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'95
IN THE NBA97 ERA!
Collection of Frequently Asked Questions
Version 2.0a
21/03/97
Compiled By Yaron Karasik (06/27/95)
karya@ccsg.tau.ac.il
Note
~~~~
To make this list 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
would be appreciated, and will almost always be included in the FAQ.
Also, I take no responsibilty for 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.
The last update by Yaron Karasik was version 1.0a on 6/27/95.
Additions to this document for version 2.0a were made on 21/3/97 by
abcgi@ozemail.com.au - you may mail me with questions if you wish.
Contents
~~~~~~~~
0 - NEW STUFF IN 1997
0.1 - How to Make NBA 95 Harder
0.2 - How to Make NBA 95 More Realistic
0.3 - Gameplay Problems Solved in NBA97?
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
3 - Frequently Asked Questions and Frequent Technical Problems
3.1 - Frequently Asked Questions.
3.2 - Frequent Technical Problems.
4 - NBA Live '95 Tips & Tricks (new stuff added in 1997)
5 - NBA '95 on WWW/FTP/Usenet
6 - Additional information
Part 0 - NEW STUFF IN 1997
==========================
0.1 How to Make NBA 95 Harder
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In order of preference;
1. Before the tip set up the same strategy and defence for both teams;
Box, High Post, Motion are good strategies
Half Court Press, Quarter Court are good defences.
2. Don't let the free throw bar hit the other end!
3. You must not play zone! You must guard the man with the ball and not
just stand under the basket. Do this by pressing "switch player" every
time the computer passes. Double team ONLY the player with the ball.
4. Don't push players off the court intentionally.
5. If it is still too easy, do this!
Play the first quarter for your opponent.
Play the second quarter for your team.
Play the third quarter for your opponent, get a big lead!
Play the fourth quarter for your team hard man!
6. Play Simulation and allow the computer to sub for you.
7. Play against a good opponent (you don't have to play with a shit team).
8. Give the computer Pound the Boards and NOT YOU!
9. Play shorter time games.
10 Turn on Computer Assist (So the computer can catch up)
0.1.1 EXTRA INFORMATION ABOUT THE ABOVE POINTS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Half Court defence is better because the computer will shoot three's in
Box against the quarter court all the time. Never use three point or
automatic as the computer will start tossing three's once it get's behind
constantly. Motion is the simpliest to learn, try them all.
I use Box, Crash boards and Half Court Defense for both teams.
2 As soon as the T-bar appears press the button before the ball reaches
the right hand side, and then press before it reaches the bottom. If this
is too hard you may press before the ball returns to the left.
Make an intentional miss if you cheat, and don't use the automatic rebound
off the free throw trick.
3. Just because the computer does not call illegal defence does not mean
you should play it. Penalize yourself for illegal defence with a turnover!
4. As the clock runs down you are tempted to run into a guy and push him
out of court -> which you could never do in real life but sometimes get
away with = don't do it, play D pansy!
5. You will notice the computer plays better when it has a good lead! You
can turn off computer assist if you like when using this option as it will
help you in the final quarter, but it will keep the scores close... up to
you.
I love doing this, during the season you get a taste for all teams and you
almost always have a realistic result, and the occasional frustrating upset
- no, no, no, I can't lose to Dallas!!!
6. The computer is at a huge disadvantage if you sub because it waits till
it's players are crawling up the court before subbing - therefore allow the
computer to sub for you or sub for both teams.
Alternatively if you play no fouls the computer will do better as it gives
away fouls on High Pressure and it's easy to get 3 free throws this way.
7. It's best to play with too good teams - i.e. Chicago v Seattle, Houston
v LA Lakers etc. as it is much more fun, play for the underdog if you want.
8. There is little disadvantage to the team going to the glass except they
don't cover the fast break quite as well.
9. In 8 and 12 minute games the computer sometimes seems to have cold
patches in the second half where it gives it up! esp. 12 minute games.
10 This is the first thing I would not use if it is too hard as it let's
the loser hit three's and makes the winner miss dunks and lay-ups which
stuffs up your stats!
The points in order of increase in difficulty are!
5, 1, 10, 3, 4, 7, 2, 9, 8, 6
ABC-GI (abcgi@ozemail.com.au)
0.2 How to Make NBA 95 More Realistic
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Using the below combined with the "Harder" tips will give good results.
You'll find the shooting percentage is still a little too high for your
teams but you'll find it hard to get your players leading all the
statistical categories. Try to win rebounding, blocks or steals!
Except for shooting percentage and individual player scores the other
teams will compare favourably. Game results will be similar to the
"defensive NBA" of 1997 with scores around and below 100. The number
of assists will still be a little high after a game, as well as the
shooting percentage and therefore the rebounding a little low.
Save your game just before going to the playoffs and review your
league history - fascinating!
1. Play 8 minutes and not 12.
This will keep the scores around the 80 to 100 level.
2. Play simulation.
This will help keep the shooting percentages down.
3. Turn off "Computer Assist". *Overrides Harder advice*
This makes the winner miss and the loser hit three's - it's silly!
