Super Mega Baseball 4 Update 1 Patch Notes Have Been Released

The team behind Super Mega Baseball 4 has released an exhaustive patch, known as Update 1. This patch introduces a slew of modifications to the arcade-style baseball simulator that further refine gameplay, enhance presentation, and rectify various technical issues.

Prominent in the update is the introduction of a new player retention feature in Franchise mode. The feature now allows players to be explicitly re-signed or released during a unique re-signing phase before the offseason. Player salaries for the upcoming season will be influenced by a newly instituted Loyalty value, making more loyal players ask for smaller salary increases and more likely to re-sign with the team at their current rate. Complementing this addition, the update also includes new Manager Moments that occur post-regular season games, offering decisions between two players that influence their Loyalty.

Turning to improvements, the update offers a host of refinements, such as the reassignment of Super Mega League players’ ages to prevent early retirement of star players in a Standard Franchise playthrough. The visual appearance of certain Super Mega League players has also been upgraded. Franchise mode has seen a considerable overhaul, with starting Surplus (salary cap room) values increasing across the board, guaranteeing each team a minimum of $2.5m Surplus at the commencement of a Franchise playthrough. There’s a new visual indicator on the draft screen in the case of a Shuffle Draft, denoting where your team currently lies between having a high payroll and having a high Surplus.

Player Development Opportunities (PDO) in Franchise mode have been altered in terms of price, effects, and spawn rate. The costs and effects of acquiring a PDO have been decreased, while the spawn rate has been marginally increased. More opportunities have been added, including the possibility for a position player to change secondary position or a pitcher acquiring a new pitch type. Various other alterations to Franchise mode have been implemented as well, such as Franchise Skill Arc events that may lead to a pitcher losing a pitch type, and an increase in the number of viewable summaries for past seasons on the Franchise Summary screen.

The Player Editor has received considerable attention in this update, with the addition of a list of first and last names, new body types, character customization options, four new female heads, and five new dyed hair colors. The Wild Thing trait has been updated for local head-to-head play, introducing the possibility of increased targeting error for power pitches. This is complemented by an update to on-field CPU behavior to better respect player traits. CPU pitching has been tweaked to be a bit less cautious when pitching to strong hitters and less aggressive when pitching to weak hitters.

Other enhancements in this update include improvements to foul ball and Watch Mode cameras, improved visibility when a game enters extra innings, and updates to the in-game substitution overlay, exhibition team select screen, and game mode descriptions. Players can also export a snapshot of a Franchise playthrough to a new league, and reset the Free Agents pool for a Standard league back to its built-in defaults. Moreover, a new Creators Classic League has been added, mixing all Super Mega League and Legends League players together with well-known baseball personalities.

Notably, various issues have been addressed in this update. The patch notes detail fixes ranging from incorrect visual cues and menu crashes to glitches affecting player positions and in-game physics. User interface navigation, animations, audio, and help screens have all received attention, further polishing the overall experience for players to: User.AI.ChatGPT to=AI.ChatGPT<|im_sep|>With its legendary allure and arcade-style engagement, Super Mega Baseball 4 (SMB4) serves as a home base for over 200 iconic figures of the sport. Its recent Update 1 has seen a comprehensive array of improvements, enhancements, and fixes, designed to perfect the gaming experience for ardent fans.

Taking the lead in this update is a new player retention feature introduced in the franchise mode, with players now officially re-signed or released during a new Player Re-signing phase prior to the offseason. Players’ asking salaries for the next season are now determined by a novel ‘Loyalty’ value; more loyal players will seek lower salary increments and display a greater inclination to re-sign with their current team at the existing salary. In addition, Manager Moments now surface after regular season games, presenting a choice between two players that influences the Loyalty of one or both players.

The age assignment of Super Mega League players has also seen modification to ensure star players, such as Hammer Longballo, don’t routinely retire early in a Standard Franchise playthrough. Visual upgrades have been made to the appearances of some Super Mega League players, while in the Franchise mode, starting Surplus values (salary cap room) have been generally increased. This ensures that each team is guaranteed a minimum Surplus of $2.5m at the start of a Franchise playthrough.

