Monday Tip-Off: Revised In-Universe Value of VC in NBA 2K20

[[Q]]

Wow, I had no idea this was an actual thing. Was this in 2k16? I think I might have remembered something similar in the game, but I could be mistaken

I do remember they started doing this in Fifa but I think you had to go to a website or something to set it all up.

This definitely should not be in the game. And to put an ATM there to encourage it is way too problematic. Much like the ATM at the casino or strip club, they're not forcing you to participate but they are really encouraging it. This would have been bad for me personally if this was 2k7 and I was still playing the game religiously like I was then because I definitely enjoyed my fair share of gambling. Much like poker, it's gambling against others in what is mostly a game of skill but at the casino the house takes a rake for its role in facilitating the game. Just like how in LUT auctions the game took a percentage of all auctioned cards. Does 2k let you bet straight up against opponents or do they take a cut?

[Andrew]

It's actually been in the game since NBA 2K15. You can actually find posts praising it back then. I don't think there's a percentage taken out a la the auction fees in MyTEAM and LUT, but yeah, it's straight up gambling.

[Andrew]

Monday Tip-Off: Revisiting My NBA 2K18 Dunking Issue

From the first iteration of MyPLAYER Archetypes to NBA 2K20's pie charts, player builds have been a contentious aspect of MyCAREER and its connected modes. The approach is intended to balance the game and allow us to create the type of player that best suits us, but in reality, it's proven to be very restrictive. Only a handful of builds are viable - especially when it comes to online play - and those tend to be noticeably overpowered. Conversely, a lot of the builds that aren't as viable are often outright broken, and not enjoyable to play with.

I encountered a very strange issue with dunking back in NBA 2K18, playing as a Sharpshooting Playmaker. Despite increasing my ratings, equipping the appropriate animations, and being very familiar with the advanced shooting controls, I was rarely able to get my player to dunk. Hearing that there might be an issue with tendencies for point guards created in The Prelude, I contacted 2K Support. Predictably, they were no help whatsoever. I've since made a few observations when creating similar builds in NBA 2K19 and NBA 2K20, and so this week, I'm briefly revisiting NBA 2K18's MyCAREER to see if I can actually resolve my dunking issue.

[Andrew]

Monday Tip-Off: A Week Playing in The Rec

Because I've been casually playing a bit of MyCAREER while waiting for the season to start and the rosters to be updated for a MyLEAGUE game, my player has levelled up enough to be viable to play with online. As such, I've gone to The Rec a couple of times to see what it's like this year. Not much has changed in terms of the quality of play or stability of the servers, but it's had its moments. To that end, I figured if I was able to keep my expectations low, it'd be fun to jump on every once in a while for a change of pace. It's a way of earning extra VC for MyTEAM packs if nothing else.

That led me to wonder if there were better nights than others to jump into The Rec for a game or two. I recalled that when the NLSC squad was playing multiple sessions of 2K Pro-Am per week in NBA 2K17, some days yielded more enjoyable experiences with good competition, while other days brought frustrating times with opponents who exploited cheesy tactics. I decided that I'd play The Rec every night for a week in order to see which night - if any - was the best to jump on. I was also interested to see how quickly I'd get sick of it, and whether I'd end up too frustrated with the mode to play it any more. What follows is a recap of my week playing in The Rec!

[Dee4Three]

I have to say, I found it disheartening when you said that your week at the rec wasn't as bad as you thought it would be, considering it seems you technically only have 2 good days out of 7.

Reading this reminds me why I stay offline. The ballhogging, quitting, childish antics, ridiculous commentary, lack of basketball IQ and teamwork would drive me up a wall. The "elitism" aspect would no doubt make me jump on the mic, and give them a piece of my mind. (Or shake my cane at them, or whatever you want to call it).

Good for you sticking with it, hopefully your experience becomes more consistently positive moving forward.

[Andrew]

True, it's a sign of how low the bar is when it comes to playing with randoms. Playing in a squad is much better; at least then it comes down to opponents cheesing, and there are other squads out there who are more fun to play if you like a more realistic style. Although it was rough at times, I was encouraged by the fact other people wanted to play unselfish, winning basketball. Of course, it's also disheartening to think that we're outnumbered and the game isn't aimed at us.

[Andrew]

Monday Tip-Off: A Crossroads in the Modding Community

I've often spoken of how proud I am of our modding community, how I truly believe we have a good thing going here. I stand by that statement, but it's a remark that I've often made before offering up criticism of troubling practices within our community. I'll admit that I'm doing the same thing today, as the last couple of weeks have been an unusually turbulent time. There are a number of issues that have reached a boiling point, and troubling attitudes have been on display. It's culminated in at least one ban, and an unhealthy amount of tension for what is meant to be a fun hobby.

At the same time, it's led to a productive discussion about the path that our modding community is on, and the kind of community we want to be. It's allowed us to raise these issues and find out that many of us are on the same page. I'd like to continue that discussion here today. Yes, I have some criticisms that may seem blunt, but I would ultimately like something positive to come out of the messy situation that has arisen. As I've said in the Forum, it's getting to the point where we may have to amend our rules and policies, to ensure that we're maintaining the standard we've set and culture we've established. If nothing else, we want to make sure unwritten rules are written.

