From MLB '16 to MLB '20 I enjoyed the greatest feature ever implemented in a sports video game. A feature that would allow myself see how my roster building abilities and visions would play out over the course of several years. I'm of course referring to Year to Year Saves or Carryover Saves as it has been called.
From MLB '16 thru MLB '20 I progressed my franchise through 14 glorious seasons. I got to see my roster visions and construction play out. Deals I made were successes, others were failures, some we just block out. I watched prospects develop, teams go from doormat to dominant (Marlins), and watched as players achieved various career milestones. I became so attached to my team, was so engrossed in that franchise, that at times it was difficult to separate fantasy from reality.
And then as news and information for MLB '21 were released, the one thing that I convinced myself would never happen, happened. Y2Y saves was removed. My baseball fantasy universe was completely turned upside down. For the first time in 5 years, I would have to make a decision I thought I would never be forced to make with the MLB The Show series...do I stick with '20 and continue to play my franchise that I've invested so heavily in, creating real prospects, draft classes, and that I had enjoyed for 14 virtual seasons? Or do I completely scrap it and start fresh with '21?
As more information was released and I played through the BETA, I made the difficult decision to move on from my franchise in '20 and start over new with '21 because I really thought the gameplay in '21 was better than '20 and I like the minor roster expansion and the changes to the financials. Besides, starting over wouldn't be that bad, because SDS would surely bring Y2Y saves back in '22 and I can continue. Right? Right?
WRONG!...
Information for '22 started rolling out and once again, the feature that I never knew could exist, that I thought would never be removed, that I thought would surely return, was once again absent from the newest installment of the MLBTS series. I was crushed. I was pissed. I was....again at a crossroads, continue my franchise with '21, or start over, again, with '22. Once again, I would listen to what was new in '22, play the BETA and decide. Well, I decided that I liked the new gameplay changes, I liked the new presentation elements, I liked the fresh commentary team. And I did, and I do, but......
Playing through the first season of a franchise in '22, I couldn't quite find that same attachment to my franchise that I did up thru '20, that I rediscovered in '21. I was playing the games, I was having fun, I was enjoying the experience, but I just wasn't as involved as I had been before. I couldn't stop myself from thinking about what I had going on in '21, how I was watching as teams changed, prospects developed, as my roster visions played out. TBH, '22 started having this "been there, done that" feel to it, especially when going through the first offseason, because I had just done this in '21. All the sudden I started wondering, am I getting the same enjoyment out of '22 as I did with '21 and years before it? The answer to be blunt, and 100% true to myself, was no. I was playing '22 because it was new, it was different, and for the most part, it was better. But I wasn't having the same experience. I was trying so hard to re-create the same roster I had in '21. And worse yet, I felt in such a hurry to play games because I am not confident that Y2Y saves will return in '23, and I wanted to get something out of this year's game for when that decision comes again about sticking with '22 or moving on to '23. My enjoyment wasn't the same.
The other night I fired up '21 and instantly the attachment to my franchise took over. I read my notes, remembered ideas, and I was showered with the same enjoyable experience that was missing with '22. And all the sudden, I had another decision, stick with '22 or go back and pickup my '21 franchise and continue to play through it and see how my roster visions play out, how other teams roster decisions effect their team, to see players achieve various milestones. After debating back and forth personally, and then with the help of a friend here on OS, I have decided that I want to and am going to, continue my franchise in '21 and see how it plays out. Because if for nothing else, it provides me with a more enjoyable experience.
This isn't to say that '22 is a bad game, or that its not as good as '21, because honestly it is better. But with how I play franchise, the things that I look to get out of the mode, and the things I took for granted with Y2Y saves, '21 allows me to achieve those things better than '22. I just can't do the starting over each year, its not enjoyable to me these days.
I write all of this I guess in the hopes that SDS will see it and realize just how important Y2Y saves are/were to gamers such as myself. And I'm sure they do and I'm sure its not an easy feature to maintain and is likely a culprit as to why franchise mode has been so stagnant these past several years. But I'm hopeful that one day, in the not too distant future, that franchise players such as myself, who engross themselves into a franchise with their own "made up" storylines and lose the ability to separate virtual reality, from reality, will no longer have to make that dreaded decision when the newest installment of the MLBTS series drops, stick with the franchise I have, or start over.
