VC in 2K - Pay to Play - The Real Issue

[coachcolbert]

MoodMuzik, i hear where youre coming from but thats why mycareer sbould be seperate from the character you use online. i actually agree with you in terms of the rookie to GOAT in one season.

i play the primarily on the weekends. i dont want a button to hit and boom im a 99ovl. id rather everyone start as a 60-65 ovl and have earn all attributes in online play. if you have a string of bad teammate grades and loses you lose attribute points, you gain them by winning and positive teammate grades. do badges the same way. this way the grinders are rewarded as well as the casual gamer who contributes to wins is rewarded as well. if you play the game more you should be better than a casual gamer. but more than anything, folks that are good keep upgrading and those that are not dont.

still charge your vc for cosmetic items but badges and attributes should only be earned in ONLINE play for your online character - just my opinion

[ph33]

Quote: Originally Posted by coachcolbert

MoodMuzik, i hear where youre coming from but thats why mycareer sbould be seperate from the character you use online. i actually agree with you in terms of the rookie to GOAT in one season. i play the primarily on the weekends. i dont want a button to hit and boom im a 99ovl. id rather everyone start as a 60-65 ovl and have earn all attributes in online play. if you have a string of bad teammate grades and loses you lose attribute points, you gain them by winning and positive teammate grades. do badges the same way. this way the grinders are rewarded as well as the casual gamer who contributes to wins is rewarded as well. if you play the game more you should be better than a casual gamer. but more than anything, folks that are good keep upgrading and those that are not dont. still charge your vc for cosmetic items but badges and attributes should only be earned in ONLINE play for your online character - just my opinion

Completely agreed with all, except for the earning badges online part, unless they make it more reasonable. It would make for an even more nightmarish community if they were to pull that on us. For starters, a player should have at least one redeemable specialty (So maybe 70 overallish?). That way they can actually be a role player and not a complete liability.

[MrWrestling3]

Quote: Originally Posted by MoodMuzik

Here's where I think the disconnect is. First, I'm pro-VC, or pro-anything-to-help-those-that-don't-have-the-hours-in-the-day-to-grind-up-to-be-competitive. Because the answer can't be, "well if you don't have the time you can't play the game mode you want to". But the answer also can't be "just click this button and you're an overall 99". Because one neglects the customer and the hours in their life, and the other completely neglects earning your character through hard work. You don't need to grind 4 players to max out in order to "feel what they would be like to use different play styles". There's plenty of Slashers (D-Wade), Face-Up 4's (Lamarcus Aldridge), etc. to understand how they would play. And at the very least... they give you every attribute/badge you would have, so instead of spending $30 to "get a feel for how they'd play", instead spend 5 minutes and literally "Create-A-Player" that build, and play 3-4 Play Now games. I think the grind should be slower in MyCareer, because Lonzo Ball has been touted SO HIGHLY as a game breaker, the next Magic Johnson, the next generation... and he's an 80 overall... do you think 6 months into the NBA season he's going to be a 90 or a 99? No. So why should your character? It's MyCAREER, not MyGOAT-IN-SEASON-ONE. "I'm a 55 overall that's not realistic" ask Anthony Bennett about how unrealistic it is as it's more often the norm than the exception, and it took Kyrie Irving 6 seasons to be a 90 overall (and he shouldn't be lol). You can be a 70 overall and average a 25 point triple double 20 games in, don't tell me you can't "even move your player he's so trash". It's a 20 year career, it's a game that's supposed to last you from September to September, a little grind is just fine (and yes MyCareer could absolutely be sold separately as a DLC). If you are going to do an online/offline seperation, where do you start your players overall? 70? So now it takes less time and less VC to get to a 99 overall? That doesn't solve your problem, it expedites it. You don't need to purchase VC to be competitive, if you don't have the time to grind then VC is a great way to jump the gap, but it's not necessary like so many android games like people are making it out to be. There will always be players like in Killing Floor where they just sit in a bugged corner and kill threw 10 waves at a time to cheese their way to a level, but that's not on the game (other than patching that bug), that's on the player and the way they play. If you want to overhaul the game modes, then that's fine and open for discussion as you should voice your opinion. But you have to understand how the community will take advantage of it. Pro's/Con's.

As it relates to My Career,I think the problem lies solely in it being tied to My Park/Pro-Am to a degree;by making the badges something which can only be earned in My Career they have essentially forced people who are only interested in online to play a mode they don't enjoy at all to get things they need to be competetive in their preferred mode.This is not a good idea as it just ends up with dissatisfied players putting the game on rookie and playing against the CPU in an extremely foolish manner just to get it over with.My solution would be to devise a way to allow players to earn badges organically within the online modes.

The other issue we come to is the gameplay of one mode affecting other modes.For the most part, human beings will take the path of least resistance; they will always seek out that "one cheesy thing" for an advantage and exploit it.This leads to complaining then in turn the devs patch the game to address the cheesy thing,which invariably negatively impacts the game in other ways. Meanwhile, players simply move on and seek out the next "one cheesy thing" and the cycle repeats.While this is somewhat understandable in online modes,it stinks to have the offline experience made worse or unrealistic because online guys found a way to exploit some move or another.

