NHL 24: My Final Review n More
My review will pretty much just be touching the EASHL All Human 6’s side of things and gameplay. EASHL I felt tried some ambitious stuff with giving us more customization whether you wanted it or no...
Forum Discussion
As an offline gamer, I heavily agree with the lack of rolling/bouncing pucks - online players would likely not want to see an increase in this, as this is adding more luck elements to a competitive video game, but I think the realism lovers of the offline world (like myself) should get to see some more of this.
Regarding the topic of "game speed hindering ability to set up in the zone" - does anyone else feel like we went back to the era of "getting stuck in receiving pass animation when a pass comes to your player?" They fixed this in either NHL 19 or NHL 20, but I swear it feels like I can't move my player while they're picking up the puck.
@razor2rosary wrote:As an offline gamer, I heavily agree with the lack of rolling/bouncing pucks - online players would likely not want to see an increase in this, as this is adding more luck elements to a competitive video game
Players ascending the leaderboards in HUT and OVP face a sobering reality: the higher they climb, the more luck begins to overshadow skill in determining match outcomes. This phenomenon emerges naturally as the matchmaking system pairs players of increasingly similar skill levels and the margin for skill-based advantages narrows significantly. Seemingly minor elements of chance, a fortunate bounce, a timely animation glitch, or a moment of server lag, can dramatically sway the result of a game between two elite players.
So, although OVP/HUT and other online players may see realistic puck physics as "adding more luck" to the game, they would need to accept the fact that 'luck' is an element of all competition - real world and virtual.
@razor2rosary wrote:
They fixed this in either NHL 19 or NHL 20, but I swear it feels like I can't move my player while they're picking up the puck.
In the context of 1v1 modes, when you pass the puck to another player, you'll notice that the game automatically changes control to the player who is about to receive the puck. This change was implemented right around the time puck pickups became standard. Combined with the pickup logic, this meant that you are actually able to instruct the intended puck recipient on what direction to take when they obtain the puck, before they actually obtain it, resulting in smooth passes in-stride that give the impression of a 'speed boost'.
However, the issue is that some people don't quite understand this. So, when they hit the pass button and the game automatically switches control to the recipient, some users will send directional instructions unknowingly to the recipient and often times, the direction of the input results in the puck recipient executing a pickup that completely nulls any momentum they may have been generating prior to obtaining the puck or in your case; resulting in a bug where there's seemingly no control until after a few frames of possession.
This is why you often see people complain how their opponents seem to "always have an extra step" on them when complaining about high-level competition and how the games can feel scripted or tilted. What those users are seeing are players who have mastered the pass-to-pickup sequence and understand that a pass to a player in stride combined with the proper pickup execution can give the result of your players burning by defenders who are caught flat-footed.
To try and avoid your issue of players not being able to move while obtaining the puck, try noticing any actions you're taking on the left stick while the puck is in transition. You may notice a habitual movement that might be the root cause of your players losing control/momentum.
