PSP: MLB Impressions...

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 9:28 am

Spooky wrote:I have a question for the MLB veterans:

I cannot figure out batting. Does the analog stick do anything when batting for aiming or contact (in verteran mode)? The instructions say something about the d-pad and up for flies and down for grounders, but then go on to say something regarding the analog stick for, not only the pitch guess, but to correct the location if you guess wrong!?!?! I am confused and help would be much appreciated. There is more to hitting on Veteran mode than just timing right?

I don't know about that Spooky. Last night when I played I toyed with both the d-pad and the analog stick. I was doing so so, not great. This morning before work I played a couple innings. Instead of aiming, I just concentrated on timing the pitch. Hit parade! Two homeruns in the first inning as well as a single. By the way, I was playing on Veteran. Batting feels eerily similar to MVP if you ask me.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 9:31 am

Does anyone know how to change your defensive alignment?

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 9:34 am

Leebo,

I'll mess with the "arm accuracy" slider during lunch today and see if that makes a difference. Granted, I've only played to what amounts to one game. So, I'll definitely be able to put more time into it today. If I can get some extra base hits, I'll be loving this game. If they could just incorporate the brilliance of MVP when it comes to fielding, this game would be number one.

In regards to pitching, I do get what you're saying. I played this game a couple years ago and remember now that you have to aim a bit higher on breaking balls and such. That should be an easy fix to overcome.

I still can't get over the presenation. It's just about perfect in my eyes and this is a portable game! Wow.

Sport73 · Post by **Sport73** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 9:54 am

Trouble in Paradise?

I logged on this morning specifically to see if anyone was having the same issue that I am with this otherwise great title.

Wild pitches and passed balls are an epidemic in my games thus far, with an average of more than 4-5 per game. It wouldn't concern me if I could blame my inaccurary with the pitching meter, but even pitches that are on the mark (or very close) often get by the catcher and have led to runs and games lost.

Please comment if you've found turning errors down will alleviate this, and/or if you're having the same issue.

Hitting

My understanding of the hitting system is fairly straightforward. You can guess the pitch location with the R Trigger and both the pitch type button and the location with the analog stick. In addition, you can tap the D-Pad to 'favor' or push your hit to a specific area (high, grounder, pull, push) Once the pitch is in motion, you AIM for it using the analog stick (zone hitting much like high heat) and time your swing. Get it right and you'll make solid contact. Guess right on location and you'll get a red target illuminating the spot. Guess right with pitch type and you get a target as well. Guess both and get a glowing red target and a good shot at a dinger.

That's my understanding anyway...

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 9:57 am

Sport73 wrote: Hitting

My understanding of the hitting system is fairly straightforward. You can guess the pitch location with the R Trigger and both the pitch type button and the location with the analog stick. In addition, you can tap the D-Pad to 'favor' or push your hit to a specific area (high, grounder, pull, push) Once the pitch is in motion, you AIM for it using the analog stick (zone hitting much like high heat) and time your swing. Get it right and you'll make solid contact. Guess right on location and you'll get a red target illuminating the spot. Guess right with pitch type and you get a target as well. Guess both and get a glowing red target and a good shot at a dinger.

That's my understanding anyway...

Thanks Sport. I was aware of everything you said except for the aiming part. I could not find anything in the manual that stated this and could not tell if the analog stick was doing anything when I was trying to aim during a ptich or swing.

Oh, and I had quite a few passed balls last night too, bt I equated that to user error.

RallyMonkey · Post by **RallyMonkey** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 10:10 am

Wild pitches and passed balls are an epidemic in my games thus far, with an average of more than 4-5 per game.

See above post about breaking pitches. You and I have played a ton of MVP and the pitch cursor is for where the pitch is expected to end up. Here breaking balls should be placed where you want the pitches break to BEGIN. I adjusted last night and removed virtually all passed balls (with a few exceptions, especially when the pitcher started to wear down). My concern is primarily with hit batsmen by the CPU. Big Unit hit four guys in my first season game, and three guys in my first exhibition game. Is this typical in the PS2 version?

