Drawing walks and issuing them...help with my sliders please

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  • Mike Lowe
    All Star
    • Dec 2006
    • 5290

    #1

    Drawing walks and issuing them...help with my sliders please

    Have a slider set I am very happy with. I'm not walking very many batters though and I'm also not drawing walks either (4 in 3 games so far).

    WHILE I AM HITTING
    I don't mind the occasional strikeout by me while I'm swinging at a pitch out of the zone, because it happens in real life, but I feel when it happens I'm going "oh crap, there was maybe only 1 of the 2-3 chances I'll have to draw a walk. Oh, and now he is more confident." I only stikeout that way maybe 1-2 times a game which is fine. Sometimes more against a better pitcher, again fine by me. I just wish there were more opportunities for BBs.

    What slider seems to effect this the most? I'm on Veteran and have the pitch control at 0 for AI. I forget what I have it at for while I'm pitching but I know I can sort that out on my own.

    This game is ridiculously awesome though, wow. Thanks for any input. I just don't want to rank last in BB earned!
  • pberardi
    Pro
    • Apr 2005
    • 964

    #2
    Re: Drawing walks and issuing them...help with my sliders please

    Originally posted by Mike Lowe
    Have a slider set I am very happy with. I'm not walking very many batters though and I'm also not drawing walks either (4 in 3 games so far).

    WHILE I AM HITTING
    I don't mind the occasional strikeout by me while I'm swinging at a pitch out of the zone, because it happens in real life, but I feel when it happens I'm going "oh crap, there was maybe only 1 of the 2-3 chances I'll have to draw a walk. Oh, and now he is more confident." I only stikeout that way maybe 1-2 times a game which is fine. Sometimes more against a better pitcher, again fine by me. I just wish there were more opportunities for BBs.

    What slider seems to effect this the most? I'm on Veteran and have the pitch control at 0 for AI. I forget what I have it at for while I'm pitching but I know I can sort that out on my own.

    This game is ridiculously awesome though, wow. Thanks for any input. I just don't want to rank last in BB earned!
    The consistency slider will give you more opportunities to draw walks. Control slider will give you mistake pitches like pitches down the middle.

    A combination of lower strike% (which gives you more 1st ball pitches) and lower consistency should do it.

    But thankfully when the cpu's confidence is high based on the user's ability to strikeout or swing at bad pitches, the game remains challenging so that it does not become arcade.

    Comment

    • pbz06
      Banned
      • Oct 2008
      • 1504

      #3
      Re: Drawing walks and issuing them...help with my sliders please

      You want to leave the Control at default. All that does is increase the "meatball" mistakes that causes them to throw down the middle, so in theory that can reduce your Walks.

      I turned down CPU Strike Frequency all the way to 0 and have gotten great results. I found that the CPU used to just throw strikes (especially early in the count) all day long. This added more variety for me and I have been able to get 3 or 4 walks per game.

      Keep in mind that the elite pitchers still throw mostly strikes, but at least it's not as one sided as before. The lower tier pitchers seem to be a little more "wild" now which is realistic. By wild I mean not being ahead in the count for every batter.

      Also, per Millenium's suggestion from another thread, try lowering the CPU Consistency down two notches to 3 (-2). This also leads to a couple more balls being thrown and helps keep the strike ratio in the 60% range which is realistic.

      Comment

      • Mike Lowe
        All Star
        • Dec 2006
        • 5290

        #4
        Re: Drawing walks and issuing them...help with my sliders please

        Oh my bad, I haven't touched the control setting for AI but I turned the strike % down to zero.

        Comment

        • The Chef
          Moderator
          • Sep 2003
          • 13684

          #5
          Re: Drawing walks and issuing them...help with my sliders please

          Ok, say I lower consistency, what is going to prevent the CPU's pitchers from throwing way too many passed balls and wild pitches? With it at default I was seeing a rather large amount of wild pitches every single game, is it the control slider being low that is feeding into this or are the descriptions just wrong since the Pitch Consistency slider explicitly states that it effects passed balls and wild pitches?
          http://www.twitch.tv/kitm9891

          Comment

          • Brian SCEA
            Senior AI Programmer - MLB: The Show
            • Mar 2008
            • 293

            #6
            Re: Drawing walks and issuing them...help with my sliders please

            Originally posted by Mike Lowe
            Have a slider set I am very happy with. I'm not walking very many batters though and I'm also not drawing walks either (4 in 3 games so far).

            What slider seems to effect this the most? I'm on Veteran and have the pitch control at 0 for AI. I forget what I have it at for while I'm pitching but I know I can sort that out on my own.

            This game is ridiculously awesome though, wow. Thanks for any input. I just don't want to rank last in BB earned!
            pbeardy and pbz06 make some good points about what the two sliders can do in practice. Here's some extra info that might help everyone interested in these sliders.

            The Consistency and Control sliders work in different ways, and both can cause more walks and meatballs for different reasons. Let's look at walks first. Consistency can really help walks because the pitcher will sometimes make big obvious misses that are easier for the hitter to spot. Control can help walks with less control because you'll be forced to pitch around hitters more for fear of throwing meatballs. So the Consistency effect is mechanical - it's up to the hitter to notice the ball, and the Control effect is strategic - it's up to the pitcher to throw the ball.

