NBA 2K11 News Post

NBA 2K11 Developer Insights: The Art of Passing

05:53 PM - August 24, 2010 by convince

Check out the latest NBA 2K11 Developer Insight, discussing the art of passing.

Quote:


	"Steve Nash, John Stockton, Chris Paul, Jason Kidd. When you read these names one of the first things that should enter your mind is their amazing passing ability. They�ve got the innate gift of hitting players right where the ball needs to be. They not only complete the pass but also put receivers in position to make the next move. With this being said, has a player�s passer rating ever really mattered in a basketball videogame to this extent? Sure, it might have been factored into whether or not a player will be able to throw a good alley-oop or dish off a fancy pass. But in the end, couldn�t you throw a 35 foot chest pass to a covered receiver with the same accuracy using Steve Nash as you could with, say, Joel Przybilla? The answer is a resounding yes, but in 2K11, pass ratings matter in almost every aspect of throwing the ball. Whether you�re trying to thread the needle on a pass to the interior or you�re attempting to pass out of a shot, the passing ability of the ball-handler now matters. It determines whether or not the pass will be clean or will force the receiver to adjust his stance to catch the ball. The receiver might have to lean or the pass might force him to adjust so much that he bobbles the ball (which in turn can be retrieved by anyone). Many factors come into play here other than the pass rating, such as the distance to the receiver and how open the receiver is where he�s supposed to catch the ball. It�s amazing the difference this has made to the passing game and we�re very happy that pass ratings finally matter."

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Member Comments

# 81 bearschicago @ 08/25/10 12:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elprez98


	Its not always about the pass, sometimes it is about the receiver not having good hands, sir. It happens.

Kwame Brown anyone?

# 82 JVal3208 @ 08/25/10 12:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 23


	I think they said you're already player locked in the Jordan Challenge

You might mean Creating a Legend. I don't think you're locked in the Jordan Challenge.

# 83 TUSS11 @ 08/25/10 12:37 AM

Do we have the ability to choose who we throw the alley-oop to? It was taken out after the patch. It was really annoying when I would point the left stick towards my dunker but the lob would go to another player.

I'd still like the ability to choose what type of pass to throw, like 2K7. Couldn't they have added Maximum Passing from College Hoops 2K8 to the left shoulder button since dual player controls are now on the right shoulder button?

# 84 VDusen04 @ 08/25/10 12:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JVal3208


	You might mean Creating a Legend. I don't think you're locked in the Jordan Challenge.

Phew. I was hoping the Jordan Challenge was not locked.

# 85 JVal3208 @ 08/25/10 12:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VDusen04


	Phew. I was hoping the Jordan Challenge was not locked.

I really don't know if it is or isn't, but I definitely don't remember seeing anything saying Jordan Challenge was player locked.

# 86 Kaanyr Vhok @ 08/25/10 01:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by P21J


	Very interesting article. I'm glad they got rid of that stupid looking pass-out-of-shot animation. It looked horrible and I thought it was unrealistic to have players do that pass who aren't good passers (Shaq, Tim Duncan,DHoward). I'm also pretty excited for the gameplay video

Duncan is a good passer and Shaq and Howard are decent the problem was that they would pass it when they were already comitted to scoring. This really stood out when guys like Zach Randolph would make such an unselfish play.

# 87 Choops4Life @ 08/25/10 02:25 AM

Hey wassup my fellow 2K comrades? This is Zach from 2K Sports and the author of the Insight in discussion. I'm very happy that you've taken the time to read the article and post comments. It seems as though we're still seeing eye to eye on the improvements and innovations that passing required for NBA 2K11. It's nearing 10:30pm, the wife is at work and the baby is asleep. This is MY time!!! I will often be here checking your posts, but if you're nerdy enough like me to be on here this late, I'm willing to answer your passing questions right now. If not, post one and I'll try my best to get back to you.

A quick background: I'm originally from Iowa, I'm a Bulls/Chiefs/ISU Cyclones fan, I'm married and I have a 9.5 month old that is being recruited by all D1 schools for every sport known to man, I ran College Hoops for 3 years from 6 to 8 (oh do I ever miss thee), I love you guys, I love Wheat Thins and I hit the game winning three pointer in lunch ball today. That's about all you need to know about me for now.

# 88 23 @ 08/25/10 02:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Choops4Life


	Hey wassup my fellow 2K comrades? This is Zach from 2K Sports and the author of the Insight in discussion. I'm very happy that you've taken the time to read the article and post comments. It seems as though we're still seeing eye to eye on the improvements and innovations that passing required for NBA 2K11. It's nearing 10:30pm, the wife is at work and the baby is asleep. This is MY time!!! I will often be here checking your posts, but if you're nerdy enough like me to be on here this late, I'm willing to answer your passing questions right now. If not, post one and I'll try my best to get back to you. A quick background: I'm originally from Iowa, I'm a Bulls/Chiefs/ISU Cyclones fan, I'm married and I have a 9.5 month old that is being recruited by all D1 schools for every sport known to man, I ran College Hoops for 3 years from 6 to 8 (oh do I ever miss thee), I love you guys, I love Wheat Thins and I hit the game winning three pointer in lunch ball today. That's about all you need to know about me for now.

