Community Day 2013 - FRANCHISE MODE/EDITOR

[doctemple]

Re: Community Day 2013 - FRANCHISE MODE/EDITOR

Just a note on Manage only Mode...so we can discuss it here if you like...

Manage only Mode

It's too bad that the poster who read the fact sheet and immediately began stating over and over as fact that nothing would be done to Manage only Mode is no longer here...as he would be reading that my favorite mode to play has indeed gotten some really nice little additions.

Once again, I'm quite impressed that the dev team is willing to put time into something that so few of us play(I think it's growing though....not leaps and bounds...but...)

At any rate....
New to MoM in '13 are some interesting tweaks...and some great fixes.
-New Camera mode for DUGOUT view.
I loved the idea of dugout view as a camera and used it for two years. However it was quite jarring in both the pan of the camera from pitcher to plate as the ball was delivered .....the USER pan was too limited in some stadiums for good viewing of opponents shift/depth defensive setup and the switch to the fielding view was quite jarring. Also if you panned....whenever there was a play...it quickly(too quickly) snapped to the plate.
Kirby_SCEA who works on the RTTS portion of the game realized that the dugout view was pretty much the "watch game" camera when in RTTS(when you are watching plays you aren't involved in) and saw the opportunity to improve his camera view and make it the dugout view for MoM.
To put it simply.....THING OF BEAUTY.
You have the same start of the view of last year, but the pan to plate is much smoother now. The view no longer just switches to the fielding view...it now follows the ball in play(watching hits to the OF is GREAT!) and really keeps the perspective of being the manager. On top of that....the USER PAN is so robust that I'm sure that anyone who sees it and doesn't use MoM will be jealous. You can pretty much put the view anywhere you like(from the dugout of course) and now it will STAY ...as long as you keep the LStick there. Let go....and the camera smoothly follows the ball wherever it is(or goes to the plate if it's a strike/ball).
Kudos to Kirby for taking the initiative to add that in without even a hint of request from me on that!
-The new FAST FORWARD is included(all play modes). While it is not one batter at a time(meaning one batter....stop...next batter...stop until prompted)....it does show each AB and there is an option to get back into the game at any point. You can also set the sim speed on that to SLOW...NORMAL...FAST(I think it should default to slow...it's pretty quick)
-NEW OPTIONS
-At any time during the game you now get the DEFENSIVE SETUP screen. It is the one that is currently available in regular gameplay and lets you set it up by
+++++++AT BAT- LINEUP/PLAYER(INDIVIDUAL)
DURATION- ONE AB/ONE INN/ALWAYS
OF-DEPTH/SHIFT
-ALL/LF/CF/RF
IF-DEPTH/SHIFT
-ALL/1B/2B/3B/SS
(hopefully one day we get to do it for the opponent as well...!)
-The VIEW OPPONENTS BULLPEN option is now available in MoM as well.
(no more guessing who is warming up in the opponent BP)

Fixes
-No more STEAL ALL or H&R bug(player continuing steal on next pitch if successful)
-Pickoffs by CPU pitchers is fixed(chance only happens on steal attempt prompt...not regular lead)
-The CPU will no longer call for H&R ....BUNTS....IBB

I'd say that I'm pretty happy with the attention to MoM for this year...
Now ...to just get them to add 2 player and online capability!...


M.K.
Knight165

This is great stuff Knight!!!! I appreciate the time you spend to answer questions and keep us informed. I agree that the number of people using MoM s growing and it will probably grow even more with these updates. You said that they eliminated the CPU calling for bunts, hit and runs, (steals?), did they also fix the CPU making player substitutions when you fast forward to a later inning? If so, I will be camped out at GameStop! That was one of our biggest gripes.

Thanks again for your patience with all our questions. The Show is really a terrific game and I appreciate their efforts to make it better.

[merchant1874]

Re: Community Day 2013 - FRANCHISE MODE/EDITOR

Will the schedule rotate inter league schedules fom year to year? Or will we have to play the same teams?

[g-burn]

Re: Community Day 2013 - FRANCHISE MODE/EDITOR

On the subject of retirements, will players announce they are considering retirment before they actually do? It'd be nice to have some warning before they retire so we can make arangments to replace them, or try and negotiate a contract to coax them out of their decision.

[CBCARDS78]

Re: Community Day 2013 - FRANCHISE MODE/EDITOR

On the subject of retirements, will players announce they are considering retirment before they actually do? It'd be nice to have some warning before they retire so we can make arangments to replace them, or try and negotiate a contract to coax them out of their decision.

I would love to see something like this in the Show. Its cool when it happens in NBA 2k.

