Community Manager
According to whom did the elimination of these controls become one of the key focuses of the future of this series? Where is that poll? If there is one, and that's a big "if", it should have been stickied to the top of this forum, over the last year, and the community feedback would have been clear and concise for all to see. Assumptions, guesses, excuses, no proof, etc., shouldn't make it into the final release.
And ultimately, WE, the community, aka paying customers, should be the deciding factors as to what gets implemented into this game.
And I, for one, wanted ZERO changes to the controls. I DIDN'T ask for my already handicapped human goaltending (I mainly goaltend/auto goalie, as they're hand it hand in not actually allowing me to be a hockey video game goalie) to be tethered. Where's that poll?
For example, when I was allowed to have control of the goalie, on PS5, I use the R2 button to go into the butterfly position. And that's dependent upon where the puck is, especially when it's close to the crease. Over the last several years, by pressing the R2 button and the X button, at the same time, your goalie character would have the stick, blocker and pad on the ice to help alleviate/save a potential low shot. In NHL '24, that X button option is gone. Why eliminate that option, and further handicap an already handicapped (human) goalie?
You know, I have read that keeping the game "fresh" has become a focal point of this series. That's an absolutely ridiculous stand point, and a pretentious one. Yeah, all of us have our opinions, but here's some facts:
This game has been broken, for years. I'm currently on PS5, digital downloads since NHL '17, and only the last couple have had some flashing shapes and stroboscopic effects during online gameplay. Why?
What you want doesn't reflect the ENTIRE COMMUNITY. Crossplay, from this vantage point, hasn't benefitted my online enjoyment, at all. In fact, getting either paired with and/or against the other console has caused many issues. We're either lagged all game long, and/or the other console players have purposely and completely "forgot" that hockey is a team sport. I often get paired with the latter, especially during NHL Threes Eliminator, but that same sentiment holds true for many online modes. But even more seriously, why is crossplay, especially with the lacklustre servers, even that important? When this wasn't a thing, I was playing online a lot. Now, because I've decided to turn off this atrocity, I'm now waiting ridiculous amounts of time to play an online game. Crossplay on = GARBAGE. Crossplay off = MUCH MORE GARBAGE.
And speaking of Matchmaking, GARBAGE. A team of randoms vs a club. How in the blue hell are a bunch of individuals supposed to compete with that? You lose 100% of the games that aren't team-play oriented and/or a cohesive unit. There was a time, in the early stages of the online portion of this game, where narcissism and individuality didn't infest this great sport. Now, well, teamwork, respecting the sport, etc., have drastically diminished. These are the random teams that I'm put on. Before crossplay, I had found, played, enjoyed and looked forward to EASHL. Now, it's completely and utterly GARBAGE.
This series, and at least over the last couple of iterations, GARBAGE.
