NHL EHM Beta Demo available

[Marc Vaughan]

Now up on sigames.com .... if anyones interested in grabbing a download?

[Ragone]

I believe the appropiate phrase is..

I"m on it like white on rice? :)

[Ryan S]

Any chance of an http mirror today?

[Marc Vaughan]

Mirrors will undoubtably pop up as people download it and circulate it amongst themselves, we've only got a 2Mb pipe at SI so we can't really host it for download here ourselves I'm afraid ...

[Ragone]

Only problem is Marc.. i'm using bittorent.. and i'm sharing probably with the european people who are downloading.. its making my transfer incredibally bad. oh well :)

[Tekneek]

I'm gambling on not getting caught by the network security guys here at work by attempting this BitTorrent download. Come on, baby, download fast.

[Ragone]

uh i'd be careful.. it sends a TON of data outward tekneek.. i had to use this to download the world of warcraft beta.. and it sent out over 6 gigs of data on a 2 gig download..

[Ragone]

30 seconds in and i already have a problem..

you have mike milbury rated as very good.. wtf? :)

[Tekneek]

I got it downloaded and turned off before most people made it into the office. Hopefully things will be alright. Nobody has come by asking questions...yet.

[Tekneek]

There are numerous data issues with the non-NHL clubs in the US. I'd like to ignore them and assume they will fix it all before release, but I can remember data issues with the lower league clubs in CM that were there even on release day. :(

[RPI-Fan]

Alright... got this thing downloading - let's hope it's ready to go when I get back from work at 5pm EDT! Ugh.... today will be so long.

[ice4277]

There are numerous data issues with the non-NHL clubs in the US. I'd like to ignore them and assume they will fix it all before release, but I can remember data issues with the lower league clubs in CM that were there even on release day. :(
What kind of issues? Incorrect players on teams?

[RPI-Fan]

By the way - can people please post detailed accounts of the game so schmucks like me can entertain ourselves at work?:)

[MizzouRah]

What's all this client install, then d/l stuff? Arghh.. I'll wait for someone to host the file. I should probably wait until the weekend is over anyhow or nothing will get done. :)


Todd

[ice4277]

By the way - can people please post detailed accounts of the game so schmucks like me can entertain ourselves at work?:)
I usually keep myself entertained at work by locking myself in the supply room for ten minutes with the lights out, then.........well, to each his own, I guess.

[Tekneek]

What kind of issues? Incorrect players on teams?

A little of that. Mostly the positions are totally wrong. I looked at my local ECHL team, and they have one goalie listed. The other two goalies are listed as defensemen (one of the goalies was released by mid-season, and the other was actually up with the Blackhawks most of the second half of the season). 6 position players have their positions wrong (forwards listed as defensemen, or defensemen listed as forwards).

I decided to play as Edmonton and they have one of our goalies in Toronto (Roadrunners) listed as a defenseman.

I've glanced around and mostly it is position issues that I have noticed immediately on all the lower league clubs I have looked at. So far, SI says they don't want to hear about database problems...so we just have to hope they have either (1) cleaned it all up already or (2) will get to that over the next month. The problems are such that release with this buggered DB will seriously impact the gameplay for me. I'm sure it will be fixed, and hopefully by release. :)

[MizzouRah]

Isn't the demo a 4 week old build?


Todd

[Tekneek]

I usually keep myself entertained at work by locking myself in the supply room for ten minutes with the lights out, then.........well, to each his own, I guess.

Hahah. My side of the building faces a hotel next door, and well, some people like to leave the curtains pulled regardless of what they are doing in there... I've heard some stories...

[Tekneek]

Isn't the demo a 4 week old build?


Todd

Yeah. I suppose it just irks me that such obvious DB problems were even present 4 weeks ago. I'm sure it will be repaired, one way or another. :) Aside from those, everything seems cool. The interface/menus are so different that I know I must be neglecting some things with the team.

[GrantDawg]

What's all this client install, then d/l stuff? Arghh.. I'll wait for someone to host the file. I should probably wait until the weekend is over anyhow or nothing will get done. :)


Todd
With ya. I can't get this to work.

[sachmo71]

That databases have been updated since the demo was created. All should be well for the release.

I'm interested to hear impressions of the demo! I guess that means I can finally share mine!! :)

[Scholes]

I have to run to work now but quickly set some tactics and played my first exhibition game with the Wild against the Coyotes.

Tied 2-2 with Gaborik scoring with a minute left after I pulled the goalie.

The interface is a bit confusing, only because I'm used to Champ Man... I'll get used to it. The screen is real small in 1024x768 mode, doesn't take up the whole screen. In 800x600 it's huge.

I took a quick look at the Gophers and it looks like they have all the players' attributes right (height, weight, skill level, country) just with different names on the players. I'm sure this is a NCAA thing, just like football.

The game stats for the first game turned out about right for a game with the Wild and Coyotes, low shots, good goaltending f/ Boucher and Roloson. I had around 24 shots on goal to their 18, I had my 2nd, 3rd and 4th lines playing defensively, just like the Wild do. I didn't pay a ton of attention though, because I have to leave, but just a quick impression.

[Honolulu_Blue]

I will be downloading this Friday night/Saturday morning. Quick question, does the Beta allow you to go through the NHL draft?

[scooter]

According to SI, the reason for some of the weird positions that players have is because if nothing is inputted into the database, the game generates a random position. What it probably means is that the researcher assigned to those ECHL teams didn't get all the information in. Hopefully the database can be sorted out before the final game is released.

Anyone found an http mirror site yet? (I'm a little leary of this Bittorent thing)

[Karim]

Just did a glance through....

The Pengrowth Saddledome is listed as the Calgary Dome with a capacity of only a little over 17k... Isn't anyone watching the playoffs?

Regehr's contract information is wrong as he's signed a five year deal with Calgary in the off-season. Still, I tried to offer him a contract and the board said I could only offer him $7,000/year. I understand board restrictions but that's not even a reasonable suggestion...

[Tekneek]

You might be able to do the draft after the season, but you start in September so you don't get to do a draft in the beginning.

[SirFozzie]

If someone can get me a copy, I can host it on FOFC-FBCB.com (FOR US FOFCers ONLY, I don't have the bandwidth for it to be a public mirror)

[Ksyrup]

Anyone found an http mirror site yet? (I'm a little leary of this Bittorent thing)
I use BitTorrent for downloading bootlegs. I've never had a problem. It's considered standard gear for bootleggers, actually.

[Marc Vaughan]

Yeah. I suppose it just irks me that such obvious DB problems were even present 4 weeks ago. I'm sure it will be repaired, one way or another. :) Aside from those, everything seems cool. The interface/menus are so different that I know I must be neglecting some things with the team.
The database is being continually updated by researchers and most of the errors should have been corrected by now - in case we've missed any we have opened a 'data bugs' forum on the sigames forums for these things .... any assistance which you might give would obviously be appreciated.

[Marc Vaughan]

You might be able to do the draft after the season, but you start in September so you don't get to do a draft in the beginning.
You should be able to do the draft - one of the reasons for the demo end date is simply so you can get to see the main features of the game in operation (of which the draft is obviously one).

[Honolulu_Blue]

Just did a glance through....

The Pengrowth Saddledome is listed as the Calgary Dome with a capacity of only a little over 17k... Isn't anyone watching the playoffs?

Regehr's contract information is wrong as he's signed a five year deal with Calgary in the off-season. Still, I tried to offer him a contract and the board said I could only offer him $7,000/year. I understand board restrictions but that's not even a reasonable suggestion...

Wow. $7,000/year? That's 3x's below the poverty level, I think.

[Karim]

Well, there are things that are so obvious that it's surprising they were missed. How could the person doing the Flames research get all the jersey numbers wrong? Iginla as #21? Or having both Regehr and Leopold as Left Defencemen? They've been defence partners all year. Or not know the birthplace of the Sutters... only 6 of which have played in the NHL...

I'm going to bite my tongue until I see what's been corrected for the final release before I start to flood the data bugs forum...

[Maple Leafs]

Well, there are things that are so obvious that it's surprising they were missed. How could the person doing the Flames research get all the jersey numbers wrong? Iginla as #21? Or having both Regehr and Leopold as Left Defencemen? They've been defence partners all year. Or not know the birthplace of the Sutters... only 6 of which have played in the NHL...
Just curious, bit are "left/right" defencemen really needed in hockey games? I realize most games have them, but I've never heard a real-life player described as a left defenceman. Sure, they may play a certain side for most of the year, but the distinction isn't as important as LW/RW unless I'm really missing something.

[scooter]

Well, there are things that are so obvious that it's surprising they were missed. How could the person doing the Flames research get all the jersey numbers wrong? Iginla as #21? Or having both Regehr and Leopold as Left Defencemen? They've been defence partners all year. Or not know the birthplace of the Sutters... only 6 of which have played in the NHL...

I'm going to bite my tongue until I see what's been corrected for the final release before I start to flood the data bugs forum...

Once again, if you leave the field blank in the database, the game generates it's own values (player positions, jersey numbers, etc.). The database just needs more info added. Be patient or report it in the data forum at SI and they can tell you if it's been changed.

[Karim]

Just curious, bit are "left/right" defencemen really needed in hockey games? I realize most games have them, but I've never heard a real-life player described as a left defenceman. Sure, they may play a certain side for most of the year, but the distinction isn't as important as LW/RW unless I'm really missing something.

I think it goes hand in hand with their shooting hand. Sure you have right handed shots manning the left boards but it makes it more difficult to keep the puck in the offensive zone or clear the defensive zone. So I guess when a guy establishes himself as playing the right side he becomes a "RD".

It really depends on how grognard you want to become. I remember posting a question asking about the difference between a LG and RG in football and someone replied about the differences in footwork, lateral movement, strength, tactics, etc.

It's all about perspective.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Just curious, bit are "left/right" defencemen really needed in hockey games? I realize most games have them, but I've never heard a real-life player described as a left defenceman. Sure, they may play a certain side for most of the year, but the distinction isn't as important as LW/RW unless I'm really missing something.

I've never liked this distinction either. It never made all that much sense to me. I imagine that, in the game, it wont make all that much difference if you have a "left defenseman" play on the right. I can't imagine too much of an impact. They have the same thing for strat-o-matic hockey, but we always ignored it.

[MJ4H]

In the play-by-play when my team got a penalty, the penalty was announced even though the play kept going (it was a delayed penalty). It said that will be a 5 minute major for cross-checking, then the play continued until possession changed. I guess that should be changed, unless I am confused.

[Karim]

Once again, if you leave the field blank in the database, the game generates it's own values (player positions, jersey numbers, etc.). The database just needs more info added. Be patient or report it in the data forum at SI and they can tell you if it's been changed.

Will do. I'll wait to see the final product before commenting further on data issues.

[Karim]

In the play-by-play when my team got a penalty, the penalty was announced even though the play kept going (it was a delayed penalty). It said that will be a 5 minute major for cross-checking, then the play continued until possession changed. I guess that should be changed, unless I am confused.

That's sounds correct unless your team was in possession throughout the delay.

[Danny]

I'm an idiot, in the few minutes I had to run he demo this morning, I couldn't even find where to simulate a game :(

[Karim]

Anyone having problems exiting? My exit button is ghosted but when I click on the X I get a window asking me to use the menu button. I don't see any other way of exiting.

