'95
Unofficial Collection of Frequently Asked Questions
Version 1.01a
06/27/95
Compiled By Yaron Karasik
karya@ccsg.tau.ac.il
Note
~~~~
This collection of frequently asked questions is UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
To make it something better, something more complete, I need you to help
me build it. Helping me includes sending me your thoughts about the game,
special tips and tricks, or any news about the future of the game. Anything
will be appreciated, and will almost always be included in the FAQ.
Also, I take no responsibilty to anything written in this FAQ. It is
simply a collection of information to help you enjoy this game. If the
information causes you any damage, I take no responsibility. Please enjoy the
FAQ.
The FAQ is something I wrote myself, with contributions from people on the
net. It is NOT an official document, nor was it written in any way by the
creators of NBA Live '95, Hitmen Production, and not by the distributer,
Electronic Arts.
Finally, I apologize for any mistakes made in this FAQ. These include
mistakes regarding the game, and also grammatical mistakes - I am Israeli,
and english is my second language, so you'll have to excuse the mistakes
here and there.
Please, please, please send me feedback. Information on the game, your
thoughts on the FAQ - was it useful? fun to read? what's missing? TELL
ME! :)
Your mail to karya@ccsg.tau.ac.il.
Contents
~~~~~~~~
1 - NBA Live '95 FAQ
1.1 - About this FAQ
1.2 - Where can I find this FAQ?
1.3 - Contributers to the FAQ
1.4 - On contacting the author.
1.5 - History of the NBA Live '95 FAQ
2 - About NBA Live '95
2.1 - General information
2.2 - Technical information
2.3 - NBA Live '95 News & Rumors
Part 1 - NBA Live '95 V1.0a
===========================
1.1 About this FAQ
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Welcome to the first (and currently only) FAQ about Electronic Arts'
amazing NBA basketball game. The basic purpose of this FAQ is to supply
some basic information about NBA Live '95, help you with your technical
problems, and to supply you with all the information you'll need to enjoy
the game to its maximum.
1.2 Where can I find this FAQ?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Currently, this FAQ will be posted in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action and
in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.misc every four days. I will post it this
frequently
so that people will be aware of its existence and will help me build it.
After it is complete, I will post it once every two to three weeks in
these USENET newsgroups.
It is currently not available on any FTP sites on the internet, nor is
it available on other networks. I would appreciate anyone uploading this
FAQ to sites and other networks.
This FAQ is not available on the WWW. Offers for someone supporting it
are
welcome.
1.3 Contributers to the FAQ
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Frank ven Geloven, kinsella@euronet.nl
Michael Lee Westlund, mlwestlu@engr.ucdavis.edu
Please send me your name, tsnotebo@nyx10.cs.du.edu
Lutz van Hasselt, willwink@pool.informatik.rwth-aachen.de, deserves a
special thanks, for his hex editing info, his patch news, and of course
his amazing patch. Thanks.
1.4 On contacting the author
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The author, Yaron Karasik, can be contacted in several ways. Please
contact me if you have any information to add to the FAQ, if you want the
FAQ, or for any other reason.
E-Mail: karya@ccsg.tau.ac.il
Phone: International Code + (972)-3-6427860. 08:00-17:00 Eastern Time.
Fax: International Code + (972)-3-6419931. 24 Hours.
Snail Mail: Yaron Karasik
9 Barazani Street
Tel Aviv
Israel, 69121
1.5 History of the NBA Live '95 FAQ
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
V1.01a - Reorganized the FAQ.
Changed a lot of general information.
Added "NBA Live '95 News & Rumors".
Added Lutz van Hasselt hex editing information.
Added news on Lutz van Hasselt's future patches.
Added the "History of the NBA Live '95 FAQ".
Removed the "Abbreviations used frequently in this FAQ".
Added "NBA Live '95 Tips & Tricks".
Fixed many irritating spacing bugs.
Corrected some technical problems.
Recieved several contributions.
New logo.
V1.0a - First release
a = aeta Version, still in development.
Part 2 - About NBA Live '95
===========================
2.1 General information
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2.1.1 What exactly is NBA Live '95?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NBAL95 is a 5 on 5 multimedia computer arcade basketball game based on
the best basketball league in the world, the NBA. This amazing game lets
you play any of the NBA's 27 teams (which will become 29 teams next
season), and play exhibition, league or playoff games. It is available
for
IBM-PC CD-ROM from Electronic Arts by Hitmen Productions.
