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Offical MLB Power Pros Thread of Super-Deformed Awesome

AniHawk

Member
Thanks GAF hype. It's been a long time since I've had fun with a baseball game. (the only ones I've ever owned before this were Mike Piazza's Strikezone, All-Star Baseball 2000, and Home Run King. So I've batted .333). Kiddy presentation's not bad, but teeny-tiny text is. Had a blast losing in success mode. He will make it to the majors yet!!
 

SickBoy

Member
Anyone playing in season mode? And if so, do you have any tips re: practice?

I was all excited when that chick said "If you don't know WTF you're doing, just choose automatic." I'm like, great, that's the option for me.

But it seems like even under automatic there's all sorts of crap you've got to do... am I missing something? In the end I just played a game because that's really what I wanted to do, but I don't want to neglect my team and have it turn to crap...
 
SickBoy said:
Anyone playing in season mode? And if so, do you have any tips re: practice?

I was all excited when that chick said "If you don't know WTF you're doing, just choose automatic." I'm like, great, that's the option for me.

But it seems like even under automatic there's all sorts of crap you've got to do... am I missing something? In the end I just played a game because that's really what I wanted to do, but I don't want to neglect my team and have it turn to crap...
Unfortunately the practice mode is REALLY annoying. You have you match up certain players together so they can learn potential new skills. Goto automatic and put a player and match up the skill one guy excels in and one guy you want to learn from him, such as using Tom Glavine to teach Oliver Perez control, or Carlos Beltran to teach Lastings Milledge (and they butchered his name too) some power. It's way too tedious and makes me yearn for MLB 07.

Actually I'm suprised at how many people are saying it's BETTER than MLB 07, which smacks of blasphemy. Too many errors and omissions to dethrone the game w/ David Wright on it.
 

hobart

Member
Anyone who understands practice a bit better would be a WELCOME addition to the thread. I'm fooling around with it... and it looks like they are learning certain skills.... slowly... but... I'm just not sure.

Also... what, specifically, makes the difficulty rise? I just scored 23 runs in 4 innings... I need a little boost I think ;)
 

XiaNaphryz

LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
Apple Jax said:
Anyone who understands practice a bit better would be a WELCOME addition to the thread. I'm fooling around with it... and it looks like they are learning certain skills.... slowly... but... I'm just not sure.

Also... what, specifically, makes the difficulty rise? I just scored 23 runs in 4 innings... I need a little boost I think ;)
In the in-game options menu there's CPU difficulty settings for different areas (pitching, batting, fielding, etc). For season mode though, I think you have to set those when you start a season (via the Normal mode setup options), not sure if those can be set in-game or not, and supposedly you can only change overall difficulty settings in the offseason.
 

jman2050

Member
Apple Jax said:
Anyone who understands practice a bit better would be a WELCOME addition to the thread. I'm fooling around with it... and it looks like they are learning certain skills.... slowly... but... I'm just not sure.

Also... what, specifically, makes the difficulty rise? I just scored 23 runs in 4 innings... I need a little boost I think ;)

Having read about it and messed with it A LOT lately, these are some general things I've found out.

- The skills will develop very slowly, but you WILL notice a difference in their experience levels over time. Since I've been simming my seasons rather than directly playing the game, I can't vouch for how much small improvements would help a particular pitcher or hitter.

- After every game, simmed or not, you can check on every player's progress, by looking at which attributes have improved and deterioated. As I said, the day-by-day difference is usually pretty small (but not all the time; more on this in a bit), but you can see the level of improvement by looking for the yellow area of the experience bar. A player who has 'leveled up' will make a sound when you scroll to their name, along with the improved attribute flashing. Don't forget that players also change their attributes merely by playing in games, so don't be surprised to see multiple stats increase slightly for a lineup regular, or even decrease in a few areas when he has a bad day ;)

- In addition, you can press a button combination (c+dpad up in wiimote/nunchuk style) to see a complete list of all improved players for that day. HOWEVER, players only appear on the list if they improve absolute stats (like trajectory, top speed, and the level of a breaking pitch), or improve the letter grade of one of their normal attributes (e.g. going from C to B power). If they simply improve the numerical rating of a graded stat without actually changing the grade, they won't appear on this list. Also note that simming multiple days via the schedule command will not let you directly see progress day-by-day, although assuming the option is enabled, it will tell you after each day whether a player has improved, although they never do specify which player. Fortunately, you can always check a player's overall experience by going to the player list->experience option in the main menu.

