NHL 15 Thread

[Hockeyguy15]

Has anyone else noticed your player automatically tries to intercept passes much more frequently now? It also seems that they are more effective than last year.

I've had a bunch of times where I was in the passing lane and my player tried to stop the puck and he either picked it up or changed the trajectory. There is way less of the puck going through my player when I am standing right there.

[psicodude]

Originally Posted by Hockeyguy15

Has anyone else noticed your player automatically tries to intercept passes much more frequently now? It also seems that they are more effective than last year.

I've had a bunch of times where I was in the passing lane and my player tried to stop the puck and he either picked it up or changed the trajectory. There is way less of the puck going through my player when I am standing right there.

Definitely. Makes defending much more realistic and quells my desire to throw the controller at my TV.

[Russic]

I maxed the difficulty and had a great game last night. The goalies seemed to actually stop pucks and stuff. I haven't tried hardcore style yet... in 14 I couldn't connect a single pass on that mode, so I'm gun shy. Overall though, the upped difficulty was far more in line with what I'm looking for.

[Gaskal]

That's very reassuring. I can't remember the amount of times in previous installments where I've been perfectly square in the passing lane and it somehow goes through my skates after my guy (who has very high defensive zone IQ rating) doesn't even go for it. One-timer goal against....

[bubbsy]

Originally Posted by Russic

I maxed the difficulty and had a great game last night. The goalies seemed to actually stop pucks and stuff. I haven't tried hardcore style yet... in 14 I couldn't connect a single pass on that mode, so I'm gun shy. Overall though, the upped difficulty was far more in line with what I'm looking for.

hardcore is the way to go. one issue i see in nhl 15 is that passing, even in hardcore mode, is just way to accurate. I don't understand why EA doesn't punish pass power/accuracy when a pass is being made off a backhand, or when not-star players are under pressure (ie. a checker/stick badgering them in close proximity). The quality of a pass is of NO consequence to any factors which is a bit ridiculous. In order to resolve the notion of overaccurate passing, they created "hardcore" mode in the past, and simply relied on users failing to use the analog stick direction to accurately place a pass, rather than incorporating negative results from real time factors like puck pressure, handedness, etc.

the one thing about hardcore that i did like in the past, was being able to pass the puck into space (ie. an open corner) but now, any pass you make will automatically route to the player in the direction you are pressing.

i am hoping that we will see improvements in this regard on the next gen hockey game in the coming years.

[Hockeyguy15]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

hardcore is the way to go. one issue i see in nhl 15 is that passing, even in hardcore mode, is just way to accurate. I don't understand why EA doesn't punish pass power/accuracy when a pass is being made off a backhand, or when not-star players are under pressure (ie. a checker/stick badgering them in close proximity). The quality of a pass is of NO consequence to any factors which is a bit ridiculous. In order to resolve the notion of overaccurate passing, they created "hardcore" mode in the past, and simply relied on users failing to use the analog stick direction to accurately place a pass, rather than incorporating negative results from real time factors like puck pressure, handedness, etc.

the one thing about hardcore that i did like in the past, was being able to pass the puck into space (ie. an open corner) but now, any pass you make will automatically route to the player in the direction you are pressing.

i am hoping that we will see improvements in this regard on the next gen hockey game in the coming years.

You will be able to edit sliders. Currently the pass assist is way up, which is why the puck is going to players in the direction you push.

[Russic]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

hardcore is the way to go. one issue i see in nhl 15 is that passing, even in hardcore mode, is just way to accurate. I don't understand why EA doesn't punish pass power/accuracy when a pass is being made off a backhand, or when not-star players are under pressure (ie. a checker/stick badgering them in close proximity). The quality of a pass is of NO consequence to any factors which is a bit ridiculous. In order to resolve the notion of overaccurate passing, they created "hardcore" mode in the past, and simply relied on users failing to use the analog stick direction to accurately place a pass, rather than incorporating negative results from real time factors like puck pressure, handedness, etc.

the one thing about hardcore that i did like in the past, was being able to pass the puck into space (ie. an open corner) but now, any pass you make will automatically route to the player in the direction you are pressing.

i am hoping that we will see improvements in this regard on the next gen hockey game in the coming years.

I love the idea of hardcore passing in theory, but in practice I couldn't figure it out at all. I bowed out of the CP league because I just couldn't handle the frustration. I'm not really sure what my deal was, but I just couldn't manage it. I agree with you though, it would be cool if the accuracy adjusted on the fly in response to the situation.

[Wastedyouth]

It's basically 14 with more collisions and slightly better physics.

I'll buy it, but I am a tad disappointed.

