MLB 2K11 Game Features (360, PS3, Wii, PS2, PSP, DS, PC)

[JayhawkerStL]

I would love a game with a good franchise mode. Seriously, it would be fun to play. But in the last 20 years there is not a single game that has done it well enough to be interesting. I can't require a game to have a good franchise mode if I want to play sports games.

If the AI can't put a line-up together, can't draft, can't trade and can't mange free agency with any semblance of reality, then the progression of the players is the least of my worries.

So if a game will do a decent job of getting me through a season, I'm happy. Even that is going to require me to look past some serious issues.

I played in an OOTP X league last year, and I was kind of amazed what was passing as a good franchise mode. It was good, if we not only handled every aspect, but also came up with house rules to handle the ridiculous economy of the game.

It's not that I don't want one. It's that I don't even pretend that there is such a thing as a good franchise mode. But I put hundreds of hours, if not more than 1000 into MLB 2K10 without ever playing more than a portion of one season. I would have loved a good franchise. But I got more than my money's worth of other game mode play.

Check the threads. Every game has a ton of posts about what is wrong with the franchise mode. but no one sees the real pattern, which is that either acceptable AI is out of reach at this point, or that $60 games are not worth the effort. Regardless, they just don't exist.

I decided a long time ago to just enjoy sports games for what the can do, and stop worrying about what they can't do.

It seems like you just have a lower standard for what passes as compelling franchise play.

[duke776]

Quote: Originally Posted by Jayhawker

I would love a game with a good franchise mode. Seriously, it would be fun to play. But in the last 20 years there is not a single game that has done it well enough to be interesting. I can't require a game to have a good franchise mode if I want to play sports games. If the AI can't put a line-up together, can't draft, can't trade and can't mange free agency with any semblance of reality, then the progression of the players is the least of my worries. So if a game will do a decent job of getting me through a season, I'm happy. Even that is going to require me to look past some serious issues. I played in an OOTP X league last year, and I was kind of amazed what was passing as a good franchise mode. It was good, if we not only handled every aspect, but also came up with house rules to handle the ridiculous economy of the game. It's not that I don't want one. It's that I don't even pretend that there is such a thing as a good franchise mode. But I put hundreds of hours, if not more than 1000 into MLB 2K10 without ever playing more than a portion of one season. I would have loved a good franchise. But I got more than my money's worth of other game mode play. Check the threads. Every game has a ton of posts about what is wrong with the franchise mode. but no one sees the real pattern, which is that either acceptable AI is out of reach at this point, or that $60 games are not worth the effort. Regardless, they just don't exist. I decided a long time ago to just enjoy sports games for what the can do, and stop worrying about what they can't do. It seems like you just have a lower standard for what passes as compelling franchise play.

I can respect that, and understand that. And maybe I do have a lower standard because I have actually played franchise modes which I thought were good and I enjoyed. Who knows, like I said I don't need them to be perfect. I can overlook stuff, or just not even notice it (I purposely avoid reading a lot of threads because I don't want flaws I do not notice pointed out to me, but I will post my problems in hope they will get fixed). So I probably don't scrutinize them that hard if it is not obvious stuff (where last years franchise mode had a lot of obvious bugs/glitches). But I have to complain, and ask for fixes with franchise because unlike you, I can only enjoy franchise mode. I'm just that type of gamer, I've never enjoyed online or my player. Just not my cup of tea I guess. I mean I had a blast with the gameplay in 2k10 last year, despite the flaws it had. It was just fun for me, but I needed a better franchise to keep me interested longer.

[Trevytrev11]

Quote: Originally Posted by Jayhawker

It seems like you just have a lower standard for what passes as compelling franchise play.

I truely mean this with all due respect, but the same could be said for gameplay last year, right? But you were still able to put in a ton of hours and overlook it's pitfalls, which I suspect is what everyone else tries to do with franchise modes.

I don't think anyone expects perfection (the same goes with gameplay) and we all know that there are going to be errors, bugs and glitches. We just hope that they are not so overwhelming that they make a mode of the game completely and totally unplayable.

I think people could overlook one or two of the problems (lineup logic, roster management, lack of realistic injuries, lack or realistic progression, unrealistic stats, etc.), but when you are forced to overlook all of them at once, and do so every year, it becomes completely unbearable. If they can get rid of the huge issue and minimize the smaller ones, then for most, it would probably become much more tolerable.

