NBA Live 2004 wishlist...

[vinsanity03]

you should easily be able to put your own created players in a franchise draft with out db editing

[Metsis]

you should easily be able to put your own created players in a franchise draft with out db editing

Creating a player and then adding him to a draft would be nice... It would be nice to what kind of strengths and weaknesses would it show. And then you could actually make draft patches with real players from colleges and high-schools...

That would be nice...

And make sound guys pay extra time on the names... It just hurts to hear a "number 24 passes to Iverson" etc. Just make a pronounciation to all the last names. Not just the nicks, but keep the nicks though. As some of you might have noticed, I'm from Finland and well finnish names are not common in the NBA so we'll have something else being called except the number.

But again the wishes have already been submitted, so these are all too late. Though, someone might have thought of them already.

[Colin]

And make sound guys pay extra time on the names... It just hurts to hear a "number 24 passes to Iverson" etc. Just make a pronounciation to all the last names. Not just the nicks, but keep the nicks though. As some of you might have noticed, I'm from Finland and well finnish names are not common in the NBA so we'll have something else being called except the number..

It would be nice if they made an option where you could say what you wanted to be called into a microphone and then it would just play that in a game.

[Metsis]

It would be nice if they made an option where you could say what you wanted to be called into a microphone and then it would just play that in a game.

Do you have any idea how stupid that would sound... It would be just horrid to hear that... But EA has a list of last names that come out of the draft. They all should have play-by-play last names added. This is a lot of work, but perfectly doable... Just takes time. Like maybe adding them in a longer time period like a couple of months, just taking 50 names per day. That wouldn't be too hard... I know the play by play is a lot of work anyway, but the announcement of "number zero" etc...

EA loves doing the glitz and glamour so why can't they do this...

[Andrew]

Even though the microphone/recording idea would yield the best (and most accurate) results - like Metsis, I think the result would be far from seamless.

Instead, EA could just utilise a text-to-speech engine, which might not result in entirely correct pronounciation of your name, but would probably sound better than recording your own speech. You could also do what Metsis suggested, have a long list of names that the game could mix and match to produce audio for the play by play, though that would be a little more restricting.

[Metsis]

Even though the microphone/recording idea would yield the best (and most accurate) results - like Metsis, I think the result would be far from seamless.

Instead, EA could just utilise a text-to-speech engine, which might not result in entirely correct pronounciation of your name, but would probably sound better than recording your own speech. You could also do what Metsis suggested, have a long list of names that the game could mix and match to produce audio for the play by play, though that would be a little more restricting.

There is a list of names that the play-by-play uses... It does not work all the time, but for example if you get a Hardaway from a draft, well the play-by-play will propably call him Hardaway. Or they could add nicks to draftees although rarely. Restricting this as it is, well it would be much better. And text to speach, well I won't even get into that, how could it sound good???

The thing is that in the year 2015, well you only have "number xx" players on the court and it would be a nice change to hear some names every once and a while.

And the commentators could talk about the teams key player stats like T-Mac is averaging 31 points per game this season, they should really keep an eye on him. Or Big Ben is really on a tear in low blocks with 3,4 blocks per game this month. And they could do what ABC does with it's broadcasts and have three guys calling the game... It really doesn't have to be a play-by-play, but more of a talk of the teams and what their play-off chances and the hunts for the title. Or maybe commending condemning players for their performances in past games. And guys on really hot streaks and guys who just aren't pulling their weight and what happened the last time these teams met maybe even from the last season and talk about how things have changed and talk about the effects of injuries in that game like "Toronto could really use Vinsanity at the moment". And if an excellent play came around would talk about the great pass or huge dunk that completed the play. Or even the defensive play when a player blocks a sure shot. And they could really get into the game and get excited about some plays.

But what comes to names, well I would really like to hear tons of last names (if not all) in the play-by-play. Maybe cut on the really rare names just to make it more easier.

Well, we'll just have to wait for Live 2005 wishlists...

[Colin]

I know in NHL 2002 (I think) they have a list of about 75 common English names, like Joe, Bill and my name Colin That would be easy to implement. Also about the announcers they should have a sideline reporter that talks about injuries.

