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superbus · 07-31-2015, 03:17 AM

As a defenceman: I'm very happy with a lot of changes, particularly as a defencive D-man. Being in position means a lot now; passes don't go through everyone like it used to. It's also harder to break the puck out with long passing (though I will say defencive D-men are comically bad at passing; needs to be tweaked a bit there). I like the skating. I like how human defenders are really good at the blue line now on clearances. There's a lot to like here.

As a goalie: ehhhhhhh. There's a lag when you try to do just about anything - probably the server - and that causes problems because they fundamentally changed the controls. If you're an experienced goaltender, it's great - you can T-push, you can use subtle edge control, there's no more gliding like you're in a dome hockey game - but they need to tweak responsiveness, and change the controls up. Instead of having to hold LT for tight control, they should make that default and let us use a trigger or a bumper - preferably left bumper, while putting left-trigger back to butterfly (it's RT now) - to T-push or do any other heavy angle correction. Also, they need to give us tools for rebound control; any time a rebound sprays out, we're dead.

Needs to add, overall:

* DROP IN FUNCTION. Holy crap, waiting on "teams" is a fool's errand. I understand this is beta, but my word.

VdaStampede · 07-31-2015, 03:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThreeKing


	Are there drop-in games?? I can't get into a game.

same here I just deleted it because it doesn't let you play solo. not sure the point of this if I can't play the way I would normally.

Thanks anyway though

bigwill33 · 07-31-2015, 04:58 AM

If you are going to run club this year you had better be playing with nearly all humans, because the AI in this game is atrocious, again.

Win the face-off back to the cpu dman in the defensive zone and they immediately run behind the net and then lose the puck on the net. Then they constantly turn it over. They make you call for the puck and then still turn it over.

It was promised that by removing the "grind" that all teams would be even and hockey knowledge and skill would be the difference, but that is far from the case. Constantly dominating other clubs in shots, time on attack, hits, face-offs, PP's only to struggle to put up 2 goals in some games.

Meanwhile, looking at the leader boards, there are clubs that are already averaging 6.5 points per game and they are not playing 6-6 because it actually tells you if they are.

My club is 13-3-1. 2 of those loses occurred when multiple players on our team dropped/crashed to the main menus of Xbox One because of some apparent EA/MS drop issue. I average well over 3 points per game already and I am a 2 way defensive minded player. But we still struggle to knock pucks loose from a team of 2 enforcers and a grinder.

Passing in this game is just awful. There are no lanes. I mean, there are lanes, you can see them... but you cannot pass through them, no matter what build you pick. Work the puck up to the offensive zone and then at best you can pass around the perimeter a little, until you try and angle a pass and you fire it back into your own zone or just throw it to a ridiculous spot that you weren't even thinking about.

With the passing the way it currently is, the game really doesn't promote team play at all. It is more of a game of trying to do things one-on-one and then perhaps make that one pass at the last second in the zone.

I have yet to see a shot from the point beat a goalie in this beta.

And they didn't fix the being able to change lines or attack strategies so that you can poke check at the same time. All they did was remove the ability to change your defensive settings while playing the game. It is all greyed out until a stop in play. That is awful! What lazy programming. They constantly do that. Like when the loop was causing issues for nearly 3 years, they just removed the part of the menu that let you loop the game. They didn't fix the issue.

Every game you have to set up the strategies. Every game! And it takes roughly 5-8 game minutes to accomplish that because you can't do it from the pause menu, that would make too much sense. So, unless you like an ultra defensive strategy for your team, for the whole game, you have to clumsily cycle through the options to adjust your teams attack, breakout, and defensive strategies. It even starts you out running a 1-3-1. What team even does that in these days, especially from the onset of a game?

There is no way to tell how much time a club game has left, the score, anything. You sit in the locker room and do nothing but wait. At least give us so stats in the locker room.

What is the point of the report card? Every period I see the same dumb coaching advice. Stuff like "take snapshots". Dumb. You can't progress or regress, so what does it matter. Just show me the stats from the game and from the players in the intermission.

If you play with a CPU winger, good luck getting him to play his side. Good luck getting him to do anything productive at all.

The AI still receives the benefit of a speed cheat. It still turns in unrealistic ways when it has the puck and it is trying to shield a human attacker. At least this year it does cough the puck up a lot more from poke checks.

