How do you get the puck in one or the scrums along the boards or in the corner?Is it all button mashing or is it just random or how is it achieved?

thanks for the great write up buddy

awesome write up. cant wait to play in front of an all orange wachovia center!!

I know I am very late with my write up here, but work has been brutal since I got back - I had to work a bit the Sunday I got back even. But here is my combined Community Event experience and write up on watching Rammer demo NHL 10.

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I have to admit that I did not think I had a shot at being selected to represent the EA Forum community in Vancouver. I was ecstatic when I found out I was the selection as I knew I would have a lot of guys, and possibly gals, depending on me to represent the community well. I did the best I could to be well prepared for the event, and I flew to Vancouver with a hefty doc full of ideas.

When I got to Vancouver I have to say I was impressed with the accommodations. EA put us up in a very nice hotel as the rooms were top notch and the bed was…amazing to put it simply. I was one of the two people who was the last to arrive in town, so when I arrived at Joe’s to watch the Canucks game everyone was already jammed around a table intently watching the Canucks game. Living in South Carolina for the past few years I had forgotten what it is to be surrounded by passionate hockey fans – Joe’s was alive. It was also a bit of a bummer watching the crowd somber up a bit when the Blackhawks came back to win it, but at least I got to see my Wings put the Anaheim “The Refs Can’t Call Everything”s in their place. (That was kind of funny. I was one of two Wings fans in the whole place. When the Wings would score the usual Bar murmur would be broken by a single excited shout. I have never felt so out of place, haha)

When I woke up the next morning on 2 or 3 hours of sleep I was not ready for the announcement that we would be going to Twist Conditioning for an intense late morning workout. I grew up playing street hockey, basketball, football, and (indoor) soccer but nothing, not any amount of suicides, could have prepared me for this workout. They had us doing exercises that emphasized “Explosion”, Balance, and “Muscle Discipline”. Most of the exercises focused on a staying in a low skating stance and working from there. I think the exercise that got me the most was the Bossu ball squats. Much like Slap, I didn’t really feel the full effects of this until I was safely home on Sunday, but man did I ever feel it Saturday walking through the airports as well.

When we got to the EA campus, the first adjective that comes to mind is “wow”. I work for a small company (I am one of… 14, maybe, total employees) that rents a small office. I think there was a men’s bathroom at EA that was probably about the same square footage as our entire office. Everywhere I looked I saw slick modern architecture, soccer fields, street hockey rinks, beach volley ball courts, and everything I could only dream about my company’s office grounds having.

After a quick shower, we were taken to a conference room to meet the producers and Zack Stortini. While it was very interesting to meet an NHL player like Zack and watch him throw Jobo around like a rag doll, I have to admit that I was more excited to hear the NHL team talk about the series. The NHL team talked about a number of improvements for NHL 10, but a few of them are pretty noteworthy.

First is Board Play. One of the big issues with NHL 09 is that the game tends to play with a more “run and gun” style. It would seem EA has heard our cries, and as many of you already know thanks to the ESPN preview, board play is in NHL 10. All I can really say is that I was impressed. Players interact with the boards in a very realistic manner, and so do the fans (banging the glass, looked awesome). I saw that the board play meshed with the flow of the game very well. The transitions to and from the board play were pretty fluid and looked pretty realistic. It is also worth noting how AI teammates reacted to the mechanic. Players for both teams came in support - a defensive player digging away at the puck as it sits between the offensive player’s legs and an offensive teammate lined up along the boards awaiting a soccer style pass.

Next up was First person fighting. This is why Stortini was the guest at the NHL community event, improving the fighting. I have to say the fighting is going to be amazing, and for the first month EAHL is going to be a lot of fun watching 5 on 5 AI play since EVERYONE is going to be sitting in the box. The first person view takes nothing away from the experience, and the pictures of Stortini throwing Jobo around gives you a good idea of what to expect. The only knock I have against the fighting is that there wasn’t much of an indication for whether or not you hit your opponent. To answer one question I have seen in a few places, when you have a local multiplayer fight it uses split screen (top/bottom).

Third is Precision passing. This is a feature I am really excited to see. I don’t mind the tape to tape passing in NHL 09, but the new passing system is definitely an improvement. Watching the demo it quickly became clear that precision passing is definitely a mechanic depending entirely on player skill. Not only was the player completely in control of in what direction they pass in, they also control how much zip is on passes. Again, I hate to say, I have a small issue with the feature. I saw 3 general speeds for passes: slow, moderate, and faster. The moderate and faster passes all looked very good, but the slow passes seemed off to me. The only times I generally see floater passes are in zero pressure situations, and I am concerned that these slower passes could become a major cause of frustration. Other than that, wow.

Fourth is Action after the whistle. A signature of the NHL series, it is now going to a new level. Everything is possible after a whistle: checking, scrums, fights, penalties, and drawing a team’s ire with a late shot on the goalie. I think you guys might be glad to know that I didn’t see a penalty (other than fighting) taken after the whistle, so it seems like the usual hit fests shouldn’t be too costly. The AI reacting to after the whistle action was solid. I saw that if a player like Crosby or Toews was hit after the whistle it seemed like everyone on the ice came flying over to defend the team’s star. But if you hit a “minor” player, it seemed like the scrum was a bit smaller. Also, if you went after a tough guy you can be sure that a fight would probably take place. All in all I think this is a great addition, but as always I have at least one concern. I think this will drag out EAHL games a bit as it seemed like the post whistle fun averaged about 15 seconds in length.

