MLB: The Show

I've been hearing a couple of SA folks saying that the RTTS mode is buggy - anyone running into anything so far?

I had a game freeze last night but havent played too much. I also heard there was a sofware update already.

Still can't hit for shit (even w/ ridiculous sliders), which makes RTTS as anything but a pitcher impossible. :(

With my sliders I can do okay in the MLB portion, but I can't figure out how I'm supposed to improve and advance when I can't hit for power in AA.

So I started a season as the Dodgers. Also decided to up the hitting difficulty to "All-Star" for the first time, and here are the results of the first game (pre-season though)...

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4056/4410446588_7f21e7449c_o.jpg

That's right, I got 19 hits!

I was also glad to note that when playing a season you can save mid-game. Pretty cool too - after I loaded the saved game back up the announcer says, "for those of you just joining us late," and gives a brief recap.

also, screenshot I took the other day...

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4039/4410446650_0ddf94fa6f_o.jpg

daaaaamn

did they pretty much try & replicate the mid-decade mvps? if so, i would pay $100 for this game, cuz those mvps are my favorite video games ever

This game is basically the heir to mvp. The 2k series is utter garbage.

It's hard to remember those ps2 mvp games, though 2004 or 2005 was the year I actually played an entire season (and more) - I had to go watch a youtube video to refresh my memory a bit (gave the disc away to a friend). I think pitching is about the same, with the same meter system, but the game is more sim for sure - like it doesn't show you the hot and cold areas on hitting and all that. It's a much richer game overall? But it's more challenging, I think. The commentary is certainly better (more diverse).

Do you guys pitch on all-star or veteran difficulty, or what?

This game is still driving me nuts on rtts with a position player. I still strike out about 25%-30% of the time.

Also playing on the basepaths is kind of a nightmare when you lack speed and even when you have the option to not show every pitch selected. I'd say 90% of the time Im on base the hitter behind me either strikes out, grounds in to a double play or fouls off about a dozen pitches before either fouling or striking out.

Suck at this one just as much as I did 09

Also, even though I only rented it, I still spent the first 45 minutes updating all of the rosters manually because I am insane.

Theres a guy in my game named "Gookie Baxter"

I finally got my first home run in RTTS yesterday!

Im kinda getting the hang of this. I tweaked my sliders a bit but even so it seems like the key is to take until you have one or two strikes and then wait for something in the zone to swing at. Also is a good idea to look at the bottom of the zone in certain situations because it gets rid of a part of the plate you have to look after during a pitch.

Its really a friggin commitment to get your stats up. Im on my fourth season and I barely have more than 70 contact against righties and lefties, 70 power against righties and 50 against lefties and the rest of my stats are kinda horrible, esp stealing which Id like to do but its pretty much impossible to improve significantly.

just had a no hitter broken up by ENDY CHAVEZ (infield single) w one out in the 8th -- closest i've ever got in my life

second one hitter i've ever thrown -_-

is there any way of playing pro yakyuu spirits on a british ps3??

Yeah - no region coding on ps3 games, so if you have an hdtv you should be good to go

just gotta wade thru the kanji I guess huh

I haven't played the new one new one, but they're kind of like all games - you can pretty much just figure it out as they all work pretty much the same way. Pretty obvious how to play an exhibition game or set up a season. The other modes I don't know about. Operation Sports can probably provide some help... here's the thread for the newest game... http://www.operationsports.com/forums/baseball-other/407373-pro-yakyu-spirits-2010-impressions-translations-discussion-thread.html

The new Power Pro game is also coming out in a little over a week
http://www.operationsports.com/forums/baseball-other/411975-japan-power-pro-2010-announced-ps3-psp.html

a gameplay videos...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzvGamICTDw

Q: how many of y'al have this on PS3? Tracer I'm looking @ you. I'm considering getting this because I have only three games, but I'm REALLY interested in having the game of the week or a doubleheader in a VS mode w/ people I know and like. Subtext is that I don't want to run 162 game franchise mode or Road to the Show, having done that in previous versions.

Q 1.a: The same question for FIFA

I don't have FIFA I've got PES 2010..

I might really want to get The Show though.. the only thing putting me off is the prospect of spending 8,000 man-hours getting good enough to hit the ball out of the infield

BTW I only have three games too! RDR, PES, and Heavy Rain. I downloaded a few though.

this is v hard

this game is best

I'll be interested to see how they integrate motion controls next year (though I doubt I'll pick up the game again).

My main problem with The Show right now is that the games simply take too long to play... the idea that a game takes an hour fifteen to two hours to play through is something I just can't face - it gets quite boring (just like real baseball). Too bad they don't change the rules of baseball so games are only five innings.

