Official NBA 2K18 Thread | Available Now

[Nipsey3000]

another thing...

there is truly minimal difference in setting defensive pressure on and off ball. smother/tight/moderate/gap dont mean **** in 2k17. neither does "protect the paint" or "no threes"

why put them in if they dont mean ****?

if you choose to "smother" a guy like KD, it should be hard for him to get an open 3 without screens etc, but relatively easier to get an edge in getting to the basket.

defensive players for the most part totally ignore the "deny" feature. deny should make it harder to get a passing lane to that player but make backdoor cuts by the offensive player easier (within reason) and depending on the defender.

if they are creating more archetypes, then allow players strengths to dictate the action, and the strategy itself to counter. in 2k17, it was useless to play with a guard like kyle lowery because he wasnt quick or fast enough to do anything. he is one of the stronger PGs in the league and his strength should be his STRENGTH! you shouldnt have to be the quickest and fastest at your position to get by your man consistently.

 

[pmpdaddyrobford]

Yea but KD 7ft. If it's just some guards d-ing up it wouldn't bother him that much

 

[Nipsey3000]

Yea but KD 7ft. If it's just some guards d-ing up it wouldn't bother him that much

It's not about stopping kd or any other player. It's about smothering truly meaning smothering, denying meaning denying etc etc.

And...the offensive player gaining advantages based on the settings you choose defensively.

 

[wavycrocket]

I've been saying this since 2k11.....

The court needs to get bigger. Half court is too close to the 3pt line. And offenses need to get initiated farther out, and quicker in the shot clocks. 2K def improved its freelance offense though in 2k17. Not quite the level of NCAA College Basketball 10 yet....but it's getting there.





The freelance offense for 2K is getting there. Play with the Warriors....and throw the ball in the post to Draymond. The ai will move and set a multitude of screens to free up shooters on the perimeter. Some movement, actions and options. The steal system/collision system needs work too. As well as speed differential. The actual gameplay of 2K17 wasn't bad. It just wasn't the "jump" some expected...but it's a really good game. There are a lot of tools at your disposal in that game.

Last thing....Make Quick subs quick again dammit. That's honestly what's kept me from the game. As someone that pays attention to matchups, rotations, staggering and different lineups....it's a no no for me.

 

[P C H]

I agree with everything you said Wavy but the getting into the offense quicker probably is by biggest pet peeve. I'm trying to run my floppy's for JJ w/ LAC and the shot clock be under 10 before the motion actually starts to take place.

The subbing is annoying too. But after the first week I just used paused for the subs instead of on the fly and I just got used to it. Would love to get back to on the fly subbing though.

Other than that 2k17 was the best 2k I've ever played. (I did have to tweak and adjust sliders to my liking, and it's most realistic feel) Once I adjusted certain sliders and things of that nature, it was a flawless game for the most part for me minus the aforementioned issues I had.

 

[MajinZuub]

The in-game and timeout menus were abysmal in 2k17. Honestly the thing that bugged me the most

 

[pmpdaddyrobford]

The in-game and timeout menus were abysmal in 2k17. Honestly the thing that bugged me the most

And the forced cut screens that you couldn't skip annoyed me too

 

[the 718 truth]

And the forced cut screens that you couldn't skip annoyed me too

I need you to be my Jordan and Pippen

 

[adobecs4]

I need you to be my Jordan and Pippen

I was traded and that stupid coach came along with me to the new team

 

[T0INE]

More screenshots:

 

[T0INE]

2k17 vs 2k18 comparisons:

 

[T0INE]

More comparisons:

 

[T0INE]

An Early Look at NBA 2K18 Gameplay Changes

By

Mike Lowe

Just a year ago I was sitting in the same room at 2K hearing about all of the additions to NBA 2K17. Well it’s a year later, and the team at 2K Games and Visual Concepts have been busy working away on the much anticipated NBA 2K18.

Thursday was an event with an exclusive focus on exhibition gameplay — nothing more was available to choose from in this build — and it allowed a select group of NBA 2K’s top players (@DatBoyDimez @timelycook @MarioHTXX @DmanUnt2014), some members of the media (@mattbertz @UniqueMazique), and me a chance to sit down with the sticks and get a first impression on what gameplay tweaks we can expect to see in early September.

There were no big speeches, no big presentations; we were told to dive in and start playing.

