NBA Live Create-a-Player Limits

Create-a-Player Limit in NBA Live 2004 PC

The Create-a-Player limit (also referred to as a CAP limit for short, and as the number of available created player slots) in NBA Live refers to the number of custom players that can be created using the Create-a-Player function. The number of created player slots in each iteration of NBA Live varies from game to game, and across different platforms.

Background Information

The limits on the number of created players are the result of memory and storage limitations. PC versions of NBA Live have generally had a higher number of created player slots (in some cases seemingly unlimited, following the switch to DBF files), while older console releases offered fewer slots. DBF editing also allows users to bypass the CAP limits in certain PC releases by changing player data so that the game recognises them as original players. There is no equivalent workaround for any of the console versions.

Certain NBA Live releases on Nintendo 64 and the original PlayStation featured the ability to edit original players, at the cost of a created player slot. This method and limitation has not been utilised by any PC releases, nor any console releases beginning with the PlayStation 2, due to different file formats, larger storage space, and more powerful hardware.

List of Create-a-Player Limits

The following list indicates the number of created player slots that are available in each version of NBA Live with a Create-a-Player function. Differences between platforms are noted, along with any additional notes if relevant. Listed platforms include PC, Super Nintendo (SNES), PlayStation (PS1), PlayStation 2 (PS2), PlayStation 3 (PS3), GameCube (GC), Xbox, and Xbox 360 (360).

Game	Number of Created Player Slots (Platform)	Additional Notes
NBA Live 96	31 (PC), 24 (SNES)	The PC version's CAP slots are limited by the available roster slots on the 29 NBA teams, and 14 slots in the Free Agent Pool. The SNES version features pre-made Roster Players which can be edited. Certain hidden players have ready-made data. Although the PS1 version of NBA Live 96 does feature Roster Players, they cannot be edited, and no new players can be created.
NBA Live 97	100 (PC), 24 (SNES), 40 (PS1)
NBA Live 98	No Limit (PC; see below), 24 (SNES), 40 (PS1)
NBA Live 99	No Limit (PC; see below), 40 (PS1), 20 (N64)	Editing original players in the PS1 and N64 versions will use a created player slot.
NBA Live 2000	No Limit (PC; see below), 40 (PS1), 10 (N64)	The PC version also places restrictions on player ratings; created a maxed-out player is impossible without external editing. Editing original players in the PS1 and N64 versions will use a created player slot.
NBA Live 2001	No Limit (PC; see below), 50 (PS2), 40 (PS1)	Editing original players in the PS1 version will use a created player slot.
NBA Live 2002	50 (PS2/Xbox), 40 (PS1)	Editing original players in the PS1 version will use a created player slot.
NBA Live 2003	200 (PC), 50 (PS2/Xbox/GC), 40 (PS1)	Limit can be bypassed on PC through DBF editing (see below). Editing original players in the PS1 version will use a created player slot.
NBA Live 2004	200 (PC), 25 (PS2/Xbox/GC)	Limit can be bypassed on PC through DBF editing (see below). The PS2 erroneously lists a CAP limit of 50; in-game testing confirms 25.
NBA Live 2005	No Limit (PC; see below), 44 (PS2/Xbox/GC)
NBA Live 06	No Limit (PC; see below), 73 (PS2/Xbox/GC), 50 (360/PS3)
NBA Live 07	No Limit (PC; see below), 16 (PS2/Xbox), 50 (360/PS3)
NBA Live 08	No Limit (PC; see below), 16 (PS2), 50 (360/PS3)
NBA Live 09	16 (PS2), 50 (360/PS3)
NBA Live 10	50 (360/PS3)
NBA Live 18	135 (PS4/X1)	Roster editing and Create-a-Player functionality were added in Patch 1.08.

No Limits in PC Versions

While certain PC releases that utilise DBF files appear to have no limit on the amount of players that can be created, it's possible that there is a maximum number of players that the database will support without crashes or other errors. At this time, such a limit hasn't been reached by any projects that have been created.

This does not apply to NBA Live 2003 and NBA Live 2004, which do have limits that can be hit while creating players in-game.

Bypassing Create-a-Player Limits on PC

As noted above, the PC versions of NBA Live 2003 and NBA Live 2004 feature a Create-a-Player limit of 200 players. This can be bypassed by editing the players.dbf file of a saved roster, and changing the ISCREATED attribute for a created player to FALSE. The game will then recognise them as an original player and they won't appear in the Created Players list, thus they won't count towards the limit. DBF files can be easily edited with DB Commander.

External editing is also a viable workaround for the ratings limits in NBA Live 2000, and other limitations of the in-game Create-a-Player function.

See Also

• NBA 2K Create-a-Player Limits