So I felt I needed to make this thread since I see alot of people claiming this game is broken, it has issues, it's scripted, this and that. I personally don't see the issues people say they are having, and I think this game is incredible. I feel no need for a patch to address any fundamentals, though it would help other aspects like the sub menus, and other 'glitches', etc.
From what I see - The fundamentals are insanely good. %'s are dead on. Open shots and contested shot %s are dead on. Everything is basically spot on (I raised the foul slider but could maybe see a few more shooting fouls a game, though it's pretty close). Everything I see in this game is straight DNA, simulating real life. I very rarely see any BS. No scripted runs, no crazy shots with Shaq, nothing. Centers get a few too many rebounds every game. That's really all I can think of right now.
I'm going to try and explain how I play and what I see when I play this game, hoping others can try to mimic it and start seeing the same things. I may miss things but as I remember them I'll come back and edit this.
Some background
1. I play 12 min quarters (and have been for years), so I'm good at naturally feeling the pace of the game.
2. I play sim to the point that I imitate everything my team does, even if it means taking bad shots occasionally, i.e. the Billups walk down and shoot a 3 with 20 on the shot clock, or the Maggette isolation and don't even think of passing the ball, etc. Basically if it happens in real life, I do it in the game. With DNA this is extremely important, since it takes so many different factors into account, you have to know exactly how to play with your players/team.
3. I've mastered freestyle passing, which to those who don't know is an incredibly smoother and faster way to hit the open man, and great for pick and rolls, or any time really. This is coming from someone who always used icon passing. Now I rarely do. If I want to icon pass I usually skip it and do #4...
4. I use off-ball control a whole lot, to the point it's almost unconscious. I can switch to an offball player as fast and without thinking as I could if I wanted to pass to that player. This opens the floor incredibly well, and most of my plays are simply offball screens for a shooter. I don't run them all the time, but you have to pick your spots when you feel a player maybe isn't as involved in the game as they should be. Offball control them and get them a shot.
3. I only control the player on defense with whom I last controlled on offense. AKA no crackhead switching. This allows the AI defenders to react according to how they should in real life. Play the same sim ball on D as you would on offense. No crashing the boards with Hedo Turkoglu if that's who you're controlling, etc. Take control of one player and play the best D you could with that player. Timing is everything in this game and switching wildly will cost you more than help you 90% of the time.
4. I've mastered layup solutions, to the point I can pull off euro-steps and beautiful blow by layups at will. Of course you have to pick your spots extremely well in order to convert layups. However, depending on the defender and the offensive player, you may be able to blow by them in a one on one situation. My favorite is running the floor with an athletic wing like Maggette, and seeing someone like Hedo in the paint on D. This is 2 points 90% of the time. I will initiate the euro/hop step in the correct direction near the 3 point line, and watch Mags sidestep Hedo for an easy 2.
At the same time, just because you have a step on a defender does not mean it's layup time.This isn't 2K, and that's not a shot against 2K, it's just that's what a lot of us are used to. In Live the help defense will own you even though it looked like you had an open path, until that big man slid over and bam, contact animation. It's easy to get frustrated when you are forcing layups in the paint and always colliding with the D.
5. I adjust matchups and pressure but I'm not hardcore with it. It does help to matchup better since 4 of your defenders will be AI controlled, but I usually only set it on the starters at the beginning of the game.
6. Playcalling is great, but I do not run a play every time down the court. This isn't AAU, this is the NBA. A lot of times you can simply play basketball and get a good shot. Run a simple pick and roll or an offball screen. In crunch time I may run a play everytime down the court, it depends on the team. I try to mimic the NBA coaches in how often they call plays and if they micromanage the team or not. I also have my own pick and isolation plays using off ball control. If I want it in the hands of my go to guy, I control him off ball, get a pick and come to the ball to get it. Then run a pick and roll or something. Nothing too fancy
7. You better be able to pull off the right dribble move WHEN and WHERE you want to. This is huge. You must have mastered the dribble moves from every spot on the court, every angle, etc. I use broadcast cam and this was pretty difficult to get down at first, but now I can pull off crossovers from any part on the court going in any direction. I find a lot of the bad offense I suffered from in the first few games I played was because I couldn't dribble in certain spots like I wanted to. This applies to learning layup solutions from every spot and angle as well, though this is much easier to do.