- From what I've noticed, you definitely want to focus on the contact attribute for your hitters, while focusing on either control or improving a specific breaking pitch for your pitchers. Don't neglect top speed either, especially for newly drafted players, as 85 mph fastballs likely won't cut it unless you have the control of Greg Maddux. Stamina shouldn't be a concern unless you're trying to groom a starter, and even then, it doesn't need to be extremely high if you have the control and stuff to make up for it. Also, this is easy to forget, but please try to improve defensive attributes if neccesary. They don't all need to be As or Bs obviously, but as you might have noticed in success mode, middle infielders with terrible arm strength won't turn double plays often, even on David Ortiz types, outfielders with terrible fielding and running speed won't be able to reach those bloop fly balls, and catchers with terrible arm strength are going to get eaten alive by the Reyes/Ichiro types. Don't forget this.

- Keep in mind the different scales for different attributes. Stats like contact and run speed go on a linear 0-15 scale, so it's faster to progress those. Power, control, and stamina need to reach into the mid-to-high 100s to be considered good, and progress much more slowly. Fortunately, there is a way to compensate for this...

- With your excess salary points, buy practice equipment from the shop. The low level items might not seem to make too much difference, but they do help. The high level items however are EXTREMELY effective, and well worth the 50000 points needed to buy them if you decide to focus on one area of training. Though the day-by-day improvement might not seem like much, it adds up significantly over the 7 months the season lasts (playoffs included). These items especially come in handy for the power, stamina, and control stats, since those improve very slowly. For everything else, the lower level items should suffice.

- One major caveat: These items aren't permanent. They eventually become unusable with repeated use, so expect to only gain its benefits for a season at most before having to rebuy it. Of course, as you might've gathered from what your secretary told you at the start of your season, there is one other major factor to consider...

- Friendship: You may notice that you have the chance to group multiple players together in a practice routine, with the ability to see how much the players like each other. It seems rather pointless at first, but rest assured: player friendship is one of, if not THE most important aspect of practice mode. Period. Why is this? Building your player ratings is important, but as you should know by now, the ratings do not completely define the player. A player's learned techniques combined with their ratings, however, does. That is the purpose of the 'Techniques' training section in the practice menu. In there, any player could learn how to become a power a hitter, a contact hitter, a tough out, an intimidator, a gold glover, along with a lot of other things... or so you would think. The fact of the matter is that if you try to put Jose Reyes in technique training on his own to learn how to be a power hitter, you're going to become frustrated as the experience bar continues to fill and reset itself while the 'improved players' dialog politely tells you each time that Reyes failed to become a power hitter. So what's the deal?

Reyes can't learn to become a power hitter on his own. He CAN, however, learn it from someone else... if they're willing to teach it to him. See where I'm going with this? By developing close friendships between players, they develop trust in each other, which in turn allows them to teach each other their most valuable skills. Want Reyes to be a power hitter? Have him practice in a group with Jason Giambi and become friends with him. Then group them together in technique training. Perhaps Giambi would be willing to tell him the secret to hitting all those home runs, while Reyes would tell him the secret to being an effective base stealer (yes, I know you're LOLing, this is just an example). As you might've guess, this also helps in normal practice too, as friends tend to work much more effectively together, especially when one is training a weakness that happens to be the other's strength. As you can see, developing friendships between players will help greatly. The only problem is that only a few players can be grouped together in this fashion at a time overall, so you have to choose wisely which players you want to become friends. There is one more thing friendship helps with, but I need to cover the last bastion of practice mode first...

