NHL 2K11 - Road to the Cup By: 2K Admin Ron | Wednesday August 18 2010 Hi everyone, My name is Ben Bishop, producer for NHL 2K11, and I’m here to talk to you a little bit about our new Road to the Cup mode, as well as offer up a few extra tidbits on other new things that have been added to the game this year.
In NHL 2K10, we had the Mii Superskills mode, which allowed you to compete with your Mii characters in events themed after the Superskills Challenge at the NHL All-Star Game. It’s a lot of fun to actually see your Mii out there pulling off hockey moves like an NHL player would, so it seemed natural to try to expand that for NHL 2K11.
Road to the Cup is our biggest new game mode addition that once again pits Mii characters against one another in an attempt to earn as many fans as possible on the way to a final competition for the Stanley Cup. Players take turns by spinning a wheel that dictates what type of mini-game or event will take place, with the winner of each one earning a set number of fans. When one player gets to 1000 fans, the final event is played to determine who gets to claim the Cup. The more fans you have going into the final event, the better chance you have of winning.
Road to the Cup offers a fun alternative to the simulation hockey that you’re going to get throughout the rest of the game. It’s best played with 4 human players, but it still works well even if you’ve got only 1 or 2 other players there to join you. And if you’re on your own, don’t worry. Single players get to face-off against a Mii-styled Ryan Kesler. There are even special Mii-style appearances by Team 2K members Joe Thornton, Rick Nash, and Marty Turco too, so keep your eye out for them.
To break down the mode a little further and give you an idea of what the experience is like, here are the possible spaces you can land on when spinning the wheel during your turn:
Multiplayer – All 4 players compete at once in a fast-paced mini-game. Single Player – One player plays an All-Star Challenge mini-game based on the Skills Competition events at the NHL All-Star Game (similar to what you might remember from our Mii Superskills mode in NHL 2K10). Mini-Rink – The 4 players are randomly placed on teams and play a 2-on-2 game to 2 goals in our mini-rink environment. Trivia – Answer NHL trivia questions to earn fans, some text based, others using player headshots to identify the correct answer. +100 Fans – Get a free 100 fans. -100 Fans – Lose 100 fans.
The events take place in the various NHL arenas, with a map of North America acting as the backdrop. When you spin the wheel and land on Multiplayer, an NHL division is chosen at random, and you get to pick from one of the teams in that division, each having a different mini-game assigned to it. Single Player events take place in Carolina’s arena, where the All-Star Game will be held this year.
Here is a list of the Multiplayer events you can choose from:
Hot Streak – Skate around the ice with a colored tail trailing behind you, which is used to try and trip up opponents. Each player starts the round with 3 lives, and the last one standing wins. Barrels of Fun – Avoid barrels moving at different rates of speed all over the ice surface. Each player has 5 lives, and again, the last one standing wins. Capture Points – Hold the puck in various locations on the ice to try to “capture” that section while the other players attempt to get it away. Most points captured when time runs out wins. Graffiti Circles – Skate over colored icons scattered all over the ice that are worth up to 4 points each to turn them into your player’s color. Most points when time runs out wins. King of the Hill – Hold the puck in the circle at center ice for as long as possible while the other players try to get it away. Whoever has held the puck in the circle for the longest when time runs out wins.
And here is a list of the Single Player events:
Fastest Skater – Skate laps around the rink as quickly as possible. The better your time, the more fans you’ll earn. Be careful on the turns. Hardest Shot – Take a slap shot on an open net. The harder your shot, the more fans you’ll earn. Accuracy Shooting – Try to hit targets placed around the perimeter of an open net. The more targets hit, the more fans you’ll earn. Breakaway Challenge – You have 6 chances to go 1-on-1 against the goalie and try to score. The more goals you get, the more fans you’ll earn.
The final event is a ton of fun, and one of the best parts is that even if you didn’t do so well leading up to it, you’ll still have a chance to make a comeback and wind up winning the Cup. Overall, we’re really excited that we were able to find a more fun and in-depth way to integrate Mii characters into the game while still keeping that tie to the sport of hockey and the NHL. Whether you’re on your own or you’ve invited a few friends over, give it a shot when you feel like taking a little break from your regular action on the ice.
