I'd like to see better Communication and Transparency from 2K in 2K18

[NoLeafClover]

I think one of the biggest points of acrimony from the community towards 2K, particularly this year, has been the dead silence on a host of issues ranging from game mode decisions, to bugs, to how badges work, to patches, and various other items that leaves many of us feel like we're kept in the dark on purpose. :o

I am the marketing manager for a tech/software company that I am sure is nowhere near the size of 2K, and we have dedicated Customer/Community management staff whose sole responsibilities are to keep customers up to date on current developments via forums, social, direct lines of communication etc and answer questions/give feedback as to what is happening or changing, what to look forward to, respond to issues they may have, etc.

Creating those roles were some of the best investments we ever made and they've allowed us to improve our apps and products tenfold, as well as ease customer frustrations and lead to overall better profits and brand image.

I think we basically need to accept the fact that Ronnie and LD2K are not truly "Community Managers" and are pretty much just PR/marketing staff (nothing wrong with that, just a fact of the role) and not really there to liaise with the community or pass on feedback or issues; hell, Beluba who is lead game designer has done about 50x the value of this when it isn't even his responsibility.

Given the money they are obviously making from the game's popularity, and the minimal investment it would take to hire people in roles like this, we might actually have people answer our questions on perpetual issues like:

- Can we expect another patch in X amount of time, or is this it?
- Why doesn't matchmaking work in Play Now Online?
- What do badges truly do? What are the percentages, what situations do they work in, etc.?
- Where are the servers located? How do they work for connecting people into games? Are there regional servers, is it P2P, what?
- What are you aiming to improve next year? What can we look forward to the rest of the year?

etc. etc. I am sure we could all go on.

Communication is key for brand loyalty, and the lack of it has led people to truly have interest in how NBA Live turns out, which is the last thing you should want as a brand that's dominant at the moment in my opinion.

Do you all feel you'd be less frustrated with better communication? How else could they improve these channels?

[isdatyt]

Re: I'd like to see better Communication and Transparency from 2K in 2K18

This is so true. There are still things in this game that I don't understand. Things that change on patches with no notice (Having to let the jab step complete before shooting or get called for a travel never happened to me until recently). Not addressing glaring issues like how fast breaks have literally been broken since launch along with alley-oops.

If you can't be on top of issues in terms of correcting them, at least acknowledge them. Give us an ETA or something. It's like they're saying, we gave you this game, shut up and play and obviously they have the market cornered on NBA games so it's not like we can take our business elsewhere. It's a really an effed up situation to be in as a consumer.

[ph33]

Re: I'd like to see better Communication and Transparency from 2K in 2K18

I also want to know the reason they are dead silent when it comes to obtaining badges and how it is done.

[awg811]

Re: I'd like to see better Communication and Transparency from 2K in 2K18

I think one of the biggest points of acrimony from the community towards 2K, particularly this year, has been the dead silence on a host of issues ranging from game mode decisions, to bugs, to how badges work, to patches, and various other items that leaves many of us feel like we're kept in the dark on purpose. :o

I am the marketing manager for a tech/software company that I am sure is nowhere near the size of 2K, and we have dedicated Customer/Community management staff whose sole responsibilities are to keep customers up to date on current developments via forums, social, direct lines of communication etc and answer questions/give feedback as to what is happening or changing, what to look forward to, respond to issues they may have, etc.

Creating those roles were some of the best investments we ever made and they've allowed us to improve our apps and products tenfold, as well as ease customer frustrations and lead to overall better profits and brand image.

I think we basically need to accept the fact that Ronnie and LD2K are not truly "Community Managers" and are pretty much just PR/marketing staff (nothing wrong with that, just a fact of the role) and not really there to liaise with the community or pass on feedback or issues; hell, Beluba who is lead game designer has done about 50x the value of this when it isn't even his responsibility.

Given the money they are obviously making from the game's popularity, and the minimal investment it would take to hire people in roles like this, we might actually have people answer our questions on perpetual issues like:

- Can we expect another patch in X amount of time, or is this it?
- Why doesn't matchmaking work in Play Now Online?
- What do badges truly do? What are the percentages, what situations do they work in, etc.?
- Where are the servers located? How do they work for connecting people into games? Are there regional servers, is it P2P, what?
- What are you aiming to improve next year? What can we look forward to the rest of the year?

etc. etc. I am sure we could all go on.

Communication is key for brand loyalty, and the lack of it has led people to truly have interest in how NBA Live turns out, which is the last thing you should want as a brand that's dominant at the moment in my opinion.

Do you all feel you'd be less frustrated with better communication? How else could they improve these channels?

Made a similar comment in a different thread.

2k needs to be way more transparent and way more vocal on the many flaws in this game.

[killxmike]

Re: I'd like to see better Communication and Transparency from 2K in 2K18

Post of the year. Especially the part of Beluba doing 100x more community management than the so called community managers.

