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MLB 09: The Show - Official Thread

DoctorWho said:
I'm doing pretty shitty on all-star with my RTTS character. He bat .197 for all of spring training. I don't know why I turn off guess pitch, it might have something to do with the fact that it feels like I'm defeating the purpose of playing the most realistic baseball sim on the market.

Then again, they put it in the game.

I have to adjust those sliders though. Bring the pitch speed down a little bit and improve my contact slightly.

its strange because i feel like im hitting a lot of pitches well. rios for example. im hitting high fastballs DEAD ON and just popping up. frustrating. although i hit a homerun with snider (whose stats are fairly weak in the game) which was awesome.
 
DevelopmentArrested said:
its strange because i feel like im hitting a lot of pitches well. rios for example. im hitting high fastballs DEAD ON and just popping up. frustrating. although i hit a homerun with snider (whose stats are fairly weak in the game) which was awesome.

I hit my first spring training homer with Snider in my franchise. What I find is I'm hitting a lot of line drives but right at people. Are you getting a good amount of extra base hits?
 

Mifune

Mehmber
DoctorWho said:
I'm doing pretty shitty on all-star with my RTTS character. He bat .197 for all of spring training. I don't know why I turn off guess pitch, it might have something to do with the fact that it feels like I'm defeating the purpose of playing the most realistic baseball sim on the market.

Then again, they put it in the game.

I have to adjust those sliders though. Bring the pitch speed down a little bit and improve my contact slightly.

I think you guys are looking at guess-pitch all wrong. It's the OUTCOME of correctly using the feature that is realistic, not the feature itself. You should be guessing because it gives you that extra advantage when you're right...the closest a game can get to simulating the advantage a batter gets when he looks dead red on a 3-2 count and is right.

You shouldn't be hitting a buck ninety-seven in spring training. Guess pitch could be the boost you need.

And when the new Performance Enhancing Techniques report is published, I will deny that I was ever here.
 
Mifune said:
You should be guessing because it gives you that extra advantage when you're right...the closest a game can get to simulating the advantage a batter gets when he looks dead red on a 3-2 count and is right.

Doing this manually has largely the same effect, minus the visual aid. If you're 'looking' for a fastball middle-in on a 3-1 count, and you hold the plate coverage accordingly, a well timed swing will crush it more times than not.

I agree it can be a difference maker if you're struggling though, especially for timing. Its not 'cheating' per se, its just a little less pure in terms of simulation.
 
Mifune said:
I think you guys are looking at guess-pitch all wrong. It's the OUTCOME of correctly using the feature that is realistic, not the feature itself. You should be guessing because it gives you that extra advantage when you're right...the closest a game can get to simulating the advantage a batter gets when he looks dead red on a 3-2 count and is right.

You shouldn't be hitting a buck ninety-seven in spring training. Guess pitch could be the boost you need.

And when the new Performance Enhancing Techniques report is published, I will deny that I was ever here.

I guess I'm obsessed with guessing the pitch without the actual feature. After he's thrown me two fastballs inside I like to guess that he'll throw my something soft and away. Then I gear my own bat speed and swing with that in mind.

I don't think it is wrong to use the guess pitch feature though. Like I said, I'm obsessive like that. To be honest, I had no problems without it last year either. I played on HOF and just adjusted the sliders a little bit and was getting very realistic stats.
 

Shinjiru

Member
I picked up MLB 09 on Saturday and I have really been enjoying it so far.

However, I wish there was a way to adjust the overall difficulty and hitting ability independently. That way I could set the overall difficulty at All-Star or HOF and my hitting ability at Rookie (timing only). I have a hard enough time trying to swing on time and trying to keep myself from swinging at balls out of the strike zone.
 
DoctorWho said:
I hit my first spring training homer with Snider in my franchise. What I find is I'm hitting a lot of line drives but right at people. Are you getting a good amount of extra base hits?

homers and singles. that's about it no doubles or triples so far. I agree with the line drives.

