NBA 2K12 Developer Insight #4 - Playcall System

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NBA 2K12 Developer Insight #4 - Playcall System

Postby iPrototype on Sat Sep 03, 2011 3:16 am

It's a lengthy read, but very detailed if I may so myself. Check it out here

Hey guys,
Rob Jones here, bringing you an in-depth look at NBA 2K12’s new strategy features and play system.

NBA 2K11 marked a year of many successful implementations by our development team. From the inclusion of Michael Jordan, with his challenges and rivals, to marked improvements in gameplay, AI and controls, one of the factors we wanted to really step up was the authenticity of playcalling and strategy. Let’s say just it. NBA 2K11 boasted the most authentic and varied playbooks for each team to grace any basketball game. That said, there is always room for improvement. At 2K, improvement is generally not our target, though. We aim to create new experiences and, to do that, you have to be willing to sacrifice all that came before.

With that in mind, we set up to do the following things:
Dramatically improve the play system.
Make Playcalling more accessible to the user, so that more players will understand the value of strategic basketball.
Add On the Fly Strategic Adjustments to allow users to change their team’s approach to the game without having to go to the Coaching menu.
PLAYSYSTEM AND PLAYCALLING
Play distribution became a major area of focus for the team this year. First, there were a few major hurdles we needed to overcome to take our system to the next level.

Our fans had voiced their desire for having plays assigned to players, not positions. As a response, in 2K11, we allowed users to assign four plays to each of their starters. In addition to the four plays for each starter, we had the ability to share four plays between your bench players who played the same position.

As an intermediate solution, this answered some of the community’s requests, but also introduced a few unintended obstacles.

One of those obstacles was play management. Because the playbooks were hardcoded into our game last year, anytime a player moved from a starter to the bench or changed teams, plays had to be manually tracked and updated, even for the smallest roster move. This resulted in many players having plays assigned to them that did not make the best use of their own abilities.

Another long lamented issue for fans of our game was the four play limitation for plays assigned to each player. This may not seem like a big of an issue if you play the game sparingly. However, over time, the lack of offensive play variety for specific players became a major limitation to the strategic element of the game.

So when reviewing this internally, we sought out the best solution to this issue. All of our gameplay team and a member of the SIM gaming community (the man behind some of the great playcall videos put together last year – Da Czar) locked themselves in a meeting room for six hours until they came up with an equitable solution. Yes, we do bring in our most dedicated community members for their opinions - as you’ve seen with Da Czar’s involvement and with our Momentous videos from over the years.

From that meeting we decided that play types distribute themselves into eight key groups:

Pick and Roll Ballhandler
The man who dribbles the ball around the screen in Pick and Roll situations

Pick and Roll Screener
Man who sets a screen on the ballhandler’s man

Isolation
Space created for one-on-one opportunities

Low Post
Post plays where you receive on or near the low block.

High Post
Post plays where you receive the ball at the high post extended

Cutter
Plays where a man comes off a screen or receives a hand off headed towards the basket

Screen Mid
Plays where a player comes off a screen looking to get open for a Jumpshot from Midrange

Screen 3PT
Plays where a player comes off a screen looking to get open for a Jumpshot from 3PT range.


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In NBA 2K12, any player in the game can be assigned as many as four different play types. These four playtypes are ranked 1-4 and weighted accordingly, so those who choose auto playcalling can influence which types of plays are called more often.

This allows a team’s playbook to be created dynamically which means that no manual intervention is needed when a player is moved into or out of the starting lineup and/or is traded. As in the real NBA, if a player is traded, he will keep his play type assignment and simply inherit all the plays of that type in his new team’s playbook.


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We, of course, made sure to have a few plays of each type in every current team’s playbook to account for trades that may happen during the course of the year.

One benefit of this new system is that now, once a player is assigned a play type, he has access to every play of that type in his team’s playbook. So if you have Carmelo Anthony assigned as an Isolation player and you have 10 Iso plays in your playbook, he has access to all 10 of those plays in addition to any other plays in the other three slots.

