Alright Boyz, here we go! MLB the Show 13 First Impressions

[Sweed]

Just picked up my copy after skipping v.12. Installing now and will be back soon. Will be waiting for the OSFM rosters before starting a serious game so will use the next month to get myself up to speed.

[cougarfreak]

Manage only mode make it back in?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Damn, I've obviously been way too busy. Had no idea this game was coming out today. Where the hell are my priorities????

Any places have a PS3/Vita combo deal this year?

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Damn, I've obviously been way too busy. Had no idea this game was coming out today. Where the hell are my priorities????

Any places have a PS3/Vita combo deal this year?

Yeah - I didn't even realize it was coming out today either.

That said - I don't play it as much as I thought, and I just picked up NHL 13 the other day, so I'll probably wait a bit.

[Sweed]

Well, damn. My first impression is I fire up ps3 and of course it needs a system update. Then The Show does a 10 gig install that takes 20 minutes. Still off all day so it's not all bad

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Sweed

Well, damn. My first impression is I fire up ps3 and of course it needs a system update. Then The Show does a 10 gig install that takes 20 minutes. Still off all day so it's not all bad

I'm actually not working today, so it worked out for me as well. Will pick it up when I'm out later today.

[DaddyTorgo]

Hmm - intrigued by this "beginner mode" -- I always seem to have a damned hard time like...getting good enough at each new iteration of the game in the amount of time I want to play to make starting up a franchise (which is my preferred way of playing) worthwhile. Maybe beginner mode will make that easier...

[FBPro]

Just got both versions gonna fire them up in a few.

[Sweed]

Played one game on all-star default (play now) with Cubs at Wrigley vs. Oakland. Garza lost 3-2 giving up two dingers. I scored on a solo HR.

Pitch count was 142 for me and Oak ~115, 48 total foul balls in the game. Looking very good for default, IIRC ~50 balls go out of play in a real MLB game. Pretty sure I always had to tweak the game before to get them right.

The expected great game play is there. Just takes a little time to find the areas that do need to be tweaked. Still the best console sports sim on the market IMHO.

Some things with the gui that really bother me. When you pause the game it goes to a very nice screen showing who's on base, pitching, hitting, and the lineup with current batter highlighted. The lineup doesn't show anything but name and position. It doesn't show what side of the plate the players hit from. If you aren't familiar with every player on the opponent you'll have to go to another screen to find this info. It's the same between innings. The little part where they show the next three batters due up does not show handedness. This seems to happen in most screens. At least when you go to your bullpen the next three batters are shown with handedness. But really why wouldn't this information be front and center? It was in v11 and before.

The batter\pitcher comparison screen in game is not well done either, IMHO. The screens themselves are the same as v11 and before which is good enough. Its what happens when you hit L1 or R1 to change to batter and pitcher performance screens that I don't like. Previous versions the screen would scroll right or left. In v13 the current screen kind of folds and disappears in the middle of the tv screen and then unfolds and reappears with your new view. To me it is irritating as hell and amounts to change for change sake instead of staying with something that already works very well. Yeah, we're all different and some will love the new way, just not me.

So after one game played my only gripe is gui related and that is a very good thing. I can certainly live with these things I just don't understand them. Especially taking key information like batter handedness from screens that already had them. Really? Why?

For cougarfreak I don't see a manage only option but then I haven't dug into franchise or season mode yet. So maybe it is an option in there? I've always played out my games in The Show so never knew the game even had that mode.

Now, shall I talk of the "all important" eye candy It doesn't mean a thing if the game sucks but The Show doesn't suck so... Day game at Wrigley and the lighting was awesome. Everything looked upgraded from v11, which is a great looking game. The thing that really drew my eye was a noticeable difference in the caps, they look like they are made of cloth. Zoom in and you can see the grain of the cloth. Again it doesn't make the game but they are getting so detailed in the graphics and it is really amazing.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by Sweed

Played one game on all-star default (play now) with Cubs at Wrigley vs. Oakland. Garza lost 3-2 giving up two dingers. I scored on a solo HR.

The ol' 2-run solo home run.... ?

[Sweed]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

The ol' 2-run solo home run.... ?

Lead off walk and a slider that didn't slide

[dubb93]

I skipped last year due to frustrations with hitting in prior versions. I just couldn't do it very well, balls looked just like strikes and I had a hard time moving the cursor quick enough to get a hit.

