MLB The Show 15

[tjung0831]

My Preload is done......it did the initial 4gb download, then the update file, and now it just finished the 36gb download. Still can't play until 11pm CST though. Really looking forward to this one! Game is looking beautiful!

Where o' where were you able to get this game early?

Dan I purchased the digital download via PSN. I logged onto today and it was ready for download. Downloaded the entire 40gb game in just over an hour!

[sportdan30]

Nice. I'm going to go that route and download it digitally as well. Definitley want to play tonight as I'm busy tomorrow evening.

[Diablo25]

Nice. I'm going to go that route and download it digitally as well. Definitley want to play tonight as I'm busy tomorrow evening.

Mine has already been automatically downloaded. It's sitting on the HD waiting for me to launch at 12:01 am .

[dbdynsty25]

Bought it early with some PSN credit I had...and preloaded. Or so I thought. Yeah, started it at 6pm...here we are at 10:18pm and it has 5 min. left. This after it said it had 15 min. left at 9:45pm. So yeah...nice download speeds PSN. LOL.

[Diablo25]

Just launched this bad boy and played my first game - WOW. Sony San Diego should get a medal for how they continually improve this game. The lighting improvements are spectacular...SPECTACULAR. I played with my Phillies at Citizens Bank Park in June at 4 pm and the lighting as the sun went down and the lights took over was stunning. Such a pleasure to play. The new brand name equipment is a great addition also. I know games like Fifa get props for being great but they just don't sniff The Show. Fabulous effort.

I can't wait to really dig into the game tomorrow. Gotta hit the rack though

[Diablo25]

Quick video of a bomb that Chooch hit early in the game. The lighting hadn't really taken over at this point and Youtube's resolution really doesn't do it justice. I was using the new directional hitting and was looking "in". I'm not quite sure how the directional hitting works exactly. Gotta experiment with it more. I tried to save another clip late in the game but it didn't take for some reason. I think there are some new quirks with the latest firmware update or maybe I just screwed up.

[Diablo25]

One last thing before I get some ZZZZ's...I just read up on directional hitting. It 'sounds' like its just timing based with the way you "focus" with the left stick "directing" or influencing the ball to go where you aimed. Ex. "Focus" away with a right handed batter and he will hit the ball the other way. I don't think Zones come into play with this hitting interface. Can anyone else comment on this? I liked what I saw but can still go back to zone hitting if it doesn't grow on me.

From The Show Nation website:

Directional Hitting Interface
(PS3, PS4, VITA)
Featured for the first time in MLB 15 The Show is the new Directional Hitting interface, which allows you to influence the direction of your hits in real-time while you swing. Using the L-Stick, you can attempt to influence fly balls, ground balls, pushed hits, pulled hits, or any of those in combination. The most success will be had by swinging at pitches that are conducive to the hit direction you are aiming for. Outside pitches are better for hitting to the opposite field, while inside pitches are best for pulling. If no direction is pressed with the L-Stick, it’s just like using the old Timing Hitting interface. Like never before, Directional Hitting allows you to play into each hitter’s strengths and utilize the strategies of proper situational hitting.

[tjung0831]

Played 2 quick 3 inning games last night just to check things out. Game is beyond beautiful...can't stress that enough. Played with directional hitting but only had 2 hits in the 6 innings I played so it's going to take a bit to get back into the swing of things. Lots of subtle improvements, game is just very smooth. It's the Show....it just doesn't get any better.
I do believe that I have narrowed my team choice for season play down to the Padres, Mariners, or Indians but I won't start that until next week.

[tjung0831]

Just completed my first full game...13 innings and a 4-2 loss to the lowly Astros...I was the Mariners. I had the game won....Hernandez was cruising with a 2-1 lead but in the bottom of the 8th, I pressed the wrong button on a pitch and Altuvie hammered it over the wall....my mistake so I can live with it. I had 10 hits total including a couple of doubles. Struggling with the directional hitting. Seems like if I try and pull the bull it goes to the opposite field and if I try and go to opposite field it pulls the ball...lol...not sure what I'm doing wrong just yet. Playing on Veteran for both hitting and pitching but will probably up pitching to All Star here in a few as I threw 20 K's in 13 innings.

