Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

[pberardi]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

[quote=ehh;3054425]Regardless of if I'm using the swing stick or classic hitting, I feel like I can't get a feel for the CPU pitching at all in this game. I've probably played about 30 games since this came out, I'm still tweaking stuff and getting ready to start my franchise.


I have pitch speed at 65 and I can read many pitches without a problem.

Yes the CPU paints the black alot and yes strikeouts are an issue with this game but I also walk a tremendous amount (6-8x per game).

The CPU throws about 56% of its pitches as strikes and 44% as balls. This seems very reasonable to me. I have the "throw strike" slider at 35.

I've played enough games to sense some consistency throughout in certain situations. The CPU loves to throw sliders away for balls.

Here's my approach. Take the 1st strike. Do not swing at anything that does not come in straight. In other words, look for fastball. You will get some hanging breaking balls and offspeed pitches that hang and look like fastballs so believe me, you will connect with them.

If you have a 3-2 count and the cpu pitches you outside, chances are its a ball low and off the black. Refrain from swinging.

If its inside, swing.

At 65 I can read sliders, 2 seamers, curves and average changeups. I layoff all of them unless they hang. This is because they are ususally balls not strikes. I look fastball and that's it. Watch a MLB game and you will see most hitters layoff breaking stuff and look fastball anyway.

[pberardi]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

Pitches break exactly the same on 100 pitch speed. What are you talking about?

The fact is, the pitch speed at 100 in 2K7 is a lot slower than 2K5 was, and much slower than The Show. I have no trouble playing with pitch speed at 100 in either of those games. The issue with 2K7 is the game isn't programmed properly. And anytime you have to disable features to get a game to play properly - like not pushing up on the swing stick, or reducing pitch speed to 50 to see pitches properly - it's a programming issue.

Yes, but you're leaving out the fact that the pitcher appears to be alot closer than MLB. This makes reaction time tough at any speed.

[TheProfessional]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

Things def get heating sometimes on here, so it's good to remember that no one's opinion is right and people shouldn't try and force their opinion on other's as fact.

That being said, I'm glad you made these recommendations because the last 2-3 days I hadn't been having any fun w. 2k7 because the hitting was awful. I was literally reviewing the count and situation, then making up my mind before the pitcher through the ball if I was going to swing or not. That's not how baseball should be played.

I'm going to start by going down to 50 and see how it goes from there.

"Hitting was awful"

Exactly why i decided to take a completely different approach to batting in this game. Not sure if you read the long rambling preface to my settings. But the reason i went even lower than 50 (my setting is 35) was not to mimic real life pitch speeds but to mimic the pitch speed that was found in High Heat.

I've made it abundantly clear that i have always thought that High Heat was the pinnacle of realistic video game baseball. And that gamed proved to all everyone that you don't need "real life" pitch speeds to have "real life" baseball.

I firmly believe that once people get past their negative perception of lower pitch speeds they'll see that the batting interface can be so much better than just timing accompanied by left analog influence of ground balls and fly balls.

I've actually found that the use of left analog stick is more similar to "Zone Hitting" than anything else. And just adds a whole new level "realism" to the game.

[Garrett67]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

Also wanted to point out that i'm not saying that my way of playing the game is "right" or more "realistic" than anyone else's. These are just opinions and cannot be republished or rebroadcast without the expressed written consent of TheProfessional.
I'm also just saying, i think realism and real life are not always the same. And that for some, that line is being blurred. Partly because the game "looks" like friggin real life now due to the outstanding graphics so we want it be real life. And we're all falling into the trap of thinking there's only one way to accomplish something.

Dork LOL

Anyway, same here. I just do what works for me.. TheProfessionals slow pitch speed works GREAT but I had to go back up to 60 because the slower speed made it impossible to play friends online.

[TheProfessional]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

Dork LOL

Anyway, same here. I just do what works for me.. TheProfessionals slow pitch speed works GREAT but I had to go back up to 60 because the slower speed made it impossible to play friends online.

Hey i thought if it works for Major League Baseball, having a disclaimer of my own couldn't hurt...

[DirrtySouth78]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

I would like them to add the "Hitters Eye" from MVP with the different colors representing different pitches...and I think pitchers should not paint the corners ar much as they do in this game...Although I hate when you get a meatball and get ready to crush it only to swing waay to early on a change or 1206 curve..thats frustrating as hell to me anyways

[ehh]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

I snuck in a half inning this morning before work with pitch speed at 50, HUGE difference. I can't wait til tonight when I can play a whole game.

[brrmikey]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

I snuck in a half inning this morning before work with pitch speed at 50, HUGE difference. I can't wait til tonight when I can play a whole game.

i hear ya...i just changed from 70 to 55...i was worried about the lack of k's and uber amounts of hr's. neither is the case. i'm starting to think that it's acutally harder to hit home runs with this slower pitch speed (i'm using classic hitting and zoom on pitch settings)

[Chitown1211]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

i hear ya...i just changed from 70 to 55...i was worried about the lack of k's and uber amounts of hr's. neither is the case. i'm starting to think that it's acutally harder to hit home runs with this slower pitch speed (i'm using classic hitting and zoom on pitch settings)

EXACTLY. Thats the point I was trying to make to people. Lowering the pitch speed makes the slow breaking stuff way more effective. I strike out just as much as I did with speed up at 75. Difference is with speed at 50ish it feels more real. Meaning you are swinging and missing because you are getting fooled. Not because you swung at a pitch 2 feet out of the strike zone becuase it was coming in at 150mph and you have no time to determine if its a ball or strike.

It really makes the hitting interface 10 times better.

