NHL 16 Available Today For Xbox One & PlayStation 4, Post Your Impressions

[phillyfan23]

Re: NHL 16 Available Today For Xbox One & PlayStation 4, Post Your Impressions

99 percent??? Give me a break. If you're gonna complain, then fine. But if the CPU is completing 99 percent of their passes, some of that falls on your shoulders.

Regarding the 99 percent comment,what I meant to say was if the puck had a clear path to his teammate, it would reach it 99 percent of the time. Because as it is, the only time the cpu misfires on a pass is 2 things:

1) human interception/deflection
2) or a bad pas reception by the receiving player.

there should be a number 3, which are errant passes that misses EVERYONE.
NHL 15 had this and created a much more lively and sloppier gameplay, nhl 16 doesn't have it nearly enough or at all.

I hope you understand what I'm trying to say. Because what separates a sidney crosby from a 4th liner in passing is the ability to be ACCURATE and tape to tape passing. If crosby were to pass to a moving target with a clear passing lane, he should hit him 19 times out of 20. The 4th liner? maybe 13 or 14 times out of 20.

This aspect isn't represented in nhl 16 on the cpu ai passing, it was in nhl 15.

I do hold the cpu to 70-80 percent passing on all star in 16, but even so, it still doesn't represent the real NHL where bad passers REGULARLY just miss their intended targets. What happens now is even a bad passer, would pass an accurate puck, but a stick from the human player or human cpu ai would intercept. The pass for all intents and purposes was accurate, but a good defensive play was made.

What I wanted to see was a cpu crosby would make those tape to tape passes and rarely miss his target , and a 4th line scrub would regularly miss his passes without a defensive play from the human player. THAT is what separates a crosby from a 4th line goon as far as passing and playmaking are concerned. I hope I made myself clearer this time.

[actionhank]

Re: NHL 16 Available Today For Xbox One & PlayStation 4, Post Your Impressions

Regarding the 99 percent comment,what I meant to say was if the puck had a clear path to his teammate, it would reach it 99 percent of the time. Because as it is, the only time the cpu misfires on a pass is 2 things:

1) human interception/deflection
2) or a bad pas reception by the receiving player.

there should be a number 3, which are errant passes that misses EVERYONE.
NHL 15 had this and created a much more lively and sloppier gameplay, nhl 16 doesn't have it nearly enough or at all.

I hope you understand what I'm trying to say. Because what separates a sidney crosby from a 4th liner in passing is the ability to be ACCURATE and tape to tape passing. If crosby were to pass to a moving target with a clear passing lane, he should hit him 19 times out of 20. The 4th liner? maybe 13 or 14 times out of 20.

This aspect isn't represented in nhl 16 on the cpu ai passing, it was in nhl 15.

I do hold the cpu to 70-80 percent passing on all star in 16, but even so, it still doesn't represent the real NHL where bad passers REGULARLY just miss their intended targets. What happens now is even a bad passer, would pass an accurate puck, but a stick from the human player or human cpu ai would intercept. The pass for all intents and purposes was accurate, but a good defensive play was made.

What I wanted to see was a cpu crosby would make those tape to tape passes and rarely miss his target , and a 4th line scrub would regularly miss his passes without a defensive play from the human player. THAT is what separates a crosby from a 4th line goon as far as passing and playmaking are concerned. I hope I made myself clearer this time.

I think it would be nice if passes not only missed, but guys had to try and pick the puck up.
Sometimes it all just seems too automatic for the AI. A lot of turnovers and offensive chances happen because a guy might bobble the puck. He gets a hard pass, bounces over his stick, and he has to turn to gather the puck off the boards. Suddenly, there's a forward crashing down who pokes the puck, and he's racing up ice around the defender to get the now free puck.
Things like that are harder to have happen in game. Sometimes you can poke a puck loose, but it doesn't really seem to happen as organically as it does in real life. The AI hasn't really ever seemed to struggle with possession, even if they were guys with lower ratings in their pass attributes. It would be really nice to see 4th liners maybe struggle to catch a hard breakout pass fired to them. So, if you get a guy like Steve Ott who breaks behind the defense and gets a perfect pass, instead of smoothly catching it on his stick, a hard pass might hit the backside of his blade and bounce a bit, requiring that extra second to corral the puck, and settle it down before you get a chance to shoot, which is a huge difference when a guy like Ott is skating in who shouldn't be a terrifying threat to a goalie, compared with someone like Tarasenko would could effortless catch the hard outlet pass, and then go straight into deking the goalie.

[norml]

Re: NHL 16 Available Today For Xbox One & PlayStation 4, Post Your Impressions

So one thing I do not understand at all is "precision skating." When I do it (Hold L2 and move the left stick according to the control instructions) I can't tell the difference between its effect and the old vision control that's been in the game forever.

