8 Lost Features of MLB the Show

[thescoop]

Sadly, as games move forward some features come and go. Some will return later presented as the great new feature for the game. But a lot just disappear.

MLB the Show has had it fair share of lost features. Some are remembered and still longed for today. Others left with little notice or complaints. I will do my best to go through these features. You can add to the list as well.

1. Online Franchise – The Show 19 I believe is the year the feature vanished. It has not returned yet and at his point, the odds are not looking good at it coming back. While I did not use the feature, many gamers did and are longing for its return. Maybe this will return, but at this point, I just do see the SSDS wanting to bring it back.

2. Year-to-Year Saves – In the Show 15, gamers were given a carryover feature. This was a loved feature that appears to be gone for good. Fans have been begging for its return since it was removed the first year the game came out on Xbox. I wish they would at least give year-to-year saves back to creations but it just seems another come and gone feature.

3. Sounds of the Show – Another mode lost when Xbox came into the picture. I really miss this one as I enjoyed having actual walkup signs, victory songs and custom sounds in general. It is sadly another feature that is not coming back. We do not know if it was pulled because of Xbox or current gen would have forced it out anyway. But every year it is sad that we cannot edit our sounds any longer. It went away for the first year of PS4 and made a comeback, but this time it definitely has felt more final.

4. Creating custom chants - This was a feature I had hours of fun with when they introduced it. And with the loss of SOTS, they really should consider bringing back. We could come up with our own team chants, player changes, etc. I had so much fun coming up with fun new chants or yells for rival players. I even would make some for my own when I played road games. It has been gone so long I bet many players do not remember it or never got to have fun with it. It could help with the SOTS blues but it just has been gone so long I cannot see it coming back. Having “cheater” chants for PED users was so much fun. My favorite of my creations was my “Ster-Rod” chant for A-Rod. This feature brought me far more joy than I would have thought.

5. GM team budgeting – I remember in older shows in franchise mode I could set ticket, hot dog and more pricing. I could pick promos and choose when to have “bobble head nights.” I could decide if the team road a bus to games or flew on a private jet. I made decisions that could have an effect on my team. I actually enjoyed this in Franchise and I have longed for their return. But the folks at SSDS just do not seem to feel the same way. Maybe it will return one day has the “hot new feature to Franchise” but I doubt it.

6. Season mode - Season mode was dropped and now they have “March to October”, a mode that feels like it is about to be drop as well. I am a franchise guy so I did not mess with a single season. But some really loved it. Doubtful we will ever see it back in the game.

7. 3D mode – This was cool feature but since 3D TVs died it is understandable this one went away. Still, if you ever gotten to play it in 3D you know it was done first rate for sure. Since there is not really 3D TVs, anymore this one is gone for good. But I can still long for it.

8. “Inside the Show” Radio Show – While this was short and more a daily recap, it did bring something to Franchise and it was removed this year. Several have said they do not mind it being removed but I do find myself missing it. Yes, it was stale, but instead of removing it, they should have done something to expand or improve. Maybe a weekly studio show or something to help and fill the void. Instead, it is just another dropped feature.

As you can see, I am mainly a Franchise guy so my features will tie to that one a lot. If you are a long time player of the Show, please add ones I have missed or just did not know about. I do not really play RTTS or DD so if there is something that has been pulled from one of those modes you miss please add it to the comments below.

[Madden08PCgmr]

Year to Year saves could still find their way back, IMO. At least on the roster side.

If stadiums can port across versions, there is no reason whatsoever that rosters shouldn't do the same. It is the exact same process.

I would prefer season mode to franchise mode. I usually play 1 year of franchise and build my roster for the next season and start over. So I just want to work with my 40-man roster. Not remotely interested in micromanaging every other aspect of the operation.

.. one could argue though, as minimal as franchise mode is in this series, it is season mode.

I do feel for those that had good online franchises running. Wasn't my cup of tea, but man, thats a gut punch.

[mercalnd]

Quote: Originally Posted by thescoop

6. Season mode - Season mode was dropped and now they have “March to October”, a mode that feels like it is about to be drop as well. I am a franchise guy so I did not mess with a single season. But some really loved it. Doubtful we will ever see it back in the game.

Actually, Season Mode in the Show was not just one season. It was basically a franchise mode where you only had to deal with the 40 man roster (no minors) and could customise season length.

