Community Forum

@Ditka06-_MLBTS, never watched a game streamer in my life, and hitting has never been easier; I'm hitting 60 points higher than I ever have.

If you mean pitching is easy as in it isn't difficult to get the pitcher to throw the ball toward home plate, sure. In terms of run suppression in Ranked on All-Star, its a bit trickier.

Regardless, if your argument is that strikes should be called balls because you aren't capable of digesting the fact that you should have swung but did not, then you should probably be playing Mario Kart. Or checkers.

Maybe baseball just isn't for you.

@Ditka06-_MLBTS, perhaps they should just eliminate pitching altogether and simply put the ball on a tee. We could all square the ball up as often as our fragile egos need and skip all that messy failure that the game of baseball tries to teach us to deal with.

Not calling strikes appropriately makes this game worse. As the pitcher/batter battle is the heart of baseball itself, it is absolutely inexcusable to blatantly ignore the rule most important to deciding those outcomes.

It's bad enough that the outer PCI allows you to foul off literally anything (a very early swing on a ball in the dirt should not make contact), but further protecting a batter from strikeouts by simply pretending a strike is something other than it is both sacrifices the drama of pitcher/batter experience and diminishes the importance of pitcher cards. And it's all to protect the fragility of little boys who can't handle striking out in a video game.

The entire game is poorer for it.

@Blind_Bleeder_PSN, pretty good start for Morris on opening night... happy for him that he's starting games now (and doing well, it seems), but sure would have liked to see him in the pen for the big club these last couple of days.

... and it turns out that a pitch is a strike if any part of the ball intersects with any part of the zone.

Here it is: https://www.mlb.com/video/logan-webb-called-strike-to-jose-caballero-capture-review

I'm sure this is being dutifully looked at by the team at SDS, and a fix to the called-strike mechanics is imminent.

@Blind_Bleeder_PSN, that's great... pitching on opening night is a pretty big deal. Looks like he's definitely going to get his shot to show what he can do this year.

I certainly wish him the best, and hope to see him at Sutter before too long!

@Onix_Savage22_PSN, yeah, that's tough... we do what we need to do, but you might find that you get to come back to it years down the road. Might not be at the same level, but there's something to be said about picking it back up, long after you convinced yourself you had to say goodbye to it.

I was slower, weaker, and had more trouble against softer stuff, but I loved being out there just as much as I ever had.

I hope you find your way back.

And try to keep your head on your shoulders when you play these video games

@Onix_Savage22_PSN, without addressing the rest of the post, why are you so quick to think you won't play real baseball again? If you want to, there's usually a way... might not be super competitive, but I started again in my 30's playing in men's rec leagues. Had a blast playing hardball until I was about 35...

@BuddyHightower_XBL, I don't think you are. I think it's kind of a clunky design, as-is.

I've just gotten used to looking at the card attributes first, sometimes even taking a quick pic of it with my phone, and comparing that to the displayed attributes as I slide through the different mods.

It would be better if it was as you suggest: show a +x or -x next to each affected attribute, relative to the current attributes of the non modified card.

@Ditka06-_MLBTS, I don't know what to tell you about that... that hasn't been my experience. In my 48 hours of play so far (only 9 Ranked games, and only a handful of BR or events, but lots of Mini Seasons and lots of Conquest), I have yet to be kicked from a single game.

There are things that frustrate me, but the game works. I see absolutely no difference in the state of the servers now than throughout the last cycle, with the exception of slow menus at the start.

Sorry you're having a hard time with it, but I seem to remember you having trouble with it last year, also...

And notice that I didn't say "blame the consumer"; I said that if we keep choosing the same things despite being repeatedly disappointed and expecting things to get better when there's really no reason to believe things have gotten better, then we should also look at our own decision making process. That's not a value judgement on you as a human being.

I'll say this, and I'll leave it be: the reason people get such pushback when making generalized comments like "the game doesn't work" is because that is not everyone's experience. Maybe it's regional. I don't know. But it isn't universal, and when people start calling other people bootlickers or offer some other jejune pseudo-analysis when they encounter others who are having a fine time, those people react.

I get it. You're having issues with the game. That sucks and I'm sorry you aren't able to enjoy it. I hope whatever it is gets worked out for you.

@RAisEdByGoAt_XBL said:

My first year of finally standing ground and not purchasing this game. In my opinion the only way they will ever do so much as even acknowledge the issues we’ve been plagued with.

I don't agree with you often, but I agree with this.

