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I understand most of what you're saying; I get that registering P/Ps only to hit into outs is frustrating for you and others, and I agree that the CPU plays too fine a defense, though I don't have the same frame of reference because I really don't enjoy playing below AS (though my understanding was that the lower levels slow the pitch speeds down and make your PCI and pitching inputs more forgiving, not that it necessarily changes how the CPU reacts)... but I don't understand this:

@Orcin_MLBTS said in Hitting is not fun:

... turning solid contact into lazy fly balls.

I'm not trying to pick a fight, here... I just don't know what this means. If you hit a lazy fly ball, what is it that makes you think you should have had solid contact? Is it just because of the feedback window? And, seriously, do any of us really know, definitively, what that shows? Is it reflective of where the ball would have or already had crossed the plane of the plate (because if you swing early, it hasn't, and if you're late, it's already past that point)? Does it show the point where contact was made (likely not, as it shows the PCI as it was on the batter screen, but, depending on your timing, you would have swung through that point in space if early or not yet reached it if late)? And I'm referencing the black screen when I talk about the feedback window; that overhead bat graphic is nonsense and clearly does not show anything close to what happened.

I guess I think I'm saying that too much is being made of the feedback screen. I don't think we have a clear enough understanding of that, and I'm not so sure it works, anyway. Where offense is concerned, reliance on that window seems to be ruining people's lives.

On defense, you're probably right that some sliders were turned up to stop easy grinding (the CPU is quicker than I am to react, on AS, anyway, but still makes errors with realistic enough frequency, in my experience), but I just don't see the issue with hitting; it's just less forgiving and exit velocities are more realistic, statistically.

I think that not only makes hitting more fun, it finally makes pitching and defense fun, too. That makes for a better overall baseball game.

People also talk a lot about "squaring a ball up," when they're referencing "good" contact; unless you got a P/P, you didn't. Think about it... the center of the PCI can only represent the point of contact accurately if you have a P/P; the PCI's center location doesn't change based on your timing, it's just static on the screen, so if you're a little early or a little late (even with "good" timing), both the angle of your bat head and the location of the pitch at the moment it is struck are not going to be accurately represented by where the PCI sits on the screen...

As such, you could potentially see "early" swings with "bad" PCI placement work out swimmingly for the hitter; that variance in bat head angle and pitch location at contact relative to the PCI might just result in a better launch angle and more solid contact, purely by chance, than "good" timing with a PCI just slightly off center. Lots of unpredictability with a round bat and a round ball.

People are often drastically oversimplifying a complex mechanic when complaining of not being "rewarded" based on what they see in the feedback window.

Yeah, a lot of variables missing from these complaints... people get very fixated on "good" contact or timing, without much consideration for the actual variables that determine how a ball should fly. Here's a little tool you can use on Baseball Savant, next time you don't think the physics are right:

https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/statcast_field

Maybe when someone says "I had a launch angle of 27 degrees with 110 exit velocity on a pitch belt-high and I flew out at the track," and back it up with proof, those who enjoy an actual simulated game of baseball will agree that there is something "wrong."

@ref479ode_PSN, you were obviously off on your timing to foul 10 of them off. That’s on you. On balls put in play, you were 2 for 10.

What’s the point of looking at batter analysis if you don’t understand what you’re looking at?

Half of those are foul balls… looks to me like you went 2 for 10 on good contact.

Doesn’t seem like a problem.

@doobiebross66-72_PSN, I hear you… but that contact in that location, particularly slightly late, is a coin flip, at best.

It is frustrating, and I 100% agree with you on that, but that’s also why I like this year’s game more than years past. It does a pretty [censored] good job of peppering plenty of that I-should-not-be-taking-my-helmet-off-now feeling onto bat flip moments, and both ends of the spectrum are pretty decently weighted in terms of the level of exaggeration you’d expect in a video game simulation.

I don’t want the sweet without the sour; baseball isn’t baseball without both, and though it’s just a taste of what I miss from actually playing, this is a pretty good baseball sim despite needing plenty of refinement before it can be a great one.

@doobiebross66-72_PSN, just to preface this, I don’t play events (except one partial game to give up 3 HRs, which took two innings); I do play a fair amount of ranked, (though I’m a terrible hitter), but I cannot comment with any certainty on how events are different. I do believe you that they’re different.

That said, the example you show is exactly what should happen. It’s a low and outside pitch, and the launch angle is too low; 25-35 is optimal. There’s a baseball savant site that allows you to input angles and exit velocity, and it shows real results… 100mph and 23 degrees is rarely a home run. Check it out: https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/statcast_field?ev=101&la=20

I think power creep is part of it, but I think they’ve tamped down the obnoxiously unrealistic physics we’ve become accustomed to in past iterations.

I love it, but like I said, I’m a [censored] hitter, anyway. This is a bit more realistic and it gives defense a chance.

@KingBlezz420_XBL, why is there anything wrong with that? Why would you expect a company to work year-round, providing weekly refreshes and new content so people can experience what ultimately amounts to several hundred hours of constantly refreshed entertainment over the course of a year… all for the one-time price of $69.99?

It should be hard for NMS people, and NMS people should be thankful that it isn’t simply impossible to attain most of the content that other people have financed.

Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

I loved using Dee's cards... always was one of my favorites.

I'm sorry, but this is not a problem.

So you hate completing Showdowns. Great. Don't. Resign yourself to the fact that you're either going to have to do something you don't like to get a couple of cards, or don't do the thing and don't get the cards.

