NHL 16 Video and Details - Be a GM Player Morale

[headzapp]

Re: NHL 16 Video and Details - Be a GM Player Morale

I've said it before. Why don't they just make an online game called EASHL? The EASHL has NOTHING to do with the NHL. Unlike ultimate team, it doesn't even use NHL players. The game, however, is called NHL and, like you said, the parts of the game that actually require that trademark get by far the least attention. How about just making a separate, maybe downloadable, component for your damn EASHL and actually put forth a respectable effort in representing the NHL license that they must have exclusive rights to.

I was just thinking the same thing earlier. I like NHL. I like playing with NHL teams and want the game play as close to real life as possible. I liked what NHL 15 was. I bet with the right sliders this year it will be even better. (Any word if the sliders for the sticks to not pass through players is still in?)

I'm not bashing EA, but what if another company came in and said we are making the most realistic sim hockey game ever, and EA can just push their EASHL and HUT modes. Imagine a MLB The Show version of NHL.

Sorry if that's jumping off the subject of the thread. I can't wait to get this years game and get my gm on.

[bwiggy33]

Re: NHL 16 Video and Details - Be a GM Player Morale

Honestly (and I could be completely wrong) I don't buy the budgets of development team. The whole thing just seems like a lack of focus on anything offline, or not benefiting online gameplay.

AI, roster sharing, Be a GM. All things that have been largely ignored for years. While they have completely revamped the way EASHL plays, and have daily updates and Facebook posts about HUT. I get that they're going where the money is, but to completely ignore an entire demographic of your fan base is just absurd to me. EA would be better off selling the online portion separately, and giving another team a shot at handling the offline gameplay. As someone else mentioned, things like EASHL aren't even NHL related. They could make that it's own, independent game mode, and people I'm sure would still toss $15 to play it.

I actually meant to say staff members not budget. I'm in agreement with you about budgets. I think it's just an excuse for the most part. I do think when it comes to licensing arenas, equipment, NBC, etc. that it comes in to play, but doesn't as far as them adding features that nearly every other game has.

[Moose24x]

Re: NHL 16 Video and Details - Be a GM Player Morale

So one thing I saw in that video is that ratings are still HORRIBLE. Anyone want to tell me what Morgan Reilly has done to start the game as an 87? Please? If he's an 87, are Erik Karlsson and Duncan Keith 102-105? Because they sure as **** aren't a mere 3-5 points better than Morgan Reilly right now.

[Money99]

Re: NHL 16 Video and Details - Be a GM Player Morale

It'll be interesting to see how this whole player morale thing will work out.
It's not something I was really clamoring for, but I do appreciate EA's efforts to add a human element to this mode.
And it's certainly a factor in real life as well.
Just yesterday there was an article on Puck Daddy that stated re-signing Stamkos might be harder than one thinks considering Stammer's frosty relationship with John Cooper.
Stamkos does not want to play RW and Cooper (allegedly) doesn't consider Stamkos to be one of his 'soldiers'.

If EA can implement a realistic version of that scenario, it'll make the GM mode a lot more enjoyable.

Saying that, I would have really preferred they used their time to incorporate the various global leagues into GM mode instead.
I'd love to run an OHL team, or a team overseas.
Or how about getting fired and having to find a job in Europe, or the CHL before working your way back to the NHL?
The same could be said for the BAP mode as well.

I'm still intrigued by this new dynamic and will love to see how it affects my team (and others).

P.S. I would LOVE if EA (or anyone else) were able to incorporate phones, tablets, PC's to run your team while not online.
I'd probably kill hours each day making transactions and moves on my phone while at work.
That way, when I got home, I didn't have to spend a lot of time dealing with injuries, line-ups, trades, etc.
Food for thought.

[Money99]

Re: NHL 16 Video and Details - Be a GM Player Morale

So one thing I saw in that video is that ratings are still HORRIBLE. Anyone want to tell me what Morgan Reilly has done to start the game as an 87? Please? If he's an 87, are Erik Karlsson and Duncan Keith 102-105? Because they sure as **** aren't a mere 3-5 points better than Morgan Reilly right now.

We have to live with this as it's always been this way.
I think it's a combination of EA and the PA's effort to ensure NHL players are always ranked above 80.
Wasn't John Scott an 82 in NHL15?
There are probably 500 pro hockey players - not in the NHL (and some amateurs) - that are better hockey players than him. But because he's in the NHL, he has to be rated in the 80's.
That's my theory anyway.

I've never really cared for an OV rating. What does it even mean? Are all attributes weighted the same?
Will shot blocking be considered equal to shooting accuracy or skating?

And if an 85 felt considerably different than a 90, then it doesn't matter.
But that seems to be the issue. There's hardly any difference in players despite what their ratings are. 77, 88, 91, it all feels and plays the same.

[HypoLuxa13]

Well, I still hope for a decent game, but... It really seems like we are seeing the affects of lack of competition for EA. Both NHL and Madden have not seen much useful innovation in years. Regarding budget - Madden sells about 1.5 - 2 million copies the week of release accross all platforms, whereas NHL sells what, 250k copies?

But the Be A Pro mode is something I enjoy, and the improvements to that mode look promising. The different training options look cool. And of course, simming to your next shift is a must. Be A Pro is probably where I'll be spending a lot of time if I do end up purchasing this year's game.

[Money99]

Re: NHL 16 Video and Details - Be a GM Player Morale

Well, I still hope for a decent game, but... It really seems like we are seeing the affects of lack of competition for EA. Both NHL and Madden have not seen much useful innovation in years. Regarding budget - Madden sells about 1.5 - 2 million copies the week of release accross all platforms, whereas NHL sells what, 250k copies?

