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[Cake Boss]

I really don't need a story mode but I would like one since that's a thing sports games seem to be doing these days. The Show doesn't really have a proper one either and I haven't felt like ti was something missing.

I guess I'm one of the few that is perfectly fine with the current engine. I don't want to change it for the sake of changing it. I already have NHL 18 playing well with the adjustment of some sliders.

Upgraded commentary. They can get rid of Doc Emrik as well. His style just doesn't work well with a video game. They should bring back Jim Hughson. NBA 2k is knocking it out of the park on commentary..

This is my first year getting NHL on Xbox One and the menus are completely different and snappier than the ones being used on PS4. I'm not sure what is going on but they use the same pin and tile system that the Xbox OS uses.

Join us in the EASHL thread!

 

[Zombie James]

A commentary overhaul would be welcome at this point. I know it can't change completely every year but I feel like it's been very similar for too long now.

Everything needs an overhaul.

 

[Moshio]

I played online versus and noticed that message detailing how to invite/add guests for each mode type. I wasn't sure if I understood correctly, but can you invite an online friend and play on the same team against another random opponent (similar to how you've always been able to for couch coop)?

 

[The Dude]

As a long time player of nhl games, since genesis but let's go more recent... As a person who has absolutely adored the NHL series since 08 as I feel they made one of the best damn hockey games up to nhl 14, I have found these new gen hockey's to be bland and dull as hell.

NHL 15 was putrid, and 16, 17 were better but still it doesn't come near how nhl 14 felt.

I hoped 18 would be a nice new step but it's virtually nhl 17 maybe with a few new features but the overall gameplay feels weak.

Just the on ice feel is floaty, everything seems soft, the sound effects are weak, the hit sounds are weak, shots just seem weird in general and way to soft. The speed also is just off, feels slow as hell.

NHL 14 was the epitome of the series, absolutely brilliant in every way possibly.. I played it enough to where I had aboit 20k points in eashl. I played it nonstop, was my go to sports game and I touted how much better the NHL team did than the madden team.

But it's just totally maddenified right now. I don't know I'm bummed. Probably going to sell it, it feels awful.

It makes no sense that last gen nhl was awesome, 08 09 10 11 12 13 14, all just excellent with 14 being the pinnacle of a perfect feeling hockey game that has incredible drop ins that seemed to work, great on ice feel, tons of options, great sounds... We are years removed from that it just continues to get more stale and bland.

 

[TheVisualizer]

As a long time player of nhl games, since genesis but let's go more recent... As a person who has absolutely adored the NHL series since 08 as I feel they made one of the best damn hockey games up to nhl 14, I have found these new gen hockey's to be bland and dull as hell.

NHL 15 was putrid, and 16, 17 were better but still it doesn't come near how nhl 14 felt.

I hoped 18 would be a nice new step but it's virtually nhl 17 maybe with a few new features but the overall gameplay feels weak.

Just the on ice feel is floaty, everything seems soft, the sound effects are weak, the hit sounds are weak, shots just seem weird in general and way to soft. The speed also is just off, feels slow as hell.

NHL 14 was the epitome of the series, absolutely brilliant in every way possibly.. I played it enough to where I had aboit 20k points in eashl. I played it nonstop, was my go to sports game and I touted how much better the NHL team did than the madden team.

But it's just totally maddenified right now. I don't know I'm bummed. Probably going to sell it, it feels awful.

It makes no sense that last gen nhl was awesome, 08 09 10 11 12 13 14, all just excellent with 14 being the pinnacle of a perfect feeling hockey game that has incredible drop ins that seemed to work, great on ice feel, tons of options, great sounds... We are years removed from that it just continues to get more stale and bland.

I dont know how you can say NHL14 has better gameplay than NHL18 unless you enjoy a more sterile arcadey feel to your hockey games.

I agree with most people who say there does not seem to be enough obvious improvement year to year compared to pretty much all of the other annual sports games, but the gameplay has been refined quite a bit since last gen and its much better than it was back then.

The skating is the most obvious difference in the past 3 years with this year's iteration feeling even better. You dont have unrealistic agility like last gen when skating at high speeds and you need to pay more attention to pivoting and changing speeds to be effective.