The only drawback to this system is that the playbooks are created dynamically based on which play types you select for each player; therefore, you cannot choose the order in which the plays show up in the play call screen. The order the plays appear will remain static until you choose to change the play types assigned to a particular player. Then, the play call list is dynamically recreated again and remains the same until changed.

The Regular Playcalling interface remains virtually unchanged.

Bring up the Playcalling interface by tapping LB (R1 on PS3). Then select the icon of the player you wish to run a play for. Once you get here, the plays display for that player.

This menu has changed a bit from 2K11. Last year you had four plays to choose from. This year you have five. You can call a play by selecting either A, B, X, Y, or LT on the 360. However, if a player has more than five plays assigned to his selected play type, then at the bottom of the menu you will see a RT followed by current page / Total number of pages. Advanced users can use the RT to page through all available plays for this particular player.


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Now users are freed from the four play limitation and can get as creative as they desire (as all current teams play-books are fully editable). You are free to stack your playbook with plays that only apply to the play types of your stars or spread the playtypes evenly between the different types of player personnel on your team.

You can choose to look for players that fit within your current play scheme or expand your horizons as your front office increases your talent pool.

A second and quicker way of calling a play is to touch D-Pad Right and select RUN BEST PLAY. The AI will select the best play at the time and set it up for you to run. This feature can turn even the most casual player into a veritable Phil Jackson.


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Now that the interface and play selection part is done, let’s get to what I consider the most exciting part about the play system changes that are implemented in NBA 2K12.

Living Branches
We went back to the well as a team, along with Da Czar, to provide additional feedback to help us design a system that surpasses any before it in play execution and implementation. It quickly became apparent that our current play system would need to be refactored in order to do the job. One of our top engineers was tasked to redesign our play system to accommodate the massive overhaul to both play logic and play execution. We believe NBA 2K12 offers the most up-to-date and authentic NBA play calling experience available today.

One of the main critiques was that our plays were too static and lacked the ability to branch into other scoring opportunities. In addition, some plays just took too long to get started while others were just plain ineffective.

While past branching systems relied heavily on the pass or no pass option to initiate a branch, NBA 2k12's Living branch system is the first to allow branching based on a pass / no pass option, as well as branches initiated by movement including off the dribble or dribble entry branches. We also have off-ball movement options where the play can branch depending on which way the offensive player decides to run off of available screens

We are also excited to be the first to offer you plays with nested branching. Traditional play branch options usually only provide the option to branch on the initial pass / no pass opportunity. Nested branching is the key to some of the more advanced offensive options we will discuss as we continue.

Persistent Offense
In most basketball games, it has been relatively easy for a savvy defender to take away your best offensive option by simply fronting or denying your star offensive player the basketball. This leads to the offense being forced to freelance at the end of games when they really should be going with an established play. The limited number of plays and the lack of intelligent teammates has given the defense a decided advantage in key moments.

This year, we developed what we call Persistent Offensive technology. These are key plays that some teams have available for their stars. These plays are identified in your team playbooks with a capital P in the name of the play.

These are highly advanced and resilient plays that anticipate a defender attempting to take your star out of the play. As an example, we will review a play for the Knicks called NYK P 3 Ice High. In this play, Carmelo Anthony posts up on high post extended. If open, the pass is made from the top of the key and Melo has the ball 17 feet from the basket and can either post or face up.

After you run this play a few times, the defense will more than likely adjust. If they front him or play off the passer, you have the option to run a dribble entry. Once the dribble entry option is initiated the PG (Chauncey Billups) runs a Pick and Post with Carmelo. Now you have Chauncey and Carmelo isolated on one side of the floor with Melo having great post position. If the defense is somehow able to deny the post entry pass to Carmelo or if you see a bigger stronger post defender guarding Melo you can initiate another dribble branch towards the top of the key that will make Carmelo give up the post up opportunity and cut to the Wing for the isolation.

