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I was reading the NHL'94 Sega Genesis manual (I have a goal to read books this summer), and came across a few "clues" that can help us understand parts of the game we don't fully grasp yet. I found these to be of particular interest: During use (p.2) "Rest for at least 10 minutes per hour while playing a video game" Ummmm, this was before the 2v2 ROM was created, so they didn't know resting 10 minutes per hour was going to be impossible. The Face Off (p.18) "As you learn the game you will find that certain centers are tougher than others, and that some are more skillful with the stick. You will want to be aware of your center's particular strengths and weaknesses if you want to make full use of him on face offs" I feel like this suggests a players attributes (stick handling, awareness?) will lead to more faceoff wins. I think we generally believe button smashing is not key to winning and it's random, but perhaps not! The manual also doesn't say smash B to win. It says when the puck hits the ice it's live and you can "Hold the D-Pad in the directions you want to pass, then press B". Passing (p.20) "The best passing method is to press the B button, then press down on the D-Pad, then release the B button. The pass is launched when the D-Pad is pressed while the B button is down." What? I THINK I press the direction before a pass, not after. However, I did learn from @PlabaxV2 that if you hold the b button the player just holds the puck in a frozen motion until you release the button. Change/Remove Goalies (p.35) "In NHL Hockey '94, the goalie is chosen randomly for computer controlled teams in regular season games, when line changes are ON. Otherwise, the first string goalie starts" ORLY? Didn't know that. Hot and Cold Streaks (p.39) "The player ratings will vary hot and cold (+/- 10-30% in each category) depending on what kind of streaks the players happen to be on" We know this, but I like that the manual puts in a percentage range for us to verify Goalies / Def. Awareness (p.47) "Goalie's sense of what's going on around his net." Interesting, I think this attribute may help auto goalies position themselves better....just a hunch. Line Players (p.48) "Off. Awareness Player's offensive instinct Def. Awareness Player's defensive instinct Pass Accuracy Player's accuracy in passing the puck Stick Handling Player's overall skill with the stick Aggressiveness Player's likelihood of being penalized" Passing (what is called in-game) is categorized as pass accuracy. That's always been somewhat of a mystery. I also think the language around Stick Handling is related to the faceoff notes from earlier as well (skill with the stick). Crowd Meter (p.49-50) "The Crowd Analysis screen displays the statistics on decibels recorded from the crowd's cheering. These include the current decibel level, the average decibel level recorded over teh course of the game, and the highest, or "peak", decibel since the opening face off. Analysis of the crowd is based on readings of the Crowd Meter throughout a game. Don't just blow the Crowd Meter off - the higher the reading, the BETTER the teams play! If you break the Arena record, gameplay for both teams speeds up (about 10%)." Ok, clearly this Crowd Meter has some effect on players given the BOLD statement made at the end of the manual! I have done initial investigations on what moves the crowd meter, I have to check my notes, but I know winning a faceoff at home is an instant boost vs losing, etc. Now, we just have to figure out how it affects the teams. According to the manual, "gameplay" speeds up 10%. Timeout (p.50) "When playing with line changes off, the players do not lose vitality, and so the timeout has no real function." Still...momentum man. I will call timeout damn it.

I glanced at the '95 manual once and i have to say it's kind of like a View Master edition of Mein Kampf.