Signature Skills: Tied to Player Progression for CAPs

[Leftos]

http://www.twitch.tv/2k

Tune in now if you want to catch the Sig Skills video live, per LD2k.

Goes on in about 20 minutes, per 2KSports.

EDIT: I swear I saw Kevin Durant's stats mentioned in the Heat Check pop-up that showed his 5 skills. Hope someone comes up with the video for that (daddy123 are you there?) so that we can grab some screenshots and get into some detail.

EDIT 2: DEV DIARY ON SIGNATURE SKILLS: http://2ksports.tumblr.com/post/3059927 ... s-in-depth

[daddy123]

yes video uploading now as i am typing this will edit this post and yes they did show KD stats

[Leftos]

Things to take from the dev diary:
- Signature Skills HUD (that replaces 2K11's Heat Check and 2K12's Camera Selection (lol)) will showcase the signature skills of the player you're currently controlling, and his basic stat-line.
- Signature Skills are not passive abilities as I thought. They're active abilities that you'll be able to use when available. Their icon will be grayed out on the SSHUD when they can't be used, semi-transparent when it can be used but isn't currently being used, and all lit up in its full glory when you activate it, along with its name prominently shown on the HUD.
- Reason to get SS in 2K13: "We felt that our existing attribute and tendency system quite didn’t lend itself well enough to various situational moments that happen in basketball, nor did it help identify very specialized players. Outlet passes, winning charge calls, staying hot through in-game breaks, etc, are just a few areas where our attributes system failed to give you what you need. We’re now able to dig deeper into these situations to allow players stand out where they’re most known. Let’s take shot blocking for example. LeBron James is well-known as the best chase down blocker in the league. In 2K12, when you were in a chase down situation, LeBron was unable to block the shot from behind as much as we’d like him to because he had only a 60-ish Block attribute. With the inclusion of the new Sig Skill, Chase Down Artist, we’re now able to give him the types of skills he needs to embarrass the unsuspecting shooter, without having to artificially raise his Block attribute (which would then allow him to block shots in areas he’s not known for)."
- Posterizer will require a defender there (duh) as well as your player's stamina being currently above 80. Teammates get temporary energy boost after you perform such a dunk.
- Highlight film also has an 80 stamina requirement, also gives temp energy boost to team.
- Finisher will be used along with Draw Foul Tendency to give players more chance at an And-1. Decreases "shot in traffic" penalty by 30%.
- Acrobat decreases shot change penalty by 40%, gives 15% probability boost to hop step, euro step, spin moves.
- Spot Up Shooter reduces 30% off of the "badly timed shot" (early, late) penalty if player is standing still, not posted, not dribbling, and between 12 and 28 feet from the basket.
- Shot Creator decreases penalty due to the opposing defender by up to 100%, if ALL the following rules are met: shooter breaks down defender by using iso, triple-threat or drive to special (hop step, euro step, spin), shooter has more space after breaking down his defender than before, shooter was closer than 7 feet to his matchup before starting the breakdown, shot is taken with 2 seconds of the breakdown, not in transition, not on fast break, closer than 33 feet to the basket, shooter must not be smothered by the defender, neither at breakdown, nor at release.
- Deadeye reduces the effect a late defender has, by reducing the penalty that would be applied at the release of the shot due to the defender being there. Defenders that weren't there at the start of the shot don't matter. Smothering defense disables Deadeye. There's two separate penalties applied to the shot due to defense: one at start, one at release; Deadeye reduces the release penalty.
