MLB The Show 21 Quick Q&A Video - March to October & Franchise Mode

Yikes! I guess they have a different opinion on what revamp means than I do.

Budget changed from weekly to yearly and logic improved
Call up/send down and contract negotiation logic improved
New depth chart is in franchise mode

Nothing on lineup and bullpen logic?

There are additions and changes.

It was changed as well, but it was tied to a MTO question, so I don't want to say that its changed for franchise, but I would assume it would be.

Ok thanks... I sure hope so but we'll see.
Guessing we aren't getting expanded rosters, would think that would have come up.

Which video was this shown in before? I missed it.

MTO video awhile back.

So it's looking like RTTS changes and stadium creator are the reasons why no Y2Y saves... Damn, was hoping franchise had major changes to be the reason why.

Yeah we may not be.
But I'm intrigued to hear more about the contract negotiation logic in the stream. And the changes to budget logic and improvements.

At least they made the decision to not buy the game at launch an easy one. I personally see no reason to buy the game at full price, or potentially at all this year, if franchise mode remains largely unchanged. We'll see what Thursday has in store for us, but I'm not expecting much.
Unless the logic has improved in franchise mode tremendously, I don't see any reason for me to get 21. It's a shame that even though baseball and football are my number 1 and 2 favorite sports, I end up buying and playing 2k for my sports fix because EA and SCEA have a target audience that I'm apparently not a part of. Fortunately us baseball fans have OOTP as an alternative if we desire well made franchise mode that has depth and competent AI.
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I'm guessing it could be the changes to budget going back to yearly from weekly as well as the logic changes being made.
Hard to say what under the hood changes may have led to Y2Y saves being omitted, if they indeed are the reason.
Hope to hear whether Y2Y saves return in the stream on Thursday.

I love logic being improved. That is always a good thing. Under the hood that benefits everyone.
That being said, I am tired of logic being shown as the best new feature in franchise mode. Thats not a feature. That is an improvement on something already there.
The audacity by SDS to have the stream on opening day and have this as the promotion for franchise. Yuck.

Don't think it's time for panic mode yet. The refusal to answer contract negotiations and roster logic question in detail does allude to the potential of expanded rosters.
However, my "deeply skeptical" mode remains engaged.

I just hope the budget change, isnt changed into budget for dummies. Its already simple and easy to read.

Honestly I think OD and franchise stream on the same day is just a coincidence.

Yeah when Ramone mentioned that it was too much to go into detail at the moment and would be explained fully in the stream, my ears perked up.
I was expecting him to say yes the logic has changed and leave it at that, but was surprised they feel as though the changes are extensive enough to be fully discussed in the stream.
I don't know if it leads to expanded rosters, but either way I'm intrigued to hear more about all the logic updates.

It has become the norm for this game and Madden to have changes to logic be some of the bigger changes we see annually despite those being changes that should be expected to have been made in the background each year.
When your additions list each year is basically fine tuning changes that should be made at minimum each year, it shows how low of a priority the mode has become. Their other big changes so far are reverting the contracts back to an annual view like it used to be and how it should have always remained, and then a graphics update with a new depth chart.
Hopefully something larger is in store for Thursday, but what we have to talk about at the moment is nothing short of disappointing, in my opinion of course.
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I'm just a wee bit more hopeful than I was...
The response at the end to contract negotiations/call-ups/send-downs being "it's too complicated to discuss here" intrigues me.
This suggests they may have done something a bit more than mere window dressing.
That said, "different" does not mean "better"; so my optimism is still rather guarded...

Hopefully this means contract negotiations will be more robust. I’d love the opportunity to actually negotiate with free agents. Give me a chance to counter when another team makes a better offer.
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I don't know if it leads to expanded rosters either. If those had been added to the game; one would think that they would have brought it up in the RTTS stream (i.e. Playable A-ball). That said, could they roll that out in the Next Gen stream? Maaaayyyybbbbeeee....
(I personally have the odds of us seeing expanded rosters for this year's game at 1:50)

may as well implicate changes to players progression. Interesting.

Re-working the budget and contract negotiation along with their mentioning preparing for the future, or however its worded, has me holding onto to hope that expanded rosters are indeed in the game, for franchise mode.
While it being stated in RTTS about starting in A ball would've been an all be certainty, the fact that it wasn't mentioned doesn't completely eliminate it, since the additional roster spots are for non-playable games (ie Single A ball but players don't play games nor accumulate stats like the 10 "bonus spots" currently)
While I'm now losing hope that expanded rosters are in, I'm most certainly intrigued by the changes mentioned to budget, contracts and call up and send down, that I'm looking at my personal wishlist in regards to those things in hopes that some of my wishes can finally be crossed off the list. :D

2K progression breaks like 2 years into the game haha. The progression is totally busted and without 30 team control and constantly editing rosters, MyLeague turns into a mess of dumb rosters and goofed up ratings (plus the obvious contract issues, dudes never wanting to sign off rookie deals, etc. etc.)
But if you're saying it's not due to franchise mode specifically and the vibes 2K is trying to pull off, then fair enough. 2K does try to add stuff to franchise mode -- and does technically add more stuff than anyone else so you can give applause for effort -- but it's a broken mess.
(And this isn't to defend The Show because they've obviously failed in the franchise mode department in recent years, I just thought it was weird to say 2K hits the spot when I have not been able to get like even 3 years into an enjoyable franchise in 2K for a couple years now due to major, major issues that are such a pain to manage -- and are as obvious as they ever have been this year -- which sucks because it's my most played game every year due to being an NBA fiend.)

