NBA 2k15 Modding Thread

[fearwhatnow]

Re: NBA 2k15 Modding Thread

Guys relax. There are hundreds of modders out there. There are no conspiracy theories. It's good that some modders are given the opportunity to develop their hobby. There will always be a new Jao or Vlad out there.

[seanbarkley]

Re: NBA 2k15 Modding Thread

Ah man, really happy for Vlad, sad for the PC community. Damn, we were so close...

[Walt Frazier]

Re: NBA 2k15 Modding Thread

Could someone give me an ELI5 on why it would be beneficial to 2k? The way I see it is they do not currently release any sort of official modding tool (shame, I can only dream of awesome mods all over the workshop), and having this out there means there can be a modding community without them having to actually do anything.

My understanding (which is obviously wrong) is having this tool out there is essentially a free benefit to 2k. Why is this not the case?

Basically...if people can update faces and courts and add new modes like NCAA etc and add rookies and uniforms...it means there are less reasons for people to buy the game every year. Sports games rely on people thinking " i want the new rookies" etc etc to purchase annually...but, especially with how powerful the new player creation mode is, modders could effectively keep the game fresh and up to date. Vlad even said he could add new music.

Even if a small percentage of people are content with a modded NBA 2K 15 and don't buy 2K 16, that is a big loss of revenue.

Their are tonnes of moddders....but they all need the toolmakers to work their magic before anyone can even start. Leftos, Jao and Vlad are light years better than anyone else out there for tools and tutorials.

Side note: and yes, I realise games like Skyrim have great modders. The difference is that those games come out once every five years or so and modding adds a tonne to the longevity to the game.

Sports games want you to purchase something EVERY year that is 95% the same as you purchased a year ago. I will be honest and say that I would be happy skipping purchase every odd year if next gen sports titles could be modded and kept up to date.

[Goffs]

Re: NBA 2k15 Modding Thread

Did Vlad give us an update? I want to know what the negotiation was about.

[23]

Re: NBA 2k15 Modding Thread

Nope not yet

[joosegoose]

Re: NBA 2k15 Modding Thread

Basically...if people can update faces and courts and add new modes like NCAA etc and add rookies and uniforms...it means there are less reasons for people to buy the game every year. Sports games rely on people thinking " i want the new rookies" etc etc to purchase annually...but, especially with how powerful the new player creation mode is, modders could effectively keep the game fresh and up to date. Vlad even said he could add new music.

Even if a small percentage of people are content with a modded NBA 2K 15 and don't buy 2K 16, that is a big loss of revenue.

Their are tonnes of moddders....but they all need the toolmakers to work their magic before anyone can even start. Leftos, Jao and Vlad are light years better than anyone else out there for tools and tutorials.

Side note: and yes, I realise games like Skyrim have great modders. The difference is that those games come out once every five years or so and modding adds a tonne to the longevity to the game.

Sports games want you to purchase something EVERY year that is 95% the same as you purchased a year ago. I will be honest and say that I would be happy skipping purchase every odd year if next gen sports titles could be modded and kept up to date.

Well I can't say that doesn't make sense, thanks for the explanation. I believe I can legitimately say uber modded games wouldn't affect my purchasing at all anyways, as I already only buy when a game has made a notable step forward in gameplay or gameplay modes. 2k15 definitely qualified with the improved AI, next gen on PC (and subsequent attention and patches), and MyLeague (though I'm super disappointed about some things I thought they were going to implement and apparently didn't).

Sports game are expensive as they don't really come on sale until late in the cycle, so simply making the game up to date isn't nearly enough for me to justify the purchase yearly if it's still largely the same game. I actually only got 2k14 in the Steam summer sale and was still playing it like crazy up until a couple weeks ago thanks to UBR and March Madness mods, but the changes made in 2k15 sounded too good to pass up. They improved the game and I rewarded them with a bit of an impulse purchase.

Though, I still understand now how modding could cut into revenue, however much I don't like it. To each their own, and plenty of gamers don't mind buying yearly even when gameplay is largely the same.

[Walt Frazier]

Re: NBA 2k15 Modding Thread

2K's masterplan! Snatching up the tool makers. It's been a good run I guess 2K is afraid that the tools will muck around with their precious VC.

Nail on the head...

[Walt Frazier]

Re: NBA 2k15 Modding Thread

Good luck to the fellas who got jobs out of their work. It is a competitive world and you cannot begrudge any man the chance to earn money and look after his family.


It does seem an obvious tactic though.


The three main tool makers all 'poached'.


Long term, at least it looks like the PC version will be ongoing.


They seem pretty determined though to make sure no one can edit the game. If anyone does crack it open via an editor and can give you new shoes that means no need to spend VC on them.............edit in a new shirt for you = no need to spend VC on it..............etc etc.


While other users are happily paying real money for VC to add things = you can't really sit by and allow a modding community to add things for free.


I guess is the price for the PC version finally catching up with the consoles and the whole online / VC thing.

[Walt Frazier]

Re: NBA 2k15 Modding Thread

Wow this is starting to get into conspiracy theory territory. At least gregkwaste is pretty close to getting a fully working tool out too.

Will be very interesting to see how that develops. If Greg does crack it and people can sidestep VC to edit in shoes etc rather than 'paying' for them via VC, Greg may well find himself getting an email or two from their legal team.


Hopefully not...

[clipperfan811]

Re: NBA 2k15 Modding Thread

My conspiracy comment was a joke btw. It's definitely an interesting devlopment so it'll be fun to hear what this is all about. I hope the modding doesn't get so far that it becomes a legal issue (when it comes to hacking the VC system). That's taking it too far, I just want to be able to update game art (courts, faces etc).

Contrary to what I though, I'm actually enjoying the whole earning VC thing this year. It keeps certain aspects of the game rewarding. And since it's not such a crucial aspect of just doing normal things in game like last year, it's just a fun little bonus reward system.

I'd rather have a fully featured game with basic modding than a fully moddable game that has 1/4 of the features of the consoles. That's just how I feel.

So until this all gets sorted out I'll keep playing what we got and I'm pretty content with that.

[Walt Frazier]

Re: NBA 2k15 Modding Thread

I just want modded faces....keep the VC. But modded faces and courts has always been the reason I buy the PC version. Won't buy it this year un,ess there is modding.


A lot of players need modding...I just can't use 2K's D Will.....

[Goffs]

Re: NBA 2k15 Modding Thread

I don't mind grinding for VC....one thing I'm used to is grinding for stuff since most online PC games requires you to grind for stuff....

If there's a way for the mod tool to not mess with the VC system and just work with the graphics then it's all good. I just want my accurate arenas....crowd lighting needs to be fixed.....the reflection on the courts....dornas....

[BrianFifaFan]

Re: NBA 2k15 Modding Thread

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]

Re: NBA 2k15 Modding Thread

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]

Re: NBA 2k15 Modding Thread

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

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.