Your Guide to Better Sliders

[spit_bubble]

I'm starting this thread as a guide for people to learn about, further understand, and hopefully improve their OPTION SETTINGS so that they can enjoy College Hoops 2K8 to the fullest.

First off, I simmed five seasons of LEGACY MODE @ 20 minute sim length, and came up with these results on average ranging from worst in the NCAA to best:

(check the TEAM STATS at the end of your games to compare)

Points = 56-90
FG Attempts = 48-62
FG % = 37-48
3pt Attempts = 10-26
3pt % = 26-42
FT Attempts = 19-35
FT % = 55-78
Assists = 8-18
Turnovers = 9-21
Fouls = 15-26
Rebounds = 26-36
Offensive Rebounds = 7-11
Steals = 4-10
Blocks = 1-6

Second, every one is going to have their own skill level so rather than listing slider settings I thought it'd be better to list an explanation of what the sliders do. Here is what I've found so far:

(please feel free to expand on this, as there are things I haven't tested yet)

GAMEPLAY

Style: Arcade of Simulation - You can choose Arcade and then turn back on the sim rules and fouls, but the intentional fouls still won't get called at the end of close games.

Difficulty - Not sure of the differences between the levels.

Half Length - 16 minutes seems to match up well to the 20 minute sim length.

Game Speed and Player Speed - The TIP menu actually tells you what these do.

FT Difficulty - Not sure if this has no effect if REAL PLAYER FT is on.

Real Player FT % ON or OFF - I'm not sure if this means that a player's FT ability effects the difficulty, or if your release makes no difference at all when it's on.

Player Lock - Doesn't alter the game, just locks you onto one player. If you haven't tried this I recommend it. Just choose '85 St. John's and bomb 3s with Chris Mullin all day. It's cool too because you can call for the pass and even control when other players shoot.

Team Unity, 6th Man, and Clutch - I keep these all on even though some may say they are artificial. Not sure of all the effects they have, but I think they better help capture the feel of college basketball.

RULES

Charging - Charges are few and far between. In fact, are they even in the game???

Blocking - I think this needs to be low to make sure there are charges called too.

Reaching - Finding a balance with this one really just depends on how well you've learned when to go for the steal.

Shooting - The sim results I listed above say 19-35 FT attempts per game, so keep that in mind here.

Loose Ball - Over the back calls, and... Not sure what else.

SLIDERS

SHOOTING - All these are pretty self explanatory. Changing the TENDENCIES on the COMPUTER really alters the game. If you boost the CLOSE it'll feed the post more, and if you increase the DRIVE it'll attack the basket more if you leave an open lane. The trade off on DRIVE is that if it's too high it'll try to drive even when there's nothing there. Also, if the computer isn't shooting enough 3s, or is shooting too many, you'll want to make changes here.

GAMEPLAY- Here you can adjust the TEAM UNITY effect, though again I'm not sure exactly what it does. Raising DUNKS IN TRAFFIC will trigger more dunk attempts. SCREEN will alter the effectiveness of screens, while boosting SCREEN STRENGTH will have screens knock guys to the floor more. STEAL SUCCESS is self explanatory. Boosting HELP DEFENSE and HELP RECOVERY will generally make guys play better team defense, helping more and getting back to their own man better... I'm not sure if this effects double teams and doubling the post by the computer.

ATTRIBUTES- All of these are pretty self explanatory. If you need more turnovers lower OFFENSIVE AWARENESS and boost DEFENSIVE AWARENESS. BALL HANDLING will make isomoves more, or less, effective.

FITNESS

If you play on 16 minutes you may want to remember to alter it so guys will get tired slightly faster, so that rotations remain in proportion to the 20 minute sim length.

[spit_bubble]

Re: Your Guide to Better Sliders

I thought of a better way to do this...

To get the stats right, so that they "fit" Legacy Mode, you can use the guide I posted above and then use the corresponding sliders that have the main influence to make any changes:

(again, check the TEAM STATS at the end of each game to compare)

