1. we dont know how long or when it will come out. Fingers are crossed for before February.
2. no, IMO the patch doesnt fix much gameplay wise but there are crashes and issues in association mode that get fixed. also right now if you play online you are forced to use "low" quality players and stuff, that will be fixed as well. So you can play, get used to the game and such now, and then when the patch comes out start your my player/association mode.
3. rosters are updated daily through living rosters. you need to create an online ID in the game to get the online features. it also comes bundled with NBA Today which has the commentators talk about today's games, today's standings and other neat little things for the presentation. there are also weekly official rosters you can download through 2kshare.
with the REDitor (which charges for more advanced editing) we can change ratings and such outside of the game. it is not like NBA Live PC with those dbf files though. the free version can edit player's names, ratings, numbers, tendencies and gear.
4. the roster will not update an in progress association/season or my player game. the patch will fix issues like coaches getting fired every day or 1 star trade value for everyone.
5. if you like it, there are "shadow mod" global files that change the lighting of the game. this thread contains all of the "complete" updates for the game
viewtopic.php?f=136&t=77628So for updated rosters all you need to do is register a username and sign online and youll get new ones everyday straight from 2k. The patch does not include a roster update.