NBA 2K6 Association Mode Spotlight
This preview examines all the tweaks and changes you can expect to see in the franchise mode of NBA 2K6.
The core gameplay isn't the only thing that's getting a major overhaul in 2K Sports' upcoming basketball sim. NBA 2K6 is also boasting a large number of changes in association mode, which is its version of franchise mode. Last year's association included a ton of interesting but ultimately flawed features, such as weekly practices that increased stats but reduced team chemistry, and player meetings that didn't make a whole lot of sense. This year's association has done away with a lot of that stuff, overhauling the interface to make information more accessible, while adding new features that promise a more sensible and enjoyable experience.
The first thing you'll notice is the completely revamped interface, which revolves around the monthly calendar schedule. Your default view is the current month, which shows all the games you've got, or, if it's the offseason, you'll view special events like free agency period and the draft. You can easily navigate back to past months to get quick and easy access to previous box scores. Instead of separating info into the less intuitive coach's desk and general manager's desk as in past years, you can access everything you need via a menu that slides in out of the side. League standings, your roster, recent transactions, coaching options, and more are accessible from these menus.
One of the biggest changes to this year's association mode is the addition of year-round scouting, an idea borrowed from College Hoops. You can have up to three scouts on staff, each of whom may have varying levels of skill. You can then send these scouts to check out the top prospects for the NBA draft at the end of the season. As you scout out players, the ratings you have on file for each of them becomes more and more accurate. The amount of time it takes to evaluate each prospect also varies depending on geography. Players from the United States will take about a week to scout, while international players can take 10-14 days to scout, depending on their locations.
So what happens once you reach the offseason? Again, much like College Hoops 2K5, you can bring in your top prospects for predraft workouts and actually play with them to get a firsthand feel for their skill levels. You can schedule a variety of different types of workouts, each of which takes a certain amount of time on your predraft schedule. You can do a simple shootaround, a one-on-one between two different prospects, or even a full five-on-five game with 10 different prospects. The new level of detail afforded you with year-round scouting, as well as the hands-on, predraft workouts, promises to give you more than enough information to make intelligent decisions come draft day.
Team practices are handled differently now as well. First of all, they are no longer linked to team chemistry, so you don't have to worry about your team grumbling every time you set up a simple shootaround. They're also done on a day-by-day basis now instead of weekly. This gives you more flexibility to plan for big games. So you can take a peek at your calendar, and if you see you have a big game against the Spurs coming up with two off days beforehand, you can set up a couple of practices to try to boost team stats before heading into the showdown. The primary option is, of course, the type of drill you want to run, depending on which areas you want your team to improve on. You can also set the intensity of the workout, which determines how long it takes before your stats improvements wear off. A light workout can benefit your team for a couple days, while an intense workout can pay dividends for a week or more. Of course, the more intense the workout, the more fatigued your team can get, so you need to be careful that your squad has enough in the tank when it comes time for the 4th quarter. You can also set a specific player that the drill will focus on. And that player will slightly benefit more from the practice than the rest of the team.
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