[Maple Leafs]

That's sounds correct unless your team was in possession throughout the delay.But they wouldn't know it was a five-minute penalty until the play stopped.

[Easy Mac]

Anyone having problems exiting? My exit button is ghosted but when I click on the X I get a window asking me to use the menu button. I don't see any other way of exiting.
You have to be on certain screens to use the button. You can't be in the tactics screen, and maybe a few others.

[MJ4H]

But they wouldn't know it was a five-minute penalty until the play stopped.

Bingo.

[Tekneek]

The database is being continually updated by researchers and most of the errors should have been corrected by now - in case we've missed any we have opened a 'data bugs' forum on the sigames forums for these things .... any assistance which you might give would obviously be appreciated.

I saw that new forum when I went back. I made some contributions and will scour it looking for more that I don't see reported...just to try and help it be the best that it can be.

From a playing perspective, everything is excellent except fights seem down.

[Joe Canadian]

Wow. $7,000/year? That's 3x's below the poverty level, I think.

Tried to sign Belfour to an extension... and the board would only allow me to pay him $10,000 US????

[Tekneek]

Well, there are things that are so obvious that it's surprising they were missed. How could the person doing the Flames research get all the jersey numbers wrong? Iginla as #21? Or having both Regehr and Leopold as Left Defencemen? They've been defence partners all year. Or not know the birthplace of the Sutters... only 6 of which have played in the NHL...


You decide what their numbers are. Try giving them the numbers you think they should have, and see if they get them... :)

As far as birthplace and positions go, make the proper post over in their DB problems forum. That will get the best result. It's what I did once I knew it existed.

[Tekneek]

I've never liked this distinction either. It never made all that much sense to me. I imagine that, in the game, it wont make all that much difference if you have a "left defenseman" play on the right. I can't imagine too much of an impact. They have the same thing for strat-o-matic hockey, but we always ignored it.

Sometimes it does. I've seen defensemen who are obviously better on one side than the other, depending on whether they shoot right or left handed, as well as their positioning.

[Tekneek]

Tried to sign Belfour to an extension... and the board would only allow me to pay him $10,000 US????

Heheh. Did Belfour start destroying the training facility after that one?

[sachmo71]

Tried to sign Belfour to an extension... and the board would only allow me to pay him $10,000 US????


Just get him drunk and tell him you'll give him a billion dollars.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Tried to sign Belfour to an extension... and the board would only allow me to pay him $10,000 US????

Hrmmm... Even if the salaries were weekly that'd be very, very low... Hell, even if it were per day it'd be low!

[bbor]

Patience my freinds patience...have faith in Riz and the tema to get most things fixed.I am not even going to D/L the demo as i wanna go in fresh when i buy the full release.

But i am enjoying reading everyones impressions of the game.:)

[Ramzavail]

I'd like to read some more impressions while I am at work and cannot play it.

[Chubby]

I'll steal an idea from the old EHM boards (they were great but a PAIN to navigate)

Take 1 NHL team, go through their roster and look for inaccuracies. I'll take the Sabres and the Amerks of the AHL. (if you have a local minor league team like me do them too if you want). Post them in 1 huge thread (for all teams) in the PC Forum. They can get sent to SI when we're done, just a suggestion.

[Chubby]

With the release date un-officially confirmed for July 2nd has anyone heard about how it'll be available i.e. only through mail like CM, in stores in the US, download?

[Johnny93g]

All the players numbers seem to be right with the Leafs......But during my exhibition games.....We are allowed to dress and play 8 defensemen.....I dont know if its like that in the regular season though....I hope not

[bbor]

But during my exhibition games.....We are allowed to dress and play 8 defensemen.....I dont know if its like that in the regular season though....I hope not


You can dress 12 defenseman if you want as long as you don't go over 20 players overall....in the NHL that is.

[Johnny93g]

You can dress 12 defenseman if you want as long as you don't go over 20 players overall....in the NHL that is.

Ok let me rephrase....I can dress 12 forwards, 8 defensemen, and 2 goalies
22 players

And...Montreal just beat Detroit 10-2..Hasek allowed 6, Joseph allowed 4 :)

[Johnny93g]

Ive reached the regular season....Keith Acton left to Leafs to coach Detroit....All the rankings of the CHL import draft, and priority selection are pretty cool.....Ovechkin is the top rated prospect for next years nhl draft....I can only dress 20 players now....but I dont like having to assign defensemen to the 4th line, I'd rather they just rotate with whoever's turn it is....

[Neuqua]

Have there been other mirrors put up yet? I don't feel like downloading anything I don't have to.

[Johnny93g]

If anyone is interested who hasnt downloaded...here are some details from my 1st regular season game..

Leats at Islanders
Goals:
Mogilny, from Joey N and Berg
Roberts, from Francis
Joey N, from Leetch and McCabe, SH
Roberts, unassisted
McCabe, from Leetch, PP

Final 5-0 Tor
Shots: 25-23 Tor
PP: Tor 1/6, NY 0/4
Hits: 26-18 Tor

Belfour was 1st star
McCabe was 2nd
Roberts was 3rd

Niinimaa lead the Isles in ice time- 26:57
Leetch played 30:12 for Tor

16294 people attended

[Chubby]

Argh I can't post on the SI boards yet...

Is there any way to stop all my minors guys from getting called up? It seems to happen when there's an injury and some I can't send back down without clearing waivers.

[Bee]

I won't get the chance to try the demo for a couple weeks (going on vacation). I just have one question...Do the players have "personalities" like in CM? By that, I mean do they have conflicts with other players, get upset with playing time, etc.

[GoldenEagle]

I won't get the chance to try the demo for a couple weeks (going on vacation). I just have one question...Do the players have "personalities" like in CM? By that, I mean do they have conflicts with other players, get upset with playing time, etc.
Where have you been?

[Bee]

Where have you been?

I had a brief fling with another message board...will you take me back?

[Maple Leafs]

Final 5-0 Tor
Shots: 25-23 Tor
How are the shots/goals overall? Relatively accurate for the "dead puck" NHL?

[GoldenEagle]

I had a brief fling with another message board...will you take me back?
I guess. This is the last time though....

I think your HT team was tunred over.

[Bee]

I guess. This is the last time though....

I think your HT team was tunred over.

Nope. I've been checking in every couple weeks and doing a youth pull and selling them.

Still am in first though and now have close to $3 million. :D

[Johnny93g]

I just saw Damien Cox is in the game as a media pundit for the Leafs.....Thats hilarious to me.....Next game we tied the Devils 2-2....shots were 21-20, so thats pretty accurate....Scoring seems a tad high....buts it's been only 3 games, and i dont mind scoring....

[Zippo]

just wondering, does anyone know if there is an option to do fictional play?

[RPI-Fan]

Argh I can't post on the SI boards yet...

Is there any way to stop all my minors guys from getting called up? It seems to happen when there's an injury and some I can't send back down without clearing waivers.

This seems like an issue... any word on it?

[Chubby]

This seems like an issue... any word on it?


Not yet (from me at least), they manually turn on your account or something over there after you do the email confirmation so I'm still waiting for that before I can post on the boards.

I don't know if it's a setting I toggled or what but it seems like each time I get an injury I get massive callups even on guys I can and have already sent back down.

[druez]

In limited testing so far has anyone noticed that the snap shot of goals quite often seems to be a bit flakey. The positioning of the players seems to be a bit off. Quite often on a power play, I see 1 defenseman past the blue line. Or 2 of the shorthaned players on one guy near the point.

Not sure how many of you have played hockey but to me the snapshot seems wrong and without a 2d engine to see what is actually happening up untill the point, the snapshot either seems kind of bogus or pointless.

Is there anywhere to set dump and chase, or neutrel zone trap etc...? I haven't found it yet if there is...


****I do like the game though****

Oh its also weird as a long time CM4 / CM 03/04 player to step backwards in time and play hockey. The interface is different and I hate to harp on it, but the lack of the 2d engine makes the overall feel seem a bit lacking.

[Johnny93g]

Is there anywhere to set dump and chase, or neutrel zone trap etc...? I haven't found it yet if there is...



When you set your lines....you can choose how each line plays...Just do each line by itself, and at the bottom, there are options for that stuff....or select team orders and do it there

[Chubby]

Ok, when you turn off "coach games yourself" under GM Options then sim a game it floods your roster with call ups. Trying to make sure it's a bug and not a feature in chat right now...

[Maple Leafs]

I just saw Damien Cox is in the game as a media pundit for the LeafsHas he called for you to be fired yet?

[Johnny93g]

Has he called for you to be fired yet?

We haven't lost yet...6-0-1-0....so im sure he's waiting for that....I mean how dare a team of this skill lose even once...... :rolleyes:

[Marc Vaughan]

just wondering, does anyone know if there is an option to do fictional play?
In the full game there is - the demo works off 'quick starts' (basically a save game we provide) and so doesn't have this option.

[Marc Vaughan]

Not sure how many of you have played hockey but to me the snapshot seems wrong and without a 2d engine to see what is actually happening up untill the point, the snapshot either seems kind of bogus or pointless.

The snapshot is a 'true' representation of whats happening in the game and should make sense in 'motion' with the rest of the play I'm sure however unfortunately the granularity of the movement in the match engine isn't sufficient to allow a full 2D display yet (The original CM3 engine used a 10ft and 6 second granularity - EHM's is much better than this, but doesn't approach CM4's inches and 1/8 second yet).... sorry.

Obviously as the EHM series goes forward and evolves Riz will be continually improving and refining the match engine ...

[NoSkillz]

Originally Posted by Chubby
Take 1 NHL team, go through their roster and look for inaccuracies. I'll take the Sabres and the Amerks of the AHL. (if you have a local minor league team like me do them too if you want). Post them in 1 huge thread (for all teams) in the PC Forum. They can get sent to SI when we're done, just a suggestion.
If you have any problems with the Sabres, you can send me an email or post here with your concerns. I'm the HR for the NHL Northeast Division and did the Sabres personally...saw about 10 games in person this year and watched all the rest on TV. Keep in mind that a lot of the data in the version of the beta you're playing has been updated :cool: I didn't do any of the Amerks, however.
Matt

[Chubby]

If you have any problems with the Sabres, you can send me an email or post here with your concerns. I'm the HR for the NHL Northeast Division and did the Sabres personally...saw about 10 games in person this year and watched all the rest on TV. Keep in mind that a lot of the data in the version of the beta you're playing has been updated :cool: I didn't do any of the Amerks, however.
Matt
where's Vanek? :D

[Chubby]

Where are the free agents as well? Are they all on international teams?

