MLB 15 The Show News Post

MLB 15 The Show Gameplay Stream Details - Archive Available Now, If You Missed It

04:56 PM - February 5, 2015 by Steve_OS

The MLB 15 The Show gameplay stream is starting in a few minutes. You can click the "Spoiler Show" button below to watch it here at OS, or open a new browser and watch it. For those of you that miss out, we'll update this post with the archive when it is available on Twitch.

Some bullet points (Thanks jyoung!)

Graphics

Dynamic shadows in each stadium that will change over the course of the season
Colors will also change based on the amount of sun exposure
Grass and dirt colors are more accurate for each stadium
There are way more skin tones (they used to only have 13), which means you'll get much more realistic skin on dark-toned players

Gameplay

Directional hitting lets you influence where the ball will go, even in "timing only" mode
Dynamic pitch breaks make each pitch type easier to recognize and closer to how the ball acts in real life
Quick counts will start you in the middle of an at-bat more frequently. Pitchers will always start on a 1-1 count
Manual cutoffs are triggered by the L1 button and will help keep singles with a runner in scoring position from turning into cheap doubles
Outfielders have more curved, indirect routes, and will no longer just take straight paths to the ball. This should help reduce the number of undeserved doubles and triples
Infielders will follow the ball better and cover bases more realistically
There were no changes to umpires
The new MLB challenge system is in place for close plays at bases
Lots of new catching, tagging, and throwing animations were captured; they are unique to each base
Baserunners will slow up now and dynamically change their run speed based on where the ball is hit
There is more of a separation this year between fast and and slow runners
Expect less warping and no more sudden, unrealistic speed boosts in all fielding animations
You can use analog swings with timing hitting now
Meter pitching is more sensitive and has more risk/reward. Missing your mark has more of a penalty, hitting your mark has more of a benefit
Fielding and throwing sliders are now separated into different slider categories for infield/outfield

Next week: There will be a video blog for licensed equipment and the universal rewards system.
In the future: More twitch broadcasts are coming. A "presentation" stream will be next.

UPDATE: If you missed the stream, you can watch the archive here or click the "Spoiler Show" button below.

Spoiler

As gameplay is being shown, let us know what you think!

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

MLB 15 The Show Videos

Member Comments

# 181 RLebron12 @ 02/05/15 11:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gagnon39


	The only thing I guess I'm disappointed with is directional hitting. I, like many of us on here, were hoping that this would basically be MVP's hitting. It seems to me that this is simply the same thing as guess pitch which is already in the game. I really want the ability to change "where" you are swinging AFTER you press the swing button.

They want the game as accurate as possible..when you go up to hit you think about where you want to hit it before you swing. Sometimes before you even get in the batters box. You don't swing then as you're swinging decide to push or pull it. I think how they have it is pretty darn good from what they've shown

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

# 182 masterfliip @ 02/06/15 12:11 AM

For those who missed the live stream. Go to pastapadre.com for the video..you're welcome 😏

# 183 HustlinOwl @ 02/06/15 12:12 AM

is this new directional hitting available for online play? Timing has always been removed

# 184 Cowboy008 @ 02/06/15 12:30 AM

They mentioned having sliders for Dynamic difficulty now and how once you get to a certain point you could lock it right there. So my question is do they have separate sliders for hitting and pitching or are they both tied to one slider?

# 185 WaitTilNextYear @ 02/06/15 12:36 AM

From the twitch stream, the improvements in coloration and shadows were undeniable and very promising. I had a sense that the player models themselves hadn't been upgraded much because nothing had been mentioned, but the new coloration does make a difference. It was easy to see when Cutch '14 met Cutch '15.

I also liked the look of the new scorebug and had been on the fence about stashing it out of sight in '14 or keeping it because I like me some clean screen. But, this lil bug is sleek enough to stay.

While I couldn't tell so much about the grass texture itself (given that they were just now re-coloring the grass and dirt), the color scheme they were using when comparing the game to IRL was pretty close. I hope they can do a little bit to make the grass seem less like a carpet (well, except for Tampa...) with texturing in this 11th hour of their dev cycle. The color is nice, but color + texture is king.

Was also pleased that the combination of curved routes to balls, separate sliders for IF'ers and OF'ers, and the overall re-scaling of all player speeds should make DEFENSE a focal point of '15 for change. I think we all know the facepalm that is putting a guy who is rated 40 as a 1B out in LF/RF and him playing there like a natural. This should cut down on that cheese.

I'll have to say that I've been about 60:40 on buying '15 and this twitch boosted that to 65:35 or so. I was pretty impressed.

