Evolution of Hitting Systems in Baseball Games

[ComfortablyLomb]

Re: Evolution of Hitting Systems in Baseball Games

The cursor definitely changed in size with difficulty on the highest level in WSB '95 and it changed for individual batters depending on whether they were better at contact hitting or power hitting too. I'm not sure about the first version of that game though. I seem to recall it had a circle instead of a bar like in the later versions.

[Dwenny]

Nice article, I remember the intellivision baseball game I used to play. Got to love evolution.

[bang911]

I have played enough baseball to know what video game ball needs to be like, and I can say that cursor hitting is as unreal as it gets. Timing is the #1 factor in hitting a baseball. Bringing the bat to the "area" the ball is in is the easier part.

I am a huge fan of RBI baseball, MVP 05, and the hitting in ESPN Baseball 2k4 was not too bad either.

[ComfortablyLomb]

Re: Evolution of Hitting Systems in Baseball Games

I have played enough baseball to know what video game ball needs to be like, and I can say that cursor hitting is as unreal as it gets. Timing is the #1 factor in hitting a baseball. Bringing the bat to the "area" the ball is in is the easier part.

I am a huge fan of RBI baseball, MVP 05, and the hitting in ESPN Baseball 2k4 was not too bad either.

#1 factor, agreed. Unfortunately, there's also that pesky aspect of actually getting the bat on the ball. I've always thought the swing stick was stupid and I definitely think pretending timing is the only thing that matters is dumb too. We're playing a game and the cursor or zone hitting systems (I don't think the PCI is really zone hitting) definitely are more involved. I think The Show's hitting is too dumbed down. Time it and you might produce good contact depending on what's happening under the hood.

[ffyfe7]

cool article

[Misfit]

Re: Evolution of Hitting Systems in Baseball Games

I'm surprised that World Series Baseball (for Genesis) gets so frequently overlooked. That game was revolutionary for its time (like 1995, maybe?) in so many ways. The cursor batting system, which the article attributes to All-Star Baseball 1999, was actually an innovation of World Series Baseball. And I'm not 100% sure, but I think the cursor size varied with hitter ability (as it does in PowerPros today). Also, you had the choice of Contact, Normal, or Power swing, which you also see in games today. I think that a good cursor system is the best effort videogame baseball has made at "simulating" the experience of lining up a pitch and swinging at it with gameplay that is fun and accessible. 2k9 tried to implement cursor batting as an option, but it was extremely inconsistent, and nearly unplayable. And their swing stick, much like many zone hitting mechanisms, only gives you half of the batting equation, which is the timing aspect--so it's basically softball.

The original World Series Baseball that came out for Genesis in '94 is hands down the most innovative baseball game ever. Sorry Jack, but your failure to include it in your article is a criminal oversight.

World Series Baseball was one of (if not the) first games on the Genesis to feature a full MLB license. Batters had their own ratings so you could tell the difference between Ozzie Smith and Frank Thomas when you were hitting. It was the first to feature the catcher's view for hitting (with the batter's head out of view so the developers didn't have to try to get everyone's face into the game) and allowed you to play a full 162 game season. The pitcher's had their own trademark pitches (I specifically remember fastball, change-up, splitter, slider, curve, knuckle and fork) at varying velocities. Hitting on rookie level was timing based, and very accessible. After that, it was cursor based. The difficulty level affected the size of the cursor with the hardest difficulty setting giving you a baseball sized cursor. Also, the difficulty level affected pitch speed. On the easiest setting the fastest fastball was 78 mph, on the hardest it was 99 mph. When you went up to hit, you selected contact, normal, or power swing or for pitching you could pick slow, normal, or fast. Pitchers had fatigue and if you stretched them out too long their breaking balls would flatten and their fastball would slow or miss location. Bullpens were real time, and you had to properly warm-up a reliever before he was ready to come in, bring him in cold and he'd have nothing.

I played that game ever summer from when it came out until I finally got High Heat 2002. Great game for its time.