I like the idea behind the hitting system for 2K8

[NoSkillz50]

Re: I like the idea behind the hitting system for 2K8

I agree with this statement completely but I also think there are situational times where you would come to the plate and "try" and influence the ball since the timing window is so small that not many people would be able to enjoy the game.

Maybe you should be able to influence pop flys or ground balls. We know if you time it right you can pull or push a ball. I just think that waiting for a high pitch is sufficient enough for situational pop flys. If you hit a line drive instead its not a big deal. Like I said earlier, most teams don't even average 2 productive outs a game. You should probably be able to fill this quota without even trying. If you want to hit a ground ball, its true you probably can't purposefully chop a high pitch, but that is such a minor nuance I could completely live without being able to do that on purpose. I actually think that if they did anything to help you influence how high or low you hit the ball it would probably just be overdone and unrealistic. Not to say they can't do it realistically, but I'm perfectly fine with not having that option for this year. Perfectly ok with it.

[slickzeus]

Re: I like the idea behind the hitting system for 2K8

i think we will finally see pitch selection become a factor in a video game!! All hitters are taught, with less then two outs and a runner on third to look for a pitch high in the zone to try to elevate to try to hit a flyball to the outfield to get a sac. And if you want to move a guy over from second to third you look for a low ball on the outter part of the plate. I really hope pitch selection plays a major part in deciding where the ball goes. That is alot more realistic then pushing the left stick where you want to hit the ball.

[LiLjaco1]

Re: I like the idea behind the hitting system for 2K8

ok...is there anyyyyyyyyyyyy chance that they can add this in the game by the time it comes out??

[EnigmaNemesis]

Re: I like the idea behind the hitting system for 2K8

i think we will finally see pitch selection become a factor in a video game!! All hitters are taught, with less then two outs and a runner on third to look for a pitch high in the zone to try to elevate to try to hit a flyball to the outfield to get a sac. And if you want to move a guy over from second to third you look for a low ball on the outter part of the plate. I really hope pitch selection plays a major part in deciding where the ball goes. That is alot more realistic then pushing the left stick where you want to hit the ball.

I can not agree with you more!

[I_Love_Piazza]

Re: I like the idea behind the hitting system for 2K8

I agree that zone hitting can be less realistic than just timing based hitting. But going by the videos (I know a silly thing to do), both hitters took a low inside pitch and crushed it. I'm guessing those were meat pitches, but if the system is only timing based, how would they have hit the balls out? There has to be other factors such as hot/cold zones, attributes, and possibly the L stick. I doubt it's exclusively timing based and that is the only factor that influences where the hit will go based on the videos.

And it's not unrealistic for Jeter or Tulo to hit a HR on a low and inside pitch, if they are looking for it and if they have the right timing. Maybe meat pitches are easier to time? I would prefer that meat pitches end up balls just as often as they end up strikes, as they do in real life when a pitcher can't find his release point.

[EnigmaNemesis]

Re: I like the idea behind the hitting system for 2K8

I agree that zone hitting can be less realistic than just timing based hitting. But going by the videos (I know a silly thing to do), both hitters took a low inside pitch and crushed it. I'm guessing those were meat pitches, but if the system is only timing based, how would they have hit the balls out? There has to be other factors such as hot/cold zones, attributes, and possibly the L stick. I doubt it's exclusively timing based and that is the only factor that influences where the hit will go based on the videos.

And it's not unrealistic for Jeter or Tulo to hit a HR on a low and inside pitch, if they are looking for it and if they have the right timing. Maybe meat pitches are easier to time? I would prefer that meat pitches end up balls just as often as they end up strikes, as they do in real life when a pitcher can't find his release point.

You are right... and there IS more factors in this hitting system. Kush said many times on here, as well as BB that Hot/Cold zones, attributes and well as other factors play a major part as well in the new system.

Cant go by IGN's (we play it on rookie) mode either. Almost like they did this just to rub salt in the wounds of the hardcore wanting less HR's. I mean the one guy you expected to see in the video (Papi) couldn't crush one. And they just made him look silly on purpose after.

[maverick3176]

Re: I like the idea behind the hitting system for 2K8

Maverick, I don't see what your problem is. Do you think it will be too easy to hit a Rivera cutter for example because you won't have to guess where the break will be. Ultimately if you think it is going to end up one place and ends up another, you will probably time the swing improperly or just completely miss the ball or get jammed because it ends up on your hands. If Rivera doesn't get it out of the zone it can still be hit. The reason he can get away with doing it over the plate some times is also largely because not only is it a cutter, but it also serves as a high 90's fastball due to how hard he throws it.

