NHL 97/98

[dzenmaster]

Why don't you use "NHL 97/98" as base image? Or may be someone have done it already?

[kingraph]

On 3/1/2025 at 1:39 PM, dzenmaster said:

Why don't you use "NHL 97/98" as base image? Or may be someone have done it already?

Are you saying convert NHL'98 player stats and teams to a '94 ROM?  Here are some examples that I found:

 @CoachMac did one here: https://forum.nhl94.com/index.php?/topic/19792-1951-1970-and-1971-1999-roms/#findComment-180098

@naples39 did deadline ROMs: https://forum.nhl94.com/index.php?/topic/15608-my-deadline-roms/

 

@slapshot67: https://forum.nhl94.com/index.php?/topic/4327-70s80s90s00s-roms/page/4/#findComment-180065

 

 

To be honest, I haven't played/tried them so can't speak to any specifics.  

 

[Lomez]

I think they mean why not use 97/98 as the base rom instead of 94. Well, because 94 is the best!

[kingraph]

2 hours ago, Lomez said:

I think they mean why not use 97/98 as the base rom instead of 94. Well, because 94 is the best!

I agree!  But in that regard it does appear some folks are also making updates to '98 as well.  

[Sauce]

4 hours ago, Lomez said:

I think they mean why not use 97/98 as the base rom instead of 94. Well, because 94 is the best!

This perplexes me... not that you theorized as such but that this concept happens almost annually on this site.  It's not the first time.  This site is forum.nhl94.com.  Should one go into a Carvel Ice Cream shop expecting a Chicken Sandwich and then question why not?  I mean, they are both "food."  Come on now!

NHL94 is like TecmoBowl.  It's legend.  NHL97/98 never will be.  Doesn't matter if it is a good game or not.  That's not the purpose of this site.  There are no tournaments for either 97 or 98.  No documentaries.  No Golden Knights using Naples rom after victories, on social media.  No Raph vs Ken Daneyko.  Etc.  Etc.

 

 

Edited March 4, 2025 by Sauce

[Sauce]

And sorry if the above sounds harsh but seriously, let's not take away from the quality posts and/or work being done here, with purpose, with "can you make my cat a dog."

[von Ozbourne]

As one of the very few people on here who has dug into all ten of the Genesis/MegaDrive variants of EA's NHL games, I get that sometimes it's interesting to look into those other games and it doesn't need to be a "this or that" situation when a "this and that" scenario is perfectly acceptable.
But, as one of those people, I also get that while the 96-98 games aren't bad, they do show how EA was starting their way to getting overly complex and they lack the balance of skill and simplicity that made '94 so much fun.

I might also mention that, having spent some time editing each game, while '93, '94 and '95 have been cracked open and have expanded editable ROMs that are pretty easy to edit with the help of all the tutorials and resources on this site, the fact is that modding '96, '97 and '98 is limited to the original ROM making them not quite as versatile. Another drawback is that like '95 based mods, there is a season mode option, but it only works for the first 26 teams. However unlike the modified 34-team NHL'95 ROM, NHL'98 only has 26 regular teams and five All-Star teams. So any modern mods will mean omitting one current NHL team. I will say that there are the EA/THQ "secret teams" but the only hack I know about those is how to make them take the place of the default  East/West All-Star teams. Maybe it might be possible to hack that part and have all 33 pre-loaded teams be accessible at the same time, but I'm just an art guy and that stuff's above my pay grade.

Anyway, don't mean to get too far into it, but add in that the information on these games is not quite as robust and that, in its current state, any hacks are simply more labourious out of the gate, it's not really making one feel incentivized to put in the effort for a game that will be even more niche than your typical NHL'94 based mod.

[77]

if someone *hint hint* took 98 and toned down the dithering to make it look more like 94, 98 has lots of potential

[Engelby77]

On 3/4/2025 at 9:36 AM, Sauce said:

This perplexes me... not that you theorized as such but that this concept happens almost annually on this site.  It's not the first time.  This site is forum.nhl94.com.  Should one go into a Carvel Ice Cream shop expecting a Chicken Sandwich and then question why not?  I mean, they are both "food."  Come on now!

NHL94 is like TecmoBowl.  It's legend.  NHL97/98 never will be.  Doesn't matter if it is a good game or not.  That's not the purpose of this site.  There are no tournaments for either 97 or 98.  No documentaries.  No Golden Knights using Naples rom after victories, on social media.  No Raph vs Ken Daneyko.  Etc.  Etc.

 

 

Wob