Franchise By: Shadow | Tuesday September 08 2009 Hi I’m Nicholas Shewchuk, one of the producers on NHL 2K10, here with Tim Schroeder, the lead Franchise engineer. We’re just going to tell you a bit about what we’ve done with Franchise Mode this year.
Online Franchise Games / Franchise Blogging / Season Lengths The first thing to talk about, which I’m sure everyone has heard about at this point, is the new ability to play Franchise Mode games online this year. I know I’ve always found Franchise Modes in hockey games can turn into a grind if you’re stringent about playing every game. 82 games make for a long season, and most of the time you’ll probably have the CPU AI figured out before the end of it, making for a somewhat anti-climactic playoff. This year I’m really excited to see how people are going to take advantage of this feature, whether it be teaming up with a friend to play an entire Franchise cooperatively, or selectively picking new online opponents for every opposing team in Franchise.
Another online item we’re excited about is Franchise Blogging. This was initially meant as a shout out to all the guys that dedicate so much time to writing fantastic Franchise stories on the forums. I remember in the past having to write down my stats from online league games on paper and type them into my computer until NHL 2K5 started automating the process. Well now we’re going to help the guys out that play Franchise Mode, and we’re hoping this is the first step into a larger world for Franchise Mode. We’re also hoping it will be a nice addition for those using the above mentioned online Franchise game ability, helping your friends connect with what is actually going on in your Franchise and giving them a bit of context to games they are playing with or against you.
One other small mention with regards to reducing the grind is that we have 3 additional shorter schedule lengths this year, all of which are built with sound logic so you’ll still have the largest number of games against your own division and play everyone in the league at least once. So if you’d like to advance through seasons a bit quicker without having to sim games you’ll be able to do so.
Roster Management New to Franchise this year is our revamped roster management screen, which will give you a much cleaner view of how many players you have at each position on your NHL and Minor team, as well as your current budget situation. The game will automatically bring you to this screen any time your roster becomes invalid, either from a trade, injury, or signing. This means that you are now able to make unbalanced trades, or sign free agents even if your roster is already full. For those of you familiar with our MLB or NBA franchises, NHL has brought over similar Franchise Automation options this year, as well, so if you really just like to play games and look at stats, you’re able automate lineup management, trading, contracts, and drafting.
Another thing we were aware of was the group of people out there who like to play Franchise or Season Mode and keep their rosters completely up to date. This was made a bit difficult last year, as the only way you were able to do this was to take control of all 30 teams. So one small fix we made this year was adding the ability to trade with all 30 teams to our “Trade Override” option. Now if you want to keep your Franchise rosters accurate to the real NHL, you can do so without having to take control of every team.
One more related note to roster management is the ability to create and download draft classes with 2K Share. So if you want to create the next up and coming group of NHL’ers, maybe create a historic draft class, or one with just a bunch of your friends in it, you’re able to do so. We do give you the ability during every offseason in Franchise to download one as well, so if some fellow 2K hockey players happen to put some effort into creating a really cool one, you’ll be able to download it right inside the Franchise Offseason menu.
Lastly, some of our community members made us aware of a number of issues in Franchise Mode that froze up their save file early on, so we put a considerable amount of effort this year into fixing our under the hood roster management system. It’s been stress tested quite a bit and we’re quite confident in its stability this year.
NHL Records/History Another nice new feature this year is our League History and NHL Records. Our Past Champions, League Leaders, and Season Awards screens now go back as early as the 1910s. As for league records, we’ve recorded a number of single game, single season, playoff season, and career records that you can now break in Franchise Mode, and when doing so a news item will be posted to the main Franchise landing page (NHL.com.) Admittedly though, it does seem like a bit of an exercise in futility putting Wayne Gretzky’s records up there to try and break -- good luck trying to get past 2857 points.
Fantasy Franchise Last week we detailed the create team options and it was mentioned you could bring them into Franchise Mode. For all the people that like to take a bit of a fantasy angle to their Franchise Mode, you’re able to do this through our “Customize League” option which will also let you completely customize all of the divisions in the NHL. If you’d like to move Toronto to the Pacific division, or make an all Canada division, you’re able to do so. In case you missed it during the Gamespot preview, Fantasy Drafts are also back this year, with options to set them up as either fixed or serpentine.
