AI PAY-BACK

I have been reading the posts on NBA Live 2005 AI issues. I agree to some point about the AI seemingly invincible stature. It's frustrating that you can't do what you have been doing for the previous Lives. The AI has payback to deliver indeed.

I just got my copy (PS2) and am amazed how the AI does some crazy stuff. I guess you do have to adjust the sliders, although I really would like to beat them with their own rules (default settings on Superstar difficultly).

I have yet to try it online. I can't wait to see how much different it is from my usual one on one with the AI.

Since I'm a little mad, I guess I'll share my AI gripes. I love how I can contest every shot of theirs and yet they can still drill 3-pointer after 3-pointer. How when they're down they can block my shots with smaller players. How they can knock my players out of the way in the post when they are much stronger. :\ Glad I have that out.

its just in the sliders dude. adjust them make the computer shoot like 30% in the sliders let his block be like 0-5%. you will enjoy the game that way if your frustrated by the way it plays. just experiment.
and i agree that the AI now is the best AI so far in the series

The slider thing kinda takes the advantage off the AI. It's pretty gratifying to beat them in their own game. They don't win all the time I guess. I think I have a percentage of 35% against them.

But still the AI has a way of getting the right breaks at the right time especially defense where they seemingly teleport to get their bodies in front of you and contest everything. Even if I try to penetrate to draw the defense and kick out, they somehow manage to contest it (sometime even block the darn shot!)

Hats off to the EA team for making the game competative. Its time for the AI to bust our asses of for all the times we make a mockery of their game (like the traditional fake-then-drive tactic).

The sliders change the AI a little, but it's still shitty.
This year, you just cannot change it completely.

I don't know. In some games it works just perfectly, in some i get the feeling the AI wants me to bite myself in the ass. There are some guys who kill me EVERY SINGLE TIME I play their team. Examples? Here you go:
Stackhouse,
Maggette,
Redd,
Pierce,
Mobley,
Artest,
Wade,
LeBron,
Marion,
Allen,
and of course:
CHRIS KAMAN!!!(wtf about that??? I can't go for the layup once in games against the Clippers because he will block it even if he's standing at the three point line. MY three point line! )
I mean, come on! It can't be that hard to program an AI which outplays the player by clever passing and good tactics instead of cheating its way to the basket, catching up on the fast break with Jerome James, shoving Shaq out of the way with Tony Parker or hitting any number of consecutive contested threes(optional: with the foul) in the final two minutes. It can't be that hard...

I'll post some more gripes once I'm finished with my game against the Hornets. I'm sure someone *coughbarondaviscough* will bust my ass...

why does 2005 dont have a gripe section or thread? is it really this great of a game? the shadows that got stuck looks like some players(or coaches) pissed on the floor. hey come on!!!!!!

"He's worse than a dirtbag.......nba live...........2005"

Last edited by COOLmac© on Fri Feb 18, 2005 3:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I don't know. In some games it works just perfectly, in some i get the feeling the AI wants me to bite myself in the ass. There are some guys who kill me EVERY SINGLE TIME I play their team. Examples? Here you go:
Stackhouse,
Maggette,
Redd,
Pierce,
Mobley,
Artest,
Wade,
LeBron,
Marion,
Allen,
and of course:
CHRIS KAMAN!!!(wtf about that??? I can't go for the layup once in games against the Clippers because he will block it even if he's standing at the three point line. MY three point line! )
I mean, come on! It can't be that hard to program an AI which outplays the player by clever passing and good tactics instead of cheating its way to the basket, catching up on the fast break with Jerome James, shoving Shaq out of the way with Tony Parker or hitting any number of consecutive contested threes(optional: with the foul) in the final two minutes. It can't be that hard...

I'll post some more gripes once I'm finished with my game against the Hornets. I'm sure someone *coughbarondaviscough* will bust my ass...

Yeah, when your going for fast breaks the cpu catches up with ease by running ridiculously fast.

Gary Payton and Mike Bibby usually cause me the most problems.

LOL I also had problems with certain players like Childress and Jackson from Cleveland. Some unknown players who get you at the end game by getting calls from the refs or making unbelievable contested shots.

You know its funny how everything goes for the AI in most of the games. I always play catch up and I found out that if you keep working on them, you get yourself a chance to win it. Eventhough you're not scoring efficiently, as long as play your defense tight and contest everything, there is an opportunity. Sometimes you get your breaks with calls and non calls, sometimes you make the shots with defenders all over you. I guess if you work hard and keep at it, you put yourself in a position (mainly increasing your odds) to win.

This year's version is totally different with regards to AI adaptation. I have been playing the series since their release in 95. The AI were so predictable that I have always won without putting much effort on defense. The changes they made on 2004 were ground breaking. This was the first time the AI were picking off my DIRECT passes (which I think has been an issue with the series). But I still did manage to find a pattern offensively (i.e. penetrate then powerhop/dribble to split defenders, if they don't double-team take the shot or kick out to an open shot if they do double team).

2005 kills the pattern since you actually are called for a charge by hopping into the defense. You can free-stlye your way to the hoop but it's so hard to pass/kick out accurately when the defense collapses on you. I hope somehow that problem can be fixed.

I have always played Live in superstar level, 5 mins of play, no fatigue (since I just play with my starters) and default settings/sliders. I also always play away to give the AI all the advantages it needs. So if I win, I feel that I accomplished something definite (no excuses even for the AI especially in 2005).

Is this a normal setting for gameplay or should I somehow change something to increase the level of challenge or fun?

