New Details on Franchise Mode in MLB The Show 18

So, basically just phases?

Man, ughh just few things doesn't help me enough to pre-order this

And a video: https://youtu.be/zyXqahm5CmE
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Thats all i got from it
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Well, that was disappointing. OOTP it is for me this year.

What were the main new things people wanted? Schedules and weather? Relocation/expansion?
As for me, I stick to Franchise and RTTS. I wasn't expecting anything major but I'm kind of bummed we still haven't gotten dynamic/rotating schedules. I think Phases will really help me out though.

Thanks for the link

Wow are you serious? There was really nothing done, AGAIN.
Just adding "GM Phases" to break down the off season duties isn't actually adding anything to Franchise mode.
This is unbelievable...

We KNOW what to do next. We KNOW Franchise mode and how to run a team. Come on now!

Idk about y'all, but im tuning into the stream with the hopes that the reason why nothing big happened with franchise is because all the small things were being worked on...
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I wonder if "Trade Talks" actually involves some back and forth between GM's, maybe?

So yea phases and now can play games in retro mode in franchise....that's pretty much it.

I hope you're right. I'm disappointed but this is about what I expected.
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Damn SDS, that's all I'm going to say.
NEW: Retro Mode...Really?

Watching the first 30 seconds of that video, Ramone's exact words are:
"In Franchise mode, we did ALOT of work to STREAMLINE the Franchise mode process."
.....
I ...just...can't. I'm literally sick to my stomach right now. We threw a HUGE fuss about how little was done to Franchise mode LAST YEAR. We were up in arms about it on their live streams last year. And now this?

well..............................
Also it seems from the Graphic that the Budget is the same as last year

Do you honestly think they are going to release every piece of info for Franchise in a blog? How about everyone watch the stream tonight before walking the plank.
For us Phillies fans it appears we may have finally been listened to with fixes to Citizens Bank Park. The new scoreboard in the right field second deck that was added 2 seasons ago is now accurate. Can't wait to see if the Liberty Bell lighting was fixed also.
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We have been asking for relocation/expansion and a create-a-stadium feature for years. They already have the uniform creator in diamond dynasty- just put it in franchise. The Show’s franchise mode is literally years behind every other sports title’s franchise mode.

It's very strange that they had to delay the franchise mode blog two whole days with so little information and so little done.
I'm wondering if they're just messing with us and the big reveal is tonight in the stream.

I'm not surprised that not much was done. It has come to be expected.
That being said, I doubt that things like rotating schedules is something that would make the cut for what is essentially a marketing video and blog. So while I would not hold my breath, I would not completely give up hope yet

I'll be interested in the seeing if the stream reveals anything else. I know some people will be happy about retro mode in franchise but so far I haven't seen anything that screams must have. Not bashing SCEA, but for the first time since I bought a PS3 for the Show I haven't preordered and am leaning towards not purchasing.
That may change, but I'm still enjoying 17 and it doesn't look like they changed any of the franchise things I didn't like. Plus, continuing with 17 will eliminate losing even more players from my 14 carryover franchise.
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Who makes a blog and not reveal anything new? Phases isn't anything new, just a streamline.

About what I expected. But I will say this. I know a lot of people complain that this mode is getting stale. Maybe it is. But they fixed some legacy issues (apparently, we will see when we can actually play) and some problems I had with last years game. IF they just fine tune and tweak and fix things that have been broken for years, I am good.
I know I am in the minority but I think overall franchise mode is solid. Yes I wish there was more depth/stats/financials etc. But I would rather have solid game play and all the little annoying crap fixed. They have said they fixed the outfield jogging to the ball, passed balls, catcher animations, tiered fielding animations, tuned hitting.They even touched up stadiums (yes I play my minor league games too) Im good, franchise should be tight this year.
If they can fix AI roster management, bullpen logic etc. I will be even happier. But I am actually happy that things did not get stripped down or play accelerated nonsense added in. So I will watch the stream tonight when I get home and NOW I will most likely pre order.

I'm kinda wondering if this isn't everything. Why would they delay the Franchise blog a whole TWO days for basically nothing being done?

So many people today are going to lose their minds over a blog before even seeing the stream that will be way more detailed than written words.
I can't wait for the stream tonight.
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Fite me 1v1 retro mode, loser walks the plank
But seriously, i already said, if not doing anything huge means most, if not all, the little things got fixed, then im good with that
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I can see some retro players who wanted more meaning to the mode other than simple exhibition games might be pleased, but I would be surprised if many, or any, existing franchise players will be happy with Retro mode.

Ok. They talked about Phases in the blog. That doesn't mean the entire stream tonight is going to be nothing but that.
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Actually like that you can play franchise games in retro mode.
Going to do a fantasy draft with legend players for a franchise and play every game in retro mode!
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Yeah, I'm a little confused on the lack of emphasis on Franchise, I could somewhat see RTTS and DD being big with other sports games especially. Baseball just lends itself to the older, more franchise-oriented players I would think.
As for if they are holding anything back, I doubt it, you have to figure this is all for promotion to sell more games, the Playstation blog is going to be seen by way more people on the fence about buying it or not than the stream is.
Let's just hope little things like trade/FA logic, etc. have been worked on.

Super underwhelming. I was looking forward to this, but it looks like it's basically the same ****.
I want ticket prices. Jersey sales. I want to be able to upgrade my stadium, or my spring training complex. I want to be able to do three-way-trades, or have no-trade clauses, etc.

To be fair if the blog came out on time (Tuesday), then I'd be worried but it basically took 15 minutes to write the blog they have so I'm not sure why it was delayed.
But anyways, we'll see tonight.

I know one thing for sure. I am turning off that toxic waste dump of a chat while watching the stream.
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Did they really just take up most of the blog telling us what franchise mode is, and reiterating the ways to play a game? Phases is not a new feature by any means. Sounds more like a tutorial.
"You are in July, the trade deadline is approaching. Here's how you make trades."
That's what it sounds like to me. Wow, I see a third straight year of this stream being 20ish min and the rest time them just playing the game.

