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NHL 16 |OT| Allegedly What's Old Is New Again

T

TheVisualizer

Banned
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  • PLATFORM: Playstation 4 | Xbox One
  • DEVELOPER: EA Canada
  • PUBLISHER: Electronic Arts
  • GENRE: Sports
  • PLAYERS: 1-4
  • RELEASE DATE:
    • EA Access = September 10, 2015 (10 hours)
    • NA = September 15, 2015
    • PAL = September 17, 2015
  • PRICE: See EA's website
  • PRELOAD?: Yes on both PS4 and XB1
  • GAME SIZE: 18 GB
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THE NEW REIMAGINED EA SPORTS HOCKEY LEAGUE (EASHL)





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GOALIES OVERHAULED

  • New animations mo-capped by Eddie Lack
  • Default stance now has glove up
  • New post control animations (standing and down low)
  • Momentum matters more with Controlled Strides (LS) vs Longer T-Pushes (RS)
  • Desperation diving save animations are manually controlled and no longer automatic triggered
  • Skating and puck handling much improved
  • Controls have been remapped




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FOCUS ON GAMEPLAY BALANCE

SKATING
  • Vision Control (LT/L2) allows more precise control with and without the puck
  • At standstill with the puck Vision Control now allows you to perform precision strafes
  • Seamless puck pickup improvements allow you to begin your next action more quickly and smoothly when picking up a loose puck or receiving a pass
  • Full range of physical reactions and tuning now allows for wider variety of outcomes to collisions. This addresses issues where most hits were either knockdowns or nothing & also prevents puckhandler protect the puck from being OP
PASSING
  • Added back manual control over pass power by holding down pass
  • Pass assist has been tweaked to allow bank passes off the walls and passing pucks into space
  • Attributes matter more so poor passing ratings will affect trying to do something physically more difficult, like pass from your backhand or while fading away which will result in not getting full speed you requested or the best accuracy
  • Added back more accountability over being in control so that passing out of a glide is better than passing in stride and passing as soon as you receive a puck isn't as good as passing when already in control.
DEFENSE
  • Pokechecks, stick checks, defensive interceptions and body checking have all been tuned and enhanced to make defensive positioning more important and effective
  • Stick on stick contact and positioning more likely to dislodge the puck now then ever before
  • Pokecheck spamming less effective as more error has been applied to rapid consecutive pokes
  • Most players standing in a passing lane will be able to deflect pucks, but those with better attributes will be able to pick them off more cleanly
  • Pokecheck no longer works if it goes through a piece of equipment or a players body first
SHOOTING
  • Fixed bug that made it difficult to aim shots 5 hole due to extra auto-aim being applied
  • Fixed bug where stick lifting player that was attempting a one timer as the puck arrived did not prevent the shot from occurring
  • If a defenders stick contacts a player's stick while shooting it now more significantly affects the power and accuracy of the shot
See this thread on the EA NHL Forums for more gameplay balance change details from Associate Producer Ben Ross




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OFFLINE MODE IMPROVEMENTS

BE A GM
  • New player morale system
  • Ability to edit players
  • Sim intervention is back
  • Full AHL integration, play or manage games with full stat tracking
  • Fantasy draft option
  • Entry Draft no longer automated by CPU
BE A PRO
  • Sim to Shift is back
  • New progression system where your on-ice style directly influences the type of player you’ll grow into
  • Manage weekly off-ice player training to also improve attributes
  • Start in NHL, CHL or Memorial Cup/Entry Draft
  • CHL/AHL integration
  • Between shifts coach will grade your play tell you what actions you are successfully completing and what you need to do next
SEASON MODE
  • Single season playable in with 10 leagues (NHL, AHL, OHL, QMJHL, WHL, Liiga, SHL, DEL, Czech Extraliga, and NLA)
  • Ability to control more than 1 team
  • Ability to edit players
HOCKEY ULTIMATE TEAM (HUT)
  • Single Player Seasons
  • Improved player management
OFFLINE SHOOTOUT MODE *Added via Day 1 Update*
  • Options include: Play against A.I. or a local human controlled player




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ONLINE GAME MODES RETURN

EA SPORTS HOCKEY LEAGUE (EASHL)
  • See above for details
ONLINE COUCH CO-OP
  • Online Versus Mode with up to 4 local players
6 VS 6 ONLINE TEAM PLAY
  • Same mode that was added post launch in NHL 15
  • Private Lobbies Added
HOCKEY ULTIMATE TEAM (HUT)
  • Added Play a Friend
  • Improved player management
  • Improvements to search filters for Collections, My Bids, and ended Auctions
ONLINE SHOOTOUT MODE *Added via Day 1 Update*
  • Options include: Ranked Quick Match, Custom Matchmaking, Invite a Friend




