NHL09 pre-release talk

[astrosfan64]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

An update:

X-Box Gamer Tags:

DeToxRox  - DeToxRox
Dr. Sak   - Dr Sak
EagleFan  - EagleFan1022
heybrad   - heybrad
klayman   - jbeaulac
msf518    - mtf99
rowech    - ralphiecs
Sublime 2 - jpro21885
yacovfb   - yacovfb

Can I get an invite to the team?
astrosfan64 = Druez (XBOXLIVE)

[EagleFan]

An update:

X-Box Gamer Tags:

astrosfan64 - Druez
DeToxRox    - DeToxRox
Dr. Sak     - Dr Sak
EagleFan    - EagleFan1022
heybrad     - heybrad
klayman     - jbeaulac
MizzouRah   - MizzouRah0971
msf518      - mtf99
rowech      - ralphiecs
Sublime 2   - jpro21885
yacovfb     - yacovfb

[Pumpy Tudors]

Originally Posted by astrosfan64

astrosfan64 = Druez (XBOXLIVE)

...

[Fidatelo]

Holy crap, what did Pumpy just sluth out?

[MikeVic]

What the.

[MikeVic]

Ok, can someone please check if it's just my game or not... Nashville's starting goalie is a 98-overall east-Indian girl named Sabrina Labda. Please. What the hell is this, I don't think she's real.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Originally Posted by MikeVic

Ok, can someone please check if it's just my game or not... Nashville's starting goalie is a 98-overall east-Indian girl named Sabrina Labda. Please. What the hell is this, I don't think she's real.

You have got to be shitting me.

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

You have got to be shitting me.

I am not kidding!! It threw me for a loop, so I go check her stats, and what the hell. Almost a 99 in everything. Is this some sick joke?

[Fidatelo]

Originally Posted by MikeVic

I am not kidding!! It threw me for a loop, so I go check her stats, and what the hell. Almost a 99 in everything. Is this some sick joke?

You haven't heard of Sabrina Labda? Don't you follow hockey at all?

[EagleFan]

Originally Posted by Fidatelo

You haven't heard of Sabrina Labda? Don't you follow hockey at all?

Tell me about it, and then they come in and complain about the game...

[Icy]

Originally Posted by MikeVic

I am not kidding!! It threw me for a loop, so I go check her stats, and what the hell. Almost a 99 in everything. Is this some sick joke?

There are threads about it at every sports games related forum. That girl was sick of cancer and EA decided to put her in the game as a 99 rating goalie to make her happy.

I see it as a nice gesture from EA but at least they could have make it optional or to be available only for single games instead of into franchises.

As she is the best goalie in the game and starts as FA, as soon as you start a franchise, every team wants to sign her, so she ends starting in the NHL. The only option is to edit her and put all his ratings at like zero before starting your franchise so she won't ever be signed form the FA pool.

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by Icy

There are threads about it at every sports games related forum. That girl was sick of cancer and EA decided to put her in the game as a 99 rating goalie to make her happy.

I see it as a nice gesture from EA but at least they could have make it optional or to be available only for single games instead of into franchises.

As she is the best goalie in the game and starts as FA, as soon as you start a franchise, every team wants to sign her, so she ends starting in the NHL. The only option is to edit her and put all his ratings at like zero before starting your franchise so she won't ever be signed form the FA pool.

Haha I had no idea. Ok, well, I just beat her 1-0 so I'll let her stay around for now.

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by Fidatelo

You haven't heard of Sabrina Labda? Don't you follow hockey at all?

I was doing Google searches. Apparently her name isn't Sabrina Labda... I remembered it wrong.

[Fidatelo]

Did Pumpy's discovery get lost in all this talk about East-Indian Female Cancer Goalies?

[Icy]

Originally Posted by Fidatelo

Did Pumpy's discovery get lost in all this talk about East-Indian Female Cancer Goalies?

The nick sounded really familiar to me and a search showed why. Anyway i guess everybody deserves a second chance if he is behaving well under the new nick.

