As it appears that the major content for DD is over, I thought I'd put together my thoughts on this year's offering. I'd love to hear what others might think of this year's mode and what could be improved. As a note: I'm a strictly offline player and while I personally stay away from online play, it is an important part of the mode for most players. I've tried to keep my thoughts as reasonably balanced here as possible.
Positives of DD in MLB 20:
1. It really isn't hard to create an awesome team just by playing as there are TONS of good cards to choose from. In many modes, the best players are blocked behind pretty insane pack odds that requires a lot of pack openings.
2. There is ONE currency. This ties into number 1 as the presence of just one economy keeps the mode simple and balanced between those who grind with time vs those who grind with cash. Other modes seem to offer preferential treatment with extra currencies to those who pay cash. This is not the case with DD. Cash is available to those that wish to spend, but it's by no means required. Look at TA Stage 4; if you grinded all 30 teams and quick sold all the pack players from Stage 4, you'd wind up with 900k stubs. That's a LOT of stubs....
3. Each card has its own unique identity. I know lots of folks want "Team Chemistries" in DD, but does that make sense in baseball? In other sports, players need to function as a cohesive unit to operate well together. In baseball, there are occasions where fielders need to communicate well, but for the bulk of the game; it comes down to one batter vs one pitcher. Having a particular teammate does not directly impact how you're going to perform that AB.
4. You're not forced to play a particular way. I can play 'clean screen', classic pitching, directional hitting just like I do in franchise. I can let ratings stand-out as I prefer; whereas others may prefer a more user-influenced approach. The point is this - you can choose. If I play MyTeam, I can't use "Real FG%" or play on simulation mode on MUT and that lack of user fidelity has kept me away from those modes.
5. The card art. This is a "little thing" but it's important to me. Having real life card art from cards I collected as a kid makes the mode very cool. Being able to say "I remember that card!" brings back a nostalgia other card modes sorely lack. In addition, the SDS team has greatly improved their artwork - the "Awards series" being truly outstanding from an aesthetic perspective.
6. The "run it back" offering was inspired. It's an awesome way to introduce some of the "lesser" cards in the game. Would like to see this as a full time gig...with cards rotating every couple of months (with a new map/teams).
7. The new Monthly program structure for August/September was REALLY good. It gave you a reason to do Topps Now and added a nice mix of short missions to play in-game.
Areas to improve:
Moments need an overhaul.
Is there anyone that finishes a Moment that says "Wow, that was fun!!!" (aside from perhaps one of the signature team missions)? The power of what they can do with them is cool; but they need help. My suggestions:
1. More Moments using YOUR DD team. A person can only do so many "2 XBH" player lock missions before wanting to barf.
2. Make Team Moments accrue numbers for Team Affinity. For the Babe Ruth program, you play something around 40 games using your DD team. What did you get for TA? Nada, zippo, zilch.
3. Add a "minimum Moment pitch speed" setting for players; this would apply to Showdowns as well. Say you play on HOF regularly - going to a Moment/Showdown on Veteran (with those slow pitch speeds) is disorienting and maddening. With this setting set to HOF, you'd be able to play the Moment on Veteran, but with the same HOF pitch speeds you're used to. However, if a Moment was on Legend, you'd be forced to play on the Moment's higher pitch speed setting. I think allowing players to stabilize their experience speed-wise would make Moments far more palatable.
More reasons to play 9 inning games vs the CPU
This is a purely optional thing for those of us who strictly play offline. But give us missions to accomplish for program stars vs the CPU. Online gets a slew of stat missions; give offline players a comparable offering. Add in "Domination" style modes vs CPU teams where you play 9 inning games. It would be easy to do with the current program structure - it just needs to be implemented. Include both "beat Team X" missions and "stat missions". Adding in a offline "Season" format for your DD team would be highly desirable, but would likely be a bit of a pipe dream.
Fix the AI bullpen logic in 3 inning games (i.e. Conquest)
I'm down 1 run...get the starter out...and instead of facing an elite closer, I face a bronze long reliever? THAT has got to be fixed. Now, this has been flawed for years; and perhaps there is no way to do it without borking the AI for full games. But if it can be fixed, please do so!