- Corner Specialist: 5% bonus if player is standing still at the corner, is somewhat open, and has just received a past at most a couple of seconds ago.
- Post Specialist: 50% increased probability of a defender falling for a fake, 5% increased probability on post shot success, post moves are more effective. Only applies to shots being taken within 17 feet of the basket. Skill remains active for half a second after the player exits the post to give bonus to fakes and or shots right after the exit.
- Ankle Breaker: 30% boost of breaking your defenders ankles when performing isomotion.
- Post Playmaker: (GREG MONROE BITCHES!) If he passes to an open teammate from being posted up, pass finds receiver on point giving 10% bonus on 2 pointers and 4% bonus on 3 pointers.
- Dimer: Same as Post Playmaker but for passes not made from the post. Only gives the 10-4 boost if the pass would count as an assist.
- Break Starter: Activates when a player that has this skill makes an outlet pass within 3 seconds of grabbing a defensive rebound. Distance penalty for the pass is cut by 50%.
- Alley-Oooper: Receives significant bonus to Pass attribute when throwing alley-oop passes, receiver gets pass catch probability bonus.
- Brick Wall: Increases effectiveness of screens, can cause player getting hit to stumble, even fall to the ground.
- Lockdown Defender: Reserved only for top-notch defenders. Neutralizes most offensive sig skills of player being guarded, except Brick Wall and Floor General.
- Charge Card: Increases chance of getting a charge by 50%. Teammates get energy boost if succesfully used.
- Interceptor: Gets increase at Steal and Vertical attributes if attempting to steal a pass; ball has to be in the air, passing lane has to be within 9 feet of player with the skill.
- Pick Pocket: Major increase in steal probability if opponent is doing isomotion, minor increase if a player is in a standing dribble for a couple of seconds, lowered foul chance on steal attempts
- Active Hands: Increased chance of stealing the ball when the opponent is shooting, doing a layup or attempting to dunk.
- Eraser: Emphatic blocker, raises energy of teammates when successful, offensive attributes of blocked player drop up to 6 points for a minute and a half.
- Chase Down Artist: Increases Block, Vertical and Quickness if in transition defense and gives increased chance of blocking a moving shooter from behind.
- Bruiser: Makes opponents lose nearly half as much energy as they would be if turboing on contact.
- Hustle Points: 3 second boost to Shot Inside, Shot Close and Layup after an offensive board.
- Scrapper: Hustle skill, increases ability to dive for loose balls, win boxout battles, strip rebounds. Also boosts speed and quickness to reflect effort. 50% increase in boxout win chance, 50% chance to strip an already grabbed rebound from the opponent's hands.
- Anti-Freeze: Takes double as many missed shots & turnovers to go into a cold streak (which is said to decrease ratings significantly).
- Microwave: Takes fewer shots to get hot, gets increase on offensive and defensive skills when hot that lasts for a period of time.
- Heat Retention: Retains "hot" status even after game breaks such as timeouts, or even through bad plays longer. Requires twice the missed shots and turnovers to lose "hot" status.
- Closer: Gets in effect in the last 40% of 4th quarter (this means less than last 5 minutes on a 12-minute 4th quarter) and throughout overtime, gives attribute boosts of up to 12 points, widens "excellent release" free throw window, energy boosts in game breaks during clutch moments, shots while moving get 5% success boost.
- Floor General: Gives up to 6 points of boost to offensive abilities of teammates while on the floor.
- Defensive Anchor: Same as floor general but on defense and for defensive abilities.