Points = 56-90 (GAMEPLAY- minutes per half)
FG Attempts = 48-62 (GAMEPLAY- minutes per half)
FG % = 37-48 (SLIDERS: SHOOT- Inside, Mid, 3pt, Dunk, Layup)
3pt Attempts = 10-26 (SLIDERS: SHOOT TENDENCY- 3pt)
3pt % = 26-42 (SLIDERS: SHOOT- 3pt)
FT Attempts = 19-35 (RULES- fouls, and in particular shooting fouls)
FT % = 55-78 (GAMEPLAY- FT difficulty, or Real Player FT ON)
Assists = 8-18 (SLIDERS: ATTRIBUTES- Offensive Awareness)
Turnovers = 9-21 (SLIDERS: ATTRIBUTES- Offensive Awareness, Defensive Awareness, Ball Handling)
Fouls = 15-26 (RULES- fouls)
Rebounds = 26-36 (SLIDERS: ATTRIBUTES- Offensive Rebounds, Defensive Rebounds)
Offensive Rebounds = 7-11 (SLIDERS: ATTRIBUTES- Offensive Rebounds)
Steals = 4-10 (SLIDERS: GAMEPLAY- Steal Success, SLIDERS: ATTRIBUTES- Steal)
Blocks = 1-6 (SLIDERS: ATTRIBUTES- Block)

Anyone feel free to add to this, or correct me if I'm wrong.

The other sliders deal mainly with how the game plays. In other words you can get the numbers right, but still have it not quite feel right. I'll talk about these sliders here:

(I think the TIP menu covers these first three GAMEPLAY settings, but I'll go over them anyways)

GAMEPLAY: TEAM UNITY- Sometimes when a big play is made, like an offensive rebound tip in, you'll see green lights simultaneously flashing under the players signifying what else but... Team unity. My guess is it gives a boost to the related attributes. You'll notice too that in the main Legacy Mode menu there is a meter for your team's unity. Young teams won't be very unified, while veteran teams will be. I think keeping this setting ON adds to the realism.

GAMEPLAY: 6TH MAN- With this on the crowd will effect games. Away teams will get rattled and have their ratings go down, and home teams will get a boost when they play well. That's the gist of it, and I think having this ON also makes the game more realistic.

GAMEPLAY: CLUTCH- This deals with individual players and their ability to make big shots. I definitely think this should be ON too.

SLIDERS: SHOOTING TENDENCY- Changing these for the computer AI can drastically change the way the computer plays. There are four different ones: CLOSE, MID, 3PT, and DRIVE. If a team with a good post player isn't giving him the ball you'll want to raise the CLOSE, and if a team with good three point shooters isn't attacking enough from outside, you'll want to boost 3PT, etc.

SLIDERS: GAMEPLAY: DUNKS IN TRAFFIC- Raise this slider and you'll see more dunk attempts even with defenders in the lane and on the blocks.

SLIDERS: GAMEPLAY: SCREEN SUCCESS and SCREEN STRENGTH- Raise SUCCESS and screens will be more successful. Raise STRENGTH and more guys will get knocked to the floor on screens.

SLIDERS: GAMEPLAY: HELP DEFENSE and HELP RECOVERY- Raise DEFENSE and you'll see defenders help more on defense, like on a pick and roll for example. Raise RECOVERY and you'll see them recover better to their own man after helping.

SLIDERS: ATTRIBUTES: OFFENSIVE AWARENESS and DEFENSIVE AWARENSS- Raise OFFENSIVE and you'll see less turnovers. Raise DEFENSIVE and you'll see more hands in passing lanes and better press and zone defense, which lead to more turnovers.

This has been your guide to better sliders... Anyone else feel free to add to this, or correct any errors I have made. Thank you.

[spit_bubble]

Re: Your Guide to Better Sliders

The other sliders deal mainly with how the game plays...

Forgot to talk about:

SLIDERS: ATTRIBUTES: BALL HANDLING- If you raise this it'll make isomoves more effective. If you lower it players will lose control of the ball more.

[bighoosier8]

Re: Your Guide to Better Sliders

Great info man... What sliders do you actually use?

[spit_bubble]

Re: Your Guide to Better Sliders

Great info man... What sliders do you actually use?

I just use my own. I'm still making changes to them every now and then, though at this point they are small changes in an attempt to get them to fit the stats in Legacy Mode as well as possible.

I'm pretty close to "perfecting" them as much as I possibly can, and plan to post them here at some point when no more changes seem necessary.

Also, I've discovered a few more things:

SLIDERS: SHOOTING TENDENCY- This does NOT actually change the way the computer plays the way I thought it did. I initially thought that if you had CLOSE at a high number the computer would attempt to pass into the post and try close shots, but that's not the case. It simply means that if the CPU has an opportunity at close range then they'll be more likely to shoot it from there. So unfortunately it won't change the strategy... Because I keep playing teams with good post players who end up only taking maybe 5 or 6 shots a game because the CPU won't run plays for that player.

SLIDERS: ATTRIBUTES: BALL HANDLING- I think this slider also effects how well players pass. I recently lowered this for the human setting and am getting more poor passes. The difference only seems to be slight, so I'm not entirely sure if this is indeed the case.

