ASB05 Impressions Thread
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ASB05 Impressions Thread
anyone get it yet? please post impressions
posted by Slumberland
Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2004 5:10 am Post subject:
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Got the game this morning. Really like the fielder cam, but haven't been able to set it so that it's only on when I'm fielding. It's just a drag when I'm batting, as it doesn't give a good enough sense of where the ball is going. If it's a choice between fielder cam on all the time and no fielder cam, I choose the latter.
Some quick notes.
Good:
-I drew two walks.
-Broadcast angle for pitching is the best I've seen this year. It's even a little unsteady, as if there's an actual camera operator.
-Cursor-less pitching seemed pretty tough. I walked one and threw about 100 pitches in 7 innings, Trachsel vs. the Marlins. There's a really nice info bar beneath the score that flashes pitch count, as well as a ball/strike breakdown.
-Dontrelle Willis has his cap on crooked.
Not so good:
-Throws seem unresponsive from time to time. Not sure whether you have to mash the buttons, or preloading is an issue. Missed out on two double plays when I just couldn't get a fielder to fire to second. After MLB's easy-as-pie DP controls, this was a drag.
-There must have been some baseball video game developer's summit wherein they all agreed that ball barely touching the edge of the strike zone would be called as strikes 75% of the time. Still, it's not the problem that it is in MVP and MLB.
-Must find setting to turn off fielder-cam when batting.
I haven't played enough yet to comment on the fly-ball, center of the field issue with zone batting. But mostly, it feels like ASB (surprise, surprise).
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Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2004 5:10 am Post subject:
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Got the game this morning. Really like the fielder cam, but haven't been able to set it so that it's only on when I'm fielding. It's just a drag when I'm batting, as it doesn't give a good enough sense of where the ball is going. If it's a choice between fielder cam on all the time and no fielder cam, I choose the latter.
Some quick notes.
Good:
-I drew two walks.
-Broadcast angle for pitching is the best I've seen this year. It's even a little unsteady, as if there's an actual camera operator.
-Cursor-less pitching seemed pretty tough. I walked one and threw about 100 pitches in 7 innings, Trachsel vs. the Marlins. There's a really nice info bar beneath the score that flashes pitch count, as well as a ball/strike breakdown.
-Dontrelle Willis has his cap on crooked.
Not so good:
-Throws seem unresponsive from time to time. Not sure whether you have to mash the buttons, or preloading is an issue. Missed out on two double plays when I just couldn't get a fielder to fire to second. After MLB's easy-as-pie DP controls, this was a drag.
-There must have been some baseball video game developer's summit wherein they all agreed that ball barely touching the edge of the strike zone would be called as strikes 75% of the time. Still, it's not the problem that it is in MVP and MLB.
-Must find setting to turn off fielder-cam when batting.
I haven't played enough yet to comment on the fly-ball, center of the field issue with zone batting. But mostly, it feels like ASB (surprise, surprise).
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Slumberland
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Thanks for pasting my post, Jack.
If anyone wants to give it a spin on Xbox Live, let me know! I'm very curious as to what settings we can change (i.e. no pitching cursors) and whether we can use any starter we like.
Started up an expansion team, the Brooklyn Aviators. It's great to be able to use the classic stadiums in expansion mode now. Old Dodger stadium, here I come.
If anyone wants to give it a spin on Xbox Live, let me know! I'm very curious as to what settings we can change (i.e. no pitching cursors) and whether we can use any starter we like.
Started up an expansion team, the Brooklyn Aviators. It's great to be able to use the classic stadiums in expansion mode now. Old Dodger stadium, here I come.
I'm very interested in XBL play. Let us know as soon as you find out.Slumberland wrote:Thanks for pasting my post, Jack.
If anyone wants to give it a spin on Xbox Live, let me know! I'm very curious as to what settings we can change (i.e. no pitching cursors) and whether we can use any starter we like.
Jack, can you please put "The Official" in the title of the thread?
Last edited by Leebo33 on Wed Mar 24, 2004 3:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Hey bud, I specifically asked Tom Green (ASB_Man, producer) about this in an email. He told me that you can change your lineup and starting pitcher prior to a gameSlumberland wrote:Thanks for pasting my post, Jack.
If anyone wants to give it a spin on Xbox Live, let me know! I'm very curious as to what settings we can change (i.e. no pitching cursors) and whether we can use any starter we like.
