NHL 15 Thread

[Chill Cosby]

Originally Posted by Red John

...sad to see something ... go down the tubes so quickly ... borderline unplayable ... huge disappointment ... zero (improvement)

You're right, sure sounds like you're a fan.

If a directors makes movies I don't like, I stop watching them.
If a band makes albums I don't like, I stop listening to them.
If a restaurant makes food I don't like, I stop eating there.
If an author writes books I don't like, I stop reading them.

No matter how good something was once, if it's been bad for a while, I just stop. I don't complain to people who can't fix it. I just stop.

You've seemingly been upset and miserable about the series for years. So just stop. It's a video game. If you really think it's been awful and without improvement for years, why don't you save your money and play NHL 12? There is nothing wrong with airing grievances, or hoping for certain things to be included, but when you get to the point where you find the games unplayable, just stop.

[Wastedyouth]

I'm kind of annoyed. My buddy at EA said that I was gonna be blown away by NHL15. But then again that was last October. EA probably cut a lot of their funding, as they often randomly do.

[Igottago]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

Yeah, that's being over-dramatic. You haven't even played it, FFS.

We're not EA fanboys, but you have a really selective memory if I've ever seen one.

I've owned every EA NHL game from 1995 to current except 2012 and 2014 when I got really bored of the presentation and decided to stop buying them yearly, sort of like AutoCAD releases. However, what's important is that I remember and owned the games when they transitioned to the 'next-gen' platforms in their day.

They always lose features in their first year as a next-gen game. Why? Because for the first time in a long time, they have to re-work the actual guts of the game. Remember when NHL '07 was released on Xbox 360? It was the first game to use the current engine. NHL '07 for PC, PS2, and Xbox used the old game engine. The next-gen NHL '07 was missing a LOT of stuff. As it matured through '08 and '09, the game got back to par with the previous gen and then started adding on new features.

Same thing this time around, though not nearly as bad. NHL '15 won't have a lot of stuff that the last-gen consoles will, because the next-gen hasn't had seven or so years of development in which to add features.

Yeah but didn't they already take a year off in order to delver the next gen version? NHL didn't come out last year along side the first next gen versions of FIFA and Madden.

I don't personally play the mode so it doesn't affect me much, but I do see why some fans are disappointed. Taking the additional development time and then delivering less game modes doesn't really add up.

[Igottago]

I just found this interview link from the EA forums.

http://www.operationsports.com/featu...-15-interview/

Don't know if I like the sounds of this quote:

In Be-A-GM, you have the opportunity to control your own franchise and guide them to a Stanley Cup. All of the basics of the mode are there: there’s free agency, trading, and the rookie draft. You can play up to 25 seasons as well. The core of that mode is there.

We’re continuing as part of our updates to bring back some of that depth in different ways. We’ll have more details on what the patch plans for Be-A-GM specifically at a later date. The goal was to create a solid foundation to continue to build upon and to bring back things our fans have been asking for which we haven’t been able to in the past because of other technical limitations we’ve had.

Seems like even the other modes of the game are kind of half baked.

[AcGold]

Originally Posted by Russic

They were voted the worst company in America two years in a row because there is a large segment of the population who's whininess is only surpassed by their inability to follow current events and recognize real problems.

I bought games with their logo on it that didn't work and were unplayable. My biggest grievance.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by Igottago

Yeah but didn't they already take a year off in order to delver the next gen version? NHL didn't come out last year along side the first next gen versions of FIFA and Madden.

I don't personally play the mode so it doesn't affect me much, but I do see why some fans are disappointed. Taking the additional development time and then delivering less game modes doesn't really add up.

No, the NHL series has always traditionally taken an extra year. The ONLY time this hasn't been the case is with the PlayStation 2, because the PlayStation 2 had a really weird launch year, first launching in the March of 2000 in Japan, presumably giving EA enough time to get the game ready for a North American PS2 launch that year.

NHL 96 released September 1995
PlayStation launched September 9, 1995
First version of NHL series for the PlayStation: NHL 97, released October 31, 1996

NHL 2000 released September 30, 1999
PlayStation 2 launched October 26, 2000
First version of NHL series for the PlayStation 2: NHL 2001, released September 28, 2000

NHL '06 released September 6, 2005
Xbox 360 launched November 22, 2005
First version of NHL Series for the Xbox 360: NHL '07, released September 12, 2006

NHL '07 released September 12, 2006
PlayStation 3 launched November 17, 2006
First version of NHL Series for the PlayStation 3: NHL '08, released September 12, 2007

[Flash Walken]

Yikes.

It's one thing to not be able to deliver on a hotly anticipated feature, but it's another to not delivery on the less anticipated features as well.

I don't really care about EASHL, so I wasn't terribly concerned because I believed they were concentrating on building a solid core structure first release.

That Be A GM announcement makes me think it's an nhl14 port.

[Ashasx]

How is it acceptable to promise future patches for a game that only has a shelf life of a year?

How long before Be a GM is patched after release? 2 weeks? 2 months?

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

Because internet goofballs are idiots?

2K is smart - they don't make NHL games.

EA's NHL series is consistently rated highly and consistently sells well. Do people not remember what happened to the 2K series at the beginning of last generation? There's a reason why they stopped making games. They couldn't invest enough money into it to make a good game and have it still turn a profit. So they cut back production values, and the games ended up being awful and then the line was officially canceled.