What I noticed first was the responsiveness and fluidity of the players when I was playing defense. As a group, some of us felt defense was tougher to play, and others felt it was easier. After discussing, it seems a lot of these differences came from the actual player matchups. Kyle Lowry made playing defense seem much harder when going up against Russell Westbrook, yet you’d have an “easier” time when using Chris Paul — both are solid defenders, but Paul is all-NBA on that end and so it fits with the concept. A subtle, yet effective change.

And thus a theme for Thursday’s event was born. Subtle, yet effective.

I had a handful of development team members tell me that a focus had been placed on “feel” for NBA 2K18. It wasn’t an official motto, and it wasn’t printed on a bunch of team-building t-shirts; it was just present within the team. The word feel plays very nicely with subtle, and it makes for some very effective improvements to gameplay, including:

(Disclaimer: I played numerous games, using different teams each time. I played on Superstar, All-Star, and Pro for different games, and sometimes even switched difficulties mid-game. Sometimes I played a sim-style following coach plays, while other times I just button mashed while failing miserably to multitask while talking to devs.)

So anyway, those improvements to gameplay I noticed:

• AI demonstrated a noticeable improvement to their ball movement on offense, including the use of realistic and varied tempos.
• The AI showed to be smarter on defense as well. For instance, last year it seemed I could always generate one of two scenarios in a traditional pick-and-roll. This year, I would call for it, and the defense would really force me to improvise some at times. This provided for a lot of unique scenarios which kept even running a vanilla offense interesting.
• The best graphic (not necessarily graphical enhancement) I saw was 2K has added what is simply called “contested shot feedback.” This appears directly next to your shot timing feedback at the top of the screen, and it’s great — I was definitely one of those people last year who probably yelled, “Oh come on! He was open!” only to now realize, meh, not really. I chatted with Scott O’Gallagher about how I’d love to see this appear when playing defense too (in this current build, it does not), and that idea seemed to be very well received.
• You can now choose the color of your shot meter. Too many colors to list, but you can also choose “team color.”
• Speaking of the shot meter, this now appears up around your player’s head while shooting, and it’s much more natural to keep your eye on while still staying immersed in playing the game.
• There is a new “Coach Communication” option that I stumbled upon. This is a visual that you can turn on in the Coach Settings menu that will help you on defense with visual shout-outs such as “Switch!” “I got ball!” “Ice!”
• I also noticed some new screens in regards to your team strategy settings. Gone are the simple labels of “hedge” and the like with very little descriptions. Now we see a very vibrant screen packed with information and visual aids that update as you toggle through your different options. This should hopefully help out those looking to see more tutorial options.
• I loved hearing the crowd cheering loudly at Little Caesar’s Arena on an and-one foul. I was playing with headphones on, and I heard no issues with major crowd sound, or the sound the ball makes, or the sound of the net, etc. The game sounds great right now.
• Another favorite improvement is pressure-sensitive passing. As someone who always felt the need to use icon passing, this was a really nice change. Now, this isn’t necessarily the speed of the pass I’m impacting with the longer hold of a button, but it can be indirectly — at least from what I understood. Admittedly, I wasn’t 100 percent clear on how this system works, so perhaps someone from 2K can chime in to clarify. I know this was a big wish for a lot of folks, and I don’t want to misinterpret what I think I may have seen. My best guess would be a scenario such as this:

If I’m starting a fast-break and there are two teammates in front of me — one about 5 feet away, and the other 15 – -when I hold the pass button for a little bit longer than I normally would for a pass, the pass will go to the player further away. I’m not entirely sure what would happen if I wanted to pass to the guy 5 feet away but with added velocity, and that’s what I want to make sure we’re clear on. Check the comments, or I’ll update this story later if I can get full clarity on that.

• Errant passes have been tuned. They will now include passes missing low and wide, but this does not just mean more errant passes, necessarily, just more variety.
• Outlet passes have also been tweaked in a way that balances any cheese that may have existed in earlier years (cherry-picking), while also allowing guys with the Break Starter badge to stand out. In other words, it’s not going to work every time, and there is some added risked when not using the appropriate player.
• You’ll notice the game shifting away from animations, and instead utilizing a new branching system (purposefully unnamed) that will allow for far more movement creativity. When I was watching the guys who are insanely good at the game, I could really see some creative gameplay that never looked repetitive. Very impressive.
• There are now individual movement sliders to control ball handlers or players without the ball. This all works in conjunction with the improved movement system mentioned above.
• There is some “artificial stupidity” (unofficial term!) in which lesser defenders may not be as useful in help defense situations. Of course, better defenders will be better helpers.

