Re: Armor & Sword & Marino's MLB The Show 17 Timed/Classic Simulation All-Star Slider
This is going to sound completely non-scientific; but my thought on classic pitching is simple....it is all about feel.
In my experience, the first couple of innings are the most difficult. I have to gauge which pitches are 'working' that day and to what extent I need to hold down the button to get the release point desired for certain types of pitches (i.e. for different types of breaks, elevating pitches, getting them in the dirt, etc.). I have no idea what underpinning factors go into the programming and what causes this variance, and frankly, I just don't think about it. To me, this mimics just how tricky it is for real life pitchers to maintain their mechanics throughout the grind of the season.
So, you can handle this a couple of ways.
1. Standardize the duration of your button press and let the game programming be the sole contributor to the variance.
2. Vary the button press duration and try to get the optimal "feel" for each pitch in each outing. I prefer this because it is far more immersive and cerebral as I am constantly trying to gain that "feel" each game....and yes, sometimes mistake pitches get thrown and sometimes those mistakes are punished. But, when I have my "mechanics" down, it is quite rewarding to K a batter on a perfectly placed pitch. Yeah, there is still randomness to it, but that too is part of the fun....
I am a very analytical person and as much as I like to try to 'figure things out' in terms of game mechanics; I've accepted that this is one of those features where the 'mystery' of how it works is part of why you get so sucked into it.
This is going to sound completely non-scientific; but my thought on classic pitching is simple....it is all about feel.
In my experience, the first couple of innings are the most difficult. I have to gauge which pitches are 'working' that day and to what extent I need to hold down the button to get the release point desired for certain types of pitches (i.e. for different types of breaks, elevating pitches, getting them in the dirt, etc.). I have no idea what underpinning factors go into the programming and what causes this variance, and frankly, I just don't think about it. To me, this mimics just how tricky it is for real life pitchers to maintain their mechanics throughout the grind of the season.
So, you can handle this a couple of ways.
1. Standardize the duration of your button press and let the game programming be the sole contributor to the variance.
2. Vary the button press duration and try to get the optimal "feel" for each pitch in each outing. I prefer this because it is far more immersive and cerebral as I am constantly trying to gain that "feel" each game....and yes, sometimes mistake pitches get thrown and sometimes those mistakes are punished. But, when I have my "mechanics" down, it is quite rewarding to K a batter on a perfectly placed pitch. Yeah, there is still randomness to it, but that too is part of the fun....
I am a very analytical person and as much as I like to try to 'figure things out' in terms of game mechanics; I've accepted that this is one of those features where the 'mystery' of how it works is part of why you get so sucked into it.
So that's my theory out the window. I went back to pitching practice and did some more extensive testing the only really consistent thing I found is fastballs are spotted really well with a quick press and offspeed may be better with a full vibration press. Which is something I think has been known on OS for years.
A lot depends on where you are aiming the pitch and Josh might be right that you have to "feel" it in the game. I'd also like to quickly thank Armor for allowing his "slider" thread to wander into all sorts of gameplay aspects. The discussion has been great this year and I've learnt more about the game than ever.
Comment