Why Do I Do This To Myself: I Have a Copy of MLB 2K9 (Q&A)

[ChaseB]

I awoke this morning to find 2K9 (360) on my doorstep, so that means I'm about to become a slave to you all. But the nice part is I don't have to do the review of the game for OS, aka I don't need to lock myself in a room away from all of you and get down to work on that process.

Now, I should know better than to start a thread and ask you nuts for questions, BUT that's exactly what I'm going to do. In fact, I'm not even going to put restrictions on the questions -- holy hell I am a REBEL.

So if you want to ask if Posada's cup size makes him look anatomically correct or not, you go right ahead. I may not answer that question, but hey, you can ask.

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Questions answered so far (TJ = TJdaSportsGuy) (CB = ChaseB)

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One question that I would like answered is whether or not the Cardinals have blue helmets with their away jerseys... thx in advance.

TJ: Nope. Red helmets. Sorry.

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only question is are displays in the outfield like billboards and led screens left blank like we seen in photos, IE at wrigley there was nothing on the old scoreboard in center not even the clock with two hands...

TJ: No hands on the clock in CF at Wrigley.

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Do fans walk up the isles, are their Vendors?

TJ: Not seeing any of that. Of course, it's still the 1st inning in the game I fired up so maybe everyone's already in their seats. It IS Wrigley, ya know. Those fans show up early.

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Options Menu: Pitching/Batting Options: Sliders for Accuracy, take strikes, take balls, swing frequency, contact?? etc... just a quick breakdown of sliders that made the final cut

TJ: Here are all the sliders in the option menu while in-game. Not sure if any additional ones would show up if you look at this outside of a game but here goes.

User Settings - Batting
Batting Success
Batting Contact
Batting Power
Pitcher Handedness Influence
Inside Edge Batting Zone Influence
Batting Pitch Influence
Batter's Eye Influence
Hit Direction Influence

CPU Settings - Batting
AI Batting Success
AI Batting Contact
AI Batting Power
AI Pitcher Handedness Influence
AI Inside Edge Batting Zone Influence
AI Batting Pitch Influence
AI Bunt Contact
AI Bunt Success

User Settings - Pitching
Pitch Meter Speed
Pitch Speed
Gesture Recognition
Hold Timing Influence
Release Timing Influence
Pitch Rating Influence
Pitch Break Influence
Pitcher Composure Influence

CPU Settings - Pitching
AI Pitch SUccess
AI Pitch Selection Tendency
AI Strike Zone Tendency
AI Pitch Zone Tendency
AI Pitcher Composure Influence

User Settings - Fielding
Fielding Errors
Throw Meter Influence
Fielder Speed

CPU Settings - Fielding
AI Fielding Errors
AI Fielder Speed

User Settings - Running
Base Runner Speed
Pickoff Success
Catcher Throw-Out Success

CPU Settings - Running
AI Hit'n'Run Tendency
AI Sacrafice Bunt Tendency
AI Squeeze Tendency
AI Base Running Aggression
AI Steal Aggression
AI Steal Success

That's it.

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Do the Cubs wear gray pants with their alternate jersey on the road?

TJ: Nope...they're wearing their white pinstripe pants.

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Are the Washington Nationals new Blue alternate uniforms in the game?

TJ: Yes, the Nats have the new blue alternates with the DC on the front and the American Flag design in the DC letters.

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How many minor league and spring training stadiums are in the game?

TJ: Unless I'm missing something, I believe there are only 3. If I go to start an exhibition game, the only 3 stadiums that aren't real MLB ballparks are Metro Stadium, City Park, and Municipal Field. Oh, and the Polo Grounds and 2009 All-Star Stadium are there as well.

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TJdaSportsGuy can you confirm that you can pick 30 users as franchise ?

TJ: Yep, you can do 30 user controlled teams.

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I am a fan of player editting so here are my questions (This would be in the roster section. Not the create-a-player but the MLB players): 1. Can u change the size of the player's jersey ala 2K8 and 2K7 which the options were Tight / Normal / Loose ? 2. Also can u change the size of the pants and pants length ala 2K8 and 2K7? I am really interested in "Baggy" / "Super Baggy" and the "Extra Long" options for the pants the most. The options in 2K7 and 2K8 were: Tight/ Normal / Baggy / Super Baggy The options for pant length were: Tucked / Normal / Long / Extra Long. 3. Lastly, there was an option for the "undershirt sleeves hot/cold" that I noticed in Steve_OS's screenshots. The option that I am looking for that was in 2K7 and 2K8 is "3/4's Above The Elbow." It basically is the sleeves that are cut at the elbow and not the 3/4 sleeves.

