I’m aware the 9 of us who are actually still playing this game are all sick of hearing about the bugs, glitches and game play issues… but I really do have to share my observations regarding the AI Skill slider, and the fact it makes or breaks aspects of how realistically and sim-like this game plays.
I’ve been saying since the first week the game came out: the AI Skill slider acts like a CPU auto-hit cheat. It “auto-directs” the ball into the gaps between 3B and SS, 2B and 1B, LF and CF, and CF and RF.
I started a season a few days ago with AI Skill @ 30, the lowest I can set it without the CPU striking out all the time. But I find it pointless to keep playing. No matter where I shift my IF and OF, the AI Skill slider causes the ball to hit the gaps, time and time again. Shift left and the CPU finds the right gap. Shift right, the left gap. Shifts are a big part of the game, and the AI Skill slider makes it a redundant exercise.
Basically, the game program is reading where you have your shift, and then causes the ball to go where your players aren’t. It’s a cheesy kind of programming cheat that’s showing up more and more in games, and I assume that’s because it’s quick and easy to program. Given how complex these games are becoming, companies and programmers don’t have a lot of time to come up with more creative programming choices is my guess.
Anyway: with AI Skill @ 0, you see a full variety of hits, plus you see the ball traveling to random locations around the field and park. But more than that: NOT just random. With AI Skill @ 0, the ball off the bat begins to realistically react to WHERE YOU PITCH to the batter. That’s CRITICAL, because now one can, say, shift the IF left and pitch inside to a right-handed batter and EXPECT the ball to head directly to 3B if you hit the very inside corner and the batter makes contact. With AI Skill up, that ball wouldn’t head towards 3B. It would find the gap between 3B and SS. And it would find that gap regardless of whether you shifted left or right, or didn’t shift at all.
You can see all this by performing a test. Pitch fastballs or maybe sinkers, middle of the plate and down. With AI Skill @ 0, the batter will blast a lot of those pitches right back up the middle. With AI Skill up, right-handed batters will hit the ball in the gap between 3B and SS, and left-handed batters will knock the ball between the 2B and 1B gap. It’s that obvious.
I’m working on my own solutions to all this. For me it first means editing the pitchers on my team – lowering their various individual pitching ratings by 50% (for a start). I’m doing this so I can hopefully drop the AI Skill slider to 0. If my P’s are only half as good, then the CPU has a chance to hit the ball with the AI Skill slider that low. And then I don’t have to edit every pitcher in the league.
What I’m already seeing however, is that CPU batters’ individual Strikeout (and maybe even Base on Balls) ratings are going to have to be raised. Batters are still striking out too much with their default ratings. But the moment I raise those ratings into the 90 range, I start to see a decent amount of CPU contact. But that’s easy to do – one or two quick edits per CPU batter. Plus I’ve found those ratings (and some others) aren’t particularly accurate compared to their real-life stats, anyway.
I’ve been saying since the first week the game came out: the AI Skill slider acts like a CPU auto-hit cheat. It “auto-directs” the ball into the gaps between 3B and SS, 2B and 1B, LF and CF, and CF and RF.
I started a season a few days ago with AI Skill @ 30, the lowest I can set it without the CPU striking out all the time. But I find it pointless to keep playing. No matter where I shift my IF and OF, the AI Skill slider causes the ball to hit the gaps, time and time again. Shift left and the CPU finds the right gap. Shift right, the left gap. Shifts are a big part of the game, and the AI Skill slider makes it a redundant exercise.
Basically, the game program is reading where you have your shift, and then causes the ball to go where your players aren’t. It’s a cheesy kind of programming cheat that’s showing up more and more in games, and I assume that’s because it’s quick and easy to program. Given how complex these games are becoming, companies and programmers don’t have a lot of time to come up with more creative programming choices is my guess.
Anyway: with AI Skill @ 0, you see a full variety of hits, plus you see the ball traveling to random locations around the field and park. But more than that: NOT just random. With AI Skill @ 0, the ball off the bat begins to realistically react to WHERE YOU PITCH to the batter. That’s CRITICAL, because now one can, say, shift the IF left and pitch inside to a right-handed batter and EXPECT the ball to head directly to 3B if you hit the very inside corner and the batter makes contact. With AI Skill up, that ball wouldn’t head towards 3B. It would find the gap between 3B and SS. And it would find that gap regardless of whether you shifted left or right, or didn’t shift at all.
You can see all this by performing a test. Pitch fastballs or maybe sinkers, middle of the plate and down. With AI Skill @ 0, the batter will blast a lot of those pitches right back up the middle. With AI Skill up, right-handed batters will hit the ball in the gap between 3B and SS, and left-handed batters will knock the ball between the 2B and 1B gap. It’s that obvious.
I’m working on my own solutions to all this. For me it first means editing the pitchers on my team – lowering their various individual pitching ratings by 50% (for a start). I’m doing this so I can hopefully drop the AI Skill slider to 0. If my P’s are only half as good, then the CPU has a chance to hit the ball with the AI Skill slider that low. And then I don’t have to edit every pitcher in the league.
What I’m already seeing however, is that CPU batters’ individual Strikeout (and maybe even Base on Balls) ratings are going to have to be raised. Batters are still striking out too much with their default ratings. But the moment I raise those ratings into the 90 range, I start to see a decent amount of CPU contact. But that’s easy to do – one or two quick edits per CPU batter. Plus I’ve found those ratings (and some others) aren’t particularly accurate compared to their real-life stats, anyway.
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