NBA Live Team - You Have a Window Here!

[JoeDog10]

Much like most everyone else, I got next gen 2K at launch. And it's still a good game, but to me, the honeymoon is over. Not only are MyGM and MyCareer modes completely unplayable, but even the gameplay in both of those modes feels (is?) scripted. Their second patch, which just came out, didn't seem to fix anything for me. And the third patch, which is supposed to be the "big" one, could be months away for all I know. So that means that unless I'm playing my brother or one of my buddies, 2K will be nothing but a $60 coaster for a while.

So if anyone from the Live team is reading this, now would be the time to do something. Maybe it's just me, but I think you have a window here that you absolutely must take advantage of. So many 2K users are completely frustrated right now that you might be able to win some of them over. And that's something that you absolutely need to be trying to do right now.

The more I play Live, the more I like it. And the more 2K has disappointed, the more I've been playing Live. Maybe I'm alone in that thinking, but again, maybe I'm not.

So please, give me a reason to keep playing Live. Now is your chance to do that.

Can you provide us any additional information as to when we can expect a patch, and what that said patch will be fixing?

[The 24th Letter]

Re: NBA Live Team - You Have a Window Here!

Live needs to iron out their own issues before trying to climb into any windows...and they have a lot to iron out...

I've had Live since launch...so i'm already over my "this is something different", "2k fatigue", "The more I play, the more I learn" stage...similar to Jao...

EA also needs to first focus on supporting the game they put out...because Synergy is nowhere to be found except for the supposed update when you turn on the game..

There's a long way to go before thinking about getting a leg up on the competition...

[JoeDog10]

Re: NBA Live Team - You Have a Window Here!

Live needs to iron out their own issues before trying to climb into any windows...and they have a lot to iron out...

I've had Live since launch...so i'm already over my "this is something different", "2k fatigue", "The more I play, the more I learn" stage...similar to Jao...

EA also needs to first focus on supporting the game they put out...because Synergy is nowhere to be found except for the supposed update when you turn on the game..

There's a long way to go before thinking about getting a leg up on the competition...

You're right. In no way was I referring to them getting a leg up on the competition, but I think there are a lot of 2K users right now (myself included) that would be willing to give Live an extended look. I guess that was all I was trying to say. If there are things that they can actually fix, now would be the time do to that.

[King_B_Mack]

Re: NBA Live Team - You Have a Window Here!

You're right. In no way was I referring to them getting a leg up on the competition, but I think there are a lot of 2K users right now (myself included) that would be willing to give Live an extended look. I guess that was all I was trying to say. If there are things that they can actually fix, now would be the time do to that.

If people are upset and feeling they've wasted 60 dollars on 2K, I can't see why they'd be willing to waste another 60 on this mess. Word of mouth is already out on Live. Nobody in their right mind is going to come crawling over to a just as "broken" if not moreso mess like this.

[The 24th Letter]

NBA Live Team - You Have a Window Here!

You're right. In no way was I referring to them getting a leg up on the competition, but I think there are a lot of 2K users right now (myself included) that would be willing to give Live an extended look. I guess that was all I was trying to say. If there are things that they can actually fix, now would be the time do to that.

I hear you...well see if these improvements that Scott said were in the pipeline truly improve the quality of the game...

[WTF]

Re: NBA Live Team - You Have a Window Here!

I don't know King B Mack, the more I play of the game/demo, the more I am seeing. My 2k is unplayable at the moment, which led me to get another download of the demo, and I'm actually liking it the more I play it. I'm going to be compiling a list of things that I would like to see different. Whether or not it helps the EA team will remain to be seen, but there is a lot of depth to the game that I didn't see when I gave it a chance prior.

If they make some animation and graphics adjustments, as well as some ball physic adjustments then it could be a good title to build on.

[WTF]

Re: NBA Live Team - You Have a Window Here!

Live needs to iron out their own issues before trying to climb into any windows...and they have a lot to iron out...

I've had Live since launch...so i'm already over my "this is something different", "2k fatigue", "The more I play, the more I learn" stage...similar to Jao...

EA also needs to first focus on supporting the game they put out...because Synergy is nowhere to be found except for the supposed update when you turn on the game..

There's a long way to go before thinking about getting a leg up on the competition...

As far as old timers go, it looks like it's you and I playing Live presently 24th. My 2k is as messed up as can be, but truth be told, I'm relatively glad that it is. I would have never given Live another chance this year had 2k not have taken a dive.