It's also nice to see the joy that B Ma brings to Russell_SCEA. He was so happy to introduce him. lol

# 186 WaitTilNextYear @ 02/06/15 12:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cowboy008


	They mentioned having sliders for Dynamic difficulty now and how once you get to a certain point you could lock it right there. So my question is do they have separate sliders for hitting and pitching or are they both tied to one slider?

DD has always had separate pitching and hitting sliders (est 2014). You can be a crappy pitcher and a great hitter and vice versa. Rookie+ pitching and HoF++ batting or whatever combination.

This new feature just means you can stay at whatever level you want on both sides of the game.

# 187 strawberryshortcake @ 02/06/15 12:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RLebron12

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gagnon39

The only thing I guess I'm disappointed with is directional hitting. I, like many of us on here, were hoping that this would basically be MVP's hitting. It seems to me that this is simply the same thing as guess pitch which is already in the game. I really want the ability to change "where" you are swinging AFTER you press the swing button.

They want the game as accurate as possible..when you go up to hit you think about where you want to hit it before you swing. Sometimes before you even get in the batters box. You don't swing then as you're swinging decide to push or pull it. I think how they have it is pretty darn good from what they've shown

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Here's my take on it having never played MVP baseball. You both make valid points. But I will sort of have to side with Gagnon39 on this one just a little bit more.

Swinging. It's essentially a two part process:
(1) leg kick [plus arms moving backwards to start the swing motion]
(2) follow through [arms moving forward to end the swing motion].

If they want the swinging game to be as accurate as possible, the batter needs to be able to adjust his follow through in some fashion.

For the sake of argument, bases loaded, 3-2 count, a left hand hitter might be looking for a strike pitch low and down the middle. The pitcher decides to throw an elevated letter high strike. That split second the batter should be able to adjust his "(2) follow through [arms moving forward to end the swing motion]" to either foul off the pitch or remarkably to get a hit.

Just because you mentally commit to a location and start your leg kick {i.e. pressing the controller's swing button} doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to adjust your swing follow through.

Foul balls. Currently the game does it automatically for you. But a 10 pitch foul ball at bat in real life baseball certainly requires the batter to have the ability to "adjust" his swing follow through after he mentally commits to a certain swing location.

# 188 ajblithe20 @ 02/06/15 12:53 AM

Just finished watching the stream. While there weren't any super WOW moments to me, everything they talked about and some things I saw in the gameplay are really cool. I cannot wait for March 31... going to spend so much time playing MLB 15 this year

# 189 cubby blue @ 02/06/15 01:55 AM

"DD has always had separate pitching and hitting sliders (est 2014). You can be a crappy pitcher and a great hitter and vice versa. Rookie+ pitching and HoF++ batting or whatever combination.

This new feature just means you can stay at whatever level you want on both sides of the game."

OMG, I didn't even know about this. This is great if you're tweener not quite good enough to play hof or all-star. Man I got to start paying attention more. I've been playing this game off and on since it came out.

# 190 geisterhome @ 02/06/15 02:03 AM

amazing what they did with the grass and dirt textures, that's true next gen

# 191 adh5199 @ 02/06/15 03:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by geisterhome


	amazing what they did with the grass and dirt textures, that's true next gen

hmmmm, sarcasm

???

# 192 MrOldboy @ 02/06/15 03:26 AM

Lots of great stuff in this stream that at least shows the team is addressing many of the concerns fans have had. Some really minor ones even.

The pitchers starting on 1-1 is fantastic as I when QC's were announced the first thing people starting asking about as what about bunts. I still wish they would have added in a middle ground, where all counts are in randomly including 0-0. It wouldn't speed up the game as much, but it would be faster than starting every count at 0-0 and for someone like me it would be a happy medium.

Nice to see Wrigley renovations in there, couldn't tell how accurate they are to the renderings, but if they have the advertisements and video boards I'll be very happy. Hard to tell if they finally fixed the basket, it's always been gigantic compared to actual wrigley field.

The imperfect outfield routes sound like they address a lot of issues people have had with every outfielder being able to make almost every play, but I honestly only saw a few variations in the stream. The one Puig mis-step was great to see, but watching Joc line up perfectly to where the ball will ricochet or reaching up repeatedly to snag a ball off the wall made it seem like only a slight change from past years.

Some of the odd AI animation choices are still there like barehanding at 2nd on double plays when there seems to be enough time to turn it normally. Similar to last year I hope that the glove flip does not become like the helmet falling off of sliding baserunners and occur at a high rate. But it is great that these animations are in there, they just need to be used in the right situations.

Overall game looks great as it did last year, some of the improvements I personally want to see are not really in the core gameplay, but more to the underlying graphics engine (player body types, etc) and the AI in franchise/RTTS modes. But they are recognizing where the game can improve and being honest about faults the game has had in the past which I appreciate. It's a piece of software, it will never be perfect, but you can improve it with each iteration.

