EA NHL team can be quoted saying they reviewed the potential benefits and problems with moving NHL to frostbite by looking at other EA titles that are currently on Frostbite.
They decided it wasn’t reallt worth it. And knowing what I have read from things life FIFA boards/subs I’m inclined to believe them. Frostbite wouldn’t have been a be all end all solution.
Yup. Gotta do your own research on the good and bad. I've heard things on both sides of the fence. At this point, anything coded from the ground up while finally getting rid of the things that are regurgitated year after year would be nice.
And they’re doing that. From what I have read, nearly everything in WoC was rebuilt. There’s a quote from their article about Club Challenge that I think helps speak to the big picture. The development of the World of CHEL required a rewrite of our online dressing room...
This year, EASHL took on a significant tech overhaul because of the addition of World of CHEL. The changes to the Dressing Room will set us up to be far more flexible with features in the future...
I have more downtime than I care to admit. I spend most days on Reddit, ESPN, Amazon, and any board of a game I’m currently playing. To stay as informed as I can.
One think that’s very noticible is that no matter what the producers/devs do, there’s always going to be a crowd that’s unhappy.
People complained there were too many people picking D and playing 4th forward all game. Ea tries to remedy it by wanting users to select F/D/G prior to dropping in. Crowd complains that it’s the reason they can’t find 6v6 lobbies. It was a good idea as a fix, but now people realized there was an overwhelming population of players who only wanted to play F. People who dropped in at D/G had a much higher rate of finding full 6v6 games. Just one example of not being to make everyone happy.
Drop-in matchmaking is currently having massive issues. That’s a fact. It’ll be fixed when it’s fixed. Until then reading loads of posts about the same topic has been so much fun the last week.
EA NHL team can be quoted saying they reviewed the potential benefits and problems with moving NHL to frostbite by looking at other EA titles that are currently on Frostbite.
They decided it wasn’t reallt worth it. And knowing what I have read from things life FIFA boards/subs I’m inclined to believe them. Frostbite wouldn’t have been a be all end all solution.
Yup. Gotta do your own research on the good and bad. I've heard things on both sides of the fence. At this point, anything coded from the ground up while finally getting rid of the things that are regurgitated year after year would be nice.
And they’re doing that. From what I have read, nearly everything in WoC was rebuilt. There’s a quote from their article about Club Challenge that I think helps speak to the big picture. The development of the World of CHEL required a rewrite of our online dressing room...
This year, EASHL took on a significant tech overhaul because of the addition of World of CHEL. The changes to the Dressing Room will set us up to be far more flexible with features in the future...
The dressing rooms are garbage and were not ready for prime time. With the broken matchmaking in drop-in, you are forced to back out of the matchup screen (seriously, 3v2 when searching for 6's?) and then invite your friends every time after all the button presses and laggy transitions just to get to that point. Also, the dressing room does not stay together after the game. This is a huge downgrade from NHL 18.
If they can not match the feature set of the previous game, then the re-design should not be implemented until it is ready. We should not be taking steps backwards. Poor project management. No excuses.
EA NHL team can be quoted saying they reviewed the potential benefits and problems with moving NHL to frostbite by looking at other EA titles that are currently on Frostbite.
They decided it wasn’t reallt worth it. And knowing what I have read from things life FIFA boards/subs I’m inclined to believe them. Frostbite wouldn’t have been a be all end all solution.
Yup. Gotta do your own research on the good and bad. I've heard things on both sides of the fence. At this point, anything coded from the ground up while finally getting rid of the things that are regurgitated year after year would be nice.
And they’re doing that. From what I have read, nearly everything in WoC was rebuilt. There’s a quote from their article about Club Challenge that I think helps speak to the big picture. The development of the World of CHEL required a rewrite of our online dressing room...
This year, EASHL took on a significant tech overhaul because of the addition of World of CHEL. The changes to the Dressing Room will set us up to be far more flexible with features in the future...
The dressing rooms are garbage and were not ready for prime time. With the broken matchmaking in drop-in, you are forced to back out of the matchup screen (seriously, 3v2 when searching for 6's?) and then invite your friends every time after all the button presses and laggy transitions just to get to that point. Also, the dressing room does not stay together after the game. This is a huge downgrade from NHL 18.
If they can not match the feature set of the previous game, then the re-design should not be implemented until it is ready. We should not be taking steps backwards. Poor project management. No excuses.
