What are the chances any of the EA devs see these suggestions and take them seriously?
Just for reference, I have seen this thread and read it all. Unfortunately I don't have time to go through each of the pieces and respond to them individually right now. There are a few misconceptions on how a few things work or why we do a few things which add a bias to your opinion but all in all there are good suggestions in there. Thanks for taking the time to put it together.
What are the chances any of the EA devs see these suggestions and take them seriously?
Just for reference, I have seen this thread and read it all. Unfortunately I don't have time to go through each of the pieces and respond to them individually right now. There are a few misconceptions on how a few things work or why we do a few things which add a bias to your opinion but all in all there are good suggestions in there. Thanks for taking the time to put it together.
I understand and if you had time I'd like to hear the misconceptions so I can be more informed.
Thanks for the reply!
I understand and if you had time I'd like to hear the misconceptions so I can be more informed.
Thanks for the reply!
As mentioned before definitely appreciate the time to put your thoughts down and agree with a lot of the improvements that could be made.
Had a free moment so thought I could take the chance to get back to on a few of the things I thought would add some insight into your current assumptions with things. We may not agree but wanted you to at least understand the intent of a few things. Some of these I have covered more in depth in previous posts as well so feel free to search back to get more details around some of the control considerations, tripping penalty mechanics, etc. but here are a few pieces at a mid to high level:
Controls:
We changed the controls to accommodate the defensive skill stick and took a lot of things into account in the changes that may not be obvious until you get into the details around the ergonomics of using the control, conflicting or complimenting mechanics, etc.
Manual Goalie in EASHL:
Definitely agree overall on pieces that could give players more control and that could be improved. The one thing we did by design that you called out though was not moving you off the post as soon as you let go of hug post. This was done because we don’t know what direction you want to move off the post until you give a left stick direction. In the past, the goalie would come off of the post in a generic direction that could actually be against the momentum of where you want to go. A side piece was that players didn’t have to continue to hold the hug post modifier when on the post. So there is some subjective preference in there but it was done to try and give players more control, not less.
Spinorama:
You should already be able to control which way your player spins based on your incoming angle on the left stick just prior to initiating the move.
Pokecheck/Tripping:
You mention that the pokecheck now aims for the legs. The pokecheck actually aims directly at the puck but does have error in precision based on the relative speed of the puck (the lower the easier it will be to be accurate and the higher, the harder it will be to time with perfect accuracy), the angle at which you poke (more accurate out in front of you and the worst when poking behind yourself) and also taking into account player attributes for player differentiation. We also made changes to the way we track the puck on poking. We poke to where the puck will be in the future (plus the previously mentioned error model) at the time you request a poke. In the past, we would try to update to a change the puck had made after that time which helped players that had poorly timed pokes as well as hindered players that were making the right choice to poke at an exposed puck that they was pulled over by the puck carrier to protect it after that frame as the assistance would then correct the poke to the new position, possibly causing the stick to cause a trip. The new mechanic/logic rewards well timed pokes when the puck is exposed and leads players to be more aware of where the puck will be heading in the future from the frame they request it as well as rewards offensive players that make a good read to pull the puck away and protect it at the right times. The Defensive Skill Stick adds a lot of control on top of that for defensive stick mechanics and gives you full manual control over the angle but the speed of change possible per player is driven by attributes.
Losing the Puck to Incidental Contact
You mention it being easy to lose the puck to incidental contact. Others call this out as well but it is done by design. We want player positioning to matter. If you skate into another player, you are going to lose the puck. There needs to be accountability on the puck carrier to protect the puck, move the puck and avoid the defense. It is as you say a safer way to play defense but you have far less reach and control to a moving puck than you do with the DSS or pokecheck so there is a lot of balance in there. There is also variance in the puck loss. From incidental contact, the player based on reaction time can pick the puck right back up on the other side of their stick on stick or stick on leg contact whereas a pokecheck could knock the puck further away from them. Also with shoves off the puck, if you are aware of your players physical ability and how you are manipulating the puck prior to contact, you can get shoved and regain control of the puck still with body position on the opponent. And if you can keep the relative speed down, the hit regardless of player size is more likely to have little to no effect so it is a skill to be able to skate in such a way to minimize this. So when you say there is non existent puck control, it really depends on the players skill and who the puck carrier is (player attributes relative to the defender, etc.)
@NHLDev Thanks for taking time out of your day to reply, much appreciated.
Controls:
I understand why you occasionally change the controls when you add a new mechanism, defensive skill stick in this latest case. But could you still leave us the option to select the old control setup that we got so used to? I believe the change was made for NHL18. I do not like the new button combination for the "chop", I also prefer the old hipcheck button. Also, the goalie moves changed drastically.
Manual Goalie:
Specifically for the hug post. I find that being able to let go of the hug post button to release the hug is much faster for reacting to a sudden pass out front from the opponent. I never found that after releasing the button that the goalie jumped too far in any direction. It gives you more control over movement I find. Again though, if some people prefer this new setup that's cool, please allow players like me who liked the old controls to still be able to use them. Makes both parties happy.
