NHL 18 News Post

NHL 18 Wishlist: Features We'd Like To See

07:26 PM - March 24, 2017 by Steve_OS

It’s almost that time of year again! Before you know it, we’ll be inundated with new information regarding the latest iteration of EA’s long-running hockey series. As we get ever closer to that date, it’s time to get our brains into gear and think about what we’re hoping to see in EA’s upcoming addition to the franchise.

What do we know about NHL 18 so far? Very little. It seems doubtful the Frostbite engine will make its debut, given there's been no indication of its inclusion during EA’s recent earnings conference call.

Here at OS, we’ve always loved creating wishlists for our favorite games, and the NHL series is no exception. I’ve used this opportunity to detail both my own personal desires for NHL 18, as well as including some items found in our forums over the past few months.

Read More - NHL 18 Wishlist: Features We'd Like To See (Written by: Fraser Gilbert)

Game: NHL 18Hype Score: Vote Now
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Member Comments

# 21 actionhank @ 03/27/17 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lunch pale gang


	I play mostly offline franchise, so I'll limit my wishes to this area. 1. CPU need to call timeouts when appropriate. I'm not sure why this has never been put into the game, but it really can't be that difficult, can it? I mean, even it's just a basic scenario of the cpu being down by a goal with under two minutes in the game, and there is a stoppage, just let the cpu call a timeout and put their best line out there. 2. Home team should get the choice to shoot first or last in a shootout. Again, it's a pretty basic NHL rule, but for some reason it's not in the game. 2K had this option years ago and makes it for a much more realistic experience. 3. Trade negotiations and free agent signings need to be overhauled. I would suggest taking a look at 2K8 as a great example of how to do this. No more simply meeting a player's demands, lets have a real negotiation where both sides give and take.

Some pretty solid ideas. The AI management of their players is just weird in general. The 3 on 3 OT lines just seem like the developers went "Oh yeah, forgot about that!" and quickly tossed something in there.

The Blues by default have (If I remember right)

Stastny - Bouwmeester - Pietrangelo
Lehtera - Gunnarsson - Parayko
Brodziak - Edmundson - Bortuzzo

The AI is set to have 2 defenders, so the game automatically places in two defenders, and then instead of using my 3rd line Center, uses Kyle Brodziak. This isn't a huge deal for me, since I can set my lineups...but the issue is with the AI teams, as they're leaving snipers on the bench, and putting out two defenders for no reason. On the same note (and it applies to every other part of the game) the on-ice AI doesn't really seem to know what to do in 3 on 3. Maybe they didn't get enough time, but the AI just seem lost, and spread so far apart. Equally frustrating is making it to the shootout, and having to see defenders like Gunny shooting after the 5th shooter, because I can't pick that far, and the AI just seems to randomly pick players.
Same goes for injuries and penalties. I don't know why Ryan Reaves is subbing in for Alex Pietrangelo when Pietrangelo is in the box on a penalty...but it makes no sense.

I notice the AI has the same issue when they're down a goal. If you're down by 1 goal, with 3 minutes left, your 4th line probably isn't even seeing the ice. Instead in EA's NHL, 4th liners are out there eating up 2 minutes as their timeout goes unused, and their snipers sit on the bench doing nothing.

I really hope the next version has some more intelligent on-ice AI managing and players. As it stands now, it seems like the AI just intends to start and finish the game. Their goalies get left out for 5 goals against (I scored 4 in the first period once, and the goalie never got pulled. Finished the game 7-3 with the same goalies).

As for the free agents, I agree, a little more interaction would be great. I had a season with Carolina, and got them to the Eastern Conference finals, before getting knocked out. I was trying to get Tyler Johnson to sign, and it was between Winnipeg and us. Winnipeg finished dead last in the NHL, and yet Johnson signed with them saying "He wanted to go to a team that's going to be winning soon".

It would be nice to have agents you could talk to for players, and say you're interested, get their interest back, and then make an offer that they counter, with how much extra you throw in depending on how badly they want to play for you. If you're the only person interested in a player, and they're interested in you, it should mostly be looking at how long, and how much (which would be awesome to have affected by the player's age, skill, and what other Free Agents and similar players are making).

If you're up against 3 teams, and you're a smaller team, maybe you have to offer more money, or goal incentives, or a Non-Movement Clause...