Shinjiru said:
I picked up MLB 09 on Saturday and I have really been enjoying it so far.

However, I wish there was a way to adjust the overall difficulty and hitting ability independently. That way I could set the overall difficulty at All-Star or HOF and my hitting ability at Rookie (timing only). I have a hard enough time trying to swing on time and trying to keep myself from swinging at balls out of the strike zone.

I have to stop doing this as well.
 

Blackace

if you see me in a fight with a bear, don't help me fool, help the bear!
My Play-asia order just shipped as well.

Franchise question! Can you fire managers yet???
 
Just a look at stats from my last spring training game All-Star (no guess pitch) and default sliders:

Blue Jays 3/10/0 - The hits are coming but I'm just not hitting when it counts. Made some stupid running decisions too.

Phillies 11/15/1 - Don't know what happened here but a bad fielding decision cost me a couple of runs I could have prevented in the 4th. Also, testing out all these guys on my 40 man roster probably didn't help things.

Good game overall. I still can't think of a slider to adjust after this game. My first game against the Yanks I lost 3-1 with the Jays. So far, everything seems pretty realistic on the default sliders.

I though my plate discipline improved quite a bit in this game as well. One big stat that I was pleased about was the 3 doubles!!

Shinjiru said:
I picked up MLB 09 on Saturday and I have really been enjoying it so far.

However, I wish there was a way to adjust the overall difficulty and hitting ability independently. That way I could set the overall difficulty at All-Star or HOF and my hitting ability at Rookie (timing only). I have a hard enough time trying to swing on time and trying to keep myself from swinging at balls out of the strike zone.

Play with some of the hitting sliders on all-star and find something you like.
 

Corran Horn

May the Schwartz be with you
I want to pick it up at midnight tonight...but I need to study for a test :lol

Guess Ill wait till tomorrow :(
 

Blackace

if you see me in a fight with a bear, don't help me fool, help the bear!
ntb825 said:
I have the PS3 version pre-ordered but I may switch to PSP. Would be nice to have while playing WoW :D

o_O



I used the PSP version to hold me over until I got home to play the PS3 one.. :lol
 

Mrbob

Member
ntb825 said:
I have the PS3 version pre-ordered but I may switch to PSP. Would be nice to have while playing WoW :D

So you are buying a game to play, while you play a game?

You just blew my mind.
 

Coop

Member
I don't want to sound like a troll, but I really feel sorry for 360 only gamers. I just got done playing the 2k9 demo it's horrible. I like some parts like the presentation but that's about it. Can't wait to pick this up tomorrow
 

Balb

Member
I'm not sure if it's already been asked in this thread already but I'll ask anyway.

Is there a mode that teaches you how to play, or some kind of "idiot mode"? I bought MLB 08 The Show and the game was too complicated for me (and I pay close attention to MLB) and the random "tips" that it had in between games didn't exactly help me learn how to play so I gave up pretty quickly.
 
Coop said:
I don't want to sound like a troll, but I really feel sorry for 360 only gamers. I just got done playing the 2k9 demo it's horrible. I like some parts like the presentation but that's about it. Can't wait to pick this up tomorrow

I was a big 2K fan just a couple of years ago but their game has really gone downhill and simply cannot compete with the SCEA series. One of the big reasons I bought a PS3 was for the MLB series.
 
Coop said:
I don't want to sound like a troll, but I really feel sorry for 360 only gamers. I just got done playing the 2k9 demo it's horrible. I like some parts like the presentation but that's about it. Can't wait to pick this up tomorrow

dude you don't sound like a troll, that's the a flat out fact, plain and simple, I also tried out the 2k9 demo, its horrendous.
 

ntb825

Member
Mrbob said:
So you are buying a game to play, while you play a game?

You just blew my mind.
You've never done that?

I used to play Mario & Luigi on GBA and DS to pass time between rounds on Counter-Strike. Good times.
 
The fact that 2K and The Show will almost assuredly wind up with similar scores ("2K's super innovative stick wiggling") shows how reliable reviews are in the sports sim genre.

