Research Poll

[Heroesandvillains]

Re: Research Poll

1) Overall Difficulty -

I'm glad you asked this, Brian. The improvements made to overall difficulty have been simply the most important refinement to me in this series' progression. Not a back-of-the-box feature, no doubt, but the one that gives me the most joy.

BABIP: This is a crucial stat for me, and has gotten better (coming down) year after year since '09 (my first version). '12 is no exception. Wonderful job.

I'm a Timing Only hitter. It's beautifully implemented. It balances user input and player ratings incredibly.

Overall Hitting Difficulty: I will say that hitting seems harder this year. Not specifically as it refers to making contact, but in relation to how difficulty level impacts overall Human team batting average. Again, BABIP. Last year (and in previous years) I generally played on HOF Default; a level that felt comfortable but statistically sound.

This year I'm on All-Star (though there's no complaints from me there). The two levels (this year's All-Star and last year's HOF) feel very similar, so I'm happy (minus a few nuances which I'll go into shortly). Again, before I move on; I'm not advocating for hitting to be made easier. This is just an observation on my part and was easily corrected by finding an appropriate difficulty level for myself. All-Star hitting is well balanced.

All-Star Hitting Difficulty in Relation to Walks: It's becoming apparent on All-Star this year how consistenly the CPU seems to be willing to pound the heart of the strike zone when behind in the count. And to a lesser extent, paint the black in the same scenarios, and usually, it's offspeed. I understand that the AI is programmed to recognize my hitting patterns/tendencies, so I very well could be taking too often in order to coax a walk out of the CPU. But, that said and even though I don't believe that to be the case, drawing a walk from a pitcher with a low BB/9 shouldn't make me sweat as much as it's doing this year. I'm averaging 3 BB's per game exactly, which is a good thing, but it's how I earn them that's frustrating.

1. Walks almost always come on 3-2 (meaning they rarely are of the 4-5 pitch variety).

2. Walks don't seem to vary much on a game to game basis (meaning I usually walk 3 times per game, every game. Never more than 5 which has happened to me once, and never less than twice which has happened to a handful of times).

It would be nice if walks were more dynamic. Example: When I pitch (AS, Classic), I'll walk 2 people one day, 7 the next, 1 on the third, etc. User hitting would benefit from this kind of walk diversity. Less CPU issued walks when a pitcher is dominating, and more CPU issued walks when a pitcher is really struggling or has a low BB/9 rating (and in turn, less meatballs...which are happening too frequently when a pitcher gets rattled).

Though I do realize, without watching me play, it would be impossible to tell whether I become "swing-happy" once I've reached the 3 BB threshold. I don't believe this to be true either, but am aware that these types of tendencies occur subconsciously.

Pitch Recognition in Relation to Difficulty: I'm able to recognize pitches very well thanks to the improved Default and Custom cameras. And as a result, I chase between 12-16 pitches per game on average. Kudos! But, I still have a hard time recognizing the changeup (and to a lesser extend, low sliders). If possible, I'd like to be able to spot poorly rated changeups with greater ease (as well as be able to recognize breaking pitches thrown low in the zone), but I also understand the limits of 2-D and how difficult hitting changeups in real life must be. Guess Pitch does help alleviate this to a degree. So, it's not as if changeups are indistinguishable from the fastball, they're just really hard to see when there's a shadow of a doubt lingering.

2. Game Log

I don't use the Game Log very often, unless it's absolutely necessary for stat verification purposes, because it's written more like a novel than an actual play-by-play log. And it seems to show the most current inning first by default. Scrolling to the top to get to the breakdown of the first inning is a mild annoyance. Nothing huge; just mildly so.

3. Strategy Guide

Having played the series for four years now, I honestly never even give the strategy guide a second thought. I briefly skimmed through it last year but haven't even looked at 12's.

4. Pitcher/Batter Analysis

Brian, I would LOVE if somehow every pitch could be included. I analyze the heck out of these screens both mid-game and post-game. 25 pitches isn't necessarily representative of AI or Human patterns, so I tend to spend more time navigating the Situation/Result options than I'd ideally like to. Even 50 of the most recent pitches would be a wonderful addition and I feel would make me a more informed player. And, as a result, a better player.

