ASB05 Impressions Thread

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Wed Mar 24, 2004 6:33 pm

anyone playing the PS2 version? how are the graphics compared to MVP or MLB for PS2?

Ed_Farias · Post by **Ed_Farias** » Wed Mar 24, 2004 6:36 pm

PS2 version has still not gone gold.

snate · Post by **snate** » Wed Mar 24, 2004 6:47 pm

Bill_Abner wrote:Man I hate the ball movement on pitches in this game. Something just don't look right.

Agreed. WSB usually sucks in this regard too. MVP is by far the best in this category.

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Wed Mar 24, 2004 6:51 pm

Agree with you both. I liked the speed of MVP the best as well.

Parker · Post by **Parker** » Wed Mar 24, 2004 6:55 pm

webdanzer wrote:Agree with you both. I liked the speed of MVP the best as well.

The pitches do move realistically in MVP, but I was always adjusting the pitch speed slider because the gameplay was so out of whack, so it's hard to talk about speed.

Badgun · Post by **Badgun** » Wed Mar 24, 2004 7:03 pm

These are my initial impressions that I posted at OS. Nevertheless, this one is going back TONIGHT

As someone who has played 51 dynasty games with MVP, let me be the first to say don't trade it in just yet. First of all fielding and throwing in ASB feels so stiff and it's just not fluid compared to MVP. The fielder cam stinks...you look up and there's a red fireball coming at you. I turned it off after one play. Maybe the worst innovation in a baseball game ever...even worse than first person baseball.

Instead of just comparing it to MVP, let me just mention some things I hate and some things that definitely don't look good statistic wise.

First of all, just had a game with the Rockies and we combined for 34 hits. I hit 7 homeruns, but even worse, 2 of them were with Kerry Robinson who only hit one all of last year. The funny thing was, it didn't feel like I made good contact on either one of them. Bo Hart also hit one but at least he's a little more believable than Robinson. BTW, I was playing on Veteran with zone batting with fastest speed. This doesn't bode well for franchise play.

Also, I must have missed 5 fly balls because even if you put your guy square in the center of the circle, it might just drop in front of him. It seems you have to find the sweet spot so he locks onto the ball or he will drop it. This is awful and something I shouldn't have to get used to. Another annoying thing is when you hit a fly ball, the CPU fielder will not move sometimes for 5 seconds. The circle will appear on the field, but the fielder will stay crouched, then at the last minute he will run over and field the ball. It really looks stupid.

Overall the animations are awful and nowhere near as good as MVP or MLB.

The one positve thing I can say about the game is the AI looks to be pretty solid. They changed pitchers, pinch hit at the right times and ran the bases very intelligently. On the other hand, your own baserunners are dumb as rocks. I had a man on first and the catcher did one of those snap throws to first and my runner was in his lead and never moved to go back to the base and was tagged out. It looked like he was frozen. Someone please tell me that we don't have to babysit our runners because of the new "Snap Throw".

Overall, I'm really disappointed. After reading IGN's and NLG's reviews, I was pretty pumped for this game, but I can't see me keeping this one through the night.

I'd say if it was your favorite game last year and you don't like MVP, you'll probably like it. If you enjoy MVP, I'd stay away from this game because you will immediately miss the smooth fluid movements of your fielders and how easy it is to make plays. This game makes it feel like work.

Before anyone flames me, I'm not an EA fanboy...as a matter of fact, I've been very critical of MVP in that forum for the poor AI, lefty power shortage, and the broken player progression. ASB may have a great franchise mode, but I won't be able to get past the awful fielding to ever see it.

--------------------
I'm Rick James, b*tch!

Ed_Farias · Post by **Ed_Farias** » Wed Mar 24, 2004 7:07 pm

Bad, I replied to you over at OS, but I think it lost in the flood. Now maybe you played last years game a lot and you already knew this, but thought I would mention it.

