NHL 11 News Post

NHL 11 Patch Coming November 9th (for PS3, 360 Delayed by MS)

08:44 PM - November 2, 2010 by xx19kilosoldier

Alain Quinto states...

... barring any issues from 1st party, we should expect the NHL 11 patch on November 9th. Expect a blog later this week from Nate Ng.

Game: NHL 11Reader Score: 7.5/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / Xbox 360Votes for game: 36 - View All

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Member Comments

# 61 Blueland @ 11/05/10 06:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by canucksss


	i really appreciate your work in informing us here, please dont get me wrong. but my question is this: how come that every time EA release this product, it seems that it didnt pass through extensive quality test. perfect example is the roster update, that you need to re-release another one to cure the AHL bug which could have been prevented if it was properly tested. (again, i appreciate EA for correcting them immediately). Regarding tuner updates, most of these are answering the problems of ONLINE not offline. Why is it that offline users (using BaGM mode) are seems being left out? THink whatever, but somehow this kind of actions of EA leave offline patrons feels being left out.

I'm not trying to be a jerk here, but I just want to ask. Have you ever worked in QA before?

# 62 canucksss @ 11/05/10 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blueland


	I'm not trying to be a jerk here, but I just want to ask. Have you ever worked in QA before?

not in a QA setting of a production company but as a Clinical Pharmacist. one of our duties is to see that ALL MEDICATIONS that will go out from the Hosp Pharmacy going to the patients/or nursing units are done correctly. Right drug, right bags (in D5, NS, 1/2 NS etc), right calculations (if needed), right billing, right quantity etc. so you could say i did work in QA.

# 63 Blueland @ 11/05/10 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kutya69


	I have in both hardware and software areas. And in both we never released something that was not ready for the spotlight. That's why i'm so hard on the NHL and FIFA team. Unfinished products cause the backlash that is happening in these forums. It shouldn't be a surprise. If you like spending money for unfinished products that's your prerogative, but I myself don't and in my work I would never dump something on a user the way EA has. When you do find there are issues you address them, kiss the customers rear end, apologize profusely and get it fixed. And you never, ever release a shaky fix/patch. You already made a mistake and caused a black eye on your company and product so you don't want to make another one. You make sure that that patch fixes issues or you will lose customers, revenue and probably your job.

But that's just the thing. You guys have to remember that sim gamers like us are in the vast minority of people who play the game. If 90% of the people who use your product are completely satisfied with it, is the product ready for the spotlight? I'd say yes, you can't please everyone. There will always be bugs with software. There just will. And QA will never catch them all.

I work on a QA software team, there's four of us. There's probably 350 people who use the software we QA. Every patch we release there's always tons of new bugs that come up, that we never catch. It's incredibly difficult to catch all of them.

Just to use the AHL glitch as an example (a glitch I have personally not seen). What if, for some reason, the glitch was caused by a person hitting the backspace three or more times when choosing their GM name in Be a GM? How do you target that? How do you catch that?

Remember, the AHL thing was just an example, I'm not saying that that particular glitch is caused by something so off key. But it's happened before tons of times with software. It happens to me every day.

Edit: Fixed some horrible sentence structure.

# 64 sroz39 @ 11/05/10 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blueland


	But that's just the thing. You guys have to remember that sim gamers like us are in the vast minority of people who play the game. If 90% of the people who use your product are completely satisfied with it, is the product ready for the spotlight? I'd say yes, you can't please everyone. There will always be bugs with software. There just will. And QA will never catch them all. I work on a QA software team, there's four of us. There's probably 350 people who use the software we QA. Every patch we release there's always tons of new bugs that come up, that we never catch. It's incredibly difficult to catch all of them. Just to use the AHL glitch as an example (a glitch I have personally not seen). What if, for some reason, the glitch was caused by a person hitting the backspace three or more times when choosing their GM name in Be a GM? How do you target that? How do you catch that? Remember, the AHL thing was just an example, I'm not saying that that particular glitch is caused by something so off key. But it's happened before tons of times with software. It happens to me every day. Edit: Fixed some horrible sentence structure.

