Community Forum

This is gonna be a long post, but I've been writing these down for a while lol Trying to stay positive cause I do love playing The Show even though I probably won't buy it this year due to the stagnation in the franchise mode and the lack of new face scans. These are some things I have been wanting for a while and I believe are doable, some more than others. My main goal with these is to make the game feel closer to how it feels following the baseball calendar (at least for me) and that would make it feel more engaging and dynamic.

General - focused on realism

• Player tattoos (Fifa has this) and more realistic jewelry (chains hanging out of jersey - so many players have these and basically nonexistent in the game) - player personality/style is huge part of baseball
• Face scans for at least 70% of top 50 prospects - has been said a million times, but it is super important to the realism of the game imo - Fifa does a far better job than The Show and they have to go cross continent
• Way better faces of non face-scanned players - they are so bad right now, they look like trolls
• WBC added as a playable off-season tournament where you can play as one of the teams and select roster (players can decline)
• International scouting and signing (surprised this has not been added yet)
• Catching rating for how well they call games for pitchers
• Pitching mixes need to up to date
• Ability for players to develop quirks based on performance, especially players with less than 3 years of MLB experience
• I know this is unlikely, but I want the player fights and bench clearing brawls

Storylines/News

• It seems like they have tried to make an effort towards this which I appreciate, but I think it could be a lot better. News should be based off common news in real life like historic years, award races (in game commentary too), player happiness, locker room troubles, breakout players, underlying metrics, pressure from fans, contract unhappiness, etc.
• Get news from player interviews, sports journalist reports/social media posts, etc.
• Could even have random events that boost or hurt players like having a child or a family member dying. I know this sounds random, but these things do happen and can make some moments more meaningful (Castellenos poorly timed homeruns)
• Stories about teammate bonds. Certain players get a boost from playing with each other (similar to Fifa)
• Pitcher catcher bonds - pitcher gets a boost when pitching to a certain catcher

Trades

• Could be cool to change the trade system to an interface referencing Moneyball (movie) where you're calling another GM (similar to fifa) and are trying to make trades in real-time with another GM. That way you can get real-time feedback and don't have to wait. There needs to be some way to gauge player value like suggest a trade or the liklihood bar
• I actually don't mind the add of the untouchable, but I do think there are far too many untouchables allowed per team

Game Feel

• Crowds need to be more realistic
• Homerun and win celebrations need to have more animations so they feel unique and special
• Emphasizing high importance moments is good. I like the bear down pitching alot
• More animations for players doing random things like joking around, throwing baseballs to fans, signing autographs, etc.
• Way more realistic grass and weather

Player Growth

• Ability to make player tweaks (launch angle, stance, pitcher extension, pitch mix, etc.) - these don’t have to actually change the animations, but could be a cool way to manage players who are struggling or even unlock potential for certain players if done right. The current system feels too linear whereas in real-life it feels like there can be critical things players work on that unlock different parts of their game
• Player coaches like hitting, pitching, and farm coaches could be incorporated into this. Better coaches give better advice and get better results. Makes the hiring of those coaches more important too.

Pre-game and in-game scouting

• Pre-game: Reports on opposing hitter and pitcher tendencies
• In-game: Live info on what pitches are being thrown, tips on what pitches look good and which don’t, pitches to look for, intel on when to steal, etc. - players are passing around iPads now during games. We see it, so I think this should be reflected in the game
• Get more or less info depending how good 1st and 3rd base coaches are

Winter Meetings

• Have to give plans and goals to fans and owner
• Goal results affect job security

Financials

• I don’t really know how to go about this, but there should be a way to allocate money towards developing different aspects of the franchise like player development, fan satisfaction, owner satisfaction, team culture/facilities, etc. - this idea is coming from how the Dodgers/Brewers/Rays have been able to create huge advantages by investing in player development
• Choosing not to allocate resources to fan satisfaction or owner satisfaction will have negative affects on job security

Momentum

• Momentum tracker that fluidly reacts to moments throughout the season like winning streaks, walk-offs, multiple great performances
• Higher the momentum, higher the boosts for players
• Can’t be too easy to get momentum but should be a fun challenge to get and time for playoffs
• Would make the big moments feel like they are impacting the fabric of the season
• Should not be overly complicated and it seems like the game already does this in an unsaid way, but would be cool to make it more explicit and visceral

@Player99_MLBTS def getting tired of all the complaining, but what else are people supposed to do besides complain, we can't get in the lab with SDS lol I've been looking through these forums and I understand players can decline a face scan, which is totally fine. I also know they only really make a concerted effort for scanning during spring training. Still, most of the players end up getting scanned at some point in their career, so do we really think the lack of face scans is because of rights concerns or is it the lack of effort from SDS? My guess is they will say they don't have the time/team size/capabilities to hunt down players they don't get at spring training, but tbh I think that is poor planning or just prioritization of other things. Fifa has way more player scans and has to go across continents lol As a franchise guy, scans are a big deal to me and one of the only reasons I buy the game, especially when they aren't adding anything interesting to the mode. All the complaining is pretty annoying, I mean its just a game, but it does seem like one of the only ways to get things to change and have SDS see the frustration that has been building the last couple of years. It does feel like they are just re-packaging the same game, which is pretty pathetic.

@DTC1313_PSN Pumped they added Griffin, Alcantara, and Cantillo. Hoping they are a bit more aggressive getting prospect face scans this year. Thanks for keeping tabs on this man

For some reason, I have stopped receiving rewards after games on Franchise. Not sure why this is happening. I assume it’s a bug but I’m not sure. Has anyone else experienced this?

This game would visually feel so much more realistic if you had the players tattoos and the chains looked more realistic, like hanging out of the jerseys and bouncing around. Ik nba 2k has tattoos as does FIFA. Otherwise it does feel very realistic but these things def make it feel less modern.