8. You have to value possessions. Obviously. The big thing is reduce the amount of silly passing turnovers and forcing into the lane turnovers. Just make one dribble move and take your shot, don't overdribble. Yes, overdribbling is more than one dribble move, because this isn't AND 1. A simple cross over and a shot, that's the NBA. Passing is the same way, don't start winging it all over the court unless you don't like winning. The AI will pick it off as I'm sure you all know. In terms of shot selection, mimic how your team really plays and that will fall into place.
9. You have to master shot releases. This is extremely important and a major reason why you can't shoot with certain players. I'm averaging 16.4 ppg with Steph Curry in my dynasty yet I see so many people saying he is terrible in the game. I just dropped 34 on the Pacers with him. You have to master the shot releases. You have to know your team inside and out is the bottom line. As you continue to learn your team's shot releases you'll soon start seeing your %s shooting way up. Hopefully no more 32% games for you, and more 46% games.
10. Know your team inside and out. You're going to have a lot more success going left with Hedo and pulling up then if you go right. Their pick and roll %s factor into their chances of hitting shots off the pick and roll. You have to study that DNA and learn it inside and out. Once you learn which direction they finish best at, learn if they like to pull up or go to the rim. Of course it's obvious with guys you really know but the role players it could be tricky being effective with them. You have to learn those guys too.
These things are important tips to really getting into this game. You have to be skilled in all these areas. There's no 2 ways about it. If you haven't mastered all these things and then some, you're not going to see just how good the game is.
So, try to master these things and use some of the tips and strategies that I use, and see what you come up with. I think you'll start to see how good the game really is and how everything falls into place.
If anyone would like to explain how to upload videos (I never looked into it), I will post some videos showing different aspects of the game.
Last and most importantly is that I want to big up the Developers for making an incredible game. Please don't dumb it down for 2011. Make it more hardcore
. Peace
From what I see - The fundamentals are insanely good. %'s are dead on. Open shots and contested shot %s are dead on. Everything is basically spot on (I raised the foul slider but could maybe see a few more shooting fouls a game, though it's pretty close). Everything I see in this game is straight DNA, simulating real life. I very rarely see any BS. No scripted runs, no crazy shots with Shaq, nothing. Centers get a few too many rebounds every game. That's really all I can think of right now.
I'm going to try and explain how I play and what I see when I play this game, hoping others can try to mimic it and start seeing the same things. I may miss things but as I remember them I'll come back and edit this.
Some background
1. I play 12 min quarters (and have been for years), so I'm good at naturally feeling the pace of the game.
2. I play sim to the point that I imitate everything my team does, even if it means taking bad shots occasionally, i.e. the Billups walk down and shoot a 3 with 20 on the shot clock, or the Maggette isolation and don't even think of passing the ball, etc. Basically if it happens in real life, I do it in the game. With DNA this is extremely important, since it takes so many different factors into account, you have to know exactly how to play with your players/team.
3. I've mastered freestyle passing, which to those who don't know is an incredibly smoother and faster way to hit the open man, and great for pick and rolls, or any time really. This is coming from someone who always used icon passing. Now I rarely do. If I want to icon pass I usually skip it and do #4...
4. I use off-ball control a whole lot, to the point it's almost unconscious. I can switch to an offball player as fast and without thinking as I could if I wanted to pass to that player. This opens the floor incredibly well, and most of my plays are simply offball screens for a shooter. I don't run them all the time, but you have to pick your spots when you feel a player maybe isn't as involved in the game as they should be. Offball control them and get them a shot.
3. I only control the player on defense with whom I last controlled on offense. AKA no crackhead switching. This allows the AI defenders to react according to how they should in real life. Play the same sim ball on D as you would on offense. No crashing the boards with Hedo Turkoglu if that's who you're controlling, etc. Take control of one player and play the best D you could with that player. Timing is everything in this game and switching wildly will cost you more than help you 90% of the time.