[Kccitystar]

Quote: Originally Posted by Madden08PCgmr

Year to Year saves could still find their way back, IMO. At least on the roster side. If stadiums can port across versions, there is no reason whatsoever that rosters shouldn't do the same. It is the exact same process. I would prefer season mode to franchise mode. I usually play 1 year of franchise and build my roster for the next season and start over. So I just want to work with my 40-man roster. Not remotely interested in micromanaging every other aspect of the operation. .. one could argue though, as minimal as franchise mode is in this series, it is season mode. I do feel for those that had good online franchises running. Wasn't my cup of tea, but man, thats a gut punch.

The data structure for the roster keeps changing, which is why they don't have year to year saves at the moment. Last year, they added a bunch of new headshapes for custom faces, and if SDS set up Y2Y saves in 22, using that roster for 23 would throw all the custom faces you or the CPU made in 22 way off for 23. Same for equipment, there's equipment changes every year that potentially loading up a previous roster wouldn't recognize, like Bruce Bolt gloves this year.

Eventually they'll bring Y2Y back but it's not a priority for now to do so when the game modes that would immediately benefit from that feature are still considered a "work in progress" since MLB 21. It's why Online Franchise still hasn't come back yet either.

[Madden08PCgmr]

Quote: Originally Posted by Kccitystar

The data structure for the roster keeps changing, which is why they don't have year to year saves at the moment. Last year, they added a bunch of new headshapes for custom faces, and if SDS set up Y2Y saves in 22, using that roster for 23 would throw all the custom faces you or the CPU made in 22 way off for 23. Same for equipment, there's equipment changes every year that potentially loading up a previous roster wouldn't recognize, like Bruce Bolt gloves this year.

Let the end user sort that out.

We dealt with that throughout a number of versions in the past. They started adding authentic equipment the same time they instituted Y2Y saves. As well as the addition of player morale, and a dramatic player appearance jump for 17 and 20.

Playstation, XBox and Switch programming structures weren't the same. I'll accept that as the reason why Y2Y wasn't viable. Outside of that.........

[Ghost Of The Year]

Quote: Originally Posted by Madden08PCgmr

Let the end user sort that out. We dealt with that throughout a number of versions in the past. They started adding authentic equipment the same time they instituted Y2Y saves. As well as the addition of player morale, and a dramatic player appearance jump for 17 and 20. Playstation, XBox and Switch programming structures weren't the same. I'll accept that as the reason why Y2Y wasn't viable. Outside of that.........

Plus MLBTS19 had 90 man rosters and wasn't MLBTS20 the first with 93 man rosters? And 20 was the best at carry-over because it was the only one to have main menu roster carry-over, from 19 to 20.

[ripwalk]

Quote: Originally Posted by Madden08PCgmr

.. one could argue though, as minimal as franchise mode is in this series, it is season mode. .

I’m always surprised that this seems to be the prevailing sentiment on OS.

Granted, I could easily name a dozen things I’d like added to franchise mode to make it deeper and more authentic.

But between an immersive scouting system, playable AAA and AA games, player training,
Waiver wire, rule 5 draft, the 1st year player draft, league awards, qualifying offers, contract arbitration, all star game, home run derby, futures game, the new award tab adding to full player stat tracking …. I feel like you can easily get immersed for hours poking around your franchise or putting time into it.

The mode is far from perfect and maybe a lot of the sentiment comes from people who have been playing it for years and haven’t seen significant enough changes, but I’d hardly call it minimal and it seems inaccurate to say it’s shallow or anywhere as low key depth wise as a simple season mode.

[Ghost Of The Year]

Quote: Originally Posted by ripwalk

I’m always surprised that this seems to be the prevailing sentiment on OS. Granted, I could easily name a dozen things I’d like added to franchise mode to make it deeper and more authentic. But between an immersive scouting system, playable AAA and AA games, player training, Waiver wire, rule 5 draft, the 1st year player draft, league awards, qualifying offers, contract arbitration, all star game, home run derby, futures game, the new award tab adding to full player stat tracking …. I feel like you can easily get immersed for hours poking around your franchise or putting time into it. The mode is far from perfect and maybe a lot of the sentiment comes from people who have been playing it for years and haven’t seen significant enough changes, but I’d hardly call it minimal and it seems inaccurate to say it’s shallow or anywhere as low key depth wise as a simple season mode.

I totally agree, a thousand percent spot on. I can actually see where Franchise Mode is overwhelming and daunting for some casuals. Which is why I miss Season Mode. Perfect simpleness. When they removed it I thought I would go into an every other year purchase. But baseball is an addiction for me and at the end of the day, I can't quit and skip a year.