Pretty much bang on with what was said. EA's QA department, no matter how big, will NEVER reach the number of the consumers playing the game. Which in NHL's case, is in the millions. With all the stuff that this dev team in particular tries to cram into their yearly releases, I almost expect that some things will be buggy. What this team does not lack in, is post release support. They take their time with things and usually release a solid tuner or patch. I'd rather that then what we've seen from the 2K bball dev team or even the Madden team in recent years, for example, where it seems like almost a token patch. The guys working on this game and The Show do an outstanding job of releasing worthwhile patches and though it sometimes is frustrating waiting on the updates or even the details of what's in it, in the end it's almost always worth the wait.

# 65 nolesfan69 @ 11/05/10 09:03 PM

I think I spend so much time listening to others and mostly on this forum.
That I can't even make a simple decision if I should start my BeAGm or
not. Hell I don't even know why the BeAGM mode is so bad that no
one should play it till the patch. Now we are not sure if the patch will
be here on Nov 9th. But I love this forum because everyone is so hard core about their sports games. But everyone wants perfection all the time.
Why can't we just enjoy the game the way it is.

# 66 Redshirt_EA @ 11/05/10 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by canucksss


	i really appreciate your work in informing us here, please dont get me wrong. but my question is this: how come that every time EA release this product, it seems that it didnt pass through extensive quality test. perfect example is the roster update, that you need to re-release another one to cure the AHL bug which could have been prevented if it was properly tested. (again, i appreciate EA for correcting them immediately).

I think there is another roster update coming, but don't quote me on that.

Your broader question isn't something I can really offer an opinion about. I will say that it isn't for lack of effort by the dev team.

Quote:


	Regarding tuner updates, most of these are answering the problems of ONLINE not offline. Why is it that offline users (using BaGM mode) are seems being left out? THink whatever, but somehow this kind of actions of EA leave offline patrons feels being left out.

Tuning updates, as they are being used currently, can only change gameplay, not things outside of gameplay like how Be A Pro and Be A GM work. Both online and offline gameplay do get changed by tuning updates, but there is more focus for online because balance for competitive human vs human gameplay is more critical because the AI doesn't learn exploits the way human opponents do.

If the 360 patch is delayed it probably won't be more than a week, but again this is just second hand info so I don't know all the details. Hopefully we'll all know the exact dates soon.

# 67 Tomba @ 11/05/10 10:20 PM

RedShirt_EA...

I just want to know why the development team never thought to put much emphasis into a broadcast cam?

Do they not feel authentic tv presentation be important?

Games like NBA 2k11 etc seem to perfect this and it just makes it all the more real to watch.

My father was over one day and i wanted to show him NHL 11 and how it played. He instantly commented on why it didn't have a tv broadcast angle?
Honest truth. Totally random without me or anyone mentioning it yet he mentioned it.

This can't be overseen yet again by the games producers.

I've since not played the game in hopes you'd have been able to patch a customizable version of your broadcast camera angle but news is it's not possible this year. It was something sorely needed not this year but probably two years ago...

# 68 Redshirt_EA @ 11/05/10 10:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tomba


	RedShirt_EA... I just want to know why the development team never thought to put much emphasis into a broadcast cam? Do they not feel authentic tv presentation be important? Games like NBA 2k11 etc seem to perfect this and it just makes it all the more real to watch. My father was over one day and i wanted to show him NHL 11 and how it played. He instantly commented on why it didn't have a tv broadcast angle? Honest truth. Totally random without me or anyone mentioning it yet he mentioned it. This can't be overseen yet again by the games producers. I've since not played the game in hopes you'd have been able to patch a customizable version of your broadcast camera angle but news is it's not possible this year. It was something sorely needed not this year but probably two years ago...

It comes down to a prioritization. The side to side view doesn't mesh as well with the right stick controls as the up and down views, so they are not used as much and thus cannot be the top priority.

# 69 Tomba @ 11/05/10 11:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Redshirt_EA


	It comes down to a prioritization. The side to side view doesn't mesh as well with the right stick controls as the up and down views, so they are not used as much and thus cannot be the top priority.

Hope it makes itself a priority someday...

# 70 speels @ 11/06/10 12:15 AM

FWIW, Microsoft released VISTA...........enough said!!! Even multi-billion dollar companies release buggy products and your CPU operating system not running correctly can cause a lot more damage than my NHL players showing up in the minors.

