all i ask

[jakepfeiffer]

all i ask for this year is better graphics, NEW ANOUNCERS, and better atmosphere. oh and please make the all star game right. i am a fan of the pitching controls. just make them a little better because if a pitcher has a sinker and a slider he only does a slider for some reason. (atleast i had that problem.) i like the swingstick a lot!!!! and one more thing. any mlb 2k game i swear always favors the yankees even if its obvious they suck right now!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[kcxiv]

I say better gameplay first. graphics 2nd.

[baseballboy6411]

Fix the gameplay then graphics then audio and then controls.

[FrenziedSokar]

I say better gameplay first. graphics 2nd.

I second that

[BigBlue922]

Tweak the pitching controls and get rid of the meatball. If you badly miss, it should be a pitch waaay out of the strike zone.

[kcxiv]

Tweak the pitching controls and get rid of the meatball. If you badly miss, it should be a pitch waaay out of the strike zone.

I dont mind say 2 out of 10 to be a meatball, but if you miss it it should be thrown out of the strike zone alot. It will make pitches be somewhat realistic. There wont be anymore 80 pitches through 8 innings. lol

[FrenziedSokar]

i think also if its a meatball pitch dont make all them fastball speed..if u have thrown a changeup for example still have it come at its same speed just have it lose it more direction than straight down the middle fastball

[derekjeter76]

any mlb 2k game i swear always favors the yankees even if its obvious they suck right now!!!!!!!!!!!!!
yes.... 89 wins when half your team is on the DL the whole year is really sucking. And boy are you going to have a fit when the Yanks get CC and A.J. Burnett and are ranked #1 in MLB 2K9. :D

[Draven]

There we're quite a few things I didn't like, the Wall Climb gets abused to much from what I remember.

[bxitalian]

everyone thinks yanks got cc easily but i dont think so iam a yankees fan and its obvious he dont wanna come here so its a 50-50 shot he comes here

[GhostRider]

All I ask is for REALISTIC CPU pitch counts

WALKS from this if you can be patient enough

CPU basestealing, hit & runs,etc

Ability to play against VIP in Franchise(not even sure if VIP opponent was in MLB2k8, I know it was in 2k7 and 2k6).....This should also allow the user to create multiple VIP profiles that match teams.This could produce what the user feels is realistic CPU play for each CPU team in things such as bullpen usage, etc, etc, etc

A pitching practice mode, batting practice mode

Obviously less meatballs down middle

Better postgame show with better camera angles on replays for this

Some kind of SUPERSTAR mode, and let me use any player I want(created or real) for this


A mode where I play as only the batters for both teams(whacky I know, but it sounds fun)

[Draven]

I go with gameplay & graphics first. The announcers aren't to bad, they just get annoying. Saying the same thing over and over.

[BigBlue922]

Probably too late for 2K9, but I wish that the catcher positioning during plays at the plate was improved. I hate that the catcher is 2 feet in front of the plate instead of straddling it during a play at the dish. The catcher is always having to reach back to slap a tag on the sliding runner.

Also, would be nice to see the catcher toss away the mask on popups around the plate.

BigBlue

[chad0034]

they need to go w/ a few things.
Franchise mode has been the same for a while.
New announcing or updated announcing is a must.
updated player pics/stadiums
new game mode (superstar like)
able to play whatever team you like in franchise mode (playing as teams you don't control)
make xbox live actually playable
atmosphere improvement
more emotional walk off animations
graphic improvement

theres more, but its already too late to include some of those into the game. they can obviously do some like the player pics/stadiums

[BIGZFOOT]

heheh, I really don't C.C. will play with the Yankees. I think he'll sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers. It's only 40 million lower or something :D.... But it's what he wants. And if Sabathia comes back to the American League, he will get slaughtered... Like he does in the postseason.

Why do you think he wants to stay in the NL and to the West? Because it's an easy division. The most games a team wins over there is like 84....

[derekjeter76]

heheh, I really don't C.C. will play with the Yankees. I think he'll sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
red sox fan in denial :D

[Draven]

I agree, a new game mode would be great.

[sleepytercel]

The point of the meatball is to have no advantage for the pitcher if he missed his control. When you play enough and get the controls down, there shouldn't even be more than one meatball a game. I've went through many games where I have never thrown a meatball. However, if it was just a throw outside the strike zone, do you think that is enough penalty on the pitcher? Especially if you only maybe throw one per game? I don't think so. I don't have a problem with the meatball system, even if it is technically not realistic, but it's a good reward/penalty feature that rewards great pitching over bad. In that regards, it works really well. When I mess up a pitch, I'm like, "holy crap", and hope that it doesn't get hit out of the park. It creates a kind of panic that enhances the whole, "I just messed up" mood. I like the system, but maybe that's because I got used to it both online and offline. I know some people had a hard time adjusting online, so maybe it isn't the mechanical system that is the problem, but the need to adjust for the lag. Work on those servers and its code. That may help the issue for most.

