Questions for ASB Man

[sportdan30]

Re: Questions for ASB Man

Early screenshots of this game show rain...ugh....please don't tell us to expect it to rain every other game just like last year?

[sportdan30]

Re: Questions for ASB Man

Has anything be mentioned about the "user" controlled pitching and it's pin point control? Last year, I was able to hit the corners with precision all the way through the 6th or 7th inning. Has this been fixed?

Also, why can't developers grudgingly copy off another...in this case, the way MVP's pitching interface is implemented. IMO, this should be an option now in all games. Maybe tweak it a little to your own specifics, but your pitching interface is pretty weak....unless there's been something new added.

[sportdan30]

Re: Questions for ASB Man

Has anything be mentioned about the "user" controlled pitching and it's pin point control? Last year, I was able to hit the corners with precision all the way through the 6th or 7th inning. Has this been fixed?

Also, why can't developers grudgingly copy off another...in this case, the way MVP's pitching interface is implemented. IMO, this should be an option now in all games. Maybe tweak it a little to your own specifics, but your pitching interface is pretty weak....unless there's been something new added.

[sportdan30]

Re: Questions for ASB Man

Has anything be mentioned about the "user" controlled pitching and it's pin point control? Last year, I was able to hit the corners with precision all the way through the 6th or 7th inning. Has this been fixed?

Also, why can't developers grudgingly copy off another...in this case, the way MVP's pitching interface is implemented. IMO, this should be an option now in all games. Maybe tweak it a little to your own specifics, but your pitching interface is pretty weak....unless there's been something new added.

[Rules]

Re: Questions for ASB Man

</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />
Early screenshots of this game show rain...ugh....please don't tell us to expect it to rain every other game just like last year?

<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">

I love rain games for as long as it is not overly done. It would make it more interesting if there were rain delays or a game gets called early due to rain. That atleast should be an option as it happens all of the time in real life.

[Rules]

Re: Questions for ASB Man

</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />
Early screenshots of this game show rain...ugh....please don't tell us to expect it to rain every other game just like last year?

<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">

I love rain games for as long as it is not overly done. It would make it more interesting if there were rain delays or a game gets called early due to rain. That atleast should be an option as it happens all of the time in real life.

[Rules]

Re: Questions for ASB Man

</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />
Early screenshots of this game show rain...ugh....please don't tell us to expect it to rain every other game just like last year?

<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">

I love rain games for as long as it is not overly done. It would make it more interesting if there were rain delays or a game gets called early due to rain. That atleast should be an option as it happens all of the time in real life.

[Knight165]

Re: Questions for ASB Man

Yeah...I like that it might rain sometime too...but in ASB2004, it rained almost every game in my Met franchise. I guess the real Mets hoped for rain every game too!!

[Knight165]

Re: Questions for ASB Man

Yeah...I like that it might rain sometime too...but in ASB2004, it rained almost every game in my Met franchise. I guess the real Mets hoped for rain every game too!!

[Knight165]

Re: Questions for ASB Man

Yeah...I like that it might rain sometime too...but in ASB2004, it rained almost every game in my Met franchise. I guess the real Mets hoped for rain every game too!!

[ericjwm]

Re: Questions for ASB Man

Since were on the subject of rain outs, here ara a couple of good questions about the weather in ASB 2005. Sorry for all the questions ASB Man, I'm just really excited about this year's game.


1) Will the rain conditions vary from a light drizzle to a down pour from time to time, with the possiblity of stopping? It would also be cool if it would sometimes start raining in the middle innings of games, rather than just always from the start.


2) Will different players randomely wear long sleeves, or will all of them only wear long sleeves in the cold weather? I think you should do it so that different players alternate from game to game even when the weather isn't cold. I know that certain players like Sosa &amp; Griffey switch from Short sleeve to long sleeve all throughout the season.

[ericjwm]

Re: Questions for ASB Man

Since were on the subject of rain outs, here ara a couple of good questions about the weather in ASB 2005. Sorry for all the questions ASB Man, I'm just really excited about this year's game.


