MyCAREER 2K20

[Andrew]

Figured I'd go ahead and create a catch-all topic for general MyCAREER discussion as well.

I said that I was more or less done with MyCAREER after NBA 2K19, but I decided that I'd at least play through the story to see what it (and the mode itself) was like this year. If nothing else, it unlocks the ability to skip the story in future MyCAREER games, which is handy if I need any assets for articles and the like.

Anyway, a few thoughts.

This year's story is alright. As with the stories in NBA 2K17 and NBA 2K19, the production values are very commendable. It's nice that there were a few options that felt more meaningful and impacted the scenes I saw, even if it's ultimately leading to the same ending. Changing things up with a few different types of games - college, pick-up, an invitational, Summer League, etc - kept it interesting, though the cutscene to gameplay ratio could still be better. Running through the Draft Combine was also different and a welcome change, though it also made the story drag a bit and it would've been nicer to have more of an opportunity to grind up your player and earn more VC out of the gate. That being said, the VC rewards in the games you get them aren't too bad, and making it to the level of "Solid First Round" prospect does net you a salary of 1000 VC per game. It's worth playing through the story to get that. If you skip it, it's 750 VC across the board.

As for the narrative...like I said, it's alright. Your character's personality isn't too bad. They're a bit more mature than previous MyPLAYER characters, but there are still moments when I found it hard to relate to or want to role-play as him. There's no B-Fresh, nor any real antagonist in the vein of Marcus Young. It's an interesting situation with your coach and the way you fall out, and I'll admit that I did find myself disliking him along with Che, so that was cool. There's a good twist there and a decent story about doing what's right and putting the past behind you, which I appreciated. The ending makes it feel like it was all just building towards a scene with LeBron James on his soapbox, but what he said has merit and was worth saying. It wasn't my favourite story - not that I'm a huge fan of the approach anyway - but it's at the very least commendable.

It does look like the story continues to impact your rookie season, though. Before I could get to The Neighborhood, it took me immediately into my first game, where despite being in the rotation I ended up seeing zero minutes of court time. There's also no opportunity to change the quarter length before you go into that game. I haven't explored it much further than that at this time as I am moving on from MyCAREER this year and wanted to get set up in other modes, but I'll check it out at some point just to see what the full situation is. Thankfully, your pre-order clothes carry over between saves this year. If it's like that for all items, then VC can be saved for attribute upgrades when you start over, which is how it should be. It's how it was in NBA 2K17, after all.

Unfortunately, by using the build I created in the demo, my name disappeared from the MyCAREER file I played through the story with. Looking at what others have been saying on Reddit and Twitter, the disappearing name seems to be a common issue. Some people have been able to fix it by creating a second player, entering the name, and then going back to the afflicted file - I did that myself on PC last year when my name likewise disappeared for seemingly no reason - but it doesn't work for everyone, myself included. I've also heard it happens if you use a build that you've tested, so that seems to be where the bug lies. If you create a new build and don't run it through the test game (which I obviously did in the demo), the name shouldn't be wiped. Anyway, that's a bit sloppy, and the lack of a proper fix is something that they can hopefully resolve in a patch.

Overall, I'm not really feeling the new MyPLAYER builder with its pie charts and lack of information on the type of player you've created until you finalise it, and I don't see myself wanting to do the grind this year, so I still plan on spending time with MyTEAM and MyLEAGUE instead. It was worth playing through the story once to see what it's all about though, and if you are going to get into the mode, it's also worth it for the VC, MyPOINTS, and Badge Points that you can get by doing so, as well as unlocking the option to start over without playing through the story.

[ThePointForward]

Might post more later, but so far I'm in like game 18 of the first season (12 min quarters).

The intro was interesting, quite cutscene heavy, but the cutscenes were generally pretty good. Overall a fine story, I think outsourcing some stuff to the Springhill is noticeable change for the better. Kinda wondering about some other choices I was offered, so might eventually make a new player to see it.

My character also has a blank name and my attempts to fix that failed, so I'm just hoping they'll fix it later on. Created that char in full game btw, didn't use demo ones.

The team practices are a nice touch, once in a while an NBA legend appears and you get 3x the normal amount of points.
That said, the drill with 3 teams of 3 is the worst thing imaginable. I too enjoy watching LeBron bully Rondo for 3 minutes and do nothing.

Various interviews are a nice touch with them occurring in locker rooms, hallways and everywhere news people can possibly stop you.

