Got a working custom team into NBA Live 2004

I managed to get a custom team put in place. Here is what I did.

(I am of course indebted to everyone who contributed instructions on doing this for 2003, because that's where I learned how to do this.)

1. Picked a 2 character code for my team (e.g. zz).

2. Made backups of every .viv and .dbf file listed below that will be changed. You should also be able to find backup copies on the CDs. Without good backups, the game has to be de-installed and re-installed if you mess up.

It took me 6 tries to get the game working correctly, and I had to go to my backup files several times.

3. Copied all of the graphics from an existing graphics set using EAGE and FshEd. In my case, I copied San Antonio's graphics (sn). There are a lot of graphics to duplicate:

render/xcommon.viv has sn.fsh and sn_drop.fsh. So that's how I knew that I needed zz.fsh and zz_drop.fsh added. So I copied sn.fsh and sn_drop.fsh to get the files I needed.

render/xfescr.viv needs zz.fsh added

and so on for every .fsh and .o that I could find that started with sn in these files:

render\xoverlay.viv
render\xteam.viv
render\xcourt.viv
render\xovrlogo.viv
render\xstadium.viv
renfe\xfebg.viv
renfe\xlogo_f.viv
renfe\xlogo_m.viv
renfe\xlogo_sk.viv
renfe\xarena.viv
renfe\xlogo_s.viv
renfe\xportbck.viv

The graphics have to be done first because if the game can't find a graphics object it's looking for, it will crash.

4. Create the appropriate entries in the DBF files (e.g. with DB Commander).

currentdb\location.dbf
currentdb\teams.dbf
currentdb\coaches.dbf
currentdb\teaminfo.dbf
currentdb\teamgear.dbf

5. Assign players to your team. This involves editing currentdb\players.dbf and changing the team number of existing free agents to the number of your new team. (Or you could edit in new players as well, a separate topic).

6. Start the game and cross your fingers. If you get something wrong, the game will crash. In my case (actually on my 6th try), I got a working custom team that looked like San Antonio.

From here, it gets easier. For example, now that the graphics are all in place, you can edit the graphics files with your own custom logos and other art.

I have only tested my custom team with exhibition games. I have not yet tried a season or dynasty mode.

So far I've found one problem.

Although I edited locations.dbf for a new arena (the EADome on Sedonia, Mars), I can't get that location to come up when I start a game and come to the point where you can select an arena. Only the original arenas such as the SBC Center are available for selection.

I assume better and easier ways to do this will soon be published. This group has got some pretty amazing people contributing to it.

Steve

great !!!

were u able to use them in dynasty?

I still haven't tried Dynasty yet, but my first test of Season mode crashed the game. So I assume Dynasty will crash as well.

I got as far as putting my custom team into the Pacific division and simulating league games before my first game. Then I tried to save the season and the game crashed, complaining about a read of teams.dbf. So this process is definitely not ready for prime-time yet.

shkoller will you send me everything that it took to get the custom tem to work I 've adding teams and I thought I had it but I still get crashed back to the desktop after the jersey select screen any suggestions or will you send me the dbf file also

superman@shentel.net

thanks a bunch

ok I figured it out and I got some custom teams working but after I add my 5th team it crashes after the jersey select screen so I think theres a limit on how may teams there can be! I think its olny 4 custom teams if theres a way to add more someone please help me thanks

has anyone figured out how to run a custom team in dynasty or season mode? the game always crashes on me due to an error in the scedule.dbf and i cant figure out what the problem is.

ok I figured it out and I got some custom teams working but after I add my 5th team it crashes after the jersey select screen so I think theres a limit on how may teams there can be! I think its olny 4 custom teams if theres a way to add more someone please help me thanks

what teams are you adding?! lol

and i wish i could do this, i dont understand all the technical talk lol (i'm serious)

So far I've been able to add 3 custom teams to my current roster update (fourth coming soon), all of them using existing graphics (the 96 Bulls use Chicago's jerseys, the 86 Celtics use Boston's 1985/86 jerseys, the Dream Team uses the 90s All-Stars' jerseys), and so far I haven't experienced any crashes. I think the problem might be the art.

