First time playing MLB The Show - How to start ? What to do ?

[FrenchDavid]

Hey all,

I'm new around here, living in Paris France and loving everything about american sports. I'm a big baseball fan and I used to play 2B for Paris a couple of years ago.

I got a PS3 last year and just ordered MLB 10 The Show (a friend of mine in the US will send it to me, so that I get the free DLC coming with an amazon pre-order).

Since that will be my first time playing The Show, I have plenty of questions for you. Thanks in advance to those who will take time to help me get into it

- when I ordered on amazon, I saw the free DLC on the product page, but no mention about it after that nor in the confirmation email I got, is that normal ?

- since that will be my first time playing the Show, how should I learn to play the game ? Or there tutorials in the game ? Is there a website to help master it quickly ? Should I start playing the harder difficulty level to start getting used to it quicker ?

- I saw that it was possible to add music or customized roster to The Show. I even read some things about Knight doing his own roster update on this forum... What should I install or look for then ? What are the reliable source to get quality content and even improve the game to make it as close to the reality as possible ?

- I read that RttS is a big feature and once I will probably spend a lot of time on. Since I used to play 2B, I'm leaning towards playing that position, but what would you advise me to do ? Is playing pitcher the most interesting option ? The catcher addition is also intriguing. Since I don't like to sim games, would playing the role of a starting pitcher help me go through a full season quicker (playing every 5 days or so) ?

- the biggest thing I want to do in The Show is to play a full season with my favourite team : the St Louis Cardinals. I guess that would be the career mode, but I'm not even interested in going beyond the first year. I want to manage my team, with its true roster, and compete all the way to the 2010 World Series. I don't know how much time a game takes, but I guess that playing the full season must take a LOT of time. Since I haven't played any baseball game in many years, I guess I'll be terrible at first, which makes me think I'll have to play a lot before starting my season. Besides, my progression curve will imply that I will lose a lot of games at the start of the season, making it even more difficult to choose a difficulty level...

I'd like to hear your experiences on the show about that, cause if you tell me that I will only have time to play one full season and one RttS mode over a full year (before MLB 11 The Show), I'd hate to start a season and lose so many games that I will miss the playoffs in the end, and never get to play in a Wordl Series game in The Show.

Well I guess that's about it for now, I can't wait to read your comments and advices to help me get the most of this game, and discover a brand new way to enjoy baseball

Cheers

[Hypostatic]

Re: First time playing MLB The Show - How to start ? What to do ?

turn the pitch speed down to 2 clicks - it is set at default at 5 clicks. also, take your time and practice and do not get frustrated - u will get better with time and effort. play on a lower difficulty level and get you timing down. I am glad for u to be getting this game cause it is the best sports game ever made. My psn-id is HypostaticUnion or ChildhoodLiving. send me a friend request and we can practice together if u want. I have played shortstop at a high college level and baseball is a great sport. Video games are not for nerds; they are a great way to relax and put your mind in a comfortable and childlike place. Which is something we all need to do every day. Hope to hear from you ... my team is the Minnesota Twins and if u wanna get in a league, there are some good one's on this site. cheers to you, my friend

[MatrixTN]

Re: First time playing MLB The Show - How to start ? What to do ?

- when I ordered on amazon, I saw the free DLC on the product page, but no mention about it after that nor in the confirmation email I got, is that normal ?

idk, i've never used amazon so someone else would have to field that question.

- since that will be my first time playing the Show, how should I learn to play the game ? Or there tutorials in the game ? Is there a website to help master it quickly ? Should I start playing the harder difficulty level to start getting used to it quicker ?

I believe there are some in-game tutorials but I've never used them.

- I saw that it was possible to add music or customized roster to The Show. I even read some things about Knight doing his own roster update on this forum... What should I install or look for then ? What are the reliable source to get quality content and even improve the game to make it as close to the reality as possible ?

Knight has the bible when it comes to the rosters, though there are a couple others that do a similar effort. He'll have them posted in the roster section and in Show's Roster Vault (online from game). I think the name he uses for them primarily is OS Full Minors.

- I read that RttS is a big feature and once I will probably spend a lot of time on. Since I used to play 2B, I'm leaning towards playing that position, but what would you advise me to do ? Is playing pitcher the most interesting option ? The catcher addition is also intriguing. Since I don't like to sim games, would playing the role of a starting pitcher help me go through a full season quicker (playing every 5 days or so) ?

That's entirely up to you. Myself, I have one of each position but I've been skipping the fielding stuff.

