MLB The Show 21: create a stadium prediction & using created stadiums in online games

Background

We now know that (as predicted) MLB The Show 20's rebranding feature will incorporate the Diamond Dynasty team branding features. 

Leveraging the DD team branding assets in Franchise mode is a simple first-step solution to a feature long-requested by its player base. It’s also step in the (right) direction of blurring the lines between the game’s two segregated platforms (DD and non-DD).

Despite being a mostly Franchise and strictly non-DD player, I’ve never supported the idea of a stadium creator in MLB The Show, or for that matter, the idea of rebranding/relocating a Franchise. I’ve always considered it a lot of effort for not a lot of gain. Personally I would prefer that Franchise resources be allocated to adding depth to some of the content already there to improve the immersion in what’s going on around the league. 

However, now that franchise mode has rebranding v1 in The Show 20, my prediction is that rebranding v2 in The Show 21 will see the birth of a fairly simple ‘create a stadium’ in Franchise mode.

A realistic and possible 'create a stadium' feature

It’s half prediction, half suggestion, but to keep the idea in the realm of ‘realistic and possible’, the created stadiums could have the following features/restrictions:
  • One generic stadium with set locations to add the customised team logo and name (eg top of dugouts or a billboard in the outfield). 
  • Outfield fences chosen from a set of three or four options. 
  • Fixed outfield depths. 
  • Fixed backstop and foul area depths.
  • Non-editable grandstands everywhere except the outfield.
  • Some stock standard assets available to choose from to place beyond the outfield fences (eg billboards, stands, some kind of water feature, scoreboards, big screen).
This way the actual playing area will always be the same (with the exception of the outfield fence heights) and therefore there will be less chance of something going wrong in-game such as players or balls disappearing through walls etc because the playing area will have been heavily tested.

Created stadiums in online play

My next prediction is a bit of a stretch for 21, but we may see it in 22. If created the right way, this create a stadium feature will also pave the way for use of the feature in online modes as well. By limiting the assets used behind the outfield walls, it translates to a few dozen possible combinations of assets that can be indexed in the game itself so that the stadium you build is actually combination #5 or #20 or #52 with the home team logo simply added to the set locations (and if the feature is built so that it can be easily expanded upon  in later versions, a few hundred possible combinations would be doable). This would mean that everybody would already have every stadium actually installed on their machines, and they don’t have to be loaded each game. I don’t know how much storage space a stadium takes up, but if it’s only a few MB then this is possibly the most efficient way to do it.

Resource justification

Perhaps including this in 21 isn’t ambitious - by incorporating it into DD at the same time and not classing the feature as a ‘Franchise’ feature, the devs can justify allocating resources to it and the Franchise resources could be freed up for improving the mode in other ways. It’s one way us Franchise players can look at DD in a positive way rather than complaining that DD gets all the attention.

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