Why is this game so inconsistent? (serious question)

[urjaywall]

So, I don't post much to this forum, but I usually read through it. I have read a ton of the complaints threads and agree with most of the complaints, while others aren't a huge deal to me. This thread isn't a complaint as much as it is a question.

The thing that drives me crazy about this game is it is a completely different game every time I turn it on. One night it plays perfectly (similar to 2K11). However, the next night it is a total mess. By mess, I mean its impossible to stay in front of anyone on defense, as it feels like the default move is moving away from the defender as opposed to towards the defender (2K11 had that "defense assist" that made man to man defense actually fun). There is virtually no contact physics when playing defense. All the players are sluggish and won't accelerate for like 5 steps. A lot of times, the defensive player will spin the opposite direction the ball handler goes. Your teamates will act bizarre on offense and defense (on defense they will sometimes leave their man COMPLETELY wide open and not be covering anyone, on offense they will stand around on very random spots on the floor). The speed and acceleration on offense varies, sometimes the moves are super quick and hard to control the player, other times its super slow and impossible to get around anyone.

This is only sometimes though. Sometimes I turn the game on and, like I said, its very enjoyable. All the problems I stated aren't there. Its just perplexing how inconsistent it is. I don't understand why.

My guess is it has something to do with the patch. I downloaded the patch a long time ago and its still on there. But I'm wondering if every time you play the game it has to "reinstall" the patch or something (I'm playing on Xbox 360). If that's the case, I'm wondering if it simply reinstalls it incorrectly sometimes.

I also noticed the "saving- do not turn off the system" message whenever I start the game up and have no clue what that is. I was wondering that was the patch, NBA Today, textures, or something else.

So I'm not saying the game mechanics are broken. Like I said, some times that I have played it recently, the mechanics were great and it was very enjoyable. But its the times that I turn it on and the mechanics are completely off that drives me crazy.

Has anyone else noticed this inconsistency?

[P-Dub]

I have noticed something similar with regards to control. Some games it is quite responsive and I can time my shots consistently and react fast on defense. Other times it seems like the player I am controlling just can't get his feet out of concrete or the shot release timing is different than the game I played right before it. I guess it has something to do with progressive fatigue or some other aspect of the game.

The game updates and saves the nba today roster and a couple other things when you start it up. This is normal.

[funkworthy]

I've noticed the same inconsistency. I think it is tied to momentum. When your team has momentum, everything works perfectly as you described. When they don't, everything goes wrong.

This is, I'm guessing, an attempt to replicate NBA ball as a "game of runs." I think it only ends up being really frustrating for the user.

I think you are supposed to make coaching adjustments when you notice this stuff happening. I think rebounding and turnovers have a lot to do with momentum. I'll often pause and check these stats and often when my players are lubricated on D, sluggish as AI teamates, and I'm like pulling up for 6 foot jump shots that miss with all-stars (instead of performing a layup), when these things are happening I'm more often than not getting out rebounded or giving up the ball. But with these stat lines it is a chicken v egg question for me if you follow. Do they dictate momentum or does the momentum dictate the rebounding and turnover advantages?

Bottom line is, I agree with your assessment and it tries my patience to no end. I wonder if the game developers made it this way to make you want to play again and again, chasing the feeling of "getting it right." In my opinion it is way over the top, and puts you in the passenger seat, along for the ride, to see if the same user commands yield good, solid plays or lousy ones.

So my hypothesis to for the problem you describe is momentum, in the game by design. I wonder what others think.

[waytofailself]

is it something that can be adjusted by sliders? (momentum effects etc?)

[urjaywall]

Quote: Originally Posted by funkworthy

I've noticed the same inconsistency. I think it is tied to momentum. When your team has momentum, everything works perfectly as you described. When they don't, everything goes wrong. This is, I'm guessing, an attempt to replicate NBA ball as a "game of runs." I think it only ends up being really frustrating for the user. I think you are supposed to make coaching adjustments when you notice this stuff happening. I think rebounding and turnovers have a lot to do with momentum. I'll often pause and check these stats and often when my players are lubricated on D, sluggish as AI teamates, and I'm like pulling up for 6 foot jump shots that miss with all-stars (instead of performing a layup), when these things are happening I'm more often than not getting out rebounded or giving up the ball. But with these stat lines it is a chicken v egg question for me if you follow. Do they dictate momentum or does the momentum dictate the rebounding and turnover advantages? Bottom line is, I agree with your assessment and it tries my patience to no end. I wonder if the game developers made it this way to make you want to play again and again, chasing the feeling of "getting it right." In my opinion it is way over the top, and puts you in the passenger seat, along for the ride, to see if the same user commands yield good, solid plays or lousy ones. So my hypothesis to for the problem you describe is momentum, in the game by design. I wonder what others think.

Interesting. I wonder if that is the case with certain teams, then. I've noticed whenever I play with certain teams (bad teams), it is more often the case that it feels "off." And a lot of times when I play really good teams, that is the case as well. So maybe that is a possibility (because momentum should be even when you start the game, however, maybe if one team is better than the other with the "team rating," then they start with the momentum).

I did play with a lot of the settings. I played with sliders, which helped the shooting (I toned down the CPU shooting by 5 for each category and bumped up my 3's by 5, which made it pretty even for both of us- when I cover the CPU they miss most of the time... if I can cover them).

I also tried game speed, which didn't really effect much except for the overall animations (the proportions were still off).

The one thing that did help was I went to defensive settings and told everyone to play tight on their man at all times and never double team or help on defense (if I wanted to do that, I'll switch to another player and do it manually). That way they tended not to get lost on defense on picks and cuts, since that is typically when the game mechanics go haywire.

So I'll keep investigating. I feel like I've played the game enough to know how the mechanics should be and when they are off. So maybe I can find some kind of link. But honestly, its almost like certain days have better mechanics than others, without even touching the settings. And I'm pretty sure its not a placebo effect.

I wonder, once the NBA season ends, if it will improve, since the game won't be constantly trying to connect to NBA today.

[StraightBaylien]

It seems like you don't want real NBA style ball, seems you want video game style ball. In the NBA, teams come out hot and cold. They try and play good D, but sometimes the O is better. I think 2k12 did well in that respect, never knowing what you're gonna get, which is the case in the NBA. All though, I'll admit, I don't play default. Good gameplay is really related to what roster/slider combo you're using. I use my roster (which can be found in the roster section) plus RedLogic's sliders, with a few tweaks, and I am experiencing the most authentic gameplay I ever have.

[I Djm]

Quote: Originally Posted by StraightBaylien

It seems like you don't want real NBA style ball, seems you want video game style ball. In the NBA, teams come out hot and cold. They try and play good D, but sometimes the O is better. I think 2k12 did well in that respect, never knowing what you're gonna get, which is the case in the NBA. All though, I'll admit, I don't play default. Good gameplay is really related to what roster/slider combo you're using. I use my roster (which can be found in the roster section) plus RedLogic's sliders, with a few tweaks, and I am experiencing the most authentic gameplay I ever have.

if you dont play default you can never understand. if the op is playing my player then rosters can only do so much. we get that this stuff happens but its the rate that it happens. in real life yea anything can happen but in a video game certain teams have their stats for a reason. just go play a game of creating a legend or my player with your roster and regular sliders then you might can see the problems

[scoonie05]

^^^^^ I agree 100%