Is SDS content with how the game plays right now?

Because if they are then that is very sad. Overall its a sh*tshow. You have good PCI placements yielding good/okays, perfectly released pitches going nowhere near where you wanted them to go, and fielding (while slightly improved) is still abysmal. You have MLB players talking bad about the game on streams. Some of the top content creators have expressed their negative feelings towards the game.

I understand there is a pandemic and SDS can't magically fix all the issues. However, the lack of communication is extremely worrying. They only acknowledged that fielding was broken, and that was weeks ago. No mention of hitting or pitching despite the fact that many people (and MLB players) have openly talked about how bad these two aspects of the game are.

I would love for SDS to come out and be fully transparent. Does the game currently play exactly how you (SDS) want it to? If not, what changes do you have planned? How does the pandemic effect your ability to implement these changes? These are just a few questions I would like to have answered. I honestly don't think that's too much to ask, just be honest with the consumers who paid $60 for a game that does not play how it was advertised

I’ve been frequenting these boards for a while, they have never been communicating with us on a constant basis. It’s just always been that way. If their team is like any other, of course they’re not perfectly happy with the product. They want to be proud of their work just like anyone else is. They do have limited resources, budgets to follow and deadlines to respect.

Sometimes you can’t just blame the devs, they have people up the echelon to answer to as well

@Hikes83 said in Is SDS content with how the game plays right now?:

I’ve been frequenting these boards for a while, they have never been communicating with us on a constant basis. It’s just always been that way. If their team is like any other, of course they’re not perfectly happy with the product. They want to be proud of their work just like anyone else is. They do have limited resources, budgets to follow and deadlines to respect.

Sometimes you can’t just blame the devs, they have people up the echelon to answer to as well

There was one year where they were pretty good at communicating. I think it was 17 or 18, can't remember which. But they would have monthly streams about the state of the game and as a consumer I appreciated that.

I understand the ultimate goal is to make money, but I would argue that if they don't fix anything, they will lose money in the long term. I personally will not be purchasing The Show 21 unless the current issues are acknowledged. While I would like to see the issues fixed, they should (at the very least) let us know what they consider issues versus what they consider to be the game playing as it should

They obviously arent happy about the fielding. I think they're happy with where hitting is though.

It’s built for directional online. Learn how to hit that way.

They are still working on fielding. Besides that, I would assume the game won’t change much.

Which I’m fine with. As long as the fielding actually gets fixed. But they took a big step the right direction after the last patch with fielding.

@maskedgrappler said in Is SDS content with how the game plays right now?:

They obviously arent happy about the fielding. I think they're happy with where hitting is though.

If they are, I would love for them to come out and say it. Even though it is completely different than how the game was advertised, at this point I will concede that its gonna be tough to fix with everyone working from home. But at least tell us that this is how its gonna be from now on, don't make me continue holding out hope

@ryansitko11 said in Is SDS content with how the game plays right now?:

@maskedgrappler said in Is SDS content with how the game plays right now?:

They obviously arent happy about the fielding. I think they're happy with where hitting is though.

If they are, I would love for them to come out and say it. Even though it is completely different than how the game was advertised, at this point I will concede that its gonna be tough to fix with everyone working from home. But at least tell us that this is how its gonna be from now on, don't make me continue holding out hope

What is making you have hope? There hasn’t been anything said or implied that they are going to do anything to hitting again.

@ryansitko11 said in Is SDS content with how the game plays right now?:

@maskedgrappler said in Is SDS content with how the game plays right now?:

They obviously arent happy about the fielding. I think they're happy with where hitting is though.

If they are, I would love for them to come out and say it. Even though it is completely different than how the game was advertised, at this point I will concede that its gonna be tough to fix with everyone working from home. But at least tell us that this is how its gonna be from now on, don't make me continue holding out hope

Right after the patch that changed hitting someone posted something that one of the developers said on another forum. Basically they said top players had an unrealistically high batting average and they made adjustments to keep numbers realistic and in advance of better cards coming.

@genopolanco said in Is SDS content with how the game plays right now?:

@ryansitko11 said in Is SDS content with how the game plays right now?:

@maskedgrappler said in Is SDS content with how the game plays right now?:

They obviously arent happy about the fielding. I think they're happy with where hitting is though.