The physical play also feels good where certain types of players can absorb contact better than others, not everything is a crushing body check and the outcomes of glancing hits and the puck contacting sticks and body parts is much more realistic outside the weird physics glitches that happen from time to time where the puck deflects at hyper speeds. These improvements help limit the effectiveness of dangling which in last gen you could force your way thru traffic without needing to pull off something spectacular pretty easily. The game also plays more sloppy with the puck bouncing over sticks occasionally and passes having small chances of not being received cleanly which helps it feel it bit more unpredictable.

The game still has its fair share of issues and what are seeming design decisions to keep the gameplay accessible have continued to hold the gameplay back from more closely replicating what NHL hockey is today, specifically with the lack neutral zone defense and play along the wall and corners not being necessary at all.

From the little ive played of NHL18 retail so far and about 10 hours of the beta Ive observed that the gameplay seems clearly better than last year. The defensive skill stick, AI improvements, expanded stickhandling and better collision detection with the puck are pretty apparent to me after playing 100s or 1000s of hours of NHL17. As someone whose has also played the series since 08, its the best playing game they have created so far, even with all its legacy warts.

 

[The Dude]

I dont know how you can say NHL14 has better gameplay than NHL18 unless you enjoy a more sterile arcadey feel to your hockey games.

I agree with most people who say there does not seem to be enough obvious improvement year to year compared to pretty much all of the other annual sports games, but the gameplay has been refined quite a bit since last gen and its much better than it was back then.

The skating is the most obvious difference in the past 3 years with this year's iteration feeling even better. You dont have unrealistic agility like last gen when skating at high speeds and you need to pay more attention to pivoting and changing speeds to be effective.

The physical play also feels good where certain types of players can absorb contact better than others, not everything is a crushing body check and the outcomes of glancing hits and the puck contacting sticks and body parts is much more realistic outside the weird physics glitches that happen from time to time where the puck deflects at hyper speeds. These improvements help limit the effectiveness of dangling which in last gen you could force your way thru traffic but not doing anything special pretty easily. The game also plays more sloppy with the puck bouncing over sticks occasionally and passes having small chances of not being received cleanly which helps it feel it bit more unpredictable.

The game still has its fair share of issues and what are seeming design decisions to keep the gameplay accessible have continued to hold the gameplay back from more closely replicating what NHL hockey is today, specifically with the lack neutral zone defense and play along the wall and corners not being necessary at all.

From the little ive played of NHL18 retail so far and about 10 hours of the beta Ive observed that the gameplay seems clearly better than last year. The defensive skill stick, AI improvements, expanded stickhandling and better collision detection with the puck are pretty apparent to me after playing 100s or 1000s of hours of NHL17. As someone whose has also played the series since 08, its the best playing game they have created so far, even with all its legacy warts.

Just different points of view. I along with many others felt 14 was sort of a pinnacle of nhl hockey last gen, it was a tad speedier but that's it... And yea hits were a little more emphasized and shots felt harder, and hit louder... But that was the beauty. 14 was just I'd say a good 80/20 mix of sim and arcade. Enough sim to make it feel like some sweet hockey but a few extra steps in making hits and overall shots feel better.

This feels so soft and so floaty. Nothing feels like it has any weight to it other than trying to skate like you're in quicksand.

As I totally disagree when it comes to last year.

Infact I'd bet money on if someone tested somebody and said ok I'm gonna turn on and hand you a controller in the middle of a random game of hockey twice, once from 17 and once from 18 and they have to choose which is which, I don't think they would really know outside of guessing.

I say this with a heavy heart because EAs nhl hockey I have touted to be the best sports series for years.

 

[m29a]

I really think the game could use a new/improved engine with better physics/motion. It's felt very samey for how many years? They're just not making big strides. You can polish it but there is only so much you can do, and it shows.

 

[The Dude]

I really think the game could use a new/improved engine with better physics/motion. It's felt very samey for how many years? They're just not making big strides. You can polish it but there is only so much you can do, and it shows.

Exactly, nhl 15 really took a dive and it improved in 16 but basically has felt exactly the same since about 16 and for sure 17.

It needs a new feel, and it sucks because 07-14 this series made some Fucking insane strides each iteration.

 

[Marvie_3]

I really think the game could use a new/improved engine with better physics/motion. It's felt very samey for how many years? They're just not making big strides. You can polish it but there is only so much you can do, and it shows.

Theyre adding frostbite to the game next year. We'll see what that fixes/breaks.

 

[TheVisualizer]

im sure EA doesnt think its cost effective to give the NHL franchise the budget or dev team size that it needs to see the type of significant improvements that everyone wants to see.

