4:50 -- Alright me and TJ are on now, we're just waiting for a chance to get into the actual call now.
4:55 -- TJ: Yay, on hold music. This music stinks.
4:55 -- I find it to be quite soothing and folksy music TJ, thank you very much.
4:58 -- Silence strikes on the call, but oh wait replaying this hot folk jam now. Chyeahhhh
5:01 -- The moderator just came on and said 2 mins until Brinkman arrives. Also there will be more time at the end for live questions.
5:01 -- Mr. Moderator slowly starting to get mad with someone's phone giving feedback.
5:02 -- 15 to 20 mins at end for questions. Moderator says 150 questions were asked.
5:03 -- Audio difficulties strike. Brinkman was there and now he's AWOL.
5:04 -- Technical difficulties and 2K? Never have those words gone together.
5:05 -- Ben can hear us, but no one can hear Ben, hotness.
5:06 -- Now Ben can talk.
5:07 -- Ben gives an overview of game: "Thanks guys for coming to the call." It's his 2nd year on the project, blah blah...He's pushing that there is lots more content in the game this year. It's a new experience this year, discusses new controls and whatever else. 90 minor league teams included now. New cards are in the game now. Where's my old news is so exciting picture?
5:08 -- It's quite strange that the PR guy's name is my first name, really messes with my head. He keeps telling me to start asking questions, but he's not really talking to me!
5:10 -- The PR guy Chase dropped or something so Ben is talking about the pitching mechanic now while getting to get him back. The focus with the mechanic was about making it natural and organic, it should be like throwing a ball.
5:11 -- He says there will be more variance in terms of pitching. If you are off slightly when pitching the ball will miss -- not by much -- but more than in the past. It's also based on who the pitcher is....Chase is back now.
5:12 -- Question about production time. Once the old game ships the new one starts. So the cycle is about 10-12 months depending on final approval.
5:12 -- Question about what's most important to gamers: It needs to play well (You don't say!?)
5:12 -- Will there be a demo prior to release? -- That's the hope, but no exact date. But expect the demo very soon.
5:13 -- Was mo-cap used to get new base running animations among other things -- Yes we use mo-cap for everything so 2 and a half weeks of just mo-cap this year for various things. There are now 2 new varieties of swings due to the new mo-cap.
5:14 -- Frame rate question: Our goal was to hit 60 fps. It will never drop to 30, it will sit around 60 most of the time. There shouldn't be much difference between versions of the game -- PS3 and 360. Also the game should always run at 60 for pitcher/hitter, may drop a little in field when lots of stuff going on.
5:16 -- Talking about DLC: Something about new cards being a DL soon after. For example there will be a challenge for a card with Johan on Twins, and then a DL for Johan on the Mets...He didn't say if it was free or not, but I would hope it is.
5:17 -- He's talking about the cards. Am I the only one who doesn't care? I mean maybe I'm just not old enough to remember the golden days of baseball cards? I blame my tainted childhood for that.
5:18 -- More rare cards will have a better chance of being earned depending on the difficulty level. You get cards by doing "wow" things in the game which could be anything from a base hit to whatever grandiose event you can think of I guess.
5:19 -- You can go online and card battle....I want to find these people who do this. Does this hit on the Pokemon and Magic card fans?
5:20 -- Game has been done for a while, but people in dev studio still want to keep getting cards.
5:20 -- What AI tweaks have been made? -- Too numerous to mention, but big ones are batting and pitching AI been re-written -- heard that one before. They couldn't get where they were with old code so started new. Too many singles and home runs so they wanted to get hitters to hit more like real-life counterparts.
5:22 -- Fielders won't always take perfect route to ball as well, so more triples, doubles, less wall climb grabs. You'll also see some more balls in the dirt when throwing to various bases, and also some new block animations to stop those types of balls.
5:23 -- All new double play system. Multiple types of double play animations, including jumping or taking out slides.
5:24 -- Biggest challenge to working on title: The need for polish on time is the thing he points out to most.
5:24 -- Where's the balance with the new user for the pitching mechanic: "I don't want to just pick up a game and master it." So basically out of the box it won't be easy if you don't know what you're doing. However the feedback system should be solid and people should start to get it. He says it will take 5-10 mins to get if you don't know beforehand.
5:26 -- Are you on schedule in the 3-year plan: He thinks so. Really thinks they are delivering on a great gameplay experience this year. The plan should be completed next year. In year 2 give people something new, and a reason to come back for year 3.
