NHL 11 Chat: Gameplay Enhancements & Quick Clips - Hustle Button Announced

[Trevelyan]

I've loved everything I've heard about NHL 11 until this hustle button, that has me worried, especially with 3 different clicks. Also if I read correctly, its mapped to clicking the left thumbstick? That seems very unnatural to be doing constantly.

[milesizdead]

Quote: Originally Posted by JezFranco

And the puck physics video... Hmmm... It's hard to tell since it's in slow motion, but like someone already mentioned the puck doesn't seem to have any weight from what I can see. The d-man hits the puck with a light one-handed backhand, and the puck goes into orbit?

Yeah I noticed that too, maybe they can give the puck some weight still before the release.

But all-in-all, I can´t wait for this game, loved playing as a power forward already in NHL10, but now playing physical will surely have even more of an impact on ice

[OddyOh]

Quote: Originally Posted by Trevelyan

I've loved everything I've heard about NHL 11 until this hustle button, that has me worried, especially with 3 different clicks. Also if I read correctly, its mapped to clicking the left thumbstick? That seems very unnatural to be doing constantly.

Well hopefully we're not supposed to be doing it consantly. I think they're just trying to replicate the little speed bursts some players have due to adrenaline or whatever. It's not supposed to be use like speed burst was back in the day...the potential problem is people having 99 endurance and whatever and using it all the time.

I've got a bad feeling about this. And I was finally starting to play these games online too. Sounds to me like they needed an all new feature to hype. But I'll keep an open mind.

[SinisterAlex]

Yeah.... I just wet myself. This game is going to be amazing. Mid August can't get here fast enough!

[bonannogiovanni]

Quote: Originally Posted by Whammer

I'm not just getting the "hustle" button thing.....1 click on L3 for a bit of an increase, 2 clicks for more and 3 clicks for full burst....but how do you go back to normal? If I click L3 once do I have to click 3 more times to cycle back to normal? I think having it mapped to L3 might be a bit awkward.....you'll be pushing forward on L stick to move and if you're like me you might be pushing down hard and accidentally activate it, or not be able to activate it when you want. I guess we'll see when we get the demo.

Same thing I'm wondering, I hope you don't have to wait for your energy bar to get depleted to go back to normal speed.

[Section_25]

I'm surprised nobody addressed wrist shots in the chat session. I'm hoping that goals have a little more variety this year and are not so predictable. After playing hundreds of games of NHL 10 I seem to score 99% of my goals on cross crease one-timers. I just hope they have tweaked the goalies so that more random types of shots actually score.

[Fiddy]

Quote: Originally Posted by Section_25

I'm surprised nobody addressed wrist shots in the chat session. I'm hoping that goals have a little more variety this year and are not so predictable. After playing hundreds of games of NHL 10 I seem to score 99% of my goals on cross crease one-timers. I just hope they have tweaked the goalies so that more random types of shots actually score.

THIS.

Honestly, i felt that the goal variety was better in NHL 09. When i played NHL 09 i used Manual AIM and had some great goals scored, unpredictable goals scored etc online and offline. With NHL 10 for me to get that element of surprise that a puck beat the goalie i had to use AUTO AIM. bc all the goals i was seeing on Manual were all the same. This is why NHL 2K8 still gets playing time to this day in my 360. The goal variety is amazing (with the right set of sliders that fit each persons play style).

I cant wait to get my hands on NHL 11, bc it will be a blast, but hoping for more goal variety.

[Qb]

The hustle button is something I didn't get a very good feel for at the community event. Notice I'm not saying "I got a bad feeling about it", rather that it was a bit hard to get a handle on as a new control. A lot of us weren't entirely sure how it worked or when to it was best to use it and so on.

I think of it like the push puck you can do when in possession. With push puck, you have to do it in the right situation (eg, behind the defense or lots of open ice) for it to be helpful; if you don't, it's almost automatic that you'll turn the puck over. I think the team is striving for the same kind of balance with hustle. I believe the intention is for straight line puck races like icing touch-ups or dump & chase or trying to get behind the defense for a home run pass. For those that have played hockey, think of when you really dig in, get low, and focus on getting the most powerful stride you can to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible. I think that's what they're going for...

I believe we were told it wasn't fully refined in the build we played -- we had a rather early build so a lot of stuff needed more tuning/tweaking -- so it's hard to give a definitive opinion. It was hard to tell when it was in effect... so in other words, it was not a drastic speed burst. We talked a lot about it in our initial feedback session, especially regarding some animations to show the player "hustling", like putting their head down, getting low, or a quicker stride. I expect it to be much more refined by release.