What Will Qualify NHL 17 As a Success?

[AdamJones113]

We've gotten the first news on NHL 17 of the impending release cycle, and, suffice to say, it's looking quite good, as it always does. Team relocation looks slick, deep (at least on the list of possible places), and a very welcome addition for which fans have been yearning for years. The World Cup of Hockey, timed perfectly with the competition's debut on the world stage, looks incredible—realistic to the highest degree, as team logos are authentic, and, as one can hope, jerseys may be as well. The gameplay additions that were teased are continued steps in the right direction after the huge boost NHL 16 provided to the series.

And yet, so what? I've seen both ends of the spectrum in both years here, both during the release of information and after the release of the game itself. The overall NHL 15 information releases provided huge excitement—we were getting next gen, after a year to get it right, and we were getting a return to the foundations of great gameplay. Then NHL 15 dropped [the ball vis a vis EASHL, sadly], and the overall consensus was that this game was horrible—we hadn't gotten EASHL, we'd gotten poor passing mechanics, we'd gotten a game that blanched in comparison to other titles produced that year. For NHL 16, releases of information were more direct and came more often (once the dust of the GameChanger program settled down). Reactions and expectations were accordingly tempered as a result of the disaster of the NHL 15 release. And then NHL 16 dropped, and people—with EASHL back, with GM mode overhauled somewhat, with better game mechanics—said hey, this game isn't so bad.

So what defines a success? Well, NHL 16 was a success, because it got people back into the series and because it was generally a solid game. But NHL 16 was a success because NHL 16 needed to be a success: after the disastrous NHL 15, one more failure would have crippled the series. The market for an NHL game isn't that large, and two straight years of futility would have resonated in lightened EA wallets. But that didn't happen, because NHL 16 was a success. And it provided a good, solid foundation. Which, by what we've just extrapolated, means that NHL 17 doesn't need to be a success. But thankfully, that's not how making video games work; no one takes a year off because they had a good one last time around. NHL 17 will only be a success if it is, as it is supposed to be, bigger, flashier, and better than NHL 17.

EASHL is the main attraction (not the main breadwinner—thank HUT for that) for the series; due to its importance combined with my lack of expertise both on the EASHL sticks and off them, I cannot hope to explain what an EASHL success is. Nonetheless, based on my above statement, it must be better and flashier than its predecessor. One thing I can comment on, however, are the online servers: NBA 2k and MLB the Show have been excoriated for years because of their servers, with some improvement in these past releases. Both, however, are still regarded as extremely good games, and rightfully so—each has more than enough firepower to compensate for its online woes.

A major part of that firepower is gameplay. I do not need to delve into details as to how the NBA 2k and MLB the Show series have great gameplay; it is a widely agreed upon consensus. What is not a widely agreed upon consensus, however, is the NHL series' gameplay. Year by year, it seems that people are divided; some found NHL 15's gameplay to be the best the series has ever offered, while the majority found it to be the worst; more found NHL 16's gameplay to be the best the series has ever offered, while others found it to be still terrible. There appeared to be a marked increase in those who enjoyed NHL 16's gameplay from NHL 15's. Continuing to win over those who previously disliked the gameplay is the success that the gameplay department should be seeking; it's impossible to win over everyone, so continuing to steadily convert more people is indubitably the right step. Net battles and new goalie animations are a step in the right direction.

MLB the Show and NBA 2k also have a plethora of modes, with incredible customization options for each. 2k's MyLeague mode is currently the pinnacle of the Be A GM world, and its lofty heights are what EA NHL seems to be striving for with the new relocation options. The World Cup of Hockey is a superb addition, and one that will certainly raise sales—the game has been lacking a fun, meaningful tournament mode for a while, so to see it added (hopefully with major customization options) is a pleasant surprise. Be A GM mode's addition, however, seems to be a move toward the more traditional Madden 08-style GM mode, that of dealing with owner personalities and facility prices. The further integration is welcome, of course, and it would be far too premature to judge the mode based on a few screencaps from months before the game's release.

Will NHL 17 be a success? That's an impossible question to answer. A success for EA would be high sales. A success for the developers would be a game the majority (not all, let's not get carried away) enjoys. A success for the consumer? Each is different, and that's what makes figuring out how NHL 17 would be a success quite difficult. But there's plenty of time before. Maybe this year, we'll get the perfect combination of huge anticipation and huge success. All I know is, with the playoffs on in the background (no Hurricanes—guess Eddie Lack has some time to go hang out at Burnaby), I'm starting to get excited about the vision of dropping the puck in NHL 17.

[Simple Mathematics]

BaGM Improvements:
-Better, deeper scouting system
-Improved trade logic
-Custom draft classes
-Ability to control all 30 teams
-Custom season length
-Ability to edit rosters, contracts, trades, etc. during your BaGM
-Custom jersey design for all teams during BaGM
-Relocation (confirmed)
-Expansion
-Improved CPU generated rookies. They should follow a general pattern for their attributes based off of their player type
-Player development that incorporates all attributes
-Hot and cold streaks that affect player attributes
-Goalie fatigue
-Player suspensions
-Mid-season contract extensions
-Training camps that involve player tryouts (see Eastside Hockey Manager)
-Improved trade deadline and draft days
-Bidding wars for free agents
-No movement and no trade clauses
-1st round draft picks should be able to play in the NHL immediately
-ECHL integration
-NCAA integration
-Ability to see draft prospect statistics
-Hire/fire coaches and other staff
-Coaches and other staff should have attributes
-Dynamic fan attendance based off of performance
-Weekly show/radio show going over league highlights
-Team budgets. Teams like the Canadiens and the Maple Leafs should be able to spend to the cap ceiling, while teams like the Coyotes have to stay by the cap floor
-Ability to change player positions
-Announcers should recognize milestones, rivalries, previous meetings between the teams, etc.


