MLB The Show 20 Livestream Breakdown - Diamond Dynasty, Showdown, Team Affinity and More

[ChaseB]

Another SDS stream is in the books and the amount of content dropped is nearly impossible...

Written By: Joe Doyle

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[TripleCrown]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Livestream Breakdown - Diamond Dynasty, Showdown, Team Affinity a

<sigh> when i read this I have the feeling we’re getting closer to Candy Crush than a real baseball sim

[ChaseB]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Livestream Breakdown - Diamond Dynasty, Showdown, Team Affinity a

Yeah, but that Candy Crush game would be dope. Also Candy Crush exploitation of wallets is elite on a level Show can't even comprehend.

(Also I'll still be putting all the DD stuff in its own sub-forum on the whole, the news today was just large enough I felt it should go in here. This is done to avoid the snipes like above and keep discourse a little healthier.)

[Dolenz]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Livestream Breakdown - Diamond Dynasty, Showdown, Team Affinity a

I personally love what I saw and it made me finally pre-order the game. There were three things in the stream that got immediate negative feedback

1. Prestige diamonds can only be earned by grinding stats online.
2. You can no longer quick sell a card used to complete a collection
3. The new 3 batter minimum is included in Battle Royale, which in my opinion is kind of silly for a 3 inning game.

The big positives were

1. No more pitcher roulette
2. Multiple phases for team affinities.
3. Evolution cards

But of course, as usual, the first reply in the thread had to categorize DD in a manner that also insults every person who enjoys the mode.

[ChaseB]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Livestream Breakdown - Diamond Dynasty, Showdown, Team Affinity a

I personally love what I saw and it made me finally pre-order the game. There were three things in the stream that got immediate negative feedback

1. Prestige diamonds can only be earned by grinding stats online.
2. You can no longer quick sell a card used to complete a collection
3. The new 3 batter minimum is included in Battle Royale, which in my opinion is kind of silly for a 3 inning game.

The big positives were

1. No more pitcher roulette
2. Multiple phases for team affinities.
3. Evolution cards

But of course, as usual, the first reply in the thread had to categorize DD in a manner that also insults every person who enjoys the mode.

I think putting that pitcher limit into BR is good because it adds even more focus to drafting a balanced team. But I do get your point when taking the ratios into account of 27 outs vs 9.

[Caulfield]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Livestream Breakdown - Diamond Dynasty, Showdown, Team Affinity a

when i read this I have the feeling we’re getting closer to Candy Crush than a real baseball sim

I dont mind so much if the Show becomes MLB Candy Crush, I just hate that it cant be all things to all people and Sony feels they cant advance the sim aspect like they can the arcade side of it. from a video game-makers view of it, it must be easier to create a game where you can make up the rules to fit what you are creating than it is to adhere to somebody else's preconceived expectation of how the game should be played, and they want to make money doing it.


there is such a fine line to straddle, it easy to venture off one way or the other. one can see how SDS doesn't want to just put out a roster update every year, so stuff that falls into the DD Candy Crush/ low hanging fruit side will be tempting to grab than putting more resources into stuff like franchise that wont yield nearly the profit. sometimes it's tough to be a minority but you still gotta push on.

[JoshC1977]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Livestream Breakdown - Diamond Dynasty, Showdown, Team Affinity a

I felt that they did some good things this year, but it's honestly a let down.
I think they did some cool things with different card types and so on and there is a ton to do and earn without spending a penny. But, I don't understand many of the decisions here....

Tying in the only stat grinds to online (they crowd that DID NOT want them in the first place) is puzzling. WHY is the only grind for offline for Team Affinity AGAIN the utterly mind-numbing "Innings Played"?

Showdown using canned drafts (vs pulling players from your own collection) ruins any intrigue from that mode. Another puzzling choice there....

There is a total lack of reason for offline players to even consider roster construction or lineups in a "team building" mode, and that is the most puzzling design decision of them all.

