CPU Grinders
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I definitely think the CPU makes you see a certain amount of pitches a game. Either offensively or pitching. I think that’s why the CPU will randomly have a 12 pitch AB that are all foul tips. They definitely seem a lot more stingy with throwing strikes this year too and a lot of the strikes are dots. The first pitch of the AB is usually either a ball or a dot on the corner.
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I get wanting to make the game more difficult and most of us seem to enjoy a challenge but they just made the game more annoying and time consuming.
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I only play offline and I haven’t found it annoying. I am more successful than not at the plate this year when I get to a 3-2 count. The only thing that really bothers me are the consistent gold glove plays by the CPU players.
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They've definitely changed the lower level difficulties. Rookie is just ridiculous most of the time with bronze pitchers either dotting the corners or throwing way out of the zone. I'm not even going to get into the super human gold glove defense that gets played by all of the bronze cards. It's made things way more annoying this year. I have far less desire to play the game and we're not even to the AS break yet.
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Even on lower levels they made the CPU much better on defense. Gone are the drop days of the outfielders.
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I feel like after a period of time, the CPU regardless of difficulty starts pitching to my weaknesses. It knows where I like the ball and what pitches I don't have success with. And I have to work counts on even rookie and Veteran in order to get my pitch, which may not come for several innings. I went from 20 to 22, when I left 22, I could win on HOF in DD nearly ever game, I now will barely play on all star, let alone go higher.
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I get they want to make it more challenging, but other than some MINIMAL rewards for challenges on things like Mini Seasons what is the incentive to not grind stats on Rookie. I mean I don't want to get into a sweaty 1-0 shootout because my squared up balls are going nowhere and the CPU is hitting gappers with Bronze players against my Diamond team. I want to get in there, put up about 10 runs and get my stats lol.
And it seems like this year it's either one extreme or the other. either I Mash all game or its the aforementioned sweat fest
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@msacks11_psn said in CPU Grinders:
I wondering if it's just me or not but for guys who mostly grind vs the CPU as the game gotten more annoying this year? I feel like they tried to make it harder but they didn't you still dominate you just have less fun playing. For example rookie is unplayable the easiest levels to play against is vet or all-star, because the pitchers cant hit the strike zone and then magically dot something. I know the answer it to wait on your pitch and draw more walks and "get good" but all this really does is drag out the game more. It make playing less fun when you know it's going to take 3 times as long as it used to.
I feel like usually I make it to fall before the game feels stale and I want to take a break but it's coming way earlier this year.
On rookie, CPU pitchers are alot more wild plus sometimes perfect perfect hits are outs. I think SDS balanced hitting alot better this year.
I've shut down good DD players on ranked this year compared to last year. I still lose but alot less this year. Last year I was getting destroyed by Homeruns off pitches that were impossible to hit in RL. This year it's less frequent. I'd say alot less frequent. I suspect some players are using a Zen or other cheats but it feels less frequent.
My only problem is i struggle at hitting. I've made adjustments so hopefully it works itself out. Alot of players attack others weakness well. I need more discipline at the plate.
Getting beat 1-0, 2-1, or 3-2 has been a struggle. I occasionally win 1-0, 2-0, or 4-0. So I'm getting better -
I find that if I wanna rack up XP against the CPU, I just play the Rockies with Freeland pitching. Expect pitches up in the zone and you can hammer them
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I have not found playing the CPU significantly different this year. Maybe because my playstyle has always been to wait for mistake pitches. I have played on rookie more this year than in the past and while my outcomes can vary wildly I usually win handily. I played three in a row on rookie against the Rockies (grinding PXP) facing Jordan Sheffield and won 9-0, 16-0, and 25-1. Racking up 13 hits, 22 hits and 34 hits.
Now, don't get me started on the programs and specifically the POTM programs. Those I am beginning to find unbearable.
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Nope, you guys playing a baseball game but don't wanna play baseball
Not every hit is homerun
Also it seems you guys play only for unlocking thing, if that is the case it only will get you more frustrated, cause the outcome isn't what you expect
This game plays best from allstar and higher, somehow hitting is harder on the lower levels
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I play vs CPU only. I only play on rookie or vet. So far, this year, not any higher. I do find the game more of a grind this year than last. Not sure if that’s good or bad, just feels that way. I’ll have more of an opinion once my DD season is over.
I have always felt that SDS should do the various levels differently. For example, on Rookie, I should get every benefit of the doubt and the CPU should be as stupid and error prone as possible. Why? To me, the game SHOULD encourage me to want to move up levels and play a smarter CPU. In other words, I should score so many runs, that I get bored and think, “hey, I’m getting better. Let me take these skills to Allstar ( or higher)”
I see so much shenanigans on rookie and vet, and read on here those same shenanigans exist at the higher levels, that I’m not encouraged at all to move up levels. The only difference it seems between levels is faster pitch speeds. All else is the same.
