Developers from Electronic Arts have prepared for the premiere of the first gameplay trailer of the NHL 22 this evening. As we learned last week, the latest year of hockey simulation from EA Sports is moving to a new engine after a long seven years, and Frostbite is playing a major role in a new 4-minute show. As you might have guessed in advance, great emphasis is placed on improving the graphics and various details, which the developers suggested a few days ago. Now he talks about a massive shift in the whole visual rendering of the game, whether you play it on the previous or current generation of consoles, although it is mostly hidden in the little things or aspects that are not so obvious during the actual game.
The first of these are redesigned arenas, which is not just about ice, but the unification of the overall illumination of all materials, spectators and details such as reflections of hockey players in plexiglass displayed in real time. The details of the jerseys, the reflections on the shields of the helmets, the previously mentioned simulation of eye movement and the overall animation in the face are also impressive. This is the part of the presentation that stands out especially in repeated shots or in environments outside the game, but we definitely do not mind that the developers spent their time with it. They have even gone so far that, for example, snow flying off skates when changing direction or braking is not just an intangible particle, but a three-dimensional object that can fall on the camera lens in some extra-effective repeaters.
Another thing that the developers dealt with was the modification of physics, which is more important for the game itself. However, they did not focus primarily on the behavior of the puck, but on hockey sticks, thanks to which, hopefully, there would no longer be solid objects. Players should be able to authenticate shots or passes in an authentic way, fight for the puck, or let the stick speak even in duels or trying to turn the opponent for a reel. On the other hand, the developers talk about some of the features that have been in the series for several years as innovations – typically about the attacker’s own body defending the puck against the other team’s oncoming defenders – and with brief flashes to the game, the improved physics is less apparent.
Of course, the Superstar X-Factor system was also mentioned, which the NHL series borrows from the Madden NFL and concerns the best hockey players in the league. Approximately one hundred players were given special care and the developers prepared 29 special abilities for them, divided into six basic categories, from which you can choose for each star player and then use them during the game. It can be a specific movement, catching a pass, a special intervention by the goalkeeper or, of course, a precise ending, which is to demonstrate the difference between the stars of each team and other players on the ice. It is connected with an improved information system with various statistics and information about the match. The developers claim that this is an interface used by augmented reality, but we could more aptly describe it as special information layers, which are placed in image as in the case of television broadcasts. However, the specialty is slow-motion shots of a decisive event, during which the image around the main actor darkens, to which we get more information. In the case of star players here, you will see which of the special abilities he used.
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