We complain they don't do enough change and hopefully they learn to quit messing around with menus and other things that aren't presentation or gameplay related. Just give us simple easy menus with a good backbone behind it.
EA NHL team can be quoted saying they reviewed the potential benefits and problems with moving NHL to frostbite by looking at other EA titles that are currently on Frostbite.
They decided it wasn’t reallt worth it. And knowing what I have read from things life FIFA boards/subs I’m inclined to believe them. Frostbite wouldn’t have been a be all end all solution.
Yup. Gotta do your own research on the good and bad. I've heard things on both sides of the fence. At this point, anything coded from the ground up while finally getting rid of the things that are regurgitated year after year would be nice.
And they’re doing that. From what I have read, nearly everything in WoC was rebuilt. There’s a quote from their article about Club Challenge that I think helps speak to the big picture. The development of the World of CHEL required a rewrite of our online dressing room...
This year, EASHL took on a significant tech overhaul because of the addition of World of CHEL. The changes to the Dressing Room will set us up to be far more flexible with features in the future...
The dressing rooms are garbage and were not ready for prime time. With the broken matchmaking in drop-in, you are forced to back out of the matchup screen (seriously, 3v2 when searching for 6's?) and then invite your friends every time after all the button presses and laggy transitions just to get to that point. Also, the dressing room does not stay together after the game. This is a huge downgrade from NHL 18.
If they can not match the feature set of the previous game, then the re-design should not be implemented until it is ready. We should not be taking steps backwards. Poor project management. No excuses.
We complain they don't do enough change and hopefully they learn to quit messing around with menus and other things that aren't presentation or gameplay related. Just give us simple easy menus with a good backbone behind it.
Functionality is king. I am fine with just basic text menus if they have a nice flow and I can do what I want quickly. The transitions and loading of player models are unnecessary and just slow everything down. Then you got the roster checks and whatever else is going on behind the scenes. Very annoying.
I don't think people complain about lack of change as much as lack of improvement. They need to polish and refine what is already there. The change to clown gear and outdoor rink is a downgrade. The menus are a downgrade. The matchmaking is broken. What a frustrating experience. I like the changes to the skating and hitting, but little else.
I find this year's gameplay very sloppy. I only play EASHL....
- AI is overpowered and can shadow and strip you of the puck very easily.
- Stick lifts are OP from behind.
- Nudges from behind are still annoying as hell.
- Poke check is still not balanced well enough. I do not feel confident in pokes as I seem to be getting calls when I don't feel I am in bad position. There needs to be a little more leniency as the fidelity is not there in terms of placement of the poke. I do not spam.
- Puck control is too low. It is hard to create space as you lose the puck around players so easily.
- Cluster pucks with a group of players are a joke as possession will change hands 10 times in 5 seconds with the auto puck grabs/stick lifts.
- Hard to do good puck movement as so many passes get intercepted.
- When you do setup a good play, the goalie makes a ridiculous save while letting in terrible goals.
- Board play is still broken as the AI can suck you into the boards.
- Poking or reaching for a loose puck along the boards is a high percentage for a trip.
- Saucer passes seem to be all over the place.
- AI are still super dumb around the net and make poor decisions and don't have proper path-finding.
- AI still dump the puck out of the zone when a pass to an open team mate is the better option.
There is more that I dislike, but I will leave it at that.
One other thing that is worth noting.... Our club still does not have the ability to apply our logo to the jersey after many games. I don't know if it unlocks in a stupid loot bag or what. This is ridiculous. This should be available right from the start.
EA NHL team can be quoted saying they reviewed the potential benefits and problems with moving NHL to frostbite by looking at other EA titles that are currently on Frostbite.
They decided it wasn’t reallt worth it. And knowing what I have read from things life FIFA boards/subs I’m inclined to believe them. Frostbite wouldn’t have been a be all end all solution.
Yup. Gotta do your own research on the good and bad. I've heard things on both sides of the fence. At this point, anything coded from the ground up while finally getting rid of the things that are regurgitated year after year would be nice.
And they’re doing that. From what I have read, nearly everything in WoC was rebuilt. There’s a quote from their article about Club Challenge that I think helps speak to the big picture. The development of the World of CHEL required a rewrite of our online dressing room...
