NBA 2k15 Modding Thread

[BrianFifaFan]

I'm starting to get a bit bummed by these developments. I only buy PC games for the modding capabilities. And I really thought that VC would be the last studio to squash that ability. Forever, it has been the perception that they are actually "hip" and "counterculture." David vs. EA's Goliath. Last year, I had my worries with the big push toward Visual Currency. Now they are giving all of the modding community jobs, and going to use them to help build a better product? Sounds like serious "if you can't beat them, join them." Really kind of bummed. The Thomases were my heroes, if not the Sega board's. Sure, we lose money, but make games that define the sports genre.... Now it's, "gotta get some of that DLC money...." I guess the hippies have become the suits.....

[BrianFifaFan]

As a further thought, it is full irony that, not only has Fifa implemented a "next gen" engine on the PC title, but it is every bit as modding friendly as last years title. There's a little back and forth going on over in the 2k15 modding thread at NLSC over whether we should have expected Leftos to continue to help the modding community post his joining VC, and how naive the guys who thought that he would are. What I didn't expect was that the guys would become a help to killing modding. Even Vlad is over there saying that the only reason he makes the tool is for money. That he outgrew gaming a while ago.

Funny thing is, I don't have a problem paying. I've paid over at MVP mods. I've paid for SMoKE patch for PES. But I like to pay the "little guy." Not the company. We settled up at $60. I don't pay for shoes, or clothing. I mod in faces that are better than they can provide. Dornas and stadiums that are above and beyond what the game does or can offer. I have hated "Knobby Tires" and those dead ads since Madden forever. It just saddens me that one more game is headed away from Minecraft and headed towards Farmville. I would almost rather they stop the microtransaction charade and go ahead and charge more. Especially as it is getting into content that was considered as content that was traditionally an expected part of the game. Maybe they'll offer Vlad's tool as DLC? (yes, that was sarcastic...)

I know it's still a tad premature to go full into "the sky is falling" mode, but it's not looking good. We paid full price, with the trade off of not having face scan for modding. Yep, that's what we thought. Silly us. The game has had more than it's share of hiccups. But we held out hope of modding, and bit the bullet. The servers are still craptastic, and I don't play online anyway. I wanted this game to have an awesome single player experience, meaning faces, stadia and dornas. Like the PC version was famous for. I will give a "donation" to Greg if he can push on through and deliver. But I'm going to make this my last 2k title if this is how they are going to continue to play it. I have dealt with their shortcoming over the years with crappy discs, bad customer support and lack of patching with a bit of a kind eye. The Xbox games had so many franchise crashes that I didn't get mad about because "hey, they're the little guy" and "it's only $20." "They're like us, fighting the "evil empire." If they want to play at being a Fifa/Madden level game and company, be that company. Put the big money you get into servers that hold up, and customer service of the level that EA/Origin has.

Sorry for my little rant. I just hate every time we have another "little guy" make a move away from what I always thought games were for in the first place, art..... and fun....

[23]

Since this was pretty relevant on NLSC I think it is relevant here too

Quote: Originally Posted by Leftos

You're reaching so much it's not even funny. I was hired for my passion for the game, and because I could contribute much more by working on the actual source code instead of spending my living days trying how to reverse engineer everything about the game. Go and listen/watch the Trials Let's Play between me and Jon, and then listen to the NLSC interview I did a few weeks ago. If all 2K wanted to do is stop modding, they're paying me way too much money for it. If 2K wanted to shut down modding, it would've done so. As for Jon... I was asked to recommend the most passionate with NBA 2K person that I knew from the States and that had strong ties with the community so that it would be easy to scour and keep in touch with it, and the answer was extremely easy. There's no conspiracy theory. Same with Bedwardsroy, same with Scott O' Gallagher, same with Da Czar, 2K is hiring the most passionate people to make it more amazing than ever. I would in no case rather be modding this game given the experience I've had in the first year at VC. Modding alone would've never allowed me to add all the features that were added to franchise modes this year, or the improvements to the logic all around. Modding alone wouldn't have allowed me to directly interact with this amazing team and influence parts of the game I didn't even know I was interested in until I joined VC. So I'm sorry if these hires set modding back a bit, if at all, but your theory is completely false. There were plenty of modders before Jon and me, and there will be modders after us.

