Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

[baa7]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

Last year, I could settle for the swing stick, because there was still some variation (not too many down the lines, though). But when playing 2K7, the swing stick is abysmal for too many reasons, main one being the TV lag.

Like I said before, there's no lag with the swing stick (on the 360), only with button hitting. A number of others have compalined about the same thing since the game came out.

The swing stick is by far the worst programmed hitting interface in the 2K series over the past five years. Seems they've decided to make the hitting as simple as possible, and I have to assume it's to appeal to the online crowd/casual gamer.

[jim416]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

IVe got the game tuned perfectly to my skill and is challenging and yields realistic results game in and game out.

BINGO!!!! THANK YOU!!!

This is a video game that gives "players" the options to tune it to their liking. This is NOT real life. One set of sliders doesn't work for everyone. Dissecting the pitch speed to the plate doesn't help because the only way to "fix" it is with sliders of your choice. If it doesn't work for you, well.....I was playing with the pitch speed at 50 (oh, the horror). With my other settings it works for me.

[michaeldu]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

Hey Jim, what setting do you use for contact? I see alot of sliders with different contact settings, is there a happy medium?

[jim416]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

I'm up in Escondido and won't be home until tomorrow eve. If I recall it's something like 40 contact, 50 power, but I really don't recall. I know I just started playing exhibition games, fooling around with settings until it felt right.

I'm not really playing the game right now, playing The Show (because of roster control), but this game does play a fun game of ball. My point is you just have to adjust to your individual needs and stop trying what other gamers say because you might be a different kind of gamer than them.

I think you just need to give the game some time (it's a long season), fool around with the settings every game and perhaps get your comfort level.

If this game had better (any) roster control I'd be playing it over The Show.

[Maukey]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

I played again at Best Buy today. I tested Pitch Speeds, and I know for a fact that 60 is not close to true speed. Even 85 is slower than true speed.

Anyway, yeah... the T.V. I played on definitely had a quarter-second lag for everything. I think that sort of attributed to one of my framerate issues, thinking that some missing framerates had to do with unresponsive controlling. It definitely is the T.V., though. But that still doesn't explain some other people using an SDTV and saying that there is still little lag, which I hope is fixed for next year. Striking out 14 times a game with the Angels against Kevin Millwood doesn't sound right.


By the way, I found out that I really miss zone and cursor hitting. I don't know what to do to ask for it back, but it would be amazing if they could bring it back again. I tried what people said in the slider thread and just tried to direct the stick at where it was pitched, but swinging down resulted in ground balls, and swinging up resulted in fly balls. Needless to say, pretty much all of my outs that were not strike outs were ground outs, I had 5 hits, and I had a home run (maybe one of the few times that I connected in fair territory while swinging up). I really miss zone and cursor hitting.



But reading pitches was fine. When somebody else was playing before me, though they had the strike zone on, when pitches were coming by, I said in my head whether it was a ball or strike and whether I would have swung or not. I was near 100% right... some I couldn't tell because he made contact, though.

Anyway, I'm sure that pitch speed at 90, 95, or 100 is actual pitch speed. 60 DEFINITELY isn't, though.

Although I do agree with some of what you said, I can't agree with this. 90 to 100 is faster than MLB speed. I'm not going to get into how I know, but through the series of tests that I've run, it's definitely more around 70 to 80 that's the equivalent to the MLB. 90 to 100 is WAY to fast; although hittable with a little guessing and percentage figuring.

But even in that, no matter what speed you use, some pitches will not reach at the timing that it should due to the way 2K programmed pitches with movement. What I mean by this is, a 92mph 2-Seamer will not reach the plate as fast as a 92mph 4-Seamer in this game. I believe that the micro-second difference is due to the fact that the 2-Seamer has movement and the code that has to run in order to create that movement slows the pitch down ever so slightly to account for the break, but that's a whole nother topic.

Anyway, as a few have already stated, what's realistic to one may not be for the other. Just tailor the game to fit your style of play. You simulating your pitch speed to match that of the pros does not make your playin any more sim than someone elses.

Peace

[Arturs32Irbe1]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

I think I'm having basically the same problems--never knowing what to swing at, and the computer getting TONS of calls on the edge of the strike zone. I try to be selective and all of a sudden it's 0-2. It especially drives me nuts because I see everyone complaining about "man this sucks I hit 10 home runs a game no matter what settings I use", and I get nothing like that at all. Even with the sliders jacked heavily in my favor I don't score a lot at all really. I've played 6 games with the Giants and my homer stats are like Aurilia 2 Molina 2 Winn 1 Bonds 1 Roberts 1. I started out with classic swing then tried stick for a while, thought it was a little better, then still didn't get any results and went back to classic.

I would LOVE to win a game 20-0 with 10 home runs just to prove to myself that it can happen. Then I could move on to wondering why the computer can never score even though I keep jacking up its own hitting sliders.

[Blzer]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

I think I'm having basically the same problems--never knowing what to swing at, and the computer getting TONS of calls on the edge of the strike zone. I try to be selective and all of a sudden it's 0-2. It especially drives me nuts because I see everyone complaining about "man this sucks I hit 10 home runs a game no matter what settings I use", and I get nothing like that at all. Even with the sliders jacked heavily in my favor I don't score a lot at all really. I've played 6 games with the Giants and my homer stats are like Aurilia 2 Molina 2 Winn 1 Bonds 1 Roberts 1. I started out with classic swing then tried stick for a while, thought it was a little better, then still didn't get any results and went back to classic.

I would LOVE to win a game 20-0 with 10 home runs just to prove to myself that it can happen. Then I could move on to wondering why the computer can never score even though I keep jacking up its own hitting sliders.

