Turn on Catcher Suggestions and throw to the glove....sort of

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  • therizing02
    MVP
    • Apr 2003
    • 4176

    #1

    Turn on Catcher Suggestions and throw to the glove....sort of

    We all know that there is no "fix" for the AI Swinging issue so don't take this another of those threads.

    Last night I went back to catcher suggestions and just threw to the glove or in a very close proximity of it. I had great success and realistic results doing this last year so I figured what the heck, give it a shot.

    The first inning I went to it, Cliff Lee threw 28 pitches to the Sox. Walked two, struck out one, and gave up 4 hits and two runs. I saw four things that I haven't seen before. Four pitches right down the middle of the plate that the CPU did not swing at. Again, it's not a fix, but the game played out much better.

    I switched to catcher suggestions in the bottom of the 6th leading 2-1. Up until that point I had thrown 40 pitches total for the game. I ended up throwing 121 total for the game of which 62.5% were strikes.

    After rallying to tie the game at 4 in the top of the 9th, I missed inside with a cutter to Konerko who hit a two run homer to win it for the Sox 6-4.

    This is something that is going to be really tough for some people to do, but again, it works a lot better than you would think. As far pitching to the glove, I'm not always throwing to the middle of the glove. I tried that in a Marlins/Mets game and Beltran hit a HR that hasn't landed yet! Again, DO NOT try to throw to the middle of the glove unless it's positioned out of the strike zone or occasionally if the catcher is calling for an off speed pitch that the hitter struggles with.

    At times it will look like the catcher is set up and asking for a fastball down the middle. If he does, I'll either shake him off or place the bottom of the cursor just on the top part of the glove and fire away. A lot of hitters in the game have a high chase rating just out of the zone up top. I'm still trying to hit spots and corners, but the catcher mixes up pitches and locations very well and I've confirmed some of his calls by looking at the hitter's IE info. He's very accurate and this has been implemented well by 2K.

    Occasionally the catcher will call for a pitch that is completely off IMO. When that's the case, hit A and he will call a new pitch and/or a different location. I called him off about 5-10 times last night. It actually burned me once and I gave a RBI single.

    I'm using a combo of Banhzo and Joe's sliders with pitch speed at 95. Still messing with the Hitting Power and Skill sliders, but I'm very close to maxing out the potential of this game for me anyway.

    Give it a shot fellas. What do you have to lose? Right?
  • SoxFan01605
    All Star
    • Jan 2008
    • 7982

    #2
    Re: Turn on Catcher Suggestions and throw to the glove....sort of

    http://www.operationsports.com/forum...eness-fix.html

    Comment

    • Scott1174
      Rookie
      • Mar 2009
      • 106

      #3
      Re: Turn on Catcher Suggestions and throw to the glove....sort of

      Originally posted by therizing02
      We all know that there is no "fix" for the AI Swinging issue so don't take this another of those threads.

      Last night I went back to catcher suggestions and just threw to the glove or in a very close proximity of it. I had great success and realistic results doing this last year so I figured what the heck, give it a shot.

      The first inning I went to it, Cliff Lee threw 28 pitches to the Sox. Walked two, struck out one, and gave up 4 hits and two runs. I saw four things that I haven't seen before. Four pitches right down the middle of the plate that the CPU did not swing at. Again, it's not a fix, but the game played out much better.

      I switched to catcher suggestions in the bottom of the 6th leading 2-1. Up until that point I had thrown 40 pitches total for the game. I ended up throwing 121 total for the game of which 62.5% were strikes.

      After rallying to tie the game at 4 in the top of the 9th, I missed inside with a cutter to Konerko who hit a two run homer to win it for the Sox 6-4.

      This is something that is going to be really tough for some people to do, but again, it works a lot better than you would think. As far pitching to the glove, I'm not always throwing to the middle of the glove. I tried that in a Marlins/Mets game and Beltran hit a HR that hasn't landed yet! Again, DO NOT try to throw to the middle of the glove unless it's positioned out of the strike zone or occasionally if the catcher is calling for an off speed pitch that the hitter struggles with.