This year, EASHL took on a significant tech overhaul because of the addition of World of CHEL. The changes to the Dressing Room will set us up to be far more flexible with features in the future...
The dressing rooms are garbage and were not ready for prime time. With the broken matchmaking in drop-in, you are forced to back out of the matchup screen (seriously, 3v2 when searching for 6's?) and then invite your friends every time after all the button presses and laggy transitions just to get to that point. Also, the dressing room does not stay together after the game. This is a huge downgrade from NHL 18.
If they can not match the feature set of the previous game, then the re-design should not be implemented until it is ready. We should not be taking steps backwards. Poor project management. No excuses.
We complain they don't do enough change and hopefully they learn to quit messing around with menus and other things that aren't presentation or gameplay related. Just give us simple easy menus with a good backbone behind it.
I'd take NHL 13 or 14 menus any day over these tiles and transitions.
EA NHL team can be quoted saying they reviewed the potential benefits and problems with moving NHL to frostbite by looking at other EA titles that are currently on Frostbite.
They decided it wasn’t reallt worth it. And knowing what I have read from things life FIFA boards/subs I’m inclined to believe them. Frostbite wouldn’t have been a be all end all solution.
Yup. Gotta do your own research on the good and bad. I've heard things on both sides of the fence. At this point, anything coded from the ground up while finally getting rid of the things that are regurgitated year after year would be nice.
And they’re doing that. From what I have read, nearly everything in WoC was rebuilt. There’s a quote from their article about Club Challenge that I think helps speak to the big picture. The development of the World of CHEL required a rewrite of our online dressing room...
This year, EASHL took on a significant tech overhaul because of the addition of World of CHEL. The changes to the Dressing Room will set us up to be far more flexible with features in the future...
The dressing rooms are garbage and were not ready for prime time. With the broken matchmaking in drop-in, you are forced to back out of the matchup screen (seriously, 3v2 when searching for 6's?) and then invite your friends every time after all the button presses and laggy transitions just to get to that point. Also, the dressing room does not stay together after the game. This is a huge downgrade from NHL 18.
If they can not match the feature set of the previous game, then the re-design should not be implemented until it is ready. We should not be taking steps backwards. Poor project management. No excuses.
We complain they don't do enough change and hopefully they learn to quit messing around with menus and other things that aren't presentation or gameplay related. Just give us simple easy menus with a good backbone behind it.
I'd take NHL 13 or 14 menus any day over these tiles and transitions.
What they need to do is give us the ability to save a EASHL tile to the main screen. Or even better, a 6's tile that would take us right to the dressing room.
"People don't want smart AI. They want AI that are dumb enough to make people believe they're playing against Humans..." - Cliff (Cliffy B.) Bleszinski.
People don't want to play vs. Dumb AI to promote playing against Humans. People just don't want to play with dumb teammates whether they be human or bots. For an example of this, just pop into a random drop-in game and see the RD or LD run around like complete noobs, allowing breakaways after breakaways, not picking up the open man waiting for the one timer in front of the net or even sprawling across the goal crease prone, then tell me you want dumb AI that act the same way.
I get the "Chel bruh" stance on skill-zoning, but if you really wanted EA to get rid of it, then two things need to be done:
1 - Fix the player swapping once and for all. Pressing B (or Circle) should switch you to the player closest to the puck, facing the puck. NOT BEHIND THE PLAY!
2 - Make the AI play smart positioning, but that's it. With the combination of the above fix, it would allow users to be able to switch to the correct player on the fly. Instead, because AI positioning is abysmal in this game, coupled with the horrible player switching, it promotes the habit of NOT wanting to switch around and play the puck handler for fear of getting switched over to the WRONG player and allowing a scoring chance...
I consider myself good enough to shadow the play on defense. But there are sometimes where the AI just goes absolutely insane, sending TWO players chasing the puck handler when I'M ALREADY THERE. Now I can't switch to the open player, because there's no AI there. And if I take the player I'm already controlling to try and pick him up, I'm often too late. Knowing this, I'm going to play AWAY from the puck holder and pick up the open man rather than risk changing players because the AI is already ridiculously BAD.
As for the FROSTBITE issue... *sigh*... You guys do know that FROSTBITE is a rendering engine right? Not a completely new coding language. It won't change the game fundamentaly, but it will change how EA handles assets within the game. For an example of this, search Youtube for Legend of Zelda: Orcarina of Time in Unreal 4.
