Tag Archives: Modding

From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #538 of the NLSC Podcast!

As we wait for the NBA 2K25 preview season to kick into high gear, we have another PC basketball game to keep an eye on: Full Court Heroes, a retro-style 5-on-5 game in the vein of Basketball Classics. Since the demo is already available on Steam, we share a few thoughts on its gameplay, fictional teams, and planned modding capabilities, as well as what we want to see from the full version. We also recap a session in which we played NBA Live 2000 PC and NBA 2K for the Dreamcast back-to-back, leading us to compare the two games and reflect on the intertwined history of NBA Live and NBA 2K. Finally, in this week’s mailbag, we ask the community about double-dipping with NBA 2K25 on PC and console.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 55:05 — 38.2MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

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!

From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #537 of the NLSC Podcast!

The first details about NBA 2K25 have been revealed, and they’ve brought some extremely exciting news: the New Gen version is coming to PC! This week, we join the community in discussing this much-anticipated announcement, including what it will mean for a modding community that’s been aching for a PlayStation 5/Xbox Series X port. It’s not the only noteworthy news of course, as we already have the system requirements, confirmation of no crossplay on PC, and word of a new era coming in MyNBA which naturally has us speculating as to what it will be. We also react to the cover players and art, and touch on some other tidbits that we’ve noticed such as combined pre-orders on console, and purported Steam Deck optimisation.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:16:24 — 52.8MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

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!

We’re at midcourt, and the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Join me as I begin the week here at the NLSC with my opinions and commentary on basketball gaming topics, as well as tales of the fun I’ve been having on the virtual hardwood. This week, I’m tipping things off with a look at how Terry Hanson is beginning to spawn a multiverse.

When you think about it, basketball video games create a multitude of realities; a multiverse, if you will. For example, from my gaming alone, the Chicago Bulls have won their seventh championship – and sometimes an eighth title as well – on several occasions and in different seasons. In my NBA 2K14 MyCAREER, I’m working on an alternate timeline spanning from the 2014 season through to today. With millions of people playing basketball video games, all manner of scenarios are happening on the virtual hardwood, repeating as new games come out and wipe the slate clean.

Technically speaking, Terry Hanson doesn’t have any “official” appearances in video games. After all, as a generated and thus fictional player, he’s not official to begin with! With that being said, he is functionally a part of the reality that has been created by my aforementioned NBA 2K14 MyCAREER, so that’s “officially” where he’s from. However, that’s not the only place that he shows up these days. My enthusiasm for this generated player – truly a Virtual Hardwood Legend – has ensured that from here on out, I’ll be doing my part in creating a Terry Hanson Multiverse. And so, I’d like to share with you how Top Floor Terry has leapt beyond his original game!

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From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #536 of the NLSC Podcast!

The NBA 2K League has been put on hiatus until 2025, an announcement that came as a surprise to both league players and everyone else involved. This week, we join the community in discussing how and why the NBA 2K League failed to meet some incredibly lofty expectations, despite the backing of the NBA. We also recap a game of NBA Live 10 in which we took on Argentina with Team USA, as well as an NBA 2K10 session in which we ran back a showdown between the Chicago Bulls and Utah Jazz using the fantastic 1997 season mod. There’s also some fun trivia to share, along with a PSA to grab the digital version of NCAA Basketball 09: March Madness Edition from the Xbox Live Marketplace while you still can.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 50:42 — 35.2MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

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!

Although Dee and I enjoy connecting to play a variety of basketball video games over Parsec, we’ve established some reliable favourites that we’ll always go back to. Two of those titles are NBA 2K10 and NBA Live 10, and to that end, Dee has uploaded highlights from our recent sessions with both games!

In our NBA 2K10 session, we played another game with the incredible 1997 season mod. Once again we were took control of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, and the Chicago Bulls to face Karl Malone, John Stockton, Jeff Hornacek, and the Utah Jazz. It was an exciting game that went back and forth and right down to the wire, with back-to-back clutch plays leading to an epic victory. NBA 2K10 is a more a recent favourite of ours, but I know that we’ll connect on it again, especially with that awesome 1997 roster at our disposal.

Meanwhile, thanks to Parsec and RPCS3, NBA Live 10 has long been one of our favourite games to play together. With the 2024 Olympics looming, we were inspired to play with the FIBA teams, specifically taking on Argentina with Team USA. It was yet another reminder that NBA Live 10 was doing some great things, and could’ve set up a bright future for the series. Wistful What Ifs aside, it was a blast to play NBA Live 10 as always, and it produced some entertaining highlights.

We’ll be discussing those games on the next episode of the NLSC Podcast, coming out this Tuesday. In the meantime, check out both highlight reels below! As always, feel free to hit us up with any suggestions of games that you’d like to see us play, and be sure to subscribe to the NLSC YouTube channel for more basketball gaming content!

