Difference between revisions of "NLSC"

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[[Image:Nlsc_logo.png|right|thumb|NLSC Logo]]The '''NLSC''' (founded as the '''NBA Live Series Center''') is a website located at [http://www.nba-live.com www.nba-live.com], dedicated to covering basketball video games. It was established by Tim Tschirner, Lutz van Hasselt and Brien Smith as a fansite for [[NBA Live]], which shared their unofficial [[patches]] and tools for the NBA Live series with other gamers. It is the largest and longest running NBA Live website on the Internet. It is currently maintained by Andrew and several contributing [[#Current Team Members |team members]].
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[[Image:Nlsc_logo_badge.png|right|thumb|NLSC Logo]]The '''NLSC''' (founded as the '''NBA Live Series Center''') is a website located at [http://www.nba-live.com www.nba-live.com], dedicated to covering basketball video games. It was established by Tim Tschirner, Lutz van Hasselt and Brien Smith as a fansite for [[NBA Live]], which shared their unofficial [[patches]] and tools for the NBA Live series with other gamers. It is the largest and longest running NBA Live website on the Internet. It is currently maintained by Andrew and several contributing [[#Current Team Members |team members]].
  
 
== History ==
 
== History ==
[[Image:Nlsc_screenshot_may_2014.png|right|thumb|The NLSC]]The site was founded as the NBA Live Series Center in August 1996, as a means of sharing their unofficial patches and editors for the NBA Live series. It was originally hosted on TASsoft.com, owned and operated by Tim as a hub for his various projects. The site quickly gained popularity with NBA Live fans who sought to update their games and work around the limitations of the in-game Create-a-Player mode. Roster patches were also hits with NBA Live fans who could instantly update their game to reflect the current NBA. It wouldn't be long before the site moved to its own domain name, www.nba-live.com, hosted by the GA Sports network. The site caught the attention of the game's producers, who would subsequently take part in several interviews and at times provide news and information on upcoming releases. Tim would eventually join EA Sports as a member of the production team.  
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[[Image:Nlsc_screenshot_2020.png|right|thumb|The NLSC]]The site was founded as the NBA Live Series Center in August 1996, as a means of sharing their unofficial patches and editors for the NBA Live series. It was originally hosted on TASsoft.com, owned and operated by Tim as a hub for his various projects. The site quickly gained popularity with NBA Live fans who sought to update their games and work around the limitations of the in-game Create-a-Player mode. Roster patches were also hits with NBA Live fans who could instantly update their game to reflect the current NBA. It wouldn't be long before the site moved to its own domain name, www.nba-live.com, hosted by the GA Sports network. The site caught the attention of the game's producers, who would subsequently take part in several interviews and at times provide news and information on upcoming releases. Tim would eventually join EA Sports as a member of the production team.  
  
 
In 2001, the GA Sports network began phasing out their hosting of video game websites forcing the NLSC to find a new home. From 2001-2004, the site was a member of the IGN/GameSpy network. During this time Andrew became the site's new webmaster and administrator, taking over from Lutz who had run the site on an interim basis after Tim's departure. Over the next few years the site would undergo several design changes and many new members joined the NLSC team. Due to technical difficulties and limitations, the site moved from the IGN/GameSpy network in late 2004 and was hosted by the Sports Gaming Network until October 2008, when it became a member of the A Game Network. The site moved again in June 2016 following the closure of the A Game Network, to dedicated hosting funded by advertising and visitor donations.
 
In 2001, the GA Sports network began phasing out their hosting of video game websites forcing the NLSC to find a new home. From 2001-2004, the site was a member of the IGN/GameSpy network. During this time Andrew became the site's new webmaster and administrator, taking over from Lutz who had run the site on an interim basis after Tim's departure. Over the next few years the site would undergo several design changes and many new members joined the NLSC team. Due to technical difficulties and limitations, the site moved from the IGN/GameSpy network in late 2004 and was hosted by the Sports Gaming Network until October 2008, when it became a member of the A Game Network. The site moved again in June 2016 following the closure of the A Game Network, to dedicated hosting funded by advertising and visitor donations.

Latest revision as of 00:23, 21 January 2020

NLSC Logo
The NLSC (founded as the NBA Live Series Center) is a website located at www.nba-live.com, dedicated to covering basketball video games. It was established by Tim Tschirner, Lutz van Hasselt and Brien Smith as a fansite for NBA Live, which shared their unofficial patches and tools for the NBA Live series with other gamers. It is the largest and longest running NBA Live website on the Internet. It is currently maintained by Andrew and several contributing team members.

History

The NLSC
The site was founded as the NBA Live Series Center in August 1996, as a means of sharing their unofficial patches and editors for the NBA Live series. It was originally hosted on TASsoft.com, owned and operated by Tim as a hub for his various projects. The site quickly gained popularity with NBA Live fans who sought to update their games and work around the limitations of the in-game Create-a-Player mode. Roster patches were also hits with NBA Live fans who could instantly update their game to reflect the current NBA. It wouldn't be long before the site moved to its own domain name, www.nba-live.com, hosted by the GA Sports network. The site caught the attention of the game's producers, who would subsequently take part in several interviews and at times provide news and information on upcoming releases. Tim would eventually join EA Sports as a member of the production team.