To me, this is a major change I’d love to see in the game.
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Another change for CPU grinders I’d like to see is the ability to choose the level of difficulty for all aspects of the game. I can do it selectively in some places (vs CPU and mini seasons), but why not for moments as well. Reward me accordingly based on the difficulty level I choose. That’s more than fair. Same with events and battle royals. I get matched up with someone who wants a similar game as me. Showdowns? Let me choose.
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CPU pitchers on rookie...been complaining about it since release. Not that beating them is difficult, of course, but I'll repeat this:
NOBODY PLAYS ON ROOKIE FOR A CHALLENGE OR TO BE PATIENT AT THE PLATE.
They play on rookie to mash and grind missions and/or pxp.
SDS changing the cookie ratio on rookie was a horrible move. Absolutely horrible.
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@jacky-chan1_xbl said in CPU Grinders:
@msacks11_psn said in CPU Grinders:
I wondering if it's just me or not but for guys who mostly grind vs the CPU as the game gotten more annoying this year? I feel like they tried to make it harder but they didn't you still dominate you just have less fun playing. For example rookie is unplayable the easiest levels to play against is vet or all-star, because the pitchers cant hit the strike zone and then magically dot something. I know the answer it to wait on your pitch and draw more walks and "get good" but all this really does is drag out the game more. It make playing less fun when you know it's going to take 3 times as long as it used to.
I feel like usually I make it to fall before the game feels stale and I want to take a break but it's coming way earlier this year.
On rookie, CPU pitchers are alot more wild plus sometimes perfect perfect hits are outs. I think SDS balanced hitting alot better this year.
A perfect/perfect hit is not THE perfect hit. Of course perfect hits will be outs. Sometimes it's a perfect grounder, sometimes a perfect liner, sometimes a perfect fly. If a defender is there, they will get the ball. Even a perfect/perfect fly ball is not a home run. Just because it is hit perfectly doesn't mean there is enough umph behind the ball to get it out. All perfect/perfect means is that it is timed perfectly and the ball was hit squarely. I think SDS needs to replace the verbiage on perfect/perfects because a lot of people misunderstand what that feedback means.
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@blind_bleeder said in CPU Grinders:
@jacky-chan1_xbl said in CPU Grinders:
@msacks11_psn said in CPU Grinders:
I wondering if it's just me or not but for guys who mostly grind vs the CPU as the game gotten more annoying this year? I feel like they tried to make it harder but they didn't you still dominate you just have less fun playing. For example rookie is unplayable the easiest levels to play against is vet or all-star, because the pitchers cant hit the strike zone and then magically dot something. I know the answer it to wait on your pitch and draw more walks and "get good" but all this really does is drag out the game more. It make playing less fun when you know it's going to take 3 times as long as it used to.
I feel like usually I make it to fall before the game feels stale and I want to take a break but it's coming way earlier this year.
On rookie, CPU pitchers are alot more wild plus sometimes perfect perfect hits are outs. I think SDS balanced hitting alot better this year.
A perfect/perfect hit is not THE perfect hit. Of course perfect hits will be outs. Sometimes it's a perfect grounder, sometimes a perfect liner, sometimes a perfect fly. If a defender is there, they will get the ball. Even a perfect/perfect fly ball is not a home run. Just because it is hit perfectly doesn't mean there is enough umph behind the ball to get it out. All perfect/perfect means is that it is timed perfectly and the ball was hit squarely. I think SDS needs to replace the verbiage on perfect/perfects because a lot of people misunderstand what that feedback means.
I understand but that's not really the point. We know that just because it's a perfect perfect doesn't make it a 500ft homer. Just saying.
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@jacky-chan1_xbl said in CPU Grinders:
@blind_bleeder said in CPU Grinders:
@jacky-chan1_xbl said in CPU Grinders:
@msacks11_psn said in CPU Grinders:
I wondering if it's just me or not but for guys who mostly grind vs the CPU as the game gotten more annoying this year? I feel like they tried to make it harder but they didn't you still dominate you just have less fun playing. For example rookie is unplayable the easiest levels to play against is vet or all-star, because the pitchers cant hit the strike zone and then magically dot something. I know the answer it to wait on your pitch and draw more walks and "get good" but all this really does is drag out the game more. It make playing less fun when you know it's going to take 3 times as long as it used to.
I feel like usually I make it to fall before the game feels stale and I want to take a break but it's coming way earlier this year.
On rookie, CPU pitchers are alot more wild plus sometimes perfect perfect hits are outs. I think SDS balanced hitting alot better this year.
A perfect/perfect hit is not THE perfect hit. Of course perfect hits will be outs. Sometimes it's a perfect grounder, sometimes a perfect liner, sometimes a perfect fly. If a defender is there, they will get the ball. Even a perfect/perfect fly ball is not a home run. Just because it is hit perfectly doesn't mean there is enough umph behind the ball to get it out. All perfect/perfect means is that it is timed perfectly and the ball was hit squarely. I think SDS needs to replace the verbiage on perfect/perfects because a lot of people misunderstand what that feedback means.
