Getting the CPU to throw more balls

[Bremser_Rules]

Everything else feels pretty good, but I can not get the CPU to throw enough balls so I can get a reasonable amount of walks. Since they are so around the plate I'm also probably getting too many base hits. I welcome any suggestions. I just dropped CPU throwing strikes early in counts slider down to 1. Is that slider possibly backwards?

[jcar0725]

Quote: Originally Posted by Bremser_Rules

Everything else feels pretty good, but I can not get the CPU to throw enough balls so I can get a reasonable amount of walks. Since they are so around the plate I'm also probably getting too many base hits. I welcome any suggestions. I just dropped CPU throwing strikes early in counts slider down to 1. Is that slider possibly backwards?

What difficulty are you playing on? The lower difficulties tend to throw more strikes.

Sent from my thoughts

[Rmiok222]

What he said ^^^ also you could just simply lower strike frequency to 4.


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[MichaelJCaboose98]

Playing on legend here, CPU has been consistent in throwing around 70% b/s and 65-70% fps. Very weird because I do have strike frequency at 4. Oddly enough I originally started with it at 5 and the results weren't that bad. Not sure what I should try tinkering, frustrating because other than that all my other slider settings are pretty much solid right now.

[bcruise]

It might seem counter productive, but as long as you're playing on a level above Veteran (that level and below actually does influence the number of strikes the CPU throws), you might have to swing more often. Why? Because the CPU sees patterns in this game, and if you always take the first pitch in the hope that you're going to draw a walk, the CPU is more likely to see that as a free strike. When you're automatically behind in the count like that for most of the game, drawing walks becomes very difficult. On the other hand, if you actually offer at that juicy first pitch strike from time to time - even just fouling it off - it's going to be more cautious about throwing that first pitch for a strike, and you'll find yourself getting into 2-0 or better counts as the game goes on, from which point it becomes easier to draw a walk. Of course, training yourself to lay off that first pitch (and others) when it's NOT a strike is also vital to drawing walks.

Generally on the first pitch I'll lay off corner strikes and just look for a fastball or some kind of hanging mistake pitch. If it's not exactly where I want I'll take it. That usually ensures that I take at least a few first pitch swings a game, enough to keep the CPU honest.

I might be jumping to conclusions thinking the issue is related to first pitch strikes, but often times when people are unable to draw walks in this game, it's because they're being too passive on pitches that ARE strikes - thus encouraging the CPU to throw more of them. It's an issue that has come up many times over the years on this site.

[MichaelJCaboose98]

Quote: Originally Posted by bcruise

It might seem counter productive, but as long as you're playing on a level above Veteran (that level and below actually does influence the number of strikes the CPU throws), you might have to swing more often. Why? Because the CPU sees patterns in this game, and if you always take the first pitch in the hope that you're going to draw a walk, the CPU is more likely to see that as a free strike. When you're automatically behind in the count like that for most of the game, drawing walks becomes very difficult. On the other hand, if you actually offer at that juicy first pitch strike from time to time - even just fouling it off - it's going to be more cautious about throwing that first pitch for a strike, and you'll find yourself getting into 2-0 or better counts as the game goes on, from which point it becomes easier to draw a walk. Of course, training yourself to lay off that first pitch (and others) when it's NOT a strike is also vital to drawing walks. Generally on the first pitch I'll lay off corner strikes and just look for a fastball or some kind of hanging mistake pitch. If it's not exactly where I want I'll take it. That usually ensures that I take at least a few first pitch swings a game, enough to keep the CPU honest. I might be jumping to conclusions thinking the issue is related to first pitch strikes, but often times when people are unable to draw walks in this game, it's because they're being too passive on pitches that ARE strikes - thus encouraging the CPU to throw more of them. It's an issue that has come up many times over the years on this site.

Will definitely keep this in mind, I was sticking to always taking the first pitch to try and force more deep counts. Perhaps I wasn't giving the AI enough credit lol. Thanks.

[FenwayMac]

Hi, have you tried lowering your pitch control slider? Its meant to affect how far the pitch can vary from its intended target. Think about when you are pitching and there is a light grey circle around possibly end locations of your pitch. Lowering pitch control makes that potential range larger for the CPU. So, if the are dotting everthing, lowering this slider will make then less perfect. Try either 3 or 4.

[Tede1971]

Instead of solely adjusting the CPU sliders, consider tweaking the user sliders as well. You could decrease your contact or timing attributes slightly, making it more challenging to hit pitches and increasing the likelihood of missing or fouling them off.