MLB 2K8 Wishlist

[ComfortablyLomb]

Re: MLB 2K8 Wishlist

I mentioned this in another post, but wouldn't it enhance pitching so much if they just offered an option to make the ball icon disappear?
MVP had something like this and it made pitching feel much more realistic, so you could only pitch to zones and not paint exactly on the corner unless you knew what you were doing.

This option is NEEDED.

[Lisa_Bonami]

Re: MLB 2K8 Wishlist

Ok folks, Im going to base some of my observations on what needs to be improved in MLB 2K8 just based on the MLB 2K7 DEMO that I recently downloaded. So these areas of concern are just based on the actual physical gameplay, control and feel of the game.

I think 2K needs to really buckle down for next years version of 2K8 and tighten the core gameplay, control, and fluidity. Very similar to the way the EA team worked on Madden 08 to address that laggish and sluggish feeling from their 06 and 07 versions.

MLB 2K has struggled for many years with their baseball game. It has been the black sheep of the family struggling to keep up with the stellar reputations of their NFL 2K, NBA 2K and NHL 2K siblings ( not to mention the fantastic College Hoops series )

With each year of MLB 2K, the game has come closer and closer but still cant hit the mark. The demo of MLB 2K7 seems to have such promising visuals and interaction that sucks you into the world of baseball and all of its nuances but its on the field that game completely falls apart. It seems as if the 2K team has taken so much time to painstakenly replicate the visual motion capturing of the real movements that they totally forget how to smoothly intergrate it with the controls and gameplay. It seems as if the game is an endless array of directing a series of motion capture sequences that never really gives the player that instantaneous tight control of the action. To make matters worse, the game seems to emply dozens of cinematic camera angles that covers the action as it unfolds making the player feel as if he is actually watching a movie rather than playing the game.

I love the direction this game is headed...with the pitching ratings going up and down as you play based on your effectiveness at throwing them. I love the Inside Pitch stuff. I love the commentary. But the actual gameplay needs work.

FIx basics....add some more sounds, like the popping sound of the mitt as the first basemen catches a bullet from the shortstop, or snares a line drive out of mid air.

Give the players a feeling of weight and momentum rather than this floaty laggy feel to the movements.

Add some old school adjustable fielding camera angles that give the player that zoomed back ariel, slightly top down view of the entire field when the ball is hit in play.

Add more signature windups, stances, fielding animations....and make them tight and smooth.

Tweek the framerates!....If feels as this game drops down to 15 FPS on my 360 Elite at certain times during the action.

I cant help to say this but, 2K should take some examples from both EA's exceptional NCAA Baseball game and Sony's incredibly smooth and fluid, MLB the SHOW to see how to really give responsive, playable control to back to the player and still make a very sim like baseball game.


Please 2K....make a better game in 2K8 that is all around more playable

[Artman22]

Re: MLB 2K8 Wishlist

Ok folks, Im going to base some of my observations on what needs to be improved in MLB 2K8 just based on the MLB 2K7 DEMO that I recently downloaded. So these areas of concern are just based on the actual physical gameplay, control and feel of the game.

I think 2K needs to really buckle down for next years version of 2K8 and tighten the core gameplay, control, and fluidity. Very similar to the way the EA team worked on Madden 08 to address that laggish and sluggish feeling from their 06 and 07 versions.

MLB 2K has struggled for many years with their baseball game. It has been the black sheep of the family struggling to keep up with the stellar reputations of their NFL 2K, NBA 2K and NHL 2K siblings ( not to mention the fantastic College Hoops series )

With each year of MLB 2K, the game has come closer and closer but still cant hit the mark. The demo of MLB 2K7 seems to have such promising visuals and interaction that sucks you into the world of baseball and all of its nuances but its on the field that game completely falls apart. It seems as if the 2K team has taken so much time to painstakenly replicate the visual motion capturing of the real movements that they totally forget how to smoothly intergrate it with the controls and gameplay. It seems as if the game is an endless array of directing a series of motion capture sequences that never really gives the player that instantaneous tight control of the action. To make matters worse, the game seems to emply dozens of cinematic camera angles that covers the action as it unfolds making the player feel as if he is actually watching a movie rather than playing the game.

I love the direction this game is headed...with the pitching ratings going up and down as you play based on your effectiveness at throwing them. I love the Inside Pitch stuff. I love the commentary. But the actual gameplay needs work.

FIx basics....add some more sounds, like the popping sound of the mitt as the first basemen catches a bullet from the shortstop, or snares a line drive out of mid air.

