Re: Franchise Mode Line Chemistry
They absolutely need to do a better job at explaining how things work in franchise mode. There are so many things that I have questions for that I will probably never get an answer to.
I have to agree with @SkylerJames13 that they should not take anything from HUT and apply it to franchise mode as before you know it, they will blend them into one and I don’t have any good things to say about HUT myself. I think they should leave player types as is, but as I’ve said before have it be generated based on attributes and not random that way we don’t have to worry about changing them to what they should be all the time and in the case of drafted players, not have that ability at all.
While coaching needs some major work, I don’t think they need to completely tear it down and reinvent it in order for it to be successful.
This is kind of how I would like it to work. First, let us select a foundational player (or two) at the start of each season. Our coaches would automatically adjust their strategies to match what our players preferences are. This would solve the issues of having or acquiring star players and not being able to find a coach whose system they fit. Players should also always have the same preferences each time you start a franchise, not be random.
We should be able to start a conversation with the coach if we are underperforming to ask them to change their strategies instead of just firing them right away. They wouldn’t always agree and higher rated coaches would be more reluctant to change them.
Chemistry needs to have some sort of performance enhancement or deterrent based on how that line is doing during the season. I would keep it pretty simple, have it based on total line PPG and total line plus/minus. Allow us to gain or lose 1 or 2 points for each stat but make the second one have to be really extraordinary in either direction to achieve.
Leave primary coaching style as is (offensive, defensive, balanced) and add a secondary coaching style that we can select for our top 6 fwd, bottom 6 fwd and defense. These styles could be something like speed, skill, checking, physical, balance, etc. The combination of primary and secondary styles would determine what player types fit best on each line so we have many more ways to set our lines and be able to achieve the +5 boost. Since they took the time to add secondary positions, have this actually be a factor in line chemistry.
Of course, all these changes and boosts don’t mean anything unless team and player overalls actually matter. I do notice a boost in individual performance when line combos get the boost (which is how it should be) but team performance is still random for both my team and AI controlled teams. If you look at the NHL standings right now and in previous years, for the most part they are exactly as predicted. This is how it should be in the game as well, the better your team overall, the better they are in the regular season. So, if my team is a 90 OVR and my average boost from chemistry is +5, my team should perform like a 95 OVR team. Of course, there’s always a few teams that over or under achieve and that’s fine, but it can’t be as completely random as it is now, especially with how they have changed the team status to buyer, seller, etc. Playoffs are a different animal though and the type of team you build may not always automatically lead to success even with a top rating.
At the end of the day, the coaching system they have now has already got to the point where I don’t want to have to deal with it and it is less than 2 years old. Everything about it is random and buggy. There’s really only one way to build your team with the player types that work with every coach and the fact that player or coach preferences don't change throughout the franchise causes chemistry to get stale very quickly as once you find the right fit, there is never any need to change anything.
