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[whitemex88]

I'm done playing on Switch. I'm at the second round of the Shanghai tourney and the CPU defense is ridiculous, literally stealing every single time, then they don't miss a single shot and when I swipe the ball away from them, they seem to recover the ball, even on shoves so I end up wasting my my lottery pick bar.

 

[Dizzan]

The patch sounds promising.

I have a feeling I'll be waiting a long time for MJ to be added 😒

 

[JohngPR]

Except that the Lottery Picks system removes a lot of the skill at higher levels of play. Whoever is down will get a huge boost from the Lottery Picks, granting them a big advantage and potentially a free win. The new strat could easily change to just staying slightly behind until the last minute of the game, then go for a Lottery Pick and win.

Sounds a lot worse than trading 3s and having your defense win games. With defense getting big nerfs this is no longer possible.

Nothing is stopping the other team from trying to do the same thing with the lottery picks to even it out.

I'd much rather have this than just shooting a 3 every time you have the ball to keep up with the other guy. I would much rather the emphasis be on dunks because that was the emphasis on games like NBA Jam, which this is trying to emulate.

I guess we won't really know until we see the patch in action, but I think these are positive steps that will get people to pick players other than Steph Curry and Iverson in online matches.

The patch sounds promising.

I have a feeling I'll be waiting a long time for MJ to be added ��

He's not part of the retired players association so they would have to strike up a separate deal with him to be in the game. Considering this is a $20 game made by a no name publisher, I would be pleasantly surprised if it ever happens.

 

[Wasp14]

I'm done playing on Switch. I'm at the second round of the Shanghai tourney and the CPU defense is ridiculous, literally stealing every single time, then they don't miss a single shot and when I swipe the ball away from them, they seem to recover the ball, even on shoves so I end up wasting my my lottery pick bar.

Same here. I managed to get to the finals on the Shanghai tournament and have lost at least a dozen times. Twice I was up by 10 or more points and then in the final minute and a half the CPU went God mode and scored 15 points straight to win. I actually had a 40-38 lead with two seconds left and the CPU stole the ball and scored a three pointer for the win. It's far too cheap and frustrating to be enjoyable.

I ended up calling Nintendo and requesting a refund (my first time ever for a digital game) after the patch went from being a "few days after launch" to weeks. Maybe I'll pick it up again when it's fixed. I'm also not a fan of the blurred visuals in handheld mode and the broken rumble.

 

[arimanius]

Same here. I managed to get to the finals on the Shanghai tournament and have lost at least a dozen times. Twice I was up by 10 or more points and then in the final minute and a half the CPU went God mode and scored 15 points straight to win. I actually had a 40-38 lead with two seconds left and the CPU stole the ball and scored a three pointer for the win. It's far too cheap and frustrating to be enjoyable.

I ended up calling Nintendo and requesting a refund (my first time ever for a digital game) after the patch went from being a "few days after launch" to weeks. Maybe I'll pick it up again when it's fixed. I'm also not a fan of the blurred visuals in handheld mode and the broken rumble.

Were you able to get a refund? I may look into this.

 

[KooPaL]

Were you able to get a refund? I may look into this.

Yea I would probably do the same if I could. I finished all the Tourney and packs are just so annoying to get now.

 

[Wasp14]

Were you able to get a refund? I may look into this.

Yes. They said it would be a one time exception and that they don't normally do refunds but it went through.

 

[PadWarrior]

Yes. They said it would be a one time exception and that they don't normally do refunds but it went through.

I may do this as well.

 

[DrDogg]

Nothing is stopping the other team from trying to do the same thing with the lottery picks to even it out.

I'd much rather have this than just shooting a 3 every time you have the ball to keep up with the other guy. I would much rather the emphasis be on dunks because that was the emphasis on games like NBA Jam, which this is trying to emulate.

I guess we won't really know until we see the patch in action, but I think these are positive steps that will get people to pick players other than Steph Curry and Iverson in online matches.

