FHM hockey manager

[jamesredwings]

The OOTP guys are realeasing a hockey sim. Can't wait anymore!

https://www.facebook.com/FranchiseHockeyManager

By the way, I am trying out the world basketball manager http://www.wbmgame.com/

[Virtual Jarmo]

Our own Dave Greybill was working on this. I believe his role was the AHL. I haven't talked to him in a while, so I haven't gotten an update on its progress.

It'll make EHM completely obsolete except for the 4-5 leagues still running strong. Can't imagine we'll get another applicant after that comes out.

[Bruins_GM]

Is there a way we could transition over to this game?

[Virtual Jarmo]

Is there a way we could transition over to this game?

I'm going to assume no. Not to mention, this won't be a free program.

[SharksGM]

EHM's file structure is pretty simple, the difficulty is figuring out how to translate it a) to a proprietary format, if they choose not to make it easily editable and b) to one where it's not obvious how the ratings/potential/ceilings should translate.

But let's wait and see if the game actually gets released and is any good.

[Jungle Cats]

There are a couple indie releases that attempt to do what EHM does, but even NHL EHM couldn't quite get it right, though that is a fun series and I find it more enjoyable solo.

The text-based, un-encoded structure of eastside's files are definitely the reason we're still playing it. It's the same for those die-hards who still play NHL04 - it's more flexible, and it uses HTML files.

OOTP as a basis at least suggests the possibility that we'll get a very flexible engine (though I've always preferred Mogul to OOTP for some reason...) with plenty of options. I'm definitely excited.

[Penguin]

Nothing beats EHM as much as its a bitch with results sometimes and that we have to see vintage Joe Sakic every time we open the game!

[Parker]

Ha, I do love the Sakic pic.

I've probably wasted a year of my life playing various versions of OOTPB. I'll be picking this one up for sure. I never really did get on board with NHL:EHM because I hated the interface, but from the screenshots this interface looks much more intuitive. I'm gonna check it out for sure.

[Commish Bub(NYR)]

Ha, I do love the Sakic pic.

I like trying to figure out all the players on the photo collage screen. Ron Francis, Mike Ricci, Chris Chelios, etc... Plus, the amazing Dwayne Roloson starring as the eternal Buffalo goalie! (Or maybe it's Steve Shields, or Marty Biron, or even Don Edwards. Who cares?)

[jamesredwings]

Besides OOTP and Mogul, you guys recommend another sim based game?

[Jungle Cats]

Yup, it's Roli the Goalie, in his one Buffalo year.

One thing I am hopeful for is using OOTP as a basis should make it faster... I've always found NHL EHM and FM sluggish as hell, even on new computers.

Sports sims or just sims?
I could suggest you try out Football Mogul, because it's free. But it's also... pretty rudimentary, which is why it's free. Still, fun for a bit, and I like playing each game in coach mode.
Ever try that handball sim? I know nothing about handball, but it's a great free game.

There's a pretty rad boxing manager sim, but I forget which one it is. It's also one of those releases where it's a few years old from an indie developer but the price is still... the price it was. I get it, it's hard to really side-eye a small developer trying to get what they can back, and the mechanics are nice, but if I have a choice between a $30 sim and a couple games on sale on steam, I tend to end up with Saints Row 3, Burnout Paradise and some other stuff. I regret nothing.

[Virtual Jarmo]

Besides OOTP and Mogul, you guys recommend another sim based game?

Strat-O-Matic for baseball. Never played, but have heard great things.

[Commish Bub(NYR)]

Besides OOTP and Mogul, you guys recommend another sim based game?

Strat-O-Matic for baseball. Never played, but have heard great things.

Back before the internet when we dodged dinosaurs and drove cars with our feet, I played a shit-ton of S-O-M hockey and football (with cards). The hockey game was very, very good. Don't know about their computer version, tho.

[jamesredwings]

Played strat-o with the cards so I guess I am old.

But I thought the PC version did not have career or franchise mode.

