Official MLB 11 The Show - Impressions Thread

[DickDalewood]

Re: Official MLB 11 The Show - Impressions Thread

Is there no longer the ability to influence a fly ball or to aim a bunt like in last year's game?

Still there... Just push up or down on the left stick pre-pitch.

[fool]

Re: Official MLB 11 The Show - Impressions Thread

Thanks.

Do the opening day rosters come out right on opening day?

[Marino]

Re: Official MLB 11 The Show - Impressions Thread

Thanks.

Do the opening day rosters come out right on opening day?

Opening day is on a Thursday this year, so the rosters will be there that following Monday.

[ripwalk]

Re: Official MLB 11 The Show - Impressions Thread

Just played an awesome game Rays at Reds (me).

It was 2-1 for the Rays in the 5th and I brought a pinch hitter (Fred Lewis) on to hit with runners on first and second. He lined one through the box to tie it 2-2.

Fastforward to the 6th, the Rays have runners on first and second with one out and crazy Joe Maddon tries a double steal/hit and run and it works perfectly as John Jaso lashes a ball into the gap to score both runs, 4-2.

Top of the 8th with two outs and runner on third I intentionally walk the 8th place hitter to get teh Rays starter (Wade Davis) out of the game. Pinch hitter, Manny Ramirez. I get him chasing on a slider out of the zone to get out of the inning.

Bottom 8th, reliever into the game, I end up getting a runner on first with Joey Votto to the plate.. All I can ask for. I've timed the reliever's slider pretty well so I keep waiting for him to throw that. he doesn't and gets ahead of me 1-2, and then he finally throws a low slider and Votto hits it 400 feet to tie the game 4-4.

New pitcher comes into the game, next batter Scott Rolen. Homerun! 5-4.

New pitcher comes into the game to face Johnny Gomes. Homerun! 6-4!

Back to back to back homeruns to take a lead and the small crowd in attendance is going wild!

In the 9th I have my closer on and he struggles a bit, allowing one run and having the tying run at third before getting a game-ending groundout to second, as Reds win a nailbiter 6-5. Awesome, awesome game.

Some comments:

I love, love love LOW camera for both fielding and offense. It really brings you down onto the field and helps show off the games graphics. I had honestly never even tried it before MLB 11 and it does take a bit to get used to, but I won't go back. I recommend anyone try it out.

I love all the different batting camera options. I can't settle on one, I just keep changing it around game to game.. It really helps keep things fresh for sure.

I am quite comfortable at analog fielding now and usually make all the routine plays, but sometimes will airmail a throw say going to third on a relay (that is my worst base for sure).. I love it because fielding isn't automatic, but the easy plays are still that, pretty easy. It makes a good balance and you really can tell the difference between when you have to hurry and when you can take your time. I have found a good balance on Hall of Fame mode. It's not too hard, but also not too easy where I won't ever make an error.

Contact swing is great. It's awesome to see real pitch counts and this button really helps draw out some at bats and get that result.

It's dissapointing there is not a fielding practiec mode, aside from the RTTS one. Obviously fielding in game is a lot different than RTTS fielding. I would love to be able to just have the CPU hit balls and the user just be there to control whatever fielder it is hit to, as you would in a game.


At any rate, straight up addicted to this game!

[ripwalk]

Re: Official MLB 11 The Show - Impressions Thread

I'm still having a tough time wrapping my head around the fact that on analog hitting I can do everything perfect and still miss because the PCI got moved in the wrong direction.

Are you really seeing that happen that often?

I have found the PCI fairly responsive. I find it depends heavily on your timing though. When I am early on a pitch that is when the PCI will most often be way over top of the location of the pitch, even if I directed the stick in teh right direction, whcih makes sense, as you normally pull off a ball and are swinging high if you swing early.

[beboppp]

Re: Official MLB 11 The Show - Impressions Thread

Well I picked up the game yesterday and had time to play a few games and check out most of the new features and I must say SCEA has done it again. Improved on the best game and somehow made it even better.

