Gamechangers?
December 29, 2017 4:33AM
edited December 2017
I've loosely heard about this, and yet no nothing about it. Is this a group that test the game? Do they offer suggestions? I'm asking in the hopes that we can get some civil discourse about the state of the game.
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Howdy, Stranger!
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I mean to me the difference between nhl legacy and 18 is nothing. Everything that is in 18 should have been done by 15 or at least 16. It hasn't and it's honestly pathetic the rate at which this series is being updated.
The "Game Changer" idea was just as little "pacifier" for the for the community to make it look like EA would care about the input of their customer base and listen to their ideas for improvements, especially after and during time when they dropped the EAHL mode and many people were up in arms.
The devs realised they had to stop the bleeding, so they came up the feeble attempt of creating the "Game Changer" program, which initially sparked some hope within the player base, abut it soon became clear that this program was just another effort to deceive the community.
This game is in such a bad state that to me it looks like they scramble more and more to even get the next updated version of the NHL series released.
For me their struggle showed when they neglected their HUT cash cow in NHL 17 and took some months to fix one of the most severe game-breaking bugs I've ever encountered since playing this series [my first EA NHL game was NHL '94].
I'm talking about the bug that locked out many players from logging into HUT in order to play it.
This issue was reported during the time the demo version was live but was still present in the release build, which by itself is a complete show stopper, but because greed rules they shipped the game anyway.
Here's a link to the discussion:
https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues/Hut-infinite-loading/m-p/5553282#M187
By accident I stumbled across a walk-around, by logging in with a second account, then logging out again and logging in with my main profile which enabled me to play HUT. I used their "Answers HQ" portal to make this temporary walk-around public to the community, yet it too them months to implement a fix.
BUT, and that's the real kick in the balls:
When they finally DID fix this issue they refused to reimburse the players who were unable to log into HUT for month by using the "default" way, because technically we COULD log in, because of the walk-around I came up with.
So, basically, they said: "What do you want? You figured out how to log in, so the game mode technically WAS available to you. Now please go away and buy packs, but stop bothering us with your demands of reimbursement!".
So, in a nutshell, that's how this company works and because of that and the many experiences I've made with them over all the years I highly doubt it that any "Game Changer" initiative will be successful.
Anyway, my first observation from playing EASHL 3’s (drop in) was that out of the 6 games I played, only one game actually made it to the end.
The other games either ended because of disconnects or people quitting after going down a couple goals.
It’s absolutely absurd to me that the dev team still has not improved the online experience with this game. The online experience is abysmal, it’s basically 10-15 years behind where all the big game titles are in terms of online performance.
And THIS is what I will do once the next NHL Update rolls out.
This year - for the first time - I did not pre-order the whatever-they-call-it "Gold/Mega/Super"-Edition, but the basic game instead and NHL 19 I will either purchase when it's on sale, or - even better - second hand as a hard copy.
I believe it is true that NHL 3's apparently caused one Game Changer to walk away from the group, but that individual may have confused his role as "community representative" with "executive producer." Frankly, while it's not a mode I enjoy, I know my one friend who is a pretty casual player loves NHL 3's. Different strokes for different folks, and everyone needs to respect and understand that...
Xbox Live - The Snake Esq
C'mon Luger, this is not about people having issues with new games modes being added.
It's about "Fix the basics BEFORE you add more game modes that have the same issues implemented the other/older game modes suffer from".
Do I really have to post a lenghty bullet point list of all the bugs this game comes with since years?
You've been around here for some time, so I don't think I have to remind you of all the flaws, bugs, issues, shortcomings the game has.
And as far as "respecting/understanding" goes it would be nice, if the devs would finally also understand the expectations of the players and fix the issues out of respect for the people who - at the end of the day - pay this product and thus make sure the devs have a job.
Well said.
I have to agree with the bolded part! EA adding new game modes doesn't bother me but it's the fact that there are glaring issues that DON'T get fixed year after year after year after year in favor of those new game modes.
it's like finding a rusted out Muscle Car in a barn, you can ADD modern features to the interior (GPS system, OnStar, wireless Bluetooth, remote start, etc), you can add new shiny paint to the exterior, you can add Custom Rims to the tires but none of that NEW ADDED stuff matters if the car doesn't run properly. IF the car stalls every 15 seconds, what good are those NEW Custom Rims doing for you? IF the car leaks engine oil like a water faucet, what good is that NEW Remote Starter doing for ya?
