NHL 11 General Discussion

[Berger_4_]

Originally Posted by flamesfan6

anyone else experience a sudden choppiness/lag in single player be a pro mode in the defensive end corners? I had this happen in nhl10, but it also happens in 11 :/ kind of annoying since I am being a dman

Yeah I've had that happen too. It only occurs when that stupid blue arrow comes on the screen for me though.

[3 Justin 3]

The new Tuner Set has ruined this game completely. Every pokecheck works and nothing is a penalty, and the weak goals, wow.

[Yamer]

Originally Posted by 3 Justin 3

The new Tuner Set has ruined this game completely. Every pokecheck works and nothing is a penalty, and the weak goals, wow.

I still can't figure out what was wrong with it in the first place.

[3 Justin 3]

Originally Posted by Yamer

I still can't figure out what was wrong with it in the first place.

When it was first released it was fine, then they kept tinkering with it, and now I can't play it.

There are a LOT more goals scored now, but it sort of sucks because they are so weak and you're just like "well come on goalie, make a save".

[Matata]

my first impressions, coming straight from NHL09, playing quick ranked VS matches almost exclusively:

-Players no longer make 'behind the back, cross crease, tape to tape passes', which was weird at first, but really improves game play.
-improved defensive play makes it much harder to get close to the net, but when you do, it's easier to score goals.
- if you can play defense well enough to keep all their shots wide and to the outside, they'll almost never score
-puck movement and control feels alot more realistic.
-NHL09 feels very arcadey in comparison
e:- Body checks are waaaaaaay better, look great in replays.

All in all, the game has made huge strides in realism since 09 and the game favours defensive play a lot more than it used to. Really liking it.

[Jayems]

I didn't notice much of a difference in the tuner set.

I'm still really, really enjoying the fact that you can be faster than a D man now. That was so stupid in years past that they could beat you to every loose puck, even if it was some lumbering hack vs. crosby or something.

Although I'm getting into some serious cap trouble with my HUT team.

[bubbsy]

the game's sort of becoming unplayable for me:

1) ONLINE VERSUS -> my fav mode to play, i seriously could play for hours. This year it's annoying as people just dangle, stop and go, skill stick (deke) all over the ice figure skating. It's better to just try to go end to end than to make any real hockey passes.

2) HUT -> every 5 games i try to play OFFLINE, 3 end because i "lose connection to EA".. Mind you i have never lost connection during a 'online vs' match so how come ONLY hut suffers from this?! I'm sick of investing 15 mins into a game only to have this happen, i lose a contract game for ALL my players, as well as have to suffer less pucks now due to the DNF factor increase. so dumb.

3) be a gm -> so all we heard in the offseason was the added depth in this mode wiht the chl integration. well what use is it if you have to sign all your rookies to ELC as soon you draft them?! i'm not too sure of this, but doesn't this sorta F up ur gm'ing?! this has forced me to not start my gm mode, as i'm hoping a patch comes out to resolve this first.

all in all, the game's gotten boring. i played nhl10 all the way till the release of the nhl11 demo. this year, i find myself bored of the game already

[Joborule]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

3) be a gm -> so all we heard in the offseason was the added depth in this mode wiht the chl integration. well what use is it if you have to sign all your rookies to ELC as soon you draft them?! i'm not too sure of this, but doesn't this sorta F up ur gm'ing?! this has forced me to not start my gm mode, as i'm hoping a patch comes out to resolve this first.

Something like that I assume wouldn't be patchable since it's hard coded into the game.

[3 Justin 3]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

the game's sort of becoming unplayable for me:

1) ONLINE VERSUS -> my fav mode to play, i seriously could play for hours. This year it's annoying as people just dangle, stop and go, skill stick (deke) all over the ice figure skating. It's better to just try to go end to end than to make any real hockey passes.

2) HUT -> every 5 games i try to play OFFLINE, 3 end because i "lose connection to EA".. Mind you i have never lost connection during a 'online vs' match so how come ONLY hut suffers from this?! I'm sick of investing 15 mins into a game only to have this happen, i lose a contract game for ALL my players, as well as have to suffer less pucks now due to the DNF factor increase. so dumb.

3) be a gm -> so all we heard in the offseason was the added depth in this mode wiht the chl integration. well what use is it if you have to sign all your rookies to ELC as soon you draft them?! i'm not too sure of this, but doesn't this sorta F up ur gm'ing?! this has forced me to not start my gm mode, as i'm hoping a patch comes out to resolve this first.

all in all, the game's gotten boring. i played nhl10 all the way till the release of the nhl11 demo. this year, i find myself bored of the game already

Same. It isn't Halo that is turning me off NHL 11, NHL 11 is turning me off NHL 11. I just have no desire to play like I have in the previous games.

