Phantom's REAL-SIM Sliders (NHL 14 BEAGM). Perfect Sim Hockey. Detailed info inside.

[phantomrecon]

Hi everyone, and thank you for viewing my sliders. Let's cut right to the chase. I'm a total hockey nerd, and enjoy playing my Franchise or BEAGM mode religiously for multiple seasons. 82 games at 10 minutes a period...well that's a lot of digital hockey over the years. I've been doing so for as long as the NHL franchise has offered the franchise/beagm mode, and have spent many years with the 2K franchise doing the same when it was in its glory days. I've always come to this site for my sliders for any sports game I choose to invest great amounts of time with, namely hockey, baseball and basketball titles with deep franchise modes (NBA 2K, The Show). OS has always offered a way to improve my game and make it more real, and so I hope to offer the same with these sliders.

I've used information gathered from other posters on topics such as puck control, attribute and player acceleration, which has been greatly helpful in putting the finishing touches on the slider set I crafted through my own experimentation and knowledge of previous installments. I'll also explain the reason behind any commonly controversial slider being at the setting it is.

Enjoy & please leave feedback!

Phantom's Real Simulation Sliders

Step 1: Adjust the Game Style to "High Impact" before making any slider adjustments. This turns on the hidden CPU-Aid setting, a feature in previous years which remains useful in boosting CPU teammate AI. This hidden setting is turned off by default on the "Hardcore Simulation" style of play. Enabling it makes your AI teammates more aggressive and prone to breaking up plays.

** It is interesting to note that even with player acceleration at equal values on Hardcore Simulation vs. High Impact styles of play, the speed of the game is naturally faster at the High Impact setting. This actually increases the authenticity of the speed of play, something I found to be very sluggish in many of the more realistic slider settings I tried previously. Hockey is the fastest game on earth!

Make all other adjustments only AFTER first changing the game style to High Impact. Once you begin to make your slider changes after this, the style will change to say custom. This is fine.

Step 2: Go to Visual Settings and change "puck size" and "puck trail/glow" to Authentic.

Difficulty: Superstar
Game Style: High Impact base, Custom

I also recommend playing with manual line changes for the best experience. It adds to the depth of the game play, as you can easily cause an opposing scoring chance on a rush due to your poorly timed change.

RULES
PERIOD LENGTH - 9 Minutes
OFFSIDES - Delayed
ICING - On
INJURIES - On
TIE BREAK - 5 Min (4 on 4) then Shootout
PENALTIES - 4
POST WHISTLE RULES - Relaxed (Authentic doesn't work properly/fairly)
PENALTY TIME SCALING - 6
FIGHTING - 1

9 minute periods offers plenty of opportunity for all 4 lines to get ice time and generate statistics, especially with the penalty time scaling maxed. It also makes the game move at a comfortable pace for those playing out entire seasons. Fighting can be adjusted to 0 if you absolutely hate it.

GAMEPLAY

GENERAL
Tuner Set - Latest
Game Speed - 1
Attribute Effects - 0
Fatigue Effect - Human: 2 / CPU: 1
Fatigue Recovery - 2 / 2
Injury Occurence - 2 / 2
Puck Control - 3 / 3
Player Acceleration - 2 / 2
Broken Stick Freq - 3 *

The key sliders here are the attribute slider being at 0 and puck control being at 3. For the attribute slider 3 is the default value, which makes players play at a level that accurately reflects their actual in-game attribute ratings. This sounds great, however leads to far too many goals on average and 4th liners sniping far too frequently. Maxing the attribute slider makes everyone play like Crosby. Leave it at 0, stars will stand out and grinders will have to grind. You can still score pretty goals! Having the puck control at 3 allows for a number of unpredictable lose pucks which you don't see when it is adjusted too aggressively. This slider works counter-intuitively, setting it to 0 will not cause more lose pucks - it will do the opposite! It essentially means "how difficult it is to knock the puck away from other players", however testing reveals it best set at 3 to produce realistic gameplay and shooting/passing stats. I have read this explanation posted in the official EA forums by legit EA staff members who went into detail on sliders for many previous versions of the NHL franchise, and nothing has changed in regards to the details of those sliders this year (typical EA). Maxing this will cause the "puck glued to stick" issue to become even worse however, and you'll see players getting shots off on lose pucks that seem to be nowhere near them logically.

