Re: CPU Timeout problem, reason inside

[neovsmatrix]

Re: CPU Timeout problem, reason inside

I would be very concerned about this if the bug meant the game never stopped and thus the CPU never had a chance to sub. But when I played last night, the CPU did a great job of subbing in dead ball situations. So I don't think the TO problem will affect substitutions too much. And thus fatigue should not become a problem either.

And as far as end of game situations..well if the CPU is behind the AI will keep fouling you, stopping the clock and making subs. So i think of more as an annoyance than a major problem because there are gameplay-wise lots of situations in which the CPU can do the things kinds of things that would be done during a TO even if none has been calls. Make sense?

I mean if it were a situation where the CPU never called time-outs, never fouled, and never used the subs...well that would be a "game-killer" of a bug, but the time-outs alone are not. IMHO, OC.

Unfortunately, that doesn't make sense. The CPU will not adjust their strategy unless they call timeouts. I've heard from other people on this forum, their strategy in end of game situations is DUMB, and almost guarantees them a loss every time, because they always fail to call the timeout and make proper adjustments to set up a last-second shot and stuff.

They'll foul you to no end, but you have to make the distinction between fouling and actually executing at the end of the game. And the AI does not do the latter, they just do the former. Big mistake, and one that should not be easily forgiven, as far as I'm concerned.

[neovsmatrix]

Re: CPU Timeout problem, reason inside

I would be very concerned about this if the bug meant the game never stopped and thus the CPU never had a chance to sub. But when I played last night, the CPU did a great job of subbing in dead ball situations. So I don't think the TO problem will affect substitutions too much. And thus fatigue should not become a problem either.

And as far as end of game situations..well if the CPU is behind the AI will keep fouling you, stopping the clock and making subs. So i think of more as an annoyance than a major problem because there are gameplay-wise lots of situations in which the CPU can do the things kinds of things that would be done during a TO even if none has been calls. Make sense?

I mean if it were a situation where the CPU never called time-outs, never fouled, and never used the subs...well that would be a "game-killer" of a bug, but the time-outs alone are not. IMHO, OC.

Unfortunately, that doesn't make sense. The CPU will not adjust their strategy unless they call timeouts. I've heard from other people on this forum, their strategy in end of game situations is DUMB, and almost guarantees them a loss every time, because they always fail to call the timeout and make proper adjustments to set up a last-second shot and stuff.

They'll foul you to no end, but you have to make the distinction between fouling and actually executing at the end of the game. And the AI does not do the latter, they just do the former. Big mistake, and one that should not be easily forgiven, as far as I'm concerned.

[Jimplication]

Re: CPU Timeout problem, reason inside

Unfortunately, that doesn't make sense. The CPU will not adjust their strategy unless they call timeouts. I've heard from other people on this forum, their strategy in end of game situations is DUMB, and almost guarantees them a loss every time, because they always fail to call the timeout and make proper adjustments to set up a last-second shot and stuff.

They'll foul you to no end, but you have to make the distinction between fouling and actually executing at the end of the game. And the AI does not do the latter, they just do the former. Big mistake, and one that should not be easily forgiven, as far as I'm concerned.

Also, if the CPU is down by 3 with 1, even 3 seconds, left, a timeout is the difference between a makeable shot and a prayer that is rarely answered.

The lack of timeouts totally kills the excitement at the end of a game. Sure, the CPU will foul you, but they will still be passing it in from their end of the court, something that makes a game tying, or winning, shot near impossible. With a timeout, they call the TO, pass it in from across half court and shoot a long three.

It might seem small, but when you think about the fact that throughout an entire 82 game season, the CPU will not call one timeout, ever, it suddenly becomes a pretty big deal.

Gamekiller? I think so, because I like excitement at the end of my games, especially if the sport is basketball.

And once more, how the hell did they miss this? I'd truly love to know. Either they tested it, saw the glitch and didn't fix it, or they didn't notice the glitch. Either one is inexcusable given the importance of, and frequency in which timeouts occur in every single NBA game.

