NLSC Forum • NBA JAM: 2020's On Fire Edition (2025)

=== OVERVIEW ===
NBA JAM: 2020's On Fire Edition is a historical conversion mod of NBA JAM: On Fire Edition (OFE) for PlayStation 3. It features every franchise's best teams of the 2020's. Unfortunately, Detroit, Houston, and Toronto are not currently represented, but I fully intend to add them in the future.

Please note that this project is "2020's On Fire Edition", not "On Fire Edition 2025". While some teams are from the present day (e.g. LAL with Luka and LeBron), many are from the recent past (e.g. PHO with CP3 and Booker). This is why some franchises have multiple teams. Each team represents a distinct era of the franchise. This is sometimes a single year (e.g. the 2023 Kings) and other times multiple years (e.g. the Jimmy Butler Heat). In general, when a franchise has made significant roster changes, I create a new team for them (e.g. MIL with Giannis and Lillard, DAL with Davis and Kyrie, PHO with Durant and Booker). However, this approach doesn't always result in perfectly clean fits. Sometimes I want to add a player that doesn't exactly fit the team's era, but I don't think they deserve a new team (e.g. GSW Jimmy Butler, DEN Russell Westbrook, MIN Julius Randle). In these circumstances, the player is unlockable in the Jam Store.

I intend to update this project until the decade is over, or until I stop working on this game - whichever comes first.

=== FEATURES ===
- 33 teams from the 2020's
- 3 bonus teams, unlockable in the Jam Store
- 2024 Team USA (all players except Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton)
- 2024 Team France (Wembanyama, Batum, Gobert)
- NBA JAM: On Fire Edition fictional characters (Mark Turmell, Tim Kitzrow, and 70 bonus players from the original game)
- 8 bonus players, unlockable in the Jam Store
- BOS Kemba Walker
- BOS Robert Williams III
- CLE Ricky Rubio
- DEN Russell Westbrook
- GSW Jimmy Butler
- LAL Russell Westbrook
- MIN Julius Randle
- NYK Mid 2020's Julius Randle
- New in-game player heads
- Accurate body textures and accessories for all players
- New arenas
- New uniforms
- New shoes
- New coaches
- New "Jam Now" game mode options:
- Make-It Take-It
- Inbound After Made Basket
- Taunt Shot Extra Points
- Number of Baskets for Fire
- Number of Alley-Oops for Team Fire
- New Road Trip campaign with new game rules that weren't used in the original Road Trip mode
- New loading screen photos, celebrating the best players and plays from the decade
- New loading screen gameplay tips
- New crowd signs for all arenas
- New courtside banner ads for my favorite basketball videogames
- New Hot Spot locations that weren't used in the original game
- Jam Challenges that are impossible (because this project cannot be played online) or silly have been removed.

=== PLAYER RATINGS ===
- Ratings have been adjusted for 4-player gameplay. 3PT has been lowered to balance the game. With the original ratings, the game tends to become a 3 point shootout because, with a good shooting release, you can expect nearly every 3 pointer to go in. Shooting 3's becomes the most viable strategy for winning. Because of this, the 3PT rating has been shifted down so that the maximum rating is 8 instead of 10.
- This game isn't a sim, and neither are the player ratings.
- The player ratings are more about team performance than player stats. Players are generally good at what they are good at in real life. But how good their ratings are is based on how good their team was, and how good they were overall. To me, it is more important that the player ratings reflect how good the team was in real life than it is for the player ratings to reflect how good the players were individually.
- Some players have an inflated 3PT because their shooting form is slow or easy to block because they don't jump high (e.g. Jokic and Embiid).
- CTH is mostly used as an "overall" rating, but points were given or taken away for players who are especially clutch or not clutch.

=== LIMITATIONS AND KNOWN ISSUES ===
- None of the audio has been modified. I know how to extract audio from the game files, but I don't know how to reinject audio back into the game.
- The Brooklyn Nets are called the "New Jersey Nets"
- The Charlotte Hornets are called the "Charlotte Bobcats"
- The New Orleans Pelicans are called the "New Orleans Hornets"
- Team USA is called "Team EA"
- Some new players use the same "SpeechID" as stock players that have the same last name. For example, you'll hear Anthony Davis referred to as "Baron Davis". The announcer doesn't usually say the player's first name, so I think using the substitute "SpeechID" is worth it.

=== INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS ===
- Before playing, you should own the original NBA JAM: On Fire Edition game (or the 2010 NBA JAM). However, this is a legal and ethical requirement, not a technical one.
- This mod is playable on PS3 emulators and jailbroken PlayStation 3's.
- PS3 testing was done on a CFW PS3 running Rebug 4.84.2 and 4.89.
- There have been reports of problems with HEN, and I don't currently know how to fix them.
- I recommend playing on RPCS3. The game runs flawlessly and can look very good when you bump up the internal resolution ("Resolution Scale").
- This game has a unique PS3 TITLE_ID. It has been changed from "NPUB30558" to "NPUB20210". Because of this, it can be installed without conflicting with the stock NBA JAM OFE or any of my other OFE projects.
- RPCS3 installation instructions:
1. Install RPCS3 using the quickstart instructions here: https://rpcs3.net/quickstart
2. In RPCS3, click the "File" menu and select "Install Packages/Raps/Edats"
3. Inside the ZIP file ("NBA_JAM_2020s_On_Fire_Edition_v1.0_by_johnz1.zip"), go into the "Installation Files" folder and install both of the PKG files ("NBA_JAM_2020s_On_Fire_Edition_v1.0_by_johnz1-Part_1.pkg" and "NBA_JAM_2020s_On_Fire_Edition_v1.0_by_johnz1-Part_2.pkg").
4. "NBA JAM: 2020's On Fire Edition" should show up in the game list now. Start the game.
5. The first time you play a game, it may be slow and some textures may be missing because the emulator needs to build the shader cache. I highly recommend you start a game, let it run for a minute, then restart RPCS3.
- RPCS3 optimization instructions:
WARNING: This was written in September 2024 and may not be entirely accurate if you're reading this months or years later.
1. In RPCS3, click the "Pads" button to open the Gamepad Settings menu. Assuming you're playing with a controller, change the "Handler". I recommend "XInput" if you have an Xbox controller. If you want to play multiplayer, you'll need to do this for each controller.
2. Start a game against the CPU to determine if it is running at full speed or not. Leave fullscreen mode by double-clicking the mouse or pressing Alt+Enter. The title of the game window should list the frames per second (FPS). You want this to be at or very close to 60.
- If the game doesn't run at 60 FPS:
- Stop the game and click the "Config" button again. Under the "CPU" tab, enable "Enable SPU loop detection". Be aware that this will likely cause some audio issues, but it may be the difference between the game running at full speed or not.
- Start another game against the CPU and observe the FPS. If it's still not running at 60 FPS, stop the game and go into "Config" again. Under the "GPU" tab, try changing the "Renderer" to "OpenGL".
3. If the game runs at 60 FPS, I highly recommend changing some settings to make the game look much, much better. After changing each of these, start a game against the CPU and make sure the game is running at 60 FPS.
- Under the "GPU" tab, increase the "Resolution Scale". In general, the higher the resolution, the better the game will look.
- Under the "GPU" tab, increase the "Anisotropic Filter".
- Under the "GPU" tab, enable "VSync". WARNING: Vsync adds latency, but it shouldn't be perceptible. If you are playing competitively, you may want to leave this option disabled.
4. In the game settings, I recommend lowering the commentator volume to about 75%. I find that it's much louder than the sound effects and music.
- Jailbroken PS3 installation instructions:
1. Install the first PKG file ("NBA_JAM_2020s_On_Fire_Edition_v1.0_by_johnz1-Part_1.pkg")
2. Install the second PKG file ("NBA_JAM_2020s_On_Fire_Edition_v1.0_by_johnz1-Part_2.pkg")
- Installation file checksums:
- NBA_JAM_2020s_On_Fire_Edition_v1.0_by_johnz1-Part_1.pkg
- CRC32: A836844D
- MD5: 824F53F5A77E04BE38CCA51C1FA36DCB
- SHA-1: 621FE76491E6661961DC8C52615E1C49AA85DA76
- NBA_JAM_2020s_On_Fire_Edition_v1.0_by_johnz1-Part_2.pkg
- CRC32: 9FCD89D4
- MD5: 5B6D47FBFD9AB40886C38CA1727DB4CC
- SHA-1: 092AB09D46E0F0D0758166FBC8FE1A012E451194

=== FAQ's ===
Q: Hold on a second... I love NBA JAM. Is this real?!
A: Yes. It's real, it's free, and it's spectacular.

Q: Is this a new game created by EA?
A: No, this is not a new game by EA. This is a historical conversion mod of NBA JAM: On Fire Edition. You should own the original NBA JAM: On Fire Edition if you want to play this game.

Q: How can I pay you or donate to this project?
A: This project is entirely and strictly free. There is no Patreon or GoFundMe or PayPal. You cannot send me money for this project. Please just enjoy it :)

Q: How long did it take to make this?
A: Took a long time, many hours.

Q: I need help getting this game to run. Where should I go for troubleshooting help?
A: Please post in this project's thread on the NLSC forum (nba-live.com). That way, other people with the same questions/problems will be able to see the conversation.

Q: How can I play this online?
A: This game is not playable on PSN. I recommend using Parsec to play online.

Q: Can you make a mobile/Android version?
A: No. I have no interest in the NBA JAM mobile game, and I will not be modding it.