[Chill Cosby]

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by Hockeyguy15

Has anyone else noticed your player automatically tries to intercept passes much more frequently now? It also seems that they are more effective than last year.

I've had a bunch of times where I was in the passing lane and my player tried to stop the puck and he either picked it up or changed the trajectory. There is way less of the puck going through my player when I am standing right there.

Great news! Nothing was worse than using the Redwings in NHL14 and every single frickin pass goes right through you or the AI players.

[TjRhythmic]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

hardcore is the way to go. one issue i see in nhl 15 is that passing, even in hardcore mode, is just way to accurate. I don't understand why EA doesn't punish pass power/accuracy when a pass is being made off a backhand, or when not-star players are under pressure (ie. a checker/stick badgering them in close proximity). The quality of a pass is of NO consequence to any factors which is a bit ridiculous. In order to resolve the notion of overaccurate passing, they created "hardcore" mode in the past, and simply relied on users failing to use the analog stick direction to accurately place a pass, rather than incorporating negative results from real time factors like puck pressure, handedness, etc.

the one thing about hardcore that i did like in the past, was being able to pass the puck into space (ie. an open corner) but now, any pass you make will automatically route to the player in the direction you are pressing.

i am hoping that we will see improvements in this regard on the next gen hockey game in the coming years.

Best to temper your expectations as this is the demo... like some have mentioned, the passing power, and pass assist is pretty much max. Makes the game a little more playable. It's a lot like the torch mode on tvs in the store, it's more about showing the pretty. Once you get it home and adjust the settings for you it's a much better experience.

I had some fun with it today. Was actually cycling the puck really effectively, it was nice to see my teammates go to open spaces, and stay in motion.

Had a short handed 2 on 1 and I took the puck down the left boards, and Richards skated the d men to the front of the net then backed up to the slot and he was open for the one timer... even did the Cammy one knee slapper. Also liking that the backhand is effective again.

The collisions are nice as well, made an extra move at the blueline With Doughty, and ran into Brown and we both got knocked down, Kreider picked up the puck and scored on the breakaway.

Also like how there is no drag wrister anymore as well, along with the slower, more limited dekeing with the skill stick. Game is more about attacking lanes, instead of breaking ankles like Iverson.

[codynw]

I have found a few differences with the skill stick and I actually love them. There are some interesting new dekes, and the backhand/forehand deke actually works and looks smooth now.

[Street Pharmacist]

On practice mode I scored on 3 consecutive forehand to backhand dekes, but only after lots of practice. I really like how the skill stick takes more skill now

[codynw]

Is it just me, or does Doughty not look like Doughty?

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by codynw

Is it just me, or does Doughty not look like Doughty?

thats more what I was getting at, lots of guys don't look right

[bubbsy]

ya the faces are pretty avg to bad in my opinion.... it means next to nothing for me as far as how i judge the game though.

[Chill Cosby]

Originally Posted by codynw

Is it just me, or does Doughty not look like Doughty?

Doughty looks a bit off, in the same way Thorton looked a bit off in the promo photos and Kane looks a bit off in the trailer. What I think I've figured out is that there are a set amount of face shapes, and then player likeness is fitted to one of the available shapes. It leads to a few having something just slightly off about them, while a lot of players look great with it.

Toffoli, Hagelin, and Glass all have generic faces.

I would assume there are probably going to be 5-6 generic faces on each team.

All that said, Doughty is a weird looking dude, so maybe that's just his face.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by Chill Cosby

Doughty looks a bit off, in the same way Thorton looked a bit off in the promo photos and Kane looks a bit off in the trailer. What I think I've figured out is that there are a set amount of face shapes, and then player likeness is fitted to one of the available shapes. It leads to a few having something just slightly off about them, while a lot of players look great with it.

Toffoli, Hagelin, and Glass all have generic faces.

I would assume there are probably going to be 5-6 generic faces on each team.

All that said, Doughty is a weird looking dude, so maybe that's just his face.

I'd bet that if they couldn't even get the faces done for the two teams that are in the demo, there's going to be a lot more than 5-6 generic faces on each team.

Especially if one of those teams is the Calgary Flames.

Like I said, Dan Dekeyser doesn't even have a profile picture in nhl 14.

Baertschi looks like Baertschi though, so who knows.

[Chill Cosby]

If Gio has an accurate face, it'll be a huge improvement.

[Chill Cosby]

Is anyone else getting a pretty jittery intro and jittery fighting animations?

Just curious if it's demo-wide, PS4-wide, or a rarer issue. I know someone else had mentioned it, but I'm just curious if everyone is getting it, and if not, what system they're on.