MLB 11 The Show a quick tidbit

[Brando70]

I am gonna have to turn off the pitching cursor then, 'cause I just don't give up walks in this game, and I refuse to play without the analog (or else I might as well be playing '10).

Slumber, your mileage may vary, but I find that turning off the cursor makes it particularly hard this year. I can't nail the circle at the top of the analog meter easily, and those two factors give me a lot of variability in my pitching. Spotting breaking balls with significant break is not easy.

My other two house rules -- having to throw a non-fastball if my catcher calls that with three balls, and that I have to move the L stick on all pitches (no grooving fastballs) -- also help a lot in the walks department. Plus, there are times against certain batters or situations where I stay away from the strikezone. I'll nibble to try to get a strikeout or weak grounder, but will gladly give up the walk instead of a hit.

[sportdan30]

I've decided to stop using the broadcast cam for pitching and went back to the catcher cam and I'm fairing much better.

I switched back as well, and for whatever reason (just sheer luck), I'm pitching better too. Still walking guys with "classic" pitching.

[Rodster]

I've found that classic pitching gives you good random results which depends on your pitchers ratings. Classic is nothing more than pitching without the meter.

[sportdan30]

I've found that classic pitching gives you good random results which depends on your pitchers ratings. Classic is nothing more than pitching without the meter.

I find classic most realistic because it does take in to account player ratings. I enjoy analog pitching too, however I don't think it necessarily factors in to the ratings. It's more based on your skill rather than that particular pitcher's skill. Meaning, you could be just as effective with a number 4 starter than you are with a number one, if you have the analog pitching down comfortably.

With classic however, I can dominate or at the very least pitch confidently well with Chris Carpenter, albeit there are many times he misses his mark by quite a bit, or a pitch gets away from him. When I pitch with Lohse, I'm a lot more erratic or less consistent. I get in to far more deeper counts than I do with Carpenter.

Also with classic, I find that I may have a particular pitch (curve ball, slider as an example), that I just can't locate as well as my fastball and changeup. For that reason, it really forces you to strategize more. With meter or analog, if you've got the hang of how the system works, you wouldn't run in to this issue.

I disagree that going back to buttons feels like you're playing '10 again. With increase momentum in the outfield, more control over your infielders, better variety of hits, more realistic graphics, etc... the subtleties are more apparent at least to me. I'm having far more fun this year than in seasons past, primarily for the reasons above.

[Brando70]

There is definitely a difference in analog control with different pitchers, though. In fact, analog still seems fairly random. I've noticed when warming guys up and not even touching the left stick that I'll get a fair amount of variability even when hitting the target circle twice in a row. Confidence seems to impact it a lot too. Maybe as I get better at analog pitching it will be different, but right now I'm finding it fairly challenging, much more so than meter pitching.

I also agree with Dan about the subtle but significant changes outside of analog. Hit variety especially seems much greater this year. I've seen an uptick in triples because there are more balls that pull or slice down the lines and head into the corners. And even though Karros is every bit as bad if not worse than Hudler, I think they've made some crowd noise changes that are nice too. I hear more boos and cheers at appropriate times.

It's still the gold standard for sports games of this console generation. The realism, the graphics, the nuances...it's by far the most complete package of any sports game I've seen. Even really good games like NBA 2k11 aren't on the same level.

[Rodster]

I find classic most realistic because it does take in to account player ratings. I enjoy analog pitching too, however I don't think it necessarily factors in to the ratings. It's more based on your skill rather than that particular pitcher's skill.

I was playing NBA 2K11 and realised how much of a gimmick the shot stick is as well. Hadn't played it in awhile and after firing off like 60 shots that were short of the basket, I checked the settings and the shot stick was set to timing rather than player rating.

So I set it to player rating and dumped the shot stick for the tried and true button press, all was good after that.

It's still the gold standard for sports games of this console generation. The realism, the graphics, the nuances...it's by far the most complete package of any sports game I've seen. Even really good games like NBA 2k11 aren't on the same level.

Can't quite agree with that Brando, sorry. Both games are stellar and NBA 2K kills every game presentation wise. The player faces alone in NBA2K are scary realistic to their real life counterparts. I was watching some of the Boston Celtics player models and Kevin Garnett looked just like KG. I think both NBA2K, MLB The Show and EA's NHL 11 are all awesome and each are worthy of best sports title ever made.

[Slumberland]

Two things The Show really needs are a playoff mode and something akin to 2K's MLB Today.

[Lancer]

I find classic most realistic because it does take in to account player ratings. I enjoy analog pitching too, however I don't think it necessarily factors in to the ratings. It's more based on your skill rather than that particular pitcher's skill.