Started up an expansion team, the Brooklyn Aviators. It's great to be able to use the classic stadiums in expansion mode now. Old Dodger stadium, here I come.
. Let us know for sure though.-
sportdan30
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I believe that guy was playing in Manage Only mode. From other posts I've read, when you receive the ball, go towards the runner for the tag. That was supposedly fixed. In Manage Only mode though, it might not have been fixed.Parker wrote:I'm not sure but I hope this doesn't happen too often:
"Ooops! Kerry Robinson stealing. He was out by a country mile. I mean 3/4 way down to second, secondbaseman had his glove down and the ump called him safe."
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dbdynsty25
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Well, I can understand the fielder cam limitation online to some extent. Because of lag and synch issues, they probably would have had to do the online coding twice, once for fielder cam games and another time for other camera options.dbdynsty25 wrote:Grrrr....guess no online baseball gaming for us this year. WTF is with these companies?Parker wrote:Word is you have to use either the 2d or 3d batting cursor option on Xbox Live and you have to use the fielder cam. People are getting disconnect problems right now.
The batting option limitation kind of stinks, although I need to play the game first to see if I will use zone again this year or try the cursor options. Still, if online play is compelling enough, I will play anyway. At least you can change your lineups and pitcher before the game!
Well, grabbed the game at lunch, and played two innings before going back to work. Wed is my tele-commuting day, which is good 'cuz I can grab games as soon as they get into stores (EB right up the road). It's tough with them sitting right here until after work.
Anyway, I agree with Slumber on just about everything he said. The Pitcher's broadcast view is awesome, easily my favorite over the ones I've seen this year.
Played on the middle level, All-Star, with things on default to start things off. Quick Play Yanks vs Angels. K.Brown retired the side in order in the first, struck out two and a little ground ball to third. Seemed easy.
Up to bat:
Lofton: Ground rule double to left center.
Jeter: Off the wall double to right center..Lofton held at third 'cuz I was futzing with the controls. I then get an injury message saying Jeter was out for 3-4 months with a Sepatared Shoulder. This from a stand up double. I wonder if the developers were trying to be funny, given the start to Jeter's 2004 campaign. Anyway, it seems like we'll have injuries pretty much unrelated to the action on the field.
A-Rod: Three Run homer.
Needless to say, those of you who have played this in the past need to go to one of the higher two levels straight off of the bat. Don't even bother with the middle stuff, and turn ALL hitting and pitching indicators off.
Anyway, I pumped eveything up after that and went without scoring or giving up another for the next inning.
I'm a little worried about what Slumber mentioned with the button response. This seems to be another one of those games where you have to firmly mash the buttons to get a good response. Either that, or there may be a little response delay in the game itself. I noticed this when hitting, fielding, and pitching.
Some nice animations. Bernie was really, really fooled by a changeup, swinging awkwardly, and the bat went flying out of his hands scattering down the first base line. Looked really cool.
There is an odd slowdown after the completion of most plays that I don't like... not sure if it is deliberate or not.
At first look, I don't care for the fielder cam either, but I'll give it some more time. Uni's look good.
Pitch speed DOES seem slower than last year, even on the fastest (sim) setting. This is a little disappointing for me.
CPU already seems to throw more balls than in MVP or MLB, though I didn't walk. (two innings)
I used the 2d cursor for batting, and the hit variety is definitely better than last year, though too early to say if it is 'good' or not yet. Both doubles were solid in the alley gappers, though.
Overall a moderately favorable first look.
Anyway, I agree with Slumber on just about everything he said. The Pitcher's broadcast view is awesome, easily my favorite over the ones I've seen this year.
Played on the middle level, All-Star, with things on default to start things off. Quick Play Yanks vs Angels. K.Brown retired the side in order in the first, struck out two and a little ground ball to third. Seemed easy.
Up to bat:
Lofton: Ground rule double to left center.
Jeter: Off the wall double to right center..Lofton held at third 'cuz I was futzing with the controls. I then get an injury message saying Jeter was out for 3-4 months with a Sepatared Shoulder. This from a stand up double. I wonder if the developers were trying to be funny, given the start to Jeter's 2004 campaign. Anyway, it seems like we'll have injuries pretty much unrelated to the action on the field.
A-Rod: Three Run homer.
