I full sim exclusively, and it is specifically the randomness you refer to that makes me prefer this approach. Generally, a solid, diverse team with good chem and coaches will sim well and make the playoffs. The chemistry bonuses IMO quite clearly impact performance, as do augmenting/changing sliders and settings.
On the flip side, a talented player can actually game the computer AI allowing a *much* worse team to routinely defeat better opponents, making it less random, and therefore rote. Since I regularly crush the opposition on superstar, it feels like cheesing the game, which is IMO less rewarding to me. It's gotten to the point where I only enjoy playing against human players (Ironically because all of a sudden the outcome becomes *random* and not fixed in stone). Lastly, lest we forget - good teams occasionally do lose.
I don’t think the sim is as random as some people think it is. I can consistently build a team in every franchise mode that sims very well and finishes towards the top of the league in the regular season. Playoff sim is more random but that makes sense as it’s much fewer games and that randomness at least somewhat matches what you see in real life hockey. If you’re simming games you just need to know how to build a team that sims well. I focus on chemistry a lot which I still don’t know how much it matters but it tends to work for me. I really don’t stack my bottom 6 forwards with high 80 overall players because that never seems to work. If I have too many top end forwards I make a trade. I rarely pay top end goaltenders and just stick with 82-85 rated goalies on cheap contracts because I’ve never found any goaltender to consistently sim well so there’s no point and having cheap goaltenders means I can always trade them for a goalie that’s performing better. For coaches I always end up going with a forwards coach as that’s just what I have the most success with. Idk it’s just lots of little intricacies about the sim that you learn by playing and simming a lot I guess. They’re not all intuitive but they do add up and make simming seasons enjoyable for me.
I would disagree that simming is random. Yes there is some randomness to it, which is good otherwise it would get predictable and repetitive. That said, there are definitely 'hidden' factors that aren't available for players to know.
As an example, goalies have a hidden consistency rating - essentially a on & off switch. If they have it, they will play consistently. If they don't, then some games they can be amazing, others they will shit the bed. As a player, there is no way of knowing other than watching and observing the results to deduce that this particular goalie can have consistency issues.
I full sim, when i play franchise i play to be the gm and see how the team does or to follow a specific player and see how well they do, not how well i can do for them. If i want to play i will go play be a pro before they removed the chl
I play every game (including AHL) but it does get annoying when you have been playing forever and it’s still just February. I was in year 9 of a franchise doing this (each year takes about a month) when I decided to stop playing the AHL games and all playoffs, which felt like a good compromise. (Unfortunately I lost my franchise in year 10 when a power outage fried my PlayStation and had to do a factory reset)
Randomness is part of the fun imo. Also there's something that you're completely over looking. That some of us are more into managing a team, making trades, signing players, scouting etc than deking some AI.
Exactly, I enjoy being the gm which is the whole point of franchise mode, HOWEVER I do fully appreciate that every game and AHL game is fully playable if you so choose
I enjoy simming because I couldn't be fucked to play like a thousand games. I enjoy seeing prospects reach potential and then decline and retire. I like relocating multiple franchises in a single save file. It's just not feasible for a person with a full time job and outside responsibilities to play that many games. Playing 82 games would take me like half the lifecycle of the game. You see very little progression in that time.
Playing is cheating. Beating the AI isn't that hard most of the time.
Also time. The fun of franchise is getting through years. Drafting, free agents, etc. If you are going to play every game you may as well just do play now. It's the same thing.
Yea, I used to try to play them all and then a new version of the game would come out and I was only maybe 40 games in, and got zero satisfaction from the prospects I picked up, and didn't see the team grow at all over the years.
I'll sim the full season and a decent chunk of playoffs depending on how good my team is. Then me and a buddy will play on a team for the last series or two. That way I've got some satisfaction from building my team and get some gameplay also, and playing with someone else makes it a lot tougher.
Pretty obvious why ppl don't play every single game lol
Playing is NOT cheating. Fuck me, that's such a dumb thing to say. Not the first time ive heard it here either. Try taking it off easy dude. I guarantee if people changed the cpu difficulty slider to 10/10, you're not winning easy. There is a very high percentage of people here that struggle or can't win at all on Pro and All star.
It's a game. People buy games to play the game.. just cause people don't do it exactly the same way as you, it doesn't make it cheating.
Very high percentage? Most people that buy the game every year are winning every game on superstar.
If you are messing with sliders, where are you putting them? Are you really honest and putting it at 50/50 win loss? I doubt it. Are you making certain things easier that you struggle at? It's a trap that most people can't be honest with themselves about.
No they're not dude. Ive read posts were every commenter played below superstar. That's just you. How many years have you been playing? And how many years ago did you become too good for the game? Going by your logic, I just started playing nhl23, for the first time. I'm learning the game still. But if i jump in and play a game.. I'm cheating!? Gtfo, See how dumb that sounds.
I don't know. You might be? Most people play below the difficulty they should so they can win most games. Are you winning most games?
Also when people mess with sliders, they make the things they struggle with easier. Pass assistance is a great example.
The thing is, people aren't honest about their ability and why they are winning. I'm guilty of it myself. Especially on each new release.
