Practice mode is nothing more than a pathetic after thought.

Okay, yeah. The title is a bit click bait but hear me out.

For the last few years there hasn't been a worthwhile practice mode in the game. in the past years versions of the game you used to have a full suite of options for both hitting and pitching practice.
For example;
in past versions of the game you used to have bat control practice, pitch recognition practice, timing practice, and live game practice.
Pitching practice has similar options, like knockout, location, and live game modes as well. Most of these modes were actually the training modes that used to be in road to the show to help improve your player. They made great practice and teaching aids for newer and veteran players alike because they focused on skills you could actually use and needed to be successful.
Since we know that the next version of the game will be cross platform, I think it's time to give the practice mode the "ol' overhaul" and return it to it's former glory and effectiveness. If you don't remember what I'm talking about or didn't play until recently go look at the practice modes before '15. A lot of the road to the show guys should remember these, and I think we can all agree that practice mode needs some serious love. I like the game, and yes I am fully aware I could easily use things like HR derby and CotW as facsimiles but it would be nice to have a proper dedicated practice mode where I can actually work on my weaknesses. All we get now are the options to choose the pitcher, the count, the batter and the runners on base. You can't focus on working on hitting a specific pitch without first using the create a player with the pitch you want for each pitch. That's just entirely too much work for the average player to be expected to do. Especially when these features used to be standard. On the pitching side of things it would be nice to get something like knockout back where it calls the pitch and highlights a section of the zone for you to hit. This used to help me learn to move around all my pitches and use them more effectively. Bringing back these and maybe coming up with some creative new training aids could be a great return to this year's game or addition to next year's game. This is just a long time player here speaking his thoughts on the state of the current practice system in the game. I've been playing these games since mlb11 on ps3. What do you guys think? I'm curious to hear from long time and new players alike in this. Maybe we can group up some ideas and get this done attention and traction, or maybe I'm just spinning my wheels here? Who knows? Still felt I had to bring this up.

Bump so this doesn't get buried. Seriously, can we bring this up?

Dude, 90% of the people in this forum only care with complaining about things that will eventually be fixed in a patch or what cards they pulled today or when the next card flash sale will happen, so yeah, this post is gonna be buried by tomorrow..sorry that's just how the world of casual noobs work.

@k9o3w said in Practice mode is nothing more than a pathetic after thought.:

Okay, yeah. The title is a bit click bait but hear me out.

For the last few years there hasn't been a worthwhile practice mode in the game. in the past years versions of the game you used to have a full suite of options for both hitting and pitching practice.
For example;
in past versions of the game you used to have bat control practice, pitch recognition practice, timing practice, and live game practice.
Pitching practice has similar options, like knockout, location, and live game modes as well. Most of these modes were actually the training modes that used to be in road to the show to help improve your player. They made great practice and teaching aids for newer and veteran players alike because they focused on skills you could actually use and needed to be successful.
Since we know that the next version of the game will be cross platform, I think it's time to give the practice mode the "ol' overhaul" and return it to it's former glory and effectiveness. If you don't remember what I'm talking about or didn't play until recently go look at the practice modes before '15. A lot of the road to the show guys should remember these, and I think we can all agree that practice mode needs some serious love. I like the game, and yes I am fully aware I could easily use things like HR derby and CotW as facsimiles but it would be nice to have a proper dedicated practice mode where I can actually work on my weaknesses. All we get now are the options to choose the pitcher, the count, the batter and the runners on base. You can't focus on working on hitting a specific pitch without first using the create a player with the pitch you want for each pitch. That's just entirely too much work for the average player to be expected to do. Especially when these features used to be standard. On the pitching side of things it would be nice to get something like knockout back where it calls the pitch and highlights a section of the zone for you to hit. This used to help me learn to move around all my pitches and use them more effectively. Bringing back these and maybe coming up with some creative new training aids could be a great return to this year's game or addition to next year's game. This is just a long time player here speaking his thoughts on the state of the current practice system in the game. I've been playing these games since mlb11 on ps3. What do you guys think? I'm curious to hear from long time and new players alike in this. Maybe we can group up some ideas and get this done attention and traction, or maybe I'm just spinning my wheels here? Who knows? Still felt I had to bring this up.

Sadly aspects of games that don't make money are slowly falling apart. Franchise...rtts...etc. The focus tends to be on DD....getting new legends..new card series etc.

It's not just the show but a lot of games are like this. Example. I remember one year COD had no campaign mode (you v.s. cpu) Why? It's a lot of work for something that wont continue to make money. No loot boxes in campaign.

I would hate for this to happen but in 5 years It wouldn't surprise me if the show only came as dd....or they offered a cheaper version of the game with just DD.

My point is would if they put a ton of time in batting practice and hardly anyone used it? Most people are seasoned players returning and the way kids are today they dont want to take the time to get better....that's old school.

They would rather mash buttons, hack and flail at balls...and when that doesnt work...buy or attain a better card. Gone are the days of honing your skills...lack skills?? You need better cards

I want them to add back BP before RTTS games and they HAVE TO add a practice mode where you can control what pitches are throw to you

While I understand that overdoing monetization and micro transactions is the norm now it still doesn't mean they should ignore a major feature and to simply say "well they only care about money from stubs in DD" is super reductive and narrow viewed. With the game coming to more platforms and the player base about to explode exponentially next year, investing in and rebuilding the practice mode is a good idea. There will be a lot of new players in the mix who will need a good place to build good fundamentals and habits. Given that cross platform play is becoming the norm as well, the change or reversion of the practice mode will be even more essential than ever.

I would bet that you see some significant overhauls to franchise mode next year to attract new players - who they then work to convert into DD moneymakers.

Honestly, I wouldn't be care if the outcome is a better and more competitive player base. I mean, it's not the cheese fest it used to be in past years with bunts, rf to 1b every time, and absolutely broken servers for the first 3 months. So that's come a long way, but the practice features have been sidelined for what I like to call "bloated features" like retro mode. You could easily axe that entire pointless mess that wasn't really anything more than a gimmick to go with Griffey being cover boy in 17'. As for using these features to draw people into DD to buy stubs, so be it. If it brings in more players and ensures better servers like we've had for a couple years now I'm okay with it. This game may indeed use monetization but it's not as extreme as Madden or FIFA at all. With the recent addition of programs and slews of diamond cards being relatively easy access the game, it's easier than ever to be a "ftp" or free to play player. Especially if the theme of releasing the game as a PS+ game near the post season continues to be a trend. These are all just more reasons to consider reworking the practice mode and making it not only better, but more accessible and dare I say it, FUN. SERIOUSLY. That's the biggest thing I think people forget. It's a game. It still needs to be fun. Even if it's practice, it needs to be engaging enough so you can get a feel for and see your progress but still be entertaining to do. Some of the old minigame style practice modes from Rtts I talked about would be perfect.