NBA 2K20 Demo Discussion

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NBA 2K20 Demo Discussion

Postby Andrew on Wed Aug 21, 2019 2:23 pm

The NBA 2K20 demo launches in less than 12 hours, so might as well get the "official" topic up and running in preparation.

Like I've said elsewhere, I'm over MyCAREER and ready to move on this year, but I am interested to see what they've done with the new MyPLAYER Builder. For those who are going to keep running with MyCAREER and/or the connected online experiences, I hope it pans out as well as intended. I miss having a quarter or two of regular NBA gameplay to mess around with - the 2KU Tutorial is OK for that but obviously not quite the same - but it should still be sufficient to get a feel for what they've done with the motion engine this year.
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Re: NBA 2K20 Demo Discussion

Postby bluejaybrandon on Wed Aug 21, 2019 2:31 pm

Is the thought that they’ll do Raptors-Warriors as the tutorial game? I know previously they did the title teams but I’m not sure either one of those teams is hyped in the same way as previous years. Is there any confirmation on who the teams are?
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Re: NBA 2K20 Demo Discussion

Postby Andrew on Wed Aug 21, 2019 2:44 pm

It's generally the previous year's finalists. It was Cavs/Warriors last year (in the demo and full version) despite LeBron already signing with the Lakers and thus leaving the Cavs rather less exciting to play with. With that in mind, Kawhi going to the Clippers probably won't stand in the way of it being Raptors/Warriors.
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Re: NBA 2K20 Demo Discussion

Postby Andrew on Thu Aug 22, 2019 1:33 am

Demo is out now. For those who'd like to give face scanning a try, the MyNBA2K20 companion app is also available:

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... 0&hl=en_US
iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/my-nba-2k20/id1470680525

Note that without an NBA 2K20 Demo save/data file, you won't be able to use the face scan, so make sure the demo is installed first.
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Re: NBA 2K20 Demo Discussion

Postby [Hyperize] on Thu Aug 22, 2019 1:15 pm

"You have built a 3PT Shooter with similarities of Shawn Marion, Brandon Ingram and Giannis"
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Re: NBA 2K20 Demo Discussion

Postby Andrew on Thu Aug 22, 2019 1:25 pm

So I've been messing around in 2KU first, since I'm looking at getting back to traditional gameplay this year. I'll get into the MyPLAYER Builder in due course.

The new motion and dribbling systems definitely take some getting used to. They aren't as free as NBA 2K18 and NBA 2K19, which means they're less floaty and players have more weight/better foot planting. At the same time, it's got a bit of the same clunkiness that NBA Live does, which I guess makes sense since they've gone to a similar system. I think it could stand to be more responsive, though it is still better than NBA Live in that regard. Players do feel a step slow, but it could be a case of getting used to the movement. I am pretty used to flying around the court in NBA 2K19, so it's an adjustment. As noted by Da_Czar on Twitter, we do have to change up the way we use Turbo/Sprint this year.

Obviously the scrimmage is on Rookie difficulty, because I was hitting a lot of shots that I don't expect to in proper gameplay on a more suitable difficulty. That's always an issue with demos as it naturally leaves a more positive impression when you can do whatever you like. You feel like a wizard on the sticks, and you get that thrill when you see shots go in and make stops. The scrimmage environment also makes it difficult to see if the "press steal to foul" issue remains from previous years. As it stands, you can see some legacy issues with elbow blocks, players taking ages to chase down the ball for the inbound, warping, and so forth. I wasn't expecting all of that to be cleaned up, though. If you're expecting perfection then you'll be disappointed, but if you're setting the bar at a more realistic level, it's more than acceptable.

I'm liking the off-ball movement. Less standing around from teammates and more getting into position, making good cuts, and trying to get open, without even manually calling plays. That bodes well for the traditional offline experience. Players still get stuck on each other a bit, but it didn't feel as frustrating as in years past. Rebounding feels a little better, but there were a couple of sequences that felt somewhat canned, so I'll reserve final judgement until I've played the demo (and full game) more. It was nice to see the CPU take advantage of loose defense when I was slacking off a bit, and it looks like players such as Curry will rightfully Green shots when left wide open. Again, hard to gauge effectiveness and frequency on Rookie difficulty, but their ability to Green didn't feel too OP and unbalanced. I'm optimistic about that change.

