[Qb]

Had a chance to play my first offline game, play now Pens/Stars in Dallas. I tinkered with the sliders before and a little during the game, mostly trying to slow down the pace of play. I didn't touch gamespeed, but dropped acceleration and pass speeds; these make for a noticeable improvement. I also moved a few other things a click or two, like raising aggression & fatigue.

It was enjoyable game overall and I'll likely continue to mess around with offline. I lost in the shootout and is it just me or is the CPU goalie pokechecking way too quick & powerful? IRL it's a very high risk move and can leave the goalie hung out to dry, but it's so quick and contained I don't get that sense at all 1v1.

I also played a few EASHL games on release night and things were way too scrambly and with too much float & glide in the skating. Players aren't punished nearly enough for taking risks or chasing because it's too easy to recover your position. Also, the skating feels a lot more fluid & deliberate with less acceleration offline, although some of the online feel could be lag related I guess.