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Gonna be at work again. Might be able to play for a bit tomorrow, but with the wife away, I have to get to bed early. Saturday for sure.
 
I know we tossed this idea around for a bit, but until the connection issues get worked out, how about we do an OTP GM Connected team?
 
[quote name='jza1218']I have reclaimed Nhl 12.[/QUOTE]

Now, Gary just has to get it and we can go back to a game where things actually work (too good...lol) from time to time. It's still crazy thinking of having "always goals" as being a good thing. Maybe it's just because EA went too far in the other direction with 13. But when you outsmart the defense and have an obvious scoring situation, it should result in a goal most of the time. 12 was a little ridiculous with people living off of one timers, passes through traffic, and goalies that bite on simple dekes. But having those things NEVER work in 13 almost seems worse. And for the most part, the AI defense is just as bad. They still get caught flat footed and give up breakaways. It's just now the goalie is so good he stops most of them. It's amazing that EA can't figure out it's giving up the breakaway to begin with that is the problem. Making the goalie a god doesn't really fix anything.

If we execute a breakout properly, and the defense doesn't get back or rotate properly to cover, and it gives us a 2 on 0 with the goalie...that SHOULD be an easy goal. Allowing teams that play bad defense to just be bailed out by a superhuman goalie just ruins the game. It's so frustrating that it seems like EA can only program on complete opposite ends of the spectrum. Just give us middle of the road AI and middle of the road goalies...and let human ability make the difference. That's all it takes.

[quote name='moojuice']I know we tossed this idea around for a bit, but until the connection issues get worked out, how about we do an OTP GM Connected team?[/QUOTE]

I'd be up for it. We'd probably want to do random rosters, so we wouldn't just be stuck with one specific team though, no? It would be fun to see how many seasons we could get through that way...assuming playing the CPU doesn't get boring.
 
[quote name='moojuice']I know we tossed this idea around for a bit, but until the connection issues get worked out, how about we do an OTP GM Connected team?[/QUOTE]

You mean like.five people play as say, the Islanders, against the rest of the NHL
 
[quote name='moojuice']Basically, yah.

I can't even remember... Are random rosters even possible in GM mode?[/QUOTE]

Yeah, random is...but not fantasy draft.
 
Name: Tuner 1.05
Date: 10/12/2012
Notes:
All Modes

  • Increased goalie ability to stop slower shots from distance.


EASHL Only

  • Goalies ability to move laterally and stop one-timers toned down.*
  • AI Skating attributes in EASHL increased slightly to keep up with User player progression.

* There will still be amazing saves, however, there is now a greater range in how well the goalie may read the play which on average will yield better offensive results on good passing plays than it was in the past.
 
[quote name='moojuice']Name: Tuner 1.05
Date: 10/12/2012
Notes:
All Modes

  • Increased goalie ability to stop slower shots from distance.


EASHL Only

  • Goalies ability to move laterally and stop one-timers toned down.*
  • AI Skating attributes in EASHL increased slightly to keep up with User player progression.

* There will still be amazing saves, however, there is now a greater range in how well the goalie may read the play which on average will yield better offensive results on good passing plays than it was in the past.[/QUOTE]


Hmm...that's interesting if it actually works like they're saying it does. I worry that the "improved AI skating" will translate to "chasing you down from behind with even more ease" though. If it keeps them from being caught flat footed at the blue line, that would be great. But I'm not holding my breath.
 
Well EA has done it again. Rob and I made a valiant playoff run but came up just short. After winning three straight grueling playoff games, we get into the fourth game and EA remembers it hates us. The other teams first shot is a rebound that the AI D-man loses and the goalie has his paddle on the ice in perfect position and it passes right through the stick and in. Then they get a penalty shot and pull the backskate crap for a goal.

We still claw back and tie it at 3 after regulation. Then in OT they throw one of those ridiculous shots on from the corner boards past the goal line and the goalie kicks it in. Great games Rob, once again ruined by bad programming.
 
Damn...that's too bad, guys. Awesome job getting that far though! Wish I could have played. Life is not what it once was, lol. I should be good to play this weekend though. :)
 
cleo2.jpg
 
Just wanted to mention some things in here that we talked about last night.

As bad as certain parts of this game are, I think it's been out long enough that we just have to accept it for what it is and make the best of what EA gave us. Despite the flaws in the game itself, there are still things that we could be doing better if we want to give ourselves the best shot of winning games.

Overall, I feel like we've gotten a bit sloppy. Honestly, I feel like it starts with me. Because of the framerate stutter, I've had a horrible time this year winning faceoffs. But after screwing around with our team region setting last night, and switching it to Europe (which made things worse), and then finally to North America East, it SEEMED to actually get better.

In the last 4-5 games we played, I was winning about 2/3 of the faceoffs. And of course, the more we hold the puck, the better our attack is. I'm hoping that wasn't a placebo, or just some weird coincidence, but one of the games was even against a team of 5...so we had 8 connections on that one, which is encouraging.

