NBA 2K17 News Post

NBA 2K17 Gameplay Blog with Gameplay Director, Mike Wang

12:00 PM - September 1, 2016 by Steve_OS

What’s up, 2K fans?! Mike Wang here to give you the scoop on some of the hotness our gameplay team has in store for you this year! I know a lot of news has already come out about some of the gameplay features for NBA 2K17 but hopefully this blog can give you a fuller picture of what to expect when you get your hands on the game and clear up some of the questions you might have. So let’s jump into it!

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Member Comments

# 241 eko718 @ 09/01/16 08:37 PM

Mike, question about dribbling. Some of the community day guys have mentioned that defensive players were falling way too frequently. Is this already being addressed? I can see that become old pretty quick and taking the joy away from actually breaking ankles skillfully.

# 242 KoolAidNoSugar @ 09/01/16 08:37 PM

Will 6'11 bigs be able to compete with 7'3 bigs in rebounding battles? On 2K16 smaller bigs just gets rebounds taken over their head by these 7'3 monsters.

Will the difference in Veritcal & Lateral Quickness actually be noticeable? As that's what 7'3 bigs get penalized for the most.

People tend to go towards 2 7'3 C and it clogs the court in ProAm/Walk on. If the undersized bigs could compete that would grant more spacing on the court.

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# 243 Beluba @ 09/01/16 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kstat


	To piggy back on that, if a ballhandler stops in the lane and a defender runs into him from behind, is that going to start being called? That's the go to tactic for a lot of point guards past and present.

We did add fouls for defenders ramming into a stationary ball handler. But they've been tuned back quite a bit because they would often fire off in cases where people were just trying to get back into position. They're in there though.

# 244 Sundown @ 09/01/16 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beluba


	Great post, Sundown. I actually started off the dev cycle how you just suggested. More frequent greens, high-ish success rate, but lots of misses. People, at least the handful that tested it, didn't like it at all. I can actually make that change right now and you'll get it when you play Prelude next week... but my guess is that it won't go over well.

Do it. You know you want to. >8)

I can definitely see folks not liking it, if at first-- it would take a while to undo the expectations set by a couple of years of programming. If there's a chance of them accepting it, there would still probably be a pretty big adjustment period.

Quote:


	I think greens are rare enough that it doesn't spoil the drama, so I don't really think that's too much of an issue. Maybe I can kill them off completely next year or tune them to be super rare this year and let them slowly die off. Still debating that one.

With their rarity, they probably won't spoil things too much, but I'd prefer to be unsure of every shot's success until it goes through the net. That matches more closely to how I experience basketball and there could the rare game where a big shot in the clutch shows up green. I'm probably kind of weird this way but when that happens it's a bit anticlimactic for me.

Or you can just kill them slowly. With fire.

# 245 HPShizzle @ 09/01/16 08:38 PM

Hey Mike, awesome post but I have a question: I plan on making a Sharpshooter PF and running the stretch 4 spot similar to a Dirk Nowitzki in ProAM but i'm worried about how I will do against other teams who will likely run two Glass Cleaner C's who have better rebounding and vertical stats. My question is how will user skill affect the battle for boxout positions and cleanly grabbing rebounds? And to add on to that, how will height effect that same battle? It felt like there was no reason not to use a 7'3 big in 2K16

# 246 harryl @ 09/01/16 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beluba


	I think greens are rare enough that it doesn't spoil the drama, so I don't really think that's too much of an issue. Maybe I can kill them off completely next year or tune them to be super rare this year and let them slowly die off. Still debating that one.

Personally, I think it makes the most sense to make them 100%, but to make them extremely rare. If they're not going to be 100%, then they shouldn't be a totally different color/animation.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beluba


	Defensive Assist is back to being a slider, the pressure sensitive thing didn't work out the way we wanted.

Really? I ended up playing with it at 5 or 10 because, it "felt" necessary to have it on slightly to keep correct orientation, but dialed way down to provide more precise control. And I tried to be as conscious as possible about varying pressure on L2 for when I was digging in, versus trying to move rapidly and laterally.

So now how can we control the balance between digging in/lateral quickness? Or is this somehow made a moot issue due to the new collision/body-up dynamics?

