I'm this close.
I've played more than 75 complete games now, thinking about tweaks every step of the way: sometimes I'll make tweaks on the fly, sometimes I'll assess a game's outcome and make tweaks then; sometimes I'll tweak based on an entire series, or even pair of series, etc. etc.
So, I'm to the point where I think everything is perfect - except two things.
1. PITCHER STAMINA
I've been watching this for the past six or seven games (though this wouldn't qualify as an actual 'study') and it's very hard to figure out. Just now, before coming to post this, I was playing a game in which (my) Mike Maroth throws 52 pitches and is at 39% stamina. (Their) Jared Weaver throws 86 pitches and is cruising at a cool 77%.
I have both stamina sliders set at 25. Early in the season (i.e. each pitcher's first start) this seemed a good number; guys could go to 70 or 80 pitches before fatigue became a real factor; beyond that, pitching was a challenge, but if you could continue to hit your spots he would have plenty of gas to get to 100.
Now, like I said, I got a guy whose thrown 50 lousy pitches and is out of gas - but I've also had games where my guys' stamina would act like Weaver's above.
So, which is the correct answer?
A: I turn the slider up (like to the 65 or similar numbers I've seen others use) to account for times when a Weaver situation.
B: I turn the slider down to account for Maroth situations.
Obviously, if I jack the slider to 65, Maroth wouldn't have gotten out of the first inning? Interesting. Maybe that's the idea?
In turn, if I lower the slider, to 20 or 10, then by the evidence guys would be able to throw 150 (maybe more) balls on occasion. Again, maybe this is a clue, if you will, that your guy (or their guy) is really on their game.
I suspect a good number here is just plain ol' 50. That'll be my next tweak. Any further thoughts on this issue are welcome.
2. HUMAN PITCHING v. CPU/AI HITTING
I love CPU contact at 35. Pitching with Joel Zumaya, for example - it's a rush and a half to throw that 101 mph fastball at hitters, knowing they can't touch it: swing and miss or they take it; it just feels awesome.
Bumping the CPU contact, you kind of lose this. Sure, you can still get a few, even a handful, of K's per game, but that feeling that comes with knowing 'they gotta get lucky to hit this guy' is almost entirely removed: they have virtually the same chance to hit this guy as they did the last guy, and you're the one who has to get lucky.
Trouble is, of course, that with the contact down at 35 the CPU can't score any damn runs. I even jacked the power up to 100 to see if I could offset the problem in some way, and I still threw a three-hit shutout.
Now this can get really complicated (hence the trouble) because there are multiple sliders, with varying effects, that come into play here: Inside Edge; Pitcher Difficulty; AI Skill; all the AI hitting sliders; all the AI take sliders; Pitcher Interface Speed; Pitcher Stamina; and the AI Effectiveness Mod.
This mass of sliders (14 in all) causes a real problem because it's hard to remember exactly what you did and what the results were. In other words, how do you look into whether Insider Edge is the bomb or a sham unless you're certain everything else is in working order?
I mean, let's be honest: it's within the realm of possibility that this game is the bomb. I think most of us still playing a lot would agree.
Changing something like putting (both) Pitcher Stamina at 50, and allowing this to play a major role in determining whether a pitcher has a good day or bad, has fairly drastic implications to the HUM/CPU interface. The solution to my problem discussed above about pitching being too easy might be right in front of my face: Mike Maroth is at 30% stamina after 50 pitches, but in the tradition of 'sim' I wouldn't know this as the manager; I only know he's thrown 50 pitches. In other words, if it's the third or fourth and my guy is gassed, the challenge is: still getting him to the seventh, or to 85-95 pitches!
Ya know? See if you're still throwin' no-hitters then, right? What's it like to pitch at zero percent - and should we be doing it? It's possible, that's all I'm saying. And, for example, supposing for the moment this were a good idea, what effect would that have on, say, the Pitcher Interface Speed number? Might 100 be total insanity? Might 50 actually prove the better number?
And remember this is only one small example of the kind of things possible with that hodgepodge of 14 sliders! It's a freaking mess!
To recap a bit (I apologize for being so long-winded):
1. Pitching is ... 'too hard and too easy at the same time' ... I can't think of a better way to put it.
2. The sheer number of sliders (not to mention anything to do with Inside Edge) that have a role in the perfecting of this aspect of the game is, quite simply, daunting.
