NHL 18 - thoughts on 3on3 as it pertains to goalies and eSports
Vidya link: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAe1qmB-9ew
Hey, long time no talk.
Here is a quick summary for the above video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAe1qmB-9ewHey, long time no talk.
Here is a quick summary for the above video:
- People are definitely concerned about the lack of goalie news - what we should be hoping for and asking for here is for EA to tackle a chunk of the (rather large) list of goalie bugs/issues. We don't need new features until the regular stuff works.
- 3on3 is EASHL for CLUB will have human goalie option
- The other 3on3 modes will be AI goalie
- The regular 3on3 modes will be on the fun small sized arcade rink.
- EASHL 3on3 will be on the full sized ice surface offering a more authentic 3on3 experience
- 3on3 is lots of fun, but definitely more a "challenge" mode for human Gs
- the mode is so fun and so different that I think it will be the most watched mode on twitch
- It probably has the best chance for NHL esports than any other mode.
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Here's my take on some of what you brought up:
3 vs. 3: I think it's going to be the new "flavour of the month" for NHL 18. It's going to be quick, simple, mindless fun. Perfect for the casual crowd who don't necessarily want to bother with learning all the rules and complexity of the sport. Just jump on the ice and do neat stuff like score highlight reel goals and land huge over the top hits. Now, is it going to be the mode that takes over EASHL? I don't think so. As fun as 3 v 3 might end up being, it's going to be far too superficial for it to be viable for very long. There's a reason why games like NBA Jam or even NFL Blitz (though extremely fun and competitive), aren't around anymore. Also, although I believe that 3 v 3 will be a huge hit on Youtube, Twitch and Mixer and the other streaming sites, the excitement will peter down quickly once all the novelty wears off. In fact, 3 v 3 might take away some of the shine away from the main modes of NHL 18 after people will have seen the same dekes, and hits, and defensive plays a BAJILLION times. The other aspect is 3 vs. 3 with Goalies (or 4 v 4). I think that if most of the bugs and glitches can be ironed from the current state of the goalies in NHL 17, then SKILLED Goalies may have a better chance in this mode. Sure, we'll still have to endure getting lit up by 3 or 4 times the amount of goals we'd normally see in 6s games, but we'll likely also end up with that same multiplier for saves made (and probably spectacular ones too). And that's ok, as long as Goalies go into this mode knowing they're not gonna be able to keep a GAA under 3.00 and a save % above 600.
Current state of the Goalies: This is the big question - Are the Devs going to be able to address the issues plaguing human goalies with this game? Nevermind the bugs and glitches and wonky functions we have to deal on a game to game basis now. The mechanics need to be more solid, the game needs to let us be much more CONSISTENT in how we make saves. Yes, weird bounces and deflections happen in real life. But in real life I'm in control of my limbs. So if a shot is a foot away and coming towards my trapper, I'm not gonna fall on my knees and tuck my limbs into my body and let the shot sail by. In real life, goalies can see pucks around a screen and they can pick up and react to a shot immediately after a screen. Puck covers need to resolve quicker and with better precision. We can't be mashing Y and have the goalie whiff covering a puck that's sitting two inches away from his pad, and then one of the opponents mashing poke check ends up driving the puck through our bodies and into the net. There's already an article that states that the devs went and fixed a few of the "LEGACY" issues with the goalies, like post hugging and quicker butterfly saves. That's a good start, but there's so much more to address before we as human goalies can even hope to compete with the forwards in this game. The philosophy of "Goalies gotta get sniped" has to be dropped, IMO, as this is a video game and unfortunately, we don't have full control of our bodies and limbs. So if a goalie comes out to challenge a shot and is in good position, that needs to be a save. Doesn't matter if the player is in "prime scoring position" or how good his shot is, goalies need to make that save 9 times out of 10... 9.6 times out of 10 even!!
If the scoring goes down a little bit, so be it. Winning a game 3-2 is as much of a win as a 10-4 drubbing. It might not be "exciting" for some people playing forward who like to pad their stats, but it has to be about MORE than just the Forwards having fun. We goalies deserve to have FUN too, we pay the same amount of money as they do to get the game. And frankly, I don't think the goalies have been as OVERPOWERED as the offense in any year of this series.
In any case, it'll be fun to see what the new game plays like. I'm looking forward to participate in the NHL 18 BETA if I get selected... No seriously, @jonlolol @NHLDev , make it happen pls!
I really don't understand this mentality. Esports has continued to grow steadily over the past several years and many people on these forums want to bury their heads in the sand and make snide remarks about it. Listen, it's going to happen whether you like it or not. No one is asking you to play it, but it would be a huge missed opportunity for the NHL team to not try and cash in on the trend.
NHL 3 on 3 mode is probably the best decision the dev team has made in years. It will eliminate the randomness and exploitation of AI when playing online. It sounds like it will be quick and fast paced which means if you get stuck with trolls, you likely won't have to endure them for 30+ minutes like you do currently.
It's about time NHL offered a less serious mode that focuses on fun. People complain every year that the game is just recycled modes and all they do is update rosters. Well here you go, they gave us a fresh mode that will likely bring in a lot of new players to the series and people are already complaining about it. I don't get it.
who is the #1 NHL streamer, what game mode does the person stream and what are the max number of viewers and avg. number of viewers per stream?
