MLB 11 The Show FAQ

**nemesis04** · 02-25-2011, 09:27 AM

Re: MLB 11: The Show FAQ

I put all the write-ups on analog controls here for reference. Hopefully for the people looking for clarification can check in this thread!

The year of the analog! As you all know the analog control scheme has finally made its way to the Show covering the three major facets of the game, hitting, pitching and throwing. Each one borrows a little from baseball games of the past but in the end the final product has its own spin and Show face. I want to commend SCEA for giving us these 3 analog options all at one time, as we have seen time and time again various companies have easily made these type of introductions a 3-year event by unveiling one each year.

Your house is only as good as the foundation it rests on! Those words ring true any time you want to add something to an existing structure. In the case of the Show there was a very strong foundation to work with as the hitting and pitching are about as good as it gets. On the other hand, the fielding/ throwing needed a little support work and with the implementation of the re-tooled attributes, helps the throwing analog control scheme shine by combining user skill and fielder ability.

Hitting: This year you have 3 separate hitting options to choose from, timing, zone and analog. We also get an additional swing type this year, which is contact. That brings your arsenal up to three: contact, regular and power. The bunt button moves to triangle as contact now occupies the circle button. I see the contact swing as a situational type tool when you are down in the count trying to stay alive or trying to just get the ball in play. Batters with good ratings can give the ball a ride occasionally with contact but overall I would not be looking to get a ton of hits with that swing type. The power swing received some attention as well as you can now check swing but you are not going to be extremely successful as most of the time you go too far. Done very well I might add. Also, if you like to power swing you better get your PCI aiming skills sharpened, as it will shrink dramatically. Depending on the batter it can shrink to the size of a pea! No freebies this year, you have to earn it!

Timing: Timing has finally broken out on its own after being shackled for years to the lower difficulty hitting levels. The user can now play on all the difficulty levels ranging from rookie-legend using this hitting method. In order to keep this challenging your timing window shrinks as you progress to the higher difficulty levels. I tried this out on Legend and turned the pitch speed up for the added challenge and that combination seemed to work well.

Zone: As advertised this is now true zone hitting where the ball needs to be within the PCI for contact to be made. HOF and Legend received additional tweaks while we were at the event and they made it even harder, lol! Also, the PCI size decreases as you move up in difficulty level. You visually can see this now in the swing analysis screen. This hitting method is extremely responsive and those familiar with and enjoy this way of hitting will be pleased.

To analog or not to analog that is the question? In browsing through the forums I hear the debate on whether to use this hitting method or not. You’ll hear “my fingers don’t work that way”, “ I hate the sticks”, “I love the sticks”, “that does not mimic hitting”, whatever your stance is this method is definitely worth trying as it has switched me away from zone hitting!

Analog:

Before the swing: To start you pick your swing type, you are defaulted to a regular swing so you really only need to pick power or contact if you want a different swing type. The controller will vibrate to confirm your selection. Before the pitcher picks his pitch you can initiate the player’s practice swing ritual by flicking the right stick.

The start of the swing and the swing: To initiate your stride you pull back on the right stick just before the pitcher releases the ball (If you do this after he releases you will be late resulting in a miss or late contact. If you perform this too early before the pitcher releases your PCI will shrink making it difficult to make contact.). As the pitch arrives to the plate you swing by pushing forward with the right stick. On the way up to swing you either need to angle the right stick up to the left/ up straight/ or up to the right depending on what part of the zone the pitch is entering. To make it extremely simple to understand just imagine the zone broken down into three sections left center and right:

[] [] []

[] [] []

[] [] []
L C R

Remember this is a timing heavy mechanic, the more fluid you can do your stride and swing the more successful you will be. The height of the swing is being calculated behind the scenes as timing, pitch type, location of the ball, hitter attributes and a goody bag of other things make this happen.

Oops I don’t like that pitch I need to hold up! The check swing is a reactionary step in the hitting process. Many baseball games get this wrong because they turn it into a predetermined thought by taking you out of the swing mechanic to do it. The show does it right here as there are two ways to stop your swing. 1) You can let the stick go to neutral the batter will stop his stride. 2) As you are pushing forward you can pull back quickly to initiate a check swing animation. Depending how far you went forward will determine what degree of check swing you come up with. The system is extremely responsive and should not leave too many frustrated.

Bunting: To bunt you simply push up on the right stick from neutral or you could push the stick left or right from neutral to bunt. I am not sure if we are going to have all these options in the final version as I am not sure it was supposed to be that way. Personally I liked the left and right as it would push the ball in the appropriate direction. So we will be surprised when we get the final!

