The Dynamic Difficulty Discussion Thread

[dmankey1]

Re: The Dynamic Difficulty Discussion Thread

I have a question regarding what DD does to making the teams feel different at all. Does it take into account the team you are using.

So if I am doing a franchise with the Marlins and am close to there true-to-life numbers will my difficulty adjust down in which case i will start hitting/pitching better than the team would in real life.

In a sense this would make every team basically the same. So what is the baseline I guess is my question ?

Great question. I would like to know this as well

[bcruise]

Re: The Dynamic Difficulty Discussion Thread

It might be worth asking/knowing how exactly the + and - system works behind the scenes. If I'm pitching at Veteran ++, which "sliders" are modified by the ++ within the DD system? Does the + focus on making accuracy tougher? Consistency? Both? And for hitting?

If we can get the answers to those questions, we will have a better idea of how to lock in a difficulty level after experimenting with DD and lock in whatever small slider adjustments we want.

I say that because I imagine some may want to use DD diagnostically, to know if they're a Veteran or an All Star pitcher, so they can then set the difficulty to Veteran or All Star permanently and make slider adjustments from there as needed. Knowing which sliders will capture the + of Veteran + will be crucial to that process.

It's not explicitly stated in the guide or by Brian, but I don't think the +'s and -'s on Progress affect anything, and are simply there to let you know how close you are to promoting/demoting. There's no "Veteran ++", in other words. The difficulties just go:

Rookie > Rookie+ > Veteran > Veteran+ > AllStar and so on.

Also, your point about using DD as a diagnostic is exactly what I wanted to do with it . That why the + difficulties need to be selectable outside of DD, I agree 100% with that.

[Heroesandvillains]

Re: The Dynamic Difficulty Discussion Thread

So just like Bcruise, at least at "our" skill levels, it took me 14 games to begin plateauing.

Hitting: All-Star
Pitching: All-Star + Progress: -

An I believe I will be back to regular All-Star on pitching soon.

This mode is a godsend. I'm fairly certain I could just play on Default AS without DD and enjoy myself, but I have this nasty habit of getting really good after a couple months of play and actually stopped playing last year after around 150 games played because I suddenly got TOO GOOD for AS.

But not good enough for HOF.

I know I keep saying this but SCEA should really find a way to let us import our DD settings. At least console (PS3) to console (PS4). That, or find a way to to allow us to start at a level higher than Rookie.

Hey. If I'm suddenly terrible at 60 FPS, the system could always just demote me to Rookie or Veteran anyway. So why not just let me choose where I start and let the system take over.

I don't think another 15 games on the PS4 getting back to AS is an ideal situation. Though I realize the mode is new.

Gotta say, I absolutely love DD. And it's wonderful to have the peace of mind knowing that if I begin to get significantly better at the tail end of the season that the game will automatically adjust me 1/2 way.

Probably never would have put 13 down if DD was in last year to be honest.

[duc748s]

Re: The Dynamic Difficulty Discussion Thread

I figured I'd post this as a Dev is monitoring this thread..

I started using DD last night on my RttS play-thru (Pitcher), and so far I am loving it. I had concerns at first because I was mowing thru batters left and right but it seemed to increase at a good pace. At about 4 games in I was already at Veteran ++. It was weird, because in the Showcase it seemed like there was some difficulty, then it seemed to feel like it got easier once drafted and played a "real game".

Overall I am really liking it and it seems to update at a good pace.

I do like the idea of being able to preset it at a desired level (aka start a HoF). I guess if enough people like (and use) it, that feature could be added at a later date.

Also the option to import the DD settings across platforms, I guess make it cloud based?

[Side Effect]

Re: The Dynamic Difficulty Discussion Thread

I've used the All-star with custom sliders the last few years. For this new DD, are people using sliders or going default?

Also I'm playing on the Vita now and then will be going back and forth with PS4 when it comes out. So that's too bad the DD setting won't transfer over with the cloud saves.

[Heroesandvillains]

Re: The Dynamic Difficulty Discussion Thread

I've used the All-star with custom sliders the last few years. For this new DD, are people using sliders or going default?

Also I'm playing on the Vita now and then will be going back and forth with PS4 when it comes out. So that's too bad the DD setting won't transfer over with the cloud saves.

