Official NHL 12 CAG Team - We're Back Baby!!! WifeBeaterz on Parole!

Huh, my joke song posts got deleted...

Anyways, the annoying thing is ths EA just keeps reusing the same "changes" yeah to year with the NHL series, but everything still stays relatively the same.
 
Well, for me, it's the idea that the changes aren't anything revolutionary. It wasn't a hardware limitation that was preventing us from having skater types that actually matter (seriously...how many times have they promised this?) or goalies that are "smart". Ok, yes. So, changing the way the players skate is suddenly going to prevent dangling douchebags from walking right through a check simply because they were holding the puck out to the side? I doubt it.

If a 6'5" 240lb defensive defenseman with 99 checking and strength bounces off a 5'9" 180lb playmaker just because he's "deking", the game is broken. I don't know how EA can't comprehend something that simple. If the d-man lunges at the guy and miss, fine. But body on body contact has to have some kind of result. At the very least, the guy should be knocked off balance, lose the puck, and not have the ridiculous awareness to recover it instantly and rifle a shot on net. People don't pay attention to this shit though. Just like the IGN article mentions, he got frustrated "in hindsight". Once EA claims to fix it, then people suddenly realize how crappy it was, lol. Makes sense.

As usual, I like what they're SAYING about the AI (goalie included)...but also, as usual, I'll believe it when I see it...and when I see it, I'll be amazed if it doesn't screw things up worse, lol.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKgPY1adc0A
 
[quote name='jza1218']All that said, you know we're all buying it Day 1.[/QUOTE]

Like I said, gotta have my crack! :whee: At least there's some good discussion going on on EA's facebook page about it. Naturally, I added my two cents. :)

Some of the better comments:

how about fixing goalie mode in Be a Pro so it's not impossibly hard?
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they need to add getting tossed from faceoffs to many people cheating on the draw, forgot to add that.
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Aesthetic improvements need not apply - fix the gameplay/matchmaking first please
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Last yearyou promised us smarter ai never happens so I don't believe a word you say!!!
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Sound to me they did some patchwork on the goalies and AGAIN focused on the forwards. The d needs plenty of work too. Like when I poke the puck it actually matters.
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And damn, this guy typed more than even I did, lol, Putting it in spoilers.
1: goalies are always getting smarter there will always be glitches. - true, there's always going to be problems, but there are problems that have persisted year after year. Rebounds off the most basic of shot that the goalie just allows to sit there, resulting in a goal. Goalies dropping into the splits on shots from near the top of a circle. Goalies not attempting to play a puck that they would 100% play in real life. These problems go on, and on, and have been in the game for years.

2. stats always mattered. the skating stats are just going to be more important now and players won't be able to spin on a dime at full speed - They put this idea out that "stats matter more than ever now!" every year it seems like. Why can't they find a proper balance? You can say that they won't be able to do this, but hey, who the hell knows until the game actually comes out? Lots of things don't work as advertised.

3.i've personally caught a slapshot in real life it sucks. and when a player on the game does it they get injured and their stats drop - I've personally caught hundreds of slapshots in real life, it's apart of the job when you're a goalie. However, I'm talking about when I go to dump the puck down the ice on an penalty kill for example, and the AI defender either a) barehand catches the slapshot or b) high sticks the puck down and gains possession. First of all, there's pretty much nobody barehand catching a slapshot, and when this happens in the game the players do not get injured. I have never once seen a player get injured from catching a puck, perhaps from getting hit by a slapshot, but not once the animation has been engaged, they are invulnerable to suffering an injury it would seem. Why doesn't the high sticking rule exist in the game, also?

4. up your passing and hand-eye stat you might catch a few - 99% of what I said applies to playing by myself against the AI, or playing vs another player in the Online VS mode.

5. if you can skate up the ice easily with the puck i suggest you do it more often many people get checked 3 sec. in to their stride - Again, see above. Not hard to do under those circumstances. Certainly a bit harder with 5 human controller players on the ice.

6. shot numbers mean jack if they are shitty shots. - Not true. Shots tend to reflect how the game is playing out. You don't get 30 shots against someone in these games without controlling a vast amount of the play, unless you are literally shooting every time you cross the blueline. Look at the two series that are going on right now in the NHL, the Kings and Devils have been controlling a vast amount of the play, and are getting a lot of shots. I played a game this weekend against a friend, and outshot him 37-12. I had a ton of real good, legitimate scoring chances. He had fewer shots, and even fewer good chances. He scored twice, won the game 2-0. This kind of thing happens in hockey, for sure, however, it happens far, far too often in the games.

7. dump and chase is good you just need to know how to do it and read the play. learn it use it watch more hockey - Thanks for the tip, however I do watch plenty of hockey, played hockey all my life, and know the game just fine. The problem is that unless the game is being played by most of the players being human, then dumping and chasing is not nearly as effective as it should be.