Some of the more advanced Persistent Offensive plays can offer you as many as six opportunities to score the basketball within the same play.

Before NBA 2K12, it was only necessary to know the play that was being run to be able to fully shut it down. In NBA2K12 and beyond, knowing is only half the battle. Multiple offensive decision points means a greater interactive experience, be it User vs. Computer or User vs. User. There have been some epic battles going on during this development cycle. User vs. User games have an added strategic layer that makes NBA2K12 a blast to play.

Not every play in the game is as complex as the one mentioned above. There are plenty of simple and effective plays that allow everyone from beginners to seasoned experts an opportunity to channel their inner Phil Jackson.

Another area that benefits greatly from nested branches are alley oop plays. In the past, alley oops were a hit or miss proposition. If the play was well defended, there was rarely any time left on the clock to run another play. With the introduction of nested branching, if the defense takes away the lob, you have another option that flows naturally. Many times the defense’s overreaction to stopping the embarrassing alley oop sets them up perfectly for the counter.

Out of Bounds Plays
It's been awhile since a videogame has treated out of bounds plays with the proper respect. In the NBA, out of bounds plays are a crucial part of either winning or losing a game. In most basketball videogames up to this point, they have been more of an afterthought.

With all of the new options mentioned above, NBA 2K12 looks to change that in a big way. All of the inbounds plays from NBA 2K11 have been destroyed. Some plays have retained the same name but have all-new designs. For the first time in the NBA 2K series, we have authentic NBA out of bounds plays for your gaming enjoyment.

The out of bounds plays range from simple and effective to layered and lethal. The plays for this year’s game were created to fit within the following categories for Baseline and Sideline out of bounds.

Inbound protect / secure ball plays
These are plays were the goal is to get the ball to a specific player if possible usually your best free throw shooter.

Quick 2 plays
These are plays were you need a quick 2 point field goal.

3PT plays
We have plays for when you need a 3 for the tie or win

Post
These are plays were you want to get a post up opportunity

Alley
Some plays give you two alley opportunities. One from the inbounder and another once the ball has been inbounded.

You can call inbound plays from the Quick Play menu (D-Pad Right), or for finite control of play type and targets, choose the Inbounding Play Selection Tab in the Time Out overlay.


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QUICK STRATEGY OPTIONS
NBA 2K12 also offers brand new quick strategy options to the user. These options, both on offense and on defense, allow the user to quickly adjust their style of play based on their preference and/or game situation.

Offense
These offensive options are tied to individual tendencies and behavior and affect the directives of each player on the team to achieve the approach dictated by the User.
Space the Floor – Better spacing from the ballhandler; less running around / no onball screens
Screen for Shooters – set up shooters on team to get open using Offball screens
Leak Out – Outside player leaks out on shots to get a break going
Collapse and Rebound – team attacks the basket for offensive boards
Coach Default – resets current active strategy

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Defense
This gives the user a quick access to setting up the Defensive Settings on the fly:
Pressure Shooters – for opposing players good at med/long range shots; tight onball, deny ball, go over screens, hedge on screens
Lock Down Paint – double down in the post for all players, go under screens
Focus on Stars – for opposing star players; always double, tight onball, deny ball
Constant Pressure – double team on drive for guards, double team in post for bigs, play tight on stars, go over screens, hard hedge
Coach Default - resets current active strategy

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That about wraps it up - as you can see, a ton of effort has been put into improving the strategic elements of NBA 2K12. We’ve always longed for a time where an older user can compete against his gaming wiz child and be successful due to his understanding of the game. NBA 2K12 takes a giant leap forward in achieving that goal.

Also, I hope you caught me on Spike TV this past Thursday night with Geoff Keighley of Game Trailers showing off the first gameplay of NBA 2K12. Hope you enjoy!

