I'm not even sure where to start with this, but after playing upwards of 150 games, I am so incredibly disappointed specifically with the gameplay that I've considered shelving it. I know many of you are going to disagree and that's fine, but let me explain why I'm so frustrated. Let me preface this by saying I play on Legend and my sliders are close to default with a few adjustments:
- Pop ups - same as last year, they're totally out of control, basically because fouling the ball back doesn't exist as much as it should. In real life, batters that are under a pitch generally foul it back. In the show, it's a pop up . . . almost all the time.
- Ball Physics in General - the pop-up issue is directly tied to the fact that the ball physics in general are just broken. You can be RIGHT on a pitch and hit a can of corn. Likewise, you can have the PCI nowhere near the ball and hit a bullet. The developers say it's a dice roll. Why? If you're right on a pitch, why is it a dice roll? Shouldn't it be directly affected by ball physics and a players strength (or contact) rating? It's a dice roll because real ball physics in this game aren't real, especially on higher difficulties. I'm tired of the game dictating when a player is in a slump. I'm tired of the game dictating when a ball is going to be a hit and when it's not. The fact is that when I'm RIGHT on a pitch, I have NO idea where it's going, I have NO idea how hard it's going to be hit and I have NO idea if it's going to be a hit or not.
- Animations - honestly, I feel this is BY FAR the weakest point of the game. The animation system is just broken. Too many times an animation doesn't even kick in and a fielder doesn't even make a play on a ball. Other time it kicks in too early. Sometimes the wrong animation kicks in. There are FAR too many oles, fielders getting caught on the wall (a legacy issue for YEARS now that still hasn't been eradicated), outfielders taking their sweet time on singles allowing them to turn into doubles, outfielders running in mud allowing fly balls to drop in and runners to take an extra base, etc. The animation system is flat out broken.
- Fielding - directly tied to the animation system, MANUAL fielding is an absolute nightmare, so much so that a LARGE contingent of regular users have decided to use auto fielding because manual fielding is so painful. Fielding is like one of the 3 biggest parts of baseball (hitting and pitching being the other two). When 1/3 of the game literally doesn't work so people have to simply not use it and make it auto, that's a problem.
- Tagging - again, directly tied to the animation system. The developers made it a point to market the revamped tagging system, yet it's still as broken as ever. Way too many plays where the runner looks CLEARLY out and the ball beats the runner by easily 2 feet but the runner slides around the tag. Yes, this happens in real life on occasion. In the show, it happens every single game and usually more than once.
- Wild pitches - yes, these can NOW be toned down using the Human and CPU Pitcher Consistency Sliders, but how about the fact that the CPU pitcher ALWAYS covers home on a wild pitch whereas the human pitcher almost never does? Try it out if you haven't already. The human pitcher will SLOWLY cover home on a wild pitch, allowing the runner to score. The CPU pitcher is a CAT, quickly covers the plate faster than any normal human should be able to and you're constantly gunned down, and this is on wild pitches that are by the backstop.
- Grounders up the middle hitting the pitcher - horrid, simply horrid. I've seen grounders hit pitchers in the head, in the groin, in the underarm, pretty much everywhere. What's worse is they almost always unrealistically ricochet to a fielder resulting in an out. Sometimes they hit the pitcher and then bound fifteen feet up in the air and are caught on the fly. Again, this is directly tied to the broken ball physics.
- Generated Rallies - I never feel like I shut down the CPU because I pitched well. Everything feels generated. It feels like the game dictates when a rally should happen and when it shouldn't. The incessant foul balls so a hitter stays alive. The broken bat grounders resulting in convenient infield hits. The grounders in the hole that the fielder almost always makes, yet this time he has to stop, set his feet and throw, allowing the runner to be safe. The outfielders taking their time or double pumping or crow hopping allowing the runner to take an extra base. Everything feels generated. Nothing feels real. I feel like my skill dictates almost nothing.
Patches - I'm all for patches that fix things, but when patches DIRECTLY affect gameplay 4 months into the cycle forcing us to revise our sliders every single time, that's just insanity. There's no reason whatsoever that a patch should completely alter gameplay to the point that I have to edit my sliders every single time so it plays realistically, yet this happens EVERY SINGLE PATCH.
I'm just so absurdly frustrated with this game. Yes, it's the best baseball game I've ever played, but that doesn't mean much when your competition is older gen games that didn't utilize the power of the PS4. It doesn't mean much when its predecessors were utilizing obsolete artificial intelligence engines. I'm sorry, but this game should be MUCH better than it is and it's not. I know many of you love the game, but every single issue I've presented above has happened to every single one of us and these things directly impact my enjoyment of the game.