It would be nice to see the game focus more on interaction with the boards. I think this is a big area where creating a true hockey experience would come in. When board play was introduced a few years ago, it was a good start. Problem is that instead of correcting the problems that happened with it, they seemed to disregard it and just tried to solve the issue of people abusing it by repeatedly going in/out of the animation up the ice by making it take longer to initiate the animation. It'd be great if when players got near the boards, it was automatically engaged. Like if I hit a guy against the boards, it could either knock him down/off the puck, or initiate the board play. Something like that would be a start.
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And then my regularly scheduled heckling, lol
With all the people on here saying to improve the gameplay, program smarter AI ("Gee...somebody is cherry picking. I wonder if I should stop them..."), make goalies who know when to play the puck, when to cover, when to pass it out, etc, why does it seem like you guys only listen to the idiots (or is that EAdiots?) year after year?

Oh, skaters are going to be faster. Isn't that what the different player types was supposed to accomplish? The AI was only aware of the puck carrier and didn't react to players without the puck. Isn't that what Anticipation AI in NHL 12 was supposed to fix? Come on. Your defensive controls don't even work. Why is it that if I tell the AI to play "high pressure", they STILL continuously backskate into the goalie allowing easy shots (especially drag wristers) to be taken? People fork out $60 every year for this game, and you guys are botching fundamental things like that..

We want a SIMULATION hockey game. If you insist on having crappy AI, allowing stick check spamming and numerous blatant illegal hits with no calls, and pathetic "moves" that cause the goalie to jump away from the puck for no reason, put an "Arcade Mode" in for the EASHL. Let the legitimate players use hockey fundamentals and smart play to decide who the real EASHL champion should be. Stop catering to people who want to play the game wrong.
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Anybody playing tonight? I'm definitely up for some games. Brandon and I ran 2's for a while on Wednesday and did pretty decent. 5-2, with our only losses coming by a one goal margin.
 
So, I spent the day with my good buddy in Orlando and as we are eating, email pops up on his phone "You have been selected to play test Nhl 13." I told him he better give me the scoop Wednesday. They asked him his three major complaints and his were 1:Skating doesnt feel fluid 2: AI sucks and 3: Gear selection is horrible. He worked on the 2k series and he said the gear on there was crazy with all your options. So, we'll see soon enough.
 
[quote name='jza1218']Hopefully, with Memorial Day weekend we'll be able to get some good games in on Sunday.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, I should be able to play tonight as well. Would be a good night to do a playoff run if everyone can get on.
 
[quote name='n8rockerasu']Yeah, I should be able to play tonight as well. Would be a good night to do a playoff run if everyone can get on.[/QUOTE]

I'll be on after my wife and I finish watching the girl with the dragon tattoo.
 
[quote name='Magicking610']I'll be on tonight too.[/QUOTE]

y-u-no-meme-generator-it-playoffs-y-u-no-understand-a013f4.jpg
 
They've been replaying the livestream all afternoon, so I was finally able to catch the whole thing. Some thoughts:

The explosiveness/first step adjustment that they showed with Patrick Kane, I like it...but it basically DEMANDS that the AI is very competent. If not, it will be ridiculously easy to fake them out. EA has to understand that you can't keep adding more and more touches of realism if your fundamental core is awful. It just throws things out of balance even more.

The idea of top end speed is interesting. Watching those videos and having them point out how in NHL 12, you skate basically the same speed whether you're gliding, hustling, going backward, etc. really shows how horrible and unrealistic the system is.

Honestly, considering this, I'd like to see them just take out the hustle button. If I spend my points on speed and acceleration, let that be the difference maker. It shouldn't be negated because my opponent has 99 endurance and is clicking the right stick the entire game. They said that players will be less accurate with their shooting and passing when skating at top speed. I hope that's really true I feel like that's going to be the only thing limiting people online...cause you know they'll want to be fast as hell.

I really like how momentum seemed to change the game though. It looks like it might make it harder to play defense, because it will be a lot easier to overcommit and it will take longer to get back into the play. You're going to have to really watch your positioning. But I LOVE how it affects cutting to the net. I'm glad they pointed out how players could cut on a dime in NHL 12. Allegedly, players will be more susceptible to hits if they're cutting or skating at top speed too because their agility and balance are reduced. In the example with Stamkos, he's cutting so hard, they said he'd only need a little push to go down. We'll see, lol.

Info from Q&A at the End
*All the creative skating stuff is done with your left hand. LT = backskate, clicking left stick = changing how you hold the puck? (they weren't real clear on this)
*No getting thrown out of the faceoff circle...they think it would slow the game down.
*They're aware of d-men getting mugged off the faceoff...and they're trying to fix it...one method is tha the AI will step in to protect you...another is that allegedly, you'll be able to sidestep and get out of the way (considering you didn't have an opportunity to move at all before they got there in NHL 12 though, I'll believe it when I see it).