The design lead's lack of vision (Rammer) is also partially to blame for the stagnation. The series saw most of its innovation under Dave Littman who was reallocated to try to save the NBA Live series. Ben Ross has done a good job with gameplay, but it seems the creative direction and short dev cycles have handcuffed his people from being able to evolve things more drastically.

That is the unfortunate reality that exists, as hockey is still a niche sport to the mainstream so EA will continue in this direction each year turning a small profit from HUT microtransactions as long as they have no other competition and giving us a slightly improved game.

 

[theRizzle]

Anyone else had goals disappear? I was playing a 3 on 3 EASHL game and had a goal disappear from the scoreboard during the proceeding faceoff.

I wasn't sure it had happened but confirmed it when I went back and looked at the capture. We ended up losing the game in OT, so that goal should have won us the game.

 

[TheVisualizer]

Anyone else had goals disappear? I was playing a 3 on 3 EASHL game and had a goal disappear from the scoreboard during the proceeding faceoff.

I wasn't sure it had happened but confirmed it when I went back and looked at the capture. We ended up losing the game in OT, so that goal should have won us the game.

Yea weve noticed a few "resets" in our games. Where the clock resets to earlier in the game along with the scoreboard.

It seems to be a bug that surfaces yearly for this series that is usually patched.

 

[Marvie_3]

Yea weve noticed a few "resets" in our games. Where the clock resets to earlier in the game along with the scoreboard.

It seems to be a bug that surfaces yearly for this series that is usually patched.

Had a couple resets with our club too. Hasnt cost us any goals yet though.

 

[17 Seconds]

how does HUT compare to diamond dynasty?

 

[Samus4145]

Do they really still not have instigator penalties? Injured a player from a hit, and was forced into a fight and still no instigator or extra call on the other team.

 

[GravyButt]

Competitive or simulation? Ive only tried competitive setting (ea access trial ran out, totally forgot to close the game out)

 

[Marvie_3]

Do they really still not have instigator penalties? Injured a player from a hit, and was forced into a fight and still no instigator or extra call on the other team.

Youre asking a lot of EA there

 

[Marvie_3]

First content update is today:

CONTENT UPDATE 1 - (Available Sept. 19th, 2017)

General

Added option for Champions League Aggregate Scoring
Improved faceoff formations during 3 on 3 play.

NHL® THREES

Added updates to prevent players from moving before they were visible on screen after play resumes from a stoppage in NHL® THREES
Added ability to change team strategies in NHL® THREES gameplay
Updates to faceoff camera timing in NHL® THREES

Puck Physics

Updates to improve stick on puck collisions during poke checks
More accurate stick on puck physics volume collisions during Defensive Skill Stick.

Offensive and Defensive AI

Improved AI puck carriers in 1-on-0 situations during play and in shootouts
Updates to Defensive AI decision making so that they stay with their check more consistently
Updates for AI teammates that would skate into shooting lanes instead of standing in better positions to deflect the shot or get the rebound instead.
Updates to AI shooting logic during penalty shots.
Logic updates for AI goalie pull situations.
Improved shot logic for the AI
Improved positioning for offensive AI players away from the puck so that they take their stick position/handedness into account more and position themselves and adjust their facing better based on their intention.
Added improvements for AI skaters that would switch to skating backwards during breakouts.

Coaching Feedback/On Ice Trainer

Added new videos and Training to Hockey Canada Training Camp
Support added for button dekes in coaching feedback and Hockey Canada Training Camp

Offense

Added the ability to blend back into skating faster out of deking
Various shot animation improvements
Added improvements to skaters that were missing the puck too often if they were directed to perform a shot without picking up the puck first (one timers and shots from loose pucks).

Defense

Updates to improve animation blend issues out of shot blocks.
Improvements added for players doing a board pinch when the puck position didn't make sense for it.
Blending improvements when transitioning into defensive skill stick.
Updates to allow the Defensive Skill Stick state to override hit intent if the hit hasn't started to be thrown yet. This allows players to be on and off RB/R1 without letting go of the right stick.
Updates to improve an issue where the Defensive Skill Stick state caused user skaters to lose pickup functionality
Added in variance of error to the new poke check system based on player control, direction from the players facing and relative speed of the puck. This means that a player is most accurate when skating in a controlled manner and poking a still puck in front of themselves and least accurate when poking against their momentum behind themselves at a fast-moving puck. Each of these factors are also tied to the player's attribute ratings.
Improved hip check controls to prevent clashes
Poke check animation assets improved for increased poke checking accuracy before any error is added.
Added reaction delay based on a player’s awareness after a puck is deflected off a stick/body as players were reacting too quickly to defensive deflections.