[Jimplication]

Re: CPU Timeout problem, reason inside

Unfortunately, that doesn't make sense. The CPU will not adjust their strategy unless they call timeouts. I've heard from other people on this forum, their strategy in end of game situations is DUMB, and almost guarantees them a loss every time, because they always fail to call the timeout and make proper adjustments to set up a last-second shot and stuff.

They'll foul you to no end, but you have to make the distinction between fouling and actually executing at the end of the game. And the AI does not do the latter, they just do the former. Big mistake, and one that should not be easily forgiven, as far as I'm concerned.

Also, if the CPU is down by 3 with 1, even 3 seconds, left, a timeout is the difference between a makeable shot and a prayer that is rarely answered.

The lack of timeouts totally kills the excitement at the end of a game. Sure, the CPU will foul you, but they will still be passing it in from their end of the court, something that makes a game tying, or winning, shot near impossible. With a timeout, they call the TO, pass it in from across half court and shoot a long three.

It might seem small, but when you think about the fact that throughout an entire 82 game season, the CPU will not call one timeout, ever, it suddenly becomes a pretty big deal.

Gamekiller? I think so, because I like excitement at the end of my games, especially if the sport is basketball.

And once more, how the hell did they miss this? I'd truly love to know. Either they tested it, saw the glitch and didn't fix it, or they didn't notice the glitch. Either one is inexcusable given the importance of, and frequency in which timeouts occur in every single NBA game.

[thegoons21]

Re: CPU Timeout problem, reason inside

I would be very concerned about this if the bug meant the game never stopped and thus the CPU never had a chance to sub. But when I played last night, the CPU did a great job of subbing in dead ball situations. So I don't think the TO problem will affect substitutions too much. And thus fatigue should not become a problem either.

And as far as end of game situations..well if the CPU is behind the AI will keep fouling you, stopping the clock and making subs. So i think of more as an annoyance than a major problem because there are gameplay-wise lots of situations in which the CPU can do the things kinds of things that would be done during a TO even if none has been calls. Make sense?

I mean if it were a situation where the CPU never called time-outs, never fouled, and never used the subs...well that would be a "game-killer" of a bug, but the time-outs alone are not. IMHO, OC.

I think you make a great point but for some of us it is a HUGE deal. I had a great down to the wire game but for some reason knowing the cpu won't call a timeout to end momentum on 10-0 run I'm having or knowing with 3 seconds left they're going to have to take the ball all the way down court just changes the sim factor in all of this for me.....which is why I buy sega/VC/espn to begin with. I guess you could call me anal about my sim games. Just dissapointed...

[thegoons21]

Re: CPU Timeout problem, reason inside

I would be very concerned about this if the bug meant the game never stopped and thus the CPU never had a chance to sub. But when I played last night, the CPU did a great job of subbing in dead ball situations. So I don't think the TO problem will affect substitutions too much. And thus fatigue should not become a problem either.

And as far as end of game situations..well if the CPU is behind the AI will keep fouling you, stopping the clock and making subs. So i think of more as an annoyance than a major problem because there are gameplay-wise lots of situations in which the CPU can do the things kinds of things that would be done during a TO even if none has been calls. Make sense?

I mean if it were a situation where the CPU never called time-outs, never fouled, and never used the subs...well that would be a "game-killer" of a bug, but the time-outs alone are not. IMHO, OC.

I think you make a great point but for some of us it is a HUGE deal. I had a great down to the wire game but for some reason knowing the cpu won't call a timeout to end momentum on 10-0 run I'm having or knowing with 3 seconds left they're going to have to take the ball all the way down court just changes the sim factor in all of this for me.....which is why I buy sega/VC/espn to begin with. I guess you could call me anal about my sim games. Just dissapointed...