- Pop ups - same as last year, they're totally out of control, basically because fouling the ball back doesn't exist as much as it should. In real life, batters that are under a pitch generally foul it back. In the show, it's a pop up . . . almost all the time.
- Ball Physics in General - the pop-up issue is directly tied to the fact that the ball physics in general are just broken. You can be RIGHT on a pitch and hit a can of corn. Likewise, you can have the PCI nowhere near the ball and hit a bullet. The developers say it's a dice roll. Why? If you're right on a pitch, why is it a dice roll? Shouldn't it be directly affected by ball physics and a players strength (or contact) rating? It's a dice roll because real ball physics in this game aren't real, especially on higher difficulties. I'm tired of the game dictating when a player is in a slump. I'm tired of the game dictating when a ball is going to be a hit and when it's not. The fact is that when I'm RIGHT on a pitch, I have NO idea where it's going, I have NO idea how hard it's going to be hit and I have NO idea if it's going to be a hit or not.
- Animations - honestly, I feel this is BY FAR the weakest point of the game. The animation system is just broken. Too many times an animation doesn't even kick in and a fielder doesn't even make a play on a ball. Other time it kicks in too early. Sometimes the wrong animation kicks in. There are FAR too many oles, fielders getting caught on the wall (a legacy issue for YEARS now that still hasn't been eradicated), outfielders taking their sweet time on singles allowing them to turn into doubles, outfielders running in mud allowing fly balls to drop in and runners to take an extra base, etc. The animation system is flat out broken.
- Fielding - directly tied to the animation system, MANUAL fielding is an absolute nightmare, so much so that a LARGE contingent of regular users have decided to use auto fielding because manual fielding is so painful. Fielding is like one of the 3 biggest parts of baseball (hitting and pitching being the other two). When 1/3 of the game literally doesn't work so people have to simply not use it and make it auto, that's a problem.
- Tagging - again, directly tied to the animation system. The developers made it a point to market the revamped tagging system, yet it's still as broken as ever. Way too many plays where the runner looks CLEARLY out and the ball beats the runner by easily 2 feet but the runner slides around the tag. Yes, this happens in real life on occasion. In the show, it happens every single game and usually more than once.
- Wild pitches - yes, these can NOW be toned down using the Human and CPU Pitcher Consistency Sliders, but how about the fact that the CPU pitcher ALWAYS covers home on a wild pitch whereas the human pitcher almost never does? Try it out if you haven't already. The human pitcher will SLOWLY cover home on a wild pitch, allowing the runner to score. The CPU pitcher is a CAT, quickly covers the plate faster than any normal human should be able to and you're constantly gunned down, and this is on wild pitches that are by the backstop.
- Grounders up the middle hitting the pitcher - horrid, simply horrid. I've seen grounders hit pitchers in the head, in the groin, in the underarm, pretty much everywhere. What's worse is they almost always unrealistically ricochet to a fielder resulting in an out. Sometimes they hit the pitcher and then bound fifteen feet up in the air and are caught on the fly. Again, this is directly tied to the broken ball physics.
- Generated Rallies - I never feel like I shut down the CPU because I pitched well. Everything feels generated. It feels like the game dictates when a rally should happen and when it shouldn't. The incessant foul balls so a hitter stays alive. The broken bat grounders resulting in convenient infield hits. The grounders in the hole that the fielder almost always makes, yet this time he has to stop, set his feet and throw, allowing the runner to be safe. The outfielders taking their time or double pumping or crow hopping allowing the runner to take an extra base. Everything feels generated. Nothing feels real. I feel like my skill dictates almost nothing.
Patches - I'm all for patches that fix things, but when patches DIRECTLY affect gameplay 4 months into the cycle forcing us to revise our sliders every single time, that's just insanity. There's no reason whatsoever that a patch should completely alter gameplay to the point that I have to edit my sliders every single time so it plays realistically, yet this happens EVERY SINGLE PATCH.
I'm just so absurdly frustrated with this game. Yes, it's the best baseball game I've ever played, but that doesn't mean much when your competition is older gen games that didn't utilize the power of the PS4. It doesn't mean much when its predecessors were utilizing obsolete artificial intelligence engines. I'm sorry, but this game should be MUCH better than it is and it's not. I know many of you love the game, but every single issue I've presented above has happened to every single one of us and these things directly impact my enjoyment of the game.
Comment