Super Mega Baseball 3 Patch #3 Available, Focusing on Gameplay - Patch Notes Here

Super Mega Baseball 3 game update #3 has arrived, mostly focusing on gameplay improvements and fixes. Check out the patch notes below.

Improvements:

• Baserunners now delay for a small amount of time on swing contact with less than 2 outs, allowing more time to defend against line drive double plays and making it slightly easier to put runners out on ground balls in the infield.
• Passed ball rates have been revamped:
  • Passed ball rates have been reduced on pitches in and directly above the strike zone.
  • Passed ball / wild pitch rates have been increased on balls in the dirt or very far from the strike zone, particularly when the pitch location is far from the initial target.
• Further improvements have been made to base stealing in online play to shorten the window of time between when the pitcher starts the pitching minigame, and when the pitcher starts their stretch delivery animation.
• AI bullpen usage has been improved, particularly to have the AI be more willing to pull the current pitcher sooner rather than later.
• AI pick-off and pitchout rates are now reduced.
• AI baserunners are now more susceptible to being picked off.
• The Mojo penalty that pitchers receive for a failed pick-off attempt has been significantly reduced.
• D-Pad buttons can now be used to make throws in the field (useful after stepping off during an early steal attempt).
• In online play, chat can now be accessed during the post game.
• In online play, extra pitching time is no longer awarded following a pick-off attempt.
• It is now harder to steal 3B and home.
• It is now much harder to steal home on a double steal play (by first stealing with a runner at 1B and then sending the runner at 3B home after the catcher throws to 2B).
• It is now slightly harder to steal 2B when playing at a high baserunning Ego, and slightly easier to steal 2B when playing at a low baserunning Ego.
• It is now harder to successfully steal a base when starting a steal after the pitcher starts a step off or pick-off attempt.
• Infielders are now less likely to dig throws out of the dirt from the catcher during stolen base attempts.
• Pitchers now drop comebackers more frequently.
• A pitcher who is injured during play can now be replaced before facing the minimum 3 batters.
• AI batters now rely more heavily on the power swing mechanic, producing more swings & misses and less softly hit foul balls while also generating more power on balls put in play.
• AI batters’ aggression is now more varied during a game, leading to the AI swinging more often in some at-bats than others.
• Bunting is now a bit easier, both for AI and human batters – a perfectly aligned reticle on the pitch location will now result in a slightly downward bunted ball rather than slightly upward.
• Fielder running dive distances have been adjusted to help prevent fielders from diving past a hit ball.
• AI is now less aggressive when it comes to making fielding substitutions when ahead late in a game.
• Batters are now less likely to be injured after being hit by a pitch, and are more likely to receive a significantly larger Mojo increase instead.
• Fielder selection changes can now also be triggered by changing movement directions, much like in Super Mega Baseball 2.
• Various tweaks and improvements have been made to which fielder is initially selected on contact, and which fielder gets selected based on movement direction or when the change fielder button is pressed.
• Middle infielders will now track pop-ups and shallow fly balls near the foul lines.
• Fielders now make better decisions regarding when to run towards a throw when a runner is caught in a pickle.
• The timing and speed of a baserunner’s slide during a pick-off attempt has been tweaked so that the runner stands up sooner.
• The AI is now less likely to attempt to steal a base or execute a hit and run late in games when the run doesn’t matter.
• You can now see how much surplus each team has when picking a team for a new Franchise.
• In Franchise mode, pitching rotations are now reset to the default rotations at the start of the playoffs.
• Franchise news feed text has been updated to use gender-neutral pronouns.
• In Pennant Race, SP/RP pitchers that are part of the 4-man starting rotation are no longer available to pitch from the bullpen.
• Several new shapes have been added to the Logo Editor.
• Tweaks to various stadium and cinematic cameras have been made.
• Various other minor UI fixes and improvements have been made.
• Minor improvements and updates to help content have been made.

Issues Addressed

• Fixed: Some instances of loading into a Pennant Race game can result in a deadlock on the loading screen.
• Fixed: Exhibition team select screen can become laggy and not respond for periods of time.
• Fixed: AI tends to leave in their current pitcher longer when the bullpen is rested, rather than when the bullpen is tired.
• Fixed: In Franchise mode, a released player’s initial new asking salary may not be generated correctly, resulting in a lower initial asking salary than intended.
• Fixed: In the offseason of Franchise mode, an online co-op partner can interact with some of the menus, possibly leading to a crash.
• Fixed: Automatic fielder re-selection after missed catch triggering at incorrect times.
• Fixed: Middle infielder catching pick-off throw behind the base, rather than at the base.
• Fixed: Crowd booing after home team attempts a pick-off throw.
• Fixed: Skip home run button not working in AI vs AI games.
• Fixed: Infielders sometimes behaving strangely during strikeout cinematics.
• Fixed: A slightly off-centered right analog stick can result in unwanted check swings when swinging with the face buttons.
• Fixed: Batter behaves strangely in rare cases during a passed ball, wild pitch, or stolen base attempt.
• Fixed: “Fooled” AI batter feedback can appear when the AI batter is taking a pitch during a straight steal attempt.
• Fixed: AI outfielders sometimes incorrectly throw to 3B or home plate, easily allowing the batter-runner to advance to 2B.
• Fixed: AI outfielders sometimes try to double-up a runner at 1B when there is no hope of the throw beating the runner.
• Fixed: Pitcher can sometimes be charged with an error and Mojo penalty after dropping a hard-hit comebacker.
• Fixed: In online play, selection halo, player name, and throwing meter can flicker near the end of certain player animations, particularly after a stretch catch at 1B.
• Fixed: In online play, players appear choppy / laggy during some cinematics.
• Fixed: Starpoint award for home run under 350ft reads “Home run under 300ft”.
• Fixed: Starpoint award for reaching 1B safely on a dropped third strike can be incorrectly and repeatedly awarded after advancing on a passed ball or wild pitch.
• Fixed: Airhorns blaring after home run cinematic is skipped.
• Fixed: Announcer call not working correctly for Spanky Wagnerd and Raphael Gonzolo.
• Fixed: Announcer repeated calls for “Number 27” and “Number 43”.
• Fixed: Some umpires not making verbal strike out call.
• Fixed: Female umpire making repeated “Fair Ball” call.
• Fixed: Small hole in right field corner of Big Sky big enough for the ball to fit through.
• Fixed: In local head-to-head play, “Pitchout” text can remain visible after the pitcher has started their delivery.
• Fixed: In online play, a batter with extremely high latency could overly delay pitch deliveries and overly affect a fielder’s ability to field a hit ball.
• Fixed: In customization, “Apply All” not working for tattoos.
• Fixed: Crash when removing a local co-op partner from the party after hitting a home run, but before the home run was ruled.
• Fixed: Rare crash when closing the pause menu right at the end of a game.
• Fixed: Possible crash upon loading into a game after a disconnect re-routes to the front end.
• Fixed: Other rare crashes and stability bugs.
• Fixed: Grass is too bright in some stadiums / lighting conditions, making the ball hard to see (Nintendo Switch only).
• Fixed: Frame drops experienced in some stadiums / lighting conditions when multiple baserunners are on base (Nintendo Switch only).
• Mitigated: First baseman fields a ball that the second baseman can and should easily field