From MLB '16 thru MLB '20 I progressed my franchise through 14 glorious seasons. I got to see my roster visions and construction play out. Deals I made were successes, others were failures, some we just block out. I watched prospects develop, teams go from doormat to dominant (Marlins), and watched as players achieved various career milestones. I became so attached to my team, was so engrossed in that franchise, that at times it was difficult to separate fantasy from reality.
And then as news and information for MLB '21 were released, the one thing that I convinced myself would never happen, happened. Y2Y saves was removed. My baseball fantasy universe was completely turned upside down. For the first time in 5 years, I would have to make a decision I thought I would never be forced to make with the MLB The Show series...do I stick with '20 and continue to play my franchise that I've invested so heavily in, creating real prospects, draft classes, and that I had enjoyed for 14 virtual seasons? Or do I completely scrap it and start fresh with '21?
As more information was released and I played through the BETA, I made the difficult decision to move on from my franchise in '20 and start over new with '21 because I really thought the gameplay in '21 was better than '20 and I like the minor roster expansion and the changes to the financials. Besides, starting over wouldn't be that bad, because SDS would surely bring Y2Y saves back in '22 and I can continue. Right? Right?
WRONG!...
Information for '22 started rolling out and once again, the feature that I never knew could exist, that I thought would never be removed, that I thought would surely return, was once again absent from the newest installment of the MLBTS series. I was crushed. I was pissed. I was....again at a crossroads, continue my franchise with '21, or start over, again, with '22. Once again, I would listen to what was new in '22, play the BETA and decide. Well, I decided that I liked the new gameplay changes, I liked the new presentation elements, I liked the fresh commentary team. And I did, and I do, but......
Playing through the first season of a franchise in '22, I couldn't quite find that same attachment to my franchise that I did up thru '20, that I rediscovered in '21. I was playing the games, I was having fun, I was enjoying the experience, but I just wasn't as involved as I had been before. I couldn't stop myself from thinking about what I had going on in '21, how I was watching as teams changed, prospects developed, as my roster visions played out. TBH, '22 started having this "been there, done that" feel to it, especially when going through the first offseason, because I had just done this in '21. All the sudden I started wondering, am I getting the same enjoyment out of '22 as I did with '21 and years before it? The answer to be blunt, and 100% true to myself, was no. I was playing '22 because it was new, it was different, and for the most part, it was better. But I wasn't having the same experience. I was trying so hard to re-create the same roster I had in '21. And worse yet, I felt in such a hurry to play games because I am not confident that Y2Y saves will return in '23, and I wanted to get something out of this year's game for when that decision comes again about sticking with '22 or moving on to '23. My enjoyment wasn't the same.
The other night I fired up '21 and instantly the attachment to my franchise took over. I read my notes, remembered ideas, and I was showered with the same enjoyable experience that was missing with '22. And all the sudden, I had another decision, stick with '22 or go back and pickup my '21 franchise and continue to play through it and see how my roster visions play out, how other teams roster decisions effect their team, to see players achieve various milestones. After debating back and forth personally, and then with the help of a friend here on OS, I have decided that I want to and am going to, continue my franchise in '21 and see how it plays out. Because if for nothing else, it provides me with a more enjoyable experience.
This isn't to say that '22 is a bad game, or that its not as good as '21, because honestly it is better. But with how I play franchise, the things that I look to get out of the mode, and the things I took for granted with Y2Y saves, '21 allows me to achieve those things better than '22. I just can't do the starting over each year, its not enjoyable to me these days.
I write all of this I guess in the hopes that SDS will see it and realize just how important Y2Y saves are/were to gamers such as myself. And I'm sure they do and I'm sure its not an easy feature to maintain and is likely a culprit as to why franchise mode has been so stagnant these past several years. But I'm hopeful that one day, in the not too distant future, that franchise players such as myself, who engross themselves into a franchise with their own "made up" storylines and lose the ability to separate virtual reality, from reality, will no longer have to make that dreaded decision when the newest installment of the MLBTS series drops, stick with the franchise I have, or start over.
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