MVP: Is low-and-away pitch this year's lefty bug?

packmanuk04 · Post by **packmanuk04** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 1:54 pm

PK, What are your tweaks to pro level ? I looked but couldn't see them listed in the thread.

Slumberland · Post by **Slumberland** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 1:59 pm

I agree with the foul ball slider being the culprit for poor offensive production. But what do I know?

Personally, I don't feel the need to touch the baserunner speed or arm strength sliders. I get my share of close plays at first, triples and whatnot, with all the sliders at default. All I've monkeyed with is the human pitching sliders.

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 2:09 pm

Slumberland wrote:I agree with the foul ball slider being the culprit for poor offensive production. But what do I know?

Personally, I don't feel the need to touch the baserunner speed or arm strength sliders. I get my share of close plays at first, triples and whatnot, with all the sliders at default. All I've monkeyed with is the human pitching sliders.

I am sure that the foul ball slider affects mostly foul pop ups. I turned them back to 0, and there were still plenty of tips and fouls to the backstop in the two games I've played since.

I am going to turn the user meter down again, as it is really too easy to hit the perfect spot on the meter for me, and see if that does anything. If it doesn't screw up the CPU hitting, I may just leave it at that. I'm drawing walks on default levels. I even walked the first two batters I faced with Prior -- I was just missing my spots around the edges and got behind.

Oh, while the CPU only scored 1 and 3 runs in the two games since I went back to AS default, they were definitely hitting better. I just made some nice defensive plays to keep their runners from scoring.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 2:34 pm

Slumberland wrote:I agree with the foul ball slider being the culprit for poor offensive production. But what do I know?

Personally, I don't feel the need to touch the baserunner speed or arm strength sliders. I get my share of close plays at first, triples and whatnot, with all the sliders at default. All I've monkeyed with is the human pitching sliders.

Slumber:

Like DB, I wasn't seeing quite enough balls hit into the gaps reach the wall due to the fast outfielders, even playing with a variety of teams, so there weren't quite as many doubles as I think is realistic. Plus the CPU and my guys (when I let the CPU handle baserunner) were running a bit too much station to station on most plays, and they're both a bit more aggressive with DB's tweaks.

But the tweaks are minor and a matter of personal taste rather than a fix for a flaw.

MVP really is a kick-ass game right out of the box. Big props to EA.

Take care,
PK

packmanuk04 · Post by **packmanuk04** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 2:48 pm

So can you let me have your minor tweaks pk so that I can try them out.

Thanks

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 3:03 pm

Pack...here's what I changed.

User Pitch Meter Difficulty -20
User Pitch Control -50

CPU MVP Outfielder Speed -5
Human MVP Outfielder Speed -5
CPU Manual Infielder Speed -5
Human Manual Infielder Speed -5

CPU Foul Ball Frequency +10
User Foul Ball Frequency +10

CPU Baserunning Speed +3
Human Baserunning Speed +3

That's it. Obviously I've made it more difficult to pitch as I got better at the game. These tweaks are on All-Star Level. Like PK said, there weren't enough extra base hits because of the speedy outfielders. Minor tweaks were enough to fix it (which was pretty much my only beef with the game whatsoever).

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 3:04 pm

Pack:

I'm literally heading out the door with the family to go skiing. I'll look up DB's tweaks -- deserved credit due -- later today and post them.

Sorry.

Thanks,
PK

packmanuk04 · Post by **packmanuk04** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 3:09 pm

Thanks, i'll try them out later.

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 3:48 pm

I think this slider consensus thing ain't gonna happen. I played 6 games last night, going back and forth tweaking each and every slider I had messed with to see if I could narrow down the one that made such a difference.

In my case, it seemed to be user pitch difficulty.

Here's why I think that is. When you nail your spot, the ball is going to go where you want it to go, no matter what your user control is. When you release in blue, the game seems to go into it's meatball or random location routine. From what I've seen, it's when you release in that 'middle zone' (which you like get none of when meter difficulty is set at -50) that the user control rating comes into play. I deliberately released some there, and with user control at -50, I pitched more balls.

