NBA The Run held its first closed beta last weekend, giving players a chance to step on the court for the new game from Play By Play Studios.
Overall, the game has been pretty well received by players, but there were some criticisms. Many pointed to things like passing and the general flow of the animations as two of the bigger issues. It’s feedback that the 30-person team working on NBA The Run has taken in, and is addressing in future updates to the game.
NBA The Run Developers Are Listening To Feedback
In a post on the game’s website, studio CEO and founder Scott Probst spoke about the changes coming after the first closed beta.
“We want this game to feel crafted and have a look of its own,” Probst said, adding that every animation in the game is hand keyed as opposed to motion captured. “But we hear you – you don’t like the stylized look & feel, so we’re changing it up. We’re still going to be hand keyed, but we’re revising all core animation sets to feel way more athletic, way less bouncy and much more how you’d expect a professional athlete to naturally move.”
He says that it won’t be a small lift, but they are “committed to making a great looking, feeling, and playing game.”
Moving on to passing, Probst said that most of the feedback involved passes not looking that good, not enough variation, and “floating passes”. For this, he says, passing distances have been tuned, new stylized passing animations are being added, and they are “ironing out how best to transition from moves to passing instantaneously.”
“The key is (with all of these changes) that we never want the game to play bad in order to get something to look good,” he said. “We’re finding that balance to improve the look, feel and variation of animations without losing the responsiveness of player control.”
One of the last are of gameplay being addressed involves tuning and overall balance. Probst said that there are “a ton” of changes coming in the next playtest of the game. Dunk distances have been increased, a reduction of shooting effectiveness from beyond half court, and a new system that rewards set shooters are just a few of the updates players will see.
If you want to check out NBA The Run for yourself, the game is having another closed playtest on Saturday, May 16. You can sign up on their website. If you already registered for the last one, there’s no need to re-register.
What do you think of the changes coming to NBA The Run after its first playtest? Leave your thoughts down in the comments and in the official Insider Gaming Discord.
In other news, read about the NFL 2K game no longer being in development. And for even more Insider Gaming delivered directly to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter.
Mike has been covering the gaming industry since 2012, and has reported on some of the largest events in the industry while also working as an investigative reporter. Outside of…
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