5. Pitching Interfaces

Classic Pitching is one of my all-time video game loves. I've spent a great deal of time using all four interfaces over the years (including at least 50 games with each of the three interfaces last year, and about 30 games with Pulse this year) but always find myself going back to Classic; for a myriad of reasons.

1. I like player ratings to dominate my experience over my timing skills.

2. The other three interfaces are much too accurate without handicapping myself via lower Human sliders (though, to be fair, I've only used Pulse and Classic this year).

Pulse pitching is actually my favorite of the four. It's rhythmic, it's difficult to time, and most importantly; it's fun. However, I believe there's too much of an emphasis on Human timing in relation to CPU hitting ability (at least on All-Star Default). Example: If I time a fastball right down broadway "perfect(ly)," the CPU seems less likely to capitalize on it than if I were to throw the same pitch in the same spot on accident with "late" timing.

I'd like Pulse pitching to be more like Classic pitching, where only accuracy was determined by the human's timing. I'm not sure whether or not the human is rewarded/penalized for pulse timing (though it APPEARS to be the case), but if so, I'd like for that aspect to be toned back or eliminated entirely.

6. Classic Pitching

Here's a perfect example of how much I love this interface:

When I read your suggestion above about altering the max effort indicator based on wind-up animations, I shook my head (literally! LOL) in disapproval!

The beauty of this interface is how the user is almost entirely removed from the outcome of the pitch. I don't want anything other than confidence, pitch confidence, ratings, stamina, wind, and a little luck (etc) involved. Adding nuances as to which pitcher reaches max effort when would undermine the appeal for me. I shouldn't make mistakes with Mariano Rivera because he takes forever to lean over before setting and delivering (confusing me as to when to release to deliver his heat!). I want it to be because the game factors dictated so.

As far as to how to go about inproving the interface, I would like to see two things:

1. Top-tier pitchers are still a tad too wild on Default without raising the Consistency slider (meaning top-tier and good control pitchers could stand to have a bit more command, but mid to bottom-tier pitchers as well as pitchers with low control seem fine to me currently).

2. Adding a Classic pitching tutorial to the pitching video tutorial section. Maybe it's just me, but I never really feel 100% certain that I'm doing it right.

7. Hitting Modes

I use Timing Only hitting exclusively. It's a great interface and extremely well balanced. Like Classic pitching, I tend to use interfaces that weigh heavier on the player ratings side of things, rather than user skill.

8. Stealing Balance

During offline single player games, I find the stealing to be very realistic this year (compared to years prior). I feel at no greater of an advantage or disadvantage than my CPU opponent. The success to caught ratio is wonderful on Default. Some notes though:

1. Based on mine and other's CPU versus CPU stat tracking, the CPU doesn't steal frequently enough (based on the MLB averages from between '09-'11) on Default.

2. I'd like to see Auto stealing reintroduced to Auto Baserunning.

9. Guess Pitch Modes

I use the Default Guess Pitch mode for the All-Star difficulty level. I like to use it not necessarily for the hitting bonuses, but to help me eliminate pitches to reduce my strikeout totals and increase my walk totals.

I generally use it situationally when the CPU pitcher is running a high Pitch Confidence on multiple pitches. Especially when they're continually using the changeup and splitter. These pitches are very difficult to for me to recognize and Guess Pitch helps me with the process of elimination. I'd say I guess pitch and/or location between half a dozen and a dozen times during an average outing.

The penalties and bonuses are very well done and never do I feel like I'm getting unfair advantages or unfair disadvantages by guessing.

10. Pitch Speed and Ball/Strike

Note: For a complete synopsis on my opinions on this subject, please read this post in tandem with my answers to question number one.

I'm using Timing Only hitting on All-Star but have had to reduce the Pitch Speed for a few reasons:

1. The CPU is constantly in and around the strikezone. And rarely does a CPU pitcher go through unrectifiable bouts of wildness (and even when they do, pitchers with low BB/9 ratings throw more meatballs versus "obvious" balls. The latter I'd like to see more of in the future).

I don't chase very many pitches, and calling ball/strike isn't unrealistically difficult for me (unless we're talking low changeups and low sliders. Those are really tough). What's frustrating is how often the CPU paints the black, especially when behind in the count - and very often it's offspeed - forcing me to swing in situations that are too risky to take in. And inversely, I take a lot of called strike three's because of again, how close to the strike zone all CPU pitchers seem to consistently throw in.