- Rob Jones
Gameplay Director

Previous Developer Insights
Marketing/Community Efforts
NBA's Greatest
Art Direction

Next NBA 2K12 Developer Insight: "Training Camp" by Jerson Sapida - TBD
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Re: NBA 2K12 Developer Insight #4 - Playcall System

Postby kobebryant24 on Sat Sep 03, 2011 3:36 am

That sounds preety good, but guys don't you think with default sliders on hall of fame (you know close rang shot 50 , medium 50 , 30pt 50 and etc.) the cpu scores almost every time :( . That's the most irritating , because i play very hard defence, jump against his shot ( i don't why i can't block it, almost every time it looks like it's a block) and the cpu scores , because it's on hall of fame and the sliders are at 50. I think that 2k should change that , like not every time on hall of fame , the cpu to shot on a perfect release , and then the field goal percentage would not be at 60% (that percent is unrealistic). That's why i think 2k should work more on hard defence ,than offence . What you think about that ?!
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Re: NBA 2K12 Developer Insight #4 - Playcall System

Postby shadowgrin on Sat Sep 03, 2011 4:10 am

Stop playing on HOF and play on Superstar. There's a reason why HOF is the highest difficulty setting for the game.
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Re: NBA 2K12 Developer Insight #4 - Playcall System

Postby Axel The Great on Sat Sep 03, 2011 4:24 am

Sounds really promising. (Y) I especially like the ability to decide the inbounds plays, and who the inbounder and shooter will be. I also like the defensive strategy, adds a new dimension in playing defense against different teams.
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Re: NBA 2K12 Developer Insight #4 - Playcall System

Postby kobebryant24 on Sat Sep 03, 2011 5:12 am

shadowgrin wrote:Stop playing on HOF and play on Superstar. There's a reason why HOF is the highest difficulty setting for the game.

Well, can you play on Superstar ,when you know that there is a higher level?! i can't i want to play against the players of the nba ,which are on the highest level, but it's not realisitic to score everything ?! right ?! I think that it's a little bug
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Re: NBA 2K12 Developer Insight #4 - Playcall System

Postby Mavs4Life on Sat Sep 03, 2011 7:58 am

Axel. wrote:Sounds really promising. (Y) I especially like the ability to decide the inbounds plays, and who the inbounder and shooter will be. I also like the defensive strategy, adds a new dimension in playing defense against different teams.


Agreed, I think I was playing cetics Vs Knicks once, & I wanted Allen to take the last shot, but he inbounded. And now alley oops!
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Re: NBA 2K12 Developer Insight #4 - Playcall System

Postby The X on Sat Sep 03, 2011 8:16 am

All sounding pretty good :P

kobebryant24 wrote:
shadowgrin wrote:Stop playing on HOF and play on Superstar. There's a reason why HOF is the highest difficulty setting for the game.

Well, can you play on Superstar ,when you know that there is a higher level?! i can't i want to play against the players of the nba ,which are on the highest level, but it's not realisitic to score everything ?! right ?! I think that it's a little bug

Sports games are not designed to be played at the highest level. They are designed for the mid-level difficulties, namely All-Star. When moving up & down difficulties, you just have either a higher or lower margin of error on shooting & vice-versa for CPU, CPU has quicker recovery etc.
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Re: NBA 2K12 Developer Insight #4 - Playcall System

Postby Andrew on Sat Sep 03, 2011 10:58 am

Great stuff, hope it turns out to be as good as it sounds. (Y)

kobebryant24 wrote:
shadowgrin wrote:Stop playing on HOF and play on Superstar. There's a reason why HOF is the highest difficulty setting for the game.