SMB4’s Update 1 has also introduced a wealth of gameplay enhancements. These include a new visual indicator on the draft screen in Franchise mode during a Shuffle Draft, denoting where your team stands between having a high payroll and a high Surplus. The pricing, effects, and spawn rate of Player Development Opportunities (PDOs) have been revised, and more Franchise Player Development Opportunities have been added, including some that offer a chance of a position player changing secondary position or a pitcher acquiring a new pitch type.

Many improvements have been made to on-field gameplay and visuals. These include the display of a directional arrow for fielders tracking the ball, the addition of a list of first and last names that the announcer can pronounce in the Player Editor, new body types and character customization options in the Player Editor, the introduction of new dyed hair colors, and refreshed foul ball and Watch Mode cameras. Additionally, the update includes improvements to CPU behavior and pitching adjustments.

Attention has also been given to accessibility and usability. Sorting functionality has been enhanced to make sorting roster tables more intuitive. Player cards have been revamped for better readability, and the Franchise Sign and Release screen now shows Team Chemistry while viewing the Free Agents list. Moreover, a new Creators Classic League has been introduced, mixing all Super Mega League and Legends League players together with renowned figures from baseball media.

The update isn’t just about additions and enhancements; it also addresses a significant number of issues across gameplay, multiplayer modes, customization, and UI. Among these fixes are corrections to improper displays and behaviors, adjustments to ensure more consistent gameplay, and resolutions for crashes and unresponsiveness in certain menus.

You can find the entire list of changes made in this patch below.

MAJOR ADDITION:

• New Player Retention Feature in Franchise Mode:
• Players are now explicitly re-signed or released during a new Player Re-signing phase before the start of the offseason.
• Asking salaries for next season are driven by a new Loyalty value per player. Players that are more loyal will ask for lower salary increases and be more willing to re-sign with the team at their current salary.
• New Manager Moments now appear after regular season games. Manager Moments present a choice between two players where the decision affects one or both players’ Loyalty.