Dropping the pitch speed seems to help in these situations, giving me more time to determine how on or off the plate the ball is. But, generally speaking, CPU pitchers locate consistently too close for comfort. Which wouldn't be a problem if wild pitchers were more of an exception to this. And they are sometimes, but in my opinion, they're not obviously wild often enough.

2. On a standard definition television, I feel very comfortable on the Default pitch speed. Meaning, I'm late when looking offspeed and getting fastball, I'm early when looking fastball and getting offspeed, and generally on when getting what I'm looking for. And, generally my timing is also good when I'm looking fastball and get a hanging breaking ball.

However, on my high definition Vizio, with minimal input lag, I've had to drop the Pitch Speed two clicks in order to compensate for my television's response time. And even though it has benefited me to do this, I think this series would benefit greatly from a lag calibration system (if at all possible).

[allthoseships]

Re: Research Poll

1) Overall Difficulty - I play on allstar with some slider tweaks for sim results.
Couple of things: I use timing hitting, classic pitching classic fielding/button, and manual baserunning

Hitting and pitching is fine (see below) however on default settings, fielder speed is too fast and the good reads/jumps bad fielders get on balls seem to be a little off, ie, their reactions are too good for their ratings (this is for OFs). IF seems ok to me on default settings.
Baserunning need to be more intuative - ie, man on 2nd, base hit, i want to see him use his BR ratings and if such try to go home and then have me stop him if i dont want him to (instead of him just going from 2nd to 3rd as it is atm)...id rather call him back to 3rd if i dont think he can get home. Obviously it depends on where the base hit is, but, you know what i mean, runner on 2nd...i want him at least trying to go home (and then have me put the hold sign on if need be). I just think like i say on manual BR, baserunners should use their ratings and if so, see if a balls a double or if he thinks he can get home from second etc etc (if that makes sense) - i want the overal control, but the BR attributes to play a role in the initial decsion making of the runner, instead of the standard robot BR on manual just advancing one base at a time.

The only real issue i have with the game is CPU plate dic. The CPU has a magic eye. They hardly ever swing and miss. Ive lowered contact to 3 and timing to 4 and solid hits to 4 and im getting true to life strike out totals and hits. However, the CPU is still able to lay off pitches that in real life, a hitter would HAVE to swing at (on 2 strikes), but on allstar default settings - they dont - they just read it and lay off...and im talking NASTY pitches starting in the zone and breaking out of it. They somehow just as if by magic, lay off the pitch - and its not only good hitters...its number 9s as well. Lets be honest, the CPU plate dic is not realistic - thats all that reall needs addressing.
Like i say, ive been able to address it somewhat by lowering contact - and still getting sim hit and strike out totals but not on the type of pitches i should. Please address the CPUs eye on taking pitches that end up balls that in real life they could not possibly lay off.

Other then that Allstar is fine for me - i lose some, win some, some are blowouts, some are close...with my sliders tweaks, it plays great, it really does

3) Strategy Guide - I use it, seems fine

4) Pitcher Batter Analysis - I use it and it seems fine

5) Pitching Interfaces - I only use classic as im a sim man and i want players attributes to play the biggest possible part. I have used both meter, analog and pulse but didnt like them due to the fact that my stick skills were still the biggest factor and not player ratings. If pushed however, pulse was he better out of pulse, meter or analog

6) Classic Pitching - I only use classic and i like the way it is at the moment but if you did alter it slightly (as you suggested) i wouldnt have a problem with that. It works perfect as is though.

7) Hitting Modes - I use timing, as again, its all about getting the player attributes making the difference here. I love how it plays, as you get so much variation in batter skill - its amazing

