Funkycorm Presents: MLB 22 All Star Classic/Directional Sliders

[Funkycorm]

Hello and welcome to the thread. For those that don’t me, my name is Funkycorm and this is year 2 of my slider thread. I released a slider set last year but ended up going back to 20 after getting frustrated for a multitude of reasons . I have waited a few weeks before releasing this set until I knew I was sure I had a set locked in. I do not claim to be a slider expert and have not deep dived into what each individual slider does but instead I have found what works well for me. There are no sliders that are truly wrong just different points of view and what works for everyone is different. This thread is going to be a bit different from last year. I will go into that in a bit.

My General Thinking:

1. I want ratings to matter.
2. I don’t care about stats. I don’t chase stats. They will come naturally.
3. I want to play and enjoy myself.


Game Settings:


Batting & Baserunning (basic and advanced toggles):

Hitting Difficulty: All Star
Hitting View: Fish Eye 2

There is some preference here but do not use the strike zone ones as they make hitting too easy. All playing by me is done on fish eye 2. Also avoid outfield hitting views. It looks realistic like a broadcast but it is too easy.

In-Play View Offense: Medium

Hitting Interface: Directional

This is a must. It makes ratings matter. I have my own system for influencing directional hitting but won’t go into details here. To note, timing will also work with these.

Input Type: Buttons

Analog Type: Flick
Camera Shift: Off

Plate Coverage Indicator: Off


Guess Pitch: Off

This is an absolute must. Do not turn this on. It handicaps you and makes your hitting worse. Your hitting will never improve with this on. It penalizes you if you are wrong.

Baserunning Decisions: Assist
Baserunning Interface: Default
Sliding Decisions: Assist
Runner Windows: On

I like the windows on because I want to follow the ball but know where my runners are.



Pitching (no basic and advanced toggles):

Pitching Difficulty: All Star
Pitching Interface: Classic. Pulse meter display does not matter.

This is a must. It makes ratings matter.

Pitch Feedback: Off

We want to feel how we are pitching. If the hitter is off balance, we can tell without the game telling us he swung early or late. It makes pitching more rewarding.

Pitching View: Broadcast

Broadcast for all of your games no matter what. It adds a challenge to pitching on the road.

Pitching Ball Marker: Classic Fade

You see it for a second when you select your pitch. You need to know where you want to go with your pitch before it fades. You can still move it once it fades. If you are new, I recommend this to be set to ‘classic on’ until you get more comfortable. I use classic because I don’t like the red arc that comes from the other choice.

Pitch Confidence: On
Pitch Delay: Normal
API: Off

I hate the glove pop up here. I like to call my own game when I pitch. If you are new to baseball or this game, I would recommend this be set to ‘on’ and not set to ‘auto’ as it won’t show up on auto on higher pitching difficulties. If on, be comfortable with shaking off a pitch.


Fielding (no basic and advanced toggles):

Throwing Interface: Buttons
RTTS Throwing: ShowTime. Doesn’t matter in franchise unless doing player lock.
Throwing Meter: Off

Fielding Decisions: Auto

You see the full gambit of beautiful animations without ugly circles and indicators on our field. Yuck! No one wants that.

Throwing Decisions: Off

The game fields the ball, I decide where it goes. It keeps you honest and engaged with auto fielding on.

In-Play View Defense: Medium
Throw Cancelling: On
One Button Dive/Jump: Off
Auto INF Jump Reaction: On
Auto INF Dive Reaction: On
Catch Position Indicator: Off
Defensive Shift: Auto
Off the Wall Ribbon: Off



General (basic and advanced toggles):

Gameplay Style: Simulation

This is a must to make ratings matter.

Fielding Aids: Off, sub choices are locked
Strike Zone: On

Stays on when you pitch but when hitting it fades as the pitch is coming when batting. This is why I dub my set up a cleaner screen and not a true clean screen.

