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 basketball video games that I wish we could mod.

It’s important that we don’t dismiss modding ideas too readily, such as the possibility of tinkering with specific games. We wouldn’t have all of the amazing projects that our community has created if we gave up too easily! At the same time, we do need to be realistic. If nothing else, it’s fine to acknowledge that something isn’t possible by any means that we currently know of, and that figuring out how to mod a particular game is proving to be exceptionally difficult. Some ideas are pipe dreams, and it’s far less likely that we’ll be able to mod certain games.

Of course, as unlikely as it may be, we can still dream! Whether it’s a great game that could be made even better with mods, or a mediocre release that might be a bit more fun with some custom content, there are titles that I wish we could mess around with. Indeed, there’s a part of me holding out hope that someone might develop ways to mod the games that I’ll be discussing here today; especially the ones that are all-time favourites. Considering what johnz1 has done with the PlayStation 3 version of NBA Jam: On Fire Edition, we shouldn’t completely rule out mods for a couple of these games. For now though, I wish we could mod these games more in-depth, or at all.

1. NBA Full Court Press

Although NBA Live 96 PC became an instant favourite for me, tipping off a lengthy love of the NBA Live series, I was certainly intrigued when a friend of mine picked up NBA Full Court Press. As a Windows release, it featured a steal button; something that wasn’t possible in NBA Live 96 because of the restrictions with DOS releases and the old DA-15 game port. It also had Kevin Calabro’s iconic voice on commentary, updated logos for the 1997 season, and some other appealing features. At the same time, the gameplay is somewhat mediocre, and the roster customisation is awful! It’s a good thing that official patches added missing rookies and other necessary updates.

Unfortunately, despite being a PC release, we’ve never been able to mod it. On one hand, that isn’t a huge loss, as we were able to do so many things with far superior NBA Live releases in the 90s and early 2000s. On the other hand, it’d still be fun to mess around with and fix, especially with the in-game roster editing being so weak and generally poorly-designed. Granted, I’d much rather play a great game than mod a bad one, but NBA Full Court Press is interesting and enjoyable enough in spurts to warrant interest in modding it. Sadly, the lack of modder-friendly files and its general obscurity make it understandably unlikely that the slim possibility will be explored.

2. Fox Sports NBA Basketball 2000

I’ve actually met someone who named Fox Sports NBA Basketball 2000 as their favourite 2000 season release. While that was surprising – NBA Live 2000 PC gets my vote, and NBA Basketball 2000 is more flash than substance – I’m not about to deny anyone their preference. Besides, I know all too well that it’s entirely possible to enjoy a flawed game. As someone who is nostalgic for Bart vs. The Space Mutants, I’m in no position to judge! With that being said, Fox Sports NBA Basketball 2000 can be fun if you don’t take it too seriously, and aren’t looking for a deep experience. Mind you, you really need to be prepared to enjoy the game with the rosters as-is.

Much like NBA Full Court Press, the roster customisation functionality in Fox Sports NBA Basketball 2000 leaves much to be desired. In fact, given that it’s a later release and lacking some features found in Full Court Press, it’s even worse! You can’t even edit the placeholder jersey numbers that Class of 1999 rookies such as Elton Brand are sporting. A basic roster editor akin to the one that was released for the PC version of NBA Action 98 (aka NBA Fastbreak ’98) would be extremely useful for making a few minor updates and fixes. I could never get motivated to make a big project for it, but it’d be nice if there were an external tool to fill in for the lack of in-game editing.

3. NBA Live 10 (More Extensively & Easily)

So, technically speaking, it is possible to mod NBA Live 10; both in the minimalist sense using the robust in-game customisation, and some promising developments in editing the emulated PlayStation 3 version. A tool developed for NCAA Basketball 10 is also compatible with NBA Live 10, so there’s a chance that we might see mods for the game, just as johnz1 pioneered modding for NBA Jam: On Fire Edition. However, compared to PC releases of NBA Live and NBA 2K, it’s still much harder to mod the PS3 version of NBA Live 10. There are still things that we’re working out, knowledge that’s yet to be shared, and difficulty getting mods working on the original hardware.

To that end, I’ll still include NBA Live 10 on this list of games that I wish we could mod; in its case, more extensively and easily. Without the luxury of a mods/custom art folder, and DBF files for the rosters – not to mention the need to tinker with the emulated version – it’s not as accessible. Oh, but the projects that we could make if we can figure everything out! Comprehensive current and retro season rosters, retro and All-Time team showdowns, and so many other mods could be developed for the last really good game in the NBA Live series to date. I hope that we’ll keep looking into the possibilities, and eventually develop the resources to make those projects viable.

4. NBA Jam Tournament Edition (PC)

Pretty much ever since I picked up the PC version of NBA Jam Tournament Edition way back in 1996, I’ve dreamed of being able to mod it. In fact, even before I got the internet and discovered the NLSC with all of its mods and editors, I was digging through the files in NBA Jam TE just to see if I could add Michael Jordan to the Chicago Bulls. As I’ve previously recalled, somehow renaming a “Harper” file to “Jordan” didn’t crash the game! Unfortunately it didn’t change anything, either. There have been some excellent ROM hacks for the Super Nintendo version of NBA Jam TE, and the arcade version has been modded as well, but nothing so far for PC.

It’s ironic, as it’s usually the other way around with the PC release supporting mods, and the console versions being left out in the cold! I suppose there’s just been more interest in those other versions of NBA Jam TE, as well as established communities that are dedicated to modding on those platforms. A couple of knowledgeable people have also looked at the PC version’s files on my behalf, and come up empty. As such, for the moment I have to admit defeat. Nevertheless, it’ll always be a dream of mine that somehow, some day, we’ll find the key to modding NBA Jam TE PC. If we do, I’ll be rushing to update the rosters with all the enthusiasm my inner child can muster!

5. NBA 2K14 PS4/X1

Obviously, our community has produced some outstanding work for NBA 2K14 PC. It remains one of the most heavily-modded games in our community, with the most files in our Downloads section. With so many releases from the golden age of NBA Live modding being lost over time, it’s difficult to say for sure that NBA 2K14 saw the most mods, but it’s definitely possible! Still, as great as that version of NBA 2K14 was, and as much as the community enhanced it even further with amazing mods, it would’ve been incredible to be able to mod the PlayStation 4/Xbox One version. It’s one of the most visually stunning titles even to this day, with excellent gameplay.

Needless to say, that wasn’t possible with that version being exclusive to PS4/X1. It’s a shame, as on top of adding new and missing content and updating rosters, modding could’ve provided a workaround for the single custom roster file, as well as the VC paywalls in the first iteration of MyGM. Now, it may never happen, but considering that advances are being made all the time with PlayStation 4 emulation, it’s possible that at some point, we’ll be able to mess around with NBA 2K14 Next Gen just as emulators have facilitated modding for PS2 and PS3 releases. We’ll just have to wait and see, but as it’s a favourite I wish we could mod, I’m keeping my fingers crossed!

Do you also wish that we could mod these games? What are some games that you wish we could mod, or perhaps tinker with far more easily? Have your say in the comments, and as always, feel free to take the discussion to the NLSC Forum! That’s all for this week, so thanks for checking in, have a great weekend, and please join me again next Friday for another Five.