[Jungle Cats]

Windows and Mac support
Two game modes: Modern and Historical
2012-13 game start with these playable leagues: NHL, AHL, ECHL, QMJHL, WHL, OHL, KHL, DEL, Elitserien and EIHL
Over 1,000 teams, comprising nearly 100 leagues, that are non-playable but are stocked with real players
Start any NHL season from 1947-48 through today, with players appearing on their actual teams or in a draft
Real stats, finances, and rules
Detailed player model with over 30 skills in 5 main categories
Trades, player transfers, RFA/UFA signings, and more
Set lines and tactics and make changes on the fly during games that feature a huge, editable play-by-play database
News engine featuring a database packed with thousands of articles
Stat keeping, including CORSI and Fenwick
Almost everything is editable, from logos and colors to data to league rules and more

Take my money.

[Commish Bub(NYR)]

Windows and Mac support
Two game modes: Modern and Historical
2012-13 game start with these playable leagues: NHL, AHL, ECHL, QMJHL, WHL, OHL, KHL, DEL, Elitserien and EIHL
Over 1,000 teams, comprising nearly 100 leagues, that are non-playable but are stocked with real players
Start any NHL season from 1947-48 through today, with players appearing on their actual teams or in a draft
Real stats, finances, and rules
Detailed player model with over 30 skills in 5 main categories
Trades, player transfers, RFA/UFA signings, and more
Set lines and tactics and make changes on the fly during games that feature a huge, editable play-by-play database
News engine featuring a database packed with thousands of articles
Stat keeping, including CORSI and Fenwick
Almost everything is editable, from logos and colors to data to league rules and more

Take my money.

No kidding.

[Parker]

Anyone playing this? There's an open beta. I got kinda frustrated with it at first because it crashed whenever you tried to do pretty much anything at all, but it turns out they accidentally released a buggy internal version. I'm just installing the "real" version right now, but from my limited experience with the other one, it should be a snap to figure out since it looks to be based on the OOTPB interface.

There are still a few days left for the pre-release discount price of $30.

[SharksGM]

I've tried a few beta builds, including the latest one. Progress is slow. They wasted a lot of time adding a historical league feature which only half works and a custom league feature which doesn't work at all. Meanwhile there are still major bugs and interface issues.

The NHL isn't even really playable in the latest build because CPU Pittsburgh keeps signing every available free agent to a 1-year, 520k deal and demoting all of their good players to the AHL.

[Parker]

Yeah, the version I'm playing now is more stable but still kinda buggy. I was running a 10-season sim of all CPU managers just to get an idea of the AI macromanagement, but the sim crashed while I was AFK and I don't know how far in it got. I simmed a couple seasons going a month at a time and the guys on the leaderboard all make sense more or less, but some weird stuff happened too. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was traded a total of three times in two seasons (for a solid return each time, but still, it's not like everyone was trading their blue-chip prospects; N-H was the only one of those types who got moved even ONCE that I could tell. Though I guess that actually makes more sense than the entire league doing this...)

Also, the Leafs finished 2013-14 with the best record in the Eastern Conference so I don't know how much confidence I have in the sim engine. Were the Leafs not supposed to be realigned to the West or something?

The sim engine is insanely slow, too. Slower than EHM, slower than NHL:EHM, slower even than OOTPB14 running full detail on every available league AND enough high school and college leagues to feed a 30-team 20-round draft....

I already paid for the game with no regrets because I've already gotten so much entertainment out of OOTP's other products, but at this point I certainly wouldn't recommend that anyone else buy in until FHM can get its shit together. Just as Dan said, OOTP has a ways to go on that front.

[Parker]

So I've been playing the full release, and it still crashes a lot, but I've gotten into the habit of saving often so it's not as big a deal.

I've been running the sim without managing a team, just to see the game run for a few seasons. I took the liberty of editing every player in the Leafs organization (and every player arriving by trade or draft or FA) to drop every attribute by 2 and potential attribute(s) by 100. I'm curious to see how long before the GM and coach get fired, after Nonis' every move backfires and Carlyle couldn't coach his team to a win to save his life. I've simmed four seasons now, and the Leafs haven't had more than 30 points or won more than 11 games each year. Their GF/GA differential is usually around -250. Every player they've acquired has turned into a bust, while players traded away blossom with their new organizations (I edit the players back to normal when they're released or traded away - this has actually caused the team to re-sign players they've released earlier in the season hehehe.)

Through all this, both Nonis and Carlyle have kept their jobs!

It's quite fascinating.

[jamesredwings]

Playing a game (as opposed to simming) is quite useless. Hockey is a game of line matchup. But the software will not let you make line changes.