Hot Zones: Off
Wind: On
Warm Up Relievers: On
Dynamic Difficulty Updates: Doesn’t matter
Vertical Camera Movement: Standard
Horizontal Camera Movement: Standard
Tutorial Tips: Off

If you are brand new to the game, you can have these ‘on’ if you want. It is a personal preference.

Post-Game Auto Save: Off


Scorebar Display: On
Pitch Select Display: On

I want to see my pitcher’s repertoire. I also want to know my opponent’s pitches when I am hitting.

Swing/Pitch Info: Off

If you are just beginning, I would consider ‘on’ but be warned, this is a crutch and will only anger you if you are slightly early or late knowing you just missed solid contact or the ball in general if you have good timing but swing and miss as that happens. You should be able to tell if you are early or late just by playing. No need for this annoying huge box in the corner.

Balks: On
Umpire Accuracy: Average

This needs to be on average. You get just a few too many bad calls with some umps on personalized. This setting still let's umpire personality show but keeps it more consistent. This was a game changer when I figure this out in MLB19. Those umps that have bad zones will still call it that way. It just promotes a little more consistency in those zones. It’s not perfect but we don’t want that setting. I need to yell at the TV once in a while or it isn’t baseball.

Umpire Close Plays: On
Check Swing Appeals: On
Injuries: On
Ejections: On
Vibration: On
Game Log Order: Default



Presentation:

These are all personal preference.

Presentation Mode: Broadcast
Pitch Selection Cameras: None
Batter Walkup: On
In-Game Ticker: On
Closed Captioning: Off



Audio:

These are all user preference. I turn Inside the Show off because I am not a fan of it.


Sliders and More Settings

Dynamic Difficulty: Not relevant

Human Contact: 5
CPU Contact: 5

These were just fine on 5.


Human Power: 4
CPU Power: 4

Having these at 4 when combined with solid hits at 5 is optimal.


Human Timing: 5
CPU Timing: 5


Human Foul Frequency: 3
CPU Foul Frequency: 3

This is going here this year. It helps.


Human Solid Hits: 5
CPU Solid Hits: 5

This is different from last year. Needs to be here and be paired with power at 4.


Human Starter Stamina: 7
CPU Starter Stamina: 7

Stamina needs to be above 5 so pitchers can make it 5-6 innings.


Human Reliever Stamina: 5
CPU Reliever Stamina: 5

I see no need to change these from default.


Human Pitch Control: 5
CPU Pitch Control: 5
Human Pitch Consistency: 5
CPU Pitch Consistency: 5

We want the pitchers to have some control but also want ratings to matter. This accomplishes that.


CPU Strike Frequency: 5
CPU Manager Hook: 5
CPU Pickoff: 5

Fastball/Offspeed Pitch Speed: 7/7


This is NOT personal preference. This needs to be at 7/7 or higher. NOT lower. It makes all star harder and is essential to the slider set.


Infield Fielding Errors: 5
Outfield Fielding Errors: 5
Throwing Errors: 5
Fielder Run Speed: 4
Fielder Reaction: 4
Fielder Arm Strength: 5
Baserunning Speed: 5
Baserunning Steal Ability: 5
Baserunning Steal Frequency: 5


Wind: 4

In my experience, wind has a direct impact on temperature. There were a few too many 70-degree Saturday afternoons in Cleveland in August (when it should be closer to 80 degrees) at default so I changed it up. I have found that this plays well at 4 to pair with the power at 4 and solid hits at 5 so far this cycle.


Injury: 5 simulation / 6 played games

Trade: This one varies but never goes above 5.

This helps trade logic.The game ramps up trading naturally. Putting it at 1 will show this. I have done the below setup for a few years now. Do not go above 5 as it messes with the trade logic again this year.

All-star game to deadline: 5
Rest of season and spring: 3
Off season: 4

It's nothing crazy but the oddball trades that people say the CPU are making with each other this year haven't happened in 10 seasons of simming. There are plenty of trades at these numbers as well and not the rebalancing kind.



