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NBA Live Fixes: Camera Enabler & Widescreen Intros

NBA Live Fixes: Camera Enabler & Widescreen Intros

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.

NBA Live Widescreen Fixes Updated

NBA Live Widescreen Fixes Updated

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!

2X Crowd Update for NBA Live 2005-08

2X Crowd Update for NBA Live 2005-08

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!

Murat
2X Crowd Update

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.

NBA Live Widescreen & Windowed Mode Fixes Updated

NBA Live Widescreen & Windowed Mode Fixes Updated

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.

Widescreen Fix for NBA Live 2005-08, Other Fixes

Widescreen Fix for NBA Live 2005-08, Other Fixes

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.

NBA Live 08 Mod Releases: New Net Animations

NBA Live 08 Cover Art

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.

CarolusXCI
New Net Animations

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! Virtual Hardwood Highlights!

Happy Thanksgiving! Virtual Hardwood Highlights!

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.

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NLSC Podcast #486: Our Excitement Level for NBA 2K24

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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.

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!

Wayback Wednesday: Own the Paint in NBA Live 08

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…

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Bulls-Wizards Jersey for NBA Live 2005-08

Bulls-Wizards Jersey for NBA Live 2005-08

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.

Download the Bulls-Wizards jersey at these links:

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!

2022 NBA Playoffs & Finals Logos for NBA Live 2005-08

2022 NBA Playoffs & Finals Logos for NBA Live 2005-08

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!

Custom Blank Portraits for NBA Live 2005-08

Custom Blank Portraits for NBA Live 2005-08

As I try to ease myself back into tackling larger modding projects, one of my goals is to create smaller mods that are quicker to complete. To that end, my latest release for March Modness 2023 is a pack of custom blank portraits for NBA Live 2005-08. This mod was originally made using NBA Live 06’s files, but it should work with all four of those games.

In short, these portraits replace the default “No Portrait Available” placeholder for all players who don’t have a portrait file. I’ve taken the blank portraits from NBA Live 95, 96, 98, 99, 2000, and 2001 PC, so needless to say, credit to the old art teams at EA Sports for the original designs! As I’ve discussed before, I have a ton of nostalgia for the portraits in NBA Live 95 and NBA Live 96 in particular.

A quick note: if a player has been assigned a custom face file and are missing a portrait, they won’t use the default “No Portrait Available” placeholder. These custom blank portraits will only work for players who are set to use the default placeholder (including created players), though they could also be repurposed as placeholders for specific players. Feel free to do so; if you do, a word of thanks in the credits would be most appreciated!

Download the pack here! For links to my NBA Live 2005-08 mod release and support topics, check out the signature in my NLSC Forum profile. Stay tuned for more March Modness releases, and don’t forget to join in the fun for your chance to win a copy of NBA 2K24 PC later this year!

NBA 2K19 MyLEAGUE Highlights & NBA Live 08 Three-Point Shootout

NBA 2K19 MyLEAGUE Highlights & NBA Live 08 Three-Point Shootout

Dee’s latest uploads to the NLSC YouTube channel feature highlights from his ongoing season with Stildo33 in NBA 2K19 MyLEAGUE, as well as our Three-Point Shootout in NBA Live 08. The former showcases the fantastic 1995 season mod for NBA 2K19, while the latter demonstrates that despite having a few quirks, NBA Live 08 for PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 had some solid aspects.

In the MyLEAGUE highlights, you’ll see two epic showdowns that went down to the wire. The first game features Dee using the Denver Nuggets against Stildo33’s Orlando Magic, which means some great moments from a young Shaq and Penny, and a sharpshooting display from Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf. In the second game, Scottie Pippen and Shawn Kemp have a spectacular scoring battle, as Stildo33 takes control of the Chicago Bulls while Dee continues his campaign with the Seattle SuperSonics.

The Three-Point Shootout also saw a clutch performance from Dee while controlling Ray Allen, as a CPU-controlled Jason Terry made for a worthy opponent. I’d like to think that I acquitted myself well with Ben Gordon, while also demonstrating how great Parsec is when connecting someone in Australia to a host in the United States!

Be sure to tune in to Episode #465 of the NLSC Podcast as we go into our experiences with the Three-Point Shootout in NBA Live 08, and Dee’s ongoing NBA 2K19 MyLEAGUE with Stildo33. Don’t forget to subscribe to the NLSC YouTube channel for more great basketball gaming content throughout 2023 and beyond!

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NLSC Podcast #465: A History of Annoying Mechanics

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From courtside of the virtual hardwood, it’s Episode #465 of the NLSC Podcast!

Another NBA All-Star Weekend is upon us, but sadly, the event has basically lost its lustre for us. Call us grumpy old heads if you must, but we miss genuine competition in the midseason classic! On a brighter note, we had a blast partaking in All-Star activities in NBA Live 08 – including creating a 1988 dunk contest video, and enjoying a wild three-point shootout that went to a tiebreaker – as well as revisiting NBA 2K13 to play some Blacktop. As promised on last week’s show, we’re taking a deep dive into the most annoying mechanics in the history of basketball gaming, with our listeners also sharing their biggest frustrations on the virtual hardwood.

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!

1988 Dunk Contest in NBA Live 08

1988 Dunk Contest in NBA Live 08

With Michael Jordan turning 60 today, it seemed only appropriate to celebrate His Airness with a basketball gaming video! As a fan of MJ since I got into hoops, his biggest triumphs are among my fondest basketball memories. However, I also loved learning about and watching his achievements that came before I was hooked on basketball, such as his iconic showdown with Dominique Wilkins in the 1988 Dunk Contest.

One of my all-time favourite NBA home video releases is Dazzling Dunks & Basketball Bloopers. It featured a segment recapping every NBA Dunk Contest to that point, which included the 1988 clash between Air Jordan and The Human Highlight Film. For a while now, I’ve had the idea of taking the audio from that segment, and re-creating it in a video game. Since I have some assets on hand thanks to a work-in-progress Ultimate Jordan mod, NBA Live 08 PC ended up being the title that I chose. Enjoy this re-creation, and see how it compares to the original segment!

One of my goals for 2023 is to get around to some articles, videos, and modding projects that I’ve been mulling over or keeping on the backburner for far too long now. Again, I devised this idea as a possible Wayback Wednesday feature some years back, so it’s extremely satisfying to finally put it together! Be sure to subscribe to the NLSC YouTube channel, as Dee and I will be uploading plenty of content in the days and weeks to come.