@TripleH-4481 said:

Problem is not enough people will hold off due to their love of baseball. Plus for every $70 or $100 game purchase they may lose there are a ton of people dropping thousands of dollars on the game at launch that offsets those lost sales by a mile.

I think this is a pretty accurate statement. And this has been true for several years, now.

I will not hold off because of my love for baseball... and because I have realistic expectations of what it is I'm buying. We all want constant updates and new content throughout the entire cycle, and then wonder why the new game is basically the same when it launches. That's the part I don't understand. If you like WoW, you play Wow, for years, and every few years you get a large upgrade, but it's mostly the same game.

The "new" Show is just the same Show (and I happen to enjoy the game) with a few new features, and why that surprises everyone is beyond me. I'd love to understand the logic of those who think that, somehow, we're going to get a brand new product that works perfectly when the studio has been busy, all year, creating content for the old game. By now, we should all know what we're getting, and there's really no excuse for thinking otherwise. We either like the game at its heart, or we feel like it has so far to go that it's simply not a good game. If you belong to the latter camp, that's fine, and if you only want the game if they've taken a major leap forward, or until they've fixed all the bugs that existed only months or weeks before the "new" launch, also fine; but then you really shouldn't buy it until you've seen enough to confirm that.

It's also appropriate to take accountability for our own decisions, and to manage our own expectations appropriately.

I'm not saying that people shouldn't voice their opinions and point out what they'd like to see worked on (I want a real strike zone, for instance), but if you are shocked at the state of the game, every year, and upset that they keep taking your money... well, at least some of that is on you.

@yankblan_PSN, behind a login so not sure if it links, but just hit "game" up top, to the right, and when it takes you to the Dashboard, use the gamer search just right of center... scroll down, and it already shows the most recent history, but you can click at bottom for more.

Overall, I'm really enjoying it. I know people complain about it being the same, year after year, but I don't expect much more than tweaks and minor improvements when our all-things-now world demands 24/7 content updates throughout the entire MLB season for the bargain price of 69.99 (like it or not, I think that does make it something like an annual subscription to what is essentially the same game). I'd expect to see a major leap with the next generation of hardware, but I'm content, for now, with little things like new animations, some new players, incremental physics updates (maybe just me, but seems like super-ball-ground-rule-doubles are down), and QOL improvements.

• Positive

The biggest thing, for me, has been the screen blur feature while batting. I've noticed in comments from others, above and elsewhere, that it seemed to create issues for them rather than make things easier, but I feel like I'm hitting much better than I ever have because of it (that still isn't very good by most standards, but noticeable for me). Might be that I use Catcher Near (I like to see my batters, not just their crotch), so there's a lot to obscure that otherwise played tricks on my 52-year-old eyes, or perhaps I'm just Rube Waddell ever vigilant for fire engines, but it dials me in and gives me that Billy Chapel, "clear the mechanism" feeling... I've really enjoyed it, and haven't noticed it affecting anything adversely.

Being able to tamp down the PCI sensitivity a bit is a nice touch, as well as being able to set the "mirror effect" adjustment for the PCI anchor to match pitcher handedness, as I like it a touch up, and a bit off-center toward the pitcher's release point.

I do really like the new UI, overall; it just makes more sense to me... static sliders top and bottom, content in the middle. Neat and tidy. It was painfully slow at the get, as everyone knows, but now that it's in a better place, I'm liking it.

Terrapin Park. Love it.

• Negative

The most glaring problem, from my perspective, is the utter disregard of the strike zone. It was an issue last year (more so than I remember prior to that), and seems to have gotten worse this year; 50/50 doesn't even seem to elicit a strike call with consistency. I think that's just inexcusable... it's a pretty central part of the [censored] game, and hitting gets enough of a boost without squeezing the zone. Not sure why SDS seems to be cool with ignoring an actual rule when the fix seems like it would be pretty [censored] easy--and when MLB itself seems to be taking measures to be sure strikes are called correctly--but, here we are. Again.

Might just be me, but some of the player models seem to have taken a step back. Maybe some of the WBC and Spring Breakout players were just hastily put together, but seems to be a glut of extremely wide shouldered, small-headed men coming through the ranks. And can someone tell me what is happening with Rainiel Rodriguez's legs? Jesus Christ.

While I really enjoy Mini Seasons (and think the option to play 9 is great), the stat tracking is abhorrent. Just... wow. I'd love to go through a 28-game season with 9-inning games, but without stats? Tough sell.

