End the cant wait for MVP Madness

[Blzer]

Re: End the cant wait for MVP Madness

I could have sworn you could influence the hit trajectory with the other stick. I guess not. Although this was the only baseball game I've played where I tried the hit stick so...

I just don't like the "up for flyball, down for groundball" method. It's not 100% that way, but more often than not, that's the case. Too simple for my taste and not exactly realistic. I thought Blue Shift did it perfectly in ESPN MLB 2004. That 360 degree zone hitting approach they implemented was superb and really showed how difficult it is to hit a baseball. No game has come close to that since (High Heat did it well too, but Blue Shift was better).

Interplay did it the best, but I have to agree it's the best hitting method.

[Shakedowncapo]

Re: End the cant wait for MVP Madness

How did the zone hitting in ESPN Baseball(2k4) work?

[Blzer]

Re: End the cant wait for MVP Madness

How did the zone hitting in ESPN Baseball(2k4) work?

Think of an invisible pair of axes and that two dimensional plane that makes up that space, enclosed in a circle not too much bigger than the strike zone. Now imagine an invisible cursor, one which moves further from the center as you more sensitively push your left thumbstick, and one which reverts to the center if you let go of it. The cursor has no definite size, but it can be thought more of as a cursor that's of circular size, denser in the middle, and spreads outward, becoming more and more faded.

The center represents perfect contact. There is an option for one-button or two-button hitting. For the sake of perfect definition, I'll explain one-button. In the Blue Shift world, the best way to hit a home run is with line drive effort (which is about true in real life). Getting "under" the ball for a fly ball is actually worse than getting it dead on in terms of hitting a home run. So, assuming you timed the pitch perfectly and got it right in the middle of your invisible cursor, you can expect home run power, distance, and elevation with your contact. The further outside the center, the worse contact that is made. The worse timing that is made, the more foul balls you should expect. Depending on the player, the faded area will be larger or smaller, and should you completely botch targeting it outside the faded area or you time it incredibly poorly, you will miss the pitch.

The biggest problems were that swinging and missing didn't occur as often as hoped, and hit variety wasn't exactly a thing of 2K's past. Implement those correctly, and there would be no reason I wouldn't buy 2K8. MVP's hitting system was a game killer for me, and same reason I wouldn't have bought 2K7 if I upgraded in time. It's just not the style I want. I don't want to influence ground ball vs fly ball. Instead, I'd rather influence where I swing at the ball.

[Scottdau]

Re: End the cant wait for MVP Madness

I could have sworn you could influence the hit trajectory with the other stick. I guess not. Although this was the only baseball game I've played where I tried the hit stick so...

I just don't like the "up for flyball, down for groundball" method. It's not 100% that way, but more often than not, that's the case. Too simple for my taste and not exactly realistic. I thought Blue Shift did it perfectly in ESPN MLB 2004. That 360 degree zone hitting approach they implemented was superb and really showed how difficult it is to hit a baseball. No game has come close to that since (High Heat did it well too, but Blue Shift was better).

Yeah I am pretty you can't do that for the stick hitting.

[bsb13]

Re: End the cant wait for MVP Madness

Yeah I am pretty you can't do that for the stick hitting.

What the heck does you being pretty have to do with not being able to do something with stick hitting?

[Flaxseed Oil]

Re: End the cant wait for MVP Madness

I love the hit variety in MLB 07 the show. If the ball is a foot outside, and you somehow make contact, both the swing and the result of the play is as it should be...the hitter will throw his hands out and the ball will be a little flair or tapper in front of the plate.

Meanwhile, if you hang a curveball up in the zone, the hitter on the opposite team will smack it hard.

[Scottdau]

Re: End the cant wait for MVP Madness

What the heck does you being pretty have to do with not being able to do something with stick hitting?

I don't know, good question? I guess I saw myself in the monitor.

[quietcool72]

Re: End the cant wait for MVP Madness

Ok stop with the love for MVP and saying MVP is so much better then 2k7. first of all MVP had one good year 2k5 and the guy that was responsible for that is with 2k now, so even if MVP came back it wouldnt matter. Have you seen EA lately? Madden, NBA Live cmon guys

As many others have pointed out- Madden and NCAA have nothing to do with MVP. Calling that premise "flawed" would probably be an understatement.

2K has LOTS of work to do on their baseball series. Here's the bottom-line... Konami's Power Pros generated more realistic stats, more realistic hitting, better variety of hits, less arcady-ness (despite the look of the players) and....(drumroll)...location hitting.