4. For "Shot Control" use Computer.
This will factor in each player's abilities to your performance.
5. Set offensive and defensive strategies - never auto or three point!
Unless you like a team shooting 55 three pointers a game!
6. Learn the offences and use them, don't just bolt up the court every play.
Box and Half Court Press: both sides will get a good balance of treys.
7. Use the "How to Make NBA 95 Harder" to keep the scores closer and lower.
Some of the "Harder" tips overlap and for good reason.
8. Double team guys scoring lots of points.
The computer feeds one guy on certain offences (i.e. Motion).
9. Don't play zone.
Hanging under the basket distorts percentages & balance of made shots.
10 Switch teams every quarter.
Keeps the stats balanced between the teams.
11 Work the ball for an open shot and take it if you get it, don't just
dunk. A slight dribble left/right & then shot helps avoid the cheap
block.
12 Injuries: take him out of the starting lineup for the next few games.
82games 52games 26games
Injured for quarter: 3 2 1
Injured for game: 12 8 4
The player then gets less court time, another injury within this time
should be doubled and added to his quota!
In Playoffs any injury should mean missing the next game. You may decide
to play him anyway but an injury in this game and he's out of the
playoffs!
13 And the best of all: PLAY AGAINST A HUMAN OPPONENT!
Many of these tips can be applied to later versions of the game as well.
ABC-GI (abcgi@ozemail.com.au)
0.3 - Gameplay Problems Solved in NBA97?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Problem in NBA 95 Solved in NBA97?
------------------------------------------------ ----------------
Stupid bastards throw it out off inbounds!!! Yes thank god.
Easy rebound off 2nd free throw - miss on purpose No
Little bugs on shot clock, goal tends, travelling etc. I think so
Can push players out of bound on purpose - no foul No
No illegal defence calls Yes but not 100%
No on-screen indicator of fatigue or off/def set Yes - well done!
No on-screen play calling Yes - F keys
No mid game save or on-screen pause or timeout No - doh!
No multiple computer play (modem/network etc.) Yes - at last!
Too many alley oops and dunks! (Can there be!) Yes harder to do
No tip jams or tip ins Yes!
No reverse layup Yes
Can shoot from directly under the basket No
Not a big enough variety of dunks! No
Rebounders often jump out of bounds - morons! Improvement
Players bounce when hitting, forced behind basket etc. Improvement
Results are not wholly realistic, too many stats etc. Slight improvement
Don't get sent to the line much compared to NBA Yes, turn fouls up
Certain moves always get you the lane, i.e. l/r spin No
Free throws too easy Improvement
Easier to block slow motion dunks No
Little guys blocking tall guys easy Yes
Too easy to be blocked on open shots Yes
Fadeaways are almost always blocked Yes
Easy put backs under basket are mostly blocked Yes
Offensive rebounds a little too easy No not really
Steals directly off rebound too frequent Yes
Steals off inbounds not possible Yes!!
Players get too tired too quickly Yes (Shaq very fit!)
Overall Computer AI is average Improvement
Computer just too easy to beat Improvement
Computer subs take too long, very tired opponents Yes
Computer gives away shooting fouls on High Pressure Improvement
Computer does not take open shots when it gets them Improvement
Computer shoots a 2 when down by 3 with 0:10 left etc. Improvement
Computer uses one star too much (every play!!!) Improvement
Computer follows off. set too strictly, no creativity Improvement
Computer plays poorly when it controls the ballhandler Yes
Computer players will not pick up the loose ball quick No
Computer players do not block out well No
Part 1 - NBA Live '95 V2.0a
============================
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 fully
enjoy the game.
NBA 97 has now arrived on the scene and is an improvement on NBA 95
(finally!). NBA 95 is still a very good game, and those of you who hate
3d games or can't afford the new version after wasting your money on
NBA 96 will find this document useful. BTW do not buy Full Court Press!
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 available on the WWW. Tim Tschirner's site for NBA 95 at
http://www.tassoft.com/nbalive/nba95.html
Check out Tim's excellent NBA 97 site!
FAQ stored at;
http://www.cu-online.com/~solso/nbalive95/nbalive.faq
http://www.tassoft.com/nbalive/nba95.faq
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
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
V1.01á - 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.
V1.0á - First release
V2.0a abcgi@ozemail.com.au added a couple of sections.
"How to Make NBA Live Harder"
"How to Make NBA Live More Realistic"
Cleaned up some English errors.
Updated fact that are now out of date!
á = áeta 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 has since become 29 teams), 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
most of the NBA rules (not illegal defence) - 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 and opponent.
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 the high
resoultion graphics will amaze you. There are pictures of ALL the players,
except for Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley and David Robinson.
Pictures come 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 latest patches
swap the potraits around so that the correct player is represented and
Jordan, Barkley and Robinson appear as a "No Potrait Available" picture.:)
(Note: Lutz van Hasselt's patch also updates the stats from 93/94 to 95/96!)
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 look
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 :).