- the biggest thing I want to do in The Show is to play a full season with my favourite team : the St Louis Cardinals. I guess that would be the career mode, but I'm not even interested in going beyond the first year. I want to manage my team, with its true roster, and compete all the way to the 2010 World Series. I don't know how much time a game takes, but I guess that playing the full season must take a LOT of time. Since I haven't played any baseball game in many years, I guess I'll be terrible at first, which makes me think I'll have to play a lot before starting my season. Besides, my progression curve will imply that I will lose a lot of games at the start of the season, making it even more difficult to choose a difficulty level...

I think a full game takes about an hour. I'm not at all familiar with season mode but that might be what you're looking for here (you only use your full 40-man roster). There is a Manage Game feature that can be used in Exhibition, Franchise & Season; idk about recommending it though, only used it once in a franchise game just to get the manager trophy.

Good luck with your venture into MLB 10 once you get it.

[Knight165]

Re: First time playing MLB The Show - How to start ? What to do ?

David;

Matrix pretty much covered it as far as your questions...
You say you want to play only one season but have real, full rosters(I'm guessing you want access to all the minor leaguers if needed)....so ..
In season mode, you will only have access to the 40 man roster of the Cardinals(the other teams will also have limited access to the 40 man), but you'll only have to worry about roster moves and not the other things(banking....etc)...but
In franchise mode, you will have full access to the AAA, AA and now 15 man A team players. While the banking/financials are in franchise mode, you can simply do what I and a lot of others do....have the CPU take care of that(you will see the option screen to delegate what you want the CPU to take care of for you).
You can simply stop after the one season if you like(season mode progresses from year to year also)....or maybe you will give a second season and an off season(free agents....re-signing players....trades and such) a try!
At any rate....welcome aboard and if you need a hand with anything post it up or drop me a PM...I'll be glad to help you if I can.

M.K.
Knight165

[godylla]

Re: First time playing MLB The Show - How to start ? What to do ?

- since that will be my first time playing the Show, how should I learn to play the game ? Or there tutorials in the game ? Is there a website to help master it quickly ? Should I start playing the harder difficulty level to start getting used to it quicker ?

Since you are in Paris, I'm not sure about this, but there should be a demo dropping before the actual release of the game that will give you some good practice time and will allow you to mess with the sliders to see what fits your skill level. Enjoy the game across the Pond my friend!

[Joey]

Re: First time playing MLB The Show - How to start ? What to do ?

I'm sure everyone has their own opinion on this, but I would rather set the difficulty level at my current skill level and up things as I progress. The key or idea is to have fun and produce realistic results, so go with whatever gives you that. You can adjust difficulty levels and sliders at any point in your season or franchise, so no need to start out with something that will just end up getting you frustrated.

Hey all,

Should I start playing the harder difficulty level to start getting used to it quicker ?

Cheers

[Furq]

Re: First time playing MLB The Show - How to start ? What to do ?

I am playing the game now but don't know much about baseball. It's pretty hard for me on Pro

[BigWilly]

Re: First time playing MLB The Show - How to start ? What to do ?

If it's your first time playing The Show, put the difficulty on Rookie and gradually work your way up from there as you get the hang of it. Hitting is tricky to get the hang of - trickier than you'd expect if you have already played other baseball games, and it will take a long time to go from competent at it to mastering it. Just enjoy the ride. It's an amazing series and game.

My biggest piece of advice. Don't let the ego get the better of you and start at a higher difficulty. This game is not for the timid. It takes a lot of time to get "good". Don't try and overachieve on the difficulty to the point you get frustrated and take away from the enjoyment of the ride.

Good luck with it.

[Randor2000]

Re: First time playing MLB The Show - How to start ? What to do ?

Personally I would say remove the plastic wrap from the case. After this you need to remove the blu ray from the case. Now you are ready to power on your PS3. Insert the Blu Ray into the PS3 and enjoy the greatest baseball game ever made. This is what you were asking right?:P

[FrenchDavid]

Re: First time playing MLB The Show - How to start ? What to do ?

David;

Matrix pretty much covered it as far as your questions...
You say you want to play only one season but have real, full rosters(I'm guessing you want access to all the minor leaguers if needed)....so ..
In season mode, you will only have access to the 40 man roster of the Cardinals(the other teams will also have limited access to the 40 man), but you'll only have to worry about roster moves and not the other things(banking....etc)...but
In franchise mode, you will have full access to the AAA, AA and now 15 man A team players. While the banking/financials are in franchise mode, you can simply do what I and a lot of others do....have the CPU take care of that(you will see the option screen to delegate what you want the CPU to take care of for you).
You can simply stop after the one season if you like(season mode progresses from year to year also)....or maybe you will give a second season and an off season(free agents....re-signing players....trades and such) a try!
At any rate....welcome aboard and if you need a hand with anything post it up or drop me a PM...I'll be glad to help you if I can.