I dove back in this year. I'm actually playing with hitting on experienced rather than beginner to see what it is all about.

I can report that the cursor is much bigger tho year than when I last played. Balls look like balls and strikes like strikes. I've actually had good luck so far. My first game saw me score four runs on ten hits including a double and a homer. I also was able to take the pitcher to several full counts which was something new to me!

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by dubb93

I skipped last year due to frustrations with hitting in prior versions. I just couldn't do it very well, balls looked just like strikes and I had a hard time moving the cursor quick enough to get a hit.

I dove back in this year. I'm actually playing with hitting on experienced rather than beginner to see what it is all about.

I can report that the cursor is much bigger tho year than when I last played. Balls look like balls and strikes like strikes. I've actually had good luck so far. My first game saw me score four runs on ten hits including a double and a homer. I also was able to take the pitcher to several full counts which was something new to me!

Hitting was always my struggle too, so very happy to hear this!

[dubb93]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

Hitting was always my struggle too, so very happy to hear this!

Another that I like right now is that playing as the Reds I can wait way longer to decide what to do with a guy like Votto than I can with some of the more scrubby hitters. I really like it when Votto comes up to bat, I can wait until after the break to swing rather than having to beat the break.

[dubb93]

I don't think anyone good at this game should pay any mind to what I'm saying here. I used to be so bad at this game that I rage quit and went and bought Battlefield to relieve some frustrations I had with prior versions.

I was probably the worst player of this game ever.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by dubb93

I don't think anyone good at this game should pay any mind to what I'm saying here. I used to be so bad at this game that I rage quit and went and bought Battlefield to relieve some frustrations I had with prior versions.

I was probably the worst player of this game ever.

I always had issues with the consistency of my hitting - I could get it to difficulty levels where I could hit with everyone and MASH with stars, or just hit with stars and fail with everyone else.

[DanGarion]

I'd give a clear and concise review but my Xbox360 won't play the disc.

Worst MLB game ever.

[Sweed]

Finished a second play now game. My Cubs at Fenway vs. The Sox.

Default All-Star batting using the right stick

Classic Pitching

All sliders still at default.

Lost 6-4. Boston 2 dbls, 2 HR. I had one Dbl. 2 walks for me 1 for Boston.

Both team pitch counts in the mid 130's. My strike pct 65, Bostons 70% but then I chased a ton of pitches. That will get better over time. 46 foul balls between the teams (awesome). So far not seeing much, if anything, that will need to be adjusted here. I know with patience I can get a good number of walks. It was both frustrating and fun to watch Boston's RP when he found out I'd chase his curveball into the dirt. Yeah, he just kept throwing it and I kept chasing it If it's not broke don't fix it

If I stay too consistent with my pitching I may have to lower my consistency slider to give more walks. However just two games and with them not really counting it's not like I was nibbling to guys like Ortiz.

Not sure about OF speed. I hit a couple of balls hard to the gap (rollers on the ground) that didn't get through but it's not like they were "no doubters". Maybe resistance is actually right in this years version slowing down the ball and in previous versions the groundball got through too quickly? Boston's two dbls were to the corners. Mine was to the RCF gap by Soriano and I thought at first the OF was going to catch up to it. I thought it was a no doubter but on replay it did have a lot of air under it I think it was ok that the fielders came close to getting there. It would take some time to figure fielder speed out when basing it on only my games. Will be watching slider threads at OS as this usually gets narrowed down pretty quickly.

It will be the same for IF reaction, and speed of throws. While in my two game sample they don't look bad it will be OS where a slider guru will get it figured out soon. For all I know the gurus may find that default for IF and OF speed and throwing is just fine at default.

Night game this time and the visuals keep getting better. The way the tops of the caps would show light and shadow under the stadium lights was very cool. Just little slivers of light on the tops of the quarter panels as players moved about, nice detail.

One very nice thing added to the in game graphics is in the popup baserunner box. The baserunner box now has a bar on top and bottom of it which show the baserunner's speed and baserunning skill. Used to have to know it or look on another screen to find it. Nice to see it added into the "live" game.

It's going to be fun playing this this summer other than I'll use my Cubs and will probably get my brains beat it

[Icy]

Downloaded and installed it yesterday as i bought it from PSN, not time yet to even start it, hopefully today i can start an RTTS career.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by Sweed

Well, damn. My first impression is I fire up ps3 and of course it needs a system update. Then The Show does a 10 gig install that takes 20 minutes. Still off all day so it's not all bad

Least predictable news ever. Console updates? We got that on lock. painfully slow I'd imagine.