If you wait until the last minute there wouldn't be time for the other player to do it. The problem is in how the Lottery system works and how you can easily get a super advantageous Lottery if you're losing.

Honestly, after the patch that fixed stealing, the game was fine. Make shooting easier for people who complained and that's it. Now there's almost no defense, 3s aren't nearly as effective and the Lottery system determines who wins. Doesn't sound like fun to me...

 

[dragonyeuw]

Why does every game have to have some progression garbage tacked onto it? In this case, the unlocking of players.

The alternative would be games with everything unlocked that offers little incentive to continue playing after a while. Does that sound better?

 

[CD'S BAR]

The alternative would be games with everything unlocked that offers little incentive to continue playing after a while. Does that sound better?

I'm definitely in the camp that likes to unlock stuff (I hate grinding though), but he has a point. The fun of playing the game itself ideally should be incentive enough to keep coming back to it.

 

[NateDrake]

The slow roll-out of patches and updates to Switch is doing this game no favors. We went from "days after launch" for online to now it being "days/weeks". Communicate the updates better, or give a better window of release.

 

[derFeef]

The slow roll-out of patches and updates to Switch is doing this game no favors. We went from "days after launch" for online to now it being "days/weeks". Communicate the updates better, or give a better window of release.

I wonder whats the hold-up. Nintendo or internal QA priorites.
It's ridiculous either way.

 

[TheGreatMightyPoo]

I wonder whats the hold-up. Nintendo or internal QA priorites.
It's ridiculous either way.

At least a third party Nintendo game is getting updates...

 

[alr1ght]

The alternative would be games with everything unlocked that offers little incentive to continue playing after a while. Does that sound better?

Yes it does. I don't need a carrot on a stick if the gameplay is good.

 

[TheChewyWaffles]

So XP slows down post-patch? Time to stop playing.

 

[TheGreatMightyPoo]

Yes it does. I don't need a carrot on a stick if the gameplay is good.

Maybe you don't but most seem to like unlocking things.
People even complained about the lack of it in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

 

[selo]

Notable Changes:
Adjusted: Shots were adjusted to make the system more accessible and unified throughout all variations
Adjusted: The steal action was adjusted further to better fit the intended gameplay
It is now possible to perform a steal action when behind an opponent

But the cpu does this to me all the time

 

[ScientificPizza]

In tournament mode with 2 point shot challenges do they need to be jumpshots? I need to get 20 points with 2 point shots but doing it with dunks didn't seem to count

 

[RiggityRice]

Dunks DO NOT count. Layups and Jumpshots are all g. I had to look it up on gamefaqs because the game does not do a good job explaining it. Played that match more than 5 times trying to find out what the fuck was going on, I thought maybe it was broken but thankfully, the internet.

 

[RichiRamjag]

At least a third party Nintendo game is getting updates...

Bomberman got some good ones.

 

[ScientificPizza]

Dunks DO NOT count. Layups and Jumpshots are all g. I had to look it up on gamefaqs because the game does not do a good job explaining it. Played that match more than 5 times trying to find out what the fuck was going on, I thought maybe it was broken but thankfully, the internet.

Man that's annoying

 

[modsbox]

So I figured I'd grind to 50 in my seemingly neverending quest to get Steph and Durant, before the 100xp per exhibition reduction to 40xp in the patch (still not out on PS4 I guess?) lands.

Can confirm that the pack you get when you hit 50 is gold. For kicks I ground through essentially up to 51 and it kept me at 50, gave me another gold pack for doing so, but didn't show the fanfare in the UI.

It legit looked like it didn't even give me a pack, but I went back out to the menu and a new gold pack was there.

There seems to be some code that makes it want to give you at least one new player for each gold pack, whereas I had had multiple times while grinding up to 50 where I got 5 repeats. I now finally have Steph and Durant. Still no Stockton.

For now I'm keeping my PS4 from auto updating so I can keep grinding to get the rest of the players-- I think I'm missing about 10 now-- before the lower XP kicks in.

