MLB The Show 24: Game Update 3 Details and Commentary

This Friday will mark two weeks since MLB The Show 24 went into early access. That means the game has only “officially” been out for about a week and a half. Many of us have been grinding away non-stop so it feels like the game’s been out for an eternity at this point.

That’s obviously not the case, which makes this sizable update fairly impressive with what it encompasses and how quickly it got released.

MLB The Show 24 Game Update 3 Details

GENERAL

• Fixed a bug that would cause inconsistent pinpoint timing for pitchers with quick deliveries when pitching from the stretch.
• Fixed an issue where controller vibration would fail to turn off after completing certain tutorials.
• Fixed an issue where Matt Waldron would spin after a strikeout animation.
• Fixed various tagging issues that could happen due to larger base sizes.
• Fixed a crash when entering Moments.
• Fixed an issue causing network errors when entering Play Now Daily Rosters.
• Fixed an issue where the CPU was throwing balls at an excessively high rate.
• Two-way players will now be eligible for the Home Run Derby in Franchise and Road to the Show.

DIAMOND DYNASTY

• Pitcher energy for two-way players who enter a game from the bullpen will now function properly.
• Fixed a bug in Mini-Seasons where if the user added the same player card on their team the CPU cards stats would display in-game for the user’s team stats.
• Fixed a crash when exiting Mini Seasons.
• Fixed an issue that would cause the wrong bat skin to be displayed in-game.
• Reduced the strobing that occurred when a user simulates through Conquest.

ONLINE HEAD-TO-HEAD

• Fixed an issue where defensive shifts were not lining up correctly.
• Fixed a freeze that would occur when loading into a game.
• Fixed a bug where users could become stuck with the “Waiting For…” notification displayed on screen in online gameplay.
• Fixed an issue where offensive players or teammates of the active fielder would witness abrupt changes in player location (warping) in the outfield.
• General stability improvements.

CO-OP

• Fixed an issue where throw meters would not appear when using button accuracy.
• Fixed multiple instances where freezes could happen after an in-game substitution.
• Fixed a bug related to pause timers that could cause the game to freeze.

ROAD TO THE SHOW

• Users will no longer be invited to the Future Stars game while in the MLB.
• Implemented new Future Stars Game intros.
• Fixed an issue where players would get stuck in a loop of the same defensive play repeatedly.
• Various pronoun commentary adjustments for both female and male players.
• Players will no longer have the number 42 on their jersey during a Draft Combine game.

FRANCHISE

• Fixed a crash while simulating past draft day with certain custom rosters.
• Fixed a crash while simulating to the Futures Game with certain custom rosters.
• Adjustment made to text colors in the Contract Management screen.
• Draft Board will now show drafted player positions.

STORYLINES

• Fixed issue where the nodes in year 1998 would be marked as complete when pressing ‘Down’ to navigate to the 1998 map from 1996.
• Fixed a server exception error that was occurring due to disconnecting from storylines and trying to re-enter the mode.
• Fixed issue where the Jeter background SFX would continue after disconnecting and returning to the main front-end menus.
• Fixed a bug that caused the box score to display the same name for both teams in game.
• Fixed Buck Leonard’s “Student of the Game” moment.

CUSTOM LEAGUES

• Fixed an issue that would cause a challenge failed error when matching up with another user.

MISCELLANEOUS

• Various commentary and presentation updates and adjustments.
• The addition of the MiLB Copa de la Diversion uniforms for Double-A and Triple-A.
• Fixed a graphic issue on the 400ft centerfield wall at the Roger Centre.
• Updated Roy Halladay HOF logo at the Rogers Centre.
• Various UI improvements for improved legibility.

NINTENDO SWITCH

• Fixed a crash when entering game modes in Diamond Dynasty.
• Fixed a freeze that could occur when playing with single Joy-Cons during online gameplay.
• Fixed inconsistencies on the right field jumbotron in Busch Stadium.

XBOX

• Fixed an issue that could cause a soft lock on Xbox during bootup.

DEVELOPER NOTES

Balance Changes

In a content update coming Friday 3/29, Matt Waldron will see an increase to velocity on his knuckleball and slight decrease to his break. This should make his knuckleball generally easier to hit. We will continue monitoring community feedback and adjusting if needed.

Co-op Cooldown Adjustments

In a content update earlier today, we have reduced the Co-op cooldown penalties to reflect the penalties from previous years. We appreciate your feedback as we continue to monitor Co-op and all other modes within MLB The Show 24.

XP Cap in Diamond Dynasty

We’ve seen a lot of discussion surrounding the XP Cap in Diamond Dynasty and wanted to take some time to explain its design intentions and provide context as to how it functions.