This is pretty true. There isn't going to be big sweeping changes to the whole game just because they have a gamechangers group. That was never going to be the case.
They also have gamechanger groups for pretty much every one of their games, so no it has nothing to do with trying to 'save face' for NHL.
There's a ton of stuff that has been suggested from this forum and channeled through the gamechangers that has made it to the game.
The fact that we have a group chat where we can talk with Ben/other devs and bring up/discuss/show video clips/hear about and give direct feedback on future release features is great. There's no way the nancy's can spin this fact into a negative.
I think their business model of having to develop new marketable features for a 'new' release every year is the thing that holds this game back the most. I'm not sure how it would look, but changing to a single base release and then getting rid of the new september yearly release would be the best way to go forward, where they can develop and work on features and simply release them when ready. This would also allow them more time to focus on bugs too rather than rushing out that new feature for the new release.
The stock holders will be just fine as long as they make profit/not lose their investment.
I don't know about EA's revenue/ebidta and dividend payout, but so far they are still releasing the same game update each year for the price of a new game and as long as enough people buy it there won't be any concerns by the stock holders.
As far as the business model goes I doubt that most stock holders even know much about the sport of hockey or the gaming industryin general - they only judge by the annual revenue and not the quality of the product.
It's pretty obvious that the stock holders don't care about the customers, because even when EA was rewarded the "Golden Turd" reward for being the worse company on the market [global?] for several years in a row stock holders still stuck with them because the money was still coming in because of US still buying this game update each and every year.
I miss the "Good ole' Days" when we've had several hockey games to chose from!!
NHLPA Hockey '93
NHL All Star Hockey '95
Brett Hull Hockey '95
ESPN National Hockey Night
Mario Lemieux Hockey
Plus all the NHL2K Titles and many more
Nowadays we deal with a monopole.
It is what it is, without competition EA will not put any serious effort into the production and release of a better hockey game. Just look at the skating engine.....really??!! To fix this mess alone would take a lot of time, money and manpower, and according to them they don't have any of that.
Sad.
after very very long thinking I chose to rather not be a part of the GC program as a desperate protest, after EA changed the direction and shifting most of the resources (human and money) to the 3s and everything that surrounds it.
They chose to appeal to the new non hockey people, with the new arcade mode, rather than significantly improve or fix the legacy issues for the existing, core fans. People who loves the game and hockey.
Unfortunately, it was more and more obvious that this is the only "feedback" that Rammer and other business and PR guys in EA can hear and "feel". As I haven't felt they REALLY listened. Because nobody asked for the things they chose to work on.
I felt that the best and unfortunately the only the thing I can do for the game, to step out and talk publicly about what's happening and that I'm not happy about their decision.
In fact, I don't even think it's good decision business wise in long term. Its just the cheap way how to make quick money, if at all..
Anyway.
I'm open to go in any necessary detail, if you guys really want, but I'm afraid that at some point this thread would be "edited" and closed, as they closed the thread at OS about this topic.
So I'm not really sure it's worthy to go through that all again and then get "deleted" with few clicks.
If you disclose any details this thread will be closed and locked quicker then the Opponent AI forward of an overall 50 ratings bush league team scores on you and your 90+ team in the last minute of a HUT game on Allstar difficulty.
Maybe it is the biennial release cycle that gimps the game, maybe there is a lack of direction. I don't know but I do know that what I see from the game gives me absolutely zero desire to spend ~360$ for a console and the game. That is only the case because I don't presently have a console and would likely only play NHL if I did. So the way I see it the cost of the game includes that of the console.
With a pc release then ea just has to convince me that it's worth 60$ which is more reasonable but imo still far too much for the amount of content.
Either way, shelling out 360.00$ for a console just to play NHL would be a waste of money and probably drive you into substance abuse because of all the issues the game comes with.
What "ton of stuff" are you referring to?
Stock holders are totally cool with it, cuh.
Them lootboxes and them HUT MUT packs make up for any lost sales!
It's the Catalina Wine Mixer.
What is the "Catalina Wine Mixer"?
It does sound tempting