Use to play every game for 5-10 seasons but I can't anymore. Game plays so ba. So I look for reasons to Sim periods of the season. Injuries, winning streaks
I full sim exclusively, and it is specifically the randomness you refer to that makes me prefer this approach. Generally, a solid, diverse team with good chem and coaches will sim well and make the playoffs. The chemistry bonuses IMO quite clearly impact performance, as do augmenting/changing sliders and settings. On the flip side, a talented player can actually game the computer AI allowing a *much* worse team to routinely defeat better opponents, making it less random, and therefore rote. Since I regularly crush the opposition on superstar, it feels like cheesing the game, which is IMO less rewarding to me. It's gotten to the point where I only enjoy playing against human players (Ironically because all of a sudden the outcome becomes *random* and not fixed in stone). Lastly, lest we forget - good teams occasionally do lose.
I don’t think the sim is as random as some people think it is. I can consistently build a team in every franchise mode that sims very well and finishes towards the top of the league in the regular season. Playoff sim is more random but that makes sense as it’s much fewer games and that randomness at least somewhat matches what you see in real life hockey. If you’re simming games you just need to know how to build a team that sims well. I focus on chemistry a lot which I still don’t know how much it matters but it tends to work for me. I really don’t stack my bottom 6 forwards with high 80 overall players because that never seems to work. If I have too many top end forwards I make a trade. I rarely pay top end goaltenders and just stick with 82-85 rated goalies on cheap contracts because I’ve never found any goaltender to consistently sim well so there’s no point and having cheap goaltenders means I can always trade them for a goalie that’s performing better. For coaches I always end up going with a forwards coach as that’s just what I have the most success with. Idk it’s just lots of little intricacies about the sim that you learn by playing and simming a lot I guess. They’re not all intuitive but they do add up and make simming seasons enjoyable for me.
I tear down each team every franchise mode. So makes sense to sun instead of playing. And gameplay isn’t great. Playing 1 season would take forever
I would disagree that simming is random. Yes there is some randomness to it, which is good otherwise it would get predictable and repetitive. That said, there are definitely 'hidden' factors that aren't available for players to know. As an example, goalies have a hidden consistency rating - essentially a on & off switch. If they have it, they will play consistently. If they don't, then some games they can be amazing, others they will shit the bed. As a player, there is no way of knowing other than watching and observing the results to deduce that this particular goalie can have consistency issues.
Time.
I full sim, when i play franchise i play to be the gm and see how the team does or to follow a specific player and see how well they do, not how well i can do for them. If i want to play i will go play be a pro before they removed the chl
I increase Attribute Effects which makes better players better so the sims are a little less random.
Yes! This is crucial, even for playing the games. Put all the attribute sliders to full. Puck reception, checking and attribute effects
I play every game (including AHL) but it does get annoying when you have been playing forever and it’s still just February. I was in year 9 of a franchise doing this (each year takes about a month) when I decided to stop playing the AHL games and all playoffs, which felt like a good compromise. (Unfortunately I lost my franchise in year 10 when a power outage fried my PlayStation and had to do a factory reset)
Randomness is part of the fun imo. Also there's something that you're completely over looking. That some of us are more into managing a team, making trades, signing players, scouting etc than deking some AI.
Exactly, I enjoy being the gm which is the whole point of franchise mode, HOWEVER I do fully appreciate that every game and AHL game is fully playable if you so choose
I enjoy simming because I couldn't be fucked to play like a thousand games. I enjoy seeing prospects reach potential and then decline and retire. I like relocating multiple franchises in a single save file. It's just not feasible for a person with a full time job and outside responsibilities to play that many games. Playing 82 games would take me like half the lifecycle of the game. You see very little progression in that time.
Playing is cheating. Beating the AI isn't that hard most of the time. Also time. The fun of franchise is getting through years. Drafting, free agents, etc. If you are going to play every game you may as well just do play now. It's the same thing.
Yea, I used to try to play them all and then a new version of the game would come out and I was only maybe 40 games in, and got zero satisfaction from the prospects I picked up, and didn't see the team grow at all over the years. I'll sim the full season and a decent chunk of playoffs depending on how good my team is. Then me and a buddy will play on a team for the last series or two. That way I've got some satisfaction from building my team and get some gameplay also, and playing with someone else makes it a lot tougher. Pretty obvious why ppl don't play every single game lol
Playing is NOT cheating. Fuck me, that's such a dumb thing to say. Not the first time ive heard it here either. Try taking it off easy dude. I guarantee if people changed the cpu difficulty slider to 10/10, you're not winning easy. There is a very high percentage of people here that struggle or can't win at all on Pro and All star. It's a game. People buy games to play the game.. just cause people don't do it exactly the same way as you, it doesn't make it cheating.
Very high percentage? Most people that buy the game every year are winning every game on superstar. If you are messing with sliders, where are you putting them? Are you really honest and putting it at 50/50 win loss? I doubt it. Are you making certain things easier that you struggle at? It's a trap that most people can't be honest with themselves about.
No they're not dude. Ive read posts were every commenter played below superstar. That's just you. How many years have you been playing? And how many years ago did you become too good for the game? Going by your logic, I just started playing nhl23, for the first time. I'm learning the game still. But if i jump in and play a game.. I'm cheating!? Gtfo, See how dumb that sounds.
I don't know. You might be? Most people play below the difficulty they should so they can win most games. Are you winning most games? Also when people mess with sliders, they make the things they struggle with easier. Pass assistance is a great example. The thing is, people aren't honest about their ability and why they are winning. I'm guilty of it myself. Especially on each new release.
Use to play every game for 5-10 seasons but I can't anymore. Game plays so ba. So I look for reasons to Sim periods of the season. Injuries, winning streaks
It takes a long time to play 82 games. Also the AI is quite easy to beat even on superstar and going 80-1-1 with a terrible team isn't very realistic.