![[Improving Gameplay]](gameplay.gif)
![[NHL 98]](nhl98box.gif)
Tired of NHL 98's arcade style play? ALWAYS outplaying the opposition, but never scoring? Follow these tips to help improve gameplay!
The Code...
First off, activate the ULTIMATEJUDGE code. This will make the computer play more aggressively AND improve their defense AND offence too! To do this, hit the X in the lower-left hand corner when in the main menu. When the option to exit the game appears, type ULTIMATEJUDGE and you will hear a bong noise when activated. Then return to the main menu and that's it! (Note: this also gives you the internet play option as well)
Contrary to popular belief, this only has to be used ONCE and once only. It will be in affect every time you play a game, whether it's a season, exhibition game, tournament etc. Even when you exit the program, it's locked in the EXE file so it's saved forever! You only have to reapply it if you ever delete and reinstall the game since the NHL98.EXE file will be back to it's default status. It seems to be more noticable in season play though, and there is still a bit of randomization for the AI as well. So one game might be fairly easy, and the next one the computer will totally outplay you. I guess this resembles the inconsistent play that even the best teams exhibit sometimes. Unfortunately, this also improves the goalies speed, recovery and puck-cover attributes, so they will be even harder to score on than before! This is easily offset though by reducing their ratings in a few select areas (more to follow on what works best!). I got this directly from EA (Tedd Streibel).
The Dreaded Speed Burst
This is THE most important change you can make! If you really want to play NHL '98 without the arcade style play, don't use the speed burst! The computer NEVER uses it anyway and it's an unfair advantage. This is why the human players ALWAYS outplay and outshoot the computer-controlled teams by a wide margin, speeding from one end of the ice to the other. It's quite a shock not to have that speed burst anymore, but once you get used to it, the game play improves IMMENSELY!
I removed the speed burst option altogether from my gamepad and assigned the LINE CHANGES to button 3 instead (you will have to do this for both the OFFENSE AND DEFENSE gamepad setting screens). YOU WILL STILL BE ABLE TO CHECK...just use button #1 when on defense! For skating around, just use the gamepad (HEY, NO DOUBLE TAPPING!) and the players SPEED and PUCK HANDLING ratings will determine their speed. No more out-skating the fast players with that speed burst! Their acceleration rating will also determine how QUICKLY they get up to full speed as well. If you need that little extra on a breakaway, slow down as you approach the net, then go forward and your momentum will increase again giving you a chance to try and slip it past the goalie. There's really no need for the speed burst and was only added to increase the arcade style of play. With it taken away, you can now really notice the fast skaters from the slow ones! You'll be hooking and grabbing just to keep up:-)!!! When you lose possession of the puck, you can't simply speed burst back with the same player to retrieve it again (unless he's the speedy Selanne or someone!) You will have to switch to another player and try and tie up that guy until the rest of your team gets back into the play. It's very realistic!
Yes, checking still occurs without the speed burst option, just not as often which is VERY realistic. Now players won't be falling ALL over the place, which never happens, in real hockey. This way, the computer and human team's hit totals are almost equal with about 40-60 checks a game for each team (with 10 minute periods). If a big player hits a small one, the PROGRAM will decide if a check will happen and how severe it will be, without even using the check button! As previously mentioned, you can also force the issue by hitting the #1 button to check without the puck, but ONLY if the player has sufficient momentum! If you are too close, you will only hook and hold the man, trying to tie him up which is realistic as well. Like I said, try it...it really works!
I don't know why EA continues to put this crazy overpowered speed burst into their sports games! NBA Live '98 has it as well and when people use it, they say the game is stupid. But as soon as they remove it, the game improves 100%!!! I'm still hunting in NHL '98's EXE file in an attempt to disable it permanently as well as add more friction to the ice, so the puck doesn't slide forever.
Defense Recommendations
If you have a team with fast and strong skaters at most of your positions, man to man works VERY well for a tight playing game. Box plus 1 is good if you want your defence retreating deep into your own end, but it allows the other team to bring the puck into your end without much pressure, especially if your forwards are still back in the play. Stay away from the ZONE option. While this works well in real hockey, the defensive AI in NHL '98 do some stupid things with this setting.
Set the Computer's Defensive Strategy
If you want the COMPUTER teams to play better defence, set THEIR defensive team strategy yourself. This makes for better gameplay! Here's an overview of how each defensive strategy affects the computer players (when not controlling your own defensemen, they will follow these strategies as well)
DEFENSE TYPE and what it does
Set the AI teams defence to one of the following settings...
