Forum Discussion

Vansnaak's avatar
Vansnaak
Seasoned Novice
2 months ago

A lot of whining I hear

Just a couple of thoughts...

Despite all the flaws we all mention, it is still the best ice hockey simulation out there.  Not because it is the only one, but despite it being the only one. The devs do not have real competition in the shape of another hockey game on the market but from what I see they really try to make a solid game anyway. Anyway, if you watch any hockey game on TV or even if you play real hockey you know that it is not robotic and many passes and shots miss their target. The game is oftentimes comprised of a lot of inaccuracies and incomplete plays and even when you try hard and have a lot of good things going you end up losing. And as I have mentioned in another post on this forum losing is not always a bad thing. Believe me, I played EA´s NHL games for two decades and it is not fun to win every game 9:1, so current state is OK.

So I strongly encourage you to use a slider to fine-tune hitting or any other aspect of the game you feel is over or underpowered and then do not hesitate to share your experiences.

For instance, recently I toned down AI´s hitting power to 10 and increased penalty calling to 90 and the game became to my feeling much more real-life-like. At the end of the game, I got 14 hits vs 24, while I am not focusing on a hitting style of the game.

Feel free to tear me apart :-) with comments

 

 

  • I'm glad you're having fun with the game mate but the online portion is, unfortunately, riddled to the max with issues.

    First time in 14 years my team is taking an official break

  • Sounds like you play only offline so your opinion on the state of how the game plays or the overall quality of the game instantly becomes irrelevant when you can tune sliders and play on rookie or make it easier for you and then call the game a good product shows how out to lunch you really are. This just straight up glazing EA. They don't make a good game lol it only has the player base it does because it IS the only hockey game available to play. To call it a simulation is also laughable, it's absolutely arcade-y af. 

    • MasterB89's avatar
      MasterB89
      Seasoned Adventurer

      I don't think anyone opinion should be irrelevant. I am also an offline player and have been through many years where the focus was not a hockey experience whatsoever - with gameplay that was on the level of an "expensive game of pond hockey". 

      This gameplay is closer to how it was prior and is easily amore simulated experience - with less speed, stamina and a need for more skill based hockey plays - don't get me wrong its not not perfect by any means and is still full of random glitches, but it is better then prior years. There is actual needs to dump the puck for a line change, make quick passes to get into a zone (instead of just speed boosting past the dman), risk and reward to going for a check or keeping a line out for too long. Goalies are still so and so but I feel they are slightly improved over last year (not by much - there is still some weird animations). 

      I have played 87 games in my franchise and have to say that for me playing on a hard difficulty that its the most fun I have had since NHL 21. 

      I know that the online experience isn't the same so I can see and understand players complaints there, especially with the removal of the matchmaking thing that was used. I know that feels cause it was the same for me when they removed full presentation.   

  • Vansnaak's avatar
    Vansnaak
    Seasoned Novice

    Yes, you are right. Most of the time I play a season offline.

    Sometimes I play against friends, we do sort of a tournament or a mini league.

    I did play couple of online games though.