[klayman]

Sample Html output for anybody wondering

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=650><TBODY><TR><TD width=125><CENTER>VISITORS:

Phoenix Coyotes™

</CENTER></TD><TD width=25>1</TD><TD width=350><CENTER>Game Summary


Saturday September 6th 2003
Attendance: 9391

Venue: Edmonton Place</CENTER><TD width=25>5</TD><TD width=125><CENTER>HOME:

Edmonton Oilers™

</CENTER></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

<HR><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=650 border=1><TBODY><TR><TH colSpan=10>Scoring Summary: </TH></TR><TR><TH align=middle width=20>G</TH><TH align=middle width=25>Per</TH><TH align=middle width=35>Time</TH><TH align=middle width=45>Team</TH><TH align=middle width=80>Goal Scorer</TH><TH align=middle width=100>First Assist</TH><TH align=middle width=100>Second Assist</TH><TH align=middle width=100>Info</TH></TR></TR><TR><TD align=right>1</TD><TD align=middle>1</TD><TD align=right>10:45</TD><TD align=left>Oilers</TD><TD align=left>Moreau</TD><TD align=left>Laraque</TD><TD align=left>Smith</TD><TD align=left>-</TD></TR></TR><TR><TD align=right>2</TD><TD align=middle>1</TD><TD align=right>11:46</TD><TD align=left>Oilers</TD><TD align=left>Moreau</TD><TD align=left>Smyth</TD><TD align=left>-</TD><TD align=left>-</TD></TR></TR><TR><TD align=right>3</TD><TD align=middle>2</TD><TD align=right>30:34</TD><TD align=left>Oilers</TD><TD align=left>Laraque</TD><TD align=left>Smyth</TD><TD align=left>Ulanov</TD><TD align=left>-</TD></TR></TR><TR><TD align=right>4</TD><TD align=middle>2</TD><TD align=right>34:15</TD><TD align=left>Coyotes</TD><TD align=left>Taffe</TD><TD align=left>Nagy</TD><TD align=left>Spiller</TD><TD align=left>-</TD></TR></TR><TR><TD align=right>5</TD><TD align=middle>3</TD><TD align=right>45:23</TD><TD align=left>Oilers</TD><TD align=left>Reasoner</TD><TD align=left>-</TD><TD align=left>-</TD><TD align=left>-</TD></TR></TR><TR><TD align=right>6</TD><TD align=middle>3</TD><TD align=right>49:54</TD><TD align=left>Oilers</TD><TD align=left>Cross</TD><TD align=left>Smith</TD><TD align=left>York</TD><TD align=left>-</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=650 border=1><TBODY><TR><TH colSpan=10>Penalty Summary: </TH></TR><TR><TH align=middle width=25>Per</TH><TH align=middle width=35>Time</TH><TH align=middle width=45>Team</TH><TH align=middle width=80>Player</TH><TH align=middle width=25>PIM</TH><TH align=middle width=60>Penalty</TH></TR><TR><TD align=middle>1</TD><TD align=right>05:24</TD><TD align=left>Oilers</TD><TD align=left>Smith</TD><TD align=left>2:00</TD><TD align=left>Holding the stick</TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle>1</TD><TD align=right>13:16</TD><TD align=left>Coyotes</TD><TD align=left>Mara</TD><TD align=left>2:00</TD><TD align=left>Boarding</TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle>1</TD><TD align=right>17:47</TD><TD align=left>Oilers</TD><TD align=left>Moreau</TD><TD align=left>2:00</TD><TD align=left>Cross-checking</TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle>1</TD><TD align=right>19:17</TD><TD align=left>Oilers</TD><TD align=left>Cross</TD><TD align=left>2:00</TD><TD align=left>High-sticking</TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle>2</TD><TD align=right>23:07</TD><TD align=left>Coyotes</TD><TD align=left>Nagy</TD><TD align=left>2:00</TD><TD align=left>Hooking</TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle>2</TD><TD align=right>26:53</TD><TD align=left>Coyotes</TD><TD align=left>Hulse</TD><TD align=left>2:00</TD><TD align=left>Charging</TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle>2</TD><TD align=right>35:08</TD><TD align=left>Oilers</TD><TD align=left>Moreau</TD><TD align=left>2:00</TD><TD align=left>Charging</TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle>2</TD><TD align=right>38:45</TD><TD align=left>Coyotes</TD><TD align=left>Westrum</TD><TD align=left>2:00</TD><TD align=left>Boarding</TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle>3</TD><TD align=right>50:11</TD><TD align=left>Coyotes</TD><TD align=left>Hulse</TD><TD align=left>2:00</TD><TD align=left>High-sticking</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=650 border=1><TBODY><TR><TH colSpan=2>Shot Attempts</TH><TH colSpan=2>Shots On Goal</TH><TH colSpan=2>Penalties-Min</TH><TH colSpan=2>PowerPlay (Chances - Goals)</TH><TH colSpan=5>Face-Offs (Won - Percentage)</TH></TR></TR><TR><TH width=50>PHO</TH><TH width=50>EDM</TH><TH width=50>PHO</TH><TH width=50>EDM</TH><TH width=50>PHO</TH><TH width=50>EDM</TH><TH width=50>PHO</TH><TH width=50>EDM</TH><TH width=30>Total</TH><TH width=50>PHO</TH><TH width=50>EDM</TH></TR><TR><TD align=middle>19</TD><TD align=middle>47</TD><TD align=middle>16</TD><TD align=middle>29</TD><TD align=middle>5-10</TD><TD align=middle>4-8</TD><TD align=middle>4 - 0</TD><TD align=middle>5-0</TD><TD align=middle>82</TD><TD align=middle>42-51%</TD><TD align=middle>40-49%</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=650 border=1><TBODY></TR></TBODY></TABLE></FONT>

[BreizhManu]

Where are the free agents as well? Are they all on international teams?

nope you can find them in player and staff search -> filter -> contract expired -> type UFA

[NoSkillz]

originally posted by Chubby
where's Vanek? :D
I think they had to scramble his name because of license issues. His info will likely be on the Golden Gophers if you look hard enough. NCAA researcher would have entered his stats...

[Scholes]

Look on the Gophers for the big, strong winger from Austria. He's there. So is Ballard, the 5'10" offensive dynamo defenseman.

[Chief Rum]

Grrr...can someone tell how the frick to use this Bit Torrent utter stupidity program?

I downloaded a client and installed it. I downloaded the file. Now I am trying to open the file and Bit Torrent starts to upload it? WTF? I don't want a frickin' upload, I want the darn file to do whatever it needs to do to install the demo. :mad:

Why couldn't they have just set up a bunch of mirror sites instead of this awful way of doing it? :(

CR

[Marmel]

Looks very, very nice, but PLEASE allow a quick sim option so I don't have to view each and every second of every single game. I could see that as a complete deal breaker. :(

[BreizhManu]

Looks very, very nice, but PLEASE allow a quick sim option so I don't have to view each and every second of every single game. I could see that as a complete deal breaker. :(

your name -> general manager options -> coach games yourself -> no = quick sim

[Buccaneer]

Looks very, very nice, but PLEASE allow a quick sim option so I don't have to view each and every second of every single game. I could see that as a complete deal breaker. :(
Same here. Also we can use game-generated fictional rosters, right?

[BreizhManu]

Same here. Also we can use game-generated fictional rosters, right?

see above

In the full game there is - the demo works off 'quick starts' (basically a save game we provide) and so doesn't have this option.

[Desnudo]

Looks very, very nice, but PLEASE allow a quick sim option so I don't have to view each and every second of every single game. I could see that as a complete deal breaker. :(
There is a program called GEAR that allows you to accelerate the match to a speed of your liking. At least it works with the CM engine. It allows me to make changes on the fly, but keep things moving nice and fast.

[Marmel]

your name -> general manager options -> coach games yourself -> no = quick sim

Thanks so much!

[Desnudo]

Grrr...can someone tell how the frick to use this Bit Torrent utter stupidity program?

I downloaded a client and installed it. I downloaded the file. Now I am trying to open the file and Bit Torrent starts to upload it? WTF? I don't want a frickin' upload, I want the darn file to do whatever it needs to do to install the demo. :mad:

Why couldn't they have just set up a bunch of mirror sites instead of this awful way of doing it? :(

CR
Just try and find something on their Byzantine website and you'll understand. Great games SI, but the upfront user experience could use some work. ;)

[Desnudo]

Grrr...can someone tell how the frick to use this Bit Torrent utter stupidity program?

I downloaded a client and installed it. I downloaded the file. Now I am trying to open the file and Bit Torrent starts to upload it? WTF? I don't want a frickin' upload, I want the darn file to do whatever it needs to do to install the demo. :mad:

Why couldn't they have just set up a bunch of mirror sites instead of this awful way of doing it? :(

CR"It really is that simple! However, something you might notice is that when you download with Eurofiles, you don't just get a figure that shows you how fast you're downloading - you also get an "upload" figure. This is because BitTorrent works by sharing the parts of the file which you've already got with other users. So, for example, if you have the first part of a file, but you need the last, you'll upload the first part to other users, while they send you the last part. It's effectively a big community of people sharing the file amongst each other to make sure that everyone downloads as fast as possible!"

Edit: Wow, I was skeptical at first, but the thing really cruised after a few minutes.

[Chubby]

Looks very, very nice, but PLEASE allow a quick sim option so I don't have to view each and every second of every single game. I could see that as a complete deal breaker. :(

You can turn off "Coach Games Yourself" under "General Manager Options" under your name. Currently it floods your club with guys from the minors that get called up somehow however everytime you sim a game. It's been fixed in the newer builds.

[Chief Rum]

But it said download finished, and the fiel I got seems to be a BT file, not missing anything or whatever. Stands to reason I must have the complete file.

So why is it when I try and open the damn thing up, all I am getting is going through the whole upload process again? BT seems to be purely a download client. Good. I'm done downloading. Can I move on to actually running thew file now or what?

Please, can someone just give me point by point instructions, from download to game install? I would appreciate it. Thanks.

CR

[Chubby]

But it said download finished, and the fiel I got seems to be a BT file, not missing anything or whatever. Stands to reason I must have the complete file.

So why is it when I try and open the damn thing up, all I am getting is going through the whole upload process again? BT seems to be purely a download client. Good. I'm done downloading. Can I move on to actually running thew file now or what?

Please, can someone just give me point by point instructions, from download to game install? I would appreciate it. Thanks.

CR


1) http://bittornado.com/download.html download, install, and run
2) http://www.eurofiles.net/torrents/ehm%20beta%20demo.exe.torrent go there
3) install and play :)

[Ragone]

i can send it to you via aim if you like chief.. would save you the trouble

[Chief Rum]

Thanks, guys. I'm getting the file right now from a mirror site, courtesy of Neuqua. This, of course, is the simple way to do it, but God forbid someone with the company should take the time to set up the simple way for those of us who want to avoid downloading new programs just to download a file.

Chubby, the way you put it is the way I read it when I originally did it. Except, of course, for the part where the first three times I start up BT, it gives me a Failed download message before finally starting, and except for afetr getting the file, the program refusing to allow me to just run the file, but instead opening BT again (that program is SO off my computer...). Ugh. Thanks for the help.

Ragone, I would take you up on your offer except that I am getting it from Neuqua. Thanks anyway.

CR

[Chubby]

I guess they only have a 2 GB pipe or something at SI which is why they went this route.

No problem, I wa ssurprised it went as smoothly as it did for me.

[Desnudo]

Tried to sign Belfour to an extension... and the board would only allow me to pay him $10,000 US????
You weren't playing as the Bruins by any chance? If that's the case, I applaud the realism.

[Tekneek]

Chief, SI explained that they don't have the bandwidth to serve it, so they did it a different way that most likely allowed more people to get the demo than could get past demos over the same time period. I know there were times in the past where it was much more difficult to get demos than this one was.

