What 5 GAMEPLAY improvements/additions would you like to see in 2010?

[Money99]

Re: What 5 GAMEPLAY improvements/additions would you like to see in 2010?

They do mean something, we're not playing Madden dude.

Really? So when I hit Steve Begin with Chara and he continues moving forward, while controlling the puck, his attributes dictate that outcome? And then in my next game, when Joe Thornton is breathed on by Paul Kariya and the puck goes flying off his stick, attributes again come into play?

Perhaps we're playing different games. But each time I pop NHL09 in, the CPU's players all have amazing puck-control, perfect needle-threading passes, and the ability to knock anyone off the puck no matter who they are or who the puck carrier is.

On the flip side, I watch my dmen stand around like they're brain dead, watching one cross-crease pass after another slammed home without so much as coughing in that players general direction.

In the end, after playing the CPU (which I did last night as the Wings vs the Pens - POST patch), I still didn't notice Crosby, Malkin or Gonchar. Every player on their team played the exact same way. Everyone could pass, shoot and check the same.
And then I was forced to watch Nick Lidstrom struggle to knock the puck away from such offensive wizards as Maxim Talbot and Matt Cooke.

If Madden's worse than this then I weep for football fans. But as far as I can tell, there's no difference in playing one team to the next in NHL09. The CPU can do the same things with every player no matter their particular set of programmed skills.

[KRS-One]

Re: What 5 GAMEPLAY improvements/additions would you like to see in 2010?

Really? So when I hit Steve Begin with Chara and he continues moving forward, while controlling the puck, his attributes dictate that outcome? And then in my next game, when Joe Thornton is breathed on by Paul Kariya and the puck goes flying off his stick, attributes again come into play?

Perhaps we're playing different games. But each time I pop NHL09 in, the CPU's players all have amazing puck-control, perfect needle-threading passes, and the ability to knock anyone off the puck no matter who they are or who the puck carrier is.

On the flip side, I watch my dmen stand around like they're brain dead, watching one cross-crease pass after another slammed home without so much as coughing in that players general direction.

In the end, after playing the CPU (which I did last night as the Wings vs the Pens - POST patch), I still didn't notice Crosby, Malkin or Gonchar. Every player on their team played the exact same way. Everyone could pass, shoot and check the same.
And then I was forced to watch Nick Lidstrom struggle to knock the puck away from such offensive wizards as Maxim Talbot and Matt Cooke.

If Madden's worse than this then I weep for football fans. But as far as I can tell, there's no difference in playing one team to the next in NHL09. The CPU can do the same things with every player no matter their particular set of programmed skills.

I would have to disagree. When I have Ovechkin, Backstrom, Semin, and Green on the ice, I score a ton of goals. In fact, in my franchise (before my HDD erased it for no apparent reason), those 4 combined for 152 goals, through 79 games. Ovechkin - 63, Backstrom - 22, Semin - 37, Green - 30. And while, yes, they did have more shots than other players, their percentages were also higher. For instance, Matt Bradley, Brooks Laich, Viktor Kozlov, Sergei Federov, and Nick Backstrom all had a similar number of shots, but Federov had 26 goals, Backstrom had 22, Laich had 20, Kozlov had 16, and Bradley had 12.

[Jim236]

Re: What 5 GAMEPLAY improvements/additions would you like to see in 2010?

