The Nintendo Switch Update for NBA Playgrounds is Now Live

Looks like Nintendo finally caved and allowed larger patches. This patch was ready weeks ago, but Nintendo wouldn't allow it because it was too big.

If I buy now will I still get Shaq fu for free? Asking for a friend 😉

Freaking finally! YES! 😃

I guess I'll update later.

One step closer to my free copy of Shaq Fu!

Thank you for redoing the timing system! MUCH APPRECIATED!

I really like how the "tweaked" the shooting mechanic. I wish they just got rid of the timing with layups and dunks in general. Isn't needed at all in a simple arcade 2 on 2 B-ball game

Finally! I've been waiting for this since the day this came out

Troubling, there's no mention in the patch notes about increasing resolution in handheld mode. Saber said on Twitter a while back that they would be increasing the handheld resolution from 540p to native 720p, I sure hope that made the cut, but I'm guessing not if they didn't mention it.

Sweet time t get my A handed to me online. So when Sahq Fu out and how do we claim?

Cue Starcraft Marine Dialogue

Is there still a delay after a score slowingthe game down or have they fixed that too?

And, from experience, the online is utter crap (which is a sentiment amongst many people right now, not just myself). Good job Saber, once again screwing over Nintendo fans.

@Racthet916 They never said that. They said it would be closer to 720p, not native. From what I've played so far, the game looks less blurry in handheld mode.

@DrkBndr Okay, so my memory is ever so SLIGHTLY off, close to native, not native. Either way, I'm just assuming they took that off the table since they no longer mention it in the patch notes. I'll find out for sure when I get home later and play, I took lots of screenshots in handheld mode for the express purpose of comparing them once the patch was released. I'll report what I find later.

Wasn't there suppose to be a graphical improvement as well?

Well... it's less frustrating now that there is a gauge for timing, but the tutorial is still really bad. It's like playing a game against a CPU set to expert with someone pausing the game randomly. What they need to do is split up the tutorial into separate sections that focus on each mechanic. Give a short explanation and then a practice portion with no enemy team or time limits so you can keep at each mechanic it until you get good at them. If not that then at least put some difficulty options in for exhibition mode because as it is right now the computer is too good for a beginning player to go up against making it mostly frustrating and not really all that fun.

...THAT'S

@Racthet916 My thoughts entirely! Along with Snake Pass, NBA Playgrounds really needs a bump in handheld resolution. Still, if I had to pick between resolution and a smooth framrate, I'd definitely plump for the latter.

[EDIT]: Can you give us a shout when you've tried it? I'd love to know if it looks any better

Well apparently online is a laggy mess... so.. they're going to have to patch that now lol

2.1 gig update is no joke! My poor 128 sd card is getting filled up fast.

Anyone know if they have fixed the vibration overkill?

To people who downloaded the patch, what do think? This went from a guaranteed buy to a wait-and-see after seeing the overwhelming lukewarm reception.

@uhhhhhhhh no Fu fo You

I mean for your friend

Fix the damn resolution undocked.

This update might warrant another play for me but the Switch version especially has left a sour taste in my mouth

@dregs78 they did

@Biff_ARMStrong do you mean if its not blocked it should go in?

I was convinced it wouldn't happen until Splatoon was released, pleasant surprise!

How do you get your copy of shaq?

How big is the update?

@Spoonkid51 They have not announced yet how it will work to get your free copy. But supposedly it will happen once the game comes out on Nintendo Switch.

About time. I kept looking at the icon on my Switch and being like "when is the update coming?" I am thinking the next update will add more players and do the graphical update off-dock.

The update was supposed to cut the file size not increase it. What the heck.

@MetaRyan To be fair, the environment on Nintendo's end still wasn't set up to support such patches based on Saber's comments. So both parties wasn't really at fault for anything. Unless Nintendo should have anticipated this kind of scenario early on. But it is what it is.

@tamantayoshi Maybe you could try redownloading the full game from the eShop rather than just the patch.

@Zyph That's what I'm doing.

Today was a good day for Switch owners, this big update and announced release dates for 2 3rd party games.

Awesome, now where's my Shaq Fu?

Observations on the Update:

·Resolution is close to 720P now on the Portable and 60 FSPstill. Looks sweet to me.
·Vibration issue is fixed. Now it's less agressive.
·Online Play is being good to me. Had a few laggy games but ey, P2P games are always dependent on connetion quality.
·Gameplay has been tweaked a lot. Now is a bit more equilibrated and strategic to me. Have to familiarize with it to say if it's better or not.
·Tournaments looks more equilibrated now.

So far, I think it's a good update and still, one of the biggest arcade/sports games on the Switch. Still being awesome for local multiplayer.

I think a rereview is in order I have been on the fence about this game since day one. Really wanna know if it's worth getting , I will try online but it's mostly the local multiplayer I'm interested in. Me and my son have such a laugh playing games like this we play street hoops on the Neo Geo all the time.

Game balance is definitely improved. No more spamming 3 points every trip down the court. Only a couple moments of lag in the games I've played online.

@Captain_Gonru thanks for the reply - gonna update now

The timing bar is a welcomed addition, but I think it should be placed right above the ball when your are shooting. That's where your eyes naturally go, instead of at the bottom of the screen. It's a bit awkward.

Nintendo needs to make it easier for setting up the online and local play features for developers and there needs to be a standard. Seems that the online setup for playing online or with friends is different across many games and so far Nintendo’s setup is much better. I understand it’s still early, but the lack of proper online is confusing. Leader boards are a must.

@MetaRyan huh? what are you talking about? source?

also wasn't the update supposed to decrease the install size?

@crackafreeze @manu0,

The original details released mentioned that overall storage space would be smaller. I just deleted the game and after downloading again the size is still 9.6GB. Hope this information helps.

@sybno1 yes! the wife is so happy, when i was paying at night it was so lousy lol

@Switch99 It appears to be very slightly upgraded resolution in handheld mode, but it's nowhere near native 720p. This is truly disappointing and points to just how horribly this game is optimized. They went as far as removing shadows, lowering texture resolution, and reducing lighting affects from other versions and they still can't get a measly 720p at 60fps in handheld mode?! Sorry, but I'm not buying into the whole "Switch is underpowred" crap on this one, plenty of other games manage to pull off far superior visuals along with high resolution and framerate, this is just lazy programming.

Having said that, the balance improvements to the game make it play a lot better, IMO, and the shot meter is a welcome addition. However, why on Earth would you have the meter pop up all the way down in the lower right corner? It would have made a lot more sense to have it pop up over the shooter when making a shot since that's where your eyes are already focused.

They announced they cant release a patch to reduce the file size because the Switch literally cannot do that yet. The switch cannot take a game file and delete some of the data or something along those lines. The ceo of saber interactive said this on twitter or a blogpost. Also even after the update the game still plays like poop imo. The shooting still feels odd and Im still missing dunks and easy layups because of the shot meter. Honestly this is the first big disappointment for me on the switch. Just an awful game and I hope NBA 2k18 makes up for this mess.