NHL 16 News Post

NHL 16 Trial Available Now For EA Access Subscribers, Get 10 Hours of Gamplay

06:00 PM - September 9, 2015 by Steve_OS

The trial version of NHL 16 is available now (a day early) for EA Access subscribers. To start the download process, open up the EA Access hub, scroll over to NHL 16, click View in Store and download the trial.

For those of you that can download it, play a few games and let us know what you think!

REMINDER: You get 10 hours of gameplay, so make sure you exit out of the game if you are not playing. Don't pause and lose those precious minutes.

Game: NHL 16Reader Score: Vote Now
Platform: PS4 / Xbox OneVotes for game: 0 - View All

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Member Comments

# 201 jyoung @ 09/12/15 10:58 PM

Timestamp 28:32 of this video is a good example of the lack of stick physics creating unrealistic scoring chances that wouldn't exist if sticks weren't allowed to clip through everything on the ice:

Kane shouldn't have even been able to get a pass off here. His stick should have been disrupted by the nearby defender's stick. Instead he gets off a perfect saucer pass without any difficulty.

Then Anisimov's stick teleports through a nearby Wild defender's body and warps out the other side of his leg so that Anisimov can slam home a perfect one timer shot.

That type of play is basically the AI's only way to consistently score in this game, and it wouldn't even be possible if sticks had proper physics.

# 202 AdamJones113 @ 09/12/15 11:00 PM

Thank you kind sir. The passing DID indeed look better in that vid. But, in the off chance anyone of importance takes this particular post to heart, some negatives as well:

Is it just me or does the CPU back check suck in this game? An example being #42 David Backes, whose goal seems to be to meander to the net without much purpose. Equally bad is the Blues #15, who stands perfectly still, facing the puck... only metres from his man at the point. Boy, does he stand still. And then he starts moving, completely misses the puck carrier, and pivots poorly. Bad shift mate. Alex Pietrangelo (I believe, hard to make out the number) plays well, but forgets to cover the back post.

EDIT: just saw jyoung's vid, excellent example... any player worth his ice time would make the easy play on Kane's stick and take the puck away, since Kane is in a vulnerable position and poorly positioned to guard against exactly what the defensive player should do. The rest is just horrible.

# 203 bad_philanthropy @ 09/12/15 11:06 PM

jyoung doing great yeoman's work with these videos. IMO that kind of stuff is just unacceptable. The only way the cpu scores is by moving the puck quickly and impossibly to get an advantageous shot. Again, not to beat a dead horse, but if a player in an attacking position on the puck is in tough spot I want to see them make a conservative play off the boards, reload the play if the defence isn't being pressuresd (i.e. defensive team is changing), or play the puck below the goal line or take a shot in hopes of gaining an o-zone faceoff.

The lack of stick and board interaction allows the cpu AI to take too many risks that, well, just can't happen in hockey unless you want to turn the puck over in a bad area. The Kane play is a bad representation of hockey that just gets worse. I'm not looking for the moon here, I just want the basics to be better. I truly believe it can be better and more fun at the same time.

# 204 BL8001 @ 09/12/15 11:12 PM

But...but...

And then this game goes and spoils it all by saying something stupid like I love you.

I shot post whistle and the cpu did not take kindly to it. Cpu picked a fight, my guy was iffy about it but one of my others players decided "let's roll" and started a fight on his own. Which I then proceeded to win.

# 205 Gerg04 @ 09/13/15 01:03 AM

Just played 4 EASHL games, just 2 of us. Couldn't have been more fun.

A full team of like-minded players makes for a really fun game. Can't wait for Tuesday

# 206 canucksss @ 09/13/15 02:57 AM

THanks Young for posting your video. This game is designed for ONLINE gamers and thats good for them. For me an offline, NOPE, BAD GAME. As simple as that (video), this is not worth the $60 FOR ME. I really dont care about the mascots and much improved presentation and bring back the missing features for BAGM. But gameplay such as these and tons more, its not worth it. MAYBE in 17, EA can focus on the offline gamer like me. ITS LONG OVERDUE. I placed this as "rent" at Gamefly, then I'll return it as soon as NBA 2k16 is released.

