Schlagwort: 2k

  • Sid Meier’s Civilization VII on Xbox Reignites That ‘Just One More Turn’ Feeling

    Sid Meier’s Civilization VII on Xbox Reignites That ‘Just One More Turn’ Feeling

    Reading Time: 6 minutes

    Expand the strategic horizons of your empire and enjoy more options for your reign with Sid Meier’s Civilization® VII Founders Edition! This digital-only edition is only available until February 28, 2025—get it now before it’s history. Purchasing Sid Meier’s Civilization VII Founders Edition entitles digital versions of the game on both Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One! Founders Edition includes:
    • Full base game
    • Early Access – play the game up to 5 days early on February 6, 2025
    • Tecumseh and Shawnee Pack
    • Crossroads of the World Collection, with post-launch content featuring 2 new leaders, 4 new civilizations, 4 new Natural Wonders, a special cosmetic bonus, and more
    • Right to Rule Collection, with post-launch content featuring 2 new leaders, 4 new civilizations, 4 new wonders, a special cosmetic bonus, and more!*
    • Deluxe Content Pack, which includes:
    – 2 leader personas
    – 4 profile customizations
    – 1 alternate scout skin
    • Founders Content Pack, which includes:
    – 2 leader personas
    – 4 profile customizations
    – 1 fog of war tile set
    – 1 Founders palace skin EARLY ACCESS
    Play Civilization VII on February 6, 2025, up to 5 days ahead of the official launch date. TECUMSEH AND SHAWNEE PACK
    This content pack adds the leader Tecumseh and the Shawnee civilization to Civilization VII! Tecumseh specializes in diplomacy and defense. His unique ability, Nicaakiyakoolaakwe, increases food, production, and combat strength based on the number of allied city-states. Shawnee is an Exploration Age civilization that excels at utilizing natural resources. Their unique ability, Nepekifaki, gives more food for settlements built on river tiles but slightly reduces food for any cities not built on rivers. Its associated wonder is the Serpent Mound. CROSSROADS OF THE WORLD COLLECTION
    Explore new possibilities for your personalized empire with post-launch add-on content, including 2 new leaders, 4 new civilizations, 4 new Natural Wonders, a special cosmetic bonus, and more! Full details will be revealed at a later date. RIGHT TO RULE COLLECTION
    Explore new possibilities for your personalized empire with even more post-launch add-on content, including 2 new leaders, 4 new civilizations, 4 new Wonders, a special cosmetic bonus, and more! Full details will be revealed at a later date. DELUXE & FOUNDERS CONTENT PACKS
    Content listed below is inclusive of content included from the Deluxe Content Pack. 4 leader personas
    Each persona offers a new variant of an existing leader, including a different outfit and background for that leader, new gameplay bonuses, and an alternative agenda that reflects a different side of their personality! The personas included in this edition will be revealed at a later date. 8 profile customizations
    Embellish your player profile with these cosmetic customizations, including a striking new badge, a regal new title, an ornate new banner, and an eye-catching new border that will all make you stand out from other players! 1 fog of war tile set
    Change your gameplay landscape with a beautiful fog of war tile set! 1 alternate scout skin Give your scout recon unit a brand new look with this cosmetic outfit! 1 Founders palace skin
    Give your civ’s palace a regal new look with a glorious remodel that’s sure to stand out! The award-winning strategy game franchise returns with a revolutionary new chapter. Sid Meier’s Civilization® VII empowers you to build the greatest empire the world has ever known! In Civilization VII, your strategic decisions shape the unique cultural lineage of your evolving empire. Rule as one of many legendary leaders from throughout history and steer the course of your story by choosing a new civilization to represent your empire in each Age of human advancement. Construct cities and architectural wonders to expand your territory, improve your civilization with technological breakthroughs, and conquer or cooperate with rival civilizations as you explore the far reaches of the unknown world. Pursue prosperity in an immersive solo experience or play with others in online multiplayer.** Whether you choose to follow a path rooted in history or reimagine possibilities to chart your own way forward, build something you believe in and create a legacy that echoes through the Ages in Civilization VII. BUILD AN EMPIRE THAT STANDS THE TEST OF TIME Lead your empire through distinct Ages of human history. Each Age is its own rich, nuanced journey, with unique playable civilizations, available resources, explorable land, and even entire gameplay systems, creating a deep, historically immersive strategy experience. Strive to accomplish significant scientific, cultural, militaristic, and economic milestones within each Age to unlock impactful advantages in the next! EVOLVE YOUR EMPIRE AS EACH NEW AGE DAWNS To build a legacy that truly stands the test of time, you must adapt. Forge your own path through history as you reshape your empire at the start of each Age, selecting from a pool of new Age-relevant civilization options determined by your prior gameplay accomplishments. Evolving your empire unlocks fresh gameplay bonuses and unique units, so your current civilization is always at the height of its power. PLAY AS VISIONARY LEADERS OF PROGRESS Embody an illustrious leader with one of Civilization’s most diverse rosters yet, from traditional heads of state known for their militaristic might or political prowess, to visionary leaders who made everlasting impacts in philosophy, science, human rights, and more! Each leader possesses a unique ability and can further be improved with customizable attributes earned through gameplay, empowering you to reinforce or pivot your strategy from one Age into the next. For the first time in franchise history, you can choose your leader separately from your civilization, giving you the freedom to create all-new strategies by mixing and matching gameplay bonuses. EXPLORE A WORLD BROUGHT TO LIFE LIKE NEVER BEFORE Make your mark on a gorgeously detailed world! Your empire comes to life with a vast, diverse range of cultural styles, represented across building architecture and unit design. Face-to-face interactions with other historic leaders immerse you in every act of diplomacy and declaration of war. As your territory expands and your cities continue to develop, lavishly rendered vistas of your empire seamlessly connect to create a vibrant metropolis. TEST YOUR STRATEGIC METTLE IN MULTIPLAYER Compete against other players online and prove your prowess as a great leader.** Multiplayer matches can be epic multi-Age campaigns, or take place in a single Age so you can enjoy an entire game in a single session. Cross-play is supported, so you can play together with friends wherever they are. AN ENJOYABLE STRATEGY EXPERIENCE FOR ALL With more than 30 years of franchise legacy to draw from, Civilization VII features a vast wealth of gameplay improvements that will thrill series veterans and newcomers alike. The overhauled tutorial experience and refined gameplay systems make jumping into Civilization easier than ever, while returning players will appreciate a massive suite of gameplay improvements. Move your army as one under the leadership of a commander, unlock progression bonuses for your leaders across multiple gameplay sessions, traverse navigable rivers, and much, much more! *The Right To Rule Collection contains 6 DLCs, all of which will be available on or by September 2025 (subject to change). Each DLC will be delivered automatically in-game on release.
    **Online play and features (including progression bonuses) require an Internet connection and 2K Account (minimum age varies). Up to five players supported in the Antiquity & Exploration Ages. Up to eight players supported in the Modern Age. Map size restrictions may apply to certain cross-play multiplayer games. More info available here: https://2kgam.es/Civ7FAQ. Console online play requires a separate paid subscription. Terms apply. Software Terms of Service (ToS) in game and at www.take2games.com/legal. Non-transferable access to special features, such as exclusive/unlockable/downloadable/online & bonus content/services/functions/multiplayer services, may require single-use serial code, additional fee, and/or non-transferable online account registration (minimum age varies). See www.take2games.com/legal and www.take2games.com/privacy for additional details. Special feature access may require internet connection, may not be available to all users or at all times, and may be terminated, modified, or offered under different terms without notice. Violation of ToS, Code of Conduct, or other policies may result in restriction or termination of access to game or online account. Online play and download requires broadband internet service, and may require a separate paid platform subscription and account registration. User responsible for associated fees. Unauthorized copying, alteration, reverse engineering, decompiling, transmission, public performance, rental, pay for play, or copy protection circumvention is prohibited and violates the ToS. Certain features of the game, including the in-game store, may not be accessible by child accounts. A child means players under the age of 13, unless local laws specify differently. ©2024 Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Sid Meier’s Civilization, Civilization, Civ, 2K, Firaxis Games, Take-Two Interactive Software and their respective logos are all trademarks of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. All other marks and trademarks are the property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

    Website: LINK

  • A Look into the Signature Gameplay Animations for TopSpin 2K25

    A Look into the Signature Gameplay Animations for TopSpin 2K25

    Reading Time: 6 minutes

    Summary

    • Learn from the developers of TopSpin about the process of capturing the new signature animations for TopSpin 2K25, the latest installment in the beloved franchise.
    • See how these animations were implemented, amongst other new features and improvements, within the TopSpin 2K25 Gameplay Showcase.
    • TopSpin 2K25 is available for pre-order today on the Xbox Store and will launch April 26, 2024, for Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.

    As mentioned in our Gameplay Showcase Centre Court Report, TopSpin 2K25 picks up where Top Spin 4 left off in terms of gameplay and animation quality. One of the first things you’ll notice when you see or play TopSpin 2K25 is that we’ve added a lot of new signature-style animations for the players’ serves, forehands, backhands and return idles. In this Xbox Wire article, we’ll share an insight into the types of signature animations that are featured in TopSpin 2K25, before showcasing how we at Hangar 13 created these animations: from analyzing players to Motion Capture, all the way through to animation.

    When playing TopSpin 2K25, tennis fans will certainly notice the attention to detail on some of their favorite players’ animations. For example, you’ll be able to recognize Roger Federer’s stylish backhand, Serena William’s devastating serve, or Iga Swiatek’s powerful forehand animation, just to name a few. In addition to these animations that aim at recreating the unique style of specific pros, we also captured a variety of animations that can be shared by multiple pros with similar swinging motions. Players can also use their 2K Account to add signature-styles to their MyPlayers to make them customizable, not only visually, but also in the way they move and hit the ball.

    Some signature styles will be available immediately at launch, so you can begin working on your playstyle right away. We will also be adding new signature-style animations with each new Season. Players can use virtual currency to get some of their favorite signature-styles from the Pro Shop and additional styles will be available to unlock via the Premium Centre Court Pass (available for additional purchase). By the end of Season 6, TopSpin 2K25 will have over 2x the amount of signature styles featured in TopSpin 4.

    Now, we’re excited to share with you a sneak peek into the processes involved in adding these new signature styles in the game. The first step is to look at the players we have in our roster and to identify which ones have a truly unique or recognizable style for either their serve, forehand, backhand, or return idle, and to capture video references of each. Then, we create what we call a “shot list” for motion capture, which is a list of individual animations we want to capture with our athlete/actor/actress. For example, each forehand or backhand style consists of a total of nine individual animations that can play based on the height of the ball or the direction and speed of the player before hitting the ball.

    Once the shot list is finalized, we’re ready to move on to the mocap stage and start capturing all these new animations. On the day of the shoot, we get Hangar 13’s mocap crew, animators, and designers together, our team of semi-pro tennis players suited up in that pretty cool-looking mocap suit to serve as our actors and actresses, and we’re ready to go. We show our actor/actress the motion we would like to capture and watch the video references with them to identify all the key poses and elements that make this motion unique. When the actor/actress is ready, they start practicing the motion to get a better feel for it, and then we record it, replay it on the monitor on the mocap stage, and compare it with the video reference. We repeat that until we’re happy with the result and it looks close enough to the reference.

    With both Roger Federer and Serena Williams, we were able to spend time with them on the motion capture stage and record their actual serves, forehands, backhands, and return idles, so the final result in the game is even closer to their real style.

    After the data is captured and processed by the technicians of the mocap stage it goes to the animators who apply the data to a male or female character. At this stage the animation still looks very rough, so the animators clean up all the posing, making sure that it doesn’t look broken, but also that it looks as close as possible to the style of the pro player! The animators also make sure that it adheres to the specifications, like making sure that the racket hits the ball at the expected height, or that it’s oriented properly during the swinging motion based on the type of swing. The data from the mocap includes the motion of the racket, but it does not include any motion on the fingers, so the animators spend quite a bit of time making sure the hands and fingers are properly gripping the racket.

    Once the animation has had a first pass, it’s exported and checked in the engine on the pro player it was created for and that’s when we truly see everyone’s efforts come to life for the first time! The animation gets implemented and reviewed by designers in-game, after which there’s often a round of feedback and the animations are polished even further.