      At times it will look like the catcher is set up and asking for a fastball down the middle. If he does, I'll either shake him off or place the bottom of the cursor just on the top part of the glove and fire away. A lot of hitters in the game have a high chase rating just out of the zone up top. I'm still trying to hit spots and corners, but the catcher mixes up pitches and locations very well and I've confirmed some of his calls by looking at the hitter's IE info. He's very accurate and this has been implemented well by 2K.

      Occasionally the catcher will call for a pitch that is completely off IMO. When that's the case, hit A and he will call a new pitch and/or a different location. I called him off about 5-10 times last night. It actually burned me once and I gave a RBI single.

      I'm using a combo of Banhzo and Joe's sliders with pitch speed at 95. Still messing with the Hitting Power and Skill sliders, but I'm very close to maxing out the potential of this game for me anyway.

      Give it a shot fellas. What do you have to lose? Right?
      I do the same thing as you but the catcher calls the same pitch like 3 times in a row, so I have to shake him off or use a different pitch and location

      Comment

      • Bahnzo
        Can't spell antetokounmpo
        • Jun 2003
        • 2809

        #4
        Re: Turn on Catcher Suggestions and throw to the glove....sort of

        I think this is a great idea actually. Combined with zooming out the pitching camera all the way, this works about as well as anything else to improve the pitching. I've turned the meter all the way up to 100, zoomed out, and I can still pinpoint pitches 99% of the time.

        I'll need to make some slider adjustments maybe, but I've played a couple games and I really like it so far. Good idea man.
        Steam: Bahnzo

        Comment

        • JayhawkerStL
          Banned
          • Apr 2004
          • 3644

          #5
          Re: Turn on Catcher Suggestions and throw to the glove....sort of

          This was exactly what I did in 2K8. My house rule was to throw what was called, and to aim for a piece of the glove. Sometimes this meant throwing a ball on a count with three balls in order to get the batter to chase. Sometimes the center of the glove was out of the zone, but a small piece was on the corner that I could aim for. If it was 0-2, then I would go outside the zone. If it was 2-0, I aimed for the piece in the zone. Bit I alaways aimed for the glove.

          Shaking off works so much better this year, but I pretty much just shake off those balls the catcher calls for way outside the zone.

          Unfortunately, this is where I really miss the payoff pitch. Forcing yourself to let the catcher call the pitch took away the tendency to just build up your guy's fastball. Also, once a pitch was built up, I would rather throw something else, rather than risk losing the boost I had worked so hard for.

          The problem is, this year's pitching is just not as well done. Even maxing out the sliders, it is still far too easy to hit my spots. It's much easier than last year, and I'm still hitting spots as my pitcher tires.

          I'm pretty close to switching to classic pitching. I've found that my location is much worse, even though I am just button mashing. In fact, it feels very similar to how I felt while pitching in the demo for The Show this year. I crave that inability to hit my spots. But I just wish it was due more to the motion and timing of the right stick.

          Comment

          • Qb
            All Star
            • Mar 2003
            • 8797

            #6
            Re: Turn on Catcher Suggestions and throw to the glove....sort of

            Originally posted by Bahnzo
            I've turned the meter all the way up to 100, zoomed out, and I can still pinpoint pitches 99% of the time.
            Have you tried 3-step pitching yet? I used it in the brief time I played and found that poor timing on your release will cause you to miss your spots. I even saw a few go to the opposite side of the plate from where I was aiming. I can distinctly remember one pitch that I aimed in on the hands, but threw high & away due to a terrible release. This actually brought a smile to my face and the animation of the catcher reacting to catch the ball looked sweet as well.