TJ: 1 - Not that I can find.

2 - Yep...the options are Baggy, High, Low, High Stirrup, and Low Stirrup.

3 - The sleeve length options are Normal, 3/4th, None, and Short. Short is cut off just above the elbow but not at it.

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TJ frame rate? does it appear to be 60fps?

TJ: Yes, it's 60...or close to it.

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can you use the Dodgers alternate jersey with the 50 year patch they wore last year?

TJ: The Dodgers' jersey choices are home, road, batting practice, 1913 home, 1913 road, and cool base. All the teams have the cool base jerseys.

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TJ, last slider questions(s) I hope: 1) Can you confirm the sliders have numbers attached to them to show how far they have been moved? (FYI-Last year there were no numbers so every slider change had to be given in the # of clicks from the far left). 2) When changing a slider, is there any sort of definition/description of what each slider does and how moving it left or right will impact the game?

TJ: Yes, the sliders have numbers. No, I don't see any sort of definition or description pop up when a slider is highlighted.

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You can turn on button pitching in the options though, correct?

TJ: Yep, there it is. In controller setup.

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Thanks for quick response and if i could give you a lil nit pick question, could you play at royals stadium and tell me if you can hear the fountains ever and if the gigantic replay board in center actually works?

TJ: I don't hear the water...but in my opinion, the water animation sucks. Looks more like blue smoke flowing over the wall and down than actual water, lol. The replay board in center seems to only be used to show the headshots and stats of whomever is at bat.

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In playoff mode do hey have the bunting on the walls and the playof logo on the grass!

TJ: No!

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What about editing players. Can we edit facial hair and hair do etc.......... on existing players? Or what about the minor leagures? Thanks TJ

TJ: You can't edit appearance on existing players. Not sure about minor leaguers. Haven't gone into franchise mode yet.

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Are their historical teams avaialble to play with? '27 Yankees, '34 Cardinals...

TJ: The only historical-like teams I see are AL and NL Classics. I'm guessing they're sort of an All-Star team made up of retired legends.

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and are the scoreboards blank?

TJ: Looks like the scoreboards are used to show headshots and stats of the player at bat.

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Could you give button pitching a try and see if it has pinpoint control or if you throw some balls while trying to throw strikes.

TJ: I was throwing some balls using the button pitching (called classic in the game).

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Here's another easy one. Start a playoff game and see if they have the extra umpires situated down the lines in the outfield. They got it right last year, I would hate to see them miss this obvious part of the game.

TJ: I don't see any umpires down the lines in the postseason. Sorry.

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1. Are the graphics and lighting much better than the demo. It seemed like it was washed out a bit. 2. Is the black fade out and in between innings in the game or is there an actual transition? 3. You answered the pants question but I have to piggy back and ask you said there was a baggy, and a low set of pants. Does this mean like over the cleats low or is it more to the top of the cleat. And baggy, I guess the question is when you look at big pappi or better yet manny ramirez, does it look like him and the gear he wears or is it wierd lookin? 4. Did you find out if the himerun celebration animations with the teams were in b/c as eluded to earlier it was cut from the demo. Things like the bell animation in citiznes bank park and such. Did that change or is it bland

TJ: 1 - Looks the same as the demo to me.

2 - It's between innings, just like the demo.

3 - It's like rolled over the top of the cleats, sort of. Ortiz wears the "Baggy" style pants.

4 - The only HR's I've seen so far came from the visiting team and there wasn't much celebration at all, really.

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When a player is coming to bat and they zoom in on him, does his shadow (from his helmet on his jersey for example) look jagged like it did in the demo, or is it smooth?

TJ: Sorta jaggy but not terribly so.

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Thank you. Could you check if you can do zone hitting without using the swing stick (ie, by using classic/one-button hitting) when you do? I think it was said we couldn't, but one of the control option screens made it look like it was possible. You are a real American hero...

TJ: Yes, that appears to be an option.

TJ: Some random observations...

