NLSC Your source for basketball video games.

We’re at midcourt, and the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Start your week here at the NLSC with a feature that’s dedicated to opinions, commentary, and other fun stuff related to NBA Live, NBA 2K, and other basketball video games. This week, I’m tipping things off with a few thoughts on the current state and future of our modding community.

2019 could be a great year for our modding community. Late last year, Vlad delivered a wonderful gift in the form of new versions of RED MC and REDitor II that are fully functional and completely free. The availability of these modding tools should allow for some great new releases for old favourites that are still being tinkered with. The community is also very active as far as updating NBA 2K19, with our most intuitive modders developing new techniques and resources. As far as the site is concerned, we anticipate being around for some time yet.

However, there are some disappointing trends and growing concerns. I’ve discussed a few of them before, but unfortunately, they persist (and in some cases, are just getting worse). In some respects, we’re at the mercy of current trends and culture, and some issues are difficult to curb without setting inflexible rules that ultimately run the risk of driving people away from the hobby. Nevertheless, I’d like to take the opportunity to weigh in on those matters once again, and try to steer our modding community onto a better path. To be as productive and friendly as possible, we must avoid the pitfalls and toxicity that have sunk other modding websites and communities.

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Episode #270 of the NLSC Podcast is out now! Join Arcane and myself as we catch up on a couple of news items from the past week, and discuss our top wishes for NBA Live 20 and NBA 2K20 as Wishlist season officially gets underway.

On this week’s show…

• NBA Live 19 and NBA 2K19 continue to receive content updates, including new rosters, player items, and challenges. We discuss the games’ efforts to remain fresh and evergreen.
• We’ve officially tipped off Wishlist season for NBA Live 20 and NBA 2K20! Once again, we stress the importance of constructive feedback, and having our say.
• What are our top wishes for NBA Live 20? What are the most important areas to focus on if the game is to take the next step?
• Likewise, what are our top wishes for NBA 2K20? NBA 2K is the brand leader, but how can it continue to get better?
• If you could ask the executive producers of NBA Live and NBA 2K any three questions, what would they be? We’ll list ours on next week’s NLSC Podcast, but first we want to hear from our listeners!

Click Play to listen to the show!

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:36:27 — 66.3MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Have some thoughts on the latest episode? Got a mailbag question or topic suggestion for the next show? Sound off in the comments section below, or join in the discussion here in the Forum! For more information on the NLSC Podcast including episode guides, check out this page in our Wiki.

It’s that time again! The NBA Live and NBA 2K development teams are hard at work on the next titles, which means we need to get our feedback in as soon as possible. I’ve created our official Wishlist topics for NBA Live 20 and NBA 2K20, so that we can compile our suggestions and send them along to EA Sports and Visual Concepts respectively.

As always, we’re looking to compile a comprehensive but concise snapshot of what the basketball gaming community wants to see in the upcoming games. Whether it’s new features, fixes and improvements, or bug reports, it’s all useful feedback for the Wishlist. Bullet points are best and far preferable to long-winded essays and videos, though at the same time, don’t just say things like “make the gameplay better”. We need to explain how we want the gameplay to change, and what would make it better. The same goes for modes, and all other aspects of the two games.

Just a reminder that we are focused on constructive feedback here, so please leave out the snark and insults. Venting about the games is perfectly acceptable in other Forum topics, but these topics are about compiling useful suggestions, not yelling at the developers. By all means constructively criticise and point out problems, but please be aware that we’re not going to pass along profane suggestions!

Once again, we want to get our Wishlists in as soon as possible – ideally before the end of January – in order for them to have the most impact possible. To that end, sign up for a Forum account (if you don’t have one already), and start posting your ideas! We’ll be organising a Top Wishes section to concisely explain what we most want to see, so feel free to prioritise your lists. The first post in the Wishlist topics provides further information about the best format for your feedback, in case you’re looking for a guide. With all that being said, start posting those wishes!