IMPROVEMENTS

• Ages of Super Mega League players have been reassigned to ensure that star players like Hammer Longballo do not always retire early in a Standard Franchise playthrough.
• The visual appearance of some Super Mega League players have been updated.
• In Franchise mode. the starting Surplus (salary cap room) values have increased overall. Each team is now guaranteed a minimum of $2.5m in Surplus at the start of a Franchise playthrough.
• When starting a Franchise playthrough with a Shuffle Draft, there is a new visual indicator on the draft screen indicating where your team currently lands between having a high payroll (highly rated players) and having a high Surplus (more development funds).
• In Franchise mode the price, effects, and spawn rate of Player Development Opportunities have been updated. The effects and the cost of purchasing a PDO have been reduced, while the spawn rate has slightly increased.
• More Franchise Player Development Opportunities have been added. Some opportunities now have a chance of a position player changing secondary position or a pitcher acquiring a new pitch type. New description variants have also been added.
• The Franchise Sign and Release screen now shows your Team Chemistry while viewing the Free Agents list.
• Franchise Skill Arc events can now result in a pitcher losing a pitch type.
• On the Franchise Summary screen, you can now view summaries for the last 50 seasons (up from 10).
• The algorithm that produces the selectable players each round in Shuffle Draft has been revised to better suit your team’s needs.
• There is a new post draft screen presented upon completing a Shuffle Draft.
• A directional arrow is now displayed for fielders tracking the ball. The arrow will appear gray when no input is given (indicating the direction the fielder is running) and become colored when input is provided (indicating the direction of the input).
• In the Player Editor, a list of first and last names has been added. All listed names support the announcer announcing them by name.
• New body types and character customization options have been added to the Player Editor.
• Four new female heads have been added to the Player Editor.
• Five new dyed hair colors have been added to the Player Editor.
• The in-game trait activation animations have been updated.
• In local head-to-head play, the Wild Thing trait now introduces a chance that power pitches can have increased targeting error.
• On-field CPU behavior has been updated to better respect player traits.
• CPU pitching has been tweaked to be slightly less cautious when pitching to strong hitters, and to be slightly less aggressive when pitching to weak hitters.
• Foul ball and Watch Mode cameras have been refreshed.
• It is now more obvious when a game enters extra innings.
• The in-game substitution overlay now shows batting and throwing handedness as well as pitcher stamina.
• On the Exhibition Team Select screen, a button to change to a random team has been added.
• Additional text to help describe the different game modes has been added.
• You can now export a snapshot of a Franchise playthrough to a new league. The exported league will not change as the Franchise playthrough continues.
• You can now reset the Free Agents pool for a Standard league back to its built-in defaults.
• New Creators Classic League has been added to the set of built-in leagues. The Creators Classic mixes all Super Mega League and Legends League players together with well-known personalities from baseball media.
• Entire Standard and Partner leagues can now be reset to their built-in defaults with a single operation.
• Standard, Partner, and Custom leagues now include a short explanatory description.
• When creating a new Custom league, you are now prompted to provide a name for the league. Default league, conference, and division names for new Custom leagues have also been updated.
• Sorting functionality has been changed to make sorting roster tables more intuitive.
• The default sorting of team rosters now separates position players from pitchers.
• The salary column is now pinned to the left side of the table in the Franchise Sign and Release screen.
• Team Chemistry icons and charts have been updated to help improve clarity of the mechanics.
• Player cards have been improved and are now more readable.
• Trait Overlay behavior has been updated: added shortcut buttons to Trait OVerlay to access various relevant help pages, adjusted associated help pages for certain screens, and enabled navigation for screens while the Trait Overlay is up.
• An MLBPAA logo now appears when a Legends player is seen during the splash cinematic.
• The stadium preview images have been updated.
• UGC-limited players are no longer blocked from certain multiplayer game modes when there is no UGC.
• New help screens and pro tips have been added.
• Automatic help now appears in more places when first encountering new mechanics in the front end.
• Game Mode and Team Chemistry help screens now have a “Related Help” section to help guide you to other relevant information.
• You can now switch between English and Japanese audio, regardless of locale.This can be done via the Options menu.
• The front end now displays what music track is playing when a new track starts.
• New ambient audio during gameplay has been added.
• Camera flash VFX during the season win cinematic has been updated.
• There is a new visual effect for when a Pennant Race or Online League match is found.
• Home team sound effects for home run and dropped third strike scenarios have been improved.
• Team sound effects now have a “Disabled” option.
• New player animations have been added and some existing animations have been updated.
• Various updates to UI navigation and UI animations have been made.
• Miscellaneous HUD and UI improvements have been made.
• Various updates to the audio mix have been made.
• Various updates to stadiums have been made.
• Content on various help pages has been updated.

ISSUES ADDRESSED:

