MLB The Show Graphics Discussion Thread

[bronxbombers21325]

Quote: Originally Posted by KnightTemplar

No…it was addressed because you seem to be antagonized on the boards. I asked a fair question. Who…..? Jesus, these boards are fairly calm. One post is not trying to change your mind, as you said. People post what they see in the game and unless someone just starts trolling, or insults you, it’s all good.

I meant the other guys post was directed at me. The one you were responding to.

[dbekoscke]

Quote: Originally Posted by KnightTemplar

Grass engine? I don’t see the flickering you’re talking about. Oh, well, we’ll see what happens.

Grass definitely flickers (or specific blades of grass "pop in") during certain camera cuts. If I recall correctly, one example is when checking the first or third base umpire for checked swing calls.

[dbekoscke]

MLBTS is such a great baseball video game! I think we all just want it to continue to be the best sports sim game on the market. That's where all these opinions (or "nitpicks") come from, whether we're talking about graphics, gameplay, modes, or whatever else. I genuinely think our comments on OS come from a place of love for this series and this community!

More positivity, I say; the world already has enough negativity!

[canes21]

The fact of the matter is that for a AAA game that is developed by a first party developer from Sony, this game lacks a lot in the graphical department compared to about any other AAA game for the current gen, and it lacks compared to many prior gen games as well.

While many people don't really know all the technical information surrounding graphics and just roll their eyes at things like people talking about water splash effects, that does not excuse that the game has plenty of dated textures, no traces of ray tracing, a clear lacking of things like subsurface scattering, zero cloth physics, and many other items that are very very common in games today.

Most games haven't looked awful for nearly 10 years now. We hit a point graphically where games age a lot less and are less of a hassle to go back and play because the visuals hold up so well. The Show is far from an atrocious looking game, but it is also equally as far from being a technical marvel. It doesn't need to be a technical marvel, but it's also pretty far from being up to the standard graphically that most AAA games, sports and non-sports, are achieving on the regular.

I remember years ago when they did a dev stream talking about how they were starting to incorporate PBR textures into the game. It was neat. PBR textures were becoming the norm back then. Now, you look at the graphics in the series still, and you notice that there are still plenty of textures that aren't PBR textures. There's still plenty of flat looking areas that look like they don't even have a normal map at all.

You focus on the key parts of a baseball game and you see skin textures that are comically bad, jerseys that look rough even when you zoom in and get the best LOD model, the grass and dirt are pretty bad at nearly every park, the texture resolution in many areas is questionable. For example, even when playing on the prettier graphical settings, you'll still see extremely low res pants textures on the batters from a batting camera leading to the glove pocket being very jagged and bad looking. For this day and age, things like that should not be happening in a AAA game.

While the game may look good enough to play, and many old timers here may think it looks fine because they grew up playing Duck Hunt(I did too), that does not mean the game is well behind the modern standard graphically. This thread is also here to have a dedicated place for graphical talk, so when people do mention smaller details in the graphics like splash effects, subsurface scattering, etc. They shouldn't be shrugged off as nitpicking. That's tossing someone's opinion away simply because you don't think like they do. Instead, it should be accepted that those details are small and we can acknowledge them lacking doesn't make the game a 0 out of 10, but we should also be able to accept those are things that should be expected in a AAA game in 2024. Heck, those are things you'd have expected in a AAA game in 2018.

Simply put, from a technical standpoint, The Show is lacking compared to your average AAA releases and really even your AA releases as well. A AAA game developed by a first party studio should have significantly more technical details in the game and that's just an objective fact. Whether the graphics are good enough for you is irrelevant to the fact that this series is lacking any technical details that became the common standard years ago.

[desouza7]

Quote: Originally Posted by Totfc773

So in a sport where certain ballparks have splashing water as part of the ambiance and in 2024 on PS5 and Xbox Series, you don’t believe water behaving as concrete is an issue? To each his own

I never said it wasn’t an issue, I just said it was a nice to have.

I compare it to its peers and there are no other sports games with physics like that around the game. What other games do have that MLBTS lacks are more customization features and options around the players themselves.

We all have different things we’d like to see, but I’d much rather them fix up some things that impact every game and every mode first and then tackle the extras like water physics since it those other things bother me more since I see them more often. Then I’d like to see them attack those features because it would be a great addition to the game.

Having more accurate models for equipment, being able to customize all pieces (like glove logos), using a color wheel instead of pre-selected colors, home and away equipment choices, updated types of jersey/pants options, making the hats more realistic looking. These are things that almost every other game has except for MLBTS and I see them every game.