Gameplay Improvements:
-Physicality - I want more shoves, better use of body positioning, defenders putting their hands up to slow down a forward
-Better net battles (confirmed)
-Better special teams. Teams on the PP need to set up in their formation and search for a good shot. Teams on the PK need to collapse more and clog up shooting and passing lanes.
-Dynamic edit lines screen for units like the power play. I want to see who I am putting at the point, who is in front of the goalie, etc.
-Improved board play that can incorporate multiple players
-More neutral zone pressure
-Better dump and chase system
-Defensive skill stick
-Better skating explosiveness
-Ability to clear the zone without dumping the puck all the way down the ice
-Ability to clear puck off boards
-5-man goal celebrations
-Improved CPU player AI
-Offensive CPU teammates should get set up for one timers better
-On the powerplay, it has to be more difficult for the PK team to clear the zone. It's way too simple now.
-Coach's challenges
-More strategies
-Better, more aggressive forechecking
-Additional lines for PP and PK
-Improved goalie animations (confirmed?)
-Tone down the number of big hits
-Make power forwards matter. We need improved puck shielding and driving to the net. See how Jagr plays.
-Additional player types - like energy forward, defensive forward, puck-moving defenseman, agitator, etc.
-Improved scrums after the whistle
-Player tendencies and player styles


And I want roster sharing!!


That would make NHL 17 a success in my eyes.

[T5063]

Season goal totals showing up after you score... *drops mike*

[BreakingBad2013]

Online Be a GM
Updated scouting/Developement/draft/free agency
Play calling
Don't make players skate circles around puck instead up taking possession

[unisol_us]

I think NHL needs to get gameplay right. Not just the aspect of skating, shooting, passing and hitting but all of the intangibles that happen within a hockey game and especially a playoff series. The best way to explain what I mean is to examine the Be a Pro mode. Talk about vanilla! Yes it is fun to skate and deke and score, but what else is there to do? The gameplay is just about skating, hitting, shooting and scoring. I want to feel like I am in the middle of a live hockey game! There needs to be many more variables in the game that have meaningful influences over the outcome.

[MalformedDC2009]

Online Be A GM
Improved and deeper scouting system.
Draft where all players are invloved simultaneously.
Bidding wars for free agents.

More EASHL customization
Improved server infrastructure to eliminate lag.
Better AI, with neutral zone pressure (no easy zone entry).
Net battles
More goalie animations

[jattnanga]

There is always a long wishlist of what needs to be improved each year. I'll keep my post to what I think would be the one area that needs the most work. Gameplay.

For me, the AI gameplay dictates completely how the game is played. If the backpost isn't covered appropriately...we see a ton of cross creases. If the D-men maintain a ridiculously poor gap...we see a ton of free-wheeling on the rush. If the CPU ping-pong passes for cross-crease goals regularly, then users will attempt to do the same thing because they recognize it as something that works. If the CPU can "lock-on" and magnet into a collision, users will do the same thing.

I, like most on OS, truly enjoy the subtleties of the game. There is no better feeling than chipping it to myself off the boards to avoid a check at the blue-line and hitting the third man high. Generally speaking, I would like to see less time and space (unless you create it with skill/team play) and more of a need for hockey solutions to hockey problems rather than video-game solutions to video-game problems.

[lynchcan]

One thing I hope to see and was actually banned a few days ago for bringing it up, is smarter AI plays, less AI players with super speed burst and super puck control and less AI goalies blowing games in the final minutes of the game. I play EASHL exclusively.

Smarter AI plays - What I mean by this is how the AI will pick up a loose puck in your own end and skate behind the net 99% of the time before they will pass it to anyone, even when there are wide open passes straight up the wing, if pressured they usually board play themselves when the opposing player is 10 feet away still, causing a turnover usually.
Another bad play I see all the time is being down a goal late in the game on a PK and the AI will dump the puck every single time, you can't even call the pass quick enough before they throw it away.
One last thing is sometimes it takes them forever to headman the puck when you are wide open in front of them the whole way down the ice.
All of these things are very basic things that shouldn't happen.

Super AI attributes - If you've played EASHL you've seen this many times before and it's not even up for debate if it's true or not.
Any time you race for the puck against the AI you lose, even if you have a head start, they are simply too fast to compete with, even with full energy at the start of the period.
The other super attribute they have is puck control and as a defenseman this one drives me crazy, so many times I've seen the AI pick up loose pucks when they are completely behind a human controlled player going for the same puck.

AI Goalies blowing games - I used to think this was a coincidence but I see it happen alllll the time, you will be up a goal or two with 3 mins left in a game and it seems almost every time they get a shot on net it's more than likely going in.