Devmcdonnell's Blog
Before I get into this, keep in mind that I have been playing hockey all my life. I played throughout college and coach high school hockey. I have been skating on the ice since I was 3 years old and have spent countless hours with private skating instructors (including members of the Dineen family). I am by no means a superstar, but I know how the basic mechanics of skating, shooting, passing, and the overall game of hockey should work. Also keep in mind that I have been a HUGE fan of the EA NHL series since they invigorated the series with the skill stick back in 07. Each year they have added more and more making it better and better and right when it began to seem like it was becoming a little stale and repetitive, EA promised another revolution in my favorite hockey simulation game. I couldn't wait! EA promised to bring a new age of realism to the game with True performance skating, new player/goalie AI, and (the clincher for me) the new GM Connected Mode. Everywhere I looked, NHL 13 was getting raving reviews as everyone seemed to love the new additions to the game. I don't remember the last time I was this excited to play the next installment in the NHL franchise. My excitement would turn to immense disappointment as soon as I brought the game home and explored all the new additions that EA has been pushing in their marketing efforts. EA tried to bring a new sense of realism to the NHL series...and they FAILED.
True Performance Skating
Let's start with True Performance Skating. Explosiveness. Top end speed. Momentum. These are all the things EA promised would give us a more authentic experience while playing NHL 13, and while EA has taken a step in the right direction with the idea of True Performance Skating, they fail to execute the concept the right way. The result: A skating engine that in my opinion, feels very robotic. Yes, there are many different speeds in the game of hockey, skaters are ALWAYS changing speeds and the best skaters know how to use deceptive speed to beat defenders. The problem is that while EA tried to create this new system, they executed it entirely backwards. If you watch the way a player reaches their "top end speed" in NHL 13, you will see a player’s first 2 or 3 strides be a lazy slower stride and then once they hit that 4th or 5th stride they begin to turn it up to top speed. This is a completely BACKWARDS system. Anyone who grew up playing hockey has had it drilled into their head that your first 2 to 4 strides are the most important. As you take your first 2 or 3 strides you explode out and gain your speed, once you are at top speed you can lay off and glide it out a bit. EA has touted that they have explosive speed in NHL 13, but the explosive speed doesn't arrive until you're already in full stride. This creates a bunch of problems such as the extreme ease in catching someone on a backcheck, throwing a massive hit from behind (I will get to hitting later) and stealing the puck away to go the other way with it. Another issue that just burns me up is that when there is a loose puck in the defensive zone corner, the defenseman will skate lazily toward it until he is about 3 or 4 strides in and will pick up speed when he is already in the corner on top of the puck. This is extremely unrealistic as when there is a loose puck in the corner, a player will explode at top speed toward it and as he closes in on the puck lay off and glide as he picks it up. Everything about "explosive speed" is backward.
The other bone I have to pick with True Performance Skating is the turning. While some turns are realistic and yes, it is impossible to make sharp turns at top speed, there are some highly unrealistic turning animations. The first one that I noticed right away was making a turn while standing still. Turning while standing still should be your tightest, quickest turn as all you have to do is rotate your body and cross over, but in NHL 13 we are forced to go through a slow semi wide (wider than it should be) mini turn that takes precious seconds away and gives the opposition time to move in and cause a turn over with the tremendously easy to use poke check or hitting mechanic. What the developers also don't understand is that a cross over is actually a form of stride. The game requires that you lose speed while crossing over when in fact you should be maintaining relative speed or sometimes even gaining speed if you are crossing over from a low speed or a stand still.
I do have a lot more issues with True Performance Skating but the last problem I will list is the pivot from skating backwards to skating forwards and vice versa. I like the idea of being able to skate backwards but I do miss the "vision" button in being able to stay square to the puck and I do think they should bring something like that back in NHL 14. Players pivoting, especially from skating backwards to skating forwards requires you go through a painstakingly slow animation that, just like the turning from a standstill, wastes precious time and allows the opposition to close in at full speed. It is because of this that while it is my natural instinct to do this pivot in the defensive zone when moving the puck from defenseman to defenseman and then looking to move up ice, that I have omitted it from my play. It is just unrealistic and only serves as a detriment as you will most likely lose the puck to a forechecker. Quick pivots (Quick feet), something that players work on tirelessly in practice and in off-ice training are nonexistent in NHL 13.
All in all True Performance Skating makes me feel like my players are stuck in the mud. I will give it to EA that they are trying to be innovative and this is only the first step in a process, so I hope that NHL 14 will bring a refined skating engine.