The game itself is played on a court which is "tilted" 30 degrees in
relation to the screen. The game is quick, fast-paced and full of action.
Three pointers, slam dunks, alley-oops, steals, blocks and the crowd are
all an integral part of the game. The game is beautiful, with each player
looking different than other players. You can easily identify such players
as Kevin Johnson, Jason Kidd and Grant Hill.. they actually look right.
Each court is completely different - The parquet is a different color for
each court, and the different symbols of the 27 NBA teams adorn the courts.
There are three types of games you can play - the simulation game include
all the NBA rules - shot clocks, half court violations, fouls, etc.. The
action game has no rules, and you can happily crash into your opponent
without a foul being called. The custom game allows you to select which
rules you want to play with. There are also three levels of play. In
addition to the 27 NBA teams, the 2 all star teams are available, as well
as 4 custom teams that you can build yourself. You also set the strategy
for your team yourself.
The other intresting part of the game is the multimedia part of the
game. The amount of graphics on the CD-ROM. The beauty of these many high
resoultion will amaze you. There are pictures of ALL the players, in three
sizes, including full screen pictures of each NBA player. There are 2
photos of EVERY city of every NBA teams. These pictures are beautiful and
add to the fun of the game. 3-D images of the different NBA team symbols
are also available. The player database includes every NBA player (WELL...
Almost every player :).. see later parts of this FAQ for detail on the
notorious missing players). Full stats for the 93/94 season, ratings for
each player in many catgories, including free throws, offensive awareness
and dunking. There is great attention to detail.
This is NBAL95 in a nutshell. To fully experience it you will have to
play it.
2.1.2 What's good about this game?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A lot. A whole lot. The game is without a doubt THE BEST BASKETBALL
GAME EVER for the IBM-PC. As I described before, the game is fast and
furious. Alley-oops and dunks are all over the place, and the game
graphics and sound are great. The player and team databases are fun to
look through, and the ratings are very accurate.
2.1.3 What's bad about this game?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There are a few problems with this game, most of which can be easily
fixed by us players.
One of these is the notorious missing players problem. Some extremely
important players are missing from the game because of contract problems,
or in Michael Jordan's case, because he returned to the NBA after the
game
was shipped. The missing player are, as noted, Air Jordan, as well as
David "The Admiral" Robinson and Sir Charles Barkley, as well as other
less known players. Credit should be given to EA, though, for keeping up
with the latest trades - for example, Clyde plays for the Rockets. This
problem is easy to solve. A patch, written by Lutz van Hasselt, adds all
the missing players to the game. An editor, written by Jose de Leon, is
also available, allowing before, you can run the ole' hex editor and do
the job yourself. Complete details later in this FAQ. The only thing you
can't change is the portrait of each player, so MJ is white.. :) (Note:
Lutz van Hasselt's patch also updates the stats from 93/94 to 94/95!)
Another problem is how the computer handles strategy - it doesn't. When
you lead your computer opponent, for example, by 10-15 points or more, he
will immediately switch to a three-point offense, and he will shoot an
illogical amount of 3-pointers, all by the same player. Once I played
with
my team, the Boston Celtics, against the Indiana Pacers, and after opening
a small lead, Reggie Miller went 3-point-crazy. At the end, he was
18/98 (!!) from behind three point line. This problem is also easy to fix
-
simply set the computer's offensive strategy to something other than
AUTOMATIC. It is annoying to change it every time, but it is more
annoying
to have John Starks shoot a zillion three pointers.
The third and last major problem in this game is the statistical
inaccuracy and the fact that the game is just EASY. When playing 12
minute
quarter games at the lower difficulty settings, your scores will looks
something like 200-150. Karl Malone once scored 104 points for Utah when
I played against them, and I had MJ score 80 points once. When playing at
the ALL STAR setting, it's harder to shoot, and the score is closer to
reality, but still unrealistic. Blocks, steals and assists are also too
common, and, if you know how to, shooting is really easy. An average
player
will have no problems shooting at 80% at Rookie level, and up to 70% at
All Star level. Playing with bad teams helps eliminate this problem. Try
the clippers :).