Question for everyone who played 17.
I stuck with 16 and plan on getting 18. Did you prefer the new way they did the Budgets? I know there is a few threads on this but it seems complicated lol

I played ‘16 primarily as well.
In regards to budgets, I liked the concept but the execution was cumbersome.
Hopefully it’s more user friendly this year
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I know what you mean. Some of the comments and repeated questions 100x.

I only open chat long enough to type in the keyword each week.

It’s very disappointing that the focus in Franchise mode the last 2 years has just been to essentially dumb it down for casual players. I understand that they’re trying to cater to a younger crowd, but I think they’re in danger of alienating their core franchise players with garbage like this.
Bottom line, franchise/career/dynasty modes should be immersive by having the league realistically change over the years. NBA 2K does an outstanding job with this. Madden at least makes an attempt, feeble as it may be. Even NHL does a competent job. The Show doesn’t even try, and it’s insulting. I get it, SDS does not have the resources of those dev teams, but the lack of innovation year after year is astonishing.

Wait a minute ppl what were you expecting! It is a franchise mode. You can enjoy it anyway you choose. It gives options of how you want run your franchise. It is a blog and not the stream.
I love playing every game of my franchise mode and heck no I don't finish multiple seasons. But now since I know I can't go 162-0, I will critical situations more this year. Probably won't start until 1st or 2 SDS roster update. Try something different with my franchise play....

Exactly. I'm sure the OS thread later will look about the same though.
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So pretty much what everyone feared would be the case. Hugely disappointing, but at the same time not at all surprising.
It can all still be salvaged though if they reveal that they've fixed stuff under the hood. Better AI logic, changes in player development and adding minor league stats would make a huge difference. Urgh, hard to get optimistic though when all they keep doing is changing the skin and adding new shortcuts to things that were already there

After finally committing to 17, boy I struggled with doing so, I found the budgets fine. I think it was more cumbersome because it was different and I have issues with change. But once I played with it for a bit it, it was fine. I would not say I prefer it, but it doesn't suck.

I am still buying the game, because I play all of the modes. As a franchise guy first, I really did not expect much. My bar was set low, and even this came in under my expectations. Ugh.

Hopefully it is more user friendly as you say, im looking at some previous threads on it trying to get a better understanding

We'll see how it plays out in the stream, but last year after playing '17 and then playing OOTP, I told myself I wouldn't be buying MLB The Show this year if they didn't add some atleast a few features to being a GM. Like I said, we'll see what the stream shows, but if it's just "streamlined" then I'm skipping this year.
Not crying wolf yet until we see the stream.

See we will still need 30 team control to have anything remotely close to a true franchise experience

That's a bummer, to say the least. Hoping, like the rest of you, for some more info in today's stream. Phases is essentially just "sim to date" and it's not like the sim engine in MLB is slow (like it is in NHL).
I'm not demanding any major changes be made year to year. But so many little things that have to be fixed. Improving the budget system, the morale system (it's terrible, at least let us turn it off), trade logic. Re-do scouting, put a new twist on that. Something that's refreshing and not just streamlined and has no appeal to the franchise-only players (like me).

Just a couple of points.
1. Casual Players as you or I might describe them are the vast majority of the games sales.
2. You are essentially insulting casual players and younger kids by saying it is being "dumbed" down for them. Casual players are not necessarily dumber. It could be just that they have limited time for any number of reasons. And there are some young gamers who play far more involved games. They don't all have short attention spans.

Literally cancelling my pre-order at lunch time.

As someone who plays a lot of 2K, one of the biggest and most popular things they did is adding relocation/expansion/jersey creator. Young kids LOVE to make jerseys, adults love to create jerseys and have the ability to bring back an old team or move a current team and start over in a new city. The Show seems like they will never allow this- every thought they literally have the technology for it in DD. Not adding it to Franchise mode is pure laziness.

I haven't had 1 issue with the new budget. Just keep it simple and don't try to over analyze it. I've done 5 or 6 end of seasons and have always had 949K-1.3M in the end. I think the new budget is really easy.

Why don't you watch the stream first before assuming the worst?
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You're not alone man.

Watching the stream first before I make my decision.

I was expecting something new. It's also frustrating they wait until last, every year to show off franchise and they added basically nothing new in terms of the franchise/gm aspect.
They highlighted how to play a game, which was in last year. They highlighted playing in retro mode. Something I know most players won't do. And they added a fancy new screen telling us what to do, and the what to do's aren't anything new.
How can any franchise player be excited about this blog?

Pretty much my exact feelings and opinions about franchise in TS. It is the only single player franchise mode that I put a ton of time into and I don't think its lacking a ton. Sure there are things I would like added, but its a solid franchise mode IMO.

Welp, that was underwhelming. I hope that the stream will give us some more additions and improvements to Franchise, because if all they basically did was streamline things, then that's pretty disappointing.
I thought I'd be more upset/disappointed, but I guess I expected this with all the focus going towards DD the last few years.
I don't blame the developers, either. I'm sure they have their marching orders on what aspects to concentrate on and where to allocate manpower. I just wish whoever was in charge would realize that Franchise may not be the most popular mode and it may not bring in microtransaction money, it's the mode the die-hard, core group of The Show fans play most. And I don't need any data or "games played" stats to convince me of that. So if the DD fad dies out, and most fads eventually do die out, who is left? The die-hard, core group of players that have been playing this series from before it was even called The Show.

Doesn't make any sense to me to try and make Franchise mode more appealing to the short attention span/no time/casual crowd, as they already have all the other game modes. Why would you aim all your modes at the same demographic, at the expense of the other people? It's like finding out that chocolate is the most popular ice cream flavour, so making all your other flavours taste more like chocolate.

