Just got NHL 10

[FirstTimer]

Got NHL 2010 last night for Christmas from the fiancee.

I'm a hockey novice by most any standard. I watch the Blackhawks a lot and follow them.

I got the latest roster update. Got the latest tuner pack/patch and am going to toy around with the game so i get used to it. It's the first hockey game I've owned since NHL '94.

With that being said what are the best settings to use?

Difficulty, sliders, etc? I'm not worried about the difficulty being too high. I will adjust and play up to it eventually. I'm a HUGE sim results guy so i want realistic results, even if it means I lose.

Also, on the contract status stuff what do 1way and 2way contract types mean?

Any other advice, tips, settings, etc you all could suggest would be greatly appreciated!


Thanks a ton guys!

 

[dave]

You should start at pro default level FT.
And also use the default controls - don't use the old Sega config.

Playing anything above pro will be incredible frustration until you learn the game.

If you go to YouTube, you can find videos on how the various strategies work.

 

[FirstTimer]

You should start at pro default level FT.
And also use the default controls - don't use the old Sega config.

Playing anything above pro will be incredible frustration until you learn the game.

If you go to YouTube, you can find videos on how the various strategies work.

Ok cool.

Also, where can I find sliders/settings?

 

[wingsfan77]

Using the right joystick to deke/shoot may take some getting used to but since you last owned 94 it shouldn't be a problem. 2010 works a lot with shots from the points and deflections/rebounds so I try and shoot low whenever I can, makes it harder for the goalie to control rebounds.

 

[celtsxpatsxsox]

Got NHL 2010 last night for Christmas from the fiancee.

I'm a hockey novice by most any standard. I watch the Blackhawks a lot and follow them.

I got the latest roster update. Got the latest tuner pack/patch and am going to toy around with the game so i get used to it. It's the first hockey game I've owned since NHL '94.

With that being said what are the best settings to use?

Difficulty, sliders, etc? I'm not worried about the difficulty being too high. I will adjust and play up to it eventually. I'm a HUGE sim results guy so i want realistic results, even if it means I lose.

Also, on the contract status stuff what do 1way and 2way contract types mean?

Any other advice, tips, settings, etc you all could suggest would be greatly appreciated!


Thanks a ton guys!

1 way contract means once they are on the NHL roster and they can't be sent down to the AHL unless you want to risk them getting claimed by another team. 2 way means you can send them down to the AHL freely without risking them getting claimed by another team.

 

[FirstTimer]

1 way contract means once they are on the NHL roster and they can't be sent down to the AHL unless you want to risk them getting claimed by another team. 2 way means you can send them down to the AHL freely without risking them getting claimed by another team.

That's kind of what I figured but wasn't sure.

Thanks!

Sliders/settings anyone?

 

[leaffan]

I think I said the same thing before to another guy the controls take a long time to get used to.

You just need to play and play and play. Don't bother playing online or in 1v1 games yet because they are frustrating as hell.

Playing on pro mode in a non hardcore game is a good first start. Hardcore is frustrating at hell and quite honestly I hate it in my franchise because of the way the AI plays but thats just me. Your going to just have to play it later and see how hardcore mode works for you.

The way NHL contracts works are different to say the least. If a player has a 1 way contract they can play in either the AHL or NHL but to be called up or sent down they have to go through waivers. While on waivers any team in the league can claim the player and they will be put onto that team if a team claims said player. There's no compensation or anything in the game you just lose the player. In real life a player sits on waivers for about a day and in NHL10 if you send a guy up or down it will happen instantaneous. For the most part your players won't get claimed unless your sending some star player up or down. A 2 way contract is an entry level contract your rookie players sign. Rookies have caps on the max they can sign for. In NHL10 the max is .850 mil for 3 years. (that changes as the years move on)

If your used to the way NFL contracts are done for example its going to be odd to get used to the way NHL's contracts are done. For example you can't just release a guy during a season. You can drop him in the off season but your still responsible for his pay over a period of time. It also affects your cap. Quick example. You cut a guy in the off season and he has 1 year left on a 1mil contract. Your responsible for that 1 mil still so the cap hit would be 2 years @ .5 mill a year.

I don't know if you needed all that jibberish I just rambled off but whatever lol.

