NHL 16 Beta Goalie Review & Response to LG Post

[betweenthepipes]

Some discussion points if you don't want to watch the video:

• Input lag is killing the goalie experience. It has been in EASHL for many years, but this year it is more apparent due to the new animations. In order for goalies to actually make a difference we'll need to limit the lag as much as possible or find a way to neutralize it. Right now the only way to stop a cross-crease or a breakaway is by making an educated guess on where the puck is going to go and moving before it happens to beat the delay.
  
• Goalie movement speed needs to be adjusted - specifically our movement going backwards. I'm not sure if it's the delay that makes it difficult, but the majority of goals scored are on skaters just skating around us. It's the same reason breakaways are tough to save. If they can't fix the input lag, make it so we can move backwards quicker.
  
• Hugging the post has been talked about a lot. It still needs to be adjusted in some way. The movements are slow going post-to-post and coming on and off of it. It's also inconsistent and I found my self hitting L1 a couple of times before it registered. The only consistent way I could get on and off the post was standing up and moving my LS towards the post without precision movement. I'd love to see a "sticky" post implemented. Where if we're deep enough in the crease and we skate or slide close to the post our goalie will naturally hug the post. To move off of it we just use the LS in combination with whatever else is necessary (butterfly if the puck is in tight). To move post to post you'd just hold the LS to the right longer.
  
• Staying centered in your crease is not as viable of a strategy this year. It's necessary sometimes, but good shooters will score on you from bad angles (see 2:20) now. If they are in the low corner and you're playing near the middle of your crease (like we would last year) you can now be scored on. Learn to adapt and either hug the play in front of the post.
  
• The defensive buff is making goalie bearable. We can focus on the shot and have confidence that when the slot is clogged with defenders, chances are the puck won't get through. It also allows us to play a little more aggressive this year.
  
• The new animations are realistic for the most part and the controls give us full control over everything we need as a goalie. Desperation saves, like the dive, will be useful this year, goalies just need to learn how and when to use them. The only thing ruining those things is input lag. I guarantee offline BAP as a goalie will be amazing since there is no delay there. If they can figure something out for EASHL that would be great.
  
• I played on a 19" monitor due to temporary living conditions, so playing on Overhead was tough for me to see the puck. I played on the default camera and Dynamic High. Both were great and I felt that Dynamic High was as close to Custom 3 as we'll see for a goalie this year.
  
• They took out the blue line between our legs. The option to turn it on didn't work for me and I'm wondering if at the beginning of the beta when we had the option to use those tutorial tips if that's when it got turned off. If they took it out on purpose, I'll miss it. If they did it because puck tracking should be a skill than I'm all for it. It will just mean using a tighter camera angle for some people. I hope to see it back in the full installment of NHL 16.
  
• Once again our stats and rankings are going to determined by the team we play on and won't reflect our actual talent in net. I'm not saying there are no talented goalies on top clubs, but with the input lag we're relying heavily on our team limiting high percentage plays since we can't react in time to save them.

If you guys have anything to add or discuss feel free to talk about it here.

PS. There was a recent post on the LG forums by a top player complaining about the lack of offense and how boring NHL 16 played this beta due to the realism that was implemented. He does not speak for all hardcore NHL players thankfully. He had some other valid complaints and even suggested bumping up game speed (I think that would be interesting to try), but the complaints about the lack of offense and fancy plays are childish.

If you want aradey passes and shots, I want arcadey saves and ridiculous goalie animations - it will still make you upset because you're not being "rewarded." It's about balance to create a true competitive atmosphere.

We pushed EA to give us more defense and more realism. In turn it made offense difficult, which is natural. The game has been offense heavy for years and if I remember correctly, the majority of us thought that it was childish. Everyone is uncomfortable the first time the training wheels get taken off. These guys are probably a little upset because they won't be able to put up 5 points a game with crazy unrealistic plays. It's time to adapt and learn to play NHL 16.

If you want arcade hockey, go play the NHL 94 anniversary mode.

[Madwolf]

Agreed with a lot what you said, good post.

[betweenthepipes]

Quote: Originally Posted by Madwolf

Agreed with a lot what you said, good post.

Thanks! I think the goalies are showing promise.

[jmoney2436]

Quote: Originally Posted by betweenthepipes

PS. There was a recent post on the LG forums by a top player complaining about the lack of offense and how boring NHL 16 played this beta due to the realism that was implemented.

Nowhere in his post did he say it was due to 'realism.' He pointed out unrealistic aspects of the game and lack of player control from lengthy animations, some which are automatic and nothing players can do about. Most of these aspects sway towards the defense or hinder the offense and he is a defenseman himself so he is pointing out flaws which actually help him.

Don't put false words in his mouth to sway people in your direction.

[Vikes1]

If 16 is truly a more defensive minded game....i'm going to a happy camper!

[betweenthepipes]

Quote: Originally Posted by jmoney2436

Nowhere in his post did he say it was due to 'realism.' He pointed out unrealistic aspects of the game and lack of player control from lengthy animations, some which are automatic and nothing players can do about. Most of these aspects sway towards the defense or hinder the offense and he is a defenseman himself so he is pointing out flaws which actually help him. Don't put false words in his mouth to sway people in your direction.

Meh, it was more Dyno Mike and partly Nuge putting words in his mouth. I'm referring to all of the complainers on the Xbox side of things. There's a reddit post with full support about reverting back to a more arcadey style of hockey and it references this post. I agree with about 50% of the original post regardless.

[jmoney2436]

Quote: Originally Posted by betweenthepipes

Meh, it was more Dyno Mike and partly Nuge putting words in his mouth. I'm referring to all of the complainers on the Xbox side of things. There's a reddit post with full support about reverting back to a more arcadey style of hockey and it references this post. I agree with about 50% of the original post regardless.

'Recent post on the LG forums by a top player complaining about the lack of offense and how boring NHL 16 played this beta due to the realism that was implemented.' - clearly talking about Ice Javelin and he didn't not complain about realism at all.

[betweenthepipes]

Quote: Originally Posted by jmoney2436

'Recent post on the LG forums by a top player complaining about the lack of offense and how boring NHL 16 played this beta due to the realism that was implemented.' - clearly talking about Ice Javelin and he didn't not complain about realism at all.

Meh, but to rank it behind all of the previous NHLs after a week of play? Ridiculous. It's unfair to even compare an unfinished game to full releases.

I think everyone is forgetting it was a beta. We were literally testing out aspects of the game so that EA can tune it better for full release. We're acting like it's going to be this way at full release.

Did the beta lack creativity? No. I think it brought it out. The realism updates made it so that the same garbage that worked in the last few years doesn't any more. In fact, I'd go as far as saying that the beta required users to be more creative with their plays. Top players are going to have to be a little less stubborn this year if they want to be successful and I don't think they like that. The game was not built so the best players from previous years could use their typical plays that relied on bad game mechanics.

Do I agree with him about the animations? Yes. I don't like the automatic crap either, but what's your solution? Input lag will make it next to impossible to get your stick in to a lane manually and in real life you better believe a defender is reaching for a pass that gets fired from one side of the ice to the other.

The passing, I can't speak for him, but if I remember correctly you had to be in a good position to not only pass the puck, but receive it. Good luck catching a rocket on your back hand in real life without bobbling it. Passes aren't always well received in real life. The puck is loose a lot of the time.

If any of those things happen too much they can be tuned down. This is a beta. Once again, it's unfair to compare and rank an unfinished game mode against full releases from the past.