News Post

MLB 12 The Show Hands-On Preview and Interview with Ramone Russell (PS3, PS Vita)

05:59 PM - December 8, 2011 by BKAraujo

Playstation.Blog has posted their MLB 12 The Show hands-on preview, along with an interview with Community Manager, Ramone Russell.

Quote:


	PlayStation.Blog: What�s your personal favorite addition this year? Ramone Russell, Community Manager: I think it�s our new ball physics. Our programmer ripped out every line of last year�s code and completely re-invented the way the ball acts. It�s a nerd feature, but it adds so much to the game. The baseball gains and loses energy like a real baseball, and if you go into replay, you can count the rotations � that ball is going to spin the way it�s supposed to. This opens up the game because we have bloopers, ricochets off the bases, balls going into no man�s land�.it�s much more dynamic and engaging.

After reading the article, what are you most excited about?

Game: MLB 12 The ShowReader Score: 9/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS Vita / PS3Votes for game: 55 - View All

MLB 12 The Show Videos

Member Comments

# 141 Bobhead @ 12/14/11 11:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoxFan01605


	Yes, they do, I agree. The differences at the MLB level, however, are barely noticeable, even when putting a guy completely unfamiliar with the position in. The only noticeable difference is in ground covered (speed/range), but if you take guys with similar range and speed from different positions and swap them, you honestly won't have too many big issues, regardless of other ratings. While I don't expect guys to look like circus clowns out there (these are professionals, after all), defense should have a bigger impact on the game than it has up to this point in The Show. It's not so much that defensive ratings don't matter at all or are completely terrible or anything. It's just that, in a game that does so much right in terms of aligning itself with reality, it stands out as not as realistically represented as the other aspects to this point. When looking at signing guys in-game, I barely consider a guy's defense because its impact is so low...that should not be the case.

I can agree with this. During my recent Tampa Bay franchise I had no problem with Johnny Damon out in left field pretty much the entire season. He made a few more errors than your average fielder but, it wasn't a significant loss at all. This is even after I edited Damon's stats so that he sucked at fielding just as much as he does in real life.

There are of course other examples, I just wanted to share that story.

# 142 Black59Razr @ 12/15/11 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nomo17k


	If you look carefully, I think you will notice the differences... Try playing a few minor league games and how immature they look in the field, how narrow their ranges are... Then some replacement level players play at the major league level... They definitely play differently.

Stop looking at speed and range, everybody; those are only half the story. The easier catches are when the OF can run full speed and "range" for a deep flyball in the gap. Speed and range are more physical attributes, rather than mental attributes.

TheShow represents physical attributes just fine. Its the mental attributes that need work. You need to look at line drives right at the OF, caroms off the wall, positioning for plays at the plate, etc. These "mental" attributes are all whitewashed; everyone pretty much plays the same, every time.

With new ball physics in 12, I am hoping OFs will stop knowing exactly where the ball will land, 99% of the time.

I want to see Yadier Molina, for example, make 97 out of 100 routine flyball catches while was playing centerfield. Jon Jay, on the other hand, would make 100 out of 100.

More importantly, I want to see Yadier Molina take a few slow steps back on a line drive to centerfield hit right at him 100 out of 100 times. 30 out of 100 times, he misplayed it, as it fell in front of him for a single. 30 out of 100 times, he misplayed it, as it sailed over his head for a triple. And 20 out of 100 times, he misplayed it, as it sliced away from him. He should only make 20 out of 100 plays.

This is what the game lacks. The hardest play for an outfielder, a line drive right at him, is way too easy. Yes, I have seen the canned animation where the OF takes a step back, then lets the ball drop for a single. And I have also seen the animation where they take a step forward, and the ball flys over their heads. I played 2 and a half seasons and have seen thes animations about once per season. These animations need to be used way way more for weaker OFs.

# 143 nomo17k @ 12/15/11 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Black59Razr


	TheShow represents physical attributes just fine. Its the mental attributes that need work. You need to look at line drives right at the OF, caroms off the wall, positioning for plays at the plate, etc. These "mental" attributes are all whitewashed; everyone pretty much plays the same, every time.

This I agree. I started seeing this much more in MLB11, but to make the contrast between good and bad fielders much more prominent, I think the best route now is to create a stronger contrast in decision making abilities (and not the increase in mishaps like dropped fly balls, etc...). This probably just gets better and better as more animations are added...

(Again, I digress, but this is partly why I think the "fielding position familiarity" attribute rating as a modifier for the "base" fielding ratings come in handy. But that's a future wishlist item...)

However, so long as HUM is in control of a fielder, there's some limit as to how much the game can do to "force" the fielder to make poor decision... Should the hesitation only occur on the first step the fielder takes and not the rest? There's something to think about...

# 144 blueduke @ 12/17/11 06:28 PM

Have a question regarding the Vita version of this game......I've been told Vita will have no internal memory and memory cards are required but for some games the game makers may supply the memory needed to make saves. Have I been misinformed? If not will The Show come with the memory needed to makes saves? Thanks in advance

# 145 HustlinOwl @ 12/17/11 07:07 PM

Save to the cloud

Quote:


	That means you can start your season at home on your PlayStation 3, play for a couple of weeks, then save your file to the PlayStation cloud, and resume your season on the Vita as you take your game on the road. Sure, that means you need to buy the game for each platform, but for people who commute on the train or are heading out on vacation, this will be an ideal way to stay connected to their favorite franchise. Only downer is the fact that you can't save mid-game on one platform and pick right up on the other. In order to save to the cloud, it needs to be between games, not between innings.

# 146 Eman5805 @ 12/18/11 02:56 PM

I re-read it and saw them talking about emphasis on facial expressions in presentation and anger in striking out.

If players strike out looking, I trust that means they won't ALWAYS look back at the ump like he called a bad strike or something. Sometimes you don't swing at something you know you should've and get mad at yourself for it. Sounds promising. The Show always was the sports games that immersed me the most...this'll only help that.

# 147 ped3328 @ 12/21/11 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BKAraujo


	Playstation.Blog has posted their MLB 12 The Show hands-on preview, along with an interview with Community Manager, Ramone Russell. After reading the article, what are you most excited about?

As they say in the world of sports, the add-ons look good on paper. I have purchased the last 3 versions and everyone is an improvement over the previous one. But I fully realize it's a video game and it will never be perfect. With the addition of 14 umpires, let's hope there will be 6, not 4 umpires for the All Star game and playoffs as it should be. The little things, did you say?
I'm waiting for the trailers and the write-ups before I decide if I will buy the new game. Like I said (the 3 most famous words used by athletes), it looks good on paper so far...

# 148 pay_26 @ 12/23/11 10:07 PM

ok, something I would like, to teams should celebrate the end of the division series or World Series with the trophy in the field

greetings Mexico

« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 78Next »

More Links

MLB 12 The Show Hands-On Preview and Interview with Ramone Russell (PS3, PS Vita)