# 71 RoyalBoyle78 @ 11/06/10 12:57 AM

Are we going to get that patch list?

# 72 Redshirt_EA @ 11/06/10 01:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FootballForever


	Are we going to get that patch list?

Here are my notes on the changes for gameplay. This is not the full set of patch notes, just the stuff I'm directly involved with, i.e. just gameplay related stuff.

-Fixes for several rare crashes during gameplay.
-Fix problem that resulted in attributes of players who drop from OTP/EASHL games not being reset to the default attributes for AI players.
-Prevent push puck while holding the pass button (prevents an exploit).
-Prevent the face-off deke move from being done on a backhand face-off grip.
-Eliminated several situations where the puck could be poked out of the goalie's glove as he is getting up or covering the puck against the side of the net.
-Allow shots that are blocked without using the shot block control to count in shot block stats (but they will not contribute to teamplay scores in Be A Pro, Online Team Play or EASHL modes).
-Fix some situations where a puck off the skate was incorrectly being considered a deliberate kick and resulting in goals being disallowed that should not have been.
-Fix for cases where the goalie would sweep the puck into his own net when attempting to clear it.
-Fix problem that prevented the opposing team from being able to pick up slap passes in some situations.
-Prevent fake shot from being used when doing protect puck.
-Force self-boardplay pin to have a minimum duration to prevent an exploit.
-Fix for a case where broken or dropped sticks would disappear from the ice.
-Fix problem where the first powerplay forward line was being put out following a delayed penalty, regardless of what line the user selected.
-Prevent stick lifts from working on a player while he is doing the "jump over" deke.
-Fix problem where injured players could get stuck on the ice.
-Fix problem allowing hard passes off of a face-off.
-Fix problem that sometimes caused a defenseman to be positioned on the wrong side for short-handed defensive zone face-offs.
-Increase the effect of the stick checking attribute on stick lifts.
-Prevent flip dump from being used directly on a face-off.
-Prevent situations where a player could go directly from being down on the ice into a slapshot windup.
-Improve defensive awareness attribute effect on interceptions.
-Cause players to slow down more while skating using protect puck control.
-Add additional pass error to the AI players to balance the fact that humans players have imprecise controller input.

There are also several bug fixes made possible by the patch that will be activated through the next tuning update, these include:
-Enabling auto-backskate setting to work in online games.
-Reducing the ease of losing an edge and falling down while skating without the puck.
-Fix problem where players will fall easily again immediately after losing an edge a first time.
-Increase how aggressive AI defenders are on the rush making it less easy to gain the zone by skating wide on them every time.
-Increase friction when diving and reduce the effectiveness of diving poke checks at knocking the puck away from the puck carrier.
-Increase the acceleration and top speed of a player using push puck, which had been lowered to prevent the push puck exploit (mentioned above).

That tuning update will also include other gameplay tuning, details to follow. It is possible it will be broken up into two separate updates if the patches for PS3 and 360 do not come out at the same time because the auto-backskate fix has to happen for both at once because they get the same tuning file and without the patch the change will cause problems.

# 73 cjames720 @ 11/06/10 01:49 AM

My husband purchased this game for both of use to play. After paying $65 for this game, we also had to buy an online pass to play the game online (we have separate xbox live accounts, and play on two different machines.) We own both a PS3 and a 360, and we purchased the game for 360 because most of our friends play online with the 360.

We both mainly play this game for BAGM mode and we were both hoping the update would be released sometime next week, after the games original release on September 7th. Now we are told that a delay may be coming. I totally understand the delay because of the Kinect release, but I am also disappointed.

I still do feel that this game should have been tested more thoroughly. If people can find errors within the first week of release, QA should have been able to find the same problems. And having to wait two months or more for fixes to these problems is unacceptable.

But what can I do? I guess I will have to wait for the patch just like everyone else. I do know next year I will wait to purchase a new NHL game, if I decide purchase a new hockey game. Whether its from EA Sports or the new 2K hockey game.

# 74 Vikes1 @ 11/06/10 02:16 AM

Whoa Jason...so far that's one helluva nice patch for game play fixes/adjustments.

Thanks EA

.

For me personally, the two that I'm most pleased with are...