[Trey]

heres something i didnt see mentioned. How about at the end of games (especially on superstar mode) not having the user miss dunks and layups while the CPU team gets numerous 3 point shots.

also, when playing on player lock and you feed the ball down low, your cpu teammate in the post always gets doubled and almost always has the ball stolen within 2 seconds of getting it. If he doesnt have it stolen, he tries to pass it cross court and we all know what happens then. You, on the other hand, can triple team the CPU in the post, and be hacking at the ball the whole time with the Glove and he amazingly avoids it.

One more main thing to fix...Im sick of seeing guys like Tmac and Vinsanity (I've even seen Ben Wallace do it) dribble all around the court wildly for a solid twenty seconds and then just eventually end up at the hoop for a throw down. Nuff said. Fix it.

Fix the controls!!! Being able to configure only half the controls is absurd. Make a button have assigned controls for the defensive and offensive ends. (Ala Live2001 and before) Dont have us choose the shoot button and then be forced to have that also be the "take charge" button. (Something Ive never seen work by the way)

one more slight note...anyone else heard the announcers say that a guy is averaging like 33 rebounds a game on the season? I've heard this a few times and its obviously just a little glitch.

overall, how about just making a decent game. It is just waaaay too unbalanced and so ridiculous at times I want to scream. I could care less about the bells and whistles. Get the gameplay right or dont bother with the other stuff. Without good gameplay, the other stuff is worthless.

P.S. If we gotta wait 2 years again so be it...at least make it worth the wait.

[Andrew]

There is a list of names that the play-by-play uses... It does not work all the time, but for example if you get a Hardaway from a draft, well the play-by-play will propably call him Hardaway. Or they could add nicks to draftees although rarely. Restricting this as it is, well it would be much better. And text to speach, well I won't even get into that, how could it sound good???

I know that it's already available in a limited capacity (existing last names). This was in some of the earlier NBA Lives, but was missing for a couple of years. What I'd like to see is a list of first names that can be mixed and matched so that the commentators and the PA announcer can say the player's name, rather than just a surname or "Number (Number)".

About text-to-speech...it's not as bad as you would believe. If you've ever used an iMac (as I was "fortunate" enough to back in high school), you'll probably be familiar with an application called SimpleText. It allows you to enter text and have it read back to you. The voice was clear, and the words were pronounced correctly (except for any that were misspelled or had unusual spelling).

It's intended use is for people who have poor vision and need text on screen to be read to them - in the classroom, it was used primarily to insult each other across the room.

I've seen it used in games before. "You don't know Jack" had one. When I entered my name as Beggs (my nickname, based on my surname), the voice said "Beggs, huh?" A similar engine could be used to pronounce the names of created players and generated rookies in NBA Live - and it wouldn't necessarily sound bad.

[Metsis]

Andrew I still say that the names would propably sound way off in the color commentary... The fact of it is that it should sound like some ones saying it. And when ever have you heard a color commentator call someone with his full name??? I think very rarely so still I think surnames would be enough. And what comes to that text-to-sound thing (again) basically it would be pretty hard to implement, like if you tried to add a common Finnish name like Virtanen to the game, well how would it sound. This is an international product and well you would have to really tweak the machine to get all the names even close to right. For example in a Polish name there can be four even five consonants in a row. Or the dreaded double vocals in finnish.

Trey, you are seeing the game as I see it... There is just so much wrong in the game, that all they'd have to do is just get it right this time around and they'd make so many people happy. Just take the features that are in the game and making them work as they should, and there would be no more gripes. Only wishes for more features... There is now wonder that Live 2001 was the first one with the official "gripe" subject under it. It was the first game with the "new" team... Does anyone know what happened to the original team??? Andrew? Anyone?

[Andrew]

Andrew I still say that the names would propably sound way off in the color commentary... The fact of it is that it should sound like some ones saying it.

It would sound like Don is saying it - the text-to-speech recognition would use his voice.

And when ever have you heard a color commentator call someone with his full name??? I think very rarely so still I think surnames would be enough.

Can't say I agree with that. When Isiah Thomas was a colour commentator with NBC, he referred to Michael Jordan by his full name several times during the telecast. And it's not just the colour commentator - it's also the play-by-play and the PA Announcer, who also say "Number (Number)" rather than a full name.

And what comes to that text-to-sound thing (again) basically it would be pretty hard to implement, like if you tried to add a common Finnish name like Virtanen to the game, well how would it sound. This is an international product and well you would have to really tweak the machine to get all the names even close to right.

