Kccitystar

Shifts are a valid strategy to address hitter tendencies but just like illegal formations on football, the league has to make rule adjustments to avoid "three true outcome" baseball which has been slowly poisoning the sport as more and more teams leverage data for decision making on the field. My hot take on all of these rules changes this year is that I am far more comfortable with a shorter game with more balls put in play than a long 4 hour affair where both teams cumulatively put 10 balls in play, especially attending those long 97 degree scorchers at field level in July.

Documentation has always been a weak point within the community and that isn't limited to one game

It's a question with layered answers but I'll do my best here from a modder's point of view: There's a ridiculous amount of diverse tools available to modify the game. When MVP 2003 came out, and subsequently 2004 and 2005, a majority of EA Sports' games were made with what I think was some form of a unified development workflow, so any tools someone would have developed for another EA or EA Sports title (like NBA Live, FIFA, Need for Speed etc.) would have been fairly compatible with MVP, either directly or through a little bit of reverse engineering by some talented members of the community. It's what's given the game extremely long legs over the years, and why a vast majority of long time members of this community who've made mods have poured so many man-hours generating content, entirely for free. 2K12 on the other hand does not have that luxury. While the game visually looks better than MVP, the amount of tools that you can utilize to modify things in 2K12 are small and what's worse is that they are not cross compatible (If you modify something like a stadium in RED MC for example, you cannot modify that same file with another utility that can open .iff files). You're also fairly limited in scope as to what you can modify, so as a modder there's only so much you can generate content for. You can't for example: Change gameplay variables to reflect current baseball trends (i.e. bat-on-ball physics, pitch physics, defensive alignment schemes, custom cameras) Change player progression logic Import new audio for new players Import upscaled textures Adjust stadium textures Adjust global lighting/shading Change in-game text to reflect the year Change season headlines to better reflect events in real life I mean in recent years, there's been extensive work that's gone into trying to understand the ROS files and what all of the values can represent under REDitor II (which is another roster editing utility), but the limitations of the existing limited tools really cut the legs off of what 2K12 could have been.

There's a ton of learning resources for Unity3D or even Unreal Engine and it's gonna be a journey lol

Tendencies are a solid base to work from to be honest. I should definitely take this offseason to go back to learning Unity 3D.

Gameplay design - Traits Another gameplay idea that I think would be solid to any potential baseball game is the implementation of a fully loaded trait system/player personality model. MVP tried this with players when it came to contract offers and roles, and MLB 2K12 tried this with ambitions as well and they tie into player morale and the overall composition of the team. MLB The Show has a system like this called Quirks for all players which functions similarly to something like the Special Abilities in Pro Baseball Spirits and Super Mega Baseball, but developers really need to take a look at how OOTP does it. It's something I'd truly love for a 3D baseball title, because if you apply the player personality model/special skills/traits across players, managers and team personnel, it gives you an entirely different level of depth in how you play a baseball title or even the modes in general. I think over time, traits would add a ton of strategy in how you play a team, and in how you structure your lineups in every game mode, plus they help differentiate players a lot more than just comparing players using 0-99 values for attributes.

The art style can be the last thing that gets implemented to be honest, because the visuals if you are going for realism are 9/10 just a reflection of the time it was made. I suggested an animation style solely because we've been there done that with 3D graphics as far as I've been playing video games but highly detailed pixel art (something like Baseball Stars but in 1080p widescreen) would be truly incredible.

Visuals So this is a huge thing for me but I keep debating on a specific visual style. On one hand, I would love something hyper realistic, like this T-Mobile Park, but at the same time, a lot of the games from my childhood were pixel art based, and some pixel art these days look absolutely ridiculous. I would also be perfectly cool with an animated art style too, but that's only because I've never seen something like this done for an American sports title before. I mean, to me, regardless of art direction, the most important thing to me would be that it animates extremely well and the players feel like players with weight and momentum when they swing, pitch, field or run across the ballpark.

