New Blog: Passing & New Control Mechanics

New In The Paint Blog on by Mike Wang can be found here, this one covers passing in NBA Live 10. Also includes a tutorial video offering a glimpse at the new control mechanics:

phpBB [video]

I haven't watched the video yet so I'll add some thoughts on that later. As for the blog, it's good to hear that directional passing was given some attention and the indictator arrow sounds like it will be useful without being too obtrusive. Direct Pass Receiver Control should be handy whenever the CPU teammate AI lets us down, though it's also good to read that attention was paid to that as well. Freestyle Passing sounds cool too though it might take some getting used to.

this is good the freestyle passing looks good

What do you guys think of this one?

I think it sounds a bit like Off-Ball Control, which is nice to have back.

You guys have changed too much for me to think "logically" at this year's game. It looks and controls different from any other NBA Live so until I can play it, I should really not say anything.

Say you swtich to an offball player for an entire possession. Can you do the same thing to gain back control of the ballhandler?
When using receiver control will my cpu ballhandler be waiting idly, or will the cpu ai take him over and play if I don't call for a pass quick enough? For instance, when the clock is running down, etc.
Why should I have to compensate for a camera angle when using freestyle or directional passing? Isn't that something that has been programmed in the game for years with perspective relative controls? Up means up, not perpendicular to the sideline, which would be slightly diagonal on the broadcast cam.
I can see myself using freestyle passing instead of icon passing as long as most of my passes go in the direction I press.

I thought it was funny how there was a disclaimer about the good thing that was happening with the offball players, calling it a glitch as they were trying to get open. Seriously, real players would do that. "Start the offense already, if your just going to dribble, pass it to me!"

I think it sounds a bit like Off-Ball Control, which is nice to have back.

You guys have changed too much for me to think "logically" at this year's game. It looks and controls different from any other NBA Live so until I can play it, I should really not say anything.

Yep my man. It's a completely different game this year. We think you'll prefer it, but the demo will be the litmus test.

That looks like it will be great to play with, although the same questions Pdub asked crossed my mind.

I really like the off-ball thing he did with John Salmons towards the beginning, I will definetly use that for dribble handoffs and other plays. I also think the off-ball player for a possession is cool, and the off-ball screen to get open is a great way to make a cool play without having to do it all yourself! I am gonna love the freestyle passing with RS so I can drive and dish it out to the player I actually want at the end of quarters! I cannot wait for October 6th!

Good, very good, so many options and a nice pass scheme

I have to admit I was a little skeptical about Freestyle Passing on the right stick, but upon further reflection I can't really remember any time I've tried to do a Freestyle/Quick Strike move while also using Direct Pass so I think it will work out fine with the way I play. As I said in the other thread the passes look pretty slick and so far I'm finding that particular feature very appealing since previous games have had issues with making the quick pass. The controls seem like they'll be easy enough to master so no concerns there, I think the change in the shoot button is the only thing I'll have to really adjust to this year but hopefully some Hangar scrimmages will sort me out there. I've missed Off-Ball Control as well and I have to agree with Jon, Receiver Control reminds me a lot of it so that's nice to see. Overall, good news and I found the video fairly helpful in preparing for the new controls, so thanks to Mike for that.

Heres how to use some of the new controls for offball.

New NBA LIVE 10 Blog Post: Passing Controls
When you're offball:

A, CROSS = Call for pass
B, CIRCLE = Call for offball screen
X, SQUARE = Tell AI-controlled ball handler to shoot
Y, TRIANGLE = Call for alley-oop
Down on Right stick = Set screen
http://www.operationsports.com/forums/2 ... st117.html

More info on passing controls

Originally Posted by RayAP19
No, I mean if you're holding down the button of the player and the icon button. How do you switch back without passing him the ball?

so that's a little different. this might sound complicated, but it's not.

if you're holding down Direct Pass and B (SG), you're in control of the SG
if you decide you don't want to pass the ball, release Direct Pass while still holding B
You'll offball switch to the SG
Now hit Direct Pass and hit the icon of the guy you were previously controlling

Now you're back in control of the ball handler and no pass is ever thrown.

So very similar to Off-Ball Control. That should be easy enough.

Here is a bit more information about the passing mechanics:

Originally Posted by donkey33

Mike or Steph, can you guys clarify on the freestyle passing. How iit works when you try to throw a pass to a player that has another not too far away or behind?
I love the idea of freestyle passing but how it occurs in those situations is of great interest to me.

It uses a fairly complicated weighting system. The most impactful factor is your stick deflection angle. But if more than one player is in that direction, some other logic kicks in and takes into account info such as who's in a better position to score, who's more open, is the receiver cutting, etc. In other words, we try to figure out who the user is trying to hit and then bias the pass towards him. Like regular directional (left stick) passing, it's not 100% fool proof so the only way to guarantee the correct receiver is to use Direct Passing.

http://www.operationsports.com/forums/2 ... st243.html

Originally Posted by goh

Is an off the backboard alley-oop possible with this?

It's possible to throw alleys off the glass, but there's no explicit control for it. In fact, we had one captured in the first teaser trailer but I asked them to pull it because I didn't want you guys to think that they happen regularly. It's literally the only one I've seen all year.

http://www.operationsports.com/forums/2 ... st246.html

Originally Posted by goh

Is an off the backboard alley-oop possible with this?

It's possible to throw alleys off the glass, but there's no explicit control for it. In fact, we had one captured in the first teaser trailer but I asked them to pull it because I didn't want you guys to think that they happen regularly. It's literally the only one I've seen all year.

It'd be nice if there was a control for that in future games but it's kind of cool that it can happen all the same, something to try and force even without a set control function for it.

Mike mentions how to do the reverse layups like how Kobe did in the new driving and shooting video on OS forums.

- drive baseline by pushing LSTICK down
- throw the LSTICK left (toward the baseline) about 2 steps outside the paint
- immediately hit the Shot button
- boom. reverse layup

Same as 2K then.

A sensible plan, if they're trying to reclaim the audience from 2K and considering the amount of "I wish Live was more like 2K" sentiment that's been expressed through the years. As I said in the other thread, seems like it'll be easy enough to master, hopefully up-and-under layups aren't almost guaranteed baskets a la FSS (though that could be handy at times).