- Spring Training: Your first season starts right away, but in each subsequent season you first go through a month and a half of spring training. During this period, the game let's you sim on a week-by-week basis for the express purpose of training your characters. The major difference though, is that the improvement in each practiced category is substantially increased over what would occur in the season. Compounded with friendship and practice items, you can expect to see some sharp improvement from certain players. However, this isn't just a period of extended practice. Remember those 4 blacked out options in the practice menu that you've been wondering how to 'unlock'? Well, that's what spring training is for. During this six week period is the ONLY time during the year where you can directly convert to a new position, learn a new stance or windup, or have a pitcher learn a new breaking ball. Yep, with spring training, you can teach Pedro Martinez how to throw a knuckleball!

...Ha ha, you didn't think it'd be that easy, did you? Attempting to teach a new pitch straight out will almost definitely result in failure and valuable wasted spring training. I mean, it's kind of hard for a pitcher to learn something that he had no real experience with on his own, right? Of course, if someone were to TEACH him the new pitch... this is where friendship becomes vital also. Have Pedro Martinez make friends with Tim Wakefield in the season, and during spring training I'm sure Tim would be glad to teach Pedro the old knuckler. Maybe in return Pedro can teach Tim his great circle change! (more LOLs from you I presume)

That's all I can think of for now, and I can't guarantee that this information is 100% accurate, as I'm still learning from experience. But this should be helpful in planning how to distribute your players in practice. It's actually a really deep gameplay element, and honestly destroys any other player development system I've seen attempted. Road to the Show seems pedestrian by comparison.
 
Eh, you and I disagree. No surprise. I just think it's overly complicated in areas compared to other games I've played. Still a good game though...

I really hope next year they get many decent stat guy to track teams, as Jose Reyes don't need to learn power... he's on pace to hit 100 home runs for me. :lol
 

schuelma

Wastes hours checking old Famitsu software data, but that's why we love him.
8.0 from Gamespot


http://www.gamespot.com/wii/sports/...=6181201&part=rss&tag=gs_reviews&subj=6181201

"The PS2 version costs 10 dollars less, while the Wii version offers slightly quicker load times and lets you save your data to the system memory. Otherwise, both versions of the game look, sound, and play the same. Much ado has been made about the Wii version's support for the remote's motion-sensing capability, but it's really not that compelling of a feature since it's restricted to exhibition games and home run derbies. Simply put, get the game for whichever system you play the most. It's a fantastic choice for anyone in the market for a fun-loving alternative to all of the other hardball sims out there, and one that doesn't skimp on statistical and physical realism in its pursuit of goofiness. "
 

jman2050

Member
The Frankman said:
Eh, you and I disagree. No surprise. I just think it's overly complicated in areas compared to other games I've played. Still a good game though...

I really hope next year they get many decent stat guy to track teams, as Jose Reyes don't need to learn power... he's on pace to hit 100 home runs for me. :lol

Understandable. This kind of system is right up my alley, since it gives me a great degree of control without making it too easy. You can build a great ballclub, but you're gonna have to put some effort into it ;)

Have you tried tweaking the difficulty settings if you find the games themselves too easy? Do you have lock-on or normal batting on? You'd be surprised at how many easy home runs become routine pop flies without the benefit of lock-on, even a low level one :p
 
Has anyone figured out a practical way for reducing fatigue without having to resort sending a player down to AAA? Most of my starting lineup is over 70% fatigued, and the "Rest" option + benching for a game or two do not seem to be helping.

On a similar note, what other factors play into fatigue? Practice? Age? My back-up catcher (a not-that-old veteran) has only played in 3 games all season but his fatigue level is 50%. Seems unusual.
 

mosaic

go eat paint
I think the greatest thing about this game is that all of the sim/stat stuff is optional. If you just wanna smash some balls with goofy MLBers, you're all set. However, if you want to get into practice regimens and dive into a crazy amount of attributes and stats, they're right there for you to dig into. It's easy to hit the ball, and yet miniscule changes in the position of the bat and timing of the swing have a HUGE impact on where hits go (as it should be).

My complaints?: No online play, old ass rosters, no way to update rosters except by hand, dull presentation despite cute looks, worst play-by-play ever (see note below), no 480p support, no 480p support in Wii version!!, Wii offers nothing over PS3 except easy storage and lame limited waggle modes, both versions should cost $10 less.

No gameplay complaints though. Heck, the only thing that even remotely bugs me is that the fielders seem sluggish. But the game's overall speed in general seems a little slow, maybe because I'm used to easy double plays in the 2K/Show series.

