Timing Window is backwards !!!

[bsb13]

Re: Timing Window is backwards !!!

U brougth up a very good point.
Im in the same thought that if the sliders where more influential the less we would need to keep adjusting them. Like Jim said, altough 2k baseball game sux, its sliders works very well..i remeber i would only have to play abou 3 to 5 games and i would be done finding my slider set. Same goes for MVP(not the suckness lol, but the functional sliders)

I just hope the guys over SCEA(Kolbe, etc..) are seeing all of this(im sure someone from SCEA is) and trying to implement this for us next year.

Mlb 08 the show is problaby the best game ever for me(i stated that several times), i got addicted with it like crack. But i just quit playing it a month ago cause i cant stand anymore getting all kinds of hits evan when i put no effort at all when playing. Hits should be rewarding, not cheap and annoying like it is now. The funfactor of the game is totally destroied by this when u look for a high degree of simulation like most of us do.

hitting .420 with mark ellis aint fun or funny.

I feel you on this man. Something just aint right when you actually dread getting hits. It should feel rewarding, not cheap. Every time I go awhile with out playing the show I will get the urge to pop it in because it does so many things right, but usually after about 3 innings and I have 5-7 hits already, I will just shut it off.

Just because I think this game has TREMENDOUS potential I will post my opinion as well. Also I know devs are here and they are reading. A picture says a thousand words.


Now if you were to guess.....what is the result of this contact?? This is a 95mph 2 seam fastball running in on Matt Holliday that he is clearly late on.

Let me just give you the answer. This ball was hit about 325 or so feet down the right field line and about 25 feet to the left of Pesky's Pole for a fly out. At best this ball should of been fouled off without breaking the bat. Look at the trademark on the bat.

The problem I think with the hitting engine is ball placement. If I have a hitter like Holliday with good attributes I can hit any pitch anywhere as long as my timing is mediocre. My timing was late on this pitch of course and at best it should of been fouled back. The hitting engine doesn't take ball placement into consideration. It is just based on timing and as long as your timing is mediocre and you have a decent hitter up you will hit the ball hard to anywhere in the field. To hit that 95mph tailing fastball hard you have to pull it. To pull it you HAVE to swing early and/or bring your hands in to get the bat head on the ball. This is partly the reason why many people are getting too many hits in this game. Also I think along with mediocre timing being "over-rewarded" for hit quality I think placement of the L stick is as well.

What I am essentially hoping for next gen baseball games is realistic batted ball physics. Where if we have a good hitter up at the plate and we (the user) correctly places the left analog stick in the right spot then you would see even though Matt was a little late on this pitch he would bring his hands in and do his best to get the barrell of the bat on the ball.

Hitting that ball off the fist 325 feet the other way just aint right. I co-sign on everything you just said.

[bsb13]

Re: Timing Window is backwards !!!

Was the hit parade that so many of you are complaining about this prevalent in last year's game?

Its been prevalent every year for me.

[brunnoce]

Re: Timing Window is backwards !!!

I feel you on this man. Something just aint right when you actually dread getting hits. It should feel rewarding, not cheap. Every time I go awhile with out playing the show I will get the urge to pop it in because it does so many things right, but usually after about 3 innings and I have 5-7 hits already, I will just shut it off.

ive been in this situation all summer.

[davewins]

Re: Timing Window is backwards !!!

I feel you on this man. Something just aint right when you actually dread getting hits. It should feel rewarding, not cheap. Every time I go awhile with out playing the show I will get the urge to pop it in because it does so many things right, but usually after about 3 innings and I have 5-7 hits already, I will just shut it off.

Hitting that ball off the fist 325 feet the other way just aint right. I co-sign on everything you just said.

The only reason I post this here is for the possiblity for the dev's to read our "complaints" and the possibility for them to do something about it. The graphics in this game are absolutley beautiful. Everything about this game I LOVE. Not like, LOVE. I just wish they could get hitting realistic. I would definetley have NO LIFE in the summer LOL.

[Jgainsey]

Re: Timing Window is backwards !!!

I don't know if this is just a coincidence or if my team is going through a 'slump', but my team's batting average has dropped from .305 to .298 after having the timming window at 20. I have one more game left before the all star break and I've probably played about 25 games with the the timming window slider maxed out.

I dunno if this slider is making the difference but I'm going to stick with this for now. My strike out totals are still pretty good too. I don't move the left stick so I still get burnt on well placed breaking balls just below the strike zone.

[bsb13]

Re: Timing Window is backwards !!!

I don't know if this is just a coincidence or if my team is going through a 'slump', but my team's batting average has dropped from .305 to .298 after having the timming window at 20. I have one more game left before the all star break and I've probably played about 25 games with the the timming window slider maxed out.