I wouldn't want this new game to just reinvent the wheel so I'll just explain some things I liked from past baseball titles as far as gameplay goes. Gameplay design - Hitting Mechanics I've always like the idea of having just two swing types, a normal swing and a power swing. A lot of games just go this route as it's the simplest approach to hitting. All in all I'd avoid trying to make the hitting mechanics some sort of meta game on the first release. I'd probably go for a 1:1 precision approach to hitting with a cursor, but the cursor has to be bat-shaped vs some arbitrary thing like a circle or some non-bat shape. Pro Baseball Spirits' hitting implementation is great. Gameplay design - Pitching First of all, we gotta bring back motion blur. Baseball pitches are thrown fast and should look fast. Given that in recent years we've been able to obtain more and more pitching data (and hitting data as well), I'd like a proper use of physics across all aspects of the game. Exit velocities, spin rates, arcs, etc. This should help give players a more accurate representation of ball movement for pitchers (i.e. a sinker/two seamer from a pitcher like Jonathan Loaisiga will move across the zone differently compared to the same type of pitch from a different hurler) and with this adjustment, there would be far more hit variety for hitters. Gameplay design - Audio Stadium ambiance can do wonders for the immersion, I'll leave it at that. I've got some more ideas but this is what I've documented so far.

This is pretty neat! It's always worked under emulation on Linux but I'm pumped to know it can run on the Steam Deck. Just want to point out that there is nothing functionally wrong with running MVP as it will still run even on a newer OS like Windows 11, but the secret sauce is being able to break the SafeDisc copy protection for the game. Once you do that, it will run on literally anything these days, since there's no mechanism to authenticate your copy of MVP at all. Sidenote, even though the game itself has long been considered abandonware, there's resources all over the internet dating back 17 years that would help anyone in getting past the copy protection, but providing any links to those resources on this site will get you banned (because we'd be talking about piracy, which is against site guidelines).

I'd rather articulate my full thoughts to the thread than tidbits in the chatbox since it's easier to explain context and nuance this way with some takes. Also, I've been listening to a lot of fan podcasts and Michael Kay/Cone/Sabathia commentary on the team's 2022 season and playoff performance and the one common thread I keep hearing among fans and prominent personalities among the team is that the organization is run differently these days, and I've decided to just call the team the Zombie Yankees as I'd rather not taint my fond memories of the 90s teams. Calling them the Zombie Yankees is a lot more fitting considering they keep thumping out that same mission statement every year even though the sport itself has evolved far beyond the traditional method of building out teams and having championship windows. In the past 15 years or so, I've found that a lot of teams that are utilizing an analytical approach are actually investing a LOT into scouting and player development because new age GMs and owners actually came to the understanding that building out a franchise that is sustainable brings far more value and consistent revenue than just riding a hot core for 3 seasons as part of a "championship window", then overhauling your roster with free agents in those declining years as you're pulling off a dog and pony show appealing to nostalgia to keep butts in seats. The Yankees have had an aging front office and with that aging front office comes an echo chamber of old ideas and old approaches that don't fit the modern game. It's kind of why they haven't been as deep into the playoffs as recent as 2017 and internally they've struggled to develop prospects (Past 20 years the only homegrown guys they've built up have been Cano, Gardner, Judge, Severino among others but it's a small handful) and when they do successfully build up guys to call them up, they screw up their confidence by starting/stopping their momentum at the major league level to truly shine (Peraza/Cabrera) A lot of orgs have also come to understand that harvesting talent in perpetuity will keep you in a permanent competitive window forever *regardless* of who leaves through trades or free agency. Look at the Dodgers. The Dodgers are arguably what the Yankees should have been: An organization that can develop guys constantly so even if a SS like Trea Turner leaves this offseason they will almost always have the depth to fill that need internally, and they don't necessarily need to tank either for picks because they already develop homegrown talent well enough to trade current star talent and get prospects in perpetuity.

