NBA 2K14’s Eco-Motion Engine Brings Players to Life on PS4

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NBA 2K14’s Eco-Motion Engine Brings Players to Life on PS4

What an exciting year for everyone in the video game industry. The team here at 2K has seen a lot over the years, and experienced countless new system launches. But we’ve never seen one like this year, with the launch of PS4. It’s an old cliché that new technology allows developers to take their products to the next level, but that’s never been truer than now. As work began on NBA 2K14 for PS4, the next-gen technology inspired our developers at Visual Concepts to develop a completely new experience from the ground up. NBA 2K14 on PS4 will feature re-built game modes, stunning life-like graphics, and a brand new gameplay engine.

With that said, 2K is excited to unveil the all-new Eco-Motion Engine for NBA 2K14 on PS4. With Eco-Motion, the entire NBA experience comes to life in ways never before seen in a video game, including crowd reactions, atmosphere, coaching strategies, real player voices, and most of all the emotion of the game. Player animations are dynamic, and evolve on the fly as you play. Player personalities and emotions factor into the game as well, affecting how players perform and even behave on the court. No longer will players look like robots on the court. Now you will feel the emotion of the game in a living, evolving basketball environment.

One example of the Eco-Motion Engine in action is the new fluid nature of player animations. Gone are the days of pre-canned animations that must play out exactly as they were mocapped. Now, players adjust their movements based on the environment around them. Jumpshots will change midair, dribble moves will alter in between dribbles, and players will land in a unique way following every thunderous dunk or block. No two animations will ever appear exactly the same. To illustrate this point, our Dev team recently showed off a looping video of OKC star Kevin Durant taking the same jumpshot ten different times. Sure enough, each clip was unique in some way. In one shot, KD pulled off a perfect shooting motion. But in the next, a defender stepped up and altered the shot, causing him to rush the release and land awkwardly on one foot. These types of play-to-play variations occur constantly in real life sports, but until now it’s been a challenge to capture the fluid and dynamic nature of live sports in a video game. Not anymore.

Of course, this is just a small sample of the exciting next-gen basketball experience gamers can look forward to in NBA 2K14 on PS4. Everyone here at 2K is so proud of this game, and we can’t wait for fans to get their hands on it on November 15th.

Give me a follow on Twitter @Ronnie2K. Thanks for reading!

Ronnie

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119 Comments

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  • Hey guys, hope you enjoy the blog and video. Questions about anything you saw above?

  • I’m not an NBA fan, not really even a basketball fan, but man, this game looks amazing! Well done team 2K Games!

  • Hey Ronnie, do you have any idea if there will be trade-in offers at stores to get the next-gen version if we already have the current gen? Thanks and the game looks great!

    • You should look around, there are a lot of things going on with various retailers that I am sure your fellow community members would be happy to clue you in on better than even I could.

  • It looks amazing! All the little details is what sets you guys on another level, will the ps4 version run at 1080p 60fps?

  • I saw the video but it didn’t really talk too much about the gameplay itself. I just read a review about Live 14 and the new features it added were really interesting. Are there any gameplay improvements over current gen other than foot planting because most of the people that had the opportunity to play 2K14 said the gameplay was similar and even the same as current gen. Not hating on 2K though this game looks amazing!

    • Lots of discussion and videos of gameplay coming soon! Lots of people wanted features so we’ve been focusing there but our gameplay experience is at the center of it all so fear not.

  • Hey Ronnie, thanks for taking the time to do this. Is there anything you can tell us about how Ecomotion affects the CPU and your teammates AI? Very interested

    • Rob Jones sort of talks about it in the video but emotion plays a lot into the attitudes of players and decision making in AI. It’s really game changing as he references.

  • Every time I see new footage of NBA 2K14 my jaw drops. 2K13 on PC was my first time purchasing a NBA 2K game, I was into NBA Live before that, and my reactions was, “wow!” Now I understand why it’s the best rated basketball game out there. I just can’t wait to play it on the 15th and lead my Bucks to a championship!

  • Will 2K be announcing what the exclusive in-game content for the PS4 will be?

  • This is really random, but can you tweet a picture of Kevin Love in game? White guys always have looked a little off and I really would like to see how he looks? PLEASE RONNIE?