* In franchise mode, you get neat little stats underneath their season stats, such as "2nd in the league in hitting" or "currently on an 8 game hitting streak". Very "Show" like.
* I've struck out a few batters looking already and I haven't played a full game yet.
* In a game as the Yankees at home vs the Rangers, Kinsler led off the game grounding to 3rd. A-Roid threw high to 1st and he reached base on an error, yet the announcers were discussing how much pitchers hate giving up infield hits.
* Simmed through a franchise season and the Tampa Bay Rays defeated the LA Dodgers 4 games to 1 to win the World Series.

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Here is a randomly specific question: When you get a chance, can you play as the Yankee's and once a ball is hit to Damon, run to middle/deep CF and throw it home at his max strength (fill up the meter) and let us know: A) If there it has some air under it (a bit of a rainbow) B) Where it bounces C) Where it ends up at or just D) If you think it is realisitic In some of the earlier video's, his arm (and everyone elses) were too string...and there is not fielder throw speed slider this year.

TJ: Just did it from Left CF...he 4 hopped it to the plate, about 10 feet to the right of it. Looked pretty realistic to me.

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Based on the retail version that you have can you comment on the differences from the demo that we have based on: Graphics - Jaggies, faces, animations, replay cut scenes Basically does the in game play look any different that what we've seen as of Tuesday

CB: I've gone back between the two a couple times now, and I can't say I notice many big graphical changes. From farther away camera views I'd say the jaggies are a bit less pronounced in the final version, and there is a certain smoothness to the overall graphics that perhaps isn't as noticeable in the demo. Otherwise, I can't tell many differences. But I think you'd need to see the two side by side to really be a good judge, and I can't do that.

Beyond that, there are obviously replays in the retail version, and I've seen 3 now. During the two HR replays the game looked smooth, but during the one replay where it was just a regular hit, the ball slowed down a bit coming out of the pitcher's hand and it looked a bit funky. I'll be interested to see if that happens during other non-HR replays.

Also the game seems to hold near the 60, but I did see it dip/slow at one point when retrieving the ball in the corner. The frame rate didn't chug, the game just slowed for a moment.

I'd just like to note that I zipped a ball back up the middle and beaned Kazmir in between the shoulder blades; he picked the ball up after and made the play at first, what a soldier.

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How close can you zoom in on the behind-the-catcher hitting view?

CB: You can zoom to "10"

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can you change the fielding view? Are there fielding view presets like last year (broadcast, pole, etc)?

CB: There are no fielding camera views in the camera settings area or any other area in the options in-game. I don't know where else they could be hiding, so a tentative no.

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are there 'no doubters' where the camera is different for the HR? Is there a baserunning tutorial?

CB: My guess is no, at least not when you hit the HR. I hit a second deck shot with Ryan Howard (sup 3-1 fastball) and there was no special camera that came into play.

Yes there is a base running tutorial.

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1. Is the "Wrestlemania" intro still in? 2. Did they include minor league stadiums? 3. Is the "jerk" into the batting stance animation cleaned up?

CB: 1. As in the promo form where the voice plays over the two teams? Yes.

2. I don't see them in the stadium selection screen when I do exhibition matches.

3. I assume you mean after they finish doing their sig walk up or whatever? I still see that Utley for example has a little hitch as he gets into his stance after his sig walk up if that's what you mean.

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1. -Did they fix the "pickle problem?" (unrealistic run down where the cpu just throws back and forth between the bags without actually chasing the runner down?) 2. -Are there more pitcher and batting camera options than last years game? 3. -Overall feel of the final in comparison to the Demo?...Same?..differences?...better?

CB: 1. Nope, still just throw it back and forth.

2. For pitching and hitting the two default cameras are behind hitter or behind pitcher. Then you can change zoom, side, height, position on those two cameras.

3. Hard to say at this point. It doesn't feel drastically different one way or the other for me. But it's hard to gauge a full game against a three inning demo.

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1. -Are there replays in the final version after a good play on D or a HR? Didn't notice any in the demo.

CB: Seen them after HRs. Haven't really made many nice D plays yet. Also, there is the replay frequency option, which may play a part in it. I'm going to turn it up to high for next game.

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Does the ball change colors to indicate the pitch as it leaves the pitcher's hand?

CB: No, doesn't look like it.

