Well, here's the list. The Top 20 Legacy Issues. we've detailed how they affect PNO and gameplay overall. PNO is simulation gameplay and is supposed to be authentic to the NBA. It has to put aside the arcady, easy mode, casual elements of the past--that's what Park is for. Each game mode should offer a different experience. Things like full-court passes, spam, zones and trying to steal the ball every 5 seconds have to be punished. If guys are going to play that way? FINE. But gameplay can't be in the practice of rewarding it.
20. PNO Roster/Rotation - Allow us to edit/save our roster for PNO matches so that our depth chart and substitutions follow the rotation we specify.
19. PNO Loot - Each PNO win should award VC and random loot based on win quality like MyTeam Cards, Badges, and other items/assets valuable in NBA 2K. Allow short 15 sec ads before/after games and a single 30 sec ad during halftime a la Twitch to further support the mode. I'm available to consult on monetizing PNO and making it something users from other modes will see as a valid destination for grinding and loot potential if nothing else.
18. PNO Playbooks - Give us the option to edit and save our playbooks offline for PNO use and for the previous play-call menu for people who prefer it. We have 3 minutes of pause time in an online game which is not nearly enough time to make playbook changes.
17. PNO Variety - PNO needs redesign, the current system has us playing the same 3-4 teams all year. First give it an Online Commissioner responsible for gameplay tuning. Next, do away with Mirror Matches. Then give it scale, PNO is a smaller version of an NBA game--it can't fully mirror NBA rules or there will be abuse. Teams should go into the penalty on the 3rd foul and players should foul out on their 4th. Give users a shallow end of the pool option with the current tier setup, a deeper end where users can match up with any team in the NBA and the deepest part where they can wager VC in matches. Do regular tournaments with VC prizes and give each team a point value to promote the use of lower-ranked teams. Redo the leaderboard and base it on multiple data points (most of them hidden to avoid manipulation) then give it a web portal and a search function. Gamers love comparing themselves to other players and immerse themselves in stats--include those on a massive level.
16. Offense Recovers - We'll never have offensive/defensive balance as long as the defense makes a good play and its constantly recovered by the offense. The problem seems to be rooted in the fact that defenders aren't immediately aware of the ball if it isnt attached to an offensive player. Having defenders take possession of their blocks in 2K20 was a good start. The same has to be true when defenders strip the ball away--stun the offensive player if you have to, defenders should recover 80% of their good plays.
15. Open and Wide Open Shots - These simply have to fall at a 50-60% rate with players above a certain shooting threshold (80+ in their respecting shooting category) We get it, bad transition defense allows offenses to get the ball in scoring position too easily, so changes had to be made to balance the game. But after thats dealt with these shots need to be higher percentage....zones can't be the meta in an NBA simulation.
14. Blocking Fouls - Another subtle gameplay mechanic here that enhances gameplay. These are a great mechanic gameplay can use to display perimeter mismatches w/o resorting to Blow-bys every time. Fouls are necessary but Good and Elite defenders should take blocking fouls rather than tackling guys and gifting them FTs:
Choosing Conservative Aggression should do this as well. We also have to use these when players impede another player's progress. Do away with gameplay where you can collide with a player/stop his momentum and then go for a steal:
13. Coaching Decisions - This is where the Next Gen should shine. Give us the abiliity to call plays in timeouts, put plays on Repeat and Mirror the subs of our opponent to avoid mismatches. Options that allow our defenders to go over/under screens or specify Catch Hedge or Crash The Glass can't be placebo. They matter too much not to work or be balanced with Risk and Reward. We also need more varied POE options here that are useful, especially when we Focus Player: What about Draw Charge, Take away Baseline, Focus on Roller or Stop Pin-downs? Right now we have options like Jordan Rules and Make Him Score, does that mean we'll leave him open? What are these and what exactly do they do? Explanations for options like Give it Up and Nothing Inside need to detail what they do and how our players will react. Lastly, lets see Ball Denial better fleshed out so that we can finally have an authentic inbound dynamic in end-of-game situations where the score is close that requires skill and anticipation.
12. Steals - First and foremost gameplay simply has to embrace the fact that the ball is not vulnerable when players aren't doing dribble moves--NO MORE NEUTRAL OUTCOMES. Make users target the ball themselves--no more easy mode. Make defenders who want to swipe dribblers point the L2+ R-stick towards the target (and have their momentum go in that direction) and we'll see how many people are REALLY good at stealing the ball. Defenders who miss steals have to be whistled or lunge in the direction they specify when they whiff. No more of this:
Require a threshold rating for a player to get steals with any level of success. On-ball and passing lane steals have to finally be separated. A defender trying to rip someone's dribble can't then magically appear in the passing lanes when we pass the ball. INTENT MATTERS. Next, require skill and anticipation for passing lane steals by making the user get in good position and use L2+R-Stick UP for Lob passes, Down for bounce passes and Right/Left for normal passes based on where the defender is. In the photo below, the user (who's success rate would be affected by Embiid's 37 steal rating) would press the stick left to steal the pass to Bledsoe and right for a pass to Brogdon:
PROTECT BALL HAS TO BE STATIC, we should press it once and remain in that state unless we repress L2 or sprint. Excessive reaching is a Long-time issue, its a casual habit made worse by 2K19's rebound steals--which will take years to get out of the ecosystem. What happened to the broken lines mechanic? It was a good concept but has now fallen by the wayside. REMINDER, here's what missed steals look like:
11. Player Speed - The lowering of speed for bigger players has minimized the too-frequent chasedown blocks and slowed recovery for some, but I would urge caution. The effectiveness of bigs is dramatically reduced in the open court and the "2K Pass" gives users too many easy scores with players with even decent speed. Making changes to the game's core mechanics is fine, but this could be a bad mixture when combined with passing that isn't balanced. Horford, one of the leagues most versatile defenders, cant stop a dunk when he has the angle because of one bad step?
And he's too slow get back on defense versus Giannis after a score? YIKES. The re-scaling seems to have gone a bit too far:
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