MLB 11 The Show a quick tidbit

[Diablo25]

I actually ALWAYS use the guess pitch feature. I pick the fastball all the time, that way I know if it's gonna be a fastball for sure, and it's probably offspeed if I guess wrong. Though it does suck when they have a cutter or a 2 seamer as well...but it still helps with the chances. I also never use the power swing, only the regular swing (x).

I also rarely use the Power swing but I am Loving the contact swing "O". Really helps with a 2 strike count and a weak hitter or even the pitcher at bat. 90% of the time I use the "X" and regular swing. I did go yard with Jim Thome last night on a contact swing. He hit 2 bombs for my fantasy drafted Buccos

[sportdan30]

I actually ALWAYS use the guess pitch feature. I pick the fastball all the time, that way I know if it's gonna be a fastball for sure, and it's probably offspeed if I guess wrong. Though it does suck when they have a cutter or a 2 seamer as well...but it still helps with the chances. I also never use the power swing, only the regular swing (x).

I also rarely use the Power swing but I am Loving the contact swing "O". Really helps with a 2 strike count and a weak hitter or even the pitcher at bat. 90% of the time I use the "X" and regular swing. I did go yard with Jim Thome last night on a contact swing. He hit 2 bombs for my fantasy drafted Buccos

What's the difference between the contact swing and the regular swing? I never use the regular swing, but perhaps I should.

[fletcher21]

I actually ALWAYS use the guess pitch feature. I pick the fastball all the time, that way I know if it's gonna be a fastball for sure, and it's probably offspeed if I guess wrong. Though it does suck when they have a cutter or a 2 seamer as well...but it still helps with the chances. I also never use the power swing, only the regular swing (x).

I also rarely use the Power swing but I am Loving the contact swing "O". Really helps with a 2 strike count and a weak hitter or even the pitcher at bat. 90% of the time I use the "X" and regular swing. I did go yard with Jim Thome last night on a contact swing. He hit 2 bombs for my fantasy drafted Buccos

What's the difference between the contact swing and the regular swing? I never use the regular swing, but perhaps I should.

Contact swing expands your contact area to give you a better chance of contact. It will not result in power, but it's good with 2 strikes. I don't even think it's possible to hit a home run with contact, but it's pretty lethal with someone like Mauer or another good hitter. It's kinda like the Ichiro approach of just slapping the ball in play.

[Zeppo]

I actually ALWAYS use the guess pitch feature. I pick the fastball all the time, that way I know if it's gonna be a fastball for sure, and it's probably offspeed if I guess wrong. Though it does suck when they have a cutter or a 2 seamer as well...but it still helps with the chances. I also never use the power swing, only the regular swing (x).

I used to do this as well, but I'm pretty sure there is some kind of penalty to your hitting attributes if you guess wrong, as opposed to only getting a bonus when you guess right. That worried me so I went back to playing with guess pitch off and I got better. I did tend to get pretty messed up at times with guess pitch screwing up my ability to recognize location, and I'd swing at fast balls even if they were miles out of the strike zone. I'd get so excited with the 'you guessed right' feedback I couldn't lay off! But I see where you are coming from, db, and that's a handy way to use that extra tool.

[skinsfan]

I actually ALWAYS use the guess pitch feature. I pick the fastball all the time, that way I know if it's gonna be a fastball for sure, and it's probably offspeed if I guess wrong. Though it does suck when they have a cutter or a 2 seamer as well...but it still helps with the chances. I also never use the power swing, only the regular swing (x).

For guys struggling to hit,I think it's best to not rely on it,and simply get used to picking up location and velocity with their own eyes.

[Brando70]

I actually ALWAYS use the guess pitch feature. I pick the fastball all the time, that way I know if it's gonna be a fastball for sure, and it's probably offspeed if I guess wrong. Though it does suck when they have a cutter or a 2 seamer as well...but it still helps with the chances. I also never use the power swing, only the regular swing (x).

For guys struggling to hit,I think it's best to not rely on it,and simply get used to picking up location and velocity with their own eyes.

I agree with this. If you're having trouble picking up location, you don't want that red strike zone indicator lighting up, because it really encourages you to swing.

My recommendation is, first time through the lineup, take pitches until you get a strike. If ahead in the count, look where your hot zones are and focus on those. With 2 strikes, I tend to not even use the L stick but instead focus on the heart of the plate. If the pitcher nails the corner, then so be it, but this way you can hit or foul off a lot of pitches that you might miss if you're looking low and they go high, etc.

The power swing is also not very useful except with big hitters who have large hot zones. In that case you can sit on a pitch when ahead. That's a pretty good time to use guess pitch -- guess fastball, park in a hot zone, and only swing if you get what you're looking for.

And click L3 to check the final pitch location and type after each pitch you let go or miss. Helps a lot with recognizing pitches and how much they move.

It's a challenging game, but in just one game I went from 21 strikeouts and no walks to 7 strikeouts and 6 walks tonight. You'll get used to it but it will probably never seem easy.

