Who is the target audience now?

[Vni]

Re: Who is the target audience now?

2k14 on last gen was basically 2k13.

I disagree. I never enjoyed 2K13. Not enough different outcomes to animations, broken animations, no interior defense, unblockable dunks, terrible passing animations, magnetic defense, getting stuck in the glue on the perimeter when freelancing, Plays breaking, unability to stop the off ball movement non sense, spacing, Jay Z.

2K14 fixed almost all theses things and added new stuff. 2K14 current gen is the best 2K to date in my opinion. A way better and way more polished game than 2K13 was.

[Pokes404]

Re: Who is the target audience now?

I agree that association should be brought back. That should be a standard mode in any game and it wasn't a wise decision on 2K's part to remove it. MyGM is a fine addition, but it should be a separate mode, not a replacement for association. I think all yearly-released sports games struggle to be innovative and 2K wanted to try something new in their first next gen title. I appreciate a company taking a few chances and not resting on the laurels, just as long as they listen to the feedback and bring the old association back for those who want it.

Other than that though, I don't see the abandonment of the sim community that some people feel. As their popularity has grown, it's obvious that there has been more focus put into winning over a more casual crowd now that the market is wide open. That's just business. You want to sell as many copies as possible in order to make the biggest profit you can. But I don't see this as abandoning the sim community, just adding in features/modes that will appeal to a broader audience.

While there's always room for improvement, the gameplay captures the nuisances of basketball pretty well. Certainly not perfect, but no game is, or ever will be, a perfect replication of the sport. The controls continue to remain quite complex and are pretty brutal on those who are new to the game. It'd be easy for them to dumb down the controls to accommodate casual players, but they don't. Some animations are too long, and things can be sluggish at times, but they're there to try to give players a sense of weight. It'd be easy for 2K is speed things up in the name of "control responsiveness" for the casual fans (like Madden did years ago), but what that really translates to is removing player locomotion physics and making everything look/feel twitchy, and more arcade-like (one of the gripes I always had with NBA Live). As much as the long animations get under my skin sometimes, I appreciate that the players feel more like real people out there. We also all get pissed when a guy throws a 40-50 foot pass right over a teammates head even though he was wide open, but that's there to keep people from cherry picking all game long. They go overboard with it sometimes, but it's an attempt to get people to play more sim.

The point of all this is that I feel the gameplay is still very much geared towards the simulation crowd. The fact that they are adding things like MyPlayer, MyTeam, and MyGM to appeal more to the casual players doesn't really effect those who want a sim experience (except for the removal of association, which I've already stated needs to be brought back). I play with sliders that I feel replicate the game of basketball well, fire up MyPlayer when I just want to mess around and have fun, and avoid online play altogether unless it's a private team up match. If you don't like the way people play online, or that people spend money to get superstar teams in MyTeam, then simply don't play those modes. If people really want to break a game, figure out a glitch/cheese technique to give themselves a better chance at winning, or just spend money to stack their MyTeam, they will. Just avoid them and you'll be a lot happier. If you do, I think you'll find that the game can be just as fun for sim gamers as it can for casuals. Everyone wins.

Anyways, that's just my 2 cents.

[thedream2k13]

Re: Who is the target audience now?

I agree that association should be brought back. That should be a standard mode in any game and it wasn't a wise decision on 2K's part to remove it. MyGM is a fine addition, but it should be a separate mode, not a replacement for association. I think all yearly-released sports games struggle to be innovative and 2K wanted to try something new in their first next gen title. I appreciate a company taking a few chances and not resting on the laurels, just as long as they listen to the feedback and bring the old association back for those who want it.

Other than that though, I don't see the abandonment of the sim community that some people feel. As their popularity has grown, it's obvious that there has been more focus put into winning over a more casual crowd now that the market is wide open. That's just business. You want to sell as many copies as possible in order to make the biggest profit you can. But I don't see this as abandoning the sim community, just adding in features/modes that will appeal to a broader audience.

While there's always room for improvement, the gameplay captures the nuisances of basketball pretty well. Certainly not perfect, but no game is, or ever will be, a perfect replication of the sport. The controls continue to remain quite complex and are pretty brutal on those who are new to the game. It'd be easy for them to dumb down the controls to accommodate casual players, but they don't. Some animations are too long, and things can be sluggish at times, but they're there to try to give players a sense of weight. It'd be easy for 2K is speed things up in the name of "control responsiveness" for the casual fans (like Madden did years ago), but what that really translates to is removing player locomotion physics and making everything look/feel twitchy, and more arcade-like (one of the gripes I always had with NBA Live). As much as the long animations get under my skin sometimes, I appreciate that the players feel more like real people out there. We also all get pissed when a guy throws a 40-50 foot pass right over a teammates head even though he was wide open, but that's there to keep people from cherry picking all game long. They go overboard with it sometimes, but it's an attempt to get people to play more sim.

