Mike Lowe MLB The Show '18 Sliders

[Mike Lowe]

Quote: Originally Posted by Trojan Man

Mike, what's your take on the idea that there are too few solid gap shots and too many great jumps by OF?

One of the reasons fielder run speed is so low.

[Surg2k]

Mike, Kind of a noob here. I play a lot of the show but never have gone in depth but that changes tonight and this year! What are your thoughts on Quick Counts? I have read a lot of different things on sliders and it just seems to cause some issues, I feel like it can help get through games but maybe thats the wrong attitude when playing baseball. Just wanted to see if you had any advice. Loved the video and your 17 sliders! They played the best and I am sure so will 18. Hope your also enjoying other aspects of life other then the show. Thanks man!

[NolanRyansSnowmonkey]

Well I've been testing and playing and testing and playing and adjusting and testing to get some hitting sliders that meet my criteria (same criteria as yours, pitch percentages and ratios, etc). I usually use your sliders but I was liking mine so much, and it gave sunch good numbers, I thought 'well I wont use Mike Lowe's set this year unless these prove me wrong' .

I go and check your sliders today and our human hitting and CPU pitching sliders are literally almost exactly the same. i thought you would be on HOF again but I was pleasantly surprised to see you went legend also. The only thing different is you have fielder run speed at 2 and I have it at 3. I seem to hit the gaps a ton on offense and 26% of my hits are doubles over many games which is too high. That's why I went with 3. Also on 3 fielder speed I've hit 4 triples off the Left centerfield wall with hitters even in the 55-60 speed range the last two days which is odd (thats with the same baserunner speed at 4. I was considering lowering BR Speed to 3 today because of this until I saw your sliders.) Maybe just one of those weird baseball things hopefully. That's the only reason I haven't lowered fielder speed to 2 yet.

As far as pitching sliders I haven't had much time to focus on them, so running directly with yours. Can't wait to get going on this.

[Mike Lowe]

Quote: Originally Posted by Surg2k

Mike, Kind of a noob here. I play a lot of the show but never have gone in depth but that changes tonight and this year! What are your thoughts on Quick Counts? I have read a lot of different things on sliders and it just seems to cause some issues, I feel like it can help get through games but maybe thats the wrong attitude when playing baseball. Just wanted to see if you had any advice. Loved the video and your 17 sliders! They played the best and I am sure so will 18. Hope your also enjoying other aspects of life other then the show. Thanks man!

This is just my opinion, but I'd rather put the PS4 in sleep mode and continue later than rush through a game. I also feel quick counts puts you at a disadvantage as you're not following a pitcher's patterns, motion, or picking the best pitches to run on w men on base, etc.

[Surg2k]

Quote: Originally Posted by Mike Lowe

This is just my opinion, but I'd rather put the PS4 in sleep mode and continue later than rush through a game. I also feel quick counts puts you at a disadvantage as you're not following a pitcher's patterns, motion, or picking the best pitches to run on w men on base, etc. Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

I appreciate it! I am just trying to get all my issues figured out before OSFM. Thanks for the reply

[Mike Lowe]

Quote: Originally Posted by NolanRyansSnowmonkey

Well I've been testing and playing and testing and playing and adjusting and testing to get some hitting sliders that meet my criteria (same criteria as yours, pitch percentages and ratios, etc). I usually use your sliders but I was liking mine so much, and it gave sunch good numbers, I thought 'well I wont use Mike Lowe's set this year unless these prove me wrong' . I go and check your sliders today and our human hitting and CPU pitching sliders are literally almost exactly the same. i thought you would be on HOF again but I was pleasantly surprised to see you went legend also. The only thing different is you have fielder run speed at 2 and I have it at 3. I seem to hit the gaps a ton on offense and 26% of my hits are doubles over many games which is too high. That's why I went with 3. Also on 3 fielder speed I've hit 4 triples off the Left centerfield wall with hitters even in the 55-60 speed range the last two days which is odd (thats with the same baserunner speed at 4. I was considering lowering BR Speed to 3 today because of this until I saw your sliders.) Maybe just one of those weird baseball things hopefully. That's the only reason I haven't lowered fielder speed to 2 yet. As far as pitching sliders I haven't had much time to focus on them, so running directly with yours. Can't wait to get going on this.

Correct. Extra base hits (2B, 3B, HR) accounted for less than 10% of total ABs for every single team in 2017.

The number 1 team in MLB hit slightly more than 2 2Bs per game.

Homeruns, some teams are creeping towards 1.4-1.5 per game, but most teams still hover around 1.2 or so.

[Landle]

Quote: Originally Posted by Mike Lowe

Below is an overview of this slider set. I hope this is helpful for folks.

This was great! Another year of your Sliders. Thanks again.

[MattSkyy7]