[Chief Rum]

Oh, I know why they did it, and that's fine. But they really should have set up mirror sites with the actual file before posting it up. There are plenty of fans of CM who have the room to host it, and it would have been nice to have the choice of going with the "quick" but complicated download from SIGames, and going with the slower, but error-free download from some impacted direct-file download mirror host.

BT makes sense for people on phone lines, and people for whom speed opf download is of utmost importance. But for those of us who have broadband and/or don't want to be adding programs just to download, this was just a needless and hair-wrenching complication.

They really should have set it up both ways (with the second way on someone else's bandwidth, which I have seen them do for CM patches).

CR

[Adamski47]

Sorry if this has been answered already I skimmed the first page and a half for the same problem:

ERROR
Problem getting response info [errno2] no such file or directory...

Any ideas/solutions?

Thank you!

[Ramzavail]

wheres the mirror - i wanna download.

[SackAttack]

Ramza - grab me on AIM, I've got it.

[Adamski47]

Can someone send me the file via email or something? I'm having problems using the company's special download procedure (where you download the program blah blah blah). That's where my problem exists (once the install program opens).

Thank you.

[Chief Rum]

Sorry if this has been answered already I skimmed the first page and a half for the same problem:

ERROR
Problem getting response info [errno2] no such file or directory...

Any ideas/solutions?

Thank you!

Yeah, Adamski, that was one of the problems I was running into. I ended up abandoning the whole BT thing and getting help from Neuqua, who had a link to a direct download. And, in fact, here is the link:

http://www.edinburgh-capitals.com/downloads/ehmbetademo.exe

I maybe shouldn't be giving that out, though (not sure where Neuqua got it, probably from a CM fan host site). Neuqua, if there is a problem with me posting that, let me know, and I will remove it.

CR

[Neuqua]

Not really sure, the reason I did not make it public was because I actually had to do a lot of searching to find it, so I was not sure if the guy who is hosting it wanted to make it public for everybody or not.

[General Mike]

How big is the file?

[Maple Leafs]

How big is the file?
The one I'm downlloading now is 51.9 MB.

[henry296]

It is 52 MB

[scooter]

That direct link was posted over at SI too (that's the mirror I downloaded it from). I think one of the reasons they set it up this way is because EHM has a different (less established) community than CM. At any one time, there are probably 20 websites dedicated to all things CM. I can only think of one dedicated site for EHM. When SI posts a new demo or enhancement pack for CM, the file gets picked up by a half dozen or so websites within minutes. I just don't think the EHM community has grown to that point yet. If SI had followed their prior procedures, we probably would all still be waiting for them to reset their server with possibly one other mirror site struggling to meet the demand.

I've also heard a number of people that couldn't download it with BitTorent because they were at work with networks that wouldn't allow the kind of access that that system requires. It isn't a perfect system, but I'm not worried about it now...I'm chasing the Stanley Cup :D

[Neuqua]

Ok then, good to hear Scooter, now I don't feel so guilty :)

[Adamski47]

Thank you so much for the help Cheif Run and Neuqua!

[Maple Leafs]

Hey guys, is there an easy way to quickly run an auto-manage on my team to get started, or do I have to manually set everything myself?

[henry296]

The Season records don't have Wayne Gretzky's 92 goals.

[Chief Rum]

Thank you so much for the help Cheif Run and Neuqua!

I can't believe you totally misspelled an easy name like Chief Rum, but you got Neuqua right. :)

Hope you're enjoying the game.

CR

[Maple Leafs]

OK, help a dumb Canadian. How do I edit lines? I found the line screen, and I found the "Ask Coach" button, but now that I have his lines how do I change them? How do I get Player A onto the first line?

[Johnny93g]

I know this was brought up before....but I got a few injuries...Antropov, Kaberle both were out for about a month.....I put them on injured reserve....saved it....I come back 10 mins ago....and my pro roster is 51.......Most of the St. Johns Maple leafs team was up....made me turn it off....i dont want to send them back down....I never called them up....hope this will be fixed...

[SackAttack]

Maple,

Click the player's uniform number to the left of his name, then click the name of the player you wish to replace over on the 'lines' side of the screen.

[Johnny93g]

OK, help a dumb Canadian. How do I edit lines? I found the line screen, and I found the "Ask Coach" button, but now that I have his lines how do I change them? How do I get Player A onto the first line?

Do you see the list of players.....click on there number...then put them on the line you want

[Maple Leafs]

Do you see the list of players.....click on there number...then put them on the line you wantAh, OK, thanks guys. I was clicking the player's name, and it just kept popping up their player card.

Still feeling my way through the interface.

[Simms]

One thing I've noticed that may explain the lack of goals and/or fighting...

In the tactics screen, when you select the individual lines in order to specify how you want them to play....right-click on each of the "silhouettes" in the visual, and you can set general and specific instructions on a per-player basis.

It appears (at least in my game) that all players are defaulted to Shoot/Pass Bias = Pass and Fighting = Not Allowed.

I may be wrong about the overall effect this has on the games themselves, but nobody'd mentioned this feature yet and it's not exactly intuitive. So, if nothing else, I guess I'm bringing attention to it. :)

Edit: And Carry Puck = No for each player. So if I'm to understand (at least in games involving human-controlled teams), every player by default is not supposed to shoot, carry the puck, or fight.

[Johnny93g]

One thing I've noticed that may explain the lack of goals and/or fighting...

In the tactics screen, when you select the individual lines in order to specify how you want them to play....right-click on each of the "silhouettes" in the visual, and you can set general and specific instructions on a per-player basis.

It appears (at least in my game) that all players are defaulted to Shoot/Pass Bias = Pass and Fighting = Not Allowed.

I may be wrong about the overall effect this has on the games themselves, but nobody'd mentioned this feature yet and it's not exactly intuitive. So, if nothing else, I guess I'm bringing attention to it. :)

Edit: And Carry Puck = No for each player. So if I'm to understand (at least in games involving human-controlled teams), every player by default is not supposed to shoot, carry the puck, or fight.

Holy crap...didnt even realize that...thanks....Mogilny will now shoot...Hoorayy

[Maple Leafs]

Questions as I play my first game:

- How are you supposed to know when a faceoff happens? The play just seems to go on and on... I assume they're happening and the play-by-play just doesn't mention it?

- I like to use the tactical view, but it seems like the location of the play will just jump from end of the ice to the other right away. My player takes a shot on net, and next thing I know the same player has the puck behind his own net

- Is it me, or is every single save an "easy" save?

[Maple Leafs]

It appears (at least in my game) that all players are defaulted to Shoot/Pass Bias = Pass and Fighting = Not Allowed.
Would it stand to reason that even setting all your players to being allowed to fight wouldn't help, if none of the other players in the league were allowed?

It's like they let Jacques Martin program the fighting AI.

[Simms]

Questions as I play my first game:

- How are you supposed to know when a faceoff happens? The play just seems to go on and on... I assume they're happening and the play-by-play just doesn't mention it?

- I like to use the tactical view, but it seems like the location of the play will just jump from end of the ice to the other right away. My player takes a shot on net, and next thing I know the same player has the puck behind his own net

- Is it me, or is every single save an "easy" save?
I haven't actually played a game yet, but if it's anything like CM (with which my last experience was 01-02), the PbP is neither real-time, nor comprehensive. Typically you only got full detail when "something" was happening. The rest of the play took place behind the scenes in the engine. I haven't had any experience with the visual representation in CM, but I think it would stand to reason that it would be similar in this game.

[Chubby]

Would it stand to reason that even setting all your players to being allowed to fight wouldn't help, if none of the other players in the league were allowed?

It's like they let Jacques Martin program the fighting AI.
Heh, that's true. Hello tons of instigators :D

[bbor]

Hey guys, is there an easy way to quickly run an auto-manage on my team

Sure is....just hire Gerry Macnamara as your gm and sit back and watch things unwind for the next 12 years:)


For Chicago fans.....Hiring Bob Pulford will have the same effect :p

[illinifan999]

As usual unable to decide on a team. Looking through the Blackhawks roster I see that Fluery is suspended for use of an illegal substance. Will that be an event that can happen in the game?

[Honolulu_Blue]

Ok let me rephrase....I can dress 12 forwards, 8 defensemen, and 2 goalies
22 players

And...Montreal just beat Detroit 10-2..Hasek allowed 6, Joseph allowed 4 :)

What's up with this? WHat's up with you playing this game and the Wings sucking? It's inacceptable. You're banned. Riz? Marc? Can't you do something about this? Ban him!! :)

[Karim]

Great catch, Simms.

Has anyone found the trading interface? I've searched high and low...

[klayman]

Great catch, Simms.

Has anyone found the trading interface? I've searched high and low...
Under actions for individual players. You can also get to it from another teams roster menu.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Great catch, Simms.

Has anyone found the trading interface? I've searched high and low...

Karim, I think you need to go to the team you want to trade with and maybe click on the player card and it's under "action" or something. I saw this while browsing the SI boards.

The interface will take some time to get a handle on. I had all sorts of problems with the original EHM and the first time I played CM.

[klayman]

Speaking of trades, has anybody received an offer after making an inquiry for a player? All I get is the other team is not interested.

[SackAttack]

the weird thing about the trading interface is that you can only offer FOR a player. So far as I can tell, you can't just go to a trading screen and start adding random players.

[Marc Vaughan]

Questions as I play my first game:
- How are you supposed to know when a faceoff happens? The play just seems to go on and on... I assume they're happening and the play-by-play just doesn't mention it?

Play by play only shows the 'interesting' parts of games (think of it like a mid-week sports round up from a game - it cuts out a lot of the un-exciting parts of the match) and keeps the game (reasonably) quick.

The rest happens behind the scenes (watch the stats and the pitch information screens if you want to get a feel for whats happening 'off comentary).

Hope this helps,

Marc

[Tekneek]

As usual unable to decide on a team. Looking through the Blackhawks roster I see that Fluery is suspended for use of an illegal substance. Will that be an event that can happen in the game?

No. It is like that because he was, indeed, suspended by the NHL for the entire season due to violations of the substance abuse policy. You don't think the NHL and NHLPA would agree to licensing a game that would have players busted for that kind of thing, do you?

[scooter]

I've struggled with the tactical screen during games as well. I read over on the SI forums that the tactical screen is supposed to have the names of the players on the ice as well, but it didn't make it into this build of the demo - expect it in the final game I guess.

Also, has anyone read the .rtf that came with the demo. It's only three pages long, but it might have some helpful info in there (I haven't read it yet :D ).

[druez]

Questions as I play my first game:

- How are you supposed to know when a faceoff happens? The play just seems to go on and on... I assume they're happening and the play-by-play just doesn't mention it?

- I like to use the tactical view, but it seems like the location of the play will just jump from end of the ice to the other right away. My player takes a shot on net, and next thing I know the same player has the puck behind his own net

- Is it me, or is every single save an "easy" save?


Yep, most of the saves I've seen have been easy...

[Maple Leafs]

Play by play only shows the 'interesting' parts of games (think of it like a mid-week sports round up from a game - it cuts out a lot of the un-exciting parts of the match) and keeps the game (reasonably) quick.

