NHL 13 Thread

[Yamer]

Originally Posted by kirant

Looks promising...but so did 12 for the most part.

Hopefully Hockey IQ brings the awareness that they promised in 12.

Also hoping they finally fix the decaying Custom Team options. It's really depressing that NHL 06 had similar, if not more, options for team customization than NHL 12.

Deeper customization is something that always wins people over, yet they have continuously ignored this aspect of the game for years. Even what they do have in there is pretty half-assed.

[Cheerio]

I'm just happy that Malking skating forwards with momentum is faster than Marc-Eduard Vlasic skating backwards from a standstill.

[La Flames Fan]

Originally Posted by psicodude

I must be misunderstanding, because that doesn't make any sense. What you are asking is for the team you have worked to build up over 2 seasons through trades and FA signings to be overwritten with real rosters?

I should have clarified...I play without Computer Trades on.

[Lt.Spears]

I have a feeling this game is going to be dumbed down.

The problem with this new skating is: Its going to lead to tons of breakaways and deke fests. To counter this they will make the AI predictive and have a jump on you, which we all know creates tons of other problems. Not going to put tons of hope on this years game.

[psicodude]

Originally Posted by La Flames Fan

I should have clarified...I play without Computer Trades on.

Ok, that's cool, but you must be in the 1% of people that play that way. I would assume anyway. I think you are really looking for a different mode altogether.

[CaramonLS]

I'm preparing for disappointment. We were promised a lot with 2012 and it just felt like rehashed rosters and different hits.

My roomate didn't even realize it was NHL 2012 until I told him (he played a bunch of 2011), he said it felt slightly different. The overall progression for the last 5 NHL games has been absolutely terrible in retrospect and lacked any significant innovation. I can't beleive I'm giving my money to EA for an inferior product like this.

Same old terrible AI - until they start changing that around I will not consider buying this game again.

[Flash Walken]

Caramon, the saving grace to me would be if the AI is how they say it is, and there is greater variation in the abilities of players.

I'm usually very pessimistic because of the last 3 releases, but this game looks like it could be a stepping stone out of the same-game, different name scenario EAs been in for the last few years.

[devo22]

Originally Posted by kirant

Also hoping they finally fix the decaying Custom Team options. It's really depressing that NHL 06 had similar, if not more, options for team customization than NHL 12.

I have given up that hope ... every year, I hope they'll fix it, but they never do. They have had the same logo options for years, and the depth of customization is generally very low. They have to either improve it drastically or take it out completely, because the current "create team" is next to senseless.

[Lt.Spears]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

Caramon, the saving grace to me would be if the AI is how they say it is, and there is greater variation in the abilities of players.

I'm usually very pessimistic because of the last 3 releases, but this game looks like it could be a stepping stone out of the same-game, different name scenario EAs been in for the last few years.

They said the exact same thing last year with their "new AI"

And what ever happened to that "Players will play differently depending on the type of player they are" crap.

It's all a hook to get people to buy in.

[cKy]

I usually have my NHL traded in by this time of year, but I am not impressed with the changes in the new one enough to justify paying for it again. i'll just keep the old one around and play a few seasons until NHL14 comes out and see how it is

[red sky]

That speed burst is a bit rediculous. It takes like three strides to get half way down the rink. I didn't buy 12 last year and I may just hold off again.

[Notorious Honey Badger]

EA sports is the laziest bunch of twats of a video game company ive ever had to be subjected to. i wont be buying nhl.

[ComixZone]

Haters gonna hate. To call people names over their work - a job which you clearly understand very little about, is petty and childish.

[Hockeyguy15]

Originally Posted by red sky

That speed burst is a bit rediculous. It takes like three strides to get half way down the rink. I didn't buy 12 last year and I may just hold off again.

It takes Stamkos 5 strides to go blue line to blue line, I would say that is pretty accurate for a fast player in real hockey.

There are a few people in this thread that have some expectations that EA will probably never please. Maybe this thread isn't for you? There is a difference between having legitimate concerns and ragging on EA for the sake of ragging on them.

[Russic]

Originally Posted by Notorious Honey Badger

EA sports is the laziest bunch of twats of a video game company ive ever had to be subjected to. i wont be buying nhl.

I bet all the games you churn out on a yearly schedule are awesome.

People sit back in their chairs and don't understand why a game that is produced in less than a year isn't breath-taking each and every time. There are some segments of the NHL gaming population who will never be pleased.

[Lt.Spears]

Originally Posted by Russic

I bet all the games you churn out on a yearly schedule are awesome.

People sit back in their chairs and don't understand why a game that is produced in less than a year isn't breath-taking each and every time. There are some segments of the NHL gaming population who will never be pleased.

I think the problem is that they seem to make minor adjustments and hype them up to be HUGE differences. Like seriously, how much of a difference did the live goalies make to the game?

Why have we had the exact same Stanley Cup celebration since 08?

EA is lazy and likes to focus on stuff no one really cares about, the Legends thing last year is another great example of this. No one asked for it, but they did it anyways while negating that 90% of the fans want out of the game.

