Forum Discussion

southpaw86's avatar
southpaw86
Seasoned Scout
3 years ago
Solved

Complete disregard to the community

Dear EA, Again, here we are with a lack of engagement. Every time we bring issues about your game in its entirety, you come up with another reason you need to remove it. So let’s start again with...
  • EA_Aljo's avatar
    EA_Aljo
    3 years ago

    @southpaw86 

    We don't automatically action everyone though. There are times I've submitted a report through my personal account and I get a response back saying it wasn't actually worth actioning someone over. Like I said, every report is reviewed by humans. That doesn't mean they're overwhelmed and making bad decisions because of their workload. 

    I understand how you feel and I'm pretty much in agreement. There really isn't anything I can do about it though. I hope we can see a better system put in place someday as we are all aware of these reports.

    Edit: I missed your other response. Sorry about that.

    We may hold the throne, as you say, but we're not stopping anyone from creating a hockey game. Anyone can do that. They can also seek out the NHL rights.

    I definitely know the community is unhappy with the game. I share a lot of those same sentiments. I also relay the feedback here to the team regularly so they are well aware of the sentiment. We'll have to wait and see what comes out of it though. I know, everyone hates that answer, but we all know how unhappy people are and absolutely want to turn that around. Discussions like this are ones I can use as an example of how we need to do better with our communication with you all. Thank you again.

    @johum2886 
    Even a "hey, we see this, it has been passed on to the team" is appreciated and more than sufficient, but that almost never happens, at least, in my experience. In my opinion, I should not have to tag you three times in a bug report or game suggestion just to get confirmation that it has been seen.

    I very frequently say this. I may not do it for every suggestion that's made, but I say it pretty often.

EA_Aljo's avatar
EA_Aljo
Icon for Community Manager rankCommunity Manager
3 years ago

@southpaw86 

Thanks again for taking the time to be constructive and detailed with your feedback 👍

I can't really help with a connection that feels sluggish. I get what you're saying, but it's near impossible to troubleshoot currently. The best I can say is that we're constantly monitoring our servers for issues.

That younger crowd is pretty huge. A lot of people love those animations. Personally, they aren't for me, but when I go in to a game and see almost everyone using them, that's a sign they're pretty popular. I'd also support a subscription service instead of buying the game annually. There have been a lot of requests for it, but I really have no idea if it will ever happen. I can't think of another sports game that does it, but I also don't follow every single sports game out there.

I know the team works on goalies every year and community feedback is always a part of that process. I'd love to get them to a place where the community is happy with them again.

I really don't like the gooning in this game. That was there well before Truculence though. It's always been there. I've been going up against teams of goons for years. I hate that style of play, but thankfully they're not too tough to beat. Still, it doesn't make for a fun game and I'd be fine if that ability was removed. That doesn't mean people won't stop hitting. As long as hitting is fun, it's going to be popular. If we make hitting less fun, we'll get complaints that we taken away something else from defense. There are a lot of complaints that offense is overpowered, but then there's a lot of complaints that hitting is overpowered. Defense was made a lot more challenging this year with the change to losing speed when poking. As much as I don't like Truculence, players that aren't actually just trying to destroy everyone on the ice and are hitting when they should be are fine with me. It's more that it encourages a style of play that isn't fun for me. However, it is fun for them and should we take away an ability because it hurts the enjoyment of the game for some? I'd rather see it balanced better personally. 

There is a limit to ability points in EASHL. Boosts and Superstar Abilities have a cost associated with them so you can't just max everything out. I think it would be good to limit how many players on a team can have an ability though.

