@thebrazenhead75 wrote:
@EA_Aljo wrote:
@thebrazenhead75
What's your point? We get requests for features to return very frequently. Which often, doesn't happen. This time it did though. Seems like a win for the community as it's been requested since launch.
I meant what was the point of EA changing it the first time?!
It wasn’t a problem before and the community liked it so EA thinks they know best and changes it. Then the community says they want it back so EA changes it back. That’s the problem a lot of the community has with EA. They “fix” things that aren’t “broken” all the time instead of fixing the things that actually are broken.
The new control system is another example. Nothing that wrong with the old one besides maybe a couple of adjustments that were needed. But let’s make it all about accessibility. I rather have something that is harder to do but is more rewarding than something that is easy to do yet unfulfilling.
Obviously it’s a video game but imagine if in the real NHL every player had the same abilities to do all the same skills, dekes and whatever else? That would make it a very unrealistic and unsatisfying league IMO.
I don't know if it was a bug or if it was intended. If it was intended, why not try it out? We've had a lot of comments over the years that the game is just a copy and paste with updated rosters. Then again, we also hear how NHL 14 was perfect and we should just release that again and update those rosters. The sport of hockey is largely unchanged over the last 20 years. Yet, we're expected to either rehash a game from 10 years ago or recreate it and make it feel like a brand new game every year. Both of those scenarios are unrealistic. What is realistic is changing things up. That can mean removing features, modifying existing ones or adding new ones. Changing mechanics, updating modes, updating graphics and audio, etc. Yeah, it isn't always well received. We have to take some chances though.
Accessibility is huge. We need to make a game that appeals to as large an audience as possible. You want the game to grow? Making it more accessible and drawing in a bigger playerbase is going to do that. Look at Madden and FC. Those have a huge, worldwide following. Hockey has a worldwide following as well. On a far smaller scale though. If you want the truly brand new game that represents a 100+ year old sport that sees little change year to year, it's got to grow. Limiting ourselves to the hardcore, sim, veteran crowd is not the way to do that. I've made it well known that I'm not a fan of the changes to controls. However, I'm glad we also made the game more accessible and drawn in players that otherwise wouldn't have been there. We all adapted when the skill stick controls were introduced. We can all adapt to the new controls. And if those new controls are unfulfilling, use the old ones. It's not like you're forced to use Total Control. Yes, Skill Stick had it's own changes, but it's also harder to use so maybe they would be more fulfilling for you.
The online community that asks for a sim game doesn't realize there's a bigger audience out there. If we only made a game that catered to that community, you'd see far less change year to year as the much lower sales wouldn't allow us to make the changes we do each year. Most likely, we'd be limited to fixing bugs and updating rosters. And if that's all you want, then I go back to my statement of the demands for a new game are more the demands for a rerelease of NHL 14. Today's casual, one button Michigans are tomorrows hardcore players. We all started with easy controls on a casual level and look where we all ended up? Some turned that passion into a career as an influencer. Some became world champs. In my case it put me here every day talking to you all. A lot of the people that make this game are here because they started playing it when they were kids. These forums are full of people that were once casual fans that have grown far beyond that.
I get this years game isn't exactly everyone's bag of pucks. There were a lot of big changes. We've had a huge amount of feedback from you all and that is going to help shape the future of this game. We'll keep trying to find ways to keep you all having fun regardless of being a grizzled veteran or someone stepping onto the ice for the first time.
@thebrazenhead75 wrote:
Keep that easy stuff to offline modes. For online modes that are competitive, maybe make new users pass some basic tests to be able to play. It would only help them rather than them drop into a game and embarrass themselves. Easy one touch dekes etc aren’t going to help them with that.
Drop-in games are where you're meant to learn those skills. That's where a huge amount of us learned how to play going back to NHL 09 with the first year of EASHL. It takes a lot more than mastering one touch dekes to be good at this game.
NHL Team