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Damn, I've obviously been way too busy. Had no idea this game was coming out today. Where the hell are my priorities????

Any places have a PS3/Vita combo deal this year?

Amazon probably has both for $80 still.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I think I'm partial to the Vita version of the game. Seem to be playing that quite a bit more. I played through half a season of RTTS in about three hours of gameplay last night. It's been a struggle at times, but I'm starting to build my power ratings on my player finally and getting some results. I still look like Bill Buckner in the field at times, but the unforced errors are becoming less and less.

[DaddyTorgo]

I did break down and buy this - it's fun.

[Sweed]

First patch came out the other day. MLB 13 The Show Title Update 1.18 Available Now, Details Included - Operation Sports Forums

Russell_SCEA
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MLB 13 The Show Title Update 1.18 Available Now, Details Included

Another MLB 13 The Show title update has arrived this morning, bringing it up to version 1.18. It weighs in at 167 MB, see below for all the details.

In offline and online games, there was an occasional hitch/millisecond delay just as the pitcher would release the pitch.
- The title was writing data to the HDD at this point, causing the brief, but noticeable hiccup in the gameplay. When the title writes to the HDD has been adjusted, and this hitch/delay will no longer occur.

Franchise Fantasy Draft blank screen in Standard Def only. This was reported with a 100% frequency. In a Franchise mode, when performing a Fantasy Draft, the first round worked correctly. Every round after the first round would have a blank list of available players and drafted players. User could scroll through the empty list and choose players, but the player names were invisible. This was standard definition only. This has been fixed.

In online games, there was a very rare crash when putting a Pinch Hitter into the game. This was reported with a frequency of approximately 2% - 10%. Multiple pinch hit substitutions in the same inning could eventually result in a crash. This was fixed.

In a Franchise game, while playing with the Houston Astros, an On Screen Display showing division team comparisons would show the Houston Astros in their old National League division. This has been fixed.

Challenge of the Week - In game real time leaderboard would disappear/reappear frequently. This was reported with a 100% frequency. In game leaderboard on the right side of the screen would flicker in and out on almost every pitch. This has been fixed.

Online Game Rooms - Within a game room, we changed the terminology within Challenge Options pop-up. We removed the text "(Tracked)" as well as the text "(Unranked, Untracked)" from the top two challenge options within a game room. This was not a bug, but it caused some confusion with consumers. Safe text change that has been addressed.

Online - Timing batting was available for users in an online game. This was reported with a frequency of 100%. This setting was never intended for online gameplay and has been removed.

Within an online game created through a Game Room, users did not have the ability to Concede or Friendly quit through the Quit option. This was reported with a frequency of 100%. Concede/Friendly quit has been added to the Quit game menu.

Offline gameplay - Following a Fast Forward in any gameplay mode, the Pitcher would throw a fastball down the middle with about 90% frequency. This has been fixed.

Use Custom rosters in Leagues. Create some custom (created players) players and upload them to the rosters and form a league that way. Once the league is formed, make sure every teams roster can be generated. Specifically, any team that has a created player on that roster. Key step to this is when uploading a Roster, user must choose LOAD ROSTER FROM HD or LOAD ROSTER FROM VAULT

Create a league (Load weekly roster during creation process) and have any user control the Minnesota Twins - After activating the league, go to Manage Roster (for the Twins) and generate lineups and rosters. At this point (In PROD), user would receive an error message and the lineups would never be generated. Error Message: (Sorry, we could not generate a valid roster/lineup/rotation with the given players) Key step to this is when uploading a Roster, user must choose LOAD WEEKLY ROSTER.

Four significant Art changes:
1. Addition of new 2013 Post Season logos. These can be viewed throughout the front end, and in game easily in PostSeason mode. Logos can appear in the frontend bracket screens, load screen bracket screens, on the field logos, and during on screen display pop-ups.
2. Batting Practice hats for the Cleveland Indians. Removed an outdated logo batting hat.
3. San Francisco AT&T stadium - There was a Minnesota Twins logo in the dirt of the pitching mound.
4. Toronto Stadium - There was a large section of seating that appeared grey instead of blue (behind 1st or 3rd base). This was reported with a frequency of 100%. The art files have been changed to reflect the proper seat colors.

