I'd like to see better Communication and Transparency from 2K in 2K18

[NoLeafClover]

I think one of the biggest points of acrimony from the community towards 2K, particularly this year, has been the dead silence on a host of issues ranging from game mode decisions, to bugs, to how badges work, to patches, and various other items that leaves many of us feel like we're kept in the dark on purpose.

I am the marketing manager for a tech/software company that I am sure is nowhere near the size of 2K, and we have dedicated Customer/Community management staff whose sole responsibilities are to keep customers up to date on current developments via forums, social, direct lines of communication etc and answer questions/give feedback as to what is happening or changing, what to look forward to, respond to issues they may have, etc.

Creating those roles were some of the best investments we ever made and they've allowed us to improve our apps and products tenfold, as well as ease customer frustrations and lead to overall better profits and brand image.

I think we basically need to accept the fact that Ronnie and LD2K are not truly "Community Managers" and are pretty much just PR/marketing staff (nothing wrong with that, just a fact of the role) and not really there to liaise with the community or pass on feedback or issues; hell, Beluba who is lead game designer has done about 50x the value of this when it isn't even his responsibility.

Given the money they are obviously making from the game's popularity, and the minimal investment it would take to hire people in roles like this, we might actually have people answer our questions on perpetual issues like:

- Can we expect another patch in X amount of time, or is this it?
- Why doesn't matchmaking work in Play Now Online?
- What do badges truly do? What are the percentages, what situations do they work in, etc.?
- Where are the servers located? How do they work for connecting people into games? Are there regional servers, is it P2P, what?
- What are you aiming to improve next year? What can we look forward to the rest of the year?

etc. etc. I am sure we could all go on.

Communication is key for brand loyalty, and the lack of it has led people to truly have interest in how NBA Live turns out, which is the last thing you should want as a brand that's dominant at the moment in my opinion.

Do you all feel you'd be less frustrated with better communication? How else could they improve these channels?

[isdatyt]

This is so true. There are still things in this game that I don't understand. Things that change on patches with no notice (Having to let the jab step complete before shooting or get called for a travel never happened to me until recently). Not addressing glaring issues like how fast breaks have literally been broken since launch along with alley-oops.

If you can't be on top of issues in terms of correcting them, at least acknowledge them. Give us an ETA or something. It's like they're saying, we gave you this game, shut up and play and obviously they have the market cornered on NBA games so it's not like we can take our business elsewhere. It's a really an effed up situation to be in as a consumer.

[ph33]

I also want to know the reason they are dead silent when it comes to obtaining badges and how it is done.

[awg811]

Quote: Originally Posted by NoLeafClover

I think one of the biggest points of acrimony from the community towards 2K, particularly this year, has been the dead silence on a host of issues ranging from game mode decisions, to bugs, to how badges work, to patches, and various other items that leaves many of us feel like we're kept in the dark on purpose. I am the marketing manager for a tech/software company that I am sure is nowhere near the size of 2K, and we have dedicated Customer/Community management staff whose sole responsibilities are to keep customers up to date on current developments via forums, social, direct lines of communication etc and answer questions/give feedback as to what is happening or changing, what to look forward to, respond to issues they may have, etc. Creating those roles were some of the best investments we ever made and they've allowed us to improve our apps and products tenfold, as well as ease customer frustrations and lead to overall better profits and brand image. I think we basically need to accept the fact that Ronnie and LD2K are not truly "Community Managers" and are pretty much just PR/marketing staff (nothing wrong with that, just a fact of the role) and not really there to liaise with the community or pass on feedback or issues; hell, Beluba who is lead game designer has done about 50x the value of this when it isn't even his responsibility. Given the money they are obviously making from the game's popularity, and the minimal investment it would take to hire people in roles like this, we might actually have people answer our questions on perpetual issues like: - Can we expect another patch in X amount of time, or is this it? - Why doesn't matchmaking work in Play Now Online? - What do badges truly do? What are the percentages, what situations do they work in, etc.? - Where are the servers located? How do they work for connecting people into games? Are there regional servers, is it P2P, what? - What are you aiming to improve next year? What can we look forward to the rest of the year? etc. etc. I am sure we could all go on. Communication is key for brand loyalty, and the lack of it has led people to truly have interest in how NBA Live turns out, which is the last thing you should want as a brand that's dominant at the moment in my opinion. Do you all feel you'd be less frustrated with better communication? How else could they improve these channels?

Made a similar comment in a different thread.

2k needs to be way more transparent and way more vocal on the many flaws in this game.

[killxmike]

Post of the year. Especially the part of Beluba doing 100x more community management than the so called community managers.

[SirGaryColeman]

Quote: Originally Posted by ph33

I also want to know the reason they are dead silent when it comes to obtaining badges and how it is done.

