MLB '14: The Show

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Info released, but there's a big announcement within it. The Show will now allow you to import saves from the previous year's version so you can continue your franchise or RTTS saves on the new version of the game. Fantastic news and hopefully this is something we'll see more of in sports games moving forward.

Also has a video detailing some things you'll see in the next-gen version of the game.

PS4 dev diaries tour Vita features, DualShock 4 and launch games | Joystiq

[Eaglesfan27]

That is an awesome feature!

[cody8200]

Finally went the way of OOTP. I would love to see NBA 2k series this. My buddy and I are 2 seasons into our co-op career on NBA 2k13 - I would love to upgrade to 14' but no way I'm enjoying the career.

[chadritt]

I really love this feature and honestly the game. if I wind up getting a PS4, I'm going to wait a while, then I'll almost certainly pick up the show to go with it.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Finally got some gameplay videos, though they are of the PS3 version. Can't wait to see what the PS4 version has in store.

First News on MLB 14 The Show Comes From Taiwan, Not Sony

[Mike Lowe]

It's been confirmed too that MLB Show 14 will have online franchise mode (different than the usual season mode). I wonder if those leagues can be rolled over to the next version too? If so, that'd be pretty sweet.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Embargo on information/images/video is dropped starting tomorrow. Should see a flood of information on the game on a bunch of sites. Lots of excited chatter coming out about how much better this game is on the PS4.

[Sun Tzu]

The Show for years has been, without question, the best sports video game on the market. Nothing comes close. I'm very excited to get my hands on the PS4 version.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

The Show for years has been, without question, the best sports video game on the market. Nothing comes close. I'm very excited to get my hands on the PS4 version.

I've been so back and forth on this game.

Graphically yes, it's pretty. But I've never been able to get the difficulty level to the "sweet spot" for me, and the games take so long to play out that as a result I get irritated very quickly trying to get it there and never manage to progress far.

With the news that starting this year saves will be able to transfer forward though maybe I ought to give it another look. Or maybe I'll cave. Haha.

[Sun Tzu]

Heh. I only play RTTS, which cuts down on the length of time it takes to play each game by a significant amount.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

Heh. I only play RTTS, which cuts down on the length of time it takes to play each game by a significant amount.

Ditto. I'm a RTTS only guy. Going to be even better now that I don't have to restart my career every year. May create two RTTS saves (one pitching, one position player) just to keep things fresh so I can switch back and forth in case I get bored with one or the other.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Ditto. I'm a RTTS only guy. Going to be even better now that I don't have to restart my career every year. May create two RTTS saves (one pitching, one position player) just to keep things fresh so I can switch back and forth in case I get bored with one or the other.

When I traveled a ton, I used to buy both and have my pitcher be on the vita and my batter be on the PS3. Now that I'm not traveling, I think I'll do the same thing, only with remote play. Pitcher when I'm by the fire pit relaxing, hitter when I'm on the tv. I'm glad I just play RTTS, because my understanding of the franchise mode the last few years is not positive.

[FBPro]

Really looking forward to this one, I've got my PS4 ready....

[Terps]

There's an option for generated pitch counts this year for those looking to cut down on playing time (should help with drawing walks also.)

[DaddyTorgo]

Nifty. Then again - I play franchise usually, so if franchise mode continues to be janky then idk how much use I'd get out of the game...

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

MLB 14 The Show comes home in May for PS4, April for PS3 and Vita | Polygon

MLB 14 The Show's PS4 graphics and new lighting engine are stunning -- PlayStation Universe

- Over 50 new features and improvements
- All of these will enhance, deepen, streamline, and better your overall experience
- Quick Counts will cut game completion times in half
- New UI built from the ground up for PS4, carried across all versions
- Year-to-year saves
- Cross-platform saves across all SKUs
- Road to the Show will continue its evolution
- Community Challenges put the power of creation in the hands of gamers
- Baseball scenarios can be easily generated, customized, and shared online
- Smarter Universal Profile now tracks player tendency
- Train your Profile and sub it into Diamond Dynasty games to give your human opponent a better matchup than just the CPU
- Online Franchise expands upon Online Leagues of seasons past, introducing multi-season play with Scouting, the Amateur Draft, Free Agency, and CPU Trades
- Add-on purchases simplified, rolled everything into a Universal Currency known as Stubs
- Don’t need to spend anything on Subs to enjoy a full experience
- Stubs are earned through general gameplay and tied to your Universal Profile
- The rate at which Stubs are earned is intentionally generous
- Brett Lawrie will be on the Canadian cover for MLB 14

[TRO]

System seller for me.

[Mike Lowe]

Originally Posted by Terps

There's an option for generated pitch counts this year for those looking to cut down on playing time (should help with drawing walks also.)