I dunno if this slider is making the difference but I'm going to stick with this for now. My strike out totals are still pretty good too. I don't move the left stick so I still get burnt on well placed breaking balls just below the strike zone.

See, that just goes to show that something is wrong with the hitting in this game. On All-Star and HOF mode you are "supposed" to have to use the left analog stick to hit, but we got so many people on these boards with team batting avg's near the .300 mark without even using the left stick at all.

[pberardi]

Re: Timing Window is backwards !!!

Like many, I've been lowering HQ, Timing and PV to zero (-10) in order to make hitting challenging and realistic. After 20 games, I've experienced the worst level of play after 100 games between 2 franchises. Keep in mind, I use the Marlins (ranked 30th) and the Astros who I blew up and brought up my minor leaguers.

When you dominate the majors with your AAA guys, something is wrong. I will get to the WS with both teams.

My boxscores have become absurd. 15-16 hit games with 8-9 runs, 4-5 walks and 7-8 strikeouts. Even when I strikeout alot I end up with 15 hits!

I really don't like the way the game plays with zero hitting sliders. It seems pulling the ball is taken away and opposite field HR's and singles dominate.

If lowering sliders does not lower hits then why bother, especially if the physics of the hits are not appealing to me.

I decided to move my hitting sliders closer to default as HQ is now -5, PV -3 and timing -5 from default. I've played 5 games now and I'm seeing 8-10 hit games and I'm using all parts of the field.

I can work deep into the counts and wait for a pitch over the plate. Don't assume all pitches over the plate end up as hits. I do hit them hard but many times they go for outs. My walk totals are once again trending up as I can battle borderline pitches much better with PV and HQ above zero. Many of those borderline pitches get put into play for outs as they should.

Point is: Zero timing, HQ and PV did not lead to lower and more difficult hitting for me. If anything, I was seeing less realistic hitting boxscores. There is something to be said about starting from default and tweaking a bit lower.

Now, I'm not saying this is the answer to .268 team batting averages but my run production to hit production is closer to reality. If I score 8 runs on 13 hits, I can't complain. Its when I score 3 runs on 14hits that is ruining the game for many.

[Goose158]

Re: Timing Window is backwards !!!

If this holds somewhat true that the timing window is indeed backwards, has anyone tried reversing all of the hitting sliders in accordance with this to see if they are all indeed somewhat backwards. Just a stab in the dark, but what if we have been trying to make the hitting better, but have been moving the sliders in the wrong direction? I am no slider guru by any means, but just wondering if anyone has tested the rest of them for possible backwardness. Is backwardness even a word?

[Alonzo]

Re: Timing Window is backwards !!!

I am with guys like brunnoce, Jim and co.

This game has HUGE potential, it's great, but it could be much better. I don't like the amount of hits and walks, it's obviously not a gamekiller, since I am still playing 1 game per day, but...I just don't like it.

The sliders don't do anything at all, most of them don't even work. If I have hit-quality at 0(!), the opposing pitchers should throw no hitters every time. If I max out the cpu walk-slider, I should easily draw 10 walks per game.

I probably stop playing the game right after a better (sports) game releases and hoping that MLB 09 will have that working sliders.

[davewins]

Re: Timing Window is backwards !!!

I don't think that the timing window is actually backwards. I think the timing window set "larger" when you max it out results in more hit balls. This combined with hit quality all the way to the left (zero'd out) will result in MORE weakly hit balls. This can in turn help with more outs. Just out of curiousity try to see what the pitch count totals are with timing window all the way to the left and all the way to the right. I'm sure it's higher when timing window all the way to the right because you will be making contact with more pitches and not swinging and missing.

What needs to be done for the future of this game in terms of hitting is a larger timing window with greater variety of results. Put simply they need a much better hitting physics engine. They need to increase the timing to a point where say it's at every .5 seconds now makes a different in hit quality to let's just say every .1 seconds makes a difference. This way every little tenth of a second you are off will result in a differently hit ball. This will dramatically increase hit quality and hit variety and it will dramatically cut down on hits alone. This is the most simple thing that they can do that will have a great result in lowering hit totals. They also need to mess with the bat-to-ball physics. There is way too much power to the opposite field. Majority of HR's are pulled. Of course guys go oppo but not on INSIDE pitches. The best thing you are going to do with an inside pitch that's going to go oppo is a ground out to move the runner along or if you are strong you can muscle one over the infielders head for a bloop single. I can't believe how many times I have hit and given up oppo HR's on inside fastballs that I could not believe. Some should of been broken bats but instead they are HR's opposite field right around the foul pole. That is not simulation, that is arcade.