The rest happens behind the scenes (watch the stats and the pitch information screens if you want to get a feel for whats happening 'off comentary).

Hope this helpsFair enough. I'm not sure that's the best way to do it, but if I know that's how the system is working than I can understand what's happening a little better.

[Adamski47]

Is there a way to save your progress? I Have autosave turned off.

[illinifan999]

No. It is like that because he was, indeed, suspended by the NHL for the entire season due to violations of the substance abuse policy. You don't think the NHL and NHLPA would agree to licensing a game that would have players busted for that kind of thing, do you?
Didn't really expect it to be, but one could only hope. :(

I have a few questions. I watch hockey sometimes, but I'm not a big fan that knows what all these things mean.

I'm getting told some minor league club is offering Joe Smith a contract while he's at college and that I currently own the rights to him. What are the rights and why are teams offering a contract if I have his rights?

Whenever I look at the lines, my starting goalie is the goalie in the first line, then it shows that my backup goalie is in the second line. In the game, I don't ever see notice of the backup goalie?

For the General Manager Options screen it asks if I want to use current tactics, it's set to no? Do I want it at no, or change it to yes?

And this is based off 1-20 right? For the ratings.

[riz]

the weird thing about the trading interface is that you can only offer FOR a player. So far as I can tell, you can't just go to a trading screen and start adding random players.

You can :) Go to a team you want to trade with, select "Actions" menu from the left hand side and "Approach to trade". This will open the trade screen and you can just start adding random players.

[RPI-Fan]

Didn't really expect it to be, but one could only hope. :(

I have a few questions. I watch hockey sometimes, but I'm not a big fan that knows what all these things mean.

I'm getting told some minor league club is offering Joe Smith a contract while he's at college and that I currently own the rights to him. What are the rights and why are teams offering a contract if I have his rights?

Whenever I look at the lines, my starting goalie is the goalie in the first line, then it shows that my backup goalie is in the second line. In the game, I don't ever see notice of the backup goalie?

For the General Manager Options screen it asks if I want to use current tactics, it's set to no? Do I want it at no, or change it to yes?

And this is based off 1-20 right? For the ratings.

With re: to the backup goalie, that's just used so you can set instructions for your backup should he enter the game. He won't play unless the starter is pulled or injured.

[Tekneek]

You own the NHL rights for those players. Non-NHL teams are offering them contracts. If it works like real life, I think you have one year (after they go pro) to sign them to a contract before you lose their NHL rights.

[scooter]

Is there a way to save your progress? I Have autosave turned off.

Right under the team name bar there are a number of menu headings. The one on the far right says "Game Options". In this menu you can save the game or exit it (why would you want to do that?!)

[Adamski47]

Thanks for the help with saving. I think it wouldn't work because I had autosave turned off completely (before it wasn't available to select).

My next question is this:

As the GM, it shouldn't be my job to set line tactics and other similar game approaches. I know you can have your coach set your lines for you but is there a way to let the coach do the coaching of other detailed things like tactics?

I really hope so, I just want to GM!

Thank you.

[Maple Leafs]

You own the NHL rights for those players. Non-NHL teams are offering them contracts. If it works like real life, I think you have one year (after they go pro) to sign them to a contract before you lose their NHL rights.If the non-NHL team succeeds in signing them, do we lose their rights? Do we get another chance to sign them, or should we do it right away if we don't want to lose them?

[scooter]

Thanks for the help with saving. I think it wouldn't work because I had autosave turned off completely (before it wasn't available to select).

My next question is this:

As the GM, it shouldn't be my job to set line tactics and other similar game approaches. I know you can have your coach set your lines for you but is there a way to let the coach do the coaching of other detailed things like tactics?

I really hope so, I just want to GM!

Thank you.

There are certain times when you can't save (I haven't figured out what all of them are yet) and that is why you had it greyed out. I always play with auto save turned off.

As to your next question, if you go in that same line of menu headings to the far left menu (the name you put in for your GM), click on that, and go down to "General Manager Options". There you will find a number of settings to adjust whether you are a GM only or a GM/coach. By clicking "No" on "Coach Games Yourself", you are essentially playing as a GM only. You can however put certain limitations on your coach with the other Coaching Options. If you set up your tactics and lines the way you want them, but don't want to actually coach the games, leave "Coach games yourself" set to "No" but set "Use current tactics" to "Yes". (at least I think that's the way it works)

[Adamski47]

So scooter, I should have all 4 of the top options under GM options turned to "no"? It is sort of worded strangely at the bottom (in regards to the *).

[Maple Leafs]

General first impressions:

- I'm having a tough time with the interface, and from reading the comments in this thread I'm apparently not the only one. My feeling so far is that my problems have more to do with just getting used to a new game than with any sort of actual design flaw.

- That said, I really like the look of the game. The interface is slick.

- There doesn't seem to be any context-sensitive help anywhere (for example, a few lines of text on the "edit lines" screen to show you what to do). The game seems to have a habit of burying commands on sub-screens, so a little help would be nice.

- I'm happy to say that my fear about the game looking "too European" was unfounded. With very small nitpicky exceptions (dates are separated with periods instead of hyphens or slashes) the game feels very North American. The only time you really feel like it's a European game is when it insists on using the soccer-ish term "tactics" everywhere (instead of, say, "strategy") and even that takes only a few games to get used to.

- As I mentioned above, I just don't like the play-by-play. I find the way it jumps around to be too jarring -- it takes me out of the game and reminds me that I'm only watching a simulation. I'd also like the option to have the game pause on faceoffs, but that's probably just me.

- I do like the goal snapshots, though. Even though some of them seem a little odd, I find that they compensate for the so-so play-by-play and help me feel like I know how a goal went in.

- I'm hearing some scary stories of errors in the player database. Hopefully they'll be fixed. I can say that from looking at the Leafs roster, everything seems to be in order. Whoever did the research for Toronto seems to have done a solid job.

Overall, right now I'd describe my reaction as "guardedly optimistic". I need to figure out the interface well enough to really play this thing, but so far I like what I'm seeing.

[Tekneek]

If the non-NHL team succeeds in signing them, do we lose their rights? Do we get another chance to sign them, or should we do it right away if we don't want to lose them?

You should not lose their rights for 1 year after they leave college, at least that is what I understand the real life rules to be. Perhaps you would get a news item warning you that you are about to lose their rights before it happens?

[Tekneek]

- I'm hearing some scary stories of errors in the player database. Hopefully they'll be fixed. I can say that from looking at the Leafs roster, everything seems to be in order. Whoever did the research for Toronto seems to have done a solid job.

When you get below the NHL level, the quality of the rosters will get very dodgy.

[wbatl1]

Ok, somebody help me please. I download the BitTornado thing. When I try and launch it, it asks me to find the file. Of course I don't have the file yet cause I want to download it. Also, when I just click on the download, it pops up the BitTorrent thing, but everytime it has an error. Arghhh. AM I just computer illiterate or what? ARe there ANY normal downloads sites? HElp me please.

[Johnny93g]

Whoever did the research for Toronto seems to have done a solid job.


they did except for 1 thing ive noticed so far....They got Pierre Hedin as a winger.....Im sure noone other then us leaf fans know he's a defenseman though :p

[Maple Leafs]

they did except for 1 thing ive noticed so far....They got Pierre Hedin as a winger.....Im sure noone other then us leaf fans know he's a defenseman though :pAnd was it me, or do they have Pat Quinn being from Hamilton, ON in like Belguim?

[Tekneek]

And was it me, or do they have Pat Quinn being from Hamilton, ON in like Belguim?

Probably Bermuda, like everybody else from Hamilton is.

[scooter]

So scooter, I should have all 4 of the top options under GM options turned to "no"? It is sort of worded strangely at the bottom (in regards to the *).

The idea with the Coaching Options is that you can set things up to run the team as just the GM or as GM/coach. The "*" items in the list refer to your ability to dictate tactics, team selection, and line setup even if you are playing as a GM only. These items are also used for when you set up the game to go into "Vacation" mode (the lower section under Vacation Options). This mode allows you to set up certain parameters that the coach will function within when you go on vacation. (Vacation mode is simply a way to advance the game quickly without dealing with all the day-to-day details) That way you can go on vacation through the pre-season and come back without strange players on your roster, etc.

[Joe Canadian]

General first impressions:

- I'm happy to say that my fear about the game looking "too European" was unfounded. With very small nitpicky exceptions (dates are separated with periods instead of hyphens or slashes) the game feels very North American. The only time you really feel like it's a European game is when it insists on using the soccer-ish term "tactics" everywhere (instead of, say, "strategy") and even that takes only a few games to get used to.

- I'm hearing some scary stories of errors in the player database. Hopefully they'll be fixed. I can say that from looking at the Leafs roster, everything seems to be in order. Whoever did the research for Toronto seems to have done a solid job.

Overall, right now I'd describe my reaction as "guardedly optimistic". I need to figure out the interface well enough to really play this thing, but so far I like what I'm seeing.

- I'm suprised at how non-european it is, but it the NHL side of it is still to European (especially for a game thats going to be sold at North American retailers, ie. Joe Fan). They call games, fixtures... and trades, transfers. It's minor but unrealistic when you get e-mails saying...

"The New York Islanders deny Transfer rumors regarding {insert name here}"

- I haven't done much checking on particulars regarding the NHL, as I've assumed they got the "big league" all sorted out... apparently this may not be the case, yet. But check out St. John's... according to www.hockeydb.com , and their official website... they have almost all player vitals (weight & height) wrong. They are also missing a number of Birth Places for players that could have been figured out very easily over at www.hockeydb.com , Centomo being one of them.

[Adamski47]

Is there a way to view LEAGUE news and not just news for your team? I feel like I'm missing something...

[Tekneek]

- I haven't done much checking on particulars regarding the NHL, as I've assumed they got the "big league" all sorted out... apparently this may not be the case, yet. But check out St. John's... according to www.hockeydb.com , and their official website... they have almost all player vitals (weight & height) wrong. They are also missing a number of Birth Places for players that could have been figured out very easily over at www.hockeydb.com , Centomo being one of them.

Just going through a few reliable websites, of which hockeydb.com is a great one, you can try and get a few things sorted out. I've only targeted rosters and positions for now, sorting out who should even be on a roster and their proper positions. I'm afraid to get into the vitals, and then the statistical histories. I know, just from glancing around, that histories are needlessly empty for a ton of lower level players when that information could have been gathered off of the hockeydb.com with somewhat minimal extra effort. Since past seasons were not changing all season long, plenty of time was available to gather that...even for one person doing it.

I should stop talking about it. Evidently a lot of researchers flaked out on the project, and the remaining members have struggled.

[Tekneek]

Is there a way to view LEAGUE news and not just news for your team? I feel like I'm missing something...

Yeah, I had that feeling too. I could not find anything. The news is definitely something that could be turned up a few notches. Almost nothing happens for weeks/months at a time in there.

[3ric]

Anybody know of any keyboard shortcuts in the game?

[Maple Leafs]

- I'm suprised at how non-european it is, but it the NHL side of it is still to European (especially for a game thats going to be sold at North American retailers, ie. Joe Fan). They call games, fixtures... and trades, transfers. It's minor but unrealistic when you get e-mails saying...

