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This is a gaming concept that somehow has gained traction in many sports games. It is the philosophy that regardless of the selected difficulty level, repeated success must be punished. Somehow, game managers think the software must implement such a strategy to keep the game appealing.

The foolishness of such a concept should be easy to grasp. It makes one wonder then why so many games feature it. Is it really an effort to retain interest by making some games particularly challenging? Or, instead, is it some other motivation?

Speculation is that game studios do this because they don't want anyone to pull off a run of success. It's like an ego thing. The game must be challenging and if you become so good as to reduce the challenge, then the game code will implement some foolish contrivances to make defeat inevitable.

Oliver Wendell Holmes was a famous American jurist, an early sitter on the US Supreme Court. He wrote a treatise on the basis of what constitutes good laws. In it he essentially says that even a dog can tell the difference between being tripped over vice kicked!

How does that apply here?

Customers can accept losing a game (versus CPU or human) if the game conditions meet reasonable standards of behavior. But, when the game code so totally messes with common sense to impose a loss then the customer is left with more than just an empty feeling. In truth, the experience harms the quality of the gaming experience, and for many people it results in less game play.

In MLB The Show, in RTTS (which is exclusively versus the CPU), I call it the ten-game rule. If your team wins ten games in a row, the game code implements the punishment. Suddenly, pitchers with a 3.00 ERA for the season vomit 8 runs in two innings, or surrenders a string of five runs in a single inning to lose the game.

The problem isn't losing the game. The problem is the clumsy way that the game code decides how that loss will play out. If the game code does it in a way that preserves the integrity of the game, then the experience doesn't feel poisoned.

I'll provide one of the more infamous examples and likely the single most condemned part of the Madden NFL genre -- the infamous snow game and monsoon game. It is the game where during the "snow globe" game you literally cannot as the QB see more than ten yards in front. Receivers running a route disappear into the snow. That's now how a real NFL game in snowy conditions looks. The closest was one game in Chicago that was singularly infamous, but even then players on the field could see 30 yards downfield.

The monsoon game in Madden is about as bad, with receivers on your human team constantly running routes and falling to the ground from slipping, and fumbles happening constantly with your otherwise sure handed running backs (same in the snow games). However, as in the snow games, the CPU team just cruises along normally, scoring as they normally do like they are playing in the sunshine!

This is criticized because the game coders write the code in such a clumsy manner as to make the game more an in-your-face experience than a sports themed game. It is the coder telling the paying customer, "I'll put your arrogant [censored] back in its place and you'll like it buddy!"

In real life, you treat a customer like that one-on-one, you'll get fired every single time. But, game coders and their managers somehow think they have a presumed right to carry out vengeance against their customers. It results from too much time spent in an office cubicle and not nearly enough time spent in the real world interacting with people!

I wouldn't hire a coder without seeing on his resume an extensive amount of time spent working in settings that required daily interaction with paying customers, demonstrating the ability to empathize with a customer and deliver on promise without bankrupting the company without ever treating a customer disrespectfully.

@Demadrio_PSN said in They abandoned us:

There's also the possibility that they're being directed to put all the '25 fixes into MLB The Show '26 so if we want the bugs corrected, we're forced to buy the new version...

I'm torn. I love the new token system and its freedom to choose what to upgrade on my player and when, but between all the bugs and the lamentable music selection I'm starting to feel like maybe I should just stick to RTTS '24 until SDS sorts itself out.

I wouldn't count on that logic or goodwill. There are dozens of bugs that were first revealed with MLB 23 and 24 that carried over into MLB 25. What SDS doesn't seem to grasp is that the longer things go with reported bugs going without correction, the more customers conclude that the company isn't interested in pursuit of outstanding customer service.

I'm probably being too charitable. Many have concluded that SDS isn't interested in the barest of customer service. Whatever level of support keeps them out of court for misrepresentation is pretty much the threshold for them!