But other things I think we've gotten a bit lax with is just fundamental stuff. We've been puck chasing a bit on defense, getting too many guys on the same side of the ice, and just leaving the other side wide open. I know a lot of times we rotate to cover each other on switches, but we've just gotta be careful chasing when it's not necessary. If there are two guys pressuring the puck already, we don't really need to add a third. Going along with that, just trying to work together better when we're forechecking. You don't always have to make a play on the puck yourself, but if you drive the puck carrier right into a teammate, it's going to have a good outcome.

Another thing is our passing and puck handling in general. I think at times, we tend to get too fancy or try to do too much with the puck. Whether it's holding it off the faceoff, or when rushing it into the zone, we've gotta get back to seeing the play in front of us. Sometimes a dump is a good play, but sometimes it's just a turnover. It can really be the same thing as forcing a bad pass. No play is going to be the right play every time. We gotta see what's in front of us, and take it. If a guy is open, get him the puck. If a shot is there, take the shot. Sometimes forcing "real hockey principles" into this game just doesn't work. It is an EA game after all.

Regardless of how the game wants to screw us, I feel a lot better losing a game where we played right and did everything we could. But if we're getting outshot, getting doubled on time on attack, have a passing percentage below 30%, losing 70% of the faceoffs, etc. we can't be mad that we lost the game. I also don't want us having the attitude of "well, the game sucks anyway...why bother?" Because if that's actually true, then yeah...we shouldn't bother. And that's when we start losing games to the CPU...with an all star team. We're better than that.

At least after the way we finished the night, I feel encouraged. That game against the 5 man team (which was an Elite team), it was Brandon, Alan, and myself. Alan ended up getting dropped from the game (I want to say it was in the 2nd period), but Brandon and I played them to 5 OTs. Honestly, we should have won the game, but their goalie did a ridiculous back to back desperation save thing where it looks like the game glitched he threw himself to the other side of the net so quickly.

They won on a pass that our defenseman deflected up into the air, hit off their guy's face, went between our goalie's pads, and then was poked into the net. A shitty way to lose, but we played great. I think we had 50 shots in the game, and I won 49 faceoffs (to their 20-something). Those are the kind of efforts we're capable of. We just can't let the way the game ends discourage us from playing the right way. If we do that, we're just welcoming the losses.
 
Granted, sure but we always play a 2-3 fore check which leaves the AI and my self hanging at the blue line. We need to have 1 person chase (unless power play then two). This is some thing I have taught the team I coach over the past year and now their game is leaps and bounds above the rest because it's not three people going after the puck carrier but one which leaves room at the red line and blue line for takeaways and not making everybody scrambling back. It's a mentality you have to brand into your head. One that might take awhile but once it's there it stays. Also to ha e work on dumping the puck on my end and watching a play form. My biggest problem is that in hockey irl you have time, in this game it's get rid of the puck asap. That's one thing I try to do skating the puck back is look up the ice to see a play forming. Not always quick but i can usually get a good break out going. That's just y thoughts .
 
Definitely agreed on the fore check, we need to drop one more forward back.

In our d-Zone, we definitley need to be more disciplined in our positioning. The extra help down low is nice, but sometimes there's just too many bodies to skate around. That's why I sometimes end up playing point even though I am a dman.
 
I agree. I think like most of our problem areas, we have a tendency to be TOO aggressive. I think it's really an awareness thing. When we're dropping back the forward furthest away from the puck (or if people would prefer...I can always drop back...I just think it makes more sense for the forward furthest away from the play to back off), we usually don't have as many problems. Like I said, I think most of it can be explained as just trying to do too much. We all know our roles...and we're all good at them. We've just gotta get back to allowing each other to make plays. Even with the downfalls of this year's game, I don't think it's a "back to the drawing board" kind of thing. We just need to regain our focus and do the things that led to our success before. We had a pretty damn good system at one point. We've just gotten sloppy...and sometimes have the tendency to just blame that on the game.

That said, I'm ready for some more games tonight. I really want to see if my faceoff woes are indeed solved. I know that alone would make me feel a lot better. I've felt like shit not being able to get us the puck off the faceoff like before.
 
Brandon and I finished off our games last night with this one. Must have been late for these guys because one of them seemed to keep falling asleep. In OT, we pushed him offside, chased down the other guy, and got him to finally flip the puck toward his AI teammates. This was the result. Watch as he feverishly tries to push his buddy back out of the zone when he suddenly realizes what's about to happen. :)

http://www.easports.com/media/play/video/141623055
 
Yeah, so Gary, Alan, and I decided to play one more. We trailed 1-0 after one period, with both teams taking 6 shots each. We then proceeded to outshoot them 19-3 the rest of regulation, and barely tied the game up with less than a minute left (outshooting them 16-1 in the 3rd). Our dominance continued into overtime...four of them to be exact, where we outshot them 36-8, before finally winning on a rebound that the AI was able to put home before being bounced on his head.

For anyone doing the math...the game total for shots was 61-17. After that 1st period, we outshot them 55-11...or an exact ratio of 5:1. After that 1st period, they never had more than 3 shots in a period, and had two periods with 1 shot, and two periods with 2 shots. Needless to say, their goalie was first star of the game with a ridiculous 59 saves. But yeah, I guess we just weren't taking good shots. At least that's what people will tell you on the EA forums. Good freaking grief, lol. I'm just glad we won.
 
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