NHL 14 Available Now - Post Your Impressions Here

[savoie2006]

Re: NHL 14 Available Now for Season Ticket Subscribers, Post Your Impressions

Nope. CPU penalties are again a complete joke and non-existent.

I beg to differ. I can draw at least three a game. Play style, fatigue settings and period length must be taken into consideration.

[aparks87]

Re: NHL 14 Available Now for Season Ticket Subscribers, Post Your Impressions

I beg to differ. I can draw at least three a game. Play style, fatigue settings and period length must be taken into consideration.

I commend you for taking the time to fix the game to get the results you want....but out of the box....im not seeing it. I play All-Star difficulty on Hardcore with 7 min periods and pretty much default everything else. I average 3-4 pens a game and the cpu takes maybe 1 if im lucky. Do the tuner sets have anything to do with the results im seeing? I have the latest. I remember last year everyone said certain tuners produced better stats. Idk. Maybe im trying to hard to dislike the game. I guess if i give it time....someone will come out with good sliders. The game isnt even out yet.

[orion523]

Re: NHL 14 Available Now for Season Ticket Subscribers, Post Your Impressions

Disappointed by the last couple of versions, I wasn't expecting much here either, but after playing all weekend I must say I really like it. I may even purchase the game, but the Be A GM problems with progression are very concerning. Can anyone else confirm the issues?

[timdj84]

Online ,eashl,the bread and butter I might add,is still awful. Fix the pokes,unbalanced AI, horrid AI passing even when not called for. If I keep seeing the wrap glitch and stupid shots that bounce 10 feet off a goalie for a rebound goal ,I'm going to throw up. My team is up 3-0 and I **** you not,the other team got 4 rebound goals....and not good ones. I'm talking impossible,stick through body,no look, hope and pray rebound goals. Meanwhile we work it around,pass, cycle, play D and get **** on? EA...catering to the casual.

[Nittany]

Re: NHL 14 Available Now for Season Ticket Subscribers, Post Your Impressions

Just a few quick observations after playing 30 EASHL games on XBOX. The first thing that must be fixed is the automatic fighting. I can understand if a guy takes a shot after the whistle or even cheap shots a player...but not for LEGAL hits. Just because I make a legal awesome hit shouldn't make me have to fight and then sit in the penalty box for 5 mins each time. This has happened 2 times in the last 4 games alone. NEEDS TO BE FIXED!!!

The only other thing is actually quite amazing and I give EA credit. For the 1st time in 4 years of playing EASHL, the computer AI actually tried to score on a PK with less than 2 mins left and down by 1 goal. Instead of always dumping the puck, the CPU actually skated the puck into the zone and tried to score. Now they did not pull the goalie...that would be really impressive. But they did try to score. 1st time I have ever seen it...hopefully it was not a 1 time thing. That was my biggest pet peave in all of the prior EASHL seasons.

Going to take some time to build up players. Not seeing a lot of breakaways yet...but that could just be that the human speed is not fast enough yet. Can't really breakaway from the cpu D just yet. Hopefully, this year the breakaways will be toned down. No reason for breakaways when you are on the PK. The cpu D should immediately go back on faceoffs...not into the O zone. Simple hockey....

That's it for now. Please EA...fix the automatic fighting. Only make it on illegal hits...but don't penalize me for making a clean, vicious hit.

See you all in the EASHL! Best mode in video game sports....

Nit

[Money99]

Re: NHL 14 Available Now for Season Ticket Subscribers, Post Your Impressions

Just a few quick observations after playing 30 EASHL games on XBOX. The first thing that must be fixed is the automatic fighting. I can understand if a guy takes a shot after the whistle or even cheap shots a player...but not for LEGAL hits. Just because I make a legal awesome hit shouldn't make me have to fight and then sit in the penalty box for 5 mins each time. This has happened 2 times in the last 4 games alone. NEEDS TO BE FIXED!!!

I understand this needs to be toned down, but in the real NHL a fight almost always breaks out anytime a big legal hit is made.

Hopefully EA can add the instigator to anyone who starts a fight after a hit (even though, again, in the real NHL, this doesn't happen every time as it should), and maybe if hits were put down to 0, the bigger, 'blow-up' hits will happen less frequently.

[actionhank]

Re: NHL 14 Available Now for Season Ticket Subscribers, Post Your Impressions

I understand this needs to be toned down, but in the real NHL a fight almost always breaks out anytime a big legal hit is made.

Hopefully EA can add the instigator to anyone who starts a fight after a hit (even though, again, in the real NHL, this doesn't happen every time as it should), and maybe if hits were put down to 0, the bigger, 'blow-up' hits will happen less frequently.

I agree to an extent.
There will often be fights, but guys like Berglund or Steen aren't likely to fight, even after getting someone clean on a hit.
They'll shove back, but they're not likely to drop the gloves. My only problem is it seems like you're forced into it. Apparently moving the right stick in some direction can allow you to avoid the fight, but if not, it's going to be frustrating having your best players off for 5 minutes every time you get a clean hit.

[adayinthelife]

Re: NHL 14 Available Now for Season Ticket Subscribers, Post Your Impressions

I agree to an extent.
There will often be fights, but guys like Berglund or Steen aren't likely to fight, even after getting someone clean on a hit.
They'll shove back, but they're not likely to drop the gloves. My only problem is it seems like you're forced into it. Apparently moving the right stick in some direction can allow you to avoid the fight, but if not, it's going to be frustrating having your best players off for 5 minutes every time you get a clean hit.

I'd like to get some official clarification on this, because I've seen both scenarios. I've had a few times where guys have made the hit and then automatically dropped the gloves, which is fine for some players but not for others.

