MLB The Show Pitching Logic
Notwithstanding difficulty settings, the pitching game in The Show is largely driven by two factors: player ratings, and user input. Let’s get into the logic.
Pitcher Ratings
Ratings will dictate what kind of damage is done on balls that are just missed from being squared up. Diamond levels pitchers are less likely to give up home runs, and depending on ratings, they are more likely to get the calls on check swings for strike outs.
The pitching ratings, combined with hitter attributes will dictate on-field outcomes. For example, we understand that secondary pitches are not as highly effective as a primary pitch. Throwing a secondary pitch can result in less break and less velocity, but that is just on the surface.
The underlying pitching-hitting interface logic is making thousands of calculations in milliseconds, ultimately deciding the outcome to produce. The rating of a secondary pitch is weighed against the hitter’s timing, the PCI placement, and the attributes of the hitter. Combining these factors, we can begin to piece together the programming logic driving the pitching and hitting engine.
Think of the baseball as it is thrown as a flying formula made up of all of your pitcher’s ratings. The pitcher’s highest rated attributes will weigh most heavily into the formula.
As the pitching meter input is made (button press), the ball is released, and the game engine begins to kick in to gear. If your ace has quality HR/9 attributes, we know that this baseball will outweigh most hitters’ home run attributes and stay in the park.
The hitter’s attributes are also weighed depending on player ratings, and rolled up into another complex formula that will be inserted into the outcome equation.
The biggest input variables are the pitching location, swing timing, and PCI location. These are plugged into the equations in real-time. When the ball reaches the hitting window, the final formula is activated, a calculation is made, and an outcome is produced.
This is sports gaming. The engine is constantly being presented with complex problems and is resolving the formulas on the fly.
In order for this all to run smoothly, the game’s code must use simplified syntax and formulas in order to make these calculations quickly and effectively. This is why the “baseball representing a flying formula” is a prime example — all of your pitching attributes are rolled up into a simplified piece of the equation that produces an outcome.
For metered pitching, going for higher velocity effectively means your margin for error on pitch location is smaller, and the range of outcomes for pitch location is higher. And the converse is true.
Highly rated pitchers and top rated pitches will be most effective against almost all PCI timing and contact and hitter ratings on most difficulty settings. This is the reason why your rare Signature Series starting pitchers sell for so much in the online auctions. Making mistake pitches with legendary players is not too penalizing.
It is clear that the ratings in The Show have a unique formula mix for pitches being thrown by differently rated players. The result is each pitcher having a different feel, taking hours and repetitions to master their craft before handing them the ball in competitive settings.
