What's the honest difference?

[Gagnon39]

I've wondered this for years with EA's NHL games and NHL 13 will be no different. I think we all have our opinions on what changes take place under the hood when we change difficulty levels but I wish we had some kind of concrete, viable information regarding this.

I would love to hear from a producer and have him explain, in a very detailed manner, exactly what changes when you switch from the All-Star difficulty to the Superstar difficulty. Is the AI smarter? Do they get increased attributes? What is it? Again, we all have our own opinions, and while some are more credible than others, in the end we really can't ever be sure.

Has a producer ever explained this before?

[tfctillidie]

Re: What's the honest difference?

They simply win more "dice rolls" as far as I can tell.

More shots hit the net and beat the goalie. More passes connect than don't. More hits by you fail to work than do. Etc.

[kerosene31]

Re: What's the honest difference?

My opinion (note: opinion, I don't know this as a fact) is that one advantage they get is turning radius and acceleration (at least up until NHL 12). One thing I notice is that the AI can send 3 forecheckers against you in the corner, then I make a pass behind the net to the other D then up to a streaking winger, only to find those same 3 guys nipping at my forward's heels. They make it from the opposite corner to the redline in the time it takes me to make two bang-bang passes?

[Gagnon39]

Re: What's the honest difference?

I always want to play NHL games on All-Star difficulty but eventually it becomes too easy. Every year I've had to play the majority of my games on Superstar. But I've always felt as though All-Star is the most realistic setting but the CPU's never been able to match human awareness.

[Section_25]

Re: What's the honest difference?

I always play on all-star also and crank up the sliders.....I'm hoping the sliders have a little more impact on gameplay this year. Last year and even before that, they seemed to have a range of like 0-5 where it needs to be like 0-10. We will find out soon I guess.

[captaincan]

Re: What's the honest difference?

I always want to play NHL games on All-Star difficulty but eventually it becomes too easy. Every year I've had to play the majority of my games on Superstar. But I've always felt as though All-Star is the most realistic setting but the CPU's never been able to match human awareness.

Feel the same way about All-Star. Once I switch to Superstar, it doesn't feel like the AI is smarter, just slightly boosted.

How the heck to you create a human level AI though eh? I'm guessing its not easy.