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BIGRlTCHY's avatar
BIGRlTCHY
Seasoned Ace
3 years ago

OTP/Community Lobbies Vs Current Drop-In Discussion:

Noticed this has become a common topic over the last few years. As a gamer who has played competitively in EASHL throughout the years, since NHL 13, this is the first year I have opted out from playing. I work 9-12 hours 6 days a week, along play hockey IRL. My time to relax is limited so I play video game hockey for a couple hours before I go to bed. Unfortunately I can't play club as often as I would like given my schedule, and time frame where many of our longtime club members aren't on at the same time. My reliance was sorely on drop-in.

Prior to NHL 20 I could always find games as majority of the drop-in population was still around. The population decreased further into NHL 20 due to the content change of the mode. Now we have outdoor arenas, clown gear, and the same 2 hoodies. Before we were able to play indoors, and select team jersey's. The decision was to make the mode casual, which is unfortunate since majority of the community doesn't enjoy it. Keep it more of a 3's thing or add a casual outdoor/competitive indoor drop-in option. 

I really wish OTP community lobbies were returned which has been a request by most of the drop-in population throughout the years. Sadly there has been numerous debates about the mode being toxic, given we had trolls who trolled the lobbies. Back then I think we had 4 trolls who were well-known for the trolling antics. We always found ways to avoid them though and had no issues getting games since we could lock our sessions back then if I remember correctly. 

I played often on both Xbox 360/Ps3 back then. We all knew one another and had upmost respect. Heck one of the main trolls on PSN used to be a genuine player until this was all removed and he got bored. The lobbies is how the club I was on became a thing. I was a top 5 Defenseman on the game using Enforcer build and was known for my ruthless hits, along I could put up a high amount of points. I always had my skill stick out to aim my body checks. Now you lose speed doing that so defense is pointless to play... 

The toxicity is 10x worse now than it was back then. Only those who play drop-in regularly know that. Club isn't always available for us who work steady jobs, so the whole debate on why lobbies can't make a return or the very least bring back the indoor arena's and jersey selection is ridiculous. 

The drop-in population is decreasing and it's why many of my hometown friends no longer play this game, along is a main reason the club I was on disbanded since we can't recruit the way we used to. Most of the time the threads or drop=in recruits end up being trolls....+

6 Replies

  • TheUnusedCrayon's avatar
    TheUnusedCrayon
    Seasoned Ace
    3 years ago
    @BIGRlTCHY could you imagine if we had the current matchmaking engine combined with the old setup of clubs where you could literally only play clubs with your own club? Clubs would be dead and not a soul would play it.

    Now they've killed drop-ins because they removed lobbies. I still have yet to play a full 6s game of drop-in's this year. Closest I've come is 6v5 and now every time I've searched during peak hours there's like 2v3 in the lobby.

    And in third party leagues like LG and in discords there's still plentyyyyyyy of people saying they're looking to play at any given moment.

    I've expressed how important it is to bring lobbies back but let's face it, they're not gonna give it back.
  • BIGRlTCHY's avatar
    BIGRlTCHY
    Seasoned Ace
    3 years ago

    I hear you on that. Half of the players we used to game with in OTP have left the game completely or play HUT. It sucks since my club disbanded I haven't played much EASHL. We just couldn't find players with the chemistry we had. OTP was once where we could scout players throughout the days we played countlessly. It was also fun to do the International OTP matchups back then or could use Junior/NHL/AHL teams. The fact they turned drop-in 6's to a casual outdoor clown gear festival wasn't the right decision and many don't play the mode because of it. 

  • KlariskraysNHL's avatar
    KlariskraysNHL
    Hero+
    3 years ago

    As was stated before it was old tech and no longer going to be used.  If they did bring back Community Lobbies they couldn't have talking because it's just too much red tape work for them having to ban people constantly.    But I've always been in favor of bringing it back as it might help people organize better.

  • BIGRlTCHY's avatar
    BIGRlTCHY
    Seasoned Ace
    3 years ago

    The chat part doesn't have to be there. Heck just let us find games easier for those who can't find or don't have time for club. The chat text doesn't have to be a thing. Trying to find a drop-in game now even with cross-play is painful and ends up mostly just CPU since it's a dying population. None of my IRL friends play anymore since they got rid of the way OTP was prior to NHL 20. 

  • CDN-MTN-BEAR's avatar
    CDN-MTN-BEAR
    3 years ago

    Somewhere, somehow, there's a "community list" of ideas and priorities that make it into this game. I haven't actually seen this list, but as per responses from some moderators, there's a community demand for changes. No polls or votes. No canvassing. No majority community input. No real conversation on the topic of discussion. 

    Of course, we don't see these complaints that result in the changes, because apparently it's better to ask for forgiveness then it is to ask for permission. And those complaints are usually after the fact, when a certain change was implemented, and has become a problem.

    Obviously, you get what you pay for. Unfortunately, and in this case, it isn't very much except for grief. Yeah, there's a demographic that wants very much for this series to be enjoyable, and have an experience that keeps us coming back. But the current state of this series has seen that demographic declining, and moving on.

    Personally, and over the last several weeks, I'm back to playing "The Division". This game came out in 2016. And with 54 days, 17 hours, and 44 minutes of playing time, it's still absolutely fun to play! At launch, it started out rough, but it's now a very solid game. There's nothing copy and paste about it, and it's a reliable source of entertainment.

    Bottom line, the NHL series needs an overhaul, and it has to be an overall effort. Charging a hefty price for a weak product is thievery, and this very small demographic is being robbed. 

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