@jisaksen2422_PSN, I tell you, it's tough sometimes; there are days I look at my 401K statement, and a little worry creeps in... am I still on track to hang it all up in 13 years? I think, man, if I could just pick up 1,000 bronze cards and strike gold with them... I'd have peace, security, and Ohtani.

But now what do I do?

This whole investing thing's really got me down... and I'm not just thinking of myself. I mean, think of all the people out there who will now never know the pure joy of 450 commons turning silver, and will never get to fully appreciate the life-changing possibilities that once came with every roster update. It really affects the entire benevolent investor class, who selflessly work to keep costs down for everyone who looks up to them, cheering them on, knowing in their hearts that the investors are really doing it for them.

But, hey... we just try to go on.

I hope you find your way through these terrible, terrible times.

Cheers, man.

@xero4019_XBL, seem to be working just fine out here. Just finished my first Ranked game of the day...

I hope youre enjoying your day as much as I am.

@AxiomEnigma_XBL, when did i say I dont get cards from playing or that I don't buy cards with stubs? Does that somehow make your argument work better, so you just ginned it up?

You act like you know what youre talking about, but, as is often the case, the odd, inverse relationship between confidence and competence finds sunshine when callow gabblers like you attempt to provide supporting details.

Please, do enlighten all of us on your "75% pay cut" theory, and show your work so middlings like me can follow your superior intellect. Also, do talk a bit more about how we should all be thinking about prices in terms of gold cards... I'm especially interested in that, considering I don't hoard resources and rely on dumping gold cards to buy others.

By playing the game, I come across diamonds; I keep the ones I want to use, sell the ones I don't, and only collect cards when I actually want to use the collection reward (the only LS collection reward I'd like is Figgins, and I'm not wasting stubs on Raleigh when there will be a higher Figgins later).

Right now, after buying the game and paying an extra $50 off the bat to seed as I always do, I have the cards I want to play with, I've collected 90 WBC cards (and thats where I'll stop because I don't want the rest), and I'm sitting on about 200K stubs.

How does this pay cut work, again? I seem to have screwed that up and have been coming across stubs just fine despite SDS ruining the market by shutting down resource hoarding tw@ts like you.

@xero4019_XBL said:

@The_Joneser_PSN how’s it going this morning lmfao

@xero4019_XBL, good morning, little guy!

It's another beautiful, sunny day in California's Bay Area... enjoying a cup of coffee and just played a Conquest game while one of the cats slept next to my monitor. My wife will be up soon, and she's got some new content in SWtoR she's been looking forward to playing, so we'll be doing a little gaming before going with my daughter to see her girlfriend perform in a matinee of her high school play.

Really looking to be a nice one. Might even be cool enough this evening to hop in the hot tub.

How about you? How's the investing shaping up this year? I really hope it's a great year for you on that front because you really, really deserve it.

Oh! So... like... it will trickle down if things are made easier for the investor class?

That sounds great... it's a shame that I won't get to experience buying a bunch of those cards that have retained their value so well if I want to complete any collections down the road.

@xero4019_XBL said:

@The_Joneser_PSN they had provided four means. And they took one away.

Interesting... I don't recall the marketing behind the programs where you stock up on cards and then dump them by the hundreds when they progress to make boat loads of the same stubs the company sells for actual money. It may be possible that humans found a way to exploit the design of the market for their personal gain, despite SDS never having had the intention to provide a path based on investing.

I'll stick with three paths, there.

There was nothing shady, or lazy, or unethical about it. It was simply a way to play the game that was in front of us.

Didn't say it was any of those things. It wasn't expressly prohibited, so it was allowed. Now it isn't. Mostly because the company that pays its labor force to produce the game figured out it was losing money on that unintended path.

It has to do with taking away the way thousands of people played the game THEY DESIGNED.

They fixed the design flaw in their game that led to them losing money they could otherwise invest... I hope they consider paying for the rights to Tim Hudson or paying the team to ensure that pitches in the strike zone are called strikes.

You’re fine with it because you didn’t do it. That’s ok. But don’t sit there and pretend it’s what you wanted all along because “it was for lazy people.”

I didn't do it. And I'm pretty sure I already said that I was too lazy to do the work myself. It was for people who saw that opportunity while it existed, but now it doesn't.

I didn't want it all along because I didn't give it much of a thought, like most people who play this game. But now that it's being shoved in everyones' faces in multiple threads and venues, and I understand that resource hoarding never benefits the general population, I do want it now. I think it makes sense on multiple fronts.

And by the way, your precious game is completely broken. Market bots, cheating scripts, unplayable servers… have fun 🤮

I'm enjoying the game very much, so far. Thank you. You do the same.