NBA 2K16 Developer Blog - MyLEAGUE, MyLEAGUE Online, MyGM & More

[yellow86]

Happy for the people who want to go nuts with a game online and everything and I have to say, it is crazy how detailed the game is going to be. Still I'm wondering a few things:

- Regarding deadlines, any chance you guys finally allow us to sign more than 15 players and cut them before training camp?
- Regarding being a GM, are we finally able to use all the exceptions, negotiate any possible deal and structure contracts, basically anything just like in real life? So also with the 10 days moratorium of free agency?
- Regarding the coaches pool, my favourite new option, do we finally have all 3 assistant coaches on the bench and part of the staff??

[KidHypeTellem]

Quote: Originally Posted by King_B_Mack

Damn, Sim chimed in? Thanks for separating the topics 23, everything was getting swallowed up by the OA discussion. I'm just gonna repost these questions I asked earlier cause I think they're pretty fair questions about the new additions and hopefully we can get some clarifications on them since the blog wasn't too clear on some of these. If I'm starting a MyGM with the Bulls, but I'd like to have the Sonics in the league. Can I relocate a team outside of MyLeague/MyGM and then start the MyGM with those changes? Will the computer teams re-brand/relocate teams during the course of MyGM or is this strictly a USER initiated feature? Czar's post gave part of the answer regarding jerseys and I feel it's probably safe to assume good news on this one but clarification would be nice. Must we relocate a team to change a team's arena, colors and logos? Will the existing NBA restrictions on re-branding be reflected in the game? For example, past jersey/logo designs can't be brought back without at least a change in the color scheme. Finally, are we only allowed to give our re-branded/relocated teams a Home and Away jersey or can we do alternate jerseys as well. In that same sense, can we still use our team's original jersey selections as sort of a throwback type of thing or would we lose access to wearing them once the re-brand/relocation is complete? For example, if I'm the Cavs and I decide to re-brand the team with a new logo and uniforms after a few years in MyGM, after creating the new jerseys for them, could I still select all of the jerseys that the Cavs started the mode with or would I be limited now to just the new jerseys that I created as part of the re-brand?

Want to add a question to this post.
I saw Da Czar say you can re-brand without need for relocation in MyLeague but is this true for MyGM also?

[Lakerf57n]

Please tell me we can use face scan players on Myleague mode.

[videlsports]

I don't play leagues but I might join one this year, this is an awesome job 2k. Just makes me wish you can make More Sports Games again

[vannwolfhawk]