1. Decreased AI pass accuracy.

2. Increased AI defensive aggressiveness when on the rush, trying to gain the offensive zone, when going wide. [along the boards.] Ie...more difficult to gain the offensive zone by just skating up the boards. Dig these two adjustments a lot!

# 75 jaiman @ 11/06/10 03:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tomba


	RedShirt_EA... I just want to know why the development team never thought to put much emphasis into a broadcast cam? Do they not feel authentic tv presentation be important? Games like NBA 2k11 etc seem to perfect this and it just makes it all the more real to watch. My father was over one day and i wanted to show him NHL 11 and how it played. He instantly commented on why it didn't have a tv broadcast angle? Honest truth. Totally random without me or anyone mentioning it yet he mentioned it. This can't be overseen yet again by the games producers. I've since not played the game in hopes you'd have been able to patch a customizable version of your broadcast camera angle but news is it's not possible this year. It was something sorely needed not this year but probably two years ago...

If there was ever a "like" button available on OS, it would have been pressed right now. No one has ever said it better. I trust that the dev team will make it a priority for future releases...

# 76 Blueland @ 11/06/10 09:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cjames720


	My husband purchased this game for both of use to play. After paying $65 for this game, we also had to buy an online pass to play the game online (we have separate xbox live accounts, and play on two different machines.) We own both a PS3 and a 360, and we purchased the game for 360 because most of our friends play online with the 360. We both mainly play this game for BAGM mode and we were both hoping the update would be released sometime next week, after the games original release on September 7th. Now we are told that a delay may be coming. I totally understand the delay because of the Kinect release, but I am also disappointed. I still do feel that this game should have been tested more thoroughly. If people can find errors within the first week of release, QA should have been able to find the same problems. And having to wait two months or more for fixes to these problems is unacceptable. But what can I do? I guess I will have to wait for the patch just like everyone else. I do know next year I will wait to purchase a new NHL game, if I decide purchase a new hockey game. Whether its from EA Sports or the new 2K hockey game.

This post made me start to wonder. Are people under the impression that if the EA Team finds a bug it just fixes itself automatically? Just because EA finds a bug doesn't mean it gets fixed within five minutes.

Again, I don't know how else to say this. The smallest, simplest thing can cause a bug. And for the XP glitches, etc. I'm going to assume it's not a simple fix. You can't just write into software code, "Please remove XP glitch." and then go into your bosses office and say, "Hey! Good news! Removed the XP glitch!"

Now I know you guys don't actually think that's how fixing bugs works, but some people make it seem like it's so simple to resolve these bugs, but heads up, it's not.

# 77 xx19kilosoldier @ 11/06/10 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blueland


	This post made me start to wonder. Are people under the impression that if the EA Team finds a bug it just fixes itself automatically? Just because EA finds a bug doesn't mean it gets fixed within five minutes. Again, I don't know how else to say this. The smallest, simplest thing can cause a bug. And for the XP glitches, etc. I'm going to assume it's not a simple fix. You can't just write into software code, "Please remove XP glitch." and then go into your bosses office and say, "Hey! Good news! Removed the XP glitch!" Now I know you guys don't actually think that's how fixing bugs works, but some people make it seem like it's so simple to resolve these bugs, but heads up, it's not.

Its also never as convoluted as some make it out to be either, just saying.

Biggest issue is the state of games at release. There is no way some of these bugs were not known to the dev team at launch, just no way. They rely on the community to be "understanding" and thats fine to an extent but having very obvious pretty much mode breaking issue like BaGM has at launch rubs people the wrong way. If they want goodwill, release games with goodwill intended, meaning, release your game without known issues and without the attitude of "oh well, we can patch it later."

# 78 [Icy] @ 11/06/10 11:36 AM

Do you guys know if the patch will be compatible with old saves? I'm thinking on starting a new BAP career today and would hate to have to restart after the 9th (i'm on PS3).

# 79 dmacgreg37 @ 11/06/10 12:54 PM

For 4 extra days of playing it would seem like the risk/reward would be quite high. No one seems to KNOW for sure, but it seems like a restart may be in order.

# 80 TNKNGM @ 11/06/10 12:55 PM

Is there a list of what the patch addresses yet?

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