I understand but that's not really the point. We know that just because it's a perfect perfect doesn't make it a 500ft homer. Just saying.
This is true, but it really just makes that "perfect/perfect" definition completely meaningless. I mean really who cares if you get a perfect/perfect hit if it's consistently right at a fielder. Yay you got a perfect hit, now go grab some bench.
So, what is perfect/perfect even supposed to mean? I'd rather get a bloop single, and get on base. In 21 even if you got just a good hit there was no guarantee that the fielder was going to be in a position to play it, based on his ratings. In 22, every fielder is a Gold Glover. They literally never miss a ball, ever. So you never get that little thrill where you didn't get a perfect hit, but you still got on, because the fielder wasn't able to get at it. Now, it doesn't matter where or how it's hit, they will run that sucker down. To me that's not fun and it's not even baseball.
I think this whole shenanigan is the SDS attempt at "realism", but they really just sucked the life right out of the game. Honestly, real baseball isn't all that much fun anymore, so why make a video game that's really just not much fun? Even on the professional level the number of guys who can't even bat over their own weight is staggering, and people are realizing they really don't want to see that boring [censored]. So baseball is dying.
You mentioned that SDS balanced hitting better, but I don't see it. If you mean by "balanced" that it's just harder to hit the ball then yeah, they did that. I get that a lot of people like video games to be harder just for the sake of being harder.
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You guys make it sound like perfect/perfects are either HRs or outs and nothing ever drops.
Here are my perfect/perfects for the last 4 games I played. These were all on rookie (which apparently is unplayable according to the OP) as I was grinding PXP to finish the POTM missions.
Calhoun: 110 mph (Calhoun homered to right (434 feet). 1 RBI)
Calhoun: 112 mph (Calhoun lined to right for a single. )
Dawson: 109 mph (Dawson homered to left (451 feet). 2 RBI)
Perez: 97 mph (Perez grounded to right for a single. )
Varsho: 106 mph (Varsho lined to center for a single. 1 RBI)
Varsho: 111 mph (Varsho lined to right for a single. )
Dawson: 108 mph (Dawson lined to center for a single. )
Alonso: 114 mph (Alonso grounded to left for a single. )
Dawson: 108 mph (Dawson lined out to CF (L8). )
Devers: 111 mph (Devers homered to right (421 feet). 2 RBI)
Rice: 111 mph (Rice homered to left (439 feet). 1 RBI)
Altuve: 111 mph (Altuve homered to left (451 feet). 1 RBI)
Altuve: 103 mph (Altuve homered to center (448 feet). 1 RBI)13 Perfect/Perfect over 4 games only 1 was an out.
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My issue with rookie isn’t the perfect/perfect results. It’s the fact that the PCI is so huge, you have little influence on launch angle and anything that isn’t a perfect/perfect is basically pure RNG. It just feels like you have more input on higher difficulties, but I quit playing anything on rookie (besides forced moments) last year. It’s just mind numbing and might as well at least play on Veteran for more PXP.
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@dolenz_psn said in CPU Grinders:
You guys make it sound like perfect/perfects are either HRs or outs and nothing ever drops.
Here are my perfect/perfects for the last 4 games I played. These were all on rookie (which apparently is unplayable according to the OP) as I was grinding PXP to finish the POTM missions.
Calhoun: 110 mph (Calhoun homered to right (434 feet). 1 RBI)
Calhoun: 112 mph (Calhoun lined to right for a single. )
Dawson: 109 mph (Dawson homered to left (451 feet). 2 RBI)
Perez: 97 mph (Perez grounded to right for a single. )
Varsho: 106 mph (Varsho lined to center for a single. 1 RBI)
Varsho: 111 mph (Varsho lined to right for a single. )
Dawson: 108 mph (Dawson lined to center for a single. )
Alonso: 114 mph (Alonso grounded to left for a single. )
Dawson: 108 mph (Dawson lined out to CF (L8). )
Devers: 111 mph (Devers homered to right (421 feet). 2 RBI)
Rice: 111 mph (Rice homered to left (439 feet). 1 RBI)
Altuve: 111 mph (Altuve homered to left (451 feet). 1 RBI)
Altuve: 103 mph (Altuve homered to center (448 feet). 1 RBI)13 Perfect/Perfect over 4 games only 1 was an out.
I've never seen anything remotely resembling that kind of output especially over only four games, but I've never played on rookie and I don't have the cards you are using either. Maybe it's possible on that setting.
The difficulty affects pretty much everything, including the fielding. So while your results are interesting, your settings are affecting the outcomes. That's the point of having different difficulties.