Well, can you play on Superstar ,when you know that there is a higher level?! i can't i want to play against the players of the nba ,which are on the highest level, but it's not realisitic to score everything ?! right ?! I think that it's a little bug


It's not a bug, it's by design. That difficulty setting is there for people who have mastered all other difficulty levels and want a much, much harder challenge. There's no reason you have to play on the hardest difficulty setting except perhaps bragging rights. If the second highest difficulty provides you with an adequate challenge and the level of realism you want, there's no reason to torture yourself on the highest setting just because it's there.
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Re: NBA 2K12 Developer Insight #4 - Playcall System

Postby pgasol16 on Sat Sep 03, 2011 12:55 pm

all of it sounds pretty cool, i like the strategy option so when i build a team in association i can play to my strengths, outside shooting or pack it in the paint etc, good job 2k
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Re: NBA 2K12 Developer Insight #4 - Playcall System

Postby RedPhazon8 on Sat Sep 03, 2011 5:00 pm

Based off what I noticed for HOF in the past, it gives the opponent a big advantage over you. In AI only matches it puts the two teams on equal ground, and pretty much removes overall team ratings. I'll stick with All-Star, no advantage to either team in terms of "bs help".
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Re: NBA 2K12 Developer Insight #4 - Playcall System

Postby fjccommish on Sat Sep 03, 2011 5:03 pm

"Stop playing on HOF and play on Superstar. "

I find it too easy to score on Superstar, and in general too easy to stop the computer team from scoring.

"Now users are freed from the four play limitation and can get as creative as they desire (as all current teams play-books are fully editable). You are free to stack your playbook with plays that only apply to the play types of your stars or spread the play types evenly between the different types of player personnel on your team. "

How will the CPU teams handle this?

Will different coaches allocate plays differently? Will different coaches tend to call more plays for superstars vs trying to get many guys involved in the offense? Will this be a coach tendency, so coaches could be customized?
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Re: NBA 2K12 Developer Insight #4 - Playcall System

Postby kobebryant24 on Sat Sep 03, 2011 5:38 pm

So guys, you all want to tell me, that on hall of fame no matter who's team i'm palying against is it the Miami Hear or Chicago Bulls or Washington Wizards or Charlotte Bobcats they will always score when they are open ?! So if we have shaquille o'neal on the 3pt line open he is always gonna score ,because it's on HOF level ?!?!?! I don't understand that, I think HOF should be the level of pressure your team it's going to meet at the Offensive end ,you know double teams, BETTER tight D on you, but they strip the ball quite often .That's why after every match, btw, I play on 10 minutes for a quarter ,mine field goal percentage is 60 and the cpu is 67 because he has 10 steals and uncontested shots or layups(dunks) on fastbreak .On defence you want to tell me i have Lebron against me and i'm with Artest (the peace maker :D) i'm playing tight D on him and he rises from the medium range with a jumper i go for a block , but suddenly the ball goes in the basket ,ok , i understand that i think lebron can do that 4 times of 10 ,but in the game he does 9 of 10 :D JUST BECAUSE IT"S ON HALL OF FAME right :D . Oh, and i played on the superstar level and i have no problems, you know it's the same game(with the default sliders) . So, my point is that there's should be balance in the game, I think those levels should reflect on the level of play of the cpu on offence and defence ,not on the shot release i don't want to see Shaq(just an ex.)scoring contested medium range jumpers with rating of 60 for medium. I don't think, there is human who can shot 9 perfect shots of 10.Why the hell , we have player ratings, when they don't matter on HOF ?!
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Re: NBA 2K12 Developer Insight #4 - Playcall System

Postby Andrew on Sat Sep 03, 2011 6:02 pm

So if you enjoy the game on Superstar, why do you need to play on Hall of Fame difficulty? If Superstar is getting too easy, try tweaking the sliders a bit to make things more challenging.
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Re: NBA 2K12 Developer Insight #4 - Playcall System

Postby Patr1ck on Sat Sep 03, 2011 6:07 pm

I've said this before and I will say it again. Difficulties need to change by using better or worse strategic adjustments, rather then higher probabilities of shots going in or steals happening, etc. By doing it that way, stats would be more realistic across all difficulties.
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Re: NBA 2K12 Developer Insight #4 - Playcall System

Postby Andrew on Sat Sep 03, 2011 6:18 pm

I'd definitely agree with that, else it just feels cheap.
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Re: NBA 2K12 Developer Insight #4 - Playcall System

Postby fjccommish on Sat Sep 03, 2011 6:21 pm

"Difficulties need to change by using better or worse strategic adjustments, rather then higher probabilities of shots going in or steals happening, etc. By doing it that way, stats would be more realistic across all difficulties."