It is important to understand that NBAL95 isn't and does not try to be a
true sports simulation of the game of basketball. It is not. It is not a
pure statistical game like the many text basketball games available, and
is
not a true statistical game like the Front Page Sports series from Dynamix.
It's an action extravegansa, and it's FUN. For example, trades only
happen
if you make them, and there is no trade intelligence, so there's no problem
trading 20 year veteran center Moses Malone from San Antonio in for Michael.
2.1.4 NBA Live '95 vs. Other computer basketball games.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When compared to the dull assortment of computer games available for
the pc, NBAL95 seems even better than it actually is. Games from the far
past include "Dr J. vs Larry Bird" and "Larry Bird vs. Magic Johnson".
These ancient CGA games from EA started the computer basketball game
dynasty that brought to NBAL95. After them came the 5 on 5 "Lakers Vs.
Celtics and the NBA Playoffs", and "Michael Jordan's One on One". These
games were all quite good for their time, but are unplayable today
(Although I do play Lakers Vs. Celtics from time to time, for old time's
sake :)). After these games, which were released between 1985 and 1990,
there was a big drought until 1995. During this period only 4 "serious"
basketball games were released. "TV Sports Basketball" from Cinamex was
not
bad, but is also unplayable today, and does not include real players from
the NBA. "NCAA Basketball 1&2" from Bethseda are probably the best bball
games besides NBAL95, but they suffer from bad graphics, a bad interface
and statistical innacuracy, as well as a general feeling of awkwardness.
If you are a die hard NCAA fan, get these games. The fourth game is
"Michael Jordan In Flight", which is a 3 on 3 game with no real players
except Air. A mediocre game with very bad perspective, and an average
field goal pct. of 95%...
In the future, there is much to look forward to. ESPN Basketball and
NBA JAM are games soon to be released. There are rumors of Front Page
Sport Basketball, but these are all rumors. Here is a quote of an answer
sent to me by Dynamix, in response to the question "Will there be a
FPS: Basketball or FPS: Hockey" :
"Currently we have no plans to create the games you discussed. Our
designers are very busy making new versions of FPS: Baseball and FPS:
Football, and currently we have no time/staff to make the above
mentioned
games. I know, I know, we should hire more designers."
On the other hand, a few people on usenet announced that FPS: Basketball
will be released in mid-1996 by Dynamix, and would be a Windows '95 and
CD-ROM game.
I must note that there are also text basketball games for the die hard
simulation fans, but for pure basketball with dunks and behind the back
passes there's only one game.
2.2 Technical information
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2.2.1 What CPU do I need to play NBA Live '95?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You can enjoy NBA Live '95 with a 486dx/33. The game may run a bit slowly
but it is completely playable on a 486dx/33. A 486dx2/66 is perfect for play,
with no slowdown whatsoever, and no problems. Even loading the game shouldn't
take more than a few seconds. Playing on a faster PC, such as a fast 486 or
a pentium is more than enough. I should note that the install program allows
you to pick the sound and video quality, and this will affect the game's
speed.
2.2.2 What Video Card do I need to play NBA Live '95?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You will need a SVGA video card that supports 640x480x256 SVGA graphics.
You'll need to load a VESA driver, either your own or the one supplied with
the CD-ROM (:\UNIVBE on the CDROM). I should note that playing the game
itself in SVGA is not required, but other parts of the game are in SVGA.
2.2.3 How much memory will I need to play NBA Live '95?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You'll need 8MB of memory - to be exact, you'll need 7104k of extended
memory (7274496 bytes), and around 400k (409600 bytes) of conventional
memory.
I read a message on USENET saying that the game is playable with just
4 MB of memory, with just a few video and sound problems. If anyone has
done this, please notify me.
2.2.4 Any other requirments?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yes. You'll need a CD-ROM drive, as the game is CD-ROM only. You'll need
at least a double speed drive. DOS 5 or higher is also a must. You'll also
need at least 3MB of hard drive space, although it is possible to copy even
more of the game to the hard drive (Up to 270MB, where 15MB is recommended)
A mouse and joystick, are of course, recommended.
