fight discussion

[bradu]

I've done some pretty extensive research and testing on the fighting, and I'm still trying to find ways to make it more realistic/accurate. This is basically just going to be a list of my observations. Basically, I have 'simulated' hundreds of demo games in fast forward, and then taken notice of how many fights there are, when they occur, etc.

Here's how I have these games set up: I have modified the fighter ratings and the lines. Most any guy who fought 5 times or more in 9192 has a 71 or higher for fighting, with about 5 guys rated a 100. Each team has their best fighter on the first line somewhere. So there's almost always 2 fighters on the ice at the same time. Almost every team has at least one fighter rated 85 or 100 (I think I have STL as the lone exception, with a few 71's)

*every fight MUST have at least one participant with a 71 or higher fight rating. I have NEVER seen a fight with two players rated 57 or lower.

*I don't know that crowd meter has any effect on fighting, but it does seem that

*fights DO NOT HAPPEN in the first 5 minutes or so of the game. Even on 10 minute periods, a first period fight is extremely rare, and will almost always occur towards the end of the period. I've actually been doing 8:30 periods, and so far in over 100 demo games I have seen ONE first period fight.

*there always seems to be several minutes between fights. It seems that what's happening is that there is some sort of hidden tension meter that takes several minutes to build into a fight (which would explain why there are no fights early in the game), and this meter seems to reset itself after each fight. So, my guess is that the MINIMUM amount of time for the meter to build up is around 7 or 8 minutes before a fight can occur. This then resets, so the next fight won't be for another minimum of 7 or 8 minutes.

(an exception would be if there were an abundance of fighters rated 100)

*the fighter on the ice with the highest fight rating is almost certain to be the one to fight if there is a fight. For instance, let's say I set it so that each team had a 71 on each line, but no one rated higher. Every time there is a fight, it's quite likely to be the two 71's going at it. Now let's say I move an 85 on to the line, the 71 on his line will see a major decrease in the # of fights he gets, because now if he's on the ice he's only the second most likely to fight. If each team has a 100 on their line, even if the rest of the line is all 85's, there will very rarely be a fight between 2 of the 85s. For instance, I've been testing a bunch of 20 min period games between the two all-star teams, but I put a 100 on each team's first line. In about 5 games between the two, I have yet to see a fight that did not feature one of the 100's. I'm getting 5 fights just about every game, with very few exceptions (I just had a 4, but haven't seen a 6 yet.) The first fight occurs in the middle of the 1st period. The next one seems to occur early in the 2nd, then another mid-late 2nd, then another early 3rd and another mid-late 3rd. If the first fight doesn't occur until late 1st, then the 2nd fight won't occur until mid 2nd, and so on.

In my demo games of 8:30 periods, in about 100 games I have yet to see a game with 3 fights UNLESS it went into OT. I have only seen ONE game with ZERO fights, so it's about 99% certain that there will be at least one fight, but about 99% certain that there will be no more than 2.

One thing that makes this inaccurate is that it means that no matter how many 'fighters' each team has, all teams will end up with roughly the same # of fights over a season. Because the # of fights that can occur is still limited by the time in between fights. So, take for instance my Penguins, who have Ulfie as their first line 71, but really nobody else. However, the Pens still have a fight every game, and since the 1st line gets 80% of the ice time, 80% of the time it's been Ulfie to fight. I think Grant Jennings got a fight at 71 from 2nd line. On the other hand, I've got Detroit who is loaded with fighters. Probert 100 and Konstantinov 71 on the first line. Crowder 100, Chiasson, Gallant, Primeau all 71's on the 2nd line. However, Probert and Crowder are the only one's who've fought! All the others don't have a chance to fight since there's someone rated higher on their line. Also, Pittsburgh and Detroit have almost the same # of fights (Det probably gets 10% more).

Anyway, I'll stop there, I'm really rambling at this point and I doubt many people even care. But I'm hoping that someone who knows a thing or two about programming can find some way to fix any of this...maybe find a way to make it possible for fights to occur early in the game, or within a short amount of time between them. Or for there to be a chance for two 42's to have a fight, or for 2 71's to fight even if there's a 100 and an 85 on the same lines. Or for two teams who are stacked with fighters to have 4 or 5 fights in 10 min periods, while two soft teams like Pit and Min are not likely to have a single fight.

[Red]

That's a great statistical analysis! Though I don't really play 93, I always love to find out how the engine & AI of the NHL games works. Maybe it's boring for others, but I'm geek, so I liked it.

[addisonbr]

bradu, that's brilliant stuff, thanks for sharing

[lakings93PA]

Bradu, thanks for sharing your detailed analysis on fighting. I really enjoying reading through it. 93 NHL is my favorite game and I have spent a lot of time studying the game as it sounds like you have as well. I have spent most of my years playing the game trying to accomplish a certain challenge (see my other post in this form). Through trying to achieve that goal I have come across many interesting scenarios that happen when you start amassing a LOT of penalties. It's pretty cool.

Anyhow, thanks again for the post. It was a great read!