What Are the Best Video Game Pitching Controls?

[HechticSooner]

Trevytrev11 that is the best idea I have ever seen. Truly innovative hopefully the 2k guys see that and make it into the game. It would be something that could say them the baseball competition.

[MillardMavs]

i love the right analog pitching motion

[Shinyhubcaps]

I really dislike the MLB 2K8 system of pitching. After a while, you just want to get a pitch off without making semicircles with your analog stick. Mapping pitching to an analog stick doesn't make it more fun or even more lifelike; it just makes it more tedious. As wsu_gb23 said, it just makes it more complex without really achieving any additional level of control.

Beyond that, there are some things that are overlooked; first, it seems to take too long to throw a pitch in MLB 2K8. Second, the system in MLB 08: The Show is much more precise to button-presses (no delays). Third, in MLB 08, you can influence the pitch with the left stick even after your wind-up has begun. So for execution, MLB 08 is definitely preferred. For the idea behind it... maybe I just don't get it, but when you add in MLB 08's late adjustments, MLB 08 also wins.

Sorry, but I don't think MLB 2K8's pitching really adds anything except deadweight complexity.

[Gossennator]

Griffey baseball for 64

[vaughn99]

In most baseball games there's a "manager mode" that always had this little dialogue (or similar):

• Pitch to Batter
• Pitch Around Batter
• Intentional Walk
• Hit Batter

And you could select one and watch how it played out. Seems perfect to me.

The less control you have over pitching, the more control you feel like you have over the situation. Remember -- it's baseball -- and the macro is so much more important than the micro.

It's a chess match, not "adjusting your shot on the way to hoop" NBA one-on-one match-up.

[7stringking]

I think 2k8 would have been great if they had spent another 2 months tweaking things like CPU basestealing...

And yeah, meatballs need to miss all over, not just down the middle.

[asu666]

Quote: Originally Posted by vaughn99

In most baseball games there's a "manager mode" that always had this little dialogue (or similar): • Pitch to Batter • Pitch Around Batter • Intentional Walk • Hit Batter And you could select one and watch how it played out. Seems perfect to me. The less control you have over pitching, the more control you feel like you have over the situation. Remember -- it's baseball -- and the macro is so much more important than the micro. It's a chess match, not "adjusting your shot on the way to hoop" NBA one-on-one match-up.

I know I wouldn't want to be able to pick the pitch and its location. That would mean losing the battle between the pitcher and hitter. It turns it into a roll of the dice. I like to believe that it's more than just a role of the dice. Pitch a guy low and away to encourage him to hit it on the groud, or high and in to try to make him pop out, that kind of detail is lost with out control. Not to mention when I think the CPU is going to try to bunt I throw a high curve to make it difficult to get the ball on the ground. If I'm wrong the CPU has a good shot at putting the ball outside the park. I see where you're going, but The Show's classic system is perfect imo.

[Trevytrev11]

Quote: Originally Posted by vaughn99

In most baseball games there's a "manager mode" that always had this little dialogue (or similar): • Pitch to Batter • Pitch Around Batter • Intentional Walk • Hit Batter And you could select one and watch how it played out. Seems perfect to me. The less control you have over pitching, the more control you feel like you have over the situation. Remember -- it's baseball -- and the macro is so much more important than the micro. It's a chess match, not "adjusting your shot on the way to hoop" NBA one-on-one match-up.

This doesn't make sense to me at all. Every individual pitch (the micro) dictates the outcome (the macro). You can't just say pitch to a hitter and hope for a double play ball. You have to execute the proper pitches in hopes the hitter will put the ball on the ground. This is the chess match that is baseball. It's setting hitters up, moving them off the plate a few inches on one pitch to go away on the corner with the next pitch. It's throwing a curveball in a fastball count. It is the micor because one pitch, any pitch, can change a game. You can hope and pray for a groundball, but if you can't execute the pitch in the bottom 1/3 of the zone, chances are the balls going to be hit in the air.

Do you feel this way about hitting and fielding as well as far as less physical control and more computer control?

If not, why have complete control over the hitter or the fielder and not the pitcher? For hitting, why not just have "hit behind runner, hit ball in air,etc." as your options instead of actually swinging the bat?

If so, then I'm confused as to why next gen baseball games would appeal to you. It seems like stat based sims would better suit you...or a MLB game like NFL head coach. I don't think the goal of this game is to be either of those things.