Hard to implement? Not really, it's been done before, in other games and applications. Hard to implement so that it's perfect for non-Anglo Saxon names? Of course. That is the downfall with text-to-speech, and I did mention before that unless some words were spelled phoenetically, they would not be pronounced correctly.

Does anyone know what happened to the original team??? Andrew? Anyone?

I believe they just moved on to other projects, other job opportunities, etc.

[Metsis]

It would sound like Don is saying it - the text-to-speech recognition would use his voice.

Sure that would be alright, and ofcourse it would use the correct voice.

Can't say I agree with that. When Isiah Thomas was a colour commentator with NBC, he referred to Michael Jordan by his full name several times during the telecast. And it's not just the colour commentator - it's also the play-by-play and the PA Announcer, who also say "Number (Number)" rather than a full name.

This is just because Michael Jordan is a legend and an exception. But usually they just call a player as he's usually called. And I would say that it would normally be the surname. And I say the color commentary would sound the best with a large list of surnames with easiest effort. Ofcourse a nice and always working text-to-speech would be nice, but the reality is that this is not a major area of concern for EA in the game. There is so much else to do, that this is just not needed. A nice addition, but not really wanted one.

Hard to implement? Not really, it's been done before, in other games and applications. Hard to implement so that it's perfect for non-Anglo Saxon names? Of course. That is the downfall with text-to-speech, and I did mention before that unless some words were spelled phoenetically, they would not be pronounced correctly.

As I said above already. It would create much work for something that really does not need to be done. Only when everything else is done, this could be implemented. And I'll say it again this is a INTERNATIONAL PRODUCT and the NBA is getting more and more international by the day, so it would have to say a lot of international names. And if you ever were inclined to add some rookies etc. who really play in the NBA wouldn't you have to have their names said.

I believe they just moved on to other projects, other job opportunities, etc.

I just hate to think where we would be concerning the game if the original team was still here... Well, that's in the past and maybe they'll get it right this year. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

[Andrew]

As I said above already. It would create much work for something that really does not need to be done. Only when everything else is done, this could be implemented. And I'll say it again this is a INTERNATIONAL PRODUCT and the NBA is getting more and more international by the day, so it would have to say a lot of international names. And if you ever were inclined to add some rookies etc. who really play in the NBA wouldn't you have to have their names said.

That's why I said it that would be the downfall of text-to-speech, it would have trouble reading some non-Anglo Saxon names (although you'd be surprised what they can pick up). I guess the way around it would be to make the text-to-speech independent of the player name, so you could type in your name phoenetically so the game would pronounce it correctly.

For example, I could enter my created player's name as Andrew Begley, while for the text-to-speech info, I could type ANDROO BEGLEE to make sure it pronounced my name correctly. This principle could be used to correctly pronounce any created player name - without having to misspell the name.

Please don't think I'm trying to disregard or disrespect the international aspect of the game or the sport, or anyone from a non-English speaking country, as I would like to see a text-to-speech engine that could provide satisfactory results for everyone. My point is that text-to-speech is getting fairly sophisticated, so its ability to pronounce non-Anglo Saxon names may not be as bad as you may think. And as I mentioned above, there are possible workarounds.

[Metsis]

No matter how sophisticated the system, well MY point was that we are not just gonna see it in the near future. And I'm not dissin the text-to-speech. I am sure they can work wonders with it, but my point was that the surname could actually be implemented with ease and thus we could actually see it. Text-to-speech is a whole other issue.

But I feel like we're kicking a dead horse... Aka we both agree on things etc. but we have our different points of view.

I'm saying that text-to-speech would be very nice, but not realistic at the moment. And I'd like them to make it work properly the first time they introduce it so it'll take time and meanwhile we can settle for the surname system...

But what we agree on both is the fact that we don't want to hear no more "numbers" *period*

[Andrew]

Agreed. I was just throwing it in there as another possibility for the future. Besides, I'm sure we're in agreement that there's other aspects of the game that should be improved before created player's names being called by the game anyway.

