The Future of Franchise Mode in MLB The Show 21 and Beyond

[countryboy]

Re: The Future of Franchise Mode in MLB The Show 21 and Beyond

Agreed with both the above.

My personal number one priority is expanding the rosters so that roster logic can be re-done, which is sorely needed especially for those who intend to play long term franchises. IMO, roster logic has gotten better by the AI, but it can only be so good given the limited space.

Rotating schedules, expansion, create a stadium and all are cool, but IMO lose their appeal when the meat and potatoes of the mode is lacking. I hope that all of these, and other community requests are fulfilled, I just selfishly hope they come after roster expansion.

The other thing I'm desperately hoping for is managers to be more than just name and "attribute" influencers. Separate managers based on approach to game (hit and run, bullpen management, etc..) This would help separate teams strategy's from one another instead of all other 29 teams taking a cookie cutter approach to managing the game.

[orioles0615]

Re: The Future of Franchise Mode in MLB The Show 21 and Beyond

This.




We did not really get any of this at all on the move to PS4 (we did get some logic tuning but nothing that ever made me say...wow the CPU is really doing a great job). What we got were paint features and half baked features:




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The sad thing is I remember people kept saying Franchise mode will get a total makeover once the game is on PS4. And for years people kept saying this. I honestly do not trust SDS to do anything with the mode and to be honest their improvements to the game in general over the years have been lack luster besides a few tweaks to game play.

[Karle]

Re: The Future of Franchise Mode in MLB The Show 21 and Beyond

For Franchise it would be great to be able to create historic stadiums. I hope they will add a section to the vault so people can share their created stadiums.

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[Armor and Sword]

Re: The Future of Franchise Mode in MLB The Show 21 and Beyond

The sad thing is I remember people kept saying Franchise mode will get a total makeover once the game is on PS4. And for years people kept saying this. I honestly do not trust SDS to do anything with the mode and to be honest their improvements to the game in general over the years have been lack luster besides a few tweaks to game play.

The gameplay and Y2Y has truly kept me going. It is no secret how much I love this game and how it replicates baseball incredibly well on the console. Hands down the greatest sports console game I have ever played 11 years running.

And I have little doubt MLB 21 will feature outstanding gameplay.

But yes....the lack of under the hood updates (AI logic and game management) and meaningful expansion of scouting is something I thought would happen on the PS4.

On the bright side the presentation (Sounds of the Show, real speed instant replay, improvements to dynamic color commentary within franchise, score bugs and in game OSD’s, presentation themes on 18,19 but removal of one on 20 was not welcomed lol, custom team option introduced) was improved on PS4.

Another overlooked awesome upgrade (especially on 20) was the crazy good audio. Really top notch. And the crack of a perfectly barreled up baseball on 20 to this day never gets old.

There have been a ton of positives that allow me to continue to love playing many different iterations of this game (16-20). And the roster community has given us the gift that keeps on giving and keeps the replay value of this game at the top of the sports gaming food chain.

So plenty of positives.

Lets continue to hope for the best on the new consoles. That is really all we can do. And in my case, my decision is to stick with what we have. I am happy and fat with all the content. If I see "gotta have it improvements” in the future (and I do not expect them for awhile to be honest) to franchise mode then I can think about "starting over”. Another huge factor for me is how active will the classic roster community be on the new console (PS5 in particular). If they are super active and gameplay and franchise mode warrant a fresh start....of course I will do it at some point.

I love playing baseball games, in particular The Show (and Super Mega 3 is in my crosshairs here in the next month as I have played 1 and 2 and love em).




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[canes21]

Re: The Future of Franchise Mode in MLB The Show 21 and Beyond

Not saying franchise players should not be asking for a better franchise mode. But the MLB The Show series will never come remotely close to what you can do in the "Out of the Park" baseball game. If people want a deep franchise baseball simulation, OOTP can do it now. You just need to give up on all the fancy in game, game play graphics the MLB The Show game gives us.

I played a season in last year's Show release, but OOTP has basically replaced The Show for me at this point because of how little improvement franchise gets annually. The gameplay is and has been in a good enough place for me for years. The franchise mode has not been.

I need the CPU to actually think and make moves proactively and reactively. I need it to challenge me from a GM standpoint. I need storylines to be all across the league from pennant races to locker room issues. OOTP gives me that and a host of options to tune it to my liking. The only thing The Show offers me that OOTP doesn't is the ability to control my players completely. I value the rest of the franchise experience so much that the gameplay SDS offers me is not enough.

