NHL 26 early wishlist (let’s make NHL great again)
First off I will say nhl 25 is actual a huge step up im liking it so far , but it’s missing some details to feel complete.. full presentation needs to return and add more to what we had in the past games In edit player menu have the ability to change the color of sticks and gloves (nhl 2k had this) and now players have been customizing their own as well. Customizable tape job (adjust length on shaft and blade and not have it preset) And add the ability to edit goalie masks. hitting and collisions need to be tweaked to more realism. Franchise: be able to control more than one team able to scout and sign players from other leagues(I.E europe) Real coaches or at least customizable coaches A customizable GM character, have conversations be shown like it is in fifa where your Gm Meets the player. office similarly to dynasty mode in nhl 2004 On the hub where we get details of what went on in other games we can see highlights (either by clip or a screen shot) with description such as ‘stamkos nets a hat trick in last nights win’ and a small clip or screen shot showing stamkos scoring his 3rd goal. Be a pro: change up the whole be a pro game mode make it more like life the life. ability to use NhL players to continue their career or an nhl legend Street clothes for off days and make it interactive. If I buy a condo or a house i want to actualy see my self living in it. Same with the car we get, be able to drive around (a small map) and not just be a attribute boost. Pond hockey pick up games you can walk to or drive to when you leave your ‘house’ Call it a ‘hall of fame room’ similar to skybox 2k had in nhl2k5 where you had the Stanley cup and other interactive stuff and unlockables. Be able to decide to start from being drafted at 18 or create a 30 year old forward who just signed with an nhl team etc.. more interactive with teammates and coaches and GM list of teams you want to be traded to etc.. extras add winter classic and all star game (skills + game) both as a play now mode and also in franchise and be a pro. player retiring playing their last game get a ovation from crowd. Announce the player will retire 1 game before their last skate with the cup (playoff mode, season mode , franchise and be a pro) Tweak the fighting engine and allow more than one fight happening at once. this is a lot of an ask, but if we can get half of these implemented we are definitely heading Into greatness with NhL games.
Why you should lower your expectations for NHL 25
I’ve seen a lot of people saying things like “I think NHL 25 could really be a good game”. For your own sake, please lower your expectation. If you think about it, what do we even know about NHL 25? We do know we’re getting new game presentations, but only in rivalry games. Also, these presentations won’t be realistic, which is the only thing the community asks for. We do know player AI is getting an improvement. However, as seen in the gameplay deep dive, the AI players are still just skating around with no plan on the ice and it’s all just a big mess. Some people want an updated franchise mode, which actually will be coming this year, allegedly. We are less than two weeks from release day and still no news about the “new” franchise mode, which probably will just be a slight change in the menu. I don’t know what you think, but I’m pretty sure we can expect the same cutscenes in Be A Pro. For how long have they used these cutscenes? 5 years in a row maybe? These are just some of the reasons why you should lower your expectations on NHL 25. Myself, I won’t be buying the game. If we all don’t buy it, EA will get the wake-up call necessary to develop a game that is actually ok to play.
How to Fix Be a Pro for NHL 25 and beyond
As a consumer who has owned every NHL game since 07, I have always hoped for an NHL game that would truly give the experience of living my dream of playing in the NHL. Be a Pro has always been my go to game mode, however the be a pro mode in NHL24 left a lot to be desired and at times became unplayable. Below you will find suggestions related to the game mode that I believe could fix Be a Pro. Its unrealistic to expect a full turn around in a game mode in a year, so for the sake of organization, this will be split into three categories; Immediate changes, near future changes, and far in the future changes. IMMEDIATE CHANGES: -Fix the freezing problems when obtaining X-Factors (Happened a couple times to me) -Fix the Glitch where your player randomly ages 5 years. Fix bug where challenge results are automatic failures despite completing them. -I'm not a rookie in my 10th year, stop calling me a rookie. -Return the request trade function ( Was literally in NHL 23) -Make the secondary positioning an optional feature; if i want to play as a natural center, i should not have to play right wing for 6 years to be put in my wanted position. -Custom rosters for the memorial cup or champions cup paths. -make the enhanced celebration camera optional (takes away from the realism of the goal which in my opinion looks bad) -settings to turn off select cut scenes (teammate challenges, etc....) Near Future Changes: -Create a secondary presentation that looks like how NHL games are broadcasts (doesn't need to be an exact replica or branded with TNT, etc..) -Allow an All star game to take place, would mean more than just having your all star game selections increase by 1. -Winter classic/stadium series games. -Put the start in CHL option back in the game (baffling why it was removed) -settings to turn off select cut scenes (teammate challenges, etc....) - put message and news board back into game( i shouldn't have to wait 10 minutes for the overlay in the bottom to know what my teammates are traded for or who got injured) -injury notices (like in NHL 20 when you get injured a popup appears telling you you injury and time you'll miss. get injured in 24 will i miss 2 games or 74, who knows?} Future changes -Full skills competition -Draft combine/CHL will determine your potential rating -Your potential will change based on your level of play. -International tournaments (WJC, World cup, Olympics) -changeable clothing for cut scenes -clothing, equipment, stat boosts stores. -Equipment upgrades are purchased with your in game salary (if you break a stick you must buy one unless you have an equipment sponsor) -Negotiable contracts (negotiate contracts based on performance and potential, includes salary, signing bonus, incentives) -Proper endorsements (equipment sponsors, casual wear, etc...) and images found within an endorsements tab which shows the image of say your character on the cover of of NHL 2X (similar to NHL 14) -Story mode -TNT Panel between periods -licensed broadcast presentation similar to the old NBC one Obviously many of these suggestions wont be done in the near future but i believe many of them would make the game mode much more immersive. and the immediate changes would be the bare minimum to make the game playable for me.
