Brutus

There are several versions of gamepads. Having tried almost ALL of them, I can tell you my skating/game play has varied greatly depending on which one I was using. This variance shows there exist advantages/disadvantages to WHATEVER you are using to play NHL94. So, I will rate out the joysticks I've used and then keyboard. GENS JOYSTICK Overall, Gens joysticks come with a loose D-pad and low, easy to use buttons. This makes sliding your thumb back and forth between A/B/C extremely easy. My C/B checking and one timers, especially in tight, are MUCH better when I use a Gens Pad because I can get to the button combos fast/easy. My ability to stop on a dime, make certain cuts seem to suffer using a Gens joystick, but I am still able to make some cuts and never feel my angle of passing or rare pass shot I try is "wild" or too difficult to aim, despite the looser Dpad control. While the buttons are "low" (not raised very high on the joystick level), they are also not the most responsive, so I find more "button mashing" on my end when using these. I'd rate the D-pad part of it as "middle", and the buttons as "low & loose". X1 or any similar analog Joystick Skating is dreamy with an analog stick. You almost feel like you are skating in real life, sliding all over the ice, smooth and a lack of pressure that you no longer feel on your formerly aching thumb is amazing. Fluid is how I suddenly describe my game. The buttons are superior to anything on other joystick and might even rival keyboard usage. They are low, but close together and with the modern technology pumped into them, is so easily responsive, you can roll your B/C one timer while not even thinking about it. IF you only played vs other ANALOG joystick users, you'd probably enjoy NHL94 even more. BUT alas, eventually you come across a keyboard user or someone with a really tight D-pad that can stop on dimes and make cuts that the analog joystick just can't keep up with, as a result, your defense performs too low to offset the advantages. I'd rate the D-pad (analog stick) as "loose", and the buttons as "low & tight" SNES generic D-pad, Ibuffalo knockoffs The D-pad comes in the separated directional arrows, and this results in skating the equivalent of keyboard buttons. Up is up, Down is down, left is left & right is right, except its set in perfect spacing and on the left side where your gaming thumb can slide over and control all skating flawlessly. To me, this D-pad setup might even be superior to keyboarders. HOWEVER, a major flaw comes into play on ALL versions, and I've bought them ALL just about. Either the buttons are set in extremely annoying locations, or they are considerably RAISED way HIGHER than any other joystick out there. Additionally, the A/B/C buttons tend to be less responsive on most brands, so 2 things result. One, you can no longer easily do a C/B check or a B/C roll one timer, both now require actually effort on actions that need to be effortless to be effective in a fast paced action game. Two, you end up mashing your buttons way too often, and that tends to wear them out faster. The raised button really does make a surprising impact on your one timer game. I'd rate the D-pad as "tight" and the buttons as "HIGH & loose". Keyboard Setting up with two sets of fingers, instead of one thumb and another set of fingers is polar opposite of what I've done for the past 20 years of video gaming. I have prior experience playing with keyboard, so I am not foreign to doing it, but it's LONG, LONG AGO. I find I'm trying to constantly re-map my instincts and hit the wrong buttons constantly. Similar to the RAISED button problem, in a fast paced, action game, THINKING about what you are trying to hit as a command does not lead to effective video game playing. The directional skating is of course flawless, but skating is definitely less smooth as I need to work much harder to get my players to slide to the left or right. However, the majority of the games most successful skating combos require much more of the stop, crease cut straight left, skate straight backwards, passing shots at exact angles, etc, so I feel keyboard's tight but wonky skating oddly almost works a little better in this game than smooth skating would in say a modern hockey game. I could not imagine trying to keyboard play say Madden 2019. The BUTTONs for A/B/C are now controlled by multiple fingers, and can have instant response of A/B/C in any combo, not requiring a thumb to slide back and forth or "roll" (when I actually HIT the correct button), is superior to anything a joystick can offer. I'd rate the D-pad as "tight but limited" and the buttons as "flawless". SO, to summarize, for those that read my analysis, IF you could give me a D-pad with X1 buttons, I think I'd have the advantage OVER keyboard. Otherwise, I feel keyboard (when mastered at the same level we've mastered our joystick usage over the years), is greater than most controllers. **While there is a D-pad on my X1 joystick, I CANNOT get it to work in conjunction with the buttons, as when I map the D-pad instead of the analog sticks, for some reason, you can no longer skate on angles. Perhaps, one day/night, we could spend time trying to go through this and see if we could solve the mystery!

