Re: Directional Hitting Guide

[d4rkn1ghtcrawler]

Re: Directional Hitting Guide

What's his vision at? As I've said before vision is the most important attribute when it comes to Directional hitting.

I'm going to assume it's low considering you've tried shifting strategies and you're still batting around the mendoza line.

If you've tried pulling, pushing and downwards influences there isn't really much more to do at this point directional wise. You can try using contact swing (circle) earlier in the count or sinking him to the bottom half of the lineup to take the pressure off.

You might also want to consider trading him. His bat may have just had a bad month and he's about to turn it around, but sometimes certain players just don't work out no matter their attributes. Accepting that fact and moving on is part of being a good GM.

I just signed him to a monster deal

The previous season he hit over .300 with 50+ HRs and 134 RBIs. The biggest difference is that he isn't crushing left handed pictures. He was batting around .250 against right handed pitchers but close to .400 against lefties.

[Dragsy]

Re: Directional Hitting Guide

Push/Down hybrid swing is probably your next stop on the search for some decent contact. Barring that, it might be time to consider a trade in the offseason.

He's obviously having a problem with vision, so some time training up with the hitting coach and adding some down swings earlier in the count might also help.

I got an rbi single using just down influence on Friday, I'm hoping that's going to be a stepping stone for the return to form, I don't really want to move him if I can avoid it.

[shark547]

Re: Directional Hitting Guide

If you play conquest are you playing online??? I am having issues with timing on directional and maybe it is the servers???

[TheWarmWind]

Re: Directional Hitting Guide

If you play conquest are you playing online??? I am having issues with timing on directional and maybe it is the servers???

No, I never play online and I am unsure how my guide would translate into the online experience.

[bigd51]

Re: Directional Hitting Guide

I am convinced now, more than ever, that RTTS plays significantly different than Franchise does in terms of batting at least.

After reading this and finally having some type of detailed guide explaining how to best use Directional hitting (a mode I always use, but have grown increasingly frustrated w/ up to this point), I finally feel like in Franchise I'm getting it, and it's showing. I use to just depend on "timing only" by swinging w/o any influencing because I didn't know how the influencing really worked. I immediately started hitting the ball more precisely and in-tune w/ each individual batter afterwards, though.

Just last night, I ended a three game, opening season series against the Brewers scoring double-digit runs and 17-22 hits per game. I checked my box scores after each game, and I also ended each game w/ every batter getting at least 1 hit. I've built the Braves as a mostly contact team w/ hella speed and defense, sans power, so contact base hits and gap drives are my bread and butter. The strategy is mostly Drive (down influence, normal swing) w/ timing mostly being the directional influence. Needless to say, I was feeling it.

So I immediately save and switch to RTTS, which I routinely do. I get into my first few games using the same exact strategy, options, sliders, cameras, everything... and immediately I get this feeling I can best describe as heaviness. Like the bat is 10 pounds heavier when I swing and I'm trying to drive a wiffle ball. It either ends in a flyout, weak chopper in front of the plate, or driven directly into the glove of any fielder, including the pitcher and catcher. And when it does finally result in a hit, it feels cheap and unearned. Like a weak blooper between 1st and RF or a weak chop in front of the plate in which you only beat the throw because the catcher took his sweet time picking up and throwing the ball to 1st.

Don't get me wrong... I understand the whole "that's baseball" argument when it comes to being hot and cold at the plate. I understand a batter has to fail 7 out of 10 times just to hit the .300 mark.

But this is where I have an issue w/ RTTS... it really seems to try it's best to punish you for good decisions. Case in point:



This is my current RTTS performance. I'd say my discipline could be better, but isn't necessarily bad. My contact per swing is well in the agreeable range, and my swing timing is well in favor of good... yet my % of good contact is just above the 25% range. Keep in mind, that % of good contact includes the amount of those good contact swings that went straight towards a fielder for a routine out.

My batting attributes are mid 60's contact (both sides), low 60's power (both sides), w/ low 70's vision and high 60's discipline. I use the same strategies I would use in Franchise w/ a hitter w/ the same attributes, yet my % of good contact seems far too low for a hitter w/ low 70 vision + player equipment upgrades that raise said attribute to low 80's during gameplay.

If that's baseball, I can accept it. But Directional seems to reward you heavily on discipline, which includes taking early pitches, working the count, and seeing enough balls the pitcher has thrown to you to strike when you get your pitch.

