MLB 11 The Show News Post

MLB 11 The Show Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here

06:03 PM - February 22, 2011 by Pared

The MLB 11 The Show demo is available now. It weighs in at roughly 3 GB and features the Texas Rangers vs. the San Francisco Giants, in a 4 inning World Series rematch.

Please post your impressions here.

DO NOT post that you are downloading the demo, what % the download is at, the fact that you are starting to install it, etc.

IMPRESSIONS ONLY please.

Game: MLB 11 The ShowReader Score: 8.5/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3Votes for game: 57 - View All

MLB 11 The Show Videos

Member Comments

# 401 EnigmaNemesis @ 02/23/11 11:44 PM

Sounds like a bug in the demo, because there is collision plays at the plate that get triggered.

# 402 HeyYoCraig @ 02/23/11 11:56 PM

I wish we could at least make pitching changes in the demo. I just played a 12 inning game but lost in the 12th because lincecum had thrown 130 something pitches and had no stamina left.

Also, I only had 2 hits in the entire game (both in the first inning). I think it's time to drop down to veteran hitting

# 403 HeyYoCraig @ 02/24/11 12:02 AM

i just wanted to share my story of poor workhorse lincecum haha. I actually think the demo is of great quality, I haven't encountered any glitches or anything.

I don't remember feeling this pleased with the demo last year

# 404 Mom41 @ 02/24/11 12:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BobSacamano


	- This was complained about a bunch in the past, and I could have sworn I read that it was fixed: CPU hits a tapper back towards the pitcher. My catcher stays in place and my pitcher runs after the ball. The problem is that the ball was a much easier play for the catcher (it was probably a quarter of the way to the mound), and as a result the runner was safe. There was a runner on first base at the time so the catcher didn't have to stay home for any particular reason.

Anything that's not good baseball is going to stick out, and what Bob said was our only complaint, after playing it on and off all night.
That, and trying to get Hamilton to go after something at the knees.

But like I said before, for us this demo is all about getting the skills back up to smooth play. Staying with all-analog, especially because it's a challenge and it's so rewarding when you get it right. And highly motivated to practice so the franchise can start up right away. (So glad the demo came out earlier than the game!!)
He's already got all 3 working pretty good, especially pitching which he's loving, no complaints about fielding or batting and feeling he can be up and running with both in no time. At this early stage it's a great feeling to make a smooth short lob to Timmy running over to cover first.

# 405 Visionsofmastery @ 02/24/11 12:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by legend88


	Just tried metered pitching and though it does seem smoother this year, after using analog pitching I could never go back to the meter. It just seems so random now. I think to myself, how did I enjoy metered pitching all these years. Its night and day how much more intuitive the new analog pitching is. Same with batting, analog hitting just feels so natural. The only thing i'm not sold on yet is throwing. It still seems a bit akward to me, but I am starting to warm up to it.

with legend I am sure once I get fielding practice I will be able to find the movement to actually not throw a off the side ground ball like I am trying to throw out a bunter who laid a perfect bunt lol

But yea legend you have to agree this year pitchers will have to pitch exp online you fall behind in the count its incredibly hard to hit the black 3 times just like in real life where it only takes 1 mistake pitch and whammoooo , I expect lots of walks this year

# 406 econoodle @ 02/24/11 12:48 AM

more stuff:

- i noticed if i switch the pitching view to anything BUT broadcast, the crowd behind gthe plate isnt blurry.

weird.

anyone know why this might be?

# 407 metal134 @ 02/24/11 01:13 AM

Not sure how I feel about analog pitching yet. It didn't seem like I was too easily hitting my spots, but I'm not entirely sure what I'm doing. still trying to get a feel for exactly how each part of the process affects the pitch.

edit - I'll say this much. I just got a punchout and it felt very satisfying.

# 408 econoodle @ 02/24/11 01:38 AM

what happened to the impressions recently?
It dovetailed into wishlists and other stuff.
i was having a good time reading the impressions.
we were doing sooo good

more stuff:

+ enjoyed the ticker saying CJ Wilson is getting tired.
havent seen that in 10

it was that way for a while as i went extra frames.
I was waiting for it to say CJ Wilson is getting verrryyy sleepy.

+ really having a kick up time with A-log pitching. Its a game changer. even if i still dont know what I am fully doing.

# 409 dodgerblue @ 02/24/11 01:38 AM

Really noticing improved ball physics, ball really slices and hooks realistically. Also it seems that friction is more noticable on balls hit to the outfield. Liking analog hitting and pitching but the jury is out on throwing from fielders using analog. Hard to tell what I am doing with it, probably just need more practice.

# 410 spaceg0st @ 02/24/11 02:39 AM

so... i WISH i could say i was enjoying the analog hitting, because i wanted to love it so badly... but i'm not. It just feels too effing random. Too many times will i have hit the ball weakly when the diagram shows my hitting reticle OVER or directly ON the marker, with perfect timing, as if i was supposed to aim a little lower while swinging.