5:27 -- Notice a change in difficulty level when you switch it to higher levels. News of the day to this point
5:28 -- What didn't work last year, how was it changed: Wall climbs were about looking good rather than feeling good -- which isn't fun when you see a big arrow and a button saying PRESS ME TO DO AWESOME CLIMB -- not a direct quote. Removed the icon, will know when to dive or do the wall climb now.
5:30 -- For real-life fans what sticks out most: He hearts pitching. It feels like he's throwing a 2-seamer with Josh Beckett. OMG he said it's 2-seamer not a sinker, now who's correct?
5:31 -- Ben Brinkman wants to feel like Josh Beckett....on the mound. The next question just said MLB2K7 was the best baseball game last year. O RLY!?
5:32 -- They cleaned up the code under the hood in PS3 version and 360 version. Also changed the art a bit to take some polygons out but also keep it running smooth and purdy.
5:33 -- Question about sim-engine and improving it: Thought about licensing 3rd party sim engines, but they did improve the sim engine this year. Didn't really specify anything though that was improved.
5:33 -- Question about how ball breaks on pitches and balls to the OF: New cameras in the game should help in terms of fielding and batting and having better depth perception. Should get better sense of speed and trajectory.
5:35 -- How will hot and cold spots play into game: If you consistently throw to hot zone you will get burned. If you continuously throw to cold zone eventually the guy will adjust and have success. So variation is key.
5:36 -- Pfffft somebody hasn't kept up to date, since someone just asked a question about being able to change back to old pitching system. (I'm being facetious, but seriously that was known a while ago).
5:37 -- Fielding is more responsive. Brinkman was not happy with fielding last year. You don't get locked into catches super early anymore, so more control in place there. He admits it's still not perfect but he also says there never has been perfection for fielding. Bottom line, you feel more in control.
5:38 -- Trajectories will change a bit on fielding throws depending on how the ball is thrown (i.e. overheard or more from the side). Some random sound just went through the mic, oddest moment of call...WTF was that TJ?
5:39 -- Has the fatigue bug been fixed in leagues for SP: Yes it has been fixed.
5:40 -- Infinite number of hits that will be in the game this year -- As opposed to the 8-10 that were in the game last year?
5:40 -- Swingstick 2.0: Pull back and push forward. You can also pull left or push right...But not many more directions besides that such as up and left/right etc.
5:42 -- This is a SIM game. What's schedule for roster updates: "As much as we need to." Will do one near ship date. Also do one near opening day. At least do one for trade dead line, 2nd trade deadline, postseason, and all-star break. Won't be one a month though.
5:44 -- How did they handle ratings for overseas guys coming over: It wasn't easy since hard to base it off stats due to MLB being different.
5:44 -- Done a lot to franchise mode this year -- 90 minor league. Won't just stockpile talent on CPU teams, will go after other talent they need as much if not more as well.
5:45 -- F U static guy. He just left....for now.
5:45 -- 4 teams can be human controlled in Franchise mode. That's it. Minor League teams will be playable. 18 authentic minor league stadiums, 3 generic ones -- 18 is quite a bit bully for that.
5:46 -- Static issues come back, not the last static guy though, Brinkman is breaking up a bit right during the minor league players being authentic or not...Balls.
5:47 -- Chase is yelling now since Brinkman couldn't hear him well through static. In the Wii version most every mode will be there. It isn't for the sim crowd as much but still will play pretty sim. Just won't have the same amount of depth. Brinkman has fun with Wii version.
5:48 -- Gameplay is "king" on Wii. All about the gameplay. Focused on major components of gameplay as the biggest portion of development for Wii version.
5:49 -- Details for online play. Matchmaking will be based on W-L as well as rank.
5:50 -- A question about the soundtrack...Ban the person who asked this question: Modest Mouse is in the game -- I have no idea who that is but that's a delightful name.
5:50 -- Cleveland rocks was playing in Boston because that song is on the soundtrack...
5:51 -- Questions now being live asked -- Let a bit about demo slip, Boston will be involved.
5:52 -- TJ just asked about the bat crack: Added all new bat sounds. Multiple different bat cracks based on where the ball hits off bat and also based on velocity.
5:53 -- Is there incentive to play minor league games: Develop faster if you play the games out.
5:54 -- Don't support PS3 accomplishments. 45 XBOX Live achievements that's it.
5:54 -- Integrate motion for Swing Stick 2.0 on PS3: No. But sixaxis still there.
5:55 -- Is there a 1:1 on Wii in terms of swinging: Yes there should be, he hasn't noticed a delay/lag.