I just think that overall it is more realistic to swing based on strike/ball and not based one where you think it is going through the zone. It isn't natural to hit like that, players automatically swing to the ball. Good hitters will adjust better mid-swing, bad players won't, hopefully the attributes will work appropriately. Even though Manny and Dunn may time a pitch exactly the same, Dunn might miss. The best way is too give them a timing window and just make bad contact players time the pitches better, in The Show it was still up to the player as much as the attributes to make contact by picking the right zone, it wasn't easier to read the pitch with a better player so that doesn't exactly seem like a more realistic option either.

I disagree...players are attempting to swing to the balll...but they dont always make good contact. Have you ever heard the term..."he swung through the ball" that essentially means the timing was right...but he missed the ball...as far as hitting Mo goes...watch him pitch...especially in his prime...he kept throwing the same pitch with the same speed int he same location...guys could time it...but they couldnt center the bat on the ball..so they would get jammed.

[King Gro23]

Re: I like the idea behind the hitting system for 2K8

you can easily aim where to hit the ball on 2k ball last year no matter the the pitch location you could hit it to left or right and this year u still can but you have to go with the pitch if you wanna hit it succuessfully like in the movie on IGN its high n out and the dude trys to pull it to left instead of pushing it and he grounds out

[NoSkillz50]

Re: I like the idea behind the hitting system for 2K8

Sure some people may be great at timing their swing to the exact millisecond so they can slap that ball to right, but the majority of people don't have that kind of timing. So therefore there should be some sort of hitting aid if you truly want to push or pull the ball.

Like I said, people read into what a batter intended too much. If you try to make solid contact balls will naturally find there way to center and opposite field. Players aren't stepping into the box and getting line drives at will, even hits, and when they do get hits often times they aren't pretty let alone in the right place. I don't have excellent reflexes or anything, but with enough practice I would be able to time my swings in MVP so that I could get a realistic amount of opposite field hits regardless of where the stick was. It's not that hard, I'll concede it isn't super easy either, but it shouldn't be.

[Trevytrev11]

Re: I like the idea behind the hitting system for 2K8

Maybe you should be able to influence pop flys or ground balls. We know if you time it right you can pull or push a ball. I just think that waiting for a high pitch is sufficient enough for situational pop flys. If you hit a line drive instead its not a big deal. Like I said earlier, most teams don't even average 2 productive outs a game. You should probably be able to fill this quota without even trying. If you want to hit a ground ball, its true you probably can't purposefully chop a high pitch, but that is such a minor nuance I could completely live without being able to do that on purpose. I actually think that if they did anything to help you influence how high or low you hit the ball it would probably just be overdone and unrealistic. Not to say they can't do it realistically, but I'm perfectly fine with not having that option for this year. Perfectly ok with it.

For me, this is a big deal....for teams that play small ball, this makes that team less effective. If you want to hit and run with a guy like Eckstein, who has unbelievable bat control and you leave outcome of the type of hit up to the computer, than often times you take away his strength. Or vice versa. If you have Griffey up with a runner on 3rd and one out and you're goal is to hit the ball in the air, but because the computer randomly decides it's your turn to hit a grounder, you end up hitting a fastball down the middle back to the pitcher instead of a deep fly to center.

To me, this is why aiming is necessary. In real life the hitter determines the outcome of the hit based on timing and bat placement...if you have a system that only uses one of those two, then it's taking away a huge aspect of hitting. Hitting then becomes only about timing. Sure you have to judge whether the ball is hittable, but if you are facing a guy who throws a lot of strikes, then that aspect becomes minor. If I want to attempt to hit a fly ball then I should have to try and get under the ball, not just hope the computer randomly decides the ball should be hit in the air.

I am not for aiming hits with the controller, I think that should be an option for those that want it, but to mimick real life hitting, I think direction needs to be added to your swing. Not directing where the pitch will be hit, but more of directing your bat at the location of where the pitch is thrown. If a pitch is down and away to a righty, then you need to press down and to the right. If the pitch is outside, then press outside.

I agree when you say a hitters ability will put the bat on the ball and that is why I think it should be more simple than lining up a cursor, but I think a system that requires you press in on an inside pitch would be much more realistic than striclty timing a pitch. Your reaction to just press in the direction of the pitch would add another dimension to hitting, which as many say is the hardest thing to do in all of sports.

[bukktown]

Re: I like the idea behind the hitting system for 2K8

For me, this is a big deal....for teams that play small ball, this makes that team less effective. If you want to hit and run with a guy like Eckstein, who has unbelievable bat control and you leave outcome of the type of hit up to the computer, than often times you take away his strength. Or vice versa. If you have Griffey up with a runner on 3rd and one out and you're goal is to hit the ball in the air, but because the computer randomly decides it's your turn to hit a grounder, you end up hitting a fastball down the middle back to the pitcher instead of a deep fly to center.

