New NHL EHM game first impressions

[Marc Vaughan]

Hi,

As you are hopefully aware the North American release of NHL EHM has now occurred (details at sigames.com as per usual) - I was wondering what peoples first impressions of it were ... presuming you've given it a go.

Thanks,

Marc

[Chubby]

how is the interface? I guess that's the one thing that has kept me from buying. I was a huge fan of the original because of it's simplistic UI, I feel overwhelmed when trying to get into the SI EHM (last year's and this year's).

[gstelmack]

It took me a few minutes to find the download and information on buying. And the link off the News item to the EHM page is broken. Might want to make the link to the download-and-buy option more prominent.

[sachmo71]

WARNING!!!

It may take a few minutes for the game to start after the patch! Be patient, and if all else fails, check Task Manager to ensure the exe is still running! HEART ATTACK TIME!

[HomerJSimpson]

I'm going try to have some patience and wait untill I get some feedback before patching, maybe even wait untill the next patch of the patch. It is such a time-eater that I don't want to get sucked in unless I'm sure there aren't show-stoppers left.

[Honolulu_Blue]

I just downloaded the patch. I haven't installed yet. I probably wont have time to play it until the weeked at the very earliest. I will report back once I do.

[JeffR]

WARNING!!!

It may take a few minutes for the game to start after the patch! Be patient, and if all else fails, check Task Manager to ensure the exe is still running! HEART ATTACK TIME!

Kinda odd, it didn't do that for me when I did a fresh reinstall with the patch yesterday. Your hard drive need defragging?

[JeffR]

I'm going try to have some patience and wait untill I get some feedback before patching, maybe even wait untill the next patch of the patch. It is such a time-eater that I don't want to get sucked in unless I'm sure there aren't show-stoppers left.

Pretty quiet on the bug reporting front so far, so I think we're OK in that department. But you may want to wait for the final October update to get the improved rosters - the current ones are pre-training camp, so there'll be a ton of changes. And we're always fixing and adding things to the data in addition to the player moves.

[Flasch186]

so the digital download on the site, the try and buy one, is the new game?

[JeffR]

so the digital download on the site, the try and buy one, is the new game?

The new version of the try-and-buy install won't be up until sometime tomorrow, so if you get it today you'll need to download the patch for it as well.

[Flasch186]

ill wait and get it tomorrow then...cool thanks.

[sachmo71]

Kinda odd, it didn't do that for me when I did a fresh reinstall with the patch yesterday. Your hard drive need defragging?


I didn't do a fresh install, so perhaps there is a difference there.
To add to my findings, when I tried to start the game the first time, my computer sounded the critical failure beep and the game did not launch. Task Manager told me the exe was running, but nothing was happening. I figured I should reboot, but I could not shut down. Unfortunately, I'd already stated the shutdown process, so I couldn't get into task manager to stop the exe.

Hard shut down and restart, and I started the game. Nothing.
I decided to walk away from the computer and watch the weather. By the time I got back, I saw the splash screen so all was well!

[atatange1]

I was able to upgrade,WED Sept. 28, (try and buy version) with out any problems. At least I assume it is the newest version. It has the new NHL logo and Crosby with the Penguins. I haven't started a dynasty yet so I have no idea what will happen at the six month mark.

[Easy Mac]

Just so you know Marc, the game was mentioned on the video game news radio podcast on sunday. they had a little fun with the game's name. About 20 minutes into the show I think.

[Qwikshot]

The Flyers, don't have Nitti as the backup goalie, they have a generic goalie, and that goalie's name changes every time I opt back into the roster.

[SirFozzie]

Go to unsigned prospects Qwik, you'll probably find him there

[jbmagic]

i hope i can find it in the US stores this weekend.

last year version was so hard to find in the states.

[WrongWay]

i hope i can find it in the US stores this weekend.

last year version was so hard to find in the states.
I thought you could just download it?

I was planning on downloading/buying the new version, post patch this weekend?

[JeffR]

The Flyers, don't have Nitti as the backup goalie, they have a generic goalie, and that goalie's name changes every time I opt back into the roster.

Niittymaki's on their AHL affiliate's roster, just call him up. Probably one of the guys that had to be switched back to his previous team because of licensing restrictions. Most of them should be in the 'right' place in the next (and final) update.