The point of all this is that I feel the gameplay is still very much geared towards the simulation crowd. The fact that they are adding things like MyPlayer, MyTeam, and MyGM to appeal more to the casual players doesn't really effect those who want a sim experience (except for the removal of association, which I've already stated needs to be brought back). I play with sliders that I feel replicate the game of basketball well, fire up MyPlayer when I just want to mess around and have fun, and avoid online play altogether unless it's a private team up match. If you don't like the way people play online, or that people spend money to get superstar teams in MyTeam, then simply don't play those modes. If people really want to break a game, figure out a glitch/cheese technique to give themselves a better chance at winning, or just spend money to stack their MyTeam, they will. Just avoid them and you'll be a lot happier. If you do, I think you'll find that the game can be just as fun for sim gamers as it can for casuals. Everyone wins.

Anyways, that's just my 2 cents.

Man u gotta start playing ranked matches and watch your opponents intentionally run into defenders to get contact layups and easy fouls OR watch them dunk on 4 of your defenders with ease with Kobe Bryant

[lgxjames]

Re: Who is the target audience now?

Can I ask, For all those people who say bring association mode back (I've been guilty of it too) But what is the difference between that and MyGM, aside from the VC?

When I say it I kind of know they're both the same thing essentially but I notice people speak of them as 2 TOTALLY different modes...Can someone elab?

[VDusen04]

Re: Who is the target audience now?

Can I ask, For all those people who say bring association mode back (I've been guilty of it too) But what is the difference between that and MyGM, aside from the VC?

When I say it I kind of know they're both the same thing essentially but I notice people speak of them as 2 TOTALLY different modes...Can someone elab?

It's been a little confusing for me. I think most people who say something like, "Bring Association back" are just referencing the previous realistic franchise mode with all of its options. From what I can tell, the primary differences seem to be that MyGM...

-Forces gamers to use their MyPlayer (aka a fake GM unless they go out of their way to make their MyPlayer the specific GM for the franchise they choose)
-Allows gamers to control just one franchise (thus limiting the ability to stabilize their own league experience by executing proper trades and whatnot)
-Forces gamers to buy everyday managing abilities that should be in place from the start
-Features currency in the form of fictional golden coins

As I do not own the game, I don't know what I'm missing, but that seemed to be the gist. The angle seemed to shift from realistic and customizeable management to a grinding story mode of sorts.

[Spokker]

Re: Who is the target audience now?

Might you (or anyone else) be able to point me in the direction of the MLB developer post you referenced? It sounds interesting.

It was about MLB The Show's Manage Only Mode.

http://www.operationsports.com/forum...post2046089697

http://www.operationsports.com/forum...&postcount=111

http://www.operationsports.com/forum...&postcount=121

Many games are recording the things you do in them as long as you are connecting to PSN or Xbox Live.

For the record, I think MoM mode is still in the game due to some very dedicated people on this guy's team.

[Pokes404]

Re: Who is the target audience now?

Man u gotta start playing ranked matches and watch your opponents intentionally run into defenders to get contact layups and easy fouls OR watch them dunk on 4 of your defenders with ease with Kobe Bryant

OK ... but that's precisely why I don't play those modes. People are going to find a way to cheese. It's better on your blood pressure if you simply avoid playing those guys.

[bumpyface]

Re: Who is the target audience now?

I really would like to know why 2k gets a pass and can make a subpar game that gets above average ratings. Is it because of the graphics? Quick match is by far the worst the franchise has ever seen. The control response is so behind that I can press a button, go piss, warm pizza, and get chewed before the player on screen initiates a response to the button press. It's like you have to know what to do even before the situation presents itself. Then you have these false and-1's were D. Howard attempts a dunk, misses but gets fouled on the attempt, and gets credited with 2 points plus a free throw. How the hell does this make it past testing? &*@# 2k!

[VDusen04]

Re: Who is the target audience now?

