NLSC Interview with Brian Ullrich

[Andrew]

We've had the opportunity to ask Brian Ullrich a few questions about the Current Gen version of NBA Live 07. It seems a few of the Wishlist items have been granted, most notably the addition of the mid-level exception in Dynasty Mode. We expect to get even more answers and scoops on NBA Live 07 at the Community Leaders event which will be held in August. In the meantime, you can read the entire interview with Brian here.

Before the "Why didn't you ask..." posts spring up...please note that I did submit a few more questions than that, some were answered as part of responses to other questions (mostly the Dynasty Mode stuff) and it looks like some I'll find out for myself at the community event since we didn't get an answer at this time. So one way or another, I hope to bring everyone some more news on the game including some more on Next Gen.

[Jing]

what caught my eye, though something that may not seem important, is the "logical scheduling", cause i sometimes in dynasties get 8 straight games followed by almost half a month of more or offtime.

guess this means i finally have to get a controller, otherwise i'd be really limited in terms of moves, and now even dunks.

[BZ]

I really liked the fact that you could edit player's dunk packages in game . Totally awesome.

[The Hitman]

Thanks Andrew once agin for the good work. Great interview. Sounds really good so far. I'm estatic about the forms of MLE, mock drafts, enhanced free agent negotiation, player moral and team chemistry. I'm almost sold on the idea of getting Live 07 over 2K7. Just waiting for information on hiring/firing coaches, scouting throughout the year, trade block (to entertain offers from other teams for your signed players), improvements on generated rookies, draft day trades, off-season being less linear, maybe (long-shot) sign and trades, and quality camera angles. I guess I'll find out some of those answer when Andrew comes back from EA's community event and gives us his report. I'm getting excited!

[[L3]1101]

I'm excited about this year's LIVE. I like the improvemnts in the gameplay and Dynasty mode(MLE!!!!!!!!!!). Team chemistry sounds great. I'll be forced to make a realistic team.

When are you going to the conference Andrew??

[Buckley]

nice interview . live 07 is looking to be a great game.

[Null17]

Wow. That actually made me look forward to getting Live 07

[Silas]

Very nice interview, thanks for posting this Andrew. Though, it does look like they for sure arent doing Create-A-Team or Coach. Too bad...

[Goldenstatewarrior]

Thanks again Andrew for another great interview. I got high hopes for this year's game because of this.

[dada]

...fans focusing on the talent of their players as the most important factor in determining success, but the truth is that there are examples in all sports of teams with very impressive rosters, yet that group of players can't seem to win a lot of games together.

Is he talking about the Knicks?


Excellent stuff Andrew. I actually read all of that which is a plus.


What I really like is the tidbit about scheduling practices, team events, press events and such. I really enjoy that kinda micromanagement. Also really digging the rumour thing, cant wait to go investigate with my assistant coaches.

I'm kinda worried about the 'game intensity' part though. Main concern is they will be swiping away balls from my players more frequently and just making the game overly hard. If its one thing I hate about Live its that players seem to turn retarded near the end of games. Oh well, I'll wait and see.

[Andrew]

Thanks for the comments so far. Unfortunately we didn't get any answers about some things that most of us would have been particularly interested in (the stats engine, in-game saves to name a couple) but I'd say those questions will be answered one way or another very soon. I think a hands on preview and talking to the producers about the game in person should give me some good info on the finer details that might not really be covered in our interview or interviews with other sites for that matter.

When are you going to the conference Andrew??

It's in August. I fly out on the 8th, the conference is on the 10th.

[The X]

hmm....some interesting developments....I've got a feeling I'm going to own both 2k7 & live '07 on my 360 this summer

[Silas]

you know if you need someone to carry your camera Andrew, I'm right there...

[beau_boy04]

-I hope I won't be bombarded with tons of trade rumors and shit I hate the beat of getting an new email.
-The ESPN Mock Draft looks amazing and all the information and tidbits you could get before making your draft selection is outstanding and I hope it stays like that for quite a while further down as we go thru our dynasty.

I'm loving all the offseason and in-game add-ons so far

[Dan's Brain]

The ESPN Mock Draft looks amazing and all the information and tidbits you could get before making your draft selection is outstanding and I hope it stays like that for quite a while further down as we go thru our dynasty.

Shit yeah, i was thinking that was only going to be next gen, live goes up a few more points.