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by Icy

There are threads about it at every sports games related forum. That girl was sick of cancer and EA decided to put her in the game as a 99 rating goalie to make her happy.

Wow, I am really happy to read this information.

When I played my first Be A Pro game in the NHL, I could have sworn that the smiling face of an Indian child popped up during a break in play. I clicked through it like I usually do for the player overlays, but then I was like "WTF, was that a scary child?"

I even scrolled through all the players on the other team to see there was a player who just looked like a kid -- but only the skaters, not the goalies.

I honestly sat there for a few minutes to wait and see if I was having a stroke, then decided to forget the whole thing ever happened.

[astrosfan64]

Detox:

Do you play games on your team every night? I saw you online last night. I really want to play on a team. I finally back up and running from the hurricane. I can play pretty much anytime after 9:00 PM. Central.

[Logan]

Finally picked this up yesterday. A few things:

Its laughable how bad I am at actually remembering how to shoot. Haven't played these games in a few years so the controls are a huge adjustment. Its like there's a disconnect between my brain and my fingers that's only active for this game.

Sorry for not going thru the thread...is there a generally agreed on slider set?

BAP looks awesome...I have some of you guys on my list already but if you can add RBS05 I'd appreciate it. I started by creating a power forward. Is there a "need" for this or would it be easier to get on a team as a d-man?

[astrosfan64]

Is anyone playing on the team anymore?

If not does anyone want to start a new team?

[illinifan999]

nvm

[General Mike]

Originally Posted by Logan

Finally picked this up yesterday. A few things:

Its laughable how bad I am at actually remembering how to shoot. Haven't played these games in a few years so the controls are a huge adjustment. Its like there's a disconnect between my brain and my fingers that's only active for this game.

I'm the same way. Picked it up a week ago on the PS3, but I still have trouble getting the handle on shooting. A lot of my goals are flukes or empty netters.

I'd play online, but I don't have the broadband here.

[astrosfan64]

Check again, anyone playing on a team right now or want to start one?

[GoldenEagle]

I am thinking about picking this up as part of Toys R Us 2 for 3 deal. I am not much of hockey fan but always enjoyed playing hockey games when I was younger. Would this be a good pick-up for a casual gamer?

[MikeVic]

I would say yes. It's really fun.

[EagleFan]

2 for 3? Get 2 for the price of 3?

[GoldenEagle]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

2 for 3? Get 2 for the price of 3?

Ok, 3 for 2.

[Icy]

Originally Posted by GoldenEagle

I am thinking about picking this up as part of Toys R Us 2 for 3 deal. I am not much of hockey fan but always enjoyed playing hockey games when I was younger. Would this be a good pick-up for a casual gamer?

I have not ever been a hockey fan and i have barely played hockey games in the past, but i must say this is the only game i'm playing right now, having madden, ncaa, etc resting untouched. I'm having tons of fun both playing offline and online.

Offline I play mainly the Be a Pro mode, where you control only your created player, starting as a prospect in the AHL and working your way to the hall of fame (something like superstar mode in Madden).

Online I'm a defenseman in the 25th top team in division one for the PS3 EASHL, that is the worldwide online league where you also play only as your created character. Think on a MMO based on hockey, where you are part of a team with other guys controlling their own players. There is a ladder system based on your team wins/loses with over 25 divisions of 100 teams each and besides some cheesing it's a really fun mode that encourages teamwork, for example there is one goal that goes into the net like 90% of the times if the defensemen are not playing well and the goalie is not controlled by an human, so every team is trying to recruit players who play defenseman and goalie to avoid that cheese goal.

So far this is the game of the year for me in consoles.

[Icy]

Patch is out!! It fixes all the problems i had in the game, specially online but also the lack of penalties:

NHL 09 Blog: David Littman

Posted 10.29.2008

Hi there, David Littman here.

