NHL 24 Patch 1.5.0 Feedback

@EA_Aljo  

Chinese team home and away jerseys is wrong.

China wears this jersey at World Championships  🔽

                       (Home)                                                (Away)   

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@MasterB89 wrote:

if they make hitting harder while simplify the Michigan which should be a much harder mechanic? Isn't that backwards. 

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Despite what people are claiming, scoring the Michigan is not just as simple as a button press. You need to initiate the animation by holding Y/Triangle and then time the release of Y/Triangle in order to execute the maneuver successfully - and even then, a defender and/or a goalie can stop it.

So, although the initialization of the Michigan has been simplified, the timing in executing it, ensuring there's enough time and space to execute it flawlessly combined with the current defensive and goalie positioning means there's still a myriad of variables that the player needs to take into consideration when trying to use it to actually score a goal. 

I don't necessarily think they made hitting 'harder'. They simply adjusted the mechanic to have a push-release to force the user to be a bit more methodical when timing the hit. That said, the speed boost does much of the assisting in the aiming of the hit, which is why many were happy with the short-lived nerfing of it. 

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@MasterB89 wrote: Your punch in a fighting game is harder but the finishing moves are now one button.... What logic is used there?  

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The problem with this analogy is that the 'finishing move' in a fighting game is always 100% successful if the player simply enters the right inputs. For The Michigan, all of the variables I described above come into play and there's simply no guarantee that you're going to actually score by simply hitting the right button. 

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@MasterB89 wrote:Plus with skill stick you can't hip check.... Its those inconsistencies that causes faults to having such a huge difference in controls. 

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The game is designed to be used with Total Control. When you're using a control scheme that is outdated, you're going to have to give up some control. This was the case with NHL '94 controls when the Skill Stick came out and now you're seeing the evolution of the control scheme result in Skill Stick now being the lesser option to Total Control. 

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@Ampereturn wrote:

Hi @KidShowtime1867,

Yes, there are a lot of actions controlled by 1 button, but I think hipchecks should never have been implemented this way. This was the biggest mistake the devs made this year and now the game has no balance because users are spamming hipchecks and there are no tools how to counter them. Not even a big build will help.

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I play Div 1 WoC in both 6's and 3's and although we encounter the odd player who spams hipchecks, we don't see it as often as every game. Maybe every 5 games or so, you'll see some * out there trying to spam hipchecks.

Although there is no mechanic to counter hip check spammers, you can avoid them.

If you often find you're in a position where there's no escape from an incoming hip check then you need to look at your current puck carrying habits. Faster passes can negate any impact on puck possession from a hip check spammer. Alternatively, managing your speed goes a long way in allowing your player to get the most out of their Agility attribute - which would allow you to simply skate in the opposite direction that the hit is coming from. This essentially nulls the hip check and allows the puck carrier to retain puck possession. 

It's not ideal to have to utilize these avoidance tactics in the face of a mechanic that appears to be OP, but these tactics are applicable irrelevant of an OP mechanic and are still useful habits to acquire. Ultimately, a nerf to the hip check is the most ideal solution here. 

That said, I'd like the reverse-hit mechanic to be more of a 'hit resistance' mechanic. Meaning; big players with high strength and hitting attributes would have the mechanic play out as a reverse hit, but smaller and more agile players would have the mechanic play out as a hit-avoidance animation while retaining puck possession. 

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@Treatmentworke66 wrote:

@KidShowtime1867Listen if you're a total control guy good for you ,you do you
And as for appreciating the changes they've made ,I'll pass I'm not going to be waving poms poms or patting anyone's back because this game isn't very good ,but hey if you like it ,again good for you

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It's not that I'm a 'total control guy' I just always adapt to the controls intended by the developers to get the most control over my player and the scenarios I find myself in. 

I was very scared when they introduced the skill stick as I was certain the game was moving to a more complex scheme but then I adapted and wondered how we played NHL games without it.

Total control isn't even that much of a deviation from skill stick other than one-button initialization for dekes which I think people conflate with one-button guaranteed successful dekes, which just isn't the case. 

