NBA 2K15 New Shot Meter Explained

[Beluba]

(Promoting this post to the homepage, written by Mike Wang, Sr. Game Designer for NBA 2K15)

Let me clarify up the design of the shot meter. In previous 2K's, shot timing was just another factor within a huge list of other things that spit out a final shot % which we then rolled dice against. So really, it was Real Player % with a bit of help from the user. But the skill of the user had a minimal impact.

In 2K15, all factors that make up a good vs. bad shot get rolled up into a value that then scales the timing window for your jump shooter. So now, timing is a much more crucial factor in whether you make or miss. This puts the onus on the user to execute with more precision and separates the skilled users from the lucky ones. It's actually very similar to the design of Free Throw shooting. You can make the shot if you manage to get perfect timing but your % falls the further you are from the ideal release point. If you're way off, it's a guaranteed miss.

It's also a much more useful feedback system. If you're unfamiliar with your players, it's much easier to get a sense of their timing by glancing at the meter. Also, it's much easier to see how close or off you were with your timing after the fact to help you learn... much more useful than the letter grade system (which is still an option btw.)

My intention was never to make shooting a "meter game." The most successful people in the office are the ones who still watch the shot animations for visual cues of when to release, using the meter only for feedback or for occasional guidance.

I knew there would be some concerns, so let me try to address those now:

- No, you cannot "master" the meter and hit every shot you take
- Yes, you can turn it off in the options menu
- Yes, Real FG% is still an option
- Yes, it is very difficult to get "perfect timing," especially on the higher levels

Hopefully that clears some things up. IMO, shooting is much more engaging now and I think you guys will like the feature.

[alabamarob]

Re: New Shot Meter

As long as there is not a rating boost for perfect releases I am good. A 70 rated three point shooter shouldnt become 75 just because he has a easy release. Rodney Stuckey and shumpert shot well above their ratings because of their shot releases.

Thanks for the input. Look forward to trying out the new game.

[quehouston]

Re: New Shot Meter

How will shot contests affect %'s?

Edit: After reading close, I've found my answer.

[24ct]

Re: New Shot Meter

This is souding like 2k heaven.

The whole matter of making it skill rather than luck is fantastic.
I always thought/assumed no matter how good or bad a user if they use a good player they make shots even if they don't know the release. This sounds like this might solve this & I hope it works.

I use the visual cues on a 'feels right' basis so hopefully this is exactly what I'm thinking...

*hopes & dreams* lol

[BoxyCougar]

Re: New Shot Meter

I'm curious to know whether this new shot meter will be on the last-gen version of the games as well.

[steelers99_58_36]

Re: New Shot Meter

Takin' the cheese out of the game one step at a time. This sounds awesome I hate when players/opponents rely on luck to get them through the game. Winning or playing well should only be a result of how good you are on the sticks and buttons, not luck.

[LorenzoDC]

Re: New Shot Meter

Let me clarify up the design of the shot meter. In previous 2K's, shot timing was just another factor within a huge list of other things that spit out a final shot % which we then rolled dice against. So really, it was Real Player % with a bit of help from the user. But the skill of the user had a minimal impact.

In 2K15, all factors that make up a good vs. bad shot get rolled up into a value that then scales the timing window for your jump shooter. So now, timing is a much more crucial factor in whether you make or miss. This puts the onus on the user to execute with more precision and separates the skilled users from the lucky ones. It's actually very similar to the design of Free Throw shooting. You can make the shot if you manage to get perfect timing but your % falls the further you are from the ideal release point. If you're way off, it's a guaranteed miss.

It's also a much more useful feedback system. If you're unfamiliar with your players, it's much easier to get a sense of their timing by glancing at the meter. Also, it's much easier to see how close or off you were with your timing after the fact to help you learn... much more useful than the letter grade system (which is still an option btw.)

My intention was never to make shooting a "meter game." The most successful people in the office are the ones who still watch the shot animations for visual cues of when to release, using the meter only for feedback or for occasional guidance.

I knew there would be some concerns, so let me try to address those now:

- No, you cannot "master" the meter and hit every shot you take
- Yes, you can turn it off in the options menu
- Yes, Real FG% is still an option
- Yes, it is very difficult to get "perfect timing," especially on the higher levels

Hopefully that clears some things up. IMO, shooting is much more engaging now and I think you guys will like the feature.

