are these new screens??

[baa7]

Re: are these new screens??

boy, you're a real ray of sunshine.

After the lame MLB 2K5 WS Edition, people have every reason to be skeptical. We’ll see just how much “extraordinarily better” the 360 version looks, when it comes out. But until then, I’ll keep in mind all the hollow promises that were made regarding the WS Edition, like “updated rosters” for example.

And if 2K is actually putting out a 360 version that looks “extraordinarily better”, why in the world would their first screens look just like last years game?

That said, some things from that interview do sound promising. I appreciate hearing: “We've also completely rewritten our AI code” and “We’ve done a ton of work animation-wise, including improving the players’ throws, as that has really been a major focus for this year. Gamers will see a significant difference from last year’s game.”

That indicates to me acknowledgement on some level that last year’s product needed some serious upgrading.

[nemesis04]

Re: are these new screens??

The only thing that looked promising was the momentum. The pics are still brutal. Would someone please steal those player models away from them already!

[Drew127]

Re: are these new screens??

What about the flawed hitting system? I guess it's a matter of taste, but I always found it way too easy to get hits using True Aim or whatever it was, and using a cursor is just the farthest thing from a true hitting simulator so I refuse to ever use one of those.

High Heat got it right years ago, and yet no one has really tried to match it. It's all about going with pitches and hitting the ball where its pitched....not about aiming right and hitting the ball right.

[Blzer]

Re: are these new screens??

After the lame MLB 2K5 WS Edition, people have every reason to be skeptical. We’ll see just how much “extraordinarily better” the 360 version looks, when it comes out. But until then, I’ll keep in mind all the hollow promises that were made regarding the WS Edition, like “updated rosters” for example.

And if 2K is actually putting out a 360 version that looks “extraordinarily better”, why in the world would their first screens look just like last years game?

That said, some things from that interview do sound promising. I appreciate hearing: “We've also completely rewritten our AI code” and “We’ve done a ton of work animation-wise, including improving the players’ throws, as that has really been a major focus for this year. Gamers will see a significant difference from last year’s game.”

That indicates to me acknowledgement on some level that last year’s product needed some serious upgrading.

First of all, every game needs some serious upgrading in some aspects. For 2K Sports, it was animations.

Secondly, they don't have every right to be skeptical. Maybe they think they do, but I will keep saying this until like... the day that I die. It was not MLB 2K5.5, it was MLB 2K5: World Series Edition. The fact that they didn't even fix all of the bugs is not quite an issue that we had to be looking at for this game. IMO the game should have just been the same with World Series Elements, and if ya'll wanted their upgraded version of this game, you should have just waited on ahead for MLB 2K6. Granted, the rosters really weren't up-to-date... which was my only nitpick in general. I bet you that a really small portion of the team worked on this game; the rest worked on MLB 2K6, which is what we really want.


Also, I don't quite know if I could say that visually this game looks the same as last year. Granted, they are the same wrinkles on the jerseys, but it looks like the stadiums are now in a higher resolution from last year, and colors are more deeply saturated. Also, this game may stand out better on video, when we see the new momentum kick in with all new animations and what not. I'm also interested to see what they did in terms of their new pitching, hitting, and camera work.

I'm not here to defend 2K Sports... this year, I'm just as pumped for MVP NCAA and MLB '06, and I'm just as worried as you guys. However, I understand their level of balance when it comes to promises and truths, and when I said in another thread that I'm very analytical about what I see, it's because I can pinpoint every single new thing or new upgrade that's been added to a game by the slightest margin. I mean, I can't say that the two games look exactly the same... because they don't. I mean, they are the same, essentially. However, that should not be a problem. This game is bar none the best looking baseball game around, and the only two things that IMO would make it look better are 60 FPS and anti-aliasing (no jaggies).

And if 2K is actually putting out a 360 version that looks “extraordinarily better”, why in the world would their first screens look just like last years game?

I hope you understand this is their Xbox version, and not their Xbox 360 version.

[baa7]

Re: are these new screens??

What about the flawed hitting system? I guess it's a matter of taste, but I always found it way too easy to get hits using True Aim

Drew my man (or woman -- could be Drew Barrymore I suppose ), True Aim is incredibly tough if you drop the Batter Contact slider to 15. Most people played with it up in the 65 and even 80 range for some unknown reason. In 200+ games with the slider @ 15, my batting average is .243 -- reasonable, considering I've struckout over 400 times when swinging at balls.

[mjb2124]

Re: are these new screens??

