Graduated Sliders: MLB The Show '15

[Mike Lowe]

Patch 1.05

Welcome
Thanks for checking out The Graduated Sliders for MLB The Show '15! I've been playing the show since the game first came out 10 years ago, and I'd say I'm a good player, having once been ranked in the Top 100 in Diamond Dynasty (no longer play that mode). Most importantly, I love baseball and am always looking for ways to make The Show as realistic as possible, even if that means I don't win the division every year. I hope you find some value in these sliders and if not, be sure and check out some of the others on OS.

***Lastly, make sure you spend more time playing the game than exploring the sliders forum!***

Nutshell Version
If you're ready to graduate beyond the standard slider sets of OS, try this one out as a base to tweak to your liking. This set is based on accurate first pitch strikes, ball to strike ratios, foul ball %, and groundball to flyball ratios.

Detailed Version
I call these the graduated sliders for a few reasons. First, they are designed for folks who've found they're in need of a more challenging set when compared to the more popular slider sets out there for MLB The Show. I was using some of those sliders just last year myself, but they became far too easy to dominate and win.

Another reason I call them the graduated sliders is that I want you to not just take ownership of YOUR sliders and graduate from slider dependency/slideritis, but also learn how to comfortably tweak them without feeling as though the sky is falling.

Dymanic difficult is a brilliant idea, but it's too simplified--instead, take up the challenge to dynamically adjust your OWN difficult (sliders/settings) as you go. I'm not a fan of "final" or "locked" sliders because you should always be evaluating and tweaking to adjust to your improved gameplay during the season; you're going to better on game 162 than you are in game 1, period.

At the same time, this game is clean and balanced enough that you don't need to restart over and over just because you bumped a few sliders up or down. Just play and continually check yourself against the league stats rankings.

The game plays great out of the box, and variety AND oddities are a part of baseball; over the course of 162 games, it will level itself out just fine, and the cream will rise to the top. Don't worry if you're not the cream every season.

Use these sliders as a base and tweak, because we ALL play differently and have our own unique skill set. You don't need to wait to start a franchise to use these sliders, you don't need to start anything over, and you can tweak during your season as you won't be seeing anything out of the realm of possibility, and certainly nothing that won't stand the test of time over 162 games. Staying locked into a bad slider set for 162 is the only thing that will skew your results one way or another, so don't do that!

GAMEPLAY OPTIONS
If you'd like, share your box scores here

BATTING & BASERUNNING
Hitting Difficulty - Hall of Fame
Hitting Interface - Directional (Zone works too)
Input Type - Buttons
Plate Coverage Indicator - Off
PCI Appearance - Wedge
Camera Shift - Off
Hitting View – Catcher
In-Play View Offense - Medium
Ball Trail - Off
Guess Pitch - Off
Baserunning Decisions - Assist
Baserunning Interface - Default
Sliding Decisions - Assist
Runner Window – On

PITCHING
Pitching Difficulty - Hall of Fame
Pitching Interface - Meter
Pitching View – Outfield
Pitching Ball Marker - Off
Pitch Confidence - Off
Pitch Delay - Normal
API: Default

FIELDING
Throwing Interface - Buttons
Throwing Meter - No Feedback
Throwing Difficulty - Hall of Fame
Fielding Decision - Auto (or Assist for manual fielding)
Throwing Decision - On (or Off for manual fielding)
In-Play View - Medium
Throw Cancelling - On
One Button Dive/Jump - Off
Catch Position Indicator - Off (or On for manual fielding)
Defensive Shift - Auto

GENERAL
Strike Zone - Off
Hot Zones - Preview
Warm Up Pitchers - Off
Tutorial Tips - Off
Post Game Auto Save - Off
Scorebar Display - On
Pitch Select Display - Off (Optional)
Swing/Pitch Info - Off
Balks - On
Umpire Balls and Strikes - Variable
Umpire Close Plays - Off (to simulate instant replay)
Check Swing Appeals - On
Injuries - On
Ejections - On
Vibration - Off
Game Log Order - Default

AUDIO Options
Jukebox: All songs unchecked

HOUSE RULES (Optional)
*Don't feel you must use 30 team control. Live with the fact that the league lives, breathes on its own. If you think the trades are strange, go and review the 2014 MLB regular season
*Manager contracts - On
*Do not activate any sponsors--the AI teams do not have this advantage
*If you want the artist rendition bio pictures, start your franchise with a fantasy draft, then back out of it before the first selection is made. Rosters will still be intact
*Randomly scroll through the weather options before each game for variety
*Do not "visit mound" at the very start of an inning
*Do not take any additonal leadoffs. The AI no longer utilizes this.
*No going back to the bag on a steal attempt
*Unless in the offseason, not eligible to sign a free agent until an AI team does first
*Do not update your team's trade block until an AI team does first
*Assume the AI teams only want to deal primarily from their trade block
*No changing of staff until the offseason
*Set scouting and training to auto
*For an added challenge, only promote/demote players to rebalance your organization's rosters after injuries, as this is all the AI does.

