Wishlist Offshoot: Features from NBA 2K

[Andrew]

Continuing on in our series of Wishlist offshoots, what are some of the features from NBA 2K that you'd like to see in NBA 2K? If you like a certain concept but feel it should be done differently, be sure to make a note of it too. As with the Features from previous NBA Lives thread, this is a supplementary Wishlist that we'll also be sending in to the new dev team.

A few that come immediately to mind for me:

• Put simply, the depth of NBA 2K's Association Mode. Dynasty Mode is long overdue for an overhaul/expansion and what 2K has done with Association Mode is where Dynasty Mode really should be at this point. I know online is important, as is getting a detailed single player career mode in the game, but Dynasty Mode is a huge feature that's very popular and a mode that has the potential for a lot of replay value. Association is miles ahead right now though.
  
  
• And since I mentioned it, Become Legendary needs to aim for the depth of My Player. I don't think the approach has to be exactly the same to be successful but it needs to be the same immersive experience and options like being able to watch from the bench or sim until your next appearance should be standard in both games.
  
  
• Detailed practice mode that explains and lists all the moves and lets you practice everything; free throws included. No practice mode in NBA Live/Elite has allowed you to practice free throws, it's been in 2K for a while. EA needs to adopt that as well, especially if there's another new free throw shooting system this year.
  
  
• Depending on the situation with his 2K deal, Michael Jordan and other historical content. I don't think they should just replicate the Jordan Challenges, though I think replaying classic games is a fun bonus feature in any sports game and if there's some MJ stuff involved, I'm all for that. Classic teams, even if they have to be filled out with some generic players. If we have the ability to edit those players then I'm sure we can get by with just the real starters and whatever bench players can be signed, if likeness rights/budget are an issue.
  
  
• Mentioned in the other thread but worth mentioning again here because 2K is doing it: PC release ported from the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 version!
  
  
• Another one that I touched upon in the NBA Live-oriented thread but worth noting since 2K has put a lot of effort into it: signature jumpshots (including fadeaways, leaners etc), dribbling moves and so on for as many players as possible.

[[Q]]

i played 2k7 & 2k9 extensively and here are a few that come to mind:
-PERFECT on-the-fly substitutions/strategy in 2k7. it should just be copied, plain and simple.
-players walking to the scorers table when queued to sub in.
-over the back fouls
-better animations & rim sounds for makes. and more variety of made basket animations & sounds.
-better tie up animations (although in 2k7 you could easily call timeout in the tie up animation to save possession )
-have players not act so casual in loose ball situations
-the street court 5 on 5 (and 4 on 4 etc) pick up games... you should be able to play common school yard games like 21, horse, around the world, etc.
-incidental injuries not accompanied by a foul. bring back injuries where players are injured for the quarter,half,game,or weeks
-online rating system like in 2k7 where after each game, the player gets a positive, neutral or negative rating and DNF is prominently displayed so it helps the player avoid quitters.

things not to bring over:
-the shot stick
-those long layup animations that get people from just inside the 3 point line to the rim
-those damn cell phone bars & icons at the feet of players. it should only be a name below them. anything else is too much. or at least the option to turn it off.
-stupid on screen displays & animations for EVERY substitution. just get on with the game, please.
-those terrible faces. although elite 11 regressed quite a bit in this department.

[Patr1ck]

Most of my ideas expand on 2K's offerings, since I don't want EA's sim NBA game to mimic 2K exactly, which I am sure it won't.

• I know this is not a feature, more of a technical attribute, but they need to use Streamed animations. This is one of the reasons 2K is able to have so many animations in the game. Stream from the disk/cache instead of loading them all into memory.
  
• Dynamic emotional body and face animations both during the game and when the clock is not running. It's cool to see a motion captured cutscene once, but that's about it. Any camera cuts to emphasize these should be an option that can be turned off for people who want to finish a game quicker.
  
• Physical momentum driven animations. 2K does a great a job at smoothing the speed of shot animation and their transitions based on how fast a player is moving and in what direction. EA has been pretty bad with this over the years with idle players skying to the rim because the height and length of a layup or dunk is programmed in the animation itself.
  
• 2K's blacktop mode is a fun alternative. Have an Elite Street mode or something. Assemble any squad(not just official teams) of 2 on 2 on up to 5 on 5, full or half court. Dunk contest, 3 point contest, around the world, knockout, 21, horse(you would have to get creative with the animations and controls for that, could be a fun online game!)
  
• Signature, signature, SIGNATURE! 2K has gone above and beyond with their signature styles for shots, dribbles, freethrows, layups and dunks, player apparel, even celebrations and rituals. The best thing about them is they can be used or changed to any player, not to mention the likeness to the real players and the level of authenticity it brings to the game.
  