Give the players a feeling of weight and momentum rather than this floaty laggy feel to the movements.

Add some old school adjustable fielding camera angles that give the player that zoomed back ariel, slightly top down view of the entire field when the ball is hit in play.

Add more signature windups, stances, fielding animations....and make them tight and smooth.

Tweek the framerates!....If feels as this game drops down to 15 FPS on my 360 Elite at certain times during the action.

I cant help to say this but, 2K should take some examples from both EA's exceptional NCAA Baseball game and Sony's incredibly smooth and fluid, MLB the SHOW to see how to really give responsive, playable control to back to the player and still make a very sim like baseball game.


Please 2K....make a better game in 2K8 that is all around more playable

U need to actually play the game insted of the demo. The game is much better and there's another camera angle given to you.

[DannyMac910]

Re: MLB 2K8 Wishlist

I wish that you could play half a season and at the All Star Game, the players who make the All Star Team wear their respected Teams Uniforms and not all the same thing. Come on 2K Sports, make it happen and don't tell me that would be to tough because they did it one year on Sega Genisus.

ive wanted this sooooooooo bad

[mrmonkeymark]

Re: MLB 2K8 Wishlist

- Fix the sound of the ball when it hits the bat!!! Make it sound real.... none of this fire cracker/ bull whip stuff!

- Fix the ball physics.... the baseball shouldn't float at all... when pitching the ball should zip right in there.... when fielding, no more lob balls....

- Fix the fielding animations... players throw funny when they are on the run... lots of time the fielders jump when they throw, when they shouldn't... things like this.

- Fix the swing animations, more realistic follow-throughs....

- There should be more foul balls and hit types... balls should foul straight back, or just get a piece of it more often.

- More dynamic weather... clouds that roll over and block the sun for a moment, causing a shadow, but then passing.

- Better crowd sound... louder in tighter situations... More sound in playoff games.

- Overall, more fluid player movements, some things seem a little herky-jerky.

- Homeruns that bounce off of seats or other objects.

- Get rid of outfielders that get back on the ball so fast and scale the wall to make web gem catches like 5 times a game!

- Have the flags move depending on the wind. If the wind is blowing out, the flags should be blowing out. Have the flags stop moving when the wind dies down, and pick up subtley when the wind picks up.

- Fix pitching deliveries... make greg maddux look like it's greg maddux, he has a slower more fluid windup and release... too herky-jerky in 2k7

- Watch a real game of baseball, then notice what is different in the video game and keep fixing the mistakes that are in the video game!

- These are just a few that I can think of right now.

[djep]

Re: MLB 2K8 Wishlist

1) Make the ball marker more visible in the outfields. It is way too difficult on line drives to the outfield to find the marker.

2) Tighten up the controls of the fielders. The responsiveness is not there so fielding isn't as much fun as it is in other baseball games.

3) How can something as basic as Hits Allowed be missing from the pitchers' player cards?

4) Tone down the home runs. You've already got The Bigs for the casual market. Get the simulation aspects of the game right for us hardcore baseball fans so we don't have to spend a month tweaking and editing things you should've gotten right in the first place.

5) Fix the franchise freezes. I don't want to make the playoffs and not be able to play any playoff games.

6) Give us the option to control every team. Some people (like me) play just one season in a baseball game and would love to be able to mimic the real life roster moves.

7) Better swing animations. MVP had animations for hitters when pulling the ball opening up their hips earlier and staying closed when going the other way. Hitters seem to have the same swing now no matter which way there are going with the ball unless they hit a HR bomb.

8) Practice swings for batters.

9) More gameplay camera options in the field.

10) MVP had a great system for breaking up double plays. There are too many DP's in 2K7, even when the runner coming into 2nd base is right there.

11) Crowd sounds for home runs. No more dead silence after a home run. The most exciting play in the game and the crowd reacts to it like a foul ball.

12) Give us some camera options on user-intiated replays. Broadcast, 1st base dugout, Behind the Pitcher, etc. The free camera should be just one of the options.

13) More variety and better sounds for batted balls.

14) Tweak AI managers so they don't pull their starters as quickly.

15) Save boxscores for every single game for the season. There's a HD - use it. I can't even go back and see which pitcher won a game played just 2 weeks earlier.

16) Most playoff games are played at night time. MVP had the same problem of playoff games being in the daytime. Does Brinkman really think all playoff games are day games? He worked on MVP too, right?

[ehh]

Re: MLB 2K8 Wishlist

1) Make the ball marker more visible in the outfields. It is way too difficult on line drives to the outfield to find the marker.