[BrianFifaFan]

Quote: Originally Posted by 23

Since this was pretty relevant on NLSC I think it is relevant here too

I think what's the confusion is that people think that we are blaming Leftos. I know I don't. But I do blame a shift in philosophy that seems to be occurring with Visual Concepts. I still don't blame guys like Jao or Leftos. But I am still not liking how VC is such a part of the game. Its like NBA Farmville. For the record, I don't like how Fifa has put so much effort into FUT. It's a money grab in my book, as well. So I'll even bemoan how my uberlove is prostituting itself. But, I get it. Now I am glad to see serious talent getting hired at Visual Concepts. All of thses guys are very, very gifted. And they have paid dues. Kudos to them. But the topic at hand is Vlad's tool, which is in "negotiations." If that is a direct result of the hiring or those guys, and the attention that was brought by it, big bummer. And big thumbs down for 2k not turning a blind eye to it.

You already set modding back big time in the name of making a better core game. Cool! But we still want the ability to make "awesome." If squashed, it reeks of heavy handedness, and gives a lot more weight to the theories that VC is turning into the same thing we always railed against with the "evil empire." Last year was not a good one for them with the community, just saying..... For mine, I think they should continue to foster a spirit of creativity in the modding community. All of their new talent just came from it.

[23]

Well there was someone there blaming Leftos


Anyway, I can look at it like this, at the core 2k is hiring new blood (which they needed) to make it a better experience and they are going after the best, which I am feeling if the current team moves to something else, then the game is in good hands because they grabbed guys from the community who love parts of NBA2k.

Im not sure what Vlad's deal is but im sure if they didn't want modding that could've been done away with already. Vlad just got out of school just like Leftos before his hire, so they could've been looking to get someone like him for some time.

That said, I want some mods, so without melting down off speculations, I'm, hoping all goes well for us this year because their game can be even better, and no, It wouldn't prevent me from buying next years game if even more improvements to the gameplay come.

[Walt Frazier]

Quote: Originally Posted by 23

Since this was pretty relevant on NLSC I think it is relevant here too

Leftos is rigHt to stand up for them....they pay his salary.

I don't see how modding and VC can coexist though. For example, if a modder givs us certain new shoes...........whilst 2K are 'selling' those same shoes in their virtual store in game etc, it doesn't seem likely they would sit back and do nothing.

A modder called Lutz normally always releases a new exe file that even improves gameplay. I remember one year he added his own rebounding physics. Obviously that type of file and being online all the time couldn't coexist also.

Personally, I just wish 2K themselves would update the art. Fix the faces that are off / give us a december art update and fix the courts. Modders would not be needed anyway if they did that...

[Goffs]

2k needs a passionate art team. Last gen players where created and modelled by hand. They did a good job without the head scan feature. I don't know why they slacked off for next gen. If a player didn't get a head scan they have the talent to just model the heads.

[BrianFifaFan]

Quote: Originally Posted by Walt Frazier

Leftos is rigHt to stand up for them....they pay his salary. I don't see how modding and VC can coexist though. For example, if a modder givs us certain new shoes...........whilst 2K are 'selling' those same shoes in their virtual store in game etc, it doesn't seem likely they would sit back and do nothing. A modder called Lutz normally always releases a new exe file that even improves gameplay. I remember one year he added his own rebounding physics. Obviously that type of file and being online all the time couldn't coexist also. Personally, I just wish 2K themselves would update the art. Fix the faces that are off / give us a december art update and fix the courts. Modders would not be needed anyway if they did that...

Good post. See, I don't think I would buy PC if there were no dornas or stadium edits. I do like the face scans. This game is notorious for bad faces. It's halfway decent now, IMO. I hope to see some more from Lutz. His nets and rim mods were great. I modded the heck out of last years game. Every mod Cam put out, it was on my copy. This year, squat. I am trying to be diplomatic, but the reason I wanted this game was what could be done to it. Not what they've been giving us at retail. It's just raw materials..... Just sayin.....

Edit: To add a little perspective, I think of this game like PES, or Fifa. PES comes with limited teams, misnamed, poor signage, stadiums. For various reasons. Cool. Patch makes it something else entirely. Moddingway patch adds sign, faces, teams, tourneys and leagues. I get why the games are how they are. Well, mostly. (art team, anyone.....) But I've seen what they can be. And wouldn't buy the game otherwise. At least on PC, with all that comes with PC gaming. Especially at equal price points. Not blaming anyone, just keeping it real....