-I received various questions dealing with online play. As a general baseline, assume that not much has changed on this front beyond (hopefully) improved performance. So I would assume you can't save online playbooks. I would assume not much has changed for the online leagues. I know the lobby system isn't back. Basically, it seems like the general idea was to finally make online play work correctly from the start. Obviously, until it's actually release day, no one will know if that goal was reached, but instead of creating more potential online bugs and all that, the developers just wanted to focus on creating reliable servers so people can actually enjoy Team-Up, Crew, and everything else from the start.
It also seems like some online options were sacrificed that were buggy in the last version of the game. One example is that you can't play your single-player Association games online against others users this year. For the few who played Association mode this way -- I say few people I was one of them, but according to 2K, the numbers were minuscule in terms of who played the game this way -- the option to do this was taken out rather than fixed because it was a management of resources thing. In other words, "Hey online developers, make sure first and foremost people can actually play our game online this year from the start, then worry about fixing functionality second." I will be the first say that I am one part disappointed and one part understanding of this. Stats were borked in your Association when you played games online against others, games would disconnect and the Playoffs would literally stop working completely, but playing Association mode this way was fun when it worked. I would bet if things go smoothly with online play this year, there will be much more of a focus on adding elements to the online play (or in the case of Association games online, adding them back in) next year. On the bright side, I believe highlight reels and a lot of that end-game presentation is back in the game online this year. (Someone may have confirmed that already on here, but for now that's more of a soft-confirm from me until I can double check for myself tomorrow night.)
-You can't "insert" your own face on your created player. I don't think the developers will ever add the Xbox Live Vision Camera support element to NBA 2K, but I wouldn't be surprised if they add a way to upload a picture to use in a future version.
-There were a couple questions about the silhouettes versus real pictures. I know this was confirmed in an Insight already, but just to add a word about it, the real pictures look good. Now all the players have a unique look that is easily noticeable when you look at each player in the menus.
-The CPU will utilize zone defense (I think they already would last year), and I even saw them call for a press in a late-quarter situation -- something I don't believe the AI would do last year.
-Create-a-player looked pretty much unchanged. I readily admit I didn't spend a ton of time with creating guys last year, but I didn't notice many changes. Someone on here probably has a better handle on this than me though, so correct me if I'm wrong.
-A couple people asked about players stopping to receive a pass before actually breaking that inertia and moving back up the court. Some felt like it was noticeable in the demo, and I think I saw aholbert still noticed it in the final version. I think it's really only noticeable on outlet passes in the backcourt rather than on cuts near the hoop, but there seems to be two schools of thought on this either way. I don't necessarily think it's an issue if a guy slows down to receive a pass before getting his momentum going -- people don't always move full speed when doing everything in basketball. On the other hand, I think the issue some people have is that the "momentum" of that moment feels off -- in other words, breaking that inertia and getting back up to speed does not feel quite right. I think it will be up to the individuals to decide how they feel about it since it's a pretty subjective thing, and really, we're getting into super nitty gritty stuff that does not have a huge impact on the game.
-Jumping for rebounds and blocks is another hot topic. When speaking with developer Rob Jones about this, this seems like more of an animation issue rather than a "bug" so to speak. In the simplest terms I can put it, it seems like when they record an animation, it's the same animation for all players. So if they record a jumping animation, it may look right for a 6-foot-5 guy, but when Marc Gasol does the same animation and gets the same amount of air as the 6-foot-5 guy, it looks off because Gasol is soaring above the crowd since he's taller than everyone. It seems like Rob and co. are looking at a way in the future to make it so the animations like that one can be tweaked so a Gasol does not get as much air in certain situations as guards so things look more normal.
-The walk-up animation is another one of those hot topics on here. I sort of knew what Rob would say here before he said it because it was the same logical conclusion I came to. Basically, since the developers wanted to remove a lot of those ambient animations that took the control away from the user -- because remember one of the big tenets this year was always allowing the user to stay in control -- walk-up animations were one of the casualties. They found that people just wanted to get up the court and get into the play ASAP, so sometimes these would take away that option. One way to please both parties would be to tie these type of walk-up animations to feathering the stick in the backcourt I would think. Either way, I know the developers are at least looking at a way to implement these in some way this year, but I know it's hard to add animations into an already shipped game (I think they tend to cause more issues than solutions if they come via a patch) so I wouldn't expect them to be included this year.
-There is no weekly wrap-up show in Association, but I'm sure Erick (Sim Baller) would love to get something like this in the game. This year he really wanted to live up to his goal of creating the "smartest AI of any franchise mode across all sports" and that's where a lot of the focus went.
-People wanted me to expand on why the developers think online play will be dramatically improved this year. From everything I've heard, they implemented the new servers later in the year for 2K10, and the server code and all that was tweaked/rewritten. So now with the improved server code and new servers all in place for the start of this year, the belief/hope is that everything should go much smoother this year. In Internet equation form: new server code + new servers = WIN.
-Someone asked about team-specific intros for the Jordan Challenge Bulls games. I don't believe there are, but I brought this question up simply to say the intro to NBA 2K11 is fantastic, and I don't want to spoil it for anyone else -- assuming it hasn't been posted yet (I hope it hasn't).