In Japan if real baseball games go on too long they just stop them. THE END.

yep - they can end in a tie (fine with me), but as far as I understand it, in one league a game ends if still tied after 12 innings and in the other after 15.

ties don't seem to happen too often, but here's one from a week ago...
http://bis.npb.or.jp/eng/2010/games/s2010081201309.html

this game is beautiful but I'm 100% with you on the too long thing.

Can't you just like sim the first couple of innings and then take over?

i sim pitching becuz it's drudgery

I do enjoy pitching, actually. I turn off all the call assists, so pitching feels a little more like a rhythm betting game (instead of trying to hit the marks the catcher calls out in the default mode). I also appreciate the increased tension once somebody gets on base and you have to pitch out of the stretch. I think I'd get sick of just hitting (or just pitching), and also more frustrated.

Hit a nice LOL inside the park home run tonight...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXFKGfm63YA

ha

damn i love the shit out of this game

Enough with the analog stick bullshit. Who actually likes it?

In a control switch that's likely to be controversial to some, MLB 11 The Show's default pitching, throwing and hitting controls will move to the right analog stick, though it will include the old face-button commands for the lifers.

ESPN's Jon Robinson, getting the first preview of Sony's genre-leading baseball franchise, says the analog-based pitching will transition to a gesture-based system that's somewhat similar to the new batting controls. Both involve pulling down on the right analog stick - which starts a batter's step or initiates a pitcher's windup. The player then drives the stick to the top. In pitching, the direction of the final thrust will affect the pitch's placement in or out of the strike zone, and the force you put behind it will impact its velocity.

What doesn't sound so great, however, is how this applies to fielding controls. It seems dependent on pre-loading a throw as the ball is traveling toward your fielder; if you don't do that, expect a wild throw. This means you need to be both moving to the ball with the left stick and queuing the throw to the appropriate base (with the appropriate velocity) with the right.

The hitting controls seem familiar, especially to those who've played MLB 2K. Pitching sounds entirely unique. Regardless, if you are a Show diehard, however, these new methods are not mandatory. The old pitching meter and button commands will still be available to you, they just aren't the default settings.

Other details include a cooperative multiplayer mode supporting two-versus-two or two-versus-CPU play; changes in attribute allocation in the Road to the Show career mode; 3D support and Move support for the game's Home Run Derby, and Fox Sports analyst Eric Karros replacing the insufferable Rex Hudler as the game's second analyst. Minnesota Twins' all-star catcher Joe Mauer returns as the cover star.

this is coming to a mailbox near me tomorrow. oh shit.

Is anyone interested in starting a league for MLB 11? I thought I had a league going with reddit, but it looks like it's not happening. Are there 7 people interested in doing a short season?

i bought a ps4 partly just so i could finally play the show. i love baseball games but haven't had a sony system since before the show even existed, so i've never been able to try it. single player mode is great, as advertised.

online multiplayer is incredibly frustrating because it comes sooooooo close to being just as good, and it generally produces pretty close games, few blow outs. but there are a few things that can be exploited that completely ruin it:

- stolen bases. i just played a game where the other person attempted to steal almost every single time they got on base. as soon as they'd get on, the lead would increase so far that they were barely visible in the little picture in picture window. i did fast throws over to 1B. i stepped off. i pitched out. i varied the timing between pitches. it didn't matter. every single time i threw over, no matter how far the lead, they safely slid back. every time i pitched out, it didn't matter, they easily stole second. granted, they had some fast runners (they were playing as the red sox) but it was just ludicrous.

- bunting. you can tell you're in for a shitty game when it displays the other player's tendencies pre-game and the bunting is completely maxed out. i don't know how to do it myself, but there's a way to bunt that results in it being perfectly placed up the third base line, every single time, regardless of where the pitch is located. it is near impossible to stop.

if you're unlucky enough to play against someone who wants to constantly bunt and steal, it is one of the most frustrating experiences in gaming. especially when contrasted with someone who plays relatively "normally", when it can be one of the best. hopefully they'll fix this shit in next year's model?

also 4 years xpost but i would be interested in joining a league.

holy moley, the new version (mlb 16) completely blows the last one out of the water. all the complaints i had above have been addressed, and everything just seems so much smoother and natural.