What I love about this years edition is that though it still has that great SHOW feel to it, it has been improved in so many areas it boggles the mind. First thing I noticed upon playing is just how smooth everything feels this year. Amimations just seem so natural and flow so well. I have yet to see anything that looks strange or awkward. No more crazy wall suction or slow grounders morphing past the 3rd baseman.

I absolutely love the COTW mode. Its so much fun and addictive. I already dropped about $5.00 on it. I also love the new additions made to HR Derby. Love the new replays and how at the end of the derby they show a replay of each players longest HR and they show each HR trajectory with the longest one highlighted in Red. Its cool that the balls that don't go out stay on the field and don't dissapear, they even stay on the field between batters. I also love the new practice modes, my favorite is the good at bat mode. It really teaches patience and tries to get you to work counts ect.. depending on the situation. Even existing training modes like RTTS baserunning seem to have been tweaked. I actually got 12 steals in 15 attempts with Rajai Davis. Last year it was near impossible to get a successful steal in this mode.

Love the new colour scheme on the menus, really freshens up the game. I also love that you can set your favorite team and have that stadium as your backdrop. I absolutely love all the new analog controls, especially the pitching. Played HOF last year and it does seem a little harder this year which I like. The graphics are just stunning this year, with the improved lighting transitions, weather effects and all the authentic scoreboards. I actually like the addition of Karros. Though he does repeat some of Rex's old lines, he does give some insightful info and does have a bit of a back and forth with Matt and Dave, though it still does seem like they are in seperate booths. There are so many other small additions like the ability to name your save files ect... that just give this game the feeling that no small detail was left untouched.

The one dissapointment that I do have is that I tried to play an online game last night and the lag was so bad it made the game virtually unplayable and my connection was green the entire time. Hopefully this was just because there were so many people on last night because of release day. The Show has never had a great online experience, but this was the worst I've ever seen it. I dream for the day we get a lag free experience on The Show.

In closing, if I had one word to describe this year game it would be POLISHED. Everything is just so buttery smooth. If your a fan of The Show series, the same winning formula is still in place with the game being adjusted and tightened up in all the right areas.

[slthree]

Re: Official MLB 11 The Show - Impressions Thread

Welcome to Operation Sports. I'll bet your impressios are insightful but I couldn't read it because it hurts the eyes in its current form.

Its cool though. Just use the enter key to break up the really long paragraph below. In its current state, I think most people will find it hard to read, if they try to read it at all.

Well I picked up the game yesterday and had time to play a few games and check out most of the new features and I must say SCEA has done it again. Improved on the best game and somehow made it even better. What I love about this years edition is that though it still has that great SHOW feel to it, it has been improved in so many areas it boggles the mind. First thing I noticed upon playing is just how smooth everything feels this year. Amimations just seem so natural and flow so well. I have yet to see anything that looks strange or awkward. No more crazy wall suction or slow grounders morphing past the 3rd baseman. I absolutely love the COTW mode. Its so much fun and addictive. I already dropped about $5.00 on it. I also love the new additions made to HR Derby. Love the new replays and how at the end of the derby they show a replay of each players longest HR and they show each HR trajectory with the longest one highlighted in Red. Its cool that the balls that don't go out stay on the field and don't dissapear, they even stay on the field between batters. I also love the new practice modes, my favorite is the good at bat mode. It really teaches patience and tries to get you to work counts ect.. depending on the situation. Even existing training modes like RTTS baserunning seem to have been tweaked. I actually got 12 steals in 15 attempts with Rajai Davis. Last year it was near impossible to get a successful steal in this mode. Love the new colour scheme on the menus, really freshens up the game. I also love that you can set your favorite team and have that stadium as your backdrop. I absolutely love all the new analog controls, especially the pitching. Played HOF last year and it does seem a little harder this year which I like. The graphics are just stunning this year, with the improved lighting transitions, weather effects and all the authentic scoreboards. I actually like the addition of Karros. Though he does repeat some of Rex's old lines, he does give some insightful info and does have a bit of a back and forth with Matt and Dave, though it still does seem like they are in seperate booths. There are so many other small additions like the ability to name your save files ect... that just give this game the feeling that no small detail was left untouched. The one dissapointment that I do have is that I tried to play an online game last night and the lag was so bad it made the game virtually unplayable and my connection was green the entire time. Hopefully this was just because there were so many people on last night because of release day. The Show has never had a great online experience, but this was the worst I've ever seen it. I dream for the day we get a lag free experience on The Show.

