Happy Halloween, everyone! We’re definitely in the spooky spirit this year, with a Friday Five recalling five times that Halloween hit the virtual hardwood, and a special edition of the NLSC Top 10 Plays coming a little later on. In that same spirit, I’m presenting a new Tales of the Virtual Hardwood, all about the monsters in NBA Live 08!
What’s that? You don’t remember any monsters in NBA Live 08? I assure you, this is no mod or cheat code! Hiding in plain sight in the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 version of NBA Live 08 are some ghoulish figures. I’d suggest that most of us who know about their presence probably discovered them completely by accident while messing around in instant replay. This tale isn’t as infamous as the haunted NBA Jam cabinets, but it’s undeniably creepy! Behold…
I hope you enjoyed this spooky tale about the monsters in NBA Live 08! It was definitely a lot of fun to put together. Dee and I are frequently uploading content to the NLSC YouTube channel – usually highlights, retrospectives, video essays, and episodes of the NLSC Podcast rather than spooky stories – so be sure to subscribe if you haven’t already. Once again, stay tuned for a special Halloween edition of the NLSC Top 10 Plays later today.
This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! From retrospectives of basketball games and their interesting features, to republished articles and looking at NBA history through the lens of the virtual hardwood, Wednesdays at the NLSC are for going back in time. This week, I’m taking a look back at the basketball games of the 2008 season, and explaining why I believe it was the weakest lineup to date.
As much as I miss having multiple annual releases in the basketball gaming space – especially when we had at least three or four companies throwing their hat into the ring – it clearly wasn’t sustainable. The quality of those games was inconsistent across the board, and it didn’t help that some of them were console and regional exclusives. To that point, it’s no wonder that many series didn’t last nearly as long as NBA 2K, or even NBA Live. Still, it was great having so many choices that brought their own ideas to the table, and there were usually at least one or two fantastic games each year.
Nominating the best or strongest year in basketball gaming is tough; in fact, that’s a topic that Dee and I might have to tackle on the podcast, with the community’s input. If we’re talking about the worst or weakest season for basketball games though, I do have an answer that – while obviously subjective – I am confident in. After going back and reviewing NBA Live 08, NBA 2K8, and Sony’s NBA 08, I believe that 2008 is the frontrunner for the weakest season for basketball video games. I certainly wouldn’t expect everyone to agree, but I have my reasons. Let’s take a look back…way back…
Even after all these years, there’s still interest in playing and updating the last few NBA Live games on PC. That much is evident whenever we see mod releases for those titles, such as today’s new 2024 season roster for NBA Live 08, created by Swishnet. Check it out at the link below!
Thanks to everyone who continues to contribute to our Downloads database! If you need help uploading files, be sure to check out this video tutorial. For more information about downloads, the modding community, and Mod Releases bulletins, please see this FAQ in our Wiki.
As you may have seen in previous bulletins, Murat has been doing some excellent work with the last few NBA Live releases on PC, enhancing the experience for retro gamers with various fixes. To that end, he’s released a new version of the NBA Live Widescreen Fix, which is compatible with NBA Live 2005, NBA Live 06, NBA Live 07, and NBA Live 08.
V1.04 of the NBA Live Widescreen Fix adds an updated transition screen for NBA Live 2005, as well as the option to enable and disable the intro/attract mode videos that normally play while idling in the main menu. No further editing or hacking is required, and it won’t interfere with any other mods that you’re using. Pick it up here in our Downloads section!
For more information and previews of projects that Murat is working on, check out this topic in the Forum. For retro gamers who love retro season mods, I’d also recommend giving the work-in-progress MyEra Project a look. A big thanks to Murat for his work, and to everyone who continues to contribute to our Downloads section! Obviously we want to support modding for NBA 2K24 and future NBA 2K releases, but we’ll always advocate for retro gaming, and mods that breathe new life into old favourites.
Even more good news for retro basketball gamers, as we’ve got some new fixes for NBA Live 2005, 06, 07, and 08 PC, courtesy of Murat and iceman! Murat has uploaded a mod that allows the Press Box camera to be used in Practice and One-on-One modes in NBA Live 06, while iceman has corrected the resolution of the intro videos when using Murat’s Widescreen Fix for NBA Live 2005-08. Download them at the links below!
You can download Murat’s Camera Enabler for NBA Live 06 here. Pick up iceman’s Widescreen Intro fix here. If you need the latest version of the Widescreen fix, you can find that here, along with the Windowed Mode fix here.
A big thanks once again to Murat and iceman for contributing these fixes for the last four NBA Live games on PC! We’re certainly advocates of retro basketball gaming around these parts, so mods for old favourites and enhancements to get them working better than ever on modern systems are most welcome. If you have the knowledge and enthusiasm to contribute to retro basketball gaming and modding in any way, please feel free to share your work with our community! The upload facilities in our Downloads database are free for all to use, and only require an NLSC Forum account (which again, is 100% free). For more information on using our upload facilities, please see this video tutorial.