5:56 -- Online league management tools been refined? Ben wants confirmation of what guy needs, but gets no love, guy goes silent: Bad echo going on, no idea what he's saying.
5:57 -- How did you make it more accessible to casual gamers: Try to make everything scalable in the game...Give people feedback and on screen queues. People who are hardcore won't play Pro for long, will go to All-Star or Legend.
5:59 -- Will there be any Wii online ish asked by TJ: That's a no.
6:00 -- Any less gimmick pitches this year (El Duque's BS pitch last year hard to hit): It's toned down a bit. If you hit that ball you will crush it assuming it's thrown wrong at all.
6:01 -- Easier to score from 2nd or 1st: Yes you will like the game this year. Fielder accuracy and speed is toned down, runner speed boosted a bit. It really bugged Brinkman as well last year when you couldn't do that often.
6:02 -- What didn't make it this year that you want to see next year asked by TJ: A lot of stuff (Ha!)...He doesn't bite though, won't say much detail-wise....TJ called this.
6:03 -- Better improvement for suicide squeeze: Fixed that glitch for online for sure.
6:04 -- Enhancement to pay-off pitch?: More analog aiming, so harder to pinpoint. Relies less on rumble now. A little tweak that does a lot.
6:05 -- People would hit pause button over and over before pitching online, anything change there: Yes he did fix some of the pause glitch stuff.
6:05 -- Resolution question: Both games run at 1080i this year.
6:05 -- TJ asks about create-a-player: Not much changed there, but some more stuff dealing with look that was added.
6:06 -- Commentary updates: No new commentary recorded, but so much old commentary that hadn't been used yet so they added that stuff.
6:06 -- A way to turn-off HR cam mode asked by TJ: Nope. But only shows up on deep HRs.
6:07 -- Dual Shock support on PS3?: Nope. Could be added by a patch. DARN for me since I imported one. It kicks arse in MLB 08.
6:08 -- More walks should happen. You should miss on the corners unless you perfectly execute every pitch. Should translate to more walks. Want to make sure people don't always want to aim for corners anymore for fear of throwing a ball.
6:09 -- Last question...Will rooks be on opening day rosters?: BOOOOO this last question...BOOOO. That's it though, game over man, game over.
6:10 -- Chase (PR guy) is talking, I'm not listening. This blog is over.
4:55 -- TJ: Yay, on hold music. This music stinks.
4:55 -- I find it to be quite soothing and folksy music TJ, thank you very much.
4:58 -- Silence strikes on the call, but oh wait replaying this hot folk jam now. Chyeahhhh
5:01 -- The moderator just came on and said 2 mins until Brinkman arrives. Also there will be more time at the end for live questions.
5:01 -- Mr. Moderator slowly starting to get mad with someone's phone giving feedback.
5:02 -- 15 to 20 mins at end for questions. Moderator says 150 questions were asked.
5:03 -- Audio difficulties strike. Brinkman was there and now he's AWOL.
5:04 -- Technical difficulties and 2K? Never have those words gone together.
5:05 -- Ben can hear us, but no one can hear Ben, hotness.
5:06 -- Now Ben can talk.
5:07 -- Ben gives an overview of game: "Thanks guys for coming to the call." It's his 2nd year on the project, blah blah...He's pushing that there is lots more content in the game this year. It's a new experience this year, discusses new controls and whatever else. 90 minor league teams included now. New cards are in the game now. Where's my old news is so exciting picture?
5:08 -- It's quite strange that the PR guy's name is my first name, really messes with my head. He keeps telling me to start asking questions, but he's not really talking to me!
5:10 -- The PR guy Chase dropped or something so Ben is talking about the pitching mechanic now while getting to get him back. The focus with the mechanic was about making it natural and organic, it should be like throwing a ball.
5:11 -- He says there will be more variance in terms of pitching. If you are off slightly when pitching the ball will miss -- not by much -- but more than in the past. It's also based on who the pitcher is....Chase is back now.
5:12 -- Question about production time. Once the old game ships the new one starts. So the cycle is about 10-12 months depending on final approval.
5:12 -- Question about what's most important to gamers: It needs to play well (You don't say!?)
5:12 -- Will there be a demo prior to release? -- That's the hope, but no exact date. But expect the demo very soon.
5:13 -- Was mo-cap used to get new base running animations among other things -- Yes we use mo-cap for everything so 2 and a half weeks of just mo-cap this year for various things. There are now 2 new varieties of swings due to the new mo-cap.