[MagicUser]

Re: CPU Timeout problem, reason inside

Unfortunately, that doesn't make sense. The CPU will not adjust their strategy unless they call timeouts. I've heard from other people on this forum, their strategy in end of game situations is DUMB, and almost guarantees them a loss every time, because they always fail to call the timeout and make proper adjustments to set up a last-second shot and stuff.

They'll foul you to no end, but you have to make the distinction between fouling and actually executing at the end of the game. And the AI does not do the latter, they just do the former. Big mistake, and one that should not be easily forgiven, as far as I'm concerned.

Does the CPU make any adjustments at halftime or between quarters or on-the-fly during games? In non-franchise games using the switch sides trick, does the CPU make adjustments during those timeouts? Has there ever been basketball game in which the CPU calls a time-out, calls a situation specific play, makes the subs needed to run the play best, then executes that play? I haven't seen that in any game that I can think of at the moment. Perhaps there is also a distinction between calling a time-out and executing.

It just seems that in most video basketball games TO are only good for subbing based on fatigue. My memory is failing me here, but it seemed like in last year's games the CPU teams would not even inbound the ball at mid-court late in the game when the would have/should have. I am just wondering exactly what adjustments you think the CPU would really be doing if it called a time-out.

[MagicUser]

Re: CPU Timeout problem, reason inside

Unfortunately, that doesn't make sense. The CPU will not adjust their strategy unless they call timeouts. I've heard from other people on this forum, their strategy in end of game situations is DUMB, and almost guarantees them a loss every time, because they always fail to call the timeout and make proper adjustments to set up a last-second shot and stuff.

They'll foul you to no end, but you have to make the distinction between fouling and actually executing at the end of the game. And the AI does not do the latter, they just do the former. Big mistake, and one that should not be easily forgiven, as far as I'm concerned.

Does the CPU make any adjustments at halftime or between quarters or on-the-fly during games? In non-franchise games using the switch sides trick, does the CPU make adjustments during those timeouts? Has there ever been basketball game in which the CPU calls a time-out, calls a situation specific play, makes the subs needed to run the play best, then executes that play? I haven't seen that in any game that I can think of at the moment. Perhaps there is also a distinction between calling a time-out and executing.

It just seems that in most video basketball games TO are only good for subbing based on fatigue. My memory is failing me here, but it seemed like in last year's games the CPU teams would not even inbound the ball at mid-court late in the game when the would have/should have. I am just wondering exactly what adjustments you think the CPU would really be doing if it called a time-out.

[thegoons21]

Re: CPU Timeout problem, reason inside

I cant' get to the petition thread on ESPN anymore any idea what happened to it?

[thegoons21]

Re: CPU Timeout problem, reason inside

I cant' get to the petition thread on ESPN anymore any idea what happened to it?

[neovsmatrix]

Re: CPU Timeout problem, reason inside

Does the CPU make any adjustments at halftime or between quarters or on-the-fly during games? In non-franchise games using the switch sides trick, does the CPU make adjustments during those timeouts? Has there ever been basketball game in which the CPU calls a time-out, calls a situation specific play, makes the subs needed to run the play best, then executes that play? I haven't seen that in any game that I can think of at the moment. Perhaps there is also a distinction between calling a time-out and executing.

It just seems that in most video basketball games TO are only good for subbing based on fatigue. My memory is failing me here, but it seemed like in last year's games the CPU teams would not even inbound the ball at mid-court late in the game when the would have/should have. I am just wondering exactly what adjustments you think the CPU would really be doing if it called a time-out.

Oh yeah, Inside Drive series does. I'm betting Live 2005 does. You still don't get it, maybe you don't want to, but the basic issue is what the poster above you just said: if the CPU never calls a timeout near the end of the game, and it's down by 1! the CPU will inbound at the opposite end of the court and will not even have a CHANCE of winning the game. That kills it for me right there, as there are plenty of buzzer beaters in the real NBA.

Last year's game, ESPN NBA Basketball sucked, so that's not something that should even be considered.

