NBA2k11

[Brando70]

Don't bump it down Brando...simply lower the field goal percentage slightly for the AI. All-Star or higher is where you need to play this game.

How are the shooting percentages for the CPU? Are they between 40-50% regularly or are they higher? If higher, then definitely take em down a bit. You can always raise yours up a bit as well. As long as you're both in that 40-50 range (acceptable standard in the "Real" NBA) then you can start lowering steal success and on the ball defense sliders. I've tweaked them only slightly and I've got the game balanced perfectly for my play style.

Thanks for the advice, DB. I tried another game with most of my offensive settings up by 5 from the All-Star Simulation defaults and I had a very enjoyable game despite losing on a late 3. I shot 44% and didn't blow so many inside or open shots. Despite the occasional ridiculous CPU offensive action, I play realistic defense and usually hold the CPU under 50% shooting for the game.

[greggsand]

Started an online league with some friends. Pretty great. We're basically doing a 4-team 10-game season with all 4 teams making the playoffs. So essentially the regular season is to jockey for playoff position (seating). We've each throw $10 into the pool (winner take all) just to make it interesting.

[TheGamer2]

I'm extremely late to this game. Just picked up from Fry's and installing to the hard drive. Can hardly wait to play.

[dbdynsty25]

Why is their an A icon over one of my teammates at times?

If you have play calling on automatic, it just is telling you that the player with the A over him is the one that starts the play. Pass it to him and the play will diagram on the floor for you to run.

I'm having a hard getting any separation on offense and i'm i'd really appreciate some basic tips.

Use a lot of jab steps. Say you pass it to a guy on the wing...instead of just trying to get to the hoop...use the left trigger to hold the ball and fake left and right to see if you can get the defender off balance...then blow buy him.

What controller setup are you guys using? The default seems to be difficult in regards to some moves, such as spin.

Spins are difficult in the open floor if you're using anyone other than a PG with a high agility rating. A lot of players (Vince Carter for example) have a spin as their "hop step" when driving to the hoop, so it does it just when you press Y when you're in the lane.

what is the key to driving the lane or taking on a defender one on one if the matchup is favorable? I see AI guys or other human players "exploding past me" and the best I can do is hit the sprint button and watch my guy slowly go nowhere or get caught up in a mass of people.

Again...lot of fakes when you still have your dribble. It's the easiest way to get guys off balance to allow you to get a step on them and to get to the hoop.

Passing? wow.. A very high percentage of passes go to someone other than who I was aiming at. Should I just use icon passing all the time or am I missing something.

It's really tough to get the hang of passing, especially if you're not using the Baseline (from the baseline and it flips based on possession). This answers your next question as well. I found that using the Baseline camera is the easiest because it makes more sense to be able to point one direction or the other and it's a little more easy to see all of your players. Notice that there is a little white circle under the player the pass is going to go to...the corresponds with the direction your player is looking. So just make sure the white circle is under the guy you want and you'll be good to go. Now, that doesn't mean it won't get picked off...that happens all the time to me.

[FifaInspected]

DB - Thanks so much for the detailed response!

[AJColossal]

Still loving the game.

If I had to pick one area that I think the series needs to look to improve, it's the passing game.

I understand the game doesn't want you to zing the ball all over the place whenever you want to, but there are so many nuances that go into passing, and it would be nice to give the user more control.

[Brando70]

I am glad I took DB's advice and just tweaked sliders a little. My last two games I beat the Magic by 24 (and at one point was up by 35). The next game I jumped out to a big lead at Boston, watched them claw their way back to within 5 points, then had a late run that helped me win by 17. My offensive flow feels a lot better and I'm not missing nearly so many easy shots.

[dbdynsty25]

I am glad I took DB's advice and just tweaked sliders a little. My last two games I beat the Magic by 24 (and at one point was up by 35). The next game I jumped out to a big lead at Boston, watched them claw their way back to within 5 points, then had a late run that helped me win by 17. My offensive flow feels a lot better and I'm not missing nearly so many easy shots.

This is one game that the sliders really work well...that's why I suggested it. The defense of the AI is horrendous on PRO so you definitely don't want to be down there. When you play on All-Star you can pretty much tweak it to your skill level which is pretty genius.