I have to agree with this game being garbage. This game seems to get more frustrating and less fun to play every year in this console generation. It takes so long to find a game outside of ones. The poke check has gone from spam fest to the poke check button becoming the penalty button. The stick checking has become like a light Saber battle for the puck (maybe they can give that code the the battlefront team). The ai is either beast mode or dumb pylons depending on the ai lottery. The skating has improved this year being more responsive but doesn't overcome the other flaws which result in games having no flow with all the penalties and atmosphere being so dull especially in drop in. This was probably the last nhl game I bought and won't be playing it much unless there is some major fixes, just no fun. Tired of this game having the same bugs/glitches year after year and especially for the price of a triple A title.
Reading through this thread It seems many people agree that this game was an unfinished product when released.
I think everyone has a common goal: We really hope that EA can patch this game that we all paid a lot of money for to correct the online EASHL/WoC gameplay so that we can play within 5 minutes through matchmaking, in normal arena's as normal NHL teams, with announcers, with loud crowds, and with skating mechanics that are on par with the demographic's expectations. In general, we care about playing hockey and not about clothing garments found in loot boxes (You really missed the mark here EA)
Every year it seems that EA has a bunch of directors and business employees in a room deciding what should happen with this game in order to maximize profit and appeal to gamers. This business focused vision obviously isn't working. EA should invest on the gamers (customers) they already have bought in to the franchise through backend marketing. This is simply reaching out to the people who spend hundreds of hours playing NHL and performing focus groups, surveys, and investing in a beta program that targets power users. However, all of this back end data is worthless without leadership that will take action. I've lost faith in Rammer.
Someone earlier said "Oh this is just the normal whining when a new game comes out". I'd have to disagree, I've played for many years and have never posted my frustrations. I've honestly boxed up my xbox until either A) this game is patched or next year's game corrects these bad decisions. I can't imagine a team of 250 NHL developers, testers, and business folks can't correct this poor product, they have released good products in the past.
I should have clarified when I wrote the original post: I only play one game mode and that is EASHL (World of CHEL) Drop-In's. I don't play the other modes, I simply don't have the time and I'm not interested in paying money for HUT cards or loot boxes. Those modes could be working flawlessly, but I would never know.
Reading through this thread It seems many people agree that this game was an unfinished product when released.
I think everyone has a common goal: We really hope that EA can patch this game that we all paid a lot of money for to correct the online EASHL/WoC gameplay so that we can play within 5 minutes through matchmaking, in normal arena's as normal NHL teams, with announcers, with loud crowds, and with skating mechanics that are on par with the demographic's expectations. In general, we care about playing hockey and not about clothing garments found in loot boxes (You really missed the mark here EA)
Every year it seems that EA has a bunch of directors and business employees in a room deciding what should happen with this game in order to maximize profit and appeal to gamers. This business focused vision obviously isn't working. EA should invest on the gamers (customers) they already have bought in to the franchise through backend marketing. This is simply reaching out to the people who spend hundreds of hours playing NHL and performing focus groups, surveys, and investing in a beta program that targets power users. However, all of this back end data is worthless without leadership that will take action. I've lost faith in Rammer.
Someone earlier said "Oh this is just the normal whining when a new game comes out". I'd have to disagree, I've played for many years and have never posted my frustrations. I've honestly boxed up my xbox until either A) this game is patched or next year's game corrects these bad decisions. I can't imagine a team of 250 NHL developers, testers, and business folks can't correct this poor product, they have released good products in the past.
I should have clarified when I wrote the original post: I only play one game mode and that is EASHL (World of CHEL) Drop-In's. I don't play the other modes, I simply don't have the time and I'm not interested in paying money for HUT cards or loot boxes. Those modes could be working flawlessly, but I would never know.
I understand this frustration...because the drop in search when running solo is broken...
Everything else is great and a lot of fun.
Last year...If friends weren’t on...I could solo drop and find a 6s no problem.
I’m sure they will figure it out though.
EA NHL team can be quoted saying they reviewed the potential benefits and problems with moving NHL to frostbite by looking at other EA titles that are currently on Frostbite.
They decided it wasn’t reallt worth it. And knowing what I have read from things life FIFA boards/subs I’m inclined to believe them. Frostbite wouldn’t have been a be all end all solution.
