The problem with a scrub team is that it would need to have a shitload of players if everyone is just going to show up once a week. That or we’ll have to schedule a certain time each week to all play.
You could always set up 2 on 2 games in OTP and both hop on the same side and wait for 2 random people to play you. Still get stats and games played progression from it, just doesn’t record game scores (at least not this year).
More stuff on the 1v1 Dynasty mode:
http://www.easports.com/blogs/inthecrease/post/slug/eauhl-the-biggest-online-dynasty-ever
Probably not spending a lot of time on this but if you are more of a 1v1 player this is a pretty neat thing. Saw rumors of maybe an online GM mode as well. That I could see screwing around with.
Newest dev chat:
http://nhl.easports.com/livechat.action
Key piece of info is the demo is out on the 17th. The rest is all UHL stuff.
Demo is out:
http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/games/media/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d802454108fd/
I will have early impressions tomorrow.
Here are my impressions of the demo: http://xarocsmusings.blogspot.com/2010/08/nhl-11-demo-impressions.html
The TLDR version is if you want to do well get used to the new passing system. On the face it is mostly like the old one other than holding down the button longer makes your passes harder. But this means you need to read the play even more than before.
Need to download this and check out that HUT mode. Good to hear the faceoffs have been improved also. Any changes in the wait time after a whistle?
It’s fantastic. By far the best iteration since I first played the game.
Rowe, the time after whistle seems (thank you jesus, because only you can get through to that clown Littman) drastically reduced.
EAUHL seems like a surprising amount of fun. Trading card game plus hockey strategy and lineup manipulation plus actual games? Count me in.
I’ve played an obscene amount of 09 and 10, so I really cannot wait for this one.
The passing system is rather interesting. I’ve only used it a little bit, but I have the basic passing down (I think) and need to work on more advanced stuff like leading people on stretch passes and using the boards to pass around defenders.
The AI seems better in general, but we’ll see how that holds up in OTP.
So far, the broken and dropped sticks haven’t happened too often. In the bit that I’ve played the demo, I broke one stick on a slapshot and lost my stick several times for various reasons. I would guess it will happen something like 3 - 4 times per game…?
Still…overall impression is positive. I’m liking what they did overall and the game actually seems more fluid than 10 for whatever reason. Hitting still seems a bit problematic (targeting specifically), but I’ve never been that much of a checker so that might just be me.
A quick heads up. In the HUT mode and even the Battle for the Cup mode the style is set to default. Apparently if you set it to normal the passing becomes much more difficult, which is probably going to be how it is in the EASHL so you may want to try that.
I might try to play this after a number of years off from videogame hockey. EA doesn’t charge for online play, do they?
Not if you buy the game new.
I’m confused by what you mean regarding a new passing system, Xaroc. On the surface your description sounds just like what I see in NHL 10. Or at least it sounds like NHL 10’s system if you have “manual passing” turned on in the gameplay settings menu - the longer the button press, the harder and less accurate your pass. Am I missing something?
And is there any word on whether they fixed the unholy bug in Be A Pro mode where, if you make it to the playoffs, the AI insists on your team using your backup goalie as your starter for every game? I was damn near in tears watching Buffalo bench Ryan Miller in favor of Patrick Lalime for 23 straight games. Be A Pro mode is a great idea overall, but WOW that part of it sucked.
In 10 you could tap the trigger and send hard passes board to board with ease on default and EASHL. On hardcore you ended up with the press needing to be longer for harder passes thing but that was an option and not on in EASHL or online.
Now, if you just tap the trigger now even on default you can’t throw a hard pass. You can make a reasonable slow/medium pass maybe 15 feet from you with a quick tap of the trigger in 11. To throw a hard pass you need to hold the trigger for maybe half a second before passing.
No idea about BAP. I barely touched it last year except to unlock boosts to play online with.
I love the new weighty feel to checking…makes it feel more realistic to me. I hadn’t played as a team in so long though that it took a bit to get used to it again (as opposed to the EASHL or Be a Pro mode.)
For the HUT mode - once you get a player, do you keep him? Or will he eventually go back to the pool after a certain # of games?
I thought I read that a player has a set number of games…once they play those games, they retire, but still exist in your collection. Problem is, you cant play them again unless you get another copy of their card (with a fresh set of available games) to swap into your collection. I would assume this means any attribute boosts you spent on the player are lost as well.
How critical is this while card trading/collecting game to NHL 11? I haven’t played an EA NHL in years, and all I’m looking for is a great single player NHL simulation.
It’s not critical at all. The single player is great but, it really shines in multiplayer.
The card collecting is only part of the hockey ultimate team mode which is online. There is an offlne single player mode as well.
There are a lot of single player modes now from play one team season/dynasty, to playoffs/tournament only, to be a pro (play one player), gm mode, and you can even play the hockey ultimate single player.
However I hope the math in HUT is better than in the Madden mode. I did a few calculations on maintenance costs for my team and let’s just say it isn’t really sustainable without using real cash or working really hard. I don’t mind working hard but eventually I will tire of it. Love the idea of the mode though.