Computers - http://maxpages.com/catzmm/NHL

The "deflection" button is key when trying to blind the goalie. Here, a deflection goes in off of a wicked slapshot
When we reviewed NHL 2000 back in September, we hammered the game for its shoddy AI, giving it a well-deserved three star evaluation. Since that time, EA Sports has issued a couple of patches that were designed to beef up the gameplay and make it more competitive. And they did—sort of. The patches have certainly made NHL 2000 a better game, but unless you want to spend a lot of time tweaking and testing the system it can still be tough to get the computer to put up a fight game in and game out. That's where we come in!

NHL 2000 can be a fun game if you keep a few things in mind. First, you have to understand that the game is not a simulation. This is key. If you go into it with the idea that you are about to play an ultra-realistic hockey game then you might as well stop reading right now. If, however, you can concede this point and look at NHL 2000 as an arcade game, then there is fun to be had. Just remember: This is not a simulation. This is not a simulation. This is not a simulation.

With the proper adjustments to the slide bars, the computer will be able to score in a variety of ways
The first "tip" is to grab the NHL 2000 patch. You can download the patch and look at a list of bug fixes and enhancements at the following link:www.easports.com/99/nhl2000/bug_pop_pc.html The patch is vital in that it allows users to tweak the player boost and goalie boost bars in season play. It also improves the overall AI (a bit) and fixes the awful penalty-killing bug. So be sure to get this patch.

The slide bars
Actually, before I get into the slide bars, I should stress that in order to get a game from the computer, you need to play on the All-Star level of difficulty. This may seem like a no-brainer, but there was a rumor floating around that all of the player's skills were maximized on the All-Star setting. This means that every player had the same speed, shot power, etc. This is completely untrue and if you use the settings I am about to proscribe, that fact will be obvious after playing one game.

Madden's overall score may look low, but this guy can play
Anyway, on to the slide bars. As previously mentioned, in order to use these in league play you must get the patch (this is the last time I'm going to tell you do to this so hop to it!). The more important of the two bars is the player boost bar. The player boost bar directly relates to player speed. With the defensive AI still a bit on the weak side, it is very important that your players not be able to weave through the computer's defense at will—and the player boost bar is one of the easiest way in which to solve this problem. The other way that you can make the defense appear more intelligent is by disabling the turbo boost button. You can do this from the main game options menu. The turbo button in NHL 2000 is truly insane and in order for the computer to have a shot at competing, you should to disable it.

The position of the player boost bar is strictly a matter of personal taste. If you want to really lose, you should max out the computer team's boost and lower yours (by moving it all the way to the left). That's a surefire way to lose. But we do want to have fun, right? Well after a lot of testing and tweaking I am finally having fun with NHL 2000. I have played two seasons with the following settings:

Computer Player Boost: three clicks from the left
Human Player Boost: all the way to left (no player boost at all)
Computer Goalie Boost: See Below
Human Goalie Boost: Four clicks from the left
Manual Shooting
Medium Hitting
Turbo Disabled
All-Star Level
Manual Line Changes
Eight Minute Periods
I'll explain why I use those settings in particular in due time, but let's get back to the player boosts. The reason for more or less disabling the human player boost is due to the fact that the computer defense is still very lazy and because the goalies need a little help in stopping certain types of shots (wraparound and back-handers). Yes, this means that the computer players will generally be faster than your players (a really fast guy like Samsonov will still able to outpace a thug like "Sheriff" Laus) but this is a price you have to pay in order to get a game out of the computer. It certainly takes getting used to, as the first game I played without turbo and without any player boost it felt like my players had rubber cement on their skates. But after a while it felt natural, and provided for some fun arcade hockey.

if you plan on lowering the player boost, it's a good idea to take your defense back a bit. Otherwise, it's Breakaway City
The goalie boost bar settings do not produce quite the impact as the player boost bars, but they do deserve some mentioning. The patch readme.txt file says the following about the goalie bars: "The goalie boost slider affects how often the goalie will make timing mistakes when attempting a save. It does not affect how well the goalie positions himself." After weeks of testing, I have reached the conclusion that it matters not where you place the computer goalie boost. You can set it all the way to the left or to the right and there is very little difference in CPU goalie quality. However, the human goalie boost is indeed important. The more you move the bar to the left, the easier it is for the computer to score, plain and simple. I use the settings above because it produces a wide variety of goals for the computer teams.

The reason for playing at eight-minute periods is another matter of taste. I get about 25-40 shots per game (as does the CPU). Hey, I know it's not a sim, but 70 shots a game is just too nutty.