Seeing hardly any breakaways with CPU AI. Not sure if that is good or bad. The speed cheat comes into play here too, though. Nothing like getting caught from behind when you have a fast player build and the puck on what should be a clear-cut break.

Haven't seen a goalie interference called yet.

Why is there pauses? You can't do anything other than adjust cameras from the menus, so why do we need them in club? You want to adjust the camera do it in the settings during a stop in play or intermission, sorry.

Did I mention the passing is awful? It really bums me out that my favorite aspect of hockey is so nerfed and putrid because I miss making the pretty tic-tac-toe play.

Glad they redid the hitting. No more players all over the ice. Although now it is harder than ever to defend a puck carrier one-on-one. It is especially ridiculous for the AI. The AI defender will allow a puck carrier to skate with them stride for stride as they backpedal and never attempt a poke, lift, or nudge. As long as you skate to the perimeter you can take whatever ground you want.

And what is probably the worst part: The game is just kind of dull and boring already. After not even 20 games, I feel that I have seen everything that can and will happen. And it feels and looks just like every other EASHL. The menus are still clunky and ugly. The options are hard to find, so joining a club or looking up stats is tedious. And knowing that you will never progress or have anything to look forward to is just dull to me. My club is already in the top 150 overall and it is like "so what?" Like, what do we do now? I just can't see this holding people's attentions for an entire year because the foundation is tired for this game mode.

And now all that has changed is that they handcuffed what really made the game unique, finding special player builds and using them as a team to compliment strengths as you progress up the ladder with your created player. Now it is like you have to pick one aspect of a player and try to do that and only that. So if you hit, you can't score. If you can pass, you can't hit. If you are good in front, you have to be slow. Where is the originality? And the result is just who can find the glitch spots the best, because that is all anyone is trying right now to score. And by the looks of the records and stats, people are finding those tired glitch spots with ease.

I looked at the goalie stats, hardly anyone is playing goalie in EASHL for Xbox One in the beta. The leader in games played had 6 games played as of 4:30am EST. It quickly dropped off from there. Because there were not even 15 players listed with goalie stats yet.

I don't know. Watching the developers play yesterday should have probably been more of an indicator than what I took it to be originally. They really don't understand the nuances of the game or how it is played. This game is programmed to be exactly the opposite of what this mode is attempting to be. Watching all of those guys that work on this product chase after the puck like golden retrievers chase tennis balls in the back yard is exactly how this game is set up to play. Because it certainly doesn't reward true positioning, heads-up passing, or create a battle for space. Instead it is a button mashing, deke fest, where everyone just skates the perimeter of the ice until they force a one-timer pass across the goal crease, or try to stop and pull up above the circles and carry it into the slot for a cheese goal top shelf, bar down, bs, legacy goal that has been in the game for 8 iterations now.

There is little reward for working yourselves into a 3 on 1. Because passing in this game is the worst option. You are better off just trying to skate straight up the ice on every transition and going right at the net than you are cycling in the corner, working it back to the point, or chipping a nice little saucer into open space for your player to run down on the fly.

The game isn't all bad, but it sure isn't good. And what is really a shame is that the stuff that isn't good is the same stuff that hasn't been good for 5-6 years now. And there is really no hope or end in sight. All we were told from the people that spent time with this game is how great it is and how different it will seem. I see hardly any of that.

I don't see anyone using the strafe function in a realistic manner. I don't see the AI keeping the point or playing the angles correctly on defense. I don't have an option to square up or face the damn puck even. I cannot tell you how frustrating it is trying to park yourself in front of that net properly. When in real life I can stand on my skates in any direction I please with the utmost of ease. The problem in real life is that their is a 6'5" 240lb guy leaning on me or pushing me out of the way of his goalie. In this game, you just park yourself next to the guy and hope for the best.

I don't know where EA wants our feedback, but this is essentially what I found by playing this game already. And from watching others play it. It really resembles nothing of the actual sport of hockey. It really wasn't that fun to play with my buddies again after 2 years of next gen gaming without Club hockey. And I am saying this as someone that was on a team that simply dominated just about all of our opponents. The rare pretty plays we did make never resulted in anything positive. Or we would dominate on a 5 minute power play but not be able to set up that pretty pass and finish. But then just walk in and wrist one and watch their cpu d punch it in his own net. That doesn't make anyone happy on either team. That just makes you feel like you aren't even playing the game, but rather just watching.

