#MedSpeaks : Thoughts on "HD" Content

Ever wonder why I always say "HD" and not HD? Today, we discuss why I never acknowledge "HD" content, the difference with SD (standard definition) content, and the confirmation of "HD" content being the cause for crashing at the end of the 1st or 3rd quarters in MyCareer & Association.

What are "HD" files?

For the purpose of this article, we will call the files HD files instead of "HD" files (how we regularly coin the term). What exactly are HD files? They are files in which textures are larger than its originally inteded texture size. Textures for cyberfaces are commonly 512x512, while HD textures can be 1024x1024, 2048x2048 and even 4096x4096 at times. A lot of files can become HD: textures for cyberfaces, floors, stadiums, jerseys, dornas, crowds, scoreboards and even globals. These are made to create more detailed files that would not be possible on the small, default canvas. These files are usually much larger in file size compared to the original file size of an SD file.

How are they made? Ordinary modding tools such as the NBA 2KX ModTool and the Chinese NBA 2K 3DM Tool can only import regular size textures. Modders that create HD content make use of RED MC's iff editing license that allows them to import textures greater than it was originally meant to be. This also locks the file from editing via the 2KX ModTool or the 3DM Tool.

Why do modders create HD files?

There is always a myth that the bigger the file, the bigger the canvas, the better the product. However, remember that these files are high definition (larger resolution imagery), which does not necessarily mean high quality. While most HD files are of high quality, it can be argued that even SD files can match them in quality.

How are they made? Ordinary modding tools such as the NBA 2KX ModTool and the Chinese NBA 2K 3DM Tool can only import regular size textures. Modders that create HD content make use of RED MC's iff editing license that allows them to import textures greater than it was originally meant to be. This also locks the file from editing via the 2KX ModTool or the 3DM Tool.

Usually, other than the fact that modders want to create high quality works, then also want to avoid modding theft in the community. A standard definition file has high risk of being re-released with minor modifications and claimed as their own, which is one of the worst issues the community consistently faces. Locking it from editing via RED MC prevents that from happening, and does not allow other modders to re-release their work.

Okay, so what's the problem?

Global Compatibility

HD content has some effects on the file other than the higher resolution. The resolutions of the files are simply not meant to be for NBA 2K14. This causes some major differences in appearance of HD content from SD content. HD content are commonly shinier and have a little difference in between the left half side of the face and the right half side. The lighting strikes at one side much differently than the other. This is because HD content is not exactly compatible with all globals which will look like Russell Westbrook's face (in the screenshot) for those using standard globals with intense lighting and shadows. However, globals that don't have those shadows are considered compatible with HD content (as seen in the second screenshot).

File Size

HD files are large. Some HD cyberfaces have even reached around 10 to 30 MB while an average cyberface will be around less than 1 MB to 2 MB. Of course, this is not ideal for those who do not have large disk space remaining with their computers. For one cyberface to be as large as 10 or more standard cyberfaces must mean that your computer has a lot of disk space left.

Confirmed: MAY Cause Crashing

One of the more common types of crashing in the game is the end of 1st or 3rd quarter crashing in MyCareer mode or Association mode. This kind of crashing is NOT roster-related, but is HD content-related. The end of the 1st and 3rd quarters showcase the next rivalry game in the upcoming few days in your NBA schedule. The showcase features the top rated players in each team's starting lineup (depending on who is in it, as stars may be injured at times), in their current away jerseys. If your game crashes at this point, it is GUARANTEED to be either an HD cyberface or jersey. The cause of crashing is the HD cyberface that is most likely of the stars that are featured in the showcase, or the away jersey of a certain team. It is, in no way, connected to what team you are using or the team you are facing. The crashing in 1st and 3rd quarters are random, meaning they may happen or may not happen in any given game played.

We've already removed the HD Clippers jerseys that we accidentally added to the NBA Roster Main Directory Files and replaced them with standard jerseys in Main Directory Files 16 to 20. If you've already downloaded that and it's still crashing for you, it is definitely due to HD cyberfaces you've downloaded and it is completely up to you to identify which cyberface is causing the crash by replacing each HD cyberface with a standard cyberface until you can confirm that you are no longer experiencing crashing in the 1st and 3rd quarter.

You may be thinking that this is only a theory or that this is only my opinion. However, this was an issue that was experienced by UBR uses at one point as well, confirmed by HAWK23. There have also been other users that have confirmed that an HD cyberface has caused their game to crash.

