NHL 22 Moves to Frostbite Engine, Adds Superstar X-Factors - Trailer & Details

[VeNOM3099]

Actually, he's right about that one. Unbeknownst to most people MS came out with a stealth update that removed the ability to rip your music to your console because of (you guessed it) Licensing issues. Even games that had the ability for you to listen to your own music from things like Spotify or Groove, like Forza Horizon 3 stopped that ability.

Even now the music industry's practices have made it untenable to play the music YOU paid for on things like streams or youtube videos. What you and many others know as DMCA.

So if you want to blame someone, blame the music industry, not Rammer. I used to listen to Spotify while I streamed. I used to pay 100$ per year to have a membership. But thanks to the new "rules", there's no point anymore. And if, god forbid, the game I play has DMCA music that I paid to listen to, I have to remove it from my channel. Because no one else is allowed to listen to it.

Pretty soon they're gonna sue you for listening to your music at home or in the car because other people can hear it...

[KoryDub]

Quote: Originally Posted by VeNOM3099

wait... 80$ for XB1 version, 130$ for Series X/S version (XB1 version comes with it)??? LOL https://prnt.sc/1qccn00 The trailer was 100% CGI/Sizzle trailer btw

No it wasn't.

[The EVHL]

Quote: Originally Posted by JayhawkerStL

EA, year after year, puts out trailers and PR that screams that this game is not for those guys. I thought the trailer looked great. Kinda makes me want a Series X even more. But this thread is why EA could care less what the mindshare at OS thinks. Too many geezers that forgot how to have fun with sports games a long, long time ago. Thank God they dominate every conversation.

I'm on the right side of 30, I just have standards and I think that the sport of hockey is already "fun" lol. Not to mention the fact that the in-game tuners could EASILY be dialed back without going into the realm of "too real" where it's frustrating to even carry a puck. But yeah, let's take a look at this series for a second here and let's see why people we might be a bit frustrated, jaded, annoyed shall we?

Took them 15 years to make a new sliding shot blocking animation (I was in middle school when we first saw this rendition, I now am in my 5th year of my professional career) they still use the same line strategies as NHL 99, protect the puck was added in what? 09? So they finally updated that animation but locked it behind a super power? 12 years for that? Wow, impressive. Thank goodness they added the Michigan though before these two actually practical and useful animations (one blocked behind a super power though, don't forget), that's a sign of a great lead producer with exceptional vision. The goalie going full splits on a first shot has been in since what, 06? Still not fixed. They added an animation that appears to be a fat guy trying to roll in order to stand up though, so that's a cool super power.

Board play was added in what? 09? 10? Still ZERO update to that animation set. Flip dumps added in 09, haven't been expanded upon huh? No attempt to make glass chipping more feasible/realistic despite the CPU AI doing it via a 720 McTwist with speed perfectly off the glass every time. And flip dumps always are either underpowered line drives or full-ice punts, can't execute high flips that die like the real NHL, but thank god we got the michigan.

They put the RVH in the game finally (in like 17?) but the goalies still don't know how to kick off the post rather than leaving the RVH which puts their pad on the outside of the post then doing a butterfly slide over to the pass which always results in them getting beat. Goalies online still completely sell out on the shooter when playing 2-on-0's regardless of how brief the break is resulting in one easy pass leading to a goal. This is easily fixed via attributes (I did it) but requires about 5 minutes of effort.

Added a new skating engine to the game that is actually super impressive. So what do they do? Tune it to 09 floating levels where players are completely weightless and it takes literally zero skill or awareness to move at all, so glad we went from floating, to excruciating pain via TPS which was overly difficult and limiting compared to real life, back to floating. Glad there's no middle-ground to be had. Same with RPM checking. Great engine so naturally you tune it so that zero small-speed hits can happen and we only see ragdoll hits that look like NHL hitz when playing online cause that's "fun" I guess? Again, 5 minutes of effort can tune this engine into something that can deliver both and can provide a better skill gap but that requires effort/awareness.

They literally just didn't put EASHL in 15 and hid that fact for as long as possible to keep their pre-order numbers up. False advertised legends in offline modes in 18. Captain lag destroyed the online league scene in 16 (great start for the EASHL community this generation) for the entire life cycle of the game.

So yeah, idk why people are still made, annoyed, expecting more from this series. They really have treated their fans quite well this last generation. Silent crowds, ignored features, out-dated animations, braindead AI, no roster share (oh still no roster share in 22, woohoo!) no GMC, goalies are abysmal, but yeah man these geezers just can't have fun man LOL.........

[JayhawkerStL]

Right. EA has said, in pre-release trailers and information, that you won't like the game, and that you're no longer a customer they need to make a profit. In fact, you more of an impediment to profit.

Anything they do to keep you in the game is a lose-lose proposition. There is no end to what needs to be fixed, so keeping fans like you means having negative PR every single year.

The problem is, sports gamers can't take a clue, and worse, think they are entitled to a AAA sports game of their favorite sport, made to their specifications, or they will seriously, for more than a decade, complain every year as though EA even cares. Mostly, they would just like you to stop calling their target demographic kids (they aren't) and filthy casuals that don't understand the sport (they aren't), and mocking them in forums where they want to talk about a game THEY like.