• Tendency sliders. Global tendencies, team/coach tendencies, and player tendencies. Brings more authenticity and unique playstyles for different players and teams. Especially when they change teams through trades and free agency and coach changes.
  
• VIP Profile. 2K's VIP profile tracks a users tendencies and abilities just like a player or team. From game settings to what teams they use and their win-loss record, shooting locations, how much they pass, what kind of dribble and post moves they use, how much they run plays, the most used plays, along with how often they go for steals and blocks and how much they are successful. User's can share their profile with other users to compare and apply it to cpu opponents during games which makes the cpu play using the profile's tendencies and abilities, instead of the cpu AI. 2K's implementation of this is pretty broken right now, but having a slider to set how much of the user's tendencies are used versus the cpu's would be a nice option.
  
• Interactive court and stadium atmosphere. Coming this year, and according to 2K, the first row of the crowd is completely interactive with the players and can collide with them. That and being able to collide with any person or object like the basket padding, the press table, photographers, coaches and referees need to be able to collide with players. Audience members should start to leave if the game is is a blowout with 3-4 minutes left. The stadium should also not be packed at the opening tip of most season games. Audience members should regularly get up out of their seats as they do in real life at quarter breaks and half time. I know the NBA has rules about not having a complete crowd, but you can still do this for part of the game while having a complete crowd for most of the gameplay. It's just more authentic and true to life.
  
• Sideline reporter.

[[Q]]

yeah i like the crowd stuff. i remember in live 2001, there were different art files for full or empty arena seats, depending on if it was a good team that was playing at home or not.

[JaoSming]

Kinda copying you guys on some things;

• Create a team - Sorely missed, would be great if EA incorporated an expansion team option in Dynasty Mode or allowed us to create 30 teams to replace the NBA for a better Fantasy Draft experience
• Blacktop Mode - As Pat said, this is a fantastic diversion from the normal 5 on 5 games. I would be ecstatic if they added online shootarounds too, with horse, knockout, other mini-games.
• Dunk Contest - Yea it was a part of Blacktop for 2K, but I'd love to see it back in any capacity.....even though it was watered down, I still liked the DC in Live 07-09 360.
• Allowing the Ball to be swatted/passed into the crowd - Just one of those little things that can make you jump off the couch.
• Player v. Coach/Press/Ref/Bench/Table/Backboard/Crowd Animations - The first row thing is nice, but for years 2K has allowed collisions with all of those.
• Multi-Team Trades - A Live 2001 feature we wanted back, but 2K has it too.
• Dynamic Commentary - It was a nice touch, but it can be improved upon. What I'd love to see is player specific stories being used for other players. Like in 2K they talk about Rondo calling out the team last year, It'd be nice if the next season of Dynasty they did the same story but for my rookie calling out another veteran.
• NBA Today - This mode was awesome in 2K.
• Customizable Controls - I know 2K only has only basic Alternate schemes, but PLEASE do NOT make me shoot with X. PLEASE.
• "Blended" Gameplay - I don't know how to properly name this, but if you don't skip cutscenes, you could actually sit in the stands, not move the camera, and watch an entire game of 2K6+ without seeing any players warp to the out of bounds next to the ref or anything. In 2K players walk to their positions in the lane for foul shots, walk off the court for substitutions/timeouts, and even go back to the locker room for the end of the half and game. Make it skippable so it isnt annoying like it was in 2k7, but this brings another very realistic touch to the game.

[champsbasketball]

for the Become Legendary Mode have it like 2K where you can see from the bench and sim until you get in but when you become the star you should be able to sub in and out. You should also have to practice every week two times at least and when you start you are on injured reserved list and have the same set up like NCAA Football 12 where you have have to earn a spot on the bench and then go for the 6th man spot, and then starting role, and then becoming the star, and after that keeping your spot as the star. Maybe not ever week worrying about losing the spot but maybe every new year the 6th man or other starters may try and take your spot. That would make every yr worth playing and something to challenge you every yr. Also when you become the 6th man, starter, or star player you get more responsiblities every game you need to do on offense & defense and keep the way they grade you on the Elite 11 demo.

[[Q]]

• Allowing the Ball to be swatted/passed into the crowd - Just one of those little things that can make you jump off the couch.

totally agree with you here

and the 3 way trades would be nice too.

