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Official MLB '08: The Show(PS3,PSP,PS2) Thread

msdstc

Incredibly Naive
So I bought the game yesterday... been playing quite a bit, but I'm still having a bunch of trouble hitting. I have so much trouble holding off on pitches... and I'll go on streaks where I do good, but I almost feel like I'm lucky. Will I ever hit consistently?

Basically what I'm asking is it like madden? When you first take that step up to pro or all-pro it seems like you can't react fast enough... but eventually you're on all madden and rackin up the points. I just am wondering does it ever get to a point where you destroy the CPU on veteran and have to move it up? Or is this the type of game where the cpu always stays close (similar to rubber AI?)
 

Bulla564

Banned
msdstc said:
So I bought the game yesterday... been playing quite a bit, but I'm still having a bunch of trouble hitting. I have so much trouble holding off on pitches... and I'll go on streaks where I do good, but I almost feel like I'm lucky. Will I ever hit consistently?

Basically what I'm asking is it like madden? When you first take that step up to pro or all-pro it seems like you can't react fast enough... but eventually you're on all madden and rackin up the points. I just am wondering does it ever get to a point where you destroy the CPU on veteran and have to move it up? Or is this the type of game where the cpu always stays close (similar to rubber AI?)

It was hard for me to get used to it also, and what I did is I played exhibition games, Fast Play on, and skipping every other half-inning so I only bat. Without using Guess Pitch, I take pitches and follow them. After a few games like this, my hitting improved DRAMATICALLY.

I still chase some wild pitches, but much of the anxiety of batting is gone.
 

Mrbob

Member
templeusox said:
Sony can come tell me when they're read to provide passable online play. Until then, I'm not wasting my time with this shit.

No other aspect of MLB 08 appeals to you?

Road to the Show is easily the best add on mode added to any sports game. So addicting. It's the main course for this game.
 
I'm pretty satisfied I was just able to play a game with little lag against WasabiKing considering we're 3000 miles apart and I use magical cell phone tower internet.
 
Alex Anderson said:
I'm pretty satisfied I was just able to play a game with little lag against WasabiKing considering we're 3000 miles apart and I use magical cell phone tower internet.
ya, it was a good game (damn you small ball) and I was able to keep it close (yay roided out Jack Cust). The minor lag was a little annoying, and the auto-pitch to correct for the lag totally sucks, but otherwise, good game. Need to get used to playing a game other than RttS.
 

msdstc

Incredibly Naive
Bulla564 said:
It was hard for me to get used to it also, and what I did is I played exhibition games, Fast Play on, and skipping every other half-inning so I only bat. Without using Guess Pitch, I take pitches and follow them. After a few games like this, my hitting improved DRAMATICALLY.

I still chase some wild pitches, but much of the anxiety of batting is gone.

I didn't know you could skip innings... I kept looking for a batting practice sort of thing, but I'll definitely try this out. That's what I planned to do though is follow the pitches in batting practice with the little indicator, anyways off to practice some. Thanks a lot:D :D
 
I've been playing RttS with a third baseman in the Orioles organization. Still in AA, but there are a few things that bug me with the game.

-Clipping. An outfielder ran through the fence when he made a running catch on one of my hard line drives, but he didn't crash or run up the wall, just ran through it - but not Bo Jackson style, but more like Shadowcat.

-Outs and pitchcount when you are on base. A scoreboard, or small graphic in the corner would be nice.

-No "practice" modes. Having fielding/pitching practice would be nice, but batting practice is essential for a game like this and a newbie like myself.

I've found myself just playing on Rookie to get the timing down and using the "Guess Pitch" feature a lot. I found it was the only way I could come close to hitting consistently. I'll ramp up the difficulty if I start a franchise, but I'm having a lot of fun as it is.

The soundtrack to this game is amazing - almost every song is a triple A song and "Sweep the Leg" is brilliant. RttS is phenomenal and should be copied and improved on in every major sporting game. All of the fielding and pitching interfaces come very natural and work very well. The presentation is great, very slick, and I've yet to get even close to bored with the commentary.

What needs to happen for MLB 09? Online RttS.
 