It's going to take some more adjustments to get used to the feel of the game and the proper usage of Turbo/Sprint, but so far, it's promising. Next step is to dive into the MyPLAYER Builder and see how that side of things is this year.
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Re: NBA 2K20 Demo Discussion

Postby Andrew on Thu Aug 22, 2019 1:42 pm

Guess I'll try again later?

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Re: NBA 2K20 Demo Discussion

Postby Dee4Three on Thu Aug 22, 2019 2:31 pm

Just played the demo. The 5 on 5 and 2KU.

The change of direction is still clunky, and foot planting could be better. Speed breaks seem to still be an issue.

Shooting feels fine, and I am seeing new dunk animations.

Player movement is so important though. I hope the final product has better player movement overall.
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Re: NBA 2K20 Demo Discussion

Postby [Q] on Thu Aug 22, 2019 5:12 pm

Downloaded it, will try it tomorrow
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Re: NBA 2K20 Demo Discussion

Postby ThePointForward on Thu Aug 22, 2019 5:21 pm

Stuff I wrote on Twitter:

  • As a 7 footer I got double teamed the moment I had 4 points.
  • Again as a 7 footer I was unable to contact dunk from right below the rim on a guard. Relevant badges and skills equipped.
  • Lack of AI defense shows now a lot when my team lets Curry shoot with 7% coverage
  • Ball teleporting also stands out (video at https://twitter.com/ThePointFwd/status/1164268588196388865)
  • "Bad Call for Pass" also now gives you teammate grade instead of removing it. IMO it's not a good thing to have in the first place.
  • The switching is weird again, lots of time it switched my 7 footer on Steph Curry for small screens the Lowry could've gotten around.
  • Some playcalling was suspicious - Warriors trailing by 1 point with 28 seconds left bring the ball up the court and then call their last timeout.
  • Me trying to grab loose ball didn't work with neither Y or X. See vid. I suspect the two AI guys were locked in animation. (video at https://twitter.com/ThePointFwd/status/1164271080309215232)
  • Here's an example of bad Defense by AI: Under no circumstance you'd ever let Klay Thompson be wide open in the corner, let alone in double OT with 9 seconds left.
    You do that as a player and you're getting reamed out by coaching staff. Yet this is what happens for over a year. (video at https://twitter.com/ThePointFwd/status/1164273389332291584)


Overall it definitely feels better and you do have more freedom.
The new builder is nice improvement, but not perfect. It still doesn't give you complete freedom, just more fine tuning. Still you have a bunch of presets for the pie chart distribution.
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Re: NBA 2K20 Demo Discussion

Postby Andrew on Thu Aug 22, 2019 6:11 pm

Good observations.

Unfortunately, I'm still getting the connection error every time I try to use the MyPLAYER Builder.
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Re: NBA 2K20 Demo Discussion

Postby ThePointForward on Thu Aug 22, 2019 6:21 pm

The demo is missing the ability to change animations from default with exception of jumphot. Blow bys are reportedly harder in full game as the fix didn't make it into the demo.

I'm interested in how OVR progression will work in full game as they mentioned that once you reach 95 OVR the rest will depend on your level of play. So presumably you have to put up good games to rise and stay at 99 OVR.

I'm also interested how badges will work. In demo you get to equip all your potential badges, but in full game I assume you'll grind to unlock those slots.

Overall yes, it adds quite a bit of freedom, but it's kinda just more loose archetype system. You still choose your general archetype, but you get to choose from several physical options (distribution of speed, acceleration, vertical and strength) and then fine tune your skill caps.
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Re: NBA 2K20 Demo Discussion

Postby Andrew on Thu Aug 22, 2019 6:26 pm

Yeah, I'm not sure how I feel about the 96-99 system. It reminds me of not being able to get to that point unless you upped your Park Rep in NBA 2K17, which I really disliked. Apparently you can reach 99 playing NBA games this year, but it'll be tougher. I suppose it makes sense conceptually as a real player would need to play extraordinarily well and maintain that level of play to be rated 99, but there's still an element of gatekeeping about it. Probably not going to be an issue for me, but not sure it's the best or fairest way to go for people who are going to be into the whole Road to 99 deal this year.
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Re: NBA 2K20 Demo Discussion

Postby Andrew on Thu Aug 22, 2019 6:38 pm

At least I'm not alone with the connection issues: https://www.reddit.com/r/NBA2k/comments ... ing_after/
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Re: NBA 2K20 Demo Discussion

Postby ThePointForward on Thu Aug 22, 2019 6:59 pm

Yup, seems like Switch and ANZ servers are shagged. More than usual at least.

