MLB 13 The Show News Post

MLB 13 The Show Interview - Breaking Down Everything You Need to Know (ESPN)

10:17 AM - January 24, 2013 by tnixen

ESPN's Jon Robinson recently sat down with Ramone Russell, Community Manager for MLB 13 The Show, as they discuss the new hitting system, characterizing push/pull hitters, re-balancing and re-tooling the pitching game, Road to the Show, Playoff mode, Franchise mode, online, over 1,000 brand new presentations, baserunning, and more.

Quote:


	ESPN: One of the first announcements Sony made about "MLB 13" was the addition of Playoff mode. What details can you divulge about this new feature? Ramone: With the postseason mode, we have a new playoff presentation package. What we wanted to do was give you a way to jump right into the playoffs and experience what it's like in a different situation. In years past, you either had to make the playoffs in Road to the Show, which could take years, or you had to play through all 162 games of your franchise. Now you can pick any team and it kicks off this playoff presentation package that you only get in postseason mode. We recorded every game of the World Series this year, and that's the audio you're getting for the postseason. The first strike of a playoff game, the crowd goes absolutely nuts, and that's the kind of thing you'll get this year. They play the national anthem, you'll see the players without their ball caps, and you'll see tons on animations and scenes that you just won't see in a regular game. That's the whole focus of the postseason, to make it feel like a completely different experience.

Game: MLB 13 The ShowReader Score: 9/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS Vita / PS3Votes for game: 36 - View All

MLB 13 The Show Videos

Member Comments

# 41 Knight165 @ 01/25/13 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Qb


	Didn't an earlier nugget on pulse pitching state one of the tweaks was for more pitches to miss outside the zone? Fewer meatballs from poor user input could be viewed as making it "easier" by some interpretations. Assuming that's the direction they went with it, I'm on board.

It is.
Nem and H&V both feel as though pulse is more difficult this year in regards to hitting the strikezone(you'll miss outside the zone more) if you're not hitting the pulse at a good spot.

M.K.
Knight165

# 42 Bobhead @ 01/25/13 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Knight165


	It is. Nem and H&V both feel as though pulse is more difficult this year in regards to hitting the strikezone(you'll miss outside the zone more) if you're not hitting the pulse at a good spot. M.K. Knight165

Is it less likely to induce seizures as well?

If so I will definitely be giving Pulse another go around this year.

# 43 Knight165 @ 01/25/13 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobhead


	Is it less likely to induce seizures as well? If so I will definitely be giving Pulse another go around this year.

Yeah....it is.
You'll be able to use it.

M.K.
Knight165

# 44 nemesis04 @ 01/25/13 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Qb


	Didn't an earlier nugget on pulse pitching state one of the tweaks was for more pitches to miss outside the zone? Fewer meatballs from poor user input could be viewed as making it "easier" by some interpretations. Assuming that's the direction they went with it, I'm on board.

I am not quite sure why it is being labeled as easier. The mechanic has been retooled quite nicely, meatballs have been dramatically reduced and you can miss outside the zone by a large margin. You can actually throw wild pitches with the mechanic now which is a welcomed change. I know H&V had some issues with fastballs being too perfect and not variable enough, you can miss by a large margin on balls up and down in the zone but fastballs stay pretty true left/right in the zone.

One component that did not make it in was the addition of determining velocity, basically came down to running out of time. I think it would have been a nice addition and would add another layer to the mechanic.

# 45 seanjeezy @ 01/25/13 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nemesis04


	I am not quite sure why it is being labeled as easier. The mechanic has been retooled quite nicely, meatballs have been dramatically reduced and you can miss outside the zone by a large margin. You can actually throw wild pitches with the mechanic now which is a welcomed change. I know H&V had some issues with fastballs being too perfect and not variable enough, you can miss by a large margin on balls up and down in the zone but fastballs stay pretty true left/right in the zone. One component that did not make it in was the addition of determining velocity, basically came down to running out of time. I think it would have been a nice addition and would add another layer to the mechanic.

As long as the CPU picks the right time to amp up the velo I'm okay with this... last year I would have pitchers throwing max velocity on 3-0 quite often lol

# 46 mvb34 @ 01/25/13 01:21 PM

Another thing we noticed online was everyone pitching with their No. 1 pitchers all the time. That's all they did. But now, we have this energy system where, if you pitch with a No. 1 starter, he has to rest, and now, what you can't do is play as CC Sabathia one day, then play as Matt Cain the next. If you use a No. 1, all the No. 1s are now tired. Same thing goes with the closers. We saw people were exploiting the closing pitchers in the game and using them three innings straight. If you do that this year, all of the closing pitchers in the entire league will be tired for your next game, so now you're going to have to think and actually strategize about what pitchers you want in the game and how long you want to use them.