We have some more excellent news for retro basketball gaming enthusiasts, as Murat continues to develop his fixes for NBA Live! To that end, he’s uploaded a new version of the Widescreen fix that displays the frontend in NBA Live 2005 and NBA Live 06 with the proper resolution.
As Murat has explained in the release notes over on GitHub, the fix doesn’t change any original files, and will only modify the appearance of the UI if the Widescreen fix is being used with NBA Live 2005 or NBA Live 06. He’s still working on further enhancements for this fix, so stay tuned for even more improvements to the widescreen experience in the last four NBA Live games that were released on PC.
Pick up v1.03 of the fix here! A big thanks once again to Murat for his work on these fixes. It appears that there’s some renewed interest in modding and enhancing the retro gaming experience for titles like NBA Live 2005 and NBA Live 06 – including roster updates – and it’s awesome to see. If you have any fixes or mods for those games to share, feel free to make use of our hosting facilities so that we can preserve them for years to come!
It’s a great time to dust off games like NBA Live 2005, NBA Live 06, NBA Live 07, and NBA Live 08, as Murat’s retro gaming enhancements continue with a 2X (i.e. double resolution) crowd update. Pick it up at the link below, and be on the look out for more great fixes from Murat!
Thanks to everyone who continues to contribute to our Downloads database! If you need help uploading files, be sure to check out this video tutorial. For more information about downloads, the modding community, and Mod Releases bulletins, please see this FAQ in our Wiki.
As you may have previously seen, Murat (aka Badger) has been working on some great fixes to enhance retro basketball gaming, specifically for the last four NBA Live games on PC. To that end, he’s updated his Widescreen and Windowed Mode fixes for NBA Live 2005-08 PC, allowing them to look much better on modern systems and 16:9 displays.
You’ll notice that the Widescreen fix now not only increases the resolution during gameplay, but also displays the in-game overlays with the correct proportions. Windowed mode is also a handy feature, and the plugin doesn’t require any external applications. Whether you’re looking to create video content featuring one of these old favourites, or you just want to dust one of them off for your own enjoyment, I’d highly recommend checking out Murat’s fixes!
Download the Widescreen fix for NBA Live 2005-08 here, and the Windowed mode fix here. Murat is keenly working on other fixes to make revisiting NBA Live on PC even better, so stay tuned. These kinds of fixes have definitely been overlooked in our community throughout the years, so as more people take an interest in going back to their favourites, we’d absolutely welcome further fixes that enhance retro gaming, and new modding projects for the classics.
Long-time community member Murat (aka Badger) has been working on some fixes for NBA Live PC that will aid with retro gaming. They include a Widescreen Fix and Windowed Mode for NBA Live 2005, NBA Live 06, NBA Live 07, and NBA Live 08. Pick up the Widescreen Fix here, and the Windowed Mode fix here.
In addition to the Widescreen Fix and Windowed Mode Fix for the last four NBA Live games on PC, Murat has been dabbling with some other useful modifications. These include creating custom plugins for games, something that could potentially open up fantastic new retro modding possibilities. They require the FIFA Manager ASI Loader, and accordingly, Murat has uploaded both a DirectDraw and DirectX9 version in anticipation of further releases.
Helping gamers to play these classics on modern operating systems remains a goal of ours, and Murat has helped out by uploading a few more fixed executable files to the Game Fixes section of our Downloads database. If you have any retro gaming tutorials or resources to share, then we’d certainly welcome them!
A big thanks to Murat for providing these resources, and his continued research into developing mods and fixes for some classic NBA Live releases. He’s been sharing some updates in the NLSC Discord, so if you’d like to check them out, feel free to join! Be sure to head to the modding-discussion channel for the latest details.
If today’s NBA Live 08 mod releases sound familiar, it’s because CarolusXCI previously released new net animations for NBA Live 2005! This version is compatible with NBA Live 08 and NBA Live 07 however, so check it out at the link below if you want to freshen up those games.
Thanks to everyone who continues to contribute to our Downloads database! If you need help uploading files, be sure to check out this video tutorial. For more information about downloads, the modding community, and Mod Releases bulletins, please see this FAQ in our Wiki.
Happy Thanksgiving to all of our virtual ballers in the United States! I realise that many of you are probably enjoying quality time with family and friends right now, but I wanted to offer up a couple of Thanksgiving treats in the form of NBA Jam: On Fire Edition and NBA Live 08 videos. Dee has also recently uploaded some great highlight reels for NBA 2K14 and NBA Live 16 that you should definitely catch if you haven’t already.
First up, there’s a seasonally-appropriate NBA Jam: On Fire Edition video, featuring a full game between The Gobblers and characters from SSX. I’m playing the game on Real AI difficulty, which means that the CPU is very aggressive, and throwing my own strategies back at me. These turkeys may have escaped ending up on the dinner table, but it was a tough challenge to avoid them being roasted on the virtual hardwood instead!