NHL 26/Future Titles with TSN
Since the change from NBC to Generic in NHL 20, people wanted an authentic broadcasting experience, I like the new scoreboard change for now but in future NHL games we want a new authentic broadcasting from a real broadcasting partner. A perfect match is with TSN, TSN already livestreams IIHF events with the same modes in NHL 24 of the WJC, WC, and WWC. TSN also streams CHL games, and EA partner up with Bardown to add their jersey into the game and promote NHL 24, and EA brought in Cheryl Pounder from TSN to be the new color commentator. I will go through the modes/features that will positively help make the game feel more realistic and authentic. Commentators: We want new Commentators in the newer NHL games, James Cybulski was great but we need a new change, we already have Cheryl as the color commentator so it leaves one man to replace and be the new voice in NHL games. It's the legend himself, Gord Miller. He would be a fantastic addition to future games and will join greats as Jim Hughson, Gary Thorne, and Mike "Doc" Emrick in the EA NHL Series. You could also add regional commentators like Bryan Mudryk for Canadiens English Games or have Dennis Beyak for Jets games (for him it will be hard since he is retired). But at least if TSN is in NHl 26/Future Games, have Gord Miller as the main commentator. Franchise Mode: This is mostly for the social feed but have Bob McKenzie, Craig Button, Pierre Lebrun, Darren Dreger, and more to announce trades, signings, extensions, and even rumors. Have them do their draft rankings for the upcoming season to see what they predict what prospects, ponteinal, skills, and depth analysis, Even have regional reporters like John Lu for Winnipeg Jets news or Ryan Rishaug for Edmonton Oilers news, there is so much potential here in just the social feed. For Trade Deadlines have a cutscene/menu with James Duthie and the crew sitting in Studio 6 on their phones and computers updating and getting the latest trades/rumors so we can make our next moves. For a Free Agency Frenzy Mode, same with the Trade Deadlines but have a Top 50 UFA/RFA list presented like in RL, have a team logo next to a player when that team signs them. There so much more but I'll end it here. Be A Pro: If EA bring multiple seasons in the CHL and bring it into European Leagues. I want Bob McKenzie, Craig Button, and others to see me from my performance, leadership, awards, etc. To rank my player on their draft ranks to get the ideal to improve my draft stock or train better In a certain stat that I'm not good at, Bardown can also have their podcast in BAP as a replacement for James Radio Show, and have me get interview from either a generated interview or an actual interview from TSN, like if I'm playing in or against Edmonton have Ryan Rishaug interview me a question and depending the response it's either gonna be a positive/negative impact my team, teammates, management, and a cool new feature EA could add, the media and they can respond on the social feed with something like. Ryan Rishaug: Today before the game against EDM. Joe NHL said "We hope to win today and clinch a playoff spot and hopefully go all the way" sounds like Joe is very confident in his team and hopes to make the playoffs". At the end of BAP have someone on TSN say either I was one of the greatest/underrated/biggest bust/whatever players and if I should be in the HHOF on my career stats, awards, teams, etc. Yet again more I would talk about but that's it for BAP. Etc. Somethings to either if TSN is added, I hope for the commentating they don't mention X-Factors, it breaks immersion and realism, add that to HUT or WOC but not in Offline Modes. Hope they bring back what they added in NHL 15 with NBC is when they used real footage of the arena or city from the sky or from outside the building. For the scoreboard, keep it like what is in real life, from showing the lineups, to showing what tournament it is, the playoff score, and the animations when teams scored. Final Notes: This is my first post on the forums so sorry for my bad spelling or if you find something you can't understand. I am new here, and I hope to post new ideals here and have a chance to have EA see this and my future discussions and take it into considerations for future games. I Love Hockey like most of the community here is, I also have great Ideals for the future and I hope to share these Ideals to EA to make this game greater and greater every year. Who would you want to be the new broadcasting package in NHL? ESPN? SportsNet? Bally Sports??? Let EA know.How to make Be A Pro playable in one simple, easy to comprehend post
