NHL 16 News Post

Ask NHL: More NHL 16 Questions Answered, In-Game Sims Are Back, EASHL Questions

09:46 PM - June 1, 2015 by RaychelSnr

EA Sports is busy answering questions again about NHL 16 on the Ask NHL page. Here are some of the highlights from tonight:

Will there be in-game simulation in be a gm?

Sim Intervention is back in the game and will be a part of Be A GM.

Will we be able to hire coaches this year in GM mode? If not, are there plans to add this in the future?

You will not be able to hire coaches this year in GM Mode. It is something that we are continuing to look into.

Will there be a Zamboni racing mode?

There will not be a Zamboni racing mode.

Will there be warmups?

No. There won't be warm-ups in NHL 16. We have spent all of our time as a gameplay team this year focusing on the core balance of the game during play with a specific emphasis on core mechanics.

Are the animations back where the offensive players try hard to stay on-sides by dragging their leg a little at the blue line, or any other animations to help the players stay on-sides better?

Yes, one of our gameplay engineers spent time specifically tuning how players use a dragged skate to stay onside. We have seen some great moments where players are just barely onside using the technique before receiving a pass.

In EASHL, will we be able to play 2v2, 3v3, 4v4 5v5 (like in the past) or is 6v6 the requirement?

Playing 6s in EASHL is a great way to experience the game mode. However, we know that isn't the only way our fans want to play the game (that plus sometimes it's just difficult to get your friends together to play at the same time!). You will be able to play the same way as before where teams can enter gameplay with at least 2 human controlled players.

Can you update the roster more frequently in NHL 16? For comparisons sake, MADDEN updates the rosters weekly.

We are currently assessing the feasibility of more frequent roster updates. The most challenging part for us is the total number of leagues and players that need to be updated and are often dependent on one another. As an example, we cannot update just the NHL without making the corresponding changes to the AHL for players that have moved up or down.

Can you still play as your EASHL pro in Ranked OTP?

Hi Martin, thanks for your question. You can play as your EASHL Pro within EASHL while OTP players will use skaters from the authentic team rosters.

Can you show us some of the excitment and pitch up and down of Doc's voice that you promise? I think it was awesome they way you changed from Gary Thorne etc but Doc is all about his excitement so that was a bit dissapointing. But good that you fix it! Do you have any plans on making the intros longer? I love them and always watch them, feels more like a real game on NBC.

We have added a lot more contextual intros so that Doc and Eddie can follow along even closer as you progress through a season and take on different opponents. As examples of the detail, they even understand how you have fared on a long road trip or how important the final game of a home stand is before heading out on the road. They will track team and player success in the league and the new NBC overlays will back up all the stats and provide even more detailed information. As far as Doc's level of excitement, that was the great challenge our audio team took on when Doc joined our team. For NHL 16, we wanted to try and get even closer to the level of energy fans have grown to expect when Doc calls a game. Doc can now get extra excited when a team is really putting on the pressure or trying to score late in a close game. Extra attention was also put into his goal calls.

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Member Comments

# 1 Simple Mathematics @ 06/01/15 10:02 PM

So basically they aren't going to update the roster any more frequently than they did this past year. And apparently this is because there are too many players to update.

Hire me. I'll get a MINIMUM of weekly roster updates out. Probably even daily.

Or here's a wild idea... how about you put player editing back in so you don't even have to do a single roster update? We will provide more accurate ratings anyway.

# 2 bad_philanthropy @ 06/01/15 10:37 PM

Something something player editing.

# 3 redslumber @ 06/01/15 10:38 PM

I seriously hope the new Be A GM "relationship" mechanic translates on ice, in terms of line combinations.

It's pretty lame right now where you wouldn't put Saad on a line with Kane and Toews because his rating is too low.

Would be so much better if they followed a little of what HUT is doing and promoted chemistry on the ice. Otherwise, trades are pretty boring, knowing that all you have to do is get the highest rated player and not worry about which players play best with others, like in real life.

# 4 bigwill33 @ 06/01/15 10:43 PM

Confirmed: no custom players in OTP.

So lame!

# 5 bwiggy33 @ 06/01/15 10:56 PM

Man oh man. Really, rosters take too long to update due to the amount of players. My absolute butt that is the case. If they were smart they'd go day by day and wa la by the time you put out a roster update you don't have to do all the transactions in one day. What is there maybe 1 NHL roster move a day sometimes a couple more. I guarantee they aren't trying to get the other leagues in the game 100% accurate. That's a lot of moves to make I tell ya. Then there's the fact that people here would update the transactions and I guarantee EA can move players around way faster than we could through the menus. I just don't understand it. So many of these answers to questions are just walk arounds and a bunch of excuses. I understand they face challenges but some of this stuff is just baffling. We have people on this website who are unpaid and have their own jobs, yet they are able update rosters by themselves (including full ratings edits) faster than when EA releases their updated rosters.

# 6 bigwill33 @ 06/01/15 11:17 PM

Exactly.

Either they don't understand the consumers at all, or they are just incapable of making a competent product.

Either way it is beyond pathetic by this point, because it passed just being sad years ago now.

# 7 himynameisao @ 06/01/15 11:28 PM

can we get authentic goalie masks and authentic arena music? everyone is talking about editing players, how about something else to add?

# 8 bigwill33 @ 06/01/15 11:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by himynameisao


	can we get authentic goalie masks and authentic arena music? everyone is talking about editing players, how about something else to add?

Not likely. That all costs $$$ for the rights.

# 9 Ruffy @ 06/01/15 11:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by himynameisao


	can we get authentic goalie masks and authentic arena music? everyone is talking about editing players, how about something else to add?

Masks will never happen as they have to pay for each helmet as they are the rights of those who painted them. Too much $$ to secure them.