I really liked the structure of Julio Rodriguez's contract that's likely going to keep him a Mariner for life over these ridiculous deals we would normally toss out for guys. His contract at least has an out for the team if he falls flat, but if he performs up to his potential, he gets paid market value. I mean I know I've been armchair-GM'ing all day but where would we even go this offseason? Signing Judge will be a massive contract. We'd be paying what, $30M/year for Donaldson and IKF? Plus $8M for Montas? Hicks has $30M left on his terrible contract at $10M/year. So effectively, three stupid blunders eat up every bit of the salary the team could have used to lock down Judge and then some. Now they're stuck with three useless roster spots with players nobody even wants. I'm afraid that if Judge comes back, that's the ONLY big move Hal and the front office are going to make. I'm glad we have Peraza and Cabrera because I have a feeling that's our SS and 2B next year, and the rest will pretty much look the same. If I were Judge, I'd look at that and cringe. I'm also pretty certain Judge would invest a serious amount into his conditioning after seeing the benefits for him this season, and he'll keep putting up consistent numbers on a team that's actually constructed well enough for his offense to make the team itself a juggernaut (thus keeping unnecessary pressure away from him having to constantly "deliver") vs having to carry a team and their offense on his back the way that he did this season (which warps the expectations of the fans). I'm just bummed that the organization couldn't figure to build around him and lock him down long term knowing just how talented he was as far back as 2017. I mean, we ALL saw the HR derby in 2017, and knew this kid was the real deal. I'm okay with him walking though, honestly. Seeing how some other contracts are hurting the team, I just don't think that the Yankees can give Judge what he wants. He did an incredible thing this season and got this team into the playoffs, but he won't be hitting 60+ homeruns next season, obviously. If the rest of the team was actually really solid, you absolutely have to pay him, but we have too many bad contracts as it is.

To be honest, we had a ton of momentum leading into the break so I can understand the comparisons early on. After yesterday's game though, I think Judge understands his time with the team has come to a close and I have no expectations that he would want to return to this sh*tshow. The Baby Bomber era is over and I'm okay with him walking. The Yankees drafted Judge and couldn't get/develop one other guy to fit with him. The rest of the Yankee 1st rounders have been terrible. Even though the Astros tanked for a few seasons to get where they are, the product of those seasons who are still on the team are probably Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker and the team augmented their entire roster to complement those guys. The rest of the Astros were later round picks that were there for anyone, or through trades and international league signings. Correa was gone and they didn't get any return for him, they just decided to roll the dice on Pena (a homegrown shortstop, the irony!) yet here they are in their 4th WS appearance in 6 years. The only revolving door they had all season was CF, while we've had to shuffle around who would play what position on the field and where they'd hit in the batting order almost every series so there was no level of consistency. Imagine pulling up to work not knowing when your shift was every other day or working at that place where you had to on occasion cover a bunch of other duties that you probably couldn't do at 100% competency? Insane. Outside of the Astros, clearly in the last decade there have been other teams across baseball that are doing something right that the Yankees are not as an organization, since a lot of personnel from recent WS winners have moved on to other organizations and some have been outright poached to GM/help other teams in the league. There's no vision, there's no passion, there is no mindset, there's no approach with this organization, at all, man. We can't develop guys properly, we can't set up a solid foundation for the homegrown talent to shine, we can't even spend the ridiculous budget we have on proven quality talent because we need to feel like the smartest guys in the room by searching the bargain bin for AAAA talent every offseason. Apparently the organization has long held this belief that we somehow have the organizational capacity to "fix" players past their prime even though we've struggled to develop our own stars in the past 10 years. I say all that to say this: The Yankees as under Brian Cashman have hit their ceiling, and there is no real sign that they'll be able to break through in the upcoming years. Over the last five years Hal, Cashman, and Boone have successfully been able to transform a team that lost to the Astros in seven games in 2017 into a team that lost to the Astros in four in 2022, and that point is not lost on a vast amount of the fanbase. He's not the worst GM and people will think he is because they're letting out their frustration (even though the guy has never had a losing season under his watch, which is an incredible record), but I feel like he's hit his ceiling. Even if you're solid at your job, when you hit that ceiling, it's really time to strongly consider a new voice.