[double_g]

Great news

We've also completely re-worked the player negotiation and salary cap logic for NBA LIVE 07, using the real NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement as the model for our simulation. We also added things like the "mid-level exceptions", qualifying veteran exceptions ("Bird Rights"), and "minimum salary exceptions" to get that added level of realism.

At last EA Sports thought of the financial part of the game

Customizing the dunk package of the player is also great. But I would still have some questions about scheduling. Will you be able to play Summer Leagues or Pre-Season Games?

[Melo_Poland]

"Clutch Rating

We have added a clutch rating this year that is used for a variety of things. "

[Pera]

Now that was an interesting read.Great work Andrew for getting the information about the game.That rumour thing sounds good.Press event does this mean you can talk to press as a GM.If so I'm really likeing the sound of that.I can't till live 07 comes up,I expect a lot more from live 07 then I did from live 06,I just hope I wont be dissapointed.

[Metsis]

All I have to say is GOOD STUFF... All around... Especially the dynasty part. Player happiness and team chemistry have been my number one wish for so many years... Finally it will materialize.

Andrew, I knew you had it in you to get this done... Great work man...

[chrisinfinity]

wow andrew ur gonna meet famous people?

[r3d]

he said that in 07 you would be able to draft all of this year's rookies to different teams.

Does that mean that they will create cyberfaces and players for more rookies?

because last year they only made them for those rookies who were already signed to a team which exluded a lot of the 2nd round picks.

the ability to edit dunk packs for players b/c lebron james and rick doesn't dunk the same way as vince carter and jrich. vince rarely jumps off one foot like james does.

salary cap changes are good cuz in dynasty mode it was so hard to stay under the cap i rarely got to sign better players

I wish they woudl give you the ability to edit headshape in create a player because the headshape they give you is huge and awkward compared to all the other nba players.

[Cornerthree]

Hey people, I read the interview. I understood that NBA LIVE 07(current-gen) will feature ESPN intergration. But, how about that news updating. I read on one site that the Xbox 360 will log-on to it's server and update the news and stuff. What about PC? Will the news be updated?

[rrenn007]

"We adjusted the game pace and spacing on offense, so everything feels less frantic and gives you time to call plays, maneuver in the post, and work the ball around for open shots on the perimeter."

It seems like all the videos shown around the web contradict this very statement. Players still seems to run around "frantic" and clustered on the court. I guess I'm not a big fan of "fast" gameplay unless its playoff or 4th qtr time.

[volsey]

Sounds good, dynasty modes gunna be alot more active and enjoyable, can't wait to see how that all works. haha and rrenn007, that's exactly what I said when I read that. I hope they fix that and make games less frantic. Still hoping gameplay will be alot better than last year.

[Andrew]

[quote"double_g"]Will you be able to play Summer Leagues or Pre-Season Games?[/quote]

Nothing's been mentioned so far but we'll find out for sure soon enough.

Press event does this mean you can talk to press as a GM

Probably not. I'd say the press events will be similar to the promos you can schedule in GM Mode in Smackdown vs RAW 2006: you don't see them take place but they still have an effect on your game. That's just my speculation though, I could be wrong.

wow andrew ur gonna meet famous people?

Well, people who have gained some fame in the computer game industry through interviews with video game media. I don't think there'll be any celebrities there.

Does that mean that they will create cyberfaces and players for more rookies?

because last year they only made them for those rookies who were already signed to a team which exluded a lot of the 2nd round picks.

Hard to say. You'd think that'd be the case if we have the ability to hold the 2006 Draft again but that goes against what we know about likeness rights.

Hey people, I read the interview. I understood that NBA LIVE 07(current-gen) will feature ESPN intergration. But, how about that news updating. I read on one site that the Xbox 360 will log-on to it's server and update the news and stuff. What about PC? Will the news be updated?

I think that's going to be Next Gen only.

It seems like all the videos shown around the web contradict this very statement. Players still seems to run around "frantic" and clustered on the court. I guess I'm not a big fan of "fast" gameplay unless its playoff or 4th qtr time.

The videos generally feature two human players though and not all of them are big basketball fans or particularly interested in playing realistically. After all, no matter how realistic a basketball game is meant to be at some point it comes back to how it's being played. They usually seem to play on the easier difficulty levels, too.

What I'm hoping is that issues like that can be remedied by the sliders. If the game is a little bit too uptempo to yield realistic results, hopefully knocking the gamespeed down a little or reducing the shooting percentages with the field goal sliders will solve the problem. There are some things that sliders can't overcome but a lot of players (myself included) have enjoyed the games after playing with the sliders a bit.