What also seems to be the case, and what some of you had already observed, is that the CPU seems to actually have a harder time hitting balls released in the blue (if they are not crushed for HR's in meatball mode) when you miss in that middle zone, the cpu seems to hit you better than if you released in blue.

I really focused on foul balls, and they didn't really seem to hurt either me or the cpu much offensively. If anything, where I noticed the foul ball slider making the most difference is both I and the CPU were able to get our bats on and foul off pitches out of the strikezone, that otherwise would have been misses. Thus, the CPU could foul a good pitch of yours off and make you try again.

Using user control at -50, pitching meter difficulty at 0, and user and cpu fouls at 40, I was having some awesome games, pitching some balls, seeing runs scored, and actually seeing my pitchers getting fatigued a bit earlier due to higher pitch count.

YMMV, of course, but of all the things I played with (user control, meter difficulty, foul balls, swing frequency) by far the meter difficulty change seemed to make the most difference.

Slumberland · Post by **Slumberland** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 4:15 pm

Very interesting stuff, Web! I don't think I've actually tried changing the accuracy slider but not the meter difficulty slider. I'll give it a try.

Who needs consensus anyway.

HipE · Post by **HipE** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 4:16 pm

Have any of you guys tried the MVP fielding option? I didn't even realize it existed until a few games ago, I thought manual was as difficult as you could make it. This has completely changed the CPU offense for me. I'm giving up an extra 3-5 hits a game that would have been outs on manual. Instead of every line drive through the infield getting snagged by a fielder making an incredible read, balls are now actually getting through for hits. I've seen a tremendous increase in CPU doubles as I'm now coming up short on balls I used to run down in the gap. This has really helped make the game much more fun for me, as my team era was just a tad over 2 before making the switch from manual to MVP fielding.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 4:44 pm

The difference, as I understand it, is that on MVP, you don't get the first step. When you play on manual, the CPU gets you going in the right direction as soon as the ball is hit. When you're on MVP, you're in complete control.

Gangrel · Post by **Gangrel** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 4:50 pm

I'm always leery of that though because sometimes you can't see the fielder due to the camera angle, and without the automatic first step or two, I'd be out of position every time.

As it is now, I am sometimes out of position due to extreme brain cramps!

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 4:52 pm

Web and Hip, thanks for the tips. I hadn't thought about turning down User control while leaving the meter at 0, I'll have to try that. I'll try the MVP thing too, the IF is a little too adept at snagging hard-hit balls.

BTW, I absolutely love it when you know you just threw a bad pitch that's going to get crushed. I was up 1-0 in against the Brewers at Wrigley, one guy on for Mil. and Geoff Jenkins at the plate. I threw a 0-1 low fastball with Remlinger and released too early (which makes the 4-seamer run higher). As soon as I missed it I thought, "that's out of here," and sure enough Jenkins took it to the right field bleachers.

matthewk · Post by **matthewk** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 7:29 pm

I am still loving this game with one BIG exception.....I cannot hit any Home Runs!!!!! I hit a few early on in my season, but I am having a serious power outage the last 10 games or so.

I know pressing up is designed to put air under the ball, but I usually end up with weak pop ups rather than solid hits. I do not know what to do in order to get some homers. I have worked on timing and not pressing the left stick, I've went with pitches, and even taken more pitches waitnig for some meatballs. I am scoring 3-4 runs a game, but 90% of my hits are singles. I'm averaging 10 hits a game, but no HRs and no triples. I just cannot seem to make solid contact.

This is killing me. Everything else about MVP has been well above expectations. To top it off, I'm only on PRO!!

Boom · Post by **Boom** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 7:34 pm

I've actually started hitting more home-runs since leaving my left hand OFF of the damn analog stick lol

The only time I use the left analog stick to press up, down, left or right is when the pitcher makes a mistake and it shows me the red or blue icon. Then it's on, but other than that I just hit for line drives and have had quite a few dingers actually.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 7:48 pm

Boom wrote:I've actually started hitting more home-runs since leaving my left hand OFF of the damn analog stick lol

Same here. My instinct, especially when I see the red circle light up in the zone to tip a meatball, is to push up on the left stick to give the hit more power. Instead, I end up hitting a pop fly to the outfield.

