What happened to 2K's crowd? The Atmosphere has regressed in the worse way

[El_Poopador]

Re: What happened to 2K's crowd? The Atmosphere has regressed in the worse way

Honestly, the playoff atmosphere in the game is decent. Not great, but ok. But even that suffers from what was mentioned above, with crowds not getting hyped at the appropriate times.

Commentary, as well, needs a complete overhaul when it comes to recognizing things happening on the court. It's great that they don't have much dead air, but most of the commentary is just filler discussion, and not about the game in front of them.

[Thrustie]

Re: What happened to 2K's crowd? The Atmosphere has regressed in the worse way

Honestly, the playoff atmosphere in the game is decent. Not great, but ok. But even that suffers from what was mentioned above, with crowds not getting hyped at the appropriate times.

Commentary, as well, needs a complete overhaul when it comes to recognizing things happening on the court. It's great that they don't have much dead air, but most of the commentary is just filler discussion, and not about the game in front of them.

I think that’s a stretch. Every NBA broadcast I watch is ripe with filler discussion whether it’s TNT, ESPN or the local broadcasters. Yeah there’s more contextual filler talk in real games but asking them to replicate that in a video game is ridiculous. In real life, they can talk in detail about what occurred last game, pull footage and even talk about trends throughout the season.

2Ks broadcast is very well done. They have a story or sound bite about practically every player in the game.

[El_Poopador]

Re: What happened to 2K's crowd? The Atmosphere has regressed in the worse way

I think that’s a stretch. Every NBA broadcast I watch is ripe with filler discussion whether it’s TNT, ESPN or the local broadcasters. Yeah there’s more contextual filler talk in real games but asking them to replicate that in a video game is ridiculous. In real life, they can talk in detail about what occurred last game, pull footage and even talk about trends throughout the season.

But the focus of the commentary should be on the game happening now. I'm fine with the filler to an extent, but if I have a player who scored the last 10 points for my team, they should mention that. If I've knocked down 3 triples in a row, or back to back triples after a big defensive stop in a close game, the commentary in the game doesn't seem to notice. There's no awareness of what's happening on the court in the context of the score or time remaining.

I've been saying for years that I want the commentary to focus on the court more than side stories, because it's considerably more exciting, and less repetitive.

I use this clip almost every time I talk about it, because it shows how far we still have to go, and how much better it could be.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tyd4NPvzKQg" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

They still have side discussions here, but every time he makes another consecutive shot, they recognize it and talk about it. The more he makes, the more excited everyone, even the home crowd for the other team, becomes. They realize that knocking down shot after shot like that, and especially shots from way behind the line, is not normal. There's excitement to it, both in watching and listening. When you do something like that in 2k, each shot is independent of the rest in terms of commentary and crowd excitement.

2Ks broadcast is very well done. They have a story or sound bite about practically every player in the game.

This is great when you don't play often, or you play with different teams every time you play. But when you play a full season, or multiple seasons with one team, you hear the same lines over and over. And while that is going to happen in any video game, it's much more bearable when the lines being repeated are about something that just happened on the court, rather than hearing about something that happened in the offseason for umpteenth time.

[VDusen04]

Re: What happened to 2K's crowd? The Atmosphere has regressed in the worse way

Many things aren't realistic in this game

The fake spurs chant

The sombie chant every team has

The crowd going silent when you make big buckets

The crowd sitting down when you make big buckets

I'm more about excitement when I play than some docile environment

It's been messed up for years

These are some of the biggest issues to me. I don't need a game where the crowd is going nuts for 48 minutes in the preseason, but consistent context-appropriate crowd responses would be great.

I feel like I say this every year but I really struggle to understand how 2K can be so advanced and precise in so many aspects of their game while the audio can often feel so haphazard and amateur. They've made strides in some respects over the years (game-winners are awesome experiences in 2K right now) but I'm still left with lots of questions regarding everything else.

As a sidenote, I'll add another specific audio annoyance:

-Home crowd response often seems too closely hard-wired to point differential. As in, if I'm down 11, the crowd's dead, whether I'm down 11 with 20 seconds left, whether I was down 30 three minutes ago and I'm in the midst of a 19-0 run, or whether the crowd was going insane while I was down just nine two seconds ago but my opponent just scored. There oftentimes seems to be a lack of context behind a number of crowd responses.

Lastly, I need to really emphasize my agreement with you regarding arena lighting. It seems like we've lost a fair bit of atmosphere over the years and I'm not cool with that. Sometimes it feels like we're taking one step forward and one step back.

Here's Richfield Coliseum in 1989 (real life):



Here's Richfield Coliseum in 1989 (2K18):



I liken a lot of these 2K arenas to playing a brownout. It's as if they've cut the power to everywhere but the court in order to preserve electricity. Separately, why is the baseline and tunnel region so empty?