Interface There were a number of notable tweaks made to improve the interface this year - the Standings screen highlighting playoff teams, Team Stats now having a ranking column, the main NHL.com page getting a big facelift, and Edit Lines being updated specifically for Franchise.
Team Budget: This is a new screen to NHL this year that’ll give you a nice look at your current budget/cap situation; including how much you spend on your NHL team, Minor team, and how much you spend by position, etc.
Calendar: We’ve brought back a more traditional calendar screen to play games from. If you prefer the NHL.com screen from last year, you’re still going to be completely free to use that, but I’d imagine many of you out there still prefer this. We’ve thrown some stats in at the bottom too, so you can see your division/conference records, streak, power rankings, division standings, and matchup information like season series when highlighting specific opponents.
Team Cards: One thing we wanted to do this year was to make it easier to check out what’s going on with other teams without the need to peruse their team stats page. What we’ve added is something called “Team Cards” accessed from the Coach menu in Franchise, which are similar to player cards in that you can access them by clicking the right stick down on relevant team stat screens. The Team Card screens will let you check out more GM/Owner related items such as team state, attendance, budget, and salary space, but on top of that you’ll get a number of stats such as: • Overall Record • Home Record • Away Record • Last 10 Games (Record) • Goals for (Rank) • Goals against (Rank) • Powerplay % (Rank) • Penalty Kill % (Rank)
Finally, if you want some more details about the players on the team from the same screen, you can also check out the team players’ average age, height, weight, who their captains and assistants are, as well as all of their individual statistical leaders. The screen works very nicely when it comes to scouting a team to know who their best players are, or if they’re in a position to be able to make a trade and take on some heavy salary from you.
Edit Lines: Edit Lines is similar to last year, but we’ve added another view to it this year that is a bit more focused and provides some different information. You’ll still get the broad view of all your lines in one shot, but you can switch between the views with a click of the left analog stick (360 & PS3), actually making it more similar to the Edit Lines screens found in past games like NHL 2K7.
Now from the main view (which can be seen in the screenshot below), you have a view of a single line, as well as some letter grade ratings for that line looking at their offensive skill, defensive skill, and overall toughness. No line will be perfect, but it gives you a good idea of what kind of line you’re creating without having to scroll through the large number of double digit number attributes in the table below. Additionally, we display if the players are hot or cold. If you have a big game coming up, maybe you want to put all of your “Hot” players on one line, or move a cold player up to the top line to get him going. And finally, in the middle there, you might notice the single rowed table showing all of your lines (doubling as a bread crumb). When you highlight a player it will show in blue all of the lines he’s been placed on.
Now I’m going to pass it over to Tim to talk more about the financial-related upgrades we’ve made this year:
The GM aspect of Franchise has been significantly improved in 2K10. The team financial model now includes budgets, so that every team doesn’t spend to the salary cap. The team budget is tied to the size of the fanbase and changes with the season attendance. This makes the experience of playing a small market team like Columbus very different from playing a large market team like Toronto. A large market team will have fans show up for games almost regardless of how the team is performing, whereas small market teams will have to win and contend for the Cup to keep their attendance high, or pay the price with lowered budgets and all the restrictions that imposes.
Each NHL team now has a preference for the type of players they covet, choosing from speed, skill, defense and toughness. This differentiates the Philadelphias from the Pittsburghs of the league, and leads GMs to build teams that fit the city. The effect is most noticeable when starting Franchise Mode with a fantasy draft, as tough teams will skip past finesse players to choose gritty ones, and defensive teams will build from the back line up.
Teams also have an internal awareness of their competitive status in the league, which changes their strategies with respect to trades and free agent acquisitions. Teams that are likely to miss the playoffs look to unload high dollar veterans at the trade deadline for prospects and draft picks to accelerate the rebuilding process, while teams that are in a position to contend will mortgage the future to get that one extra piece to put them over the top. The cycle of rebuilding, buying, contending and selling ensures that the trade deadline is a lively time every season.
And finally, players in the game now have their own personalities and motivations when choosing contracts, taking into account factors other than just the dollar figures. Players care about team prestige, fan bases, playing time and playing for a contender in varying degrees. If your team does not match up with a player’s desires you can still sign that player, but it’s going to cost you a lot more than if your team is a more natural fit. Players also have varying degrees of loyalty to franchises that they’ve played for, so it is possible to get that hometown discount from the face of your franchise, if he’s so inclined.
