NHL 16 News Post

NHL 16 Tuner Update For September 28

08:16 AM - September 29, 2015 by Millennium

Hey guys,

So Sean Ramjagsingh (Rammer to most of you) has asked openly on Twitter for feedback on the latest tuner, and what better place than here for him to get constructive feedback to use? So here is what I want to do:

Post your feedback on the new tuner. But there are a few guidelines.

Post whether you commenting on offline or online gameplay

Post if you have altered sliders (for offline)

Post how many games you have played with the new tuner

Post constructively

This way we can give accurate and meaningful feedback. Post videos if you'd like, but again - keep it constructive.

Here are the tuner notes (Thanks Jake19ny!):

SEPT 28 - TUNER

Gameplay

Improved poke collisions to address issues where a puck would be dislodged even when the puck or puck carriers stick were not contacted.
Increased speed of player controlled goalie when using precision motion.
Increased the pass error for the lowest pass accuracy slider settings.
Tuned down agility and ability to generate speed when turning tightly with protect puck.
Lessened the effect of the speed penalty on the puck carrier slightly when stickhandling a puck.

OTP/EASHL only

Turned down effectiveness of AI players in online faceoffs.
Goalie will commit more towards the shooter/puck side of the ice to guard against short side shots.
Lowered the threshold to which a player is able to receive/pick up a puck cleanly.

UPDATE: (9/29) We have removed �Increased the likelihood to trip a player when a pokecheck goes into the opponents skates or legs.� after many players have stated that it resulted in too many tripping penalties.

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

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Member Comments

# 1 bcruise @ 09/29/15 08:39 AM

Thanks Mill!

Offline impressions

Settings: All-Star, 10 minute periods, Penalties one click down from max

Sliders: Mostly Hardcore default, except:

Game Speed zeroed
All Shot and Pass Accuracy sliders zeroed
Pass Speed zeroed
User Strategy 4 and User AI penalties up 1 tick (to match the CPU team's settings)

Only 2 games so far. 10 minute periods are a time commitment and I had a Madden league game last night. Hope to play some more today, I'm having a hard time putting this down since the last tuner dropped.

Here's the video of one of the games (repost from other thread):

Still plays solid to me, for what the game is. I know the poke-checking is a big deal to some, but with my play style and these sliders I don't think I'm going to run into much trouble there. Shot totals are close enough to what I was getting in the last tuner.

Might experiment with bumping the wrist shot accuracy back up a tick or two, I hate seeing breakaway shots miss the goal. That's not a tuner thing though, it's been constant with the older tuner as well with those sliders bottomed out.

Someday I'd like to have this kind of gameplay and shot totals in full 20 minute periods (or at least allow the sliders to do that), and get some more neutral zone play in the game. But I do like the sense of purpose the AI has in the offensive zone - makes me play good positional D or I pay for it.

I'd also like to see the choice of tuners return - being able to choose from only the first one or the latest one seems like a waste of that menu option. Would also eliminate "the last tuner was better" complaints - people could just use whichever one suits them best.

# 2 jake19ny @ 09/29/15 08:57 AM

I play offline and used altered sliders that I had used with the previous tuner (good results then) I have only played two games with new tuner but the difference was instantly noticeable.
EDIT: Played 5 games now

PROS:
better neutral zone play and pressure by the CPU defense in the neutral zone
Tighter skating

CONS:
I do not spam the poke check and still WAY TOO MANY tripping penalties
Game speed got faster
Goalies are terrible now
Hitting seemed over the top and in the defensive end I think it takes the CPU out of position as they go for the hit. I'm seeing more breakaways and 2 on 1s as a result.
For both CPU and User I feel like a guy is always open camped next to the net and I didn't see that before the tuner. also I'm seeing way more rebounds and many of those go right to that camped guy for an easy goal
Seeing CPU guys on both teams kind of goal hanging.
Before the tuner I was impressed with the fact that finally the CPU actually went off sides, iced the puck, and pucks left the rink at a rather realistic rate. That seems to be gone now and its more just back and forth.

Overall I feel the game is more arcade like with this tuner and more sim like with the old one. I've tweaked some sliders to make it playable but I was really happier with the old tuner.

If Rammer is going to check these posts out I wonder if he can answer why they choose to overwrite the tuners rather than have multiple tuners like in NHL 14. It seems to me that some of these tuners help online at the expense of offline and vise versa. Wouldn't it be better if we could choose what tuner works best?

