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NCAA Hockey: Road to Tampa Bay (NHL 94) - 2023 NCAA ROMs - Final Update


Sean

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6 minutes ago, AdamCatalyst said:

I'm constantly trying to figure out how to make this work more maintainable for myself, as it so quickly gets out of hand. I've made some minor progress on this, but not nearly enough. I might start a thread to see if folks wanted to share their tips and tricks as to how they keep efficient. I hear your pain, and can only imagine the time and energy you have sunk into this.

What are some of the worst pain points in keeping ROMs up to date?

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4 minutes ago, smozoma said:

What are some of the worst pain points in keeping ROMs up to date?

OK, off the top of my head…

- Updating the lines. Every update I do some re-factoring based on real-world player usage, and the research and setting of lines in my spreadsheet is probably the single most labour intensive thing. Then it feels terribly innefficent to manually enter those lines into NOSE. I should really figure out how to generate code for the lines directly from my spreadsheet to cut out the data entry work I am going in NOSE.

- Updating the player photos. Importing images one at a time is quicker than I would have expected, but it certainly feels very inefficient. I've toyed with the idea of trying to re-architect this bit so that a flat contact sheet of all photos could be imported.

- Anything to do with player movement. Trades can so quickly add up to a ripple effect of changes, first all my research moving data around in my spreadsheet, then propagating that in NOSE by moving players, re-factoring lines for multiple teams, and then in TileM, moving player photo image data. I'm sure there has to be better ways than I have been doing this.

- Data wrangling. I'm not exactly a programmer, and need better ways of bringing in data to my spreadsheet, and automating more of my work. I am still manually researching and updating jersey numbers for instance. I'v figured out some ok tricks and data sources, that I plan to share with people when I have the time. Part if this is self-inflicted pain, I insist on using loads of data sources and calculations to rate things, and I'm constantly having to fight between desired accuracy and maintainability. I could literally describe to an AI what it needs to do for 90% of this, but I lack the skills to automate nearly any of it. Serves me right for not studying computer science in school.

I *love* the NHL Roster tool. In an ideal world, a similar tool would exist to accommodate lines, player names, roster order, etc. through an intermediate CSV.

 

 

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2 hours ago, AdamCatalyst said:

p.s. after you changed your name and icon, and I literally didn't realize who you were for a bit! Nice to meet you again sir.

Ha, yeah sorry about that!

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One quick tip for trading players is to open 2 instances of NOSE. You can copy players in instance 2 and paste into instance 1. When you're done, close instance 2 without saving, then close instance 1 and save it.

Lines can be done in a hex editor , pasting data from a spreadsheet. Check out my NHL93 64-team hack and excel sheet. You'd still have to do each team individually (if changed), but it's easier than doing it in NOSE (https://forum.nhl94.com/index.php?/topic/11734-nhlpa-hockey-93-64-team-rom-snes/)

 

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I have a correction to make from earlier:

I actually just tried to make that "Top-32 plus 32 More Dynasty Mode" mod here at home off of YOUR incredible hack and hard work. It did not turn out... no matter what I do in your "Excel Season Simulator", the Pods always revert back to the originals.

Maybe I'm either over my head or not seeing the simple solution. I have tried your Step by Step, deleting, saving, editing, copying, you name it. Each time, I see Boston U and Boston College as the first two teams for Pods A and B and no Pod editing whatsoever shows.

Is this too much to explain to me here? Sorry and thanks.

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6 hours ago, AndrewB said:

I have a correction to make from earlier:

I actually just tried to make that "Top-32 plus 32 More Dynasty Mode" mod here at home off of YOUR incredible hack and hard work. It did not turn out... no matter what I do in your "Excel Season Simulator", the Pods always revert back to the originals.

Maybe I'm either over my head or not seeing the simple solution. I have tried your Step by Step, deleting, saving, editing, copying, you name it. Each time, I see Boston U and Boston College as the first two teams for Pods A and B and no Pod editing whatsoever shows.

Is this too much to explain to me here? Sorry and thanks.

I think you might be misunderstanding when I said bingo yesterday - I meant bingo as in “correct, Excel files can’t change the ROMs”.

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20 hours ago, AdamCatalyst said:

I might start a thread to see if folks wanted to share their tips and tricks as to how they keep efficient.

FWIW I think this (and more types of behind the curtain threads) could be a really cool way for us all to learn and also maybe get some new people into this wonderful hobby. 

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19 minutes ago, Sean said:

FWIW I think this (and more types of behind the curtain threads) could be a really cool way for us all to learn and also maybe get some new people into this wonderful hobby. 

From someone (me) who has been watching for a while, and now starting to ask questions and interact, I completely agree. Sometimes it’s difficult to ask the right questions in the right way.

I grew up with Genesis and it’s incredible and fun to see what you can do now with programming and coding.

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22 hours ago, Sean said:

FWIW I think this (and more types of behind the curtain threads) could be a really cool way for us all to learn and also maybe get some new people into this wonderful hobby. 

I'm going to try and initiate this as soon as I can, which likely means in weeks or months. :)

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It just dawned on me that you adjusted the stats. The last version I was using the Savage brothers for the Miami RedHawks. Now my frontline has all new players. Cool!

:dal_skater_hand_grab:

Edited by BlueJacketRebel
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9 minutes ago, BlueJacketRebel said:

It just dawned on me that you adjusted the stats. The last version I was using the Savage brothers for the Miami RedHawks. Now my frontline has all new players. Cool!

:dal_skater_hand_grab:

Mhm! All new stats and much more accurate lines now that line charts are available on the CHN phone app. 
 

In my opinion, the ratings are much much better for gameplay now. As the #1 supporter of this project, any notes?

