v0.1.5 beta — Two-way players (Ohtani rule), AI texture upscaling

Beta. Expect bugs. Windows 10/11 x64 (Linux and Steam Deck: build it yourself, see below). Thanks to everyone who reported the v0.1.4 controller bug so quickly.

🎬 Video, screenshots and the technical story (how MLB Life decides who pitches, the manager's dialogue scripts, texture names vs. Dolphin) are in the v0.1.5 discussion.

What's new

Two-way players (the "Ohtani rule", experimental)

Turn it on in SETTINGS > ENHANCEMENTS > OHTANI RULE.

• A starting pitcher can also be the DH and keep batting after he leaves the mound, as in the majors since 2022. In the lineup, on PITCHER, make the player who is the DH the starter (Ohtani, say): he keeps both spots and the team's former starter goes to the bullpen. Works in every mode with the DH.
• Automatic lineups know two-way players (Season, MLB Life, CPU teams): a pitcher who can also hit (aptitude 4+ at a fielding position, or a hitter's batting, like Ohtani in updated rosters) is the DH on the days he does not start, and P and DH on the day he does.
• MLB Career: choosing Pitcher when creating a player now asks Select Second Position, like Pawapuro's two-way players.
• MLB Life with a two-way player:
  • He starts every fifth game of his team (by the real schedule; off days do not count) and is the DH in the others. Without the DH, he starts and bats as the pitcher.
  • Talk to the manager (FREE > CHAT > STAFF > MLB Manager > About my two-way role.) to choose Two-way player, Batter only (DH every game) or Pitcher only. It is saved and you can change it again any time.
  • X on the practice list switches between pitcher and batter drills, and the bottom panel shows the matching abilities.
  • X on the MLB Life menu switches the stats panel between ERA, W-L, K, SV and AVG, HR, RBI, SB.
  • The look back after a game and ability growth follow what he did that day: pitched, or only batted.

Texture Studio

• Upscale with AI: pick a category (menus, a stadium…) or one texture, press it, and it upscales them x2 or x4 on your graphics card (Real-ESRGAN; AnimeSharp by default) and imports them into your mod. The first time it downloads the engine and the model from their authors (about 80 MB; nothing of it comes with the game). Works on AMD, NVIDIA and Intel.
• Dolphin pack...: import a Dolphin texture pack for MLB Power Pros 2008 (folder or .zip) as it is. Our texture names are Dolphin's, so packs made for Dolphin work here.

See docs/en/texture-studio.md.

Fixed

• MLB Life: History no longer crashes when a season pack (start year, schedules) is enabled.

Install / update

1. Download MLB-Power-Pros-2008-Setup-v0.1.5.zip and unzip it into a folder of yours (not Program Files).
2. Open MLBPowerPros2008-Setup.exe, press CHOOSE DISC and pick your copy (ISO, NKit, RVZ, WBFS, WIA, GCZ or CISO).
3. Press INSTALL (about 4–5 minutes on a 12-thread CPU), then PLAY.

Coming from an older version? After installing, copy UserData\NAND and UserData\ModSaves (your saves) and the mods folder from the old MLB Power Pros 2008\Game folder into the new one, then delete the old install.

Linux / Steam Deck: download the kit for your system and run its installer; it compiles the game from your own copy (see docs/en/linux.md). The Blender stadium add-on is unchanged (powerpros_stadium-0.8.2.zip, attached again).

Known issues

• Two-way players are new and experimental: the MLB Life rotation is a fixed five-game turn (it does not follow fatigue), "Pitcher only" sits him out on the other days, and a batter with pitching ability is not offered the two-way role yet.
• Tested mainly on one PC (Ryzen 5 5500 + Radeon RX 5500).
• Copy / Paste / Import / Export of passwords use a mouse or a GameCube-style controller; not the Wii Remote yet.
• New stadiums appear only in Exhibition.
• The game can occasionally hang at startup: close it and open it again.

If something goes wrong, please open an issue with your CPU, GPU and UserData\Logs\<latest>\console.log; for MLB Life or Season, your save helps a lot.

Fan project, not affiliated with Konami, 2K, MLB, the MLBPA or Nintendo. Made with AI assistance (Claude). Licensed under GPLv3.

---

Español

🎬 Vídeo, capturas y el apartado técnico (cómo decide MLB Life quién lanza, los guiones de diálogo del mánager, los nombres de textura frente a Dolphin) están en la discusión de la v0.1.5.

Beta. Puede tener errores. Windows 10/11 de 64 bits (Linux y Steam Deck: compílalo tú).

Jugadores de dos vías («regla Ohtani», experimental): se activa en AJUSTES > MEJORAS > REGLA OHTANI.

• Un pitcher abridor también puede ser el DH y seguir bateando al dejar el montículo. En la alineación, en PITCHER, pon de abridor al jugador que está de DH (por ejemplo Ohtani). Sirve en todos los modos con DH.
• Las alineaciones automáticas (Temporada, MLB Life, equipos de la CPU) ponen a un pitcher de dos vías de DH los días que no abre y de P y DH el día que abre.
• MLB Career: al crear un pitcher, el juego pregunta Select Second Position.
• MLB Life: abre cada cinco partidos de su equipo y es el DH en los demás; habla con el mánager (FREE > CHAT > STAFF > MLB Manager > About my two-way role.) para elegir dos vías, solo bateador o solo pitcher (se guarda y se puede cambiar); X en el entrenamiento cambia entre ejercicios de pitcher y de bateador con su panel; X en el menú cambia las stats entre ERA, W-L, K, SV y AVG, HR, RBI, SB; la evaluación y el crecimiento siguen lo que hizo ese día.

Texture Studio: Escalar con IA (elige una categoría o una textura y la escala ×2 o ×4 en tu tarjeta con Real-ESRGAN y AnimeSharp; la primera vez descarga el motor y el modelo de sus autores) y Pack de Dolphin... (importa packs de texturas de Dolphin tal cual: los nombres son los mismos).

Corregido: el History de MLB Life ya no se cuelga con un pack de temporada activo.

Instalar o actualizar: descarga MLB-Power-Pros-2008-Setup-v0.1.5.zip, descomprímelo, abre MLBPowerPros2008-Setup.exe, elige tu disco y pulsa INSTALAR. Si vienes de una versión anterior, copia UserData\NAND, UserData\ModSaves y la carpeta mods de la instalación vieja a la nueva.

Problemas conocidos: las dos vías son nuevas y experimentales (turno fijo de cinco partidos que no sigue el cansancio; «solo pitcher» no juega los otros días; un bateador con habilidad de pitcher aún no puede ser dos vías); se probó sobre todo en una PC; Copy/Paste/Import/Export no funcionan todavía con el Wii Remote; los estadios nuevos solo salen en Exhibición; a veces se cuelga al arrancar.