And what if we want to just simply break out of a defensive posture and run as normal? Do we have to shuffle until we get to some pre-set distance, and then we break into the "normal," non-defensive movement animation?

# 247 Beluba @ 09/01/16 08:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by K_Dub


	Appreciate all the work you guys put in for NBA 2K17, Mike. Quick question for you: how does the shot stick timing affect step back jumpers this year? I'm assuming they're still triggered by the shot stick as well as the button + left stick combo. Also, will step back jumpers be more effective this year, specifically for the guys that use them often in real life? A lot of the animations seemed too slow to me to effectively create space for a good shot in 2K16.

Stepback Js are off the Shot Stick this year. You tap the Shot button to get them now. Timing works the same way though, after the stepback finishes and the player starts to gather, the meter starts to fill.

They're pretty effective this year with the right guys. Pullups, spin jumpers, and stepbacks all got a decent boost for the guys that can actually do them IRL.

# 248 NoLeafClover @ 09/01/16 08:43 PM

With timing layups being a thing, all I know is that the SERVERS better be up to scratch this year as mis-timing layups due to lag will definitely get people raging.

Working the ball inside was a good fall back way of scoring in previous years if the game was laggy and made timing jumpshots difficult...

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# 249 jfsolo @ 09/01/16 08:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LorenzoDC


	Mike, I just want to shout out to you and the dev team for how you collectively have observed and analyzed your own game, identified areas to improve, and (more than likely) executed on those targeted areas for improvement. That's a very substantial undertaking. Seriously, it gets short shrift among your buyers and most people here. But what's really standing out to me, as I absorb all this and your answers to questions, is the level of clear eyed review you all did about the places where game play was weaker and could improve. OS'ers offer a fair amount of analysis on those lines, some better than others, but you guys have taken all that and your own assessments to identify areas in a short cycle where you could make real changes - physicality, animations and post play, defensive movement on ball and off, and so on -and translated it into technical projects you can focus on and complete. Nevermind all the project management and testing and coding and frustration that comes out of all that, which is itself huge. I'm just really appreciative of the genuine effort and intelligence that goes into really trying to make the game better as a basketball game. Yes there may be areas where you don't execute as well as you hoped, and yes there are choices to make about developmental resources that leave some players disappointed. That's a given. But other game teams don't engage the hard core fans the way you do to help you target areas to improve and enhance design. So thank you. I wanted to call that out.

Co-Sign. Although some things each year don't end up working out well in terms of implementation, I never doubt the the gameplay team is fully cognizant of those issues, and will work tirelessly to improve them.

This reality makes their policy of somewhat limited interaction through social media during the development process, easier to bear, for me at least.

# 250 Beluba @ 09/01/16 08:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goffs


	So the defensive stance is automatic this year? Holding LT will exactly do what this year?

LT is used for initiating contact as a defender. Crowd the ball handler, Post Engage, Grab offball, etc.

# 251 Beluba @ 09/01/16 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by avaya23


	Beluba...I have 2 questions and they are short and sweet.. When u pump fake a standing shot like say a 3...will we be able to get the shot off without seeing the player run into me and just call a foul? Second one is kinda simple...let's say same situation but after the pump fake can we sidestep to a side like steph and klay do ? Hope it all makes sense

When you fake a defender out and he flies into you, we still need to resolve those collisions. So yes, sometimes those fouls will still be called.

We did add the quick side step jumpers though. Hold Left Stick to the side and shoot. They're really quick and might help you avoid getting clobbered by those close out guys.

# 252 Vni @ 09/01/16 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thedream2k16


	Are the stepbacks quicker this year? In 2k16 i like to use James Harden hop/step back but its way to slow so its easy to defend

49:05 check that possession by the AI and the stepback J by Klay. Looks pretty quick to me.

# 253 PhillyIMBlog.com @ 09/01/16 08:50 PM

Are the penalties still the same for dribbling the ball long and then shooting?

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# 254 SonicBoom2040 @ 09/01/16 08:53 PM

Thanks Mike for the quick response...much appreciated!