Thanks Tim. In conclusion, we feel that this year’s game made significant strides in both playability and replayability with the new addition of being able to play Franchise games online. Good against the AI is one thing … good against the living, that’s something else. The new addition of the team budget system is also something we feel will help with longevity, as the entire league is just a bit more dynamic now in terms of how it’s going to build teams and what kind of players it’s going after. Looking forward to seeing some impressions and checking out everyone’s Franchise blogs in a week when the game hits store shelves.
NEXT NHL 2K10 DEVELOPER INSIGHT: “Online Leagues,” by Jay Iwahashi – Monday, September 14th
My Career By: 2K Admin Ron | Thursday September 02 2010 Hey everyone, This is Erick Boenisch again, Producer for NBA 2K11 although many of you may know me by my forum name, SimBaller. I spoke a few weeks back about MJ: Creating a Legend. I’m here today to talk to you about the My Player mode and some of the exciting changes we have made to it this year. NBA 2K10 saw the birth of My Player, the first true career mode experience ever for the NBA 2K series. With one year of this mode under our belts, we’ve learned quite a bit; things like what works, what doesn’t work, and what you all want to see in the mode this year. Enough chatter, let’s dive into what NBA 2K11’s My Player is all about…
Career Path The first thing you’ll notice upon starting the mode is that My Player no longer begins in the Summer Circuit. This year, you will be taking your created player to the NBA Draft Combine at Attack Athletics in Chicago, Illinois. This fully licensed and rendered gym will be your player’s home for the first three games of his career. Your goal at the Draft Combine is to impress the scouts and coaches in attendance at the event. If you perform well enough, you’ll find yourself attending the NBA Draft at Madison Square Garden in our authentically rendered draft environment. If you are lucky enough to get drafted, your My Player will walk up the steps and be greeted by David Stern at the podium. Enjoy the photo op while you can, the going gets rough from here on out.
My big day has arrived, at last. What will the future hold?
Once the draft is over, you will be invited to participate in the Summer Circuit. You will play four games to prove to your team that you belong on an NBA roster. If at any point you slip during the Summer Circuit, your team will either cut you outright, or ask you to join their NBA D-League affiliated team. Your road to the NBA won’t be over, but it will certainly be a lot more difficult if the latter happens. If you do manage to last the 4 games of the Summer Circuit as well as impress your team’s management, then you’ll be invited to the 12-man roster for the upcoming NBA season. This is just the beginning of your story...
My Career I call it a story, because this year, your career will be defined by whatever persona you want to take on in the all-new My Career feature. My Career is the new hub where you can go to find all things central to your career as an NBA player. You’ll find a detailed breakdown of your minutes and where they are coming from/going, a Timeline detailing important career milestones, a place to view all of the Endorsements you have received, and of course, a place where you can go talk to management and tell them that you’ve had enough and that you want a trade (the choice is ultimately theirs though, unless you force their hand…).
The high level concept with My Career is that every action you take in your career has a reaction. The reaction may be positive or negative. This leads to the most innovative component of My Player and easily my favorite feature in the game this year. Following games, you will participate in Press Conferences where members of the media will grill you on pressing events happening around you and the team. Did the game come down to a last second shot, but you didn’t take the shot? The media are going to want to know how you feel about not taking that last shot. The team’s on a 5 game losing streak? They’ll be asking you what you think about your teammates. Have you recently requested a trade? They’ll ask you why. How you answer these questions shapes how people around the league perceive you. Check out this video...
My rookie season isn’t going so well. We’re two weeks away from the trading deadline and my name is being thrown about in the rumor mill. How I answer this could have a big impact on if I stay or go…
**NOTE: Individuals are not blurred as shown in video during gameplay. Other members of your organization will be at the podium with you during NBA 2K11 game action**
You have three character traits that define you and change based on your actions:
- Teammate Chemistry: If you have your teammates’ back, they will have yours. If you start throwing them under the bus, you’ll quickly find them starting to freeze you out on the court. Get open all you want, they’ll just look the other way for their next pass. On the other hand, if you can prove to management that you are a great teammate, they will come to you looking for suggestions on who they should trade during the season and who they should try and sign during the offseason.