See the new sections on "How To Make NBA Live 95 Harder" and "How to Make
NBA Live 95 More Realistic". Many of these tips can be used for later
versions of the game since NBA 97 is still quite easy!
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 although hex editing can be done on this to change names, numbers,
attributes and abilities (plus hidden abilities like shooting arc!) - mail
abcgi@ozemail.com.au for more details.
"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%...
ESPN Basketball and NBA JAM are games that have been released.
Front Page Sport Basketball? And there are still others like
3 Point Basketball etc.
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.
The SVGA mode (press F9) is a much crisper graphical experience
(but small) and can be easily handled by a Pentium with 16 meg of RAM, an
average video card accelerator helps.
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?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The latest patch for 1997 is available at Tim's site, patches for
NBA 97 are also available;
http://www.tassoft.com/nbalive/nba95.html
Lutz is still upto date in 1997 and has a wide collection of patches in
his incredible patch with 95-96 rosters, all-time greats like Magic, Larry,
Kareem, Dr J, Chamberlain, Robertson etc., plus Dream Teams 1,2 and 3, plus
lots more including some silly stuff like teams with Bill Clinton, Dan
Quayle, Beavis and Butthead etc. Lutz has released a DOS editor and there
is a Windows editor available as well.
2.3.2 Any other intresting news and rumors?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NBA 97 has Serial/Modem/Network connections.
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, buy
NBA 97 if you can afford it or get a budget copy of NBA 95! 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.
And guess what? He was right folks!
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.
You can also use some the CD-Rom emulators out there.
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.
See the "How to Make NBA 95 Harder" section.
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.
You need a clear path to the basket and hitting turbo and a
direction with the shot button helps. Standing dunks near the
basket CAN be done but you need to get it just right... but it
feels GOOD!
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! (Except for the mouse player!).
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.
NBA 97 allows for modem and network play.
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.
You still can't in NBA 97!
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.
Guess what? It is still not available in NBA 97!
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.
abcgi@ozemail.com.au recommends you DO play in SVGA if you have
a Pentium,
* No chunky graphics (technically crisper than NBA 97 even!).
* You can see what ALL the players are doing, players are small tho.
* Standard view only shows part of the court hiding some players.
* Get a big monitor and sit close to the screen for best results!!!
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."
4.4 - abcgi@ozemail.com.au - get an easy rebound off your last free throw
by shooting it straight and high (just below the top) and the ball
will come back to the shooter -> works best against computer.
4.5 - abcgi@ozemail.com.au - get easy steals by waiting in the passing
lane. When the ball approaches in the air - jump - if you are
touching the ball whilst jumping you will knock it down.
This can't be done in NBA 97.
4.6 - Get 3 free throws easily. When the computer
controlled opponent is on High Pressure get a guy open for three
with the man guarding him standing a few steps away inbetween your
player and the basket. Take the shot the computer controlled player
will floor your guy, you might even get a four point play.
This is best set up by running your man off the ball (hold down B)
through a screen to get your opponent guard a few steps behind.
4.7 - You can view your opponents record against opponents by clicking
on other team and schedule. You can't do this in NBA 97.
4.8 - Push opponent out of court by making normal contact then hold
turbo and push. Try to release just before going out to avoid
the possible foul.
4.9 - To dunk hold down turbo, move toward the basket and hold shoot.
4.10- Don't head fake more than twice in a play as the chances of a steal
increase dramatically.
4.11- Catch the ball in non-dribble and head fake, if your guy goes up
take it to the basket or shot the three immediately.
4.12- When in the post with the ball in non-dribble mode move joystick
in different directions and shoot to do various post shots.
4.13- Take most of your time outs when your stars are on the bench to
get them back quicker. Remember you are limited to a maximum of
4 time outs in the final quarter.
4.14- Advanced players will pass from Jordan to Ron Harper holding down
the pass button to retain control of Jordan. Run Jordan off a
screen and goto the hoop. Press the A button well before Jordan
gets to the basket and you'll get a dunk of alley oop. You can
use lesser players if you like but it's not as much fun!
4.15- Take your guy to the hoop every time. Go to the left hand side of
the court just inside the 3 point line, roll in a circle from the
left to the right (or just go left then right) whilst pressing
turbo and then go forward - invariably you will be past your man
with a lane to the basket. This can also be done in NBA 97.
4.16- The best way to get an open three is to pull up off the fast break
or run Three Point Offence and pass from the wing into the post
and then wait for the double team, if they double from the
perimeter pass to that player and you get a good look.
4.17- Play the guy guarding your opponents weakest offensive player -
i.e. Rodman! Place him under the basket to destroy many of the
computers offences.
4.18- Press turbo a couple of times with PG to (re)start the offence.
4.19- Bump opposition player just over halfway for backcourt call.
4.20- Shooting three's from the team logos DOES NOT HELP!
4.21- On key plays try shoving the opposition star without the ball, keep
him on the ground and hamper the offence - fouls normally occur
when the player has the ball or is about to be passed the ball.
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 for 1997.
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 :)