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1 hour ago, Sean said:

Mhm! All new stats and much more accurate lines now that line charts are available on the CHN phone app. 
 

In my opinion, the ratings are much much better for gameplay now. As the #1 supporter of this project, any notes?

Compared to NHL 94 it's like a whole new game. Its great that there'so many teams to use. Even a middle of the road team like the RedHawks is a blast. You should start your own Discord for game play.

I've got to admit that other than the original 92, 93, & 94 ROMs, the only ROM hacks I play are Dynasty and Tampa. I was playing as LA, but its time to let Korpisalo go.

Edited by BlueJacketRebel
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On 3/24/2023 at 8:32 PM, smozoma said:

One quick tip for trading players is to open 2 instances of NOSE. You can copy players in instance 2 and paste into instance 1. When you're done, close instance 2 without saving, then close instance 1 and save it.

Lines can be done in a hex editor , pasting data from a spreadsheet. Check out my NHL93 64-team hack and excel sheet. You'd still have to do each team individually (if changed), but it's easier than doing it in NOSE (https://forum.nhl94.com/index.php?/topic/11734-nhlpa-hockey-93-64-team-rom-snes/)

 

Right, I forget about being able to open multiple instances of NOSE! But if I may suggest something, I highly recommend using a duplicate file (preferably locked) for the source ROM, rather than risking a mistake with two open versions of the same file. My skin literally crawls when I think about the risk of accidents otherwise!

I *HAVE* to get the lines done this way. Going to go look at it ASAP and start trying to build this out. Ideally, code for all roster moves would just be straight from my spreadsheet, and this should be a good step to getting closer.

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11 hours ago, BlueJacketRebel said:

The game is a hit. Do you have any of season project or are you on vacation until next season?

I am on a long break to focus on

- beating Metroid Prime

- some career stuff

- MLB

But this project will return next year! (I think)

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  • 2 weeks later...

FYI - I have had an error 3 or 4 times (screenshot attached).  I am using the downloaded .bin on an emulation station.  Each time, I am using St. Cloud St., but the opponent has been different.  It always happens in the 1st Period.  Wondering if this has happened to anyone else?  Any idea what error it is?

Thanks.

P.S. This is a GREAT game!

IMG_7396.HEIC

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22 minutes ago, BlueJacketRebel said:

Which bin file were you playing?

It's the most recent compressed zip file from 3/23/2023 (I believe) and bin that has Pods C & D. Yes, each time it gives that error it is bin Pods C & D.

Did that answer your question?

Edited by AndrewB
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14 hours ago, AndrewB said:

FYI - I have had an error 3 or 4 times (screenshot attached).  I am using the downloaded .bin on an emulation station.  Each time, I am using St. Cloud St., but the opponent has been different.  It always happens in the 1st Period.  Wondering if this has happened to anyone else?  Any idea what error it is?

Thanks.

P.S. This is a GREAT game!

IMG_7396.HEIC 2.53 MB · 8 downloads

This has been looked into before on Discord with this ROM and my NHL ROM from a few months ago, and I can't really find any reason why this does that and other ROMs don't.

The code in that spot is the same as other ROMs here, and this has only happened to me on an EverDrive and never on RetroArch.

It's probably one of the dozens of things I changed on a whim without fully understanding the whole architecture of the game.

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4 minutes ago, Sean said:

This has been looked into before on Discord with this ROM and my NHL ROM from a few months ago, and I can't really find any reason why this does that and other ROMs don't.

The code in that spot is the same as other ROMs here, and this has only happened to me on an EverDrive and never on RetroArch.

It's probably one of the dozens of things I changed on a whim without fully understanding the whole architecture of the game.

Lol! I just messaged you on discord. Guess I should've looked here first.

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16 hours ago, AndrewB said:

FYI - I have had an error 3 or 4 times (screenshot attached).  I am using the downloaded .bin on an emulation station.  Each time, I am using St. Cloud St., but the opponent has been different.  It always happens in the 1st Period.  Wondering if this has happened to anyone else?  Any idea what error it is?

Thanks.

P.S. This is a GREAT game!

IMG_7396.HEIC 2.53 MB · 10 downloads

I do get the same error, testing on my GenesisPlus based emulators. I've tested with Penalties On and Off, no difference. I trie a few other little experiments, no luck. Error always exactly the same. I've been scratching my head trying to figure this out, but am stumped. The fact that it's a consistent error code, makes me think that it is fixable, but who knows how much time and energy it might take to even get to the bottom of it.

Edited by AdamCatalyst
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1 hour ago, AdamCatalyst said:

I do get the same error, testing on my GenesisPlus based emulators. I've tested with Penalties On and Off, no difference. I trie a few other little experiments, no luck. Error always exactly the same. I've been scratching my head trying to figure this out, but am stumped. The fact that it's a consistent error code, makes me think that it is fixable, but who knows how much time and energy it might take to even get to the bottom of it.

I appreciate the responses (and glad it's something that not just I have happening). It's just a restart, no big deal, really, but wanted to bring it up to help. I'm not on Discord, sorry it's on here.

Now that you mention penalties on/off... I had a penalty called and when the player was going to the box, his number went to "??" and everything went crazy and screen filled with mostly big black pixels. First time it's happened.

Again, not complaining, just trying to help with this great game. I'm glad you're aware of the little bugs and are doing your best.

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4 hours ago, AdamCatalyst said:

@AndrewB To be clear, I'm not @Sean, he's the author of this gem! I'm just a fellow fan, who read your post and tried to figure this problem out. 

Very clear. You're (AdamCatalyst) my go-to for your NHL mods.  I should have made it clear that when I said "you". I mean all of you trying to make these games so great with your hard work and help in all the games.

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