"The New York Islanders deny Transfer rumors regarding {insert name here}"

- I haven't done much checking on particulars regarding the NHL, as I've assumed they got the "big league" all sorted out... apparently this may not be the case, yet. But check out St. John's... according to www.hockeydb.com , and their official website... they have almost all player vitals (weight & height) wrong. They are also missing a number of Birth Places for players that could have been figured out very easily over at www.hockeydb.com , Centomo being one of them.Hmm... hadn't noticed either issue yet, but you're right... that's not good.

[scooter]

Yes, a lot of the information needed for the database is readily available from various sources. The problem is not so much finding the information, it's getting it into the database (time consuming) and making sure it sorts correctly (I had major problems with this!). Just sitting down and inputting all the info for a guy that bounced back and forth from the NHL to the AHL and IHL for a number of years is a major pain. And yes, I do believe that a number of researchers flaked out (I replaced one of them).

[Ramzavail]

I find this to be a big flaw - I noticed that even the 02-03 stats weren't in the game.

For simulation fans, as I am, accurate statistical output and stat history is key in the game, for me at least.

[Johnny93g]

02-03 stats are in the game....03-04 are not, but all the rosters are current...as far as i know...which makes sense, because the first season being played is 03-04

[Karim]

But check out St. John's... according to www.hockeydb.com (http://www.hockeydb.com/) , and their official website... they have almost all player vitals (weight & height) wrong. They are also missing a number of Birth Places for players that could have been figured out very easily over at www.hockeydb.com (http://www.hockeydb.com/) , Centomo being one of them.
I mentioned this over at SI regarding the Flames' organization and got shot down for it.

[Ramzavail]

my fault - I am at work now, but I thought I noticed last night when I was playing that the 02-03 stats aren't in the game.

[Maple Leafs]

02-03 stats are in the game....03-04 are not, but all the rosters are current...as far as i know...which makes sense, because the first season being played is 03-04Safe to assume that the "real" release will start in 2004/5?

[Karim]

Why are lower league historical playoff statistics not in the game? Check out a minor league team, any player, and playoff stats -- nothing.

I haven't checked the NHL but the stats are readily available as has been mentioned.

[klayman]

my fault - I am at work now, but I thought I noticed last night when I was playing that the 02-03 stats aren't in the game.
No, you are right. None of my players have stats listed for the 02-03 season, playing as the Oilers. Seems only certain teams have the 02-03 stats completed.

[Joe Canadian]

Safe to assume that the "real" release will start in 2004/5?

I was wondering the same thing...

[Adamski47]

I've seen stats for 2002-2003 but the latest Stanley Cup Winner is Detroit in 2002. Strange.

[Ramzavail]

No, you are right. None of my players have stats listed for the 02-03 season, playing as the Oilers. Seems only certain teams have the 02-03 stats completed.

Good - I wasn't dreaming.

[Chief Rum]

Hmm...I was the Ducks researcher. Maybe I can help shed sopme light.

When we first got the team files, 02-03 stats weren't included. They were obviously from the EHM free game, and we had to update tehm. I added the 02/03 stats to my guys. But I can see how they might have been missed by others (not that that excuses them).

The histories are a huge pain in the ass, just to let you guys know. I think I got everything in there for my guys, but I can definitely see researchers having flaked on that part.

I was very concerned about what the lower leagues would look like, especially with Ducks' prospects down in the AHL, IHL and unsigned ones in the juniors. I haven't gone in-depth enough yet to see how they came out.

I can't speak for other researchers, but the information needed was pretty easy to find. I did check the hockeydb, as well as all the regular news hockey sites and tsn.ca, too.

The birthplace was kinda odd, BTW. I would keep inputting the town they were born on, but it would be erased whenever it was brought back to me. So I'm not sure if birthplace problems were the researchers' fault.

There were also some teams not available for listing in the game database (particularly lower end Russian teams) which hampered my ability to input some histories (I believe I had problems with Salei, Vishnevsky, even Fedorov). And it was very hard to track where teams were (what league, I mean), both in Europe and in some of the lower Canadian juniors and the more esoteric American lower leagues. I'm not talking about now--I found a great Web site that lists all of the North American leagues, and the European leagues can be figured out--but 10-15 years ago, let's say, it's not always clear that a franchise has stayed in the same league, or that a player earned his time with a European team's top club or its junior squad (that happened a lot in Sweden, giving me problems with guys like Havelid and Pahlsson).

ANyway, I just thought I would toss out some perspective on it. It definitely wasn't easy to do those.

CR

[Maple Leafs]

Hmm...I was the Ducks researcher. Maybe I can help shed sopme light.OK everyone... it's clear what we must do. Let's all check the Ducks roster and nitpick it until Chief completely snaps!

[Chief Rum]

OK everyone... it's clear what we must do. Let's all check the Ducks roster and nitpick it until Chief completely snaps!

lol...I kinda thought that reaction might be coming. ;)

I'm a man. I can take my hits. :)

CR

[Maple Leafs]

Has anyone had issues with double minors? I had an opponent get a penalty for hooking and two more for unsportsmanlike. When my team scored 30 seconds into the powerplay, we went back to 5-on-5 (instead of 5-on-4 for the second minor).

[NoSkillz]

I second Chief Rum's comments...

I am the Head Researcher for both the NHL Northeast and NHL Central Divisions (so thanks to Maple Leafs for the kind words :D )

The original HR for the Central Division dropped out of the project at the midway point and I accepted the additional responsibility when Riz asked. I've put almost 400 hours into the project so far...There has been a number of 'drop-outs' due to the long hours needed to BUILD this database. While the freeware game had a lot of players, in many cases, especially the lower leagues, things were built right from scratch.

Without going into too much detail (don't want to get sacked :) ), the NHL HR's only get NHL players...I didn't get any of the St. John's Maple Leafs, for instance and I don't get any of the prospects - that's under the AHL guy/NCAA guy/OHL guy's jurisdiction. Most of the problems right now seem to be coming from minor leaguers being out of whack.

I CAN tell you that every single researcher on board is very dedicated to making this the best sim out there. I know I'm very proud to be a small part of the team. The database will be in fine form by the time the game is released.

Keep the comments coming, either here or at SI's (crazy :p ) boards!
Matt

[Karim]

ANyway, I just thought I would toss out some perspective on it. It definitely wasn't easy to do those.
Thanks Chief. That certainly tempers any more criticism coming from me. It certainly would upset me if data I provided was deleted when it returned to me.

[henry296]

What about OT. I just tied Edmonton 3-3 in the my preseason game, but no OT?

[Chief Rum]

Thanks Chief. That certainly tempers any more criticism coming from me. It certainly would upset me if data I provided was deleted when it returned to me.

I would classify it more as "slightly "annoying". :)

Although the birth town was the only thing I got back that seemed out of whack, and it didn't even do it for everyone. It was predominant among European players, and I think it might have been related to the fact we couldn't enter anything in for "state/province" for European players. But I do remember a few North American born players where it disappeared as well.

To my knowledge, all other info put in remained in the database, so if it ain't in there, it's almost certainly the researcher's fault. ;)

CR

[Chief Rum]

What about OT. I just tied Edmonton 3-3 in the my preseason game, but no OT?

I can't remember if preseason games have OT. It wouldn't surprise me if they don't (or if they do, really, I could see reasoning both ways).

CR

[Tekneek]

02-03 stats are in the game....03-04 are not, but all the rosters are current...as far as i know...which makes sense, because the first season being played is 03-04

Not all of the NHL rosters are current, and most definitely not all of the AHL or ECHL rosters are current. I have not checked the other North American professional league rosters yet.

[Tekneek]

I can't remember if preseason games have OT. It wouldn't surprise me if they don't (or if they do, really, I could see reasoning both ways).

CR

In the game there is no OT for preseason games. The reality is that the teams decide if they want to play OT or not, and most often do.

[Dutch]

Okay, I am too lazy to read the entire thread, so I apologize if this has been covered.....but is it easier to tell that a player makes a good winger vs. center vs defenseman in EHM:FE than say, trying to figure out what makes a good striker or midfielder or defenseman in CM?

Basically, does a general knowledge of the sport help? I think I understand ice hockey a ton more than I would ever know about soccer.

[Chubby]

Is there a way to see generic O, D, Goal ratings like the freeware version? I hate having to sort by 700 attributes to try and decide. i usually narrow it down to a couple of guys through generic ratings and then use the specific one's to pick who I want.

[Maple Leafs]

Is there a way to see generic O, D, Goal ratings like the freeware version? I hate having to sort by 700 attributes to try and decide. i usually narrow it down to a couple of guys through generic ratings and then use the specific one's to pick who I want.Good question. I've been going by the "reputation" attribute, but I'm not really sure what it is. Anyone shed any light?

[Joe Canadian]

Is there a way to see generic O, D, Goal ratings like the freeware version? I hate having to sort by 700 attributes to try and decide. i usually narrow it down to a couple of guys through generic ratings and then use the specific one's to pick who I want.

Some sort of option would be nice as far as ratings go. Maybe an option to change the scale to 1-10, 1-20, 1-100 that type of thing... and also have an overall rating that could be hidden for those that don't want it visibile, it would really help getting used to the ratings system they use.

That said I doubt we'll see anything like that, as far as I know the SI guys are pretty satisfied with their 1-20 system, using no overall marker... which is great, once you have a good understanding of what every rating means and what's great, ok, and horrible.

[Maple Leafs]

That said I doubt we'll see anything like that, as far as I know the SI guys are pretty satisfied with their 1-20 system, using no overall marker... which is great, once you have a good understanding of what every rating means and what's great, ok, and horrible.What about a "potential" or "talent" rating? Is there any way for me to know which guys are considered good prospects?

[Chubby]

Some sort of option would be nice as far as ratings go. Maybe an option to change the scale to 1-10, 1-20, 1-100 that type of thing... and also have an overall rating that could be hidden for those that don't want it visibile, it would really help getting used to the ratings system they use.

That said I doubt we'll see anything like that, as far as I know the SI guys are pretty satisfied with their 1-20 system, using no overall marker... which is great, once you have a good understanding of what every rating means and what's great, ok, and horrible.

I know SI loves that, which is a reason it's always so hard for me to play CM, but I'm hoping that since the original EHM had A-F grades that we will here too...

[Joe Canadian]

What about a "potential" or "talent" rating? Is there any way for me to know which guys are considered good prospects?

You bring up something I cam across last night on the SI boards... One of the first things I did when I booted up the demo was check out Sydney Crosby's ratings and instantly I was confused since alot of hsi ratings are in the teens and upper teens, so I thought, does this mean he could dominate in the NHL at 16-17? So I headed over to the SI boards, and came across...

http://community.sigames.com/eve/ubb.x?a=tpc&s=21019056&f=264207503&m=224203703

Apparently his visible ratings are like NHL players, but his actual ratings are much lowere? If anyone knows about this from CM, could you please explain how people are supposed to compare players from different leagues? Is there a way to tell that Crosby's or some guy in Europe's ratings are artificially inflated or actual?

[sabotai]

That said I doubt we'll see anything like that, as far as I know the SI guys are pretty satisfied with their 1-20 system, using no overall marker... which is great, once you have a good understanding of what every rating means and what's great, ok, and horrible.