SLIDERS
Dynamic Difficulty - 5
Human Contact - 5
Human Power - 5 (-1)
Human Timing - 6
Human Foul Frequency - 1
Human Solid Hits - 5
Human Starter Stamina - 8 then 7
(Before first pitch, lower to 7. After your game and before simming, set it back to 8)
Human Reliever Stamina - 0
Human Pitch Control - 1
Human Pitcher Consistency - 0
CPU Contact - 4
CPU Power - 5
CPU Timing - 1
CPU Foul Frequency - 0
CPU Solid Hits - 4
CPU Starter Stamina - 8 then 7
(Before first pitch, lower to 7. After your game and before simming, set it back to 8)
CPU Reliever Stamina - 0
CPU Pitcher Control - 5
CPU Pitcher Consistency - 0
CPU Strike Frequency - 5
CPU Manager Hook - 8 then 6 then 10
(Before first pitch, lower to 6. Once the AI goes to the bullpen, up this to 10. After your game and before simming, set it back to 8)
CPU Pickoffs - 10
Pitch Speed - 3 (for accurate pull hitters)
Fielding Errors Infield - 6
Fielding Errors Outfield - 3
Throwing Errors Infield - 4
Throwing Errors Outfield - 4
Fielder Run Speed – 0
Fielder Reaction - 8
Fielder Arm Strength Infield - 3
Fielder Arm Strength Outfield - 3
Baserunner Speed - 2
Baserunner Steal Ability - 5
Baserunner Steal Frequency - 5
Wind - 5
Injury Frequency - 9 (based off MLB % comparison)

[Mike Lowe]

Lowered OF and IF arm to 3 for both.

Next up, I'd like to beef up the AI offense to make them more threatening.

Very happy w BB and K totals, as well as strike, ball, foul ball percentages.

[letsgopens66]

Nice! Good to see someone post a HOF set. I'll plug these into my test Indian's franchise and see how they play. I use Directional instead of Zone though, so I might have to make a few adjustments there.

[Mike Lowe]

Awesome, bud. Let me know how it goes.

[Mike Lowe]

Going to give the following changes a try in my next game to make the AI offense more of a threat. I have not updated the first post with these as of the time of this post, but you can adjust the original post with these to test if you'd like.

Human Pitcher Consistency 4 (-1)
CPU Contact 6 (+1)
CPU Power 6 (+1)
CPU Timing 4 (-1)
CPU Foul Frequency 6 (+1)

I'm hoping to see:

*More AI offense/power
*Slightly more Ks for user pitching
*More user erratic pitching including more walks for AI
*No change in AI foul ball %

[Mike Lowe]

Happy Opening Day! Sliders have been updated! Now go statt your franchise and enjoy the game!

I'm much happier with the increase in AI offense, and I'm still seeing perfect 1st pitch strikes %, strikes to balls ratio, and perfect foul ball %. Kudos SCEA!

Next, I'm debating lowering errors to see more, but it might not be needed as the AI is right on track with the rest of the league in my test franchise.

I will be starting my daily solo league today and will post box scores of my games.

Enjoy the season, and share feedback if you have any.

[Mike Lowe]

Hi, everyone! I'm about to start my daily franchise using these sliders, so check out the link in my signature if you'd like to watch.

I may look to increase errors for played games, but otherwise things are very solid. Most importantly, first pitch strikes, foul ball percentages, and ball:strike ratio are spot-on.

It's tough on offense for sure, but I like the challenge and would rather work out of some old habits than to dumb the sliders down. As the Tigers, I'm hoping the Twins provide some sort of challenge--in my test franchise I went 4-0 (one game @ Cleveland), but struggled on offense for sure, and just out managed the AI to hold my leads, etc.

I'll be broadcasting momentarily. I'll post the box score afterwards too.

[Mike Lowe]

Playing game 2 shortly. Come watch if you'd like!

Looking to rebound after a dismal offensive performace in a 2-1 loss to the Twins on Monday.

I'm not going to post box scores as it's a bit tedious, but I'll walk through the box score after the game.

Probably play half of the game before I pause for the real Tigers game

Info below. PSN is MikeLowe47