Spinorama:
Yes I kind of figured that out, it's based on your angle. But in the actual NHL they can spin either way no matter what angle they face. Their spin depends on where the opponent moves. Is there another way we could determine which way we spin, maybe a button or a quick tap on the thumbstick?
Poke Check:
Ahhh the topic of the year! lol I don't know the ins & outs of the poke check system like you do obviously, but can you tell me why there's such a dramatic difference from NHL18? They both had the new defensive skill stick controls, but i don't remember NHL18 being this bad and inconsistent with the tripping penalties. Maybe revert back closer to NHL18 standards?
Losing the puck:
My biggest gripe with this is it's just not realistic, players have very poor puck control, unlike actual NHLers. A little bump, often from players their size or smaller, and the puck is lost. Even while holding the protect the puck button. In my opinion I think the sliders need to move a bit to favour more puck control and less bumper car Hockey.
@NHLDev Thanks for taking time out of your day to reply, much appreciated.
Controls:
I understand why you occasionally change the controls when you add a new mechanism, defensive skill stick in this latest case. But could you still leave us the option to select the old control setup that we got so used to? I believe the change was made for NHL18. I do not like the new button combination for the "chop", I also prefer the old hipcheck button. Also, the goalie moves changed drastically.
Yes, there will always be times when players prefer parts of older control schemes but the conflicts in the controls don't allow for DSS to exist in the old control scheme.
Manual Goalie:
Specifically for the hug post. I find that being able to let go of the hug post button to release the hug is much faster for reacting to a sudden pass out front from the opponent. I never found that after releasing the button that the goalie jumped too far in any direction. It gives you more control over movement I find. Again though, if some people prefer this new setup that's cool, please allow players like me who liked the old controls to still be able to use them. Makes both parties happy.
We offer the legacy goalie control scheme but we don't hang on to mechanics we believe offer less control. If you are reacting to a pass out front, it should actually be much faster now than when you let go of Hug Post in the past as the Hug Post release was always the same disengage animation to the same angle and then you would need to push again after that to the angle you wanted to travel.
With the current scheme, you don't need to hold hug post to remain on the post so once on, unless going to the opposite post, you don't need to hold it. To get off, you can strafe off, t push off or use a right stick butterfly slide, which of the three is probably the best when you really need to move off quickly and cover more distance for a bang-bang one timer player out front.
Spinorama:
Yes I kind of figured that out, it's based on your angle. But in the actual NHL they can spin either way no matter what angle they face. Their spin depends on where the opponent moves. Is there another way we could determine which way we spin, maybe a button or a quick tap on the thumbstick?
It does take the instant change, so you can be skating one direction and as long as the frame you are requesting to spin, you move your left stick to the angle/direction you want to spin towards, it will do it.
Poke Check:
Ahhh the topic of the year! lol I don't know the ins & outs of the poke check system like you do obviously, but can you tell me why there's such a dramatic difference from NHL18? They both had the new defensive skill stick controls, but i don't remember NHL18 being this bad and inconsistent with the tripping penalties. Maybe revert back closer to NHL18 standards?
The biggest call out in prior years were players getting away with jamming their sticks into players legs without reactions, especially from behind. We improved the collision detection and updated the logic to take into account the angles and how much stick contact there was and made sure that consistency was a prime focus. We are taking this years feedback into consideration but have also seen players adapt to having to be more accountable for when they try to get their stick in towards the puck and have also seen players gain skill using the dss and all defensive tools better in context to the situation. There are players out there that have very low goals against totals with very low pims per game so we know there is a skill gap there.
Losing the puck:
My biggest gripe with this is it's just not realistic, players have very poor puck control, unlike actual NHLers. A little bump, often from players their size or smaller, and the puck is lost. Even while holding the protect the puck button. In my opinion I think the sliders need to move a bit to favour more puck control and less bumper car Hockey.
Thank you!
As mentioned before, this is subjective. There are other players out there that talk about players still able to hang on to the puck too easily. In the real NHL, players are letting go of the puck or losing it in subtle ways all the time as they brace for hits or avoid players sticks and legs. It is their ability to plan ahead for those moments as they control their body and the puck position relative to themselves that allows them to stay in control of the puck even at times they don't actually get a clean deke or get through a lane cleanly. Just like the pokechecks and tripping penalties, we take all the feedback into account and there are always pieces we want to improve but the high level balance isn't too far off from where we would want it to encourage players to use their teammates and work harder to avoid the defense. Individual moments can certainly be improved though.
@NHLDev Thanks for taking time out of your day to reply, much appreciated.
As mentioned before, this is subjective. There are other players out there that talk about players still able to hang on to the puck too easily. In the real NHL, players are letting go of the puck or losing it in subtle ways all the time as they brace for hits or avoid players sticks and legs. It is their ability to plan ahead for those moments as they control their body and the puck position relative to themselves that allows them to stay in control of the puck even at times they don't actually get a clean deke or get through a lane cleanly. Just like the pokechecks and tripping penalties, we take all the feedback into account and there are always pieces we want to improve but the high level balance isn't too far off from where we would want it to encourage players to use their teammates and work harder to avoid the defense. Individual moments can certainly be improved though.