# 207 Entiae @ 09/13/15 08:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CupCrazyManiac


	You should move this to the BUGS Thread, it's A BUG.

Is it, though?

Isn't this just how the game is designed to work?

# 208 Fiddy @ 09/13/15 09:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by canucksss


	THanks Young for posting your video. This game is designed for ONLINE gamers and thats good for them. For me an offline, NOPE, BAD GAME. As simple as that (video), this is not worth the $60 FOR ME. I really dont care about the mascots and much improved presentation and bring back the missing features for BAGM. But gameplay such as these and tons more, its not worth it. MAYBE in 17, EA can focus on the offline gamer like me. ITS LONG OVERDUE. I placed this as "rent" at Gamefly, then I'll return it as soon as NBA 2k16 is released.

I'll say this, you know me on here of being very critical of the series in general. They say one thing, yet do another, even ignore issues that have been in the series for far too long. But, this is the only game in town and i need an NHL fix. Great that EASHL is back because i missed playing this mode with 12 other buds of mine. I also need an offline fix.

I just player lock on a different position every game in my GM mode. I even created myself that i use in the EASHL over the years with legend 3 attributes and boosts. Sit back and roll through games. Yes, not perfect, yes still annoying things, but the games play so much better than controlling everyone.

Worth 60? Nope. If you can get it for 30 at some point hop on it.

# 209 Vikes1 @ 09/13/15 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bad_philanthropy


	jyoung doing great yeoman's work with these videos. IMO that kind of stuff is just unacceptable. The only way the cpu scores is by moving the puck quickly and impossibly to get an advantageous shot. Again, not to beat a dead horse, but if a player in an attacking position on the puck is in tough spot I want to see them make a conservative play off the boards, reload the play if the defence isn't being pressuresd (i.e. defensive team is changing), or play the puck below the goal line or take a shot in hopes of gaining an o-zone faceoff. The lack of stick and board interaction allows the cpu AI to take too many risks that, well, just can't happen in hockey unless you want to turn the puck over in a bad area. The Kane play is a bad representation of hockey that just gets worse. I'm not looking for the moon here, I just want the basics to be better. I truly believe it can be better and more fun at the same time.

Couldn't agree more.

# 210 biglami @ 09/13/15 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deebo2246


	Downloading now... EA Access is a steal for $25 for the year.

How did you manage to get EA Access for $25? I see it is $5/month ($60) at the EA website.

# 211 Gerg04 @ 09/13/15 11:07 AM

Its $5 a month or $29.99 a year

# 212 AdamJones113 @ 09/13/15 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bad_philanthropy


	jyoung doing great yeoman's work with these videos. IMO that kind of stuff is just unacceptable. The only way the cpu scores is by moving the puck quickly and impossibly to get an advantageous shot. Again, not to beat a dead horse, but if a player in an attacking position on the puck is in tough spot I want to see them make a conservative play off the boards, reload the play if the defence isn't being pressuresd (i.e. defensive team is changing), or play the puck below the goal line or take a shot in hopes of gaining an o-zone faceoff. The lack of stick and board interaction allows the cpu AI to take too many risks that, well, just can't happen in hockey unless you want to turn the puck over in a bad area. The Kane play is a bad representation of hockey that just gets worse. I'm not looking for the moon here, I just want the basics to be better. I truly believe it can be better and more fun at the same time.

Very well said.

A major problem in jyoung's vid (beside the egregious lack of stick-on-stick/skate collision detection) is that the defender doesn't have any initiative to preempt Kane's reception of the pass. Rather than stick-lifting Kane before he even has control of the puck, the defender waits until Kane has secured to puck before feebly attempting to play defense. That lack of detailed initiative is a big problem and one (among other numerous AI failings) that really takes away from the game.

Especially considering an answer made long ago on ASK EA by Ben Ross...

"If you are near the boards, the AI will try to pin you more than they will try to hit you. We also added conditions for when they choose to poke check vs stick lift. From behind, they will be more likely to look for stick lift opportunities when on the strong side of the puck. AI players will definitely nudge you from behind to try and move you off the puck but we have also added in stumbles where players will be able to shrug off hits that aren't strong enough when they try to hit from behind at low relative speeds. A big enough player will be able to knock a smaller player right off the puck in these situations though."

