MLB 11 The Show Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here

[Skyboxer]

Re: MLB 11 The Show Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here

overthrew on pick-off to first with tim. out of play. Guy ends up on third?

Correct, into the stands the runner gets two bases.

Yep. happened to the CPU vs me

Just throwing some things together while at work

I think I’ll be using analog batting over zone but it’s still up in the air. I had zero problems check swinging with analog,
which was one of my concerns going in. I know it will take a lot of practice with my team getting each players batting down too,
but I’m looking forward to it.

I have Killzone 3 still shrink wrapped and I probably won’t open it tonight either. I love the demo that much.
Tonight I’ll start messing with some sliders to see how much effect they have.
I loaded my 2010 sliders in and it wasn’t even close to the same. I tested these out using zone hitting for a few “games”.

The lighting and overall “Atmosphere” was great so I can only imagine what the retail will bring.

One thing I noticed was a few players thrown out at 2nd. In real time I swear they look easily safe.
Yet I load up the replay and they are clearly out lol.

I also had a play at the plate where my CF threw home and the throw was at the plate about 3 yards maybe on the 3rd base side.
Catcher stepped up to get it and I dove back to get the runner but missed.

I also loaded up the game and went to 3D…..
Yeah I’ll be playing it in 3D for the most part as it was freaking sweet.
I doubt I can go every game in 3D so I’ll come up with a schedule to use 3D. Maybe the first game of every series or something.
I’ll go as long as I can just to see if I do get “eye tired” with 3D, then I’ll know how long I can go.

There so much I want to do in the demo but can’t as it’s not available so that still leaves a ton of excitement waiting for the retail version.

I played ’10 to death and playing ’11 is night and day for me. Not once did I feel disappointed or had a “this is ’10 with minor upgrade” feeling.

[aces01]

Re: MLB 11 The Show Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here

Just got to play the demo, only took 13 hours to download too which is awesome...

I thought, overall, the game played well. I am a huge fan of the new analog controls. Graphically, lighting is great, I haven't gone into extra innings to see the actual night sky, but dusk looks great. Lighting makes a huge difference to me as far as atmosphere, and they did a very nice job with it.

Hitting: When I first heard about analog hitting, I was worried that it would make hitting too easy. I'm happy to see that variety is still there in the hits even though you're not using the left stick to hit anymore. The difficulty seems like a nice balance. As far as "loading" while hitting, I just load when I do in real life (right as the pitcher releases) , and it seems to work just fine. It has a nice smooth feeling while hitting, they implemented it very well. Seems like the balls down the line are curving more, and the outfield definitely seems bigger which is a big plus for me. Looks like we'll be seeing more variety of doubles and maybe even triples.

Fielding: The analog controls here will definitely make the game more interesting on the defensive side, which is a good thing. I didn't find it very difficult, just made one error in two games on the default demo settings. I'm still not even sure how far to charge up the throw to get it green, but I will look into that later. Didn't get a chance to turn a double-play yet which I'm looking forward to.

Pitching: Big fan of the new pitching controls as well. I think the best word for it is just "refreshing". Only pitched with Timmy so far, and he is dominant. There really aren't any complaints here, it's very smooth and will keep pitching more interesting. I was a fan of the meter before, but I'll be changing to analog here.

Overall: The new analog controls are a big hit for me. This is coming from a guy who was welcoming a new change, but I wasn't sure if they would be implemented very well, and they are.

As far as some of you saying that it's 10.5, I can kind of see where you're coming from. I'm not going to bash you because I like the game. It's a definite purchase for me, but if I wasn't going to be using the new controls, I'm not positive I'd make the purchase. If you were just watching the game and not playing, I could see why you would say it is very similar to 10. It does seem like they could start to add some things to make the game feel "different". I completely understand why it's hard for them to do because the game is so good already, but I can also see it from the consumer's point of view because spending $65 means things should change.

For me, like I said, it's a definite purchase. They focused on new controls this year, and I would call is a success. I'm not even really sure where the game can go from here besides presentation, but I'm sure they will find things to add.

[jpup]

Re: MLB 11 The Show Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here

I'm enjoying the demo after playing 3 or 4 games.

Quick take on Analog:

Pitching: Pretty Good. Need more game time to get the complete feel.
Batting: I quickly switched to zone after 1 game. I might switch back, but I have always loved zone hitting.

Throwing: Horrendous. I'll probably not touch it again. I just don't like the idea at all.

My favorite thing so far is all the new cameras. Right now I'm using catcher 2 for hitting and broadcast for pitching. It should be much easier to take walks this year based solely on being able to see the ball better.