Worth mentioning also is that the recommendation from another user here that if you get a repeat player but that player is maxed the 100xp it would normally give to upgrading that player does go back into your bar. So it's worth it as you grind to keep switching players to keep Maxing them, so that when you get dupes you at least get the 100xp back (if you've maxed that player).

 

[hbkdx12]

So I figured I'd grind to 50 in my seemingly neverending quest to get Steph and Durant, before the 100xp per exhibition reduction to 40xp in the patch (still not out on PS4 I guess?) lands.

Can confirm that the pack you get when you hit 50 is gold. For kicks I ground through essentially up to 51 and it kept me at 50, gave me another gold pack for doing so, but didn't show the fanfare in the UI.

It legit looked like it didn't even give me a pack, but I went back out to the menu and a new gold pack was there.

There seems to be some code that makes it want to give you at least one new player for each gold pack, whereas I had had multiple times while grinding up to 50 where I got 5 repeats. I now finally have Steph and Durant. Still no Stockton.

For now I'm keeping my PS4 from auto updating so I can keep grinding to get the rest of the players-- I think I'm missing about 10 now-- before the lower XP kicks in.

Worth mentioning also is that the recommendation from another user here that if you get a repeat player but that player is maxed the 100xp it would normally give to upgrading that player does go back into your bar. So it's worth it as you grind to keep switching players to keep Maxing them, so that when you get dupes you at least get the 100xp back (if you've maxed that player).

I think im at level 20. Not accounting for the xp increase with each level, at the moment I have to win like 10 games to get to the next level which effectively means i'm looking at another ~300 games before the patch significantly reduces the xp earned to get to level 50 with guaranteed gold packs.

lol

 

[ScientificPizza]

I won the French final 59-58 in double overtime after being down 20 points at one time. This game is far from perfect but there are moments when it's just great

 

[f@luS]

No news of switch online ? This is a scam !

 

[SonicXtreme]

i wouldn't call it a scam, it's just been released in beta. it hasn't been out that long man. shitty of them to do but tbh there have been multiple years where i bought nba 2k on PC and the online hasn't worked for over a month. so it might as well have just not been in the game until then XD

i do think it was released too early but it does seem that the team is listening to the community heavily and working hard on improving the game based on our feedback. shitty that we are the beta testers but i'm ok with double dipping on this game since it seems like they will work hard to improve the game over the coming months.

 

[TheOohChild]

This is getting shitty. The expert AI is feeling very predictable after a couple dozen games, and I was hoping that would bridge the gap between the online patch release. This purchase is starting to bum me out a bit.

 

[Moondrop]

i wouldn't call it a scam, it's just been released in beta. it hasn't been out that long man.

Knowing what we know now, were the developers speaking honestly when they gave this press release:

The online play for NBA Playgrounds Switch will *not* be available at launch – it will arrive a few days after launch via an update.

Or is it the case that the developers knew at that time online for Switch would not in fact "arrive a few days after launch," but told a lie because the truth would hurt their sales? And would that lie not be the literal definition of a scam?

 

[AndrewDean84xX]

I ended up getting the Switch version. Just played my first few games. Very fun. There's a learning curve, which I'm cool with. I like that the game fits the portable gaming life, with its short games. I can get a game in on my 10 minute work breaks and a few during my lunch hour.

Yeah, the loading isn't the best, but coming off of Prey for the Xbox One with it's stupid long load times, this games are nothing.

The one thing I'm very disappointed with is the sub-native resolution in portable mode. I haven't played it docked yet, but the game is in no way running at 720p on the switch screen.

 

[bumpkin]

Dunks DO NOT count. Layups and Jumpshots are all g. I had to look it up on gamefaqs because the game does not do a good job explaining it. Played that match more than 5 times trying to find out what the fuck was going on, I thought maybe it was broken but thankfully, the internet.