[Andrew]

Monday Tip-Off: Revised In-Universe Value of VC in NBA 2K20

Didn't I already examine the in-universe value of VC this year? I did, but since then, one of the patches quietly nerfed salaries and some of the incentive payouts. To that end, I'm interested to see how the in-universe value of VC has been affected by the new base salaries. Since the prices of items haven't changed at all, their in-universe value will of course still look ridiculous regardless. For accuracy's sake though, I thought that I'd go back and redo the calculations in order to determine the current figures. Presumably, no further nerfs or buffs are in the pipeline.

Once again, you may wonder what the point of all this is. After all, the dollar amounts don't have any practical use or bearing on the experience, and the comparison of item prices to per-game salaries already speaks for itself. I maintain that it underscores that discrepancy however, and is useful information to know when someone excuses the need to purchase basic items as being a measure of realism. Yes, clothes in the real world aren't free, but by the same token, a basic t-shirt doesn't cost more than an NBA player's single game earnings; even a player on a minimum contract. With that being said, let's see how the in-universe value has changed following the VC nerfs.

[[Q]]

This is crazy. Microtransactions were initially a way for developers to make their money back when releasing games for free. You'd essentially have to pay to have a decent experience playing the game while others who are ok with whatever limits are set can actually play the game for free.

2k is essentially now a full fledged AAA game using mechanics used by free to play games. To be able to have a regular experience playing 2k would be like having a job, just grinding away. Who the hell wants another job when they're trying to relax and enjoy their time off?

I'm really curious to know how much an average player spends on the game every year in addition to the $60 game in order to improve their player's skills that resets every year, to improve their virtual trading card collection that is worth nothing in a year, for cosmetics and animations, and more! Seems like anything you do in the game costs money

[Andrew]

The grind is a problem. It takes a while for MyCAREER and its connected modes to feel fun if you can't get an initial boost past the paltry 60 Overall you begin as. It's certainly possible to play the game and enjoy it without spending a cent on microtransactions, but you do have to be prepared for the grind and work the system to get every bit of VC you can. That's offline, of course; online is another matter. Also, while you don't have to spend money on VC, the pressure is definitely there to at least consider it, in order to enhance the experience. That's the part a lot of apologists gloss over: it isn't necessary, but they're doing their best to encourage it, and the experience can suffer because of it.

It's an approach that can work against them, though. Because you go from having a levelled-up player in the last game to a 60 Overall scrub in the new one, it often doesn't feel as fun in MyCAREER and doesn't give as good of a first impression. If your player wasn't so hamstrung out of the box - maybe if some progress could carry over, or if the grind was fairer - I think the first impression would be far more positive, because you've got a player that's capable of doing at least some of the things you're used to doing. The gameplay feels worse, but it's mostly because your avatar sucks again, and you're used to playing with one that's got better ratings and a bunch of Badges unlocked.

It just gets ridiculous when you consider the in-universe value of VC. Like I said in the article, knowing it doesn't have much practical use beyond countering the apologists who want to talk about how buying things makes it more realistic, but it underscores how unfair the prices are when you can point out that a simple black t-shirt costs almost $20,000 in-universe if you work out what 1 VC is worth relative to the dollar amount of your player's contract.

[[Q]]

It's ridiculous that they'd expect you to put that much work into getting something like a black shirt as opposed to actually making progress and advancing in the game. You could literally spend the whole season earning VC just to be able to make your player dress the way you want. Then you would have to put in more work to actually make him better.

If this was like World of Warcraft or something where you'd keep your character forever, it would make more sense, but losing your progress every single year and having to redo it/repay for it makes it all seem even more pointless, like just dumping a year's worth of work into the trash can

[Andrew]

Indeed. In an interview, Rob Jones suggested that multiple currencies would be confusing, but there are three different currencies (VC, MT, and Tokens) in MyTEAM these days. Of course, you don't have to buy clothes for your player, but good luck getting games in The Playground if you're in the default outfit. It's like the situation where kids are getting bullied for not having premium skins in Fortnite; they're just cosmetic, but there's a whole in-game culture around those items and a stigma if you're in basic gear. You do have to buy accessories to wear in NBA games too - again, realistically the team would provide them to players for free - and while most bands are cheap (around 150 VC, IIRC), headbands are 1000 VC; two games' worth of the base salary if you skip the story, in other words.

[sticky-fingers]

This is crazy. Microtransactions were initially a way for developers to make their money back when releasing games for free. You'd essentially have to pay to have a decent experience playing the game while others who are ok with whatever limits are set can actually play the game for free.

2k is essentially now a full fledged AAA game using mechanics used by free to play games. To be able to have a regular experience playing 2k would be like having a job, just grinding away. Who the hell wants another job when they're trying to relax and enjoy their time off?

i say that for years
i still cant understand HOW people can spend real money for upgrading/customizing a virtual character ?!

[Andrew]

The pressure is there for them to do it if they want to play online right away and be competitive. The crazy thing is that it's an annual release; it'd be one thing if the game was current for a number of years, but twelve months later, the cycle starts all over again. A license to print money for 2K and other AAA developers.