MLB 15 The Show News Post

MLB 15 The Show Has New Human IK Engine, Tag System, Commentary, Overhauled Franchise

01:59 PM - December 27, 2014 by Steve_OS

More MLB 15 The Show details have been revealed by Target. They also have a special pre-order price of $39.99 for PlayStation 4 gamers, but many are getting errors when trying to get it at that price, (thanks for the heads up Gleebo)!

Some of the new details that have been revealed on their product page include a new New Human IK Engine, new Tag System, revamped commentary, overhauled Franchise mode and more.

For the first time, partnerships with real-world equipment brands will bring MLB-accurate bats, gloves, shoes, and batting gloves to the game. Customize your Road to The Show player in the best gear from the sport�s best brands.

It�s not just the gear that�s more authentic this year. Players and teams also have more unique personalities and styles plus a wide array of emotional reactions to all the heartbreak and triumph on the field.

And that field will be more action-packed with new animations, a new tag system, and completely new Human IK engine. In 2015, playing the field will be as exciting as stepping up to the plate.

MLB 15 The Show also features major graphical improvements. Enhanced stadium lighting, Improved gloss and specular, resulting in more natural lighting on players. Seasonal day/night transitions have also been added into the world of The Show.

And the improvements aren�t all animations and graphics. The game itself has gotten deeper with more ways to play, earn rewards, and put together a Hall of Fame career.

Best of all, Universal rewards will mean that all of that gameplay earns Stubs that can be spent on licensed equipment, Road to The Show improvements, and virtual baseball cards. We�re introducing 30 Iconic MLB Alumni into our virtual player card pool, 1 representative for each team. These players span every historic baseball era of the last 70 years. Like all of our Universal Rewards, you have a chance of finding a historic virtual player card to add to your collection and utilize throughout MLB 15 The Show.

Make yourself a legend and never start your career or season over again. With Year-to-Year saves, users will be able to continue their Road to The Show players and Franchises from MLB 14 The Show into MLB 15 The show, and into future releases.�

All of that is only scratching the surface of how MLB 15 The Show is ready to prove that Baseball Is Better. Revamped commentary, improved load times, and an overhauled franchise mode are also on-deck to help make the 10th edition of The Show the best one yet.

Game: MLB 15 The ShowReader Score: 9/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS Vita / PS3 / PS4Votes for game: 31 - View All

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Member Comments

# 81 kmoser @ 12/29/14 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redsox4evur


	Or my favorite one, the Indians trading Francisco Lindor for Matt Albers! I think it was in MLB 13 that I saw that one.

Haha exactly! I think it needs at least some improvement.

# 82 Ghost Of The Year @ 12/29/14 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nemesis04


	I don't know, the real MLB is full of dumb trades this winter. Where does one go to reference what is "right".

^ Very much this ^

Sometimes a trade will look good on paper, whether it be IRL or The Show, but
sometimes you'd need one of these...
Attachment 89742
...to decide if a trade is "right" or not.
lol 15 years down the road we might say
"What was the Marlins thinking in trading HoF'er Chad Wallach for the Reds Mat Latos?"
And if that same trade happened back in June on The Show we may not even think twice about it.

*sidenote*
My money is against Wallach going to Cooperstown

# 83 orion523 @ 12/29/14 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kmoser


	I don't know if the Cubs would trade Kris Bryant and Javier Baez for Tyler Clippard in real life. It's pretty bad.

MLB is full of foolish trades year after year, the Phillies got Cliff Lee and Ben Francisco(serviceable OF) for Jason Donald, Lou Marson and Carlos Carrasco
Then went and traded him later for Philippe Aumont, JC Ramirez, and Tyson Gillies. A Cy Young award winner for a pile of stiffs, twice.

# 84 aguero90 @ 12/29/14 06:25 PM

How about this trade. I win a ws with the Yankees in rtts as replacement for Jeter, hit a ton of homers, and lead the league in every offensive category. They trade me to the Indians for Bal's ss JJ. Then I help the Indians against the Yanks in the ALCS, and go on to a ws win with them.

# 85 redsox4evur @ 12/29/14 06:31 PM

I think he was getting more at the trade that I brought the STUD #1 prospect being traded for some middle reliever. Tell me a time that has happened. The only one I can think of is Jason Varitek and Derek Lowe for Slocumb. But then again it was 4 years after Varitek was drafted and his stats were not looking he would be a serviceable major league player.