It's just a very non-cohesive mode this year.

[ChaseB]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Livestream Breakdown - Diamond Dynasty, Showdown, Team Affinity a

I dont mind so much if the Show becomes MLB Candy Crush, I just hate that it cant be all things to all people and Sony feels they cant advance the sim aspect like they can the arcade side of it. from a video game-makers view of it, it must be easier to create a game where you can make up the rules to fit what you are creating than it is to adhere to somebody else's preconceived expectation of how the game should be played, and they want to make money doing it.


there is such a fine line to straddle, it easy to venture off one way or the other. one can see how SDS doesn't want to just put out a roster update every year, so stuff that falls into the DD Candy Crush/ low hanging fruit side will be tempting to grab than putting more resources into stuff like franchise that wont yield nearly the profit. sometimes it's tough to be a minority but you still gotta push on.

The general point here I understand and relate to, but it's undeniable the way people play games has also changed, and that includes sports games. This is not to say if an amazing franchise mode was there it would not be played, but even the "best" franchise mode would not get the hours it would have in the past because it's just a bit of a different ecosystem out there. It's not even a value judgment it's just normal ebbs and flows of entertainment and happens to every medium. The way movies were made changes etc.

[tabarnes19_SDS]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Livestream Breakdown - Diamond Dynasty, Showdown, Team Affinity a

The general point here I understand and relate to, but it's undeniable the way people play games has also changed, and that includes sports games. This is not to say if an amazing franchise mode was there it would not be played, but even the "best" franchise mode would not get the hours it would have in the past because it's just a bit of a different ecosystem out there. It's not even a value judgment it's just normal ebbs and flows of entertainment and happens to every medium. The way movies were made changes etc.

While I agree games have changed, but look at any forum and any wishlist of ANY sports game and you will see requests for franchise mode improvements. I am willing to wager they are a vast majority of requests.



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[ChaseB]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Livestream Breakdown - Diamond Dynasty, Showdown, Team Affinity a

I felt that they did some good things this year, but it's honestly a let down.
I think they did some cool things with different card types and so on and there is a ton to do and earn without spending a penny. But, I don't understand many of the decisions here....

Tying in the only stat grinds to online (they crowd that DID NOT want them in the first place) is puzzling. WHY is the only grind for offline for Team Affinity AGAIN the utterly mind-numbing "Innings Played"?

Showdown using canned drafts (vs pulling players from your own collection) ruins any intrigue from that mode. Another puzzling choice there....

There is a total lack of reason for offline players to even consider roster construction or lineups in a "team building" mode, and that is the most puzzling design decision of them all.

It's just a very non-cohesive mode this year.

I do agree that they seem a little TOO afraid of letting people grind offline since so many people took advantage of it a couple years back. I personally do enjoy grinding online so I'm not as down on some of the aspects you mentioned, and I also think the Showdown feature is guided/themed so I get the rationale for not giving you free reign to pick whoever you want, but I get your points 100 percent.

[ChaseB]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Livestream Breakdown - Diamond Dynasty, Showdown, Team Affinity a

While I agree games have changed, but look at any forum and any wishlist of ANY sports game and you will see requests for franchise mode improvements. I am willing to wager they are a vast majority of requests.



Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

Sure, but it's also because franchise mode people are generally more hardcore and have felt wronged for so many years. Those who are the most unhappy will generally be the loudest.

I'm with Caufield that the game should be everything to everyone in a perfect world. I just have a very good feeling based on data I have both personally seen and then also basic game trends that franchise mode would still lag behind other modes in played time.

But I've also made the case that keeping franchise people happy would keep the brand stronger. They are loyal and loud, and it's why you see with other brands and games why devs will sometimes go out of their way to speak to an audience that the general public is a little confused about. In this day and age of social media, that also matters.

[JoshC1977]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Livestream Breakdown - Diamond Dynasty, Showdown, Team Affinity a

I also think the Showdown feature is guided/themed so I get the rationale for not giving you free reign to pick whoever you want, but I get your points 100 percent.