[jbmagic]

I thought you could just download it?

I was planning on downloading/buying the new version, post patch this weekend?


yep you can download it.


but if its going to be in the US stores, then i rather buy it from the store.

[JeffR]

I thought you could just download it?

I was planning on downloading/buying the new version, post patch this weekend?

You can do either, but if somebody wants a boxed version it should be in North American stores this weekend.

[DaddyTorgo]

one thing i've noticed a few games into the season: make sure you have a solid #1 goaltender. I see the goalies exposed a lot more on breakaways and rebounds and the like. Currently playing with default tactics as the Bruins, havn't encountered and difficulty yet, undefeated but only 3 games into the season. hoping to have a year down by the time i go to bed.

[MizzouRah]

Have the patch installed, but my game's packed. Damn her!!

[Marc Vaughan]

In case anyone has trouble locating it in America or Canada:

IMEA = UPC in the US and this code is 010086851540

If you give this to a store then they should be able to type it into their computer systems and locate the game.

[Izulde]

I'd be interested in hearing more peoples' impressions, especially on the interface.

[condors]

can't wait to see what happens over the next 20 seasons

So far my Flyers are looking very good in the preseason.

Signed a couple young wingers to min contracts

[FrogMan]

In case anyone has trouble locating it in America or Canada:

IMEA = UPC in the US and this code is 010086851540

If you give this to a store then they should be able to type it into their computer systems and locate the game.
I was curious and punched that code in the amazon.com search box and it returned NHL EHM 2005 all right, so it seems it is working.

One odd thing Marc, they say it's not yet released and that it will be released on October 27, 2005. Maybe one of your (or SEGA's) guys could ring 'em and wake 'em up... Just saying...

FM

[TazFTW]

The listing for EHM 2005 on Gamestop.com lists the release date as 10/3/05.

[MizzouRah]

I'd be interested in hearing more peoples' impressions, especially on the interface.
As soon as I get moved in, this puppy will get a workout from me. I'm also waiting on the data patch as well.

[Izulde]

As soon as I get moved in, this puppy will get a workout from me. I'm also waiting on the data patch as well.

Excellent.

[Qwikshot]

Trades happen pretty fast, I couldn't get a word in when some GM would put a player on the market, he'd be traded before I could even make a bid.

[rexallllsc]

New patch is a big improvement.

[Bee]

My plan was to play it last night, but I installed the patch and saw that I couldn't continue from my old game so I decided to play a little FM2006 beta and start a new career after dinner...

Ended up not eating dinner and playing FM2006 beta until midnight...:D

[Galaril]

One bug that has been reported and think is one that was around before is "Most of my icing calls are not icing, but just players dumping the puck to the boards. "

This was reproted on the SI board for awhile but they haven't addressed it. I also, heard there are offsides being uncorrectly called. This one reltaes to the new rules.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Looks like the bug with the fictional name generator hasn't been addressed.

Although I appreciate all the work that must have gone into getting the rosters correct, I like to play sports sims with fictional players. With the fictional name generator borked, I'm still on the fence with this purchase.

[Galaril]

Looks like the bug with the fictional name generator hasn't been addressed.

Although I appreciate all the work that must have gone into getting the rosters correct, I like to play sports sims with fictional players. With the fictional name generator borked, I'm still on the fence with this purchase.

What is the fictional name generator bug?

[vtbub]

Marc,

Could you clear some of your PM's? I have a question for you.

[Godzilla Blitz]

What is the fictional name generator bug? When you play a game with fictional players, the game generates boatloads of players with identical names, far too many players with the same last name, and far too many players with the same first name. I'd say a quarter to a third of the players have someone with exactly the same name, and in lots of cases there are large groups of players with identical names. Makes it nearly impossible to keep track of who is who.

Below is a screenie to show what I mean. Taken from a game with the North American and Canadian leagues only (7 leagues?). This is only one screen, but there were over six screens with players whose last name is Adams (over 120 players in all).

http://home.comcast.net/%7Emwsmart/EHMFictionalNameBug.jpg

Even if I look at only the NHL players, for example, I've got four guys named Bob Cudmore currently on NHL teams. And there are 15 NHL players with a last name of Franks. These are only a couple of the oodles of examples. You would expect some similarity, of course, but the amount that currently occurs is over the top.

