NBA 2K21

[Wolfy03]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NSQahGpqv0

[Wolfy03]

Damian Lillard je cover athlete za NBA 2K21:

S obzirom da treba da objave još dva cover athletea, tipujem da pored Lillarda (Standard Edition), će još biti i Vince Carter (Legendary) i Kobe za neki Special Edition. Doduše većina je videla Ziona kao gotovo sigurnog, nakon teasera. Videćemo.

[Darcoolio]

Imaš više iskustva sa ovom igrom, da li očekuješ neku konkretnu promenu u odnosu na 20 recimo?

[Wolfy03]

Imaš više iskustva sa ovom igrom, da li očekuješ neku konkretnu promenu u odnosu na 20 recimo?

⠀
Pa iskreno, i očekujem, i ne očekujem. Mislim da je još prerano doneti neki valjan zaključak, pogotovo na osnovu ovog jednog trailera koji postoji.

Grafički svakako očekujem određeni napredak, što mislim da je donekle i nagovešteno u ovom teaseru. E sad, opet pitanje je koliko će i da li će PC verzija osetiti tu promenu, nema još nekih jasnih nagoveštaja. Ako bi poredili sa prethodnim next gen prelaskom, sa 2K14 na 2K15, 2K14 je imao prelazak na PS, ali PC je čekao 2K15, tako da videćemo šta će se tu dešavati. Prostora za napredak i potencijala svakako ima.

Što se gameplaya tiče, to je dosta subjektivna stvar. Neki kažu da je gameplay 2K14ice nenadmašiv, neki da je zastareo, a da je 2K20 prava stvar. Iskreno opet ako uzmemo poređenje 2K14 i 2K15, po meni imali su tada pad i problem, koji su posle peglali. Tako da moguće je da će i ova verzija imati određenih poteškoća u početku. Ali opet, dosta je subjektivan osećaj gameplaya.

Što se tiče ovako nekih stvari, u vidu modova ne verujem da će biti bilo kakvih promena. Karijera koju su upropastili sa VC će kao takva sigurno ostati, onaj MyPark takođe, jer im to donosi profit. MyGM/MyLeague je standard, ne verujem da će mnogo menjati. Da će nešto novo od timova uskočiti, takođe ne verujem. Generalno mislim da će taj deo biti copy/paste i da se nisu puno baktali oko toga.

Sve u svemu, mislim da je još rano izvesti neki valjan zaključak, mislim da neće biti bezgrešno, neki određeni problemi će se sigurno javiti, ali mislim da će imati i dobar potencijal za određen iskorak napred.

Svakako sa EA, čiji NBA Live je konstantno na rubu propasti sa kog ne može nikako da se izdigne (veliko je pitanje da li će ga ove godine uopšte i biti, ili će još jednom preskočiti, kao i prethodne), 2K nema neku jaku alternativu koja mora da ga pogura jako napred, pa mogu da rade u principu kako im volja. Ali zbog samog ugleda kompanije mislim da će klasika odraditi onaj mali step forward, taman toliko da se kaže da su nešto poboljšali, ali da se ne iscimaju previše.

[Wolfy03]

Juče napravih jedan propust, tj. previd, prilikom pisanja. Dakle cover za Current Gen verziju igre je Damian Lillard, a za Next Gen verziju je danas objavljen, Zion Williamson:

Ostao je još jedan cover koji će biti objavljen u toku sutrašnjeg dana.

[Darcoolio]

Next gen...
Ako ne izdaju za PC neka se upucaju.

[Darcoolio]

Počeli kao EA sa reklamama da se lože

[Wolfy03]

I poslednji cover (ili bolje reći dva) za ovu godinu, Kobe Bryant, Mamba Forever Edition:

[Wolfy03]

Ništa od PCa, moraće pištolj da radi

Dakle ove godine PC samo Current Gen, a Next Gen za PS5 i Xbox X. Ako se pogleda istorija i prethodni prelaz, ne može se reći i neočekivano mada sa druge strane malo razočaravajuće. Iz contenta se vidi da je VC opet sveprisutan tako da biće lepo... Svakako ko bude uzimao konzole može da razmisli, u zavisnosti od toga šta će ponuditi u narednom periodu. Ostali koji ostaju na Current Gen, možda je najbolje sačekati baš neki dobar popust.