[Garrett67]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

EXACTLY. Thats the point I was trying to make to people. Lowering the pitch speed makes the slow breaking stuff way more effective. I strike out just as much as I did with speed up at 75. Difference is with speed at 50ish it feels more real. Meaning you are swinging and missing because you are getting fooled. Not because you swung at a pitch 2 feet out of the strike zone becuase it was coming in at 150mph and you have no time to determine if its a ball or strike.It really makes the hitting interface 10 times better.

Bingo!
I am glad someone gets it.

[TheProfessional]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

EXACTLY. Thats the point I was trying to make to people. Lowering the pitch speed makes the slow breaking stuff way more effective. I strike out just as much as I did with speed up at 75. Difference is with speed at 50ish it feels more real. Meaning you are swinging and missing because you are getting fooled. Not because you swung at a pitch 2 feet out of the strike zone becuase it was coming in at 150mph and you have no time to determine if its a ball or strike.

It really makes the hitting interface 10 times better.

I've been trying to get people to understand that for weeks now...

[Blzer]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

EXACTLY. Thats the point I was trying to make to people. Lowering the pitch speed makes the slow breaking stuff way more effective. I strike out just as much as I did with speed up at 75. Difference is with speed at 50ish it feels more real. Meaning you are swinging and missing because you are getting fooled. Not because you swung at a pitch 2 feet out of the strike zone becuase it was coming in at 150mph and you have no time to determine if its a ball or strike.

It really makes the hitting interface 10 times better.

But I've never once had to make this adjustment before. Not with ASB 2002, WSB 2K3, ASB 2003, ESPN MLB, MLB 2K5, MVP 2005, MVP 06 NCAA Baseball, MLB '06: The Show, or MLB 2K6. That's as far back as I can remember where there was some form of portrayal with MLB-like pitch speeds, or a slider to max out pitch speeds. This game, only because of the poor response I had on my swings, made hitting at pitch speeds above 70 terrible for me. And believe me, I'm very able to determine balls and strikes with pitch speeds at 100. The pitch speed is not the issue that I have had, and I'm still confused what problem some people are having with pitch speeds if they've had no trouble with max pitch speeds in other games (and the problem is not an unresponsive swinging command).

[Chitown1211]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

But I've never once had to make this adjustment before. Not with ASB 2002, WSB 2K3, ASB 2003, ESPN MLB, MLB 2K5, MVP 2005, MVP 06 NCAA Baseball, MLB '06: The Show, or MLB 2K6. That's as far back as I can remember where there was some form of portrayal with MLB-like pitch speeds, or a slider to max out pitch speeds. This game, only because of the poor response I had on my swings, made hitting at pitch speeds above 70 terrible for me. And believe me, I'm very able to determine balls and strikes with pitch speeds at 100. The pitch speed is not the issue that I have had, and I'm still confused what problem some people are having with pitch speeds if they've had no trouble with max pitch speeds in other games (and the problem is not an unresponsive swinging command).

I think the lag your expieriencing is due to the fact that you have speed at 100. Thats like warp speed. Litteraly to hit a 95 MPH fastball with pitch speed at 100 you need to press the swing button before the pitcher even realeases darn near.

I dont get why your comparing other games sliders to this ? What does a slider in MLB or MVP have to do with MLB2K7 ? Its like I told someone earlier. Your pre-determining what you want a slider to be set at regardless if its needed or not.

[TheProfessional]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

Your pre-determining what you want a slider to be set at regardless if its needed or not.

This is something is see happen a lot. Not just with this game, but any game. They have a certain idea of how a game should be or how a game should play and anything that deviates from that isn't "right".

[Blzer]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

I think the lag your expieriencing is due to the fact that you have speed at 100. Thats like warp speed. Litteraly to hit a 95 MPH fastball with pitch speed at 100 you need to press the swing button before the pitcher even realeases darn near.

I dont get why your comparing other games sliders to this ? What does a slider in MLB or MVP have to do with MLB2K7 ? Its like I told someone earlier. Your pre-determining what you want a slider to be set at regardless if its needed or not.

I think what I'm telling you is that the max speed in every other game (which could very well be just as fast if not faster than in this game... I know that 2K5 was) was not one bit of a problem for me at all. I could take balls that were merely inches off of the plate, aim where the ball was being pitched, read curveballs, etc. As a matter of fact, I can do it with this game as well. Like I said, the problem is the lag. In any other game, I would press the swing button, and the guy would swing instinctively. In this game, I would press the swing button, and there would be about a quarter-second delay. That's the problem. The delay occurs with all pitch speeds.

Like I said earlier in the thread:

I've probably never struck out more than 10 or 12 times in a baseball game before, and when I'm striking out 17 times with the Red Sox my first time (pretty much all on late swings and not quite being able to determine when a pitch is a ball or strike with time to swing), then I know there is a problem.

I never felt so embarrassed playing a video game with all of these people behind me saying that I suck and such, because no matter what the pitch speed is at, I have to swing a quarter-second earlier than the ball when crossing the plate.

I have faced 93 MPH [tops] in real life, and I have turned on an inside fastball before. It is very quick and could not be done by somebody just getting into baseball or that's exceptionally good. I'm not saying that I am the king of swing, but I am saying that I do know what it feels like, and it's one of the toughest things in the world. But, I do know for a fact that I am not starting my swing when the ball leaves the pitcher's hand. When you play baseball for a long time, when the ball leaves the pitcher's hand, everything seems to go into slow motion. I don't have to start my swing for a long time, I can let the ball get deep. Not only that, but when I decide that I want to swing, I don't take a quarter-second delay... I swing instantly.


The problem is that I have been baseball gaming for 10 years, and never have I had this problem. It's not me, it's the game. I could revert back to 2K5 or 2K6 which has pitch speeds just as quick as this game, and I would be just fine. If 2K8 addresses the lag that I had to experience, then I won't be posting in this thread.