9) Guess Pitch Modes - I play with full guess pitch so 1/4 (i think that is from memory). I use it if i want the hitter to sit on a specific pitch (ie, im sitting on fastball and want the added bonus as such...just like a real hitter whos looking for a specific pitch). I use it at all different times and in different counts. I also guess location as well but not normally together. ie, if im guess pitching, i'll normally guess only pitch type OR location, but rarely both together.
I hit fine without using it and its very balanced against CPU games.
I dont play 2P so i cant comment.
I do have an improvment on it though...
Ok so, just like in zone hitting, id like to have a similar PCI display thats obviously linked to the batters vision skill, which would allow me to manually choose where i want to guess location. I know theres already zones in the guess pitch function that basically do that, and they work fine, but just sometimes i feel like the zone 'misses' the location where im looking. For instance sometimes i want to look dead middle - but theres no zone for dead middle - it juist seems a little *not a pun* hit and miss. Whereas if we could dicate exactly where we want to guess location with a PCI type recticle that would elminate this. OR EVEN better, include a new zone in guess pitch where we can look dead middle (not mid high, in or out, and not low in or out) but deaddead middle (if that makes sense). Think of the one place you cant guess location atm...and thats dead middle, so include that as a zone for me to guess on.
Guess pitch does work well though how it is and im not griping, its just a suggestion

10) Pitch Speed and Ball/Strike – I play on a lower pitch speed as default is too fast for me. But with the lower setting im on it seems fine. Maybe theres not enough hits on some high fastballs that the CPU throws (they nearly all seem to be fouled off) but meh, i feel like there should be more hits on high fastballs i catch upto. I play timing though, so obvs i accept that its heavily tied to players ratings which is what i play for. I can call balls and strikes fine - its the right amount of challenge...sometimes im reading it well, sometimes i find a pitcher harder to pick up, just like it should be.
Just an fyi though, on default, the early pitch CPU strike% is way off. I've lowered it to zero and i now get realistic strike%s, counts and PCs for CPU pitchers.

[maddguuns]

Re: Research Poll

1) Overall Difficulty - In general, all modes seem to play fine, and are a little more difficult then the next lowest, as it should be. I do find that player reaction when fielding a ball is a bit slow in most animations. For instance, a 3rd basemen, dives to the right to get a ball, then stands up, then there's a minute pause before the throwing motion starts. Also, the RF throwing everyone out at first seems a bit odd. In online, there seems to be an issue on all levels with the second baseman ranging and not being able to field the ball for some reason. I would like to see a bit more variation in the movement of pitches in the default camera. everything looks straight until some nasty late movement, when pitches like changeups and curves will move the entire trip (with few exceptions) from the mound to plate. In the default camera there is no difference between a large breaking changeup and a slight breaking 12-6 curve. Same can be said about hard, slow sliders vs. fast slurves.

2) Game Log - I do use the game log and it would be nice to see it in chronological order. As far as everything else, it suits my needs just fine.

3) Strategy Guide - Gave it a once over, seemed to have good info, but I'm a Show vet, so I didn't look at it in terms of needing assistance.

4) Pitcher Batter Analysis - I'd like to see the entire game's tracking data. Otherwise, it is helpful vs. the CPU. Online, not so much.

5) Pitching Interfaces - In the past, I used meter or classic primarily. I was a fan of the meter style; however, this year, I have come to like pulse pitching. The thing I like most (as a former pitcher myself) is that the accuracy of the pitch seems to alter the quality of the pitch as well. I know from experience, if you are going 4-seamer down and away but you leave it up, it's slightly slower with less break. That seems to be the case with pulse pitching. As for analog, I'm just not a fan. It seems like it was built to mimic a pitch, but with the move, I'd be more apt to pass over analog and use the move if that motion was important to me.

6) Classic Pitching - Classic would be my third choice this year, but in the past, I have used it and found that the main reason I switched to meter was how classic seemed out of sync with certain delivery styles. With that said, you description of tying the timing to the motion sounds like a very reasonable change and may help that issue.

7) Hitting Modes - I used to like analog hitting, until I tried to use it in Diamond Dynasty. I am unsure as to why, but for some reason, I can't get hit's with analog online. I know a lot of other players don't have that issue, and maybe it is something I do; but, I did change to timing only for online. I like timing only. The reason being, it brings the overall level of complication down; allowing me to just go out and enjoy a game instead of concentrating so hard on every pitch to time in two directions.

8) Stealing Balance - When pre-loading the steal, it seems almost too easy to get thrown out, but when timing the steal, it seems about right. With that said, I don't steal often online, but I find it difficult to stop anyone from stealing, most of the time.

9) Guess Pitch Modes - I don't use guess pitch now, although I have played with it before. I like it it when I use it (when on, I use it on all pitches). Now, with that said, my younger nephew would benefit from a full guess pitch, where all you do is guess the type and you'd get full callout if correct, including location. As for online, I don't care if someone uses it; if it helps make them competitive, then I'm good with it. What I don't care for are the people who whine and complain that people use it online.

