Re: Lack of dual position players

@EA_BlueberryVery colourful explanation.. the chef bit lol.. yes when I go to somewhere like the Keg where I pay lots of money for steak supper and drinks, I expect it to be fairly good.. and if the chef makes it well done or burnt instead of medium, and I want my money back they will gladly refund me..

The ideas and potential behind the Franchise Mode is so good.. the coaches.. scouts.. chemistry.. X factors even.. very good ideas.. but it’s how they work.. which is they don’t work very well.. they get tossed in so that it can be unveiled as a new feature.. but it doesn’t actually get tuned and polished..
it’s like buying a brand new car, but they didn’t tighten the coolant clamps properly so while it runs.. it’s leaking coolant everywhere.. and every time you take it in to get fixed.. they glance over it and instead upgrade your cup holders.. or something you didn’t even need/want..
they’ve removed big things like editing players.. that’s a big one.. still don’t have a reason for it..
They removed the AHL and the juniors in the Be a Pro mode.. which just kills all immersion.. you just get picked in top ten for literally doing nothing.. no reward or satisfaction.. you can’t roleplay anymore.. can’t be an enforcer or stay at home defensive skater.. you’re just the next Gretzky..
there definitely need to be a relationship of trust with the devs… but so far there has been zero reasons to trust them.. I know they are competent at their jobs or they wouldn’t be employed.. so I don’t think they’re dumb or anything.. but something at EA prevents us players and customers from actually getting what we ask for..

being able to edit players again would really help with the lack of dual players.. and it lets us fix players they are incorrectly labeled by EA.. and let’s us fix their height.. weight.. etc etc because there are a lot of NHL players.. and lots of opportunities for EA to make mistakes.. having this unlocked would take the work load OFF the devs and put it onto us.. we are literally asking for them to give us the ability to lighten their load lol…

@EA_Blueberry 

I agree with you 100% and that’s what I was kind of getting at in regards to Playtesting. Both tools (Playtesting, tech test) are great resources to get valuable information out of the consumers.

It's great to get some eyes on the game that might not normally consider NHL and get their perspective, especially because they would have no previous bias and any way to attract new players i see as a win. 

Obviously the tech test is a great thing to get a feel for gameplay and what we like and don't like, my only concern is that since it is only WOC, the tech test for offline modes is essentially the release version (other than gamechangers). The last couple of years we have had to deal with major bugs being present for the first couple of months of a game that only has a one year lifespan. I know gameplay is always #1 as it should be and I think its safe to say everyone appreciates what is being done with the tech test, it seems widely popular so there must be some great feedback from it. It just seems to me that not all the boxes are being checked off with the current testing model.

Exactly this. I'm not sure if the devs are understanding a massive point the community wants bc maybe they are missing the idea of what is behind it. The ability to fully edit players in Franchise will help them so much. Like actually make their lives easier bc it gives Franchise mode so much replayability, longevity and content; and all they are doing is unlocking something which was always unlocked anyways. I reached out to a former dev and was told unlocking editing ability in an offline mode should be a relatively easy patch (and should be in any sports player management mode). I made a post about this in October, was told it was getting relayed, and clearly that went nowhere. It's a feature in literally every sports game in existence... except EA NHL since around 2020. The worst part is that there has been zero communication of why it was even removed despite making so many players unhappy and the community wanting to know bc it affects so much in franchise. Hopefully the dev team finally gets the feedback and fixes this in the near future

@EA_Blueberry  while we  are on this topic, I think it should include the ability to edit a players weight.  Currently the weight of a player on draft day is the weight for his career in franchise mode.  We always have players with "must bulk up " in the scouting report but the system doesn't make that happen for them, they simply stay the same weight.  I have to pass on drafting these otherwise elite players due to this. It stinks to see these players rot away in the AHL because they don't have the correct build. Example of this is a player I passed on in draft: height 6-1 weight 157 scouting report : must bulk up, elite TWD. Eight seasons later he is still 157 lbs and in the AHL.

@heavydutyrammer  I think they have thrown in the towel on Nhl22 and have moved on to 23 now

I like that they actually trying to implement new things.... but they always make the new things make you feel that they only did them half way and not fully (or fully tested).

Anyone who playes the mode could give them quite fast what isn´t working with the new thing, ans what needs to improve on them....

The thing that is strange is that there is a lot of game testing, lots of BETA testing, they have feedback people in their programs with youtubers, gamers etc.

And what I have seen and heard is that they got a lot of good feedback from them, but most of it doesn´t change the game before the launch anyway and thats is strange.

If the beta testing etc is just for show or is the deadline to important that they have to choose what to to improve and what not because of too little resources for everything that isn´t HUT?...