NHL 94: 2024 Edition by Adam Catalyst

[AdamCatalyst]

1 hour ago, twintowersjenga said:

Awesome work!

I do have a favor to ask; is there any way you could do the same thing, but for the AHL teams/rosters? I know it's a big ask but I love having timecapsules of my favorite team. Either way, keep up the amazing work.

lol - that is a big ask! No harm asking though.  Sorry, just don't have the time. I would highly suggest you try it yourself though. There are ample tutorials etc. on this site. Focus on the single aspect that would be the most important to you, and see if it's worth your while. I started by simply trying to update the opening splash screen. One thing led to another…

 

[George]

On 4/18/2024 at 12:45 PM, AdamCatalyst said:

Hey everyone,

Good news, bad news.

Good news. The playoffs edition is almost ready! Still a lot to do, but I am 100% on top of it, and will try to get it out as soon as possible. All rosters and lines have been updated. Will start on end of year ratings tomorrow morning.

Bad news. I promised a version 3.0 with all new re-balanced gameplay, and arcade mode patches, etc. Well, version 3.0 (playoffs edition) is coming, and the gameplay will have a minor revision, but the all new re-balanced gameplay and arcade patches etc. aren't coming any time soon. I have spent loads of time on this, but I still need even more time to make sure it is balanced just right. To that end, I will need some beta testers this summer. PM if you are interested in helping out.

Good news. I wasn't actually planning on coming back for a '25 version, as there is another. personal projects I wanted to spend time on. But I am not going to abandon my '94 gameplay re-balancing project, so I will have to come back for at least one more season, in order to share my work with you. So, as long as my health holds up, I am planning a '25. 

Stay tuned for a '24 playoff edition any day now.

cheers,

-Adam

 

 

 

Adam. Is 2025 really your last season? Who will take the reigns after you? IMO your hack is the gold standard for NHL94 hacks and one of the best rom hacks ever made.

[AdamCatalyst]

On 4/28/2024 at 2:54 AM, George said:

Adam. Is 2025 really your last season? Who will take the reigns after you? IMO your hack is the gold standard for NHL94 hacks and one of the best rom hacks ever made.

Thanks man! I really appreciate hearing that. I'll never say never, but I'm not so sure I can keep up doing these and still have time for new projects I want to commit myself to. Only time will tell what actually happens. 

[AdamCatalyst]

Update on 2025 alpha build. The gameplay work I am doing is rapidly progressing, and almost ready for testing. As promised, I will be providing more than one gameplay options, including a more "classic" option. If anyone is willing to play test and let me know your thoughts, please PM me, as I won't be posting pre-release builds publicly.

If you are a player who much prefers the classic gameplay to my own modded gameplay, I could really use your help… what gameplay mods would you like to see removed in a "classic" version? Possible reversions include:

• Player Hot/Cold variance increased to original range.
• All Player Overall ratings reverted to the original formulas.
• Player Rating Attributes moved back to a 0-6 ratings system (instead of 0-15),
• Slightly larger net & slightly smaller rink. (less posts, more goals),
• Goalie hold time until whistle shortened.
• Goalie range of motion limited to original.
• Goalies Speed attribute increased. (CPU goalie skates into corner more often).
• Goalies other Attribute decreased. (CPU lets in more goals).
• Skaters reverting to slower skater start / stop speeds.
• Skaters reverting to faster speed bursts / check speeds.
• Skater reverting to much lower agility power.
• Skater reverting to much lower shooting accuracy.
• Skater reverting to much lower shooting power.
• All Skater Attribute ratings generally conformed to the original distributions.
• All Skater Attribute ratings strictly conformed to the original distribution.
• Skater Energy Depletion & Recovery rates reverted to original.
• CPU controlled Skaters take more penalties.
• CPU controlled Skaters take fewer shots.
• Something else I have not listed here…

Any and all feedback is welcome and encouraged. 

[von Ozbourne]

7 hours ago, AdamCatalyst said:

Player Rating Attributes moved back to a 0-6 ratings system (instead of 0-15),

I originally started reading this as a list of things that you were looking to implement for the next build, and was intrigued by your mentioning of this change.

Mainly because I've worked on a few games where I used the 0-15 scale, but have slowly stated reverting back. Actually changing a couple of unfinished projects to 0-6. Mainly I just found that I wished the increments were more like how '93 handled percentages and that an RNG mod I'm testing out had a habit of pushing half of the guys into 99 Overall territory [even when half of the individual stats were showing "HOT" in the low 80's]. Eventually I had to change it back to 0-6 and the numbers became more predictable.

Curious if you'd encountered anything like this or if your rating system was able to account for that [l think I remember you mentioning that you tone down RNG so maybe not this exact issue]

7 hours ago, AdamCatalyst said:

• Goalie hold time until whistle shortened.
• Goalie range of motion limited to original.
• Goalies Speed attribute increased. (CPU goalie skates into corner more often).
• Goalies other Attribute decreased. (CPU lets in more goals).

I will say that on the goalie front, I tend to prefer "better" goalies so as not to just rack up a score. I also like the option to hold onto the puck until I can get a clear pass, so the range and time are nice for cutting down stoppages.
Goalies going into the corners is also nice to nullify dump and chase tactics, even if they do go into the stupid "Brodeur no-zone"

[AdamCatalyst]

18 hours ago, von Ozbourne said:

Curious if you'd encountered anything like this or if your rating system was able to account for that [l think I remember you mentioning that you tone down RNG so maybe not this exact issue]

No, not had any of those issues with the 0-15 rating system. There's been no going back since I switched to it, I'd never be able to tweak the gameplay without the more granular scale. If you had any ROMs with those issues, I would be curious to take a look if you were ever interested.

Thanks for the feedback on goalies! All good stuff to know.