Quote: Originally Posted by Mike Lowe

Version 1.0 (4-1-18) Patch 1.05 The official sliders for OSFM rosters FAQs Yes, I believe these will work fine on other difficult levels and whatever hitting/pitching/fielding settings you prefer. Yes, these are up in the vault. Search for OSFM Mike Lowe. I use zone hitting on Legend, but with the cursor off. Just try it I do move my cursor around, but also keep a simple gameplan in place for each at bat/situation, and try not to over-complicate my ABs. I pitch on Legend, and pitch for the edges to look to get the AI to chase, so walks and Ks will happen. I also max out the pitch effectiveness on the meter w 2 strikes and/or 3 balls. I try to not throw wild pitches with runners on base as the catchers in this game still aren't great at blocking. Yes, the AI will throw some beanballs, but your HBP will be in-line with the rest of the simulated games. I use auto-fielding for the added animations (and better defensive plays) that you simply will not see on manual fielding. Important You will get accurate sim stats too IF you follow the suggestions below, AND IF you revert after a save/sim anytime you see your league totals for complete games going above a total of 10 per month (about 60 total for the entire season) Before simming any AI games, scroll through the other teams to ensure they do not have any pitcher in their LRP role. Only a day-to-day injured player not on the DL should appear here. Introduction Thanks for checking out my sliders for MLB The Show '18! This is my fourth season working on sliders for this game, which includes two of those seasons being a full 162 games where all games and all pitches were played. I've been involved in game development as a freelance hobby, most recently as a beta tester for Out of the Park Baseball, and I'm heavily focused on details and accuracy of simulation, striving to have a slider set that matches modern MLB output, but also across the simulated game spectrum. Goals of this Set (approximates, and won't be every single game) 60% first pitch strikes 62% ball:strike ratio, but 65-68% for higher-end pitchers .300 team BABIP (BABIP calculator) 15% foul balls per total pitches 21% swings and misses per total number of swings (misses plus strikeouts) HRs right around 1 per game, per team, maybe a tick above. (1.1-1.2) HBP should fall in-line with simulated games Depending on repertoire, varied flyball to groundball ratios The rest of your statistical accuracy will come from this output. *****I stream some games from my franchise, and you can see my results, box scores, etc during those streams. MikeLowe47 on YouTube***** I've been playing the show since the game first came out, and I'd say I'm a pretty good player. 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 Explanation This set is based on accurate first pitch strikes, ball to strike ratios, BABIP, foul ball %, swinging miss %, HR ratios, and groundball to flyball ratios. This is also the only slider I set I've seen that will give you accurate HBP totals for played games. Detailed Explanation These sliders are designed for folks who've found they're in need of a more challenging and realistic set for MLB The Show. Regardless of which slider set you choose, it's important for you the gamer to take ownership of YOUR sliders and move beyond slider dependency/slideritis, and 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 be 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 and rankings, and keep sample size in mind. The game plays well 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 sets. 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 games 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 - Legend Hitting Interface - Zone Input Type - Buttons Plate Coverage Indicator - Off PCI Appearance - Wedge Camera Shift - Off Hitting View – The Show 15 (gives most realistic 60' 6" view from mound) In-Play View Offense - Broadcast Ball Trail - Off Guess Pitch - Off Baserunning Decisions - Assist Baserunning Interface - Default Sliding Decisions - Assist Runner Windows - On PITCHING Pitching Difficulty - Legend Pitching Interface - Meter Pitch Feedback - On Pitching View – Broadcast or Outfield Pitching Ball Marker - Off Pitch Confidence - On Pitch Delay - Normal API - Default FIELDING Throwing Interface - Buttons Throwing Meter - No Feedback Throwing Difficulty - Legend Fielding Decision - Auto or Assist (assist is manual fielding) Throwing Decision - On (or off for manual fielding) In-Play View Defense - Broadcast (or Medium for manual fielding) Throw Cancelling - On One Button Dive/Jump - Off Catch Position Indicator - On (it's hidden on Auto Fielding) Defensive Shift - Auto (but adjust yourself too if need be. Auto just helps save time.) GENERAL Strike Zone - Off Hot Zones - Always Preview Warm Up Pitchers - On or Off Tutorial Tips - Off Post Game Auto Save - Off Scorebar Display - On Pitch Select Display - On Swing/Pitch Info - On Balks - On Umpire Accuracy - Personalized Umpire Close Plays - Off (to simulate instant replay) Check Swing Appeals - On Injuries - On Ejections - On Vibration - Off Game Log Order - Default Presentation, Audio, & Mode-Specific Options All user choice HOUSE RULES (Optional) I would turn the strike ratio way down when facing a knuckleballer. *Manager contracts - On Do not activate any sponsors--the AI teams still do not have this advantage. If you want the artist-rendition bio pictures, start your franchise with a fantasy draft, and then back out of it before the first selection is made. Rosters will still be intact. Do not "visit mound" at the very start of an inning. No going back to the bag on a steal attempt. (wish they would block this in DD) Assume the AI teams only want to deal primarily from their trade block, and don't abuse the shop player feature. No changing of staff until the offseason unless AI team does so first. SLIDERS Dynamic Difficulty - 5 (ignored) Human Contact - 5 Human Power - 5 Human Timing - 0 Human Foul Frequency - 3 Human Solid Hits - 3 Human Starter Stamina - 5 Human Reliever Stamina - 5 Human Pitch Control - 0 Human Pitcher Consistency - 0 CPU Contact - 4 CPU Power - 5 CPU Timing - 0 CPU Foul Frequency - 0 CPU Solid Hits - 3 CPU Starter Stamina - 5 (sim at 9) CPU Reliever Stamina - 5 (sim at 0) CPU Pitcher Control - 5 CPU Pitcher Consistency - 5 CPU Strike Frequency - 5 CPU Manager Hook - 2 (once AI goes to bullpen, change to 7, and sim at 7) CPU Pickoffs - 8 Fastball Pitch Speed - 5 Offspeed Pitch Speed - 5 Fielding Errors Infield - 9 Fielding Errors Outfield - 7 Throwing Errors Infield - 7 Throwing Errors Outfield - 7 Fielder Run Speed – 2 Fielder Reaction - 2 Fielder Arm Strength Infield - 5 Fielder Arm Strength Outfield - 5 Baserunner Speed - 4 Baserunner Steal Ability - 5 Baserunner Steal Frequency - 5 Wind - 5 Injury Frequency - 8 Trade Frequency - (5 for Spring Training, 1 for April, 3 for May and June, 4 for July 1-29th, 10 for July 30-31st, 1 for August, 4 for offseason)

Mike, this sliders works with directional hitting? I play with directional hitting since MLBTS16