It's hard to agree that that's in the game, especially in light of this clip.

# 213 Keirik @ 09/13/15 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cletus


	So basically this game sounds like an EA NHL game. If you want to play a video game version of hockey, it's fine and plays great. If you want a complete sim experience, you're going to be sorely disappointed. Whichever side you're on, it really isn't a "we're correct and you're not". This forum has never been like that. We all want the most complete hockey game possible. To those that are enjoying it, keep enjoying it and don't listen to the "haters". Don't turn this forum into a war because of differing opinions.

nothing to do with "Haters" or anything of the sort. I'm not sure why you are trying to turn this into something along those lines. When you see videos of a guy pinned against the boards having the ability to pass accurately and with speed to a one timer in the slot, something is majorly broken. It's the equivalent ir rushing the QB is Madden only to have him run with his back to the endzone, switch the ball to his offhand, and throw a 30 yard post route accurately for a reception.

No one would ever allow that to get by in that game, nor should we allow it to get by in this one.

# 214 Gbpackerowner @ 09/13/15 12:36 PM

Wish we could get one of the Programmers on here to explain to us why the physics only apply to a human player and why oh why they can't program in simple logical play that you all have described so aptly. AI has been an issue in hockey for a long time now. I'm guessing they just don't care about the sim offline gamer, so therefore they never even address the issue. It seems so simple to me, and I am a programmer (not video games). You go online and it loads arcade tuning and logic, you play offline and is loads up the sim tuning and logic. Everyone is therefore happy. Hopefully with sliders that actually function as described we can tune it.

# 215 jyoung @ 09/13/15 12:56 PM

Quote:


	You should move this to the BUGS Thread, it's A BUG. Is it, though? Isn't this just how the game is designed to work?

The lack of stick physics isn't a bug, it's just a design decision. EA's designers have mentioned several times that they've tried turning on stick physics in their own internal tests, but none of their testers found it to be any fun.

Quote:


	A major problem in jyoung's vid (beside the egregious lack of stick-on-stick/skate collision detection) is that the defender doesn't have any initiative to preempt Kane's reception of the pass. Rather than stick-lifting Kane before he even has control of the puck, the defender waits until Kane has secured to puck before feebly attempting to play defense. That lack of detailed initiative is a big problem and one (among other numerous AI failings) that really takes away from the game.

IMO they just need an organic jostling system like FIFA has that can activate automatically whenever players are close together -- no stick lift or poke check commands needed. The jostling in FIFA 16 is a glorious thing to watch.

EA NHL tried something like that on last gen with the "tie up" button on the right joystick, but it had too much of a "suction" effect, so they took it out of the game when they moved onto the next gen of hardware. So now there's no way for a defender to disrupt an offensive player's stick without using the stick lift or poke check commands. And AI defenders are really bad at using those defensive tools; instead, they'll mostly just stand still and let the offensive players skate and shoot all over them.

# 216 Cletus @ 09/13/15 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keirik


	nothing to do with "Haters" or anything of the sort. I'm not sure why you are trying to turn this into something along those lines. When you see videos of a guy pinned against the boards having the ability to pass accurately and with speed to a one timer in the slot, something is majorly broken. It's the equivalent ir rushing the QB is Madden only to have him run with his back to the endzone, switch the ball to his offhand, and throw a 30 yard post route accurately for a reception. No one would ever allow that to get by in that game, nor should we allow it to get by in this one.

I guess by putting haters in quotation marks didn't get my point. The fact is since 15 has came out this board has gotten to be more of a warzone than I remember. I love that people are passionate about this series, hockey and video gaming. We need to keep that in line though. I haven't seen the "pro NHL 15 troll(s)" yet so maybe that's a sign.

Personally, I'm through with EA and I'm sure most of the hardcore posters know how I feel about this series, but I always try to be more constructive than destructive. That was my point. We don't have a lot of moderating around here and I would like to keep it this way. It's nice to see people disagreeing intelligently and following the rules.

