MLB 14 The Show News Post

MLB 14 The Show: Which Pitching/Hitting Control Interface is the Most Realistic?

05:23 PM - May 20, 2014 by RaychelSnr

While every MLB 14 The Show player will approach the game from a different angle -- perhaps so much so that what is realistic for one guy might not work for another -- it is my belief that there is some sort of a middle ground base line which all players can work off of to get the most realistic game of baseball possible.

When defining realism, I'm talking about getting a version of The Show which presents only the most important info to gamers -- with many of the gamey settings taken out of the picture such as guess pitch.

However, there are aspects of the game which are gamey which might better replicate the actions and decisions players have to make when actually playing baseball. For instance, is pulse or meter pitching more realistic? What about analog or simply timing for hitting?

So OS, here's the deal: we want to find the most perfect settings possible and we want you all to help us with it. Let's start off with a basic debate on hitting and pitching settings. Which control interface combination do you prefer most for the maximum realism?

Sound off with which hitting/pitching control setting you have selected and why you selected them!

Game: MLB 14 The ShowReader Score: 8.5/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS Vita / PS3 / PS4Votes for game: 12 - View All

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Member Comments

# 1 mtjack17 @ 05/20/14 05:28 PM

I use the Zone hitting because i feel as though it gives me the most realistic feel for timing and location for hitting pitches.

I use the Meter for pitching, primarily because its all I've ever used.

# 2 the croz 1027 @ 05/20/14 05:32 PM

I use Zone for hitting and meter for pitching. I am curious if many others use pulse. It doesn't feel immersive and makes me a little nauseous when I use it.

# 3 Grub @ 05/20/14 05:33 PM

I love meter for pitching. It's just a lot of fun to play, makes it feel like you're training your reflexes. And it gives feedback. You know how much oomph you're putting into it, and basically where your release point is. Don't ever, ever, ever change this mode.

# 4 xNeurosiis @ 05/20/14 05:44 PM

I use pulse pitching and timing hitting, as they're both what I'm comfortable with.

# 5 BaylorBearBryant @ 05/20/14 05:51 PM

If you're not using the sticks for hitting, you're missing out. It feels like the real deal. As for pitching, I think that's up for debate.

# 6 Turbojugend @ 05/20/14 06:01 PM

I really enjoy Pulse Pitching, it's like a perfect blend of challenge, skill and accuracy.

Batting? Hell, someone recommend something. Apparently I suck at all of them.

# 7 darkvarg @ 05/20/14 06:15 PM

The problem with the batting right now is that is not instinctive enough. button press doesn't feel responsive enough and causes me to always be late on balls while forcing you to pull analog stick back before swinging makes it too complicated. Also having one stick for swing and another for placement again makes it too complicated and not intuitive enough. They should just use right analog to stimulate swing (ie left to swing to left side, up to swing high low to swing low and right to swing to right side) the moment you introduce

# 8 darkvarg @ 05/20/14 06:19 PM

to much thinking while trying to recognize pitch makes it hitting too hard (at least for me) without sliding pitch speed all the way to the left. For pitching i use Pulse bc meter makes pitching too easy for me.

# 9 Senator Palmer @ 05/20/14 06:20 PM

I'm a novice to the game, but I have tested out every mechanic so far, and IMO, I think analog hitting feels the most natural to me. Analog plus zone is probably where it's at as far as realism because of the the sight representation, but I'm still trying to get my coordination down so I'm sticking with analog so far. It's a beautiful feeling when I do square one up properly.

When I did play baseball as a kid, it was a game of timing and rhythm, and getting all your levers in sync -- especially when it came to hitting. And I don't think there's any other mechanic can represent the rhythm than the physical act of pulling back and pushing the stick forward with proper timing.

As far as pitching, I'm analog too, although I don't feel quite as bullish as far as it being the most realistic. But I just never took to pulse pitching and the classic controls just make me feel like a bystander. With analog I can control the release point, etc.