[Darcoolio]

Pirat, ne dam pare za tako nešto.
Žalosno je što to pc gura opušteno.

[Wolfy03]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLsDWPsx23c

[Wolfy03]

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

MINIMUM:
OS: Windows 7 64-bit / Windows 10 64-bit
Processor: Intel Core i3-530 / AMD FX-4100
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: nVidia GTS 450; ATI HD 7770
DirectX: Version 9.0a
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Storage: 80 GB available space
Sound Card: Directx 9.0x

RECOMMENDED:
OS: Windows 7 64-bit / Windows 10 64-bit
Processor: Intel Core i5-4430 / AMD FX-8370
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: nVidia GTX 770; ATI R9 270
DirectX: Version 9.0c
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Storage: 80 GB available space
Sound Card: Directx 9.0c

Propustio sam priliku pre dva dana da prokomentarišem najnoviji trailer za NBA 2K21:
G*vnari klasični, sličan 2K20, ali s obzirom da sam moralisao juče u TWT temi i uvalio se u čorbu, sad moram i drugo mišljenje da dam

Šalu na stranu, meni se ovde dve stvari potencijalno dopadaju. Prva, možda i grešim, ali deluje mi kao da su poboljšali malo osvetljenje samih hala i parketa na šta je bilo dosta kritika prethodnih godina. To nije velika ispravka, ali ipak doprinosi celoj atmosferi. Gameplay ne bih da komentarišem dok ne vidim konkretno neke primere, ovde se sem ove forme šuta ne vidi mnogo.

E sad, druga stvar koja mi se dopada jeste da NBA 2K21, pa i NBA 2K20 će u nekom budućem periodu verovatno predstavljati ekvivalent NBA 2K14 i NBA 2K13, te da će moding zajednica biti najverovatnije poprilično aktivna kada su ove dve igre u pitanju (kao što je uostalom slučaj i sa njihovim ekvivalentima koji su u nekoj meri aktivni posle ovoliko godina). Zahtevnost je slična, da ne kažem ista, postoje jasne indikacije da će struktura fajlova takođe biti slična, te da će mnoge tehnike i alati korišćeni na 2K20 moći i da se primene na 2K21. S obzirom da PC na sledećem izdanju ide na next-gen predpostavljam da će ponoviti priču kao i na prethodnoj generaciji, gde te "prve" igre nisu bile toliko podložne samom editu, ali gde je 14-tica dosta dobro radila posao.

Skrenuću ovde sada sa malo sa ove teme, ono što nas većinu ovde zanima konkretno od tih modova jeste svakako onaj sa evropskim ekipama. Ja Shuajoti (uzimam njegov mod kao primer jer je za razliku od litvanske ekipe ipak "glomazniji" (V2 sa FIBA ekipama, ACB i nekoliko EK timova izlazi uskoro, verovatno krajem meseca)) nisam savetnik, ali ako bude prepoznao situaciju, mislim da u neko dogledno vreme može da napravi dobru priču na 2K21, nešto što smo mi (2K Serbia) ili ja pojedničano, kako god, mogli potencijalno tek u ovom nekom periodu da izvedemo na 2K14 (kada smo krenuli, praktično bili smo već u minusu od 3-4 godine, bez nekog pravog osnova u vidu kvalitenih pečeva), a to predstavlja veći fond igrača, timova, pa samim tim i rostera sa više različitih liga i mogućnosti za igranje. Mislim da je to u paru sa najverovatnije slabim mogućnostima edita na sledećim next-gen verzijama jedan lep potencijal, pre svega da se za sledeću godinu ti modovi izbace ranije (a ne da se čeka do avgusta kao što je npr sada slučaj) a potom i za ovo o čemu sam gore već pisao, dakle veća raznolikost u samom modu.

Sad možemo se opet vratiti i raspravljati o tom odnosu kvalitet/cena, sigurno je da ne treba žuriti sa ovim (ukoliko neko nema baš tolike aspiracije prema igri, u smislu da cele godine čeka samo na ovo, ili da nema neku baš dobru varijantu), ali svakako moje mišljenje (a vidim da i u moding zajednici vlada neko otprilike slično mišljenje) je da će u nekoj budućnosti dobro doći i da će predstavljati neku noviju verziju 2K14.

