NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed
 

EA Sports have posted an NHL 11 blog, discussing some of the gameplay fixes that will be addressed in the game.

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed
 

Did anyone else read this? Not a ton of specific information, but I caught this nugget:

Excellent.

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed
 

Hmm odd.. I never experienced some of the "bugs" listed there like players freezing in a wrist shot or the CPU not going after the puck on icing.. and so many players are underrated??? So many are overrated in the game based on the ratings!!!

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed
 

They were hesitant about the AI. Meaning it's either greatly improved or not touched.

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed
 

Great to get some news about '11'!

The thing that caught my eye was about improving the AI controlled defense, for the cpu and User. Hopefully it will be quite a bit more aggressive.

Imo, it's a pretty good sign that EA Canada, right outta the gate, starts it's hype about '11', by talking about gameplay. And fixing issues people had with last years game. Can't wait for more info.

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed
 

I hope they incorporate locomotion into the engine this year. It's far too easy to stop and change directions or whatever, especially for the computer.

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed
 

I just hate when people complain about the pokecheck. It is very effective now as it should be. I can average 2.46 PPG since the latest tuner and Im not complaining about the pokecheck...

Just gotta have a high hockey IQ like me..

Puck support is key

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed
 

Agreed the only reason everyone spams the poke check is because of all the gold glove/gold skate heroes who have their balance and puck control through the roof and can't be knocked off the puck.. hence the constant poke checking... Making the poke check effective has actually made people play a more team game and pass more.. now if they changed the ratings and made checking better/more realistic then there wouldn't be so much of a need for it but it is what it is.

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed
 

I think they maybe altering the poke check due to the new slider setting they said they would be adding for stick lifts and poke checks. I don't exactly remember what it said.

But I'm really interested in the fix for the defensive AI, should be interesting.

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed
 

CPU AI and CPU Trade Logic are my two big things. Hopefully they're able to get both of those to the level they should be at by now.

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed
 

I think chuck is on the right track. People are going to do what's most effective and right now, it's poke-checking (for the most part). The mention of a new approach to the "stumble issue" when a check or bump doesn't knock over the puck carrier means we might see more realistic player interactions.

Hopefully they can balance puck control/balance/deking with checking/bumping/poking/lifting. As it stands now, it's good to OK in some situations, but poor in others. I know from my hockey-playing days -- granted I was no dangler -- it was easier to control the puck the closer it was to you and the less you moved it. It often seems the opposite in NHL10; if you deke all the way to one side or back & forth quickly, you're practically untouchable (with ratings playing some part).

I think some of it can be addressed through tuning. I mentioned before that puck control at zero loosens things up quite a bit offline, including players losing the puck when deking too drastically or even when making sharp turns (usually lower-rated players). To me that says lowering puck control globally is a good place to start. However, when you factor in the variety of situations that affects, you start to see it's more complicated than a simple tuning adjustment.

Man, I'm going to have a blast talking shop at community day. And maybe I'll actually learn enough about how the game really works under the hood to know what I'm talking about for once. :)

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed
 

I agree with you. The problem is that if you make the game more realistic I.E. lowering puck control globally like you said, there will be many whiners. Usually these are the figure skaters who do 1000 circles before they finally pull of their glitch shot.. I love that the poke check is working.. Before I would get STICK ON PUCK and nothing would happen. I would do this like 5 times.. Now when i get stick on puck, it pokes the puck away and I get called a poke spam cheater :redsmile:

If you know how to play real hockey, you should know that there isnt always alot of time and space. It isnt always figure skate your way to the slot..

With the way the poke check is now, I actually have to pass the puck which I love.. fast quick decisions are key not just speed

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed
 

No doubt. I started to type something to this effect, but decided it wasn't worth it. I think most of us realize there are different expectations within the gaming community. As such, the NHL team (and really any sports game dev team) are forced to walk a fine line in balancing gameplay.

I hope they improve puck physics in NHL 11. If you watch a real hockey game, the puck doesn't just glide around on the ice all the time. It pops up, turns over, rolls on its side, basically anything - especially along the boards. In NHL 10, 99% of the time the puck is either in the air or flat on the ice. Makes gameplay feel just a little bit scripted.

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed
 

they should just tune the game with two options: arcade or simulation. make the first for the whiners who want a bunch of button mashing (blades of steel, or whatever) and then the second mode for people like us here who want the hard core stuff.

i really like the game as is, but until shot totals for the CPU climb it's nearly unplayable once you get the controls down and hone your skills...

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed
 

can they make online ranked as playoff hockey instead of the damn shootout.

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed
 

I agree 100% with this. They can add all the leagues they want, but until this issue is addressed the offline aspect of the game is all but worthless.

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed
 

for sure, I would love to see knuckle shots , ie if a pass gets deflected it might roll onto its side, which could then be slapped and become a knuckler which while hard to aim, would also be hard for the goalie to stop

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed
 

Or it could be its still very early in the cycle and they don't want to over promise and under deliver. This team has yet to let me down when it comes to actively listening to the fanbase and trying to improve the game every year. I think they're well aware of where the short comings in NHL10 are and will make every effort to improve things.

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed
 

+2.

I think this is a big one for NHL '11'. The puck physics imo took a nice jump from '09' to '10'. And I'm hoping the same thing happens for '11'. With hopefully ever increasing lifelike puck physics [and hopefully player as well] would go along way towards the less perfect play we have now. Ie...more strange bounces of the puck, pucks jumping over sticks, etc.

