Major League Baseball 2K9 PC Patch Available, Impressions Here

[Peter_OS]

Quote: Originally Posted by SoxFan01605

Ahh well...sucks. At least 2K is taking care of it. Shame people won't have it for the weekend though. I'll update the other post so people don't falsely get their hopes up.

Thanks SoxFan01605 for keeping us updated. It sucks I know. I guess we have to wait a little longer for a patch.

[Saint19]

Quote: Originally Posted by mniner2003

How does that song from Motley Crue go??? "Girl, don't go away mad. Girl, just go away!"

Man the internet is brutal....geez why do have to treat each other this way?

[DaveDQ]

Quote: Originally Posted by mva5580

Then don't play it and get the hell out of here.

Thank you.

[DaveDQ]

Quote: Originally Posted by SoxFan01605

Okay...some quick impressions: ***Please bear in mind these are all on DEFAULT to allow for the most fair comparison. Some improvements/changes may be possible with slider tweaks*** -AI aggression: Mixed bag. I'm a bit disappointed, actually. First, let me say it IS CLEARLY IMPROVED...lol. Just wanted to say that so nobody thinks it didn't get addressed...it did. The IE is fixed, but the results are minimal overall. Guys will take slightly more pitches, but you still have to dance on the edges. Occassionally the AI will take a pitch a bit more in the zone, but it still needs to be close to the edge. I grooved several 3-0 fastballs and they swung every time still. I even loaded the bases and tried it (I mean, a mediocre hitter (and most very good hitters, to boot) won't be swinging 3-0 no matter WHERE you put it, but no-go. AI hit into a pop-out. They will take a few pitches more over the plate though. If you're behind in the count and throw it to their cold zone, they'll likely hold off. This is both blessing and curse though as it's clear (to me, at least) that the AI is WAY too tied to their hot/cold zones. In the end, it's improved, but likely not the game saver some might have been hoping for. If you were just wanting a slight tweak and were already enjoying the game for the most part, then you should be pleased, however. -OF play: This is the biggest improvement I noticed. MUCH less herky-jerky and more fluid paths to the ball. There is still that annoying slow down and it can negatively impact a play still, but the fact that the twitchy play has been mostly eliminated is a HUGE plus. Well done, overall on this one. -1B Glitch: Can't really comment on this as I never had this problem, not once. Needless to say, I still had no troubles post-patch if that helps anyone...lol. -Batting Stance Snap-Back: GREATLY reduced. The transition still has a very slight hitch, but nothing like it was pre-patch. This was a pleasant surprise. -Pitching accuracy: I noticed people saying (for the PS3 version) that there was a more realistic degree of variance. I don't see it. Either it didn't make it's way to PC or it's too small for me to tell. Pitches still go where you want on default control. I haven't tried it with release timing on post-patch. This should be a no-brainer to add though, if you're looking for more challenging pitching regardless of the patch, IMO. -Animations: Less instances of jerky animations overall, it seems. Obviouslt the issues with base animations aren't going anywhere, but some of the transitions seem better and they seem to have toned down the opportunity for you to see guys doing dumb stuff. Overall, the early returns are mixed. It's clearly a more playable than before (particularly the OF), but the real test will be if we can get some good sliders for the new AI aggression. Hopefully with good sliders, the difference will be more pronounced. As I said, this was all on DEFAULT so it's not time to hit the panic button. I was just personally underwhelmed with the AI agression tweak is all. Didn't have a chance to dive into Franchise Mode and check any of that out, sorry. I'll leave more impressions (perhaps slider ideas too, if no one gets to that first) as I come accross stuff. ***Again, FINAL DISCLAIMER...lol...these are INITIAL impressions. Not definitive or meant to be anything other than potentially informative.*** EDIT: Wireless 360 controller seems 100% good to go now. My settings actually save for classic/zone hitting! Good stuff. EDIT #2: A small thing, but important (at least to me) the fans now cheer for the right team now. Pre-patch, there were times when they would mix up and cheer for the road team making a good play and boo the home team for making a good play. This hasn't happened at all since the patch. As I said, it's minor...but something I noticed.

Thanks for the very well done impressions. I think it's safe to say they knew this game was entirely unfunushed and put it out the door. How do you get to all these things in what two weeks?

[ramenite]

Well, I played a game Rays @ Pirates(me). Used the legend sliders, except I put the cpu "strike zone tendency" to 0--this still lets you unlock cards.

Rays 05 - 12 - 00
Pirates 04 - 10 - 01

Pitch counts seem to be the big thing. With that SZT setting to 0, the Rays pitched 161 for 60B and 101Ks. I'm not sure if it was that I was using different settings, or if the pitching was harder, but I had 112 for 38K and 74Ks. I drew SIX walks, and unintentionally threw one myself.

The only error was Jack Wilson booting a ground ball. The outfielders played well, and no first base issues. Overall I think this patch fixed everything that it was supposed to.

[arseniotall]

Quote: Originally Posted by ramenite

Well, I played a game Rays @ Pirates(me). Used the legend sliders, except I put the cpu "strike zone tendency" to 0--this still lets you unlock cards. Rays 05 - 12 - 00 Pirates 04 - 10 - 01 Pitch counts seem to be the big thing. With that SZT setting to 0, the Rays pitched 161 for 60B and 101Ks. I'm not sure if it was that I was using different settings, or if the pitching was harder, but I had 112 for 38K and 74Ks. I drew SIX walks, and unintentionally threw one myself. The only error was Jack Wilson booting a ground ball. The outfielders played well, and no first base issues. Overall I think this patch fixed everything that it was supposed to.

was the cpu hacking at everything?