    Truly a lot of care and attention to detail went into the animations, from start to finish. We’re eager for you to see the level of authenticity and realism present in TopSpin 2K25 — Rally On!

    TopSpin 2K25 Cross-Gen Edition - Pre Order
    Xbox Live

    TopSpin 2K25 Cross-Gen Edition – Pre Order

    2K

    ☆☆☆☆☆

    ★★★★★

    $69.99

    The Cross-Gen Edition includes TopSpin 2K25 for Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One. Pre-order* TopSpin 2K25 Cross-Gen Edition and receive the Under the Lights Pack, featuring Serena Williams and Roger Federer Alternate Outfits, Wilson Nightfall Bundle, and Night-Time Majors. The Under the Lights Pack is included with the Deluxe and Grand Slam® Editions. WIN THE CAREER GRAND SLAM® Travel the world as an up-and-coming pro, go toe-to-toe with the biggest names in tennis, and take Centre Court at Wimbledon, Roland-Garros, the US Open, and the Australian Open as you strive to become a Grand Slam® Champion in MyCAREER. COMPETE AT ICONIC VENUES Visit some of the most vibrant courts on the tennis circuit in TopSpin 2K25. From the four Grand Slam® tournaments to larger-than-life international arenas like Indian Wells, La Caja Mágica, Pala Alpitour, Foro Italico, and more. TENNIS LEGENDS & RISING STARS Play as tennis legends Roger Federer and Serena Williams, or serve up smashing highlights as Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Swiatek, Frances Tiafoe, Andre Agassi, and others. Choose from over 24 playable pros and unleash their explosive power and clever finesse against other players locally or online. DOMINATE THE COURT ONLINE Test your MyPLAYER’s mettle and showcase your tennis prowess on the World Tour or step into the 2K Tour as a playable pro challenging players around the world with cross-play support. TRAIN WITH JOHN MCENROE From power serves to gorgeous drop-shots, learn how to play like a legend with John McEnroe at the TopSpin Academy. Master advanced controls as you progress through a series of skill-sharpening drills and challenges to gain an edge on every surface. PERSONALIZE YOUR MyPLAYER Create a MyPLAYER tailored to your play style and define your look on the court! With a wide range of customization options, you can fine-tune your attributes and earn new Coaches, Fittings, and gear from adidas, HEAD, Lacoste, New Balance, Nike, Wilson, and more. *Pre-order bonus offer available through April 25, 2024. Internet connection and a 2K Account required to redeem bonus content. Terms apply. Under the Lights Pack is included with the Deluxe Edition and the Grand Slam® Edition, and will be available for separate purchase for owners of the base game. Terms apply. Certain portions of the game, including online multiplayer and other online features, are not accessible by child accounts. “Child” means players under the age of 13, unless local laws specify differently. 2K Account is required to play the game.

    Website: LINK

  • NBA 2K22 Saison 6: Das müsst ihr über Zero Gravity wissen

    NBA 2K22 Saison 6: Das müsst ihr über Zero Gravity wissen

    Reading Time: 3 minutes

    In der brandneuen Saison 6 der erfolgreichen Basketballsimulation NBA 2K22 geht es galaktisch zu: Unter dem Motto Zero Gravity begleitet ihr den aufstrebenden Superstar Jayson Tatum von den Boston Celtics auf seinem kometenhaften Aufstieg Richtung Playoffs und es erwarten euch neue Herausforderungen, bei denen ihr gegen Gegner aus aller Welt antretet. Was euch alles an frischen Inhalten und großartigen Belohnungen erwartet, haben wir für euch zusammengefasst.

    Meine KARRIERE: Galaktische Events und große Belohnungen

    In den kommenden sechs Wochen ist wieder einiges in der Stadt und Cancha Del Mar los: Ihr macht euch auf eine epische Reise in die Stratosphäre und noch weit darüber hinaus, wenn ihr die zahlreichen Courts für Herausforderungen aufsucht. Erreicht Stufe 40 und schnappt euch das entzückende Bunny-Maskottchen sowie weitere Belohnungen, wie zum Beispiel exklusive Saison 6-Kleidung und ein absolut cooles BMX.

    Nehmt an galaktischen Events wie TKO für PS5 und Power Up für PS4 teil und beweist euer Können am Ball. In Power Up besucht ihr dabei einen Court auf einer traumhaften griechischen Insel und tretet in 5v5-Matches gegen die Konkurrenz an. Wenn ihr gut genug seid, steigt ihr in den Olymp auf und gewinnt wertvolle Belohnungen, unter anderem XP-Tokens sowie ganz besondere Bekleidung.

    Mein TEAM: Dark Matter Dirk Nowitzki

    Playoff-Agenden mit allen 20 Teams, beeindruckende Momente basierend auf  stellaren Playoff-Leistungen oder eine Stufe 40 Dark Matter-Karte des Australiers Josh Giddey, dem aufsteigenden Sterns der Oklahoma City Thunder: In Saison 6 habt ihr wieder die besten Voraussetzungen das Rooster in Mein TEAM weiter zu verbessern.

    Das ist aber noch lange nicht alles: Sammelt 4000 Karten und sichert euch im Tausch eine mächtige Dark Matter Dirk Nowitzki-Spielerkarte und macht euch auf die Jagd nach allen 80 Abzeichen im Spiel, um ein Hall of Fame-Abzeichen zu erwerben. 

    The W: WNBA-Legenden Katie Smith und Cheryl Ford

    Ihr wollt noch mehr Belohnungen? Kein Problem, in The W. kehrt ihr in die historische 25. Saison der WNBA zurück und sichert euch brandneue Goodies, darunter eine 2K Breakthrough-Ausrüstung, reichlich VC, ein Extra-Abzeichen-Punkt oder ein saisonales Bekleidungspaket. Zudem habt ihr nach Erreichen des Hall of Fame-Status die Möglichkeit, die WNBA-Legenden Katie Smith und Cheryl Ford in eure Kontaktliste aufzunehmen. 

    First Fridays: NBA 2K und COLORSxSTUDIOS

    US-Rap-Star Smino, der belgische Hip-Hop-Künstler Krisy oder die aus London stammenden ENNY: Eine neue Playlist mit Originalaufnahmen der A COLORS SHOW bereichert den abwechslungsreichen NBA 2K22-Soundtrack mit den globalen Klängen der COLORS-Künstler-Community. Im Rahmen der Kooperation von NBA 2K mit COLORSxSTUDIOS wird auch exklusiv eine Folge der A COLORS SHOW mit Rapper GUAPDAD 4000 aufgeführt und erstmals ein Musikvideo im Spiel zu sehen sein.

    Getting Buckets Folge 7

    Auf Dre müsst ihr in der brandneuen Episode von  Getting Buckets leider verzichten, dafür hat Niko Backspin aber mit Freiplatzlegende und talentiertem Hymnenschreiber Lakmann einen spannenden Gast im Studio. Schaut euch den wie immer extrem unterhaltsamen Expertentalk an.

    NBA 2K22 Saison 6: Das müsst ihr über Zero Gravity wissen

    Weiter geht es auf dem Kanal von Backspin: Hier beweist Lakman, dass er nicht nur einen richtig guten Flow auf dem Court hat, sondern auch mit fetten Beats überzeugt. Lasst euch den eigens für NBA 2K geschriebenen Song auf keinen Fall entgehen.

    NBA 2K22 Saison 6: Das müsst ihr über Zero Gravity wissen

    Mehr zu NBA 2K22

    Schlagt jetzt zu und werdet zur Basketball-Legende!

    Website: LINK

  • NBA 2K22 Trophäen Guide

    NBA 2K22 Trophäen Guide

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    Ihr wollt an der großen NBA 2K22 Trophy Challenge teilnehmen und mit zusätzlichen Trophäen eure Gewinnchance steigern? Super! Schließlich erhöht jede erspielte NBA 2K22 Trophäe auf PlayStation 4 eure Möglichkeit auf einen der fantastischen Preise. Wenn ihr noch mehr zur NBA 2K22 Trophy Challenge wissen wollt, dann schaut hier vorbei und startet eure Trophäenjagd noch heute:

    Damit ihr schnellstmöglich weitere Trophäen erspielen könnt, haben wir heute ein paar Tipps und Tricks für euch. Wenn ihr ausnahmslos alle Trophäen in NBA 2K22 erspielen wollt, können wir euch zudem den ausführlichen Trophäenguide von Trophies.com empfehlen!

    Tipps für Trophäen in NBA 2K22

    Was gibt es zum Abendessen

    Für diese Bronze Trophäe steht eine harte Sporteinheit an: Schließt im Trainingszentrum eine Trainingseinheit bis zum Ende ab, um sie zu erhalten. Das ist ganz einfach und bereitet euch auf die nächsten Trophäen gut vor.

    Somewhere Over The …

    Na, habt ihr das Einhorn schon gesehen? Um diese Trophäe zu erhalten, müsst ihr das Einhorn fangen. Dabei handelt es sich allerdings nicht um das Fabelwesen selbst, sondern um einen entsprechenden Ball den ihr in MyTeam erhaltet.

    Superstar

    Eine Gesangskarriere müsst ihr für diese Bronze Trophäe nicht starten, aber dafür ein Schnelles Spiel im Superstar-Schwierigkeitsmodus absolvieren und vor allem gewinnen.

    Aye, aye, Käpt’n!

    Noch eine Trophäe (Bronze), die ihr euch ganz schnell schnappen könnt: Trefft euch mit Kapitän Jeffery Pinero und haltet einen kurzen Plausch, schon wandert die Trophäe in eure Sammlung.

    Folge mir auf …

    Social Media ist nicht mehr wegzudenken! So auch im  Meine KARRIERE Modus, in dem ihr mindestens 2,5 Millionen Fans erreichen müsst, um diese Silber Trophäe einzustecken.

    Auf Sieg spielen

    Ihr habt genug geübt und könnt bei den Großen mitspielen? Dann begebt euch in Meine LIGA und erreicht dort die Playoffs oder sogar noch mehr.

    Das ist leicht

    Diese Silber Trophäe macht ihrem Namen alle Ehre, denn ihr erhaltet sie schon beinahe automatisch. Spielt und gewinnt dazu einfach 10 Matches in JETZT ONLINE SPIELEN.

    Geologe

    Ihr liebt Edelsteine? Prima! Für diese Silber Trophäe müsst ihr von jeder Edelsteinart jeweils eine Karte in Mein TEAM besitzen und schon gehört sie euch.

    Keine Ausreden

    Getreu dem Namen der Trophäe müsst ihr hier einiges an Zeit investieren. Doch von Nichts kommt nichts! Maximiert für diese silberne Auszeichnung alle Meine PUNKTE in Meine KARRIERE.

    Mein CHAMPION

    Wie es der Name schon sagt, müsst ihr für diese Gold Trophäe ein Gewinner sein. Im Klartext bedeutet das: Gewinnt die Meisterschaft in Meine LIGA und schon seid ihr um eine Gold Trophäe reicher.

    Website: LINK

  • NBA 2K22 gameplay deep dive

    NBA 2K22 gameplay deep dive

    Reading Time: 5 minutes

    Hello, PlayStation Nation! It’s that time of year when we get to unpack all the exciting gameplay enhancements and new features coming your way with NBA 2K22!

    We had an ambitious feature list that we wanted to tackle this year: faster-paced gameplay, tighter and more responsive movement, more skill-based offense, and big changes to the player builder. We made a strong push to ensure that we were delivering the same quality gameplay upgrades on both PS5 and PS4, so no matter which version you run with this year, you’re going to get a brand-new experience.

    Defense

    The primary goal for defense was to give gamers the tools to be able to really change the outcome of the game on the floor and at the rim. If you were a great perimeter defender who anticipated well, we wanted you to be able to clamp up the dribbler and force a pass. If you were a rim protector, we wanted to give you the ability to send away weak shot attempts at will.

    The shot contest and blocking systems were completely rebuilt, leading to several new snatch blocks and volleyball spikes that never happened before. The shot contest rewrite removed the “ghost contests” that many complained about, and this year, being out of position or not getting a hand in the shooter’s face will lead to some easy buckets for the offense. On the other hand, properly crowding shooters with good contests will result in plenty of bricks and airballs, as they should. 