Your post neglects the entire business side of games industry, and has been reiterated numerous times by a number of equally ill-informed people who very simply don't understand game development.

Don't like the game, don't buy it. Face the reality that no other company is willing to do what EA does for hockey fans though. Why? Because the financials just don't add up.

Its true, although if 2K put the funds into an NHL game (which they wont) they would blow EA out of the water. 2K makes the best sports game year in and year out with NBA 2k. NBA live is an embarrassment to gaming...there is a reason its not in the vault they dont want anyone to see it

But EA is all we have for hockey and they do a decent job so either buy it or don't I guess. If 90% of flames players have generic faces on my next gen console though I may jump on the EA hating bandwagon and sell my copy the first week

[TjRhythmic]

I understand the deadline, but if the game isn't finished, push the release date. I'm sure fans would be happy to wait if it meant they were taking the time to get it right. Given EA's recent track record I'm sure many would applaud and give full credit for them to own up and finish the game before releasing it. I know I would.

[bubbsy]

selfishly i was unaffected by the eahl/otp announcement, as my online experience is limited to just some early online vs and hut play.

however, be a gm not being available and working out the door is severely disappointing.

i'm starting to think my investment in nextgen was premature... argh, i used the bbq budget on the new console, feels like a major mistake at the moment

[Igottago]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

selfishly i was unaffected by the eahl/otp announcement, as my online experience is limited to just some early online vs and hut play.

however, be a gm not being available and working out the door is severely disappointing.

i'm starting to think my investment in nextgen was premature... argh, i used the bbq budget on the new console, feels like a major mistake at the moment :(

I know what you mean. So far I have only had one truly next gen game (Ryse) and 3 that were playable on old consoles. And now it sounds like the game I was looking forward to most is incomplete and has more content on the old systems. I guess FIFA looks promising though?

As mentioned in an earlier post, can they honestly say people are getting good value for $70 on this game? The demo should be interesting. If it feels too much like last gen gameplay people are going to flip out even more.

[PsYcNeT]

Am I the only one who looks forward to this game simply to have 3 buddies over to get sloshed and play couch co-op for like 6 hours? Unless that feature is missing too.

[Flash Walken]

Honestly, where do you go from here?

They aren't adjusting the price for releasing an admittedly incomplete game. Core features of the gameplay appear to be not too dissimilar to the previous 5 iterations of the game.

Limited functionality of the game is exacerbated by catering to both systems. So the hardcore gamer or fan is now looking at $150+ to get all the promised features, while the early adopters of the new console are pretty effectively screwed. If I were sony/xbox, I'd be pretty pissed about this too.

No timeline on updates, no communication on what is available in the different modes, infuriating silence and public relations misdirection about what is actually in the game.

What did they do over the last year, exactly? Wavy jerseys?

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by PsYcNeT

Am I the only one who looks forward to this game simply to have 3 buddies over to get sloshed and play couch co-op for like 6 hours? Unless that feature is missing too.

My buddy and i play Be A GM mode pretty much exclusively.

He plays EASHL pretty religiously as well, but when we hang out, it's Be A GM mode, has been for a couple of years.

It looks like it'll be pretty much the same mode as 09-14. With Wavy jerseys. And you can probably press the X button after a fight without freezing your console.

I can use NHL 12, 13 or 14 to get that experience, why buy a new game?

[PsYcNeT]

Updated rosters ofc!

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by PsYcNeT

Updated rosters ofc!

Heh, they weren't even accurate to start this year, and I don't think they ever reflected the true flames club last year, either.

That was a real eye-opener for me. I mean, Rosters should be something that takes a couple of hours to do every month or so.

If won't even bother keeping the rosters accurate...

[SuperMatt18]

No EASHL for next gen is official.

http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/08/2...-15-game-modes

[Russic]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

selfishly i was unaffected by the eahl/otp announcement, as my online experience is limited to just some early online vs and hut play.

however, be a gm not being available and working out the door is severely disappointing.

i'm starting to think my investment in nextgen was premature... argh, i used the bbq budget on the new console, feels like a major mistake at the moment

It is available though. All he said was that it's lacking depth, which isn't quite the same.

I understand the frustration with a lack of games on a new console. To be fair though, we should all be aware of what the first year of a console cycle is like. The classic games that people remember on a system typically don't come out until years 2, 3, and beyond. When I bought my PS4 I fully expected to keep my PS3 running right along side it because I remember what the N64 and PS2 launches were like.

I also get the frustration with this game, and I totally get why some people would take a pass on this version. What I don't get is some peoples total inability to accept that sometimes to move forward you have to take a few steps back. If EA is to be believed (and I realize many don't), then the engine they were using was essentially maxed out for what they could do. When people ask what they were doing for the last 2 years, they were building a new engine. I'm not sure if anybody here has specific knowledge of what that takes, but my understanding is that it isn't overly simple. I just don't think you can build a new engine and then copy and paste features from the old one into it. Maybe it is that simple, I have absolutely no idea of what it takes. All I know is that the crowd that points fingers at this developer team and calls them lazy has a curious lack of game developers in it.

[Joborule]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

however, be a gm not being available and working out the door is severely disappointing.

Originally Posted by Russic

It is available though. All he said was that it's lacking depth, which isn't quite the same.

The developers also intend to patch in some more content.