Alright Boyz, here we go! NHL 10 impressions!!!

[Travis]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

It took me a long time to get this post.

Still means you're way ahead of MacT on that front.

[JetsIn06]

I'm getting out-shot 50 something to less than 10 every game. What am I doing wrong?

Maybe I need to move down to pro.

[Balldog]

After 2 games, I think Madden is going to be collecting dust. I'm not a hockey expert but I love the way the game flows and the swings in pressure if myself or the CPU is able to get the puck in the zone and keep it there.

[Balldog]

Originally Posted by TurnerONU22

Played my first game as Columbus vs. Nashville. I won 2-1, with 29 shots for me and 23 against. I was 2/7 for PP and NSH was 1/8. Fantastic game, Chimera scored on a 5-3 PP on a garbage goal (Rebound came right to him and he scored 5-hole on Rinne).

BTW, this was on SuperStar and Current game style (edited Hardcore)

Here's what I edited and some thoughts about each:

Tuner Set: Latest - Didn't play w/ the original set, but gameplay was great with the latest set

Game Length: 12 minutes - Feels like a pretty good length, at least in terms of stats and such. Gonna keep this.

Game Speed: 1
Player Accel: 2 HUM/2 CPU
- Seemed to be a good speed, faster players (Chimera) were noticeably fast

Attribute Effects: Maxed - Definitely a great slider to have this year, felt like the best players were the best, and the 4th liners had little skill. Belak was in for the Preds and couldn't make a pass to save his life. Dump and chase is the way to go with those guys, as in real life.

Fatigue Effect: 6 HUM/6 CPU
Fatigue Recovery: 1 HUM/ 1 CPU
Injury Occurrence: 6 (max) HUM/ 6 CPU

I think the fatigue effect was a little much, so I'm going with 5/5 for my next set of games. I also didn't analyze the ice time, but I'll check that next game and see if ice time matches real life. Another thing is that fatigue definitely affects play, as guys who got stuck on the ice for a while had trouble making passes.

Another awesome moment: Tyutin hurt his wrist from an attempted stick lift by Hornqvist. On top of that, Hornqvist got a game misconduct for it! As long as this doesn't happen every game and for every injury, I'm happy to see this in.

Puck Control: 0/0
Stick Lift Effect: 5/5
Poke Check Effect: 5/5

- Seems excessive, but the top guys still keep the puck most of the time and it is easy to get the puck from the lower end guys. This makes the game sloppier with the unskilled players, but skill still prevails with the better players.

CPU Difficulty: 3
CPU Faceoff Difficulty: 4
CPU and CPU Teammate Penalties: 6

- Good game from a middling team. I'm turning down penalties from 6 to 5 for both settings, as there are too many scrum penalties. I'm hoping to still see about 5 or 6 PP's each game.

Manual Passing: On
Pass Speed (and Saucer): 4
Pass Accuracy: 1 HUM/0 CPU
Pass Interceptions: 6/6

- Accuracy is tough to gauge, and I think it will depend on how well you do with the manual passing. I had it at 1 for me, but I'm going up to 3, as I missed too many passes in my own zone, killing any offense. 0 is good for CPU, as they still complete plenty of their passes, but longer passes aren't as accurate, something that is very realistic. Also, fatigue effects accuracy as well.

Shot (Wrist and Slap) Accuracy: 1/1
Shot (Wrist and Slap) Power: 1/1
One-Timer Accuracy: 1/1

- Power is a little too low, as there were too many weak shots, so I'm upping to 3/3 for both wrist and slapshots. Accuracy was fine for now, but I might go up to 2/2 for that.

I don't remember any one timers for me, as it is too hard to pass into the slot with the manual passing.

Hitting Difficulty: 5
Aggression: 5/5
Hitting Power: 2/2

- This is crazy to say, but there were not enough hits that knocked players off of the puck, even with the stronger players. So I'm upping the hitting power to 3/3.