My opinion:
Pleasantly surprised. Signature Skills seem much more detailed than my assumptions so far, and each one is a game inside the game on its own. Also, it seems that they're not binary, but are rather quite affected by the player's ratings and tendencies. There are a lot of them that say that increases are "up to" some percentage or amount of points, so this gives me the clear indication that the same skill on different players will not have the same effect.

Job well done 2K. Job well done.

[JaoSming]

not bad at all, seems well implemented enough with the boosts and limitations, I like it.

definitely doing a HiU mod this year though

[BobcatsThunderBulls]

vedy nice, vedy nice!

[daddy123]

The video

phpBB [video]

[Leftos]

Ronnie2K will be showcasing the last player that will have his signature skills and ratings revealed soon.

Being the hype machine that he is, he described the screenshot we're about to see as "huge" and that the next week is going to be all about that.

Don't know if the screenshot is the actual player card and how they can do a whole week of that, but we'll see.

My guess? It's a My Player that has the 2 signature skills that weren't revealed up to now, and all of next week is about 2K13's My Player/My Team/My Career.

GET YOUR HOPES UP.

[JaoSming]

NO

[Leftos]

In case you missed it or can't see the video, here's the Signature Skills HUD that replaces 2K11's Heat Check.



It will be in the top-left corner, and will only show stats for currently active player.

I still miss 2K11's heat check, that allowed you to see the basic stats for all players on the floor. I hope I get the help I need this year to develop a tool that will give you exactly that on a separate window. Would be great for people in dual-monitor setups.

EDIT: youngsta404 from OS took note of Javale McGee having the Highlight Film sig skill. This skill, combined with a low enough dunking ability and basketball IQ, should result in pretty realistic plays:

phpBB [video]

EDIT 2: Valid question from another user at OS: Will skills like Floor General and Defensive Anchor stack? Will having 2 anchors on the floor mean that your players could receive an attribute boost of up to 12? Let's hope 2K has thought of that, and that it doesn't happen.

[Leftos]

NO

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

viewtopic.php?f=146&t=87642

[Nick]

You know what, this signature skills thing actually seems pretty cool. I didn't realise there would be so much variety. Post playmaker? Break starter? Charge card? Chase down artist? Awesome.

I will be able to create some really unique players in my fictional draft classes with this. (i just hope 2k retains the feature of "loading/editing" draft classes. Dear god.)

I already wish the max was higher than 5. Players like LeBron and MJ and Kobe and Durant and Paul could have about 10 each.

[Andrew]

Wiki page has been updated with the full rundown:
http://www.nba-live.com/nbalivewiki/ind ... ure_Skills

I like the way it's been implemented. As I've mentioned before, I didn't despise Freestyle Superstars in NBA Live as many did and the idea had some merit, but it also had its fair share of shortcomings and it didn't turn out quite the way many of us would have liked. The way Signature Skills have been described, it sounds like they're going to avoid many of those pitfalls.

Two problems with FSS that spring immediately to mind are the ability to trigger them anywhere - which therefore includes areas on the court that aren't appropriate - and to constantly spam them. With the way Signature Skills are implemented, neither should be an issue. It seems like they'll be providing some differentiation and allowing players to do some of the things that they do best, in situations where they're likely to do it. The conditions and windows to take advantage of the different Skills should mean that user skill and timing still comes into play; it's not just hitting a button or punching in a combo and letting things go to auto-pilot. It all sounds quite promising.

It might be expecting too much for it to be near-perfect the first time out of the gate, but it sounds like they're on the right track with the idea and even if there's room for improvement, it shouldn't end up being too arcadey with the way they're going about it.

[volsey]

Yea I'm actually pretty impressed. While I still feel a few are redundant, the little additions like energy requirements, or energy boosts to teammates, etc. seem to be implemented with quite a bit of forethought. Still a few questions to be answered, but looks like a well implemented addition thus far. Wonder if you can 'set' the players skills between quarters or time outs or if it has to be done all before the game. I kinda think if you could switch LeBron's sig skills in a timeout you'd be taking on more of the role of a coach, would be nice.

[DVocShoeBox]

The gamer side of me is excited that NBA 2k finally have all the features that I wished for in NBA 2k6 (all-star weekend, right analog crossover, and signature skills) but the morale side of me sits back and says if Mike Wang never went over to NBA Live would we still be getting these features? Mike Wang makes these announcements bitter sweet since I'm a dual fan of both Live and 2k!

[hova-]

Sounds very very good. Kind of reminds me of a role-play like Diablo or Warcraft - you will definitely appreciate getting players in free agency who have such a skill or maybe draft some.

Imagine that: You cannot see if a draftee has a sig skill or not and you draft a player known for his post defense and then you check the menu and he is a defensive anchor; would definitely feel like a steal in a way and really give you the chance to be a good GM.

[JaoSming]

NBA 2k6 (all-star weekend, right analog crossover, and signature skills)

NBA Live 06?

[volsey]

Sounds very very good. Kind of reminds me of a role-play like Diablo or Warcraft - you will definitely appreciate getting players in free agency who have such a skill or maybe draft some.

Imagine that: You cannot see if a draftee has a sig skill or not and you draft a player known for his post defense and then you check the menu and he is a defensive anchor; would definitely feel like a steal in a way and really give you the chance to be a good GM.

