If you haven’t read Part 1 or Part 2 of my previews on MLB The Show 18, click below:
Baseball is a sport that is starting to evolve more and more in how it’s presented in person and on screen. Changes like the controversial pitch clock are furiously coming to make sure that the pace of play moves along. Other changes like camera angles from drones high above stadiums are among the other welcome changes that are helping to move America’s pastime into the modern day and age. These changes and more are what Sony San Diego is continuing to keep track of as they improve the presentation and commentary in MLB The Show 18. As always, I’ve taken time to sit back and watch the live stream, take detailed notes, and search the internet to give you the most recent updates in this year’s slugger. Here are the newest updates in all things commentary and presentation in MLB The Show 18.
Commentary in the prior MLB The Show games has progressively gotten better each and every year. Adding new commentators who have better insight to the ins and outs is always a welcome addition. This year is no different, as Sony San Diego has added former big leaguer, Mark Derosa. Derosa, or Dero, as you’ll hear him called by his peers, played 16 seasons for eight teams in the major leagues. Derosa was a utility man, meaning he would play multiple positions, more of a jack-of-all-trades but a master of none type player. He mostly played the infield positions, yet would play the outfield from time to time while stepping in as a pinch hitter if called upon. This year, Derosa replaces former player Harold Reynolds on commentary. Reynolds, a very popular personality on MLB Network, and Sony San Diego came to a mutual decision that he would not be able to continue their partnership due to availability and scheduling. This decision had nothing to do with performance. Derosa, an on-air personality currently on MLB Network himself, is joined by returning commentators Dan Plesac and Matt Vasgersian. This year Sony San Diego wanted commentary to feel more fluid while allowing for situational interaction that could naturally bounce off of one another. All three personalities were brought in to record their commentary together in the same booth, which should add a better feel to the game as they narrate your baseball experience. Hearing Plesac start talking about a play, tossing the commentary to Vasgersian, and ending with Mark Derosa feels natural. Almost like I was watching a real broadcast.
Along with the MLB Network theme, Sony San Diego has their own updated in game theme.
Much like a real broadcast, a commentator must tell the story of what is going on to help keep viewers who tune in to watch or listen, up to date on the action. This commentary continuously changes as the days, weeks, and seasons go on. Which brings us to the new dynamic storylines in MLB The Show 18. Dynamic Storylines were introduced to help make the commentary feel more conversational and less unnecessary. You’ll still get side conversations and discussions about what is going on, but it will feel as though it fits within the game instead of sticking out. These new dynamic storylines will highlight interesting narratives or dramatic situations that happen over the course of a game, season, or player’s career. This means you’ll get always evolving storylines on the fly, whether it’s a current player or one you’ve whipped up. Should a player be in a bit of a slump over the course of seven or eight games, you’ll hear the commentary team mention what has happened and what could have gone wrong. Same if you have a player come up to bat that has had a monster first half of a season. The commentary team might then talk about where he’s at in the all-star voting or where he sits among his peers statistically. When you listen to how this works it almost seems as if Sony San Diego has taken real situations and plugged them into MLB The Show 18. Not only will the commentary be dynamic towards storylines and what is going on in front of you, but you’ll also hear them mention more factors that could affect gameplay. Factors such as weather conditions, time of day, size of the stadium, and more could be talked about as your MLB The Show 18 time grows.
Sony San Diego has now included what they call “quick facts” in the commentary during games. These quick facts are little factoids on today’s players such as the players overall background, statistics, where he was drafted, etc. Quick facts are what would be given to an announcer on the fly during a live game to help the audience know more about who this random player is that just replaced your starting pitcher. These quick facts will also be dynamic as they can change and be up to the moment details in your Franchise and Road to the Show modes.