So you know 100% for a fact they added nothing else new? You must have seen the stream in the future.
Don't have to be excited for the blog but at least see what the stream has to offer first. Or don't. Your choice.
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I came for sweet salty OS tears and I leave satisfied.
Lol but seriously I thought it looked good. As someone whose been exclusively DD for the last two years that video got me interested in doing a franchise on the side again. Retro mode being added is really cool and will help shake things up when I’m getting kinda bored. I dunno, looks like a pretty sweet franchise mode to me *shrug
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I like that they have Retro mode in franchise. I will be using that one some of those "getaway days," if ya know what I'm sayin'. Still would be cool to have that online, maybe even play some quick 3-5 inning games.
Not going to use Phases, ever. I would have stopped that for myself anyway. Hasn't the game always already asked you to stop at those times? I still wish Phases was what I first speculated the feature to be: determine the direction you want your team to operate under a 3-6 year period, and have goals oriented toward that kind of determination/success.
That being said, they weren't going to bring Carlos Correia into the studio to say: "We completely reworked our AI bullpen management and now have rotating schedules year-to-year." There is still a possibility that comes up in the live stream video. Yes, this is Blzer throwing cautious optimism here. You don't get this very often, so revel in that for a moment!

So really nothing new then.

All I want is better AI logic regarding trades and team management and I'll be content. Don't think that's asking for too much.
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This is exactly what I want too, since I'm not a big fan of "Phases" hopefully we'll hear something about these features in the stream.
Don't cancel the pre order yet, wait for the stream :grin:

Wow, the franchise upgrades are about as innovative and revolutionary, as..... uh .......... breaking wind.

If they addressed a lot of legacy issues and also included rotating inter league schedule then I will be pretty happy. I'll just wait for tonight to come to a conclusion.

If they bring back trade delays that would be even better.

No. But those are some things that you add as talking points in the blog. For them not to be there pretty much tells you everything you need to know.

I'll watch the stream. But RTTS had a blog last week and they didn't leave some mystical huge feature out that they later revealed on the stream.
If they have some under the hood legacy fixes, that's fine. That'd be great. But let's not fool ourselves in thinking anything meaningful in terms of franchise was added this cycle. Can't say I'm surprised.

Oh wow! Now we can look at a calendar and it shows it all in one screen!
Just like Triple Play 99...

The blogs title might be a slight clue that there isn't anything else new as well tbh

I'll reserve my comments until after the stream but initial thoughts are - not good!

I'm buying OOTP this year. I can't continue to financially support a product that does almost nothing from a year to year basis.
The visual upgrades are great, but Franchise hasn't changed literally at all in 3 years, and I can't continue to reward complacency.
Learn your lesson, SDS. You're better than this (I think?).

We kind of knew there weren't going to be any of those groundbreaking changes in Franchise. The blog is revealing things that gamers can physically see.
I hope that there were a lot of fixes under the hood that when playing the game you can't see but they just work better. There are many legacy issues with trade logic, regression, etc. But why would the write a blog about that. The blog is to attract the casual gamer. When they deep dive into the stream tonight will be a better place to talk about under the hood fixes.
Everybody... RELAX these changes come in waves the fact that they are making changes, while small, is a good sign.

Overall what they didn’t do to franchise mode sucks but I can now play a franchise with my son thanks to retro mode. Now I don’t have to pick up rbi baseball just so he can play a franchise. Hopefully the stream has something good in it.
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Just skimmed over the video and noticed a few things
1)Trade Talks...curious if this is just another way of naming trades or if there is some sort of negotiation back and forth with it
2)Like how they have on the scouting screen your individual position ratings in comparison to the rest of the teams in the league. (not sure if you saw that in previous years)
3)I like "September Call ups"
4) Don't remember if they had "competitive balance taxes" in your budget last year, will have to look when I get home.
5)The BlueJay red alternates look bad and still way too dark
Hopefully we see some things in the stream that they tweaked or fixed with some certain elements of Franchise.

I am willing to bet you my house that there is nothing substantial outside of this video and blog. And if there is anything worth writing home about, the marketing team should be reprimanded because that's a clear missed opportunity.

delete nothing to see here.

I think the issue isn't that the games give people options to play games quicker and automate/simplify tasks. The issue is that this is all done at the expense of a deeper franchise experience. The optimal solution is to make a deep and challenging franchise mode that makes it actually rewarding to build a good team all while having built-in options to make it easier and simpler for those that want it that way.

No one should have expected anything huge coming to franchise this year, same as every year lately. One of the problems I have with it though is them acting like that did "A Lot" of work on the mode when they really have done very little. I would have more respect for them if they said "hey we didn't have the resources this year...it's on out list for next year.".
There are so many basic front office duties that are missing, yet they claim you have full control over your organization. Adding simple things would go a long way yet SCEA doesn't even address it.
It's become obvious that over the past couple of seasons SCEA is losing its touch with its customers as a whole. Weather your a RTTS player, Franchise, or DD(server). Just read the forums or comments on the social media that go obviously ignored by the dev team. In addition, why is it necessary to bring in these athletes for these videos? When they would focus on the content of the game and not rubbing shoulders with the star athletes was when the game was at its best. SCEA at one point was nearing perfection it's clear they have taken several steps back.

The most exciting thing I got from this blog is that SDS finally added the new right field LED board at Citizens Bank Park :)
Hopefully that's not all they upgraded!:y220:

Herrera has mini dreads it looks like too.
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This is it? The franchise mode in this game has been stale FAR too long for this to be the only changes they've made to the mode. I love this series but this solidified my decision to not purchase this year. Happy gaming, fellas!

It's not laziness. They have done it on purpose. A lot of players play DD not for the cards, but because they can create their own custom team. And those players are money, they will eventually buy packs in the long run. If SDS add the ability to relocate in Franchise mode, they will shift the focus on a mode which doesn't monetize well. It's the same on Fifa, you can create your own team only in Fifa Ultimate Team. For NBA 2K is quite different cause all the money are in the career story mode. We'll probably never get relocation in Franchise. You should realize that the focus of the game is DD and will be DD for a very long time.

Will wait for the stream and hold out hope they use it to address several little things that have been fixed/added. Not getting my hopes up at this point however.
I'm basically buying 18 for fog and rain delays right now. :(

I don't think angry comments online are proof that they are losing their customer base. People who are angry or want to complain are much more likely to comment than those who are satisfied or neutral. Bringing in those athletes is simply for advertisement, and I would argue that it's pretty effective at that. It doesn't seem they bring them in to "rub shoulders" until the game is playable and almost complete anyway.