Other than that, this game is WAY more than i expected from a handheld. Hit variety for me has been great. Not only placement of hits, but extra base hits, where the extra base hits went, the different types of outs.

K's on pitches both in AND out of the zone by the CPU. What a joy to see.

I am having an issue settling in under pop ups. The baseball indicator is a little confusing for me in that i settle in in what i THINK is the center, only to have it shrink and move. I make a lot of catches that the commentator identifies as "he looked a little unsure of himself on that catch".

As previously said, the commentary and stadiums are great. With this out i can honestly say that my PSP is seeing, and will continue to see, more play time than my XBOX, as horrible as that might sound for my poor XBOX.

I will probably pick up MVP as well because i love it on my XBOX and having two baseball games on the PSP will probably be pure heaven.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 10:19 am

I too did notice the hit batters. I was seeing a hit batter or two a game, but I didn't mind too much because generally I don't draw enough walks. In the 4 or 5 games I played I think I had 5 or 6 guys hit. I never had more than 2 batters hit in one game.

I was having a little trouble with pop ups and fly balls as well. It seems a little harder or more awkward than the PS2 version.

Badgun · Post by **Badgun** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 10:23 am

sportdan30 wrote:Well, I caved and picked up MLB. What a beautiful representation of baseball. The commentary and atmosphere is wonderful. Pitching is a joy as is hitting.

However, the one sore spot for me is the arm strength of the players. I've toyed with it and turned it all the way down and frankly, it doesn't seem to make a darn bit of difference. The reason being is that I'm not seeing any extra base hits. Everything seems station to station for the most part.

Also, on default there are just way to many passed balls for both myself and the CPU. I guess turning down error frequency would help?

I haven't really messed with the arm accuracy but everything is on line with the default settings.

I haven't completely decided whether or not I'm going to keep this game. It's soooo close to being perfect that it's frusturating. Fortunately, the manager with whom I'm friendly with at EB said I could return it within a few days for credit towards MVP or another game.

Not sure if you played the PS2 version or not, but the arm strength was an issue there as well. You can get extra base hits in the gap, but they're a little tougher to get down the lines. I turned the arm strength down and immediately started seeing more extra base hits. I think with the PSP version that I am going to turn auto baserunning on as well. The hesitation you make when trying to manually advance a runner could cause you to be out at 2nd.

I would try not only turning the arm strength down, but turning the baserunning speed up and going to auto baserunning. Just a thought.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 11:55 am

Has anyone else noticed that it's hard as hell to hit the ball during day games? Maybe it was the backdrop at Dolphins Stadium (Marlins), but it was TOUGH. I hope it's not like that at all of the stadiums during day games. It's almost like it's too bright. Other than that, the game is DOPE.

fatheadX · Post by **fatheadX** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 12:12 pm

I took my PSP online for the first time last night and when I got there, ScoopBrady was there as well. We played a game of MLB: I chose the Rockies (ranked 30th) and he graciously changed from his Cubbies to the equally lowly Royals (ranked 29th). Man, it sucks not being able to communicate during an online game. It was a good game, but the lag was killing us. There were many, many strikeouts, most due to the lag. I took to just pitching it down the middle, but even then, it was tough to hit. Scoop's battery died in the 8th inning, so he dropped, but I was given no message as such. His pitcher just simply never pitched again. I will try again, but unless there are improvements in lag, I don't see this as working well enough for more than the novelty of it.

Zeppo · Post by **Zeppo** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 12:25 pm

fatheadX wrote:Scoop's battery died in the 8th inning, so he dropped, but I was given no message as such. His pitcher just simply never pitched again.

Now THAT is classic! Too funny! How long did you sit there before you convinced yourself he was gone? I know if it were myself, I would still be waiting, thinking 'he's got to be there, I'll just wait one more minute.'

