Basketball Classics
Basketball Classics v1.0 available now!
Here we are, version 1.0. Hard to believe it! What can we say but THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!
It’s been a crazy ride so far. Lots of hard work, lots of anxiety, lots of excitement and anticipation. It’s been difficult at times but it’s been incredibly rewarding to see our game being played, streamed, and reviewed. We couldn’t have made it to this point without the support of our awesome community of players who’ve had nicer things to say than we ever expected.
Thanks to Andrew Begley, Arcane, Razor, and Dee4Three of NLSC for fostering such a vibrant community of likeminded basketball game enthusiasts that were willing to take a chance on a new sports title and play the heck out of it. You guys are awesome!
Thanks to Tom, Mort, DPS, LJC, Slapshot Sean, and GreenMajik of Retro Sports Gamer for your livestreams, your support, and the awesome Basketball Classics tournaments you’ve run that were not only a blast to watch but helped us in feature development and bug hunting! You guys are the best!
Big thanks to Ian Ferguson and Pat the NES Punk of Completely Unnecessary for your coverage and support! You made our stressful, expensive trip to PRGE an awesome, exciting one that these 2 nerds will remember forever.
And an enormous thanks to all of you! Our fans and supporters. We’re thrilled that there are other people out there who understand and agree with our vision for a gaming experience like this.
I guess I should get to some release notes… We’ve called this v1.0 as we’re feeling like it fully delivers on the core experience we wanted to put out in 2016 when we first started discussing Basketball Classics. The changelist could get pretty long but I’ll sum it up as:
- Steam achievements. Gotta get them all! 88 achievements for just about anything you can think of. Some are easy, some you’re gonna have to sweat for. Let’s see what you’ve got!
- Tweaks, testing, tweaks, testing, clarifying things players don’t understand, tweaking formulas until things just feel right. Shot formulas, steal formulas, block formulas, play calling formulas, when things should happen and when they shouldn’t… it’s all a balancing game that hopefully adds up to more than the sum of its parts. Thanks for all your input and help in this area specifically.
- AI improvements: defenders are more aware now of the threats their opponents pose, they’ll now be smarter about when to try stealing or when to guard a shooter more closely (dangerous shooter near the arc -> close in on him to reduce his chances of the long bomb, etc.)
So, for those of you wondering “Is this the end of development on Basketball Classics?”, the answer is a strong NOPE! We’ve been thinking about this game since 1991 and we can’t imagine ever not working on it. Coming soon: tournament mode, roster updates, heck maybe even a player creator ;)
Let us know what you want to see in v1.1!
Thanks!
Dave and Josh
Namo Gamo
@namo_gamo twitter/instagram
Basketball Classics v0.9.0 Released!
We're back fresh from the Portland Retro Gaming Expo where we had a blast meeting so many awesome people, making new contacts, snagging vintage gaming memorabilia, and just generally kicking it with tons of like-minded gamers and collectors! We were showing our latest build of the game there and people were having a ton of fun with it. After a couple more coats of shoes, and ships, and sealing wax, we've decided it's ready to release into the wild. So here we are!
We are very excited to announce these brand new updates to Basketball Classics! Check out this lineup:
1) Story Mode PLUS – So you’ve unlocked the Legends and beaten the Phantom 5. Do you have it in you to take on a second quest? Begin Story Mode+ and you’ll continue your travels through time as you unlock a new team of elite ballers: the Superstars.
2) Here Comes a New Challenger - Once you’ve unlocked the Superstars, you’ll have a target on your back. Several new teams are going to try to take you on. Win and you’ll not only unlock them in the “Story” roster, you’ll also unlock new arenas to choose from in any of your future matches.
3) Halftime Shows - We’ve hired several new performers for your entertainment. Get hyped with musicians, jugglers, and one of those big foam hands; many of them rocking the colors of the winning team.
4) Street Court - Our favorite arena has finally made it into the lineup, complete with a fresh, animated audience. We love the contrast created with this court and hope it enhances your experience.
5) Bug fixes and Minor Adjustments – We've finally added a longtime fan request: over and back violations. Make that ref blow his whistle to your heart's content! Along with that, we've included several other minor changes and additions that add to your enjoyment of the game such as slightly increased player sizes, further AI tweaks, and a change to how the sparkle trails on the ball work. That one may sound insignificant, or even downright strange, but hear me out. In the past, the sparkle trail on the ball was only shown when the player released the shot with near-perfect release timing AND if the shot was gonna go in. Now, you'll get the unicorn glitter for every perfect release regardless of shot success, so it won't ruin the anticipation of "is it gonna land or not!?"
Version 0.9 is significant. We expect this to be the last major release while in Early Access.
Next stop, full release!
Version 0.8.1 available now!
A ton of big moves going on with Basketball Classics that we are excited to announce.
Roster additions:
3 new seasons have been added to the roster. That means another 240 new players spanning 48 teams, complete with new uniforms and individualized attributes.
We hope you enjoy exploring the new 1995, 2011, and 2019 rosters. Time to hone your skills with one of your new favorite teams in Season Mode!
Kicks:
No, we haven’t added karate into the game. We are talking about those beloved members of the locker - Sneakers. High tops. Cross trainers. Shoes.
Watch out for signature footwear on some of the best players in the game. Certain teams have even coordinated their styles. This is just one more way to make our players as diverse visually, as they are in ability.
We are fast approaching full release on Steam. It has been a pleasure to hear from you and we take your comments seriously. Let us know what you think!
v0.8.0 - SEASON MODE!
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
Version 0.7.3 available now!
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!
Version 0.7.2 available now!
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!
Version 0.7.1 available now!
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!
Version 0.7.0 available now!
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!
Version 0.6.6 available now!
We just put up v0.6.6. It has 4 substantial changes that people are asking for. Here are the release notes:
NEW
– Assist tracking - make that quintuple double official!
UPDATED
– Speeds up pick setters when calling plays - should address some issues we've seen in some of your user gameplay videos (yes, we watch them!)
– Updates airball mechanics - no more automatic turnover
BUG FIXES
– Fixes an issue causing occasional full court shot attempts when grabbing a defensive rebound
Try it out and holler at us! As always, find us in the Community Hub or on Twitter/Instagram @namo_gamo.
Talk soon!
Version 0.6.5 – 2018 ROSTER!
We've got a fun new update for you that we think you're gonna like: 2018 additions to the roster! This brings the player count to over 900, along with a great new crop of player profile caricatures. It's really cool seeing a bunch of new jersey changes and the player stats for 2018 compared with previous roster years. Dig in and let us know what you think! Plenty more to come as we press forward with our various season modes. Lots of exciting things happening there that we can't wait to talk about.
NEW
– 2018 roster!
UPDATED
– Updates several graphics throughout the game that were using the old font
– A few AI tweaks
As always, find us here in the Community Hub or on Twitter/Instagram @namo_gamo
Talk soon!