MLB 2K11 News Post

MLB 2K11 Interview: New Pitch Introduced - Split-Finger Changeup

05:21 PM - February 8, 2011 by Steve_OS

Jon Robinson caught up with Roy Halladay, as they discuss the new split-finger changeup, which he helped add this year to MLB 2K11.

Quote:


	Jon Robinson: Do you have any advice for people who are pitching as you in the video game? How do limit the amount of hits you give up? Roy Halladay: I think in a lot of respects, the video game can be really similar to what I do in real life. What I learned from playing against my son is that you can't throw the same pitch over and over or you pay for it. You have to move the ball around, you have to change speeds, and you have to make good pitches. That's what pitching is all about, whether you're playing the game or you're out there on the mound for real. And that's what I really like about this game. With the pitching controls, you actually need to make different movements for each pitch, so it's not just about pressing a button and watching as it hits the spot perfectly. The pitching in this game is definitely more challenging. You actually need to spend some time practicing the movements in order to get them down correctly. Then add the pressure of trying to throw the perfect pitch with all that money on the line and I think you're going to have a lot of people sweating it out in their living rooms. 2K Sports has made so many great strides this year with the game and everything is so involved, and the great thing is, I was able to sit down with them and give them my input into what Major League players think and different things pitchers might do during the game. To see that all incorporated into the game is great.

Game: Major League Baseball 2K11Reader Score: 5.5/10 - Vote Now
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Member Comments

# 1 Blzer @ 02/08/11 05:25 PM

Quote:


	I think in a lot of respects, the video game can be really similar to what I do in real life. What I learned from playing against my son is that you can't throw the same pitch over and over or you pay for it. You have to move the ball around, you have to change speeds, and you have to make good pitches. That's what pitching is all about, whether you're playing the game or you're out there on the mound for real.

I hope this ends up being the case this year. I know there were sometimes last year where I felt with the right accuracy I could pitch anywhere and pretty much yield random results.

I wonder how the split-finger changeup is going to be in the game. Should be sweet!

# 2 bigfnjoe96 @ 02/08/11 05:28 PM

Really like this piece of info...

Quote:


	Halladay emphasizes pitch count in everything he does, so he was like, "Guys, you have to show pitch count in the game." "So we threw out all the arbitrary video game terms like stamina and energy. Now if you pause it, we show you that pitch count. The manager tells you the range he wants you to throw, and while you don't have to listen to that advice, if you don't follow it, you're going to have a lot of tired arms in franchise."

# 3 vln13 @ 02/08/11 06:15 PM

Ah, no spitball! haha Interesting feature.

# 4 Flaxseed Oil @ 02/08/11 06:35 PM

I feel like having everything revolve around pitch count is going to lead to a lot of complete games. I have never had a pitch count for my pitcher of more than 80 or so...and the computer never throws more than 70-75

# 5 SoxFan01605 @ 02/08/11 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flaxseed Oil


	I feel like having everything revolve around pitch count is going to lead to a lot of complete games. I have never had a pitch count for my pitcher of more than 80 or so...and the computer never throws more than 70-75

Yeah, that's a concern I would have as well. If it's not tuned right (and it hasn't been to this point for the user, at least...CPU count got better in 2K10 though) then it could be an issue. I'm hoping that stamina is still involved, but just behind the scene. In other words, the user doesn't pay attention to stamina directly, but the game still does. If it's that way, I REALLY like it.

Still, potential concerns aside, I am really liking all of the little details that are starting to surface about the game. None of them sound cheesy or far-fetched and all seem to play into making a more realistic experience. Hopefully it is executed well.

# 6 jeffy777 @ 02/08/11 07:32 PM

Guys, this is most likely only a visual/display change:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Article


	"Halladay and Tim Lincecum own the league with the split-finger changeup, and Halladay helped us with the break and how it works," explains "MLB 2K11" designer Sean Bailey. "He also explained how he pitches to contact every single pitch. He and (Phillies catcher) Carlos Ruiz memorize the blue zones of the Inside Edge scouting that we actually use in the game for every batter. He tries to throw a strike at their blue zone to get them to swing in order to keep his pitch count low. Halladay emphasizes pitch count in everything he does, so he was like, 'Guys, you have to show pitch count in the game.' "So we threw out all the arbitrary video game terms like stamina and energy. Now if you pause it, we show you that pitch count. The manager tells you the range he wants you to throw, and while you don't have to listen to that advice, if you don't follow it, you're going to have a lot of tired arms in franchise."

It doesn't say they removed energy/stamina completely. It just says they removed those terms from the pause menu. I'm pretty sure stamina is still involved behind the scenes, but all the user can see is the pitch count, just like in real life.

Sounds good to me.

# 7 SoxFan01605 @ 02/08/11 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeffy777


	It doesn't say they removed energy/stamina completely. It just says they removed those terms from the pause menu. I'm pretty sure stamina is still involved behind the scenes, but all the user can see is the pitch count, just like in real life. Sounds good to me.

That's what I was thinking as well, but I've also learned not to assume either way lest I be disappointed...a healthy skepticism doesn't hurt...lol.

