Outfielders too Good?

[sls25]

I love this game but does anyone else think the outfielders, no matter who it is, are incredibly good on defense. Everyone runs down fly balls even deep in the gap and the thing that I find the most frustrating is unless you have the best base runner on 2nd base, no one is every able to score on a base hit to the outfield. I think sometimes it appears the outfielders play too shallow and this contributes to always being thrown out at the plate. I have used a few different slider sets so its not that. Anyone else finding these things happening to them?

[rjackson]

Re: Outfielders too Good?

Nope. Problem as described goes away with the right sliders. There was a thread last week pointing out issues running routes being too perfect.

[nomo17k]

Re: Outfielders too Good?

Another point to be made is the hang times of line drives/fly balls are probably quite a bit longer than in real life. I think the game is producing significantly more towering fly balls compared to real life. This isn't really adjustable with sliders.

[Blzer]

Re: Outfielders too Good?

Another point to be made is the hang times of line drives/fly balls are probably quite a bit longer than in real life. I think the game is producing significantly more towering fly balls compared to real life. This isn't really adjustable with sliders.

No true top-spinning fly balls in this game, I presume.

But yeah, hang time is probably a little bad. I also think outfielders should start a little closer together, and not as close to the lines.

[sandmac]

Re: Outfielders too Good?

I love this game but does anyone else think the outfielders, no matter who it is, are incredibly good on defense. Everyone runs down fly balls even deep in the gap and the thing that I find the most frustrating is unless you have the best base runner on 2nd base, no one is every able to score on a base hit to the outfield. I think sometimes it appears the outfielders play too shallow and this contributes to always being thrown out at the plate. I have used a few different slider sets so its not that. Anyone else finding these things happening to them?

ABSOLUTELY. Their sense of urgency is insane. They literally SPRINT to ground balls hit right at them. It's way off. If there were a FIELDING URGENCY Slider OF & INF that would be
the perfect solution.

[Armor and Sword]

Re: Outfielders too Good?

I felt MLB 11 had this aspect slightly better than 12. Gappers, hits down the line and to the corner.

But sliders help alleviate this a lot. And they did as well in The Show 11.

I still play both games hardcore and the one thing I do notice is the ball is far more lively in 12 (ball physics of course) and maybe they over compensated the new ball physics with more agile/speedy OF's.

But again....slider adjustments to fielder speed help a ton as well as arm strength to get more doubles that should be doubles.

I don't think is is a huge problem at all in the grand scheme of the game. My stats and overall gameplay are stellar.

[sls25]

Re: Outfielders too Good?

So I've been using TNK sliders recently, is there a particular slider set that you guys are using that lessens the outfield brilliance and plays a great game? Thanks for your help.

[seanjeezy]

Re: Outfielders too Good?

So I've been using TNK sliders recently, is there a particular slider set that you guys are using that lessens the outfield brilliance and plays a great game? Thanks for your help.

Fielder speed at 1, throw speed at 3, and run speed at 5 is pretty good. I personally play with power at 6, batted balls will travel faster and as a result hits down the line and in the gaps will make it to the wall more frequently.

You might also want to look over the roster you're using, speed ratings are generally clumped together and fielding ratings as a whole are usually too high, that's probably why every outfielder feels the same. If you use a roster where the ratings are more spread out, there is a discernible difference between the good and the bad fielders.

[jr86]

Re: Outfielders too Good?

So I've been using TNK sliders recently, is there a particular slider set that you guys are using that lessens the outfield brilliance and plays a great game? Thanks for your help.

Using his also.
Try switching Fielder Reaction(-1) and Baserunner Speed(+1).

Hit 7 doubles in a 12 inning affair last night....

[WarningTrackPower]

Re: Outfielders too Good?

When it comes to outfield play, I think there a lot of variables to why they're so good. I believe that most of the outfielders react to the ball coming off the bat in a very unrealistic fashion. I also think that they reach their full-speed sprint too quick as well. Fielders may also be positioned too close to the lines; taking away any doubles down the line. However, my biggest complaint when it comes to outfield play actually has to do with hit variety.

It's frustrating to play a game where you constantly square the ball up and are out most of the time. I just played a game where I only had 2 hits through 6 innings, yet I was hitting the crap out of the ball. My only two hits, homeruns. When it comes to games like this, you better hit it out because you're out if you don't. The worst part about a game like this is the fact that the opposing pitcher keeps gaining confidence even when you mash a ball. (I could talk days about pitcher confidence but it would be off-topic to this thread... ever get dominated by a pitcher's 5th best pitch??).

As far as I'm concerned, line drives stay up way too long. There's too much under-spin on the ball. This is evident on fly balls as well. I've hit some towering fly balls in this game, even homeruns that are absolute moonshots... literally bringing the rain down with them. Not that a ball can't be hit that high, but it seems very common to hit these in the game. If the devs are reading this page; more hit variety, please. A top-spin line drive would be nice to see.. as well as some better reaction times for outfielders.. Also, the ball loses too much speed on the dirt. (Anyone hit a line drive down the firstbase line in Fenway? In most cases, it should literally run past the Pesky Pole and rip around towards the bullpen. In the game it dies by Pesky's Pole, every time).

Edit:
Sorry, this was kind of a vent for me. I just lost two games where I pitched very well and hit the cover off the ball but had very little to show for it. Most of my outs were line drives to the gap that stayed up way too long. Their pitcher was very confident at leaving hanging change ups out over the plate. (Rolls eyes)

[nomo17k]

Re: Outfielders too Good?

