Hey NHLGamers,
with NHL 19 approaching rapidly (EA Access trials on Xbox One will be opened up in just 5 days!), we have now received more insight into how all of the open beta feedback - including ours, thank you for submitting your opinions! - from the past few weeks was received. The following changes have been made for the full release of NHL 19:
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NHL 19 Release Version (1.0.0)
Gameplay
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Physics
- Fixes to physics tensions and joint limits
- Hip check improvements
- Improvements to stumble fall animations
- Various animation blend fixes during physics reactions
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Skating
- Improvements to stop animations and transitions from stop to stand
- Improvements to pivot direction consistency
- Various animation improvements
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Goalie
- Fixed a user goalie blend after passing the puck out
- Various fixes to saves where the pads were not flush to the ice
- Fixed a case where goalies would get stuck in free skate in Ones
- Fixed some known cases for users getting stuck in butterfly
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Poke Check
- Improvements to collision volumes to more accurately detect incidental stick on stick or stick on body contact
- Fixed some cases where the defensive player could contact the puck after their stick went through the puck carrier’s geometry
- Fixes to conditions where the blend out of a poke check was still causing trips
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Puck Pickups
- Fixed an issue to allow the player to pick up their own pass if it was blocked/deflected
- Improvements to interception balance based on player ratings
- Improvements to staying onside during pickups
- Various improvements to puck pickup animations
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Specializations
- Various fixes to specializations and traits
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General
- Improve player support to get to loose pucks
- Fixed various desyncs
- Protect puck stumble animations added
- Improvements to CPU behaviour on breakaways and shootouts
- Improve logic to prevent accidental manual RS Switching
- Various fixes to fighting and scrum alignment
- Fixes to faceoff alignment in World of CHEL
- Seen once the AI skater will remain idle behind the net
- Fixes to control hints in training camp
Presentation
- Various fixes to overlays not clearing properly
- Improvements to multiplayer hugs
- Various camera fixes
- Fixes to cameras clipping with crowd and arena geometry
- Lighting and Material improvements/fixes. Player skin will now appear more accurate
- New cameras added for each of the venues within NHL Ones
World of CHEL
- Fixed various desyncs when going into gameplay in 3v3 and 6v6 drop in
- Fixed various crashes in the Dressing Room while opening hockey bags
- Fixed various crashes while customizing in the dressing room while match making
- Fixed a soft lock in the post match up dressing room, when one user would open the loadout selection screen as the timer ran out
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Furthermore, we have received a list of changes that did not make it in time for the disc release, but will be available as a day one update when you first start up NHL 19.
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NHL 19 Day One Update (1.1.0)
Gameplay
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General
- Disabled various player interactions (fights, scrums, instigations) during Ones
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To compliment the fix to the bug that allowed you to win a forehand draw while using the backhand grip we made some faceoff balance changes
- Backhand stick lift now beats the tieup
- Forehand stick lift now beats the Backhand stick lift
- Removed broken sticks from online modes
- Fixed cases where CPU players were still taking penalties in non player locked online games
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Goalies
- Improvements to AI goalies from sharp angles
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Poke Checking
- Fixed cases where poke checks were tripping a player after getting puck first
- Fixes to accuracy of poke checks on stationary/slow moving loose pucks
- Fixed a case where players were not being tripped after consecutive pokes
- Various additional poke check targeting fixes
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Uniforms
- NHL
- Anaheim Ducks 3rd Uniform
- EBEL
- EHC LIWEST Black Wings Linz
- Red Bull Salzburg Home and Away
- Vienna Capitals Home and Away
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Stadium Updates
- Updated scoreboard in the Prudential Center
World of CHEL
- The game now defaults to preset home and away tops in 6v6 instead of user assigned casual tops. This resolves visual confusion during gameplay.
- Various changes to customization items for better in-game readability
- Fixed an issue where gameplay assets were being rendered in the main menu
- Fixed a case where the game would frequently hang when going into a 6v6 game of drop in
- Fixed rare crashes when rolling over to the dressing room after a match
- Fixed a rare crash in the post game screen due to Voip conflicts.
- Fixed a rare desync at the puck drop in Ones
- Fixed various issues where the game would crash when moving from one mode to another
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What stands out most in our opinion are the changes applied to faceoffs as well as pokechecks. Even though a lot of players have been asking for the backhand-to-forehand switch to return, it is not coming back, and instead we are seeing adjustments to the 'rock papers scissors' mechanic as backhand sticklifts now beat the tie-up, and backhand sticklifts can be countered with forehand sticklifts.
Furthermore, we are seeing another increase in punishing bad pokechecks by fixing rare occasions where a stick going through a skater's body did not result in a trip, while at the same time pokecheck targeting seems to have been improved. We expect these changes to reward good defensive positioning even further, now that the RNG aspect has been toned down.
What do you think of the changelogs above? Did EA SPORTS meet your expectations?
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