I always just use the player's "Status" (If they are akey player, core, backup, etc.) to give me an idea of what they are when I first start up a game. Then after awhile I get used to my team and how they perform. I find overall ratings to be pretty distracting anyway.

My ideal solution would be if there is going to be overall ratings, the player shoudl be able to input their own function for determinging them. That way we could create a function that gives us a number that means something to us. So we could make it specific.

[henry296]

The offering of contracts to college/junior players is very weird. One of my minor league affiliates (ECHL) offered a contract to a player I owned the rights to? I am not sure what to make of this.

[henry296]

Dola... The fake Ryan Whitney just signed with Memphis, which is a Leafs team, but he has an NHL release clause. More signs of the European influence, I think.

[Joe Canadian]

The offering of contracts to college/junior players is very weird. One of my minor league affiliates (ECHL) offered a contract to a player I owned the rights to? I am not sure what to make of this.

Yeah I've seen the same thing. I guess they haven't found the right way to handle the differences between football and hockey using the CM engine.

[henry296]

What about a "potential" or "talent" rating? Is there any way for me to know which guys are considered good prospects?

Click on the player, and go to Action. Select Coach Report. They will let you know the quality of the prospect.

[Tekneek]

Dola... The fake Ryan Whitney just signed with Memphis, which is a Leafs team, but he has an NHL release clause. More signs of the European influence, I think.

Not a European influence. That happens all of the time. Many guys sign with lower league professional teams in the US with NHL release clauses every season. Just because you own their NHL rights does not mean they cannot sign with a professional team. It just means they cannot be signed by an NHL team. Every year some college guys whose NHL rights are owned, sign with ECHL, and UHL teams, and perhaps even CHL teams. The NHL team retains their NHL rights for one season, and then they lose those rights if they do not sign the player to a contract (and he is then considered a UFA, as far as the NHL goes). Often times, players sign contracts with ECHL clubs that allow them to leave if an AHL team signs them, as well.

[Maple Leafs]

Click on the player, and go to Action. Select Coach Report. They will let you know the quality of the prospect.OK. But nothing like, say, a top prospects list for the league or for a team?

[Anthony]

i have to say, i WILL buy the game the first day it comes out. i consider myself not a hockey fan, but someone who follows the NHL loosely (as in in any given year i know which teams are contenders and pretenders). the fact that the Rangers have been sucking the last handful of years has made hockey the forgotten stepchild in NYC.

when i buy the game i'll focus more on the NHLers, but if some kid from the Panthers' minor league affiliate has the wrong birthplace or height, i can't say i'm going to lose sleep over it. i know others take this thing seriously, but what i want to focus on is having the CM gamepley - with dealing with personalities/ego's/media - properly transferred to an american sport. minor hiccups that a casual fan would miss such as vitals/histories for minor leagues (things i don't give a fuck about, to be honest) will go unnoticed by most likely more than half the purchasers of this game.

just putting it into perspective.

[Tekneek]

Right now, not every NHL team has the right players under contract or the rights to the correct players. Those kinds of things WILL be noticed.

[Marc Vaughan]

Right now, not every NHL team has the right players under contract or the rights to the correct players. Those kinds of things WILL be noticed.

Please bear in mind that the 'beta demo' has far from the final database - the data in the demo is from December and the internal database is now much more up to date (remember we had to give the demo to the magazine people for master quite a while a go) ....

We've also opened a forum for data error reporting on sigames.com to ensure that last minute checks can be done to make the database as accurate as possible for GM.

There will be a GM demo when the game goes off for production which will contain the final database if you have any worries about this side of things then I recommend that you give that a try when its available in the near(ish) future.

[Karim]

Apparently his visible ratings are like NHL players, but his actual ratings are much lowere? If anyone knows about this from CM, could you please explain how people are supposed to compare players from different leagues? Is there a way to tell that Crosby's or some guy in Europe's ratings are artificially inflated or actual?
This is the way CM works and is actually quite well done, IMO.

Every player has an actual rating and potential rating up to 200. This is of course hidden. A player like Crosby may have a potential rating of 190 but unless things fall into place (your guidance, right team, right time, no injuries, etc.,) he may never reach it.

Actual ratings cannot be compared directly. The quality of the league has to be taken into consideration. Just because a guy has a 15+ in a rating doesn't mean he'd be a 15+ in the NHL, although visibily it would still say "15". If he was from a very low league, his actual and potential ratings out of 200 would undoubtedly be much lower than the average NHLer and would struggle. It's up to you and your scouts to find this out.

MV or someone more details can explain further but that's the jist of it.

[Maple Leafs]

Every player has an actual rating and potential rating up to 200. This is of course hidden. A player like Crosby may have a potential rating of 190 but unless things fall into place (your guidance, right team, right time, no injuries, etc.,) he may never reach it.I guess what I'm having trouble with is: is there anyway to see who has good potential and who doesn't, short of asking the coach each and every time?

[Tekneek]

There will be a GM demo when the game goes off for production which will contain the final database if you have any worries about this side of things then I recommend that you give that a try when its available in the near(ish) future.

Oh, I know. I've been posting a lot of stuff up there, and a lot of them are causing changes to be made in the current DB. So I am finding things in the beta demo that nobody has yet corrected. Unfortunately, I don't have the time to go through everything so I'm left hoping that others are picking up the slack. I've been in touch with researchers. I was not able to make myself available before, unfortunately, but they know I am available now and am willing to help. I understand they had a lot of people drop the ball on them and have said that the buggered DB is probably a blessing in disguise if it draws out people who can really help out.

I'm definitely looking forward to the real demo and expect to see a lot of the issues resolved.

[Maple Leafs]

Hey guys... what's the "forms" column mean? Is that some sort of rating of how well a guy played in his last few games? What's the scale (0-10)?

[henry296]

Form is the players rating for the last 5 games. The Avg Rating is for the season.

[henry296]

Not a European influence. That happens all of the time. Many guys sign with lower league professional teams in the US with NHL release clauses every season. Just because you own their NHL rights does not mean they cannot sign with a professional team. It just means they cannot be signed by an NHL team. Every year some college guys whose NHL rights are owned, sign with ECHL, and UHL teams, and perhaps even CHL teams. The NHL team retains their NHL rights for one season, and then they lose those rights if they do not sign the player to a contract (and he is then considered a UFA, as far as the NHL goes). Often times, players sign contracts with ECHL clubs that allow them to leave if an AHL team signs them, as well.

Thanks. I just never heard of it happening. It is strange that many top college players are signing with minor Pro teams which is unusual.

[Maple Leafs]

Sigh... OK. Talk me through this like I'm an idiot.

I've been playing with "Coach Games Yourself" set to "No", but the other options set to "Yes". If I understand it right, this should mean that the coach handles the game, but tries to use my lines and tactics wherever possible. Yes?

So I've noticed as I sim through games that occasionally when I go to thelineup screen I see that the AI has made changes. Fourth liners are dropped out of the lineup, my lines are mixed up, that sort of thing. Slightly annoying (I don't like having to set this stuff every single day) but probably understandable -- after all, things happen in games and the coach will have to make some decisions along the way.

But as I get further into the season (up to mid-November now), it's happening more and more often. I just went into my tactics screen, and almost fell over. The lines were a complete mess -- fourth liners playing on the first line, some guys not playing anywhere, etc.

But even worse, some of my best players were out of the lineup entirely. Brian Leetch was a healthy scratch, despite easily being my best player. And to top if off, forwards were assigned to play defense. Nik Antropov was on my top defensive pairing (Leaf fans, take a moment to ponder the implications of that one).

This leads me to two alarming possibilities:
- The AI has decided to completely ignore the lineups I'm setting and just use it's own, even though I told it not to; and
- The AI is really, really terrible.

Please, tell me I have a setting wrong somewhere. Tell me there's some hidden "Use softest, slowest forwards as defencemen" option that I've accidentally check. Please?

[Johnny93g]

Sigh... OK. Talk me through this like I'm an idiot.

I've been playing with "Coach Games Yourself" set to "No", but the other options set to "Yes". If I understand it right, this should mean that the coach handles the game, but tries to use my lines and tactics wherever possible. Yes?

So I've noticed as I sim through games that occasionally when I go to thelineup screen I see that the AI has made changes. Fourth liners are dropped out of the lineup, my lines are mixed up, that sort of thing. Slightly annoying (I don't like having to set this stuff every single day) but probably understandable -- after all, things happen in games and the coach will have to make some decisions along the way.

But as I get further into the season (up to mid-November now), it's happening more and more often. I just went into my tactics screen, and almost fell over. The lines were a complete mess -- fourth liners playing on the first line, some guys not playing anywhere, etc.

But even worse, some of my best players were out of the lineup entirely. Brian Leetch was a healthy scratch, despite easily being my best player. And to top if off, forwards were assigned to play defense. Nik Antropov was on my top defensive pairing (Leaf fans, take a moment to ponder the implications of that one).

This leads me to two alarming possibilities:
- The AI has decided to completely ignore the lineups I'm setting and just use it's own, even though I told it not to; and
- The AI is really, really terrible.

Please, tell me I have a setting wrong somewhere. Tell me there's some hidden "Use softest, slowest forwards as defencemen" option that I've accidentally check. Please?

I tried the option of not coaching games....and the computer kept calling up and playing Craig Mills over Alex Mogilny....so ive abandoned that....and just try to sim the in game stuff as quickly as possible.....The comp doesn't seem to touch the lines there...oh and i really dont think you have the settings wrong....and yes....ive pondered Antropov playing D....speechless......

[Maple Leafs]

I tried the option of not coaching games....and the computer kept calling up and playing Craig Mills over Alex Mogilny....so ive abandoned that....and just try to sim the in game stuff as quickly as possible.....The comp doesn't seem to touch the lines there...oh and i really dont think you have the settings wrong....and yes....ive pondered Antropov playing D....speechless......Just simmed another game, and now Harold Druken (!) is playing defense. Just bizarre.

The good news is that, from scanning other teams, it seems like the AI is doing just fine for CPU teams.

[Chubby]

Marc knows about this bug in regards to turning "Coach Games Yourself" off, he said it was prob fixed in the new version when I talked to him about it a couple of days ago.

[Tekneek]

My experience is that it plays a forward in a defensive slot if he is a much more talented (by the ratings, not by the name) player than that other defenseman you have. As far as players being called up, and played over other players, it may have to do with ratings issues. After all, the game does not know who Mogilny is, or that other guy. It's just crunching numbers.

[Karim]

I guess what I'm having trouble with is: is there anyway to see who has good potential and who doesn't, short of asking the coach each and every time?
I don't think so. There is no visible potential rating. A combination of coach, scout and your analysis is used to determine if the guy has potential or not.

[Maple Leafs]

Marc knows about this bug in regards to turning "Coach Games Yourself" off, he said it was prob fixed in the new version when I talked to him about it a couple of days ago.Good to know, thanks.

[Simms]

Well, at least we know the scouting system works okay. :)

http://www.thefobl.com/downloads/ehm.gif

[Simms]

Heh....the secret is out, I guess. :)

http://www.thefobl.com/downloads/ehm2.gif

[henry296]

Another comment... Goalies are pulled to early. Most times it is with 1:30 to play.. my experience it usually about 1 minute.