Would be cool if they had a helmet design or editor for the program.

As for edit players....has anyone thought EA is being cautious since their NCAA edit players has caused them to be sued? Or perhaps the NHLPA is not allowing it?

I'm looking forward to NHL 16 as always.

# 10 finn712 @ 06/01/15 11:57 PM

This is all such dry content and even bleaker questions that are answered. I hate to be pessimistic but I just can' see this game being any different from the absolute disaster that 15 is aside from some new equipment and player edit options that are basically rendered useless given that edit player is all but confirmed to not be in 16. 15 was frustrating given the clear lack of effort or passion put into developing the game for 2 YEARS but 16 is turning out to prove either that the developers refuse to put in the time to create a well rounded game or that EA refuses to give the developers the necessary tools or manpower to create something with as many holes in it as swiss cheese that doesn't need to be filled in with "Free Content Updates" every winter.

# 11 bad_philanthropy @ 06/02/15 12:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ruffy


	Masks will never happen as they have to pay for each helmet as they are the rights of those who painted them. Too much $$ to secure them. Would be cool if they had a helmet design or editor for the program. As for edit players....has anyone thought EA is being cautious since their NCAA edit players has caused them to be sued? Or perhaps the NHLPA is not allowing it? I'm looking forward to NHL 16 as always.

Then there should be no create a player. We haven't beeb able to edit any actual physical likeness attributes in NHL for years now. I just want equipment and rating editing.

After rebuilding the code base with the objective of eliminating difficult to alter legacy code, if player editing is an overly complex feature to build in, I would say their rebuild is a failure.

If, however, the absence of edit player is a design decision/priority issue, well that is a whole other issue altogether.

Now, if absent player editing in some way relates to an irrational internal policy hypothetically insulating from outcomes of the NCAA likeness thing, I could accept that as an explanation if someone would actually come out and give it.

# 12 redsox4evur @ 06/02/15 12:41 AM

I have been in the Madden forums recently...and they want custom draft classes for CFM. And Aholbert posted something about how EA probably hasn't put this feature in because they are too nervous that someone for using their likeness. And to me it makes perfect sense. Better safe than sorry. They already lost 100s of millions to O'Bannon and that case. And having to Ed and the legal team that concocted whatever defense they used in court.

# 13 canucksss @ 06/02/15 01:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MMChrisS


	Will there be warmups? No. There won't be warm-ups in NHL 16. We have spent all of our time as a gameplay team this year focusing on the core balance of the game during play with a specific emphasis on core mechanics. [/i]

OK! Let's see...because if I dont see any difference in skills/speed etc. in star players and line 4 plugs...i have the right to say "you are a liar!".

# 14 canucksss @ 06/02/15 01:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigwill33


	Exactly. Either they don't understand the consumers at all, or they are just incapable of making a competent product. Either way it is beyond pathetic by this point, because it passed just being sad years ago now.

Yes...they dont understand their consumers....YES they are incapable of making a competent product. And triple YES, they are pathetic.

# 15 sg3751 @ 06/02/15 01:26 AM

whole lot of no

# 16 wheels2121 @ 06/02/15 01:39 AM

I can totally get why they don't want us editing players in the post lawsuit era, but there's no excuse not to give us create a team and let us put real NHLers on it and play in the NHL.

# 17 badazzleroybrown @ 06/02/15 01:55 AM

as others have said they are pathetic. after reading this i know i will not bother buying it.
they just seem to want to improve the gameplay every year without actually making the game have more substance. lets just sit in our chairs and play games with the other devolopers and add very little.
they do this year after year. when i read about them adding real jumbotrons i got excited then when i seen them i scratched my head. we as consumers deserve to have a game that actually feels like a broadcast with
actual game stats overlays and to have penalties called like in real life. there so many things broken with this game i do not know where to start. there patches that they added on this years game ruined it for me on any of the offline game modes. they would have better off just removing the goalies from the game as they did not stop anything. every team feels the same and you can never beat the defenders skating backwards.

you could take the fasted dude in the game and have him go against the slowest defenders and you will not beat him skating backwards then you can go into the game and use the sliders adjust your speed all the way up and theres down still no difference. the game engine is broken . and is a last gen port with better puck physics that is it. you will still have 10 players on your team with the same cyberface .

you think they would have allowed us to create are own Goalie masks besides tweak uniform colors.
and roster edits and shares. i could care less about MUT modes.

# 18 AdamJones113 @ 06/02/15 02:43 AM

I don't think it has anything to do with the NCAA lawsuit. The game has the proper licences.

# 19 aaron777 @ 06/02/15 03:08 AM

Yeah I can't see anything with the lawsuit at all . Takes to long to update rosters what a joke nba has an update almost every other day . This thing with the goalie masks I don't get I remember buying nhl 99 or 98 what ever it was and they had like a mini museum of them and for the most part they kinda resembled them tho they were choppy lol.really some asked about zamboni races lol sure they did E.A of all the problems with yr piss poor product that's exactly what the customers are concerned about lol.Your a joke company with with an excuse for everything good bye dead weight production area when this game fails yet again .Rammer you and ur top notch crew shouldn't put this stint on ur resume .

# 20 Sheba2011 @ 06/02/15 03:28 AM

I know many of us asked questions pertaining to editing and yet we get answers on Zamboni Racing. SMH! Like I figured all along they are picking and choosing which questions to answer avoiding anything that might enrage their fanbase. What they are really doing though is enraging the fanbase by not answering questions like that, I would rather know now in June that editing is not in the game then have to wait till September and be even more annoyed that they never told us. Editing isn't the only question the community here wants answered there are dozens of them and they are answering stupid questions about useless features.

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Ask NHL: More NHL 16 Questions Answered, In-Game Sims Are Back, EASHL Questions