# 86 Jimmydm90 @ 12/29/14 06:36 PM

The trades are so out of whack in the game that in RTTS after about a year, once I make it up to the majors, the teams' rosters are pretty much unrecognizable.

For RTTS I almost wish they started you out a year or two in the past. Example if it's MLB 14 TS you start off in 2013 AA so that way once you're in the majors you've got the actual rosters. At least for a season.

# 87 RedMeansGo2006 @ 12/29/14 06:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jimmydm90


	The trades are so out of whack in the game that in RTTS after about a year, once I make it up to the majors, the teams' rosters are pretty much unrecognizable. For RTTS I almost wish they started you out a year or two in the past. Example if it's MLB 14 TS you start off in 2013 AA so that way once you're in the majors you've got the actual rosters. At least for a season.

I've been asking for this for a year now. I want it to be in franchise mode as well and I want to be able to start in any year I wish to begin in.

# 88 kmoser @ 12/29/14 06:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redsox4evur


	I think he was getting more at the trade that I brought the STUD #1 prospect being traded for some middle reliever. Tell me a time that has happened. The only one I can think of is Jason Varitek and Derek Lowe for Slocumb. But then again it was 4 years after Varitek was drafted and his stats were not looking he would be a serviceable major league player.

The Show CPU teams value relievers a lot for some reason. It's been like that for a while and I'm not sure why.

# 89 Knight165 @ 12/29/14 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jimmydm90


	The trades are so out of whack in the game that in RTTS after about a year, once I make it up to the majors, the teams' rosters are pretty much unrecognizable. For RTTS I almost wish they started you out a year or two in the past. Example if it's MLB 14 TS you start off in 2013 AA so that way once you're in the majors you've got the actual rosters. At least for a season.

Kinda reminds me of this off season!

M.K.
Knight165

# 90 aguero90 @ 12/29/14 08:50 PM

I wonder what exactly they mean by revamped commentary? What do you guys think. Maybe they'll have Matt V get way more excited, like he does on tv broadcasts. If we get tv Matt V, I'd be happy, because he sounds way better in real life. But then again, that's what makes a person a great voice actor. I couldn't tell the difference between Jon Miller on tv/radio, and 2k.

# 91 Ghost Of The Year @ 12/29/14 09:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aguero90


	I wonder what exactly they mean by revamped commentary? What do you guys think. Maybe they'll have Matt V get way more excited, like he does on tv broadcasts. If we get tv Matt V, I'd be happy, because he sounds way better in real life. But then again, that's what makes a person a great voice actor. I couldn't tell the difference between Jon Miller on tv/radio, and 2k.

At the very least we should get some fresh dialogue. This is one of those things where I wish there would be updates throughout the season. I wish SDS could get a contract where instead of the crew having to come in a record, they could use real broadcast chatter. But I'm sure that would cost a pretty penny.

# 92 Bobhead @ 12/29/14 09:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nemesis04


	I don't know, the real MLB is full of dumb trades this winter. Where does one go to reference what is "right".

Yeah but it's the offseason. These types of mega trades don't run all year long like they do in The Show. I think the franchise AI in The Show needs to lay off the 5 hour energy.

Carlos Gonzalez has been traded twice already, during one half-season. Albert Pujols: three times. I cant remember the name but I had one super star even traded and then traded back to his original team within a month.

And yeah, you can point to any one trade in The Show and say it looks "within the realm of reason"... they all look fine in a bubble... but "bubbles" are not how MLB seasons are supposed to work. It's like every team is on "shuffle" mode. No real plan or goal, no attention to current needs and current surpluses.

I dont know much about programming AI's but if SCEA could just make one change, it would be to have the AI ease off the accelerator by a big margin.

# 93 countryboy @ 12/29/14 11:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nemesis04


	I don't know, the real MLB is full of dumb trades this winter. Where does one go to reference what is "right".

my viewpoint is the only true realistic trade that can be made is one that has already been made. Everything else is just speculation

my .02

# 94 BA2929 @ 12/30/14 12:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blzer


	I wonder if the tag system is anything like I've suggested once. It was basically as follows; Tagging is mapped to a button, say R1. When you're at a base, tap R1 for a swipe-tag. You'll have to time it right, but the tag will go straight down to wherever the guy is sliding. Otherwise, hold down the tag to keep your glove down, but you'll have to manually swivel left or right to get somebody hook sliding. I did not have a system in place for tagging somebody in a rundown.

