NHL 13

[MizzouRah]

I'm a hockey fiend and NHL 13 is sounding more and more like the giant leap we had with the skill stick back in 07.

Most of you hockey gamers have probably already read about the new skating engine and GM connected careers, but this really has me drooling:

NHL 13: GM Brain | EA SPORTS

[DaddyTorgo]

Haven't heard about it - looking forward to checking it out!!

[Icy]

Along with FIFA, my only "must" purchase year after year.

[DaddyTorgo]

Yeah - dis looks GOOD

[Chubby]

you bastards better not sucker me into buying this with an fofc gm MP league

[MizzouRah]

Yeah baby..

[EagleFan]

A little worried that the changes are going to resul in a rash of 1-0 games with about 10 shots a game.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

A little worried that the changes are going to resul in a rash of 1-0 games with about 10 shots a game.

Just play Minnesota vs. Edmonton every game and that's damn realistic.

[bhlloy]

See, that sounds pretty awesome to me. The problem with the NHL series has always been too easy to generate chances and having to make goalies unrealistically good as a result.

However, the first screen in that trailer has Visnovsky on the Islanders, which is clearly a bug. I won't be buying it for that reason alone.

[bhlloy]

DOLA - I do find it interesting that all these clips are human player vs player. I'm sure any game looks good when two of the devs are playing against each other. Just sitting back and watching an AI vs AI game would be much more telling IMO.

That being said, it really looks like they've taken a shot at making this a much more realistic hockey game and what we do see of CPU teammates looks pretty damn good.

[MizzouRah]

I don't think you will need to worry about scoring chances.



Also, a good blog on the new GM Brain for Be a GM mode:

NHL 13: GM Brain | EA SPORTS

GM Connected mode

[Mota]

I like the work they've done with GM Brain. Nice to see that the career mode has actually been looked at a text sim type level.

[Maple Leafs]

Honest question: Were people really complaining that the defense wasn't already picking off enough passes and knocking away enough loose pucks?

I don't play often so I'm far from a good player, but I already can't complete a damn pass in the offensive zone.

[DaddyTorgo]

Looking forward to the demos for this and FIFA.

[bhlloy]

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

Honest question: Were people really complaining that the defense wasn't already picking off enough passes and knocking away enough loose pucks?

I don't play often so I'm far from a good player, but I already can't complete a damn pass in the offensive zone.

I'd agree with that ML, my complaints would be that it's always been way to easy to just skate around and get a decent shot off and it's always been way to easy to gain the zone and play through center ice and get a rush going. Looks like they may have tried to improve defensive AI although the second video seems to contradict that somewhat

[yacovfb]

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

Honest question: Were people really complaining that the defense wasn't already picking off enough passes and knocking away enough loose pucks?

I don't play often so I'm far from a good player, but I already can't complete a damn pass in the offensive zone.

For the most part I'd agree but cross crease passes were overly deadly and went through way too many sticks. Dmen in front of the net tend to stop tying up the other player when the puck gets close by.

[Maple Leafs]

I'm just worried this is going to be what drove me away from Madden all over again.

Every EA Sports game is going to have certain fans who play the game 12 hours a day and develop ninja skills. Then those people go online, dominate, and then take to the forums and blogs complaining about how easy the game is.

So EA cranks up the AI to make it harder for the uber-players and promises that this time it's going to be super hard to even do basic stuff like complete a pass. The obsessive fanboys rejoice. And next thing you know, casual players like me are going 3-for-32 with 19 interceptions, quietly putting the controller down, and never playing again.

[MizzouRah]

Demo next Tuesday!

[MizzouRah]

Demo is out, downloading now.

[DaddyTorgo]

Played just one time so far - it plays like a more realistic-skating version of 12, which is a good thing. Maybe if I turn down the difficulty i can get some more shots on target in the shortened time period and see how the GKing and all is.

[MizzouRah]

Wow.. this is sports game of the year territory.

Ok.. a bit premature. But.. the new skating engine is all of that and then some. The game really feels like a hockey game. Put it on AS and I've seen a little bit of everything, loose pucks, dump and chase, penalties, scrums, offsides, teams being pinned in without being able to give up the puck, breakaways, etc..

