[Leftos]

Yeah, the Clutch Factor is a HUGE misconception by most people and slider creators, unfortunately. But in truth, it only adds what it says, the clutch that some players posess to be able to act under stress on those final moments, while other players just break down. Adds another bit of realism, if the Clutch attribute is properly set on each player.

This misconception remains from the catch-up days of Need For Speed: Underground and after, where if enabled, the opponents would become better if you were starting to leave them behind, and go slower if you were falling behind, to provide an "equal match" of sorts at all times, instead of allowing you to demolish them or be ridiculed.

It doesn't work that way though here, nothing like that. Those huge runs the PC makes, after about 100 games I can safely say is just due to user error. Overconfidence, not running plays properly and rushing, turnovers, and/or not bothering to play good defense. All that adds up, and the CPU will make those runs at you if you're not careful, especially as the level of difficulty is increased.

By the way, I have to admit that what was at fault for my first experiences with those sliders, was one, the bad day I was having and not being properly concentrated to the game, and two, the fact that I decided to switch to RP%, which is a bitch for the Pistons on All-Star difficulty and my skills. It just ruined the game for me.

But in this Season 2 of my Association, after some good off-season trades and signings that made the team more diverse, and after mastering my players' timings on Live Practice to get used to the new timings post-patch, I'm starting to enjoy these sliders, in the first 3 games (1 pre-season, rest of it skipped, and 2 regular season ones). Pre-season game against the Cavs I won by 10 something, then a 12 point win on the Trail Blazers, then a nerve-racking all the way to the end close game against the Cavs, that ended up with them losing the 3 to get the win, and us winning by 2.

All in all, I'm starting to see what others are seeing and praising those sliders for, and why mk abandoned his own to now work with A&S' as a base. These sliders are forcing me to play better, have made the game much more interesting and enjoyable, more diverse, and has put me in good match-ups against the teams that I'm similar in strength with.

Only thing that's left to see is if I can still get an upset or two against the big boys of the Association (Lakers, Celtics, Heat, Spurs, etc.), a few of which I managed last year, or if the more diverse game means that they're going to attack me in more ways than I can defend.

It's like I'm learning to play a different game with these sliders all over again. A new, improved game. It's like NBA 2K12 here, and boy am I enjoying it.

Great job A&S.

By the way, for those that want to play with those post-patch but on Shot Stick Timing for Field Goals, try these adjustments for both User and CPU:

Inside: 47
Close: 47
Mid: 48
Out: 50

You might want to lower them a tick more to 46, 46, 47 and 49 if you have anything better than the Pistons, as playing in All-Star with these for a full season I got pretty good % on both FG and 3PT. That's not realistic for the Pistons, sure, but it kept the game enjoyable, while still challenging me enough to finish on a quite realistic 33-49 record (improved by just 6 wins compared to last season).