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ESPN/TSN NHL 2023 (NHL 94) - Winter Classic ROM out now!


Sean

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Update: Putting this project on hold because AdamCatalyst is back and I'd like to give my NCAA ROMs more love.

Hey all,

Tried my hand at a NHL roster update using the College Hockey Gameday ROM as a base.

Players & Barry.pngD-Zone.pngTitle Screen.pngWild VS Stars.png

  • All uniforms updated with the JKline template and NHL logo added where TV would typically superimpose a sponsor
  • Barry Melrose returns to cover the American version of the game (ESPN), and James Duthie does the honors for Canada (TSN)
    • My VonOzbourme-esque head canon for this is that the game is a release on ESPN+ that is meant to help the Disney Bundle compete with Netflix Games
    • Both ROMs are in the folder you can download below
  • Ratings are inspired by a mix of NHL 23, personal opinion, and various sources of analytics
    • Overalls are somewhat largely swayed by hot/cold, so don't put too much stock into them.
    • My overall formula gives more stock to physical hockey because in '94 it is very important. The player class system I used to rate players in CHGD makes a soft return, mostly just to help give value to grinders/forecheckers.
  • Player Cards are of the players in game situations. I personally don't like the portrait style, so I choose to do this.
  • Rosters are "best case scenario" minus players who are on LTIR for the whole year (these players are scratched). So a guy like Ehlers skates, but Backstrom is on the bench if you want him to play for WSH.

Future Updates

  • Winter Classic ROM - target date: Christmas 2022
  • Reverse Retro or 90s Graphics Edition - target date: ?
  • 2024 Roster Update - target date: ?

Known Bugs

  • Replay buttons are compromised as part of rink layout overhaul
  • Laine's player card routing is bad - not a CBJ fan so might not update that one so quickly because I am still mad about 2019  I am busy

Special thanks to...

  • AdamCatalyst, JKline, Smozoma, Slapshot67 and many more for laying the groundwork this ROM was built on
  • KidsWasted and ComicalFont for beta testing

________________________________

Releases

v2.1 - released 12/19/2022

ESPN-TSN NHL 2023 v2.1.zip

  • @Drezz's background hack added into the menus of both versions of the ROM.

v2.0 - released 12/14/2022

  • Many player ratings tweaked to combat power creep from strong early season performances
  • Agility/Speed Ratios tweaked to add variety to skaters (straight line speed VS agility and quickness)
  • Stopping/Crossover Rate Tweaked
  • Notable trades up to date as of 12/14/23
  • Winter Classic ROM added

v1.0 - released 12/7/2022

 

Edited by seamor
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4 minutes ago, skills324 said:

is that the "most interesting man in the world" doing the game analysis and hot / cold streaks?  Can he be trusted? or, is he off like Ron Barr?

Barry Melrose can always be trusted :)

James Duthie as well, since he just cribs Melrose’s notes. 

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  • Sean changed the title to ESPN/TSN NHL 2023 (NHL 94) - Updated rosters, uniforms, and more!
1 hour ago, Deckard said:

Hi! there're s no goal lines?

There are no trapezoid lines but there are certainly goal lines if I uploaded the right file. 
 

I don’t really see the need for trapezoid lines because the goalies can wander and handle puck outside that space. They also are sort of loud from a graphics standpoint, and they don’t communicate anything to the player or build atmosphere. 

Edited by seamor
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8 minutes ago, seamor said:

There are no trapezoid lines but there are certainly goal lines if I uploaded the right file. 
 

I don’t really see the need for trapezoid lines because the goalies can wander and handle puck outside that space. They also are sort of loud from a graphics standpoint, and they don’t communicate anything to the player or build atmosphere. 

Yes trapezoid sorry, don't worry is just a personal preference of mine, but as you said it's useless

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5 minutes ago, Deckard said:

Yes trapezoid sorry, don't worry is just a personal preference of mine, but as you said it's useless

Sorry if to disappoint. Just would be a hassle with not much payoff in terms of what I was looking to do with this. 
 

