NHL 16 Features All-New Enhanced Goalie Controls, More Details Revealed in Q&A

[AdamJones113]

EA Sports has added to their list of NHL 16 features with some details on the all-new enhanced goalie controls.

Quote:

Control the Crease The fate of your team is at your fingertips with all-new enhanced goalie controls. Precision Skating captures the authentic look and feel of a goaltender’s momentum and precise movement as you control them in the crease. When the shots start flying, decide whether to make controlled positional saves or commit to high risk athletic saves that may leave you vulnerable to secondary chances.

They also updated their Ask EA page with some more details. The Q&A is copied and pasted below for easier reading.

Can we expect to see any (big) changes for playing goalie, both in terms of gameplay and the overall experience?

Yes. In NHL 16 there is a brand new way to control goalies. We have added all new motion capture which allows for much more realistic motion when moving in the crease. You can now decide between controlled strides and longer t-pushes. If you want to track a single skater with the puck or push over quickly to track a cross ice pass, you now have the tools to do so. You are also accountable for your momentum so pushing back the other way in butterfly is different than pushing from a still position since you have to recoil first which makes you much more accountable for staying in control. We have also improved the ability to push into saves so that you don't feel locked in or stopped by the AI.

Are there any goalie improvements this year like to the movement and save? And also when playing as them are there new saves for the button combos?

We are still finalizing the controls so can't full comment on the new controls/abilities. However, in NHL 16 you will have more control than ever before when playing as a player controlled goalie. We have all new motion capture for goalies movement so that you can take both smaller strides and big t-pushes when you either want to re-position in the crease or make more committed moves to the opposite side to track cross ice passes. We have also put specific focus on ensuring players aren't locked into saves when they want to continue to slide with momentum.

Is there anything new or improvements on Goalies (Human or Computer) in NHL 16?

Hey Johnny…in NHL 16 we've overhauled player controlled goalies as part of our efforts to make it fun to play from every position on the ice. You'll now have new controls (which are still TBD in terms of button mapping) which will give a more authentic look and feel to the goalies. You'll also notice that the AI goalies also have new animations and poses to refresh the look.

[csamuelsvt]

Nice! Hopefully this means goalies were re-done completely?

Game changers can you elaborate on this since EA released this?

[double dot]

I hope we'll get a gameplay trailer showing this off. Sounds like something big for those people who enjoy playing goalie a lot.

[sooner1074]

Just saw this update not too long ago when having lunch outside. Doesn't look like they completely re-did goalies but that gave us "all-new enhanced goalie controls."

Crossing my fingers that a bunch of new animations were added to help see the difference in goalies.

We'll know much more next week with e3.

[Devilsfan3026]

I honestly think that goalie animations for glove save and such were better in NHL 93 and 94.

[Steve_OS]

Updated the OP w/ the Q&A goalie updates.

[sooner1074]

"We have added all new motion capture which allows for much more realistic motion when moving in the crease."

Thank the hockey GODS!

Hopefully we can see the goalie differentiation with these new animations. If it's all true, then we may have ourselves a fun game on our hands (unless they decided to not add player editing )

[ozcore]

im just glad to see quick. i hope is on the cover