Starting Guide for New Players (Madden NFL 08)

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RevanFan
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Starting Guide for New Players (Madden NFL 08)

Postby RevanFan » Wed Jul 06, 2016 8:43 am

Welcome to FootballIdiot, home of Madden modding! If you're reading this, it likely means you are new to the idea of modding Madden NFL 08, and would like a guide and how to get started. Well, I have that for you. Before you do anything, you should first introduce yourself on this forum, if you haven't already. Now, to get Madden NFL 08 up to date, one must first buy a copy of the game. I'm going to assume for the rest of this that you have already done so, but if you haven't, you can search for a disc copy on Amazon.com or eBay.com, as well as any other store that sells old PC games. Amazon used to sell a digital download for the game, but they no longer do. Additionally, before installing the game, make sure your graphics drivers are up to date. Find them at the site of your graphics provider, usually Nvidia, AMD, or Intel.

Once you own the game, the next step is to install and run the game. First, install the game. Next, run the game, configure any graphics settings, and mess around a bit to see what options and menus there are. When ready, create and save a roster, franchise, or superstar file. This can be deleted after you're done. You're creating this file because the folders you need for modding are not created until this is done.

Before downloading any of the things I will now talk about, be sure you have a method of extraction. Many files come in compressed formats such as .rar, .zip, and .7z. You can extract these files with 7-Zip. Windows 10 comes with a tool for extraction by default, but 7-Zip is far more feature rich. Also, make sure you have all Microsoft .NET frameworks. Please install 1.1, 3.5, 3.5 SP1, 4.5, and 4.8. If you already have some of them, only install the ones you are missing. If you're on Windows 10, you can enable .NET 2.0 and 3.5 by doing the following:

  1. Open the Start Menu and search for "Windows Features." The "Turn Windows features on or off" box should appear.
  2. Scroll down until you find ".NET Framework 3.5 (includes .NET 2.0 and 3.0)." Select it and click "OK."
  3. Reboot if prompted.

NOTE: .NET 1.1 is no longer supported and is officially deprecated. Due to this, it is no longer recommend. Most utilities should still work, but please report if any don't.

Before you do the rest of the things listed here, it is recommended to update the game to the 4.0 patch. Since the game's auto update feature no longer works, you'll have to manually download the patch. A link to the patch can be found here. That patch is only confirmed to work on the physical disc version of the game. If it does not work for your version, try this alternative.

The first step in updating the NFL rosters in Madden is to get the latest community mod, the FF/FI mod. The latest updates can be found by following this link. Download the packages and follow their installation instructions. All future mod updates will also be found at that thread. NOTE: Unless a mod specifically says to place files in Program Files, do not place them there. Instead, place them in the game's Documents folder.

The next thing you'll likely want is MadMod X, which is a collection of extremely useful and powerful tools and utilities for modding, configuring, and giving new life to Madden. To use some of these properly, you'll need to have the versions of Microsoft's .NET Framework listed above. Two of the most important tools in this collection are NZA's Editor (included are both versions 1.3 and 2.0), which allow for extremely large amounts of editing and tweaking to rosters, franchises, and superstars, and the DB Editor and DAT File Replacer, which are key modding tools, and can even allow you to mod and experiment for yourself. If you want the latest versions of the DB Editor and the DAT File Replacer, they can be found by following the links in this sentence.

To make the game more realistic and updated, add features that quite frankly should have been there in the first place, and fix crashing issues on the latest versions of Windows 10, download version 1.69 or higher of Calhoupe's Madden Scripts. NOTE: The scripts will likely be flagged as a virus by your antivirus program. This is a false positive and it is safe to whitelist. To use the scripts, you must run the program in the download, then use that program to launch Madden, by selecting "mainapp.exe" from the installation directory (default is C:\Program Files (x86)\EA Sports\Madden NFL 08\). Then, after the game loads, you can activate them by minimizing the game, and selecting the options you want to be enabled. After enabling any options you want, click "Save" to save them for later, and they'll be loaded every time you start the scripts in the future. To allow you to minimize the game, you must first delete or rename a file in the Madden installation directory. Locate the file named "keyblo" and rename or delete it. That will allow you to ALT+TAB out of the game. Calhoupe's script program recommends you run the game with a no-CD patch. We of course expect everyone here to legally purchase the game, but since his scripts recommend it, a method of acquiring such a patch can be found with them.

Regardless of whether you use a no-CD patch or the standard executable file, one thing you'll want to run is NTCore's 4GB Patch. Madden is an old game, and many old games are not designed to run with all of the capabilities of modern hardware. Madden is one such program, and was designed to only access 2 gigabytes of RAM while running. Applying the 4GB Patch will up that to 4 gigabytes. After you download the 4GB Patch, extract it and run the .exe file included. It'll ask you to select an .exe file to patch. Navigate to your Madden install directory, and select "mainapp.exe." Click "Open" if the patch doesn't start immediately, and when the patching is finished, close the program.

