The zone hitting interface has been a staple for The Show’s hitting engine since the inception of the game. Not much has changed over the years with this interface and I am glad to mention that this is the same for this years’ iteration of MLB the Show.
First, lets talk about the overall feel and hitting engine in MLB The Show 16. The timing seems to be more biased towards pulling the ball this year, meaning that users can wait back a little bit longer and still have the ability to pull the ball. Basically, players have quicker bats in this year’s game. Also, lets not forget that SDS introduced a new mechanism called “precision input gameplay” and has a huge impact on zone hitting. This means that your inputs have more influence on the success of your hits and you will get punished more for bad inputs. In summary, you have to lineup your PCI more precisely on the ball compared to years’ past iterations.
You can use two different inputs with zone hitting, button or analog. If you use analog input, you can use stride or flick. I prefer buttons, but if you like the feeling and naturality of analog hitting then it is totally personal preference. They all can be used effectively.
Attributes still play a major role for zone hitting, even the pitchers’ attributes. The size of the PCI is made up by the hitter’s contact and plate vision. The size of the PCI is also slightly modified by your opponent’s pitcher’s K/9 and H/9 attributes. K/9 directly affects the plate vision attribute, whereas H/9 affects the contact rating.
In comparison to other interfaces, you can do significantly better with less overall players if you get consistent and precise inputs with zone, whereas with directional you will not consistently hit the ball hard with lower rated players.
Lastly, zone hitting has a slightly more timing window as well. Since users have complete control of their PCI, SDS does open the timing up a tad in comparison to interfaces like directional. Zone hitting offers users the best ability to consistently make good contact and to drive the ball. It offers the most control and is the most reliant on users’ input. If you want complete control of hitting then zone hitting is the interface for you!
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