Trying Share Play with Super Mega Baseball
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The introduction of Share Play on PlayStation 4 made it possible for games without any online component to be played through hosted connections. Assuming the individual’s speeds (primarily the upload) is fast enough Share Play offers the ability to not just play with or against a friend but also pass them the controller to play on their own. In some cases the result has even proven to be better than the actual online service for the game.
Super Mega Baseball does not offer online play and considering how good the game is that’s certainly disappointing. However Share Play has stepped in and provided a manner in which two people can play against each other or co-op together online.
The first attempt to utilize Share Play with SMB was made last night and turned out quite well. The guest does have to deal with a slight delay, comparable to a decently responsive online game, while the host gets to play under ideal circumstances. One great option in Super Mega is the “Ego” difficulty which can be set to different levels for each player. That host advantage can be balanced out by giving the guest a lower Ego to work with.
The only downside to head-to-head play is that it is local multiplayer and that means both users see the same things on screen. The pitch cursor is visible to the batter as is the pitch selection. There are some ways around that though that can be utilized to try and fool the batter.
Overall the experience through Share Play was a very positive one even as we hit a guest account bug that halted play late in the game. That doesn’t appear to be specifically related to Share Play but did arise when the host “left” the party.
The video below includes conversation recorded between myself and T.J. Lauerman (@ThatSportsGamer) as we test out Share Play with Super Mega Baseball.