[Breakstarter]

Re: I'd like to see better Communication and Transparency from 2K in 2K18

2k.....transparency.....pfffttt yeah right.

[Breakstarter]

Re: I'd like to see better Communication and Transparency from 2K in 2K18

I think one of the biggest points of acrimony from the community towards 2K, particularly this year, has been the dead silence on a host of issues ranging from game mode decisions, to bugs, to how badges work, to patches, and various other items that leaves many of us feel like we're kept in the dark on purpose. :o

I am the marketing manager for a tech/software company that I am sure is nowhere near the size of 2K, and we have dedicated Customer/Community management staff whose sole responsibilities are to keep customers up to date on current developments via forums, social, direct lines of communication etc and answer questions/give feedback as to what is happening or changing, what to look forward to, respond to issues they may have, etc.

Creating those roles were some of the best investments we ever made and they've allowed us to improve our apps and products tenfold, as well as ease customer frustrations and lead to overall better profits and brand image.

I think we basically need to accept the fact that Ronnie and LD2K are not truly "Community Managers" and are pretty much just PR/marketing staff (nothing wrong with that, just a fact of the role) and not really there to liaise with the community or pass on feedback or issues; hell, Beluba who is lead game designer has done about 50x the value of this when it isn't even his responsibility.

Given the money they are obviously making from the game's popularity, and the minimal investment it would take to hire people in roles like this, we might actually have people answer our questions on perpetual issues like:

- Can we expect another patch in X amount of time, or is this it?
- Why doesn't matchmaking work in Play Now Online?
- What do badges truly do? What are the percentages, what situations do they work in, etc.?
- Where are the servers located? How do they work for connecting people into games? Are there regional servers, is it P2P, what?
- What are you aiming to improve next year? What can we look forward to the rest of the year?

etc. etc. I am sure we could all go on.

Communication is key for brand loyalty, and the lack of it has led people to truly have interest in how NBA Live turns out, which is the last thing you should want as a brand that's dominant at the moment in my opinion.

Do you all feel you'd be less frustrated with better communication? How else could they improve these channels?

Disclaimer:This is Not a 2K Bash...I know how sensitive you guys get on this forum.

Hello, I'm a Hardcore 2k gamer for over 17 years now. Going based off of
what I've witness over the past decade, i think im able to answer some of your concerns regarding the direction that 2k has going forward.

- Why doesn't matchmaking work in Play Now Online?
Because 2k is cheap and doesnt want to to put up the money for 2 development teams. 2 development teams would give each team 2 years to work on their game and would possibly be able to address legacy issues that plague this franchise. Games Like Call of duty who have developers working with Treyarch and developers working on Infinity Ward have the ability to have TIME to work out kinks and work on a finished product without the need for multiple patches within 3 months of the game being launched.
It would also help them develop a brand new engine because the way it is currently set up, Defense has not been able to match the offense, and if 2k continues to go on this annual release, they will just be ultimately remixing an old format with updated rosters and a new User interface, with a tweak here and there. What we need are two teams dedicated top making sure on a bi-annual basis that we(the customers) are getting the best product possible.


With sales numbers like this: http://www.playstationlifestyle.net/...pared-to-2k15/
Theres no reason why they cant afford a 2nd team working to make 2k the best Basketball simulation on the market.

- What do badges truly do? What are the percentages, what situations do they work in, etc.?

http://www.operationsports.com/featu...-skills-guide/

So the badge system was introduced in 2k15 but honestly it started with signatures styles on last gen with 2k14. If i remember correctly, Operation Sports Posted what each signature Skill did, and how much of a percentage they affected each area. Although we're heading into 2k18 and some of these skills are no longer here or turned into badges, or mental badges, the percentage to how they affect your myplayer should relatively be the same if i'm not correct.

- Where are the servers located? How do they work for connecting people into games? Are there regional servers, is it P2P, what?

I was able to sneak a Top secret image from one of my undercover agents in deep cover over at 2k sports and we finally have images of 2k's Servers and who is running them.



- What are you aiming to improve next year? What can we look forward to the rest of the year?

Honestly, i think we can all agree that 2k will increase the price of VC, we will get more patches, Defense will not be addressed so that it can match the offense. Until then, the Offense will constantly get nerfed. Explosiveness out of dribbling will never come back, Player movement will Never go back to 2k11 where all players felt nice and light, unlike now where everyone feels heavy and weighted and cant stop on a dime and change directions. Oh, and I'm sure Esports will continue to be their main focus, even though the gameplay needs work, and the servers are too stressed to make 5 vs 5 matchmaking work flawlessly. Other than that, i'm sure we will all be playing 2k next year, but dont expect much until we get some major changes around here. Just 2 my cents.

[The 24th Letter]

Re: I'd like to see better Communication and Transparency from 2K in 2K18

Adding a disclaimer at the beginning doesnt make that any less of a borderline troll post, lets keep a good thread on topic.

Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk

[Smirkin Dirk]

Re: I'd like to see better Communication and Transparency from 2K in 2K18

Disclaimer:This is Not a 2K Bash...I know how sensitive you guys get on this forum.


Honestly, i think we can all agree that 2k will increase the price of VC, we will get more patches, Defense will not be addressed so that it can match the offense. Until then, the Offense will constantly get nerfed. Explosiveness out of dribbling will never come back, Player movement will Never go back to 2k11 where all players felt nice and light, unlike now where everyone feels heavy and weighted and cant stop on a dime and change directions. Oh, and I'm sure Esports will continue to be their main focus, even though the gameplay needs work, and the servers are too stressed to make 5 vs 5 matchmaking work flawlessly. Other than that, i'm sure we will all be playing 2k next year, but dont expect much until we get some major changes around here. Just 2 my cents.

Firstly, your post was a 2k bash. It's the type of hyperbolic post that is easily dismissed.

You don't have to buy VC. Defense is constantly changing and being developed. You wouldnt have played 2K11 in at least 5 years; the players skated around regardless of size. E-sports isnt the main focus.

[Foldzy]

Re: I'd like to see better Communication and Transparency from 2K in 2K18

2k already lost my customer loyalty - the problem is that they're the only good basketball game out there.

I'd even play a fictional basketball game (like Mutant League Sports used to do) if it had better gameplay and servers.

I feel the same way, I actually love this game and love basketball, but their greed just kills it for me

[LorenzoDC]

Re: I'd like to see better Communication and Transparency from 2K in 2K18

I co-sign the OP 100%.

The thing I would add as my rage beef with 2k this year on communication has been the complete lack of it when it comes to OG's defensive changes, options, and adjustments available to the user. We've had no explanations.

The same is true, though not as much, about the offensive stuff Czar has put in, though he has dribbled out some things over time with his weekend streams on his own time.

2K apparently made the decision to forbid developer blogs about offense and defense the way OG and Czar did last year. And yet they rebuilt the difficulty system around the new ACE improvements. So they valued the new additions to the game enough to rebuild the structure of game difficulty, but not enough to tell us anything about what's new on the game on that front.

That's ridiculous. The OS defensive settings wiki is one long futile cry for answers that never came. There are still some basic things we don't know about ACE for offense, such as what default freelance systems each team runs.

Community engagement can be reactive to questions, as the OP highlights, but there's also just basics for describing the product you are putting on the street - just basic features and improvements information. 2K went very minimal on that this year, and that was a bad decision.

Granted, a lot of what they put in didn't work as intended, but if they at least told us what the defensive settings and options in particular were designed to do, then we could have given more intelligent feedback to help them make improvements. They justifiably complain about all the useless angry feedback, but they didn't give us the basic understanding people needed to provide informed feedback. Communication goes two ways.

2k desperately needs better, deeper, knowledgeable, two way community engagements as the OP describes. I may end up buying the game next year, but as things stand now, not early, and not at release. Not unless this communication stuff gets cleaned up.

[Hellquist]

Re: I'd like to see better Communication and Transparency from 2K in 2K18

Agreed.

It's not only the communication but the marketing needs to get better. They have the worst marketing I've ever seen in gaming. A lot of us were in the dark with the game details until a few weeks before release.

It was bad from the beginning in this cycle. I and others pre-ordered for the Dream Team. We didn't get the Dream Team until 3 weeks later. That was a bad way to respond to this. When this occurred 2K did nothing. They ignored it for awhile. Check their Twitter and it was like everything was rosy. That was the beginning of the bad communication. Now it's responding to things that don't matter. Sharpshooters tweeting about not shooting 80% anymore, so that was responded to not the million other flaws in the game like the acclaimed ACE system, which still doesn't highlight when you select an option. Okay?

2K has to step their game up on 2K18. NBA Live 17 is going to swoop in without notice and it will be too late. Might sound silly but it can happen. You can't stay on top forever and what goes up most come down...

You can't be cocky and think you can just continue how you operate without consequences. "They will keep buying the game, so????" It's not enough. Mods can do what they want with my post if I am out of line. I hope this won't be deleted.

[MontanaMan]

Re: I'd like to see better Communication and Transparency from 2K in 2K18

Yea it's been an issue for the past few years and can come across as arrogance.

[Diceman7]

Re: I'd like to see better Communication and Transparency from 2K in 2K18

The community managers are couple of clowns..combine that with a rapidly declining game. They'll be out of business in 2 years. My park might save them though. This series is done in my opinion. Absolutely no scenario where I buy this game next year.

[NoLeafClover]

Re: I'd like to see better Communication and Transparency from 2K in 2K18

If one wants to see a microcosm of this problem, just go have a look at 2K's Official Forums... It's nothing but a wasteland of unanswered frustration and an echo chamber for people asking for feedback, with no responses.

Why even bother setting up forums if you plan to have zero interaction with your customers? Just sums up the lack of care, IMO.

Very thankful that OS exists, to say the least.

Sent from my SM-T810 using Operation Sports mobile app