Ok, I haven't played MVP yet, but have read a lot about it here and elsewhere. From what I gather, there seems to be one big problem (lack of CPU HRs), a medium issue (tag bug) and a few minor issues that most baseball games always seem to have. In this thread I would like to have a discussion of how EA, and/or other companies can address these issues nxt year.
First, the big problem. It seems the CPU doesn't hit enough HRs once the pitching meter is mastered. I was afraid this would be the case when I first heard about the meter. Everyone seems to really enjoy it so I think it's here to stay, which seems to be a good thing. But, how do you limit the effectiveness of the human pitcher or get us to throw more mistake pitches? Perhaps one solution would be to make the accuracy zone (the green zone) a little smaller to you have to concentrate more. Question: is the accuracy zone smaller for pitchers with more control problems? I assume it is, but if not, it really should be. Maybe the zone needs to get smaller quicker so staying in control is tougher earlier in the game. Also, maybe for pitchers that give up more HRs the zone should somehow change randomly so a mistake pitch is more likely. Suggestions? I feel this is the one area that really needs to be addressed next year.
The tag issue seems to be an animation problem. I think EA was trying to punish players for making innacurate throws, which is an awesome idea, but, if the catcher is out of position, it needs to really look that way and not like a bug. Hopefully this will be easily addressed next year with more animations. Almost all throws from the OF seem to pull the fielder out of position somewhat in real baseball, and a truly accurate throw is rare. Those types of throws make the highlight reel, but don't occur frequently.
Now, for the minor issues that plague every arcade baseball game.
1) Throwing out runners at 1b from RF. This problem could be eliminated if designers would simply make it tougher to cleany field rocket shots. When there is a hard hit grounder/line drive to the OF in real baseball it either rarely gets hit right to the outfielder, or, if it does, it "eats them up" and they bobble or boot the ball, or, the ball skips past them. In most baseball games I've played the fielders simply field hard shots too easily. This could also be a physics problem where there are too many line-drives and hard hit grounders. I remember in Earl Weaver the ball had some arc to it when hit to outfielders which gave the runner time to reach base. Another thing that could help is making the throw to first less accurate since it is a hurried attempt. What about when the OF is playing shallow? Well, they should get burned by having the ball hit over their head, and a rocket shot should absolutely eat them alive!
2) Fielding control. People are complaining about the CPU picking the wrong guy to control. I feel this is really, really difficult for a game to get right, but I have a solution. How about some sort of visual cue to let the player know who the game has chosen for the player to control? For example, if the game gives you the CF to control on a gapper a small "CF" overlay would appear somewhere on the screen. Perhaps an audio cue would work as well.
I think the above problem stems from the camera views most people seem to play with. Close up views make fielding very difficult in my opinion, yet, everyone seems to want them in the game. It's hard to tell who you are controlling when the camera is stuck following the ball and not your fielder. I'm not sure exactly what "Broadcast" view is in MVP, but it sounds like it some sort of TV-style view, and they tells me close-ups. Watching and playing baseball are two very different experiences. Quick cuts and close-up shots make it hard to tell exactly what's going on. I personally love views of the whole field at once since it gives you a clear idea of where the ball is at, where it's headed, and where you players are located. It also makes going for the extra base easier to gauge.
Well, that's all I can think of right now. I know there were a couple more minor issues I wanted to discuss, but I guess I'll wait and see if I can remembe them. Thanks for reading everyone, and please respond so we can get our baseball games headed to perfection
-Joe
First, the big problem. It seems the CPU doesn't hit enough HRs once the pitching meter is mastered. I was afraid this would be the case when I first heard about the meter. Everyone seems to really enjoy it so I think it's here to stay, which seems to be a good thing. But, how do you limit the effectiveness of the human pitcher or get us to throw more mistake pitches? Perhaps one solution would be to make the accuracy zone (the green zone) a little smaller to you have to concentrate more. Question: is the accuracy zone smaller for pitchers with more control problems? I assume it is, but if not, it really should be. Maybe the zone needs to get smaller quicker so staying in control is tougher earlier in the game. Also, maybe for pitchers that give up more HRs the zone should somehow change randomly so a mistake pitch is more likely. Suggestions? I feel this is the one area that really needs to be addressed next year.
The tag issue seems to be an animation problem. I think EA was trying to punish players for making innacurate throws, which is an awesome idea, but, if the catcher is out of position, it needs to really look that way and not like a bug. Hopefully this will be easily addressed next year with more animations. Almost all throws from the OF seem to pull the fielder out of position somewhat in real baseball, and a truly accurate throw is rare. Those types of throws make the highlight reel, but don't occur frequently.
Now, for the minor issues that plague every arcade baseball game.
1) Throwing out runners at 1b from RF. This problem could be eliminated if designers would simply make it tougher to cleany field rocket shots. When there is a hard hit grounder/line drive to the OF in real baseball it either rarely gets hit right to the outfielder, or, if it does, it "eats them up" and they bobble or boot the ball, or, the ball skips past them. In most baseball games I've played the fielders simply field hard shots too easily. This could also be a physics problem where there are too many line-drives and hard hit grounders. I remember in Earl Weaver the ball had some arc to it when hit to outfielders which gave the runner time to reach base. Another thing that could help is making the throw to first less accurate since it is a hurried attempt. What about when the OF is playing shallow? Well, they should get burned by having the ball hit over their head, and a rocket shot should absolutely eat them alive!
2) Fielding control. People are complaining about the CPU picking the wrong guy to control. I feel this is really, really difficult for a game to get right, but I have a solution. How about some sort of visual cue to let the player know who the game has chosen for the player to control? For example, if the game gives you the CF to control on a gapper a small "CF" overlay would appear somewhere on the screen. Perhaps an audio cue would work as well.
I think the above problem stems from the camera views most people seem to play with. Close up views make fielding very difficult in my opinion, yet, everyone seems to want them in the game. It's hard to tell who you are controlling when the camera is stuck following the ball and not your fielder. I'm not sure exactly what "Broadcast" view is in MVP, but it sounds like it some sort of TV-style view, and they tells me close-ups. Watching and playing baseball are two very different experiences. Quick cuts and close-up shots make it hard to tell exactly what's going on. I personally love views of the whole field at once since it gives you a clear idea of where the ball is at, where it's headed, and where you players are located. It also makes going for the extra base easier to gauge.
Well, that's all I can think of right now. I know there were a couple more minor issues I wanted to discuss, but I guess I'll wait and see if I can remembe them. Thanks for reading everyone, and please respond so we can get our baseball games headed to perfection
-Joe
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