Re: Lot of come from behind wins: catchup?
I've never had this issue in either baseball game, but I see a lot of complaints about it.
Personally, I just try to mix my pitches, but not rely on breaking stuff or other secondary pitches too much. In other words, work the FB and use off speed and breaking stuff to throw hitters off. As was mentioned already, don't always stay around the zone too much. If you think about it, real hitters would react much the same way the CPU reacts. That is, if you are mostly over or around the plate, they aren't going to wait to get in a hole and will instead go after you. That's likely part of why the AI seems more aggressive late for some people.
Also, while "sticking with what works" is plausible, try to recognize when your approach is becoming less effective and be the one to adapt before the AI jumps on it. The AI isn't as brutally adaptive to your tendencies as The Show, but it does seem to recognize when you are hanging around the zone a lot. Don't wait for bases loaded before you switch gears. I'm not saying people don't know this already, but hopefully that helps some people out as, again, I've not had these issues.
I did this for someone who was having this issue with The Show last year, but the percentage of baseball games decided in later innings is very high, as is the number of games decided by one run. This further speaks to the fact that as starters tire and the bullpen is used, it opens a window for the offense and can create more scoring...especially with good and/or patient hitting teams. This means that some of what people are seeing is there, but it's likely more a product of solid representation than AI boosting.
I really think a lot of it with these games is that people fall into a comfort zone or rhythm and are maybe not playing it as tight later in games than they do at first. You have to remember by later in the game, if you're still using your starter, he should be wearing down and if you are bringing in relief, it's going to be a readjustment (even in real baseball it's kind of a crapshoot with relief in some ways, but with this, we're also dealing with the added video game aspect of adjusting to new ratings, etc.). So, it's understandable that just because you're cruising through the first half of a game, it doesn't mean it can't go south fast.
Another thing (and I'm not saying this necessarily applies to anyone here) but I know more than a few people who are looking for the AI to "cheat." If you are spending your later innings wondering if you are going to get hosed, it's going to feel like you are more often than not. It's kind of like a self-fulfilling prophecy. Instead of focusing on making the right moves or good strategy, you start worrying too much about what might be wrong with the game.
There are going to be times when there is something goofy with the AI in these games. It's a program that has limits, so that's pretty much a given. In my experience though, there's been no more issue in late innings than early ones. Obviously, given the spotlight closer situations will get in addition to the added variables of fatigue, pitching changes, etc, it will be more noticeable when it counts.
Again, I'm not claiming this applies to everyone, but hopefully some of this helps people out when they feel they are running into something.
Last edited by SoxFan01605; 03-23-2011 at 12:16 PM.
|