M.K.
Knight165

Thanks for the great advice. I indeed owuld like to be able to manage my minor league players as well, and eventually add players to my 40-man roster through the season. I might even want to play a second season as you said, but that will take a lot of time.

When you guys play season or franchise mode, do you play every game so that the stats are your real stats (and not part yours and part CPU) ? I don't know if I'll have the time to play through a full season, so I was thinking about maybe playing one game of each serie (for example the one game with the most interesting pitching matchup), so that I'd play around 60 games per season (I think I'd play all the Cubs games for example, because of the rivalry), and that would allow me to play both a franchise season and a RttS season at the same time...

What do you think about that idea ?

[rodperezto]

Re: First time playing MLB The Show - How to start ? What to do ?

Hi,

Just came by to point you to another thread in this forum called:
"Has anybody in Europe ordered MLB the show" or something like that if you are interested in online play. You'll find a link to a european mlb the show community where we play both exhibition games and leagues. Feel free to join!

About tips for playing: hitting could be hard at first but if you spend some time in the batting cage, you'll get your timing right in no time.
Other than that, just play, play, play!
Also, an average game takes me around 1h20m to play; it could take 25+ more minutes if I really have the time to concentrate. When I'm in a hurry it usually takes me 45-60 m. So, yes, seasons can get long and hard to finish
Anyway have fun and hope to see you online in around two weeks!
Rodney

[ps3veron]

Re: First time playing MLB The Show - How to start ? What to do ?

Bonjour et bienvenue (I seriously didn't use google for that I actually speak French),

Seriously one of the best games out there and you've got all the hints you needed right here. Hitting is tricky like everyone says but you'll get the hang of it.

Be sure to turn on the PCI (Plate Coverage Indicator) as this will assist you in hitting quite effectively.

Bon chance!

[livinitup921]

Re: First time playing MLB The Show - How to start ? What to do ?

Thanks for the great advice. I indeed owuld like to be able to manage my minor league players as well, and eventually add players to my 40-man roster through the season. I might even want to play a second season as you said, but that will take a lot of time.

When you guys play season or franchise mode, do you play every game so that the stats are your real stats (and not part yours and part CPU) ? I don't know if I'll have the time to play through a full season, so I was thinking about maybe playing one game of each serie (for example the one game with the most interesting pitching matchup), so that I'd play around 60 games per season (I think I'd play all the Cubs games for example, because of the rivalry), and that would allow me to play both a franchise season and a RttS season at the same time...

What do you think about that idea ?

Some also like to play one time every 6 games. That way you play through your whole pitching rotation. If you do that and play all the cubs games then you prob play somewhere between 30-40 games a year (just a guess). This is really for if you really would like to make sure you play multiple seasons.

[FrenchDavid]

Re: First time playing MLB The Show - How to start ? What to do ?

Can you see the upcoming pitching matchups in MLB The Show ?

I'd like to play at least one game of every serie (and select the best pitching matchup before the first game of the serie), so that I would get to play the most interesting games in a lot of different stadiums over the course of the season.

Let's say I follow that rule (one game per serie over a full season, plus all Cubs games, plus all playoffs games), that should be around 70-80 games per season (70-80 hours of play).

If you add a RttS season (playing last pitch of every at bat to speed things up), that's an other 30 hours or so to reach the Major League.

Now, I'll probably need 20 hours or so to get a full feel for the game, and an additional 20 jours of online gameplay...

THAT IS HUGE !!! Wow, I may have to quit my job (I usually play between 3 and 6 hours per week !!).

[woody2goody]

Re: First time playing MLB The Show - How to start ? What to do ?

Hiya mate, I'd recommend veteran difficulty (as you have to move the L stick to where the ball is) instead of rookie, with no guess pitch or anything like that.

Here, you'll get a good challenge which will be very difficult at first but will be more rewarding than changing the pitch speed or batting on rookie.

I started off on this level in 08 The Show, and by the time 09 had come out, I'd gone from batting around .220 to over .290.

Like Rod said, click the link under my post and register for our forums catering especially for European players of The Show.