They had a bare bones of this idea back in Roger Clemens' MVP Baseball on the NES. It was essentially a mini-game inside the game. You basically had to guess where to put the tag down to get a guy out on a close play at a base. I'd rather the game just decide what tag to use in any given situation. Tag plays happen so quickly that I don't think you'd even have enough time to swivel left or right to get a guy out unless they put it in slow motion, which would make hook slides incredibly overused.

Obviously, if they included your idea they'd give us the option to turn it off as that's something they do well with The Show. I just don't see many people using it as it sounds very confusing and tough to implement in a way that doesn't completely ruin the immersion.

Personally, I hope it's just a fixed code that makes tags more fluid and varied.

# 95 kehlis @ 12/30/14 01:39 AM

Yea it was a disaster in Roger Clemons baseball.

Basically like trying to stop a PK in Fifa. Straight guessing game.

# 96 Blzer @ 12/30/14 04:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BA2929


	They had a bare bones of this idea back in Roger Clemens' MVP Baseball on the NES. It was essentially a mini-game inside the game. You basically had to guess where to put the tag down to get a guy out on a close play at a base. I'd rather the game just decide what tag to use in any given situation. Tag plays happen so quickly that I don't think you'd even have enough time to swivel left or right to get a guy out unless they put it in slow motion, which would make hook slides incredibly overused. Obviously, if they included your idea they'd give us the option to turn it off as that's something they do well with The Show. I just don't see many people using it as it sounds very confusing and tough to implement in a way that doesn't completely ruin the immersion. Personally, I hope it's just a fixed code that makes tags more fluid and varied.

No, totally. When I suggested it this was a part of an entire package of new controls called Pro Control Defense that included a catch button, squaring up to fly balls (to center up or for players tagging up), a sprint feature, fake-throws, a momentum system for throwing, and even shading the sun. Tagging was just the icing on the cake with all of this, and it was essentially a set of "advanced controls" much like 2K had as an option in hockey games.

I just don't see how a "new tagging system" or whatever would be a back-of-the-box feature of something for gameplay improvements that would be something which we would notice if they didn't tell us. Sure, we could say "Oh I saw a new tagging animation the other day," but I don't ever recall tagging really being an issue of mine in this game. Sure tags are missed sometimes, but that's just a part of the sport. Unless they do something like cancelling tags (ducking out of the animation for other play) or something like moving around the bag for hook slides as I said earlier, it's tough to figure out how this will change gameplay.

EDIT: Actually, what might be nice about this feature mixed with the Human IK Engine is the game might be able to recognize when the glove actually touches the player, so maybe this game will have a challenge system where you can challenge actual missed/late tags, etc. That would be cool.

# 97 LastActionHero @ 12/30/14 07:12 AM

Tagging has been an eyesore for years to me. When a game looks so good and suddenly you see the 2nd baseman swipe his glove through a player it takes you right out of the immersion, at least for me. Same goes for slides through the catcher. These things shouldn't be happening anymore this generation in my opinion so I'm happy they're improving on it!

# 98 dubeau @ 12/30/14 05:25 PM

Overhauled franchise...with no details. I don't really care for the rest to warrant purchasing. When I know what "overhaul" means to them, I will make a decision.

# 99 HypoLuxa13 @ 12/30/14 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dubeau


	Overhauled franchise...with no details. I don't really care for the rest to warrant purchasing. When I know what "overhaul" means to them, I will make a decision.

My thoughts exactly. They could change nothing else with the graphics or gameplay, but if they rework franchise to make:
- player progression/regression more realistic so good players improve faster and decline slower
- balance hitting/pitching over time so in year 4+ of franchise you don't see every pitcher with 5+ ERA's and 50+ hitters batting over .300
- better stat tracking
- improve AI trade, re-signing and free agent logic
- etc.

I will buy if they do the above, regardless of other improvements.

# 100 Sco291 @ 12/30/14 07:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dubeau


	Overhauled franchise...with no details. I don't really care for the rest to warrant purchasing. When I know what "overhaul" means to them, I will make a decision.

Totally agree with this. However, with a new Human IK engine, this is automatically warrants a preorder. (I preorder every year regardless haha).

But yes, details on the overhaul have me very intrigued.

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