I was playing NBA 2K11 and realised how much of a gimmick the shot stick is as well. Hadn't played it in awhile and after firing off like 60 shots that were short of the basket, I checked the settings and the shot stick was set to timing rather than player rating.

So I set it to player rating and dumped the shot stick for the tried and true button press, all was good after that.

It's still the gold standard for sports games of this console generation. The realism, the graphics, the nuances...it's by far the most complete package of any sports game I've seen. Even really good games like NBA 2k11 aren't on the same level.

Can't quite agree with that Brando, sorry. Both games are stellar and NBA 2K kills every game presentation wise. The player faces alone in NBA2K are scary realistic to their real life counterparts. I was watching some of the Boston Celtics player models and Kevin Garnett looked just like KG. I think both NBA2K, MLB The Show and EA's NHL 11 are all awesome and each are worthy of best sports title ever made.

I would put NHL 11 a notch down from the show and nba2k11. I know it's not related directly to this thread, but it'd be interesting to rank the quality of sports games out right now in tiers.

I definitely would put The Show and NBA2K11 in the top tier, then followed by FIFA11/NHL11 in the 2nd tier right under it. Then in the bottom tier you have buggy games like backbreaker but right above the bottom tier, you'd have games like Madden/MLB2K11 which sort of mail it in yearly.

[vinny-b]

mark me down for pitching (via classic).

in truth, the method remains 'HIGH HEAT' part 2.


haven't tried the analog hitting/batting extensively. Expect will like it.

I don't know, i just don't like the idea of a meter, when pitching. Not natural

[Lancer]

mark me down for pitching (via classic).

in truth, the method remains 'HIGH HEAT' part 2.


haven't tried the analog hitting/batting extensively. Expect will like it.

I don't know, i just don't like the idea of a meter, when pitching. Not natural

Man Vinny I miss the HH series. I'd be happy if MS just put out the same game from the early/mid 2000s with a 2011 roster an sold it on XBLA for 10/20 bucks.

I'm also surprised that The Show is the only game that mimic's the HH hitting engine while the other games go sort of w/ the MVP model. Is it that hard to develop a HH hitting model for 2k? I find HH/TheShow's model more realistic.

[dbdynsty25]

Wow...HH is terrible compared to the Show. Play them side by side, it's no comparison. The "look back" is fond, yes...but I've played HH04 recently on my old school PC I've got and it just doesn't hold up anymore. The pitching and hitting, a fan favorite, have those exaggerated motions and arcs to curves and breaking balls...so annoying now since they aren't realistic. All those old school tune files helped a bit, but it's still not even close.

[vinny-b]

mark me down for pitching (via classic).

in truth, the method remains 'HIGH HEAT' part 2.


haven't tried the analog hitting/batting extensively. Expect will like it.

I don't know, i just don't like the idea of a meter, when pitching. Not natural

Man Vinny I miss the HH series. I'd be happy if MS just put out the same game from the early/mid 2000s with a 2011 roster an sold it on XBLA for 10/20 bucks.

I'm also surprised that The Show is the only game that mimic's the HH hitting engine while the other games go sort of w/ the MVP model. Is it that hard to develop a HH hitting model for 2k? I find HH/TheShow's model more realistic.

Lancer:

not trying to be contrary. DB is right. While the gameplay of HH was phenomenal in it's day - it was by default. Largely due to the 8 bit graphics.

SCEA provided the sim, the DSP/OS market had hoped for.

[snaz16]

mark me down for pitching (via classic).

in truth, the method remains 'HIGH HEAT' part 2.


haven't tried the analog hitting/batting extensively. Expect will like it.

I don't know, i just don't like the idea of a meter, when pitching. Not natural

The only thing missing from the "High Heat" method is the ability to move to either side of the rubber. Just sayin

[Brando70]

Can't quite agree with that Brando, sorry. Both games are stellar and NBA 2K kills every game presentation wise.

I have one word for you: "spurtability"

I agree that 2k11 has the best presentation, but I think the announcing is every bit as repetitious as The Show and many other games, it's just executed better. In terms of the player customization, though, I agree that it is the standard. It may not be accurate to say that no two players shoot alike, but it's not that too far from the truth.

The reason I hold The Show a little higher is that I think the gameplay is better and more realistic. If you play a lot of one-player in 2k11, while it's very good, it gets very easy to tell what plays the CPU is running because they tend to go to the same handful over and over again. The offensive rebounding also still needs a lot of work. It's a great game, don't get me wrong, but I think The Show is the most realistic depiction of a sport we've ever seen on a console.

[Rodster]

I only play NBA Today and the commentary doesn't get old with all the audio that's thrown at you i.e. current NBA news regarding the team you're ballin with. Now that's "spurtability"

[bkrich83]

I use classic pitching and I love it. Ratings are king with it. Reminds me of High Heat so much. I walked 6 in my last game.