Note: The only worse play-by-play I've heard in recent years was the absolute dead pan commentary provided by Dave Niehaus and Rick Rizzs in the baseball game that Nintendo was developing for the GameCube that was eventually cancelled (they had it playable at E3 2005).
 

XiaNaphryz

LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
OperationSports review - 9/10 (Wii)
Many avoided this game due to the look, and I was almost one of them. After a bunch of games and trying almost every game mode, I can say without a doubt, this is my favorite baseball game of the year. The Show is great, no question, but it takes about an hour to complete a game. I get into MLB Power Pros and whip through a game in 20 minutes. Sure, I don't have to warm up bullpen pitchers, but is it really that important? How annoying is it when you've forgotten to warm up a pitcher and then they come in cold? Come on, I know I'm not the only one to ever do that!

I know the forums may explode with those comments, but as I've gotten older, games have been more and more about fun. This game just combines the two - fun and realism. If you are a baseball fan, and you own a Wii (it's also on the PS2, but I have not played that version), this is a must own. If 2K Sports could figure out how to put all of the features and gameplay from this title to their flagship MLB2K series, then they would be gold. Until then, play MLB Power Pros and be happy.
 

XiaNaphryz

LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
Heh, if you reduce Gamerankings' minimum review threshold to 5, Power Pros is the 4th best game on the Wii behind TP, RE4, and MP3. Sounds about right to me... ;)
 
Ordered this from the TRU deal last week. I haven't bought a baseball game since the NES days... when they were still good. Can't wait.
 

Jammy

Banned
Do the players at least act like their real-life selves animation-wise? I'm just wondering (as a Tigers fan) if Sean Casey does a little leg-up thing before he bats, or if Maggs' hair is long and crazy in the game, too.
 

XiaNaphryz

LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
bluemax said:
Is the story in Success Mode always the same?
There's several different branches and variations, though certain key events seem to always be there. But it shouldn't be the same if you play differently each time.
 
The PS2 version of this game's $20 at Amazon right now, and eligible for free shipping if you add $5 more to your order. Use the "shop @ amazon" thingy above to find it; Amazon doesn't seem to want to give me a direct link that'll preserve GAF as the referrer.
 

sk3tch

Member
slidewinder said:
The PS2 version of this game's $20 at Amazon right now, and eligible for free shipping if you add $5 more to your order. Use the "shop @ amazon" thingy above to find it; Amazon doesn't seem to want to give me a direct link that'll preserve GAF as the referrer.

Yes, indeed! Sweet deal. I had been visiting the Power Pros PS2 page on Amazon the past couple of days...couldn't pull the trigger.

Today...very different. $19.99 for this gem? Yes, please. :)
 

Broktune

Banned
Good game. It has that Baseball Stars vibe going for it. Quick games, realistic results. A couple of things drive me crazy though:

The play by play guy is horrible. At first, it was kind of cute that he was mispronouncing names and his grammar was atrocious. After playing twenty or so games, you want him dead. About fifteen times a game you hit a foul ball or hit it right to a player for an out and he says "There's a base hit." Idiot.

Whomever decided that you cannot change the difficulty level of the season while it is in progress should be shot. I've had to restart the season twice because it's been too easy or too difficult. Usually, we get better at playing the game as the season goes along. I suggest setting the cpu to expert at the start. Unfortunately, there are two more levels above expert.

Other than that, the hitting and pitching are great. I love the selection of pitches and the hitting is very realistic.
 
Jammy said:
Do the players at least act like their real-life selves animation-wise? I'm just wondering (as a Tigers fan) if Sean Casey does a little leg-up thing before he bats, or if Maggs' hair is long and crazy in the game, too.

Oh yes. There are hundreds of batting stances. On the Red Sox alone, Youkillis, Ortiz, Ramirez, Lowell, Drew, and Varitek have personalized batting styles.
 

itxaka

Defeatist
damn! my import copy arrived last week. Yesterday i chipped my wii to play this game....NO COMPATIBLE!
DAMN!!!

Next, PS2 version. Luckyly my friend loan me a PS2 with import enabled whatever so i will finally play this game.