There is definitely a learning curve with analog hitting. At first most people will be late with their stride. Then they will forget to angle their right stick on the push forward. Just make sure you have your controller straight otherwise you are not pushing the right stick where you think you are! Hits are very rewarding because they are earned and the site and sound of a great hit is a thing of beauty! So try it before you write off!

Just a quick note on hit variety. Every year it seems to get better and better as there are new hit types added. I saw some nice curving/arcing hits into the outfield that I never saw before!

Pitching: You have 3 choices of pitching this year in the Show: classic, meter and now analog. The original 2 received some brush up love but the analog addition is going to steal the Show so to speak this year. We also have the introduction of balks this year. Now with that said, you need to know that the balks are really for 2 player games. This year the CPU does not have the logic incorporated to balk. The balk was initially developed for online and 2 player to combat the quick pitch issue. You can turn it on for yourself against the CPU if you want to keep yourself honest but there really is no need to have it on if it is only you. I was told that it would be incorporated for the CPU next year. They did say balks were one of the toughest things to add because of the logic that needed to be added and changed.

Classic: This has always been my favorite mode to pitch in. I know many did not like it because the lack of control but I think that is what I enjoyed the most out of it was trying to corral my pitcher and figure it out. Anyway, this year you get a rumble that indicates max effort. You press and hold (no tap), as a one or two second hold results in max effort. From there you can back off to try and figure different variations of effort to apply. I tried classic for a few innings and the control felt fine with me. I know they were trying to tone done the randomness a little but we will have to wait and see how it shapes up in the final.

Meter: I tried this for a couple innings and it felt largely the same as last year, which was fine in my opinion. Nothing too earth shattering to report here.

Pitcher confidence: Last year pitcher confidence took a step in the right direction with stability. This year I thought it took another giant step once again as I did not see it fluctuate dramatically at all. I used starters 1-5 from various teams and I did not sense the crumbling on he mound like we saw in past versions. Definitely promising on this front!

Analog:

The above picture shows what the analog meter looks like. To start you still use the face buttons to pick your pitch type and the left stick to maneuver the ball icon around the strike zone to where you want the pitch to break. While maneuvering the ball icon in the zone you will see the hollow ball icon at the top of the meter will move left or right depending on where you set the pitch. The two vertical lines within the top section of the meter represent the outer edges of the strike zone/plate.

You initiate the meter by pulling back on the right stick, the solid ball icon in the center of the blue shaft will start to fall and you keep pulling back (it is important to keep steady pressure on the pull back and not let go) until you reach the yellowish accuracy bar/release point near the bottom (Hitting above or below the accuracy bar will result in a pitch higher or lower). Once the icon reaches the bar you thrust the right stick towards the hollow ball icon at the top of the meter. Pitch velocity will be determined by how fast you push up towards the top of the meter. So the faster you push up the harder it is to match up the two icons. Accuracy will be determined by how well you hit the bar at the bottom and how well the two icons meet at the top. If you hit everything perfectly the outer sections of the plate at the top of the meter will flash yellow. If your pitcher gets roughed up you will lose that yellowish bar at the bottom and if your pitcher is in a groove the bar will thicken. Basically working just like the release point in the current pitching meter.

2 player analog: Basically you perform the same functions as above BUT the hollow ball icon at the top that determines your location in the zone is now hidden. You basically have to remember where you have it and try to match it up on the thrust up to the top. Once again if you hit it perfectly you will get that yellow flash at the top. It is extremely difficult to pull off, as you are a little blind as where to go. Thankfully this is only in side-by-side 2 player as online keeps the one player scheme because your opponent does not see it on their end.

For a first time effort this mechanic was done very well and is fun to use and easy to understand. It is pretty hard to paint which is good, as the thrust up for max velocity tends to throw you off the mark a little. I think this meter is going to evolve in looks and content, as I do not feel they are totally done with it. It definitely would be nice to get a visual cue on how much velocity we are putting into the pitch. There is a very solid base in place and look forward to what else they have in store with it. Enjoy!

Analog Throwing: This year the Show gets a new way to throw that will be tied to the right stick. Last year we saw improvements on the throwing front where arm ratings were directly tied to the meter using the button press method. That system automatically handled accuracy for the user, which was also based on fielder attributes. This year the right stick will handle both strength and accuracy based on the users input. Preloading once again is going to be extremely key to yield the quickest and smoothest throwing animations.

Right stick layout: You basically want to follow a North, South, East, West pattern when moving the right stick to hit your targets. All from neutral you would move the stick East (for the directionally challenged people that would be right) for first base, North (Straight up) for second, West (Left) for third and South (straight down) for home.

