NHL 17 Information Thread

[bleedblue1223]

I love how when twitter provides videos of the crap in the game, EA immediately back peddles and we'll send it to dev or we've seen this before or it shouldn't happen. Well, if you've seen it before, stop being so antagonistic when consumers bring it up.

 

[MikeyP]

I am not saying he doesnt have a valid point, but saying "bring back 2K hockey" to an EA dev is not a criticism. Its an insult. I am not sure what he hoped to get out this exchange.

 

[BogsDiamond]

This is where the budget part actually comes into play though. They don't have the staff to properly evaluate each rating for the players, and over the years they just get lazy and give random attributes a base 85 +/- a couple points for the decent players. Take a guy like Berglund, and most of his individual attributes will be pretty consistent throughout.

Skating and physical play are 2 areas that have been really bad. It seems like they just give the top guys in those areas stats in the 90's, and everyone else gets something around the mid 80's. If they start making the slow guys slow, and the soft guys soft, then the skill traits will have a greater impact on the game.

This has nothing to do with it. EA hires outside companies to provide ratings.
And the NHLPA is the reason why every NHLer has to be rated 79 and up.
Remember when Shawn Chambers was a 1 OV? I do. And so does he and a few other NHLPA members.
That's why they put in clauses inside their agreement with EA and other game makers. NHL players HAVE to be above a certain threshold.

NBA 2K actually hired a kid who made rosters with his adjusted ratings while in college. They liked them so much, they gave him a job.
And the NBAPA isn't as powerful when it comes to this stuff.
It's also easier for basketball games since there really aren't any farm systems or Euro leagues like hockey has.

But if the NHLPA would get out of the way, the EA series could do the same.
And IMO, that's the biggest issue this series has for years.
The game gets boring because every player is the exact same.

What EA needs to do to combat that is make the differences more noticeable.
If a guy has 87 skating, another 90, then there should be a wider gap between the two regardless if they're only separated by 3 points.
Problem solved.

They could also pull a page from AFL2K and introduce 'weapons'.
With players having specific weapons in their arsenal, a one-timer from Ovi or Stammer should be a lot different than the one we see from Kessel.

Whatever the case, EA's developers must find a way to provide a much, MUCH, wider gap between players than we see now.
Every game feels the same because every player and team IS the same.

 

[bleedblue1223]

I am not saying he doesnt have a valid point, but saying "bring back 2K hockey" to an EA dev is not a criticism. Its an insult. I am not sure what he hoped to get out this exchange.

A corporation should take the highroad though, that's the problem.

 

[DonskoiDonscored]

I'm going to be honest, I don't have a huge problem with the majority of the top 10 being where they are.

What I do have a problem with is the top 10 goalies being separated by 4 overall points. They're basically clones, and with Bishop's size, he's going to be the best goalie in the game, again.

 

[MikeyP]

A corporation should take the highroad though, that's the problem.

Thats the old way

 

[Oscar Acosta]

NHLPA could demand NHL players not be rated lower than 75 or whatever, they could make it purely cosmetic and have a behind the scenes scale of 0-1000, create the separation. Not every player in the NHL is the same person or have the same skill, regardless of their feelings.

 

[DocEmrick]

Are those screenshots from NHL 16? If Crawford is a 90, you'd think they would include his actual face for 17.

Are the games still terrible when it comes to player faces?

For the most part, yes. Supposedly this past season they tried to scan a lot more of the players faces but in the beta, a lot of them looked the same (inaccurate).

 

[bleedblue1223]

Thats the old way

It's called professionalism.

 

[Deku]

More ratings......
https://www.easports.com/nhl/news/2...ocial&cid=14816&ts=1471636950689&sf48223662=1

Weber 94

 

[bleedblue1223]

Suter and Buff are other bad ones.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

How the hell is Weber a 94? He should be around 89 or 90 max. Where's Letang? He should get a 92.

 

[Drugs Delaney]

It's called professionalism.

What is that thing?

 

[Cor]

God, EA going for the buys by making Weber a 94.

Guy should be like, an 88

 

[Psyfer]

God, EA going for the buys by making Weber a 94.

Guy should be like, an 88

It's funny how as he declines his rating goes up

 

[DonskoiDonscored]

So Vlasic has gone from an 85 to a 88 to a 86 to a 91 in the last 4 games.

My guess is next game he's an 84

 

[Deku]

It's all debatable but I would reorder the top 10 as:

Doughty 94
Karlsson 93
Keith 92
Suter 91
Subban 90
Burns 90
Hedman 90
Vlasic 90
Weber 89
and Buff 88

Letang and Josi should be in there somewhere too



Give or take a couple ratings for some guys.

 

[teravaineSAROS]

So Vlasic has gone from an 85 to a 88 to a 86 to a 91 in the last 4 games.

My guess is next game he's an 84

He was an 84 when NHL 16 came out

 

[Malkinstheman]

Josi and Letang better be 90s

 

[WeegarUnderwood]

One good thing about the game is if you don't like the ratings, you can go in and edit the players and give them overalls you think they deserve. But I guess that won't take into effect when you go online

I do wish they would change how prospects progress in GM mode. Everybody becomes a 5 star skater and a lot of prospects have 85 power and then like 60 accuracy for their shots so when they progress they end up with 99 power and 80 accuracy or something. Good ol Nicolas Roy has a harder shot than Weber in my GM mode lol

 

[Oil Gauge]

I highly doubt that with the split second timing that needs to be in baseball.

I don't think timing is a difficult thing to build into a game, the fluidity that is involved in hockey is what makes it way harder. Baseball is a very rigid sport. The play starts from the same spot every pitch. It's very repetitive. Once the puck is dropped anything can happen on the ice.

A fly ball to right field is gonna look very similar every time. A shot from the point could create several different scenarios.

And as far as timing goes. A clapper from the hash marks needs faster reaction time than a 100 mph fast ball.

 

[M.C.G. 31]

Jesus, those defense ratings are crazy.

 

[Oscar Acosta]

I don't think timing is a difficult thing to build into a game, the fluidity that is involved in hockey is what makes it way harder. Baseball is a very rigid sport. The play starts from the same spot every pitch. It's very repetitive. Once the puck is dropped anything can happen on the ice.

A fly ball to right field is gonna look very similar every time. A shot from the point could create several different scenarios.

And as far as timing goes. A clapper from the hash marks needs faster reaction time than a 100 mph fast ball.

In theory. EA's NHL is a game on rails though, AI skates in predetermined spots and breakouts and stop. If EA actually did a half ass real NHL game it might be a bit harder to program but comparing the two they aren't close.

Also no way timing on a one timer takes faster reaction than a fastball. MLB is a game that takes every movement you make into account and the split seconds matter, from pitching to fielding to especially hitting where you need timing, accuracy etc. NHL you can barely change players without having to hit R2 five times in a row.

 

[BogsDiamond]

NHLPA could demand NHL players not be rated lower than 75 or whatever, they could make it purely cosmetic and have a behind the scenes scale of 0-1000, create the separation. Not every player in the NHL is the same person or have the same skill, regardless of their feelings.

Totally agree.
There's ways around this.

I think EA just likes to hide behind the "We're a small team" excuse.
I guarantee 2K had a smaller team and they produced a number of great hockey games.
NHL2K3 on the PS2 is still the greatest hockey game I've ever played.

 

[DonskoiDonscored]

He was an 84 when NHL 16 came out

In HUT he was, with the rosters that were shipped with the game I'm pretty sure he was an 86 overall.

If he was an 84 that's even worse lol