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HOW TO: Log a Game with a Save State on NHL94Online.com


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Prior to Spring 2013, games on NHL94Online.com were logged by the home team entering the score of the game, and the away team confirming the score. After these steps were completed, the game was considered "logged" and the site updated to reflect the outcome of the played game.

Starting with Classic Spring 2013, we will be logging games using saved states. This allows us to keep more stats, including player stats. So for those of you who want to keep track of how many goals you scored with Jeremy Roenick, or how many stupid penalties Ray Bourque took over the course of the season, the site will now take care of that for you. Also, now the Home or Away team can upload the game to the site.

Save states will be used for both Genesis and SNES leagues. Unfortunately, the SNES version does not keep track (as far as we know right now) of TOI (Time on Ice) and Checks For (per player) like Genesis does, so these stats will not be kept for those leagues.

Steps:

1 - First, the game must be played. Please schedule the game with your opponent via AIM, forum PM, or email. You can get each coach's email by accessing their coach page. It is on the right hand side of their page.

Currently, we use RetroArch for Genesis and SNES leagues. You can download these from the main page of the NHL94Online.com site.

When you are ready to play the game, the game must be set up. Hamachi is the normal way we use to connect. Those who have played a test game should understand how this is done. If not, please look at the instructions on the "Getting Started" page. Also, it should be decided before the game who is going to upload the save state. It is good practice for both teams to save the state, but only one coach should upload (just in case there is a problem with uploading, the other coach has a copy of the state that he can try with).

2 - Play the game. Try to win.

3 - Once the game is finished, a save state must be "made". Please follow the directions in the following posts, depending on the system the game is played on.

Gens - Gens-Netplay Save State HOW TO

ZNES - ZSNES Save State HOW TO

RetroArch - RetroArch Save State HOW TO

So, now you should have a file for the save state. The Gens-Netplay emulator save state file will be something similar to "nhl94.gs0" (number depends on save state slot), and the ZSNES emulator save state file will be something similar to "nhl94.zs1" (number depends on save state slot, slot 0 has the extension ".zst"). The RetroArch frontend will create a save similar to "nhl94.state1" (number depends on save state slot).

4 - Now we are ready to log the state. First, go to the NHL94Online.com site. You will see the following page:


Main_Page-Resize.png

At the top, you will see the League Selection menu:

Lg.png

Use the drop down to choose your League

On the left, you will see the Left Nav bar. This is on a number of pages on the site, so it is always easy to access it.

Left_Navbar.png

There are 2 steps to do here. First, use the drop down to select your "League Level" (In this case, GENS-A is selected). Second, after the list updates, click on your team name (your name will be listed next to the team).

The link will take you to your Coach Page. Your team's Schedule will be displayed like below:

Schedule.png

Click on the "Log a Game" link next to the game that you played. If you have multiple games between teams, it does not matter which one you choose, just choose one.

The link will take you to the following screen:

LogAState-Pre.png

In this case, a game between Calgary and Boston was played (Boston is the Home Team).

Use the "Choose File" button to open up a browser. Navigate to where the file is located (normally in the same directory as the emulator) and choose "OK". The name of the file will then pop up next to the button.

Your name (the coach) should pop up on the second row. You will enter your site password, and click the Upload button.

(It is important to note that the site will check and see if the Home and Away Team match the game, if the game is the correct type of file, and if your password is correct. If there are any issues, an error will be seen.)

After uploading, the following screen will be displayed:

LogAState-Post.png

That's it! The game has been uploaded and submitted correctly. You will have 2 links on the bottom, one that sends you back to the Coach Page, and one that will allow you to view the Box Score (opens in another window).

If you go back to your Coach Page, you will see that your schedule has been updated:

Schedule_Update.png

There is also a link to the Box Score, so you can view it whenever you like.

In Case of a DeSync:

Network connections aren't perfect. We ask that you cut down on any heavy network traffic (like downloading torrents) during netplay. Also, it is strongly recommended you use a wired connection.

Nonetheless, desyncs still happen.

A sign of a desync could be one of the following:

- The opposing player's goalie starts moving out of the crease

- A player on the opposing team with the puck will skate all the way back into their zone, sometimes rubbing up along the boards

- All of a sudden, the pause menu might open, and the cursor goes all the way to the bottom, or opens up a stat page and it scrolls to the bottom

- The opposing player habits appear to change drastically, and they aren't trying to score or take the puck away

When this occurs, the hosting coach should pause the game. Message your opponent on Discord, and allow them to reconnect. Continue playing the game if possible. If not, save the state, and you can replay at another time. 

Any questions, please let me know!!

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Guys, remember I'm still relatively new...if I am seeing the saved state correctly in my Gens folder it looks like it's overwriting each time I do an F5, correct? In other words, it won't automatically assign the next available # from 0-9 for me when I save a game, correct? Do I need to take a quick break to rename the file (re-assign a #) manually between games or what am I missing?

THANKS

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Jagr, yes you are correct. Between games, you will need to either rename the file, or change your save state slot (more common). Just keep track of what game is in what save state.

Look at the how to for gens save state to find out how to change the slot.

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Jagr, yes you are correct. Between games, you will need to either rename the file, or change your save state slot (more common). Just keep track of what game is in what save state.

Look at the how to for gens save state to find out how to change the slot.

I got it Chaos - thanks. We did both save the states so we'll get that game uploaded as soon as he's able. I have my work cut out for me with the Oilers. Whew....

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