[Venom]

although i agree on 90% percent of things you said probably none of them will be implemented because:
1)EA doesn't want to
2)if they do,they don't have time (only one year)

so i think we should focus on things that can be done and that would solve a lot of problems,and would dramatically improve the game

gameplay:simple,you have said it all...better blocking,slower pace,less field goals...and as a result of this last one,we would get more rebounds.simple

franchise:again,pretty simple...better salary cap,that's all.all the things you said are nice,and i would love to get them,i doubt we'll se them next year because of the reasons i wrote above.by better salary cap i mean more cap space,and that would solve:
1)you would be able to save cap space for a free agent (you can do it now,but then you're stuck with a shitty team no player wants to play for)
2)things like one team getting super strong wouldn't be happening because there won't be free agents avaliable before the season starts (because they would sign either for their former team or a team that has cap space).so we won't be seeing Tim Duncan,and Jasson Kidd playing for 30000 points in Denver just because Denver was lucky enough to start the season on October 29th

[Colin]

2)things like one team getting super strong wouldn't be happening because there won't be free agents avaliable before the season starts (because they would sign either for their former team or a team that has cap space).so we won't be seeing Tim Duncan,and Jasson Kidd playing for 30000 points in Denver just because Denver was lucky enough to start the season on October 29th

That is the most annoying part of franchise.

[mp3]

yer that is annoying, also the way that cpu trades everybody in one year. It would be good if you could have restricted free agent or give players contract extensions before they become free agents

[Andrew]

Re-signing players before their contracts expire...another good idea that's been thought of before, but I forgot to include in the Wishlist.

[Metsis]

gameplay:simple,you have said it all...better blocking,slower pace,less field goals...and as a result of this last one,we would get more rebounds.simple

Blocking does not make for a more difficult shot in Live 2003... It certainly should. The rebounding and scoring and all are very hard to balance out. Live 2001 had realistic scores for 12 min quarters, but it had too high rebound counts. Always players taking over 20 rebounds per game. In Live 2003 though every shot falls and you get realistic rebounding numbers very rarely either. The balance is out there somewhere. EA doesn't have enough time to test it out to make perfect. And what they should optimize it for? 12 min quarters? I personally don't enjoy sitting in front of the computer for over an hour in a row just in playing one game. I usually play 6-8 mins...

franchise:again,pretty simple...better salary cap,that's all.all the things you said are nice,and i would love to get them,i doubt we'll se them next year because of the reasons i wrote above.by better salary cap i mean more cap space,and that would solve:
1)you would be able to save cap space for a free agent (you can do it now,but then you're stuck with a shitty team no player wants to play for)
2)things like one team getting super strong wouldn't be happening because there won't be free agents avaliable before the season starts (because they would sign either for their former team or a team that has cap space).so we won't be seeing Tim Duncan,and Jasson Kidd playing for 30000 points in Denver just because Denver was lucky enough to start the season on October 29th

The cap is fine... The salaries are not... Why has this problem surfaced is the fact that they have raised the overall levels from 89 tops to 99 tops and not modifying the salary.ini file. And thus making a 86 overall guy asking for top dollar when he's not even a real superstar. And this is why the cap system has gotten to it's present state.

On that number two thing as the who starts the season first. Well you just should not get to sign free agents automatically. There should be a waiting period of a week or two when the free agent looks at all the offers made to him and then decide... Has anyone ever played NHL games? Pretty much a similar system, but way more less random. And I hate the fact that the AI does not change player positions, and thus ends up having two premier shooting guards and one of them starts from the bench. This should also influence the free agents decision -> Projected playing time... Because most of the players want to play the game and if they're very good they want a starting role.

Well answer after you've digested on this one...

[Venom]

the salaries should go down or the cap should go up,i see no difference...if they make the cap 1,500,000 points (on the current salaries) it would be ok...or they should do what you said.it's the same

like i said this would also solve the problem that you mention (the AI signing great players who play the same position) because it wouldn't be able to sign them in the first place

i just thought of another thing (i don't know if anybody mentioned it)...the rating that the player has should reflect on his stats more realistically...for instance i traded for Tyson Chandler,and in a couple of years his defensive rebounding rating was 99...but when i sim games his average is only about 6 rebounds on 12 minute quarters...and he's 7'1" and the gu playing SF gets about 7 rebounds...