If they are, I would love for them to come out and say it. Even though it is completely different than how the game was advertised, at this point I will concede that its gonna be tough to fix with everyone working from home. But at least tell us that this is how its gonna be from now on, don't make me continue holding out hope

What is making you have hope? There hasn’t been anything said or implied that they are going to do anything to hitting again.

The fact that so many people still complain about hitting, including top players and MLB players. I would think that would be enough to warrant an explanation at least

Also the fact that they asked for screenshots of good/okays about a month ago. Why ask for screenshots if you don't plan on fixing anything? Like I said, I don't expect it to be fixed, but some acknowledgement would be nice.

@maskedgrappler said in Is SDS content with how the game plays right now?:

@ryansitko11 said in Is SDS content with how the game plays right now?:

@maskedgrappler said in Is SDS content with how the game plays right now?:

They obviously arent happy about the fielding. I think they're happy with where hitting is though.

If they are, I would love for them to come out and say it. Even though it is completely different than how the game was advertised, at this point I will concede that its gonna be tough to fix with everyone working from home. But at least tell us that this is how its gonna be from now on, don't make me continue holding out hope

Right after the patch that changed hitting someone posted something that one of the developers said on another forum. Basically they said top players had an unrealistically high batting average and they made adjustments to keep numbers realistic and in advance of better cards coming.

Which patch was that? The first one that was released a week after the game came out?

@ryansitko11 said in Is SDS content with how the game plays right now?:

@maskedgrappler said in Is SDS content with how the game plays right now?:

@ryansitko11 said in Is SDS content with how the game plays right now?:

@maskedgrappler said in Is SDS content with how the game plays right now?:

They obviously arent happy about the fielding. I think they're happy with where hitting is though.

If they are, I would love for them to come out and say it. Even though it is completely different than how the game was advertised, at this point I will concede that its gonna be tough to fix with everyone working from home. But at least tell us that this is how its gonna be from now on, don't make me continue holding out hope

Right after the patch that changed hitting someone posted something that one of the developers said on another forum. Basically they said top players had an unrealistically high batting average and they made adjustments to keep numbers realistic and in advance of better cards coming.

Which patch was that? The first one that was released a week after the game came out?

Yeah, 1.04 I think.

@Untchable704 said in Is SDS content with how the game plays right now?:

It’s built for directional online. Learn how to hit that way.

I am new to DD so I am curious as to more information on your statement. What is directional "supposed" to do? Because I square up many a ball that goes nowhere. I will get a middle middle hanging change and hit it sky high to the pull field with a good/okay (pull field is early, not good). I will also foul balls off to the same spot on different occasions of very/just and early, its not possible for a ball to go to the same spot if you timed it up differently each swing. Is this how it has played every year?

SDS should scrape direction and analoge hitting all together. Make people adjust if they want to play competitive online baseball. you dont see COD making a game where you can use buttons to auto aim so why should SDS catter to the lowest common dominator. Plus it would probably make it easy for them to apply patches as well.

@maskedgrappler said in Is SDS content with how the game plays right now?:

@ryansitko11 said in Is SDS content with how the game plays right now?:

@maskedgrappler said in Is SDS content with how the game plays right now?:

@ryansitko11 said in Is SDS content with how the game plays right now?:

@maskedgrappler said in Is SDS content with how the game plays right now?:

They obviously arent happy about the fielding. I think they're happy with where hitting is though.

If they are, I would love for them to come out and say it. Even though it is completely different than how the game was advertised, at this point I will concede that its gonna be tough to fix with everyone working from home. But at least tell us that this is how its gonna be from now on, don't make me continue holding out hope

Right after the patch that changed hitting someone posted something that one of the developers said on another forum. Basically they said top players had an unrealistically high batting average and they made adjustments to keep numbers realistic and in advance of better cards coming.

Which patch was that? The first one that was released a week after the game came out?

Yeah, 1.04 I think.

That's good that they addressed that. I'm still wondering if patch 1.04 had too much of an effect. Good/okays have been an issue ever since that point, and they even asked us to send in pictures of good/okays. However, that was a long time ago so I'm not sure if they are still working on it or if they just conceded that that's how its gonna be. All I'm asking is for what they think of hitting in its current state

@Jbob811 said in Is SDS content with how the game plays right now?:

@Untchable704 said in Is SDS content with how the game plays right now?:

It’s built for directional online. Learn how to hit that way.

