apocalypse

Ok... new interface version 3.5 out...!! It includes a boxscore extractor. All boxscores of your all season/dynasty games go automatically to \nhl 2004\stats\ folder. Now you can archive all stats from your individual season games. Viewable in txt or html format... stats are easy to share in the FM forum with tags. SCREENSHOT Thanks Egorgiy! DOWNLOAD LINK

We're now getting a similar program as the amazing box score extractor for MVP 2005. The Russian coding guru, Egorgiy has arrived and is coding the program for NHL 2004 as we speak. THREAD Actually I got the idea for such program from here. Our rebuilt game extracts game stats to the ingame menus (unlike MVP), but now we can share "game stories" and "season stories" with other users in the forum this way. Thanks to tywiggins for the idea. :)

Yep... people at FHR (it's a Finnish hockey gaming community) played a full, huge online league just recently...!! I'm also aware of two others... there are ongoing online leagues in Russia and Germany... using this exact mod...!!

This got released today... new ESPN interface.

It's a long story but I try to explain some of the reasoning here... We have to create new players over the hidden players because when you use "create player" option it causes several problems in the game. We want to keep the team lineups somewhat accurate and ANY created player will always be in the simmed games' lineup... no matter what his overall in the attributes is. The AI dresses the players from the minor league (when you get injuries) using their "overall" as a determining factor... but not with the created players... they are ALWAYS in the lineup. Another problem are the placeholders... if you install the official patch 1.04 that fixes this problem, you won't be able to use things like the replay mod (which is totally amazing addition). So we can't use placeholders anywhere in the rosters... they don't show up correctly at all... no names are displayed...!! Actually patch 1.03 fixes the placeholders and it works with the replay mod but it breaks some statistics from the interface. For some reason people are obsessive with these official patches... they absolutely want to install them even though we tell them not to.... in our game they won't do ANY good... just break things. They never brought anything else than the placeholder fix and some online tweaks... which are completely meaningless. So never, ever install any of those EA patches to this rebuild...!! Back to the subject... creating new players over the hidden ones is the only working solution...!! It's not a problem at all... who wants to add retired players to a 2009 season anyway... Of course it's a taste thing... some people love the dynasty but I play the plain season... I never use CPU trades, either... playing with correct accurate teams is the only option for me...!! ;)

Thanks man... yeah... this game has become a small sensation in very short time... everyone who have installed the AI and "total conversion rebuild" have been very surprised. We never advertised the game anywhere before... but it's very nice that we get more people onboard... the game can become only better from here...!! Personally, I'm waiting for that 1997 season mod like no other...it'll be great to play with Gretzky, Coffey and Lemieux.

No you misunderstood me... we're not going to stop, no matter how the 2k10 turns out. I was more curious how MLB 2k9 has affected you... has it "divided" the community? There is a lot of good in the 2k hockey games... I have them all (despite 2k9... never bought it because I heard so much horror stories about dynasty crashes, etc) 2k5 is utterly amazing... I would say the AI is almost as good as modded 2004... but the graphics are terrible and dated. 2k7 is probably my favorite... it's a good compromise between old and new... it was the first one with next gen graphics. I'd rate it number #3... after 2004 and 2k5. I think 2k has the potential to make a GREAT hockey game... they haven't quite managed it yet (save 2k5) but I still wish 2k10 could be something extraordinary. But then again it's been 6 years without a great hockey title for PC... so I'm not holding my breath. I want it for PC because no plasticy console game can never achieve the "soul" that games like NHL 2004 and MVP 2005 have... they can look nice, they can play nice... but it's the hardcore sports fan community that makes the difference. Personally I don't care where the good game comes from... EA, 2k or even Walt Disney/Buena Vista International...!! But we always have this great old game anyway. PS: I don't know exactly what happened to the NHL 2004 development team... but I've read from various sources that it was largely the same team that went to create the legendary ESPN 2k5... PC version of NHL 05 (with new dev.team) was just total crap... small children shouldn't see that game as it was so terrible... it was all downhill from 2004 in PC... I never understood why they even put those new titles out... at least the 360 versions look good...!!