More stat grinds for offline and include prestige cards
Most offline-only players miss the stat grinds. Allow for stat grinds to occur in all modes. However, to offset cheesing (i.e. playing on rookie offline); add a offline minimum difficulty requirement and increase the stats needed offline vs those needed online. Hearing about trolls that disconnect after 1 or 2 ABs to glean prestige stats is just disheartening. Those people are negatively affecting the enjoyment of other players and that kind of stuff should not happen. Trolls are going to cheese online and offline...it doesn't matter. A cool option should not be taken away from offline players just because of those kinds of players; and the "cheesability" can be mitigated for offline with the aforementioned tweaks.
Add Topps Now, Monthly Award, current year All Star, current year Postseason, and Finest cards to CPU "Live" lineups
By the end of the cycle, playing the same old "Live Series" CPU teams is ridiculously tiresome as there's virtually no parity between those Live Series cards and your team. But imagine playing the Dodgers now with their slew of 2020 card upgrades. Instead of facing the Live Series Seager and Betts, you play vs the Postseason and Finest versions, respectively.
Add Legend/Flashback Squads to the list of playable opponents
In addition to the "Live" teams mentioned above, each franchise will have a second team that you can play against. This team will consist of all Live Series, Flashbacks, and Legends currently available in the game at that time. That will double the effective number of CPU opponents we can face (and give the SDS team a chance to create some seriously cool Conquest maps as well).
Change the BR reward structure
This is the one "online-focused" area I will touch upon. If you go 12-0 in BR, you're a combo of lucky and good; you deserve to be rewarded. But baseball is a game of chance at times; one (un)lucky bounce can change the outcome of the game. Instead, how about this? If you go 12-1 in a BR run (which is STILL darn good), you get a RANDOM BR reward from those eligible in the pool (you may or may not get the guy you want). If you hit the magical 12-0, you get a choice pack where you can choose the player you want (and perhaps two). In an economy where BR rewards are unbuyable (with 100s of max offers in the queue), adding more to the mix would keep them desirable but allow more people to have a shot to get them.
Now, there are other areas I think need addressing (like divorcing MtO from DD) but they are things that are more complicated and debatable. I think the majority of the items above would be amenable to most players and would greatly enhance what is already a fantastic mode.
What do you guys think?
Positives of DD in MLB 20:
1. It really isn't hard to create an awesome team just by playing as there are TONS of good cards to choose from. In many modes, the best players are blocked behind pretty insane pack odds that requires a lot of pack openings.
2. There is ONE currency. This ties into number 1 as the presence of just one economy keeps the mode simple and balanced between those who grind with time vs those who grind with cash. Other modes seem to offer preferential treatment with extra currencies to those who pay cash. This is not the case with DD. Cash is available to those that wish to spend, but it's by no means required. Look at TA Stage 4; if you grinded all 30 teams and quick sold all the pack players from Stage 4, you'd wind up with 900k stubs. That's a LOT of stubs....
3. Each card has its own unique identity. I know lots of folks want "Team Chemistries" in DD, but does that make sense in baseball? In other sports, players need to function as a cohesive unit to operate well together. In baseball, there are occasions where fielders need to communicate well, but for the bulk of the game; it comes down to one batter vs one pitcher. Having a particular teammate does not directly impact how you're going to perform that AB.
4. You're not forced to play a particular way. I can play 'clean screen', classic pitching, directional hitting just like I do in franchise. I can let ratings stand-out as I prefer; whereas others may prefer a more user-influenced approach. The point is this - you can choose. If I play MyTeam, I can't use "Real FG%" or play on simulation mode on MUT and that lack of user fidelity has kept me away from those modes.
5. The card art. This is a "little thing" but it's important to me. Having real life card art from cards I collected as a kid makes the mode very cool. Being able to say "I remember that card!" brings back a nostalgia other card modes sorely lack. In addition, the SDS team has greatly improved their artwork - the "Awards series" being truly outstanding from an aesthetic perspective.
6. The "run it back" offering was inspired. It's an awesome way to introduce some of the "lesser" cards in the game. Would like to see this as a full time gig...with cards rotating every couple of months (with a new map/teams).
