[b]=== TL;DR === [/b]Update 4 will release on all platforms on September 29th with: * New Online Leagues mode (formerly Custom Pennant Race) for organized, 1v1 cross-platform play against friends. * All new Watch Mode feature for a more immersive AI vs. AI experience. * Adjustments to Pennant Race Ego and Rating for better run-scoring rates, particularly for the highest-rated players. * Important bug fixes and improvements to both online and offline play. ============= We are excited to finally have a date in place for our next update! In terms of developer hours spent, Update 4 is the biggest update in Super Mega Baseball series history. It includes a new game mode, a new way to spectate AI vs. AI games, and a healthy set of bug fixes and improvements throughout the game. Check out our new reveal video for more details about Online Leagues and Watch Mode: [previewyoutube=5SkAWvZAO28;full][/previewyoutube] [b]Online Leagues [/b]By far the biggest new addition to the game is Online Leagues, the mode we formerly referred to as Custom Pennant Race. Online Leagues is a game changer for how we play SMB3 with friends and is available in both the demo/trial versions and the full game. For owners of the full game, you can form a league and invite up to 31 other people on any of the platforms to join you. Game length, season duration, DH rule, Ego, and more can be configured to create as casual or competitive of a league as you choose. Alternatively, you can create a league with default settings that allows demo or trial users to play in your Online League for free - this is a great way to finally convince those stubborn friends to give SMB3 a try! [b]Watch Mode [/b]Another new feature coming in Update 4 is a completely revamped Watch Mode for spectating AI vs. AI games. Watch Mode allows you to control the camera direction and zoom while watching the game from dozens of new camera angles. This will give you a more immersive experience while you watch two CPU-controlled teams battle it out in those important season or franchise games. [b]Pennant Race Ego & Rating Adjustments [/b]As for existing modes, Pennant Race is receiving some important updates as well. We have adjusted how your Ego is assigned in Pennant Race to improve run-scoring rates, particularly for our highest rated players. Many of you reported having a lot of difficulty scoring runs at the higher Ego levels, resulting in many long, scoreless extra-inning games. Our data confirms that runs could be very hard to come by, especially at Ego levels in the 80s or 90s. When Update 4 launches, expect to have your assigned Ego adjusted, which you can now see in Pennant Race Hub. It will now be much harder to ever reach Ego 90 or above. You will also notice that your Rating will have gone down due in part to this change. However, your relative ranking among the Pennant Race population will remain the same - if your Rating was higher than your friend's Rating before the update, then that will remain true after the update. In addition, your Ego may change more from game to game in your first several matches after the update. This is to allow the updated system to gauge the right Ego more quickly for you. Should you play well during this period, your Rating should also quickly climb to or above your previous Rating. [b]Other Updates [/b]Update 4 includes several other key improvements and bug fixes. Many of these changes are thanks to you, the community, for suggesting or bringing them to our attention. We have fixed a few bugs around base stealing in online play that resulted in a "steal spamming" exploit where runners could too quickly return to their base safely after starting a steal attempt. Deflected balls off missed catches will now travel more in the ball's current direction, rather than shooting off at a sharp angle from the diving fielder's glove. Items such as post game season stats and previous game pitch counts that are shown in Season mode are now correctly shown in Franchise mode too. In addition, we have made further adjustments to changes made in previous updates, including more improvements to AI bullpen usage, having pitchers drop even more comebackers, and better AI throwing decisions when throwing balls in from the outfield. We also fixed a bug in Pennant Race where you could be unintentionally locked into the same team for the next race without being given an opportunity to pick a new team. There are several other improvements and fixes coming that will be listed in the patch notes when Update 4 launches. We hope that everyone is as stoked for Update 4 as we are! As always, we will be listening to community feedback as we consider future improvements to Online Leagues and our other game modes. Update 5 will include several more gameplay fixes and improvements, and you can expect it to come much sooner than it took Update 4 to arrive. We have also not forgotten about Franchise mode, and career stats are still coming in a future update. Good luck in your first Online League!