For those missing guys like: Icestorm, Dcicion, & Chaos, you are probably f&cked. These guys dragging everyone down with them! For those needing Chef, he's at 23 games and normally gets to bed early. For those needing Angryjay, he's GREAT at setting a time to play, but it's normally later. Reach out to him. For those needing me (Brutus), I will be around after 11 pm central, and Sunday/Tuesday for those not able to make the late night. DM me in discord. For those needing Lupz, he's normally good about setting up games as long as they are LATE at night. Zep has been on Discord randomly asking for games. Maybe actually reply to those requests or try to set a fixed time. J&J always been good with scheduling games, so I'd be surprised to not see him finish up here. AGAIN, for those needing BRUTUS, send me a DM via Discord on any night you will be on AFTER 11 pm central, and I will make sure to look for you. OTHERWISE, I'll be reaching out myself to try to get games in Sunday/Tuesday. Stuck working late all week aside from those 2 day/nights.

OK, SEASON ENDS 12/3 at 10 AM central. There will be no extensions. It was slated for 12/1, but as season ending on a Monday morning is tradition on my leagues, I'm setting it for 12/3. ANY GAMES NOT LOADED PRIOR to this time will not count. You need 31 games or MORE to qualify for playoff eligibility. Currently: @corbettkb & @aqualizard & @MikeGartner22 have all 42 games played. Thank you for being great buds. @skip has played 38 games, and only needs his 4 games vs @kylewat @AtomicRaven has 36 games, and only needs @kylewat , @IceStorm70 & @dcicon5148 to finish his season. @flatcrusher is playoff eligible at 36 games, and only needs @chaos @IceStorm70 @dcicon5148 @spaceGhost9 has 31 games and is playoff eligible, needing @IceStorm70 & @dcicon5148 & @chaos & @jackandjose to finish his season. The following coaches are CLOSE to being playoff eligible. @jer_33 sits at 30 games, and needs 1 game to get in. @Lupz27 @angryjay93 @dcicon5148@chaos @chefsuperstar88 currently holding this bud back from playoff contention. @jackandjose is CLOSE at 28 games. He needs 3 more games to get in. @spaceGhost9 @Brutus @IceStorm70 @chaos are all keeping J&J OUT. @Lupz27 is pretty far away but next closest to getting in at 26 games. I've frequently seen BOTH @kylewat & @angryjay93 on discord trying to get games, however they both are still not playoff eligible at 20 & 24 games played, respectively. At this point in the season, it might be best to try to PM each other in the forum, or I will post a SCHEDULE games thread as well. The following coaches are not looking good to qualify & are set for the WALK OF SHAME: @jer_33 30 games played. @jackandjose 28 games played. @Lupz27 26 games played. @Brutus 24 games played. @angryjay93 24 games played. @kylewat 20 games played. @IceStorm7013 games played. @dcicon5148 12 games played. @chaos19 games played. @chefsuperstar88 23 games played.

As with any great breakfast place just about anywhere you go. Seems like once word spreads of a great breakfast, especially on the weekends, and a long wait.

I don't have time to read through all the points and counter points right now, but I'll try to get to them some time this weekend. In leagues where we created an A & B playoff format, even when we were all in the same league/conference, the B coaches LOVED it, it required extra setup and follow up for me, but seemed worth it for them. Anyone who is not strong enough to have a 1 in 100 chance at beating an opponent KNOWS they cannot win on the big stage for sure. Traveling and spending money to just get your brains beat in is NOT as appealing for those who fall into that category of I can't win. I think if you had something like the Round Robin style play-in, with that used to set up A & B tourney finals, would be a little of "best of both" ideas, but that's extra games/extra work for those running it. I do not think that SNES & Gens is even the same game. I think some video games lead more to upsets than others. If playing the new Madden,, I'd probably beat almost about anyone on this site, something like 70-0 (I've backed this up with a few guys). IF you played it long enough, most games would be like 35-7, but at some point and time, EA's built in goofy code allows for the games to have a lot more random things happen. EA owns a patent on this actual game code design to "rig" the game, so it's not some mythical thing. Google that on your own time, but it's out there. My point being, it doesn't seem to exist in Gens as much, so the best players don't lose. In Madden, I see it at the higher levels. In SNES, I felt it was there WAY more than Gens. So, IMO, using "what works in SNES" as an argument doesn't hold water. I know there are guys here who would argue against it but to me, setting up a Gens tourney should be based on what works for a Gens tourney.

