NBA Live 07 Community Day Recap & Report

[cobbb11]

Andrew, can you go a little more in-depth with what you know about the rivalry system? Or more specifically, what are the parameters requried for a rivalry to form? Are they prebuilt into the game already and we have no control over them? Do rosters play a part? (Like if the Lakers/Suns had a rivalry, and you swapped the entire Laker roster and Toronto roster, would the Raptors/Suns now have a rivalry?) Does a rivalry stem from a player's chemistry with another player on a diffrent team (Ex. Bell/Bryant) Lastly, can new rivalries be formed in a Dynasty? Thanks for any help you can provide.

[Andrew]

Some teams are set as rivals by default, as I understand it we'll also be able to create rivalries in Dynasty Mode though I'm not sure how that is achieved at this time. Games flagged as rivalry matchups will start will have higher intensity from the opening tip. I'm assuming it will be a hidden attribute that we'll be able to edit in the dbfs for the PC version.

[apocalypse]

don't you get Live 2007 from EA 1 week early Andrew?

[Andrew]

I'm getting a free copy as part of the Community Leader program and hopefully it should be before the release. It hasn't arrived yet though, I'll be sure to let everyone know when it does.

[jdimes]

wanted to still know will there be any preseason or summer games and for the training camp will u be able to play it yourself or will the cpu still have controll of that

[Andrew]

There's no preseason or summer league games. Training camp is the same as last year.

[Dookie]

As you said Andrew, "We've got some signature free throw styles and jumpshots in this year's game, though the Next Gen version features many more unique jumpshot styles."

1. What do you mean by saying "We've got some signature jumpshots/free throw styles"?
Do we have the same signature shots in the Current gen as in this next video :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pm6ud2Fc-rM ?

2. In the Current Gen, Do we have the same gym as in this video ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxTRsZrfyxA ) and we can move directly from the gym to the real game as it mentioned in the video ?

Thanks,
Gal from Israel.

[Andrew]

1. There's nowhere near as many signature jumpshot styles in the Current Gen version, though there's at least as many free throw rituals. I seem to remember them saying there's more free throw rituals in the CG version but I may have misheard something there.

2. No, the "temple" gym is Next Gen only. Current Gen doesn't have any of those screen transitions.

[Dookie]

Oh.... Thanks anyway for the quick answer.

But, there are couple signature jumpshots in the Current Gen, right?
Players like Garnett/Brand/Yao have their own jumpshot in the current gen ? I really hope so.

[aholbert32]

Hi Andrew,

I read earlier that every feature found in Current Gen would be found in Next Gen and you confirmed that you could control multiple teams in Season mode on next gen. However, I'm seeing first impressions that claim that you can only control one team in Season mode on the 360. Is that true and do you know why the team took that feature out?

[Andrew]

I was under that impression but I could be mistaken.

[The X]

aholbert32, are you talking multiple teams in franchise season mode or just in single season mode?!? I'm pretty sure Andrew was only referring to single season mode as 2k7 is only one with multiple teams in franchise season mode....

[aholbert32]

I was talking about single season mode. Two of my friends confirmed that you can only control one team in Single Season mode on the 360.

[king garnett]

andrew i dont know if you have mentioned this but is this years live for australia on ps2/xbox playable online?

[nzspurs]

I think the xbox version is online enabled, not sure about the ps2 version though.

[Andrew]

andrew i dont know if you have mentioned this but is this years live for australia on ps2/xbox playable online?

I'm not sure, nzspurs is probably right though.

[cobbb11]

Andrew, all due respect man, but what the hell happened between community day and now? I'm interested about what your inital thoughts were upon your playing the retail game and/or seeing the massive bug reports. I'm 100% sure you weren't "bought off" or anything like some suggested when your intital preview was so postive, I'm just curious if you think they totally bait and switched us all, using the respected moderators to dole out good opinions because they knew this game was going to suck. Do you think they gave you a completly different version? Was it maybe in a controlled environment where they could keep a handle on the bugs? Or perhaps you just missed the sub problems/lack of sig shots etc. If you tell me you honestly remember playing an at least half-way decent game, then I firmly believe EA royally screwed us all.

[cyanide]

^ Actually, I think half the moderators openly dislike the Live series. He mentioned that he played the game a month before the release, so there was the assumption that the bugs will sort itself out with some tweaks here and there. It sounds like the gameplay is very good, but I believe the huge backlash is that everyone's tired of putting up with the mistakes and overlooked bugs that should've never made it through production.

[cobbb11]

^ Well all I know is that Andrew's preview was immmensely positive and, despite PC users still getting recycled, shitty ass graphics, the gameplay was tremendously better. Truthfully, I was looking forward to the ESPN Ticker. If they kept the exact same game, updated the starting lineup intro's, gave better animations, and lessened the dominance of FSS, then I would have picked up this game opening day. As it turns out, from what i'm hearing, there is no Ticker for the PC (at least not during gameplay, which is what the preview videos showed), there is no signature shots (granted we knew going in that there weren't even half as many as next-gen, but they promised there would be some), and there is no CPU subbing. We have been blantantly lied to our faces, and there is nothing we can seemingly do about it because there is no alternative for us PC users. As far as I'm concerned there is no remorse or chance for forgivness for EA. Any other company would have seen the venomous backlash their game caused, and patched ASAP. As it turns out, THEY HAVEN'T EVEN ACKNOWLEDGED US! No information on a patch being worked on, nothing whatsoever. To me, basketball, and most sports, on the PC is dead, and it's been a long time coming. Also, seeing as how they apparently dicked up next-gen too (6.5 on Gamespot) I don't even want a next-gen version of Live for PC anymore. I'm sorry for all the foot soldiers at EA that have no decision making abilities, but all the suits at EA should burn in hell for their tactics. They took the leading members of their fanbase, and LIED TO THEM. EA is dead to me. I don't care that it's just a game, EA on the PC is like Microsoft on the planet. Its not fair that we should be forced to go to them when we want sports. If 2K made the transition, EA would finally be put to rest.