A ton of the anger about the grind comes from not knowing if you're doing it right.

You spend millions of hours possibly doing the wrong thing because you're going off of misinformation and assumptions posted online.

This is pure laziness (the game is riddled with it) and not by design.

[Breakstarter]

2k.....transparency.....pfffttt yeah right.

[Breakstarter]

Quote: Originally Posted by NoLeafClover

I think one of the biggest points of acrimony from the community towards 2K, particularly this year, has been the dead silence on a host of issues ranging from game mode decisions, to bugs, to how badges work, to patches, and various other items that leaves many of us feel like we're kept in the dark on purpose. I am the marketing manager for a tech/software company that I am sure is nowhere near the size of 2K, and we have dedicated Customer/Community management staff whose sole responsibilities are to keep customers up to date on current developments via forums, social, direct lines of communication etc and answer questions/give feedback as to what is happening or changing, what to look forward to, respond to issues they may have, etc. Creating those roles were some of the best investments we ever made and they've allowed us to improve our apps and products tenfold, as well as ease customer frustrations and lead to overall better profits and brand image. I think we basically need to accept the fact that Ronnie and LD2K are not truly "Community Managers" and are pretty much just PR/marketing staff (nothing wrong with that, just a fact of the role) and not really there to liaise with the community or pass on feedback or issues; hell, Beluba who is lead game designer has done about 50x the value of this when it isn't even his responsibility. Given the money they are obviously making from the game's popularity, and the minimal investment it would take to hire people in roles like this, we might actually have people answer our questions on perpetual issues like: - Can we expect another patch in X amount of time, or is this it? - Why doesn't matchmaking work in Play Now Online? - What do badges truly do? What are the percentages, what situations do they work in, etc.? - Where are the servers located? How do they work for connecting people into games? Are there regional servers, is it P2P, what? - What are you aiming to improve next year? What can we look forward to the rest of the year? etc. etc. I am sure we could all go on. Communication is key for brand loyalty, and the lack of it has led people to truly have interest in how NBA Live turns out, which is the last thing you should want as a brand that's dominant at the moment in my opinion. Do you all feel you'd be less frustrated with better communication? How else could they improve these channels?

Disclaimer:This is Not a 2K Bash...I know how sensitive you guys get on this forum.

Hello, I'm a Hardcore 2k gamer for over 17 years now. Going based off of
what I've witness over the past decade, i think im able to answer some of your concerns regarding the direction that 2k has going forward.

- Why doesn't matchmaking work in Play Now Online?
Because 2k is cheap and doesnt want to to put up the money for 2 development teams. 2 development teams would give each team 2 years to work on their game and would possibly be able to address legacy issues that plague this franchise. Games Like Call of duty who have developers working with Treyarch and developers working on Infinity Ward have the ability to have TIME to work out kinks and work on a finished product without the need for multiple patches within 3 months of the game being launched.
It would also help them develop a brand new engine because the way it is currently set up, Defense has not been able to match the offense, and if 2k continues to go on this annual release, they will just be ultimately remixing an old format with updated rosters and a new User interface, with a tweak here and there. What we need are two teams dedicated top making sure on a bi-annual basis that we(the customers) are getting the best product possible.


With sales numbers like this: http://www.playstationlifestyle.net/...pared-to-2k15/
Theres no reason why they cant afford a 2nd team working to make 2k the best Basketball simulation on the market.

- What do badges truly do? What are the percentages, what situations do they work in, etc.?

http://www.operationsports.com/featu...-skills-guide/

So the badge system was introduced in 2k15 but honestly it started with signatures styles on last gen with 2k14. If i remember correctly, Operation Sports Posted what each signature Skill did, and how much of a percentage they affected each area. Although we're heading into 2k18 and some of these skills are no longer here or turned into badges, or mental badges, the percentage to how they affect your myplayer should relatively be the same if i'm not correct.

- Where are the servers located? How do they work for connecting people into games? Are there regional servers, is it P2P, what?

I was able to sneak a Top secret image from one of my undercover agents in deep cover over at 2k sports and we finally have images of 2k's Servers and who is running them.



- What are you aiming to improve next year? What can we look forward to the rest of the year?

Honestly, i think we can all agree that 2k will increase the price of VC, we will get more patches, Defense will not be addressed so that it can match the offense. Until then, the Offense will constantly get nerfed. Explosiveness out of dribbling will never come back, Player movement will Never go back to 2k11 where all players felt nice and light, unlike now where everyone feels heavy and weighted and cant stop on a dime and change directions. Oh, and I'm sure Esports will continue to be their main focus, even though the gameplay needs work, and the servers are too stressed to make 5 vs 5 matchmaking work flawlessly. Other than that, i'm sure we will all be playing 2k next year, but dont expect much until we get some major changes around here. Just 2 my cents.