And that's what I'm most excited for. Certain players in the 60-75 range all of a sudden have a chance to become a lot more valuable or specialized. The entire idea of building a team around a superstar and then adding key role players just became more tangible in the game.

[bowdown]

Oh damn RPG elements in a basketball game? I didnt even think of that. I hope these Sig Skills are implemented well and play out in a balanced way.

[Andrew]

The gamer side of me is excited that NBA 2k finally have all the features that I wished for in NBA 2k6 (all-star weekend, right analog crossover, and signature skills) but the morale side of me sits back and says if Mike Wang never went over to NBA Live would we still be getting these features? Mike Wang makes these announcements bitter sweet since I'm a dual fan of both Live and 2k!

It seems likely that he did pick up a couple of ideas and concepts that could work well in the 2K series. It also makes me wonder what good he could've done for NBA Live, had they not decided to change directions with NBA Elite 11 and he'd stuck around to help them build upon NBA Live 10.

[j8lacy]

well we know the players only can have 5 skills.....anybody want to try an guess LeBron's 5?

im going with

shot creator
finisher
highlight reel
dimer
chase down artist

?

other possible skills: floor general, posterizer, interceptor, break starter???

thats my thoughts....no 4th quarter closer though im sure LeBron will be mad about that

[jk31]

I fear that some skills will make some players really unstoppable...

Think of this Combination:

80 3 Pt Shooting + Hot Zone in the Corners + Corner Specialist + Floor General on the Court.


Also the Charge Card sounds, like there's somebody rolling a dice each time you attempt to draw a charge. I want a charge to be called when it's a charge, not when a random generator says it is...

[Nick]

well we know the players only can have 5 skills.....anybody want to try an guess LeBron's 5?

im going with

shot creator
finisher
highlight reel
dimer
chase down artist

?

other possible skills: floor general, posterizer, interceptor, break starter???

thats my thoughts....no 4th quarter closer though im sure LeBron will be mad about that

Post playmaker is a possibility. In fact if 2k don't give him that, then i will edit it so he does.

[hova-]

I fear that some skills will make some players really unstoppable...

Think of this Combination:

80 3 Pt Shooting + Hot Zone in the Corners + Corner Specialist + Floor General on the Court.


Also the Charge Card sounds, like there's somebody rolling a dice each time you attempt to draw a charge. I want a charge to be called when it's a charge, not when a random generator says it is...

Then you should not watch NBA basketball. Reputation has a lot to do with charging calls.

[j8lacy]

well we know the players only can have 5 skills.....anybody want to try an guess LeBron's 5?

im going with

shot creator
finisher
highlight reel
dimer
chase down artist

?

other possible skills: floor general, posterizer, interceptor, break starter???

thats my thoughts....no 4th quarter closer though im sure LeBron will be mad about that

Post playmaker is a possibility. In fact if 2k don't give him that, then i will edit it so he does.

you think so i think lebron will be fine with just dimer

[Andrew]

I fear that some skills will make some players really unstoppable...

Think of this Combination:

80 3 Pt Shooting + Hot Zone in the Corners + Corner Specialist + Floor General on the Court.

Looking at the conditions specified for some of the Signature Skills, I don't think too many of them will be too overpowering.

Taking that example, the player would be getting a six point boost to the three point rating (up to 86). They could get a further 5% boost on top of that (up to 90), assuming they fulfill the three necessary conditions (he shooter must be standing still, the shooter must be considered fairly open when he shoots the ball and the shooter must take his shot within a couple seconds of catching the pass). On top of that, you've still got to have a good release on the shot. Unless you're playing on Rookie, that opportunity isn't going to be there every single time down the floor, and probably not even then.

Also the Charge Card sounds, like there's somebody rolling a dice each time you attempt to draw a charge. I want a charge to be called when it's a charge, not when a random generator says it is...

But that's pretty much how it is in the NBA. Some charging calls are blatant, but many others are 50/50 calls that are influenced by a player's status (the infamous "superstar treatment") or a player being adept at drawing charges (or, let's just say it, skilled at flopping). The Charge Card skill represents a player that is better at drawing charges, for one reason or another, and gives them a better chance of doing so in the game...just as in real life.