Certainly looking forward to more time with the demo and March 8 can't come soon enough.

[MinnTwinFan2616]

Re: MLB 11 The Show Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here

I really like how when you do a pickoff to first base you get a different camera angle

[CabreraMVP]

Re: MLB 11 The Show Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here

I Love the Sky in this game. It transition really well from light, to sunset, to dark. And last year it would get dark after 3 innings, this year it's not dark until later which is great.

The pitching is good and very easy to get used to. I like it.

I like the hitting, and how it feels, but haven't got it down yet. I try timing the step like how I do in real life but didn't have much success.

The throwing system is nice too. It seems a little easy. How do you hit the cut off man?

Overall the game is a big improvement. The lighting and the graphics in general look much better than last year. It's not stale anymore. And the menus/on screen graphics look much more sharp.

I am on break which is nice but I have the flu so playing the game is a little hard. I was looking forward to playing the demo all week but my head is killing me. Oh well. Maybe I'll be able to hit when I'm not sick.

[Mike Smoove]

Re: MLB 11 The Show Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here

I havent owned the show since 09, I have to say this game is light years better than what I remember. What really got me saying OMG was Nelson Cruz hit a ball deep it went foul just outside the foul pole. The umps got together to discuss it, then they went inside to look at the replay then the replay showed. They came back onto the field and signaled it foul. Thats was some of the best presentation in a sports video game I have ever seen. Theres no way im gonna be able to play that other game now.

[PhillsPhan26]

Re: MLB 11 The Show Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here

Sorry this is not an impression....
But on the OF'er routes and plays off the wall.
I know Nem is also saying he didn't see them at the event...but I'm fairly certain that I did......an OF'er looking to play a ball off the wall in one spot...and it went somewhere else forcing him to chase it down.(I don't think it was it was me doing it either....I was genuinely surprised.).
I guess I'll know in two weeks...or Russ can tell me I'm not crazy.(I might be though! )

I hope I'M right.

M.K.
Knight165

I hit a shot off of the right field wall and thought for sure I get 2 out of it. The ball bounced off of the wall and I guess the fielder took the right angle cause the ball went right to him and he gunned me out at 2nd.

[Heroesandvillains]

Re: MLB 11 The Show Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here

Superb.

This is the word that keeps floating around in my head, and the feeling I went to bed with last night.

First, the animation crew deserves enormous kudos. The new pickoff camera views are remarkably similar to a real life broadcast. This along with catchers now removing their masks and safely throwing them aside on choppers in front of the mound are two small, but wonderful additions, that bring us closer to the real life game we all obsess over.

Pressing up on the analog stick prior to the pitch unlocks a little nugget of baseball gold. Batters now, are far as I have seen, all have new pre-pitch animations. From stepping out and gearing up between pitches (even leaning over to grab some dirt), to readying themselves in the box, the days of Hideki Matsui ridiculously moving his bat at a downward angle like a lumberjack when the X button was pressed is over! Again, to the animation team, thank you!...And I didn't even mention the pink skies or jumbotrons!

Now, comebackers. Last night with the demo, I saw 3 balls hit back to and cleanly fielded by the pitcher. That total would officially equal half of a franchise's worth in 10'. This was one of my biggest pet peeves last year. Now, your pitcher actually has a chance to field his position...with buttery smooth animations to boot.

Analog pitching is remarkably intuitive. It's realistically wild and rewarding when you hit your spots. Keep in mind, for a large portion of last year I was a Classic pitching guy. I can now safely say: I am Classic no longer! This is by far, to me, the single greatest improvement i have ever seen in the series (for what it's worth, 09' was my first).

For a brief moment in time, I thought I had Analog hitting down last night. And I mean DOWN! I was ripping doubles like a pro, and working walks. Check swings are incredibly natural to accomplish, and I never would have guessed how realistic a down and up(ish) stroke on the right stick could resemble an actual baseball bat!...

Then, I hit the wall. Pitches I was fouling off with ease became horrid looking misses, and I found myself dissecting replays to figure out what was happening to my stride. The learning curve here is HUGE, and can humble you in an instant.

For those of you on the fence, I couldn't reccommed a download of the demo enough. It's certainly not without its flaws: The crowd blurs behind homeplate, the sound pops without warning, and in one instance, I needed to restart it all together due to a constant ringing...

But the improvements over it's predecessor are noticable from the get go. I woke up this morning compelled to share my experiences from yesterday...which, for a 4 inning demo, speaks volumes in my opinion. Let's just say, March 8th cannot come fast enough.