One such moment that has been around since new gen (if not longer) are bumps from behind when both players are going the same direction. Players (AI especially) are able to bump you from behind and you lose control. Now I must say that if a player was actually able to bump you from directly behind without getting caught in your legs as you skate then yes you would like lost control. But I don't think its possible. For a trailing player to be able to get close enough for a check he would likely get caught up in the puck carriers legs unless the carrier started a glide. What is mostly likely to happen is the trailer would try catch up on his sides to get body to body or poke the puck. The player with the pucks job is to keep his body between the other player and the puck to avoid a poke, power to the net or get a call.
This happens all the alot and I have rarely (if ever) seen the back checking player bump the puck carrier from behind without a penalty.
@NHLDev Thanks for taking time out of your day to reply, much appreciated.
Controls:
I understand why you occasionally change the controls when you add a new mechanism, defensive skill stick in this latest case. But could you still leave us the option to select the old control setup that we got so used to? I believe the change was made for NHL18. I do not like the new button combination for the "chop", I also prefer the old hipcheck button. Also, the goalie moves changed drastically.
Yes, there will always be times when players prefer parts of older control schemes but the conflicts in the controls don't allow for DSS to exist in the old control scheme.
Manual Goalie:
Specifically for the hug post. I find that being able to let go of the hug post button to release the hug is much faster for reacting to a sudden pass out front from the opponent. I never found that after releasing the button that the goalie jumped too far in any direction. It gives you more control over movement I find. Again though, if some people prefer this new setup that's cool, please allow players like me who liked the old controls to still be able to use them. Makes both parties happy.
We offer the legacy goalie control scheme but we don't hang on to mechanics we believe offer less control. If you are reacting to a pass out front, it should actually be much faster now than when you let go of Hug Post in the past as the Hug Post release was always the same disengage animation to the same angle and then you would need to push again after that to the angle you wanted to travel.
With the current scheme, you don't need to hold hug post to remain on the post so once on, unless going to the opposite post, you don't need to hold it. To get off, you can strafe off, t push off or use a right stick butterfly slide, which of the three is probably the best when you really need to move off quickly and cover more distance for a bang-bang one timer player out front.
Spinorama:
Yes I kind of figured that out, it's based on your angle. But in the actual NHL they can spin either way no matter what angle they face. Their spin depends on where the opponent moves. Is there another way we could determine which way we spin, maybe a button or a quick tap on the thumbstick?
It does take the instant change, so you can be skating one direction and as long as the frame you are requesting to spin, you move your left stick to the angle/direction you want to spin towards, it will do it.
Poke Check:
Ahhh the topic of the year! lol I don't know the ins & outs of the poke check system like you do obviously, but can you tell me why there's such a dramatic difference from NHL18? They both had the new defensive skill stick controls, but i don't remember NHL18 being this bad and inconsistent with the tripping penalties. Maybe revert back closer to NHL18 standards?
The biggest call out in prior years were players getting away with jamming their sticks into players legs without reactions, especially from behind. We improved the collision detection and updated the logic to take into account the angles and how much stick contact there was and made sure that consistency was a prime focus. We are taking this years feedback into consideration but have also seen players adapt to having to be more accountable for when they try to get their stick in towards the puck and have also seen players gain skill using the dss and all defensive tools better in context to the situation. There are players out there that have very low goals against totals with very low pims per game so we know there is a skill gap there.
Losing the puck:
My biggest gripe with this is it's just not realistic, players have very poor puck control, unlike actual NHLers. A little bump, often from players their size or smaller, and the puck is lost. Even while holding the protect the puck button. In my opinion I think the sliders need to move a bit to favour more puck control and less bumper car Hockey.
Thank you!
As mentioned before, this is subjective. There are other players out there that talk about players still able to hang on to the puck too easily. In the real NHL, players are letting go of the puck or losing it in subtle ways all the time as they brace for hits or avoid players sticks and legs. It is their ability to plan ahead for those moments as they control their body and the puck position relative to themselves that allows them to stay in control of the puck even at times they don't actually get a clean deke or get through a lane cleanly. Just like the pokechecks and tripping penalties, we take all the feedback into account and there are always pieces we want to improve but the high level balance isn't too far off from where we would want it to encourage players to use their teammates and work harder to avoid the defense. Individual moments can certainly be improved though.
Im speaking primarily EASHL
It's not just the fact of the DSS not working, it's the fact that people would actually have to be skilled to perform dekes and other functions. I dont understand the point of removing things that were successful, provide balance and promote creativity and push players to improve themselves within the game.
I'm not knocking the additions EA has made as in with the hockey bags, HUT and all the other gimmicks, eventhough they're not my cup of tea but to consider them an improvement or suitable replacement isn't acceptable. EA has lost a lot of the customer base since the jump to current gen and continues to lose hardcore and once loyal customers because the direction the game has gone doesn't sit well with them. How much of your sales are made up of when the game gets put on clearance in e-shops or in brick and mortar establishments? How many people bought the game at launch and don't even play it anymore?