5:14 -- Frame rate question: Our goal was to hit 60 fps. It will never drop to 30, it will sit around 60 most of the time. There shouldn't be much difference between versions of the game -- PS3 and 360. Also the game should always run at 60 for pitcher/hitter, may drop a little in field when lots of stuff going on.
5:16 -- Talking about DLC: Something about new cards being a DL soon after. For example there will be a challenge for a card with Johan on Twins, and then a DL for Johan on the Mets...He didn't say if it was free or not, but I would hope it is.
5:17 -- He's talking about the cards. Am I the only one who doesn't care? I mean maybe I'm just not old enough to remember the golden days of baseball cards? I blame my tainted childhood for that.
5:18 -- More rare cards will have a better chance of being earned depending on the difficulty level. You get cards by doing "wow" things in the game which could be anything from a base hit to whatever grandiose event you can think of I guess.
5:19 -- You can go online and card battle....I want to find these people who do this. Does this hit on the Pokemon and Magic card fans?
5:20 -- Game has been done for a while, but people in dev studio still want to keep getting cards.
5:20 -- What AI tweaks have been made? -- Too numerous to mention, but big ones are batting and pitching AI been re-written -- heard that one before. They couldn't get where they were with old code so started new. Too many singles and home runs so they wanted to get hitters to hit more like real-life counterparts.
5:22 -- Fielders won't always take perfect route to ball as well, so more triples, doubles, less wall climb grabs. You'll also see some more balls in the dirt when throwing to various bases, and also some new block animations to stop those types of balls.
5:23 -- All new double play system. Multiple types of double play animations, including jumping or taking out slides.
5:24 -- Biggest challenge to working on title: The need for polish on time is the thing he points out to most.
5:24 -- Where's the balance with the new user for the pitching mechanic: "I don't want to just pick up a game and master it." So basically out of the box it won't be easy if you don't know what you're doing. However the feedback system should be solid and people should start to get it. He says it will take 5-10 mins to get if you don't know beforehand.
5:26 -- Are you on schedule in the 3-year plan: He thinks so. Really thinks they are delivering on a great gameplay experience this year. The plan should be completed next year. In year 2 give people something new, and a reason to come back for year 3.
5:27 -- Notice a change in difficulty level when you switch it to higher levels. News of the day to this point
5:28 -- What didn't work last year, how was it changed: Wall climbs were about looking good rather than feeling good -- which isn't fun when you see a big arrow and a button saying PRESS ME TO DO AWESOME CLIMB -- not a direct quote. Removed the icon, will know when to dive or do the wall climb now.
5:30 -- For real-life fans what sticks out most: He hearts pitching. It feels like he's throwing a 2-seamer with Josh Beckett. OMG he said it's 2-seamer not a sinker, now who's correct?
5:31 -- Ben Brinkman wants to feel like Josh Beckett....on the mound. The next question just said MLB2K7 was the best baseball game last year. O RLY!?
5:32 -- They cleaned up the code under the hood in PS3 version and 360 version. Also changed the art a bit to take some polygons out but also keep it running smooth and purdy.
5:33 -- Question about sim-engine and improving it: Thought about licensing 3rd party sim engines, but they did improve the sim engine this year. Didn't really specify anything though that was improved.
5:33 -- Question about how ball breaks on pitches and balls to the OF: New cameras in the game should help in terms of fielding and batting and having better depth perception. Should get better sense of speed and trajectory.
5:35 -- How will hot and cold spots play into game: If you consistently throw to hot zone you will get burned. If you continuously throw to cold zone eventually the guy will adjust and have success. So variation is key.
5:36 -- Pfffft somebody hasn't kept up to date, since someone just asked a question about being able to change back to old pitching system. (I'm being facetious, but seriously that was known a while ago).
5:37 -- Fielding is more responsive. Brinkman was not happy with fielding last year. You don't get locked into catches super early anymore, so more control in place there. He admits it's still not perfect but he also says there never has been perfection for fielding. Bottom line, you feel more in control.
5:38 -- Trajectories will change a bit on fielding throws depending on how the ball is thrown (i.e. overheard or more from the side). Some random sound just went through the mic, oddest moment of call...WTF was that TJ?
5:39 -- Has the fatigue bug been fixed in leagues for SP: Yes it has been fixed.
5:40 -- Infinite number of hits that will be in the game this year -- As opposed to the 8-10 that were in the game last year?
5:40 -- Swingstick 2.0: Pull back and push forward. You can also pull left or push right...But not many more directions besides that such as up and left/right etc.
