NBA Live 18 - Demo Impressions

[Justdatdude]

Re: NBA Live 18 - Demo Impressions

I did the face scan on the phone app and then I downloaded the demo. Now how do I get my face to show up in the demo? I went to the one and it's saying game face hd but when I click it, nothing happens. It just says download the app?

[ucfberman]

Re: NBA Live 18 - Demo Impressions

@jyoung : Everything you just mentioned control wise in your negatives IS in the game. Take 5/10 minutes and hit the drills or read.

From the dribbles to the complete shot stick.

[Mweemwee]

Re: NBA Live 18 - Demo Impressions

I really wanted to like this. Conceptually it craps all over 2K in every way. The issue I can't get past is the stiff animations and the lack of player movement on your team. If you don't call a pick and roll they just stand around (I've only played the rise so far but am at level 4). These are the same issues live has always had I have no idea why they can't just fix it

[Mweemwee]

Re: NBA Live 18 - Demo Impressions

I did the face scan on the phone app and then I downloaded the demo. Now how do I get my face to show up in the demo? I went to the one and it's saying game face hd but when I click it, nothing happens. It just says download the app?

if you're on Xbox from the main menu scroll along to game settings and there's one called Xbox live. it should show you what origin account you're signed into, make sure that email matches the one you're using to sign in on the app

[ucfberman]

Re: NBA Live 18 - Demo Impressions

I really wanted to like this. Conceptually it craps all over 2K in every way. The issue I can't get past is the stiff animations and the lack of player movement on your team. If you don't call a pick and roll they just stand around (I've only played the rise so far but am at level 4). These are the same issues live has always had I have no idea why they can't just fix it

They are basically street games, won't see much play calling and authentic movement in that mode. Try the play now NBA game and see if you feel different. You very well still could have the same opinion, but they do play differently.

[Armor and Sword]

Re: NBA Live 18 - Demo Impressions

I have not played NBA Live since Live 06

DL the demo today and giving this a whirl. I was a huge Live guy through PS2.....then went to the other game.

I want a change. Let’s see if I can have some fun with this.

[The 24th Letter]

Re: NBA Live 18 - Demo Impressions

I said this before, but just as a reminder:

You should really go into the drills/practice modes if you havent already...you will see a lot of the available dribble and post moves. The practice mode was a bit more helpful for me, the drills covered the bare minimum, and didnt really cover the post at all...

That said- I've definitely been labbing though, and I would still agree with jyoung about dribbling feeling limited (theres too many 'dead spots on the stick and individuality not shining through...especially being that we probably have the two best ball handlers in the game to play with. The post options are so much better than 16's, not even close...but the the controls they went with feel very stiff.

I'll say one thing though- Live has absolutely nailed the Street/Pro Am feel....i'll be playing that A LOT.


Sent from my SM-G955U using Operation Sports mobile app

[idigfoo9]

Re: NBA Live 18 - Demo Impressions

I said this before, but just as a reminder:

You should really go into the drills/practice modes if you havent already...you will see a lot of the available dribble and post moves. The practice mode was a bit more helpful for me, the drills covered the bare minimum, and didnt really cover the post at all...

That said- I've definitely been labbing though, and I would still agree with jyoung about dribbling feeling limited (theres too many 'dead spots on the stick and individuality not shining through...especially being that we probably have the two best ball handlers in the game to play with. The post options are so much better than 16's, not even close...but the the controls they went with feel very stiff.

I'll say one thing though- Live has absolutely nailed the Street/Pro Am feel....i'll be playing that A LOT.


Sent from my SM-G955U using Operation Sports mobile app

24th, I apologize if this has been answered somewhere else. Have you seen or heard of a franchise mode for this years Live?

[WTF]

Re: NBA Live 18 - Demo Impressions

Strawberryshortcake, I got you. Thanks for the breakdown in those animations.

[Yeah...THAT Guy]

Re: NBA Live 18 - Demo Impressions

Long post breaking down the pros and cons

Spoiler

Positives

Defensive lateral movement -- The defense's footwork looks and feels a lot more natural than it does in 2K17. In Live, my perimeter lockdown defender can actually stay in front of fast guards like Russell Westbrook; in 2K17, I'd have no chance of keeping speedboosters like Russ in front of me, even with a maxed-out lateral quickness rating. I also noticed a big difference in this demo between the lateral movement of a stiff like Kevin Love compared to the stopping power of an all-world athlete like LeBron James.

Defensive jostling animations -- I like how bumping the ball carrier with your body tends to put the defender into a hip-riding animation that merely impedes the dribbler's progress instead of completely stonewalling him and halting all of his forward momentum like you'd see in 2K17.

On-ball steal system -- The risk/reward for reaching seems to be balanced fairly for my lockdown defender so far (but it could possibly become unbalanced if I maxed out his steal rating in the retail release), as right now, I can't spam the steal button recklessly without getting blown by for easy buckets, but good timing seems to be rewarded pretty regularly with clean rips.

Environments & presentation -- All of the courts and arenas I've played in have sounded and looked authentic. The ESPN overlays and cutaways have an equally clean look. I'm normally not a fan of watching Stephen A. Smith and Max Kellerman yell at each other, but it was amusing seeing them argue about a video game character like he was a real person.

