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View Full Version : An Idea From Out in Left Field.......


K Bomber
January 4th, 2004, 10:50 AM
I've been reading a lot of post in threads dedicated to the ideas of Street Mode and 24/7 Mode and like usual, I had a revelation this morning while walking the dog

Liliverson sent me a PM last night asking my thoughts on an idea he had related to an "NBA Player's Life" mode in place of 24/7 for next year. I didn't want to give an answer right off the top of my head, so I thought about it overnight until it hit me this morning. Here's what I came up with

The thing about the 24/7 and street modes that bugs me is that, to me, they're really not that original as a concept. Ultimately, NBA Street Volume 2 has already covered off that genre to me and done it well. About the only other element that I could see being added to that type of game is the inclusion of the And 1 guys or the Globetrotters because they are the embodiment of that style of game to me

To me, those modes in 2K4 are derivative and essentially give you a title that tries to be two things with both the 24/7 and season/franchise modes

What is it that I'm looking for in NBA 2K5? I decided this morning that I want the best professional hoops simulation possible and I thought of some modes that would help this title get there for next year

To me the answer for a supplement to the Franchise and Season modes are mini games or drills based from the types of things that teams actually do in practice. To me, I think there is a mode out there that would immerse gamers into learning the fundamental skills and theories of the game of basketball while helping to build relevant skills that could be incorporated into the other parts of the game. To me that would ideally be an expanded Practice or Training Camp mode

When I think of how this mode would work, a core element would require the return of facilities so that gamers could choose their own offensive sets and plays. Those requirements would play a big part in this prescribed Training Camp mode

Here's what I've envisioned:

Team Offense Practice
The CPU would demostrate various plays or options off plays which the gamer is then required to mimic. The premise being that this way the gamer gets some practice running Offensive Sets that can be applied to the game when playnig in seasonal modes

Once the offfensive set or option is run correctly, the player would get rewarded with points that are accumulated for tally at the end of the Training Camp mode

Team Defense Practice
This would work the same way except that the gamer would practice Defensive sets in order to gain TC points. This would not only accomodate running man-to-man and zones but also cover off the theories of transitional or fast break defense and the various versions of such like 2 on 1, 3 on 2, 3 on 1, etc

Individual Skill Sets
This would embody several types of mini-games based on real drill to cover off things like

- 3 Point Drills
- Free Throw Practice
- Low Post Moves (and there are dozens or drills that you could work on here...)
- One on One Defense
- Shot Blocking
- Rebounding -- and again this could be handled by drilling in team formats and individual theory, like following a shot, boxing out, etc.
- Cheating on defense
- Double Teaming
- Defensive Recovery
- Playing Passing Lanes
- Alley Ooping
- Finding players through Direct Icon Passing

There's loads of material that could be covered and when you look at some of the items listed, those seem to be the areas that have caused gamers the most grief in playing this title. "How do I prevent Offensive Boards?", "How to I limit the computer on Defense?", "How do I throw an Alley Oop?", look at the threads, the questions are out there

To me, if the game educated gamers on the finer points of the game it would not only help them appreciate the video game more, but also allow them to maybe see some of the nuances of the game when they watch a real NBA game as well

Anyways, that's my thought. Go crazy ripping it apart......

Brankles
January 4th, 2004, 03:00 PM
After they fix the player animations and gameplay...

They need to work on this...


Much like Madden's training camp... except better....






Holla

og15
January 5th, 2004, 11:13 AM
the only problem I have with this is that it allows you to build like a super team, cause if every year you can work on like 5 guys and get up to 7 points to ratings you can make your guys so good after like 3 years.

K Bomber
January 5th, 2004, 11:20 AM
the only problem I have with this is that it allows you to build like a super team
With this type of Training Camp, I think that there would have to be limits placed on how drastically you could effect your team

I have to give Madden 2004 kudos on this one because their training camp approach only allows you to modify one player per individual drill and with a limit of 5 or 6 points to be distributed across several related rating categories which might only improve the given player 1 or 2 points overall

Beyond this a natural progression occurs with players to move them up or down in the rating scale

With the team ratings that I envision, the affected rating set might be in the Offensive or Defensive awareness set so that, as a team, Defenses become more aware. But as a balance, what I later thought might be interesting is that when a player is traded, maybe there is an impact to "Team Awareness" as you move a player out of a known system and bring in a player from another system

In this way, an invisible impact is added to the function of trades, because you would need to weigh player, contract and team chemistry concerns, thereby creating a more thoughtful process

What do you think?

man2116
January 5th, 2004, 12:10 PM
A for real practice mode for this game would be great, the current practice mode they have only lets the offense move while one player moves at a time, it needs to be a scrimmage between your first string and second string players, if there are trades you have to then configure your line up to see who has chemistry together, 24/7 mode should stay but should be incorporated into the franchise mode as for like when you u want rookies or specific players to work on something.

Blue-Lightning
January 6th, 2004, 12:16 PM
My take:

Training camp should be a part of the Franchise mode and would greatly enhance it. I like your ideas.

However, I am a supporter of the Street Mode and I think that it needs to be integrated more closely with 24/7 Mode. Here's how I think all of this should work...

On the Main Menu, here are your options (options within options would appear after you clicked on the parent in a selection box before taking you further):

Exhibition
ESPN NBA
- Season
- Franchise
- Playoffs
Street Mode
- Quick Game
- 24/7
- Create a Street Baller
The CRIB
Practice
Options
ESPN Videogames
Credits
Xbox Live

Now here's what needs to happen:

If I click on Exhibition it needs to bring me to the normal team selection screen. Then when I have done that, it needs to take me to another screen where I can customize the game (i.e. Slider Preset, Difficulty, Arena, Number of Players, etc.). Then let me play.

And on Street Mode, the game needs to feel different. Make the default be an arcade slider preset where players do crazy dribble moves, shoot 60%, steal a lot and block a little less than they do now. And no charges! If I play a Quick Game I get to customize it... but on 24/7 there are lots of different kinds of games going on all the time! And... in 24/7 mode, I have to play with my own Street Baller and work him up in the ranks (think Amped both on rank and the way you get there). Instead of training, let there be clinics that are available with people who embody what they are teaching (Dr. J teaches the dunk, Jason Kidd the assist). Make quite a few fictional ballers who'll play in some of the pickup games along with the NBA players. Lots of different types of games to play, including 21, 3 on 3, 4 on 4, dunk/layup only, etc. And remember, make it like a cross between Amped 2 and NBA Street.

BL