Madden 08 is 11-years old and – despite Football Idiot’s best efforts – the game shows its age. The constant rule changes are a part of the community’s biggest struggle. “Again, no one is getting paid for any of this stuff, this is labor of love kind of stuff,” he says. It’s fitting that his role in Football Idiot is similar. Calhoun’s day job is fixing computer problems for others. I had five different things I had to code in there, and none of that was very easy,” Calhoun says. “Every year I have to be like, ‘Ugggh, all right, gotta go fix this.’ With last year was the kickoffs. From a modding standpoint, this is a pain.

Calhoun’s other responsibility is keeping the game’s rules current.

We don't have any access to source code,” Calhoun tells me. “Any of the Madden series is not mod friendly. Modding superhero Calhoupe – whose secret identity is mild-mannered computer repairman Peter Calhoun – saved Football Idiot with his modding prowess and a program he created. “After a Windows 10 update, receiving a penalty would crash the game. As amazing as his project is, it’s almost par for the course in this community. The uniforms are so detailed that the thickness of the stripes on the pant legs is accurate (for those of you who were worried). With the assistance of user 1312ohelet, RevanFan even replicated all 85 of the uniforms the franchise has worn. I tried to get to know each team as well as I could,” RevanFan says. I looked up their stats to sort of figure out how they played. I tried to figure out what each player looked like.

I looked through old media guides from the 1960s. “I did tons and tons of research for days and weeks and months, trying to figure out exactly who was on each team each season.

His Cowboys project is so detailed and meticulously researched that it must rank as one of the most impressive modding feats ever achieved. “RevanFan didn’t simply re-create the rosters and call it a day.

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