Why do so many people quit during online play? It takes so much effort for me to just get one nine inning game in when people bail in the 2nd inning. I finished 1 out of 5 games tonight after:

-Bad connection, dude quit (fair enough)
-I went up 2-0 on two homers in the first, including the first pitch of the game, and he quit after he didn't score in the bottom of the inning.
-I went up 3-0 after two innings.
-I went up 6-1 after six innings.

The one game I finished the guy was trailing me 11-3 and he still finished. I'm psyched I still get the win when dudes quit, but it's frustrating when you play a fair game, don't do anything cheap (like that annoying fake bunting thing) and I don't use the best teams (I use the Cubs, Padres, and the Rays).

The worst is I had a guy lead 2-1 in the 8th, I went up 3-2 in the bottom of the 8th, and he still quit, even though he was only trailing one run and still had AB's.

Anyway, if anyone on here plays a fair, good game, add me as a buddy: thewhiteshadow

Thanks all, and let's play some ball.
 
rotaryspirit said:
The soundtrack to this game is amazing - almost every song is a triple A song and "Sweep the Leg" is brilliant.

I get giddy whenever I here that song. I made an awesome playlist of my own, but Sweep the Leg made the cut.

-Johnny
 
LJ11 said:
I'm in the same boat as Dez and Bob. One bad game that was dropped, some minor hiccups in a couple of games, and one terrible 7th inning.

I'm at about 20 online games. I've had two terrible ones, a couple laggy innings, and one dropped game. Most of these things happened in the same night, so I can't complain that much. It'd be great if it never happened, but I'd say it's running at about 75-80% for me.
 

MattNY

Member
msdstc said:
So I bought the game yesterday... been playing quite a bit, but I'm still having a bunch of trouble hitting. I have so much trouble holding off on pitches... and I'll go on streaks where I do good, but I almost feel like I'm lucky. Will I ever hit consistently?

Out of the box, I had those issues too. Hitting actually made me tense. The more tense I got, the more I was ready to pound on X before a pitch is even thrown. Right out of the gate, the pitcher was in control of the AB.

It sounds stupid, but I took a very basic approach before a pitch is even made. I let the ball come to me rather than vice versa. I keep that in mind, my hitting has improved a lot and it doesn't feel like luck.
 

kbear

Member
StewieGriffin78 said:
cheap (like that annoying fake bunting thing)
What is this? I played against a guy doing this last night. I couldn't figure out why he was doing it. Does the infield automatically move in when the batter shows bunt so that's why?

Also, what's with people bunting so often? They pick the Mets and always bunt with Reyes.

Online is cheese heaven
 
Mrbob said:
No other aspect of MLB 08 appeals to you?

Road to the Show is easily the best add on mode added to any sports game. So addicting. It's the main course for this game.
No, I love the non-online part of the game. And it seems I will be playing that for a good while until they do something about the lag.
 
kbear said:
What is this? I played against a guy doing this last night. I couldn't figure out why he was doing it. Does the infield automatically move in when the batter shows bunt so that's why?

Also, what's with people bunting so often? They pick the Mets and always bunt with Reyes.

Online is cheese heaven

I believe it brings the infield in, which makes it easier to poke a ball over the first or third baseman. It's more annoying than anything to watch the batter have bunting seizures every at bat. I'm like, really, this is fun for you?
 

captive

Joe Six-Pack: posting for the common man
I would like to stab whoever came up with the "strike this hitter out" challenge.
"There is no one out strike out the lead off hitter" "there are two men out strike out the hitter"

WTF WHY?!! im not a closer! Why do i get a failed challence if i still get the guy out on a popup or ground ball. But if i get the guy out on a "induce a ground ball challenge" i get a "positive result"

kittonwyangryface.gif
 

Nightz

Member
captive said:
I would like to stab whoever came up with the "strike this hitter out" challenge.
"There is no one out strike out the lead off hitter" "there are two men out strike out the hitter"

WTF WHY?!! im not a closer! Why do i get a failed challence if i still get the guy out on a popup or ground ball. But if i get the guy out on a "induce a ground ball challenge" i get a "positive result"

kittonwyangryface.gif
YES. That is my one major gripe as a starting pitcher in RTTS.
 
