NBA Live 08 Community Conference Call

[Andrew]

NBA Live 08 Community Conference Call

This morning I took part in a community conference call with NBA Live 08 Next Gen producer Brian Ullrich and other representatives from various video game websites including the official NBA Live forums. We were shown a couple of quick videos that highlight some of the changes that were hinted at in the IGN interview, after which had the opportunity to offer our feedback and ask some questions. There is still much to learn about NBA Live 08 but hopefully I'll be able to provide a little more info some of the developments to date as well as a few observations.

As mentioned in the IGN interview, the focus has been on 5-on-5 gameplay this year. We were shown a video demonstrating various issues from NBA Live 07 Next Gen involving rebounding, shot trajectories and jump shot motions. These were also presented side by side with clips from NBA Live 08 to illustrate the differences between last year's game and this year's instalment. Some of these changes are quite subtle but noticeable. One of the things Brian stressed in the call was how different the game feels to play this year. Obviously that's something I can't comment on personally though hopefully I'll have another opportunity to get a sneak peek at the game.

Rebounding

One of the first elements highlighted in the video was rebounding, specifically the animation of players grabbing the ball. Unlike previous years where players leap for a rebound and the ball falls into their hands, players do actually lean and reach for the rebound before grabbing it with both hands. Again I can't comment on whether it feels more realistic though it would seem rebounding will feel less determined this year. We'll certainly see players grabbing the ball rather than seemingly willing it into their hands with the Force.

Box-out animations weren't quite polished in the build we saw, which is still very early but we were told that emphasis will be placed on ensuring that the balance of offensive and defensive rebounds will reflect the real NBA. We'll also see multiple players from the same team jumping for the rebound if they are in position, rather than one player from each team battling each other for the board.

Player Animations & Locomotion

As I mentioned before, there are a lot of subtle animations that have been included to make the game more lifelike. This is noticeable in body movement as players look pretty good as they dribble, change directions and turn around. Attention has been paid to details such as throwing, catching and completing a pass while there doesn't seem to be much skating. Their aim is to make player movements as realistic as possible and it seems progress is being made in that area. I don't think we can expect perfection in NBA Live 08 as the technology will continue to be fine tuned but it would seem to be an improvement over last year.

Brian acknowledged that past versions of NBA Live haven't always had fluid transition between animations, leading to delays in situations such as passing to a teammate then cutting to the basket. NBA Live 08 will make better use of the ability to interrupt and blend animations so that players will move fluidly without getting stuck in a particular animation, allowing players to make quick passes before cutting to the basket or simply running to another spot on the floor in a fluid motion.

There's also going to be a few "one-time" animations that will only be utilised in certain situations, such as point guards signalling for a play or making a little hop as they begin their dribble up court. Essentially this detail is intended to add more lifelike movements to the players to make it seem as though you're watching ten real players on the screen.

Jumpshot animations have also been reworked, primarily the trajectory and shooting motion. The shot trajectories have been toned down especially short range jumpers that were too often rainmakers in NBA Live 07. Brian said further adjustments would be made but it's looking pretty good already.

One of the problems with signature jumpshots last year was that they basically required a perfect release. If a player released a shot too early or too late, a generic early/late release animation was used instead. Aside from being aesthetically incorrect, it also meant that the motion of shooting a jumpshot also felt a bit awkward. NBA Live 08 has sought to resolve that matter and while I can't comment on the feel of the game just yet it certainly does look better.

Gameplay & Logic

We were told that a lot of in-depth work is yet to be done on the game's logic and the video showed us a lot of specific situations so it's difficult to get an idea of how the game will play especially at this early stage. However, the issue of authentic gameplay and logic was discussed.

The speed in the video was a little too quick but we were told at the beginning of the presentation that it had been increased for the purpose of the demonstration and would be toned down in later builds and the final product. Spacing on offense looks a little better this year giving players room to work and the updated animations do seem to make a difference.

