NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed

[Steve_OS]

EA Sports have posted an NHL 11 blog, discussing some of the gameplay fixes that will be addressed in the game.

"Hi all, thanks for joining me for this blog on Gameplay Fixes. A little bit of a disclaimer before I get too far into it is that if you’re looking for info on NHL 11’s features, this isn’t going to be the place for it. This blog is to help identify some of the communities frustrations in NHL 10 that the dev team have worked on to ensure get cleaned up for NHL 11. The bugs I’m going to be addressing were all from the producer community chat that took place late March. During that chat session we didn’t have time to answer all the questions, so the dev team thought it’d be a good idea to let the community know our progress with cleaning up some of your issues."

[Qb]

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed

Did anyone else read this? Not a ton of specific information, but I caught this nugget:

We have reworked the poke checks a little bit, and without going into too many technical details, each player has their own “stick check” attribute which will effect poke checks and stick lifts.

Excellent.

[plaidchuck]

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed

Hmm odd.. I never experienced some of the "bugs" listed there like players freezing in a wrist shot or the CPU not going after the puck on icing.. and so many players are underrated??? So many are overrated in the game based on the ratings!!!

[06woz]

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed

They were hesitant about the AI. Meaning it's either greatly improved or not touched.

[Vikes1]

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed

Great to get some news about '11'!

The thing that caught my eye was about improving the AI controlled defense, for the cpu and User. Hopefully it will be quite a bit more aggressive.

Imo, it's a pretty good sign that EA Canada, right outta the gate, starts it's hype about '11', by talking about gameplay. And fixing issues people had with last years game. Can't wait for more info.

[tyler289]

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed

I hope they incorporate locomotion into the engine this year. It's far too easy to stop and change directions or whatever, especially for the computer.

[Str80uttaChicag0]

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed

I just hate when people complain about the pokecheck. It is very effective now as it should be. I can average 2.46 PPG since the latest tuner and Im not complaining about the pokecheck...

Just gotta have a high hockey IQ like me..

Puck support is key

[plaidchuck]

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed

Agreed the only reason everyone spams the poke check is because of all the gold glove/gold skate heroes who have their balance and puck control through the roof and can't be knocked off the puck.. hence the constant poke checking... Making the poke check effective has actually made people play a more team game and pass more.. now if they changed the ratings and made checking better/more realistic then there wouldn't be so much of a need for it but it is what it is.

[SinisterAlex]

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed

I think they maybe altering the poke check due to the new slider setting they said they would be adding for stick lifts and poke checks. I don't exactly remember what it said.

But I'm really interested in the fix for the defensive AI, should be interesting.

[RealmK]

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed

CPU AI and CPU Trade Logic are my two big things. Hopefully they're able to get both of those to the level they should be at by now.

[Qb]

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed

I just hate when people complain about the pokecheck. It is very effective now as it should be. I can average 2.46 PPG since the latest tuner and Im not complaining about the

Agreed the only reason everyone spams the poke check is because of all the gold glove/gold skate heroes who have their balance and puck control through the roof and can't be knocked off the puck.. hence the constant poke checking... Making the poke check effective has actually made people play a more team game and pass more.. now if they changed the ratings and made checking better/more realistic then there wouldn't be so much of a need for it but it is what it is.

I think chuck is on the right track. People are going to do what's most effective and right now, it's poke-checking (for the most part). The mention of a new approach to the "stumble issue" when a check or bump doesn't knock over the puck carrier means we might see more realistic player interactions.

Hopefully they can balance puck control/balance/deking with checking/bumping/poking/lifting. As it stands now, it's good to OK in some situations, but poor in others. I know from my hockey-playing days -- granted I was no dangler -- it was easier to control the puck the closer it was to you and the less you moved it. It often seems the opposite in NHL10; if you deke all the way to one side or back & forth quickly, you're practically untouchable (with ratings playing some part).

I think some of it can be addressed through tuning. I mentioned before that puck control at zero loosens things up quite a bit offline, including players losing the puck when deking too drastically or even when making sharp turns (usually lower-rated players). To me that says lowering puck control globally is a good place to start. However, when you factor in the variety of situations that affects, you start to see it's more complicated than a simple tuning adjustment.

Man, I'm going to have a blast talking shop at community day. And maybe I'll actually learn enough about how the game really works under the hood to know what I'm talking about for once.

[Str80uttaChicag0]

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed

I think chuck is on the right track. People are going to do what's most effective and right now, it's poke-checking (for the most part). The mention of a new approach to the "stumble issue" when a check or bump doesn't knock over the puck carrier means we might see more realistic player interactions.

Hopefully they can balance puck control/balance/deking with checking/bumping/poking/lifting. As it stands now, it's good to OK in some situations, but poor in others. I know from my hockey-playing days -- granted I was no dangler -- it was easier to control the puck the closer it was to you and the less you moved it. It often seems the opposite in NHL10; if you deke all the way to one side or back & forth quickly, you're practically untouchable (with ratings playing some part).

I think some of it can be addressed through tuning. I mentioned before that puck control at zero loosens things up quite a bit offline, including players losing the puck when deking too drastically or even when making sharp turns (usually lower-rated players). To me that says lowering puck control globally is a good place to start. However, when you factor in the variety of situations that affects, you start to see it's more complicated than a simple tuning adjustment.

Man, I'm going to have a blast talking shop at community day. And maybe I'll actually learn enough about how the game really works under the hood to know what I'm talking about for once.

I agree with you. The problem is that if you make the game more realistic I.E. lowering puck control globally like you said, there will be many whiners. Usually these are the figure skaters who do 1000 circles before they finally pull of their glitch shot.. I love that the poke check is working.. Before I would get STICK ON PUCK and nothing would happen. I would do this like 5 times.. Now when i get stick on puck, it pokes the puck away and I get called a poke spam cheater

If you know how to play real hockey, you should know that there isnt always alot of time and space. It isnt always figure skate your way to the slot..

With the way the poke check is now, I actually have to pass the puck which I love.. fast quick decisions are key not just speed

[Qb]

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed

I agree with you. The problem is that if you make the game more realistic I.E. lowering puck control globally like you said, there will be many whiners.

No doubt. I started to type something to this effect, but decided it wasn't worth it. I think most of us realize there are different expectations within the gaming community. As such, the NHL team (and really any sports game dev team) are forced to walk a fine line in balancing gameplay.

[danphilibin]

I hope they improve puck physics in NHL 11. If you watch a real hockey game, the puck doesn't just glide around on the ice all the time. It pops up, turns over, rolls on its side, basically anything - especially along the boards. In NHL 10, 99% of the time the puck is either in the air or flat on the ice. Makes gameplay feel just a little bit scripted.

[mkharsh33]

Re: NHL 11 Gameplay Fixes Addressed

they should just tune the game with two options: arcade or simulation. make the first for the whiners who want a bunch of button mashing (blades of steel, or whatever) and then the second mode for people like us here who want the hard core stuff.

i really like the game as is, but until shot totals for the CPU climb it's nearly unplayable once you get the controls down and hone your skills...