they keep telling us they've improved the AI, but my teammates still go offside in an unrealistic way, my defenders go for a line change during a breakaway and my wingers all break out on the same wing.
I want to see video of 3 forwards breaking into the zone cohesively.
This time last year we had a ton of info about the game and much more 'in game' footage.
The over use of cinematics is worrying.
The game 'looks' good, but the looks of the game have never been the problem.
It would be relieving if they actually focused solely on 'offline' play for this game and introduced EASHL again next year after a full developmental year getting it working.
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Flash Walken For This Useful Post:
Just bugging you of course, you're not crazy, but in what world do you think promotional footage of the game would show you any potential problems or glitches?
It's promotional footage. It's going to show you the absolute best of the game.
Furthermore, don't the videos posted all show you close up shots of the stick work and player interactions? It is gameplay. You're asking for gameplay, you're being shown gameplay, where is the disconnect?
If you're specifically looking for EA to promote their product by highlighting some of the issues, well, maybe that IS crazy.
thanks for the reply. it is a good one and did make me think about what i said and you said. here are my thoughts.
regarding gameplay, technically they could show the loading screen as thats 'gameplay'. what i am referring to, is that their teaser videos should include what the game is 99% of the time. how often do you go back through and play replays at super slow mo at weird angles so you can see the guys facial expressions during the play? i know i rarely do, and judging by the amount of people that rage about online pausing, i don't think many others take the time to bother with such things either! here's my point though: i do think its great that they have made these visual improvements. i think its cool the players faces move, i think its cool the arenas are sick looking, and i'm genuinely happy they finally have 4 on ice officials. (that was a legit pet peeve i always had) however, while those things are cool, they don't represent the important parts of the game. and to me, demos, and teasers, and all marketing should be about showing off the important parts of your product. the company i work for sells complex software and i am in marketing. when we put out material on our new versions, we dont talk about how cool our new desktop icon is, we talk about new features and how it better solves users problems.
regarding highlighting problems thats not what I am saying at all. perhaps i mixed two different problems into one in my earlier post. if so, i apologize. what i am saying is that in order for me to get excited about the game, i want to see that they have legitimately fixed issues. and for me, its issues like live sticks, defenders that actually do something in front of the net. players that actually collapse around their own goal when there is a battle in front of their own net, etc. so if they havent fixed things like that, then its obvious they dont want to show it. but it is very disappointing if they still havent addressed gameplay issues in a meaningful way.
so i guess i am combining two issues:
1)i think their demos fail to show the game in a way that represents a vast majority of a players interaction. (it does not show gameplay in a way that represents how just about everyone plays, nor does it account for the fact most of us spend a lot of time in lobbies and menu screens. [but menu screens are super lame for a demo so i wont hold that against them!])
2)their demos imply they havent bothered to fix actual gameplay issues which to me are the bigger problem of the game, not how good the arena graphics are. to your point, if they had made legitimate progress on gameplay, wouldnt it be something they are proud of?
anywho, as you can see, i ramble a lot when i talk about nhl. it is something i care about deeply because in years past i would invest hundreds of hours playing the game. and anymore, the game makes me so frustrated i just don't buy it.
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to dobbles For This Useful Post:
that and it doesn't really tote the vaunted physics changes. The goalies had the bubble, the contact was the same as last year.
If that's all it is, its dissapointing.
It does have the more alive looking crowds though. I think its the next gen version. Hope I'm wrong.
__________________
A few weeks after crashing head-first into the boards (denting his helmet and being unable to move for a little while) following a hit from behind by Bob Errey, the Calgary Flames player explains:
"I was like Christ, lying on my back, with my arms outstretched, crucified"
-- Frank Musil - Early January 1994
thanks for the reply. it is a good one and did make me think about what i said and you said. here are my thoughts.
I agree with everything you said, they could have empty arenas with no seats for all I care. Core gameplay should be number 1 in terms of focus and importance but it's not. The way the players move and skate always seem so choppy and stuttery to me.
The games are a decent simulation of hockey strategies but a terrible simulation of skating and stick handling, atleast in my opinion. It's the lack of fluidity that bothers me, the strides don't seem natural and the puck seems to move magnetically. If they'd work on that over the arenas and graphics the game would be so much better off. NHL 16 will probably be way better than 15 as it's likely to have too much work to do and not enough time.
The Following User Says Thank You to AcGold For This Useful Post:
i would like to add something... one of the ways i best evaluate the AI is by watching them play each other. now i'm not bored enough to spectate games, but what i have done in the past is played career mode as a goalie. so you get to see all the skaters be AI controlled and not have any influence. so often we hear 'you dont play right' or 'you glitch' or 'you just suck at the game' but when you take humans out of it you can really see how bad it is.
i havent done it in a couple years since i dont play as much as i did in the old days, but i used to just get mind numbingly bored watching the AI fumble around and play the least realistic hockey i had ever seen.
p.s. i should note the main reason i played goalie BAP was to earn unlockables and practice for eashl. the fatas rarely had a good goalie so i would try my best to get decent. it never quite worked out!
The Following User Says Thank You to dobbles For This Useful Post:
i would like to add something... One of the ways i best evaluate the ai is by watching them play each other. Now i'm not bored enough to spectate games, but what i have done in the past is played career mode as a goalie. So you get to see all the skaters be ai controlled and not have any influence. So often we hear 'you dont play right' or 'you glitch' or 'you just suck at the game' but when you take humans out of it you can really see how bad it is.
I havent done it in a couple years since i dont play as much as i did in the old days, but i used to just get mind numbingly bored watching the ai fumble around and play the least realistic hockey i had ever seen.
P.s. I should note the main reason i played goalie bap was to earn unlockables and practice for eashl. the fatas rarely had a good goalie so i would try my best to get decent. It never quite worked out!
I faced well over 55 shots and it was my first time.
I would like to note the software removed my all caps, but oh my god, it was there. I'll have to use giant type to get my anger through.
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Russic For This Useful Post:
