MLB 12 The Show

[jlb1705]

My game yesterday was the most complete game I've played yet. I decided to do Opening Day, Marlins vs. Reds, Josh Johnson vs. Johnny Cueto.

Cueto only gave up one hit and fanned seven in 5.0 IP, and came out of the game with an injury while facing the first batter in the sixth. The one hit he gave up was a 2-run HR in the first inning after a leadoff walk.

Drew Stubbs got me an RBI single in the second inning, and then in the 4th I got back-to-back solo HRs from Brandon Phillips and Zack Cozart. A sac fly later in the inning got me to a 4-2 lead, and the bullpen gave me 4.0 innings of scoreless baseball to seal the win.

The CPU was being cheeky at first. It seemed to pick up that I was taking every first pitch and started pumping in get-ahead fastballs over the heart of the plate. That's how I got my back-to-back HRs. The rules I've started to go by have helped, but sometimes you have to break those tendencies once they're well-established. The HRs kept them honest the rest of the way and I was really able to work the count from there on.

I'm thinking I may need to bump up the CPU hitting a bit now. I'm still getting competitive games, but I'm winning them all. I don't need realism in my games, but I do want some plausibility and right now the CPU isn't keeping up on the offensive side.

 

[Bucky32]

If you guys are doing franchise and don't necessarily want to play every game (because that's a long season), what I do is play every 6th game. That way, you pitch with a different starter each time but your season is shortened considerably.

 

[Bucklion]

My game yesterday was the most complete game I've played yet. I decided to do Opening Day, Marlins vs. Reds, Josh Johnson vs. Johnny Cueto.

Cueto only gave up one hit and fanned seven in 5.0 IP, and came out of the game with an injury while facing the first batter in the sixth. The one hit he gave up was a 2-run HR in the first inning after a leadoff walk.

Drew Stubbs got me an RBI single in the second inning, and then in the 4th I got back-to-back solo HRs from Brandon Phillips and Zack Cozart. A sac fly later in the inning got me to a 4-2 lead, and the bullpen gave me 4.0 innings of scoreless baseball to seal the win.

The CPU was being cheeky at first. It seemed to pick up that I was taking every first pitch and started pumping in get-ahead fastballs over the heart of the plate. That's how I got my back-to-back HRs. The rules I've started to go by have helped, but sometimes you have to break those tendencies once they're well-established. The HRs kept them honest the rest of the way and I was really able to work the count from there on.

I'm thinking I may need to bump up the CPU hitting a bit now. I'm still getting competitive games, but I'm winning them all. I don't need realism in my games, but I do want some plausibility and right now the CPU isn't keeping up on the offensive side.

Nice game...I am keeping opening day until I start my season so it's novel for my Indians, and I am using different teams in exhibitions so I can see different parks and experiment with different players. Of course, I am getting drubbed with good teams, so when I start using the Indians, I am on the way to 0-162 I am hoping I can make my hitting better with the changes I made last night...I want to keep pitching on HOF and hitting on Veteran if I can, those levels seem to be about right for me, though I am still getting beat every game. On my pitching level they barely swing at anything out of the zone, so it's tough to get Ks.

Do you play with the variable umpire? I got squeezed something awful last night in a couple of key spots. It adds another dimension to the game and makes it more unpredictable if you don't use it...might help your competitive balance some. I like it. Also if you want to help the CPU you can lower your pitcher's control slider a bit...will make you have to throw it in the zone more instead of painting the corners as often. You will give up a few more walks and/or hits that way as well, and then the onus is on you doing the pitching, not the AI doing the hitting.

 

[jlb1705]

Do you play with the variable umpire? I got squeezed something awful last night in a couple of key spots. It adds another dimension to the game and makes it more unpredictable if you don't use it...might help your competitive balance some. I like it. Also if you want to help the CPU you can lower your pitcher's control slider a bit...will make you have to throw it in the zone more instead of painting the corners as often. You will give up a few more walks and/or hits that way as well, and then the onus is on you doing the pitching, not the AI doing the hitting.

I do play with variable umpire. I got squeezed bigtime on that leadoff walk I gave up in yesterday's game.