10) Pitch Speed and Ball/Strike – Pitch speed is generally fine in all modes; but I find it difficult to recognize anything with the default camera.

[zippy2212]

Re: Research Poll

1) Overall Difficulty - I feel the overall difficulty is perfect. I was really struggling with hitting this year until I played around with the sliders to find settings that worked for me.

2) Game Log - I like to use it from time to time but not very often.

3) Strategy Guide - I never use this. Not sure why but I never do.

4) Pitcher Batter Analysis - Again I really if ever use it.

5) Pitching Interfaces - I'm a meter pitching guy. Always will be. I tried pulse pitching but couldn't get the hang of it and didn't like the look and feel. The interface that I probably will never use is classic.

6) Classic Pitching - I've never used it.


7) Hitting Modes - Love zone. gives me the feeling that I have some control over my hitters results. Not a fan of anything analog. Just seems like it takes to much thought/patience to get everything timed perfect. Timing is my second pick but like I said above zone just gives me a feeling that I control more of the outcome.

8) Stealing Balance - Never play 2P. I'm an offline franchise only player.

9) Guess Pitch Modes - I use classic 1/4 guess pitch. I always use it. Unfortunately for me I would swing at ever low pitch if i didn't. Some might think its cheesy but I always guess low. Like I said I would swing at every pitch low in the zone if I didn't use it.

10) Pitch Speed and Ball/Strike – I only played a couple of games on all-star. As I mentioned above I really struggled with hitting this year so I am playing on Veteran.

[dickey1331]

Re: Research Poll

1) Overall Difficulty - I play on rookie with hitting and pitching. I find that its enjoyable. Sliders work well with it and I always find that its not too easy and not too hard


4) Pitcher Batter Analysis - I dont use this

5) Pitching Interfaces - Meter, I would never use analog. I cant think of any improvements to meter, its just simple and easy and what Im used to.


7) Hitting Modes - I use timing and dont plan to use any other mode. I just like the simplicity of it.


9) Guess Pitch Modes - I dont use guess pitch

[slickkill77]

Re: Research Poll

1) Overall Difficulty - I find baserunning, especially when dealing with multiple runners very difficult. I don't have issues with pitching or hitting on any level but baserunning too often feels like a cluster f...

2) Game Log - Only really use this in RTTS

3) Strategy Guide - I only bring up the controls

4) Pitcher Batter Analysis - Only use this during RTTS

5) Pitching Interfaces - I use classic the most because I like that the stats determine the outcome. I never use meter. I tried analog last year and it was ok but having to watch the meter takes away from watching the wind ups. Pulse is fun but the pitches seem way to inconsistent and all over the place.

6) Classic Pitching -Love it. Nothing needs to change, but you could try modified classic pitching which could keep it fresh.

7) Hitting Modes - I've used analog timing since last year. I love it. It's the right balance as far as check swings and bunting and normal swings.

8) Stealing Balance - I don't play vs at all.

9) Guess Pitch Modes - I always turn it off. The less stuff that is on screen the better.

10) Pitch Speed and Ball/Strike – I'm comfortable batting in any situation and the default pitch speeds are just fine. They aren't too slow or too fast.

Baserunning is the main area that really needs to be fine tuned. Maybe it's because I don't play as a team often, mainly play RTTS, but I find baserunning gafs cost me more than they should because I am fighting the controls

[knich]

Re: Research Poll

1) Overall Difficulty - Rate the overall difficulty of hitting/pitching/fielding/running. Is even Legend too easy for you, or Rookie too hard? Are there specific modes that too easy or hard, such as zone hitting or analog throwing, etc..? Or is one area overall okay but a specific action (hitting a slider, getting a double play, etc..) at an extreme for you?

I use All-Star for both pitching and batting and seems right to me.

2) Game Log - Do you use the game log? Would you like a game option that displays it in chronological order, rather than most recent innings first? At the end of the game log are some miscellaneous data about that day's game. Are there other fields of data you would like to see?

Yes. I prefer chronological order. Pitches thrown by each pitcher and % strikes-balls. Time of game.

3) Strategy Guide - Have you used the in-game Strategy Guide? Would you like to see certain topics covered? Would you like to see more topics in general covered?