            I know that we'll likely adapt to any mechanic in time, but 3-step pitching with maxed out difficulty for release (probably the others as well) seems like it might make it more difficult to be accurate all the time. It may not make it truly realistic, but at least it seems that it will punish the user by way of location, whereas I think 2-step only affects the pitch effectiveness or quality, whatever 2K calls it...

            Comment

            • JayhawkerStL
              Banned
              • Apr 2004
              • 3644

              #7
              Re: Turn on Catcher Suggestions and throw to the glove....sort of

              No, even maxing out the sliders on the three step pitching is not enough this year. Last year's game just handled this much better. I can still hit my spots all to frequently, and I never worry about walking batters. Ever.

              The classic pitching really is better this year. The meter is uglier, but if feels almost identical to The Show's style of pitching, and gets abut the same results. It's odd that button mashing results in less precise control.

              Comment

              • therizing02
                MVP
                • Apr 2003
                • 4176

                #8
                Re: Turn on Catcher Suggestions and throw to the glove....sort of

                Q, I'll have to try the 3 Step method. To get there do I need to activate the Release Point and use Breakpoint Aim?

                Anyway, I have tried the Classic method this year and I will say that there have been games where I absolutely could not get the ball over the plate.

                I used Halladay against the Yanks in the Bronx and no matter what I did I could not throw a strike! I then tried it with Zambrano. Same result.

                I'm now trying it with Sheilds (TB) against the Yankees and after 2 innings I've already thrown 50 pitches, walked 3, and given up 5 runs. Texeira hit one to Clearwater and Matsui and Gardner hit two balls off the wall so hard that they could only get singles.

                There might be something to this. I may experiment a little more. The meter is ridiculous though.

                (BTW Q, I hope Roma kicks Arsenal's azzes today!)

                Comment

                • Bahnzo
                  Can't spell antetokounmpo
                  • Jun 2003
                  • 2809

                  #9
                  Re: Turn on Catcher Suggestions and throw to the glove....sort of

                  Originally posted by therizing02
                  Anyway, I have tried the Classic method this year and I will say that there have been games where I absolutely could not get the ball over the plate.
                  After we talked last nite I gave the classic pitching a try, and I had the same thing, tho not as extreme. Seems like classic pitching is harder to hit your spots.

                  Also something I noticed (and I'm sure others have already, cuz I'm not the sharpest tool sometimes) is that the Human's Hold Timing Influence is what is needed to improve extra base hits. At first it seemed logical to have this at 100 to make it the hardest, but what it actually does is control the break and effort of your pitches. If you set it lower, say 50, your pitches no longer break 2 feet and the AI doesn't flail at every single curveball. I set it to 20 and got pounded for 19 runs by the A's using your pitching method. So I have to say this is key also.
                  Steam: Bahnzo

                  Comment

                  • therizing02
                    MVP
                    • Apr 2003
                    • 4176

                    #10
                    Re: Turn on Catcher Suggestions and throw to the glove....sort of

                    Originally posted by Bahnzo
                    After we talked last nite I gave the classic pitching a try, and I had the same thing, tho not as extreme. Seems like classic pitching is harder to hit your spots.

                    Also something I noticed (and I'm sure others have already, cuz I'm not the sharpest tool sometimes) is that the Human's Hold Timing Influence is what is needed to improve extra base hits. At first it seemed logical to have this at 100 to make it the hardest, but what it actually does is control the break and effort of your pitches. If you set it lower, say 50, your pitches no longer break 2 feet and the AI doesn't flail at every single curveball. I set it to 20 and got pounded for 19 runs by the A's using your pitching method. So I have to say this is key also.

                    That's interesting. I may have to drop it to 75 even though I had the Yankees on the ropes with 5-0 lead in the 3rd and they came back and won 6-5. Texeira just kills me.

                    Did you see more hard hit balls as opposed to those soft singles?