Yes..location hitting where you have to aim your bat in the strike zone. You know- something that has been present in all baseball games since Sega's "World Series Baseball" in 1994. It still confounds me to this day why MLB 2K's "timing only" based hitting mechanics are what is being used. Heck, that takes me back to RBI 93...and that's not necessarily a good thing.

That was 14 years ago...

Until that dynamic is fixed, baserunning is improved, realism is taken into account, the minors are included, and fielders don't keep getting caught in terribly long animation cycles, MLB 2K is going to be compared to the far richer/hardcore baseball experiences most people had with MVP, and are currently having with MLB The Show.

Like it or not- the 2K MLB series is 2K's own "Madden" dynamic.

Yes, it has a license they paid large for, but with the exception of graphics, most of what it does has been done better on other company's baseball games..many of which include the minor leagues also.

[StriderNo9]

Re: End the cant wait for MVP Madness

I for one am very happy people aren't happy with what 2K has done with our baseball game. Last years game wasn't terrible but it wasn't a good game. Why can't they get this right? We need a brand new team with a brand new engine. And while I know they scrapped the game two years ago they did not do so entirely. If this is suppose to be the standard in baseball games yes we should be pissed and we should be bitching, its the only way things might change.

[Bondsfan]

Re: End the cant wait for MVP Madness

I just want a baseball game where its not basically just timing based hitting and one in which the hit variability isn't just HR and singles. I swear, 2K has basically just combined RBI baseball's hitting mechanism (mostly timing only) with Triple Plays hit variability. I was never so disappointed with a games hitting engine than I was last year, because I really thought 2K would get it right.

I just wish developers would end the ridiculous infatuation with the R "hit" stick. Pulling back and letting go is no more realistic than just pushing a button. Neither gives me the feeling that I'm actually swinging a bat. So get over the "timing only" mechanism of pulling back and letting go or pushing forward, and develop a hitting mode which takes into account timing and bat placement. If it takes going back to cursor hitting, so be it.

[JBH3]

Re: End the cant wait for MVP Madness

To me MVP wasn't just about the gameplay, but the "off the diamond" aspects.

Baseball has to be one of the best sports games to utilize a franchise mode. Thier are so many things to do from managing the minors, and knowing when to call a guy up and having a limit as to how many times you can do that, to improving the young talent, and managing contracts/staff...

If 2K wants to be a great baseball game off of the diamond they definitely need to do things that MVP has done. We need the stadium upgrade thing, full minor leagues, a comparitive MVP style economic system (not just ticket prices), top 50 prospects, call-up limits.

Gameplay wise...The fielding in MLB is atrocious. The mechanic MVP used w/ the meter, which if press too long would cause a throwing error, was awesome. In 2K every bunt was a bare-handed attempt by the fielder, and after any fielding play by a pitcher or an outfielder they would just stand there and sway back and forth. Retarted.

Baserunning in 2K is horrendous too...The blatent lack of a take-out slide makes me feel like I'm not even playing baseball, and seeing players run through each other confirms that.

The last great baseball game we had was MVP 05, and yes the installments prior to 05 were horrible. But MVP 05 appealed to the masses, and it's the last good baseball game we played. That's why we continuously hear about it, and compare 2K's efforts to it.

[jpup]

Re: End the cant wait for MVP Madness

To me MVP wasn't just about the gameplay, but the "off the diamond" aspects.

Baseball has to be one of the best sports games to utilize a franchise mode. Thier are so many things to do from managing the minors, and knowing when to call a guy up and having a limit as to how many times you can do that, to improving the young talent, and managing contracts/staff...

If 2K wants to be a great baseball game off of the diamond they definitely need to do things that MVP has done. We need the stadium upgrade thing, full minor leagues, a comparitive MVP style economic system (not just ticket prices), top 50 prospects, call-up limits.

Gameplay wise...The fielding in MLB is atrocious. The mechanic MVP used w/ the meter, which if press too long would cause a throwing error, was awesome. In 2K every bunt was a bare-handed attempt by the fielder, and after any fielding play by a pitcher or an outfielder they would just stand there and sway back and forth. Retarted.

Baserunning in 2K is horrendous too...The blatent lack of a take-out slide makes me feel like I'm not even playing baseball, and seeing players run through each other confirms that.

The last great baseball game we had was MVP 05, and yes the installments prior to 05 were horrible. But MVP 05 appealed to the masses, and it's the last good baseball game we played. That's why we continuously hear about it, and compare 2K's efforts to it.

The Show is better than either one.

[capa]

Re: End the cant wait for MVP Madness

The Show is better than either one.

Personal opinion, of course...one mans' steak...etc...etc...

C