Analog meter layout: Under the fielder will be the familiar icon ring. At the North, South, East and West points of the ring will be pie shaped slices. These so called slices will vary in width depending on the fielder’s attribute ratings to determine accuracy. Within the ring is the strength meter. Based on input the meter will grow from green to yellow to red depending on how long you hold for strength. The accuracy meter, which is also a ring, is just outside the strength meter. This ring will turn 3 colors (green= accurate throw, yellow = slightly offline throw and red= poor throw). Along the outside of the accuracy ring will be a directional arrow showing where the throw is heading. At times a yellow throw will result in an error by pulling someone off the bag but most of the time it will get the job done causing you to hold your breath sometimes. A red throw is an absolute disaster, your best bet is to try and cancel it otherwise you are going to be chasing it! The bad throw will vary from offline, to balls in the dirt and way over the head. I do have a little issue with balls in the dirt on a bad throw to first. The first basemen never seems to put a stop on the ball by deflecting it or getting a glove on it. He is able to come up with green and yellow throws in the dirt except the red. Not expecting him to get all of them but should probably get a glove on many of them.

Difficulty levels New this year is the users ability to designate a difficulty level for throwing. The difficulty levels range from Rookie – Legend. On the lower difficulty levels there is more play so to speak for being off point for accuracy. As you increase in difficulty you need to be more on point as the margin for error shrinks considerably. Legend is absolutely insane as you only have a 1 or 2 degree margin for being off point. I tried this at the event and made 8 errors in 2 innings, absolute disaster! Start low and work your way up! Basically from All-Star and up things start to become challenging.

Cancel that! New to the Show this year is throw canceling. This is going to be a love- hate relationship right off the bat for many that use it. Basically you have the ability to cancel a throw before it leaves the fielders hand by flicking the right stick in any direction. The fielder will make a throwing motion without releasing the ball. The biggest learning curve with this is accidentally canceling your throws, especially on double play exchanges. You need to make sure the throw leaves the first fielders hand before you preload for the next throw. Do it too fast and you cancel the first throw and end up with nothing. There was conversation with the group about including a shoulder button press along with the right stick to cancel throws and avoid this type of situation but it stays as is for 11. It will take some practice and patience, as you will extend some innings in the beginning because of this! The option can be turned off for users that do not want to use it.

The art of throwing: Now that we went over the basics lets bring it all together. Lets say we have a runner at third and the ball is hit to shortstop. As the ball approaches and before it reaches him you decide to throw to first by moving the right stick over towards first. The moment you move the R stick, accuracy and strength are calculated based on your input. The strength meter will swell based on your input then the accuracy meter will follow. In our example lets say we were off and the red accuracy ring came up. At that point before the throw you could: A) let the throw go and chase it down the right field line OR B) Flick the stick again which would cancel by doing a fake throw. Hopefully you chose (B) but now you see the runner at third taking off for home. Now you would push straight down and cue up a throw to home plate. If the runner on third had stayed you could have tried to throw again to first by pushing right on the R stick. Canceling throws definitely gives the user more options as you can change your decision quickly and try to cut someone else down who is trying to take advantage.

Lets try to turn two now! We now have a runner on first and the ball is hit to second. As the ball approaches you would cue up a throw to second by moving the stick straight up. You need to wait until the ball leaves the second baseman before you cue up the throw to first! Once this occurs you would push right on the R stick for the shortstop to throw to first. One thing I have found is that double plays seem to unfold a little slower because of the extra wait time. On a positive note you tend to see more runner fielder interaction at second base because of the delay.

Hitting the cutoff man: From the outfield you press L1 and basically can move the right stick in any direction and it will hit the cutoff man. I tend to hit L1 and pull straight down for the cut but that is just personal preference. The outfielder can also throw directly to the base as well (Right for first, Up for second, Left for third and Down for home).

Most common mistakes with analog throwing:

1) Canceling a throw unintentionally.
2) On dropped third strikes, having the catcher throw to second by accident because you feel the first baseman is ahead of you and you should push straight up, lol.
3) Jamming the R stick all the way over causing a full strength throw all the time.

In closing, analog throwing is going to be a lot of fun once you get passed the initial frustration with certain elements. There is definitely going to be a learning curve to get used to the mechanic, especially when it comes to throw canceling. People will enjoy throwing errors that are based on user input instead of random happenings. One thing I would have liked with this new introduction was a practice mode to help people get used to the system a little easier. Overall the system is pretty solid and definitely responsive. Enjoy!

