NBA LIVE 20: Wishlist

1. PLAY CALLING/COACHING

• Inbound plays need to be more accessible and not just available after a time out
  • You cannot do anything or much of anything during cut scenes, that time during replays or substitution should allow you to make on the fly coaching changes before the next play goes live
  •  ATO plays should be customizable for certain players
• Quick substitution
  • If a player picks up two quick fouls, you should be able to sub him out at that dead ball. You shouldn’t have to wait until the next dead ball to get him out of the game. FIFA has a mechanic that NBA Live could use to make suggested quick subs
• Play calling needs to be consistent
  • Plays break down due to glitches and sometimes you have no idea that the play broke down. Play calling is really basic and if there isn’t going to be an overhaul, it has to work properly.
  • A lot of NBA Live players don’t run plays when they play, but there has to be a way to ensure players use the feature. It shouldn’t be pick n roll 24/7 because it’s the easiest thing to do
  • There should always be an initial point to start a play, if a play breaks down, the play should reset
• Play wheel should be customizable
  • You should be able to pick all of your plays that you want for each team as go-to plays
• More coaching segments. The ability to change lineups between quarters. A time-out segment of 20-30 seconds to make adjustments.
• Motion Offense being turned off should mean all the way off and give users the ability to dictate traffic by using the d-pad. In NBA Live 19 players still move and set screens when they shouldn’t be.
• Automatic post ups should be gone.
• The AI needs to understand where the ball is and move accordingly
  • too many times the AI decides to take up your space when you have the ball
• Fast Breaks offense and defense need to have better logic
  • There are times where the defensive player doesn’t defend the corner three on fast breaks.
• Maybe look at overall logic in the game, especially the double teamming
  • Sometimes double team would be set to off and CPU teammates will still double team

2. TEAMS SHOULD PLAY TO AN IDENTITY

• Court Battles introduces team rules & Identities
  • You can have teams play spread offense, or screen heavy offense, this should be applied to NBA teams to create identities. You also have defensive rules also which would differentiate the good and bad defensive teams if it’s linked to that identity.
  • You should be able to apply these changes to the team you are controlling in Franchise if you want to go in a different direction. If you are able to control all teams, you should be able to change identities to all teams and CPU controlled teams should be smart enough to find players to fit that system, not just get the best player available

3. NARRATIVE GAME PLAY

• Every game should be a clean slate for both teams and as the game progresses from the tip, that’s when things SHOULD get determined. The talent you have on your team should determine how well you perform from a game to game basis. It should progress in Franchise Mode. If Paul George is on a shooting slump, it should be reflected in game play until YOU as the user get him out of that slump.
• In-game injuries should be a part of narrative game play, if you can’t figure out how to do it, certain ratings should take a hit during the injury period unless it’s a serious injury, then just have him sit out.

4. PLAYER MOVEMENT

• Player movement took a step forward this year but I feel it could be improved.
  • Jostling animations (on and off-ball) should be manual, similar to FIFA by pressing the B button on XB1 to grab and hold players. It would allow for more realistic foul calls
    • Foul system is flawed
  • Player weight class should be part of character building and it should reflect in game.
  • Player agility animations could be smoother, especially when retreating on defense.
  • Not a lot of space on the court for a ton of automatic animations, devs should try to reduce all of them and give the control to the user.
  • I want players to feel more FREE. When I play NHL online, I can enjoy the game play because I feel I have total control over my player, not the same with NBA Live.
  • Foul calls in NBA Live make no sense at times
  • Bring back Rag Doll Physics for collision detection, it would help for more realistic foul calls, more players stumbling, maybe player injuries.

5. GET RID OF ‘SPAM STEAL’ CULTURE

• Spamming the steal button is a way of life in NBA Live 19, nobody wants to play real defense, they would rather double team a player and spam rather than guard their man who is wide open under the bucket. This has got to change.
• Get rid of steal traits, this game should be about skill, if you happen to play good defense knocking the ball loose, that’s how you should be rewarded for stealing.
• I noticed when I turned the steal slider down to zero, spamming the steal button will not only get you out of position, but you will get left in the dust. Let the collisions, position and playing passing lanes determine the steals. People might not agree with it, but it’s annoying being the only one back on defense while everyone is swiping at the ball handler

6. THREE POINT CULTURE/STAMINA ISSUES

• NBA Live isn’t balanced and three point shooting has been OP all year and it feels that stamina doesn’t really affect shots
  • NHL has a stamina bar that doesn’t replenish unless you are steady. The majority of NBA Live players hold down turbo all game and while some of the changes to the game did penalize players, I feel that maybe the bar replenishes way too fast. I really don’t pay attention to the bar because I don’t look at the feet, but if you get body checked or hit hard in NHL 19, depending on the excessive nature of the hit, you will lose a certain amount of stamina and you will have to recover in game by not doing too much. This method allows other players to get involved while you recover. The class system in NHL to me is way better than NBA Live because it bring better balance to OTP and you literally have to play to your strengths.
  • The more tired you are, your ratings should take a hit unless you’re a specialist then you should have a slight boost. This should apply to both offense and defense.
  • Allowing this to be a case will get big men involved more and less players running around for no reason.