Also, can you use directional hitting with zone? If not that would be really disappointing. They made it seem like it was just a change to timing hitting.

# 193 iLLWiLL @ 02/06/15 03:38 AM

man do i wish these guys (Sony SD) had the resources to create an NFL game. They are so detail-oriented...

# 194 geisterhome @ 02/06/15 05:05 AM

I do believe that if those devs just get enough time and I mean 2 to 3 more years, we'll have a game that is close to being a perfect simulation of baseball. That I think is possible if on the PS4. The Show 18 here I come.

# 195 natejelinek @ 02/06/15 07:04 AM

Does anyone know where in the video they show wrigley field?

# 196 BSUFAN @ 02/06/15 07:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lhslancers


	Well Uncharted isn't out yet. I still play TS on the PS3 11-14 actually and I think the game looks and plays very well for the past number of years. I'm quite a bit older and don't play as much as I used to and while the $500 isn't a game breaker for me I do not see the vast improvement like we saw going from the PS2 to the PS3. The new machine was supposed to allow for all these enhancements and so far all I see is EA releasing a bare bones hockey game. As far as TS goes so far I do not see it as a system seller yet. So until I see the new Uncharted I'll keep playing the PS3 and the 360.

When you see the PS4 version on 1080p the difference is real , as I had the PS3 version on 720p and it looks good but not like the PS4 version, to each his own. I am very happy that I made the change , there are some great looking games for the PS4 , JMHO.

# 197 Blzer @ 02/06/15 07:50 AM

I like how on CPU vs. CPU there is that camera switch delay after contact. Now, I'd agree that that is too late of a switch-over if you're controlling the defense, but something halfway in between what they have for us now and what this delay has would be a sweet, sweet option to have!

Quote:

Originally Posted by natejelinek


	Does anyone know where in the video they show wrigley field?

Eight minutes in.

# 198 Armor and Sword @ 02/06/15 08:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cezar24


	For 2 days right after Christmas, Target had the PS4 presale up for $39.99. It still shows my order as active, so I hope they honor it.

Same here. My order is active for the PS4 version at 39.99 and I am 99.99% they will honor it. I think it would have been adjusted by now.

# 199 headzapp @ 02/06/15 08:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lhslancers


	Well Uncharted isn't out yet. I still play TS on the PS3 11-14 actually and I think the game looks and plays very well for the past number of years. I'm quite a bit older and don't play as much as I used to and while the $500 isn't a game breaker for me I do not see the vast improvement like we saw going from the PS2 to the PS3. The new machine was supposed to allow for all these enhancements and so far all I see is EA releasing a bare bones hockey game. As far as TS goes so far I do not see it as a system seller yet. So until I see the new Uncharted I'll keep playing the PS3 and the 360.

I believe it took a while for the ps3 to make that huge jump from the ps2. Look at God of War 2 on the ps2 and then Resistance 1 on the ps3. G.O.W. held up pretty well to Resistance.
I think so far the ps4 has a lot of enhancements. Madden 13 on ps3 to madden 25 on ps4 was a big leap and 15 pushed it further. Yes NHL is bare bones, their team is small and got people taken off that game to work on UFC which hurt NHL. Saying that it has the best hockey gameplay ever with the sliders set right. Remember the first game of Madden on the ps3 was bare bones too. Infamous was beautiful, the remasters of Tomb Raider GTA V and The Last of Us are amazing. Even the show jumping to ps4 was amazing. No jaggies, smoother gameplay, 1080p, bigger memory for better graphics that will get better through the years as with the ps1, 2 and 3. Look at The Order already. Finally remember ps2 jumped to hd on the ps3. That makes a difference.

To keep this about The Show. I can't wait until we get the cloth physics. Seeing the jerseys flap in the wind that's going to look great. even though people complained about it in NHL this year.
I wonder if we will ever get like a postseason camera. You know on fox the playoffs have a different feel and the camera work seems different to me. Maybe with the split screen faceoffs that would be used more in the postseason to have that drama feel. Maybe have special crowd animations of people crossing their fingers or players taking deep breaths.

Anyway I love the new skin tones, the shadows, the new player movements when going for the ball. I can't wait to see more and even see all the stadiums. It's going to be a fun year for baseball.

# 200 andrewochs615 @ 02/06/15 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheFlamingWeazel


	Your loss, every game runs and looks way better on ps4, the controller is better, the OS is fast (Try going to the store on ps3 it's painfull, as are trophy syncing), ps3 has no party chat, streaming, share play, and on and on....GAme look way better in motion, I take it you have not played infamous, or drive club, it puts any thing on ps3 to shame. it's 399 not 500, and thats cheap for a new console.

Still not as cheap as Xbox one. You think Sony would at least match the price of its competitor

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