SDS is I think on the verge of learning a harsh lesson. They have ignored way too many game modes, and the overall lack of correcting reported bugs with MLB 25 has been outrageous. I think a great many customers have already concluded as I have, that we won't be purchasing any new MLB The Show releases.

SDS has to learn the lesson. They learn from nothing else. They may not even learn from the harshest lesson of them all -- great loss of sales.

English writing format is to place a blank line between paragraphs. It makes reading vastly easier on the eyes. We should all do that.

Thanks!

Add this to the list of overly strict game code for MLB The Show. Your earn all the perks in RTTS play for your avatar player. So, logically, this means there is no more point to having in-game challenges for perk rewards. There is no debate to this straightforward point.

So, why is the game code hardwired so badly that despite your player earning all the perks, you still get in-game challenges for perks?

Moreover, why is it that after several months of numerous bug reports issued to SDS by numerous customers, these perk rewards challenges feature one non-perk reward and yet when that single non-perk reward is chosen, and the challenge is satisfied, still no reward is issued?

This is a clear game bug, affecting the quality of the game play. But, SDS has issued out at least a dozen different game updates and this bug has never been fixed.

Any question folks about where SDS's focus lies?

Sarge,

SDS is an empty shell of a company. They are nothing more than a cash cow for Sony, and Sony expects their $100 million annual payment sent to them. My belief is that SDS operates on a lean scale of support team and financial operating capital that would shock people if they knew the details.

SDS doesn't likely have the resources to upgrade the game engine, nor any game mode beyond the barest of visual impressions. See how "thrilled" SDS was to show off their "new" fielding concept, where a leaping catch at the wall would be coded to happen based not on strict timing of the controller pad button but instead merely pressing the button and then seeing how the code worked out the play result based on a RNG process that took the virtual fielder's defensive attributes into account.

That is by no means a revolution in game engine coding. It is a simple rewrite of existing game code, and in a manner more reminiscent of video games from decades past vice modern video games where the results reflect the skill level of the human player (customer).

Yet, this was something that SDS was so proud of that it was highlighted extensively in one of their very few MLB 25 showcase videos, like it was something revolutionary to video game development.

That's the sad state of affairs, and the only reason why SDS continues able to send Sony that annual $100 million check is because they enjoy a monopoly being the only MLB licensed baseball game in the market.

@SaveFarris_PSN said in Question about submitting feedback to the developers:

You could take one hostage, tie them to a chair, and force them to watch your videos.

I do not recommend this.

At this point in the cycle, they're not fixing anything (unless something truly breaks and results in the Blue Screen of Death.) They're deep into MLB26 Development. And in that case, they're not going to say anything now anyway because they don't want to spoil any reveals.

Reveals?

There has to actually be something worthy of revealing to have reveals that mean anything! You are giving SDS way too much credit or expectation.

@sullivanspring_MLBTS said in Question about submitting feedback to the developers:

I recently submitted a question in the "submit feedback" and asked a question with videos supporting my question. In return I got an AI generated reply.

Is there a way to get an answer from the developers?

Since you clearly mean receiving a personal, factual, and sincere reply on the likelihood of the issue being fixed, the short answer is a firm "No!" Meaning, no, there is no way you are going to receive such an answer from anyone at SDS.

If you peruse the website of SDS, there is something missing that is present with nearly all American based corporations. There is no listed options for directly contacting the company, other than submitting an application for a job, which of course is the single least effective method for seeking employment.

SDS wraps themselves up in the blanket of customer interaction, and the effort at this web-based social forum is exhibit A in that reality. Whether it is Joe or anyone else working for SDS who replies, it is the same boiler plate pablum along the lines of, "I will pass this to the 'team,'" whomever the "team" really is. In short, it lacks reality. It's just fluff designed to achieve a fleeting public relations score.

And over time, with these sort of replies lacking any degree of actionable correction, or follow up, it causes more harm than good.

Want a perfect example? Look at the stuck thread at this community forum regarding how several months back SDS disabled use of custom stadiums in online play due to a bug in head-to-head play. SDS has not once returned to that thread to offer any additional information, not even a statement that the bug was found and corrected. That's the sort of empty fluff SDS engages in.