Franchise Set Up:


GM Contracts: Off
Fantasy Draft: Off
Allow FA Legends: Off
CPU Roster Control: Off

Warning: This is a common mistake to set this to on. Do not set this to on if you want injuries. If this is set to on, you will have no injuries even if they are turned on and set to 10.

CPU Trades: On
Ignore Budget: Off
DH: On
Extra Innings Runner: On, but personal preference




Mode-Specific Settings:

Critical Situations: off
Lineups/rotations: manual
40-man: manual
Roster moves: manual
Scouting: manual
Drafting: manual
Waivers: manual
Injury management: manual
Management: manual
Trades: manual
Free agency: manual
Contracts: manual


As you can see, in one team control, I want to be in charge of it all. I am meticulous and retentive in my control. I like a lot of things a certain way in the game. It’s why I made my PER Roster. I also like to be that ruthless GM that manages service time and manipulates it. I like to adjust my scouting assignments daily. I want full control of my staff and who comes on board. I will be using these above settings for my 2 team franchise this year.


Hopefully you can find use in these sliders and settings. Most sliders are going to revolve fairly close to default. That is the beauty of the on field play in this series. My key difference lies in the settings and views on certain sliders.


Well, that's it for the sliders and additional settings.

There will not be a set in the vault this year.

[Funkycorm]

Disclaimer

So I have spent a while testing these. Last year, I got slideritis every time some one mentioned they saw something and I felt compelled to test it. It is a big part of what killed the game for me last year.

So…

If you have feedback on these feel free to share it, but understand that I will not be making changes, testing, or acknowledging statements like… you should… you need to… have you tried… why haven’t you… this works better…

...Irregardless of sample size…

My main reason for posting these is to share what I use at all star difficulty... So take them as being an option. I have had a few requests made to share as well.

[Funkycorm]

Draft Class Edits


To pair with my roster, I do a series of edits. I released my edits a few years ago but those have become outdated. Morale being removed from having an impact on overall had a bigger impact than I initially thought it would last year. So I spent some time testing these edits on 21 and have perfected them with 22.

The edits fall into 3 categories. Those are potential, ratings, and age edits. These are what I would call essential edits. I will detail these.

There are also some non essential edits. Things like Height, weight, appearance, and secondary positions. I will touch base on what I do, but these are optional.


So I am going to detail the steps here so everyone can be on the same page as this.


1. The first step happens the day after the draft in June. Take a picture (I use my tablet) of each of the 30 teams draft picks. This gets you the complete list easily.


2. The rest of these occur the first day of the offseason.


3. A few things to keep in mind before we start:

a. We want a 10/25/50/15 A/B/C/D potential ratio to keep our roster balanced.

b. A team will only have a max of 98 players after the season before having to trim to 93. This means that usually the top 5 or 6 picks at most get added to a given team. The rest will go into free agency.

c. These numbers are based on an estimated 200 prospects drafted.


4. We need to make sure next there are no more than 20 A potential and 50 B potential prospects across the entire draft. If there is less, no changes here. If potential needs changed, it drops to 76, the league average rating. All 30 teams must also have 1 D potential prospect. If there is not one, the lowest potential signed one get lowered to 68. Irregardless of round taken. We need those fillers in our system.


5. Any RP with potential over 90 needs potential lowered to 88. Or changed to a CP. Either is ok.


6. CP max potential is 92. Any over this, lower the potential to 92.


7. Age edits. Ok this is a big one and a bit confusing so I will break it down in steps.

a. For prospects with potential over 80: Age gets dropped to 18 years old if overall is 64 or less. If overall is 65-69, age gets dropped to 19. If 70 plus, age gets dropped to 20. If their age is under the age limit, it stays. (A 19 yo 72B prospect age stays).

b. For any C potential player over 21, there age is dropped to 21. The same goes for D potential prospects over 21.

c. Max age of any prospects is 21 at the end of the day no matter the potential.


