How SDS Has Become Disconnected from the MLB The Show Community
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@yankblan said in How SDS Has Become Disconnected from the MLB The Show Community:
None of these problems/perceived problems are going away as long as UT game modes will be a thing; which is forever.
This is false. The game mode isn't the problem. It's been done well in years past.
Publisher greed is the problem here. We all want SDS to do more. But have they had their team properly expanded since being forced to go multiplatform? Sony does not seem to be properly investing in the game.
SDS can do better of course. For example, I highly doubt Sony mandated they cut the conquest TA maps. I'm not sure what size development team they have to work on gameplay fixes mid year and foul balls may not be a quick fix but perhaps the slider PCI is? At the very least they can add some transparency behind the mechanics driving the gameplay.
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@BadaBing_0 said in How SDS Has Become Disconnected from the MLB The Show Community:
They need to make it fun again. Just some ideas I've come up with.
Use any version of a player to create Dynamic Duos:
Dynamic Duos
Pair up dynamic duos like Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton to get "Power Surge" synergy, Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer to get "Fireballers" synergy, Mookie Betts and Cody Bellinger to get "Double Trouble" synergy, Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirex to get "Dynamic Infield" synergy, Lawrence Butler and Julio Rodriguez to get "Electric Outfield" synergy, Juan Soto and Bryce Harper, activate the "Twin Towers" synergy, Gerrit Cole and Tyler Glasnow to get "Strikeout Kings" synergy, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado to get "Clutch Connection", Trea Turner and Byron Buxton to get "Speedsters" synergy.Dynamic Duos Past & Present
Choose combinations like Clayton Kershaw and Sandy Koufax to form the "Dodger Dominance" synergy, Mike Trout and Ken Griffey Jr. might create the "Power and Finesse" synergy, Max Scherzer and Nolan Ryan could form the "Strikeout Kings", Kris Bryant and Ernie Banks might activate the "Cubs' Legacy" synergy.Legend Duos
Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig might have a "Murderers' Row" synergy, while Jackie Robinson and Pee Wee Reese could have a "Brooklyn Double" synergy, you could pair Willie Mays and Hank Aaron to activate the "Say Hey Hammer" synergy, Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr. might create the "Mr. Padre & The Iron Man" synergy, Pedro Martinez and Randy Johnson could team up with the "Dominant Duo" synergy.Fantasy Draft Weekend:
Host weekend-long fantasy draft events where players compete in live drafts to build their ultimate Diamond Dynasty teams. Participate in drafting sessions with real-time player selections, trade negotiations, and roster adjustments. Each player is assigned a draft position randomly or based on previous performance. The draft follows a serpentine format, where players take turns selecting players for their team. The player pool consists of current cards in DD.
Following the draft, teams compete in a series of scheduled matchups against other drafted squads. The tournament format may vary, including round-robin play, single-elimination brackets, or group stages leading to playoffs.
Based on their performance in the tournament, players earn rewards such as exclusive cards, stubs, XP, etc.
Batter/Pitcher Duels
I think this would be insanely fun if done right.
Pitcher's Duel Mode:
In this mode, players exclusively control their DD pitchers and compete against each other in full games. With both teams using CPU-controlled hitters, meaning they have zero control of stealing, subs, etc.Batter's Showcase Mode:
Conversely, in this mode, players exclusively control their DD batters and compete against each other in full games. With both teams using a completely CPU-controlled pitching staff, meaning they have no decision on when a pitcher is yanked or who comes in.I get that you're spit balling, and I find that admirable. However, the "dynamic duo " idea isn't fresh, and none of the others would work.
2K and EA both use the dynamic duo. It's annoying. Either the boosts are so sleight that they become irrelevant or it becomes too expensive to purchase the cards you want, even if you're not looking for the second card. Or, in the case of EA, both.
The "duels" sound like fun to me, but have the same fatal flaw of the real-time draft events. When waiting for someone else, people get bored. When people get bored, they do something else. In the radio industry, it's well known that people will start changing the station after a few seconds of silence. It's so bad that talk shows will often hire someone to just grunt, laugh, or give an uh huh. Now make a teenager wait three minutes for someone else to pitch to the computer...
I agree something needs to be done, but it's a lot harder to come up with "fresh" ideas that work. Probably impossible to find one that's free.