And finally, before wrapping this insight up, I also wanted to mention a couple other additions to the game that you might find interesting:
Winter Classic Mode We’ve continued our tradition of including the Winter Classic in our games this year, but now it’s significantly easier to get to, as now it’s a separate mode. Right off the main menu you’ll be able to select Winter Classic, and immediately be set up in Fenway Park with both Boston and Philadelphia wearing their Winter Classic uniforms. Fenway Park is also still an option during Quick Game if you’d like to play with two other teams there. And Wrigley Field is even available too if you want to go back one more year.
New Equipment We’ve done some updates to the equipment, with a specific focus on getting the goalies as accurate as possible. So you will be seeing new goalie pads from Reebok, Bauer, and Sherwood (Martin Brodeur model) in the game. We’ve also added Bauer’s popular new 9900 helmet worn by many of top NHL players, including Ryan Kesler.
In closing, we’re really looking forward to everyone getting a chance to play NHL 2K11. Even though we’re only on Wii this year, we really feel like we’ve delivered an authentic hockey experience, and with additional features like Road to the Cup, hopefully there’s a little something for everyone. Get your copy on Tuesday, August 24th!
Defensive Gameplay By: DaCurse | Wednesday September 23 2009 What’s up fans,
This is Jerson Sapida, along with Rob Jones. We’re here today to talk about defensive changes you will see in NBA 2K10 -- everything from gameplay AI, the blocking system (with new blocking animations), new Shut Down D, and much more. Defense is much more fun and intuitive now, because you are in complete control of the actual outcome and actions of your player. With smarter player rotation and help defense, you will no longer feel like ‘babysitting’ your CPU teammates on defense to get them in the correct position on the court. The defensive AI has made some huge advances. With that, let’s talk about Defense.
Shut Down D In recent years, one of the underlying features in our game has been Lock-On Defense. The idea was originally spawned from a user’s failure to always know how to defend the ball handler, and it gave a player an assist in staying with a dribbler as he moved around the court. It also allowed the defender to shade a player to a particular direction, albeit sometimes with dubious results.
With Shut Down D, we aimed at doing two things. The first and foremost goal was to allow the defender to be more physical with the ball handler than ever before. So, when holding the LT on XBOX 360 or L2 on PlayStation 3, you will see your defender crowd a stationary ball handler and apply pressure in a way that we’ve not allowed before. The trigger also gives the defender a greater ability to change a dribbler’s drive direction. So, as an example, a great on-ball defender like Derek Fisher will be able to push a driving dribbler more to the sideline when employing the Shut Down D mechanic. You will notice the outer ring of your player indicator turn Red when Shut Down D is activated.
The counterbalance to this is that changes of direction to players who are too aggressive are more likely to throw the defender out of position. However, if you know your matchup and you can anticipate where the dribbler is trying to drive, using Shut Down D can help you maintain the ball handler on the perimeter, instead of getting past you for an easy drive to the basket. It isn’t a silver bullet, as no defender can really impede progress of a good ballhandler for very long, but being able to delay penetration can be the difference between allowing an easy score or a hard jumper at the end of the shot clock. The key is to read and react to your opponent’s every move. Using the Left Stick (while Shut Down D is active), apply pressure to the ballhandler by cutting him off and cutting off the angle he wants to attack. This might take some time to perfect when you first pick up NBA 2K10, so stick with it. But like everything else, once you have learned the system through practice, you can easily shut down a predictable opponent.
Defensive Rotations Defensive Rotations are new in NBA 2K10. Last year, our Help Defense system relied on assessing the best defender to help based on distance from ball and closeness to basket. However, it failed to truly represent the fact that rotations in basketball are part of an underlying strategy by the coaches to cater to their defensive strengths. In NBA 2K10, we spent a ton of time trying to balance these rotations correctly based on defensive awareness and ball position.
The rotation of the defense usually creates an opening that the offense will have. Think of it as pulling a short blanket to cover your body. As you pull it one way, another extremity will be exposed. The game is to expose the least important extremity, and hope that the offense doesn’t realize where that extremity is.