Anyways, thanks for trying it out!

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11 minutes ago, seamor said:

Sorry if to disappoint. Just would be a hassle with not much payoff in terms of what I was looking to do with this. 
 

Anyways, thanks for trying it out!

Not at all! I'm enjoying your rom a lot, I'm also playing your NHL 94 Jam rom, it's great!

Keep up the good work!

Cheers

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12 minutes ago, Deckard said:

Not at all! I'm enjoying your rom a lot, I'm also playing your NHL 94 Jam rom, it's great!

 


 

Oh hey, a blast from the past. Have thought about a patch for this with 2 on 2, might have to!

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7 minutes ago, Deckard said:

Or maybe 3on3, I can't decide which option is better

I think my ideal set up would be

2 on 2 “Jam” ROM

3 on 3 “Pond Hockey” ROM

4 on 4 “Ball Hockey” ROM

Which once I do these all the first time, would be easy moving forward. 

Edited by seamor
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3 hours ago, seamor said:

I think my ideal set up would be

2 on 2 “Jam” ROM

3 on 3 “Pond Hockey” ROM

4 on 4 “Ball Hockey” ROM

Which once I do these all the first time, would be easy moving forward. 

I'm playing your NCAA rom now, pretty cool too! So the rink geometry is the same for both roms 

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1 hour ago, Deckard said:

I'm playing your NCAA rom now, pretty cool too! So the rink geometry is the same for both roms 

It’s close. 

Obviously the fan section, sponsor, and dasher colors are different. 
 

I really enjoy the pale blue and modern crease though, so those are the same. 

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On 12/9/2022 at 3:39 AM, seamor said:

It’s close. 

Obviously the fan section, sponsor, and dasher colors are different. 
 

I really enjoy the pale blue and modern crease though, so those are the same. 

Wow man everyday I find a new rom of yours! Champion Edition is awesome!!!! Just in case you're thinking about v1.3 of that one, IIRC Federov and Lidstrom are lefties and Yzerman is righty ;)

Cheers and thanks a lot for your effort!!!

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2 hours ago, Deckard said:

Wow man everyday I find a new rom of yours! Champion Edition is awesome!!!! Just in case you're thinking about v1.3 of that one, IIRC Federov and Lidstrom are lefties and Yzerman is righty ;)

Cheers and thanks a lot for your effort!!!

Hey thanks!

For the Champion Edition project, I would go one of two routes

- V2 with replacements for a large portion of teams

- “All-Decade” ROMs

I’d want to do it with my new ROM template for better rink and sprites. 
 

it definitely crossed my mind for after I add winter classic stuff to ESPN NHL. 

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29 minutes ago, seamor said:

Hey thanks!

For the Champion Edition project, I would go one of two routes

- V2 with replacements for a large portion of teams

- “All-Decade” ROMs

I’d want to do it with my new ROM template for better rink and sprites. 
 

it definitely crossed my mind for after I add winter classic stuff to ESPN NHL. 

I like teams you chose, it's a good mixture of vintage and newer teams, so would V2 be leaning towards vintage teams?

Cheers!

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9 minutes ago, Deckard said:

I like teams you chose, it's a good mixture of vintage and newer teams, so would V2 be leaning towards vintage teams?

Cheers!

With V2 I would probably add in the 2022 Avalanche, and drop some of the teams scattered throughout who did not win. 
 

also, since your username is Deckard… I also have a working outline of a Star Wars or Blade Runner inspired project. So I might decide to get weird with it too!

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3 minutes ago, seamor said:

With V2 I would probably add in the 2022 Avalanche, and drop some of the teams scattered throughout who did not win. 
 

also, since your username is Deckard… I also have a working outline of a Star Wars or Blade Runner inspired project. So I might decide to get weird with it too!

