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@sullivanspring_MLBTS said in Stadium creator is great. I built a fantastic stadium:

I understand the frustration for those who would like to see more and here's why I think SDS isn't spending developer resources on it.

I'm a franchise exclusive player. The game used to have year to year saves. It no longer has that and the explanation is not enough people use the feature. I think they are wrong because it's a feature a person only uses one time a year. For stadium creator I create my stadium and I'm done aside from an occasional tweak.

They don't think enough people use the feature for it to deserve developer time. I'll likely skip MLBTS 26 due to no year to year saves and I'm not along among franchise users. Don't want to have to throw away my franchise and start over.

It's frustrating because in the case of Y2Y saves and stadium creator it's doable but they are unlikely to budge.

I respect your point of view. But, in the business analysis, if what you say is indeed true -- that Stadium Creator, Logo Editor, and Uniform Creator are just too much a niche part of MLB The Show's customer interest to justify development time over the last six years -- then it would have to be equally true that these modes should be discarded entirely.

You see, I don't believe that is the case. Else, SDS would have done exactly that. The historic reality is that Stadium Creator was universally demanded by the customers years back, and given that rival sports games had such customer created content options, SDS decided to create it to much fanfare.

I have spoken with a person very much in the core who developed SC and his insights also drive my own commentary and criticism of SDS.

No, the truth is far uglier than a simple business calculation. It is driven more by a desire to appease the egos of employees and management within SDS. These customer created content modes are very much in demand and if they were withdrawn then SDS knows they would face an avalanche of criticism. But, SDS has determined they will only exist as degraded modes, entirely incapable regardless of customer talent, to create anything that can rival what's in the game.

Anyone who has played the SDS created legacy stadiums can easily recognize there are many props used in those stadiums that are included in Stadium Creator. One example among dozens is the scoreboard used in their Crosley Field. In SDS's version however, that scoreboard is fully supported. It features an illuminated clock and backlit manual scoreboard pieces. So, it is effective at night. But, the version in SC lacks this illumination. Now, the only way that degradation can happen is if the SDS team choses to disable the code that supports the scoreboard illumination.

Want more proof? OK, let's return to not only Crosley Field, but also the myriad of other SDS stadiums used for the high school and collegiate games. They feature smallish stadium seating options plus chain link fence options that have been asked for over many years to be added to SC. But, they have not been. For those who need more proof, there is the always existing code that allows for full customization of the entire perimeter of wall panels -- outfield, baseline and backstop.

This option has always been present in SC, but was deliberately locked out by additional code layered into Stadium Creator. We know this not only because SDS has their own internal version of SC used to create all their stadiums with, but also because somehow, some way, this lockout code was bypassed and suddenly we custom stadium creators could finally customize the entire layout of our stadiums.

The ONLY time SDS got off their collective duffs and actually coded anything that changed how SC works this year was when they discovered this expanded customer option, and they got busy locking it back down, only they did it in such a ham-fisted manner that they left the back door wide open for nefarious people to abuse it, causing an avalanche of protests from DD players due to the cheat stadiums created to spite online play.

No, this isn't a business driven decision, it is an ego driven decision, and that's why there will never be any upgrades to these three customer content game modes. Until this current leadership at SDS is replaced, customer content creation will be barely present in the game, but always deliberately degraded.

All of your suggestions fall within the realm of greater depth of immersion. The avatar player character you create and play having these items working would of course increase the immersion factor. Immersion has always been a core goal of software coders to achieve in any RPG, and RTTS is very much an RPG mode.

Moreover, these sidelines should all have meaning and purpose to the development of your player. Right now, all the interviews are empty because they lack any developmental connection.

Finally, all of this stuff is quite easy to code up compared to coding up 3D moving graphics and a game engine to replicate the physics of baseball. This is why other companies have gone to these increased depths and put SDS way behind.

SDS won't do any of this, not one single item. In fact, I predict openly that they won't even do you the base level courtesy of providing you with any meaningful reply to your OP. And prior to my reply, I would have bet they would provide you with no reply at all, and likely still won't.

@gseAPEX_XBL said in Need More Custom uni slots and choice pre game:

This code is already in the game when you play RTTS or offline etc you can select your different uniforms you want to play in.

