First thing first, I did not design these sliders with a full sim experience in mind.
What I'm chasing with these sliders is a feeling while playing. I want my inputs to have impact, while at the same time I don't want to lose player differentiation and the thrill of managing a team properly. While I feel I've struck a nice balance, obviously this point is going to be different for different people.
Settings
Hitting Difficulty: All-Star or Legend
Hitting interface: Directional - Pairs great with the
Directional Hitting Guide (shameless self-plug).
Input type: Buttons
Camera shift: Off
Hitting View: The Show 15
In-Play view offense: Medium
Guess Pitch: off
Baserunning Decisions: Assist
Baserunning Interface: Default
Sliding Decisions: On
Pitching Difficulty: Legend
Pitching Interface: Pulse I find pulse is the best interface is you want your input to have impact. Attributes still have a huge role to play, they effect how small the pulse can get, how large it can get, the speed it pulses at and tons of other variables. Overall a great interface for the melding of sim and player input.
Pitching View: Fish Eye
API:Off - When playing franchise, I take on the role of both pitcher and catcher. I have no interest in what the CPU thinks is good since I (the catcher) am the one calling the game. I'm also the manager in the dugout. Man franchise is fun.
Throwing Interface: Button Accuracy - Once again button accuracy is great for player impact, while still keeping the fact that attributes have an impact on the interface.
Throwing meter: On
Throwing decision: Off
In play view defence: Medium
Throw Cancelling: On
Hot Zones: Off
Anything not mentioned is user's choice, and even these settings are recommendations. However the base difficulties and interfaces need to stay the same for the slider set.
Sliders
Dynamic Difficulty Sensitivity: N/A
Human Contact: 3 8 - Human contact will effect a few things, like the size of the invisible PCI, the width of the timing window, check swing ability, foul frequency, and the bat exit velocity floors. Needed to be tuned down in order to unlock lower bat exit velocity floors, as at 5 they were too consistent.
Human Power: 6 - Power effects the bat exit velocity ceilings. Needed to be raised due to too consistent bat exit velocities.
Human Timing: 2 5 - Effects the success rates of all of the early and late results, effecting both the odds of solid contact and the odds of any contact at all. Also has a small impact on ideal timing.
Human Foul Frequency: 0 - This slider effects the contact rate on grossly mistimed pitches, allowing a batter's vision attribute to dictate a foul when the user mistimes a swing. At 0, the feature is basically turned off. Don't worry, high vision hitters will still have an easier time fouling pitches off due to the fact that they get a larger timing window, you just won't get any freebies.
Human Solid Hits: 4 6 - This slider effects the batters ability to track the ball and get quality hits on good inputs. To put it another way, it impacts launch angles. Had to be tuned down in order to compensate for the effects of turning up the power slider.
Human Starter Stamina: 8 - Starters won't be able to match real life pitch counts without this boost. Also solves some bullpen management issues with the CPU.
Human Reliever Stamina: 8 - See above.
Human Pitcher Control: 4 - While my previous settings had parity between CPU and human pitching ability, both sides needed to be loosened up a bit in order to prevent the pinpoint accuracy you could see on the previous settings and encourage more walks out of the human side.
Human Pitcher Consistency: 5
CPU Contact: 2
CPU Power: 6
CPU Timing: 2
CPU Foul Frequency: 0
CPU Solid Hits: 4
CPU Starter Stamina: 8 - Same reason as Human Starter Stamina
CPU Reliever Stamina: 8
CPU Pitcher Control: 5 4
CPU Pitcher Consistency: 7 5
CPU Strike Frequency: 5 - This setting dictates how often CPU pitchers pitch to the corners or attempt to get you to chase as opposed to "just getting a strike". Lowering the setting will make opponents more careful, raising it will make them more aggressive. Only effects their strategy, does not effect control. This is MUCH better in 19 then it was in any previous iteration.
Note: pitching strategy is much improved in 19, but finding parity in pitch control was difficult. At this setting, the CPU has equivalent control and consistency to a skilled human pulse pitcher playing on legend difficulty with these sliders.