[sportdan30]

Had a breakout game last night using solely the "x" button. Smacked three home runs and banged out 10 hits. I feel cheated now that I haven't been using that button for swinging. Also catcher 9 has me seeing pitches much better.

[Rodster]

Had a breakout game last night using solely the "x" button. Smacked three home runs and banged out 10 hits. I feel cheated now that I haven't been using that button for swinging. Also catcher 9 has me seeing pitches much better.

Gave up on the analog gimmick?

[backbreaker]

Had a breakout game last night using solely the "x" button. Smacked three home runs and banged out 10 hits. I feel cheated now that I haven't been using that button for swinging. Also catcher 9 has me seeing pitches much better.

In my RTTS 2nd season, I have over 15hrs, and in my franchise 1st month, I sim 2 of 3 meaning I play at least 1 game of the series I have at least 1 or maybe even 2 hrs per game. I solely use analog hitting. Like I said in a previous post, when I first got the game, I spent about 8 hours in batting practice, i love it. My break through with analog came in batting practice.

[skinsfan]

Had a breakout game last night using solely the "x" button. Smacked three home runs and banged out 10 hits. I feel cheated now that I haven't been using that button for swinging. Also catcher 9 has me seeing pitches much better.

Gave up on the analog gimmick?

How is a well-implemented optional control scheme a gimmick?

[Rodster]

Had a breakout game last night using solely the "x" button. Smacked three home runs and banged out 10 hits. I feel cheated now that I haven't been using that button for swinging. Also catcher 9 has me seeing pitches much better.

Gave up on the analog gimmick?

How is a well-implemented optional control scheme a gimmick?

An oxymoron isn't it?

[RallyMonkey]

I'm going to ask this now after you've all had a few weeks with the game. I was a Show guy for years but even though the game is very good, I got bored. I switched to 2K's offering this year and absolutely love the pitching and hitting with the analog stick. Going back to button pushing is simply no longer an option as I feel that may be what staled out the Show for me. It appears a number of you have gone back to button pressing. Is the analog implementation really just a "gimmick" as just said or is it simply a learning curve?

I am thinking about picking it up but if I'm just going to go back to the buttons I fear it'll be a waste of money.

[GTHobbes]

Had a breakout game last night using solely the "x" button. Smacked three home runs and banged out 10 hits. I feel cheated now that I haven't been using that button for swinging. Also catcher 9 has me seeing pitches much better.

Gave up on the analog gimmick?

How is a well-implemented optional control scheme a gimmick?

I love the "gimmick" analog hitting, even though I thought I'd hate it going in. I only use it when I'm playing the challenge of the week, as I use buttons in my season mode. I might start using analog hitting in season eventually, but right now I love switching it up between the 2 different modes (button and analog). My only real complaint about analog now that I've gotten the hang of it is that you lose the ability to use a "contact" swing, like you can use in button mode.

Rod, didn't you trade your copy of The Show in a few weeks ago?

[Rodster]

Rod, didn't you trade your copy of The Show in a few weeks ago?

I decided to keep it and 2K11.

[webdanzer]

... My only real complaint about analog now that I've gotten the hang of it is that you lose the ability to use a "contact" swing, like you can use in button mode.

What? No you don't. You can still select the type of swing you want using the same buttons. I use contact all the time when I'm back in the count.

http://www.operationsports.com/forums/m ... -tips.html

'Analog hitting has the power/contact/normal swing functionality. The in-game strategy guide goes into detail on the differences between these three.'


I personally think the analog hitting is a little gimmicky, because it's not hard to learn the step timing and the timing is the same for each batter, and once you have that down your success is due more to the batter's ability than what you are doing with the joystick. I think analog pitching adds a lot to the game, though, and has me more involved with each pitch than I have been with previous offerings.

...and it's far more intuitive than the 2K game's gyrations.

[tjung0831]

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

[GTHobbes]

... My only real complaint about analog now that I've gotten the hang of it is that you lose the ability to use a "contact" swing, like you can use in button mode.

What? No you don't. You can still select the type of swing you want using the same buttons. I use contact all the time when I'm back in the count.

http://www.operationsports.com/forums/m ... -tips.html

'Analog hitting has the power/contact/normal swing functionality. The in-game strategy guide goes into detail on the differences between these three.'

Thanks, man...I didn't know that. Good to hear.

[snaz16]

Anyone getting any variety in weather,i.e. cloudy or rainy situations? I'm 12 games into a mini Cle. season and I've had nothing but sunshine and clear skies no matter where I'm at.

[dbdynsty25]

No varying weather for me either.

[sportdan30]

Had a breakout game last night using solely the "x" button. Smacked three home runs and banged out 10 hits. I feel cheated now that I haven't been using that button for swinging. Also catcher 9 has me seeing pitches much better.

Gave up on the analog gimmick?

I gave up on it a couple weeks ago. I occasionally go back to it, but the thing that irritates me about analog hitting it is that I seem to check swing way too much for whatever reason. Plus, I was always seemingly late on the swing. I just couldn't time it right. With the buttons, I still check swing when I don't mean to every now and then, but I just feel less button press happy and more patient for some reason.

