News Post

What NBA 2K Needs to Do to Step Up Its Online Game

03:35 PM - October 6, 2008 by RaychelSnr

For everything NBA 2K8 did right, there was still plenty of cheese to be found online. Our own Jayson Young checks in today with a look at how NBA 2K can step up its online game.

Quote:


	"I love basketball, and perhaps just as much, I love a good, competitive online game; in fact, when it comes to sports games, the online mode is about the only part that I spend my time with these days."

Game: NBA 2K9Reader Score: 8.5/10 - Vote Now
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Member Comments

# 1 DC @ 10/06/08 03:51 PM

They won't listen

# 2 RoyceDa59 @ 10/06/08 03:56 PM

Wow i did not know you could do all that in the game. I rarely played online because I would always play my brother and maybe a few other people.

# 3 mackman3 @ 10/06/08 03:56 PM

wow.....so in depth

# 4 Kushmir @ 10/06/08 04:01 PM

GREEAAAAT article...best i've had in some time. TRUE INDEED: Fatigue is a must, and let's see more fouls (becuse there aren't enough) called when dfenses try these ultra-aggressive tactics. and DUNKING? instead of seeing TOO MANY BLOCKS (which is bad too) let's see offensiev players bottled up, losing their dribble and forced into bad shots that rarely go in when the defenders are where they chould be.

# 5 PlatinumJuice @ 10/06/08 04:03 PM

for everyone that compains about lack of "sim game" there are two that don't care and enjoy a fast paced game...

# 6 uscpaperboy @ 10/06/08 04:13 PM

I thought u were goin to speak on the points of the amount of intentional disconnections which could be fixed with a quit game opiton like madden, how easy it is to strip someone on a fast break going for a layup, the fact that yao doesnt miss, u cant set ur def matchups to double team always or even the lag on a jumpshot. But what you are basically complaining about is the lack of user skill or what some call cheesing. Just bc u cant break a press doesnt mean it's chessing. Players usually don't get tired bc its 5 min qtr. how would it look if 1:30 into the game and ur whole starting lineup is tired. You complain now about fatigue but ppl will continue to press which would result in both teams being tired. Wouldn't you enjoy playing the 4th qtr with Leon Powe and Glen Davis banging against Chris Mihm and Trevor Ariza? I think not. I will admit that dunking traffic or pts in the paint accounts for 80% of online pts though. But there are ways to stop it. Play off the ball and in the paint and intercept the passes yourself. Sometimes you just have understand your skill level and adjust. If u hate a fast pace game slow down the tempo on off and get stops on D. But its just my opinion...

# 7 DubTrey1 @ 10/06/08 04:46 PM

Sad but true - Which is why I stayed away from online hoops altogether thus far.

# 8 Muzyk23 @ 10/06/08 04:48 PM

seriously..I don't give an ish about online

# 9 Krafty @ 10/06/08 04:57 PM

You have valid points. But gamers find ways around it. I have found ways to stop these problems. You just have a adapt to how that player is playing you. It also amazes me that you didn't even talk about the worst one there was which makes me think you hardly gave it a fair shot. The Pick N' Roll bug was the WORST. If you had someone with a 90 or better dunk and a elite big man it was almost impossible to stop. Pick at the top of the key and if your stud couldn't get to his dunking animation in time you would always be able to chuck it inside to the picker who has since rolled downlow and get you "standing dunk"

All I did was play online and usually had great opponents.

IMO this is a good article. But you gotta finds ways around what people are doing to you online. Find a good player that has a good REP and a good disconnect percentage and you will always have a good game. I played no one under 80%. I was deeply satisfied with the leagues I was in even though the rate of the completing was almost zero. People will always find ways to exploit the game. They should be penalized for using the tactic but damn, it should start with the Developers and the testers for the games. It's their fault it's in the game.

