This game owns my soul.

[ehh]

Re: This game owns my soul.

btw, ehh, have you played with AA's AA sliders? Are they too easy for you? I just know now that I feel its almost perfect, but maybe this change will be better. I just wonder what other changes you have that may be reflective of what you are seeing. I think we all may need the same baseline settings. but maybe not

All-American has always been too easy but I'm rolling with UConn so I need a stiff challenge. My first two years I won the national title but it wasn't outrageous, I had Top 10 talent both years. Thabeet, Jerome Dyson, Stanley Robinson and Kemba Walker are all insane in this game thanks to the fact that they have my basketball IQ instead of their own. Plus my defense with that level of athleticism + Thabeet in the middle was absurd.

But still, after that I knew I had a rebuilding year (which I'm still in the middle of) so I figured I'd move up to MOP for a better challenge.

So I'm using Fist's MOP sliders with a few tweaks, that is what I've been using the last six months or so. They are perfect for me, nice and challenging surprisingly without much CPU cheese. It's more difficult to get to the hoop, post moves aren't as money, CPU's defense is much better (I have had games where I got completely shutdown on MOP, I felt helpless on O. Never experienced that on AA).

Plus I don't think I lost a double-digit game on AA with UConn, I'm 19-6 right now and 4 of 6 loses are by double digits. I think I'm 3-5 in Big East play. On AA I feel like the only time I'd lose is when I had a cold shooting night, on MOP the CPU will actually outplay me or simply be better than me in terms of talent. I also like that young players and going on the road is way more difficult on MOP. I got completely blown out @ Louisville a week ago (posted in this thread about it) and they're 4 points lower than me overall. But they came out fired up at home and blew the pants off me. My team is real young and couldn't handle the hostile environment.

MOP could also play a role in why the rotations/spacing/def recovery is unsatisfactory - a CPU speed cheat at this level. Though I was never satisfied with it on AA either.

I suppose I should try these settings out with two low-majors to see how the game plays, all I've played since I started using these settings is my UConn legacy and quick games with classic teams.

I'll capture some game play tonight of my next UConn game, maybe a low-major vs low-major game too. Though it might be ugly since I haven't got the wiring set up yet so I can play on my TV while recording on my PC which means I'll be playing the game in the tiny WMM box on my PC. So it won't be my best effort but it'll give you an idea of the settings.

[muggins]

Re: This game owns my soul.

When you talk about spacing, can you explain that? I see the biggest deficiency in the game to be when you play 2-3 or 3-2 zones, the top man will do an L in the paint to get out to the wings instead of moving out there immediately.

Does the speed lowering fix that? The first thing I thought of when you compared it to live is "Well, in NBA they move a lot slower since they don't care as much "

[KG]

Re: This game owns my soul.

Yeah, Ive been rolling with Fists sliders for about 2-3 years now and I get a great range of games. I use Wake and have a squad of about 3-4 real NBA Players (Teague, James Johnson, Aminu & maybe Woods) so I need a good challenge. I have won in UNC & Duke but have been blown out by L'ville & Cuse before.

There's a level of unpredictability with 2K8 that I just love.

[ehh]

Re: This game owns my soul.

When you talk about spacing, can you explain that?

LOL, sure but this is gonna be long...

Spacing and defensive rotations deal mainly with getting quality, realistic open shots and also playing realistic defense. They go hand in hand.

Breaking down a defense IRL is key to any offense, you beat your first man, cause a rotation (another defender comes to help) and then you find the open man. Some times it happens in one pass, some times an extra pass is needed, some times you completely reverse/swing the ball to get the open shot. This is referred to as penetration and pitch, drive and dish, draw and dish, etc. It's basketball 101 and pretty much all you'll see for offense in any pick up game. It applies to dribble drive, pick and roll, set plays, etc.

There are many factors that play a role in this when it comes to basketball video games.

