NBA Live 08 Community Day Report Update

[Andrew]

I've posted my report from the NBA Live 08 Community Day in our NBA Live 08 subsite.

NBA Live 08 Community Day Gameplay Report

NBA Live 08 Community Day Dynasty Mode Report

Full coverage here.

Last edited by Andrew on Mon Oct 08, 2007 8:12 pm, edited 2 times in total.

I'll try to answer any questions, but please read through the report first as you may well find the answer there. To answer a few questions off the bat:

1. There is nothing about Current Gen in the article because it was not on display. I did ask some questions as far as which features will be included in the PC version, the answers will be emailed to me.
2. I do not have an exact date of when those answers will arrive. As soon as I receive them, I'll post them.
3. I can't talk about the aspects that are still under embargo privately or otherwise. Sorry. As soon as I can talk about them, further reports will go up.
4. No, I did not get paid by EA to write anything in the report. They are my honest opinions, they are not all positive but I was impressed by the game. At the end of the day, it's up to you how you feel and what/whom you wish to believe. If in doubt before October, rent before you buy. These are my impressions, not a paid advertisement.

With that out of the way, hope you enjoy the report. I'm sure most people are anxious to read about Dynasty Mode and believe me I'm keen to tell you, but for the moment it's one of the things I can't talk about. I'll keep everyone posted though.

EDIT: A post in the Wishlist just reminded me of a feature I forgot. I've added a small update to the gameplay report, which reads as follows:

Another extra that's been added is a highlight reel after the game. Replays of noteworthy moments are replayed at the end of a game, looping continuously from different angles until you choose to proceed. It's not quite the top ten plays of the week that fans have discussed in the past but it's a cool feature nevertheless.

The stuff about the "quick-strike" feature sounds fairly promising. It is also good to hear that the Go-To moves are not unstopable like the freestyle superstar moves, and that the hotspots are not perfect, adds more realism to the game.

I find the part regarding the rebounds hitting the ground a important part because the game producers talked about it before you guys even mentioned it, because to me this seems like they are paying more attention and are learning to view it from the perspective of you guys, which definately could help them improve the game and find glitches and whatnot.

Personally after reading the gameplay recap... I am a lot more excited about 08. Superb recap, and its really eye-pleasing and easy to read.

Also, what did the SAS heckler look like? Shame you didn't win that rookie-signed jersey. Better luck next year.

Ha, what's LeBron's hotspots and go-to move.

LeBron's the best don't get me wrong (my favorite player also), but he doesn't have a consistent hot spot, or a consistent go-to move. (these things will come later in his career, and we certainly saw them in the ECF against detroit)

But... What do they do for players like him that don't have a consistent go-to moves or a consistent hot-spot.

LeBron's such a young player though, but he doesn't even have a consistent jumpshot yet, so I'm also interested in what his signature shot will look like.

LB will probably get a shooting coach this offseason though and learn to shoot correctly, but he's not a consistent jumpshooter yet and doesnt have a consistent style or go-to move (well, his go-to move is a posterization of someone I guess). But he'll get a shooting coach this offseason and he'll learn to shoot it correctly without his elbows sticking out like they often do causing anybody to shoot a lower percentage (he'll get better mid-range and long-range with a correct and consistent stroke)

But since LBJ is among the top 3 players in the league right now, I'd figure he'd get a lot of attention, but I'm just curious what they do for his hot spots and go-to moves.

How many highlights does it show at the end of the game?

Is it just dunks on the highlight reel, or is it shots, layups, crossovers, and dunks throughout the highlight reel?

i just wanted to know because i think its cool that they finally added a highlight reel at the end of a game, i wanna see some CROSSOVERS

Ha, what's LeBron's hotspots and go-to move.

Sorry, I didn't see them.

Is it just dunks on the highlight reel, or is it shots, layups, crossovers, and dunks throughout the highlight reel?

It didn't seem to pick out many crossovers, at least those that didn't end with a shot, but as far as the shots are concerned it picks out some jumpshots, dunks and layups.