[riotmonster]

Re: Community Day 2013 - FRANCHISE MODE/EDITOR

On the subject of retirements, will players announce they are considering retirment before they actually do? It'd be nice to have some warning before they retire so we can make arangments to replace them, or try and negotiate a contract to coax them out of their decision.

I would love to see something like this in the Show. Its cool when it happens in NBA 2k.

Agreed with this. Maybe Knight can pass this on for The Show 14.

[Heroesandvillains]

Re: Community Day 2013 - FRANCHISE MODE/EDITOR

Trust me they won't be playing at that same level their whole career like in 12.

Absolutely.

Even Regression on a year-to-year based, some instances, can alter how well that player will be able to play.

At first I thought it was a bit overdone but the changes they made to the final build we played made this area much more realistic.

I felt pretty good about it when we left, and that Trout adjustment since should have strengthened the regression logic even more.

[Knight165]

Re: Community Day 2013 - FRANCHISE MODE/EDITOR

This is great stuff Knight!!!! I appreciate the time you spend to answer questions and keep us informed. I agree that the number of people using MoM s growing and it will probably grow even more with these updates. You said that they eliminated the CPU calling for bunts, hit and runs, (steals?), did they also fix the CPU making player substitutions when you fast forward to a later inning? If so, I will be camped out at GameStop! That was one of our biggest gripes.

Thanks again for your patience with all our questions. The Show is really a terrific game and I appreciate their efforts to make it better.

When you fast forward in between innings....you get to see the plays on screen now playing out....like simcast. Put it on slow and you can choose to enter the game when you want(right before the end of the inning(batter) and it should help keep that from happening as much. Not perfect...but much better.

Will the schedule rotate inter league schedules fom year to year? Or will we have to play the same teams?

Not sure, but there are no more inter league games per se....every team plays every other team all season now, so they might have just put every team in the mix for upcoming schedules(with the proper amount of NL/AL games of course)

On the subject of retirements, will players announce they are considering retirment before they actually do? It'd be nice to have some warning before they retire so we can make arangments to replace them, or try and negotiate a contract to coax them out of their decision.

Nothing like that....but if a guy is dropping below a 70 OVR and 33+ y.o.....you'd better figure out a way to give him a contract to the age you want to see him retire.

M.K.
Knight165

[tabarnes19_SDS]

Re: Community Day 2013 - FRANCHISE MODE/EDITOR

-Trade Finder? Or at least a counter offer from other teams?
No, but VERY high on my wish list!

-Player Finder?
No. Again I believe all of the CD guys are asking for this as well.

Since all major leaguers will be wearing the new helmets this year, 13 is probably going to force us to use it in RTTS and Franchise.

-For the sake of classic rosters and options, did they keep the cool flo and old helmets in the editor?

-What from the new CBA made it into the game? Such as draft compensation rules, 7 day DL, etc.
CBA rules are in. no 7 day DL

-Will retirees enter the HOF right after they retire, or will they still be forced to wait 5 years?
Right after.

-Who is on the Cardinals coaching staff in this game? Which of the following will not be in the game?
22 Mike Matheny Manager
47 John Mabry Hitting Coach
36 Derek Lilliquist Pitching Coach
37 Chris Maloney First Base Coach
11 Jose Oquendo Third Base Coach
28 Mike Aldrete Bench Coach

I would imagine everybody except Aldrete, unless they added bench coaches this year. All of these guys were under contract and staffed last year. Mabry was promoted from assistant hitting coach.


-Is McGwire the Dodgers' hitting coach?
Knight can answer these he wrote down all the coaches.

Answers in bold

[tabarnes19_SDS]

Re: Community Day 2013 - FRANCHISE MODE/EDITOR

Thanks Knight, as always!

- Will we have the ability to give a switch hitter two different batting stances?

No
- Will there be many, and I mean MANY, more stats in Franchise mode? And I don't mean just random popups once or twice in a game. I want the ability to push a button and see, for example, a player's stats for the past 10 games. Or a batter's stats versus the pitcher he is going to be facing, etc.

Cannot force a pop up if thats what you are asking or sort stats by past 10 games.

- Will the pitcher still be fielding popups to the mound? I always hated this. It should be automatic that the pitcher moves out of the way and one of the infielders comes in to catch the popup.


- Are errors fixed? As it is now, if you have a ball hit straight to an outfielder, and then quickly move him out of the way before the ball drops so that he doesn't catch it, it usually goes as a base hit when it should be an error. Has this been fixed?

- Do we have the ability to edit facial hair and hair for real players throughout a season/Franchise?
They tried to allow it, but couldn't do it. They did fix Youkilis he'll be sporting a mean stache'

- Will there be multi-team trade capabilities?
No.