Welcome to this week’s edition of The Friday Five! The Friday Five is a feature that I post every Friday in which I give my thoughts on a topic that’s related to NBA Live, NBA 2K, and other basketball video games, as well as the real NBA, and other areas of interest to our community. The feature is presented as either a list of five items, or in the form of a Top 5 countdown. This week’s Five lists the five stages of playing through a season in any basketball video game mode.

As I write this, I’m approaching the end of the regular season in my MyCAREER game in NBA 2K19. Once again, not a bad effort for someone who was supposedly burned out on career modes! Having sufficiently levelled up my player for the online experiences, I am in a position where I can take a break from MyCAREER, but I also feel compelled to at least play through to the end of the first season. After all, I’m potentially less than thirty games away from cleaning up in the regular season awards, and leading the Chicago Bulls to another (virtual) championship.

I’ve played through at least one full season in multiple basketball games, including NBA Live 2004, NBA Live 06, NBA 2K13, and NBA 2K17. There’s definitely a sense of accomplishment in doing so, and if you’re really into the game, then the season does go by much quicker. It still takes some time though – especially if you’re playing twelve minute quarters – and there are undoubtedly moments where you must push yourself to complete the journey, particularly if you aren’t simulating any games. You’ll probably end up experiencing the five stages of playing through a season: a list that I’m making up, but one that I believe will resonate with many basketball gamers.

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Here are the latest file additions for NBA 2K19 PC! The newest mod releases include player faces, courts, and a classic scoreboard. Check them all out at the links below!

ShobexKid
Kenyon Martin NBA Finals 2002 Face

MJ23LB
Toronto Raptors Courts Pack

Manni Live
Washington Wizards Capital One Arena 4K

sticky-fingers
NBA on NBA Classic Scoreboard (Watermark)

Torogi
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Face
Jordan Clarkson Face with Tattoos (Updated to v2.0)
Cory Joseph Face & Model< (Updated to v2.0)

Thanks to everyone who continues to contribute to our Downloads database! If you need help uploading files, be sure to check out this video tutorial. For more information about downloads, the modding community, and File Additions bulletins, please see this FAQ in our Wiki.

This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! In this feature, we dig into the archives, look back at the history of basketball gaming, and indulge in some nostalgia. Check in every Wednesday for retrospectives and other features on older versions of NBA Live, NBA 2K, and old school basketball video games in general. You’ll also find old NLSC editorials re-published with added commentary, and other flashback content. This week, I’m taking a look back at the introduction videos that were featured in old school basketball video games.

I’ve been producing Wayback Wednesday as a weekly feature since November 2015, and yet somehow, I’ve never discussed the introduction videos that were featured in old basketball games. I’ve talked about music, and I even posted a breakdown of NBA 2K12’s introduction video with comparisons to the real highlight clips, but I’ve yet to profile the intros that greeted us upon firing up some of our old favourites, despite the fact it’s a very obvious choice of topic for a Wayback Wednesday feature. Well, better late than never, right?

Lengthy introduction videos are seemingly being phased out, but you certainly don’t have to be a grizzled basketball gamer in your 30s to remember them. However, there was something special about the intros in old school basketball games. If you watch them today, you might just feel pumped up to play those old titles again, just as you were all those years ago. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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Let’s get caught up on the latest file additions for NBA 2K14 before the batch gets any bigger! The newest releases include current and retro face updates, an NCAA court mod, and a 2019 Draft Class. Check them all out at the link below!

Blang
Ty Jerome Face

IceCr
Larry Nance Sr. Face
Moses Malone Face
Oscar Robertson Face (Updated to v3.0)
Reggie Miller Face (Updated to v3.0)

BBTxJoKer
Andre Ingram Face
Miles Bridges Face
Jaren Jackson Jr. Face
Jeremy Lin Face
James Young Face
Michael Porter Jr. Face
DeAndre’ Bembry Face
Julius Randle Face
Trey Burke Face
R.J. Barrett Face
Jordan Clarkson Face

Jumpman2K
Ohio State Buckeyes Court

Mackubex
Mackubex 2019 NBA Draft Class

Thanks to everyone who continues to contribute to our Downloads database! If you need help uploading files, be sure to check out this video tutorial. For more information about downloads, the modding community, and File Additions bulletins, please see this FAQ in our Wiki.

