Player Models....Whaaaat Haaapened????

[Foo4Everlong]

What happened to the player models this year. 2K7 the player models looked THE BEST!
2K8, the player looked worse than 2K7, but still pretty good. But this year (2K9) they look the worst yet. That's a diminish in quality for three years straight now. The faces, uniforms, hats, helmets, mitts, all accessories, pretty much anything to do with the player just looks dull unlike previous years where they popped. Before u were able to see the 2K symbol on the batting gloves and bats, and now nothing! Everything was very detailed. Akinora Iwamura had on all black gloves but they looked dull grey. I must say that they put a lot of work into the stadiums, which look fantastic by the way, but maybe this is why the player models suffer. I don't get it. It's quite sad to be honest. I don't get how sports games like Madden look so good overall, but this game never seen to get an overall nice look. There always seems to be something that is lacking. Anyone else feel this way. Sorry for my griping, I just feel that for the last two years the player model quality has dropped. Later

[prana5555]

I think its legitimate griping. What I saw in 2k7 was AMAZING and really looked like we were going into a whole new level of next-gen. Had issues, of course, but it was on its way and looking good!

I am guessing that the downgrade in 2k8 was to try and make the framerate work, and now that its in new hands they have to build from scratch. This seems evident in things like the fielding gloves....I mean, WOW. They seriously look like they did not finish them, like its a wax mold that they eventually intended to put detail and texture (and actually connect the fingers). Game killer? no...but its pretty bad.

Everything else looks..."inflated"? The helmets actually have a seam even that looks like they are inflatable toys. And so far, the faces I have seen...I just dont know how they are doing these, what technology they are using. Cole Hamels looks great....others are simply horrendous.

Anyway...getting winded. Its simply not next-gen, and 2 years after 2k7's great looking attempt, we have taken 2 steps back. Amazing

[seermagic12]

people must be blind or own crappy tvs

[Foo4Everlong]

LOL! Ha ha! I have a Samsung 40" 550 Series Full HD 1080p. Later.

[disposeablehero]

Come on magic, I have been gaming for years, have a high end Pc that makes my 360 look outdated, I know what nice character models look like, it is obvious this game is a work in progress, and while seems the series is heading in the right directeion and 2K9 should be better then 2K8, there are some rough edges, character models, collision detection and AI seems to need work.

I also have a 46" samsung 1080P HDTV, character models look poor for a modern game.

On another note, THE CONSOLES ARE NOT NEXT GEN ANYMORE, they have been out for 3 years, man what a marketing plioy, but so untrue. They are NOT next gen consoles anymore.

[CrazyCougar]

Disposable, you hit the nail ont he head when you described 2k9 as a work in progress. For what VC accomplished in the limited time given, they did a great job. 2k10 will be outstanding and everyone should really be interested int he development of that title throughout the year. It will be stellar. But for now, 2k9 is a great start and a great base to build upon. Its a fun game that has some minor issues, but nothing overly glaring that should detract from a gameplay experience.

I am sure given VC track record that the player models will be where you would expect when 2k10 rolls out.

[ufoohno]

that's the second time you've defended this heap by saying "wait for 2K10". duh, ok, ill wait another year for a playable baseball game, duh, here's my 60 bucks, duh, man, 2k10 is gonna rock! lol.

[tmoneymill12]

Ill take Solid Smooth Gameplay in the first year from scratch from a company. Now if Brinkman would have put this out, we could bytch a lot more. But from the Demo, the smooth gameplay mixed in with different controls. It looks to PLAY a solid game of baseball. Thats what we need and want. Solid baseball. They will improve the graphics with time. Same way they did with nba series, gameplay then graphics. If you dont like it, you have the right now to buy it. That simple.

I agree the graphics are a little weak, but its also the demo. Things might polish up a lil bit for the retail. I just hope it plays a good game online. 2k online lgs cannot be messed with really.

[joecarter]

the gloves are disturbing to look at, as someone above mention, they look like wax with no detail whatsoever lol

[PIN]

All the more reason to get this game on PC.

[Foo4Everlong]

All the more reason to get this game on PC.

