Analog hitting changed or not?

[Skyboxer]

Re: Analog hitting changed or not?

Extremely dissapointed by this. Me and my freinds both used pure analog with the PCI for the challenge. Not to take anything away from players who use timing but pressing the X button to swing is not a good challenge or replication of the game. There was no better feeling in a sports game then timing that stride and PCI right and slamming a walk off HR in my NLDS playoff game. I felt I MYSELF did that. Pressing up on the stick is now no different then pressing X. I used the most difficult hitting because I liked the challenge. And it felt the most natural and sim. I was a 2k player until I bought the ps3 solely for the show. Only thing I didn't like was the X BUTTON hitting. They changed it I fell in love. Now I'm forced to go to a "simplified" approach. Don't want that. I want to feel like I myself with my own skill cranked that game winning HR. I won't feel that anymore.

While I feel for those who used the analog system and wish you still had it....I understand the reasoning it's gone.
Some though use the "X" and timing only etc.. to get the best of "Playing and yet ratings" mattering also.
For me personally it's more about trying to find a balance of playing the game while having player ratings mattering more than stick skills.

Again I wish the old ways stayed for those who like it, I'm just saying not to assume that those that use "X" is because it's less challenging but rather a way of playing the game to their liking.

[Bobhead]

Re: Analog hitting changed or not?

I really think that it is some menu cleanup that has to occur. Ramone already stated that they were staying the course on the change. Plus when we were there the stride slider was already removed from the slider section.

And I'll be honest, I'm inclined to agree with them.

Obviously I thought the old system was more interesting and would have liked to see the option, but there's definitely a whole lot of nonsense going on in those settings menus. It kind of gives me a headache when I want to do something simple like turn batter OSDs off and I'm not even sure which of the 5 sub-menus it's under

[sroz39]

Re: Analog hitting changed or not?

Its really odd, I am amazing with analogue shooting with hockey but cant skate a lick so I suck in real life at hockey. I can set course records and world records in golf but in real life I have a slice that always gets me when I go out for a round in the summer. I can bat .400 in MLB the show with analog but I never made it as a pro ball player so how realistic is analogue controls in sports games. Sure its an option and people like it, some dont, but its sooooooo far from anything realistic to any actual sport movement its not even funny.

I hope fans of the analogue find a happy spot or get their happy spot back but as a fan of the old guess pitch, you may not get your wish.

However they did change RTTS back to have commentary after the year they removed it, which made me play the game again

Sure, on default All-Star I was hitting .400+ as well with my RTTS player. It is, after all, a video game. But on default All-Star with Zone in past years, I'd also hit .400+. Its not that the mechanics aren't realistic, you're just not setting up the game to be challenging enough for you.

All your other examples fall in this category as well. I used Tournament difficulty in the TW series with all helpful overlays off and shot in the 90's. Imagine if I was using a non-pro, an avatar set up to represent my actual skill level...I'd shoot over 100 like I would in real life from the tips.

You're mistaking playing a video game for unrealistic mechanics. Wanna see how hard The Show can be? Edit a player and zero out as many hitting attributes as possible (to represent what the average Joe would be like compared to a pro athlete), turn the difficulty to Legend and turn the Pitch Speed all the way up. Even then, its not going far enough but even under those conditions, I doubt you'd sniff .200 let alone .400.

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[MLB Bob]

Re: Analog hitting changed or not?

Sure, on default All-Star I was hitting .400+ as well with my RTTS player. It is, after all, a video game. But on default All-Star with Zone in past years, I'd also hit .400+. Its not that the mechanics aren't realistic, you're just not setting up the game to be challenging enough for you.

All your other examples fall in this category as well. I used Tournament difficulty in the TW series with all helpful overlays off and shot in the 90's. Imagine if I was using a non-pro, an avatar set up to represent my actual skill level...I'd shoot over 100 like I would in real life from the tips.

You're mistaking playing a video game for unrealistic mechanics. Wanna see how hard The Show can be? Edit a player and zero out as many hitting attributes as possible (to represent what the average Joe would be like compared to a pro athlete), turn the difficulty to Legend and turn the Pitch Speed all the way up. Even then, its not going far enough but even under those conditions, I doubt you'd sniff .200 let alone .400.