I'm still not sold on lobbies. Personally, I like it better now, but I also rarely play drop-ins. When I did, I didn't care of those lobbies. It was a race to position and chat was just full of people spamming nonsense. The race to position was the worst though. If someone couldn't get a forward position, they'd often take goalie and proceed to troll. I also don't really see a difference in the level of toxicity. It was really bad back then as well. I know there were also good experiences with lobbies, but I feel like it's more based on nostalgia than providing an actual better experience. However, we'll have to agree to disagree. I'm probably in the minority when it comes to feeling this way. That said, my club met in drop-ins shortly after NHL 09 released and we've played together every year since.

southpaw86's avatar
southpaw86
Seasoned Scout
3 years ago
@EA_Aljo I’m actually agreeing that to these kids the emotes and customizations are more important. Which is also why I think it’s nonsense that when purchasing a new season drop, that all those emotes and customizations are 90% the same, and no guarantee you’ll see the ones you enjoyed before unless you seriously grind. Hence my prior statement in regards to my chel name. Even with hut, it pretty much just promotes underage gambling with the cards. You get provided a potential outcome, but no promises unless you pay for the promise. I’m surprised it still exists as I’ve seen other games tagged for this system.

There’s nothing wrong with hitting, or a strong offensive line. Some of these guys can turn all that off and still wipe you across the ice. None of us like to lose games, but im not complaining about losing games. Im complaining about a lack of an actual competitive mode for teams. My guys love a secondary truculence on their builds, and I love watching them demolish the other players. That’s besides the point. It’s the fact you can excessively build your club team, where even in hut EA acknowledges hey maybe we shouldn’t let them have everything all unlocked and we will set a limit. Chel clubs is anything but competitive, and the leader boards are stacked with two man teams and that’s who you’re repping as we load in is promote playing like these goons.

I wouldn’t touch drop in with a 10 foot pole. Not even for practice. What a toxic playground of a show that is. Lobbies helped us self govern. We can’t even report a player now for trolling us as they’re considered equal paying customers. Sure, but they’re killing your game.

Open Lobbies we found out who was who, we all met. Sure first to position sucked, but hey someone of us actually learned how to play defence. This new style hasn’t stopped people from picking D and building snipers, or Goalies intentionally taking penalties causing the RW to have a terrible day. This new system is much worse.

At least with lobbies we could create our own, this is how we created true drop in games. Not this BS we call drop in now. Toxicity will be around as long as humans are. Taking away our ability to self govern the trolls, that truly hurt this game more than you guys seriously realize. As I’ve mentioned, now we pretty much need them to come on mic and say something terrible for you to consider it unacceptable behaviour, but totally allowed to drop in and ruin it for everyone without consequences.

Again, hate to reference Rocket league, but they’ve solved this issue even though toxicity still exists. You ruin everyone’s gameplay experience, you get yourself closer to suspension. 5 minutes suspension can grow to worse every time you ruin the game for people.

EA, come one come all. Stand behind the net alll game, run out to the blue, whatever.

Maybe when EA does their next round of hiring, they should look on here for people who actually want to see them accomplish something for the better of its community. It’s hard to see that even someone within the company sees no foreseeable changes to what this community truly wants out of this game.

Maybe someone will just have to actually do it right and the expectation for EA to change is just a bit of a pipe dream.

It really is a shame
  • CapeBretonIslndr's avatar
    CapeBretonIslndr
    Seasoned Adventurer
    3 years ago

    Ultimately, and unfortunately for this series, its come down to what you're paying for isn't what you're playing for: a gameplay experience that's worth recurring play time, on top of a bug-filled mess that's not being fully addressed at all.

    Personally, this is not why I pay for video games. It's absolutely appalling. 

    • rwinneberger's avatar
      rwinneberger
      3 years ago

      I agree with everything they’re describing! I have been playing Hockey games since Nintendo Hockey with the fat guys! , Blades of Steel! You took a lot of fun things out of this game with no upgrades, I used to love playing the skills competition! The Practice mode is horrendous! Just don’t understand why EA, Blizzard etc. wouldn’t like feed back from it community ! Then work on their  concerns for next version! 
      The connectivity issues EA sports has always had the worst servers!!