@LIONED-33_XBL said in Done For This Year:

@elway7751_PSN to quote many others in other i'm quitting posts, "this isn't the airport, you dont have to announce your departure."

Likewise, you're under no obligation to publicly chastise those who do!

@Slyravaniste_XBL said in RTTS is rigged:

If you want to get a lot of normal fly balls to the outfield, just turn off impact plays. Change the setting to 'my plays' and you'll get a lot.

I have my RTTS set to exactly what you recommend, and my experience remains very skewed to actual baseball. This has been a multi-year problem in MLB The Show.

It's been since MLB 23 that we have seen a near total absence of routine fly balls to the outfield. It is an issue that was raised with SDS and it is another game play issue that SDS has ignored for three years. If you want to play MLB The Show as an outfielder who actually will shag some fly balls from time to time, you'll have to go back in time and play MLB 22!

Somehow, SDS became convinced that an entertaining and satisfying baseball video game should feature about 75% sharp liners, even though in real life baseball the outcome is flipped where sharp hits happen about 25% of the time.

And when the suits at SDS make a decision, it's law baby! And 100,000 customers could tell them it's wrong, and they wouldn't care to fix it!

The answer is the cheat stadium. That's 100% of the answer. This cheat stadium has the walls placed in fair territory all over the infield, making fielding of hits impossible. The game code is unable to deal with it and so treats it like an inside the park homer.

The catcher could not field the hit because the walls were in the way blocking him.

I personally warned SDS about this five months ago. Way back in May when the option to amend the baseline and backstop wall panels were first observed. SDS was made aware that they needed to amend their game code so that no wall panels could be placed in fair territory. They ignored this warning, issued to them in private communications.

What was hit was not a single by the rules of baseball. The rules of baseball also don't allow barriers placed in the field of play, especially the infield. That is what was misleading about the title of this thread. Nothing more, nothing less.

This is entirely the fault of SDS and those malicious people who would create things like this cheat stadium.

Lagrasse (and all its derivatives) are not stadiums. They are cheats designed to destroy quality of online play. This isn't something that should be minced in words. It is a deliberate effort to undermine the integrity of the video game.

The thread's chosen name by the OP is therefore misleading. By the rules of baseball, this was not a single to catcher, scoring the batter. Because by the rules of the game, this is not possible. It would have to be a combination of errors that allowed for advance past first base.

SDS is to blame for this. They were handed a roadmap to prevent it from happening and chose to ignore that roadmap and do their own thing. Some people believe SDS deliberately went their own way just so they could manipulate the inevitable cheating for their own purposes.

Lagrasse is a slap in the face to every legitimate stadium designer in the community, and they were handed their opportunity for cheating by SDS.

@Sarge1387_PSN said in Anything new this year???:

@Suel-21_PSN

I used to upload and show off my creations in the reddit mlbtheshowstadiums page at least twice a week. I've barely done anything with it this year because we're officially at the point with the creator where it's all been done now, the lack of any really useful props or modernized templates really beginning the hinder the mode.

I think what SDS has done (more accurately, not done) with the stadium creator has borderlines on deliberate obsolescence.

I was prepared to not develop any new stadiums with MLB 25 for the exact reasons you provided, until the option to move the baseline walls finally emerged. Then, a pent up energy was unleashed and suddenly some really nice creative options were unleashed.

SDS could have built on that by finally listening to us and made a few updates to really open that emerged option up, such as your input over the years to treat the walls like guillotines that slice off props where they would encroach into the field of play.

If that simple upgrade had been implemented, along with the ones we suggested to them six months back to prevent abuse of the option, then some really nice looking stadiums would be in the vault and none of the malicious ones that were put on the vault.

But, again, I think SDS wanted the malicious stadiums in the vault so they can say it just isn't worth it. With a company run like SDS, it's impossible to be too cynical as they keep raising the bar.