[kGinGreen]

Quote: Originally Posted by SoxFan01605

Okay...some quick impressions: ***Please bear in mind these are all on DEFAULT to allow for the most fair comparison. Some improvements/changes may be possible with slider tweaks*** -AI aggression: Mixed bag. I'm a bit disappointed, actually. First, let me say it IS CLEARLY IMPROVED...lol. Just wanted to say that so nobody thinks it didn't get addressed...it did. The IE is fixed, but the results are minimal overall. Guys will take slightly more pitches, but you still have to dance on the edges. Occassionally the AI will take a pitch a bit more in the zone, but it still needs to be close to the edge. I grooved several 3-0 fastballs and they swung every time still. I even loaded the bases and tried it (I mean, a mediocre hitter (and most very good hitters, to boot) won't be swinging 3-0 no matter WHERE you put it, but no-go. AI hit into a pop-out. They will take a few pitches more over the plate though. If you're behind in the count and throw it to their cold zone, they'll likely hold off. This is both blessing and curse though as it's clear (to me, at least) that the AI is WAY too tied to their hot/cold zones. In the end, it's improved, but likely not the game saver some might have been hoping for. If you were just wanting a slight tweak and were already enjoying the game for the most part, then you should be pleased, however. -OF play: This is the biggest improvement I noticed. MUCH less herky-jerky and more fluid paths to the ball. There is still that annoying slow down and it can negatively impact a play still, but the fact that the twitchy play has been mostly eliminated is a HUGE plus. Well done, overall on this one. -1B Glitch: Can't really comment on this as I never had this problem, not once. Needless to say, I still had no troubles post-patch if that helps anyone...lol. -Batting Stance Snap-Back: GREATLY reduced. The transition still has a very slight hitch, but nothing like it was pre-patch. This was a pleasant surprise. -Pitching accuracy: I noticed people saying (for the PS3 version) that there was a more realistic degree of variance. I don't see it. Either it didn't make it's way to PC or it's too small for me to tell. Pitches still go where you want on default control. I haven't tried it with release timing on post-patch. This should be a no-brainer to add though, if you're looking for more challenging pitching regardless of the patch, IMO. -Animations: Less instances of jerky animations overall, it seems. Obviouslt the issues with base animations aren't going anywhere, but some of the transitions seem better and they seem to have toned down the opportunity for you to see guys doing dumb stuff. Overall, the early returns are mixed. It's clearly a more playable than before (particularly the OF), but the real test will be if we can get some good sliders for the new AI aggression. Hopefully with good sliders, the difference will be more pronounced. As I said, this was all on DEFAULT so it's not time to hit the panic button. I was just personally underwhelmed with the AI agression tweak is all. Didn't have a chance to dive into Franchise Mode and check any of that out, sorry. I'll leave more impressions (perhaps slider ideas too, if no one gets to that first) as I come accross stuff. ***Again, FINAL DISCLAIMER...lol...these are INITIAL impressions. Not definitive or meant to be anything other than potentially informative.*** EDIT: Wireless 360 controller seems 100% good to go now. My settings actually save for classic/zone hitting! Good stuff. EDIT #2: A small thing, but important (at least to me) the fans now cheer for the right team now. Pre-patch, there were times when they would mix up and cheer for the road team making a good play and boo the home team for making a good play. This hasn't happened at all since the patch. As I said, it's minor...but something I noticed.

These are the best impressions yet. Thanks man. I'm still on the fence if I want to pick this up again for the ps3. I bought it once for the 360 and buying it twice seems lucricrous to me. I could rent it again and give it a shot. I've spent way too much money on baseball games this year though lol. Even renting it is an oxymoron because it just costs more money. I actually enjoyed this game prepatch though and i figure i'd enjoy it more post patch. I really miss the realtime stuff and the game overall was fun especially the control. But these companies suck ultimately and have me pigeon holed in spending my hard earned money. Both 2k and the show. I think i'm going to say no here.

[SoxFan01605]

Quote: Originally Posted by DaveDQ

Thanks for the very well done impressions. I think it's safe to say they knew this game was entirely unfunushed and put it out the door. How do you get to all these things in what two weeks?

No prob.

You bring up a good point about the state of the game. It was likely unreasonable to expect drastic improvements given the rushed state of the product overall. That said, I think they did a solid job overall in addressing these issues in the given time.

Some of them are just tough to balance to please everyone in such a short time (not excusing the initial issue that pu them in this position, but hopefully you get the drift)

The AI improvement is particulary tough becuase I can easily see people complaining if it were tweaked too much in the other direction. If the CPU never swung, it would be far too easy to exploit. i do think it is something they will have to revisit for 2K10, if they are serious about getting great pitcher/batter duels, however.

I've played another game and the importnat thing to note is overall the game feels less "glitchy" and on the brink of something either comedically rediculous or potentially disasterous...lol. It feels a bit more polished overall. Hopefully some good sliders can help amplify the AI batting tweaks and the game should certainly be more playable for plenty of people.

As I said before too, if you were looking for the patch to literally "save" the game for you, you'll probably be let down. Some of the stuff is probably too subtle in that regard.

However, those who were already mostly happy with the game or at least just barely less than satisfied, should find the game fairly solid now. The improvement is noticeable and the fielding in general is a considerable improvement...not perfect by any stretch, but significantly better.

Overall, it's a solid improvement and PC users should be fairly pleased, I think. That's also without checking the franchise improvements (some of which are, like the FA thing, from the first console patch too) that should help the overall experience as well.