Re: I fired up ESPN 2K4 last night...

[catcatch22]

Re: I fired up ESPN 2K4 last night...

Timing is too easy, After playing baseball games for more than a decade timing is just to easy for me. Maybe for you guys its still a challenge to time a swing but for me its like watching the grass grow. Its not challenging nor does it allow me to make many mistakes with that hitting system.

[baa7]

Re: I fired up ESPN 2K4 last night...

Timing is too easy, After playing baseball games for more than a decade timing is just to easy for me. Maybe for you guys its still a challenge to time a swing but for me its like watching the grass grow. Its not challenging nor does it allow me to make many mistakes with that hitting system.

Part of the issue I think is people prefer making contact and hitting the ball, as opposed to what actually happens in a MLB baseball game. I noticed with 2K5 that almost everyone played with the User contact slider up in the 65 and higher range. Well, that makes making contact with the ball about as difficult as eating pretzels with beer. The only way to create a sim-like representation of batting in 2K5 is to lower User Contact in the 15 range (higher for cursor hitting because it's harder).

And I agree timed-style hitting is equally yawn-inducing. But again I think that's what most people are into -- just being able to make contact, with little interest in realism. Most people would be bored to death if they actually adjusted their sliders to 'sim': producing 7-8 hits a game with a bunch of strikeouts and mostly ground balls.

[baa7]

Re: I fired up ESPN 2K4 last night...@ catcatch22

IF....and with you, it may be a big if...but IF you've played MVP for any significant peroid of time

IF....and with you, it may be a big if...but IF (see how silly that sounds) you've played MLB 2K5 for ten months like I have, and IF....and with you, it may be a big if...but IF like me you've played MVP long enough to get a sense of the batting interface, you'll come to ONE....and with you, it may be a big one... conclusion: that 2K5's True Aim -- similar to High Heat's batting interface -- is much more representative of hitting a baseball than either MVP's hitting system (that goofy 'point up for fly ball' thing) or 2K6's upcoming swing stick feature (from what I've read about it).

[Scooter3]

Re: I fired up ESPN 2K4 last night...

I have a question, the first Xbox Baseball game I ever played was Sega's World Series Baseball. It was a good game with cursor hitting. I could hit with consistency, but I never hit a home-run. Never! Anybody else experience difficulty hitting home-runs with this game? Is there a trick to it? I tried everything I hit under the ball, hitting it dead on, I tried standing on my head blind folded, nothing worked! I wouldn't mind playing this game if I could hit an occasional long ball.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Blzer]

Re: I fired up ESPN 2K4 last night...

I have a question, the first Xbox Baseball game I ever played was Sega's World Series Baseball. It was a good game with courser hitting. I could hit with consistency, but I never hit a home-run. Never! Anybody else experience difficulty hitting home-runs with this game? Is there a trick to it? I tried everything I hit under the ball, hitting it dead on, I tried standing on my head blind folded, nothing worked! I wouldn't mind playing this game if I could hit an occasional lone ball.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

For World Series Baseball, the trick was to actually get your cursor under the ball for a home run. For World Series Baseball 2K3, the trick was to be dead on target with the cursor.




Anyway, last night, I popped in World Series Baseball 2K3... picked two random teams (turned out to be White Sox at Royals), played at daytime for 3 innings. Then, I popped in ESPN Major League Baseball... picked the same teams at daytime for 3 innings. Finally, I popped in Major League Baseball 2K5... same teams, same time of day, same amount of innings. IMO, WSB 2K3 and ESPN MLB have nothing against MLB 2K5. If you get the proper slider set for this game, you're set. Aside from the framerate issue and bat sound that I instantly picked up again as two huge negatives, everything else was just fantastic... especially the graphics. I am a graphics whore, I'll admit it. Plus, the generic stances were crap in WSB 2K3 and ESPN MLB.


Point is, I don't really know if it's Kush that changed the whole style of play around, but whatever was the cause, I'm happy for them. I just wish that somebody like VC could now jump on and finish it off.

[catcatch22]

Re: I fired up ESPN 2K4 last night...

I've been playing the sega themed baseball games since 1994 and they have always had a cursor of some type in the game. World Series Baseball 95 had a rectangle cursor, World Series 2k1 started the firrst time for me using the round cursor. The same rule to hitting fly balls apply to all of them. You can't just place the cursor on the ball you have to place the cursor just a bit below the ball to get the lift effect. I wish I could show some visual aids to give you an idea of how. It takes lots of practice, first knowing the pitcher you are up against and his arsenal of pitches and 2nd how to approach moving the cursor and getting comfortable moving the cursor in order to make proper contact.

It took me time to get to that point, first all I did was make contact then as I excelled I began hitting balls the other way, pulling the ball, chopping down at the ball and then going for fly balls. I must admit once I mastered it, I became fly ball happy and that was all I would go for and it would cause me to make many mistakes which is good. What's truly great about the cursor is its not just making contact, it becomes an almost art form of getting the ball just where you want it which can also lead you to getting struck out cause you are trying to hard almost to hit it where yoiu want. Takes skill and practice. Its not somnething you pick up in one sitting.

[Scooter3]

Re: I fired up ESPN 2K4 last night...

Thanks Guys! I'm going to give SEGA World Series another shot!
I'm going to concentrate on hitting under the ball more. In the past I tried hitting under the ball, Maybe I didn't have the cursor low enough.

