MLB 16 The Show Impressions from us puny "last gen" PS3 Consoles

[LASTROSNoMore]

I realize the hype is for the bigger and better PS4 versions of the game which has all the "bells and whistles," but, what about us who still play on the PS3?

First things first, we get the game brand new for $40; though I pre-ordered from Gamestop, it doesn't appear that I will get any kind of bonus for doing so. As I am typing this I am installing the 10GB version of the game (like MLB 15 The Show, we can install 5GB or 10GB).

I was concerned about what we were going to get for our $40, as I read online and even called Gamestop once to find out, and everywhere I heard that this year wasn't going to have The Road to the Show (RTTS) (for PS3).

After searching here on Operations Sports I found this thread which shows the difference between the PS3 and PS4 versions, which showed that the PS3 version did have RTTS. And sure enough, on the back of the box it shows that it does have it.

Ok, the game has installed, so now I will walk you through what I see.

First thing it asks if I am a Veteran or Novice player (I chose Veteran). The background image is a stadium with somewhat dark storm clouds which I think is cool.

After choosing Veteran the game gives me five items to start off with, I got a batting glove (Rawlings 5150 - Silver), Kyle Seager, Sam Bat Sponsorship - Silver, something that appears to be a red whiffle ball (it is a ritual, Visions Training - Silver), and a catcher's mask (Wilson Pro Stock - Silver).

Next it downloads and applies the latest live rosters.

The top menus are "Home," "Community," and "Options."

Under the Home menu is the game modes, which has Road to the Show, Diamond Dynasty, Franchise (Franchise, Online Franchise, and Season), Play Now, My Locker (Inventory, Missions, Captains, Community Market, and Show Shop), and Mini Modes (Practice, Postseason, Home Run Derby, and Challenge of the Week). The Home menu seems to be more intuitive to me than past games.

Under Community menu is Game Rooms, Leaderboards, Roster Update, Vaults, Game History, Announcements, and Media.

Under the Options menu is Data Utility, User Settings, Create & Edit Player, Game Controls, Roster Control, Sounds of the Show, and Credits.

As for the music that they chose for this game, personally I liked the music for 2014 the best, 2015 next, then 2016 (I guess the music will take getting accustomed to).

As I watch a demo game between Seattle and Tampa Bay, the graphics look good, but I thought the graphics from 2015 were good (an upgrade from 2014). Nothing stands out to me as a huge improvement over 2015, from a graphical standpoint, the same game in a new package.

Ok, well, I'm ready to play, so I will keep updating this thread with my observations and opinions. I know people are interested in the new Showtime mode, as I am interested in it also.

[jmillhimes]

Thanks man. Please letus know about any coo changes. I have heard S4 fans saying the stats were horrible and the gameplay in a major league stadium was a bit choppy

[LASTROSNoMore]

Quote: Originally Posted by jmillhimes

Thanks man. Please letus know about any coo changes. I have heard S4 fans saying the stats were horrible and the gameplay in a major league stadium was a bit choppy

Your welcome, I started a season with my Houston Astros, and I have noticed some choppy graphics issues (black lines in the left and bottom of the screen during a hit - I use broadcast settings). But the overall gameplay seems smoother than on 2015, to me at least.

I honestly don't know abut the stats as I haven't compared anything to real life stats - I am getting torn up 6-2 by Texas Rangers right now, I am using Keuchel, but I have pitching set hard for me (Hall of Fame with Pure Analog).

I do have to say, though, that they don't have the batting camera angle that I liked with 2014 or 2015 (which is batting zoom 3, I think), so I am having to work with the custom settings to get it more how I like it.

As for the announcers, basically the same, some few new lines, but they seem to call the game better (think of 2014 to 2015, I might say the difference between those is close to the difference between 2015 and 2016).

[fearwhatnow]

Some PS4 users are reporting several problems with budgets skyrocketing, messed stats etc. If it's true I think I'll stay away from this year's version. If I'm not mistaken there was a budget bug in the '14 version that was never fixed. The fully patched '15 version is almost perfect for me.
I hope some of the fellow OS members here will enlighten us in depth about the PS3 version. I really don't find so informative impressions like "the new bat sound is awesome"...

[LASTROSNoMore]

Quote: Originally Posted by fearwhatnow

Some PS4 users are reporting several problems with budgets skyrocketing, messed stats etc. If it's true I think I'll stay away from this year's version. If I'm not mistaken there was a budget bug in the '14 version that was never fixed. The fully patched '15 version is almost perfect for me. I hope some of the fellow OS members here will enlighten us in depth about the PS3 version. I really don't find so informative impressions like "the new bat sound is awesome"...