And whats up with the mini parachutes always dropping into the crowd? Is that supposed to simulate a tee-shirt cannon? Where in the world do you actually see that? It looks ridiculous

They dropped these at The Palace in their final years. However, here's an important caveat: it was usually only done once a game or so and it most definitely never happened during on-court action. I'm actually pretty optimistic that 2K will prevent situations like this from happening next year (the parachutes, not the winner):

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/02sWOehhqHc" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Edit: Even the screenshot for the video above makes it look like Ron Harper is literally playing in the dark.

[GisherJohn24]

Re: What happened to 2K's crowd? The Atmosphere has regressed in the worse way

I just noticed this thread...


23 killed my vibe for the rest of the day reminding me of what once was...



I'm still trying to get over the regression in the presentation of the game over the years... The older games especially 2k9 did a far better job of capturing the excitement and environment of an NBA game than the current offerings...



They did an excellent job of getting you hyped to play a game of 2K...

That's why I keep my old nba 2k games. I have 3 used 360's in my cubbord just in case!

[NINJAK2]

Re: What happened to 2K's crowd? The Atmosphere has regressed in the worse way

I am no game developer or anything but 2k's decision to change it's lighting from 2k14 might be due to some limits in it's engine and/or resources. Everyone is of the opinion that the lighting was way better in 2k14 and if they could do it easily they would just go back to it. There is WAY MORE content in the game now when compared to 2k14 and that might be the reason it got scaled back so much.


As far as crowd noise that has been something 2k has routinely struggled with. As a Portland, Oregon native I have been to a bunch of games and the crowd is relatively quiet outside of the start and closing moments of a close contest. You basically just hear sneakers squeaking, teammates communicating with one another, and music blaring until something of consequence happens on the court. 2k certainly needs to improve how the crowd reacts to what happens on the court as the 2k9 video posted is evidence that they can do it.


In regards to commentary responding to what happens on the court/field of play during the game, NFL 2k5 was the best I've ever heard in that aspect. Main reason I believe that was the case was because they had actors who were exclusively paid to record hours upon hours of commentary compared to using real personalities who you have restricted time windows in order to get what you need.

[midwestking100]

Re: What happened to 2K's crowd? The Atmosphere has regressed in the worse way

Does anybody think this is a good idea of having the home fans to boo the superstar of the opposing team every time he touches the ball?

Sent from my Z981 using Operation Sports mobile app

[midwestking100]

Re: What happened to 2K's crowd? The Atmosphere has regressed in the worse way

Then get cheers once he gets knocked to the floor by his opponent.

Sent from my Z981 using Operation Sports mobile app

[midwestking100]

Re: What happened to 2K's crowd? The Atmosphere has regressed in the worse way

These are some of the biggest issues to me. I don't need a game where the crowd is going nuts for 48 minutes in the preseason, but consistent context-appropriate crowd responses would be great.

I feel like I say this every year but I really struggle to understand how 2K can be so advanced and precise in so many aspects of their game while the audio can often feel so haphazard and amateur. They've made strides in some respects over the years (game-winners are awesome experiences in 2K right now) but I'm still left with lots of questions regarding everything else.

As a sidenote, I'll add another specific audio annoyance:

-Home crowd response often seems too closely hard-wired to point differential. As in, if I'm down 11, the crowd's dead, whether I'm down 11 with 20 seconds left, whether I was down 30 three minutes ago and I'm in the midst of a 19-0 run, or whether the crowd was going insane while I was down just nine two seconds ago but my opponent just scored. There oftentimes seems to be a lack of context behind a number of crowd responses.

Lastly, I need to really emphasize my agreement with you regarding arena lighting. It seems like we've lost a fair bit of atmosphere over the years and I'm not cool with that. Sometimes it feels like we're taking one step forward and one step back.

Here's Richfield Coliseum in 1989 (real life):



Here's Richfield Coliseum in 1989 (2K18):



I liken a lot of these 2K arenas to playing a brownout. It's as if they've cut the power to everywhere but the court in order to preserve electricity. Separately, why is the baseline and tunnel region so empty?

They dropped these at The Palace in their final years. However, here's an important caveat: it was usually only done once a game or so and it most definitely never happened during on-court action. I'm actually pretty optimistic that 2K will prevent situations like this from happening next year (the parachutes, not the winner):

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/02sWOehhqHc" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Edit: Even the screenshot for the video above makes it look like Ron Harper is literally playing in the dark.

That Cavs court on 2k is missing a second line by the three point line

Sent from my Z981 using Operation Sports mobile app

[strawberryshortcake]

Re: What happened to 2K's crowd? The Atmosphere has regressed in the worse way

I am no game developer or anything but 2k's decision to change it's lighting from 2k14 might be due to some limits in it's engine and/or resources. Everyone is of the opinion that the lighting was way better in 2k14 and if they could do it easily they would just go back to it. There is WAY MORE content in the game now when compared to 2k14 and that might be the reason it got scaled back so much.