Definitely a bit more excited about Thursday's stream now. Obviously logic updates aren't the sexiest features to show off, but they are much needed. Hopefully lineup/bullpen logic made its way into Franchise as well since Ramone only mentioned it for MTO.
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This and it being on April fools have been brought up so many times. It doesn’t matter. They did every Thursday and this stream happened to land on April 1st opening day

Realistically, what new additions to Franchise do some of you want? Emphasis on the realistically part. I primarily play franchise. I can't think of too many things it needs. A fresh coat of paint and improved logic is always welcomed. As far as features go, it is really well fleshed out. I'm not saying it is perfect or couldn't be improved, but exactly what are some of you looking for?

Here you go
https://forums.operationsports.com/forums/mlb-show/982920-mlb-show-21-five-things-we-want-franchise-mode.html

One other thing...a significant budget and logic re-work could very well not mesh with Y2Y saves....with or without roster expansion....

Agreed.
*10 char*

I hope so but we have seen things added only to MTO and not franchise, i.e. trade hub... Franchise badly needs bullpen logic upgrades especially since teams bullpens can go 9 deep irl.

Idk on the lineup and pitching logic being updated in franchise, Ramone only mentions MTO but the budget/callup logic he says its changed in MTO and Franchise.
So idk fellas.
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glad to see budgets are changing. maybe sometimes it's better the devil you know but not with the way budgets were the last 4 or so years. that , was pure hell

I found that odd as well. He made sure to mention both on some things, and not both on others. So I may have more questions than answers haha.

I'm pretty sure the logic was REALLY bad in MtO...like REALLY bad. Like them being reset and stuff...

“Budgets changes from weekly to yearly”. Woah, some ground breaking stuff right there. Wonder how they came up with that idea *sigh*

Interesting.... I don't think is good in franchise either tho, some really questionable lineups at times... And bullpen logic is bad as well, some guys getting no work and others getting overused.
So improvements would be welcome.

I'm lucky I guess because over the last 2 or 3 2k releases my myLeagues have worked perfectly fine going years into them. I'm the in the conference finals in year 2 of myLeague in 2k21 and have had nothing break yet. Rosters are fine, progression is fine. I guess I'll see if it all blows up once the 76ers eliminate me like I expect them to.
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1) Expand the rosters
2) Completely rebuild CPU pitching staff logic. I shouldn't face the same 2 relievers all series. An injury to a SP shouldn't break the CPU and lead to me getting 3 gifted wins because the LR pitcher throws 280 pitchers in a 3 day series.
3) Completely revamp the draft once rosters are expanded.
4) Build a new progression system that is actually dynamic. Every player practically follows the same exact progression arc. All A potentials progress the same, all B's progress then same with very little variety. You can take 10 players with the same ratings and the same potentials, sim 10 franchises, and those 10 players will practically progress the exact same every single sim. There are no busts, no late bloomers, it's way too generic.
4) This should really be the only thing I wrote. Look at OOTP and literally copy everything they do and then tack your on-field gameplay onto it. Nothing more is needed. OOTP is the pinnacle of franchise modes.
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Very predictable, called it in the franchise thread.. super underwhelming, seriously the same mode we've had for 5 years or more.
I honestly feel franchise was better when we had the newspaper, ability to set ticket prices etc.. The world just felt more alive.
-no rotating interleague schedules
-no non roster invitees
-poor moral system
-the league feels dead, radio wrap up just doesnt work IMO. Lack of social media.. just something!
-AI bullpen logic

I mean besides the Q&A, is there something I missed that many of you are jumping off the rails? Not shocking by some of the posts around here, but damn, we haven't even had the premiere where the big things would be talked about. Tap the breaks a little lol.
Why in the world would a Q&A video talk about any mode in detail? All these videos have been small easy to answer questions.

I'll take:
1) rotating schedules - check, yes
2) NRI's - check, yes
3) ON/OFF morale option - check, yes
4) revamped Radio Show, Tony Bruno/Madden-style - check, yes
5) 30 different ways to setup bullpen logic - check, yes
6) newspaper sports section to read - check, yes
7) set ticket prices, rent billboards, set sell hotdogs prices (or popcorn or coke or sushi or Colorado Rockies mountain oysters) and bobblehead give-away - check, yes
but more social media, no thank-you, no way, no how. I hated the Tweeter being introduced into the Show. don't have use for the Bookface, Instagran, Yelp, Utube, Tik-tik or the like :mad: I'll allow Telegraph but that's it lol

I'm optimistic. Budget, trades, lineups, rotations and call up call downs were huge issues.
If they balanced budgets to reflect real salaries that would be game changing for me.
As always the devil is in the "details." I don't need fluff, give me quality changes and bug fixes that have needed to be addressed in a long time.
Budget fixes will help fix trade logic. Currently teams don't value certain players due to the salary they make being considered way too high.
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yeah, to me it would make more sense to start with the premier then follow-up with a quick q&a

I like everything he has in his so instead of retyping them I figured I'd quote him and then say some of my other ideas I hope to see.
1. Custom draft classes. I highly doubt we'll get them but this is a long over due feature.
2. Rain outs with rescheduled double headers. Again, this one is long over due but isn't as widely requested so I doubt I'll get this one either. Expanded rosters for double headers would be a must as well.
3. Rotating interleague schedule in multiyear franchises. I can't believe this is a request I'm still having to ask for.
4. Team records added to Dynasty. Would be nice to try and beat some team records in addition to the MLB recorders.
5. Expansion teams. I doubt we'll see this one this year. Give it a year but worth adding to the list.
6. Single A teams. Time to actually add in the single A teams.
7. Playoff rosters including a 4 man rotation option.
8. International Free Agents - Would be another fun add.
9. Fine tuned injury logic
10. Better Free agent negotiations.