UGH. I was just playing some dude online and he's using Beckett. Every pitch he throws is a fastball down and away. In the same spot. Every time I hit it, it's a fucking groundball to an infielder. Loft on NONE of them, even when I'm positive they were in the strike zone. Infuriating as shit.
 

Big-E

Member
Alex Anderson said:
UGH. I was just playing some dude online and he's using Beckett. Every pitch he throws is a fastball down and away. In the same spot. Every time I hit it, it's a fucking groundball to an infielder. Loft on NONE of them, even when I'm positive they were in the strike zone. Infuriating as shit.

That sounds like the exact opposite I had in a game I played against a random. I was using Halladay throughout the entire game against the White Sox. The guy hit 4 homeruns against me all on spillters down and away outside of the strike zone. I am still kind of upset about it because there is no way you can take a splitter away and at the shins out.
 
Alex Anderson said:
UGH. I was just playing some dude online and he's using Beckett. Every pitch he throws is a fastball down and away. In the same spot. Every time I hit it, it's a fucking groundball to an infielder. Loft on NONE of them, even when I'm positive they were in the strike zone. Infuriating as shit.

People do the same thing with Brandon Webb's sinker. If he's throwing strikes, you should be able to hit those if you aim the left stick to the lower left or lower right. It might take some patience and timing, but you can probably take it to that guy.
 

Sol..

I am Wayne Brady.
Big-E said:
That sounds like the exact opposite I had in a game I played against a random. I was using Halladay throughout the entire game against the White Sox. The guy hit 4 homeruns against me all on spillters down and away outside of the strike zone. I am still kind of upset about it because there is no way you can take a splitter away and at the shins out.

Yo thats one of my biggest beefs with the game. The AI (and apparently other players) can smash balls off the plate as if they are straight down the middle. I love blasting a Randy Johnson-esqe slider low and away when i'm leading the count with two strikes. I get the bitch sliding way off the plate and the computer has no problem smashing it foul (most common result) or for some shady hit.
 

captive

Joe Six-Pack: posting for the common man
Big-E said:
That sounds like the exact opposite I had in a game I played against a random. I was using Halladay throughout the entire game against the White Sox. The guy hit 4 homeruns against me all on spillters down and away outside of the strike zone. I am still kind of upset about it because there is no way you can take a splitter away and at the shins out.
This is happening to me a lot on RTTS, my second best pitch is a splitter and i have given up a few home runs that were down and away and im just like ....
So your not alone there.

Alexander Anderson said:
UGH. I was just playing some dude online and he's using Beckett. Every pitch he throws is a fastball down and away. In the same spot. Every time I hit it, it's a fucking groundball to an infielder. Loft on NONE of them, even when I'm positive they were in the strike zone. Infuriating as shit.
Yup. If someone has minimal lag that doesnt cause their meter to go skip someone can and will throw there all game and it really sucks. There really is nothing you can do about it. Its cheap and not really realistic. I played someone like this, meanwhile i had enough lag to cause my meter to skip leaving some stuff up and or right down the middle, of course he went yard every time.
 

LJ11

Member
BigE, I've tried adding you so we can get some games in but because your name is 4 characters long, it won't let me. Same will probably hold true if you try and add me.
 

Kintaro

Worships the porcelain goddess
Sol.. said:
Yo thats one of my biggest beefs with the game. The AI (and apparently other players) can smash balls off the plate as if they are straight down the middle. I love blasting a Randy Johnson-esqe slider low and away when i'm leading the count with two strikes. I get the bitch sliding way off the plate and the computer has no problem smashing it foul (most common result) or for some shady hit.

I admit, I haven't taken the game online to play yet, but I've hit a good number of homers on pitches that was outside of the zone on sliders, sinkers, and so forth. I've stood up there fouling off many pitches out of the zone too.

I'm not really seeing a huge problem here.
 
Kintaro said:
I admit, I haven't taken the game online to play yet, but I've hit a good number of homers on pitches that was outside of the zone on sliders, sinkers, and so forth. I've stood up there fouling off many pitches out of the zone too.

I'm not really seeing a huge problem here.

I'd have to agree. If you guess slider low and away, but it still catches a corner of the plate, it seems reasonable to me to knock it out of the park, especially given the movement of a slider (moves right into the head of the bat when coming in).
 

cj2121

Member
Only played one online game so far but it went fairly well.

