Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

[jbprice20]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

I turned AI Corner down to 0 and they still hit corners w. Ease. It's definately broken.

Try adjusting the throw-strikes-overall slider or whatever it's called. I have my pitch-to-corner slider at 50 or 55 and my throw-strikes-overall slider at 30. With these settings I still get guys painting the black however I get enough "obvious balls" to work 2 or 3 walks from good pitchers and up to 7 or 8 against scrubs. I orginally had the throw-strikes-overall slider at least at 50 and with the pitch-to-corner slider at 50 or 55, I was just not getting any walks. With the throw-strikes-overall at 25, I was getting too many walks. 30 seems to be a nice number for that slider.

[Garrett67]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

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.)

Try playing the game with Classis hitting and use the left stick as if it is supposed to be Zone Hitting (move stick where ball is pitched), trust me, it is very zone like in how it plays out.

[Blzer]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

Try playing the game with Classis hitting and use the left stick as if it is supposed to be Zone Hitting (move stick where ball is pitched), trust me, it is very zone like in how it plays out.

I've tried, and it's not. I'm sorry, but it can't be compared to Zone hitting in any way, shape, or form.

[baa7]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

Try playing the game with Classis hitting and use the left stick as if it is supposed to be Zone Hitting (move stick where ball is pitched), trust me, it is very zone like in how it plays out.

LOL. There's no zone hitting in the game. Read the game instructions for using classic hitting. Move the stick left, and all your hits will go into left field - doesn't matter if the pitch is inside or outside, a fastball or changeup, or if the batter is a lefty or righty. The stick is only used to influence hit-type - just like the instructions state.

[ProStylez]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

Well a few people said turning pitch speed down to 50 feels more realistic, they also said I will then finally be able to hit homeruns to centerfield.
For some reason I finally can hit homeruns to center with pitch speed at 50 with ease, however 50 is soooo slow I cant take it. I moved it to 55 which is better but I hit the ball way to much now so back to 65 for me I guess.
You can read pitches at 55 but if you have been playing at 65 or higher dont try it because they come in so slow now.

[baa7]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

Well a few people said turning pitch speed down to 50 feels more realistic, they also said I will then finally be able to hit homeruns to centerfield.
For some reason I finally can hit homeruns to center with pitch speed at 50 with ease, however 50 is soooo slow I cant take it. I moved it to 55 which is better but I hit the ball way to much now so back to 65 for me I guess.
You can read pitches at 55 but if you have been playing at 65 or higher dont try it because they come in so slow now.

The HR's are a result of the arcade game programming: the over-the-top player ratings plus the inane 'point-up-for HR's' hitting system. Pitch speed has nothing to do with cutting down on HR's.

I agree with your other pitch speed observations, but that's really just personal preference.

[pberardi]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

Well a few people said turning pitch speed down to 50 feels more realistic, they also said I will then finally be able to hit homeruns to centerfield.
For some reason I finally can hit homeruns to center with pitch speed at 50 with ease, however 50 is soooo slow I cant take it. I moved it to 55 which is better but I hit the ball way to much now so back to 65 for me I guess.
You can read pitches at 55 but if you have been playing at 65 or higher dont try it because they come in so slow now.

Well, I played two games last night with PS @ 50 as people have been raving about. I lowered my contact from 40 to 10 and kept power on zero.

I proceeded to demolish the opposition. I won 15-4 and 10-5. In both games, I hit 5 homers and 6 respectively. I did not have trouble judging and reading pitches at 65 as I walked 6-8x per game and made the cpu throw 145 pitches. Yes, strikeouts are abnormally high, but I think hitting pitches on the black require real skill.

I averaged 9k's and 5-6 BB's with pitch speed at 50. So there doesn't seem to be much difference in K's and BB's at any pitch speed. HR's did not decline.
However, I did see some nice variety of popups on swinging early on changeups.

The difference is, I can catch up to most fastballs @ 50. Where as at 65, I can really look foolish sometimes. The result is a strike. However, with 50, the result is not more fouls or outs but hard hit balls. So now I'm confused.

I will go back up to 60 and keep it there. I need the challenge of a 93mph fastball. Heck, if I'm going to strikeout 9x at 50 and hit 5 HR's, might as well EARN those HR's with a higher pitch speed.

[mjb2124]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

I tried lowering the pitch speed as well to see what some were raving about. It's just not for me.