Needless to say, those of you who have played this in the past need to go to one of the higher two levels straight off of the bat. Don't even bother with the middle stuff, and turn ALL hitting and pitching indicators off.
Anyway, I pumped eveything up after that and went without scoring or giving up another for the next inning.
I'm a little worried about what Slumber mentioned with the button response. This seems to be another one of those games where you have to firmly mash the buttons to get a good response. Either that, or there may be a little response delay in the game itself. I noticed this when hitting, fielding, and pitching.
Some nice animations. Bernie was really, really fooled by a changeup, swinging awkwardly, and the bat went flying out of his hands scattering down the first base line. Looked really cool.
There is an odd slowdown after the completion of most plays that I don't like... not sure if it is deliberate or not.
At first look, I don't care for the fielder cam either, but I'll give it some more time. Uni's look good.
Pitch speed DOES seem slower than last year, even on the fastest (sim) setting. This is a little disappointing for me.
CPU already seems to throw more balls than in MVP or MLB, though I didn't walk. (two innings)
I used the 2d cursor for batting, and the hit variety is definitely better than last year, though too early to say if it is 'good' or not yet. Both doubles were solid in the alley gappers, though.
Overall a moderately favorable first look.
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Slumberland
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That stinks about the online options, if true.
Played some more. Some good hit variety even with zone hitting. I'm seeing lots of choppers and squibs that I've never seen before in ASB. They can be tough to handle when on defense, as the fielders are a bit too slow to react. I want to see some barehanded putouts on bunts, dammit!
I made accidental contact on a check swing, just like MVP. Only difference, here it actually got through the infield for a single.
Hit a ball deep to Juan Pierre. He tried to make a tough catch over his head, but it hit off his glove. Ruled a double, not an error. I think that was the right call.
The CPU has been stealing on me, but most of the jumps have been AWFUL. I'm talking, learn about the steal attempt from Steve Lyons, grab a smoke, then fire to second and still throw him out awful. Interested to hear other people's experience with throwing out runners. Hopefully it was just an isolated incident... you know, the kind that happens twice in one game.
I forget who was up for me, but the Marlins put the shift on, with the shortstop playing right behind second base. I hit a line drive up the middle, right into his glove. Smart.
The shortstop and second baseman seem to cover too much ground, depthwise. They're almost like fourth and fifth outfielders, and many hits that would in real life go over their heads and fall in for singles get snagged by these two over-ambitiously programmed positions. To be fair, I think this is a problem with all baseball video games right now. It might stem more from line drives not having enough height on them, I'm not sure. Not a huge deal in any case.
Love the grass stains on the unis.
It was a pleasure drawing two walks against Armando Benitez in the ninth and watching him nearly implode. Four straight balls each time. Ha!
Pitch speeds are still very fast if you want them to be, but they cheat it a bit (as they have for the past two or three years) by allowing you to occasionally hit one "out of the catcher's mitt" if you know what I mean. It's nice that they want to be forgiving, but it looks ridiculous in the replays, and feels a bit cheap.
I'm liking the game very much. I hope to put in a fair amount of time online and with the expansion mode. However, at this early stage, EVEN with check swings and the ability to draw walks, it does not get me revved up the way MLB does.
Played some more. Some good hit variety even with zone hitting. I'm seeing lots of choppers and squibs that I've never seen before in ASB. They can be tough to handle when on defense, as the fielders are a bit too slow to react. I want to see some barehanded putouts on bunts, dammit!
I made accidental contact on a check swing, just like MVP. Only difference, here it actually got through the infield for a single.
Hit a ball deep to Juan Pierre. He tried to make a tough catch over his head, but it hit off his glove. Ruled a double, not an error. I think that was the right call.
The CPU has been stealing on me, but most of the jumps have been AWFUL. I'm talking, learn about the steal attempt from Steve Lyons, grab a smoke, then fire to second and still throw him out awful. Interested to hear other people's experience with throwing out runners. Hopefully it was just an isolated incident... you know, the kind that happens twice in one game.
I forget who was up for me, but the Marlins put the shift on, with the shortstop playing right behind second base. I hit a line drive up the middle, right into his glove. Smart.