[The EVHL]

Hey man, I don't care if you like the game. I've found A&S' enjoyment of the game really fun to follow, I even tried his slider set just to get a feel for what he's groovin' with in 21. I'm genuinely envious of people who can enjoy NHL like I enjoy Madden as let's face it, the more you know about the respective sport whether it's football, hockey, or soccer, the less you'll be able to stomach the respective EA game. I follow football casually, I'm a self-proclaimed casual, and Madden gives me enjoyment and challenge that is perfect for me (but I do like college football much better so I don't touch Madden much). With NHL, I am not able to do that. I have to give a ton of TLC to make this game fun (and if you follow my posts, you know that I play this game in a very unique way, so it's not like I don't try to get the most out of these games. It's a very honest and ongoing effort atm for me) because it's fundamentally poor hockey and I am able to identify that as a student of the real game. I'm not expecting real life by any means, but the level of disregard for offline play by this dev team in this entire last generation sticks out like a sore thumb.

I just find it funny that you paint this broad picture of anywhere who could dare question EA's direction as "old-timers" and just thought I'd give my take as someone younger than you. And in a public forum, why can't people complain about the game? Just as much as you like to praise low-effort money machines, everyone else is entitled to critique them. There's no alternative so I don't think "walk away and be quiet" is a legitimate response to someone wanting the game to be more accessible to the way they want to play. I don't think anyone on OS is delusional enough to think we're the target/majority audience, but I also don't think it's wrong for the hardcore fans of their respective sports to voice their opinions in hopes that some sort of marginal improvement to a product they'd like to enjoy. I mean, this game isn't "NHL Hitz" this game is "NHL" and for better or for worse, there's some sort of sim expectation for a game that's marketed on that fine line of realism and fun. EA brings this on themselves, not the community.

You call those people (me included) "toxic old-timers" and you get called a "casual" lol, big deal. Ignore the posts then and just post your reviews/thoughts without having to put everyone down for not "accepting" the state of the game. I personally like reading fair criticisms that take time and effort to write where you can feel the passion and energy behind the post. It doesn't make someone toxic because they have passion and want to see the game improve.

[VeNOM3099]

Quote: Originally Posted by JayhawkerStL

Right. EA has said, in pre-release trailers and information, that you won't like the game, and that you're no longer a customer they need to make a profit. In fact, you more of an impediment to profit. Anything they do to keep you in the game is a lose-lose proposition. There is no end to what needs to be fixed, so keeping fans like you means having negative PR every single year. The problem is, sports gamers can't take a clue, and worse, think they are entitled to a AAA sports game of their favorite sport, made to their specifications, or they will seriously, for more than a decade, complain every year as though EA even cares. Mostly, they would just like you to stop calling their target demographic kids (they aren't) and filthy casuals that don't understand the sport (they aren't), and mocking them in forums where they want to talk about a game THEY like.

I mean... Yes. To a certain degree.

But their message has been coming around as "We want their money, but we value the rest of our loyal followers." And sadly they don't.

Look, there's nothing wrong with targeting your game towards kids (they are) or filthy casual (they are too). But eventually they'll grow up too. They'll want more in a few years.

Eddie Murphy said it best: "You eat the same crackers every day for years. Then you wake up one day and turn around and say: Hey... I just got some regular ol' crackers."

What I'm trying to say is eventually the "Nashers" and the "Sleeveless" will want more. What's EA solution gonna be then? They'll no longer be part of their demographic so let's drop em?

Well, ok. I'd want a loyal following that keeps on growing. They are settling for a stagnant following that's here today, gone tomorrow. Intelligent...

[babaracus88]

Quote: Originally Posted by VeNOM3099

I mean... Yes. To a certain degree. But their message has been coming around as "We want their money, but we value the rest of our loyal followers." And sadly they don't. Look, there's nothing wrong with targeting your game towards kids (they are) or filthy casual (they are too). But eventually they'll grow up too. They'll want more in a few years. Eddie Murphy said it best: "You eat the same crackers every day for years. Then you wake up one day and turn around and say: Hey... I just got some regular ol' crackers." What I'm trying to say is eventually the "Nashers" and the "Sleeveless" will want more. What's EA solution gonna be then? They'll no longer be part of their demographic so let's drop em? Well, ok. I'd want a loyal following that keeps on growing. They are settling for a stagnant following that's here today, gone tomorrow. Intelligent...

Why can't EA just make the game play so that on one setting it is a simulation of real hockey and then on another setting it is the arcade version we get now. and let the offline guys choose between either one and online are stuck with the arcade version if that's the way EA wants it.

The problem with EA NHL games is that they don't make enough money to hire more people apparently, which they say is why the game is what it is. But by not fixing the AI, allowing roster sharing, Etc. for us "old timers" instead of building their fan base they are losing us that give them money every year. they stay around the same numbers in sales or maybe even decreasing over time. If they would split the improvements between offline and online fans and actually listen to the offline fans they should be able to put out a game that makes everyone more happy than they are now and maybe they can try to increase their sales to afford more programmers. My point is that there are alot of fans of this game that have purchased this series every year since the beginning or atleast for a long time and i think they are getting sick and tired of the same game every year. The game used to have great new features every year that made you want to buy the newest game each year. but now its all about the CHEL

[MizzouRah]

I definitely think they care about the franchise players such as myself and many others on this forum. They made some good additions in NHL 21.

The problem for me is, the game play hasn't changed much in several years and it's become stagnant, boring and predictable.

I'm optimistically hopeful the switch to the frostbite engine breathes new life into gameplay and allows them to enhance the AI. Not only that, but the presentation needs a major overhaul as well.