Yup. Gotta do your own research on the good and bad. I've heard things on both sides of the fence. At this point, anything coded from the ground up while finally getting rid of the things that are regurgitated year after year would be nice.
If this were true you wouldn't hear people say the game is just a roster update every year. It's hockey. There's only so many ways you can change it up. In the end, it's still going to be about recreating this sport in a video game as authentically as possible. You're always bound by those rules. As evidenced with some people this year, they don't like change. For them playing on a pond ruins the immersion. That's just one example. It's like, give us all something new and revolutionary, but make it like it was 10 years ago
Reading through this thread It seems many people agree that this game was an unfinished product when released.
I think everyone has a common goal: We really hope that EA can patch this game that we all paid a lot of money for to correct the online EASHL/WoC gameplay so that we can play within 5 minutes through matchmaking, in normal arena's as normal NHL teams, with announcers, with loud crowds, and with skating mechanics that are on par with the demographic's expectations. In general, we care about playing hockey and not about clothing garments found in loot boxes (You really missed the mark here EA)
Every year it seems that EA has a bunch of directors and business employees in a room deciding what should happen with this game in order to maximize profit and appeal to gamers. This business focused vision obviously isn't working. EA should invest on the gamers (customers) they already have bought in to the franchise through backend marketing. This is simply reaching out to the people who spend hundreds of hours playing NHL and performing focus groups, surveys, and investing in a beta program that targets power users. However, all of this back end data is worthless without leadership that will take action. I've lost faith in Rammer.
Someone earlier said "Oh this is just the normal whining when a new game comes out". I'd have to disagree, I've played for many years and have never posted my frustrations. I've honestly boxed up my xbox until either A) this game is patched or next year's game corrects these bad decisions. I can't imagine a team of 250 NHL developers, testers, and business folks can't correct this poor product, they have released good products in the past.
I should have clarified when I wrote the original post: I only play one game mode and that is EASHL (World of CHEL) Drop-In's. I don't play the other modes, I simply don't have the time and I'm not interested in paying money for HUT cards or loot boxes. Those modes could be working flawlessly, but I would never know.
I understand this frustration...because the drop in search when running solo is broken... Everything else is great and a lot of fun.
Last year...If friends weren’t on...I could solo drop and find a 6s no problem.
I’m sure they will figure it out though.
Everything else is not great at all. Let's pretend that the terrible new drop-in format was actually good.... There is still so much wrong with the game. Look at the issues listed in my previous post. Other people have also mentioned how sloppy the game is, lack of flow, and no space out there to create nice plays. The game is not that fun to play. I honestly believe some of you guys are payed shills for EA trying to spin the game in a positive light. Way too optimistic. We are not having any of it.
I am an OG NHL player since the original game on Genesis, and I have spent thousands of hours with EASHL. This series has been going downhill for a while and the declining sales and community are directly related to the quality (or lack thereof). The EA NHL series is poorly managed with poor decisions being made. It is a shame there is no longer any competition to keep EA in check. There has been plenty of good feedback over the years by myself and others, but very little improves and many things get worse. It is very frustrating to be a part of.
I remember when EASHL was thriving with multiple club dressing rooms, packed drop-in lobbies, dedicated EASHL forums with people talking about player builds and recruiting players, the old EA Sports World site, and all that good stuff. Now we can't even get a proper 6's game going. What a joke.
The gameplay is the best it’s ever been for sure.
Not sure what you mean by your statement about “no space out there to create plays”
No offense...but you sound bitter...the broken matching making...ya I get that...besides that though...the game is a lot of fun.
where's catfish and rainbow to tell you how great this game is and that you just suck at it? figured they would've been the first to respond
So, it's ok for you to think the game is trash, but it isn't ok for anyone to say the like it?
It's fine to say you like it. I even enjoy it at times. However, there's a difference between that and then repeatedly telling people the only issue with the game is matchmaking. And doing it in such a way that the matchmaking is somehow just a small, trivial issue while everything else is perfect.
Well, I wouldn't say everything else is perfect, but come on. Game play is the best it's been in probably over 6 years. They have added tons of customization vs any other release.
Sure, MM is a disaster, that is a given, but the rest is pretty good for a new year with a new engine. Better than 15 was anyways. And I'm totally fine with poke checking in case that is what you're getting at. Once people realize defense is about containment before just stealing the puck for constant breakaways, the better off they will be.