A big issue with players are their desire to be able to stick handle through the entire team which, like you said is unrealistic and I agree it should not be a common thing. You said EA wants to promote playing as a team and provide high end balance but those things wont be a reality until the game is tuned properly. Poked pucks magnetically reappearing back to the puck carrier, sticks going through sticks, pucks going through body parts, players getting obliterated with checks and regaining puck possession are just some of the things that make the expectations stated above not happening and these occurances are unrealistic. There is no negative effects for forwards in this game except a turnover but on defense, the punishment is severe consequences. I have no issue with with losing the puck due to incidental contact, it forces players to move the puck and as the puck carrier, you shouldn't be getting that close to an opposing player anyway.
The whole skill gap discussion regarding this game is being misused. This game, at it's current state does not take a considerable amount of skill to be elite. In the NHL series there is always a chance an average player/team could beat a top 100 player/team whether that's programming or otherwise but it is an absolute fact. If anything, because of how these builds were manufactured and the gameplay issues and constant exploits being abused, this game has a low skill gap if anything.
Same goes with CR and the leaderboards. Leaderboards on this game aren't represented how real leaderboards are and CR should be scrapped altogether. They both abused. I could have the highest CR if I never quit a single game and constantly kept remaking a club to play lesser opponents. It would be a ridiculous grind but eventually it would happen. Leaderboards shouldn't be based on the amount of games played but instead how the stats leaderboards on NHL.com are.
I feel with how this game was designed, it forces players with a real life hockey background to completely disregard everything that was taught to us by our coaches and forces us to play a style of hockey that would not even make a hockey 101 tutorial plan. Everyone is so fixated on these YouTubers, game changers and whoever else has an outside influence on the production of this game and if you take a look, they have had a negative impact on this game. It's fair to say the game has been in a downward spiral ever since.
As much as I can critique I can also compliment so I do want to say that I am appreciative of how committed you are and the time you take to read and respond to us. I understand that you have a job and guidelines to follow and you alone can not make major changes and decisions but you at least show you care and are trying so I thank you for that.
Anyone else but me miss the audio in action tracker and replays? There used to be audio in action tracker and replays on gen, but there’s hasn’t been since they re added it for current gen systems. I mean, don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a huge deal breaker and there’s other priorities this series needs
We offer the legacy goalie control scheme but we don't hang on to mechanics we believe offer less control. If you are reacting to a pass out front, it should actually be much faster now than when you let go of Hug Post in the past as the Hug Post release was always the same disengage animation to the same angle and then you would need to push again after that to the angle you wanted to travel.
With the current scheme, you don't need to hold hug post to remain on the post so once on, unless going to the opposite post, you don't need to hold it. To get off, you can strafe off, t push off or use a right stick butterfly slide, which of the three is probably the best when you really need to move off quickly and cover more distance for a bang-bang one timer player out front.
I disagree with this, if you were to pick up NHL 15 on PS3 again and and tried playing goalie you can see why. I strongly encourage you to. It is much more fluid and easier to control. I still play NHL15 on PS3 online to this day just for goalie. You are making this position so hard and over complicated that less an less people are playing it. And they are way less skilled people playing it because it's so hard to get good now. I think you should make things easier to encourage more people to play goalie. Like taking away the puck arrow, that was a very helpful thing for the goalie.
"we don't hang on to mechanics we believe offer less control"
In my opinion, that's basically saying this is how we want you to play, do as we tell you. If you change the controls, which is fine, you should still offer the old controls to players like me who don't want to get used to new controls. Why are we forced to conform? What if I don't agree with your assessment that the new scheme offers more control? Even if it does, what if I don't care and just want to use familiar controls? It might not seem like a big deal, but it's stuff like this that gives players negative vibes about the company.
Here's the thing: on the one hand, the goalie controls did need to be revamped with ways to give us MORE control, not LESS. On the other, each year it seems the user goalie's inputs take a back seat to what the game will decide it wants to give you. How many times, as a goalie, have we wanted to slide across the net with a spread eagle save, but the game decides to give us a blocking butterfly save instead? How many times have you stayed short side on an obvious short side cheese attempt, only to see the goalie move away from the post and allow an impossible goal line skimming shot go in? How many times have you come out to play the puck and help your teammates only to see the goalie do a butterfly save 30 feet out from the net when you haven't even hit any other button other than holding the A button to skate out to the puck?
It's infuriating to want to do something but the game decides otherwise because... well reasons.
First thing's first however: the LEGACY issues with the goalies have to be fixed once and for all. Post hugging. Post to Post movements. Puck Covers. If NHL 20 sees the same issues we've been seeing with the goalies for almost 8 years now, there's going to be a lot of unhappy people. Second, the human goalies need a way to have more control over the types of saves they want. The first way to do this is to have each build have access to different types of saves animations. Butterfly should see you do a lot more blocking type saves, while Standup should see you do a lot more desperation and sprawling saves. HYB should be a balanced mix of both. The second thing I'd like to see to help goalies have more input in what save they get is to make the RS be the limb save input, while LS is simply movment and LT is push.
So let's say I'm on the right post and I see a pass to the left. First I push LS in the direction of the pass to follow the puck. Then if I see a shot I hit the LT (btw, I use the ALT controls because the new goalie control scheme is not intuitive at all) to begin pushing towards the shot in a butterfly save. Finally, if I see the shot is going in the opposite direction to try and catch me on the cross-play, then I can use the RS to stretch out a limb towards the shot, while going in the opposite direction and attempt a save.
