Rules and Policies

Welcome to the world of online NHL94 leagues! We highly recommend you read through all of the rules before joining so you know what to expect. Of course, if you have any questions, please contact us at admin@nhl94.com. If you have already joined a league and find you are too busy to play, please be polite and send an email and/or post a message to the league Admins and/or coaches on the NHL94.com forums or the Discord channel so that we can adjust accordingly.

We have been running online leagues since 2005; these rules have evolved from experience. They are the basis for all online leagues on this site.

General Community Conduct

It is very important that everyone involved in the online leagues show good sportsmanship "on and off the ice". Heart-breaking losses are a part of the game, but please don't let frustration lead to negative or antagonistic posts and emails. The Admin Team will not tolerate childish behavior in the forums or elsewhere. Be competitive, but keep things positive. All we ask is that everybody play their games, log the games, and have fun while doing so.

For people who insist on being disrespectful to the league and coaches, the following simple steps will be taken:

First Offense:
A public warning via email and on the forums
Second Offense:
Removal as team owner and forum/website account deleted
The Responsibilites of the Admin Team

The Admin Team and the League Commissioner have the following responsibilities:

  • Replace coaches who have become "inactive". These are coaches who have missed any number of checkpoints without making an effort to make them up.
  • Correct and log games that have been uploaded incorrectly
  • Resolve any issues or differences coaches may have with games played or scheduled
  • Adjust the final standings in regards to any games unplayed. NPs (Negative Points) may be applied to coaches that have games that are unplayed. This is up to the League Commissioner's descretion. NPs will affect playoff eligibility.
In-Game Settings

NOTE: These are default settings. Some leagues may have different settings.

Period Length:
5 Minutes
Line Changes:
Off
Penalties:
On, Except Offsides
Goalie Control:
Manual
Netplay Rules and Guidelines

If you need to be refreshed on setting up your computer for online play, please refer to our Getting Started page.

Guidelines for playing an opponent online:

  • Contact your opponent via the nhl94.com forum, email, or the league Discord channel, and decide on a time to play.
  • When you are both ready to play, decide on which Hamachi network to use. Make sure you both can join the network.
  • For Genesis games, the home team has to be the host. For SNES, either team can host. Start up the emulator, host the game, and notify your opponent.
  • Once the final whistle blows, make a save state at either the 3-star screen, or the final summary screen. If the save state is made at the wrong time, the game will not upload properly!
  • Once the game is complete, you can upload the save state to the site via your coach page. You can wait and upload all the games after you are done playing your series if you wish. Make sure you communicate with your opponent and decide who will upload the games. Don't forget to change your save state slot after the game so that you don't overwrite it until it is uploaded.
Desyncs

A desync may happen during gameplay. This is usually noticeable following a large lag spike. You may see the other team acting odd, like the goalie jumping out of net, and plyers running into the boards. If you suspect a desync, pause the game and message your opponent. The best way to check is to compare the time remaining in the period.

There are a few options the two of you can decide on if the game deyncs:

Restart the game, start from scratch:
This is usually done if there is no score and the game desynced early in the 1st period.
Restart the game, match the previous score:
You can restart and intentionally allow goals to be scored to match the score prior to desync, then wait until you reach the previous game's time remaining and start playing at that point.
Stitch the game using the NHL94 Game Stitcher (Genesis only):
This is a little more involved, we suggest you check out the link below to see how to do it. It works very well!
Save the state, reconnect, and reload the state (SNES only):
In the rare case of a desync in SNES, you can save the state, and once you reconnect, you can load the state, and continue play.

This excellent post in the forum goes into more detail on what to do in a desync situation. Please check it out!

Lag Problems

If a coach is experiencing lag such that gameplay is dramatically affected, it is his responsibility to speak up sooner, rather than later. A game that is flagged as unplayable by a coach in the FIRST MINUTE may generally be cancelled and replayed at another time at no penalty - as long as the coach is not trailing by more than one(1) goal. Otherwise, the rule of thumb is to suspend a lagged game and resume it from the same point in much the same way as outlined in the "Desyncs" section. Communication with your opponent is important!

League Registration Rules
Classic 94 League

Registration information will be posted in the forums and on the NHL94Online.com website itself. A Team Selection Draft will be held following the end of the registration period. Draft order will be randomly determined and posted publicly. Leagues will be between 10-24 teams; the number of leagues per season depends both on the number of players who sign up and on the Admin Team’s discretion (in terms of website limitations, competitive balance, etc.).

Players who have never played in a league before are required to fill out the entire registration form on the website. This allows the player to participate in any online league in the future. Signing up soon after the registration start date will ensure you a spot in a league, while signing up after the registration end date could result in being placed on the Waiting List.

After registration for a season has concluded, people who sign up to play will be placed on a waiting list, which will be made publicly available and frequently updated. Players are required to play practice/test games against current coaches to make sure their connections/setups are ready to go if the waiting list users are asked to replace a coach.

All Other Leagues

Information on league registration will be posted in the nhl94.com forums. Each league has a specific forum. League admins will post information about league registration in advance.

Replacement of Coaches During the Season

The league will have set checkpoints EVERY WEEK during the season. The checkpoints will depend on the number of games in the league. Coaches who miss a checkpoint may be replaced by the League Commissioner at ANY TIME. The League Commissioner will always have the flexibility to make judgment calls. Coaches should contact the League Commissioner ahead of time about planned vacations, etc. when they know they will be away for some time. As long as these situations are brought to their attention in advance, you will probably be able to work something out.

Note: You can play any league game at any time, just as long as you have the specified number of games played before the specified checkpoint. Please feel free to play as many games as possible!

If a coach causes problems that are detrimental to the league and its other coaches, the League Commissioner will remove them from the league. If there are any coaches you feel are causing issues, please notify the commissioner!

Coaches will be replaced with people who are on the league waiting list. The League Commissioner will contact the next available person on the list, and assign them to the previous coach's team. The replacement coach will assume the team's record and stats, and continue the season playing as that team. They will also be given some leeway to meeting the first checkpoint, and some thereafter, with the commissioner's descretion.

Final Standings and Playoffs

The final standings will be released in the forums after all point adjustments are made due to unplayed games. The League Commissioner will announce all tie-breaking and playoff eligibility rules at the start of the league. This will be posted in the league forum.

Playoffs usually begin a few days after the end of the regular season. The matchups will be posted in the forums and the series made available to upload on this site. It's best to set a time with your opponent where you can play all the series' games at once. If not, please set up times on when you both can play. The games need to uploaded in the order they were played. There will be round checkpoints set in the playoffs as well. We will not replace coaches in the playoffs, instead if a coach is unresponsive to contact made by their opponent or the League Commissioner, they will forfeit their series and the opponent will move on.