Goalie: Default Hardcore, except Cover Puck: 6

- Goalies played really well, Mason made a couple of fantastic saves to keep it 2-1 for me.



Overall, I think this game, while not perfect, is much more realistic than any game I played of 09.

Played a game with these and lost Dal 4, Det 2. Jumped out to a 2-0 lead a couple minutes into the 1st period then we couldn't get anything going. Modano had a hat trick. Dallas had 36 shots, to our 24.

These adjustments played very well. Long shifts killed us in the 3rd period, they were able to chase down all the lose pucks.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Balldog

After 2 games, I think Madden is going to be collecting dust. I'm not a hockey expert but I love the way the game flows and the swings in pressure if myself or the CPU is able to get the puck in the zone and keep it there.

I think NCAA is getting shelved for a bit... this game is really addicting!

[TurnerONU22]

Originally Posted by Balldog

Played a game with these and lost Dal 4, Det 2. Jumped out to a 2-0 lead a couple minutes into the 1st period then we couldn't get anything going. Modano had a hat trick. Dallas had 36 shots, to our 24.

These adjustments played very well. Long shifts killed us in the 3rd period, they were able to chase down all the lose pucks.

Thanks for the post. I definitely agree with the long shifts, which is very realistic. I played a game last night against the Ducks, and I was up 3-1 in the 3rd. I ended up with only 3 or 4 shots in the period, as I was mostly dumping the puck and switching lines a good amount, trying to keep my guys fresh.

Matching lines is now VERY important, as the skill players are tough to go against. I ran my checking line out more than my 1st line in the 3rd period of the Ducks game, as well as my shutdown pairing of Commodore-Hejda. I could notice a difference between those two, who are very skilled defensively, and my 3rd pairing of Methot-Russell, two smaller, younger guys. When the 3rd pairing was on the ice against the Getzlaf line, I gave up a goal and too many scoring chances.

I've made some modifications to the above settings and I'll post those when I get home later this evening. I know I toned down the injury settings, as someone got hurt every game (and another game misconduct on a bad stick lift, resulting in a broken nose). Overall, these sliders make it a challenge to score with (rebounds are your friend!), but you can still score from point shots and wristers as well, so it seems (through 4 or 5 games), that there is a good variety.

If anyone else tests these sliders, let me know.

[samifan24]

Originally Posted by TurnerONU22

Matching lines is now VERY important, as the skill players are tough to go against.

Is this is any mode or only in the new hardcore mode?

[TurnerONU22]

Originally Posted by samifan24

Is this is any mode or only in the new hardcore mode?

I have only played on the hardcore mode, so I can't answer that for sure. The two important sliders for this are 1) Attribute Effects and 2) Fatigue settings

I have Attribute Effects set to the max (6). I think this is the most important, as you'll notice a large difference, even between the 90's and high 80 guys versus the low 80 guys.

Fatigue plays an important role this year, especially with passing the puck. This is why quick line changes are needed in the 3rd period. I always hear coaches talk about taking short shifts in the 3rd, but you really have to do that in this game. I've never used manual line changing before, but I'm a believer in it now.

Also, a little neat feature regarding lines is that you can set the starting lineups as well. I've been going with the 3rd forward line to start most of the games with my 1st defensive line, trying to counter the star power of the other team's best forwards.

[samifan24]

In the demo you can start a fight or get roughing minors after the play. After slashing a player repeatedly after a whistle eventually all skaters on the ice pair off and go after each other yet I've only ever seen one or matching minors for roughing. Anyone seen more than that in the full game?

[JS19]

I'm at a major crossroads here. I'm in the market for a new game, and I can't decide between Fight Night, Madden, or NHL10. Played Fight Night at a friends, and loved it, Madden may have it's issues, but football season has really gotten me in the mood, and I bought NHL for the first time last yr and had an absolute blast with it.

[The Jackal]

I've only played one game so far and the passing learning curve is going to take a little while, but I'm very pleased. I was even playing without the upgraded tuner set, so now I'm really looking forwards to the small tweaks. I took way too many tripping penalties on poke checks, but that was really my only complaint and probably mostly my own fault anyways.