1) Will the rain conditions vary from a light drizzle to a down pour from time to time, with the possiblity of stopping? It would also be cool if it would sometimes start raining in the middle innings of games, rather than just always from the start.


2) Will different players randomely wear long sleeves, or will all of them only wear long sleeves in the cold weather? I think you should do it so that different players alternate from game to game even when the weather isn't cold. I know that certain players like Sosa &amp; Griffey switch from Short sleeve to long sleeve all throughout the season.

[ericjwm]

Re: Questions for ASB Man

Since were on the subject of rain outs, here ara a couple of good questions about the weather in ASB 2005. Sorry for all the questions ASB Man, I'm just really excited about this year's game.


1) Will the rain conditions vary from a light drizzle to a down pour from time to time, with the possiblity of stopping? It would also be cool if it would sometimes start raining in the middle innings of games, rather than just always from the start.


2) Will different players randomely wear long sleeves, or will all of them only wear long sleeves in the cold weather? I think you should do it so that different players alternate from game to game even when the weather isn't cold. I know that certain players like Sosa &amp; Griffey switch from Short sleeve to long sleeve all throughout the season.

[asb_man]

Re: Questions for ASB Man

Since there's so many new quesitons and I'm really short on time these days (plus I don't want to give false promises) if something isn't in the game yet but there is a chance it could make it in, I will reply "???"
I hope you guys understand!

Has it been sped up so we can play a game within a 30-35 minute time span?
-Game speed is about the same. If you skip the batter walk up/inbetween inning cameras 1/2 hour is about average.

has the human controlled pitching been tweaked so there's not so much pin point control?
-Yes

Can we see detailed boxscores of all games played by every team
-No

Will there be highlites of other games played? Or ability to save replays?
-nope. The competition has one up on us there.

Will there be any new fantasy stadiums.
-Yes

Can you check league leaders in the minor leagues
-???

Will we be able to edit "pitch effectiveness", "injury rating", and other attributes that were uneditable in 2004?

-You can edit more attributes but pitch effectiveness and injuries can't be edited.

Will we be able to edit a created players age?
-Yes

Will CAPs want as big of contracts this year?
-Yes

Has the baserunning been improved so that runners can move two bases on singles and three bases on doubles sometimes.
-Yes

How are the runs to hits ratio?
-It's better since the players can advance to get an extra base more easily.

What gameplay enhancements have been made to pull ASB more toward a realistic game of baseball?
-There's a ton... the hit variety is much improved as is the dives/jumps

Has the weather been fixed so it doenst rain almost every game?

-We still have rain and snow but most games in '05 are clear and sunny

hey asb_man. how about those first first/second strike fouls into the catchers mit for an out. has that been fixed?
-Yes

Have you been able to find out if lefty/righty ratings and stats will be implemented?
-Yes...we had this last time when the batter in in the batter's box (you had to click in the analog stick)

Will you be able to view this when drafting or when making your lineup decisions.
-No

you have to admit that that the uniforms look like crap.
-No..but they are improved this year to look better.

at least allow people to pick colors and uniform styles. Is it about money?
-It's about TIME. The game's coming out on a certain date and we have to prioritize. We would have to make each jersey (35 teams, 2 jerseys a piece=70 jerseys including hat, shirt, pants, helmet) 6 different colors. Instead of creating 280 textures it would be 1,680. Not worth it.

can I call up minor leaguers without losing players to waivers?
-Yes

Is Broadcast Cam going to be the standard view that we see on t.v., during an actual game?
-Yes, it's the pitching view while you pitch but you have options.

In this years game or in future games, is there going to be more than just 5 players in the dugouts? Shouldn't there be around 15 or so?
-it's the same. Having a lot of players on the screen slows the game's framerate down

AsbMan how accurate is the february release date?
-not my department. We submit the game at the end of January and have no control over when it gets approved and on the shelf.

in asb2004 you could pause the game in the middle of a pitch coming to the plate and see the ball marker, and get ready to kill it after you unpause the game. i can see this being abused online, where you can't get bitch slapped for doing it.
-you can't pause during a pitch online.