All this positive gameply feedback is making it tough not to go out and get one of these things. But, all I want is gameplay, I don't need all the other stuff, and at that price point, I feel like I will be paying a premium price for a lot of features I won't ever use. I wish there were a 'game only' version of the PSP that sold for $150 or less. If there were, I'd already have one!

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 12:44 pm

Zeppo wrote:
fatheadX wrote:Scoop's battery died in the 8th inning, so he dropped, but I was given no message as such. His pitcher just simply never pitched again.
Now THAT is classic! Too funny! How long did you sit there before you convinced yourself he was gone? I know if it were myself, I would still be waiting, thinking 'he's got to be there, I'll just wait one more minute.'

Wow, I figured it would have disconnected you or at least told you that I was disconnected. In the future I'll have to remember to play while plugged in or at least notice the flashing green light. I felt like such an idiot that my battery ran out. The lag online for our game was pretty bad but we still managed to have fun. I've read it's pretty smooth from guys at the OS boards so maybe it was a fluke last night.

I've also noticed a lot of passed balls and such but the difference here, rather than MLB 2k5, is the fact that it's me that's wild, not the cpu really. I'm confident that will go away after I get used to the meter more. I really love how it's tougher to pitch in the PSP version too.

fatheadX · Post by **fatheadX** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 12:48 pm

We had a glitch just before that gave a message that said 'heavy traffic' or something to that effect. It lasted only ten seconds, but I was surprised when it came back and didn't lock up completely. I threw a pitch and I think his guy swung for strike three, ending the inning. Then at the beginning of the next inning his pitcher just stood there. I wondered immediately if something had happened because Scoop hadn't delayed at all up to that point, but I still waited two or three minutes. Because it's portable, I then turned on my computer to check DSP to see if he sent a message, all the while checking to make sure a pitch wasn't thrown. After about ten minutes, I quit the game. Then I found a PM from Scoop. I am surprised there is nothing from MLB saying your opponent is gone or something. Pretty funny!

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 2:08 pm

(Veteran level) Just played a few more innings during lunch against Hudson and the Braves. It's reaffirmed the fact that hitting is timing based. I didn't use the d-pad or the analog stick and smacked the ball around to all fields. I had 12 hits in five innings including two homeruns by Walker.

I think I'm definitely going to have to turn down the contact slider for both myself and the AI. I didn't touch my contact slider, but I did with the AI slider. It seemed to have made quite a difference. Over the course of the next two innings, they only salvaged a few hits compared to 11 they had gotten through three and a half. I do like the fact they will swing out of the strike zone unlike MVP. The only possible negative thing I saw from decreasing the contact slider is the number of strikeouts increased. Hopefully I'll find a nice balance.

I switched to auto baserunning and Walker legged out a double. He then actually took third base when the outfielder tried to throw the runner out at home. That was my first and only double. Again, I only played a few innings so I'll see how it goes this evening.

I gotta get used to diving and jumping with the right trigger. I guess my reflexes are slow but there have been some balls I could have possibly fielded if I would have dove. Dove...dived.....help me grammar specialists.

That's about it. Still getting a good feel for the game. I don't see how anyone can finish a game in under a half hour though.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 6:43 pm

The in-season trade logic appears to be way off, so you can really rip off the computer if you want. Mark Loretta for Augie Ojeda? Why not!

The throwing speeds are crazy, even turned down all the way.

Still, an amazing feat to get a baseball game this deep onto a portable that really reminds me of playing High Heat (don't have a PS2, so this is my first MLB experience).

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 10:03 pm

Played a semi-enjoyable game against the Tigers. Turned contact all the way down for both teams and still managed to get around 9 hits per team. That's better than what I was getting at the default settings.

One relatively huge issue came in the 8th when Mabry line a gapper between left and center. Both fielders went to chase after the ball and ran into the wall and just ran in place. Mabry touched them all for an inside the park homerun.

I still can't get over how incredible the commentary is in this game compared to MVP.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 10:42 pm

I've really noticed pitcher fatigue playing a big role in games so far. The ball clearly loses movement and velocity, allowing both the CPU and player to get more (and more solid) hits. This is something that I think a lot of games have not implemented very well.