[jar_e]

Originally Posted by Russic

I bet all the games you churn out on a yearly schedule are awesome.

People sit back in their chairs and don't understand why a game that is produced in less than a year isn't breath-taking each and every time. There are some segments of the NHL gaming population who will never be pleased.

The old "you can't complain because you don't do it" argument? Really?

A prime example of what's wrong with the NHL series is the simple fact the Be a GM mode is so horribly wrong and doesn't match the NHL rules for contracts and such that I can only presume its based on pure laziness and not being educated. I post on a message board and seem to know more rules about the CBA, how it works, and how contracts and such are affected then people getting paid to make a game about the NHL.

You can say that there's a time crunch or pressure to push out quality games every year, but I fail to see how titles like Madden and FIFA do it every year, and for the majority of the time, and still improve the game greatly. EA Sports is a great organization, its not unrealistic to expect the same from the NHL series.

[Hockeyguy15]

Originally Posted by jar_e

The old "you can't complain because you don't do it" argument? Really?

A prime example of what's wrong with the NHL series is the simple fact the Be a GM mode is so horribly wrong and doesn't match the NHL rules for contracts and such that I can only presume its based on pure laziness and not being educated. I post on a message board and seem to know more rules about the CBA, how it works, and how contracts and such are affected then people getting paid to make a game about the NHL.

You can say that there's a time crunch or pressure to push out quality games every year, but I fail to see how titles like Madden and FIFA do it every year, and for the majority of the time, and still improve the game greatly. EA Sports is a great organization, its not unrealistic to expect the same from the NHL series.

Except people that play Madden and FIFA (to a lesser degree) also make the same complaints you are making about NHL pushing out a similar product year after year.

[jar_e]

Originally Posted by Hockeyguy15

Except people that play Madden and FIFA (to a lesser degree) also make the same complaints you are making about NHL pushing out a similar product year after year.

Not to the extent of NHL series fans IMO. I buy all three every year, and I'd say Madden and FIFA are lightyears ahead of making proper, realistic changes.

[Russic]

Originally Posted by Lt.Spears

I think the problem is that they seem to make minor adjustments and hype them up to be HUGE differences. Like seriously, how much of a difference did the live goalies make to the game?

Why have we had the exact same Stanley Cup celebration since 08?

EA is lazy and likes to focus on stuff no one really cares about, the Legends thing last year is another great example of this. No one asked for it, but they did it anyways while negating that 90% of the fans want out of the game.

Hyping up huge differences is just marketing and is essential. I will admit it annoys me greatly when they announce big features that are actually throw-backs to years gone by, but how do you want them to present it? Their job is still to move units. Even the features that get rehashed aren't just plug and play. Generally they need to be created to work in the newer games.

I would also like to see a new Stanley Cup celebration, but I would imagine when you have a list of desired updates for the game that would rank relatively low.

I think it's tough to say that they only focus on things nobody wants. They seem to focus a ton on player equipment which I see as entirely useless, yet you go on the IGN forums and it's all anybody talks about. Hockey fans are all over the map, and I think in order to get anything done they have to lock onto some key things and go from there. Trying to please everybody will make a lacklustre product. I was one of they types they've ignored for a few years with all the EASHL stuff... that's a feature that did nothing for me and received a ton of attention. Now that they are focusing more on GM mode I'm over the moon, but I realize they have to pick a direction and stick to it, and that direction won't always be something I want.

Originally Posted by jar_e

The old "you can't complain because you don't do it" argument? Really?

A prime example of what's wrong with the NHL series is the simple fact the Be a GM mode is so horribly wrong and doesn't match the NHL rules for contracts and such that I can only presume its based on pure laziness and not being educated. I post on a message board and seem to know more rules about the CBA, how it works, and how contracts and such are affected then people getting paid to make a game about the NHL.

You can say that there's a time crunch or pressure to push out quality games every year, but I fail to see how titles like Madden and FIFA do it every year, and for the majority of the time, and still improve the game greatly. EA Sports is a great organization, its not unrealistic to expect the same from the NHL series.

Yes I'm using that argument, absolutely. I've seen people complain about tiny little issues in an iPhone app without realizing that it can take hundreds and hundreds of man hours to produce. I hardly think any of us (myself included) can accurately say that EA is lazy or not until we actually work on a team creating a game of this magnitude.

It's easy to say nothing has changed, but going back and playing the games from 4, 3 or even 2 years ago is incredible to me. I'm an eternal optimist when it comes to these games and I find them almost unplayable imo.

I have a relatively low sample size of people who love the Madden series, but to a man they all complain about Madden being the same old garbage. Personally I think it's a "grass is greener" scenario for a lot of hockey fans.

As for contractual accuracy, I can see there needing to be a balance between realism and complexity. For somebody who might be into a hockey managing simulator I'm sure it's obnoxious, but for somebody who just wants to play a season ultra-realism can be a serious turn-off.