The subsequent-gen model of NBA 2K21 will function various graphical and animation enhancements you’d anticipate from the era’s first main basketball sport, however one vital new change is coming straight to your controller. In a prolonged blog post, 2K detailed how NBA 2K21 makes use of the PlayStation 5’s DualSense controller’s adaptive triggers and haptic suggestions to simulate power and fatigue ranges in your crew’s gamers.
“One thing that at all times excites us as builders is the introduction of latest {hardware} options that come together with new consoles,” NBA 2K gameplay director Mike Wang writes. “Once we first heard in regards to the PlayStation 5’s adaptive triggers and haptic suggestions, we instantly started brainstorming methods to make use of them to reinforce the gameplay expertise. As quickly as we bought our fingers on the dev kits, our lead engineer experimented with a number of totally different prototypes to determine what made essentially the most sense for a basketball sport.”
In accordance with 2K’s submit, gamers will start to really feel increasingly more resistance on the dash set off because the character they’re controlling begins to expire of power.
For gamers who prefer to run a powerful postgame, the DualSense adaptive triggers will even think about. Gamers with stronger postgame stats will really feel little or no resistance on the L2 set off when backing down weaker opponents. Gamers with weaker postgame stats must pull more durable on L2 in the event that they need to do the identical.
2K utilized the DualSense’s haptic suggestions to help with the at all times difficult difficulty of constructing it look practical when gamers collide into each other.
“Boxouts, body-up rides, off-ball collisions/deny/rides… mainly any scenario the place gamers make vital contact will vibrate the controller at numerous intensities relying on the power of the gamers concerned and the severity of the affect,” Wang writes. “It’s additionally a terrific reinforcement instrument to grasp while you’re making gamers work too exhausting on the court docket, which may hit their power/stamina ranges and probably trigger wear-and-tear on their our bodies with our in-depth damage system.”
2K’s weblog submit additionally particulars enhancements made to NBA 2K21’s motion, dribbling, and different collision mechanics, leading to some convincing animations whereby a defensive participant will get knocked to the bottom. 2K additionally makes particular point out of rebuilding their foot-planting tech from the bottom up, permitting gamers to take small procedural steps as a substitute of sliding across the court docket like they’re on ice.
You possibly can play the current-gen model of NBA 2K21 proper now if you wish to, although. IGN gave it a modest six out of 10 in our review, lamenting its listing of principally minor enhancements and continued dependancy to obnoxious microtransactions. The PS5 and Xbox Sequence X/S variations of NBA 2K21 will probably be obtainable on their respective launch dates, November 12 and November 10. Simply be ready to pay $70 for the improve, which Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick reflects the “quality of the experience.”
Joseph Knoop is a author/producer/sweatband-wearer for IGN. Dunk on him on Twitter.