Let me clarify:

You can still theme/guide it but just by pulling players from your collection.

So round 1 might be 2 hitters and SPs no higher than 87 overall (from your collection).
Round 2 might be 2 gold IFs and 2 gold RPs. (from your collection)

So on and so on....

===================

As for offline stat grinding - you could add in level restrictions (i.e. All Star and above) for stat grinds in say Innings Programs or Team Affinity.

[tabarnes19_SDS]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Livestream Breakdown - Diamond Dynasty, Showdown, Team Affinity a

Sure, but it's also because franchise mode people are generally more hardcore and have felt wronged for so many years. Those who are the most unhappy will generally be the loudest.



I'm with Caufield that the game should be everything to everyone in a perfect world. I just have a very good feeling based on data I have both personally seen and then also basic game trends that franchise mode would still lag behind other modes in played time.



But I've also made the case that keeping franchise people happy would keep the brand stronger. They are loyal and loud, and it's why you see with other brands and games why devs will sometimes go out of their way to speak to an audience that the general public is a little confused about. In this day and age of social media, that also matters.

I agree whole heartedly with that sentiment. Without derailing the thread I will say they have done a great job with DD, but as you have said gaming landscape is changing and it 5 years will be mobile based. Phones are $1500 now with processing power and people are tethered to them.

This board used to have 100's of people on all the time around release and actively communicating. This year a countdown wasn't even started until a couple weeks ago.

Many of the supporters are fading away because the games are evolving from their needs. These same people were and are the ones that have supported and pushed the game to growth.

Once you lose the base and a new trend in gaming comes it may be impossible to bring back the group you lost.

The game needs to have something for everyone.

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[Dolenz]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Livestream Breakdown - Diamond Dynasty, Showdown, Team Affinity a

Let me clarify:

You can still theme/guide it but just by pulling players from your collection.

So round 1 might be 2 hitters and SPs no higher than 87 overall (from your collection).
Round 2 might be 2 gold IFs and 2 gold RPs. (from your collection)

So on and so on....

But what if I bought the standard edition and want to jump into Showdown first? All I have at that point are the random, crappy cards they give everyone to start out with.

I know where you are coming from and I agree that we need better reasons than simply conquest to use our teams but I don't think this is the mode for that freedom.

[MetsFan16]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Livestream Breakdown - Diamond Dynasty, Showdown, Team Affinity a

Each year I say I'm going to focus less on DD and more on my franchise and RTTS and I feel like I get sucked into DD because there really is a lot to do and it is a lot of fun. I will play a lot of less DD than I did last year but I will certainly dabble and do a lot of what was introduced today. Last year I was sucked into Ranked Seasons and having to make WS each season. I think as long as I get to WS the first season, get my nameplate I'll be content as it really is intense and causes a lot of frustration. I'd like to dive into my RTTS and Franchise more.

That being said, what I'm taking away from the stream is there is a lot of quality of life changes. The new card types will add variety from the all Sig Series teams by May. Locations on the cards are cool. Team Affinity looks GREATLY improved, I'm excited to have something to look forward to as the year goes on. I don't care about not quickly selling collected cards because I always kept those cards anyway.

Showdown is very hit or miss for me. It depends on how it's laid out because I really struggled bouncing around from Rookie to Legend difficulty last year with moments and Franchise. I do like the idea of doing offline BR type mode and I will definitely check it out. But if it's a lot of Low Difficulty challenges I may have to pass.

I LOVED the rookie to prime cards a couple of years back. It was fun way to grind for sick cards and you have a vested interest in players you like.
I HATED the longgggggg stat grinds of Immortals and the 600+ AB with 200 hits and 100HR (Made up numebrs) to get cards. I'm a little underwhelmed by how the Prestige cards are just +3 on each attribute for such a grind.

All in all the stream got me really excited and I cant wait to get started! Just need to think of a great team name and logo