We also forget that their entire organization and philosphy/approach along with how the lineup was constructed is far different than the 2022 Yankees and their front office

I'll be honest, Brian Cashman is not the worst GM in baseball, but someone needs to tell Hal and the rest of the organization that the biggest team in American sports should not be routinely outclassed by organizations spending far less money. If you don’t think the front offices of the Rays, Astros, Braves, etc. would outperform Cashman with his budget/headroom, you have to be kidding yourself. His complete lack of accountability has also filtered down to the players, too. Boone himself is not a good manager. He isn’t tasked with much because the front office clearly doesn’t believe in delegating responsibilities to the baseball people, but the little he does do he bungles with completely boneheaded decisions (like taking out your ace who literally put the team on his back to get you to this point in the playoffs in favor of what's arguably your third/fourth best reliever with the bases loaded). That said, if you think Boone is the problem, then we have to fault Cashman for continuing to bring him back. At Yankee Stadium, they sell Chicken buckets, basically a mix of chicken tenders and fries, which are a fan favorite because of their price/portion size along with a soda. A vast majority of the fanbase that attend the games (like me) will line up to order those because $15 dollar canned cocktails are where we draw the line, but I and the majority of fans can't come to the stadium and get a deal like that to support an organization that is not serious enough to put themselves in the best position both during the season and during the offseason about putting a championship caliber team on the field.

So what I'm going to do is take my time to rant. So, over 3 games, the team's got 12 hits and 41 Ks. The lineup needs good contact hitters in a bad way. You're not winning in the LCS with a lineup of .230-.250 hitters who strikeout a ton and hit home runs occasionally. Top pitchers will always kill that lineup structure 10 times out of 10. I'm really ready as a fan to put the "Baby Bombers Era" to sleep tomorrow night though. I've come to the conclusion that it's been nothing but a complete dud. It's beginning to slap me in the face that every single rival or contemporary has lapped this team in terms of vision and organizational approach. You have the Astros, who are likely going to their fourth World Series in six years, and they've won* one already. Boston? They retooled and won a title. The Dodgers won a title and two pennants. The Rays won a pennant! In the period since they've won a WS, the Mets across town ALSO won a pennant! The Yankees have TWO division titles in 10 years and have tried to trot the same team out for 5 years now. I guarantee you that they will do this and try to gaslight all of us as fans that letting Judge walk to another team for more money is a good idea while they trot the same team out there next season with Peraza playing SS in AAA over IKF come spring training. Second-rate owner. Second-rate GM. Second-rate roster, a fourth-rate manager and a second-rate organization. I can't wait to see what 14 year old IFA that Cashman will decide to splurge on this off-season, because I sure am glad they didn't break the luxury tax so they didn't lose any of that international money. I can't wait to see him also tear up the minors and then never come-up because our moronic GM ends up blocking him with whatever cheap-ass stopgap he chose to sign instead of the multiple marquee free agents that were available. The fans deserve and expect better from the organization, chicken buckets be damned.

I don't even know how to begin with my feelings. To be honest, for the first 9 innings it was a tense, well-played game. If the Mariners had walked it off in the bottom of the 9th I would've obviously been disappointed, but it would've been whatever, there'll be another game tomorrow. This was a stinker, but you know what, the Angels game they played last season where they had fans sit through a rain delay, then give up 7 runs in the 9th inning was probably the worst Yankees loss in recent memory past this one.