# 255 Sundown @ 09/01/16 08:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LorenzoDC


	Mike, I just want to shout out to you and the dev team for how you collectively have observed and analyzed your own game, identified areas to improve, and (more than likely) executed on those targeted areas for improvement. That's a very substantial undertaking. Seriously, it gets short shrift among your buyers and most people here. But what's really standing out to me, as I absorb all this and your answers to questions, is the level of clear eyed review you all did about the places where game play was weaker and could improve. So thank you. I wanted to call that out.

This. I often have thoughts about or suggestions for a gameplay or control mechanic that's been brewing in my head. Sometimes I post them and find that Mike has or is already going in that direction.

Other times I mean to write up a suggestion design doc for that feature and find that it's already been done (like the tip rebound mechanic introduced this year).

I believe why this happens is the fact that for years, Mike and crew have had a clear vision for how to organize and abstract basketball concepts and how to interpret and implement these aspects in a video game. The consistency of the vision and design means someone interested in the evolution of 2K's mechanics can catch the framework of that vision and "get it", and present suggestions that might actually work or was already implemented in a build in Novato.

Though I might disagree with some design choices, I still do trust the direction of 2K when it comes to the simulation gameplay aspect of the product when guys like Beluba and Da Czar are at the reins.

# 256 Beluba @ 09/01/16 09:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eko718


	Mike, question about dribbling. Some of the community day guys have mentioned that defensive players were falling way too frequently. Is this already being addressed? I can see that become old pretty quick and taking the joy away from actually breaking ankles skillfully.

We're working on making anklebreakers tunable with roster updates. I don't think it's as bad as that video made it seem, but worst case, they might be a little high for a couple weeks til the patch hits.

# 257 alabamarob @ 09/01/16 09:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beluba


	1. Nothing controllable for the CP3 dribble but some of the dribble collision awareness anims look kind of like what you're describing. And for those body ups from last year where defenders were able to sprint in front of the ball to cutoff the ball handler... only elite defenders have access to those. 2. Height and rebounding attributes play a huge role in success this year, so I definitely think you'll notice a stark advantage in a bigs vs. small lineup when it comes to rebounding. 3. If you're in front of the ball as an onball defender, you'll automatically get into a defensive stance.

Wow. Now there is a benefit to elite defenders. Shot blockers, rebounders and elite defenders now matter. Let the chess begin.

1. Can we attack slow bigs off the dribble who are poor pick and roll defenders that show high?

# 258 Scvllp @ 09/01/16 09:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MFDOOMBOT


	Mike, Will there be halftime & post game highlights on PS4 this year no matter the length of quarter?

I second this.

# 259 Beluba @ 09/01/16 09:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by harryl


	So now how can we control the balance between digging in/lateral quickness? Or is this somehow made a moot issue due to the new collision/body-up dynamics? And what if we want to just simply break out of a defensive posture and run as normal? Do we have to shuffle until we get to some pre-set distance, and then we break into the "normal," non-defensive movement animation?

LT will still "force" the defensive stance but if you're just moving slowly in a lateral onball slide, you don't have to keep it held. That's all I was saying. You hold LT+RT for a hard quick shuffle and hold RT (with no LT) to force a turn into forward movement.

# 260 ffaacc03 @ 09/01/16 09:18 PM

Dear Mike,

First of all THANKS, sincerely, for your dev effort and for the huge effort of still being here at this time, answering questions.

I believe it was on 2K11 or 2K12 that I could do like a one hand fake pass when in the post, before I started the live dribble. It was a beautifull animation that, when coupled with a wing driving by me, caused the human defender to guess if the pass would be made or not. I used to either pass the ball to them or do a spin the other way.

Hope you can picture what I am trying to say. It was beautifull. It was triguered by quickly flicking the right stick either right or left. Rethinking about it, it was more like a shoulder move or an over the waist move only, feet didnt move nor was a dribble made, while the hand used was either right or left depending on what you pressed.

I believe that there was also an animation of a fake pass, using the two hands above the head, again when engaged in the post and also before dribbling, this was beautifull too and had an effect on the human defenders (second guessing).

Cant remember if it had any effect on the cpu tho, but it portrayed a real life event when it happened. Garnett and P. Gasol come to mind in real life when thinking on those moves.

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