CPU Manager Hook: 6
CPU Pickoffs: 4
Fastball Pitch Speed: Tuned to User's skill (-2) - must be the same as offspeed.
Offspeed Pitch Speed: Tuned to User's skill (-2) - must be the same as fastball.
IMPORTANT How to tune your pitch speed for your skill level: Having the right pitch speed for you is one of the most important things to figure out when playing MLB the Show. How to do this can vary in a case by case basis, and the input lag of your TV must always be considered. However, a general rule of thumb to follow is that a 99+ MPH fastball should feel extremely difficult to get out in front of, but not impossible. A slow changeup should be swung late on some of the time. If you feel like it's impossible to get out ahead of a fast fastball, your pitch speeds need to be turned down. If you are rarely behind a changeup, your pitch speeds need to go up.
Fielding Errors Infield: 10 - You will see a little more differentiation between good and bad fielders with this turned up. Needed to be turned up thanks to the reactions buff below.
Fielding Errors Outfield: 10 - I found with errors cranked up so high, it effected a lot more than catches. Bad fielders will have to look at the ball more, slowing down their speed in the outfield, and there were more instances where outfielders misjudged their cantor. Only elite fielders will be able to unlock their full speed regularly. This unlocks the potential for speedsters to make catches with amazing range, while having a similar effect to turning fielder run speed down.
Throwing Errors Infield: 8 - Since I'm using buttons accuracy, this only effects the CPU. Needed in order to compensate for a few factors.
Throwing Errors Outfield: 8 - See above.
Fielder Run Speed: 6 - Helps smooth out animation transitions and lets fielders unlock their full speed potential. The error rates prevent that from happening on every single play for the CPU.
Fielder Reaction: 6 - Effects both bat off the ball plays, and seemingly also has an impact on ball transition speeds as well, so plays like balls off the wall or error recovery will, in general, be a little bit snappier.
Fielder Arm Strength Infield: 7 - You'll see the ball snap out of fielders hands much more naturally at this setting. Also cannon infielders are much more of a weapon now.
Fielder Arm Strength Outfield: 8 - The ball path and trajectory will look natural far more often, and true cannon outfielders can be difference makers now. Again, probably was tuned for online play. There was a slight discrepancy between arms in the outfield and arms in the infield. This evens things out, and allows true power arms to make potential big plays at bases.
Baserunner Speed: 10 - Will see some real speed demons, and much more true to life speeds in general. Don't worry, slugs will still chug down the baseline, and the arm strength buff will keep things even steven for the most part. This just allows a slight bit more base hits on difficult grounders when you got a speedster running down the line, especially when facing a guy with a poor arm. Tags are also much improved this year, allowing for more leeway to increase baserunner speed to much more natural levels.
Baserunner Steal Ability: 3 - Has the most direct impact on stolen base success for both you and the CPU. Has the largest impact on the frequency of quality jumps as opposed to bad ones.
Baserunner Steal Frequency: 5
Wind: 8 - While power effects bat exit velocity, wind effects how well a ball carries once in the air. After watching MLB, both games and highlights, it was clear that wind wasn't nearly big enough of an impact. Don't worry, even at 8 wind will still have 0 impact at a game in a stadium with the roof closed. Needed to be tuned down from 10. While 10 had great impact on head and cross-winds, it was too powerful on the tailwind, especially in certain stadiums (looking at you Yankee stadium).
Injury Frequency: 5
Trade Frequency: 5 - There are other sets with better solutions, but I don't want to bother with changing my settings every in game month.
There you go! I've always said that everyone should make their own sliders, but hopefully showing you the changes I made, and more importantly
why will help you find the slider setting of your dreams. Enjoy!
If you want your input to have even more impact when it comes to batting, the three sliders you want to focus on are Solid Hits, Foul Frequency, and Timing. Raising Solid Hits and lowering timing will reward good inputs more, while lowering both Foul Frequency and Timing will punish bad inputs more.
03-26-2019, 11:20 PM
