#nba maximum hangtime

[retrogamingloft]

A sort of an update of NBA Hangtime. Some new features, a few tweaks here and here but it's basically the same. Anyway, if you ask me for one noticeable difference, I'd say that it looks a but easier than its predecessor. Obviously It's still a whole lot of fun, given that it maintains the classic charm of the original.

[skyboxeye]

Capturing the ambience of NBA Hangtime

This successor to NBA Jam features additional courts and upgraded presentation. This post will take a look at its PC and PS1, and updated arcade re-release Maximum Hangtime.

Running the game on Windows

I first tried running Hangtime on Windows 10 through a virtual Windows 95 instance with PCem. However this exhibited a couple of issues: the game runs at a low framerate and some sounds don't loop cleanly. Supposedly these issues that are fixable with DxWnd - see the comments here if you're interested.

Ultimately, I was able to run it on a 32-bit XP instance with none of the above issues. The PC version offers adjustable display resolution, to a maximum of 640x480.

Extracting sounds

I had success getting at the music tracks but not sound effects. PS1 music can be successfully extracted with jpsxdec. PC's PCM files seem to be some kind of ADPCM format so they can presumably be converted via a tool like vgmstream.

Recording in-game

The in-game PS1 menu offers a way to disable music. On PC, you can use a code to disable music. On the "Tonight's Matchup" screen, a player must enter the no-music code (048) and then press Down. This can be tricky if you are also trying to load the rooftop court - another player must hold Left once the loading "Tonight's Matchup" screen appears (not before) and press turbo twice. No need to press Down - your code entry area will blink if successful.

Other versions

There are supposedly a handful of other courts found in another ports. Jungle on SNES, Hawaii on Genesis, and an non-rooftop outdoor court on both. The Arcade supposedly has an alternate Rooftop court.

Running Maximum Hangtime

Setting up MAME is outside the scope of this post. One 'gotcha' I will mention is that MAME expects your ROMs to be contained in ZIP archives, so don't unzip them before running.

Be sure to set your virtual cabinet's sound volume to a good level. You can enter the system menu by pressing F1 once your ROM is loaded.

With Maximum Hangtime , it's easy for a single player to both select the rooftop court and disable music, and there's now a built-in menu for the latter - just press Left and Right at the "Matchup" screen.

Notes and observations

Crowd chants (indoor court) and city sounds (outdoor) sometimes play after a score.

I noticed a lack of moon in the rooftop court sky on Maximum Hangtime. I'm not sure if this always true for this version, or if the sky scene is randomized.

[morebuildingsandfood]

Rooftop court from NBA Maximum Hangtime, by Midway.