What 2k Should I Buy?

[tarantism]

Hello! I made an account here a while ago but I am just now getting into PC NBA 2k and modding and I have a few quick questions. If this is not the appropriate forum to ask questions, mods please move to the right section. I checked around for a second but didn't see any obvious question-asking forums.

Anyway, my question is simple: should I buy NBA 2k21? I don't own any previous 2k's on the PC, and I noticed that there aren't very many mods available for 2k21 yet. I was originally going to purchase 2k19, but I noticed that the price is the same as 2k21 on steam. I primarily want to externally modify rosters, uniforms, teams and coaches easily as I already have my own spreadsheets prepared and would ideally like to copy/paste the data into an editor and port into the game. What is the best 2k to do this, without sacrificing graphics (to an extent)? I am also most interested in realistic NBA simulation, so if 2k21 moved even further in the opposite direction then it may not be the best fit for me. My last stipulation would be that I do not play online, park, pro/am, the card game or MyPlayer modes - strictly play now and franchise.

Thank you for any forthcoming advice, and again mods I apologize if this is not the appropriate forum for this type of question and would welcome a move to a better subforum. Thank you and I am excited to get into PC gaming!

[Andrew]

NBA 2K21 modding hasn't fully taken off yet, but I'm sure it will continue to pick up. The game has only been out for just under a month, so there's a lot of time left for it to hit the peak of modding. Obviously, there are a lot more tools, resources, and mods for NBA 2K19 and NBA 2K20.

So far, I wouldn't be inclined to recommend NBA 2K21. It doesn't feel adequately polished, and for my money, it's a step back from NBA 2K20, which I did quite enjoy despite its faults (legacy or otherwise). It's worth noting of course that as the current game, it will be receiving content updates and fixes whereas NBA 2K19 and NBA 2K20 won't be, so in theory there's at least a chance it will improve whereas those games are as good as they're going to get as far as bug fixes and the like. All the same, I definitely wouldn't recommend picking up NBA 2K21 at full price.

I think NBA 2K19 and NBA 2K20 are better, especially if you're interested in Play Now and MyLEAGUE because new content for those modes can be user-driven. The drawback is that they're still full-priced when really they should be discounted. However, I do think they're worth their price tag more than NBA 2K21, at least at this point. That may change, but I personally don't feel optimistic about NBA 2K21, especially as the PC version is still awaiting the first big patch.

[tarantism]

NBA 2K21 modding hasn't fully taken off yet, but I'm sure it will continue to pick up. The game has only been out for just under a month, so there's a lot of time left for it to hit the peak of modding. Obviously, there are a lot more tools, resources, and mods for NBA 2K19 and NBA 2K20.

So far, I wouldn't be inclined to recommend NBA 2K21. It doesn't feel adequately polished, and for my money, it's a step back from NBA 2K20, which I did quite enjoy despite its faults (legacy or otherwise). It's worth noting of course that as the current game, it will be receiving content updates and fixes whereas NBA 2K19 and NBA 2K20 won't be, so in theory there's at least a chance it will improve whereas those games are as good as they're going to get as far as bug fixes and the like. All the same, I definitely wouldn't recommend picking up NBA 2K21 at full price.

I think NBA 2K19 and NBA 2K20 are better, especially if you're interested in Play Now and MyLEAGUE because new content for those modes can be user-driven. The drawback is that they're still full-priced when really they should be discounted. However, I do think they're worth their price tag more than NBA 2K21, at least at this point. That may change, but I personally don't feel optimistic about NBA 2K21, especially as the PC version is still awaiting the first big patch.

Excellent info, thank you! I think that I will go with 2k20 then. Between that and 2k19, I have spent the last year editing on the 2k20 game so I could majorly cut down on testing time. If you don't mind me asking, what tools should I seek out to do the roster/coach/jersey/court/team editing I plan to do? I used RedMC when I was gaming on the Xbox, but the tools available for PC are completely new to me and it doesn't look like Vlad does the RedMC anymore, unfortunately. I really appreciate the help!

[Bassman58]

Check out the tutorials section for the recommended tools. Looyh has made a hook and a nba2k20 tools that allow some roster editing. Limono has a trainer and there is a 2K Exporter console. The graphics editing is similar to 2K14 where you still need a graphics program (Photoshop, PSP, GIMP) to modify the textures. Blender can be used for editing 3D models like cyberfaces. TGSoGood and Shuajota have made tutorials on how to use the various tools. RedMC was excellent for previous versions.

[tarantism]

Check out the tutorials section for the recommended tools. Looyh has made a hook and a nba2k20 tools that allow some roster editing. Limono has a trainer and there is a 2K Exporter console. The graphics editing is similar to 2K14 where you still need a graphics program (Photoshop, PSP, GIMP) to modify the textures. Blender can be used for editing 3D models like cyberfaces. TGSoGood and Shuajota have made tutorials on how to use the various tools. RedMC was excellent for previous versions.

Awesome! Yeah I did some browsing around and I am excited to dig into some of these tutorials and get started. Thanks!