Bringing the fantasy draft back and all the different modes you can do make this a very attractive game. The Flyers will be hoisting the virtual stanley cup soon enough .. the real one? Who knows.

[Maple Leafs]

Wow, the fighting engine is terrible. I mean, a total waste of time. Why build a first-person engine if there's no thought put into how fights work?

Right now, you hit the "I want to fight please" button and two guys just pair off. No rhyme or reason. It could be a skill guy who never fights against a heavyweight, doesn't matter. And then you mash buttons for two seconds, and one guy falls down.

And by "one guy", it really is which ever guy mashed his buttons quickest. I saw Jason Spezza KO Colton Orr, and Micky Grabovski speedbag Chris Neil. Well, I didn't "see" the second one since I blinked and missed the entire fight, but it happened.

For years I've complained about how the NHL games limit your fights, and finally this one doesn't. In the last game of a series sweep, my opponent went looking for fights and we had five in the final minutes. I thought that would have been awesome. It wasn't. It was an annoying waste of time.

The frustrating part is that EA had this whole thing right 16 years ago. NHL 93 fights were great... usually a good pairing, and tough guys had an advantage (but could still lose). Why can't we have that again?

[Travis]

Anybody here using easportsworld for uploading video to? Not that I encourage it but I find rolling through those to be an excellent way to kill part of the work day while making me wish I was at home to do some more gaming.

If anybody is up for it, add me on there (Nikle on the PS3). Always fun to see what others put up for highlights.

[Flasch186]

Renting it for the first time in years....

Gotta DL a system update first

[TurnerONU22]

Here's a couple of my goals from my current Battle for the Cup against Carolina:

EA Sports: NEW VIDEO

EA Sports: NEW VIDEO

I think they finally have the rebound play correct, which is a real treat.

[samifan24]

I figured the fighting engine was broken when they featured Petr Sykora in a fight in promotional videos. It amazes me how these guys proclaim to be hockey fans and yet allow people like Sykora and Grabovski to fight in the game.

[Balldog]

Originally Posted by TurnerONU22

Thanks for the post. I definitely agree with the long shifts, which is very realistic. I played a game last night against the Ducks, and I was up 3-1 in the 3rd. I ended up with only 3 or 4 shots in the period, as I was mostly dumping the puck and switching lines a good amount, trying to keep my guys fresh.

Matching lines is now VERY important, as the skill players are tough to go against. I ran my checking line out more than my 1st line in the 3rd period of the Ducks game, as well as my shutdown pairing of Commodore-Hejda. I could notice a difference between those two, who are very skilled defensively, and my 3rd pairing of Methot-Russell, two smaller, younger guys. When the 3rd pairing was on the ice against the Getzlaf line, I gave up a goal and too many scoring chances.

I've made some modifications to the above settings and I'll post those when I get home later this evening. I know I toned down the injury settings, as someone got hurt every game (and another game misconduct on a bad stick lift, resulting in a broken nose). Overall, these sliders make it a challenge to score with (rebounds are your friend!), but you can still score from point shots and wristers as well, so it seems (through 4 or 5 games), that there is a good variety.

If anyone else tests these sliders, let me know.

I got smoked last night 8-3, I was Washington hosting Edmonton. It was 5-2 a little over half way through the first period. Not sure what the deal was but my goalie sucked, I pulled him after he let up 4 then the new guy promptly let up one. Then things settled down.

These might be a little too tough for me, I got outshot 37-22. I'm gonna try another game or two tonight. This is the first time I've played NHL since the 90s.

[Mike Lowe]

Does the AI actually sub in backup goalies?

Do goalies get hurt in NON-simmed games?

Do penalties actually get called a realistic amount of time?

[Flasch186]

Heres what I realized after one day renting this.

Not only does it look like a great game it has shown how little I care for the NHL or hockey anymore. Itll be shelved in place of my other rental RB: Beatles until they go back Sunday night.

