NHL 16 Video: Hardcore Gameplay and True Broadcast

[Money99]

Great stuff Chase!
I love that angle too. Looks like an authentic broadcast. Very nice.

I haven't really tampered with control schemes at all, and it's been a few months since I played NHL15, but does anyone know if you can alter the control scheme so that it's almost all button-based?
Something that's a little more complex than the 94 two-button control?

[Vikes1]

What i'm seeing here is a game i think i can play and hopefully enjoy. However, still seeing some historical issues that may hurt the overall experience for me. Nearly every rush up ice creates a fantastic scoring chance....do to the continuing lack of NZ play, and far too much overall uncontested space. Which is by now most likely a brick wall no longer worth beating my head against. In short, hoping one day to have a far more organic look and feel to how the game plays. Ie....hockey is a far more gritty sport that so far, the game just doesn't represent vs the ai.

[bad_philanthropy]

Quote: Originally Posted by Vikes1

What i'm seeing here is a game i think i can play and hopefully enjoy. However, still seeing some historical issues that may hurt the overall experience for me. Nearly every rush up ice creates a fantastic scoring chance....do to the continuing lack of NZ play, and far too much overall uncontested space. Which is by now most likely a brick wall no longer worth beating my head against. In short, hoping one day to have a far more organic look and feel to how the game plays. Ie....hockey is a far more gritty sport that so far, the game just doesn't represent vs the ai.

I'm hoping tuning pass accuracy and reception ease down will change the cpu AI like it did last gen to be more conservative about actually passing the puck back and forth and making more simple plays with it.

[HypoLuxa13]

Did not see the CPU dump the puck in a single time. Not a single time. But a guy will take it 1 on 5 while the rest of his line is changing off. Or hang behind the blue line until he sees an opening to skate into the opponent zone. But in real life, the puck gets dumped in about every single shift, so dozens of times per game. Well, this is the way it goes in the NHL series. So no surprises here. I had hope for this year though.

Otherwise, the game LOOKS fantastic. Got me in the mood to try true broadcast cam again. I couldn't adjust to the controls any time I've tried it in the past.

[ChaseB]

Quote: Originally Posted by HypoLuxa13

Did not see the CPU dump the puck in a single time. Not a single time. But a guy will take it 1 on 5 while the rest of his line is changing off. Or hang behind the blue line until he sees an opening to skate into the opponent zone. But in real life, the puck gets dumped in about every single shift, so dozens of times per game. Well, this is the way it goes in the NHL series. So no surprises here. I had hope for this year though. Otherwise, the game LOOKS fantastic. Got me in the mood to try true broadcast cam again. I couldn't adjust to the controls any time I've tried it in the past.

Yeah the hovering around the blue line is grating, especially because it should lead to way more turnovers if you do it.

That being said, maybe try "Always Up" when you use True Broadcast again. My muscle memory at this point is so ingrained that going side to side I still always feel like I'm going up and down on the controls because I played it that way for so long -- rather than try to get used to going side to side with the camera relative controls.

[AdamJones113]

Quote: Originally Posted by Vikes1

What i'm seeing here is a game i think i can play and hopefully enjoy. However, still seeing some historical issues that may hurt the overall experience for me. Nearly every rush up ice creates a fantastic scoring chance....do to the continuing lack of NZ play, and far too much overall uncontested space. Which is by now most likely a brick wall no longer worth beating my head against. In short, hoping one day to have a far more organic look and feel to how the game plays. Ie....hockey is a far more gritty sport that so far, the game just doesn't represent vs the ai.

It feels like they haven't got most of their small upgrades back from the late gen-3 years. That's not necessarily a dig at EA, mind you.

Look at a dev diary post on NHL 14, and you'll see that defenders are able to:

NHL 14 is all about gameplay balance, so we’ve improved True Performance Skating by adding lateral strafing, giving players the tools they need to play strong defense. Defensive strafing gives you the ability to move your player laterally across the ice while still facing up towards the puck carrier. This improves player body positioning; defenders in NHL 14 will have a better opportunity to make a play by forcing the attacking player wide and then using a poke check, a stick lift or a well-timed hit to separate them from the puck.

The key thing there (besides the fact that NHL 16 advertises an old feature that is now used as a more offensive weapon) is that the CPU has a problem in that they don't know how to use this stuff. When have you seen a CPU defender use the precision skating on defense in NHL 16? I can't recall seeing it. It's that lack of awareness by CPU defenders that makes offense easy and consistent for human players.

Conversely, for human defenders, strafing is a simple and small movement that doesn't do well against what the CPU (or especially another human player) has in their arsenal. The offensive CPU dekes, dangles, and cycles to the point where the user-initiated strafe is pointless. That's why it's necessary to have a defensive skill stick, to make defense meaningful and fun. That skill stick is a godsend for human defenseman, but the defensive CPU should know how to use it too. [I'm working on an outline for one in the NHL 17 packet I'm doing.]

Neutral zone pressure? What is that you speak up? There's a simple answer for it, and it's a slider that WORKS. This way online and casual play is unaffected and unaltered, but offline players can (and here's the key word) choose their path.

[Gbpackerowner]

Thanks for the videos! To me it looks a lot better than last years game. A step in the right direction for sure. And sliders that work can help us tweak it. I for one am glad I preordered the game for ps 4!

[mkharsh33]

In all the videos I watched today, it still looks like end-to-end skating where there's no pressure gaining the offensive zone at the blue line. Basically it's still the same game, with the cpu looking even more confused about spacing, movement, and hockey awareness.

I was thinking about getting an XBox One for this game - but eveything I've seen tells me to steer clear as I'll definitely be disappointed.