[bighoosier8]

Re: Your Guide to Better Sliders

I am having the most problems with the injury setting... I have yet to start a legacy because I have been waiting to be satisfied with a final set of rosters (aka waiting on DK to finish his magic). I have played a lot of quick games and I've never had an injury. Do you think that is because its not a legacy game? I have the injury setting on 0 for computer and 100 for user and still no injuries!!! Have you looked into injuries? I'm pretty satisfied with my sliders as far as game play goes, but I still need to check them with the simulation stats.

Thanks

[spit_bubble]

Re: Your Guide to Better Sliders

Have you looked into injuries?

Actually no. I prefer to keep injuries off.

[footballfanatic1]

Re: Your Guide to Better Sliders

Cookoo,

Would you be able to post your current sliders so I can get a feel for what creates simulation stats?

[spit_bubble]

Re: Your Guide to Better Sliders

Cookoo,

Would you be able to post your current sliders so I can get a feel for what creates simulation stats?

The last couple of games I've played have been pretty good, to the point where I don't think I can get them much better. I will post my sliders soon.

[footballfanatic1]

Re: Your Guide to Better Sliders

The last couple of games I've played have been pretty good, to the point where I don't think I can get them much better. I will post my sliders soon.

Alright, good stuff.

[spit_bubble]

Re: Your Guide to Better Sliders

I was going to start another thread and post my sliders, but instead I thought it'd be better to just post the relevant ones here and also comment on them as well. Again, THESE ARE SLIDERS ATTEMPTING TO "FIT" INTO LEGACY MODE AND THE SIMULATED STATS POSTED ABOVE.

First off, it should be noted that these are what work for me. They may not work well for you, but at least maybe they'll help you get a better gameplay experience and a better understanding of how to tweak the settings.

Second, my style of play is that I try to play realistically. I mean, play to my team's strengths, run plays on offense, change defenses as necessary, call timeouts and use "Points of Emphasis" during timeouts, etc. I also do NOT scout the other team, or turn on defensive pressure or double teams if a guy is lighting me up (I leave those settings on "Auto"). So I guess I'm certainly more than a casual player, but also short of being hardcore into it. I mean, I'll get into it strategy, but not to every last detail. I did make a custom playbook, but will often let the CPU call my plays.

Third, I have a pretty good feel for the animations and the moves, though I keep my iso moves to a minimum and usually just use the cross over or hesitation cross over. Most of my scoring comes from running plays and in the rhythm of the offense.

All right, here they are, with the ones in red bold indicating ones I'm not absolutely sure of due to lack of testing on my part. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COMMENT ON THE SETTINGS I'M NOT SURE OF!

GAMEPLAY: DIFFICULTY- MOP. Do not be scared to play on MOP. It's not cheap, and it only requires that you use your own intelligence.

GAMEPLAY: HALF LENGTH- 16 minutes.

GAMEPLAY: SIM LENGTH- 20 minutes.

GAMEPLAY: REAL PLAYER FT%- ON. I turn this on because it not only gives good results, but also allows me time to manage substitutions better (I turn OFF "Auto Subs" in COACH SETTINGS). By the way, with this ON you can just do nothing and the player will eventually shoot automatically... So again, it'll give you time to manage subs, or other coaching duties.

GAMEPLAY: INJURY- I prefer to play with injuries OFF.

GAMEPLAY: TEAM UNITY, 6TH MAN, CLUTCH- All three of these should be on. They help simulate the swings in NCAA basketball (I mean come on, did you see UNC vs. Kansas yesterday?!).

**********

RULES: CHARGING FOUL- 100. Even 100 isn't high enough. There aren't nearly enough charging fouls.

RULES: BLOCKING FOUL- 60

RULES: REACHING FOUL- 60. At 60 it makes it so you can't just hack away to try to get steals. You can still pick guys pockets, but you just have to be smart about it.

RULES: SHOOTING FOUL- 70. At 70 when you take it to the lane you'll see a good balance of fouls and no calls, plus you'll see some fouls on jumpers.

RULES: LOOSE BALL- 100. Like CHARGING, 100 still isn't high enough.

**********

SLIDERS: SHOOTING

All at the default 50 except:

CPU INSIDE- 45. This helps keep the CPU overall % realistic.

HUMAN/CPU DUNK- 60. I don't think I've ever seen a missed dunk at 60, so maybe this should be lower. Not a big deal really, IMO.

HUMAN/CPU LAYUP- 40. At 40 it seems perfect, because you'll see missed layups every now and then.