At lest i can order an JAP/NTSC SMG or SBMX instead of waiting until europe release.
 

jman2050

Member
We need more Power Pros loving!

So I started a new season with an expansion team so I can build my team from scratch. Well... yikes. These guys make the Devil Rays look like a playoff team and then some. On the bright side, I'm actually MAKING money/points this time around because my payroll is in the toilet :lol

Game is still awesome. Itching to make another success mode character, but my bro has to finish his playthrough first :(
 
Just got the game off Ebay for 30$ Wii version.
Popped it in and played it for 2 hours. Pretty fun.

5 comments/questions:

1) Is there any way to dive , slide or sprint (field or baserunning)

2) Is there any way to actually make the CPU harder? I know you can handicap yourself with Expert controls and removing the strike zone etc but I'm sick of these 1-0, 2-0 and 3-0 games.

3) The commentary is awful. Who the fuck is TONY Glaus?

4) Is Wii mote mode any good or worth trying out?

5) What's the deal with Practice in Season? Is it necessary? If not, how exactly do I make it go automatically? I Clicked Automatic.. is that it? Thanks.
 

schuelma

Wastes hours checking old Famitsu software data, but that's why we love him.
Just got it delivered today. Just played a few games so far. I can't hit to save my life. I've never cursor-hit before so its definitely an adjustment.

Also love the announcer who pronounces Brandon Inge -INGEEE
 
jman2050 said:
We need more Power Pros loving!

So I started a new season with an expansion team so I can build my team from scratch. Well... yikes. These guys make the Devil Rays look like a playoff team and then some. On the bright side, I'm actually MAKING money/points this time around because my payroll is in the toilet :lol(
... Wayne Huizenga?

Good game. It has that Baseball Stars vibe going for it. Quick games, realistic results. A couple of things drive me crazy though:
That comment makes Jim Thome cry.
 

schuelma

Wastes hours checking old Famitsu software data, but that's why we love him.
Just won my first game- down 8-0 and then my Tigers got hot.


Great game, now I'm starting to get a feel for it.
 

carlos

Member
just won the first game I've played, 3-2 braves over mariners (exhibition)

great game, but what I enjoy most is the quick pace; still not as fast as rbi baseball on the nes (due to the AI taking more pitches), but games lasting less than 20 minutes is a definite plus.
 
Has anyone playing Season Mode seen alternative uniforms yet? I've purchased all of them into the season but have yet to see a change. It's pretty lame when my Angels are playing at St. Louis or Cincinnati and all I see is red all over the place :/
 

Broktune

Banned
DevelopmentArrested said:
Just got the game off Ebay for 30$ Wii version.
Popped it in and played it for 2 hours. Pretty fun.

5 comments/questions:

1) Is there any way to dive , slide or sprint (field or baserunning)

2) Is there any way to actually make the CPU harder? I know you can handicap yourself with Expert controls and removing the strike zone etc but I'm sick of these 1-0, 2-0 and 3-0 games.

3) The commentary is awful. Who the fuck is TONY Glaus?

4) Is Wii mote mode any good or worth trying out?

5) What's the deal with Practice in Season? Is it necessary? If not, how exactly do I make it go automatically? I Clicked Automatic.. is that it? Thanks.

I know others can answer your questions better, but I'll give it a quick shot.

1. I have the ps2 version, yes you can dive for a ball. It's that same button I use for throwing. I don't think you can manually slide or sprint.

2. One of my biggest gripes with this game. You can change the computer's difficulty at the beginning of the season in the "options" panel. I chose allstar at first.....they hit everything, I went down to expert....a bit better but a tad too easy. There is no way to change this difficulty setting during the season. Horrible. I don't understand that.

3. Commentator is a fucking clown. Tony Glaus, that's funny. I have to hear him say Jonathan Papel "bone" every game.

4. nc

5. I believe practice is automatically assigned unless you specifically assign it to a player. If you highlight the player, you will see what the cpu has them practicing before you change it.

I have so many questions also (my copy didn't come with the instruction book! and they had no other copies). I'm greatfull for the informative posts in this thread.
 