Yet, I can't count how many times I've correctly timed and guessed a pitch in a certain area of the zone that's wound up as a foul ball, or that time I "pushed" 5 straight strikes w/ a "contact" swing foul on 3-2 even w/ good swings.

Bottom line is, in RTTS, I can't trust anything. When I switch to Franchise, hitting becomes much more enjoyable and understanding. I can accept if a good hit doesn't go my way every time, but RTTS is testing my patience very quickly.

[TheWarmWind]

Re: Directional Hitting Guide

Bottom line is, in RTTS, I can't trust anything. When I switch to Franchise, hitting becomes much more enjoyable and understanding. I can accept if a good hit doesn't go my way every time, but RTTS is testing my patience very quickly.

Hmm might be an issue with your swing animation. I've noticed some swing animations just don't seem to work out all that well for me, while other I can mash with no matter the players attributes.

I know this might sound a little strange since a downwards favoured strat has been working so well for you in franchise, but have you tried a pull favoured strat? Your player obviously has the attributes to benefit from that kind of strat, and maybe your swing animation is more compatible with that as well.

[bigd51]

Re: Directional Hitting Guide

Hmm might be an issue with your swing animation. I've noticed some swing animations just don't seem to work out all that well for me, while other I can mash with no matter the players attributes.

I know this might sound a little strange since a downwards favoured strat has been working so well for you in franchise, but have you tried a pull favoured strat? Your player obviously has the attributes to benefit from that kind of strat, and maybe your swing animation is more compatible with that as well.

Unfortunately, pulling only produces much of the same. I remember once, I tried to up/pull a high-inside fastball just late and it fouled off (I can deal with that). Very next pitch, tried to up/pull another fastball middle-inside... this time w/ good timing... still fouled off. I get pounded in the zone all the time, and no matter what influence or timing I have, the results seem to be much more linear than franchise is w/ like-rated players.

Just now, I completed a 3-game series against the Cubs and a 3-game against the Pirates. Using a pull strategy, the results:

0-3 w/ 1 Walk
0-4 w/ 1 K
0-2 w/ 2 Walks

0-3 w/ 2 Walks (1 Intentional)
0-1 (Pinch Hit)
2-7 w/ 1 Double and 1 Single
(The Double I got here was the only pull hit I could muster into RF for a hit. The Single ricocheted off the pitchers leg for an infield hit, like all singles up the middle seem to do these days in RTTS)

Outside of that one double, most pull hits resulted in line-drives direct-to-RF (I'm left handed modeled after Griffey Jr.), high pop-ups to 1B, fouled off, or weakly chopped to an infielder for an easy out and/or double play. And this isn't just a 6-game sample size I'm ranting on here. I've tried the pull strategy the minute I read this guide the first time, and it still gives the same results I'm just recording now.

If you think of a strike zone like a cell phone key pad, I got a fastball dead middle of 5, 6, 8, and 9. I up/pulled for a HR chance. Flied out to 1B. Checked the Batter Analysis page (which I always do in these cases) and it tells me the result was Just Early timing and a Hit Chance of 13. The highest Hit Chance score is 15 (which is essentially a guaranteed hit/HR). Like, just tell me what you need!! haha. What more do you want from me?!!

To make matters worse, I check my performance charts again, and they've slightly improved!

Good Swing Timing is at 61%
Contact Per Swing is at 87%
Swing at Strikes is at 62-63%
Balls Taken is at 70%

Yet... my % of Good Contact is sitting at roughly 30%. If I'm pulling 90% of the time w/ my character and getting random results that I wouldn't get in Franchise, how do they think I'm suppose to adjust w/ performance stats and high attributes like that? The biggest thing I've noticed (being a mostly Drive (down) hitter w/ the Braves in Franchise) is that Drive hits in RTTS rarely "drive". They result in the same pop-ups and/or weak infield choppers/ricochet's-off-the-pitcher's-body-turned-infield-singles that any other influence produces. And even including the times I decide to go Contact Swing over Normal or Power.

To compound matters worse, this translates to the individual training sessions that are valuable to RTTS. When I'm doing a Bat Control exercise on Level 1 where I know the exact pitch location and continue to foul off balls w/ a perfectly influenced and timed swing.

I think I will have to try a different stance as you suggested. Wanted to keep going w/ the sweetest swing ever immortalized in baseball, but the past couple of years of playing RTTS and Franchise over and over have convinced me that swing stances play a part, whether that's gameplay wise or psychological per gamer, so a change could be in order. I'll even change a character in my Franchise to Griffey's swing to see if his swing animations give different results b/w modes.