Didn't know there was one.

4) Pitcher Batter Analysis - Do you use the Pitcher-Batter Analysis tools? What kind of new data, charts, or filters would you like? Would you like more than the last 25 pitches drawn?

It seems very convoluted to me. I'd like to see more situational stats as a pop up display. I'd also like to see pitching and batter tendencies depending on the count as pop up or OSD. I'd also like to see what pitcher/batter at plate history is for all players on roster (like in RTTS).

5) Pitching Interfaces - Of the four pitching interfaces (Classic, Meter, Analog, Pulse), which do you use the most overall? Which would you never use? Are there specific improvements you would like to see to any of the existing pitching interfaces?

Classic, Pulse and Meter. I have used Classic in the past and am going to give it a try again when pulse starts to give me headache. But I would prefer Classic to Meter because I like to watch the windup and prefer more stats based results than user based. Would never use Analog. Would like some ability to vary the speed of the pitcher's throw speed using pulse. I tried Classic for first time in 12 and really like it thus far. At this point, would choose it over Meter and probably Pulse.

6) Classic Pitching - Do you like using classic pitching, even occasionally or in the past? When using classic pitching, would you like it if the power setting phase was tied to the pitcher's animation?

For example, instead of holding down X before the pitcher starts winding up, the pitcher starts winding up as you press X. And instead of 1 second being the Max effort, it's whatever the duration of the windup is (with the stretch animation being shorter). A rumble would confirm max effort, as always. Of course, there's no timing skill involved here (i.e. no penalty for holding X down forever). It would mainly have two effects: merging the power and windup phase, and adding a certain feel of interaction with that pitcher. On the other hand, I can see this as being slightly annoying (or at least some getting used to) for people who don't want it.

I like the way it is now, but need a rumble for the stretch.

7) Hitting Modes - Which hitting mode do you prefer? Which hitting mode would you never use? Have you tried timing-only hitting yet?

I use timing and like it. I would never use the new one probably.

8) Stealing Balance - Do you play 2P offline/online? How often do you steal in 2P? Do you manual (i.e. early) steal or auto (on windup) steal? Is it too easy or hard to steal overall? In two player, do you get stolen against too easily when it does happen? Is it too easy or hard to defend against steals overall? Or are there specific situations that need balance? Are bad basestealers able to steal too effectively? How often do you pitchout? Quick pickoff? Slow pickoff? Deceptive pickoff?

I play offline against CPU only. I'm not sure how to manual steal. I hit L2 before the windup to steal. Stealing success seems fine to me and slider work to adjust. But I do think there needs to be more separation between good and bad stealers as their success rates don't seem that different. I use all forms of pick offs. I think there needs to be a pitcher rating for pickoffs much like there need to be a catcher rating for calling the game. I also do not see much difference in pick offs between slow pickoff and deceptive. Please also fix the base runner who has almost no lead but dives back to base with every pickoff attempt. This does not happen in real MLB.

9) Guess Pitch Modes - Which guess pitch mode do you prefer, if any? Do you use it always, or just in certain counts/situations? Do you think that mode is balanced for single-player games against the AI? For two-player games? Can you hit effectively without using guess pitch at all? What difficulty do you hit on? Lastly, in two-player games how do you feel when your opponent uses guess pitch against you?

I use 1/4 and 1/6. Works well for single player. Don't play 2p

10) Pitch Speed and Ball/Strike – On Allstar difficulty, are fastballs too fast or slow? Is it Is it too hard or easy to call a ball or strike? Or instead, can you usually tell if it's a ball or strike but you just want to swing anyways? What do you think about batting while in strike 2 situations? 2-0 and 3-1 situations?

I think fastballs are just right on default slider. Unless the ball is clear ball or strike, there are a lot of close pitches. 2-0 and 3-1 situations are fine. I think there is good balance of balls in and out of strike zone on all-star.

[Bat]

Re: Research Poll

1) Overall Difficulty - Pretty good overall. I would love for less power to opposite field. Also I don't see enough (IMO) of balls getting between 1st and 3rd and the foul lines.

2) Game Log - Chrono order for sure

3) Strategy Guide -Nope

4) Pitcher Batter Analysis - Love it!

5) Pitching Interfaces - Pulse! Best option. I agree I would like wild misses occasionally.