The other bone I have to pick with True Performance Skating is the turning. While some turns are realistic and yes, it is impossible to make sharp turns at top speed, there are some highly unrealistic turning animations. The first one that I noticed right away was making a turn while standing still. Turning while standing still should be your tightest, quickest turn as all you have to do is rotate your body and cross over, but in NHL 13 we are forced to go through a slow semi wide (wider than it should be) mini turn that takes precious seconds away and gives the opposition time to move in and cause a turn over with the tremendously easy to use poke check or hitting mechanic. What the developers also don't understand is that a cross over is actually a form of stride. The game requires that you lose speed while crossing over when in fact you should be maintaining relative speed or sometimes even gaining speed if you are crossing over from a low speed or a stand still.
I do have a lot more issues with True Performance Skating but the last problem I will list is the pivot from skating backwards to skating forwards and vice versa. I like the idea of being able to skate backwards but I do miss the "vision" button in being able to stay square to the puck and I do think they should bring something like that back in NHL 14. Players pivoting, especially from skating backwards to skating forwards requires you go through a painstakingly slow animation that, just like the turning from a standstill, wastes precious time and allows the opposition to close in at full speed. It is because of this that while it is my natural instinct to do this pivot in the defensive zone when moving the puck from defenseman to defenseman and then looking to move up ice, that I have omitted it from my play. It is just unrealistic and only serves as a detriment as you will most likely lose the puck to a forechecker. Quick pivots (Quick feet), something that players work on tirelessly in practice and in off-ice training are nonexistent in NHL 13.
All in all True Performance Skating makes me feel like my players are stuck in the mud. I will give it to EA that they are trying to be innovative and this is only the first step in a process, so I hope that NHL 14 will bring a refined skating engine.
Physical Play
Another big issue I have with this game is the physical play. It just seems that every other check thrown in NHL 13 is a monster hit that sends the player flying into the air. Here is a video of the “Hercules check” that has been circulating on the internet for some time now. While I’m fully aware that this is just a programming bug, it is the epitome of the poor physics engine that plagues NHL 13.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-KWTUrpMCs
Let me start off by saying that it is Hockey 101 to protect the puck with your body. I preach this to my high school team all the time. “Separate the puck from the opposing player using your body.” “Protect the puck with your body.” This concept is irrelevant in NHL 13. Turing your back to a defenseman while carrying the puck will not allow you to protect the puck as the defenseman will check you from behind knocking you down and causing you to lose the puck. It doesn't matter if the defenseman is standing still or coming at you full speed. It doesn't matter if the defenseman has a 99 rated checking ability or a 65 rated checking ability, 9 times out of 10 it is the same result, you will get hit, fall and lose the puck. This is another EXTREMELY unrealistic aspect of the new NHL 13. Unless the player is just learning how to skate and their balance is just awful or he is incredibly weak, it is extremely difficult to send a player to the ice when their back is turned to you. I can't tell you how many times I have seen a player fly back into the defensive zone on a backcheck at full speed, throw a devastating hit from behind on the player with the puck, only to pick it up and go the other way with it at top speed. I don't think EA realizes how much energy it takes to catch someone on a backcheck, let alone throw a hit strong enough to knock a player down from behind, and then have enough energy to race the other way with the puck. EA has told us that they wanted to give us more realism and less of an "arcady" feel. If this isn't arcady, I don't know what is.
While we are on the subject, the puck control in this game is just atrocious. I can understand EA trying to make the puck more live, but this is just too much! As I stated before, protecting the puck with your body is a basic element of hockey, but it is impossible to do this in NHL 13. Any tiny little bump of the body will either send you crumbling to the ice or at the very least, send the puck off your stick. It is impossible to hold onto the puck. Again, my natural instinct is to turn my back to the opposing player in an effort to protect the puck, just as any real hockey player would, but it is a futile effort as you will lose the puck no matter what. Your best option in NHL 13 is to keep as safe a distance between you and the opposition as possible.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-KWTUrpMCs
Let me start off by saying that it is Hockey 101 to protect the puck with your body. I preach this to my high school team all the time. “Separate the puck from the opposing player using your body.” “Protect the puck with your body.” This concept is irrelevant in NHL 13. Turing your back to a defenseman while carrying the puck will not allow you to protect the puck as the defenseman will check you from behind knocking you down and causing you to lose the puck. It doesn't matter if the defenseman is standing still or coming at you full speed. It doesn't matter if the defenseman has a 99 rated checking ability or a 65 rated checking ability, 9 times out of 10 it is the same result, you will get hit, fall and lose the puck. This is another EXTREMELY unrealistic aspect of the new NHL 13. Unless the player is just learning how to skate and their balance is just awful or he is incredibly weak, it is extremely difficult to send a player to the ice when their back is turned to you. I can't tell you how many times I have seen a player fly back into the defensive zone on a backcheck at full speed, throw a devastating hit from behind on the player with the puck, only to pick it up and go the other way with it at top speed. I don't think EA realizes how much energy it takes to catch someone on a backcheck, let alone throw a hit strong enough to knock a player down from behind, and then have enough energy to race the other way with the puck. EA has told us that they wanted to give us more realism and less of an "arcady" feel. If this isn't arcady, I don't know what is.