Personally after reading the gameplay recap... I am a lot more excited about 08. Superb recap, and its really eye-pleasing and easy to read.

Thanks Jing, glad you enjoyed it. I would like to reiterate though that I went into the Community Day intending to be critical if need be and that there are some issues that do need to be resolved (which we pointed out). It seems like it's going to be a turnaround from last year but there are a few concerns. I do think most people are going to like some of the stuff that's been done with Dynasty Mode. I'm still double checking the embargo date on that one.

thanks for the info, i love this site..lol

Do you know what Kobe's hotspot is?

Can you name some of the go-to-moves that you saw, that really came out at you?(besides kobe's fadeaway)

some t-mac would be nice

Thnaks for the report Andrew. Just one question: You keep saying once the emabrgo date passes you will post the info on Dynasty Mode. When is the embargo date??

Hey Andrew, Quick Question: Was there a primacy rating for players? Did star players on teams take the majority of the shots or was it the same as last yr when the PG would take the shots most? Thanks

Ha, what's LeBron's hotspots and go-to move.

Sorry, I didn't see them.

Is it just dunks on the highlight reel, or is it shots, layups, crossovers, and dunks throughout the highlight reel?

It didn't seem to pick out many crossovers, at least those that didn't end with a shot, but as far as the shots are concerned it picks out some jumpshots, dunks and layups.

Personally after reading the gameplay recap... I am a lot more excited about 08. Superb recap, and its really eye-pleasing and easy to read.

Thanks Jing, glad you enjoyed it. I would like to reiterate though that I went into the Community Day intending to be critical if need be and that there are some issues that do need to be resolved (which we pointed out). It seems like it's going to be a turnaround from last year but there are a few concerns. I do think most people are going to like some of the stuff that's been done with Dynasty Mode. I'm still double checking the embargo date on that one.

Andrew...come on already......just spill the beans, who cares about the embargo dates. I love dynasty mode as it's the only one I play so I'm dying to learn about it. Embargo.....embargo my arse.

Hey Andrew, Quick Question: Was there a primacy rating for players? Did star players on teams take the majority of the shots or was it the same as last yr when the PG would take the shots most? Thanks

Agreed, can you talk a little more about your observations regarding primacy and substitutions. Thanks

Unless you want Andrew to get sued and never invited back to the Conference to provide us with such detailed information....

Probably EA has made Dynasty Mode great and thats going to be "the big news"...

Damn...the anticipation and hype is getting at me...

I just want my 360 controller to work more easily with the game... I can't change freestyle superstars or activate X-factors, but maybe I just missed a tutorial somewhere.

I would like to know more about controls.
For example i hate these analog sticks (gamepad)

I use keyboard becuse I like keyboard.

IMHO '07 was the worst nba live game in the series for keyboard users. What about '08?

@andrew
Also tell us about the free throws system. Old system or '07 analog shot sytem?

thnx

I use keyboard becuse I like keyboard.

IMHO '07 was the worst nba live game in the series for keyboard users. What about '08?

I'm assuming that Andrew cannot answer that question. It's been stated that he only got to play the Next-gen version. So all we can do is hope...

But you know, geodimo, PC players always have PPJoy...

andrew, have the sig jumpers been imported to the current gen yet?

andrew, have the sig jumpers been imported to the current gen yet?

wow, how retarded can you be? can you read the first point in Andrew's second post please?

Andrew, that was a great read, and definitely has me excited for Live 08 as the proud new owner of an Xbox 360. Can't wait to hear more as the embargo dates pass.

Do you know what Kobe's hotspot is?

Players don't just have the one hot spot. The court is broken up into different areas (similar to a display on NBA.com regarding a player's shooting percentages from different spots on the court) which differs from player to player and is based on real NBA data.

Can you name some of the go-to-moves that you saw, that really came out at you?(besides kobe's fadeaway)

some t-mac would be nice

Tony Parker has his teardrop, Steve Nash has his off-balance runner where he jumps off his right leg and Allen Iverson actually has a couple of floaters in the lane including that teardrop he puts up when he's moving across the lane. Amare Stoudemire actually has a signature dunk, that vicious one-hander.