I'm probably going to be in the minority here, but I like that we're able to play retro mode in franchise now. Adds a bit more variety.

See I have no problem with how you stated it there. Over the years I have just gotten really tired of "hard core" game fans of any game claiming that their favorite game have been "dumbed down".

A big thank you to SDS for saving me $60 this year

I definitely remember some people asking for that last year - for Retro outside of a one-off mode. Glad they got their wish.

I mean. The blog was a little underwhelming. But no reason to jump off a bridge. We know they didn’t remove anything from last years franchise. Really anything new is gravy for me.
We also know we are getting rain delays which I think is huge. So there is more than what that blog talked about for sure.
Sure, I have a pretty large list of wants. But I’m really happy where it is at so I can’t really complain.
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No it will be 20 mins of phases, followed by some other random legend to pound your chest too and then start of the dev tourny

Angry comments,which can also be refereed to as "feedback", can't be just dismissed as "oh that's not proof of anything".
And what exactly are they advertising by bring in Carlos Correa months before release and sitting him on the couch to tell him about the mode? Is someone going to go "Man, I'm really not sure if I want to buy the game this year but I saw Correa in the video, so now I'm going to get the game"?

But you'll still watch I bet.
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I'm not dismissing it as "not proof of anything." Simply that those who choose to provide feedback online can't be viewed as completely representative of the show's customer base.
I know I was interested when I saw the Judge/Griffey video. It's about getting eyeballs on the game, trying to get new people exposed to what's going on. So having super popular players names' to put on videos will help with that. Maybe someone sees "World Series Rematch with Correa and Bellinger" and gives it a click because they're an Astros fan. A certain percentage of those people will have never been interested in the show, and a certain percentage of those people will end up buying it. They're fun, and use the players' stardom to give the game publicity.

You know, across social media, I always hear "changes come in waves" and "be patient, these things take time".
Come on now man. Its one thing to address some under the hood and legacy stuff year to year, but that should NOT be the extent of it. Franchise Mode has been my staple since, well....the thing started. I completely understand that not everyone plays Franchise and that it is not the most popular mode.
With that said, I, along with many other devotees have sat idly by the last 3-4 years with the hopes that we'd at least have the ability to set ticket and other prices again, set promotion nights, extend contracts mid season, among other things etc - nope still cant, which I just dont understand. This game is so devoted to "the little things" yet they remove the little things like that which make the mode surprisingly fresh, while instead trying to make a mode thats supposed to take time and hard work, quicker to get through. Why?
If all it takes is for legacy issues and such to be addressed in order for this (stale) mode to be acceptable to some people, then that's cool. But there is always room for improvement and I just can't fathom how people can watch that video on Franchise today and think to themselves, "oh yeah, new streamlined UI and retro mode, thats good enough for me!".
Nothing should ever just be "good enough" when it comes to a cherished mode thats been more stale than a loaf of bread.
I'm holding out hope and will watch the livestream tonight. We can all respect the heck out of this wonderful dev team (I certainly do) while at the same time being disappointed, but that doesnt seem possible for some. Regardless, I respect SDS immensely and have supported this game before it was even called The Show. I have purchased every year, but the stream tonight is going to dictate whether or not I purchase. I hope there's some nuggets we hear about that will change my mind.

If the idea of phases is to put more emphasis on things such as the draft, trade deadline, and such then I’m hoping that means that things such as roster management got a look at and improved
Personally I don’t care about expansion or create a stadium or ticket prices and such. I like the franchise mode as it is.
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You guys are funny...

Bring on the 23RD loved and still playing 17. I will happily purchase 18.
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Yea for 20 mins to see if its more then just nothing which like the past 2 years it probably won't be

I literally just want to be able to extend contracts during the season or before their walk year. It really helps to know what you will have going forward.

Also I wonder if it's to make all the little things hardcore guys know about more well known. Such as when you need to tender a contract to a player (that you don't have to sign all your great younger players and just have a contract offer given to them by Dec 2), when you need to complete giving arbitration offers, and "dumbing this stuff down". I've spent plenty of time in streams explaining this stuff to people from hardcore guys to guys who are just learning the game.

Hopefully phases becomes a platform for them to build a more immersive experience on. Having positional rankings, top performers, and the other information they said will be available more easily this year seems to be a good start. Maybe next it will be trade negotiations, salary extensions, and communicating with your manager.
Maybe I'm being too hopeful, but this seems like it could be a good addition.
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Pathetic
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Wow, what a complete and predictable letdown. A true disservice to the loyal and hardcore, longtime fans of this series.
There is literally absolutely nothing new in this mode except for the front end user interface. And they took this long to “unveil” it? And act like they are giving us something with it? That’s a slap in the face right there.

I'm completely reserving judgement for when the stream releases but if it's just "phases" and they added nothing else while also dropping online franchise mode, then I seriously worry about the future of franchise mode in this game.
I also can't believe I'm saying this but Madden has done more with franchise in their game than MLB has. It will be OOTP for me.

This feature is fine on it's own even though its really just a tutorial. When you bill this as your top addition to the mode and so many glaring things are still left out is where the problem for most people is.

After all that's been revealed, the only new thing is RTTS archetypes, other than that it just fixing legacy issues. Presentation camera cut was always there, crowd anticipation was always there. They just improved hitting, did nothing with those stale OSD's that offer nothing new, they speak of dynamic story lines something that has been in the game forever, if you play in franchise you will see all this stuff.
The stewards of this game, developed based on data mining and not with vision, they are risk aversed.

Exactly.
Everything with "phases has already been in the game they just "repackaged" and called it a mode. The game has always prompted you at these moments. Nothing was added.

want to hear what improvements on radio show and by far the best feature continue franchise and if anything new can we still access with imported/continued franchise

Out of genuine curiosity, what do more hardcore fans want out of the franchise mode that isn't already in it?
I'm a fairly casual MLB the show gamer and have never noticed any big problems with it.