Online user vs user games - Concede/Friendly Quit option has been added to the quit menu in games formed and played through Game Rooms

Fixed an occasional hang that occured when loading a save file that was autosaved after purchasing budget in the Manage Contracts screen.

Player Progression issue in Franchise fixed. This would cause older players in season/franchise modes to regress at a faster pace than intended.

Fixed an issue with the one and two handed follow through setting in Edit Player. Two handed follow through was not carrying over into game.

Manager mode - All batters due up were being displayed as "L" for left handed batter. This has been fixed in HD displays.

Manager mode - Pitcher would never pitchout until it was requested by the manager. Pitcher will now occasionaly pitch out when the time is appropriate, when user selects Play Ball.

Fixed an issue where 2013 Hall of Fame players were not showing up.

Post game celebartion following a win. SF Giants were walking to/from the wrong dugout. This has been fixed.

Fixed a minor bug that affected Starting Pitcher energy in League games.

End of inning music was missing in offline Fast Play games. This has been fixed.

Fixed an issue where setting scouting to auto wouldn't stick.

Online, fixed an issue where your online game settings wouldn't match you properly with your opponent.


Fixed an issue that caused the Mercy rule to appear incorrectly at the end of certian online games.

Server Fixes

Twitter feeds fix
- Twitter feeds should now show up with today's Tweets # New telemetry TSD file

Updated player skill ranks
- Using Play Now Rated games, users were staying at the Rookie level and not graduated to Veteran, All-Star, Hof, Legend. They should now move up and down based on Rating.

Game reset fix for playoff games
- Playoff games were unable to be reset. Now they can.

Fixed league injury healing
- When a player got injured if you set him to Inactive, "games returned" would never reduce. If you left him on the Active roster, it would count down. So doing it right punished users with a bug.

DD: Arena card colors adjusted to match new number ranges
- A+ cards should now be platinum, platinum cards should always be A+. Using the Recylcer should provide a platinum card.

DD: Quality generation moved to after the aptitude is picked
- Same test as above.

DD: APT cards cannot be sold for wrong prices anymore
- To repro, you can create a buy order for a high Aptitude DD card. You yourself (or another user) could put up a sell order with a lower Aptitude DD card and qualify for that Buy Order.

DD: arena game summaries matched to histories by game_id

Thank you again, to our loyal community members, who have sent us feedback. The information we receive is instrumental for us in our effort to improve MLB 13, and build a better MLB 14.

There were also issues with simulated game stats, mostly K leaders being way to low. According to Russel and posters at OS it is fixed. It was not mentioned in the patch as being fixed but only because SCEA did't consider this a bug but rather a "balancing issue".

Using these sliders in a test game. TNK - 2013 REALISM SLIDERS - Operation Sports Forums Now just waiting for OSFM rosters to start a franchise.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Sweed

First patch came out the other day. MLB 13 The Show Title Update 1.18 Available Now, Details Included - Operation Sports Forums



There were also issues with simulated game stats, mostly K leaders being way to low. According to Russel and posters at OS it is fixed. It was not mentioned in the patch as being fixed but only because SCEA did't consider this a bug but rather a "balancing issue".

Using these sliders in a test game. TNK - 2013 REALISM SLIDERS - Operation Sports Forums Now just waiting for OSFM rosters to start a franchise.

I'm using TNK's too - they're good IMO.

[CraigSca]

On sale at Amazon for $25.52 today.

[bigdawg2003]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

On sale at Amazon for $25.52 today.

Thanks for the heads up. Purchasing now. Haven't bought it since 11 - excited to jump in after I finish The Last Of Us.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Best Buy has a sale on the game. $20 for the PS3 version and $10 for the Vita version. I'm sure both will sell out quickly online, but you can buy online and pick up from store as well. That's usually the easiest way to land a copy.

[Danny]

Just bought this with my PS3, Hadnt gotten a new console since the Wii several years ago.

[Danny]

Did one practice and on easiest difficulty which was too simple, so I started a franchise and moved up to the medium level controls with a highly rated slider set. Somehow only lost 4-3. I made 6 errors as I was having trouble with the throwing mechanic. Miracle is scored 3 runs larger thanks to two opponent errors and a couple well placed infield singles. I did draw two walks.

Really good game it seems like though. It will just take me a bit to get the hang of it as I haven't played a baseball game in several years.