The sad thing is that so many here and elsewhere believe that OOTP has some kind of technical advantage for being a "simulator" experience that it's easier to build its franchise mode. I can tell you that that is simply not true. The franchise mode in The Show is still a text based system built around graphical interfaces. Tinkering with trade logic in The Show vs OOTP is a relatively similar process. The Show having gameplay on the field does not make it any more difficult to add to their franchise mode features or to revamp AI logic. They simply choose to not allocate the resources to that.

The only advantage OOTP has is that it doesn't have to have a team full of programmers that work on the gameplay as much. Now that the game has some decent 3D action, there is work done on the gameplay, but it obviously doesn't compare to the less scripted controlled gameplay in The Show.

The point is that a franchise mode in either game is still a menu and text based mode that can be built and tinkered with in similar manners. Creating a more in depth scouting system for either game takes similar work. Creating a simple roster projection screen in either game takes similar work. It is not magically harder in The Show because you have an option to actually play the games out.

The only area where it becomes more difficult for The Show is if ratings are introduced into the picture and then the gameplay team has to work on making those ratings play out properly in a 3D environment. However, creating scheduling logic that rotates interleague games, having a robust trade logic system in place, and all of the off field actual franchise features are not magically harder for SDS to add to the game. It is a simple resource allocation choice.

Look at NBA 2k these days. It is the only franchise mode that rivals the text sims and it is solely because 2k made the choice to build their game that way. They didn't perform any voodoo black magic that allows them an ability other games like Madden or The Show don't have in adding to their franchise mode. They simply built their games with the choice to have a deep and expansive franchise mode.

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[shawn306]

Re: The Future of Franchise Mode in MLB The Show 21 and Beyond

I just wanted them to fine tune some things. I loved MLB 20 this year. To me as as a MoM guy it was the most fun I have had since MLB 16.

Bullpen usage really needs an overhaul. I had relivers going 130 games this year. LR going 5 or 6 innings in close games. Auto Baserunning this year was really REALLY bad. If they just fine tuned these I would be really happy.

If they added some type of manager creator I would be beyond thrilled.

[lemarflacco]

Re: The Future of Franchise Mode in MLB The Show 21 and Beyond

I played a season in last year's Show release, but OOTP has basically replaced The Show for me at this point because of how little improvement franchise gets annually. The gameplay is and has been in a good enough place for me for years. The franchise mode has not been.

I need the CPU to actually think and make moves proactively and reactively. I need it to challenge me from a GM standpoint. I need storylines to be all across the league from pennant races to locker room issues. OOTP gives me that and a host of options to tune it to my liking. The only thing The Show offers me that OOTP doesn't is the ability to control my players completely. I value the rest of the franchise experience so much that the gameplay SDS offers me is not enough.

The sad thing is that so many here and elsewhere believe that OOTP has some kind of technical advantage for being a "simulator" experience that it's easier to build its franchise mode. I can tell you that that is simply not true. The franchise mode in The Show is still a text based system built around graphical interfaces. Tinkering with trade logic in The Show vs OOTP is a relatively similar process. The Show having gameplay on the field does not make it any more difficult to add to their franchise mode features or to revamp AI logic. They simply choose to not allocate the resources to that.

The only advantage OOTP has is that it doesn't have to have a team full of programmers that work on the gameplay as much. Now that the game has some decent 3D action, there is work done on the gameplay, but it obviously doesn't compare to the less scripted controlled gameplay in The Show.

The point is that a franchise mode in either game is still a menu and text based mode that can be built and tinkered with in similar manners. Creating a more in depth scouting system for either game takes similar work. Creating a simple roster projection screen in either game takes similar work. It is not magically harder in The Show because you have an option to actually play the games out.

The only area where it becomes more difficult for The Show is if ratings are introduced into the picture and then the gameplay team has to work on making those ratings play out properly in a 3D environment. However, creating scheduling logic that rotates interleague games, having a robust trade logic system in place, and all of the off field actual franchise features are not magically harder for SDS to add to the game. It is a simple resource allocation choice.

Look at NBA 2k these days. It is the only franchise mode that rivals the text sims and it is solely because 2k made the choice to build their game that way. They didn't perform any voodoo black magic that allows them an ability other games like Madden or The Show don't have in adding to their franchise mode. They simply built their games with the choice to have a deep and expansive franchise mode.