[Hurst2112]

Another comment... Goalies are pulled to early. Most times it is with 1:30 to play.. my experience it usually about 1 minute.

I have no problem with pulling the goalie with 1:30 left to play. I tend to pull with 2:00 left.

[Joe Canadian]

i have to say, i WILL buy the game the first day it comes out. i consider myself not a hockey fan, but someone who follows the NHL loosely (as in in any given year i know which teams are contenders and pretenders). the fact that the Rangers have been sucking the last handful of years has made hockey the forgotten stepchild in NYC.

when i buy the game i'll focus more on the NHLers, but if some kid from the Panthers' minor league affiliate has the wrong birthplace or height, i can't say i'm going to lose sleep over it. i know others take this thing seriously, but what i want to focus on is having the CM gamepley - with dealing with personalities/ego's/media - properly transferred to an american sport. minor hiccups that a casual fan would miss such as vitals/histories for minor leagues (things i don't give a fuck about, to be honest) will go unnoticed by most likely more than half the purchasers of this game.

just putting it into perspective.

A game that has great gameplay, is an awesome thing. But having rosters that have some pretty big errors (height, weight, birthplace, contracts, etc.) takes away from the game, when you know that the errors are wrong. Obviously if you don't it's not going to matter much... but I want realistic rosters, and a good game... not just one or the other.

[bbor]

Quit pulling your goalies,this is not an adult board:D

[Joe Canadian]

This is the way CM works and is actually quite well done, IMO.

Every player has an actual rating and potential rating up to 200. This is of course hidden. A player like Crosby may have a potential rating of 190 but unless things fall into place (your guidance, right team, right time, no injuries, etc.,) he may never reach it.

Actual ratings cannot be compared directly. The quality of the league has to be taken into consideration. Just because a guy has a 15+ in a rating doesn't mean he'd be a 15+ in the NHL, although visibily it would still say "15". If he was from a very low league, his actual and potential ratings out of 200 would undoubtedly be much lower than the average NHLer and would struggle. It's up to you and your scouts to find this out.

MV or someone more details can explain further but that's the jist of it.


I kind of figured as much, but thanks for explaing it. But how can you tell if a guy's actually any good, if you can't make straight comparisons?

For example if I have a fringe Left Wing on the Leafs, and there's a guy tearing up some Eruopean leagues. Lets say I wanted to look into replacing my fringe player with the European guy... how can I make a comparison if the ratings mean different things?

[Joe Canadian]

Another comment... Goalies are pulled to early. Most times it is with 1:30 to play.. my experience it usually about 1 minute.

Thats not really a rare thing... it really depends on where the puck is. If the team thats down is having a good rush, the goalie will get pulled... if they are on their heels and the play is bouncing back and forth than they usually wait till the one minute mark.

[Joe Canadian]

My experience is that it plays a forward in a defensive slot if he is a much more talented (by the ratings, not by the name) player than that other defenseman you have. As far as players being called up, and played over other players, it may have to do with ratings issues. After all, the game does not know who Mogilny is, or that other guy. It's just crunching numbers.

If thats the case you have to question how good the ratings are if Mills is a better player than Mogilny.

I hate to be so critical of the game, but there are alot of things that are either minor annoyances or huge problems. Maybe it's partly due to my in experience with the CM engine, but if thats the case I'm wondering how a newbie (who has never touched a sports sim) who is potentially going to buy this at EB is going to be able to get into it.

[sachmo71]

Guys,

You really should relax about the rosters. There was some serious work done between this demo and the final database merge. On top of that, there is supposed to be another team going over the player data again. Most, if not all, of the roster issues should be cleared up.

:)

[Joe Canadian]

Guys,

You really should relax about the rosters. There was some serious work done between this demo and the final database merge. On top of that, there is supposed to be another team going over the player data again. Most, if not all, of the roster issues should be cleared up.

:)

I know, but the only rosters we've seen are these. And I'm sure people playing the demo have caught errors that had been overlooked by the research teams, and thats what we are trying to do... get all the errors out of the way.

I think a good idea would be for SI to release a beta file (pdf, html, or txt) of the rosters once they've done their final review of them. That way any minor errors that had been missed can be caught.

[Johnny93g]

I share all of Joe Canadian's concerns.....I like alot of the stuff ive seen...but im am worried about the rosters....If you dont know hockey...then you wont know whats wrong with the rosters.....But for us hockey perverts.....we will notice every little detail thats incorrect.....

I would of like to have been notified that the world juniors had started....and what prospects on my team are playing in it....like the original EHM

Id like to see news for the whole league...not just mine....I didnt even know anyone had made a trade tell I found the league transasction screen......Juniior teams are trading alot.....

Oh, another thing...why can I offer Christian Dube all kinds of money.....and I can only offer Ed Belfour, who wants a extention, only 10 grand a year...wtf

[Karim]

But how can you tell if a guy's actually any good, if you can't make straight comparisons? For example if I have a fringe Left Wing on the Leafs, and there's a guy tearing up some Eruopean leagues. Lets say I wanted to look into replacing my fringe player with the European guy... how can I make a comparison if the ratings mean different things?
Send some of your best scouts to get a report on the guy, take a look at stats and the level of competition of the European league, look at his history to see if he's a failed NHLer or a guy who never developed or developed late... Just like real life. There's lots of talent in Europe. Some would/will make it in the NHL, other's won't.

That's part of the fun! ;)

[3ric]

I kind of figured as much, but thanks for explaing it. But how can you tell if a guy's actually any good, if you can't make straight comparisons?

For example if I have a fringe Left Wing on the Leafs, and there's a guy tearing up some Eruopean leagues. Lets say I wanted to look into replacing my fringe player with the European guy... how can I make a comparison if the ratings mean different things?

Like this:

http://www.lissvall.net/ehm_comparison.jpg

[Ragone]

Is there any hidden ratings? like for example Cheapshots/fighting and dirty play? both of which Mr Bertuzzi above would score high in..

[Chief Rum]

Is there any hidden ratings? like for example Cheapshots/fighting and dirty play? both of which Mr Bertuzzi above would score high in..

Here's a hint...yes.

CR

[Eaglesfan27]

If it is anything like CM, there will be MANY hidden ratings.

[Marc Vaughan]

I think a good idea would be for SI to release a beta file (pdf, html, or txt) of the rosters once they've done their final review of them. That way any minor errors that had been missed can be caught.

Trouble is we're still actively updating the database at the moment and anything we post will be out of date by the time you see it ....

The GM demo will give you an indication of the accuracy of the final research in the 'boxed' copy of the game and its fairly likely that we'll do a downloadable data update shortly after the games release if any further data inaccuracies are found in the GM demo version (as we do for CM generally).

Hope this helps,

Marc

[Tekneek]

Putting aside my ranting and raving about the rosters, the researchers have said all the right things to me so far. That gives me the confidence that those issues will be worked through as they arise. I'm hoping to have a hand in that, but if I can't I will continue to post problems I find in the game (though I may not do a whole lot more of it until the gold-mastered demo hits).

[Joe Canadian]

Like this:

http://www.lissvall.net/ehm_comparison.jpg

Thats a comparison between Bert & Nazzy, two guys in the same league. My post was talking about two guys from different league... I'm assuming all NHL players are rated on the same scale, so I'm not worried about that.

[Joe Canadian]

I would of like to have been notified that the world juniors had started....and what prospects on my team are playing in it....like the original EHM

Id like to see news for the whole league...not just mine....I didnt even know anyone had made a trade tell I found the league transasction screen......Juniior teams are trading alot.....

Oh, another thing...why can I offer Christian Dube all kinds of money.....and I can only offer Ed Belfour, who wants a extention, only 10 grand a year...wtf

Three very good points that concern me, I think someone posted that the third one having to do with contracts have been sorted out.

The top two I hadn't realized, but is another addition to my huge concerns list. Although I did think that "big" trades were sent to you, but I could be wrong. If that is the case (only knowing about big trades), it would be nice to have some option to see "big" trades or see "all" trades, within your league.

[Joe Canadian]

Trouble is we're still actively updating the database at the moment and anything we post will be out of date by the time you see it ....

The GM demo will give you an indication of the accuracy of the final research in the 'boxed' copy of the game and its fairly likely that we'll do a downloadable data update shortly after the games release if any further data inaccuracies are found in the GM demo version (as we do for CM generally).

Hope this helps,

Marc

GM Demo? Is that the "gold" demo?

Just to clearify what I was talking about... maybe you guys could think about releasing such a beta list a week or so prior to release. That way database issues could be somewhat cleared up, and ready for an update, on or near final release.

[scooter]

The GM demo is the "Gold Master" demo. It is the gold master code, essentially the game that will be shipped.

As far as a file with the database for you to look over, that is what the GM demo is for. It is better than any database file. You have the entire database in there, and you get to play it :D

If you still have database issues after playing the GM demo, go post them in the proper forum over at SI and they will try to get them into the data update that Marc talked about.

[3ric]

Thats a comparison between Bert & Nazzy, two guys in the same league. My post was talking about two guys from different league... I'm assuming all NHL players are rated on the same scale, so I'm not worried about that.

Yeah, but if you've scouted the European player/team/country then the "fog of war" is lifted and you get access to their ratings, and can compare them the same way as in the picture.

[Joe Canadian]

Yeah, but if you've scouted the European player/team/country then the "fog of war" is lifted and you get access to their ratings, and can compare them the same way as in the picture.

Oh... why didn't anyone say that. Now it makes alot more sence.

[RPI-Fan]

Yeah, but if you've scouted the European player/team/country then the "fog of war" is lifted and you get access to their ratings, and can compare them the same way as in the picture.

That still doesn't answer the question, I don't think.

Someone above said that players in different leagues are rated on different scales.

How do we know when which scales are applicable?

[Tekneek]

There is significant confusion over that. I don't think the player ratings were held to an ultimate standard. I don't really know, though.

There should be a range for every league, based on how that league generally rates against the NHL. Every player in that league must fall within that range, with the best near the top, and the worst near the bottom. If they followed that kind of system, then there is some hope.

I'm not even talking about potentials, which can be shaped by scouting reports. The best young players and prospects available are going to have plenty of stuff written about them to determine reasonable potentials.

[RPI-Fan]

Marc: Could you please step in and make a post trying to clarify this (rather large) problem? I (and I presume others) are still mucho confused.

[Tekneek]

The best scouting materials would cost money, and a cost that would be prohibitive for a strictly volunteer system.

[RPI-Fan]

Marc: Could you please step in and make a post trying to clarify this (rather large) problem? I (and I presume others) are still mucho confused.

This "rather large problem" meaning the confusions in knowing how to tell how good a player generally is based on his ratings.

Nothing to do with scouting.

[3ric]

That still doesn't answer the question, I don't think.

Someone above said that players in different leagues are rated on different scales.

How do we know when which scales are applicable?

I assume it's much the same as in CM, where a 20 in crossing for a div.3 player isn't the same as the 20 in crossing for David Beckham. Most players in a lower league simply hasn't what it takes to play at the top, but if a player consistently develops and outperforms his competition, then he might be that diamond in the rough that has untapped potential. The scouts' opinions play a key role in finding them.