Something to wave torches and pitchforks at...

A great many of the ideas in this thread can be put into MLB The Show.
Deuce Douglas THE MASTER

I 100% agree with this
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Relocation, Create a team, good budget system, better setup for the draft. That being said, i still plan on buying and playing franchise like crazy

Better AI roster management
Drafts that actually make it to the end and not stop mid 7th round because "no more kids to draft"
Related to the above...stop with the random "is he or isn't he" or at least do so while keeping enough kids to actually last the draft.
Better scouting system.
Better rated prospects related to their age...i.e. less completely raw 23-year-olds that if they ever make it would be 32-year-old rookies.
That's pretty much my top list of purely team management stuff. Of course, none of that probably would make it to the back of the box, so to speak. So it's more a "wait until people actually play it" situation for me instead of all these blurbs and marketing things.

I'm holding off until the stream before I make any final judgments, of course (first time I have EVER even considered not buying The Show this late into the info cycle), but this blog is terrible IMO...especially in light of it being delayed for whatever reason.
For everyone telling people not to overreact or "it's just a blog" the blog is titled "Everything New in MLB The Show 18’s Franchise Mode." (emphasis mine)
Could details in the stream provide insight to improved logic and other nuggets? Of course, but don't act like people's disappointment in this blog is unreasonable. It's been years since anything truly meaningful was added and the last two years we've been fed "streamlining" of already present features as improvements to the mode.
At this point, my only hope for 18 is that they addressed some legacy issues, but really that should be a bare minimum expectation.

They only think about DD mode!! I just want these!! Please, SDS~~

This is what I've wanted for YEARS and I can't understand how some of this stuff isn't already in the game by now:
-Ability to have non-roster invites during Spring Training.
-Expanded minor leagues (even if you can't play A-Ball games, at least give us 25 roster spots.)
-Contract Extensions.
-More DL Spots
-3-team trades/ability to trade more than 3 guys at a time.
- Better Trade AI
-Ability to edit option years remaining (most of them are off)
Literally, if they put this in, I would be so happy.

While I'm one of the players frustrated with the lack of improvements, why do people want in-season extensions so badly? Baseball hardly ever has that happen. If a player is about to hit free agency they almost always test the market.
Not saying it NEVER happens. But it's incredibly rare.

So nothing then? :confused:

I hate using other games as examples, and I'm sure the mods don't like it either but I'm just going to say this once and won't bring it up again.
NBA 2K18 is proof of what can be done to franchise mode. I'm sure 2k has more staff and resources, but MLB The Show makes a TON OF CASH. Baseball is just as popular if not MORE popular than basketball. Considering MLB The Show is the ONLY game in town other than OOTP, there's NO reason....absolutely NO reason that they are not giving franchise mode love after 3 whole years.
I'm sorry, but no.......just....no. It's not acceptable at all.
/ok i'm done..sorry

Do you have any data? I'm always curious objectively how things happen.
Only thing I could find is this:
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/extensiontracker
Based on this, it seems infrequent...but some of the signings are notable players like Strasburg, etc. I think having it harder to pull off but possible in game would be realistic instead of "nope, never".
But I'm not going to pound the table for it. I just go hard during the exclusive period if I want to extend a player.

In just a few hours it will be make or break time. Too many people,.... more than I can ever remember, have criticized, the lack of this, lack of that and I seriously think the crossroads, for SCEA has been reached. Personally, I bought 12, 13, 15 and 17 and loved them all....but $60, for what I hoped would be deeper than ever immersion, into the franchise part of the game, has probably passed the team by this year. If so, it will be a massive opportunity lost, for the whole team.
You keep giving people ham and eggs, then they are going to look elsewhere, for a good meal.
I will be spending my money this year on a German guy, who really digs deep every year, to deliver a management simulation and if/when things get better and SCEA realize, just where it all went wrong.......I, hopefully, will be back.

- Contract extensions during the season
- Better stat tracking for season/career/playoffs
- Improved progression
- Better AI when it comes to trading logic, free agency, drafting, etc.
- Coaching staffs that actually matter
This is all I can think of off the top of my head, I'm sure there's a lot more I'm missing, but franchise mode has been incredibly stale and lacking depth for more than a few years now.
I'm not claiming these things are easy to program, and I'll never call this dev team lazy, but I can not fathom buying this game again with how shallow the franchise mode continues to be.

If you just tell me we have proper interlegaue schedules, I don’t care if anything else was touched, please....

I can’t say I’m disappointed, because I really wasn’t expecting anything other than their being ways to get through games faster without actually having to play them. It was pretty much what I thought it was going to be.

Ill add some more
-Minor league stat tracking (can't believe this is still not a thing)
-International free agents
- redone regression / progression
-Stop having guys retire at age 32
-rotating schedules
- Opt outs in contracts
-no trade clauses

The bare minimum that imo franchise needs is better AI, a fixed training system that doesn't for unknown reasons let you try and specialise in ratings that cannot increase (seriously, how is this still a thing?), fixing the disastrous morale system, minor league stat tracking, completely overhauled scouting/draft. I'm probably missing things, but these are essentially just fixes to the system that has had the same serious issues for years without even attempts to fix them.
And talking of bare minimums, actually bother to change players potential rating each year, so you don't end up with a bunch of players with far higher overall than potential because you haven't bothered spending the half an hour it would take each year to check and update them. It's a minor thing, but it's pretty indicative of how little thought and effort goes into franchise each year that this is a thing.
That's before you even get to potential additions like 3 team trades, trading cash, spring training invitees, position change mechanics, expansions etc etc

Ugh this is all a MUST have. But the BOLDED absolutely drives me crazy that it's not there in the game.

Please enlighten as to how you know that this is 100% fact.
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For all you who want create-a-stadium who you take at the expense of having ZERO, ZIP ZILCH, NADA, NOTHING done to the presentation? And I'm being 100% serious with this question. Because Ramone or one of the other devs say during the pre-release streams last year that if they were to do create-a-stadium that's would happen NOTHING done to all the other presentation elements in the game.

