Is Directional hitting working properly?

[KBLover]

Re: Is Directional hitting working properly?

I think what throws our perception off is the swing info. When we see "Good" timing and still pop out, we think "man thats bs".

Yeah, it's something we need to stop thinking, too. Think like we're playing baseball, not just in video game terms.

Timing is just one ingredient to a good swing that generates good results. Swing plane, location, etc - good timing and just off path of the bat can make a pop up just as much.

Since we're only controlling the type of hit we are trying for (influence), how aggressive our swings are (power, contact, normal), and the timing, the actual path to the ball is up to the hitter. If they are just off - pop ups can happen even with awesome timing.

[nemesis04]

Re: Is Directional hitting working properly?

Unless you turn the camera shift off in the options, as i do

Yes, you can do that if you choose.

[loso_34]

Re: Is Directional hitting working properly?

With Directional Hitting, you are actually moving stick where you want the ball to go, not necessarily where you want to focus (that is actually what you're doing with Zone Hitting). One could argue these are the samething, but not really. Yes the camera shifts, but that is because the player is "shifting his weight" to pull the push (or hit other way). As a result he will cover less of the opposite direction.

The camera does not shift when you press up or down (I believe) as the player is not concentrating on top or bottom of the zone, but rather looking to hit ball up or down regardless of where ball is....

So no, pushing a direction does not change "focus" of hitter. I turn off camera shift as I want to remain centered always while still controlling where I want to influence incoming pitch.

do you move the stick as the pitch is coming or decide where you want to hit it before the pitch?

[loso_34]

Re: Is Directional hitting working properly?

and they said this mode is easier than zone?

far from the truth. never whiffed at so many meatballs and popped up hangers. YOu really get punished for bad timing using this mode.

[Ghost Of The Year]

Re: Is Directional hitting working properly?

and they said this mode is easier than zone?

far from the truth. never whiffed at so many meatballs and popped up hangers. YOu really get punished for bad timing using this mode.

I think it relies more on batting attributes, as opposed to user skill.
The interface is easier to use but that doesn't mean it's easier to hit with.
It's like comparing an automatic transmission in a vehicle to a manual one.
Yeah, the auto is easier to drive, but the stick should still outperform the auto
Result is it can be easier to get good results with zone, but you have to work harder at it.
With direction, depending on the hitter, it doesn't matter how good you are, sometimes a particular batter just isn't going to get good results.

[loso_34]

Re: Is Directional hitting working properly?

I think it relies more on batting attributes, as opposed to user skill.
The interface is easier to use but that doesn't mean it's easier to hit with.
It's like comparing an automatic transmission in a vehicle to a manual one.
Yeah, the auto is easier to drive, but the stick should still outperform the auto.

disagree dont see all the skill in zone. i switched from zone and am hitting much worse and lost all power i had previously.

the approach to directional is more to real life imo and thats what i like about this mode.

[Ghost Of The Year]

Re: Is Directional hitting working properly?

disagree dont see all the skill in zone. i switched from zone and am hitting much worse and lost all power i had previously.

the approach to directional is more to real life imo and thats what i like about this mode.

You hit better in zone because of your skill. Now with directional, your depending on the batter attributes. Are you saying you don't hit well with players like Mike Trout, using directional? Or you don't hit well with average players?

[COMMISSIONERHBK9]

Re: Is Directional hitting working properly?

So let me get this straight if I don't move the left stick the computer would aim for me ? If I aim up left most likely it will be a fly ball correct?

[bcruise]

Re: Is Directional hitting working properly?

So let me get this straight if I don't move the left stick the computer would aim for me ? If I aim up left most likely it will be a fly ball correct?

If you hit it cleanly, yes. PCI placement is still decided by the AI despite what direction you're pushing, and your influence direction doesn't come into play until after the quality of contact has been decided.

Unfortunately the AI's PCI placement for you on directional is under-the-hood this year, so it's not always easy to see if the placement was good. You can get a basic idea from the swing analysis window after the pitch, but if you really want to see how good it was go into the batter analysis and use the "label hitchance" filter. Anything that's labeled 15 means good PCI placement and, assuming you timed your swing well, you should be able to influence the direction of these hits fairly well. Contact with low numbers, on the other hand, is usually going to indicate weak hits and fouls that you won't be able to influence much.

[COMMISSIONERHBK9]

Re: Is Directional hitting working properly?

So should I use the left stick or don't use it and just get my timing better?

If you hit it cleanly, yes. PCI placement is still decided by the AI despite what direction you're pushing, and your influence direction doesn't come into play until after the quality of contact has been decided.

Unfortunately the AI's PCI placement for you on directional is under-the-hood this year, so it's not always easy to see if the placement was good. You can get a basic idea from the swing analysis window after the pitch, but if you really want to see how good it was go into the batter analysis and use the "label hitchance" filter. Anything that's labeled 15 means good PCI placement and, assuming you timed your swing well, you should be able to influence the direction of these hits fairly well. Contact with low numbers, on the other hand, is usually going to indicate weak hits and fouls that you won't be able to influence much.