I know this is unpopular on this forum but I’m content with what franchise is as long as they don’t actively remove features versus these massive overhauls in the wishlist thread. The game is so damn good on the field, where it matters most, that I can tolerate what franchise is and isn’t at this point. Just my opinion.

oh, I definitely hated when they started removing things, I want additions to the game.
I don't want to them to play the smoke-&-mirror-replacement/shell game with features

There are many of us diehards that 100% agree with you. That doesn't mean we don't want improvement, but it also means that we understand that franchise mode in this series is a gameplay-driven franchise mode; not a menu screen-driven one. That is NOT for everyone; but that has been SDS' approach to this mode for years and I personally am 100% on-board with that approach.

I totally agree with you there. There are quite a few people that want The Show to be OOTP. I've got news, this game will never be OOTP. They are two completely different kinds of baseball games. I'm another one who is content with how franchise is. As long as they just keep adding little things, changing what's a bit broken, and not remove stuff, I'm happy. But for those wanting SDS to copy and bring over what OOTP does, that's not gonna happen.
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No big changes but there's some nice quality of life improvements that I'm excited for.
I'm glad that they're finally going back to yearly budgets, the weekly cash flow stuff made no sense to anyone. I'm also curious what changes they made to calling up and sending down players.
Despite the lack of "big changes" to the mode, I would consider Create-a-Stadium a Franchise feature, and that alone is worth the purchase to me.

I am officially excited!

When I ask this question, I'm being 100% genuine. I'm not trying to be snarky at all. What in the world is a gameplay driven franchise versus a menu driven franchise? When I read that, all I picture is a franchise mode that's just tacked onto a game that had good gameplay, which is The Show at the moment. I'm sure you mean more than simply that, that's why I'm asking for a little clarity as to what you mean by gameplay driven.
I personally feel that making trades, doing the draft, signing free agents, and all of that GM related stuff is all gameplay as well, but I don't get the sense that is what you mean when you say gameplay since you also reference menu driven and that is where I'd assume you would put those kind of things.
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While I would agree that OOTP features in the show is not going to happen, that does not mean that the team can't strive for better guts inside the franchise mode.
I have said it before, the Show has the worst franchise mode in sports. To me, that is not acceptable being a baseball game where revenue, concessions, budget, etc is more important in baseball than any other sport.
People may not like the madden franchise and how it is (XP/MORALE), but it does have more depth, and more to play with. It has an owner mode and even though it is not great, and could be refined, it is in. Same with NHL, NBA, and Fifa.
I am drafting prospects in the show every year with A potential and they come in at 45-50 overall. They won't EVER see the bigs. It is commonplace all over the draft.
I hate having to go in as the user and "fix" the league each year on ratings, lineups, rotations, contracts, trades, etc. An abundance of things. I am tired of it, and sure as hell hope Thursday has SOMETHING more.

At least we got the sweet depth chart in Franchise!
Maybe, just maybe they lumped closers and relievers into one... I don't believe closer is listed on that DC screen??

I would NOT consider create a stadium a franchise feature. Or at least that was not the intention.
This may be nit-picky but SDS did the same thing with the "rebrand" feature last year in franchise.
All they did was take the DD uniform creator and plopped it in franchise. The stadium creator was something that benefits franchise, but I am sure it'll be all over DD and be highlighted as such. I see it very similarly as the rebrand feature.
Maybe that's me bashing to much, but I can't help that is how I see it. It is painfully obvious to me.
They are re-using assets to plop in franchise in order to call them new features. Stadium creator was coming regardless. It is awesome, hats off to them.

I wonder if they will say whether carry over saves will return in mlbts22.

My expectations are real low for the stream on Thursday. Feel like they will spend most of the time talking about MTO and just spend 5 or 10 minutes talking about franchise mode.

I agree that it doesn't mean that the team can't strive for franchise to be better. I'm all for them making it better, and I do believe they try to adjust things year in and year out. I was speaking mainly about people wanting The Show to be OOTP. And you mentioned that Madden has an owner mode, even though it's nothing to write home about. But in your words, "at least it's in". Do you know what alot of people in this community would do if SDS added a bare bones owner mode just so that "it's in the game"? They would get so much flack bc it'd be unpolished and bare bones. I don't want a new mode in a game just so that it's there. That wouldn't make much sense.
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If it's a legitimate feature that applies and adds to franchise (as I think most of us can agree Stadium Creator does), why does it matter how it came about in the development process?