            Regarding Control, notice that if you reduce the pitch control and simply pitch exactly the way you used to, you're going to give up more meatballs (instead of more walks!). So whether the slider affects walks or meatballs is entirely up to the pitcher. The game will only play based on your input, and there's no slider to change that.

            On the AI side, you can decide which effect happens more (meatballs/walks) based on your CPU Strike Frequency setting. All of the sliders serve an interconnected purpose like this.

            Regarding Consistency, notice that it mainly helps batters with their Discipline. If you already have good discipline it might not help you draw more walks because you were already taking balls (including everything borderline). But if you rarely draw walks it could potentially double or triple the number of walks you get.

            This is why even though both sliders affect walks and meatballs, some people would consider Consistency to be more related to walks and Control to be more related to meatballs. But really, they both affect both depending on the situation and team tendencies. For example we've seen how the answer will depend on if we're talking a Human or AI batter for Consistency, and if we're talking a Human or AI pitcher for Control. It also depends on if the batter is having Discipline trouble (for Consistency) and if the pitcher can adapt his strategy (for Control).

            This is why it's possible to debate in circles forever on what they do; the answer is blowing in the wind..

            Comment

            • The Chef
              Moderator
              • Sep 2003
              • 13684

              #7
              Re: Drawing walks and issuing them...help with my sliders please

              Ok, well keeping that in mind, if I lower the consistency slider am I not then opening myself up to more passed balls and wild pitches from the CPU? Thats my biggest concern, prior to raising consistency to 6 I was seeing at minimum 2 wild pitches or passed balls per game where as with it at 6 it seems like Im seeing less and when they do happen the catchers actually seem to block the ball much better. Im just trying to figure out if this is a pick your poison thing or if there is a solution Im missing.
              http://www.twitch.tv/kitm9891

              Comment

              • pbz06
                Banned
                • Oct 2008
                • 1504

                #8
                Re: Drawing walks and issuing them...help with my sliders please

                Originally posted by The Chef
                Ok, well keeping that in mind, if I lower the consistency slider am I not then opening myself up to more passed balls and wild pitches from the CPU? Thats my biggest concern, prior to raising consistency to 6 I was seeing at minimum 2 wild pitches or passed balls per game where as with it at 6 it seems like Im seeing less and when they do happen the catchers actually seem to block the ball much better. Im just trying to figure out if this is a pick your poison thing or if there is a solution Im missing.
                In the 3 or 4 games I played with the Consistency dropped a couple clicks, I didn't notice any more passed balls from the CPU. In fact, that never stood out as an issue to me since they rarely happen. Me on the other hand, I give up too many passed balls per game. It's kind of annoying because a lot of times I don't even locate them low, they just happen. And it seems like it's always at the "convenient" time for the CPU.

                Comment

                • pberardi
                  Pro
                  • Apr 2005
                  • 964

                  #9
                  Re: Drawing walks and issuing them...help with my sliders please

                  I experience the same. I don't see much difference in PB or WP. The reason I lowered AI consistency by 2 clicks is because I was getting to many battles on 3-2 and 2-2 swinging at ball 3 and 4 but they were to close to take. Eventually I was striking out and not drawing walks.

                  Now I get battles but also can layoff ball 4 once in awhile. My walk totals have improved from 2 per game to 3 or 4. I also can get the 5 or 6 walk game once in awhile which is very realistic today.

                  I'm striking out far too much in this game. Because I'm patient I do get alot of 2 strike counts. Its here where I need some slider help. Contact and foul ball sliders don't help with poor timing.

                  I also have stopped using the L stick only when behind in the count. I use timing only with 2 strikes unless the CPU is pounding the low zone, then I aim slightly low.

                  Now I have to find a balance between strike% and control for the cpu. I'd rather have control close to default which forces me to be selective and get into 2 strike counts.

                  Honestly, lowering these sliders do not create arcade style baseball either way. I maybe over analyzing these sliders by tweaking too much.

                  Comment

                  • chuckm1961
                    MVP
                    • Mar 2005
                    • 1429

                    #10
                    Re: Drawing walks and issuing them...help with my sliders please

                    Originally posted by pberardi
                    Honestly, lowering these sliders do not create arcade style baseball either way.
                    Correct. This is not an arcade baseball game, anyway you play it (except on Rookie with all sliders favoring you!).

                    "Backyard Baseball" is an arcade game. Aaron v. Ruth is an arcade game. Sounds like 2K9 is an arcade game.
                    [Insert clever, personally-relevant, or cutting-edge remark, data, link, or picture]

                    Comment

                    • pbz06
                      Banned
                      • Oct 2008
                      • 1504

                      #11
                      Re: Drawing walks and issuing them...help with my sliders please

                      I'm still playing with CPU Strike frequency at 0 (all the way to the left), and CPU Consistency at 3 (2 clicks to the left).

                      I've been walking around 3 or 4 times per games, and also striking out once or twice on Ball 4. So the walks opportunities are there.