Now, pretend you're SDS. You are a small developer that was bought out by Sony. You have one game. That game is contingent on the MLB telling you that you have to make the game playable on 5 consoles. Your agreement with the MLBPA is pretty solid, but retired members can be prima donnas and those are all done separately. All the while, the home office just laid off 10% of their entire staff, including some of yours, and are getting on you to increase profits while cutting costs. The last thing they can do is spend resources on an unproven mode that might not workout or could even make people play less.
I agree with everything else in your original post. Consumer engagement has to be the key. What are they doing? Why are they doing it? If you're listening to our feedback, why aren't you changing what you're doing? Do you really think we're so stupid that when you divide a program into three or four parts, we'll now think it's three or four different programs?
What I don't get is why they won't even add cut and paste content like conquest maps.
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The biggest issue is there's 5 console versions being made, and 10% less staff working on the game as a whole. It's kinda of sad, that 25 is going to be the make or break year for a few of my favourite games...NHL 25, MLBTS 25 are both in desperate need of going to current gen only in order to actually make any meaningful advancements.
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@Sarge1387 every other game in the world is cross platform and doesn't have issues. Why is that issue here?
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@AdeptOfMemory said in How SDS Has Become Disconnected from the MLB The Show Community:
@Sarge1387 every other game in the world is cross platform and doesn't have issues. Why is that issue here?
I'm assuming it's legacy code that's conflicting with the newer code being stacked on top because the Show's game engine is from 2007 the same thing happened with Madden
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@jake98833 So what are they doing with our money? Are you saying they are intentionally neglecting to fix a broken system when we pay for a new game they don't care because they are still making profit?
Seems like SDS is a shady company that doesn't care to work on their game development. -
@AdeptOfMemory said in How SDS Has Become Disconnected from the MLB The Show Community:
@Sarge1387 every other game in the world is cross platform and doesn't have issues. Why is that issue here?
It's not the cross platform that's the issue, it's the cross-gen. The Show's engine is outdated by at least a decade(probably less, might be an exaggeration), and the new code they're using was designed for a more modern engine, and it's just not jiving.
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@AdeptOfMemory said in How SDS Has Become Disconnected from the MLB The Show Community:
@jake98833 So what are they doing with our money? Are you saying they are intentionally neglecting to fix a broken system when we pay for a new game they don't care because they are still making profit?
Seems like SDS is a shady company that doesn't care to work on their game development.the will power you have to come online each day and rant about this game is crazy.
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@Sarge1387 League of Legends has been the same game since 2009.
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@chucky97___ it’s not just 14 paragraph rants, it’s yelling at someone in every single thread.
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@jake98833 League of legends been going strong since 2009. I guarantee you Windows 11 and the graphics equipment today is no where near the same and that game hasn't changed it's base design.
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@chucky97___ You're still here? You and your lot wish I wasn't here because I'm right. That's ok. You're upset SDS has to be accountable and you get mad that people like myself are here shinning light in them. That's ok. We all have our right to be here and free will. You can do as you please. So ignore me if I bother you that much. You clearly have some interest in me as you keep following me and smelling my [censored] everywhere I go like a scared little puppy. I don't mind. You're having fun clearly and you like it.
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@AdeptOfMemory No our lot has acepted the game is in a bad place right now, you're lot is so childish you think anything you say on here will change this game, its chalked dude. they already working on 25.
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@chucky97___ [censored].......you really be ok with zombie mode giving money to a company that doesn't listen to you. Big oof. Thanks for proving you're a part of the problem the game is in the state it is.
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@AdeptOfMemory Zombie mode BR? i'd be interested
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@jake98833 said in How SDS Has Become Disconnected from the MLB The Show Community:
@AdeptOfMemory said in How SDS Has Become Disconnected from the MLB The Show Community:
@Sarge1387 every other game in the world is cross platform and doesn't have issues. Why is that issue here?
I'm assuming it's legacy code that's conflicting with the newer code being stacked on top because the Show's game engine is from 2007 the same thing happened with Madden
You're definitely onto something. MLB The Show has been using the same game engine for a long time, dating back to the early 2010s (maybe earlier), and while they’ve updated it over the years, that core architecture is still pretty old. This can lead to what’s known as technical debt, where older code becomes more complex and harder to maintain or extend without introducing new issues.
Now, with the game being on three different console generations (PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S), and recently on Nintendo Switch, it creates a lot of development challenges. Making sure everything works perfectly across all these platforms means overlapping codebases and different configurations, which can introduce bugs and make it harder to fix them consistently.