- League-wide Popularity: Being a dominant player isn’t the only way to make a name for yourself. You can also do this in the Press Conference room. Showing endless confidence, and even a little arrogance, is definitely one way to catch the attention of fans around the league. The tricky part is trying to build this while keeping your teammates and the local fans on your side. The prize? As you guys have seen from the Ronnie2K teases on the NBA 2K FB page, Endorsements aplenty if you can raise your popularity high enough. If you manage to reach the pinnacle of popularity, you’ll find yourself designing and naming your very own signature Jordan Brand shoe that other players around the league will be seen wearing as your star rises.
- Local Fan Support: The key to building your League-Wide Popularity starts with the grassroots support of the local fans for your team. Earn the adoration of the local fans and they’ll reward you with undying support, thundering applause, and MVP chants. If you are disrespectful of them in the Press Conferences, you’ll find they will be the first people to let you know you aren’t wanted anymore. If things go bad enough, you’ll find the crowd chanting ‘Trade Him’ whenever you touch the ball. No one wants to be THAT guy, right?
Teammate Grade 2.0 Another big focus for us with My Player this year was increasing the quality of the existing features in the mode. So many games make the mistake of adding bigger and better things, all the while forgetting about the foundation. It was important for us to stabilize and build upon the foundation that defines the My Player experience. The single biggest piece of A.I. in the mode is the Teammate Grade logic, and I’m pleased to say that it has received an extensive overhaul in its logic.
We were very ambitious in our design for Teammate Grade in 2K10’s My Player. While I think we achieved great success with it, basketball is a game filled with nuances, and there were plenty of situations where I’m sure you didn’t agree with the outcome. A common one that we received feedback on was the ‘Allow man to score’ following a defensive switch. Your teammate would be guarding ‘your man’ and when he scored, you took the hit for it. These are the types of issues that we spent months isolating and eliminating. The under-the-hood work we did here isn’t flashy; it isn’t going to make you jump out of your seat with excitement, but it will absolutely make your time spent playing My Player a much more satisfying and enjoyable experience. Here are a few examples of some of the new additions:
- Pass Leading to Assist/Foul: Commonly known as the ‘hockey assist’, this is often the instrumental pass that sets up a basket. We want to make sure you get your credit this year for being the playmaker.
- Bad Pass Out of Shot: For those guys whose reaction is to shoot first and then decide mid-animationthey want to pass out, and you pass to a player who is already fully covered, you’re going to take a negative hit to your Teammate Grade. Smart passing is not recommended, it’s required in 2K11.
- Allowed Inside Pass: If you allow your man to establish a favorable position in the interior through a lapse in defense, you’re going to get dinged for it.
The Little Things The ‘Little Things’ is my favorite section of any Developer Insight that I write. This is the area where we talk about some of the lower profile additions to the mode. On their own, they don’t necessarily carry a lot of weight, but together, they define the attention to detail that we strived so hard to achieve. I’ve compiled a quick list of just some of the changes you’ll find in My Player this year:
Key Games: The NBA season is often described as a long 82-game grind. Not every game has the significance of a playoff game or a matchup against a rival. New to NBA 2K11, Key Games are games played during the season that are of more significance than other games. This may be because you are matched up against a star player at your position, or it may be because the game is against a hated rival. Due to the significance of these matchups, users will earn a 2x multiplier to their Skill Points during these games. Key Games don’t come easy, but if you can perform in the clutch, you will be rewarded handsomely with an abundance of Skill Points.
Attribute Caps: In an effort to make each Playstyle mean more, we are enforcing attribute caps on players this year. An example of what this means is a Defensive PG might have a max stealing attribute of 99 while a Shoot First PG might have a max stealing attribute of 80. This is going to pay off when you you’re playing My Player Pick-Up games. In 2K10, without attribute caps, this would mean that you might be playing against a 7’2 center that had a ballhandling rating of 99. That’s not realistic and not an experience we want you to encounter.
Adjustable Qtr Length and Sim Qtr Length: The ability to change in-game quarter lengths is something that was not supported in My Player until the release of the patches last year. This year, I’m proud to reveal that not only are adjustable quarter lengths supported, but simulated quarter lengths as well. This means you can adjust the length and pace of simulated games to ensure that the pace you play at results in scores that are similar to the other teams around the league.