Yea can't really keep track of prospects when their stats disappear at the end of the year
Edit: or see how they do at each level

I'd take that trade.
Then again, I play OOTP often so presentation isn't the highest on my list. But making my own funky stadium and then building a team around it (hopefully), yeah I'd get behind that.
I got MLB Network presentation - so I'm good anyways.

Just a few off of the top of my head:
Better trade logic
3 team trades
Ability to trade more players, cash, future considerations
In-season contract renewals
Better stat tracking and access to that information
The ability to set pricing for tickets or negotiation of tv deals again
Being able to schedule promotions, giveaways and theme nights
Perhaps different events to break up the monotonous season like turn back the clock nights and fireworks nights, complete with negro league uniforms that you have to purchase for both the home and visiting teams, like a real mlb team must do for those games.
Rain outs and double headers
Change up scouting
Allow us to develop players differently and perhaps work on position changes or new pitches
Online franchise mode
Ability to set 4 or 6 man rotations
Fix the September call ups and 40 man roster
Ability to edit managers or import them
Ability to import players from outside rosters into our already running franchise
The real problem is that most hardcore franchise users have played this game more than anyone else over the years. And being that it takes the longest to play it really is a disservice to keep not only stripping things out of the mode, but to neglect adding things into it. Things that would help keep it realistic, fun and fresh.
I love this game and buy it every year, but I’m not even excited about it anymore. We all want the best of it for the right reasons and it doesn’t help when the typical apologists come into every single thread and troll everyone anymore than it does to throw a hissy fit and rage out. But voicing displeasure and backing that up with tangible desires should be reasonable. The problem is the latter is the one thing nobody hears anymore. And it’s so few and far between that it occurs, unfortunately.
It’s funny that a few are running around with a positive spin on this news today. It’s like they can’t stand to have their pride and joy besmirched, but I’ll bet deep down they are disappointed too. They can keep saying wait til this and wait for that, but we all knew this would happen. But god forbid we call it out, especially when doing so in a non demeaning manner. You can still be disgruntled and be a fan of something, it is allowed. And it’s better to voice those concerns and issues than to sit idly by and watch things go away. Just so long as you do that in a productive manner.

LOL, I don't mean to insult you by laughing, but what does that mean?

Means he is going to Out Of The Park Baseball
A great management sim but it won't satisfy you if you actually want to control players in a game

Still bamboozled at how anyone can truly defend what we know about Franchise Mode 2018 up to this point. Granted we haven't seen the stream yet, but...

It's not that serious, man. People are allowed to be unhappy/underwhelmed/disappointed by aspects of a video game. They're also allowed to express that feeling - same as everyone who was "can't wait!!!" from the initial trailer.

Let's all be sure to ask if rotating inter league schedules are in on the stream tonight. If they use the excuse that we tried but it didn't work AGAIN I'll be highly disappointed. They have had over 2 years to figure this out.

Why don't the sponsorships you choose ever make into your stadium? 

"Man Power and Resources".

That was said about expanding the replay system. In regards to stadium creator, Ramone said that "It would be a two year process"

Unless I misunderstood the sponsorships you pick in 17 are on the replay, the batter walkup, and one other place in forgetting. They do not impact what is in the stadium.

The blog is painfully thin. I'm hopefully, albeit thinly, we get some nice additional info in the stream. We already know we aren't getting create-a-stadium or expansion/relocation this year. But maybe they'll give us some of the other items I see listed on this thread that have not yet been ruled out.

What I meant to say is I'll be spending my hard earned on OOTP 19 and the guy would be head developer Marcus Heinsohn, but I guess you probably realized that.....and no I didn't take it as an insult !! It's just that like everyone else. The feeling of frustration that builds when another year passes and you think what they could and should have added to an already brilliant game and instead choose every year to not to, but at the same time peddle things of least interest ( at least to me ). So no prob's, my money , my choice .........

The blog is mainly high level marketing on the Playstation site. So, I hope there are some smaller but important improvements that they can talk about on the stream that they did not deem worthy of mentioning in the blog.
I am not holding my breath, but I hope it is the case for the sake of all the franchise players.

This is the best they can come up with "Phases" which pretty much were already in the game last year? The stuff was pretty much already there. I feel sorry for offline franchise guys who expected more. Which myself Ik new they didn't do hardly anything or it would have already been advertise to get even more PRE-ORDERS! I see a pattern forming here the same way online franchise was untouched for 4 years.
There focus was on BATTING STANCE CREATOR and as always Diamond Dynasty!
What bothers me is where they come from is and always should be there number 1# focus. What got you here. Offline franchise used to be the main mode then road to the show etc, now there putting a main mode like offline franchise on the back burner to focus on Diamond Dynasty more and more each year and forgetting all about how you originally got started. I hate when company's forget where they came from!

I mean...you gotta understand they're tending to the modes that get the most played, but...I agree. Its a tough thing to swallow when you realize bat flips got more focus than franchise mode. Hard cringe.

Well then if people are unhappy/underwhelmed/disappointed and aren't getting the game then why post in here at all? Why keep telling us constantly how unhappy you are and that you're moving to OOTP or not getting the game? Stop beating a dead horse and just move on away from this part of the forum. Plenty of us are getting the game and don't want to listen to the people who aren't getting it constantly belittle every single thing. It's a tired act. Then again you all enjoy ganging up on me because you're all allowed to have your angry opinions but because my opinions aren't stated in anger I'm not allowed to have them.
But no, the same people right now who are letting it be known right now they aren't getting the game will be right back in here all over again after the stream to keep on beating that dead horse. Why?
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One thing that bothers me is that I'm sure the developers will justify the lack of improvements to the fact that few people play franchise. That's specious reasoning. I would argue that the reason that many people don't play franchise is because it is extremely bare bones and has gotten stale. If they made franchise mode deep and appealing, like other sports games have done, it would gain a bigger following. I know that comparing games is tough, but look at the blogs that NBA 2K posts at the beginning of each year detailing franchise and compare them to this one. SCEA has to do better.
I'll be honest, I am still going to buy this game. I love baseball and outside of OOTP, there aren't many options. This is the first year where I'm not excited about the Show.

