I am talking in terms of gameplay mechanics and ratings, what can the devs add to recreate individual players strengths and weaknesses?
The Show does a great job staying within the confines of MLB averages and overall it is the most sim sports game there is without a doubt. But I do see room for growth in simulating individual players to play like their real life counterparts both when the CPU controls them and when a human controls them.
For batters I would love to see different bat speeds represented. Causing a bit of a shift in the timing window for each individual batter. In real life some guys just struggle catching up to the fast ball because of their bat speed, that should be represented in gameplay some way I think. It would probably create a lot of work though modifying the current system of hit timing but I think it would be worth exploring. It would not only change the way you bat with a player but also how you pitch to a batter. Facing a guy that can't keep up with the inside fastball? Let it fly!
Hot zones are a great feature but they could be developed and utilized better. We have so much data available from real life that you can truly see every batter and pitchers tendencies to the nth degree. I am guessing the hot/cold zones in the player card for batters represent the batting average of balls in play. That is helpful when scouting an opponent but it has a very minimal impact on the gameplay. It has been stated it adds 5% either way to the outcome of a hit. I wouldn't want this to be overdone but perhaps more incentive would be nice to try to swing at pitches where they are most succesful when controlling a batter, to make us play with each batter a bit different. Right now I can just sit on the ball up and inside, middle, or middle inside with every batter to get the best results.
Similarly I would love to see more types of charts like this that dictate stats/gameplay. A hot/cold zone for batters that show their swing rate, that the CPU batters would use to determine when what pitches to swing at or lay off. A hot/cold zone for pitchers which display how often each specific pitch is thrown to each part of the zone vs leftys and vs rightys.
For fielding I think SCEA made great strides this year in outfield play and creating a substantial difference in the quality of defense out there. The infield could see a wider range of elite, average, and poor fielders. You don't see the same separation between an elite fielder and an average one. When I am playing against Simmons in my Mets franchise I don't see nearly enough of his stellar play like I do on TV. I boosted his reaction but it still doesn't seem enough.
Another wish is to see catchers better differentiated from one another. Things like framing pitches and game calling having an impact on gameplay. I wouldn't want a poor catcher at this attributes to turn Max Scherzer into Dillon Gee, but maybe a slight boost/negative to their skills that game depending on who is catching them. The chemistry between pitcher and catcher is pretty damn important and is why some pitchers have specific catchers they throw to.
A bit off topic but manager tendencies would be a major plus. Facing different teams and seeing them each steal more or less, hit and run more or less. And the bullpen management should get a nice hard look. It kills the immersion a bit seeing a lefty reliever enter the game to face Lucas Duda or a righty to face Giancarlo Stanton. The LOOGY is a real thing and it should be represented in the game. A pitcher coming in to get 1 out never happens in The Show. I want to see The Show managers making decision based on the numbers like managers in real life when deciding to make pitching changes.
The gameplay is solid enough that I have hopes these deeper layers of gameplay will truly take things to the next level.
The Show does a great job staying within the confines of MLB averages and overall it is the most sim sports game there is without a doubt. But I do see room for growth in simulating individual players to play like their real life counterparts both when the CPU controls them and when a human controls them.
For batters I would love to see different bat speeds represented. Causing a bit of a shift in the timing window for each individual batter. In real life some guys just struggle catching up to the fast ball because of their bat speed, that should be represented in gameplay some way I think. It would probably create a lot of work though modifying the current system of hit timing but I think it would be worth exploring. It would not only change the way you bat with a player but also how you pitch to a batter. Facing a guy that can't keep up with the inside fastball? Let it fly!
Hot zones are a great feature but they could be developed and utilized better. We have so much data available from real life that you can truly see every batter and pitchers tendencies to the nth degree. I am guessing the hot/cold zones in the player card for batters represent the batting average of balls in play. That is helpful when scouting an opponent but it has a very minimal impact on the gameplay. It has been stated it adds 5% either way to the outcome of a hit. I wouldn't want this to be overdone but perhaps more incentive would be nice to try to swing at pitches where they are most succesful when controlling a batter, to make us play with each batter a bit different. Right now I can just sit on the ball up and inside, middle, or middle inside with every batter to get the best results.
Similarly I would love to see more types of charts like this that dictate stats/gameplay. A hot/cold zone for batters that show their swing rate, that the CPU batters would use to determine when what pitches to swing at or lay off. A hot/cold zone for pitchers which display how often each specific pitch is thrown to each part of the zone vs leftys and vs rightys.
For fielding I think SCEA made great strides this year in outfield play and creating a substantial difference in the quality of defense out there. The infield could see a wider range of elite, average, and poor fielders. You don't see the same separation between an elite fielder and an average one. When I am playing against Simmons in my Mets franchise I don't see nearly enough of his stellar play like I do on TV. I boosted his reaction but it still doesn't seem enough.
Another wish is to see catchers better differentiated from one another. Things like framing pitches and game calling having an impact on gameplay. I wouldn't want a poor catcher at this attributes to turn Max Scherzer into Dillon Gee, but maybe a slight boost/negative to their skills that game depending on who is catching them. The chemistry between pitcher and catcher is pretty damn important and is why some pitchers have specific catchers they throw to.
A bit off topic but manager tendencies would be a major plus. Facing different teams and seeing them each steal more or less, hit and run more or less. And the bullpen management should get a nice hard look. It kills the immersion a bit seeing a lefty reliever enter the game to face Lucas Duda or a righty to face Giancarlo Stanton. The LOOGY is a real thing and it should be represented in the game. A pitcher coming in to get 1 out never happens in The Show. I want to see The Show managers making decision based on the numbers like managers in real life when deciding to make pitching changes.
The gameplay is solid enough that I have hopes these deeper layers of gameplay will truly take things to the next level.
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