POTD 2/14/06

[inkcil]

Re: POTD 2/14/06

That I've seen. Some people when they argue are downright rude and crude. You aren't I feel, plus you usually back up your comments with some pretty insightful thoughts and comments concerning the game -- something I appreciate.

I have to agree w/baa if what he means is that Blzr isn't hard on people.

I disagree w/ half of what Blzr says but never have I felt like he is selfish and all that other junk.

I get attacked with the dumbest stuff on these boards just for having a different opinion (and sometimes I throw a bad fact out there, but not on purpose, and I concede when I've been corrected). But IMO, Blzr is top 10 on these boards as far as one of the best people to actually have a reasonable disagreement with w/out it turning into name calling and word-twister. I don't get the bashing.

[queens211]

Re: POTD 2/14/06

I am very good at reiterating things, because I feel that people normally ignore most of my posts. This time, I'll try to be loud and clear about it.


Here's how it went down:


World Series Baseball 2K3 - There were two types of swings in this game, which were contact and power. Contact was a chopped down swing with level balance on both feet. It did not look too beautiful, mainly because of the way that the bat angle actually went down on the plane, and when you would pop it up... well, you know the rest. The power swing, however, is of the best swings that I had ever seen this series produce. They kept their weight back, they went knob to ball with a compact bottom hand and spun their back shoulder around to meet barrell with ball. The problems here with this swing that people had was the over-exaggerated stride beforehand, the fact that there weren't any two-handed swings, the way that the bat made awkward contact with the ball sometimes, and they did not like the home run showoff animations.

ESPN Major League Baseball - Don't know why they felt the need to revise the swings... I guess that people complained too much for God knows why. Pretty much everything changed, here. So, whether you hit for Power or Contact, your swing would be the same. I played on One-Button Swinging, so it didn't matter. The thing with this swing was that there was now a horrible floating front foot with the stride. No longer do they go back anymore, but they seem to have trouble going forward, too. The ball always appears to be hit on the end of the bat unless for a broken bat animation. Now, their bottom hand extends out to the ball, which is not a pretty swing. Also, once they follow-through, they bend at the toe and come forward, with not too much hip-turning action. Nevertheless, the swing and follow-through is the same for both swings and misses, and hits.




Major League Baseball 2K5 -

This is where things decided to totally go wrong. I'm going to first start with the swings and misses. They, for some reason, decided to add swinging animations where the bat will feel too heavy for the player, so the User will have to start their swing much too early. Any pitch that was outside that you would swing and miss, you would normally fall over to the side. For inside pitches, your player will literally become jammed on the pitch and twist away... both of them with very slow bats. The upsides to some of these swings is that they now included one-handed swings, and the strides are a little bit better for the players in the said stance that they're in. Not much, though. They seem to always stride in place. Also, when they stride, they have a strange coil to their bat that most fans probably are not too pleased with.

Now, for the times when they make contact... terrible in almost every way. First of all, one reason some players look so ugly swinging is how upright they are when they actually take their swing. They go from their normal stance to being very upright and narrow. I feel this is due to them making close to what would look like a more normal animation for those high pitches. Here's an idea for you, Kush: LOWER YOUR DAMN STRIKE ZONE, AND A LOT OF THINGS WON'T LOOK AS GOOFY ANYMORE! Even with Low-crouched players... they go a little more upright, and have a very high swing.

Here's the second problem with the swing: Like ESPN MLB, they extend their arms too much. At least they turn their hips at the end, but we all know about that by now. Regardless of how ugly their hip-turn and back foot pivoting is (there is definitely not enough before the start of the swing and during contact), and how much they extend their arms, they come through the zone is if it's a pull-type swing. The problem with this here is that it occurs for every swing... so, with pitches that you hit opposite field, this will look awkward. Now, ready? It still also looks awkward for pitches that you pull, too. Anyone ever notice how they seem to hit too late (barrell facing opposite field), yet the ball decides to be pulled anyway? Looks too ugly.

Finally, the horrendous follow-through. What's so weird about it? I'll list:


- Head pulls way out, regardless of where the hit is. Even if pulled in fair territory, this still looks too awkward.

- Torque in feet, hips, and shoulders seem to actually accelerate after making contact, followed by the tremendous overtwist. They should make contact with their foot already pivoted so that their toe is pointing to the pitcher (with their weight shifted and pressured on their back leg), and with their hips and shoulders squared up, perpendicular to the plane that goes to the pitcher.

- They overkill the way their weight goes forward. It should not shift forward at all during a swing... and frankly, I don't know if it's (physically) possible to do what they do by shifting forward mid-swing like that.

- They break down to a low crouch from what used to be their really upright stance. Again, this can all look better if they don't have to go upright in the first place, meaning if they could just shrink the damn strike zone, this one problem could be solved.

- Their feet glide across ground. Notice how the back foot will slide backward more (it's a PIVOT foot, damnit!), and then swivel closer to the plate. The front foot will also have that clockwise swivel, so that it's pointing down the line. They're wearing cleats to lose all kinetic friction, Kush. They aren't on ice!









