Spent some time away..
Spent some time away from this game and so happy I have. Until this game gets a lot of focus I'm done. I just can't pretend this is even a decent product at this point. Unisoft isn't the best comp...
Forum Discussion
@KidShowtime1867First off, I do appreciate your perspective on each topic, so thank you for that. I will agree to disagree, seeing that if you want to delve deep into it, EA on a whole was built by the offline player base (buying yearly games when there was no online feature). So I think the fact that there is little effort to fix the glitches, let alone the complete disregard to "be a pro" since its inception, there is reason for the offline player base to be upset/ on top of also losing presentation to the other part of the player base - this isn't complaining just to complain. It's real merit as we are also paying customers, so why are we just supposed to just accept it and praise them for not doing any real additions even fixing what has been broken, or even bringing back glitches that were fixed in prior games (created team flag in win celebration was fixed in NHL 21 but broken again in NHL 22 and up) Ultimately, EA is the cause and effect of why the offline player base has dropped and even some offline mode content creators either stopped completely or are creating content for older games (NHL 09 and up)
When it comes to the intro, you can easily use an older game as a reference seeing it is part of their library, just cause it's older and a few console generations back doesn't mean it's now null and void.. Isn't the basis to build on what you had and to strive to be better?
When it comes to the presentation, this was the marketing for NHL 23, and to be clear National anthems are not "New" seeing they were in prior EA NHL titles as well and were longer as well. I am not able to add the picture I have from marketing on the quick reply but let me state what it says " See all new ice projections for game intros, authentic projections from NHL teams in offline mode, 11 customizable intros for EASHL and offline modes, and 11 new national anthems in international modes"
If you look at this specifically, they did not state it was only a percentage of when it will show and also for the 5-6 teams. Now it is very subjective but using the words all new is the definition of adding something different and new to the game which is not the case.
When it comes to the intros, as I said, I am fine if they want to focus solely on online play but market it that way, so you deter the offline player base from buying the game. Also, look into every other sporting/ sports entertainment franchise, do we see any of them diminishing the presentation for the online experience? Even FC Soccer which did remove a bit of the presentation still has 100% more than NHL, not to mention, madden, UFC, and PGA tour (just to name the EA titles). So I am not sure why NHL would be different on this matter or the nature of the beast as you put it.
I have been an NHL EA fan since NHL 94 on Super NES and still own most of those games in my NHL physical game collection. I feel like there is fun to be had with this game if you look at it as an arcade experience but its easily a game or 2 a month now seeing other sports are willing to offer a full-priced AAA experience.
**updated. I was able to add the photo of the presentation promotion that was used on their official website**
@MasterB89 wrote:I will agree to disagree, seeing that if you want to delve deep into it, EA on a whole was built by the offline player base (buying yearly games when there was no online feature). So I think the fact that there is little effort to fix the glitches, let alone the complete disregard to "be a pro" since its inception, there is reason for the offline player base to be upset/ on top of also losing presentation to the other part of the player base - this isn't complaining just to complain. It's real merit as we are also paying customers, so why are we just supposed to just accept it and praise them for not doing any real additions even fixing what has been broken, or even bringing back glitches that were fixed in prior games (created team flag in win celebration was fixed in NHL 21 but broken again in NHL 22 and up) Ultimately, EA is the cause and effect of why the offline player base has dropped and even some offline mode content creators either stopped completely or are creating content for older games (NHL 09 and up)
I agree. I've played this game since NHLPA Hockey on the Sega. I used to be a HUGE offline guy. To the point where I'd be making daily visits to NHLDepot.net and TheBreakAway.net to download the latest community made mods like new jerseys, ice graphics, scoreboards from TSN, CBC, NBC, etc. My most obsessive offline habits were meticulously creating ditties for each team. Custom music, custom goal songs, adding my own crowd noise, editing the songs so they played the beefy parts (chorus, catchy intro) between whistles. Finding the perfect song for a fight or penalty. Curating playlists from around the league. IMO, the move from PC to console likely killed off a lot of the offline community. Being able to mod the game was huge.