NBA Live 08 will abandon the experiment of seperating the dunk and layup buttons, going back to a single contextually based dunk/layup button that will perform the most appropriate move depending on the player's current situation. This also applies to the nature of dunks as spectacular dunks will be restricted to the open court and times when a player has enough time to execute them rather than being able to break out with them at any time, as in previous games. In the video, we saw Kobe Bryant drive the lane and get past defenders for a simple (but emphatic) two-handed flush. The change is also geared towards cutting down on the number of dunks as the presence of a dunk button allowed users to attempt a dunk on every possession if desired.

On the subject of realistic dunks, Brian mentioned that a few of the more unrealistic slams will be removed in NBA Live 08 altogether, so we shouldn't see anyone throwing down 360 behind-the-back dunks in traffic anymore.

Player strategy and logic also came up during the call. One of the things EA is looking to achieve with NBA Live this year is having players react to the situation much more intelligently, taking advantage of the situation and making decisions on whether to run a set offense (and which offense to run), attempt 1-on-1 play and when to pass the ball. Determining an individual player's logic in regards to shooting the ball or looking to pass (but also looking for a shot if the opportunity is there) is also a goal, though Brian admitted it may not be something that can be achieved with perfection in NBA Live 08. Making the players play an intelligent game and one that reflects the real thing certainly would seem to be the aim of their focus on 5-on-5 gameplay this year.

Dynasty Mode

Unfortunately info about Dynasty Mode is being kept under wraps for the moment so there's not much in the way of news there. Although the focus is on the gameplay this year, Brian did mention there were some very cool features in the works but it seems we'll have to wait for more details.

Camera Angles

The default camera angle will now be the sideline/TV style camera that most of us tend to prefer to use. We were told that more emphasis will be placed on making the presentation resemble a TV broadcast in terms of camera positioning and subtle camera moves, which need a little more tweaking from the build on display but still looked quite good.

Summary

As I said it's impossible to comment on how the game feels without actually playing it and a video can only tell us so much about the game, but from the looks of things it would seem a lot of attention is being paid to the finer details and making the gameplay look, feel and behave as true to life as possible. There's still a lot we don't know about the game and much we won't be able to know until we can get our hands on it, but suffice to say the presentation looked promising and it sounds as though the goals for NBA Live 08 have been set with some of our expectations in mind.

So there you have it. I'll try to answer any questions as best I can, please note that I do not have much in-depth information such as which players have signature jumpshots or the details on additions to Dynasty Mode. Also please note that I have no media to share at this time but hopefully in the coming months we'll be getting plenty of movies and screenshots which will appear on the NLSC.

[will658761]

looks very interesting

[emi_b7]

NBA Live 08 will abandon the experiment of seperating the dunk and layup buttons, going back to a single contextually based dunk/layup button that will perform the most appropriate move depending on the player's current situation.

Does it mean that the pro-hop button is back?

[Angelo]

Hey sir andrew can i ask a question regarding the animations does the jerseys and the hair animations would be like in xbox nba liuve 2k7 cus i think nba live 2007 would be really great if they can add some new animations like the movement of the jerseys and the hair....

[Andrew]

Does it mean that the pro-hop button is back?

Pretty sure that it is, which I for one would prefer to the right analog method.

Hey sir andrew can i ask a question regarding the animations does the jerseys and the hair animations would be like in xbox nba liuve 2k7 cus i think nba live 2007 would be really great if they can add some new animations like the movement of the jerseys and the hair....

Yes, the jerseys move.

[LakersRule24]

Do you have the video? How were the graphics?

[Andrew]

As I said I don't have any media to share. The player models and arenas look a little better than last year, though I have to correct myself on one thing, the jerseys do move.

I also neglected to mention camera angles in my report. I've updated my first post but for those who don't feel like reading it all again, here's the additional paragraph:

Camera Angles

The default camera angle will now be the sideline/TV style camera that most of us tend to prefer to use. We were told that more emphasis will be placed on making the presentation resemble a TV broadcast in terms of camera positioning and subtle camera moves, which need a little more tweaking from the build on display but still looked quite good.

[ballaman04]

do they have FFS this year. and if so are they bronze silver and gold or still blue and white? and also is there a "defensive" "x" factor this year?