The new fun element on defense now is a security that help comes in a timely fashion, but if the offensive player recognizes where the rotation leaves the open man, you will need to recover as quickly to him as possible, and that isn’t always feasible.
Rotations also factor in the double team logic, now. What that means to the user is that the rest of the team will rotate to cover in case of a double team. Again, all of this because playing team defense is a preset strategy and not just an awareness check. In doing all this, we created a new dynamic in playing team offense and defense and added a dimension to our game that was previously lacking.
Double Teams Double teams also received a complete re-write from last year. The mechanic itself has improved in order to give the user a more interactive approach. As you remember in 2K9, once the double team was initiated, it seemed like a full feature movie played out until a particular resolution was achieved. This year, we re-worked the mechanic to have completely independent and controllable actors within the double team animations, so that each controlled player can request a particular action independently of what the other player is doing. Last year, this was just a timing issue; but now, a steal attempt happens when you request it and not just when the code decides to resolve to one. All in all, the game now provides a much better experience in terms of response to being in a double team. As an offensive player, you can counter by dribbling out, splitting, passing and shooting. Some of these resolutions were available before, but never with the involvement we’ve added to it this year. Double teams can also be canceled, so you can fake the call and then send the defender back to his man by just hitting the DT button again (LB on Xbox 360, L1 on PS3).
Two-Player Blocks In previous versions of the game, the user would be in perfect position to block a shot, but would sometimes get a block animation that picked the incorrect blocking hand, or worse, would take them further from the shooter. There’s nothing more frustrating than playing great defense and not being rewarded for it. With your defender in front of or close to the shooter, you would expect some contact to play out. In 2K10 we’ve ensured that this happens when a block is timed correctly. New animations were added that cover all possible blocking angles. 2K10’s two-player block system allows us to perfectly blend from any shooting animation; whether it is a jump shot, under basket layup/dunk, or running layup. I also wanted to point out that these are not canned block animations. We do not determine ahead of time that a shooter will be blocked or not even before reading in the defender’s position and controller input. Everything is done on the fly where we will blend to the block animations if the requirements are met to warrant such a block. We have improved the timing window for blocking shots. Just like in real life, blocking is all about guessing when the shooter will go up with the rock. The idea is to time the Block button with the shot attempt. From when the shot is initiated, you have a small window up until close to the actual shot release from which to press Block. If timed correctly, along with a formula for the player’s Block rating and height differential between shooter and defender, you will likely get a two-player block animation.
Once you have mastered the timing and get to know your opponent’s habits on shooting, you can really dominate defensively. With this new system, it also allows you to run down an opponent on a fastbreak and get one of those highlight blocks from behind that can get the crowd off their seats. One memorable game-ending sequence we had in the office was a fastbreak block from behind by Lebron with seconds left in the 4th quarter.
Defending Under Basket Shots In last year’s game, it was very easy to get in the paint and get that high percentage shot close to the basket. This was an exploit because of the following: defensive logic with passes to the paint was lacking, poor block selection, and the absence of contact shots.
Let’s start with the pass defense. Part of the problem last year was that it was too easy to thread the needle with passes to teammates in the paint. Defenders were either not reacting at all or too late to attempt to swat the ball away, leading to an easy penetration and bucket. Passes like these should be very risky since the receiver is usually in heavy traffic. Defenders are now smarter in tipping or stealing this type of pass.
When defending shots from underneath or close to the basket, there was a lack of physicality or shot contention in last year’s game. It even felt like defenders were not affecting the shots at all. Shooters will jump for an under basket layup, ghosting through defenders. To address this issue, you will now see more physical contact shots. In 2K10, if there’s a defender nearby, you will most certainly get bodied up and draw contact underneath the basket. This in turn, has a lower shot % than a regular uncontested shot. Overall, shot percentages underneath the basket have been tuned when defenders are around to contest.
As I have touched upon earlier, with the two-player block system, you will also see more of these underneath the basket when the defender times their block correctly, allowing them to have more presence in the paint. The combination of these three changes will enhance your overall ability to be a presence in the paint.