You mentioned player ejections, will players get ejected by arguing or is it just still that if they charge the mound they get ejected.
-mound charging

Will other teams compete with you to get a free agent, as I noticed last year, you get to choose 1 FA and then teams sign the rest of the good ones and I didn't like that, I feel you should be able to sign as many good ones as you can, but with competition.
-it's tweaked but pretty similar

Will there be a coaches' license in this year's game? What I mean is, will the actual MLB coaches be in the game?
-No, too pricey

Will the cpu, make more strategic moves, such as putting in a left handed pitcher to face a left handed batter, or put in a right hander hitter against a left handed pitcher?
-Yes

Will there be rain-outs? Double-headers?
No, Yes

You have mentioned the random scheduling. Does that mean that not only will the schedule change but so does interleague play? Lets say I am the Cardinals, and lets say that the first season, the Cards play the AL Central. In the second season, will they play the AL West, and then the AL East in the third and so on and soforth?
Yes. Team rivalries are also taken into consideration each year. (the Mets/Yankees play each other at least every-other year)

Will their actually be a free-agent bidding war? Last year you could sign whoever and not have to fight with other teams, and that took away from the realism in my opinion.
-No bidding war but some guys will get signed before you have a chance to. You will always be able to re-sign your own guys beforehand. Once you sign someone who is not from your team, your players will start signing with others.

Will coaches argue calls on the field, and sometimes be ejected?
-No

Will you be able to set ticket and concession prices in franchise mode?
-No

Will there be more doubles and triples this year, instead of so many singles?
-Yes

How many "fantasy" stadiums will be in the game?
14. Just so you know, you can use some of the classic parks in expansion this time.

Can I toggle on the catcher throw-back?
-???

I was wondering if the blue jays have their new uni's with the new logo in the game.
-Yes

Are tbe stadium tours in there this year.
-Yes

I was just wondering if players are pressure sensitive this year,
-No

Will you guys have foreign stadiums available for opening day games?
-Yes. This year the Yanks go to JAPAN.. The crowd is Japanese, too.

1) What can we look forward to seeing in the coming weeks(leading upto the release date) from the offical ASB05/Acclaim website? Last years (asb 04) website was A+, very informative? How often will it be updated?
-Not my department. Hopefully more will be out soon. I can't wait to see how you guys like the 'Leaping Alou' scenario. Everyone who plays ASB next year will have to try that one...it's great.

Has this roster mangement problem in the exhibiton/default roster mode (non-franchise) been fixed: inability to trade/sign FA players who aren't the exact same position (this made manually (non-downloading) updating each teams default rosters impossible, which caused for lots of problems when trying to start-up a new franchise/season.
-Yes. There's an 'Auto' button for a lot of it, and an 'Override' for trades.

Has the players disappering bug been fixed?
-Yes

What teams have new stadiums(for 2004 regular season games) this year in ASB 05?
-Phillies and Padres. we had their stadiums last year but we re-built them again since we have better references. The Cardinals future stadium was touched up as well, and there's a new FutureMarlins stadium.

If so, what improvements (if any) have been made to the tours?
-There's some new tours

Have you guys set a roster cutoff date yet? When will it be?
-Don't know yet. I want this damn A-ROD-Manny-Nomar-Magglio deal to go down soon!

Will ASB 05 be in Dolby Surround or Pro Logic 2?
-Dobly Surround

What are some of the improvements that have been made interms of audio for 05? Any new licenced songs? Will the batter walk-up music from 04 be back? any new tracks for that?
-The deals haven't all gone down yet but we do have the Vengaboys.

In Create-A-Player, will the user be able to finally choose the age of the created player?
-Yes

From what you've indicated so far, it appears that it's actually in the works for players to be able to actually play full games in all the stadiums in the game, is this true?
-Yes

Will it be possible to have entire seasons playing in one of these Ballparks?
-Yes

Are they in any way even MORE realistic?
-All stadiums are more realistic

Some people's copies froze after secen seasons, some after two or three, some after just ONE. Has there been any work to fix this bug?
-Yes

Can you play with Throwback unis in your Franchise
-Yes, you choose your jersey before each game

The question is this, let's say I'm in centerfield and there is a runner on 2nd. A fly ball is hit to the left center gap. I catch the ball and fire to third. Is there a cut scene for third baseman to field the throw? Do I have to control the 3rd baseman?
-There's different cameras, but most of the time the camera will travel with the ball to third and you gain control of the 3rd baseman if the throw is offline or when he catches the ball.

