the MVP engine...what do you like/dislike about it...

[davewins]

I was wondering what everybody likes/dislikes about the MVP engine. I'm not talking about MVP 07 or MVP 06 or the roster issues with the new game. I'm just talking about the gameplay engine. What do you like and dislike.

positives
I will say that I think honestly the batting engine/physics is the best out there. It seems the most realistic. The best your going to do with an inside pitch taht you swing late on is bloop it opposite field instead of possibly hitting an opposite field HR. I just think overall the mvp batting engine is the best out of all baseball games.

I also like how you can score if you have a runner in scoring position whether it be 2nd or 3rd base. In other games it seems like you aren't really in scoring position unless you are on 3rd base. I have scored a couple times with someone on 1st base on a gapper.

negatives
What I can say I don't like is #1 the batting ai. I think the pitching now with R&F is really nice. It's just the batting ai that is causing some problems. I still do not give up walks. I do give up more hits and I can actually give up runs but it gets out of hand and I end up giving up a ridiculous amount of hits with it.

Also the infield just seems too small. It seems like double plays are very hard to get even on balls hit hard right to the 2b or ss. I don't know if this has to do with the cpu being that much better on harder levels or what. It seems like in EA sports games the hardest level always favors the CPU in some way. I noticed this with Madden. On All-Madden the defenders for example would be like magnets and could cover much more ground specifically the defensive backs. It seems like this is the same with MVP in how fast the runners run the bases. It seems like the CPU wants to compete with you regardless of how well you do.

Overall I think if MLB The Show had MVP's batting engine/physics we would have an excellent playing game of baseball.

[stealyerface]

Dave, I have had an issue with MVP forever with regards to the size of the infield. Like you, I am not sure if the field is to blame, or if the guys are just too big for that field itself. I have tweaked, prodded and pulled the slider set and I have finally gotten to the point where with my sliders adjusted and the game set up just so, I feel that MVP 2005 is, without a doubt, the best engine/sim/gameplay interface in a baseball game. Ever.

I have the X-box, so I am not able to try out the new MVP 07, but from the reviews I have read on here, I am not sure I am missing too much. If I could just get the Analog fielding and hitting from MVP 06 over to the pro game of 05, I would be the happiest guy ever. Do you still have or play MVP 2005? Would you be willing to try out a set of sliders for a few games and see what you think? I have it set up where guys who should leg out a double are sliding into second at just the right time they should be and the guys who are fast can get a triple in the gap but can get thrown out on a great throw. Guys with mediocre speed are now thrown out at first by a step and a half, but faster guys are out by a 1/2 step. Basically I have tweaked it down to where I think between the range, the speed, the throw power, and the fielding aspects, I finally have it dialed in.

It is going to be really tough for me to jump the shark to the X-box's only pro game this year, and try to learn a new engine. I cannot forsee me putting the time into a game like the time MVP has stolen from me. I have never played a sports game as much, and for as long as that one, and I will just keep updating the rosters and the player progressions manually until I find a game that runs as well as MVP.

If you want to try out these sliders and settings, let me know, and I will put them up here for you to give a shot at. I get games that are 8-6 slugfests, and I get 2-0, 10 strikeout games that I am shaking my head at after the game. I still get games where something happens that I am amazed by. For a game to still surprise you after three years, it had to be great.

SYF

[rudyjuly2]

I never liked the MVP batting engine in '05 so I will disagree with you on the hitting aspect. I felt it was very unrealistic although I barely played 06 and haven't played '07. It IS possible to take an inside pitch to the opposite field with success in baseball. Maybe not HRs but its not impossible. Its VERY possible to pull a ball really hard on the outer half of the plate (not the edge of the black) but MVP makes these things nearly impossible. The power button was way too arcade like. MVP also made it impossible to get a hit on balls out of the strike zone yet guys like Vladdy routinely get many hits and HRs outside of the strike zone. The speed of the fastball didn't seem to matter when pitching to the CPU. 88 mph or 98 mph - no difference in throwing it past people. Just my thought on 05. Loved the Show's timing system much better.

For likes: I liked the franchise organization much better along with the fielding and baserunning.

[davewins]

Quote: Originally Posted by rudyjuly2

I never liked the MVP batting engine in '05 so I will disagree with you on the hitting aspect. I felt it was very unrealistic although I barely played 06 and haven't played '07. It IS possible to take an inside pitch to the opposite field with success in baseball. Maybe not HRs but its not impossible. Its VERY possible to pull a ball really hard on the outer half of the plate (not the edge of the black) but MVP makes these things nearly impossible. The power button was way too arcade like. MVP also made it impossible to get a hit on balls out of the strike zone yet guys like Vladdy routinely get many hits and HRs outside of the strike zone. The speed of the fastball didn't seem to matter when pitching to the CPU. 88 mph or 98 mph - no difference in throwing it past people. Just my thought on 05. Loved the Show's timing system much better. For likes: I liked the franchise organization much better along with the fielding and baserunning.

My argument is not hitting inside pitches to the opposite field but hitting them for power. Unless you are standing 3 feet away from the plate you can not inside out a 2seam fastball to the opposite field for power. As a righty you can bloop it over the 2b's or 1b's head but you can not go yard. In MVP this is portrayed correctly. I feel some things wrong with batting in The Show is the fact that you can hit an inside fastball to complete dead opposite field for a hr. Those balls should be fouled off or broken bats at best.

I think the whole thing wrong with MVP's pitching is the batter vs pitcher matchup and the pitch count. I throw 50 pitches and I am dead and it gets VERY hard to get guys out with R&F on Senior difficulty. I think I am going to have to mess with some sliders particularly user pitcher fatigue. I am going to max that out and see what happens.

Overall I think they did an excellent job with R&F especially since it's the first year using it. I think the whole game overall needs some serious tweaking though. It feels great but just doesn't play as good as it feels if you know what I'm saying. I am referring to MVP 07. The fact that the rosters are completley bogus and there isn't every team really does hurt this game unless you play online only. If you want to play a dynasty what fun is it playing a dynasty with your favorite school but you don't have the real players that are on your team and to make it worst you have the players from some other team on yours. Also not having every team means you have a bogus schedule. I picked UCONN and I played Oregon St first 2 games then the following week I played Miss St. That's a nice 0-4 start to the season. If they had all D-1 schools and D-1AA it would be nice so we can actually play an accurate scheduled dynasty. Also, they need a LOT more authentic stadiums. I know its' hard to create them but let's face it...in all other sports games they have every single stadium whether it only be 32 nfl teams or 100 some odd NCAA football teams. It gets repetitive playing in the same old generic stadiums for the same road games. Anyways, i'm rambling and getting off topic.

[NoSkillz50]

I still think MVP has the best engine out there. The main reason being the hitting. It is infinitely better imo over the Show's shoddy zone hitting with crazy bat speeds, strange foul balls, terrible hit variety and lacking physics. Not to mention the giant chopper illusion glitch that drives me crazy.

The one thing the Show does better than MVP as far as batting goes though is being able to make contact with pitches out of the zone. In MVP its a little too hard to make contact with pitches out of the zone sometimes.