Badgun · Post by **Badgun** » Fri Apr 15, 2005 12:01 am

db,
You're right about day games...can't see a thing. I just played Houston at Minute Maid park in an afternoon game and it was awful. The ball just blends in with the light background too well. I struck out 14 times and lost 3-1. I don't remember if you can change the time of day or not, but if I can't I doubt I'll ever win a day game.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Fri Apr 15, 2005 12:11 am

Badgun wrote:You're right about day games...can't see a thing. I just played Houston at Minute Maid park in an afternoon game and it was awful. The ball just blends in with the light background too well. I struck out 14 times and lost 3-1. I don't remember if you can change the time of day or not, but if I can't I doubt I'll ever win a day game.

You can't change it during the season...you can however, change it in exhibition games. I guess I'm just going to lose all of the day games too. Oh well.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Fri Apr 15, 2005 8:32 am

sportdan30 wrote:One relatively huge issue came in the 8th when Mabry line a gapper between left and center. Both fielders went to chase after the ball and ran into the wall and just ran in place. Mabry touched them all for an inside the park homerun.

I had this happen once against me. The CPU hit a ball to right field over Abreau's head. I tried to pickup the ball and couldn't. Lofton (controlled by the CPU) came over and was "Mario running" against the wall and couldn't pickup the ball either. I couldn't pickup the ball with either of them. I thought it was just me. It's only happened once. I didn't mention it because I think my tolerance for this stuff has increased. In my last game of MVP on Xbox I hit a screamer down the first base line that looked foul. Apparently, the CPU thought it was foul because I circled the bases uncontested for a homerun.

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Fri Apr 15, 2005 9:01 am

Last night I enjoyed the game a great deal more as I changed from the pitching "meter" to pitching "classic". What I found for me at least is that I'm concentrating so much on the meter so much that I'm always a half second slow in responding to the ball when it's put in play. With classic, I'm ready whenever and wherever the ball is hit. The meter to me is more of a distraction. Funny thing is that I enjoy it in MVP but not in MLB.

Well, today is the day I decide whether or not I keep this game. Gonna start a 82 game season and see if it's a game that's going to hold my interest. It's steadily gotten better and better the last couple days.

jLp vAkEr0 · Post by **jLp vAkEr0** » Fri Apr 15, 2005 9:02 am

dbdynsty25 wrote:
Badgun wrote:You're right about day games...can't see a thing. I just played Houston at Minute Maid park in an afternoon game and it was awful. The ball just blends in with the light background too well. I struck out 14 times and lost 3-1. I don't remember if you can change the time of day or not, but if I can't I doubt I'll ever win a day game.
You can't change it during the season...you can however, change it in exhibition games. I guess I'm just going to lose all of the day games too. Oh well.

Db:

When you start a new season, it gives you a option to choose if you want to play all your games in day or night. You must have missed it.

You won't be able change the option once you start the season.

I picked night games of course

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Fri Apr 15, 2005 9:09 am

sportdan30 wrote:Last night I enjoyed the game a great deal more as I changed from the pitching "meter" to pitching "classic". What I found for me at least is that I'm concentrating so much on the meter so much that I'm always a half second slow in responding to the ball when it's put in play. With classic, I'm ready whenever and wherever the ball is hit. The meter to me is more of a distraction. Funny thing is that I enjoy it in MVP but not in MLB.

I may go to classic pitching as well. It's not like I'm throwing any walks with the meter anyway. I don't understand why they couldn't have it similar to MVP's system as far as button pushes go. Requiring users to select the pitch and then the location causes approximately 16,200 unnecessary button presses during a season.

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Fri Apr 15, 2005 9:25 am

I haven't had any problems at Wrigley for day games.

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Fri Apr 15, 2005 9:37 am

I have not had any issue with day games either and I have played at a few different parks. Are you talking about losing the ball against the grass or the background?