While not all HD content cause crashing, this type of crashing (end of 1st or 3rd quarter) is solely caused by HD content. We cannot dictate what kind of resolution modders will use, although I would personally recommend SD cyberfaces instead (just to be sure that there is no crashing, compatibility issues or excessive file size). I have the most respect for modders who share their work and take the extra effort to make their content in HD. They also have a legitimate reason to use the perks of RED MC's iff editing license to lock their works from editing, completely avoiding the bane of the modding community which is modding theft.

With that said, all we can do is inform the users that you always have to backup your files and be responsible downloaders. There may be instances that crashing is completely the fault of the user, and not the modder. What users can do is make sure to be careful with that you download, and that you should always remember what are the new mods you've just applied that may cause any errors, glitches, or crashing in your game.

#MedSpeaks : The Android Community

Before we proceed, we would like to state that none of our works are for Android and we are not related to the Android community. Our works are for PC only. Please do not come to us with inquiries, comments, reports or any form of messages regarding Android mods. Thank you.

Over the years, we've had inquiries regarding Android versions of Med's NBA Roster, PBA 2K14 and even sometimes, FIBA 2K14 or Kuroko V Slam Dunk. Recently, there have been more android inquiries brought to the main Facebook page, regarding modding for Android phones and the like. All of our mods have always been for PC. We discuss our thoughts on the difference between the PC modding community and the Android modding community.

NBA 2K14 (Android)

Comparison & Confusion?

NBA 2K14 (PC)

The images and videos we post here on the website have always been the PC version of NBA 2K14. With all settings on high in these screenshots and even videos, somehow, the casual members of the community who are not familiar with NBA 2K video gaming as a whole still mistake the mods as available for Android phones. Now, obviously, the graphics are nothing alike. The NBA 2K14 version for Android looks a lot like earlier NBA 2K titles for the PSP, but with the animation and fluidity of the PS2 era combined with a few animations from today's current game.

NBA 2K16 (Android)

Now, for NBA 2K16 on Android & iOS, it's a completely different story as it looks to be based on more recent NBA 2K video games and draws a striking resemblance to NBA 2K14 for PC. Images and videos of this version of NBA 2K on mobile are the primary source of confusion for the average video game enthusiast. However, we have to establish that all of our screenshots have always been and will always be for PC. It is great to see that even the mobile market is being given an ample amount of detail and attention by 2K Sports since the mobile video gaming community for NBA 2K is also quite large.

Messages.. what messages?

So, the messages we receive on the pages are most usually inquiries on whether or not the mods are available for Android devices. As we said before, we only mod for PC and all of our mods are only available for PC.

With that said, what are the other kinds of messages we receive? Sometimes, modders from the Android community inquire if we would allow our work to be used as bases for their work. This kind of thing has always been an issue between modders and is the most common issue of drama within the community. However, the PC modding community and the Android modding community are completely separate. One argument will always be said that credits will be properly given to the original author whose work will be based off of. While that is just right, does it really do the original author justice? First off, modders take literally HOURS, maybe tens, maybe even hundreds, and the most hardcore and veteran modders have spent THOUSANDS of hours conducting the proper research, resourcing, creating art files and posting online. For someone to take one's work whom that person has most likely made a personal attachment and connection to, and make it their own by changing very little and releasing it while not claiming it as their own work is difficult to take in for the original author.

While there are a lot of works that are open-source (explicitly stated that it can be used for anyone to edit even without permission), there's something about modding that a lot of people should realize. It's that there is a special bond between the modder and the mod itself. Modders know exactly what their work looks like, how it functions and what it will be like for people when they use it. A sort of connection between the creator and the product that should not be tampered with. All artists have this connection with their art, as I often like to think modders are artists as well. While there is justice with giving credits to the original author, they have every right to decline their work being used as a base solely based on his personal attachment to his creation due to the passion and hard work they imbued into their work. We are required to respect the original author if they decide to not allow their work to be used as a base.

Well then, why not just create your own mod? That has always been a question that has popped up in my head. We've received PMs asking to use the files created by our team regarding PBA 2K14, Kuroko V Slam Dunk, etc. The NBA 2K PC modding community has existed for a long time now, and so has the Android modding community. There are plenty of experienced and talented modders in the Android community as well, maybe just as much as the NBA 2K PC community. There have been more than one occasion where a member of the Android modding community has asked for permission to convert our very own PC files. Naturally, we decline because of what has been said earlier. However, with the existence of the community and even the experience of the most veteran modders from said community, why is there a need to ask the PC community for such files?

