Ask NHL 16 Q&A Updated Once More - More Talk About HUT, EASHL and More

[ChaseB]

The NHL 16 team continues to answer questions about the game at their Ask EA page. The Q&A is copied and pasted below for easier reading.

Will there be goalie injuries in off line modes?

If games are simmed during the off line modes there are goalie injuries. During gameplay we do not have goalie injuries.

Will single player tournaments be available in HUT 16 under "Play Solo"? This is the feature i'm missing most. As someone who loves playing the CPU, the tournament win bonus was the main reason I could actually build a nice team in earlier versions of NHL.

Hi Jason, glad you asked! In HUT 16, we are introducing Single Player Seasons for the first time. It has very similar aspects to the old Offline Tournaments with the ability to work your way through higher divisions. On top of this, we are also bringing back entry criteria to help keep things interesting.

Love seeing EASHL is coming back. My biggest complain with it is that it doesn't play like any of the other modes / real NHL, no reason to dump for a line change, get on fresh players when stamina is low. It's essentially a game no line changes enabled. Can we ever expect to see a line change feature in EASHL, so that the captain calls for a change, you skate to the bench and your player comes back out with fresh legs, more stamina? I'm not saying have reserve players or sitting on the bench, but just something that captures the flow of a game more accurately than skating around, always pushing into the offensive zone.

Hi TK, thanks for your question. Line changes is something that does come up in our design discussions. I can definitely see your point but it does have some design drawbacks that we have to be careful with. This is something we will continue to look into.

How will the draft look and will be able to pick our players/trade our picks or will it be simulated?

Last year after NHL 15 was released we put in a patch a whole new Entry Draft experience for our users, allowing users to make their own picks as well as trading their picks to other teams. This will be in NHL 16 for you to use to draft your up and coming stars.

What will we see in the way of tutorials for those of us new to the series?

In NHL 16 we have a new feature called On-Ice Visual Trainer which is meant to allow all players (regardless of skill level) compete at a higher level by teaching them the controls through visual aids. These aids are adaptive so that as you learn each of the controls, you continuously advance to more complex moves.

In NHL15 online team play is plagued with too many player collisions. Has this been identified as an issue to be fixed for NHL 16?

Yes, with the return of EASHL, there has been a big focus on balance and behavior making the game fun to play from every position in an online multiplayer space. Part of this has been tuning core gameplay elements/factors such as player physics and collisions. We have not only tuned the balance of how prepared players are in different situations for collisions but also added more variety in reactions at lower levels so that even when players do collide, they don't have to be as extreme as they were in NHL 15. Small stumbles have helped these incidental collisions as well as allowed big power forwards to protect the puck when turning their back to a defensive player to absorbing impacts better.

Will teams sit on the correct players benches this year?

We have gone through all of the stadiums and tried to update them to be as authentic as possible. The art and rendering teams did an amazing job in NHL 15 capturing the architectural likeness of all of the licensed buildings but this year was more about taking them to the next level with behavior and interaction and they have met and surpassed the mark once again. In NHL 16 you will see players on the correct benches, using the proper tunnels for the home and away teams, updated banners to be as authentic as possible and many other stadium accents to add more life into each of the arenas.

Has any work been done to avoid pucks and sticks going through legs, net, board?

We are always adding improvements within physics for collision detection. We have also improved the detection of stick on stick & stick on body collisions to tune when pucks get dislodged/collide per game style. We have also added the ability to tune how stick on stick contact effects puck control from different angles to simulate the strength the defender would have vs. the offensive player. These are the types of improvements you can expect to see in NHL 16.

With the NBC package, will there be warm ups, league updates, player/coach interviews, national anthems?

For NHL 16 we have worked closely with NBC and have received great support to update the in-game broadcast package to better match the authenticity of what they rolled out this past January on their network. On top of that, Doc and Eddie will have a lot more pre-game analysis to cover your team and your opponents as you play through a season and for specific match-ups. We don't have interviews this year but you will see the players skating around pre-game as the commentary team focuses on the teams/players complete with spot lights, team props raising to the rafters, crowd flags and unique effects whenever authentic to the team.

Has there been any server upgrades to help with lag issues?

Yes. With more and more people playing online every day, we're continuously trying to improve our online experience.