Fielding: In the past there has not been much differentiation on the playing field in regards to fielder ability. Most of the time you could get away with leaving in sub par fielders late in the game without penalty where they had the ability to pull off the same gold glove type plays as their higher caliber fielding teammates could. This year great effort has been taken to adjust fielder ratings so that there is more diversity among players on the field. Also, there are huge penalties for putting players in positions that they are not rated for. It adds some strategy for late inning subs because now you have to make sure who you are putting in will not hurt you in the field.

At face value when you initially get into the game you are not going to see dramatic over the top differences. Player ratings will start to reveal themselves the more you play and get accustomed with your team and with exposure to other teams. One significant aspect of the ratings re-work is that all players do not have access to all the fielding animations. Depending on how a player is rated they will have their own portfolio of animations available to them so to speak. So for example those sliding catches in the hole at second and shortstop have been saved for only the top tier fielders.

An additional factor in field for 11 is momentum. You can no longer turn on the dime to correct yourself or make a play. You will need to take a few steps to adjust yourself, which can cost you precious moments in determining if you get or miss the ball. It will also affect your throws especially if the play is taking you away from your intended target. When catching balls in the outfield you need to be careful, as initial jumps you make in the wrong direction can be the difference to making the catch or having the ball drop just in front of you. Overall it adds a nice layer to the defense.

So how does it all play out on the field? I will go around the diamond and give an overview of how it translates in the field.

Outfield: The biggest thing you will notice is the initial jump the outfielders have when the ball is hit. In prior versions outfielders were off at the crack of the bat, which made it challenging for extra base hits. Depending on the ratings certain outfielders will be initially slower or faster at the crack of the bat and most noticeable between players is the amount of ground they can cover. This translates into a lot more balls over the heads of the outfielders, slow jumps on the ball at times and some balls that tip off the gloves as well! Diving still is a challenge overall but gone for the most part are those CPU initiated dives for the user. CPU diving on the other hand in the outfield appeared to be toned down quite a bit and when they did attempt it, it looked right and they did not always get the ball either which is good. The suction area for shagging fly balls has been reduced even further this year but I am sure will not be enough for some, as some people will still feel at times the CPU takes over too early in these situations. One good thing that comes out of the later jumps is the nonchalant catches have been toned down a lot but are still there from time to time.

Another nagging issue from past years that is a little better but not perfect is how the CPU gives them self up too early to position themselves for the bounce off the wall. I still feel some inaccuracy needs to be implemented into this situation because the CPU is still too perfect in this situation. All in all I think outfield play should be more exciting this year with momentum and ratings doing a good job of diversifying players.

Infield:

1B, 3B: The perennial problem of balls down the line getting by the third and first basemen have been addressed and should be a non-issue. Anything that gets by them now is deserving of hit down the line!

I think there needs to be more bobble animations on balls in the dirt with the first baseman. More balls will get by him this year but I noticed on red throws with analog he never gets a glove on any of them. I thought that needed to be tightened up a little. At least he is not perfect any more which is a plus!

2B, Shortstop: This biggest thing you will see in these two positions is range ability. Depending on how strong or weak they are will determine how much ground they are able to cover. You will definitely see and feel this on balls in the hole!

As usual the double play exchanges are nice and clean between the two but there is some work that still needs to be done here in my opinion. The canned collision animations don’t really correlate to what actually happened between runner and fielder. As a still picture they are beautiful but in motion the break up plays seem off to me. Now I am not saying that it has declined from last year, this tends to be a personal pet peeve of mine that I would like to see upgraded. I know SCEA has mentioned that baseball is not a contact sport but there are two pretty important areas where it is almost necessary and they are second base and home plate, which I will get into further down. I think developing a collision system would result in some dynamic outcomes based on the point of contact between fielder and runner.

Pitcher: Last year we saw the introduction of collision detection with the pitcher. Unfortunately he was the man of steel on the mound, as he never seemed to get hurt or react to getting hit. We were told that this year there are some specific animations where the pitcher will react to getting hit and even injured at times. In my time with the game I never saw any of these animations and there were plenty of times the pitcher got hit. Not sure if they were included yet. Overall there still needs to be work done here. From the build we were playing I still think the frequency at which the pitcher gets hit still needs to be toned down some. Also, the physics of how the ball bounces off different parts of the body needs some work too. Too many times the ball just died at the pitchers feet where technically it should have hit off him and changed trajectory. Overall it is getting better but still needs work!

Catcher: As mentioned earlier, this is another area I feel needs attention. One of the most exciting positions for plays to occur feels too far removed from the rest of the game or some reason. Although there is a certain protocol on how catchers should set up for a play at the plate, each catcher in the MLB has their own style. Unfortunately all the catchers in The Show set up the same way and have the same tag animations. It would go a long way if there were some personality added with additional tag animations to give more life to this area of the game. Collision detection would also go a long way too where the catcher could block the plate, have the runner railroad the catcher etc. Currently there is too much sliding through one another that knocks the realism down a few notches.