# 22 Reckless559 @ 03/28/17 03:39 PM

Being able to do an expansion draft would be awesome where u can design ur own jersey arena and upload your own logos i loved using expansion mode in NBA 2k17 the ability to build your expansion team thru the draft:P

# 23 ilovetara @ 03/28/17 09:46 PM

The majority of us are offline/pre online players
Annual buyers...we even buy Consoles just to play NHL
Obviously we'd love a pc version again
But most of our wishlist revolves around former NHL modes/options/settings .
Nobody complains about the graphics and game play. It's amazing how far it's evolved .
Basic things were looking for are ;
1) contract extensions anytime
2) coaching/scouting/management (hiring/firing for improving or shakeups)
3) roster sharing (As relocation was in madden before NHL)
this feature is a blockbuster waiting to happen
4) Decades Era/Legend Rosters
Like you had for Montreal anniversary and also the 2 legend teams previously
WE'RE dying to play franchise mode with Retro Rosters ..or just exhibition with our childhood heros
Imagine all 30 Teams with their franchise icons.

# 24 ilovetara @ 03/28/17 09:47 PM

CLASSIC ROSTERS!!!!
00's 90's and ALL-Time

# 25 ilovetara @ 03/28/17 09:53 PM

CLASSIC ROSTERS!!!!
00's 90's and ALL-Time

# 26 lunch pale gang @ 03/29/17 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by actionhank


	Some pretty solid ideas. The AI management of their players is just weird in general. The 3 on 3 OT lines just seem like the developers went "Oh yeah, forgot about that!" and quickly tossed something in there. The Blues by default have (If I remember right) Stastny - Bouwmeester - Pietrangelo Lehtera - Gunnarsson - Parayko Brodziak - Edmundson - Bortuzzo The AI is set to have 2 defenders, so the game automatically places in two defenders, and then instead of using my 3rd line Center, uses Kyle Brodziak. This isn't a huge deal for me, since I can set my lineups...but the issue is with the AI teams, as they're leaving snipers on the bench, and putting out two defenders for no reason. On the same note (and it applies to every other part of the game) the on-ice AI doesn't really seem to know what to do in 3 on 3. Maybe they didn't get enough time, but the AI just seem lost, and spread so far apart. Equally frustrating is making it to the shootout, and having to see defenders like Gunny shooting after the 5th shooter, because I can't pick that far, and the AI just seems to randomly pick players. Same goes for injuries and penalties. I don't know why Ryan Reaves is subbing in for Alex Pietrangelo when Pietrangelo is in the box on a penalty...but it makes no sense. I notice the AI has the same issue when they're down a goal. If you're down by 1 goal, with 3 minutes left, your 4th line probably isn't even seeing the ice. Instead in EA's NHL, 4th liners are out there eating up 2 minutes as their timeout goes unused, and their snipers sit on the bench doing nothing. I really hope the next version has some more intelligent on-ice AI managing and players. As it stands now, it seems like the AI just intends to start and finish the game. Their goalies get left out for 5 goals against (I scored 4 in the first period once, and the goalie never got pulled. Finished the game 7-3 with the same goalies). As for the free agents, I agree, a little more interaction would be great. I had a season with Carolina, and got them to the Eastern Conference finals, before getting knocked out. I was trying to get Tyler Johnson to sign, and it was between Winnipeg and us. Winnipeg finished dead last in the NHL, and yet Johnson signed with them saying "He wanted to go to a team that's going to be winning soon". It would be nice to have agents you could talk to for players, and say you're interested, get their interest back, and then make an offer that they counter, with how much extra you throw in depending on how badly they want to play for you. If you're the only person interested in a player, and they're interested in you, it should mostly be looking at how long, and how much (which would be awesome to have affected by the player's age, skill, and what other Free Agents and similar players are making). If you're up against 3 teams, and you're a smaller team, maybe you have to offer more money, or goal incentives, or a Non-Movement Clause...

You hit the nail on the head as far as cpu line management. The current way of doing it could definitely use a tune-up. I snickered when you wrote about the a.i. sending out their fourth liners in critical situations simply because they have more energy. This happens all the time and it really takes away from the experience. That situation could be avoided if the cpu would use its timeout and then, even if the developers didn't want to address the coding that simply puts the most rested line on the ice no matter what, the cpu's top line would be on the ice when it needed to be.