Will Custom Soundtracks be possible in NHL16?

This year our focus was to get music to make our in-arena experience as authentic as possible. Unfortunately, Custom Soundtracks will not be in NHL 16.

Will be a Pro include the All-Star game?

The All-Star game will not be a part of Be A Pro this year however it is something we will continue to look into.

[GrandMaster B]

How is there no All Star game for your Be A Pro? Come on guys.

[aaron777]

Lol oh like everything else unfortunately not this year lol . What a waste of a year .

[Moose24x]

I continue to be unimpressed with their answers. Basically we brought back about 80% of the things we left out last year and continued to focus on the arenas, like last year. That's literally all I'm getting. We brought back a lot but not all of what we left out last year and we continued improving the presentation, specifically the arenas, and not much else.

[csamuelsvt]

In the picture they put up online, it looks like the Carey Price(goalies I suppose in general) have their glove at a different position and not so "down" like in previous games.

Hopefully they've worked with the goalies this year

[canucksss]

Quote: Originally Posted by ChaseB

The NHL 16 team continues to answer questions about the game at their Ask EA page. The Q&A is copied and pasted below for easier reading. Will there be goalie injuries in off line modes? If games are simmed during the off line modes there are goalie injuries. During gameplay we do not have goalie injuries.

What? Did you see the playoffs in Game 2 where Bishop got pulled out in the last few minutes? Why can injury not happen when playing the game?

Quote: Originally Posted by ChaseB

Has any work been done to avoid pucks and sticks going through legs, net, board? We are always adding improvements within physics for collision detection. We have also improved the detection of stick on stick & stick on body collisions to tune when pucks get dislodged/collide per game style. We have also added the ability to tune how stick on stick contact effects puck control from different angles to simulate the strength the defender would have vs. the offensive player. These are the types of improvements you can expect to see in NHL 16.

THIS I HAVE TO SEE....but still not buying, perhaps rent it just to check some issues that concerns me, including this one.

Quote: Originally Posted by ChaseB

With the NBC package, will there be warm ups, league updates, player/coach interviews, national anthems? For NHL 16 we have worked closely with NBC and have received great support to update the in-game broadcast package to better match the authenticity of what they rolled out this past January on their network. On top of that, Doc and Eddie will have a lot more pre-game analysis to cover your team and your opponents as you play through a season and for specific match-ups. We don't have interviews this year but you will see the players skating around pre-game as the commentary team focuses on the teams/players complete with spot lights, team props raising to the rafters, crowd flags and unique effects whenever authentic to the team.

How about league updates? I was looking for updates, especially if your team or your opponent is in the hunt for the playoffs.

Quote: Originally Posted by ChaseB

Will be a Pro include the All-Star game? The All-Star game will not be a part of Be A Pro this year however it is something we will continue to look into.

Not a biggie, but thats kinda boring, IMO. You work so hard for your BAP and you dont have the All-Star game. I remember that one sports (NBA i think) that did not include all-star, a lot of people was pissed.


My hope for this game is beginning to descend 6-ft. under the ground.

The most coveted trophy in sports is hockey, but it seems that EA is putting this game the least desired sports game in video game market....sigh...sad to be a hockey fan.

[jake19ny]

After reading through all these Q & A's I'm starting to believe I was right not long after the disaster that was NHL 15 was released and I'm not breaking any new ground with this either. NHL 16 will be NHL 14 next gen. That's the simplest way I can put it. They brought back modes that were removed and put a different shade of lipstick on it. Actually it's not even a full NHL 14 next gen because its missing a basic feature that was in NHL 14 and around since the SEGA genesis. Player Edit. People will buy it up because they are hockey starved after last years unplayable mess but it's way behind when compared to Madden, The Show, and FIFA. I don't want to hear about budgets either, player edit should be in regardless. Player seperation is not a fiscal issue.....I love how they answer questions twice about things like HUT and warm ups but have yet to clarify or answer questions submitted from true hockey fans who want a more sim experience. At least my expectations are tempered now and I have to decide on a second year in a row with no hockey game or have NHL 14 next gen (aka NHL 16)

[ianlast]

It sounds like they'll be including some type of slider to customize the impact of stick on stick contact. This is great news for anyone that wants more of a sim experience.