CPU CLOSE TENDENCY- 60. Since the CPU doesn't seem to post up that often this helps encourage the shot when it does go into the post. I used to play with this at 90 in an attempt to get more shots by the AI from the post, but it didn't change things. So, I switched it back to 60 just because I thought it might somehow be screwing up the AI... Because when you alter the other TENDENCIES it's pretty drastic. I'm still trying to figure out how to get the CPU to post up more.

CPU 3PT TENDENCY- 55. At the default 50 it seemed the CPU just wouldn't shoot enough 3s.

CPU DRIVE TENDENCY- 60. This helps encourage the CPU to be more aggressive on the drive, though the AI still won't always take open lanes like it should. The thing is, if it's any higher than 60 it'll force it too much.

**********

SLIDERS: ATTRIBUTES- I have all of these the SAME for both human and CPU, EXCEPT WHERE NOTED.

OFFENSIVE AWARENESS- 0. Helps cause more turnovers, of which there aren't enough.

DEFENSIVE AWARENESS- 100. Again, helps with turnovers.

DUNK- 100. You'll see some guys dunk who probably shouldn't at 100, but overall you won't see enough dunks in this game.

BALL HANDLING- 40. Lowering this to below the default 50 helps turnovers, but if it's any lower good ball handlers will get too sloppy.

OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS- human = 60. CPU = 40.

DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS- human = 60. CPU = 40.

TIP: Regarding defensive rebounds off of FTs, take control of the small forward and snag the rebound yourself to help reduce the aggravating amount of offensive rebounds the CPU gets on FTs.

BLOCK- human = 70, CPU = 40.

STEAL- 55

SPEED- 55. This is just a preference of mine, to have the game a bit faster than the default.

**********

SLIDERS: GAMEPLAY- I have all these the same for both human and CPU.

TEAM UNITY- 50. The default is 100. I have not tested this, and put it at 50... Though come to think of it, I'm going to put this at 100 to help capture the emotional swings of real college hoops.

DUNK IN TRAFFIC- 100. Again, there just aren't enough dunks in this game.

SCREEN SUCCESS- 60. I used to have the human set higher, but then got better at the pick and roll and it became too easy. Really, this one depends on your own ability. On MOP if you get screened on the pick and roll the CPU will take you to school, so you have to try your best to avoid them and 60 seems right to me.

SCREEN STRENGTH- 20. At the default 50 guys get knocked over way too often.

STEAL- 50.

HELP DEFENSE- 60. Seems like the help D could use a slight boost over the default 50.

HELP RECOVERY- 60. Ditto here with the slight boost, as it makes the defense hustle a little more, which seems more true to the college game.

**********

SLIDERS: FITNESS: FATIGUE RATE- 55. You need to make your players tire a bit faster because you're only playing on 16 minute halves. I have not tried altering FATIGUE RECOVERY, but only because the rotations seem fine with just the FATIGUE RATE change.

**********

That's all!

Feel free to add any of your own discoveries to this thread!

[spit_bubble]

Re: Your Guide to Better Sliders

CPU CLOSE TENDENCY- 60. Since the CPU doesn't seem to post up that often this helps encourage the shot when it does go into the post. I used to play with this at 90 in an attempt to get more shots by the AI from the post, but it didn't change things. So, I switched it back to 60 just because I thought it might somehow be screwing up the AI... Because when you alter the other TENDENCIES it's pretty drastic. I'm still trying to figure out how to get the CPU to post up more.

Ho Lee Schnikees...

I just made a big time discovery re: CPU post play!

In order to get realistic CPU post play it helps BIG TIME if you turn OFF double team... In other words, before the tip off, go to the double team settings and switch them ALL to "Never".

I think since I've had defensive awareness at 100 my team would ALWAYS double team good post players, resulting in them taking relatively few shots and passing out of the double team.

I just tested it with a game against '88 Oklahoma and Stacy King was actually working the post, something I rarely see with other good post players.

As Peter Griffin would say, "Friggin' sweet."

[bonannogiovanni]

Re: Your Guide to Better Sliders

Cookoo did you leave game and player speed at default?

[spit_bubble]

Re: Your Guide to Better Sliders

Cookoo did you leave game and player speed at default?

Game and Player Speed, under GAMEPLAY, I have left at the default 50.

[kobefor3]

Re: Your Guide to Better Sliders

while changing sliders in games i found out that by adjusting one slider also affects all the other sliders for both human and cpu. For example by raising the mid range slider it becomes easier to make threes. At 47 mid and 48 three i cant hit a three for my life but when i increase the mid to 48 i shoot around 50%. It might be in my head though. Can you confirm this?