For DD they need to expand the custom uniforms to a home , road and at minimum a single alternate the before each game give the option to customize uniforms selection no different than what already exists in other areas of this game or games like madden and ncaa football.

Having 3 uniforms that can be mixed and matched seems like a no brainer updated.

There is a ton of code already in this game which SDS has stubbornly and steadfastly refused to extend to the customers for use in customer-created content. You are giving SDS way too much leeway they don't earn.

There is code in the game for one home and road alternate jersey, plus for a city connect jersey. Yet, SDS has refused to extend Uniform Creator to more than one home and road uniform concept, only two unis when the software supports five. The only reason for this is that SDS wants to ensure that all the customer-created content game modes are deliberately kept sub-standard. SDS does not wish to see customers create content that could rival what SDS employees create.

This selfishness is as appalling as it is self-destructive. SDS sales numbers for MLB The Show have been kept secret since 2021, when SDS reported 2 million units of MLB 21 sold. SDS did not release sales figures for MLB 20 but figures for MLB 19 were 2.52 million units sold. Therefore, MLB 21 suffered a 20% reduction in sales.

SDS released sales figures for April that showed MLB 25 achieved record initial sales, but has kept any further sales figures secret. One can bet this is because it showed a sharp downturn since April. MLB The Show 19's numbers were the best recorded for the title, tying the figure precisely for MLB 99.

For a game title that is the only licensed product for MLB, when you see sales figures plummet by 20%, it represents a very serious issue. No competition, and yet people in large numbers are not buying their product who used to purchase it.

SDS has lost sales because they have refused to upgrade the basic game engine and refused to upgrade the graphics to the level supported in the latest generation game consoles. But, there are other reasons. SDS has gone on a warpath against customer created content. They have sold their souls for online competition mode play. And yet, they have not even spent the money necessary to support their online gamming community on their SDS servers, hence the huge volume of customer criticism this year due to poor server performance.

Of course it would! Provided SDS put an honest effort into rendering a suite that would allow one to create a stadium that rivals the MLB and MiLB designs in the game by default, then it would be huge. But, this won't happen for the same reason why SDS hasn't mentioned any of the three customer creation modes in their first two MLB 26 notices. SDS does not care to see customers creating vibrant custom content within the game.

The SDS leadership is devoted to the concept of strict control over the game, how it looks, how it plays, how it handles. Perhaps the first two concepts would have merit if it saw SDS fix the myriad of years long bugs reported, but instead SDS has left them idle.

@SaveFarris_PSN said in uploading a logo:

@MarinerMatt01_PSN said in uploading a logo:

Considering some of the vile creations made with the logo editor as is, I’m OK with not being able to upload images.

This is the reason why. SDS's staff is limited as it is and I suspect they don't have they don't have the roster power to police the potentially millions of offensive images folks would be uploading.

Yes, it'd be nice. But the bad apples have ruined it for everyone.

Frankly, if that's the mentality that guides us -- to let the bad apples dictate things for everyone else -- then as a society we have failed. I don't see it that way at all. You handle the bad apples the old fashioned way, you identify them and ruthlessly destroy them! In this context, it means that SDS determines who uploads vile images, uses the existing technology to determine not only their user ID's, but also their console ID's and server ID's, and uses all three ID"s to permanently ban them from access to all SDS servers, including online play options.

It wouldn't be merely the user ID (which can be modified) but also the console and server ID's and those are hardwired to the console. So, it means the sad sacks are done, finished! They would have to purchase another console and change their user ID to regain access, and if they repeat the same vile act, they get that console kicked out also.

Eventually, they run out of money and get the message.

And there are plenty of vile images already being uploaded through manual means, so the lack of proper action by SDS is after all, the reason for the acute issue.

@rgainer3_MLBTS said in uploading a logo:

how can i upload a logo? i used to use the MLB and MLiB uniforms so this is my first time creating my own

That simple suggestion -- to be able to upload a logo into the Logo Creator -- has been made by hundreds of customers over several years and joins the very long list of easy to implement ideas that SDS has ignored.