Of course commentary isn’t the only change that I have to tell you all about in this third preview for MLB The Show 18. Overall presentation changes have been made to help the visuals match the updated commentary. Sony San Diego actually took a trip to the MLB Network studios in Cleveland, Ohio to see what changes and improvements they have made in broadcasting the game. Sony San Diego has covered everything here from the replay system to including brand new camera angles. The aforementioned replay system has been overhauled to now include game speed replays instead of the slow motion replays that made previous years games feel as though they slid along. These normal speed replays will now include neon colored ball trails on balls hit deep that once again reflect an actual major league broadcast. This will also include statistics like exit velocity of the ball once hit off of the bat. Just another small step for Sony San Diego towards making the best baseball game they possibly could.
One other presentation change is in the stadium sounds that you would hear should you purchase a ticket and walk into any of these ball parks. These sounds have been amped up so you will be able to better hear the uniqueness that comes from each of the 30 stadiums across North America. Say you’re playing with the defending champions, the Houston Astros, and you hit a home run into deep center field. You’ll now be able to better hear the sound of the train as it toots its horn across the outfield wall tracks. Other stadiums that have more specific sounds will also be better heard in MLB The Show 18. Another change is in the camera angles that Sony San Diego has put into the game to help immerse you into the baseball experience. This year you will see more camera angles with more variety across the board. These new camera angles are spread out across the game. So you may see a new angle while starting a game that goes outside the stadium showing a historic players commemorative plaque or statue. You may also see areas inside the stadium that you wouldn’t be able to unless you were there in person. Now don’t fear, that’s not where Sony San Diego has left off. This year for the first time ever, Sony San Diego has included camera angles from drones that are now being used in real broadcasts. These are awesome angles that will give you different views such as from down inside the stadium but not in an actual seat. Or maybe it’s a bright sunny day in California and a drone is flying high above showing us a heated matchup between the Giants and Dodgers. These new drone camera angles should give us a unique perspective in the stadiums all across baseball.
Weather patterns in MLB The Show 18 mean this beautiful sky could have came at the tail end of a thunderstorm.
Now as we all know, baseball is a game played from the spring, throughout the summer, and into the fall. We know that this means the game will be played out in the elements in most stadiums. Once again Sony San Diego has updated MLB The Show 18 when it comes to the weather. This year’s game has updated weather including brand new rain and fog. The rain in previous games had about 2500 rain drops that looked like white lines and they would drop in one pattern. Now in MLB The Show 18 we get dynamic rain! That’s right, rain can be dynamic too! Rain in MLB The Show 18 will now include anywhere from 250 raindrops to 200,000 that can fall at one time. The rain is now more realistic and no longer falls in white lines. I also mentioned fog which is brand new to Sony San Diego’s baseball series. While fog is not a selectable weather option, you will see fog from time to time during your games. Should you want the opportunity to see fog in a game, you would select the overcast option in the weather settings before a game. The fog, just like the rain, is tied to real life seasons and locations. Take San Francisco for example. San Francisco deals with fog constantly throughout baseball season, especially later in the season. You may start the game with heavy fog, where the figures outside the stadium can’t be seen, and end the game with no fog at all. It’s an ever-changing system that makes MLB The Show 18 more realistic than ever. Fog, while cool and unique to this year’s game, will not affect gameplay, but will add a level of immersion that can suck you into the game. These changes are in the game because Sony San Diego has gone out and done research to add unique weather patterns in the game. Again these patterns are subject to the time of year and where you’re playing. Like I mentioned above, these weather patterns will mean that the weather can change over the course of a game. Going from a sprinkle to a sunny day or from a downpour to absolutely no rain at all is possible in MLB The Show 18.
MLB The Show 18 has dynamic everything. Including fog!