Defensive Movements Defensive movement has been completely updated for 2k10. We brought players of different sizes into our mo-cap studio and captured their movements. Our goal has always been about feel and realism, and part of that is really capturing the style of movement of varying player sizes. Another reason is that these unique movement models give the game a more realistic look. We don’t want the game to have that robotic feel where all 5 players move in the same manner. Guards usually tend to get lower when guarding their match-ups, while the bigs are more upright. On top of each model, they also have different versions of stances, which really give each player a sense of individuality. You will not see synchronized defensive movements in a 2K basketball game.
Defensive sliding was a problem in last year’s game in part because of Lock-On D and issues with the movement model itself. We have added new steps and turns into the model that improves upon the movement so that players actually plant and turn before jetting off in another direction.
We also wanted the game to realistically represent players of different sizes and speed when it comes to running and sprinting. A big player like Yao will not move as quickly or as fast as a guard. Tuning an animation based on the player’s Speed rating is one way of achieving this, but this alone is not enough. We can slow down or speed up the same animation, but it will not feel right seeing it play for big and small guys. If you compare their runs, big men generally take longer and slower strides, while smaller players perform shorter but quicker strides. That was really a challenge in years past because of the tremendous variety of athletic ability in the big men of the NBA. We have given many big men their own styles, more conducive to their skill set and tendencies. Specific players we targeted were Yao (may his career be resurrected next year), Nene , Pau Gasol, Shaq, and many others. The idea was to ensure that big men performed like big men and not like athletic forwards. In that, we made a huge step forward. The game uses varying kinds of run and sprint animations that accurately reflect players of all sizes. You will really see and feel the difference.
In previous versions of the game, fans complained that the defenders were too casual on the floor, almost looking like they are not paying attention to what’s going on around them. In 2K10, players will now appear more intense off the ball, especially when their match-up is only one pass away from the ball handler. You will see players position themselves to defend a pass, stick their arms out in the passing lane, reach out and feel their man when looking at the ball, and many other little nuances that makes defender more active and gives the game that realistic feel.
Final Notes There are many more improvements to defense than what is mentioned here. Turbo, for instance is intricately tied to playing physical defense and double team. For those of you who have already downloaded and played the NBA 2K10: Draft Combine game, you already know about the new Turbo system and how it heavily changes the way you play the game, both offensively and defensively. This will be touched upon in another upcoming Insight which will delve into how we’ve integrated the Turbo system into the game. But until then, thanks for reading, we look forward to your feedback.
- Rob Jones and Jerson Sapida Gameplay Producers
NEXT NBA 2K10 DEVELOPER INSIGHT: “Crews” by Felicia Whitehouse – Friday, September 25th
I am having some problems on 2k's website posting a comment/ complaint. I want 2K to be the best they can be and I am a hard core dedicated fan. But some of the more recent production versions of the game is down right annoying. ONLINE PLAY SUCKS! For some reason it is always slow and lags to the point that there is no point in playing. Your defender sees what you are doing. Moves are so slow at times you can't shake anyone or fool anyone and that also goe's for simply shooting. Secondly, this is another big frustration in my fav game in the world because it's the closes thing to heaven but as of late has been decending slowly backwards to earth. Player movement and defense is so hard it is rediculous. On offense people move like trucks instead of althlete's shooting and dribble moves are just for show instead of effectively shaking your defender with a move. Shooting animation is so slow it is easy to block if your near. On defense for some reason it is the hardest thing in the world to simply play defense within a 3 or 4 step radius in front of your man. You often fly around just trying to stay infront of an offensive player. 2k9 defensive set up was a whole lot better so I am confused on why they trashed that system. If it isn't broke don't fix it. Now pressing the Defense button down does nothing to actually help you play defense. 