We’re at midcourt, and the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Start your week here at the NLSC with a feature that’s dedicated to opinions, commentary, and other fun stuff related to NBA Live, NBA 2K, and other basketball video games. This week, I’m tipping things off with my reflections on hitting 90 Overall in NBA 2K19’s MyCAREER, without spending any money on VC.

The Road to 99 in MyCAREER is a journey that can be incredibly tedious. It’s hardly a stunning revelation that this is by design, a method of encouraging gamers to pay for VC in order to skip the long grind. As much as I dislike the practice, my desire to play online with my friends in the NLSC’s 2K Pro-Am squad has seen me resort to buying VC in previous games in order to sufficiently boost my attributes on Day 1. I decided that after last year’s unashamed money grab, I would avoid buying any VC in NBA 2K19. Instead, I’d try to grind up my player the long way.

Between Christmas and New Year’s, I finally hit 90 Overall. Although it felt like a long road with a lot of grinding, it did actually happen a little quicker than I had first anticipated. Nevertheless, it was tremendously satisfying, and proof that it can be done within the first few months of owning the game (albeit with some good luck). As I consider how much further I’ll travel down the Road to 99, I thought that I’d reflect on the journey so far, as well as some of the strategies that I found useful along the way. If you’re still striving to hit 90 Overall or better and are determined not to spend any money on VC, hopefully I can offer up some encouragement and helpful pointers.

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Episode #269 of the NLSC Podcast is out now! Arcane, Kenny, and I are back on the air following our holiday hiatus, and we’ve got some news to catch up on. We’ve also been hitting the virtual hardwood during our time off, and have some stories to share about what we’ve been playing.

On this week’s show…

• Patches 1.16 and 1.17 came through for NBA Live 19 after we went on break. We give our thoughts on the latest content, gameplay tuning, and other adjustments and fixes.
• NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 also received a title update in time for Christmas. Patch 1.04 added new players and other content, but is it enough to get us hooked on the game?
• Visual Concepts are advertising a temporary position for a production assistant. The role will be focused on MyCAREER, which leads us to speculate on the mode in NBA 2K20.
• Controversy erupted on Christmas Day when a Locker Code for a Pink Diamond LeBron James card in MyTEAM was leaked, and the card later removed. We discuss 2K’s handling of the situation, and the subsequent show of goodwill.
• Vlad delivered the NBA 2K modding community a Christmas present in the form of new versions of RED MC and REDitor II. The comprehensive tools are now completely free!
• Arcane floats an idea for a community project that should appeal to anyone with aspirations of developing their own basketball video game.
• Our Week in Basketball Gaming – or rather, Our Holidays in Basketball Gaming – included milestones in MyCAREER, good pulls in MyTEAM, and a suspected troll in the Jordan Rec Center. Also, the NLSC squad finally got to play team Pro-Am, but ran into disappointment that went beyond the scoreline.

Click Play to listen to the show!

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:33:00 — 63.9MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Have some thoughts on the latest episode? Got a mailbag question or topic suggestion for the next show? Sound off in the comments section below, or join in the discussion here in the Forum! For more information on the NLSC Podcast including episode guides, check out this page in our Wiki.

NLSC Forum member Dr B has released a new basketball video game titled Hoops Universe. The game is completely free and features customisable graphics, with a default roster filled with fictional teams and players. Created in Stencyl, the game will run on both PC and Mac.

Hoops Universe features a retro-themed aesthetic, similar in style to old games such as Double Dribble, or Namo Gamo’s Basketball Classics. The current release is a work-in-progress, and Dr B is inviting feedback over in the NLSC Forum. A fully-fledged game may be released on Steam at some point, but for now, releases will be made freely available in our Downloads database.

Check it out here! For more information, previews, support, and feedback, please see this Forum topic.

It’s always nice to see new uploads for old favourites. Today we have a file addition for one of my own all-time favourite basketball games, NBA Live 06 PC. Wudlock has created a custom AIACT file that results in big men taking more outside shots, in order to update the gameplay to resemble the current NBA style. Give it a look at the link below!

