by Andrew on Sun Feb 18, 2018 10:14 am
I think there's a tangential issue here that's affecting both the people who create and the people who consume content when it comes to modding. We've been a bit spoiled by the modding possibilities in previous games, both the last generation of NBA 2K, and everything we used to do for NBA Live back in the day.
It's understandable, of course. All those great projects have raised the bar, and the inability (or at least, difficulty) to do the same things with the current generation has left people disheartened in terms of creating big projects. At the same time, I think people are also being held back by the idea than anything less than perfect, or less than what was possible on the previous generation, is unacceptable.
That's not to say we shouldn't strive to find ways of doing what we used to do, but there's a reluctance to accept less in the short term. What's possible or feasible may not be up to the level of previous generation's mods, but it's better than nothing, especially while we're figuring out how to make things better on the current generation. There's a reluctance for modders and mod users alike to accept the best that can currently be done, because it's not as much as it used to be. As such, it's come to the point where I think people are hesitant to release work-in-progress mods, and mods that are fun ideas but not quite as deep as we'd like due to the current limitations, for fear that they won't be as well-received.
I guess I have a different perspective here because I remember modding way back in the early days of NBA Live on PC, where we couldn't do as much. Even after the EA Graphics Editor came along, complete total conversion mods were rare (partly due to the fact we were all on dial-up connections, and finding hosting for big files was easier said than done, too). In any case, it was about the core experience that mods provided, be they updated rosters, retro rosters, or concept rosters. Having all those players in the game was more important than having a complete set of accurate faces, jerseys, and logos. Those updates would come of course, but they usually had to be downloaded separately (again, because it was considerably more difficult to handle bigger uploads and downloads).
It should be noted that even the first few versions of the Ultimate Base Roster for NBA 2K12 weren't anywhere near as deep as later releases. Everyone's accustomed to a big pack with several decades of complete season rosters, bonus content, and a current season update. UBR grew into that, and it took quite a few updates to get there. Rome wasn't built in a day, as the saying goes.
Basically, I think we've been unwilling to take a step backwards and make the best of what we can do, while figuring out how to get back to where we were. That's not just on modders, of course. The standards set by previous release have in turn made the community judge work-in-progress mods or the work of beginners somewhat harshly at times, which on top of the standards people are already setting for themselves, makes them less inclined to create content. It's become a vicious cycle that stifles the creativity and output of the modding community.
My suggestion is to return to a focus on creating content that first and foremost either enhances the regular experience, or adds a new experience to the game, while also accepting that some things may not be possible, or just take more time. I think we need to be more open to demo and beta releases, as well as projects that are mostly complete except for art that can be added later. I can say from experience that pressure to make every version of the NLSC roster updates for NBA Live as complete as possible accelerated my burnout. I became reluctant to create smaller releases, especially post-Draft rosters, because if I only added 10-20 picks at a time, I'd invariably receive complaints that I'd "forgotten" to add players, even though the release notes clearly stated that the next batch of Draftees would be added in the next release.
Again, I'm not suggesting that we not aim for a high standard of work, and keep trying to figure out how to do all the awesome things we used to. However, I do think we need to be more open to releases that are still great and fun to play with in their own right; projects that are doing the best they can while we work on methods and techniques, or while further assets are being developed. If we're holding ourselves to the standard that everything must be perfect and 100% complete straight away and that there can't be any pre-1.0 releases, we're leaving ourselves open to burnout, and a toxic atmosphere where we're more judgemental of ourselves and each other, rather than supportive and motivated.
I think we can get back to being as proficient in creating content for the PC as people are for the consoles, at least relative to the size of the respective user bases. It's about doing the best we can in terms of what's possible and feasible, and then taking it from there, rather than getting discouraged and giving up/refusing to accept a project because it's not as detailed as previous mods that were easier to create for previous releases.