This control scheme would also allow user goalies to be able to use their limbs to cover the open net withouth necessarily sliding out of position during a scramble in front of the net.
I'd also like to see a shuffle function when the goalie holds the LT and uses the LS to shuffle around the goalmouth instead of the see-saw push and counter-push we see user goalies do.
Here's the thing: on the one hand, the goalie controls did need to be revamped with ways to give us MORE control, not LESS. On the other, each year it seems the user goalie's inputs take a back seat to what the game will decide it wants to give you. How many times, as a goalie, have we wanted to slide across the net with a spread eagle save, but the game decides to give us a blocking butterfly save instead? How many times have you stayed short side on an obvious short side cheese attempt, only to see the goalie move away from the post and allow an impossible goal line skimming shot go in? How many times have you come out to play the puck and help your teammates only to see the goalie do a butterfly save 30 feet out from the net when you haven't even hit any other button other than holding the A button to skate out to the puck?
It's infuriating to want to do something but the game decides otherwise because... well reasons.
First thing's first however: the LEGACY issues with the goalies have to be fixed once and for all. Post hugging. Post to Post movements. Puck Covers. If NHL 20 sees the same issues we've been seeing with the goalies for almost 8 years now, there's going to be a lot of unhappy people. Second, the human goalies need a way to have more control over the types of saves they want. The first way to do this is to have each build have access to different types of saves animations. Butterfly should see you do a lot more blocking type saves, while Standup should see you do a lot more desperation and sprawling saves. HYB should be a balanced mix of both. The second thing I'd like to see to help goalies have more input in what save they get is to make the RS be the limb save input, while LS is simply movment and LT is push.
So let's say I'm on the right post and I see a pass to the left. First I push LS in the direction of the pass to follow the puck. Then if I see a shot I hit the LT (btw, I use the ALT controls because the new goalie control scheme is not intuitive at all) to begin pushing towards the shot in a butterfly save. Finally, if I see the shot is going in the opposite direction to try and catch me on the cross-play, then I can use the RS to stretch out a limb towards the shot, while going in the opposite direction and attempt a save.
This control scheme would also allow user goalies to be able to use their limbs to cover the open net withouth necessarily sliding out of position during a scramble in front of the net.
I'd also like to see a shuffle function when the goalie holds the LT and uses the LS to shuffle around the goalmouth instead of the see-saw push and counter-push we see user goalies do.
I've personaly played with manual goalie saves and its nightmare, just tested it recently on NHL 09-12, its was so horrible, i threw my controller, system i want is NHL 14 anticipation goalie saves, there was even a video on it, hell for years sense NHL 14 i preached for anticipation goalie saves and he said no its not coming back, instead they opted for auto goalie animations and reactionary goalie saves, again its still nightmare with reactionary goalie saves , it was so better with NHL 14 anticipation saves, here i can show this video.
I've personaly played with manual goalie saves and its nightmare, just tested it recently on NHL 09-12, its was so horrible, i threw my controller, system i want is NHL 14 anticipation goalie saves, there was even a video on it, hell for years sense NHL 14 i preached for anticipation goalie saves and he said no its not coming back, instead they opted for auto goalie animations and reactionary goalie saves, again its still nightmare with reactionary goalie saves , it was so better with NHL 14 anticipation saves, here i can show this video.
but it was terrible, i had nightmares of NHL 15 and no anticipation stick wasn't in it was removed and stuff, i remember NHL 15 was most darkest day for NHL series and from bot routes broken and stuff glitchy stuff, Now NHL 16-19 is best era for goalies) I love it, but deep down i want anticipation saves from NHL 14 into newest NHL series.
these videos i burrowed from dude , i don't claim them, just showing u how bad it was and u can hear frustation in his voice.
everything was going fine in tell they replaced right stick with desperation saves and stuff, they did that to prepare us for NHL 16-19.
it basicly became right stick u see today now.
another thing they did was it was basicly bare bones NHL 15, there was no customizable gear and stuff.
it was so horrible, never mention NHL 15 again man, this why we don't let kids handle nukes , cause they'd explode world in single push, no one wants to see that.
i'm sure he meant NHL 15 prev gen console. I can't imagine why ANYONE bought NHL 15 on ps4/xbox one. we knew ahead of time that was going to be one of the worst games ever.
NHL 15 on prev gen was basically NHL 14 with a few minor improvements and probably the most enjoyable game out of any released.
i'm sure he meant NHL 15 prev gen console. I can't imagine why ANYONE bought NHL 15 on ps4/xbox one. we knew ahead of time that was going to be one of the worst games ever.
NHL 15 on prev gen was basically NHL 14 with a few minor improvements and probably the most enjoyable game out of any released.
i'm sure he meant NHL 15 prev gen console. I can't imagine why ANYONE bought NHL 15 on ps4/xbox one. we knew ahead of time that was going to be one of the worst games ever.