    NBA 2K22 gameplay deep dive

    Next-Gen Defending

    For floor defenders, body-up rides and bumps feel much more rewarding; particularly for those using the PS5 DualSense Wireless Controller, thanks to the haptic feedback. Shifts, launches, stops, and cuts all feel much tighter, and PS5 players will see a lot less sliding on both ends of the floor as a result of improvements to foot-planting.

    Defense was also a major focus on the next-gen AI front. New on-ball defensive positioning logic gives defenders more consistency in their positioning, regardless of their distance from the basket. This, along with motion improvements, allowed us to tighten up general defensive positioning, which means PS5 players will feel more defensive pressure on-ball than was present in last year’s game. 

    Dribbling

    This year, the goal was to marry the Basic Size-ups and Signature Size-ups together and give each player a unique feel and rhythm when sizing up, while also giving the gamer complete control over how the series plays out. The speed stick that we introduced on PS5 last year also returns. So, flicking the stick quickly results in quicker dribbles while slower flicks give you more rhythmic ones. There are around 50 unique signature size-up packages and 32 unique dribble sequences to choose from. Make sure to give all of them a try to find out which one best suits the rhythm of how you like to play. From the movement to the new moves and combos, they’ll be identical between PS5 and PS4!

    Post Play

    Now a little treat for the bigs. We spent a lot of time upgrading post play with loads of new content, including new movement and a new arsenal of back-to-basket moves. Similar to face-up ball handling, many of the new moves are cancels and aborts. For example, start a post spin by twirling the Pro Stick, then immediately move the left stick in the opposite direction for a spin back. There are also new R2 fakes that keep you engaged in post, allowing you to chain multiple fakes together without disengaging. 

    Shooting

    Shooting has undergone many changes for NBA 2K22. There’s a new shot meter with a dynamically resizing make window. This window will expand when you’re taking high-quality shots with good shooters, but will shrink when heavily contested, shooting with a low-rated shooter, or fatigued. The major emphasis for shooting success this year is Shot IQ. The teams that work for open looks and take smart shots are going to see much more success than the teams that force up bad shots. We’ve heavily focus-group tested the new shooting mechanics with players of all skill levels and believe this is the best that shooting has ever felt in NBA 2K.

    Finishing

    We’ve revamped the blocking system in NBA 2K22 and we’re now giving rim protectors more tools to make great stops at the rim. On top of that, on PS5, we’ve added timing meters to both alley-oop and aggressive skill dunk attempts. When an alley pass is in the air, you’ll need to press the Shot Button at just the right time to finish off the oop. And on the dunking side, holding Sprint and pulling straight down on the Pro Stick will trigger the aggressive skill dunks. 

    Builds, Badges, and Takeovers

    In NBA 2K21, we debuted a brand-new player builder on PS5 that allowed you to set up your attribute caps however you saw fit. We’ve made a lot of adjustments to the system this year, including significantly increasing the amount of badge points at your disposal, and making it easier to identify the available badges, the cost at each tier, and the attribute thresholds required to hit each tier. 

    There’s also a new MyPLAYER upgrade that’s exclusive to PS5 called Takeover Perks. These are modifiers that you can unlock and equip to strengthen your existing Takeover abilities! We won’t list them out because we want them to be a surprise, but it’s a great upgrade to the Takeover system that adds a layer of depth and strategy to how you compete online.

    From the outset, our goal was to create fun and competitive gameplay for all. The community’s passion for 2K is what drives us, and many of our features come directly from you. So, have a great time with NBA 2K22, and we can’t wait to read your feedback, watch your videos/streams, and continue to work with you to mold the best basketball game on the planet! Tip off on September 10.

    Website: LINK

  • NBA 2K22 steht in den Startlöchern

    NBA 2K22 steht in den Startlöchern

    Reading Time: 4 minutes

    Hallo PlayStation Nation! Es ist an der Zeit, euch mehr über NBA 2K22 zu erzählen!

    Wir hatten eine ehrgeizige Feature-Liste, die wir dieses Jahr in Angriff nehmen wollten: Schnelleres Gameplay, straffere und reaktionsschnellere Bewegungen, mehr Skill-basierte Offensive und große Änderungen am Player Builder. Wir haben große Anstrengungen unternommen, damit wir euch auf PS5 und PS4 die gleichen hochwertigen Gameplay-Upgrades bereitstellen können. Ihr werdet mit beiden Versionen in diesem Jahr ein brandneues Erlebnis erleben.

    Defense

    Das Hauptziel der Verteidigung war es, den Spielern die Werkzeuge an die Hand zu geben, um das Ergebnis des Spiels wirklich verändern zu können. Wenn ihr ein großartiger Perimeterverteidiger ward, wollten wir, dass ihr den Dribbler festhalten und einen Pass erzwingen können. Gehört ihr eher ins Team Rim Protector, solltet ihr Möglichkeit bekommen, schwache Schots nach Belieben wegzuschicken.

    Die Shot Contest und Block-Systeme wurden komplett neu aufgebaut, was zu mehreren neuen Snatch Blocks und Volleyball Spikes führt, die es noch nie zuvor gegeben hat. Der neue Shot Contest entfernt die „Geisterwettbewerbe“, über die sich viele beschwert haben. Und wenn ihr nicht in Position seid, kann das der Offensive ein leichtes Spiel geben. 

    NBA 2K22 steht in den Startlöchern

    Next-Gen Verteidigung

    Für Floor Verteidiger fühlen sich Body-Up-Rides und Bumps viel lohnender an; besonders für diejenigen, die das haptische Feedback des PS5 DualSense Wireless Controller nutzen können. Shifts, Starts, Stopps und Cuts fühlen sich auch viel besser an.

    Die Verteidigung war auch ein wichtiger Schwerpunkt an der KI-Front der nächsten Generation. Die neue Defensivpositionslogik am Ball gibt den Verteidigern mehr Konstanz in ihrer Positionierung, unabhängig von der Entfernung zum Korb. Zusammen mit den Bewegungsverbesserungen ermöglichte es uns, die allgemeine defensive Positionierung zu verbessern. Das bedeutet, dass PS5-Spieler mehr defensiven Druck auf den Ball spüren werden.

    Dribbling

    In diesem Jahr war es das Ziel, die Basic Size-ups und Signature Size-ups miteinander zu verbinden und jedem Spieler ein einzigartiges Gefühl und einen einzigartigen Rhythmus zu geben. Dabei soll die vollständige Kontrolle über den Verlauf erhalten bleiben. Der Speed Stick, den wir letztes Jahr für PS5 eingeführt haben, ist nun auch zurück. Ein schnelles Schnippen des Sticks führt zu schnelleren Dribblings, während langsamere Flicks zu rhythmischeren Bällen führen. Es stehen rund 50 einzigartige Signature-Size-Up-Pakete und 32 einzigartige Dribbelsequenzen zur Auswahl. Probiert euch nach Herzenslust aus, um herauszufinden, was gut zu eurem Spielrhythmus passt. Von der Bewegung bis hin zu den neuen Moves und Kombos: Sie werden zwischen PS5 und PS4 identisch sein!

    Post Play

    Und nun ein kleiner Leckerbissen: Wir haben viel Zeit damit verbracht, das Post Play mit vielen neuen Inhalten zu aktualisieren. Zum Beispiel mit neuen Bewegungen und einem neuen Arsenal an Back-to-Basket-Moves. Startet ihr beispielsweise einen Post-Spin indem ihr den Pro Stick dreht und dann sofort den linken Stick in die entgegengesetzte Richtung bewegt, kann ein Spin-Back erzielt werden. Es gibt auch neue R2-Fakes die es ermöglichen, mehrere Fakes miteinander zu verketten, ohne sich zu lösen.

    Shooting

    Shooting wird in NBA 2K22 viele Änderungen erfahren. Es gibt einen neuen Schussmesser mit einem dynamisch skalierenden Fenster. Dieses Fenster wird erweitert, wenn ihr tolle Moves mit guten Shootern macht, aber es wird kleiner, wenn ihr stark umkämpft seid, mit einem Shooter mit niedriger Bewertung loslegt oder müde seid. Das Hauptaugenmerk für den Erfolg liegt in diesem Jahr auf der Shot IQ. Die Teams, die offene arbeiten und intelligente Shots machen, werden viel mehr Erfolg haben als die Teams, die schlechte Shots erzwingen. Wir haben die neue Mechanik intensiv in Fokusgruppen mit Spielern aller Spielstärken getestet. Wir denken, dass ist das beste, was ihr im Bezug auf Shooting in NBA 2K bisher gefühlt habt.

    Skill-Dunks und mehr

    Wir haben das Block-System in NBA 2K22 überarbeitet und geben Rim Protectors jetzt mehr Werkzeuge, um großartige Stopps zu machen. Darüber hinaus haben wir auf PS5 Timing-Meter sowohl für Alley-Oop- als auch für aggressive Skill-Dunk-Versuche hinzugefügt. Wenn ein Alley Pass in der Luft ist, müsset ihr den Button zum richtigen Zeitpunkt drücken. Die aggressiven Skill-Dunks werden ausgelöst, wenn ihr die Sprint-Taste haltet und den Pro Stick gerade nach unten zieht.

    Badge Points und Takeovers

    In NBA 2K21 haben wir einen brandneuen Player Builder für PlayStation 5 vorgestellt, mit dessen Hilfe ihr die Grenzen von Attributen nach Belieben festlegen könnt. Wir haben dieses Jahr viele Anpassungen am System vorgenommen, darunter eine deutliche Erhöhung der Anzahl der Badge Points, die euch zur Verfügung stehen. Außerdem erwartet euch eine leichtere Identifizierung verschiedener Dinge, wie der verfügbaren Abzeichen, der Kosten auf jeder Stufe und der dazugehörigen Attributschwellen.

    Außerdem gibt es ein neues MeinSPIELER-Upgrade mit dem Namen Takeover Perks – exklusiv für PlayStation 5. Das alles sind Modifikatoren, die ihr freischalten und ausrüsten könnt, um euch noch weiter zu stärken! Wir verraten hier nicht alles, aber es wird ein tolles Upgrade zum Takeover System sein, das noch mehr Tiefe und Strategie ins Spiel bringt.

    Von Anfang an war es unser Ziel, ein unterhaltsames und kompetitives Gameplay für alle zu erschaffen. Die Leidenschaft von euch, der Community von 2K, ist unser Antrieb. Viele der Features kommen direkt von euch. Habt viel Spaß ab dem 10. September mit NBA 2K22! Wir können es kaum erwarten, euer Feedback zu lesen, eure Videos/Streams anzusehen und weiterhin mit euch zusammenzuarbeiten. So können wir das beste Basketballspiel der Welt gestalten!

    Website: LINK

  • NBA 2K22 brings new Seasons and new discoveries to PlayStation

    NBA 2K22 brings new Seasons and new discoveries to PlayStation

    Reading Time: 4 minutes

    NBA 2K22 is about to tip off. We’re thrilled to share the strides we’ve made and the unique Challenge Activities available to our PlayStation fans.

    In NBA 2K21 we introduced seasons, an all-new way to level up and earn rewards within MyTeam, and we’re expanding it even further in NBA 2K22. Seasons will play an important role throughout NBA 2K22 and the best part is whether it’s MyCareer, MyTeam, or The W Online*, you’ll be able to access new content and earn rewards simply for playing with no additional costs.

    Explore all there is to do in the City (on PS5) and the Neighborhood (on PS4). Leveling up will earn you more rewards, which are refreshed every six weeks at the start of a new season. All year long, seasons will offer fresh new content for you to enjoy.

    PS5 MyTeam Challenge Activities

    If the plethora of new MyTeam Challenges we’ve got lined up for all players wasn’t enough, PlayStation 5 players will once again have their own unique set of Challenge Activities to earn rewards from. Introduced in NBA 2K21, Challenge Activities are available exclusively to PS5 players through the PS5 Activities feature. NBA 2K22 will refresh these at the start of each season, giving PS5 players new opportunities to unlock rewards by completing special objectives within set game scenarios. Bring your A game, though, because once again players will be ranked against each other through the Activities leaderboard.

    To kick things off in Season 1, we’ve got “Assists against Dirk & Luka”. This Dallas Mavericks duo have established themselves as two of the best in franchise history, and it’ll be up to you to build the ideal MyTeam lineup to beat them on PlayStation 5 and earn a Playmaker Award Pack as your reward.