[jeffy777]

I'm fine with the meatball system in general, but it should be a bit more random in terms of location, to simulate the "wild" aspect of losing control. So sometimes down the middle would be ok, but not for every single meatball.

But yeah, the adjusting for lag that you mentioned is more of a problem and that is what needs to be a main priority for 2K to get right this year.

[steviebklyn]

ya fix da lag

[sleepytercel]

Maybe there could be different severity's of meatballs. If you mess up real bad, it can be left the same as it is, but if you mess up a little bit (which could happen more frequently), then the pitch could go outside the strike zone with some sort of mechanic to alert the batter. This could help raise the lack of balls and walks.

[yoyoyo812]

I just want this game to be like 2k9 but better updates and minor league i hope

[Draven]

I just want this game to be like 2k9 but better updates and minor league i hopeMinor league has always been a lack, it'd be cool to see that upgrade into a better way.

[Frek21]

Maybe there could be different severity's of meatballs. If you mess up real bad, it can be left the same as it is, but if you mess up a little bit (which could happen more frequently), then the pitch could go outside the strike zone with some sort of mechanic to alert the batter. This could help raise the lack of balls and walks.

I agree but if you mess up a curveball it should be a hanging curveball at curveball speed and not a fastball down the middle. Its details like this that drive me crazy with the baseball games that 2k has made.

[Tribe254812]

''Originally Posted by BIGZFOOT View Post
heheh, I really don't C.C. will play with the Yankees. I think he'll sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

red sox fan in denial :D

No, it sounds what like ESPN is reporting.....Since CC isn't really telling anyone what hes thinking, theres just speculation. If i was CC..would the extra money be worth it and having to put his kids through that school system and have to live in NY? OR take less money and move back to my home town area since returning to Cleveland or the Brewers.

[derekjeter76]

''Originally Posted by BIGZFOOT View Post
heheh, I really don't C.C. will play with the Yankees. I think he'll sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers.



No, it sounds what like ESPN is reporting.....Since CC isn't really telling anyone what hes thinking, theres just speculation. If i was CC..would the extra money be worth it and having to put his kids through that school system and have to live in NY? OR take less money and move back to my home town area since returning to Cleveland or the Brewers.
that's what tons of people think, but if you would get millions and millions of more dollars to go somewhere else would you? Of course you would and if you say "no" your a liar. And he doesn't have to live in New York City or anything, he can have his family live in someplace like New Jersey if he wants and that's still close to Yankee Stadium.

[BRONX]

CC will prob sign with the angels lol.

[chad0034]

i think he'll come back to Milwaukee. At least, thats what i hope he does.

[Frek21]

Come on guys. Everyone knows CC is coming to Atlanta.

[Nal93]

To get back on topic there need to be

1.Less homeruns robbed
2.Ranked lobbies
3.No lag online
4.Quicker roster updates (once every 2 weeks)
5.More realistic stats in franchise (simulation)
6.More realistic trades like players with a year one there contract left get traded be4 deadline
7.Last in a clutch spot it should slow down like bases loaded in 9th 2outs 5-3 game it should effect hitter as well pitcher (it kinda does already wit pitcher)

[SoxFan01605]

I honestly can't believe people are good with the meatball system. It's not realistic at all and needs to go. The majority of ptichers don't get punished with HR's every time they miss (and get this: the majority miss quite a bit, actually). They get punished with a variety of hits and of course walks. Instead of meatballs it should have the pitch miss it's spot and/or lose effectiveness. If you miss with a fastball, it's still fast. You get punished by either missing the zone or by leaving it up (allowing for a greater chance of gving up a hard hit). Breaking stuff can "hang" or come out flat, etc.

There is just way too much that goes into the pitcher batter matchup in terms of risk/reward and the like. Why use a gimmick system to represent (poorly) the outcome. Instead, make the little things in the pitcher/batter matchup count, like tendencies, location, zones, speed, break, contact, power, etc, etc. It sounds like a lot but if the ratings and scouting features of the game are right, it shouldn't be hard at all. The controls aren't the problem as much as the way the results are measured.

There should not be a "meatball" system in a baseball simulation.

[SoxFan01605]

I agree but if you mess up a curveball it should be a hanging curveball at curveball speed and not a fastball down the middle. Its details like this that drive me crazy with the baseball games that 2k has made.

Agreed completely.

[sleepytercel]

I honestly can't believe people are good with the meatball system. It's not realistic at all and needs to go. The majority of ptichers don't get punished with HR's every time they miss (and get this: the majority miss quite a bit, actually). They get punished with a variety of hits and of course walks. Instead of meatballs it should have the pitch miss it's spot and/or lose effectiveness. If you miss with a fastball, it's still fast. You get punished by either missing the zone or by leaving it up (allowing for a greater chance of gving up a hard hit). Breaking stuff can "hang" or come out flat, etc.

