Downloads: A new file has been added by trent:
Project NHL 2004 Rosters (Trent's take)
TRENT's variation of the Flyermania rosters (100% compatible with Project NHL)
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We are a group of enthusiasts who still play and enjoy NHL 2004, after all these years. The game has earned a "cult following" and many people consider it the best EA hockey game ever (with the proper member-made adjustment). I own every single EA's hockey game, and none of the newer versions come even close (imho).
This roster & AI set has:
99% correct teams as of November, 2008. The additionals have been added to the lineups, but the attributes have been adjusted accordingly (so they don't play in CPU selections during the season unless you modify them and increase their skills). Many minor leaguers can be in the wrong teams though... so bear with me and change them yourself (if that stuff bothers you).
IMPORTANT NOTE!!!
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In order to function correctly, these rosters require the awesome Project NHL Addons, which are downloadable at
http://z6.invisionfree.com/flyermani...p?showforum=11
Read the stickies and get ALL the essential PNHL files, including the arenas, facepacks, crowds, speech/commentary updates, etc. etc.. I guarantee it's going to be worth it!!!
Other highly recommended files can be found here:
http://www.nhldepot.net/ndforums/dlc...ellaneous-177/
Lots of goodies there. Member-made season/dynasty box scores, gameclock selector, etc. etc.
My main goal has never been the accuracy of the lineups, minor leaguers, jersey numbers, etc. I actually pay very little attention to that stuff. My main concern in the NHL games have always been the gameplay. I have tweaked this roster set to function as realistically as possible with my chosen AI settings. I started tweaking these games when NHL 2001 came out 9 years ago, and NHL 2004 is the only EA hockey game that I consider decent, semi-realistic and playable. I just recently bought the '09 and changed back to 2004 after just two days. This is SO much better, and I think it even LOOKS much better with the amazing addons that the PNHL guys have done.
I don't claim any ownership of these rosters. They're mainly based on the work of other great Project NHL people at Flyermania forums. Just wanted to put out a roster set with more or less accurate NHL 2008-2009 season lineups WITH MY OWN GAMEPLAY TWEAKS! Big thanks to Slap_Happy, Randy and Roger (Battlestar) for their incredible previous work!
Here are the main changes:
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Agility: 50 for all skaters
Absolutely essential adjustment, imho. 60 for superstars like Ovechkin, Malkin and Crosby. Increases the realism like no other tweak. The players should NOT turn 180 degrees on the ice in one millisecond. Reducing the agility also highly increases fighting for the puck on the boards.
Acceleration: 50 (and 60 for the select few players)
We want to keep the gamespeed in realistic levels in every possible way.
AI: Gamespeed: 0
Another absolutely essential tweak, imho. The default game flow is WAY too fast and unrealistic. You can argue that speed should be faster because the periods are only 5-10 minutes... but I disagree. Making the game LOOK like real hockey is more important (at least for me).
AI: Speed burst: 1 - 2
When the gamespeed is 0 and acceleration is lower, you're forced to use the speed burst almost continuously. That means quicker fatigue of the players, and more need for line changes (realistic).
AI: Fatigue: Maximum (or 1 click short)
This forces the cpu to play all 4 lines and increases the need to play smart (and sometimes even hold the puck with goalie, to get a break and line change). Sometimes when your line is exhausted, you're desperate for a break (just like in real hockey).
The rest isn't that important. Set the pass assist, shot accuracy, etc. to your liking (depending on your skill).
I have also set the penalties to 2 in AI, and decreased the global "resist penalties" attribute, so I get approximately 4-5 minor penalties per game. And when the gamespeed is slower, it's easier to play more defensively, block shots, etc.
Increasing the shot/pass attribute for the enforcers. Putting this attribute to maximum decreases the shooting of the fighters. If you look at real NHL stats you'll see that most of the enforcers have very few shots on goal. You can see the change in the season box scores.
Adjusting all fighters' abilities accordingly based on my knowledge in this area. Non-fighters never drop their gloves and my settings give realistic heavyweight matchups (Brashear vs. Godard/Laraque/McIntyre/Fritz/McGrattan, etc.)
I've made many of the enforcers _center forwards_ in the exhibition roster database. I know it's inaccurate but it has been done on purpose. The CPU uses "best lines" option during the season, and placing the enforcers centers not only keep them in the lineup of CPU controlled teams, but usually place them to the wings of the 4th line as well (where they belong).
After playing this game for years, I've came to the conclusion that these settings give the most realistic gameplay (for me). The other AI settings aren't that important (imho)... set those as you like (or based on your skill level).
NOTE: You don't have to set these manually. Just load my AI settings from the package. (Install AI Load/Save addon first).
Game Speed = 0
Puck Control = 0-2 (depending on your skill)
Fatigue = 6
Injuries = 4
St. Accuracy = depending on your skill
St. Power = 3
Skating:
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Speed Burst = 1
Fatigue Recovery = 2
Player Acceleration = 0
Checking:
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Hitting Power: 2
Hitting Difficulty: 4
Bruise Control: 4
Aggression: 3
First you'll be shocked how slow the game is (when you have been accustomed to EA's arcade hockey) but believe me, these settings make NHL 2004 to resemble real hockey much better than any other hockey game (before or after).
If you play 6-7 minute periods (in reality they're more like 10 when the CPU changes to real time during the penalties) you should get 3 to 7 minor penalties (average) per game, and the overall game shot counts should be between 20 and 40. I usually end between 25 and 35. Also notice that when the game pace is slower it's also much easier to block the shots with your defenders. Blocking shots is very useful skill to learn.
Reducing the hitting game and aggression is very good for realism as well. You need to have perfect timing for your open ice hits. They're still possible to perform with big and hard hitting players.
INSTALLATION
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(1) Copy and Paste the NHL 2004 Exh.exh, and the NHL 2004 Exh.exha.tdb to your My Documents/NHL 2004/db folder.
Say Yes to overwriting the file.
(2) Copy and Paste the db.viv to your Program Files/NHL 2004/db folder.
Say Yes to overwriting the file.
(3) Place the trent's ai settings.ai file in My Documents/ NHL 2004/ ai folder,... and then in game under AI settings, load "current settings". Very realistic slider settings tested thoroughly to work well with this roster. Remember to download the small batch AI load/save addon first.
Give them a shot, give your feedback and join our friendly group at Flyermania and help us to make this awesome hockey game even better and more realistic.
http://z6.invisionfree.com/flyermani...p?showforum=11
Best regards
Trent
Linear Mode