NHL 19 has a new engine?? Did I miss something? Or are you just talking about the new skating mechanics? I like to grade things as a whole and OPs post basically looks at the larger picture than the one or two things that people are so proud about. For the most part, it's basically a $30 carbon copy sold for $70+.
Yes, the new skating and collision engine that replaced TPS.
Not trying to attack you, but it seems you are hellbent on trashing the game regardless of what people respond to you. You are entitled to hate the game all you want, but are beginning to sound pretty biased at this point.
You do know people we're hoping for en entirely new engine, right? Frostbite. Changing the skating and hitting mechanics, isn't an engine change. It just seems like they added animations and hitting points and that's about it.
I'm not biased. I'm just one of the many people who will continue to voice their concerns. Thankfully, there are many people out there like myself (like OP), who aren't afraid to voice thier opinions and call it like it is. These are legitimate gripes. Some of them are even game breaking and you're telling me I'm biased against broken things not yet fixed in a game I paid for?
And what do you think Frostbite will do for the game? Do you realize the amount of work required, and that absolutely everything will have to be redone by switching to Frostbite?
You asking me what's the point of building the game up from the ground up with an updated engine and questioning whether or not the time required to do so would benefit the userbase is.. saddening.
For the most part, as a developer myself, yes.. I do know what the amount of work it takes to improve upon software. You know, I can make a thread and see what the reactions would be I'd people would wait or even skip a year for a game built again from the ground up.
You still haven't answered what you think Frostbite will bring to the game.
I'm on mobile. I can't do everything for you. FIFA and Madden switched to Frostbite for their games this year. Just check and see what changed with those implementations.
I don't care what people are saying about other games. I want to know specifically what you think Frostbite will bring to NHL. Don't see how being on a mobile prevents you from expressing an opinion, which you seem to clearly be able to do on a bunch of other topics here.
where's catfish and rainbow to tell you how great this game is and that you just suck at it? figured they would've been the first to respond
So, it's ok for you to think the game is trash, but it isn't ok for anyone to say the like it?
It's fine to say you like it. I even enjoy it at times. However, there's a difference between that and then repeatedly telling people the only issue with the game is matchmaking. And doing it in such a way that the matchmaking is somehow just a small, trivial issue while everything else is perfect.
Well, I wouldn't say everything else is perfect, but come on. Game play is the best it's been in probably over 6 years. They have added tons of customization vs any other release.
Sure, MM is a disaster, that is a given, but the rest is pretty good for a new year with a new engine. Better than 15 was anyways. And I'm totally fine with poke checking in case that is what you're getting at. Once people realize defense is about containment before just stealing the puck for constant breakaways, the better off they will be.
NHL 19 has a new engine?? Did I miss something? Or are you just talking about the new skating mechanics? I like to grade things as a whole and OPs post basically looks at the larger picture than the one or two things that people are so proud about. For the most part, it's basically a $30 carbon copy sold for $70+.
Yes, the new skating and collision engine that replaced TPS.
Not trying to attack you, but it seems you are hellbent on trashing the game regardless of what people respond to you. You are entitled to hate the game all you want, but are beginning to sound pretty biased at this point.
You do know people we're hoping for en entirely new engine, right? Frostbite. Changing the skating and hitting mechanics, isn't an engine change. It just seems like they added animations and hitting points and that's about it.
I'm not biased. I'm just one of the many people who will continue to voice their concerns. Thankfully, there are many people out there like myself (like OP), who aren't afraid to voice thier opinions and call it like it is. These are legitimate gripes. Some of them are even game breaking and you're telling me I'm biased against broken things not yet fixed in a game I paid for?
And what do you think Frostbite will do for the game? Do you realize the amount of work required, and that absolutely everything will have to be redone by switching to Frostbite?
Yeah, i guess they cant build from the ground up again. 🙄
Replies
And they’re doing that. From what I have read, nearly everything in WoC was rebuilt. There’s a quote from their article about Club Challenge that I think helps speak to the big picture.
The development of the World of CHEL required a rewrite of our online dressing room...
This year, EASHL took on a significant tech overhaul because of the addition of World of CHEL. The changes to the Dressing Room will set us up to be far more flexible with features in the future...
Hardly.
I have more downtime than I care to admit. I spend most days on Reddit, ESPN, Amazon, and any board of a game I’m currently playing. To stay as informed as I can.