In closing, if I had one word to describe this year game it would be POLISHED. Everything is just so buttery smooth. If your a fan of The Show series, the same winning formula is still in place with the game being adjusted and tightened up in all the right areas.

[m3lover1]

Re: Official MLB 11 The Show - Impressions Thread

Not sure if this is me, but there are more unforced errors in this game than before. In my RTTS game (I'm a SP), the batter hits a single to left field. The LF lazily lobbed it to a single. So I was getting ready to face the next batter, then just realized he overthrew the cutoff man by a lot and the ball rolled to foul territory in between 3B and Home. So the batter was able to stroll from 1st base to 2nd base.

Pissed me off, but also was quite funny cause I never knew the LF could miss the cutoff man so badly on a routine lob.

[N51_rob]

Re: Official MLB 11 The Show - Impressions Thread

Well I finally won an exhibition game. Beat Houston 7-3 in 11 innings. I was up 3-0 in the bottom of the 9th, blew the save, and eventually won the game in the 11. I'm still looking for a good hitting cam. It's takings some getting used to. Had 14 hits and 13 K's. I know that my inablity to handle breaking balls low in the zone is the problem for me so I know that I can fix that with more time with the game.

I think that I am going to stick with timing base hitting, while going analog for everything else. Gives me a really competative game and allows for me to be more competative.

[Sakuraba19]

Re: Official MLB 11 The Show - Impressions Thread

Well I played the Homerun Derby with Move + 3d TV.

God it was fun, My mom and sister played it too lol. I mean it's a lot casual but still really fun.

Played exhibition with the Pirates vs Cleveland. My first time playing the SHOW ever.

Man I loved it, everything is so much smoother than 2k. I used to play baseball for 15 years and this game is so much fun and realistic.

[Russell_SCEA]

Re: Official MLB 11 The Show - Impressions Thread

Not sure if this is me, but there are more unforced errors in this game than before. In my RTTS game (I'm a SP), the batter hits a single to left field. The LF lazily lobbed it to a single. So I was getting ready to face the next batter, then just realized he overthrew the cutoff man by a lot and the ball rolled to foul territory in between 3B and Home. So the batter was able to stroll from 1st base to 2nd base.

Pissed me off, but also was quite funny cause I never knew the LF could miss the cutoff man so badly on a routine lob.

In RTTS you will definitely see more errors and bad on field play. Most of your position player teammates suck and with the changes we've done to fielding this year its really going to stand out in RTTS because everyone's ratings are so low.

[m3lover1]

Re: Official MLB 11 The Show - Impressions Thread

Ahh I see...better brace myself for frustration then! LOL

[beboppp]

Re: Official MLB 11 The Show - Impressions Thread

Welcome to Operation Sports. I'll bet your impressios are insightful but I couldn't read it because it hurts the eyes in its current form.

Its cool though. Just use the enter key to break up the really long paragraph below. In its current state, I think most people will find it hard to read, if they try to read it at all.

fixed, hopefully it is a little easier to read now.