[TurnerONU22]

Originally Posted by Balldog

These might be a little too tough for me, I got outshot 37-22. I'm gonna try another game or two tonight. This is the first time I've played NHL since the 90s.

Yeah, if you haven't played NHL 09, at least, then these will probably be too tough. I think most of these changes would still work, even if you went away from SuperStar down to the level below. Let me know if you do that and how it goes.

[MizzouRah]

I'm really having fun thus far.. loaded about 75+ songs into the game and it's nice to hear them thoughout parts of the game.

I'm getting out played on AS, but I'm getting better.

[JetsIn06]

I used your sliders on Pro and All-Star and both work fantastically. I used Pro for a few games and now I'm up to All-Star and having some solid games.

[Eaglesfan27]

I used the sliders in this thread (except on Pro level) with the considered adjustments and it was a fun game even though I lost with my Flyers to the Sabres 3-2. A few thoughts after this game:

- Presentation in this game is very impressive.

- I haven't followed hockey at all in a few years, but I'm still a bit surprised at how few of the Flyers I recognize at all. There is Simon Gagne.. and uh.. not too many others that I remember watching when I last watched them.

- The new controls are going to take a while for me to get used to, but I think I'll really enjoy them once I get the hang of them.

- I got slaughtered on faceoffs. Is there a trick to doing them? I'm just pressing down on the right stick when I think the puck is about to drop. I lost 75% of the faceoffs.

[Icy]

Yeah faceoffs are just about timing when to pull the Right stick. Have also on mind that a big factor is the player's faceoff attributes.

[JetsIn06]

I'm really bad at face-offs as well so I turned down that slider a notch or two and now I'm happy with it.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Icy

Yeah faceoffs are just about timing when to pull the Right stick. Have also on mind that a big factor is the player's faceoff attributes.

That explains it. The centers on the Flyers all have terrible faceoff ratings.

[Eaglesfan27]

I've been playing "play now" games while getting comfortable with the controls on Pro difficulty and I just looked at my team stats for the first time and noticed that it says I completed 0 of 178 passes!?! I know my passing isn't very accurate, but I completed some of them in a 3-1 win, including a 1 timer. Is that a known bug with the manual passing or some other issue?

[TurnerONU22]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I've been playing "play now" games while getting comfortable with the controls on Pro difficulty and I just looked at my team stats for the first time and noticed that it says I completed 0 of 178 passes!?! I know my passing isn't very accurate, but I completed some of them in a 3-1 win, including a 1 timer. Is that a known bug with the manual passing or some other issue?

Yeah, I have the same thing happen as well. It must be a bug.

I haven't had much time to play this, and I won't until after my exam on Thursday. Next weekend will give me some time to tweak the sliders further.

[samifan24]

Can anyone else comment on the realism of the fighting engine? Is there a way to discourage the game from having star players fight goons?

[Mike1409]

I am having a blast with this game. I have put NCAA on the shelf.

Maybe because I don't know as much about hockey, I don't know there are the flaws I see in the football game!

[JetsIn06]

Wow....what an ending.

So, I'm playing as Phoenix. We turn in two TERRIBLE seasons but build up our young talent with a #4 pick in 2010 and the #1 pick in 2011.

Now I'm in the 2011/2012 season, and we put together a great campaign, going 43-33-6 and making the playoffs as the #5 seed.

We sweep the LA Kings in the first round and face off against Columbus in the 2nd round. They had a 46-29-7 season and have some great players on their squad.

Here's a quick rundown of who they have:

Jakub Voracek (72 Points)
Rick Nash (68 Points)
Martin St. Louis (60 Points)
Marc Savard (60 Points)

At goalie, they have Steve Mason who let up 2.63 goals per game.

I really have built up my team. For this season, here were our top players:

Vincent LeCavlier (95 Points)
Ilya Kovalchuk (91 Points)
Kyle Turris (69 Points)
Enver Lisin (58 Points)
Peter Mueller (50 Points)

On defense, our first line is Ed Jovanski and Zdeno Charra (we traded for him during the season...the Bruins were doing terrible).

