MLB 19: Anybody else feel this is the make/break year?

[tabarnes19_SDS]

The last Major update to franchise mode was in 09. They added waiver trades, rule 5, arbitration, financials .....there are still legacy bugs, but that was an exciting time.

I hope they take the leap again because all star baseball had a deeper franchise. I really need to see these changes this year and a focus on franchise. The last 10 years we were promised that "NEXT year" we will see more time devoted.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[Jeffrey Smith]

Still a day one purchase for me. But put me in the camp hoping for franchise improvements. AI is much better than previous years but still see too many contenders selling star players.


Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports

[Peter_OS]

I feel the same way too. First time in years I will not be putting down a pre-order for this game. Need to know more about improvements and additions (franchise mode and gameplay.) before i fork over that kind of money for a game. Could care less about DD and RTS. Never played through any of them. Just not my cup of tea. The last several years have been mediocre at best with this franchise. To be honest it feels like the same game year in and year out.

We seriously need another baseball game on the market. 2K and EA are you listening???

[DamnYanks2]

Quote: Originally Posted by Armor and Sword

I can't disagree with this. Unfortunately it is the new reality. We are dinosaurs. The kids today.....all they play is Diamond Dynasty. Except my son. He plays franchise mode. He obviously is learning from an old timer. But to tell you the truth he prefers Super Mega Baseball. And he loves Baseball Stars on the old NES....anyway back on topic. Kids today and the new generation of sports gamers are all into the E-Sports and card collecting modes. Make no mistake though. IMO Diamond Dynasty is by far the best "ultimate" team mode of any sports game. I like it. But I wish they had more guys working on Franchise mode. I really believe it is simply a matter of resources. I am not in the camp the gameplay is dated. I actually think the gameplay has never ever been better. I am highly addicted to playing The Show and the team did an outstanding job addressing a lot of the warts on 17 that kept it from being fantastic. 18 really got a lot of things right. And again it is all dependent on your playing style. I play with a totally clean screen and auto field and manual button throw (no meters or any of that stuff). The game shines with this random dice role "strato-matic" approach based on player ratings. User skill is still highly prevalent for me in timing my swings, swing types, working counts, sitting on pitches and with classic pitching....pure heaven for me. Setting hitters up, pitch sequencing.....this game does this aspect amazingly well. Do we need better AI? Oh hell yes. Always. We all want better AI. I don't think there is any debate. Both on and off the diamond. Let's put it this way......IMO The Show is the most complete sports game on the market for my buck. Can it be better? Always. But they do a hell of a job.

No I agree DD is fun. I refused to play it at first. But I ended up really liking it. Played the hell out of conquest mode.

But that doesn't mean they should ignore other areas. Franchise needs a revamp for sure. I can understand people annoyed it hasn't gotten one yet.

I like the gameplay. I dont believe we need a overhaul in that department necessarily. But I do feel it could benefit from some tweaking.

The commentary needs to be scrapped and redone. They've had some of those same lines for years lol.

The game just needs a fresh new look. And new things to do. Throw us some fun mini games in. I would say give us a create a stadium. But we aren't gonna see that this life cycle.

I truly loved 18 but unless there is something worthwhile and not just upgrades to DD. Its probably not worth it.

Sent from my SM-J337VPP using Tapatalk

[MLB14]

Quote: Originally Posted by Armor and Sword

I can't disagree with this. Unfortunately it is the new reality. We are dinosaurs. The kids today.....all they play is Diamond Dynasty. Except my son. He plays franchise mode. He obviously is learning from an old timer. But to tell you the truth he prefers Super Mega Baseball. And he loves Baseball Stars on the old NES....anyway back on topic. Kids today and the new generation of sports gamers are all into the E-Sports and card collecting modes.

Diamond Dynasty is still built on the gameplay engine everyone wants them to work harder on, so they shouldn't ignore that, but I guess they can since most of the people who play Diamond Dynasty aren't actually true fans of baseball and couldn't care less about the core gameplay of The Show.

[countryboy]

Quote: Originally Posted by Armor and Sword

I am not in the camp the gameplay is dated. I actually think the gameplay has never ever been better. I am highly addicted to playing The Show and the team did an outstanding job addressing a lot of the warts on 17 that kept it from being fantastic. 18 really got a lot of things right. And again it is all dependent on your playing style. I play with a totally clean screen and auto field and manual button throw (no meters or any of that stuff). The game shines with this random dice role "strato-matic" approach based on player ratings. User skill is still highly prevalent for me in timing my swings, swing types, working counts, sitting on pitches and with classic pitching....pure heaven for me. Setting hitters up, pitch sequencing.....this game does this aspect amazingly well. Do we need better AI? Oh hell yes. Always. We all want better AI. I don't think there is any debate. Both on and off the diamond. Let's put it this way......IMO The Show is the most complete sports game on the market for my buck. Can it be better? Always. But they do a hell of a job.

Agreed. The gameplay in '18 is damn good. Are there still things that need to be tuned, tweaked, and worked on? Sure, but there is nothing in terms of gameplay that feels a step behind. And judging from the twitch stream announcing the alpha, they are working on some of those things (bunting).

Franchise mode though, I really hope we get new things this year. Like I said, last year they introduced PHASES which I really didn't care for, but it was done to help attract new users to the mode. Ok, I get that. They introduced CPU teams being better at roster building, which they are and was something that I've wanted for a while (I don't play and won't play with 30 team control)

But as Tbarnes mentioned, I want a franchise improvement year like '09. I want multiple fixes/additions to carry this mode forward. Franchise mode is something within the game that feels a step behind, or further. With each passing year, it gets a little more frustrating seeing this mode basically left on the back burner.

As I said in my previous post, I'll get '19 simply because I believe at the very least, the gameplay changes will be worth it. But it sure would be nice as a franchise only/avid player, to have that mode brought up to speed. If its not, I'll still carryover my save and continue my franchise because I don't think that franchise mode is bad, just dated.

Guess we'll find out in about 3 months.

[Baseball Purist]

18 for all if its shortcomings, has been a very good game to me. Deleted all of the patches a few months ago, and have thoroughly enjoyed the game out of box on default sliders. On my 3rd year in franchise and dont see myself putting it down anytime soon, even if I am annoyed with some flaws.

As for 19, I'll prob end up picking it up just for the Acuna update honestly. I'd like to see some improvements to gameplay, franchise and commentary but I'm not holding my breath. Having played the show since 09, the releases have become a little stale with marginal updates yearly. I'd like to see more cosmetic and visual updates as well.

I

[Impetuous65]

Some people have ridiculous expectations. "MAJOR" like really, at its core it plays the game of baseball at a high level. And, baseball as a game hasn't changed much outside of in-game pitching e.g. How managers use the bullpen. Yes, it does need some improvements, but there is no sound argument for "MAJOR" changes that is just ludicrous.