Re: [pygame] Pitcher's Duel Batter Demo needs testers

[David <dvkeeney@xxxxxxxxx>]

On 7/6/05, R. Alan Monroe <amonroe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > My greatest concern is that it is just too tough.  The attempt is to
> > simulate the experience of batting in baseball, and hitting a pitch is
> > difficult.
> >    The simulation is even more difficult, unfortunately, and
> 
> Difficult? Have you EVER hit one? :^)
> I must have taken 100-200 swings with zero hits.

Well, before I added the pitch variation, when the pitch always went
to the same place, I could hit about 1 in 10.

Thank you for trying it out, and getting back to me.  I was hoping the
problem was my own poor-twitch fingers, as I am not a big video game
player, but I guess it really is the game.


> > I have struggled for months trying ways to make it easier.  I am
> > looking for input from other folks on just how difficult it seems to
> > them, and any input they might have on how to make it easier.  Thank
> > you for any input you can provide.
> 
> Random brainstorming ideas:
> 
> The bat and ball must have shadows on the ground. You can't judge the
> ball depth (z axis) without it.

Excellent idea.   

> 
> The batter's swing is too automatic. If I stop my finger on the
> trackpad after a certain point he still follows through. I want to try
> bunts and slow hits by slowing my finger down and having more actual
> control on the bat.

OK.  I set the response ratio high to keep bat speed up, and so that
the swing can be completed before running out of touchpad surface.   I
will experiment with lower response ratios.

My research tells me that MLB batters have very little variation in
their swing speed from pitch to pitch, and that they handle differing
pitch speeds by timing the start of the swing.  Bunting will be added
at some point as an alternate control mode, where the input only
controls bat elevation and maybe angle.

> 
> The ball could leave a trail in mid air of all the points it passes
> through (very faintly). Ditto the ball's shadow on the ground.
> 
> There is the old golf game cliche of a swing meter where you just time
> the button press, but that doesn't give a real baseball sensation.
> 
> You could have two axis crosshairs that move around the strike zone
> freely as you slide around the trackpad, then you click to swing, and
> the batter swings through your chosen crosshair target.

I will think more along this line.  I actually had that 'crosshair'
image when I started thinking about the visual aids, and backed off to
just using the one bat 'projection line'.  Maybe I should make that
projection line more manipulatable before the swing starts.

 > I have never played any baseball video games on consoles and the like.
> I don't know how they do it.

I have not either.  I have only tried 'high heat' on PC, and their bat
control is very simplistic.
(of course you can _hit_ with it ;) ).

Thank you for the input.  I will be moving interstate the next couple
of weeks, but I hope to be back at this project by August, and have
some improvements to test by then.

David Keeney

> 
> Alan
> 
> 


-- 
dkeeney@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Pitcher's Duel -> pduel.sourceforge.net