The Future of Sports Gaming Roster Updates

Feature Article

Submitted on: 12/17/2014 by Matthew Coe

Sports gamers have a variety of ways to receive roster in 2014. Going forward into 2015 and beyond, there is a debate over what kind of delivery method is preferred by the community. In this piece, we'll take a look at using rosters generated by companies like Synergy and SportVu versus the method that is tried and true: manual handmade edits. Let's look at the debate.

Synergy/SportVu Pros and Cons

Why It Works – Synergy Sports Technology works by providing a real-time, video indexed statistical engine to its subscribers. It's primarily used in basketball right now and has a multi-year licensing agreement with the NBA. EA Sports currently has a partnership with Synergy to incorporate the data into NBA Live. Synergy updates as quickly as 45 minutes after the game to provide tailored information to it's partners, and if used properly, can generate the most realistic AI players in sports gaming history.

A similar technology, SportVu, also provides real time data based on player movement in a plethora of statistical categories. It uses six small cameras to track the movement of all 10 players on the floor, the three referees, and the ball. It seems like NBA 2K15 has been using SportVu to re-examine the speed ratings in the game this year globally.

With the explosion of advanced statistics and metrics in the last 8-10 years in sports, it seems that technologies like Synergy and SportVu are the future of sports video games. These systems help by eliminating human bias in ratings and automating the process for speedier updates.

Why It Doesn't Work – Synergy and SportVu do a great job measuring physical skills, shooting ability, passing ability, speed, etc but it can't completely measure the intangibles. Hand made editors have prided themselves for years on nailing the intricacy and nuance of the players. Most editors are avid viewers of the games and will edit based off of tirelessly watching the games, as well as using statistics, player history, YouTube, and admittedly a little human bias. For those that enjoy tweaking and editing rosters, there will never be a better way than doing it yourself.

Many editors spend countless hours trying to understand how the ratings systems translate to the actual game and edit with the goal to mimic the individual players and team styles.

All of this says nothing about those who enjoy making historic rosters or fictional/fantasy rosters. These kind of rosters will simply never be represented using the current tech that helps power the rosters. The technology is great, no one doubts that. The advantage the hand made editor has is the ability to manually compile information and then augment it with opinion to create the roster that they want.

Which Way is Better?

It comes down to personal preference. NBA Live 15 users will tell you that they would love the ability to edit rosters in that game, despite the use of Synergy. Little quirks in its implementation, like having players who miss a game being unavailable until their next game, will irritate some gamers who just want to play with their favorites. NBA 2K15 has chosen to use Mike Stauffer's human edits, perhaps augmented with player tracking technology, instead of automating the process. For the time being, both approaches should be welcomed. Synergy and SportVu can add real, tangible data that can be translated into the ratings objectively. Roster editors can then go in and tweak other attributes that those technologies might be deficient in covering. It's the best of both worlds.

What about the future? It's hard to say right now. However, there is one message I would send to video game developers: No matter how good your technology is, don't take away our ability to edit rosters.

Member Comments

# 1 jpollack34 @ 12/17/14 03:05 PM

I don't care which company or how often they provide updates, they will never be as good as the editing community. The editing community will always be superior.

Further, in my view, there is no better way to keep your game alive, fresh, and relevant then to support the community through a fully customizable game. A community that is sharing work and edits with others, talking about your game with others, makes hardcore fans. Users want control.

Imo, licensing is used as tool to maintain exclusivity. That's why editing options are being eliminated. As much as it pains them to pay for expensive licenses, they themselves want the licensing costs high in order to be a barrier to entry. It's going to take the indie scene to realize that licensing is in actuality useless. Create a fully customizable game with tons of editing options -- as an example see Fire Pro Wrestling Returns. The process is starting... the indie scene will rise to the challenge. It's time for competition to return.

# 2 teebee @ 12/17/14 11:48 PM

i'm not convinced Stauffer knows much of anything about basketball other than perusing box scores, seeing someone have a good game and then upping or lowering their ratings. I've yet to see anything displayed show me more than that.

He's all over the aesthetics of the game and equipment factors but no way one person or a team can do what Synergy does to simulate accurately a players abilities.

# 3 MHammer113 @ 12/18/14 09:11 AM

Why not use a combination of the two? Certain attributes and tendencies controlled by SportsVU and others by people.

# 4 GlennN @ 12/18/14 10:04 AM

I must be in the minority. While I can't talk about basketball, since I don't play basketball games, my feelings are the same for every videogame sport I play. I only play offline franchise mode, so rosters quickly become full of fictitious players anyway. Existing players may retire or move to other teams. This becomes my own personal universe. So, the entire concept of a roster update is foreign to me. I just have no need for a roster update at all, regardless of how it is calculated or done.

# 5 TSGuy @ 12/18/14 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlennN


	I must be in the minority. While I can't talk about basketball, since I don't play basketball games, my feelings are the same for every videogame sport I play. I only play offline franchise mode, so rosters quickly become full of fictitious players anyway. Existing players may retire or move to other teams. This becomes my own personal universe. So, the entire concept of a roster update is foreign to me. I just have no need for a roster update at all, regardless of how it is calculated or done.

What if you begin a franchise with outdated roster, where some players on the team you want to play are now much better hence higher rated? You wouldn't want the asset of starting a franchise with the team you want to play with that has an updated ratings for you to get begin and get started with the franchise mode?

# 6 GOBLUE_08 @ 12/19/14 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlennN


	I must be in the minority. While I can't talk about basketball, since I don't play basketball games, my feelings are the same for every videogame sport I play. I only play offline franchise mode, so rosters quickly become full of fictitious players anyway. Existing players may retire or move to other teams. This becomes my own personal universe. So, the entire concept of a roster update is foreign to me. I just have no need for a roster update at all, regardless of how it is calculated or done.

I'm starting to lean this way myself. I used to be very meticulous about rosters being as up to date as possible, but now, I just don't care as much.

I really just need one good base roster to start with and I'm good from there. I do all fantasy draft franchises now just to make it my own little world. I find that doing it this way makes me care a lot less about who's stats aren't accurate or who's contract is wrong. I just have fun with the game. My gaming time is limited and precious

. Don't really have time to sweat the small stuff anymore.

# 7 GisherJohn24 @ 12/19/14 08:02 PM

Full control and roster share is all that is needed

# 8 Simple Mathematics @ 01/03/15 05:03 PM

Speaking for the NHL series, the fact that they took out player editing crippled the franchise for me. I can't stand seeing 4th line scrubs play the same as Sidney Crosby. They have to add full player editing into the game and include roster sharing. If not, they are serisously falling years behind all other sports games.

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