Just for the record, through 10 games the Giants only have 4 home runs (Bonds having three of them).

[ac11367]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

One thing I hate the most is that even though I've correctly read a curveball as it breaks downward, and I reacted by pressing down while swinging, I still cannot foul it off to stay alive. They need to incorporate zone hitting in this game. I need to have a fighting chance with 2 strikes. Give me a little contact even if the pitch is half a foot outside of the strike zone, given that I press the stick toward the direction of the pitch. Vlad Guerrero makes a living out of swinging at everything.

[GSW]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

for whatever its worth...

I find that my gameplay experience is more pleasurable with pitch speed at 35...

and NO it doesnt make the game easier... you guys should try it before assuming it will be too slow... because its not too slow. its perfect, and hit variety and k's are perfect as well.

Ive also noticed homeruns have been toned down significantly.

[pberardi]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

for whatever its worth...

I find that my gameplay experience is more pleasurable with pitch speed at 35...

and NO it doesnt make the game easier... you guys should try it before assuming it will be too slow... because its not too slow. its perfect, and hit variety and k's are perfect as well.

Ive also noticed homeruns have been toned down significantly.

You guys that support this lower pitch speed as the answer to all our hitting problems never answer the basic questions.

Are you cutting down on strikeouts? If so, what are you experiencing.
Are you able to draw walks? A decent amount? Its hard to draw walks at slower pitch speeds.

Are you able to fight off pitches off the black to stay alive as the poster above eluded to?

If these problems aren't articulated by the proponents of slower pitch speed then why should we bother?

***Watching a real baseball game makes one realize that baseballs reach the plate as lightning speed. If you want a true baseball sim then how does slower pitch speed reflect true life baseball.

[GSW]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

You guys that support this lower pitch speed as the answer to all our hitting problems never answer the basic questions.

Are you cutting down on strikeouts? If so, what are you experiencing.
Are you able to draw walks? A decent amount? Its hard to draw walks at slower pitch speeds.

Are you able to fight off pitches off the black to stay alive as the poster above eluded to?

If these problems aren't articulated by the proponents of slower pitch speed then why should we bother?

***Watching a real baseball game makes one realize that baseballs reach the plate as lightning speed. If you want a true baseball sim then how does slower pitch speed reflect true life baseball.

Well the first two questions will differ from person to person...

I myself have horrible plate dicipline, so my k's are high, im getting better though... The pitch speed honestly isnt the problem regards to that issue IMO

i beleive if you raise contact to 30-35 foul balls will be more prevelant.
but like i said my discipline is horrible.

the fact of the matter is i just finished 2 games where i didnt hit a home run whatsoever. when my speed was 80,90,100 i was hitting jacks alll game

I was making contact at 35, being fooled on off speed pitches and breaking balls. I was also able to see the ball better, not just swinging at strikes because they are close...

to why you should bother?? i dont know man... trying a few games at pitch speed 35 sure beats complaining on a message board that the game is flawed, when suggestions are being offered, (especially when more then 10 people are experiencing succsess with the changes)

for the record, i too thought 35 would be way to slow, but beleive me man you will love it...

off to play another game...

[ac11367]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

***Watching a real baseball game makes one realize that baseballs reach the plate as lightning speed. If you want a true baseball sim then how does slower pitch speed reflect true life baseball.

Slower pitch speed will reflect a more sim-like stat line when it's all said and done. But the experience is just not the same (at least for me) because a good part of hitting is about how to handle a 90+mph fastball while trying not to get fooled by other pitches. And with no zone hitting, I still cannot hit a curveball below the strike zone unless maybe I have the left stick pressed down before the pitch is made. Let's reiterate the obvious, this game, out of the box, does not provide a very balanced baseball experience. (But neither did High Heat 2004, with pitch speed needed massive increasing. But at least it doesn't take a scientist to turn that game into the sim king that it is.)

[ehh]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

I played six games over the weekend with pitch speed at 50, man what a difference! 2K7 finally feels like a real baseball game when I'm hitting.

[pberardi]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

Well the first two questions will differ from person to person...

I myself have horrible plate dicipline, so my k's are high, im getting better though... The pitch speed honestly isnt the problem regards to that issue IMO

i beleive if you raise contact to 30-35 foul balls will be more prevelant.
but like i said my discipline is horrible.

the fact of the matter is i just finished 2 games where i didnt hit a home run whatsoever. when my speed was 80,90,100 i was hitting jacks alll game

I was making contact at 35, being fooled on off speed pitches and breaking balls. I was also able to see the ball better, not just swinging at strikes because they are close...

to why you should bother?? i dont know man... trying a few games at pitch speed 35 sure beats complaining on a message board that the game is flawed, when suggestions are being offered, (especially when more then 10 people are experiencing succsess with the changes)

for the record, i too thought 35 would be way to slow, but beleive me man you will love it...

off to play another game...

Thanks I will give it a try. There seems to be a consensus that the HR issue is solved. My hope is that strikeouts are reduced which I strongly believe is not a user problem. Too many people on the boards are admitting to striking out too much and due to no zone hitting, you simply can't make contact on pitches off the black. All I want is to experience poor, bad and good contact. This game seems to have good contact or no contact.

[BagMan]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

A big help for me reading pitches was to back off on the batter's zoom. I used to zoom 100%, but it is clear that the less zoom you use, the better read you can get on balls and strikes. I prefer my pitch speed at 50-60. I get a couple of walks a game (more if I'm patient) and I generally try to go deep into the count to get the pitcher fatigued quicker.