Overall the grind for OVR doesn't feel too bad, but badges go slowly, so I assume that's the plan this year.

[Andrew]

When I do my PC playthrough, I'm considering picking all the opposite options to see if there are any major changes, or if like NBA 2K19, it's essentially the same scene with a few cuts.

[ThePointForward]

I remember seeing some scenes in the trailer that I did not see in my playthrough. So I'm gonna go that for example the gym vs movie shoot means you either get to play against harden, pg and westbrook or if you go to the movie shoot with the guys from the trailer like lonzo ball.

I'd also say some choices, especially in the NBA portion might affect your marketability.

[Andrew]

Seems like a good bet.

[Andrew]

I'm not investing any VC in MyCAREER at this time because I'm not getting drawn in again, but I wanted to see what upgrades cost this year. And you know, to their credit, it's way better than in previous years. The 16,000 or so VC I have at the moment would take me from a 60 Overall to 74 Overall, with some balanced upgrades of at least six or seven levels across key attributes. Last year, that wouldn't have been enough to get over 70 Overall, and it took at least 8,000-10,000 VC to move up levels once you hit 80 (and sometimes multiple cap breakers as well).



I guess it emphasises the importance of Badges this year, as those you do have to grind much harder for than VC. I wish they'd done this a year earlier, frankly. It's a good approach moving forward though, even if there are some questions about the pie chart system.

[ThePointForward]

I just got a tweet shown live in the arena after a layup from JaoSming. All is good now.

Not sure what he's doing in middle section of Lakers @ Utah game, but hey.

[Andrew]

Producing a remote segment for 2KTV, of course!

[Lean]

Not sure what he's doing in middle section of Lakers @ Utah game, but hey.

I do hope the characters from the story appear in your season in some sort of capacity. In 2K19, once all of the cutscenes are spent, you're just playing the grind with little to no reference of what you did in the past.

[ThePointForward]

Technically spoilers ahead:

I'm on game 23 of my first season and I haven't seen another character from the story yet with the exception of Axel Walden or AW, the French dude you train with for the draft.
Except he was supposed to be lottery pick (according to story and announcers of summer league) and in his player card he's undrafted 18 year old 83 ovr with a 4 year, 117 million contract. Like... wtf.

You do get quite a lot of interviews in various ways - press conferences, on-court interviews, varying places that journalists simply stop you when you go by...
And also quite a lot of contract negotiations with sponsors. Pro-tip: If you don't care about the discounts, you can lower discount to zero and jack up the VC payout a LOT.

[Andrew]

Last year the other characters didn't appear at all if you skipped The Prelude. I'm all for them having a minimal presence (or none whatsoever) once the story is done.

I saw on Reddit that you can earn the opportunity to make 10,000 VC if you make a halfcourt shot during the pre-game shootaround while wearing a Gatorade hat. That's pretty cool, though again it seems to be more about Badge grinding this year as the attributes upgrades are quite reasonably priced compared to previous games.

[ThePointForward]

Tried out the coach challenge feature. Not quite sure when it will cause the calls to be overturned, but it's neat it's in.

[Andrew]

So it seems MyREP can't be earned in NBA games. That wouldn't be a problem if it was just for Neighborhood/Playground-related perks, but it puts NBA-related content and MyCOURT customisation behind a gate as well, which strikes me as a major design flaw. I've gone into more detail in this week's Monday Tip-Off: https://www.nba-live.com/mto-the-problem-with-myrep/

[chaodck]

Lads, loooong time no see. Somehow I remembered my password and decided to post a bit haha.

I'm currently in game 16 of the rookie season (on PS4) and enjoying it a bit. Made a 6'2" PG Offensive Threat, kinda like a shorter PG version of James Harden. I played through the story and kinda liked it, at least there's no annoying character like B-Fresh (even though Thomas Middleditch's character was kinda stupid at times) and I never really understood why the Coach (Idris Elba) was mad at Che (stupid nickname, again they should let us choose the nickname).

After the story I was chosen by the Bulls #14 and have a 1000 VC salary. I used a bit of the pre-order VC and some earned and upgraded to 77 OVR. I've got 5 badges (Quick First Step, Fancy Footwork, Slithery Finisher, Steady Shooter and Flexible Release, all Bronze), my build has around 22 Finishing, 16 Shooting, 16 Playmaking and 3 Defense badges. Coby White got injured so I've had a few more minutes quickly and am averaging around 10 PPG, 2 RPG, 6 APG in around 17 minutes. Still not a starter, though despite Coby's injury.