Goalies

Better precision when detecting puck position during saves for User goalies.
Responsiveness updates to User goalie butterfly motion.
Added updates to help User goalies challenging shots and tracking the puck. If a user is requesting to move towards the puck, allow the requested motion to transfer into the upcoming save but if the shot is back against the grain, it will not add in momentum to the save.
Updated save logic to reduce issues that were causing the user goalie to make save attempts on pucks that were far from the net.
Improved responsiveness for actions after quickly switching into control of the goalie
Added updates to prevent goalies from knocking their net off in EASHL as an exploit.
Added the ability for flinching saves to abort sooner when the puck is deflected away from the net.
Improved responsiveness when blending in and out of saves for goalies.
Added new VH poke coverage.
Added logic to read how much the goalie should lean based on the puck position as they slide into butterfly leans. This allows for better blends and ability to seal off more of the net on the side where the puck is.
Various animation improvements for saves where a goalie’s limbs were clipping with each other.
Updates to prevent an issue where a user goalie was unable to move post-to-post after a poke check.
Updated some saves that were causing the puck to deflect into a goalie's net.

Hockey Canada Training Camp

Improved end of game flow to allow users to pick next training item.
Added the option to select training item from pause.
Added the ability to play videos from Training Camp pause screen

HUT

Added an auto-fill option in Edit Lines. This option will allow a user to automatically replace all the players in their lineup based on player overall and position.
The end of round Competitive Seasons reward screen will now show in the HUT HUB rather than the user needing to enter the season to claim their rewards.
Removed the 1-minute grace period for offline and online games. Game will now count right at puck drop

Online

Improved Online Coop Matchup Load Screen to allows users to see more information about their teammates/opponents for team composition and latency for all online game modes (e.g., Online Vs., HUT, Threes Online, etc.) except for EASHL
Adding Team Overall to matchmaking rules to all online game modes (e.g., Online Vs., HUT, Threes Online, etc.) except for EASHL
PS4 controller light will now match the Game Setup and gameplay player color indicator
Updated the Game Setup screen functionalities in online game types (e.g., HUT, Online Vs. Threes Online, etc.)
Display Offense, Defense and Goalie ratings by default
Remapped the Ready button to tile option
Remapped the Settings tile to a button
Resolved an issue where users would crash when performing goalie swaps in the intermission pause menu for HUT, Draft Champions, and Online Vs.

EASHL

Added the ability to award a penalty shot in EASHL 3s rather than go on a 4-on-3 or 5-on-3 Power Play.
Fighting turned off in EASHL 3s.
3-on-3 strategies added to EASHL.

Game Modes

Added Season Modes for additional leagues (EBEL, HockeyAllsvenskan, and the Champions Hockey League Tournament)
Added Division Re-Alignment to Franchise Mode. This allows the user to move teams around within the divisions before the start of a Franchise Mode.
Added the ability to allow the user to edit their custom or relocated team’s jersey and mascot during the offseason in Franchise
Added the ability to see all the CPU lines in View Lines
Added the ability to allow a user to change strategies in 3-on-3 Overtime
Added the ability to view all the pending free agents in the upcoming FA class as well as 2 and 3 years out in the Pending FA Screen.
Added a “Sim to Regular Season” option in quick links during the preseason
Added the option to view player information on the offer sheet pop-up
Added the option to decline a trade and change your trade block in a CPU trade offer
Added option to switch teams while in the trade screen in the player select pop-up
Improved FA logic where Team Chemistry is still taken into consideration deep into Free Agency when they should be willing to lessen demands.
Improvements added to correctly apply stats growth to a player who received stat growth the previous year.
Added updates to help resolve an issue with Scouting showing semi-accurate potentials of players that should be Unknown potentials.
Improvements added to prevent the morale of a player being set to “angry” immediately after signing in Free Agency.

