NHL 14: Thoughts on Tuner Update 1.01 - Wiggy's Blog

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NHL 14: Thoughts on Tuner Update 1.01 Stuck

Posted on September 30, 2013 at 08:03 AM.

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EA has released yet another tuner update for NHL 14, and there have been some important changes that affect the gameplay in a significant way.

Quote:


	Name: Tuner 1.01 Date: 9/26/2013 Notes: � Increased the accuracy of players making pass interceptions. � Reduced the frequency of fight starts in OTP and EASHL games. � Reduced the chance of tripping calls when pass blocking. � Decreased attributes for AI replacement goalies when a human EASHL goalie drops out of a match with 2 human goalies.

The first change has the most impact, as players now have a better chance of intercepting the puck when passes are made through traffic. I definitely noticed this online when playing with my EASHL team, as certain risky pass situations weren't rewarded as they would've been prior, and this applied to both our team and opponents. It was certainly harder for cross-crease opportunities to get through, especially if there multiple players in the passing lane. This didn't mean that nothing got through, as there were still a few curious chances that were able to elude multiple defenders, but on the whole, the amount of interceptions was notably increased in the games I played.

The second change has been one that's been requested since players got their hands on the demo, and that is a reduction in fight frequency. In the games I played, this change seemed apparent, as not every post-whistle shot at the goalie resulted in a fight opportunity, and there also weren't many chances to fight after a particularly egregious hit. You can still fight off the face-off with the same frequency, and hit-related fights can happen, but fights seemed to happen once or twice less a game, which is probably what most users are wanting at this point.

Personally, I've been totally fine with the fight frequency, as our team has only engaged in fisticuffs late in the game or after a particularly bad hit on one of our guys. Sure, the odd post-whistle goalie shot does result in a fight, but I think some of that was getting a bit blown out of proportion by people who liked to get away with massive hits and borderline plays. Either way, the fight frequency now, at first brush, seems quite good.

The next change EA made was to reduce the amount of tripping calls that would result from kneel-blocking to stop a pass attempt. Honestly, our team only encountered this penalty the odd time before this tuner update, but it is kind of strange penalty, as the guy tripping over you is sort of exaggeratedly falling down over your kneeling body, which doesn't really scream realism. Amusingly, we did actually have this penalty still get called after the tuner update, but it was when I was kneel-blocking to stop a doorstep one-timer and the other guy flew over by crouched defender, which was called a trip. I guess it made sense in context, but still, it's a bit annoying. Then again, I don't think is something that will be seen often anyway, so no need to get too worked up about it.

I didn't get to see the final change in action, but it certainly seems like a smart move. It prevents teams from completely screwing over a game that had two manual goalies to start, as the team that "loses" a goalie shouldn't essentially become better by keeping the manual goalie's stats for their AI drone. It's always going to be a problem with AI goalies versus human ones, but this is a subtle change that helps out that situation.

Overall, the changes are solid, with some simple ones, like the AI goalie nerfs and less tripping calls on kneel-blocks, and some much-needed alterations, with the reduction in fight frequency and increased interceptions. There are still other areas that need to be addressed, though, such as puck control, goal frequency from the deep slot, poke-checks and the amount of overcommitting that goalies still do on weird deflections that dribble into one side of the net. Hopefully these get addressed sooner rather than later.

My EASHL team has been enjoying the game even more after this tuner update, as we feel it complements our style of play a lot better than the previous version. Even with a few issues still outstanding, we're still having fun and being competitive in most games, even when teams are relying on some annoying shot types or tactics. Let's hope the tuner updates happen relatively frequently to keep addressing the ever-evolving nature of player habits and stat levels.