I finally beat this challenge last night with seconds to spare. It might have been easier if I used players with crazy steal ratings in addition to good 2 pointer ratings, but I wanted to keep earning XP for some of the new players I got in a pack. I basically had to wait until the CPU scored so I could get possession again and they kept dancing all over the court making needless passes and wasting my time.

The ones I'm really not looking forward to trying to beat are the ones related to consecutive shots of a specific type; especially "spectacular dunks." IIRC, that particular one is against a pair who have ridiculous block ratings making it a miracle if you take it to the rim once. The block ones are kind of a bitch, too.

I ended up getting the Switch version. Just played my first few games. Very fun. There's a learning curve, which I'm cool with. I like that the game fits the portable gaming life, with its short games. I can get a game in on my 10 minute work breaks and a few during my lunch hour.

Yeah, the loading isn't the best, but coming off of Prey for the Xbox One with it's stupid long load times, this games are nothing.

The one thing I'm very disappointed with is the sub-native resolution in portable mode. I haven't played it docked yet, but the game is in no way running at 720p on the switch screen.

I got it for Switch too and I'm pretty happy with the purchase. I could pretend that I'm pissed about the delay in online functionality, but I'd be lying. The only way I'll play this online is against friends, I'd never do against randoms, and isn't friend-vs-friend still on their roadmap of the game (i.e. not available yet on any platform)?

 

[modsbox]

This is getting shitty. The expert AI is feeling very predictable after a couple dozen games, and I was hoping that would bridge the gap between the online patch release. This purchase is starting to bum me out a bit.

One recommendation I have if you are trying to win the tournaments is to pick the tallest player you've got with the best 3pt ranking, ideally 9 or 10, then pick the best player for blocks (ideally a 10 like David Robinson or Rudy Gobert) as the other.

As you play make sure you win the tip, give it to the 3pt shooter for the 3 every time. On defense control the 10 block player and stay near whoever's got the ball then hit block to jump as soon as you see their player start to take a shot.

With this strategy it's pretty easy to win each of the tournaments. The game against Dirk took me a few tries but that's it.

If anyone has tips for me on how to consitently steal I'd love to hear them. I'm good at blocking but whenever I try to steal the computer just dishes to the other player immediately.

 

[TheGreatMightyPoo]

CEO of Saber(who is great with questions and suggestions on the game) on the Switch first update:

Switch is patched and waiting approval. Nintendo is awesome but with the new platform it is crazy slow. By the time it comes out we will have another one still in the queue

 

[derFeef]

CEO of Saber(who is great with questions and suggestions on the game) on the Switch first update:

Switch is patched and waiting approval. Nintendo is awesome but with the new platform it is crazy slow. By the time it comes out we will have another one still in the queue

So we won't get the balance and gameplay changes with the first patch it seems.

 

[bumpkin]

CEO of Saber(who is great with questions and suggestions on the game) on the Switch first update:

Switch is patched and waiting approval. Nintendo is awesome but with the new platform it is crazy slow. By the time it comes out we will have another one still in the queue

Fuuuuuu...

So where is the line, then? We are waiting on patch 1 - presumably online play - but that means we aren't getting patch 2 - gameplay balancing/tweaks - for even longer?

Sounds like a line of BS to me since other third party games have gotten timely updates since their release, but whatever.

 

[boybrushdRED]

PC got patched again. Waiting for the download to complete. Hopefully, they fixed the exhibition xp nerf.

http://steamcommunity.com/games/545270/announcements/detail/1271551010163682521

We're releasing this patch to address some of the issues we saw following the release of patch 1.1.0. We also added the option to hide the shot meter as it was requested by many of you.

Notable Fixes:
Added a percentage of success to the shooting attempts according to the stats of the player
The Shot Meter now has a gradient color to indicate the chance of success based on the various factors that influence the attempt (such as distant and stat of the chosen player)
Added the option to toggle on or off the Shot Meter in the Options Menu
Balancing and general improvements
Localization fixes

Thanks for your support.

