Is this game noob friendly?

[Johnnythelegend]

Hi, as someone who doesn't even know the rules of baseball. I am from Europe, I think nobody plays it here . But I've heard some great things about this game and I'd like to learn how baseball is played and I love playing immersive sports franchises so I'd like to try it. What do you say, how should I start? Btw I have gamepass so it's not should I buy the game or not, it is if I start playing it, will I have fun as someone who knows almost nothing about baseball.

[SeaTownGamer]

Re: Is this game noob friendly?

No it isn’t


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[douggoud]

Re: Is this game noob friendly?

Hmmmmm, I don't know if it'll necessarily teach you the game of baseball, but if you have some basic understanding of baseball I'm sure you'll have fun! I actually didn't know baseball either until I played MVP Baseball 2004. I learned the game through that, so if you play it enough it could be enough to pick up the weirder rules of baseball as you go!

[bcruise]

Re: Is this game noob friendly?

Hmmmmm, I don't know if it'll necessarily teach you the game of baseball, but if you have some basic understanding of baseball I'm sure you'll have fun! I actually didn't know baseball either until I played MVP Baseball 2004. I learned the game through that, so if you play it enough it could be enough to pick up the weirder rules of baseball as you go!

Yeah, this is a pretty good way of putting it. It won't really teach you the rules of baseball, but what this game is good at is teaching the player how to play this game, which can lead to a better understanding of baseball itself. Especially this year, with the new casual game style you can select right from the beginning the controls and gameplay settings are going to be very simplified, and much easier for a beginner to pick up. For example, the game won't exactly tell you in words that you have to throw to first base on an infield ground ball to get a hitter "out", but what it WILL do on Casual is show a button prompt right next to the fielder which instructs the player to throw to that base, in this case the right face button - "Circle" or "B" depending on whether you're playing PS4/5 or XBOX.

Then there's also Retro Mode which is an old-school, arcade-like baseball experience, which is also very simplified compared to the regular game.

[Gosens6]

Re: Is this game noob friendly?

This is a hard one to answer. Yes, SDS added a casual mode this year for beginners, but not knowing the nuances of baseball, particularly when it comes to trying to hit a located pitch, is very difficult for someone who doesn't understand the game.

Hitting can turn into quite the frustrating chore if you don't understand the pitches and how they move. Understanding when to take a ball and recognizing a pitch outside of the zone will have you looking foolish.

I'd recommend taking a look at some YouTube videos about pitching to get a feel for how you're going to have to approach the game while in the batters box.

For as simple a game as baseball is, it can be VERY complicated if you don't understand it.

[Junior Moe]

Re: Is this game noob friendly?

I wouldn't say the Show is noob friendly but it does allow beginners to enjoy it.

I'd advise you to start with dynamic difficulty for both pitching and hitting. That way you can scale the difficulty of the two most important factors of the game.

Turn on automatic fielding so that you can see and feel how the outfielders play certain hits as you learn.

I'd use quick counts which put you in the middle of certain at bats; You could be up 3-1 (3 balls to one strike, in which case you'd usually get a decent pitch to avoid the walk) or down 0-2 (you're usually just trying to not strike out) or anything in between. It taught me the nuance of the pitcher/batter matchup. Plus, it speeds up the game which allows me to play more games in franchise.

Finally, I'd use the API (I think that's what its called) but it's the catcher suggestion which gives you a location when you're pitching. As your knowledge of the game of baseball and skill increase you can open up more of the game. That's my suggestion.

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[CBoller1331]

Re: Is this game noob friendly?

I would say yes and no. The game can definitely be difficult (just like real baseball), but the new casual mode seems like it was made for folks like you who are interested in learning about the game. From what they have said casual mode seems to emphasize learning the rules and the game mechanics. Since you said you have gamepass, I would say it's a no brainer to give it a shot

[Fuimus Troes]

Re: Is this game noob friendly?

Noob warning -- baseball is a game of failure, at least on the hitting side of things. A bad outcome 3/4 of the time still makes you a league-average hitter.

As for the video game, SDS has done everything to basically make the game enjoyable for newcomers. You can play it in something like a "one-button mode" that lessens a lot of the frustration. Combined with difficulty levels and a variety of camera angles, you'll be fine. When you understand the game more and get better at the controls, find your sweet spot.

It's a great game, even if SDS is focusing way more on "noobs" like you (no offense: welcome!) than on hardcore baseball fans (franchise improvements).

Give it a shot, then give it another shot. I think you'll like it.

[tessl]

Re: Is this game noob friendly?

I would suggest watching some baseball to gain an understanding of the game.

I know the Netherlands has baseball because I know a guy who moved there to play professional baseball.

[My993C2]

Re: Is this game noob friendly?

I played a little baseball as a kid (as well as played in co-ed rec softball leagues as an adult). So I knew most of the rules of baseball prior to playing this console baseball game. But this MLB The Show game has still taught me many additional nuances of the game that are not easy to pickup unless you are a hardcore baseball person. I still have tons more to learn, but from that perspective this game has taken my knowledge of baseball to a level I did not have prior to playing this game.

Now this game is configurable, so yes it can be newbie friendly as long as it is configured for "newbies". But you don't want to be too newbie friendly. As an example when batting, you do not want every pitch to be in the strike zone. You do want the pitchers to throw balls out of the strike zone so that you get into the habit of learning a sight picture the split second the pitch leaves the pitchers hand to know if you are swinging or not. But when pitching is configured at the newbie levels, most if not all pitches will be in the strike zone.

Oh and prior to playing this game, I was not very good at identifying pitch types coming out of the pitchers hands. They all kind of looked the same. But in time as I have become a better batter, I am slowly getting better with most pitches. But there is still one pitch type I have not even remotely come close to mastering as a batter and that is the slider. When the sight picture is completely out of wack, I can recognize it and not swing. But a well thrown slider that paints a corner continues to plague me. Coming out of the pitchers hand it looks like a fast ball. But the moment I begin my swing as I would for most fast balls, the damn ball begins to break and I swing too damn early. Sometimes I get lucky, but most times I wif. Dang I hate a well thrown slider.

[Caulfield]

Re: Is this game noob friendly?

I've been following baseball for 40 years and I'm biased as I think baseball is the greatest sport in the history of forever, so I'm really not qualified to say how easy baseball is to learn (or baseball vide games either) but I truly believe anyone who gives the game an honest chance will grow to love it. also, it's a good idea to challenge yourself by getting out of your comfort zone. we should all probably try doing that more often. and another great plus is anything you have questions about, operation sports is as good as any place to ask for advice or just asking questions about baseball

good luck and Happy Base Ball!