So for a first entry in this series, I'll share thoughts I've wrote down on customization: This is going to sound crazy but I would not want the game to be modder friendly. I'd spend as much time making any in-game tool as robust as possible and because the game wouldn't be bound to licensing requirements that can dictate how things like baseball uniforms are represented, I'd just let people's imaginations go wild with what they can make. As a compromise, I would love to make created items exportable for the community though. I also feel like if the game was highly customizable, that can be a tentpole feature that bleeds into every other aspect of this game, like franchise mode. Uniforms: When I think of customization, I think about how Super Mega Baseball does customization, but crank up the options times 100. I would just include as many shapes/fonts/tools within the game as possible to allow people to create literally anything from any time period and make it work within the game's engine. Give me layers of customization and scale, so if you wanted to make a simple baseball uniform, you can utilize like an "easy mode", but if you're obsessive over details like I am, toggle the "advanced" option at any point in the process and you should be able to fully customize your uniforms, all the way down to the kerning on a jersey. Players: I personally love the in-game player creation tools from the MLB The Show series (because I'm able to accurately create myself, and I've seen what others can make), but I want to be able to modify things further and really make your player unique, like tattoos, frequency of accessories worn (like your player can wear sunglasses for 30% of all sunny games during the season, and in other games he will go for the eye black instead), more variations in cleats, just more everything, really. Stadiums: Ah yes. I've taken extensive notes on this when the feature premiered in MLB The Show 21, because this is the ultimate customization dream for a lot of people, and most of what I've suggested they've improved on in MLB 22, but while building a ballpark is new for The Show series, what I'd love is to make every stadium modular (which I think is how they're approaching their stadiums as the CAS tools improve) and give people as many props and options as far as stadium design goes, along with custom mow patterns, logos you can put on the field, etc. This is stuff you can tie into franchise/expansion mode as well. I'll make a separate post for gameplay design at some point that will elaborate on this, but...visualize something like an Expansion mode where you've built out a stadium for your Portland Mavericks, and you can improve on that stadium over time based on the amount of revenue your club makes (as a callback to MVP 2005) for example... Miscellaneous: As part of Franchise mode, I would definitely love for a feature where you can rebrand your team and you can change the logos used on promotional material and in-stadium ads and what kind of color scheme (if any) get used in-game and at the ballpark. I've got a ton of ideas, believe me. I've long wanted to make an unlicensed baseball game that retained a realistic visual style.

I named it Untitled Baseball Game as a joke, this fictional game would be titled something cool at some point

Hey everyone, Hopefully everyone's having a solid summer So, I wanted to come up with something fun here for the community. An activity, if you will. Let's roleplay a bit. Let's say...a studio has sat you down in a meeting to hand you the reigns of Untitled Baseball Game (UBG). You are now the lead director for this project, and the studio wants you to come up with a baseball title that would emulate the experience of your favorite baseball title (could be The Show, could be High Heat 2002, could be MVP, could be Hardball, etc) with a mix of the old and the new baseball titles. It could be a baseball sim, or it can be an arcade title, or even a hybrid of both (like a sandbox). This would be the studio's first baseball game, and let's say that the studio is looking to release a new version of UBG every two years, so the sole expectation for your first entry is that it be a fun, enjoyable representation of the sport. To give you some creative freedom, the studio has decided that there will be no licensing. They don't have the clout/reputation/budget to gain licensing rights, so everything in the game is completely fictional. Upon doing your research in the past 15 years and digging deep into the years of your youth, you come up with a huge list of things you found fun in current and older games that you'd like to implement in this game to make as close to a "perfect" type of baseball game. Let's split this into several categories that should give you some aspects you can talk about and elaborate, for example. You wouldn't need to cover everything, so ideas are welcome: Visuals Gameplay/Realism Audio Features CPU/Artificial Intelligence Other If you wanted your team to make an extremely solid first title, what do you focus on first? Second? Third? What's on wishlist/timeline for UBG 2 and beyond? I've wanted to make this thread for quite some time to get some feedback/ideas on what the community considers to be a "great" baseball title, as mostly everyone here have played a ton of baseball video games over the years, whether that's as kids, or as teens, or as grown adults, or even as older adults. I've filled up a notepad with cool ideas. We all love this sport and it's been a rough 15 years being a fan of baseball video games, with a lack of choices on what our "flavor" of baseball is. I wanted to give the community a fictional scenario and see what everyone would value above all else. Let's hear it!

Why can't the Yankees have a player like Tatis, period?

I'm telling you dude the entire organization is a death star. They have great scouts, a great farm system, great ownership that has an good eye for evaluating players in the league, etc.

Speaking of, what did I tell you about Taillon! Patience! 👍

Since Luis Gil was called up as a COVID replacement, they can call him back up at anytime. They don’t need to wait the 10 days like they would with a regular call up. He’ll hang around like Wade did when he was “sent down”.

The derby has become a showcase with a LOT of thump participating