Spoiler

As far as crowd noise that has been something 2k has routinely struggled with. As a Portland, Oregon native I have been to a bunch of games and the crowd is relatively quiet outside of the start and closing moments of a close contest. You basically just hear sneakers squeaking, teammates communicating with one another, and music blaring until something of consequence happens on the court. 2k certainly needs to improve how the crowd reacts to what happens on the court as the 2k9 video posted is evidence that they can do it.


In regards to commentary responding to what happens on the court/field of play during the game, NFL 2k5 was the best I've ever heard in that aspect. Main reason I believe that was the case was because they had actors who were exclusively paid to record hours upon hours of commentary compared to using real personalities who you have restricted time windows in order to get what you need.

Just a brief remark about the lighting atmosphere. All I will say is that PS3s 2k9's lighting (and color palette) could very well be better than anything this current generation. Mind you I never played 2k9; my opinion is based on youtube footage especially when looking at the Celtics' floor and team jersey and player skin tone.

2k15, 2k16, 2k17, 2k18's lighting is still missing the mark. 2k14's lighitng is still a toss up -- some of the arena's floor is "missing the mark".


NBA2k9 Lighting - Celtics vs Lakers gameplay

Spoiler

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/B_dDIc69wU4" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

This gif can easily be mistaken for real footage. That is what is missing from current 2k PS4/XB1
<iframe src='https://gfycat.com/ifr/VagueHugeFurseal' frameborder='0' scrolling='no' width='541' height='304' allowfullscreen></iframe><p> <a href="https://gfycat.com/gifs/detail/VagueHugeFurseal">via Gfycat</a></p>

[cb1115]

Re: What happened to 2K's crowd? The Atmosphere has regressed in the worse way

how NBA Live 10 (!!!) is still the gold standard for crowd atmosphere in simulation basketball is beyond me. loved how that game had different settings for regular season, playoffs, and Finals that meaningfully changed crowd look and noise.

at this point, it's probably safe to assume that the dark arena lighting is a technical limitation. we'll probably just have to wait another year or two for next-gen consoles at this point. if it's just an artistic choice, it's a bad one.

2K dropped the ball in so many ways this generation but, with no meaningful competition, it just didn't matter. it sucks.

[CaseIH]

Re: What happened to 2K's crowd? The Atmosphere has regressed in the worse way

This is NBA2K9

<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LoVHaAyBMGk" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0"></iframe>



What happened?

Now we have dark arenas and the crowds cheer loud when its only a few minutes left in the game.

This needs to be brought back.

I didnt buy NBA2k9, it was the only yr I have never bought NBA2k, as it was my way of protesting them not making Choops, so I stuck with Choops2k8 and NBA2k8, instead of buying NBA2k9.
After seeing that vid, its hard to believe that was so long ago with how god it looked. You are definitely right the game has regressed in when it comes to the crowds graphics and sound. The atmosphere in that vid definitely seemed closer to real life than what we have with NBA2k18.

[Walt Frazier]

Re: What happened to 2K's crowd? The Atmosphere has regressed in the worse way

Down by 20 with 1 min left and you hit a 3 = crowd goes nuts.

Up 1 with a few seconds left and you come up with a great defensive play to win the game = crowd barely reacts.

2K 'atmosphere'...

[AllStarDaDon]

Re: What happened to 2K's crowd? The Atmosphere has regressed in the worse way

Some of yall Trippin the game still looks like real basketball let’s not get it twisted lol.

But yes the court and crowd are way to dark. And the crowd atmosphere sucks majority of the time. The sad thing tho is some time I had some games were the crowd was damn right amazing in this game. For real when the crowd atmosphere isn’t broken this game comes to life, but it’s mainly dead 85-90% of time which is alot.

There’s time u get big defensive stops like the guy above said and the crowd is quiet. Then you’re down 20 and the crowd is going wild. PLEASE improve crowd reaction crowd reactions in certain situations cause it effects the game tremendously. When the reactions are right thegame gets loud and amazing. I remember the general consensus on 2K9 was the game was loud af lol.

But the 2K9 atmosphere was a bit overrated tho. Crowd aren’t college crowds for 48 minutes lol, but when it’s time it’s time.

[hoopheid]

Re: What happened to 2K's crowd? The Atmosphere has regressed in the worse way

how NBA Live 10 (!!!) is still the gold standard for crowd atmosphere in simulation basketball is beyond me. loved how that game had different settings for regular season, playoffs, and Finals that meaningfully changed crowd look and noise.

Live still does that. 18 had it. You could select which game (regular, conference finals or finals) and the crowd would change accordingly.