To me, this is why aiming is necessary. In real life the hitter determines the outcome of the hit based on timing and bat placement...if you have a system that only uses one of those two, then it's taking away a huge aspect of hitting. Hitting then becomes only about timing. Sure you have to judge whether the ball is hittable, but if you are facing a guy who throws a lot of strikes, then that aspect becomes minor. If I want to attempt to hit a fly ball then I should have to try and get under the ball, not just hope the computer randomly decides the ball should be hit in the air.

Aim not for aiming hits with the controller, I think that should be an option for those that want it, but to mimick real life hitting, I think direction needs to be added.

I agree when you say a hitters ability will put the bat on the ball and that is why I think it should be more simple than lining up a cursor, but I think a system that requires you press in on an inside pitch would be much more realistic than striclty timing a pitch. Your reaction to just press in the direction of the pitch would add another dimension to hitting, which as many say is the hardest thing to do in all of sports.

Trev, you are totally right. I think cursor hitting was ideal for programming situational hitting into the game. But how can you do it with the swing stick?

[bsb13]

Re: I like the idea behind the hitting system for 2K8

Trev, you are totally right. I think cursor hitting was ideal for programming situational hitting into the game. But how can you do it with the swing stick?

All-star Baseball 2005 had it where you could push back and then forward with the right analog stick to swing and you used the left analog stick to move a cursor.

[davewins]

Re: I like the idea behind the hitting system for 2K8

I disagree...players are attempting to swing to the balll...but they dont always make good contact. Have you ever heard the term..."he swung through the ball" that essentially means the timing was right...but he missed the ball...as far as hitting Mo goes...watch him pitch...especially in his prime...he kept throwing the same pitch with the same speed int he same location...guys could time it...but they couldnt center the bat on the ball..so they would get jammed.

We will have to wait and see but I think they took into consideration the effectiveness of the pitch and how good the pitch was a little in determing how good the contact could possibly be. From the videos it seemed like everything that was hit hard was a meatball or a lesser form of a meatball where the red circle still lit up after the pitch. The only 2 that I can recall that were not either meatballs or the red lit up pitches were the Tulowitzki HR and the ground out to 3rd where the runner advanced to 3rd from 2nd in the AZ vs COL game.

Again I am not sure on this but it still could be a possibility. Great pitches for example with Mariano Rivera that are very well placed could be next to impossible to hit. Pitching is dominance not hitting. Guys with stuff like MO's cutter are so tough to hit you know it's coming and you know where he's trying to throw it and you just still can't hit it. It's when he makes a mistake and catches too much of the plate or when the ball doesn't cut as much is when he is hit hard. I have confidence that this will be portrayed in the game.

[davewins]

Re: I like the idea behind the hitting system for 2K8

For me, this is a big deal....for teams that play small ball, this makes that team less effective. If you want to hit and run with a guy like Eckstein, who has unbelievable bat control and you leave outcome of the type of hit up to the computer, than often times you take away his strength. Or vice versa. If you have Griffey up with a runner on 3rd and one out and you're goal is to hit the ball in the air, but because the computer randomly decides it's your turn to hit a grounder, you end up hitting a fastball down the middle back to the pitcher instead of a deep fly to center.

I can agree that it would be nice to maybe have this option to satisfy all the gamers. But you may just end up liking it this way. It may be more rewarding to hit that sac fly when YOU looked for a pitch that was up in the zone and got it. It should be etched in stone that you are going to hit a sac fly just because you hit "up on the right analog stick" or whatever way you would do it. Still the type of pitch should reflect this. I think it would be nice to have both options but just look at the bright side....It will be realistic. You will have to go up to the plate just like the hitter would in real life. You would have to look for a pitch you could hit in the air and lay off anything that is not up in the zone. Look how rewarding it is for players that do it in real life. It's like all he did was hit a routine fly out to the outfield but he is being congratulated by his whole team. It's a very rewarding feeling and I think it would be more rewarding if you did it this way. I guess if I could have it any way I would have it both ways where you predetermine it so you can set up for a certain type of swing but with the exception that your swing will actually change and it will effect possibly contact power and everything realistically. Of course pitch location and type would be very important as well.

[Trevytrev11]

Re: I like the idea behind the hitting system for 2K8

I can agree that it would be nice to maybe have this option to satisfy all the gamers. But you may just end up liking it this way. It may be more rewarding to hit that sac fly when YOU looked for a pitch that was up in the zone and got it. It should be etched in stone that you are going to hit a sac fly just because you hit "up on the right analog stick" or whatever way you would do it.

That's not what I'm saying at all. I don't want to hit the ball in the air because I pressed up, I want to hit the ball in the air because I directed my swing to the bottom half of the ball to purposesly get under the ball and hit it in the air.

All I'm saying is I don't think that it's very realistic to let the computer determine the hit type, whether it be based on randomness or real player attributes. Eckstein may hit the ball on the ground 50% of the time (made up number), but when he needs to do it, it may be 90% of the time.