Anyway, here's how the series shook out.

Game 1: W 6-3
Game 2: L 2-1
Game 3: W 4-1
Game 4: L 6-3
Game 5: W 4-3

So we get to Game 6 and it's a back and forth affair. First goal isn't scored until the 2nd period, and the game is tied 2-2 at the start of the 3rd.

The 3rd is a defensive battle with a few shots that hit the post.

We get to about :30 left in the game and they have possession. I forget exactly what happened, but they shoot and Montoya (my goalie) makes an easy save. They start dropping back so I pass it out to one of my defenders quickly, thinking that I might have one more shot. He makes a great pass up to one of my wingers and we bring it into the zone from the right side and it's 2 on 2.

My RW dekes out the defender to get a clear passing lane into the slot where my center is. He makes a ridiculous play, accepting the pass between his legs, spins and takes a shot..

DING. Hits the top post and flies out of play with 6.2 seconds left.

I put in my top scoring line even though they are pretty tired because I know I have one shot left and they really need a miracle.

I win the faceoff and it goes to my right winger. He quickly passes it out to the point where my defenseman is sitting. He has a clear shot. The puck flies up right past the glove of their goalie and hits the back of the net with 3.2 seconds left, clinching the series!

[Balldog]

That is awesome, did you sim the first two seasons?

[JetsIn06]

Originally Posted by Balldog

That is awesome, did you sim the first two seasons?

Not entirely. I typically played 1 game and then simmed 3 or 4, but once I got to 20-25 games left and I was in last place I would sim the rest.

[Eaglesfan27]

I've been reading about "robo" goalie and wondering if it was a legitimate issue. Most of my games have been 2-1 affairs, with the occasional 3-2 affair mixed in. I gave up on the hardcore passing with no assistance a few games ago. Well, I finally had my first breakout game against the Lightning. Felt like I couldn't do anything wrong as we destroyed them at home 9-2. Jeff Carter and Gagne each had a hat trick. Having a blast with this game. I guess it's time to finally move up from Pro (I'm 5-5 exclusively on that level)

[MizzouRah]

I'll warn you.. AS is a biatch!

[JetsIn06]

Yea...I have some great sliders for Pro that I feel are very fair. All-Star to me is just way too hard. I get outshot by 15-20 every game on AS.

[Icy]

None of you playing online BAP in the EASHL? with the right team that plays realisticaly, it's really really addictive to manage only your created player. I'm in a team (Ps3) mainly formed by OS forums guys and it's a blast.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by JetsIn06

Yea...I have some great sliders for Pro that I feel are very fair. All-Star to me is just way too hard. I get outshot by 15-20 every game on AS.

Care to share? I'm all for sticking on Pro if I can get some good sliders that make it fair. After struggling my first few games, I'm routinely outshooting my opponents by 10-12 shots per game (although I did make a few trades and have a great set of defenders led by Pronger.)

[Balldog]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Care to share? I'm all for sticking on Pro if I can get some good sliders that make it fair.

+1

[JetsIn06]

Sure, give me a few.

[JetsIn06]

dola

While I fire up the 360...

The biggest issue I was having was that I was outshooting the CPU on Pro by a large margin and was getting outshot on All-Star by a large margin.

I believe this is because on Pro, the CPU defense plays a much more passive game. You can take the puck into the offensive zone easily, and sit there by the blue line without the defenders doing much. On All-Star, they're right up on you.

So, what the main theory I had with the sliders was to increase their ability to turn the puck over while decreasing mine. That should even out offensive opportunities, therefore increase shots on goal.

For me, it worked. But I was getting about 20-25 shots per team per game. I wanted it to be around 30, so one thing I did was up accuracy a bit. That also helped open up scoring a bit, because I had consistently finished games 2-1.