Jokes aside, I personally don't see how it could be worse than the way it was at least. In practice, doesn't it kind of work the same way? My starter's rarely fatigued enough in 2K10 to matter once I got the gestures down. I mean, stamina and pitch count were already linked, so how it's presented should (in theory) just make for a more strategic approach for the user.

# 8 jeffy777 @ 02/08/11 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoxFan01605


	That's what I was thinking as well, but I've also learned not to assume either way lest I be disappointed...a healthy skepticism doesn't hurt...lol. Jokes aside, I personally don't see how it could be worse than the way it was at least. In practice, doesn't it kind of work the same way? My starter's rarely fatigued enough in 2K10 to matter once I got the gestures down. I mean, stamina and pitch count were already linked, so how it's presented should (in theory) just make for a more strategic approach for the user.

Yeah, stamina and pitch count have always been linked anyway. In fact, in 2K10, I think pitch count was really the ONLY thing that affected your pitcher's stamina.

So it sounds to me like this is just a visual change, and probably nothing more. I'm glad to hear that the pitch count is always going to be accessible, because there were times when I wanted to see it last year, but it only displayed when a new batter stepped into the box.

# 9 humaca80 @ 02/08/11 08:45 PM

Does 2k have a good slider set? I remember last years "The Show", there were adjustable sliders to enable the CPU to throw more balls. This is a "must have" for baseball titles.

# 10 SoxFan01605 @ 02/08/11 09:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by humaca80


	Does 2k have a good slider set? I remember last years "The Show", there were adjustable sliders to enable the CPU to throw more balls. This is a "must have" for baseball titles.

Plenty of sliders. Last year, the CPU pitch count trended more towards realism (You could get the CPU to throw more balls)...it is user pitching accuracy that remained an issue.

# 11 rudyjuly2 @ 02/08/11 09:51 PM

Glad they finally added pitch count all the time. I know they said they made pitch accuracy harder but if they don't add a slider for that I will be pissed. So far so good though. Hopefully we'll get a deeper feature list soon.

# 12 thundergatti @ 02/08/11 10:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeffy777


	Yeah, stamina and pitch count have always been linked anyway. In fact, in 2K10, I think pitch count was really the ONLY thing that affected your pitcher's stamina. So it sounds to me like this is just a visual change, and probably nothing more. I'm glad to hear that the pitch count is always going to be accessible, because there were times when I wanted to see it last year, but it only displayed when a new batter stepped into the box.

I skipped the game last year. But hasn't it been purported in video games for a while that the way you use the pitching meter affects stamina?
Meaning, if you don't rev the pitching meter all the way back, you are expending less effort (and have a less velocity pitch).

I only challenge your statement, because I seem to recollect (now that I think about it) games where if you throw max out on every pitch the pitcher tires earlier than if you are more judicious with the meter. You mentioned last year's game, was this not in? (or was it never in and I was just fooled?)

# 13 bigfnjoe96 @ 02/08/11 10:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thundergatti


	I skipped the game last year. But hasn't it been purported in video games for a while that the way you use the pitching meter affects stamina? Meaning, if you don't rev the pitching meter all the way back, you are expending less effort (and have a less velocity pitch). I only challenge your statement, because I seem to recollect (now that I think about it) games where if you throw max out on every pitch the pitcher tires earlier than if you are more judicious with the meter. You mentioned last year's game, was this not in? (or was it never in and I was just fooled?)

It was in last years game, it was poorly implemented though

# 14 jeffy777 @ 02/08/11 11:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thundergatti


	I skipped the game last year. But hasn't it been purported in video games for a while that the way you use the pitching meter affects stamina? Meaning, if you don't rev the pitching meter all the way back, you are expending less effort (and have a less velocity pitch). I only challenge your statement, because I seem to recollect (now that I think about it) games where if you throw max out on every pitch the pitcher tires earlier than if you are more judicious with the meter. You mentioned last year's game, was this not in? (or was it never in and I was just fooled?)

That's a good point. As Joe said, it probably was in last year's game, but not properly.

To be honest with you, I spent most of my time batting/fielding in My Player mode as a position player because I wasn't a fan of the super accurate pitching. I did like the AI pitching though, and as far as energy goes, it seemed the AI's starting pitcher's energy would go down by 1 point for every pitch. So after about 100 pitches their stamina was drained, which seemed pretty accurate since most major league starters can throw around 100 pitches on a good day. Then relievers and closers would have their stamina drained much faster. It worked pretty well after the patches.

As for the AI pitching and ball/strike ratios, I thought it was great in 2K10. It was not hard at all to work a walk with default slider settings if you show some patience. The AI pitchers threw pretty intelligently depending on the count (For instance, they tend to throw you junk out of the zone if they were ahead of you in the count). 2K really got that aspect of the game right last year, so I'm expecting to see similar results this year.

# 15 johnnyg713 @ 02/09/11 01:11 PM

I love these subtle improvements. At first I didnt think 2k would be putting that much effort into mlb this year but Im starting to get more and more hyped for this game.

# 16 Doormat @ 02/09/11 08:22 PM

Only saw this pitch in action last year in the ALDS I believe, looks dirty

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MLB 2K11 Interview: New Pitch Introduced - Split-Finger Changeup