Thanks again Blzer and catcatch22

[baa7]

Re: I fired up ESPN 2K4 last night...

IMO, WSB 2K3 and ESPN MLB have nothing against MLB 2K5. If you get the proper slider set for this game, you're set.

IF you completely ignore the fielding issues and ball physics issues and the many glitches -- third baseman doesn't charge; CPU doesn't bunt unless you use K-zone pitching; etc, etc -- then yes, I absolutely agree with you.

[Rod_Carew29]

Re: I fired up ESPN 2K4 last night...@ baa7

Dont get it twisted..my point with catcatch was that he spoke in absolutes...and that is flat wrong. If you/me/anyone says that 'at times'...when talking about certain things that do or don't happen in a game, then ok...but for anyone to say that a game doesn't do this, you cannot do that, etc. is incorrect.

IF....and with you, it may be a big if...but IF (see how silly that sounds) you've played MLB 2K5 for ten months like I have, and IF....and with you, it may be a big if...but IF like me you've played MVP long enough to get a sense of the batting interface, you'll come to ONE....and with you, it may be a big one... conclusion: that 2K5's True Aim -- similar to High Heat's batting interface -- is much more representative of hitting a baseball than either MVP's hitting system (that goofy 'point up for fly ball' thing) or 2K6's upcoming swing stick feature (from what I've read about it).

[Rod_Carew29]

Re: I fired up ESPN 2K4 last night...@ 69Yanks

Hey...I'm glad you understand where I'm coming from...just telling the truth....not trying to get caught up in the side issues.....peace!

Agree totally with this. I use to just hold up either to right or left depending on where I thought the pitch was to come. No matter if it were ARod or my weak hitters, If the timing was not there and location of pitch was not there, the ball was a pop up, weak fly, or weak grounder. If you have access to a PC, this game really is far above the others because the graphic boost on PC is outstanding. You should see some of the work MVP Modders have done. The stadiums are unbelievable. One thing more I want to share is what really turned me totally back to MVP05, because I was looking into the Show, was a batting experience wth Giambi MVP. I know I could hold up and to the right and look for an inside pitch but had been popping or grounding out with him. So I said, well lets just hammer maybe a line drive and I looked in and aimed in. Hit a screamer line drive down the right field line just inside the pole and into the stands. The ball hooked just like in real life. It just sold me big time on this game.

[Rod_Carew29]

Re: I fired up ESPN 2K4 last night...@ catcatch22

I agree with you 100%!


peace!

"...What's truly great about the cursor is its not just making contact, it becomes an almost art form of getting the ball just where you want it which can also lead you to getting struck out cause you are trying to hard almost to hit it where yoiu want. Takes skill and practice. Its not somnething you pick up in one sitting."

[baa7]

Re: I fired up ESPN 2K4 last night...

What's truly great about the cursor is its not just making contact, it becomes an almost art form of getting the ball just where you want it

I've used cursor hitting in 2K3, and I know it has its good points. So my question is: if 2K is supposedly such a 'customer friendly' company that listens to its fans, why are they adding an entirely new batting system to 2K6 (swing stick) instead of simply re-implimenting cursor hitting? Or, why aren't they adding both to 2K6?

[jim416]

Re: I fired up ESPN 2K4 last night...

I've used cursor hitting in 2K3, and I know it has its good points. So my question is: if 2K is supposedly such a 'customer friendly' company that listens to its fans, why are they adding an entirely new batting system to 2K6 (swing stick) instead of simply re-implimenting cursor hitting? Or, why aren't they adding both to 2K6?

Because it peeks peoples interests. It'something new. Rather than these devs spending time on fixing the baseball game they do "new" untested stuff and we get stuck with it. This game is about a month away from going gold and so far we're stuck with not much to look at except videos that are sloppy and look like last years game and touting of and untested "inside edge".

I don't care how finely you look at the animations and say they look better, they don't and I just see the same game.

Now on to my second cup of morning coffee.

[Rod_Carew29]

Re: I fired up ESPN 2K4 last night...@ jim416

Jim, I couldn't have said it any better myself...and what continues to happen year after year after year, is that all of the game developers put out just enough info...graphics, press releases and otherwise...to get folks so hyped..it's like dangling a live chicken in front of an alligator (lol).

Seriously...they know who their audience is (for the most part young, males with a pronounced hunger for the 'newest thing'). They know to what degree how vulnerable that said audience is to the hype....and by the time February rolls around, many of these SAME audience members will GLADLY purchase whatever baseball game there is, purely out of deparation for something new.

You, I and others may look at some of these animations and snapshots and say to ourselves, "what kind of crap are they trying to pull?" But the others have had their subconsciousness beaten so badly, that any and everything looks good.


peace!

Because it peeks peoples interests. It'something new. Rather than these devs spending time on fixing the baseball game they do "new" untested stuff and we get stuck with it. This game is about a month away from going gold and so far we're stuck with not much to look at except videos that are sloppy and look like last years game and touting of and untested "inside edge".

I don't care how finely you look at the animations and say they look better, they don't and I just see the same game.

Now on to my second cup of morning coffee.

[jim416]

Re: I fired up ESPN 2K4 last night...

I stopped being a fanboy a few years ago. I don't care who puts out a game, if we're stuck with bugs none of us should be touting any of their rhetoric. It's the same year after year. I, for one, am tired of hearing "well, it gives them something to build on for next year".