NBA 2k19 Defensive Impressions

[Kushmir]

Quote: Originally Posted by ksuttonjr76

As a side note, that was a damn good video of AI playing good switching and show defense against the off ball movement.

No question, the AI switching (and reswitching) was superb. I cant wait to see how well it does vs pick/roll.

[MrWrestling3]

Quote: Originally Posted by Kushmir

Yup, I dont know if its an awareness issue or if the transition defenders cover an area of the court but I hope its resolved by launch.

Some type of zone fail looks possible, or the defenders being set to no help.

[Da_Czar]

Quote: Originally Posted by m29a

Meanwhile I'm an offline only user and IMO 2K17 had the absolute worst AI stick/psychic on-ball d where they'd stonewall/bump you seemingly 95% of the time, even with bad defenders. And because of that it was my lowest played of all 2Ks, even after attempting slider changes. So 2K18 comes along and finally, I could use star driving players and it opened up the drive n kick game beautifully. However, I will fully agree it was too easy and good defenders weren't bumping at all like they should. But I still had fun all year even though I did have to restrain myself from abusing it like you mentioned. It was still nice being to drive at all with elite players against often bad/mediocre defenders. So because of all that, 2K18 was by far my most played, all offline Quickplay/MyLeague. I would say a middle ground is there to be met for sure. I certainly want good defenders to bump often and not let me drive past them. But I'd personally hate to see the return of 2K17 defense where it was all bump all the time and no driving ever allowed, again, even with bad defenders. Anyways having not played 2K19 yet (i'm a pc player), I'm confident that it has the on-ball d balanced well. I saw someone say it was more like 2K16 and that sounds fine to me personally.

This year there is a delay in AI recognition of moves and the lower the level you play on the more of a delay for AI defensive reactions. It is also scaled by the quality of the defender.

So, on Pro, bad defenders are really slow to react and great defenders are better. On HOF the difference between bad and good defenders is not as wide and the top defenders are tuned to be really really quick in terms is seeing a move and reacting to it to increase difficulty.

For that reason, if you want fairness, I would stay off HOF in terms of universal reaction times.

So there is a range to it this year unlike years past to this degree. In that sense coming to a conclusion may be tricker to figure out without knowing the comparables of the two players involved and the difficulty level.

[jfsolo]

I'll probably have to play on All-Star. Even in the prelude on Superstar I'm seeing what is way too good perimeter defense by Cedi and Tristan on KD 30 feet from the basket. Their reaction to the first step move is way too quick and precise.

[2_headedmonster]

Quote: Originally Posted by strawberryshortcake

Note: Offline, Hall of Fame, default sliders, 12 minute quarters. The first video is what we get when we have "a little less physical" defense. Please tell me ahead of time if 2k19's defense is going to revert back to "2k18s" level of 'less physical' on-ball defense. I quit 3 weeks into playing NBA2k18 one major reason includes easy blow-bys for buckets. Spoiler It was no longer fun being able to do it over and over against the CPU (HOF). It was absolutely cheddar swiss cheese with the baseline guarantee blow by. Started playing again off and on during the playoff run, and after the Warriors won the championship. Blow-by's This also shows easy blow-bys for buckets. The following Klay video is also legal defense during regular and postseason play. They may let them get away more during the post season. But defense like this is something I've seen Boston, Memphis, Rockets, Patrick Beverly do in the regular season. They get up on you. Is the following a bad video because it's Klay Thompson and he's one of the better defenders? Tone down the defense and it WILL affect how NBA2k19's Klay Thompson and elite defenders are able to play on-ball defense. The following comment section is directed more so at individuals that are overly concerned about online competitive head to head matches. What about us users offline? What about throw-back teams when supposedly defense was more physical? What about more physical playoff games? How the game is tuned seems to affect all modes across the board. Plus, why does it matter if the defensive mechanics hand holds the user a bit? Why do we seemingly always have to implement such a massive skill gap so we separate unskilled chuck 'em players versus more skilled, more knowledge players. Users that are good should be able to dominate even those that are essentially hand held. It may require a bit more work, but a bit more work in sports video game terms is fun to me. Note: I still loved playing on-ball defense locking up the CPU Hall of Fame and drawing 24 second shot clock violations. That's fun. Maybe I just don't understand the online competitive world. The only game that I actually care about both offline versus CPU and competitive online versus User was Street Fighter V. I didn't care about my record, It was just enjoyable going head to head against another user even if I lost 10 to 15 straight matches. Last point: I'm staying offline because I don't want to deal with online culture. If I decide to buy 2k19, I don't want to stop after 3 weeks again because the CPU on Hall of Fame is too easy because their on-ball defense is easy. A great 2k/basketball player will be able to dominate the weaker competition.

