NHL 11 Screenshot: All-New Real-Time Physics Engine

[06woz]

Am I the only one who would like to see them perfect(or nearly perfect) the gameplay before getting deep into the presentation. I just skip over all of the cutscenes anyways.

[Money99]

Quote: Originally Posted by 06woz

Am I the only one who would like to see them perfect(or nearly perfect) the gameplay before getting deep into the presentation. I just skip over all of the cutscenes anyways.

Gameplay is certainly always #1 on my list too.
But I don't think the guys who work on gameplay also handle presentation stuff. Maybe I'm wrong about that. Who knows?

But I do know that a good presentation can make up for a lot of quirks.
I think I could stand to play NHL2003 (ewwww!) if it had a weekly wrap-up show, in-game cutscenes, highlights from around the league during intermission and the real arena's.

[Bama83]

Quote: Originally Posted by 06woz

Am I the only one who would like to see them perfect(or nearly perfect) the gameplay before getting deep into the presentation. I just skip over all of the cutscenes anyways.

While I'm not an advocate of presentation over gameplay, by any stretch ... presentation is *FAR* more than simply cut scenes.

Presentation covers the whole gamut from menus to commentary to cut scenes to stat overlays. That's presentation.

Having tailored commentary about what's going on in the league, the game, a particular player or scoring race .... that's pretty cool stuff.

Having good (and meaningful) stat overlays during the game about the players is also pretty cool.

Cut scenes are but one aspect of presentation -- and usually the worst part. If you look at the trend in video sports games, cut scenes are out. Real time presentation is more the norm with dynamic camera angles and animations that play out just like a real game.

[Vikes1]

Quote: Originally Posted by Bama83

While I'm not an advocate of presentation over gameplay, by any stretch ... presentation is *FAR* more than simply cut scenes.

I'm also in the camp of game play first. But I do also, like you Bama...understand the importance of great presentation in any sports game.

I always tend to view things by way of franchise mode. And for me...I think one of the biggest things I want outta the games presentation is to not feel like my team is the only team in the league playing. Ie...I want the presentation to make me feel like my User team is one of the teams in the league...not the only one that matters.

[Flyermania]

Quote: Originally Posted by 06woz

Am I the only one who would like to see them perfect(or nearly perfect) the gameplay before getting deep into the presentation. I just skip over all of the cutscenes anyways.

Nope...I am also hoping the gameplay (especially offline) gets some much needed improvement.

[Money99]

Quote: Originally Posted by Flyermania

Nope...I am also hoping the gameplay (especially offline) gets some much needed improvement.

FM, when you were out for last years CD event, how much different was the build you tested on compared to the final product?

I know when I played FNRd4 the build we tried was quite a bit different than the one released.

Thanks!

[JayhawkerStL]

Quote: Originally Posted by Bumble14

I totally agree! Both NHL 09 and 10 have played great, but have no soul when it comes to presentation. They've have the same bland, generic replays, team intros, commentary, goal celebrations, and player emotions since 07. As a result the game itself becomes extremely stale. I don't really care about new checking physics, etc. This game needs some presentation to put it on par with great sports titles like MLB 10, and NBA 2K10. Heck, even the relatively bland Madden 10 had better presentation than NHL 10.

You are wrong on a lot of levels. First, NHL 09 and 10 had great presentation. If you want to make the case that they are virtually the same, that would be be fair. But to call it worse than Madden is WAY OFF. But since you call MLB 10's presentation great, it seems you like the bland more anyway. MLB 2K9-11 have far better presentation than MLB 10, even if the core gameplay has not ever been close.

I'd say NHL 10's presentation is one of my favorites of all-time. I don't mind them rolling with it for a few more years.

As the Real-Time Physics Engine, it is one of the few things that could make me hold off on buying NHL 11 on day one. New physics engine means a ton of time balancing and perfecting the feel of the game.

This may be a good time for EA to work on this, as 2K hockey takes a break, but it also means that instead of refining an awesome game, NHL 11 could be the beginning of a new game. It might take a few years to get it really as tight as the current game.

[Mikey88]

Quote: Originally Posted by 06woz

Am I the only one who would like to see them perfect(or nearly perfect) the gameplay before getting deep into the presentation. I just skip over all of the cutscenes anyways.

I completely agree man. I have yet to even bother to start franchise or whatever they're doing these days. It's almost like i'm afraid to get bored with the game if i choose that route. My interest seems to remain fresh playing online ranked matches or vs friends. Always very challenging there, not sure it would be playing the CPU over and over again in franchise.