MLB The Show 20 (PS4)

[ChuckB]

Hi,

I saw some forum members play this and took the dive early this year after I saw how much time I sank into the 19 version last year ... this is really BY FAR my #1 game.

Some initial observations:

Like every year, the new version at first feels "foreign" - slightly different art style, music, etc. Even after spending some time, I think I really prefer the 19 menu looks & sounds. The intro this year is actually bad IMO, certainly the worst I have seen this ... 2008 ...

Parts of the game have become considerably more difficult, especially fielding. I had a lot of wild fielding throws ... but: the game feels and looks much more realistic now, really like it!
General tip: before you play this watch a video (or read an article) what they changed this year. After doing that, I really started to appreciate the changes:
Fielding, player values, positioning, etc. now really matters. You'll see more errors from weaker fielders and you can see and feel the difference in even the approach to fielding. There is, for example, now a shorty delay (with animation) for the weaker outfielder when they spot the ball. Strong arms and accuracy make a difference now etc.
Same with batting: you need to understand the differences in timing etc. and this feels much better (and "heavier" now - everything seems to have more weight). I really like it!
Some nice little changes: in RTTS, sliding still used the same buttons for the different sliding approaches but you need to also press L1 to initiate the slide, this should avoid last year's problem that you sometimes overrun the base because the game has not switched to "slide" from "run"

Some issues:
Saw some animation problems but nothing major. The button for visually tracking the fielded ball when you are baserunning in RTTS (which should be R1) does NOT work. You can use R3 (pressing the right stick) but that is much more fiddly (and the help system lists R1 as the correct key).

[Baroquen]

I agree -the intro is garbage. The last few years were much more interesting.

I've noticed almost no change with fielding, though I only use the most simplistic 'buttons' variety, as the throwing gauge and all just annoyed me. I have noticed that if I throw to the wrong base, rather than to the cutoff man, the AI will take the extra base. That was new to me. Otherwise, it seems status quo, though I've seen lots of people whining about it online/reddit/etc.

While I've noticed a difference in batting, it hasn't seemed to make it more difficult. I do find myself undercutting the ball sometimes, where you hit the ball in the top of the PCI. That was last year's sweet spot, and now, it's all about hitting the diamonds/circles. I kind of like the "perfect" hits, though not when they end up outs anyway.

I'm liking Showdowns a lot. Challenging, but not maddeningly difficult. I like drafting different players on second attempts.

Tim Tebow as a reward for a Conquest map is quite the ... reward?

I'm liking the changes to March to October too. More variety of transactions and such. I'm running the orioles through first, and already have had two trades and two call-ups and I'm not even at the All-Star Break yet.

I had 20(?) pre-order packs, and maybe 6-8 packs from conquests maps/program rewards. So far - I think I pulled three golds and 1 diamond (JT Realmuto). Not sure if they're juicing the packs at launch, like it seemed last year. Or could all just be the RNG at work.

[ChuckB]

I agree -the intro is garbage. The last few years were much more interesting.

I've noticed almost no change with fielding, though I only use the most simplistic 'buttons' variety, as the throwing gauge and all just annoyed me. I have noticed that if I throw to the wrong base, rather than to the cutoff man, the AI will take the extra base. That was new to me. Otherwise, it seems status quo, though I've seen lots of people whining about it online/reddit/etc.

While I've noticed a difference in batting, it hasn't seemed to make it more difficult. I do find myself undercutting the ball sometimes, where you hit the ball in the top of the PCI. That was last year's sweet spot, and now, it's all about hitting the diamonds/circles. I kind of like the "perfect" hits, though not when they end up outs anyway.

I'm liking Showdowns a lot. Challenging, but not maddeningly difficult. I like drafting different players on second attempts.

Tim Tebow as a reward for a Conquest map is quite the ... reward?

I'm liking the changes to March to October too. More variety of transactions and such. I'm running the orioles through first, and already have had two trades and two call-ups and I'm not even at the All-Star Break yet.

I had 20(?) pre-order packs, and maybe 6-8 packs from conquests maps/program rewards. So far - I think I pulled three golds and 1 diamond (JT Realmuto). Not sure if they're juicing the packs at launch, like it seemed last year. Or could all just be the RNG at work.

I think there may be no difference to the throwing part of fielding if you use the "buttons" controls but there sure is if you use "button accuracy" (which I prefer). You should see a difference when it comes to the actual fielding, as OFs are showing a different approach and I think their catching (especially for over-the-shoulder catches) looks much more realistic. Also their fielding rating (especially arm and accuracy) now matters more for these long home-plate throws. When using "button accuracy" you can make some incredible throws when you perfectly time your throws but it's easier to miss, too. I assume some people complain about it but I like it. It makes you think twice about certain throws (on both ends, same is true for when you are running), which feels more realistic.

For batting, I have yet to switch to the PCI mode, it looks daunting as I'm still often having trouble with the timing and now you ask me to aim for the ball, too? I'll give it a try - any tips would be appreciated. Do you actually aim for the ball with the PCI or do you try to influence the trajectory or both?