2.3 NBA Live '95 News & Rumors
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2.3.1 What's the latest version of Lutz van Hasselt's patch, and what
is planned for the future?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A new patch version (2.31) is available at ftp.cdrom.com
/pub/games/incoming. This includes end of 94-95 rosters, plus corrected
starting lineups and skill values for all players.
willwink@Pool.Informatik.RWTH-Aachen.DE Page 2
V3.0 is due to release in a week or two from the date of this FAQ,
with 95-96 rosters, all-time greats like Magic, Larry, Kareem, Dr J,
Chamberlain, Robertson etc., plus Dream Teams 1,2 and maybe 3, plus lots
more including some silly stuff like teams with Bill Clinton, Dan Quayle,
Beavis and Butthead etc. Then, Lutz will start working on a name editor,
Maybe this will be released along with a new Nba-Ed version or along
with a new patch version.
2.3.2 Any other intresting news and rumors?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A few people on Usenet have claimed to have been told by Hitmen
Productions
that a modem patch is in progress. If this is true, it could make the NBA
Live '95 experience even more incredible.
Part 3 - Frequently Asked Questions and Frequent Technical Problems
===================================================================
3.1 General Questions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3.1.1 Q) Is there a demo available for NBA Live '95?
A) No, no demo is available.
3.1.2 Q) Which sport game should I buy - NBA Live '95 or XYZ?
A) If you like basketball, and are looking for a fun action game
with NBA players, full of exciting graphics and sound, YES. If
you're a serious sport gamer, who enjoys precise statistical
games like Front Page Sports Football/Baseball or text based
games, probably NOT.
3.1.3 Q) Where is David Robinson?? Where is Charles Barkley?? Where is
Michael Jordan????
A) Due to contract problems or in MJ's case, due to his return to
the NBA, the players were not included in the game. Read
"What's bad in this game" and learn how to fix this problem.
3.1.4 Q) Do you think EA will supply us with an update for the 1995/1996
season?
A) Hmm.. that's a hard one.. NOT.. Definately not, IMHO. Making NBA
Live '96 will just make them more money, and they will have a
chance to make the game itself better. Also, the fact that two
new teams are joining the league this season, the Toronto
Raptors and the Vancouver Grizzlies, assure that this patch will
never see the light of day. Using the available NBA-ED, you will
be able to update the teams, but it won't be a true NBA '96 for
several reasons - the new teams, the new symbols for many teams,
including the Houston Rockets, and of course the fact that 4
teams are changing their uniforms.
3.1.5 Q) Can I copy the entire game to the hard drive, and play the game
without using the CD-ROM?
A) Yes. First, copy the entire CD to the hard drive. It will take you
330 MB. This is only the first step. Then you will have to edit the
file INSTALL.DAT in the NBA95 directory. This file is divided into
lines, each starting either with the title CD or HD. You'll need to
rename all titles to CD. Finally, and this is the hardest part,
you'll need to create a RAMDRIVE (See your DOS manual). Into this
new RAMDRIVE copy the file CDROM.DAT from the CD-ROM. Note that this
file is hidden, so use a program like PC-TOOLS or NORTON COMMANDER
to copy it. Now, run the game from the hard drive, and the program
will be fooled, and will believe your RAMDRIVE is the CDROM, and
will
only look for you files on the hard drive. This will make the game
faster, eliminate any problems you have with the CD, and allow you
not to put it in every time.
3.2 Gameplay Questions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3.2.1 Q) Can you play NBA Live '95 without a joypad?
A) Sure you can. You can play the game with one or two joysticks,
your mouse or your keyboard. Playing with a joystick is great,
keyboard is reasonable, but playing with a mouse hard.
3.2.2 Q) I just can't shoot. I never make my shots correctly. Help me!
A) Like the manual says, there are a few pointers to making a
good shot. Shooting is always easier when you are not moving,
and
when you are not being guarded. Besides these two factors, when
you release the ball is also important. You are supposed to
release the ball at the maximum height of your jump, but
actually releasing just before makes better shots. Practice
makes perfect - try releasing at different heights.
3.2.3 Q) What an easy game! I just beat the computer 300-60! How can I
make it harder?
A) Raise the difficulty level. Play with one of the bad teams - the
Clippers, the Timberwolves, the Bucks, the Heat, or others.