Live definitely has it's issues. But I think I can see where they were coming from with the game. And the more I play of it, the challenges, etc, it could be a solid first title. It's animation and graphics poor.

[mythreesons]

Re: NBA Live Team - You Have a Window Here!

I don't know King B Mack, the more I play of the game/demo, the more I am seeing. My 2k is unplayable at the moment, which led me to get another download of the demo, and I'm actually liking it the more I play it. I'm going to be compiling a list of things that I would like to see different. Whether or not it helps the EA team will remain to be seen, but there is a lot of depth to the game that I didn't see when I gave it a chance prior.

If they make some animation and graphics adjustments, as well as some ball physic adjustments then it could be a good title to build on.

Please don't take this the wrong way. I am about having the BEST basketball experience possible. I tried the DEMO and to me it's garbage. I couldn't see pass the visuals and the poor animation to notice anything more. Tell me what you're seeing/experiencing that you didn't before, so that I can pick the demo up again and perhaps notice some of these same things. LIVE needs much improvement, but there could be a handsome prince in there somewhere.

[WTF]

Re: NBA Live Team - You Have a Window Here!

Oh I agree, wholeheartedly 100%. Trust me, I downloaded the demo, played 1 game, and promptly deleted it the first go around. But with my other game being messed up and unplayable currently, I downloaded it again last night and started playing it.

"Something" felt a little different this go around. It wasn't as sluggish as it felt the first time I played it. So I started playing a little more. I started experimenting with the dribbling mechanics. I've still not gotten the hang of it, but I'm learning some different moves that are at my disposal with "Bouncetek".

I started becoming more intrigued with what the game offers. I played at least once as every team in the demo. Then I started doing the "Challenges". I don't remember what they are, but you are trying to match a performance by a key player. I was having quite a bit of fun with that. The Oladipo challenge made me try probably around 10-15 times to score 10 points in 4 minutes. A half an hour later, I noticed I was still playing the game, and hadn't really paid attention to the "downfalls" being the graphics and animations. I stopped playing the challenges, and went into a Knicks vs Cavs game at MSG, me being the Knicks this time. I started getting the hang of Melo, Shumpert, and even started trying to figure out the "post game".

Granted, early indication was that there isn't a lot of post game to be found. But the more I played with it, the bare mechanics of a post offense is there. You have your basic options, you just have to figure out the controls. Again, a practice session would help 100% here.

Then I started moreso focusing on defense. The first time I downloaded the demo, I couldn't stop anything. This time, I was seeing some decent defensive animations, I blocked Kyrie off of the backboard prompting a fast break 3 on the other end, which Kyrie came back and hit a buzzer beater afterwards. Other than a few small issues (Kyrie dribbling with the hand closest to Felton), it felt really good.

The next quarter, I was shading Kyrie, saw someone come to set a screen, tried to jump around the screen, Kyrie noticed, crossed over and went baseline, disregarding the screen, taking it to the rack for a layup. It was at that moment that I realized that there is "some" really good stuff in here.

I don't know if it's Synergy kicking in, or if it's just luck of the draw, but it was actually realizing how I was defending the pick, and totally burned me. I'm sure that wasn't the way the play was supposed to go, but the AI saw my defensive choice, and made me pay.

There were some questionable moves no doubt. I left Kyrie open several times, and he should have made me pay. But those are things that can most likely be fixed pretty easily. I'd say around 75% of the time, if I left him open, he made me pay.

There are several head scratchers in each game that you play, but I didn't feel "cheated". I lost a game, I won a game, I won a game by 11. It all felt fluid. It felt like I won. It felt like I lost. I knew that I had made some very poor decisions in my loss, leading to the loss.

I'd say try the challenges. Play a few games, and go into it with a blank slate. I'm going to be picking up the game. If they can patch some things, animations, graphics, then I'll be semi-happy believe it or not.

This coming from the author of the 3 Year Plan (A Long Read) thread.

[JoeDog10]

Re: NBA Live Team - You Have a Window Here!

Very nice post, WTF. You echoed a lot of the same thoughts that I have with this game.

When I first played the demo (after having played hours and hours of 2K), I thought it was absolutely horrible. And honestly at times, it can play that way. But for as simple as the game looks from a graphics/animation standpoint, the controls - especially the dribbling mechanics - are very in depth. So if you don't at least have a general idea of what you're doing when you pick up to play, you won't enjoy this game at all. It's very possible that you might know what you're doing and still not enjoy this game at all, and that's okay. But I'm fairly confident in saying that if you don't read up on the controls or give it some time to get used to, there's probably a 100% chance that you won't like this game.

