Are there enough penalties?

[Tonic]

I know that there were hardly penalties called upon release, especially offline, and EA has since released tuners to address this issue. All of the slider sets posted on this site have both the general Penalties slider and the CPU Penalties slider at max, but many people (including myself) feel that the CPU still doesn't take enough penalties. The main reason for this is that the CPU just doesn't commit enough penalties.

About 90% of the penalties committed by the CPU are either interference or roughing, mostly stemming from the CPU's aggressiveness to check everything that moves. I know that I can turn down aggressiveness, but even with that slider really low, this is still an issue (among many others). A good way to see what I mean is to play 1 on 1 in practice mode. As you move towards the CPU defender, he will just try to check you, instead of retreating and using a poke check. Now, if the CPU would use their sticks more often, they would surely commit more slashing/high sticking/tripping penalties, bringing a much better balance to the penalties called, and also increasing the number of penalties that the CPU will take.

With that being said, most of these interference/roughing penalties occur away from the puck, and some are just awful calls. I would really like to see a tuner update that greatly increases the CPU's poke check/stick lift tendency. Not only would it solve the penalties issue once and for all, it would also ensure the CPU has better defensive positioning on the ice.

[hockeyguru15]

Re: Are there enough penalties?

I know that there were hardly penalties called upon release, especially offline, and EA has since released tuners to address this issue. All of the slider sets posted on this site have both the general Penalties slider and the CPU Penalties slider at max, but many people (including myself) feel that the CPU still doesn't take enough penalties. The main reason for this is that the CPU just doesn't commit enough penalties.

About 90% of the penalties committed by the CPU are either interference or roughing, mostly stemming from the CPU's aggressiveness to check everything that moves. I know that I can turn down aggressiveness, but even with that slider really low, this is still an issue (among many others). A good way to see what I mean is to play 1 on 1 in practice mode. As you move towards the CPU defender, he will just try to check you, instead of retreating and using a poke check. Now, if the CPU would use their sticks more often, they would surely commit more slashing/high sticking/tripping penalties, bringing a much better balance to the penalties called, and also increasing the number of penalties that the CPU will take.

With that being said, most of these interference/roughing penalties occur away from the puck, and some are just awful calls. I would really like to see a tuner update that greatly increases the CPU's poke check/stick lift tendency. Not only would it solve the penalties issue once and for all, it would also ensure the CPU has better defensive positioning on the ice.

I TOTALLY agree with you, man!

[Tonic]

Re: Are there enough penalties?

Thanks for the support. Hopefully this is continuing to be monitored by EA

[Cycloniac]

Re: Are there enough penalties?

It's now late February and I'm still trying to solve this penalty problem.

EA, for goodness sakes, this was an issue in NHL 12 too. It was fine in NHL 10, why on earth is this an issue again now?

The frustration continues.

[Tonic]

Re: Are there enough penalties?

The frustration continues.

I think this sums up my experience with NHL 12 and 13 pretty well. Rosters, sliders, all of it. I really want to love this game. I really do. But the online crowd drives the direction of the game, so most changes are made to help them, not us offline guys.

I'm sure there is some type of internal formula for EA that determines how much a CPU player will body check vs stick lift vs poke check. Increase stick lift and poke check tendencies, lower the goalie speed post to post, and you'll have an awesome game!

[Keso Paghuni]

Re: Are there enough penalties?

The only thing regarding penalties that bothers me is when the computer takes a penalty

[clarkkent70]

Re: Are there enough penalties?

The sliders do not have enough of an impact in my opinion. Maximum penalties should be so many that maybe it's even not realistic to have so many, and zero should be hardly any for anyone, where it seems unrealistically low. Then you can go up or lower to suit your own idea of what's best. The sliders must be tuned to have a greater effect in game.

And then more so when you set the individual sliders for CPU and CPU teammates, then if I have the CPU at max, and my CPU teammates at zero (which I do), then it should be at least a ratio of 3:1 or more for CPU penalties over mine.

I have not seen an elbowing penalty at all this year. I have not had the CPU once check me from behind or board me. I get high sticking if the CPU aggressiveness is way up, and roughing and interference, and then sometimes if I am on a breakaway I get a trip. I have gotten some delay of game stuff for shooting the puck over the glass in the defensive zone. But if I put the aggressiveness down to 2, I am the only team who gets penalties, and most are my CPU teammates.

That is not how it should be. Even with the CPU penalty slider and general penalty slider at max, I am getting maybe 2 a game each team, and typically equal between my players and the AI team, even though my slider is at zero and there's is at max. Unrealistic.

[Tonic]

Re: Are there enough penalties?