[JetsIn06]

12 Minute Periods
Penalties: Max
Post-Whistle Rules: Relaxed (Think this is a must because the CPU is crazy)
Penalty Time-Scaling: 0
Fighting: Middle (I think there are only 3 total clicks possible, but put it in the middle)


Basic

Skill Level: PRO
Game Style: Current

General

Tuner: Latest
CPU Aid: Hardcore
Game Speed: 1
Attribute Effects: Max
Fatigue Effect: 5/5
Fatigue Recovery: 1/1
Injury Occurence: 5/5
Puck Control: 0/3
Player Acceleration: 2/2

AI

AI Learning: Max
CPU Diff. Adj.: Max
CPU Faceoff Diff.: 3
Fight Diff.: 4
CPU Penalties: Max
CPU Teammate Penalties: 4

Passing

Pass Assist: 3
Manual Passing: Off
Pass Speed: 4
Saucer Speed: 4
Pass Accuracy: 0/0
Pass Interceptions: 4/6

Shooting

Shot Accuracy: 2/2
Shot Power: 4/4
Slap Shot Accuracy: 2/2
Slap Shot Power: 4/4
One Time Accuracy: 1/1

Checking

Hitting Difficulty: Max
Aggression: 5/6
Hitting Power: 1/2
Stick Lift: 4/6
Poke Effect: 4/6

Goalies

Passing: 0
Puck Cover Freq: Max
Screen Effect: 3/3
Reaction: 3/3


Test these out...The one thing I do try to avoid is body checking everyone...use the poke check much more often.

[JetsIn06]

Quick note... I also use Automatic shot aiming. Not sure if that makes a huge difference.

[Eaglesfan27]

About to try these sliders out. Quick question. In the scouting screen, what does LI stand for?

[JetsIn06]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

About to try these sliders out. Quick question. In the scouting screen, what does LI stand for?

Hmm...I'm in a game so I can't look now. Don't remember seeing LI. Where do you see it?

[JetsIn06]

Oh.

League Interest.

Under it, it says High, Some, None?

[Eaglesfan27]

Yes, it says high, some, none. That makes sense and what I was guessing, but I wasn't sure.

[Balldog]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

About to try these sliders out. Quick question. In the scouting screen, what does LI stand for?

Let me know what you think about those sliders, I'm hoping to start my Be A GM tonight after the kids go to bed.

Anyone know if players fatigue over the course of the season? Should I sit my starting goalie on occassion?

[JetsIn06]

Here's my most recent game. Keep in mind this is from my 5th franchise season so the teams certainly are different than now.

PHX 5

Shots: 21
Hits: 15
Faceoffs: 22
Time on Attack: 9:47
PIM: 6:00
PP: 0/3
Passing %: 60

ANA 4

Shots: 22
Hits: 13
Faceoffs: 12
Time on Attack: 4:06
PIM: 6:00
PP: 0/2
Passing %: 70

1st Period:

PHX Goal 11:10

2nd Period:

ANA Goal: 10:34

3rd Period:

PHX Goal: 3:49
PHX Goal: 5:57
ANA Goal: 11:15
ANA Goal: 12:55
PHX Goal: 16:29
PHX Goal: 16:57
ANA Goal: 19:41

Pretty crazy game. 3rd period was back and forth. Their last goal was 6 on 4. Goalie pulled and I had a man in the box.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Balldog

Let me know what you think about those sliders, I'm hoping to start my Be A GM tonight after the kids go to bed.

Anyone know if players fatigue over the course of the season? Should I sit my starting goalie on occassion?

First game went well, as it was a more challenging game that felt fair. My Flyers vs the Sabres. We had a chance to win it in regulation, but with 3.2 seconds left Claude Giroux (who had already scored on my first ever breakaway goal earlier in the game) hit the crossbar and it bounced away. Buffalo took it in OT on a 4-3 PP Goal from Roy.

Before on Pro, I was consistently outshooting the CPU, but this game we shot it 29 times and they shot it 30. Everything about the game felt pretty good. Going to try another game now.