  • Most important question: Will Ronnie2k and LD2k continue to tell me how great I am through Twitter in MyCareer?

  • Hey Ronnie
    Can you talk about classic teams? Did the same amount of detail go into those classic teams/players? Because you werent able to scan the faces of older players, did the development team simply have to create them from scratch?
    Are the 1991 Bulls playable?

    Thanks

    • Legends have been important to us since 2K11 and they’re in next gen. As you probably recently heard, we added Dr. J to the game. Always a pursuit for us.

  • Can you comment on the Shoe Creator in the Next Gen Version? Anything new?

    • With the 4 huge game pillars and so much depth within them, we haven’t yet gotten to that but it’s something we intend to discuss. We have more brands than anyone including the recently added Peak, Anta, and Li-Ning. Read about what we did to the PlayStation 3, but more info coming soon- http://2kgam.es/NBA2K14Shoes

  • Everything looks amazing, but one question how unique will the dribbling be for the players with the new engine???

    • Good question. That is something that was a big part of the improvements in the EcoMotion enging and will get clearer as more footage is shown. But you can see from the trailer above what we tried to accomplish in terms of dribbling. It’s awesome how the basketball spins in the palm of your hand.

  • Ronnie, the whites need KEVIN LOVE. WE NEED HIM. PLEEEEEEEEEASE.

    <3

  • Is My Career on the PS4 mainly focused on your character’s rookie season or will it have multiple seasons like on current gen???

  • Really great stuff, after the OMG trailer 2K14 shot to the top of my “must play” list…

    The Eco motion engine looks really impressive and seems like it could potentially be rather versatile…is the engine built specifically for basketball? Or could it be potentially be adapted to other sports like football, soccer etc?

    • It’s built for basketball at this time, but we definitely wanted to make it the most versatile engine around.

  • Is this exclusive to the PS4 version? What are the graphical differences, if any, between the PS4 version and Xbox One? How are you making sure of getting the most out of each?

    Congratulations on the work done so far. It’s impressive what your team has managed to accomplish on a launch title. Next year should be even more incredible.

    • The PlayStation 4 is extremely fun to play on in my opinion, but we are building it to get the most on both consoles.

      Thank you, I really do believe our incredible dev team deserves accolades for building a title that is so amazing on the two generations of consoles. I think we will warrant some GOTY consideration for our NextGen offering.

  • This looks so good. I’ve been a 2k fan since dreamcast and an NBA 2k mega fan since 2k11. I am buying a ps4 SOLELY to play NBA 2k. I don’t think i’ll sleep till launch night. Thanks Ronnie! (on a side note 2k should have a disc replacement program cause my xbox ate 2k13 and I’ve been without for 6 months).

    • Talk to our tech support, I am sure they can help you with that.

      But thanks for being a huge fan, you guys are the reason we do this!

  • Can’t wait to get this for my PS4 but I’ll have to get in early 2014…

  • Game literally looks amazing. one thing could make it almost perfect though:
    Is 2k14 next-gen going to have a more advanced team builder? I always love making my own teams and players, but HATE all of the weird logos.

  • This game looks AMAZING!!!!!!! I’ll go change my pants now :D

    Go celtics, get those losses and pick Wiggins! To be the worst you must lose to the worst (Jazz)

  • Remote play on Vita? Can 2 players play doubles (One with the PS4 controller and another with Vita as the controller?

  • Dont really play NBA games but I’ve seen 2K14 played on the 360 and the atmosphere is incredibly good, this looks miles ahead.

    Do you guys have any plans on getting into Soccer, I would kill for a developer as good as 2K to take on that world. Please come, and dethrone EA they are resting on their laurels, the crown is ripe for the taking.

    • The atmosphere really sets us apart and it’s taken to another level in NextGen.

      We don’t own a license there but you never know what we’ll get into next.

  • 2k14 is going to be Way Better on the Ps4 than on the Xbox One

  • NBA.com web developer here…I will be bringing the PS4 into the office for us to try this out.
    Looks awesome!

  • This is absolutely amazing. Visually, it truly captures just how powerful and breath-taking its going to look on the PS4. Well done 2K.

  • i just cant wait!!