2k9 in alot of ways is superior to this years except for a few corrections that we're made for 2k10. Like it is easy not to find a friend you know and play them. The menu is a bit more user friendly. But game play itself suffer's on 2k10 although it is graphically better and has improved dramatically. Last and not least my "MOST MAJOR" problem is for some reason when I create players I may get a few games out of it before my created teams or players are deleted or altered. I don't know who else might be going through this but it is very annoying. Especially if you spend as much time as I do creating players. I love it because my dream job would be to work making video games for a living. I even got a degree but I am stuck creating players at my leasure to bring back great time periods long gone. So if I create Jordan or Barkley which we all know they know we do. It would be altered to look off from what you created. And I do a great job at my player models I don't want my art work defaced to say the least. It's heart breaking because this is what I do in my leasure time. I called 2k and they said it just isn't saving correctly. So I said ok and they said a patch would come out to fix this problem. But I downloaded a patch and it didn't fix that particular problem. Let me ask a very good question.. I think this kind of ideal came first from older John madden games. When you play at a higher level.. none of your players actually get better.. they get worse and your expected to win in a sea of melases. Tipically in any sport.. early in the season they are shaking off cob webs from the down time so it is better to say it should be opposite.. players should suck early in the season but get better and better as the season progresses. I am so tired of slow truck moving type of game play. Is it possible that anyone can change this in a game for the better. Moves should get quicker, shooters should get better. Defensive guys should be able to tighten the bolts down as the season goe's instead of everyone getting worse. I can't tell you how many shots I missed right under the basket with no one there or minimal defense played. Or that crazy over the head animation that comes or people trying to walk the ball down the court when you are trying to run a fast break. If there is a lane to the basket and it is obvously clear I should "Idealistically, and in real life" should be able to attack that space just as a running back does in football. But instead I would get some wild kind of animation which would waste
time of me going forward that would often lead to an easy block. But alley oops are too rampid and can't be definded. Or at times when you need activity most your players will stand around on offense or defense and watch a player scoring. 2 K I am praying to the basketball/ video game Gods and hoping my prayers are answered. But I think that ya'll are the only one's who can do it. I am speaking in all honesty simply because I know that 2k can produce a better game. P.S. Please bring back the Jason kid back board alley oop. Thanks 2k
Audio By: 2K Admin Ron | Wednesday February 24 2010 Hey guys, My name is Joel Simmons, Audio Director for Major League Baseball® 2K10. We've had a really exciting year for audio and broadcast in this year’s game. From Spring Training to the World Series, MLB Today (read a previous Insight about it here if you haven’t already) presents Major League Baseball within the context of what really makes a difference in a baseball season: the stories, the statistics, the trends and analysis. From player and team leaderboards, last game and series analysis, to detailed stat splits and upcoming series promos, refreshing broadcast segments are peppered throughout the presentation and gameplay. When Evan Longoria faces Justin Verlander in a Rays-Tigers series, you'll hear he's gone 3 for 9 lifetime against Verlander, or that last year Longoria hit .294 against the Tigers at Comerica Park. In the first meeting of the year between the Giants and the Dodgers, you might hear that Los Angeles is coming off a 3-game set in which they won 2 games against the Diamondbacks in Arizona, and that last year between SF and LA, the season series was 11-7 in favor of the Dodgers.
One of the first things you’ll notice in 2K10 is the addition of John Kruk to the broadcast booth. John brings a wealth of knowledge and passion about the game of baseball and his commentary on how players and teams have been performing adds a whole new dimension to the game's presentation. Throughout the season, Gary Thorne, Steve Phillips, and John Kruk will keep you up-to-date in MLB Today with what's going on in the real baseball season. The best part is that you'll also get these same breakdowns and analysis in your season or franchise. When teams in your league or division are off to a slow start in April, or have come on hot in May, you won't have to dig through menus to find that out. If you've got a tough upcoming road trip against the Braves and the Marlins, you'll hear about it in-game. What teams have the best pitching staffs over the last 30 days as you approach the All-Star Break? We'll show you. What players have been red hot with runners in scoring position, or have been the biggest threats on the base-paths? You'll hear about that too. The new broadcast keeps you updated with team rankings over the course of the entire season, displaying rankings not only in league standings, but in all of the top stat categories too. As the season winds down, we'll show you a breakdown of the Wild Card race in each league and what teams lead or trail in that race, and by how much. You'll hear about the trends of streaking or slumping players, how Kendry Morales went 2 for 4 in his last game against the Mariners, or how Justin Morneau is coming into the game following a walk-off home run last night against the White Sox. As a whole, the new broadcast features and analysis convey a wealth of information giving you that edge of knowing what really matters as the season progresses. Like the best Major League scouts, you'll be backed with real-world knowledge as you approach each matchup and situation. With these stats and analysis at your disposal, it can give you the edge to help you to become a better player and, ultimately, take YOUR team to the World Series.
