MLB 13 The Show developer Sony San Diego introduced a new fantasy team mode, Diamond Dynasty, last year in MLB 12, and the studio listed some upgrades it's making to the mode this year in a post on the PlayStation Blog.
According to designer Nick Livingston, the studio incorporated a great deal of feedback from fans and implemented their suggestions for Diamond Dynasty in MLB 13. For one, the designated hitter is now an available position. Sony San Diego refined the navigation interface and surfaced important details on cards, like whether a pitcher is a starter or a closer.
This year, cards for non-MLB players also illustrate a change the studio made to player progression: most players have ceilings on their attributes, so you'll only be able to train up a select few stars to a 99 rating. And creative types will likely appreciate the expanded samples and options in the logo editor.
Sony San Diego is also aware that Diamond Dynasty, as a competitive online mode, has issues with quitters. Obviously, people will always quit out of games for a number of reasons, but the studio is making changes geared toward not penalizing those who have an opponent quit on them, and toward trying to reduce the possibility that someone will quit.
A mercy rule is now in play, so if a team is up by 10 runs or more after three innings of play, the game will end. And MLB 13 tracks all progression-related elements on an inning-by-inning basis, so if an opponent quits with two outs in the 9th inning, you won't lose all your work to that point.
For more details, watch the Diamond Dynasty trailer above, and check out our preview from December to read about the game's new Beginner Mode.
MLB 13 The Show, with the Pittsburgh Pirates' Andrew McCutchen on the cover, will be available March 5 on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita.
