Major League Baseball 2K9 Demo Available, Post Your Impressions Here

[krazzed]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Demo Available, Post Your Impressions Here

So far, my only gripe with the game is the base running controls. I HATE how the sticks are used, and I have yet to figure out how to switch which runner I am controlling. Hopefully there is an option to switch back to the old controls for baserunning. Also the little yellow icons aren't very useful for trying to see how close/far you are from the bag.

[Fiddy]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Demo Available, Post Your Impressions Here

man, it def does stink that the 3 year plan has been scrapped.

so back to year 1, maybe i should check back in year 3. by then maybe they will be where they should be with gameplay etc.

not bashing, just tired of being burnt by this baseball series. like i mentioned before 2k is hands down my fav sports series.

[Pared]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Demo Available, Post Your Impressions Here

I just have a serious problem with this point. We are in year 4 (FOUR) of the next gen and we are back to square one? 2k7 was "supposed" to be Year ONE in rebuilding (of a 3 year plan). I just think people give 2k WAAAAYYY to much slack in this regard? Exactly what year as baseball fans can we expect to have the "complete" package so we can stop talking about potential? Why don't we call out 2K for this?

Guys can do what they want. It was stupid of them to leave the game in Kush's hands. But "2k" is not 2k. It's like the complaints about Tiburon needing to be scrapped from EA's football titles. They can find another developer but it is going to take time as they work from the ground up. They have to spend time weeding out someone else's code and making it work the way they want to. That is what VC is doing: working out the kinks of Kush's old code (which may be Blue Shifts old code). Sad, but true.

If you've spent any time programming, you should be able to understand how frustrating this is.

And they can't start 100% from scratch. Too much money at stake.

It's things like this that hopefully you learn at OS from guys here that give you a bit more of an understanding on the whole game development process. I'm not saying you shouldn't buy the game. That's the decision of anyone who has the money. I'm simply offering some insight to help you a more informed consumer. Hopefully you can take it that way and not a negative way, as some others do.

[kGinGreen]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Demo Available, Post Your Impressions Here

One thing I dont think people understand about this game is the meters. Dont juice the meter all the freakin time. Feel your way through the game. Also when moving around dont go nuts on the sticks. Feel your way through the game. Don't use the force people. Once you harness the power of the meters you will be a man my son.

[MastorofPuppetz]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Demo Available, Post Your Impressions Here

This is a wonderful post.

There are objective people here on what is overall a terribly, "The world owes me something" forum, full of people who think a game needs to be made for them or it stinks. Good post, the demo is also an old build with very limited options.

[MastorofPuppetz]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Demo Available, Post Your Impressions Here

Guys can do what they want. It was stupid of them to leave the game in Kush's hands. But "2k" is not 2k. It's like the complaints about Tiburon needing to be scrapped from EA's football titles. They can find another developer but it is going to take time as they work from the ground up. They have to spend time weeding out someone else's code and making it work the way they want to. That is what VC is doing: working out the kinks of Kush's old code (which may be Blue Shifts old code). Sad, but true.

If you've spent any time programming, you should be able to understand how frustrating this is.

And they can't start 100% from scratch. Too much money at stake.

It's things like this that hopefully you learn at OS from guys here that give you a bit more of an understanding on the whole game development process. I'm not saying you shouldn't buy the game. That's the decision of anyone who has the money. I'm simply offering some insight to help you a more informed consumer. Hopefully you can take it that way and not a negative way, as some others do.

Great post, there is hope for people here, lol.

[bonannogiovanni]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Demo Available, Post Your Impressions Here

3. I caught a fly ball in center field... about medium depth.. CPU tagged up at 3rd base and I threw to home, but I ended up prematurely hitting the button to stop the meter before it reached max.. so I ended up throwing a lollipop. That wasnt the problem. The problem was, the ball landed just outside 2nd base and then rolled all the way to home plate. I guess this game doesnt take into account friction from grass or dirt.

Yes, and I'm almost sure this is coded in the logic of the game sadly: if you throw to a base, the ball will reach that base no matter what the speed, and you can't even take control of the baseman beforehand. Correct me if I'm wrong, but this has happened in previous version of the 2k series.

[nomarhits400]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Demo Available, Post Your Impressions Here

No, this is definitely a rebuilding year. The 3 year plan was scrapped. VC has the game now, they have a great attention to detail. No matter what anyone thinks of the demo, with less than a year's worth of work to the game, I'm impressed.

I think this misses the point though. Certainly, 3 years ago 2k wasn't advertising that they were going to scrap their plan mid-stream because they'd made some horrible design decisions. Likewise, I am not sure they deserve the benefit of the doubt here; who's to say we won't be seeing this platform handed off yet again in 2011 half-way to the finish line.

Say what you will about SCEA's baseball franchise- but they have a gameplan- and they have stuck to it. It's one of the biggest reasons the game is as good as it is......And 2K should be right there with them had they not mishandled this asset so poorly. Just really frustrating.

[MastorofPuppetz]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Demo Available, Post Your Impressions Here

I played the demo three more times today. I'm really starting to "feel" it and the game is growing on me by leaps and bounds.