I'm enjoying the game so far, they fixed the name issue and also shortened the badge grind a bit which makes it a bit more enjoyable. I still think the games take too long (12 minute quarters, can't bear play with unrealistic stats) and thus don't know if I'll keep up with it, but I'm having fun. Once I win the starting job, I might start simming some games and work on the badges in training (takes less time and if you find your favourite drills is super effective).

[Andrew]

Are you up to being able to choose your own drills yet?

[chaodck]

Are you up to being able to choose your own drills yet?

Yeah, don't remember when exactly, but somewhere near the 10th game or so. With that, I think it'll be less time consuming to sim games and grind for badges in training. But I want to secure the starting spot by playing the games first.

[Andrew]

Definitely a good call. I imagine if nothing else, being able to choose your drills results in a lot less 3-on-3 Continuous...unless the coaches still tee that one up independently of your custom training regime.

[chaodck]

Definitely a good call. I imagine if nothing else, being able to choose your drills results in a lot less 3-on-3 Continuous...unless the coaches still tee that one up independently of your custom training regime.

You still get to do some team drills, but before them and after, you get to choose up to 4-5 drills of your choice to work and the badges you want to improve. Mastering a few drills for each badge seems like the way to go. For instance, 3 point corners is pretty easy, and gives you a lot of badge points in shooting. Alley-oops is great for playmaking. For finishing and defense I'm struggling to find one, even though defense isn't a priority for me.

[Andrew]

Definitely. And more straightforward than having to do umpteen drills for all the Badges in years past. I've heard that the coaches break out 3-on-3 Continuous a lot though, which can be a rather monotonous drill, especially if it's every session.

[Lean]

Does MyCareer still net you a negative teammate grade if your shot gets blocked?

I haven't got 2K20 yet but I still hate some MyCareer mode teammate grading. Like when you get a "defensive breakdown" when you got warped to a screen and animate for a few seconds, leaving your guy open.

[chaodck]

Does MyCareer still net you a negative teammate grade if your shot gets blocked?

I haven't got 2K20 yet but I still hate some MyCareer mode teammate grading. Like when you get a "defensive breakdown" when you got warped to a screen and animate for a few seconds, leaving your guy open.

I really don't take too much into account the teammate grade. Yes it still gives you a neg for shots being blocked (even if they are good shots) or for that def breakdown you mention. But overall it's quite easy to get an A or somewhere around. And it's not that much of an impact on the VC you get at the end of the game.

[Andrew]

I think they've removed it, as I've had a few shots blocked in the handful of MyCAREER games that I've played, and received no penalty. That's a good move, and they've also added boosts for scoring off an assist. The grading logic is still problematic, though.

[Lean]

But overall it's quite easy to get an A or somewhere around.

Yeah for sure. It's just the logic of how the teammate grade system works that's baffling. I hope they toned it down a bit for 2K20.

Like if you commit a turnover when you're in the paint, you get a negative; then if the opposing team pushes for a fastbreak from said turnover, you also get a negative for not catching up to the guy that's already on the other side of the court that scored off the fastbreak. I mean c'mon, now.

Or if you "allowed an offensive rebound" because the ball just happened to bounce off to the guy you're guarding even if you boxed him out.

[Andrew]

It seems they've removed "Allow score off Turnover" this year. At least I haven't been hit with it so far.

[Breems]

I hadn't played a 2K game since 2K11, so I recently grabbed 2K16. I wanted to play MyCAREER and MyLEAGUE, and a lot of 2K fans seem to agree that 2K16 was the last entry that didn't corner you into buying VC. I'm only a few games into my second season, so I'm debating switching to 2K20 since I get it for free with PS+.

Anyone happen to remember 2K16's MyCAREER well enough to comment on that jump? I don't care about story or online play at all and won't be buying VC. I want the build testing and updated rosters of 2K20. Have the MyCAREER features or in-game controls become much more complex over the years? I'm a simple man

That being said, the VC rewards in the games you get them aren't too bad, and making it to the level of "Solid First Round" prospect does net you a salary of 1000 VC per game. It's worth playing through the story to get that. If you skip it, it's 750 VC across the board.

This sounds promising since 2K16's base salary is ~300 VC. However, I'm assuming the VC cost per attribute upgrade has been inflated over the years.