NHL 12 News Post

Exclusive NHL 12 Producer Blog: Signature Traits

03:08 PM - July 13, 2011 by ChaseB

Operation Sports is happy to bring you an exclusive look at the "signature traits" being included in NHL 12. EA Canada developer Novell Thomas will be detailing this new gameplay addition and how it should change the way folks play NHL 12.

Quote:


	Hey, my name is Novell Thomas and I�m a producer on NHL 12. As mentioned in an earlier blog by Sean Ramjagsingh called Gameplay Enhancements, NHL 12 has over 300 gameplay refinements and many other great additions as well. One of those additions, which I�m going to go into detail about, is Signature Traits.

Be sure to check out the four new screenshots in high resolution in our screenshots section. Finally, the end of this blog also contains the first details about the NHL 12 demo.

Read More - NHL 12 Producer Blog: Signature Traits

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Member Comments

# 1 plaidchuck @ 07/13/11 03:39 PM

So does this mean player types are gone?

# 2 bwiggy33 @ 07/13/11 03:44 PM

It all sounds great, the only problem is if it will actually hold true in the gameplay. Ever since like 2004ish they have always labeled players as a sniper, grinder, playmaker, defensive/offensive defensmen etc. The only thing is, you could still never tell the difference between them. At least since the game has been on 360 and ps3. I can't completely recall last gens games and if players played differently then one another. I just pray to god this can show in the gameplay department. It is IMO the biggest thing missing from this game. It can truly become a thing of beauty if this plays out well.

# 3 plaidchuck @ 07/13/11 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bwiggy33


	It all sounds great, the only problem is if it will actually hold true in the gameplay. Ever since like 2004ish they have always labeled players as a sniper, grinder, playmaker, defensive/offensive defensmen etc. The only thing is, you could still never tell the difference between them. At least since the game has been on 360 and ps3. I can't completely recall last gens games and if players played differently then one another. I just pray to god this can show in the gameplay department. It is IMO the biggest thing missing from this game. It can truly become a thing of beauty if this plays out well.

Agreed it all sounds well and good but it will remain to be seen until we can actually play it. IMO I think the attributes need an overhaul but I doubt that will happen this gen.

# 4 Money99 @ 07/13/11 03:46 PM

Thanks Chase!

If it works as advertised, I'll be very happy. I'm also glad to see that they recognized that player separation hasn't been very good for a while now.

# 5 beal99 @ 07/13/11 03:56 PM

why does the Duncan Keith shot say "chicago stadium" on the ice? Did EA lose the rights to put "United Center?"

# 6 Money99 @ 07/13/11 04:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beal99


	why does the Duncan Keith shot say "chicago stadium" on the ice? Did EA lose the rights to put "United Center?"

Classic buildings?

# 7 onlybygrace @ 07/13/11 04:15 PM

Wouldn't it be cool if there was a 93-94 season game mode. Imagine being able to play with all the classic players...

Bure, Lemieux, Gretzky, Yzerman, Sakic, in their primes.

Sorry, off topic, but Money99's comment made me do it.

# 8 addybojangles @ 07/13/11 04:32 PM

Huge Noses - Players who have a nose that rivals that of Pinocchio. Example: Brad Marchand

# 9 Money99 @ 07/13/11 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by onlybygrace


	Wouldn't it be cool if there was a 93-94 season game mode. Imagine being able to play with all the classic players... Bure, Lemieux, Gretzky, Yzerman, Sakic, in their primes. Sorry, off topic, but Money99's comment made me do it.

That would be awesome!
I'd love classic teams.

In NBA2K11, the teams are represented well against their era well. So a team from the 80's will be much slower and smaller than a team from 2010.

But I'm sure if they had these teams, every Leaf fan will try to redo '93 all over again. And possibly to snipe Kerry Fraser.

# 10 addybojangles @ 07/13/11 04:34 PM

Oh, are we going to see the 1-3-1 in the game?

# 11 plaidchuck @ 07/13/11 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by addybojangles


	Oh, are we going to see the 1-3-1 in the game?

This. There needs to be actually strategies that do something in the game, rather than them just telling us "use create a play"

# 12 kai123 @ 07/13/11 04:51 PM

Great read! I'm just concerned with one thing, are these traits dependent on player tendencies/ratings or player types?

# 13 FBeaule04 @ 07/13/11 04:58 PM

13 forwards type and only 2 defenseman type???

Shouldn't come as a surprise since any D in that game can get is jock handed to him by dangling from Riley Cote or Derek Boogard in NHL 11.

Been an NHL fan since I'm 4 years old, and it's obvious that there's only 2 traits in the NHL community for D-man.

# 14 Mongo14 @ 07/13/11 05:31 PM

Should have used Sean Avery for net agitator with his way of distracting goal tenders.

# 15 therussian92 @ 07/13/11 05:32 PM

I like this addition. I think this was a perfect time to begin introducing these traits, especially since Madden is re-introducing player traits to their game. I just hope this doesn't replace the traditional player roles such as Playmaker, Sniper, etc. While I could probably tell you every NHL player's tendency in NHL game terms by now, it's nice to have in there when it comes to younger players and prospects.

# 16 Money99 @ 07/13/11 05:39 PM

Chase, I know that you played mostly human-vs-human, but even then, did you notice your opponents strengths and weaknesses when controlling different player types and sizes?

# 17 Al_Tito13 @ 07/13/11 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FBeaule04


	13 forwards type and only 2 defenseman type???

I have to say that I had the exact same thought as you. I couldn't believe there were only 2 defensemen types!

Traits will definitely be a great addition this year if they are well implemented, this will help a lot to have more differentiation between players. However, it's easy to notice that almost all of the traits are offensive minded. This will help to improve that aspect of the game, but defensive traits would also be a must, especially for defensemen and two-way centers. Even if I doubt it, I really hope there are more traits than the ones mentioned in the text to improve the defensive aspect of the game.

It still looks very promising nonetheless.

# 18 The Visualizer @ 07/13/11 06:19 PM

I really hope they go a little further with this and limit the kind of loose puck dekes non-skilled players can perform. It's not enough that they are less likely to be successful as I have been able to come down the ice with 4th liners and do what I please which isn't very realistic. Yes, some of these players very well may be able to pull these off in practice, but wouldn't dare try them in a game. 4th liners should be forced to play like them, simple hockey, dump and chase, not be able to weave thru traffic and loose puck deke at will.

# 19 Vikes1 @ 07/13/11 08:22 PM

Very cool addition.

Looking forward to seeing how it all plays out within the gameplay.

If this first attempt really works as well as I hope, it'd be great to have to actually give some real thought to how you put your lines together. It'd be fantastic if you really had to consider who you were playing against. And an actual worthwhile tactic was to possibly shuffle your lines around...or call certain players up, scratch others, etc... To have to actually think a little bit, would add a lot to the game.

Nice addition EA Canada! Can't wait to give it a try.

# 20 BlueNGold @ 07/13/11 08:29 PM

Awesome. This has been needed for awhile now and I'm glad a lot of their focus this year has been improving how the AI works and how the game plays offline. Those were some of my biggest requests.

They probably could have added something like stay at home d-man and big/aggressive hitter d-man though.

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Exclusive NHL 12 Producer Blog: Signature Traits