[FifaInspected]

Don't bump it down Brando...simply lower the field goal percentage slightly for the AI. All-Star or higher is where you need to play this game.

How are the shooting percentages for the CPU? Are they between 40-50% regularly or are they higher? If higher, then definitely take em down a bit. You can always raise yours up a bit as well. As long as you're both in that 40-50 range (acceptable standard in the "Real" NBA) then you can start lowering steal success and on the ball defense sliders. I've tweaked them only slightly and I've got the game balanced perfectly for my play style.

DB - why do you say the game needs to be played at All-Star or higher?
I'm just getting my feet wet with this and am looking for a little education.

Thanks for all of your help!

[dbdynsty25]

Don't bump it down Brando...simply lower the field goal percentage slightly for the AI. All-Star or higher is where you need to play this game.

How are the shooting percentages for the CPU? Are they between 40-50% regularly or are they higher? If higher, then definitely take em down a bit. You can always raise yours up a bit as well. As long as you're both in that 40-50 range (acceptable standard in the "Real" NBA) then you can start lowering steal success and on the ball defense sliders. I've tweaked them only slightly and I've got the game balanced perfectly for my play style.

DB - why do you say the game needs to be played at All-Star or higher?
I'm just getting my feet wet with this and am looking for a little education.

Thanks for all of your help!

The AI is too slow to react and overall just too braindead on anything lower, especially with it's rotations on D. Obviously if you're just starting to play the game you can play a few on Pro, but then like I told Brando, just bump it to all-star and give yourself some slider advantages as far as shooting percentage goes. The defense is much more realistic in terms of the reaction times and one on one on the ball D...which makes for a tougher game.

[JackB1]

Don't bump it down Brando...simply lower the field goal percentage slightly for the AI. All-Star or higher is where you need to play this game.

How are the shooting percentages for the CPU? Are they between 40-50% regularly or are they higher? If higher, then definitely take em down a bit. You can always raise yours up a bit as well. As long as you're both in that 40-50 range (acceptable standard in the "Real" NBA) then you can start lowering steal success and on the ball defense sliders. I've tweaked them only slightly and I've got the game balanced perfectly for my play style.

DB - why do you say the game needs to be played at All-Star or higher?
I'm just getting my feet wet with this and am looking for a little education.

Thanks for all of your help!

Dave, if u ever want to play some online, let me know. I am also just learning the nuances of this game, so we should be pretty even.

[jLp vAkEr0]

Still waiting for 2k11 PS3 owner's for some online action.

[FifaInspected]

Don't bump it down Brando...simply lower the field goal percentage slightly for the AI. All-Star or higher is where you need to play this game.

How are the shooting percentages for the CPU? Are they between 40-50% regularly or are they higher? If higher, then definitely take em down a bit. You can always raise yours up a bit as well. As long as you're both in that 40-50 range (acceptable standard in the "Real" NBA) then you can start lowering steal success and on the ball defense sliders. I've tweaked them only slightly and I've got the game balanced perfectly for my play style.

DB - why do you say the game needs to be played at All-Star or higher?
I'm just getting my feet wet with this and am looking for a little education.

Thanks for all of your help!

Dave, if u ever want to play some online, let me know. I am also just learning the nuances of this game, so we should be pretty even.

jack..that'd be cool. Let's see if we can make that happen.

[FifaInspected]

Bumped it up to Allstar last night.. Wow. I got my teeth kicked in! Time to practice!

[FifaInspected]

Ok. Played a couple of games online and had a blast!

2 questions came out of tonight.

1. I'm struggling with the high percentage shots
Right below the basket. Does timing still play a role in
Taking these shots

2. I also get a bit frustrated when I do have a clear lane to the
Basket and instead of driving and laying it in or dunking it, the
Player seems not go where I want him to or he pulls up for a lower percentage
shot OR drives past the hoop to do some uncalled for move on the other side (like a
Reverse layup or some turnaround shot. Is there a way to better control these situations?

[Pete]

Going to finally pick this up as it is $40 on Amazon.

I loved 2k9. Can't wait to play this.

Edit: Looks like it is reduced price everywhere now.

[greggsand]

Ok. Played a couple of games online and had a blast!

