After 150 games, I can honestly say the show 18 has been an utter disappointment...

[DJ]

Re: After 150 games, I can honestly say the show 18 has been an utter disappointment.

The OP does raise some valid points about the imperfections of MLB The Show 18. I've been where he's at. In fact, it was just a year ago. MLB 17 drove me up the wall.

Here I am in late August of 2018 and I've been hooked on MLB 18 from Day 1. I don't know how to explain it, because I certainly see the issues with fielding, tagging, etc., but this game has just hooked me and I am playing it every day. I played a complete season and made the playoffs for the first time ever in The Show (got my butt kicked, but hey, more motivation for Year 2!). The game looks amazing with a 4K TV/PS4 Pro setup.

Maybe it's that, like Bullit, my attitude towards gaming has changed. MLB The Show provides me with many sim elements, but there's still an arcade feel to the game when you're not playing on the highest difficulty that I personally enjoy. If you saw my player stats with the Mets you'd want to test them for PED's, but as I said, I didn't win the World Series, or even a round in the playoffs, so I'm not completely dominating the CPU.

MLB 18 has made it easy to sit on the sidelines while Madden goes through its usual ups and downs, and I'm only somewhat looking at getting NBA 2K19, but may wait for a sale before doing so, because right now I don't see my daily obsession with MLB 18 ending.

[Padgoi]

Re: After 150 games, I can honestly say the show 18 has been an utter disappointment.

For those who have responded courteously, thank you. I know many of my threads provide negative feedback and are usually pointing out issues with the game, but I'm glad many of you were able to see my points and realize that I'm not trolling, I'm genuinely disappointed with the game for the reasons I listed (and some I forgot). And for those of you (you know who you are) who only see me as a troll that does anything to bash the game, that's fine too. There's a reason these issues still exist and ignoring them or brushing them aside does not motivate the developers to fix them. As I said, this is still the best baseball game I've ever played, but many of these issues listed are GLARING and totally remove any realism the game is trying to convey. This game, while it can be fun, it simply NOT a solid representation of the game of baseball and never will be (in my eyes) until most if not all of these issues are rectified.

[Marino]

Re: After 150 games, I can honestly say the show 18 has been an utter disappointment.

You seem to do a post like this every 3-4 months. If this game drives you to be this upset, why do you play it? It's one thing to point out issues and I have no problem with that, but when you do it over and over again, it loses its meaning. It goes from being constructive to just come off as whining and complaining.

[jsou4646]

Re: After 150 games, I can honestly say the show 18 has been an utter disappointment.

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.

Without going into it and taking up a bunch of time with it. I have to agree. I’ve even went back to mlb 16. When squaring up a ball actually creates solid contact. This years hitting is wacked. Ive played 2 full season, hitting only swimming the pitching. I’ve played the show since the beginning and also played baseball my whole life (drafted by the Giants in 1998 and 99). I play on legend and hit from the view behind the pitcher as if watching it on tv. If the attributes are going to create randomness upon contact. I’ll pass, just give me smaller circles with the pci and let me miss if my swing is off using zone. If I square it up give me loud contact not randomness. 2 handed follow through this year is obviously slower than any of the one handed follow through as well. You can’t even utilize a sacarfice bunt. Unbelievable

[jsou4646]

Re: After 150 games, I can honestly say the show 18 has been an utter disappointment.

You seem to do a post like this every 3-4 months. If this game drives you to be this upset, why do you play it? It's one thing to point out issues and I have no problem with that, but when you do it over and over again, it loses its meaning. It goes from being constructive to just come off as whining and complaining.

My guess is he loves baseball, like most of us in this forum and has no their choice in games. The shows the only one out there like we all know. In my opinion it’s the sole reason I look on this site. If these types of reads weren’t available the site would be far less entertaining imo. Users don’t have to click the thread.

[Padgoi]

Re: After 150 games, I can honestly say the show 18 has been an utter disappointment.

The same thing could be said about countryboy and his threads that seemingly come every few months saying the game is the best thing since sliced bread. So why do you only notice my negative ones? If it loses its meaning from a negative standpoint, then why doesn't it lose its meaning from a positive one?

You seem to do a post like this every 3-4 months. If this game drives you to be this upset, why do you play it? It's one thing to point out issues and I have no problem with that, but when you do it over and over again, it loses its meaning. It goes from being constructive to just come off as whining and complaining.

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[Padgoi]

Re: After 150 games, I can honestly say the show 18 has been an utter disappointment.

Thanks. That pretty much nailed it.

My guess is he loves baseball, like most of us in this forum and has no their choice in games. The shows the only one out there like we all know. In my opinion it’s the sole reason I look on this site. If these types of reads weren’t available the site would be far less entertaining imo. Users don’t have to click the thread.

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[underdog13]

Re: After 150 games, I can honestly say the show 18 has been an utter disappointment.

I agree with the title, just for different reasons.

Rip season mode.

I've played 17 this year as much as 18. And 18 has much better gameplay than 17 imo

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[Vercingetirex]

Re: After 150 games, I can honestly say the show 18 has been an utter disappointment.

- 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.

I see this happen way too much as well. This is the reason people say games are scripted. The whole game may not be scripted, but rallies certainly feel like they are created randomly.

[TheWarmWind]

Re: After 150 games, I can honestly say the show 18 has been an utter disappointment.

I see this happen way too much as well. This is the reason people say games are scripted. The whole game may not be scripted, but rallies certainly feel like they are created randomly.