The sliders do not have enough of an impact in my opinion. Maximum penalties should be so many that maybe it's even not realistic to have so many, and zero should be hardly any for anyone, where it seems unrealistically low. Then you can go up or lower to suit your own idea of what's best. The sliders must be tuned to have a greater effect in game.

And then more so when you set the individual sliders for CPU and CPU teammates, then if I have the CPU at max, and my CPU teammates at zero (which I do), then it should be at least a ratio of 3:1 or more for CPU penalties over mine.

I have not seen an elbowing penalty at all this year. I have not had the CPU once check me from behind or board me. I get high sticking if the CPU aggressiveness is way up, and roughing and interference, and then sometimes if I am on a breakaway I get a trip. I have gotten some delay of game stuff for shooting the puck over the glass in the defensive zone. But if I put the aggressiveness down to 2, I am the only team who gets penalties, and most are my CPU teammates.

That is not how it should be. Even with the CPU penalty slider and general penalty slider at max, I am getting maybe 2 a game each team, and typically equal between my players and the AI team, even though my slider is at zero and there's is at max. Unrealistic.

I certainly agree that the penalties slider should have a much bigger range. This would allow for more customization for each user, which is the point of a slider in the first place

[Majingir]

Re: Are there enough penalties?

If penalties aren't even fixed in NHL14 then I'm not buying the game. I'm already not buying it on release day.

I thought this was NHL 13, not NHL Street.....call penalties in this game!

And the few times they do happen, NOBODY ever gets touched.

I took a shot after the play ended, and I got called for roughing. Another time I got a game misconduct for boarding(even though the other teams guy hit me....)

Meanwhile, the CPU never gets any penalty. In these games, I average like 4 or so penalties per game(which I actually don't mind, even though I never do anything to get them), but the CPU gets 1-2 per game(and at least 1 of them results in my CPU teammate getting a penalty during my PP cause he constantly spazzes out with the slashes and tries for a slash like 15 straight times before a penalty is called)

I've been a fan of NHL video games since NHL2000, but this is easily my biggest issue with any NHL game. This along with the physics system(where my guys get bumped/lose puck possession so easily,even with my puck control on max, and every loose puck bounces off the CPU guys to the other CPU player,yet when they go near my teammates, it just goes through them and my guys skate past the puck)

[clarkkent70]

Re: Are there enough penalties?

So I found a way to get the CPU to take more penalties: I moved the CPU aggressiveness slider all the way up to 5. They are taking typically 4 or so a game now.

HOWEVER, now the CPU is obscenely aggressive! They are charging all over the ice, coming after me like some goons trying to injure someone.

If a pass is coming to one of my players, before I even have the puck, immediately they are accelerating to full speed to hit me. If I pass it back to a defender, the CPU covering him will be already heading towards him. Usually at this level of aggressiveness I can't even get a shot off without hitting him (even though he's not blocking). In fact, regularly I get the puck and he can charge into me and knock me flat, and then take the puck up the ice. I can't remember seeing this happening in the real life NHL all season.

With the aggressiveness up that high, players who are standing close to a CPU player get hit immediately. Even though I have my puck control at 6, and the CPU hitting power at zero, they can knock the puck free with one hit. If they don't knock it loose, I am usually unable to move, and get off a pass or a shot. It's like I'm frozen and moving control stick or hitting the button just has no effect. And if that happens, where I can't make a pass or shoot, well then he hits me again, and then I lose the puck. So to get penalties I have to make the CPU team unrealistically aggressive.

And further they are not calling things properly just the same. I have a video, where a slash literally rips the stick right out of my hands, and they don't call it. It happened twice, but one time the game froze while saving the video, but a slash, that I could feel with my controller vibrating, and then I lose my stick completely out of my hands, and they don't call it.

I have another where I have the puck skating to the net off a face off in the offensive zone. Someone hooks me. You can see it, the guy hooks me, I am pulled sideways so you can see me change direction, I get slowed down, and I lose the puck briefly, and I again can feel it with my controller, and they don't call it.

There is something really wrong with penalties, and the sliders. Max should be maximum penalties. MAXIMUM is not average number.

[jake19ny]

Re: Are there enough penalties?

Big big problem. I thought I had a fix and posted it, but sadly looks like I was wrong. I have now played 32 games of my offline season and have only 67 power plays and the scary part is that I have had the rare game with 4 or 5 so that means I have way to many with 1 or 0. I take eough penalties but the CPU does not take them against me. My sim games are fine as the next lowest team has 139 power plays. Someone posted this before and I think they nailed it. The CPU does not use its stick nearly enough.