There is just way too much that goes into the pitcher batter matchup in terms of risk/reward and the like. Why use a gimmick system to represent (poorly) the outcome. Instead, make the little things in the pitcher/batter matchup count, like tendencies, location, zones, speed, break, contact, power, etc, etc. It sounds like a lot but if the ratings and scouting features of the game are right, it shouldn't be hard at all. The controls aren't the problem as much as the way the results are measured.

There should not be a "meatball" system in a baseball simulation.

So what should be the punishment if you can't throw correctly? A ball? A simple ball? Is that enough. I mean, I throw only about 1 meatball out of every three games, so I don't think that is a big enough punishment IMO. I like it as a videogame mechanic.

Anyways, I look at it like this. If you mess up the gesture, then it's almost like you don't know how to throw the pitch you are trying to throw. While a real pitcher wouldn't be like that, we are the ones controlling the professional. We have to know how to throw that pitch. There is plenty of lee way in missing. Meatballs are if you miss greatly. If you mess the gesture up a little, the ball will miss left/right in how you miss the gesture. If you miss the timing on the release a bit, the ball will miss up or down from the location chosen. Meatballs only happen if you miss greatly, and I like this punishment system. There needs to be one.

[BigH2k]

So what should be the punishment if you can't throw correctly? A ball? A simple ball? Is that enough. I mean, I throw only about 1 meatball out of every three games, so I don't think that is a big enough punishment IMO. I like it as a videogame mechanic.

Anyways, I look at it like this. If you mess up the gesture, then it's almost like you don't know how to throw the pitch you are trying to throw. While a real pitcher wouldn't be like that, we are the ones controlling the professional. We have to know how to throw that pitch. There is plenty of lee way in missing. Meatballs are if you miss greatly. If you mess the gesture up a little, the ball will miss left/right in how you miss the gesture. If you miss the timing on the release a bit, the ball will miss up or down from the location chosen. Meatballs only happen if you miss greatly, and I like this punishment system. There needs to be one.

Sleepy, I agree with you to a certain extent about the punishment side of a totally missed pitch. But a meatball should remain the pitch that it was originaly. A curveball should remain a curveball and not magically transform into a fastball. I don't necessarily have a problem with the meatball down the middle as long as it remains the pitch that was selected. So a meatball curveball could be a hanging curball that goes down the middle.

[sleepytercel]

Sleepy, I agree with you to a certain extent about the punishment side of a totally missed pitch. But a meatball should remain the pitch that it was originaly. A curveball should remain a curveball and not magically transform into a fastball. I don't necessarily have a problem with the meatball down the middle as long as it remains the pitch that was selected. So a meatball curveball could be a hanging curball that goes down the middle.

It does remain a curveball unless you completely screw up the gesture. When you do this, it's basically saying you didn't throw the pitch correctly, and so, you don't throw that pitch. I think the meatball should completely be based on the gesture and not the release timing too. A bad release timing shouldn't be a meatball in that way since you still threw the curveball gesture correctly. In that part, I agree. However, based on the gesture, if you mess that up, then I'm fine for it being a fastball, since the gesture didn't equate to the pitch you wanted to throw. That makes sense to me.

[BigH2k]

It does remain a curveball unless you completely screw up the gesture. When you do this, it's basically saying you didn't throw the pitch correctly, and so, you don't throw that pitch. I think the meatball should completely be based on the gesture and not the release timing too. A bad release timing shouldn't be a meatball in that way since you still threw the curveball gesture correctly. In that part, I agree. However, based on the gesture, if you mess that up, then I'm fine for it being a fastball, since the gesture didn't equate to the pitch you wanted to throw. That makes sense to me.

Ah...OK. That makes more sense. So instead, if you make the correct right stick movement and miss the timing at the end, it would be a very poor accuracy pitch but remain the pitch chosen. I see where you're getting at.

I agree with some of your earlier posts as well that there should be certain punishment for completely screwing up the pitch. It makes me go "uh-oh..." every time I throw a meatball with 2k8 and I enjoy that feeling as well and not knowing whether the batter will whiff , knock it out of the park or something else :D

[BigH2k]

I also think that if the CPU throws a meatball, there should be some advanced tip to let the user know. That would even the field out. The way they implemented the batters eye in 2k8, there was not enough time to identify the pitch if it was a meatball. Maybe it is just me that sucks :D

In that aspect, I think that 2k7 did things better. This should only apply in the case of meatballs.