Frustrated by 09, and even more so by 2k9 - I decided to give 2k8 a quick rent just to see what it was all about. After settling on some decent sliders I was pretty surprised at just how well certain elements of the game were done. In terms of the areas listed below (namely the first three points) 2k8 is actually so far ahead of 09 it's slightly depressing. But crappy AI and a horrible skating engine prevented me from really enjoying 2k8. I just couldn't help but think how amazing the EASHL could be if EA could recreate some of 2k’s strengths. It’s got the point where I can’t even bring myself to play 09 - it just feels so lifeless and rudimentary at times.
<o></o>
As great as the new game modes are I’d much rather EA put the emphasis on the core gameplay for 2010, as I can’t really see a years worth of development in that respect when comparing 08 to 09.
<o></o>
1.) Passing/Shooting Mechanics – Probably one of the biggest issues for me. In terms of shooting, the mechanics surrounding loose pucks just seem to be downright broken. Rebounds are more often than not just a complete chore to deal with. Your player will usually freeze up and become completely unresponsive while waiting for the puck to magically jump to his stick so he can shoot it. There doesn’t appear to be any mechanic in place which allows players to one-time a loose puck. In 2k8 for example, the goalie might give up a rebound and you can happily hack away at the loose puck two, three, four times until it’s covered or knocked away. Or a goalie might kick away a shot right into the path of an oncoming player, who will be able to wind up and really step into the loose puck for a quick hard shot. As it stands in 09, it’s like the puck has to be under a player’s full control before you’re able to shoot. I just think everything surrounding loose pucks and one-timers need a rework. Part of the problem is the skill-stick as well. Repeatedly jamming up on the analogue stick (while holding LT no less) doesn’t really feel intuitive to say the least.
<o></o>
Passing – I think there needs to be a much bigger reliance on player stats and much less tape-to-tape. Players with lower stats should have a much bigger field of passing if that makes sense. Think of it like a field of vision, determining where the pass will land. Better passers will have a much narrower field and margin for error and vice versa. There could be different fields for both passes and saucer passers (which should generally be less accurate). I liked the fact that in 2k8 when I had a bunch of fourth-liners on the ice, repeatedly using saucer passes just led to a lot of broken plays. The width of the field should vary depending on which direction you’re passing the puck too. As you start passing outside of player’s peripheral vision, the field should become progressively wider to the point where blind passes behind the player should be far less accurate. The ability to make drop passes would be nice too. While it would kind of screw up the control scheme, having ‘pass’ set to a face button would allow pressure-sensitive passing, so the longer you hold the button the harder the pass is. It could work great for long breakout passes and laying up team-mates for a one-timer.
<o></o>
2.) Puck Physics – Been mentioned a ton of times in this thread already, but the very basic and floaty puck physics really need improving. I think this is probably the biggest area which makes the game feel really rigid and lifeless to me. I want to see the puck bouncing and tumbling around as it does in real life, flying end over and end and generally just adding an element of unpredictability to the mix. I think 2k8 does a far better job and as a result, scoring in general feels far more natural and dynamic. I probably get more satisfaction firing a hard wrist shot the wide off of the boards in 2k8 than I do actually scoring in 09. This ties in pretty nicely to the first point, in the sense that improving the puck physics will naturally improve both passing and especially shooting ten-fold.
<o></o>
3.) Goalies – Need to be more human. I think they should be far more vulnerable from the slot and up close around the crease, and their vision could use some tweaks too. As far as I can tell, if you take a shot which goes through a player’s legs then the goalie decides he’s ‘screened’ and does nothing, but otherwise they’re superhuman cyborgs. Goalies could do with a lot more animation, including covering loose pucks which make their way into the crease. There’s nothing more annoying than a stray pass slowly make its way towards the goalie, who then somehow gives up a 10ft rebound off of it leading to a scoring chance. The goalie should just be able to put his glove over it and get a whistle, or play it with his stick. Goalies shouldn’t have to drop the puck and cover it after gloving a shot to get a whistle either.


4.) Defensive Controls – Could do with a ‘stick-check’ function, the ability to tie up a players stick without having to deal with the clumsy poke check or lift-stick mechanics. In another thread someone had the idea of the context-sensitive stick-check function which is a great idea. You could then remove the dedicated stick-lift and poke-check controls which would be fine by me. Although a dedicated ‘tie-up’ button would be great. I want the ability to make a contact with a player and maintain it without having to lay them out.
<o></o>
Generally it should just be far harder to move the puck around - it’s kind of like ice soccer at the moment. I want to see players make much more of an effort to stop passes and shots, reaching out with their stick to block passing and shooting lanes, using their gloves/skates/whatever to stop pucks. By clogging up the open ice, board play can then be a necessity rather than an added bonus.<o></o>

5.) Board Play – Being able to pin opponents to the boards, and having the majority of body checks limited to the boards would be nice as well. Big open ice hits should be a rarity, and even big hits against the boards should result in both players staying on their feet most of the time, let’s keep the back flips to a minimum please. You should be able to make passes around the boards at will, 2k8 has a dedicated button for dumping the puck which works great for board play and starting cycles. The longer you hold the button the more height you get, so you’re able to send the puck high around the glass over defensemen if needed. Works well in your own defensive zone too, as it allows you to lightly chip the puck both directly and indirectly into the neutral zone when under pressure, or launch it the full length of the ice when on the PK. You can even use it clearing loose pucks in the crease; it’s a really versatile feature.
<o></o>
Final thing that isn’t directly related to gameplay but has a big effect would be animations. I’ve never really seen it criticized before but I think the passing animations in particular are pretty bad, and things get a little silly looking when you’re trying to score from close range.

