AdamCatalyst

I’m trying to see if I can advance vonOz’s work here, and while I am still confused by aspects of this, there is one component that completely eludes me… how do we change “the system” to expect a 4bpp encoded image instead of a 3bpp encoded image? Does anyone out there have any thoughts they could share on how that may be done?

I finally buckled down and identified the font EA has used for NHL 21–24. It's Termina Black, designed by Mattox Shuler, published by Fort Foundry. https://fortfoundry.com/fonts/termina It is also licensed with Adobe Creative Cloud, so Adobe users get it for "free" after they (or their employer) pay their exorbitant Adobe fees. https://fonts.adobe.com/fonts/termina You may notice some small discrepancies between the lettering used in the EA NHL artwork and the font. This is normal, as one usually customizes the letterforms in a font when preparing a logo. I hunted this down because I am trying to get my '25 done as early as possible. But the default "5" in the font is kinda quirky looking for a mainstream sports video game. I wouldn't be surpassed if the designers either (a) use an alternate letterform, (b) customize it heavily, or (c) change fonts altogether for '25. Only time will tell. FYI, I read somewhere that for non-commercial use, the designer does provide a limited version of the font for free. I've not verified this however.

I'd bet money that at least one person, if not more, will be working for the Caps for awhile. Systems will be adapted and redeveloped to be less of a looking glass, and more of a strategic analytic tool. They don't need the design doc on how the systems worked as much as they need the system to be constantly re-worked for them and give them a competitive advantage. And my guess is that some key parts of the system were never fully automated, and relied on some human intelligence.

With all due respect to those people, in my experience that makes little sense. When a company buys a website like that (highly successful with limited appeal & limited monetization potential), it is usually because they (a) need to protect themselves from a potential IP infringement, (b) want to aquire new IP, (c) want to acquire back-end infrastructure, (d) want to acquire skilled staff, or some combination thereof. They did the math, and this was quicker and cheaper than their internal infrastructure plans. The front-end of the CapFriendly website was almost certainly worth very little compared to the back-end. I'd wager money that (d) was seriously important to them.

And just like that, it's gone. RIP CapFriendly.com. 2015–2024.

I'd recommend reverting to v0.16. While v0.21 runs smoother for me, it does have a couple new quirks that are likely not worth it. v0.16 is fine. FWIW, I am running v0.21 in Java 8 u411 without any Java issues.

Looking forward to checking it out later today!!!

Friendly reminder to folks that if you use this, you likely also want to update the Organ Music Assignments in your ROM. Here is a tool that might help.

Here is a spreadsheet I put together to easily set the organ music tracks for a 32-team ROM. It only works in Apple Numbers, which you can access online for free like Google Docs. Basic Usage… Use the drop down menus to set the desired track for each team and scenario. Copy the generated code at the bottom right and paste into your ROM. Additional Options… Input the names of your teams if you like (optional). You can also rename the songs if you like, just leave the first two character HEX code intact. (optional) Review the track usage stats in the table below (optional). Anyone can edit or download the spreadsheet. There is a locked version on a separate tab that can be copied over to reset the sheet. https://www.icloud.com/numbers/061eEqXOHx8LdwjpIKHvMZpZw#NHL_'94_Organ_Music_Assignments_v0 p.s. Here are the MP3s of the Organ Music renamed with the HEX codes for easier reference. NHL 94 - Audio - Organ Music.zip

It's crazy how one can put in an utterly insane amount of work and review, but then the moment you release it to the public, oversights just magically appear as plain as day. I imagine it has to do with how we look at things differently when we've shifted mental modes. But I have no idea.

Hey folks. I've been having some issues with my trusty TileM 0.16, and thought I'd take a look to see if anyone had updated it. YES! Just last month, someone released a version that patches a bunch of bugs. I've not seen any downside using this TileM 0.21 build. You can download TileM 0.21 here: https://github.com/toruzz/TileMolester/releases

Wow. I love all the thoughtful details you put into your releases. I'm glad you wrote so much to explain the intent. Gives me an even better appreciation when I play it.

Thanks for reporting back! It sounds like the results are a confirmation to me. Someone should post this somewhere useful so it can be found by future generations who don't decide to read the entirety of the thread for my '24 ROM hack.

Yeah, it was a purposeful decision on my part. Would you have interest in an optional patch to mix-up the playoff matchups next year? EDIT: Something like this? I just whipped this up. playoffs.ips

If your understanding is correct, that should undermine the "random." Placement on the list would matter. For instance… - Assume a 32-team league. - Team "A" only has two different playoff matchup possibility, Team "B" and Team "C". - Team "A" matchup against "B" is only listed in row #31, and matchup against "C" is only listed in row #32. - Random probability that Team "A" will play Team "B" is 31/32, since landing anywhere in the list other than row #32 will lead it to choose the next valid row, which will always be row #31. - HOWEVER, If Team "A" matchup against "B" was listed in row #16 instead, probability would jump to 50/50. Someone please correct me if I am misunderstanding!