How Does Batter's Eye Work in 2k9?

[BoJackson]

I turn Batter's Eye on, see the black circle on screen. Place in a spot, say the lower right corner of the strikezone. Then I see the pitcher pitched a ball at the exact same spot. Nothing shows that I've "guessed" the right pitch location. In 2k7, when you guess the right location, the circle turns "red". but not 2k9. Anyone batter's eye work in 2k9?

Also, whats the batter eye "lock" button (bottom 'B') for? I press it, the black circle shakes, but no sign of the black circle locking or anything. any clues?

[stealyerface]

Re: How Does Batter's Eye Work in 2k9?

Okay, the Hitter's Eye thing is messed up this year. It is the same size circle regardless of the batter, the count, and what side of the plate he is hitting from versus the pitcher. Totally screwed the pooch on this one.

So, if you pick your spot and press B the controller shakes. That means you have "locked in" your spot. This allows you to then use the L stick to aim your swing towards wherever you are trying to hit it. If you guessed right, you'll see a Green indicator light up to tell you that you have made the right guess. Now, what happens after that depends on how much influence you have placed on the HE, based on the slider. Lame.

Maybe someday, 2k will bring a few of the OS guys into the office for a quick seminar on how to make a game work with actual baseball players giving them some advice on how things work in real life.

Even with just 4 years of pitching at a DIII school, I could help them out on a few items that they have totally blown as of late.

syf

[Trevytrev11]

Re: How Does Batter's Eye Work in 2k9?

Okay, the Hitter's Eye thing is messed up this year. It is the same size circle regardless of the batter, the count, and what side of the plate he is hitting from versus the pitcher. Totally screwed the pooch on this one.

I agree it should change by batter (and also by pitcher and I guess pitcher handedness), but if it is truely a tool designed to pick up on a pitch, then IMO pitch count, results of previous pitches, etc. should have no impact on the size of a circle. In other words a hitter doesn't pick up a ball better becuase the count is 2-0 vs. 0-2. His approach might change, but his eye site doesn't. If a hitter is in a slump and it shrinks a little bit, I'm fine with that or vice versa if he is on a tear, but to have it change from pitch to pitch or at bat to at bat (assuming same pitcher) doesn't make much sense to me.

Personally, I don't like the idea of the tool at all. In real life, if a pitch is in your zone, you still have to recognize the pitch and execute a swing...there is no bonus. I think it should be the same in the game, but if it balances out an advantage a pitcher has due to the way you pick up on the ball in the game, I'm fine with that.

I think every hitter should have a Batters Eye rating (probably mostly based on a function of how well a player puts the ball in play, but also takes into account to not only hit a ball, but determin if it is a strike or a ball, so maybe walks as well).

On the other other hand, every pitcher should also have a rating of how well they hide the ball.

The size of the circle would be the average of these two ratings...and would never fluctuate in size during an AB (unless of course the pitcher was removed mid AB).

Then of course if they desire, if a hitter is in a slump his rating drops a few points and his circle shrinks a bit and vice versa if he is hot or the pitcher is hot or cold.

Anyway, just my 2 cents on the topic.

[stealyerface]

Re: How Does Batter's Eye Work in 2k9?

Point taken. I feel that David Ortiz should have a larger "bonus" with regards to seeing a ball that he can smack, than Adam Kennedy should have with an 0-2 count. Of course in real life, the batter that is down 0-2 is probably not looking to sit on something, but either way, a big bopper should have more leeway in his "zone" than a slap hitter.... with the exception that in real life, the HE would have to give a differnet result based on the hitter. If Papi sits on a ball down and in, and he gets it, there is a good chance if he is also sitting on the right pitch, he crushes it. So, to do it right, you would have to guess the location as well as the pitch. Sitting on an inside fastball is all well and good, but when you get a changeup, even though it is in the same spot, you are in for a tough go of it.

I personally do not like having to toggle it off, so i have scrapped it. I tried to make this work for me by setting the power down low enough that you really had to get into it to hit it out, and using the HE, gave you a bit more oomph if you guessed right. I have since turned it off because it does not make sense to me that the zone has no bearing on what kind of pitch it is for the effectiveness.

I see your position on how the mechanic should work, and I do not disagree with it per se. I do feel that some of the basis of ratings are questionable, but I still think that when you get down in the count, and the pitcher has you second guessing yourself, the zone of contact and power goes down...

At least from a pitcher's point of view.

syf

[Trevytrev11]

Re: How Does Batter's Eye Work in 2k9?

I would think that "bonus" for Ortiz over Kenndey would be on any count and therefore he would just always have a bigger circle than Adam Kennedy. He's a better overall on probably every count.