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My point is no matter how you set it up, flicking a control in any direction doesnt replicate anything an athlete does. Its not more realistic in anyway which is being posted here while taking jabs at the other mechanics. It will never matter how difficult the game is set up, using a controller to simulate anything physical will not be realistic. The move is closer but that is still not going to be true simulation. Im just hoping SCEA get more players and have the ability to keep the ones they already have. I hate change in control schemes. I bought playstation back at PS1 and never switched to another system because I dont want to learn a new controller.

[gustavus]

Re: Analog hitting changed or not?

It's not really about making your actions realistic, but providing options that allow for more realistic actions. Analogue hitting provides the absolute best way to mimic a check swing. It provides that ability to start a swing, and then naturally yank back to stop it.



I'm coming from 2K, and the new directional hitting finally mimics the approach to hitting I used there. Chris Gill explains it perfectly. You go up with a plan, and then widen the zone you look at as you get strikes on you. The 2K devs, because they were abysmal at explaining their game, never showed players how to use it, so it was characterized as arcadey. But if decide early in a count to look low and away, and then get that pitch, directional hitting rewards you. But it also encourages you to take pitches when you get on inside or up high.



You also get the benefit of trying to force a hit behind the runner or a sac fly. But again, early in the at bat, you need to wait for a pitch that lets you do that more effective. But you still might want to force it later, depending on how critical the situation is.



I do wish the was (maybe there is?) a way to view each hitter's hot and cold zones so that you can approach an at bat differently based on whoever I hitting.



And while guess pitch is a good way to approach hitting, I'd still like the devs to consider the way 2K tips off hitters based on their ratings. It's the exact kind of advantage the elite hitters have, which is a keen sense of what is coming and where. It provides them more opportunities to use the slight advantage of directional hitting. I was always kept that slider low, which meant Cano might see it severs times a game, but a scrub might only see I once or twice a week.



As for the step, I really understand why folks want it and enjoyed it. It's shocking that it was taken out in the same manner as 2K. But in the end, the opportunity to use pulling back to get more power as a pitch comes in to your predicted sweet spot was better than adding a potential penalty for screwing up the first part of two steps to Tim a pitch. Again, 2K failed to explain that power had less to do with hitting home runs, but more to do with mimicking the feeling you get she you know what's coming. The tighter window means using it with two strikes or when contact I important is too much of a risk. It's best used with 2-0 and 3-1 counts, when you can focus on one pitch, and let strikes that aren't ideal go. Limiting it to

[benanderson110]

Re: Analog hitting changed or not?

I remember in The Show 14, I was playing as the Indians in one of my test franchises, in an interleague game against the Padres and I want to say I was facing Ian Kennedy. Can't remember 100%

Anyway, the Padres were slowly building up a sizeable lead and got out in front 5-0 by the 5th. Kennedy was dealing. I think I had two hits and a walk to that point. I start studying the Pitcher/Batter analysis and notice a lot of changeups. Sure enough, his confidence in his changeup was almost full, every other pitch halfway or so. I notice he uses it as his out pitch.

Long story short, I claw back to 5-3 by the time I get to the 7th inning with 1 out after a solo homer. I try and be a little more patient so I can chase this guy out of the game and end up walking with the next two guys, coincidentally. I have Carlos Santana coming up with two on. The at bat gets to a full count. Next pitch, changeup. Way ahead of it, foul ball. Next pitch changeup, same thing, way ahead of it, foul ball. I think to myself, no way he's going to throw a 3rd changeup in a row but whatever, I'm gonna sit on a changeup. I have an out to play with with Jason Kipnis behind me.

Santana's stride is a pain to get down at the best of times, its really long. But on that pitch, everything was perfect. Stride timing was money, I sat on a changeup even though in my mind I wanted to swing at a fastball speed, and sure enough I absolutely CRUSHED the ball to right-centre. 3 run bomb, go up 6-5, end up winning the game in the end.

I played countless games and because of the Pure Analog system, I remember that one so vividly almost a year later. Crazy. It replicates keeping your hands back on an off-speed pitch and I've never had a better feeling in a sports game than that at-bat, that one pitch and how everything came together.