Switch on the Computer Assist option, so that the computer will
assist your opponent. Change Shot Control from Player to Computer.
3.2.4 Q) I can't dunk! I am under the basket, I hit the shoot button, and
my player just makes a jump shot! Help!
A) You generally have to simply be under the basket to make the dunk.
Running towards the basket and then hitting the shoot button also
helps. I've noticed that players with higher dunk ratings can
make dunks from much larger distances, so if your dunker has a
low dunking rating, try moving a bit closer to the basket. Also,
if there are too many players in the colored area, it is harder
to dunk.
3.2.5 Q) How many players can play NBA Live '95 at once?
A) 4! Two on joysticks, One using a mouse and one using a keyboard.
You can all play for the same team or be on opposing sides.
4 players is so much fun!
3.2.6 Q) Can I play over the modem or using a network?
A) No :(, but playing 4 players on a computer is even better than
playing on a network, IMHO.
3.2.7 Q) I am aware that I can save playoffs and seasons, but how do I
save a game? I mean save in the middle of a game?
A) You just can't. Saving is only offered at the season or playoff
menus. This is a pity, because making such an option would have
been technically easy for EA, and when playing a 48 minute game,
which often lasts over an hour, a save option is needed.
3.2.8 Q) Can I save replays so that I can show (off) my dunks to my
friends?
A) Nope. No option of saving replays was made available, although
it definately should have been included.
3.2.9 Q) How do I turn on the SVGA mode? Should I play with the SVGA
mode?
A) Press F9 during the game or simply select it in the option
menu. No, I doubt anyone plays NBA Live '95 with the SVGA mode,
because you just can't see what's going on. Plus, all the fun
is to see the close-up slo-mo dunks.
3.2 - Frequent Technical Problems
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3.2.1 Q) How can I contact EA support on the net?
A) Mail to support@ea.com. From personal experience, they just
don't
help, but try. Their answer is usually "Did you try to make a
boot disk? If so, send us your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT"
3.2.2 Q) I have a very weird problem - my game crashes at certain menus
like view players, save season or trade players. The game
also skips the intro at the beginning, and crashes during
simulation games. I can't even use my joystick. How can I fix
this?
A) This is a common problem with NBAL95, and can be fixed easily. I
have recieved mail from 7 people with this problem. Simply
open your computer and disable the game port on your IDE. This
is
done easily by removing a jumper. Look through your pc's
documentation for a jumper on the IDE board enabling the game
port and remove it. You can still use your joystick port on your
sound card, if you have one.
3.2.3 Q) Does this game have an intro? I load the game, and hear music,
but no video... help!
A) Yes, this game has a wonderful intro. I suggest you re-run the
install and select a lower video quality. The difference
between HIGH, MEDIUM or LOW is very small, so don't worry.
3.2.4 Q) I get a weird error "Prefetch Error = FFFFFF" when running the
game or trying "test" in the install. Help!
A) This bug is very puzzling, but sometimes occurs when using a
multimedia device other than MSCDEX
3.2.5 Q) When I try to install the game I get a weird 4GW error. What can
cause this?
A) The NBAL95 install program also runs in SVGA. Thus, you will need
to load your VESA driver to be able to run it. If you do not have
one, simply enter the directory UNIVBE, and run UNIVBE.EXE.
Part 4 - NBA Live Tips & Tricks
===============================
Here is a collection of Tips & Tricks to make you a better NBA Live
'95 Player:
4.1 - Frank van Geloven suggests "Always play with 'Crash Boards'
ON. Rebounding is much better and the fatigue-level of the
players isn't affected by 'Crash Boards'."
4.2 - To make the computer a better opponent, Frank van Geloven
suggests: "If the computer isn't giving you a tough job,
switch 'Computer Assist' ON and 'Shooting' to COMPUTER.
It makes a difference. Really."
4.3 - tsnotebo@nyx10.cs.du.edu gives us the following tip "When you come
to the city screen, where the computer introduces the tip, pressing
the right mouse button on the middle of the screen skips the
starters
and takes you directly to the game. This is also true for the
screens
between each quarter."