For sliders and such you can goto OS but I found doing my own sliders were better.

 

[leaffan]

I'm not in front of my xbox but just off memory.

I play on All-Star level (not the top one which is superstar I think)

I have injuries all the way up for both cpu and human.
Changed fighting to all the way up because it rarely happends anyways.

I don't play hardcore mode because the passing frustrates me to hell. Your going to have to play on your for that.

I play 8min periods. I found 10 to 12 mins were too long and I had games where I was getting 40 to 50 shots every game which was way to high.

 

[Krebs]

there are 2 difficulty settings to change.

difficulty: rookie, pro, allstar, etc...
gameplay(or something similar): hardcore, and others (cant remember, off the top of my head)

difficulty essentially controls the ai
gamplay essentially controls the way you play. how direct your passes are, how easy it is to check, pokecheck, faceoffs, etc.

my suggestion to learn the controls is play on easy for both, and as you learn the controls, progressivly move up on the second difficulty all the way to hardcore(default online), and then move the ai difficulty up

another tip. change the camera angles. the default ones suck. get an above view so you can see a whole zone and see what is available for passes. especially on BAP. default BAP camera is complete ass in the corners. i recommend classic, as that is what i play both on.

key to winning is passing to an open shot, get 10 shots per period, shoot low of the goalies leg pads, score on rebounds. defensively, play positional. do NOT chase the guy with the puck or change players. control one player and cover your guy. on defensive rebounds clear the bodies, hit people, let the computer find the puck. do not have your goalie pass it out, unless you know for damn sure that your team will get the puck. dont force passes in general.

faceoffs: move the right stick when the ref's hand moves. thats not in the manual, i dont know why, but its nice to know.

 

[wr50l]

Since you're a sim guy, you may want to produce some self imposed ground rules for trades and free agency as the CPU is as easy to victimize as a drunk girl on a park bench in the night (not guilty)

For example, if you don't take the Blackhawks for your dynasty, Pat Kane will be on the FA list at the end of season 1. There's always top players on FA.

 

[FirstTimer]

I think I said the same thing before to another guy the controls take a long time to get used to.

You just need to play and play and play. Don't bother playing online or in 1v1 games yet because they are frustrating as hell.

Playing on pro mode in a non hardcore game is a good first start. Hardcore is frustrating at hell and quite honestly I hate it in my franchise because of the way the AI plays but thats just me. Your going to just have to play it later and see how hardcore mode works for you.

The way NHL contracts works are different to say the least. If a player has a 1 way contract they can play in either the AHL or NHL but to be called up or sent down they have to go through waivers. While on waivers any team in the league can claim the player and they will be put onto that team if a team claims said player. There's no compensation or anything in the game you just lose the player. In real life a player sits on waivers for about a day and in NHL10 if you send a guy up or down it will happen instantaneous. For the most part your players won't get claimed unless your sending some star player up or down. A 2 way contract is an entry level contract your rookie players sign. Rookies have caps on the max they can sign for. In NHL10 the max is .850 mil for 3 years. (that changes as the years move on)

If your used to the way NFL contracts are done for example its going to be odd to get used to the way NHL's contracts are done. For example you can't just release a guy during a season. You can drop him in the off season but your still responsible for his pay over a period of time. It also affects your cap. Quick example. You cut a guy in the off season and he has 1 year left on a 1mil contract. Your responsible for that 1 mil still so the cap hit would be 2 years @ .5 mill a year.

I don't know if you needed all that jibberish I just rambled off but whatever lol.

For sliders and such you can goto OS but I found doing my own sliders were better.

Thanks a ton! Found some good sliders etc at OS last night.

Since you're a sim guy, you may want to produce some self imposed ground rules for trades and free agency as the CPU is as easy to victimize as a drunk girl on a park bench in the night (not guilty)

For example, if you don't take the Blackhawks for your dynasty, Pat Kane will be on the FA list at the end of season 1. There's always top players on FA.

Will do. I usually run those trades by people on the board here at VSN. I will definitely be skating with the Hawks in my dynasty but with the new rosters update Kane, Toews, etc are all signed to those longer deals they already inked so I should be good.

I have heard that since those deals the Hawks will be looking to make trades. I saw Leaffan talking about a Sopel deal a while ago. Anyone know of any helpful trades the Hawks could make?