7. FRANCHISE MODE/SEASON MODE/PLAYOFF MODE

• Is it really hard to have all three in the game?
• Franchise needs a lot more depth, rules, logic, customization. It really needs to be a whole game in itself. NBA Live lacks smarts and giving franchise mode a huge boost in AI logic will go a long way for offline players.
• WNBA needs a franchise mode with rules and regulations, plus playoff mode
• Playoff mode is something that people will do around the time of the playoffs, but people like me that love playoff series will live in this mode.
• Season Mode will be something like LIVE SEASONS and all the roster changes that are made from the dev stand point will be in this mode with the option to download rosters for play now or the only.
• The ability to import updated rosters to a franchise

8. NBA/WNBA FOCAL POINT

• While everyone was talking about NBA Street and EA should bring it back, it cause the devs to heavily focus on THE ONE mode. I feel as if the devs forgot about the NBA/WNBA, next year the two professional leagues need more
• ESPN Presentation needs an overhaul to represent what it is now
• Commentary needs to keep evolving, I feel story telling should be on the back burner and focus more on what’s going on in the game being played. Stories get out dated real quick, so it’s better to focus on the basketball and exciting plays. Stories should only be talked about Pre-game (similar to what NHL does). It would be easier to switch stories in and out that way, I’m assuming.
• WNBA should feel as authentic as the NBA
• Bring back classic jerseys for Play Now
• Alternate courts and classic courts should be in the game since you have some of the logos in Court Battles. If not allow us to create custom courts for NBA and import them into franchise.
• Any type of customization in offline modes should be allowed to be imported into franchise mode
• CPU vs USER at times doesn’t feel balanced, not sure why Reggie Jackson is unstoppable for the whole game.
• Balance is an issue overall in NBA Live
• Head to Head is literally unplayable in NBA Live 19, that mode needs an overhaul.
• Create an Arena for Franchise mode, team rename, new identity etc.

9. COURT BATTLES/ULTIMATE TEAM MERGER

• Merge the two and give Ultimate Team Court Battle’s game play, Ultimate Team game play needs a boost because it lacks fun IMO
• Ultimate Team should be a culture within the community
• Instead of having pack odds items could be bought in the store the same way now. Rare cards should be the most expensive and hard to get.
• I only say this because since we can’t use legends in Play Now or have a legends pool (probably due to licensing agreements, which sucks)
• Use of Custom Courts in LUT would be nice
• You should be able to use your ONE Player in Ultimate Team and Play Now
• Players should play like themselves
  • Not only in LUT but in Play Now. This is something that NBA Live lacks.

10. MISC

• We need more off the backboard shots under the rim
  • The one-hand shots that never go in can be frustrating
• Most NBA Live players want more dunks, I want more layups packages because the more tired players are, they are less likely to do power dunks. Adding more types of layups could cancel out some of the BS animations on the baseline.
• Fatigue needs to be a lot better, it was a down grade from last year’s game.
  • Players don’t sweat as much
  • Fatigue meter should be active, add a 2nd wind maybe
• Get rid of meters under player’s foot and put in on the bottom lower screen or top of the screen. Just an idea. I never been a fan of them because you can rarely see what’s going on with them, especially in a fast paced game (see NHL)
• Plus/Minus stat tells a lot in the game play, but is nowhere to be found in game unless you go in to the pause menu.
• Every year there’s a glitch where the CPU ignores play calling and just tries to bully their way into the paint, there has to be a solution for this.
• After every 6th personal foul, should be a technical free throw
• Reduce the amount of Gold traits
  • Probably why players are over powered in LIVE RUN
• Tendencies should have their own ratings so it’s easier for players to play within their game and range. Ben Simmons shouldn’t be shooting step back threes.
• Hot Spots need to make a return to the game.
• Created Players should be able to pick their favorite spots on the floor for higher percentage shots, but should be some what limited to their skill set.
• The reason players should have more available ratings because certain ratings being inflated create problems for players wanting to play like their real counterparts.

Last note, if NBA Live is going to be in favor of online, offline modes should have more customization options. Open the game up for the users. It’s only right. 

Also if you want to put your thoughts in on a wishlist, follow this link to the NLSC

Link: NBA LIVE 20 WISHLIST | NLSC

Check out my latest NBA Live 19 Spotlight: DeMarcus Cousins

 

TLK