I honestly hope you're right and 6s is still the popular mode, but I honestly don't think that 3s is going to be that casual mode that gets old after a while. There's a real solid mix of individual skill and team chemistry at play. The games are super quick and rewarding. It's just my opinion of course and I could very well be wrong. Just going off the experience of playing it - I enjoyed it a lot. It felt very free and there was lots of room for creativity. As with anything a game changer says, take it with a grain of salt because we all know things can change over the course of a summer/beta/release.
As for your goalie comments I'm just going to stick with what I said in my original post that the issues with goalie need addressing before adding anything new. So I agree there.
Part of my absence is due to just not being able to say anything and also the fact that the issues with goalie have been the same for a long time now. I've got nothing to say. As soon as there is something to say I will be sure to let everyone know in one way or another.
NHL 17 Goalie Tips Playlist
EA Sports NHL Gamechanger (Goalies)
Yeah, well, while I don't disagree that it's going to be fun, I can see why many of you think that 3 v 3 may look like it's going to become THE favoured competitive mode. And I think it's partly because of you (and those at EA who are pushing this mode) are seeing a parallel with games like Rocket League, which is apparently entered E-sport status not too long ago. The problem I see with hoping 3 vs 3 staying popular for long is that, the reason a casual (but competitive) game like Rocket League has been viable and popular for so long is that it has constantly evolved. It started out with just being 2v2, 3v3 and 4v4 cars on half a dozen different "arenas", with about a good two dozen available cars you could trick out with custom accessories you would unlock over time. But then they added new game modes. New cars. New accessories. Also, that game doesn't suffer from yearly release cycle like NHL does. So yeah, I think people will like 3 v 3, and it may even be very popular for a while. But it won't offer anything new and eventually people will lose interest. Especially when NHL 19 comes out and all their progress from the previous version will be lost and they'll have to start all over again. That's also another thing Rocket League does well, is that your progress is permanent.
The other thing why I think some are seeing 3 v 3 as overtaking 6s is that this new mode was likely green lit after EA learned that the most played EASHL mode saw around 2.1 players on average per team/ per game which is likely true, but how many of those 2s and 3s games were simply a bunch of friends playing each other to unlock gear, logos and arenas and level up their clubs more quickly? Or to pad their stats to ridiculous numbers so that they could be "top" in the leaderboards?
I don't know... I think that 3 v 3 is going to form a split in the EASHL community early on, with many who want to just find a game quickly in Drop-ins opting for the 3 v 3 formula, while 6s will be mainly for Club and LG games. I can see Drop-in 6s be a thing of the past in NHL 18, except for those who are stubborn enough to want to wait and get lucky. I don't think the Goalie community will favor 3 v 3 though, and you know as well as I do why that's the case. People who play FWD will flock to this mode. People who play D but want to participate on offense a little more will also follow suit. But what goalie is going to want to subject themselves to a barrage of goals against? LOL. A few brave of us will likely try, but as soon as we get lit up with 15 goals in 10 minutes, while the FWDs chirp us that we can't stop a puck, we'll never touch it again.
That's my take, but yeah... we'll have to wait and see. I won't change and suddenly abandon 6s. As a goalie and as an LG player, 6s is where I'll be spending my time. 3 v 3 will be my go to mode when I wanna kill some time (and brain cells) while I wait for my club or my LG team to play it's next game.
I agree... ONE HUNNID!!
On a side note: quality chirp directed @jonlolol 's Paragon "skills"
I dont know about you guys, but only having to worry about two potential passing options instead of the regular four sounds like my cup of tea.
Opposing team wants to send someone close to the net hoping for an auto-no-look-deflection? Ok, your team will steal the puck and be on their way with a 2-on-1 the other direction.
I am absolutely terrible at that game. Haven't played since my 0-12 showing.
I'm sad you still feel that way barrett. I'd love for you to see what it's like to be a gamechanger but I'm sure they wouldn't let you within 100ft of the EA building.
Yeah honestly if you play a lot of drop in and are somehow good at it this mode may be good for you. Elite level Gs who have good defense in front of them might enjoy the change too. It'll be interesting to see how it plays.
NHL 17 Goalie Tips Playlist
EA Sports NHL Gamechanger (Goalies)
Jesus Jon not you!
Im not sure if I know what that "fun" word means anymore. But I think my head might explode if I hear that word again.
Anw, seems like hockey alone is not "fun" enough for you people, so you have to make it look this silly.
Do you not see the state the game is in? A large portion of the community has crippling lag.. The puck gets poked through the boards for a play stoppage for the 3rd year straight now... The amount of goals that go in because someone poked through the goalie to make contact with the puck is ridiculous.... there are so many inconsistencies in this game that it would be borderline embarrassing in an esports tournament
Well now, to be quite honest, I think 3 vs 3 will bring a welcome change of pace and also it will likely allow the casuals that like to complain about the "slow pace" of the game and how "boring" realism is to enjoy the game the way THEY want to. It's all about like minded people being able to play together the way THEY like to play without annoying the other side.
I really hope that somehow, this means that EASHL 6s will see a tweaking of the settings to make it more realistic (more ice friction, slightly less speed, longer periods, etc) while 3s will be put on more relaxed and arcadey settings so that things like skating and hitting are "easier".
There's nothing wrong with giving the userbase more CHOICES in how they can play the game. It's when EA tries to funnel everyone into playing ONE way, ONE preset for all online modes , ONE lobby, ONE club, COOKIE-CUTTER classes, etc... That's wrong.
Yeah Ven, I already saw your opinion on this before and I get what you're saying.
I'm curious on your view on this subject after the game is actually released and you'll spend some time with your new game and your deprioritized goalie position
Though i'm 1000000% sure Venom is absolutely livid about the state of goalies at this point.