-Plays can be initiated outside the blue play circle -- some of the videos have shown as much. On some teams, plays can be initiated by someone other than the PG, but it depends on the team (sup Miami). I had a good time with the Suns playbook because you can actually call plays as you come up the court and pretty much be in them as you get into the frontcourt. So, it seems like you can really rock a seven seconds or less offense with the Suns. PS, I ANNIHILATED Rob Jones by one point in our 2K showdown. My Suns took down his classic Sonics -- Payton missed a buzzer beater.
-There are 10-day contracts (I believe these were already in the game last year). And as a nice little touch, it's realistic in that you can't offer them until later in the year.
-The Draft Lottery is still an offseason thing on your calendar -- it does not happen during the NBA playoffs.
-Progression/Regression in Association should lead to Draft busts/surprises. This is something that needs to be tested, but SimBaller gave me some examples from his own test franchises that made it sound promising when it came to uncertainty with players.
-You can't poach assistants from other teams.
-The All-Star game just occurs at a generic location after the first year, so I guess it's a "no" to the changing locale for the All-Star game.
-You can't manually injure guys in Association like in The Show.
-Copying this question because it's hard to respond clearly without it: "I read that coaches influence what type of style the team runs. So does this mean that coaches now bring their playbooks and such to other teams? Effectively changing the style and tempo of one team to fit their style? Could this mean realistic coach movements? Could we see a team like The Spurs, once Popovich moves on, and they're taken over by a coach who loves to run, have the whole landscape of their franchise turned around by being filled with guys who can get up and down the court and not play much defense?"
My understanding is that you generally have it correct Mr. OS User. The coach will take his style to another team. In addition, the AI teams do take into account the coach and try to mold the team around that style. However, it may not happen overnight since the coach is just one element in the equation, and it's hard to turnover a whole team overnight in the NBA.
-Extra classic teams in DLC form is something you probably shouldn't expect. I think the developers have some potential DLC plans but no guarantees any see the light of day.
-Don't think there is a create-a-coach feature.
-Not much (if anything) was changed for the scouting system within Association mode (sorry CHoops fans).
-There was a question about what happens with the AI within the difficulty levels this year. Some people felt like the FG% for the AI was the only change. I believe the HOF level is still shenanigans this year in terms of the AI never missing their shooting window etc. Basically, it's the kick you in the balls level again for those who just want to game the game and try to beat it at its own BS. As for the other levels, Rob seems to think it's more about the focus you have to have rather than feeling like the AI is screwing you in the shooting percentage department this year. If you slouch on Superstar, you're going to get burned when the AI notices you are giving it the middle of the court rather than forcing baseline etc. Superstar seems like it will be for the truly focused and hardcore, and I bet I will fall into line with All-Star simulation style with perhaps a slider tweak or two.
-There are a ton of new sounds in the game, and yes, I think you can edit pretty much all of them if you think it's not authentic enough.
-The new Magic court is in the game, but 2K was not allowed to see the new arena itself because it was still under construction at the time -- apparently they literally were not allowed inside to take pictures because it was considered too dangerous (remember they do this type of work months and months in advance of the game coming out). As an aside, I think some people were saying the Cavs court was wrong this year. 2K gets all their stuff from the NBA, so if it's wrong, then it's most likely because the Cavs made a late change rather than the art team being "incompetent" or whatever.
-There is no "authentic" option in Association mode like the one in NHL 11 so draft picks that have been traded in real life are reflected the same way in the game -- sorry Rockets fans.
-Jordan is not sitting on the end of the bench at Bobcats games -- so the game pretty much mimics the real thing.
-I believe there is an option to make the controls "absolute" rather than camera relative for dunking and all that. I have to double check when I get home tomorrow, but I'm pretty sure it's there.
-You guys have seen the short shorts in the game, but I still say they should be a bit tighter than they are -- the tightness not the shortness was the classic thing about those shorts.
-People have mentioned some PS3 graphical issues (I think reflections, jaggies most notably?). I know the jaggies is something that's just the PS3 hardware since it does not have anti-aliasing. However, the differences are not intentional or because the 360 is the "lead" platform rather than the PS3 etc. My understanding is some developers have PS3 kits, others have 360s, and they just work on what they have. There is not a "lead" platform, although I think the PC version is actually the "definitive" version this year (at least at the start) because they had a couple extra weeks to tune the game on that version. Plus, the PC version does have the glorious mods and full-on 360 controller support this year with button icons showing up and everything. AND the PC version is cheaper (PC gaming is not dead, eat ittttt haters).
-Some were mentioning how some of the reds in the game look pink and some of the greens look lime green. I can't really comment on the validity of this yet from my perspective until I get home Friday night, but much like with the Cavs court potentially having the wrong color scheme, I don't think the art team would do something like this on purpose. I know the art team is crazy obsessive at 2K, and I'm sure since art is their livelihood, that this would not be an intentional error. But, I'm not trying to say it's user error or that people maybe aren't calibrating their TVs right -- because again I have to check it out for myself -- just that the art team is super cereal (intentional botching of the word serious there) about all this.
