NHL 14: Keys to Best Last Year's Effort

[mynutees]

I never post on these forums BUT I do play NHL a lot, and have played every nhl since I can remember when I was a kid (now 30).

I really only play EASHL and have played this mode since 09...this mode is completely broken. I could rant on and on and on about how ****ty this mode is but I will highlight the ONLY THING THAT MATTERS

a) COMPUTER AI COMPLETELY BROKEN. Giveaways, passing back and forth between D-men, terrible passes up ice, passing behind the net, not gaining the offensive zone when they have possession and are right at the opposing blue line, terrible back checking, shooting immediately upon getting a pass in the offensive zone instead of making another pass first, terrible goalies who give up awful rebounds on soft flutterly wrist shots from the point ETC ETC ETC

Before anyone flames me for not having another 5 friends to play 6v6, sorry but life doesn't work that way when you're 30.

This game, and all previous versions of this game always start out pretty great. Then, without fail, they patch and tweak with tuners and the game becomes a joke. Whiny people complain about this and that and the developers release some garbage tuner to make it look like there is developer support and it just resets the game to garbage.

Want to know how to fix NHL 14? It's not the physics (broken) or the skating, or stupid Marc Savard and the rosters. Fix the goddamn AI and, bam, I promise you the game will immediately become 150% better.

/thread.

[JezFranco]

Just posted this in another thread, but it might be better placed here.

Just read interesting new about PES 14/Winning Eleven, Konamis competitor to EA's FIFA/Soccer.

Quote:

One of the main focus is improved visuals. According to Edge, PES 2014 will use the Fox Engine, the next-gen graphics engine currently in works under Hideo Kojima. Konami aims to bring photo-realistic graphics with detailed player faces and a new 'Barycentre physics' engine that gives different body parts different weights. This should significantly improve character movement, and the impact of collisions will depend on which part of the body is hit.

Quote:

The new engine allows for a larger separation between player and ball - three time the radius of PES 2013, where tight 'confrontation' zones are used to make tackling easier. A striker will be able to throw his body weight in one direction and use his opposing foot to push the ball in the other way, leaving defenders off balance and buying space for a pass or shot. Players have specific centres of balance, calculated by locating their centre of gravity, or barycentre. You'll be able to control your player's weight shifts at all times and use practice touches to push the ball away from your feet.

Source: IGN http://me.ign.com/en/news/8613/pes-2...ses-fox-engine

I wish NHL would have this competition, it would surely put some pressure on EA's NHL team.

[NHLandPESFan]

Quote: Originally Posted by JezFranco

I wish NHL would have this competition, it would surely put some pressure on EA's NHL team.

It's no coincidence that FIFA is much higher rated than NHL looking at review scores because EA has to try a lot harder with it because of the competition. NHL hasn't wowed anybody since they got good right before 2k left the scene and have been stagnating since. The woes of Madden are well known.

[PuckinNutz]

A big improvement would be the use of dedicated servers, there is too much latency in these p2p games, really makes or breaks your night. Ive got 100Mbps down and 21mbps up and I still have latency issues. I also hate the use of the 6'9 280 butterfly goalies that sit in the net and think they are good. That kind of stuff needs to go. Normal goalies were pretty decent until the last tuner went out 2 months ago, now they are just sieves

[savoie2006]

Quote: Originally Posted by NHLandPESFan

It's no coincidence that FIFA is much higher rated than NHL looking at review scores because EA has to try a lot harder with it because of the competition. NHL hasn't wowed anybody since they got good right before 2k left the scene and have been stagnating since. The woes of Madden are well known.

I can guarantee you it wasn't NHL 2K pushing this series to the next level, not since the push into the 360/PS3 era. The closest 2K came was 2K7, which was only because NHL 07 was bare bones. 2K8, which couldn't compete due to lackluster graphics and complex controls. Competition only equals a choice for consumers, not better development. That comes down to money folks. When one company makes the better game and gets the lions share of the money, the other suffers which is what has happened. Games like NBA 2K, The Show, and NHL have seriously outclassed the competition, which in turn has basically eliminated them because those developers aren't bringing in enough for serious upgrades and such.

[jyoung]

Quote: Originally Posted by PuckinNutz

A big improvement would be the use of dedicated servers, there is too much latency in these p2p games, really makes or breaks your night. Ive got 100Mbps down and 21mbps up and I still have latency issues. I also hate the use of the 6'9 280 butterfly goalies that sit in the net and think they are good. That kind of stuff needs to go. Normal goalies were pretty decent until the last tuner went out 2 months ago, now they are just sieves

Only versus games and HUT use a peer-to-peer connection.

EASHL and OTP games use dedicated servers.

Madden is the same way. All 1 vs. 1 game modes are peer-to-peer, but team play is run through a dedicated server.

[Nickflyers]

- Fix the checking
- Fix the Hip Check
- New Presentation
- Fix the BAGM AI
- Better Player separation


That's just off the top of my head.

[DJ]

Quote: Originally Posted by savoie2006

I can guarantee you it wasn't NHL 2K pushing this series to the next level, not since the push into the 360/PS3 era. The closest 2K came was 2K7, which was only because NHL 07 was bare bones. 2K8, which couldn't compete due to lackluster graphics and complex controls. Competition only equals a choice for consumers, not better development. That comes down to money folks. When one company makes the better game and gets the lions share of the money, the other suffers which is what has happened. Games like NBA 2K, The Show, and NHL have seriously outclassed the competition, which in turn has basically eliminated them because those developers aren't bringing in enough for serious upgrades and such.

NHL 2K7 and NBA 2K7 were the reasons I bought my 360. I wasn't a fan of 2K8's controls so I switched to EA's game and never went back.

I can still enjoy the NHL series but there needs to be serious improvements made to CPU AI, HUM teammate AI and presentation as we head into the PS4/720 era.