Let me start this off by stating I am not writing this thread to defame SDS or MLB: The Show in any way, I'm simply voicing my opinion based on a game series that was once the reason I bought a PS3 but seems to have ran into its fair share of issues recently. Over the past two years hitting in this game has felt completely random and awkward to me, I took to the internet (mostly Youtube, Operation Sports, and other forums similar to OS) to see if others shared the same sentiment I did. The overwhelming majority seemed to agree hitting was broken yet most seem to state this only affected online play.
As a player who only dives into the Franchise and RTTS modes, that last part never sat well with me. I've played the MLB: The Show series since 2012, during that time I've started more than a few franchises and RTTS players to know how most of the games work. I even dusted off my PS3 to play my old MLB: 13 RTTS player to make sure I wasn't just donning my rose-tinted nostalgia glasses upon writing this. Prior to doing so I wasn't quite sure how to explain this trend I've been noticing but I do now, and it's the utter removal of a skill gap. Pitching feels idiot-proof while hitting feels more challenging, not because of some new gameplay mechanic that requires skill to master, rather because it's affected by such a high degree of randomness. Don't get me wrong, I'm not here to say randomness didn't affect the older games or that they are perfect because they aren't. What I mean is you knew roughly what was going to happen if you hit a ball a certain way or if you missed a spot with your pitch. Yes, there was still a dice roll going on behind the scenes but if you squared up a hanging curveball with good timing 99% of the time you were going to hit it hard and far, and even if that swing didn't result in a hit you at least made a loud out. However after The Show 17 dropped (when SDS introduced the new ball physics), things seemed to change. Last year that change was making "just late" swings downright overpowered, so much so that both players and CPU were deliberately attempting to swing late because it resulted in better outcomes than "good" timing swings.
To SDS's credit, they did a good job of correcting the "just late swing" exploit when The Show 18 dropped. Unfortunately their fix only partially rectified that problem. I'm 4 seasons deep in my current franchise with the White Sox (started in MLB 17 then ported to 18) and in that time I've rebuilt them into a juggernaut that won the WS in 2019. I like to play my franchises hyper realistic so I run the OSFM rosters and sliders with all gameplay options set to Hall of Fame difficulty. Despite being heavily invested in this franchise most of the time I find myself unsatisfied with the feedback I get from certain scenarios. At times pitching feels effortless as if it were scripted, that's never a good thing when playing a game that's supposed to be super competitive. This problem also makes hitting feel needlessly frustrating, I'd bet good money that upwards of 70% of "good" timing swings result in weak contact, even on pitches spotted so poorly they might as well be served up on a tee. It makes losses feel unwarranted at times when the opposing pitchers are pitching like garbage and still getting bailed out because of an RNG system. It also makes certain wins feel unsatisfying when you know the CPU genuinely outplayed you yet the game still decided to hand you the win thanks to a bunch of lucky hits you didn't deserve. I'm not saying every game ends in this manner, when everything is working properly this is easily the most polished MLB game I've ever played. The problem is those instances are few and far between, at least when compared to the older games in the series. Before anyone comes at me saying "this is baseball and anything can happen," you are completely right. I'm fine with a certain degree of chaos affecting gameplay, the problem exists when the majority of outcomes are determined by a dice roll. I don't think anyone enjoys that feeling you get when a game seems like it's taking the controller out of your hands and deciding things for you, that's the type of feeling I am referring to.
Maybe I'm just insane and looking too deeply into this (or just need to heavily adjust the sliders), I'd really like to know if anyone else out there shares my opinion on the new Pitching and Hitting mechanics. I know I'll inevitably draw the ire of the "u suck git gud" crowd, but I really do encourage reasonable discussion upon this topic even if you don't agree with me.
Disclaimer: I should also mention I play with the PCI indicator and guess pitch turned off, I find them to be too arcadey and they seem to result in some very unrealistic stat lines in my past experiences using them.
As a player who only dives into the Franchise and RTTS modes, that last part never sat well with me. I've played the MLB: The Show series since 2012, during that time I've started more than a few franchises and RTTS players to know how most of the games work. I even dusted off my PS3 to play my old MLB: 13 RTTS player to make sure I wasn't just donning my rose-tinted nostalgia glasses upon writing this. Prior to doing so I wasn't quite sure how to explain this trend I've been noticing but I do now, and it's the utter removal of a skill gap. Pitching feels idiot-proof while hitting feels more challenging, not because of some new gameplay mechanic that requires skill to master, rather because it's affected by such a high degree of randomness. Don't get me wrong, I'm not here to say randomness didn't affect the older games or that they are perfect because they aren't. What I mean is you knew roughly what was going to happen if you hit a ball a certain way or if you missed a spot with your pitch. Yes, there was still a dice roll going on behind the scenes but if you squared up a hanging curveball with good timing 99% of the time you were going to hit it hard and far, and even if that swing didn't result in a hit you at least made a loud out. However after The Show 17 dropped (when SDS introduced the new ball physics), things seemed to change. Last year that change was making "just late" swings downright overpowered, so much so that both players and CPU were deliberately attempting to swing late because it resulted in better outcomes than "good" timing swings.
To SDS's credit, they did a good job of correcting the "just late swing" exploit when The Show 18 dropped. Unfortunately their fix only partially rectified that problem. I'm 4 seasons deep in my current franchise with the White Sox (started in MLB 17 then ported to 18) and in that time I've rebuilt them into a juggernaut that won the WS in 2019. I like to play my franchises hyper realistic so I run the OSFM rosters and sliders with all gameplay options set to Hall of Fame difficulty. Despite being heavily invested in this franchise most of the time I find myself unsatisfied with the feedback I get from certain scenarios. At times pitching feels effortless as if it were scripted, that's never a good thing when playing a game that's supposed to be super competitive. This problem also makes hitting feel needlessly frustrating, I'd bet good money that upwards of 70% of "good" timing swings result in weak contact, even on pitches spotted so poorly they might as well be served up on a tee. It makes losses feel unwarranted at times when the opposing pitchers are pitching like garbage and still getting bailed out because of an RNG system. It also makes certain wins feel unsatisfying when you know the CPU genuinely outplayed you yet the game still decided to hand you the win thanks to a bunch of lucky hits you didn't deserve. I'm not saying every game ends in this manner, when everything is working properly this is easily the most polished MLB game I've ever played. The problem is those instances are few and far between, at least when compared to the older games in the series. Before anyone comes at me saying "this is baseball and anything can happen," you are completely right. I'm fine with a certain degree of chaos affecting gameplay, the problem exists when the majority of outcomes are determined by a dice roll. I don't think anyone enjoys that feeling you get when a game seems like it's taking the controller out of your hands and deciding things for you, that's the type of feeling I am referring to.
Maybe I'm just insane and looking too deeply into this (or just need to heavily adjust the sliders), I'd really like to know if anyone else out there shares my opinion on the new Pitching and Hitting mechanics. I know I'll inevitably draw the ire of the "u suck git gud" crowd, but I really do encourage reasonable discussion upon this topic even if you don't agree with me.
Disclaimer: I should also mention I play with the PCI indicator and guess pitch turned off, I find them to be too arcadey and they seem to result in some very unrealistic stat lines in my past experiences using them.
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