In 2001, the GA Sports network began phasing out their hosting of video game websites forcing the NLSC to find a new home. From 2001-2004, the site was a member of the IGN/GameSpy network. During this time Andrew became the site's new webmaster and administrator, taking over from Lutz who had run the site on an interim basis after Tim's departure. Over the next few years the site would undergo several design changes and many new members joined the NLSC team. Due to technical difficulties and limitations, the site moved from the IGN/GameSpy network in late 2004 and was hosted by the Sports Gaming Network until October 2008, when it became a member of the A Game Network. The site moved again in June 2016 following the closure of the A Game Network, to dedicated hosting funded by advertising and visitor donations.

A new design was launched in August 2011 upon the site's adoption of WordPress, with further revisions being made to the design in November 2011 and March 2012. The design was overhauled once again in March 2014, with mobile compatibility introduced across the main site, Forum, and Wiki in early April.

Over the years, the NLSC has established a relationship with the development team at EA Sports and has been invited to attend various Community Events (see Community Day below). Although it remains an unofficial fansite and as such not involved in the actual production of the game, the tradition of submitting an annual Wishlist to the production team detailing the suggestions of site staff and members of the online NBA Live community. The first Wishlist was submitted prior to NBA Live 98 and along with the current roster updates has become a fixture on the NLSC.

Two former members of the NLSC Team have taken jobs developing the basketball video games that the site covers. Founder Tim Tschirner joined the NBA Live development team in 2001, while Leftos took a job with Visual Concepts as a developer on the NBA 2K series in 2013. JaoSming also joined Visual Concepts in 2014 as a producer on 2K TV.

NLSC Re-Launch

On August 26th 2011, the site was re-launched with a new design and content management system. It also officially changed its name to simply NLSC, to reflect EA Sports' re-branding of their NBA sim series and the expansion to cover the NBA 2K and NBA Jam series. The site still continues to provide content for NBA Live however and retains its NBA Live content from before the re-launch. An updated version of the design was implemented in November 2011, with a further update made in March 2012. The design was again overhauled in March 2014, with compatibility for mobile devices implemented in early April. Another new design was implemented in early 2016.

Downloads

One of the site's most popular features throughout the year has been the Downloads section, which has provided visitors with unofficial patches and tools made by members of the NLSC team and contributing members of the community. Due to the limited amount of unofficial updates that can be developed for console releases, the community has mainly provided downloads for the PC version and as such has gained a reputation for mostly catering to PC players, however the site also covers the console versions and has occasionally featured downloads for them.

On August 11th 2011, the NLSC officially launched a new Downloads section with complete integration with the NLSC Forum. The new section allows any user with a Forum account to upload and submit files for immediate inclusion in the database. The Downloads section currently caters to users of both the NBA Live and NBA 2K series, with a catch-all section for other basketball titles.

Forum

The NLSC also has a discussion Forum which is currently located at forums.nba-live.com, and runs on the phpBB3 platform. The current Forum has been open since November 2002, and features sections for every game in the NBA Live series (with the exception of NBA Elite 11 and NBA Live 13, which share the NBA Live 14 section), every game in the NBA 2K series from NBA 2K9 onwards (discussion of older games in the series is also welcome in the NBA 2K9 section), and a couple of off-topic sections to discuss the real NBA and other general topics. There are also sections for basketball gaming stories, general basketball video game discussion (where games other than NBA Live and NBA 2K can be discussed), and a noticeboard section for the NLSC and community.

The original Forum, also known as the "old black boards" due to the colour scheme at the time, ran on the Discus platform. It saw some lively conversation, and memorable topics including the infamous "I cannot believe my starting 5" thread. The original Forum closed in November 2002, upon the launch of the new phpBB-based Forum.

Original Content

In addition to the site's focus on modding both the NBA Live and NBA 2K series, as well as providing a forum for discussion of the games, the NLSC also produces original content in the form of written articles, a weekly podcast, and video features.

The Friday Five

The Friday Five is a feature written by Andrew, published every Friday. The column covers facts and trivia, ranked lists, and other opinions and topics related to basketball gaming, the community or the real NBA. It is presented as either a list of five items, or in the form of a Top 5 countdown, depending on the topic. It debuted on January 4th, 2013.

NLSC Podcast

After a pilot episode was released on November 8th, 2010, the idea of a regular podcast was shelved for a couple of years before being revived by Leftos in 2012. The first episode of the current NLSC Podcast was released on August 22nd, 2012, featuring Leftos and JaoSming. Its current regular hosts are Andrew and Arcane, with new episodes coming out every Sunday. Other staff and members of the community have joined the show as regular and guest hosts.