7. The new Monthly program structure for August/September was REALLY good. It gave you a reason to do Topps Now and added a nice mix of short missions to play in-game.
Areas to improve:
Moments need an overhaul.
Is there anyone that finishes a Moment that says "Wow, that was fun!!!" (aside from perhaps one of the signature team missions)? The power of what they can do with them is cool; but they need help. My suggestions:
1. More Moments using YOUR DD team. A person can only do so many "2 XBH" player lock missions before wanting to barf.
2. Make Team Moments accrue numbers for Team Affinity. For the Babe Ruth program, you play something around 40 games using your DD team. What did you get for TA? Nada, zippo, zilch.
3. Add a "minimum Moment pitch speed" setting for players; this would apply to Showdowns as well. Say you play on HOF regularly - going to a Moment/Showdown on Veteran (with those slow pitch speeds) is disorienting and maddening. With this setting set to HOF, you'd be able to play the Moment on Veteran, but with the same HOF pitch speeds you're used to. However, if a Moment was on Legend, you'd be forced to play on the Moment's higher pitch speed setting. I think allowing players to stabilize their experience speed-wise would make Moments far more palatable.
More reasons to play 9 inning games vs the CPU
This is a purely optional thing for those of us who strictly play offline. But give us missions to accomplish for program stars vs the CPU. Online gets a slew of stat missions; give offline players a comparable offering. Add in "Domination" style modes vs CPU teams where you play 9 inning games. It would be easy to do with the current program structure - it just needs to be implemented. Include both "beat Team X" missions and "stat missions". Adding in a offline "Season" format for your DD team would be highly desirable, but would likely be a bit of a pipe dream.
Fix the AI bullpen logic in 3 inning games (i.e. Conquest)
I'm down 1 run...get the starter out...and instead of facing an elite closer, I face a bronze long reliever? THAT has got to be fixed. Now, this has been flawed for years; and perhaps there is no way to do it without borking the AI for full games. But if it can be fixed, please do so!
More stat grinds for offline and include prestige cards
Most offline-only players miss the stat grinds. Allow for stat grinds to occur in all modes. However, to offset cheesing (i.e. playing on rookie offline); add a offline minimum difficulty requirement and increase the stats needed offline vs those needed online. Hearing about trolls that disconnect after 1 or 2 ABs to glean prestige stats is just disheartening. Those people are negatively affecting the enjoyment of other players and that kind of stuff should not happen. Trolls are going to cheese online and offline...it doesn't matter. A cool option should not be taken away from offline players just because of those kinds of players; and the "cheesability" can be mitigated for offline with the aforementioned tweaks.
Add Topps Now, Monthly Award, current year All Star, current year Postseason, and Finest cards to CPU "Live" lineups
By the end of the cycle, playing the same old "Live Series" CPU teams is ridiculously tiresome as there's virtually no parity between those Live Series cards and your team. But imagine playing the Dodgers now with their slew of 2020 card upgrades. Instead of facing the Live Series Seager and Betts, you play vs the Postseason and Finest versions, respectively.
Add Legend/Flashback Squads to the list of playable opponents
In addition to the "Live" teams mentioned above, each franchise will have a second team that you can play against. This team will consist of all Live Series, Flashbacks, and Legends currently available in the game at that time. That will double the effective number of CPU opponents we can face (and give the SDS team a chance to create some seriously cool Conquest maps as well).
Change the BR reward structure
This is the one "online-focused" area I will touch upon. If you go 12-0 in BR, you're a combo of lucky and good; you deserve to be rewarded. But baseball is a game of chance at times; one (un)lucky bounce can change the outcome of the game. Instead, how about this? If you go 12-1 in a BR run (which is STILL darn good), you get a RANDOM BR reward from those eligible in the pool (you may or may not get the guy you want). If you hit the magical 12-0, you get a choice pack where you can choose the player you want (and perhaps two). In an economy where BR rewards are unbuyable (with 100s of max offers in the queue), adding more to the mix would keep them desirable but allow more people to have a shot to get them.
Now, there are other areas I think need addressing (like divorcing MtO from DD) but they are things that are more complicated and debatable. I think the majority of the items above would be amenable to most players and would greatly enhance what is already a fantastic mode.
What do you guys think?
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