I think I've said what needs to be said. Basically, to answer your question, it has been 2 years since the swing has been the same (with MLB 2K5 and MLB 2K6). The fact that they didn't change all of those problems is well beyond me. But, if anybody ever walks in here again expecting that they know more about baseball than me (especially when it comes to fundamentals), then next time take your time to write out breaking down parts of a swing, and all errors in what they are doing in this game. There are so many flaws that I listed out that nobody but I has ever talked about before... they just say "fix the swing animations". You requested it in 2K3, and... hey... they only needed to adjust a few things here or there. The Power swing itself could have been the default, and I would have been very pleased. I suggest you guys take a look at that swing again.

Nice essay. As for your retort regarding taking the time to write out the break down of a swing....I have one word for ya...."Life". You see Blazer, I play these games for fun. If I see something wrong with a game that is going to be released I will call it out. Especially when it is something that has been wrong for a few years now. All people are doing here is commenting on what they see from the videos, good or bad. Yet, for some "obsessed" reason, you tend to take these remarks personally and find it necessary to defend this game that you are without a doubt "loyal" too, with sarcastic remarks.

This leads me to two conclusions:

1) You need to get outside more.

or

2) You work for VC and are frustrated about the negativity you have been hearing about this game.

[Blzer]

Re: POTD 2/14/06

LOL

I get outside plenty. I think the thing is is that my life is baseball, and I pretty much made that my statement 3 years ago, when I said that I would devote my life to baseball (whether it's playing it, watching it, or the video games ). I was just trying to let whomever know that it will only be the second year with the same swing animation.

Is it an obsession? Hell yeah it is! I can't ever get enough of the game.

[ChiTownKid]

Re: POTD 2/14/06

wow this thread is informative.

[mjb2124]

Re: POTD 2/14/06

Guys, back on topic or it's getting locked. Thanks.

[michaeldu]

Re: POTD 2/14/06

Is it play of the day or play of every other week? Can't we get a little bit every day or every other day?

[baa7]

Re: POTD 2/14/06

Can't we get a little bit every day or every other day?

That's what I've always dreamed of, ever since I was 16 or so.

[Blzer]

Re: POTD 2/14/06

Well, they won't update on weekends. Chances are they'll do it again Monday (or they'll have another hands-on preview), and Tuesday they might take off because of BLT.

Basically, this is where all of the media and previews start rolling in. Not only is it 2K and IGN... but it's also GameSpot, Next-Level Gaming, TeamXbox, and 1UP (maybe even more, but I can't think of any off of the top of my head). We'll have plenty to go around.

[Blzer]

Re: POTD 2/14/06

Well, they won't update on weekends. Chances are they'll do it again Monday (or they'll have another hands-on preview), and Tuesday they might take off because of BLT.

Basically, this is where all of the media and previews start rolling in. Not only is it 2K and IGN... but it's also GameSpot, Next-Level Gaming, TeamXbox, and 1UP (maybe even more, but I can't think of any off of the top of my head). We'll have plenty to go around.

Good God my bad, I completely neglected to mention OS for when Steve gets his beta!

[stealyerface]

Re: POTD 2/14/06

Uhh... In the Play of the Day, Sox versus Yanks video, did anyone else see A-Rod take that low, outside slider the other way, flat footed, with an awkward swing, and deposit the ball 480 feet into right field? 480 feet? Has A-Rod even hit a ball 480 feet, let alone going the other way with it? Yeah, okay....

Ted's historic monster blast was 502 to left field, (which incidentally, he pulled) and he got every bit of that ball that could have been had. So A-Rod hits one barely 20 feet shorter, to the opposite field???... Way to go 2K sports. Realism once again prevails. Not.

SYF

[chainsaw4099]

Re: POTD 2/14/06

do we know what level they are playing on?if playing on rookie the power level would be high so the homers could be hit further.i play the world series 2k5 baseball game on all star and i'm not hitting 500 foot homers.

[mjb2124]

Re: POTD 2/14/06

Ted's historic monster blast was 502 to left field, (which incidentally, he pulled) and he got every bit of that ball that could have been had. So A-Rod hits one barely 20 feet shorter, to the opposite field???... Way to go 2K sports. Realism once again prevails. Not.

SYF

Do you mean right field for Ted's historic blast? Obviously he was LH so anything he pulled would go out to RF.

[K_GUN]

Re: POTD 2/14/06

yeah it was RF...there's a red seat out in RF indicating where it landed



sadly....no batter could go the opp way for 480 feet

no realism on that clip

[stealyerface]

Re: POTD 2/14/06

Do you mean right field for Ted's historic blast? Obviously he was LH so anything he pulled would go out to RF.

Yep, you are correct. My mistake.

SYF

[poster]

Re: POTD 2/14/06

I have never played this series, but I get the feeling I will like it if they have cut down on the bugs. I hope I am right.