NHL 15 on prev gen was basically NHL 14 with a few minor improvements and probably the most enjoyable game out of any released.
good thing i wasn't alone, sorry about that, my friends, i didn't know what u meant, good thing everyone knew NHL 15 on xboxone and PS4 was terrible, thanks for letting me know that , i can rest quietly now and relax .
I've personaly played with manual goalie saves and its nightmare, just tested it recently on NHL 09-12, its was so horrible, i threw my controller, system i want is NHL 14 anticipation goalie saves, there was even a video on it, hell for years sense NHL 14 i preached for anticipation goalie saves and he said no its not coming back, instead they opted for auto goalie animations and reactionary goalie saves, again its still nightmare with reactionary goalie saves , it was so better with NHL 14 anticipation saves, here i can show this video.
I mean... At this point it's an embarassment. We try to enjoy this game. Some of us try to play this game in a competitive setting and this is the stuff that DECIDES games, sometimes important games like league championships.
"Oh, but this is just a fluke occurance that happens once in a while"...
Same game, a few minutes earlier. I get that "flukes" happen once in a while in real life. But when flukes happen multiple times in the same game, or even ONCE every game you play? Maybe you should concentrate on making sure your game doesn't bug out like this on a regular basis before you start thinking about "adding new features".
Embarassing... Truly heart breaking and embarassing.
Replies
Just for reference, I have seen this thread and read it all. Unfortunately I don't have time to go through each of the pieces and respond to them individually right now. There are a few misconceptions on how a few things work or why we do a few things which add a bias to your opinion but all in all there are good suggestions in there. Thanks for taking the time to put it together.
I understand and if you had time I'd like to hear the misconceptions so I can be more informed.
Thanks for the reply!
Had a free moment so thought I could take the chance to get back to on a few of the things I thought would add some insight into your current assumptions with things. We may not agree but wanted you to at least understand the intent of a few things. Some of these I have covered more in depth in previous posts as well so feel free to search back to get more details around some of the control considerations, tripping penalty mechanics, etc. but here are a few pieces at a mid to high level:
Controls:
We changed the controls to accommodate the defensive skill stick and took a lot of things into account in the changes that may not be obvious until you get into the details around the ergonomics of using the control, conflicting or complimenting mechanics, etc.
Manual Goalie in EASHL:
Definitely agree overall on pieces that could give players more control and that could be improved. The one thing we did by design that you called out though was not moving you off the post as soon as you let go of hug post. This was done because we don’t know what direction you want to move off the post until you give a left stick direction. In the past, the goalie would come off of the post in a generic direction that could actually be against the momentum of where you want to go. A side piece was that players didn’t have to continue to hold the hug post modifier when on the post. So there is some subjective preference in there but it was done to try and give players more control, not less.
Spinorama:
You should already be able to control which way your player spins based on your incoming angle on the left stick just prior to initiating the move.
Pokecheck/Tripping:
You mention that the pokecheck now aims for the legs. The pokecheck actually aims directly at the puck but does have error in precision based on the relative speed of the puck (the lower the easier it will be to be accurate and the higher, the harder it will be to time with perfect accuracy), the angle at which you poke (more accurate out in front of you and the worst when poking behind yourself) and also taking into account player attributes for player differentiation. We also made changes to the way we track the puck on poking. We poke to where the puck will be in the future (plus the previously mentioned error model) at the time you request a poke. In the past, we would try to update to a change the puck had made after that time which helped players that had poorly timed pokes as well as hindered players that were making the right choice to poke at an exposed puck that they was pulled over by the puck carrier to protect it after that frame as the assistance would then correct the poke to the new position, possibly causing the stick to cause a trip. The new mechanic/logic rewards well timed pokes when the puck is exposed and leads players to be more aware of where the puck will be heading in the future from the frame they request it as well as rewards offensive players that make a good read to pull the puck away and protect it at the right times. The Defensive Skill Stick adds a lot of control on top of that for defensive stick mechanics and gives you full manual control over the angle but the speed of change possible per player is driven by attributes.
Losing the Puck to Incidental Contact
You mention it being easy to lose the puck to incidental contact. Others call this out as well but it is done by design. We want player positioning to matter. If you skate into another player, you are going to lose the puck. There needs to be accountability on the puck carrier to protect the puck, move the puck and avoid the defense. It is as you say a safer way to play defense but you have far less reach and control to a moving puck than you do with the DSS or pokecheck so there is a lot of balance in there. There is also variance in the puck loss. From incidental contact, the player based on reaction time can pick the puck right back up on the other side of their stick on stick or stick on leg contact whereas a pokecheck could knock the puck further away from them. Also with shoves off the puck, if you are aware of your players physical ability and how you are manipulating the puck prior to contact, you can get shoved and regain control of the puck still with body position on the opponent. And if you can keep the relative speed down, the hit regardless of player size is more likely to have little to no effect so it is a skill to be able to skate in such a way to minimize this. So when you say there is non existent puck control, it really depends on the players skill and who the puck carrier is (player attributes relative to the defender, etc.)
Controls:
I understand why you occasionally change the controls when you add a new mechanism, defensive skill stick in this latest case. But could you still leave us the option to select the old control setup that we got so used to? I believe the change was made for NHL18. I do not like the new button combination for the "chop", I also prefer the old hipcheck button. Also, the goalie moves changed drastically.
