OS Staff Roundtable - MLB '11: The Show Demo Impressions

[DJ]

After my first few playthroughs with the Demo and yeah, I was underwhelemed at first. I think all the talk of adding Analog Controls ramped up my expectations and when first playing the game, the visuals/presentation didn't blow me away, I was bummed a bit.

But, after giving the Demo more time, I've come back around on the game. Analog hitting (once you find the rightdifficulty level) is fun and rewarding. I roped a double off the CF wall with Hamilton and I've seen better hit variety using the Analog controls. Analog pitching is nice (even though I do prefer 2K's gesture system) and I appreciate the fact that SCEA added these options (in addition to fielding/throwing) to the game.

When you think about it, why would we expect SCEA to scrap what has been perhaps the BEST sports game franchise on this generation of consoles? Minor tweaks are all that's needed and we've gotten that and more this year with the player models, lighting, stadiums and of course, Analog Controls. Add that to RTTS and some Franchise improvements and we've got a game worthy of a $60 purchase.

I think the graphics will be fine. I chalk that up to things being compressed for the Demo. I popped in MLB 10 today and you definitely see the difference in player models and lighting.

[etched Chaos]

Re: OS Staff Roundtable - MLB '11: The Show Demo Impressions

The problem with a game being the best of its kind is compacency. When there's nothing elose to compete you get complacent and it makes for poor year to year transistions unless the development team consciousy makes an effort to go out and blow our minds every single year. SCEA San Diego so far has gone the 'blow our minds' route.

However, one thing has been niggling at me, giving Karros alot of Rex's lines from previous games appears very lazy to me. For me, they could've given him a whole slew of new lines to differentiate his role from Rex's, whilst they're both colour guys, no two colour guys are alike and it does irk me. Maybe I'm too demanding but damnit if another game can have dynamic commentary then I expect the Show to do better than that, after all thats the level of expectations they've earned for the quality product they put out.

[TallyBoi7]

Re: OS Staff Roundtable - MLB '11: The Show Demo Impressions

With this being my first time really playing the show, it all feels new and fluid to me. I mean seeing how smooth the infielders are, seeing the first baseman catch the ball differently, seeing the sliding and cleat marks on the dirt infeld, and watching how the outfielders catch balls is new to me...I mean, I just made the switch over the PS3, so my only other recent MLB experience was the 2K series. MLB 11 The Show just feels and looks like how baseball is supposed to be played.

HOWEVER, I can see where guys who are used to series can be slightly disappointed. The game does look the same and there doesn't look to have been many changes(going off of gameplay videos on previous versions). But it plays the most solid brand of baseball on the market...which is a good thing.

"If it ain't broke, don't try to fix it"

[JJT]

Re: OS Staff Roundtable - MLB '11: The Show Demo Impressions

I gotta chime back in here. I thank that guy for supporting what I was saying.

But, even though my opinions are different from knights in this thread, I have seen him say what needs to be changed or reworked with the game (such as franchise stuff). So Im sure others do as well to the devs.

[Tommyklaid]

Re: OS Staff Roundtable - MLB '11: The Show Demo Impressions

I was let down with the demo. Mainly with the fact that I have been seeing the same fielding animations for several years now. Outfield throws look weak and awkward at times. Way too many "girly" throws. Infielding animations are very outdated as well. I hit a chopper to short and the cpu charged it but stopped, planted and took a couple of hops before throwing. Clearly safe, and clearly not the right animation.

Analog controls do nothing for this game. I am not sure why the need to waste development time on this.

Improved scoreboards: ? didn't notice ANYTHING different.

Player Models: Look better, but do nothing as far as improving animations.

So what really changed? And was the whole year of development time used wisely, or is this game on a tight budget?

Do we need new members attending the community day? I guarantee the guys that attend every year will not talk bad about the game, thus not helping improve it.

And why is one guy's opinion attacked if it is not the acceptable opinion around here? JJT has some valid points with keeping the game fresh and should not be ridiculed for that.

I will play the demo more, but for now I am very underwelmed.

You obviously haven't the faintest idea what you're talking bout in this forum...

Highly uncalled for - but what do you know anyway.

[gigadkc]

The Show needs to look at the other baseball games, PYS and 2K especially (are there any others anyway?), and bring the good things from those games to The Show. Where's cursor batting (and more realistic batting overall) like there is in PYS? Where's that great commentary, sound and presentation we have in 2K's games? They should focus on those areas where other games have shown they are better and try to bring those features to The Show. Come on SCEA, we (or I) finally want cursor batting. That single feature puts PYS above The Show imo and it would be so awesome if The Show would have that, too.

[capa]

Re: OS Staff Roundtable - MLB '11: The Show Demo Impressions

Please don't ever put in cursor hitting. Horrible concept. I am not sinking submarines anymore.

Just concentrate on franchise mode improvements, atmosphere and commentary, and even more animations next year to keep the game looking fresh.

The gameplay is tight. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[travis72]

Re: OS Staff Roundtable - MLB '11: The Show Demo Impressions

Please don't ever put in cursor hitting. Horrible concept. I am not sinking submarines anymore.

Just concentrate on franchise mode improvements, atmosphere and commentary, and even more animations next year to keep the game looking fresh.

The gameplay is tight. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Agreed, i hate cursor hitting as well. Every option the show gives is better than that crap imo.

[Skyboxer]

Re: OS Staff Roundtable - MLB '11: The Show Demo Impressions

Please don't ever put in cursor hitting. Horrible concept. I am not sinking submarines anymore.