    MyCareer

    Last year, seasons were exclusive to MyTeam, but not anymore! In NBA 2K22, seasons are coming to MyCareer. Within the City (on PS5) and the Neighborhood (on PS4), you’ll earn highly coveted rewards such as apparel, new Banners for your MyPlayer, and a new Grand Prize each season.

    Start your engines, Season 1 is set to take players for a ride, unleashing go-karts in the City and Neighborhood as the Grand Prize. We’re thrilled to introduce go-karts as a fun way to cruise and adventure through unexplored regions – available once you’ve reached Level 40. In addition, inline skates can be used as a mode of transportation once you crack Level 30.

    There will be plenty to explore and see within the Neighborhood, but we want to broaden your horizons in more tropical destinations as well. For PS4, NBA 2K22 will set sail to the Caribbean in Season 1, where you’ll showcase your skills topside on a cruise ship, and on some of the world’s most picturesque island courts.

    The crown jewel for players in NBA 2K22 will be reaching Legend status, but to do so, you’ll need to reach Level 40 in four different seasons. That doesn’t mean you have to do it consecutively, but you’ll have to put in the work to earn the bragging right of an all-time great.

    New Beats and Fresh Swag

    Another new aspect of seasons is First Fridays, in which new songs from up-and-coming and world-renowned artists will be added to the soundtrack on every Friday throughout the season. New music will continue to be added to Club 2K (on PS5) during the year. 

    All year, you’ll have the opportunity to freshen up your wardrobe with new and fresh apparel. Every season we’ll be dropping apparel from the hottest brands to keep you looking clean on and off the court.

    The W Online*

    NBA 2K21 introduced The W on next-gen consoles, an all-new game mode featuring the WNBA and a MyPlayer experience. Adding the The W to NBA 2K was a proud moment and we continued building on it in NBA 2K22. Go toe-to-toe with opposing MyPlayers online and earn new rewards, such as VC, clothing bundles, badges, nail polish, and more in NBA 2K22. Rewards will be updated and refreshed at the start of every new season, so continue climbing tiers and collect them all!

    Season 1 of NBA 2K22 will be filled with new ways to explore the City and the Neighborhood, popular tracks and hits, and fresh apparel drops. Get ready, the experience starts September 10.

    *The W mode and related content is available on PlayStation 5 only.

    Website: LINK

  • NBA 2K22 bringt neue Saisons und mehr zu PlayStation

    NBA 2K22 bringt neue Saisons und mehr zu PlayStation

    Reading Time: 4 minutes

    NBA 2K22 steht kurz vor dem Launch und wir freuen uns darauf, die neuen Features, darunter die einzigartigen Challenge Aktivitäten, mit euch teilen zu können

    In NBA 2K21 haben wir Saisons eingeführt, ein brandneuer Weg um Level aufzusteigen und Belohnungen in MyTeam freizuspielen. Diese Saisons wollen wir in NBA 2K22 erweitern. Sie werden eine wichtige Rolle in NBA 2K22 spielen und das Beste daran ist: Egal ob MyCareer, MyTeam oder „The W Online“-Modus, ihr werdet durch einfaches Spielen neuen Content freischalten und Belohnungen erspielen, ohne zusätzliche Kosten!

    Erkundet alles, was es in der „City“ (auf PS5) und in der „Neighborhood“ (auf PS4) zu tun gibt. Durch das Aufsteigen erhält ihr mehr Belohnungen, die zu Beginn einer neuen Saison alle sechs Wochen aktualisiert werden. Das ganze Jahr über bieten die Saisons frische neue Inhalte, die ihr genießen könnt.

    PS5 MyTeam Challenge-Aktivitäten

    Neben den zahlreichen neuen MyTeam-Herausforderungen, die wir für alle Spieler vorbereitet haben, werden PlayStation 5-Spieler wieder ihre eigenen einzigartigen Challenge-Aktivitäten bekommen, mit denen sie Belohnungen verdienen können. Die in NBA 2K21 eingeführten Challenge-Aktivitäten stehen exklusiv PS5-Spielern über die PS5-Aktivitäten-Funktion zur Verfügung. NBA 2K22 aktualisiert diese zu Beginn jeder Saison und bietet PS5-Spielern neue Möglichkeiten, Belohnungen freizuschalten, indem sie spezielle Ziele innerhalb festgelegter Spielszenarien erfüllen. Ihr müsst jedoch euer Bestes geben, denn erneut werden Spieler über die Aktivitäten-Bestenliste gegeneinander eingestuft.

    Zum Auftakt der 1. Saison haben wir die Herausforderung „Assists against Dirk & Luka“ vorbereitet. Dieses Dallas Mavericks-Duo hat sich als zwei der besten in der Franchise-Geschichte etabliert, und es liegt an euch, die ideale MyTeam-Aufstellung zusammenzustellen, um sie auf PlayStation 5 zu schlagen und als Belohnung ein Playmaker Award Pack zu verdienen.

    MyCareer

    Letztes Jahr waren Saisons exklusiv für MyTeam, aber jetzt nicht mehr! In NBA 2K22 kommen Saisons zu MyCareer. In der „City“ (auf PS5) und in der „Neighborhood“ (auf PS4) erhaltet ihr heiß begehrte Belohnungen wie Kleidung, neue Banner für euren MyPlayer und jede Saison einen neuen Hauptpreis.

    Startet eure Motoren, Saison 1 wird Go-Karts in der „City“ und in der „Neighborhood“ als Hauptpreis entfesseln. Wir freuen uns, Go-Karts als unterhaltsame Möglichkeit für Spritztouren und Abenteuer durch unerforschte Regionen einführen zu können – verfügbar ab Level 40. Darüber hinaus können Inline-Skates als Fortbewegungsmittel verwendet werden, sobald ihr Level 30 erreicht habt.

    In der „Neighborhood“ gibt es viel zu entdecken und zu sehen, aber wir möchten euren Horizont auch in tropischeren Reisezielen erweitern. Für PS4 wird NBA 2K22 in Saison 1 in die Karibik segeln, wo ihr eure Fähigkeiten auf einem Kreuzfahrtschiff und auf einigen der schönsten Basketball-Plätzen der Welt unter Beweis stellt.

    Das Kronjuwel für Spieler in NBA 2K22 ist es, den den Legendenstatus zu erreichen, aber dazu müsst ihr in vier verschiedenen Saisons Level 40 erreichen. Das bedeutet nicht, dass ihr es nacheinander tun müssen, aber ihr müsst hart trainieren, um euch den Titel zu verdienen und damit angeben zu können.

    Neue Beats und frische Styles

    Ein weiterer neuer Aspekt der Saisons sind First Fridays, bei denen jeden Freitag während der Saison neue Songs von aufstrebenden und weltbekannten Künstlern zum Soundtrack hinzugefügt werden. Club 2K (auf PS5) wird im Laufe des Jahres weiterhin neue Musik hinzufügen.

    Das ganze Jahr über habt ihr die Möglichkeit, eure Garderobe mit neuer und frischer Kleidung aufzufrischen. Jede Saison bringen wir Kleidung der angesagtesten Marken heraus, damit ihr auf und neben dem Platz sauber ausseht.

    The W Online*

    NBA 2K21 führte „The W“ auf Konsolen der nächsten Generation ein, einen brandneuen Spielmodus mit WNBA und einem MyPlayer-Erlebnis. Das Hinzufügen des „The W Online“-Modus zu NBA 2K war ein stolzer Moment und wir haben ihn in NBA 2K22 weiter ausgebaut. Tretet online gegen gegnerische MyPlayer an und verdient euch in NBA 2K22 neue Belohnungen wie VC, Kleidungspakete, Abzeichen, Nagellack und mehr. Belohnungen werden zu Beginn jeder neuen Saison aktualisiert und aufgefrischt, also erklimmt die Stufen weiter und sammlet sie alle!

    Saison 1 von NBA 2K22 bietet neue Möglichkeiten, die „City“ und die „Neighborhood“ zu erkunden, beliebte Tracks und Hits sowie frische Klamotten. Macht euch bereit, der Spaß beginnt am 10. September.

    *Der „The W Online“-Modus und zugehörige Inhalte sind nur auf PlayStation 5 verfügbar.

    Website: LINK

  • Borderlands 3 – So bleibt das Spiel frisch

    Borderlands 3 – So bleibt das Spiel frisch

    Reading Time: 5 minutes

    Ihr habt es bestimmt schon gehört, aber wir sagen es noch einmal: Jeder Videospiel-Release ist wie ein kleines Wunder. So viele Entscheidungen, die getroffen werden müssen. So viel Inhalt, der komplettiert werden will. So viele Variablen, die einen Platz suchen. Für große AAA-Spiele wie Borderlands 3 müssen wir einige Jahre voller Engagement und Ausdauer einplanen. Und der Release ist nicht das Ende davon – es ist erst der Anfang!

    Obwohl Borderlands 3 nicht wirklich ein “Live Service”-Game, aber wir haben es als ein solches behandelt um sicherzustellen, dass es jede neue Woche ein besseres Spiel ist als in der Woche davor. Um den Looter-Shooter am Leben zu erhalten, haben wir uns auf die Leidenschaft und Entschlossenheit unserer unglaublichen Entwicklungsteams verlassen, die die Entwicklung vor dem Hintergrund einer Pandemie fortgesetzt haben, was viel verändert hat.

    Mehr als 18 Monate nach dem Launch von Borderlands 3, werden wir diese Woche das Director’s Cut Addon veröffentlichen. Da gibt es einen neuen Raid-Boss, eine Reihe neuer Murder Mystery Missionen, neue Daily und Weekly Missionen via Vault Cards. Außerdem erwartet euch sehr viel bisher nie gezeigter Behind-the-Scenes Inhalte und neue legendäre Ausrüstung, sowie kosmetische Items. Um das zu feiern, wollen wir einen Blick zurückwerfen auf das, was wir seit dem launch veröffentlicht haben und lüften den Vorhang – wir zeigen euch was wir tun, um das AAA-Spiel frisch zu halten.

    Wir hatten seit dem Launch drei große Ziele im Kopf: Zuerst wollten wir das Spiel verbessern, indem wir auf die eingereichten Probleme reagierten. Zweitens: Wir haben uns bemüht, eine ausgewogene Erfahrung zu kreieren, das auch im Endgame Spaß macht. Wir wollen außerdem einiges an neuen Inhalten bereitstellen, sei es durch kostenlose Updates oder ein DLC. Und das in einem gleichmäßigen Rhythmus.

    Das erste Ziel ist das Einfachste. Nahezu jede Woche seit Release (auch diese Woche), haben wir einen Hotfix veröffentlicht, der den aktuellen Inhalt anpasst. Wir haben auch einige generelle Verbesserungen, wie einen größeren Rucksack oder mehr Platz in der Bank eingefügt. Das gilt auch für die Munition. Außerdem gab es Performance- und UI-Verbesserungen. Auf borderlands.com seht ihr immer die Patchnotes.

    Ja, manchmal mussten wir ein bisschen Power aus Ausrüstung und Co. nehmen, aber viel öfter haben wir Charaktere verstärkt und auch Ausrüstung verstärkt. Das alles haben wir mit dem großen Ziel im Hinterkopf erschaffen, Borderlands 3 zu einem Spiel zu machen, an dem ihr lange Zeit Spaß haben werdet. Wir wollten immer, dass es sich herausfordernd anfühlt, aber auch die Belohnungen stimmen. Das haben wir immer vor Augen, wenn wir etwas am Balancing verändern.

    Während diese wöchentlichen Updates oft aus unseren eigenen internen Spieletests und Input unseres Live-Teams stammen, resultieren sie genauso oft aus Feedback unserer Fans. Habt ihr euch je gefragt, ob Entwickler die Subreddits ihrer Spiele lesen? Die Antwort ist: Natürlich! Wir lesen all die Kritiken, denn wir wissen genau, dass diese Kommentare von den leidenschaftlichen Spielern aus unserer Community kommen.