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I am all for this. While OOTP has so many more options , I still feel like It needed a ton more work when it came to actual game "logic". So maybe some of these things aren't as easy as we thin.

[hitman23]

Re: The Future of Franchise Mode in MLB The Show 21 and Beyond

What I find interesting is that, sure, fantasy team modes based on card collecting/transactions are obviously very popular, but...look at all these "simulator" games that are out there. Farming Simulator, Truck Simulator, that Jurassic Park game where you try to build a successful park...what this tells us is that people also really enjoy games in which they have to manage various administrative tasks as part of a broader program or goal. I know when I lived in the UK for a year, Football Manager seemed almost as popular as FIFA/PES.

I mean...c'mon Show...just try to make Franchise mode more engrossing and see what happens. I think if you build it, we will come.

Diamond Dynasty is very unrealistic. I don't know why it is so popular? Same goes for any other sports game.

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[CBoller1331]

Re: The Future of Franchise Mode in MLB The Show 21 and Beyond

Diamond Dynasty is very unrealistic. I don't know why it is so popular? Same goes for any other sports game.

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Rewards for playing the game, competitive online play (which isn't all that realistic but for some it is more entertaining than playing games vs the computer), building a team with a variety of historical and current MLB players. It's not my favorite mode but I understand why people like it.

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[RogerDodger]

Re: The Future of Franchise Mode in MLB The Show 21 and Beyond

A quick glance at the response to SDS for franchise questions shows there’s still a massive appetite for the mode. The idea there isn’t is “fake news”. Developers need to stop blaming gamers for not playing it (which they do by proxy if not via their own mouths) and be honest, they prefer to gouge more cash from their already paying customers than offer a deeper franchise.

[SmashMan]

Re: The Future of Franchise Mode in MLB The Show 21 and Beyond

And the other major problem is SDS’s resource priorities for franchise mode and the overall game itself are clearly in my view going in a direction I am not feeling. Let’s face it.....we are not the primary demographic. So I get it.

Sucks but that is the cold hard reality. And there is no sugar coating it.

Two words:

Battle Pass

Nuff said.

I agree with your general franchise points so I have nothing to add there, but wanted to point out that "Battle Pass" in regards to The Show is an OS headline thing. It's not anything SDS has said, promoted, or described in any way, shape, or form.

I'm not even sure it's used correctly by the author to be honest with you, but I don't play games that have Battle Passes so I can't be sure.

[Armor and Sword]

Re: The Future of Franchise Mode in MLB The Show 21 and Beyond

I agree with your general franchise points so I have nothing to add there, but wanted to point out that "Battle Pass" in regards to The Show is an OS headline thing. It's not anything SDS has said, promoted, or described in any way, shape, or form.



I'm not even sure it's used correctly by the author to be honest with you, but I don't play games that have Battle Passes so I can't be sure.

Give it time....when they do the DD stream it will be promoted. Make no mistake about that LOL!!


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[Caulfield]

Re: The Future of Franchise Mode in MLB The Show 21 and Beyond

A quick glance at the response to SDS for franchise questions shows there’s still a massive appetite for the mode. The idea there isn’t is “fake news”. Developers need to stop blaming gamers for not playing it (which they do by proxy if not via their own mouths) and be honest, they prefer to gouge more cash from their already paying customers than offer a deeper franchise.

ya know, in the long run, in might not be a bad idea for the Studio to release a year's version w/o franchise mode for Sony to know they need to appreciate franchise more than they currently do. maybe then Sony would arrive to the conclusion its better to allocate more manpower to franchise. as long as they release with franchise I'm buying no matter how similar it is to the previous year but no franchise, no sale for me.

I'm trying to be optimistic and hope going multi-platform doubles the Show's profits, put it more in line with Madden, FIFA & 2K basketball, in terms of units sold. but the pessimist in me tells me baseball as a sport (my personal favorite sport) is fast becoming a niche American sport like such as Nascar, hockey, golf, tennis and boxing

[Kevin_D]

Re: The Future of Franchise Mode in MLB The Show 21 and Beyond

You're expecting way too much from a game that doesn't properly have playoff rosters lmao

[PokerSportsGamer]

Re: The Future of Franchise Mode in MLB The Show 21 and Beyond

For me if the time comes they get away from really caring at all about Franchise mode I will still to just OOTP and Strat o Matic.

Franchise mode is only reason I play. And each year super mega gets better and better and if they ever got an MLB license look out.