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10 for 10: Comparison & Retrospective

10 for 10 is a series of articles written by Andrew and originally posted during the lead-up to NBA Live 10, discussing the ten most needed and/or desired changes in different areas of the game.

During the lead up to NBA Live 10 last year, I published a series of articles entitled 10 for 10 which examined the ten things in six different areas of the game that I felt NBA Live 10 needed to have to be successful. With the preview season for NBA Live 11 looming in the not too distant future, I thought I’d go back and take another look at the 10 for 10 lists to compare them with the finished (and subsequently patched) product and look ahead to what I feel should be done with NBA Live 11.

The 10 for 10 lists are broken down by category as originally published with a link to the original article, my take on whether or not an item was implemented in NBA Live 10 and a subsequent score out of ten, followed by my commentary on what did and didn’t make the cut as well as what I’d like to see carried over or implemented in NBA Live 11.

Gameplay

  • Clean up out of bounds/backcourt violations and other calls: Yes, but still for improvement (seemingly more so post-patch)
  • Increased fluidity and responsiveness in player movement: Yes, but still room for improvement
  • A few defensive issues: Kind of; interceptions are still a problem
  • Improve directional passing: Yes
  • Substitutions & Fatigue: Yes
  • Rebounding issues and expanded controls: Yes
  • Refinements to DNA, Playcalling, Featured Scorer Logic and Player Individuality: Yes
  • Increased timeout frequency: No
  • Loose ball and off-the-ball fouls: Yes (illegal screens)
  • Better balance between the CPU and User abilities: Yes, pre-patch; No, post-patch

Score: 6/10 (with a couple on the fence)

Gameplay was the focus of NBA Live 10 and out of the box, the improvements were evident. Emphasis on strategy for the user and CPU, more realistic scoring distribution, a good defensive game and fluid player movement with increased individuality in the form of signature dribbling styles impressed me and from the looks of things most people who played the game pre-patch. And then the patch came.

I still feel the patch ultimately marred the offline gameplay experience with various quirks that made the game more difficult for all the wrong reasons, interfered with CPU strategy/AI and essentially undid a lot of the progress that the unpatched game had made compared to NBA Live 09. However, NBA Live 10 was still a big step in the right direction when it’s all said and done and if NBA Live 11 is able to build upon the gameplay as it was out of the box then I for one will be very pleased.

Specifically, I’d like to see a few more refinements to player logic, just to clean up a few issues where certain players take too many shots. I’d also like to see more timeouts to bring in substitutions a little earlier and for strategic purposes, though the substitution logic in NBA Live 10 is a lot better with greater use of the secondary positions. Illegal screens were a good addition, but adding other loose ball fouls would be another step forward. As I mentioned there’s still some room for improvement in cleaning up out of bounds and backcourt violation calls but the big one for me is balance between user and CPU abilities. There needs to be fewer “user misses an easy layup, CPU responds by firing an off-balance turnaround fadeaway three and making it” scenarios; the difficulty needs to be there for both sides. Interceptions need to be toned down as well, along with the user being stripped too easily though that kind of comes under the same banner of the CPU having abilities that the user does not.

With gameplay being one of the most important aspects of the game – if not the most important – I’m not that unhappy with six out of the ten list items making it with a couple on the fence. The patch’s attempted fixes caused some problems, but I still feel optimistic about NBA Live 11…so long as the right fixes and changes are made moving forward. The lack of in-game injuries is an example of an unforseen problem which will hopefully be resolved this year.

Dynasty Mode

  • Bring back the reorder roster screen: No
  • Include different autosave options, or the ability to switch it off altogether: Yes
  • Clear “Injured” status upon entering a new Dynasty game: Yes
  • Fix issue with injured players not returning to the lineup: Yes
  • Continue to refine simulated stats, award winners and All-Star selections: No
  • Allow saving (and uploading) of boxscores: No
  • Add multi-team trades (involving at least three teams) and other trade interface upgrades: No
  • Options for shorter season lengths in Dynasty Mode: No
  • Allow for multiplayer Dynasty games: No
  • More management tasks, including the ability to hire and fire head coaches: No

Score: 3/10

A disappointing score for the most important offline game mode. I have to admit that in reviewing the list, I was surprised that it didn’t score a zero and two of the issues that were addressed were noteworthy complaints about NBA Live 09’s Dynasty Mode, but a lot of the really important areas that desperately need attention have gone untouched. Not only is the mode in need of some overdue additions and expansion, but many of the existing features are simply not working properly. Looking at the depth of NBA 2K10’s Association Mode, it’s obvious that Dynasty Mode has a lot of catching up to do.