Ok, since we are going to 1 minute penalties, we need a new ROM and site set to take uploads on that ROM, no?

So, if we could reset the counter we changed to try to fix TOI for guys in the box, and that fixes the Attack Zone issue, but leaves us 45 second penalty, I'd still prefer that, but again, at this stage, if you guys are done "f-ing with it", and just want it set to 1 minute penalty, that's fine. Let's get whatever is done so we can have the site/ROM fixed heading into Friday night.

Well, if Attack Zones are fucked up, that's a stat that guys do look at to see who had the more "dominant" play, which isn't always reflected in the score. These are those games where you felt like the puck was bouncing against you, and causing you to lose. You get to the end of the game, see you out shot your opponent by a decent margin and had dominant time of attack as well, you know you just got the bad breaks. ANYHOW, figure out if we need a NEW ROM released, before we get too deep into the season. I PREFER the 45 second penalty feel quite a bit, but I'm not able to fix/edit this, so it's not realistic for me to demand it stay if it's not "right". @chaos @kingraph

But what I'm asking if TOI for goalies can every be off based on the issue we were having with my 45 second penalty request. Goalies are not in the penalty box, and that is what seemed to be causing the some players to have their TOI off, no?

Wait, TOI is used to calculate GAA for goalies, but goalies aren't in the penalty box EVER, so their TOI should never be off on this ROM. Am I wrong?

Misread this for a second and got myself all excited. Thought you were saying to phase out the SNES completely

Better to have TOI OFF for stats than to NOT have 45 second penalties, IMO. I really like the feel of the 45 second penalty over the 1 min, ESPECIALLY when you get 2 in the box. The 2 minute penalty is brutal, and the NO penalty from Plablegs is still my favorite, but I have found this 45 second one to be my second favorite, EVEN if TOI is an errant stat now. AND AND AND, love the work Raph puts in to his ROMS. I think he loves doing it, or I doubt he would, but still KUDOS bud. You are all right in my book, even if I aggravate you when i use ALL CAPS middle of my sentences

http://nhl94online.com/html/standings.php?lg=58&sublg=GENS The game is a foot boys. AJ & Chaos already kicked the season off!!! Let's get ready to rumble.

This is awesome on numerous levels bud. Thank you.

I will type up a complete schedule and send it over to Chaos to get set for the season. Group C has 6 coaches, and to get everyone a weighted schedule PLUS same number of games, Group C will have this specific scheduling adjustment: MG, Chaos & JJ will play each other 4 games (2 home, 2 away) Aqua, Atomic & Jer33 will play each other 4 games (2 home, 2 away) MG, Chaos & JJ will play Aqua, Atomic, Jer33 each 3 games (1 home, 2 away). For odd series games, the higher ranked player will have less home, more away games. J&J, Atomic, MG, Chaos, Aqua & Jer33 is how this will be ranked for scheduling. SEEMS complicated, but not really, especially once schedule comes out on NHL4Online from Chaos.

