Basic Troubleshooting Checklist (Madden NFL 08)

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Basic Troubleshooting Checklist (Madden NFL 08)

Postby Administrator » Sun Jul 17, 2011 11:45 pm

Madden 08 is a rather old game, and with modern systems and all the ways we can modify the game, it can often crash or have other issues. This thread will hopefully help people overcome and troubleshoot any issues they may be having, at least at a basic level.

To start, when you're having crashing in Madden, identify where it happened. Make note whether it happened in a menu, in an actual game, while simulating, etc. When you figure out where the crash happens, you can begin troubleshooting. If it happens in a game, for instance, it could be a roster issue. If it happens in a menu, it could be a mod issue or a system issue. If it happens while simulating, it could be a franchise-specific issue.

The first step in diagnosing a crash is to check the roster for issues. Follow these basic tips.

  • 1. If you've made changes to any team outside of the game in an editor, such as NZA's Editor, use an editor to take control of all teams that were edited. Then go back in game, and auto-reorder the depth charts of all teams affected. You can do this by going into the depth chart part of roster management in roster or franchise mode. Additionally, make sure you clear any set substitutions.
  • 2. Make sure no teams have more than 55 players. If an affected team is over that number, release players until they are at 55 or fewer.
  • 3. Check the roster breakdown to make sure all teams meet the minimum requirements at each position. If not, sign players until requirements are met.
  • 4. Check to make sure there are no more than 400-450 free agents. You can do this in NZA's Editor version 1.3.
  • 5. Check to make sure there are no injured free agents, and make sure no free agents have contracts listed.
  • 6. Make sure there are enough free agents available at each position. If there are none available at a certain position, release players from teams until enough free agents are available.
  • 7. Make sure all players on the 32 main teams have contracts. If they don't, or if you think there's something wrong with the contract, give them a new one in-game.
  • 8. Using NZA's Editor version 1.3, make sure each of the 32 teams has four coaches, one each of the following: Head Coach, Offensive Coordinator,
    Defensive Coordinator, and Special Teams Coordinator.
  • 9. Before starting a game, open up the uniform select screen for both teams and check each uniform. If you get any crashes during this screen, you have a uniform issue.
  • 10. If you experience crashes during certain points of a game, try resetting all of your formation substitutions. That can clear potential issues if a player was moved using an editor.
  • 11. If your crashing is happening right after a penalty occurs or while trying to view player roles in-game, it's probably due to a Windows 10 update. You will need to run Madden through Calhoupe's Madden Scripts to stop the crashing.
  • 12. If none of the above helps, check your system settings to make sure everything works well for your system.
  • 13. If none of the above helps, also check to make sure you have any mods or other changes installed correctly. Uninstall and reinstall them if you're not sure.

If none of those basic tips work, you have two options. First, please gather as much detailed information as you can, and search the forum for your issue. If you can't find any answers, post a topic in the Troubleshooting subform, describing your issue in as much detail as you can possibly provide. The more detail you give, the easier it will be to help you fix advanced issues. If we can't even help you, try uninstalling the game, deleting all folders associated with it, and reinstalling it.

Make sure to check the Starting Guide for New Players to make sure you have any necessary updates and runtimes to allow the game to run normally. Additionally, download MadMod X, if you don't have it already, as it contains the tools you'll need to troubleshoot some of these issues.

This post has been rewritten and adjusted with the permission of the site owner. The original contents are below:

Code: Select all

Occasionally the Madden NFL 08 game will behave irrationally due to roster/franchise file related issues. Typically, the game will either crash, freeze or refuse to simulate certain games.

Checklist

    Teams missing players at key positions. Check each roster under "breakdown" to ensure that each team has the minimum required players for each position.

    Rosters not re-ordered after changes made. If changes were made, especially in a third-party editor such as NZA or MaddenAmp, the depth charts may have been skewed, which can cause a crash. Take control of all 32 teams in MaddenAmp or NZA, go into the game and select "auto re-order" for each team. Do not rearrange depth charts in a third-party editor as the results are unpredictable.

    Too many free agents. If there are more than 430 free agents, the game can crash.

    Not enough free agents at a particular position. This could be preventing the game from replacing injured players on CPU-controlled teams. Create some new players, or take control of teams which have too many players at given positions (for example, a team which has three kickers) and cut them to the free agent pool.

    Players on roster without contracts. This can happen especially if players are being moved around in a third-party editor.

    Wrong number of coaches, coaching position unfilled or dual coaches at a position. Each team should have a HC, OC, DC and ST.

