NHL 2004

NHL 2004

Developers
	EA Black Box
Publishers
	EA Sports
Release dates
Windows	September 22, 2003
Reception
Metacritic	87
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase
Modes	Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	Bird's-eye view
Controls	Direct control, Multiple select
Genres	Sports
Sports	Hockey
Themes	Contemporary
Series	NHL

⤏ Go to series page
NHL Hockey (NHL '94)	1993
NHL 95	1994
NHL 96	1995
NHL 97	1996
NHL 98	1997
NHL 99	1998
NHL 2000	1999
NHL 2001	2000
NHL 2002	2001
NHL 2003	2002
NHL 2004	2003
NHL 2005	2004
NHL 06	2005
NHL 07	2006
NHL 08	2007
NHL 09	2008

Warnings

SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows Vista and later (see Availability for affected versions).

NHL 2004 is a singleplayer and multiplayer bird's-eye view sports game in the NHL series.

The game requires unofficial modifications to run properly on modern systems, as it relies on obsolete integration with Microsoft Internet Explorer to display the menus, and all community projects include workarounds.

General information

NHL04 Rebuilt - the game's modding community

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		SafeDisc v2 DRM.

SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows Vista and later (see above for affected versions).

Essential improvements

Official patch

The latest official patch is 1.04, but was only distributed on the EA Sports Online (EASO) server that has been shut down. The full official distribution has been lost.

All community mods include a modified 1.04 executable.

Unofficial patches and mods

On modern systems, it is impossible to run the game without significant modifications due to the reliance of the main menu interface on obsolete Internet Explorer hooking.

The community is actively working on modifications which work around the compatibility problems.

04 Launcher v2 - unofficial launcher which provides multiple compatibility tweaks, various quality-of-life improvements, and new features for modders. Many of its features are modular and open to community contributions.

It has to be used with either the Vanilla Rebuilt mod (North American rosters from the game's "native" 2003/2004 season) or one of the other various roster mods (vary from historical to present rosters).

All modifications include modified menu interfaces which work better with the 04 Launcher's compatibility tweaks.

The 04 Launcher is open-source: main repository, scripts, mods, download repository.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	%USERPROFILE%\Documents\NHL 2004

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	%USERPROFILE%\Documents\NHL 2004

Video

Graphics settings

Gameplay settings

Graphics feature	State	Notes
Widescreen resolution		Using any community-made mods will incorporate widescreen options. Menus are still in a hardcoded resolution.
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen
4K Ultra HD		Use the 04 Launcher
Field of view (FOV)		Use the 04 Launcher and download the 'Cutscene FOV' mod.
Windowed		Use the 04 Launcher
Borderless fullscreen windowed		Use the 04 Launcher
Anisotropic filtering (AF)		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anti-aliasing (AA)		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
High-fidelity upscaling		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Vertical sync (Vsync)		Use the 04 Launcher
60 FPS and 120+ FPS
High dynamic range display (HDR)

Input

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support
Full controller support		Main menu can only be accessed with the mouse.
Controller remapping
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion

Controller types

XInput-compatible controllers		Use the 04 Launcher and download the XInput mod.
Xbox button prompts		Generic prompts only.
Impulse Trigger vibration

PlayStation controllers		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.

Generic/other controllers		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.

Additional information
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback
Digital movement supported
Simultaneous controller+KB/M		Each peripheral (including the keyboard) belongs to a different player.

Audio

Audio settings

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls		Music, sound effects, crowd, commentary, rink speech.
Surround sound		2 and 4 speaker settings.
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
Royalty free audio		All music is licensed (various artists)

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
Finnish
French
German
Swedish

Network

Multiplayer types

Type	Native	Players	Notes
Local play		6
LAN play		12
Online play		12	Official servers have been shut down.

Connection types

Type	Native	Notes
Matchmaking
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated
Self-hosting
Direct IP

Issues unresolved

Crash related to wireless peripherals

The game crashes on startup if the user has wireless peripherals (headsets, mice...), either with a white screen or with an error message reporting the process stopping. Before the game is run, the USB dongle needs to be unplugged, and only plugged back in when the game's intro/menu is shown.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	8.1

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Interface	Internet Explorer	The main menu explicitly requires Internet Explorer 5-8. See Essential improvements.

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	98, 2000, ME	XP
Processor (CPU)	Intel Pentium III 700 MHz	Intel Pentium 4 1.4 GHz
System memory (RAM)	128 MB	256 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	750 MB	1.4 GB
Video card (GPU)	3D accelerator 32 MB of VRAM DirectX 8.1 compatible	64 MB of VRAM