Nowadays, with no PC version and the sealed environment of a console, you're forced to digest whatever EA puts out with no ability to improve or mod anything and honestly that killed my offline era. Playing against the A.I. also became cumbersome. Not necessarily because of bad gameplay or programming, although that's part of it - but because once online gaming made its way into my life - playing against a CPU opponent was just not satisfying. And I don't think I'm alone in that feeling by a long shot - and I think this is why EA puts so much focus on online modes because they're the most accessed and used mode in the game by far. It sucks for those who still enjoy the offline immersion. I agree with that. I wish both offline and online players could see substantive changes every year but considering the timeframe between releases and the relatively small development team, it's just not realistic.
@MasterB89 wrote: When it comes to the intro, you can easily use an older game as a reference seeing it is part of their library, just cause it's older and a few console generations back doesn't mean it's now null and void.. Isn't the basis to build on what you had and to strive to be better?
I agree and I often wonder why animations used in pre-game intros from years back aren't recycled & re-polished for the newer games, saving much time and effort. I'm sure there are technical reasons; some of those elements may just be obsolete/incompatible in terms of their injection into the newer game engine. But for your average consumer who doesn't pay too much attention to that stuff, it's no surprise that they would look back at the intro/presentation from NHL 14 or earlier when they had the NBC package and think; 'why has presentation gotten worse rather than better?". I can't disagree with that and although I'm familiar with the underlying technical reasons why that might be, it's not reasonable to expect everyone else to get that.
@MasterB89 wrote:
When it comes to the presentation, this was the marketing for NHL 23, and to be clear National anthems are not "New" seeing they were in prior EA NHL titles as well and were longer as well.
You're right in that previous years did have national anthems. Heck, even NHL 98 had them:
However, when EA says something is 'New' - it doesn't necessarily mean that it's new in terms of never having ever been included in the series before. I know EA gets a lot of flack for 'adding things that have been in the game before' but this statement fails to recognize the deep changes that get made year-over-year. Sometimes things like pre-game national anthems took a back seat to more pressing things like introducing the skill stick, injecting new lighting techniques into the engine, fixing the underlying engine to run on newer consoles, etc etc.
So when it comes to the "new" National Anthem pre-game animation, it is new in the sense that the anthems are something that had not been seen in this generation of the game.
@MasterB89 wrote: " See all new ice projections for game intros, authentic projections from NHL teams in offline mode, 11 customizable intros for EASHL and offline modes, and 11 new national anthems in international modes"
If you look at this specifically, they did not state it was only a percentage of when it will show and also for the 5-6 teams. Now it is very subjective but using the words all new is the definition of adding something different and new to the game which is not the case.
But they also didn't state this was for all teams. It goes both ways. In addition to what I said above about the anthems, you have to remember that adding the anthems into the game would require all new animations. I understand a national anthem at a hockey game hasn't changed since NHL 98 - players still stand at the blue line, etc. But those animations all have to be recreated. Those are all new animations (in spite of not being a new 'feature') so it is technically new.
@MasterB89 wrote: When it comes to the intros, as I said, I am fine if they want to focus solely on online play but market it that way, so you deter the offline player base from buying the game.
You make it seem like they completely ignore the offline modes every year. I don't think that's fair. Sure, they could get more love and attention, but there ARE offline additions made every year based on feedback from the offline community. It sucks that EA adopted the current Be a Pro role-playing type of mode because without consistent additions, it gets stale quickly. I think they were under pressure to produce a mode like that based on what FIFA and Madden were doing. I feel they should break away from the role-playing elements like conversations with the coach, deciding to go out with players and such and bring the focus back to players acquiring attributes for executing certain tasks, improving in-game presentation, allowing some online integration, etc.
@MasterB89 wrote: Also, look into every other sporting/ sports entertainment franchise, do we see any of them diminishing the presentation for the online experience?
Yes. UFC 5 removed fighter introductions from online play in favor of character selection screen emotes. Full fighter introductions are only available in offline modes, and even then it's been watered down considerably. You used to have the entire Bruce Buffer flow including every detail, right down to introducing the referee who will be officiating the fight. Now, Bruce doesn't even announce the fighter's height/weight, record, etc. For offline immersion, it sucks. But online, it speeds everything up.
