[IGN] NBA 2K8 Preview

professorjay · Sep 6, 2007

RC Cola said:

Another preview by IGN, this time about the Association:
http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/818/818513p1.html

They also have some new gameplay videos I believe.
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After reading that article, I can't help but think of all the offseason moves we've made. Maybe Morey was a consultant for the game?

Carl Herrera · Sep 6, 2007

professorjay said:

After reading that article, I can't help but think of all the offseason moves we've made. Maybe Morey was a consultant for the game?
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Only the game allows you to have 20 guys under contract during the offseason and preseason.

Icehouse · Sep 7, 2007

So will they ever allow you to add more than 10 players to the game? A 10 player limit really sucks when tons of greats are already not on the game (MJ, Pippen, Hakeem, Robinson, Stockton, Malone, etc).

darkwarrior · Sep 7, 2007

Icehouse said:

So will they ever allow you to add more than 10 players to the game? A 10 player limit really sucks when tons of greats are already not on the game (MJ, Pippen, Hakeem, Robinson, Stockton, Malone, etc).
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theres actually a work around for that i don't remember the exact procedure, but if you make 10 CAPs, then assign them to a new created team (i think), you can free up the 10 spots. You can do it up to a certain amount of CAPs before it stops working. Again, i don't remember the exact steps to do it but it's possible. My brother made his high school team, and we've made some missing players from 2k7, total of amount ~20 CAPs.

OrangeCountyCA · Sep 7, 2007

Wow, the arena atmosphere is amazing. Just listen to the crowd.

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RC Cola · Sep 7, 2007

Apparently, they aim to have 200 CAP slots this year. Some posts from designers at 2K:

I thought you, of all people, would be pleased to read about the Association additions. On the topic of discussions taking a while, the superstars of the league tend to drag out their negotiations while the mid-tier players tend to sign rather quickly (MLE signings). When I'm playing and I have the cap room, I'm always debating whether the best strategy is to go for the superstar or fill out my team with solid mid-tier players. If you go for the gold and miss out, you'll find that you #2 through #10 options have all signed elsewhere leaving you out in the cold! It's the game GMs play every summer when the moratorium is lifted...

For the rest of you, after reading the IGN piece (which I thought was well written), I can say that there were new features that weren't even covered and finer details of the Player Roles feature that weren't mentioned. I imagine these pieces will get highlighted in future articles from other sites, so keep your eyes peeled.

Here's a couple minor tidbits that surely won't get any press, but I know you guys can appreciate; generated rookies will no longer have generic shoes, shot types, etc. You're now going to see rookies coming out with various shoes and a host of shot types. Also, shoe colors will change to match the colors of the new team after a player is traded. We managed to address a number of "little things" such as these; you'll surely come across plenty more as you play the game.

On the topic of CAP slots, since I've seen a fair amount of debate on it, 200 is the magic number this year.
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just gonna chime in on a few things. first off, since I've posted this the past 2 years, guess I'll post it again. don't expect to be able to fairly evaluate our game (or any game for that matter) based on a few short video clips and trailers. remember people saying how much 2k7 looked like 2k6 when the first vids were released? it's a completely different experience when you get your hands on the thing. there's so much stuff we've done both cosmetically and under the hood in 2k8 that you're never going to get a good feel for until you actually spend some quality time with the game. from the animation content to the AI, you guys are just going to love the depth that we've put into this title as you work your way through your seasons. I mean, I work on the thing every day and I still look forward to playing a few games every night before I go to bed. I don't like building up hype and I don't want anyone to have unrealistic expectations, but man... 2k8 really makes 2k7 look and feel... old.

about the cell phone bars. the number of bars represent a player's proficiency from that given range, not tendency... although the 2 are usually very closely related. the color of the bars represent the player's streak status (neutral, hot or cold.) the hotspot data from nba.com is also incorporated into this system. so for example, if bruce bowen has 3 bars from 3PT range, he might get up to 4 bars when he's set up behind the arc in the corners. for 360, we also rumble the controller very subtly when a player is in a hot zone for further feedback.

and yes, we've added logic for non-PGs like Lamar Odom and Bron Bron to set up the offense.

lastly, since several people have inquired... we've added other attributes that you guys requested to help further differentiate players. Along with Shoot in Traffic & Shoot off dribble, we've hooked up Quickness, Vertical, Hustle, Strength, On-ball Defense, and Standing Dunk. There might be a couple more but those are the ones I remember off the top of my head. you don't think I started that thread for nothing did you?

please don't turn this into a Q&A. just wanted to shed some light on some things. now if you'll excuse me, my bulls are waiting for me.
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mogrod · Sep 7, 2007

Wow, this game sounds unreal!

200 CAPS! That's amazing. Talk about having exact rosters that match the real teams player for player!

I only became a 2K player a couple of years ago when they stopped making Inside Drive. I can't believe how much progress this game has made in such a short amount of time.

RC Cola · Sep 7, 2007

Gamespot has a preview of the game, although I think it mostly recycles info from the 2 IGN previews (though they have pics of these features that I don't think IGN has). There were a few new things though (though they may have been mentioned elsewhere?):
http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/spo..._clk=newlyadded&tag=newlyadded;title;1&page=1

When you aren't wheeling and dealing in franchise mode, you'll be slugging it out on the court. In our last look at the game from the Leipzig Game Convention, we got an overview of many of the new gameplay features that will be part of NBA 2K8. Today, we got to spend a bit more extended time with those features, and talk to the producers who've helped put it together. One of the first aspects they mentioned to us was the game's improved artificial intelligence on both ends of the floor. As producers put it, to the developers, 2K8 feels like the company's first "full" foray into next-generation consoles, with rewritten AI and animations that look to take advantage of what the systems can do. As a result, player AI has taken a big step forward, and the AI will be more apt to look for mismatches on the floor. Producers said last year's game was focused too heavily on guard play; this time around, the AI will be looking to take more advantage of the big men, move down low, and look for open guys when double-teamed.

Though you can always choose the plays you wish to run at any time, when you have the CPU handling play-calling, you'll be able to take advantage of a new play system that actually draw out how plays are supposed to be run on the floor. Move your guard to the point for example, and you might see a blue line to the left, indicating your player should move in that direction. If you see a dotted line, it means pass the ball in that direction. It's a simple tool meant to teach basketball newcomers how screens and isolation plays unfold on the floor and it works pretty well, though we'd prefer to see the entire play drawn on the floor at once. As it is now, the play diagram reveals itself one step at a time, which can result in a stilted, slower pace as you try to figure out where you're supposed to be at any given moment.

Another new feature, off-ball control, looks to add a nice layer of flexibility to how you run plays on the court. Here, you can take control of a player without the ball by pressing the L1 button and pointing to the player you want to control with the analog stick. After moving that player into position, such as sending him towards the basket or getting open on the perimeter you can call for a pass and then take the open shot. A shortcut method for a similar play is to press the "get open" button (circle on the PS3 controller, B on the Xbox 360 controller), which will choose a random player to get open for a shot.

There are new animations all over NBA 2K8. The signature style animations that were a big part of NBA 2K7 have been increased dramatically in 2K8 with new shot, layup, dunk, dribble, and free throw animation packages that will have virtual players looking and playing more like their real-life counterparts than ever before. In addition, there's more contact animations between players than before, including when going up against one another in the paint (including some vicious looking hard foul animations), and when congratulating one another after a great play. More contact in the paint ostensibly means a tighter interior defense, and less of a dunk-fest on the court.
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Hopefully I didn't miss anything else.

Icehouse · Sep 7, 2007

200 CAP'S is great news. I will still be balling wiht Larry Bird though.......

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