Created character stats & upgrade systems -- I like everything about Live's MyPlayer system: you start the game with respectable initial ratings for a lottery pick, then you still have many important choices to make about which attributes and badges you want to upgrade. The pace of the attribute/badge grind seems reasonable so far, and none of the player builds appear to be overpowered, but that could just be because nobody can max out their character in this demo. I appreciate EA's decision to give out identical rewards, regardless of whether I'm playing offline by myself, cooperatively against the CPU, or cooperatively versus other humans.

Negatives

Dribbling -- EA's library of dribble animations seems extremely limited compared to what's available in 2K17. I've struggled to create separation from defenders since Live's dribble moves mostly just move the ball handler across one or two tiles of floor space, with not enough lateral movement to generate scoring opportunities. The majority of the moves lack explosiveness whenever you sprint out of them, and they don't blend together very smoothly. The game also needs more signature animations from real NBA players; every dribble move I've used so far has felt generic and unrecognizable.

Shooting -- None of the players' jumpers on the Cavs or Warriors looked close to resembling their real-life shooting forms. The speed of every jump shot form I've tried has felt way too slow. Placing the shot meter right next to the player model is visually distracting, begging my eyes to look at the meter instead of the shot animation. The meter doesn't feel completely accurate, either, as most of the perfect "green" releases that I've achieved have come from releasing the shot button a little later than what the bar seems to be suggesting for optimal timing. Live is still way behind 2K17 when it comes to having a wide selection of fast, functional, and believable jump shot animations.

Post Offense -- It's too difficult for big men to back down and dominate weaker matchups (especially after the defense switches a guard onto a big during a pick & roll). There aren't very many post moves to use, and all of them feel too slow and look extremely awkward. 2K17's post game is far superior in its functionality, fluidity, and overall number of scoring maneuvers.

Lack of control over dunk & layup animations -- Just going into the paint, pressing the X button, and hoping for a good outcome isn't an acceptable gameplay experience in 2017. Live needs a directional shot stick like the 2K games have to give users better control over the specific type of dunk/layup animation that they want to trigger.

Too many "Brick Wall" screens -- 2K17 had this exact same problem where defenders were getting knocked out cold and dropped to the floor by big-body screens at a much higher rate than what you'd see in real NBA games.

I pretty much agree with all of this with a couple exceptions:
1. Definitely feels like there needs to be more individuality with the ball-handling animations. However, I personally had a much better time shaking defenders with Live than I did in 2K17. Shaking a human defender in 2K17 is easy enough, but the AI defenders stone-walled me so often. Whereas I was able to pull this off against the AI with relatively little practice (on all-star difficulty).

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GZoz6N_iyWg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

2. I haven't been able to practice it much yet, but I could have sworn people were saying that the directional shot stick is in the game.

[RoyalBoyle78]

Re: NBA Live 18 - Demo Impressions

All I'm going to say is, I have been a LIVE supporter for ever, I played the Demo last night, and man I'm very Happy, I like the way the game flow I like the controls I'm just liking everything. Graphics Are nice as always. I have to play some more, But I'm happy live is back!!!!!! And in a big way.

[Yeah...THAT Guy]

Re: NBA Live 18 - Demo Impressions

Guys, for those of you maxed out, you could A) Keep playing the Co-op Challenges, you don't get locked out of those, or B) Create another guy, try a different play style/role. Even though you lose your progress you get to keep everything you unlocked with gear, tattooes, celebrations, and RP.

Would creating a new guy replace the current one, or can we have multiple players?

[El_Poopador]

Re: NBA Live 18 - Demo Impressions

I didn't get too much time to play yesterday, but I did have fun for the 90 minutes or so I did get to.

Dribbling feels better than 16, but I definitely need to learn the controls more. It didn't always feel like my inputs were matching up with what was on the screen. For now, I'm going to chalk that up to not knowing the controls very well.

I love that you don't really get stonewalled by the CPU defense. There's actually a sense of weight and momentum. I do wish I could move a little more subtly with the ball, but overall, it's much improved.

Arena atmosphere and crowd noise is excellent, as always. Commentary has also been improved (I didn't hear Van Gundy say the "duress and pressure" line at all, which was refreshing). I am disappointed that the halftime report hasn't really been touched outside of some new graphics. Jalen Rose still sounds robotic during halftime/post game.

Still getting used to Live's implementation of the shot stick. I took a few shots on accident when trying to do an in-and-out move, including a half court shot from Harden during the opening game (that went in somehow lol).

Overall, I'm enjoying the demo, and look forward to playing more when I have a chance. Going on vacation for a week tomorrow, so I won't be able to play until next weekend at the earliest.

[marmz24]

Re: NBA Live 18 - Demo Impressions

Does anybody know if it will be possible to play drew league games and pro am game just with NBA players, without your created player? Same as in the Live 18 drew league intro

[The 24th Letter]

Re: NBA Live 18 - Demo Impressions

24th, I apologize if this has been answered somewhere else. Have you seen or heard of a franchise mode for this years Live?

I'm not sure man, sorry