But the Be A Pro mode is something I enjoy, and the improvements to that mode look promising. The different training options look cool. And of course, simming to your next shift is a must. Be A Pro is probably where I'll be spending a lot of time if I do end up purchasing this year's game.

I think the NHL game sells around 750-850K.

What's hard to believe is that in the beginning, NHL was selling as much, or MORE than Madden.
Not sure what the totals were, but I remember reading that somewhere.

That first NHL game was so freakin' good. It blew my mind.
I worked as a busboy and worked my butt off to save up for a Sega Genesis just for this game.
I think after buying the system, an extra controller and the game, it cost me over $500.
And that was in '91?
That's a lot of tables I had to bus, haha!

[Vikes1]

Re: NHL 16 Video and Details - Be a GM Player Morale

Hope there's an on/off option....just in case.

[HypoLuxa13]

Re: NHL 16 Video and Details - Be a GM Player Morale

I think the NHL game sells around 750-850K.

What's hard to believe is that in the beginning, NHL was selling as much, or MORE than Madden.
Not sure what the totals were, but I remember reading that somewhere.

That first NHL game was so freakin' good. It blew my mind.
I worked as a busboy and worked my butt off to save up for a Sega Genesis just for this game.
I think after buying the system, an extra controller and the game, it cost me over $500.
And that was in '91?
That's a lot of tables I had to bus, haha!

Yeah, I was speaking of release week sales, I think Madden sells close to 7 million a year total, FIFA something like 10-12 million total.

I played every NHL game from NHL 97 on PS1 until about NHL 04, and have been purchasing about every other year since then. Never was into hockey before I got a PS1. But the game back then on PS1 was every bit as enjoyable, if not more so for some reason, as any current gen version.

[Money99]

Re: NHL 16 Video and Details - Be a GM Player Morale

Yeah, I was speaking of release week sales, I think Madden sells close to 7 million a year total, FIFA something like 10-12 million total.

I played every NHL game from NHL 97 on PS1 until about NHL 04, and have been purchasing about every other year since then. Never was into hockey before I got a PS1. But the game back then on PS1 was every bit as enjoyable, if not more so for some reason, as any current gen version.

I wonder about that too.

I think with the advancements in technology we expect the games to be better than what they are.
I grew up on NES Ice Hockey, Baseball Simulator, Ring Kings and Tecmo Bowl.

Those games are lightyears behind what we have today. But maybe it's because our expectations were so much lower back then.

I know I'm one of those people that was hoping for a much greater leap in terms of AI and offline modes by this time.

There are things in old games like MVP2004 that still aren't in today's games.
Heck, even NHL94 had intermission highlights.
I'm baffled as to why that's not in any of the games today.
Remember NFL2K4's weekly show? That was amazing. How come nobody else can do something like that? Isn't that game 2 console generations old already?

I think it's expectations like that which prevent people like myself from enjoying the games more than I should.

That said, and I'm trying not to sound like a broken record (seriously, I'm not ), if EA would PLEASE finally provide more player styles and team styles so that every game was different, I'd be able to overlook a lot of the missing parts in NHL16.

I swear, reading how different the 12 player types are in EASHL, I think I'd even be happy if NHL16 allowed us to create an entirely fictional league with only randomly generated players based off of those 12 models.

[nddurst]

Re: NHL 16 Video and Details - Be a GM Player Morale

I'm not impressed. Adding morale is a step in the right direction, but this game is still lacking a deep, immersive offline game mode. We're in the third cycle (second cycle for NHL) for this generation of consoles, and still NHL is far from what it needs to be as a product. Game modes aside, we still have no clue as to how the AI performs in-game, and that's troubling to me. I fear that player, coach and opposing GM AI will leave the offline experience even more frustrating.

The lack of competition is killing this game, making it stale and lacking in any sort of innovation. There is nothing pushing EA to make this game as good as it could be.

[Splitter77]

Re: NHL 16 Video and Details - Be a GM Player Morale

definitely a no buy for me.
not buying again until they focus more on offline play.

gonna be playing a lot of hitman this winter

[GlennN]

Hope there's an on/off option....just in case.

That was my first reaction too! I would love going back to the chemistry for certain line combinations, with boosts or deductions to ratings. But for this stuff? Locker room morale and friends of players? I'll pass. Plus, not to be negative, but until the ratings actually matter, changes to the ratings are little more than window dressing.

[BearishRiggs]

Re: NHL 16 Video and Details - Be a GM Player Morale

The one positive I'm taking away after letting it soak in a little is this: since apparently player performance (based on their stats I'm assuming) affects their morale and in turn their OVR rating, that may mean we'll finally have fluctuation in contract demands based on stats. Of course, this depends how much the overalls truly drop.

Although, it did show that even if a player's own performance sucks they'll still be happy if the rest of the team is doing well...so...shrug.

[iFnotWhyNoT]

Control, share, control, share, CONTROL, SHARE...two fundamental philosophies a GM/FRANCHISE mode should be about. I like that they added a new feature but If they added sliders we could CONTROL, save and SHARE amongst the community to find the right balance that will temper a TON of frustration.Same goes for roster editing. Give the hardcore user tools to construct their own be a gm universe while in the mode. BUG's happen, if something happens where i deem it to be ridiculous or petty and it sucks me out of the immersion. I would rather look for a roster set and be a gm slider set to try before deeming the game to be broken and needing to be patched. With next gen we have reached a new gaming experience and thats with devs giving consumers tons of control, where forums and communities like this build and tweak everyday to get the best out of the game, and hopefully the devs can be focused on adding new immersive things like a watchable trade centre day with analysis on big trades and commentary, game ticker that appears and fades during games and what not. Build a foundation with sliders for every new feature. All i ask; lets build up every year, not up down up down.