[Rodster]

Had a breakout game last night using solely the "x" button. Smacked three home runs and banged out 10 hits. I feel cheated now that I haven't been using that button for swinging. Also catcher 9 has me seeing pitches much better.

Gave up on the analog gimmick?

I gave up on it a couple weeks ago. I occasionally go back to it, but the thing that irritates me about analog hitting it is that I seem to check swing way too much for whatever reason. Plus, I was always seemingly late on the swing. I just couldn't time it right. With the buttons, I still check swing when I don't mean to every now and then, but I just feel less button press happy and more patient for some reason.

I remember similar issues with MLB 2K7 back when they first tried analog hitting. I quickly saw that too as a gimmick and quickly switched back to the tried and true button hitting. I view analog pitching as a gimmick as well but it does make the 2K baseball game more fun, but not more realistic.

Where Sony and VC should do instead is concentrate on implementing solid motion controls with their respective games using the Move and Kinect camera. The Show team introduced Move batting but some have stated it's only for HR Derby.

[Diablo25]

Rod, I agree with your points on analog hitting (gimmicky) but the analog pitching is very cool in both games. I really like the pitching in The Show. I like the fact that you have to execute to get pitches over. In a pressure situation you can feel the pressure to hit the spot...as you would if you were on the hill for real. I have turned all analog stuff off except for the pitching. I haven't touched 2K11 in 2 weeks because their button hitting doesn't sniff The Show's. I will be popping it in soon though. It is a good game but after having The Show for a month there is no contest between the games - The Show is the clear winner IMO

I am loving my Pirates fantasy team to this point. I chose the Pirates because I love their unis and stadium...plus it's cool to play in the NL Central (I usually play with my Phils). I am 4-2 through 6 games and having a ball. My #1, Oswalt, shut down the Cards for 8 strong last night to get the 4-0 win. Really fun stuff.

My Pirates lineup:
Omar Infante - 2B
Alexi Ramirez - SS
Evan Longoria - 3B
Jason Heyward - RF
Bobby Abreu - LF
Matt Weiters - C
Colby Rasmussen - CF

Bench:
Thome, DeRosa, Alex Gonzalez, Carlos Gomez, Mike Aviles

Rotation:
Oswalt, Garza, Pavano, Wolf, Millwood

Setup - Contreras, Franklin, Nunez
Closer - Madson

[FifaInspected]

darn... just about won my first game... then I hung a curveball


Great fun even in the loss.

I used contact swing the entire game and really liked the results.. including a HR.

[Brando70]

I love the analog pitching and there's no way I'd go back to anything else. I'm actually walking a lot of guys for a change -- I played a 13 inning game last night where I walked 8 guys. Granted, I pitch to the corners and also turn the pitching indicator completely off to make it harder, but I like how I feel like I can't just spot pitches at will. Breaking balls in particular are much harder to execute.

I like the analog fielding as well. It feels much more natural to me because it's easier to move the the stick in the direction you want to throw rather than remembering the buttons. The cancel throw option is also really good. Had a situation last night where my 2B lunged to his right to snag a grounder. I initially went to throw to second to get the runner from first, but my fielder was in his off-balance animation and I didn't think I'd be able to get the runner going to second, so I switched the throw to 1st instead and got the sure out.

I did go back to zone hitting because I think it works better for me. I feel like I hit more realistically that way. I don't mind sticking with it because the hit variety in this game is so good.

Couple fun tidbits from my Cubs franchise:

--I'm six games in and had two guys hit for the cycle against me. Garret Jones of the Pirates did it and then Justin Upton did it. I think I've seen one cycle in all of my previous Shows on the PS3.

--Got two outfield assists with the same player (Tyler Colvin) in one game, a first for me. I got one out at the plate, and then a right-field-to-first out, which I've never done with this game. Russell Branyan hit a screaming one-hopper right to Colvin, who just barely got Branyan out at first. The announcers said "How slow do you have to be?" I love little touches like that.

--This is the first version of any baseball game I can remember where my pitching staff is not automatically leading the league in fewest walks allowed. I'm around 20th.

[Slumberland]

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).

I am loving my Pirates fantasy team to this point. I chose the Pirates because I love their unis and stadium...plus it's cool to play in the NL Central.

Funny, that's exactly what I do, for the same reasons. The first of their two throwback unis (with the yellow batting helmets) is KILLER. They've got the Pirates' vintage stadium in the game too, which is cool. My roster:

Carl Crawford - LF
Derek Jeter - SS
Jason Kubel - RF
Pablo Sandoval - 3B
Ike Davis - 1B
Jorge Posada - C
Angel Pagan - CF
Daniel Murphy/David Eckstein - 2B

Bench:
Jim Thome, Johnny Damon, Brett Gardner, young catcher I can't remember

Rotation:
Halladay, Hughes, Kazmir, Niese, Dickey

Setup - Byrdak, Nunez
Closer - Soriano

Forbes Field from the top of the Cathedral of Learning, love this pic:



I've been seeing a lot of Mets hats in black and yellow lately for some reason. I like 'em. Fitting now that we're like the big market Pirates, really.