Getting Closer

[gobucks]

I have been finding success in this game is REALLY pitcher dependent. I mean i faced Holladay and squeaked out 4-5 hits and lost and then hit thier # 3 starter for over 11 hits and scored 5 runs. I think that it is the Pitch sucess slider but I have it still at 40 and like it. Pitchers do rule 90% of the time in baseball and I am seeing that here and thats GOOD. You really have to look at who you are facing that day and try to beat the 3,4,5 men cause beating a 1 or 2 is TOUGH with these sliders but very realistic.

Also I see a tendancy for good pitchers to get ahead in the count with first pitch black strikes like down and away. A average pitcher if you are patient with get behind 2-0 or 2-1 and those are the counts I always hit homers and extra base hits on. Anyway look for thse strategies to help your game.

I have made only the following edits to JR's slider set:

Hit Dir Infl: 100

AI Bat Success: 40

Ai Bat Contact: 20

AI Power: 65 (may toy with 70 soon)

Hum Field Errors: 0 (even post patch this really cuts down on the fielding bloopers even the ones that dont go as official errors)

AI field Errors: 50

AI Field speed: 50 (this may get you an extra base hit here and there but cuts down on superman infield plays and outfiled now gets to what it should)

[JoeRudi26]

I have been finding success in this game is REALLY pitcher dependent.

I agree, and here's a good example of a decent matchup from today's game vs St. Louis, Adam Wainwright vs Ted Lilly. All the scoring was done in the first inning, but both pitchers settled down and cruised from there on out.

Wainwright - 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K

Lilly - 6.2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K

*The Cardinal runs were off a 2 run homerun by Ryan Ludwig in the 1st inning

gobucks is right though, with wins getting extremely hard to come by, I find myself looking at the schedule to just see who's pitching for the opposing team. I faced Wainwright today, but the rest of the Cardinal rotation is as good or better. I may not win a game in this (4 game) series. <_<

[pitchleague]

am I correct in this: during the franchise, you can not change the scheduled pitchers for the opponent? For instance, I'm playing Brewers vs. Cubs right now from this past weekend. But I got Angel Guzman as the starter in game 2 of the series and no Rich Harden in any of the three. Can you adjust the other teams' rotations once you've started the franchise? I think the answer is no but I haven't played around enough and I may have missed it.

[JoeRudi26]

am I correct in this: during the franchise, you can not change the scheduled pitchers for the opponent? For instance, I'm playing Brewers vs. Cubs right now from this past weekend. But I got Angel Guzman as the starter in game 2 of the series and no Rich Harden in any of the three. Can you adjust the other teams' rotations once you've started the franchise? I think the answer is no but I haven't played around enough and I may have missed it.

As far as I know there' s no way to change the opposing team's roster or rotation once you start the season. I used to use the Team Changer for MVP (change teams, adjust personnel, change back) to do just that, and it worked out great.

I could be wrong though, if anyone knows, I'd like to be able to do this too.

[JoeyMcM93]

Has anyone else noticed that attempting to hit a ground ball results in more bombs than attempting to hit a fly ball? Am I just crazy or is this actually happening for other people?

Also, do you guys try and hit homeruns using the left stick or do you just wait for the perfect pitch and cream it with no left stick?

The reason I ask is that with these new sliders I have just begun to notice that the directional stick does not influence quite as much. Personally, I like this as you can not pull a very outside pitch for a bomb but I'm just curious if you guys are experiencing similar things.

[louie31313]

I tweaked those a little bit to:

User Batting success 40

User Contact 30

User Power 100

Batter Pitch Influence: 40

AI Batting Success 80

AI Contact 40

AI Power 85

AI Pitch Success: 45

Good games JR!

thanks for sharing this man!!it works really well for me except i turned ai power to 100 for more excitement.. ;)

[elpatorojas360]

Hi guys!

I'm really happy with the wicked420's tweaked sliders for batting without LS.

The CPU really challenge my pitcher with this...