 

[dave]

This guy http://sites.google.com/site/nhlrosters/ has great rosters if you're strictly an offline player FT.

 

[StealthShot]

We need to get a huge game of VSN BAP. 6v6 or 5v5 lets do something!

 

[wr50l]

I have heard that since those deals the Hawks will be looking to make trades. I saw Leaffan talking about a Sopel deal a while ago. Anyone know of any helpful trades the Hawks could make?

The Hawks have a lot of money tied up on D, Brent Sopel is certainly the odd man out as a 3rd pair defenceman earning 2nd pair money. It would not surprise me at all if he was traded in a salary dump at deadline time (March) However due to the tricky situation the Hawks are in they are unlikely to get value for him.

Chicago has probably got to move a forward as well though. I think Patrick Sharp is the likely candidate to go. Although that would be a bitter pill to swallow, their other options; Byfuglien, Versteeg, Bolland are all talented and very young so that would probably be a bitterer pill.

Any deal Chicago makes will not work in their favour and its likely that any "prospects" they acquire as counter-balances will simply be career AHLers.

Chicago is in quite a hilarious predicament as they have drafted perfectly in recent years and now find themselves trying to keep all their assets. This likely wouldn't be such an issue if their handling of Free Agency wasn't so catastrophic, with Huet being an overpaid lead weight and Hossa being a self-indulgent signing. But I digress.

 

[LC AAU]

I just got NHL for Christmas, thanks for some of these tips even though they weren't directed towards me :laugh:

 

[FirstTimer]

The Hawks have a lot of money tied up on D, Brent Sopel is certainly the odd man out as a 3rd pair defenceman earning 2nd pair money. It would not surprise me at all if he was traded in a salary dump at deadline time (March) However due to the tricky situation the Hawks are in they are unlikely to get value for him.

Chicago has probably got to move a forward as well though. I think Patrick Sharp is the likely candidate to go. Although that would be a bitter pill to swallow, their other options; Byfuglien, Versteeg, Bolland are all talented and very young so that would probably be a bitterer pill.

Any deal Chicago makes will not work in their favour and its likely that any "prospects" they acquire as counter-balances will simply be career AHLers.

Chicago is in quite a hilarious predicament as they have drafted perfectly in recent years and now find themselves trying to keep all their assets. This likely wouldn't be such an issue if their handling of Free Agency wasn't so catastrophic, with Huet being an overpaid lead weight and Hossa being a self-indulgent signing. But I digress.

Agreed with all that you say. The Huet singing sucks sometimes but then has been playing lights out lately...then again Niemi has been too. Huet drove me crazy early this year.

I just wish the Bears drafted as well and had the problems that the Hawks have.

 

[dave]

The Huet signing may go down as one of the worst signings in recent NHL history.
Than again, maybe Brian Campbell's deal is.
The Hawks have had a lot of good fortune in the draft, but their free agent work is awful.

 

[wr50l]

The thing about Niemi is that to me he is evidence of how mediocre Huet is. Chicago is a powerhouse right about now, with Keith being the leader for the Norris Trophy imo. I would liken the situation to the Red Wings in previous years. You stick six good dmen in front of a goalie and watch him look like a world beater. The difference is Osgood/Hasek/whatever were getting paid about 1/3rd of what Huet is eating up.

 

[FirstTimer]

The Huet signing may go down as one of the worst signings in recent NHL history.
Than again, maybe Brian Campbell's deal is.
The Hawks have had a lot of good fortune in the draft, but their free agent work is awful.

Campbell just cracks me up because all I can see when I see that jersey skating around is this:

The thing about Niemi is that to me he is evidence of how mediocre Huet is. Chicago is a powerhouse right about now, with Keith being the leader for the Norris Trophy imo. I would liken the situation to the Red Wings in previous years. You stick six good dmen in front of a goalie and watch him look like a world beater. The difference is Osgood/Hasek/whatever were getting paid about 1/3rd of what Huet is eating up.

I would agree with this as well. I think Chicago panicked a bit with the Huet signing and now is stuck with Huet's bad contract, and two good young goalkeepers getting held back because of it in Niemi and Crawford.

 

[LC AAU]

Does the latest roster update have the contract extensions of Kane,Toews, and Keith?