The MLB 2K9 Developers Are Listening

[wrigleyville33]

1. I say start from scratch. Since VC is running things now, I say you just throw 2k6, 2k7, and 2k8 completely in the waste bin. Find a new engine, new commentary, new player models, the whole 10 yards

2. Find a tv license. Go with some kind of network, maybe fox (get the nation wide fox broadcast or the regional fsn broadcasts...) or maybe even the upcoming mlb network. We all know you have the money. Use nfl 2k5 as a reference for presentation, if an old gen game could do it, you could too.

3. I honestly don't find a career mode nesesary yet. You guys need to perfect gameplay and animations first. Then maybe work on the little features like career mode.

4. Maybe try making a baseball game for once. Have you ever thought of doing that? I swear I don't think any of the developers of the previous 2k showings have a) ever seen a baseball game or b) know what realism is.

5. The little things. I'm not talking about card trading or any of those wasteful features. I'm talking about in game. The little things that are in stadiums, in the weather, the player's actions. These little things are what really make a game authentic to me. Whether it is the field wearing down, the ivy in wrigley being dead in april and slowly turning green into summer, the simple actions the players do in reaction of a play, realistic emotional fans. Basically look to mvp 05 and what the show does with realism.

I have to deal with 2k, because I really don't feel like dishing out 460 bucks for a video game. I'm a die hard cubs fan, and neither game has provided me with an authentic wrigley field yet. Infact, the stadiums in general sucked in 2k's offerings. I could honestly create a more authentic stadium with zmod (mvp baseball 2005). I have been working on tropicana field for mvp baseball, and it really isn't that hard to make a stadium look like its real life counterpart. YOU just have to put in a little effort.

Last, make a pc version. So if your offering sucks, we (the modders) can fix it or make it feel like baseball.

[baa7]

Quote: Originally Posted by ill pill

I'm tired of people hitting homeruns off the tip of their bat or off the ground.

Ha-ha! You know what made me quit playing 2K8 last spring? I had a game going against the Red Sox and Pedroia or someone golfed a ball off the ground and hit a HR -- maybe the most ridiculous HR I've ever seen in a baseball game. Anyway, Big Papi was the next batter, so I decided to throw four pitches down and away just to see what he could do with them. All of the pitches were AT LEAST twelve inches outside as well as below the strikezone. Didn't matter. Big Papi nevertheless connected on one and sent it over the LF wall of Yankee Stadium!

I shut the game off after that and took it back to Blockbuster the next day, lol.

[RealmK]

Quote: Originally Posted by wrigleyville33

1. I say start from scratch. Since VC is running things now, I say you just throw 2k6, 2k7, and 2k8 completely in the waste bin. Find a new engine, new commentary, new player models, the whole 10 yards 2. Find a tv license. Go with some kind of network, maybe fox (get the nation wide fox broadcast or the regional fsn broadcasts...) or maybe even the upcoming mlb network. We all know you have the money. Use nfl 2k5 as a reference for presentation, if an old gen game could do it, you could too. 3. I honestly don't find a career mode nesesary yet. You guys need to perfect gameplay and animations first. Then maybe work on the little features like career mode. 4. Maybe try making a baseball game for once. Have you ever thought of doing that? I swear I don't think any of the developers of the previous 2k showings have a) ever seen a baseball game or b) know what realism is. 5. The little things. I'm not talking about card trading or any of those wasteful features. I'm talking about in game. The little things that are in stadiums, in the weather, the player's actions. These little things are what really make a game authentic to me. Whether it is the field wearing down, the ivy in wrigley being dead in april and slowly turning green into summer, the simple actions the players do in reaction of a play, realistic emotional fans. Basically look to mvp 05 and what the show does with realism. I have to deal with 2k, because I really don't feel like dishing out 460 bucks for a video game. I'm a die hard cubs fan, and neither game has provided me with an authentic wrigley field yet. Infact, the stadiums in general sucked in 2k's offerings. I could honestly create a more authentic stadium with zmod (mvp baseball 2005). I have been working on tropicana field for mvp baseball, and it really isn't that hard to make a stadium look like its real life counterpart. YOU just have to put in a little effort. Last, make a pc version. So if your offering sucks, we (the modders) can fix it or make it feel like baseball.

