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View Full Version : things that really need work (gameplay is the core)


tremere
December 21st, 2003, 10:48 PM
I will list the things that I see wrong with the game, as I'm a believer of building off your weaknesses. Please note that I am only talking about gameplay, that is what matters to me. I could care less about a silly slam dunk feature or a crib.

CONS
* player animations lacking frames
- players will be running one direction, then turn on a dime and head the other direction. in the side-court camera mode this is particularly ugly

* free throw shooting mechanism needs work
- if anything allow varying degrees of difficulty in how the free throws are shot, some of us don't have the dexterity of Assassins. my teams shouldn't be shooting 40% because "" I "" can't hit the free throws

* too few player faces
- NCAA licensing rules don't allow player photos, but the faces could be a lot better

* jump steal still there
- even with sliders, the jump steal can't be gotten rid of without compromising the rest of gameplay that involves stealing the ball. in other words, if you turn the steal slider all the way down, not only will you not be able to steal the inbounds play,you won't be able to steal anywhere. i know this for a fact, i tested it.

* fast breaks need work
- your leader runner should not do some isomotion and pull up for a jumper when he could clearly dunk the ball or at least lay it up

* shooting animations lacking
- need more animations of layups, dunks, fadeaways (that collegiate players can do). it would be super if shots had more arc to them. that doesn't mean more "float to them", more arc.

* dunking is too arcadish
- centers should not be reverse dunks at will, and their arms shouldn't look they can touch the top of the backboard at ease.

* cutscenes are cartoonish
- not only are the cutscenes lacking, they do not often depict the game to true life. in real life, you don't see the mascots taunting the coaches, and you don't see the pep band on every team having members wearing basketballs on their heads. there should be more of an ESPN feel to this game, less of a Charlie Brown or Crank Yankers feel to it.

* speed of the game is way too fast at default
- at the NORMAL level, the players severely lack animations in movement, get cluttered, turn-on-dimes, move and stop without any sort of momentum. at the SLOW level, everything becomes a slow-motion video capturing scene. passes float in mid-air, everyone runs like they are in a swimming pool.

* AI stands around too much
- there is little movement without the ball. Nearly every play becomes a one-on-one situation. As much as this type of thing happens in the NBA (when it shouldn't), it is NOT a part of college hoops. there should be more zone 'D', which means that the 'D' should collapse to the strong side. the full-court press is done pretty well, but everything else is bad.

* need more intelligent ball-handling play and 'D'
- if the man with the ball sees someone standing there trying to steal the inbounds play, he should pass the ball deep. if the 'D' is constantly trying to steal the ball in the backcourt or at the other end of the court, the offense should try and burn the full-court press or half-court press. there should be more trapping.

* this is a feature i REALLY want
in baseball games, some of the games have had "coach only" modes. it would be great to be able to just call plays, substitute, argue calls, etc. that really is more my style of play.

chief286
December 22nd, 2003, 06:26 AM
Good post. :D

gobigorange1
December 22nd, 2003, 10:09 AM
thats a pretty good post,i like the coach only idea.it would be cool to if they had they 1st person camera for when u did the coach only mode,because u could actually feel like the coach by watchin from his view.this may sound stupid,but just a suggestion.

tremere
December 23rd, 2003, 01:14 PM
Wow, I sure left out a lot of words in my previous post :) I guess I'm a basketball purist, because I feel that if "" I "" am playing in the game, then the ratings of my players don't mean a whole lot. Some will probably say, well then just play a role, such as the guard, and only dribble, pass, receive and shoot within the scheme of the play. But that feels like too LITTLE control. The coach mode is probably what I am really looking for. Definitely, I want to watch the game from either the side view (the view you see when watching a college hoops game on television) or from the coach's perspective The strategy of coaching and recruiting is what I REALLY want :)

hogman
December 23rd, 2003, 01:17 PM
I totally agree with the dunking part. I don't want to see anyone doing a 360 dunk over another player. It just doesn't happen.

lawcutta
December 25th, 2003, 07:34 AM
*I want my bigmen to go up strong down low. I hate seeing them shoot all those fadeaways.

Some good points but this is a video game. Sega has done in two years far more than EA has done in it's many years of making CBB games. "I" am happy with ESPN Hoops 2K4. It was well worth the 50 bucks.

tremere
December 30th, 2003, 09:43 PM
In *your* opinion, the game is worth $50 :) In *my* opinion, I think it's worth more like $10.

bluemage35
January 18th, 2004, 12:14 PM
I agree with a ton of your gameplay suggestions. When playing against a zone defense, the AI does not go to the strong side at all. If my post has the ball in the short corner and passes it to the weakside wing, the guard shouldn't be right there by the time the pass gets there. I think it has to just be me, but I have a decent three point shooting team, and I can't hit more than 4 or so a game on All American. There is a substantial increase in chance of making the three in certain situations, like running a three point play or kickouts, but two things always seem to happen. One, my player is either on the line, or eight feet behind the line, or the defense is already there.

Fast break is terrible on two accounts. I'm a big KU fan, so the last 10 years I've been used to seeing the Hawks get the ball off of made baskets, throw it in quickly, pass up to half court and beat teams back down the floor. This cannot happen in this game. I've got my up tempo slider all the way toward running ball, but my center or pf or sf always have to throw the ball inbounds. Often, someone will get it and THEN throw it to the guy out of bounds so HE can throw it in. How stupid is that. If you want to run the ball, the closest to the ball should grab it and throw it in quickly.

squidpants
January 20th, 2004, 09:12 AM
I definitely agree with the free throw shooting, i have a guy rated 90 in that but he is only shooting 51%. A lot of the time the bar things go all the way to the side before time expires, so I can't hit anything.