Lack of Direction - What is the EA NHL series?

Hey there, @RicochetII 

Thanks for all the feedback. I just want to comment on a few things.

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@RicochetII wrote:

1. Presentation: NHL uniforms, NHL equipment, NHL players, NHL arenas, etc. 

In game (primarily in CHEL), those aspects are often completely ignored. Purposefully. 

- Uniforms are discarded in favor of everything from hoodies to pajamas (or worse)

- Equipment gets the same treatment ignoring helmets/visors and including gloves, skates, and sticks with often silly designs

- Rinks that are a step below amateur in outdoor venues with none of the quality or atmosphere of an NHL arena

This isn't counting the alternate game modes which take some of these aspects even further.  

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WoC is a fantasy league. While NHL equipment is available, it's not required as this is the EASHL and not the NHL. The outdoor arena is meant to be a more casual environment where hoodies and jeans are more acceptable. Ones and Threes Eliminator are pure fantasy so you can have the casual, vanity gear. Again, these aren't NHL events.

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2. Game Modes: NHL hockey is at it's core 6v6 on the ice, 5 skaters and 1 goaltender, with specific rules designed for the sport. 

EA has introduced ones and threes "arcade" modes as well as the 3v3 watered-down version of NHL OT with its own set of rules. 

These are secondary (or even inconsequential) to what is expected from an NHL series, which is 6v6 on-ice play with NHL rules, but they are given attention and dilute the userbase for what "should" be the primary focus. A robust and accurate representation of 6v6 NHL gameplay. 

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This is fair that it dilutes the userbase as people are in those modes because they are more fun for them. However, the hardcore players of these modes most likely aren't interested in 6v6 play with authentic rules. So, chances are good removing them wouldn't make as big an impact as it seems.

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@RicochetII wrote:

3. Gameplay: NHL rules, physics, and player ability should be accurately represented. 

The rules are more or less as expected in 6v6 (ignoring other game modes because the rules are often just made up or non-existent). There's room for improvement in the application of those rules (rather than just random chance when x and y occur). Perhaps we are not yet at a point technically where rules can be applied through an analysis of the physical interactions alone. 

The physics themselves, as applied in game, create too many unrealistic situations. Solid objects passing through each other and pucks magnetized or otherwise influenced to remain in play are among the most egregious. Perhaps there are technical limitations involved here as well, but at the very least stick blades and pucks should be solid and have realistic interactions. "Pong" achieved that in 1972. There's no reason we can't have it in 2023. 

With the stick and puck interactions resolved, other elements related to player abilities should be able to be resolved incrementally.  

- Hitting interactions have been ramped up to market the game, but NHL players are more elusive and resilient than EA gives them credit for. They don't get rag dolled on legal body checks frequently and they don't stay down for more than a few seconds unless injured. 

- Lacrosses and Hipchecks have been brought up continuously already and EA took some action, but it simply doesn't go far enough. You might see a hipcheck once a game (if that) and it's done with momentum against speed up the boards. Hitting is a skill and hip checks involve the most skill to pull off while requiring certain conditions to be present. The Lacrosse move has been successful maybe a handful of times and attempted maybe a few times a year. It also takes skill and a certain set of conditions, chief among those is an unaware goaltender and AI goaltenders should not be unaware unless those conditions are met. Having both of these as "one-touch" buttons completely ignores the skill aspect. They don't even require accurate setup or positioning. 

- Generally speaking, every "flashy" but mostly realistic thing implemented in the game happens with exaggerated impact and/or frequency. While mundane things that very frequently happen in real life occur with less frequency. A player catching/intercepting a slapshot is rare (especially the catching part) and never as clean as the game represents. The puck deflecting over the glass on a shot happens a lot, but it slows down the game with more faceoffs, so it rarely happens. 

. 

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This is a video game. Clipping is going to happen. As it does in most other games. Since we don't have 1:1 fidelity with the stick, exceptions need to be made. For example, sticks are allowed to pass through players and objects, but they can't affect the puck. This is to reduce the chances of player limbs bending in ways that would break them. We've seen this happen occasionally with 24 and it has not been well received. So, it kind of goes to show that added realism isn't always a popular feature. When it comes pong, you're talking about a single block interacting with a single "ball". 2 singular objects reacting. They aren't dealing with limbs being attached while also holding a stick while also potentially interacting with other objects of the same nature. Hockey is infinitely more complex than Pong.

Again, this is a video game. Hits might be over the top at times. There are also times they are very realistic. Regardless, the point of the game is to have fun. Yes, there are some purists that want the game to be a 1:1 recreation of the real sport, but from what I've seen, the more real the game gets, the less it's liked. There need to be player attributes for example that add assistance to shooting, passing, hitting, etc. When we made a change to this a few years back, it made the community pretty upset because it became harder to score and accurately pass. We also frequently get comments saying NHL 14 played better. Which is far more of an arcade style game than NHL 24 as the physics are more realistic than they were 10 years ago yet some that claim they want a full sim game would rather have one that was less sim than what we have now.

I'm in agreement with hipchecks and Lacrosse moves. I'd rather those return to the way they were. Thankfully, the Lacrosse goal is pretty uncommon and the move is easy to defend to begin with.

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EA hasn't made it clear, at least to me, what exactly this game is supposed to be and who it is supposed to be for. Perhaps they don't even know themselves.

I'd appreciate it if they would present a clear direction, at least for next year if they can't now. I'm no longer going to dive into the current product blindly. 

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As mentioned, this game isn't meant to be a full sim, recreation of NHL hockey. It's meant to have aspects of that along with an atmosphere that make it fun. I don't think we'll ever have a game that gives you that feeling of stepping on the ice and putting professional hockey skills to the test. What we want is a fun game for friends as well as solo players that the truly skilled can become masters of. Whether that's EASHL, Online Vs/HUT or offline modes. We have a very diverse playerbase so not everyone wants a full sim experience.

Thanks again for the feedback. It's absolutely appreciated.