- Does it still say the typo in trades, "The owner is not willing NOT take on any more money..."
Didn't see it. I think they changed some text.

again...in bold

[tabarnes19_SDS]

Re: Community Day 2013 - FRANCHISE MODE/EDITOR

-Has CPU roster management been fixed so teams stop frequently carrying 15 pitchers and 10 position players?

This area still needs some work. Sometimes the cpu won't carry enough catchers or bench players. Or they will use the backup catcher in the DH role. Wasn't as frequent as in the past, but still needs some tweaks. We mentioned it while there.

[tabarnes19_SDS]

Re: Community Day 2013 - FRANCHISE MODE/EDITOR

Not sure, but there are no more inter league games per se....every team plays every other team all season now, so they might have just put every team in the mix for upcoming schedules(with the proper amount of NL/AL games of course)

I think I remember someone saying that someone made future seasons schedules on the team??



Nothing like that....but if a guy is dropping below a 70 OVR and 33+ y.o.....you'd better figure out a way to give him a contract to the age you want to see him retire.



M.K.
Knight165

This is a beautiful thing. Some players play better later in their career and don't slip as much, others tank. Makes it much better now they don't retire mid contract. It's a big risk giving a long term deal to an older player. Give him too long a deal you might be forced to eat the salary and place him through waivers to the minors to make room for the young "stud" coming. And the cpu isn't going to pick him up and pay the contract to a low preforming player so you are stuck. How often in the last few years in real baseball has an older player not been able to get a deal as a free agent because he isn't worth the money for what the club can get in the minors much cheaper?

[g-burn]

Re: Community Day 2013 - FRANCHISE MODE/EDITOR

Nothing like that....but if a guy is dropping below a 70 OVR and 33+ y.o.....you'd better figure out a way to give him a contract to the age you want to see him retire.

M.K.
Knight165

That's good advice. I'll keep a closer watch on the ages this year. I would really like to see retirment announcements added for next years game though. It would add to the feel of running a franchise.

What exactly is the criteria for players getting into The Show's Hall of Fame? Do they just look at the big 3 magic numbers (500 HR, 3000 hits, 300 wins) or are there any other things that come into play. Last year when Chipper Jones retired in my game, he was not selected for the Hall even though in real life he's generally a consensus first ballot player. Was he virtually found guilty of juicing and they didn't tell me about it? haha

[tabarnes19_SDS]

Re: Community Day 2013 - FRANCHISE MODE/EDITOR

Did you SIM 5 years ahead last year? That's when hof inductions happened in 12.

[ralphieboy11]

Re: Community Day 2013 - FRANCHISE MODE/EDITOR

Thanks Knight for posting the MoM information. I'm so glad this didn't get neglected. Like you said, if we could ever play 2 player in this mode, I would be in heaven.

[MrOldboy]

Re: Community Day 2013 - FRANCHISE MODE/EDITOR

What was the general threshold you noticed for players retiring?

I keep hearing praise for the new system, but honestly I feel that it might end up resulting in a lot of players retiring in game who really would continue to play on an MLB team in real life. Veteran players are valued quite high by the league. Look at Lance Berkman 11mil + an 11mil option for 14 after only 32 games played last year and at 36 years old. I wonder if in The Show someone declining like Berkman would retire when in actuality teams value players like him, even at 36 years old and with an injury year in 2012.

There are a bunch of other examples throughout the past years that I wonder if in The Show these types of players would nearly always retire according to the game's logic due to their perceived attribute level by the game. Here are two from this year that I wonder how would be handled if their contracts expired with the same logic that is in MLB 13.

Ichiro: 2 yrs 13m at 39 yrs old
Raul Ibanez: 1 yr 2.75m at 40 yrs old

Since those are examples that cant be tested since the 13 logic would need to be in MLB 12. But can you CD guys who simmed give some examples of players that retired and those who did not?

Did you see any of the big stars keep playing after their contracts expired? Like for example Zack Greinke. His contract expires 2018 at the age of 35. Did he consistently deteriorate or were there simmed franchises where he had a longer career. Granted I don't think you guys had time to keep track of every player and sim that much, but can you give any examples you noticed?

Variability is nice, but if the deterioration logic is so consistent that I can predict that greinke will retire at age 35-36 every time its the same issue as before, just with a new wrinkle.

I'm hoping I am just being overly worried though and when the game comes and I get to the 2nd year in my franchise a lot of the MLB players that surely would continue to play in 2014 will be there. In MLB 12 I could always count on this being a big disappointment. Sorry to ramble, but the retirement issue has plagued franchise for years and the hopes of it being fixed have be very interested.