Balb said:
I'm not sure if it's already been asked in this thread already but I'll ask anyway.

Is there a mode that teaches you how to play, or some kind of "idiot mode"? I bought MLB 08 The Show and the game was too complicated for me (and I pay close attention to MLB) and the random "tips" that it had in between games didn't exactly help me learn how to play so I gave up pretty quickly.

Without knowing exactly what you're finding too complicated, I'd recommend bumping it down Rookie (easy difficulty) just to get the hitting timing down and learning to avoid junk pitches. When you get comfortable with that, bump it up to Veteran where you'll start using plate coverage (left stick) to make better contact. On All-Star and above, making good contact with the left stick becomes increasingly paramount. Also, there's a pretty extensive in-game strategy guide but no one seems to have noticed. ;)
 

_Angelus_

Banned
Coop said:
I don't want to sound like a troll, but I really feel sorry for 360 only gamers. I just got done playing the 2k9 demo it's horrible. I like some parts like the presentation but that's about it. Can't wait to pick this up tomorrow


Its not trolling at all. How many times have we forgiven 2K for the screw ups and bought the game again and again. There comes a point where you just loose enthusiasm and get tired of being let down. The demo was alright,nothing that made me want to run out and buy,but if I only had a 360 then I'd be buying a brand new PS3 on the spot with The Show at midnight tonight.

I love 2ks presentation and play calling but the actual gameplay is sorta like a B movie,fun but generic.
 

Windu

never heard about the cat, apparently
I love the thumbstick controls in the 2k series, kinda wish MLB has a option for that. And the commentary is great (even though its steve phillips), seems more natural than The Show. The real time stuff is kinda neat, but needs some work. Other than that though, meh. There is a reason I own a PS3, and that reason is MLB The Show.
 
Windu said:
I love the thumbstick controls in the 2k series, kinda wish MLB has a option for that. And the commentary is great (even though its steve phillips), seems more natural than The Show. The real time stuff is kinda neat, but needs some work. Other than that though, meh. There is a reason I own a PS3, and that reason is MLB The Show.

One big minus for me is the commentary this year. Very little has been recorded that is new for 09. :(
 
I can't stand both Gary Thorne or Steve Phillips. Better than Joe Morgan and John Miller probably though. Vasgersian is ok. Hudler drives me nuts. Campbell is good most of the time in the game.
 

_Angelus_

Banned
I'm going to mute the play calling in The Show,I really don't care for it. Here's what I'm hoping to do. Head to YouTube,punch in your teams announcer,record its audio (HR being hit)...then insert it in the Show when you've gone deep.
Thats all the Play calling I really want.
 
Windu said:
I love the thumbstick controls in the 2k series

They're fun I guess. But if the pitch velocity looks like Church League Softball 2K9 and I can drill anything on the black with the mere flick of a stick, it aint much of a hardball sim. The whole "put stick control in TS!" pleading perplexes me. Its just an abstraction for a pitch meter (or any other timing device). I guess its a little more involved, but I hardly feel more "immersed". Immersion is what pitch do I throw this guy in this count in this situation at this stage of the game, and having it all make sense. 'Wiggling' is just a means to an end.
 

Windu

never heard about the cat, apparently
Angelus said:
I'm going to mute the play calling in The Show,I really don't care for it. Here's what I'm hoping to do. Head to YouTube,punch in your teams announcer,record playing calling of a HR being hit,then insert it in the Show when you've gone deep. Thats all the Play calling I really want.
you can turn off the announcers and play your own music in-game. You can even make it sound like its coming out of the Stadium PA system.

edit:

2motfyp.jpg
 
Windu said:
I love the thumbstick controls in the 2k series, kinda wish MLB has a option for that. And the commentary is great (even though its steve phillips), seems more natural than The Show. The real time stuff is kinda neat, but needs some work. Other than that though, meh. There is a reason I own a PS3, and that reason is MLB The Show.

i agree 100%.