Folks, this is why so many customers, such as myself, who have been steady customers of MLB The Show for several years, are done with this title and this company until SDS shows some very serious changes in how they treat their customers, act on customer ideas, and works to keep their game relevant.

@sullivanspring_MLBTS said in The latest news about MLBTS26:

@sbchamps17_NSW said in The latest news about MLBTS26:

@sullivanspring_MLBTS it doesn't matter what forum it's under there's already 2 posts of this so there was no need to make a 3rd post

I have zero interest in anything but franchise and this forum exists to discuss franchise. Thus I posted under the franchise forum in order to discuss the franchise aspects of the upcoming game. Do you have an opinion about the franchise announcements?

The very much self-appointed forum police officer wears a badge that doesn't exist, never has, and frankly for his constant attacks on people should have been shown the door long ago!

My earnest advice is to simply block his account. You'll never see another thing he writes again, as if he doesn't exist. The only reason I saw his rantings is because you quoted him. In short, he isn't worth your time, and of course you had every right to post your OP as you did.

Cheers!

I have no idea at all what an "invernal" league is supposed to be. That's not an English word I recognize.

As I wrote over at Reddit, SDS could include all 300 division one baseball teams in the game and it would not improve RTTS in any meaningful way. So long as the entire span of collegiate and high school play comprises a mere eight odd games, then it's almost laughable in terms of being integrated into RTTS.

In sum, the only effort extended here is to craft the uniforms and menu screens for the 11 new collegiate teams, and one doubts there will even be any effort to craft stadiums that match was these schools actually use. This is nothing more than a low-cost option for SDS to pay a license fee and rebrand the game as having something exciting added to it.

@JUtahDrulz_XBL said in Trade logic in RTTS:

Absolutely agree, this is the unfortunate situation of programmers that don't know much about baseball and the folks that provide input not checking the little things, more effort put forth to DD instead of single player modes

This right here nails the issue, cause and background. The discussions I have had with former SDS employees and managers confirms this comment is true. SDS hired new managers who lacked the same affinity and experience for baseball that SDS was blessed to have for so many years prior.

It is the difference between a programmer without knowledge of baseball writing code that crunches attribute numbers vice considers the relative importance of positional roles. Baseball is a game of specialists more so than any other sport. It has never been about assembling a team with the highest possible total skill level, but ensuring your team has skill enough to win in all positions.

In my view, this is what happens when a company listens to the loudest voices, who are the obsessed folks who treat this game like it's their full time job vice a game to be played in between scarce free time. As someone who has seen both his children leave the nest and start families of their own, I chuckled when I read your statement. It rings so very true.

The problem is that in a constant effort to appease the squeaky wheels companies like SDS feel like they have a duty to toughen the game. Those who play it obsessively obviously get and remain good at it, and often they start to complain that it's "too easy."

Of course, the best solution is to make more levels of play and carefully tailor those levels so that none of them represent a drastic step up or down in difficulty. This is where I think SDS has gotten things a bit wrong. The step up is rather drastic, but those who play constantly and always like to complain, will never think it's hard enough for them.

@Timbo3355-TGB_PSN said in Online connected franchise:

@PriorFir4383355_XBL I get what you’re saying, and that’s why I think the best solution is to have two separate Franchise modes, similar to how NBA 2K does it. Their online Franchise is basically just trading, games, and free agency — pretty bare bones — while the offline version keeps all the depth and freedom. That way people who want a connected experience get it, and the offline community doesn’t lose anything. I wish SDS would take that same approach

I wouldn't have a beef with that and in an ideal world, I would openly support it. But, again, we have to couch our desires with a healthy dose of self-awareness of what SDS is doing, or perhaps more accurately not doing.

There are game modes that have existed in this title for over five years that have languished with zero attention to detail in terms of actual upgrades. Given this, I think we need to focus acute attention of those deliberately neglected game modes. Also, the community that plays online modes needs to stop acting like they represent the entire customer base. Folks, you do not.

That's not a slight. It's simply a statement of objective fact. Overall point being, until SDS upgrades what has been in the game, I don't want to see them introduce new modes to the game, especially online modes. Because online modes have received a vastly disproportionate share of support.