Manual Goalie:
Specifically for the hug post. I find that being able to let go of the hug post button to release the hug is much faster for reacting to a sudden pass out front from the opponent. I never found that after releasing the button that the goalie jumped too far in any direction. It gives you more control over movement I find. Again though, if some people prefer this new setup that's cool, please allow players like me who liked the old controls to still be able to use them. Makes both parties happy.
Spinorama:
Yes I kind of figured that out, it's based on your angle. But in the actual NHL they can spin either way no matter what angle they face. Their spin depends on where the opponent moves. Is there another way we could determine which way we spin, maybe a button or a quick tap on the thumbstick?
Poke Check:
Ahhh the topic of the year! lol I don't know the ins & outs of the poke check system like you do obviously, but can you tell me why there's such a dramatic difference from NHL18? They both had the new defensive skill stick controls, but i don't remember NHL18 being this bad and inconsistent with the tripping penalties. Maybe revert back closer to NHL18 standards?
Losing the puck:
My biggest gripe with this is it's just not realistic, players have very poor puck control, unlike actual NHLers. A little bump, often from players their size or smaller, and the puck is lost. Even while holding the protect the puck button. In my opinion I think the sliders need to move a bit to favour more puck control and less bumper car Hockey.
Thank you!
Custom music
We offer the legacy goalie control scheme but we don't hang on to mechanics we believe offer less control. If you are reacting to a pass out front, it should actually be much faster now than when you let go of Hug Post in the past as the Hug Post release was always the same disengage animation to the same angle and then you would need to push again after that to the angle you wanted to travel.
With the current scheme, you don't need to hold hug post to remain on the post so once on, unless going to the opposite post, you don't need to hold it. To get off, you can strafe off, t push off or use a right stick butterfly slide, which of the three is probably the best when you really need to move off quickly and cover more distance for a bang-bang one timer player out front.
It does take the instant change, so you can be skating one direction and as long as the frame you are requesting to spin, you move your left stick to the angle/direction you want to spin towards, it will do it.
The biggest call out in prior years were players getting away with jamming their sticks into players legs without reactions, especially from behind. We improved the collision detection and updated the logic to take into account the angles and how much stick contact there was and made sure that consistency was a prime focus. We are taking this years feedback into consideration but have also seen players adapt to having to be more accountable for when they try to get their stick in towards the puck and have also seen players gain skill using the dss and all defensive tools better in context to the situation. There are players out there that have very low goals against totals with very low pims per game so we know there is a skill gap there.
As mentioned before, this is subjective. There are other players out there that talk about players still able to hang on to the puck too easily. In the real NHL, players are letting go of the puck or losing it in subtle ways all the time as they brace for hits or avoid players sticks and legs. It is their ability to plan ahead for those moments as they control their body and the puck position relative to themselves that allows them to stay in control of the puck even at times they don't actually get a clean deke or get through a lane cleanly. Just like the pokechecks and tripping penalties, we take all the feedback into account and there are always pieces we want to improve but the high level balance isn't too far off from where we would want it to encourage players to use their teammates and work harder to avoid the defense. Individual moments can certainly be improved though.
Im speaking primarily EASHL
It's not just the fact of the DSS not working, it's the fact that people would actually have to be skilled to perform dekes and other functions. I dont understand the point of removing things that were successful, provide balance and promote creativity and push players to improve themselves within the game.
I'm not knocking the additions EA has made as in with the hockey bags, HUT and all the other gimmicks, eventhough they're not my cup of tea but to consider them an improvement or suitable replacement isn't acceptable. EA has lost a lot of the customer base since the jump to current gen and continues to lose hardcore and once loyal customers because the direction the game has gone doesn't sit well with them. How much of your sales are made up of when the game gets put on clearance in e-shops or in brick and mortar establishments? How many people bought the game at launch and don't even play it anymore?
A big issue with players are their desire to be able to stick handle through the entire team which, like you said is unrealistic and I agree it should not be a common thing. You said EA wants to promote playing as a team and provide high end balance but those things wont be a reality until the game is tuned properly. Poked pucks magnetically reappearing back to the puck carrier, sticks going through sticks, pucks going through body parts, players getting obliterated with checks and regaining puck possession are just some of the things that make the expectations stated above not happening and these occurances are unrealistic. There is no negative effects for forwards in this game except a turnover but on defense, the punishment is severe consequences. I have no issue with with losing the puck due to incidental contact, it forces players to move the puck and as the puck carrier, you shouldn't be getting that close to an opposing player anyway.
The whole skill gap discussion regarding this game is being misused. This game, at it's current state does not take a considerable amount of skill to be elite. In the NHL series there is always a chance an average player/team could beat a top 100 player/team whether that's programming or otherwise but it is an absolute fact. If anything, because of how these builds were manufactured and the gameplay issues and constant exploits being abused, this game has a low skill gap if anything.