What I don't like about this, and something I feel the SD team overlooked, is why would they have EVERY AB sim to a 3-pitch count?

What happens when you want (puke) to bunt? What about guys who don't work the count, like Ichiro?

I won't be using it regardless, but it just seems implemented oddly.

[Mike Lowe]

Also (dola?), what do these mean:

- Train your Profile and sub it into Diamond Dynasty games to give your human opponent a better matchup than just the CPU

- Don’t need to spend anything on Subs to enjoy a full experience

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

The third screen shot in the PS Universe article really shows what we have to look forward to in the PS4 version. You normally can see the same character several times in each section of the crowd. It's pretty clear from that screenshot that there's very little repetition in character models.

Also shocked to see the developer come out today and confidently say that it will be 1080p with 60 fps. Given that the game is still a couple of months from release, that speaks volumes.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Mike Lowe

Also (dola?), what do these mean:

- Train your Profile and sub it into Diamond Dynasty games to give your human opponent a better matchup than just the CPU

- Don’t need to spend anything on Subs to enjoy a full experience

On the first one, you can train a profile that creates an AI based on what you want the difficulty to be. It's somewhat like some racing games where you race against AI based on other actual players rather than just the CPU AI.

The second comment is just reassurance that you can play the full game without any microtransactions. They have some options where you can expedite progression with microtransactions should you choose to do so, but you won't be penalized in any way if you want to enjoy the full experience. There's a lot of developers making these kinds of assurances after the NBA 2K14 situation where players felt that the game progression was somewhat crippled unless you bought into microtransactions.

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by Mike Lowe

What I don't like about this, and something I feel the SD team overlooked, is why would they have EVERY AB sim to a 3-pitch count?

What happens when you want (puke) to bunt? What about guys who don't work the count, like Ichiro?

I won't be using it regardless, but it just seems implemented oddly.

Where do you see anything about EVERY AB sim to a 3-pitch count?

I was under the assumption it accounts for aggressive and patient hitters with this comment.

Using a new feature, Quick Counts, the developer says players will be able to play a full nine innings in less than 30 minutes. With Quick Counts, the game automatically generates pitch counts, the number of balls and strikes, based on two years of historical MLB data. Players are put into a batting situation and may have one or two pitches to play. In a demonstration, Russell played through a couple of innings in under a minute using Quick Counts.

[Mike Lowe]

I forget where, but somewhere on OS it was mentioned that it ALWAYS sims 3 pitches...I'll be 3-0, 2-1, or 1-2.

Hopefully that report was wrong! It was when the first announced the feature. Sorry, I don't have the link handy, and HOPE I am wrong!

[Mota]

They mentioned it would be based on a number of factors, so I'm guessing guys with patience will start with a deeper count. Which is good for me since I pretty much swing at everything. I might actually get a walk or two now.

[Terps]

Here are all the counts you will see using quick counts Every ball 3 count: 3-0, 3-1, 3-2. Every strike 2 count: 0-2, 1-2, 2-2 (3-2 already counted). Every strike 1 count: 0-1, 1-1, 2-1, (3-1 already counted). 9 counts, out of a possible 12.

So, the only counts that don't get generated are 0-0, 1-0, and 2-0.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Which are impossible to get to using three pitches. Isn't that the point of the 3 pitch count?

[markprior22]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

Which are impossible to get to using three pitches. Isn't that the point of the 3 pitch count?

Sounds more like a minimum of a 3-pitch count

[TRO]

Originally Posted by markprior22

Sounds more like a minimum of a 3-pitch count

Umm, no it doesn't.

They specifically list: 0-2, 0-1 and 1-1 as possible counts. Neither of which are 3 pitches. (Though the argument could be made that 0-2 is possible on 3 pitches if the 3rd is fouled.)

[Sun Tzu]

Hmm, so it's basically saying this: If you enable this feature, you'll be playing as Joe Mauer at every at-bat. No matter what happens, that bat isn't coming off your shoulder until you've seen at least one strike.

I ultimately wind up playing this way, anyway. It helps me keep calm at the plate, whereas if I'm looking for something to hit right away, I have a much stronger tendency to wave wildly at pitches nowhere near the strike zone.

[markprior22]

Originally Posted by TRO

Umm, no it doesn't.

They specifically list: 0-2, 0-1 and 1-1 as possible counts. Neither of which are 3 pitches. (Though the argument could be made that 0-2 is possible on 3 pitches if the 3rd is fouled.)

Sorry don't know what the hell I was thinking.

[Mike Lowe]

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

Hmm, so it's basically saying this: If you enable this feature, you'll be playing as Joe Mauer at every at-bat. No matter what happens, that bat isn't coming off your shoulder until you've seen at least one strike.

That's why I wont use it, but I have a pretty good eye in this game having played it for so long. I personally try and get a BB every 10 ABs, but the game does a nice job already about some guys getting more than others.