    Die wöchentlichen Anpassungen haben uns ganz schön auf Trab gehalten. Aber die richtige Arbeit – und die richtige Freunde in Borderlands 3 – kommt vom dritten Ziel: Verschiedene Inhalte veröffentlichen. Und wenn ich sage, dass wir verschiedene Inhalte erschaffen, dann meine ich das auch wirklich so. Im ersten jahr nach der Veröffentlichung haben wir vier Kampagnen-Addons gelauncht, von kosmischem Horror, bis Western-Atmosphäre war hier alles dabei. Nicht zu vergessen die Reise in die kaputte Psyche eines Psychopathen. Danach haben wir das Designer Cut Addon rausgebracht, das mit Arms Race eine neue Komponente in die bekannte Formel gebracht hat. Nicht zu vergessen der neue Skill-Tree für die Charaktere.

    Und das waren nur die kostenpflichtigen Inhalte. Dazu kamen viele kostenlosen Erweiterungen, die ebenfalls die große Vielfalt des Spiels zeigten. Wir haben den Endgame-Loop mit Mayhem Mode 2.0 neu definiert und High Level-Spieler mit den Takedowns herausgefordert. Saisonale Events wie Bloody Harvest haben Spieler dazu gebracht, immer mal wieder reinzuschauen. Wir haben den Spielern sogar die Möglichkeit gegeben, mit Borderlands Science einen Beitrag zur wissenschaftlichen Forschung in der Praxis zu leisten. Das war ein Spiel innerhalb des Spiels, das dabei hilft, das menschliche Darmbiom abzubilden, (Darauf waren wir alle ziemlich stolz).

    Unsere vielleicht größte Update-Veröffentlichung bei den kostenfreien Addons war das PlayStation 5 Upgrade im November 2020. Ihr bekommt es kostenfrei, wenn ihr eine PS5 und das Spiel für PS4 besitzt. Das erhöht die FPS bis auf 60 und Singleplayer, sowie Online-Koop können in 4K laufen. Dazu kommt lokaler Splitscreen-Koop für bis zu vier Spieler und Support für andere PS5-Features wie die adaptiven trigger, Game Help und Spoiler Block. Es fühlte sich so an, als würden wir das Spiel nochmal komplett neu veröffentlichen – es war all die Arbeit wert.

    Wo kommen all die Ideen her? Wie werden Entscheidungen gefällt und der Inhalt produziert? Das sind große Fragen, doch die Antwort ist ganz einfach: Es braucht Hingabe und viel Arbeit. Die Ideen kommen überall her. Für das Kampagnen-DLC wurden alle Mitarbeiter gefragt, ob sie Ideen einbringen wollen. Die, die direkt Enthusiasmus weckten und begeisterten, wurden schließlich umgesetzt. Manchmal kommen Ideen einfach durch Gespräche untereinander auf, so wie bei Arms Race. Außerdem ist die Community ein großer Teil des Entwicklungsprozesses, aus dem Ideen kommen, die umgesetzt werden.

    Wir sind aus vielen Gründen glücklich. Der enorme Umfang und flexible Ton des Spiel ermöglichten uns, viele verrückte Ideen umzusetzen, die in anderen AAA-Spielen vielleicht nie möglich wären. Ob es um neue Geschichten oder Gameplay-Ideen geht: Wir hatten immer die Möglichkeit, es in das Universum einzuflechten. Diese Freiheit ist nicht nur extrem wichtig, um unsere eigene Leidenschaft zu vertiefen, sondern auch, um Borderlands 3 für Spieler frisch und spannend zu halten.

    Wenn ihr Teil der Community seid (heute oder damals): Vielen Dank. Wir sind so dankbar, dass ihr diese Reise mit uns angetreten seid und all unseren Ideen eine Chance gegeben habt.

    Am 08. April 2021 erschien ein neues Addon, der Director’s Cut, sowie zusätzliche Ingame-Events, die über das Jahr verteilt kommen. Denkt daran, dass ihr das Hauptspiel dafür benötigt. Wir hören noch nicht auf – es war noch nie eine bessere Zeit, um weiter zu machen! Wir sehen uns da draußen, Vault Hunters!

    Website: LINK

  • Borderlands 3’s variety-packed Director’s Cut DLC hits April 8

    Borderlands 3’s variety-packed Director’s Cut DLC hits April 8

    Reading Time: 5 minutes

    You’ve heard this before, but it bears repeating: every single video game launch is a minor miracle. So many decisions have to be made. So much content has to be completed. So many variables have to fall perfectly into place. For massive triple-A titles like Borderlands 3, releasing a final product requires years of dedication and perseverance. Increasingly, though, launch is not the end – it’s only the beginning.

    While Borderlands 3 is not technically a “live service” game, we have treated it as such to make sure that each week it’s a better game than it was the week before. To keep this looter shooter alive and thriving, we have relied on the passion and determination of our incredible development teams, who’ve kept development happening against the backdrop of a pandemic that fundamentally changed the way we needed to work.

    Later this week, more than 18 months since the base game launched on PlayStation 4, we plan to release the Director’s Cut add-on for Borderlands 3 on April 8, introducing a brand new raid boss, a series of murder mystery missions, new daily and weekly challenges via Vault Cards, and a cache of never-before-seen, behind the scenes content, not to mention new Legendary gear and cosmetic items. To mark the occasion, we wanted to look back at everything we’ve released since launch and pull back the curtain on what it takes to keep a triple-A game feeling fresh. 

    Broadly speaking, we’ve been guided by three major goals since launch. First, to continue to polish and improve the game by addressing reported performance issues. Second, to strive to maintain a balanced experience so that build diversity could flourish at the end-game. And finally, to deliver a variety of new content, whether free or as part of a paid campaign DLC, at a consistent cadence.

    That first goal is the most straightforward of the three. Nearly every single week since launch (up to and including this week), we’ve released a hotfix to adjust the content that’s already available. We’ve also added numerous quality of life improvements, such as more backpack and bank space, expanded ammo storage, and performance and UI improvements. In effort to be transparent, update notes are always available on borderlands.com.

    Yes, a few updates saw us remove power from over-performing gear or skills, but far more often, we buffed gear and characters. We made all of these changes with the goal of improving the long-term health of the Borderlands 3 experience. We always want that experience to feel both challenging and rewarding. From the beginning, this has been our guiding light when approaching the adjustments we’ve made to the balance of the game.

    While these weekly updates often stem from our own internal play-testing and the direction of our live team, they just as often result from fan feedback. Have you ever wondered, “Do developers actually read their games’ subreddits?” Well, the answer is: yes, of course! We read all those critiques, as we know those comments come from the most passionate members of our community.

    Those weekly adjustments keep us plenty busy, but the real work – and the real joy of Borderlands 3 – comes from that third goal: releasing a variety of new content. And when I say variety, I really, really mean it. In the first year after launch, we released four story-driven campaign add-ons that ranged from a cosmic horror rom-com to a gritty western tale to a space casino super heist to a journey into the broken psyche of a psycho. After that, we released the Designer’s Cut add-on, which added entirely new spin of the Borderlands formula with Arms Race, plus a new skill tree for each of our four Vault Hunters. 

    And that was just the paid content. In addition, we released a huge number of free additions, again leaning into the variety that a game like Borderlands 3 makes possible. We overhauled the end game loop with Mayhem Mode 2.0; we challenged high-level players with the intense and original Takedowns; and we gave the entire community new reasons to play together with rewarding seasonal events like Revenge of the Cartels and Bloody Harvest. We even gave players a way to contribute to real-world scientific research with Borderlands Science, a game within the game that helps map the human gut biome (we were all pretty proud of that one).

    Maybe our biggest free addition, though, was the PlayStation 5 upgrade that launched last November, right alongside the console itself. If you own a PlayStation 5 and a copy of Borderlands 3 for PS4, you can download the next-gen upgrade for free, enabling frame rates of up to 60 frames per second in 4K resolution during single-player and online co-op. The upgrade also adds local split-screen co-op for up to four players and support for some of the PS5’s unique immersive capabilities like Adaptive Triggers, Game Help, and Spoiler Block. To us, building towards this moment felt like launching the game all over again, but it was well worth the effort.

    So what does all of this take? Where do ideas come from? How do decisions get made and content created? These are big questions, but the answers are ultimately pretty simple: it takes dedication and hard work. Ideas come from everywhere. For the campaign DLCs, the entire Borderlands team was asked to pitch any idea they liked. The ones that sparked the most enthusiasm were ultimately selected and created. Other times, it might be just a simple conversation between a couple developers – that’s exactly how Arms Race originally came to be. Then of course the community has become a huge part of the development process; features like the upcoming anointment re-roll machine are a direct result of our community’s input.

    In a lot of ways, we feel extremely lucky. The massive scope and flexible tone of Borderlands 3 have allowed us to explore all kinds of ideas, including plenty that probably would have been deemed too outlandish for other triple-A titles. Whether it’s a narrative premise or a new gameplay hook, we’ve always been able to make our ideas work within the context of the universe. That freedom has been crucial not only to maintaining our own passion for the game internally but also for keeping the experience fresh and engaging for the community.

    If you’re part of that community now or have been at any point in the past: thank you. We are so grateful you’ve come on this journey with us and given all of our ideas a chance.

    We’ve also got a new content add-on, Director’s Cut, dropping April 8, as well as more in-game events scheduled through the remainder of the year. (Just remember you need to own a copy of the base game in order to play our content add-ons.) We’re not stopping now, so there’s never been a better time to jump. See you out there, Vault Hunters! 

    Website: LINK

  • Assemble your superstar team in NBA 2K21’s MyTeam Season 5 – Age of Heroes

    Assemble your superstar team in NBA 2K21’s MyTeam Season 5 – Age of Heroes

    Reading Time: 5 minutes

    Welcome to MyTeam Season 5: Age of Heroes… Assemble your team of superstars from the Modern Age and Golden Age of the NBA in MyTeam, and unleash their powers. Available from today for NBA 2K21, Season 5 brings new players, challenges and rewards, plus all-new hero themed cards. Let’s take a closer first look at what’s in store. 

    Assemble your superstar team in NBA 2K21’s MyTeam Season 5 – Age of Heroes

    Season 5’s Challenge Activities 

    PS5 is the best place to play through all the content available in Season 5: Age of Heroes, and there is a lot of content. But let’s start with the exclusive PlayStation Challenge Activities in MyTeam, only available to PS5 users. 

    These challenges are updated every Season and Season 5 is bringing an iconic one featuring legends like T-Mac and Vinsanity. Take on the 2000 Raptors with your MyTeam and throwdown at least 10 dunks to earn your spot on the PS5 leaderboard! But it doesn’t stop there… the more dunks you earn against the 2000 Raptors the higher up the leaderboard you go! Completing the challenge earns you a Slasher Reward Pack which contains a shoe and a badge to improve your lineup’s slashing abilities.

    Hero-themed cards

    Let’s take a closer look at Season 5: Age of Heroes – start by building your own hero LeBron James – redeem his Sapphire Evo card at the start of the Season, complete agendas and watch him evolve into a Diamond. MyTeam is adding brand-new hero-themed cards which you can unlock, collect and compete with! 

    There are 15 players to collect from the Modern Age of the NBA including future superstars Luka Doncic and Mitchell Robinson and 15 legends to collect from the Golden Age of the NBA including the Big Fella Shaq and Manu Ginobili. Complete the sets for a super-special reward… 

    Season 5’s Signature Challenge: Michael Jordan 

    Every Legend deserves a Signature Challenge, this time it is none other than 6x time NBA Champion, his Airness; Michael Jordan. Play through one of Jordan’s most iconic moments; THE LAST SHOT. A game-winning shot that gave MJ 45 points and the Bulls a second 3-peat and their 6th NBA Championship in the 90s. Complete the challenge to earn a Diamond Jordan shoe and Hall of Fame badge! If you don’t own a Michael Jordan card, redeem this locker code for your free MJ MyTeam card: JORDAN-LAST-SHOT

    Also this season… 

    Complete Season Agendas and earn XP to progress through the Seasonal levels and unlock All-Star Dunk Champion Hamidou Diallo, 3PT king Joe Harris, 6x All-Star Amar’e Stoudemire and more. The Galaxy Opal Admiral – David Robinson awaits you as progress through MyTeam Season 5 to Level 40. There are also brand new players in the Exchange including Larry Legend and Khris Middleton, not to be missed for building your squad. And Triple Threat superstars rejoice, getting that 1000th win in Triple Threat Offline will earn you Galaxy Opal Peja Stojakovic.

    MyTeam Tournament 

    Have fun and earn big rewards every weekend in MyTeam Limited. With new lineup requirements each week, every card in your collection is important. Earn wins to pick up a Championship ring each week. Collect all 5 rings to earn the Season 5 Limited Grand Prize: Galaxy Opal Pau Gasol.