What do you want to know? I'll try and answer it to the best of my ability. I haven't encountered any "budget bugs," but I'm not playing franchise either. And I never said anything about "the bat sounds awesome," lol.

[fearwhatnow]

Quote: Originally Posted by LASTROSNoMore

What do you want to know? I'll try and answer it to the best of my ability. I haven't encountered any "budget bugs," but I'm not playing franchise either. And I never said anything about "the bat sounds awesome," lol.

No worries mate. It wasn't a comment towards you! Can you sim a franchise season and examine next season's budgets please? Thanks!
Is morale feature in the PS3 version?

[LASTROSNoMore]

Quote: Originally Posted by fearwhatnow

No worries mate. It wasn't a comment towards you! Can you sim a franchise season and examine next season's budgets please? Thanks! Is morale feature in the PS3 version?

I will get to this in a bit, maybe tonight, but when I do finish simming a season, what do you want me to look for exactly? And tell me what team you would like me to do it for also.

I'll be honest, I don't like doing franchise mode because of all the stuff there is to it... I like just playing... but I do like The Road to the Show and Diamond Dynasty.

[stealyerface]

Okay, three full games in and here are the initial impressions, in no real order...
Full Install and updated online.

-Game is prettier. Looks nicer, and is polished up a bit.
-The ball on defense is too big. Looks like a softball. Just silly really.
-I played the opening day game, Red Sox V Indians. Pouring rain. The entire Red Sox lineup is wearing sunglasses. In the rain. Pfft.
-I see some nice animations, and some new presentations, very nice.
-There is a problem with tagging runners. On two occasions, the baserunner (cpu) ran towards third for some reason, and I threw from the outfield, and the ball was caught by Pablo when the runner was just passed half way to third. On both occasions, the runner slid under the swipe tag, and was called safe. This needs to be addressed. Not acceptable. Runners out by ten feet do not slide past a swipe tag. Nor is a swipe tag put down on a runner who is three steps from the bag. No good.
-For some reason, when the cpu baserunner decides to inexplicably run when he should not, the outfielder (on at least three occasions) tapped the ball in his glove, and crow-hopped, before throwing a pre-loaded throw. Thereby allowing the runner to easily be safe, when there would be no possible way to have that happen in real life.
-WAAAAAAAAAAY too much stuttering. Mid-pitch, the screen freezes, and the ball is in the catchers mitt when it unfreezes. How many years has this game been running? Too many hiccups. Embarrassing honestly.
-I loaded up my Ultra-Realistic slider set from last year. Had to lower baserunner speed one click, but so far, the speed, tempo, and the flow is really good.
-Fielding animations are nice, and seem to flow better in fly ball catches.
- Classic pitching on legend and with all the pitch sliders at zero is awesome. Very nerve wracking. I love it.
-I pitch with the broadcast view, the baseball is too big. I mentioned it earlier, but it is worth mentioning again. Way too big. Last year's ball size was perfect. not sure why changed.
-I like that the pitch history is off to the side, and does not crowd the strike zone. smart move.
- I do like that they added the ability to shift to the left on the quick defense screen... uh sometimes. And for no reason, especially with a lefty up? Odd.
- NO collision detection between fielders/baserunners/ etc.... I've given up that fight officially.
- Dirt and grass and fields are pretty. Much better polish and detail. Crowds look very nice. Buildings in the city behind the stadium (backgrounds) rendered much nicer than last year. Good job.
- Weird swing animations where you clearly missed the ball, but it is fouled off. Looks odd.
- NICE pull-back camera on a no-doubter!!! Was happy to see that.
- Dirty bat-flip by Mookie after a homerun. Switched hands and tossed it towards the dugout. nice.
- Better job of not giving away a homerun right off the bat, but the runner still did... okay though, looks better than last year, and still an element of surprise.
- Swings and Stances are good.
- Hanley's bleached dreadlocks are spot on, and David Price is an absolute spitting image to real David Price. Nice artwork fellas.
-Sunglasses will have to be edited for everyone, and I would like to see the ability to turn off for batting,and just wear them for fielding. The default sunglasses are horrible. This is not shop class in 1988
- More to come, dinner time now. will play three more and comment accordingly.

~syf