[jbergey22]

Sounds like an odd feature. I like where it is going but I dont like a pitcher cant have some 1 or 2 pitch ABs. Pitch counts would seem like they will get high in a real hurry with few short ABs.

I cant understand why 1 or 2 pitch ABs to hitters like Ichiro or JP Arencibia cant be included.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Video on Quick Counts and Player Lock features......

[markprior22]

I'm pretty pumped for both of these additions. I've generally just played RTTS in the past so I could get through more games. Now I could see actually getting into the franchise/career mode long term while still being able to play out portions of the games. Looking forward to May.

[Mike Lowe]

Glad I was wrong about the generated pitch count. Maybe it'll be used more than I thought...I dunno though, there's something beautiful about the entire MLB at-bat.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by markprior22

I'm pretty pumped for both of these additions. I've generally just played RTTS in the past so I could get through more games. Now I could see actually getting into the franchise/career mode long term while still being able to play out portions of the games. Looking forward to May.

I agree. I always had two frustrations with the Show.

1) I want to be who I want to be. If I want to start off as a flipping superstar, let me. If I want to be a speedster who can't hit, let me.

2) I always wanted to play with franchise mode with FA and drafts and all of the other crap, but I didn't want to play an entire game.

Now? Hell, hold a starting draft, make sure I get the #1 pick and I can be Mike Trout on my favorite team. That will be fun.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Mike Lowe

Glad I was wrong about the generated pitch count. Maybe it'll be used more than I thought...I dunno though, there's something beautiful about the entire MLB at-bat.

I'm of the same opinion about the at-bat. When you're thrown in mid-count, you don't have the gamesmanship of knowing where the previous pitches were located and what type of pitches were thrown. The AI generally has done a great job of mixing up their pitches and location. You won't have any of that with generated counts.

I do think the developers have somewhat taken care of those of us who like to do careers at a slower pace by allowing saves to transfer over to next year's version. You can go at a slower pace and still get the full experience and go deep into a career.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

About a week old, but a good read about online franchises.

Some Details On How Online Franchise Will Work in MLB 14: The Show | pastapadre.com

[Mike Lowe]

I'm going to be setting up an online franchise. It may sound weird, but I'd PREFER to NOT have a full league, as I'd like to run one for at least a season, if not more, before Show 15 is released next year.

I would want to keep it small, say maybe we take one division or so, so that we could keep the REAL schedule in-tact, without needing a flex schedule.

I have one guy who's interested from my OOTP league I'm in, but could add 1-3 more guys, at least.

I'd say we'd set up things where we'd have to have 80% of the votes for trades with the AI, etc. Other than that, just keep up with getting your 6-7 games in each week, or maybe even over a 10 day span.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

***drool***

http://www.baseballisbetter.com/post...owerful-gaming

[Jon]

I'm interested in the league (PS4?)

[Mike Lowe]

Jon, that's great! When the time comes, I'll post the details in this thread, so stay tuned!

[Julio Riddols]

This game is going to sell me a PS4. I don't know when, but it is going to.

[Sun Tzu]

Fuck. Those pictures are amazing.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

Fuck. Those pictures are amazing.

Does anyone else remember the days when you'd watch the opening of a game and comment, "Yeah, but the game doesn't look like that!".

It's amazing to me that we've now reached the point where they can use the in-game engine for everything. There's literally no difference.

[Sun Tzu]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Does anyone else remember the days when you'd watch the opening of a game and comment, "Yeah, but the game doesn't look like that!".

It's amazing to me that we've now reached the point where they can use the in-game engine for everything. There's literally no difference.

I don't know how they could possibly improve the visuals. From what my friend at Ubisoft says, they're just barely scratching the surface. He's been saying for months now that the first gen of games on the PS4 are nothing compared to the stuff they're working on for gen 2 and 3.

Very exciting.

[CraigSca]

It's why my PS4 is sitting here idling. Hurray for May 6!

[TroyF]

This is seriously jaw dropping stuff. I had been debating getting teh VITA version to hold me off for a month, but as I don't travel as much I'm not sure I'll do it. (I still might, even with remote play, sitting out by the fire pit with a baseball game sounds really nice)

May cannot get here soon enough. By then the Rockies will be out of contention and I can focus on the game.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by TroyF

This is seriously jaw dropping stuff. I had been debating getting teh VITA version to hold me off for a month, but as I don't travel as much I'm not sure I'll do it. (I still might, even with remote play, sitting out by the fire pit with a baseball game sounds really nice)

May cannot get here soon enough. By then the Rockies will be out of contention and I can focus on the game.

I'm the same way. Will probably forget about buying the vita version and just play the PS4 version remotely around the house.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Funny. MLB players playing the new game........

http://instagram.com/p/ltENcDLMtM/#