I really, really want to like this game.

[The_Dude88]

Re: I really, really want to like this game.

You are not alone. I've enjoyed very little about MLB15 and nearly every night go to bed angry or depressed about it.

Specifically, my frustrations relate to hitting and stem from the feeling that even with zone hitting I seem to have little control over the outcome. Squared up good timing hits repeatedly die at the warning track or are easily tracked down in the gap. Occasionally, perfectly squared up baseballs result in weak fly balls. I don't know what I have to do to hit home runs. The home runs I do hit are usually cheap (late timing or PCI not placed on the ball) and leave me with the feeling the CPU is throwing me a bone. I feel no sense of accomplishment or satisfaction when my good actions aren't rewarded and my poor actions are.

This is the only game I play and I had an incredible amount of fun with MLB14 on the PS3. So this year I spent the money to get a PS4 and enjoy The Show in all its graphical glory. The lighting additions and changes to diamond dynasty are fantastic, but beyond that I think this years game is a complete disaster. I search the forums every day with the hope of discovering some tidbit of information to shed light on what I might be doing wrong or enable me to find some satisfaction with the game. Given the money put into this, I've been hesitant to just call it quits but it is getting close to that point.

Finally, I do feel the developers misrepresented the game in one of the pre-release streams when they stated they made changes so that balls wouldn't hang in the air as long, resulting in more extra base hits. I have seen no evidence that this is true as I have experienced a significant decrease in extra base hits from 14. Perhaps what they really meant to say was that they neutered power in this years game and the ball will now come off the bat like a well struck pillow.

Go into the slider settings and lower the fielders running speed, and lower the reaction slider.

[Ghost Of The Year]

Re: I really, really want to like this game.

My wife really, really wants me to not like this game.
Some guys have all the luck.

[KBLover]

Re: I really, really want to like this game.

My wife really, really wants me to not like this game.
Some guys have all the luck.

Some days I wonder:

-Do I have a special version of the game?

-Was my console blessed by some deity/faerie/spirit?

-Are my standards just incredibly low to like this game?

I don't know - I just don't see the barrage of issues that others do. I mean, I play on the "least control" interfaces for hitting and pitching and auto everything else except throwing, but I never feel "out of control" (such that real hitters and pitchers have "control" over things...which is only to a degree - "total control" is as unrealistic as truly zero control) or that whatever happened was "scripted".

Yes, there's too many pop ups. I wish there were actual hitter tendencies (directional influencing helps at least so I can replicate the tendencies of real hitters to some degree), I wish HR/9 wasn't useless in played games (it's more of an actual pitcher skill in real baseball than H/9). There are too many thrown away pick offs, etc.

*shrug* Maybe I'm blind or something and don't see the rest.

[alexander_37]

Re: I really, really want to like this game.

The user defense is really horrible. I almost always get scored on because of errors. Sometimes user errors, mostly failing to tag, failing to touch the bag and just dropped and fumbled balls.

[cusefan74]

Re: I really, really want to like this game.

I think the difference is between user fielding and auto fielding. People fielding themselves have problems. I use auto and don't have any issues to speak of. For example the first baseman not covering first, I have seen it once in over 100 games. Guys dropping line drives, once maybe twice, but it's been a while. My first baseman did drop a popup once, but it happens.

For whatever reason user fielding sounds like a mess this year.

[Skyboxer]

Re: I really, really want to like this game.

If I could have an NFL game of this games quality .... oh man.

[alexander_37]

Re: I really, really want to like this game.

I think the difference is between user fielding and auto fielding. People fielding themselves have problems. I use auto and don't have any issues to speak of. For example the first baseman not covering first, I have seen it once in over 100 games. Guys dropping line drives, once maybe twice, but it's been a while. My first baseman did drop a popup once, but it happens.

For whatever reason user fielding sounds like a mess this year.

DD doesn't give you that option though.

[Stolm]

Re: I really, really want to like this game.

I've only had the game for a few days at this point, but I'm really not enjoying hitting at all so far.

I was still playing 14 right up until i bought 15 so I am not rusty at all, and hitting is brutal this year.

I am having a hard time picking up the ball in the batters box, everything looks pretty blurry, and the movement on the ball is killing me.

I've played on Legend for 4 years and suddenly I can't hit anything.

