MLB 13 Ball Physics Discussion

[nomo17k]

I'd like to have a place to have discussions on the new ball physics in MLB 13, so I figured to create one myself.

MLB 13 is entirely on a new level in terms of ball physics, but how good really is it? Where does it still fall short? That sort of discussion I'd like to have. Basically it can be anything about the ball physics in the game though....

I personally will be posting probably the movies of the ball physics I like in the game, and from the real baseball game videos for the kind of ball physics that I don't see in the game yet. The latter especially is the key, since that give us ideas about how this aspect of the game can still be improved.



I am going to start to with one that I don't see in the game yet... Jimmy Rollins 2000th career hit:

Spoiler

[m1ke_nyc]

I have one issue with the ball physics, too many pitchers getting hit with comebackers. It happens several times a game it seems.

[nomo17k]

Quote: Originally Posted by ratedmoney

I have one issue with the ball physics, too many pitchers getting hit with comebackers. It happens several times a game it seems.

I think this isn't really a ball physics issue. In order to hit pitchers, you need to hit the ball up the middle and low enough (i.e., grounders or line drives flying low), so it's probably a combination of timing and generating the same hit type.

[wisdom less13]

I got a hit that was similar to the Rollins', but over the 3rd baseman's head. Was a walk-off in Spring Training. I was almost as excited to the hit than the walk-off. Almost...

[ate55]

Still not seeing enough of ball tailing away on flyballs hit to opposite field. The video you posted, never seen a high hopper like that!

[TonyMoraco]

I think it has to do with the Baseball in the game not being "Heavy" enough, that's why balls hit stay longer in the air and don't fall in between infielder and outfielder, etc...and that is why balls hit don't bounce as high on infield hits or as far on deflections.

I also think fielder reaction is not a problem, it's the animations to get to ball that are too quick.

IMO, hopefully it can be calibrated in the future

[ralphieboy11]

I think there were some great strides this year, but I also see room for improvement. Last year everything felt a bit too "hard hit". Most batted balls were solidly hit. You didn't see any bloop hits like we see this year. That part I like very much.

I don't want to say the soft hits have been overdone this year, but there are times where I see ball reactions that don't quite seem realistic. There may be a few too many soft tappers in front of the mound this year. Also, sometimes I see a soft pop up on the infield or in foul ground that might only travel 20 feet or less in the air. When a fastball is coming in at 90 mph it's hard to imagine a full swing results in a tiny pop up behind the catcher that he cannot reach.

Overall, great work this year though. With the strides made in this area I think outfielder positioning and reactions are now slightly behind this department. I think changes in those areas would improve the variety of hits more so than additional tweaks to physics.

[JoeT]

Quote: Originally Posted by ralphieboy11

I think there were some great strides this year, but I also see room for improvement. Last year everything felt a bit too "hard hit". Most batted balls were solidly hit. You didn't see any bloop hits like we see this year. That part I like very much. I don't want to say the soft hits have been overdone this year, but there are times where I see ball reactions that don't quite seem realistic. There may be a few too many soft tappers in front of the mound this year. Also, sometimes I see a soft pop up on the infield or in foul ground that might only travel 20 feet or less in the air. When a fastball is coming in at 90 mph it's hard to imagine a full swing results in a tiny pop up behind the catcher that he cannot reach. Overall, great work this year though. With the strides made in this area I think outfielder positioning and reactions are now slightly behind this department. I think changes in those areas would improve the variety of hits more so than additional tweaks to physics.

I agree with everything you've said. But I wanted to mention one thing as an FYI--don't know if you've (or maybe other users) have turned down the 'Solid Hit' slider. But if you have turned this slider down in '13 (which has been the norm for many users on previous editions) I think you will see too many of these tappers/pop-outs this year. After turning solid hits back up to default for the CPU (and 4 for me using zone hitting), I'm still seeing some of these, but not nearly as many as before. Yet I'm still getting a really good hit variety with bloopers, etc.