I'm actually liking where my pitching sliders are at the moment. I'm hardly painting the corners unless the confidence meter on that pitch is past 75%. I'm getting a plausible rates of balls vs. strikes and walks vs. strikeouts. I can put my fastball near where I want it much of the time, but not extremely precisely. Sometimes pitches get away from me, and spotting my off speed pitches is much more difficult. If I get way behind in the count I can't paint the corners, I have to lay in a meatball and hope that it stays in the zone sometimes.

It seems to me more like the CPU isn't punishing my bad pitches enough. I should be careful what I wish for though.

 

[Bucklion]

I do play with variable umpire. I got squeezed bigtime on that leadoff walk I gave up in yesterday's game.

I'm actually liking where my pitching sliders are at the moment. I'm hardly painting the corners unless the confidence meter on that pitch is past 75%. I'm getting a plausible rates of balls vs. strikes and walks vs. strikeouts. I can put my fastball near where I want it much of the time, but not extremely precisely. Sometimes pitches get away from me, and spotting my off speed pitches is much more difficult. If I get way behind in the count I can't paint the corners, I have to lay in a meatball and hope that it stays in the zone sometimes.

It seems to me more like the CPU isn't punishing my bad pitches enough. I should be careful what I wish for though.

Yes...you...should Chippah hit one about 900 feet when I failed to get a curveball to break out of the zone last night. Where I am I pitch to contact a lot if a guy is on base...I bust them low and try and draw a ground ball. It works well most of the time when I keep the ball down. I have to be careful though, when I see cold zones up high and/or hot zones low, I tend to challenge hitters high a bit too much. I end up getting 875 foot home runs against me when I do that, regardless of where the zones are.

 

[Bucklion]

Well, after last night's plunger-raping, I am going to have to admit defeat and make some drastic hitting changes this weekend, because I am just not competing. I was the Diamondbacks playing against the Pirates. The good...pitching:

10 innings, 1 run, 8 hits, 5 walks, 8 Ks

The awful...hitting:

10 innings, 0 runs, 3 hits, 0 walks, 21 Ks

Yes, I struck out 21 times against the Pirates I now foul off like a million pitches, but invariably I always strike out. I swung at a couple curves in the dirt, then stopped swinging, only to see asshat pitcher drop every one on the low black for called strike 3s. Hanrahan came in in the 9th and pitched 2 innings, I would be 0-for-the-century against him, though I had several foul tips. Dunno what I'll do, I hate to drop from All-Star to Veteran because it will just start throwing all strikes and I'll have to re-adjust all my sliders, but I think that's where I am now. I just can't hit. If you wait to spot the curve, you are always late on the fastball. If you swing early to get fastballs, they just throw breaking shit in the dirt. Time to regroup.

 

[Bucklion]

Still screwing with sliders...shheeeeiiiit.

 

[Bucklion]

Well I finally have the settings (both All-Star) and sliders to where I think I am getting realistic results. Took long enough One thing that has really helped my hitting is to switch to Wide view from Catcher....seems to give me a better look at the ball. Exploding sliders still dick me under, but I can see the curve ball better. Last night I did hitting only, since that's what I'm having the most trouble with. I was the Cardinals:

5 runs, 9 hits, 3 walks, 14 Ks (still too high, but that's my fault), couple of homers late in the game, one hit batter, 1 error on the opposition (San Diego).

Highlight of the night last night: I hit a ball back to the SD pitcher, which he nabbed of the mound, struck a pose for a baseball card for at least a full second...and then proceeded to airmail the throw into the dugout. Even the first baseman seemed to have a look on his face like W...T...F....

 

[Bucklion]

This fucking game bites my goddamned ass. I can't strike out less than 12-14 times in a game, I'll score a few runs in a game and then score 3 total in 6 games and go 1-5 in 2 series...the only way I can win is if I get up early or score in the first 2 innings, because if they get ahead or keep me off the board for 2 innings, the opposing pitcher is goddamned fucking Sandy Goddamned Fucking Koufax, no matter who it is or how shitty they really are. Even with all the settings on the lowest they can be for pitcher control, the fucker never walks anyone and paints the corners on full counts. I just got fucking 3 hit blanked by Kevin GOddamned fucking
Millwood, which would be great if it was 2004 but is fucking bullfucking shit in 2012. Fuck this fucking game, fuck the 2 fucking seasons I have started and then had ruined, this game is amazing for graphics but for gameplay is sucks an armadillo's fat bag of cocks.