Thnaks for the report Andrew. Just one question: You keep saying once the emabrgo date passes you will post the info on Dynasty Mode. When is the embargo date??

I'm still finding out exactly when I'll be able to post about Dynasty Mode. It should be sometime in July though so it won't be too much longer.

Hey Andrew, Quick Question: Was there a primacy rating for players? Did star players on teams take the majority of the shots or was it the same as last yr when the PG would take the shots most? Thanks

Some work seems to have been done there, once again I can't speak for the Current Gen version but I would assume it will once again have a Primacy rating. The same ratings that determine whether a player is a Go To player in the Next Gen version are still present.

Andrew...come on already......just spill the beans, who cares about the embargo dates. I love dynasty mode as it's the only one I play so I'm dying to learn about it. Embargo.....embargo my arse.

I'm afraid it doesn't work like that. We all signed NDAs so breaking the embargo dates can get us into a lot of trouble. So I'm sorry, but I won't be posting any reports before I'm allowed to talk about certain content. End of story.

I would like to know more about controls.
For example i hate these analog sticks (gamepad)

I use keyboard becuse I like keyboard.

IMHO '07 was the worst nba live game in the series for keyboard users. What about '08?

I can't say, the PC version wasn't on display.

@andrew
Also tell us about the free throws system. Old system or '07 analog shot sytem?

Free throws use the right analog (or the Shoot button if you want to simulate the free throw), the same as last year.

andrew, have the sig jumpers been imported to the current gen yet?

I can't say for sure because once again the Current Gen version wasn't on display, but my guess is probably not.

Andrew, whose signature jumpshot did you see? And what were they like? I mean were they realistic, had the right release points etc.

And another question that I would like to ask: In the preview videos released so far, I was desperate about one thing. Players were just standing and not doing anything, while the ball handler tried to create a shot opportunity or force up a shot or a drive. Now was that the case when you played? Or did your teammates set screens for you, cut to the basket, and actually run plays?

Oh and great report! It was interesting and exciting from top to bottom!

It could be great to see the NBA draft live! I had the luck and chance to see 2 NBA games live when we had a holiday in L.A. in March and April. I can tell you that those were amazing! I almost fainted when we entered the Staples Center. It was Rockets@Lakers (kobe dropped 53 T-Mac had 30 and 10ast and a vicious dunk with foul) OT game!!! It was astonishing! When Kobe hit the game tying 3 with a couple of seconds before the horn, the capacity crowd exploded and although I was cheering for The Rockets, I was there jumping up and screaming when that went in!
The other game was a Nuggets@Lakers! Melo was unstoppable and had a dunk that actually made it to his own top 10 of the season! You can watch it at nba.com!

If you want me I can post the pics that I made! If anybody is interested...

I mostly played with the Bulls so players Gordon's is the first that comes to mind, but I also saw the shooting form of Vince Carter, Tim Duncan, Gilbert Arenas, Shawn Marion, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett to name a few. There isn't 400+ signature shots in the game as far as I can tell but the major players, as well as other noteworthy players (especially those with a unique shooting form) are represented in the game.

As I said in the recap they've changed the shooting animations so that the players retain their form even on early and late releases which means you don't have to have perfect timing to see the signature style (though you still need a good release to actually make the shot). It feels a lot better than NBA Live 07 on the 360 when it comes to jumpshots, I found myself releasing jumpers too late last year especially when pulling up on the run. That seems like less of an issue there so I'd have to say some good work has been done with release points. Subtle, but effective.

You do see players taking advantage of situations more often and running plays without you needing to call them first. If you want to run the team and call a play every trip down the court, you can still do that. I felt like I had more help from my CPU teammates at both ends of the floor, I wouldn't say it's perfect but I did notice improvements to little things like players cutting to the basket when the lane is left wide open or a teammate rotating over to help on defense.