Basketball Classics News

Hello friends, fans, and newcomers!

We finally have the feature so many of you have asked for: SEASON MODE!

It has been our goal to set up a rich single-player experience. It had to be something beyond Story Mode and quick exhibition games. This had to have a progression that would lead to a satisfying end.

Season Mode is a single-player experience that lets you choose any year, pick your favorite team, then play against each of the remaining 15 teams. Stats can be reviewed from each game, whether it was played or simulated. Then, all individual stats are recorded throughout the season. This allows you to see who the league leaders are in any category, at any time.

At the end of the regular season, an announcer will present the MVP, DPOY, and the top teams from each conference. Then, watch your team's progression through a bracket challenge in the postseason. Once you fight your way to the finals, finish by hoisting the trophy for all your adoring fans.

Your opponent's difficulty will increase with each game, helping you to naturally improve your skills. So when you do finally take home the trophy, you can be certain that you have really earned it. But don't stop after you get your first ring! You have 10 fingers after all. Play through multiple seasons at the same time using the retro inspired menu.

We think you're going to love this huge new feature! Check it out and let us know your thoughts. Your input is always so valuable to us.

Also included in this update:

Stat tweaks
AI improvements
Bug fixes
General speed increase
Difficulty tweaks

Much more on the way! ;)

Dave and Josh
Namo Gamo

Hey everybody!

Hope you all had a great holiday season!

We just pushed v0.7.3 live. It's another maintenance release as we inch closer to v0.8.0 with season and tournament modes.

I want to take a moment to thank everyone for your reviews, shares, posts, comments, podcasts, articles, streams, gameplay videos, etc. They're all so helpful and encouraging. We love all the feedback we can get and the positive reception has been unbelievable! We had an awesome year and we're looking forward to 2019 with all the challenges and opportunities it will bring!

On with the release notes:

UPDATED
– AI tweaks: Big guys with high dunk stats now look for more openings and drive more often to the hoop for the SLAM DUNK
– Difficulty curve adjustments in the interactive dunk system
– Lots of profile pic changes & additions

BUG FIXES
– Tons of fixes in the interactive dunk system ie. bugs where Moves Remaining could potentially go below zero; dunks that appeared to be blocked ended up being successful
– Fixed missing W, X, Y, Z letters in team names on the Match Settings screen
– Fixed missing player symbols under all the players (representing stats where the player has a rating above 70)
– Fixed missing star symbols next to stats on the active/highlighted players at the top of the screen (representing when a player is the best player on their team at a particular skill ie. shooting, blocking); keep an eye on these stars for a quick overview of who your strongest players are and where they excel!

Let us know what you think! As always, find us in the Community Hub on Steam or on Twitter/Instagram @namo_gamo.

More soon!

Hi everyone!

I've just promoted Basketball Classics v0.7.2 from the beta branch to the live store branch. It's mostly a maintenance release to fix some lingering issues with the existing build as we focus on Season and Tournament mode for v0.8.0. We've fixed bugs, tweaked stats, added some secret hidden courts and teams, adjusted balancing, changed some profile pics, updated rosters, and added a new title screen sequence.



Season and Tournament modes are feeling great and getting closer to release! They're just not quite there yet. Expect an 0.8.0 release when those new game modes are ready for the live branch.

We live in a pretty amazing era of game development where we can hop onto youtube and find footage of people playing our game from all over the world! We watch all the streams we can find in order to see how people play Basketball Classics. We watch for areas that can be improved, areas where gamers get confused, and we've even been able to spot bugs, analyze what's causing the bugs, and make fixes based on what we're seeing. Great stuff.

Thanks for playing, streaming, watching, wishlisting, and sharing! It makes all the difference in the world!

Ok, on with the release notes:

NEW
– 2 new super secret hidden unlockable courts!
– 2 new super secret hidden unlockable teams!

UPDATED
– Breathed new life into some old player profile pics/animations
– Title screen has the new logo and artwork now

BUG FIXES
– Fixed a few important bugs involving player speeds triggered by play calling
– Random fixes, including an intermittent menu crash

Please give the new changes a try and let us know what you think! As always, find us in the Steam Community Hub for Basketball Classics or on Twitter/Instagram @namo_gamo.

Talk soon!

Hey all,

Got tons of core tweaks and fixes for you here, some of which are pretty substantial. All sorts of necessary upgrades to solidify the base game as we focus on season mode, which is getting closer! If you haven't had a chance to check out the new dunk systems, give them a try and let us know what you think.



Thanks for all your feedback! Please keep it coming! Here are the release notes:


NEW
– Get more feedback about your shot release: EARLY, VERY LATE, etc. to help you improve

UPDATED
– So many tweaks to CPU difficulty to try to ease the curve - learn on Rookie, improve with Pro, face a challenge with All-Star, cement your status with Legend
– Freezes shot meter upon release for additional feedback about your shot timing
– Updates one of the Namo Gamo fonts for increased legibility - improves visual enjoyment by 35%!
– Humanizes CPU dunk defenders - no more impossibly fast reactions
– Chasedown CPU dunk defenders slowed down - potentially outrun them on Legend, careful around C Houston 1990 though...
– Reworks shot animation speeds and timing curves to normalize shot release timings for all players in all positions on the court; in short, shooting feels better
– Reduces defender blocking radius
– Reduces defender shot contention radius
– Lowered the caps on defender's ability to contest a shot - scales with difficulty setting; example: on Rookie a defender can now only have a -20% effect on shot
– Number of CPU blocks reduced - get more shots off when defenders are near

BUG FIXES
– Wonky speed bugs triggered by passing to a pick setter before he reaches his target
– Visual glitches with the new dunk systems
– Chasedown background scrolling



Please give the new changes a try and holler at us with your thoughts! As always, find us in the Community Hub or on Twitter/Instagram @namo_gamo.

Talk soon!

kschhhhh - Release v0.7.0 uhhh 9er, you are cleared for takeoff.

We are super excited to announce the biggest change yet to Basketball Classics: two brand new dynamic dunk systems! Outmaneuver your opponent in style while catching some serious hang time. Or, shock the crowd with a miraculous chasedown block. These changes not only add variety visually, but change the gameplay in a big way.

The new interactive dunk system puts you in control of the dunk, enabling you to move freely in the air to create dunks on the fly (Reverse Double Clutch, oh yeah, it's in there), all while you avoid the defender to slam it home!

We owe a huge thanks to you for the feedback within our forums, input from the NLSC group, and a fantastic write up from the Retro Sports Gamer crew. We feel these additions transform Basketball Classics and it would never have happened without your help!

Then above all, we want to send a BIG shout out to Akihiko Shimoji. As lead programmer of the masterpiece Tecmo Super Bowl, Akihiko has proven himself to be one of the leading innovators in the history of video games. We searched out his help, hoping to make Basketball Classics an impactful entry into the world of gaming. These changes were largely motivated by his humble advice and insight.

Hopefully you feel as we do, that these changes enhance the gameplay and involve players in new creative ways, while still maintaining the retro appeal that we all love!

On with the release notes:

NEW
– Two new dunk systems: interactive and chasedown!

UPDATED
– Defender improvements: smarter AI, a little bit quicker, adjustments to the speed ramp
– AI and difficulty tweaks across the board based on user feedback

BUG FIXES
– Fixes a rare crash involving timeout menus
– Bug fixes for player speeds, visual glitches, etc.

Please give it a try and let us know what you think! As always, find us in the Community Hub or on Twitter/Instagram @namo_gamo.

Talk soon!