MLB 15: The Show Changes Lighting During The Season

There’s a certain majesty that comes with the continued observance of the MLB baseball season. As summer approaches and day games become more commonplace, so too does baseball action heat up throughout the United States and Canada. A game played in April doesn’t have the exact same look or feel as it does in October, which is why SCE San Diego Studios released a new developer-diary-style update video for MLB 15: The Show, highlighting the emphasis on the game’s lighting engine throughout a full season of baseball.

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In the second year on PS4, the development team are starting to further explore the depths of what they can generate using values like time and date. For example, MLB 15: The Show will aim to provide accurate sunshine and shadow lighting on each of the game’s stadiums that are accurate down to the date. A 4 PM game in Oakland in April will have shadows near the left-field foul area off of the stadium’s lighting, while in October the angle of the sun will cast a shadow covering the pitcher’s mound to beyond the home plate area. These changes look to immerse the players further in their baseball simulation experience.

Furthermore, the grounds crew of all MLB stadiums might be getting their first proper shout out in recorded history with MLB 15: The Show. No longer is the grass in the outfield tended strictly for game function, as they will reflect closer to what you can expect in real life (sorry, Blue Jays and Rays fans with turf stadiums!). Even more meticulous is the dirt area along the basepaths, as they start out wet from the beginning of the game and dry out over time. With added lighting for MLB stadium backdrops, you can tell there’s a great deal of respect aimed at getting things as real to life as possible.

As the PS4’s hidden development tricks with the source code are expanded with familiarity over time, it will be interesting to see the contrast of how MLB 15: The Show looks right now compared to the PS4’s final iteration of the series. Looking back at the first and last PS3 entry is quite comical due to just how vastly different they look and play. As the series enters its 10 year, I’m sure those jumps in quality won’t be as high, as the developers always set a high bar for themselves when it comes to the growth 0f their sports series.

MLB 15: The Show will be released on the PS4, PS3 and PS Vita on March 31st.

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