What the PC community can learn from the Android community

Thankfully, this doesn't happen very often and most of the time Android modders who are rejected take it with dignity. While I haven't heard of anyone from the PC community asking for files from the Android community, there is a thing or two to be learned from the Android community that should be brought to the PC community. It's that even when you are declined something that is meant to be shared, due to personal reasons or modder ties, you should always learn to create your own mods, from scratch if you have to. Nothing is going to stop you from sharing your works with others, and to share our works with others is the point of modding. The Android community is exactly that since the complexity of modding for mobile devices may be very startling for casual gamers. Even with all the difficulties, they continue to mod and share their works with others and that is exactly what the PC community needs.

Lately, there has been an unusual surplus of modders for NBA 2K on PC and with that, an even more unusual lack of sharing of works. Some modders come to a point where they don't even release their works publicly, as we have discussed before. It is mainly due to the realization that even other people will probably have their own version of a certain mod that they no longer release publicly since a different modder will release his own mod publicly. This is the flaw of an extremely large modding community that is frankly larger than the Android community. The Android community is smaller in number, but is more willing to share because of its smaller pool of modders.

Will I ever mod for Android?

Frankly, no and that will never happen for me personally. We have had PC modders contribute to the Android modding community in the past such as MVL & Tonskie of the Pinoy 2K Modders/PBA 2K Team. For me, I simply don't know how to mod for Android, I don't have a strong enough Android device to play NBA 2K on, and I'm simply not interested. The workload I do for NBA 2K on PC is already too much to handle in some cases, and I cannot add the burden of having to modify for a different community using what I assume would be even different modding methods and techniques. It would be a brand new learning curve for me that I would not be willing to take.

In the past, I have been invited to mod for the Android community and I have always respectfully declined. That will never change for me, but I have always said that I trust that the Android modding community has always been strong and don't actually need me. In fact, a lot of Android modders probably don't even know me or any of my works. However, I do have the highest respect for the best Android modders out there and I have complete trust in their work.

The Android community is completely different from the PC community, but it has the same sentiment when it comes to sharing our works. While I do not encourage members of either community to use the opposite's work as bases for their own, I believe that everyone should learn how to create their own mods even without the help of others just to be able to contribute and share our works with others. I cannot stress this enough, but modding has always been about sharing, and that should never stop.

Again, none of our works are for Android and we are not related to the Android community. Our works are for PC only. Please do not come to us with inquiries, comments, reports or any form of messages regarding Android mods. Thank you.

#MedSpeaks : Reasons Behind Unreleased Mods

Remember that mod you saw a preview for a few months ago? It's still not released? Well that should be no surprise now with the amount of unreleased content recently. However, should this really be a thing?

Med's Unreleased Mods

Looking back, there's been a number of mods that we haven't released over the past few month, maybe even years. Let's look at our own batch of unreleased files.

PBA D-League & Retro Teams

Now, you've seen this before. We've had PBA D-League rosters in the past. The original 2013-2014 PBA rosters had these before. Why aren't they back now? Well, they need updates. The problem with this is we can barely keep up with the other aspects of PBA 2K14 updates. We still haven't updated the UAAP rosters & cyberfaces and we still haven't updated anything for the NCAA.

As for the retro teams, in fact, all of the retro PBA jerseys are even complete. However, we still don't have quality rosters because of missing data for retro players and teams, as well as quality cyberfaces.

"Why don't you just convert PBA 2K13's retro teams to PBA 2K14?"

Definitely logical, there is a difference however in the work done on PBA 2K13 and PBA 2K14. If you came from PBA 2K13, you'd know the vast difference in quality that PBA 2K14 currently has over its predecessor. Although it is definitely possible, only with more data and information gathered on retro teams will we be able to finally add them to PBA 2K14. We also still need to focus on adding the original 2013-2014 PBA season (PBA 2K14 v0.1 to v2.0). We were only originally able to release the Philippine Cup & Commissioner's Cup, and still have to work on the Governors' Cup.

Kuroko V Slam Dunk Presentation Files

We've shown you a Slam Dunk title screen before but nothing else. That's because there hasn't been anything else. There are plans to make multiple title screens, icons, and even a global for Kuroko V Slam Dunk but nothing has been made yet. Hopefully, this week, we get to actually finish it and release them in a pack. Releasing them individually isn't very efficient and most of the time, files are related (PlayStation Buttons are in both english and gamedata, Title Screens are both in englishbootup and titlepage), so they definitely need to be released in pairs. Not to mention that we haven't even made a bootup for Kuroko V Slam Dunk yet. We still don't have complete team logos for it!

