'MLB The Show 17' Update: Greater Variety of Hits To Be Made Possible by Reworked Ball Physics
New Catcher Throwing Meter also set to be featured in 'MLB The Show 17'
"MLB The Show 17" will bring plenty of new features, but none figure to be quite as impactful as the changes developers are implementing when it comes to ball physics.
Developers laid out these reworked mechanics in a new video.
For this latest installment of the franchise, developers are attempting to make gameplay even more realistic by implementing a new physics model that now takes into account how the baseball will react after it is struck by a bat.
Previously, developers had based the baseball's movement on how it would typically react were it to hit a wall instead of a bat.
This change should allow players to see new kinds of hits including bloops, Texas Leaguers and even those slicing line drives that usually curve after they go past a base.
With this change applied, it looks like players will need to be even more vigilant when it comes to fielding, as balls in play that may have seemed harmless before may become hits now.
It's not just hitting that will be changing inside "MLB The Show 17."
In the video, developers also introduced fans to the new Catcher Throwing Meter that will come into play whenever baserunners try to steal. The Catcher Throwing Meter can either help or hinder players when it comes to nabbing baserunners. If they are able to hit the green sweet spot included in the meter, then they will have a better chance of nailing the runner. However, miss on that and the bag may be stolen easily.
There are more changes to baserunning included in the upcoming game, and developers will be revealing more about them soon.
CPU-controlled players in the game will also act more like their human counterparts this time around, so that's yet another change that should significantly impact gameplay.
Baseball fans will able to see how these changes affect them, as soon as "MLB The Show 17" is officially released on March 28.