Thing is, I've also had just as many cases where my guy drops his stick, but doesn't drop his gloves and I'm either given the option to press triangle and have someone else more likely to fight jump in, or someone else just jumps in gloves off automatically. Alternately I've also seen a couple things where my guy drops his stick but not the gloves, no one jumps in and they both end up with roughing minors.

I'm just totally clueless as to what is making this work sometimes and not others - am I doing something/pressing something not even thinking about it? If they smooth this out (and really, I think this is something that could be patched easily, no?), the fighting system really shines and feels like it adds some emotion to the game for sure, and maybe even finally gives you a reason to get a few tough guys in BaGM.

[bad_philanthropy]

Re: NHL 14 Available Now for Season Ticket Subscribers, Post Your Impressions

I actually think the teammate AI is quite improved in Be a Pro. I've always tooled around in the mode a bit since its inception, but never found it that compelling on account of my terrible teammates.

Here's an example from the end of a sequence of my team working the powerplay—we had actually done about three good cycles, and movement off the puck was nice—I was able to fight through some checks and get in position for a tip in. Probably the most satisfying goal I've ever scored in BAP because of how good everything felt without the puck.

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It was nice too, because each cycle didn't simply feed the point, one tried to create movement to set up a good shot from the circle. It's part tweaks to the skating engine and some small tuning to the AI that makes it a big leap in fun for me (with my own slider settings of course. Default is rubbish.).

No it's not perfect, and I am eager to see what's up in a patch and tuner down the line, but it's enough for me at the end of this gen to enjoy.

[Faulker]

Re: NHL 14 Available Now for Season Ticket Subscribers, Post Your Impressions

I'd like to get some official clarification on this, because I've seen both scenarios. I've had a few times where guys have made the hit and then automatically dropped the gloves, which is fine for some players but not for others.

Thing is, I've also had just as many cases where my guy drops his stick, but doesn't drop his gloves and I'm either given the option to press triangle and have someone else more likely to fight jump in, or someone else just jumps in gloves off automatically. Alternately I've also seen a couple things where my guy drops his stick but not the gloves, no one jumps in and they both end up with roughing minors.

I'm just totally clueless as to what is making this work sometimes and not others - am I doing something/pressing something not even thinking about it? If they smooth this out (and really, I think this is something that could be patched easily, no?), the fighting system really shines and feels like it adds some emotion to the game for sure, and maybe even finally gives you a reason to get a few tough guys in BaGM.

I just now out of habit shot the puck at the net.. A fight ensued with Matt Carle I flailed around with the right stick and the fight stopped not sure what direction or what exactly I did but it did stop the fight and both guys got 2 min for roughing. I'll test it again a couple times.. I'm actually enjoying the game 7 min default sliders on All star hard core sim so far has given me enjoyable results. I am starting to get a bit better so I may need to try a level up or tinker with a few sliders. All in all I've played around 15-20 games through season ticket in be a GM with Hard core sim and all star level. I was 7-3 with St. louis. And I'm 3-4 with Tampa bay. I'm probably an average player if I had to guess.. (not good not terrible) - So anyway my thoughts..

[Qb]

Re: NHL 14 Available Now for Season Ticket Subscribers, Post Your Impressions

Just guessing, but could the auto-fight prompt be affected by the hitter's fighting tendency of never/rarely/sometimes/often?

After getting my behind whooped a few times in OTP, I dropped my guy's setting to 'never'. Since then, I haven't fought unless I elected to, which was only once during a post-whistle scrum (and got pounded again). Granted I'm not a behemoth crushing anything that moves, but it seems worth investigating.

[jyoung]

Re: NHL 14 Available Now for Season Ticket Subscribers, Post Your Impressions

The easiest way to get out of an accidental auto-fight is to skate away from the scene of the crime as fast as possible.

Once your skater gets a certain distance away from the hit, the "push Y to fight" icon disappears.

Hit and run, son.

Also, it helps to set your Be a Pro's fighting tendency to "never" to bring down his likeliness to trigger an auto-fight.

[Nomah5]

Re: NHL 14 Available Now for Season Ticket Subscribers, Post Your Impressions

Not sure why all the hate but I had my first game and actually had a BLAST. I used my Canucks v the home town Coyotes. They outshot me 50-31 and I was up 3-0 into the 3rd period. Power plays were 2 each at that point. They scored 3 times off the Sieve, chokeongo and I started a fight with Kesler and Doan, who took out Henrik Sedin in the first minute of the game. I won on a delayed penalty in the last minute and then potted an empty netter to win 5-3.

I am Thrilled with the challenge and the amount of shots the cpu took. I was happy with the 3 power plays I had, including the delayed one.

Hardcore Simulation, superstar default settings, btw.

[bad_philanthropy]

Re: NHL 14 Available Now for Season Ticket Subscribers, Post Your Impressions

It's a novelty, but NHL 14 is definitely the best goon simulator ever. You can truly be the baddest man on the ice. I'm testing out an enforcer BAP and taking all sorts of liberties while barely being able skate, deke, and shoot. It's a joy when you pull off the injuring hit, and then injure the guy who steps up to fight. I'm a terrible person.

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[CallCenterZombie]

Re: NHL 14 Available Now for Season Ticket Subscribers, Post Your Impressions

Just guessing, but could the auto-fight prompt be affected by the hitter's fighting tendency of never/rarely/sometimes/often?

After getting my behind whooped a few times in OTP, I dropped my guy's setting to 'never'. Since then, I haven't fought unless I elected to, which was only once during a post-whistle scrum (and got pounded again). Granted I'm not a behemoth crushing anything that moves, but it seems worth investigating.

It makes a HUGE difference.