    The $250K MyTeam Tournament culminates in Season 5 with 32 hopeful qualifiers from around the globe* competing on February 20 in a knockout Tournament hoping to make it to the Grand Finals on March 6 and take home the Grand Prize of $200K, with $50K for the runner-up! 

    Not competing? Not a problem, take your skills to MyTeam Unlimited and climb up the ladder with your best lineup. Play your way through 9 Leagues to reach the top. In order to advance, you’ll need to win a certain number of games, with more and more wins required as you move up the league structure and earn rewards. Go 12-0 in Season 5’s Unlimited Opal League to earn Galaxy Opal Cedric Maxwell.

    New to MyTeam? Here’s what it’s all about

    Let’s look behind the scenes at how players are selected for two of MyTeam’s most popular themes and packs…

    In December, we debuted a never-before-seen set in MyTeam, Retro 2K. We have released two volumes of these collections; each with a unique combination of players inspired by cards from previous years of MyTeam. That’s right, we brought back some of the most influential player cards ever in MyTeam like Paul George’s NBA 2K15 Pink Diamond, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s epic 20th Anniversary card from NBA 2K19, and Michael Jordan’s Signature Limited Galaxy Opal (one of the rarest cards ever released in MyTeam).

    We’ve also revisited many of our community’s favorite cards from over the years, including Lonzo Ball’s Pink Diamond from the NBA 2K18 Pink Diamond Tournament and Andrei Kirilenko’s lockdown Diamond from NBA 2K19. We even brought back great Ruby cards stretching from current players like Mo Bamba, Jonathan Isaac, and Thon Maker, to the great Kobe Bryant’s card from NBA 2K15. Stars, niche favorites, and everything in between. The first Retro 2K Volumes have had a little bit of everything, for everyone! 

    In the cases of the giant Sim Bhullar from NBA 2K16, or Isaac Bonga’s then-rookie NBA 2K19 card, we did make the decision to upgrade some card’s abilities from an era-accurate Bronze to an NBA 2K21 Ruby. Another series of cards where we ‘glitch’ a card’s attribute ratings is our aptly named Glitched collection. Accompanying every Flash release in NBA 2K21’s MyTeam, these cards feature fantasy elements including big men like Rudy Gobert and Tim Duncan expanding their range, or Hall of Fame point guard John Stockton going ABOVE the rim for some spectacular highlights.

    Unique to all Glitched cards is the ability to upgrade ALL badges on the card. Meaning you could theoretically upgrade your Glitched Diamond Zion Williamson to have all Hall of Fame badges, if you were able to earn them all! The Glitched collection really allows us to see “What If?” questions come to life in MyTeam.

    If you played a prior NBA 2K’s MyTeam and want to see your favorite card make a return, tell us your wishlist! Tweet @NBA2K_MyTeam or hit up the Ask a Developer section in MyTeam’s Community Hub, we love to hear our community’s suggestions.

    That’s all from us for now. Keep playing MyTeam on PS5 for tons of new content coming up in MyTeam Season 5!

    *Entry to the MyTeam Tournament available to players from the following countries: Countries 50 United States & D.C. (excluding AZ, CT, MD, and ND), Canada (excluding Quebec), Australia, Chile, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Greece, Republic of Ireland, Israel, Germany, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Portugal, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and Turkey

    Website: LINK

  • NBA 2K21 next-gen gameplay Courtside Report – MyPLAYER & AI

    NBA 2K21 next-gen gameplay Courtside Report – MyPLAYER & AI

    Reading Time: 11 minutes

    Hi again 2K fans! Welcome to my final Courtside Report. We’ve discussed a lot already from scoring to our revolutionary new movement and impact technology and the great enhancements they’ve brought to gameplay. But I know a lot of you are chomping at the bit to find out what’s new with your MyPLAYER, while others are curious how we’re pushing Simulation into the future. Well, this blog is for you! There’s going to be a lot of info to digest, so I’ll try to keep the points as concise as I can.

    Player Builds, Badges, & Takeover

    The next-gen MyPLAYER Builder is all about customization. We’ve taken in a lot of feedback from the community over the past few years as we’ve evolved the MyPLAYER building experience. One thing that we hear loud and clear from you is that you want more options. Here’s our response:

    No More Pies: You no longer choose from preset skill breakdown pie charts for next-gen. Instead, we’ve given you control over setting each individual rating to the cap that you prefer. Obviously, there are restrictions based on your vitals and you can’t max out everything, but there’s much more control to make the exact type of player you want to be.

    Badges

    A lot of thought and re-design went into badges for next-gen. Many favorites return, but most have undergone some significant functionality changes. There are also some new ones, some revived ones, and some removed ones. The badge point system and equipping process is similar to what you’ve grown accustomed to: perform well in the various categories (Finishing, Shooting, Playmaking, Defense/Rebounding) in any mode to earn badge points, and then apply those points to whatever badges you want within those related categories. But my advice when you get next-gen is to experiment with different badges that you may have overlooked in the past because you might find some new favorites that compliment your playstyle in ways you may not expect. Here are some of the new/returning badges and what they do:

    • Fearless Finisher – Boosts contact layups and decreases fatigue
    • Heat Seeker – Boosts takeover progress on inside shots
    • Highlight Film – Boosts teammate takeover progress on flashy dunks
    • Hook Specialist – Boosts hook shot ability
    • Revived Posterizer – Contact dunks!
    • Rise Up – Boosts ability to do standing dunks in traffic
    • Anti-Freeze – Harder to get cold and lose takeover meter progress
    • Blinders – Less affected by peripheral defenders when shooting jumpers
    • Circus Threes – Improved ability to hit pull-up and stepback 3’s
    • Fade Ace – Boosts all post fadeaways
    • Hot Shot – Increases takeover meter faster when knocking down jumpers
    • Deep Threes – Dame and Curry range 3 balls
    • Rhythm Shooter – Boosts shot %’s out of size-ups as well as 1-step pull-ups
    • Set Shooter – Shooting ability gets better the longer you set and wait before pulling
    • Sniper – Boosts the ability to hit shots when using Pro Stick aiming
    • Stop & Pop Three – for the JJ Redicks who want to pull-up for threes in transition
    • Bullet Passer – Gives you the ability to throw laser dots like LeBron
    • Relay Passer – Boosts the shooter on pass to assist situations
    • Special Delivery – Boosts takeover progress for the passer and receiver off a flashy pass assist
    • Ankle Braces – Makes it tougher for ball handlers to break your ankles
    • Clutch Defender – Boosts your defensive ratings in clutch moments
    • Hot Stopper – Boosts takeover meter for good defensive plays like steals, blocks, and good contests

    And here are the badges that we retired because they were either redundant, didn’t fit in the new design, or the community just didn’t like them: Consistent Finisher, Contact Finisher, Cross-Key Scorer, Fancy Footwork, Fastbreak Finisher, Deep Hooks, Pick & Roller, Relentless Finisher, Showtime, Deep Fades, Flexible Release, Hot Start, Pick & Popper, Pump Fake Maestro, Range Extender, Quick Draw, Steady Shooter, Pass Fake Maestro, Flashy Passer, Lob City Passer, Lightning Reflexes, Moving Truck.

    Takeover

    In case you’re new to 2K, Takeover is the ability to get hot and take over games. It’s been a popular feature for the past couple years and we wanted to take it to the next level for next-gen.

    Instead of limiting players to eight general archetype-based takeovers, we’ve broken those eight into 24 more specific takeover abilities. In a way, you can think of them as unique badges that you can fire off when you get hot.

    • Advanced Gathers – Unlocks more effective spin, euro, hop step, cradle gathers
    • Finishing Moves – Able to absorb contact and finish at the rim
    • Easy Blowbys – Enhances ability for slashers to beat defenders off the dribble
    • Pull-Up Precision – Boosts well timed/aimed shots off the dribble
    • Anklebreaking Shots – More anklebreakers off of spin and stepback jumpers
    • Negative Impact – Reduces defensive impact against pull-ups and other skill shots
    • Limitless Range – Extends your shooting range out to the logos
    • Spot-Up Precision – Boosts well timed/aimed stationary jump shots
    • Team Ratings Boost – Playmakers boost their teammates’ offensive ratings
    • Team Takeover Boost – Boost your teammates’ takeover meter progress
    • Team Badge Boost – Boosts your teammates’ badges up a tier
    • Extreme Clamps – More stone wall and lost dribble body-up resolutions for locks
    • Perimeter Badge Drop – Knocks shooting badges down a tier when you get close
    • Enhanced Jump Shot Contests – Boosts your ability to contest jumpers
    • Stuff Blocks – Unlocks more swat, backboard pins, and grab blocks
    • Paint Intimidation – Boosts your ability to affect shots around the rim
    • Interior Badge Drop – Drops opposition’s scoring badges down a tier in the paint
    • Boxout Wall – Improves ability to seal off opponents for easy boards
    • See the Future – Shows where missed shots are going to end up
    • Glass Clearing Dimes – After rebounds, kick out passes boost your teammate’s shooting
    • Power Backdowns – Easier to push defenders around when posting up
    • Post Playmaking – Boost your teammates’ offensive abilities when passing out of post
    • Advanced Post Moves – Easier to beat defenders with post moves
    • Post Shot Daggers – Increased scoring ability with hooks, fades, shimmy shots, etc.

    We’ve also changed Takeover to be a multi-tier system! Once you set up your ratings caps and vitals, you’ll be presented with a subset of the list above based on the type of build you made. Then you choose one ability for your primary and another for your secondary, or if you want, you can put the same ability in both slots if you want to “double up” on it. When you’re in-game, your takeover meter will fill up your primary takeover slot first. Once filled, you can choose to activate it right away or wait to try and fill up your secondary slot. You must be careful because you take the risk of losing all your progress if you turn the ball over or miss a bad shot. But if you can fill in your secondary slot, you can activate both the primary and secondary takeovers together and keep them active for a longer period of time. Finally, if you want to devastate your opponent even further, you can wait even longer and try to fill up the Team Takeover meter. If you can fill all three, activating will enable your entire teams’ takeovers and it’s pretty much over for the competition. And just like in current-gen, activating Team Takeover also allows you to have user-control over your teammates in MyCAREER games. We know our MyCAREER fans love that ability!

    Last thing I wanted to mention about Takeover. We wanted to honor our late friend, Kobe Bryant, who we tragically lost way too early this year. When you’ve earned all your badge points, you will receive the Mamba Mentality badge which allows you to change your takeovers whenever you want. So just like Kobe, you can vary up how you choose to take over from one game to the next!

    Next-Gen AI

    Next-gen was an opportunity to reset on a lot of areas of gameplay. This was especially true when it came to artificial intelligence. Some of these items are immediately noticeable and some are more nuanced for the hardcore X’s and O’s hoop heads. But one thing’s for certain, NBA 2K21 continues to lead the way in accurately modeling its respective sport better than anyone else out there. That’s something we pride ourselves in and know that the true students of the game appreciate about the franchise.

    Defense

    • New switching logic update: Both on-ball and off-ball screen logic has been rewritten and the auto-switching logic was refined to reduce bad switching instances. So expect to see fewer cases of the AI calling for a switch without a screen and leaving a player open.
    • Adaptive Coaching Engine (ACE) now has the ability to recognize and adapt to different types of off-ball actions including: Flare screens, Down screens, Back screens, and Handoffs.
    • Improved logic for CPU defenders to get in position to take charges.
    • Several improvements to transition defense.
    • Overhauled the Hedge defensive system for better screen positioning and angle targeting.
    • The player can now call for help defense by holding L1 instead of just calling for a double team. This is a great mechanic that you can use when guarding the ball; instead of hoping the AI selects the right time to send help, it’s now under your control with a simple press and hold of the button.
    • Improved logic for defenders in avoiding each other when moving around obstacles. This works hand-in-hand with the off-ball movement changes I detailed in last week’s blog.