Does anyone know how difficulties work? Do double teams come faster on HOF? What changes? I find it way to easy to get to the basket, even on HOF, especially getting the ball on the wing after coming off a screen.

I find it too easy to blow teams out on Superstar no matter what the sliders.

In general the problem with sliders is the CPU doesn't know the sliders changed. The CPU won't adjust, like a human player will, by going to the basket if the gamer lowers the shooting sliders. The CPU will keep taking shots, and missing more of them. The CPU doesn't know it's Superstar, and that it will miss more shots, so it keeps the same ratio of jumpers to post plays or driving to the hoop.
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Re: NBA 2K12 Developer Insight #4 - Playcall System

Postby kobebryant24 on Sat Sep 03, 2011 6:34 pm

Pdub wrote:I've said this before and I will say it again. Difficulties need to change by using better or worse strategic adjustments, rather then higher probabilities of shots going in or steals happening, etc. By doing it that way, stats would be more realistic across all difficulties.

you mean to tweak the coach profiles , because i had done that, and i would say it's better, but you know they still score back to the basket ,they keep stealing, keep shoot those contested shots and still goes in . I will give you an example, i play one soccer game and,when you change there the difficulty, you will see that the cpu response waaaaayyyyy different , it's easier ,because it's plays are stupid and it looks like a normal video game. When you change it to the highest difficulty you see more REALISTIC PLAYS it's starts too look like a REAL LIFE game.
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Re: NBA 2K12 Developer Insight #4 - Playcall System

Postby kobebryant24 on Sat Sep 03, 2011 6:47 pm

Andrew wrote:So if you enjoy the game on Superstar, why do you need to play on Hall of Fame difficulty? If Superstar is getting too easy, try tweaking the sliders a bit to make things more challenging.

Andrew, i don't think this with the sliders is needed in that game , then why we need the player ratings ,when we can change the whole game by moving the sliders. I understood that after i played it for 4 months on HOF with default sliders ,and I have decided to play on HOF level with tweaked sliders , you know, and i have made it for myself to look more realistic (from 40 - 50% field goals) , but still the cpu responds like a HOF level and I will give you an recent example I played one game in the playoffs where the cpu in the 4th quarter (10 minutes quarter) had missed only one shot against me(it happens very often the cpu to not miss shots in the 4th), I have to make all my shots to beat him and the result was like 135-130, and i was with the Lakers against Blazers ( without Lamarcus Aldridge in their squad-injury). I want when i play the game to look realistic , that's why i play NBA 2k ,the game looks perfect but when you see they can't miss a shoot,the game looks ugly ,then I don't enjoy the good plays ,dunks, layups, when i see a fastbreak it's something regular, and the fastbreak is one of the most interesting plays to watch in Basketball.
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Re: NBA 2K12 Developer Insight #4 - Playcall System

Postby shadowgrin on Sat Sep 03, 2011 8:38 pm

fjccommish wrote:"Stop playing on HOF and play on Superstar. "

I find it too easy to score on Superstar, and in general too easy to stop the computer team from scoring.

Then play on HOF. Just don't complain if you encounter it to be too difficult like some people or merely dismiss the greater difficulty as a bug.

kobebryant24 wrote:Why the hell , we have player ratings, when they don't matter on HOF ?!