6) Classic Pitching - I don't since I like Pulse. I do like the idea of using the power whit the pitchers windup.

7) Hitting Modes - Analog and zone. I wouldn't want to play with timing only.


9) Guess Pitch Modes - Not a fan of guess pitch.

10) I would like to see a dynamic confidence that perhaps lowers on two strikes with a lot of hitters.

Please send along word on needing to work on player progression. More dynamic. Hot and cold streaks rase a players value to a team and in trades.

Thanks.

[NEOPARADIGM]

Re: Research Poll

6) Classic Pitching - Do you like using classic pitching, even occasionally or in the past? When using classic pitching, would you like it if the power setting phase was tied to the pitcher's animation?

For example, instead of holding down X before the pitcher starts winding up, the pitcher starts winding up as you press X. And instead of 1 second being the Max effort, it's whatever the duration of the windup is (with the stretch animation being shorter). A rumble would confirm max effort, as always. Of course, there's no timing skill involved here (i.e. no penalty for holding X down forever). It would mainly have two effects: merging the power and windup phase, and adding a certain feel of interaction with that pitcher.

I've always thought that the way Classic should work is: you hold the button to start the delivery, hold it for the duration of the animation/delivery as you suggest here, and then release the button about when the pitcher should release the ball: holding too long should have a negative effect (a fastball that bounces) and letting go too soon should have a negative effect (a breaking ball that doesn't break). Releasing the button on the sweet spot becomes the pitching mechanic - same as slingshot or catapult logistics - in conjunction with the pitcher's animation.

I would also suggest that Classic ditch its loyalty to the X button. I think if Triangle or Circle is the pitch, you should throw it with Triangle or Circle, not X.

Cheers.

[legacyme3]

Re: Research Poll

1) Overall Difficulty - 4/10 - I play on Veteran generally in hitting and Legend in pitching. The hitting in the game isn't "hard" so much as I just have terrible plate vision. As a result,I end up swinging for a lot I shouldn't. It's much improved from last year however.

2) Game Log - I love the Game Log. I like seeing a lot of stats in there... I'd like to see more if possible, although I don't know what else I could feasibly see.

3) Strategy Guide - I used it once to find out how to pick off a baserunner, but aside from that, I have not been using it. I am a learn by trial and error guy.

4) Pitcher Batter Analysis - I use the pitcher/batter analysis tool when I'm playing for real. Not so much when I'm chilling out playing with a friend. I like the amount of info given.

5) Pitching Interfaces - I use all of them at some point except Classic, which for years has not appealed to me. I use Pulse a lot, being the flavor of the year, and I like the analog pitching as well. Meter I could do without, but still appreciate the inclusion of.

6) Classic Pitching - No. Not a fan of classic.

7) Hitting Modes - I only use Timing really. I played on the other setting (Zone+Analog) for a trophy, but I'm relatively poor on the offensive side of the game. So I don't really change my style of play on that.

8) Stealing Balance - Stealing is something I do often offline in games with my friend. He rarely catches me. The computer on the other hand always seems to on auto. Maybe balance it by making the computer lag slightly (Not even more than a quarter of a second. a tenth of a second may be too much) or by giving the other player a little more time to react to a stolen base, since there's often little indication you are stealing until you see the runner moving. A wider camera angle in steal situations could be of use.

9) Guess Pitch Modes - Never play with GP anymore. I just feel it ruins the experience if I know before the pitch actually happens where it's going. I guess in my head. If it's wrong I get penalized. If it's right then I get rewarded. Whereas with GP on, if I guess wrong, I basically get a second chance to guess the location.

10) Pitch Speed and Ball/Strike –I play on veteran offensively and legend defensively, but the ball speed and the ball strike seems fine.

A minor issue for me is the inconsistent strike zone. I've often pitched in the same exact location all game (often not even terribly close to the strike zone) and the same exact umpire will often call at random. 50% of the time it's a strike, 50% of the time it's a ball.

Aside from that, another thing that I think could be improved is the fielding. For some reason, I think fielding in the rain is a little more difficult than it needs to be. I may be nitpicking here, but when I was younger, I used to play baseball in the rain all the time. I played numerous positions, and don't recall even heavy rain having a severe impact on my performance. I might make an error or two a game in real life in the rain... but making 3 or 4 in the game in the rain is a tad ridiculous. Especially given how they are professionals trained to take ground balls off bad hops and in rainy situations.