Next up is a redux of my re-creation of Dazzling Dunks & Basketball Bloopers’ recap of the 1988 Dunk Contest in NBA Live 08 PC. You may recall that I posted that re-creation back in February for Michael Jordan’s 60th Birthday, and I decided to create a picture-in-picture version that compared my efforts to the original segment. As for Dee’s videos, he put together a reel from our exciting co-op session on NBA 2K14 using 2012 rosters, as well as a game of NBA Live 16 that he played against the CPU. We discussed both of those games in Episode #504 of the NLSC Podcast.
Check out all of those videos below! Once again, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who is celebrating it today. Be sure to subscribe to the NLSC YouTube channel for more basketball gaming content, and as always, feel free to hit us up with any suggestions of games that you’d like to see us play.
From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #486 of the NLSC Podcast!
As we await the next round of news and previews, how hyped are we for NBA 2K24? Along with the community, we rate our excitement on a scale of one to ten. Of course, some of us break the scale in both directions! We also recap what we’ve been playing this past week, including a surprising session of NBA Live 18, testing out a work-in-progress mod for NBA Live 08, throwing it back with NBA Basketball for Intellivision, and tackling a tough challenge in NBA Jam: On Fire Edition. There’s also some more virtual hardwood elitism on Twitter to push back on, and the reveal of some interesting clutch ratings in this week’s mailbag trivia.
Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:21:44 — 56.5MB)
To get involved with the mailbag or to provide any feedback on the show, hit us up in the comments, reach out on social media, or post here in the NLSC Forum! For more information on the NLSC Podcast including episode guides, check out this page in our Wiki. You can also find the show on our YouTube channel, along with the rest of our video content. As always, thanks for tuning in, and go get buckets!
This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! From retrospectives of basketball games and their interesting features, to republished articles and looking at NBA history through the lens of the virtual hardwood, Wednesdays at the NLSC are for going back in time. This week, I’m taking a look back at Own the Paint in NBA Live 08.
Post play is an aspect of offense that not all basketball video games have been able to satisfactorily represent. Early hoops titles in particular were limited in this area, owing to a lack of animations and physicality. It wasn’t until games could feature a variety of moves, and the ability to properly back down and otherwise interact with defenders in the post, that we could really enjoy feeding big men down low. Even then, movement and controls could be clunky, which made posting up far less enjoyable (and viable) than simply driving the lane or taking jumpshots.
NBA Live 08 sought to improve upon post play with Own the Paint. While the name may sound gimmicky now – and certainly drew a few sceptical eye-rolls back in 2007 as well – it was a genuine and admirable effort to expand upon player control in post-up scenarios. I first experienced Own the Paint at the NBA Live 08 Community Event, and was immediately impressed by the new moves that we could pull off. Even after playing NBA 2K games with better post play mechanics, I still appreciate Own the Paint. Let’s take a look back…way back…
As I noted in my previous release for March Modness 2023, despite mostly focusing on roster projects over the years, I have tried to branch out at times. Although there are aspects of art modding that I’m still yet to grasp, I’ve been able to convert mods for use with other games, and repurpose existing textures and assets. That’s what I’ve done with today’s release: a Bulls-Wizards jersey for NBA Live 2005-08!
More specifically, this jersey is a half-Bulls, half-Wizards uniform, loosely based on the banner that the Miami Heat raised when they retired #23 in honour of Michael Jordan. The mod uses the original jersey textures for the Bulls and Wizards, combining them to create a fictional alternate jersey. I’ve provided both a home and away version of the jersey, as well as a custom teamgear.dbf file for easy installation. If you’d like to add it to an existing roster without overwriting its teamgear.dbf file, I’ve also included the appropriate values in the readme.
Please make sure that you download the correct version for the game that you’re playing! Once again, links to the release and support topics for my mods can be found in my NLSC Forum signature. More fun releases are on the way, so stay tuned!
Next up in my March Modness 2023 releases is a 2022 NBA Playoffs & Finals logo update for NBA Live 2005-08! Coming into this year’s March Modness, I had a goal of trying to release a mod every day. So far, so good! I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to keep it up – especially as I turn my attention to larger projects – but I’ll certainly try.
So, what’s the background here? Up until 2009, I was mostly just a roster maker. Faces, jerseys, courts, and so on weren’t my forte, and many of my attempts to dabble with them came up short (to put it nicely). However, when I found myself in need of a new Philadelphia 76ers logo update for the 2010 season, I decided to try my hand at making one. Flat textures proved to be much easier to work with, and it turned out quite well. From then on, I kept the logos up to date for my current season roster mods.
Thanks to an identical file format for the NBA Playoffs and Finals logos in NBA Live 2005-08, it didn’t take long to put together this 2022 update. I’ll probably create 2018 and 2019-2021 updates as well, to go along with my old update that covers the 2010-2017 seasons. As I work on some other retro updates, I expect I’ll look at making Playoffs and Finals logos mods for older seasons, too.
Download the logo update here! Once again, links to my NBA Live 2005-08 mod release and support topics can be found in my NLSC Forum signature. Stay tuned throughout the month for more March Modness releases!
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