Thanks wicked420

GO ROCKIES :p

[krower]

Thanks for the New batting sliders. I have tried what was done in the last few posts. I have a few questions though. Maybe you could help.

The games are really close now. I am 5-0 on the season, but have only won by 1-2 runs each game except the one game was 5-1. I have only 1 shutout, but I do K alot of the other team.

The thing is, I didn't hit any HR's the first few games. Then in the 3 game, I used the Left stick, and cracked out 3 with 1 player, and 1 with another(Dunn I believe). Then the Next two games, I use the directional stick occasionaly and I hit 1 HR in each game, giving me a total of 5 HR's in 5 Games with 1 player. Kinda unrealistic, but I don't have HR's with the rest of the team, and I can't seem to hit a HR without the Left stick. Am I doing something wrong?

Also, I get a decent share of extra base hits, so I really like the settings. Just didn't know if I should be more patient and not use the left stick and they will come to me, or use the left stick but only with my not so powerful hitters and only when I really need a HR or am just trying to have fun in the game.

Also, and this is a big one for me. I can't seem to find this anywhere. Can some of you put what settings you use for the camera angles? I just want to see what the majority uses.

By the way, Switched from Classic to Hit stick. Loving it. I just don't have any walks and I am trying to be patient. I even made sure I took the first 2 pitches in each at bat one game, and took 3 if a ball was thrown. So I always had at least 2 stikes on me, thinking they would eventually walk me. Never happened. But maybe my camera angle is bad and I can't see the zone well.

Also, any fix on Stolen bases? I tested this out and edited a player to have 95 speed, 95 Acc, 95 Steal, and I am not kidding, I did one of those jumps that you guess when the pitcher would throw and jumped before he made his move. I was so excited, and boom I was thrown out. It was against ATL. I think McCann was the catcher. But his arm is only 76 I beleive. I just don't get it.

Thanks, any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Hoop27]

Thanks for the New batting sliders. I have tried what was done in the last few posts. I have a few questions though. Maybe you could help.

The games are really close now. I am 5-0 on the season, but have only won by 1-2 runs each game except the one game was 5-1. I have only 1 shutout, but I do K alot of the other team.

The thing is, I didn't hit any HR's the first few games. Then in the 3 game, I used the Left stick, and cracked out 3 with 1 player, and 1 with another(Dunn I believe). Then the Next two games, I use the directional stick occasionaly and I hit 1 HR in each game, giving me a total of 5 HR's in 5 Games with 1 player. Kinda unrealistic, but I don't have HR's with the rest of the team, and I can't seem to hit a HR without the Left stick. Am I doing something wrong?

Also, I get a decent share of extra base hits, so I really like the settings. Just didn't know if I should be more patient and not use the left stick and they will come to me, or use the left stick but only with my not so powerful hitters and only when I really need a HR or am just trying to have fun in the game.

Also, and this is a big one for me. I can't seem to find this anywhere. Can some of you put what settings you use for the camera angles? I just want to see what the majority uses.

By the way, Switched from Classic to Hit stick. Loving it. I just don't have any walks and I am trying to be patient. I even made sure I took the first 2 pitches in each at bat one game, and took 3 if a ball was thrown. So I always had at least 2 stikes on me, thinking they would eventually walk me. Never happened. But maybe my camera angle is bad and I can't see the zone well.

Also, any fix on Stolen bases? I tested this out and edited a player to have 95 speed, 95 Acc, 95 Steal, and I am not kidding, I did one of those jumps that you guess when the pitcher would throw and jumped before he made his move. I was so excited, and boom I was thrown out. It was against ATL. I think McCann was the catcher. But his arm is only 76 I beleive. I just don't get it.

Thanks, any help would be greatly appreciated.

As for stolen bases Snash myself and others are working on a roster update that will include tweaked catchers arms which should help SB's. Not sure on the exact release date but it will be soon.