Maybe I will end up with this game because it is "hockey" and I can finally be in a game with my friends again online, but I really can't justify spending any more than $30 on it again.

ballgameronny · 07-31-2015, 05:43 AM

Says unavailable for xbone

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Money99 · 07-31-2015, 07:52 AM

Is anyone able to comment on feeling or seeing major differences between the builds?
Will snipers shoot harder and more accurate?
Are defensive dmen more effective at knocking pucks loose?
Is it easier to thread needles with playmakers?

Thank-you!

BellSKA · 07-31-2015, 08:15 AM

Can someone verify if you can 'Invite' friends from your list to your Club? I am currently unable to send invites to my private Club and find this quite unproductive. I have no problems giving my Club name to my friends list, but wouldn't it be easier to just send them an invite?

Also, the color wheel is cumbersome and not worth the trouble.

ricky24 · 07-31-2015, 09:15 AM

Played 5 games last night. Was not impressed. Game mode is just bare with these new pre built players. We had 3 guys and the AI was brutal. No better than they were in nhl 14. That was my main issue with eashl and it doesn't look like it's fixed at all.

snc237 · 07-31-2015, 09:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Money99


	Is anyone able to comment on feeling or seeing major differences between the builds? Will snipers shoot harder and more accurate? Are defensive dmen more effective at knocking pucks loose? Is it easier to thread needles with playmakers? Thank-you!

Yes you do see a difference between classes. Snipers really have some power to their shot and if left with space your in trouble. Plus using a playmaker feels 100 percent different then a grinder. It's also nice everyone is the same speed.

07-31-2015, 03:17 AM	#9
superbus Rookie OVR: 3 Join Date: Jul 2010	Re: NHL 16 EASHL Beta Available Now For Xbox One and PlayStation 4, Extended Until Au As a defenceman: I'm very happy with a lot of changes, particularly as a defencive D-man. Being in position means a lot now; passes don't go through everyone like it used to. It's also harder to break the puck out with long passing (though I will say defencive D-men are comically bad at passing; needs to be tweaked a bit there). I like the skating. I like how human defenders are really good at the blue line now on clearances. There's a lot to like here. As a goalie: ehhhhhhh. There's a lag when you try to do just about anything - probably the server - and that causes problems because they fundamentally changed the controls. If you're an experienced goaltender, it's great - you can T-push, you can use subtle edge control, there's no more gliding like you're in a dome hockey game - but they need to tweak responsiveness, and change the controls up. Instead of having to hold LT for tight control, they should make that default and let us use a trigger or a bumper - preferably left bumper, while putting left-trigger back to butterfly (it's RT now) - to T-push or do any other heavy angle correction. Also, they need to give us tools for rebound control; any time a rebound sprays out, we're dead. Needs to add, overall: * DROP IN FUNCTION. Holy crap, waiting on "teams" is a fool's errand. I understand this is beta, but my word.