[FifaInspected]

Made the switch to analog pitching last night and love it! I seem to have a bit more control. I had used meter previously and was all over the place, walking people on too regular of a basis. I tried classic for a couple of game and got shelled both times.

Oh yea. It's a little sweeter since that game on analog was my first win Tied at 4 in the bottom of the eight Magglio Ordonez hit a solo bomb deep to left. I then played a little small ball and tacked on 2 more.

[Rodster]

I use classic pitching and I love it. Ratings are king with it. Reminds me of High Heat so much. I walked 6 in my last game.

I've found the same thing too with classic. Right now now i'm using metered pitching because my SP in RTTS has low ratings and using classic pitching would result in a high ERA. I'm also getting a good amount of walks about 4-6 walks per game with metered pitching.

[Slumberland]

I surrender. Switched everything back to buttons last night. Gave up four walks. That's with pitch cursor and strike zone on. I mean, it wasn't a surprise, I got great walk numbers in '10. Just saying.

[vinny-b]

I use classic pitching and I love it. Ratings are king with it. Reminds me of High Heat so much. I walked 6 in my last game.

I've found the same thing too with classic. Right now now i'm using metered pitching because my SP in RTTS has low ratings and using classic pitching would result in a high ERA. I'm also getting a good amount of walks about 4-6 walks per game with metered pitching.

Rodster: which difficulty level?

am starting pitcher RTTS (HOF) and had to raise the difficulty. To me, it seems much easier this year.. ?

[vinny-b]

an RTTS note:

maybe it is 'easier' because although pitching difficulty was set at 'HOF', hitting difficulty was only set at 'AllStar'.

I wouldn't think the hitting difficulty level would have any effect on a RTTS career for an AL pitcher. However, after looking/examing the trophy info, maybe it does...



EXAMPLE
trophy: Fill'er Up
After falling behind in the count 0-2 work back to a full count. Must be completed vs. the CPU with both pitching and batting set to All-Star or higher difficulty.

[Brando70]

It is really great that The Show has so many options. I personally get really bored with classic pitching because I feel like I'm not really doing anything except watching math in action. But I agree if you want the most realistic pitching results, that's the way to go.

The one thing that would help a lot, and my only year-to-year complaint with The Show, is if the strike zone wasn't so goddamned big, we'd definitely get more walks via analog and meter pitching. I know they mark it at the rule spot, but that zone is never called in a big league game. The other thing is that ump variability often expands it. I've been caught looking and have nailed CPU batters with pitches that were completely out of the zone, which would be cool if the zone wasn't already huge. In fact, it would be great if you could set the zone size or adjust the variability to settings like "big leagues," "generous," etc.

Overall, though, it's still my favorite single-player sports series of all time. The sheer variability from game to game makes me keep wanting to play more.

[sportdan30]

Definitely agree about the strike zone, especially the high strike. That would be sweet if you got an option to change the strike zone to your preferences. I feel as though I wouldn't chase as many pitches if it went based off how they call it in MLB games.

This game continues to impress. In previous versions, I felt that playing outfield was just alright. Nothing exciting and tracking down fly balls was not too challenging. This year, I'm finding you really need to react quick if you're going to catch some of these balls hit in to the gaps. There seems to be so much more ground to cover. Additionally, there is such a difference playing with an outfielder such as Lance Berkman vs. Colby Rasmus. In consecutive games with Berkman, I've had problems catching up to a ball, or seemingly being in position only to see the ball sail over his head for a ground rule double. Rasmus isn't an above average outfielder by any means, but he covers the outfield better and I definitely feel more confident in him making the play.

[AJColossal]

[quote="sportdan30"]Definitely agree about the strike zone, especially the high strike. That would be sweet if you got an option to change the strike zone to your preferences. I feel as though I wouldn't chase as many pitches if it went based off how they call it in MLB games.quote]

What's also silly about the strike zone is that it's pretty uniform, and doesn't seem to take into account if I guy is crouched or upright.

I'm convinced it has to be an MLB mandate or something because seemingly every series I've played had a too big of a zone.

Was HH's zone any better? Can't remember.

[Brando70]

I agree with you, AJ, it is definitely a universal problem among baseball games. Also a tricky issue because what would you set it as? Just would be nice if we had the option to change the size, either with a series of defaults or perhaps a custom strikezone adjuster.

I also like outfield play better. Harder to get to balls to the corners or gaps, and tough plays like catches near the walls are not gimmes. Plus momentum is better, as it takes a moment for a guy to make a play on a ball, stop his motion, and turn to throw.