I must stress that no releases are imminent at this time, but I did want to post a quick update on what I'm working on and the rough order I expect to have those projects out in.
Updated rosters for the 2011/2012 seasonNew current rosters are my top priority at this time.
Please note that I cannot and will not set a date, but my aim is to have them out as soon as possible. In the meantime, I certainly welcome any contributions of art updates for the 2012 season; I'll try to get the stickied list updated as soon as possible so that we have a checklist for the NLSC update and possibly TUP as well, since there's obviously some overlap there in art requirements.
New versions of LIVE JAMCall it the "On Fire Edition"...edition. Because they're based on the current rosters, they'll be coming next but I'll be tweaking the concept a bit as far as the rosters are concerned and looking to add some new stuff if possible.
Updated ESPN transitionsI found a good sized image with the new NBA on ESPN logo, so I'll be making some new transitions. These might actually come between the current rosters and other projects, as it's a relatively quick update to make.
Historical projectAt some point, I'd like to take a shot at a historical project based on the Jordan Challenge and NBA's Greatest. There's already some historical art updates out there so if the creators are willing to share those assets, they should be fairly easy to make. However, I have been experimenting with a few ideas for presentation.
Basically, it involves taking the art files and changing the textures to greyscale. By having two different sets of files for teams like Russell's Celtics, we can have a team that can face off against a historical opponent in complete black and white, along with a version that's in full colour to bring them into the modern era. Basically it involves:
- Greyscale court and arena textures
- Greyscale faces and skin files, with a different PLAYERPKG
- Plain white socks and black shoes assigned to black and white teams
- Greyscale jersey, with a different filename and separate entry in teamgear.dbf
- Duplicate portrait for players to match the second PLAYERPKG value
I expect only a few teams would require 60s presentation, so it wouldn't be too much work. The ball can obviously be greyscale as well but you'd need to switch the art files back and forth in the sgsm folder to go between the colour ball and greyscale ball. That could always be done with a batch file though.
Anyway, that's a bit of a far off project, one that'll come after the current updates and LIVE JAM. But I wanted to show everyone something I'd be messing around with recently.
Cartoon/Cel-Shaded LightingBased on the effects in the Legends Showcase DLC for NBA 2K12. I was originally messing around with the lighting file to try and replicate the black and white presentation before I figured changing the textures to greyscale would be easier and much more effective, during which time I accidentally put a black outline around players. I wish I'd kept that version of my messed up file though because I've subsequently thought I could use that effect for a cartoonish/cel-shaded look but wouldn't you know it, I haven't been able to replicate the effect I stumbled across by accident.
Something else I'll fool around with in between the larger and higher priority projects.
So that's about it. No release dates as yet, so please don't ask or bug me about that.
I will do my best to have the current rosters out as soon as possible though and again, I'd very much appreciate any contributions of art updates for the new season.