There will be ONE Division, but an A & B Playoffs (I AM INTENTIONALLY LEAVING PLAYOFF STRUCTURE BLANK TBD) For Scheduling, I will break the league into 4 groups, and you play a staggered number of games based on your group. Group A Group B Group C Group D AJ Zep J&J SpaceGhost Ice Dcicion Atomic Flatcrusher Brutus Lupz Aqua Chef Tex Skip Chaos MikeGartner Jer_33 Group A (4 coaches) plays each other in Group A 4 games (12 games total, 2 home/ 2 away) Group A plays each opponent in Group B 3 games (12 total, 1 home/ 2 away) Group A plays each opponent in Group C 2 games (12 games total, 1 home/ 1 away) Group A plays each opponent in Group D 2 games (6 games total, 1 home/ 1 away) Total Group A Games per team = 42 Group B (4 coaches) plays each other in Group B 4 games (12 games total, 2 home / 2 away) Group B plays each opponent in Group A 3 games (12 total, 2 home, 1 away) Group B plays each opponent in Group C 2 games (12 games total, 1 home/ 1 away) Group B plays each opponent in Group D 2 games (6 games total, 1 home/ 1 away) Total Group B Games per team = 42 Group C (6 coaches) plays 2 specified opponents in Group C 4 games & other remaining 3 opponents in Group C 3 games (17 games total) Group C plays Group A 2 games (8 total, 1 home, 1 away) Group C plays Group B 2 games (8 total, 1 home, 1 away) Group C plays Group D 3 games (9 total, 1 home, 2 away) Total Group C Games per team = 42 Group D (3 coaches) plays each opponent in Group D 4 games (8 games, 2 home/ 2 away) Group D plays each opponent in Group C 3 games (18 games, 2 home/ 1 away) Group D plays each opponent in Group B 2 games (8 total, 1 home/ 1 away) Group D plays each opponent in Group A 2 games (8 total, 1 home/ 1 away) Total Group D Games per team = 42

@Brutus - Chicago Blackhawks LINES SET @corbettkb - Dallas Stars LINES SET @IceStorm70 - Edmonton Oilers LINES SET @dcicon5148 - Florida Panthers LINES SET @AtomicRaven - Hamilton Tigers LINES SET @kylewat - Hartford Whalers LINES SET @aqualizard - Los Angeles Kings LINES SET @MikeGartner22 - Minnesota North Stars HAS NOT BOTHERED TO SET HIS LINES @spaceGhost9 - New York Islanders HAS NOT BOTHERED TO SET HIS LINES @Lupz27 - New York Rangers LINES SET @chaos - Ottawa Senators EDITED HIS OWN LINES INTO THE ROM @chefsuperstar88 - Philadelphia Flyers HAS NOT BOTHERED TO SET HIS LINES @skip - Quebec Nordiques LINES SET @angryjay93 - San Jose Sharks LINES SET @jackandjose - Tampa Bay Lightning LINES SET @jer_33 - Toronto Maple Leafs LINES SET @flatcrusher - Winnipeg Jets HAS NOT BOTHERED TO SET HIS LINES

*BUMP* I don't see 17 Line Set here. I also updated mine @chaos @kingraph

Trade deadline has passed. I'm finalizing ROM & Schedules today.

Sid Smith is his Rd 1 pick, lol.

Zalapski & Hull are ON THE BLOCK.....well, mainly Zalapski. Didn't see a deal out there. ZZ staying a Hawk.

AJ gets to finish it off with MR. IRRELEVANT. Stephane Fiset gets the honors in Et Tu Brute Deuce. THIS DRAFT IS OVER!!!!

10 1 171 Daniel Berthiaume G MTL Atomic Raven 10 2 172 John Blue G OTT Chaos 10 3 173 Matt Schneider D BUF IceStorm AUTO 10 4 174 Mike Vernon G FLA Dcicon AUTO 10 5 175 John Vanbiesbrk G WPG Flatcrusher AUTO GOALIE 10 6 176 Dominic Roussel G PHI Chef 10 7 177 Mike Richter G STL MikeGartner22 10 8 178 Nicklas Lidstrom D HFD Zeppelin55 AUTO 10 9 179 Sean Burke G QUE Skip 10 10 180 Fredrik Olausson D NYR Lupz27 10 11 181 Kelly Hrudey G TOR Jer_33 10 12 182 Daren Puppa G LAK Aqualizard AUTO 10 13 183 Don Beaupre G TB Jackandjose 10 14 184 Ron Tugnutt G NYI Spaceghost 10 15 185 Dominik Hasek G CHI Brutus 10 16 186 Adam Burt D DAL Tex 10 17 187 Stephane Fiset G SJS Angryjay93

Chicago Blackhawks C Hull LW Bucyk RW Jagr LD Zalapski RD McSorley G Ranford Xtra attacker: Pavelich First Forward Sub: Andreychuk First Defensive Sub: Krupp

Ladies & Gents, set your lines.