5200 HSC Season 16 Round 2 - RealSports Baseball

[+DamonicFury]

Welcome to the second round of the 16th 5200 HSC season.  RealSports Baseball won by a single vote.  Play using the visiting team Intermediate, Home team Novice Computer, 3 innings settings.  You can turn off the Voice if you prefer.  Emulation is fine, as are custom controls. Pics preferred, but not required except for HSC wins and records.

 

We’ve never played this game before in the HSC.  Score will be based on run differentials - your score minus your opponents.  Feel free to enter a score even if you lose - Even a negative score will count.  

 

The ROM and manual can be found here:

 

https://atariage.com/software_page.php?SoftwareLabelID=654

 

Round ends Sunday, July 24th, 2022 @11pm EST

 

Standings:

jeremiahjt +5

bemis +5

rubeon +2

Cafeman +2

testa +2

[+Cafeman]

Home 0, Visitors 9.  My Score:  -9.   

 

My first clumsy attempt.  Although this game is meant to be played with the analog joystick, using a digital pad or keyboard is still possible thankfully.  I got a few hits in.  You are supposed to match the height of the pitch by pressing right and also up/down depending if the pitch is high or low. This is a great example of an arcade-style Baseball game which has just the right amount of complexity.  This HSC is going to allow me to learn this game more thoroughly.  
 

the dang computer loaded bases and hit a home run on me. 
 

[Leonard Smith]

50 minutes ago, Cafeman said:

Home 0, Visitors 9.  My Score:  -9.   

 

My first clumsy attempt.  Although this game is meant to be played with the analog joystick, using a digital pad or keyboard is still possible thankfully.  I got a few hits in.  You are supposed to match the height of the pitch by pressing right and also up/down depending if the pitch is high or low. This is a great example of an arcade-style Baseball game which has just the right amount of complexity.  This HSC is going to allow me to learn this game more thoroughly.  
 

the dang computer loaded bases and hit a home run on me. 
 

Cool details.

I've checked this game out and it seems leaps and bounds better in almost every way over the 7800 version of baseball.

Love the voice effects...that was impressive for the era.

[+DamonicFury]

1 hour ago, Cafeman said:

Home 0, Visitors 9.  My Score:  -9.   

Ouch.  But not any worse than my own scores when testing this out.  That’s why I decided to limit games to three innings… didn’t want players to have to suffer overly long while learning the game. 

 

Kudos for giving this an early try, Cafeman.  Extra kudos for sharing your first impressions.  

[+Cafeman]

I'm not posting a score, but I tried altering colors in the game (using Altirra and reviewing the code in its debugger).  It has some wacked out color logic, it isn't a simple matter to stuff a new color into a register and have it ''take" !  It appears the code relies on the hard-code preset color values to do stuff!   Red team is value of $34, Blue Team is value of $82.  It was interesting for an hour or two but I think it has beaten me for now. 

[rubeon]

Rubeon Raiders: 2

Atari All-Stars: 0

 

The All-Stars put up an admirable fight, with strong pitching and remarkably agile infielders (2/3rds of outs were line drives to either short or the pitcher)

 

The bullpen let them down in extra-innings, though, with the Raiders tagging them for a 2-run dinger in the top of the 10th.

 

How about that!

 

 

 

Having the overlay helped me get my head around pitching a little bit:

 

 

but it was TOUGH to get any runs in at all.  I got a few hits, but the computer defense is just ridiculous.

[+Cafeman]

Visiting team of Blue hopped-up Cafemen:  2 

Home Computer red-shirts team: 0  

 

+2. 

 

The opponent had trouble hitting my pitches.  He did steal a base from 1st to 2nd once, which surprised me.  

[+jeremiahjt]

Finally got a 3 to 1 win for a plus 2 difference.  I knocked a three run homer in the first and was looking pretty in the second when I got my first two on, but left both of them stranded.  The computer got a solo shot in the bottom of the first for their scoring.  I finally turned a 6-4-3 double play in the third, which made me happy.  It did not end the game though, the next batter was thrown out at first to end it.

 

I need to read the instruction manual.  I am sure there is some nuance to the game I am missing.  Thanks to @milry62 for his sale thread he just posted last week as I bought this game off of him and it came in yesterday.