This what i'm going love the most from online play!!

# 47 rudyjuly2 @ 01/25/13 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nemesis04


	One component that did not make it in was the addition of determining velocity, basically came down to running out of time. I think it would have been a nice addition and would add another layer to the mechanic.

The easiest solution is to let us use different buttons when pitching. Use X for normal, O for soft but more accurate and square for the extra oomph.

# 48 Spaced Ace @ 01/25/13 04:55 PM

Good to hear pulse pitching got a lot of love!

# 49 nemesis04 @ 01/25/13 05:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rudyjuly2


	The easiest solution is to let us use different buttons when pitching. Use X for normal, O for soft but more accurate and square* for the extra oomph.*

Actually it was going to work like classic to determine velocity.

# 50 reignjah11 @ 01/25/13 05:17 PM

i guess now we know why online sucks, its strictly peer to peer connection. i hope in the future they finally use dedicated servers because that would make online so much better.

# 51 HustlinOwl @ 01/25/13 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reignjah11


	i guess now we know why online sucks, its strictly peer to peer connection. i hope in the future they finally use dedicated servers because that would make online so much better.

Far from sucks smh

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using Tapatalk 2

# 52 nemesis04 @ 01/25/13 06:00 PM

The Show was server based last year and was very steady in 12. Seeing everyone's ping indicator is really going to help as you basically know where you and your opponent stand connection wise before the game and whether you should continue or bail.

# 53 Drew127 @ 01/25/13 06:45 PM

Thanks CD guys for the clarification on pulse pitching. I love what I'm hearing. Sounds like it got just the kind of update that was needed, both functionally and aesthetically.

# 54 nemesis04 @ 01/25/13 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drew127


	Thanks CD guys for the clarification on pulse pitching. I love what I'm hearing. Sounds like it got just the kind of update that was needed, both functionally and aesthetically.

You have 2 pulsing icons to choose from, the original with the ants or the default one which basically has the ants removed and is easier on the eyes.

# 55 rudyjuly2 @ 01/25/13 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nemesis04


	Actually it was going to work like classic to determine velocity.

That's exactly the WRONG approach for pulse pitching imo. You can't use the classic format of longer button presses because of the precise timing required for pulse pitching. If that was their intention I would scrap that idea and just use my simple button suggestion where you choose weak, normal and power just like when you swing. It might not be fully variable but it's good enough and wouldn't change the pulse pitching mechanic at all.

# 56 Russell_SCEA @ 01/25/13 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rudyjuly2


	That's exactly the WRONG approach for pulse pitching imo. You can't use the classic format of longer button presses because of the precise timing required for pulse pitching. If that was their intention I would scrap that idea and just use my simple button suggestion where you choose weak, normal and power just like when you swing. It might not be fully variable but it's good enough and wouldn't change the pulse pitching mechanic at all.

You would select your power on the initial button press not the second used for accuracy. So........................................

# 57 rudyjuly2 @ 01/25/13 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Russell_SCEA


	You would select your power on the initial button press not the second used for accuracy. So........................................

That does make sense as well although I still like my button idea.

# 58 Unit303 @ 01/25/13 10:01 PM

Finally the playoffs are going to matter. This year's version is looking great so far. I now want to see how they did on unis and stadiums.

# 59 mlblover15 @ 01/26/13 06:03 AM

after reading this everything sounds great, but one thing. The whole every pitch mode has been ramped up, i had a struggle using meter last year i may have to sim my pitching this year if i cant adjust.... not a good thing... unless i can get say... analog under control this year. that means i have to train to use it. i hold my controller at a weird angle which skews my push and pull of my right stick... oh well i will figure something out...

# 60 McPizza @ 01/26/13 06:49 AM

Thank you SCEA for you hard work...all the changes and improvements sound great! My favorite is the simplified RTTS Baserunning. I'm really looking forward to once again running the bases with my RTTS player!

« Previous 1 23Next »

More Links

MLB 13 The Show Interview - Breaking Down Everything You Need to Know (ESPN)