Seriously? Its a forum to share our thoughts on the game. Thats literally what a forum is for. We arent all here to defend SDS on every turn like you do in EVERY thread you comment on. Its okay to be critical of the game and still love it. Its OKAY.
Telling disappointed people to just get off the forum is idiotic. I notice nearly every time you post its in a negative way towards the poster. Its okay if you defend the game. Its also okay that we are critical of it. I am still getting it day one and going to enjoy the hell out of it, but I can still be very disappointed with the news. We are a week out from the game, and the mode most of us play is hardly getting anything.

To be fair, the reason they have adjusted focus is because of the behaviors of players.
I, too, am underwhelmed by the Franchise Mode updates, but it wouldn't make sense for a company to put most of their energy and effort into the mode that is currently the third-most played (at best).

Well last year in one of their dev streams, people asked questions about why no improvements to Franchise mode and I remember Ramone clear as day saying "We're only a small development team."
I still remember that line to this day.

No, you're in here telling people what they should/shouldn't complain about. This is a forum to discuss the game and if the customers aren't satisfied they should be able to express that. No one is making you read the threads if you don't like the direction they are going. It would be one thing if the comments and complaints were wrong, however in this case they are completely justified.

Man I feel sorry for the guys they put on the couch this stream

Having progression and regression sliders, more in depth scouting and drafting, and better stat tracking would be a great start. Pitchers should also be able to improve and lose stamina. Velocity should drop as pitchers age too. A lot of these little things add up to be big. You guys are right on the money with some of your suggestions. And not that this is a big deal, but, why the heck can't a pitcher win post season or World Series MVP? The Show does a great job replicating baseball on the field, but it is lagging with its franchise mode. I would absolutely love to be proven wrong later today on this, but that's how I feel at this point.

In big letters during the video: STREAMLINED FRANCHISE MODE.
Ramone: "We've done a lot of work this year in STREAMLINING the process..."
On the blog schedule, there's still ******* covering the first topic on today's Deep Dive, but it's probable that the reveal will be something about PHASES.
As a Franchise Whore, I have my one area of highest priority that, if improved, will sway me to buy the game. For me that's prospect generation (age, tools more realistic) and development/progression. In-season extensions are a distant second. If there's deafening silence on that, I'm out.
At this point, it shouldn't surprise anyone that Franchise is being glossed over by the dev team. DD and RTTS are getting 98% of the attention, mode-wise. I will happily migrate to OOTP 19 and probably buy The Show 18 used, down the line, so that my money doesn't go to a dev team that has stopped prioritizing the reason I buy the game. I think that's a reasoned approach somewhere between Show apologists and guys who bark about being slapped in the face, AGAIN.

Seriously? So every post I've made over 9 years on OS has been in a negative way towards the poster? Got it.
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Yikes, I had very low expectations yet somehow they still disappointed. Was hoping they would have improved player progression and a bunch of other logic/ai issues. Hopefully on the stream they touch on those, but I don't have any faith that they will.

To be fair, a lot of us (including myself) have been buyers of this game before it was even called The Show. You may also be one of those people. Regardless of that, part of the responsibility we as consumers have is to let it be known when we are not satisfied, otherwise how will change (maybe, maybe not) happen?
I've been shelling out $60 plus tax on this game since the beginning, with the overwhelming majority of those times resulting in me being a happy camper and more than satisfied with everything. Every year around this time is a big deal as The Show is, in some cases, the only game others play. But like all video games, sometimes we are not happy and have every right to feel so.
You may see the anger and complaining as annoying and tiresome. I see it as passion for the game by the loyal buyers who are looking to justify putting their hard earned money down.
Just my 2 pesos

Enjoy liking every quote someone makes of anything I post because apparently you're all having a competition with it.
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160 plus posts and no one has blamed this disappointment on the bat flips yet? I'm ashamed of you OS!

I know what it means. You all just like to show your solidarity against me by getting as many likes as you can. I'm done with the pity party.
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Yeah, me too. They seem like a good group of people and I 100% believe that they put a great deal of care and effort into their product.
I'm as disappointed as anyone in the lack of real forward progress in Franchise Mode, but these guys are doing their job and it shouldn't get as personal as it does with some consumers.
I don't always understand or agree with their focus and decisions (as is the case with franchise, lately), and I will continue to express my opinions (good and bad), but I trust and respect that these devs work hard with the resources they're given and make decisions based on what they believe is in the best interest of their overall product...not just for a given iteration, but the long term as well.

Jesus, move on. Someone has to stop responding in this ridiculous exchange: why not have it be you?

Literally NO ONE is doing that to you, no one. You're taking time out of your day to quote people who are saying they don't like what the game has to offer, telling them that they'll still be watching the stream, telling them to leave the forum if they don't like it, asking them what more would they want? etc.
No one is attacking you for likes, you just seem to be quoting almost every post that has anything negative to say about the game to feed the fact that you do like it, and that you have NOTHING to complain about.
You like the game, you don't think people should be complaining. If you don't want people "attacking" you for likes, stop quoting them with condescending comments. It's getting old.

Yikes. Its just that many people are dissatisfied and happen to disagree with you, there is literally nothing wrong with that. Has nothing to do with likes or solidarity or ganging up on you brother. This isn't some social justice movement.
*But I digress. My apologies in advance to the mods. I am done arguing. Will try and be more constructive here on out. Lets hold out hope for this stream later! :grin:

You're right that it's rare. But if the game is going to tie in morale to contracts, to the point where if a player is only angry about a contract (and happy about everything else) and still be angry overall, then they have to let us be able to re-do that contract. Or else you're stuck with it and no course of action to avoid the ratings hit.

Because that's what the forum is for. People are allowed to post about how excited they are for things and people are allowed to post the opposite (obviously to the extent the ToS allows). There aren't individual boards for being happy or unhappy with news.