As it relates to earning a character versus simply buying it,I believe this is a failing of the current matchmaking system.Implementing a tiered matchmaking system based on player overall would allow players to take either route without either having a large advantage nor a large disadvantage.

As it comes to online/offline separation, if it did happen I feel it would be more beneficial than harmful as each mode could then be more specifically tailored to the experience each type of player is looking for instead of trying to make one mode be accessible to everyone.Online players want to start at 99 Overall and be MJ right out of the box? It can happen...at the same time, if what My Career players want is to start off as a 1 overall 12 year old kid in Youth League and literally grind their way through their entire
athletic life....cool that can happen too. Most importantly, both can happen without getting in the way of each others fun.

[isdatyt]

I don't have a problem with games charging for additional content. I don't have an issue with games offering paid alternatives to circumvent the "grind" of a game. Not all people have time to devote to video games. What I do take exception with is when that paid alternative offers a significant advantage over the grind.

In MyCareer, normal progression with no bought VC or preorder bonus VC, you can make about 1,200 VC per game on Hall of Fame difficulty IF you perform well. To max out my athleticism on a Playmaker PG build, it was around 50,000 VC. That means if I wanted to grind the game with no added bonus or purchases, it'd take me about 42 games to max out speed which is over half an NBA season. Not to mention that initially you don't even get enough minutes to have a great game netting that 1,200 VC. Imagine if this rookie class couldn't even run at full speed until All-Star break.

Then the MyTeam grinding for MT is a joke. You make at most, 1,900 MT for one game. A game that costs you contracts and shoes, so the profit is basically killed. You literally have to spend hours watching an auction block (which is hours spent NOT playing basketball) in hopes that some dummy undervalued some card so you can flip it for a profit margin. Not to mention it's a clicking race with the 20,000 other people who have the same idea as you.

If grinding the game (by playing) was at least somewhat comparable to purchasing VC (or any other currency in a video game) it'd be no issue. Madden has been the only game I've played where grinding in MUT doesn't seem to provide a serious disadvantage when you don't pay. Some of the best players & rewards can't even be bought in game.

[El_Poopador]

Quote: Originally Posted by isdatyt

Imagine if this rookie class couldn't even run at full speed until All-Star break.

This is my biggest complaint with the way your player starts out. You can improve your skills over time in real life, but you're not going to enter the NBA running a 6.5s 40, then drop to 4.5s later on. Your athleticism isn't going to change that drastically over time.

[ViolenceFight]

Quote: Originally Posted by BrooklynKn1ght

to make it clearer.. U can not Buy TVC u can only earn it. U can only Buy MVC and u can only Usw MVC for Material stuff. not for Upgrades on ur Player.

No. I work 55 hours a week, mostly doubles. I grinded for the last 20 or so attributes, but unfortunately I do not have the time to grind 55 to 99, while trying to be competitive in park or pro-am. I completely get both sides, but it's hard for the few of us that work an actual work week. I come home exhausted. I don't want to come home to go: "Ok, 235 more games and I'm set for pro am". I want to get my necessary grinding done ASAP so I can ENJOY my relaxation.

Honestly I miss 2k13/14's method. People could buy 99, yes, but you instantly could tell horrible players from good players after a few possessions.

Your system basically says "You don't deserve to get to 99 overall because you can't devote much excess time to this game." That's a huge middle finger to consumers.

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[franzis]

Honestly some of you are making it sound much worse than actually is.

It took me less than a month to make MyPlayer somewhat competitive (80ish) and less than 2 months for maxing him out (95 overall).

And I did it without purchasing any VC, just playing the game a couple of hours in the evening and using the 2k app.

It sounds totally reasonable to me.

I don't need to be 95 the very next week I buy the game.

[MBhoops]

I'm not going to get on my high horse and brag about how I'm a big serious important grown up who doesn't have time for all of these childish grinding shenanigans.

Instead I'm going to make the same suggestions I've been making since Park/VC was introduced.

Option A)

Keep everything as is but separate the parks/servers based on your rank.

If you're <80 overall you go to a "bronze" park (or whatever you want to call it). Where you will play with all of the other players with an overall <80.

If you're an 81 through to 89 you play on the "silver" park.

If you're a 90 overall up to 99 then you play on the "gold" park.

Now I know what you're saying; "But Mr Hoops, I'm an important business man who also happens to be 'whipped' and I only get to play for 3 hours per week, I won't be able to play 2k with my single buddies who rank up much quicker than I do"

Fear not! For I have a solution; an "unranked" park where the lowly brown shirts can play alongside the peacocking mascots just like they do now.


Option B)

Separate your career player from your park player entirely. Go back to the 2k's pre-VC where you can have a 7ft black guy named Magnus Steele on one save file and a 5'8 white kid called Pierre Lacroix on another.

Keep VC in both (park as is) if people want to max their career guy at 99 then so be it. As for park, cap the VC purchasing/upgrading at about 88 but START everyone at around a 75ovr and allow people to obtain badges through stuff they do on park instead of career.