This combination of sliders should eliminate a lot of the issues with the puck being "glued" to players sticks. It will now take strange, high bounces on the ice occasionally that can really throw you off in the defensive end. Players will also noticeably over-skate passes.

I've experimented with the attribute slider at 3, and the major drawback is that late in the game CPU players tend to get a "boost" that allows them to snipe unrealistic goals from sharp angles way too frequently. Sometimes 2-3 goals in the closing minutes. Having the attribute slider at 0, and later the goalie sliders maxed will almost totally eliminate that annoying issue.

Don't forget, this slider set keeps BEAGM players in mind. Players attributes increase after multiple years and this can quickly offset the scoring balance created by your adjustments, as a few years in to your career there are far more players with 88+ shot accuracy around the league. Having the attribute slider at 0 will counteract that problem before it happens!

As mentioned previously, player acceleration at 2 is still a faster game when the game style is set to High Impact rather than Hardcore Sim. This slight difference is enough to add just enough to the speed of players skating that it doesn't feel like they're stuck in sand. It also keeps it realistic too however, and the fatigue level ensures all lines must play, but that at least 1 is somewhat fresh at all times. You get a more realistic pace to the game with these sliders and the High Impact style with acceleration at 2 than with Hardcore Sim style and acceleration value at 4, which is something I tried previously.

Having the fatigue set to 2 for the player and 1 for the computer has some effect on 2 things. One, because this slider effects all player attributes, giving the CPU a slight edge will make the opposing AI play at a level closer to that of a human opponent. It also aids slightly in negating the CPU comeback issue late in games; something already essentially eliminated by other combinations of changes in these sliders. Credit to Fiddy for the idea behind the difficulty assistance through the fatigue slider.

* Thanks to RefMixture for the suggestion to boost the broken stick frequency slider up to a value of 3. I initially had it set to 2, but this was carried over from an older slider set not based on the high impact style base. Looks like either a slight difference in this is also caused by our other slider changes, or most likely the change to the high impact style.

AI
Created Plays - OFF
AI Learning - 3 (Any higher makes the CPU cheat)
CPU Difficulty Adjustment - 6
CPU Strategy Adjustment - 3
Be A Pro Strategy Adjustment - 0
Human Strategy Adjustment - 0
CPU Faceoff Difficulty - 4
Fight Difficulty - 4
CPU Penalties - 6
CPU Teammate Penalties - 6

Keep the AI learning to 3, any higher will make it feel like it has the power of foresight. Max out the CPU Difficulty, this will provide you with the ultimate AI challenge, but with the attribute slider already at 0, it won't feel like the AI is a superhuman cheating snipe-machine!

Keep the strategy adjustment at 3, as maxing it out causes the CPU to adjust too quickly and too often. Thanks to info from Cycloniac and his NHL 13 sliders thread for pointing to this also being a contributor to the comeback issue. When maxed out, the CPU becomes overly desperate and adjusts for maximum aggression to the point of being unrealistic. While we've already eliminated the computer's ability to score cheap and again unrealistic goals with mediocre players late in the game with these sliders, the vanilla game in NHL 14 doesn't. Think of it as a perfect storm that creates the CPU comeback issue. On one end the cpu strategy adjustment slider is too high and this drives the CPU to push hard late, while on the other end the combination of the attribute slider, goalie reaction, shot accuracy, and other sliders remain unaltered, granting the CPU unrealistic abilities with even their worst players.

PASSING
Pass Assist - 1 **
Manual Passing - ON
Pass Speed - 1
Saucer Pass Speed - 1
Pass Accuracy - Human: 5 / CPU: 4
Pass Reception Ease - 1 / 1
Pass Interceptions - 5 / 5

Pass assist at 1 keeps the game more realistic, stretch passes are possible for skilled playmakers but are risky for clunky defenders. You may bump it to 3 if you feel you can't complete even the simplest of passes, but easier tape to tape passing results in more goals. I suggest keeping it set to 1 for more accurate statistics.

