Why the f**k is versus mode so goddamn slow? I have never in my life seen hockey played at such a slow speed.
I have lost so many games of online versus simply because my team is not able to skate as fast as they do in real life. The developer who programmed needs to watch a hockey game. All of the past versions of the game had much faster play than this.
Why did you slow it down so much EA? It was fine the way it was. Whomever told you to slow it down certainly did not speak for me.

Yea, when you start of playing offline, then go to online, it definetly takes some getting used to. Rush plays don't work out as well since the speed drop takes away the element of surprise.

I think it would be best to add a game speed option prior to the game.

Edit: Actually, I just now noticed there is an option for that in offline play, haven't checked online yet. Try it?

i think it's fine

xbox.geeseMAN69 wrote:i think it's fine

So do you think the default speed offline is too fast then? There's definetly a huge difference.

Compare the speed of the Online Versus gameplay to a real NHL game.
Trust me, you'll notice how sluggish Online Versus is.

I like the speed, it drives creativity

xbox.Kevman7987 wrote:Compare the speed of the Online Versus gameplay to a real NHL game.
Trust me, you'll notice how sluggish Online Versus is.

I think the speed is fine make it less arcadish. Makes it easier to stop kids who just want to rush into the zone all the time and just shoot and try cross creasers.

This is a hockey simulation though, it should at least be as fast as the real NHL.

the speed doesnt bother me as things just happen abit slower the thing the gets me tho is the terrible lag that goes on in every VS games.. i have yet to play 1 vs game (be it random ranked or league game) that hasnt been choppy as hell.....

I personally hate VS mode in 10 compared to 09... in 09 i had a skill level of 23 played alot of games in VS mode ranked about 220ish in league about 300 & loved every second of it.... but in NHL10 i get so mad at playing VS cuz of the choppy game play. I rarely get any type of lag in EASHL or any dc issues but as soon as i play a VS game lag comes in full stride for the entire game.

I have tried resetting modem before playing a VS game and it doesnt help at all, EA puts so much time into the EASHL that they completely forgot about the VS mode.... I love the EASHL dont get me wrong but sometimes just cant hack it against those brutal OTP players and i want to play VS games when my club members rnt online. But EA has made it virtually impossible to play VS & im not the only 1 who says this as the club im on have a VS league going and every player says VS is choppy as F...................

I don't play a lot of versus, but if your blaming your losses on the game play speed then that's sad. No offense, but if the game play is slow fir you then wouldn't it be the same for your opponent. Another thing is that you can't compare online with offline because your probably going to be playing on different settings for offline, especially if you changed the sliders or play on anything less than all star/normal.

xbox.K1NGxR3DDEV1L14 wrote:I don't play a lot of versus, but I'm going to go ahead and talk as if I knew what I was talking about. Which I don't as I don't play what you're referring to.

Okay, maybe it was all of like two losses because of game speed. I just prefer a faster game, it was faster last year. "If it's in the game, it's in the game" does mean a simulation is supposed to be as close to realistic as possible, which this is not. As I said in my opening post here, Almost all NHL hockey in the real NHL is much faster than it is in NHL 10.
I prefer that when they change something in this game it was to make it more realistic.

I have been a Hockey player my whole life. I played semi professional Ice Hockey, and I am now a coach. A life time of true Ice hockey experience shows without a doubt the speed in Ranked matches is way to slow! Forget about how slow the players are...the speed of passes and shots are far too slow. This makes one timers and quick tic tac toe plays pointless ruining the experience for an experienced hockey player. Instead its a slow frustrating individual effort. I play a lot of NHL as I love hockey and being able to hop on the ice without going to the rink for me is a treat. I have plenty of friends I play with in custom games to compensate for this tragedy lol.

That being said I understand that turning the speed up can create very high scoring games, thats were the skill comes in though. The people I play with are also hockey players and are very good at NHL. The games we all have are very close and extremely exciting. The highest scoring games might reach 6 goals. But that is not the norm. The reality is if you understand systematic hockey and play a system the game play can be very rewarding. That combined with a smooth set of hands makes for a fierce opponent. The only games I have seen that get out of control(high scores around 10+ goals) occurs when a experienced hockey player plays a fan. Or if your a scoring trick guy in which you just try to score the same goal all game(very frustrating to play these people if you don't play good defense). The game is a land slide when the speed is up. This is because of the hockey players quick decision making and understanding of the flow of the game. Or your lack of defensive and offensive knowledge( you need to play a 5 man game, don't pass the puck to Crosby and Ovechkin all game). If you are having a hard time playing at higher speeds you could probably use some practice on your analog stick handling and should review some basic systematic play to apply to your game.