Part 5 - NBA Live '95 on WWW/FTP/Usenet
=======================================
5.1 What NBA Live '95 files can I find on FTP sites?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You can find Lutz van Hasselt's patch, which includes the missing
players, at ftp.cdrom.com, in /pub/games/incoming. You can find Jose de
Leon's editor on that same site, in /pub/games/editors. The latest version
of the patch is 2.31.
5.2 Which newsgroups on Usenet discuss NBA Live '95?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Discussions on this game on Usenet are frequent at comp.sys.ibm.pc.action
and comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc. These are also where the patch, the editor and
this FAQ are frequently posted.
Part 6 - Additional information
===============================
6.1 Patching the game yourself
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here are instructions on patching the game yourself. These are quoted,
with permission, from Lutz van Hasselt's NBA.DOC, included with his patch
v2.30. Lots of thanks to him for the patch and this information
NBA.DOC by Lutz van Hasselt
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here are the instructions how to patch the game yourself, however a complete
patch including Jordan, Barkley and Robinson may be ordered at
willwink@pool.informatik.rwth-aachen.de
Ok, first make sure to get a Hex editor, available at many places in the net,
figure out how to use it and how to calculate with Hex numbers. Now, edit
nba95.exe The first three quarters is program code, the rest is game data.
The data part starts with the ASCII data (names of players, colleges, credits
etc., more on that later) at position 925,781. Now, the binary data
starts at
position 995,497 (that is the 995,497th byte of the file, aka block 3889,
just let the editor search for the following Hex data: CA 01 D7 00 04 00
01 00 6A 00. The CA is the first important byte. Now, every player is
characterized by 88 bytes. The players are sorted by teams (Atl,Bos,...,Was),
then by lineup, starting five (C,PF,SF,SG,PG in that order), then the
reserves.
So, that CA and the following 87 bytes are for Andrew Lang, the next 88 bytes
for Grant Long etc. After the last player of the Bullets, you'll find the
Eastern all-stars, then the Western all-stars, then the fake stats, then
All-Star Center at block 4025. The all-star teams work just like the usual
teams. Then follow some fake players. Of those, only the 93-94 stats are
important, combined with the number in the fake team, read the bit below
about
pointer to fake stats for further information.
Now, the first 28 of the 88 bytes are the 93-94 stats.
01-02 FG att.
03-04 FG made
05-06 3s att.
07-08 3s made
09-10 FT att.
11-12 FT made
13-14 Blocked shots
15-16 Off. Reb.
17-18 Assists
19-20 PFs
21-22 Steals
23-24 Def. Reb.
25-26 TOs
27-28 Minutes
Now, thats two bytes for each category. Make sure to enter the hex number
correclty. If someone, say made 666 FGs, you should figure out that this
would
be Hex, errr, 29A (or so), then you want to enter 9A 02.
29-30 Zero, now the next 15 bytes are some misc. player data.
31 Games played 93-94
32 Ejections 93-94
33 Number on jersey
34 Position: 04-PG, 03-SG, 02-SF, 01-PF, 00-C
35 Height: 5'6-Hex42, 6'0-48, 6'6-4E, 7'0-54, 7'6-5A to name a few, should
be enough, the rest is obvious.
36 Weight minus 100 pounds. If someone weighs 240 pounds, make that
140 and
enter 8C
37 Years pro
38 College. Look at the college list in the ASCII data part, and count to
the college you want, then you got the number
39 Skin color: 00-brown, 01-black, 02-bright, 03-white
40 Other stuff related to how a player looks during game action. Here, you
have to look at the single bits. I have not figured that out in
detail,
I think bits 2, 4 and 8 are for dark hair, 10 is for blond hair,
20 for
glasses and headbands and stuff. For a headband instead of
glasses, you
should add 1. The rest is probably also used, for beards or so, just
try before you think, standard, is 00 for bald people, 08 for
dark hair
and ten for blonde hair. You can combine all that by adding the
numbers,
so someone with glasses, and dark hair would be 28 or so.
41 00 for right-handed and 01 for left-handed
42-43 Points total 93-94
44 ???
