NBA 2K12 Developer Insight #9 - Defense

[blues rocker]

there are good strategic reasons for playing offball D...for me, it's a way to make up for the poor help D of my AI teammates...my dumb AI bigs always leave the paint wide open for cutters, so i often feel i have to control my big man in the paint to defend the lead pass cutters. hopefully the improved teammate AI in 2k12 will make it easier to trust your AI teammates to stop the cutters for you.

[guesswhozbak17]

Quote: Originally Posted by blues rocker

there are good strategic reasons for playing offball D...for me, it's a way to make up for the poor help D of my AI teammates...my dumb AI bigs always leave the paint wide open for cutters, so i often feel i have to control my big man in the paint to defend the lead pass cutters. hopefully the improved teammate AI in 2k12 will make it easier to trust your AI teammates to stop the cutters for you.

That is understandable. But still, my point is that playing off ball allows you defend multiple things opposed to off ball defense which is focused on one person. It's easier to stand in one spot and guard the basket, your man who's by the basket and anybody cutting near the basket opposed to guarding the player with the ball who can pass, shoot or dribble to score. That's all I'm saying

[BRxSKINSx]

Okay 2k...u keep amazing me day after day....sooner or later, you're gonna run out of stuff to give me....and when u do....I'll have te best damn sports game ever....2K12....dang I can't wait...

[Bingo King]

they still need to add on to the fouls. They need to get a slap foul in there for late game situations. it's so annoying at end of games to see guys chasing the player trying to wrap them up when in real life it's a simple slap on the arm.

this still needs adjustments and is a huge pet peeve of mine.

[TUSS11]

Off-ball defense as a primary strategy is...lame. Occasionally switching to get your teammates in better position to defend against, for example, the lead pass is fine. But camping with your center the entire game = fear.

I bet if 2K gave people the option to control the coach on defense, most people would.

And if your reason for playing off-ball is lag, keep practicing playing with lag and you'll get better at it. Every year at release I literally suck at on-ball D. I get burnt up real bad some games. But after a few months I can actually play competent D. I'd rather that than playing off-ball all year and never learning.

[Beluba]

Quote: Originally Posted by fatleg3

Yes im the same way. I like playing off ball with d12 I agree. Some animations disable user controls for example in 2k11 when someone is fouled making a layup or in the paint, all the players are dead, and it wont let me jump up and block the shot even though the shot is blockable. Like you said on thing like the wrap up foul, hopefully it will let you finish the play if you have someone like tony parker trying to wrap up lebron. However you want to put it, there shouldnt be no penalty/bonus or whatever at all. I play both onball d and offball. I like playing offball d because it is fun to playing d with d12. I dont camp in the paint, or do anything cheese with him. He is my favorite player and i simply like playing with him on d. Why do i have to be at a disadvantage because thats what i like to do. And yes it is a disadvantage. No matter how you put it. If the shot % went up .01%, you would still have an advantage playing onball d. What you are trying to argue is playing styles. Some people prefer to play on way some dont. Its not cheese if done the right way so whats the problem. What may be fun to you may not be to the next person and vise versa. What if some people like the ratings to play out and be the determining factor with a defender guarding the ball handler? What about the people who dont camp and play legit off ball defense? 2k is giving an advantage to onball d because they think it is more fun the play onball. But once again what is fun to one person may not be fun to another. Now what i would have no problem with them doing is if you are playing offball and not away from you man for a certain amount of time then penalize you.

fatleg, it's not that we consider playing offball D an invalid playing style. the decision to tune user-controlled onball defenders differently than AI-controlled defenders was a result of a longstanding balancing issue. The fact is, most humans can't react to shooters the same way our AI defenders can. That's amplified online. We simply wanted to give users who prefer to play onball defense an aid to level the playing field with the AI. You'll just have to trust me for now... but I spent a lot of time tuning the shot penalties so as not to sway the balance in the other direction. IMO, 2K12 strikes a good balance for both camps (offball and onball D users.)

But just for the record... I do think it's more manly to play onball D.

[NINJAK2]

User conntrolled defender and shooter vulnerability sections were my favorites. I'm really glad they tried to address both those issues. Another great insight.

[guesswhozbak17]

Quote: Originally Posted by Beluba

fatleg, it's not that we consider playing offball D an invalid playing style. the decision to tune user-controlled onball defenders differently than AI-controlled defenders was a result of a longstanding balancing issue. The fact is, most humans can't react to shooters the same way our AI defenders can. That's amplified online. We simply wanted to give users who prefer to play onball defense an aid to level the playing field with the AI. You'll just have to trust me for now... but I spent a lot of time tuning the shot penalties so as not to sway the balance in the other direction. IMO, 2K12 strikes a good balance for both camps (offball and onball D users.) But just for the record... I do think it's more manly to play onball D.

"it's more manly to play on ball D." = it's a higher risk...therefore I agree with the reward. Thank you.