There's probably some more unreleased content in the past that I've shown previews of, if you remember any of them feel free to comment!

Legitimate Reasons

Yeah that's why I have some unreleased mods. But what about others? What are the reasons behind unreleased mods? Well it's normally due to three things:

Development Issues - Sometimes there's information that needs to be completed before mods can be released, such as the unveiling of real life designs that need to be implemented into the mods. There's also things such as missing data for rosters that won't allow it to be made.

Technical Issues - Broken down PCs or internet connection hiccups are the most common reasons for unreleased mods. If all of you remember, I had a motherboard crash for 9 months back in 2014 and that caused a lot of mods to be released at later dates. Internet connection is another problem, this is mostly common with Filipino modders who don't necessarily have a good internet connection to begin with. That's why some modders like to bundle their work before they release, because they have to plan out their upload period around their real life schedule.

Personal Issues - A lot of modders go through phases where they step away from the game to take on real life. Sometimes, this happens while a mod is just about to be released, inevitably putting a hold on the mod indefinitely. It is very important that we respect the decisions of the modders, they have every right to step away at any time, we'll always give our thanks and remember those that are no longer modding with us.

Not So Legitimate Reasons

There always has to be legitimate reasons for modders to not release their content. But there are others that still only post previews and never seem to release them without any of those legitimate reasons. What's up with that?

Ego - We've talked about this before in our Life of a Modder article, it mostly has to do with ego. A lot of people feel the need to be praised for their work. To the point that they would literally have conditions before releasing their work to establish that people are wanting them. They'll ask for conditions such as needing to reach a certain number of likes or shares first before they release, or stuff like that. It pretty much means that there aren't legitimate issues going on for them to not release their work, only the need for more praise.

Drama - Other times, the modder and the community get involved in Modding Drama, where there is a huge fuss over the modder's work and how the community views it. It is normally boiled down to two minor things: Criticism & Theft

Some modders are unable to take critique for their work and view constructive criticism as personal attacks on themselves and their work. If you're from a great modding community such as NLSC, it is very rarely the case that the community is the reason behind the drama. More often than not, the modder mistakes critique as complaints for the mods despite comments in good faith by the community, ending up in drama.

Theft, however, is completely the thief's fault. A lot of people have stolen, re-modded, re-released and re-labelled mods as their own in the past. This is completely unacceptable and this has most probably happened to every quality modder out there. This has happened to me before as well and it almost came to a point that I wanted to stop modding just for stealers not to be able to steal my work. Of course, there's always some foolproofing for this. You can always place your own trademarks in your work, establishing it as yours and not by others. Sometimes, people still steal this and replace the trademark, but don't let that fool you.

The technique for this is to simply improve and be a much more quality modder, create mods so great that it they are completely recognizable as your work. A lot of quality modders have work that when you see it, you can clearly see who made it. Create a name for yourself. Make it a trustworthy name that people will know who to download from, and who to go to for quality mods. This will minimize the criticism and will absolutely foolproof stealing since nobody will care about stolen work anymore, because they know who to go to, it's you.

If a true modder can let go of the ego and the drama, then he'll definitely release his works. If he can't, then you don't have to pay any attention to him since it is more about making himself happy, rather than making the community happy.

Remember that, true modders make others happy while fake modders make themselves happy. In fact, you can even say that these fake modders don't actually have any plans to release their works. They just want you to feel that you want their work, and want them to feel good about themselves.

What should the community do?

If you're simply a fan or a member of the outspoken, commenting modding community, here are some tips.

Don't criticize, give critique. There's a difference. Stop nitpicking, stop requesting for the impossible. Not everyone is patient with these kinds of comments or questions. Always be thankful first, then give comments or suggestions after, never go straight to a comment without acknowledging the hard work done by the modder, we literally spend hundreds of hours on this, some of us maybe even in the thousands now.

Don't spoil yourself. Be patient. If it's not out yet, don't ask for release dates, normally even the modders don't know when they release their work unless they say so. Never put pressure on the modders and never give out harsh comments. You don't know what's going on in their lives unless they tell you.

Don't beg for mods, create mods yourself. If it's still not getting released, then why not make that mod yourself? If you don't know how to, learn, there's always a time for everything. Contribute to the community, show everyone that sharing work is important.