Wudlock
Big Man Three-Pointer AIACT

Thanks to everyone who continues to contribute to our Downloads database! If you need help uploading files, be sure to check out this video tutorial. For more information about downloads, the modding community, and File Additions bulletins, please see this FAQ in our Wiki.

Welcome to this week’s edition of The Friday Five! The Friday Five is a feature that I post every Friday in which I give my thoughts on a topic that’s related to NBA Live, NBA 2K, and other basketball video games, as well as the real NBA, and other areas of interest to our community. The feature is presented as either a list of five items, or in the form of a Top 5 countdown. This week’s Five lists what I feel are the five most significant years in the history of basketball gaming.

2019 is upon us, and as always, I’m hoping that it’ll end up being a fantastic year for basketball gaming! Hopefully, we’ll be able to get a lot of enjoyment out of the 2018 releases for the next eight or nine months, and then get our hands on even better titles to close out the year. While the success of basketball games ultimately rests with their respective developers, we shouldn’t underestimate the impact that we can have as a community. As such, it’s important that we speak up with constructive feedback, so that we can do our part in making 2019 a big year on the virtual hardwood.

There have been quite a few milestone years for basketball video games over the past three decades. They’ve marked significant improvements within the genre, through the release of many memorable games that have gone down as classics. Of course, there are also years that have been significant in terms of basketball gaming for far less positive reasons. As we tip off a new year and hope for the best when it comes to the future of basketball gaming, I feel there’s value in looking back at the road that hoops games have travelled. After all, it’s essential that forthcoming games not only build upon the success of their predecessors, but also avoid some of their pitfalls.

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Contributor DaCrispy has uploaded a handy resource for NBA 2K11 modding projects. The resource includes values for a variety of generic Create-a-Player appearances (complete with previews), ideal for use in any projects that require fictional players or placeholder faces. Check it out at the link below!

DaCrispy
NBA 2K11 CAP Resources

Thanks to everyone who continues to contribute to our Downloads database! If you need help uploading files, be sure to check out this video tutorial. For more information about downloads, the modding community, and File Additions bulletins, please see this FAQ in our Wiki.

This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! In this feature, we dig into the archives, look back at the history of basketball gaming, and indulge in some nostalgia. Check in every Wednesday for retrospectives and other features on older versions of NBA Live, NBA 2K, and old school basketball video games in general. You’ll also find old NLSC editorials re-published with added commentary, and other flashback content. This week, I’m taking a look back at the history of the Ultimate Base Roster, through an interview with HAWK23 himself.

The Ultimate Base Roster, also known as UBR, began as a roster update for NBA 2K12 that also expanded upon the game’s historical content. Over time, it grew into a comprehensive modding project that not only kept NBA 2K12 up to date, but allowed basketball gamers to step back into the past with multiple complete season mods and other fun content. The project would later be adapted for NBA 2K14, a release that has received an update just today. Gamers have been enjoying UBR for years now, and it’s even encouraged long-time console users to pick up the PC versions.

Want to know more about the history of the mod, and what it’s been like to maintain it for all these years? Check out my interview with UBR creator HAWK23, as we take a look back…way back…

Read More »

Following the release of V43 last month, V44 of the Ultimate Base Roster for NBA 2K14 is out now! Key features of the latest release from HAWK23 include:

• Added “Ult Base Roster V44 Roster” (current rosters as of 1/1/19)
• Added “UBR V44 Association Roster” (current rosters as of 1/1/19)
• Added NEW “UBR V44 Assoc Cap Roster” (current rosters as of 1/1/19) with adjusted salary contracts proportionate to the cap in the game
• Updated all transactions/signings through January 1, 2019
• Player uniform numbers updated (all players checked)
• Tweaked some retro roster mistakes found in the 1970’s Mods
• Fixed how Asian player’s names appear in the game (on back of jersey) throughout all season mods
• Fixed issue with the Toronto Raptor’s head coach’s cyberface
• Added ~50+ new portraits for current NBA players that were previously missing

You can download the latest version of the Ultimate Base Roster for NBA 2K14 PC here! Be sure to check out the release topic here in the Forum for further information and previews.