The Great Undertaking II (A true bypass of NHL 13's sim engine)

[onlybygrace]

Some of yall may recall that last year I was going to play a Season Mode using the home team of every game of the NHL schedule...over 1200 games. I made it about 145 games in 3-4 weeks before NHL 12 got really old to me.

So, being that NHL 13 is just so damn addicting (best hockey game I've ever played, easily) I will be attempting the same feat.

So far, so good. Havin' a lot of fun.

I will be playing on Superstar difficulty using 9 minute periods. I will play as the home team for every game.

BUT...

I will play every Blues game as the Blues...since I won't be able to do this AND play a Blues Be-A-GM.

So...enjoy. Updates coming soon.

The coolest thing about doing this last year was that all the league stats where true to life in that no simming occured...was really interesting.

Updates to come...

[onlybygrace]

Opening Night
October 11th, 2012

Price Stellar In Opening Night Loss To Sens

OTW 3
MON 2

Shots OTW 41 MON 29
PP OTW 1-2 MON 1-2

Spezza 2 Assists
Andersen 27 saves on 29 shots
Phillips Goal (1), GWG
Price 38 saves on 41 shots
Plekanec Goal (1)
Sens outshoot Habs 10-2 in OT
---------------------------------
Bruins Rally To Victory Over Flyers

BOS 4
PHI 2
Shots BOS 24 PHI 30
PP BOS 1-4 PHI 0-1
Schenn G (1), A
Seidenberg G (1)
Thomas 28/30
Briere/Giroux/Hartnell -3
----------------------------------------------
Flames Burn Nucks In Shootout

VAN 2
CGY 3
Shots VAN 24 CGY 35
PP VAN 0-1 CGY 1-5

Luongo 33 saves on 35 shots
Bouwmeester 2 Assists
Giordano G (1)
D Sedin G (1)
Iginla G (1)
------------------------------------------------
Blues Top Avs

STL 3
COL 1
Shots STL 28 COL 23
PP STL 0-0 COL 0-0

Halak 22 saves on 23 shots
Duchene G (1)
Sobotka G (1)
Tarasenko Assist in NHL Debut, playing on 4th line, 12:47 TOI, 2 SOG
McDonald G (1)
Perron G (1)
-------------------------------------

[Section_25]

I always start a season with all teams selected but usually a different game is released that draws my attention away from hockey. I started a season with all teams selected this year also, I'm about 60 games in so far.

Good luck with yours!

[ChiTownKid]

..... .....

[Roscosuper]

Just curious, why 9 min not 10? And what setting default/normal/hardcore?

I always turn penalty scaling to 0, so I can up the minutes, and this year on the power plays (when there are some) it's seems both me and the cpu can get more done than in years past. Is this something you might be doing?

[18 eighty 5]

Sounds like a fun way to go mate. I'll be watching.

Ps, really like your user name.

[onlybygrace]

October 12th, 2012

Neal & Co. Torch Isles

NYI 2 (0-1-0)
PIT 5 (1-0-0)
Shots NYI 31 PIT 35
PP NYI 1/1 PIT 2/4

Neal 2 Goals (2)
Fleury 29 saves on 31 shots
Sutter Goal (1)
Tavares Goal (1)
Crosby Assist, 18:40 TOI, 1 SOG
------------------------------------------
Devils Defeat Caps In Shootout
NJD 2 (1-0-0)
WSH 1 (0-0-1)
Shots NJD 31 WSH 27
PP NJD 0/1 WSH 1/1

Neuvirth 30 saves on 31 shots
Brodeur 26 saves on 27 shots
Knuble Goal (1)
Henrique Goal (1)
Ovechkin 21:05 TOI, 4 Shots
-----------------------------------------
Wings Own Preds in Central Division Battle

NSH 1 (0-1-0)
DET 4 (1-0-0)
Shots NSH 26 DET 34
PP NSH 0/2 DET 1/2

Cleary 2 Goals (2) Assist, 7 Shots
Howard 25 saves on 26 shots
Colaiacovo Goal (1)
Datsyuk, 5 on 3 PPG (1)
Erat Goal (1)
-----------------------------------------------
Sharks Edge Ducks In Battle of California
SJS 4 (1-0-0)
ANA 3 (0-1-0)
Shots SJS 28 ANA 22
Pavelski 2 Goals (2), GWG with 50 seconds left in regulation
Couture Goal (1) Assist
Boyle Goal (1) Assist
Blake/Koivu 2 Assists
Selanne Goal (1)
Sheldon Souray will miss one week with a mild concussion
------------------------------------------------
Kings Raise Banner In Style; Quick Owns Rangers
NYR 1 (0-1-0)
LAK 2 (1-0-0)
Quick 30 saves on 31 shots
Parse Goal (1)
M Richards Goal (1)
B Richards Goal (1)
Austin Williams Day-to-day with head injury
-------------------------------------------------
Hurricanes Edge Jets In Shootout
CAR 2 (1-0-0)
WIN 1 (0-0-1)
Shots CAR 34 WIN 16
PP CAR 0/1 WIN 0/1

Pavelec 33 saves on 34 shots
Skinner Goal (1), ties game with 6:34 remaining in regulation
Little Goal (1) just 25 seconds into 1st period
Anthony Stewart and Evander Kane will each miss one week with minor injuries
-----------------------------------------------
Pens Start 2012 On A Roll
PIT 6 (2-0-0)
BUF 2 (0-1-0)
Shots PIT 47 BUF 22
PP PIT 0/1 BUF 0/0

Kunitz Goal (1) Assist
Dupuis Goal (1) Assist
Neal Goal (3) Assist
Sutter Goal (2)
Gerbe Goal (1)
Webber Goal (1)

Will be outta town for 8 days, so no updates for a while...gonna miss the hell outta NHL 13.

[onlybygrace]

Okay, so I did a little experiment on my sample of games played here, since I'm sitting in a hotel without NHL 13...

I believe the sweetspot for hockey gaming is having very comparable shooting percentages for both the CPU and the user...it lends itself to a more honest gaming experience for me.

So after totaling up all the shots and goals for the CPU and myself here are the results...

Human Stats/CPU Stats
25 Goals 25
278 Shots 309
9.0% Shooting Percentage 8.1%
.919 Save Percentage .911

The above numbers are based on the whole of the sample, however over the last three games I had made a change where I raised my CPU shot power to 4 instead of 3, setting it equal with the human shot power of 4...

and here are the results. You'll notice I've been outshot embarrassing and blown out once as a result.

With New Settings
Human Stats/CPU Stats
6 Goals 11
60 Shots 109
10.0% Shooting Percentage 10.1%
.899 Save Percentage .900

So, even though the sample is low...the shooting percentages are very comparable...almost the same. That said, the shooting percentages are literally a smidge on the side side.

So...I'll leave the sliders right where they are and see how it pans out over another 15 games or so.

Thanks for indulging.