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I know we had mentioned doing one of our games together ages ago. If you want to revisit that idea just send me a DM.

I would definitely check out any deep dives you do. I enjoyed the breakdown you did of your game at Edge of 94. The concept reminds a bit of the Detail series.

Another piece of the puzzle is the ability of the top level players to understand how the AI works from both experience and game knowledge. @danglerintroduced me to a better d-man partnership for Montreal using Odelein instead of Schneider, which works better for my style of play because the way Odelein positions himself on defense is 'better' than Schneider. @angryjay93and I have discussed the spread of AI defenders in the defensive zone and how he sets up his man controlled defender depending on zone entry and how he expects the AI to respond. @danTML7has mentioned on his stream how elite players place their offensive pieces in general areas before passing during possession moves after zone entry which allows for better organization of attack. @JSchmidtand I discussed while playing his ability to eliminate AI threats from his consideration because the AI skated out of position which allows him to attack my skaters with no worry of leaving a true threat open, forcing me into movements that are self defeating. @kingraphhas discussed chemistry issues (as has AJ) on streams about certain teams inability during games to have the AI move in expected ways to maximize the talent on the roster and how elite players recognize it early enough to adjust on the fly. We've all seen UncleSeth manipulate his AI attackers through judicious use of Defensemen entering and exiting the zone to create matchups for other players the AI has moved into the zone at speed. C level players are not thinking on that level - the question: 'why did he do that?' when referring to an AI player doing something 'odd' is greater in C. B level players such as myself understand that the AI is going to move the players in a certain way, and try to manipulate our attacks/defenses to maximize what we perceive the AI to be doing. low-A players start to manipulate through their own skating and player movement the AI coupled with a greater understanding of what the AI is doing depending on circumstance. The top A players are actively maneuvering their players on the ice to 'force' the AI to compensate by moving into better, more advantageous positions on the ice. I've exhied/league played against all of the top guys and outside of my own mistakes (which i need to fix and is a big part of moving from B to A) - the huge differentiator, once adjusting for the experience gap, is the ability of the elite players to 'know' where the AI players are at almost all times while also forcing the AI to adjust to better positions through movements in both the attack and defense phase of the game. N.B. - AI is just an easy way of talking about this, it is obviously a set of logic in the game to move player sprites in ways depending on the various IF-THEN statements that define the player sprite movement on the ice

Creepy

Per my above post, I have added a new version of my NHL94 2021 rom (located in the original post on page 1). I removed Henrik Lundqvist as he won't be playing this season as well as, Alex Steen (who was forced to retired due to back problems). Added Anthony Duclair to the Panthers (just signed there today). I kept Cory Schneider on the Islanders (even though he is not officially signed). It has been rumored that he has a "hand shake" deal with the team. Plus, Lou Lam likes to sign ex-Devils (or bring them back). The Winnipeg Freeze bug is fixed in this new version but to do so, I had to break player cards in game mode. Didn't seem like a big loss to me. Lastly, Colorado now has blue pants and helmet like they will be using this season. Cheers!

Awesome stuff @kingraph! I agree with everything you've described here. A few thoughts of my own: You're absolutely right that most of the "A" level players already have the knowledge parts down, and like you said there are still some players that are slightly better in the knowledge or I'm just going to call it the "skills" department. I think the biggest thing that sets the elite apart from the rest is the mental game. For lower skill levels, I would say that results are 80% skill based and 20% mental. Usually the higher skilled player will win the game and the bigger variance there is in skillset the less mental effort is required to win. What I mean is an A level player will have to focus a bit more to beat a B level player than they would to beat a C level player. As the skill levels increase, and the variance between skills of the opponents decrease there's a huge shift in the skills/mental breakdown to where I think results become based on 20% skill and 80% mental. When it's the best guys playing the best guys, it is a gruelling mental game. They both have the skills to know how to score and how to defend, it really comes down to who has the stronger mental game. Most goals aren't determined by a higher skill level, they're usually caused by one of the opponents making a mental error. I know for me personally the difference between me feeling mentally strong vs not can mean the difference between winning by 5 goals or losing by 5 goals vs the exact same opponent. I think the best of the best are where they are because of their mental strength. They have the ability to get "in the zone" and stay there for the duration of their game/series. I compare it to Tiger Woods in his prime. He was the best because of his mental game. Every player on tour can hit it 300 yards and never miss a 2-putt. So there's not a huge difference in the skills, its the mental game that sets the elite apart. If Tiger had the lead on Sunday, it was an automatic win. He intimidated opponents with his mental game.

Good Afternoon fellow gamers. I will have the NBA Live 2021 season rom ready by Saturday, before the first regular season tip-off. Ive completed half the teams and will have a few logos to complete and touch up. Menus will have a different feel as well as the jerseys and courts. Stay tuned.

I agree with this whole post. My sentiments exactly. I would come back and play in a draft league. I know a lot of other old vets would come back too. When is this league happening? Let's do this!

Already ahead of you. Using the most up to date images to create each player as close as possible. Using NBA 2K21 ratings as well for each player.

Howdy - I will have an updated version of this rom within the next couple of days. Some minor updates and one BIG one. I will be removing Henrik Lundqvist. It saddens me (as he is a fav player of mine) to pass along that he will not be playing this upcoming season due to a heart condition. Given his age and the condition, I would not be surprised if he retires next year. He made the announcement on his twitter account, today. I will also take the opportunity to update Colorado pant/helmet colors as I did in the 2021 3v3 rom. There will be some jersey number updates as well. Maybe a new player here or there. To come... soon... Cheers!