NHL 17 - More Details on Gameplay, Franchise, EASHL & Much More (Game Informer)

[actionhank]

Quote: Originally Posted by azy19

Thank god. I don't get why so many people are upset over the new franchise stuff. It's atleast something to do instead of the very bare bones roster management.

It's not that their exactly made about the new stuff, more frustrated that the old stuff hasn't been given any love in a while.

My personal frustration is that EA often adds features, but the features aren't fully fleshed out and don't really add much. The Morale thing seemed like it would be cool, but it doesn't really seem to affect anything at all in game. If my guys are happy or sad, it doesn't really matter to me. I'm not going to have a star demand a trade. I don't have to worry about guys not wanting to sign with me because I trade players a lot, or because we're frequently in the league basement. Similarly, there's no real excitement to any of the out-of-game action. The trade deadline, the free agent signings, all of it just feels pretty flat.

So, I'm not really mad they added something new. More frustrated they're expanding the mode before it really works that well.

That aside, I'm eager to see how the sliders work. Sliders in this game have been a source of frustration for a while. Some seem to work opposite of how we expect them to, and others don't seem to change much at all. It will be really nice if the new sliders can get the AI to miss on some passes, and maybe make it a bit more worth your time to pay attention to who's on the ice.

As it stands now, it doesn't really matter if my shutdown line is out on the ice, because my 4th line grinders work just as well on the defensive end of things. They can send out Malkin and Crosby, but I don't need to worry about getting Steen and Stastny out there, because the faceoff is likely a toss-up, and the defensive side of things won't matter much.

Better sliders could mean that Crosby is going to be lethal with his passing, while their 3rd line center might not be so dangerous, instead of the current mode, where every line can make laser passes all day with the AI controlling them.

[mkilcNYR]

The slider addition is nice and I'm a fan of greater price control like in NBA 2K but I only like it because the GM mode itself is fully fleshed out and the rosters are good. Everyone on all teams play the same whether they are on the 1st, 4th, or in the AHL. I just don't see sliders having that much of an impact when all the players are rated so close to each other. I would want to see greater roster customization and flexibility before I buy another NHL game

[BlacknBlue]

While I like them seemingly addressing the hits with the players falling on the pucks and getting back up without losing possession, I fear that it will be "fixed" by just having more of the puck squirting out to the next closest teammate, like it currently does.

Pay attention to when you hit a cpu player that has the puck, around 7+ times out of 10 the puck will instantaneously go to the next closest cpu player. It almost works better than a pass for them.

And one of the biggest issues playing against the CPU remains the unnatural movements/skating, especially in the neutral zone. Never in my life of playing and watching hockey have I seen players race up the ice and stop and then backpedal and move the way the CPU can in the neutral zone. Looks like basketball players half the time.

[spoofrice11]

Anyone know more about how creating teams will work?
I just want to be able to replace teams with my created teams and not have to be a city I don't like until it lets me move the team in the future.

It needs to be like MyLeague in NBA 2K16 where you can upload images and then replace teams in the League. (One thing 2K16 needed was though to be able to create your team before starting your Franchise and being able to use your logo/jerseys/stadium instead of having to create all of that after you start and re-doing it if you want to start over.

I am trying to decide on if I want to get NHL or Madden this year and was leaning towards NHL, but that could get me to change my mind.

[bad_philanthropy]

Quote: Originally Posted by spoofrice11

Anyone know more about how creating teams will work? I just want to be able to replace teams with my created teams and not have to be a city I don't like until it lets me move the team in the future. It needs to be like MyLeague in NBA 2K16 where you can upload images and then replace teams in the League. (One thing 2K16 needed was though to be able to create your team before starting your Franchise and being able to use your logo/jerseys/stadium instead of having to create all of that after you start and re-doing it if you want to start over. I am trying to decide on if I want to get NHL or Madden this year and was leaning towards NHL, but that could get me to change my mind.

Don't count on it being anything like NBA. NHL is a much smaller budget title. Expect the team relocation to be somewhat like Madden's has been for years.

As far as created teams, there is no info yet. Last gen you could create a team from any city you named and replace whatever team you wanted in GM mode with. It was a functional, if barebones, implementation.

[BruinsHockey08]

Quote: Originally Posted by bad_philanthropy

Don't count on it being anything like NBA. NHL is a much smaller budget title. Expect the team relocation to be somewhat like Madden's has been for years. As far as created teams, there is no info yet. Last gen you could create a team from any city you named and replace whatever team you wanted in GM mode with. It was a functional, if barebones, implementation.

Even if it is like Madden, is that a bad thing? I don't think so. I haven't done anything on NBA for relocation so I can't sit here and say how good or bad it is, but the relocation option is very appealing to me.

[bad_philanthropy]

Quote: Originally Posted by BruinsHockey08

Even if it is like Madden, is that a bad thing? I don't think so. I haven't done anything on NBA for relocation so I can't sit here and say how good or bad it is, but the relocation option is very appealing to me.

Agreed on Madden. I really like it, and I'm looking forward the feature (however it is implemented) in NHL.

[MavsUCCB]

I still miss custom music, my 360 had about 900 30 second clips ready to go for breaks in the play and it always made franchise mode a little bit more fun as I didn't hear the same 20 songs every game. Also replaced the menu music with the classic NHL video game music as well so I had a nice NHL 94-95-96-97-98 feel when messing around with my roster.