MLB 15 The Show News Post

MLB 15 The Show: Directional Hitting Impressions

12:21 PM - April 1, 2015 by RaychelSnr

This year there is a new hitting mechanic in MLB 15 The Show called Directional Hitting. The idea behind this system is rather simple. It's basically timing hitting with the ability to influence the directions of your hits by pushing the left stick in a certain direction.

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# 101 Drmetzger3 @ 04/02/15 11:44 AM

Am I the only one that thinks Pure Analog is the way to go? I tried directional hitting because I thought it would be more like MVP 05 but either my memory of it isn't correct or games have changed so much that it's no longer as realistic as I thought. I've played baseball for over 25 years now and I feel like the last few years of pure analog was the most realistic way of hitting. Not only did you have to time the pitch and swing at the right time but you had to time your stride. I can't for the life of me figure out why that option was taken out. Combine the stride timing, with swinging inside, outside or middle and you have something realistic and challenging but not overly difficult. I play on legend and have very realistic stats on average. Please bring the real pure analog back!!

# 102 Nero84 @ 04/02/15 11:46 AM

I was a zone guy, but I've tried the directional hitting with analog input and love it. If you pair it with a tight almost first person camera then it's the closest you'll get to actually feeling like hitting in real life. I won't be going back to zone.

# 103 BroadStreetDog @ 04/02/15 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by exeter


	I see why they did it though, to broaden the appeal to pre-schoolers and those with casual knowledge of the game (women=majority of peeps on planet)==crass (short term only because it will come back to bite) grab at $.

Speaking of crass.....

# 104 exeter @ 04/02/15 04:45 PM

Yeah, "crass" as in the inability to understand/recognize the difference between one thing and another particularly with regards to quality.....such as when one has been overly conditioned to "accept" things without question
and with no sense of the superior versus, in this case, blatantly and insultingly inferior.

Beyond the unnecessary mechanical changes, no longer is one able to play without discoesque fluorescent flashes everywhere. These serve merely to underline (not disquise) the present crudity slopped over a formerly great game.

Bottom line: they should have asked us, the involved customers, whether we wanted to NOT have the option for the game to be dumbed down.

# 105 KingV2k3 @ 04/02/15 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gagnon39


	As much as I think I like directional hitting I always find myself coming back to zone.

So, to clarify:

You can choose Zone OR Directional, but you can't use them simultaneously, right?

If I'm understanding this properly, it breaks down like this:

Zone: Influence BEFORE the pitch

Directional: Influence DURING the pitch

Thanks!

# 106 sink4ever @ 04/02/15 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KingV2k3


	So, to clarify: You can choose Zone OR Directional, but you can't use them simultaneously, right? If I'm understanding this properly, it breaks down like this: Zone: Influence BEFORE the pitch Directional: Influence DURING the pitch Thanks!

You are correct that you can't use them simultaneously, but that's not the distinction. Zone is putting your cursor where you think the pitch will end up. Directional is aiming your hit in a certain direction.

Quote:

Originally Posted by exeter


	Yeah, "crass" as in the inability to understand/recognize the difference between one thing and another particularly with regards to quality.....such as when one has been overly conditioned to "accept" things without question and with no sense of the superior versus, in this case, blatantly and insultingly inferior. Beyond the unnecessary mechanical changes, no longer is one able to play without discoesque fluorescent flashes everywhere. These serve merely to underline (not disquise) the present crudity slopped over a formerly great game. Bottom line: they should have asked us, the involved customers, whether we wanted to NOT have the option for the game to be dumbed down.

Still not sure what you're on about, zone + analog is still in the game.

# 107 SDwinder @ 04/02/15 06:55 PM

I think most baseball minded people will enjoy the game more with Zone and button hitting, with no PCI, no Guess Pitch, and no Directional hitting. PCI clutters the view and takes away from seeing pitch. And its just not necessary. Guess pitch like Directional hitting, is an Arcade element, or even a learning curve aid.

Most of these elements, you can and should do in your head. If you want to look fastball, and adjust for off speed, you do. If you have count leverage and want to sit on a pitch, do it. If you want to look on the outer two thirds of plate, you do. If you want to try and go the other way, you let the pitch travel a little deeper. If you want to pull the ball, you get the head of bat out quicker. If you want to get the ball in the air, you swing under it.

The fact is you CAN do all this in The Show, and it really works like it would on the field. This is the beauty of the game. The mental part and how it ties in so well with the execution is what brings me back to The Show every year since 2008. All the other stuff is not necessary, once you learn the game of baseball.

With that being said, those features in The Show help to create a nice learning curve aid for many players. I have always felt The Show scales for all ages and abilities so well, if you learn and use the Options available. From Little Leaguers to Pros, this game can work for all!

# 108 SDwinder @ 04/02/15 07:02 PM

Also, Analog Pitching is the way to go.

