Scouting Reports in MLBTS are Needed to Stop Generic Pitch Strategy For Each Batter.

[ruskoz]

First let me say I love the MLBTS series. A big thanks to the developer for all their hard work. One element that I think would exponentially increase the experience of MLBTS is a dynamic scouting report system. I will indulge a bit and describe one way of how it might be implemented.

When pitching, each batters scouting information can be integrated into a virtual report that can be toggled on and off in the form of a overlay like the pitchers pitch type in 15 (R2 if I remember right). And a more complete scouting report in a side menu for a deeper dive would be a plus.

The question is can it be done? Does the current platform have the functionality to track and list out the data? Components like out of the zone chases, swings at high fast balls, fastball swings on change of speed pitches, fastball hits vs off-speed hits etc. Then this data can be put into tables for each player and update dynamically as more data is accumulated in games. The data accumulation would need to be consistent in player and simulated games. I am not sure if the sim game data is the same shape&size as the player game data but I am guessing it should be.

Here is a quick and simple use-case: Your are playing and pitching, late innings - game is still in question. 1st batter up is hitting .250 but has been on fire the last 12 games. he has been hitting everything inside. You can see this in the scouting report that he is hitting .450 in the last 12 games and is hitting .650 on the inside stuff. But even more is he hit .800 on inside fastballs. The scouting says that the slider away has been at a .125 avg all season and the last 12 games its about the same .130. Now that you-the-player know this you can attack his weakness with a authentic approach and feel. The way it is currently each pitch strategy is generic for each batter.

If the current platform supports this type of development would be a great addition to any new release 2016 or 2017.... If it does not, creating the data fields and logic and presentation seems very doable.

The real question is how does the AI deal with this data. The AI-batter described above needs to start addressing this slider issue based on the data (scouting report). Also in cpu-vs-cpu the AI pitching would need to utilize the data. And of course you-the-player-batter should face the AI which is armed with a scouting report in its tool bag and thus how you have handle that particular batter. Pitcher scout reports would be a great addition as well.

[HypoLuxa13]

Quote: Originally Posted by ruskoz

First let me say I love the MLBTS series. A big thanks to the developer for all their hard work. One element that I think would exponentially increase the experience of MLBTS is a dynamic scouting report system. I will indulge a bit and describe one way of how it might be implemented. When pitching, each batters scouting information can be integrated into a virtual report that can be toggled on and off in the form of a overlay like the pitchers pitch type in 15 (R2 if I remember right). And a more complete scouting report in a side menu for a deeper dive would be a plus. The question is can it be done? Does the current platform have the functionality to track and list out the data? Components like out of the zone chases, swings at high fast balls, fastball swings on change of speed pitches, fastball hits vs off-speed hits etc. Then this data can be put into tables for each player and update dynamically as more data is accumulated in games. The data accumulation would need to be consistent in player and simulated games. I am not sure if the sim game data is the same shape&size as the player game data but I am guessing it should be. Here is a quick and simple use-case: Your are playing and pitching, late innings - game is still in question. 1st batter up is hitting .250 but has been on fire the last 12 games. he has been hitting everything inside. You can see this in the scouting report that he is hitting .450 in the last 12 games and is hitting .650 on the inside stuff. But even more is he hit .800 on inside fastballs. The scouting says that the slider away has been at a .125 avg all season and the last 12 games its about the same .130. Now that you-the-player know this you can attack his weakness with a authentic approach and feel. The way it is currently each pitch strategy is generic for each batter. If the current platform supports this type of development would be a great addition to any new release 2016 or 2017.... If it does not, creating the data fields and logic and presentation seems very doable. The real question is how does the AI deal with this data. The AI-batter described above needs to start addressing this slider issue based on the data (scouting report). Also in cpu-vs-cpu the AI pitching would need to utilize the data. And of course you-the-player-batter should face the AI which is armed with a scouting report in its tool bag and how you handle that particular batter. Pitcher scout reports would be a great addition as well.

Maybe this is something that would be more appropriate to bring up in a few months when the "Official MLB 16 Wishlist" thread appears here...

But initially I'd say you would run a huge risk of alienating many users but the most hardcore sim players if something like this were to be implemented in a baseball video game. If it were at all realistic, and the scouting reports were to actually be valuable/needed to have success, a lot of players would be waking away. Just think about how many users already complain about how difficult hitting in The Show is already...

[seanjeezy]

One of the devs is always asking us if we want anything added to the analysis screen, that would be the first step. The next step would be archiving the data and being able to view it both in and out of games.

I feel like we already have a mini scouting report available with hot/cold zones, player ratings, and the spray charts, but I think being able to view a season long version of the analysis screen outside of a game would be huge.

[ruskoz]

"HypoLuxa13" I dont agree with you on either account. This is a community forum about a game and not a stock market trade or business merger discussion. While expressing it in a wishlist is still a valid option there is no reason why the community cant express things as it sees that add value.

As far as adding scouting reports, not sure i get your point. Is the game to hard for some people on beginner, veteran, all star, etc, yes it is. That why they make modifiers for each level to match player skill level. The effect of scouting report would need modifiers as well.

[HozAndMoose]

Quote: Originally Posted by ruskoz

"HypoLuxa13" I dont agree with you on either account. This is a community forum about a game and not a stock market trade or business merger discussion. While expressing it in a wishlist is still a valid option there is no reason why the community cant express things as it sees that add value. As far as adding scouting reports, not sure i get your point. Is the game to hard for some people on beginner, veteran, all star, etc, yes it is. That why they make modifiers for each level to match player skill level. The effect of scouting report would need modifiers as well.

He wasnt saying it didnt deserve its own thread. Just that the best place for a dev to see it is the wishlist thread for the next game.

[HypoLuxa13]

Quote: Originally Posted by HozAndMoose

He wasnt saying it didnt deserve its own thread. Just that the best place for a dev to see it is the wishlist thread for the next game.

Exactly. Devs are WAY too busy right now to even bother coming on here and discuss this idea. I actually like the idea a lot, and would be in favor of it someday. So 1) it would get more attention by reps from Sony San Diego Studios if brought up at a later date and 2) was just playing devil's advocate in suggesting one reason why SDS would be very cautions in considering adding something as hardcore as detailed pitcher or batter scouting reports.

[sink4ever]

This would tie in very nicely to an expansion of individual player tendencies. One of my dreams is to have (editable) player tendencies to really set different types of players apart from each other. Here is my tl;dr write-up from a few years ago.

With actual tendencies driving player performance, it would then be wonderful to have scouting reports on players reflecting those tendencies. As in ruskoz's example, you could see that a certain player feasts on fastballs or really likes pitches middle in. It would add a nice dynamic to the pitcher-batter match ups and keep the actual gameplay fresh.

[ruskoz]

Since this has been hijacked and turned into a discussion of when a value added feature should and should not be discussed on public forums. I will try to rephrase.

It was my intent to see if the "community" thought that scouting reports would be a good addition to the title. It was to generate dialog for anyone that might agree or disagree or just add to the discussion. This was not for a wishlist for developers at least not yet.

I personally see that this feature would be a huge addition.