      Russell Winneberger 

  • volcano62's avatar
    volcano62
    New Vanguard
    3 years ago

    As an off-line player I have to admit I love this game. I just want full presentation back. It’s really a serious issue.

    • southpaw86's avatar
      southpaw86
      Seasoned Scout
      3 years ago
      @volcano62 I literally play hut 95% offline because the connection between 2 players is absolutely horrendous even when it says you’re running a good connection. It’s just something I don’t experience in other games. Offline this game kills it outside the pay to replay. The online is so dissatisfying for anyone wanting to play some good technical hockey.
  • CapeBretonIslndr's avatar
    CapeBretonIslndr
    Seasoned Adventurer
    3 years ago

    I'm going to add something else, that references catering to the current generation that plays this series. 

    I started playing this series, back in the NHLPA '93 days, for the SNES. And although it's pretty basic, as compared to NHL 23, there wasn't any necessity for the "cosmetics", X-Factors, dancing (and other various foolish pre-game introduction crap), hockey bags filled with whatever the current calendar event is, or anything else that's considered fluff. That's right: less is more. And you know what? The generation that played that game, and any EA Sports titles during those times, weren't anywhere near as entitled or as spoiled as what some people expect for the NHL series of today. Back then, it was simple, enjoyable, relatively affordable, and most importantly, they were fun. Gameplay > garbage

    Personally, as I'm much older than I was when I first began playing this series, I am not at all a fan of all of the stuff that's been added, and undoubtedly more is coming, that really degrades this absolutely incredible sport. Open up your next Chel bag, or see what the next "Challenges Rewards" are, and the ridiculous is that obvious.

    One more thing, why in the blue flip did the classic JOFA helmet become such a joke? Go take a good look at all of the Hockey Hall of Fame players that have worn that helmet. And yet, EA Sports developers treat it with absolute disdain, and mockery. Good job. 

  • EA_Aljo's avatar
    EA_Aljo
    Icon for Community Manager rankCommunity Manager
    3 years ago

    @southpaw86 

    It's entirely possible changes could be made to reduce toxicity. I know that is always on our minds. I would love to see what you mention with Rocket League. Giving someone a short suspension that keeps increasing with each offense. I can't stand people ruining the game for everyone. Drop-ins have been that way forever and I couldn't agree more we need change with them. I really hope that happens. I'll certainly make sure this feedback is sent over to the team.

    I get what you're saying about lobbies. They have their pros and cons. It would be good to see some kind of hybrid where you still didn't have the race to position. Yes, it could introduce someone new to the position, but how often is that really the case and how often did it actually work out well? So many times a forward took a D position only to become the 4th forward. Leaving constant 2 on 1s. It's incredibly frustrating to deal with.

    Huge thanks again for sharing your feelings on the game. 

    • southpaw86's avatar
      southpaw86
      Seasoned Scout
      3 years ago
      @EA_Aljo This toxicity needs to fall on TOS and how they handle situations as well as be clear on violations.

      I’ve posted on this before and was snubbed, but this is a huge example on failing while addressing toxic behaviour.

      So as stated I’ve been playing these games since 1990. My club and I more or less met during the time this game had an actual community within the game (thanks to lobbies, just saying). So we’ve been doing this 9 years together. None of us ever had a light of negativity shined on us. Never banned or suspended, never warned for bad behaviour.

      This season we got our name off a list of fantasy hockey team names.

      We went with North Kariyans. After smashing a team double digits all of a sudden I receive an email that I have been suspended for my team name for 7 days…. For inciting hatred!!!! and if I’d like to contest it go here…:

      I went there, I rationally explained that we simply chose our name out of a list, explained the majority of us are Canadians and Paul kariya fans, the Americans also a big fan, either way, nothing hateful as to why we chose our name. Maybe poor taste for the north kariya part, but let’s be real here it’s a pun and nothing about it was meant to be hateful, simple misunderstanding for a team that reported us for beating them.