I agree with you that synergy seems hit or miss. Part of me thought it might just be placebo, but I do see enough good things that I feel like it does work to some extent. When I initially started playing the demo, the CPU would just iso nearly every time down the court. At least with the full version of the game, it doesn't seem that way and it feels like teams are playing closer to their real life tendencies. I still see guys like Kenyon Martin being the go-to-guy for 3-4 possessions in a row at times, but it's not nearly as bad as it was in the demo.

I also agree that winning/losing feels like it's on you, not that it's being scripted. Again, I love that the CPU will actually miss shots. I don't have to shoot 60% to win.

Another "feature" of the full game as opposed to the demo is Automotion. In the demo, your team will never move unless you tell them to. There's almost no movement on offense whatsoever. With Automotion, there is now movement from the players on your team! It's still not as much as I'd like, but I'm HOPING that if they can tweak Synergy in general or via a patch, off ball movement will be much better.

All of the coaching options also add another layer of strategy that 2K left out (different than the POE). I love being able to force players to the paint, being able to guard individual players differently, etc. It really makes a difference.

There's a lot to like here, but with so much not to like, I can see why nobody wants to give this game a chance. But for me, if they can clean up Synergy and implement it like they said they would, and fix a handful of these ugly animations, this game could keep me busy for a long time.

[mythreesons]

Re: NBA Live Team - You Have a Window Here!

Thanks to both of you (JoeDog10 & WTF) for your analysis. I played LIVE in the pass, but was won over by 2k with 2K6 I believe. I always liked playing the EA NCAA basketball series - and still play from time to time. The thing about NCAA was there was no expectations for me graphically. What I mean by that is my guard, wing or post could perform a move and I would be statisfied (to some degree) with the execution. However when I do a crossover with DWade I want it to look like DWade (sig-style) and not the Hunchback of Notre Dame (you feel me?).
I'll give the demo another try, but for me what's happening visually adds to the immersion. I'm pulling for LIVE, because 2K needs to know we have other options.
Still, LIVE has a long way to go and unfortunately doesn't have the best record regarding follow through (See WTF: EA 3-Year Plan).

[WTF]

Re: NBA Live Team - You Have a Window Here!

Funny to note, I just played another go around, one game was Thunder vs Cavs, the other Cavs (me) vs GSW. The THunder (me) vs Cavs game was quite a bit of fun. No really weird things going on, game played pretty well, animations/graphics aside, not too shabby.

GSW vs Cavs (me), I got curb stomped, and saw quite a bit of passing issues, defensive issues, etc. However, even in the game that was relatively frustrating (I got killed), I did see quite a bit of good stuff from the AI. Going back to the Kyrie negating the screen in my previous writeup, in this one, Steph Curry did the same thing. Saw the screen, he went baseline instead of using the screen for the reverse layup (ugly animation layup, but it'll do). The second time, I guarded towards the baseline and jumped away from the screen, and wouldn't you know it, he goes around the screen , near the top of the key, rises up and hits a beautiful 20' jumper. Dude was reading me.

[mythreesons]

Re: NBA Live Team - You Have a Window Here!

Funny to note, I just played another go around, one game was Thunder vs Cavs, the other Cavs (me) vs GSW. The THunder (me) vs Cavs game was quite a bit of fun. No really weird things going on, game played pretty well, animations/graphics aside, not too shabby.

GSW vs Cavs (me), I got curb stomped, and saw quite a bit of passing issues, defensive issues, etc. However, even in the game that was relatively frustrating (I got killed), I did see quite a bit of good stuff from the AI. Going back to the Kyrie negating the screen in my previous writeup, in this one, Steph Curry did the same thing. Saw the screen, he went baseline instead of using the screen for the reverse layup (ugly animation layup, but it'll do). The second time, I guarded towards the baseline and jumped away from the screen, and wouldn't you know it, he goes around the screen , near the top of the key, rises up and hits a beautiful 20' jumper. Dude was reading me.

That sounds good... I'll fire it up tonight when I get home and tell you what I think.

[Earl1963]

Re: NBA Live Team - You Have a Window Here!

This thread is going to get locked. Anyways, what keeps me coming back to Live 14 is the Pick&Roll. Feels good to finally be able to do that in a hoop game.

[Flightwhite24]

Re: NBA Live Team - You Have a Window Here!

Gonna re download the demo again. I wonder if EA is slipping fixes in daily??


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