If you watch NHL Hockey, most players make tape to tape passes pretty effortlessly, even banked off the boards and at distance. However at the speed of the game, a lot of passes miss because of ill-timed or mishandled receptions that get lost in player's skates, or simple deflections along the way. Having pass accuracy at 5 for the player and 4 for the CPU allows you to make your passes crisp, but the pass reception slider at 1 and interception slider at 5 makes the route to your target all the more dangerous. I hate having a pass from the CPU float right through my perfectly positioned defender, and these sliders eliminate that pet-peeve of mine entirely. The CPU always has an edge passing wise, hence the slight advantage to the player. Expect many lose pucks and gritty battles.

** I recommend keeping Pass Assist at 3 when you have friends over. They might not be used to the differences from the vanilla game and this will meet them half-way. Keep it at 1 versus the CPU and experienced players for best sim results.

SHOOTING
Shot Accuracy - Human: 0 / CPU: 0
Shot Power - 3 / 3
Slap Shot Accuracy - 1 / 1
Slap Shot Power - 4 / 4
One Timer Accuracy - 2 / 2

You can still snipe pretty goals bar-down, but those weak wristers and 10-foot out slapshots won't be as effective. A boost to slapshot power really makes you feel the difference, while one-timers aren't as deadly but won't miss an open mark.

CHECKING
Hitting Assistance - 0
Aggression - 4 / 4
Hitting Power - Human: 0 / CPU: 1
Stick Lift Effectiveness - 4 / 4
Poke Effectiveness - 4 / 4

Hitting power at 1 for the CPU is perfect, as putting it to 0 will cause defenders to be afraid at the blue line and give you easy entry to the zone. Aggression at 4 is ideal as any higher and defenders scurry out of position to go for big hits. The game is like NHL Hitz on default, so toning down the hitting game while keeping play aggressive is crucial.

GOALIES
Goalie Passing - 2
Goalie Cover Puck Freq - 6
Goalie Screen Effect - 3 / 3
Goalie Reaction Speed - 6 / 6

Goalies react more realistically and don't put every puck back into play. They actually go for whistles. Reaction speed at 6 eliminates CPU cheese goals late in the game when in combination with the attribute slider and shot accuracy changes.

That's it! I've been using this slider set for a long time now, and thought I'd finally share it. So far so good in my personal BEAGM, games averaging about 5 goals combined and 29-30sh shots a side.

The passing might seem unforgiving at first but remember the goal is realistic simulation hockey with accurate statistics. Give this a shot for a few games in a season and you should feel real satisfaction in scoring a nice goal, or grinding out a nice defensive 1-0 win. Each game will play out different over the course of a season, some higher scoring than others. So don't base all of your final judgment just on one quick game!

Once again, credit to OS for knowledge into a lot of key topics, such as the use of certain sliders and how they really effect the gameplay. Please leave comments once you've tried these yourself!

Gameplay Video Clips
These are simply here to highlight specific areas of interest with the sliders and game in general. Quality isn't the best as I didn't want to wait around for the game to encode everything, and the team is a custom Las Vegas squad ranked dead-last in the league rating-wise. Huberdeau being the only player rated above an 80 overall (we replaced Florida and added some foreign talent from other leagues).

Physics:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPf-IehE-zw
This video demonstrates a few things quite nicely. While generally the AI is aggressive and effective at taking you off of the puck, this clip begins with a player brushing off 3 separate checks before finding space for a shot. It also demonstrates a nice lose puck and board battle created by the rebound. Notice the two players at the end? That's not the board-pin animation (triangle button), that's two AI players fighting for a lose puck and positioning.