5:42 -- This is a SIM game. What's schedule for roster updates: "As much as we need to." Will do one near ship date. Also do one near opening day. At least do one for trade dead line, 2nd trade deadline, postseason, and all-star break. Won't be one a month though.
5:44 -- How did they handle ratings for overseas guys coming over: It wasn't easy since hard to base it off stats due to MLB being different.
5:44 -- Done a lot to franchise mode this year -- 90 minor league. Won't just stockpile talent on CPU teams, will go after other talent they need as much if not more as well.
5:45 -- F U static guy. He just left....for now.
5:45 -- 4 teams can be human controlled in Franchise mode. That's it. Minor League teams will be playable. 18 authentic minor league stadiums, 3 generic ones -- 18 is quite a bit bully for that.
5:46 -- Static issues come back, not the last static guy though, Brinkman is breaking up a bit right during the minor league players being authentic or not...Balls.
5:47 -- Chase is yelling now since Brinkman couldn't hear him well through static. In the Wii version most every mode will be there. It isn't for the sim crowd as much but still will play pretty sim. Just won't have the same amount of depth. Brinkman has fun with Wii version.
5:48 -- Gameplay is "king" on Wii. All about the gameplay. Focused on major components of gameplay as the biggest portion of development for Wii version.
5:49 -- Details for online play. Matchmaking will be based on W-L as well as rank.
5:50 -- A question about the soundtrack...Ban the person who asked this question: Modest Mouse is in the game -- I have no idea who that is but that's a delightful name.
5:50 -- Cleveland rocks was playing in Boston because that song is on the soundtrack...
5:51 -- Questions now being live asked -- Let a bit about demo slip, Boston will be involved.
5:52 -- TJ just asked about the bat crack: Added all new bat sounds. Multiple different bat cracks based on where the ball hits off bat and also based on velocity.
5:53 -- Is there incentive to play minor league games: Develop faster if you play the games out.
5:54 -- Don't support PS3 accomplishments. 45 XBOX Live achievements that's it.
5:54 -- Integrate motion for Swing Stick 2.0 on PS3: No. But sixaxis still there.
5:55 -- Is there a 1:1 on Wii in terms of swinging: Yes there should be, he hasn't noticed a delay/lag.
5:56 -- Online league management tools been refined? Ben wants confirmation of what guy needs, but gets no love, guy goes silent: Bad echo going on, no idea what he's saying.
5:57 -- How did you make it more accessible to casual gamers: Try to make everything scalable in the game...Give people feedback and on screen queues. People who are hardcore won't play Pro for long, will go to All-Star or Legend.
5:59 -- Will there be any Wii online ish asked by TJ: That's a no.
6:00 -- Any less gimmick pitches this year (El Duque's BS pitch last year hard to hit): It's toned down a bit. If you hit that ball you will crush it assuming it's thrown wrong at all.
6:01 -- Easier to score from 2nd or 1st: Yes you will like the game this year. Fielder accuracy and speed is toned down, runner speed boosted a bit. It really bugged Brinkman as well last year when you couldn't do that often.
6:02 -- What didn't make it this year that you want to see next year asked by TJ: A lot of stuff (Ha!)...He doesn't bite though, won't say much detail-wise....TJ called this.
6:03 -- Better improvement for suicide squeeze: Fixed that glitch for online for sure.
6:04 -- Enhancement to pay-off pitch?: More analog aiming, so harder to pinpoint. Relies less on rumble now. A little tweak that does a lot.
6:05 -- People would hit pause button over and over before pitching online, anything change there: Yes he did fix some of the pause glitch stuff.
6:05 -- Resolution question: Both games run at 1080i this year.
6:05 -- TJ asks about create-a-player: Not much changed there, but some more stuff dealing with look that was added.
6:06 -- Commentary updates: No new commentary recorded, but so much old commentary that hadn't been used yet so they added that stuff.
6:06 -- A way to turn-off HR cam mode asked by TJ: Nope. But only shows up on deep HRs.
6:07 -- Dual Shock support on PS3?: Nope. Could be added by a patch. DARN for me since I imported one. It kicks arse in MLB 08.
6:08 -- More walks should happen. You should miss on the corners unless you perfectly execute every pitch. Should translate to more walks. Want to make sure people don't always want to aim for corners anymore for fear of throwing a ball.
6:09 -- Last question...Will rooks be on opening day rosters?: BOOOOO this last question...BOOOO. That's it though, game over man, game over.
6:10 -- Chase (PR guy) is talking, I'm not listening. This blog is over.
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