Re: MLB The Show 22 Franchise Discussion Thread
Honest question / discussion for those still cruising in franchise. First off, are you playing every pitch / every game, using quick counts, sim'ing a few / playing a few?
Second, and more to the point, are you truly seeing varied outcomes? I ask this sincerely because I played this game for 4 1/2 months straight before walking away. While the physics, ambiance, visuals and other aesthetics are absolutely stunning in this game, it became obvious to me very early on that the bandwidth of outcomes is significantly limited in stark contrast to iterations of this title prior to MLB The Show 21. The gameplay itself gets stale, quickly.
At pure HOF default against the CPU, this game is a total snooze fest. Every game I win 3-1, 6 to 7 hits apiece. Rinse. Wash. Repeat. I have used a variety of settings, difficulty levels, and sliders, and the only way I see different outcomes beyond the mean is by altering something prior to playing. The sliders are very crossed-up (up CPU contact and the HUM User increases too), making this game a bear to tune. At any rate, having to manipulate settings prior to each game to influence a range of outcomes is an absolute immersion killer. Basically, if I want more offensive production in a game, I have to set it up in a way that produces more hits and runs -- but then every game manifests itself similarly.
I got 67 games deep into my keeper franchise, while using a HOF-based slider set for the most part. I play every pitch of every game. In 59 of those 67 games, there was no score over the first three innings. Does that seem right? I'm batting .241 as a team, and at this point I should mention that I am using the Dodgers. Pitching is very un-engaging. I can keep one eye on the screen and one eye on something else, and mow down any lineup... unless I alter sliders to make artificial CPU offense, but then every lineup produces a high level of offense (and mine in turn does, too).
I'm not posting this to crap on this game, but rather to see what others are doing to obtain a long-term playable franchise that produces the experiences that we used to get in years past with The Show. To me, it appears that SDS has turned away from the RPG style franchise experience, and tuned the coding under the hood purely to online, Fortnite-style H2H play. After all, those playing in a competitive online situation, or DD, do not want variables affecting their rankings. I.e., you cannot have your 99 rated overall card batters in a slump - they always need to be performing at top level; you cannot have your 99 overall rated pitchers getting lit up. Essentially, these types of players can't have "off-days" bc that type of gaming experience would be upended. As we know, there is only one game engine under the hood, despite mode, or game-type. While I get that is the direction that we're headed, it has made my franchise experience stale.
I recently booted up franchise play in both MLB 19 and 20, and it was apparent quickly to e that those two iterations were designed for that true RPG or "sim" style experience. In my two first games of franchise on 20, I won my opener 9-8 in 15 innings, and lost my second game 4-2. I played 10 or so games on MLB 19 and saw the full gambit, though very contextual to my skill level, ratings, and dice rolls. Each game was invigorating and very engaging - quite the opposite that I have been getting from MLB 22.
I would love to hear feedback from others that are truly enjoying the gameplay making for a fun franchise experience.
Honest question / discussion for those still cruising in franchise. First off, are you playing every pitch / every game, using quick counts, sim'ing a few / playing a few?
Second, and more to the point, are you truly seeing varied outcomes? I ask this sincerely because I played this game for 4 1/2 months straight before walking away. While the physics, ambiance, visuals and other aesthetics are absolutely stunning in this game, it became obvious to me very early on that the bandwidth of outcomes is significantly limited in stark contrast to iterations of this title prior to MLB The Show 21. The gameplay itself gets stale, quickly.
At pure HOF default against the CPU, this game is a total snooze fest. Every game I win 3-1, 6 to 7 hits apiece. Rinse. Wash. Repeat. I have used a variety of settings, difficulty levels, and sliders, and the only way I see different outcomes beyond the mean is by altering something prior to playing. The sliders are very crossed-up (up CPU contact and the HUM User increases too), making this game a bear to tune. At any rate, having to manipulate settings prior to each game to influence a range of outcomes is an absolute immersion killer. Basically, if I want more offensive production in a game, I have to set it up in a way that produces more hits and runs -- but then every game manifests itself similarly.
I got 67 games deep into my keeper franchise, while using a HOF-based slider set for the most part. I play every pitch of every game. In 59 of those 67 games, there was no score over the first three innings. Does that seem right? I'm batting .241 as a team, and at this point I should mention that I am using the Dodgers. Pitching is very un-engaging. I can keep one eye on the screen and one eye on something else, and mow down any lineup... unless I alter sliders to make artificial CPU offense, but then every lineup produces a high level of offense (and mine in turn does, too).
I'm not posting this to crap on this game, but rather to see what others are doing to obtain a long-term playable franchise that produces the experiences that we used to get in years past with The Show. To me, it appears that SDS has turned away from the RPG style franchise experience, and tuned the coding under the hood purely to online, Fortnite-style H2H play. After all, those playing in a competitive online situation, or DD, do not want variables affecting their rankings. I.e., you cannot have your 99 rated overall card batters in a slump - they always need to be performing at top level; you cannot have your 99 overall rated pitchers getting lit up. Essentially, these types of players can't have "off-days" bc that type of gaming experience would be upended. As we know, there is only one game engine under the hood, despite mode, or game-type. While I get that is the direction that we're headed, it has made my franchise experience stale.
I recently booted up franchise play in both MLB 19 and 20, and it was apparent quickly to e that those two iterations were designed for that true RPG or "sim" style experience. In my two first games of franchise on 20, I won my opener 9-8 in 15 innings, and lost my second game 4-2. I played 10 or so games on MLB 19 and saw the full gambit, though very contextual to my skill level, ratings, and dice rolls. Each game was invigorating and very engaging - quite the opposite that I have been getting from MLB 22.
I would love to hear feedback from others that are truly enjoying the gameplay making for a fun franchise experience.
Comment