Player ratings still matter on HOF. Though the margin of error for the human side is much smaller, very small compared to the cpu.

fjccommish wrote:In general the problem with sliders is the CPU doesn't know the sliders changed. The CPU won't adjust, like a human player will, by going to the basket if the gamer lowers the shooting sliders. The CPU will keep taking shots, and missing more of them. The CPU doesn't know it's Superstar, and that it will miss more shots, so it keeps the same ratio of jumpers to post plays or driving to the hoop.

Of course it wouldn't know, because that's not the way the AI is programmed by default (I guess). The CPU will always do what is programmed of it, the sliders exist to limit the range of what the AI is capable of (ideally). So you lower the global shooting sliders but you didn't touch the shooting tendencies, the CPU will still continue shooting unlike "smart" and aware humans that the sliders are now lower. The CPU AI is a program coded by programmers so there will always be limitations based on its code, what you're asking for is a self-aware AI. :?

kobebryant24 wrote:then why we need the player ratings ,when we can change the whole game by moving the sliders

What are you talking about, the sliders are still dependent on player ratings. :?

kobebryant24 wrote: When you change it to the highest difficulty you see more REALISTIC PLAYS it's starts too look like a REAL LIFE game.

I get what you're asking for, you want realistic game play while maintaining accurate stats. Those have been issues not only with 2K11 but other sports videogames as well. It's pretty difficult to achieve both at this point considering that basketball gameplay is probably the most difficult to program because of the constant movement and number of players all at the same time on the floor. And that's just for gameplay, add accurate stat representation to that and it's hell for the programmers. It's attainable but probably with the usual development time of a Civ game needed to achieve that and not yearly releases like sports videogames have now.
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Re: NBA 2K12 Developer Insight #4 - Playcall System

Postby kobebryant24 on Sat Sep 03, 2011 9:00 pm

kobebryant24 wrote: When you change it to the highest difficulty you see more REALISTIC PLAYS it's starts too look like a REAL LIFE game.

shadowgrin wrote:I get what you're asking for, you want realistic game play while maintaining accurate stats. Those have been issues not only with 2K11 but other sports videogames as well. It's pretty difficult to achieve both at this point considering that basketball gameplay is probably the most difficult to program because of the constant movement and number of players all at the same time on the floor. And that's just for gameplay, add accurate stat representation to that and it's hell for the programmers. It's attainable but probably with the usual development time of a Civ game needed to achieve that and not yearly releases like sports videogames have now.


Shadowgrin, my point is that, there is no need of game sliders , when you have player ratings. Why 2k give you the chance to tweak the gameplay sliders , when you can change the level of difficulty ?! I think , it will be better without game sliders , then we will have players , who will act realisitic according to their ratings ,abilities and tendencies , the game will be more real.
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Re: NBA 2K12 Developer Insight #4 - Playcall System

Postby shadowgrin on Sat Sep 03, 2011 9:12 pm

Not everyone has the time to edit the player attributes and tendencies of 350 players to get accurate stats and realistic gameplay.
There's a reason the sliders effects are global (affects all players).

As for "why 2k give you the chance to tweak the gameplay sliders , when you can change the level of difficulty", it's to appeal to the buyers really. Not everyone wants a sim style gameplay the same way not everyone wants an arcade style gameplay. In the same way that not everyone wants to tweak sliders and would rather play the game immediately. So the level of difficulties are there for people to choose what they enjoy the most without having to waste their time fiddling with sliders.

2K has to find a middle ground to sell their game more, which isn't a bad thing as it ensures that 2K continues to produce the game.
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Re: NBA 2K12 Developer Insight #4 - Playcall System

Postby kobebryant24 on Sat Sep 03, 2011 9:44 pm

shadowgrin wrote:Not everyone has the time to edit the player attributes and tendencies of 350 players to get accurate stats and realistic gameplay.
There's a reason the sliders effects are global (affects all players).