# 10 Jr. @ 05/20/14 06:22 PM

It depends on what kind of realism you're looking for. If you want real stats, then it's probably Classic pitching and Timing hitting.

If you want realism like you're actually playing in real life, it's probably Analog pitching and Analog + Zone hitting.

# 11 BravoSir @ 05/20/14 06:29 PM

I use the Zone Plus Analog for hitting and Pulse for pitching.

Zone plus Analog gives you all of the control over hitting.

Pulse pitching is the perfect blend of challenge and skill.

# 12 Battman @ 05/20/14 06:29 PM

Zone Analog all the way. It is the most realistic way to play the game and not nearly as complicated as expected when I started playing this way. As I play a RTTS batter for 90 percent of my time I am no expert with pitching modes. But of all the modes I like pulse pitching the most.

# 13 jtott @ 05/20/14 06:48 PM

Tming on hitting and classic on the pitching... I dont like to use the controller t swing through the zone... I suck at it . Timing just feels the most comfortable ... pulse pitching isnt bad.. classic just feels "classic" t me as well. I dont likethe meter... too much stuff on the screen. I want the game to LOOK as real as possibe as I'm playing it... which is why I play using the Broadcast cameras

# 14 Heroesandvillains @ 05/20/14 06:55 PM

I roll with Classic/Timing because I don't need my admittedly lousy stick and reaction skills determining how good my Yankees are!

The more human factors removed the better for me!

# 15 jtott @ 05/20/14 07:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heroesandvillains


	I roll with Classic/Timing because I don't need my admittedly lousy stick and reaction skills determining how good my Yankees are! The more human factors removed the better for me!

That's what I meant to say ... well put .
GO CARDS!

# 16 Battman @ 05/20/14 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heroesandvillains


	I roll with Classic/Timing because I don't need my admittedly lousy stick and reaction skills determining how good my Yankees are! The more human factors removed the better for me!

But then, where is the point in playing videogames if you remove the part where your skills are decisive?

# 17 ggsimmonds @ 05/20/14 08:15 PM

Pulse pitching for me. I use to be a meter guy but it got to the point where I rarely missed my spot. Seems easier to get the timing down with meter. With meter I was constantly hitting my spots with sub par pitchers.With pulse pitching I have to focus on each pitch (yet not to much, it does a good job of replicating "trying to hard"). I've been using pulse for about 2 or 3 years now and I still occasionally miss my spot at a realistic rate.

Batting I still use timing as that is the setup which I feel is most ratings dependent.

There are two ways to approach realism -- through results or by feel. I am more of a results guy

# 18 Joey @ 05/20/14 08:47 PM

Um, because it's STILL a video game. It still takes timing and pitch recognition. Regardless of the controls you use, we're all still playing a video game because this is as close as we will get to playing MLB.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Battman


	But then, where is the point in playing videogames if you remove the part where your skills are decisive?

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

# 19 tril @ 05/20/14 09:40 PM

zone plus analog batting and analog pitching. only thing I wish is that we could turn off the pitching meter for analog pitching.

# 20 cardinalbird5 @ 05/20/14 09:47 PM

It depends how you define realism. If you define it by stats purely and getting the most realistic results with less input from the user then it is classic/pulse pitching with timing hitting.

If it is by feel then it probably the PS move or analog/zone analog.

Personally, I don't really feel like analog makes me feel like I am swinging in a bat IRL or throwing nor does any other interface, but some do feel that way.

I use Zone or Zone+Analog for hitting along with Meter for pitching, because I like having the most input in my gameplay. The games still play out realistic to me and I use Legend hitting, so it stays challenging. If I miss a pitch to hit I want it to be my fault and not randomness or only attribute based.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tril


	zone plus analog batting and analog pitching. only thing I wish is that we could turn off the pitching meter for analog pitching.

You can move the interface on your camera, so you could theoretically move the interface off the screen. Well this was in the game for 13...haven't checked for 14.

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