Wow, and GM Connected mode has co-op and OTP play in addition to everybody just having their own team. That's actually really cool. So, we could do a traditional franchise, or we could even pair up into 2's and hae a teamplay franchise. Always nice to have options.
 
Wow, the finals for the NHL 13 cover is Giroux vs Rinne. I'm sure most of you don't care, but it would be really cool for me if Rinne got the cover. Honestly, I think it would be good for the game to give it to a goalie (assuming the goalies are actually not terrible this year, lol). Though with this whole "new skating" thing, they'd probably rather give it to Giroux. But everybody go vote for Rinne! :bouncy:

www.nhl.com/covervote
 
I could see the "explosion" skating becoming a crazy exploit even though it's more realistic.

How'd the playoff run go?
 
[quote name='DestroVega']I could see the "explosion" skating becoming a crazy exploit even though it's more realistic.

How'd the playoff run go?[/QUOTE]

We lost 4-3 in the first game because our goalie completely shit the bed. We outshot them, had more time on attack, a better passing percentage, etc, but they had one douchebag who scored all their goals. We were actually down 3-0 in the 2nd period, when I got demolished into the boards and their guy got tossed from the game. We came back to pull even at 3-3 late in the 3rd, before our dipshit goalie missed another easy save on their dipshit skater. We did pretty well in the regular games we played after that though.

We only lost 2 other games, and the only one that was by more than one goal was a 5-0 loss when Magic was playing defenseman. It was nice playing with both Brandon and Rob on either side of me again though. We put up a lot of goals.
 
I think we also lost by a goal to the #75 ranked team as well. It was good playing with both Brandon and Nate, it's been a while. I forgot how much fun that was.
 
[quote name='jza1218']I think we also lost by a goal to the #75 ranked team as well. It was good playing with both Brandon and Nate, it's been a while. I forgot how much fun that was.[/QUOTE]

Haha. Compared to me playing?
 
[quote name='DestroVega']Haha. Compared to me playing?[/QUOTE]

It's not meant to be an insult to any other player. But when Brandon, Rob, and I are on the forward line, the game just moves at a different speed. Passes are crisper, scoring chances materialize quicker, the forecheck is more fierce, all three of us get a good amount of hits (and know when to go for hits), any of us can be a playmaker, and we all move extremely well without the puck and find the open spots. It's just a level of play that took us a long time to get to.

Personally, I'd love everybody to be at that level. The "Playoff 5" has been saying for two years that none of us are afraid of competition and the prospect of being outplayed. But sadly, what's mostly ended up happening is people getting scared off. The next paragraph isn't directed specifically at you...just a general "Why We Don't Win As Often With Others" statement.

Not everybody passes well. Not everybody knows how to hit. Not everybody knows how to cover their defensive zone or knows when they should switch coverage with a teammate. Not everybody knows how to hold the blue line well or knows how to stay in front of the puck carrier, hold the left trigger, and use the sticklift properly. Not everybody sees a play developing or knows how to avoid pressure long enough to allow a teammate to get in on the play. Not everybody moves well without the puck and finds a way to get open for a good scoring chance.

Wow, that list was way longer than I intended, lol. But those are just the things that came to mind when I think about areas that could be improved upon. I don't even do all those things perfectly. But at least being aware of them and constantly trying to improve on them makes us a better team. That's the difference between playing the game right and winning as opposed to just showing up and having a few laughs. To me, anybody who ever wonders about their standing on the team should look at that list and figure out what they could do better.
 
^ yeah I was just messing around, I understand what you mean. It's the same as a real life sports team, you get a rhythm and basically know where guys are/will be and what they do.

I mean, I have always thought I'm just a step behind in level of play but that I can compete. I did play on a banner winning run last year and my stats this year in ratio of amount of games played are strong/solid. I've personally been trying to just get more versatile so I can play D, or just wherever.
 
You could actually play? I got on a couple nights ago and couldn't even get into a drop-in game for a while. Finally got one started and there was an error in the 3rd period, so the game didn't count. No wonder you guys have names that express distaste for EA's severs.
 
[quote name='Matt Young']You could actually play? I got on a couple nights ago and couldn't even get into a drop-in game for a while. Finally got one started and there was an error in the 3rd period, so the game didn't count. No wonder you guys have names that express distaste for EA's severs.[/QUOTE]

Did you try cleaning the moss off your disc before putting it in? :lol:

Anybody playing tonight? I'll be on in about an hour.
 
Pretty good night. We started out 0-2, but went 6-0-1 after that, winning our last 3 games by 1 goal each. Some pretty stout defense at the end there.
 