@sullivanspring_MLBTS said in My Must-Haves To Purchase MLB The Show 26:

@TheBigPapa55_PSN said in My Must-Haves To Purchase MLB The Show 26:

WBC mode in Franchise or we’ll boycott

Too much work to be done on the base franchise for them to add world baseball classic. I don't boycott but I skip every other year because of no y2y.

Skip is something one does because the game doesn't advance enough each year to justify yearly purchase. Boycott is what is done when customers determine the company isn't giving the game the proper attention.

Each is a choice. But, many of us have now reached the point of concluding that the second option is well called for!

Except many folks who play Franchise do so because it is an offline mode. You may not appreciate this, but there is a large segment of customers who want nothing to do with online gaming. The concern we have is that if SDS were to do this, then they would be swamped by the chronic complaints issued by online gamers who think they should always win, and as such cave and start imposing operating limitations designed to appease them, but that degrade the offline experience.

It's a false market because it lacks an essential component of a true free market economy. SDS controls the market through access as well as regulation of the supply and imposition of minimum and maximum values.

But, those two concepts are not the prime reasons. That prime reason is the lack of actual work that must be employed to earn revenue or produce the product. Real products derive their value because of the scarcity of resources needed to produce them. This can be in the form of natural resources or simply a finite amount of human labor required to create each unit. On the flip side, the purchase price is still set by a market where competition can enter the market. This market has no competition.

There would be no point, so the answer is no. All the sponsorships do is add revenue to your Franchise team, which is one of the metrics by which as the GM you are judged on your job performance within that game mode.

There is no association between the sponsorships obtained within Franchise and those of any other game mode.

@sullivanspring_MLBTS said in 26 Franchise Mode New Features Discussion:

@howelljake17_MLBTS said in 26 Franchise Mode New Features Discussion:

@sullivanspring_MLBTS I don’t disagree with game play, but that impacts every game mode, I was just thinking of franchise specific things that can bring the mode to the next level!

Perhaps. I don't play other modes and know nothing about them. Do other modes also have manage mode like franchise?

No, Franchise mode is the only one that has a method by which you can be the team manager and make those decisions. However, even in Franchise, if you choose to be a specific player in the game, then you cannot also be the manager.

@xJerm_PSN said in RTTS Socks:

well.. they had an option in 19 i think where you could equip stance socks without buying a pair. I have no idea why they took it out

As recently as MLB The Show 23, the avatar RTTS players by default wore the team STANCE socks. You could still equip your player with a bronze, silver, gold, or diamond STANCE sock and earn the benefits of them, but your player in the games would still wear the team STANCE sock. That system made sense.

Someone at SDS decided to change all that with MLB 24. The complaints were immediate and frequent, but all fell of deaf ears -- shock, shock!

There is a very convoluted method to force the situation and get your avatar player and the rest of the team in the team's actual Stance socks. He made a video of the process and you have to follow that process to the letter -- zero deviations or else it won't work. But, if you carefully follow the process precisely, it will work.

In terms of why SDS did this? My guess is it is just one more example of SDS leadership demanding that you play the game their way vice the way you wish to play it -- control over customer satisfaction!

Here is a link to that video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dlKUpUf8qg

@JoeSelser_PSN said in So nothing new next year?:

@Sarge1387_PSN so with ya dude. Last year when they showed those chain link fences to hype rtts and some people were so excited that these might have been in CAS. It was deflating for some people when they got the game only to see it was a copy and paste of last year.

That exact moment of realization is something I remember to this day. It was exactly as you said -- deflating. It is rare when a company goes out of its way to maliciously abuse paying customers, and so saying that a company does this is reserved only for very badly led operations. Sadly, SDS deserves that sobriquet. Except in this case, there is nothing funny about it. It is profoundly sad.

For SDS to see customers get something they have been wanting to have for years and then spend money and time to try to shut it down showed everyone what kind of company SDS has become. Since this all went down, I have actually had former managers and senior employees at SDS initiate contact with me. The theme of these contacts is the same. Around the time of COVID, SDS hired new managers who lacked affinity for the sport of baseball and degraded the focus of the game. This included a strategic decision to abandon Stadium Creator, as well as Logo Editor and Custom Uniforms.