I don't have a problem w. this, but I could see how certain people do.

2) Tighten up the controls of the fielders. The responsiveness is not there so fielding isn't as much fun as it is in other baseball games.

Definitely.

3) How can something as basic as Hits Allowed be missing from the pitchers' player cards?

I hadn't even noticed this, but it should definitely be added.

4) Tone down the home runs. You've already got The Bigs for the casual market. Get the simulation aspects of the game right for us hardcore baseball fans so we don't have to spend a month tweaking and editing things you should've gotten right in the first place.

Definitely.

5) Fix the franchise freezes. I don't want to make the playoffs and not be able to play any playoff games.

I hadn't seen this.

6) Give us the option to control every team. Some people (like me) play just one season in a baseball game and would love to be able to mimic the real life roster moves.

Definitely.

7) Better swing animations. MVP had animations for hitters when pulling the ball opening up their hips earlier and staying closed when going the other way. Hitters seem to have the same swing now no matter which way there are going with the ball unless they hit a HR bomb.

This needs to be cleaned up a little more. Two years ago the swing animation was the worst ever in a baseball game, IMO. Brinkman got it right in MVP, it'll only be a matter of time until it's a thing of beauty in 2K.

8) Practice swings for batters.

This was probably my favorite part of 2K games of the past. It definitely helps w. my timing.

9) More gameplay camera options in the field.

The more the merrier obviously, but the two cameras they have now are fine with me.

10) MVP had a great system for breaking up double plays. There are too many DP's in 2K7, even when the runner coming into 2nd base is right there.

I think Brinkman will get this right as well, there just wasn't time to get it into 2K7.

11) Crowd sounds for home runs. No more dead silence after a home run. The most exciting play in the game and the crowd reacts to it like a foul ball.

This is a problem in every baseball game, I'm waiting for someone to get it right.

12) Give us some camera options on user-intiated replays. Broadcast, 1st base dugout, Behind the Pitcher, etc. The free camera should be just one of the options.

This will come in time I assume.

13) More variety and better sounds for batted balls.

This is a biggie. I look at so many replays where the pitch actually goes through my bat. Foul balls are needed!

14) Tweak AI managers so they don't pull their starters as quickly.

At the same time, some aces last way too long. I've had Roy Halladay pitch until he had 9% left!

15) Save boxscores for every single game for the season. There's a HD - use it. I can't even go back and see which pitcher won a game played just 2 weeks earlier.

This helps you become immersed in a franchise, it's a great feature to have but not imperative.

16) Most playoff games are played at night time. MVP had the same problem of playoff games being in the daytime. Does Brinkman really think all playoff games are day games? He worked on MVP too, right?

At least in MVP you could edit if it was a day or night game, hopefully that gets added to 2K.

[ac11367]

Re: MLB 2K8 Wishlist

I mentioned this in another post, but wouldn't it enhance pitching so much if they just offered an option to make the ball icon disappear?
MVP had something like this and it made pitching feel much more realistic, so you could only pitch to zones and not paint exactly on the corner unless you knew what you were doing.

I have the pitch icon turned off when I play MLB The Show series. It was very realistic. But it'd only work when you have rumble feedback like the 360 and PS2 controllers. For PS3's, lack of controller rumble would be a problem, since you get no feedback when you're aiming toward the borderlines.

[Trevytrev11]

Re: MLB 2K8 Wishlist

My long list of "little things" originally posted on the 2K boards:

1) Passed Balls: The only time I ever see a passed ball is when it is thrown over the catchers head or way off to the side. Most passed balls in baseball are balls that are thrown in the dirt that get passed the catcher. In this game, most balls in the dirt are scopped up way to easily. I'd like to see balls in the dirt, bounce, skip and riccochet off of the catcher, especially when it is the hitter is swinging at a third strike. Most of the time it should be in the proximity of the catcher, but occasionally, once should get a way. If anything it would add a little excitement every now and then.

2a) Around the horn: I like how after an out with no runners on base, the first baseman throws the ball to the SS. But then the SS just sits there. Show the players fire the ball around like they do in real life. Sometimes they do it quickly and other times, they take a little time, but at least finish the sequence. What is the SS doing with the ball anyway, putting it in his back pocket?

2b) To add to this, let the user control the ball all of the time, even when the ball is dead or an out has been made. I'd rather throw the ball around then have the computer automatically do it. Have a button that throws the ball to the pitcher.