We are in the process of putting the patches up for both the X360 and
the PS3.
PS3 Europe has already gone up, and PS3 North America and both X360
patches should be up within the next week or two.

First and foremost we have fixed the "dirty disc" message issue that
some people are seeing on the X360.
For the PS3, we have fixed the issue where there are sometimes white
flashes or flickers during gameplay.
So, if you have seen one of the above, you will be happy to know they
are fixed with the patch.

For most people though...the important fixes are in gameplay.
We have listened to all of you, and we have played the game ourselves
every day. While we couldn't make every fix that you asked for because
of time constraints, we did fix most of the big issues, and also
improved gameplay to be more authentic.

* The jersey on the EASHL side select screen is more visible than
the team logo. This will make it easier for people to see when jersey
colors clash
* Deking controls normal when shooting downscreen with "Always Up"
controls
* Checking has been tuned so you will see less big hits from guys
that aren't traditionally known for hitting
* Less CPU AI one-timers
* Increased the height of dump ins, for a better dump and chase
game.
* No more goals from flip dumps
* Better CPU AI logic near offensive blueline so they don't go
off-sides as much
* CPU goalie will not drag the puck back toward himself in a
shootout
* We have fixed the goals from outside shots that people are
scoring. We have reduced shot accuracy when on the rush and when turning
quickly, and from far out. You will now have to be more conservative
when shooting on the rush. If you aim all the way to the left or right,
your shot will go wide a lot more. Try aiming more towards the middle to
hit the net from outside. This fixes the cross goal where you shoot back
the other way, and the goal that goes in with the "curve" animation, and
a few others. There's a reason NHL players don't shoot from outside on
the rush very often. Dumping or trying to set up is a better play unless
you have an odd- man situation.
* We reduced the time it took to get control of the goalie by 1/3.

* When line changes are set to auto, and a user changes
lines/defense manually between whistles, the line/defensive pair you
asked for will come out (or stay out).
* If you have line changes off in Be a Pro, line change player
chatter will be turned off.
* When using a defenseman in BAP, BAP player won't get stuck on
the bench and will be able to call for change
* The EASHL will now go to continuous 5v5 overtime until one team
scores. This way nobody has to sit out, and you get to decide who wins
(this is now just like the NHL Play-offs)
* The proper own-goal cut scene will be shown where the player who
scored on himself is upset.
* All cut scenes should now show players sitting in their
respective team's bench.
* Increase AI team aggressiveness and the likelihood of them
getting called for a penalty on an infraction.
* If Vision Control is pressed, you do not throw a hit when in
front of the attacking net. This helps with rebound shots.
* Increase the likelihood of a penalty if the stick hits the body
during a stick lift.
* Reduce the accuracy of shots for penalty shots and shootouts.
Aiming for just inside the post is a lot tougher now

Along with these changes we are still working on the server side of
things to make sure that the EASHL and online play is always improving.
Keep checking our website for more information on the EASHL play- offs.

Thanks
-David Littman

[Icy]

Dola, he says two weeks from now, but it's out already.

[dervack]

When you guys are playing, do you call for the line changes yourself in BAP or do you wait till they send you out? Also, did we start a club team for the PS3?

[Fidatelo]

I always wait for my turn to come out in BAP, since I'm not a diva. I do tend to take long shifts at times, though, so I'm glad that Ron Wilson is not my coach.

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by dervack

When you guys are playing, do you call for the line changes yourself in BAP or do you wait till they send you out?

I play about 55 minutes a game.

[Icy]

I wait for the coach to put me on the ice, so i average around 30 minutes of ice time per game as defenseman. Taking long shifts affect negatively your teamwork evaluation so i also go to the bench as soon as i see the icon. I try to play as realistically as possible.

[Fidatelo]

I finished my first season of offline BAP last night, and i'm pretty bummed about the way things went down. I entered the playoffs as the number 1 seed, matched up against Washington. We lots in 6 games, and Washington went on to win the Stanley Cup, even though they seem to have traded away a certain number 8 during the season. So how did they win? With phenomenal goaltending provided by a 99 rated girl named Sabrina Lahda. So that sucks, that girl is apparently going to single-handedly mess with the league my entire career.