Same goes with CR and the leaderboards. Leaderboards on this game aren't represented how real leaderboards are and CR should be scrapped altogether. They both abused. I could have the highest CR if I never quit a single game and constantly kept remaking a club to play lesser opponents. It would be a ridiculous grind but eventually it would happen. Leaderboards shouldn't be based on the amount of games played but instead how the stats leaderboards on NHL.com are.
I feel with how this game was designed, it forces players with a real life hockey background to completely disregard everything that was taught to us by our coaches and forces us to play a style of hockey that would not even make a hockey 101 tutorial plan. Everyone is so fixated on these YouTubers, game changers and whoever else has an outside influence on the production of this game and if you take a look, they have had a negative impact on this game. It's fair to say the game has been in a downward spiral ever since.
As much as I can critique I can also compliment so I do want to say that I am appreciative of how committed you are and the time you take to read and respond to us. I understand that you have a job and guidelines to follow and you alone can not make major changes and decisions but you at least show you care and are trying so I thank you for that.
I disagree with this, if you were to pick up NHL 15 on PS3 again and and tried playing goalie you can see why. I strongly encourage you to. It is much more fluid and easier to control. I still play NHL15 on PS3 online to this day just for goalie. You are making this position so hard and over complicated that less an less people are playing it. And they are way less skilled people playing it because it's so hard to get good now. I think you should make things easier to encourage more people to play goalie. Like taking away the puck arrow, that was a very helpful thing for the goalie.
"we don't hang on to mechanics we believe offer less control"
In my opinion, that's basically saying this is how we want you to play, do as we tell you. If you change the controls, which is fine, you should still offer the old controls to players like me who don't want to get used to new controls. Why are we forced to conform? What if I don't agree with your assessment that the new scheme offers more control? Even if it does, what if I don't care and just want to use familiar controls? It might not seem like a big deal, but it's stuff like this that gives players negative vibes about the company.
It's infuriating to want to do something but the game decides otherwise because... well reasons.
First thing's first however: the LEGACY issues with the goalies have to be fixed once and for all. Post hugging. Post to Post movements. Puck Covers. If NHL 20 sees the same issues we've been seeing with the goalies for almost 8 years now, there's going to be a lot of unhappy people. Second, the human goalies need a way to have more control over the types of saves they want. The first way to do this is to have each build have access to different types of saves animations. Butterfly should see you do a lot more blocking type saves, while Standup should see you do a lot more desperation and sprawling saves. HYB should be a balanced mix of both. The second thing I'd like to see to help goalies have more input in what save they get is to make the RS be the limb save input, while LS is simply movment and LT is push.
So let's say I'm on the right post and I see a pass to the left. First I push LS in the direction of the pass to follow the puck. Then if I see a shot I hit the LT (btw, I use the ALT controls because the new goalie control scheme is not intuitive at all) to begin pushing towards the shot in a butterfly save. Finally, if I see the shot is going in the opposite direction to try and catch me on the cross-play, then I can use the RS to stretch out a limb towards the shot, while going in the opposite direction and attempt a save.
This control scheme would also allow user goalies to be able to use their limbs to cover the open net withouth necessarily sliding out of position during a scramble in front of the net.
I'd also like to see a shuffle function when the goalie holds the LT and uses the LS to shuffle around the goalmouth instead of the see-saw push and counter-push we see user goalies do.
Well put sir!
[Removed inappropriate reference]
Was the same in NHL15 wasn't it?
[Edited quote]
but it was terrible, i had nightmares of NHL 15 and no anticipation stick wasn't in it was removed and stuff, i remember NHL 15 was most darkest day for NHL series and from bot routes broken and stuff glitchy stuff, Now NHL 16-19 is best era for goalies) I love it, but deep down i want anticipation saves from NHL 14 into newest NHL series.
these videos i burrowed from dude , i don't claim them, just showing u how bad it was and u can hear frustation in his voice.
everything was going fine in tell they replaced right stick with desperation saves and stuff, they did that to prepare us for NHL 16-19.
it basicly became right stick u see today now.
another thing they did was it was basicly bare bones NHL 15, there was no customizable gear and stuff.
it was so horrible, never mention NHL 15 again man, this why we don't let kids handle nukes , cause they'd explode world in single push, no one wants to see that.
NHL 15 on prev gen was basically NHL 14 with a few minor improvements and probably the most enjoyable game out of any released.
Yes I meant NHL15 on PS3/360 my bad
good thing i wasn't alone, sorry about that, my friends, i didn't know what u meant, good thing everyone knew NHL 15 on xboxone and PS4 was terrible, thanks for letting me know that
It doesn't matter what they add or change. Until they FIX the core issues with the game we'll get stuff like this:
I mean... At this point it's an embarassment. We try to enjoy this game. Some of us try to play this game in a competitive setting and this is the stuff that DECIDES games, sometimes important games like league championships.
"Oh, but this is just a fluke occurance that happens once in a while"...
https://gamerdvr.com/gamer/venom3o99/video/74997126
Same game, a few minutes earlier. I get that "flukes" happen once in a while in real life. But when flukes happen multiple times in the same game, or even ONCE every game you play? Maybe you should concentrate on making sure your game doesn't bug out like this on a regular basis before you start thinking about "adding new features".
Embarassing... Truly heart breaking and embarassing.