4. I've mastered layup solutions, to the point I can pull off euro-steps and beautiful blow by layups at will. Of course you have to pick your spots extremely well in order to convert layups. However, depending on the defender and the offensive player, you may be able to blow by them in a one on one situation. My favorite is running the floor with an athletic wing like Maggette, and seeing someone like Hedo in the paint on D. This is 2 points 90% of the time. I will initiate the euro/hop step in the correct direction near the 3 point line, and watch Mags sidestep Hedo for an easy 2.
At the same time, just because you have a step on a defender does not mean it's layup time.This isn't 2K, and that's not a shot against 2K, it's just that's what a lot of us are used to. In Live the help defense will own you even though it looked like you had an open path, until that big man slid over and bam, contact animation. It's easy to get frustrated when you are forcing layups in the paint and always colliding with the D.
5. I adjust matchups and pressure but I'm not hardcore with it. It does help to matchup better since 4 of your defenders will be AI controlled, but I usually only set it on the starters at the beginning of the game.
6. Playcalling is great, but I do not run a play every time down the court. This isn't AAU, this is the NBA. A lot of times you can simply play basketball and get a good shot. Run a simple pick and roll or an offball screen. In crunch time I may run a play everytime down the court, it depends on the team. I try to mimic the NBA coaches in how often they call plays and if they micromanage the team or not. I also have my own pick and isolation plays using off ball control. If I want it in the hands of my go to guy, I control him off ball, get a pick and come to the ball to get it. Then run a pick and roll or something. Nothing too fancy
7. You better be able to pull off the right dribble move WHEN and WHERE you want to. This is huge. You must have mastered the dribble moves from every spot on the court, every angle, etc. I use broadcast cam and this was pretty difficult to get down at first, but now I can pull off crossovers from any part on the court going in any direction. I find a lot of the bad offense I suffered from in the first few games I played was because I couldn't dribble in certain spots like I wanted to. This applies to learning layup solutions from every spot and angle as well, though this is much easier to do.
8. You have to value possessions. Obviously. The big thing is reduce the amount of silly passing turnovers and forcing into the lane turnovers. Just make one dribble move and take your shot, don't overdribble. Yes, overdribbling is more than one dribble move, because this isn't AND 1. A simple cross over and a shot, that's the NBA. Passing is the same way, don't start winging it all over the court unless you don't like winning. The AI will pick it off as I'm sure you all know. In terms of shot selection, mimic how your team really plays and that will fall into place.
9. You have to master shot releases. This is extremely important and a major reason why you can't shoot with certain players. I'm averaging 16.4 ppg with Steph Curry in my dynasty yet I see so many people saying he is terrible in the game. I just dropped 34 on the Pacers with him. You have to master the shot releases. You have to know your team inside and out is the bottom line. As you continue to learn your team's shot releases you'll soon start seeing your %s shooting way up. Hopefully no more 32% games for you, and more 46% games.
10. Know your team inside and out. You're going to have a lot more success going left with Hedo and pulling up then if you go right. Their pick and roll %s factor into their chances of hitting shots off the pick and roll. You have to study that DNA and learn it inside and out. Once you learn which direction they finish best at, learn if they like to pull up or go to the rim. Of course it's obvious with guys you really know but the role players it could be tricky being effective with them. You have to learn those guys too.
These things are important tips to really getting into this game. You have to be skilled in all these areas. There's no 2 ways about it. If you haven't mastered all these things and then some, you're not going to see just how good the game is.
So, try to master these things and use some of the tips and strategies that I use, and see what you come up with. I think you'll start to see how good the game really is and how everything falls into place.
If anyone would like to explain how to upload videos (I never looked into it), I will post some videos showing different aspects of the game.
Last and most importantly is that I want to big up the Developers for making an incredible game. Please don't dumb it down for 2011. Make it more hardcore
. Peace
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