MLB 24: 18 Things That Should Be Addressed
MLB 24 is about 4 weeks away from launch, with a new title coming to the series it comes with new expectations to see a better game than the last. Last year had its problems, I anticipate MLB 24 to address those and more. San Diego Studios has much to worry about for MLB 24. I have reservations about MLB 24 to help make it the best game it can be.
- More legends
Bringing in more players from baseball’s past both recent and far will bring in more eyes and potential sales. Especially the heavy hitters like Ichiro and Alex Rodriguez to name a few. Now with the addition of the Negro League, SDS has no excuse to not bring in tons of new legends to MLB 24.
- More innovation in gameplay
This may be a big ask for San Diego Studios. MLB The Show has not evolved its engine in several years, with about an 8-month development cycle for an annual sports title. I am unsure of any dramatic shifts, especially with including old-gen consoles. Until a true next-gen MLB The Show game arrives, I anticipate gameplay improvements.
In short, have attributes reflect more with hitting, defending, pitching, and baserunning. Hitting, Baserunning, and Pitching all feel to have a lot of RNG to dictate competitive play. On the Hitting Side, inaccurate balls and strike calls on check swings. As well as poor user input resulted in hard extra-base hits. Defense; the main point of concern is animation locking up players when making plays or quick decisions, something that offenses exploit on the base path. Pitching can have players put in great user input and still leave pitches in hittable areas. While completely missing the cues can have better results. These problems are with every player in the game regardless of attributes.
- Better utilization of real-life baseball cards/more card series
MLB The Show is known for its use of actual Topps baseball cards as their art for players. In Diamond Dynasty it was far more apparent with legends who would get cards throughout the year. In The past two years, there has been more emphasis on SDS-created art for collections. Some sets have looked very nice others have missed the mark and missed badly. A return of more real cards as card art in the game will be a welcome sight. If there’s the itch to have in-house sets I would want to see more card series as well. Collections that make sense for players to be a part of.
- Revamp Ranked Seasons
Online modes in Diamond Dynasty have remained the same since the mode’s inception. Ranked Seasons has not met any huge change in structure. I believe it is long overdue for an overhaul of how the mode operates. In other cases the inclusion of another online mode. As for ranked, an Idea could be the addition of some sort of lineup restrictions or a salary cap in earlier divisions or later ones. Just a way to freshen up the mode.
- Less tedious, grind for team affinity
Team Affinity has been a staple for Diamond Dynasty for the last few years. Although, the repetitive tasks of conquest, and the same offline grinding have ruined the concept. Not to mention the lack of great rewards last season with the spamming of 97 overalls.
- Gradual power curve
A great transition to wanting the return of the gradual power curve. I have the most fun on MLB The Show when it is the first few weeks of the new game and everyone is starting back from zero, not a 99 overall in sight unless you paid for collections. I only had that amount of fun for about 5 days at most, once all these high overalls arrived. A new year in Diamond Dynasty should serve as a rebuild of your team from the ground up for the game’s cycle. The journey was taken away last year and is a big part of what makes Diamond Dynasty so fun.
- More flashback cards for underutilized current players
The return of the gradual power curve should open the door to allow more flashback cards for current players. Highlighting great seasons for players who are a few seasons removed. An example is Eugenio Suarez with the Reds when he had a 49-home run season in 2019. He wouldn’t be a 99 overall but he wouldn’t have to be, releasing cards like these at the right time will have players utilize the cards for their lineups early in the game’s life. Having these cards sprinkled as rewards throughout their modes will go a long way. Battle Royale is one great example.
- Make create-a-stadium easier to use
Custom Stadiums were a welcomed addition to the game when it arrived on next-gen consoles. However, it is not as easy to use as a game like NBA2K. Some in the community have made awesome stadiums, but the state of the tool itself makes it very hard for someone to pick up and build their own unique stadium from scratch. Streamlining the feature to make it easier to add certain field dimensions, team branding, and more will go a long way.
- Alternate uniforms/Patches
A Custom Alternate Jersey for Diamond Dynasty is something I have been waiting for for a while. Patches I believe are inevitable to be heading to the game at some point. Allowing players to not have to alter their home and away jerseys every time they want to switch things up will just make for a more convenient experience.