It certainly doesn't look anything like what the trailer showed. Anyone else know what's up with this?

When you're holding the precision skating/vision control button, to get the animations in the trailer just very slightly move the left stick or use quick flicks. If you push to hard the guy will just start skating backwards. It is wonky though and difficult to control.

[bad_philanthropy]

Re: NHL 16 Available Today For Xbox One & PlayStation 4, Post Your Impressions

When you're holding the precision skating/vision control button, to get the animations in the trailer just very slightly move the left stick or use quick flicks. If you push to hard the guy will just start skating backwards. It is wonky though and difficult to control.

Thanks! Feel like they've tried implementing this sort of thing before and it ends up wonky like this.

[norml]

Re: NHL 16 Available Today For Xbox One & PlayStation 4, Post Your Impressions

Thanks! Feel like they've tried implementing this sort of thing before and it ends up wonky like this.

I think it would work better if vision control and precision skate were separate buttons. Leave vision control but move precision skating to L3.

[DJ]

Re: NHL 16 Available Today For Xbox One & PlayStation 4, Post Your Impressions

Picked the game up today for the PS4. I haven't touched any sliders. All-Star/Hardcore, 9-min. periods.

Overall, I like the game. A definite improvement from last year. Game feels sloppier, which is good. Legacy issues remain (lack of penalties, CPU making unrealistic passes while pinned to boards, too easy to gain blue line) but I'm going into this game just looking to enjoy myself and stop stressing about realism. I don't fault those that want realism, but I've learned to accept the way EA makes sports games. I'm enjoying Madden 16 and now NHL 16 because I've given up looking for flaws and just play for fun.

If I didn't adopt that mentality, there'd be no point in me buying the game.

[Vmascarello]

Re: NHL 16 Available Today For Xbox One & PlayStation 4, Post Your Impressions

Picked the game up today for the PS4. I haven't touched any sliders. All-Star/Hardcore, 9-min. periods.

Overall, I like the game. A definite improvement from last year. Game feels sloppier, which is good. Legacy issues remain (lack of penalties, CPU making unrealistic passes while pinned to boards, too easy to gain blue line) but I'm going into this game just looking to enjoy myself and stop stressing about realism. I don't fault those that want realism, but I've learned to accept the way EA makes sports games. I'm enjoying Madden 16 and now NHL 16 because I've given up looking for flaws and just play for fun.

If I didn't adopt that mentality, there'd be no point in me buying the game.

Very well said. I dont think you can play EA sports games unless you adopt that atttitude, otherwise you will be disappointed every year. EA simply isn't going to make the game Im looking for, so you have to decide if the game has enough good in it for it to be fun, and I think it does.

There are still a few things they need to address, with all that being said. Such as the dumb glitches that are wll documented, season goal totals not coming up whenyou score in GM mode yet you can press pause and see how many goals that skater has by simply looking at the box score, and other fixable senseless issues. But, Ive accepted the game and am having fun playing it.

If you want GM mode realism, pick up NBA 2k16 on Thursday. That game is gonna blow minds. Maybe someday 2K will spread the love in other sports, namely hockey and football. Baseball is in good hands.

[BMDinTDOT]

Re: NHL 16 Available Today For Xbox One & PlayStation 4, Post Your Impressions

Just got the game yesterday and played a few games...

Pros:

- The game graphically is sexy as F___
- Like the bells and whistles (mascots, goal songs, crowd chants etc)

Cons:

- Goalie AI is terrible! It wasn't good last year but its been terrible
so far. My teams goalie let's in the absolute worst goals from low
percentage shots that 85% of the time won't go in real life. Just
kills the enjoyment out of the game.

- Last year I loved the Hardcore settings with the new physics felt
like real sim hockey. This year on those settings I find it very arcadey.
Feels way to fast and a little to cluttery and I'm not noticing the physics
that much. Just looks and feels like a very high end arcade game.

- Computer very rarely takes penalties still a total buzz kill

- They need to get some real authentic sports pump up songs to play
in game like you would hear at a real sporting event during breaks in
action. They also need a new PA announcer thats louder and try to
capture the reals sounds of pucks, sticks, crashing into boards etc
you'd hear at a real hockey game.

- Passing seems to be worse although to early to tell

- The price! I paid $93 with tax and the 3 dollar protection. I almost
had a heart attack and told the guy at EB Games WTF!

[phillyfan23]

Re: NHL 16 Available Today For Xbox One & PlayStation 4, Post Your Impressions

I edited the first line of a QMJHL team and first defensive pairing to pass accuracy to 36/100 across the board. I used the same team set a vs game with both the cpu and I using the edited QMJHL team and line changes off so that the edited players would be on the ice at all times. I was hoping that the CPU would make a significant number of errant passes ( passes that miss the intended target, not an accurate pass intercepted by human player). lowest possible pass attributes combined with the lowest level of hockey and what do I see?

super accurate passes and in the first period ( 12 minutes periods), I did not see ONE errant pass, not ONE. it felt the exact same as when I played an NHL game against the penguins stars. In NHL 15, from the first shift alone you could spot an errant pass.