07-31-2015, 04:58 AM	#11
bigwill33 MVP OVR: 13 Join Date: Jul 2002 Blog Entries: 2	Re: NHL 16 EASHL Beta Available Now For Xbox One and PlayStation 4, Extended Until Au If you are going to run club this year you had better be playing with nearly all humans, because the AI in this game is atrocious, again. Win the face-off back to the cpu dman in the defensive zone and they immediately run behind the net and then lose the puck on the net. Then they constantly turn it over. They make you call for the puck and then still turn it over. It was promised that by removing the "grind" that all teams would be even and hockey knowledge and skill would be the difference, but that is far from the case. Constantly dominating other clubs in shots, time on attack, hits, face-offs, PP's only to struggle to put up 2 goals in some games. Meanwhile, looking at the leader boards, there are clubs that are already averaging 6.5 points per game and they are not playing 6-6 because it actually tells you if they are. My club is 13-3-1. 2 of those loses occurred when multiple players on our team dropped/crashed to the main menus of Xbox One because of some apparent EA/MS drop issue. I average well over 3 points per game already and I am a 2 way defensive minded player. But we still struggle to knock pucks loose from a team of 2 enforcers and a grinder. Passing in this game is just awful. There are no lanes. I mean, there are lanes, you can see them... but you cannot pass through them, no matter what build you pick. Work the puck up to the offensive zone and then at best you can pass around the perimeter a little, until you try and angle a pass and you fire it back into your own zone or just throw it to a ridiculous spot that you weren't even thinking about. With the passing the way it currently is, the game really doesn't promote team play at all. It is more of a game of trying to do things one-on-one and then perhaps make that one pass at the last second in the zone. I have yet to see a shot from the point beat a goalie in this beta. And they didn't fix the being able to change lines or attack strategies so that you can poke check at the same time. All they did was remove the ability to change your defensive settings while playing the game. It is all greyed out until a stop in play. That is awful! What lazy programming. They constantly do that. Like when the loop was causing issues for nearly 3 years, they just removed the part of the menu that let you loop the game. They didn't fix the issue. Every game you have to set up the strategies. Every game! And it takes roughly 5-8 game minutes to accomplish that because you can't do it from the pause menu, that would make too much sense. So, unless you like an ultra defensive strategy for your team, for the whole game, you have to clumsily cycle through the options to adjust your teams attack, breakout, and defensive strategies. It even starts you out running a 1-3-1. What team even does that in these days, especially from the onset of a game? There is no way to tell how much time a club game has left, the score, anything. You sit in the locker room and do nothing but wait. At least give us so stats in the locker room. What is the point of the report card? Every period I see the same dumb coaching advice. Stuff like "take snapshots". Dumb. You can't progress or regress, so what does it matter. Just show me the stats from the game and from the players in the intermission. If you play with a CPU winger, good luck getting him to play his side. Good luck getting him to do anything productive at all. The AI still receives the benefit of a speed cheat. It still turns in unrealistic ways when it has the puck and it is trying to shield a human attacker. At least this year it does cough the puck up a lot more from poke checks. Seeing hardly any breakaways with CPU AI. Not sure if that is good or bad. The speed cheat comes into play here too, though. Nothing like getting caught from behind when you have a fast player build and the puck on what should be a clear-cut break. Haven't seen a goalie interference called yet. Why is there pauses? You can't do anything other than adjust cameras from the menus, so why do we need them in club? You want to adjust the camera do it in the settings during a stop in play or intermission, sorry. Did I mention the passing is awful? It really bums me out that my favorite aspect of hockey is so nerfed and putrid because I miss making the pretty tic-tac-toe play. Glad they redid the hitting. No more players all over the ice. Although now it is harder than ever to defend a puck carrier one-on-one. It is especially ridiculous for the AI. The AI defender will allow a puck carrier to skate with them stride for stride as they backpedal and never attempt a poke, lift, or nudge. As long as you skate to the perimeter you can take whatever ground you want. And what is probably the worst part: The game is just kind of dull and boring already. After not even 20 games, I feel that I have seen everything that can and will happen. And it feels and looks just like every other EASHL. The menus are still clunky and ugly. The options are hard to find, so joining a club or looking up stats is tedious. And knowing that you will never progress or have anything to look forward to is just dull to me. My club is already in the top 150 overall and it is like "so what?" Like, what do we do now? I just can't see this holding people's attentions for an entire year because the foundation is tired for this game mode. And now all that has changed is that they handcuffed what really made the game unique, finding special player builds and using them as a team to compliment strengths as you progress up the ladder with your created player. Now it is like you have to pick one aspect of a player and try to do that and only that. So if you hit, you can't score. If you can pass, you can't hit. If you are good in front, you have to be slow. Where is the originality? And the result is just who can find the glitch spots the best, because that is all anyone is trying right now to score. And by the looks of the records and stats, people are finding those tired glitch spots with ease. I looked at the goalie stats, hardly anyone is playing goalie in EASHL for Xbox One in the beta. The leader in games played had 6 games played as of 4:30am EST. It quickly dropped off from there. Because there were not even 15 players listed with goalie stats yet. I don't know. Watching the developers play yesterday should have probably been more of an indicator than what I took it to be originally. They really don't understand the nuances of the game or how it is played. This game is programmed to be exactly the opposite of what this mode is attempting to be. Watching all of those guys that work on this product chase after the puck like golden retrievers chase tennis balls in the back yard is exactly how this game is set up to play. Because it certainly doesn't reward true positioning, heads-up passing, or create a battle for space. Instead it is a button mashing, deke fest, where everyone just skates the perimeter of the ice until they force a one-timer pass across the goal crease, or try to stop and pull up above the circles and carry it into the slot for a cheese goal top shelf, bar down, bs, legacy goal that has been in the game for 8 iterations now. There is little reward for working yourselves into a 3 on 1. Because passing in this game is the worst option. You are better off just trying to skate straight up the ice on every transition and going right at the net than you are cycling in the corner, working it back to the point, or chipping a nice little saucer into open space for your player to run down on the fly. The game isn't all bad, but it sure isn't good. And what is really a shame is that the stuff that isn't good is the same stuff that hasn't been good for 5-6 years now. And there is really no hope or end in sight. All we were told from the people that spent time with this game is how great it is and how different it will seem. I see hardly any of that. I don't see anyone using the strafe function in a realistic manner. I don't see the AI keeping the point or playing the angles correctly on defense. I don't have an option to square up or face the damn puck even. I cannot tell you how frustrating it is trying to park yourself in front of that net properly. When in real life I can stand on my skates in any direction I please with the utmost of ease. The problem in real life is that their is a 6'5" 240lb guy leaning on me or pushing me out of the way of his goalie. In this game, you just park yourself next to the guy and hope for the best. I don't know where EA wants our feedback, but this is essentially what I found by playing this game already. And from watching others play it. It really resembles nothing of the actual sport of hockey. It really wasn't that fun to play with my buddies again after 2 years of next gen gaming without Club hockey. And I am saying this as someone that was on a team that simply dominated just about all of our opponents. The rare pretty plays we did make never resulted in anything positive. Or we would dominate on a 5 minute power play but not be able to set up that pretty pass and finish. But then just walk in and wrist one and watch their cpu d punch it in his own net. That doesn't make anyone happy on either team. That just makes you feel like you aren't even playing the game, but rather just watching. Maybe I will end up with this game because it is "hockey" and I can finally be in a game with my friends again online, but I really can't justify spending any more than $30 on it again. knich, GrandMaster B, jyoung and 2 others like this.