[JeffR]

Damnit. That was worked on, and I remember checking and seeing that the frequency of repeated names was reasonable, so I don't know why in hell it's doing that now. I'll let Graeme know it's screwed up again.

[DeToxRox]

YES! SUSPENSIONS OF MORE THEN ONE GAME!!!

Hordichuk got 26 GAMES FOR SHOVING A REF!

I LOVE IT!

[atatange1]

So far so good. I've only played a couple games into the season though. And just to brag a little I was able to trade for Sidney Crosby with the Canucks. In the pre-season I was able to acquire Philly's and Buffalo's number one picks. With a couple days before the start of the season I traded them both along with Trevor Linden for Crosby. :D

[sachmo71]

2 number ones and Linden for Crosby?

Sheesh. :rolleyes:

[atatange1]

A bit unrealistic, but I still thought I had pulled off some sort of coup with that deal. Then if you look at the SI site it looks like its too easy to get top prospects.

[sachmo71]

A bit unrealistic, but I still thought I had pulled off some sort of coup with that deal. Then if you look at the SI site it looks like its too easy to get top prospects.


Then bragging about it might be seen as a bit on the silly side.

[Flasch186]

is this downloadable yet? with the latest patch already in it....and the latest rosters?

[Karim]

For some reason, the player search screen has slowed down considerably. Once I click on a player, it takes several seconds (~5-10) to exit his profile.

I've also noticed that top prospects (i.e., first rounders) will sign a three-year deal for $450k/yr. They should be pushing for the rookie max.

[Marc Vaughan]

is this downloadable yet? with the latest patch already in it....and the latest rosters?
Yes, should be ...

[HomerJSimpson]

I can't get mine to work. I had a computer crash that made me reboot my whole system, but now the trymedia thing is saying it can't find my purchase. If I send for my code, they send me a reciept showing I bought it, but it won't activate the game.

BTW, is it true you only get to use the code 5 times?! If that is correct, people need to be told before the purchase. That is stupid. I bought this game, and I should be able to reload it as many times as I want. I hate buying this online license crap.

[Flasch186]

found out my gamestop willhave it on Tues...ill buy the hardcopy. thanks though

[CHEMICAL SOLDIER]

I can't get mine to work. I had a computer crash that made me reboot my whole system, but now the trymedia thing is saying it can't find my purchase. If I send for my code, they send me a reciept showing I bought it, but it won't activate the game.

BTW, is it true you only get to use the code 5 times?! If that is correct, people need to be told before the purchase. That is stupid. I bought this game, and I should be able to reload it as many times as I want. I hate buying this online license crap.
My local EB's may have it on Tuesday. Looks like I'll be gfetting the hard copy. I really thought about getting it through DL but didnt like the online license thing.

[JeffR]

I can't get mine to work. I had a computer crash that made me reboot my whole system, but now the trymedia thing is saying it can't find my purchase. If I send for my code, they send me a reciept showing I bought it, but it won't activate the game.

If you're registered on the SI boards, post that in the "How to Purchase" thread in the main EHM forum and Marc Duffy, who deals with Trymedia, can check into it. I'm sure Marc V. will let him know when he sees this, but Duffy's been online at odd hours the last few days (probably still jetlagged from the trip over here last week) and he might catch it a little earlier that way.

[HomerJSimpson]

If you're registered on the SI boards, post that in the "How to Purchase" thread in the main EHM forum and Marc Duffy, who deals with Trymedia, can check into it. I'm sure Marc V. will let him know when he sees this, but Duffy's been online at odd hours the last few days (probably still jetlagged from the trip over here last week) and he might catch it a little earlier that way.


I don't.

[CHEMICAL SOLDIER]

For those that Dl'ed the update:On average How many SOG per game did you have pre update and now? Just wondering. thanks.

[Graeme Kelly]

Godzilla Blitz - what database settings are you using(game preferenes/database size)? Is this happening with every game with random names that you create? I can never seem to repeat it when I try here.