We have listened to feedback from our fans and concentrated on greatly expanding and improving the level of detail of our in-game stadium sound. This year, we've started fresh with dozens of new bat hit sound effects that are much more realistic and accurate to broadcast, revealing the location and quality of contact. How you swing the bat, whether for contact, power, or a defensive approach - this year's hitting experience sounds and feels deeper and more satisfying. Each stadium has its own unique sonic signature too. We've added over a thousand new stadium specific beats, chants, charge calls, and music clips. Our fans asked for true-to-life stadium beats and organ representation, so we modeled each stadium's organ sound to match its real-life counterpart to put you right in the stands. And for all of you Philly fans, since there is no organist in Citizen's Bank Park, there isn't one in Major League Baseball® 2K10 either. As you travel around the league throughout a season, the variety and unique character of each stadium's sound treatment provides a much more immersive experience.
We hope that everyone enjoys the new broadcast and audio presentation and are as excited about it as we are here at 2K Sports. We can't wait to hear from our fans as we find out just what the upcoming baseball season brings.
- Joel Simmons Audio Director
NEXT MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL 2K10 DEVELOPER INSIGHT: TBD
so i am not surprised to see you have an annoying web site being that you make a sports game with the worst physics i have ever had the displeasure of trying to control. as a ball player and a gamer i have never been more frustrated playing a game, i have decent stats and yet my fielder is incapable of chasing balls down in the same time the AI take and they managed to grab it and i have better stats than said fielder. also how are you going to have a center fielder have to track a fly into left field right where the left fielder is.. come on? i can go on and on about the problems with your game but you don't pay me for that, the only reason i signed up for this was so i could tell you that i will not be playing ANY 2k games until you guys start taking the time to make sure that it's worth the already bloated prices you are asking for... never again. tayntidfate
Why does the server disconnect durring the game? I continuly have an issue with the 2k servers on baseball. It doesnt allow us to finish the game or stay conntected. If I chose tampaba and play against NY yankees it locks up. I am getting really frustrated. I dont have this problem with tiger. Only baseball
Wonder what the fatigue will be set at in that flu game? Should never get above like 60. Also, I think people playing on the highest difficulty Hall of Fame should get more than others
I wonder if this is too late to add.... and I dont know if any one thought of this....but what about a jordan challenge that requires you to duplicate the success of the 1995-1996 season (72-10 regular season record, NBA champions). Im not asking for those teams to be present from that season but to take either the 1995-96 Bulls or perhaps any team in the game currently, and have the user try and duplicate this feat or if they can, better it. I like the idea of trying to do that. I've tried several times over the years to better 72 wins and the closest I have gotten is 68 wins with LA in 2K9 (no simulations either). 72 wins is really hard especially when you play on superstar level or higher. So I'm asking is this at all possible to add as a challenge? If not as a challenge, can it become trophy or recognition of some sort. I think the community would be able to really appreciate this task and challenge. Anyone who plays thru an entire 82 game season + playoffs knows it's tough to do especially without simulating. To me theres a sort of honor by playing thru every game of a season and dealing with whatever comes up. Let me know what you think.
I wonder if this is too late to add.... and I dont know if any one thought of this....but what about a jordan challenge that requires you to duplicate the success of the 1995-1996 season (72-10 regular season record, NBA champions). Im not asking for those teams to be present from that season but to take either the 1995-96 Bulls or perhaps any team in the game currently, and have the user try and duplicate this feat or if they can, better it. I like the idea of trying to do that. I've tried several times over the years to better 72 wins and the closest I have gotten is 68 wins with LA in 2K9 (no simulations either). 72 wins is really hard especially when you play on superstar level or higher. So I'm asking is this at all possible to add as a challenge? If not as a challenge, can it become trophy or recognition of some sort. I think the community would be able to really appreciate this task and challenge. Anyone who plays thru an entire 82 game season + playoffs knows it's tough to do especially without simulating. To me theres a sort of honor by playing thru every game of a season and dealing with whatever comes up. Let me know what you think.