45 Overall skill. Increase or decrease it to alter the playing time
And now the skills, not quite in the order as in the game
46 FGs
47 3s
48 Fts (equals FT%)
49 Dunking
50 Stealing
51 Shotblocking
52 Off. Reb.
53 Def. Reb.
54 Ballhandling
55 Off. Awareness
56 Def. Aw.
57 Speed
58 Quickness
59 Jumping
60 Dribbling
61 Strength
62 Pointer to fake stats. The program uses the 93-94 stats to calculate
realistic season stats. Now some players (rookies) did not play any
games in 93-94, they have fake stats instead, you'll find
complete
fake players behind the all-star data, but only the 93-94 stats of
them are important. Those players have numbers, too, so the
first
player with his 93-94 stats all zero has 01 here as fake stats
pointer, the next 02 etc. It ends with 30 or 40 or so. For
players
not using fake stats, the value of this byte is usually between
40
and 60. Note that it will crash your game when you enter Zero
for
Games Played or Minutes Played and do not set this pointer to
some
fake stats (division by zero error)
63-71 ??? (all changes ignored, or so it seems)
72-73 Pointer to last name. Now, this is the most complicated part. It
took me
a while to find out. Note that you cannot change it directly.
Look at the total position of byte 72 in the
.exe file (like 999,704 for Buechler) and subtract 995.413 from that
number. (995.413:=zero=start of data) Change the result to Hex
(10c3),
change the first number to zero (yes, sounds silly, but just do
it) and
remember to reverse the numbers as usual. Then you have the
offset you
need to find the real pointer. Also keep the actual value of
bytes 72
and 73 in mind. Now, goto around byte 350,000 of nba95.exe and
let your
editor search for XX XX 02 YY YY, with XX XX the offset you
calculated
above and YY YY the value of bytes 72 and 73. If you do not find
a match
until around bye 380,000, you have done something wrong. If you
find a
match, though, you may change the YY YY you found, replace it
with the
new pointer value. To calculate the pointer value, start counting at
byte 925,781 (the obvious start of the ASCII data), so look at the
total position of the name you want your pointer to point to and
subtract 925,781 from it. Change it to hex and you are done. Now, you
may not just want to change the pointers, but also the names. I
strongly
recommend that you do NOT change the actual list of names. You
can enter
your new names anywhere in the ASCII section of the file. I
suggest you
write your data above the message 'You are trying to run the program
with very low memory...blabla etc...would you like to run it
anyway?',
starting at 927,314 / $FD 05. You have to seperate every single name
(each first name, each last name, each nickname is a name of its
own) by
a zero byte (NOT by just hitting the space key or so)
Are you still reading this? Not bored or confused? Well, probably
not,
so I remind you that you still can play the patch or get Jose de
Leon's
cool player editor from comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.misc or somewhere.
74-75 Zero
76-77 First name (see above)
78-79 Zero
80-81 Nickname (see above)
82-83 Zero
84 Number of team
85-86 Overall player number. Relevant for loading both portraits and season
stats. The numbers start with 00 00 (Andrew Lang) and end with 8A 01
(All-Star Center). You can give some players the
no-portrait-available
picture (8A 01), but do this only if you just play exhibitions,
it will
crash season play. Changing the portraits of the all-star teams does
not crash the season, though.
87 Number of player in team (between 00 and 0B)
88 Zero
Changes recommended:
Replace Trevor Ruffin with Charles Barkley
Replace Jud Buechler with, err, I forgot his name, err, that baseball dude
Replace Howard Eisley and All-Star Center with David Robinson
Replace Alaa Abdelnaby with Henry Turner
Replace Johnny Dawkins with Negele Knight
Replace Rafael Addison with Ivano Newbill
Replace Steve Henson with Aaron Mckie
Replace John Williams with Duane Ferrell
Replace Antonio Lang with Richard Dumas
Replace Aaron Williams with Tate George
Replace Cedric Ceballos with Charles Barkley on the all-star team
Replace All-Star Center with David Robinson
Make sure to put Barkley, Robinson, Jordan and McKie into the starting
line-up. They are not in it automatically.
Any questions, flames etc. to the above mentioned e-mail address are
appreciated.
GO SUNS! <-- Oh, dear, who wrote that? Guess that was me, just a few days ago
AAARRGH! Life sucks! Now, uh, like GO REDWINGS or something!
Compiler's note: GO REDWINGS is also irrelevant :)