I am new to DD so I am curious as to more information on your statement. What is directional "supposed" to do? Because I square up many a ball that goes nowhere. I will get a middle middle hanging change and hit it sky high to the pull field with a good/okay (pull field is early, not good). I will also foul balls off to the same spot on different occasions of very/just and early, its not possible for a ball to go to the same spot if you timed it up differently each swing. Is this how it has played every year?

Just ignore anyone who says directional is the way to go. Chances are anyone who says that stuff hasn’t actually used it consistently online.

@genopolanco said in Is SDS content with how the game plays right now?:

@Jbob811 said in Is SDS content with how the game plays right now?:

@Untchable704 said in Is SDS content with how the game plays right now?:

It’s built for directional online. Learn how to hit that way.

I am new to DD so I am curious as to more information on your statement. What is directional "supposed" to do? Because I square up many a ball that goes nowhere. I will get a middle middle hanging change and hit it sky high to the pull field with a good/okay (pull field is early, not good). I will also foul balls off to the same spot on different occasions of very/just and early, its not possible for a ball to go to the same spot if you timed it up differently each swing. Is this how it has played every year?

Just ignore anyone who says directional is the way to go. Chances are anyone who says that stuff hasn’t actually used it consistently online.

I use it. It's my preference as I dont like the PCI and dont think its realistic to expect a 500 bomb every swing just because you use it. But the results you get from it are not real. You have a guy like 99 Posey who has off the charts contact and vision. I get an okay or a weak contact result from him 99% of the time, doesnt matter the location of the pitch or how well I timed it up.

They can’t be honest because they worry they will lose $$$$. It’s bad publicity if they admit their game has problems.

Most gamers don’t know this game is bad when they buy it.

SDS would rather not communicate with their customers than lose money.

@Jbob811 said in Is SDS content with how the game plays right now?:

@genopolanco said in Is SDS content with how the game plays right now?:

@Jbob811 said in Is SDS content with how the game plays right now?:

@Untchable704 said in Is SDS content with how the game plays right now?:

It’s built for directional online. Learn how to hit that way.

I am new to DD so I am curious as to more information on your statement. What is directional "supposed" to do? Because I square up many a ball that goes nowhere. I will get a middle middle hanging change and hit it sky high to the pull field with a good/okay (pull field is early, not good). I will also foul balls off to the same spot on different occasions of very/just and early, its not possible for a ball to go to the same spot if you timed it up differently each swing. Is this how it has played every year?

Just ignore anyone who says directional is the way to go. Chances are anyone who says that stuff hasn’t actually used it consistently online.

I use it. It's my preference as I dont like the PCI and dont think its realistic to expect a 500 bomb every swing just because you use it. But the results you get from it are not real. You have a guy like 99 Posey who has off the charts contact and vision. I get an okay or a weak contact result from him 99% of the time, doesnt matter the location of the pitch or how well I timed it up.

Tbh....zone takes more user skill to be successful than either of the other options.

I would love to see some transparency but they don’t seem interested in it at all

@maskedgrappler said in Is SDS content with how the game plays right now?:

@ryansitko11 said in Is SDS content with how the game plays right now?:

@maskedgrappler said in Is SDS content with how the game plays right now?:

They obviously arent happy about the fielding. I think they're happy with where hitting is though.

If they are, I would love for them to come out and say it. Even though it is completely different than how the game was advertised, at this point I will concede that its gonna be tough to fix with everyone working from home. But at least tell us that this is how its gonna be from now on, don't make me continue holding out hope

Right after the patch that changed hitting someone posted something that one of the developers said on another forum. Basically they said top players had an unrealistically high batting average and they made adjustments to keep numbers realistic and in advance of better cards coming.

Yup, elite players were hitting .400+ while the rest of us were hitting maybe .300. So to artificially deflate top players, anyone who isn’t elite at the game has to be batting .200 and striking out 20 times per game. Sound really reasonable. Can anyone explain why this wasn’t an issue in ‘19, ‘18, ‘17, ‘16 but suddenly it is now?
As for better cards coming, they’re all pitchers. Sinkerball pitchers. Who throw 102. How the hell does having a card with more power, or contact, assist with swing timing windows being too narrow? Can 95 Madrigal swing faster than 86 Madrigal? Do you get a bigger swing timing window with a prestige 99 Mantle than you do with regular 99 Mantle? No. So how it going to balance itself in the long run when better cards come out? More BS.