[louie31313]

Also, any fix on Stolen bases? I tested this out and edited a player to have 95 speed, 95 Acc, 95 Steal, and I am not kidding, I did one of those jumps that you guess when the pitcher would throw and jumped before he made his move. I was so excited, and boom I was thrown out. It was against ATL. I think McCann was the catcher. But his arm is only 76 I beleive. I just don't get it.

i have the problem also i only have 2 stolen bases..i'm currently in the 3week of april.. got those 2 steals from wakefield..but on other teams even with catchers that don't have a good arm i always get thrown out even getting good jumps..

any progress on the possible fix?

thanks..

EDIT: that seems a good idea HOOP27 hope it works... thanks

[krower]

may I ask what you are tweaking. I am going to download the updated roster from Snash and you later, but until then, I wouldnt mind tweaking the arms myself and test it. How far down are you going?

[blown347stang]

if you go back a few pages i posted some runner speed sliders i've been using tested with a few teams and they've worked well for me i just restarted a Red Sox season and have 9 sbs- 4 throwouts. 2 of the throwouts were legit pitchout snags and the others just close plays where i was legitimately out.

[krower]

cool blown, I will check those out. Thanks. WIll update my results after work tonight

[maddux31]

I have not been on as of late. Has anyone posted an update slider set for down load? The one that JR originally uploaded...I figured with the patch it may have been tweaked and resubmitted here but have not seen an updated one....Thanks guys!

[Hoop27]

to give you an idea I think the strongest arm in the league is a 73 now and the lowest of the starters is a 45. So I went chopping. Also worked with the walk ratings to get some better cpu ab's (realism wise)

[Hoop27]

to give you an idea I think the strongest arm in the league is a 73 now and the lowest of the starters is a 45. So I went chopping. Also worked with the walk ratings to get some better cpu ab's (realism wise)

I just stole 2nd with Aramis Ramirez 65 spd against the Reds. throw was offline but I did it lol

On a side note I did a bunch of practice and if you dont use the left thumbstick to hit you need to have a masher at the plate to get a homer from what I have seen so far. I'm hoping I just have practiced long enough but to hit a line drive over the wall you need to absolutely crush it.

[Rger21]

Hi guys...thank for the sliders JR...they are great.... I did some testing regarding the stolen bases....and I think is just a matter of timing and sliding,

in an exibition game, me the Phillies vs Rays I stole 2nd base twice with Jimmy Rollins....Also I did some steal practice and was able to steal 18 out of 29...stole 3rd base a couple of times....not a great average for a speedster but is better that 3 for 29... lol...

I was able to avoid being touched by the fielder just changing my slide.....if I saw the throw was to the left of second base....I did the slide to the rigth and viceversa...that way I coud get the steal that could be an easy out...

I'm still getting pounded by the cpu...but is because I'm still getting used to the pitching...

Which pitching option do you recommend me: Release point off or on?? which is more challenging??

Thanks again.

[l00ks]

Which pitching option do you recommend me: Release point off or on?? which is more challenging??

Thanks again.

i recommend Release point on, it's way more challenging but you will need a lot of practise ...

[rixmithco]

Release Point on is definitely harder and more fun. I'd recommend turning it on but starting the Release Point Slider low (20). Once you feel comfortable there begin increasing the slider to keep it challenging.

[Rger21]

Thanks for the advice guys.....I'll start practicing...

[CircleChange11]

thanks for sharing this man!!it works really well for me except i turned ai power to 100 for more excitement..

One big thing that I noticed with these "high success, low contact" sliders is that the games are a bloopfest. It's essentially a contest of who can hit the most dying quails or get the most "groundballs with eyes" (2 Bull Durham phrases is enough for one post.

I just played PIT and they scored 3 runs off 14 hits ... all singles ... many of which were very poorly hit, just over the SS/2B, yet in front of the OF. Ankiel threw 2 runners out at second b/c they had to hold to see if the ball would drop or not. THe game before, that I used this setup, there were 23 runs on 41 hits (combined) with 6 Xbases hits inc 3 HR's. THere were basically 6 balls hit well and everything else was bleeding.