The controls in 2k9 are phenomenal. MLB 10 Show needs stick controls as alternative. Also, the commentary is definetely better. and the online less laggy. other than that though, the show blows it away.
 

shpankey

not an idiot
DevelopmentArrested said:
i leave guess pitch on because right now in 6 games played im batting .235 with 9 runs scored.
then again, im using the jays but shit man i can pitch but hitting in this game is a lot harder than 08 for me at least. and im only playing on veteran. maybe i just suck.
you don't just suck. believe me, lots of us are struggling with hitting. even accomplished sports gamers. gamers who hit well in 08 like me can't hit shit in 09. there are lots of us. they upped the bat speed... why ? i have no fucking idea but it's so frustrating to love a game so utterly and hate it at the same time.

i'm at the point now where i just went back to 08 where the hitting is flawlessly implemented.
 
I think stick controls in general are horrible. Hated it in FNR3, makes MLB 2K unplayable IMO and I'm glad MLB 09 doesn't do it. The only time it has worked is in the NBA 2K games. (NHL Games as well)
 

_Angelus_

Banned
Windu said:
you can turn off the announcers and play your own music in-game. You can even make it sound like its coming out of the Stadium PA system.

So it'll sound even more authentic then,pretty damn neat. I've got the Bugles from old Shea stadium which were played from the PA on an mp3 somewhere,that would be great for background audio.
 

shpankey

not an idiot
BigBlackGamer said:
I think stick controls in general are horrible. Hated it in FNR3, makes MLB 2K unplayable IMO and I'm glad MLB 09 doesn't do it. The only time it has worked is in the NBA 2K games. (NHL Games as well)
boy i was all set to go whaco post on you until i see you put nhl there at the end. :lol nhl with analog stick is godly. i could never EVER go back.

also, analog throwing in baseball doesn't feel to well, and also, for hitting, if anything, it should be from left to right, not back and forward. to me, that would feel more right. but honestly, i think buttons are fine for baseball.. it just doesn't really make much sense like it does in hockey, where its implementation is phenomenal.
 
Latest Spring Training game. (All-Star No Guess Pitch)

Tigers 1/7/0
Jays 3/13/0 (ME)

Things to note. All my runs came off of a 3-run Wells homer. Hit one double in this game with Rios. Sadly, as the stat indicates, I didn't hit in the clutch. I almost think this game is replicating the real Jays perfectly and that is why I'm having trouble hitting when it counts. We left the bases loaded with 1 out! Other than that, it is clear I'm starting to get my timing down and see the ball.

One thing that pissed me off. The only run that was scored by the Tigers was on a dropped pop-fly by Travis Snider. Notice the lack of an error? Yeah... :(
 
DoctorWho said:
Latest Spring Training game. (All-Star No Guess Pitch)

Tigers 1/7/0
Jays 3/13/0 (ME)

Things to note. All my runs came off of a 3-run Wells homer. Hit one double in this game with Rios. Sadly, as the stat indicates, I didn't hit in the clutch. I almost think this game is replicating the real Jays perfectly and that is why I'm having trouble hitting when it counts. We left the bases loaded with 1 out! Other than that, it is clear I'm starting to get my timing down and see the ball.

One thing that pissed me off. The only run that was scored by the Tigers was on a dropped pop-fly by Travis Snider. Notice the lack of an error? Yeah... :(

aahha so true to the hitting.
whos dhing .. lind or wells?
 

Core407

Banned
I won't get my new system until Tuesday (WTF DELL 3-5 days, bitches). I lent KZ2 to someone and MLB 09 is just going to sit.
 

Windu

never heard about the cat, apparently
bjscott05 said:
There is a video on PSN. Not direct gameplay, but they do show off the stadium.
yeah thats in the OP.

Damn, I could go get this game in 30 min. But I know I will stay up all night and have like a hour of sleep before I have to wake up super early and go to a class that I can't miss. This fucking sucks. :(
 
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