This and the ratings test ran by another OS member decreasing discipline ratings to 36/100 and made NO DIFFERENCE whatsoever with penalties, it reinforces that some ratings don't alter the on ice experience, it might effect the sim stats, but not on the ice. At one point discipline ratings did make a difference, because I edited the whole NHL one year ( NHL 12 if I'm not mistaken) to increase penalties. Not anymore, and It looks like the cpu overaccurate passing is hard coded and maybe could only be fixed by patch, but it can't be changed via edits.

A shame really....cpu ai passing was great in nhl 15.

[Splitter77]

Re: NHL 16 Available Today For Xbox One & PlayStation 4, Post Your Impressions

played a bunch more the past couple days.
its definitely a bit better than last year.

Im getting great stats except for goals. Its usually a 6-5 game for me in 6 min periods on allstar.

35-25 shots per team on average.

I can deal with the lack of neutral zone pressure, because the game is still fun and im getting realistic shot totals.

But these goalies are the main problem. they are horrible. They need to completely redo them next year. And have like at least 6 different types of sliders just for goalies. Like how hitz pro had.

Im not sure what to do now. even with goalies maxed they still suck. I think im gonna have to lower all shot speeds to an unrealistic speed to get nhl scores.

[Splitter77]

Re: NHL 16 Available Today For Xbox One & PlayStation 4, Post Your Impressions

I edited the first line of a QMJHL team and first defensive pairing to pass accuracy to 36/100 across the board. I used the same team set a vs game with both the cpu and I using the edited QMJHL team and line changes off so that the edited players would be on the ice at all times. I was hoping that the CPU would make a significant number of errant passes ( passes that miss the intended target, not an accurate pass intercepted by human player). lowest possible pass attributes combined with the lowest level of hockey and what do I see?

super accurate passes and in the first period ( 12 minutes periods), I did not see ONE errant pass, not ONE. it felt the exact same as when I played an NHL game against the penguins stars. In NHL 15, from the first shift alone you could spot an errant pass.

This and the ratings test ran by another OS member decreasing discipline ratings to 36/100 and made NO DIFFERENCE whatsoever with penalties, it reinforces that some ratings don't alter the on ice experience, it might effect the sim stats, but not on the ice. At one point discipline ratings did make a difference, because I edited the whole NHL one year ( NHL 12 if I'm not mistaken) to increase penalties. Not anymore, and It looks like the cpu overaccurate passing is hard coded and maybe could only be fixed by patch, but it can't be changed via edits.

A shame really....cpu ai passing was great in nhl 15.

what is your fatigue effect at?
if you max it, you will see a lot of bad passes. especially if you pressure the cpu and keep them out a while.

[Splitter77]

Re: NHL 16 Available Today For Xbox One & PlayStation 4, Post Your Impressions

Just got the game yesterday and played a few games...

Pros:

- The game graphically is sexy as F___
- Like the bells and whistles (mascots, goal songs, crowd chants etc)

Cons:

- Goalie AI is terrible! It wasn't good last year but its been terrible
so far. My teams goalie let's in the absolute worst goals from low
percentage shots that 85% of the time won't go in real life. Just
kills the enjoyment out of the game.

- Last year I loved the Hardcore settings with the new physics felt
like real sim hockey. This year on those settings I find it very arcadey.
Feels way to fast and a little to cluttery and I'm not noticing the physics
that much. Just looks and feels like a very high end arcade game.

- Computer very rarely takes penalties still a total buzz kill

- They need to get some real authentic sports pump up songs to play
in game like you would hear at a real sporting event during breaks in
action. They also need a new PA announcer thats louder and try to
capture the reals sounds of pucks, sticks, crashing into boards etc
you'd hear at a real hockey game.

- Passing seems to be worse although to early to tell

- The price! I paid $93 with tax and the 3 dollar protection. I almost
had a heart attack and told the guy at EB Games WTF!

$93!
I traded in nhl15 mlb the show15 and battlefield and got it for $29.

[jake19ny]

Re: NHL 16 Available Today For Xbox One & PlayStation 4, Post Your Impressions

played a bunch more the past couple days.
its definitely a bit better than last year.

Im getting great stats except for goals. Its usually a 6-5 game for me in 6 min periods on allstar.

35-25 shots per team on average.

I can deal with the lack of neutral zone pressure, because the game is still fun and im getting realistic shot totals.

But these goalies are the main problem. they are horrible. They need to completely redo them next year. And have like at least 6 different types of sliders just for goalies. Like how hitz pro had.

