Problems loading

[tinpanalley]

All of a sudden, I appear to not be able to load 2K14 without it taking forever and acting like it's essentially frozen and sluggish. Does anyone know if there's been a Windows update recently that's ruined the ability to launch 2K14 properly? I just loaded 3 other games and they're all fine which is what made me think it might be a Windows update thing.
Maybe somebody can tell me what can cause this kind of sluggishness? I've done other tests the hard drive is fine.

[tinpanalley]

Seriously, nobody has ever had any issues with Windows just deciding to no longer smoothly open and load 2K14?

[tinpanalley]

Ok, if anyone's interested, I figured it out. NBA 2K14 will not run properly if you're running a VPN. I have no idea why, it makes no sense but it just won't. 2K12 as well.

[Andrew]

Following the server shutdown, it does seem that some people have performance issues with NBA 2K14 when they're online, possibly because it's still trying to connect despite the end of support. Going offline (either through the Steam settings, or disabling your connection on your PC) seems to resolve it, but it sounds like VPNs might also cause some issues. Either way, good to know, appreciate you sharing the solution!

[tinpanalley]

Following the server shutdown, it does seem that some people have performance issues with NBA 2K14 when they're online, possibly because it's still trying to connect despite the end of support. Going offline (either through the Steam settings, or disabling your connection on your PC) seems to resolve it, but it sounds like VPNs might also cause some issues. Either way, good to know, appreciate you sharing the solution!

So, hang on, since the server shut down (didn't know about that) being online at all can cause issues? When did that happen?
The problem is that now I'm noticing even with the VPN off it isn't working still.

[Andrew]

Yep, that issue's been observed since the servers were shut down in 2015, though it seems not everyone has experienced it. Playing offline often seems to resolve those performance issues for people who do.

The only other thing I can think of would be an issue with a mod if you have any installed. I can confirm that it's working fine for me in Windows 10 with the latest updates.

[tinpanalley]

Yep, that issue's been observed since the servers were shut down in 2015, though it seems not everyone has experienced it. Playing offline often seems to resolve those performance issues for people who do.

The only other thing I can think of would be an issue with a mod if you have any installed. I can confirm that it's working fine for me in Windows 10 with the latest updates.

Then it's gotta be my recent VPN because if 2015 is when this happened, I have only been playing it since 2018.

[Andrew]

Anything running in the background is worth eliminating to see if it's causing issues. Given that it's historically been a connection-related issue, a VPN does seem like a prime candidate.