      TOS: not only did they deny our explanation, but went back in to our team, suspended another team mate for his player name which also was not hateful or even inappropriate and has had it for over 9 years.

      This is vindictive behaviour for a team that’s meant to be protecting our community from toxic behaviour. As paying customers we have the right to use this service unless we truly break guidelines. This situation was absolute disaster and has forever tainted how I feel about the team tending to the safety and inclusion of this community.

      So I called up EA, now for information rather than to dispute the suspension as it’s really not hard to keep yourself playing anyways and I don’t care about points or progress.

      Can you guys please be more specific as to why my team was turned upside down and why I’m suspended so I can assure it never happens again?

      EA Customer Service: oh well we can’t actually give you any information on your suspension, our terms and service team deals with that.

      Can I talk with them so I can be clear the reasons for my suspension?

      EA customer service: well no they don’t take direct calls…

      This is insane!!! I’m literally trying to make sure I don’t do it again as to this day I still don’t fully understand the suspension outside the team must be young and have absolutely no idea who Paul kariya is….

      Finally on a forum after explaining, before getting my post ripped down.

      “We don’t accept politics in NHL23”

      What?!?!?! Politics?!?!
      Paul Kariya is a hall of fame hockey player, North Korea is a country! Again maybe poor taste, but not hateful, political,racist. It’s a pun.

      In fact, and I pointed this out to the guy saying no politics. As we were getting suspended and our name removed, there were 3 other teams and probably still their name the exact same thing. One being the bomb squad…

      Please EA explain why I lost service, while there is so much racism within character builds, every other team and player name is sexually or racially referenced, but me, someone who has never breached service, not even a warning, is under attack.

      I will never forget that. This has ruined every fabric of my desire to be loyal towards ea. this was a last straw for me honestly and I’m the guy praying someone rivals them so I can chuck this series in the trash unless they miraculously 180 by next season.

      Rocket league doesn’t just suspend people who are under their radar for the first time. Their community is thriving, their gameplay is smooth and competitive, their store system doesn’t enhance your gameplay against others, it’s simply cosmetic. They don’t release yearly, they have seasons. It’s free to play and they probably still gross close to the same if not more than the NHL series.

      EA needs to give Psyonix a call before we all jump off this band wagon.
      • EA_Aljo's avatar
        EA_Aljo
        Icon for Community Manager rankCommunity Manager
        3 years ago

        @southpaw86 

        The majority of ToS violations are legitimate. There are times we make mistakes and action accounts when they shouldn't be. Often those are corrected. However, ToS is actioning anything that can potentially be offensive. Personally, I wish we'd remove the ability to name players. That would resolve almost all of these name issues. I know, it would take something away people like, but I guess this is why we can't have nice things. There are too many people out there that insist on naming their players something that breaks the rules. We might be heavy handed on it, but I am at least seeing less of these names in EASHL now.

        Yes, we will action accounts for discussing politics. This is a gaming forum so we need to keep discussions related to our games and the world of gaming in general. Discussing politics is a very sensitive issue for many.

        ToS is also not available by phone. They would be inundated with people pleading their cases when they actually do deserve whatever action was taken. Every review is done by a human as well. I definitely get it's frustrating, but if you want to make sure no action is taken on your account or club, keep the names to something very basic that can't possibly be seen as offensive.

    • KIJHLPhenom14's avatar
      KIJHLPhenom14
      3 years ago

      In regards to picking a position part in lobbies there are some good ideas that have been made by the community. One suggestion which the new creative director was on board with given his response on Twitter to this discussion. It was when entering a lobby you picked your position like the way it is in WOC before getting into a session. That way we don't have people racing for a position. Lobbies is what helped clubs build their rosters. Now it's either sign up for LG or banana leagues, or use online threads to find players, which usually winds up in the possibiity of dealing with a troll in club or someone who doesn't understand the game. 

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