Hockey is a game of SPEED. Puck movement and playing with a sense of urgency is very important. Quick decisions are a big part of the game but in order to make those decisions you have to know the game of hockey.

In my opinion the speed should only be turned up if your a experienced hockey player. Or if you have been playing NHL for a long time and know what your doing(its still just a video game). The challenge for EA sports is to allow for both players to have a fun game experience. To me there philosophy is if the speed is slow, weaker players can keep up. This way they have a fighting chance. Problem is this makes the game play experience for real hockey players boring, slow, and frustrating. As game developers this is hard to compensate for. I believe the solution would be to slightly turn up the game speed and introduce more strategic options for the player. Madden does a fabulous job with this. The play book is HUGE. Something similar should be added to NHL. And of coarse for less experienced players an "ASK MADDEN" option can be provided to make weaker players feel secure in there strategic decisions. This way we can turn up the speed a little bit and defensively weaker players with be able to hang in the game. If you are one of the more experienced players who know what your doing you should stand out on the scoring board. But not by an obscene margin. Good luck to EA sports, they are gonna have a tough time fixing this. The game of hockey at times can be fast and is also slowed by players buying time out necessity to create. It is no easy task to simulate this. I truly think the introduction of better strategic options and smarter defensive AI is the solution. From that EA sports will have to tweak the game play to best meet the expectation of there customers.


Here are some tips


Offense:

Making use of the weak side of the ice is HUGE(opposite side of the ice from puck). The strong side is the puck side of the ice. This can be applied in all facets of the game. Doing this will result in be puck control and time on attack.

One timers are key. Rebounds are big too, crash the net!

Analog stick handling fundamentals are HUGE. Go practice, a player that just pushes the puck up the ice is at a huge disadvantage!

Move the puck. The puck moves faster that the players. Unless you have extremely nice analog stick handling control you will lose the puck.


Defense:

Attack from the inside out, this means stay on the defensive side of the puck putting your body in between the puck carrier and your net.

Gap control is big. Do NOT allow gap between you and puck carrier, you should be a stick length away.

Play physical! Don't be a lumber jack(hooking/slashing/poke checking). If you want to swing a stick around go play field hockey or lacrosse. That being said there is a time to take a penalty if you get beat, and poke check can be effective at times. The idea is to use your stick as a LAST resort.

Once you turn the puck over move the puck the the weak side of the ice. More open ice and you ensure your offensive attack. IF you force it up the strong side you will be playing a lot of defense lol.

The reality is most people don't understand the game of hockey. I coach with and against coaches who literally have no idea what there talking about. This is due to player/coach ego and the refusal to learn. This ends most talented players careers. I know because I was one of them! I have watched a lot of my friends go to the NHL or get close and I am reminded of it everyday when I turn on the TV. Take it from me, go learn the game of hockey. If you think you have it all figured out your dead wrong. You never stop learning. The people who say hockey is a simple game are people who have a simple understanding of the game and have a lot to learn. So drop the ego and start learning the game!

I agree that it does feel slow. Altough I see it differently;
Reasons to fix this issue:
* The skating engine
More gliding, right now when you let off the anolog stick, he almost immediatly stops.
* Right now, skater speed is almost perfect, believe it or not take a lap in practice mode and the speed is around 13-16 seconds, About the exact same in real life.
* Therefore, game speed is somehow about perfect.
* Hockey is game of speed, intensity, good passing. This game lacks that a lot.
* Get a better skating engine to make it look like the skaters are faster, and glide more when not pumping.
* Make forechecking more important/effective.
* Make it harder for Defense to clear the zone. Right now defense feels no pressure.
* The main problem, skating engine. Not gamespeed. No intensity.

ps3.RiNkLfOrSkIn wrote:I have been a Hockey player my whole life. I played semi professional Ice Hockey, and I am now a coach. A life time of true Ice hockey experience shows without a doubt the speed in Ranked matches is way to slow! Forget about how slow the players are...the speed of passes and shots are far too slow. This makes one timers and quick tic tac toe plays pointless ruining the experience for an experienced hockey player. Instead its a slow frustrating individual effort. I play a lot of NHL as I love hockey and being able to hop on the ice without going to the rink for me is a treat. I have plenty of friends I play with in custom games to compensate for this tragedy lol.