It was a three minute Q/A video lol. I'll wait to complain if Thursday reveal is a bust.
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Since I agree with Josh's thought (providing I'm right in what he means)…..
The Show is a gameplay driven franchise where the goal of the mode is for you to play out your GM decisions (trades, drafts, signings, etc...) on the field versus that of micro-managing your roster/organization in menus (ex: OOTP text based game)
Of course all us diehard franchise/baseball nuts would love to have the depth of OOTP off the field coupled with the gameplay on the field in MLBTS, but I don't foresee that ever happening, because well that's not in a sense not feasible because the game has to "cater" (lack of better word at the moment) to a vast array of different people within its community/fan base (RTTS, DD, Online, etc...)
That's not to say that the franchise mode isn't growing long in the tooth, nor that they shouldn't strive to continuously add more and more depth, but at the end of the day, one expecting the level of depth of OOTP inside MLBTS is going to always be disappointed, in my humble opinion of course.

When I say look at OOTP when making a wishlist, that's basically me saying SCEA doesn't even need to reinvent the wheel or try and be creative. When people say that franchise mode lacks depth, they don't need to brainstorm to figure out how to fix it, they simply need to look at what OOTP offers and implement what they feel would translate over from that game.
While I would be head over heels in love with SCEA taking OOTP and making that their franchise mode, I know it isn't happening. That doesn't mean that game shouldn't be referenced continuously whenever ideas for franchise mode are talked about. That game literally is the mecca when it comes to franchise modes and it is perfectly reasonable to point to it and say The Show needs this or that from the game.
We are clearly not going to get every year of baseball history as a playable beginning in franchise mode like OOTP offers, but why shouldn't we say The Show needs international free agency and a more robust coaching system like OOTP offers? We won't get the numerous playable foreign leagues OOTP offers, but I should be able to point out the different customization setting OOTP has surrounding progression, regression, trading, player values, etc. and say The Show would benefit from implementing those types of options.
It is unrealistic to ask for the entirety of OOTP to be added to The Show. That's true. It's not crazy, unrealistic, illogical, etc. to look at what features OOTP offers in a modern day MLB franchise save and say that The Show should be implementing the majority of those features. Just because The Show has gameplay on the field you can interact with does not excuse it for lacking so many basic things. I should be able to send cash over in a trade like OOTP. That's a very very very common thing that happens in baseball that SCEA has never tried to replicate.
The morale/chemistry system The Show has is very basic and done poorly. We should be able to say look how OOTP handles it, strive for something similar. Too often people excuse The Show because it has on field gameplay as if that somehow makes it impossible for them to add all of the "menu driven" things OOTP offers. That's not how this works. The Show is not built in some unique way that makes it impossible to have the depth OOTP has. It's simply a design choice and people are only asking that SCEA change their approach some and show Franchise mode some true love by bringing over ideas from OOTP because that game is the king of kings with regards to franchise modes.
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I agree with you that they can look at OOTP as a source and try to implement certain things and see what would work and what wouldn't work. Even though some people can get crazy here on OS, conversations like this is why I keep coming back. We're just a couple passionate baseball fans throwing ideas and thoughts back and forth. We may not always agree with certain directions the game should go, but that's okay!
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My reply above to another post is very relative to this post, but to respond directly to this, the idea isn't that The Show needs every ounce of depth OOTP has. That's clearly not realistic, but The Show's approach to franchise mode should not restrict it from having international free agency like OOTP, trade settings like OOTP, the ability to trade cash like OOTP, and so on.
We're not saying give us the ability to play any year in baseball history, give us every single historical draft class, give us every foreign league there is, and make all of that playable in franchise mode. That would be lovely if that ever became a reality. We are saying look at how OOTP has a wear and tear system and injury histories matter, give us that type of detail in The Show. We are saying look at how we can fine tune progression and regression in OOTP. Allow us to do that in The Show.
Those are all features that would translate over fine into a non-text sim sports game. The Show has a very shallow franchise mode because it lacks a lot of features like that that would immediately give it depth and are not a part of the daunting spreadsheet simulator side of OOTP.
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Yeah I understand that, I was trying my best to answer your question about the term gameplay driven franchise
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Looking forward to Thursday to see exactly what the improvements to AI logic entail. That was my number one want. Better AI logic both on and off the diamond.
I hope they do answer the question about when/if Y2Y will return.
Roster importing seems like a long shot if they cannot handle the budget changes. Hard to say without hearing from the developers themselves.
I am all for giving up Y2Y for a few seasons if it means they can continue to improve franchise mode on next gen. It is important to expand the rosters IMO to really unleash franchise mode to a better place in terms of AI logic, and robust scouting and drafting options with a bigger farm system at our disposal.
Let’s see what it all looks like Thursday.

but.. but.. you can beat the rush and complain now :signball:

I don’t think this message with contribute anything to the conversation here but I just wanted to throw my 2 in anyway. I think it comes down to the series roots. The game was birthed on the PS1 and was a gameplay driven game wasn’t it? This is just how the series has been designed, it was never a stats driven game so that’s why franchise has not been improved on very much. The team has been focused on delivering a better on field experience year after year.
But then again this makes the deletion of Season mode all the more confusing. I don’t know 🤷🏻*♂️

There better be a great explanation why Y2Y saves were taken out. Budgets, expanded rosters, rotating schedules, rainout doubleheaders, expansion mode, revamped franchise would all be great reasons why. I would trade off for that. If it's just logic, then Houston, we have a problem!
Also Y2Y saves are basically a database, so with crossplay, saves should be able to go to Xbox.