                    Comment

                    • Bahnzo
                      Can't spell antetokounmpo
                      • Jun 2003
                      • 2809

                      #11
                      Re: Turn on Catcher Suggestions and throw to the glove....sort of

                      Originally posted by therizing02
                      That's interesting. I may have to drop it to 75 even though I had the Yankees on the ropes with 5-0 lead in the 3rd and they came back and won 6-5. Texeira just kills me.

                      Did you see more hard hit balls as opposed to those soft singles?
                      Absolutely. Basically at 100 every pitch is full effort and every curve ball drops 3 feet. Lower it to 50 and it's more realistic and the AI perks up some. You'll need to lower their batting of course, but I think it's much better than those rainbow curves and the sliders that can go around corners.
                      Steam: Bahnzo

                      Comment

                      • therizing02
                        MVP
                        • Apr 2003
                        • 4176

                        #12
                        Re: Turn on Catcher Suggestions and throw to the glove....sort of

                        Well, it's official. I cannot use Classic pitching because I can't get the ball over the plate. There is the possibility that I'm not using the meter properly, but I just threw 82 pitches in 4 innings against the Yankees and only 39% were strikes.

                        As far as the meter is concerned, I thought you were to hold down the button of the pitch you want to throw, the longer you hold it down the more effort, and then you hit it again when the circle is at it's smallest point?

                        Brutal. I gave up 10 runs and walked 5.

                        Comment

                        • JayhawkerStL
                          Banned
                          • Apr 2004
                          • 3644

                          #13
                          Re: Turn on Catcher Suggestions and throw to the glove....sort of

                          Originally posted by therizing02
                          Well, it's official. I cannot use Classic pitching because I can't get the ball over the plate. There is the possibility that I'm not using the meter properly, but I just threw 82 pitches in 4 innings against the Yankees and only 39% were strikes.

                          As far as the meter is concerned, I thought you were to hold down the button of the pitch you want to throw, the longer you hold it down the more effort, and then you hit it again when the circle is at it's smallest point?

                          Brutal. I gave up 10 runs and walked 5.
                          Had some of the same problems. I went into practice mode and workedthem out. The thing is, this is where you want to come from. I'm pitching much better, but i am still having location problems. but that is a million times better than perfectling locating 70-80 pitches a game.

                          I'd say I am in similar situation to last year's game, where it really took me some time to get the Total Control pitching. I fully expect to get much, much better at locating my pitches. I also expect that I will never reach the laser controlled ability of my three or two-step methods.

                          I hate that that I have given up on total control, as it was probably my favorite feature of the 2K games. But there is no reason why 2K can make the classic pitching this difficult, but cannot do the same for the Total Control. Well, there is one reason, and it is that they listened to the whiners from last season that said it was too hard.

                          But I can't play the game if I can throw strikes at will. More than just strikes, but I locate pitches in the corner of each of the nine zones. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

                          Comment

                          • BadKermit
                            Rookie
                            • Feb 2004
                            • 482

                            #14
                            Re: Turn on Catcher Suggestions and throw to the glove....sort of

                            This is an interesting thread. I might have to give Classic Pitching a shot.
                            Of course, if Dawson gets hot, and
                            Sutcliffe comes through, and....
                            Pa, see what you did to me?

                            - Mike Royko

                            Comment

                            • Bahnzo
                              Can't spell antetokounmpo
                              • Jun 2003
                              • 2809

                              #15
                              Re: Turn on Catcher Suggestions and throw to the glove....sort of

                              Originally posted by therizing02
                              Well, it's official. I cannot use Classic pitching because I can't get the ball over the plate. There is the possibility that I'm not using the meter properly, but I just threw 82 pitches in 4 innings against the Yankees and only 39% were strikes.

                              As far as the meter is concerned, I thought you were to hold down the button of the pitch you want to throw, the longer you hold it down the more effort, and then you hit it again when the circle is at it's smallest point?

                              Brutal. I gave up 10 runs and walked 5.
                              Take a look at what your release timing is set too. I've toned it down to 85 for now...100 and I was all over the place.
                              Steam: Bahnzo

                              Comment

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