Basic Troubleshooting Checklist (Madden NFL 08)

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truetothegame13
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Re: Basic checklist for roster crashes or anomalies

Postby truetothegame13 » Sat Jul 21, 2012 12:16 pm

something you could very well put on the top of your list,

- before placing in madden documents folder, right click roster file > properties > "unblock".. and then open roster and then "close" with maddenamp.

-----

- Use NZA 1.3 because it has less errors, opposed to NZA 2.0
My Corner (my threads): Includes tips for graphics, settings, screen resolution, sliders. Great roster resources from multi-platforms (converting/porting). 4GB patch for 64-bit processors.

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Re: Basic checklist for roster crashes or anomalies

Postby PML17 » Sun Jul 22, 2012 6:18 pm

truetothegame13 wrote:- never use NZA 2.0. use NZA 1.3 instead.

I disagree on that. I use NZA's v2 editor to update a roster last season and everything was fine. (No crashes in any game modes.) But I use both time to time, but mostly update things in Madden.
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Re: Basic checklist for roster crashes or anomalies

Postby Danchat » Sun Jul 22, 2012 10:21 pm

PMan17 wrote:
truetothegame13 wrote:- never use NZA 2.0. use NZA 1.3 instead.

I disagree on that. I use NZA's v2 editor to update a roster last season and everything was fine. (No crashes in any game modes.) But I use both time to time, but mostly update things in Madden.

I think the wording of it should be changed. I think most users think NZA 1.3 has less crashes. "Never use NZA 2.0" There's no reason never to use it, other than 1.3 is better.
So I think the wording should be: "Use NZA 1.3 because it has less errors."
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truetothegame13
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Re: Basic checklist for roster crashes or anomalies

Postby truetothegame13 » Sun Jul 22, 2012 11:06 pm

lol, ur prob right.

im a noob and dont know what errors itll cause so im just not gonna touch it :)
My Corner (my threads): Includes tips for graphics, settings, screen resolution, sliders. Great roster resources from multi-platforms (converting/porting). 4GB patch for 64-bit processors.

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Re: Basic checklist for roster crashes or anomalies

Postby krc1130 » Mon Jul 23, 2012 10:28 pm

So I downloaded Miner69's (97% that's his name) roster file. I edited the Bears-Broncos and my franchise worked fine. Once I edited Cleveland, its preseason week 1 game kept crashing. I'm not great at editing rosters, so I was wondering if someone could help me figure out what the hell I'm doing wrong.

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truetothegame13
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Re: Basic checklist for roster crashes or anomalies

Postby truetothegame13 » Tue Jul 24, 2012 12:22 am

what all did you do to the roster before it started crashing?

if you used a roster editor: id make sure the contracts of the moves are proper. if i recall correctly, at least 400k per year just to be safe.. years of contract & years left. also check how many coaches CLE has currently. should have 4, but something could have possibly added a new 1.

or check if you surpassed the salary cap

all i can think of for now
My Corner (my threads): Includes tips for graphics, settings, screen resolution, sliders. Great roster resources from multi-platforms (converting/porting). 4GB patch for 64-bit processors.

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Re: Basic checklist for roster crashes or anomalies

Postby krc1130 » Tue Jul 24, 2012 12:43 am

truetothegame13 wrote:what all did you do to the roster before it started crashing?

if you used a roster editor: id make sure the contracts of the moves are proper. if i recall correctly, at least 400k per year just to be safe.. years of contract & years left. also check how many coaches CLE has currently. should have 4, but something could have possibly added a new 1.

or check if you surpassed the salary cap

all i can think of for now


The roster apparently uses 250k per year as its minimum. However, most games sim fine regardless of the fact some players are only making 250k. The weird thing is that sometimes (20% of the time), the game does sim (usually Green Bay destroys Cleveland). I'm posting the roster just in case I'm a complete idiot and am missing something... which I probably am.

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Re: Basic checklist for roster crashes or anomalies

Postby truetothegame13 » Tue Jul 24, 2012 2:57 pm

only thing i can think of is to reorder their depth chart. then try it.. if it works, you could try going back and adjusting the depth chart how you want.

did you open the roster with maddenamp, then close it, before you started adjusting it with madden in the first place?
My Corner (my threads): Includes tips for graphics, settings, screen resolution, sliders. Great roster resources from multi-platforms (converting/porting). 4GB patch for 64-bit processors.

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Re: Basic checklist for roster crashes or anomalies

Postby krc1130 » Tue Jul 24, 2012 10:30 pm

If you're telling me that I needed to open the file with Madden amp BEFORE I edited on Madden, then that is the problem. That, or I just used some random scrub to make Josh Gordon. Either way, I'll avoid doing those two things and see what outcomes I get. In case this works, thank you so much!


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