[neovsmatrix]

Re: CPU Timeout problem, reason inside

Does the CPU make any adjustments at halftime or between quarters or on-the-fly during games? In non-franchise games using the switch sides trick, does the CPU make adjustments during those timeouts? Has there ever been basketball game in which the CPU calls a time-out, calls a situation specific play, makes the subs needed to run the play best, then executes that play? I haven't seen that in any game that I can think of at the moment. Perhaps there is also a distinction between calling a time-out and executing.

It just seems that in most video basketball games TO are only good for subbing based on fatigue. My memory is failing me here, but it seemed like in last year's games the CPU teams would not even inbound the ball at mid-court late in the game when the would have/should have. I am just wondering exactly what adjustments you think the CPU would really be doing if it called a time-out.

Oh yeah, Inside Drive series does. I'm betting Live 2005 does. You still don't get it, maybe you don't want to, but the basic issue is what the poster above you just said: if the CPU never calls a timeout near the end of the game, and it's down by 1! the CPU will inbound at the opposite end of the court and will not even have a CHANCE of winning the game. That kills it for me right there, as there are plenty of buzzer beaters in the real NBA.

Last year's game, ESPN NBA Basketball sucked, so that's not something that should even be considered.

[neovsmatrix]

Re: CPU Timeout problem, reason inside

I cant' get to the petition thread on ESPN anymore any idea what happened to it?

I'm sorry, but Visual Concepts is a terrible company, IMHO.

I got this message saying that the petition would be binned, and not to ask for a petition again!

Got this message. I'm pretty disgusted with Visual Concepts and they've lost me as a customer forever. Seriously, this is not right, and I can't believe they're getting away with crap like this:

"Per the following forum rule, please resist the temptation to drop petitions in as threads:

Forum Rules wrote:
Petitions
Please do not spam petitions to the forums. Petitions are not an effective means of voicing your opinion. If you have concerns, please contact ESPN Videogames Tech Support


Your thread will be binned accordingly................."



I'm done with this franchise, and I most definitely will look for a refund. I suggest anyone who feels the same way I do, who is tired of VC's antics, do the same thing.

[neovsmatrix]

Re: CPU Timeout problem, reason inside

I cant' get to the petition thread on ESPN anymore any idea what happened to it?

I'm sorry, but Visual Concepts is a terrible company, IMHO.

I got this message saying that the petition would be binned, and not to ask for a petition again!

Got this message. I'm pretty disgusted with Visual Concepts and they've lost me as a customer forever. Seriously, this is not right, and I can't believe they're getting away with crap like this:

"Per the following forum rule, please resist the temptation to drop petitions in as threads:

Forum Rules wrote:
Petitions
Please do not spam petitions to the forums. Petitions are not an effective means of voicing your opinion. If you have concerns, please contact ESPN Videogames Tech Support


Your thread will be binned accordingly................."



I'm done with this franchise, and I most definitely will look for a refund. I suggest anyone who feels the same way I do, who is tired of VC's antics, do the same thing.

[JohnEX]

Re: CPU Timeout problem, reason inside

Magicuser, this is an example of what would happen:

I just tried this with the Pistons vs Lakers. Using the Pistons I finally started to go on a run and the cpu did call timeout for the Lakers. The best way to test this is to use evenly matched teams, and set the minutes to say,...5 or less per qtr. If you go on a run you should see the cpu call timeout.

So apparently changing the cpu settings to auto DOES WORK!

Another update: same game less than a minute, 5pt lead billups to the lane, he misses the shot, rebounded by Sheed, and slammed back in. Lakers call timeout!

Next play: Lakers (cpu) pass to Kobe, He dishes it to B. Grant for the Slam. Pistons (me) inbound the ball to Billups who is immediately fouled. Billups to the line he makes both freethrows....Lakers call another timeout! YES!

the saddest part is that the code is in the game, but there is no way to enable it in franchise mode. i'm not a computer programmer, but simply having the default timeout setting to "auto" instead of "manual" seems like an easy fix and one the QA testers deinitely should have caught.