[Metsis]

the salaries should go down or the cap should go up,i see no difference...if they make the cap 1,500,000 points (on the current salaries) it would be ok...or they should do what you said.it's the same

like i said this would also solve the problem that you mention (the AI signing great players who play the same position) because it wouldn't be able to sign them in the first place

The cap has always been one million and it would be nice to keep it that way. But there is a difference... Because the really high contracts would take less of the cap if the cap was risen to 1,5 mill. And you could have more elite players in your team and still be under the cap and that is not realistic... But there is nothing in your post about the fact that why AI has multiple great players at the same position. The AI should change the players positions by the players size etc. And the real problem here is that a team can pick seven players of the free agent list at the start of the season with pebbles for pay... Think about drafting Kobe, T-Mac, Shaq, Kidd, Garnett and Duncan for 180,000 points??? How unrealistic is that... There should be options that the free agent would consider offers and then sign. Not sign immediatly... And always.

i just thought of another thing (i don't know if anybody mentioned it)...the rating that the player has should reflect on his stats more realistically...for instance i traded for Tyson Chandler,and in a couple of years his defensive rebounding rating was 99...but when i sim games his average is only about 6 rebounds on 12 minute quarters...and he's 7'1" and the gu playing SF gets about 7 rebounds...

I've noticed that not all the stats update correctly, still... I've had J.R. Bremer with overall of 87, field goals 88 and offensive awereness 88 score 6.1 points per game while starting... His fieldgoal percentage was staggeringly high at .120!!! He was a real machine when I played the game but on simulation he just sucked. I've noticed the same thing about Kenny Satterfield. He had overall 95 and passing and offensive awereness through the roof and still he averaged 6 assists per game... The same problem as in Live 2001! Which ruined 2001 totally... I've been screaming for realistic stats for the players for the entire time I've been writing here...

And so much more...

[Venom]

The cap has always been one million and it would be nice to keep it that way. But there is a difference... Because the really high contracts would take less of the cap if the cap was risen to 1,5 mill

what ever...i just want it fixed

There is nothing in your post about the fact that why AI has multiple great players at the same position. The AI should change the players positions by the players size etc. And the real problem here is that a team can pick seven players of the free agent list at the start of the season with pebbles for pay...

yes there is,read more closely....this is the thing: superstar players want max contracts they can't get them because no team has that kind of cap space so they don't sign for anyone in the offseason,and are forced to sign for the league minnimum,for who ever comes first (the team that start's it's season on October 29th) that team signs him even though it has a superstar on that position,because team ranking is decided on player ratings.so the AI doesn't care if it has two SGs with 95 and 91 ratings and starting PG with 75 overall rating...i guess they can fix that bug,but they can make the game better in doing what i suggested and that is

make the cap bigger (or smaller salaries,what ever) Superstar player signs fr someone in the offseason one of the AI controled teams can't sign another superstar because he already siogned a max contrac to someone else


wooh[/b]

[Metsis]

yes there is,read more closely....this is the thing: superstar players want max contracts they can't get them because no team has that kind of cap space so they don't sign for anyone in the offseason,and are forced to sign for the league minnimum,for who ever comes first (the team that start's it's season on October 29th) that team signs him even though it has a superstar on that position,because team ranking is decided on player ratings.so the AI doesn't care if it has two SGs with 95 and 91 ratings and starting PG with 75 overall rating...i guess they can fix that bug,but they can make the game better in doing what i suggested and that is

The problem here is not the fact that the teams cannot sign in the offseason. It comes down to the salaries again. And it does not matter whoever have the max contracts. You can have four shooting guards with maximum contracts if you wish so. The players can't sign during off season which sucks, but that is all because of the salary.ini file... There should be time for considering offers from other teams. No free agent signs for a minimum immediatly. They want the money as well as the game time. And the team ratings need to be changed drastically... Some teams are better then their players and some teams just don't come together to be effective. Take Atlanta for example. The new team has cut some important features from the game and it has hurt the entire product. I still can't see the logic in changing the production teams.

make the cap bigger (or smaller salaries,what ever) Superstar player signs fr someone in the offseason one of the AI controled teams can't sign another superstar because he already siogned a max contrac to someone else

But still with the bigger cap you can create teams that are already good even better by signing a FA during the off-season. And I don't see your point on that "Superstar player signs fr someone in the offseason one of the AI controled teams can't sign another superstar because he already siogned a max contrac to someone else"...

[Venom]

we obviously don't understand each other.and i think that's ok.but i also think it's pointless to argue about it,so this is my last post on the subject