[Darcoolio]

Samo što je optimizacija same igre diskutabilna u odnosu na slične igre, a 2K14 mi je i dalje igriviji.
Međutim da, slažem se sa većinom napisanog.

[Wolfy03]

Apsolutno, stoji.

Upoređujem samo taj prelaz sa prethodnim i povlačim neke paralele. Ja i dalje mislim da će se 2K14 igrati i da će moding zajednica, konkretno za tu igru da postoji. Uostalom i PES 6 je po tom pitanju još aktivan npr. Ali svakako da dolazi polako do tih nekih određenih promena. Ne možemo reći da npr ABA 2K17 iz 2017. godine ima istu popularnost (u smislu download-a peča) kao i EL 2K20 iz 2020. godine ili ABA 2K19 iz 2019. godine. Taj određen broj ljudi koji su koristili peč opada, po podacima kojima raspolažem. E sad, to nije onaj "slobodan pad u provaliju" kad kriva naglo ode dole, već je kontrolisan pad usled toga što je nivo i kvalitet tih naših pečeva rastao iz godine u godinu pa se to izneveliše sa tim nekim određenim padom popularnosti igre i samim tim ta razlika u konačnoj sumi bude ili zanemariva ili relativno mala.

Ima jedna anegdota po tom pitanju, prošle godine, negde u ovo vreme, koristio sam naš zvaničan nalog 2kserbia na instagramu za promociju tadašnjeg FIBA 2K19. I kaže meni jedan lik: "Brate sve ti je ovo super, odlično si (ste) ovo napravio (napravili) ali 2K14 je..." (a npr Shuajota uporedno radi isti mod ali za 2K19) ili neko pita "A jel (ima) ovo za mobilni?". I ja ih u principu na neki način i razumem, prosto traži se nešto novo, koliko god se mi trudili da držimo tim editom taj neki grafički nivo ipak ne može to u nekim segmentima da izparira novijim izdanjima. Mene, pošto sam detaljista, npr jako nerviraju oni modeli trenera, i ja bih to vrlo rado sredio, ali ako to sredim onda nešto drugo kleca zbog same limitiranosti i to je to. Gameplay k'o gameplay, svodi se na neki subjektivni osećaj, kako kome odgovara najviše, nekome je igriviji 2K14, nekome novije verzije, nekome je 2K14 igriviji u pogledu gameplay-a, a novije verzije u pogledu samih modova, mogućnosti itd.

Da zaokružim, generalno kažem, mene raduje što 2K21 prema tim nekim navodima zaista trebalo da postane 2K14ica ove "nove" generacije, kada je PC u pitanju, te da bi moding zajednica trebala da ima pune ruke posla, i nadam se kvalitetnim modovima i za te ljude kojima su prioritetne ove novije verzije igre. A svakako se nadam da će i 2K14 što duže da traje, vidim neke navode da se Medevenx vraća (doduše on je zavisio od nas, tj i od ostalih koji su radili na tim modovima koje je izbacivao), slimm i sko rade dobar posao sa URBom godinama, Mackubex takođe, ima sad tu raznih zanimljivih College modova, tako da siguran sam da će biti stvari u ponudi.

[Wolfy03]

NBA 2K21 CURRENT-GEN GAMEPLAY COURTSIDE REPORT

What’s up, 2K community! Well, it has been a rollercoaster year on many fronts, and we know it hasn’t been easy for everyone being cooped up at home with most everything in your life going virtual. Hopefully this short blog will give you something to look forward to in the virtual world as you get ready for a new year of 2K hoops with NBA 2K21! It has been a busy year for us at Visual Concepts as we’ve been working hard to bring you the best hoops experience on both the current and next gen consoles. I can’t tell you how excited the team is to reveal all the new tech and amazing advances we’re bringing to 2K basketball with the power of the next gen systems; but for today, let’s take a look at some of the gameplay improvements coming your way for the current-gen version of NBA 2K21 launching on September 4 for PS4, Xbox One, Switch, Stadia, and PC. Best of all, you'll have the opportunity to check out how the game plays for yourself when we release the NBA 2K21 demo on August 24 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch!

