Monday, October 31, 2011

Fast Model Sports Technology Play of the Day Det 52 Chin Roll

What's happening family. Today @fastmodel released another Play of the day Featuring Da_Czar. You can check out the diagram and video here on their site. 

Todays play is from the Detroit Pistons called the Chin 52 Roll. This is a great set for the Stones when you put Charlie V at the 4 and have a shooter at the 3. This stretches the defense and leaves shooters at the most probable help points.

Enjoy !

Thursday, October 27, 2011

New Jersey Nets 51 PnP : Running an Offense

What's happening family. I wanted to take a moment to show you how to use the plays in game to run an offense. Following the diagrams will only yield you so much success. Especially against a human opponent. An offense allows you to take advantage of open opportunities. It gives you options that you are free to exercise or to pass up. But they can only benefit you if you are aware of them

I have heard of a few users not sure when a play is over. With so many options that is certainly understandable. However the design was meant to allow you to take the first good option you see. No matter if there are more steps to follow. Those steps are only there if you need them. If the defense can't stop the first option no need to move on unless you want to move on.

Pound away at an option until they make an adjustment and then punish that adjustment until they give you something else. A great offense applies pressure to a defense by continually putting them in lose lose situations.

Enjoy !

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Detroit Pistions Play of the Day: Det Quick Offscreen

What's happening family ? Today I am happy to bring you a new play of the day from the Detroit Pistons Playbook called Det Quick Offscreen. This play utilizes an "if not open... then option" that can really open up the offensive side of the basketball. It also enable the AI to have options and be a bit less predictable.

If you are mainly a freestyle player learn one play and use it once or twice a qtr for a few games. Once you do that you know it down cold. Then introduce another play the same way. Before you know it your arsenal of offensive play options will be larger than you once imagined. Nothing helps like getting in practice or scrimmage mode.

In scrimmage there is no shot clock so you can run the same play over and over and over to learn the available options.

Enjoy !

Monday, October 24, 2011

Fast Model Sports Technology Play of the Day Phil 1 Alley

What's happening family its your man Da Czar excited to tell you about a new feature I'll be working on with @fastmodel sports technology. While I've done play of the days before, I consider it a huge step for Sim gaming to have been asked to do them for a company whose product is used by a majority of the teams in the NBA.

Please take a moment and check out the article. I appreciate your continued support.

http://www.fastmodelsports.com/playoftheday/?article_id=274

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Strategy Session 8: Coach Profile Settings

What's happening family ?

Were back with another installment of our defensive series. Today I want to go over some of the coach profile and individual defensive settings. I am hearing a lot about cpu defenders leaving their assignments. While I am certain some of these are bugs that need to be corrected. Especially in modes like my player where you may not be able to make the necessary adjustments.

There may also be a small bit of user error involved. One of the great things about 2K sports games are their complexity. Conversely, one of the worst things about 2K sports games are their complexity.

With so many settings variables and so many places to adjust them it can make having an intelligent conversation about what is wrong very frustrating. A small change in one place or another and the basis for the comparison can change in an instant.

Hopefully this show can help clear the air on how you can assist the cpu defenders in implementing your defensive game-plan.

Enjoy !

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Strategy Session 7: On Ball Defense

What's happening family ?

Were back with our defense series and today we talk about on ball defense. There are too many tips to fit into an 8 minute video so today we break down the basics. These tips will make you a much better on ball defender.

One of the biggest things you need to do is NOT overreact to the offense. One overreaction leads to another and then the momentum system kicks in and your unable to get to exactly where you want to be.

When playing human opponents they almost always want to get closer to the basket. This works in your favor, as you train yourself to meet them at the cutoff point. They are bound not to capitalize on your first mistake by trying to get all the way to the rim. But not overreacting you can meet them on their way and get a great shot contest. You can see an example of this at the end of the video @ 7:15 I don't overreact and meet him for the contest.

Enjoy !

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Strategy Session 6: Fundamentals of Contesting the Shot

What's happening family. Hope you are enjoying the series so far. Today we dive into the the fundamentals of contesting the shot in NBA 2K12. Some things to keep in mind as your watching is that there are numerous other elements that can contribute to the offense making or missing shots, including hot and cold streaks.

With that in mind let's jump right into Volume 6: Fundamental of Contesting the shot.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Strategy Session 5: Understanding Shot Indicators

What's happening family ? This is a continuation of Strategy Session 4 and the last primer for our defensive segment's. Understanding the basics of 2k's shot system are a must if were really going to understand how to play good defense. You have to know what a good shot is before you can learn to take it away.

Enjoy !

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Strategy Session 4: Shooting Slider Adjustments

What's happening family ?

I get asked all time what are good shooting sliders to use. The correct answer is that it depends. This video will show you why that is not a cop out answer. Enjoy.

Monday, October 10, 2011

Play-Type Assignments

What’s happening Family.

