Interview with Gameplay Producer Ben Ross from EA Play 2016

[mrprice33]

[DJ NEO]

another1

[BlacknBlue]

So they say that their feedback shows that people really didn't care for the pre-builds in EASHL, after they insisted that this would be the best way to go. And instead of reverting back to some sort of incentive for playing the game and getting better, they are just adding more pre-builds?

Why not make two different EASHL's? One with pre-builds for the people that hate the grind and customization of tailoring your player to your specific game, and one for those who like all of that?

No reason that a large percentage of people should have to suffer with something that they dislike.

That being said; if there is no reason to get this game right away and start working on your player then I am probably going to pass on it altogether this year. The product just has left a lot to be desired in the past 5 iterations and this years game went in the vault by late March. No reason to spend $60 on this any more, in my eyes.

[mikeq672]

Quote: Originally Posted by BlacknBlue

Why not make two different EASHL's? One with pre-builds for the people that hate the grind and customization of tailoring your player to your specific game, and one for those who like all of that? .

1. What the hell about this game and dev team makes you think they are capable of this?
2. Do you really wanna split an already small EASHL community in half again?

I dont care what they or anyone else says, the reason they went to pre-bulds and have kept them is because they dont have a good enough team to balance attributes in a way that doesnt ruin an already broken game.

[Money99]

Quote: Originally Posted by BlacknBlue

So they say that their feedback shows that people really didn't care for the pre-builds in EASHL, after they insisted that this would be the best way to go. And instead of reverting back to some sort of incentive for playing the game and getting better, they are just adding more pre-builds? Why not make two different EASHL's? One with pre-builds for the people that hate the grind and customization of tailoring your player to your specific game, and one for those who like all of that? No reason that a large percentage of people should have to suffer with something that they dislike. That being said; if there is no reason to get this game right away and start working on your player then I am probably going to pass on it altogether this year. The product just has left a lot to be desired in the past 5 iterations and this years game went in the vault by late March. No reason to spend $60 on this any more, in my eyes.

I'm not sure how they can fix the EASHL issue.
I don't play it but I've read enough of the complaints to see what the issue is.

Previous to Pre-Builds, it seemed like everyone made a 6'8" giant who could skate like McDavid.
It also allowed for anyone with a credit card to build a super player.
So it was like every game featured nothing but clones of Probert, Chara, Gretzky and Orr combined.

With the pre-builds, it's closer to reality with different player types.
How good you are also depends on how good your actual skills are and not how much money you have to throw at building up your player.
IMO, this made EASHL more like real-life beer league hockey.

The issue then becomes how to you appease those that want to be Superman?
Because there seemed to be just as much complaining and whining with the old system.

I'm not sure if the right way to go is to give everyone a finite amount of points for them to distribute wherever they like.
And perhaps they give you more points depending on how often you play.
Nobody will ever reach a point where their guy is a demi-god on skates, but perhaps it'll give some a chance to be a hybrid.
There's only been a few players that combined brute force with incredible skills ala Eric Lindros.
The few times I did venture into an EASHL game it seemed like if you weren't a Lindros, you were woefully underpowered.
I lost all interest because of that.

[mikeq672]

Quote: Originally Posted by Money99

I'm not sure how they can fix the EASHL issue. I don't play it but I've read enough of the complaints to see what the issue is. Previous to Pre-Builds, it seemed like everyone made a 6'8" giant who could skate like McDavid. It also allowed for anyone with a credit card to build a super player. So it was like every game featured nothing but clones of Probert, Chara, Gretzky and Orr combined. With the pre-builds, it's closer to reality with different player types. How good you are also depends on how good your actual skills are and not how much money you have to throw at building up your player. IMO, this made EASHL more like real-life beer league hockey. The issue then becomes how to you appease those that want to be Superman? Because there seemed to be just as much complaining and whining with the old system. I'm not sure if the right way to go is to give everyone a finite amount of points for them to distribute wherever they like. And perhaps they give you more points depending on how often you play. Nobody will ever reach a point where their guy is a demi-god on skates, but perhaps it'll give some a chance to be a hybrid. There's only been a few players that combined brute force with incredible skills ala Eric Lindros. The few times I did venture into an EASHL game it seemed like if you weren't a Lindros, you were woefully underpowered. I lost all interest because of that.

The best this game(EASHL) ever played was this year of the glitch when everyone could make their guy a 99 overall. Games were extremely balanced and competitive(when teams had a similar skill level). Games were completely decided by user skill since every single player was the same and could all do the same things. The better team won.

[BigDisk]

Quote: Originally Posted by mikeq672

The best this game(EASHL) ever played was this year of the glitch when everyone could make their guy a 99 overall. Games were extremely balanced and competitive(when teams had a similar skill level). Games were completely decided by user skill since every single player was the same and could all do the same things. The better team won.

How is everyone being 99 ovr any different than anyone being 80 ovr?

I think this year was definitely the most balanced in EASHL. No more min-maxing, that felt awesome.

Sure getting a new card and spending points was fun (at least when you were on top of the XP curve), but the premade builds made games much more balanced, (and also removed any build-hacking possibility).

[Syce]

if they were to revert back to the old way eashl was, there wouldnt be very successful leagues like LG or VGHL. because it would require everyone to grind until they were legend 3 before they could even be considered to join a team.

right now LG for example has a NHL, AHL, CHL leagues because of all the players now. they would be lucky to even have a NHL league going if it were still the old style EASHL. so in essence, this current way(pre-builds) was one of the best things to happen to EASHL. now obviously there needs to be tweaking with the builds, and a lot of gameplay editing but all in all this is the best EASHL has gotten so far. IMO.