Spoiler

Dame Time

I had the opportunity to jump on a Zoom call with cover athlete, Damian Lillard, a few months back. He is a huge 2K gamer and had a ton of great feedback and ideas for 2K21. But his biggest request? Being able to make an oversized PG in MyCAREER. So, for all you Penny Hardaway wannabes, you have Dame to thank for that as we have upped the max height for PG to 6’8”. Dame continued to share his likes and dislikes of gameplay, which we then added to the running wishlist that we already had from the community. After compiling all the feedback, we came away with a great list of items that we knew the community wanted to see improved (e.g. long passes downcourt sailing out of bounds) and came up with skill-based solutions that would be more fun and fair for everyone.

We’ve always prided ourselves as being the most authentic basketball simulation on the market, and that will never change. But one of the challenges that we face is striking the right balance between simulating real life and making a game that’s fun and enjoyable for a wide range of fans. That’s where the debate on Skill Gap vs. Accessibility comes into play. The target we shoot for is to create a game that’s easy to pick up and play for new users while also providing enough of a skill gap for veteran users to really showcase their talent. One way we set out to accomplish this was through building out a robust set of sliders and carefully mapping the appropriate settings to all the various modes in our game. So whether it’s your first time playing against the CPU in Quick Play, messing around with your buddies in the Park, or battling in a high stakes Ante Up or competitive Pro-Am match, there’s a wide range of gameplay experiences and definitely something for everyone in NBA 2K21.

So to sum up this section, I don’t really have a fancy back of the box marketing name for the work that went into gameplay balance and “fun-ifying” the on-court experience, but I’m pretty confident that longtime fans of 2K basketball will notice the improvements and appreciate what the team was able to accomplish.

The Pro Stick

The Pro Stick has been a staple of 2K basketball for years now, and for the most part, has largely gone unchanged since its inception. For NBA 2K21, we saw this as a big opportunity to freshen up the game on the offensive end. In past games, you could hold the Pro Stick in any direction to take a jump shot. That was limiting us from utilizing the right stick as a fully featured dribble stick. So this year, we’re making a pretty significant change to how the Pro Stick works. In a nutshell:

• Hold RS down = jump shot
• Hold RS left or right = escape dribble moves
• Hold RS up = signature size-ups
• Tap the RS = quick 1-to-1 dribble moves
• Tap the RS with Sprint held = quick momentum dribble moves

With this change, we’ve been able to greatly expand the dribble move arsenal and give you access to more moves in a more intuitive control scheme. After a game or two, it will feel second nature and will have you breaking ankles in no time! Along with the remap, the moves themselves have been overhauled to be much more responsive and chain-able. Street moves have been moved to a tap of the left trigger as well, so you won’t be firing them off by accident when you’re breaking down defenders in the Park. And for the NBA size-ups, we’ve added several new signatures like Harden’s around the leg dribble, a new version of Kobe’s dance, and Durant’s signature hesi cross. Another NBA legend, Nate Robinson, came in for motion capture this year and gave us some really unique moves that I’ll leave for you to find as well. You can also perform size-up dribbles on the move by holding the Pro Stick Up and using the left stick to move your player in any direction. Altogether, you can choose from a list of 14 Park and 36 unique NBA Size-ups. And when you factor in all the 1-to-1 size-up packages and new customizable escape dribbles, there’s really no limit to the types of combos you can pull off in NBA 2K21.