While we are on the subject, the puck control in this game is just atrocious. I can understand EA trying to make the puck more live, but this is just too much! As I stated before, protecting the puck with your body is a basic element of hockey, but it is impossible to do this in NHL 13. Any tiny little bump of the body will either send you crumbling to the ice or at the very least, send the puck off your stick. It is impossible to hold onto the puck. Again, my natural instinct is to turn my back to the opposing player in an effort to protect the puck, just as any real hockey player would, but it is a futile effort as you will lose the puck no matter what. Your best option in NHL 13 is to keep as safe a distance between you and the opposition as possible.
Scoring Chances and Goaltending
Scoring in this game is extremely difficult, as a majority of the goals scored are bad bounces or the "cheese" goal that has plagued NHL 11 and 12 (faking to the far side and scoring on the gaping short side). The rewarding feeling after completing a cycle in the offensive zone and scoring on a perfect passing play is an extremely rare feeling as it almost never happens. Goaltenders have almost superhuman abilities in NHL13. EA gave the goalies a revamped AI which allows them to become more aware of their surroundings. Goalies tend to cheat to one side on two on ones or other odd men rushes. This is all well and good, but what I have a problem with is when a goaltender is able to almost teleport from one post to the other with lightning quick speed. In NHL 12, the goalie lateral movement was way too slow and a two on one usually meant a goal about 90% of the time. This was a huge complaint over the years and EA sought to address this in their next game. However, in NHL 13 the pendulum has swung too far to the other side as goalies seem to move from side to side effortlessly and a two on one produces a goal sometimes as little as 10% of the time. EA needs to find a happy medium as two on ones should result in a goal about 70% to 80% of the time; that is if the pass can even get through as it also seems impossible to pass through a defenseman. Don’t even try to put a pass near a defenseman because odds are it is not getting through. This is yet another example of the pendulum swinging way too far to the opposite side. One timers are almost impossible in the slot as defenders will poke pucks away even if they are out of the passing lane and need to reach out to break up a play. The "tie up" in front of the net is also completely unrealistic. Too often I am pulled into a scruff only wanting to skate away but find myself unable to. During a real tie up in front of the net you are not literally glued to the other player, a skater can easily skate away from being tied up and open up some space for himself...it is impossible to do this in NHL 13 and another example of unrealistic gameplay.
My final thought on gameplay is that the overall feel is slow. Every year, EA finds a way to slow the game down and this is a big big problem. Hockey is an extremely fast paced game, but like I stated earlier on, it feels like the players are all stuck in the mud. I find myself turning up the game speed slider to 100% and only then do I feel that it is a somewhat authentic representation of the speed of the game. Hockey is a game of split seconds, but with NHL 13 it just seems that everything (with the exception of the goalie lateral movement) takes way too long to execute.
GM Connected
What I hoped to be the saving grace for the game after my disappointment with regular gameplay was the newly added GM Connected mode. I currently run a league with 15 GMs and while it is a lot of fun, there is A TON of work to be done on this game mode. Slow menus, lack of commissioner tools, poor communication and league/team information, glitches in trades, the absence of live fantasy and entry drafts and much much more have created an outcry from fans who were eager to get their hands on this game solely for GM Connected. I will not go into detail here as the problems with this game mode deserve a post of its own. All you need to know is that it's bad, and many people feel cheated.
