Getting Closer

[JoeRudi26]

Sounding good guys.

I agree. I couldn't help but smile as I watched all the different pitch sequences that were going on, I knew right then and there that the sliders are going to be something that can be worked with.

Next up for me is probably hitting and offense.

[redsox]

...Next up for me is probably hitting and offense.

Same here. With the pitching results set to my liking, I want to start focusing on offense. I haven't been able to hit home runs at all. I have played about 10-15 games and I can count the number of home runs I have hit in one hand.

[Maestro23]

I agree. I couldn't help but smile as I watched all the different pitch sequences that were going on, I knew right then and there that the sliders are going to be something that can be worked with.

Next up for me is probably hitting and offense.

Jay, I'm having the same hitting experience is you are: Not enough homeruns from my deep-ball threat guys. I mean I've hit some shots dead on the screws (to me, the bat has a different sound), and they have stayed in the park, or they're shots into the gap. By no means do I want a homerfest, but I think you know what I'm getting at.

I'm sure, if I were to work the counts more, and wait on my pitch... it would help. :)

[JoeRudi26]

Jay, I'm having the same hitting experience is you are: Not enough homeruns from my deep-ball threat guys. I mean I've hit some shots dead on the screws (to me, the bat has a different sound), and they have stayed in the park, or they're shots into the gap. By no means do I want a homerfest, but I think you know what I'm getting at.

I'm sure, if I were to work the counts more, and wait on my pitch... it would help.

I'm in the same boat. Hits totals are pretty realistic. Right now I'm averaging 5-8 with what I'm using, but that should progressively rise as I see more pitches throughout the season.

Hit variety isn't bad either, except for homeruns. Doubles and triples are about average, with a decent amount of variety all over the field. CPU fielder speed has something to do with that, so that has to be taken into account.

As far as homeruns, I hit my first one today since I tweaked my User Batting Settings. I got a fastball high and inside and I was absolutely looking for it. I'm sure that's part of it, but in general I want to get more pop out of the bat without increasing hit totals. I need to find that medium and I'll be working on that next since I think I've found the pitch sliders I'll be using.

I have no problem with fielding really, I've always manually fielded as long as I've been playing video baseball games, so maybe that has a little to do with an easy transistion for me from game to game.

Baserunning is another issue in this game. I haven't even begun to get a hold of it yet, but I figured that would be last.

[JoeRudi26]

Same here. With the pitching results set to my liking, I want to start focusing on offense. I haven't been able to hit home runs at all. I have played about 10-15 games and I can count the number of home runs I have hit in one hand.

V, if you want to, keep me (us) posted here in this thread with your results. I'll (and anyone else) can do the same if they want to. Like I said, at least we know the sliders work.

[Maestro23]

Yeah Jay, I comfortable with the fielding (that practice mode really helped). The fielding has its little nuances. But once you learn them....

Baserunning is getting better. Still can't steal a base to save my life. Might need a slider adjustment there, plus work on my timing, picking a pitch to go, etc...

Liking the hit variety as well. Like you said though, don't want to mess up the hit totals/variety we are seeing, so we all can play Homerun Derby every game. Well, we've got some good minds here working on this and we've still got time before Opening Day.

[JoeRudi26]

Just an update on the game sliders. As already posted in this thread, I'm positive I have the pitch sliders where they need to be for my style of play. Again, thanks to Guru at Operation Sports, they are working out extremely well, and I haven't had to touch a single thing.

Again, as I mentioned a few days ago, I would continue to work on the hitting, fielding, and base running aspects of the game to try and get some solid results. I am getting to the point of being satisfied with what I have so far. The game plays at a very realistic pace, and is producing solid, consistent numbers. In a test game today, I managed to pitch out of a 12 inning, 1 out, bases loaded jam to notch the win. The good news is, after both winning and losing close games during testing, there doesn't seem to be any sort of comeback code. I've noticed the game will have 'big innings', but nothing that seems unrealistic or anything that locks up the win for the CPU. Up to this point, it seems to be fairly random.