Sony San Diego also wanted to improve the atmosphere within the stadium on top of the weather. Crowds will now react much more accurately based on actual play in the game. This means a deep fly ball that might be a home run in the 3rd inning of a blowout will be reacted to differently than a ball that’s hit to the wall that might be a home run in the 9th inning of a tie game. Again, this is another small and subtle change that will help immerse you into the game. Mentioning home runs, if a ball is hit deep you will now see the crowd react more like you or I would at the ball park. Meaning we may stand in anticipation of said ball going out or sitting down in disappointment once a ball is caught. Crowds won’t fully react until a ball lands or is caught. We will no longer hear cheers or jeers when a ball is hit and immediately know the outcome of where the ball will land. Now maybe the ball was hit deep and the outfielder is throwing it in to try and throw out the runner at a base. The crowd will now watch the ball as its hit or may watch the runner as he is attempting to advance to the next base. Overall, the crowd is smarter when it comes to how they react and what they watch on the field. MLB The Show 18 also has a new attendance logic that will dictate how big or small a crowd is at your game. The attendance logic is affected by the matchup, standings, stadium you’re in, and more. This means games played at historic Fenway Park or Wrigley field that always have sellout crowds will continue to do so. This also means that crowds may react differently to scenarios at these stadiums based on if the division rival is in town or if you’re 20 games out of first place and playing another division cellar dweller. All of these things matter now in MLB The Show 18.
Situational awareness by the players, managers, and umpires is also updated in MLB The Show 18. You now might see your teams’ manager yelling at an umpire that just called a strike even though it was a ball. This also means you’ll see players who wear their heart on their sleeve react like their real life counterparts. If a player strikes out and didn’t like the third strike call, you may see them disagree with the call by arguing with the umpire or throwing their bat. Other really nifty things you’ll see may be a short stop calling out and showing a hand signal that there are two outs in the inning, or a catcher might encourage a pitcher after throwing a strike, they may even give you a sign to calm down if the situation calls for it. Obviously there are more situations you may see, but in the end just know you’ll see some new situational awareness animations during your time with MLB The Show 18. All of these changes are what you’d see in an afternoon of baseball. Of course as the theme continues you’ll notice that the situational awareness is also dynamic! Imagine that! These different emotional expressions or actions were all caught by members of Sony San Diego doing new motion capture work to make this happen.
Strike 3, base knock or home run? They’ll all bring reactions in MLB The Show 18!
Finally my preview coverage wouldn’t be complete without sharing with you a brand new legend that is coming to MLB The Show 18. This year Sony San Diego has went big on the legends and is bringing in none other than St. Louis Cardinal pitching great, Bob Gibson. Bob Gibson is a retired pitcher who played 17 seasons, all with the St. Louis Cardinals. From 1959 to 1975, Gibson tallied up 251 wins, 3,117 strikeouts, and had a 2.91 career earned run average. He was also a two-time World Series champion, won two Cy Young Awards, and was the 1968 National League Most Valuable Player. In 1981, Bob Gibson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. His number 45 was retired in St. Louis in September of 1975. Bob Gibson will be one of the unlockable legendary players in MLB The Show 18.
Welcome to The Show, Bob Gibson!
Well there you have it. Part three of my preview coverage of MLB The Show 18 is in the books. Presentation and commentary seem like things that you just expect to be there, but when it’s off, it’s off. We all want the best in these features, so what excites you about the changes in this year’s game? What do you want to see Sony San Diego change when it comes to either of these features? All I know is that I can’t wait to get my hands on MLB The Show 18 and look forward to playing with and against each of you! Remember if you haven’t read our preview #1 or preview #2 articles for MLB The Show 18 make sure you do now! As always, stay tuned to NerdBacon.com for all things video games and MLB The Show 18.
Written by Level Up Justin
Justin AKA Level Up Justin, is a video game journalist and content creator from Des Moines, Iowa. He’s a life-long fan of all things video games and has been playing as far back as he can remember. Throughout his life he has grown to love all different types of games. All the way from third person action adventure to first person shooters. From sport simulations to survival horror. Although he would have to admit that he excels at platformers the most. When it comes to video games, Level Up Justin is willing to give everything a shot.
Justin is a so called pro wrestling expert, sports fanatic, rock and roll enthusiast, horror nerd and avid dog lover. If you’re ever out with him be prepared to pet any canine that comes into the vicinity! If he wasn’t creating content for video games he’d be doing something similar in the world of sports, most likely baseball. Make sure to follow Level Up Justin on all of the social medias @ LevelUpJustin
