How to unlink players who have linked names?

[jyoung]

The biggest issue with editing players in this game is that it screws up the name database with each new change you make to existing player names.

A lot of times, player names get linked to one another, so changing one guy named "Steve" also changes every other player in the database with the first name "Steve."

I found a thread with some details on how to "unlink" the names, but the method listed here only seems to work some of the time. I would say 50% of the time, doing this method will remove the link (seems to work best when last names are being linked). Whenever it's first names that are linked, this method rarely works for me.

Obviously, when editing hundreds, if not thousands of players in a single file, you need a sure-fire method that will always work to unlink linked player names.

Has anyone come up with a better method than simply re-writing the 4 lines of code above the player's tier?

I have been rewriting the "black box" on every player who ends up with a linked name and that is only yielding about a 50% success rate.

[jyoung]

Alright, I think I found the issue.

The black box in the photo is the last name. The red box in the photo is the first name.

So rewrite the code in the black box to unlink the last name. And rewrite the code in the red box to unlink the first name.

So far this is working!

[catcatch22]

Great post, saves the time and effort for me and many others looking to create roster files. The only thing left is a list of which logos belong to which teams and where they are in the hex file along with the accompanying color palette. Then a sure fire way to change specific plays and playbooks for each default team. That should make it really easy to change every default team to any modern or classic team you want thereby giving some enjoyment offline if you can't get a game online.

[jyoung]

FYI:

You will know when you have successfully reset and unlinked a name when you go back into the player edit screen and it is showing up completely blank.

Some of these players put up quite a fight and just won't unlink. But you can tell when you've finally unlinked them by the name going totally blank.

[catcatch22]

Just guessing but what I think happens is the names are moved from the default players list to the created player list. I haven't checked the file for some time but if I remember correctly I believe what you did was successfully unlink the player from the default player name database and the new name will then be on the created player name list. That list has room for a lot of players, however not sure if there is enough room for a whole roster full of created teams and default teams.

Before going to far you may want to check if this indeed is the case and find out the code for the names that are in the default data base and use the linked names to save space when editing a whole roster. Yes it might be time consuming but may save you a lot of trouble in the long run if there is not enough created name space in the roster file.

I hope you get what I am saying.

[jyoung]

Yep, what this basically does is overwrite the existing name on the created name list once you type in your new name for your guys.

So when you get a name conflict, you can just move your guy to a new slot on the created name list that's not being used.

I wish I had a full hex code list for all the created names, but I am just guessing wildly and using trial and error to get these hex codes to work.

[iLLmatic]

Good stuff jyoung. Thanks for sharing the goodies you find like this for those who still play this game. The name thing has had me confused for while. Also I have been trying to find out 2 things that you guys may know.

First thing is if there is a way to find out how to change coaches perhaps in the logo section of the hex as it seems like they're somehow connected to the logos chosen.

The second thing, is it possible to swap out 2 computer controlled teams with 2 created teams on a roster file like the RateSports 2k13 roster? I would like to swap out 2 of his created teams with 2 he has as computer controlled only teams.

[jyoung]

I have not found out where the coaches are located in the hex file. I would be pumped if we ever figured out how to do a simple swap of coaches so we can at least get correct skin colors for the teams' coaches.