3a) Let the user control under hand/over hand throws. Nothing kills a double play like watching my SS wind up and to throw the ball to my second baseman who is 5 feet away or seeing my first baseman throw a fastball to my pitcher covering first. Have a shoulder button be used as a modifier to let the user decide to make an overhand throw or an underhand (or even glove) toss.

3b) Use that same modifier for all throws. Sometimes, I want to take my time or lob the ball other times I need a quick release. Let me dictate which type of throw I make. It seems once every game or two, I give up a hit because my fielder goes into an unnecessary animation that takes up time that costs me an out...imagine losing a no-hitter or perfect game due to this!

4a)Errors: Routing flyballs being dropped are rare. They are rare at the highschool and college level and more so at the MLB level. I should never see a gold glove outfielder drop a flyball that he is directly under (unless there is some sort of sun problem, but that is a different story).

4b) More Groundball errors. Also, include the occasional (and I do mean occasional) bad hop. Infielders get more opportunities and make more errors than outfielders so lets see some more GB errors.

4c) throwing errors from infielders and lack of throwing errors from outfielders. Somehow my 3rd baseman makes a bad throw every game or three, but my OF can throw a laser to the plate from the OF. Fix this. Also, include throws in the dirt that can and cannot be scooped up by the first baseman.

5) Show some big league emotion. Throw gloves, yelling at the umpire, talking to eachother on the field, stepping out to get signs, talking trash to eachother.

6) Double play take out slides. What's the point of having the SS jump out of the way when the guy will slide right threw him anyway. There needs to be occasional contact. Don't over do it like they did in MVP where every third DP was broken up by the runner.

7) Have hitters actually watch the direction their HR went. Nothing worse than seeing Frank Thomas hit a bomb to right center and have him watch it like it's going to left.

8) Get the celebrations right. Why is my team celebrating after a randome complete game in the middle of May? And why aren't they celebrating after a walk off HR?

9) It's very, very , very hard to hit an inside pitch for an opposite field HR. Damn near impossible.

10) Pitchers in the bull pen should not tire faster than pitchers in the game. We don't have the option to tell them to get warmed up and stay warm, so don't go crazy by taking their stamina because they were in the pen for a full inning. Most guys are smart enough to get warm and then continue to play catch just to stay warm. A guy should be able to be "up" in the pen for two or three innings without getting tired.

11) Use realistic All Star Game AI. pitchers should pitch 1-2 innings max and most players should get in the game.

12) A player should not complain about playing time when he comes off the DL. The reason he wasn't playing is because he was injured.

13) If a guy gets a curtain call, the crowd should be going absolutely nuts.

14) Let the user pick the computer controlled teams uniforms in a season. If we don't, we won't be able to see all of the great uniforms that were included in the game.

15) Shorter dialouge is better. Miller cuts of Morgan's stories every time due to action on the field, so skip the long stories.

16) Lower the strike zone. I know the rules say mid chest to knee's, but in reality it's maybe (and I do mean maybe) from the top of the belt to the knee area (some call the bottom and some call the top).

17) It'd be nice to get 3, 4 or 5 warmups with a new pitcher. It's hard going from a guy who's meter is super fast to a new guys whose is super slow. I think the reason my bullpen gets hit so hard is that I usually miss my first 2 or 3 pitches as I readjust to the slow moving meters.

18) Catchers should never call anything but a fastball in the top half of the strike zone. It never happens in MLB (see next reason).

19) Pitches in the top of the zone need to flatten out. Pitchers don't throw curves, sliders, splitters up in the zone because they flatten out and don't break as sharp. Pitches up in the zone should be very hittable.

20) Don't make slides at the plate random. I press up, I collide with the catcher. I press up, I slide head first. I press up, I hook slide around the bag.

21) Only use the red arrow on HR's that are no-doubters. If the ball is within 10-20 feet of the fence, give me some hope.

22) Either assign, dive and jump to different buttons or map them better to the stick. Up should always be jump and right or left should always be dive and I guess down should always be slide. I hate it when i run back to the fence and press up to jump and my guy dives into the wall....stupid.

23) Don't let a single press of a button control two players...If I dive with my SS and the ball goes past and I am instantly switched to my CF, he should not also dive.

24) Why is it when I call off a ball, the other fielder runs faster toward the ball then when I don't call it.

25) Enough with the super fielders. It takes an extroirdinarry fielder to field a ball on the run and make a throw in one motion, but everyone in the game can do it...especially pitchers. It's damn near impossible to bunt for a hit because any pitcher can get a ball by the thirdbase line and jump and throw or throw on the run underhand and hit the firstbaseman in the chest every time. This is rediculous.