    Offense

    • Next-Gen Game Planning: This is a great new feature that allows players and AI to have more specific game plans for their teams. In the past, you could choose to run pick & rolls with LeBron, but the new system allows the AI to target a team’s best players. So for the Lakers, not only will they run pick & rolls, but you can have them run exclusively with LeBron and Anthony Davis. There’s a new game plan option in the pause menu. Here, players can select between 8 pre-selected game plans that they can access in game through the On-The-Fly-Coaching panel (OTFC). Each game plan has default options already set up for them, so the player can pick a single option and have all the important details for that game plan ready to go. Here are two examples of game plans you can choose:
      • Play Through Star: This game plan will have ACE automatically select the best scorer on the team and only run scoring actions for them, both via plays and freelance actions. It also sets the tempo and rebounding choices automatically to accommodate your star’s playing style.
      • Pound the Ball Inside: ACE auto selects the best post scorer on the team and will exclusively run post scoring actions and plays for them.
    • Double team counter intelligence: You’ll see the AI using less movement and create more spacing for shooters spotting up behind the three point line to punish excessive double teaming.
    • End of game logic: Improved the AI’s ability to time plays with the shot clock for buzzer beater situations.
    • Starters and Bench Favorite Plays: This year we expanded the favorite plays to allow players to set up one group of plays for their starting unit and another group of plays for the bench units.
    • Moved player-specific plays and player-specific ball screens back to the L1 button. This was something many people were requesting so they could get quick access to icon pick control again. Favorite plays are now mapped to the DPAD.
    • Play and freelance flow: As we have done every year, the play and freelance offensive flow has been greatly improved moving to next-gen. There are several actions that we just had a hard time getting to run smoothly in past 2K games, but thanks to the logic upgrades and vastly improved motion engine, everything flows extremely well in NBA 2K21 for next-gen.
    • Fixed AI players accidentally positioning themselves out of bounds.
    • New pick & roll spacing: New spacing code gives some of our pick & roll and isolation sets that extra adjustment on dribble penetration. It’s much more solid now but expect continued expansion on this module as the year goes along with our in-season play and AI updates.

    PS5 MyTEAM Challenge Activities

    Finally, we can’t end the Courtside Report without talking about one more exciting PS5 feature we’re creating new experiences for. Like how we took advantage of the DualSense and its Adaptive Triggers and Haptic Feedback features, we took a look at PS5’s Activities and asked ourselves, “How can we bring fresh and meaningful content to our MyTEAM gamers?” The answer was MyTEAM Challenge Activities.

    Each new MyTEAM Season, through the Activities feature, will bring about a unique Challenge Activity that’s akin to our Moments and Spotlight Challenges: complete special objectives within set game scenarios and get rewards for hitting them. Each Season’s Challenge Activity will yield a different reward, and there will be a new Challenge Activity for every new MyTEAM Season up for NBA 2K21 for PS5. Best of all, all participants will be ranked amongst each other through the Activities leaderboard.

    First up, starting with Season 3, will be the Challenge of scoring 72 points against the 1996 Chicago Bulls. As most NBA fans know, the Michael Jordan-led Bulls achieved an unthinkable regular season record of 72 wins and 10 losses – the best record in NBA history until the 2016 Golden State Warriors one-upped them with a 73-9 record. Build your own dream team, score the iconic number of points (or more), earn yourself a nice little reward, and get ranked based on the final number of points you’ve tallied up. See you on the leaderboard!

    Closing Thoughts

    As I stated previously in the NBA 2K21 current-gen blog, this has been a rollercoaster year for 2K. With the changes to our work from home culture in addition to having to roll out both current and next-gen versions of NBA 2K21, I’m amazed at the talent and grit that the entire Visual Concepts team has shown over this wild year. Again, a HUGE thanks to all the gameplay engineers and producers (as well as their families) for coming together to create, without question, the best basketball game ever to grace a console. I’ve been working and testing on this title non-stop everyday, and I still get excited to play every time I boot the game up. I hope these Courtside Reports give you a small glimpse of some of the awesome things the gameplay team has created for you and we look forward to hearing your feedback to help us continue to refine 2K basketball and take it to even greater heights as we move forward into this next generation. And if these gameplay blogs even have you a little excited about NBA 2K21 for next-gen… just wait. We have A LOT of jaw-dropping news coming soon about all the amazing stuff happening off the court that’s going to blow you away!

    Website: LINK

  • NBA 2K21 gameplay deep dive: movement, impact, and more

    NBA 2K21 gameplay deep dive: movement, impact, and more

    Reading Time: 8 minutes

    Welcome to a special NBA 2K21 post on next-gen gameplay! We at Visual Concepts are hard at work in creating an unmatched next-gen game in NBA 2K21 on PS5 but also want to take an opportunity to talk about some of our gameplay enhancements in the weeks leading up our November launch. In this post, we’re going to dive into some of the tech that we were able to create to make NBA 2K21 on the PS5 truly feel like a next-generation experience.

    Next-gen movement

    There’s nothing more exciting for a developer than the arrival of new consoles. Every new generation gives us the opportunity to step back and reimagine how we can push the sports gaming genre forward. If I had to pick one aspect of gameplay that’s probably benefited the most from the jump to next-gen, the answer would probably have to be on-court locomotion. Movement is the foundation for a solid basketball game. When that foundation isn’t solid, a lot of aspects of the game fall apart. We put a lot of resources toward improving locomotion with and without the ball, and I’m excited how far it’s come to kick off year one of the next generation of 2K hoops.      

    Dribble movement

    The dribbler was rebuilt from the ground up for next-gen and the difference is night and day. We retained the concept of signature dribble styles that we introduced a couple years ago, but  otherwise, everything was scrapped and re-architected bringing a completely different feel with the ball in your hands for next-gen. Additionally, protect and post movement saw massive upgrades. The aspect of dribble movement that excites me the most is the predictability and consistency of it. It’s much easier to go exactly where you want on the floor, and in the manner that you’d expect to get there. No unwanted turns or having your player face the wrong way. No bursting up to speed or failed cuts. It just works. And because it’s built using the same engine as the Pro Stick dribble move system, movement and moves work cohesively together. Player speeds are more accurate to real life and the sense of weight feels more lifelike. It’s a complete package and I don’t think I can overstate how much it’s elevated my enjoyment of playing the game.

    Defense and Off-Ball

    All non-dribbling movement from on-ball defense, to off-ball offense and defense is run by our motion engine which is in its third year of development. The motion team has been working tirelessly to bring a next-gen feel to moving without the ball, and it both looks and feels fantastic. Here are some of the upgrades that stand out:

    • Unique contextual motion assets for various basketball situations (Transition Stops, Leak Out, Guard Break, Anchor, Space Perimeter) bring an awareness to the look of the players on the floor and give them more life.
    • Improved pathing, cuts, and stops make defenders feel more grounded and fix a lot of the sliding from the previous generation.
    • Overall improvement to motion stability and response. In other words, we smoothed out the twitchiness and players can more accurately follow exactly what you’re doing on the sticks.
    • Updated player-size detection logic and greater emphasis on player differentiation. Bigs move like bigs, and guards move like guards. This includes a lot of new animation content to support signature motion styles.
    • Left stick taps allow you to play quick steps which are really helpful when you need to make subtle adjustments to your defensive position.

    Foot Planting

    Sliding in basketball is no good. But it’s something we’ve had to live with in the past because of limitations in technology. I’m happy to say that 2K21 next gen takes a huge leap in that department. Our engineers re-wrote our foot planting tech from scratch and it led to one of the most striking visual improvements when you put current gen side-by-side with next gen. Players can now take procedural steps instead of sliding their feet when they need to make micro-adjustments. I love seeing proper footwork as players are making hard cuts, accelerating, stopping… even just standing and making subtle movements in place. It just brings 2K hoops one more step (see what I did there?) closer to real life.

    Body Ups

    That’s our internal name for all of the interactions between the ball handler and defender. It’s always a tricky balance trying to accurately model the cat & mouse game between the offense and the defense. Our goal with body ups was to highlight the improvements that we were able to make to both dribbling and defensive movement. To that end, it meant less canned interactions and doing a better job of respecting user control. I think 2K21 strikes a great balance between rewarding taking proper driving angles and respecting contact. Attempting to drive head first directly into a defender will stop them in their tracks, lead to charges, or force pickups. When ball handlers get to the hip of the defender but the defender matches well, it will lead to more realistic rides that neither player will feel stuck in. And on the other extreme, slow footed (or slow to react) defenders will be punished with blow by’s and if they try to force the contact too late, might get hit with a blocking foul. Strong ball handlers can also hard stop out of a ride and crab defenders more effectively so it’s not always about speed when trying to probe into the paint. The logic for the types of resolutions that play out is much more robust and takes into account every little detail you can think of. The end result is a better 1-on-1 game that more accurately mirrors the real NBA.

    Off-Ball Contact

    Just like with body ups, we wanted to translate those same principles off-ball. The motion team completely re-worked the off-ball contact system, which now features everything from “let throughs” (incidental contact) to hard collisions. There’s a great freedom of movement when you’re working away from the ball but also realistic contact when it’s called for, all with no snatching or sliding. My favorite aspect of these collisions can be seen in the new screen interactions. Gone are the “vacuum screens” that have plagued basketball games in the past where defenders would get pulled into a screen collision and run in a direction they weren’t asking for. You can reject screens appropriately, go over or under as you’d expect, and “die” on a screen if you have a weak defender trying to barrel through a big. It all looks great, but more importantly, feels great for both the offense and defense to get the outcomes that make sense in such an important aspect of team basketball.

    Impact Engine

    One of the biggest challenges we face when balancing offense and defense is contact in the paint. As you can tell, with next-gen we really stressed the importance of respecting user control and not warping defenders into place for the sake of game balance. But it’s vital to be able to have reliable contact, especially for protecting the basket, in order to prevent bloated points in the paint. For NBA 2K21 next-gen, we developed a new in-air contact shot system that we internally call the Impact Engine. The goal was to completely remove the snatching that we’d been using in past games and resolve collisions on the fly as players hit each other in mid-air. The Impact Engine gives us the flexibility to do just that. By creating reliable contact when players are in flight, we no longer have to take control of defenders while they’re on the ground and pull them into place just to force certain outcomes. This will be most noticeable for paint defenders as they’ll have the freedom to maneuver their players into position and make a play on the ball themselves rather than the game dictating what happens based on whatever animations happen to trigger. To further aid paint defense, the logic that goes into block targeting was improved and we’re using IK more heavily now to get the hand to track the ball (as well as to minimize clipping.) One of the main beneficiaries of the new engine is that we now have contact alley-oop and putback dunk-ons for the first time in 2K, which look sick and feel rewarding when you can pull them off!

    On-ground contact also saw major upgrades, specifically with charge and block fouls. Beating the shooter to the spot and getting set will yield a lot more successful charge calls on the offense while being late will give you more blocking fouls. We’ve also added “crash” layups for the situations where the shooter barrels into the defense but a charge or block aren’t warranted. These animations will help convey to the player that they’re forcing the issue and hopefully teach them to respect paint defenders next time they go inside. If you can’t get around the defense, sometimes it’s better to shoot a floater or pull-up jumper.

    PS5 Trigger effect

    Something that always excites us as developers is the introduction of new hardware features that come along with new consoles. When we first heard about the DualSense controller’s adaptive triggers and haptic feedback, we immediately began brainstorming ways to use them to enhance the gameplay experience. As soon as we got our hands on the dev kits, our lead engineer experimented with several different prototypes to figure out what made the most sense for a basketball game.

    For the adaptive triggers, we opted to use them to convey energy/fatigue. As you move around the court, you’ll feel more and more resistance on the Sprint trigger as your player’s energy drains. We also use adaptive resistance in the post game. Strong post players will feel very little resistance on L2 when backing down weaker opponents, but you’ll have to use more force to pull L2 when it’s the other way around. It’s very interesting to play with and helps immerse you into the experience of actually being on the basketball court!

    As for haptic feedback, we used it to accentuate our various collision systems. Boxouts, body-up rides, off-ball collisions/deny/rides… basically any situation where players make significant contact will vibrate the controller at various intensities depending on the strength of the players involved and the severity of the impact. It’s so dope to feel the difference in your hands between a grazing bump and hard hit. It’s also a great reinforcement tool to understand when you’re making players work too hard on the court, which could hit their energy/stamina levels and potentially cause wear-and-tear on their bodies with our in-depth injury system.

