NBA 2K19 offers more legends than any other sports video game, but there are always limitations because of licensing, and a lack of time and resources from 2K’s development team. That’s where talented modders like Rytis Gineika aka R4zor have stepped in to show their artistic talents.
The Ultimate Legends roster on PlayStation 4 has been created and shared with like-minded gamers as a hobby for the past three years. This year it was done on PC to allow for mods that make the project a bit more expansive. Unfortunately, mods aren’t available on console, so the roster can only be downloaded on PC.
R4zor handled the player creation portion, and it took the labor of love to another level. R4zor created legendary players like Charles Barkley, Reggie Miller, Rasheed Wallace and others who aren’t in the game and upgraded some of the outdated renders.
You can see some samples of his work below as well as the instructions on downloading the roster in the video that follows:
#Blazers Rasheed Wallace. @UniqueMazique pic.twitter.com/jhb8ki9jBI
— R4zoR (@R4zorbacks) February 20, 2019
#Magic Dennis Scott. @UniqueMazique pic.twitter.com/ONILbN3n8H
— R4zoR (@R4zorbacks) February 15, 2019
#Thunder Detlef Schremphf. @UniqueMazique pic.twitter.com/slscKJQWqz
— R4zoR (@R4zorbacks) February 11, 2019
#Pacers Reggie Miller. Had made it before, but updated it with better textures and some headshape adjustments. Can’t make the eye color lighter, due to me over-editing the area. The eyes weren’t in the same position for a different players base model, that i used. pic.twitter.com/KpQZM1soWi
— R4zoR (@R4zorbacks) December 28, 2018
Finished making two more Denver #Nuggets Legends for the Ultimate Legends project #NBA2K19
Marcus Camby, Byron Beck. pic.twitter.com/9NufCCE1sJ— R4zoR (@R4zorbacks) November 24, 2018
It’s incredible to see how good of a job he did with tools that aren’t even the same as the ones 2K uses to create players. The new renders and additions are the real draw of the roster, but the ratings, tendencies, and badges were also reworked. As I’ve stated in previous articles, one of the most problematic aspects of NBA 2K19′s gameplay is its misallocation of badges and the imbalance in speed.
Smaller, quicker players don’t have the advantage that they should when guarded by bigger, slower defenders.
One of the objectives of UL4 was to tweak the ratings to help to facilitate that advantage. It’s not perfect, but after testing the gameplay for hours, I can say that it feels far more realistic as it pertains to speed. The new rating approach nerfed the three-point shooting too. Far fewer players have the Limitless Range badge.
That alone changes the way the gameplay feels, and as a gamer who enjoys simulation sports titles, this is the most satisfying experience I’ve had with this year’s version of the game.
The roster focuses on the all-time teams that 2K includes in the game each year. Only in UL4, the squads are redone with a formula called the Franchise Player Value Rating. It’s something I created to gauge the 15 most valuable players for every franchise in the NBA. The metric takes into account individual statistics, awards, team success, and tenure. As you’ll see in the roster, the rankings were logical with only a few surprises sprinkled across a few of the teams.
The actual player ratings were also reworked for every player. I placed a greater focus on each player’s real-life statistics, and less on their reputations where there was a metric to remove the guesswork and bias. The result was lower overall ratings for most players, as the Miami Heat-era LeBron James and Chicago Bulls’ Michael Jordan were the only stars to be awarded a 99-overall mark.
When you factor in the inclusion of realistic versions of players like Barkley–on both the Phoenix Suns and Philadelphia 76ers all-time teams– with refined gameplay, this roster can be a bridge between 2K19 and the upcoming NBA 2K20 for simheads and nostalgic virtual basketball fans.