What an excellent job they have done this year - especially where it matters most, gameplay and AI. My teammates finally have a hockey sense! Can't wait to see the full product!

[SlyBelle1]

How are penalties? Reading in the forums seems to indicate they are scarce as usual. That has driven me crazy in past versions and had to stop playing because neither myself or CPU could generate realistic numbers. Power play is too important in hockey for it not to be realistic.

[Icy]

Could only play one game yesterday but love the new skating engine!

You can feel the players weight now, and speed/agility and acceleration finally matter!

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by SlyBelle1

How are penalties? Reading in the forums seems to indicate they are scarce as usual. That has driven me crazy in past versions and had to stop playing because neither myself or CPU could generate realistic numbers. Power play is too important in hockey for it not to be realistic.

I've had at least two in each game - and this is only 5 minute periods. Seems improved to me. Plus you can't move the slider all the way up.

[SirFozzie]

definitely want to do a league of this when it comes out.

[SlyBelle1]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

I've had at least two in each game - and this is only 5 minute periods. Seems improved to me. Plus you can't move the slider all the way up.

I don't know, I am a little concerned...after about 10 games, I have only seen one penalty. The sliders might not be maxed, but maxing the sliders in past versions didn't do much good. I am really hoping the real game is not like this. If I am not mistaking the average number of PPs per game in the NHL is something near 6-7.

[Jack1974]

Am I interpreting correctly that there is an option to just coach the games from the bench? If so that sounds quite cool.

[MizzouRah]

Winter Classic..

[Logan]

Any good deals to be had on this for XBox? I don't play video games at all anymore (a few months back, I fired up NHL 10 for a couple game), but this has me intrigued. Hard to justify the $60+ though.

[MizzouRah]

Try TRU.. Amazon has a $15 off next purchase deal.

[SlyBelle1]

Well, starting my season pass download, but will take me hours In the meantime, been reading some early impressions and seems like my biggest fear with this game might still exist...too few penalties Seems like they are seeing like 1 per team per game. I believe even one player had penalties maxed out. Sounds the same as past versions.

If this turns out to be true, this might be the first year I cancel my pre-order...just can't live with one of the most important parts of the game not reasonably implemented.

[Balldog]

Downloading now too

[Icy]

Downloading it now, but will take 4 hours, and it's midnight in Spain, so i better go to bed and play it when i wake up.

[SlyBelle1]

After playing a number of games last night, my fears are confirmed, penalties are still a major issue.....in all of my games but one, I only saw a total of "1" penalty combined for both teams. In one game I did see the CPU take 5 penalties, but my team had 0. So even if/when they are called, not evenly distributed like in most NHL games.

Big time disappointment and now struggling with canceling my order which is a shame because I like everything else about the game. I just have zero faith that EA will correct the issue during the season since it has existed for multiple versions now. For some reason I think EA believes gamers don't want to see penalties in their games (i.e. madden, NHL, etc.). I am OK if by default they lower them, but when we use the sliders and max out penalties and see no difference, that is just plain crazy.

[Chubby]

You say this like you actually expected to see penalties when we haven't in probably a decade...

[SlyBelle1]

Originally Posted by Chubby

You say this like you actually expected to see penalties when we haven't in probably a decade...

Your right about that....for some reason I hoped EA would eventually correct the issue.....this is one area the 2k series always did a great job with in their games. Just can't wrap my head around on how nobody during play testing identifies this issue. Only thing I can think of is they don't want penalties in their games.

[Balldog]

I am seeing the same issue with penalties. I have not played since NHL 11 and thought penalties were OK then but now I am trying to commit interference and it's not called at all.

[MizzouRah]

I'm assuming you all have turned them all the way up?

[Ajaxab]

Originally Posted by SlyBelle1

Only thing I can think of is they don't want penalties in their games.

That is a really interesting observation. Not to excuse EA (because they don't need excuses), but are penalties difficult to program? Especially with EA's control schemes? I haven't played the NHL game for awhile now, but is it even possible to hook or slash another player? I know you can poke check or stick lift which could lead to tripping or high sticking, but hooking and slashing seem impossible. Interference would seem to be relatively easy to code, but it would seem like people would complain that it was being called too much on accidental collisions. Sliders, if they were effective, might fix that problem though. Intriguing hypothesis Slybelle...

