Why this series is dying

[Reiny09]

Quote: Originally Posted by Efbomb

Not everyone that plays NHL is a socially inept 13 year old who would homer up all the attributes of their favorite team.

But even if they did want to, who gives a crap? The roster would be for use in offline gameplay only that would have no affect on a single other person in the world. The person spent their $60 on game so who is EA to tell them how it should be played offline?

By the way the way the front end of the game plays and performs, I can only imaging how much of a buggy mess it is going on in the code behind the scenes. I wouldn't be surprised if editing attributes would break the game and cause crashing.

I don't like playing most games online, this one included, but it is really the only way to play NHL if you don't want to play against the brain-dead AI. Custom rosters would likely alleviate some of the issues but who knows if we'll get that ability any time soon.

[actionhank]

I would love to talk to EA about the AI and improving Be a GM.

I can't count the number of times I've had goals scored on me because there's little to no defensive tools that work well (spamming poke check's about it) and your AI players don't know what the hell to do.
I spend so much time micro-managing where my defenders are. They're like children. No, don't wander up to the blue line and leave the slot empty. No, you don't both need to be back behind the net cross-checking the same guy. No, you shouldn't both by skating in front of the 3 on 2 facing your goalie, and not the puck.

[CupCrazyManiac]

NHL GAMECHANGERS UPDATE!

The Marketing Gimmick starts again!
I can't stand this nonsense anymore !!!
Btw: where is OUR OS GameChanger? ...you know!?!

http://forum.ea.com/eaforum/posts/li...0E61B3480897AD

Hey Everyone,

As you know, the GameChangers program is now a big part of how we develop the NHL franchise. Starting as a community program focused primarily on bringing back EASHL, it’s now something that is aimed at improving the game in its entirety.

To that end, we want to expand the roster and make sure we have community representation for every part of the NHL game. I will be reaching out to a couple people in the forums who we see as a good fit for the team, and we will also be doing another voting session for one of the roster slots.

Our next event for the NHL franchise will be in early December. This will be much earlier than we have brought community members in previously, and it allows us to go deeper into conceptual planning.

If you want to be considered to be voted in as an NHL GameChangers, please respond to this thread by answering the following questions. Also, you need to be in North America and available to travel to Vancouver, Canada in early Dec.

1. Why do you want to be part of the EA SPORTS GameChangers team?
2. How long have you been a fan of the NHL series? What is your primary mode?
3. If you could bring one idea to the development team, what would it be?

Same as before, once the applications are all in, we will do community voting to determine the winner.
Thanks!

EA SPORTS NHL Team.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 11/10/2015 16:19:37

EA SPORTS NHL Development Team
@EASPORTSNHL

[Vikes1]

Quote: Originally Posted by actionhank

I would love to talk to EA about the AI and improving Be a GM. I can't count the number of times I've had goals scored on me because there's little to no defensive tools that work well (spamming poke check's about it) and your AI players don't know what the hell to do. I spend so much time micro-managing where my defenders are. They're like children. No, don't wander up to the blue line and leave the slot empty. No, you don't both need to be back behind the net cross-checking the same guy. No, you shouldn't both by skating in front of the 3 on 2 facing your goalie, and not the puck.

Spot on, Hank,

[Gangrel]

Quote: Originally Posted by CupCrazyManiac

NHL GAMECHANGERS UPDATE! The Marketing Gimmick starts again! I can't stand this nonsense anymore !!! Btw: where is OUR OS GameChanger? ...you know!?! http://forum.ea.com/eaforum/posts/li...0E61B3480897AD Hey Everyone, As you know, the GameChangers program is now a big part of how we develop the NHL franchise. Starting as a community program focused primarily on bringing back EASHL, it’s now something that is aimed at improving the game in its entirety. To that end, we want to expand the roster and make sure we have community representation for every part of the NHL game. I will be reaching out to a couple people in the forums who we see as a good fit for the team, and we will also be doing another voting session for one of the roster slots. Our next event for the NHL franchise will be in early December. This will be much earlier than we have brought community members in previously, and it allows us to go deeper into conceptual planning. If you want to be considered to be voted in as an NHL GameChangers, please respond to this thread by answering the following questions. Also, you need to be in North America and available to travel to Vancouver, Canada in early Dec. 1.Why do you want to be part of the EA SPORTS GameChangers team? 2.How long have you been a fan of the NHL series? What is your primary mode? 3.If you could bring one idea to the development team, what would it be? Same as before, once the applications are all in, we will do community voting to determine the winner. Thanks! EA SPORTS NHL Team. This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 11/10/2015 16:19:37 EA SPORTS NHL Development Team @EASPORTSNHL

I believe the intent is right. I think last year the focus was only on eashl , thus why most folks think it is a "marketing gimmick."

Hopefully this year they dive into more offline stuff.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

[MizzouRah]

It's pretty simple EA.. read the forums. Especially from veteran members. I'm sorry but taking someone from here that just joins for the vote and has like 5 posts does not represent OS very well IMHO.

[Gangrel]

Perhaps they lurk, but Ea won't participate here any more I don't think. Only so much venom (deserved or not) they can take.

At least on the Ea boards they have more control.

But someone from here should sign up on their board to be a GC.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

[actionhank]

Quote: Originally Posted by MizzouRah

It's pretty simple EA.. read the forums. Especially from veteran members. I'm sorry but taking someone from here that just joins for the vote and has like 5 posts does not represent OS very well IMHO.

I think that's the biggest frustration. While I appreciate the sentiment (though after last year I question the follow-through...) it's all completely unnecessary. Instead of flying someone out and getting questions from one person...pay someone to go through forums, to engage with everyone. Have a real dialogue, keep your potential customers informed. I think it's safe to say a lot of people here have played the game more than EA employees, because let's face it, some play it a ton, and the people at EA are working. It's easy to become so focused on what you're doing that you can't see the forest for the trees.

You could just go through these forums and not even have to talk, and get a pretty good impression of what features people in certain game modes want. A back and forth would be better, but even just lurking would give them plenty of good ideas.
We've got people with ideas for defense controls, AI improvements, goalie improvements, roster editing, player creation, attribute changes...there are people here with plenty of different backgrounds. Some that are new with a fresh take on things, and people that have been around for years. Some have played hockey, some haven't, some might be learning and are in fact still terrible (shameless self plug...). The people here are devoted to the game. There are people editing every single team and player through the often clunky interface, guys who relentlessly test the game to try and find out why things work the way they do (or don't) and people who can fill page after page on these forums with discussions about how to rate players, and how to accurately gauge real life performance against what the in-game should show. EA has a nearly unlimited well of potential hear that just needs to be tapped.

Basically, EA has no excuse to not have at the very least a basic understanding of what their consumers want. If they did what SCEA does with The Show and just had their developers peruse the forums, or even if they elected people who worked directly in the community, they could easily improve the communication of ideas.

I think a good idea would be instead of necessarily worrying about finding one or two game changers, find people online through this community and mark them as Developer Contacts. They can provide a conduit for conversation between the developers and crew at EA, and the forum. Have a handful of them who can be on the forum, gather ideas and suggestions, and relay them to EA, and then report back with what they hear. If a defensive skill stick seems popular, they can run that idea up the flagpole, and report with what they hear. Maybe EA says it just can't be done, maybe EA asks for them to get ideas for how it might work, whatever happens, it would be better than the current level of dialogue, which is slim to none. I'd love to talk with developers and forum members, and I know there are plenty of others here who feel the same way, and have plenty of better ideas than I do. Personally, I would rather EA save the money on plane tickets and put it into hiring people to improve the communication process with the community.