 

[darbypitcher22]

Took me a while but I figured it out about how to deal with all the breaking balls. As long as you hit the fastball early and narrow down the pitchers confidence in that pitch you can single yourself into knowing about off speed pitches

 

[Bucklion]

I was admittedly a little peeved when I posted that I started over one more time, made a small adjustment to 2 sliders, and have been doing much better. 3-2 record, 18 runs scored, averaging about a strikeout an inning thus far.

 

[GeorgiaBuck2]

This [censored]ing game bites my goddamned ass. I can't strike out less than 12-14 times in a game, I'll score a few runs in a game and then score 3 total in 6 games and go 1-5 in 2 series...the only way I can win is if I get up early or score in the first 2 innings, because if they get ahead or keep me off the board for 2 innings, the opposing pitcher is goddamned [censored]ing Sandy Goddamned [censored]ing Koufax, no matter who it is or how [Mark May]ty they really are. Even with all the settings on the lowest they can be for pitcher control, the [censored]er never walks anyone and paints the corners on full counts. I just got [censored]ing 3 hit blanked by Kevin GOddamned [censored]ing
Millwood, which would be great if it was 2004 but is [censored]ing bull[censored]ing [Mark May] in 2012. [censored] this [censored]ing game, [censored] the 2 [censored]ing seasons I have started and then had ruined, this game is amazing for graphics but for gameplay is sucks an armadillo's fat bag of cocks.

Play on easy...

 

[Smooth Olaf]

I just picked this game up today. What the hell is this pitching pulse, and what's with the puke-stain when I'm hitting?

 

[Bucklion]

Well I finally got it...I got perfect gamed by Neftali Feliz. The fucking game had me fouling off pitches right down the middle, so naturally the fucking Indians couldn't hit anything After 25 games I have a winning record, but only because I win a lot of 3-2 and 2-1 games...when the pitching goes or the opposition scores more than 3 runs, I am SOL. I am dead last in every offensive category but HRs.

 

[Bucklion]

So I can finally review thisa game with a large sample size...I have played half a season. And this game sucks. Sucks wang, in fact. The graphics are great, the storytelling is good, and the game play, in theory, isn't bad. I have found the pitching to be pretty fair, in terms of me pitching, for the most part. But this game is bullshit. If you play with imperfect umps, you best believe you are getting fucked. You get pinched at every critical time, they get Livan Hernandez strike zones all game. Plus, if you get a guy on first base, you had best try and strike out next batter, because it is always a double play. hit it hard, double play. Hit it soft, double play. Use the A button, double play. Use contact swing, double play. Scratch your nuts, double play. And the more hard hit balls you have, the more double plays and liners right at guys. Not more hits. Oh no, not more hits. And you had best believe that their hard hit groundewrs will go right by your infielders, but yours are always gobbled up. Always. And their infielders have the range of, oh Brooks Robinson. All of them. At every position. On every ball. Yes, that is even with the fielder reaction slider almost completely minimized. Doesn't matter. They are getting to it. You might get an infield hit once in a while, but that's it. If it doesn't go off the wall, they are getting to it. Anywhere. With any team. But you aren't. Oh no, you aren't. Their balls always sink in front of outfielders, and their grounders up the middle always go through for a single. And when you paint the black with good pitches, they hit them just as hard as if you sailed it down the middle. When they pain the black, you hit a chopper or a popup 100)% of the time. If the game had any semblence of fairness, I would be fine with it. But it doesn't. Oh no, it doesn't. I am 35-43, have lost 6 in a row, and will likely hang it up, because I have already smashed one controller and don't want to get pisse doff and damage any more, and it os obvious that I will never win anoyher game, or when I do, I will be 20 under .500 and playing the season out with 60 games to go, which is zero fun. SO, in short, fuck this game, and fuck these assholes who designed the AI. That is all.