One think that’s very noticible is that no matter what the producers/devs do, there’s always going to be a crowd that’s unhappy.
People complained there were too many people picking D and playing 4th forward all game. Ea tries to remedy it by wanting users to select F/D/G prior to dropping in. Crowd complains that it’s the reason they can’t find 6v6 lobbies. It was a good idea as a fix, but now people realized there was an overwhelming population of players who only wanted to play F. People who dropped in at D/G had a much higher rate of finding full 6v6 games. Just one example of not being to make everyone happy.
Drop-in matchmaking is currently having massive issues. That’s a fact. It’ll be fixed when it’s fixed. Until then reading loads of posts about the same topic has been so much fun the last week.
The dressing rooms are garbage and were not ready for prime time. With the broken matchmaking in drop-in, you are forced to back out of the matchup screen (seriously, 3v2 when searching for 6's?) and then invite your friends every time after all the button presses and laggy transitions just to get to that point. Also, the dressing room does not stay together after the game. This is a huge downgrade from NHL 18.
If they can not match the feature set of the previous game, then the re-design should not be implemented until it is ready. We should not be taking steps backwards. Poor project management. No excuses.
We complain they don't do enough change and hopefully they learn to quit messing around with menus and other things that aren't presentation or gameplay related. Just give us simple easy menus with a good backbone behind it.
Functionality is king. I am fine with just basic text menus if they have a nice flow and I can do what I want quickly. The transitions and loading of player models are unnecessary and just slow everything down. Then you got the roster checks and whatever else is going on behind the scenes. Very annoying.
I don't think people complain about lack of change as much as lack of improvement. They need to polish and refine what is already there. The change to clown gear and outdoor rink is a downgrade. The menus are a downgrade. The matchmaking is broken. What a frustrating experience. I like the changes to the skating and hitting, but little else.
I find this year's gameplay very sloppy. I only play EASHL....
- AI is overpowered and can shadow and strip you of the puck very easily.
- Stick lifts are OP from behind.
- Nudges from behind are still annoying as hell.
- Poke check is still not balanced well enough. I do not feel confident in pokes as I seem to be getting calls when I don't feel I am in bad position. There needs to be a little more leniency as the fidelity is not there in terms of placement of the poke. I do not spam.
- Puck control is too low. It is hard to create space as you lose the puck around players so easily.
- Cluster pucks with a group of players are a joke as possession will change hands 10 times in 5 seconds with the auto puck grabs/stick lifts.
- Hard to do good puck movement as so many passes get intercepted.
- When you do setup a good play, the goalie makes a ridiculous save while letting in terrible goals.
- Board play is still broken as the AI can suck you into the boards.
- Poking or reaching for a loose puck along the boards is a high percentage for a trip.
- Saucer passes seem to be all over the place.
- AI are still super dumb around the net and make poor decisions and don't have proper path-finding.
- AI still dump the puck out of the zone when a pass to an open team mate is the better option.
There is more that I dislike, but I will leave it at that.
One other thing that is worth noting.... Our club still does not have the ability to apply our logo to the jersey after many games. I don't know if it unlocks in a stupid loot bag or what. This is ridiculous. This should be available right from the start.
I'd take NHL 13 or 14 menus any day over these tiles and transitions.
19 > 18
What they need to do is give us the ability to save a EASHL tile to the main screen. Or even better, a 6's tile that would take us right to the dressing room.
People don't want to play vs. Dumb AI to promote playing against Humans. People just don't want to play with dumb teammates whether they be human or bots. For an example of this, just pop into a random drop-in game and see the RD or LD run around like complete noobs, allowing breakaways after breakaways, not picking up the open man waiting for the one timer in front of the net or even sprawling across the goal crease prone, then tell me you want dumb AI that act the same way.
I get the "Chel bruh" stance on skill-zoning, but if you really wanted EA to get rid of it, then two things need to be done:
1 - Fix the player swapping once and for all. Pressing B (or Circle) should switch you to the player closest to the puck, facing the puck. NOT BEHIND THE PLAY!
2 - Make the AI play smart positioning, but that's it. With the combination of the above fix, it would allow users to be able to switch to the correct player on the fly. Instead, because AI positioning is abysmal in this game, coupled with the horrible player switching, it promotes the habit of NOT wanting to switch around and play the puck handler for fear of getting switched over to the WRONG player and allowing a scoring chance...