Hitting is too easy due to the difficulty setting, there's no denying that. But I still like the hit variety I'm seeing. Choppers, bloops, line drives, etc. I can only imagine the hit quality on higher difficulty settings. CPU pitchers also throw a lot more balls than they did last year. I've gotten into several deep counts. Considering this is the game's default setting, I'm thrilled.

I'm starting to dial-in pitching and my fear of the computer never taking strikes is beginning to fade away. The pitching icon is so large, it's hard to pinpoint location. Because of that, I've started to pitch toward the corners more. At times, only a sliver of the pitch icon is touching the strike zone. The computer is taking more pitches than ever. My last game, I actually struck out Jimmy Rollins during an 7 pitch at-bat. All three strikes were taken -- he didn't swing once.

I know some people here don't like the demo. That's fair. Me? I like (bordering on love) what I see here, especially considering this is from a build that's two months old.

yep, many complaining about not takling strikes simply never gave it enough time to learn how to properly pitch and get used to how the mechanic works, a lot of knee jerk reactions here.

[kGinGreen]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Demo Available, Post Your Impressions Here

yep, many complaining about not takling strikes simply never gave it enough time to learn how to properly pitch and get used to how the mechanic works, a lot of knee jerk reactions here.

I dont think it's necessarily that. I think people have legitament complaints and 2k didn't hasn't implemented things as well as this game could be. It has some great ideas and does some things very well and does leave certain thigns to be desired. It's not a perfect game. Is it a game you can find things to enjoy in? Sure. Does it have problems? Yes it does.

[Pared]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Demo Available, Post Your Impressions Here

And 2K should be right there with them had they not mishandled this asset so poorly. Just really frustrating.

You're absolutely right but no one really knows what happens. Think, 2 years ago, everyone was sold on what Brinkman was bringing to the series and 2k7 was a solid base to work off of.

Either way, those that are frustrated have every right to be so. But the team in place is showing they have a decent base to work off of going forward.

It's sort of like MVP 2003. It wasn't the best baseball title but the base was there, and the expectations were high. Sure, there's plenty of "stupid" in the demo... but there's plenty to be excited about as well.

[MastorofPuppetz]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Demo Available, Post Your Impressions Here

I dont think it's necessarily that. I think people have legitament complaints and 2k didn't hasn't implemented things as well as this game could be. It has some great ideas and does some things very well and does leave certain thigns to be desired. It's not a perfect game. Is it a game you can find things to enjoy in? Sure. Does it have problems? Yes it does.

never said otherwise, no game is without issues, the problem is many of the complaints are due to lack of understanding about controls, demo issues that will be fixed, there are sliders and 3 higher difficulty settings and zone hitting in retail, etc..

There are some real issues, as there always is (Animations, no DP breakups), there are A LOT, and I mean A LOT, of knee jerk reactions here, a lot of which is unwarranted.

I have seen doznes of people whine that you cannot slide:

X and left stick, hitting to easy? Retail has Zone hitting, 3 higher difficulties and sliders, this demo is just for pick up and play easiness, and is old code. if this is not fixed in the final, then yes, scream away, but now is just a lot of hot air.

[kGinGreen]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Demo Available, Post Your Impressions Here

never said otherwise, no game is without issues, the problem is many of the complaints are due to lack of understanding about controls, demo issues that will be fixed, there are sliders and 3 higher difficulty settings and zone hitting in retail, etc..

There are some real issues, as there always is (Animations, no DP breakups), there are A LOT, and I mean A LOT, of knee jerk reactions here, a lot of which is unwarranted.

I agree with you. But no sense in beating people over the head with it. I'm really enjoying this game at this point. Who cares what other think man? It's their loss ultimately. As I've learned the controls and gotten used to the flow of the game and the nuances of it, there is no reason for me to believe that this isn't going to be a very good baseball game.

[BadKermit]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Demo Available, Post Your Impressions Here

It is at least 2 months old. That is a guarantee based on the way the entire process works.

It's still pretty bad to release a demo of this quality but you would have to know their hands were tied. If they don't release a demo, they are hiding something. They do, and it's this bad.

It's a lose-lose.

Look at the videos Steve posted as that looks much better than the demo we played.

Oh, I totally agree, and I actually don't even think the demo is poor quality. There is a definite difference in, at the very least, collision detection between the demo and the videos Steve has posted. And HE doesn't even have the final code, right?

I'm enjoying the demo. I was just wondering how much time they've probably had to iron out some of the quirky things that people have said they've seen.

[nomarhits400]

Re: Major League Baseball 2K9 Demo Available, Post Your Impressions Here

You're absolutely right but no one really knows what happens. Think, 2 years ago, everyone was sold on what Brinkman was bringing to the series and 2k7 was a solid base to work off of.

Either way, those that are frustrated have every right to be so. But the team in place is showing they have a decent base to work off of going forward.

It's sort of like MVP 2003. It wasn't the best baseball title but the base was there, and the expectations were high. Sure, there's plenty of "stupid" in the demo... but there's plenty to be excited about as well.

Oh, I agree- and I have a PS3- so as you can imagine, I am not going to be conflicted with a purchasing choice this year....But looking at the big picture as a prospective 360 owner, how long do you keep walking behind the kid who is constantly tripping on their own shoelaces. Because as good or bad as everyone here perceives this game to be- it should be much further along by now.