[travis72]

Re: Official MLB 11 The Show - Impressions Thread

As I posted earlier this game really grabs your attention and is amazing how far it has come from the earlier years when I just look at it but never bought it until 09 which I was impressed with as well.
The one question I have for SCEA is with all the bugs and glitches that have been found that pretty much takes away enjoying the game to its fullest until the issues are fixed, is why not do more testing before release? I don't mean you don't do testing as I am sure you do but your only human and things can get missed. What I wonder is why don't you get guys here at OS a copy of the game early to run it thru the ringer test wise to catch these flaws, that way your already working on a patch by release day and can have one out shortly after release or even relaease day if they got the game early enough to test.
When i say guys here at OS I mean respected guys like Knight, Ridin, Strut, Nemesis, etc., there are some more guys that at the moment my brain can't think of there names but guys that have been here and contribut alot to this game. You could even find 30 guys that would take each team and run thru to check that team extensively and run it thru numerous test in franchise sim and playing a bunch of games with, that way it would be hard pressed to not find all the glitches.

In closing sorry for such a long post and I am a big MLB the show fan so not trying to bash this game at all. I am sure these guys or whoever would test for free, I know I would. Not sure how many people on here have a lot of time with work and family. In my case I am self employed and this time of year i am slow until spring hits so I have a lot of time on my hands but i am sure not everyone has this luxury. I know the Show really don't have any competition other than themselves since the other game is no where near this good but it would be nice for the fans of this game to be able to dig in right away knowing that this game had been gone over with a fine tooth comb plus just think how many more people would consider a PS3 for this game.

Again sorry for such a long post just was feeling the need to speak what I was thinking,lol.

[Russell_SCEA]

Re: Official MLB 11 The Show - Impressions Thread

As I posted earlier this game really grabs your attention and is amazing how far it has come from the earlier years when I just look at it but never bought it until 09 which I was impressed with as well.
The one question I have for SCEA is with all the bugs and glitches that have been found that pretty much takes away enjoying the game to its fullest until the issues are fixed, is why not do more testing before release? I don't mean you don't do testing as I am sure you do but your only human and things can get missed. What I wonder is why don't you get guys here at OS a copy of the game early to run it thru the ringer test wise to catch these flaws, that way your already working on a patch by release day and can have one out shortly after release or even relaease day if they got the game early enough to test.
When i say guys here at OS I mean respected guys like Knight, Ridin, Strut, Nemesis, etc., there are some more guys that at the moment my brain can't think of there names but guys that have been here and contribut alot to this game. You could even find 30 guys that would take each team and run thru to check that team extensively and run it thru numerous test in franchise sim and playing a bunch of games with, that way it would be hard pressed to not find all the glitches.

In closing sorry for such a long post and I am a big MLB the show fan so not trying to bash this game at all. I am sure these guys or whoever would test for free, I know I would. Not sure how many people on here have a lot of time with work and family. In my case I am self employed and this time of year i am slow until spring hits so I have a lot of time on my hands but i am sure not everyone has this luxury. I know the Show really don't have any competition other than themselves since the other game is no where near this good but it would be nice for the fans of this game to be able to dig in right away knowing that this game had been gone over with a fine tooth comb plus just think how many more people would consider a PS3 for this game.

Again sorry for such a long post just was feeling the need to speak what I was thinking,lol.

It's not your job or anyone else on this board or anywhere to test the game for us. You pay 60 dollars to enjoy the game, not to become a tester.

Sending a handful of copies out early won't solve the problem either. The game will always have bugs like all other games. QA is only so big they can only find so much. Then the game ships and withing days thousands and sometimes hundreds of thousands of people have the game. Because of the sheer numbers the community collectively are going to find issues we/QA missed. There is nothing we can really do about that dynamic.

But since you do find these issues when you play we ask that you tell us so we can fix them. We don't like seeing the bugs thread get over 10 pages but at that point all we can do is try to fix them asap.

No game development company enjoys patching their game. Patches cost the studio money. Believe me if we could find and fix every single one we would and we try to do this every year. It's awesome that everyone points out issues with game. Although it make us cringe every time we see a new bug pop up.