@Harrisville318 said in Is SDS content with how the game plays right now?:

@Jbob811 said in Is SDS content with how the game plays right now?:

@genopolanco said in Is SDS content with how the game plays right now?:

@Jbob811 said in Is SDS content with how the game plays right now?:

@Untchable704 said in Is SDS content with how the game plays right now?:

It’s built for directional online. Learn how to hit that way.

I am new to DD so I am curious as to more information on your statement. What is directional "supposed" to do? Because I square up many a ball that goes nowhere. I will get a middle middle hanging change and hit it sky high to the pull field with a good/okay (pull field is early, not good). I will also foul balls off to the same spot on different occasions of very/just and early, its not possible for a ball to go to the same spot if you timed it up differently each swing. Is this how it has played every year?

Just ignore anyone who says directional is the way to go. Chances are anyone who says that stuff hasn’t actually used it consistently online.

I use it. It's my preference as I dont like the PCI and dont think its realistic to expect a 500 bomb every swing just because you use it. But the results you get from it are not real. You have a guy like 99 Posey who has off the charts contact and vision. I get an okay or a weak contact result from him 99% of the time, doesnt matter the location of the pitch or how well I timed it up.

Tbh....zone takes more user skill to be successful than either of the other options.

Agreed it does. But once you get good at it then the results are no longer realistic. I prefer a simulation which is going to require a patch for directional hitting.

Everyone rightly mentions the Pandemic, but what is rarely mentioned is that this is the end of this generations life cycle.
Even without the pandemic, this version was likely going to be an afterthought as their developing the new game/engine for the PS5.
For me it’s certainly felt like the massive amount of DD content was always planned as constant new shiny objects to distract from everything else.

Yes, we shouldn’t have expected a game that’s arguably worse than 19’ gameplay wise, but if you were expecting anything groundbreaking the year before the next generation is released, well that’s on you.

@rymflaherty said in Is SDS content with how the game plays right now?:

Everyone rightly mentions the Pandemic, but what is rarely mentioned is that this is the end of this generations life cycle.
Even without the pandemic, this version was likely going to be an afterthought as their developing the new game/engine for the PS5.
For me it’s certainly felt like the massive amount of DD content was always planned as constant new shiny objects to distract from everything else.

Yes, we shouldn’t have expected a game that’s arguably worse than 19’ gameplay wise, but if you were expecting anything groundbreaking the year before the next generation is released, well that’s on you.

I was expecting to get a game better than what I played in the beta. So far, that is not the case and the beta is what I based my purchase decision on.

Won't make that mistake again

I was thinking about it a couple days ago, and it hit me that maybe they are just waiting for the MLB Players League to be over to make any significant changes. Those guys are hitting on Veteran. I love watching it, but I’ve honestly found myself embarrassed for SDS at times when the fielding and baserunning cost the players games. Those guys have definitely been vocal when the game messes them over. I’ve played the last 4 or 5 iterations of The Show religiously and I’ve never seen them be this quiet about all the problems. I don’t think the lack of contact has that much to do with COVID either. Regardless of what some of you are saying, the fielding is not better with recent patches. I’m mostly playing offline so I’m kinda comparing the game in a more controlled atmosphere than the people dealing with online connection issues and playing against people with different play styles. I’m playing against the CPU. The fielding and baserunning for me are feeling worse than it was before the last couple patches. Baserunning IQ is terrible. Players aren’t catching balls near the wall. Fielders aren’t locking on often and wrong fielders are locking on. Since the last patch there are more instances where the infielders aren’t locking on or picking balls up and throwing. I love the game. I’ve always spent A LOT on the game. However, it’s in a very bad state. I’m gonna keep playing. It’s my baseball fix right now and I’ve played baseball video games since the 70s. I know SDS May fear toxicity in the community right now, but the lack of communication by them right now is a huge mistake. I also feel like they needed some kind of presence during the players league. Even the marketing of their product has been thin the last 4 weeks. They are making big PR mistakes and missing opportunities.