Also, I must have missed 5 fly balls because even if you put your guy square in the center of the circle, it might just drop in front of him. It seems you have to find the sweet spot so he locks onto the ball or he will drop it. This is awful and something I shouldn't have to get used to. Another annoying thing is when you hit a fly ball, the CPU fielder will not move sometimes for 5 seconds. The circle will appear on the field, but the fielder will stay crouched, then at the last minute he will run over and field the ball. It really looks stupid.

It was like this last year too. The circle is telling you where the ball is going to land. You need to adjust your fielder based on the trajectory of the ball. A low line drive you are going to stand in front of the circle to catch it eye level. High pop flies to the infield, you will stand closer to the center of the circle? Just trying to be helpful is all, it was a problem for people in the beginning of ASB04 as well.

The snap throw is not new either, it was in there last year. You learn to just hit the right trigger to get back to the bag, at least I did.

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Wed Mar 24, 2004 7:08 pm

So that fielding thing is a permanent problem, eh? Were you preloading a throw when that happened too?

I'd try a couple of games with different hitting styles and at harder difficulties (HOF, LEGEND) before attributing your offensive performance to a fault with the game, though.

Parker · Post by **Parker** » Wed Mar 24, 2004 7:11 pm

I would trade MVP 2004 in for last year's ASB.

Did you play ASB 2004? I probably could have told you that you wouldn't enjoy ASB 2005. You should probably try one of the three difficulty levels above veteran before you give up on it stat wise though.

Personally, I have to say I am cautiously optimistic about ASB 2005. My expecations were not so high. I thought ASB 2004 would have been not a good, but great game, had it not had problems with pinpoint pitching control, vacuum catches, and the various other bugs and issues. It seems that the developers have at least made an attempt to address these problems. Time will tell to see if other issues arise. The major drawback at this point seems to be the options in online play...but I'm still waiting to see what difficulty levels allow you to choose zone batting online.

Badgun · Post by **Badgun** » Wed Mar 24, 2004 7:38 pm

Parker wrote:I would trade MVP 2004 in for last year's ASB.

Did you play ASB 2004? I probably could have told you that you wouldn't enjoy ASB 2005. You should probably try one of the three difficulty levels above veteran before you give up on it stat wise though.

Personally, I have to say I am cautiously optimistic about ASB 2005. My expecations were not so high. I thought ASB 2004 would have been not a good, but great game, had it not had problems with pinpoint pitching control, vacuum catches, and the various other bugs and issues. It seems that the developers have at least made an attempt to address these problems. Time will tell to see if other issues arise. The major drawback at this point seems to be the options in online play...but I'm still waiting to see what difficulty levels allow you to choose zone batting online.

I had 04 and really liked it except I couldn't hit with the cursor and with timed batting everyone on my team was hitting.400 so I just couldn't find any happiness with it.

I personally think this version is a step backwards. Animations are just ugly and not smooth at all. And the crouch is still there.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Wed Mar 24, 2004 7:42 pm

I really, for the life of me, can't figure out why people care so much about the crouch. Does it take away from the core gameplay? No. Does it make the game less playable? No. So what if the guy looks like he's taking a s***. You can walk in this game aparently, you can get the CPU to steal apparently. WTF is this the biggest gripe, or the main gripe that every single person who 'dislikes/dispises' the game seems to make EVERY SINGLE TIME.

I'm just amused by that. It's like people are trying to convince themselves that the game sucks because a guy is squatting...I just don't get it.

Bill_Abner · Post by **Bill_Abner** » Wed Mar 24, 2004 7:48 pm

You know what I like? That you can add a count before each AB. Talk about adding walks to the game

Naples39 · Post by **Naples39** » Wed Mar 24, 2004 7:54 pm

Bill_Abner wrote:You know what I like? That you can add a count before each AB. Talk about adding walks to the game

Agreed Abner. I know ASB had this feature last year, but I never really thought about it that much. I actually suggested MVP add a feature for 3 ball walks in the impressions thread, but this essentially does the same thing. I am really looking forward to trying it out when the PS2 version comes out. Be sure to post some impressions of the feature when you've had some time with it.