[breakfastcat]

Quote: Originally Posted by canes21

The fact of the matter is that for a AAA game that is developed by a first party developer from Sony, this game lacks a lot in the graphical department compared to about any other AAA game for the current gen, and it lacks compared to many prior gen games as well. While many people don't really know all the technical information surrounding graphics and just roll their eyes at things like people talking about water splash effects, that does not excuse that the game has plenty of dated textures, no traces of ray tracing, a clear lacking of things like subsurface scattering, zero cloth physics, and many other items that are very very common in games today. Most games haven't looked awful for nearly 10 years now. We hit a point graphically where games age a lot less and are less of a hassle to go back and play because the visuals hold up so well. The Show is far from an atrocious looking game, but it is also equally as far from being a technical marvel. It doesn't need to be a technical marvel, but it's also pretty far from being up to the standard graphically that most AAA games, sports and non-sports, are achieving on the regular. I remember years ago when they did a dev stream talking about how they were starting to incorporate PBR textures into the game. It was neat. PBR textures were becoming the norm back then. Now, you look at the graphics in the series still, and you notice that there are still plenty of textures that aren't PBR textures. There's still plenty of flat looking areas that look like they don't even have a normal map at all. You focus on the key parts of a baseball game and you see skin textures that are comically bad, jerseys that look rough even when you zoom in and get the best LOD model, the grass and dirt are pretty bad at nearly every park, the texture resolution in many areas is questionable. For example, even when playing on the prettier graphical settings, you'll still see extremely low res pants textures on the batters from a batting camera leading to the glove pocket being very jagged and bad looking. For this day and age, things like that should not be happening in a AAA game. While the game may look good enough to play, and many old timers here may think it looks fine because they grew up playing Duck Hunt(I did too), that does not mean the game is well behind the modern standard graphically. This thread is also here to have a dedicated place for graphical talk, so when people do mention smaller details in the graphics like splash effects, subsurface scattering, etc. They shouldn't be shrugged off as nitpicking. That's tossing someone's opinion away simply because you don't think like they do. Instead, it should be accepted that those details are small and we can acknowledge them lacking doesn't make the game a 0 out of 10, but we should also be able to accept those are things that should be expected in a AAA game in 2024. Heck, those are things you'd have expected in a AAA game in 2018. Simply put, from a technical standpoint, The Show is lacking compared to your average AAA releases and really even your AA releases as well. A AAA game developed by a first party studio should have significantly more technical details in the game and that's just an objective fact. Whether the graphics are good enough for you is irrelevant to the fact that this series is lacking any technical details that became the common standard years ago.

Absolutely fantastic post. I think you nailed it with all the specific examples of ways the visuals can improve.

I didn't mean to cause as much consternation with my previous post as I did, "antagonistic" probably wasn't the correct word choice for what I meant. But I don't think I'm alone when I say that it tends to rub me the wrong way when people respond to the graphics discussion implying it doesn't matter because they loved X game from 30 years ago, or whatever reason someone might be content with the game's current visuals. As someone that doesn't personally play much, if any, Franchise mode, it would be a lot like me going into a thread about franchise and posting about how I don't think the mode needs updating because I played Triple Play 99 and that season mode experience was plenty enough for me. See how silly that sounds, and unconvincing and unproductive of an argument that is to those that truly care about that mode? It seems to only serve to minimize the thoughts of those of us with the opposite opinion without adding anything to the discussion.

It's great if you are satisfied with how the game looks, it really is. I don't think anyone is trying to convince you to feel otherwise. I honestly wish I felt the same way. But just like every aspect of every game it could always be improved, and compared to the rest of this game it seems fairly obvious that the visuals are one aspect that has been ignored for too long. And it's a pretty big deal for those of us who value a good looking game.

[Ghost Of The Year]

Quote: Originally Posted by canes21

The fact of the matter is that for a AAA game that is developed by a first party developer from Sony, this game lacks a lot in the graphical department compared to about any other AAA game for the current gen, and it lacks compared to many prior gen games as well.

I can't quite pull the trigger on comparing how well a baseball video game is rendered visually and why doesn't it look as good as say, Red Dead 2. Heck, for that matter, I can't say I expect it's comfortably safe to assume a baseball video game should look as good as a basketball video game. I have no problem comparing apples to oranges but I do draw a line at comparing apples to pencils. It might not be until PS15 hits the market that a baseball game will look as good visually as AAA games on current gen consoles.

[eric7064]

Quote: Originally Posted by Ghost Of The Year

I can't quite pull the trigger on comparing how well a baseball video game is rendered visually and why doesn't it look as good as say, Red Dead 2. Heck, for that matter, I can't say I expect it's comfortably safe to assume a baseball video game should look as good as a basketball video game. I have no problem comparing apples to oranges but I do draw a line at comparing apples to pencils. It might not be until PS15 hits the market that a baseball game will look as good visually as AAA games on current gen consoles.

But it is a AAA game. It was the 14th highest selling game of 2023 and that does not even count the gamepass numbers.