Now I just keep my hand off the stick on a lot of pitches, and I'm going yard more often. Not as much as Barry Bonds on "The Clear," but a reasonable amount.

Take care,
PK

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 7:50 pm

dbdynsty25 wrote:Pack...here's what I changed.

User Pitch Meter Difficulty -20
User Pitch Control -50

CPU MVP Outfielder Speed -5
Human MVP Outfielder Speed -5
CPU Manual Infielder Speed -5
Human Manual Infielder Speed -5

CPU Foul Ball Frequency +10
User Foul Ball Frequency +10

CPU Baserunning Speed +3
Human Baserunning Speed +3

That's it. Obviously I've made it more difficult to pitch as I got better at the game. These tweaks are on All-Star Level. Like PK said, there weren't enough extra base hits because of the speedy outfielders. Minor tweaks were enough to fix it (which was pretty much my only beef with the game whatsoever).

Pack:

These are the DB 2.0 settings, because in the original MVP impressions thread all he listed was changing CPU and human baserunning speed +3 and human and CPU infielder and outfielder speeds -3.

That's what I used last night, and they were mint.

Good luck! Either way, DB is on to something here.

Take care,
PK

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 7:52 pm

I use the stick, but I have eliminated the extremes. I usually aim between 2 and 3 o'clock or 9 and 10. I am having success, especially drilling pitches to the opposite field for doubles.

Just DON'T touch the power slider...LOL. I swear the sliders are evil. I hit more homeruns on default than I do with power +50.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 8:14 pm

pk500 wrote:These are the DB 2.0 settings, because in the original MVP impressions thread all he listed was changing CPU and human baserunning speed +3 and human and CPU infielder and outfielder speeds -3.

Right...remember, I said I have adjusted a little bit as I got better at the game.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 8:19 pm

I still suck, so your original settings work groovy for me. They have made an excellent game even better.

I can't believe I'm praising a baseball game so much. It's like the soccer skeptics in here praising WE 8. A good game is a good game, period.

Take care,
PK

matthewk · Post by **matthewk** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 9:47 pm

Leebo33 wrote:I use the stick, but I have eliminated the extremes. I usually aim between 2 and 3 o'clock or 9 and 10. I am having success, especially drilling pitches to the opposite field for doubles.

Just DON'T touch the power slider...LOL. I swear the sliders are evil. I hit more homeruns on default than I do with power +50.

Seriously? I just upped it to +40 thinking it would help. I'll try a couple games at 0 and se what happens.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 10:05 pm

matthewk wrote:
Leebo33 wrote:I use the stick, but I have eliminated the extremes. I usually aim between 2 and 3 o'clock or 9 and 10. I am having success, especially drilling pitches to the opposite field for doubles.

Just DON'T touch the power slider...LOL. I swear the sliders are evil. I hit more homeruns on default than I do with power +50.
Seriously? I just upped it to +40 thinking it would help. I'll try a couple games at 0 and se what happens.

I went six games without a homerun with the power at 50 on Pro. I usually hit at least one a game and never go without one for more than 2 or 3 games with the power at zero. I don't want to start a conspiracy theory, but I think there is a something strange going on. I thought this was interesting.

http://forums.operationsports.com/vBull ... ge=1&pp=10

HipE · Post by **HipE** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 10:07 pm

Holding up and in is the easiest way to hit homeruns. If you get a pitch in the upper/inside quarter of the strike zone, and you time it right while holding up and in, you will most likely hit it out. You can even hit low pitches from the middle in while holding up and in if you time it right. My team is leading the league in homeruns right now, and its not even close. It isn't just a couple of guys hitting them either. I've got at least four homers with every regular on my team, and light hitting Jerry Hairston Jr. has 10 already.

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 10:40 pm

HipE wrote:Holding up and in is the easiest way to hit homeruns. If you get a pitch in the upper/inside quarter of the strike zone, and you time it right while holding up and in, you will most likely hit it out. You can even hit low pitches from the middle in while holding up and in if you time it right. My team is leading the league in homeruns right now, and its not even close. It isn't just a couple of guys hitting them either. I've got at least four homers with every regular on my team, and light hitting Jerry Hairston Jr. has 10 already.

Right