[+jeremiahjt]

22 hours ago, rubeon said:

The bullpen let them down in extra-innings, though, with the Raiders tagging them for a 2-run dinger in the top of the 10th.

Did you select a nine inning game, or did you play seven extra innings due to the tie?  Do the three and six inning variations go to extras?

[rubeon]

2 hours ago, jeremiahjt said:

Did you select a nine inning game, or did you play seven extra innings due to the tie?  Do the three and six inning variations go to extras?

I put in a three-inning game, it was all extra-innings after that!

 

Have confirmed in a couple of playthroughs since.  I am decent at defense and absymal at offence, so all my games are basically 0:0 until somebody cracks.

[+jeremiahjt]

After many attempts I finally improved my run differential to plus 5 thanks to a 7 to 2 win.  This took a little while.  My first few scores were all of home runs when I started playing.  I finally started scoring with small ball and only had a solo homerun in the last game.  I had the computer walk a runner in on bases loaded a couple times, not all in one game.  In one game I had bases loaded with no outs and I hit into the rare 3-2 triple play.

 

One thing I almost always do is turn my single into a double.  Unless the runner will not be able to clear the first baseman by the time the ball gets there I always push it.  I usually lay off the first pitch as it seems to be a ball 70% of the time.  Also, just like in real life I always take an 0-2 pitch.  It will be a ball 95% of the time.  I did have the computer do a hit and run on me, but I have not figured out how to send my runners early.  If the computer can do it I am sure I can too.

[+jeremiahjt]

Lest anybody questions the veracity of my score, here it is.

[+DamonicFury]

6 minutes ago, jeremiahjt said:

Lest anybody questions the veracity of my score, here it is.

I always love to see that RF fuzz!  ?

[+Bemis]

1(H)-0(V).  My rust showed after not playing this game for decades, but it was a fun experience.  It took me 4 extra innings just to score a run in this game and it took a walk off homer in the bottom of the 7th to do it.  Hopefully I can improve my swing timing and speed & remember how to steal, so I can move some of my baserunners along.  FYI - I haven't tried it, but playing again reminded me of one "cheat" my brother & I had to bar each other from using.  I believe you can move several or all of your defensive players to to a spot right in front of home plate before a pitch & this set up will essentially make it impossible for any batter to get a hit because those close up defenders will catch anything no matter how hard it is hit. I cant recall if you have to reset the defensive players after each batter or inning, but if you want to doom a 1 on 1 game quickly, this is a sure way to do it.    

[+jeremiahjt]

1 hour ago, Bemis said:

It took me 4 extra innings just to score a run in this game and it took a walk off homer in the bottom of the 7th to do it.

You're supposed to play as the visiting team.

[+Bemis]

Played some additional games for a 1-0 result & then finally had a breakthrough inning in a game for a 5-0 victory.  Scored all 5 runs in the top of the third, including a 3 run homer. As far as pitching goes for me, keeping the ball low, regardless of type of pitch really limits any extra base hits or HRs by the computer. 

[+jeremiahjt]

On 7/14/2022 at 11:16 PM, Bemis said:

I believe you can move several or all of your defensive players to to a spot right in front of home plate before a pitch & this set up will essentially make it impossible for any batter to get a hit because those close up defenders will catch anything no matter how hard it is hit.

I think we can all agree not to do this as it should be considered cheating.

 

On 7/14/2022 at 11:16 PM, Bemis said:

remember how to steal, so I can move some of my baserunners along

I was reading in the manual about this and tried it some.  I did not get close on my one true steal attempt.  I tried starting the baserunners out for a hit and run, but it is hard to get the runner started and to get control back to the batter to swing.  It would probably work for a bunt since the batter is frozen in whatever position you leave him in when you take control of a runner.  I want to try a suicide squeeze to home, but whenever you have a runner on third the pitcher starts throwing some heat in my experience.

 

 

[testa]

First time playing this in years ill take a 2 to 0 win 

Plus 2

[+DamonicFury]

New poll is up:

 

https://atariage.com/forums/topic/338277-5200-hsc-season-16-round-3-poll/

 

[+DamonicFury]

And it’s a tie game for jeremiahjt and bemis!  
 

Ms. Pac-Man is up next.
 

 

Final standings:

jeremiahjt +5 - +11

bemis +5 - +11

rubeon +2 - +9

Cafeman +2 - +9

testa +2 - +9