Will this game have the ability to be modded ala MVP 2005? I love what the modders did with that game, and I can only imagine what they'll be able to do this game now that we are more into the future and with a more updated game. Thanks. Later

[PIN]

Will this game have the ability to be modded ala MVP 2005? I love what the modders did with that game, and I can only imagine what they'll be able to do this game now that we are more into the future and with a more updated game. Thanks. Later


If you want a glimpse into MLB 2k9's modding future then look no further than NBA 2k9.

[MASTER K1LLA]

guys like tmoney said,ITS JUST THE DEMO! Hopefully it is cleaned up by march 3(doubt it) but at least theres something to hope for

[prana5555]

guys like tmoney said,ITS JUST THE DEMO! Hopefully it is cleaned up by march 3(doubt it) but at least theres something to hope for

I think it will be cleaned up a bit. And remember, these guys are starting from scratch again so they did not have a lot of time to make the graphics perfect. Plus, we all complained about the framerate mostly last year, so thats what they fixed. They probably had to take out some detail in order to be sure it ran smooth.

I think next year they will probably fix things like the gloves and faces and such. Maybe they could just go back to the original 2k7 game and just fix what was wrong with that one.

[blahhhh]

Lol.......CrazyCougar 2k sports says the same BS every year. We NEVER get what they promise us and i don't think we every will. The game comes out in a few days and it's still a work in progress?!?!?!?

[tmoneymill12]

Gameplay has gotten a 180 turn around from last year. WHICH is great. Let them get the gameplay down then work on the graphics. Exactly what the show did, work on gameplay, master it(even though some dont like it, but it plays one he11 of a game) and THEN bring the graphics to par.

2k7=great graphically and has some minor bugs in gameplay
2k8=terrible framerate, graphics were alil bland
2k9=seems to be Great gameplay but graphics are down. WHICH i will take right now. Im perfectly ok with it as long as it plays a great game, both offline and online. I for one will only be playing this game online. (the show has earned my franchise playing) (2k has earned my online leagues respect). Thats what im most excited about, the smoothness of the game.

[PGOODY]

guys like tmoney said,ITS JUST THE DEMO! Hopefully it is cleaned up by march 3(doubt it) but at least theres something to hope for

Well seeing as people are already getting the retail copy its very unlikely. This game has been ready to ship for weeks now guys, come on, its simple logistics, they aren't tweaking right up until the release date it just doesn't work that way.

[prana5555]

Gameplay has gotten a 180 turn around from last year. WHICH is great. Let them get the gameplay down then work on the graphics. Exactly what the show did, work on gameplay, master it(even though some dont like it, but it plays one he11 of a game) and THEN bring the graphics to par.

2k7=great graphically and has some minor bugs in gameplay
2k8=terrible framerate, graphics were alil bland
2k9=seems to be Great gameplay but graphics are down. WHICH i will take right now. Im perfectly ok with it as long as it plays a great game, both offline and online. I for one will only be playing this game online. (the show has earned my franchise playing) (2k has earned my online leagues respect). Thats what im most excited about, the smoothness of the game.


good points. It seems like its kind of an every-other-year process. We had graphics then lost those for better gameplay, but bad framerate, then got even better gameplay (except for some of the issues that are already being reported) but lost some graphics...BUT better framerate. It would be great some year to have all of them at the same time. I'm not a gaming programmer so I am not even sure if thats possible, but it would be cool.

Actually, since we keep buying it each year, I just play 2k7 when I want to see good graphics, 2k8 for the improved play and controls, and been playing the demo for the real-world presentation. If you do it back to back to back it feels like one good game!

[tmoneymill12]

I think VC will get it all together, dont know about next year but 2011 should be the complete package. But they might be able to make a huge jump in graphics in a year. The Show developer know and understand that thier player models are a little outdated and have been working on new ones for the show 10. They say its a hard thing to do because you have to re animize(is that a word?) everything for the new player models other wise it might look goofy.

Looks like im buying 2 great games this year. Ill take the hit in graphics as long as it plays good. Ive yet to hit a HR in the demo after about 5-6 games and have only given up one when i was learning the new pitching thing.

