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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 old school roster modding techniques that – for the most part – stopped being necessary in newer titles.
When it comes to modding – roster or otherwise – there are some techniques that have remained fairly similar across decades of games, and even between different series. With rosters, the ratings and other attributes need to be accurately assigned so that players perform as expected. Many of the basic techniques of modding textures and models for faces, jerseys, courts, logos, arenas, and so forth apply to multiple games, though the specifics and necessary tools may certainly differ. If nothing else, while there may be some unique steps, there’ll be familiarity in the process and results.
Mind you, there have also been some noticeable differences as basketball games have become more sophisticated, and changed their file formats. As someone whose entry into roster modding came with NBA Live 96 for PC, I can absolutely attest to that! To that point, I enjoy looking back at how the hobby has changed throughout the years. I’m undoubtedly glad that changes to the games have made roster modding easier, but I’ll admit that I do have nostalgia for the techniques we had to use in the early days. It inspired us to problem-solve and to be creative in our solutions; something I believe that these five old school roster modding techniques demonstrate! Let’s begin with…