Quote: Originally Posted by SimBaller

Hi folks, In hindsight, I don't think I did a good job of eloquently explaining why MyLEAGUE Online is what it is, and how it came to be in 2K16. About 5 years ago, I made a strong push to management to give me the resources to provide a fully featured online franchise mode, which later came to be known as The Association: Online. Ambitious, and by-and-large, it worked. Sure, there were some quirks or design decisions that people didn't like (e.g. the moving window of advancement). Once that project was complete, my team and I moved on to other areas of the game. Having watched Online Leagues in NBA 2K14 and NBA 2K15 falter (for lack of a better word), I went back to management very early this year and told them I would be taking over the online league experience once again. This wasn't up for debate. To be fair, the people at VC that worked on this mode the last two years did a very admirable job, they just didn't have the experienced resources needed to deliver the proper experience you guys were craving. Those guys were hungry this year to right the ship. I loved seeing it. For NBA 2K16, we combined our resource pools, which gave us the opportunity for me to allocate some of my more specialized and experienced engineers on this project. One such engineer, Brad, spent the majority of his year coming up with a completely new server-based architecture that is the heart and soul of NBA 2K16's MyLEAGUE Online feature. This brings me to my main point for writing this. I've seen a few mentions (and about 12 of the same post from ataman (oh snap!)) and assumptions of this being the same mode as last year with potentially x and y feature added. This really couldn't be further from the truth. This is a completely new experience built with an all-new backend driving it. Gosh knows it won't be 100% perfect (though we certainly hope it is), but you do have my word that we will give you 110% until it is. We'll work through anything that comes up. Heck, Leftos won't sleep until issues are resolved. Brad is the same way. You guys got the 'A' team supporting you at this point; these are some of the brightest guys in the industry. I played last year's Online Leagues pretty heavily. MyLEAGUE Online isn't last year's leagues. It may not have the offseason you covet, but it does contain the features that make MyLEAGUE such a special experience. You will be able to (and I can't believe some of these weren't there last year, sorry): Make Rotational adjustments Implement Gameplans (and everything that comes with that) Utilize custom playbooks Adjust gameplay sliders (at the admin level) Adjust MyLEAGUE-specific sliders like Trade Negotiation Difficulty (at the admin level) Custom Roster support Control everything as an admin (trade approval, force winners, force losers, reset games, etc. etc. etc.) I see people mention things like, "did they fix the bug about being able to rejoin the league once you leave?" To that, I say no. No, we didn't because this an entirely new experience. That bug never existed in this experience. Unfortunately, time IS a factor when you release an annual title. It's not an excuse I use, because it is my problem, not yours. You want (and deserve) the universe. That being said, I'm tremendously proud of the people who managed to create an all-new online league foundation (that will serve us well as new features are added) while simultaneously making what I think is probably the biggest single year jump in our franchise in a long time. Lastly, I truly appreciate the discussion taking place within this thread regarding MyLEAGUE Online. I'm not one to shy away from a solid discussion or get my feelings hurt because someone doesn't like the way something isn't done. While this is business, this is my passion. This is the same for Leftos, Dave Z, Brad, and everyone else that played a major part in these modes. We WANT to hear your thoughts on what we're adding (or not adding if the case may be). At the end of the day, if it's not abundantly clear even after reading the "Little Things" section of my blog post...We've got your best interests at heart. Enjoy the mode(s) this year.

You had me at "utilize custom playbooks"!!!

[slashpg88]

WOW! This is exactly why 2K should be making other sports games. EA Sports (specifically Madden) comes out with 1-2 changes per year and after a month or two it feels too similar to previous games. I don't think 2K will have that feeling this year! Thank you for bringing online leagues back to life! I was getting worried with all of the attention on Ultimate Team style modes. Take care of the gamers that have been with you from the beginning and the rest will fall into place! 2K needs to make a football game. EA Sports should be reading this and taking notes.

[Junior Moe]

Quote: Originally Posted by 23

Are you guys sold on this because of the customizations or just the mode itself?

For me it is the mode itself. It is just so deep. The customization is just icing on the cake. I'll dabble a little, but I just like to build and watch the league grow and change. I'm sure I will update a few teams' logo/unis/courts after a few years to keep it fresh. But I am an "franchise" guy through and through and they have given MORE options than I honestly will mess with. I downloaded Madden16 early access today and went strait to CFM. The gameplay is solid but I can already tell that CFM isn't up to snuff. Rookies are op and still have odd accessories and I cant do anything about it. As a result, I will probably put Madden down after a month or so because ot's the only mode I really get up on....

They have gone above and beyond to make the mode dynamic and even give us feedback on what the other teams are thinking. There will be quirks, sure, that's any game, but I really feel like these guys "get it". Franchise modes have been put on the back-burner in favor of more lucrative online modes. Nothing wrong with that. I was nodding along reading that blog because I can feel that Simballer is a "franchise nerd" like myself. So while the customization itself doesn't lead me to purchase, it's just a sign of passion and I respect that because it shines through in the entire product. I gladly purchased my little brother a copy of 2k16 and he doesn't even play MyLeague. But I know that 1, the game is just a great product, and 2, the team behind it "gets people like me" and I want to support that because it's a rare thing this day and age.

[Halloween]

Sounds all fun and games but

- if the servers won't work as usual online league won't be ish. They say every year in they work on network architecture etc and every year out I can't even play a simlpe exhibition vs my friends.

- I can't cheer 2k for cutting features, bringing them back a couple years later and sell them as the second coming of the lord. Why haven't auto save OFF and 3 team trades (just to mention an example) been in 2k15 in the first place?


Customization looks good but I won't be spending all year relocating teams. Last year you couldn't even equip players with different shoe brands so I'm still hesitant about all this.

I'm patiently waiting for blogs and vids about gameplay. This gonna sell it for me or not.