-the game perma-freezes at coach interactions, the most common one (and the one I have) is when you have the coach interaction to receive the Yoink! zone ability. If a user is reading this with the same problem, know there is NO WAY for you to fix the problem. I have tried everything on God's green earth as the mode I have 50-60 hours put into has been frozen for a month now. EA has to fix it. -in what world was blanking out the GM tab a good idea?! This is a pro simulation mode, and pro players request trades. Taking this out of the game devolves the pro experience. -why can't you edit your player without having to sacrifice 5 years of your life? You try to change your stick tape and other little cosmetics to match your new team, and all of a sudden you go from 18 to 23. -if coach interactions are going to cause bugs and take away from the immersion of the game (example: your coach talking about getting one to get back in it or upping the pressure after that game has finished and you're walking down the tunnel) then have an option to turn them off. In a perfect world EA would fix all of these bugs and re-do the conversation system, to actually make the conversations make sense and in turn would add to the immersion. But genuinely, the bare minimum would be the bug fixes so let's pray for that soon. -not too much of a problem but just a pet peeve, why in the world are offline modes having to sync?! EANHL, you owe it to the customers who were drastically overcharged for an incomplete game to be working tirelessly day and night to fix these problems. Let's keep it a buck, be a pro doesn't make you money. We get it. But you need to prioritize a playable game over finding ways to make additional money from NHL 24.NHL 24 BaP Feedback
My Thoughts On NHL 24 BAP The Highs: First off, let's give credit where it's due. NHL-24 nails the core gameplay. The controls are smooth, the on-ice action is intense, and during those heart-pounding moments, it genuinely feels like you're in the game. The Lows: But, and it's a big BUT, the Be a Pro (BAP) mode is like a minefield of frustrations. Quadruple penalties? Wonky checking and boarding that messes with the flow? Goalie glitches? Yeah, they're all here, tarnishing what could have been a stellar experience. Tech Headaches: Now, let's get technical. Scoring display effects and goalie interference miss the mark on promised realism. Oh, and the player disfigurement after scoring? Not exactly what I signed up for. These glitches are like a constant reminder that the game might not be as polished as we hoped. Radio Silence from EA: To make matters worse, EA Sports has been playing the silent game. No updates, no transparency on bug fixes – nada. It's like shouting into the void. Players deserve better communication, especially when they've dropped both time and hard-earned cash on the game. Community Outcry: If you're wondering if you're alone in this frustration, check out the socials. Reddit, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok – the community is sounding off. Thousands of posts detail everything from gameplay woes to technical hiccups, creating a vibe of collective disappointment. Final Thoughts: So, NHL-24, you've got potential, but right now, it's a flawed journey through virtual ice hockey. We're all hanging tight, hoping for those updates to drop and fix what needs fixing. Until then, it's a mixed bag, my friends, and we're left eagerly anticipating the game's true potential to shine through.BaP, Needs Fixing
I know they prioritize HuT every year, I play BaP, I'm not gonna touch HuT, my main problem is when your done with the draft, I can not edit my player and change the shaft, stick tape to match the team colour or change the number, because after I do those things my player goes from 18 to 23 yrs old, it's kinda game breaking for me
BAP Needs A Quality Of Life Update
I know for NHL 24 BAP wasn't too big of a focus due to gameplay being prioritized. This has become a popular mode since amongst content creators but the crazy pond hockey intro needs to go. We also need preference! Not being able to play a full regular season Junior career or be in the Minors kind of wrecks it for the vast majority. Also we need hopefully in a patch for 24 the ability to turn off cutscenes/cinematics. Feels very frustrating when you just want to get to the next game but get stopped midway throughout.