[SlyBelle1]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

I'm assuming you all have turned them all the way up?

Yep, sliders maxed plus even tried increasing hitting power and aggressiveness.

[SlyBelle1]

Originally Posted by Ajaxab

That is a really interesting observation. Not to excuse EA (because they don't need excuses), but are penalties difficult to program? Especially with EA's control schemes? I haven't played the NHL game for awhile now, but is it even possible to hook or slash another player? I know you can poke check or stick lift which could lead to tripping or high sticking, but hooking and slashing seem impossible. Interference would seem to be relatively easy to code, but it would seem like people would complain that it was being called too much on accidental collisions. Sliders, if they were effective, might fix that problem though. Intriguing hypothesis Slybelle...

Otherwise I just cant fathom how they miss this yearly....2k had this right.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by SlyBelle1

Yep, sliders maxed plus even tried increasing hitting power and aggressiveness.

Last year I would see about 3 per game on average, way too low for sure but their football games have no penalties in them either.

[SlyBelle1]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

Last year I would see about 3 per game on average, way too low for sure but their football games have no penalties in them either.

Agreed...madden drives me crazy too But in madden at least you can crank up some of the sliders and get holding/offsides to at least represent penalties, even if not interference. In hockey different story. PP/PK is too critical to the game not to be there. 3 penalties per game is too low and often times I don't even see that many. Its a real shame since the rest of the game seems pretty solid or at least I could live with.

[MizzouRah]

It is a shame, maybe a fix via tuner or something?

I like the game play too much though. Played my weekly NCAA game last night and had maybe 1 penalty all game. It's just something I can live with.

[SlyBelle1]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

It is a shame, maybe a fix via tuner or something?

I like the game play too much though. Played my weekly NCAA game last night and had maybe 1 penalty all game. It's just something I can live with.

I am hoping, but even if they "can", the question is "will they"....since past history is all we have to go on, it suggests they will not do a thing. I do enjoy the gameplay which is why this is such a shame....just give me realistic powerplays and this game would rock, versus being on the verge of me cancelling...

[CraigSca]

I think hockey is hindered the most when it comes to lack of penalties, but i do think they do it right where they turn off accelerated clock during the actual power play.

As far as the other sports are concerned, I'm not so sure people really want that many penalties. It might be something they actually tested and found that people were completely irritated by it because it's completely out of the user's control. And then, of course, you'd have the loud conspiracy voice stating the game is fixed against the human player because of that holding call the caused him to lose the game.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

Last year I would see about 3 per game on average, way too low for sure but their football games have no penalties in them either.

I get more than that playing NHL 12 (Be A Pro, all default settings), feels pretty reasonable. More like 6 per game or so.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

I get more than that playing NHL 12 (Be A Pro, all default settings), feels pretty reasonable. More like 6 per game or so.

Yeah, I played a full season and would have games with 1 or 2 and then a couple of games with 7 or 8. Playing 10 minute periods might have something to do with that too?

The only gripe I have is that setting the slider all the way up should greatly increase penalties, I mean, why have a slider?

Doesn't bother me enough to not get it though, I really love the new skating engine.

[SlyBelle1]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

Yeah, I played a full season and would have games with 1 or 2 and then a couple of games with 7 or 8. Playing 10 minute periods might have something to do with that too?

The only gripe I have is that setting the slider all the way up should greatly increase penalties, I mean, why have a slider?

Doesn't bother me enough to not get it though, I really love the new skating engine.

That is my biggest complaint....we have sliders, so why can't they make them just work and then everyone can enjoy playing they way they want? Mind boggling.

I wish I could look past this issue myself, but PP/PK too important to the game of hockey. A group of us sent tweets to the official EANHL folks and they did appear to respond it would be something they would look into. However, they seemed surprised there was an issue so I don't have high hopes.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

Yeah, I played a full season and would have games with 1 or 2 and then a couple of games with 7 or 8. Playing 10 minute periods might have something to do with that too?

It really could. We played a 5 minute period tourney at work and usually had 1 or 2 per game. For 15 minutes of hockey, that's not at all unreasonable.