 

[zeeaykay]

The switch situation sucks, but I have to give them props for how quickly they are implementing changes due to fan feedback.

 

[TheGreatMightyPoo]

The switch situation sucks, but I have to give them props for how quickly they are implementing changes due to fan feedback.

So much this.
They are even doing more commentary recording for the game in 9 days.

 

[dragonyeuw]

I'm definitely in the camp that likes to unlock stuff (I hate grinding though), but he has a point. The fun of playing the game itself ideally should be incentive enough to keep coming back to it.

Some may even argue that part of the 'fun' is in the unlocking mechanic, but to each their own as far as 'fun' goes.

Yes it does. I don't need a carrot on a stick if the gameplay is good.

It's entirely possible for a game to have great gameplay while still retaining a reward system. NBA Street vol 2 had incredibly satisfying gameplay that was in no way hampered by the ability to unlock players.

 

[ScientificPizza]

The switch situation sucks, but I have to give them props for how quickly they are implementing changes due to fan feedback.

Yeah they do really seem to be listening

 

[TheGreatMightyPoo]

In case anyone is interested, the head honcho Matt Karch often replies to posts on the NBA Playgrounds Community page on Facebook.

 

[Abounder]

If the game isn't free I especially hate the grind, keep that shit for cosmetics like special shoes and courts - not HOF players. Too many of my team rosters might as well be empty. Fun game otherwise and changes to 3 pt was needed, will be interesting to see the new patch but super bored with my player selection

 

[SonicXtreme]

If the game isn't free I especially hate the grind, keep that shit for cosmetics like special shoes and courts - not HOF players. Too many of my team rosters might as well be empty. Fun game otherwise and changes to 3 pt was needed, will be interesting to see the new patch but super bored with my player selection

i enjoy the pack aspect but i agree, should have had 2 players for each team be gimmes to give you a starting point

 

[boybrushdRED]

Just played with the new patch on PC, and they fixed the exhibition xp nerf. Its now back to 100 xp per win.

And here is how the new shot meter looks like.

 

[bumpkin]

Just played with the new patch on PC, and they fixed the exhibition xp nerf. Its now back to 100 xp per win.

And here is how the new shot meter looks like.

Hmm, so it displays at the bottom center of the screen regardless of where the shooter is? Interesting... I still think it shouldn't be a thing when doing layups or dunks, but I guess a meter that helps demystify the timing a bit is nice.

 

[TheGreatMightyPoo]

Hmm, so it displays at the bottom center of the screen regardless of where the shooter is? Interesting... I still think it shouldn't be a thing when doing layups or dunks, but I guess a meter that helps demystify the timing a bit is nice.

All platforms will have an option to turn off the meters eventually.
PC might have it now but maybe not yet.

 

[ScientificPizza]

Just played with the new patch on PC, and they fixed the exhibition xp nerf. Its now back to 100 xp per win.

And here is how the new shot meter looks like.

Oh that actually looks really good

Can't wait to try it out in 30 years once the patch passes Nintendo cert

 

[bumpkin]

All platforms will have an option to turn off the meters eventually.
PC might have it now but maybe not yet.

When I say it shouldn't be a thing, I mean the developers should remove timing from layups and dunks, period.

 

[hiro_x]

Calling nintendo is the only way to get a refund? there's no chat or email for support? what if you're deaf/mute?

I don't think I can play this game anymore, rather have my $20 back. It's blurry and the gameplay is frustrating.

 

[Effect]

From the sounds of things it seems it was a good call to hold off on buying this on Switch. I had concerns on how quickly the patch for online, etc would come. I did not think it would be a few days and and looks like that was a good thing to be concerned about. Then there are the issues with the AI.

Calling nintendo is the only way to get a refund? there's no chat or email for support? what if you're deaf/mute?

I don't think I can play this game anymore, rather have my $20 back. It's blurry and the gameplay is frustrating.

I have to imagine in situations like that they would have to handle things over email.