So far I've been able to add 3 custom teams to my current roster update (fourth coming soon), all of them using existing graphics (the 96 Bulls use Chicago's jerseys, the 86 Celtics use Boston's 1985/86 jerseys, the Dream Team uses the 90s All-Stars' jerseys), and so far I haven't experienced any crashes. I think the problem might be the art.

i've been adding teams and experianced a ton of crashes lol. heres a list.

First i tryed adding all 6 at one time, but it got too complicated so i figured i'd take it one team at a time.

well i delated anything to do wtih the other 5 teams other then the 1 custom team left in the dbf files of the save i'm loading, but even after reseting the rosters and completely having the teams deleted, and then loading the file with just 1 team in it the other 5 appear too.

just like supermans problem, when i go to play with that custom team after i press next on the jersey select screen it crashes, so i'm interested in seeing how he resolved that.

in the original file with all 6 teams, on the first team there was a player named h. olajuwan (sp) but everything about him was 0's. in the roster where i just have one custom team, he is no longer there.

so those are my problems.yah....

only custom art work is the jerseys so far. i havent made courts yet (which could be the cause of crashing on the jersey select screen, but they werent the home team so i dont know what that would effect)

for all the logos i just used the 50's art work, except s and m because that made the game crash, so i just left those empty.

CUSTOM ART is NOT on, its all installed in the .viv files

can anyone help me with my problems?

You will need to start over with fresh rosters, adding one team at a time.

You will need to start over with fresh rosters, adding one team at a time.

thats exactly what i'm doing i confuse myself too easily

can someone make a checklist for this. of the files you need. it would make the process simpler. or release a patch that has all the files to make a custom team.

maybe i'll do something like that when i finish my nbdl patch....

also, has any1 noticed the cusarena and custunis and custlogo files in the database dbf? if somebody made a guide for these, it could make the process of inserting a team (along with art) into the game extremely easy.....

I added team by team using all the original graphics and I done this the day I got the game before I installed any patches had custom art off and tried it then I turned custom art back on and tried it same problom then I started playing around with it and I got it to load almost all the way I write a step bystep guide but I think theres gonna be some more dbf editing and some other work to get more than 4 fully working custom teams but I'll keep everyone posted on what I find

I've only added three custom teams at present. I'll let you know if I encounter any errors, and if I discover any workarounds.

Andrew, any idea on how to add teams to dynasty mode?

Andrew, any idea on how to add teams to dynasty mode?

i know to get them into Season you have to change their "TEAMCODE" to 0 instead of what ever # it is, i did this with the Bobcats to get them into Season, oh use a "DB Command Editor" to do this and enter the "teams.DBF" (for a detailed tutorial go here- http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/~nbalive/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=11784 just view the 3rd post, its by Me

Andrew, any idea on how to add teams to dynasty mode?

It should be a similar method to getting them into Season Mode. I haven't tried it yet, but I'll give it a shot later tonight after I've done some more work on the current roster patch.

Many people including me has suceeded to put Bobcats in season mode but no one has managed to put them in dynasty mode.

As far as I know, the only way to play Bobcats or any other custom teams in dynasty mode is by substituting with another team so the number of teams does not exceed 29.

I'm assuming you shuffled the divisions and conferences so that the Bobcats are not only recognised as an NBA team, they're also recognised as being in a division and a conference?

That's correct. It works for the season, just not for the dynasty.
I even started a season with Bobcats in it, and tried to copy player, team, schedule dbf files to my dynasty but it just crashed.

My guess is that the AI for dynasty mode is hard-coded with constant max_team_number = 29 so it just won't work if more than 30 teams are in dynasty.

I replaced a team with my custom team and can get them into season mode but it chashes in dynasty mode so i dont think it has to do with the # of teams it's something else. Unfortunately i dont know.

My suspicion is that Max. # of teams in dynasty is 29 b/c of dynasty AI logic.

In season, it's okay with 30 teams

yeah but sugashane3400 did replace an original team with is custom team, i think one problem could be the gms desk image in the dynasty central screen, you know how it has the desk with a picture of the team behind it, i think you wud have to asign your custom team an image, but im not sure which field it would be in the teams dbf, if it is in the dbf at all.