[Hammerhunker]

Re: Timing Window is backwards !!!

What needs to be done for the future of this game in terms of hitting is

IMO, allow for auto hitting. I guess I am too sim oriented, how accurate really are hitting stats to be when the result hinges on the digital dexerity of the player? Simply put, I suck as a video hitter. I flail at everything, I can't tell the difference between one pitch from another when it leaves the pitcher's hand. I feel that the results of my games are skewed because of my lack of talent. I would love for auto hitting where I have control over everything the hitter does but swing the bat...again, in my opinion.

[chuckm1961]

Re: Timing Window is backwards !!!

I have to give my two cents on this "make the sliders stronger" argument.

Let's say the programmers gave us many, many sliders ranging from 1 to 100, covering the gamut of options. Oh boy, oh boy, some of you would be salivating at the possibilities....

Problem #1: Overkill. There would be so many options and nuances that SCEA would be barraged (I predict) with complaints from all over the spectrum: "This game sucks because I can't hit," "This game sucks because I can't pitch", "this game sucks because...." ....people would end up on bizarre settings that would totally disrupt the balance that the programmers try to put into the game. Yes, that is happening now .... I predict it would multiply ten times.

Problem #2: This is baseball, not basketball. In a basketball sim, you can make a slider that makes the ball go in the basket more often. Then the games will be more high scoring, and that's the end of it. Baseball is much, much more complex than this. The programmers have to think about the ball physics, the bat physics, the interplay between hitter and pitcher, how different pitches will be hit, how fielder placement and skills will affect scoring, how batter ratings and pitcher ratings will affect hit quality, and on and on and on....they tried to make the game balanced. They did a great, but not perfect, job. Crap, they are human beings, that stinks!

Problem #3: This community, I believe, represents the top 5% of gamers in terms of passion for the sport and for videogaming, time spent playing, and/or interest in a realistic simulation of the sport. Sorry fellas, but we are the elites, and the programmers have to think about the other 95%. And that other 95%, if given sliders that severely affected the ability to hit, pitch and score would make a mess of the game quickly, in my opinion. And never buy it again.

[rspencer86]

Re: Timing Window is backwards !!!

I have to give my two cents on this "make the sliders stronger" argument...

Chuck, if you haven't already you should take a look at this article I wrote last week regarding how sliders and options can satisfy many of the wishes of gamers looking for a more realistic game while leaving the majority of gamers (a.k.a. the "casuals") virtually unaffected.

My article addresses each of your three points in your above posts:

Problem 1: I think more effective sliders would alleviate this problem, not aggravate it. The reason why you hear these types of complaints now is because the sliders have so little effect that they can't remedy these problems.

Problem 2: This is a legitimate concern. As I mention in my article, it may be tough to get some sliders to have a huge range of outcomes without compromising the physics engine or other aspects of the game. For example, if the foul ball slider was 100% effective, I could put it to max and be able to foul off everything, even pitchouts or balls thrown behind the batter. But how would the game handle that visually? Obviously there is no animation right now that would allow me to foul off a ball that is 3 feet off the plate. So would it just magically foul it off without visually showing the ball hit the bat? I don't know. I would argue that this amount of control would be worth seeing some weird things at the extremes, though.

Problem 3: First I would say the "hardcore-ness" of the types of people that frequent OS represent maybe the top 10-15% of The Show's audience, but that's not really the point. The point is that the other 85-95% of people probably don't even use sliders anyway (or even know that they exist). Even if they did somehow adjust them and create a mess (let's say they cranked the contact and power sliders all the way up), they would probably reset those sliders before simply giving up on the game.

[bukktown]

Re: Timing Window is backwards !!!

See, that just goes to show that something is wrong with the hitting in this game. On All-Star and HOF mode you are "supposed" to have to use the left analog stick to hit, but we got so many people on these boards with team batting avg's near the .300 mark without even using the left stick at all.

Thats what annoyed me most about the game. There is a difference between a letter-high fastball over the middle of the plate and a knee-high fastball over the middle of the plate. But not in MLB the Show. Just press the X button and you will get a single to centerfield.

[mannyblue2008]

Re: Timing Window is backwards !!!

Thats what annoyed me most about the game. There is a difference between a letter-high fastball over the middle of the plate and a knee-high fastball over the middle of the plate. But not in MLB the Show. Just press the X button and you will get a single to centerfield.

I agree. This is the only thing about this game I do not like. I try my hardest to play this game and enjoy it for everything else that is so right but I just can not play it because I get too many hits. It doesn't play right. I tryed so many slider settings it just does not matter.

If they made hitting realistic this game would be so good I would pay $150 for it.