I've always played The Show on All Star difficulty, and done pretty well for the most part... but at least 10 games in on the demo, playing offense on both teams on over half of the games, and i'm still hitting weak balls. I understand the striding, at least as much as anyone can with previous college baseball experience... but it's just, kind of sh*tty.

BTW.. i don't use that stupid 'guess the pitch' stuff, for all those who say 'really??!?! i've hit a gazillion homeruns and it's super easy!" Yea, its a little bit of a cheat when you can eliminate almost the whole lower half of the strike zone and 20-25% of the pitchers pitches. I understand the concept of hitters looking for a certain pitch, but in real life, you don't have instant feedback informing you that, no its NOT the pitch you're looking for, so look for something else and somewhere ELSE in the zone. Stupid gimmick.

Anyway, i reverted back to the old hitting and am enjoying the demo, now. THe analog fielding is better than button pressing, but not by much. It's still incredibly easy to make the plays, in fact, i wish there was a way to decrease the sweet spot for throwing to a bag. I've played over 10 games, and have had 1 throwing error, simply because i wasn't really paying attention.

Analog Pitching is actually an enjoyable improvement. The meter itself was so outdated, this is a nice move in pitching evolution.

Camera Editing... while great in theory, 85% of the TEAM specific Broadcast Angles are so close to each other, it makes ZERO difference. It's just an advertising ploy and nothing to write home about. I do however wish they would allow us to move the batting camera around more... like more of a birds eye view, to emulate the old school baseball games. With timed hitting selected, it could've actually been pretty fun.

Graphically, it looks like, the show... and hopefully the full game is cleaner, because this demo is pretty ugly overall. Yes the lighting is nice, and the models are done very well, but there are a lot of jaggy edges, and not to mention the scenery outside the stadium. Oakland looks like mordor.

I'm a little disappointed with this, but have hopes that the retail game with be better somehow. Maybe a little BP will solve my analog woes, but i doubt it. I guess i'll just keep an eye on 2k, to see what they're bringing to the table.

# 411 Bondsfan @ 02/24/11 02:40 AM

I love the analog pitching on allstar. The hitting is a whole different story. I have 1 hit in 6 games. Ive tried with and without guess pitch. Analog vs zone. I've tried just about every camera angle. Hitting in this game just seems impossible. My best guess at this point is that the pitch speed is too fast and I'm going to lower that. If that doesnt work, I seriously may not get this game, which is ridiculous given that I bought my PS3 last year just for the show.

# 412 Swarley13 @ 02/24/11 02:51 AM

One thing that I'm liking is when someone is tagging a baserunner, they aren't swinging their arm at the speed of light like in MLB 10. They've made that much more realistic.

# 413 Shaffer26 @ 02/24/11 03:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bondsfan


	I love the analog pitching on allstar. The hitting is a whole different story. I have 1 hit in 6 games. Ive tried with and without guess pitch. Analog vs zone. I've tried just about every camera angle. Hitting in this game just seems impossible. My best guess at this point is that the pitch speed is too fast and I'm going to lower that. If that doesnt work, I seriously may not get this game, which is ridiculous given that I bought my PS3 last year just for the show.

Instead of using analog hitting, just use the buttons to hit.

# 414 Swarley13 @ 02/24/11 03:08 AM

If you're having trouble hitting on All-Star, why not just lower the hitting difficulty?

# 415 Socalbias @ 02/24/11 03:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bondsfan


	I love the analog pitching on allstar. The hitting is a whole different story. I have 1 hit in 6 games. Ive tried with and without guess pitch. Analog vs zone. I've tried just about every camera angle. Hitting in this game just seems impossible. My best guess at this point is that the pitch speed is too fast and I'm going to lower that. If that doesnt work, I seriously may not get this game, which is ridiculous given that I bought my PS3 last year just for the show.

Like russell said, you cant just wait back on a pitch, because your going to be punished with low power and contact. So slowing the speed will only cause u to wait longer before you load up and swing.

Problem people are having is that their is a VERY SMALL time frame to go from loading up to swinging and In a way it's realistic but part of me feels it may become TOO realistic. Split second reactions that create a very high intensity during every second and pure concentration will take away from the relax method many people like. Keep up the competition, just dont make the intensity be on steriods.
__________________

# 416 TallyBoi7 @ 02/24/11 03:38 AM

I've played a couple more games in the demo and I'm still liking what I see. I really like that analog pitching...I'm beginning to pick that up really well. Hitting is just difficult, however...which isn't a bad thing...but I'm finiding myself having at least two or three check swings an at bat(seem to have figured out a swinging rhythm as I'm beginning to make contact now)...in three demo games, I've only had one hit.

One thing I'm not liking is that sometimes my catcher will just randomly come up firing at the 2nd baseman if there is a runner on base. He won't throw it to the base, he will throw it wherever the 2nd baseman or shortstop is, which is normally still in position far away from the bag.

Other than that, I'm having a blast with the game and I'm looking forward to buying MLB 11 The Show...the first Major League title I would have owned since MVP 2003.