9 Innings

Initially, I was going to shut the game off after 9 innings (due to testing), but I decided to go ahead and play it through to see how the numbers turned out. I didn't take screen shots of the stat screen at the end of the game (only the one on the field), but I can tell you that both pitch counts were in the 150 range, 3-4 walks apiece, and 5-6 strikeouts for both teams. As you can see in the '9 Innings' screen, the only errors that were committed were in extra innings, but neither one due to the well reported bugs. Matt Holiday bobbled a one hopper in the gap, and Orlando Cabrera had to hurry and fire a rocket on a perfect bunt by Chone Figgins that sailed well over Giambi's head.

Ultimately, there were 2 hit batsmen, a total of 3 doubles, and 1 intentional walk. No one homered in the game.

I realize most people are having issues with the multiple reported bugs, but I wanted to go ahead and post these sliders for whoever wants to try them out in the event the patch makes this game playable for anyone and everyone. As I said, I can see the game has it's quirks, but I just haven't had most of the problems that people are having. Up to this point, I'll just chalk it up to luck, install the patch, and hope things continue to hold.

These sliders are a culmination of Guru's (OS), SerialMike's (TPG.Net), and mine, tested over a three week period. When playing with these sliders, I have some recommendations that may help, at least this is my own personal approach to the game, and it serves for a very well paced game of baseball.

Pitching

1. Stay patient. Approach every hitter with the intent of striking him out. This is your first line of defense

2. Have a plan with each hitter. Know his tendencies and hot zones, and formulate a quick plan of how you want to pitch to him. Adjust accordingly depending on the count or the game situation in general, runners on base, etc.

3. Know the tendencies of your pitcher. Strong points, weak points, and pay attention to your stamina

4. Always fill the pitch meter to the best of your ability, this is very important. Stay focused on each pitch and each at bat. Slacking off will be consequential

5. As always, locate your pitches well, mix up speeds, and throw waste pitches to set up the hitter.

Hitting

1. Stay patient. With these sliders, you are more than able to work the count to your advantage. Strikeouts as well as walks, will come

2. Stay focused. Again, with these sliders you have but a fraction of a second to make a decision. Making contact with a GOOD pitch will fare better results than hacking at a slider low and away.

4. Know what the pitcher throws

3. Pay attention to what the pitcher is throwing. Sometimes sitting and guessing on the right pitch will be the one to clear the park and change the game