[shifty_b]

Re: Research Poll

1) Overall Difficulty -
I have found Hall of Fame/Legend for pitching, but get the best hitting results through slider-modifications of All Star difficulty.

2) Game Log -
I would love some way to export/save data from the game log (including smaller details about pitching stats --pitcher/batter analysis info)

3) Strategy Guide -
I have not personally used it, played enough previous versions to feel comfortable without one.

4) Pitcher Batter Analysis -
So far the info already included has given me everything I need.

5) Pitching Interfaces -
Meter pitching, gives good amount of control. Only thing that I think is off is that despite releasing late or early the pitch generally gets "sucked" in to the middle of the plate. I feel that if you release the pitch late it would be more likely to be thrown into the dirt rather than elevate it (and early release might make the ball go high).

6) Classic Pitching -
I have tried briefly, but there doesn't feel like there is enough control with lower-tier major leaguers.

7) Hitting Modes -
Used to use zone hitting, but have used timing for '11 and '12. I get much better sim results, where with zone I found a players ratings to mean almost nothing (ie crushing the ball consistently with "bench" quality players).

8) Stealing Balance -
Only major change to basestealing that I would suggest is addition of an auto steal option. I believe that used to be something that could be enabled, but now auto baserunning does not control steals. I only play 1 player, but the addition of auto steal would be appreciated.

9) Guess Pitch Modes -
I actually find hitting to be better without using guess pitch. Usually keep it on no feedback in case I have a count where I know a certain pitch is coming, that seems realistic to get the small boost since real major leaguers can gear up for a certain pitch and hit it more effectively.

10) Pitch Speed and Ball/Strike –
2 Strike situations seems slightly "off" to me, in 0-2 counts the CPU almost always in my experiences throws two balls so far out of the zone that it seems almost ridiculous (I understand waste pitches in real life, but these are too predictable and far out of the zone).
The variable strike zones give me some trouble, if someone is not giving the inside corner strikes, than I feel there should be increased leeway in the outer portion of the plate (the zone has shifted one direction or another in the eye of the umpire).
I think that recognizing pitches is easy enough to do once a person gets enough practice in the game, game does a good job making a slider initially look like a fastball...

[bkrich83]

Re: Research Poll

1) Overall Difficulty - I am actually pretty happy with the difficulty settings. I tend to stick to the All Star settings, as they fit my skill level.

2) Game Log - I use the game log. I would prefer to see it in Chronological order. I love the misc. data in the log.

3) Strategy Guide - I don't think this would be useful to me.

4) Pitcher Batter Analysis - I use it semi-frequently.

5) Pitching Interfaces - I use classic and pulse pitching. Long time user of classic, I love how the ratings seem to matter most in it. I also enjoy Pulse, because to me, it's a nice combo of ratings and user input.

6) Classic Pitching - I love classic pitching. I use it all the time. I'd rather see it not change.

7) Hitting Modes - I use timing only hitting. Much like classic pitching I feel it's the mode that maximizes the impact of ratings. Love the mode. I don't use the analog hit modes, they simply do not appeal to me.

8) Stealing Balance - I only use the auto(on windup) steal. I feel the balance is pretty good. Pitch selection means a lot, imo.

9) Guess Pitch Modes - I don't use guess pitch

10) Pitch Speed and Ball/Strike – I think the pitch speed is a little fast for me, i am an older gamer. It seems it's been changed a little bit this year. I play on AS level, and have knocked the pitch speed slider down two notches to '3'

[NAFBUC]

Re: Research Poll

bkrich

Enjoyed browsing your arena dynasty Angels data.

great job!

[MrFatMark]

Re: Research Poll

PITCH SPEED-Definately needs to be toned down a notch or 2. I think this would help the online modes as well.

[lowlander]

Re: Research Poll

I manage games in franchise mode, only a couple of the questions apply to me.

3) Strategy Guide - It has excellent information but is only accessible if you "play" the game, not if you "manage". I would suggest adding the feature for MOM players.

4) Pitcher Batter Analysis - I use it sometimes to check pitch counts and other things although in manage mode it doesn't play a big role in my decisions because the AI calls the game via the catcher.

I'm surprised this thread isn't a sticky, it was started by a developer for the game.