What's with all the symbols?
NHL 2000 uses a variety of identification symbols throughout the game. Here they are, in all their symbolic glory:

The Yellow Star: These are a team's star players.

These shots rarely go in, but they can lead to deflection and rebound goals
The Flame: These players are on a hot streak. The hot and cold streaks are very important. If a player is hot, all of his ratings are bumped up. The most obvious boost is to player speed. A front line full of hot players is damn near impossible to stop.

The Iceberg: This player is on a cold streak. A player who is cold is virtually useless (in my opinion). I tend to place cold players on the third or fourth line until they recover from their bad mood.

The Zzz: When a goalie needs rest, this symbol appears above his name.

The Bandage: This player is recovering from an injury, but may play with a slight decrease to his skills.

The Thermometer: This player is recovering from the flu, but may play with a slight decrease to his skills.

Here's a close-up look at the boost setting that we use in our league. The human player is on the left
The Red Cross: This player is out for an extended period of time due to injury.

The Hammer: The enforcers, The big hitters. The folk that love to throw down! These guys are otherwise known as thugs.

Red Player Name: When a player's name is red (his identification on the ice) that means one of two things: he's either on a hot streak or he's a big hitter.

Red and Yellow Team Name- When a team's name is in red, it means they are about to blow a gasket. The patch readme.txt file explains: "The following are what the colors for the team names in the score overlay mean. White — normal; Yellow - the team is on a Powerplay; Red - the team is angry and if an enforcer is out on the ice for both teams, they're ready to drop the gloves."

Did you know?
When you simulate one or more of your team's games, the computer resets your roster to what it thinks it should be. So pay attention! You should always check your lines after each simulated game.

The readme.txt file located in the game's root directory contains a lot of important information about game controls and game settings. The game docs fail to mention what the defensive pressure settings actually mean. The readme.txt file explains this. It also discusses new game control options such as how to perform deflections, give-and-goes, and fake shots.

Always pay attention to the Streaks and Injuries screen
To win a face-off you must press the pass button the moment the referee starts to drop the puck. If you wait for the puck to drop, you'll never win one. Obviously, the higher skilled players have a better shot at winning a face-off, but mastering this technique is crucial when playing multiplayer games.

The overall player ratings can be very misleading. Just because a left winger has a low overall score does not mean he's a horrible player. A good example of this is John Madden (no, not that John Madden). Madden's overall score is a 64, but he's a very solid second or third line wingman. He has good speed and decent offensive numbers. So what if he can't check people? He's a scorer.

A player with a high intensity rating is more likely to get into a fight then someone with a low intensity value. A player with an intensity value of near 100 is really a detriment to your team, as he'll spend a lot of time in the box. However, a thug with a high intensity value can help your team if he fights players on the opposing team who are talented. A thug who is also an important part of your team (in terms of defense or scoring) is a liability.

Fantasy Franchise Tips
I love redrafting leagues. I especially love redrafting leagues in a career-based game like NHL 2000. However, the computer GM is terrible at drafting teams from scratch. If you want to get the most out of your redrafted franchise league, it's a good idea to set every team to human owned for the first ten rounds (or so) of the draft. One of the nice things about NHL 2000 is that you can designate a team as human or CPU owned at any time you wish. If you simply let the CPU GMs draft on their own, they will ignore great players in the first round. Do you really think that Selanne, Kariya, and Jagr would be around after the 15th pick? I think not. And worst of all, it can lead to an ill-proportioned league.

Toronto wins 5-4! The Rangers fire off 35 shots to the Leafs' 31
Another neat idea (and one that we used in setting up our league) is to make up a team identity sheet. Before the draft begins, write down the team's draft philosophy. For example, in our league we made Dallas an offensive team, Montreal a defensive team and Calgary a "mixed bag". We gave every team a personality and drafted each team according to their identity. Dallas had the first pick and chose Paul Kariya. Montreal went next and picked up Hasek. Calgary (the mixed bag team) selected the next highest rated player, regardless of position. When the draft was finished (by the way, make sure you select "zig-zag" draft. Drafting any other way is totally unfair to the team that drafts last), we had a very balanced fantasy league. Of course, this takes time, but it pays off in the end.

Some Final Thoughts
I left out tips on how to score in NHL 2000; this was done intentionally. There are a handful of scoring methods that the computer has a lot of difficulty stopping and finding these "sweet spots" could easily ruin the game for many fans. If you want to know the "golden goal" spots, drop me a line at wabner@cdmag.com. By using the above settings, the odds of being able to shoot from the sweet spots drop dramatically, but it can still be a problem from time to timev

mmorphon00@yahoo.com

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Page Updated Mon Feb 28, 2000 8:25pm EST