Re: NHL 18 Trial Available For EA Access Subscribers, Post Your Impressions Here
 

Wow :(

Infrequent poster these days but as I'm still on the fence as regards to 18 thought best to read this thread but there are a lot of overly strong words being thrown about from all directions, community *and* community manager alike.


Regarding the game itself, I really am undecided for the first time in a decade on whether to pick it up on release day. The gameplay is what is, and I'm not expecting much difference from 17, but if anyone at all could answer any of these non-subjective questions that would be appreciated. If quite a few little details are there, then that can certainly sway a decision.


Is the CHL accessible in early access? That's the European Champions Hockey League which was reportedly in this year. If you play it, do you get any CHL branding on ice? Do the teams all have similar uniforms with the one universal sponsor? Are the "Top Scorer" uniforms in there?

For reference.
https://www.championshockeyleague.co...s-to-top-group
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Champions_Hockey_League

Moving to the NHL itself, are "out of town" scores, if in, also present in Season Mode or just Franchise?

Other than mascots, any new logos / templates / SFX for Create-A-Team? My biggest wish for that was being able to put a wordmark around your logo at center ice but I assume that's not made it.

This gen NHL on a standard PS4 always had a slight blurriness to it that the Xbox One doesn't. Verified this by owning 17 on both platforms on exactly the same Bravia TV with exactly the same TV settings. Any change in 18 on PS4?

Is the commentary *exactly* the same? Any new lines at all? I know the game's only been in Early Access for a short while but that's enough to know if "waffle boarded!" or "to start something" are still as annoyingly frequent. ( edit: thanks for the info above csamuelsvt )

Thanks in advance for any replies.

Re: NHL 18 Trial Available For EA Access Subscribers, Post Your Impressions Here
 

Skating is the biggest thing here with the CPU. Moving, stopping, starting, turning, and agility. Speed Burst, biggest issue of all with the skating. CPU guys catching speedsters on breakaways. Almost like a suction, they speed up, user slows down. Happens way too often.

Do us human buds have access to it? Sure, but can't pull them off the way the CPU does. Needs to be a way to tone that down and even out somehow.

The game is what it is now and basically always will be. I've toned down my complaints and learned to enjoy it for what it is an arcade game and tune it with sliders for my sim liking. But it is frustrating to see if i pull up old gripes that the majority of them have not been addressed. Maybe I didn't come off constructive enough for the Dev's to read it and care, but others did at those times and they still remain.

Any update on all the ways to play co-op? They said 60 plus ways and what does that consist of? Or did I read that wrong?

Re: NHL 18 Trial Available For EA Access Subscribers, Post Your Impressions Here
 

You can play almost anything coop (couch and online). That includes HUT challenges as well.

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Re: NHL 18 Trial Available For EA Access Subscribers, Post Your Impressions Here
 

Do the penalties still need maxed out?

Re: NHL 18 Trial Available For EA Access Subscribers, Post Your Impressions Here
 

DISCLAIMER: I only watched Millennium play on Twitch -- Full Sim/All-Star

Yes, it's still the NHL series, so folks hoping for some kind of core breakthrough will be disappointed. Still saw some of the same awkward looking movements and questionable plays that we won't see in real life -- namely backhand passes when facing away from the intended receiver. A lot of this happens as players approach the boards.

It'd be great if we could get some new animations -- that actually trigger in a consistent, reliable manner -- for gathering the puck and getting in better body position before playing the puck, especially when near the boards. Also, they need to find a way to differentiate more between what kind of plays, and how quickly, you can make on your forehand/backhand. Way too many quickly released hard, accurate backhand passes. It's just not that easy to do, and often requires more of a sweeping motion as opposed to the quick flick of a forehand. Again, maybe some new animations would help, along with tuning the speed/accuracy of passes based on body/stick/puck position.

On the plus side, and it left quite the positive impression, the CPU did some things I haven't seen before (granted my offline play has really dwindled over the years). I saw several puck reversals in the D-zone, as opposed to holding the puck too long/self-pinning or relying on only basic passing to get out of the zone. It seemed like less aimless regrouping too, even seeing some slap-dumps and gaining the zone but then buying time to wait for support. Still a little too direct and not enough desperation plays to simply advance the puck or get it out of danger, but Mill wasn't exactly at the top of his defensive game...

Along the same lines, the CPU uses the boards to make passes, tossed a few saucers across a crowded slot, and seemed more aware of where teammates were when passing. In short, lots of good puck movement, even if it is somewhat undercut by some of the issues I described above (CPU loves to pass blindly to the middle of the ice so much a coaches head would explode). And man did they move the puck around of the powerplay. Sure looks like we'll need to keep our shape and protect the house, because they'll move the puck and pass to danger areas in the middle if it's open. Which it usually is, because we all probably chase the puck too much and that throws the AI teammates coverage off.

So TLDR, I watched one AS/full-sim game on Twitch, saw some of the same issues, saw some encouraging play out of the AI, and can't really say much else without playing.

Re: NHL 18 Trial Available For EA Access Subscribers, Post Your Impressions Here
 

Does this include Season/Franchise modes via online buddy?

Re: NHL 18 Trial Available For EA Access Subscribers, Post Your Impressions Here
 

Oooooo...that's a great question. Didn't check - I'll do that later today.

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Re: NHL 18 Trial Available For EA Access Subscribers, Post Your Impressions Here
 

And if not, would share play be an option?