    There’s so much more that happened on the engineering front to raise the bar in building NBA 2K21’s next-gen tech, but these are just the main ones I wanted to bring to your attention for today. New technology is always exciting and I love seeing how advancements in the hardware lead to advancements in the software, which then birth new gameplay features and push the genre forward. Make sure to check out next week’s gameplay Courtside Report as I reveal details about player builds, badges, takeover, and improvements to AI!

    Website: LINK

  • 5 tips to brawl without limits in WWE 2K Battlegrounds

    5 tips to brawl without limits in WWE 2K Battlegrounds

    Reading Time: 4 minutes

    Coming down the aisle, hailing from 2K, this is Executive Producer Sean “The Slayer” O’Connor! I’m stepping between the ropes today to give you some exclusive tips to help you become an unbeatable brawler when WWE 2K Battlegrounds, out today on PS4. 

    Whether you’re brawling with your family, your friends, or challengers online, these tips are sure to give you the upper hand when the bell rings.

    5 tips to brawl without limits in WWE 2K Battlegrounds

    Tag in the Crocodile

    Some arenas have interactive environments that let you deal extra damage to your opponent. One of my favorites is the crocodile in The Everglades. Carry your opponent over to the side of the ring by the croc, and you’ll be prompted to throw them over the top rope right into its waiting jaws. Careful not to get too close! That hungry reptile will take a bite out of anyone that walks by.

    Be the GOAT with the Ram

    Other arenas in WWE 2K Battlegrounds have special items you can use to your advantage. In the Mexico arena, you will find a remote-controlled ram. Yes. You read that right. Jump out of the ring, find the controller sitting in the crowd, press L1, and you’ll be able to gain control of the ram and bring the pain to all of your opponents.

    Power-Ups are Your Friends

    Imagine if your favorite Superstar could have power-ups in the ring. In WWE 2K Battlegrounds, they do! Power-ups become available as your power meter fills up. Once a power-up is available press left, right or up on the d-pad. Each direction will activate a different level of power-up. But don’t rush it; The longer you wait for your power bar to fill, the more power-ups you will gain the ability to use. What power-ups you ask? Health regeneration, and making your strikes unblockable, are just two examples. You can choose different power-ups on the character selection screen and unlock them throughout the game.  

    Use ALL the Weapons

    There are NO disqualifications in WWE 2K Battlegrounds. Take advantage of that. You’ll find plenty of weapons hidden under the ring, and in the crowd. As soon as the match starts, exit the ring and press X near the apron to grab a weapon. Once you’ve got just the right one for the job, slide back into the ring by holding L1. Afraid of going under the ring? That’s okay. The crowd will toss weapons out for you to pick up, too. Grab one of those with L1. But be warned: weapons aren’t forever and will break after a few good smacks. You can add weapons in the Battlegrounds creator and turn them on or off in the options menu before a match.

    Don’t Ignore the Crowd

    The WWE Universe knows what they want, and the crowd in WWE 2K Battlegrounds is no different. They will call out for certain actions during a match and, if you listen, you will earn extra points to get your crowd meter up. Do right by them and the crowd will begin to cheer and get behind your Superstar, which actually helps you when performing a pin or submission. But don’t take your new fans for granted; You will lose crowd support if you stand around too long without laying the smackdown on your opponent. Make sure to taunt or fight to keep the crowd on your side!

    Finish the Match with Your Finishing Move

    A finisher often means the end of a match in WWE, and the same goes for WWE 2K Battlegrounds. Once your heat meter fills up, you can use your finisher or signature move by pressing the left and right trigger buttons at the same time. Need to fill your heat meter? It goes up whenever you take damage, deal out damage, and taunt your opponent. But be careful: You will use up some heat when countering a move, so it may be more advantageous to take some damage so you can get your signature/finisher.

    Play Your Class Right

    There are five different classes in WWE 2K Battlegrounds, and each has different strengths. Make sure to play to your advantages.

    • Technician: A specialist in wrestling technique and unrivaled at submitting opponents. You’ve got the strongest throws and submissions.
    • High-Flyer: A specialist in aerial maneuvers, including jumping off the ropes and turnbuckles. You’ve got the highest speed and stamina.
    • Powerhouse: The strongest Superstars that use their strength to perform powerful moves. You have the most health.
    • Brawler: A bruising specialist that excels at strikes. You’ve got the strongest kicks and are the best at using weapons.
    • All-Rounder: A master of all styles with spectacular combos and the ability to quickly win the crowd’s favor. You also have the best running hits.

    So, are you ready to Brawl Without Limits? With these tips in your back pocket, I think you are. And that’s the bottom line. I’ll see you in the ring!

    Website: LINK

  • Prügeln ohne Limit – mit diesen 5 Tipps für WWE 2K Battlegrounds

    Prügeln ohne Limit – mit diesen 5 Tipps für WWE 2K Battlegrounds

    Reading Time: 4 minutes

    Aus dem Hause 2K begrüßt euch Executive Producer Sean „The Slayer“ O‘Connor! Ich begebe mich heute in den Ring, um euch ein paar exklusive Tipps zu geben, damit ihr unschlagbare Wrestler werden könnt, wenn WWE 2K Battlegrounds am 18. September für PS4 erscheint.

    Ob ihr euch mit eurer Familie, euren Freunden oder Herausforderern online prügelt, mit diesen Tipps werdet ihr garantiert die Oberhand gewinnen, wenn die Glocke läutet!

    Prügeln ohne Limit – mit diesen 5 Tipps für WWE 2K Battlegrounds

    Involviert das Krokodil

    Einige Arenen haben interaktive Umgebungen, mit denen ihr eurem Rivalen Extraschaden zufügen könnt. Einer meiner Favoriten ist das Krokodil in den Everglades. Wenn ihr euren Rivalen auf die Seite rübertragt, auf der das Krokodil wartet, werdet ihr aufgefordert, ihn über die Seile mitten in sein wartendes Maul zu werfen. Passt aber auf, dass ihr ihm nicht zu nahe kommt! Dieses hungrige Reptil beißt bei jedem etwas ab, der bei ihm vorbeikommt.

    Werdet mit dem Ziegenbock zum Allerbesten

    Andere Arenen in WWE 2K Battlegrounds haben spezielle Gegenstände, die ihr zu eurem Vorteil nutzen könnt. In der Mexiko-Arena findet ihr einen ferngesteuerten Ziegenbock. Ja. Ihr habt richtig gelesen. Springt aus dem Ring heraus, findet die Fernbedienung in der Zuschauermenge, drückt L1 und schon könnt ihr den Ziegenbock steuern, um all euren Rivalen Schmerzen zuzufügen.

    Power-ups sind eure Freunde

    Stellt euch mal vor, euer Lieblingssuperstar könnte im Ring Power-ups einsetzen. In WWE 2K Battlegrounds kann er das! Power-ups werden verfügbar, wenn sich eure Power-Anzeige auffüllt. Sobald ein Power-up verfügbar ist, drückt die linke, rechte oder obere Richtungstaste. Jede der Richtungstasten aktiviert eine andere Power-up-Stufe. Doch ihr solltet nichts überstürzen: Je länger ihr darauf wartet, dass sich eure Power-Anzeige auffüllt, desto mehr Power-ups werdet ihr nutzen können. „Was für Power-ups?“, fragt ihr? Gesundheitsregeneration und unblockbare Schläge sind nur zwei Beispiele. Ihr könnt in der Charakterauswahl verschiedene Power-ups auswählen und sie im Verlauf des Spiels freischalten.

    Verwendet ALLE Waffen

    In WWE 2K Battlegrounds gibt es KEINE Disqualifikationen. Von diesem Umstand solltet ihr Gebrauch machen. Unter dem Ring und in der Zuschauermenge werdet ihr jede Menge versteckte Waffen finden. Verlasst, sobald das Match beginnt, den Ring und drückt X in der Nähe der Rampe, um euch eine Waffe zu schnappen. Sobald ihr die richtige Waffe für den Job habt, kehrt in den Ring zurück, indem ihr L1 gedrückt haltet. Ihr habt Angst, unter den Ring zu gehen? Das ist okay. Die Menge wird euch auch Waffen zuwerfen, aus denen ihr auswählen könnt. Schnappt euch mit L1 eine von ihnen. Aber seid gewarnt: Waffen halten nicht ewig und werden nach ein paar ordentlichen Schlägen zerbrechen. Ihr könnt in einem Battleground-Creator Waffen hinzufügen und sie vor einem Match im Optionenmenü aktivieren und deaktivieren.

    Nicht die Zuschauer ignorieren

    Das WWE-Universum weiß, was es will, und die Zuschauer in WWE 2K Battlegrounds bilden da keine Ausnahme. Während eines Matches werden sie die Namen bestimmter Moves rufen, und wenn ihr darauf hört und sie ausführt, verdient ihr zusätzliche Punkte, die eure Zuschauer-Anzeige auffüllen. Wenn ihr die Zuschauer zufriedenstellt, wird die Menge euren Namen rufen und euren Superstar unterstützen, was euch dabei hilft, wenn ihr euren Rivalen festnageln oder zur Aufgabe zwingen wollt. Aber nehmt eure neu gewonnenen Fans nicht als selbstverständlich hin: Wenn ihr zu lange untätig herumsteht, ohne eurem Rivalen einzuheizen, verliert ihr die Unterstützung der Menge. Achtet darauf, euren Gegner zu verspotten oder zu kämpfen, um die Zuschauer auf eurer Seite zu halten!

    Beendet das Match mit eurem Finisher

    In der WWE bedeutet ein Finisher oft das Ende eines Matches und das gilt auch bei WWE 2K Battlegrounds. Sobald sich eure Heat-Anzeige auffüllt, könnt ihr euren Finisher- oder Signature-Move ausführen, indem ihr gleichzeitig L2 und R2 drückt. Ihr müsst eure Heat-Anzeige auffüllen? Sie füllt sich jedes Mal, wenn ihr Schaden nehmt, Schaden zufügt und euren Rivalen verspottet. Aber seid vorsichtig: Ihr verbraucht einen Teil eurer Anzeige, wenn ihr einen Move kontert. Es kann sich also bezahlt machen, ein wenig Schaden zu nehmen, damit ihr euren Signature-Move oder Finisher erhaltet.

    Spielt eure Klasse auf die richtige Art

    Es gibt fünf verschiedene Klassen in WWE 2K Battlegrounds mit unterschiedlichen Stärken. Achtet darauf, dass ihr eure Stärken ausspielt.

    • Technician (Techniker): Ein Spezialist in Wrestling-Technik und ungeschlagen darin, seine Gegner zur Aufgabe zu zwingen. Mit ihm habt ihr die stärksten Würfe und Submissions.
    • High-Flyer (Überflieger): Ein Spezialist in Luftmanövern, einschließlich Sprüngen von den Seilen und Eckpfosten. Mit ihm habt ihr die höchste Geschwindigkeit und Ausdauer.
    • Powerhouse (Kraftpaket): Die stärksten Superstars, die mit ihrer Stärke kraftvolle Moves ausführen. Mit ihnen habt ihr die meiste Gesundheit.
    • Brawler (Schläger): Ein auf Angriffe spezialisierter Wrestler. Mit ihm habt ihr die stärksten Tritte und könnt Waffen am effektivsten nutzen.
    • All-Rounder (Alleskönner): Ein Meister aller Stile, der spektakuläre Kombos einsetzt und schnell die Gunst der Zuschauer gewinnt. Außerdem zeigt er die besten Laufmanöver.

    Seid ihr jetzt bereit, euch ohne Limit zu prügeln? Ich glaube, mit diesen Tipps in der Tasche seid ihr es. Und das war‘s dann auch schon. Wir sehen uns am 18. September im Ring!

    Website: LINK

  • Mafia III Gameplay – The World of New Bordeaux

    Mafia III Gameplay – The World of New Bordeaux

    Reading Time: < 1 minute

    On August 25, 1971, the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence initiated a series of hearings.

    Through the Freedom of Information Act, we have obtained a series of long-sealed interviews between the commission and then-CIA operative John Donovan.

     

    The objective of these closed-door sessions: Uncover the truth behind Lincoln Clay’s bloody rampage through New Bordeaux in 1968.

    Mafia III Gameplay

    The World of New Bordeaux

  • Mafia III Gameplay Making Money – An Inside Look

    Mafia III Gameplay Making Money – An Inside Look

    Reading Time: < 1 minute

    Mafia III Gameplay Making Money – An Inside Look