I consider myself good enough to shadow the play on defense. But there are sometimes where the AI just goes absolutely insane, sending TWO players chasing the puck handler when I'M ALREADY THERE. Now I can't switch to the open player, because there's no AI there. And if I take the player I'm already controlling to try and pick him up, I'm often too late. Knowing this, I'm going to play AWAY from the puck holder and pick up the open man rather than risk changing players because the AI is already ridiculously BAD.
As for the FROSTBITE issue... *sigh*... You guys do know that FROSTBITE is a rendering engine right? Not a completely new coding language. It won't change the game fundamentaly, but it will change how EA handles assets within the game. For an example of this, search Youtube for Legend of Zelda: Orcarina of Time in Unreal 4.
I think everyone has a common goal: We really hope that EA can patch this game that we all paid a lot of money for to correct the online EASHL/WoC gameplay so that we can play within 5 minutes through matchmaking, in normal arena's as normal NHL teams, with announcers, with loud crowds, and with skating mechanics that are on par with the demographic's expectations. In general, we care about playing hockey and not about clothing garments found in loot boxes (You really missed the mark here EA)
Every year it seems that EA has a bunch of directors and business employees in a room deciding what should happen with this game in order to maximize profit and appeal to gamers. This business focused vision obviously isn't working. EA should invest on the gamers (customers) they already have bought in to the franchise through backend marketing. This is simply reaching out to the people who spend hundreds of hours playing NHL and performing focus groups, surveys, and investing in a beta program that targets power users. However, all of this back end data is worthless without leadership that will take action. I've lost faith in Rammer.
Someone earlier said "Oh this is just the normal whining when a new game comes out". I'd have to disagree, I've played for many years and have never posted my frustrations. I've honestly boxed up my xbox until either A) this game is patched or
I should have clarified when I wrote the original post: I only play one game mode and that is EASHL (World of CHEL) Drop-In's. I don't play the other modes, I simply don't have the time and I'm not interested in paying money for HUT cards or loot boxes. Those modes could be working flawlessly, but I would never know.
I understand this frustration...because the drop in search when running solo is broken...
Everything else is great and a lot of fun.
Last year...If friends weren’t on...I could solo drop and find a 6s no problem.
I’m sure they will figure it out though.
If this were true you wouldn't hear people say the game is just a roster update every year. It's hockey. There's only so many ways you can change it up. In the end, it's still going to be about recreating this sport in a video game as authentically as possible. You're always bound by those rules. As evidenced with some people this year, they don't like change. For them playing on a pond ruins the immersion. That's just one example. It's like, give us all something new and revolutionary, but make it like it was 10 years ago
Everything else is not great at all. Let's pretend that the terrible new drop-in format was actually good.... There is still so much wrong with the game. Look at the issues listed in my previous post. Other people have also mentioned how sloppy the game is, lack of flow, and no space out there to create nice plays. The game is not that fun to play. I honestly believe some of you guys are payed shills for EA trying to spin the game in a positive light. Way too optimistic. We are not having any of it.
I am an OG NHL player since the original game on Genesis, and I have spent thousands of hours with EASHL. This series has been going downhill for a while and the declining sales and community are directly related to the quality (or lack thereof). The EA NHL series is poorly managed with poor decisions being made. It is a shame there is no longer any competition to keep EA in check. There has been plenty of good feedback over the years by myself and others, but very little improves and many things get worse. It is very frustrating to be a part of.
I remember when EASHL was thriving with multiple club dressing rooms, packed drop-in lobbies, dedicated EASHL forums with people talking about player builds and recruiting players, the old EA Sports World site, and all that good stuff. Now we can't even get a proper 6's game going. What a joke.
Not sure what you mean by your statement about “no space out there to create plays”
No offense...but you sound bitter...the broken matching making...ya I get that...besides that though...the game is a lot of fun.
I don't care what people are saying about other games. I want to know specifically what you think Frostbite will bring to NHL. Don't see how being on a mobile prevents you from expressing an opinion, which you seem to clearly be able to do on a bunch of other topics here.
It was meant as a dig "I'm on my mobile so go find the info yourself".
I'm on my mobile and the general consensus is Frostbite makes the game look better.
Yeah, i guess they cant build from the ground up again. 🙄
Apparently they did and it took the game 4 years to get back on track.