07-31-2015, 05:43 AM	#12
ballgameronny Rookie OVR: 3 Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Bridgeport, Pa	Re: NHL 16 EASHL Beta Available Now For Xbox One and PlayStation 4, Extended Until Au Says unavailable for xbone Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk __________________ Dallas Cowboys Philadelphia Phillies Philadelphia Flyers UFC Playing; NHL 13, MLB 2k13, WWE13, DMC, Tomb Raider

07-31-2015, 07:52 AM	#13
Money99 Hall Of Fame OVR: 37 Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Kingsville, ONT Blog Entries: 6	Re: NHL 16 EASHL Beta Available Now For Xbox One and PlayStation 4, Extended Until Au Is anyone able to comment on feeling or seeing major differences between the builds? Will snipers shoot harder and more accurate? Are defensive dmen more effective at knocking pucks loose? Is it easier to thread needles with playmakers? Thank-you!

07-31-2015, 08:15 AM	#14
BellSKA Pro OVR: 0 Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Jena, Germany	Re: NHL 16 EASHL Beta Available Now For Xbox One and PlayStation 4, Extended Until Au Can someone verify if you can 'Invite' friends from your list to your Club? I am currently unable to send invites to my private Club and find this quite unproductive. I have no problems giving my Club name to my friends list, but wouldn't it be easier to just send them an invite? Also, the color wheel is cumbersome and not worth the trouble.

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07-31-2015, 09:15 AM	#15
ricky24 MVP OVR: 0 Join Date: Jan 2014	Re: NHL 16 EASHL Beta Available Now For Xbox One and PlayStation 4, Extended Until Au Played 5 games last night. Was not impressed. Game mode is just bare with these new pre built players. We had 3 guys and the AI was brutal. No better than they were in nhl 14. That was my main issue with eashl and it doesn't look like it's fixed at all. bigwill33 likes this.

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NHL 16 EASHL Beta Available Now For Xbox One and PlayStation 4, Extended Until Aug. 7