As far as the size of the circle, I would think it would be bigger for Kennedy as he strikes out much less than Ortiz (once every 7.9 AB's vs. Ortiz at 1 every 5.6). Again the benefit for Ortiz would be bigger when in the circle, but it would be due to his better power rating.

I don't know man, I go back and forth on how I perceive the system. Personally, I think they should scrap the whole thing and let the players ratings take over, but I still find myself using it...more so becuase I struggle at hitting and it helps to balance things out...and this is the main reason I think it is somewhat fair-the pitchers have a huge advantage of this game because of the current system.

There are no fastball counts in this game. When you play an opponent, it's as easy for them to throw a 3-2 curveball as it is a 3-2 fastball, which as you know as a former pitcher is always a gutsy call and is usually saved for the days when you have your good stuff going. Because any pitch can be thrown for a strike in any count, I think that the pitchers have a huge advantage in this game. A hitter can't sit on a location 3-2 and know that 80% of the time a fastball is coming because in the game it could be 20%. So in thise sense, the Batters Eye helps restore some of the balance.


Like you I pitched through college and I do understand the fact that hitters get defensive when they fall behind in the count, but I also think this is dependent on the hitter. Some guys refuse to give up an AB and swing out of their shoes on an 0-2 curve as they would on a 3-0 fastball with the green light. Some guys refuse to strike out and would rather hit the weak groundball than risk the possibility of a strike out.

I just think that as a hitter in this game, without that batters eye, you take on those roles...at least I do. When I'm ahead in the count, I focus on one area of the plate and if the ball is there I can drive that pitch much better than normal. However when I get behind in the count, I do get much more defensive and my timing is not nearly as good as I'm now aware of the entire zone and am more willing to just flick the stick instead of really mash it forward...it feels like the way a typical hitter would approach the at bat and because of that I think things would already take care of themselves if the game made it more difficult on pitchers, which is a whole different topic.

[stealyerface]

Re: How Does Batter's Eye Work in 2k9?

Well, for years I have dreamed of a system where a pitcher's pitches would have a different ability based on the count. Now, stick with me here. Starting at a 0-0 count, and knowing that I am facing a dead fastball hitter who loves to jump on that first pitch, I might have thrown him a slider first thing. Looks like a fastball, and you can get a read on if he is planning on blasting anything close. So, within the real game, my 0-0 slider was a whole lot different then my 0-2 slider or offspeed pitch. So, to translate that into video gamedom, and with the programmer who is savvy enough to do it the right way, you give the guy a rating of 85 on a curveball when he is ahead in the count and in control, but maybe a 67 for the curve when he is battling from behind the count. This may not make sense to some folks, but that curveball on a 2-1 pitch sure made me think about placement than it did on a 1-2 count. On the 1-2 pitch I could really rip the laces off that thing, and if I buried it a foot in front of the dish, it kept the hitter thinking, and it gave me an option to bust him down low with a fastball or a slider, and keep his eye level honest. Now on a 2-1 pitch, I would have a totally different plan, and now, that pitch is not as "effective" because I may try to massage it in there for a strike versus making the batter try to hit something that he was not going to be able to.

So, while the Batter's Eye thing is an issue for me, that i have now turned off, I think a more important, and better functioning "helper" would be a rating system whereby the guy who punched in the numbers had an idea of why a curveball just ain't a curveball.

Dare to dream.

syf

[Trevytrev11]

Re: How Does Batter's Eye Work in 2k9?

I know what you mean. That 2-1 curveball, you know the hitter is sitting fastball and you know that you can just about land that thing anywhere in the bottom half of the zone and guarantee a strike (probably looking because he's going to buckle when his fastball doesn't come). 0-2, you know the hitter is going to be anxious to swing at anything close and there is a much better chance he is going to reach.


I like your ideas and think they could be implemented on the hitting side just as well. Some guys are completely different hitters when they have two strikes compared to others. Some guys get so defenisve, they try to hit everything to prevent a strike out looking. Eric Chavez comes to mind. When he ahead or even in a count, he is in control. But when he gets down to his last strike, his zone doubles or triples and he chases almost anything close or not. Then you have a guy like Manny, who is so confident in his knowledge of the strike zone, he can lay off 3 straight pitches that are a few inches off the plate.

The thing about Chavez is in other counts, he's not nearly as careless and can draw walks with some of the best, so when you look at his agressiveness, he's not a free swinger like Vlad when he's ahead in the count, only when down.

Hitters really need two ratings for almost all offensive categories. One for when ahead in the count and one for when behind.