26) More foul outs. I think I've had one or two foul balls caught by my catcher. i should see one every game or two. And the same goes for balls just off of the third or first baseline.

27) Give the user the ability to throw from his knees or not. Hit the stick to dive. Hit it again to get up. Sometimes, I have the time to get up and make a strong throw.

28) Adjust the swing stick to allow check swings. If you must have a normal and power swing, use a shoulder button to modify the swing and then use the same motion (back to front) to swing the bat. This will allow hitters to check every swing, which they should be able to do. In the current game, the slightest move forward commits a full swing. Instead, the swing should be mapped to the stick. A full press forward, is a full swing, a half press is a check swing. A little press is just a start of a swing...The bottom line is that a hitter should be able to attempt a check swing anytime it wants. It takes no skill for a hitter to start and stop his swing.

29) Fix meter/icon colors. In certain parks, it is impossible to pitch because the pitching icon is the same color as the background. Also, the light blue icon for fielding is sometimes too close to the gree grass. Use an orange or something that sticks out.

30) Let players run into dugouts. Instead of that imaginary wall, let a user who gets too close to the dugout go inside if wants to catch a ball.

31) Let the user throw the ball to the pitcher to kill the action. Sometimes I try to run, but the game has decided that the play is over. Like in real baseball, have the fielder return the ball to the pitcher to stop play and go to the next hitter.

32) If your not going to have real time score boards, at least don't have the home team appear on their own out of town scoreboard. If I'm in Oakland, playing as the A's, I should never see the A's on the out of town score board.

33) Fix all stats. If you have any question of how a stat is calculated...ask someone who knows.

34) On bunts and slow balls hit down the firstbase line, the runner is supposed to run outside the line so that the fielder has a clear path to throw to first base.

35) Come up with a better, more realistic way to use the batters eye. What exactly is this supposed to mimic? If it is the actual batters eye, then why does it change size from pitch to pitch? Are you telling me that Pujols vision is actually better in certain counts? Also, if a hitter guesses correctly, don't show the location until the pitcher releases the ball. How can anyone predict where the ball is going to go before the pitcher releases the ball.<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

[Trevytrev11]

Re: MLB 2K8 Wishlist

36) Enough with the perfect 3-0 pitches. Why is it that a pitcher cannot throw a pitch to the exact target on the first three pitches, but then has the super ability to throw a perfect pitch on every 3-0 count. In over 100 games, I've seen maybe 5 3-0 pitches that weren't fastballs down the middle.

37) More bunting, hit and running, squeezing and stealing by the computer. Again, I've seen just a handful of bunts period, let alone bunts for hits.

38) AI runners need to tag up and score on flyballs. I can't believe how many deep flyballs are hit that the computer does not try to tag up and score. I actually have to catch the ball and run backwards for them to take off just to make it realistic.

39) Don't let non-switch hitters switch hit. There is no need for it at all. It never happens in real life, so leave it out.

40) Use some logic for pitcher ejections. If I hit a guy with the bases loaded, it's not intentional...ever. If I hit a guy late in a close game, it is unintentional...always.

41) Fix the up and in pitch. For some reason I can miss a pitch barely miss a pitch anywhere and actually just barely miss the pitch, but if I miss a little bit up and in, the ball takes off and will drill the guy in the middle of the back, even though the cursors show that it should have been just off the plate.

42) I don't mind losing control of the coach when he gets ejected, but at least keep some intelligence on the computer who takes over. 1 run lead in the 9th and he never brings in my closer.

43) Have catchers toss their mask when catching pop ups.

44) On flyballs to the middle of the infield, over the pitchers mound, my choices should not be my pitcher and catcher, I should be able to control any middle infielder.

45) Allow the user to tweak everyones stances, numbers, stats, gear, etc. Believe it or not, there are some players who have their own signiture stances that are wrong.

46. Fix Miller calling balls in the dirt that aren't. If I throw my splitter in the lower part of the strike zone, Miller always calls it in the dirt.

47. Allow the user to control whether or not to open a domed stadium if at home, and when we're not, give the computer situations when to play with the roof closed in a domed stadium (i.e. when it is raining, when it is cold). Also, give the computer the "intelligence" to close the dome of a roofed stadium when it starts to rain in the middle of a game.

48. Re-work the player happiness settings. Too often, my bench players get upset for not starting and my bullpen guys get mad for not playing, meanwhile, each bench player has played about 25% of the games, and the bullpen guys each get about the same amount of innings. Unless I have a crappy starting rotation, there's only going to be 2-3 innings/game for the bullpen to play, and one of those innings is usually the closer.

