Hopefully this one's better late than never. As tomorrow is going to be a busy day of turkey and being reminded that family is like beer, best enjoyed in moderation, I figured I'd get this one out tonight so it will be ready for some playoffs with those of us who would rather play games than lie on your aunt's new carpeting in a food coma. As mentioned in last season's thread, this one is not entirely complete in that most of the depth player's photos have not been updated yet [blame nhl.com for taking so long to update] and a few other things like updating some line changes will need to be revisited once a larger sample size is available. Feel free to leave feedback is anything else turns up that may have been lost in the shuffle.
Anyway, it's about time to present:
The Hughes Deluxe Retro Edition.
To start off some additional graphical changes were made to this version starting from the moment you plug your cart in and hit the power button.
The second splash screen uses the cluttered on-ice ads section to list all of the required parties including the nhl94.com community website.
Another new addition is the updated menu screen which see the old arena be retired in favour of a modern dressing room. In addition to the logos on full colour uniform background, the player call out will scroll through the entire roster if you can wait long enough.
Dave Reid sticks around as the presenter for NHL Network, introducing the newest team of Utah and a one of a few teams in their new look.
Another new look team waits for a redressed Zamboni driver to finish his task, while another team paints a new center ice logo to celebrate their 50th anniversary.
Player cards again feature full colour photos. And while some players will have to wait for their new photo to be uploaded to the game art, the top line of each team did see an update.
Speaking of lines, most teams are configured to match their season opener line ups, but that will probably be revisited next month some time when more data is available. We also fixed a couple things we didn't like about the back end of player ratings from last year, so hopefully that feels better than last year as well. This version is very much true to the feel of the original NHL'94, but we have been debating an additional, more arcade-like edition. Don't worry, we'll keep a classic version as well.
With Arizona moving to Utah, the playoff brackets did need to be edited, but with the discovery of how playoffs are calculated, a whole lot of randomness was baked in for better variety of first round match ups.
Also drawing attention to some minor tweaks to the 3-Stars formula. It should feel a little more logical than the original selections.
Obligatory under the hood and minor graphical stuff:
Original custom player attribute stats based on NHL24 updates.
All 832 players have colour photos. Thanks @slapshot67
Original JKline player sprite mod based on helmet patch for more accurate and varied uniforms.
Tighter puck collision on boards and net making for pucks that hit closer to the boards sprites and a slighter smaller scoring area on the nets. V1.0 and V2.0 only.
Pucks that also feature original customized sprites.
Puck sprites that change with team colours. Thanks @AdamCatalyst
The nets that those pucks can go in have also had their sprites redrawn.
Weight bug fix is applied.
SmozROM Ratings consistency fix - player ratings will match hot/cold overall. Thanks @smozoma
Freeze Bug applied so no player stats and player name on second line.
User Records set to "ON" can still cause crashes with Vegas, Washington and Winnipeg so caution is advised.
Expanded goalie roaming area. Go out to the edge of the trapezoid or out to the face off dots to cut down the angle. Thanks @smozoma
Goalie can also carry the puck out to the blue line before the automatic whistle. [if play isn't blown for holding the puck too long]
Yes we know that the goalie can technically go to the red line, but that would mean having to figure out how to assess delay of game penalties and that's not likely to happen.
Goalie Y-button control hack applied. Thanks @clockwise
CPU will pull goalie if down by 1 or 2 goals with 1 minute remaining. Thanks @McMarkis
Edit Lines hack for any player to play at any position applied. Allows for 4-1 Power play lines. Thanks @TheTome
Benches have been edited so the coach mod has been removed.
EA Sports watermarks have been updated to modern logo. Thanks @Drezz
Main menu background hack in use for full custom background image. Also thanks @Drezz
That's probably it for now. Feed back of course is appreciated - you know, if it's constructive. I did fix a couple of typos today though, so if you spot one I missed, feel free to get as mad as you want.
Update list:
2.0 version
All 832 players have new colour photos.
Player ratings have been adjusted for start of 2025 season.
Team ratings have also been adjusted for start of 2025 season.
2.1 version
Board/Net collision has been adjusted to classic setting for less difficult scoring.
3.0 version
Some new players.
Some new lines.
All new player ratings.
Some fixes to overlays and such.
4.0 version
Some new players as per playoff roster additions.
Some new lines.
Fixed glass height collision
New weight bug fix calculation
4.1 version
Improved player ratings?
Hope you folks enjoy this one.
Most updated version:
NHL 2025 - Retro 94 Edition v4.1.bin
Old versions for old people:
NHL 2025 - Retro 94 Edition v4.0.bin
NHL 2025 - Retro 94 Edition v3.0.bin
NHL 2025 - Retro 94 Edition v2.1.bin
NHL 2025 - Retro 94 Edition v2.0.bin
NHL 2025 - Retro 94 Edition v1.0.bin