The shortstop and second baseman seem to cover too much ground, depthwise. They're almost like fourth and fifth outfielders, and many hits that would in real life go over their heads and fall in for singles get snagged by these two over-ambitiously programmed positions. To be fair, I think this is a problem with all baseball video games right now. It might stem more from line drives not having enough height on them, I'm not sure. Not a huge deal in any case.
Love the grass stains on the unis.
It was a pleasure drawing two walks against Armando Benitez in the ninth and watching him nearly implode. Four straight balls each time. Ha!
Pitch speeds are still very fast if you want them to be, but they cheat it a bit (as they have for the past two or three years) by allowing you to occasionally hit one "out of the catcher's mitt" if you know what I mean. It's nice that they want to be forgiving, but it looks ridiculous in the replays, and feels a bit cheap.
I'm liking the game very much. I hope to put in a fair amount of time online and with the expansion mode. However, at this early stage, EVEN with check swings and the ability to draw walks, it does not get me revved up the way MLB does.
Eww, something bad.
I unpaused right after writing the impression, and went to play out the next inning. Adam Kennedy is on first, and the CPU has him take off for second. Little fly ball out to Sheffield in right, and it looks like I can double him off.
The ball comes in, Sheffield is waiting in position...I preload the throw. And he stands still like a statue as the ball comes within an inch of his crotch, and bounces through his legs. It looked horrible. Maybe the pre-load had something to do with it?
Hopefully you wont see that much.
I unpaused right after writing the impression, and went to play out the next inning. Adam Kennedy is on first, and the CPU has him take off for second. Little fly ball out to Sheffield in right, and it looks like I can double him off.
The ball comes in, Sheffield is waiting in position...I preload the throw. And he stands still like a statue as the ball comes within an inch of his crotch, and bounces through his legs. It looked horrible. Maybe the pre-load had something to do with it?
Hopefully you wont see that much.
Ok guys, I got a reply back from Tom. PLEASE, don't post this info anywhere else until he tells me it is ok to do so. I don't want to report anything wide spread that he could get in trouble for.
Copy and paste from his email.
I just played a 10 inning complete game online, lost to the Cubs on a Sosa
HR
FielderCam is the only fielding option online and Timing/Zone aren't
available on the harder difficulty levels. These limitations were done for
many reasons...mostly to keep the matches even/equal, and testing time.
Online was a huge chore.
TG
There you have it, looks like you can use zone/timed on lower difficulty settings? Guess I need to get used to fielder cam
Copy and paste from his email.
I just played a 10 inning complete game online, lost to the Cubs on a Sosa
HR
FielderCam is the only fielding option online and Timing/Zone aren't
available on the harder difficulty levels. These limitations were done for
many reasons...mostly to keep the matches even/equal, and testing time.
Online was a huge chore.
TG
There you have it, looks like you can use zone/timed on lower difficulty settings? Guess I need to get used to fielder cam
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Cincinnati_Kid
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He said it fine to post this info wherever.
Hopefully I will get a game in with him tonight and will have a chance to chat with him about some of the stuff being said and see what he says.
In case you all are wondering why I email Tom, he and 3 other guys from acclaim are all in my online ASB league that we will be starting up soon. I gotten to know him pretty well through email, and is pretty much as honest as they come, as many of you saw when he replied at the OS.
Hopefully I will get a game in with him tonight and will have a chance to chat with him about some of the stuff being said and see what he says.
In case you all are wondering why I email Tom, he and 3 other guys from acclaim are all in my online ASB league that we will be starting up soon. I gotten to know him pretty well through email, and is pretty much as honest as they come, as many of you saw when he replied at the OS.
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Bill_Abner
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Cincinnati_Kid
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im not too crazy about the new fielding camera
where as i loved first person view in espn football from the get go
but i will definatley give it plenty of experimenting time later
just want too dig into the game right now and get use too all the nuances
behind pitcher camera view seems cool for those who dig that...i guess im still oldschool in this reguard...but again i will mess with it more n more
out of the gate with the s controller things felt sooooo sluggish too me ..but now buisness is picking up
zone hitting seems real nice so far.....
where as i loved first person view in espn football from the get go
but i will definatley give it plenty of experimenting time later
just want too dig into the game right now and get use too all the nuances
behind pitcher camera view seems cool for those who dig that...i guess im still oldschool in this reguard...but again i will mess with it more n more
out of the gate with the s controller things felt sooooo sluggish too me ..but now buisness is picking up
zone hitting seems real nice so far.....