First is court and player size, the proportion is a little off in 2K8. The players are too big or the court is too small depending on how you look at it - literally and figuratively. The size proportion looks way better from the 2K cam than the broadcast/nosebleed cam. But if the proportions are off then defenses can close out or recover too quickly, making open shots less frequent and the mid-range game suffers since guys can recover so quickly.

That leads to the second problem with 2K8, defenders can cover way too much ground way too quickly. The are able to challenge shots they have no business challenging.

So how this all ties into spacing is...

One downside to 2K8 is that your CPU teammates will stand around if you aren't moving with the ball or running a play. Sucks too since NBA2K9 finally corrected it, we only missed by a year. So your teammates' laziness some times effs up the spacing and makes certain parts of the floor too crowded. So there are many situations when it's impossible to penetrate, draw the D and then find an open man because A) too many guys will be standing in the paint holding their nuts B) Your teammates won't move when you drive, giving you space plus giving you an option to pass the ball if their man leaves to help on you while driving.

So long story short, spacing/rotations are meh because...

A) Teammates stop moving, don't get in proper spots on the floor where they can score given the situation (whatever the situation may be)
B) Court size-to-player size ratio is off
C) Defenders can recover/rotate too quickly, so proper spacing is even more important.
D) No physics, too much sliding, defenders can stop on a dime and turn at full speed plus jump 12' feet laterally to challenge a shot.

[ehh]

Re: This game owns my soul.

Forgot to mention why the speed adjustments are important, the reason why lowering player speed and increasing game speed helps is because it allows the ball to travel quicker and the players to move slower, thus creating more realistic rotations and ball movement. The defense still slides, stops on a dime and tries to block a shot like they're being launched out of a cannon at times but it's definitely an improvement over player speed in the 40-60 range. On higher speeds players can move as fast or faster (absolutely absurd) than a passed basketball.

[muggins]

Re: This game owns my soul.

Awesome post. Thanks. I'll definitely turn down the speed now. I've been playing with Northern Colarad (name is too long for the opening c'mon 2k ) for I think 9 seasons, so my experience is different from a lot of people who use great teams in an open legacy. You're right about everything in that post.

[JVal3208]

Re: This game owns my soul.

Hey guys, I just picked this game back up. Are there any sliders/rosters/adjustments you guys would recommend? It's good to see so many people still play this game.

[ehh]

Re: This game owns my soul.

Ugh, PS3's 2K Cam lags based on different arenas even after adjustments to height/zoom, very disappointing.

Kinda killed my buzz a lil esp since it's f'd at Gampel Pavilion.

[grismosw]

Re: This game owns my soul.

Ugh, PS3's 2K Cam lags based on different arenas even after adjustments to height/zoom, very disappointing.

Kinda killed my buzz a lil esp since it's f'd at Gampel Pavilion.

Yeah, I couldn't stand the lag on the PS3 so I went back to 360.

[KG]

Re: This game owns my soul.

Yeah, I couldn't stand the lag on the PS3 so I went back to 360.

Same.

Ehh, I tried your speed settings and they're aren't too bad. It's good at creating space to get off jumpers but players lack the explosion in getting to the basket.

[Mbalmer]

Re: This game owns my soul.

After reading through most of this thread over the last month or so I guess I should go buy this game. Everyone says the legacy mode is so deep.
When I get this, I assume I can still get the patch that I have read about, right?

[muggins]

Re: This game owns my soul.

After reading through most of this thread over the last month or so I guess I should go buy this game. Everyone says the legacy mode is so deep.
When I get this, I assume I can still get the patch that I have read about, right?

If you hook up your 360, yep.

There really isn't any excuse to not own this game. You can pick it up for $8 used at Gamestop.

[Mbalmer]

Re: This game owns my soul.

I have a PS3 ^^^^^^ I guess it will work. I am going to have to go to gamestop this week sometime.

[stlstudios189]

Re: This game owns my soul.

welcome to the gang

[grismosw]

Re: This game owns my soul.

Same.

Ehh, I tried your speed settings and they're aren't too bad. It's good at creating space to get off jumpers but players lack the explosion in getting to the basket.

I like 50/70, if that is to fast try 45/65