Overall, NHL 13 fell flat and did not deliver. They promised a revolution in their hockey game and while I agree that it is a step in the right direction, it is not the revolution that the skill stick was in 07. When the skill stick was introduced I was completely content with the feel of it in the game and believed it to be an authentic representation of what it is like handling the puck on a real sheet of ice. I can hardly say the same for True Performance Skating. Instead, we were given a work in progress as there is much to be done to refine this concept. Hopefully NHL 14 uses the concepts that were introduced here in NHL 13 and takes 3 steps forward. There are plenty more issues that I could discuss but I would be here forever. I would, however, love to hear what you all think. If you have any complaints that I haven't mentioned please comment, or email me your thoughts. All I know is that for the first time since 2007, I WILL NOT be pre ordering NHL 14 as I no longer believe that EA's NHL franchise will deliver the best virtual hockey experience available. Hopefully they prove me wrong.
Overall, NHL 13 fell flat and did not deliver. They promised a revolution in their hockey game and while I agree that it is a step in the right direction, it is not the revolution that the skill stick was in 07. When the skill stick was introduced I was completely content with the feel of it in the game and believed it to be an authentic representation of what it is like handling the puck on a real sheet of ice. I can hardly say the same for True Performance Skating. Instead, we were given a work in progress as there is much to be done to refine this concept. Hopefully NHL 14 uses the concepts that were introduced here in NHL 13 and takes 3 steps forward. There are plenty more issues that I could discuss but I would be here forever. I would, however, love to hear what you all think. If you have any complaints that I haven't mentioned please comment, or email me your thoughts. All I know is that for the first time since 2007, I WILL NOT be pre ordering NHL 14 as I no longer believe that EA's NHL franchise will deliver the best virtual hockey experience available. Hopefully they prove me wrong.
# 1
Reiny09 @ Nov 17
Great post. I have to agree with pretty much everything on the list. Another glaring problem with GMC is the absence of custom sliders. The preset difficulties and game styles do not allow enough choices for a fun league.
# 2
Devmcdonnell @ Nov 18
No, because everyone is entitled to their opinion. However, if you read through my blog, you would realize that part of my argument is fact. It is a fact that your first three or so strides while skating are your most important and it is where you get your explosion from. Talk to any skating instructor and they will gladly back this up. Having explosive speed after 3 or so strides is a backwards concept...period. People like the game and that's fine; I used to love it, but this year I'm angry. EA failed me, and they failed you. They used to give us the most realistic hockey experience available, but not anymore. As I said in my blog, I am hopeful that next year they will take these concepts 3 steps forward and fix them. We can only wait and see.
# 3
Devmcdonnell @ Nov 20
Yes...that's exactly what I'm saying and yes acceleration and momentum definitely come into play! Acceleration is seen in those first few strides. When you take your first 2 to 4 strides you are exploding outwards, quickly reaching your top speed. Once you are at top speed, you don't need as much acceleration to maintain it because you have momentum to keep you going. You can see in the game that when skating the puck out of the defensive zone, the player doesn't really pick up top speed until he is skating in a straight line through the neutral zone. What I was simply pointing out is that it is not until a player is in full stride (5 to 6 strides in) that he begins to explode outwards and reach top speed; this is not the way it works in the real world and is completely backwards. So to answer your question, no it is not my logic, it is a fact that a player (especially a NHL player who is in top physical condition) will reach his top speed within the first few strides and then use momentum to help him along the way.
Check out this cheesy promo video on skating instruction. This guy is an amazing skater! They cover all the aspects of skating in this quick video ad and if you watch about 1:15 in, you will see they cover "starts". Watch how quickly this guy goes from a stand still to top speed, and then count the amount of strides it took him...3...4 tops. It's a perfect example of what I am talking about.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZcU...eature=related
Check out this cheesy promo video on skating instruction. This guy is an amazing skater! They cover all the aspects of skating in this quick video ad and if you watch about 1:15 in, you will see they cover "starts". Watch how quickly this guy goes from a stand still to top speed, and then count the amount of strides it took him...3...4 tops. It's a perfect example of what I am talking about.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZcU...eature=related
# 4
Devmcdonnell @ Nov 20
And to comment on Reiny09's complaint, there are slider options for GM Connected. After the patch update, only the Commissioner is allowed to mess with these sliders and this provides a much more fair experience in my opinion. Otherwise, everyone would be playing the game differently and may be given an advantage over other players in the league depending on what the sliders are set as. Giving control to the Commissioner who is able to set a standard setting across the league is a much better solution.
# 5
MMan @ Nov 23
Think sometimes people forget this is a video game, not real life. Meant to be fun, not real. Only glaring issue I see is CPU Goalies being supergods still. CPU AI still clueless at times. This is coming from a EASHL Goalie that's 33-3-1.
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