MLB the Show's franchise mode allows for fully editable players in every aspect. It also has an unlimited season length, so the "you won't start a new one" or "buy the next game" statement doesn't really hold up. No disrespect intended.
Scouting in NHL is inherently broken for many reasons.
1. Prospect generation eventually does not exist within certain regions. In this case "Rest of World" and "Allsvenskan." It renders having scouts in those areas useless.
2. Prospect scheme preferences are broken:
2A) Forward prospects after the first or second draft never have "carry" "efficient" and "don't block" as scheme preferences. And the ones that do are always prospects who will never reach the NHL, i.e. "AHL Top 6" (or less) potential.
2B) Defensemen prospects after the first or second draft will never have "balanced" as part of their preferences. And if it's indicated in the scouting report they do have "balanced" as a preference in any capacity its not accurate and once they're drafted it will be revealed that it will either be "pinch/shoot" "pinch/cycle" or "hold line/shoot" or "hold line/cycle."
This renders most coaches totally useless as well given that the coach and chemistry system is totally broken as well. Offensive and defensive coach schemes will eventually be rendered obsolete by the 4th or 5th season. Especially if you prefer to have a team that has 100% computer generated players.
3. Scouting interviews do not reveal anything useful that isn't already available with direct scouting of a player, and is limited to only 3 or 4 items. Player style (SNP, OFD, PLY etc...), NHL readiness, biggest strength, and biggest weakness.
4. Character values do not actually do anything. They don't impact chemistry even though it should be a primary driving force. It's not actually connected to anything, and if it is, or is supposed to be, its not evident at all.
5. Player types are not in line with their attributes. It would be expected that players who are snipers would have high shooting abilities. I find that player attributes are rarely in line with their play type. And given that we can't edit players it makes scouting rather futile.
The actual reason they removed editing players was so that we couldn't edit player types to gain full chemistry values (PWF + PLY + SNP = +5 chemistry)...but given that they totally nixed that formula when they introduced X-Factors and didn't re-introduce player editing is a monumental failure/oversight.
6. Gems never pan out. All the "gems" feature does is add a green (or red) diamond to a randomly selected prospect that will never amount to anything. All they did was add a column to the prospect database to make you think the system is doing something. It's not.
7. Also, why is the age range for scouting 17-50?....does anyone actually have players older than 36 on their team? I personally don't scout players older than 30.
I could go on and on, but these are just a few of the issues, off the top of my head, that plague scouting. The problem with them adding new features is the fact that they don't fix the problems that infest the features they've add the year before...and the year before...and the year before.
You realize that MLB The Show and NHL are totally different games and are operated by different subsections of EA. They came out in an interview and said they felt players were cheating themselves by having the fully editable options. It was fully editable until NHL20. Until EA puts a better project team in charge of NHL it won't happen. TRSUT ME, I WANT IT, but I also know they won't bring it back any time soon.
As far as scouring, bro I'm sorry. I'm had GEMS turn from Top 6 Fs and Top 4 Ds into Elites. I've had a Low Elite GEM got Franchise. I've also had a lot of dubs, but we all do. I've also found a few player pop up in Rest of the World and Allsvenken. Its not as many, but usually I get 3 to 5 players between 1 and 250 in those areas every year. I just don't scout them often.
The interviews guarantee play style, so I use it to determine in a TWF with three bars is actually a SNP. They also give you an accurate account of years until the player is NHL ready. They don't really work for Strengths and Weakness, I'll give you that, but then again I scout those. No good having a center with a weakness for faceoffs. (LOL).
I also don't find your issue with Balanced on defense. What I find is that center years, the game leans more heavily one way or the other, so heavy pinch one year and heavy shoot the next, but I always find a couple balanced players.
Now, what I will admit is broken is the 4 bars don't always means guaranteed. What I'd like to see is a training module, like in FIFA were we can train our players to fit certain needs. Like, spending 3 weeks turning from a Balanced/Balanced to a Pinch/Balance. Or six weeks turning from a Pinch/Shoot into a Pinch/Cycle, but that's not a Scoyting issue, that's a general Franchise mode issue.
When you say character values, are you meaning Trade Values? They have nothing to do with Chemistry, its how much they are worth in a trade. So, I'm not exactly sure why you brought this up here.
I 100% agree with your statement about the editing. X-Factors, however, were not added for Franchise. They were added more for online play. You can simply and entire season with X-Factors turned off and get similar results with them turned on. It really only benefits games played by a player not by the PC.
Your final point is actually kind of pointless. You don't about anyone over the age of 32, but I've got Mark Giordano and Marc Andre-Fluery on my team. Both are nearly 40 and kicking it pretty hard. My last play through I got lucky and snagged Pastrnak off free agency and Leo Draistail in a very difficult trade. Both played on my Top 6 until there were 42 and 40. So, yes you can absolutely have older players making a difference on your lines.
So, it sounds more like you are having bad luck with you drafts.
in terms of character values, he is referring to if a guy is super competitive, super professional, gets along with everyone, etc. one would think if you have 3 players who are all primadonnas, they would have bad line chemistry.
@IrishOwl wrote:When you say character values, are you meaning Trade Values? They have nothing to do with Chemistry, its how much they are worth in a trade. So, I'm not exactly sure why you brought this up here.
I believe he means the variable that applies to a player's character. If they are professional at an early age or if they throw a fit if they don't win. I think it is there for the purposes of the morale system, not line chemistry, but I read that as being the "character value."