-The Hall of Fame is in the game this year. I forgot to specifically ask if your My Player can make it to the HOF, but it seems like a logical thought progression to me.
-There are all-time lists in the Association mode to an extent (basically I think they are limited to only so many players on each list). There are team and NBA records that can be broken by your players.
-You can't use real-world roster updates in an ongoing Association.
-If you put a classic team in for a current team in Association, those players vanish from Association. This was done because it would throw the salary cap situation and everything out of whack if you replaced the Pistons and then Rip Hamilton and Prince etc. were all free agents. If you use a classic team, those guys will age like normal and everything.
-DRose's jumper is changed. I think it's an OK upgrade, but I need to get a couple more looks at it to get a better opinion. I really love the change to Nash's jumper this year -- I think 2K finally nailed his shot.
-No dunk contest/3-point shootout in the Association. You just get the Rookie/Soph game and All-Star game.
-I couldn't get a solid confirmation on whether or not the fans will come all in white or blue or whatever color the home team is when the playoffs come around. I know the presentation is enhanced for the Playoffs, but I'll need to check out how the fans are dressed on my own (that is if no one else checked yet).
-No sign and trades in Association. I think people underestimate how complicated a sign and trade is to complete in the first place -- and for people to even understand -- so this shouldn't really come as a surprise.
-On the topic of importing a My Player. They obviously didn't do it this year because they retooled the progression and all that good stuff. While it's not ruled out for next year, it's not confirmed that you will be able to import a My Player to the 2012 version yet either.
-You will not see "games in progress" updates for Association mode games. You will just see games that are final or coming up later in the night during those presentation moments.
-The way charges are taken is changed in that you do have the right-stick defensive stuff now. Beyond that, since they tried to remove all the "canimations" the charges will hopefully make more sense this year. I know last year I did not agree with many of the charge calls in the game -- that goes both ways in that I thought some calls should be charges that were blocking fouls, and some blocking fouls I thought should be charges.
-I saw some questions about the substitution system in My Player. Even if you are way worse than a Tony Parker and also a PG, the coach is still going to play you more than Tony if you perform better than him during your time on the court. However, it's apparently harder to break in with those situations this year. SimBaller was telling me how one developer was having a lot of issues trying to break into the PG rotation on the Suns because Nash was taking all his minutes. But the point here is the coach does not care about overall rating, just what you do with your minutes on the court.
-End-game strategy was addressed this year in that they wanted to make sure the AI was not waiting until the last second to shoot or not getting a shot off at all. When I spoke with Rob about this, he said that in issue in last year's game was more that the AI might call a play and then would try to run all the way through it -- even if it might end up being a shot for DFish rather than Kobe. It doesn't seem like the AI strategy is as deep as getting in good free-throw shooters when up late or anything to that level yet, but at the bare minimum, it seems like the AI should get shots off.
-In My Player, if you gain the trust of the organization by performing and being a good soldier, assuming all goes well, by the first offseason you should be able to have input in terms of saying "I want so and so traded" or "you should trade for so and so guy." It doesn't mean all of it will happen immediately, but you do get to have that input.
-In My Player, your grade is worth way more in the progression points area than what you actually do stat-wise on the court.
-I believe Jordan's looks only "age" in the Jordan mode. So if you import a Jordan team into Association, Jordan will still age in that he will retire eventually but you won't see him go through his physical changes.
-Obviously, the slim-fit style Revolution jerseys are not in the game, though clearly the jerseys have been updated this year. I would think the art team/whoever handles textures and physics of jersey movements would need much more time to implement a slim-fit look into the game.
-It doesn't seem like every star player will re-up with their squad this year, or at least SimBaller noticed this issue and set out to correct it.
-Players can't be held out of games if they become so unhappy with their franchise, but you will actually see them dog it/jog at points on the court if they become totally miserable in Association mode.
-Posting these questions in a list since they were all questions by a user trying to get back into an NBA game for the first time since the Genesis (welcome back!)
1. Is this game better all-around from what 2K did with the latest NHL series for the 360 they gave us?
-Kind of an odd comparison, but I'll simply answer it by saying I'm pretty sure no game can match up to this one in terms of the amount that was added between one year and the next content-wise.
2. In the game, is there a way to control only one player instead of the entire team on the playground?
-I assume you mean being locked to one player on the court? If so, yes there is a My Player mode based just around this element of controlling your own created player. Also, you get to be locked to Jordan for his whole career if you beat the Jordan Challenge mode and start his career anew on whatever team you want.
3. Will a person that's not a basketball addict and know it all strategies be able to have fun and play that game without beeing torched by the CPU?
-Hard for me to answer completely without playing the game much so far, but the game has always been very scalable, and this year more so than others it should be that way since there are different difficulty levels and different game styles you can select on top of that (arcade or simulation being two examples of game style).
4. Is this game solid when playing against the CPU and not online?
-I've had beef with the AI in the past, but I generally just like to play online rather than against the AI. But early returns seem to be that users with the game are liking the AI so far. When I watched an AI vs AI game earlier while talking with developers, I was certainly impressed with the AI as well. Plus there are sliders and everything else to customize the experience if you don't like something about the AI.
