NHL '98 Sega Genesis (USA) - No 2-Line Rule

EDIT - This is an updated post from the original that had some bugs. The code seems to be working now

So I asked my friend who is a Wizard at reverse engineering software to look at NHL '98 to see if he could remove the 'Two Line Pass' rule, and lo and behold, here it is 

I can't guarantee it will work on other ROMS as the addresses may be different, but users could look for the strings and see if they are present in other ROMs to test them out. Easiest way to know if this patch will work is to search for the strings below and if you find them you should be good to go. I haven't tested this out extensively, so there is a possibility for bugs. If you find any, please let me know!

Some notes from the Master:

"What I was trying to do before was just null the 'if' statements, but that didn't work because I discovered that there's a lot of 'if' statements that determine this rule violation. So instead, I went into the 2-line rule violation code itself and made it simply jump to the branch that occurs if no violation is detected".

Please feel free to test this out. I played one 30 min game, and two 15 min games with not one double line pass infraction. Keep an eye out for the computer making a two line pass. If you see one, and there is no infraction (or if there is an infraction), please post here and we can take another look at it. 

I have checked for the values shown above in some other ROMs but not many. The Widescreen version does have this string, so users of the Widescreen NHL '98 ROM should be able to patch their ROM should they wish to remove the 2 Line rule. 

Code to Activate Mod
Disables the 2-Line pass rule, allow you to pass more than 2 lines across the rink.
----------------------------------------------------------------

26 78 DE CA 30 3C 00 3A 4E B9 00 02 13

Change To:

60 0C DE CA 30 3C 00 3A 4E B9 00 02 13
 

NHL 98 (USA) (No 2 Line Pass) v3.md

Edited November 30, 20241 yr by Bluerose

Wow!! This is great news, I love 98, hope your friend find a way for fixing those bugs

  

20 hours ago, Deckard said:

Wow!! This is great news, I love 98, hope your friend find a way for fixing those bugs

Thank you. I have updated the original post with the working ROM and code. Please test and let me know how it goes!

Edited November 30, 20241 yr by Bluerose

This is pretty cool.
And I like that it is timely for myself since I am coincidentally in the beginning stages of a '98 based mod that this would be perfect for.

Although, at first I couldn't be certain that this wasn't just a player AI hack, as for a ludicrous amount of time, every stretch pass I attempted would either be picked off by the opposing team or sail by the target and turn into a race to beat the icing call.

Used to be that I would forget about the rule and could easily get called for a 2-line pass at least twice a period.

10 hours ago, von Ozbourne said:

I am coincidentally in the beginning stages of a '98 based mod that this would be perfect for

Glad to hear this is right up your alley. I am curious to know what you are working towards with your 98' mod.

Presently I am also asking my friend to look into fixing the players despawning once outside of the vanilla camera view. If he can fix that issue then the wide mode on Genesis Plus GX Wide will make NHL '98 that much better!

Question about '98: I have only got into a fight once while playing for the last month or so (I play almost everyday). Why is it so hard to get into a fight ?(yes, fighting is turned on in the settings menu). 

On 11/30/2024 at 9:04 AM, Bluerose said:

  

Thank you. I have updated the original post with the working ROM and code. Please test and let me know how it goes!

Hey man, been kinda busy last couple of weeks, I'm trying your room right now and IMHO works like a charm! I also patched it with the Widescreen patch so it's the complete package right now.

The only way to top this would be if @von Ozbourne does his magic and bring the Whalers back to make the definitive 97 playoffs' game 😜

On 12/14/2024 at 12:25 PM, Deckard said:

 I'm trying your room right now and IMHO works like a charm!

Thanks. I've been playing it everyday since it was released and have experienced no issues. As I said, my friend is a Wizard. The next thing I am hoping to see if he can fix is the disappearing players on the Genesis Plus GX Wide Core for RetroArch. Once that is fixed, the game will be so much better. 

I've been playing NHL 98 lately and always wondered if someone would be able to remove 2 line pass rule.

Was happy to have come across this. Many thanks to you and your friend for this.