[Matthew]

Cobb, if you dont like live on pc, go buy a console you jew. It's not andrews fault the game is a shambles.

[cobbb11]

Cobb, if you dont like live on pc, go buy a console you jew. It's not andrews fault the game is a shambles.

Dude, if you actually read my post, I make no claims at blaming Andrew for EA's mistakes. And I don't think my religeon has anything to do with my willingness to pay, or not to pay, over 400 dollars for a console so I can play a basketball game. Not to mention I'm Catholic. I just want Andrew's thoughts on this whole thing because he met these people, and said that he came away with even more respect for them after going to this event. From what I can gather, Andrew, the other members of Community Day, and the whole EA fanbase, have been decieved.

[Andrew]

Andrew, all due respect man, but what the hell happened between community day and now? I'm interested about what your inital thoughts were upon your playing the retail game and/or seeing the massive bug reports. I'm 100% sure you weren't "bought off" or anything like some suggested when your intital preview was so postive, I'm just curious if you think they totally bait and switched us all, using the respected moderators to dole out good opinions because they knew this game was going to suck. Do you think they gave you a completly different version? Was it maybe in a controlled environment where they could keep a handle on the bugs? Or perhaps you just missed the sub problems/lack of sig shots etc. If you tell me you honestly remember playing an at least half-way decent game, then I firmly believe EA royally screwed us all.

I haven't played the retail version yet as my copy still hasn't arrived but I've of course been checking out everyone's feedback as well as talking to a couple of the guys who went to the Community Day. There's a bit of disappointment all around because the game doesn't seem to be the same one we played at the event on either platform. As you noted my preview was very positive, as were everyone else's. We were all very impressed and enthusiastic about the game and the improvements were obvious.

I know there was some talk about how the last Community Day preview (NBA Live 2005) was very positive and didn't seem to cover some of the negative aspects of the game with the suggestion being the experience was so dazzling the bad things didn't stand out as much and that there was even a kind of obligation to write a positive review since it's an all expenses paid experience. I don't think that's the case. Sure, it was an awesome experience but what I wrote were my true impressions of the game based on what I saw.

I believe that's the key right there. We got a fair bit of hands-on time but not enough to play a full 48 minute game so while we got to check out Dynasty Mode, the new controls and get a good idea of the gameplay you're not really playing it long enough to notice some of these bugs. The fact you're also trying to compile a detailed report on three different versions of the game also leaves you a bit pressed for time so you can't check out absolutely everything.

The other possibility is that there were some last minute adjustments made that didn't pan out though that seems less likely at least for Current Gen since that version was pretty close to the completed product. I'd say it's more a matter of not having enough time to discover these issues. I know that must sound like a cop out for a problem as big as the subs bug but playing a quick game on 2-5 minute quarters while trying to take everything in within an hour or so makes it easier to miss.

That brings us to the next point, was it done by design? I honestly don't think so. We crammed a lot into that day with presentations and Q&A sessions as well as the hands-on time so I think it was a matter of time getting away from us rather than something that was done intentionally to mask problems with the game.

I still stand by what I wrote in my Community Day recap because those are my true opinions on the game I played at the event. However, it seems as though my opinions on the finished product are going to be somewhat different due to all the issues and I'm as disappointed as everyone else about that. Obviously it invites the "Andrew lied to us", "Andrew is an EA ass kisser" or "Andrew was paid to write a good review" cries but people are always going to throw around accusations. I'm sure most folks, like yourself, understand that I offered an honest opinion at the time and that these developments have come as a surprise and in all likelihood even if the game didn't have these issues people who disagree that improvements have been made would still make those accusations.

[cobbb11]

I totally understand Andrew and i'm sorry for the perdicament your finding yourself in with this sudden change of game quality. I'm sure you would have had no hesitation in telling us about these bugs, as major as they are. And the fact that there were several previews written with no mention of anything like this proves you guys must have really been pressed for time. However the fact that EA pays people to do nothing but play the game and report on stuff like this makes me feel that they knew about this ahead of time, couldn't get it to work, and designed the schedule to be more presentation time, and less gameplay time. I'm just curious, seeing as how this image of EA won't just go away, patch or no patch, what do you think your reaction would be, should EA come calling for another community day with you guys?

[Andrew]

I'd absolutely do it again. We all gave feedback on the Community Day and I believe most of us mentioned if another event is held next year (or the year after, or whenever) we'd love to have more hands-on time. If I got to go again I'd dedicate some more time to searching for bugs, as I said it's hard to do that and cover all the new features and improvements but perhaps with 2-3 hours of hands-on time it'd be possible.

[xox]

I still think that even EA isn't stupid enough to release shit like that,just because they didn't know about the bugs or didn't think they were obvious enough...

THERE IS SOMETHING FISHY GOIN ON!