COMBINATION - decrease pressure (to 0 to 25% ONLY) - players try to rotate around if someone falls out of position in the defensive zone. Can leave the occasional passing zone open while players are moving around. Good compromise between an open style and tight checking game. This is the style most teams play in the NHL.
MAN TO MAN - decrease pressure (to 0 to 25% ONLY) - close, tight checking style game. Can expose player mismatches if one team has more depth than the other does. This can be off set though by the slower skaters hooking and holding their man to keep them close. More teams are adopting this style of play since you can keep the scoring chances to a minimum, although it's not the most exciting type of hockey to watch. If a man is taken out the play though, it leaves HIS man open until he can get back to cover him again. In real hockey, this requires team discipline, as it can be easy to 'forget' about or lose the man you're supposed to cover.
Using one of the above two settings will give you tougher defense to play AGAINST. They react more intelligently and aggressively.
Note: the DEFENSIVE PRESSURE SETTING not only affects how deep the defense will go into the OPPONENTS end, but also how far back the FORWARDS will attempt to retreat into their OWN defensive zone, specifically the centerman. If you set it to high, the forwards will NOT come back very deep into their defensive zone to help out, but instead will hover close to the blueline. A high defensive pressure setting will usually leave the defensemen on their own while the forwards wait by the blueline for a pass.
The OFFENSIVE PRESSURE SETTING affects how quickly the forwards will attempt to skate up ice once their team regains possession of the puck, regardless of where that may be, even if you are behind their OWN net still (better watch those two line passes!) If done properly though, it can start a quick offensive rush up ice before the other team has time to react.
Offense and Powerplay Recommendations
First off, set the pressure setting to 80% and even 100% if you think your team can handle it (the defense will be left alone as the forwards will be caught deep in the other end and will take longer to return and help out). Anything less and the computer teams will not mount much of an offensive surge. You could set the weaker computer teams to 20 or 40% if you really want to. The different offensive settings affect how the computer teams forwards play and for the most part, they do it pretty good. Listen to Marc Crawford describe each one if you don't know the theory behind them. If you want the computer teams to play better offensively, then set their offensive strategy yourself
just as I recommended for their defensive settings.
OFFENSE TYPE and what works best...
FUNNEL - This forces all players to try and shoot and skate for the net, hoping that with the increased pressure a rebound or stray shot may get through. It's not pretty, but it works in NHL '98, especially for the computer teams!
POSITIONAL - UNDER CONSTRUCTION
COMBINATION - UNDER CONSTRUCTION -
TRIANGLE - Stay away from this unless you use the dump and chase method. Since this only works if you get deep into the other teams zone, it's probably the most difficult strategy to get working correctly and consistantly, especially for the computer teams.
Using one of the above three settings will give you tougher offense to play AGAINST in order of difficulty.
As far as changing the computer teams strategy, that's easy. If you're in the middle of a season, go to the commissioner screen and choose rosters. Then choose coaching strategy and pick the team you want to change. If you haven't started a season yet, while in exhibition mode, choose rosters, then coaching strategy and pick the teams you want to change. The computer will then keep those settings from now on!
Modifying Player and Goalie Attributes
Another major complaint is that people find the skating too fast, even WITHOUT the speed burst. If you want to slow the game down, use Toni Wilen's editor and REDUCE -10 to -30 points from ALL skaters SPEED rating (this will vary depending on the version). I find the 3Dfx game play isn't as super fast (BUT SMOOOOTHER) so -10 to -15 works best here. For the regular version, I'd reduce the players SPEED by -30, but it's really a personal preference thing. Also, REDUCE -20 points from ALL skaters CHECKING ability if you think there are still too many bodies flying around, even without the speed burst. It'll still happen, just not as often as before.
If people are still having trouble scoring on the goalies, a quick and easy way is to REDUCE the RECOVERY and REBOUND skill by -20 to -30 points to ALL goalies. That way, they won't setup IMMEDIATELY after a difficult save (which is one of the reasons why they're so good). Also, rebounds will occur more often after hard shots. If you feel you're not scoring enough from slapshots far away, REDUCE all goalies GLOVE ratings (left AND right!) by -15. For STICK ratings (left and right), I would reduce this even more since they seem to be too good on on the low side (most goals are scored down low in the NHL). Reducing it by -30 seems to be a good compromise. These are both realistic changes in my opinion. If the computer CAN'T score on you, this also increases THEIR chances as well (read on if you want the computer to score more often on YOU). It forces you to make sure your team recovers the rebound after a shot on goal in your own end, instead of always relying on your goalie making the save without a rebound. Again, these changes can be tailored to your skill level, so you can play in Pro mode, but with easier goalies. If you're really good, pump up ALL goalie ratings by +20 EXCEPT YOUR OWN GOALIE (reduce their ratings), so it will be that mucher harder to score for YOU, but EASIER for the computer. The key is to have the game set up so that it's a real challenge to win over 60% of your games. I laugh when people say they're on a XX game winning streak and find the game too easy. Who wants to win 30+ games in a row! No matter how good you get at this game, you can still make it harder IF you want to!