I'm leaning more and more everyday corona and extra work on next-gen consoles not to mention the old xbox flat-lined all the Studios time, leaving none for y2y

I would like to have the ability in Franchise to alter the number of teams and the league structure, but it looks like most of the changes are to the logic. We will see what they say on Thursday.
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This. The less 30 team control micromanaging help the CPU needs for you to have a fun realistic franchise experience, the better. If the CPU AI can take a significant step forwards this year I’ll be ok without any flashy new features for now. I really hope those CPU lineup and rotation logic changes involve franchise mode too.
Franchise mode can definitely use new features like expanded rosters, but if they went and did some real work on under the hood stuff that’s just as if not more important then any features they could’ve added in my opinion.
I said before that without major changes to franchise 21 would only be worth buying if they made some real CPU logic improvements, and it seems there’s a decent chance they have done that. I know it’s not enough for everyone, but personally I’ll take that and stadium creator and be happy for the year.

Honestly, my main desire for franchise has always been to actually play against the computer, instead of constantly having to help it out as it flounders around making unrealistic decision after unrealistic decision. It's exhausting the lengths you have to go to to get the mode to play even semi-ok and it really shouldn't be. It drains a lot of the fun out of it as you are constantly having to rein yourself in to stop from just completely dominating the incompetent AI.
They say they've made changes to the AI, but I guess that is quite easy to say, whether it's meaningful or positive remains to be seen. Fingers crossed, but there's not been much in the past decade to pin your hopes on when it comes to SDS and decent AI, it's not been an area of strength at all.

Y2y was already built so that's really no excuse
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.
I am sure those that purchase day one will test the crap out of the touted logic improvements (talking to you Tbarnes!!).
I am really pining for more on top of that though.
Y2Y coming back
Expanded Rosters
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Let me put it like this. This is my equally un-snarky response (and I know from our past discussions, that we have widely differing views here - which is cool, I'm just acknowledging that).
When I play MLBTS franchise - I spend 90-95% of my total time in the mode playing the actual games (5-10% in the menu screens); equating to about 5-10 minutes per game. For my tastes, that's an ideal percentage and how I would define a "gameplay-driven" or "in-game driven" franchise.
If you keep adding to that percentage of time in the menu screens, you're taking time away from a) what this game does the best (on-field gameplay) and b) the entire point of the game - which is to play baseball.
That's where adding stuff "for the sake of adding it" or just because it "mimics real life" doesn't necessarily make the mode better. Adding an international draft, for example, may be more "realistic". But it doesn't make the mode "better"; it's just another means of adding more players to the player pool (which the current system already does). The stadium/rebranding creator is the same thing; it doesn't make the mode 'better' (barring SDS actually incorporating stadium seating/city demographics to team budget calcs). A lot of stuff could be added that's all "window dressing", and while some of that is helpful, that's not the stuff I'd want to see focused on.
Now contrast that with something like adding better player development mechanics. This might be something where you're forced to play players out-of-position to accrue innings at a new position to gain familiarity with a position in order to add to his eligible positions. This is a menu screen decision that has a number of TANGIBLE impacts when you play the actual games (you have to deal with possible errors for a guy playing OOP, you get more strategy in terms of how and when to implement certain lineups, etc.). That's an addition that enhances the overall mode as it connects the "menu screen" decisions with the in-game. THOSE are the kinds of additions that will add wide-scale immersion and enhance the overall experience.
Aside from adding in needed AI adjustments (including roster expansion), where this mode needs to develop is in continuing to add elements that connect the in-game experience and then menu-screen experience. You shouldn't HAVE to go to a menu to see who is on the trade block, it should be discussed in-game. You shouldn't have to find out about a major deal in the menu screens, it should be in-game. That's what connects you to the larger world that your team is in. Franchise mode is about the overall experience and the connection of both the high level elements with the in-game elements.
I hope this makes some sense in at least explaining where I'm coming from.

so no more multiple seasons in M2O, that could be relevant to what's going on behind closed doors of franchise. Thursday gonna be anxiously awaiting
I would still tend to think some type work would be needed to make it compatible with xbox, next-gen xbox and ps5

Makes sense to me. Appreciate the response. I think we may have more similar wants than we may realize. If I could literally have OOTP as the franchise mode in The Show, I'd gladly take that, but I know that isn't a reality and the things I do want SCEA to take inspiration from are things I do believe would mostly enhance the on-field experience and the connectivity of the mode between the high and low level stuff like you alluded to.
I would love to see them bring over the system OOTP has where you can play a guy out of position and that's how they will improve at the new position. I'm glad you brought this up because this is the kind of stuff I love about OOTP that I wish was in The Show. I don't want to have to go edit a player to have him play a new position, I also don't want to force to AI to play a guy in a different position. I'd like there to be a system already in place where a guy learns on the job when playing out of position AND the CPU has logic built in that helps them pick and choose who they want learning new spots and why. I also would love to see it be like OOTP where not every 3rd baseman will learn 1st base the same. Some guys pick it up fine, others are helpless. That kind of variety is what brings flavor to the game and it represents real life where everyone is different.
I also think a wear and tear system with injury memory/history impacts the on field gameplay experience because when in game you have to make decisions with the info you have regarding your players past health issues. I think it would greatly enhance the on field gameplay to have to make critical decisions like thinking about pulling a pitcher because of his recent arm issues. I'd love to know that my SS has a lot of ankle issues over the years and it may be in the team's best interest to make him play 2B to limit his movement some so his ankles don't take as much of a beating.
Those kind of mechanics directly impact the on field gameplay and are the types of things I wish SCEA would take inspiration from.
We won't agree on everything, I know that, but I think we may be able to both look at a host of features that OOTP does have that would impact the gameplay experience in The Show. While you may disagree with me on wanting a full-size draft and full organization, I imagine we'd both love the playing a guy out of position system or a wear and tear system since they do directly impact the gameplay on the diamond.
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I plan on taking that Friday off and doing marathon testing sessions like I usually do. I need to find the issues to try to compensate for them to get a playable franchise.
Big bug that I found last year, I hope is fixed this year, being the logic for balancing rosters.
The massive trades to balance rosters needs to be addressed.
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Can always count on you every year to test this stuff out for the community
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Bummer that you can’t play multiple seasons in March to October this year. Looking forward to the video on Thursday that explains all these additions and improvments in more detail. 