8. Now ratings editing. This is another multi step thing to keep balance as the game generated prospects frankly is sub par.

a. The minimum overall for any A or B prospect is 55. Any prospect under 55 needs to raised to 55 overall through ratings edits. Usually increasing all hitting and fielding attributes by 1 will raise overall by 1. Varies some by position though.

b. Any C prospect has to have a minimum overall of 50 and raised if they are under.

c. For D prospects, you may raise if you want but since they are perpetual MiLB depth I don't.

d. For most RF and LF the game gives all the prospects ridiculous high speed and steal and low power. I set a max that no RF or LF can have a speed/steal/BR aggressiveness no higher than 60. I take some points and add it to power or vision/discipline/clutch so their base overall did not change. You can lower speed further and I usually put it closer to 50. Remember to still attain that minimum overall threshold but making sure it stays the same after editing is ideal.

e. For most C, 1b, and 3b, they need to be boosted to the minimum overall threshold.


9. As for the non essential edits, feel free to do what you want here. I don't like the mass amount of 5'7" players and 5'10" pitchers so I usually make minimum infield height of 5'9" and min pitcher height of 5'11". Again no impact on gameplay just aesthetics. Same goes for appearance. A few too many have huge beards and most 18-21 year olds don't have that kind of facial hair.


10. This edits along with an extra one I do help tremendously with league balance and top prospect lists. Rookie of the years can still be older at times but it is less common. That is the fault of in game progression and I can't help it.


11. One more thing I do. The first day of the regular season starting in year 2: On the top 50 prospect list, any player that is 24 years old on it and not on the MLB roster gets their potential lowered by 10. What this mimics is that a player will still be MLB quality caliber but has not reached their potential so their potential is lower. But they will still be a good player usually. This keeps your top 50 more realistic with players 23 and under. This is something new I tried last year but works very well with edits. And not needed at all. But it works for me.


This is a lot convoluted information. I get that. There are a lot of ideas out there about potentials and progression/regression.


Hope this is of use to some.

[Funkycorm]

Guides

1. Base stealing


This is something that I see discussed multiple times each year. This is a small guide about how I steal and the best times to steal.

To set which runner you want to steal all you simply have to do is hold the Left Stick to select that summer and hit L2 once. To make it easy, the command for these is right on the baserunner window. Do not extend your lead.

That is only part 1. The more important thing is knowing when to run and when not to run.

The general rule here is if a pitcher can waste a pitch, it is not a good time to run.

Bad base stealing counts or less than ideal:

0-0
0-1
0-2
1-0
1-1
1-2

The CPU can easily waste pitches here and will if there is a threat to steal on base.


Good counts to run on:

2-0
2-1
3-0
3-1
3-2

Over the last 4 iterations, since 2018, I have had great success by following this simple process. By great success I would say 75-80 percent success rate. You need to run when the count is right and when you have a player you have confidence in running on base. There is no magic rating for speed or stealing but also scout your opposing catcher to see what their arm is like. This will play a big role as well. Also do not push to try and steal third often. If your runner is speedy enough to steal second they can most likely easily score on an outfield single.

Hope this simple guide helps.

[Funkycorm]

If these are up you alley, enjoy!


Please do not quote the first post.


I will likely be streaming these at some point.

[Doyoueven85]

Thanks for sharing! I’ll definitely be giving these a try.

[Funkycorm]

Quote: Originally Posted by Doyoueven85

Thanks for sharing! I’ll definitely be giving these a try.

Definitely.

As a quick example, these are the scores of my last few games. (My score first)

3-0
3-4
8-4
4-6
3-2
11-10

I am definitely seeing variety in games.

This is honestly the best playing game in the series. It was easy for me to lock everything in. Feels so much better than 21 to me.

[forme95]

"As you can see, in one team control"

So, this is a single team franchise, not 30T control? Thats great. I'll have to try these for my Play franchise. I like Armors, but I am not as skilled as he. 30T is nice, but if I dont need to, I'd rather not.