For me anyway...the NHL game is so dang close to unreal good. If we could just have a bit more of an organic feel to this game...I'd be in video game hockey heaven.

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed
 

So much needs to improve in this game. There needs to be a FIFA 08 switch to the actual gameplay because as of right now the entire NHL game is animation based. Get real body interaction and collision detection implemented. I'm sick of the checking animations primarily. A player taking an odd semi-erect posture and then shoving with two hands at about neck height is not a hit. It's not how they teach you to hit. No one hits like this besides 13 year olds in rec leagues. Lets get this game on the right track like FIFA did in 08 and start making bodies react to eachother without checking animations.

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed
 

Agreed. Further, let's reduce the impact of most hits and make the goal of the defense not to be laying people out left and right. Most defense in hockey is positional. It's about causing turnovers and forcing the offense into poor scoring areas. It's not about making open ice hits everywhere.

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed
 

The poke is NOWHERE near as effective in real life as it is in this game. Especially from behind. The ability to poke check while skating forward WITH the offensive player needs to be toned down severely.

Another issue is that defense/offense players don't have near the agility in real life that they display in this game. So, you get people rushing to the offensive player to spam the poke or the check, where in real life, they'll hang back and impede the offensive player's progress and opportunity. This is the whole purpose of skating backwards. The ability to put your stick out and impede process. In the game now, you can be as effective (if not more) skating forwards.

This is further ruined by the inability to dump the puck - get to it and the defenses magic ability to switch directions and hit full stride and then their behind the back/accurate passing out of corners. This is the biggest flaw in the game.

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed
 

they really just need to up the aggressiveness of the defenders by about 200%

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed
 

Good to see some early news on NHL.

What I'd like to see is more discrepency between teams' play styles. Right now offline, most of the games against the CPU play out the same way. There's really only a couple of teams that I can think of that actually play close to their real-life counterpart.

Give each team more of its own identity and I think that will help make the game feel less scripted.

Aside from that, I'm good with some tweaks to dump-and-chase and checking (still too powerful). I'm a casual fan and player but I really enjoy this series.

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed
 

I agree Tikker.

That's one of the main things game play wise, I hoping for with '11'.

Being able to skate from end to end on nearly every rush up ice just isn't very realistic. If nothing else...I'm hoping maxing out the aggression sliders will do the trick with this years game.

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed
 

Hopefully the issues that have prevented me from continuing my Be A GM are corrected: scouting assignments during the playoffs freezing the game (found a way to work around this, but it shouldn't be there), my free agents not signing (nor rejecting offers) until right before the next season begins (again, I've worked around it by waiting until right before the next season begins, but it I shouldn't have to), the off-season free agent pool only being populated by my free agents after that 5-day exclusive period, and (ultimately), not being able to sign any free agents during the next season as it freezes the game (I can get around this by not signing any free agents at all, but I have holes to fill). I assume that since these issues weren't addressed in a patch and have more-or-less been ignored (I'm not the only one experiencing them), they will be corrected in NHL '11.

I haven't played NHL '10 much since I've been frozen out of my Be A GM. I like Be A Pro, but I was really getting into Be A GM.

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed
 

If it's not too much trouble Kestrel, write up those GM mode bugs as clearly and with a much detail as possible then PM it to me. I'll take it along to the CD event. I may put up a GM/BAP feedback thread as well.

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed
 

What kind of shot totals are you seeing? I play on SS and I'm seeing FAR too many shots by the computer!

I play 20 min periods as well.

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed
 

Yes, BAG definitely needs to be de-bugged for 11. I'm still mad about losing my Avs BAG.

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed
 

LOL!! I think you answered your own question. TWENTY MINUTE periods would be the reason... I play 9 minute periods... You are probably in a small minority of people who I even know play 20 min. periods.

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed
 

I use 9 minute periods too Mk.

And for the most part, I get pretty accurate stats.

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed
 

Same here. Takes 30 minutes to finish a game, which I love.

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed
 

Yep, not being able to save, I really like to finish my games (any sports video games, for that matter) in 30 minutes or less.

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed
 

My games normally take about 45 minutes or so to finish.

Of course I take the time to watch all the cut scenes, and check out the stats between periods. Kind of a nut for stats...and it gives my hands a chance to rest.

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed
 

I play 15min periods w/ full penalty scaling, so I'm usually in the 45-60 min range. I also almost always check TOI for my players between periods to see if I'm not playing my big guns enough. Sometimes if I don't, Crosby or Malkin will only play 14 or 15 minutes if I don't get many PPs. Not a good recipe for success...

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed
 

What kind of sliders are you using with your 15min periods Qb?

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed
 

Good ones... HA! :) I never posted my sliders after jumping to Superstar, maybe I can get them up sometime soon. IMO you have to use manual passing to get a good offline game.

I just hope offensive AI is improved too. I want my team-mates to learn on how to be open. They never are, and the CPU has to stop turning back at my blueline, it's so unrealistic and annoying

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed
 

This is what I'm hoping for most, at this point. My brother and I play a lot of co-op games with locked positions, and our teammates just don't offer the support we'd like to see. Two points stick out the most. First, the other forward is either right in front of the goalie, waiting for the pass, or he's too far back to receive any pass. The other problem is the play of the D-men. Anytime I pass it back to the point, they'll pass the puck right back. They don't try to create any offense. The only way I can get them to do something else is if I skate into trouble after passing, but where's the fun in that? Maybe we're in the minority, but I shouldn't have to create all the scoring chances.