Sharing is Caring

I like to think of the modding community as a community of artists that listen to each other. Fake modders that only post previews are not artists. They don't seem to understand the difference between critique and criticism, they don't know how to read constructive feedback at all. Sometimes fake modders that will leave the community because they're not getting what they want (absolute praise for their work) and that's fine. It's okay. We've had a lot of people like that come and go in the community. Don't care too much, there will always be other modders who will step up and release works that we are truly waiting for. Give it time.

Remember that the community is about sharing. There is absolutely no point in not sharing. Modders are blessed with time, artistic and technical expertise that make them good at what they do. We have to share these blessing with others. It's not about who is best, it's about expanding our options in NBA 2K video gaming. NBA 2K14 is about to end its third year and enter its fourth year. It's old by definition, if you have something to share with us that can breathe a new life into the game, please do. We all want to stay, we're all here to enjoy the game, so let's share all of our resources with each other.

#MedSpeaks Topics!

Hi everyone! A lot of you that follow me on Facebook are probably familiar with my existing series of articles or messages related to certain topics I chose to speak on, now they're on the website! You can check finally check them out here!

#MedSpeaks Series

In my personal attempt to make reading for the users more casual-sounding and interactive, we just had to bring the original Facebook posts here to the website. Of course, the interactions will still be on Facebook, and future articles will be posted completely on Facebook, with existing links on the website as well and will not split the article into a shortened version on Facebook like most websites. The series is about my personal thoughts, and opinions as an individual, usually on certain aspects of modifying such as the experience of modding itself, thoughts on other mods, and other things I ever choose to bring up. This series does not reflect, in any way, the thoughts of other related modders that I collaborate with, making the opinions solely my own.

I brought this to the website because it's difficult to find the posts on Facebook if you wanted to go back and read them. This also exists for those that haven't read some of them yet, or don't follow us on Facebook and might be interested in these posts. The posts are always genuinely written and thought out, and always have a point to them, that's why I don't often write these articles, only when necessary.

If you're a member of the NLSC community, it's a great place for all modders to come and share their work, discuss new modding knowledge and information, etc. There's been a lot of commotion lately regarding totalrebound's cancelled global project. It had all of these claims on a new thing for globals called "nano technology", etc. Long story short, he ended up not releasing the global.

I brought this up because tomorrow (while I am uploading files for the scheduled FIBA 2K14 & Kuroko V Slam Dunk updates), I'll be talking about unreleased mods. Those mods that are always only previews and are never released. I'm talking about NEVER, not those that take too long due to development issues. We discuss why this happens, if some modders intentionally do this, or if they are granted the misfortune of doing so. A lot of times the community has a LOT to do with mods being unreleased, and we'll discuss that further tomorrow.

Links to Previous Articles

Here are links to previous articles I've written before:

>
• #MedSpeaks : Started From The Bottom
• #MedSpeaks : Did NBA 2K Plan to Support Modding?
• #MedSpeaks : Devilish' Animation Mod
• #MedSpeaks : Mods for Sale
• #MedSpeaks : Life of a Modder

#MedSpeaks : Started From The Bottom

Med speaks on how it all began from a fan to a modder.

NBA 2K12 (2011-2012)

The Ultimate Base Roster for NBA 2K12, the greatest mod to have ever existed was what made me want to get into NBA 2K for PC. In NBA 2K12, I never really shared any of my private roster work back then, even though I had already been editing NBA Live & 2K rosters back in the Play Station 2 days.

NBA 2K13 (2012-2013)

It was in NBA 2K13 when I decided to release my own series of updated NBA rosters, including 10 NBA Legends teams. With the absence of UBR for NBA 2K13, I decided to call it "Med's Ultimate Roster", because of the addition of the new teams. RED MC was still called REDitor during the time. I didn't have all of the licenses for it, I didn't know how to use it properly. Still, apparently people still liked my work for NBA 2K13.

NBA 2K14 (Late 2013)

When NBA 2K14 was released, I wanted to change a few things, I stopped my idea of adding retro teams to focus more on the current NBA roster's quality. It was there that more creative ideas on how to systematize a few things that I knew COULD be done, but still hadn't been done by others too.