A couple nagging issues from last year:

-Catcher does a much better job at blocking pitches which will cut down on passed balls.

-Throws up the first base line from the outfield. This did not occur as much and it could be a result of analog throwing/player ratings producing more dynamic results.

-Snap throws last year generally resulted in rainbow throws to first. This still largely feels the same, as the throw and the first baseman need to sync causing a slow looping throw. I feel that we need a pre-pitch command like we do for a pitch out to plan for the event hopefully resulting in a stronger throw.

Errors: In general you are going to see more user errors with analog throwing and some missed catches because of momentum miscues. Ratings will also do their job in causing a fair share of fielding miscues for you and the CPU.

In Summary: Overall I walked away pleased with some of the strides that were made with fielding for 11. While not perfect fielding is heading in the right direction as each year another piece of the puzzle is added to eventually reveal a complete fielding concept. I think if they could add some position specific attribute ratings for fielders to further diversify players and include some collision detection in key areas, it would tie up some loose ends. For now though fielding is finally starting to have a face in the show. Enjoy!

**emath** · 02-25-2011, 02:03 PM

Re: MLB 11: The Show FAQ

Originally posted by nmycon

Have legendary players been removed from the game this year?

Yes, unfortunately SCEA's agreement with these retired players has come to an end, forcing them to deal with each player's estate individually if they wanted to put them in this years game. However, their batting stances will likely be kept in the game (under a Generic name) so you will be able to create your favourite legends and upload them to the roster vault for the world to download.

I am not trying to argue this, or say it isn't true... Just want to mention something I found to be interesting. The legends in the game were (to the best of my knowledge) a part of the Cooperstown Collection, no?... Now, maybe I am wrong, and maybe that is more in regards to the classic uniforms. I just noticed on the load screens it still has the Cooperstown Collection logo.

EDIT: The more I think about this, the more I think it probably has to do with the classic uniforms than the legendary players.

**nmycon** · 02-25-2011, 08:25 PM

Re: MLB 11: The Show FAQ

Originally posted by emath

I am not trying to argue this, or say it isn't true... Just want to mention something I found to be interesting. The legends in the game were (to the best of my knowledge) a part of the Cooperstown Collection, no?... Now, maybe I am wrong, and maybe that is more in regards to the classic uniforms. I just noticed on the load screens it still has the Cooperstown Collection logo.

EDIT: The more I think about this, the more I think it probably has to do with the classic uniforms than the legendary players.

Cooperstown Collection is the name for an annual series of throwback jerseys, created by Philadelphia based apparel company Mitchell & Ness

**Raskal** · 02-25-2011, 08:30 PM

Re: MLB 11: The Show FAQ

I think you should add some FAQs on Co-op play. For example what modes it is available in (Exhibition and Online). Also, only that 2 systems are available for use when playing online.

**ryan36** · 02-28-2011, 04:14 PM

Re: MLB 11 The Show FAQ

Guys this thread is for quick reference to game features...not for you to ask questions...use the q&a thread for that

**nmycon** · 02-28-2011, 07:03 PM

Re: MLB 11: The Show FAQ

Originally posted by Raskal

I think you should add some FAQs on Co-op play. For example what modes it is available in (Exhibition and Online). Also, only that 2 systems are available for use when playing online.

i'll add that, no co op for season or franchise then?

**Bleak5170** · 03-10-2011, 10:51 AM

Re: MLB 11 The Show FAQ

I'm having some trouble selecting my swing type with the analogue hitting. Is it still pressing one of the face buttons? I was able to switch between Contact, Normal, and Power at will when I tried non-analogue hitting. Now with analogue activated, the current player at bat defaults to one of the three swing types and I can't change it.

Sorry for my noobiness but this is the first time I've played The Show.

**slthree** · 03-10-2011, 09:37 PM

Re: MLB 11 The Show FAQ

Originally posted by Bleak5170

I'm having some trouble selecting my swing type with the analogue hitting. Is it still pressing one of the face buttons? I was able to switch between Contact, Normal, and Power at will when I tried non-analogue hitting. Now with analogue activated, the current player at bat defaults to one of the three swing types and I can't change it.

Sorry for my noobiness but this is the first time I've played The Show.

Press no button at all= regular swing
Press the "o" button= contact swing
Press the "square" button= power swing

Make your choice anytime before the pitch and you will get a vibration in the controller confirming your choice

MLB 11 The Show FAQ

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