# 109 SDwinder @ 04/02/15 07:04 PM

Keep in mind Zone hitting is dynamic and in real time, so you can adjust when pitch is in air.

# 110 KingV2k3 @ 04/03/15 12:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sink4ever


	You are correct that you can't use them simultaneously, but that's not the distinction. Zone is putting your cursor where you think the pitch will end up. Directional is aiming your hit in a certain direction.

Ah, I confused zone with "Swing Influence" that seems like the predecessor to Directional...

Swing Influence was activated by R2 and then using the right stick to "aim" fly balls versus grounders / 3rd base side versus 1st base side etc.

Does Swing Influence still exist or has that been replaced by Directional?

Thanks!

# 111 Zinger @ 04/03/15 01:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KingV2k3


	Does Swing Influence still exist or has that been replaced by Directional?

I think the devs have said that swing influence never had any effect anyway! Directional clearly does.

# 112 cbrown119 @ 04/03/15 10:36 AM

With Pure Analog on, can I use directional hitting by pushing up on the stick diagonally - in between normal swing and contact swings?

Also, can preload a power swing or do I need to time the whole up and down motion - similar to previous years stride function?

Thanks

# 113 KingV2k3 @ 04/03/15 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zinger


	I think the devs have said that swing influence never had any effect anyway! Directional clearly does.

Weird, it always worked for me!

Anyway: has swing influence been dropped entirely in light of the implementation of directional?

Or is swing influence still an option?

# 114 TheBigTicket205 @ 04/04/15 05:46 PM

I've gone thru this thread with a fine tooth comb, and I just wanna say thanks guys first of all. Your input has helped me tremendously!

Here's what I've figured out using directional hitting feature. What I've been doing with my RTTS guy is guessing a side of the plate and then setting my directional hitting interface to the opposite side of the plate. If I guess right on the direction of the pitch then I adjust my DH to that side as the pitch winds up. If I guess wrong I just leave it. If I get behind in the count I dont use DH and I just try to get the proper timing to swing.

When I started using DH I would guess and then try to adjust while the pitch was in mid flight and I just wasnt picking up the pitch type or pitch speed. As a result I struck out a lot. I hit a few HRs, but not at the clip I am now.

Since this adjustment with my plate approach I've hit 7 HRs in the NLCS. Before I could only go yard about once every 30 or more plate appearances. Now I'm more confident at the plate and the strategy behind DH has come to life for me. Honestly I'm not sure the approach I'm using is 100% the way it was intended, but it's working for me so far.

With that said... I love the new feature and all of its possibilities! Great work SCEA and thank again guys for all the feedback this thread offered. Hope this helps some of you!

# 115 Russell_SCEA @ 04/04/15 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KingV2k3


	Weird, it always worked for me! Anyway: has swing influence been dropped entirely in light of the implementation of directional? Or is swing influence still an option?

Placebo it was taken out of the game 2 out 3 years ago the rumble was still there though.

# 116 koolvid12 @ 04/05/15 12:15 AM

Am I at a disadvantage if I'm using zone just for timing and not actually using the direction feature?

# 117 mvp_status @ 04/05/15 03:52 AM

Definitely prefer Zone. I tried DH for a few games, but I couldn't take having swing & misses in the strike zone despite having "Good" timing. It also seems like I was being penalized for swings that I didn't pick a direction, but that could have been just a small sample size.

# 118 Smallville102001 @ 04/05/15 04:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mvp_status


	Definitely prefer Zone. I tried DH for a few games, but I couldn't take having swing & misses in the strike zone despite having "Good" timing. It also seems like I was being penalized for swings that I didn't pick a direction, but that could have been just a small sample size.

That is the reason I am not sure if I should do DH or not because even throw you can have good timing and miss a ball with zone or just foul it off with zone I know if that happens it is because I swung either over the ball or under it so it was my fault at least.

# 119 cactusruss @ 04/05/15 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Russell_SCEA


	Placebo it was taken out of the game 2 out 3 years ago the rumble was still there though.

So a feature was taken out of the game, yet the rumble that told the player that feature was activated was left in, and instructions on how to use that feature were still in the game's instructions?

That's kinda messed up. I mean, it's wasn't a huge feature, but why not take out the rumble and leave it out of the instructions?

# 120 exeter @ 04/06/15 08:58 PM

"Still not sure what you're on about, zone + analog is still in the game."

"zone + analog" is technically still in but the meaning has been changed. Now, without the more difficult and vital element of stride removed-- so has the thrill of when one actually lines it all up and makes good contact. The stride element is how one bats when actually playing baseball (if intending to get ball out of infield).

The way they have it now it is more akin to T-ball and/or Softball slap-type swinging (hence previous comment re: new mechanic being for preschoolers and women) where just getting contact is all...........Just wish they would change their minds while on vacation--been trying to get into this year's iteration (love the different sliders for outfielder vs infield).......but ultimately bummed by this aspect

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