There was some lag but it didn't hinder the game (there was one pitch in the 7th inning that took forever, I thought the game froze.). Other then that everything went well. The person I was playing wasn't very good. I won 3 - 0 and had Halladay pitch a complete game shutout with 16 strikeouts. He started the game with Wang then brought in Pettitte in the 5th, I was only up by two though so it didn't make much sense. I don't play very often online (I play more RTTS mode), but it was fun I'll be playing more of it in the future.

Game Stats
 

Big-E

Member
LJ11 said:
BigE, I've tried adding you so we can get some games in but because your name is 4 characters long, it won't let me. Same will probably hold true if you try and add me.

Ya I tried to add you and it kept saying you don't exist. Is there going to be a fix to this?
 
No technical issues but...

Doing road to the show as a starting pitcher...

I keep getting goals to train random non-pitcher related things like bunting. I refuse to waste my points on non pitching attributes. Result? Get my progress slowed.

Also they do things like..

"Pitch at least 17.2 innings.."
"Don't get more than 26 hits on you."

By the time frame is all off, and I end up in the time frame pitching 35 innings and getting 30 hits on me. The hits would be reasonable if they upped it based on how many innings I pitched. I'd either have to start pitching near perfect games on command or keep beaning batters until they took me out.
 

LJ11

Member
Big-E said:
Ya I tried to add you and it kept saying you don't exist. Is there going to be a fix to this?

Not sure, it's a legacy problem. The PS2/PSP usernames are 5 characters min, and I guess it's affecting the PS3 version as well. Hopefully they fix it in the near future. In the mean time just send a message on PSN whenever you want to play, and we'll get a game in through the lobby system.
 

Agent Icebeezy

Welcome beautful toddler, Madison Elizabeth, to the horde!
I'm purposely not doing my goals because I don't want to get promoted yet. I want to build up my person in Road to the Show before I advance. As far as overall rating, I'm the best on my AA team, but I'm a fucking backup :lol I've been slumping the whole month of June. This game is fuck awesome though. I'm a LF in the Yankees organization.
 
LJ11 said:
Not sure, it's a legacy problem. The PS2/PSP usernames are 5 characters min, and I guess it's affecting the PS3 version as well. Hopefully they fix it in the near future. In the mean time just send a message on PSN whenever you want to play, and we'll get a game in through the lobby system.

Weird bug. I assume once you're in the same lobby you'll be able to just click the name and add it that way though.

I love SD Studio but they need to get on the ball with the online/community stuff. A 1st party game that doesn't at least import your PSN friends list is kinda inexcusable at this point. Something tells me their Home support is gonna be a bit underwhelming.
 

cj2121

Member
Agent Icebeezy said:
I'm purposely not doing my goals because I don't want to get promoted yet. I want to build up my person in Road to the Show before I advance. As far as overall rating, I'm the best on my AA team, but I'm a fucking backup :lol I've been slumping the whole month of June. This game is fuck awesome though. I'm a LF in the Yankees organization.
In RTTS I started as a starting pitcher for the Mariners and was doing well, but a couple of days before the all star break (AAA) I had not completely finished one of my goals and they traded me! I went to the Rangers and started to go on a huge slump (above 5 ERA.).

On a completely different note, I just say an awesome cut scene, I gave up a lead off triple and during the cut scene my third Baseman comes to talk to the starting pitcher (I thought it was a little odd considering the ball was hit to right). So as the third baseman is walking back to the bag the runner (who was off the bag) runs back because the third Baseman was trying the hidden ball trick. I'd never seen that one before and thought it was funny.
 
Ok, after three tries of popping this damn game in I STILL can't get anywhere past the PRESS START screen. Who the fuck designed this mess?

The system completely FREEZES for some fucked up reason.
 

captive

Joe Six-Pack: posting for the common man
WasabiKing said:
Anyone find Hideo Kojima in-game? ;)
Theres a Kobashi(sp?) same pronunciation of the hot dog eater guy in AA. I chalked it up to coincidence.
 
captive said:
Theres a Kobashi(sp?) same pronunciation of the hot dog eater guy in AA. I chalked it up to coincidence.
Could be the same guy.

check the AAA the Lehigh Valley Ironpigs and look at their Left Fielder in RttS
 
Ok... this JUST happened... I still have it in my replay...