[rewissick]

Contract negotiations seem a bit, well...off. Playing as the Bruins GM the first year, and I finished up losing in the Eastern Finals (had a nice playoff run as the 6th seed). I decided at that point to try some negotiations with some of my upcoming UFAs, mainly Samsanov. I believe he was making 2.8MM in the final year of the deal, so I started at that number, for 3 more seasons. He wouldn't have anything to do with me. I tried 3.0MM and later 3.2MM, also for 3 seasons. He never even wanted to listen.
The last offer (the 3.2MM one) was turned down 2 days before the game updates itself the end of June. On July 1st, as a UFA, he was willing to take 2.0MM for 3 years. I wonder what his agent told him in those 2 days? It wasn't like he hated me or anything, in fact he thought I was a fairly competent GM. shurg...

I don't have the game in front of me, but I have noticed that computer controled teams are a bit too easy and willing to trade away some top talent, and that's to other CPU teams. Also, at the trade deadline I've seen teams listed as 8th or 9th in the conference deal some big names to teams below them for prospects/picks. I'm sure those are financial-driven deals, but it still seems a tad weird.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Godzilla Blitz - what database settings are you using(game preferenes/database size)? Is this happening with every game with random names that you create? I can never seem to repeat it when I try here. Hi Graeme,

Interestingly enough, I can't get it not to happen. Here's more info, in case it helps. I'd be happy to email you a saved game file or two as well, if that would help. Let me know.

This happened with the version I downloaded a month or so ago in the two times I started a league. After uninstalling that version, I downloaded the full game (v2.1.1) again off your SI Games site last week (in other words, I didn't patch up to 2.1.1). I started two more games today to double check to see if the name issue happens consistently, and in all three attempts with version 2.1.1 the same thing happens as did with the previous version. I am using the unpurchased version, in case that matters.

Details...

Game Setup
Leagues
All North American and Canadian leagues:
NHL, AHL, ECHL, All-American League 3, All-American League 4, CHL.

No other leagues.

All the above leagues set at "enhanced".

Real Players: unchecked.
Mask Attributes: unchecked or checked. Doesn't matter.

The game options screen I never saw, so the database is at normal size, and all other options are at their defaults as well.

When I start a new game, I'm defaulted as an American, which I leave as is, then I select an NHL team.

Right after the game starts, I click on scouting, player search, and start looking through the database of players. There are about 18,000 players in view at that point, and such screens as I posted above occur repeatedly. One or two screens may only have a few identical names on them, but large clusters of identical last names are immediately apparent. Before you get to your tenth screen you'll see large clusters of players with identical full names. Almost seems as if the code gets stuck on a subset of last/first names and then only generates names within that subset.

Also, I generated one game with real names using the previous version, and in that game it struck me that the fictional players generated were perhaps suffering from the same problem. This of course would be clear after letting the game run for ten years or so, and is difficult to see at the beginning of a game with real player names because the number of fictional players in such a game is small at the game start.

Again, I'd be happy to send you a saved game file if that helps, and good luck tracking this down. The game looks pretty exciting.

[HomerJSimpson]

I can't get mine to work. I had a computer crash that made me reboot my whole system, but now the trymedia thing is saying it can't find my purchase. If I send for my code, they send me a reciept showing I bought it, but it won't activate the game.

BTW, is it true you only get to use the code 5 times?! If that is correct, people need to be told before the purchase. That is stupid. I bought this game, and I should be able to reload it as many times as I want. I hate buying this online license crap.


So, I emailed support from the Trymedia people and have recieved no response. I just can't seem to win for losing in buying SI games. Last year I was determined to wait for WSM to be released and buy it at a store (hoping to increase your sales in the states) and ended up having to order it on line anyway because no stores even knew it existed. So for this, I decided to just go ahead and buy the online version, and now I can't play it.

[Marc Duffy]

I can't get mine to work. I had a computer crash that made me reboot my whole system, but now the trymedia thing is saying it can't find my purchase. If I send for my code, they send me a reciept showing I bought it, but it won't activate the game.

BTW, is it true you only get to use the code 5 times?! If that is correct, people need to be told before the purchase. That is stupid. I bought this game, and I should be able to reload it as many times as I want. I hate buying this online license crap.

Please email me marc.duffy @ sigames.com with your order number and the email address you provided at the time. I will look into this for you. Details of the number of activations allowed is available under the terms of service online.