In the same sense that you've decided to be critical of every reaction, how can you be 100% sure that more is coming?
Blogs like this are a marketing gimmick. Essentially they are a 'tease' to get people excited enough about big features that they will tune in to get the full explanation. You don't normally tease your appetizer and then surprise them with the entree.
Maybe you'll get to say "I told you so", and there are instances in the industry where something out of left field does come up. It's not the norm though so it seems silly to go on a crusade against anyone adhering to that norm. Just my thoughts though.

For me I'd like to see
-Better budgeting
-Deeper stat tracking (especially from a historical perspective)
-Relocation (preferably in the sense of how EA does it with fixed locations so that the presentation can still be made to fit)
-Full Minor Leagues
-Expanded trade slots (ie: more than 3 & multi team trades) & Improved Trade Logic.
-realistic AI trade offers
-Vastly improved scouting system
-Retired players become managers
-Overhaul player progression system
-Negotiate with draftee's who may opt for college instead
-International postings
-Full control of the business aspect (TV deals, prices, etc)
-Player suspensions

Because the other option is to simply go away and never have a baseball game experience that we want because it isn't being asked for? Maybe?
This is a video game forum, and what you're being so haughty goes against the very definition of a forum. Why are you trying to be so antagonistic?

I'd love to see all of the things in your list but I don't think MLB will ever allow suspensions (or ejections).

Yeah, the emotional component of my reaction is basically this. I'm bitterly disappointed since Franchise is my reason for buying, but after years of experiencing this, I'm pretty numb to it. This might be the year that a large % of the Franchise crowd migrates to OOTP for good. Like I posted earlier, I'll buy the Show later, but used so that my $ doesn't go to a team that has stopped allocating resources to the mode I care about.

I'm DONE with all of you so stop responding to me.
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Lol
- Nico

Does anyone actually play retro mode? It’s like Rory’s nightclub what a waste of resources.
- Nico

Hopefully we will hear about logic changes, but I would expect they would have said that in the blog if there was.
Something along the lines of "numerous logic changes to make franchise as close to real life as possible."
I'm really disappointed as of now.
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FWIW When the mods get here to clean up yet another mess of a thread, I'd just like to state that this is where I believe the attacks started. Criticizing people for their opinion....sounds familiar, no?
I can't report from Tapatalk, btw.
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Well if this thread is any indication the thread for the stream should be entertaining
:popcorn:
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Yeah, my one remaining hope is more along the lines of small legacy fixes and logic changes as the blog was focused on "what's new."
Nothing to do now but wait and see, I guess.

At this rate, I think you should check your cholesterol. You've been eating an awful lot of popcorn lately...lol. :)
:cheers444

I don't play it myself but, yes, it seems to have its fans. Several members have said it's ideal for introducing young kids to the game for example. And I think the devs said it took less than a day for them to create the mode so it's not what's getting in the way of more substantive improvements elsewhere.

Based on the trophy information, not popular at all, particularly against the computer. Something like only 4.4% of all players won a single game against the computer, which is pretty terrible considering there's even an achievement available for doing it

Yes I do
And I’ll do a fantasy draft franchise with legend players and play all games in retro mode :)
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I literally laughed out loud lol

I get people are upset that this or that wasn't added to franchise or they didn't improve something, I am disappointed at some things as well. But I think if you really want to voice your displeasure, may want to try and go directly to SDS with it. Just saying, they don't look at this place as much as they used to and a lot of the vitriol is honestly wasted fighting back and forth with each other. JMO

The baiting and general complaining about complaining started long before that.
And you would really report someone who's calling for criticism to be made in a 'non-demeaning' and 'productive' manner? :confused:

I mean let's be honest. I don't know how the devs can expect anything different after 3 years of this. Just saying. They kinda brought this upon themselves. I mean if they added even two things, people would feel differently. They added nothing, and I mean nothing to franchise. Streamlining the process isn't franchise improvements/additions.

I barely messed with it in 17, to be honest, but if it can now be used in franchise, I can see myself messing around with it more. Plus, it doesn't strike me as a real resource hog, anyway.
...not like bat flips, at least

There is a big difference between saying what he said and telling people to get off the forum if they dont like the news we received today.

The reality of the situation is most everyone here has common ground, love for baseball and love for the show. It’s like a parent saying “ I’m not angry, I’m disappointed” and I think that’s why people are lashing out.
I know I will enjoy the game this year, I always do, but for how long is more the question if franchise is really not that different.
I too will really wait and see what happens in the stream but thinking some information is going to come out in it that swoops in and saves the underwhelming blog is foolishly optimistic in my opinion.

Why is every topic here turning into a Royal Rumble?
People are allowed to give constructive criticism. There have been times where people have gone overboard before, but this topic isn't one of them. Franchise mode has been stale and largely unchanged for years now. With this blog, it's looking like 2018 will be another year with essentially the same Franchise mode that was in MLB 14.
I'm still hopeful the stream drops some more improvements, but I'm pretty sure any "big" additions are not coming again this year. And fans are allowed to express their disappointment without others charging in like a mother bear to defend the game.

MyLeague continues to make Franchise Mode and CFM look like jokes. It’s honestly just getting embarrassing at this point how far Franchise Mode and CFM are falling behind.

Yeah, I highly doubt something groundbreaking will come out during stream. I'm holding out hope that they detail some tweaks and fixes for some things we currently have. That's my best case scenario. Worst case......Ramone says "phases" and "streamline" 500 times and people lose what's left of their composure.

I actually started off playing a lot user vs user. I love how much more action there was. And the camera just makes the game look awesome. But those changeups in the dirt were impossible to gauge from that camera, So it was a bit of an exploit. Kindve killed it for me.

But yet you have threads and threads about 2K being dead and how bad it is lol. No matter how perfect (not saying MLB franchise is by any stretch) a mode is, there will be people who are absolutely upset about it.

I don't think the devs brought the bickering back and forth and complaining about someone else complaining in the thread.
And I'll await for the stream before I'm willing to state that nothing has been added to franchise.

in the meantime
:popcorn:

I am ready!

Brought enough for all, fam!