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NEW VISUAL ON-ICE TRAINER

  • Displays on-ice visual cues for shooting, passing, making saves, defensive positioning in real-time
  • Not available for in any competitive online game modes
  • Fully customizable with the following options that can be toggled on or off
  1. Control Hints
  2. Feedback Hints
  3. Shot Aim Targeting
  4. Shot Lane
  5. Goalie Coverage Grid
  6. Pass Aim Targeting
  7. Pass Suggestions
  8. Offside Warning
  9. Defensive Positioning




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MORE AUTHENTIC PRESENTATION

  • Arena Atmosphere improved with inclusion of authentic arena effects and props
  • Arenas updated to reflect players sitting on correct benches, using proper tunnels for home/away teams and banners in the rafters have been updated
  • Authentic Goal Songs for 19 Teams (Anaheim, Arizona, Boston, Columbus, Calgary, Chicago, Detroit, LA, Minnesota, Montreal, New Jersey, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Ottawa, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Toronto and Winnipeg)
  • Team specific celebrations and chants added, though 5 man celebrations are still missing
  • Commentary improvements, including Doc's enthusiasm being better captured and new story based commentary packages
  • Team Mascots move around the arena and react to the action
  • More player faces scanned and new equipment options makes superstars more recognizable
  • Playoff beards added with variety of lengths
  • Scoreboard overlay can be set to a smaller size




UPDATE ON NHL 15 MISSING FEATURES
Red= Still Missing
Cudder said:
MODES/FEATURES
•No GM Connected
•No Online Team Play (when this is patched into the game later this year, it will use real NHL players and teams)
•No EA Sports Hockey League
•No EA Sports Arena
•No Online Shootouts
•No Live the Life
•No Be A Legend
•No Winter Classic
•No tournaments or Battle for the Cup
•No season mode (you can only play seasons in Be A GM, which is limited to NHL teams)
•No NHL 94 Anniversary mode
•No custom music support
•No create-a-play designer
•Cannot customize each team's AI
•No create-a-team
•No way to edit individual players
•Practice mode is now limited to one skater vs. an AI goalie

GAMEPLAY
•No custom camera option
•No Action Tracker replay highlights
•No Top 3 Stars at the end of games.

BE A GM
•Yearly draft is fully automated by the CPU
•Cannot play the AHL games for your chosen franchise
•Players sent down to the minors do not accumulate any season stats
•No fantasy draft option
•No preseason games

BE A PRO
•No option to sim ahead to the next shift
•You only play in the NHL; you cannot play for minor league teams
•The Memorial Cup tryout period is gone. You now begin by picking an NHL team, or by letting a random CPU team draft you.
•No All-Star game

ULTIMATE TEAM
•Cannot play against your friends
•No tournaments
•No mobile app
Click to expand...




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GAMEPLAY
Devs & Eddie Lack Twitch Stream (2 hours, all modes)

Official E3 Gameplay Trailer
Gameplay Balance Trailer
Gameplay Series: Control the Crease
Play First on EA Access Trailer

EASHL
Devs EASHL Beta Twitch Stream (1 hour)

EASHL Beta Top Plays

EA SPORTS Hockey League
EASHL Beta Player Class Attributes
EASHL Player Customization
EASHL Goalie Customization
EASHL Badges Overview

HUT
HUT: Your Team, Your Way
HUT: Fueled By NHL Action
HUT: Auction Market

SINGLE PLAYER GAME MODES
Single Player Game Modes
Be a GM: Player Morale
Be a GM Preview
Be a Pro: Shape Your Legacy

ATMOSPHERE
NYR Goal Song Trailer

United Center in NHL 16

Barclays Center in NHL16



MISC
All NHL Player Ratings and Line Pairings
All Teams Jerseys



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Click images to enlarge









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GAF EASHL
PM me if you would like GAF EASHL club info listed here

PS4
PS4 - LIVE CHEL REPEAT

XBOX ONE
Club Name: GAF X1
Abbreviation: GAF

EA COMMUNITY INFO

MISC
 
L

Lockjaw333

Member
I'll be checking it out on ea access tomorrow. I'm a 2k hockey guy who only really played ea hockey for eashl. Super disappointed in NHL 15 obviously.

Hopefully eashl is solid this year. As for the offline game, I think it's been awful for years so I don't expect much. Playing against the cpu in ea nhl is mind numbingly awful.
 
Q

Quick

Banned
Pre-ordered during the Amazon.ca E3 sale.

I pretty much stick to Be A GM, so I'm definitely looking forward to the new additions.
 
C

Cudder

Member
Hope the game is as good as the OT.

Have it pre ordered digitally. NHL is the only game I play for literally the whole year. I mainly stick to the 1v1 online, hopefully they made some improvements to their server infrastructure because the lag in 15 was bad.
 
Honome

Honome

Member
Lockjaw333 said:
I'll be checking it out on ea access tomorrow. I'm a 2k hockey guy who only really played ea hockey for eashl. Super disappointed in NHL 15 obviously.