Drew my man (or woman -- could be Drew Barrymore I suppose ), True Aim is incredibly tough if you drop the Batter Contact slider to 15. Most people played with it up in the 65 and even 80 range for some unknown reason. In 200+ games with the slider @ 15, my batting average is .243 -- reasonable, considering I've struckout over 400 times when swinging at balls.

I agree. The hitting system in this game is one thing that I really enjoyed. Certainly moreso than the hitting system in MVP.

[baa7]

Re: are these new screens??

Secondly, they don't have every right to be skeptical. Maybe they think they do

People absolutely have the right to be skeptical and even complain if they wish. MLB 2K5 was a mess of a game out of the box, and WSE was an equally broken 2K money-grab, period. And if you don’t happen to think so or are troubled by other's comments, then I suggest you find something else to do than participate in internet forum discussions. And I see: others can’t say things about 2K5, but you can complain about something as mundane as the batter’s foot during the swing animation. Tell you what: complain all you want about the game, and keep your worries and concerns about what others have to say to yourself.

And if 2K is actually putting out a 360 version that looks “extraordinarily better”, why in the world would their first screens look just like last years game?

I hope you understand this is their Xbox version, and not their Xbox 360 version.

I’ll believe the 360 version will look differently when I see the pics. Until then, I'm skeptical... and I'm not even going to ask you if that’s okay. I'm just going ahead and skepticalling the day away.

[ehh]

Re: are these new screens??

It doesn't look like they addressed the swing animations yet which is a serious concern. There is no way they can NOT fix that.

[baa7]

Re: are these new screens??

I agree. The hitting system in this game is one thing that I really enjoyed. Certainly moreso than the hitting system in MVP.

The hitting is great, regardless of where the batter’s left toe and right pinkie are during the swing animation. Another thing people did was raise the User Batter Power slider way up in a game that’s already fly ball and HR happy. I have mine @ 50; and with 15 Contact and 50 Power, you definitely do not see a lot of HR’s. I’m averaging one every 68 AB’s.

.243 average, 7-9 HR’s a season… I might not be offered a contract this spring, come to think of it

[Ckhoss29]

Re: are these new screens??

MOMENTUM!!!

Mark my words right now this is a 360 screen. I guarantee it. I mean look at the raised lettering on the jeresy and the smoothed out lines. Compare this one to the 2k5 one and you will see the difference. But what is scary, is it still looks like the same game.

[mjb2124]

Re: are these new screens??

Mark my words right now this is a 360 screen. I guarantee it. I mean look at the raised lettering on the jeresy and the smoothed out lines. Compare this one to the 2k5 one and you will see the difference. But what is scary, is it still looks like the same game.

FWIW - The properties for that image claim it's an Xbox screen. However, IGN could just have a 360 screen with the wrong properties. Who knows?

[poster]

Re: are these new screens??

Don't you guys think they have had enough time to make the 360 version special. They knew after last year that their next game would also be on the 360 platform. I expect to see something better than last year's, not just rehash. Here's to hoping.

[baa7]

Re: are these new screens??

Mark my words right now this is a 360 screen. I guarantee it. I mean look at the raised lettering on the jeresy and the smoothed out lines. Compare this one to the 2k5 one and you will see the difference. But what is scary, is it still looks like the same game.

Well, I’ve been saying it’ll be the same game as last year, ported over to the 360. And I suppose it’ll look a bit better on the 360, but it’ll look the same otherwise. They overhauled the game visually a year ago and they’re not going to start all over again this year for sure. As far as the “color richness” of the screen versus MLB 2K5, that can be accomplished by editing the pics – adding contrast, etc. I’m also skeptical (if that’s okay with some people here) as far as that goes. I wouldn’t put it past 2K to put out doctored pics in order to sell their game this year, knowing they blew it with last year’s two half-broken baseball games.

[ehh]

Re: are these new screens??

Mark my words right now this is a 360 screen. I guarantee it. I mean look at the raised lettering on the jeresy and the smoothed out lines. Compare this one to the 2k5 one and you will see the difference. But what is scary, is it still looks like the same game.

They had raised letters in 2k5 on the jersey's. I'm 99% sure those are Xbox graphics, hardly changed from 2k5.

[jrivera34]

Re: are these new screens??

If any of these screens are 360 and the gameplay remains the same, I guess I will have to buy a PS3 after all. I am really hoping that 2k comes through big time with this game because I already have a 360 and I am happy with it, but I need my baseball fix.
In my opinion, this game has been in 3rd place for the past few years (6th the year ASB, Inside pitch, and High heat were out) and they really need to step it up. Especially when it comes to the player models.