Any slider suggestions?

[moral_virus]

I've been struggling with this game for a long while, tweaking sliders to try and gain as realistic an approach as possible - players trying to work counts, pitch count being more a factor for pitchers, stamina allowing for the magic pitch count number to be 100 instead of 80 as it seemingly is - but after some months of testing I feel the game has regressed on me. I'm now finding myself no longer seeing the progress I had after all that tweaking and adjusting - it's pretty much fizzled out.

I've gotten the AI to throw more balls and really work on their own pitch counts, though foul balls is still pretty elusive unless you change your timing just to create them, but now I'm seeing the AI swing at the first strike thrown to them. It also wasn't helpful that for a while the pitch would seemingly round itself to catch a corner or the black when I was intentionally throwing lower, or further outside/inside of the plate (with pin point, which started off fine for me, as well, as it allowed for pitches that weren't correctly gestured to simply fall further away from my location, mostly for balls and the occasional pass-ball/wild pitch).

I really want to enjoy this game again like I did the previous month, where I felt like the game was living up to the one aspect that makes baseball so unique - that pitcher/batter showdown. I'm seeing less and less of that as the AI seems to have gone back to it's pre-patch form.

Is this an issue for anyone else and is there any work-arounds for it, like sliders I should look at that can give me the more realistic baseball experience I'm seeking? I've even tried AI batter success and contact as low as 10 only to see that it had no effect upon the game's ability to rip me for singles on the very first strike thrown it's way - and yes, I've tried this with many teams so it's not just impatient hitters doing it because it's their habit, it's practically every hitter.

[mkharsh33]

Re: Any slider suggestions?

give the sliders a look in Blazzen's thread...he lays a bunch out side by side.

I'm tweaking his update with a couple things and i think i've just about found it (for me). i agree with you regarding the pitcher stamina - have you experimented with it set at 45? i haven't - was wondering what you may have found with that.

what i do find pretty fun is the composure of my pitcher - i have it set at 75...i've blown 2 saves with lesser rated pitchers, but it was realistic and had the nervous feel of what a game should.

i lost a game in 14 innings the other night, but had a blast in doing so... not a perfect game, but it's not as bad as people make it out to be. frustrating, yet keeps me coming back.

[Padgoi]

Re: Any slider suggestions?

Use mine with cursor hitting. It's worked wonders for a lot of people.

[Blazzen]

Re: Any slider suggestions?

Realistic pitch counts don't happen in this game as there aren't enough fall balls. Neither will the strike % be realistic while having enough walks as there aren't enough fall balls. The bad pitch count thing mostly comes down to a lack of fall balls and somewhat the CPU being too aggressive (though that can be used against them, throw some first pitch breaking balls).

[moral_virus]

Re: Any slider suggestions?

give the sliders a look in Blazzen's thread...he lays a bunch out side by side.

I'm tweaking his update with a couple things and i think i've just about found it (for me). i agree with you regarding the pitcher stamina - have you experimented with it set at 45? i haven't - was wondering what you may have found with that.

what i do find pretty fun is the composure of my pitcher - i have it set at 75...i've blown 2 saves with lesser rated pitchers, but it was realistic and had the nervous feel of what a game should.

i lost a game in 14 innings the other night, but had a blast in doing so... not a perfect game, but it's not as bad as people make it out to be. frustrating, yet keeps me coming back.

Thanks, I've looked at the Excel file and was a bit confused, especially after reading how high some of Blazen's average figures were compared to others who's sliders list lower figures and claim for a more realistic experience.

I've tried out the pitcher stamina to as low as 30, and that's a bit of a dangerous slope as it increases their pitch count threshold to be as high as 120 before they start seeing the red. I found that 40 is perfect, even opening up Steve Phillips to point out that a pitcher is nearing 100 pitches, rather than the usual "he's up over 80 pitches" line that he's so commonly known to state during a game. Maybe 45 would be just as suitable and still cause some pitchers to get yanked early after 90 pitches, which seems to be the trend for some managers, but I've grown used to 40 stamina.

I'm all too familiar with the composure and have found so much fun in that. Practice runs in franchise mode as the Pirates, and I've blown two save opportunities with Matt Capps, one against the Cardinals where LaRussa's brilliance as a manager peered out - suicide squeeze to win out a game in early April after a "masterful" performance by Duke earlier in the game.

I'll certainly look up Blazen's figures again and see if that can't help out with my issue. I just found it weird that the game started playing like the pre-patch days just a week after I was just having fun with the game and was ready to start up a serious franchise with the Bucs.