[Guys_WhoGame]

Re: Is Directional hitting working properly?

So should I use the left stick or don't use it and just get my timing better?

Only use the left stick to influence the chance where you want the ball to go. Using the left stick on timed hitting isn't like zone.. You're just giving yourself a chance to pull the pitch where you want to. Timing is the main thing when it comes to that interface.

[KBLover]

Re: Is Directional hitting working properly?

You hit better in zone because of your skill. Now with directional, your depending on the batter attributes. Are you saying you don't hit well with players like Mike Trout, using directional? Or you don't hit well with average players?

I would think both interfaces rely on batter attributes, though.

Or would squaring up with the pitcher give the same results as squaring up with Trout?

I can't speak for his experiences, but I can hit poorly at times with good hitters on Directional and sometimes average ones do well. Overall, though, it tends to land closer to their ratings, and I would imagine zone is similar, assuming you're playing the interface well.

So should I use the left stick or don't use it and just get my timing better?

Timing is paramount. Even with influence, if your timing is off, you won't get the best/desired results. Influencing pull and swinging late is not likely to work out, and even less likely to actually pull the ball.

You want G/JL/JE as much as possible, regardless of influence or no. E/L can work out if in the same direction of the influence and the pitch is opposite to the influence (i.e. you want to pull a pitch away, swinging at Early timing will make that possible, and the result will depend a lot on hitter ratings/PCI placement.

PCI placement is always a variable and, unfortunately, it influences actual push/pull instead hook/slice it seems. So if you swing Early, but the PCI is inside the ball, you'll just "less" push than if you had no influence. If you influenced opposite field, you'd probably end up pushing it foul.

Influencing is a calculated risk. Timing is always in your control. So you want correct timing for what you're trying to do (which doesn't always mean exactly "Good", JE/JL can work just fine, sometimes better), and hope the player's swing (PCI placement) is up to snuff.

The Timing slider has a hand as well. It seems to govern how "sensitive" timing away from Good (or, actually, Perfect but that's not displayed in-game but is in batter analysis), as well as the overall size of the window. Lower timing slider might actually help. It depends. Have to play with it.

[COMMISSIONERHBK9]

Re: Is Directional hitting working properly?

What do u mean by
G/JL/JE? So if timing is more important then I'm gong to stop using the left stick then

I would think both interfaces rely on batter attributes, though.

Or would squaring up with the pitcher give the same results as squaring up with Trout?

I can't speak for his experiences, but I can hit poorly at times with good hitters on Directional and sometimes average ones do well. Overall, though, it tends to land closer to their ratings, and I would imagine zone is similar, assuming you're playing the interface well.





Timing is paramount. Even with influence, if your timing is off, you won't get the best/desired results. Influencing pull and swinging late is not likely to work out, and even less likely to actually pull the ball.

You want G/JL/JE as much as possible, regardless of influence or no. E/L can work out if in the same direction of the influence and the pitch is opposite to the influence (i.e. you want to pull a pitch away, swinging at Early timing will make that possible, and the result will depend a lot on hitter ratings/PCI placement.

PCI placement is always a variable and, unfortunately, it influences actual push/pull instead hook/slice it seems. So if you swing Early, but the PCI is inside the ball, you'll just "less" push than if you had no influence. If you influenced opposite field, you'd probably end up pushing it foul.

Influencing is a calculated risk. Timing is always in your control. So you want correct timing for what you're trying to do (which doesn't always mean exactly "Good", JE/JL can work just fine, sometimes better), and hope the player's swing (PCI placement) is up to snuff.

The Timing slider has a hand as well. It seems to govern how "sensitive" timing away from Good (or, actually, Perfect but that's not displayed in-game but is in batter analysis), as well as the overall size of the window. Lower timing slider might actually help. It depends. Have to play with it.

[The Chef]

Re: Is Directional hitting working properly?

What do u mean by
G/JL/JE? So if timing is more important then I'm gong to stop using the left stick then

I believe he means good/just late/just early in terms of swing analysis.

Sent from my SM-G920T using Tapatalk

[KBLover]

Re: Is Directional hitting working properly?

What do u mean by
G/JL/JE? So if timing is more important then I'm gong to stop using the left stick then

VL = Very Late
L = Late
JL = Just Late
G = Good, P = Perfect (it might display, I can't remember), N = Normal = Good
JE = Just Early
E = Early
VE = Very Early

As The Chef said, these are all batter analysis labels/shorthand for what you see in-game in swing analysis (except you never see Perfect or Normal - just "Good" in game. Pitchers can see "Perfect" for their deliveries in-game). That's one of the best features of the game, those analysis screens (pitcher, too).

You can do stop using the L-stick entirely, but, imo, it's better to stop using the left stick unless you want to try for a specific direction/batted ball.

That said, baseball is a game driven heavily by two things: mental approach and results, so if that ends up working, then by all means run with it! If it clears your head, let's you just focus on the ball and keeps you less frustrated at the plate, then it's a positive approach. There's no right or wrong way to do things if you're producing results.