NHL 12 Video - Winter Classic and Action Tracker

[Qb]

Re: New NHL 12 Video

awesome.. so the skating went untouched. the same old same again this year!!

I'm not sure about "untouched", but it sure doesn't look like there is a new "skating engine" based on this small amount of footage.

Without really knowing the ins & outs of the "guts" of the game it's hard to say how much they can do to improve the current system through under-the-hood tuning. I'm fairly certain they could decrease the agility scale or lower the speed/acceleration of backwards skating... but can they add more "weight" to the players? Would this bring out better skating transitions and changes of direction? Who knows...

[Biggs11]

Re: New NHL 12 Video

In the interview with EA, they said their main focus was on presentation this year. Ugh. Looks like they keep forgetting the important things in a game...like gameplay! I really hope what we are seeing is far from the final product. If not, EA once again, has their priorities mixed up based on this video.

They said they were focusing on presentation this year? Yeah the intro to the winter classic is a nice touch but in game, it looks like the cutaways are the exact same as before and the same useless stats are used. I'm optimistic about the final product, but if they were putting an emphasis on presentation, I would expect new, different cutaways, stats between two teams, history etc... you know, stuff you actually see when you watch a game. The focus should be freshening things up, I'm tired of the same old stuff we've seen since 08 as I'm sure most are.

[Fiddy]

Re: New NHL 12 Video

In the interview with EA, they said their main focus was on presentation this year. Ugh. Looks like they keep forgetting the important things in a game...like gameplay! I really hope what we are seeing is far from the final product. If not, EA once again, has their priorities mixed up based on this video.

typical EA....

I'm not sure about "untouched", but it sure doesn't look like there is a new "skating engine" based on this small amount of footage.

their track record sucks.. until that track record changes, we can just assume things like i posted.

[Peter_OS]

Re: New NHL 12 Video

Man...I am NOT impressed at all by anything so far.

Presentation looks OK but I don't care how fat someone is, or a pause menu, what do you want me to do spend my time at the pause menu instead of playing?

I hope the equipment gets updated and at least AT LEAST have real cyberfaces for the top line of each team, c'mon EA.

Exactly!

[FBeaule04]

Re: New NHL 12 Video

NHL from EA Sports seems more and more to me like a 40 year old woman who seemed to have understand mens!

"Who cares about what I have to offer inside? All they care about is how I look like and how easy I am out of the box!"

Give more snow, fireworks and pause "goodies" so I can play less and less the game so I can't see the AI is dumb like hell!

[Kaladesskel]

Re: New NHL 12 Video

NHL from EA Sports seems more and more to me like a 40 year old woman who seemed to have understand mens!

"Who cares about what I have to offer inside? All they care about is how I look like and how easy I am out of the box!"

Give more snow, fireworks and pause "goodies" so I can play less and less the game so I can't see the AI is dumb like hell!

Lol I agree! And like people would argue over years and years of gaming, it's not about graphics (or in this case, presentation, even though I think it looks really good) It's about gameplay!

[FBeaule04]

Re: New NHL 12 Video

Lol I agree! And like people would argue over years and years of gaming, it's not about graphics (or in this case, presentation, even though I think it looks really good) It's about gameplay!

If I would act the EA way with my wife, I would be on the verge of divorcing.

If she tells me my action aren't right in some situation and I would come home with a new pair of shoes, I'm not sure it would make it.

If she tells me that I'm always making exact same mistakes and my answer is starting to making it less often but making new ones, I'm not sure it would make it.

If she tells me that she hate the way I hit every wall in the house when I'm angry and my answer is that I will hit the wall but will do it in a more real way, I'm not sure it would make it.

I hope I'm wrong with NHL 12, but if the Winter Classic, presentations and goalies interference and fights we're the top priorities for EA, I'm giving up, there's nothing we can do no more to help EA understand us.

[actionhank]

Re: New NHL 12 Video

I feel like something that would help this game would be having the player have to stop.
Think of it like this (this analogy is just popping into my head, so it's got potential to be crap)
Anyhow, when you play a game with cars you don't just push the stick down to stop. You have a brake. Something that slows you down. I feel like, while skaters can do things cars obviously can't the basic physics constraints are still there. You can't just pivot in place without moving, and you have to put a lot into going another direction.
If we had something like, a trigger that would be a "brake" so to speak for the skater, it would, in my opinion lead to much more realistic gameplay.
Instead of players skating full speed into the boards and just magically picking up the puck, then moving instantly back to center ice, you would have to come in, but use the trigger to slow your player down. This would make people think about the angle they take to the puck, instead of just running at it from any direction. It would be faster to skate down the boards and scoop the puck up and keep skating, but what if you aren't heading from that way? Say you are racing a player down the ice for the puck, you both just can't skate full speed into the corner without slamming into the boards.
I think doing this would add a lot to the game. If you go too fast you could run the risk of getting injured, say maybe a little over the "safe" speed and your guy puts and arm up and hits the boards, but has to take a second to get on his feet properly before playing the puck right.
It would eliminate just slamming into the boards as it is now and automatically (Unless the AI is with you...then they seem to get the puck no matter what i try...) grabbing the puck to magically skate away.
It would also help for crashing the crease.
Too much speed and you run the risk of nailing the goalie and getting called/roughed up by the other team. Stop too soon and you're out of position.