[The X]

I'm sure it's been said already but I didn't want to read everybody's lists. Some things for me that stick out as I ponder it are:

• Overall depth of Association mode
• 2k Share (not sure if EA Locker is as good)
• Ability to create/edit/import/share draft classes (since no college game exists anymore )
• All-time players
• Shot stick (not silly freestyle with right stick, I just don't like the way Live uses right stick)
• Use in-game faces for portrait shots in Association mode. Do NOT use blank player silhouettes for random/generic players (THIS IS HUGE POINT!!! 2K only just got there with 2k11)
• Create-a-Player & Create-a-Team options
• Ability to have Association mode with shorter season length (not just 82 games!!!)
• Smoothness of player animations & the general feeling of playing/watching a real game of basketball
• 2k Community Blogs where you can upload Pressbook pics, replays, Association boxscores etc
• Dynamic Commentary in Association (although needs to get better to include generics)
• Save game feature

[shadowgrin]

[*] Use in-game faces for portrait shots in Association mode. Do NOT use blank player silhouettes for random/generic players (THIS IS HUGE POINT!!! 2K only just got there with 2k11)

iirc Live 2001 had that. Since it's EA we're talking about here, they eventually removed that feature.

[JaoSming]

[*] 2k Share (not sure if EA Locker is as good)

EA Locker is OK, but you have to be friends with the person you want to download from/share with.

[*] Ability to have Association mode with shorter season length (not just 82 games!!!)

that's a big one I totally forgot about

[*] 2k Community Blogs where you can upload Pressbook pics, replays, Association boxscores etc

www.easports.com/media

[[Q]]

[*] Use in-game faces for portrait shots in Association mode. Do NOT use blank player silhouettes for random/generic players (THIS IS HUGE POINT!!! 2K only just got there with 2k11)

iirc Live 2001 had that. Since it's EA we're talking about here, they eventually removed that feature.

pretty sure one of the live 07-09 games had that too.

[Andrew]

NBA Live 08 and NBA Live 09 had it.

[The X]

NBA Live 08 and NBA Live 09 had it.

Which means it was removed for NBA Live 10 and so it is a current feature from NBA2k that should be in new EA game

[Andrew]

Absolutely. Actually I can't recall if NBA Live 10 featured it, I just know that 08 and 09 did. In any case, it's something 2K does that EA's game should as well so yeah, it's worth mentioning in these lists.

[Axel The Great]

I think Live 10 did have that feature in dynasty mode for just generic players. There was players like Blair, Darren Collison, and Taj Gibson, (you know, the steals of the 2009 draft) whom the game didn't have a face portrait of so instead had blank portraits.

[Ermolli]

Maybe it's a bit useless and I know it isn't the most important things but I'd like something similar to the Crib.

[JaoSming]

Since 2K12 is going to have it, I'd love it if EA NBA 13 could update logos, courts, uniforms, jerseys, even faces with a basic roster update.

[Andrew]

Sounds good to me.

[_Steve_]

things not to bring over:
-the shot stick

I have to disagree. The game "feels" much more like a simulation when using the shot stick rather than just pushing a button, plus you can more or less opt not to use the shot stick.
I'd also like to see some player (dribble-) moves like cross overs, half spin etc. to be controlled in a similar way as in 2k11.

[Andrew]

I wouldn't. Isomotion still feels a bit clumsy to me, more contrived than it needs to be. I still prefer EA's approach of dribbling on the right stick.

[Patr1ck]

I liked the way the shot stick worked when ea used the right stick for freestyle superstar shots in live 07. I'm surprised 2k had yet to add quarter circle motions to their stick.

I think a vast amount of shots can be performed with just a button if you combine left stick directions and a modifier like a gather or sprint button, or both. Although, I don't like having to take my thumb off the stick to take a shot. I think isomotion on the left stick is a good idea, just poorly implemented, as moves often take you in an undesired direction.

The hands on control in elite was ok, but far too often I ended up taking a shot when I didn't want to take one.

[_Steve_]

I liked the way the shot stick worked when ea used the right stick for freestyle superstar shots in live 07. I'm surprised 2k had yet to add quarter circle motions to their stick.

I agree on that. But comparing the controls NBA Live '08 took a step backwards towards '07.

I think isomotion on the left stick is a good idea, just poorly implemented, as moves often take you in an undesired direction.

That's what I think. But I agree, that I often run half circle instead of doing a fake in the desired direction...

[Andrew]

The hands on control in elite was ok, but far too often I ended up taking a shot when I didn't want to take one.

Yeah, that's why I'm not big on having the shooting controls and dribbling controls both on the right stick; if I had to choose one, I'd still go with dribbling controls.

[_Steve_]

The hands on control in elite was ok, but far too often I ended up taking a shot when I didn't want to take one.

Yeah, that's why I'm not big on having the shooting controls and dribbling controls both on the right stick; if I had to choose one, I'd still go with dribbling controls.

I'd agree on that.

[koberulz]

I wouldn't. Isomotion still feels a bit clumsy to me, more contrived than it needs to be. I still prefer EA's approach of dribbling on the right stick.

I felt the same way prior to 2k11, when the controls and the dribbles that resulted from them weren't matched as well, but I've had no problems whatsoever with isomotion this year.