# 217 BL8001 @ 09/13/15 01:06 PM

I had a sort of interesting experiment with this game last night...

I did the nhl moments and played the rangers lightning game, I thought I was in the 3rd period to start so I choose rookie.

Well, it starts you in the 2nd period with 2 minutes left.

So I had a whole period to experiment with gameplay on roookie.

I tried to recreate the cpu no look passes by going to various locations with the puck against the boards with my back to the play. On rookie you have time to set things up without the cpu mugging you.

Not one single time did any of my players slide into position for the one timer. I went so far as to go to the same spot as my vid I posted, wait 10-15 seconds, go around behind the goal and come back and try it again. Only time a player moved in to a location for a one timer he was shadowed by the cpu defender who cut off the option.

Another cpu trick is to go to the sideboards about even with the center of the face off circle near goal and play the no look to a player skating through the slot. Its generally a player who goes down opposite net side then circles towards the boards and up to the top of the slot unmarked by your cpu defenders and free to one time from the slot.

Well, I waited, and waited and waited some more. Never made the move the cpu winger makes.

So when the cpu takes the puck to the boards it's like a clarion call for offensive players to post up or skate down the slot. When the user takes it to the same place your teammates stand around like why are you doing this?

AI good or bad is fascinating. Good AI moreso but AI...just amazes me how situations are created and whoever designed/created it was like "looks good to me".

# 218 18 eighty 5 @ 09/13/15 01:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jdl24


	I'm confident that most of the gameplay issues can be corrected through tuner updates and patches. As long as the demand is there hopefully EA will comply.

Hehe not being rude mate but surely they have had a couple of years to hear the complaints already. Also the game is about to drop in its latest form and you think EA 'may patch it' if enough people complain? I refer you back to my first sentence.

Hey EA how about instead of patching a brand new product you just complete the brand new product before it ships!

# 219 bad_philanthropy @ 09/13/15 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jyoung


	IMO they just need an organic jostling system like FIFA has that can activate automatically whenever players are close together -- no stick lift or poke check commands needed. The jostling in FIFA 16 is a glorious thing to watch. EA NHL tried something like that on last gen with the "tie up" button on the right joystick, but it had too much of a "suction" effect, so they took it out of the game when they moved onto the next gen of hardware. So now there's no way for a defender to disrupt an offensive player's stick without using the stick lift or poke check commands. And AI defenders are really bad at using those defensive tools; instead, they'll mostly just stand still and let the offensive players skate and shoot all over them.

This is a great idea and needs to be in. This would help disrupt flow of the play, which NHL needs. There is too much uninterrupted flow, and too little for defensive players to do.

# 220 AdamJones113 @ 09/13/15 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jyoung


	The lack of stick physics isn't a bug, it's just a design decision. EA's designers have mentioned several times that they've tried turning on stick physics in their own internal tests, but none of their testers found it to be any fun. IMO they just need an organic jostling system like FIFA has that can activate automatically whenever players are close together -- no stick lift or poke check commands needed. The jostling in FIFA 16 is a glorious thing to watch. EA NHL tried something like that on last gen with the "tie up" button on the right joystick, but it had too much of a "suction" effect, so they took it out of the game when they moved onto the next gen of hardware. So now there's no way for a defender to disrupt an offensive player's stick without using the stick lift or poke check commands.

I love FIFA's system. When I first played FIFA 14, I was blown away by that game and the jostling in particular.

The suction tie-up didn't work. Players had minimal control over their player, and in an area where precise control is necessary, that's a disaster. I think EA is trying to work their collision system to a point where that becomes the de facto jostle system, but clearly it's not there yet. The entire control scheme would need revamping for the control a jostling system needs, and I don't think EA is ready for that.

I think body force would need to become an issue in the game for a jostle system to work. Consider the example of a player driving the net, puck held securely with one hand to the the outside, and driving his shoulder into a defender who is trying to shepherd the puck carrier away from his intended path. That's just not possible in the game, because if you try that the result will be black and white—you'll either make it around or you'll get levelled. That's not realistic, and if EA could nail that type of interaction—body on body fighting to get the better push based on center of gravity, strength, and technique... well, it would be insane.

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