So, in your logic , every player is a superstar on Hall of fame difficulty :D .Imagine this, I will play with Minnesota T'wolves and you will play with the Miami Heat . The result after 4 quarters will be 120-122 Micheal Beasley will have 40 , Kevin Love wil have 30 , and Wade and Bron will have 80 . You will beat me with 2 points. Is this realistic , because when i play against weak teams this are the results, and most of the players on the other team have 25 points 7 rebounds , 5 steals, 4 blocks , 8 assists , and i can't enjoy myself playing against the weak teams. I have to play my best every time . WHY ?! :o BECAUSE 2k don't have time to edit the ratings ; no i don't think so.
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Re: NBA 2K12 Developer Insight #4 - Playcall System

Postby shadowgrin on Sat Sep 03, 2011 10:11 pm

kobebryant24 wrote:
shadowgrin wrote:Not everyone has the time to edit the player attributes and tendencies of 350 players to get accurate stats and realistic gameplay.
There's a reason the sliders effects are global (affects all players).

So, in your logic , every player is a superstar on Hall of fame difficulty :D

Though they both affect the game in a way, sliders are different from the difficulty settings. :?
You can change one or more particular aspects of the gameplay by editing the sliders (which affects that particular attribute for all players) while the difficulty settings changes the entire gameplay.
I wouldn't call every player as a superstar in HOF. You can still own an improved scrub in HOF using a true superstar like LeBron. It's a bad idea to depend on your teammates' CPU AI on HOF. I notice that those who can beat HOF at default have already mastered player switching at the right time so they don't depend on their teammates AI.


kobebryant24 wrote:Minnesota T'wolves and you will play with the Miami Heat . The result after 4 quarters will be 120-122 Micheal Beasley will have 40 , Kevin Love wil have 30 , and Wade and Bron will have 80 . You will beat me with 2 points. Is this realistic , because when i play against weak teams this are the results, and most of the players on the other team have 25 points 7 rebounds , 5 steals, 4 blocks , 8 assists ,
shadowgrin wrote:you want realistic game play while maintaining accurate stats. Those have been issues not only with 2K11 but other sports videogames as well. It's pretty difficult to achieve both at this point considering that basketball gameplay is probably the most difficult to program because of the constant movement and number of players all at the same time on the floor. And that's just for gameplay, add accurate stat representation to that and it's hell for the programmers. It's attainable but probably with the usual development time of a Civ game needed to achieve that and not yearly releases like sports videogames have now.



kobebryant24 wrote:i can't enjoy myself playing against the weak teams. I have to play my best every time

You really have to play your best in HOF because that's the way it was designed. Someone isn't reading others' post in this thread...
The X wrote:When moving up & down difficulties, you just have either a higher or lower margin of error on shooting & vice-versa for CPU, CPU has quicker recovery etc.
RedPhazon8 wrote:Based off what I noticed for HOF in the past, it gives the opponent a big advantage over you.
Andrew wrote: it's by design
Pdub wrote:I've said this before and I will say it again. Difficulties need to change by using better or worse strategic adjustments, rather then higher probabilities of shots going in or steals happening, etc. By doing it that way, stats would be more realistic across all difficulties.

If you want to change that, ask the 2K dev team to change their code.
The difficulty you're encountering at the HOF level is not a bug or mistake. It was designed that way, thus Pdub's post. Until that changes accept the fact that you suck at HOF with default sliders.


kobebryant24 wrote:BECAUSE 2k don't have time to edit the ratings

lol, you only know that now? Just look at the default/official 2K rosters. The 2K Insider is an idiot imo.
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Re: NBA 2K12 Developer Insight #4 - Playcall System

Postby kobebryant24 on Sat Sep 03, 2011 11:17 pm

So,i'm doomed to loose everytime,because i'm a competitive person, who likes the hardest challenges . What a shame :(
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Re: NBA 2K12 Developer Insight #4 - Playcall System

Postby J@3 on Sat Sep 03, 2011 11:20 pm

This is the best piece of news I've heard about the game so far. I use plays constantly, this will definitely make an impact on the way I play.
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