[Perfect Zero]

Re: MLB 11 The Show Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here

A few things:

The analogue controls are a nice thought, but I think they don't work well at all. The pitching mechanic is very unresponsive to me when I'm trying to direct the horizontal placement of the ball. Hitting is either way too early or way too late, and fielding is ok at best. If I get the game, I'm not using the analogue controls at all.

Eric Karros is terrible, so at least that is realistic. I prefer Rex Hudler, and that's saying something. I think that if they go with the same mechanics next year, they need to stay with just Vasgersian and Campbell.

Pac Bell Park looks really good from the scoreboards to the water. They are really well mapped and the colors look really good. The crowd is really well done too; the graphics department deserves a pat on the back for what they've done for this year. Everything looks less pixulated and crisper.

Overall, it looks good, and I'll buy it for some of the other features (plus I like my team being referred to as the American League Champions), but some of the things they added are "meh." I know the full product will blow me away, but until then it's back to MLB 10.

[Knight165]

Re: MLB 11 The Show Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here

I hit a shot off of the right field wall and thought for sure I get 2 out of it. The ball bounced off of the wall and I guess the fielder took the right angle cause the ball went right to him and he gunned me out at 2nd.

Well...I did say occasional..
BUT....I just might be crazy.

M.K.
Knight165

[Visionsofmastery]

Re: MLB 11 The Show Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here

won 2 to nothing , once I figured out how to visualize and kinda move my finger around the analog before the pitch was thrown to jumpstart on movement into a smooth stride I was good.

I can say one thing if this is the default to play with online alot of more offensive type games will be made, gone are the days where an at-bat will have 3 pinpoint black strikes you are going to miss and when you do or get in a hitters count you will have to challenge ohhhhhh I am going to love hitting this year I expect my walks to go through the roof now

[Lewis160]

Re: MLB 11 The Show Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here

This game is really not the same as 10. the crowd is loud as if its a world series game. Makes the game more exciting to play. The commentators arent that bad. Its sounds like listenin to them on the radio that excitin feeling.

[TexasBorn1]

Re: MLB 11 The Show Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here

Whew, the analog throwing is killing me. Two errors in one inning...its gonna take me some time to get used to it and I will because I like the challenge. Analog pitching is a lot of fun as well

Hitting, I couldn't hit anything not even pitches down the middle so I will be using timing based hitting only. I am not much of a baseball guy(but I love The Show been buying it every year since 07) so I have a tendency to swing at everything just hoping something good happens. Maybe when I get better I will give analog hitting a shot

[speels]

Re: MLB 11 The Show Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here

Played my first game last night on default as the Giants. Lost 1-0 in 7 innings. Lincecum only gave up 3 hits all game, but I misplayed a hit in the outfield as I was in a hurry to gun the runner out at home, and missed the grounder completely.

I love all of the analog stuff, it actually makes me feel like I am in the game. I do need a lot of work on hitting though as I struck out 17 times in 7 innings. Need to layoff the balls outside of the zone as the CPU had 92 pitches and only 5 were called balls.

[nomo17k]

Re: MLB 11 The Show Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here

I was not gonna try the demo but since the download can proceed while I'm in bed I thought why not. MLB 10 was my first so I cannot comment on how the series has improved and such either. All the guys in this thread have a lot to say in common so I'm not going to repeat them as well.

There is one thing I wish to add on the analog control though. I really like the learning curve that the system introduces, as things can get pretty repetitive quickly with "traditional" button press control system.

However, has anyone wished that there is a way to adjust its "natural movement" of analog? The cool thing about the analog stick is that you can go in any direction, unlike d-pad which is only capable of specifying several predetermined directions. However, the analog *does* have its natural position, which is when it sticks right up at the center. The analog stick has a tendency to resume to that position.

When I use the analog for pitching and hitting, this somehow makes it difficult for me to push the stick in the desired direction.

Naturally, my thumb does not move forward and backward as defined in the controller, its forward movement is more like from the bottom left to the upper right. So if I want to paint the outside low as a pitcher (as seen in pitching view vs RHB), I feel I need to make an unnatural move with my thumb. If I just move my thumb naturally, then the pitch tends to go inside. Similar thing happens with hitting.

I think one possible solution is to "calibrate" the analog stick with user's natural thumb movement (just as you need to each time with Move), and set that as the "zero point" which, in the case of pitching, defines the "down the middle."

What do others think? I guess I can take this as a learning curve thing, but everyone's thumb naturally moves differently I believe, so it might help people to feel more natural with analog.

Just my opinion.