[Diablo25]

Just completed my first full game...13 innings and a 4-2 loss to the lowly Astros...I was the Mariners. I had the game one....Hernandez was cruising with a 2-1 lead but in the bottom of the 8th, I pressed the wrong button on a pitch and Altuvie hammered it over the wall....my mistake so I can live with it. I had 10 hits total including a couple of doubles. Struggling with the directional hitting. Seems like if I try and pull the bull it goes to the opposite field and if I try and go to opposite field it pulls the ball...lol...not sure what I'm doing wrong just yet. Playing on Veteran for both hitting and pitching but will probably up pitching to All Star here in a few as I threw 20 K's in 13 innings.

I highly recommend using Dynamic difficulty. It will go up as you get better but it will also drop down if you regress. It's one of the most under rated features in the game IMO. Give it a try.

[Diablo25]

If anyone wants to see the game in action I'll be streaming on Twitch later on...maybe around 6 or 7 pm. I'll post the link when I begin. The game is a sight to see.

[sportdan30]

Too early for me to really comment, as I played the equivalent of maybe 8 innings last night. A home game at Busch against the Pirates, and a few innings at Wrigley against the Cubs.

- Visually, it's just so much cleaner, brighter, and crisper than '14. Whereas last year I had a difficult time telling the difference between the PS3 and PS4 version, it's a very nice upgrade in the graphics department.

- Busch and Wrigley look beautiful, and the addition of Ballpark Village is cool. The Arch unfortunately looks rather ugly. The edges are not smooth, and the color is off. Just a small gripe.

- Gone are the slowed down cut scenes. Now everything appears to be at 60 fps.

- Fielding fly balls is much more enjoyable. There's still a little bit of sucking you in to an animation, but it's not nearly as early it once as.

- Granted I've only played 8 innings, but the frequent dropped third strike seems to happen a lot less frequent.

- I'm enjoying pitching with the meter. It's not exact, and it's a bit more difficult to hit your spots. I'm playing on dynamic at Rookie +++, so I'm sure the difficulty will increase.

- I'm finding it's easier to pick up on pitches. Drawing deeper counts, etc. It hasn't translated in to a lot of runs, but I was overly aggressive last night.

- The new addition of skin tones on the players look really nice. They're getting a little closer to NBA 2K, but not quite yet. But, for the the amount of players in MLB, adding individual skin tones is very welcome. It really distinguishes the players.

- I wasn't head over heels excited about the brand names and logos being added. I thought it would be another cool addition, but it really does add to the overall detail and realism. The player models are more individualized which is nice.

- Would love to see the cloth in the jerseys that move, but maybe in future versions.

- I'm seeing a lot of new animations with regards to fielding the ball. This will go a long way to making a long season stay fresh.

- I've had a couple pop ups on the infield and I didn't hear "it's popped up, and I mean WAY up". Thank you.

- Commentary is roughly the same, but I read where there will be a little more dead air and less color commentating getting in the way of the game play which is welcome.

- Loading screens are faster, which was much needed.

- I too am having some difficulty with the directional hitting, but I'm sure there will be some tutorials to check out.

Overall, a real nice first impression. I can't wait to play more tonight!

[Sudz]

Just completed my first full game...13 innings and a 4-2 loss to the lowly Astros...I was the Mariners. I had the game one....Hernandez was cruising with a 2-1 lead but in the bottom of the 8th, I pressed the wrong button on a pitch and Altuvie hammered it over the wall....my mistake so I can live with it. I had 10 hits total including a couple of doubles. Struggling with the directional hitting. Seems like if I try and pull the bull it goes to the opposite field and if I try and go to opposite field it pulls the ball...lol...not sure what I'm doing wrong just yet. Playing on Veteran for both hitting and pitching but will probably up pitching to All Star here in a few as I threw 20 K's in 13 innings.