I wanted to talk briefly about team play-type assignments. I know we have many expert playbook editors in the community. I am in no way trying to take away from the great work they do. There is no secret the disdain our community has for the stock tendencies that ship with the game each year.

Just some notes and some background information that you may want to know before requesting changes or establishing your own set of play edits.

For the play-types to be absolutely authentic you would need two things that are not present in NBA 2K12. One you would need each teams complete playbook. While the plays in 2K12 are a significant authentic upgrade over any previous effort. Let’s not pretend that 25-40 plays is the complete sum of any NBA teams arsenal over 82 games plus playoffs.

Secondly you would need for every single play-type to be accounted for. 2K12 has 8 play-types. A few obvious omissions are ally-oop and handoff play-types. These types of plays are grouped differently depending on the team, other plays in their play-book’s and personnel at the time.

Since we are missing both of those key ingredients. The play type assignments will not be as rigid as some may hope for or that other’s may have feared they were.

It might help to know that the play-types are NOT tendencies. The actual player tendencies will still play a role in determining what plays the AI decides to call for each player. The play-types just give a player access to a group of plays. With a slight preference for the order the groups appear in. There will be players who have authentic plays they actually ran last year in a play-type that they may not be “known” for.

So just because you see a player who is not a 3 point specialist with 3 point plays it does not mean he will be chucking 3’s all day long. It simply gives him access to those types of plays. If you eliminate a team’s perimeter players from having 3 point plays they can’t run them when they need a 3. So don’t think 3 point specialist think off screen plays that happen to get him open on or around the 3 point line.

For some teams you will severely limit your floppy action or other offscreen plays by only having a player with one or the other. (Screen_Mid, Screen_3PT)

The play-types were not meant to be rigid lines separating one player from another but simply groupings of plays. The design decision was made to increase the amount of plays available in the game and reduce the manual administrative overhead involved with plays concerning personnel moves.

Another thing to consider is the variability in each teams play-books for the same type of plays. For instance Boston’s mid range plays differ greatly from the Bobcats. The Bobcats mid range plays are much more suitable for athletic slashers rather than pure shooters. Some of them could even be considered Cutter plays.

Many times NBA teams do not pass to a player and clear out for their isolations. Some use floppy plays or other off-screen action sets to get a player the ball. Casual observers oftentimes just see the ISO because they are following the ball and that player happens to catch it and go one on one. The play that got him in position to iso is the playtype not what he chooses to do after he receives the ball.

So if you simply judge the play-types without also considering the team specific play-books, it can lead you to eliminate plays that a player may have actually ran last year.

If we look at the bulls for example. Many may scoff at D Rose having mid range as his 3rd option. Perhaps thinking that means he would be running floppy plays like Ray Allen. When in fact the majority of the Bulls mid range plays like CHI 43 floppy is a play the Bull’s actually run get Rose the basketball. Whether he Iso’s after the catch or shoot’s off the screen is up to his tendencies.

Another mid range play is the Chi hand-off they ran for him. Because there is no hand-off play-type it goes in the mid range play type. You will notice a stark difference between Chicago’s mid range plays and Boston’s.

Similarly each team has their own offensive identity. I urge you to get familiar with the actual plays AND branches rather than just making your decisions based on the play-type.

Every year until this you were severely limited in the offensive variety and execution of each Player in the NBA. It is only fitting that with 4 plays you needed those to be the one’s that represented the most important aspects of what that star player means to you as a fan.

This year you have the ability to represent a much broader scope and therefore more authentic version of your favorite superstars and role players. I hope you can see the beauty and replay-ability that lies in the variety of authentic offensive options; not the limitation of the same.

While there are undoubtedly mistakes like some pg’s being labeled with pnr_screener as opposed to pnr_ball_handler those can and will be easily rectified. There was a considerable amount of thought put into the play grouping and team play assignments. Although that doesn’t make them correct it does represent a much more thorough attempt than you have seen from this company in the past.

One other small bit of info that you can’t see in the front end is that if your team has 8 pick and roll plays and 4 were designed for the pg and the other 4 were designed for the sf. The AI will prefer to run the SF pick and roll plays for the SF and the PG pick and rolls for the PG. This further differentiates the plays to players as was the original intention.

At the end of the day however the MOST important thing is that you have to tools to have the players play as YOU see fit.

As always , don’t play video-games... Play BASKETBALL

Friday, October 7, 2011

Strategy Session 3: Playbook Essentials

What's happening family ? There is so much I want to get to and only so much time. That said I see that some of the family are struggling understanding the new play call system.

With much power comes much responsibility and to whom much is given much is expected, are two sayings that come to my mind; when I consider the play-calling system in NBA 2K12.

Many were frustrated last year by the fact that the cpu only ran the same 4 plays for it's star players. Others were even more frustrated with the inability of 2k to keep up with player movement and trades concerning the play system. This lead to roster updates leaving key players with the wrong types of plays.