[Skyboxer]

My biggest thing is some of the same people who say they want a totally realistic/real world franchise system will not use any "house rules" etc.. to make THEM play a realistic franchise. There's never been a franchise that you really couldn't abuse one way or another to get a monster team. Maybe one day we'll get there but until then, and the fact we are trying to get a software package to act "real", if we can police ourselves with rules (or 30 team control etc..) then do it. Don't go in accpeting BS trades that you can easily keep from happening, and then complain the GAME isn't realistic.
It goes both ways.........

[JayhawkerStL]

Quote: Originally Posted by Skyboxer

My biggest thing is some of the same people who say they want a totally realistic/real world franchise system will not use any "house rules" etc.. to make THEM play a realistic franchise. There's never been a franchise that you really couldn't abuse one way or another to get a monster team. Maybe one day we'll get there but until then, and the fact we are trying to get a software package to act "real", if we can police ourselves with rules (or 30 team control etc..) then do it. Don't go in accpeting BS trades that you can easily keep from happening, and then complain the GAME isn't realistic. It goes both ways.........

I agree. It's why I limit it myself to single season play. I also will turn trades and injuries off many times. Because the trades CPU make with each other can be pretty awful. And once injuries stat resting it's head, you find teams with ridiculous line-ups and rosters moves.

But again, it's what I can reasonably expect a game to achieve. The reasons errors were unforgivable is because that is an essential element games have gotten right in the past. It's the same with injuries. I want the throw meter to have an effect, becasue it used to.

But when I see convoluted line-ups for opposing teams, it break the immersion far more than the fact that none of my guys committed an error in the game.

Some of my very favorite baseball games of all time were completely useless in franchise, or even season play. This call for improvements to franchise play is universal among all sports games. It has not been hard to figure out that they just don't work.

I had a blast playing through a full season of NHL 10.

But that game was blasted for its weak franchise mode and sim results. But the play per game was fun. Were the guys bashing it for its weaknesses right? Yep. and they were right again this year, too. And they will be right next year, too.

We can go through The Show threads and find problems folks have with MLB's franchise mode. I'm in two online dynasties in NCAA 11, but if you play more than a year in it, it falls apart really darn quick. OOTP's GM and manager AI's are a joke.

I'm not saying I wouldn't enjoy improved franchise play. It's just that it's the easy thing to bash, even in the very best games.

MLB Today was the perfect work around. I get a ton of meaningful games, with great presentation, solid line-ups, but it lacks accumaltion of stats I am responsible for.

I hope, hope, hope, that MLB Today has been integrated into franchise play so that if I play a game, those stats replace real life. But every other game keeps the real life stats. It would be perfect if i could play play any previous game, too. Rather than be locked into today's game, I can play several in an evening and catch-up. Or I can skip some.

It could be called a band-aid. But it is one hell of a lot better than simming results, when even a text sim like OOTP can't do simming justice.

[Pared]

Quote: Originally Posted by ryan36

There's no downside with the updates themselves, at all. It's only if they did this IN LIEU OF fixing the progression in the game itself

Why would anyone think that though? It's almost as if one should expect this group to fail.

While they haven't made all the perfect design decisions (no team has, newsflash), they certainly have improved the game enough to earn SOME respect.

The overly negative tone on this feature is unwarranted early on. If it was just banter, maybe, but the comments here lead me to believe it's more than that.

[mrsalsays]

Hey atleast from the trailer, you can tell theres check swings.
eh

[l3ulvl]

Quote: Originally Posted by Pared

Why would anyone think that though? It's almost as if one should expect this group to fail. While they haven't made all the perfect design decisions (no team has, newsflash), they certainly have improved the game enough to earn SOME respect. The overly negative tone on this feature is unwarranted early on. If it was just banter, maybe, but the comments here lead me to believe it's more than that.

I guess I'm reading the thread from a different viewpoint, but I don't really see the overly negative tone. I think people are excited about the features, but taking a cautious wait and see approach. Personally I can't wait to find out more about the whole dynamic ratings thing, I hope specific details are released so people don't develop their own hopes individually for how they think it would be perfect, only to be let down after purchase.