There's not enough contact to get even "decent" fly balls.

There's gotta be a happy medium between [1] playing with foam bats and [2] hitters hitting low and away pitches into the 2nd deck.

I'll test another slider set (Darkspace's from 2k9 forum) in my franchise. I keep track of everything (spreadsheet) and compare it to MLB norms (per game), if anyone is interested. I'll provide screenshots of the spreadsheet now and then (every 10 games or so) and take feedback on adjustments that can be made. I have quite a bit of experience with 2k7/2k8 with playing over 150 games of each. My Logitech controller doesn't seem to be as fluid as the 360 controller, and I miss the "gesture feedback" (# rating out of 100) for each pitch. That was useful.

Also ... what type of framerate are you guys getting? I have a decent video card (NVidia9400) but a slowish processer (2.7GHz), and I am getting framerates in the low/mid 30s with many of the features turned to "low/medium". I generally turn everything back up to "high" when viewing end of game replays, so I can get some good FRAPS for franchise images and photoshop activities. But, I am wondering if framerate has any effect on how the game plays, since many of you seem to be getting very good play from these settings.

Sorry, I'm rambling.

[CircleChange11]

Release Point on is definitely harder and more fun. I'd recommend turning it on but starting the Release Point Slider low (20). Once you feel comfortable there begin increasing the slider to keep it challenging.

Yep, that's how the pitching was in 2k8, and man did gamers and reviewers complain. I thought it was simply brilliant and loved it ... except for the meatball feature, which caused any pitch (regardless of type) under a certain gesture rating (based on your pitch performance with the stick) to end up as a BP fastball ... rather than a curve in the dirt, a "Ricky Vaughn - 'tried the corner and missed' " type of air-mailed shot to the bricks, etc.

Release point on feels more natural than just pushing up/down and then moving the stick as fast as possible. More fluid and smooth. It doesn't take long to get the hang of it.

[Griz891]

I tweaked those a little bit to:

User Batting success 40

User Contact 30

User Power 100

Batter Pitch Influence: 40

AI Batting Success 80

AI Contact 40

AI Power 85

AI Pitch Success: 45

Good games JR!

Here's what I've been playing with, started a season with the Dodgers and am 6-4.

User Batting success 50

User Contact: 30 User Power: 100

Batter Pitch Influence: 55

AI Batting Success: 100

AI Contact 10

AI Power 100

AI Pitch Success: 30

You really have to pitch well with this setup....having AI Batting Success at 100 makes it tough.

[Ticaliano]

Also ... what type of framerate are you guys getting? I have a decent video card (NVidia9400) but a slowish processer (2.7GHz), and I am getting framerates in the low/mid 30s with many of the features turned to "low/medium". I generally turn everything back up to "high" when viewing end of game replays, so I can get some good FRAPS for franchise images and photoshop activities. But, I am wondering if framerate has any effect on how the game plays, since many of you seem to be getting very good play from these settings.

Sorry, I'm rambling.

I believe the MLB 2K9 "graphical jitters" are simply the end-result of the game being under optimized for the PC. I've tried both console versions (PS3 and Xbox 360), and for the most part, they both play pretty smoothly. Seems to be a different story with the PC version, though.

I'd like to think that I have a pretty decent computer: a 3.0GHz CPU, GeForce 8800GT (512MB Video Ram) with 2 GB of system RAM and the game still "hiccups" in certain spots. This annoying stuttering seems to be most prevalent during transitional moments -- namely when the baseball leaves a hitter's bat and the camera quickly switches to the fielding view. It also occurs during cross field throws from 3B to 1B. The fluidity of the animations become jerky. Annoying, yeah, but it's not a deal breaker. Still, I'd love to play this game on a $5,000.00 system, just to see if those annoyances would still be there or not... <_<

[Wicked420]

Circlechange, try either my slider tweak a couple posts above, or the one Griz posted with it. You may find better results with those.