Will NHL Ever Have TRUE Player Differentiation?

[06woz]

Simple question, do you think they will ever really implement this? Or are they going to stick with the appeal to the masses where most players play exactly the same.

Goalies are the most notable, where Mackenzie Blackwood of the Barrie Colts could go toe to toe with Henrik Lundqvist. Not only will he have the exact same animations, he'll probably save just as many pucks.

Speed seems to have been(yet again) taken out of the game. The true burners of the game don't blow by anybody wide, because they aren't fast. The backskating animation will rarely leave you flat footed, you can keep up to most skaters just by doing this.

Balance/Power in skating has never been truly represented. There's a reason guys like Rick Nash can bully their way to the net. They're tough to knock off the puck and can maintain stride even when under duress. This is what makes players like Perry, Wheeler, Tarasenko special.

Deking? Never been in the game. Loose puck dekes are harder(slightly) to perform with John Scott compared to Patrick Kane. But why can Scott do them at all? Why doesn't Kane spin and deke much faster than the plodders of the league.

Passing is probably the biggest victim of this. Passing is a skill, and in this game every player does it the exact same. Why can players pass with more speed and not lose accuracy despite not being good passers?

Finally(although there are more), shooting. Aside from the booming slapshots, shot accuracy and release speed are non existent. I'm just as likely to rip one top shelf with Martin Hanzal as I am with Pacioretty. The speed of the puck coming off the stick is huge in todays game, and in the NHL series... Well it's inconsequential.

I suppose this could easily go in a wishlist thread, and move it there if you see fit. But I see it as a bigger issue that it seems all other major titles have strived for and gotten closer to achieving.

[actionhank]

It is certainly something that could be a bit step-up for the game. Players like Ovechkin, Kessel, Toews, and Kane all have unique ways of skating, playing, and stick handling. There's always the things that look similar, but there's a lot of uniqueness. Players don't really embrace who they are. Tarasenko in the game isn't like Tarasenko in real life. Hell, most of the offensively skilled guys aren't really like themselves. Guys like Tarasenko will never really try to bowl through defenders and rip a quick shot on net. Players like Kessel never really use their speed and try to streak towards the net after crossing the blue line, setting up for an easy deflection off of their stick.

The closest analogy is if The Show had 1 swing animation, and 1 pitching animation. That combined with the player model that is pretty much just made taller and wider, and you end up with a bunch of players who don't look at all like themselves, aside from the face. You won't see Ovechkins often hunched over stance, you won't see guys who are powerful just dominating with their legs...and when you look at goalies, it's even worse.
They all play the same, they all make the same saves. If anyone with NHL15 wants to sim some seasons, I would be interested to see if goalies even make much of a difference in the game.

I never noticed a difference between my AHL backup and my NHL starter. They both missed the same easy saves, dove when they needed to just slide, and fell outside of the net.

The most frustrating part about NHL16 is knowing just how much work is needs, and looking at the tragically lacking effort from EA over the years. It needs a lot of dedication, and it doesn't seem to be there anymore.

Quote: Originally Posted by 06woz

Speed seems to have been(yet again) taken out of the game. The true burners of the game don't blow by anybody wide, because they aren't fast. The backskating animation will rarely leave you flat footed, you can keep up to most skaters just by doing this. Balance/Power in skating has never been truly represented. There's a reason guys like Rick Nash can bully their way to the net. They're tough to knock off the puck and can maintain stride even when under duress. This is what makes players like Perry, Wheeler, Tarasenko special.

Those two would be huge. The way it is now, it's pretty much a game of keep-away. Going anywhere near the defender results in either getting leveled, or 'losing' the puck and having the defender immediately gain possession of it. The series is unfortunately missing a lot of the things that make hockey so great.

[emericaridr11]

Quote: Originally Posted by 06woz

Balance/Power in skating has never been truly represented. There's a reason guys like Rick Nash can bully their way to the net. They're tough to knock off the puck and can maintain stride even when under duress. This is what makes players like Perry, Wheeler, Tarasenko special.

couldnt agree more, whats the point in having Power Forward styles if this isnt even present

[Segagendude]

Probably not, as the kiddies love skating, hitting and scoring the same with anybody they want.

[canucksss]

Guys, its been ages that this issue of Player differentiation (and Team) is in EA's NHL. I was really hoping that not releasing NHL 14 in NG consoles they will improve on this issue because of a new machine. BUT I WAS DEAD WRONG!

I dont want to burst your hope, but I dont see this in the immediate future. EA is not serious in their NHL game period! The way they release NHL 15 (AI, lack of attention in updates, tuner, rosters, etc.) this NHL will go down the way of the dodo. UNLESS we totally stop buying their crappy product or another company will produce/compete against them. I love the way 2K killed their Live. How I wish another company could kill their NHL.

[Simple Mathematics]

The only way we will see player differentiation is if they put edit player back in the game and we can make the Revamped Rosters again. Until then, I'll be sticking with Eastside Hockey Manager Early Access.

[Vikes1]

This imo, major issue, really makes the GM mode very difficult to enjoy. I mean, it suxs to have to pretend that the ratings matter. For the most part, your just playing with names....not ratings.

[actionhank]

That's been my frustration. There's no need for the strategy of hockey. There's no need for matchups, because everyone can pretty much hit just as well. The 3rd and 4th line are really just to fill space until my 1st line's green bar comes back. But, they're all pretty much just as good at scoring.
My 4th line may have bigger guys, but they don't really wear anyone down, their defensive attributes really don't seem to matter, so i mainly just use them for the sake of 'realism'.

Every team plays the same, and all of the players feel the same, so there's no paying attention. What does it matter if Crosby or Stamkos are coming out to take the faceoff in my zone? The faceoff seems to be random, and sending out my faceoff specialist, or my 4th line plug doesn't really make a difference.

You could look at every aspect of the NHL series and see how deep it could be, but how shallow it is. Road and home games? Doesn't matter, line combos don't matter. Your guys don't really have hot or cold streaks, so why change your lineups unless someone is injured? Backup goalies? Well, they're just as good as starters, and the starters never get tired, so does it really matter who's in net?