Next, the off season. I re-signed with the Rangers for 3 more years, excited to get another crack at winning it all with my teammates. Well, good luck with that, because apparently everyone on my team was on the final year of their contract. By the time the next season began, there were about 4 guys left from the previous season. Lame.

So now I think I might be done with BAP, because I just don't have any desire to play with this mishmash of strangers only to likely lose out to a 12 year old girl in the playoffs.

[EagleFan]

It looks like she is quite popular among the NHL 09 community. She is a female hockey player who wanted to play in the NHL but i stricken with cancer.

Restarting a career will still have her. Go into free agents and edit her down if you don't want her popping back up.

[Fidatelo]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

It looks like she is quite popular among the NHL 09 community. She is a female hockey player who wanted to play in the NHL but i stricken with cancer.

Restarting a career will still have her. Go into free agents and edit her down if you don't want her popping back up.

I don't think I can do that within my existing BAP career though, and I'm not starting over at this point. Stupid EA, I understand the gesture, but they should give you a choice at the start of a career to include fake players or not. Or at least just make her rating an 85-90 so that she is a starter but not a game changer.

[sabotai]

Just picked this up. Played 2 games of Be A Pro and love it so far, but I'm glad I searched for the thread to read about the 99 fake goalie so I can start over and edit her out.

So far, the only change I made was made the periods 10 minutes long. Are there any other game/slider changes I should make for Be A Pro?

[Icy]

Originally Posted by sabotai

Just picked this up. Played 2 games of Be A Pro and love it so far, but I'm glad I searched for the thread to read about the 99 fake goalie so I can start over and edit her out.

So far, the only change I made was made the periods 10 minutes long. Are there any other game/slider changes I should make for Be A Pro?

This is for sure the game for the year for me, started to play it when it was released and haven't stopped since then.

I play mainly online Be A Pro and nothing beats to play with other human team mates night after night. If you join a good team, it's the close to the perfect sport RPG. I recommend you to try it.

About sliders, when i play BAP offline, i play in superstar level just bumping penalties to 5 clicks starting from the left, and as i play 8 minutes, i raise +1 shooting accuracy and power, else a lot of games end 2-1.

Let me know if you got any question, this is the only game i have been playing for the past 2 months.

Btw, do you have it for Ps3? if so there is a great roster set updated up to this month.

[duff88]

How good can your online attributes get if you play a whole lot?

I have a team with my two brothers, and yesterday we played against a team of two. They always did the same thing, skate full-speed each to their side of the net and do a centering pass through the goal crease and one-timed in. The strategy wouldn't be very hard to counter, but their players were something like twice as fast as ours on a straight line and whenever they did it on a counter-attack we could never catch up.

Pretty frustrating to play against this kind of people...

[Icy]

Originally Posted by duff88

How good can your online attributes get if you play a whole lot?

I have a team with my two brothers, and yesterday we played against a team of two. They always did the same thing, skate full-speed each to their side of the net and do a centering pass through the goal crease and one-timed in. The strategy wouldn't be very hard to counter, but their players were something like twice as fast as ours on a straight line and whenever they did it on a counter-attack we could never catch up.

Pretty frustrating to play against this kind of people...

The max you can get is 20 points per category (offense, defense and physical) but for example speed costs 3 points per + rating raise, so the max speed you can have is around 87 if you choose the dangler character that is the faster one.

Usually all the players you will face will have the superstar card, so 15 points per category, as only a few awesome veteran players can reach the legend card that gives them those 20 points. For the legend card you need to keep an A- grade for 150 games, and i can tell you that is really really hard. I'm sitting at B / B+ for over 250 games.

[Galaxy]

Just out of curiousity,

Can you play multi-player in the be a Pro Mode.