[TheWarmWind]

Re: Directional Hitting Guide

Might want to lay off the high pitches with the Up/Pull hybrid swing. Other than that you seem to be doing everything right. Based on those stats and your attributes I'd say you should be in the high .200s or low .300s. Difficulty/Sliders? Remember RttS does a weird thing where your difficulty will actually be a level higher then where you set it once you reach the MLB.

[TheWarmWind]

Re: Directional Hitting Guide

Hey guys, just letting you know that I'm pretty much locked in with settings and sliders. I still as always maintain that you should make your own slider set but if people are interested let me know and I'll make a post in the sliders sub-forum talking about what I did and why, along with my own theories on each sliders impact.

[gman2774]

Re: Directional Hitting Guide

Hey guys, just letting you know that I'm pretty much locked in with settings and sliders. I still as always maintain that you should make your own slider set but if people are interested let me know and I'll make a post in the sliders sub-forum talking about what I did and why, along with my own theories on each sliders impact.

I'd be interested in seeing your settings and using them as a base to possibly build a set suited for me. You've fundamentally changed my experience with this game in a very positive way as I now hit using the guidance you provided in this thread. I've been playing default sliders, classic pitching (hof), directional hitting (all star) and I'm having a good results. But I could always make tweaks to make the experience better.


Sent from my iPad using Operation Sports

[TheWarmWind]

Re: Directional Hitting Guide

I'd be interested in seeing your settings and using them as a base to possibly build a set suited for me. You've fundamentally changed my experience with this game in a very positive way as I now hit using the guidance you provided in this thread. I've been playing default sliders, classic pitching (hof), directional hitting (all star) and I'm having a good results. But I could always make tweaks to make the experience better.

Cool, sliders are up in the sub-forum and in the vault under WW Impact.

http://forums.operationsports.com/forums/mlb-show-sliders/911357-thewarmwinds-impact-sliders.html#post2048897620

[Councilmann_Jamm]

Re: Directional Hitting Guide

It's amazing how many more hits I'm getting using the "down" button

Last 5 games I'm averaging 7 hits. And getting better hits all very the field with the use of Contact swing.

Also was able to hit a home run with Trey Mancini using the down arrow. The animation had him stumbling after the swing and it barely made it over the wall.

[SolidSnake07]

Re: Directional Hitting Guide

It's amazing how many more hits I'm getting using the "down" button

Last 5 games I'm averaging 7 hits. And getting better hits all very the field with the use of Contact swing.

Also was able to hit a home run with Trey Mancini using the down arrow. The animation had him stumbling after the swing and it barely made it over the wall.

The down button is great for contact hits. May be a bit OP on lower levels but I don't know.

[loso_34]

Re: Directional Hitting Guide

man how do you people say this is easier than zone? ive played 25 games and yet to hit a home run with cameron maybin. i doubt that would happen using another hitting interface man.

anyways say i have a balanced hitter at the plate(34,33,33). a guy like that really has no strength so im up to to bat with nobody on the plate what influence do i use?

im the angels in a league and i got brendan rogers who really has no strength just a balanced hitter.

or how about a guy like maybin whos 38% from the pull side but 34% on the push?

trout is another balanced guy but i tend to try to pull when up in the count.

lastly what do i do about those sliders down and away? just lay off of them? i cant hit those in 2 strike counts even with good timing and influencing away.

[TheWarmWind]

Re: Directional Hitting Guide

anyways say i have a balanced hitter at the plate(34,33,33). a guy like that really has no strength so im up to to bat with nobody on the plate what influence do i use?

im the angels in a league and i got brendan rogers who really has no strength just a balanced hitter.

or how about a guy like maybin whos 38% from the pull side but 34% on the push?

trout is another balanced guy but i tend to try to pull when up in the count.

lastly what do i do about those sliders down and away? just lay off of them? i cant hit those in 2 strike counts even with good timing and influencing away.

Having a balanced hitter is only one part of the equation, but you seem to already know that as you are pulling with Trout, something that I would recommend as well.

Having a balanced profile just means that they have no cost reduction for any influence like a pull hitter would for example (less or no cost for pull swings), so batter archetype is what should be considered. What are the hitter's strengths? Their weaknesses?

If you still feel like that yields no clear strategy, consider the pitcher you're facing instead. Fireballer? You want to push swing. Deceptive Fastball/Changup combo? Do some down swings. Lost of sinking pitches? Add the up influence in. Easy pickings? Pull swing time.

Maybin seems like an odd one. What are his attributes?