Hopefully eashl is solid this year. As for the offline game, I think it's been awful for years so I don't expect much. Playing against the cpu in ea nhl is mind numbingly awful.
Click to expand...

Same here mate. Ready to be disappointed on 15th...
 
L

Lockjaw333

Member
Played a few games vs CPU. Feels 90% the same as the last several years. Probably skip it unless my friends beg me to play EASHL.
 
O

Orca

Member
Thank god they got Arizona's authentic goal song, not one from a team anyone gives a shit about.

Downloading now!
 
D

Daximuss

Member
Great job on the OT. I'm so glad they brought back the modes a lot of us loved to play in the past. Gonna try it on EA Access, first.
 
W

Wingfan19

Unconfirmed Member
Day 0 for PS4 version. Can't wait to actually play this one. Though the lack of features last year made me play the most I ever did in HUT.
 
B

Bsigg12

Member
Do we know if the new third jerseys are in this now or are they holding off for a patch when they are officially revealed? I need to play all games in that new Avs hotness.
 
The Elite

The Elite

BOSS
Just played a game and it felt very good. Played using Windows 10 streaming without any issues as well. That's a really good sign.

Windows 10 streaming is making me rethink some of my multiplatform choices these days.
 
T

TimeEffect

Member
What's the concensus? I havent been following

Is there an arcadey mode/options, or a 2v2 mode or minigames like in the older 2K games?
 
R

RedRum

Banned
This is awesome!! Great OT. Can't wait. Have not decided what to get this for. PS4 or Xbox. Leaning towards Xbox.
 
G

GravyButt

Member
Hmmm the ai still has magnetic sticks/puck voodoo shit yet your players (including your ai teammates) evidently has the stick/streetball style voodoo shit. Seriously why is this still such an issue in the nhl series? Fifa is fine. Both ai (your team and the cpu team) have 0 issues but in nhl games (especially last year) you can literally see the fucking puck pull crazy physics just to get to ai stick. So dumb.

Ps: still need more time to play just my initial thoughts and was the first thing I noticed because i wanted it fixed badly. More than likely will buy anyway you look at it because im hockey obsessed.
 
T

TheVisualizer

Banned
Saw this video on Operation Sports forums that shows all of the teams jerseys in the game

http://youtu.be/yUcygrvOQ04

To answer a question askef earlier, I dont see any of the recently announced 3rd jerseys so I figure they will get patched in later after they are all announced like EA has done in previous years
 
C

Chuck the Bean

Member
I've been wondering for a many years now how many people work for EA Canada to produce NHL games versus the guys who produce NFL and Fifa games for EA. Anyone knows??

Probably a much smaller team but they still give us a good product year after year (I didn't buy 15 Cuz of no EASHL though...)
 
N

natertots

Member
Just played a single player game offline. Graphically it looks better than last years. The player models look a lot better imo. Gameplay feels a lot tighter than last years as well. Will get into the other modes tomorrow and see how they are. Looking forward to playing some online shootouts again.
 
U

User 479360

Banned
I couldn't stop playing it at E3. Practically every time I had some free time between appointments, I was there.

It was great there.

Hopefully my copy will arrive soon for review purposes, because I'm itching to play it again.
 
S

Samus4145

Member
Chuck the Bean said:
I've been wondering for a many years now how many people work for EA Canada to produce NHL games versus the guys who produce NFL and Fifa games for EA. Anyone knows??

Probably a much smaller team but they still give us a good product year after year (I didn't buy 15 Cuz of no EASHL though...)
Click to expand...

NHL team is very small. Met a lot of them last year at E3.
 
Dusktildawn48

Dusktildawn48

Member
guitarguy316 said:
Weak, I like just doing playoff mode
Click to expand...
What? It's there
Edit: Nvm guess you meant online
And one thing I can't stand and it's annoyed me for years is the fact (playing against the cpu) you out shoot them 35 - 15 and still lose 5-1. This is never gonna change is it. And the ai just has magnetic sticks. Any bouncing puck will be picked up by them
 
beanman25

beanman25

Member
Got my copy from EA yesterday. Still easy to score like last year, but they need to tune down penalty frequency though.
 
K

KaYotiX

Banned
So far the game is alot better than last year (wasn't hard), game feels slower and to me that's good. Only played a few games so it's still new.
 
C

Cake Boss

Banned
KaYotiX said:
So far the game is alot better than last year (wasn't hard), game feels slower and to me that's good. Only played a few games so it's still new.
Click to expand...

Game feels a lot faster to me which is an added boost, because last years was a slug fest.

Can't believe I am saying this but game is fun to play against the CPU. CPU doesn't feel like it has the magnetic stick anymore and can easily poke the puck away, especially in their defensive zone to continue a forecheck.
 
TheMissingLink

TheMissingLink

Member
Pretty excited here. Voted with my wallet and skipped last year's version to missing the one mode I play, EASHL, so it'll probably feel pretty fresh.

Still can't believe the craziness of last year...but hopeful this year.
 
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