Klay is an elite Defender, and those clips show him in the playoffs getting away with an abnormal amount of contact. If you watch a quarter of an NBA game, you see a number of blow bys. I'm not saying the defense in 2K18 was perfect, but what I'm seeing so far in 19 is defense that's unrealistically physical. Part of the problem with the defense in 18 versus the computer was that it didn't give appropriate space, or try to take angles away, so often times it was easy to get a step on the computer.

2K had a feature where defense was more physical in the playoffs, then that's a feature I can get behind, but even then if I'm 40 feet from the basket, and you are nose-to-nose with my quick ball handler then there's no reason you should not get blown by.

If I'm 40 feet from the basket and you are quickly running towards me, then there's no reason I shouldn't be able to go around you. That's just physics. If things like that or in the game, then it's just hand holding to quiet the complaining.

[ch46647]

2KU- Superstar- I’m really liking the feel of defense in the demo. The developers have clearly made the defensive end a priority for 2K19.

My only issue is the CPU defenders play a ton of “smother” defense, even outside the three point line. Unfortunately, when an on-ball CPU defender plays “smother”, it tends to interfere with the dribble animations and can make a ball handler feel clunky.

I have no problem whatsoever with the developers making the CPU on-ball defense more challenging. However, if a defender played “smother” defense on Curry or Durant outside the three-point line, it would be a blow by 95% of the time.

Hopefully, the devs can find a bit more balance in the retail version, with on-ball CPU defenders giving proper space and playing the angles to cut off the ball handler. This would open up the game signifcantly and reduce the “clunkiness” of the dribbling when a CPU defender is in your jersey outside the three-point line.

[trav402]

Quote: Originally Posted by Da_Czar

This year there is a delay in AI recognition of moves and the lower the level you play on the more of a delay for AI defensive reactions. It is also scaled by the quality of the defender. So, on Pro, bad defenders are really slow to react and great defenders are better. On HOF the difference between bad and good defenders is not as wide and the top defenders are tuned to be really really quick in terms is seeing a move and reacting to it to increase difficulty. For that reason, if you want fairness, I would stay off HOF in terms of universal reaction times. So there is a range to it this year unlike years past to this degree. In that sense coming to a conclusion may be tricker to figure out without knowing the comparables of the two players involved and the difficulty level.

Do you still get the benefit of CPU ACE adjustments if you don't play on HOF?

Sent from my Moto G (5S) Plus using Tapatalk

[loso_34]

Quote: Originally Posted by strawberryshortcake

Note: Offline, Hall of Fame, default sliders, 12 minute quarters. The first video is what we get when we have "a little less physical" defense. Please tell me ahead of time if 2k19's defense is going to revert back to "2k18s" level of 'less physical' on-ball defense. I quit 3 weeks into playing NBA2k18 one major reason includes easy blow-bys for buckets. Spoiler It was no longer fun being able to do it over and over against the CPU (HOF). It was absolutely cheddar swiss cheese with the baseline guarantee blow by. Started playing again off and on during the playoff run, and after the Warriors won the championship. Blow-by's This also shows easy blow-bys for buckets. The following Klay video is also legal defense during regular and postseason play. They may let them get away more during the post season. But defense like this is something I've seen Boston, Memphis, Rockets, Patrick Beverly do in the regular season. They get up on you. Is the following a bad video because it's Klay Thompson and he's one of the better defenders? Tone down the defense and it WILL affect how NBA2k19's Klay Thompson and elite defenders are able to play on-ball defense. The following comment section is directed more so at individuals that are overly concerned about online competitive head to head matches. What about us users offline? What about throw-back teams when supposedly defense was more physical? What about more physical playoff games? How the game is tuned seems to affect all modes across the board. Plus, why does it matter if the defensive mechanics hand holds the user a bit? Why do we seemingly always have to implement such a massive skill gap so we separate unskilled chuck 'em players versus more skilled, more knowledge players. Users that are good should be able to dominate even those that are essentially hand held. It may require a bit more work, but a bit more work in sports video game terms is fun to me. Note: I still loved playing on-ball defense locking up the CPU Hall of Fame and drawing 24 second shot clock violations. That's fun. Maybe I just don't understand the online competitive world. The only game that I actually care about both offline versus CPU and competitive online versus User was Street Fighter V. I didn't care about my record, It was just enjoyable going head to head against another user even if I lost 10 to 15 straight matches. Last point: I'm staying offline because I don't want to deal with online culture. If I decide to buy 2k19, I don't want to stop after 3 weeks again because the CPU on Hall of Fame is too easy because their on-ball defense is easy. A great 2k/basketball player will be able to dominate the weaker competition.

The kd blow by was bad positioning..he’d have done the same irl. In the 2nd example klay is stronger than his defender..