Finally, Interactive crowds are something most of the forums have been clamoring for and EA has answered. There were red outs, white outs, any kind of out you can think of. There was towel waving in playoff games as well as increased crowd noise from what I could tell. Fans bang on the glass during board play and when an opposing player is setting up behind the net. One thing I noticed, and I thought was kind of funny, were the animations for the female fans. While they also got excited during critical points in the game, there was a funny easter egg. If a male fan sitting next to a female fan (I am assuming they would be boyfriend/girlfriend or husband/wife) gets a little too excited at the action I saw a few women cross their arms and look the other way. All I could think of was my fiancée doing the same and I was laughing pretty hard.

That is really all there is to it. I limped through the airports on Saturday, limped home, and I have been (mostly) working ever since. The EA community event was a fantastic experience, and I want to thank everyone for highlighting their feedback for me. I know whoever gets to go next year will have an amazing time as EA really knows how to put on a show. No offense guys, but I am hoping I get to go again next year!

Just curious, with the action of kicking the puck to the stick if the puck hits the skate, will we see kicked in goals when in front of the crease ???

Very good write ups, Domwin and Slapshot. Thanks for the updated impressions. The game sounds very promising so far, and I look forward to hearing more in the future.

Awesome write up. This on probably got me the most excited.

This game can't come soon enough.

in that ovechkin and fleury u can do the zacbeast leg kick!

MAIN.aBiNeR wrote:

Probably not enough to be safe

Not probably...definitely not enough time. Thus, the reason for my post...questioning if there are to be any changes in their testing process...like perhaps a wider audience covering it?

Maybe it's best to let somene who signed an NDA answer this one.

Maybe you skipped over the EA Privacy Policy...

20. Beta Tests

In its sole discretion, EA may contact you to review and evaluate one or more games, aspects of games, or online features prior to commercial release for the purpose of identifying program errors. You will be asked to provide to EA (and to EA only) certain feedback and suggestions regarding your experiences while reviewing and evaluating the game(s) or site feature(s). This process is known as a “Beta Test.” You must sign and return to EA a Pre-Release Software Confidentiality Agreement (“Confidentiality Agreement”) for each specific Beta Test BEFORE you will be allowed to be a tester (“Tester”) and BEFORE any software will be provided or made accessible to you. Your participation as a Tester is subject to the Confidentiality Agreement and the following terms and conditions.

...

Also, isn't the bulk of the code base reused? I don't know where you get "sheer volume of code changes" from. Most testing will likely be done on new features with some regression testing to ensure that the old code holds up. You should know about that...

GREAT stuff....

in regards to the crowds booing the player who injures one of your players, do they boo throughout the season in Dynasty/BAP each game against that team, or just in that particular game?

xbox.Double O Domwin wrote: Fourth is Action after the whistle. A signature of the NHL series, it is now going to a new level. Everything is possible after a whistle: checking, scrums, fights, penalties, and drawing a team’s ire with a late shot on the goalie. I think you guys might be glad to know that I didn’t see a penalty (other than fighting) taken after the whistle, so it seems like the usual hit fests shouldn’t be too costly. The AI reacting to after the whistle action was solid. I saw that if a player like Crosby or Toews was hit after the whistle it seemed like everyone on the ice came flying over to defend the team’s star. But if you hit a “minor” player, it seemed like the scrum was a bit smaller. Also, if you went after a tough guy you can be sure that a fight would probably take place. All in all I think this is a great addition, but as always I have at least one concern. I think this will drag out EAHL games a bit as it seemed like the post whistle fun averaged about 15 seconds in length.

I am disappointed to see the line I bolded, maybe a tweak on the penalties slider (I assume there is one) will help that

Nice. I cant wait to play.

Demo this year? lol

Are there goal reviews?

xbox.BruinsHockey08 wrote:

xbox.Double O Domwin wrote: Fourth is Action after the whistle. A signature of the NHL series, it is now going to a new level. Everything is possible after a whistle: checking, scrums, fights, penalties, and drawing a team’s ire with a late shot on the goalie. I think you guys might be glad to know that I didn’t see a penalty (other than fighting) taken after the whistle, so it seems like the usual hit fests shouldn’t be too costly. The AI reacting to after the whistle action was solid. I saw that if a player like Crosby or Toews was hit after the whistle it seemed like everyone on the ice came flying over to defend the team’s star. But if you hit a “minor” player, it seemed like the scrum was a bit smaller. Also, if you went after a tough guy you can be sure that a fight would probably take place. All in all I think this is a great addition, but as always I have at least one concern. I think this will drag out EAHL games a bit as it seemed like the post whistle fun averaged about 15 seconds in length.

I am disappointed to see the line I bolded, maybe a tweak on the penalties slider (I assume there is one) will help that

Yeah, me too. If they are gonna call stuff after the whistle, you should definitely be called for taking runs at people too.

Really exciting stuff ... of course the new features are going to bring in a few problems along the way (slow passes, goals kicked in with the player's skate, longer games because of post-whistle play), but that's to be expected and I fully anticipate a polished product far better than the stellar '09 ...

Now my only question is ... did they get rid of the constant cross-checking motion when you wanna simply take someone out of the play ? There's no other way to check someone than cross-check 'em in the face, currently ... hope that did get addressed !

Looks amazing so far ... I've played so much '09 and I can't see myself playing any less '10, to be honest ...