[Matata]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

the game's sort of becoming unplayable for me:

1) ONLINE VERSUS -> my fav mode to play, i seriously could play for hours. This year it's annoying as people just dangle, stop and go, skill stick (deke) all over the ice figure skating. It's better to just try to go end to end than to make any real hockey passes.

2) HUT -> every 5 games i try to play OFFLINE, 3 end because i "lose connection to EA".. Mind you i have never lost connection during a 'online vs' match so how come ONLY hut suffers from this?! I'm sick of investing 15 mins into a game only to have this happen, i lose a contract game for ALL my players, as well as have to suffer less pucks now due to the DNF factor increase. so dumb.

3) be a gm -> so all we heard in the offseason was the added depth in this mode wiht the chl integration. well what use is it if you have to sign all your rookies to ELC as soon you draft them?! i'm not too sure of this, but doesn't this sorta F up ur gm'ing?! this has forced me to not start my gm mode, as i'm hoping a patch comes out to resolve this first.

all in all, the game's gotten boring. i played nhl10 all the way till the release of the nhl11 demo. this year, i find myself bored of the game already

I've noticed a lot of online players preferring to go end to end, but I always just keep the passing lanes clogged and direct the player towards the boards, it'll end either in them taking a bad shot or giving the puck away. Mobile D-men seem to be a little better at this since usually no one is covering them when they enter the offensive zone. I'm starting to routinely dance through entire teams with bouwmeester.

The game really requires precision passing, gone are the days of the no look, tape to tape passing. But it is easier to get a step ahead with good passing, so the difficulty in passing is higher, but so the rewards are greater.

[Yamer]

Be A GM, the selling point for me of this franchise, has been overlooked yet again. 1500 XP cap, no 2 year grace period on draftees, bugged out main menu, stat tracking that goes back a whole 4 seasons, and goaltenders winning every award despite having a low save % and high GAA.

It couldn't be more obvious that they focused on online completely. CHL integration is only worth it if the mode works.

No acknowledgment as of yet on any of these problems. And until they can rake in additional revenue on this mode we won't see it fixed.

Bummer.

[bubbsy]

i would have to say this is the worst iteration of the EA nhl game i have played (i have been getting it since 07). Severly disappointing.

[Finny61]

I'll give them credit that HUT out of the box was very fun but it is wearing off now that all that saving is getting me is more contract cards then NHLers. I've moved on to Be A Pro on pro difficulty and I am dominating, All Star is not a blowout by the CPU but more like soccer with 0-0, 2-1, 3-1 end scores. A lot of the talk about Be a GM has turned me off on that mode, haven't started yet but after being treated with AI in Eastside Hockey that you cannot use and abuse I can pretty much work the EA system and make any team I want and dump almost any contract in previous iterations. I don't hate NHL 11 by any means with the CHL, RFA system, and Hitting physics, but...I don't like how EA motto is never fix with the main frame coding of the games, just add some flash and spice enough to appear like a brand new game from previous year (big ie: Madden 11). No forums and wishlist makers that earn a spot in comfy EA headquarters will never be able to steer the company away from that formula.

The only EA game that has far exceeded my expectations this year is NCAA 11, now that is a great game. I expect FIFA to exceed as well but thats it. Oh yeah and thank god Formula 1 is back and not under exclusive license to EA, it is looking stout.

[wooohooo]

What drives me nuts is how the goalie covers the puck automatically every time there is a shot... good or not. The weakest point shots will be covered. I know that's more realistic but online play really really drags it out...

[604flames]

Haven't seen it anywhere but has the issue of the endless loading screen when trying to play as Swift Current of Saskatoon been solved?

[kirant]

Originally Posted by wooohooo

What drives me nuts is how the goalie covers the puck automatically every time there is a shot... good or not. The weakest point shots will be covered. I know that's more realistic but online play really really drags it out...

Try doing this in Be a GM mode with games extended to 10 minutes/period (to get the shot count to be accurate). It's a hell of a lot of covering.

[CaptainCrunch]

I've seen some absolutely bizarre goals in this game. LAst night my defenseman took a shot that bounced off an opposing forwards skate and in. I had my first goal review and it was disallowed, which was kinda good because it was in overtime.

I've seen more defensemen tipping pucks into their own net then in 09 and 10 combined.

but I'm still enjoying the game.

[Jayems]

Well, I had my first humbling game last night. I got absolutely destroyed by someone,. Nothing I could do would stop them dangling around my defense. Nothing. It was beyond frustrating.

[kirant]

I'd like to submit my first WTF game (Be a GM).

Abbotsford vs. Toronto. It ends 10-1 Abbotsford with a 52-12 shot advantage and all 10 goals from the Heat being top shelf slapshots from D.

[Fire]

Originally Posted by Jayems

Well, I had my first humbling game last night. I got absolutely destroyed by someone,. Nothing I could do would stop them dangling around my defense. Nothing. It was beyond frustrating.

Now you know how it feels to play you.