Slumberland · Post by **Slumberland** » Wed Mar 24, 2004 7:58 pm

I'm pleasantly surprised by the stats I'm getting. Just lost 4-3 to the Blue Jays. I had 8 hits to their 9. I'm playing on the difficulty level just below HOF (I forget what it's called). What really amazed me was that my pitcher had thrown 100 pitches by the end of the sixth inning. That almost never happens to me in these games. At first glance, the difficulty seems tuned well enough that I really have to pitch intelligently, and sometimes around batters. I'm truly enjoying the pitching, and finding less pinpoint accuracy than MLB, especially once I get to some of my low-cost, expansion club relievers.

I hate to admit it, but Fielder Cam is growing on me. I am probably in the minority in that department.

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Wed Mar 24, 2004 8:19 pm

Well, temptation got the best of me and I picked this one up today. I have to say it is a real mixed bag for me.

Positives:

Pitches look better than last years version (but still not as nice as MVP)

Really deep statistically (mound visits offer nice information, pressing the right analog stick in opens up a wealth of stats to peruse)

Graphics are nice with nice player models, stadiums, and animations

Some really nice extra animations: I saw Derek Lee have his bat go sailing on him on a swing and a miss.

Negatives:

Fielding still sucks. They replaced the vacuum effect with the 'magic ball'. I've actually seen balls change direction while rolling so it goes towards the fielder instead of staying on its proper path. f***in horrible. Also as mentioned there are a ton of dropped balls even if you're in position.

You really have to jam on the buttons to do what you want. I've checked countless swings when I didn't want to because I'm not beating the hell out of the controller. In order to turn double plays you have to repeatedly press Y to throw to second and then repeatedly press B to go to first to double them up. Compared to MVP and MLB, ASB feels so awkward since I'm used to the smoothness of the other games.

The game locked up on me. I've only played 2 games (well actually 1 game and then 5 innings of a second game) and the game froze during my second game. Had to power off. Hopefully this was just a fluke.

Seems awfully homerun happy, that's been a problem that's plagued the series for several years now.

Misc:

Fielding cam will take some getting used to but it's not exactly the first time this has been done like everyone's saying. EA tried this with Triple Play 4 or 5 years ago on the PS1 and it didnt' work. At times I'm having trouble judging where the hell I am on the field and I've given up some runs because of this. Hopefully more play will iron out those problems.

Not being able to play zone hitting online is a crock of s*** if you ask me. I have no desire to play with a f***in batting cursor ever again.

There's things that are impressing me so far but things I'm not digging. I will give this puppy some more time and hopefully check it out online as well.

Boom · Post by **Boom** » Wed Mar 24, 2004 8:20 pm

Coming up to the plate already w/ a count is just as bad as no walks. You guys request realism to the umpteenth degree, yet are cool with coming to the plate with the count already at 1-0 or some s***?

C'mon guys.

People like and dislikes games for many reasons.. and that's cool but man. Correcting lack of walks by adding a count before the AB even starts is no solutiion imo.

Ed_Farias · Post by **Ed_Farias** » Wed Mar 24, 2004 8:29 pm

I will say it again, easy and zone hitting are available online, but at the lower difficulty levels. Since I don't have the game yet, not sure what that means. But that info was given to me by Tom Green, the producer. If it is wrong I will let him

I am just afraid the lower difficulty setting will produce more runs, guess I gotta wait and see.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Wed Mar 24, 2004 8:30 pm

Boom wrote:Coming up to the plate already w/ a count is just as bad as no walks. You guys request realism to the umpteenth degree, yet are cool with coming to the plate with the count already at 1-0 or some s***?

C'mon guys.