Overall, I actually enjoyed that I didn’t see anything too flashy in the demo time I had. I thought the subtle enhancements complemented what is already the industry measuring stick when it comes to sports gaming. I enjoyed that I felt a lot of NBA 2K familiarity, but could also really notice the polished coat it has received. Don’t take some of these subtle changes as a negative; it’s the complete opposite. It’s a cleaner, more fluid version of an already beautiful game.

And did I mention the game remains beautiful? You’ll have some visual surprises coming your way very soon, so stay tuned to Operation Sports for that. While there are still bigger features yet to be revealed (some the team seems very excited about), there was nothing outside of gameplay that can be shared beyond what has already been put out by the 2K team…but stay tuned!

I’m planning on attending a 2K event in New York later this month, so perhaps I’ll see some of you there.

 

[T0INE]

NBA 2K18 Hands-On Impressions - Offense, New Controls, Mechanics (DmanUnt2014)

By
Steve Noah


DmanUnt2014 has posted his NBA 2K18 hands-on impressions from his recent trip to 2K. In this video, he goes over offense, new controls and mechanics. Some details from the video below, thanks to Smirkin Dirk.

• Shot meter is above the head, and is vertical.
• Shooting not as easy, but very rewarding.
• Still some load-ups on catch and shoots.
• Amazing branching. Able to branch out of animations.
• Triple threat is excellent. More fluid and explosive
• New rebounding system.
• Post game been beefed up. Height and weight mattered.
• Felt like speed mattered. He brought up Fox getting out in the open court, and Westbrook being too quick and exploiting mismatches.
• Dribbling is fine.
• Hopstep and then dribble is gone. You have to shoot.
• A new button to take control of someone else on court.
• Sub menus/play calling back to buttons, much easier.
• Felt he needed time to adjust to the passing. Lead passing too dominant, it tended to drag players to far.
• New pick and roll system. No brick walls.
• Ball tangibility, not as frustrating as 2K17.
• He still feels the court is too small.
• Layups and dunks too slow sometimes, although no chasedown blocks.

 

[T0INE]

http://www.operationsports.com/games/nba-2k18/

NBA 2K18 Hands-On Impressions - Defense Part 1 of 2 (DmanUnt2014)


By

DmanUnt2014 has posted some more NBA 2K18 hands-on impressions, from his recent trip to 2K. In this video, he goes over defense (part 1 of 2). Some details taken from the video are seen below, thanks to Smirkin Dirk.

• He feels he has more control. You arent being moved around.
• The game allows you to stay on someone’s hip.
• Speed and strength matter when playing D.
• Steal spamming has been nerfed.
• More manual control about pick and rolls. He brought up the example of flicking the stick t get in position to go over picks. Brick wall nerfed.
• Screens have no black hole effect.
• Loose ball/pass awareness is much improved. Fights for loose balls.
• Intense D is more effective when used with better defenders.
• Right stick warping on D gone.
• Defender has to be looking at the play to know when to help.

 

[JJ Goon]

They need to fix the sharpshooting glitch in the new one. Was a joke how much sharpshooters could just score from anywhere with any type of shot even if they had D on them.

 

[mikedalton]

They need to fix the sharpshooting glitch in the new one. Was a joke how much sharpshooters could just score from anywhere with any type of shot even if they had D on them.

pause

 

[youngthundercat]

they might've got it right this year on defense...can't wait.

 

[Platinum State]

Somehow Kristaps still doesnt look like Kristaps

 

[38816]

day 1

 

[Based Jesus]

More comparisons:

Why was he so fat?

 

[wavycrocket]

White Gordon Hayward scan and everything looks great!

They really put in effort to body types this year. As seen with KD, Dame, Hayward, Lillard, Bmac, Kristaps and Dollywood's body types.

 

[addict4sneakers]

It'll be interesting to see how they match Giannis' playing style. He could be the ultimate cheese player

 

[T0INE]

 

[miggyme1]

It'll be interesting to see how they match Giannis' playing style. He could be the ultimate cheese player

no jumper, he wont be cheese, just young dumb ninjas abusing turbo and square/x.