XiaNaphryz

LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
DevelopmentArrested said:
2) Is there any way to actually make the CPU harder? I know you can handicap yourself with Expert controls and removing the strike zone etc but I'm sick of these 1-0, 2-0 and 3-0 games.
There's another options screen when playing in a game that you can alter difficulty. You can set different AI levels for batting, pitching, fielding, etc there.
 

AniHawk

Member
Finally led my Angels to the World Series, after a one-game playoff against the A's to enter the playoffs in general. Funny enough, it was against the Giants of all teams. So the great rematch of 2007 began, and it ended with a clean sweep. My character from success mode was rookie of the year.

One thing that bugs me: I got Erstad back on my team at the beginning of the season. This guy is only a center fielder for some reason. Not only did he play first base, but he's the ONLY baseball player in HISTORY to win a gold glove as an infielder and outfielder, but this distinction isn't made in the game at all. If there should be a dual position thing at all, it should be for him. So weird watching him fumble the ball so often at first base.
 
AniHawk said:
One thing that bugs me: I got Erstad back on my team at the beginning of the season. This guy is only a center fielder for some reason. Not only did he play first base, but he's the ONLY baseball player in HISTORY to win a gold glove as an infielder and outfielder, but this distinction isn't made in the game at all.

Konami understaffed those responsible of such things. Other little quirks that I've noticed include my star outfielder who is putting up MVP+Triple Crown numbers but isn't even listed under All-Star voting ;_;
 
AniHawk said:
One thing that bugs me: I got Erstad back on my team at the beginning of the season. This guy is only a center fielder for some reason. Not only did he play first base, but he's the ONLY baseball player in HISTORY to win a gold glove as an infielder and outfielder, but this distinction isn't made in the game at all. If there should be a dual position thing at all, it should be for him. So weird watching him fumble the ball so often at first base.

You can edit him to be a good first baseman, can't you? Or does that not work in career?
 

Petrae

Member
DevelopmentArrested said:
Is Wii mote mode any good or worth trying out?

I enjoy the Wiimote mode more than the baseball game found in Wii Sports. You can play a full nine-inning game here (with real teams, mind you), plus pitching is a little deeper as you can aim left or right with pitches to nibble corners or lead opposing batters outside.

The Home Run Derby is about the same as the one in Wii Sports, although there's a bit more realism with authentic stadium representation. To me, it was actually a bit easier to crush bombs than in Wii Sports, but that may be an individual difference and not an overall trend.
 
does the US version have Japanese teams too?

I have not purchased a game like this in years but this thread sold me. damn more money to burn

I'll try to get this very soon
 

XiaNaphryz

LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
Attack You said:
Can you create an entire team? I don't follow baseball closely enough to care about the stock teams.

Creating teams from scratch may take a while due to having to go through Success Mode a lot. Or you can use the Expansion option in Season mode to take control of a new team with generic scrubs.

Smiles and Cries said:
does the US version have Japanese teams too?

I have not purchased a game like this in years but this thread sold me. damn more money to burn

I'll try to get this very soon

No J-league teams.
 
XiaNaphryz said:
Creating teams from scratch may take a while due to having to go through Success Mode a lot. Or you can use the Expansion option in Season mode to take control of a new team with generic scrubs.

I guess that's good enough. How're the base attributes for the generic teams, or can they be adjusted?

Was pretty close to buying it an hour ago at K-Mart, but some bitch parked herself in Electronics and held the employee there hostage for over half an hour, trying to activate a cell phone. I left before that incident was resolved, Power Pro-less. :(
 

XiaNaphryz

LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
Gaming-Age review is up:

Gaming-Age - A- (Wii)
Getting past the presentation of MLB Power Pros is not easy. We've become accustomed to fairly realistic sports games. But we've also become numb to how poorly sports games represent the real thing. Power Pros is definitive proof that baseball can be recreated on a console. The game is fun, consistent, accurate and is, in every way, baseball. Over the course of nine innings and several seasons, it's clear that Konami knows baseball better than any other developer.
 
The game is great fun.
But I'm one month into a season and getting pretty bored.
I really hope MLB Power Pros 08 comes out. Can't wait for the new rosters, hopefully improved graphics and commentary.
 
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