Im not sure what to do now. even with goalies maxed they still suck. I think im gonna have to lower all shot speeds to an unrealistic speed to get nhl scores.

This is one of the biggest issues facing this series to date. Gameplay sliders and player attributes sliders do little to nothing at all. Minimum to maximum show very little difference in most areas. For all the complaining we do about EA not fixing this or bad AI that....if these sliders worked we could do it ourselves. I have always maintained that everyobe plays different so sliders are super important to get the game where you want. If EA did nothing else for NHL17 other than make gameplay sliders and player attribute sliders actually work on legit scale of 1-100 we would be able to have our player separation and be able to perfect our gameplay to fit our individual liking.
When I say legit scale of 1-100 I mean a guy with a 1 on discipline should take a penalty every time he steps on the ice. A guy with 25 on passing should make horrible passes 75% of the time. In gameplay if you have shot accuracy maxed you should see 100 shots a game if you have it at minimum you should miss the net from a foot away...same with penalty sliders.i dont know why I'm explaining it you guys know what I mean....

[actionhank]

Re: NHL 16 Available Today For Xbox One & PlayStation 4, Post Your Impressions

This is one of the biggest issues facing this series to date. Gameplay sliders and player attributes sliders do little to nothing at all. Minimum to maximum show very little difference in most areas. For all the complaining we do about EA not fixing this or bad AI that....if these sliders worked we could do it ourselves. I have always maintained that everyobe plays different so sliders are super important to get the game where you want. If EA did nothing else for NHL17 other than make gameplay sliders and player attribute sliders actually work on legit scale of 1-100 we would be able to have our player separation and be able to perfect our gameplay to fit our individual liking.
When I say legit scale of 1-100 I mean a guy with a 1 on discipline should take a penalty every time he steps on the ice. A guy with 25 on passing should make horrible passes 75% of the time. In gameplay if you have shot accuracy maxed you should see 100 shots a game if you have it at minimum you should miss the net from a foot away...same with penalty sliders.i dont know why I'm explaining it you guys know what I mean....

If NHL17 focuses on AI, and effective sliders, I'll pre-order it as soon as I read the news. I've always wanted to try stuff like PhillyFan did and have a team where every player is rated as low as possible, and then sim them in a few games against teams rated 99 in every spot. Then try playing it yourself and see what happens.

I just don't think attributes and sliders do nearly enough to have a real tangible feel in the actual gameplay.

Picked the game up today for the PS4. I haven't touched any sliders. All-Star/Hardcore, 9-min. periods.

Overall, I like the game. A definite improvement from last year. Game feels sloppier, which is good. Legacy issues remain (lack of penalties, CPU making unrealistic passes while pinned to boards, too easy to gain blue line) but I'm going into this game just looking to enjoy myself and stop stressing about realism. I don't fault those that want realism, but I've learned to accept the way EA makes sports games. I'm enjoying Madden 16 and now NHL 16 because I've given up looking for flaws and just play for fun.

If I didn't adopt that mentality, there'd be no point in me buying the game.

I wish I could be that mentally laid back. It would be so refreshing. I think it's just mainly the legacy issues that drive me nuts. I hate when I'm playing a solid game, and doing all of the right things...but then I lose in OT because my two defenders are trying to check one forwards while the other team's best wingers just hangs out in the slot. Games like those are going to cost me a controller soon.

[THESHAMISASHAME]

Re: NHL 16 Available Today For Xbox One & PlayStation 4, Post Your Impressions

This is one of the biggest issues facing this series to date. Gameplay sliders and player attributes sliders do little to nothing at all. Minimum to maximum show very little difference in most areas. For all the complaining we do about EA not fixing this or bad AI that....if these sliders worked we could do it ourselves. I have always maintained that everyobe plays different so sliders are super important to get the game where you want. If EA did nothing else for NHL17 other than make gameplay sliders and player attribute sliders actually work on legit scale of 1-100 we would be able to have our player separation and be able to perfect our gameplay to fit our individual liking.
When I say legit scale of 1-100 I mean a guy with a 1 on discipline should take a penalty every time he steps on the ice. A guy with 25 on passing should make horrible passes 75% of the time. In gameplay if you have shot accuracy maxed you should see 100 shots a game if you have it at minimum you should miss the net from a foot away...same with penalty sliders.i dont know why I'm explaining it you guys know what I mean....

One problem the game isnt a real click slider sports game ( I dont even think they exist anymore ? last one might have been NHL2k ) as its programmed kinda like a MLB the Show is slider wise .
Meaning if I zero out hit power ect I shouldnt see any homeruns and the same with editing players meaning a player with little power shouldnt be able to hit a HR , but they can as theres variables a so called secret sauce thats unseen but needed to keep a random feeling in the game .