That being said I understand that turning the speed up can create very high scoring games, thats were the skill comes in though. The people I play with are also hockey players and are very good at NHL. The games we all have are very close and extremely exciting. The highest scoring games might reach 6 goals. But that is not the norm. The reality is if you understand systematic hockey and play a system the game play can be very rewarding. That combined with a smooth set of hands makes for a fierce opponent. The only games I have seen that get out of control(high scores around 10+ goals) occurs when a experienced hockey player plays a fan. Or if your a scoring trick guy in which you just try to score the same goal all game(very frustrating to play these people if you don't play good defense). The game is a land slide when the speed is up. This is because of the hockey players quick decision making and understanding of the flow of the game. Or your lack of defensive and offensive knowledge( you need to play a 5 man game, don't pass the puck to Crosby and Ovechkin all game). If you are having a hard time playing at higher speeds you could probably use some practice on your analog stick handling and should review some basic systematic play to apply to your game.

Hockey is a game of SPEED. Puck movement and playing with a sense of urgency is very important. Quick decisions are a big part of the game but in order to make those decisions you have to know the game of hockey.

In my opinion the speed should only be turned up if your a experienced hockey player. Or if you have been playing NHL for a long time and know what your doing(its still just a video game). The challenge for EA sports is to allow for both players to have a fun game experience. To me there philosophy is if the speed is slow, weaker players can keep up. This way they have a fighting chance. Problem is this makes the game play experience for real hockey players boring, slow, and frustrating. As game developers this is hard to compensate for. I believe the solution would be to slightly turn up the game speed and introduce more strategic options for the player. Madden does a fabulous job with this. The play book is HUGE. Something similar should be added to NHL. And of coarse for less experienced players an "ASK MADDEN" option can be provided to make weaker players feel secure in there strategic decisions. This way we can turn up the speed a little bit and defensively weaker players with be able to hang in the game. If you are one of the more experienced players who know what your doing you should stand out on the scoring board. But not by an obscene margin. Good luck to EA sports, they are gonna have a tough time fixing this. The game of hockey at times can be fast and is also slowed by players buying time out necessity to create. It is no easy task to simulate this. I truly think the introduction of better strategic options and smarter defensive AI is the solution. From that EA sports will have to tweak the game play to best meet the expectation of there customers.

You definitely make some good points. I agree on the wrist and snapshots. They should be turned up a few notches. Passes and skating speed seem alright to me.
It's a way to balance the game.

When it comes to the "fun factor", I think it is as good as it has ever been.

Here is some tips


Offense:

Making use of the weak side of the ice is HUGE(opposite side of the ice from puck). The strong side is the puck side of the ice. This can be applied in all facets of the game. Doing this will result in be puck control and time on attack.

One timers are key. Rebounds are big too, crash the net!

Analog stick handling fundamentals are HUGE. Go practice, a player that just pushes the puck up the ice is at a huge disadvantage!

Move the puck. The puck moves faster that the players. Unless you have extremely nice analog stick handling control you will lose the puck.


Defense:

Attack from the inside out, this means stay on the defensive side of the puck putting your body in between the puck carrier and your net.

Gap control is big. Do NOT allow gap between you and puck carrier, you should be a stick length away.

Play physical! Don't be a lumber jack(hooking/slashing/poke checking). If you want to swing a stick around go play field hockey or lacrosse. That being said there is a time to take a penalty if you get beat, and poke check can be effective at time. The idea is to use your stick as a LAST resort.

Once you turn the puck over move the puck the the weak side of the ice. More open ice and you ensure your offensive attack. IF you force it up the strong side you will be playing a lot of defense lol.

You make some excellent tips here, but I don't agree 100% with playing physical. If you got your positions covered, you don't need to play as physical. Lidstrom is a great example of this.

I use the poke check a lot(with VC). I use it for deflecting passes into the slot, and I find it very effective. Very rarely, do I let in an one timer with just using the pokecheck and VC.


I read a lot about guys saying that the AI sucks for not keeping their positions. This is not entirely true. If you are in the wrong position, the AI will try to cover for you, and to do that, it will have to get out of position.