Welcome aboard Zach... Love the name man... I miss that series so much =(

Can we ever get CH to come back??

Ok you dont have to answer that one but anything is gravy.

With all of the passing and such as was discussed earlier, does the defense have counters to balance out this stuff so that the passing and offense isnt so overpowering, especially in the post?

# 89 Bornindamecca @ 08/25/10 02:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Choops4Life


	Hey wassup my fellow 2K comrades? This is Zach from 2K Sports and the author of the Insight in discussion. I'm very happy that you've taken the time to read the article and post comments. It seems as though we're still seeing eye to eye on the improvements and innovations that passing required for NBA 2K11. It's nearing 10:30pm, the wife is at work and the baby is asleep. This is MY time!!! I will often be here checking your posts, but if you're nerdy enough like me to be on here this late, I'm willing to answer your passing questions right now. If not, post one and I'll try my best to get back to you. A quick background: I'm originally from Iowa, I'm a Bulls/Chiefs/ISU Cyclones fan, I'm married and I have a 9.5 month old that is being recruited by all D1 schools for every sport known to man, I ran College Hoops for 3 years from 6 to 8 (oh do I ever miss thee), I love you guys, I love Wheat Thins and I hit the game winning three pointer in lunch ball today. That's about all you need to know about me for now.

Welcome aboard, man. Here's some questions:

When you fake a pass while moving, can you travel?

Can you fake a pass and then shoot?

Does speed affect the movement of your pass fake? Example: If you're walking on the perimeter, you might stop and plant for a pass fake. If you're trotting along the baseline, you are moving too fast to stop without traveling, so you have to get rid of the ball one way or another. If you're running full speed on the fast break, you might jump because your speed gives you more time in the air.

What kinds of circumstances lead to bad passes?

What kinds of circumstances lead to turnovers?

In the situation of turnovers, can you describe the behavior of the ball? In past games, the ball either seemed to go out of bounds, or bounce directly into the hands of another player, rather than cause the burst of chaos that happens with a loose ball.

Thanks man, and good luck.

# 90 magicman32 @ 08/25/10 02:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Choops4Life


	Hey wassup my fellow 2K comrades? This is Zach from 2K Sports and the author of the Insight in discussion. I'm very happy that you've taken the time to read the article and post comments. It seems as though we're still seeing eye to eye on the improvements and innovations that passing required for NBA 2K11. It's nearing 10:30pm, the wife is at work and the baby is asleep. This is MY time!!! I will often be here checking your posts, but if you're nerdy enough like me to be on here this late, I'm willing to answer your passing questions right now. If not, post one and I'll try my best to get back to you. A quick background: I'm originally from Iowa, I'm a Bulls/Chiefs/ISU Cyclones fan, I'm married and I have a 9.5 month old that is being recruited by all D1 schools for every sport known to man, I ran College Hoops for 3 years from 6 to 8 (oh do I ever miss thee), I love you guys, I love Wheat Thins and I hit the game winning three pointer in lunch ball today. That's about all you need to know about me for now.

Is Icon passing controlled the same as 2k9 and 2k10 by tapping R1(PS3) to bring up the icons? Or do we have to hold a button to bring up the Icons?

# 91 Altimus @ 08/25/10 02:34 AM

So many Chicago fans on the 2K staff.

Welcome!

# 92 Jano @ 08/25/10 02:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Choops4Life


	I hit the game winning three pointer in lunch ball today.

Nice little plugin there haha and great to see you on board Zach hope you've got some tough skin...

And I really enjoyed the work you and the other guys put in CH2K8 hopefully even more of that game can make it into 2K11 this year.

# 93 infam0us @ 08/25/10 02:35 AM

Nice to have another 2k guy on here, someone else besides Mike and Eric to complain too.

Was talking with some users about this the other day but something that bothered me in last years game was finesse PF and them posting up. Doesn't even have to be finesse PF but if you play a wing at the PF position they tend to post up more than they normally should. I saw Lewis try to post up on Martin in the Magic Nuggets video so any tweaks that a 6 min clip wont show.

# 94 reptilexcq @ 08/25/10 02:47 AM

How much human skills is involved in playing 2K11?? I understand defensive AI has been ramped up. So is this game more about strategy than skills to beat an online player?? Can a skill player make shot despite how tough the defense put on him??

# 95 eDotd @ 08/25/10 02:47 AM

Guys..