PBA 2K14 (Late 2013 to Early 2014)

After a rather successful late 2013, I was lucky enough to be invited to be part of the legendary PBA 2K Modding Team (known as Pinoy 2K Modders or PBA 2K Team). With PBA 2K having existed as early as PBA 2K10, and with other PBA mods since the NBA Live series, I knew there were big shoes to fill. I knew there were a lot I could contribute on a technical aspect (compatibility, a more organized system, proper editing, uploading and file sharing) but in all honesty, I didn't even watch the PBA during that time.

If some of you remember, the very first few versions of PBA 2K didn't have the same quality as it does now, even regarding rosters. I didn't watch the league, I didn't know who was good without looking at stats, I didn't know their tendencies, positions, animations, etc. It was when I dedicated my time to watching the PBA on TV, and even live at times that I got a grasp of it and basically fell in love with it.

Hiatus & Comeback (Mid 2014 to Late 2014)

In early 2014, I took a 9-month long hiatus because of a motherboard crash. A lot of you already know this, and for those who were there during the time, and still here now, I salute you. When I came back in late 2014, I wanted to bring something new to the table, something to make up for my absence. That's where I got the idea for the website for PBA 2K14 (the old Google Sites for those who visited it before).

FIBA 2K14 (2015)

As early as January 2015, I also had the idea of putting the same touch on FIBA 2K by dwadeflash. Luckily, he shared his resources and knowledge with me and literally after MONTHS of researching, working hard on a completely new roster, and as far as collaborating with international members of the NBA 2K community such as the Americans, Lithuanians, Spanish and Chinese, we were able to successfully make our dream come true, a comprehensive FIBA 2K mod.

Kuroko No Basuke (2015)

During this time, I personally was watching Kuroko No Basuke (anime), and thought to myself to create my own roster for Kuroko No Basuke & Slam Dunk. I didn't like the existing mods, I wanted to make it my own so I made the rosters, using cyberfaces from other modders. It was supposed to be just an open source roster, where you place your own cyberfaces to make it compatible since I didn't have a modding team. I didn't know who was good at making cyberfaces for anime.

Launch of the Website (2015)

The idea of adding another pair of mods to the duo of NBA Roster Updates & PBA 2K14 led me to the idea of having a full website dedicated to all of the mods, effectively renaming "Med's Ultimate Roster" to "Med's NBA Roster". We are all thankful for HoopsVilla's Sid Vishnoi, who was very kind enough to help create and build the website for free. We owe it all to him, that we are able to download these updates easily.

Kuroko V Slam Dunk (2016)

Luckily, I was able to collaborate with the great KoroX and Seushiro and we were able to bring a dream come true by having an anime roster, with my touch, for FREE. We all know the drama with anime mods, and with the latest release of the MyCareer/Association-compatible roster, I really feel as if it is now a success. With all of these mods having existed since previous versions, I always think to myself, what can I do differently? I don't do this just to be "the man" who makes all of these mods. I wanted it to be my own. I didn't want to take what others already made. Everything had already been done before, but not quite the way I have been doing it for the past few years, no.

I always thought of creative ways of bringing an AUTHENTIC experience for NBA, FIBA, PBA, and anime basketball to NBA 2K. We are all lucky enough that I am able to collaborate with the BEST modders in the world. You have to work with the best, to be able to share the best work with others, free of charge. We listen to everyone's comments and requests (even though we don't usually take requests, we still consider them at times).

I am proud of the amount of dedication and creativity I put into these mods, I feel like we've done things we never thought were possible in NBA 2K. I always felt like we could push it to the limit, making each mod completely different from the others, but at the same time, it has that similar Medevenx-style branding. It has that Medevenx seal of quality and approval.

My message is don't be afraid to say what everyone else is thinking, don't be afraid to try something different, don't be afraid to share your works even though you haven't made any name for yourself. Always carry yourself professionally and try to present yourself the best way you can without coming out as a fake. I am thankful for the personal brand being held high regarding all of my mods. I feel as if the mods are now cemented into the hearts of people. I am glad that all of you are enjoying the mods, some even much more than I expect. I thank you all. It is definitely one hell of a journey so far, and we're going to go Icefrog's DotA on Warcraft III for NBA 2K14! I am here for the long run and I am here to stay. I hope the other modders will stay with us too, so we can keep continuing this legacy for NBA 2K14!

#MedSpeaks : Did NBA 2K Plan to Support Modding?

I personally checked the gooey_nba_dlc.iff file for NBA 2K14 (PC) and this is the first texture I found. You can also check this file by opening it with the NBA 2KX ModTool, NBA 2K 3DM tool or RED MC. Remember, "dlc" means "downloadable content". NBA 2K9 was the first NBA 2K game to be released for the PC. The graphics look like NBA 2K10 with images of players from the bottom to top: Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets, and what seems to be a basketball player not belonging to the NBA.