International Teams
Ever wonder why the Team Japan goalie plays like Broduer? Well, that's because EA gave him attributes that would make most NHL goalies envious! They did this to a number of lowly National teams. Why, I'll NEVER know! If you're playing an International Tournament (hey, the Olympics are on the way!) and want it to play realistically, follow these instructions.
There are good goalies in International play, and there are BAD ones too. The goalies usually decide the out-come of the medal winners due to the sudden death rules after the round robin games are over. A great goalie can lead his team to the medal rounds even if the team in general is average at best. The only problem is EA has given the teams that have bad goalies, great ones, so it throws of the tournament games and results! If these goalies were THAT good, they would be playing in the NHL! EA doesn't seem to realize this!
The roster set I'm working on (if I ever finish it!) will include a variety of the above changes to all of the NHL teams as well as the International teams, and the best coaching strategies (defensive and offensive) set ups for all the teams, so people won't have to do it all manually if they don't want to. It'll be up soon!
Ensure you use these options if you want realistic play...
ALL RULES ON (off-sides, 2 line pass, icing etc) EXCEPT injuries (while this is a very cool aspect, too many times the computer screws up the lines or never returns the injured player after he's healthy, so I just turn it off altogether)
Put penalties to 60 or 80%.
Manual line changes. This is a MUST. No more leaving that #1 line on for the entire game! Players will get tired and the manual option gives you greater control over WHO and WHEN you want to change. There's a little strategy involved when deciding to change those lines!
Further tips will be coming, especially on improving the computer team's offensive settings.
![[Powerplay 98]](pp98box.gif)
Experiencing high scoring games? Does the computer have trouble scoring on you? Suddenly switching jersey sweaters with the other team in the middle of a game? Then follow these tips to help improve gameplay!
Are you are experiencing high scoring games? (Double digit "goal fests" are usually the hint!) Then you're experiencing a known problem in the 3D programming which seems to occur when playing on a less than capable computer/video card with too many graphic options turned on. When there's not enough frames of animation, the puck sometimes goes right on by the goalie, and into the net! The result is choppy play and LOTS of goals...and game play suffers accordingly. Fortunately, there is a quick fix for this! While I haven't had this problem (EXCEPT in the demo) people who have are reporting that when they turn off some of the details (ice textures etc) on their slower computers, the AI and goalies improve and scores return to close 3-2, 2-1 affairs. This has something to do with the FPS relating to animation and hindering how quickly the goalies react. Normally, the goalies are very good (although not super-goalies like NHL '98) and most scores should be in the 4-3, 3-2, 2-1 range. When you start having games like this, you know you've fixed the problem.
Another problem has to do with the computer teams inability to score on YOU and not passing the puck enough. (I've found that this problem isn't as severe once you get to the playoffs though!)
Anyway, there is a patch on the way from Radical that specifically addresses this problem. What can you do until then. Easy, use the manual goalie! Believe me, when you do this, the CPU has NO problem scoring...
Lastly, the program doesn't account for two players having identical jersey numbers on the same team. This occurs when players are traded from one team to another, and a player is using the same number that the NEW player had on his other team. Instead of the program giving the new player a different number, they BOTH keep the SAME jersey number. When you play a game with that team, you will sometimes notice that these players will SWITCH sweaters with the other team! Needless to say, this can make things VERY confusing. Fortunately, this problem doesn't ALWAYS occur. A Powerplay '98 editor is on the way which will allow you to change the jersey numbers yourself, but until then, there is nothing you can do to fix this.
Other Stuff
IMPORTANT NOTE: Anyone who made their assessment of Powerplay '98 by playing their 36 meg+ demo can't really pass judgement on the game. I too, was not impressed, especially on how easy it was to score goals (I think the FPS bug was at work there!). Fortunately, the final product is much improved, including the goalies, who now actually stop the puck! Game play and overall graphic smoothness are improved as well and I'm very impressed with this game!
Right now, I'm experimenting with the team strategy options to see what works best for the computer (much like I did for NHL '98 - see above '98 tips). The rest of this section will be updated soon, so stay tuned!