First off, how does the XP Cap work? The daily XP Cap is 15,000 XP, and only affects XP earned through gameplay. This means that XP earned through various other areas in Diamond Dynasty are not affected by the cap. If you have already reached the XP Cap for the day, and you complete a section of a program that rewards 3,000 XP, you will still receive that XP reward. The cap exists strictly for XP earned through on-the-field activity, such as hitting home runs, tallying strikeouts, etc. The Cap does not impact XP earned by completing objectives in a program such as Spring Breakout.

The gameplay XP Cap is lower than it has been in previous years. That is intentional, and instead, we placed larger amounts of XP rewards throughout various programs in Diamond Dynasty. For example, the Battle Royale Program holds a total of 35,000 XP. This will continue throughout the course of each season.

As more content is dropped, there will be more ways to earn large amounts of XP within the content, outside of gameplay XP. In addition, we have plans for double XP weekends in the future, where the Cap will also be temporarily raised to double its current value. All of this will allow the average user to keep up with relevant rewards from the XP Reward Path without needing to hit the gameplay XP Cap consistently.

We understand it can be frustrating to reach the gameplay XP cap, but it is necessary for the pacing of the content, and to prevent the 99 overall rewards at the end of the path from interfering with the gradual rise in player overalls too soon. Please keep in mind that the intent for the XP Reward Path is to provide free rewards which can be earned passively over time, and the time-frame for an entire XP Reward Path is meant to last an entire 12-week season.

Player overalls creep up slowly throughout the XP Reward Path, and it was our intention that each new player with a higher overall feels like a “boss” for that section of the XP Reward Path. You can think of obtaining the 91 overall player as the “boss” player for the first few weeks; obtaining the 93 overall player would be the “boss” player for the next few weeks, and so on. This is meant to reward an overall-relevant player item at multiple points throughout the season, culminating in the 99 overalls towards the end of the season.

We believe players should be rewarded with 99’s even if it takes longer, but we are of course always monitoring feedback around every aspect of our game.

We fully expect someone who completes most of the content throughout the course of a season to obtain the 99 overall rewards by the end of the season. If you are someone who is hitting the daily gameplay XP Cap consistently , you are on track to earning the 99 overall rewards much sooner, which means you are on a great pace for the 12-week season. That means you may be among the first to earn 99 overall rewards from the XP Reward Path before the majority of 99 overall rewards are added to Diamond Dynasty in other areas. Any change to the gameplay XP Cap would only accelerate that pace and compromise the gradual rise in player overall ratings.

We will continue to monitor community feedback around this topic.

Thank you, as always, for playing MLB The Show.

Papadell’s Take

Number one, the detail contained within the XP Cap note is incredible. This is the kind of communication we’ve wanted from SDS for years and it helps alleviate concerns by explaining the “why.”

The daily XP Cap has upset a lot of people, but those are also individuals playing the game more than a lot of us physically can. That’s not a knock; simply a fact. SDS’ explanation as to why there’s a cap and how it helps pace content makes perfect sense. It wouldn’t be very smart or effective to bring back the power creep, only to allow folks to power level through the XP path and have 99s before the majority of players are anywhere close. Frankly, that’s how previous iterations of the game felt as people XP boosted their way to Boss Packs, flipped them for insane amounts of Stubs and then bought them back dirt cheap towards the end of the Inning Programs. I personally don’t mind the XP cap. I’ve only hit it once since early access and I’ll be lucky to hit it again outside of vacation time. Even then, I’m guilty of mass grinding to the point that I burn myself out on the game. I’m not sure I mind a wall being built to prevent myself from burning out as I’m loving the game so far this year.

If anything changed with the XP Cap, I’d say making it a weekly cap might make more sense. If you can’t play on a daily basis and then have a day or two a week where you can really grind (me) it’s going to feel pretty bad hitting that cap. Sure, if the game is fun then that and the various program rewards between Ranked, BR or Events still pay out something. But the XP Path is the bread and butter of each Diamond Dynasty season, so missing out on progress there while playing just feels bad. Then again, the fact that those other programs pay out big chunks of XP can help offset that sting and still help you progress without in-game XP.

No matter how you feel about the cap, I think we should all appreciate this communication from SDS and encourage more of it with respectful dialogue.

For me, the other major detail in this patch is the fix to two-way player Stamina. If this issue is truly fixed, then all game modes immediately get healthier and more enticing. I have no idea how to code anything so I’ll never criticize that stuff when it comes to game design. I do find it curious that this was an issue last year that had to be patched after release, only to sneak into the game again this year. As long as it’s fixed; who cares?

Anything that mentions addressing freeze-offs is welcomed as well, though I don’t think we’re suddenly cured of that annual problem. The less freeze-offs; the better.

Game Update 3 is set to deploy at 4 AM Pacific/7 AM Eastern on 3/28/2024. Be sure to complete all games prior to that time.