Those and the smaller, not-quite-as-memorable, moments I'm really going to miss. Pushing a button can't replicate what happened in that game.

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Wow, I could relate to this post so well. Without sounding too melodramatic, perhaps we should create a thread of our eulogy to Analog.

I remember so vividly over the years moving from Timing to Pure Analog to Zone to Zone+Analog. It was so difficult in the beginning, but over time, the game became exponentially more enjoyable. I've logged hundreds of hours at this point and cannot imagine the game without that stride factor. As others have said, it feels so much more like actually swinging away than the buttons. The ability for the game to change with every batter and every pitcher was a level of immersion I've never had in a video game before. The other batting modes never came close to matching that immersion for me. Very sad to see it go.

I too have stories like yours that will stick with me for a long time; some thrilling and others crushing. A few months ago, my Reds Franchise had a tight 7-game down-to-the-wire NLCS against the Giants as I had the opposite experience you did. I was waiting on a hanging slider that Affeldt had been throwing and got fooled with a painted fastball to end it. Heartbreaking. I'm sure it would've been a fun experience no matter the hitting mode, but there's just something about that added stride element that makes success so much more "real" and satisfying for me. Couldn't agree more with your comments on "keeping your hands back".

With this upcoming Analog change, I'm now actually more excited for the RBI Baseball 15 changes than The Show 15. At least that game is clearly supposed to be a button mashing arcade and my 6-year-old baseball fanatic of a son will love it. I guess this is goodbye to a true simulation experience for me. I'll try out the new changes, but will probably keep playing last year's game and blindly hope they'll bring back the old analog swing next year.

[sroz39]

Re: Analog hitting changed or not?

My point is no matter how you set it up, flicking a control in any direction doesnt replicate anything an athlete does. Its not more realistic in anyway which is being posted here while taking jabs at the other mechanics. It will never matter how difficult the game is set up, using a controller to simulate anything physical will not be realistic. The move is closer but that is still not going to be true simulation. Im just hoping SCEA get more players and have the ability to keep the ones they already have. I hate change in control schemes. I bought playstation back at PS1 and never switched to another system because I dont want to learn a new controller.

I could counter every one of your points but at the heart of the matter is we clearly want different things from our games. Alas, before this year's game, we both got those things.

I will get off your lawn now sir.

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[MLB Bob]

Re: Analog hitting changed or not?

I could counter every one of your points but at the heart of the matter is we clearly want different things from our games. Alas, before this year's game, we both got those things.

I will get off your lawn now sir.

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I have no idea what any of this message has to do with anything Ive said. Or what youre implying with the last comment. I was actually relating to how some of the complaints about the new system is coming about. Change, and unwanted change can suck. I relate, as I hate the idea of changing a controller

The gamers that want the old system because its what they know and enjoyed is a real and valid thing. People claiming that its more realistic or replicates the sport in a more realistic way is not so based in reality.

I actually prefer to have realistic results. Im not a big fan of batting .400 on legend with low sliders and crappy players, but since the timing window was opened up in 13, hitting for me has been way too easy.

I hope you find some peace and get a viable option like youve had in previous years some time. Good luck young wipper snapper (Im not an old man kicking kids off his lawn)

[Bobhead]

Re: Analog hitting changed or not?

I have no idea what any of this message has to do with anything Ive said. Or what youre implying with the last comment. I was actually relating to how some of the complaints about the new system is coming about. Change, and unwanted change can suck. I relate, as I hate the idea of changing a controller

The gamers that want the old system because its what they know and enjoyed is a real and valid thing. People claiming that its more realistic or replicates the sport in a more realistic way is not so based in reality.

I actually prefer to have realistic results. Im not a big fan of batting .400 on legend with low sliders and crappy players, but since the timing window was opened up in 13, hitting for me has been way too easy.

I hope you find some peace and get a viable option like youve had in previous years some time. Good luck young wipper snapper (Im not an old man kicking kids off his lawn)

I dont think you understand what realistic means. It doesn't mean a 1-for-1 representation of an actual thing. It doesn't mean an unflawed model.

Just because people are saying the old analog system was more realistic doesn't mean they are attending Braves spring training games as a non-roster invite expecting to get Scott Boras' attention. You're making a huge deal about nothing, imo.