2 questions came out of tonight.

1. I'm struggling with the high percentage shots
Right below the basket. Does timing still play a role in
Taking these shots

2. I also get a bit frustrated when I do have a clear lane to the
Basket and instead of driving and laying it in or dunking it, the
Player seems not go where I want him to or he pulls up for a lower percentage
shot OR drives past the hoop to do some uncalled for move on the other side (like a
Reverse layup or some turnaround shot. Is there a way to better control these situations?

Not sure about #2, but #1: it seems timing is less an issue & more player skill. I've had a million 'offensive rebound/miss the easy putback', but it seems some guys are just better at it than others.

[Brando70]

Not sure about #2, but #1: it seems timing is less an issue & more player skill. I've had a million 'offensive rebound/miss the easy putback', but it seems some guys are just better at it than others.

I struggle with that too. I'll grab an offensive board and try to get a quick shot with the shot stick, but my player will back out or not shoot.

I have been enjoying this game a lot more since I tweaked the sliders. I feel like I'm competitive without the game being easy. Had an epic game against the Lakers where we traded leads all game, Kobe dropped 40 points on me, and I won 98-97 when Kobe drove for a game-winning layup, kind of altered the shot to avoid a block from Noah, and hit the bottom of the rim with the ball. I even got the home-court advantage of no foul call.

I do love that star players are really hard to stop, especially good shooters. Kobe, Carmelo, and Durant have been especially difficult for me to defend. Likewise, since I made a few tweaks, Derrick Rose for me has been much more of an all-star-caliber player.

[MUTTS]

Brando...can you post your tweaks??

Tony

[WillHunting]

If you grab an offensive rebound and want to go for a quick shot, pull the shot stick down (as opposed to up), it seems to work much better for my gimpy "My Player".

[Brando70]

Brando...can you post your tweaks??

Tony

I started with All-Star Simulation as the base. I also use the shot stick setting for FG and FT attempts (instead of the Real % settings) and play 10 minute quarters.

All I did was bump up every User offensive slider by +5 except Dunk In Traffic and Alley Oop, which I left at the default, and 3pt Success, which I bumped +3 because +5 seemed to make threes a little too easy in my first few games. I was surprised that a couple of points seemed to make a noticeable difference.

I also bumped the foul settings up to 65-70 to try and generate a few more fouls.

The only other thing I changed was bumping up CPU 3pt Success by 5 points.

That's it. I won't say that it's a pure simulation of the game. There are still too few offensive rebounds, for instance. I also should probably play 11 or 12 minute quarters for more realistic stats, but I just don't have time. What these tweaks did do was make my Bulls team capable of scoring more realistically. Offense isn't easy, but if I get open looks, get the ball to the stars, and play to my team's strengths, I find that I tend to get rewarded. More importantly, the game went from terribly frustrating to challengingly enjoyable.

My play style is a moderate tempo. I call set plays or quick plays about half the time. The other half I will attack or let the CPU move around and improvise. Defensively I play man about 80 percent of the time, with the rest usually 2-3 zone or halfcourt trap if there's a weak PG in.

[greggsand]

My only tweak is was setting fouls to 65 on everything.

[Brando70]

I'm really happy with the way the game plays now except that the CPU seems very poor at 3pt shooting most games. It's not that they take too many or even bad shots, they just seem to miss an inordinate amount. That's why I bumped the 3pt success slider. I'll have to see if I need to raise it more.

[icvu42]

So I just lost 5 out of 6 with my Knicks to fall to 8-11. Outside of Stoudamire and Chandler, my offense stinks! Gallinari is either on..or horrendously off.

After losing last night, I tried in vain to trade for Carmelo, but no matter what I offered, the CPU wouldn't accept it.

I did find that I could trade Felton and Galinari to Memphis for Rudy Gay.....but it seems that might be too much, plus I already have Chandler playing well at the SF position. What do you think?

Rick

[FifaInspected]

I just bumped the game speed to 75 and am loving the flow now. Default 50 felt like everyone and everything was moving in mud.. animations included. I can't believe how much this has improved my experience. I'm sure it's personal preference.. this just fits me.

I'm curious.. what game speed are you guys playing on?