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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 my old roster updates for NBA Live 2003.

I haven’t maintained a current season roster update for any version of NBA Live – or any basketball video game period, for that matter – since the 2013 season, when I was still regularly working on NBA Live 2005 through 08. That’s a little over eleven years at this point, which is scary because it doesn’t feel like it was over a decade ago! To that point though, it’s been over twenty years since I released current roster updates for NBA Live 2003 PC. Sure, the maths and the date on the calendar checks out, but it just doesn’t feel real sometimes!

In any case, since it’s been some twenty years since I wrapped up those 2003-2004 roster updates for NBA Live 2003, and the once far-off 2023-2024 season has come to a close, it seems like a good time to reflect on that project from the heyday of NBA Live modding (or patching, as we called it at the time). Roster mods have come a long way since then, and indeed, it wasn’t long after NBA Live 2003 that I committed to making more detailed current season updates with the help of various contributors. Let’s take a look back…way back…

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From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #534 of the NLSC Podcast!

We had a blast this past week playing a co-op game of NBA 2K10 PC over Parsec, using a 1997 season roster. We reflect on how the game is an overlooked gem, and the brilliance of retro season mods in general. Indeed, it seems there’s more and more interest in revisiting classic games and memorable seasons with retro roster mods recently, and we’re all for it! To that end, this week we join the community in discussing what’s been drawing us to old favourites and classic seasons in the NBA. We also talk about the importance of appreciating history and note how video games play a role in that, as well as touch on the need to debunk ridiculous narratives such as the recent hit piece on Michael Jordan.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:10:38 — 48.9MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

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!

We’re at midcourt, and the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Join me as I begin the week here at the NLSC with my opinions and commentary on basketball gaming topics, as well as tales of the fun I’ve been having on the virtual hardwood. This week, I’m tipping things off with some thoughts on reviving the retro modding scene, and how we could best accomplish that.

Given that my dissatisfaction with the most recent releases in the NBA 2K series has pushed me towards retro basketball gaming – however you want to define that – I’m obviously intrigued by the prospect of reviving the retro modding scene. To reiterate a point I made when I discussed the definition of retro gaming, retro modding means different things to different people, but broadly speaking, I’d suggest that it refers to nostalgic favourites that the community has largely moved on from, but a dedicated contingent of people still revisit and have interest in modding and using mods for.

As far as the specific titles, we can name some popular examples here. NBA 2K13 and NBA 2K14 are two of the most modded games of their generation, and they hold up well. There’s a ton of nostalgia for the later NBA Live releases on PC, especially NBA Live 2005 and NBA Live 06, with NBA Live 2003 and NBA Live 2004 being up there as well. NBA 2K11 has some untapped potential, and is a game I’ve seen gamers cite as one they’d like to see benefit from more retro modding. NBA 2K17 and NBA 2K19 are two recent classics that gamers want to keep alive. I love the idea and support the initiative, but to make it happen, we must keep a few things in mind.

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Welcome to another edition of The Friday Five! Every Friday I cover a topic related to basketball gaming, either as a list of five items, or a Top 5 countdown. The topics for these lists and countdowns include everything from fun facts and recollections to commentary and critique. This week’s Five is a list of five ways to improve the great resource that is Basketball Reference.

Since it was launched in April 2004, Basketball Reference has become an essential destination for hoops fans. Whether you’re looking for player statistics and bio data, league records, team rosters, or pretty much anything else you’d ever want to know about the NBA, ABA, WNBA, and other leagues, the site has you covered. Over the years, Basketball Reference has constantly added features and data to become an even more valuable and entertaining resource. It’s also powering the basketball version of Immaculate Grid, a fun daily grid-based trivia game that I really enjoy.

Needless to say, Basketball Reference has also become an essential resource when creating roster mods for basketball video games. No matter whether you’re making a current roster or retro season mod, there’s no doubt that you’ll be browsing Basketball Reference for the information you need. It’s certainly quicker than the old methods of looking up almanacs, magazines, trading cards, and previous video games, as we did in the early days of our modding community! However, there are a few ways that Basketball Reference’s resources could be made even better, especially for people creating rosters. If it’s at all possible, I’d love to see these additions and enhancements.

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We’re at midcourt, and the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Join me as I begin the week here at the NLSC with my opinions and commentary on basketball gaming topics, as well as tales of the fun I’ve been having on the virtual hardwood. This week, I’m tipping things off with a requiem for ICQ.

Alright, so this topic isn’t strictly related to basketball gaming, but hey, it’s my column and I’m essentially the editor-in-chief here, so who’s going to stop me? Besides, ICQ is certainly relevant in the history of our community, as plenty of people who were around in the early days – me included – used it to chat with each other. Indeed, for those of us who were online in the late 90s, ICQ was likely one of our first instant messaging clients along with AOL Instant Messenger, aka AIM. I’m guessing that most of us haven’t used the program in years, but ICQ has remained active as of 2024.