[Stolm]

Re: Analog hitting changed or not?

I have no idea what any of this message has to do with anything Ive said. Or what youre implying with the last comment. I was actually relating to how some of the complaints about the new system is coming about. Change, and unwanted change can suck. I relate, as I hate the idea of changing a controller

The gamers that want the old system because its what they know and enjoyed is a real and valid thing. People claiming that its more realistic or replicates the sport in a more realistic way is not so based in reality.

I actually prefer to have realistic results. Im not a big fan of batting .400 on legend with low sliders and crappy players, but since the timing window was opened up in 13, hitting for me has been way too easy.

I hope you find some peace and get a viable option like youve had in previous years some time. Good luck young wipper snapper (Im not an old man kicking kids off his lawn)

Don't think you quite get it.

Nobody is saying hitting a button or flicking the analog feels like hitting an actual baseball. But in terms of recreating that action on a controller, previous Analog is as realistic as it's probably going to get.

[caseyj622]

Re: Analog hitting changed or not?

Man this is such a bummer for me. I was really stoked looking at the videos of 15. The game looks like its made some great improvements.

I really thought they nailed pure analog hitting and it was all I used since it was introduced to the series. Timing the stride and pulling a ball into the seats just felt amazing.

Not sure I will pick up the game this year after hearing this. Might just have to stick with 14. Seems like the dev team is really trying to simplify the hitting mechanics to make it easier for the casual game to play. While I get that, it is a disappointment for hardcore baseball fans because as we all know, hitting is supposed to be hard and frustrating at times. That's why a 30% career success rate makes you a superstar.

[ryanmc564]

Re: Analog hitting changed or not?

so..... kind of eating my words right now, I had always used analog for batting but switched to buttons because I keep tearing up the rubber on the analog sticks, it happens to every controller I have ever used playing any baseball game. after switching to buttons I could tell I wasn't batting as good my rtts character was still batting a .345 average but it just never felt right. so I decided to last night to switch to analog again just to see if it had any noticeable affect and it did. I never realized how much the stride with the analog played into my timing when batting, but it really does. So I can understand a lot of the complaints about the analog controls being changed, I was always a 2k baseball game guy due to not having a ps3 until the show 10 I believe. I just remember when 2k change their analog control to what mlb 15 has going for it, I cried foul on their forums but after the game came out and getting to play it I didn't mind the change and actually batted better with the new style (being able to foul off boarder line pitches better and feeling like I had more of control of my at bats) but I do agree with a lot of people preferring the old way because it does feels more real / natural. so now kind of I'm leaning towards the old analog style as the better analog control scheme but will reserve my judgment until 15 comes out.

[ARoid1313]

Re: Analog hitting changed or not?

Looks like this thread is officially dead..
Rip pure analog hitting... You will be missed....

[CaseIH]

Re: Analog hitting changed or not?

Last night watching the twitch stream I found something interesting and it's driving me nuts...

Ramone and the other devs talked about how they changed the hitting interface, simplifying the analog hitting controls. However this is a big, unwanted change for me.

I've been using the analog hitting & pitching exclusively since it was introduced a few years ago and I'm so used to always pulling back the right analog stick for a stride and moving it forward for a swing. Now, they say, you don't have to pull back (stride) for contact and normal swings.

Do you think, or have there been any indications, that the previous system is still in place and this is just another option to use, or they completely changed the analog interface and you can't go back to what you are used to.

This is the biggest question for me regarding MLB 15 The Show and this needs clarification BIG TIME!

I would appriciate Ramone to give us a word (I know this is gonne be the topic in one of the streams, but an earlier answer would be nice)

Thank you!

Like you, I will probably have trouble getting use to the new way, as I have used analog for everything since they introduced it. I struggle hitting anyway,lol. OH well, Im sure I will get the hang of it, but it will definitely take a lot of practice for me to ge the hang of it no doubt.

[Stolm]

Re: Analog hitting changed or not?

Looks like this thread is officially dead..
Rip pure analog hitting... You will be missed....

Until people get a hold of the game. Then I expect lots of threads depending on how bad or good the hitting feels.