[samifan24]

Originally Posted by Galaxy

Just out of curiousity,

Can you play multi-player in the be a Pro Mode.

No. My buddy and I tried to do this on the PS3 version and couldn't.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Any slider suggestions for BAP mode? After not playing for a couple of months, I'm thinking of starting over and want to have a solid slider set from the beginning. I never did settle on one before.

[BigDPW]

I am just now getting into my offline BAP game and was wondering how do I convert to online and take this player online to play?

I can create a team a look at a bunch of teams but can't figure out how to play anyone or get an invite to a decent team?

Do any of you guys have a team going that I could join? I play RW.

[JS19]

Picked this game up not too long ago. I've been playing on the dynasty mode, just finished a season on Pro and pretty much dominated. However, been trying on All-Star and I suck, it's horrible. Question is, anyone develop a slider set they feel is effective?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Didn't see it mentioned, but there's a substantial patch that was release for this game today on the PS3. Fixes some bugs with some good enhancements. 360 patch is expected in 7-10 days.

[Icy]

Originally Posted by JS19

Picked this game up not too long ago. I've been playing on the dynasty mode, just finished a season on Pro and pretty much dominated. However, been trying on All-Star and I suck, it's horrible. Question is, anyone develop a slider set they feel is effective?

I'm using All-Star on default, so i can't help a lot, but there are some good slider sets in operationsports forums.

[BigDPW]

Originally Posted by BigDPW

I am just now getting into my offline BAP game and was wondering how do I convert to online and take this player online to play?

I can create a team a look at a bunch of teams but can't figure out how to play anyone or get an invite to a decent team?

Do any of you guys have a team going that I could join? I play RW.

Anyone wanna help me with this?

[Icy]

Originally Posted by BigDPW

Anyone wanna help me with this?

- Your online and offline BAP are not related at all, you stats, record, ratings etc are separated, just he player name and physical build is shared. This is probably the most confusing thing for new players.

- You can go anytime to menu Performance Tracker -> Edit Pro to edit your player height/weight, position, play style (grinder, playmaker, sniper, etc) stick, skates, etc. If you are goign to play mainly forward, i recomend you dangler, playmaker or sniper. If you are going to play defense, defensive defenseman or also playmaker (yeah you can use a forward build as defenseman). Playmaker is the best all around player.

- You can go anytime to menu Performance Tracker -> Edit Attributes to use the available points you have after gaining a card (read below).

- To improve your player ratings online, you need to gain "cards". The cards are gained after a set number of ranked games played and reaching some grades (based on your performance on those games).

- You can go to the performance tracker in the menu to see the cards you currently have (none) and the requirements for the next one. When you gain a card, you are given from 3 to 5 points (depending on the card) pr category to upgrade your player (physical, offense, defense).

- If you are not happy with how your points were used, you can change your player style as i explained avobe, and your ratings points will be reset, so you can use them again into the attributes you prefer. I'm talking about the rating points you get after each card, as you will start with zero.

- To play online, go to the menu Online-> Community -> Online Team play Community (OTP from now). There you will find a lobby with more players, push trangle if you are on PS3 (no idea on 360) and a list of available games will show up. Join a ranked one, move to left or right to select the team you want to join and then push X to get READY status. Once every player os ready, you will go to the player position screen, choose the position you want to play (be quick, forward positions are taken fast) and then click X again. The game will load and you will play a ranked team with other random players.

Those OTP games are usualy garbage, full of kids and selfish players, but at least a way to have a quick ranked game to reach the new card and improve your player.

To join a team in the EASHL league, you can ask in the OTP lobby for any team doing tryouts or you can also join EASHLforum and post a thread there in the recruiting forums asking for a team. There is some really valuable info in that forum and some tutorials.

Playing in a good team is where the fun is, as you play more organized hockey and more team based.

I play right now in a top division team and it's really fun as my team mates are really skilled.

Let me know if you have any doubt

[MizzouRah]

360 Patch released tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOO HOO!!!!!!!!!!!