Gameplay Producer Discusses NHL 14 Goalie Improvements, New Trailer Included

[Just_Cow]

I will hold my criticism until I get my hands on the game in September. EA is known to hyping us with all these great fixes and additions to the game, only to fall flat when the game releases and do maybe 1-3 updates per year. I'm not holding my breath on these "goalie improvements".

Outside of that, and I know gameplay is important which is understandable, I'm a bit dumbfounded that after 7 years of this franchise on the Xbox 360, arena designs for the most part look the same, player models look the same, and I'm praying they FINALLY changed the announcing team. Madden has recieved plenty of visual overhauls even in it's presentation. The same can be said about FIFA and NCAA 14. NHL, it's been very minimal year after year. Sometimes I think EA in general aren't giving the NHL franchise the same love and care they are with FIFA and Madden.

We will see in September, but this being the last NHL of this console generation (kind of), I'm honestly not holding my breath or getting any bit hyped up for NHL 14.

[gator3guy]

Quote: Originally Posted by Schmackity

All they have to do is remove the 'glitch' goals and top shelf shots constantly going in and I'd buy the game. No other crap added to it. You can't play an online game these days without playing someone who doesn't understand hockey but can glitch goal everytime. It's depressing.

That's because EA doesn't reward good hockey. My opponent goes for an unnecessary hip check leading to a 2-0. The good hockey play would be to wait the goalie out and feed my teammate for a tap in. Well in 13 if you do that you end up without a goal 95% of the time. I played on an EASHL team last year that you would have to beg people to shoot because everyone would try to make the extra pass to setup a good scoring chance. This year? 2-0, 3-0 guys are racing to the net, not thinking once about passing, because that's somehow a higher percentage shot (and because poke check physics are ridiculous) in this game.

[ComaFaction]

I wish they would make strafing the blue line inside the offensive zone easier. It looks silly seeing defensemen spin away from the net like in the video.

[Splitter77]

Quote: Originally Posted by ComaFaction

I wish they would make strafing the blue line inside the offensive zone easier. It looks silly seeing defensemen spin away from the net like in the video.

i agree.
they should just have the skaters do that automatically like hitz pro did.
i dont really wanna have to hit a button or a trigger for that.

[Fiddy]

Quote: Originally Posted by Schmackity

All they have to do is remove the 'glitch' goals and top shelf shots constantly going in and I'd buy the game. No other crap added to it. You can't play an online game these days without playing someone who doesn't understand hockey but can glitch goal everytime. It's depressing.

how in the world, even since 07, do these guys on NHL team not fix the shots etc going in top shelf off the posts at a high %? i mean, listen, i get you want us to have full control, but if a certain shot is going in a high % of the time, cant they nerf goals from certain spots after 1 or 2 is scored? make the shots go high and wide, off post and wide, make goalie glove or blocker save them etc?

there has to be something they could do.. but im sure they dont want to take that user control away. heck, they could take it away and not even tell us. we would then think wow, they changed it up etc.

[sweetjones]

What about goalie passing? The pass accuracy has always been ridiculous. Will this ever get better?

[FBeaule04]

Quote: Originally Posted by Fiddy

how in the world, even since 07, do these guys on NHL team not fix the shots etc going in top shelf off the posts at a high %? i mean, listen, i get you want us to have full control, but if a certain shot is going in a high % of the time, cant they nerf goals from certain spots after 1 or 2 is scored? make the shots go high and wide, off post and wide, make goalie glove or blocker save them etc? there has to be something they could do.. but im sure they dont want to take that user control away. heck, they could take it away and not even tell us. we would then think wow, they changed it up etc.

Fiddy, you've been here long enough to know that what they care is that there's no too many 2-1 games online so people don't buy it.

This game since EASHL have totally shifted towards EASHL and UHL. If something don't make sense there, they'll work on it. Otherwise, take a number.

They should change the disclaimer on the box saying the experience may change online. In fact, the label should say : "This game been programmed to be played 6 vs. 6. Anything other than that can cange the experience and we're not responsible."

It's the way it is. Simply look at the presentation and the AI for the last few years. Big video stunt, big entertaining campaign, but overall, same bad taste in the mouth. Presentation is so useless online (Press A dammit) that they even implemented no team celebrations after a goal so now the people can showboat like idiots after scoring. On the AI side, defensively, it's been getting worse with years, forcing you to either play 6 vs. 6 or to play something else.

The real problem is that when you play 6 on 6 and there's no idiots, that game is so fun to play that it just gives them more fuel not really pushing it of offline players. On top of it, it's the guys playing online who buy boost and equipment slots that are getting more money in. They are getting it first and we have to wait.

It's sad, but it's like that. Fighting is like presentation online, with years, makes me thing that it's almost useless.

[JimmyDeicide]

Quote: Originally Posted by Fiddy

how in the world, even since 07, do these guys on NHL team not fix the shots etc going in top shelf off the posts at a high %? i mean, listen, i get you want us to have full control, but if a certain shot is going in a high % of the time, cant they nerf goals from certain spots after 1 or 2 is scored? make the shots go high and wide, off post and wide, make goalie glove or blocker save them etc? there has to be something they could do.. but im sure they dont want to take that user control away. heck, they could take it away and not even tell us. we would then think wow, they changed it up etc.

What happened to ai learning? they should have that for the goalies, so when a team takes the same shot every time it will be shut down, force them to change the way they have to score , it only has to be until they start taking other looks then they could open it back up later in the game.