I highly recommend using Dynamic difficulty. It will go up as you get better but it will also drop down if you regress. It's one of the most under rated features in the game IMO. Give it a try.

AWESOME FEATURE.

Can't wait to play!

[Rodster]

I usually set pitching to classic but the default meter pitching is a nice change of pace. It reminds me of EA Baseball meter pitching. It's accurate enough but if you're off a little you pay with walks or hits. I decided to snag the Anniv Ed as I wanted the free wallpaper.

[TCrouch]

- Loading screens are faster, which was much needed.

PRAISE ALL THAT IS HOLY!!!!

The loading screens were the worst. Now, I know this has historically had poor online play, but has anybody given that a shot yet?

[Rodster]

- Loading screens are faster, which was much needed.

PRAISE ALL THAT IS HOLY!!!!

The loading screens were the worst. Now, I know this has historically had poor online play, but has anybody given that a shot yet?

Are going to setup DSP online play?

[10spro]

So fantastically realistic. Just finished a game with the default teams. Ventura and Bumgarner are pitching their a$$es off with the KC pitcher being substituted with J. Frasor in the 7th inning to protect their lead. As I am trailing late in the game I am being asked to pinch hit for Bumgarner which I decided not to the way he was performing for me at that point. The game is only 3-2 at in the 7th in favor of the Royals when I crushed a 2 seam fastball with a man on base to go ahead 4-3. Frasor just giving away a homer, walks the next batter as he seems disoriented with losing the game for Ventura. We go into the 9th inning and with my stubbornness to keep Bumgarner (I had him pitched about 92 pitches at that point), I misplaced my outfielder by a foot thinking that he would automatically pick up the easy fly ball, so it's man on. Sure enough the next batter takes me to the bleachers and they go ahead in the score 6-4.

Couldn't mount a come back but it felt so satisfying playing the game. I did find that the CPU pitcher can pick you off quite accurately even when you have moved the L1 by a step, so be careful trying to steal.

The color palette, the livelier crowd is quite noticeable, the gravel at the plate, everything is so realistically done. Using meter pitching along the offset catcher camera angle which suits me just fine.

I was so impressed that I ended buying the Vita version for my travels. Game on. Yes, would love to have a DSP league with this game.

If we have enough dudes, I am playing my Jays.

[MERACE]

- Loading screens are faster, which was much needed.

PRAISE ALL THAT IS HOLY!!!!

The loading screens were the worst. Now, I know this has historically had poor online play, but has anybody given that a shot yet?

Are going to setup DSP online play?

Thankfully, this game is a PS4 exclusive so I'm interested.


-MERACE

[Sudz]

Count me in for a league.

my PSN = vibrantorange

[Diablo25]

Streaming....
www.twitch.tv/epdiablo25

[10spro]

My online experience today has been good. No lags, just some odd choppiness in the animations from time to time but nothing that would deter the outcome of the game.

[Diablo25]

That's good news 10s. I just imported my MLB14 franchise over and it went off without a hitch. Game is badass.

[Diablo25]

I got the anniversary edition. Did anyone get any of the extras yet? I got the dynamic themes but nothing else. I'm guessing we'll get codes in an email.

[10spro]

I got the anniversary edition. Did anyone get any of the extras yet? I got the dynamic themes but nothing else. I'm guessing we'll get codes in an email.

I got a code for the skinit for the controller. Not sure if I am going to use it yet, will let everyone know should I decide not to by next week,

Gotta watch the 'Nucks vs Preds now (not used to these early times) but maybe we can hook up for a game later?

[Diablo25]

I got the anniversary edition. Did anyone get any of the extras yet? I got the dynamic themes but nothing else. I'm guessing we'll get codes in an email.

I got a code for the skinit for the controller. Not sure if I am going to use it yet, will let everyone know should I decide not to by next week,

Gotta watch the 'Nucks vs Preds now (not used to these early times) but maybe we can hook up for a game later?

Maybe. Look for me.