An Open Letter To NHL 16

[rjviking11]

It seems as if this ea team really has no feel for how hockey is supposed to be played, and it has been declining ever since there only competition 2k left. I know these are human beings with real life jobs but its time to bring I'm some new faces EA. Im sick and tired of seeing cruddy monthly roster updates, and supposed "huge" game updates that turns out to be just HUT packs. Get your stuff together already and put stuff into the game that fans actually want to see.

[robinson]

Good comments. I want more 'checking' players off puck but not tackeling hits like there is now. So you can go hard all the time and check/rub people off puck without huge hits. Huge hits are rare.


Drivable Zambonis every intermission.

[Smirkin Dirk]

That's great point. What % of hits occur on the boards in a real game? 80-90% It is the reverse in the game. The vast majority are in open ice.

[AdamJones113]

I am compiling a packet of info that will be passed on to EA. If you have anything specific you want in please PM me ASAP, I'll be passing it along in the next few days.

[Al_Tito13]

I'll try to give a quick thought on what could improve the game in my mind:

• Players differentiation : Right now, we have trouble seeing a real distinction between first and fourth line players when we play the game. The reason is pretty simple, the ratings range is way too close, it should be spreaded a lot more. Right now, best players have a rating in the 90s while an average NHLer is somewhere in the 80s and 4th liners are in mid to high 70s. To me, it's way too high for them. The average NHLer should be somewhere in the 70s instead and most 4th liners should be in the 60s. Ratings in other leagues would of course have to be adjusted and lowered too, but it’s not a problem at all. Some people may argue at first and think it’s too drastic of a change, but it's all a matter of perception about what we're used to. People would adjust in a short time.
• Players styles : In addition to similar players abilities all over the board because of too close ratings, another problem with player differentiation is that we can’t really notice any player style or trait on the ice. Every player seems to play the same, no matter who he is.
• Goalies overhaul : This is definitely something that should be looked at. Like said before for players differentiation and styles, every goalie out there is playing the exact same, which is incredibly bad. We should easily see the difference between goalies, like in real life. To continue concerning goalies, their positioning, lateral movements and rebounds control need improvements. Some save animations are also pretty bad right now. They can be really weak in some situations or look like a brick wall in others.
• Full stick collisions : Sticks should not pass through legs and skates. It would make the positioning much more important. We should at least have it as an option offline if EA doesn’t want to make it the default setting.
• Hitting : Right now, the checking in the game is either a big hit or nothing at all. Every contact on the ice should have an impact on the puck carrier, he should have a little step back without falling on the ice and loose the puck. Simple, less big hits but more bumps and contacts. There also needs to be more battles along the boards and in front of the net, it's quite non-existant right now.
• Deking : It should be toned down, especially for less talented players. Right now, everyone is able to deke the same way which is of course not realistic at all.
• Poke checking : Poke checking is too restrictive right now and we don’t have left to right control on the stick. Having the right analog stick controling the stick on defense too would be a great step in the right direction. Hits could be done otherwise.
• AI : Especially in the defensive zone, AI positioning needs a lot of improvement and AI players should use their sticks way more to make the puck loose and break plays. More pressure is also needed.
• Edit players ratings : A necessary option that has definitively to be back in the game, to allow us to improve and customize our experience. It’s so basic, hard to believe that we can’t do it in a sport game in 2015.
• Edit jersey numbers : Has to be back in the main menu, period. It’s even more surprising than for edit players that we can’t actually do that. It's so basic.
• Gameplay sliders : There should be more sliders available and have a scale from 0 to 100 for each of them instead of only 0 to 6. Other EA’s games like Madden have had it for many years now.
• Modes and options : Everyone knows it, there are so many options that were left out in NHL 15. Edit players and numbers are definitely not the only significant ones. Just to name a few : being able to play online with other people on the same console (couch coop), save custom strategies, do a simple shootout, and I could go on and on...

[actionhank]

Quote: Originally Posted by robinson

Good comments. I want more 'checking' players off puck but not tackeling hits like there is now. So you can go hard all the time and check/rub people off puck without huge hits. Huge hits are rare. Drivable Zambonis every intermission.

Being able to shove guys towards the boards without having to murder them or pin them would be nice.

[bigwill33]

Quote: Originally Posted by AdamJones113

I am compiling a packet of info that will be passed on to EA. If you have anything specific you want in please PM me ASAP, I'll be passing it along in the next few days.

Feel free to add anything of mine that you feel might be worthwhile. I doubt you get very far with this, no offense to you and your hard work on this, but I appreciate your efforts. Just give me credit on the parts that are mine, so that I can get more in-depth with my findings and ideas should it ever come to that.

I am glad that you are taking the initiative and doing this, since it doesn't appear that OS is being represented in any capacity with EA NHL and that otherwise our ideas and suggestions are just a waste of time.

[AdamJones113]

Quote: Originally Posted by bigwill33

Feel free to add anything of mine that you feel might be worthwhile. I doubt you get very far with this, no offense to you and your hard work on this, but I appreciate your efforts. Just give me credit on the parts that are mine, so that I can get more in-depth with my findings and ideas should it ever come to that. I am glad that you are taking the initiative and doing this, since it doesn't appear that OS is being represented in any capacity with EA NHL and that otherwise our ideas and suggestions are just a waste of time.

Thanks. I have posted it already (see a few threads down). I refrained from giving specific credit in the compilation because most ideas discussed therein are common and not one person's alone.

I have sent it to all possible EASPORTSNHL GameChangers, whether on twitter or the EA forums (PM). My contact info is listed, and, while I doubt anything will come of it, I think it will have served its purpose should even one dev read it. I will keep everyone posted on any updates.