[SoxFan01605]

So what should be the punishment if you can't throw correctly? A ball? A simple ball? Is that enough. I mean, I throw only about 1 meatball out of every three games, so I don't think that is a big enough punishment IMO. I like it as a videogame mechanic.

Anyways, I look at it like this. If you mess up the gesture, then it's almost like you don't know how to throw the pitch you are trying to throw. While a real pitcher wouldn't be like that, we are the ones controlling the professional. We have to know how to throw that pitch. There is plenty of lee way in missing. Meatballs are if you miss greatly. If you mess the gesture up a little, the ball will miss left/right in how you miss the gesture. If you miss the timing on the release a bit, the ball will miss up or down from the location chosen. Meatballs only happen if you miss greatly, and I like this punishment system. There needs to be one.

lol...You're speaking to my point though. If the game plays realistic baseball, then you don't need gimmicks to punish players. I'm not looking for "leeway" or no punishment. I just want it to be realistic. A chance for a wild pitch, hit batter, too many balls, etc. This would include hanging pitches, balls left up, etc. It's not manufactured...it's the negative outcome of making a poor pitch. If it's done correctly, you don't need generated punishment.

The pitching system is very flawed and has been for years. It's not the controls, it's the system they control. I hope when VC mentioned a new pitching system, that is what they're talking about. The controls may need tuning, but the overall system needs a lot of work. This is just a concern of mine. I've seen plenty of games (including this series) that focus on patchwork fixes or gimmicks to solve problems, rather than actually addressing the real problem. This is what the meatball is to me. You don't need to generate "punishment". A realistic pitching system would do just fine. What you don't seem to understand with what I'm saying is that a "meatball" type result would be inclusive anyway (A pitch left up, a hanger, etc). I just don't want it to be the only
punishment.

[sleepytercel]

That's your opinion, but meatball (mess up pitches) don't happen frequently enough. I like a punishment system. I think they should make it harder to hit your spots though, and in that, I think it's still way too easy to hit your marks. The meatball system isn't really the issue on this. That's why I said that they could keep it for messed up getures, since it is technically saying that you don't know how to throw that pitch properly so it doesn't register so. However, the release timing should not involve meatballs (in 2K8, it does) and should allow more "wild pitches" or pitches that don't hit the mark to increase the balls/errors thrown.

[SoxFan01605]

That's your opinion, but meatball (mess up pitches) don't happen frequently enough. I like a punishment system. I think they should make it harder to hit your spots though, and in that, I think it's still way too easy to hit your marks. The meatball system isn't really the issue on this. That's why I said that they could keep it for messed up getures, since it is technically saying that you don't know how to throw that pitch properly so it doesn't register so. However, the release timing should not involve meatballs (in 2K8, it does) and should allow more "wild pitches" or pitches that don't hit the mark to increase the balls/errors thrown.

Most of this I agree with. That's what I meant about the pitching system itself. It's not deep enough. Too pinpoint as is, and the meatballs are the only way you really get punished for not pitching well. I think we probably agree overall on the actual functionality of pitching. I'd be okay with them leaving the meatball in for puishment for incorrect gestures, I suppose.

I'm still against it and would prefer they just didn't register the pitch at all, rather than having you lob one down the pipe. It just screams "ARCADE" to me. I can live with that aspect of it though, if they fix the rest of the system.

[jeffy777]

However, the release timing should not involve meatballs (in 2K8, it does) and should allow more "wild pitches" or pitches that don't hit the mark to increase the balls/errors thrown.

^^^ Important part bolded for emphasis :)

With the way the game is now, it's almost impossible to walk someone (even with the pitching difficulty all the way up), unless you just aren't trying. They need to make it require more skill to hit your spots, and the result should not be a fast ball right down the middle when you mess up, but a wild pitch (in the worst case) that may or may not hit the zone depending on the pitch type, speed, location you were trying to hit, etc.

[chad0034]

i think the ball should never be 100% accurate. Even if you get perfect on the pitching (right stick) the ball should still go somewhere close, but not right there. Its always to easy to pin point where you want the ball to go. The meatball situation, in my opinion should be completely random, and they shouldn't hit a homerun every single time. Im fine with it being down the middle, as long as they dont smash it out on every one. Id like to see more line drives right down the baseline for a 2B, or a nice rip 1B, or even a 3B, and occasionally a homerun.

Im fine if they hit homeruns on bad pitches, hell they should be able to hit them on good pitches too sometimes, just even the dingers out. Only about 1.5 homers a game for each team i'd say... if that.

[The Living Legend]

Alot of people in this post got it right. This development team really needs to make a great game of baseball first and worry about everything later. Like great mocap for fielding animations and throwing, swinging. Also physics for hitting the ball and a steady FPS for the game. Once they got that down work on everything else. If they dont get the core of what i said down this game will be a mess no matter how great it looks or sound nobody will play more then a week.