Pro Yakyuu Spirits 2011 Impressions

[VoItage]

Quote: Originally Posted by Manny_Shevitz

Vita is a whole different story. I can't hit for **** unless I put the assist on level 2, and it doesn't seem to negatively affect hit variety much. But I was talking about the PS3 version.

Ahh, gotcha. Thought the assist levels were pretty much universal. My bad.

[cardinalbird5]

I am getting better...not by much, but I am understand the swings more. You can still go opposite field with pull swings, so I am using that more. I am swinging with power a lot and I have squared up a few homeruns, but I have no plate discipline at the moment and I feel like that is a bad thing. My main problem was not swinging early enough for any power. I was putting the cursor on the ball pretty well. I am swinging soon as the ball being released, so I can't really lay off anything either. Do you guys swing early for fastballs and still react to other pitches? I find that impossible on middle+ or higher pitcher speed.

I won the last game 1-0 and thought I was going to score 5+, but I only scored 1 early and that was it. Maybe I need to use contact swing more and just try to pull with that too, because I need more singles and what not.

Does anyone know if any of softbank's hitters can go opposite field with power???

[Spirits Translation]

Hey, welcome aboard. First off, in 2011 the NPB switched to a heavier ball so run production went way down. Thus, in the roster updates the devs nerfed player attributes. The out-of-box version will have much more offense than a completely patched version, because attributes were based off 2010 when the league used the light ball. At release there were a few issues which were fixed, such as HR's being a bit too easy to hit (but it sounds like this is what you need. )

Defense: I mainly use auto fielding/manual throwing. I remember Rex Hudler talking about his time playing in the NPB. He said managers went crazy and seemed to take things personal over every little mistake. They want precise play all the time. If you want more errors from the CPU just bump down the difficulty, it will basically result it slower reaction time and more line drives & hard grounders getting through. In regards to pitching Japanese players don't have over-powering stuff so accuracy is key for them. It's something PYS players just have to adjust to.

Batting: Don't focus on the pitchers release or the ball in the air, you can look at his wind-up but as he brings his arm around switch your eye and look right at the batting point. This will show the rotation of the ball which is the most important thing you need to see at this point. Just like in real life the sooner you "see" all of his pitches the better, so try to work counts and especially get his fastball timing down with your first several batters.

CPU pitching at Hard- should be a good spread. The key is to wait and take advantage of that one mistake pitch you'll get with every at bat (well, at least hopefully you'll get one.) Personally, I aim in a zone with less than 2 strikes but am always ready to pound on a meatball in the middle. In some versions you can switch from digital to analog live by holding/releasing the LB button. I've grown accustomed to the analog on the Vita and play with no assist, but digital does have it's advantages. On the PS3 I always go analog.

I like to play each batter the way they are used in real life. So for example I'll pretty much always use contact swing with a high average contact hitter. With a bigger sweet spot if I'm off a little I can still get a flare or blooper which would be a pop-up if I used power swing. With meaty power hitters though I'm looking to go yard. Look at our special skills section, this will tell you who has opp field skills on your team.

Also, slow breaking balls are easier to hit for home runs than fastballs and sliders. Look for our posted "Pitch weight chart" on the site.

And in order to score runs you really have to do the little things. Since there's a lot of "throw low" ground ball pitchers in the NPB I like to use hit & run a lot. In a recent game I was losing by 1 run in the 9th and my first batter walked. My 2nd batter had speed so I bluffed a bunt and the CPU brought in the 3rd baseman. Next pitch I pull a grounder to the 3rd base side which would've been an out if I hadn't bluffed that bunt! The pitcher is tossing forks & curves down low, and with the next batter I decide to go for the score. I call a 'hit & run' and bounced a grounder to first. The CPU IW's my next guy, then I strike out trying too hard for a sac fly. Bases loaded, 2 outs, I bring in a power hitting pinch hitter to the plate and the defense goes deep (I also brought in a speedy pinch runner to 2nd base.) Instead of using power swing, I went contact and hit a hanging single to CF (would've been an out with normal depth) - both runs score and I win. Textbook stuff, but rarely does things go this smooth. Anyway, the point is that you have to play smart, take what they give you and use you're players strengths.

I'd maybe keep things as is, but bump CPU pitch speed to middle until you start pulling some pitches and hitting line drives.

[cardinalbird5]

Thanks for the response.

I am using Digital +2 ATM and I find I am able to hit better this way. Now I am just trying to determine if I should never look at the pitcher's release and just focus on the strikezone, like you said. I feel like I can pick up the pitch pretty fast from his release point, but the problem is trying to transition my eyes from the pitch delivery to my cursor and then put it on the ball.

I've been reading a lot on the translation site and it seems like with Hard-, majority of pitches are low and the CPU only throws 30-35 pct fastballs. So I may just look to pull those sliders/splitters, etc. and I'll still have time to hit those slow curves and off speed pitches.

I am getting better for sure, I just need to get my approach and settings down. Not difficulty settings either, but my camera and whether or not to use digital/analog and when to power/contact swing or pull/push.

MLB 13 has ruined me this year. I am so used to waiting back and still being able to pul pitches, so this game feels more like MLB 12 and MLB 11 with the fastballs. You have to swing extremely early and commit yourself or you will be late!

You guys don't use the cpu pitching cursor or pitch info? I'd find that extremely easy. I found a few youtube videos and they'd be using the cpu pitch cursor and everything so they know where the ball would be. That makes it too easy IMO.

[Spirits Translation]

Hmm, digital +2 is too fast for me (at least on the Vita which is what I mainly play on.) Where pitches are thrown really depends on the pitchers individual pitch attributes. If he has a great fastball and his other stuff is meh then he'll throw that FB all over the zone and all day long.

Basically the higher the individual pitch ratings the more you'll see it, generally seeing anything rated below a "D" will be rarely thrown.