[quote name='n8rockerasu']Pretty good night. We started out 0-2, but went 6-0-1 after that, winning our last 3 games by 1 goal each. Some pretty stout defense at the end there.[/QUOTE]

Yeah we were really good defensively. On a personal note, I felt like I played awful offensively and had one of my best nights defensively.
 
[quote name='jza1218']Yeah we were really good defensively. On a personal note, I felt like I played awful offensively and had one of my best nights defensively.[/QUOTE]

Ah, I didn't think you were bad offensively. You had at least one multi-goal game that I can remember. Brandon and I talk about this all the time though. That's where having a forward line where all 3 people can step up and make plays is critical. We all have nights where we just can't seem to find the back of the net, and we need our linemates to step up and carry the team for a game or two.

Even when people aren't scoring, if they're contributing solid defense and good passing, the team benefits. Holding that one douchebag team to one goal was pretty impressive, I thought. We had the blue line so stacked the entire game, they were struggling just to get into our zone. They kept going for those loose puck dekes and we just kept taking the puck away.

We did a great job staying infront of them and using the stick lift while holding the left trigger. I'm trying to get myself doing that more instead of just trying to poke at the puck, since poking doesn't seem to be nearly as effective (and seems to actually get worse the closer the puck is to you). With the way teams always spam it against us, I'm at least trying to incorporate it into my game more without getting called for slashing too much.
 
[quote name='jza1218']What's the benefit to holding lt while stick lifting?[/QUOTE]

Squares you up with the defender better, supposedly more focused (ie. vision control), less likely to cause a penalty, etc. It only really applies if the puck carrier's facing you though. If you're trying to stick lift while chasing from behind, you're just rolling the dice on if it will work at all or if you'll just get called for slashing/hooking. And since it does slow you down, that's when I'd just use a poke check to pester the guy or try to get him to panic. Sometimes when I'm poking, I'm not even trying to go for the puck. I'm just trying to cut off angles or make the guy do something dumb.

I think this is what teams do to us. The second we touch the puck (especially in our own end), they hammer on LT + A immediately. I think we're more inclined to try to poke the puck away (because it makes more sense). It just doesn't work as well in the game as raping somebody's stick out of their hands. Alan and Gary probably know more about it than I do since they deal with it a lot more, both trying to stick lift and also getting raped immediately off the faceoff. That's just the biggest area I've been trying to get better at because it seems like the best way to hold the blue line. Poking does no good against danglers. Some guys walk right through checks. But if you're in the right position, stick lifts seem to work most of the time.
 
For me, general rules of thumb on D are:

1.) 90% of the time, I'm LT-ing 100% of the time (I seldom let go of LT, really only if someone seems to be able to pass me up and I can't be back-skating or im going to get beat)

2.) If i'm, within arms reach, stick lift. Otherwise, poke.

3.) For LB dekes, poke during the deke itself, body after the deke

4.) For RS dangling, if my player is facing a direction where he doesn't need to turn/rotate to face the puck carrier (which is a majority of the time since I LT so much), stick lift, otherwise poke if it's a straight shot from my stick to the puck (so I dont reach thru the feet), otherwise, go for the body.

5.) If someone is skating perpendicular to my direction, never stick lift, only poke or body.

6.) If it's 1v1 in front of the net for position, always tie up, never try to poke at a pass. Your player will automatically intercept a puck more often than you can poke a cross creaser. Same goes if there's more guys in the crease than defender, never poke at a pass, just trust your skater to intercept it or hit the guy as long as he is in the "penalty free zone." Again, your skater will do the right thing more often than you poking the puck away with RB.
 
[quote name='n8rockerasu']Ah, I didn't think you were bad offensively. You had at least one multi-goal game that I can remember. Brandon and I talk about this all the time though. That's where having a forward line where all 3 people can step up and make plays is critical. We all have nights where we just can't seem to find the back of the net, and we need our linemates to step up and carry the team for a game or two.

[/QUOTE]

Oh I agree 100%. That's why I love playing with you and Brandon on the forward line. I know that even if I can't score, you guys will. I know early on I had some success, it just felt like I had a hart time getting shots through, finding good passes, etc. Probably my imagination.

Our defense against that douchebag team was amazing. Especially after we fell behind 1-0. Just a complete and total shutdown at that point. It's why, when the 5 of us are playing, I try and make the point that we should challenge ourselves a little more against Elite teams. I think we can hold our own with some of those teams, and it could help make us better in the long term.
 
All great points Alan. When playing D I think the only time I let go of LT is when skating into their zone. I also am one to take the body in front of the net. Not always jostle but hit them as they move. I will say, we have played with each other so long that our positioning is flawless and we can read each other so well. I know if I crash the net, I have two options. Alan moves to the right and either Nate or a winger will drop back. Thats how it's suppose to go how ever. Playing hockey IRL for two years now has also helped my play as well. Just takes a game or two for me to warm up how ever.
 
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