I think little things like that would help a lot for making gameplay feel less...on rails.

[Vikes1]

Re: New NHL 12 Video

They said they were focusing on presentation this year? Yeah the intro to the winter classic is a nice touch but in game, it looks like the cutaways are the exact same as before and the same useless stats are used. I'm optimistic about the final product, but if they were putting an emphasis on presentation, I would expect new, different cutaways, stats between two teams, history etc... you know, stuff you actually see when you watch a game. The focus should be freshening things up, I'm tired of the same old stuff we've seen since 08 as I'm sure most are.

Well said Biggs.

I too am optimistic about the final product. But what you posted here is pretty much what I was hoping to see as well. Them showing the height/weight overlays again, was a bit disappointing. Especially in GM mode...I'm hoping for much more useful overlays/pop ups. Like the things you mentioned above.

Like some are talking about in the other vid thread...I'm hoping I don't have to be constantly pausing the game to enjoy the bulk of the "new" presentation. Good Lord man!...I have enough trouble getting through an 82 game season.

[Money99]

Re: New NHL 12 Video

They said they were focusing on presentation this year? Yeah the intro to the winter classic is a nice touch but in game, it looks like the cutaways are the exact same as before and the same useless stats are used. I'm optimistic about the final product, but if they were putting an emphasis on presentation, I would expect new, different cutaways, stats between two teams, history etc... you know, stuff you actually see when you watch a game. The focus should be freshening things up, I'm tired of the same old stuff we've seen since 08 as I'm sure most are.

Agreed. I was hoping for real-time cutscenes as well.
That's the direction every sports game is going in.
But seeing Kunitz skate around as a right-handed shot during one cutscene, I knew right away they were all canned.

I know some will laugh at my nitpicking, but that's something that has bothered me for years.
I can only imagine how baseball or football fans would feel if during a cutscene, Albert Pujols was swinging left-handed while on deck, or if Tom Brady was throwing left-handed while warming up before the game.
It's simple touches like that which fool the gamer into believing they're on the field.

EA's done a remarkable job of turning this series around from last-gen, but they still stink at sucking the gamer in and making them think they're part of the action or a bigger picture.
In the NHL games, every game feels like a solo episode, instead of part of a 30-team, 82-game league.

[DJ]

Re: NHL 12 Video - Winter Classic and Action Tracker

I am going to see a lot more, presentation-wise for me to commit to this game.

[plaidchuck]

Re: New NHL 12 Video

So all they've added is Heinz Field, goalie fighting, and the stat overlays/replays? Sounds like something that could be done with a $5 DLC/patch. The replays and stats are nice but they should have been in there years ago, even 2k10 had it. If history has shown us with EA, what you see with these videos is what you get. Let's not let the "work in progress" tag fool us.

Now I'm going to hope we see some major changes in other gameplay videos but I'm not holding my breath either. I think the demo will give me enough of an idea if it's even worth renthing this. At this point I'd honestly be more excited about a new and improved 3 on 3 Arcade.

Shouldn't be surprised though, when you think about it all NHL11 added for gameplay was the goal reviews and a couple new useless dekes.

[FBeaule04]

Re: New NHL 12 Video

So all they've added is Heinz Field, goalie fighting, and the stat overlays/replays? Sounds like something that could be done with a $5 DLC/patch. The replays and stats are nice but they should have been in there years ago, even 2k10 had it. If history has shown us with EA, what you see with these videos is what you get. Let's not let the "work in progress" tag fool us.

Now I'm going to hope we see some major changes in other gameplay videos but I'm not holding my breath either. I think the demo will give me enough of an idea if it's even worth renthing this. At this point I'd honestly be more excited about a new and improved 3 on 3 Arcade.

Shouldn't be surprised though, when you think about it all NHL11 added for gameplay was the goal reviews and a couple new useless dekes.

Some will say you are pretty cynical, but I have to say I'm a bit like you in a way. I had the impression, with NHL 11, and all the selling that was done over blogs, facebook, etc, that they took me for an idiot.

The 3 on 3 arcade game made me wonder if the problem isn't just there. When we play the 3 on 3 game, we expect to see our little player become big so they can run over people, we expect sloppy play, un-realistic checking, etc. In fact, we expect pond play and moves that we see in the backyard since it's a backyard.

The NHL series as become too much "arcade" and less hockey-simulation. From the videos we saw so far, the real question we have to ask is : "What's NHL is all about for EA?". Glass-breaking, stick-breaking, dekes more ridiculous, hit that destroy everything, and now, goalies fight.

The more you try to catch people, the more a game become so wide-open that you lose your hardcore gamer in the process (go see what happened with Madden). That's the case for NHL in my books. So far, what amaze me is all the effort done on things that aren't that important while there's people asking for things for the last 3 years.

Will see Sept.13, but I won't be surprise if that game is a deception again. You can't ask people to be happy when priorities are at the wrong place. They work on nice things when game is paused, but overlook the cutting scenes we're you see players with their stick on the wrong side.

Note : Some will say it's an improvement since in NHL 09, people had their stick to the wrong side, but with the right curvre (meaning a right-handed was having his stick in lefty, but with a right-curve). :-)