Then there's the issue of resources. San Diego Studios has to focus on new features, content, and keeping up with the yearly release schedule, which probably means they don't have as much time or manpower dedicated to fixing all the existing bugs. This can lead to older bugs reappearing in new versions of the game.
Thorough testing across multiple consoles and game modes is also really time-consuming and resource-intensive. Even with their best efforts, some bugs slip through, especially in a complex game like MLB The Show. Plus, the pressure to meet annual release deadlines means that less critical bugs might be put off for future updates, leading to them showing up again if they're not fully addressed.
So, it’s likely a combination of an aging game engine, the complexity of supporting multiple consoles, limited resources for bug fixing, and the challenges of thorough testing that’s causing these repeating bugs in MLB The Show. Addressing all of this would require a big investment in updating the core engine, enhancing cross-platform support, and possibly extending development cycles to allow more time for debugging and testing.
Needless to say, they need to cut support for previous gen for a start.
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@BadaBing_0
The got a "revamped hitting engine" in '18.... Not redesigned, but "revamped". That's when Cardinalbird left and the batter feedback was glitched. They have tinkered with it, and it's better now than in the past, but they have basically been using the same engine since '18. -
@BadaBing_0
TLDR:
PC master race proven correct.let me start with I'm not a previous gen user. I'm not defending users on previous but I am in no way shape or form advocating for those users to pay big money they can't afford to get new gen.
I will say it's hard for me to believe it's solely a previous gen issue because of all the varying games I play on console and PC. With games like Fortnite who have successfully upgraded their game AND kept it cross platform with old gen. Sure the old gen may not be able to keep up with frame rates and some other issues, it still runs to an acceptable level and can definitely be viable for massive playerbase.
As a PC player these issues never really occur until it comes down to performance. Most PC games are relegated to the OS. Windows 10 for example seems to be the standard starting point and we all know W10 has its issues and is dated as well BUT game devs still do well with previous gen OS.
Something tells me if Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo all dropped support for previous gen the would lose LOTS of money, yes. But I don't think it would permanently fix The Show because what happens when the next gen comes out again? Back at Square one. So this excuse doesn't sit well with me. It just tells me SDS can't do their job at peak when they need it most.
What you're saying isn't being said by SDS so we can't at all take that for truth. SDS in their silence on this tells me they are satisfied with the game engine.I would believe this IF the game performed well on new gen consoles and poorly on previous gen NOT poorly for everyone because some players have dated tech.
This kinda brings me to the PC master race debate. If we are going to deflect blame off of SDS on the next gen issue then that just furthers the point that console will remain inferior while Fortnite, CoD, Elden Ring, etc continue to thrive and make more money on PC.
If SDS released a purely PC only version and ALL of the problems were gone that would tell you console gens are the problem not their game engine. I think Madden and some 2K games are on PC. I don't play them though so I can't give you my thoughts on their performance on PC and compare to console.
Sorry that's a lot to read.
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@AdeptOfMemory said in How SDS Has Become Disconnected from the MLB The Show Community:
@BadaBing_0
TLDR:
PC master race proven correct.
If SDS released a purely PC only version and ALL of the problems were gone that would tell you console gens are the problem not their game engine. I think Madden and some 2K games are on PC. I don't play them though so I can't give you my thoughts on their performance on PC and compare to console.Sorry that's a lot to read.
No worries! I appreciate the dialog!
I get where you're coming from. It's definitely not as simple as just blaming previous gen consoles. Games like Fortnite have managed to keep things running smoothly across different platforms, including older ones. So, it does make you wonder why MLB The Show struggles in comparison.
I agree that cutting support for previous gen consoles isn't a silver bullet. If the game performed well on new gen consoles and poorly on old ones, then it would make more sense. But when the issues are consistent across all platforms, it points to deeper problems, possibly with the game engine itself or the overall development process at SDS.
It's also true that dropping support for previous gen would lose a significant chunk of the player base and, consequently, a lot of money. Plus, this cycle would just repeat every time a new console generation comes out, as you mentioned.
Regarding the PC master race debate, it's a fair point that PC games often avoid these issues and can provide a more stable experience. If SDS released a PC-only version and the problems disappeared, it would indeed indicate that the console hardware is a significant part of the issue. But until then, we can't ignore the possibility that the game's engine or SDS's development practices need improvement.