Now, look at the player in the top screenshot, it definitely looks like Rukawa, and it does seem like him because of the accessory (black arm band below the left elbow) and a white jersey (most probably the white Shohoku jersey) and overall likeness. Sometimes, 2K doesn't update some of the files anymore as we can see from multiple textures when we check out the files. Could this file have existed even back in NBA 2K10 or 2K11 when 2K developers realized people had already started developing mods for NBA 2K9 and 2K10? Does this mean that NBA 2K was secretly developing Slam Dunk rosters for NBA 2K10 2K11? Or did it mean that modifiable rosters were supposed to be downloadable content? It looks as if what the Kobe Bryant and Yao Ming screenshots are implying is that user-created rosters would have also been available to download as downloadable content. This may have been discontinued due to licensing issues (similar to how some NBA Legends have appeared and have been removed from the game such as Chris Webber or the 1992 Dream Team with Charles Barkley). It could also be possible that the user-created rosters were made unavailable due to the upcoming rise of the current sensation in NBA 2K's MyTeam mode which heavily features use of retro players and special edition players. Although it wasn't until NBA 2K11 that retro teams officially made it to the NBA 2K games as only NBA Legends where included in former NBA 2K installments. Copyright laws may have also forbidden NBA 2K from allowing downloadable content as anime mods to be officially added to the game as they simply do not have the rights to Shonen Slam Dunk's characters and other assets.

Who knows? It's certainly crazy to think there could have been anime teams and user-created content in official versions of NBA 2K. It could possibly have opened up to developing mods for the console version of NBA 2K at the time (PlayStation 3 and XBox 360). While it is clear that NBA 2K tried to push for allowing user-created content in its franchise, it looks like they were unable to do so. It seems as if 2K could not acknowledge mod development for the game publiclt, however is most certainly aware of it.

Modding has existed for many years in other games with most games nowadays publicly accepting it. While it seems like 2K legally can't allow this or at least state publicly that they fully acknowledge it, it doesn't mean that modding never came to mind in the NBA 2K headquarters.

As for updates, we're currently taking a break. My personal computer is currently in maintenance for the new year to ensure steady performance in 2016. This short break will hopefully end within this month of February where the PC will finally be usable again. The purpose of the break is to ensure that mods will continue to be released in 2016, allowing the PC to rest and perform faster as I have files to be removed to make more space on the hard drive. The first updates to be released when I return is the NBA All-Star and Trade Deadline update for the NBA rosters and the Kanagawa update for Kuroko V Slam Dunk. As for PBA 2K14, as usual we have to wait a couple of weeks for teams to play first to be able to see all of the new jerseys and logo for the Phoenix Fuelmasters. We'll also be including Alaska's black jersey during the finals. FIBA 2K14 v4.2 has taken a stepback due to missing cyberface issues that will hopefully resolved soon. Thank you everyone for being patient with us, we hope you enjoyed the article and thank you! Here's to another great year in 2016!

#MedSpeaks : Devilish' Animation Mod

Med speaks on Devilish' self-titled next-gen animation mod released in the NLSC community.

Regarding Devilish' mod for animations, there have been multiple reports of edited/stolen work, such as editing [CAM]'s HD Global, gamez' animation pack, causing crashing and viruses with PCs (one of our trusted contributors to Med's NBA Roster, J-Paul, the animation director for the roster caught a virus after downloading the mod and forced him to reformat his laptop). A lot of veteran modders have already gone against it such as skoadam (URB director), as well as trusted contributors such as Seushir0 (Kuroko V Slam Dunk cyberface modder) and monzki15 (multiple mod cyberface modder) who experienced NBA 2K14 errors as well.

With all of that said, the administrator of NLSC, Andrew, has approved the request to lock the thread. What does that say about the mod? While not here to bash on his work, we all feel that we are left in a void regarding any progress on editing animations after gamez left. Definitely, we felt that Devilish was the person that the torch was passed on to, and we wanted to believe it as much as we can. We wanted to see things we thought couldn't be done because of his animation mods, but overall it caused too many problems that even respectable members of the community were not supportive of it.

