https://www.operationsports.com/the-sta ... e-proofed/
It covers a lot of what we have discussed on here, including multi-team use.
Keys To NBA Live 19’s Success
Over the past week, I’ve played a lot of NBA Live 18. I’ve tried to dig back into franchise. I’ve tried to really nail down the things that are missing, and the reasons it just can not hold my attention. It doesn’t have the options, and it doesn’t’ have personality. It’s not engaging.
1.There are no in-game injuries whatsoever. Going back to the Xbox and PS2, and even before, we’ve had in-game injuries that actually impact the player on the floor. In Inside Drive 2003, I remember vividly going up for a dunk with Vince Carter and stumbling to the ground. Sprained ankle. It gave me an option to sub for him, or have him play through it, albeit with decreased efficiency. And get this, he showed signs of physical impairment, limping along on the screen. It was glorious. I can also recall seeing Ricky Davis and Darius Miles go down in the same game, and then having to run the entire game through Big Z. At the end of the game, Big Z was so exhausted his movement speed was a crawl as he labored to get up and down the court. There is no excuse that in-game injuries should not be in a game in 2018 when they were implemented this well, and to this degree, in a game from 2003.
2.Team playstyles and player-specific playstyles. Again, this is something Inside Drive 2003 did that really made me fall in love with the AI part of NBA video games. Rip Hamilton, zipping through a staggered screen, only to lose his defender, pop out to receive the pass in the mid-range area (where Rip Hamilton is most efficient) and shoot the shot. Seeing Vince slash his way and finish with the monstrous tomahawk in traffic was a thing of beauty. The athletes played to their real-life tendencies. Teams tried to play to their specific strategy. Right now, there are team playbooks in NBA Live 18 that aren’t very well done. There are very few plays, if any at all, that will free you up for a mid-range shot. There aren’t enough plays, or not enough branches if your first or second option aren’t open to execute. The players are almost all a carbon copy of each other. They aren’t attacking from their spots. They are attacking from spots that a SG is supposed to take a shot from in the set SG play. The playbooks aren’t designed to get the “right players” the ball at the right place to attack based on their game. It’s designed to feed the post, or spam into the paint, or mindlessly pass the ball around the perimeter forcing a shot at the end of the shot clock. This isn’t NBA basketball, and it’s not enjoyable to play against. I want to game plan. I want to see that KD is having a monstrous 3-4 games in a row, and fear the next game that I’m going to have to stop him. I want to see that Steph has been horrid for 3-4 games, so my game plan is to not let him get going early, to keep him cold. Inside Drive also had players riding hot and cold streaks, which was phenomenal. We all remember Kobe’s outburst of scoring over the 10 or 11 games in a row. Those things matter; I want to see them implemented. If a game in 2003 can do it, a game in 2018 can do it.
3.The lack of future planning. This covers both rookies, the NBA Draft, and trades/future picks. First, I want to make sure I’m able to edit the rookie classes, in both appearance and traits (as well as names, etc.) so I can replicate the Zion Williamsons and RJ Barretts coming into the league. I want to continue my franchise, playing with replicas of those franchise-changing young players. I need to have access to do those things. But I also need to be able to trade future picks, put protections on those picks, perform blockbuster trades (three and four team trades) and include cash considerations. Cash considerations has become a big thing on social media; it’s involved in quite a bit of trades that go on in the real league. I need to see that my Cavs have won 11 games by the All-Star break, and so management decides to blow it up and ship out Kevin Love and Kyle Korver to contenders for late first-round picks (or probably a second for Korver). I need those other teams to realize they have got a legit shot to win the championship, so they will offer a trade and actively seek those opportunities to improve.
4.I want game plans to work. If I set my strategy to double someone on touch, I want it to work. If I do “Superstar Focus” then I want my defensive teammates to adjust and focus on stopping the superstar. The game plans haven’t worked in the past, or they’ve been extremely inefficient.
5.I want full control over franchise if I see fit. 30 team control. I generally don’t use it, but I do know several in the community want it.
6.We need to be able to edit rosters within franchise mode. Full control. Signature shots, attributes, tendencies. If Carmelo Anthony changes his mindset, and starts becoming a team player (the fabled Olympic Melo), I want to be able to edit those things within my current franchise. I want to edit accessories, signature shots — all of those things.
7.Downloading rosters. I want to download draft classes via a share feature. This is self explanatory. If several community members get together and work on a roster set, and tweak the players to give a better on the court product, I want to be able to “share” that roster. I’m not saying the devs aren’t doing a good job, but you have communities full of people who LOVE tweaking these things to get a more accurate representation of what they interpret as the NBA gameplay.
8.Take it online – One of the only times I enjoyed online gaming was in NBA 2K7 and NBA 2K8 where we had a group of like-minded individuals running our own setup league. I don’t remember what the site was that we used to track stats, but it was fun. Going against sim-minded individuals who played team specific, player specific, and actually ran plays was glorious. I don’t get into online gaming anymore, but there is a big part of the community that does want to run connected franchise.
9.Free Agency needs to matter. Right now, if I have money and there’s a free agent, I offer him a contract and he accepts it. There’s no suspense. There’s no rhyme or reason on who signs where. Teams will sign guys who don’t fit a need, or who will cause a logjam. I love facing off against a team of six centers, four PFs, and two SGs in year three of franchise. Make “fit” important. Make contract duration matter, and make organization direction matter. If I’m rebuilding, I don’t think a superstar should accept an offer just because I have the money. Make things matter to them. Money, contract, location, playing opportunity, etc.
There are so many things that I can add to this list, but in Live 18, these are things that should have been there. These are things that I’ve ranted about. These are things that I’ve talked with those in the community about. These are things that, in a game that aims to simulate the NBA product, should be in there by now. Re-branding, relocation, ticket sales, merchandise sales, etc. are all icing on top of the cake so to speak.