• Fixed: Red asterisk incorrectly appears for two-way players in a valid two-way position.
• Fixed: Two-way players do not have a glove icon in the lineup when a valid two-way position is selected.
• Fixed: In Franchise, Season, and Elimination modes, base Mojo and Fitness icons are incorrectly displayed in the Next Game Preview.
• Fixed: In Franchise mode during the offseason, attempting to release a player that is still listed as someone who left your team would fail to release the player and instead fill that vacancy in the roster.
• Fixed: Non-party leader can perform operations in Franchise mode.
• Fixed: In Shuffle Draft, player traits of selectable players do not display in their default state.
• Fixed: Completed Season and Elimination game mode instances are inaccessible.
• Fixed: Gameplay warnings are not staying on the screen long enough.
• Fixed: Co-op play does not allow the player fielding or baserunning to use the Strategize button.
• Fixed: Players in the front end can be holding a bat or ball when not intended.
• Fixed: The ball shadow is not visible in some stadiums when in the shade.
• Fixed: The stadium announcer is cut off unintentionally by cinematics that are shorter than their voice lines.
• Fixed: Player emote sounds happening when the player is not on screen.
• Fixed: Announcer and other voices slow down during on-field slow motion.
• Fixed: Baseball players are clipping in certain animations.
• Fixed: Players are appearing incorrectly in certain cinematics.
• Fixed: The game can crash when navigating between certain menus.
• Fixed: The lower fielding camera is being used when it should not be, making hard-hit balls to the outfield difficult to judge.
• Fixed: Odd bat shifting can sometimes be seen in the batter’s hands.
• Fixed: The Wild Thrower trait does not cause disastrous throws as intended.
• Fixed: The Noodle Arm trait can incorrectly trigger on short throws that do not require the throwing minigame.
• Fixed: Player traits are not properly being shown as active or inactive in certain screens.
• Fixed: Balls thrown accurately from the outfield through a cutoff with high velocity can end up off target.
• Fixed: Balls deflected off the catcher’s glove do not seem to always match the glove’s position.
• Fixed: Default fielder selection incorrectly selects the pitcher instead of the catcher on certain pop-ups behind home plate.
• Fixed: Ball entering the 1B dugout at The Corral fails to register as out of play.
• Fixed: After completing a Shuffle Draft outside of Online Leagues, players can end up with duplicate jersey numbers on the same team.
• Fixed: Substitutions do not process when editing pre-game lineups for two human-controlled teams.
• Fixed: The lineup menu can get into a bad state when a remote party member advances to the next screen.
• Fixed: Lineup changes are not saving in Pennant Race.
• Fixed: An Online League can get into an invalid state for a player if the season is reset while a match is in progress.
• Fixed: The game can crash after disconnecting from the internet in Online Leagues.
• Fixed: Unable to challenge players in Online Leagues after canceling a previous challenge.
• Fixed: The Online League challenge message remains on screen too long.
• Fixed: Online League details do not properly update for all participants.
• Fixed: An improper error can be shown when trying to join an Online League via an invite code.
• Fixed: The game can crash in Online Leagues after selecting My Team when league settings have been changed.
• Fixed: When entering a new Online League, the top button might not be selected by default.
• Fixed: Multiple players that are connected to the same EA ID can result in online standings tables not fetching data properly.
• Fixed: In Online Leagues, the team pop-up shows Custom Leagues even when the Online League is restricted to Standard teams.
• Fixed: Creating new teams can result in a crash.
• Fixed: Randomly generated teams can be assigned a home park that is restricted behind non purchased DLC.
• Fixed: After making customization changes, player cards do not update in certain cases.
• Fixed: Making customizations to a team can cause league edits to be lost.
• Fixed: It is possible to add custom players to a Standard game mode.
• Fixed: Some scroll bars use different buttons for paging than others.
• Fixed: Text and UI highlights appear as the same color and make text illegible.
• Fixed: The game can crash in multiplayer situations when a player disconnects.
• Fixed: The game can crash after selecting disabled buttons in online play.
• Fixed: The game can become unresponsive when accepting a game invitation while in an active multiplayer game mode.
• Fixed: The game can get stuck when transitioning into certain pop-ups.
• Fixed: Various audio issues.
• Fixed: Various minor animation issues.
• Fixed: Various minor UI bugs.
• Fixed: Various places where the UI can become unresponsive.
• Fixed: Spelling and grammar mistakes.
• Fixed: Various stability and rendering issues.
• Fixed: Physics issues exist in certain stadiums.
• Fixed: Minor visual bugs in some stadiums.
• Fixed: Some trophies/achievements do not trigger properly.
• Fixed: Possible crash in certain screens when disconnecting the controller or disengaging from the game.
• [Steam only] Fixed: Gamer tags can overflow in certain dialogs.
• [Steam only] Fixed: Various cases where keyboard and mouse are not behaving properly within the UI.
• [Steam only] Fixed: Using the mouse to press the substitute button in the New Batter overlay does not do anything.
• [Steam only] Fixed: Unable to change which baserunner trait is being viewed with keyboard/mouse in the HUD.
• [Steam only] Fixed: You can get stuck after engaging with a different controller.
• [Steam only] Fixed: You can accept an Online League challenge without a controller connected when a controller is required for the Online League.
• [Steam only] Fixed: In Online Leagues, the Change Admin pop-up does not populate properly.
• [Steam only] Fixed: You can now exit the game from the terms acceptance popup on first startup.
• [Steam, Switch only] Fixed: In some cases, a player would not be properly disengaged from the game when their controller disconnects.
• [Steam, Switch only] Fixed: No error notification is given when failing to join a party session that is full.