And regarding hitting, the removal of the magnetic suction that happened with hitting on the Right Stick should be applauded by any self-respecting 'sim' player who wants consequences for actions. 

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@HockeyAdvocate wrote:

@KidShowtime1867  What an interesting take from your first post about muti button and single button presses on offense vs defense. Sorry, im not sure how to properly tag/quote. Im still figuring this site out. I'm not sure I understand the logic where it's appreciated that a defender must go through a multistep process to deliver a body check, which every nhl player can perform on any given shift, in any game they play in, and if they miss they put themselves way out of position

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Throwing a body check in real life requires speed, timing and the ability to forcefully deliver a hit. A multi-step process culminating in a single action.

Throwing a body check in NHL '24 requires speed, timing and the ability to forcefully deliver a hit by way of instructing your player to brace and explode (hold & release of your chosen hitting mechanic) culminating in a single action.

Shoving a player off the puck can currently be accomplished by getting into the proper position and simply pressing B/Circle or simply pushing up on RS. A single button press.

Executing either of these actions carelessly with no appreciation to your player's current position, speed etc will result in you being out of position. The caveat I'll add here is that the added speed boost to hitting can mitigate erroneous movement while aiming with LS, giving even more simplicity to the hitter.

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@HockeyAdvocate wrote: yet an offensive player only has to press a single button to perform an obnoxious deke that less than 1% of the nhl can perform successfully and not even on a regular basis all while that said player doesn't lose momentum with the puck.

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This is incorrect. 

Firstly, the completely made-up statistic that only 1% of NHL players can successfully perform The Michigan (which I assume is 'the deke' you're referring to) is absurd. I'd wager most active NHL players are capable of performing the maneuvers required to execute the Michigan. However, there's a very small % of those players who are willing to try using it in an active game. That's a confidence variable and when it comes to the digital version of the sport, confidence in most players is through the roof. So, it stands to reason you're going to see it used more often in the virtual world.

That said, people are conflating Michigan attempts with Michigan successes. These are not equal and there is a vocal minority of people who are trying to convince everyone that every single online game is rife with Michigans and hip checks - which they're not - unless of course you're constantly giving your opponent the time, space and vulnerability to allow them to execute these with impunity. That's not far from the realm of possibility as there's a huge skill gap between those who think the game is unbalanced and those who have success at the highest levels. 

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@HockeyAdvocate wrote:

You can be in perfect position to make a simple defense play and the game will still find a way to punish you.

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Yes, by way of attributes. If you've got a player in a 'perfect' position to intercept a pass, but the puck travels to your skates, your reaction time instantly increases. Compound that with the hand-eye attribute of your player; if it's low - they're not going to be able to react in time to a puck that is seemingly in a spot to make a 'simple' play. If it's high, they might be able to capture the puck in enough time. The point is; attributes play a large roll and part of the skill of this game is being somewhat aware of the deficiencies in the player you're controlling and finding other ways to make defensive/offensive moves that play to the strength of that player, thus increasing your chances of a positive outcome.

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@HockeyAdvocate wrote: The average weight of a hockey stick is 14-21 ounces while a puck weight between 5.5-6 ounces. I'm curious as to why a player extending their stick would be cause for slowing down or stopping but a player making exaggerated movements while trying to control additional weight doesn't warrant any sort of physical limitations. It defies basic physics. 

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A poke check requires the movement of your upper body thrusting in any given direction. In spite of how much a stick weighs, this does typically shift upper body momentum. That being said, I'm not the biggest fan of the slowdown currently applied to a poke check. However, I understand the slow down is there to entice users to be more methodical with their poke checks - which opens the game up more. 

A deke typically moves with the puck carrier's momentum, speed and direction. The Michigan does cause the player to stop skating and lose speed. Same with the between the legs deke and whatever deke is on A/X. 

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@HockeyAdvocate wrote: I'm sure there's enough profit margin to hire a consultant that has had actual high level pro hockey playing experience or someone in pro management that understands the basic fundamentals of the sport instead of relying on these influencers for direction who have no inclination of real high level hockey.

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