Thanks. I really appreciate your taking the time to post this. You didn't have to, and it's welcome.

I have a follow up question: will taking shots that are or are not well defended matter more in shot success this year? In 2k14, if user team momentum was lower, wide open shots from guys with, say, 85+ medium ratings would clang from 12 feet, but that would not happen for the CPU, even when CPU momentum was low. I would also see, pretty frequently, how pretty crazy CPU shots would go in even if very well defended, especially (but not exclusively) when CPU momentum was up.

So, I'm just curious how much shot success will be influenced by the defense, especially as these factors interact with momentum logic.

Thanks!

[Mintsa]

Re: New Shot Meter

Will this meter be available for online ranked matches ?

[Sundown]

New Shot Meter

Thanks for the in depth, Beluba. I admit I'm still a bit wary-- my ideal is for even extremely skilled players to be able to hit only NBA averages taking NBA quality shots, and I think philosophically and as a basketball nerd, I prefer user timing to be a smaller piece of the pie than good basketball sense. And I like the regularity of bricked open shots and praying for them from the opposing team. Now if the new system just gives some "illusion" of control and while it requires skill to execute, still doesn't mean you can shoot unrealistically well and leads to realistic percentages distribution of hits and misses, I can appreciate something like that.

I guess I'll have to try it and see how it feels, but I do have to confess that I don't actually like the idea of the shooting system being like the FT system. I wasn't a fan of how user timing allows you to game and time free throw shooting animations with bad shooters. It's one area that sometimes feels a little "cheap" and simplistic, and I was often glad that it was a small part of the total gameplay.

I got pretty decent with Biedrins a few years back when he was shooting like 25% from the line. Now I'm still pretty erratic with Iguodala and it actual plays out pretty well and realistically there, but I keep feeling like I could game his and Bogut's free throws if I really wanted to put a little time in.

Good that player % is still in but I'd love for an option for something a little closer to what we have now if we're not feeling the new system.

[Beluba]

Re: New Shot Meter

I'm curious to know whether this new shot meter will be on the last-gen version of the games as well.

Yes it will

[Guard-ian]

Re: New Shot Meter

... Winning or playing well should only be a result of how good you are on the sticks and buttons, not luck.

Well, I hope strategy and playing good basketball (running plays, controling the tempo, etc.) are factors as important as the sticks/buttons skills...

I think this change in the shot meter could be possitive as long as the impact of the defense is good enough, great defense should allow you to keep 'NBA realistic' percentages at least. I also hope it will take into account the quality of the shooter and the kind of shot (and hot zones), for instance, to drill a post fadeaway with Dirk should be much easier than doing it with DH12...

And I would like to see this new feature to work also with post shots, and layups, not only with jumpers. Talking about the post game, I feel perhaps it has been I little bit overlooked in the last iterations of NBA 2k, one thing I hate of 2k14 next-gen is that it is a waste of time to master the post game as many times it is much more effective a simple layup than a well executed hook or post move...

Cheers! ;-)

[NDAlum]

Re: New Shot Meter

Thanks for the information. That solidifies my decision to exclusively use the Real Player % as I don't want it to be a battle of who can master the shot of a terribly rated player who has an easy release to master.

I'd prefer the player attributes be the #1 factor in my game.

This is going to be amazing for the guys who really enjoy the "competition" side of things and are all about stick skills. They'll be able to craft their skills and have more control over their success which is ideal for that crowd.

Best of both worlds.

[quehouston]

Re: New Shot Meter

So a contested, off balance jumper on HOF is gonna be extremely difficult to make. Sounds perfect to me. Plays are actually going to have to work harder for open looks (running plays). This coupled with the new Shot Fatigue i seen Mike tweet about is really gonna minimize a lot of cheese.

I can't wait to get these new features in a sim league, should make for some challenging and competitive games.

[kolanji]

Re: New Shot Meter

Hey Beluba... appreciate the post.....I really do... but I have 2 quick question


1. Is the meter present during FT?
2. Does fatigue affects timing on the meter?

[eko718]

Re: New Shot Meter

So Beluba if you could clarify... Is the ability to get perfect timing tied at all to shooting rating, or is it solely a matter of mastering a persons shot animation?

In other words, is there more 'grace' with the meter to be able to achieve a perfect shot with say a Step Curry than there is for a Kendrick Perkins?