So I am having a blast with this game. Aside from the bugs (that I'm not seeing as frequently as others), I really enjoy myself and I also think that this plays a pretty good game of ball. Batting in this game has to be one of my favorite things to do. For the first time I am able to really work a count and read pitches like they do in real life. However, the one thing that I cannot do is check swing. I know how the mechanic works and I can do it if I try to, but I just cannot get out of the MVP2005 mindset and do it intuitively.
What I mean is, if you remember in MVP2005 you had the pressure sensitive buttons on the controller. Check swings were simply a release of the button before whatever the programmed window of input was for a swing. So if you started to swing but then decided to change your mind, it pretty much followed your input (with the occasional exception). I guess I just can't get used to having to do an additional input (pulling back) to stop my swing as opposed to just "not swinging" all the way.
I think that they could make the check swinging mechanic even better if they would actually use the right stick as an actual analog control. Right now it is either a swing or not. It does not matter how much you push the stick forward, it will register a swing regardless of whether its jammed all the way or slightly nudged. I wonder if they could program the stick to have a range of input to complete a swing. Maybe say if you pushed the stick up 75% or more from the its neutral "center" position then that constituted a swing. If you stopped your stick input before you reached that point then your swing would stop accordingly. This would also allow for the check swing to actually be relative to the plane created by the foul line that the umpires are supposed to judge check swings against.
Maybe I'm getting too old (28) for new tricks and I'm forever going to be doomed to not being able to pull off check swings without thinking about it. I just think that the mechanic could be tuned this way to deliver a more realistic and subconscious experience. An additional input to stop something, rather than just stopping the initial input, to me is something that is not natural. Heck, they could even leave the existing mechanic in for the players who like it. Just make the input for hitting actually analog in the upward direction instead of digital and also keep the downward movement both as a way to check swing.
Just wanted to share what I thought could make the game better while simultaneously catering to all the different types of gamers playing. Oh... and bring back the 3-step pitching and hitting timing step options!
What I mean is, if you remember in MVP2005 you had the pressure sensitive buttons on the controller. Check swings were simply a release of the button before whatever the programmed window of input was for a swing. So if you started to swing but then decided to change your mind, it pretty much followed your input (with the occasional exception). I guess I just can't get used to having to do an additional input (pulling back) to stop my swing as opposed to just "not swinging" all the way.
I think that they could make the check swinging mechanic even better if they would actually use the right stick as an actual analog control. Right now it is either a swing or not. It does not matter how much you push the stick forward, it will register a swing regardless of whether its jammed all the way or slightly nudged. I wonder if they could program the stick to have a range of input to complete a swing. Maybe say if you pushed the stick up 75% or more from the its neutral "center" position then that constituted a swing. If you stopped your stick input before you reached that point then your swing would stop accordingly. This would also allow for the check swing to actually be relative to the plane created by the foul line that the umpires are supposed to judge check swings against.
Maybe I'm getting too old (28) for new tricks and I'm forever going to be doomed to not being able to pull off check swings without thinking about it. I just think that the mechanic could be tuned this way to deliver a more realistic and subconscious experience. An additional input to stop something, rather than just stopping the initial input, to me is something that is not natural. Heck, they could even leave the existing mechanic in for the players who like it. Just make the input for hitting actually analog in the upward direction instead of digital and also keep the downward movement both as a way to check swing.
Just wanted to share what I thought could make the game better while simultaneously catering to all the different types of gamers playing. Oh... and bring back the 3-step pitching and hitting timing step options!