Another editing utility you'll likely want is Madden Amp. This is another powerful editor for rosters and franchises, and even has its own drafting system that can replace the normal Madden draft in franchise mode. Like some of the utilities in MadMod X, it requires .NET Framework version 4.5+.

Finally, the last step is finding rosters. For a completely updated roster, the recommended roster is currently Rogerjinx's 2020 Roster. If you want to try other rosters, feel free to go ahead and browse the forum. There are many rosters for past seasons, alternate rosters for more modern seasons, and... I'm going to stop talking. Go and explore. See what you like. When you download a roster, it will be in the form of a .ros file. Move this .ros file to the Documents\Madden NFL 08\Rosters folder. Then, load them in-game by, from the main menu, selecting Menu at the bottom right of the screen, then File, and then selecting the downloaded roster. You can find rosters in the Rosters sub-forum, or at the Files Page.

There are many graphics mods here that use a program called TexMod. What TexMod does is modify the graphics while the game is running. When the game is interacting with TexMod, you can select textures to incorporate into the game.

If you wish to play online, this guide may help you out, but be warned that you may not be able to play online with the FF mod or rogerjinx's roster unless your opponent is also running the same mod/roster. If you are running Windows 10 or another more recent version of Windows, and running the game with calhoupe's script program does not help you, try reading this guide to Madden on Windows 10 and other recent Windows systems.

One more thing. For you college football fans out there, there is an amazing mod called Heisman 14 which, along with its add-on, include many, MANY college football teams, all accurately represented for you to enjoy. And for any Candians or fans of American's northern neighbors, there is a mod for the Canadian Football League! It requires some extra mods and programs to run, so be sure to follow its instructions and read the post carefully. I must mention that the mods linked in this paragraph cannot be used at the same time as the FF/FI Mod. However, one can follow these instructions to have more than one major mod installed.

If you have any issues with the game, go to the Basic Troubleshooting Checklist and follow it to attempt to fix your issues. If none of the tips there work, ask for help on the forum, but please provide as much detail as you possibly can.

Now go and enjoy Madden NFL 08, modded to full glory! If you have any questions, comments, or thoughts about Madden and its mods, please feel free to post on this forum. We're a great community who'll be glad to help whenever we are able.

If you'd like to attempt modding yourself, or are looking for links to useful information, go to the Useful Links thread.
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Starting Guide for New Players (Madden NFL 08)

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jokull
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Re: Starting Guide for New Players

Postby jokull » Fri Jul 08, 2016 9:21 pm

Thank you so much for this. I'm re-installing all this and this was really helpful. Wish I had this the first time around.

Can't wait til the new mod comes out!

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RevanFan
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Re: Starting Guide for New Players

Postby RevanFan » Sat Jul 09, 2016 11:04 pm

Updated to include link to 7-Zip for file extraction.
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GeneralSilent
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Re: Starting Guide for New Players

Postby GeneralSilent » Sun Jul 17, 2016 6:17 pm

I uploaded my copy of Texmod right here: http://www.mediafire.com/download/6408q ... Texmod.zip
God bless america!

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RevanFan
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Re: Starting Guide for New Players

Postby RevanFan » Sun Jul 17, 2016 6:21 pm

GeneralSilent wrote:I uploaded my copy of Texmod right here: http://www.mediafire.com/download/6408q ... Texmod.zip

Thanks. Added.
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GeneralSilent
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Re: Starting Guide for New Players

Postby GeneralSilent » Sun Jul 17, 2016 8:46 pm

The link for JSGME is dead,any other links?

Nevermind,ignore
God bless america!

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Rwilly
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Re: Starting Guide for New Players

Postby Rwilly » Wed Jul 20, 2016 3:49 pm

It's been awesome playing all the new mods! Thank you all who have made this possible!

d12njd
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Re: Starting Guide for New Players

Postby d12njd » Wed Aug 03, 2016 10:02 am

What about classic seasons, like NFL 2k has----1980's-2000's?

Eddy
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Re: Starting Guide for New Players

Postby Eddy » Sat Aug 06, 2016 9:53 pm

I am having a very difficult time trying to add the Mods to my Madden 08. I've down loaded every file and placed them where they're supposed to go (I think) but it doesn't work. Anyone have time to help a PC challenged old man, please?

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Danchat
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Re: Starting Guide for New Players

Postby Danchat » Sun Aug 07, 2016 3:03 pm

Eddy wrote:I am having a very difficult time trying to add the Mods to my Madden 08. I've down loaded every file and placed them where they're supposed to go (I think) but it doesn't work. Anyone have time to help a PC challenged old man, please?


Where specifically did you place the files? They should be placed in the "Madden NFL 08" folder, which is found in your Documents.
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