The new play system addresses both of these concerns. The issue is that out of the box it can seem a little different, confusing and intimidating.

Join Czar, as he shows you how to tame this beast and hopefully helps you understand it's potential.

Enjoy !

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Lakers vs Blazers Gameplay

What's happening family. Just wanted to post some gameplay for an example of what I am seeing and how I am playing NBA2K12. I know some users are having a problem with the game and it's hard to discuss without something to see.

Sometimes it can seem like one person is seeing issues that another person isn't or at least not to the same degree. It is my belief that this is due to playstyles. I believe the cpu reacts differently depending on the users input.

This is why AI vs AI games can look so bad but user vs AI can look much much better.

I have always believe that it does no good to try and make a game conform to how you think it should work. It is always easier to find out how the game was designed to work and tailor your interpretation of the game around that.

That is only if you really want to enjoy the game. That is a big part of what I try to do with my videos and tutorials is show you how I believe the game was designed to work. What it's intentions are. To allow you to "see" how your particular style can be most effective.

With that said here is part 1 of a full quarter of gameplay between me (Lakers) and the CPU.

My focus in this game was to use my size and length inside to get great post scoring opportunities and then snipe at them with Kobe in spots. I wanted to go under all screens and force this team to beat me from the perimeter.

I also wanted to severely limit their second chance points and hustle points and make this a drag out half court affair.

My settings are all-star with sim gamestyle with these changes mid range and 3 point success for both user and cpu are set to 47 everything else is the same as sim gamestyle.




And here is the conclusion of the 1st Qtr


For all the complaints I read about game-play and this or that. To me this was one hell of a quarter of video-game basketball. Your always going to have some weird things happen in a game vs the AI. Guys will take some bad shots. CPU is going to cheat you on a pass or two. The question is did that define the experience ? Or was it a one off occurrence ?

The game is not perfect I say that all the time I think the difference is I really don't expect it to be. Can it improve. HELL YES. But simply compare this to a video of 2k11 with the same teams and you will see that a year's worth of programming is all in the code.

Don't play video games... Play BASKETBALL !!!

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Strategy Session 2: Pick and Roll Control

What's happening family ?

I saw a few of the family was having some trouble executing the pick and roll controls in NBA2K12. I thought it made perfect fodder for our next strategy session. Today I will review the basics of the pick and roll controls.

Pick and Roll is the basic staple of the game of basketball. In it the entire philosophy of the game can be surmised and expanded upon. The push and pull of the defense... The offense reading and reacting... strategy, match-ups, and execution OH MY. LOL

Enjoy

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Strategy Session 1: Practicing your Plays

What's happening Family. I am bringing back the strategy sessions. I want these to be shorter and more to the point. If you know me you know how difficult that is as I like to be as thorough as possible.

Just in case there is anyone out there who sincerely wants to get knee deep in their playbooks your going to need these workarounds to get at certain plays. I am already on 2k about fixing this for 13. Hopefully it makes it into the higher priorities and get's done.

It was way too late in the dev cycle when I brought this up to make any significant change.

Roster Editors be careful Editing the New Abillites for Ratings

What's happening family it's your man the Czar. Deep into my 2k Holiday. I hope your enjoying yours. I just wanted to send a quick note out to all the fantastic roster editors.

Be very careful editing the new player abilities. Especially if your intent is only to get a specific number rating higher or lower.

The abilities control more than just percentages. They determine how well a player is able to perform that particular move vs the defense. Depending on the ability they also can control how fast/ effective a particular move is for the offensive player.

In this regard it is more important how that player actually plays in the game rather than his overall ratings.

This makes it sort of a different ball game for editing rosters. While the numbers given to players may not be aesthetically pleasing to you, It might have very little effect on how the player is able to perform for both the user and the cpu.

Under the hood a lot is going on that I can't discuss but I will say this. More than any other year it matters now only where you attempt a shot but what shot you attempt and who you attempt it on.

This adds a lot to the strategic nature of the game. If I have an excellent jump hook and a poor turnaround jumper against a great defender I want to use that jump hook as often as possible from my hotspots if I have any as often as possible.

If you just blindly go thru editing the post or other abilities to achieve a certain number you may throw off (or enhance ) the a players actual on court effectiveness.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Washington Wizards Play of the Day

It's almost that time. Czar brings you the Washington Wizards play of the day to kill the last hour of waiting for your 2K holiday to begin.

Today we show you how big of an effect relatively small changes can have on play execution and effectiveness.

One other thing to notice is that the screeners in 2k12 will adjust to the defenders location. So if you call the play and are slightly to the left or right of the mark the screeners will come to the defender. Sometimes this will cause the playart to only show you that you can run off one of the screens but both options are still there. ( This will make sense when you watch the video)