It was about MLB The Show's Manage Only Mode.

http://www.operationsports.com/forum...post2046089697

http://www.operationsports.com/forum...&postcount=111

http://www.operationsports.com/forum...&postcount=121

Many games are recording the things you do in them as long as you are connecting to PSN or Xbox Live.

For the record, I think MoM mode is still in the game due to some very dedicated people on this guy's team.

I appreciate the effort, good sir. I've always been interested about how these analytics were mined, due to the faction of folks who are not connected online.

Even then, I still feel there's some significant room for error or misinterpretation (beyond the referenced 8%-15% data range). I'd wonder if they take into account all the reasons as to why a particular mode may not be played.

For instance, I'm betting the percentage of gamers utilizing the Dunk Contest in recent 2K's is very small. Some could look at that minuscule data and say, "Meh, noone's playing, let's get rid of it." However, I believe one of the largest reasons that mode is not played is because of its awful implementation. As such, the proper remediation may be fixing up the mode instead of removing it altogether.

[ForeverVersatile]

Re: Who is the target audience now?

The only input that was really taken into consideration was the input regarding controls. The fact is that they have made it easier to abuse things like sprinting full court, cherry pick, running right and left for 3's, drawing charges, playing zones all game, defensive assist, auto contest. This is was casuals are looking to do and to make it easier only says one thing to me. I have gotten responses from Mike Wang via Twitter and he told me they were working on things that myself and others have tweeted about so let's see what happens.

[LD2k]

Re: Who is the target audience now?

The only input that was really taken into consideration was the input regarding controls. The fact is that they have made it easier to abuse things like sprinting full court, cherry pick, running right and left for 3's, drawing charges, playing zones all game, defensive assist, auto contest. This is was casuals are looking to do and to make it easier only says one thing to me. I have gotten responses from Mike Wang via Twitter and he told me they were working on things that myself and others have tweeted about so let's see what happens.

Definitely things the game play team are aware of. User behavior is a great tool for us as we can see what players are doing.

I really would like to know why 2k gets a pass and can make a subpar game that gets above average ratings. Is it because of the graphics? Quick match is by far the worst the franchise has ever seen. The control response is so behind that I can press a button, go piss, warm pizza, and get chewed before the player on screen initiates a response to the button press. It's like you have to know what to do even before the situation presents itself. Then you have these false and-1's were D. Howard attempts a dunk, misses but gets fouled on the attempt, and gets credited with 2 points plus a free throw. How the hell does this make it past testing? &*@# 2k!

[NDAlum]

Re: Who is the target audience now?

I just want association mode back with the option for 29 game seasons.

I was rather disappointed with the version this year due to the early crash issues and I took advantage of a good $40 trade in offer.

I'm hopeful 2K can just get back to the basics of great on-court basketball and a solid association mode. I understand they are likely getting solid revenues from MP and VC things, but damn man I just want some great offline basketball and even I'd hop into a nice online league.

If I were to pay for anything, it would be an online league creation. I'd pay $10 to have an online league with some solid options and stable servers.

[thedream2k13]

Re: Who is the target audience now?

OK ... but that's precisely why I don't play those modes. People are going to find a way to cheese. It's better on your blood pressure if you simply avoid playing those guys.

Sitting offline playing the CPU isn't fun . playing with people is. Its the game coding that allows for excessive and one dunks and such.the game is coded to be "exciting " with lots of highlight plays. Avoiding game modes isn't going to fix a development issue that plagues the entire game

[thedream2k13]

Re: Who is the target audience now?

The only input that was really taken into consideration was the input regarding controls. The fact is that they have made it easier to abuse things like sprinting full court, cherry pick, running right and left for 3's, drawing charges, playing zones all game, defensive assist, auto contest. This is was casuals are looking to do and to make it easier only says one thing to me. I have gotten responses from Mike Wang via Twitter and he told me they were working on things that myself and others have tweeted about so let's see what happens.

I HATE ALL OF THE DEFENSIVE ASSISTANCE IN THIS GANE NOW. WE DONT NEED AUTO ANYTHING!

[El_Poopador]

Re: Who is the target audience now?

Definitely things the game play team are aware of. User behavior is a great tool for us as we can see what players are doing.

What does this mean though? Being aware of something doesn't mean anything if it's not going to change. What exactly is being worked on? What things are you aware of that are actually being addressed? For example, you've been "aware" of glitch with players changing heights for months, but it's still in the game. You've been "aware" that playcalling in My Career is broken, but it still doesn't work properly. You've been "aware" that free agency is non-existent in My Career, but that's still nowhere to be found.