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Six Fixes for NBA 2K11
1. Fix My Player

The My Player mode had a lot of momentum before NBA 2K10 was released. After purchasing the NBA 2K10 Draft Combine and playing that over and over again, it was a letdown when all of that build up went away when I booted up NBA 2K10.

My Player mode had the potential, but a bunch of bugs ruined any chance it had to be truly successful. Obviously, some of the bugs were fixed in the patches but there is still much to work on.

One thing is that a 64-rated shooting guard should not be starting ahead of Wade or Kobe. Is does not matter that you can cheese your way into triple doubles every night, you should not be starting ahead of either one of them. Also a 5-foot-11 point guard cannot do anything at the small forward position. I would really like to see a lot of time implemented into the lineup adjustments for MY player.

Also can we get some contracts? No more of this one-year contract business before heading off to another team. If you want My Player to feel real, then let me make it real. Rarely does a NBA player play on his favorite team, so why should it have to happen here? Obviously, you should still let gamers play for their favorite team if they want to go that route, but let other gamers like me play for a long-term contract or a small deal where I have to come off the bench.

2. Put Online Play in the Game

I love playing Madden online, why not play some NBA 2K online also? Wait, you mean it is already implemented into the game? Interesting, when the game came out I could barely even play it online, and the online leagues did not even work correctly until after the second patch.

Simply put, fix online play. Let it be playable and functional from the start. The online leagues are a great idea, and with the layout and Web site that come along them, it makes it even more fun to follow them. So whatever it takes, make sure online play is working with little to no hiccups when NBA 2K11 is released.

3. Defense

A lot of people believe that defense was improved this year. Those people are right and wrong. In reality, the elimination of the one-on-one isolation drive before an easy dunk was the only truly major fix. Jump shots are still falling down left and right. Now, I also love the fact that we have sliders, but I do not like spending one month adjusting sliders to finally get my game the way I want it.

Man-on-man defense did take a slight step forward this year as well, but it is still too easy to get a quick shot off. Tighter, more aggressive defense needs to be implemented. Zone defenses also need to be adjusted. The whole point of a zone is to help when help is needed, not to stand there and stare as you see Rajon Rondo fly by for an easy layup.

4. Atmosphere

Atmosphere is something that has been needed for every sports-related game this generation. When NBA 2K9 hit store shelves in 2008, all the hype was around the big bad video that would play after you won the championship. Everyone who ended up seeing that video knows it was not anything special.

For those of you who play full 82-game seasons, it would be nice to experience something different in the playoffs. There needs to be louder crowds, home-court advantage and beer getting thrown on the scorer's table. We all know playoff basketball is a whole new game, so that should shine through when playing in a heated seven-game playoff series.

5. Player Movement and Animations

One thing that has been rather bothersome with past NBA 2K games is the player movements and animations. Too many times gamers see their point guard run in a circle only to get called for over-and-back. There are times when post defenders do not move the right way when going to block a shot. Getting stuck in these animations can almost ruin a perfect game, and since we have not had that "perfect" game yet, tweaking these elements is one way to get closer to the unattainable.

6. Relocate Teams

My bias is going to come out here. Most of you might not even care about this feature, but I can guarantee you that there are plenty of people who would gladly move the Oklahoma City Thunder to a certain rainy city -- having past NBA logos and jerseys for relocated teams would not be half-bad idea either.


There you have it, some things that I think could greatly improve NBA 2K11.

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Member Comments
# 1 RaychelSnr @ 02/03/10 01:01 PM
"My bias is going to come out here. Most of you might not even care about this feature, but I can guarantee you that there are plenty of people who would gladly move the Oklahoma City Thunder to a certain rainy city -- having past NBA logos and jerseys for relocated teams would not be half-bad idea either."

Yeah, be sure to model Key Arena as half empty and throw in a lack of player morale feature for any team playing with no one in the stands as well. We're talking realism right?
 
# 2 Kully @ 02/03/10 01:09 PM
I'd personally put player movement over every one of those.
 
# 3 edubbs @ 02/03/10 01:24 PM
Nice read.

Fixes 3, 4, and 5 are the issues listed that effect me the most.

Player movement - everything about player movement needs to be revisited. Especially giving the user back more player control. I don't even 'feel' like I have complete control over the sig shots anymore. The control of the release just doesn't 'feel' as tight as previous years.

Defense- Help D in 2k10, can be kinda off but I'm glad they finally incorporated it. Also, defenders close out speed needs to be addressed IMO. Defenders still close out and rotate too fast in 2k10, even though it's much better than previous versions of 2k.

Would be nice to see more wide open perimeter shots just like IRL, because certain teams are not as good at closing out on shooters as others.

Atmosphere- 2K could really take a page from the competition by recording actual NBA regular season and playoff games for NBA2K11. The arena atmosphere has been meh IMO....the past few years in 2K. And the crowd audio quality and AI was poor once again in 2k10.
 
# 4 DirtyJerz32 @ 02/03/10 01:53 PM
Number 2 should be 2k's MAJOR FOCUS for 2k11. Make it work the way you advertise! That's all I have to say about that.

Number 3 should be more team D fixes. Too many times my C gets beat back door because he moved a half step behind the player he is gaurding.

I like number 6 also. NHL has the ability to use old school logos for CAT's so why not NBA 2k? Makes sense, doesn't it?
 