@AllRise99_NSW said in ERROR Cannot load the saved data because it is corrupted??????:

@PriorFir4383355_XBL You also have to reset your system when a file is corrupted, or else it will corrupt every backup!!!

That's not my experience. A couple of times with MLB 25 I did experience a corrupted auto-save file and all I had to do was load one of my manual backup files and restarted play from that point. Lost just a few days of action. A system reset was not required.

@Suel-21_PSN said in Anything new this year???:

With all the glitches and stuff that happened this year, my fear is that stadium creator won't be in the game next year. I've had a lot of fun in the past making videos about stadiums people create, but I've completely lost motivation now with nothing new happening.

That's a legitimate concern, and I have little doubt there are many at SDS who want all the customer-content control options removed: stadium creator, logo creator, and uniform creator. All due to the reasons I stated previously.

Folks, this easy method to prevent this from happening has been repeatedly discussed here. Frankly, SDS should make one of those threads a sticky to keep it at the top. You cannot rely on the auto-save feature to prevent this issue. This is because it saves over the same slot each and every time. So, if that auto-save file gets corrupted, you have no place to go back to.

However, if you manually save your RTTS progress, then you have ten save slots to choose from. If you regularly just rotate the use of those slots, saving the most recent save in the oldest of the ten slots, then you will have multiple points to go back to if your auto-save file becomes corrupted.

Because that would represent the customer controlling the tempo of the offline game, and SDS has dedicated itself to them setting the exclusive method by which the game is played out.

For SDS, it's control over customer service. They can bristle at that all they want to but even in comparison to current era sports games in other sports, the difference is plain. For all the complaints that people register about Madden NFL, when you compare it to how RTTS is played in MLB The Show vice how Madden plays out in Superstar (both the prime offline avatar based game modes for each title) the difference is clear.

In Madden, all the interviews done with the media post game have consequences to how the player develops, and the range of development includes measured and dynamic relationships with fans, coaches, agent, media, teammates, and many others. You develop a circle of associates who become critical to your success or failure as a player as you steer your avatar player ahead.

This sort of in-depth customer control over game development is light years ahead of anything SDS has managed to do with MLB The Show. This is called immersion, and along with suspension of disbelief, these are the two most critical concepts to creating a satisfying video game. And in terms of Madden's level of immersion, SDS has mailed it in.

In playing out RTTS, it is the same tired and half-baked concept where your initial interactions with the manager and your agent become rare, and even when they happen, it doesn't seem to lead to anything relevant to your performance on the field nor your interaction with that manager or agent. Madden NFL on the other hand has community interaction options appear during every pre-game training week. Compare the play out on media interviews in MLB The Show vice Madden NFL and what SDS is doing is laughable in comparison and should be a source of humiliation to the SDS team.

In Madden, every option you are presented with have multiple paths to choose from, each providing unique development tracks for your avatar player. SDS has never developed anything remotely close to this level of detail and customer control over the game execution.

Folks, SDS did vastly worse than providing "nothing new" for Stadium Creator, which of course is correct -- they did not.

They maliciously tried to take something we've been wanting to have out of the game months after it was unlocked so that we could do it -- the option to amend the baseline/backstop wall panel positions. Worse, they did it in a way that left wide open the equally malicious option for malcontents to abuse it to create stadiums designed to destroy online games.

It's hard to document something worse than all that, but we can.

In doing their thing, SDS deliberately ignored the pathway suggested to them -- a pathway that would have preserved the increased freedom we customers wanted, while firmly preventing malicious abuse of stadiums to harm online game play.

The appearance is that SDS actually wanted the chaos in online play so they could leverage it for some hidden agenda. Moreover, the wholesale lack of honest communication that has since invested this sub-forum confirms that SDS isn't the least interested in what we desire, and couldn't care less if we all just disappeared and left them alone to do what they desire to do.

@SaveFarris_PSN said in What happened to baseball?:

Chicks dig the long ball.

Plenty of chicks were digging Franky Cabrera's single to score Sid Bream!