49. Have the ability to switch to a 4 man starting rotation in the playoffs. No team uses a 5 man rotation in the playoffs, so why are we forced to have one (even though I never use one)

50. Ease up on the rain delays or allow it to affect the ability of the players to field and hit the ball. While we have the option to deactivate delays, it doesn't rain in Southern California in the middle of Summer.

51. When Jon Miller says, "a rocket down the right field line," I expect the ball to roll all the way to the wall and not die just beyond first base

52) I seriously never read the instructions, but is there a way to make a runner stop? If not, it needs to be included. I hate when my only choice is to run forward or backward. There are many times in baseball, where a runner will want to stop in between bases. Runner on 1st, flyball to left, usually you go halfway. Runner on 2nd, grounder to third, you may come off 10 or 15 feet to read the ball.

53) On a similar note, they need to program some sort of runner awareness, where a good runner can read a ball faster than a bad runner. A good runner on 1st, can read a grounder instantly and get down to second to help break up a double play. Where as a bad runner, might hesitate and end up being a non-factor on the same play. I have noticed some runners freezing on linedrives and some runners advancing on flyballs with less than 2 outs, so they are on the right patch.

54) 40 man rosters would be nice come September. After playing most of the season and just seeing names for minor leaguers, it'd be nice to be able to bring them up and actually see what they can do.

55) Occasionally it'd be nice to see a hat or helmet fly off.

56) Get rid of the damn ogan music. I've been to baseball games at about 18 different MLB parks and I can only remember a few that actually had organ music. Most play pop music or pre-record chant music.

57) Instead of always getting hit by pitches, show players jump/dive/fall out of the way to avoid getting hit. I'd love to see a pitcher knock a guy do the dirt because he bailed on an up and in fastball.

58) Make it easier to have a player not throw on the run. On a routine grounder an infielder will charge so that he fields the ball moving forward, then shuffle his feet and throw the ball. In this game it seems that there is either a throw on the run or the guy stops completely to throw the ball. Use more realistic momentum. Maybe hold the R trigger to throw on the run.

59) I'd like a strafe button similar to football games where a fielder will square up his shoulders to the play. Too many times, I run to the spot and it like a magnet, my fielder stops on a dime, turns around and catches the ball by his jock. In real life, a fielder would slow down 10 or so feet before and catch the ball on the move (jog) as he wouldn't have time to get to his spot and settle down before catching the ball.

60) IMO the overall camera needs to be adjusted dependant upon the path of the ball. On a groundball, the camera can be a little flatter, but on a flyball, the need to get it higher to allow for better depth perception.

61) As much as they try, there still needs to be more hit varieties. It seems that everything is either hit like a missle or like a little leaguer. Most plays in baseball are routine. I rarely see a grounder down the line, but I seem to see them all the time in real life. The same goes for a blooper over the IF's head. In this game, they always have plenty of time to make the play, where as in real life, these balls tend to fall in "no-mans land"

62) Maybe this is a crazy idea, but I think it'd be neat if on defense, the user could press a button to zoom the camera out. I know the baserunner cursor is there for a reason, but I think on a fly ball with runners on 1st and 3rd and on a routine flyball, I'd like to zoom out as far as possible so that I can make a last second decision as whether to cut the ball or not. Almost like a catchers perspective as in real life, they are the ones making the cut calls. It'd be neat to zoom out wide enough to see all of the runner and then make a decision. Again, I know that is what the dots are for, but this seems like it would add another level of cool.

63) Make a fake throw/pump/kill throw button. I like how in MVP you could make a fake throw by pressing the trigger and a face button. Or you could kill a throw that was already started by pressing the kill button before he released the ball. Many times, you think something is going to happen, so you pre-load the throw, but something else happens and you get screwed. Maybe there is a runner on third that you think is going to go home on a grounder so as you field, you press home to make a quick throw, but you realize as you field the ball that he is not going anywhere and want to go to first. I should either be able to kill that throw home or override it. Or maybe there is a bunt and initially you want to get the lead runner, but your fielder takes longer than expected to get the ball so you want to go to first.

64A) Pitching stamina could use some work. Pitchers react differently. Some pitchers start slow and heat up and others start fast and burn out. Colon is a guy that throws 91-93 in the first inning and is throwing 96-98 in the 8th. Most other guys throw 92-94 in the first and second and 90-92 in the 7th.