I'm actually curious how the hang times of line drives/fly balls compare with MLB 12 and previous versions before TruBall physics was introduced. I don't feel it's used to be that long. (It's about time I get back on PS3... can't do this myself now without it.)

Is it too much back spin that is causing the hang time to be longer (physically possible)? It's probably a bit of both but I also suspect the exit speed of especially fly balls could be higher to begin with, which also leads to longer hang time.

This also explains why we rarely see texas leaguers.

[Blzer]

Re: Outfielders too Good?

I'm actually curious how the hang times of line drives/fly balls compare with MLB 12 and previous versions before TruBall physics was introduced. I don't feel it's used to be that long. (It's about time I get back on PS3... can't do this myself now without it.)

Is it too much back spin that is causing the hang time to be longer (physically possible)? It's probably a bit of both but I also suspect the exit speed of especially fly balls could be higher to begin with, which also leads to longer hang time.

This also explains why we rarely see texas leaguers.

Could be. Maybe this game's gravitational force isn't strong enough.

After all, most Texas leaguers are back spin bloopers as well.

[nomo17k]

Re: Outfielders too Good?

Could be. Maybe this game's gravitational force isn't strong enough.

After all, most Texas leaguers are back spin bloopers as well.

I think most batted balls that go in air are of back spin kind... after all most of them are produced when you slightly swing under the pitch, so the question is how much back spin? (Forward spin line drive or even knuckler is much rarer due to this... it takes an exaggerated uppercut swing to hit one... don't know the game ever produces the type of hit though... I don't think I've ever seen one.)

I would guess the amount of back spin is likely to correlate with the launch angle of a fly ball (e.g., a fly ball has a larger back spin than a line drive). But I don't think you can hit a towering fly ball as hard as you can hit a line drive (i.e., exit speed of line drive is faster than fly ball) because obviously the latter is produced when you didn't exactly hit squarely. But I feel in the game you can hit a fly ball with much authority. This is probably a bit too simplistic, but that's my feeling......

I bet gravity has nothing to do with what seems wrong with the ball physics. Back spin has an effect to lift a ball, ... not that it physically does since gravity is always much stronger, but the pressure differences below and above a back-spinning ball tends to push it upward, just like back-spinning four-seam fastball "appears" to rise. So if the spin calculation is somehow a bit off in the game, I can imagine that could be part of the reason whey the hang time appears longer.

[sls25]

Re: Outfielders too Good?

speaking of texas leaguers, I don't think I've ever seen one in MLB 12. Has anyone ever seen a little bloop that has dropped in between the in fielder going out for the ball and an outfielder coming in? Can't say I have.

[Blzer]

Re: Outfielders too Good?

I think most batted balls that go in air are of back spin kind... after all most of them are produced when you slightly swing under the pitch, so the question is how much back spin? (Forward spin line drive or even knuckler is much rarer due to this... it takes an exaggerated uppercut swing to hit one... don't know the game ever produces the type of hit though... I don't think I've ever seen one.)

I know, but players do have this swing. Josh Hamilton and Brandon Belt instantly come to mind... as well as many softball players which I coach haha.

I would guess the amount of back spin is likely to correlate with the launch angle of a fly ball (e.g., a fly ball has a larger back spin than a line drive). But I don't think you can hit a towering fly ball as hard as you can hit a line drive (i.e., exit speed of line drive is faster than fly ball) because obviously the latter is produced when you didn't exactly hit squarely. But I feel in the game you can hit a fly ball with much authority. This is probably a bit too simplistic, but that's my feeling......

Agreed, and the only way you could square a fly ball up is with an uppercut swing. Since they aren't producing that, the velocity of the resultant vector (specifically because of the reduced difference in the horizontal velocity) should not be as fast off the bat.

I bet gravity has nothing to do with what seems wrong with the ball physics. Back spin has an effect to lift a ball, ... not that it physically does since gravity is always much stronger, but the pressure differences below and above a back-spinning ball tends to push it upward, just like back-spinning four-seam fastball "appears" to rise. So if the spin calculation is somehow a bit off in the game, I can imagine that could be part of the reason whey the hang time appears longer.

I don't doubt this for one second. The problem is that most issues in games are fixed by doing something such as altering the gravity.

For example, everyone complained about "rocket arms" in ESPN MLB 2K5. The problem was not so much that the initial throwing velocity was too fast. Should have it been lowered? Maybe a tad. But the problem was that there was zero air resistance and the ball bounced off the ground like a super ball on cement. In other words, it would reach home plate with nearly the same velocity that the ball was thrown on, whether it was thrown from the fence on four hops or thrown from the second base cutoff position. People's solutions to this was, indeed, to reduce the arm speed of the outfielders, which opens up a whole new can of worms.

That said, I hope this is explored well beyond gravity, and spin types (as well as trajectory and velocity) are looked into first. There is a long way to go with these "ball physics." I'm glad they now have how the ball is supposed to act based on what it does when it spins, but now they have to adjust how the bat, ground, and walls interact with the ball to produce such spins.

speaking of texas leaguers, I don't think I've ever seen one in MLB 12. Has anyone ever seen a little bloop that has dropped in between the in fielder going out for the ball and an outfielder coming in? Can't say I have.

Once, and it was because of a counteracting 35 MPH wind that knocked the ball down. It almost looked beautiful enough to record, but unfortunately it was only a result of strong winds, and not the actual ball's physics. It was all built on a lie.