there's also a new Battle Royale mode which is completely addicting. you draft a team from scratch, which sounds laborious, but is actually very easy and fun. for each draft pick you're given a choice of 4 players to choose from, and it's organized so that your team will have one diamond player, 2 golds, a handful of silvers and several more bronzes to round things out. in the mix of players you can choose from are older players, so the team i drafted and played with last night had Barry Larkin at SS and Mike Schmidt at 3B, surrounded by a lesser cast. anyways, you draft a team and then play 3-inning online games against other similarly created teams. as you win games, you rise up in the tiers (and the farther you go the better rewards you unlock, although i don't really care about that right now), and you're out when you lose twice in a row (or maybe just twice at all - i've only lost once out of 7 games, humblest of humble brags, so i'm not sure). i thought 3-inning games would kind of suck but they've adjusted the pitcher stamina so that your starter will start to run out of steam around the late 2nd inning/early 3rd inning, and earlier than that if your pitch count is running up. anyway it's all balanced well so that on my first run of games last night, nearly every single one was pretty tense and ended in an interesting way.

haven't even touched the other modes yet but the actual gameplay is much improved. better animations, which may sound like just an aesthetic improvement but they're also quite a bit smoother and lifelike so it makes the game much more immersive. also, small sample size but fielding seems less frustrating this time, i.e., a bit more forgiving in the outfield. i even managed to pull off a few catches deep in the gaps after covering a ton of distance with my CF, which is something that i had trouble with in the last version.

verdict: you should give tons of money to some giant company again in order to make a fake ball fly around the screen

i am fucking scared to even start playing. i started a franchise (that i will prob start over once the operation sports roster drops) and played two spring training games and i'm just like "ok what the fuck do i do here even"

have you played the show before? last year's version was my first one, and it took me a while to figure out what the hell was going on.

it also seems like a game with split communities of interest. some people are all about franchise, but others play road to the show exclusively. i am pretty sure i'll be playing battle royale a ton. i love how it's designed so that you'll be changing teams/players relatively frequently, like every few days of real-time. it keeps things fresh. and while i had zero interest in saving up a bunch of in-game currency to unlock a "classic" player, it's a ton of fun to suddenly have the option to put one in your lineup and use them for several games. there was a hard-to-describe thrill of inserting mike schmidt into the lineup and then realizing that they totally nailed his stance and swing (which i pretty much know just from baseball cards and a few old baseball clips).

i think baseball is a difficult game to use as the basis for a franchise mode because while full 162-game season is such a slog, simulating a franchise by only playing 1 game a week (or however you choose to do it) just feels unsatisfying. maybe it depends on how into stats you are, but when i see my player's stats, they don't mean much to me if 5 out of every 6 games is simulated. they're more meaningful when you've played every PA. but maybe that's just me.

i've had every version for the last 5ish years i think, but last year i didn't play much. haven't played a franchise since the days when i had more free time. it scares me now that i have more of a life.

last 1-2 years i've been a RTTS guy, playing mostly a closer and occasionally a position... i wanted to do franchise this year. might be too much for me tho.

ugh dammit, if they were gonna go to the trouble of adding all this awesome-sounding stuff then I'm REALLY frustrated they weren't able to port it to the Vita. baseball is maybe the perfect sport for mobile, especially on a platform with actual buttons so that you can field at least somewhat respectably; you can play for a couple of games, or a couple of innings, or a couple of at-bats, or even a couple of pitches if that's what you've got time for.

then again I would probably be the only one to buy it anyway so oh well. it's just extra-galling since now that's two awesome baseball games we'll never be able to enjoy natively on Vita (alongside the saintly and unfuckwithable Super Mega Baseball of course).

is this the only franchise that actually tries to improve game after game?

i'm watching the new march to october mode and it is amazing.
the show 19 has the potential to be the best sports game in a while.

Oh yeah? I haven’t decided on whether or not I’m picking up this year’s game. I’ll have to look into the new mode. Is it a new spin on the season mode?

Online games are sometimes thrilling, but often get derailed by weird lag/bugs, which is incredibly frustrating when you get fucked at the end of a really good, close game. I would also frequently run into other players who would somehow CRUSH everything I pitched, like every single time, and I couldn’t figure out if they were cheating or if there are people they are actually that good

karl, i'm going by this new video just uploaded a couple days ago:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Hf8dQWx8yA

it's a long one, but it seems pretty informative. it goes over
march to october and gameplay.

i think online gameplay is a mix of skill and response time/ghosting,
which is affected by internet speed and your TV. was your ping and
response time ok? big, cheap TVs can be a problem.

i have never played the show and i want to download '19 immediately based on nothing more than these facts:

1) i really miss baseball
2) super mega-baseball doesn't let me do pickoff moves

i have this niggly feeling that the show is going to be WAY more game than i want though