[prana5555]

I think VC will get it all together, dont know about next year but 2011 should be the complete package. But they might be able to make a huge jump in graphics in a year. The Show developer know and understand that thier player models are a little outdated and have been working on new ones for the show 10. They say its a hard thing to do because you have to re animize(is that a word?) everything for the new player models other wise it might look goofy.

Looks like im buying 2 great games this year. Ill take the hit in graphics as long as it plays good. Ive yet to hit a HR in the demo after about 5-6 games and have only given up one when i was learning the new pitching thing.

definitely better gameplay this year so far! Havent hit more than 6 homeruns per game.....I also havent walked or thrown a ball unless I wanted to (so no walks to the CPU) but aside from that, its been solid like real baseball (except the fielding animation slow down where the outfielder wont run to the ball, but this will be patched). Aside form that its been solid gameplay, and if that means losing some quality in the graphics so be it!

[aabar4518]

personally, i think people think that the 2k7 look soo much better than 2k8 or 2k9 because they were sooooo much better than the ****ty *** models in 2k6. i think the player models get crisper each year. one of the reasons that i play 2k instead of the show (other than having to hear matt vaskergian's annoying voice) is because i think the graphics are much better. they are more true to a player's body than the boxy show graphics. in the show, there are the same animations for every player, where as in 2k series, animations differ player to player. after playing the demo and watching countless videos on OS, i could not be happier with how 2k9 looks. i cant wait for tuesday!!!

[Bp2 TriZ]

why doesnt evan longoria have batting gloves?? in real life he has an elbow pad and batting gloves.. yet 2k decided to leave it out.. cant wait to see some big time players missing their accessories.

[Foo4Everlong]

why doesnt evan longoria have batting gloves?? in real life he has an elbow pad and batting gloves.. yet 2k decided to leave it out.. cant wait to see some big time players missing their accessories.

You can edit that stuff in when u get the game as far as I know. But as the days go on we're finding out more and more things that have been omitted from this game. Just found out that the ability to edit batting stances and pitch deliveries for those players that have default stances has been taken out of this years game for some reason. Who knows why. Later

[jeffy777]

Disposable, you hit the nail ont he head when you described 2k9 as a work in progress. For what VC accomplished in the limited time given, they did a great job. 2k10 will be outstanding and everyone should really be interested int he development of that title throughout the year. It will be stellar.

It just sucks that we have to wait three years for another great baseball game though.

2K7 was great.
2K8 was not.
2K9 seems to be....ehh, decent (better than 2K8, but still not as good as 2K7 in some ways)
2K10 will be.......great? (at least we hope)

Three years is a long time to wait.........Man, I wish VC would've taken over last year.

[prana5555]

I was wondering if anyone knows exactly what "VC had to build the game from scratch" means? Reason I ask is that so much of 2k9 looks the same...very similar swings, animations, stadiums, etc.

[Bluesimmons42]

Disposable, you hit the nail ont he head when you described 2k9 as a work in progress. For what VC accomplished in the limited time given, they did a great job. 2k10 will be outstanding and everyone should really be interested int he development of that title throughout the year. It will be stellar. But for now, 2k9 is a great start and a great base to build upon. Its a fun game that has some minor issues, but nothing overly glaring that should detract from a gameplay experience.

I am sure given VC track record that the player models will be where you would expect when 2k10 rolls out.

I have a huge problem with this crazy cougar. After the flawed game I played last year, why in the world should I want to pay $60 for a game that is a "Work in Progress"?!?!?! I want a full game, that plays well. If you want me to wait for next years game, because this year's is incomplete, fine, I wont buy 2k9. Don't give me this "its a great start, give them a break they haven't had a long time to work on it" crap. If you except me to pay $60 for a game, don't give me half a game.

[Foo4Everlong]

I have a huge problem with this crazy cougar. After the flawed game I played last year, why in the world should I want to pay $60 for a game that is a "Work in Progress"?!?!?! I want a full game, that plays well. If you want me to wait for next years game, because this year's is incomplete, fine, I wont buy 2k9. Don't give me this "its a great start, give them a break they haven't had a long time to work on it" crap. If you except me to pay $60 for a game, don't give me half a game.

Well done my friend. Later

[adp22]

I dont know why everybody is surprised that the player models look horrible and act robotic. Visual concepts has never made a sports game with good looking player models or movements.