I play full 20 minute periods because I enjoy having an experience of a full game and the a.i.'s line management skills really takes away from that experience. For example, if I'm playing the Bruins, it makes no sense seeing a 3rd line D-man like Kevin Miller ending up with the same ice time as Chara at the end of a game.

# 27 spoofrice11 @ 03/30/17 12:50 PM

I thought I was going to get NHL 17 since I hadn't gotten a Hockey game in a few years, but it felt so limited after playing NBA 2K. Hopefully these guys played that game a little to see all of the options/customization that is possible.

I want to be able to edit/customize Draft classes.

Also, create teams with my logos, re-align divisions, click on box scores, player stats, league leaders, history stats, and more that NHL needs.

# 28 Sauce12 @ 03/30/17 01:25 PM

Bring custom music back, please.

# 29 heksimix @ 03/31/17 12:25 PM

Check this wishlist http://nhl18gameplay.com/nhl-18-wishlist/

# 30 Ettnollbajen @ 04/02/17 08:35 PM

1. Better Ai,CPU needs to play proper hockey,dumping it in more,changing tactics more

2. Suspensions,players need to be suspended for bad hits etc

3 I should be able to choose who I want taking face offs,not the C automatically

4 tactics for user controlled teams needs to be better,if you need to win games really bad,your players attitude needs to reflect that

5 Be a pro,never play that,and that's for a reason,it's horrible,I'm not going to get into what needs changing,think you'll know

# 31 phillyfan23 @ 04/03/17 02:48 PM

Nhl 18 needs a rebound on timer shoot button....we have a chop button, but those scrums in front of the net where the puck is loose, its a bit hard to score, because u have to corral tr puck and then shoot. Itd be nice to be able to one time a loose puck.

I know it conflicts with the bodycheck, but maybe add a modifier to do this. And this move needs to be used by the cpu as well....the current chop puck is never used by the cpu.

Add presentation: 5 man goal celebrations, have the crowd be more revved up for appropriate rivalry games....rangers flyers, pens flyers, st louis chicago, sj-la.

Out of town highlights

More involved board play with real 4-6 men scrums,

And AUTHENTIC PLAYER STYLES, especially goalies. Have some specific skating animations for some superstars. If pro evolution soccer can do this, so can NHL. But authentic goalie styles would be so amazing.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

# 32 Northernwolf @ 04/04/17 04:22 AM

1) More variation between Be A Pro and Franchise. Also: More variation between playing as a goalie and a skater in be a pro. Let us create our own Coach.

2) A more fully fleshed out create a team in franchise (take a look at Expansion team in NBA 2k17). More freedom in picking logos. Colours that are stronger, not faded versions.

3) Better AI in general. More team play on the ice in franchise mode. Better defence, more trustworthy.

4) Fix Player Goalies! This is an ongoing gripe. Goalies get the short end every year when you play as one. Make sure that when you play as a goalie the controller responds quicker. I love playing as a goalie, but it feels very sluggish when I try to get the goalie to do anything to stop the puck. Also stop with the cheese goals. The AI constantly shoots puck into the goal behind the goal line and from the blue line (very far distance or from a very akward angle).

5) Custom goalie masks!!!

6) Simpler presentation and stronger content. Make a radio show, somthing akin to the old Madden on PS2 had. I kid you not..

7) Better commentaries. I have a hard time dealing with our new couple. Maybe I liked the ones we had at the 360/PS3 a bit better. More variation on lines. Build an in-house commentary team already EA.

8) Differences in team strategies. I want there to be teams that test me with good defences that try to grind out a win, while other teams use counter-plays to score quickly or go on full offense when you dont expect it. Right now all teams feel exactly the same

9) Player ratings need to be diversified. Start using all of the 0 - 100 scale. Dont make every NHL-player a mid 80 to a 100 it makes thing too generic.

10) More stadium immersion. I want to hear chants and more team specific audio. Even for created teams. It should be in the game.

# 33 ChubbyD @ 04/04/17 01:31 PM

Most important:
Roster sharing. Without it, I don't buy the game (which may be a testament to '17, which is proving great fun)

Very important:
Home team changes last. Obviously this is an offline thing only, but for the love of God bring it back. I use auto change right now because there's no point in matching up if I don't know what the away team is doing.