I hope to hear more of your gripes out there.

i think the biggest gripe for me is that the AI steals intercepts a ridiculous amount of passes. however i use the pro hop, dish out method a lot, and it really does get me open 3s.

also the fact that its so hard to shoot downlow is so annoying. i literally cant get a shot off without it being blocked, unless i release it early. thats y if i go to amare downlow i ALWAYS hav to realize it sooo early... and if i ever make a low post shot im so proud of myself cause its sooo hard

on the other hand, it pisses me off that i cant take advantage of a matchup in which 6'11 amare shoots over 6'7 kenny thomas. however kenny thomas manages to block the shots, and i cant shoot over him. because of that, i start dunking more. dunking is cool and its fun, but the less dunks you make, the more spectacular they seem. also... its more gratifying hitting a tough shot then jus pressing a button and havin an animation score for u

back to wat u were sayin about the interceptions... if u wanna move the ball to get open shots heres a trick that gets the 3 point shot. heres the situation:

tony parker has the ball at the top of the 3 point line, ginobili is on the left side behind the 3 point line. call for a pick, so tim duncan will come up and set the pick. then use the pick to lose ur man, and head towards ginobili but more towards the basket. the man guarding ginobili will come over to u and giv help defense... leaving manu open. as u drive, kick it out to gino and he has the open 3. adding in a pro hop also helps, pro hop and press pess directly after pressing pro hop

sometimes the open shots in live 05 dont always go in, but i think thats the advantage to it. this year they did a great job implementing the fact that players hav hot days and cold days. for example today i was playin wit kobe and he was on fire. then i kept shooting wit him and i made about 5 long range jumpers that had an early release... and i released it early by accident. those usually dont go in consistently, but i think b/c he was on fire he was jus draining them. on the other hand, some days i cant hit an open 3 wit him... it jus goes that way... u hav to ride the guy that has the hot hand, jus like in the real nba... very realistic

see. how many of us has gripes about the game......

yea c the thing that is the most frustrating is wen the comp intercepts passes that shouldnt be intercepted... and they do it all the time. now u can say that i can simply change the sliders, but i dont wanna do that. why? because if i lower the comps interception sliders, then ill kick the comps ass. the only way for me to lose is for the comp to play cheap like that.

what im really trying to say is that the only way to lose to the comp is if the comp plays cheap. however, id rather lose b/c of cheapness then going 82-0 undefeated. losing b/c of the comps cheapness makes it so much less fun to play tho, cause it jus makes the game so frustrating that its not enjoyable

Yea even though I think having the computer beat you with smart play would be really cool, in a video game I doubt it's going to happen to soon. Sometimes you play such good defense that there's really no way to score, so the cpu has to do something to keep the game close.

so the cpu has to do something to keep the game close.

Ha. This is exactly what I think. You play so well for the whole game then near the end when your starting to get away the cpu does extra-ordinary stuff like steals 50% more of the time, makes 3's 90% of the time near the end and I find the cpu always tries to win at least one quarter. It must just be programed to keep the game close (in superstar and all star anyway). This is rather annoying because no matter how well you play the cpu play's cheap to keep it close, which is annoying.

They do cheat sometime. I played a game against Sac last week. They were 7-8 from downtown and the end of half including 2 shots from half-court. This was in my dynasty and a playoff game. When I played against the Pacers they had a high percentage and also one shot from half-court. I was up by 12 points then all the sudeen 3 three's in a row are hit including one from half-court and the game is almost tied. WTF?

And you're right about players like Kaman. Sometimes average or less guys will block my post players shot, but when they get on offense all they have to do is back you up and do the head fake, and they score. Now explain to me how they're stopping a good poster scorer and how that same guy who is a good defender is not stopping them. Not saying the person kills my guy but it does happen more often than it should. I find myself too often angrily thinking "oh I can't score with my all-star but they gonna let this bum score with my guy right on em." You try to stay in front of the guy and it doesn't help. The computer almost seems to do better at defend each other.

as for the transportation defense, it's crazy. But it happens in two player games too. I've played online and it seems like I get on a roll then all the sudden the computer controlled players on his team just start shutting my guys down and finding ways to get themselves open. I've been almost cheated out of 1 or 2 games I should have won bigger.

That's why I play on All-Star instead of Superstar. Even if I get a lead on Superstar, it's all in vain as the CPU knocks down shot after shot to tie and win. I've found kobelive2005's sliders (in the Realistic Sliders thread) keep the game close enough on All-Star that I still have to battle to win, and I can't just slack off even for a few possessions.

yeah, that's why i want to get a technical sometimes..

the reason why andrew posted "no fights are allowed" in his wishlist things is because i kept reqeusting it..

i honestly want to find a pro modifier that enables me to fight the players. like the opposing team's PG always piss the shit outa me because they shoot too much, and despite shooting alot, will make a lil under 50% of his shots. in that case, its about 50 points he scores.

i just want to grab my PG and beat the living shit out of the PG for penetrating/shooting too much. course, there's the usual people that score 3s, makes crazy baskets that drive me nuts. i just want to get choose a player and punch him out. get a flagrant, ejected from game. i dont give a shit. as long as the computer knows "I DONT LIKE THE WAY YOUR CHEATIN! "

but seriously, i want flagrants to be in the game. at least TECHINCALS (not invoking from the timeout idea) when refs dont get the fouls correct..

just like in hockey games?. maybe we can get to punch the fans or the coaches too. a fight in NBA live wont be a reality though. it destroys the sportmanship theme of the game.

In honesty it's not really the fault of Live though, it's just the fault of basketball games/sports games in general. At the harder difficulty levels they've got to score somehow to make it hard. If they didn't do the supernatural things they do (hit 5 contested 3's in a row to tie) then we'd be saying "Wow, this game sucks, it's not even hard to win". So we'll never win pretty much, you just can't really implement human error into games.