Sim To End of games: Another nice little feature is the ability to simulate to the end of the game s(available once you reach the NBA). If your team is getting blown out, or you are blowing out your opponent, you will now have the option to simulate the remainder of the game. Our simulation engine will ‘play’ your character for you as you continue to rack up stats for your player.
Skill Point buyback: This one is quite simple. In 2K11, you are now allowed to buy back Skill Points should you later change your mind on an attribute you had previously upgraded. The catch? You only get 75% of the original purchase price back. This means that if you spent 100 Skill Points upgrading your Offensive Awareness, you will only receive 75 Skill Points in return should you choose to sell it back at a later date. This affords you greater flexibility in developing your My Player without being able to do so in a fashion that negatively impacts My Player Pick-Up games.
Scaled in-game goals: With the addition of the ability for users to customize the quarter length of their My Player games, it only seemed to make sense that we make the game objectives commiserate to the length of the quarter. If you choose to play 5 minute quarters, you may get an objective to record 5 assists in a game. This same objective in a 10 minute quarter might require that you record 8 assists. The idea here is to provide a realistic challenge regardless of the quarter length you choose to play.
NBA 2K11’s My Player is a mode built entirely on the feedback from you, our fans. Looking at the items above, I’m sure that comes across quite clear. Honestly, I feel like there is so much more I could talk about here, but I’ve gone on long enough as it is. To find out what else is in store for you and your career, stay tuned to the NBA FB page (Ronnie2K wanted me to tell you guys that there is at least one more My Player surprises this week that I didn't mention so make sure you stay tuned to FB... that guy is such a marketing shill...) and make sure to pick up NBA 2K11 in stores on October 5th. Also, keep an eye out for Michael Jordan; he’s watching your every move in My Player mode this year. If you perform well enough, he’ll be in touch…
Audio By: 2K Admin Ron | Wednesday February 24 2010 Hey guys, My name is Joel Simmons, Audio Director for Major League Baseball® 2K10. We've had a really exciting year for audio and broadcast in this year’s game. From Spring Training to the World Series, MLB Today (read a previous Insight about it here if you haven’t already) presents Major League Baseball within the context of what really makes a difference in a baseball season: the stories, the statistics, the trends and analysis. From player and team leaderboards, last game and series analysis, to detailed stat splits and upcoming series promos, refreshing broadcast segments are peppered throughout the presentation and gameplay. When Evan Longoria faces Justin Verlander in a Rays-Tigers series, you'll hear he's gone 3 for 9 lifetime against Verlander, or that last year Longoria hit .294 against the Tigers at Comerica Park. In the first meeting of the year between the Giants and the Dodgers, you might hear that Los Angeles is coming off a 3-game set in which they won 2 games against the Diamondbacks in Arizona, and that last year between SF and LA, the season series was 11-7 in favor of the Dodgers.
One of the first things you’ll notice in 2K10 is the addition of John Kruk to the broadcast booth. John brings a wealth of knowledge and passion about the game of baseball and his commentary on how players and teams have been performing adds a whole new dimension to the game's presentation. Throughout the season, Gary Thorne, Steve Phillips, and John Kruk will keep you up-to-date in MLB Today with what's going on in the real baseball season. The best part is that you'll also get these same breakdowns and analysis in your season or franchise. When teams in your league or division are off to a slow start in April, or have come on hot in May, you won't have to dig through menus to find that out. If you've got a tough upcoming road trip against the Braves and the Marlins, you'll hear about it in-game. What teams have the best pitching staffs over the last 30 days as you approach the All-Star Break? We'll show you. What players have been red hot with runners in scoring position, or have been the biggest threats on the base-paths? You'll hear about that too. The new broadcast keeps you updated with team rankings over the course of the entire season, displaying rankings not only in league standings, but in all of the top stat categories too. As the season winds down, we'll show you a breakdown of the Wild Card race in each league and what teams lead or trail in that race, and by how much. You'll hear about the trends of streaking or slumping players, how Kendry Morales went 2 for 4 in his last game against the Mariners, or how Justin Morneau is coming into the game following a walk-off home run last night against the White Sox. As a whole, the new broadcast features and analysis convey a wealth of information giving you that edge of knowing what really matters as the season progresses. Like the best Major League scouts, you'll be backed with real-world knowledge as you approach each matchup and situation. With these stats and analysis at your disposal, it can give you the edge to help you to become a better player and, ultimately, take YOUR team to the World Series.
