OTHER MISCELLANEOUS GOODIES
Here I’m going to just drop some little random nuggets of info about gameplay that you may find interesting:
– There are a number of passing/catching improvements which could fill up a whole new blog, but I’ll just list my faves…
o Jump passes can now be triggered on demand (PS4 = SQUARE+CROSS, XB1 = X+A)
o New fumbled catches that account for passing in traffic, receiver’s Hands rating, colliding with defenders in heavy traffic and other factors
o You can perform alley-oops to players who are much further away from the rim and they’ll catch it and put up a shot (great for sideline inbound buzzerbeaters.) Also, you can alley-oop pass out of jump shots, layups and even other alley-oops. I’m expecting to see some hot Plays of the Week from you Park guys this year.
o During a Give & Go, you can call for an alley-oop by pressing the Shot Button while holding the Pass Button
o New Overhead Skip Pass mechanic lets you quickly target farther away teammates when multiple are in a line
o Improved catch on point logic ensures that receivers catch passes on their desired spots rather than veering off in a bad direction
o Customizable pass targeting sliders for Distance/Stick direction/Openness lets you configure directional passing exactly how you want it to behave
– Pump fake auto-fouls in the paint are gone. If you “do nothing” on the sticks as a defender, you won’t incur a shooting foul.
– MyCAREER player creation now features a new playing style feature.
o Choose from seven specific playing styles: Slasher (all positions), Shot Creator (PG/SG/SF), Sharpshooter (all positions), Playmaker (PG/SG/SF), Lockdown Defender (all positions), Glass Cleaner (SF/PF/C), Post Scorer (SF/PF/C)
o Each archetype has its own unique badges (including an exclusive Hall of Fame badge), skill sets and specializations.
o The goal behind the new archetypes was to force gamers to make a choice when creating their characters. We’re really trying to individualize players in our online modes so not everyone ends up being the same 2 or 3 types of guys. So a lot of effort went into balancing and tuning all of the various archetype/position/height/weight/wingspan combinations (not an easy task). At the end of the day, though, we feel like each of the archetypes (and the multitude of iterations you can dream up) make for very compelling gameplay experiences, with totally different pros and cons, and each can add a unique value to the makeup of a team.
o The Hall of Fame badge is really cool too. Now, when a player performs well within his specialty (a Playmaker gets a lot of assists, a Post Scorer hits a few post fades, Glass Cleaner pulls down some boards, etc.) he gets “Grand Badge Hot.” That means that they unlock even stronger special abilities within their archetypes, as a red icon appears in the player indicator. I often play as a Sharpshooter and there’s no better feeling than getting a few open 3’s to drop, getting hot, and then being able to rattle off several more makes just like one of the Splash Brothers.
– A new user-controlled emote system allows you to customize your on-court celebrations and trigger them after big plays.
– The new Jump Shot Creator allows you to create an infinite variation of jump shot styles to ensure that your MyPLAYER’s jumper looks and feels exactly the way you want. The tool allows you to pick multiple release animations and a base and lets you control how those animations blend together. So it’s like the composited custom jump shots we had in the game a couple years ago but MUCH more customizable.
– We’ve added a cool free throw follow through branching system that you’ve probably seen in a few videos already. Basically, if a player puts up a low percentage free throw, you’ll see him lean back or step into the key trying to will the ball in. If it’s a high percentage shot, you’ll see him head back on defense early or hold his follow through. It’s a nice touch and adds more life to free throw shooting.
– We spent a lot of time converting our “under the hood tunables” into sliders, which now form the basis of our difficulty levels. What that means to the end user is that you now have much more control over how to customize the game through your own personal slider sets. You can see exactly what bumps we give the CPU and USER as you move through the different preset difficulty levels and then cater the sliders into your own Custom set to perfectly fit your preference for the game. As part of this exercise, we also greatly flattened out the boosts that the CPU was getting on Hall of Fame difficulty and have put more of a focus on making the game tougher through making the AI more intelligent in its decision making.
– Tapping the Pro Stick toward the hoop while in a stand dribble will play our new signature rhythm dribbles. Think of them as the slower in-place dribble sequences players use to, well, get in a rhythm before attacking off the bounce. They’re perfect for integrating into the new 1-to-1 Signature Size-Up combo system I mentioned above as well as lulling defenders to sleep before pulling up for a “J” or attacking with a hard first step.
CLOSING REMARKS
If you’re like me and too lazy to read long blogs, let me just summarize real quick.
NBA 2K17 is a game of skill. Our goal was to make the gameplay experience compelling in every aspect of on-court play and I’m proud of what the team was able to accomplish. I’ve had multiple people come up to me throughout development praising gameplay and telling me just how fun it is to play defense, how cool it feels to be able to master the game and show off their stick skills, and how accurate to real life the basketball looks. The game is much smarter, feels better in just about every way and moves/animates silky smooth in the process thanks to some very cool new tech. My hat’s off to each and every one of our gameplay engineers (the real rock stars of the show) and to the hardest working group of producers I could ask for.
And one last thing I wanted to mention before closing this thing up. I know we have a huge fanbase and everyone is looking for a different experience when they pickup NBA 2K. Even though skill and competitive gaming was a huge pillar for us this year, so was accessibility. We’ve re-tooled our difficulty levels so that ANYBODY can pick up the game and have fun right at the jump. Whether you’re looking for a game for your 8 year old to be able to just run around, shoot 3’s and dunk using 2 buttons or if you’re looking for a hardcore basketball sim, we have you covered. Also, if you’re relatively new to the series or even if you’re a 2K vet who wants to know everything there is to know about gameplay, make sure you check out 2KU. It’s been completely revamped with a comprehensive 2KU Tips Glossary showing all of the moves in the game with videos explaining how everything works and a brand new 2KU Game. The 2KU Game is awesome! You play an intra-squad scrimmage game with Team USA and tips get pushed to you through overlays/videos walking you through the ins and outs of 2K basketball. It even analyzes how you’re playing and pushes appropriate content to you based on your performance and what features you’re currently (or currently not) using. Coach K also chimes in with tons of basketball strategy level tips to help you understand the game from that perspective as well. So it’s a great way to both learn how to play 2K as well as to expand your understanding of the game of basketball.
I think that about covers the main gameplay stuff. I know you guys are going to love the game this year, and as always, we’ll all be glued to social media, Twitch, the forums, and just about everywhere else to gather your feedback and continue to refine the experience! See you on the virtual courts!
@Beluba @NBA2K gr8 read
@Beluba @NBA2K Glad to hear ball tracking on Shot blocking is better