That's my two pents - sorry for the long post. <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--> <!--[endif]-->

[mgoblue678]

Re: What 5 GAMEPLAY improvements/additions would you like to see in 2010?

Basically all the things people have listed is spot on. The overall way too clean play in general makes this not a very good sim in my mind.

It may be fun game at times but for the reasons listed it is falls flat on it's face in representing the real thing IMO. I really think the game is extremely overrated.

[Money99]

Re: What 5 GAMEPLAY improvements/additions would you like to see in 2010?

I would have to disagree. When I have Ovechkin, Backstrom, Semin, and Green on the ice, I score a ton of goals. In fact, in my franchise (before my HDD erased it for no apparent reason), those 4 combined for 152 goals, through 79 games. Ovechkin - 63, Backstrom - 22, Semin - 37, Green - 30. And while, yes, they did have more shots than other players, their percentages were also higher. For instance, Matt Bradley, Brooks Laich, Viktor Kozlov, Sergei Federov, and Nick Backstrom all had a similar number of shots, but Federov had 26 goals, Backstrom had 22, Laich had 20, Kozlov had 16, and Bradley had 12.

There isn't so much an issue differentiating between the good and bad players on the team you control yourself. It's the CPU that seems to have 18 Crosby's on the ice.

I've never had a problem scoring goals. But I tire of watching the CPU do things with it's players that aren't possible with mine.
And I'm very tired of watching how brain-dead my CPU controlled teammates act compared to the other teams. You would never, ever see the CPU allow a cross-crease one-timer slam dunk. But on your team, your CPU controlled teammates allow it far too often.

[Lisa_Bonami]

Re: What 5 GAMEPLAY improvements/additions would you like to see in 2010?

One of the features I love about the new line of 2K sports games, is the ability to PLAY any MATCHUP in your franchise. This is fun when you get tired of just playing your own teams games and want to play around with some different teams...especially during the playoffs.

Also I like the way they have their front page news for the whole league then you can scroll thru the individual teams to see news for each of them...makes the franchise feel alive and breathing

Also, as others have said, there needs to be more subtle distinctions between the different players in the league...tweak some more ratings, add some more tendencies and abilities to give more individuality to the players in the league.

[PaddyOReilly]

Re: What 5 GAMEPLAY improvements/additions would you like to see in 2010?

Here's what I can think of:

Injuries: Many, many more needed, and on all difficulties not just All-Star and above. They don't have to be season long all the time but why bother with an AHL team in dynasty if they'll never see an NHL game; no depth.

Fighting: Less said the better. Same goes for the fight/hook button.

Passing: Currently the only passes that aren't tape to tape are when they are to be intercepted.

Board Play: NHL04 looked nice but the feature was merely cosmetic with the puck just becoming owner-less.

Hat Trick Hats: Where'd it go? When the commentators say "here come the hats" it just looks stupid when nothing actually happens.

Sliders: Give us loads; human/cpu, goalies, boosts, shots, injuries, hell even the percentage of Yanks to Mounties in the stands. :wink:

Neutral Zone Play: Up, down, up, down.

Solid, Deep, Dynasty: Combine elements of NHL04 and NFL04 and make it EA's 2K killer. Also general dynasty fixes, i.e. correct goalie names on post match EXP screen.

Player Differentiation: One thing that niggles me is when a low value D-man pulls off dekes like he was Forsberg.

Backwards Skating: I can't skate myself but I imagine that you should be able to go faster when skating forwards as opposed to going backwards. For example when I try to push the puck forward next to the defender he always beats me to it.


Don't get me wrong I do like the game but I sometimes feel that what with the mods for NHL04 PC I could get a better dynasty there.

[canucksss]

Re: What 5 GAMEPLAY improvements/additions would you like to see in 2010?

5. better line changes ---- i hate to see AI delaying the change lines. most of the time its non-responsive when you try to make manual change.

*** specially if your D-man is coming from the sin-bin, usually he plays Forwards and even when you change lines, the next D-man plays the F position and vice versa.

4. save your line-up for online ---- to avoid wasting time, have your lines ready for all your random online games.

3. more PP and PK lines --- im glad that penalties are called, kudos to EA. to have "almost" fresh PP and PK lines, maybe we could increase to 3 lines for each specially to 5man PP and 4 man PK.

2. injuries --- both in online game and offline.... specially in Dynasty.