We have listened to feedback from our fans and concentrated on greatly expanding and improving the level of detail of our in-game stadium sound. This year, we've started fresh with dozens of new bat hit sound effects that are much more realistic and accurate to broadcast, revealing the location and quality of contact. How you swing the bat, whether for contact, power, or a defensive approach - this year's hitting experience sounds and feels deeper and more satisfying. Each stadium has its own unique sonic signature too. We've added over a thousand new stadium specific beats, chants, charge calls, and music clips. Our fans asked for true-to-life stadium beats and organ representation, so we modeled each stadium's organ sound to match its real-life counterpart to put you right in the stands. And for all of you Philly fans, since there is no organist in Citizen's Bank Park, there isn't one in Major League Baseball® 2K10 either. As you travel around the league throughout a season, the variety and unique character of each stadium's sound treatment provides a much more immersive experience.
We hope that everyone enjoys the new broadcast and audio presentation and are as excited about it as we are here at 2K Sports. We can't wait to hear from our fans as we find out just what the upcoming baseball season brings.
- Joel Simmons Audio Director
NEXT MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL 2K10 DEVELOPER INSIGHT: TBD
so i am not surprised to see you have an annoying web site being that you make a sports game with the worst physics i have ever had the displeasure of trying to control. as a ball player and a gamer i have never been more frustrated playing a game, i have decent stats and yet my fielder is incapable of chasing balls down in the same time the AI take and they managed to grab it and i have better stats than said fielder. also how are you going to have a center fielder have to track a fly into left field right where the left fielder is.. come on? i can go on and on about the problems with your game but you don't pay me for that, the only reason i signed up for this was so i could tell you that i will not be playing ANY 2k games until you guys start taking the time to make sure that it's worth the already bloated prices you are asking for... never again. tayntidfate
Why does the server disconnect durring the game? I continuly have an issue with the 2k servers on baseball. It doesnt allow us to finish the game or stay conntected. If I chose tampaba and play against NY yankees it locks up. I am getting really frustrated. I dont have this problem with tiger. Only baseball
Wonder what the fatigue will be set at in that flu game? Should never get above like 60. Also, I think people playing on the highest difficulty Hall of Fame should get more than others
I wonder if this is too late to add.... and I dont know if any one thought of this....but what about a jordan challenge that requires you to duplicate the success of the 1995-1996 season (72-10 regular season record, NBA champions). Im not asking for those teams to be present from that season but to take either the 1995-96 Bulls or perhaps any team in the game currently, and have the user try and duplicate this feat or if they can, better it. I like the idea of trying to do that. I've tried several times over the years to better 72 wins and the closest I have gotten is 68 wins with LA in 2K9 (no simulations either). 72 wins is really hard especially when you play on superstar level or higher. So I'm asking is this at all possible to add as a challenge? If not as a challenge, can it become trophy or recognition of some sort. I think the community would be able to really appreciate this task and challenge. Anyone who plays thru an entire 82 game season + playoffs knows it's tough to do especially without simulating. To me theres a sort of honor by playing thru every game of a season and dealing with whatever comes up. Let me know what you think.
I wonder if this is too late to add.... and I dont know if any one thought of this....but what about a jordan challenge that requires you to duplicate the success of the 1995-1996 season (72-10 regular season record, NBA champions). Im not asking for those teams to be present from that season but to take either the 1995-96 Bulls or perhaps any team in the game currently, and have the user try and duplicate this feat or if they can, better it. I like the idea of trying to do that. I've tried several times over the years to better 72 wins and the closest I have gotten is 68 wins with LA in 2K9 (no simulations either). 72 wins is really hard especially when you play on superstar level or higher. So I'm asking is this at all possible to add as a challenge? If not as a challenge, can it become trophy or recognition of some sort. I think the community would be able to really appreciate this task and challenge. Anyone who plays thru an entire 82 game season + playoffs knows it's tough to do especially without simulating. To me theres a sort of honor by playing thru every game of a season and dealing with whatever comes up. Let me know what you think.