I got and idea/suggestion, 2 roms, 1 for pre-2004 lockout teams with old rink geometry and another one for post-2004 lockout with modern geometry (and something I personally dislike, local team in color instead of white...)

Wow! Star Wars/Blade Runner rom, it'd awesome to play a game Replicants vs Stormtroopers :lol:

Keep up the good work

Cheers!

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10 minutes ago, Deckard said:

I got and idea/suggestion, 2 roms, 1 for pre-2004 lockout teams with old rink geometry and another one for post-2004 lockout with modern geometry (and something I personally dislike, local team in color instead of white...)

I agree! Local teams should wear white like baseball, or neither team like in soccer in my opinion. 

For Star Wars I have all of the lore knowledge needed to do it, but for Blade Runner I’d have to do some more research and maybe guess as to what cities aren’t destroyed and so on.
 

And for a second champion edition, yeah, splitting eras would be cool. Could really got creative with branding too.
 

I think Founding - Expansion Era, Expansion Era - Dead Puck Era, and Dead Puck Era - Today could be good? Maybe not fill each with 32 teams. Could use the last few slots for international teams or something. 
 

Now I am going to start work on all three projects!

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7 minutes ago, seamor said:

For Star Wars I have all of the lore knowledge needed to do it, but for Blade Runner I’d have to do some more research and maybe guess as to what cities aren’t destroyed and so on.

I think Founding - Expansion Era, Expansion Era - Dead Puck Era, and Dead Puck Era - Today could be good? Maybe not fill each with 32 teams. Could use the last few slots for international teams or something. 
 

Should you need help for Blade Runner I can help you, I got several books so I can gather some information about the universe

About the NHL Eras, I'm a rookie hockey fan, but I think with those 3 roms with 30ish teams each you'd cover all the league History. I'm tech noob but if you need help checking rosters, numbers or anything else on hockey-reference.com or hockeydb.com let me know.

Cheers!

 

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  • Sean changed the title to ESPN/TSN NHL 2023 (NHL 94) - Winter Classic ROM out now!

WC Logos.pngWC Benches.pngWC Scoreboard.png

Hey all,

Winter Classic ROM is out now! Was going to wait to get this done, but I live in the Fenway area and can't contain my excitement :).

Every team has unique branding and I redid some of the fans and benches (thank you @Drezz for recommending the bald man wears a winter hat) to fit the outdoor aesthetic even more. Not sure if I'll go back through CHGD and add all of this in, but I like it! I also used the "NHL Outdoors" logo as a generic placeholder for WC/SS/HC/other outdoor games instead of this year's WC logo.

Some other tweaks can be read about in the first post.

Edited by seamor
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Hmm. Runs on GENS, RetroArch, and Kega. Not sure if you have the option for either of those. 
 

I’m about to get on a train back to Boston so I’ll check out the checksum routine then to see if anything funky is going on. 
 

Are other 32 team ROMs working?

 

@WileECoyote

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Is Gens or Kega available for Android?

Some of the other ROM hacks freeze during the intro on Super MD Pro but if I reset, then its fine.

I installed retroarch but its real bare bones on the Android TV box for some reason. I decompressed the zip and the individual bin files work on retro arch. Ill see if I can find an apk for the other two.

Thanks @Seamor.

 

Edited by WileECoyote
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image.pngimage.png

Hi all,

I've used Drezz's amazing background hack to add some flavor to each version of the ROM. Tried to go with a "calm before the storm" theme, so it's players walking out to play for each game. Just an absolutely amazing hack he came up with - go give his original post some love so you can see just how much problem solving went into it.

 

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You guys just reminded me that I downloaded this. So I went and played. Finally won with Columbus. Good stuff! It was on the TSN winter classic bin.

rsz_screenshot_20221219-165705.png

Edited by WileECoyote
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9 minutes ago, WileECoyote said:

Would you happen to have a list of team rankings for the ESPN/TSN bins?

No, I don’t have anything like that.

If you download EARE you can look at the ratings I gave every team though!

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