Until now, that is. On May 24th 2024, it was announced on ICQ’s official website that the service will be shut down on June 26th, after almost 30 years. As someone who used ICQ back in the day, I’m compelled to become the latest person to eulogise this vestige of 1990s internet. Considering that we’ve also been around since 1996 and will now outlast ICQ, it also has me thinking about the passage of time; what’s come and gone, and what the internet has gained and lost over the years. I realise that this isn’t Wayback Wednesday, but nevertheless, I wanted to reminisce about ICQ and reflect on its impressive longevity, as well as my nostalgia as an Elder Millennial.

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From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #530 of the NLSC Podcast!

If a basketball video game featuring modern technology but a past setting – from rosters to modes to presentation – was ever to be released, which year would you want it to be? This week, we join the community in sharing our choices of legendary seasons to re-live on the virtual hardwood. We also react to the announcement of NBA Superstars, an upcoming arcade basketball game in the style of NBA Jam. What do we make of the gameplay in the trailer, and can it fill a void in the basketball gaming space? We also discuss having interactions with former NBA players on social media – both positive and negative – and provide a PSA for our fellow basketball gamers who may be having a rough time right now.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:20:03 — 55.3MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

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!

From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #529 of the NLSC Podcast!

Which stars, past or present, have been harder to use in basketball video games than they should’ve been? This week, we join the community in recalling our most memorable examples of struggling stars on the virtual hardwood, and what made them so difficult to dominate with. We also recap a fun Parsec session of NBA 2K19, in which we used the 1986 roster from the Classic Seasons project. On a less positive note, there’s the dismaying news that NBA 2K24 has been extremely profitable for Take-Two despite the game receiving significant backlash and criticism from the community. Along with some damning remarks from someone who has been involved with the NextMaker program, it doesn’t fill us with hope for future releases.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:27:05 — 60.1MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

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!

From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #528 of the NLSC Podcast!

A recent interview with EA’s CEO Andrew Wilson bleakly hints at a future where games are riddled with intrusive ads. We’ve already seen attempts at this before, but as you can imagine, we’re not thrilled at the possibility of it becoming commonplace! However, most of this week’s show is dedicated to the deadeyes from downtown on the virtual hardwood, as we join the community in reminiscing about the best three-point shooters in the history of basketball video games. We also recall the players that we preferred to overwrite when customising the rosters in classic titles, whether we were making current roster updates or putting ourselves and our friends into the NBA.

Download or play on your mobile device/tablet: CLICK HERE (Running time: 1:08:51 — 47.6MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

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!

We’re at midcourt, and the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Join me as I begin the week here at the NLSC with my opinions and commentary on basketball gaming topics, as well as tales of the fun I’ve been having on the virtual hardwood. This week, I’m tipping things off with some reflections on my recent habit of creating and playing with makeshift classic teams – and other minimalist rosters – while retro gaming.

There are multiple ways in which I can indulge my NBA nostalgia. I can simply revisit an old game and play with rosters that are now a time capsule. For over a decade now, the NBA 2K series has provided a plethora of historical content, from classic teams to All-Time squads to the Decade All-Stars. There are also mods that I can download, or I could always create my own retro rosters in one of my favourite games. In short, if I feel like taking a trip down memory lane on the virtual hardwood, it can be done with impressive accuracy.

As such, I will absolutely do all those things! However, cobbling together makeshift classic teams has become a consistent part of my basketball gaming over the past year or so. I’ve also tinkered with the rosters of old games I’m dusting off by rolling them back to the previous season, or creating minimalist Legends squads. It may sound highly unnecessary when there are games that already provide that content, not to mention strange that I’m not opting for more accuracy with a full retro mod. However, I’ve had a blast incorporating some minimalist modding into my retro gaming. There’s an undeniable appeal to assembling something new with only the content on hand.

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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 revisiting NBA Live 2002, and creating some makeshift 90s teams.

Minimalist modding has become a staple of my retro gaming. It’s a way to indulge nostalgia in multiple ways: the mechanics and aesthetics of my chosen game, the teams that I assemble, and the process of modding. I do also enjoy simply playing with the default rosters, or a roster update set in the same season as the game, for a more authentic step back in time. However, the creativity of minimalist modding so often steers me towards discovering what I can do with the content that’s available in any game that I’ve chosen to revisit.

In games such as NBA 2K6 and NBA Live 10, it’s difficult to go back to the 90s with any makeshift classic teams, at least without creating a bunch of players. After all, by that point, most the stars and role players who were active in the 90s had retired. Not all of the big names had signed on to be Legends around the time of NBA 2K6, and NBA Live 10 doesn’t have any historical teams or players at all. However, since NBA Live 2002 came out closer to the 90s and includes several stars from that decade, is it possible to cobble together some retro teams? Let’s take a look back…way back…

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