64B) Also, pitcher react differently to sitting on the bench. A pitcher who is cruising loves quick innings on the bench and wants to get back out there to keep his momentum going. Maybe a long inning could dock him a few points. Where as a guy that just had a long inning could benefit from a long inning of rest.

64C) All pitch counts are not created equal. A guy who throws 95 pitches over 5 innings is going to be much more tired than a guy with a 95 pitch count heading into the 9th. Pitching is easy when you get quick innings. It's the long innings that kill you. A guy who throws 30 or 40 pitches threw 3 innings will feel brand new going into the 4th, where as a guy who throws 30-40 pitches in the first, will already start to feel tired in the second. (Think of weight lifting-lift 90% of your max 10 times in a row and you'll feel it in your muscles a lot more than if you lifted it 10 times over a course of 10 minutes).

65) Realistic weather: As stated many times, it doesn't rain damn near at all in California in the summer. It's not going to be 40 in Houston at any time during the baseball season. Fix the wind.<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->
<!-- / message -->




<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

[Trevytrev11]

Re: MLB 2K8 Wishlist

66) Something I've posted in length about before:

I think the logic of the power swing and contact swing is bogus. Ideally, in this game a player is supposed to use the contact swing except when they try to "nut up" and hit a bomb. This isn't the mentality a hitter has. A homerun is more a function of timing the pitch properly, hitting the ball with the fat part of the bat and getting slightly under the ball in order to lift the ball in the air.

In reality, hitters try to hit the ball as hard as they can most of the time. Even Juan Pierre tries to hit the ball hard most of the time, he just lacks the power to put the ball over the fence. He may get slap happy when down in the count, but like most hitters, he is trying to jump on a pitch when he is ahead or even in the count. The exception is when a hitter is trying to execute a hit and run, is trying to just put the ball in play while sacrafing power because a strikeout would hurt his team (maybe a runner on 3rd with 1 out) or just a guy like Polanco who refuses to strikeout or when a runner is trying to aim the ball (hitting behind a runner on second or trying to hit to a hole in the defense).

So basically, there should still be two types of swings, just executed opposite of the way the current game has intended. 90% of the time, you should be using the "power swing" because your goal as a hitter is to hit the ball as hard as possible. Except for the exceptions listed above, there aren't times when even a guy eases up on his swing. You don't see Frank Thomas not trying to crush a pitch ever....but also, even Juan Pierre is trying to drive a ball past the infield and into the gaps. With out runners on base or without runners on scoring position, all hitters are trying to drive the ball and most are the same with runners is scoring postion. Some guys will take a conservative approach in these situations and you would have that option.

Also, I think that a classing swing system that involves either zone or direciontal aiming is needed.

With that said, Homeruns wouldn't become a function of using a power swing, but would be a function of using the default swing and a) having enough power b) timing the pitch correctly c) aiming the swing to the right zone of the pitch.

There would should be a risk/reward system in which the use of a contact swing gives the hitter more margin for error with both the timing and aiming of his swing. You can be slightly early or late and still foul off the pitch and your aim can be a little farther off and still make contact. You lose some contact, but gain some power. When using the default swing, you have to be more accurate with both. The reward, is a better chance of hitting the ball hard and the risk is that your are a little more likely to miss the pitch if your swing is off.

If your first thought is that this is the same as the current system, it is not. Yes, it involves two swings, but remember: In the current system, you swing soft unless you try to hit a homerun, then you power up. In my system, you always try to power up and hit the ball hard except those rare instances, your hitter is willing to sacrafice power for contact.

There would definately need to be some programming to tone down the current power swing, but I think this is a more realistic resemblance of the approach most hitters take.

Also, instead of having two different swing motions, I would propose the back to forward motion for both. You would then press one of the triggers or bumper buttons to execute the contact swing. This would allow all hitters to always attempt a checkswing at any time, which should be easy to do.

[ckarlic]

Re: MLB 2K8 Wishlist

66) Something I've posted in length about before:

I think the logic of the power swing and contact swing is bogus. Ideally, in this game a player is supposed to use the contact swing except when they try to "nut up" and hit a bomb. This isn't the mentality a hitter has. A homerun is more a function of timing the pitch properly, hitting the ball with the fat part of the bat and getting slightly under the ball in order to lift the ball in the air.