I've had pitch speed at 75 for a while now and have very few problems with it at this setting. IMO hitting a baseball is very difficult - especially a guy throwing good heat.....hitting a guy mixing up his pitches well is even more difficult. At the higher pitch speeds, I feel this game represents that well. With the lower pitch speed, I don't find myself fooled as often or have any trouble at all hitting a 95+ MPH fastball.

[pberardi]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

The HR's are a result of the arcade game programming: the over-the-top player ratings plus the inane 'point-up-for HR's' hitting system. Pitch speed has nothing to do with cutting down on HR's.

I agree with your other pitch speed observations, but that's really just personal preference.

You are absolutely correct. I played 2 games last night with PS @ 50 and hit 5 and 6 HR's respectively. I used the L stick. I also struckout 9x and walked 5 which is no different than if the PS was @ 65. The only difference is I got 15 hits. I did not have trouble reading pitches at 65. I played the 50PS because people swore the gameplay was vastly improved. I did not.

[baa7]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

I will go back up to 60 and keep it there. I need the challenge of a 93mph fastball. Heck, if I'm going to strikeout 9x at 50 and hit 5 HR's, might as well EARN those HR's with a higher pitch speed.

The ONLY way you're going to cut down on those HR's is if you stop pushing up on the stick when you swing.

And for me, that wasn't enough. Because while you will see less HR's, you still won't see a realistic flyball-to-groundball ratio. There are simply way too many flyballs in the game - something I pointed out with all those vids 2K released in the months leading up to the game's release. And the only way to lower the number of flyballs is to lower players' hitting ratings.

Something you might want to try. Takes a few minutes to edit, but it might be worth your time:

Take your team and lower the hitting ratings of the starting lineup (9 guys, so not too much work). Drop Contact (or whatever it’s called) by 30-50%; drop the power ratings (Power, Doubles, HR’s) by 50%.

Also, take the starting pitcher for the CPU team and drop his pitching ratings by 30-40%.

Now start up a game with you hitting, and keep restarting the game whenever the CPU retires the side. Take note of the fact you will – gasp – actually be able to use the game features that were included with the game! Yes, you’ll be able to use the power swing AND you will need to raise the power slider above 0!!

Also, if you switch controllers and pitch to your team for a while, check out all those groundballs (finally) – realistic-looking baseball, in other words!

[GSW]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

The ONLY way you're going to cut down on those HR's is if you stop pushing up on the stick when you swing.

And for me, that wasn't enough. Because while you will see less HR's, you still won't see a realistic flyball-to-groundball ratio. There are simply way too many flyballs in the game - something I pointed out with all those vids 2K released in the months leading up to the game's release. And the only way to lower the number of flyballs is to lower players' hitting ratings.

Something you might want to try. Takes a few minutes to edit, but it might be worth your time:

Take your team and lower the hitting ratings of the starting lineup (9 guys, so not too much work). Drop Contact (or whatever it’s called) by 30-50%; drop the power ratings (Power, Doubles, HR’s) by 50%.

Also, take the starting pitcher for the CPU team and drop his pitching ratings by 30-40%.

Now start up a game with you hitting, and keep restarting the game whenever the CPU retires the side. Take note of the fact you will – gasp – actually be able to use the game features that were included with the game! Yes, you’ll be able to use the power swing AND you will need to raise the power slider above 0!!

Also, if you switch controllers and pitch to your team for a while, check out all those groundballs (finally) – realistic-looking baseball, in other words!

How do you determine what rating to lower by 30% and what rating goes down 50%

[baa7]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

How do you determine what rating to lower by 30% and what rating goes down 50%

When I do it for real, I check players' stats/splits on ESPN.com. When I test, I just guess-timate.

[GSW]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

When I do it for real, I check players' stats/splits on ESPN.com. When I test, I just guess-timate.

im intrested to know how exactly you do it for real and what numbers you look at...

i want to do this as well and see how the game plays

[baa7]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

im intrested to know how exactly you do it for real and what numbers you look at...

i want to do this as well and see how the game plays

The easiest thing to start with would be to choose a percentage – maybe 30% – and lower all Contact ratings by that amount. Same with HR’s and Power, except they really overrated a lot of players there, and some need their HR and Power ratings lowered by even more. Jeter and Damon are two examples. Also, someone like Delgado needs his HR and Power ratings for versus L lowered way down.

[Trevytrev11]

Re: Reading pitches is starting to really frustrate me!

Baa,
It sounds like this works, but GD that is a lot of work to go team by team and adjust 25 or so offensive players on each team. Your talking 600-700 or so players. Am I correct here? Or are you just adjusting your team and leaving the AI teams alone?