Is there any new celebration animation for winning the 7 game in the playoffs and winning the world series
-some new motions but not as extravagant as I wanted.

During franchise games can we select any stadium to play in
-You can choose most stadiums in expansion mode but franchise you have the teams actual stadium unless you earn a new one (with certain teams who will get one in real life in the next 20 years)

One way to speed up game is not to let foul balls drift into stands so far back but rather cut right back to batter pitcher interface.
-We cut back on the time it takes to get back to the action

Watching foul balls drift into the stands adds realism, hope they don't take that out.
-It's still there, but you see the ball go foul for about 3 seconds instead of 10.

Will there be an ability to change leagues in franchise before season like braves in al east.
-No, interesting idea though!

More signature batting styles for legend players such as Stan Musial would be great.
-We didn't get new motions for classic players, only current.

in this years version will it be harder to steal bases?
-it's harder on the harder difficulties

will there be A,B,C Grades again
-Yes

do the fly-by stadium tours remain in the game?
Yes. And now the stadium tour camera is the intro into each game.

can you please advise if the rosters are editing friendly?
-much improved

Is there any hope for this for our community? Specifically, based on what you know about the editing rules now, could we create the 61 Yanks, 55 Dodgers, 62 Giants, etc...?If not, is there any chance the developers would consider unlocking stuff so we could?
???

what has been changed about create a player besides the new textures? and what do they mean by new textures?
-new textures means the wrinkles/team names have been re-done and look a lot better. The player model is alot more muscular.

we have a whole new (simplified) control system for baserunning
-there's new controls as the default, but the old baserunning configuration is still there as an option.

is Snavely out as far as producing 2004,who is behind this year's Asb
-PJ Snavely was the producer of ASB'04 and I was the Asst. Art Director at Acclaim Austin. He is now working on NBA Shootout in San Diego.

Will the CPU contrlloed batters be programmed to use practice swings before the pitch
-They do but if you quick pitch you'll never see it. It slows the gamespeed down.

Will ASB this year use points to sign players or money?
-points

Will player ratings be by a letter or number?
-Letter...except spring training uses points

I will answer more later. Happy holidays everybody and thanks again for the praise/encouragement.

[asb_man]

Re: Questions for ASB Man

Since there's so many new quesitons and I'm really short on time these days (plus I don't want to give false promises) if something isn't in the game yet but there is a chance it could make it in, I will reply "???"
I hope you guys understand!

Has it been sped up so we can play a game within a 30-35 minute time span?
-Game speed is about the same. If you skip the batter walk up/inbetween inning cameras 1/2 hour is about average.

has the human controlled pitching been tweaked so there's not so much pin point control?
-Yes

Can we see detailed boxscores of all games played by every team
-No

Will there be highlites of other games played? Or ability to save replays?
-nope. The competition has one up on us there.

Will there be any new fantasy stadiums.
-Yes

Can you check league leaders in the minor leagues
-???

Will we be able to edit "pitch effectiveness", "injury rating", and other attributes that were uneditable in 2004?

-You can edit more attributes but pitch effectiveness and injuries can't be edited.

Will we be able to edit a created players age?
-Yes

Will CAPs want as big of contracts this year?
-Yes

Has the baserunning been improved so that runners can move two bases on singles and three bases on doubles sometimes.
-Yes

How are the runs to hits ratio?
-It's better since the players can advance to get an extra base more easily.

What gameplay enhancements have been made to pull ASB more toward a realistic game of baseball?
-There's a ton... the hit variety is much improved as is the dives/jumps

Has the weather been fixed so it doenst rain almost every game?