Also want to apologize to my fellow forumers for my anger fueled original thread on this subject. I should know better. It's always wise to never post anything on any social media when angry. This is the kind of thread I should have made. Thanks

# 3 THESHAMISASHAME @ 09/29/15 09:05 AM

Post whether you commenting on offline or online gameplay

Offline Playoff Mode

Post if you have altered sliders (for offline)

Yes but only goalie reaction speed to 5 and goalie screen to 1 and penalties are maxed as I play pretty much Allstar Default 5 minute periods

Post how many games you have played with the new tuner

9 games

Post constructively

The game played near perfect for me out of the box before the 9/29 tuner update and this is on near Allstar default 5 min periods and was getting accurate shot totals with 4 to 7 penalties a game combined .

The update is a mixed bag for me

PROS :

CPU plays better defensively positionally and more body to body Defense with less of a gap or space.

CPU is more active with their stick work

CPU attacks the puck handler more aggressively with pressure

CPU also has more Offensive attack

CONS :

Too many tripping penalties and my combined penalties have nearly doubled since the update but its probably because the depth has been increased so it can probably be tweaked .

The improve CPU defense comes off as kinda of a speed boost

Seeing alot more big checks

Passing seems faster and even more accurate so less time to react.

All in All I think separate online and offline sliders would keep everyone happy so thanks for taking feedback Rammer as Im really enjoying NHL 16 .

# 4 MDgolf @ 09/29/15 09:12 AM

Why do I have to subscribe to PS plus to get the tuners when I didn't have to in the past? Thanks

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

# 5 bad_philanthropy @ 09/29/15 09:33 AM

Offline

Sliders/Settings Lowered game speed, lowered checking assist to zero and hitting power to 1. Lowered shooting sliders across the board. Poke checking at default for hardcore.

8 Games

I like the game better post tuner. You can't poke check at stupid times. However, the tweaks to skating make it much easier to play good positional defense, and position yourself to successfully poke check. I have had zero issues with excess penalties.

The cpu seems to pass the puck in a manner more consistent with the physics the user is subject to.

# 6 fiddlerpaul @ 09/29/15 11:35 AM

I play offline, all star sim.
I had game speed one down from the top so had to reduce it by one with the update.
I didn't realize there was a new tuner when I played with it yesterday. My overall impression was that I really enjoyed the game a lot, and wondered why, so I think it's a good improvement.
It felt like the cpu was really amped up and I had to weather the storm when they periodically went into overdrive. Luckily I use sliders that slant it in my favor because I'm not that good. I imagine if you play default it would be pretty hard.

# 7 NDIrishRangers78 @ 09/29/15 12:12 PM

Just played a game....9 penalties in the game, 8 pp for the cpu and one for me....all 9 penalties were for tripping....absolutely absurd and annoying....wish I didn't install this tuner now.

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# 8 Gangrel @ 09/29/15 12:29 PM

Just curious...... Are folks with tons of trips playing with default sliders?

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# 9 adayinthelife @ 09/29/15 12:43 PM

Quick question: does this tuner overwrite the previous, or is it 1.01? I have no clue why they started releasing tuners that overwrite previous versions, but unless there's something incredible it forces me to avoid any online functionality every year now.

For primarily offline players, this seems kind of important, unless I'm just overreacting? I simply don't have the time to tweak sliders every single time a tuner comes out, but I'd like to have the option to still play the occasional game with friends online...

# 10 jake19ny @ 09/29/15 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gangrel


	Just curious...... Are folks with tons of trips playing with default sliders? Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

I'm not but I have tried both ways and its the same. I do hope they address this. There is some good in this tuner but the other was better. Maybe they can tweak it little. I do wish they had offline tuners and online tuners because I think its nearly impossible to fine tune one particular tuner to make both Offline and Online play right at the same time. They are two totally different animals.

# 11 MDgolf @ 09/29/15 12:44 PM

Plus sliders make the tuner a different experience for everyone

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# 12 jr86 @ 09/29/15 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adayinthelife


	Quick question: does this tuner overwrite the previous, or is it 1.01? I have no clue why they started releasing tuners that overwrite previous versions, but unless there's something incredible it forces me to avoid any online functionality every year now. For primarily offline players, this seems kind of important, unless I'm just overreacting? I simply don't have the time to tweak sliders every single time a tuner comes out, but I'd like to have the option to still play the occasional game with friends online...

Seemingly it overwrites...which is why I am going nowhere near it.
I have the game playing great for my tastes and don't plan on spoiling it.

# 13 jake19ny @ 09/29/15 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adayinthelife


	Quick question: does this tuner overwrite the previous, or is it 1.01? I have no clue why they started releasing tuners that overwrite previous versions, but unless there's something incredible it forces me to avoid any online functionality every year now. For primarily offline players, this seems kind of important, unless I'm just overreacting? I simply don't have the time to tweak sliders every single time a tuner comes out, but I'd like to have the option to still play the occasional game with friends online...