One thing about the mod is Devilish' inexperience regarding files such as the TURK, bringing it up despite not actually knowing what it does for RED MC and roster editing, that it changes animations assigned to players in a roster, not changing the animations itself, as proven by Seushir0. We are not here to ruin his image, but we are here to warn everyone that it's important to download from only trusted sources because I have personally received many reports regarding the crashing for NBA 2K14 after downloading this. It was clearly a big question mark how he could import layups and celebration animations from NBA 2K16 without being able to import jump shot animations. We all want him to progress with his mod, but if it is at the cost of the functionality of our NBA 2K14, I'll gladly pass on it.

I do recommend everyone to read the thread on NLSC completely, see how it started and how it went down. Devilish personally states that he's not blowing smoke (claiming something but has nothing), and he wishes all of you to personally test the mods for yourselves and try it out. While I am not against that, it's completely up to you what you want to use (remember I was never against using gamez' animation mod despite other people using it and me personally never using it at all). Just remember the golden rule of downloading mods, ALWAYS BACKUP. Again, there's nothing wrong with downloading it if you are curious to see what it's all about, or even if you want to fully use it for your NBA 2K14 experience and this post is not meant to fire shots at Devilish himself. I have the utmost respect for anyone trying to make something new for NBA 2K14. Just be careful with what you download, always read the comments first, and remember to backup your files.

#MedSpeaks : Mods for Sale

Med speaks on mods that are not released for free.

Hi everyone, as you may have noticed, there has been an increase in the number of modders selling their mods for profit. Some of you may have purchased from these modders, some of you most probably have not. There have been modders in the past that did not stand by the word regarding the purchased goods/services. But this is not about that. This is about the legitimate modders that complete their work, and sell them.

Now, one of the most basic rules of modding is that you can only release your work for free because you do not own the rights to the files you are creating unless it is a completely original idea, concept and design. For example, if you made a Stephen Curry cyberface, you can't sell that because you don't own the rights to use Stephen Curry's looks & imagery. Asking for a price for a personal cyberface is different, since it is more of a service instead of a product. While I am not totally for putting a price a personal cyberface, hard work is spent on these kinds of services and small things such as paying them cellphone load is more of a small "thank you" gesture, rather than an actual payment.

As for modders that sell their mods (will not name anyone specifically), I very much recommend that users and downloaders refrain from purchasing these mods. Your money, is more valuable than what you are going to spend it on. Right now, they may be the only high quality mods that are going around, but you'll never know when a new excellent modder will come and suddenly start releasing similar quality mods (if not better) for free.

Donations and going through advertisements are our best way of showing gratitude to modders especially when we don't have to pay. These modders who spend literally hundreds of hours (heck, maybe even thousands for the veterans) photoshopping, editing, typing, uploading, posting deserve a break sometimes. When it comes to money and modding, these two don't generally mix, but modders who create new content for the game, release for free to genuinely improve the user's experience with the game would rather receive genuine gratitude through donations rather than making a quick buck.

Don't buy mods from those that sell their mods. Those who only show previews and very rarely release are not genuine modders. They do it for the "internet fame" or "power", the money, the satisfaction of showing others that they have something that everyone wants. Don't patronize these fake modders. The true modders won't go away if you give them a reason to stay.

#MedSpeaks : Life of a Modder

Med speaks on this original article by Andrew on the NLSC website on January 4, 2016 on why modders stop modding.

Excellent read, especially for those that have been modding for a long time (talking about years). People (Users/Downloaders) don't seem to realize that a person changes over the years. Their personality, reponsibilities, perspective, etc. all change. The username may not change and that leads to downloaders that the modders are the same person from when they first started, that's clearly not the case.

Having been modding for a few years now, taking only a 9-month long break back in 2014 due to a motherboard malfunction and general disinterest as we were all ready to move from NBA 2K14 to 2K15 (something we were all annually ready for, but hit with a surprise when the game changed requirements). I remembered simply how fun it was to share my work with others. People who were unaware of modding kept asking me "Why does your NBA 2K look so different, it's looks a lot better and has updated looks" when they don't realize that WE (the modding community) are the ones that update the game. These people think we just download, especially when we can't say that we individually made the specific mod we are using.

But that's the fun about sharing. Seeing our work used by others, allowing them to see us using their work, it's a partnership. It's the tiny words in our head saying "I'm the one who made that" without having to publicly announce or brag about it is definitely enough for us modders that do not do this for "fame", but the genuine desire to share ALL of our quality work without keeping anything to ourselves. Once modders who have left, remember that feeling of relief (it is kind of the actual feeling) when you see other people using what you just made a few hours ago, they're sure to come back.