EA Sports NHL Help

I played NHL 13 last night, the first year of TPS and I believe all of the extra strategy adjustments we have now. While I was a huge critic of TPS as it was insanely clunky and promoted rod/bubble hockey due to how great straight-line speed was compared to the agility levels, I was blown away at how much more this game had to offer than NHL 20. Honestly, I would be nothing short of embarrassed if I was part of the NHL development team this entire generation. NHL 13 is probably the 3rd next game if the old gen behind 14 and 15, yet this game is objectively better in so many regards.

First, the AI doesn't blatantly cheat and do things the user can't do. It can't delay animations to their benefit nor can it grab the puck literally through your body to establish possession. An example of the animation delays, when pinning the CPU in 20, have you noticed how the animation is almost always delayed just long enough for them to get the pass off? Yeah, that doesn't happen in 13. That means forechecking actually works against the AI!

Second, because the AI doesn't blatantly cheat the physics engine, you can actually turn them and beat them to chipped pucks! Crazy right? The AI actually does respect speed and play good gaps, but when caught, they are actually caught! Novel idea huh?

Third, your AI goalie actually can make saves! The CPU failed to score an amazingly cheesy goal like I see in 20 every day on me. The goals scored were legit! Their possessions were earned. They still over-passed a bit, but they weren't making 3 area touch passes in a row to open up space because your AI stood still and just let them do it. Crazy right?

Fourth, your AI are actually useful! When you're pressuring the left point, your RW won't ALSO rush the left point in-order to open up a passing lane for the CPU! Imagine playing a game where your AI aren't actively working against you! It's actually a lot more fun to play, who would've thought!?

Fifth, you can save a custom strategy and assign it to not only your team, but the CPU team before a game in play now/season mode! Imagine not having to waste your time with strategy edits all the time! Imagine placing teams that feel dynamically different. Imagine being able to play the game more because you're not in the menus all the time!

Sixth, shooting is so much more satisfying! The way you can curl and snap and change your angle while shooting just a bit is really fun to see and feel! Obviously the goalies were a tad lacking (still are) but that way of shooting was way more realistic to how NHL'ers shoot compared to the current game. I feel like I'm controlling a GC'er or a dev when shooting because nobody can pull and snap unless you're Austen Matthews and you have a signature animation. I doubt that animation even really affects the goalie in any significant way.

Seventh, when making long stretch passes later in the period, you'll actually see the puck start bouncing and turning which results in bobbled/missed passes! Thank god the new gen has perfectly clean ice the whole game. Much immersion!

Eighth, you can actually setup a PowerPlay! Imagine an AI that's not so unbelievably aggressive and blatantly cheating by using your input to masquerade as "anticipation" as your opponent. You actually get to take a breath and plan an attack! Like, if you're going to program "anticipation" in to the game, can my AI have the same? Of course not! This is rammer hockey! Stand still and blow bubbles!

Ninth, watching the goalies get screened is actual satisfying. They screened when they should, and don't when the shouldn't. Also, being screened doesn't seem to totally hamper their ability to make a save. They actually make blocking saves by taking ground despite not seeing the puck. The 20 goalies retreat to the goal line when screened giving up MORE net when they can't see, or they just decide they're not screened with three bodies directly in-front of them.

Tenth, lots of tips and scrambles! This game was fun to watch because there were a ton of tips and scrambles due to the fact that these tips were saved via proper positions and blocking a lot of the time! Add-in functional tie-ups that the old-gen offered and the front of the net was pretty fun to watch!

Lastly for this post, the physics engine was not great by any means, but I saw so many collisions when guys were skating to the front of the net that resulted in some of them getting turned 90-180 degrees that it was super fun to watch. Like, I would shoot and a crashing guy would get turned which in-turn affected his ability to win the race to the puck in the corner. It was just awesome to see, but this engine did really suffer from low-speed hitting on puck carriers.

Now, I could probably continue but I want to add a bit at the end here to keep the shills at bay. NHL does have a few things that are much better and welcomed into the game like the physics engine, skating engine (both need tuner work, but they're still much better than 13). I also love that goalies can deflect pucks now, that was an incredible achievement imo! I just have to wonder why we get a few great leaps and lose so much more!? If goalies could deflect pucks in 13, these games wouldn't even be close regardless of the skating/physics engine. It's absolutely maddening that I can go back to a game from the same company 8 years ago and find such a laundry list of objectively better things. That's just completely unacceptable.

Bonus: the 1-4 trap is incorrectly played in 13 in the exact same way it is in 20 LOL. Strong-side wing sprints to the middle for no reason. 8 years everyone! 8 years and that can't even be fixed yet they're "always working on improving the AI" lol...Ea sports as a whole produce nothing but embarrassing efforts. Have fun dropping another $60 in mediocre shit for all of you buying 21.

submitted by /u/EVHL-Hockey
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EA Sports NHL

Monday, September 7, 2020

EA Sports NHL Help

EA Sports NHL Help

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