right on the stick...you are deciding which area to bunt to as well.
Drop a level until you feel comfortable as well.

When all else fails...do what I do...manage only mode!

M.K.
Knight165