In reality, hitters try to hit the ball as hard as they can most of the time. Even Juan Pierre tries to hit the ball hard most of the time, he just lacks the power to put the ball over the fence. He may get slap happy when down in the count, but like most hitters, he is trying to jump on a pitch when he is ahead or even in the count. The exception is when a hitter is trying to execute a hit and run, is trying to just put the ball in play while sacrafing power because a strikeout would hurt his team (maybe a runner on 3rd with 1 out) or just a guy like Polanco who refuses to strikeout or when a runner is trying to aim the ball (hitting behind a runner on second or trying to hit to a hole in the defense).

So basically, there should still be two types of swings, just executed opposite of the way the current game has intended. 90% of the time, you should be using the "power swing" because your goal as a hitter is to hit the ball as hard as possible. Except for the exceptions listed above, there aren't times when even a guy eases up on his swing. You don't see Frank Thomas not trying to crush a pitch ever....but also, even Juan Pierre is trying to drive a ball past the infield and into the gaps. With out runners on base or without runners on scoring position, all hitters are trying to drive the ball and most are the same with runners is scoring postion. Some guys will take a conservative approach in these situations and you would have that option.

Also, I think that a classing swing system that involves either zone or direciontal aiming is needed.

With that said, Homeruns wouldn't become a function of using a power swing, but would be a function of using the default swing and a) having enough power b) timing the pitch correctly c) aiming the swing to the right zone of the pitch.

There would should be a risk/reward system in which the use of a contact swing gives the hitter more margin for error with both the timing and aiming of his swing. You can be slightly early or late and still foul off the pitch and your aim can be a little farther off and still make contact. You lose some contact, but gain some power. When using the default swing, you have to be more accurate with both. The reward, is a better chance of hitting the ball hard and the risk is that your are a little more likely to miss the pitch if your swing is off.

If your first thought is that this is the same as the current system, it is not. Yes, it involves two swings, but remember: In the current system, you swing soft unless you try to hit a homerun, then you power up. In my system, you always try to power up and hit the ball hard except those rare instances, your hitter is willing to sacrafice power for contact.

There would definately need to be some programming to tone down the current power swing, but I think this is a more realistic resemblance of the approach most hitters take.

Also, instead of having two different swing motions, I would propose the back to forward motion for both. You would then press one of the triggers or bumper buttons to execute the contact swing. This would allow all hitters to always attempt a checkswing at any time, which should be easy to do.

I think you hit the nail right on the head with your wishlist..I feel exaclty the same way you do. Glad im not the only one that feels that way. Hoepfully these get implemented

[MizzouRah]

Re: MLB 2K8 Wishlist

Like NHL 07-08, I would like the right thumbstick to have that same "feeling" when swinging the bat. Instead of just pulling back and letting go. The swing should have full range according to where you moved the R thumbstick. You should be able to move the thumbstick at any time and the bat would follow wherever you held the stick.

I also agree to get rid of the power vs contact swings. That should be determined by many factors, such as wind, where the ball meets the bat, who's hitting, type of pitch, etc.. I would also like to see no speed bursts - players should play according to their ratings, period. Eckstein should throw slower than say Renteria... putting a slow OF should have consenquences.

[djep]

Re: MLB 2K8 Wishlist

Trevytrev11's list is as comprehensive as I've seen so I may have missed it but one of my biggest peeves is how the AI managers will bring in the same reliever in a series for 3 days in a row and pitch him 3 or 4 innings until he is completely toasted. This definitely needs to be fixed.

[Trevytrev11]

Re: MLB 2K8 Wishlist

Like NHL 07-08, I would like the right thumbstick to have that same "feeling" when swinging the bat. Instead of just pulling back and letting go. The swing should have full range according to where you moved the R thumbstick. You should be able to move the thumbstick at any time and the bat would follow wherever you held the stick.

I agree, this is where I think EA did a great job with the first NCAA (never played the second). You really felt that you had complete control over the swing. You could stop it 25% of the way, 50% of the way and even 70-75% of the way. You might get called for not checking the swing, but at least you had the opportunity to try it.

In this game, it seems to me that the second you budge the stick at all, the swing is executed. Check swinging for me is a huge issue and it shouldn't be. It's not difficult to stop your swing.

Also, on the same topic....Move Bunt away from the R-stick. None of the face buttons get used while hitting with the swing-stick, so apply it to them. Although it rarely happens any more to me, intially I bunted on accident too many times because I wanted to crush the pitch, got a little over excited and pressed the stick in a bit. Even if it doesn't happen to most and happens occasionally to some, it could easily be a non-issue by just moving it. There is no added benefit to having it on the stick. Your opponent can't tell the difference and most people don't decided at the last split second to bunt, it's usually determined prior to the AB...so why not make it a complete non-issue all-together. Shouldn't do any harm what so ever.