Hi Everyone,
I've been wanting to start this thread for awhile now but just haven't had the time. With all of the different slider sets, opinions on how to play the game, and the obvious differences between what people believe virtual hockey should feel like, I wanted to start a thread that discusses attribute and global slider research so that people can more easily understand what results us slider-makers are trying to achieve when we set sliders/attributes a certain way.
I think this will be extremely helpful for people stuck between difficulty levels as this may help them make a slider/global attribute change to get x to be more/less effective which could solve the issues they're running into. This could also be a good thread to challenge "accepted" values for certain sliders either based out of routine or simply not enough testing on a particular slider.
This discussion is open to anything and everything (x-factors included) as I am currently on NHL 20 but have done my fair share of tweaking and testing on NHL 22 as well. I'll kick us off with one of my more recent discoveries in NHL 20 that should carryover to its successors based on how I feel the slider works.
First Attribute I'd like to discuss today:
"preparedness effect" slider under the "checking" tabs.
Use case for diving in:
This series has always had a hard time in allowing "little bumps" to exist in contexts where they should without those same little bumps plaguing things such as breakaways. I want to try and mitigate this to achieve more dynamic hitting outcomes to reward body positioning when in the right spot (small checks on a rush) without always being bumped from behind when I have a step on the CPU.
Values I usually see:
50-55/100
Value I'm using:
95/100
My Results:
My test games with this slider set to 95 have had some really encouraging results so far. The biggest concern for many is probably the "ragdoll" hits but I'd like to report that I haven't seen really any more ragdolls that what I already would've expected before making this change. If you or the CPU skates into a check while deking, you're going to get absolutely blown up.
The highlight of my findings so far though have actually been the low-speed hits and the ability to brush off hits in a realistic fashion. Holding out RS is considered to be "not as prepared' from my testing, this means you can't use it as an avoidance crutch against an aggressive CPU defender. We all know the CPU can be over-aggressive and take some bad angles into a check, this slider will allow them to have more success in hitting you which makes the game harder (obviously a good thing if you're looking for a "pro-star" experience). This also means that you can deliver effective but small checks when the CPU decides to sprint into you on the rush while holding their stick out. This also means that using "protect the puck" when you see a hit coming that you do absorb the hit effectively which is a big win. One other win is that skating normally when you have a step on a defender you don't seem very susceptible to the small bumps/checks which allows you to actually gain a 2-3 step gap on a defender with patience, then go into your RS moves on a breakaway.
Overall, I've found that this has been a very good win so far. It has not lead to a ton of crazy big checks, but it has lead to a much more effective small checking game. All while also bring more balance than I was expecting in terms of puck carriers getting to absorb hits when appropriate. Is it perfect? no. But it's been a worthwhile exploration that is now a permanent fixture on my slider set.
I've been wanting to start this thread for awhile now but just haven't had the time. With all of the different slider sets, opinions on how to play the game, and the obvious differences between what people believe virtual hockey should feel like, I wanted to start a thread that discusses attribute and global slider research so that people can more easily understand what results us slider-makers are trying to achieve when we set sliders/attributes a certain way.
I think this will be extremely helpful for people stuck between difficulty levels as this may help them make a slider/global attribute change to get x to be more/less effective which could solve the issues they're running into. This could also be a good thread to challenge "accepted" values for certain sliders either based out of routine or simply not enough testing on a particular slider.
This discussion is open to anything and everything (x-factors included) as I am currently on NHL 20 but have done my fair share of tweaking and testing on NHL 22 as well. I'll kick us off with one of my more recent discoveries in NHL 20 that should carryover to its successors based on how I feel the slider works.
First Attribute I'd like to discuss today:
"preparedness effect" slider under the "checking" tabs.
Use case for diving in:
This series has always had a hard time in allowing "little bumps" to exist in contexts where they should without those same little bumps plaguing things such as breakaways. I want to try and mitigate this to achieve more dynamic hitting outcomes to reward body positioning when in the right spot (small checks on a rush) without always being bumped from behind when I have a step on the CPU.
Values I usually see:
50-55/100
Value I'm using:
95/100
My Results:
My test games with this slider set to 95 have had some really encouraging results so far. The biggest concern for many is probably the "ragdoll" hits but I'd like to report that I haven't seen really any more ragdolls that what I already would've expected before making this change. If you or the CPU skates into a check while deking, you're going to get absolutely blown up.
The highlight of my findings so far though have actually been the low-speed hits and the ability to brush off hits in a realistic fashion. Holding out RS is considered to be "not as prepared' from my testing, this means you can't use it as an avoidance crutch against an aggressive CPU defender. We all know the CPU can be over-aggressive and take some bad angles into a check, this slider will allow them to have more success in hitting you which makes the game harder (obviously a good thing if you're looking for a "pro-star" experience). This also means that you can deliver effective but small checks when the CPU decides to sprint into you on the rush while holding their stick out. This also means that using "protect the puck" when you see a hit coming that you do absorb the hit effectively which is a big win. One other win is that skating normally when you have a step on a defender you don't seem very susceptible to the small bumps/checks which allows you to actually gain a 2-3 step gap on a defender with patience, then go into your RS moves on a breakaway.
Overall, I've found that this has been a very good win so far. It has not lead to a ton of crazy big checks, but it has lead to a much more effective small checking game. All while also bring more balance than I was expecting in terms of puck carriers getting to absorb hits when appropriate. Is it perfect? no. But it's been a worthwhile exploration that is now a permanent fixture on my slider set.
Comment