Man I am just NOT seeing this at all. Normally I'd just dismiss something like this as being in people's heads, but with so many people feeling the same I have to believe that there is some truth behind what they are saying.

It makes me wonder if there is another reason why I'm seeing such drastic differences. I mean, rallies do happen against me, but they never feel scripted. Sometimes my pitcher just loses "it" for an inning, but if I catch it early enough I can often prevent further damage. Have I unlocked the secret sauce with my settings/sliders combination? Or is it due to my pitching strategy and technique?

It's easy to think it's just in the players head because from my (and others) perspective it seems by far the most likely answer, but maybe it's a topic that deserves a little more thought on my part.

[TheBleedingRed21]

Re: After 150 games, I can honestly say the show 18 has been an utter disappointment.

The same thing could be said about countryboy and his threads that seemingly come every few months saying the game is the best thing since sliced bread. So why do you only notice my negative ones? If it loses its meaning from a negative standpoint, then why doesn't it lose its meaning from a positive one?

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His question was “Why do you play?”, country boy is enjoying the game so that’s why he plays. His posting has nothing to do with your thread nor related to the question.

I think like most of us, we just wonder, if you are always so upset with the show and it never pleases you, why play so much?

Hell, I absolutely love the game and baseball and I never came close to 150 games played. Why torture yourself? The formula is not going to change.

If you play because it’s your only option, then so be it but don’t expect the gameplay to ever revolutionary change, it doesn’t need to.

[jeffy777]

Re: After 150 games, I can honestly say the show 18 has been an utter disappointment.

My main gripes aren’t even on the list:

1.) The way AI pitching handles the running game, mainly two things: the amount of pitchouts: much too excessive and unrealistic. Secondly, the use and effectiveness of the slidestep. Again, too excessive (every pitcher in the game is a master st it, which isn’t realistic) and it’s too effective. These two things combined really take a lot of fun out of the running game for me, which is unfortunate since it’s one of my favorite aspects of baseball.

2.) AI bullpen logic. Needs a lot of work, and has for quite awhile.

Thirdly, it would be the rocket bunts, but that’s already been discussed to death and back a few times. I can see how some of the other stuff on your list can be annoying at times too, but these are the 3 that bother me the most.

With all that said, I’m still really enjoying the game for what it is. Sure it has flaws, but they aren’t annoying enough to keep me from playing. It’s the only sports game I can play this much and not move on to something else, so it does a lot of things right. To me, the good outweighs the bad.

[Bullit]

Re: After 150 games, I can honestly say the show 18 has been an utter disappointment.

His question was “Why do you play?”, country boy is enjoying the game so that’s why he plays. His posting has nothing to do with your thread nor related to the question.

I think like most of us, we just wonder, if you are always so upset with the show and it never pleases you, why play so much?

Hell, I absolutely love the game and baseball and I never came close to 150 games played. Why torture yourself? The formula is not going to change.

If you play because it’s your only option, then so be it but don’t expect the gameplay to ever revolutionary change, it doesn’t need to.

Bolded = This

This is the one thing I dont understand about the same folks that are unhappy with the game year after year. It is obvious if you have been playing this series for a while that major changes don't happen from year to year. So if you are unhappy with last years game then why are you buying this years game. People harp on legacy issues all the time. Well, why should they bother to fix these issues if folks are going to keep buying the game.

Certainly everyone is entitled to their opinion about the game and is free to spend their money however they want. But companies, as a rule, only care about the bottom line. If your are going to keep buying dinner for the girl that breaks your heart every time, I am sorry but there comes a point where it is just your fault your having this problem.

[stealyerface]

Re: After 150 games, I can honestly say the show 18 has been an utter disappointment.

Pad,

Would you consider having me send you my slider set, coupled with the hybrid Roster and re-ratings and pitch edits, and playing a few games that way?

I have finally nailed the speed of the base runners, the speed of the fielders, the arm strengths, the jump the fielders get, the level of difficulty in the manual R-stick throwing for defense, and I am finally getting games that play just like you would see them on TV.

Runners that should be out by a half step will be, runners that should be out by two steps on a particular play are, honestly, it is just refined down to where five years of tweaking between the updates have gotten me to a place where when I shut off the game, I never feel cheated, and I am really having fun.

Any interest in giving a different look, and seeing if you can rekindle your romance with great game that really shines with the right tweaks?

Let me know, and I'll send you my set up. Try five games, and see what you think?
~syf

[Padgoi]

Re: After 150 games, I can honestly say the show 18 has been an utter disappointment.

Pad,

Would you consider having me send you my slider set, coupled with the hybrid Roster and re-ratings and pitch edits, and playing a few games that way?

I have finally nailed the speed of the base runners, the speed of the fielders, the arm strengths, the jump the fielders get, the level of difficulty in the manual R-stick throwing for defense, and I am finally getting games that play just like you would see them on TV.

Runners that should be out by a half step will be, runners that should be out by two steps on a particular play are, honestly, it is just refined down to where five years of tweaking between the updates have gotten me to a place where when I shut off the game, I never feel cheated, and I am really having fun.

Any interest in giving a different look, and seeing if you can rekindle your romance with great game that really shines with the right tweaks?

Let me know, and I'll send you my set up. Try five games, and see what you think?
~syf

Absolutely. I'm always open to trying out new configurations to get the game running well.

As for those of you who question why I continue to play the game, please reread my first post again. It's still the best baseball game I've ever played, it's simply LITTERED with flaws that also make it just as unrealistic as baseball stars and rbi baseball.

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