The show varies in length but has generally run longer than an hour, with many of the shows topping the two hour mark. The longest show was Episode #29, running for more than three hours and featuring seven panelists, including special guest Da_Czar. Former NBA Live and current NBA 2K developer Scott O'Gallagher has also been a guest on the NLSC Podcast, answering questions and providing an insight into the development of the game. Former NBA Live Executive Producer Sean O'Brien has also joined the show in Episodes #90, #99, and #129. Tim Kitzrow, the voice of NBA Jam, was interviewed in Episode #280. Josh and Dave from Namo Gamo, developers of indie game Basketball Classics, have also been recurring guests in Episodes #262 and #306.

Monday Tip-Off

Monday Tip-Off is a weekly column written by Andrew, published every Monday. The feature is dedicated to opinions and commentary on basketball video games. It debuted on September 21st, 2015.

Wayback Wednesday

Wayback Wednesday is another feature by Andrew, published every Wednesday. It focuses on retro content, including retrospectives of old basketball video games in both written and video format, old NLSC editorials re-published with added commentary, and other flashback content.

20th Anniversary of NBA Live

On August 28th 2015, the 20th Anniversary of NBA Live content tipped off, celebrating the history of the NBA Live series. It includes retrospective reviews and reflections, feature articles, and patch releases for the PC versions of NBA Live. Content was extended beyond the initial anniversary year.

25th Anniversary of NBA Live

In September 2019, the 25th Anniversary of NBA Live celebrations began with updated retrospectives and brand new content celebrating another milestone in the series. As with the 20th Anniversary content, it has continued beyond the anniversary year into 2020. Episodes #301 and #302 of the NLSC Podcast were dedicated to an in-depth retrospective and discussion of the history of NBA Live, to mark the 25th Anniversary.

Dumb Mondays

This feature originally debuted on February 3rd, 2014 as Dumb Fact Mondays, a column in which JaoSming discussed a random piece of trivia about basketball video games. On May 5th 2014, the column was re-branded as Dumb Mondays, expanding its focus from simply talking about trivia to also offering random opinions and discussion topics. With JaoSming taking a job with Visual Concepts, the feature is semi-retired, having been replaced by Andrew's Monday Tip-Off.

The Tuesday Triple

The Tuesday Triple, originally by JaoSming, is a similar concept to Andrew's Friday Five. In the column, JaoSming broke a random topic down into three points, creatively labelling each point and occasionally adding a fourth point as an "and one". As with the Friday Five, the Tuesday Triple's topics are related to basketball video games and their communities as a whole. It debuted on February 4th, 2014. The feature was semi-retired after JaoSming accepted a job with Visual Concepts.

Beat Jao

Beat Jao was a feature in which JaoSming challenged the community to achieve certain feats and milestones in basketball video games. It made its debut on July 15th, 2014. With JaoSming taking a position at Visual Concepts, the feature has been discontinued.

NLSC Top 10 Plays of the Week

The NLSC Top 10 Plays of the Week was the site's first regular video series. Members of the community record and submit their favourite highlights from NBA Live and NBA 2K, for a chance to have them selected and ranked in a Top 10 countdown. The Top 10 debuted on January 29th, 2014, and at the time was produced by Arcane. Beginning April 20th, Lean took over the reigns. It is currently on indefinite hiatus.

Other Feature Articles & The Soapbox

In addition to the regular weekly content, other feature articles will at times be posted on the NLSC, including once-off opinion pieces and roundtable discussions.

The NLSC also offers a feature to the community called The Soapbox, in which guest contributors provide an article for the main page.

Community Events

The NLSC has had a presence at various NBA Live Community Events. Longtime member of the community and occasional contributor Shane represented the site at the first Community Event in 2004 while current webmaster Andrew has attended events in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2015. Pdub represented the NLSC at the NBA Elite 11 event held in May 2010. Arcane also attended an NBA Live 18 event in 2017.

NBA 2K and other non-NBA Live content

Although originally founded as a fansite for the NBA Live series, beginning in 2009 the NLSC has also sought to cater to fans of 2K Sports' NBA 2K Series as well as provide coverage of NBA Jam and other basketball games past and present. Additional sections for NBA 2K have been added to the NLSC Forum, the Downloads database was expanded to include files for the PC releases of NBA 2K and news posts for NBA 2K and NBA Jam have appeared on the main page beginning in 2010. The August 2011 re-launch and re-naming of the site to NLSC was a continuation of these efforts to make a fansite for basketball video gaming as a whole, rather than simply just being a fansite for NBA Live.

Social Networking

The NLSC has an official Facebook Page and Twitter, both currently maintained by Andrew. The site also maintains a YouTube channel and Instagram.

Webmasters

  • Tim: 1996-2001
  • Lutz: 2001 (Interim)
  • Andrew: 2001-Present

Current Team Members

Administration

  • Andrew - Webmaster/Forum Administrator
  • Pdub - Assistant Administrator

Team Members

Links