Agree on the Showdowns, I'm surprised how much I like them. Only started one (starter?) yesterday but it was really fun, will continue to play around with that.

I only played two games of March to October and haven't seen any changes yet, will see.

I'm back to enjoying RTTS, I like the changes there. I'm playing a SS now and the new throwing controls (sort of these quicktime events) are surprisingly fun, as you can see that positioning matters (harder to hit the target if you are moving) and that timing also matters (you can take more time to get it right but there is a clear payoff))

I had Mickey Mantle as a diamond card but it looks like they are getting stingy with the packs - 20 packs now cost 30k in stubs, which is a 50% price increase, not nice!

[Octavious]

They do seem a lot stingier on free packs this year so far. I'm doing the big conquest map and have gotten almost nothing so far and I've cleared out most of the NE. I don't buy packs for the most part. Nothing is worse than banking 50k in stubs, buying packs and getting pretty much nothing back.

I'm having trouble with the showdowns so far. I tried to beat the NL East one like 5 times before giving up for the day. I generally make my money back so it's not a loss, but doing it to earn team affinity seems like a waste of time. Playing March to October is probably easier.

As for the gameplay updates. I LOVE the new batting sounds on well hit balls. If you perfect perfect a ball it has such an awesome sound. I've hit some total bombs and the batting sound makes it even better. The fielding is improved in terms of bad fields taking bad jumps. I like that a lot. There's still the damn issue where they sometimes just don't try to catch the ball at the wall. Why is this still a thing? Drives me nuts.. The updated throwing meter is cool, but after a few hours I'm not missing very much. It's just quicker. I do like the perfect throw in the middle. That's not easy to hit every time.

All and all I'm really having a lot of fun with it and I was still playing the last one up until this one came out. It was a no brainer for me to pick it up.

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As for hitting with the PCI. If you want to play online it's a must to be competitive. If you don't want to play online then meh. It's taken me a LONG time to now say that I'm pretty good at it. What I personally do is start with the PCI Middle-UP slightly. This helps me get to the high pitches. Generally speaking the best way to hit with the PCI is the best way to hit in real life. Look in one area and let the other stuff go. That way you aren't moving the PCI much. This is what most of the good players do. Thinking you can just slam the PCI to where every pitch is going to go will just end in frustration. I do think it will help your timing if you play with the PCI. It forces you to focus on the ball more. Oh and I highly recommend strike zone 2 for hitting. You can really track the ball well and it's not so zoomed in that everything looks hitable.

Once you get good at PCI the ALL Star level is a total cakewalk for hitting. This is why events and BR are so hard. Any good player is going to kill anything left in the zone 90% of the time. Turns into a slug fest.

[Baroquen]

Showdowns are definitely tougher than when I was first toying with them. They're so rough, I wouldn't surprised if they get nerfed somewhat, in a week or two. Devs will probably see how much of an outcry there is after the non pre-sell crowd tries them out.

PCI hitting took be forever to get used to, and I'm still not great at it. I fall into a rut where I will chase the balls out of the zone, because in my mind, "I can hit there". And I can, but those chases are never good results. I really have to stay disciplined. And I still fall behind fastballs 96+ mph too often. But that said, I can't imagine going back to directional hitting.

Pulled another diamond - Alex Bregman. Regular pack.

Finished two of the conquest maps (not the big USA one yet). Finished the George Brett program. Halfway through the Curtis Granderson program they just released. 140 points into the inning one program. And have my Orioles to the "March to October" playoffs. Hope to play a little more multiplayer once the general crowd starts playing tomorrow. Too many ringers in the pre-order crowd.

[Octavious]

I'm 4-1 so far online. I just haven't felt like playing online the last two days. I really should as right now my team is stacked for the current state of the game. I really think power hitters are going to be the meta this year. You perfect perfect with them and you hit bombs most of the time. We'll see though...

My third pack I opened had Pete Alonso. I struggled the first couple of games with him, but now I'm just hitting bombs. The 2018 Judge is insane as well. I also pulled Rendon and he will be parked at 3B for a while if he keeps on hitting for me. I really really want to get Nolan, but man he's expensive. I murdered with him last year. I actually made my created player use his stance as I believe his swing is part of it.

[Baroquen]

I haven't been able to hit with Nolan. He was the last player I bought for last year's Willie May's collection.

But yes - that 18 Judge card is crazy. I also picked up the Mondesi PotM card and it's still got a glitchy swing. Sold a Kris Bryant gold card for nearly 6K. Crazy! lol

I think I'm 3-0 or 2-1 in Ranked Season so far. But all the teams are stacked with diamond/gold cards already. They've completely devalued any silver/bronze cards on day 1. Kind of sad for me - I enjoyed the climb TO diamond, rather than just picking which ones I prefer. But I think I'm in the minority.

[Octavious]

When I finished playing 19 I think I had around 53hrs with him in like 160 games. It was ridiculous.