Q: I found something wrong with the game. How can I report it to you?
A: Before contacting me, PLEASE read this entire document. If it isn't mentioned here, you can report bugs by emailing nbajamofe@protonmail.com or posting in this project's thread on the NLSC forum (nba-live.com).

Q: Why have two of the main menu options been replaced with "----"?
A: These were online options that should not be used with this project. Playing on a real PS3 could get you banned if you try to play online, so I want to do everything I can to discourage people from trying.

Q: Why are there players with no profile photo and zeroes for all ratings?
A: Blank players were added to teams with only two players. If a team only has two players, then you can't change which player you play as; player 1 will always be the player in the first slot and player 2 will always be the player in the second slot. By adding a blank player, you can change which player you play as.

Q: Why are the 3PT ratings so low?
A: In an attempt to balance the gameplay, the 3PT rating has an artificial maximum value of 8. Please read the "Player Ratings" section above for more information.

Q: Why is Road Trip so hard? I can't get a win!
A: In all of my projects, Road Trip is for expert players looking for a challenge (or something close to a challenge). All the Road Trip matchups are set to the maximum difficulty ("Real AI"). I really didn't like how the original game's Road Trip was super easy when playing real NBA players, then got challenging when playing the fictional teams. Keep playing exhibition games and increase the difficulty when you start winning. You'll get better, and soon you'll be able to compete in Road Trip.

Q: Have you discovered anything new about modding NBA JAM OFE since the last release of "Legends On Fire Edition"?
A: Yes! I have discovered many things - and all of them have been used in this project:
- The 'rend_roster_update_big.ast' from EA's last downloadable roster update can be used to expand the number of player model slots. Crucially, this adds many more skinny players. Without the ability to edit 'attribdb', I consider this is a major discovery.
- How to edit the arena video screens and aisle lights. All arena textures have been identified and can be modified.
- How to edit the coach textures
- How to edit the "How to Play" loading screen tips
- How to edit the main menu text
- How to modify the teams and players in the Jam Store
- How to add gameplay options
- How to expand the range of some gameplay options
- FINALLY found the textures for the final Road Trip challenge. In the original game, this was the NYC map and an image of the Beastie Boys.
- Identified all Hot Spots - even ones that the original game doesn't use (like corner threes)

Q: Why are there courtside banners for other videogames?
A: The 1990's NBA Jam games had courtside banners for a variety of things, including other videogames. In this project, every arena has a banner for one of my favorite basketball videogames.

Q: How can I unlock the bonus teams and players if I'm not good enough to beat the computer on "Real AI" difficulty?
A: The game gives you a nice little bonus (~15,000 credits and a bump to level 10) if you have a save game file from the 2010 NBA JAM game on your PS3.

=== HOW TO HELP ===
If you think you can help with any of the items below, please reach out to me at nbajamofe@protonmail.com, or post in this project's thread on the NLSC forums (nba-live.com). Many elements of the game have been figured out, but there are still many more that remain unchanged from the original game. Solving these would really take this game to the next level. As it is, I feel like I've taken this game as far as I can with what I've discovered.

- Decode 'ATTRIBDB'. I think this is the most important file to work on right now. It controls many parts of every player model, including which uniform they wear, the shape of their body, and whether they wear short shorts or long shorts. Until this file is editable, changing which uniform a player wears is an arduous process. The file name is 'attribdb_big.ast', and it contains two files: 'ATTRIBDB_BIN' and 'ATTRIBDB_VLT'. Please see my post on the NLSC forum for more information and the latest information about the effort to read this file: https://forums.nba-live.com/viewtopic.php?f=72&t=116319
- Expand the number of arenas.
- Expand the number of teams.
- Change the color of the team-controlled player accessories.
- Change the position and size of jersey numbers and names.
- Edit the shooting animations. It would be great to create new signature shots.
- Edit the commentary audio. I have been able to play back these audio files outside of the game, but haven't been able to edit them. Existing audio could be spliced together to create names for new teams and players. For example:
- "Charlotte" and "Hornets"
- "Anthony" and "Davis"
- "Ben" and "Wallace"

=== THANK YOU'S ===
I am the sole creator of this project, but I absolutely would not have been able to make it without the help of these people:

- Luigi Auriemma, for creating and supporting QuickBMS and the "nbajamfire.bms" script.
- Artem Khassanov, for his work on TDB databases. He created "TDBAccess" libraries and a VB template app that made it easy for me to make the 'bounce.db' editor. He took time to personally help me start editing 'bounce.db', and I thank him profusely.
- Rinaldo, for creating FIFA DB Master.
- Myfifa2005, for creating FIFA DB Converter.
- The RPCS3 team. Without this great emulator, I certainly would not have even started to work on modding this game.

=== RELEASE HISTORY ===
- v1.0 (2025-02-17)
- First public release