Variety in Goals:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjJfC1tGO_8
In the first goal video you'll see the offensively gifted Zherdev create some space with his speed and puck-handling before beating the goalie clean with a laser of a wrister. Zherdev is the team's leading goal scorer, so the sliders allow stars to be stars on their respective teams despite the aggressive difficulty adjustments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSA6PrJmPTs
This second clip shows that it's also possible for a big clunky defender to get lucky through a screen every once and a while. Here we see Valabik, who has a horribly inaccurate shot, put one through a screen to win a game in OT. The difference between this goal and Zherdev's? Zherdev has 15x the goals that Valabik does on the season so far; that was Valabik's first. So while both CAN score one clearly does so much more frequently.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiaRGeN8Rik
The third video shows two attacking players gain the zone and create space with a drop pass for a chance in-close on net. Once again a hard shot beats the goalie clean. Notice the tight spacing between the players on both teams but that a well-timed pass to a well-positioned player can still offer room to make a good play, just not for too long.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuYAGXMQawo
Fourth is some variety in CPU scoring. Notice that the offense didn't come from the blue-line or off a tip? The computer makes a nice passing play and is robbed blind, but wins a lose puck battle off the rebound to bury it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9rcsVcrwhk
Fifth we clearly see the user win a clean race to a lose puck in the computer's zone. It is possible to create space and distance if you're smart and sometimes a little lucky. Separation is very possible, as is closing the gap however as...as our next video will illustrate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6C0fmfoC5I
Valabik is 6'7" and has speed well under 80. He's still able to close the gap along the boards and lay out a vicious hit. We've seen players get through the D so far, but don't be fooled, they're all over you too and can lay you out in return.

More/better to come as I can record more specific areas of the game in action. I've got some game encoded replays in higher quality I want to get uploaded to better detail things.

[Cycloniac]

A lot of the observations you have made about the sliders are astute. However, the glaring one I noticed was the attribute effect slider.

I've seen Fiddy dabble with this slider, playing with it at 0, so I decided to give it a try; first in a game, then in practice (shooting drill). The difference isn't immediately noticeable in-game, but there's a CLEAR difference if you're using rosters other than EA's. I went into practice with Zdeno Chara, and I'd tuned his ratings and my sliders to produce accurate shot speeds. Chara was shooting a 93MPH slap shot; I felt sick to my stomach.

This slider at 0 is good for EA's rosters, but for rosters such as the Revamped Project it nullifies a lot of the differences between players as reflected in their attributes.

[bubs3141]

I am going to try these on all-star with coach mode. I also play 20 minute periods. I am not concerned about shot totals, as long as the play seems real and the scores are not crazy.

[phantomrecon]

Quote: Originally Posted by Cycloniac

A lot of the observations you have made about the sliders are astute. However, the glaring one I noticed was the attribute effect slider. I've seen Fiddy dabble with this slider, playing with it at 0, so I decided to give it a try; first in a game, then in practice (shooting drill). The difference isn't immediately noticeable in-game, but there's a CLEAR difference if you're using rosters other than EA's. I went into practice with Zdeno Chara, and I'd tuned his ratings and my sliders to produce accurate shot speeds. Chara was shooting a 93MPH slap shot; I felt sick to my stomach. This slider at 0 is good for EA's rosters, but for rosters such as the Revamped Project it nullifies a lot of the differences between players as reflected in their attributes.

This is a good point to bring up, as clearly I've done all testing using the default updated rosters from EA. However I would like to bring to your attention that the speed recorded in regards to shots (MPH) is not the focus of my intentions. Personally, I never did trust EA's digital radar guns whether they be implemented in their NHL series or back in MVP Baseball. Now I haven't actually gone to fiddle with things to see if it is possible to have accurate shot speeds in combination with the changes already made in my sliders, but it's something I'm more than willing to overlook if it means accomplishing realistic on-ice play with realistic statistics.

I found the slapshot speeds to be underwhelming by default and initially had it boosted by 2 additional ticks above the initial value. However increasing slapshot power anymore unfortunately hinders other areas of the game, as it makes slapshots on target more prone to "going through" or right by the goalie - a direct result of more shot power. It's a delicate balance of power and accuracy to ensure that enough pucks actually miss the net on slapshots, which create deflection opportunities and wild bounces off the boards, but that they also hit the mark on clear paths to the net more often than not.

Essentially things do become more complicated when not using default EA rosters, but I think the question is, what is more important to you? Chara having a 100+ MPH shot recorded on a digital radar system that has proven to be far from consistent and accurate in previous years iterations of the NHL series, or knowing that when you wind up for that big clapper with The Big Z that it will produce realistic screnarios, and to the user have that slapshot feel notably heavier than a wrister, with proper weight behind it.

