How to break the glass. The definitive answer.

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Sorry if this is common knowledge. I tried searching but the only answers I could find were the same school yard theories from nearly 30 years ago.

It seems a lot of people have their own strategy for breaking the glass, whether it's using Al Macinnis or letting one rip from the blue line.

The truth is a whole lot simpler than that.

I found an interview with NHL '93 programmer Jim Simmons from Inside EA Sports (Volume 2 Issue 1, 1993). In it they ask what's the secret to breaking the glass.

"I've built a small sweet spot into the glass panel directly behind the right half of the goal - it's only three pixels wide by five pixels tall. That's about the size of the puck. You have to hit that sweet spot right on, extremely hard. Using a player that has a really hard slapshot helps, but luck is usually the strongest determining factor in getting it to shatter."

I look up whatever videos are available of breaking the glass in NHL '93/94 and sure enough, it's always in the same spot. Shot speed is not a factor, but it helps increase your odds of firing a wild puck at the "sweet spot".

The spot is roughly in between the feet of one of the fans. Anytime you hit it, the glass will break regardless.

[smozoma]

Amazing! Thanks!

Found the magazine: https://www.retromags.com/files/file/4608-inside-ea-sports-volume-2-issue-1-1993/

[kingraph]

I don't think it's quite as simple as just hitting the sweet spot, but maybe?  Here's my reasoning:

I forgot why, but for some reason I needed to make a video clip of the glass breaking.  I never really tried to break the glass, but I did know that the glass always broke in the same spot, and always while shooting up.  So I started playing and just taking shots up, and to the extend I could I kept aiming at that same location.  I swear I hit that sweet spot a bunch of times, but it didn't always break.  In fact it took friggin' forever to get the glass breaking animation!  As I thought about it, it really is quite rare that I see a glass break in a game.  Maybe 1/50...75?

I do like that Simmons says it's 3 pixels wide by 5 pixels tall.  It's so specific, and from 1993 when this was fresh in his mind.  GREAT FIND, thanks for sharing. 

[DominikJagr]

Would be awesome to find location of Glass-Spot in the ROM to edit it and make breaking the glass easier and more frequent. 

[illegalsmileIV:XX]

Just out of curiosity, I have spent about two hours trying to hit that sweet-spot... I know for a fact, I hit it a ton of times, I got 2 glass breaking animations. I have probably broke the glass more times, just playing regular games, than I have when actually going for it.

I feel that it's about 30% accuracy and about 70% pure luck.

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2 hours ago, illegalsmileIV:XX said:

Just out of curiosity, I have spent about two hours trying to hit that sweet-spot... I know for a fact, I hit it a ton of times, I got 2 glass breaking animations. I have probably broke the glass more times, just playing regular games, than I have when actually going for it.

I feel that it's about 30% accuracy and about 70% pure luck.

I just tried it right now on NHLPA '93 (I didn't get a chance to try it on '94). I just used to default teams (Pittsburgh vs Chicago) and 10 minute periods.

I spent a period figuring out my best chances of hitting the "sweet spot." I was having good luck with Lemieux. Right side, before the blue line, right of the faceoff spot.

I reset and started again. Boom. Second period trying and nailed it.

Maybe it was luck. Tried again while restarting after every first period. 5th period, again.

7th period I hit it a third time before calling it quits just now.

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Just tried it on '94. It took 4 (10 minute) periods to hit it.