BTW a tip some people might have missed: In 2KU you can change the type of practice by back button (xbox) or touch pad (ps4).
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Re: NBA 2K20 Demo Discussion

Postby Andrew on Thu Aug 22, 2019 11:06 pm

It'd be nice if they acknowledged it, at least.
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Re: NBA 2K20 Demo Discussion

Postby MrArni on Sat Aug 24, 2019 3:56 am

Can't understand is it so difficult to make realistic basket net? Every year is the same bullsh*t.
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Re: NBA 2K20 Demo Discussion

Postby [Q] on Sat Aug 24, 2019 8:22 am

Played it, got killed by Curry bombing 3s lol

I do like the customizable archetype, and I got a 2 way player, similar to Tim Hardaway, CP3, and Muggsy Bogues.

I found it very difficult to stay with Curry, especially when he had the ball. I'd react but I think the animations for changing direction would be too long and by the time I recover, he's already shooting an open 3.

Maybe I sucked because I didn't know the controls or it was my first 2k since 2k16

This was also my first experience with metered layups and it was frustrating to say the least. The margin for error or length of time needed to hold for a layup should be longer or shorter depending on how close you are to the basket and how close the defender is. I missed a wide open layup on a fast break when I really needed it, down 10 points or so.
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Re: NBA 2K20 Demo Discussion

Postby maumau78 on Mon Aug 26, 2019 10:15 pm

Dee4Three wrote:Just played the demo. The 5 on 5 and 2KU.

The change of direction is still clunky, and foot planting could be better. Speed breaks seem to still be an issue.

Shooting feels fine, and I am seeing new dunk animations.

Player movement is so important though. I hope the final product has better player movement overall.



Is the "new" motion engine similar to NBA Live 19??' Becouse Live motion / footplant looks good...at least on videos I didn't play the game ......

To me the lack of a good motion engine was the biggest problem with 2k19......
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Re: NBA 2K20 Demo Discussion

Postby Andrew on Mon Aug 26, 2019 10:40 pm

It feels kind of similar in terms of pace and some of the dribbling mechanics. It's definitely taken a similar approach as far as chaining together animations rather than going into predetermined dribbling packages, as in years past.

I did get a chance to try out the MyPLAYER Builder. As people have said, it's a shame we can only play the one game with each build, and have a limited amount of slots with no easy way of erasing them all within the demo itself. I have mixed feelings about the new system, as it does feel like Archetypes without being called Archetypes. The starting ratings and capped ratings seem very low as well, though by the same token, they do seem to be effective enough. Clearly Badges will be more important than ever in that regard. I don't like the approach of jumpshot speed being governed by a Badge rather than the animation; it feels like a wrong step after making a right one by eliminating Free Throw Ace in favour of a traditional rating. I can see a couple of Badges that are probably going to cause issues with balance, as well. The Intimidator Badge comes to mind.

One of the biggest issues is not being able to see what kind of play style/Archetype you've created under the new system, until you've finalised your player. I reckon there should be some kind of display similar to the play style that was shown in NBA Live 16's attribute upgrades screen, that changes as you mould your player and their style/Archetypes is altered accordingly. I'd have to agree with those who have been saying that it doesn't feel like we have as much control over the build as we were led to believe, that all the pie charts and ratings caps screens make it seem deeper and more flexible than it is. The approach to Badges is clearly different and I think that's potentially a good thing, but other than that it's not the revolution or evolution I was expecting.

Again, probably a moot point for someone like me who's weary of MyCAREER and looking to play something else this year anyway, but I'd still like the mode to be as good as it can be, and I'm not sure it took the step forward that it needed to. It remains to be seen what happens with additional pie charts and balancing, to say nothing of whether MyPOINTS get nerfed again this year as they did shortly after NBA 2K19's release. Either way, it was interesting to check it out ahead of release. As I said in Episode #296 of the NLSC Podcast, it didn't exactly sway me from my plan to move away from MyCAREER this year, but I hope it works out fine for the folks who are still keen on the mode and its connected experiences.
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