  • Def looks amazing, but how does it handle? Past 2k games feel very sluggish and non responsive. If they cleaned that up, I can see a purchase in my near future.

  • Can you guys start releasing direct feed links instead of youtube videos. I wanna save these and watch em over and over.

  • Been playing this on the PS3 currently and Ive been enjoying it. Some things about the ecomotion I dont quite get yet but its been a long time since I played a basketball game. Only progress from here on out, for the game, the next gen part and future endeavors for 2K!

    Do want a PS4, but not just yet, budget constraints and the inevitable teething stage. But like with the PS3 when it first launched, this right here isnt even scratching the surface of what the new gen consoles will be capable of! And Im excited to see how that grows and evolves!

  • One of the most important parts to me in a sports game is crowd noise and fan reaction. In this next gen NBA 2K14, does the crowd react differently in a regular season game compared to a playoff or finals games? I can’t wait for this game to come out next week. I haven’t been so pumped for a game in years. Great work on the next gen NBA 2K!

  • Game looks amazing, I am happy yall decided to focus on things that sports video games have never been able to get right, things that have never been sports games before.

    P.S. please add the carry over feature that next-gen MLB The Show has. Where we can carry over our MyPlayer and MyGM progress into future editions of NBA 2K. Thank you

  • Hey Ronnie 1st. will be FINALLY be able to change our jerseys in my career mode? weve been waiting since 2k10! also unblock me on twitter lol @yea_iight is my user name….idk why u blocked me in the first place

  • @Ronnie2k. In 2k14 for ps4:

    1) MyCareer – Do you get to sign with other shoe brands? Like adidas? Reebok? Converse?
    2) Mycareer – Do you get to switch from using different socks length.

    Thanks!

  • hi Ronnie! Im a 2k fan from Turkey. Are we going to see the same Euroleuge teams-Current Gen in Next Gen version?
    If yes.Did you guys travelled and scanned their heads also?

  • Will you guys be using the touchpad or the light bar? It would be cool if the light bar was used to tell you if your release timing was right by changing colors.

  • Shame you guys don’t support PS Vita at all with sports games.

  • Also, really want to hear if there are any improvements to MyPlayer. I was never expecting NBA 2K14 to look this good on PS4… really glad I preordered :)

  • Also using the touchpad to quickly select plays or something along those lines would be neat.

  • Love the article and video! 2K looks amazing and I’ve put in my pre-order (Xbox One, as that is my console of choice, however due to MLB 14 and other reasons, I would love a PS4 also; I love both to be honest ;).) So that leads me to my question, this will be a feature on the Xbox One, right? Would be neat if it was on both consoles. Thank you!

  • NBA 2K14 is so pretty that if it was a girl I’d ask her to marry me. :P

  • When will you guys post a full game of 5 on 5 gameplay? And is their player and team introductions at the beginning of the games?

  • I must admit Ronnie, I’m disappointed… You know why, not enough Bulls love in the trailer??!! Other than that, the game is looking crazy good. Skipped the PS3 ver to buy the PS4 version. This along with Killzone Shadowfall will be my two most played games!

  • THE GAME LOOKS GREAT BUT STEPHEN CURRY’S JUMPSHOT IS NO WHERE NEAR THE REAL LIFE ONE DO U THINK U GUYS WILL EVER CHANGE PLAYERS JUMPSHOTS ON THIS GAME ND WHERE ARE CURRY’S WRISTSBANDS

  • this game looks great Ronnie. quick question though. will there be more footage of actual gameplay dropping? when can it be expected?

    • Soon. LD2K is back in the office tomorrow and we’re going to get in a couple practice games before recording some gameplay.

  • Day one purchase for me. Celtics, HOORAH!

  • I want to marry the silky smooth graphics.

  • Did y’all fix the problem where everyone easily turns the ball over?

  • As far as presentation goes, will there be intro’s or a newer halftime/end of game report.

  • My GM looks great, are we just in control of the GM or can we play with the team as well through multiple Seasons like original ASSOCIATION MODE ?? Season mode is just one season and my career is just controlling One player. So what about MY GM ?

    • I am working with Erick on a written MyGM dev insight where he’ll break down everything further. Hang in there.

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