State of EHEC Address

[Virtual Jarmo]

Gentlemen, good evening. If you're reading this, I want to know that I appreciate your activity and you are part of the backbone of Eastside's Hockey Elite Collide. Without you, none of this would be possible and your continued support is the reason I continue to be the Commissioner.

And I will continue to be your Commissioner.

My plans are not set in stone as of yet and I have no idea what the future holds. As far as EHEC goes, I'm not going anywhere. The regimented schedule and my overall involvement may wane at times, but I cannot give up on what we have started here under any circumstances. EHEC may piss me off at times and be a gigantic burden, but the high quality individuals we have here make everything worth doing. The league will keep improving and remain one of the last remaining constants of the little corner of the internet reserved for simulation hockey.

As we keep adapting and growing, changes may be on the horizon. With help from my friends, we will be doing everything we can to simplify the difficult rules in EHEC and do our best to make everybody's job easier, including mine. The goal will be to make general managers wholly responsible for their teams because the information will be right in front of them at all times. We have already taken tremendous strides in simplifying some things, like the groundbreaking GM Control Panel and the code that prevents illegal lines. Changes for the better will continue to happen behind the scenes that will make EHEC a more pleasant experience for everybody involved.

Other changes may come in the form of prospect development, one of the things that threatens the realism we strive for. Veteran players will have more value through leadership and consistency changes. We believe that any changes we make will help the league more than hurt it and make the concept of realism more viable than it has ever been.

Private discussions have taken place about a shift to a new simulation engine, if it supports online play. FHM, Franchise Hockey Manager, is being beta tested. Any possible change to this sim engine will probably not take place for the 2013-14 season. But, if a future opportunity presents itself, we will explore that option, so long as it is convenient and we are able to transfer everything in EHEC over to FHM.

I regret that my interaction and desire have not been there over the past few months. With what has been a long period of transition for me, with no end in sight as of yet, I have, at times, put EHEC too far on the backburner and have neglected my duties and responsibility. For that, I apologize to all of you. I want to make it very clear that I intend to continue seeing this thing through and making the necessary sacrifices to hold up my end of the bargain.

One thing that absolutely must be done for next season is to fill the vacant teams and remove inactive GMs. The league has a much better vibe and atmosphere when everybody is involved and all teams are filled. It led to a rather slow trade deadline, along with my late announcement of a trade deadline, and pro-ration/salary cap concerns. That certainly takes away from some of the fun. We will make it a point to see that we find people to take over these teams and I ask my fellow comrades to help fill those positions.

The state of the league continues to be strong because of the core group of general managers that we have. As long as you guys will stick by me, I will stick by you.

Thank you.

Please use this thread if there is anything that you want to discuss about the future of EHEC.

[Jets GM]

Viva la Adam!

Although, I would be passionately opposed to the use of a new simulation engine. I have no doubt bigger/better/faster/stronger ones might be out there; but, for nostalgia purposes I would be heartbroken to not use EHM anymore. It's a classic.

[jamesredwings]

Almost had a heart attack when I saw the new post (and relief after reading the first few lines).

I will support any changes and apologize in advance since I sometimes do not understand the rules (even though I have read the rulebook many times).

Although I might not make the soundest decisions, I am at a point where my team is actually fun to play with.

For what it's worth, I have 2 autistic kids (one mild and one medium) and find escape in reading the daily results.

Thanks guys. Now that the kids are sleeping, time to open a brew!

Back to business : I will pass you in the standings in the next week Adam my biggest division rival! Can't stand Columbus, Detroit is the place to be!

[Commish Bub(NYR)]

Thanks for this, Adam. My crew of prospects and my four hundred upcoming draft picks salute your continued commitment to the league.

I look forward to the conversations about prospect development, finances, and the continued evolution of the EHEC rulebook. This has definitely been the most interesting and challenging EHM league I've ever been involved with, in no small part due to the work you (and others) have put in to make it so.

[Penguin]

No need to apologize for anything you're really kind for doing this and everyone appretiates it. If I was a millionaire, I'd pay you to run it.

Let's fill this league up like a nice pussy!

[SharksGM]

Let's fill this league up like a nice pussy!

What he said, but with slightly more appropriate phrasing.

[Bruins_GM]

Keep up the good work.

I wonder how a switch to the FHM platform would work, since there's more attributes and variables involved than with EHM.

[AnaheimGM]

I never see a commissioner more dedicate than you Adam. Good work!!! This league is awesome, i really appreciate to be a part of it.

[CapsGM]

Adam, I appreciate the message and what you've done. No other league has been been able to do what we've been able to do for as long as we have. You know I'm in it for the long haul and I'm available to help whenever you need me to.

[TorontoGM]

Update the EHEC post on fhockey, maybe we get lucky.

I can't even remember what my username on there is or I'd post.

[Femur]

apology accepted, Burke. just quit crying and get better

[Jungle Cats]

Oh boy.

As far as the frightening suggestion goes...

Okay, so how many of us are fiddling with the beta and trying to be helpful about bug reports and feedback? (raises hand.)

Anyone really feeling it, or just really wanting to feel it?

[SharksGM]

I tried the first FHM beta release for a quick season but most of the bugs I found were obvious and the turnaround is too quick for me to waste time hunting for undiscovered bugs.

The good thing is the sim engine works as of now and a lot of the bugs are related to dumb AI which would not be an issue in a league with player GMs. Also the interface sucks but they have time to fix it, so I'm confident it will be a good single player EHM clone by release. However, they haven't said much about multiplayer options yet and there are no user-friendly commissioner/league tools, so we'll have to wait and see about that.