# 417 Foo4Everlong @ 02/24/11 04:08 AM

I saw something pretty cool tonight that I had never seen in previous Show's. The Giants hit the ball into left center off the wall, I throw the ball into the cut-off man, but just before the cut-off man gets the ball, the runner at third gets held up there and the runner at second was rounding towards third but had to retreat back cuz of the runner standing on third. I almost threw the runner retreating back to second but I accidentally faked the throw to second twice before I finally got the ball into the second baseman, hence the runner was safe. I just thought it was pretty cool to see the computer make a base running mistake. Later

# 418 swaldo @ 02/24/11 04:30 AM

- HIT VARIETY still needs a ton of work. Most hits are line drives, flyballs or hard grounders - rinse & repeat. Only once have I seen an infielder have to charge in to field a weakly hit ball. Most often they just stand and wait for the (hard hit) ball to come to them. I remember last year it was the same complaint and apparently not much has been done about it. Occasionally I'll see something different but this area would be my priority to focus on for 12.

I want to see oufielders break a sweat chasing after flares and bloopers. I want to see infielders going after dribblers & high choppers - rushing to prevent an infield hit. And the demo features two really good pitchers who shouldn't allow alot of solid contact. Even when the feedback states "Contact: Weak" it's still too hard. Also, foul balls go to the same place for the most part. MVP on the PS2 had much better hit variety than this.

- ODD RESULTS: Bottom of the 5th, one out with the score tied 0-0 and I'm throwing a 1 hitter with Wilson. My confidence meters are sky high but I give up a single. Oops, my CF can't pick up the ball (on an easy play) so it rolls all the way to the wall for a triple - and I had auto-fielding enabled. Next batter is Lincecum and he smashes a low & away slider up the middle for a single (off a near perfect meter release.) Game over just like that and I'm left scratching my head. Stuff like this is one of the main reasons I stopped playing 10. Can this happen in real life? Sure, but it's the frequency that is the problem for me. And being it was only my 2nd full demo game this result was deja vu. This should be a rare occurence - something that makes you want to jump on OS and tell everyone what happened. It shouldn't have a feeling like "Not this again."

ANALOG PITCHING - I'm back to meter pitching, analog seems to have a mind of it's own and I need more control. Although with meter I only gave up 2 hits in 10 innings so it appears you can still master it. That being the case I may even bump down to classic, from what I understand you choose location & speed while ratings determine accuracy? If so that sounds good to me.

ANALOG HITTING: I never really liked batting in The Show because every pitch looks the same to me. In the demo I seem to either swing too early or late. The CPU pitcher throws a FB and I swing late, so I over-compensate during the next pitch (which is off speed) so I swing too early. Both pitches look identical until the late break, so it's a frustrating problem for me. Props for installing lots of new camera angles, but all that's really needed is the default angle with a good hitters eye system.

If I end up buying the game I'll probably use zone. I like how there is no funny results anymore. If you want to hit the ball, you have to get it inside the PCI. I did some testing and I was able to foul off balls outside the PCI, but was never able to put it in play unless it was inside. That's how it should be so nice job on that.

FIELDING: I've managed to throw runners out without an error but still have no idea how it works. Guess I'll wait for the video tutorial in the full version, hopefully it wont be vague.

+ REAL TIME ANIMATIONS: This is awesome and adds so much to the game!

+ Player models: Very nicely done, great stuff!

+ The CPU swung at 1/3 of pitches that were clearly outside the zone. I think this is an improvement, and the curveball seems more effective due to this. I just wish the discipline rating was shown in the pause menu.

- In the backstop area (behind the catcher) there are electronic advertising banners. For example a red "State Farm" banner will appear one minute then a blue "Welcome Home Vets" banner shows up. The problem is the pitching meter sits in front of it, and sometimes the banners will switch right in the middle of your pitch. It psychs me out every time.

- Outfielders know the exact location of ricochets off the wall. Again, make these fielders work a little!

- There should be a "pitch around" option or something. In one game Josh Hamilton was 2-2 against me with a home run. So the next time he came up I decided he was either going to walk or hit a bad pitch. Everything I threw was outside the zone so I ended up walking him. My confidence meters went down, I lost all composure and ended up giving up a run. C'mon man, I did that on purpose, it's called strategy.

Maybe this all sounds too critical but overall I think this is a definate improvement. If someone were to ask me if they should buy 09 or 10 I'd say 09. However, 2011 appears to be a worthy successor of 09. It's not blowing me away and I dont know if I'll buy for sure, but I've never spent so much time with a demo before. So many options to explore so thanks SCEA for not making us go to best buy to play this.

# 419 sbmnky @ 02/24/11 05:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spaceg0st


	THe analog fielding is better than button pressing, but not by much. It's still incredibly easy to make the plays, in fact, i wish there was a way to decrease the sweet spot for throwing to a bag. I've played over 10 games, and have had 1 throwing error, simply because i wasn't really paying attention.

I too think analog fielding on Veteran is pretty easy. Test it out on HoF...big difference.

# 420 AlexOvechkin @ 02/24/11 06:08 AM

uuuuuuuum.... ok.

That just happened to me playing as the Rangers with Kinsler at bat. That is not suppost to happen in such a gr8 game, right?... Haven't seen that before.

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