Agreed 100%, especially the starting from scratch point. Which is really the whole issue with 2k's entire sports line. There's so much broken code left over from Sega's old dev teams that most of the people on the games now prolly have no clue how to fix (ie the year in year out high percentage of franchise freezes across the entire line) it just doesn't make sense to keep using it.

[ill pill]

Quote: Originally Posted by baa7

Ha-ha! You know what made me quit playing 2K8 last spring? I had a game going against the Red Sox and Pedroia or someone golfed a ball off the ground and hit a HR -- maybe the most ridiculous HR I've ever seen in a baseball game. Anyway, Big Papi was the next batter, so I decided to throw four pitches down and away just to see what he could do with them. All of the pitches were AT LEAST twelve inches outside as well as below the strikezone. Didn't matter. Big Papi nevertheless connected on one and sent it over the LF wall of Yankee Stadium! I shut the game off after that and took it back to Blockbuster the next day, lol.

Lol, yeah that ruined way to many games for me.. .And it always seemed to happen during some really important moment in a game..

[asu666]

Have the camera system be User/CPU not Home/Away. Home/Away changes, but USER/CPU typically does not. I'd like to see simpler controls/systems and more quality testing too.

[jurzaxp]

thanks !

[Bwnarrow3]

Quote: Originally Posted by wrigleyville33

1. I say start from scratch. Since VC is running things now, I say you just throw 2k6, 2k7, and 2k8 completely in the waste bin. Find a new engine, new commentary, new player models, the whole 10 yards 2. Find a tv license. Go with some kind of network, maybe fox (get the nation wide fox broadcast or the regional fsn broadcasts...) or maybe even the upcoming mlb network. We all know you have the money. Use nfl 2k5 as a reference for presentation, if an old gen game could do it, you could too. 3. I honestly don't find a career mode nesesary yet. You guys need to perfect gameplay and animations first. Then maybe work on the little features like career mode. 4. Maybe try making a baseball game for once. Have you ever thought of doing that? I swear I don't think any of the developers of the previous 2k showings have a) ever seen a baseball game or b) know what realism is. 5. The little things. I'm not talking about card trading or any of those wasteful features. I'm talking about in game. The little things that are in stadiums, in the weather, the player's actions. These little things are what really make a game authentic to me. Whether it is the field wearing down, the ivy in wrigley being dead in april and slowly turning green into summer, the simple actions the players do in reaction of a play, realistic emotional fans. Basically look to mvp 05 and what the show does with realism. I have to deal with 2k, because I really don't feel like dishing out 460 bucks for a video game. I'm a die hard cubs fan, and neither game has provided me with an authentic wrigley field yet. Infact, the stadiums in general sucked in 2k's offerings. I could honestly create a more authentic stadium with zmod (mvp baseball 2005). I have been working on tropicana field for mvp baseball, and it really isn't that hard to make a stadium look like its real life counterpart. YOU just have to put in a little effort. Last, make a pc version. So if your offering sucks, we (the modders) can fix it or make it feel like baseball.

I completely agree with everything you said, especially number 2 and 3. However, I am hoping it is not too late to shell these ideas out. I've always wanted them to establish a relationship with fox, hire some no-name announcers that actually have the time to record plenty of record thousands of commentary.

I've been very dissapointed with the 2K series for the past 3 years, particularly last years game. If this game can't top semi-decent, I won't be buying along with many other people.

[djrkw]

Smoother network play would bring a lot to this year's version. Online competition was the main reason I purchased 2k8. It got to the point that opponents were using lag as a part of their pitching strategy by mixing 100mph fastballs with 70 mph curves. To connect with the fastball in a game with less than optimal connection you had to start your swing way before the pitcher's windup was complete. When you're that far ahead adjusting your timing to hit an off speed pitch was rediculous.

The rest of the game mechanics were good. I loved the presentation. I agree with the previous posts about the meatball pitches not always resulting in 400ft homeruns. That got old pretty quick.