Yeah exactly... never seen that called...!! It's probably very easy rule to follow so the goalies don't make mistakes there. Just out of curiosity... we are constantly examining new ways to mod this game... so also in that sense this interaction might be fruitful for both communities... have you managed to change any operational ingame things in MVP 2005? We managed to change the replays endless. Or actually it was a certain Russian guy who hasn't been active in the gaming community lately... he has done some remarkable things to the PC NHL series... like camera angle selector... and an online statistics grabber... very similar to MVP 2005 boxscore extractor (which I think is an awesome small program)... you go to the DOSBox and run the executable and the program "grabs" all the information from the memory. I would LOVE to see that kind extractor done for NHL 2004... so we could put our game stats to txt/html form and share detailed game reports with friends. I believe you guys have a full user page of these user stats and game reports... that's simply an amazing idea...!! It's not only the game that fascinates me here... it's the DEVOTION and dedication that you have... very similar to ours... our community is smaller though... much less people contributing. Of course we have always been in more difficult position as there were still new NHL titles coming for PC... many people just automatically make mods for the newest title which collects the biggest target audience... no matter how bad those games are. MVP 2005 never really had a competition in that sense. I'm also interested how the MVP modders reacted when MLB 2k9 came out (received the game yesterday BTW)... we'll be in the same position soon if NHL 2k10 comes for PC. This far 2004 has been the only real alternative for the hardcore hockey fans... but 2k10 might change that quickly. I don't like the 2k8 and 2k9 for 360 though... they have lots of issues and don't really compete with 2004 overall (just imho).

Ah... I'm not aware of that penalty. Did they introduce it just recently? It's definitely not in the game if that rule is intact in modern NHL. I couldn't find any documentation of that penalty though... but I might recall reading something about it. I have never seen it called in the real games though. The usual goalie penalties are "delaying the game" which usually occurs when he shoots the puck to the stands (directly, so it doesn't get reflection from another player or the plexi). They also get interference penalties occasionally. That actually IS in the game but they are extremely rare. Crossing the red line causes a match penalty for the goalie as well. They only cross it when the goalie fights occur. This is not in the game, but the goalie fights are. You get 1 or 2 per season. :D

Yes it works perfectly with the original disks... you just install the game and overwrite everything with the mods. Hmm... there is no such penalty as "trapezoid" in hockey... I'm not quite sure what penalty you're actually referring to... could you be more specific and explain how and when this penalty occurs. :)

We created an "official" welcome thread to all MVP guys here. Thanks to everyone... the response that I got here was amazing... I never thought there could so many hockey fans among you...!! Thanks again...!!

Another very good thing about both of these old games is that they run even with lower end system. Now I have a modern PC but I used to play both MVP2005 and NHL 2004 on my Celeron 1.3MHz machine with respectable details. If you have (even remotely) modern machine you can play NHL 2004 in highest resolution and detail with ease...!! PS: I just got MLB 2k9 for PC... I doubt it can never replace MVP 2005 for me... but I was curious to see it... and I realized that I definitely need a new video card...!! :D

Excellent...!! I hope to see all you guys there. Vintage hockey fans might like these previews of an upcoming mod... 1997 season...!!

You're most welcome. I was thinking long and hard about "advertising" the game here... but as I said both communities (NHL 2004 and MVP 2005) are very similar... we're passionate about the sports and an older game title (which we still consider superior). So I thought why not. Plus you guys have experience installing mods, so I doubt there will be much technical problems. I can't answer this accurately as I'm not a site admin. I don't know much about technical parts of the forum. But I guess some of those spammers are simply bots... not real people... so maybe the bot can't "execute" properly when there's a delay in getting the posting rights. I have no idea... just a wild guess.

Hi George... yes of course. We have all PBP ripped from NHL 07 and we're ripping the PBP from 09 as we speak. Ovechkin, Crosby, Malkin and about 400 extra pbp names (compared to the initial game) all are there... check the installation sticky... everything is there...!!

Everything is in the sticky. Well... everything but the kitchen sink (as you Americans put it). :D

Outrageous, unrealistic puck control is a major issue in all hockey games. We have put global puck control to 50 (minimum) globally... which has helped somewhat. And I can guarantee you... we have toned down the AI shooting. Increasing the global shoot/pass attribute was the key here. So yes... that problem has definitely been fixed. Of course it requires you to master shot blocking a little... but those exaggerated differences are ancient history...!! One main thing that is different in my AI tuning philosophy is the game speed... most people play hockey in totally unrealistic speed. The default sliders are laughable... that looks like an ants' nest. I use gamespeed 0 which (along with roster tweaks) creates a realistic, broadcast like game flow (check the vid clip from the first post). Slower speed also enables you to block shots more effectively. Some people say that when you use 6 min periods + real time penalties your period total length is around 10 min, and the gamespeed should be related to that. I completely disagree. I understand that there is a compromise you have to make... but I want it the other way... I want the games to LOOK like real hockey and FEEL like real hockey... not EA Aracde Hitz Mayhem...!! You'll like it...!!