-We still have rain and snow but most games in '05 are clear and sunny

hey asb_man. how about those first first/second strike fouls into the catchers mit for an out. has that been fixed?
-Yes

Have you been able to find out if lefty/righty ratings and stats will be implemented?
-Yes...we had this last time when the batter in in the batter's box (you had to click in the analog stick)

Will you be able to view this when drafting or when making your lineup decisions.
-No

you have to admit that that the uniforms look like crap.
-No..but they are improved this year to look better.

at least allow people to pick colors and uniform styles. Is it about money?
-It's about TIME. The game's coming out on a certain date and we have to prioritize. We would have to make each jersey (35 teams, 2 jerseys a piece=70 jerseys including hat, shirt, pants, helmet) 6 different colors. Instead of creating 280 textures it would be 1,680. Not worth it.

can I call up minor leaguers without losing players to waivers?
-Yes

Is Broadcast Cam going to be the standard view that we see on t.v., during an actual game?
-Yes, it's the pitching view while you pitch but you have options.

In this years game or in future games, is there going to be more than just 5 players in the dugouts? Shouldn't there be around 15 or so?
-it's the same. Having a lot of players on the screen slows the game's framerate down

AsbMan how accurate is the february release date?
-not my department. We submit the game at the end of January and have no control over when it gets approved and on the shelf.

in asb2004 you could pause the game in the middle of a pitch coming to the plate and see the ball marker, and get ready to kill it after you unpause the game. i can see this being abused online, where you can't get bitch slapped for doing it.
-you can't pause during a pitch online.

You mentioned player ejections, will players get ejected by arguing or is it just still that if they charge the mound they get ejected.
-mound charging

Will other teams compete with you to get a free agent, as I noticed last year, you get to choose 1 FA and then teams sign the rest of the good ones and I didn't like that, I feel you should be able to sign as many good ones as you can, but with competition.
-it's tweaked but pretty similar

Will there be a coaches' license in this year's game? What I mean is, will the actual MLB coaches be in the game?
-No, too pricey

Will the cpu, make more strategic moves, such as putting in a left handed pitcher to face a left handed batter, or put in a right hander hitter against a left handed pitcher?
-Yes

Will there be rain-outs? Double-headers?
No, Yes

You have mentioned the random scheduling. Does that mean that not only will the schedule change but so does interleague play? Lets say I am the Cardinals, and lets say that the first season, the Cards play the AL Central. In the second season, will they play the AL West, and then the AL East in the third and so on and soforth?
Yes. Team rivalries are also taken into consideration each year. (the Mets/Yankees play each other at least every-other year)

Will their actually be a free-agent bidding war? Last year you could sign whoever and not have to fight with other teams, and that took away from the realism in my opinion.
-No bidding war but some guys will get signed before you have a chance to. You will always be able to re-sign your own guys beforehand. Once you sign someone who is not from your team, your players will start signing with others.

Will coaches argue calls on the field, and sometimes be ejected?
-No

Will you be able to set ticket and concession prices in franchise mode?
-No

Will there be more doubles and triples this year, instead of so many singles?
-Yes

How many "fantasy" stadiums will be in the game?
14. Just so you know, you can use some of the classic parks in expansion this time.

Can I toggle on the catcher throw-back?
-???

I was wondering if the blue jays have their new uni's with the new logo in the game.
-Yes

Are tbe stadium tours in there this year.
-Yes

I was just wondering if players are pressure sensitive this year,
-No

Will you guys have foreign stadiums available for opening day games?
-Yes. This year the Yanks go to JAPAN.. The crowd is Japanese, too.

1) What can we look forward to seeing in the coming weeks(leading upto the release date) from the offical ASB05/Acclaim website? Last years (asb 04) website was A+, very informative? How often will it be updated?
-Not my department. Hopefully more will be out soon. I can't wait to see how you guys like the 'Leaping Alou' scenario. Everyone who plays ASB next year will have to try that one...it's great.

Has this roster mangement problem in the exhibiton/default roster mode (non-franchise) been fixed: inability to trade/sign FA players who aren't the exact same position (this made manually (non-downloading) updating each teams default rosters impossible, which caused for lots of problems when trying to start-up a new franchise/season.
-Yes. There's an 'Auto' button for a lot of it, and an 'Override' for trades.

