NHL 13 Video - Sean Ramjagsingh Talks About Presentation, Gameplay, Strategies & More

[scottyo60]

Quote: Originally Posted by gopher_guy

faceoffs are very hard in the demo. Seems everyone is having trouble winning them.

I think this is going to be classic case of styles and how things are when several people play. I'm just on whatever the default is and winning almost every faceoff... I'm not great by a long shot as far as skill goes, yet I keep doing the same thing with the right stick and winning.

[tsp120]

Though they could put some work into the presentation, as it has become kind of stale, I'd rather they continue to put the same level of effort into the AI every year as they did this year.

I'm perfectly happy with the game modes and the presentation. If they continued with this same level of AI improvements for the next 3 years we could have very smart hockey game on our hands in the future. And I would take that game with today's graphics and presentation any day.

[Qb]

Quote: Originally Posted by RealmK

How so? Holding 2 shoulder buttons to do a slap shot, while trying to aim with an analog while the AI is buzzing all over the zone like a hive of angry bees was oh so intuitive.

I think Fiddy's point was more that Rammer was probably speaking of avoiding complicated controls in general, not specifically the 2K series. I'd say it's a standard concern/focus for the industry... how often do we hear about a game's "intuitive controls" or the lack thereof in reviews?

At any rate, there's no need to talk about the 2K Hockey control scheme here.

[Vikes1]

Quote: Originally Posted by tsp120

Though they could put some work into the presentation, as it has become kind of stale, I'd rather they continue to put the same level of effort into the AI every year as they did this year. I'm perfectly happy with the game modes and the presentation. If they continued with this same level of AI improvements for the next 3 years we could have very smart hockey game on our hands in the future. And I would take that game with today's graphics and presentation any day.

Pretty difficult to argue with this.

I'm very pleased with how they went about things for NHL '13'. I think clearly their main focus was the overall gameplay this year. And imo, just enough presentation upgrades [mostly the RTP] that is quite good. So I think they struck a good balance this year.

I guess the main thing I'd like to see presentation wise, would be a new announcing team. I still like Gary and Bill, and for the most part I think it's very well done. But imo...a new team alone would go a long way towards shaking this up.

[jyoung]

For those having trouble winning faceoffs, the old OS guide still applies to this year's game since nothing has changed in the draw system itself:

http://www.operationsports.com/strat...faceoff-guide/

Plenty of good tips in there, as well as a picture showing the full controller layout.

[acelang123]

I think were getting to that point in the series where the developers are either reluctant to overhaul presentation extensively and go away from the NHL 09 build, because the ever looming Playstation 4/XBOX 720 console jump. Remember, we are in year 5 of this console cycle, and consoles generally have a 5-7 year period as the latest and greatest, with the following 2-3 years of market decline.

It's like this. Is the first game on the newest console ever going to be as good as the last game on the previous console. Was NHL 07 on PS2 better than NHL 07 on PS3. Yes, NHL 07 was better for gameplay, but not visually. It took two years for the NHL series on PS3 to hit that NHL 94 moment. I don't remember any groundbreaking NHL games on PS2. So what is to say that next generation of games is going to be groundbreaking. It looks like to me, that the NHL developers have found that "special engine" and are probably not going to break it for the next console. If you remember, the nhl games on PS1, sure did feel a lot like the PS2 games. I think the PS3 is going to have that with the PS4 unfortunately. God, I hope I'm wrong.

[RealmK]

Quote: Originally Posted by acelang123

I think were getting to that point in the series where the developers are either reluctant to overhaul presentation extensively and go away from the NHL 09 build, because the ever looming Playstation 4/XBOX 720 console jump. Remember, we are in year 5 of this console cycle, and consoles generally have a 5-7 year period as the latest and greatest, with the following 2-3 years of market decline. It's like this. Is the first game on the newest console ever going to be as good as the last game on the previous console. Was NHL 07 on PS2 better than NHL 07 on PS3. Yes, NHL 07 was better for gameplay, but not visually. It took two years for the NHL series on PS3 to hit that NHL 94 moment. I don't remember any groundbreaking NHL games on PS2. So what is to say that next generation of games is going to be groundbreaking. It looks like to me, that the NHL developers have found that "special engine" and are probably not going to break it for the next console. If you remember, the nhl games on PS1, sure did feel a lot like the PS2 games. I think the PS3 is going to have that with the PS4 unfortunately. God, I hope I'm wrong.

Honestly when it comes to presentation I don't really know what more they could do. They added a very TV Style broadcast feel this year between the reply breakdowns, then a shot to the player on the ice looking up watching said reply on the big screen, and the pre period cuts have a pretty authentic feel to them. Guys chatting by the benches with the coach, the score overlay with Thorne talking about either say a go ahead goal or a near miss off the pipe.

Aside from intermission breakdowns which they probably didn't have time to do with all the rest that was added or improved this year, I'm actually quite content with the over all presentation on the whole. Sure 5 man hugs after a goal would be great but we finally have real time presentation mixed with TV Style camera cuts. I'm sure it'll improve moving forward.

Especially if they take the current iteration of the series and just build from there going forward with the next console systems nearing. It would be a crying shame if they once again rebooted the franchise when we've finally gotten some pretty major improvements after a few years of somewhat stagnation. The skating engine alone has really changed the way the game plays for the better in a major way imo.

I know people are tired of Gary and Bill, and that alot of the commentary is the same from the past few years, but again, they're not going to redo commentary every year, more so add to it. I don't see the commentary itself changing much until their ESPN contract is up and they need to find a new broadcast tandem. (I believe Thorne and Clement are technically still somewhat tied to EA's overall ESPN contract, I could be wrong however)

[Vikes1]

Quote: Originally Posted by RealmK

Especially if they take the current iteration of the series and just build from there going forward with the next console systems nearing. It would be a crying shame if they once again rebooted the franchise when we've finally gotten some pretty major improvements after a few years of somewhat stagnation. The skating engine alone has really changed the way the game plays for the better in a major way imo.

Oh ya Real...the new skating imo is awesome!

About the next gen, I pray they don't decide to do a complete reboot. I agree Real, we're at a point now where some very solid upgrades have come. And I'd hate to see this progress lost, in order to start over again.

I suppose a reboot wouldn't be too terrible if it only took a year or two to get things at least back where they where. But man...it took several years. Please...not again EA Sports.