Guys... if you register at the Flyermania forums... you have to wait 12-24 hours for your posting rights validated by the admin... this is annoying but we had a spam account problem in the past...!! You can read and download stuff as much as you want though... it won't affect that at all...posting rights arrive within 12-24 hours to your email account...!! Would love to have as many of you as possible... I've always admired this community, we share a lot similarities... and as I said... MVP 2005 + mods single handedly made me a baseball fan...!! This is a game that will make you a hockey fan (if you already aren't). Any tech problems.. just ask in the FM forum... we'll always help...!! So welcome to all...!! @daflyboys: I think I remember you... I think you were already around back in NHL 2001 days...!!

Here you can see the ESPN scoreboard calendar/boxscore layout. Plus the current version has those scoring summaries as I said.

Name another hockey title that has even 1/10 of these features...!! The new EA titles have their interface taken directly from a Texas Instruments pocket calculator. Actually after these previews I have added a scoring summaries to the box score, and AHL minor team logos and names to the manage rosters section... and I'm planning to create ESPN game reports and previews as well. We have rebuilt everything in the interface and more stuff gets added all the time.

Some more interface preview screens for you:

This is another thing that makes rebuilt 2004 superior to any other hockey game (just imho). You can view some of the interface rebuilds from these thumbnails.

@Hoop27: We have managed to hack the replay issue (original NHL 2004 has way too short replays)... or there is a Russian genius named Egorgiy who created an unlimited replay mod for the game (basically you can view the replays from all different angles as long as you want until you press a button)... but we haven't managed to change the hardcode of course. Thus... the powerplay hasn't changed... it might be one department where 360 version of 09 is ahead of 2004... but a seasoned player get very respectable PP pressure in 2004... it takes a lot of playing and skill to get better in PP though. Here are the powerplay strategy changes that you can adjust in the game. My personal issue with 360 version of 09 is in solo play. Medium is way too easy and in difficult the AI makes cheat goals. You can win the shots like 50-14 and lead the game 4-1... but then the AI makes things even with 3 cheat goals at the end of the 3rd period. I agree it's the prettiest game so far and it has some great things... but in solo play I take rebuilt 2004 any day over it. It has been the only game (for me) that keeps offering fair challenge... year in year out...!! Another thing where 2004 is superior is the realistic SOG totals. With our modded AI the game SOG totals are constantly in the 20 (or even 18-) - 35 range... and not like 55-48 like in arcade hockey.

No... unfortunately not. The game has a bit too much hooking still... but we're investigating the tuning.viv file... there is a possibility that we can tune it down. I mean, the refs started to call way more interference penalties after the lockout. But it's not a big issue, imho. But the biggest rule change after the 2004 season was getting rid of the two line pass... but that's not a problem at all... as the international hockey didn't have 2-line pass back then... NHL actually grabbed it from IHHF... so that's in the game... you can choose it from the rules... no problem. Another thing that we did was to get rid of the ridiculous player agility... players' ability to make 360 degree turns on the ice. We seriously decreased that and increased the "slide" so the player behavior is very "sim like". Hitting game has been reduced to realistic level too... as well as game speed and puck control. With our modded AI the gamespeed mimics an actual hockey broadcast. 2004 is the only hockey game where this is possible to achieve... others are way too arcade-like. PS: I dunno why my YouTube clips become jerky... perhaps I'm using a wrong video compressor. But if you forget that jerkiness, you get pretty good idea how it plays (from the first post).

You're most welcome mate...!! Of course we have edited arenas... all have been edited... there's absolutely nothing left of the initial game... except for the base AI (even that has been modified seriously to achieve a "simulation" feel). Right now there's a mod of 97 season coming up. I guess that's not old enough for the Chicago Stadium or Boston Garden... but it has teams like Hartford Whalers... and of course players like Gretzky and Lemieux. We have just figured out how you can install the game multiple times to your HD... so you can basically have as many versions as you want. I'm from Finland where hockey is the same thing as soccer for Italians... or baseball for you guys... almost like a religion... and rebuilt 2004 has been a huge sensation here. We get more and more people involved with this game all the time... people who have bought the lousy EA games every year and disappointed. As you said... this game refuses to die... and not only that, it has become more popular than ever (after the initial release year of course). As much as the graphics rebuilds impress me, the most impressive feature of this game are the sick stats, reports, box scores, game summaries, etc. etc.... the original 2004 game interface was really simplistic... just like on MVP2005. You guys had to do the box score extractor... well we have managed to put everything ingame... even the box scores for the simmed season/dynasty games. As I said, these are possible due to the html-based interface (very easy to do mods for anyone who knows JavaScript/html). Only the sky is the limit with it... check those previews from the first post. ;)