People like and dislikes games for many reasons.. and that's cool but man. Correcting lack of walks by adding a count before the AB even starts is no solutiion imo.

That's not necessarily true. What's a major reason for developers to lower the walk totals? Game speed...it takes too f'n long to play a game if you walk 4-5 times a game. By starting with a ball, or two balls, or whatever, you're changing the time it takes to walk, or play a game. It's artificial, but it's actually a good way to do it. It'll allow you to still take walks, and still play a game in under a half hour. I personally like it...especially if walks are few and far between.

It's an option...by no means do you have to use it...but if you want realistic stats in a quickly paced game, sometimes you have to find other ways to achieve that.

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Wed Mar 24, 2004 9:17 pm

I haven't had to jam on the buttons repeated to turn dps...just press early, and HARD.

Finished up my earlier game and noticed a few more things.

The pitch speed seemed to be much faster my next game, when I started on a higher difficulty level and fastest pitch speed. I guess the speed is a combination of Level and Speed option? Unless Schilling is just that much better. I actually had a hard time vs the sox in Spring training, losing 7-0 on HOF level. (And 2d cursor)

Good news about the cursor is that after more play, Yes, hit variety is much better than last year. You can hit it down either line, which was like impossible last year. It's still not great, however, but it's better.

CPU pitches very intelligently to my batters so far. A-rod gets pitched around a lot...even by Schilling, who otherwise went at most of the rest of my team.

I'd say that there still is more fly balls than grounders, but that too is better.

The fielding IMO is more rewarding than in MLB, but less than MVP. You actually feel like you are contributing to the play. The pitching is pretty bleh, maybe equal to MLB..but at least it moves a lot faster and involves less button presses between pitches.

I still really doubt most users will walk many batters unless they want to, even with all aids off.

CPU has some base running issues, not tagging up and scoring from third when I made a backwards running catch and hit the RF wall.

Odd little glitchy thing...Matsui robbed a HR with a jumping catch at the wall..but the announcer still called a HR, and I still saw the celebratory trot around the bases! Batter is clapping his hands as he's trotting home! Luckily it was just a visual/presentation glitch, however, because the out was recording, and the team wasn't given the run nor the batter the HR. Odd, though.

CPU nice and aggressive with steals.

Right now the button sensitivity is my biggest issue, but overall I like what I've seen.

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Wed Mar 24, 2004 9:58 pm

Just the impression I'm getting from reading the various forums and by looking how the game presents the option itself..

It looks like ASB considers Zone hitting an 'easier' batting option, rewarding Zone batters with more solid hits, HR's etc.

Badgun · Post by **Badgun** » Wed Mar 24, 2004 10:08 pm

dbdynsty25 wrote:I really, for the life of me, can't figure out why people care so much about the crouch. Does it take away from the core gameplay? No. Does it make the game less playable? No. So what if the guy looks like he's taking a s***. You can walk in this game aparently, you can get the CPU to steal apparently. WTF is this the biggest gripe, or the main gripe that every single person who 'dislikes/dispises' the game seems to make EVERY SINGLE TIME.

I'm just amused by that. It's like people are trying to convince themselves that the game sucks because a guy is squatting...I just don't get it.

The game doesn't suck because of the squatting...it just sucks..period. Awful animations and I'm averaging a home run per inning on all star level. I think the zone batting is too easy and I refuse to go to a cursor again. While this game might have walks, steals, and even better overall AI than MVP, it's just not fun to play. I certainly did not get that "wow" factor in either game I played...that's usually a bad sign. After getting used to MVPs great fielding model and the smooth animations, it's like going back to a PS1 game. When I field the ball with my 2nd baseman, he doesn't face 1st, he faces forward, throws the ball forward, but it goes to my first baseman...it just looks wrong. Also, I had another play where the shortstop scooped the ball with his glove and scooped it all the way across to the first baseman. Watched the replay 3 times...he clearly scoop-shoved the ball 90 feet to first base.

