The Psychology of Sliders: How the Community is Changing NHL 17

[karlos]

Quote: Originally Posted by BigBadAss33

i say use FIDDY's slider Set found here - http://www.operationsports.com/forum...7-sliders.html give them a try.. they are tough but fair thanks

Thanks I'll give them a try.

Cheers

[charter04]

Great read!

I know more about the Madden side of things in regard to sliders but, I think it's all pretty similar.

I often wonder why so many won't even give an out of the box game much of a chance.

Some might play one half or one game and make whole sale changes but, then tell others that it takes 5-10 games to get a feel for their sliders. lol

I think for some it comes down to control. They want to get a certain level of recognition for the game they love. So they "work" on sliders year round.

Admittedly I was one of those people to an extent. I realized how much of a waist of time it was personally and just enjoy sports games for what they are and make changes if I need to but, stay closer to default.

I do think some of the reason we mess with sliders at all is because any company is releasing a game to the masses. So they have to make settings have the broadest appeal.

Because of that you have certain aspects of sports games that they feel can't be quite as real as real life because it may be too difficult or confusing to the masses.

This is where sliders can come in. We can adjust certain parts of a game to our liking.

Does it make the game better? Not necessarily.

I am for more settings to adjust personally. So I'm glad games like NHL are going that way.



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[KingTocco]

There are some great responses in here for sure and I'd like to shoutout Jay D for his perspective because it echoes some of my sentiments towards sliders in Sports games.

This is my first NHL I've bought in at least 3-4 years, I played NHL 16 for about a week or two right before 17 came out using my EA Access trial. I took a hiatus from the series and actually from following/liking hockey in general. I don't know what happened but one day I just flipped a switch and stopped liking the sport I spent 15 years of my childhood playing and loving.

Anyway, I'm back now and having acclimated myself again with the sport and video game series I've now moved up to All-Star difficulty and can consistently play well. I was previously playing on the 3/4 setting as it said it was the default for the online competitive side I thought it made sense to keep it uniform throughout all the modes.

On All-Star 3/4 setting there were way too many goals being scored and I felt my goalie was terrible even with pretty solid defense from me. So I messed with sliders for one game and then it got too easy for me again, I was in that back and forth spot where I was trying to make it not too hard but not too easy and was over analyzing ever part of the game.

So I decided to try out All-Star Full-Sim and initially liked it, it felt more fair. I was getting more realistic scores although my passing was terrible. I messed with the pass assistance rating and made it higher for me because the computer was still averaging 90%+ passing every game. It then became too easy IMO and I was scoring 5-6+ per game still.

I thought it was time to bump my settings back down to All-Star Full-Sim completely default and I am now playing on that setting and greatly enjoying it. I've had some really fair games while also trying to accept that some games I'll score a lot and others I won't, it's a game after all.

So I love sliders and I think they are great to add customization for gameplay and modes, I know some people really love them and do a great job of making sets for the community (shoutout to the guys here). I also love playing a default setting and know I can still get a fairly great and sim-ish game out of the box too.

[onlybygrace]

Great responses...I feel somewhat obligated to say something, being one of the slider guys around here...then I changed my mind because it really doesn't matter what I think. lol

[jake19ny]

Funny, I was one of the many screaming for more sliders and 1-100 sliders and now we have it I became overwhelmed and didn't want to go insane tweaking. I basically use default sliders and tweaked only
Game speed
Pass accuracy
Shot accuracy
Penalties
I think that's partly credited to the fact that this years game plays pretty darn good out of the box and I just made adjustments to the little areas I felt suited my game style and preference.

[SandGropeR]

Is there a way to save them when in BAP so they load up as default, I always have to fiddle with them once in the BAP menu as they revert back to original and it becomes a chore.

a big thanks for this thread by the way

[superballs]

I started NHL17 on Full Sim/Pro.

I'm not that good, but man I almost never feel cheated or a victim of "ice tilt".

NHL 16 was probably the worst NHL game I've ever played. The AI just tac tac tac tac tape to tape like they were a hive-mind and put it in.

I stepped up my defensive play and got better but just felt like if I was an inch out of place it was a sure snipe from the slot.

In 17, it feels like things happen. I mean weird bounces that create insane tense moments, real scrambles for the puck, real fights and scrums against the board with three players stabbing at the puck like mad trying to poke it loose. The stick tie-ups create weird "somebody just get that already" moments, the passing around the offensive zone feels substantial and setting up in front of the net for a deflection with vision control feels so satisfying when you pull it off.

I've also noticed that a LOT of pucks go wide of the net. When watching hockey, I find that this is usually the cause of the relatively low number of shots on net. A lot of shots are taken, but only a few are actually shots on goal, most go over and wide.

Hitting the post is still a little too frequent, but not maddeninly so. In fact, I'd even venture so far as to say when a shot goes off the post, it's enough to make your heart stop in relief or in angst depending on what end of it you were on.

It's not perfect, but I really feel with the substantial stick checking and that "clogged slot" feeling I've never really gotten out of a hockey game, the sloppy, loose puck feeling that made me love NHL2k10 so much, and generally good AI (with exception) assisting you, this is my favorite NHL game since NHL10 and NHL2K10.

[Armor and Sword]

I love sliders.

Everyone who knows me around here knows I am an old school Atari 2600/Intellivision kid. And I have played just about all of the console sports games throughout the last 36 years.


When sliders first became available for me to use I was really happy. And it was really simple for me. I play the game on default out of the box settings on my appropriate skill level and get a great feel for how the game plays both on my side and the CPU side. Once I have that feel and a nice sample size I simply ask myself what is the game not giving me that I want. I then turn some knobs and after a few weeks I pretty much am able to hone in the right tuning for my personal taste and what I want out of the game.

I then share it with the community and always....always tell everyone to use it as a base and tweak to your taste.

I also take it to a place of where I share my personal camera settings, the approach I take in playing the game and why and offer community members a way to play the game maybe a little differently than they have before to see if that ups the "simulation" factor for them. I develop my sliders playing the game in the "style" I play it. So I tend to think I am more a niche player slider guy.

I never over think it. I use more of a "feel and see" process then a science process to my sports video game settings and it works for me....and hopefully many members of our community.

But most of all the game has to be fun. Because that is the number one reason I play sports games. Pure fun, and enjoyment.