I've played more than 75 complete games now, thinking about tweaks every step of the way: sometimes I'll make tweaks on the fly, sometimes I'll assess a game's outcome and make tweaks then; sometimes I'll tweak based on an entire series, or even pair of series, etc. etc.
So, I'm to the point where I think everything is perfect - except two things.
1. PITCHER STAMINA
I've been watching this for the past six or seven games (though this wouldn't qualify as an actual 'study') and it's very hard to figure out. Just now, before coming to post this, I was playing a game in which (my) Mike Maroth throws 52 pitches and is at 39% stamina. (Their) Jared Weaver throws 86 pitches and is cruising at a cool 77%.
I have both stamina sliders set at 25. Early in the season (i.e. each pitcher's first start) this seemed a good number; guys could go to 70 or 80 pitches before fatigue became a real factor; beyond that, pitching was a challenge, but if you could continue to hit your spots he would have plenty of gas to get to 100.
Now, like I said, I got a guy whose thrown 50 lousy pitches and is out of gas - but I've also had games where my guys' stamina would act like Weaver's above.
So, which is the correct answer?
A: I turn the slider up (like to the 65 or similar numbers I've seen others use) to account for times when a Weaver situation.
B: I turn the slider down to account for Maroth situations.
Obviously, if I jack the slider to 65, Maroth wouldn't have gotten out of the first inning? Interesting. Maybe that's the idea?
In turn, if I lower the slider, to 20 or 10, then by the evidence guys would be able to throw 150 (maybe more) balls on occasion. Again, maybe this is a clue, if you will, that your guy (or their guy) is really on their game.
I suspect a good number here is just plain ol' 50. That'll be my next tweak. Any further thoughts on this issue are welcome.
2. HUMAN PITCHING v. CPU/AI HITTING
I love CPU contact at 35. Pitching with Joel Zumaya, for example - it's a rush and a half to throw that 101 mph fastball at hitters, knowing they can't touch it: swing and miss or they take it; it just feels awesome.
Bumping the CPU contact, you kind of lose this. Sure, you can still get a few, even a handful, of K's per game, but that feeling that comes with knowing 'they gotta get lucky to hit this guy' is almost entirely removed: they have virtually the same chance to hit this guy as they did the last guy, and you're the one who has to get lucky.
Trouble is, of course, that with the contact down at 35 the CPU can't score any damn runs. I even jacked the power up to 100 to see if I could offset the problem in some way, and I still threw a three-hit shutout.
Now this can get really complicated (hence the trouble) because there are multiple sliders, with varying effects, that come into play here: Inside Edge; Pitcher Difficulty; AI Skill; all the AI hitting sliders; all the AI take sliders; Pitcher Interface Speed; Pitcher Stamina; and the AI Effectiveness Mod.
This mass of sliders (14 in all) causes a real problem because it's hard to remember exactly what you did and what the results were. In other words, how do you look into whether Insider Edge is the bomb or a sham unless you're certain everything else is in working order?
I mean, let's be honest: it's within the realm of possibility that this game is the bomb. I think most of us still playing a lot would agree.
Changing something like putting (both) Pitcher Stamina at 50, and allowing this to play a major role in determining whether a pitcher has a good day or bad, has fairly drastic implications to the HUM/CPU interface. The solution to my problem discussed above about pitching being too easy might be right in front of my face: Mike Maroth is at 30% stamina after 50 pitches, but in the tradition of 'sim' I wouldn't know this as the manager; I only know he's thrown 50 pitches. In other words, if it's the third or fourth and my guy is gassed, the challenge is: still getting him to the seventh, or to 85-95 pitches!
Ya know? See if you're still throwin' no-hitters then, right? What's it like to pitch at zero percent - and should we be doing it? It's possible, that's all I'm saying. And, for example, supposing for the moment this were a good idea, what effect would that have on, say, the Pitcher Interface Speed number? Might 100 be total insanity? Might 50 actually prove the better number?
And remember this is only one small example of the kind of things possible with that hodgepodge of 14 sliders! It's a freaking mess!
To recap a bit (I apologize for being so long-winded):
1. Pitching is ... 'too hard and too easy at the same time' ... I can't think of a better way to put it.
2. The sheer number of sliders (not to mention anything to do with Inside Edge) that have a role in the perfecting of this aspect of the game is, quite simply, daunting.
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