# 5 teebee @ 02/03/10 02:15 PM
Key Arena was never half empty, at least not until they knew for certain they were moving; attendance wasn't a factor in the team leaving SEA
 
# 6 SageInfinite @ 02/03/10 02:20 PM
Number 3 is my top priority since I mostly play the AI.
 
# 7 statum71 @ 02/03/10 02:32 PM
I like the idea of improving the atmosphere the most. I hate it when the home team goes on a run and when the visiting team calls timeout the crowd noise dies down.

In the real NBA, when the visiting team is in a timeout after a run the crowd is STILL going wild.
 
# 8 DaWolf @ 02/03/10 02:37 PM
I hope they fix that akward delay when going up for a jumpshot. I like my shots smooothe.
 
# 9 DaReapa @ 02/03/10 02:53 PM
I agree with this list for the most part (with the lone exception being #6 - but I understand that's the author's personal biased fix). But I feel that points 3 and 5 should definitely receive the most attention. My Player was a good idea with bad implementation. With all the bugs that existed in that mode, it just left me heading back to the Association since more reliable control over the events of the game was put back in my hands. And that even had its own unique issues.

And I must say that the stadium atmosphere needs serious improvement. This has been a problem for NBA 2K this generation of gaming. Stadium atmosphere and better player controls are perhaps the only things that Live has a leg up on the NBA 2K series (IMO). Hopefully these issues will be addressed for 2K11 now that Wang is back at the helm.
 
# 10 FamousAtticus @ 02/03/10 03:07 PM
Solid points. I definitely feel that the 2k series needs a vast improvement in atmosphere. I honestly cant tell the difference when playing in the Association mode between a regular season game or an NBA Finals game 7(other than the Finals logo on the court and the announcers dialogue). In the same regard I would like to see a regular season game between the Nets and Timberwolves be true to life, not with the seats full like it was some sort of important game. As far as the 6th "fixes" I completely agree, team relocation would be a unique feature if done right. I also think it would be great if they could incorporate a create-a-arena feature during/for Association mode(cant see certain teams still playing in their current arena's 15 years into the Association).
 
# 11 BroMontana82 @ 02/03/10 03:21 PM
good stuff, particularly defense and animations. i personally would put a lot more things ahead of some of these though like fixing all of the terrible glitches in the game like the 3 pt. shooting and CPU trade logic. also, whatever happened to 82games and the realistic tendencies? the default 2k rosters are atrocious. before getting into it too much...can we finally completely fix the framerate? it's been like 3 years and there still problems, especially on the first FT.
 
# 12 NINJAK2 @ 02/03/10 03:49 PM
Better playcalling/execution is at the top of my list.
 
# 13 DustinT @ 02/03/10 03:51 PM
With Mike Wang back on board we should see these.
 
# 14 Epiffani @ 02/03/10 04:30 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by NINJAK2
Better playcalling/execution is at the top of my list.
Ditto that. An effective, and working playcalling system would definitely lead to a much more realistic experience and would do wonders for this game as far as making it more "sim". The playcalling system as it is, is almost unbearable to watch, and quite honestly, most of the plays aren't worth running because they are so time consuming, and ineffective. People like to say "this aspect" or "that aspect is so last gen", but nothing screams last gen louder than NBA 2K's current playcalling system. I'd have movement+control as my 1A. however. Numbers 1,4, and 6 from this article are all necessities and extras IMO (even though I think 6 is a good idea, especially with me playing association heavily.) Number 1, I think is a given that they'll be great strides made in regards to this mode seeing as how 2K10 was the first game to feature my player.
 
# 15 chunt04 @ 02/03/10 05:30 PM
Please do away with the auto-posting up... Give that option back to the player... Auto anything is never the way to go. Players want control!
 
# 16 rgp913 @ 02/03/10 05:33 PM
Biggest issue I see is the inability to move freely around the court. I feel I get "sucked in" by the opposing defense. Either that or an animation controls how I move. Get back to basics, it's a basketball game. I have a real hard time creating separation when a mis-match presents itself. I will control a PG mismatched on a switch against a PF or even C and still can't cross them up enough to get a clear path to the hoop. Very frustrating. Is anyone else having this problem this year?
 
# 17 BobbyColtrane @ 02/03/10 05:41 PM
i'd like to see:

1. tighter control
2. nba live's "double and recover" defense logic
3. better plays or user created plays

please for the love of all that is holy DO NOT TOUCH PRACTICE MODE the way Live killed theirs...
 
# 18 stlstudios189 @ 02/03/10 05:42 PM
Playoff atmosphere would go a long way in my opinion
 
# 19 billyboy316 @ 02/03/10 07:01 PM
I would say animation and defense are my biggest pet peeves about this game. I hate when I do a pick and roll but my pg can't move at all. Defense in my opinion sucks because teams can easily get in the middle and my guys don't do anything. I even play 2-3 zone but no dice.

Also I feel running plays should be different. I have a hard time getting on the starting point and therefore the play doesn't start. I then find my self running out of time so I hurry a shot. Maybe I just need to work on it more but why don't they just make it to where you just have to be close to an area in order for the play to start.

Other than that I love this game.
 
# 20 elementz09 @ 02/03/10 11:28 PM
How about can we get technical fouls? I noticed something in one of the MLB 2K Baseball games that depending on how fast you pressed certain buttons or pressing a combination of buttons determined the outcome of a player when they argued with the umpire. Can we implement that in NBA 2K11?

I know it's "E" for Everybody but put some more emotion in the game.
 

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