Welcome to my Ted Talk!
Man I hope the stream on Thursday gives us more. Haven't bought the game in 3 years, just waiting for them to give me a reason to. Franchise is all I'm personally interested in, so hoping for the best.

I think people are getting confused with this.
After the 1st season of MTO it allows you to export to franchise mode. I think that is still there.
I think Ramone is answering the question of can multiple seasons be played of MTO specifically. But I could be wrong.

I don't think there is any confusion. Most already knew you could continue in franchise mode. I think many wanted to keep the same MtO format over multiple years because it was somewhat fun and because the depth chart made it seem that was coming this year.
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And the first minute of it is banter between coach and Ramone.
I love that some of you remain optimistic year in and year out. This video and Thursday's feature video are carefully planned to hit the bullet points they think they need to hit to get everyone to buy the new version every year. Like RTTS I expect that the real measure of how the mode works this year will not be fully known until people dive in during the head start.
I personally just use OOTP for my franchise play (I am not nearly as into it as all of you). The tweakable options in that game are a bit overwhelming but they do allow me to set things up so that it is more fun for me.

thanks for putting into this context, I think I was on the wrong track a few posts back. I think it makes more sense viewing it this way. in any event we'll know one way or the other in a couple weeks
I was confused but I stay in a constant state of confusion anyways.

I can't deal with franchise anymore. So more diamond dynasty which is fun for a while but not so much after several weeks and months since I don't have the time that most people do to grind and complete programs.

A complete budget overhaul would be enough for me this year. Being told I couldn’t add a reliever making $6M per year when I’m clearing over $1M per week was so frustrating.

Please JUST give me inter league schedule rotation. For the love of goodness, please.

That million a week is covering your current payroll.
Simply look at the salary screen and you will see how much room you have or don’t have.
It takes an extra step to switch screens in the budget menu and look at your current and future salaries and your current and future total budgets.
Not trying to sound snarky. Just want to inform you.
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I know on current gen they couldn’t do it and not for a lack of trying. Now that it’s clear certain features are “next gen exclusive”, I hope rotating interleague is one of them.

I've watched the video a few times and something I thought was interesting was when Ramone answered the question regarding the MtO depth chart being in Franchise and he said YES, and that it actually started in franchise and they liked it so much they moved it to MtO. That got me to thinking. What if the devs view MtO and Franchise as interchangeable in regards to logic and when they are answering broad questions it applies to both modes?
So when Ramone answers questions regarding changes/upgrades to line-ups/rotations; trade logic being tuned/reworked; budget logic being improved; improvements to contract logic; and call-ups/send downs, what's the chances that it's all the same in their minds and applies to BOTH MtO and Franchise, even if only one or the other was mentioned? I'm probably completely wrong and reading too much into it, but my thinking is that anything tweaked in one would have to apply to the other due to being able to carry your MtO into Franchise mode.
And yes, there are features I'd like to see added or expanded upon. But it wasn't too long ago they removed the word "revamped" from franchise mode, so I'll gladly take quality of life upgrades and vastly improved AI in all aspects of the game.

This will be my first year of MLBTS that is going to run on my new Next Gen Xbox-S and I am scared! I never had an XBOX1 .  I am going to miss my beloved Playstation 2,3 and 4 and The Show! It was a great run with fond memories. 
Oh well I guess I should be looking forward to my new relationship with the next gen Xbox-/s, the only NG console that want's me right now...lol

I got the S a few months ago and I love it! It fits perfectly under my 1440 gaming monitor.
I just got my PS5 on Sunday and I also love it too. Can’t wait until Asus’ new 32” 4K 144hz hdmi 2.1 monitor comes out. PS5 will look so amazing on that!