Shooting

Dribble moves weren’t the only thing that benefited from the Pro Stick upgrade. Jump shooting and finishing at the rim were points of emphasis as well. We really wanted to make scoring the basketball a skill both from the perimeter and at the rim, so we brainstormed and prototyped a number of various shooting mechanics for this year’s game. What we settled on was an idea conceptually similar to something we tried in NBA 2K17… Shot Stick Aiming. Aiming didn’t really work that well in NBA 2K17 because it was a bit buried, didn’t have much skill built into it, and didn’t give the user any feedback. We took those learnings and used them to create a better solution this time around. For NBA 2K21, when you shoot with the Pro Stick, the shot meter changes from a timing bar to a targeting system. So instead of trying to stop the shot meter when you reach the perfect release window, you adjust the Pro Stick in real time to hit the ideal center aim point. The target window resizes dynamically based on player ability, shooting range, and how well the shot is contested and can also shift to the left or right based on the shot’s degree of difficulty. If you miss the target too far to the left or right, your shot will miss in that direction. And as I mentioned above with the new slider sets, even the slightest degree might be the difference between a make and an airball on Hall of Fame, while it’s quite a bit more forgiving on the easier difficulties. You also won’t be penalized for using the entire shooting motion to find the sweet spot. In other words, you don’t have to time your release when you’re shooting with the Pro Stick. But if you want to take it to the next level and know your release, you can lock in your timing and aim by either centering the Pro Stick or by tapping one of the triggers when you reach the apex of the shot. The lock in will be indicated by a brief flash on the shot meter. If you can time AND aim well, you will give yourself the best chances at making the shot.

The aiming concept also applies to finishing layups, replicating the idea of having “good touch” around the rim. As you’re driving you can still hold the Pro Stick in any direction to start a layup, but this year, you’ll want to quickly swing the stick to move the aiming tick to the center of the target. Aiming layups well can help overcome shot contests and help you finish through contact. Personally, it has been hard for me to go back to the Shot Button after getting used to Pro Stick shooting. And because shooting with the stick offers a bit more complexity than just holding and releasing a button, it also carries a greater risk/reward. If you can master shooting with the Pro Stick, you’ll have a higher ceiling for getting greens and making tough shots, so I’m pretty sure it’s going to be the shot method of choice for many competitive 2K players. But since I know some will ask… yes, there is an option to disable Shot Aiming if you really want to go back to last year’s controls.

On the shooting animation side, you can expect a plethora of new shot types, including Harden’s unique 1-foot running fadeaway. And a quick note for all the Park players… we’ve added over 40 new Park Jump Shot Landings for you to show off with when you hit from outside.

On the defensive end, you can expect a much stronger presence from bigs in the paint. Block targeting has been improved so it will be easier to send weak shots back and we’ve loaded up more coverage for contact in the paint to slow down overpowered moves like last year’s hop step layup.

Motion Styles

Last year we introduced signature dribble styles, which gave Magic Johnson his unique upcourt waddle, Steve Nash’s finger licks, and much more. This upgrade has now made its way onto the defensive end with signature defensive motion styles. Here’s the list of players you can model your player’s movement after: Russell Westbrook, Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Pat Beverley, Andre Iguodala, and Draymond Green. In addition to this, movement has undergone several refinements, both with the ball and without, to provide a more consistent and responsive feel on the sticks.

Badges

Seemed like everybody was a big fan of how we redesigned the badge system last year with the ability to swap badges in and out as you upgrade. That’s returning for NBA 2K21. Throughout the life of NBA 2K20, we collected telemetry data that gave us a detailed breakdown of what badges people were equipping for certain build types, and which ones weren’t being used as much. This was very useful in helping us redesign and tune the badges for NBA 2K21. I think you’ll find that more badges will have merit and fight for a spot in your badge loadout, giving you more effective tools to take over games in a more varied fashion. And here’s some good news that I know the community will appreciate. We removed Quick Draw and put release speed back into the Jump Shot Creator. So that’s one thing you won’t have to waste your precious badge points on.

Closing Thoughts

As always, I want to give a huge shout out to all the gameplay engineers and producers, as well as the talented team at VC South, who worked (and are still working) tirelessly to deliver the best basketball game to date. The current gen versions of NBA 2K21 are a great step forward for virtual hoops, and stay tuned in the coming months for all the goodies we have in store for you on the next gen platforms. The future is very bright for 2K fans, and you won’t want to miss what we’re cooking up for you! But until then, thanks so much to all of you for your ongoing support and feedback year in and year out. NBA 2K has always been a collaboration between the most passionate fans and dedicated developers in the industry, and we couldn’t do what we do without you! Stay safe and healthy, and we’ll see you in the virtual streets!

Mike Wang (@Beluba), NBA 2K Gameplay Director

NBA 2K21 CURRENT-GEN DEMO (24th August)