Has the players disappering bug been fixed?
-Yes

What teams have new stadiums(for 2004 regular season games) this year in ASB 05?
-Phillies and Padres. we had their stadiums last year but we re-built them again since we have better references. The Cardinals future stadium was touched up as well, and there's a new FutureMarlins stadium.

If so, what improvements (if any) have been made to the tours?
-There's some new tours

Have you guys set a roster cutoff date yet? When will it be?
-Don't know yet. I want this damn A-ROD-Manny-Nomar-Magglio deal to go down soon!

Will ASB 05 be in Dolby Surround or Pro Logic 2?
-Dobly Surround

What are some of the improvements that have been made interms of audio for 05? Any new licenced songs? Will the batter walk-up music from 04 be back? any new tracks for that?
-The deals haven't all gone down yet but we do have the Vengaboys.

In Create-A-Player, will the user be able to finally choose the age of the created player?
-Yes

From what you've indicated so far, it appears that it's actually in the works for players to be able to actually play full games in all the stadiums in the game, is this true?
-Yes

Will it be possible to have entire seasons playing in one of these Ballparks?
-Yes

Are they in any way even MORE realistic?
-All stadiums are more realistic

Some people's copies froze after secen seasons, some after two or three, some after just ONE. Has there been any work to fix this bug?
-Yes

Can you play with Throwback unis in your Franchise
-Yes, you choose your jersey before each game

The question is this, let's say I'm in centerfield and there is a runner on 2nd. A fly ball is hit to the left center gap. I catch the ball and fire to third. Is there a cut scene for third baseman to field the throw? Do I have to control the 3rd baseman?
-There's different cameras, but most of the time the camera will travel with the ball to third and you gain control of the 3rd baseman if the throw is offline or when he catches the ball.

Is there any new celebration animation for winning the 7 game in the playoffs and winning the world series
-some new motions but not as extravagant as I wanted.

During franchise games can we select any stadium to play in
-You can choose most stadiums in expansion mode but franchise you have the teams actual stadium unless you earn a new one (with certain teams who will get one in real life in the next 20 years)

One way to speed up game is not to let foul balls drift into stands so far back but rather cut right back to batter pitcher interface.
-We cut back on the time it takes to get back to the action

Watching foul balls drift into the stands adds realism, hope they don't take that out.
-It's still there, but you see the ball go foul for about 3 seconds instead of 10.

Will there be an ability to change leagues in franchise before season like braves in al east.
-No, interesting idea though!

More signature batting styles for legend players such as Stan Musial would be great.
-We didn't get new motions for classic players, only current.

in this years version will it be harder to steal bases?
-it's harder on the harder difficulties

will there be A,B,C Grades again
-Yes

do the fly-by stadium tours remain in the game?
Yes. And now the stadium tour camera is the intro into each game.

can you please advise if the rosters are editing friendly?
-much improved

Is there any hope for this for our community? Specifically, based on what you know about the editing rules now, could we create the 61 Yanks, 55 Dodgers, 62 Giants, etc...?If not, is there any chance the developers would consider unlocking stuff so we could?
???

what has been changed about create a player besides the new textures? and what do they mean by new textures?
-new textures means the wrinkles/team names have been re-done and look a lot better. The player model is alot more muscular.

we have a whole new (simplified) control system for baserunning
-there's new controls as the default, but the old baserunning configuration is still there as an option.

is Snavely out as far as producing 2004,who is behind this year's Asb
-PJ Snavely was the producer of ASB'04 and I was the Asst. Art Director at Acclaim Austin. He is now working on NBA Shootout in San Diego.

Will the CPU contrlloed batters be programmed to use practice swings before the pitch
-They do but if you quick pitch you'll never see it. It slows the gamespeed down.

Will ASB this year use points to sign players or money?
-points

Will player ratings be by a letter or number?
-Letter...except spring training uses points

I will answer more later. Happy holidays everybody and thanks again for the praise/encouragement.