I was thinking the same thing watching it. The only thing that worries me is that when he answered some questions he specifically mentioned the features were in both Franchise and MTO (like the depth chart screen), but when answering the question about lineup/bullpen logic he only mentioned MTO. Now that might be reading into too much the other way....but who really knows. Hopefully we find out on Thursday
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Yep exactly, I called that out before.
Just really hope franchise received all the logic changes because mode really needs them.
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Wasn't rotating inter-league schedules in games like MLB 2K and High Heat Baseball back in the day? Im no coder but it baffles me that its 2020 and this feature isn't a multi year franchise mode.
How are you going to tell me my team can only experience playing one division of the opposite league for the entire existence of my franchise?
Thats 10 stadiums I never get to see, 10 teams of players you never get to face, etc. (Unless you meet them in the World Series, play ST games or see their players at the ASG).
we need this guy Tommy to review the game. Then maybe they'll listen! lol https://youtu.be/VnvCGfbiO3M

Two-way players would have impacted upon the carryover data in a big way as well.
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I think it had a lot to how franchise was first built back in 06, or maybe even further, going back when it was 989 & the older MLB series. I can't recall but I'm guessing 989's MLB franchise mode had the same schedule every year too
and then the further along SDS went, it made it impossible to fix with their small team, time, and resources. I would imagine it's a sore subject and source of embarrassment to the devs. at least I know I would be. maybe as long as their check clears, they've grown to be content with

I’ll probably skip this year as I don’t want to ditch my current franchise but I’m glad they ditched the weekly budget

These are precisely my thoughts as well.

It almost feels like they’re trying to force us to play MTO instead of franchise by giving more updates to MTO. Then in a few years they can say, our stats say no one plays franchise, so it won’t be included. Hopefully I’m wrong.

I think they're just trying to give M2O every opportunity to succeed. while franchise does need a lot of tlc, it's still years and years further along in terms of being fleshed out and M2O is still in it's infancy, needs these improvements every year. this is what, just the third year of M20? I've given it an honest attempt at playing it the last couple years but it hasn't been up to my standards. and I'll keep giving it a chance at playing time the next couple years, as long as I see that the Studio is trying to get it to reach its potential.

Well from this “Q&A” session, this doesn’t get me excited at all to buy this game at launch. It make my final decision on that after watching the video on Thursday, but it doesn’t look good.
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Fundamentally, it makes no sense to accumulate a “bank” via weekly cash flow, then to be told you can’t access it during the season to make upgrades. If you are limited by a budget on top of the cash flow system, just return it to the way it used to be where we had static budgets.

This. Bought OTTP 22 for the first time this year. Like many of you I can’t see buying ‘21. End of an era.
g22
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I have a PS5 and this was the first title I was really looking forward to. Sadly, this news means I will early likely just pass on it. Updates and improvements to existing core elements are things I expect to see in patches. Not in a brand new retail version with an increased price tag. I’ll be honest, I’m not even blown away by the graphics over what we’ve seen before which I accept are very good. I’m a stalwart of the series and have played franchise mode seasons in their entirety, so it’s sad to have consider not buying it as I have done before.

I think that is where the confusion came in....and I am for the annual budget.
What happens is if you are at your cap limit or say 2 million under for example. You can only sign a player in season for under 2MM
If you want to make a trade the salaries need to match up and keep you below what your annual max cap is. Which is seen on the salary projections/future budget screen.
The weekly cash flow simply is your revenue to actually pay the bills you have contracted to on your payroll between your players, coaches and scouts.
If you are running at a deficit then it really causes problems heading into the off-season for free agency etc.
They mentioned they are going back to the annual budget and no more weekly screen so you will get what you want visually....but the same principles will most likely apply.
You can’t go above your annual cap.
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Ok fellas, I'll put this one to bed. Back in early 2000s I was on the xbox 360 playing 2k baseball. I can tell u hands down the MLB wants a solid baseball game on XBOX and the deal made with Sony, SDS, player union etc and coming to Nintendo near future there's noway that MLB would allow a minimum franchise mode and with SDS trying to make an impact there first year on XBOX would release a game with the same franchise mode.
You see there were my player mode on the old Xbox baseball game now SDS is calling it "ball player".
There will be huge improvements to a these modes, think about it said they were working on stadium creator for 5 years , but first year on xbox there releasing it and some has to do with next gen as well obviously.
Trust me im skeptical as the next guy falling for there couch sitting bs year after year saying 500 new animations, branch throws etc etc .......But there's noway there releasing the same efforts we seen last few years on a new console year and a new platform year.
Thats suicide. A really bad business move on there part if they did. Trust me not gonna happen.

Very well said. I’m looking forward to the annual budgets as well.

So we're getting a bunch of big franchise things tomorrow? Or you're talking '22, '23, etc coming games?

As much as I want this to be true, I have to remain skeptical.
Don't get me wrong, I am moving on to 21.
But this isn't a next gen only release or an xbox expansion only release. They are still releasing it for the ps4.
I think there are small improvements like AI and such to franchise in 21 but no other major changes other than the next gen only stadium creator which is not a franchise specific tool so we can't lump it in here even though we can use it in franchise.
MLB wants a profitable and better baseball game. But the problem is that every one has a different definition of better.
Franchise in 21 will be largely unchanged. Those xbox users will buy it no matter if that franchise mode has been the same for the last 5 years or not because it is new to them. Like I said, we will get small improvements as we do yearly.
The improvements come when it goes fully next gen only.
I think there can be big improvements in the future, but from the ign interview, Ramone made it sound like they were pretty taxed on man power this year so that must be kept in mind.
Not sure about the nintendo release either.
Anyway, that's my thoughts.
I am excited to see 21 and start playing it on my PS5.

New graphic Depth chart is a big addition, not what changes guys prefer, but 6 man rotations is a plus.....more to come.