It's my first AAA game, I'm pitching against the Red Wings... they get a fly ball... the center and right fielder converge as it slowly drops...

They stand still and let it hit the ground. The center fielder doesn't move. The right fielder walks towards it slowly then turns around and runs away. The freaking CATCHER runs all the way out, scoops it up and then it ends as the guy batting gets an in the part home run... I just stare dumbstruck while this is going on.
 

Bulla564

Banned
Just got 250+ points in one game.

No guess pitch, and I got 2 HRs and 2 triples, 6 RBIs, a few stolen bases, and points for a 25 game hitting streak.

Holy shit was that an exciting game. I also made a diving catch at 2nd (which I rewatched about 20 times) and a nice sliding animation to get a grounder.

I'm in my first season, and all I have focused on has been power and contact. By the time I reach the majors, I'll have A contact.
 
So after completely disabling my onlie it works...

After playing a quick game between the Pirate and my Tribe all I have to say is WOW.

I've never felt so involved in a videogame in my life. It felt real fluid and natural, like I was in control of everything and only had myself to blame for fielding and pitching mistakes.

The way the umps can be a bit "liberal" with the strike zone can be annoying, but realistic. Even the anouncers call them out for it.

I'm REALLY impressed.
 

Mrbob

Member
There might be a collision detection issue with this game unfortunately. :x

I played an online game tonight and gave up two phantom runs at home plate. Both times runner was at 3rd with one out. I had the infield in. The ball was rocketed on the ground to my infielder, I threw the ball home and tagged out the runner with a step to spare on both occasions. However the ump called him safe both times.
 

Big-E

Member
Mrbob said:
There might be a collision detection issue with this game unfortunately. :x

I played an online game tonight and gave up two phantom runs at home plate. Both times runner was at 3rd with one out. I had the infield in. The ball was rocketed on the ground to my infielder, I threw the ball home and tagged out the runner with a step to spare on both occasions. However the ump called him safe both times.

Could it be some sort of lag? In a console game I played when I threw a fastball low in the strike zone the commentator would say it was in the dirt when the image showed that it wasn't. The ball was clearly in the strike zone yet it was called a ball. This only happened once but it was annoying.
 

Afrikan

Member
after not playing for a week, I just got my ass handed to me by WALKOFFWIN.....
9-2...... He was the Brewers, I was the Astros.....

Rieke Weeks 2-4...2hr...5rbi

I think I'll play some COD4 now.. :(
 

lionelhutz

Member
I picked this up a few days ago and last night finally sat down to play an online game against a friend. Overall, I'm pretty impressed so far. There was some lag during gameplay immediately after a hit but nothing that made the game unplayable (like '07). There is still room for improvement but I'll be patient and hope it's fixed shortly.

I'm not completely familiar w/ all the controls yet but it seemed like a few groundballs left the infield that shouldn't have and a throw went to the wrong base. I did see players clip if they were standing next to the same base but it only happened a few times.

A few things I did notice. Why is the pitch meter not available if someone guesses the pitch/location? Also, does anyone have tips on hitting? I had '07 and was never very good. I can never seem to judge the location of the ball very well (aka I swing at everything).

I thought the stadiums looked pretty good too and the animations are amazing. Aside from gameplay I think it really makes the game. Like I said, only spent a couple hours last night on it but overall I think it's a sweet game. The presentation is good and from the menus it looks like there is a lot to this game. I hope to start RttS or a season this weekend.

Oh, if you have any pointers let's hear 'em.
 
This is weird. I am playing as a closer on RTTS (this is so much fun) and I have my 4SFB velocity maxed and I still only throw a max of 92 mph with most of them being 88 and 89. This is just weird. Anyone else having this problem?
 

lionelhutz

Member
cjtiger300 said:
This is weird. I am playing as a closer on RTTS (this is so much fun) and I have my 4SFB velocity maxed and I still only throw a max of 92 mph with most of them being 88 and 89. This is just weird. Anyone else having this problem?

What are the physical characteristics of your player? His height/weight might have something to do with overall speed and power.
 
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