                      The CPU strike % is between 60-70% for me, with the elite pitchers being closer or slightly above the 70%. I feel like I can draw more pitches from the lower tier pitchers and get them tired around the 5th or 6th innings....

                      I am liking this blend so far.

                      Comment

                      • The Chef
                        Moderator
                        • Sep 2003
                        • 13684

                        #12
                        Re: Drawing walks and issuing them...help with my sliders please

                        Last game I tested the following...

                        CPU Pitcher Control (2)
                        CPU Pitcher Consistency (6)
                        CPU Strike Frequency (5)

                        With this setting Randy Johnson struck me out 6 times in 6 innings before being pulled for a pinch hitter, he only walked me once but thats fine for a good pitcher like Randy. They brought in Affeldt, atleast thats who I think it was, and he walked me 3 times (1 was intentional to Russell Martin) so I finished the game with 5 walks anyways but my batting average was around .210 for the game, I won 4-0 behind another complete game shutout from Randy Wolf.

                        Few things.....

                        - Its somewhat refreshing to see the CPU battle from the start of the AB instead of being ahead in the count so frequently that they are always trying to battle back.

                        - Randy threw a first pitch strike to 14 of the 23 batters he faced. (60.9%). The bullpen threw first pitch strikes to only 5 of the 13 batters they faced (38.5%).

                        - The bullpens still are complete garbage so Im tempted to raise RP Stamina for the CPU back to default and see if it effects anything. If anyone else has noticed the CPU pitching differently when the stamina sliders are adjusted I would love to hear your feedback.

                        - Randy left down 1-0, Affeldt came in and I quickly added 3 to go up 4-0 which is where the game ended. Again, another sign that the bullpens are just **** this year.

                        - Lastly, I see people saying the CPU is too good offensively but on All-Star with their sliders at default, as far as their offense is concerned atleast, Ive shut them out twice already through 8 games, my team ERA is something like 3.15 so on my end its almost too easy to shut down the CPU. Now this could all be somewhat attributed to playing absolute garbage offensive teams, (San Diego, Arizona, San Francisco) but I would think the Giants would be able to put up some sort of a fight.

                        Before anyone says anything, Arizona's offense isnt complete garbage but they are young and can be exploited with pitches outside the zone, my best strikeout numbers were against them by just basically running pitches off the corners and watching them flail away at them all game.
                        http://www.twitch.tv/kitm9891

                        Comment

                        • pbz06
                          Banned
                          • Oct 2008
                          • 1504

                          #13
                          Re: Drawing walks and issuing them...help with my sliders please

                          Originally posted by The Chef
                          Last game I tested the following...

                          CPU Pitcher Control (2)
                          CPU Pitcher Consistency (6)
                          CPU Strike Frequency (5)

                          With this setting Randy Johnson struck me out 6 times in 6 innings before being pulled for a pinch hitter, he only walked me once but thats fine for a good pitcher like Randy. They brought in Affeldt, atleast thats who I think it was, and he walked me 3 times (1 was intentional to Russell Martin) so I finished the game with 5 walks anyways but my batting average was around .210 for the game, I won 4-0 behind another complete game shutout from Randy Wolf.

                          Few things.....

                          - Its somewhat refreshing to see the CPU battle from the start of the AB instead of being ahead in the count so frequently that they are always trying to battle back.

                          - Randy threw a first pitch strike to 14 of the 23 batters he faced. (60.9%). The bullpen threw first pitch strikes to only 5 of the 13 batters they faced (38.5%).

                          - The bullpens still are complete garbage so Im tempted to raise RP Stamina for the CPU back to default and see if it effects anything. If anyone else has noticed the CPU pitching differently when the stamina sliders are adjusted I would love to hear your feedback.

                          - Randy left down 1-0, Affeldt came in and I quickly added 3 to go up 4-0 which is where the game ended. Again, another sign that the bullpens are just **** this year.

                          - Lastly, I see people saying the CPU is too good offensively but on All-Star with their sliders at default, as far as their offense is concerned atleast, Ive shut them out twice already through 8 games, my team ERA is something like 3.15 so on my end its almost too easy to shut down the CPU. Now this could all be somewhat attributed to playing absolute garbage offensive teams, (San Diego, Arizona, San Francisco) but I would think the Giants would be able to put up some sort of a fight.

                          Before anyone says anything, Arizona's offense isnt complete garbage but they are young and can be exploited with pitches outside the zone, my best strikeout numbers were against them by just basically running pitches off the corners and watching them flail away at them all game.
                          I really haven't noticed any weaknesses in the CPU's relievers...

                          Comment

                          • The Chef
                            Moderator
                            • Sep 2003
                            • 13684

                            #14
                            Re: Drawing walks and issuing them...help with my sliders please

                            Originally posted by pbz06
                            I really haven't noticed any weaknesses in the CPU's relievers...
                            Good to hear, maybe its just the teams Ive played so far then. Once the Duke game ends tonight Im going to play another game with those same settings I posted above and this game is against Barry Zito so Im very curious to see how they play out.
                            http://www.twitch.tv/kitm9891

                            Comment

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