EA is in full on "bring it back" mode right now with NCAA and PGA golf. I've read multiple articles that comment on EAs hesitancy to bring MVP back is based on how far behind they would be and how difficult it would be to catch up to the Show.
I can't think of a bigger splash or quicker way to close the gap than buying Out of the Park Developments and adding playable baseball to OOTP.
For the record, It won't happen but its fun to imagine it would.

ummm.. no .. improvements will be minimal.. enjoy the new depth chart screen and thats about it. MTO will get majority of the updates. If they REALLY invested in Franchise it would have been already shared. Yes the stream is tomorrow, but they will only spend a few min on franchise. U are in for a let down.
And to play devils advocate its not business suicide to leave franchise as is, the majority of the money they make is from DD, plain and simple. We on OS are dying breed I'm afraid:(

Boy are u in for a surprise.

EA buying OOTP would crush my world. They already hurt me by turning the football gaming world into what it is today. If they bought OOTP I would have zero faith they'd keep that game at the quality it is now.
Doesn't EA still release MVP in Asia, or did recently?
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Ten years ago I requested on this site that Ramone introduce more stadium background action for example birds on the field in San Fran' and in the sky, vapour trails and planes in background etc as they have in San Diego and New York Mets Stadiums and for the first time that I have noticed birds were flying in the Legends trailer near the end with Hoffman pitching. Guess you could say they have fulfilled a request...finally. Seems at my age a waste of time asking for a great deal more in Franchise mode ......... :smirk:

Well at least give us Season mode too then with conifgurable season lengths....realignment. expansion contraction etc if they dont want to mess with the old Franchise logic or code.
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OOTP was just bought out by Com2Us. Its fun to imagine but that is literally never happening.

I love the optimism, but what are you basing it off of? So far it seems like mostly behind the scenes logic updates, which I surely welcome but also understand arent "major additions" to some.
To be clear, the doom and gloom folks have been complaining about no major franchise additions since before we knew anything about the game so I'm not annoyed by your optimism, just curious if you have any insider info
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Idk about the 6 man rotations.... That screenshot could just be showing who's the #1 starter in AAA or something like that.

Care to share that insider info???????? :)

There's a reason they chose "4/01/2021" for this particular stream.
My guess is by tomorrow evening I'm gonna be seeing a lot of "IM SOLD" or glad I pre-ordered.

Haha I hope you're right, but too me that's kind of a stretch. I think the logic stuff will be solid additions, but dont really foresee much else being added, which I'm okay with. The game still plays great on the field and there are so many different ways to play that I can take a break from my franchise if it gets dull and come back to it
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lol doubt it, and doubt the date of the stream has any significance

Hmmm....It is Opening Day after all. :y11:
(It's also April Fools Day, which I'm hoping is NOT the correlation here :cool: )

Or they know its opening day and realize this may be the one stream that has less eyes on it because of baseball starting. So they plopped franchise in for this day.
Multiple perspectives on why they did that. Or it could be coincidence.

Hmmm... Yep you definitely have info that you can't share right now... Man idk, guess we'll see.

I'm more inclined to lean this way, but I hope I'm wrong. The game already has stellar gameplay on the field, we just need a competent franchise mode to go along with it. Hopefully they pull something out of their hat tomorrow, but I'm not going to hold my breath.
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so don't be surprised to see headlines like
"MLB21 franchise mod now merged with OOTP 22 to create a new next-gen mega sim of the future OOTheShow 22"
"On a corresponding move, MLBTS Diamond Dynasty mode was sold to Super Mega Baseball so online players can now combine their 2 main baseball activities, flipping cards & hitting homeruns in a new sim HOMERUNS ONLY DYNASTY"

I noticed in the video questions that Ramone said that multiple seasons of March to October won't be available "this year". That leads me to believe that they fully intend on combining the two modes at some point in time.

I don’t think they will combine it. That would mean they would make this game the only one that doesn’t let you play every game. I think the people that play MTO is not wanting to go to franchise mode in the 2nd season. So technically, they would be separating this mode even further from franchise mode.

What people are asking is if you can do an MtO Year 1 -> offseason -> MtO Year 2 -> offseason, etc.
It's not combining it with franchise but rather making a multi-year 'story mode'...

"Mets to strike Sidd Finch stats from the team records for his past history of culture appropriation."

I’ll keep saying this so long as it’s necessary to do so. Developers want you to think franchise players are a dying breed. The truth is that their social media interaction for franchise posts is as active as their posts about other modes.

Sorry if it's been addressed but I don't check the forums very often but can anyone verify if there are rotating interleague schedules in this year's version?
Thanks in advance.

Has not been announced, would be surprised if it was in.
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Nice!....I can't seem to find a PS5 or XBOX-X anywhere. Enjoy it and have fun!!

If MTO and Franchise aren’t built on the same logic (either MTO built using the old Franchise logic or a new Franchise built using the new MTO logic) then they are seriously doing it wrong.
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Today’s the day gents. We all hold our breath for every sports game until franchise mode news is released. Cross those fingers and pour one out for Jobu.
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I dunno, there can be enough subtle differences to make for needing multiple logic
look at quick counts for example. you can't turn QC on and off mid-game because the two logics don't mesh right

So what happens tonight when we get nothing besides logic updates???

And a depth chart;) but that will be it..

So you think they will do a trick news today first before real news?... considering the date lol.

maybe the real news is the trick

Houston... Pretty sure you're trolling us....... Only mentions MTO.
https://twitter.com/MLBTheShow/status/1377621775278768128?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

Again......going into this with zero expectations.
Hoping for the best.