Personally, I don't like collections. I think it's a monumental waste of time and stubs to collect high Live Series diamonds that I will never use (I don't play DD to use Live Series cards) and lock them in so I can't sell them. I'd love to have that Beltran card... and that Headley card... but I won't. And that's okay. There is nothing wrong with SDS putting cards behind a "wall" because I don't want to walk the path it takes to get them. That's on me.

You can't always have all the things.

I like it. Certainly understand that it isn’t for everyone, but I think it just comes down to how you look at the whole experience of playing.

If you see it as an extension of yourself, and of your prowess in doing a thing, then you probably want to see it fly…

as he’s not even real.

But if you accept that he is real, because he’s a little digital man with his own attributes and animations, and his own one-handed, smooth-as-butter swing… if you accept that you’re just helping him do the thing he was created to do, you kind of enjoy watching him admire his work.

Watch it fly, baseball man.

That’s too bad he’s back. I saw this thread and was hoping they were replacing him… though I’ve followed that team my whole life, I just can’t use that boost and build a team around that guy.

Such an unfortunate choice for the A’s Jolt; Holiday was there for half a season, was miserable there and somewhat vocal about it, and the trade for him was ultimately seen by A’s fans as the org trading away their future (CarGo) for a few months of someone who could give two sh*ts about the team and had one foot out the door the whole time. The fans hated him.

Not long after, he went on to sign a deal with the Yankees that allowed him to be traded to any team in the league but Oakland… f*** that guy.

Got my hopes up, there, for a second…

@dap1234567890_PSN, maybe for some, but I like retro or something like catcher near, and those line up pretty well. Lots of balls called on pitches half in, half out.

Yes, please. Pitchers need strikes to be called.

Two multi-HR games, now, 6 on the year, hitting .381…playing a pretty good 1B… kid’s a special talent. He’ll regress a bit, for sure (he’s just a kid), but since we missed out on that showcase card, how about at least an 88 in the next round?

Hope for a brighter future is all we A’s fans have, so would live to see that “what if” nod for such a great start.

@DeleteyourTTVBTW_MLBTS said in HOF difficulty & 1-Run game pattern...:

Years ago I was terrible for a couple weeks as well.

I bet you're always the coolest guy at the sausage party, and that everyone swoons at your prowess at sports video games. I'm sure everyone reading your response is appropriately envious (and completely willing to overlook how you use an account that hides your surely stellar performance while bagging on others').

I do find it amusing that instead of admitting you misinterpreted the context and that this thread wasn't even about HOF online, you instead choose to double-down on your sad little flex, and try to slide by without anyone noticing your inability to comprehend the discussion. I'll point out, again, that the point wasn't "I'm still absolutely crushing" but the fact that the velocity is down by design, for everyone, and not an "issue" to be fixed just because your sad little egos can't bear to lose the shine that comes from video game home runs.

But that type of sissy talk isn't for you. I know that. You're an animal. You just keep being impressive... crack another White Claw because the parents are out of town, tell the boys how you'd be even more spectacular if they didn't nerf your offense, and revel in the immeasurable fame that comes with playing MLB The Show online at HOF and above.

I've been an A's fan since 1979, and I'm actually happy for them to finally have taken real steps toward a new, permanent home. They've been looking for a new stadium, formally, since 2005 (and dipping a toe in those waters much earlier). If the city of Oakland and surrounding municipalities wanted to do something, they've had plenty of time. Instead, they delayed, denied, and pointed fingers while taking no substantive action.

And John Fisher is an a**hole and terrible owner.

Both things are true.

@A_PerfectGame_PSN said in HOF difficulty & 1-Run game pattern...:

@The_Joneser_PSN

How about guys with 80 plus power against bronze pitchers?

Might need a few more variables, here...

The hitting is nerfed. Everything is situational. If a player strikes out and swings at everything the game gives that player late weak hits. It happens all the time. Exit velocity is depending on what’s happening how much you are up by. The inning. Have you played diamond quest? You see all the perks? Those perks should have a major impact on the game and they don’t. If this game does not want you to win. You won’t. It gives you opportunities and windows and making up for that if you miss that opportunity is impossible. No matter how good you are.

I see, now... you're one of those. Never mind.

@borderpatrollin_XBL said in HOF difficulty & 1-Run game pattern...:

@The_Joneser_PSN bro you are trying to sound smart...

My apologies, Dr. Lexus. I'll rephrase:

Why come you not understand how power attributes work now lol?

@DeleteyourTTVBTW_MLBTS, in your checking of receipts, you may have neglected to consider that the original poster plays offline. I saw someone start a thread about their experience with HOF, actually did see that they play offline, so I thought I'd share my experience because just about every game I play against the CPU is played on HOF. I didn't tell him to get better and that if he did, he'd expect better results; I said that cards with ratings lower than 75 or thereabouts don't regularly produce exit velocities like he seems to be expecting. By design. And I'm saying that I think that's a good thing and that I like it.

I'm not bagging on the OP's skill, and some of my post was pretty clearly in response to the one right above mine, but had you actually looked at your receipts you could see that he's still getting perfect/perfects between 96-112. With these lower rated cards at this stage of the game, he's probably (and I'm speculating) seeing exit velocities largely in the 80s and 90s on good contact that isn't a perfect/perfect, and in the 70s on okays, or late or early. But what he's not seeing is perfect/perfects in the 70s and low 80s. That would be an "issue." The velocities associated with non perfect/perfects catch up as we see increases in power creep, and they'll soon enough probably all become home runs, too, and then the exit velocity issue will be "fixed." By becoming laughably unrealistic.

And funny that you refer to someone as "too scared to even load up online" when you post behind an account that doesn't provide the very receipts you use to put on your airs.