If you guys like the game that's cool, but I find most of the animations laughable. I'm the last one that would rather play an EA game over anyone elses. I hate EA. But I just can't look past the ugliness and jerky fielding to like this game, not to mention every game I play there's 40 hits and 30 runs and 15 homers. This is a no brainer...it's not even a decision I have to wrestle with. I'm taking it back and putting the credit towards ESPN.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Wed Mar 24, 2004 10:13 pm

I'm hoping things get better. I've seen more actual bugs (not counting the lefty power issue) in my first game than I saw in MVP and MLB in the first week. I'm not talkig the cosmetic problems either. The CPU has hit three balls to the fence and didn't advance to second. On another play I snared a line drive at shortstop and tried to throw out a runner at second and the ball flew into right field...no runners advanced and while I was chasing it down the game decided it had been long enough and cut to the next pitch with the ball still sitting by the bullpen off of right field. I hit a bouncer that bounced about 6 feet in front of the plate and landed in front of the left fielder.

Zone hitting is extremely easy. I can swing WAY too late and still make contact. I'm only on the All-Star difficulty right now, but it doesn't look promising.

I think fielding can be more rewarding than MLB, but right now I am really struggling. I am not happy with any of the cameras as they aren't far enough zoomed for me. Am I missing something?

OK. I hate to be negative, but those are my first impressions and this is a first impressions thread. I will post positive impressions later. I am not totally down on the game yet, but I'm wandering if anyone else is seeing the same things. If I am being too hard on the game because it is just a VIDEO game, please let me know.

Parker · Post by **Parker** » Wed Mar 24, 2004 10:22 pm

Leebo33 wrote:I'm hoping things get better. I've seen more actual bugs (not counting the lefty power issue) in my first game than I saw in MVP and MLB in the first week. I'm not talkig the cosmetic problems either. The CPU has hit three balls to the fence and didn't advance to second. On another play I snared a line drive at shortstop and tried to throw out a runner at second and the ball flew into right field...no runners advanced and while I was chasing it down the game decided it had been long enough and cut to the next pitch with the ball still sitting by the bullpen off of right field. I hit a bouncer that bounced about 6 feet in front of the plate and landed in front of the left fielder.

Zone hitting is extremely easy. I can swing WAY too late and still make contact. I'm only on the All-Star difficulty right now, but it doesn't look promising.

I think fielding can be more rewarding than MLB, but right now I am really struggling. I am not happy with any of the cameras as they aren't far enough zoomed for me. Am I missing something?

OK. I hate to be negative, but those are my first impressions and this is a first impressions thread. I will post positive impressions later. I am not totally down on the game yet, but I'm wandering if anyone else is seeing the same things. If I am being too hard on the game because it is just a VIDEO game, please let me know.

It's become quite obvious that this year the developers didn't intend experienced players to use zone hitting. This is going to turn off ASB players from last year that grew to love zone hitting or those who are just opposed to cursors. Myself, I'm not really opposed to a cursor system if it produces realistic results.

Reports are that it's easier to make contact with the cursor batting options than last year with a wider variety of hits. If you don't like cursor hitting, what can I say, I think you are out of luck.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Mar 24, 2004 10:24 pm

I don't like these reports of button sensitivity issues. That drives me batty in any game, no pun intended.

ESPN NFL required you to POUND the buttons. But I think a fix was released in an early patch on XBL.

Take care,
PK

Badgun · Post by **Badgun** » Wed Mar 24, 2004 11:08 pm

Just had 3 straight scoreless innings for both teams then the floodgates opened again. 37 hits, 12 homers, and 19 runs later it ended...and that was just my team. Just like last year, there's no batting mode for me. Zone hitting is too easy and I won't ever go back to cursor hitting again, so that means the game goes back to the store.

Are there no sliders for this game? As much as I detest sliders, this is one game that desperately needs them