Preset plays. The AI isn't getting better, especially on breakouts. I don't know how many turnovers are caused because my winger leaves the boards and goes to the middle of the ice for some stupid reason, giving my defenseman nobody to pass to. Also the off-side d-man not being behind the net as another outlet makes no sense. At least allow me to draw up some preset plays to follow.

Player turns. Turn players away from near opponents. Please. Again, more turnovers are caused because they do that little spinny thing and grab it while skating backwards and toward the opponent, who always steals the puck clean and has a clear path to the net now because I'm skating the wrong way. Also on the offensive blue line, turn away from the blue line. Turning from 12:00 to 9:00 should not include 6:00 which takes the puck out of the zone causing an offiside.

Nice to have:
Custom sounds. There's nothing like going into Chicago and hearing that godawful organ music. Makes my skin crawl. But that's good. It's supposed to.
30-team control in franchise mode. Works fantastic in The Show.
Custom leagues. Custom schedules. Custom rosters. All of the customs!

# 34 actionhank @ 04/04/17 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChubbyD


	Most important: Roster sharing. Without it, I don't buy the game (which may be a testament to '17, which is proving great fun) Very important: Home team changes last. Obviously this is an offline thing only, but for the love of God bring it back. I use auto change right now because there's no point in matching up if I don't know what the away team is doing. Preset plays. The AI isn't getting better, especially on breakouts. I don't know how many turnovers are caused because my winger leaves the boards and goes to the middle of the ice for some stupid reason, giving my defenseman nobody to pass to. Also the off-side d-man not being behind the net as another outlet makes no sense. At least allow me to draw up some preset plays to follow. Player turns. Turn players away from near opponents. Please. Again, more turnovers are caused because they do that little spinny thing and grab it while skating backwards and toward the opponent, who always steals the puck clean and has a clear path to the net now because I'm skating the wrong way. Also on the offensive blue line, turn away from the blue line. Turning from 12:00 to 9:00 should not include 6:00 which takes the puck out of the zone causing an offiside. Nice to have: Custom sounds. There's nothing like going into Chicago and hearing that godawful organ music. Makes my skin crawl. But that's good. It's supposed to. 30-team control in franchise mode. Works fantastic in The Show. Custom leagues. Custom schedules. Custom rosters. All of the customs!

I would love to have the play creator back, but aside from that, better AI is a must. The things you mention are exactly why I have played NHL 17 6 times in the past week, but only completed two games. It's incredibly frustrating to struggle in the game, not because you're playing a good team, or you're playing poorly, but because you just can't control your players. AI players bunch up, run into each other, don't grab pucks passed to them. The pivoting with the puck is incredibly frustrating. It's like I'm playing in my novice league when I play the game. Forwards making no effort to get open, D-partners just standing still under coverage, leaving me to try and skate my way through 4 defending players in our own zone. The AI just doesn't move in any way that resembles real hockey. I can't count the number of times I've scored on my own goal, or lost the puck into my own goalie because I got the puck back to a defender and he just skated with the puck wide and into the goalie's pads.

So many times I have turnovers from the issues you mentioned, where your players just pivot into the opposing player's feet or stick. Same issue getting loose pucks near your goalie, and somehow it's still a problem near the blue line, though they've definitely fixed it a bit. But, good luck doing what NHL defenders do when they move laterally across the blue line while keeping the puck in. Also, so many frustrating times where my guys back completely out of the zone to get a puck that they could have caught standing still.

As for customization, if I can import/create my own custom jerseys, faces, and logos, I'll be in heaven.

# 35 Posednik22 @ 04/04/17 05:34 PM

@Actionhank

You seem to have lost faith in this game, lol !

I was about to give up on this game when I decided to give a shot at great sliders.... Look at my THREAD in this secition and try it while playing ''player locked'' while playing your position and not run all over the place, and you'll see a complete different game... Seems like when you are out of position too often, the AI is playing all over the place too...

I've never had a better experience playing hockey like this one...

# 36 actionhank @ 04/05/17 12:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Posednik22


	@Actionhank You seem to have lost faith in this game, lol ! I was about to give up on this game when I decided to give a shot at great sliders.... Look at my THREAD in this secition and try it while playing ''player locked'' while playing your position and not run all over the place, and you'll see a complete different game... Seems like when you are out of position too often, the AI is playing all over the place too... I've never had a better experience playing hockey like this one...

