USFL league file ready

[leeman67]

Hello All,

FBmax appears to be down at the moment, but when it comes back up I'll be uploading my USFL league file, which I completed today. It's another converted file from Madden 04. It's based mostly on the 1984 season, and should be mostly accurate in terms of player names, jersey numbers, etc. The one thing that I'm not 100% certain about are the depth charts as I could not find much in the way of any records online. Most of what is out there just has a roster list, and even those do not decipher between HB vs. FB, G vs. T, DT vs. DE, CB vs. S, etc. So unless anyone knows of a good source, we'll have to rely on our good memories to get these right (and mine ain't so good [;)]).

Lee

[therhino]

Thats great. Glad to see more rosters. How hard is it to convert the rosters? Do you have to create each player or just import a file? You could upload the league to www.eamods.com till FB Max is back up. They are rarely down so it works pretty well.
TheRhino

[leeman67]

I'll do that Rhino. Thanks.

Regarding how to convert, I first export the original Madden roster file to a .csv file using Nza's editor. I also export a base MaxFB league file (with the team names already embedded) to a .csv file using JDHalfrack's DB editor.

Next step, I re-save the Madden .csv file to an Excel file and begin eliminating columns I don't need. I basically narrow it down just to those same columns that are also in the MaxFB database file. Speed = speed, agility = agility, and so forth. I will also need to add some blank columns for categories that do not exist in the Madden file, such as Pocket Passer, Coverage, Avoid block, etc. I take the average of RunBlock and PassBlock to create one column for Block. I use the skill ranges in the main MaxFB database as a guide and use various formulas to bring the ratings more in line with MaxFB. There is no exact science here, as I think we're all still figuring out the various skill ratings in MaxFB and how they work with the playbooks, etc. One example is the Coverage rating. I basically get an average of Speed and Agility and then combine that with Intelligence to get another average. The rest use similar logic. Believe me, I'm WAY open to suggestions on how best to do this.

Once this is all done, and I'm happy with my ratings and the data in each column, I then copy and paste these into the MaxFB league database .csv file. I delete any extra lines, or if there are too many, fill blanks with zeros in most of the cells. Then I re-save THIS new file to an Excel file, and then re-save BACK to a .csv file (this step is VERY important).

Lastly, I use JD's DB editor again to import this new .csv file back into the original league database, and then save it.

I can then load it into MaxFb. The depth charts all need re-ordered and actives/inactives adjusted. Do not try to play any games if you do not have enough active players (45) because the CPU will automatically load you up with about 40+ free agents before the game begins. And believe, that is no fun to fix.

Hope this helps.

Lee

[therhino]

Just downloaded the USFL file from EA Mods and you did a really good job with it. I don't remember the 1984 season that well, but I do recogignize a few names.
Thanks,
TheRhino

[quixian]

Interesting - I did not know that nza's Madden Editor allowed you to export to .csv.  Now that I know that, I'll put together an updated NFL roster using a Madden 08 roster update.

Regarding attributes in Madden vs MaxFB - I was thinking out loud on this thread, post 13 about how I transferred the madden attributes over to MaxFB when importing a Madden .csv file into MaxFB: tm.asp?m=1692327

Thanks for the info, can't wait to mess around with nza's editor and see if I can put together a new MadNFL file.

[therhino]

That would be great. It would be so much simpler than starting from nothing. I can't wait to see the updated NFL rosters quixian.
TheRhino

[leeman67]

Good call quixian.  I'm glad you provided that link because I remember reading a previous post about this and it was yours that I referred to originally when I converted my 1976 NFL rosters.  I specifically used the suggested formula to arrive at the pocket passer rating, in particular.  So thanks again for re-posting it as I think it's a great starting point, and we can hopefully continue to fine-tune this process.  
 
The overall process of converting Madden roster files to MaxFB league DB files using the different editors is tedious, but not that difficult and certainly easier than starting from scratch.  BTW, I'm using version 1.3 of Nza's editor and you'll see the Import/Export feature in the main interface in the lower middle portion. 
 
Lee

[local8h]

Leeman67,

Many Thanks to this incredible file...Great work....Its amazing that you converted both of the files that i play most with Madden 04...

Thank You Again,