- Put more effort into Road to The Show and Franchise
I have spoken a lot about Diamond Dynasty, however, MLB 24 should not be a one-mode game. Road to The Show is arguably more played than Diamond Dynasty, Although, the assets put into the mode would tell you otherwise. Also including franchise mode, fans have been begging to have a large update there too. Both modes need a lot more attention to make the game overall worth the price tag. An actual story in RTTS with stakes based on performance and actual rewards for playing well. Franchise needs more elements of actually running a team and trying to build a contender.
- A year-long XP path
The merging of the XP reward path into the inning programs in Diamond Dynasty has not hit the way SDS may have intended. A seasonal XP reward path leaves players fiddling their thumbs until the next season starts. The year-long XP reward path kept investment all year long, with exclusive players along the path as well as rewards that grew in importance the further you got to help build your endgame squad.
- Long-term stat missions
In MLB 17 Eddie Matthews had a 99 overall card from 1953 you can only get by playing ranked seasons. More importantly, you had to replicate his 1953 season stat line of 47 home runs, 31 doubles, 8 triples, and 135 RBIs. Long-term missions like that have not been in the game since then, I believe it helps teach the game to more casual fans and also serves as another way to encourage players to keep playing.
- Remove or rework sets and seasons
Sets and Seasons seemed like a good idea in theory. I appreciate the ambition of wanting to attack content differently. How it was handled was the problem with the inclusion of 99s on day one as well as the eventual re-releasing of cards. For many the game peaked in May when in other years players are hooked through to the World Series. If they can find a better alternative with Sets and Seasons to make it a better experience I will give it another year. If not then do away with the idea altogether.
- Better incentives for online play
Last year there was a larger emphasis on playing offline games to do a bulk of grinding for programs. Turning a lot of players away from online modes as a result. There should be a greater emphasis on online modes and for people to take their teams online. Online play has been pretty non-existent in terms of competitiveness among the average player. Players will leave games in ranked being down four runs in the second inning or as soon as a home run is hit. SDS has tried to combat this, but there should be a greater incentive for players to stay and play in online modes whether it is greater penalties for leaving early or rewards for playing the whole game. A side note would be players receiving a bonus who force rage quits.
- More events
The event mode is the mode that most DD players go to, with its 3-inning games and alternate game rules as well as lineup restrictions. Events have been great for Diamond Dynasty, although in recent years, it seems to have a lack of new events to keep the mode fresh. Mainly running the same Moonshot, opposite-sided hitters vs. pitchers, and card-specific. The mode can do with some new events like maybe the lowest overall versions of players, no power bats, and historic rivals just to name some.
- Allow created player to be team manager in-game
Your RTTS player plays a big role in DD if you end up putting him on the field. I’ll give SDS credit with the face scan feature they brought in for MLB 23 being a plus. In DD you see your team’s manager pretty often, might as well be able to customize them to your liking not just some random person. After all, you are building this team.
- New or dynamic commentators
I think the current duo of John “Boog” Sciambi and Chris Singleton is fine, however, I would like to see more additions to the commentary crew. Depending on what region you’re playing in brings different commentary teams. The lines get old very quickly and will add more to those offline modes like RTTS, Franchise, and even DD.
- Better player models (rookies, young versions of players, etc.)
Some sports titles do a better job at this than others, MLB The Show is one of the worst in terms of player models. For example, rookies no matter the talent level for the most part do not have a face scan in the game unless they are superstar-level players. I used to give SDS the benefit of the doubt because they may not be able to get players in for face scans. But they updated Elly De La Cruz’s face scan during the year, now there is no excuse to have created player faces in place for active players.
Diamond Dynasty has its share of younger versions of players. Some players like Miguel Cabrera have a younger player model in the game. David Ortiz has the same model despite cards being decades apart. Seeing this to me displays laziness and a carefree attitude to bring accurate likeness to the players in MLB who are the reason there’s an MLB The Show game, to begin with. If you want even more context, boot up MLB 23 and get a side-by-side of Yusei Kikuchi and Masataka Yoshida.
A Return to Form?
We are nearly one month away from launch and this is when the game will start taking shape. Hopefully, SDS has already taken some of these topics into account and is working to bounce back with MLB 24. Some of these issues have been long-standing with the series while others have just been popping up. One more thing I would want to see is more communication throughout the year from SDS about their game. Addressing issues that players run into and not going radio silent for weeks on end. I understand the game will never be perfect but that doesn’t excuse the fact that studios can and should strive towards that. It will be very interesting to see what MLB 24 has lined up.
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