Just concentrate on franchise mode improvements, atmosphere and commentary, and even more animations next year to keep the game looking fresh.

The gameplay is tight. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

I hate these kind of posts. Just because you dont like it then noone should get it.....
Options are always good and if they can continue to give us gamers options on how to play then fine. Maybe some people dont play fanchise and would rather SCEA concentrate on RTTS only and forget improving franchise.....

[cheechoo98]

When people talk about the presentation, I agree. When people talk about foul ball animations, it's specifically the camera cut scene. It's been the same for 3+ years now? maybe even more.

When I read about team-specific cameras, and a 'editable' custom cams, I thought that was a great idea, but it only refers to the batter/pitcher cams. That is a tonnne of work to do so kudos to the team for that!

But I thought it was going to be the the fielding cam as well.. i know that's a lot of work so maybe next year, eh?
But THAT would be awesome and fresh! Broadcast cams specific to each team as they are on TV!

That being said, I like the Demo, and the MLB series. But camera angles have been relatively the same since maybe MLB '06

[sink4ever]

Re: OS Staff Roundtable - MLB '11: The Show Demo Impressions

Can we all just agree that different people want different things? And just because you didn't see much change in your narrow range of desires doesn't mean that nothing changed. Not to mention that when you have a game that replicates the sport so well already, drastic changes to the core gameplay would almost certainly be detrimental. I would like to see a number of additions to franchise (more emphasis on scouting/draft/signing, coaches at each level, individual training, etc.). However, just because that didn't happen this year doesn't mean I don't realize that the game has improved and offers other great things like improved lighting, new models, better defense, better ball physics, new analog controls, and even some better franchise logic. For Pete's sake, it seems like people throw a hissy fit every time their "single most important thing" isn't addressed exactly how they want it to be. Ok, done ranting.

[DickDalewood]

Re: OS Staff Roundtable - MLB '11: The Show Demo Impressions

Analog controls do nothing for this game. I am not sure why the need to waste development time on this.

Improved scoreboards: ? didn't notice ANYTHING different.

Player Models: Look better, but do nothing as far as improving animations.

So what really changed? And was the whole year of development time used wisely, or is this game on a tight budget?

Do we need new members attending the community day? I guarantee the guys that attend every year will not talk bad about the game, thus not helping improve it.

So because YOU can't get the hang of analog controls, don't care about better lighting, player models and scroeboards, weather being added, and a completely revamped RTTS, they were on a tight budget and wasted their time???



Do you know why all those things are in the game this year? I'll tell you why; because last year, this board was filled with multiple threads about "where are the analog controls??? Button pressing is outdated!!" and "WTF, RTTS is exactly the same as it was last year!" and "I can't handle these player models and their t-Rex arms anymore! CMON SCEA!!!"

So, because they are the only dev team that TRULY takes the time to get community opinions and inprovements from THIS website, those are the areas where they spent the most of their time. And guess what? A lot of that pressure and feed back came from our Community Day guys.

So, my suggestion to you, a member who is new THIS MONTH; learn exactly how things work and why, before spouting off nonsensical guarantees that you know nothing about.

[Two Seamer]

Re: OS Staff Roundtable - MLB '11: The Show Demo Impressions

Can we all just agree that different people want different things? And just because you didn't see much change in your narrow range of desires doesn't mean that nothing changed.

I don't actually see any of the "disappointed" commenters personalizing their comments or criticizing the statements made by those who are excited about the demo. They seem to be doing what everyone else should be: giving their personal impressions - which happen to be a lot less enthusiastic.

For some reason, a lot of Show cheerleaders here feel the need to criticize impressions that are negative, and that's where the exchanges you're talking about begin.

As you said, different people want different things. Different people expected different things of the game. So they have different impressions. That is literally the purpose of this thread, to get those impressions out there. Most if not all of the their criticisms have been valid.

It seems to me the thread could do without the "are you serious?!?! how can not love this game!?? what do you expect?!?!" defense posts.

[Pared]

Re: OS Staff Roundtable - MLB '11: The Show Demo Impressions

The game has cursor hitting right now.

I really don't know what guys are referring to. True PCI is cursor hitting, in a sense. The only difference is you would prefer to move an imaginary bat to a spot and have it stay there... which isn't real baseball.

And for all the individuals asking for cursor hitting, it's actually a very antiquated hitting mechanic, given the controls we have now compared to in the past.

2k's 360 degree hitting mechanic, which was my favorite one until recently, essentially does the same exact thing as True PCI.

[sink4ever]

Re: OS Staff Roundtable - MLB '11: The Show Demo Impressions

I don't actually see any of the "disappointed" commenters personalizing their comments or criticizing the statements made by those who are excited about the demo. They seem to be doing what everyone else should be: giving their personal impressions - which happen to be a lot less enthusiastic.

For some reason, a lot of Show cheerleaders here feel the need to criticize impressions that are negative, and that's where the exchanges you're talking about begin.

As you said, different people want different things. Different people expected different things of the game. So they have different impressions. That is literally the purpose of this thread, to get those impressions out there. Most if not all of the their criticisms have been valid.

It seems to me the thread could do without the "are you serious?!?! how can not love this game!?? what do you expect?!?!" defense posts.

That's fine, I'm okay with people not liking the demo or whatever. It just seems to me that there's a common theme of "they didn't do X to Y, therefore nothing changed". I don't get the impression that many people are aware that there own personal wishlist doesn't trump everyone else's.