Quote:

Originally Posted by Choops4Life


	I'm willing to answer your passing questions right now. If not, post one and I'll try my best to get back to you.

Just an FYI for guys coming in here asking random calf sleeve & headband questions.

Welcome, Zack. No mention of Ricky Davis in your introductory post? Good man.

# 96 Choops4Life @ 08/25/10 02:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 23


	Welcome aboard Zach... Love the name man... I miss that series so much =( Can we ever get CH to come back?? Ok you dont have to answer that one but anything is gravy. With all of the passing and such as was discussed earlier, does the defense have counters to balance out this stuff so that the passing and offense isnt so overpowering, especially in the post?

Thanks for the welcome 23. Defense against passing? Definitely. AI players play passing lanes very intelligently so you have to be selective about your pass decisions. As a user, if you play tight defense on the receiver, often times a pass to this receiver will force a tough throw that could potentially take the receiver from his desired catch area. This includes passes when you're trying to thread the needle into the post. Passing in the post is not overpowering. Let's remember who you're passing with. Centers, Power Forwards. Pass ratings matter.

# 97 elprez98 @ 08/25/10 03:00 AM

Ok first of all, Zack you deserve credit because I think you guys made the best B-Ball game to date in CH2k8.

Now that's out of the way, we saw a lot of overhead passes in the video today. Are those going to be toned down more in the final build?

BTW, I think you deserve a limo, you're a star!!!!

# 98 Choops4Life @ 08/25/10 03:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bornindamecca


	Welcome aboard, man. Here's some questions: When you fake a pass while moving, can you travel? Can you fake a pass and then shoot? Does speed affect the movement of your pass fake? Example: If you're walking on the perimeter, you might stop and plant for a pass fake. If you're trotting along the baseline, you are moving too fast to stop without traveling, so you have to get rid of the ball one way or another. If you're running full speed on the fast break, you might jump because your speed gives you more time in the air. What kinds of circumstances lead to bad passes? What kinds of circumstances lead to turnovers? In the situation of turnovers, can you describe the behavior of the ball? In past games, the ball either seemed to go out of bounds, or bounce directly into the hands of another player, rather than cause the burst of chaos that happens with a loose ball. Thanks man, and good luck.

Fake Passing on the Move - You can't travel.

You can fake a pass and then shoot, yes. Oh so nice

We have pass fakes for all types of movement speeds.

Bad pass circumstances include but are not limited to (honestly I can't remember them all. I'm not at the database or I'd list them all for you):
- Deep passes
- Thread needle
- Perimeter
- Perimeter covered
- Pick & Roll
- Double team
- Cutter
- Out of Post
- Inbound
- Fastbreak
- Pass Out of Shot
- Drive Pass

Circumstances that lead to turnovers: Dumb passes

# 99 domidomdomz @ 08/25/10 03:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Choops4Life


	Hey wassup my fellow 2K comrades? This is Zach from 2K Sports and the author of the Insight in discussion. I'm very happy that you've taken the time to read the article and post comments. It seems as though we're still seeing eye to eye on the improvements and innovations that passing required for NBA 2K11. It's nearing 10:30pm, the wife is at work and the baby is asleep. This is MY time!!! I will often be here checking your posts, but if you're nerdy enough like me to be on here this late, I'm willing to answer your passing questions right now. If not, post one and I'll try my best to get back to you. A quick background: I'm originally from Iowa, I'm a Bulls/Chiefs/ISU Cyclones fan, I'm married and I have a 9.5 month old that is being recruited by all D1 schools for every sport known to man, I ran College Hoops for 3 years from 6 to 8 (oh do I ever miss thee), I love you guys, I love Wheat Thins and I hit the game winning three pointer in lunch ball today. That's about all you need to know about me for now.

Welcome, sir. It's nice to have you 2KSports guys conversing with us here in the community.

Question: About Pass Targeting,

Quote:


	A lot of people are icon passers (myself included) and a lot of people are left stick + (A) button passers. The benefit of icon passing is that you always get who you aim for because you’re determining it by a single button press. Why can’t left stick passers get the same love? One of the first things we did with passing this year was completely wipe out our pass targeting system. There were too many variables added that only occasionally gave us what we wanted and it became too messy to work with. Pass targeting now relies almost solely on one thing and that is the direction your stick is pressed.

From this paragraph, did you mean icon passing was also wiped out? Or I may have misunderstood the paragraph. And what do you mean by pass targeting now relies almost solely on the direction of your stick?

Clarification from you will be highly appreciated. Thanks.

# 100 Choops4Life @ 08/25/10 03:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by magicman32


	Is Icon passing controlled the same as 2k9 and 2k10 by tapping R1(PS3) to bring up the icons? Or do we have to hold a button to bring up the Icons?

You can tap or hold.

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