SLIDERS

Control Options

Hitting - Total Control

Pitching - Total Control

Control - Breakpoint Aim

Release Timing - On

Zone Hitting - Off

Batter's Eye - Off

Game Settings

Injuries - On

Pitcher Fatigue - 50

Hold Runners - Smart Hold

DH - AL Hosted

Catcher Suggestion - Off

Presentation Settings

Action Replay - Off

Hurry Up Baseball - Off

Strike Zone Window - Off

Inside Edge K-Zone - On

Ball Trail - Off

Dynamic Landing Indicator - On

Vibraion - Off

User Settings - Batting

Batting Success - 45

Batting Contact - 30

Batting Power - 100

Pitcher Handedness Influence - 100

Inside Edge Batting Zone Influence - 100

Batting Pitch Infulence - 75

Hit Direction Influence - 0

Zone Hitting Influence - 0

Bunt Contact - 45

Bunt Success - 45

CPU Settings - Batting

AI Batting Success - 45

AI Batting Contact - 25

AI Batting Power - 50

AI Pitcher Handedness Influence - 100

AI Inside Edge Batting Zone Influence - 100

AI Batting Pitch Infulence - 75

AI Bunt Contact - 50

AI Bunt Success - 50

User Settings - Pitching

Pitch Meter Speed - 100

Pitch Speed - 100

Gesture Recognition - 100

Hold Timing Infuence - 0

Release Timing Influence - 100

Pitch Rating Influence - 100

Pitch Break Influence - 100

Pitcher Composure Influence - 100

CPU Settings - Pitching

AI Pitch Success - 40

AI Pitch Selection Tendency - 100

AI Strike Zone Tendency - 5

AI Pitch Zone Tendency - 15

AI Pitcher Composure Influence - 55

User Settings - Fielding

Fielding Errors - 35

Throw Meter Influence - 50

Fielder Speed - 60

CPU Settings - Fielding

AI Fielding Errors - 35

AI Fielder SPeed - 60

User Settings - Running

Base Runner Speed - 50

Pickoff Success - 5

Catcher Throw-Out Success - 30

CPU Settings - Running

AI Hit And Run Tendency - 50

AI Sacrifice Bunt Tendency - 50

AI Squeeze Tendency - 50

AI Base Running Aggression - 50

AI Steal Aggression - 50

AI Steal Success - 50

It's obvious that everyone plays the game differently, so these may or may not work for you. Any feedback or further input is welcome. As the season progresses, and as a result of playing daily, I will probably keep tweaking accordingly. User/CPU Batting Contact and Success will more than likely need adjusted as I get more used to the game. Hopefully the patch fixes the issues for a lot of people that bought and wants to play the game.

[maddux31]

JR,

Are you planning on hosting the file for your sliders? I have Maestros set he had gotten from OS, and that's great as well...just curious. Thanks for playing and tweaking with these for us! Thats awesome...I am waiting to jump back into the game after the patch is released...

[rolie]

JR,

Are you planning on hosting the file for your sliders? I have Maestros set he had gotten from OS, and that's great as well...just curious. Thanks for playing and tweaking with these for us! Thats awesome...I am waiting to jump back into the game after the patch is released...

Yeah seconded, I'm too lazy to enter these manually.

[JoeRudi26]

I don't mind at all. Sorry, I've never uploaded anything, how do I go about it?

[rolie]

I don't mind at all. Sorry, I've never uploaded anything, how do I go about it?

Well if you are just testing the sliders, you can just add an attachment to your posts. Whenever they are finalized you can upload it the downloads section. It has to be compressed as either a .rar or .zip.

[JoeRudi26]

lol, I hate to sound stupid, but is there just a certain file (difficulty sliders) in the MLB 2K9 folder that I need to attach?

[rolie]

lol, I hate to sound stupid, but is there just a certain file (difficulty sliders) in the MLB 2K9 folder that I need to attach?

Yeah 2k9 hid them really well for some reason

I think you have to save the sliders first in game.

My location, on xp is:

C:\Documents and Settings\Rolie\Application Data\2K Sports\MLB 2K9\Saves

[JoeRudi26]

Thanks, rolie.

JR_Sliders.ZIP

[maddux31]

Thank you JR!! You are the man! (so is Maestro too... )

[Yankees1975]

Have you tried?

Human= All 50s except Pitch Speed=95

CPU= All 50s

[JoeRudi26]

Have you tried?

Human= All 50s except Pitch Speed=95

CPU= All 50s

No I haven't. What kind of results are you getting?

[JoeRudi26]

Game 2 of my test Season with Oakland bore much different results than Game 1, which ended 2-1 after 12 innings. Ervin Santana pitched a complete game shutout, striking out 5 and walking 1. As you can see in the graphic, Santana had much better control than Lackey did in Game 1, therefore making it much more difficult to stay patient and take pitches, forcing me to protect the plate instead of taking command of the count. Other than a couple of shots by Giambi, I was on my heels for most of the game. Although I certainly don't consider these sliders perfect, the point is that they are solid for the time being and are producing a variety of results.

The error (Cabrera) was a bobbled ground ball hit straight up the middle, one in which I was surprised to even get my glove on. Either way, the game chalked it up to an error.

Again, compared to Game 1, Los Angeles jumped on A's pitching fairly early and didn't let up. Vlad Guerrero (2) and Juan Rivera (1) provided the offense, combining for 3 homeruns on the day, compared to 0 by either team in Game 1. Giambi drove the ball well all day, barely missing homeruns twice. One down the right field line, and settling for a double by driving one off the top of the wall in right field.

Guerrero

Giambi

[Maestro23]

Looking good Jay. I'm glad you're seeing varying results.

[redsox]

Jay, I took the sliders that you had posted and tweaked them a tad to suit my needs. Here are the results that I had for the game that I just played. The AI made me throw a total of 97 pitches with Beckett on the mound (6 innings) while Padilla was able to get through 5 1/3 innings on 78 pitches. My pitchers threw 124 pitches in total while Texas pitchers threw 132 pitches. That's pretty realistic to me. I am definitely liking these for the most part, but I am afraid I am still unable to hit home runs. I just don't know what else to change to add more power. The power is already set to 100. Any suggestions?