[Andrew]

Neither of the videos in the presentation dealt with Freestyle Superstars or showed off FSS moves. I assume FSS moves are still in the game in some capacity, that's something I'm sure we'll learn for sure in the near future.

[JaoSming]

This Next Gen only right? You didn't see anything from current gen?


and also in the gameplay videos, was there a scoreboard? and if so are they using the ESPN score overlay?

[Angelo]

yes this would be great !...anyway does these mean that the hair will move too

[Andrew]

That's right, it was Next Gen only. There was a score overlay but it wasn't ESPN themed.

[el badman]

Thanks for the feedback Andrew.
It all sounds pretty good, but I'm afraid that most of these changes will be implemented for next-gen only...

[Angelo]

Thanks for the feedback Andrew.
It all sounds pretty good, but I'm afraid that most of these changes will be implemented for next-gen only...

what is that supposed to mean

[Andrew]

yes this would be great !...anyway does these mean that the hair will move too

I'm not sure, none of the players in the videos had long hair so we'll have to wait and see.

[deihatein]

So they will not going to change much on current-gen cause they want to make money on the Next-gen but still hoping to have a great live in PC

[Angelo]

oh ok sir andrew i just asking because this would be the top selling game in the whole world even here in our place nba live is the top selling game but they are sad that the features are not the same as in the xbox because they wanted to have moving jerseys and moving hair.. if ea could do tht updates definitely this game would be the best selling of all time.. this is just an opinion that my colleauges are saying about the game..

[Andrew]

So they will not going to change much on current-gen cause they want to make money on the Next-gen but still hoping to have a great live in PC

I think the fact they're reaching the limits of what can be achieved on the old hardware and those consoles are being phased out also has a lot to do with that. I'm sure we'll get Current Gen info in time.

oh ok sir andrew i just asking because this would be the top selling game in the whole world even here in our place nba live is the top selling game but they are sad that the features are not the same as in the xbox because they wanted to have moving jerseys and moving hair.. if ea could do tht updates definitely this game would be the best selling of all time.. this is just an opinion that my colleauges are saying about the game..

I personally wouldn't consider them as important to the quality of the game as the performance of 5-on-5 gameplay and Dynasty Mode but I agree it's a nice detail that adds to the presentation.

[Jugs]

Nup still not convinced.

[Andrew]

Well, I wouldn't expect anyone to be convinced of anything given it's a few snippets of info and a few observations taken from video clips of an early build of the game, without any hands-on impressions. In any event, it's not my intention to convince anyone of anything, ultimately we all have to make up our own minds. I'm just passing on a few notes that have been made available and my impressions of what I've been shown.

[Angelo]

does this features that u are showing are in pc or in consoles like xbox or someting?

[Andrew]

The videos were for Next Gen (Xbox 360/Playstation 3) only. A Current Gen version of the game is expected to be released but there's been no previews of it just yet.

[Num33Baller]

Will PC be next gen?

[OldFoolStyle]

[quote]Will PC be next gen?[/quote]

Windows ME/2000/XP will most likely be cerrent gen. Don't bother bitching, computers running these OS's simply don't have the hardware to run 360 games.

A 360 to Vista port would probably be easier than the current PS2 to Windows, but I wouldn't expect one for 08 unless Microsoft puts heavy pressure on EA. Madden for Vista wouldn't suprise me, though. There are also rumours of an official 360 emulator for Vista.

[bosiydid6]

This is purely speculation on my part but it seems the Microsoft is really pushing Vista as a gaming platform with Live etc. It wouldn't surprise me if the foundation that XB360 and Vista are built on would be very similar and thus allow for an easy port, or at least substantially easier port then XBox to XP. I work in IT so I have allot to do and read allot about Microsoft products, attend conferences etc. granted they are not gaming conferences or the like but I think it's a distinct possibility that they are trying to align the PC and the XBox closer, and one simply has to look at the push of Live, a uniform driver structure, "Gaming for Vista", new DX and the like. They are trying to build cross platform compatibility and this way get a leg up on Sony with two horses in the race.

I would not be surprised if Madden is released for Vista but I think Live will be a stretch this year. The chance is much greater in '09. Again this is just me kicking crap around!