Most importantly though, without the attribute slider at 0 you are basically committing yourself to 1 to 2 successful years of BEAGAM before attribute increases ruin all scoring balance. This speeds obviously depends on the level of player progression from year to year. If you want to produce the same results more or less in year 5 as in year 1, the attribute slider at 0 is a must. For me, this is not an option.

In the end it may come down to personal preference.

Great point to bring up again though, thanks.

As for playing on All-Star with 20 minute periods...you can try it. These setting are designed to reproduce accurate play and stats at the Superstar level with the difficulty sliders where there are for reasons more than just difficulty. For example, turning the High-Impact style on initially actually improves your teammate defensive AI. There are similar scenarios riddled all over these sliders, and in some cases multiple sliders are working together to fix specific gameplay issues.

Personally I think that with lower difficulty and longer periods you may see way too many shots and goals. Then again it may be largely dependent on your offensive and defensive abilities. Not sure how this will translate to Coach Mode, but it sounds fun!

Please to report back your results though as I'm very interested. In previous years lowering the difficulty has produced more authentic gameplay, but as mentioned, these sliders are designed with the greatest sim and difficulty experience in mind.

PS. I'm going to update the information as to why the fatigue is adjusted to where it's at tonight. I had this down to a science but I seem to have forgotten to write said science down. I know the values have a very specific reason for being 2 to 1 (player to CPU) and hopefully a quick read through these forums later will refresh my memory. It was good science too!

Thanks and keep the comments coming!

[wrv2]

Thanks for posting these. I'm going to try these tonight when I get home.

Quick question, what have you seen penalty-wise with these sliders? It is so difficult to get the CPU to take penalties (something EA refuses to fix).

Thanks for the post!

[phantomrecon]

I'm loving the amount of penalties taken to be honest. I've seen quite a few 5 on 3 chances go to both sides in the first 10 games of my current season with these. You'll notice a variety in the types of calls too. Quite a few charges, blatant interferences and trips, and high sticks. It's nice that most dirty plays will get called by the refs no matter if it's you, your cpu teammate or the opposing cpu committing the crime. Hell the penalty aspect I would argue is perfectly authentic. Especially with 9 minute periods and the extended penalty time scaling.

Thanks for trying them, can't wait to hear back after a few games.

[Steven547]

I'll have to give these a shot. However, Superstar level and CPU Difficulty maxed, in the past, is what created the "CPU boost / comeback" mode. Do you not find that now? Have you tried these with COACH mode or Position Lock?

[hockeyyt988]

Phantom, I gotta say I'm really enjoying these sliders. I play strictly Live the Life and so I'm always trying to find a healthy balance of simulated hockey that doesn't make the AI act like boneheads. I do think these sliders cater to that.

I played 4 games last night with my LTL player (on the Maple Leafs) and I was seeing a good variety in gameplay. The first game, we were out shot by Detroit 35-21 and lost 4-0. 2nd game, we beat Detroit 3-2 and shots were 37-25 Detroit, and the last game resulted in us beating Chicago 5-4 and we heavily out shot them (forgot the number, but these shot totals were high. I think 45 for me and 30 something for Chicago). So the game variety is there. Phantom is right about the passing; with the pass assist lower, you will see more errant passes but this adds to the simulated experience. The best part, my guy didn't score all the goals and even get too many assist. It was nice being able to see other members of the team contribute which has always plagued the LTL mode.

I should add that I play with Authentic settings, so my guy comes off and I simulate to the next shift. I experienced fairly solid gameplay numbers. The only thing that worries me, is the computer team still has a ridicoulous passing %, and the shot totals seem to be slightly high, however this is probably more so the game itself and the mode that I'm playing. Being a LTL player (position lock), I do feel starting at High Impact is the way to go. It enables you teammate AI to play a bit smarter and react to loose pucks and what not. To Steven's point, no these sliders don't seem to kick the cpu into "comeback" mode, though both the 2nd Detroit and Chicago game the cpu game back to tie it before we ultimately pulled ahead.