Linescore

Texas pitching

Texas pitch counts

Boston pitching

Boston pitch counts

[JoeRudi26]

Looking good Jay. I'm glad you're seeing varying results.

It seemed like an entirely different game due to the fact that Santana was in control most of the way. These aren't the only 2 games I've tested with these sliders, I want to make that clear, but this is the first time (with these sliders) that I've seen the pitcher have this much command. My 'game plan' is to stay patient at the plate and try to work the count in my favor, but Santana was throwing a lot of first pitch strikes which of course forced me to tighten up and protect, instead of getting into a groove and looking for a pitch.

I consider this good news though, nothing like a good range of variety. If anyone happens to play with these sliders, feel free to post here, I'm kind of curious how they're playing out for someone else.

[JoeRudi26]

Jay, I took the sliders that you had posted and tweaked them a tad to suit my needs. Here are the results that I had for the game that I just played. The AI made me throw a total of 97 pitches with Beckett on the mound (6 innings) while Padilla was able to get through 5 1/3 innings on 78 pitches. My pitchers threw 124 pitches in total while Texas pitchers threw 132 pitches. That's pretty realistic to me. I am definitely liking these for the most part, but I am afraid I am still unable to hit home runs. I just don't know what else to change to add more power. The power is already set to 100. Any suggestions?

Linescore

Texas pitching

Texas pitch counts

Boston pitching

Boston pitch counts

Those numbers look good so far, V, looks like your hit totals are pretty much in order too. I have hit homeruns with these sliders. Keep in mind, my first few games were for tweaking the pitching aspect of the game, but the last 3 or 4 games I have hit 2 homeruns, a few off the wall, and a few that cleared the fence foul. Each time I got a good solid pitch a little up, and a little in. One was a no doubt hanging curveball, and to be honest, it just seemed like a timing thing. As you know, the power is in the sliders, so if I were you I'd give it a few games or so until you get used to looking at this pitch speed.

Let me know how things turn out.

[redsox]

Those numbers look good so far, V, looks like your hit totals are pretty much in order too. I have hit homeruns with these sliders. Keep in mind, my first few games were for tweaking the pitching aspect of the game, but the last 3 or 4 games I have hit 2 homeruns, a few off the wall, and a few that cleared the fence foul. Each time I got a good solid pitch a little up, and a little in. One was a no doubt hanging curveball, and to be honest, it just seemed like a timing thing. As you know, the power is in the sliders, so if I were you I'd give it a few games or so until you get used to looking at this pitch speed.

Let me know how things turn out.

I am hoping that all it is is just a matter of me getting used to the pitch speed and the home runs will eventually come. Thanks man. Will keep you updated with few more results as and when I play the games.

[redsox]

Finally did it! I ended up hitting not one but two home runs (both with Rollins). I guess, I just had to pick a bandbox for the stadium. I was quite happy with the scoring results as well. It ended up being a blowout in my favor but didn't seem that way at the beginning. I was able to blow the game open in the bottom of the 7th. I think once the official patch fixes the AI aggressiveness issue, the pitching will be even more realistic. A ~71% strike rate seems a bit high.

Oh and the highlight of the game happened in the 4th inning. I ended up loading the bases with nobody out in the top of the 4th but was able to get out of that inning without a scratch. I ended up striking out Iwamura on a 3-2 pitch and was lucky to get a double play with a close call at 1B to get out of the inning. Here's the innings summary.

Game Stats

Rays Summary

Phillies Summary

Rollins HR

Hamels Strikeouts

http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/6086/hamelsso.png

http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/4914/hamelsso2.png

[JoeRudi26]

That's great news, I even see a couple of triples in there as well. Like I said, I think the homeruns will come, you just have to be patient and pick the pitch to hit. I do agree the AI aggressiveness is a bit much, I'd rather see them take more pitches in general.

The thing I keep coming back to with these sliders is the pace of the game. I feel like I want to stay patient, that 'my pitch' is the next one coming, but at the same time focusing so I don't strike out too often.

Anyway, I'll probably get a game in later tonight or tomorrow, but thanks for keeping me updated on how they're working out. The more input, the better.