Audio

Added in Birthday goal calls in EASHL
Added in various speech improvements

Presentation

Added in the EBEL Championship Sequence with trophy
Added in the Champions Hockey League Championship sequence with trophy
Added in a Champions Hockey League mode unique wipe
Various camera improvements for environment geometry blocking play

Art

Added Away uniform for Ottawa Senators
Added Away uniform for Toronto Maple Leafs
Added Away uniforms Nashville Predators
Added CCM Premier 2 Goalie Pad Set
Improved Portland Winterhawks Uniform

Hockey Canada and Training Camp Videos

Added 4 New Button Deke videos
Added better shot quality changes, better shots and sizzles for 8 Hybrid & 94 Controls videos
Updated the audio from Ray Ferraro in 3 Skill Stick videos (Shot Aim, Faceoff Draw, Faceoff Tie-Up)
Added/Improved 8 Hockey Canada Rules Videos:
Offside - Shot Improvement
Icing
High Sticking
Delay of Game
Tripping
Interference
Penalty Shot
Goalie Delay of Game
Added 5 Hockey Canada Goalie Videos
T-Push vs. Strafe
Angles vs. Positions
Butterfly
Butterfly Slides
Hug Post

https://nhlgamer.com/community/news/...vailable-r180/

 

[Zombie James]

Puck Physics

Updates to improve stick on puck collisions during poke checks

NHL 19 must be huge if they're giving this away for free.

 

[LegitMcfalls]

How is the franchise mode in 18? Im a hardcore be a gm player and I'm itching to pick up 18.

 

[RedRum]

NHL 19 must be huge if they're giving this away for free.

http://xboxdvr.com/gamer/I Teeps I/video/36762177

 

[Marvie_3]

http://xboxdvr.com/gamer/I Teeps I/video/36762177

That was almost like Bertuzzi

 

[Marvie_3]

New tuner out today:

NHL 18 Gameplay Tuner 1.01 - (Available September 27, 2017)

All Modes

Tuned ability to go in and out of the pass block state so that it behaves more realistic

Tuned puck elasticity to get more realistic reactions when it hits the ice.

Tuned deking success rates by decreasing top end skating ability for players skating with defensive stick held out


Online Only

Tuned down chance of auto fights post whistle

Turned off ability for net to come off in online gameplay

Tuned cases to fix issues where goalies were getting punished for skating to the bench on delayed penalties

 

[TheVisualizer]

They need to tune the speed of the puck after its deflected off a shot. Its ridiculously slow and you can barely score those kind of goals this year as a result.

 

[Wingfan19]

BTW, just got a Tie in my Franchise mode while simming through games... I shared the screen shot via Twitter to EA to let them know. I have no idea how that's possible.

 

[Harrison Bergeron]

BTW, just got a Tie in my Franchise mode while simming through games... I shared the screen shot via Twitter to EA to let them know. I have no idea how that's possible.

Did you accidentally set the OT rules to it in the settings? Is that even an option? Probably a screw up.

I'm enjoying the game a lot, but TheVisualizer's post summarizing the issues with the series is a perfectly articulated summary of what's what here.

 

[Marvie_3]

They need to tune the speed of the puck after its deflected off a shot. Its ridiculously slow and you can barely score those kind of goals this year as a result.

They need to tune a lot of things.

 

[TheVisualizer]

They need to tune a lot of things.

I dont agree

for the stuff they CAN tune, I think picking up loose pucks and shooting loose pucks is the other obvious part of the game that needs attention.

The game just plays differently now (and somewhat more realistic) where you cant hog the puck and force it thru traffic anymore. People just need to adjust to the changes.

 

[b3b0p]

The only review that matters to me is Kat Bailey from US Gamer.

 

[Marvie_3]

I dont agree

for the stuff they CAN tune, I think picking up loose pucks and shooting loose pucks is the other obvious part of the game that needs attention.

The game just plays differently now (and somewhat more realistic) where you cant hog the puck and force it thru traffic anymore. People just need to adjust to the changes.

Im not saying they need to make massive changes. Just fine tuning a number of things.

 

[GravyButt]

Hows franchise? Is there a way to control ticket prices and food ect like madden??!

 

[Marvie_3]

Hows franchise? Is there a way to control ticket prices and food ect like madden??!

Yeah you can set ticket, merch, concession, etc prices

 

[shawnoftheshred]

Is it against Xbox terms of service to switch regions to purchase a game cheaper? Because if not, NHL 18 is $8 here.

 

[NeptunePirate]

Thinking about picking this up for PS4. It's on sale for $40 and that's quite enticing. I own 17, but the expansion stuff interests me.