I'm going with Default sliders for now, mainly because I've been constantly progressing up the difficulty ladder and haven't had things stabilize enough to track stats.

My gut is telling me SB attempts, SB Success, and Errors will need a bump though. But it's way too early to tell.

[bcruise]

Re: The Dynamic Difficulty Discussion Thread

I'm going with Default sliders for now, mainly because I've been constantly progressing up the difficulty ladder and haven't had things stabilize enough to track stats.

My gut is telling me SB attempts, SB Success, and Errors will need a bump though. But it's way too early to tell.

I could agree on Errors, although I need some more games to really be sure. But the biggest thing I'm concerned about might not be slider-adjustable. Way too easy to pick CPU runners off, IMO. AFAIK the Pickoff slider only affects how often the CPU pitcher attempts one, not how easily a CPU runner gets back on one. But maybe lowering steal frequency might help if they're only getting picked because they're looking to run.

[Heroesandvillains]

Re: The Dynamic Difficulty Discussion Thread

I could agree on Errors, although I need some more games to really be sure. But the biggest thing I'm concerned about might not be slider-adjustable. Way too easy to pick CPU runners off, IMO.

It's been that way for a while.

I have a house-rule where I only attempt one in a situation that feels realistic to me.

[Heroesandvillains]

Re: The Dynamic Difficulty Discussion Thread

I could agree on Errors, although I need some more games to really be sure. But the biggest thing I'm concerned about might not be slider-adjustable. Way too easy to pick CPU runners off, IMO. AFAIK the Pickoff slider only affects how often the CPU pitcher attempts one, not how easily a CPU runner gets back on one. But maybe lowering steal frequency might help if they're only getting picked because they're looking to run.

In years past, I generally have to raise steal attempts but I haven't played enough to truly get an idea yet (steals are one of the hardest numbers to track because you need a very large sample size).

[KMRblue1027]

Re: The Dynamic Difficulty Discussion Thread

It weird in game I'm seeing a bit too little steals but the sim engine seems to be producing too many. I've run 4 sim seasons and Ben Revere has averaged 63 steals.

[Heroesandvillains]

Re: The Dynamic Difficulty Discussion Thread

The sim engine and gameplay engine are two separate entities. Raising the steals slider won't make then go up on the sim side.

[ahuffman]

Re: The Dynamic Difficulty Discussion Thread

Just when I thought that the pitching was getting a little easy, I get blasted 2 out of the last 3 games I played. It is so nice to be able to just play without worrying about sliders right off the bat. Only slider I have adjusted was the pickoff slider, which I always find to be too high on default.

[bcruise]

Re: The Dynamic Difficulty Discussion Thread

Just when I thought that the pitching was getting a little easy, I get blasted 2 out of the last 3 games I played. It is so nice to be able to just play without worrying about sliders right off the bat. Only slider I have adjusted was the pickoff slider, which I always find to be too high on default.

That's what's so great about this game once you find a good difficulty level. Although I've moved to strictly All-Star like I mentioned, I played four fast play (not quick count) games last night at the start of a season mode. Swept the Pirates and started worrying about it being too easy. Then I played the home opener vs. Philly and got blasted 10-3, with Hammel lasting only 2 innings.

Peaks and valleys.

Stream archive is here in case anyone wants to watch, I don't mean to hijack the thread, but this reply presented a good opportunity to bring it up.

http://www.twitch.tv/bcruise/b/516845074

I had some audio issues I want to clear up for next time (basically my mic was picking up my TV's audio and causing an echo), but the video is good.

[Heroesandvillains]

Re: The Dynamic Difficulty Discussion Thread

I can't seem to access your videos, Bcruise. Which is odd because the other day I watched one but now Twitch is asking me to download a Flashplayer. LOL! I'm on an iPhone so that's not happening. LOL!

Wanted to watch your home opening beatdown.

[DJ]

Re: The Dynamic Difficulty Discussion Thread

Hmm ... was going to just dive in with a slider set similar to my 13 setup, but now I'm thinking DD may be the way to go. I'll be using all Pure Analog controls again (although the Vita setup may be Timing/Classic/Buttons just because the sticks are really sensitive on the Vita), so DD could prove very beneficial.

Looking forward to trying it out. Thanks for the feedback so far, guys.