[FrogMan]

oh, we have an official SI sighting here.... Please welcome mister Marc Duffy to FOFC :D

Seriously, welcome aboard :)

FM

[riz]

oh, we have an official SI sighting here.... Please welcome mister Marc Duffy to FOFC :D

Seriously, welcome aboard :)

FM

What ? Me and MV no longer count ? :D

[FrogMan]

awww Riz, you've been here forever it seems. Look at you all grown up with 220 posts ;) :p

I just wanted to point out his first post ever, and the fact that he signed up today :)

FM

[rewissick]

Some more thoughts on my continuing game as Boston...

It's now December 2007, and some interesting happenings in Pittsburgh. After being used as the backup to Thibault for 2 seasons, and going 25-4-1 in 06-07, Marc-Andre Fleury had to feel pretty confident that the starting job was his going into 07-08 since Thibault was signed away by LA. Well, I guess the Pittsburgh brass thought otherwise. They brought in Conklin, who is 11-11-3 so far, and is backed up by Billy Thompson (who is listed as the 5th!! best net-minder on the team report screen). Where is M-A? Down in Wilkes-Barre. Probably as a result, Pittsburgh has gone from a 63 win season to the .500 team this season. Odd...Seems the AI values goalies so much that they don't want to risk exposing them to waivers? Why else pay M-A 1.3MM to play in the AHL?

Also, Crosby is STILL in Rimouski, after scoring 95 goals in 06-07 and having 56 goals thru 35 games this season. It's his last year of eligibility. I have no idea if Pittsburgh has tried to bring him on board or not, but I thought it odd that he's being left in the Q.

Maybe I should put this on the shelf for a few weeks, or try out a lower level game? How tough is it in Russia, anyway?!? :)

[HomerJSimpson]

Please email me marc.duffy @ sigames.com with your order number and the email address you provided at the time. I will look into this for you. Details of the number of activations allowed is available under the terms of service online.


Sent the info. Thanks for any help. I do find it humorous that you think people actually read the "terms of service." :) I think limiting the number of installs is a very bad practice, and will guarentee I'll never buy anything from Trymedia again.

[Flasch186]

Some more thoughts on my continuing game as Boston...

It's now December 2007, and some interesting happenings in Pittsburgh. After being used as the backup to Thibault for 2 seasons, and going 25-4-1 in 06-07, Marc-Andre Fleury had to feel pretty confident that the starting job was his going into 07-08 since Thibault was signed away by LA. Well, I guess the Pittsburgh brass thought otherwise. They brought in Conklin, who is 11-11-3 so far, and is backed up by Billy Thompson (who is listed as the 5th!! best net-minder on the team report screen). Where is M-A? Down in Wilkes-Barre. Probably as a result, Pittsburgh has gone from a 63 win season to the .500 team this season. Odd...Seems the AI values goalies so much that they don't want to risk exposing them to waivers? Why else pay M-A 1.3MM to play in the AHL?

Also, Crosby is STILL in Rimouski, after scoring 95 goals in 06-07 and having 56 goals thru 35 games this season. It's his last year of eligibility. I have no idea if Pittsburgh has tried to bring him on board or not, but I thought it odd that he's being left in the Q.

Maybe I should put this on the shelf for a few weeks, or try out a lower level game? How tough is it in Russia, anyway?!? :)



that doesnt sound good. Is this after the patch? I was going to rush out to buy this today but that certainly doesnt make the realism sound, wel, realistic.

[rewissick]

Yes, completely post-patch, v2.1.1. At least I hope I've got the latest version.

I really want to love this game, trust me. I'm sure they'll get it right after the next patch, but I was so looking forward to leading my Bruins back to Cup glory this week. Guess it will have to wait.

[Flasch186]

i just ranup to gamestop since "yeah, our delivery is in." but the UPS or DHL guy didnt drop that particular game off. Perhaps its further back in his truck so now its a wait til tomorrow :( eventhough the AI patches should be comin'

[CHEMICAL SOLDIER]

Anyone else seen it at gamestop, frys or eb?

[AZSpeechCoach]

Anyone else seen it at gamestop, frys or eb?