It overwrites it. Your options will be latest or 1.00 but they are the same. In an early EA post on the EA forums, before the first tuner came out they posted that the new tuner would overwrite the old one so they don't have a bunch of tuners building up. It appears they just keep overwriting them. Why I have no idea because I liked the option to choose which one works best.

# 14 Al_Tito13 @ 09/29/15 12:51 PM

I'm not a poke spammer and I hate people who do it, so this was at least a good try by EA to increase tripping penalties when doing so. People would definitively need to adjust to avoid penalties. However, they may have overdone it a bit, especially when you consider that the poke check is one of the only tools available to defend in the game and that offense is still overpowered compared to defense. If there was no bubble at all for the puck carrier, where every little contact by the defense would cause him to loose the puck, then postioning would be even more important and poke check a bit less, however the game is obviously not programmed like that. Better stick collision detection would also help a lot to balance the game. With a better balance between offense and defense, then an update like that would have been great, but that kind of balance still need work right now.

A big negative point: why did the update overwrite tuner 1.00 and not create a new one?

# 15 NDIrishRangers78 @ 09/29/15 01:00 PM

Just played another game, 10 pp, 7 for the cpu, 3 for me....8 tripping calls, a boarding and a hooking....playing with default puck control and poke check on all star...hopefully they can tweak this again and more variety of penalties.

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# 16 adayinthelife @ 09/29/15 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jr86


	Seemingly it overwrites...which is why I am going nowhere near it. I have the game playing great for my tastes and don't plan on spoiling it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jake19ny


	It overwrites it. Your options will be latest or 1.00 but they are the same. In an early EA post on the EA forums, before the first tuner came out they posted that the new tuner would overwrite the old one so they don't have a bunch of tuners building up. It appears they just keep overwriting them. Why I have no idea because I liked the option to choose which one works best.

Damn, that is really too bad. I've got the offline game playing the best I've seen in years right now. No way I'm losing it for a couple games online here and there. Such a shame.

Also, odd that they would comment that they don't want tuners "building up"? What's the point of having the option to pick one then? And how would it possibly be a bad thing for offline, given that online has to use the same tuner anyways.

I'd say they should take it even further, giving the option to change tuners but also having a dialog box or something with some light descriptions/point form notes on changes made in each tuner. Seems to me that would eliminate the problem of people being confused between tuners. Though really - if you're going so far as to manually change tuners, are you really ever going to be the type of person that feels like there are too many?

# 17 jake19ny @ 09/29/15 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Al_Tito13


	I'm not a poke spammer and I hate people who do it, so this was at least a good try by them to increase tripping penalties when doing so. People would definitively need to adjust to avoid penalties. However, they may have overdone it a bit, especially when you consider that the poke check is one of the only tools available to defend in the game because offense is still overpowered in term of tools. If there was no bubble at all for the puck carrier, where every little contact by the defense would cause him to loose the puck, then postioning would be even more important and poke check a bit less, however the game is obviously not programmed like that. Better stick collision detection would also help a lot to balance the game. With a better balance between offense and defense, then an update like that would have been great, but it's not the case right now. A big negative point: why did the update overwrite tuner 1.00 and not create a new one?

^This.

I just played another game and had 15 penalties called 10 of them tripping. 10 on the CPU and 5 on me. See I made an adjustment and tried to time my pokes better and took less penalties but the CPU still gets nailed for it. I tweaked the game to make it more playable but they really need to address this, without eliminating penalties all together (tricky). Until then I'm done experimenting and going back to working on my rosters. I think EA has gotten the message from the masses on this and I'm confident (no I'm not crazy.. lol) they will fix it. I just hope that any fix and new tuner doesn't mess something else up because that's usually the case. I think its difficult to change one thing AI wise without it affecting another thing. This tuner is a perfect example of that. I think one of the goals was to cut down on spam pokers and the mass amount of tripping penalties was an unintended consequence.

# 18 bcruise @ 09/29/15 01:34 PM

I'd love to see some video (full length stuff like I posted, even a single period would do) from the guys getting double-digit penalties. It's not that I don't believe it (after playing online I can definitely see that happening), but I want to see how you guys are approaching defense.

# 19 Millennium @ 09/29/15 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bcruise


	I'd love to see some video (full length stuff like I posted, even a single period would do) from the guys getting double-digit penalties. It's not that I don't believe it (after playing online I can definitely see that happening), but I want to see how you guys are approaching defense.

I would also like to see this. Maybe we can even make it a teaching tool to go into the How To thread to improve everyone's experience.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

# 20 Turbojugend @ 09/29/15 01:46 PM

I played a couple of Season games last night and was shocked at the number of tripping penalties. Granted, I've probably been spamming poke-check more than I should, so I toned it down but still got my share of pens the next game.

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