The Zone hitting difficulty rebalance seems a little overkill, PCI placement needs to be almost perfect to get any kind of decent contact now it seems. I'd actually probably enjoy it though, if I could see the ball at all. I've been popping up pitches and lifting lazy fly balls non stop since I started playing

[Splitter77]

Re: I really, really want to like this game.

its something with the hitting.
its just not fun.
i honestly havent played this game in a month.
i play super mega baseball almost every day.

the hitting in that game has more variety and its way more fun.

[watergoy]

Re: I really, really want to like this game.

These are just a few of what has been plaguing this series for years. And the problem is, they never seem to get fixed. If they can't fix these glaring issues, perhaps it's time for an entire rewrite, but if they can, they need to stop focusing on making the game pretty and having fans catch balls in the stands and focus on the GAMEPLAY!

I agree 100%. This game is like playing Stat-O-Matic with graphics, bottom line, cut and dry, end of the story.

When we make contact it is no different then rolling the dice and looking on the hitters or pitchers card for the results period!!!

If we don't use auto fielding, so what, the result is still GB to SS based on the dice roll the CPU chooses when contact is made.

The game is scripted, but I don't care because playing Stat-O-Matic with graphics was always something I wanted to try.

The Show is that game.

[watergoy]

Re: I really, really want to like this game.

Some days I wonder:

-Do I have a special version of the game?

-Was my console blessed by some deity/faerie/spirit?

-Are my standards just incredibly low to like this game?

I don't know - I just don't see the barrage of issues that others do. I mean, I play on the "least control" interfaces for hitting and pitching and auto everything else except throwing, but I never feel "out of control" (such that real hitters and pitchers have "control" over things...which is only to a degree - "total control" is as unrealistic as truly zero control) or that whatever happened was "scripted".

Yes, there's too many pop ups. I wish there were actual hitter tendencies (directional influencing helps at least so I can replicate the tendencies of real hitters to some degree), I wish HR/9 wasn't useless in played games (it's more of an actual pitcher skill in real baseball than H/9). There are too many thrown away pick offs, etc.

*shrug* Maybe I'm blind or something and don't see the rest.

Its not you, maybe you have never played Strat-O-Matic.

Maybe you are programmed, don't know.

[Artman22]

Re: I really, really want to like this game.

I've been feeling like this game has been scripted for years now, but at this point I just play it for what it is. Like many others I don't feel like the gameplay feels organic and sometimes it feels like an RPG. This game has so much potential to be great. To me the gameplay sometimes feeling scripted is the biggest problem I have with it because this is a quality game. I have fun playing this game with friends and in leagues, but I wish we had more control of the actual outcomes. Again, that's just me. Just like there's many who feel this way there are many who feel the game isn't scripted.

[TheRealC7R]

Re: I really, really want to like this game.

I'm genuinely curious as to why some of you guys feel the game is scripted. I've had seemingly unrealistic comebacks but I've also had comebacks that the CPU would feel were most unrealistic e.g bottom of the ninth, two outs, I get 3 singles and then walk-off. I've even seen a developer say that no such code exists.

[cts50]

Re: I really, really want to like this game.

I think the difference is between user fielding and auto fielding. People fielding themselves have problems. I use auto and don't have any issues to speak of. For example the first baseman not covering first, I have seen it once in over 100 games. Guys dropping line drives, once maybe twice, but it's been a while. My first baseman did drop a popup once, but it happens.

For whatever reason user fielding sounds like a mess this year.

Cant upvote this enough. Auto fielding makes the defensive side of the game much better. Defensive ratings matter more, the graphics are smoother, the animations are better. It is great.

[cts50]

Re: I really, really want to like this game.

I've only had the game for a few days at this point, but I'm really not enjoying hitting at all so far.

I was still playing 14 right up until i bought 15 so I am not rusty at all, and hitting is brutal this year.

I am having a hard time picking up the ball in the batters box, everything looks pretty blurry, and the movement on the ball is killing me.

I've played on Legend for 4 years and suddenly I can't hit anything.

The Zone hitting difficulty rebalance seems a little overkill, PCI placement needs to be almost perfect to get any kind of decent contact now it seems. I'd actually probably enjoy it though, if I could see the ball at all. I've been popping up pitches and lifting lazy fly balls non stop since I started playing

Id rather play a game that has a CPU that challenges me than play a game like Madden, where I can blowout the CPU by 50 on all-madden every game.