NBA Live 16 Playcalling and Defense Details

[mrprice33]

Assorted thoughts:

This new playcalling system is very well-designed, but will take some getting used to. I needed to remember to let go of L1/LB first, otherwise a play wouldn't get called. You have to be deliberate the first few times since the play doesn't get triggered unless you are holding the right stick in a certain direction when releasing the playcall button. It does allow you to quickly move around the playbook, but just keep that in mind.

The defensive rotations and PnR coverages are even better this year, a place where this game has been great (really the only thing it's been good at) since '14. Closeouts look and feel incredible for both offensive and defensive players. The PnR mechanic on offense is no longer tied to how long you hold the button before releasing it (thank god), so you can quickly read a play and switch back and forth between a roll and a pop. I had a lot of success with Griffin and Chris Paul just by reading the coverage and altering Griffin's part of the play by clicking in the stick when the defense committed.

Other thing with the PnR coverages: they feel, for lack of a better term, more "loose" this year, so you won't see ICE-ing guards immediately slide into coverage in such a robotic way. This creates a more organic feeling when on offense and defense, so you can't make the same reads and the same plays every single time down the court.

Someone asked in one of the Pro-Am threads what the red symbol on the ground in front of the ball-handler was. Now you know. It's sorta like the tackling cone in Madden, and staying in that range is considered "lockdown" defense.

I like the quick-play-calling mechanic, but there is no longer an easy way to call for an iso in the game. I think there should be a "clear out" button for things like mismatches or end of quarter scenarios. You can use the full playbook to call an iso play, but it's not as fast.

I definitely saw the AI using plays. We didn't have the playbook fully implemented in our builds, but they weren't just dumping into the post like in 14 and 15. Hallelujah!

[Basketball Nate]

Quote: Originally Posted by WTF

Not a glitch, but a commonly used play. If I remember correctly, the most commonly used plays will be on the face screen, without having to go into the full playbook.

That dude talking like the Grizzlies bout to run plays for everyone including Matt Barnes

[mrprice33]

Quote: Originally Posted by WTF

Not a glitch, but a commonly used play. If I remember correctly, the most commonly used plays will be on the face screen, without having to go into the full playbook.

I think it's more like those are your "best plays" based on your personnel on the floor.

[WTF]

Quote: Originally Posted by mrprice33

Assorted thoughts: This new playcalling system is very well-designed, but will take some getting used to. I needed to remember to let go of L1/LB first, otherwise a play wouldn't get called. You have to be deliberate the first few times since the play doesn't get triggered unless you are holding the right stick in a certain direction when releasing the playcall button. It does allow you to quickly move around the playbook, but just keep that in mind. The defensive rotations and PnR coverages are even better this year, a place where this game has been great (really the only thing it's been good at) since '14. Closeouts look and feel incredible for both offensive and defensive players. The PnR mechanic on offense is no longer tied to how long you hold the button before releasing it (thank god), so you can quickly read a play and switch back and forth between a roll and a pop. I had a lot of success with Griffin and Chris Paul just by reading the coverage and altering Griffin's part of the play by clicking in the stick when the defense committed. Other thing with the PnR coverages: they feel, for lack of a better term, more "loose" this year, so you won't see ICE-ing guards immediately slide into coverage in such a robotic way. This creates a more organic feeling when on offense and defense, so you can't make the same reads and the same plays every single time down the court. Someone asked in one of the Pro-Am threads what the red symbol on the ground in front of the ball-handler was. Now you know. It's sorta like the tackling cone in Madden, and staying in that range is considered "lockdown" defense. I like the quick-play-calling mechanic, but there is no longer an easy way to call for an iso in the game. I think there should be a "clear out" button for things like mismatches or end of quarter scenarios. You can use the full playbook to call an iso play, but it's not as fast. I definitely saw the AI using plays. We didn't have the playbook fully implemented in our builds, but they weren't just dumping into the post like in 14 and 15. Hallelujah!

I had the same issue. I was so intrigued with it though, I didn't even realize there was a quick play option. Once I saw this, it was on

The quick play and play calling MAY not be the same anymore. I talked about it with them and came up with some ways to remedy this.

[mrprice33]

That was the first thing I checked in the screenshots, and the tool-tips say to hold the stick before releasing the button, so I have to think it's the same.

[ThaLiveKing]

Man this sounds good, thanks for all the the info and explanations

[El_Poopador]

Quote: Originally Posted by mrprice33

Assorted thoughts: This new playcalling system is very well-designed, but will take some getting used to. I needed to remember to let go of L1/LB first, otherwise a play wouldn't get called. You have to be deliberate the first few times since the play doesn't get triggered unless you are holding the right stick in a certain direction when releasing the playcall button. It does allow you to quickly move around the playbook, but just keep that in mind. The defensive rotations and PnR coverages are even better this year, a place where this game has been great (really the only thing it's been good at) since '14. Closeouts look and feel incredible for both offensive and defensive players. The PnR mechanic on offense is no longer tied to how long you hold the button before releasing it (thank god), so you can quickly read a play and switch back and forth between a roll and a pop. I had a lot of success with Griffin and Chris Paul just by reading the coverage and altering Griffin's part of the play by clicking in the stick when the defense committed. Other thing with the PnR coverages: they feel, for lack of a better term, more "loose" this year, so you won't see ICE-ing guards immediately slide into coverage in such a robotic way. This creates a more organic feeling when on offense and defense, so you can't make the same reads and the same plays every single time down the court. Someone asked in one of the Pro-Am threads what the red symbol on the ground in front of the ball-handler was. Now you know. It's sorta like the tackling cone in Madden, and staying in that range is considered "lockdown" defense. I like the quick-play-calling mechanic, but there is no longer an easy way to call for an iso in the game. I think there should be a "clear out" button for things like mismatches or end of quarter scenarios. You can use the full playbook to call an iso play, but it's not as fast. I definitely saw the AI using plays. We didn't have the playbook fully implemented in our builds, but they weren't just dumping into the post like in 14 and 15. Hallelujah!

I love pretty much everything you said here lol. Except for it being harder to call for an iso. I love that they will not just dump the ball into the post every possession anymore. That was my single biggest gripe with Live 14 and 15. Will the CPU exploit mismatches as well?

[WTF]

Quote: Originally Posted by El_Poopador

I love pretty much everything you said here lol. Except for it being harder to call for an iso. I love that they will not just dump the ball into the post every possession anymore. That was my single biggest gripe with Live 14 and 15. Will the CPU exploit mismatches as well?

YES.

One of the slickest things that I've seen. Playing Clippers vs T-Wolves. Somehow, DeAndre (me) got switched up on Wiggins on the Wing. I looked around, and the entire left side of the floor was desolate. I felt like I was on an island, when Wiggins started sizing me up. It was a phenomenal thing to watch. He took it quickly to the rack, but I was able to recover to get the swat from behind.

It was definitely an Oh Crap moment, but the feeling of satisfaction I got recovering and stopping it was awesome.

If you're on Harden, you're either getting scorched, or getting a foul called