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1. if you go into online settings (dont need to setup an actual online game), can you find anywhere to set custom online sliders? I'm hoping VC put these back in this year.. offline: 2. can you turn off the strike zone, ball trail, and pitching cursor? 3. if you choose to use the 3 step pitching mechanic from 2k8, does the pitching interface look different than the giant yellow circle? maybe it looks like last year I'm hoping, anything but that giant yellow mess covering the whole catcher... 4. and the blank screen in between innings in the demo, is this gone in the retail? Im hoping this is replaced by highlight package or something presentation wise..

CB: 1. I was assuming the custom slider options would be back in since they are in NBA 2K9, and my assumption was correct. You can go buck wild with the custom sliders like in NBA 2K9.

2. You can turn off ball trail and strike zone window. I did not see one to turn off ball cursor.

3. It doesn't appear to change in a significant way. Also, I tried to get a meatball doing pitching the old way and no dice.

4. If you hit a HR or something it will show that clip between innings, then cut to black for a moment before restoring.

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Do the Blue Jays have the baby blues available as home alts?

CB: The Alt 2s are the old-school baby blues.

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To piggy back this, are all uniforms available for each team or are some of them locked?

CB: It seems like they are all unlocked. If they are locked, then they must now show up until they are unlocked.

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Though it has been assumed from Steve's screen shots, it's official that there is no Step Influence

CB: I don't see one.

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How are the cutscenes like batters walking up to the plate and coming back to the dugout, that is were i notice alot of akward animations like jogging then stopping moving weird etc..... is it smoother then the demo....i dont know if you played the demo.

CB: There is less awkward stuff going on, but I wouldn't call the transitions natural in some cases still.

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Are there instant replays after nice plays, or are they only showed in between innings?

CB: I've seen HRs shown between innings. Haven't made any nice defensive plays yet so hard to answer otherwise.

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Whats the crowd noise, reactions like? Celebrations?

CB: I'll be more on the lookout for this. I've felt it was kind of quiet so far, but maybe I need to turn the crowd up an the commentary down. Plus I haven't played deep into games yet, so maybe the fans get juiced as games go on.

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Do the mets have there plain white jersey without the pinstripes?

CB: Yes, Alt Home.

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Are the Braves's new Blue alt. road jersey in the game?

CB: Yes

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Quick question.....Does the Orioles road uniforms have "Baltimore" written in cursive now instead of "Orioles" written in cursive?

CB: Yes

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How many GBs does the game install take up?

CB: If you install this game to your HDD, it's 6.7 GBs.

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Give us your thoughts on the AI take strikes/balls question that's been plastered on this thread.

CB: My time with the game is still somewhat limited (see: my opinion could change) -- and I'm playing it on the out-of-the-box settings -- but I would say the demo is a solid indication of what the final holds in terms of the batter/pitcher interaction (pre-sliders, and on the default difficulty).

And to be clear, I don't think the issue is so much that you cannot get guys to swing and miss at balls out of the strike zone or anything, but rather, far and away, swinging strikes outweigh strikes looking. It's somewhat compounded by the fact that there is not enough foul tips and stuff along those lines.

While hitting, I do like how the pitcher comes at you for the most part. In my games so far, the pitchers really try to work you low and away much of the time, but I've seen a few relievers come in and change it up and challenge me high in the strike zone. It's too early and I'm too rusty to really tell if the balls to strikes is solid because I'm probably swinging at a lot of junk, but I would like to swing and miss more than I do.

I think the MLB 2K strike zone is still debatable too, sometimes I want to call QuesTec after some of the low/outside strikes that are called.

[sirwoodz]

Is it different from the demo? that's all I care about. thanks in advance.

[baa7]

Thanks Chase. A lot of concern about CPU hitting. Are there CPU Take Strikes or Take Balls sliders in the game? Thanks.

[Flaxseed Oil]

How close can you zoom in on the behind-the-catcher hitting view?

[playball335]

Does the cpu walk a fair amount vs a human player?

[stealyerface]

This will be easy. Play the three inning demo game, then play the same teams, same park, etc.. and give us some basic impressions as to the (if any) differences that may have been tweaked for the final copy.

thanks,
syf

[mrj513]

Based on the retail version that you have can you comment on the differences from the demo that we have based on:

Graphics - Jaggies, faces, animations, replay cut scenes

Basically does the in game play look any different that what we've seen as of Tuesday

[jeffy777]

can you change the fielding view? Are there fielding view presets like last year (broadcast, pole, etc) ?