# 10 swetooth9 @ 10/06/08 05:01 PM

I know the lead pass if fixed in 2k9 b/c the players' hands are better this year at picking off balls in the passing lanes...dunno about the double team glitch and foul-line dunks yet though

# 11 BlackRome @ 10/06/08 05:10 PM

If you played on Hall of Fame where the real ballers play that BS would have been eliminated.

You could actually body Kobe up on Hall of Fame.
Gasol would get his shot blocked or miss if you played good D.
You could also get the strip.

The double team bug was fixed during one of the first patches.

If you know how to run the point you should have no problem with the press. People that press all day don't know what they are doing.
You have to control the tempo.

I can't stress enough for you to stay away from the superstar level online..
Hall of Fame actually forces you to set up plays and take good shots because the layup is not automatic.

It's almost harder to score in the paint.
which it should be. Hall of Fame rewards you for contesting shots. .

Superstar level is for the Live Fans. Hall Of Fame is for true 2K Ballers.

Step your game up to the top room.

# 12 emelki1968 @ 10/06/08 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Krafty


	You have valid points. But gamers find ways around it. I have found ways to stop these problems. You just have a adapt to how that player is playing you. It also amazes me that you didn't even talk about the worst one there was which makes me think you hardly gave it a fair shot. The Pick N' Roll bug was the WORST. If you had someone with a 90 or better dunk and a elite big man it was almost impossible to stop. Pick at the top of the key and if your stud couldn't get to his dunking animation in time you would always be able to chuck it inside to the picker who has since rolled downlow and get you "standing dunk" All I did was play online and usually had great opponents. IMO this is a good article. But you gotta finds ways around what people are doing to you online. Find a good player that has a good REP and a good disconnect percentage and you will always have a good game. I played no one under 80%. I was deeply satisfied with the leagues I was in even though the rate of the completing was almost zero. People will always find ways to exploit the game. They should be penalized for using the tactic but damn, it should start with the Developers and the testers for the games. It's their fault it's in the game.

I disagree, yes you have to find ways around it, but things like the leading pass, or the Pick&roll have to be fixed because yo cannot be playing the game only thinking how to stop those two plays over and over. Also, to mes the most important aspect of the article is the fatigue, it is spot on. I think that you should increase the fatigue of a player if you are using the "turbo" trigger or the Lock on D all the time, or jumping every single time. Maybe considering the amount of times you press the buttons?

# 13 LETS BALL @ 10/06/08 06:36 PM

i dont play lobby games anyway..unless am goin for the achievements..

# 14 PaulZweber @ 10/06/08 07:33 PM

These problems sound like problems for most basketball games, and most sports games. In Madden I can run no-huddle and fatigue very little if at all. Progressive player fatigue needs to be in every sports game, where players who get beat up on, the ball ran up the middle, banging in the post, tough man defense, make a difference in the end of a game. If someone runs early, shouldn't both teams tire as they are both running the floor? If the DTs get ran at all game long, should they be 100% in the last two minutes of the fourth? This type of fatigue needs addressed, and imo would be a better option than penalizing a person for playing the game they want to play it.

# 15 Defense Wins Games @ 10/06/08 07:45 PM

Sounds like whining to me. Just like in a real NBA game, players and teams have to adapt to whatever the other team brings to the table. Every competitor should do what they can to win. Or they're just not competing to the best of their ability. "Sim" players cry cheese whenever someone plays too fast for them to follow. The thing is if those same "sim" players could do what the "cheeser" is able to do, they'd do it too. I've played against people that just cry all game long saying I'm cheesing and they go ahead and try to speed up their tempo and try to imitate the plays I'm making. They couldn't do it. They just ended up losing by more. If you play a so-called "cheeser" and are able to do things that were just out of this world and that he just couldn't stop, he wouldn't cry foul. He'd figure out a way around it and/or a way to stop it. For most of you "sim" players, when you encounter a wall you can't break through, you just sit there and cry about it instead of finding a way to break through the wall. For every strategy, there's a counter-strategy. Even early last year when there was that ridiculous double team+steal glitch, I just worked around it and/or used the same tactic on my opponents.

