Player Quirks Are a Step in the Right Direction for MLB The Show

[Steve_OS]

Last week, the Sony San Diego team detailed an intriguing new feature intended to make each player feel more unique in MLB The Show 17: Player Quirks.

Player Quirks are extensions of the current set of player attributes to set apart those who have special abilities. A few examples detailed last week were “Rally Monkey” for players who excel at hitting when the team is trailing, “Road Warrior” for players who perform better playing away from home, and “Night Player” for those who prefer performing under the lights.

Some Player Quirks have a stacking effect on the batter’s PCI (Plate Coverage Indicator), making it easier or more difficult for the batter to get contact (and quality contact) on a pitch. Pitchers also have Player Quirks as well, which can shrink the batter’s PCI and give them an advantage in the matchup.

Read More - Player Quirks Are a Step in the Right Direction for MLB The Show (Written by: Ryan Spencer)

[Caulfield]

IMO too, quirks are a positive step forward for the Show series.
Now 5 years from now, I want Create-a-Quirk implemented lol

[leinhart_6]

No ones commented on this yet?? This feature has to be one of my favorites by far. I'm a big franchise guy and the variety with multiple outcomes that these quirks will effect have me too excited!

[GSW]

Nice write up, man.

I agree. When I first heard about them I was intrigued. As someone who loves baseball, baseball video games but fairly busy during the regular day I dont have the same amount of time to devote to watching as much baseball as I have had previously.

Player quirks give me a visual snapshot of who a player is and what they are good at. In the game when it does mean it affects gameplay, all the better. But as a general teaching tool it's very useful as well.

It's an underrated feature that will help newcomers to the series as well. MLB The Show is probably my favorite sports game on console allowing access to it for "newbies" through visual things like badges *cough* I mean quirks...really is a step in the right direction.

[Caulfield]

Quote: Originally Posted by leinhart_6

No ones commented on this yet??

threads less than 15 minutes old and there are probably at least a half dozen other threads on Player Quirks lol

[craigscar]

Two things - only have quirks for which we have empirical and statistically significant data. Otherwise it's a slippery slope to quirks like, "Pitches great on Thursdays". Also, as the author mentioned, you MUST have negative quirks as well.

[@legendm0de]

I wish there were more than twenty, that's my only gripe. Their work on the progression/regression system and this feature (the Player Quirks) could carry gameplay toward the next level from where it is now.

In my opinion, I wish all players were given static ratings based on their skillset at the point in their careers, when the game drops, and then features like the player quirks and progression/regression dynamically update the kind of performances the player has mixed in with those static ratings.

For example, if 70 OVR like maybe Joey Gallo is a power/hr hitting below avg Defensively rookie but he's having a monster season performing like an 85+ OVR IRL or Season Modes; then I want to see a balance created tethering the 70 OVR Joey Gallo with the new improved Joey Gallo so not to lose the possible rookie traits within his 70 OVR version from being apart of the gameplay. And then Dynamic quirks to boot, instead of unchanging ones like we currently have.

The final result then is if you take a well developed Joey Gallo, who's had massive success mashing Fastballs in Day Games consistently. Then he dynamically adds those 2 quirks. Plus, now performing like an 85+ OVR, his Vision, Plate Discipline, and all hitting attributes are significantly up, However, since he started the season as a 70 OVR you'll see two separate but active ratings on the player. The dominant rating for this game will be his 85+ OVR version, with for this example, a 10% chance of 70 OVR throughout the game.

Spoiler

(Alternatively, if he is boosted to 85+ OVR but is in a month long slump, then the dominant rating could be his 70 OVR at a 70/30 percent clip per pitch/play. Or it can be an even more intriguing 50/50 chance per play which Joey Gallo you see.. They can set any kind of variables based on this format but.. If ALL Players carried those kind of dynamic traits, pitchers, veterans, rookies, it would be the stuff dreams are made of for this franchise.)

Anyway, I just agree there is a lot of potential added to this game by the player quirks that can carry it forward if done correctly.

[p00p1]

I'm curious about pick off moves. I think during gameplay they mentioned that someone had a good pick off move, so I wonder if that is a possible quirk, since it doesn't appear to be listed as a new attribute.