Hey NHL Gamers,
we wanted to share another update on "Ask NHL" answers with you, as they are revealing quite a lot of interesting details about the upcoming NHL 17. Without further ado, here is our compact summary:
General
- Original arenas will only be included for NHL teams (example: Orlando Solar Bears are playing in the Amway Center, FL which will not be reflected in the game)
- Create Team / Create Arena tools will allow you to use all customizations right from the start, unlocks are only needed for your EASHL team
- Arena customization allows you to tweak base architectural design (board trim colour, seat pattern layouts, colour schemes, railing colours, goal light types, center ice logo design, center line styles, stanchion styles, goal spotlight effects, scoreboard types, special effects during intros/goals, goal songs, powerplay songs and much more), in-arena presentation of music, special effects and lighting
- Commentary was extended with new player names, as well as team / city names
- Just like last year, the NHL 17 beta will be your only chance to get your hands on the game early, as a demo is not planned
- Player, team and arena customization will be included in the NHL 17 beta
- If you registered for the NHL 17 beta, you will receive your code once the beta is live - watch the social media channels for more information
- "Classic" teams were considered, but are hard to license due to the fact that there is not a single union for retired players
- Music in the menus as well as in-game was updated, more details will follow at a later date
- Unique playoff atmospheres (like the Winnipeg Whiteout) will now also show up during season play
- NHL 17 player ratings will be revelead closer to launch
- Shared rosters like in the Madden series will not be a part of NHL 17
- Custom goalie masks cannot be created
- The new ECHL will be available in Play Now, Season Mode, HUT and Online VS (not part of Franchise Mode or Be a Pro)
Gameplay
- New during-the-game animations were only added for goalies - skater animations will stay the same.
- Camera relative controls for goalies will not make it into NHL 17, instead they tweaked the controls differently which will be tested during the beta
- A new camera for goalies will be available at launch (see screenshot below)
- On top of the new blocking mechanic (instead of reactionary saves), goalie precision movements have been updated so you can adjust your speed by pushing the left stick differently
- Goalies can now also quit out of animations (e.g. if you want to drop down to butterfly before fully standing up)
- Sticks will still be able to go through the boards as EA were not able to adjust this without limiting player movements - however they made improvements so poke checks are able to connect in these situations
- Stick-on-stick and stick-to-body collisions were improved to better determine if the puck should come free, but it still does not run full physics reactions due to the limitations a player currently has when moving his stick around
- Sliders for offline modes were overhauled and allow you to customize your game experience even deeper (e.g. for hitting, you can tweak impact relative speed, checking/balance ratings of the players involved, relative size of the players, stumble thresholds and how much incidental contact affects players)
- Pauses for all online game modes have been reduced to 1 per team, which remains 30 seconds long
- New powerplay formations (like 1-3-1) were not added to the game
- Offensive and defensive AI were tweaked to better stick to their opponents, recognize a threat from passing options and be more intelligent when moving the puck around
Game Modes
- HUT: "Unowned items" view in the collection makes it easy to see which players you are missing, and allows you to search for them in the auction house immediately
- HUT: Details about returning user rewards will be revelead at a later point
- HUT: Coaches are the same as in NHL 16, though this time they do not contribute to your stats but your Synergy
- HUT: Preorder packs can be sold in the auction house
- HUT: Auction house functionality will remain the same as in NHL 16
- Draft Champions: Can be played offline or online (head to head, play a friend will not be available), hinted to be equal to FUT Draft which was introduced to FIFA 16 for the first time
- Draft Champions: To start off, you pick one of 4 available themes (e.g. European heritage, Canadian heritage) which will determine your starting roster - the player pools will be updated with new content on a weekly basis (TOTW, special items...)
- Draft Champions: Winning games allows you to unlock content for HUT, such as packs and unique players
- EASHL: Height & weight remain locked and can only be changed by selecting a different player build
- EASHL: Any game started with two human goalies needs to be finished with two - having your goalie drop out will end the game with a loss
- EASHL: Third jerseys can be used, but need to be unlocked first
- EASHL Drop-in: Dropped goalies will be replaced with much smaller and weaker bot goalies
- EASHL Drop-in: The coach may boot you from the game when intentionally going for offsides or in case you stay idle for too long
Use the comments below to tell us what you think about these changes!
- gzell60
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