"Sim" people would prefer it if the game was slower because they can't react or think as quickly. They can't keep up in a fast-paced game. They get easily confused and agitated so they cry and whine like the 12 year olds they are. Did the Mavs whine and cry when G-State doubled and pressed for 6 games straight in the playoffs? Nope. What're you supposed to do? Just like in the game. If I don't put loads of pressure on the Spurs. He'll just pick+roll with Duncan or post-up Duncan every time down the floor. So you make him work for it. You start full court pressing. Making him rush his plays and shots. THAT'S BASKETBALL. You make it as difficult for your opponent as possible. It's not the player's fault that they're utilizing this aspect of the game. It's really the developer's fault for not making a better fatigue system.

# 16 uscpaperboy @ 10/06/08 08:11 PM

^^^ my thoughts exactly malone and stockton pick and rolled every play str8 to da hall of fame with nash and amare following their footsteps. Not even avery johnson or mark cuban complained and they cry bout everything.

And if this is all about fatigue. How tired do u expect a player to be when qtrs are 5 min and at least 1 timeout per qtr. if u play against someone and neither one of you call timeouts or sub check the fatigue level at the end of the 2nd and 4th. they probably wont have 100 after halftime. MAN UP AND ADJUST or just play cpu bc they NEVER push the ball or try to win under the 2:00 mark

# 17 stillatin @ 10/06/08 09:29 PM

all i want to say is, people need to play 5 vs 5 online, cause its the most fun i have ever had online in a sports game

# 18 jyoung @ 10/06/08 09:45 PM

Like the article says, the high-pressure defensive strategy is not so much itself to blame as the game engine is to blame for allowing the high-pressure defense to thrive under unrealistic circumstances.

Basically:

-- The game engine needs to make players in high-pressure defenses tire faster.

-- The game engine needs to make things easier for the offense (i.e., more realistic) when moving the ball against pressure defenses (especially with regards to the funky passing game).

That's really all that the article is trying to argue.

And if you can honestly watch the Exhibit C video and tell me that it's anything close to what happens on an NBA court, then I don't know what else to say.

I mean, I've played on high school teams that could handle pressure defense better than the average NBA 2K8 team does. And I mean that not in the sense of actual "stick skills" but in the sense of the offense's AI and animations during high-pressure situations.

# 19 amedawg00 @ 10/06/08 10:02 PM

I was all for the sim movement until suddenly everything under the sky was deemed cheese by "2K establishment" here at OS. Now I can't help but recall what Herm Edwards infamously said regarding his football team's mentality of "HELLO...YOU PLAAAAY TO WIN THE GAME!" If I am in a close game online and I have the rock in my superstars' hands, you better believe I will run a high percentage exploitable play such as the pick and roll if that is the difference between taking a chance winning the game in OT or putting the dagger in my opponents heart at the end of regulation .

# 20 secondcity t @ 10/06/08 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by amedawg00


	I was all for the sim movement until suddenly everything under the sky was deemed cheese by "2K establishment" here at OS. Now I can't help but recall what Herm Edwards infamously said regarding his football team's mentality of "HELLO...YOU PLAAAAY TO WIN THE GAME!" If I am in a close game online and I have the rock in my superstars' hands, you better believe I will run a high percentage exploitable play such as the pick and roll if that is the difference between taking a chance winning the game in OT or putting the dagger in my opponents heart at the end of regulation .

That my friends is the problem with online. I run with Minnesota. With my knowledge of post moves, I'm gonna give the ball to Jefferson because that is my star player, but unlike your logic, I'm not gonna cheese pass to him.

I play to win but I can also play without abusing exploits. For the most part, I disagree with most sim players about taking jumpers every time down court as I like to set my jumper up by using post moves.I can literally score every point in the paint off backdoor cuts, up and unders, and layups and make it look realistic. Watch that 3rd video and see how the ballhandler was being "sucked" into animations. Makes NO sense.

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