NBA Live’s gameplay is at a point where a few tweaks and fixes to what we saw in NBA Live 10 out of the box will be – at the very worst – satisfactory. The post game needs some work but the foundation is pretty solid. However, NBA Live 10’s greatest weakness was its game modes and a big part of that is the Dynasty experience. Ensuring that NBA Live 11 plays a good game of basketball is important, but for the game to have any kind of replay value with offline gamers, drastic improvements to Dynasty Mode are a must. In broad terms, I feel the list I presented last year covers the kind of things that need to be done to make that happen.

Online Play

  • Punish sore losers by registering a win and a loss for each player respectively when the game is disconnected in the fourth quarter: No
  • Allow stats from online games to be saved and uploaded: No, though there’s a fair amount of stat tracking for leagues and Dynamic Season
  • Adjust fatigue ratings for online games: No
  • Bring Dynasty Mode online: No
  • Allow players to be kicked from a game during Online Team Play matchups: No
  • Expanded EA Locker sharing services: No (at least, not to the extent I was hoping for)
  • Allow users to switch players if they are left alone in Online Team Play: No
  • Allow Online Team Play teammates to swap positions: No
  • Add the FIBA tournament as an option for online play: No
  • Add the NBA Playoffs as a standalone mode for online play: No

Score: 0/10

In this case, a score of zero is perhaps a little misleading. Looking back at my list, at least half of it is either non-essential for online play to be an enjoyable experience or in the case of online Dynasty Mode, difficult to accomplish within one production cycle. NBA Live 10 did try to address some problems with cheesy online play both out of the box and through the patches, though the problem of sore losers quitting still exists and cheesy play is always going to be an issue online.

What I’d like to see moving forward is a stronger stance against quitters, registering any kind of disconnection in the fourth quarter as a win for the player who is ahead and a loss for the player who is behind, should the trailing player quit or break the connection. If the player who is winning disconnects then perhaps they could be assigned a loss instead for trying to pick up a cheap win, or it could simply be called a no contest. I still think that sore losers are going to be the bigger problem when it comes to quitting and intentional disconnections though.

I’d also like to see a sportsmanship rating come into play similar to the system used by NCAA Football 10, as it could actively discourage cheesy play or at least give users some extra information on opponents that they should avoid. I still think there’s a place for the other items in terms of added functionality and a deeper experience, but again they probably aren’t essential to enjoy the online experience. The only other thing I’d really like to see is an expansion of the EA Locker to allow shared Dynasty games and media but again, it’s something that I can go without.

With that in mind, I kind of have to give NBA Live 10 a pass on this one. I’m admittedly more an offline player/Dynasty geek than an online player and as I said in the original article, it was difficult for me to come up with a list of ten things based on my experiences and preferences. That said, I stand by them as things that could be done with the online elements of NBA Live in future releases.

Presentation

  • More realistic TV-style presentation: Yes, but still room for improvement
  • Use feet and inches/pounds for measurement in all versions of the game: No
  • No lines referencing video game controls in the commentary: Not that I can recall offhand
  • A couple of automatic instant replay issues: Yes
  • Player details: Yes
  • Livelier and more responsive crowds: Yes
  • Actual player portraits rather than game renderings: Yes
  • Larger text in the frontend: No
  • Bring back the old team rankings in addition to the overall ratings: No
  • Add ESPN highlights playing on the big screen in the Academy: No, but we can still watch our own saved highlights

Score: 6/10

Six out of ten is a solid score here. I think I’m going to have to go back on my note about larger text, I have a feeling it’s my lousy TV that’s the problem and I can live without the ESPN highlights (though I still like Jon’s suggestions) and the team rankings, though my old school sensibilities would like to see them return. NBA Live 10’s presentation was much better than NBA Live 09 with a more realistic TV-style feel, though as I said there’s still room for improvement and we’ve seen it in the form of the ESPN and CBS Integration utilised in NCAA Basketball 10. Having seen what can be done with the ESPN license, I’ve love to see NBA Live take a similar approach. It could be a bit tricky since Marv Albert is TNT and I’d hate to see him go, but the next step for NBA Live’s presentation would be to follow NCAA Basketball 10’s lead.

As someone living in a PAL region, one of my biggest pet peeves with the presentation is the use of metric system for player measurements. I’m certainly used to the metric system, that’s what I was taught in school and it’s the system I use in everyday life but when it comes to basketball, I think in terms of imperial units. It just feels wrong for the game to be aping an NBA broadcast and display player measurements in centimetres and kilograms. It’s obviously being done to make things easier for consumers in PAL markets but I think it ultimately detracts from the presentation.