I'll check those out! And sadly, it's what I've come to expect from the game. I used to play it for hours a week, knocking out a few seasons, setting up some tournaments with Olympic rosters...now I can barely make it through one season without getting frustrated and shelving the game for months.

# 37 SocialAssassin @ 04/05/17 10:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkra0512


	Roster sharing, please. EVERY OTHER SPORTS GAME HAS IT, BUT NOT NHL. Why!?

The team is too small or whatever the excuse usually is.

# 38 actionhank @ 04/06/17 01:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SocialAssassin


	The team is too small or whatever the excuse usually is.

In fairness to them, they do have a relatively small team, especially in comparison to other teams.

That said, I think the issues with the game tie directly to the online focus of recent years, and that being said, I don't think that's an EA NHL team focus so much as it is an EA focus. I think EA pushed for more online focus, and while that push didn't hurt the other EA sports teams, due to their bigger teams that could be more spread out, it looks to have set the NHL team back a bit.

I've noticed that ever since they started focusing on the online aspect, I've been more and more let down by the game.

That's all just my opinion though.

# 39 clarkerots @ 04/11/17 05:52 PM

AI needs help, no doubt. I have features that are new, and features that I'd like to see back. If there's a problem with "sim" versus "casual" then I'd like to see the capability to turn features off, instead of the sim crowd just losing out.

Features To Bring Back:

- League leader board in main Franchise screen.

- out of town scores during games

- goalies fatigued if I play them in too many straight games. Used to show zzzzz's next to the goalie and ratings would take a major dip if still used. In that case, goalies should also be more susceptible to injury, but more on that later.

- phones for multiple trade offers, especially at the trade deadline. And for the love of Gordie Howe, make the trade deadline "active" like it really is.

- roster sharing

- custom music

- home team final changes

New Features I'd Like:

- make ratings matter. Someone with high discipline should not take a lot of penalties. Someone with 90 speed/acceleration should beat someone with 60 numbers to a loose puck when they start from the same area. High durability should not get hurt often. A D-man with high offensive awareness should enter the zone quickly, and not be offsides because they were cherry picking the red line.

- random puck drops, leading to false starts, leading to guys getting thrown out of the circle.

- better team management during games. CPU should use timeouts and have their 1st line on the ice when they're down by 1 and 1 minute remains.

- better team management all around. If the CPU has an elite goalie, and a 21 year old backup who's mid-80's and a starter rank, they shouldn't trade for a goalie. Likewise, if a team has 9 solid Defensive prospects they probably shouldn't be drafting a D-man with their first pick.

- goalie injuries during play. Goalies should be more susceptible if they are tired (see previous), but should also pull the occasional groin on a sprawling save that cause them to stretch out.

- have a setting for trades......set it to authentic, little, or none. That way, the true sim people will enjoy the bottom dwelling Penguins trading an older Malkin in the last year of his contract to a playoff bound team for high draft picks, and the casual players will enjoy....well.....the way the trade deadline is now. And while you're at it, add in No Trade Clauses.

- rabid fan noise during playoff games

- league suspensions for game misconducts, etc.

- mid-season contract negotiations.

- lastly, and this is a mix of an old feature, I'd like to see personality traits given to players that slightly affect their ratings (another reason why ratings would really have to matter). A "big hitter" should have their aggressive ratings spike when their team is low on momentum. A 'clutch" player should have their shot accuracy and power rise a bit when the game is on the line. Rivalry games should affect ratings slightly. A "rookie" should have their passing rating and offensive awareness rating dip a bit in their first game, and their first playoff game should create a ratings dip (maybe for just the first couple shifts). Also, young players should have a different overall rating when they're brought up to the NHL. Its just "not right" to have a 21 year old player rated 73 brought up to the NHL and his rating is still 73.

Ah......I wish these types of lists were taken super seriously by EA.

# 40 Kilokahn @ 04/14/17 03:54 PM

As someone who has been an EASHL exclusive player since NHL 11, the biggest thing that needs to be done is bring back the forced region matchmaking. The new system where the game chooses the best region for you is so broken, it's making the game near unplayable.

I, as well as all the people I club with, am west. The problem is we are constantly being matched with east clubs. So we either have to back out, or struggle with a slow, east connection.

A lot of the people I play with, including myself, are skipping 18 for this reason. It's too bad because we're all addicted to the series, but it's no fun anymore when we have to fight connection so often.

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