NHL 17 Gameplay Series Blog - Control The Ice

[Qb]

Lots of good stuff in there, and one more time, let's hope it plays out as well as it sounds. I really hope the "Better back-checking assignment" finally adds some challenge to navigating the neutral zone and zone entry. The tenacity of and commitment to back-checking is one of the biggest changes in the NHL over the last two decades, along with shot blocking (also underrepresented in the game) and the evolution of goaltending (maybe they're finally getting around to this?).

We always harp on the D-men surrendering the blueline, but with an almost total lack of defensive support from the forwards coming back, often it's the right play. Defensemen can't be overly aggressive if they have no help and the puck carrier is coming full speed with no back pressure. With that being said, they still sag too much and don't maintain proper gap, so hopefully that was addressed as well.

[miner7g]

In regards to the sliders, I remember seeing somewhere that the new 0-100 sliders are apparently 'the same sliders that the developers use', so I'd imagine that would mean one extreme to the other, and in-between.

[actionhank]

Quote: Originally Posted by miner7g

In regards to the sliders, I remember seeing somewhere that the new 0-100 sliders are apparently 'the same sliders that the developers use', so I'd imagine that would mean one extreme to the other, and in-between.

Which if true will be huge for us offline players. Can't say it will fix everything, but if we really can get to make better slider changes, it will be awesome...

All of that rests on the assumption though, that they do something. If they're ineffective, it will all be a moot point, and arguably more annoying, especially if I can't type in the number, instead of clicking left or right a million times.

[Al_Tito13]

I trust DJ Neo and he said that there are a lot of sliders available this year, we can customize almost everything and we can make the puck completely loose if we want to. And like miner7g mentioned, there is also Ben Ross, the gameplay Producer, who said that we will have access to the same sliders that the developers use and we will be able to play full 20 minutes periods while getting realistic stats and gameplay, if we want to.

I know that everything mentioned above seem almost too good to be true and we'll have to play it ourselves to be sure, but it definitely sounds great. And if we have access to all sliders the developers use, maybe now tuners will only effect slider values, which would be another great thing, since we would be able to get back easily to our previous settings if we don't like it.

I would have hoped for at least an offline mode to be in the beta, so we could start looking at sliders and trying them. However, since it's not the case, we'll have to wait until September to do so I guess.

[MizzouRah]

Can't wait.. I think it comes out on EA Access on 9/8.

[AdamJones113]

Looking pretty good, as every game does before release. Hopefully new additions are implemented correctly; game should once again be a blast if they are.

Reverse-VH? Still like to claim credit for originally broaching that idea.
Most of the stuff listed here though has been stuff we've complaining about for a while (vids, threads, comments, etc)... so either we're not as neglected as we seem to be, or we're actually pretty solid at picking out flaws in the game. Either way, EA really looks to be doing something right.

[actionhank]

Quote: Originally Posted by AdamJones113

Looking pretty good, as every game does before release. Hopefully new additions are implemented correctly; game should once again be a blast if they are. Reverse-VH? Still like to claim credit for originally broaching that idea. Most of the stuff listed here though has been stuff we've complaining about for a while (vids, threads, comments, etc)... so either we're not as neglected as we seem to be, or we're actually pretty solid at picking out flaws in the game. Either way, EA really looks to be doing something right.

I'm really holding out hope that things start to trend in the right direction for this series.

Offline play has become the stepchild in the series, and it's really been showing.

Here's hoping countless hours spent complaining with fellow players is starting to pay off.