Other than that, I was pretty satisfied with the overall look and atmosphere of the game. It made a lot of progress and it’s on the right track so in this instance, six out of ten isn’t bad.

All-Star Weekend

  • Improve substitution patterns in the All-Star Game and Rookie Challenge; specifically, differentiate them from the regular substitution patterns: No
  • Implement the real rules: No (N/A)
  • Tone down some of the dunks and tosses in the Dunk Contest: No (N/A)
  • Add obstacles to jump over and teammate-assisted dunks: No (N/A)
  • Allow customisation of the default All-Star teams and other participants: No
  • Add the Skills Challenge event: No
  • Add the Shooting Stars event: No
  • Represent All-Star voting in Dynasty Mode: No
  • Expanded All-Star Weekend commentary: No
  • Ability to select jerseys in All-Star events: No (N/A)

Score: 0/10

This list basically became a write-off with the removal of All-Star Weekend Mode, with only the All-Star and Rookie/Sophomore teams remaining in the game. If the mode returns – and I hope it does, at some point – then I still feel these are important items and hope to see them implemented. However, even if All-Star Weekend was brought back the way it was, it would be still be preferable to its complete absence in NBA Live 10.

Features

  • In-Game Saves: No
  • Standalone Playoffs Mode: Yes
  • Custom Teams: No
  • Official Modding Tools: No
  • One-on-One Mode…and more: No
  • Expanded Be-a-Pro Mode: No
  • Replay Montage Editor: No
  • More Depth in Create-a-Player: Sort of; still a lot that could be added, but we have a reasonable amount of Player DNA options and the like
  • NBA Academy Expansion: No
  • Legends & Retro Jerseys: Jerseys, yes; Legends, no

Score: 2/10 (could be 3/10 depending on your take on Create-a-Player)

I’m counting the last item as a solid yes as Legends are a tricky issue due to the legal roadblock of likeness rights. As I acknowledged when I originally published the list, it was highly unlikely that all of these features could be included within one production cycle and the return of retro/special jerseys and the standalone Playoffs Mode was most welcome. While it would have been nice to have a couple more of these features, I only anticipated two or three at most being included in NBA Live 10. Nevertheless, this list contains items that I expect will remain staples of the Wishlist until such time as they make their debut – or return – in future NBA Live releases.

The overall score when comparing the 10 for 10 lists and the finished product is a somewhat modest 17/60 or 20/60 if you include a couple of on-the-fence “kind ofs”, with slightly more favourable scores of 17-20/50 if we disregard the eliminated All-Star Weekend mode and 17-20/40 if we take out my list of online features with several items of questionable, some even negligible importance. Of the items I identified as being things I’d like to see in the game, around a third of the original sixty made the cut with up to half having been included if we cut the two areas that scored a zero.

However, this is not a terrible score considering how broad some of the items were and all the finer detail we can get into in regards to the various improvements present in NBA Live 10. Only so much can be achieved within one production cycle and once again, the fact that a third of the things I most wanted to see did make the cut leaves me feeling optimistic about NBA Live 11. My list of ten things for each area may differ from my fellow gamers (in fact, I’m sure it does) and when it comes to online play in particular, the things I had in mind weren’t necessarily on the money. Also, this retrospective obviously doesn’t take into account things that didn’t come to mind while I was making the lists but were welcome additions, like adidas Live Run and Dynamic Season, as well as the layup and off-ball controls.

It just goes to show why we shouldn’t be afraid of providing the NBA Live Dev Team with the most detailed feedback possible. We need to be aware that not every item on our Wishlists can be granted, but if a third of the things we want to see can make the cut every year along with some other good additions and enhancements that didn’t occur to us, then NBA Live is definitely making progress. The important thing for the series moving forward is that the positive attributes are identified as such and are kept in the game. And again, when the opportunity arises for us to give the Dev Team feedback we need to be frank, forthcoming and constructive about the things we want to see in the game. Looking at the size of our annual Wishlist, a third of the suggestions can do a lot of good if we emphasise the ones we feel are most important.

And that’s why I feel optimistic about NBA Live 11; a third is an agreeable percentage that can potentially cover a good amount of improvement across the board. At the same time however, it’s obvious where the game needs to improve as soon as the next instalment in the series. A few more items from the Dynasty Mode and Features lists need to be ticked off for the game to continue to make progress and offer an even better gaming experience with greater replay value. Fingers crossed.