1. "C" on the face off ---- specially on 4 on 4, have the center be in the face-off not any Forwards.

[dave374]

Re: What 5 GAMEPLAY improvements/additions would you like to see in 2010?

1. Separate CPU/human sliders ... and more of them.
2. Improved teammate AI. CPU opponents rarely make mistakes. CPU teammates are bumbling idiots.
3. More distinctive hitting. 160 lbs. or 240 lbs. It doesn't matter. Both can lay you out. It's not realistic.
4. Up to date rosters like NBA Live.
5. The ability to set up a customizable playoff tree, so I can just take my Canadiens into the playoffs.

Number one is absolutely huge to me.

[dm3k]

Re: What 5 GAMEPLAY improvements/additions would you like to see in 2010?

I don't if this has been mentioned before in the thread:

There are 2 ways to pass Right Bumper & Right Trigger. Why don't use these as a modifier and use the Skill Stick to give direction and speed to your pass? I.e. Hold Right Trigger and use the Skill Stick like you would for shooting.

Right now a lot of my passes don't go in the direction I would like them to go. Must be something with the Pass attribute.

[Qb]

Re: What 5 GAMEPLAY improvements/additions would you like to see in 2010?

Why don't use these as a modifier and use the Skill Stick to give direction and speed to your pass? I.e. Hold Right Trigger and use the Skill Stick like you would for shooting.

That's a very interesting idea and would certainly make passing more based on user input & skill. I know from conversations with Jason that the team is exploring ways to improve the passing system by giving it greater depth & making it less automatic/assisted. Doesn't necessarily mean that it will be totally revamped or completely manual, as he didn't even know what direction they would take at the time...

[tgalv]

Re: What 5 GAMEPLAY improvements/additions would you like to see in 2010?

the saucer pass needs to be harder to intercept than the regular pass. they took a step backwards with passing in my opinion since last year. i used to have a lot of fun with the saucer pass, but unfortunately now it's almost totally useless to the point i barely have it in my repertoire anymore. you can fire regular passes straight through 3 people, but try the saucer and it's magnetically charged to be intercepted by anyone within 5 yards.

[csh1229]

Re: What 5 GAMEPLAY improvements/additions would you like to see in 2010?

1) I want the old control set-up to have all the moves included. The old control set-up is much easier and convenient for me, and probably for many others as well. Why can't I change lines if I use old control set up? Also, I want the lines to be indicated when changed.

2) A bit of MLB the Show type of animations and presentation would be nice. Adds nice feel to the game and makes it a bit more realistic.

3) Definitely needs more types of animations. Want to be pleasantly surprised as often as possible with new and stunning animations.

4) Free practice mode. Sometimes, I just want to skate around the rink, casually passing pucks around, improve skating skills.

That's about it for now....

[B-Kel89]

Re: What 5 GAMEPLAY improvements/additions would you like to see in 2010?

1.) Puck physics- Goalie shouldn't be able to balance the puck on his head, and the puck shouldn't be sucked under the goalie when he lays down on it when it would clearly bounce off his back and into the net.

2.) Goal Recognition- The game should register a goal when it is in fact a goal. Too many times the game calls a non-goal, a goal and vice versa.

3.) Goalie animations- Better goalie animations and no more of the random splits when the skater isn't shooting.. This happens too much and the goalie takes FOREVER to get up. There should be a bigger variety to the goalie saves and they should be realistic.

4.) Defenseman freeze- This always happens against a team that is cherry picking, the pass comes and the defenseman stops automatically for a split second allowing the forward to get that much more ahead of him.

5.) Better presentation- Can we please get away from the same guys saying the same things over and over and over again each and every year? This would be great to not have to a. turn them off or b. listen to them say the same thing 10 times a game.

[steveeee]

Re: What 5 GAMEPLAY improvements/additions would you like to see in 2010?

by reading this whole thread... it looks like just about everything is covered for what I want better but my 5 main things would be

1) better goalie controls, animations, and goali AI
2) better puck physics, passing
3) board play.. and better faceoff system.. steal from 2K or make better
4) better fighting.. steal from 2K or make better
5) This one really isn't a gameplay edit.. this has to do with the EASHL (the only mode I play) but I would like to be able to have a guy setup for every position in the EASHL.. so when I get stuck on a defensemen for example.. my guy will already be setup for that position. I also would like it if we could talk to the other team in between periods or after goals to talk chit.. oh and practice mode for EASHL teams.... would be great for recuriting and practicing.. is that too much to ask?