Nope. As the Gamestop put it, "We only carry titles people have heard of." :(

[jbmagic]

Sent the info. Thanks for any help. I do find it humorous that you think people actually read the "terms of service." :) I think limiting the number of installs is a very bad practice, and will guarentee I'll never buy anything from Trymedia again.


its been so frustrated to find this game in the us store so far.


and no way i going to get trymedia. that silly of there limit on the # installs you can do..


they should have two licenses like vtech and which you can unlicense it when you do a clean install of your system.

[BucDawg40]

Some more thoughts on my continuing game as Boston...

It's now December 2007, and some interesting happenings in Pittsburgh. After being used as the backup to Thibault for 2 seasons, and going 25-4-1 in 06-07, Marc-Andre Fleury had to feel pretty confident that the starting job was his going into 07-08 since Thibault was signed away by LA. Well, I guess the Pittsburgh brass thought otherwise. They brought in Conklin, who is 11-11-3 so far, and is backed up by Billy Thompson (who is listed as the 5th!! best net-minder on the team report screen). Where is M-A? Down in Wilkes-Barre. Probably as a result, Pittsburgh has gone from a 63 win season to the .500 team this season. Odd...Seems the AI values goalies so much that they don't want to risk exposing them to waivers? Why else pay M-A 1.3MM to play in the AHL?

Also, Crosby is STILL in Rimouski, after scoring 95 goals in 06-07 and having 56 goals thru 35 games this season. It's his last year of eligibility. I have no idea if Pittsburgh has tried to bring him on board or not, but I thought it odd that he's being left in the Q.

Maybe I should put this on the shelf for a few weeks, or try out a lower level game? How tough is it in Russia, anyway?!? :)

I haven't seen anything like this in my game. Both of those guys are playing in the NHL, with Crosby scoring 113 points in 06-07 for the Pens.

[CHEMICAL SOLDIER]

Nope. As the Gamestop put it, "We only carry titles people have heard of." :(
I'll wait until the 10th, and if its not here I'll just forget it and get Call of Duty. :(

[sachmo71]

Nope. As the Gamestop put it, "We only carry titles people have heard of." :(


That's an across the counter moment. Fuggin' retail bitterness.

[AZSpeechCoach]

That's an across the counter moment. Fuggin' retail bitterness.

And I didn't even try asking the people at Fry's. A clerk there today couldn't tell the difference between the iPod Shuffle and the iPod Nano. If I can't find it on the shelf, then I doubt that anybody else there could.

[sachmo71]

Actually, my wife had a nice customer service experience at Office Depot.
Got a new printer this weekend, but they don't include USB cables in the box, and I wasn't going to pay $30 at Best Buy for gold connectors.

So it sat on the floor for a couple of days as i didn't have time to go get the cable. Turns out my wife had time, so I gave her the picture from the box, the printer specs, and even the caveat "If you aren't sure, don't buy."

She goes into Office Depot armed with all of this knowledge. She shows the salesman the picture, and he asks if it's an old printer. I didn't notice at the time but the picture looks like very old USB or even parallel cable!!!
So he goes around the floor with her, finds the exact printer, gives her the CORRECT cable, and she comes home. I look at the cable, sigh, tell her it's wrong, then she tells me the story of the nice sales guy at Office Depot.

Hooray for people who give a shit about their jobs!

[Flasch186]

I ended up buying it off gamestop.com and overnighting it. too frustrated to continually call them to find out they dont carry it in stores.

[Hurst2112]

Hey guys from SI:

I can't post on the forums there because my email is banned?! I post there about one every 2 years so I don't know why that is.

Anyway, I am trying to get my post patch game to launch on my G5. I have played it on the mac before the patch but now it just attempts to go to a lesser resolution and cancels the process. I tried re-installing and trying again but it doesn't help.

Are there other people reporting this for macs? The game loads fine on my PC, but 'the squaw' has found my Sims 2 and has overtaken the pc.

Thanks.

Imac G5 1.8 20"
1GB Ram
Tiger OS (latest patch)

[DeToxRox]

Quick Q: Is there any update out that edits the names of guys like Phil Kessel, Jimmy Howard, etc?

[bhlloy]

Getting towards the end of my first season with the Wild... some first impressions.

Ovechkin went completely unsigned all year, I was able to trade for his rights for two number 2 picks and AJ Thelen (five star D prospect) and he'll be with the Wild at the start of next year. Pretty strange the Caps hadn't signed him before as he's clearly NHL ready.
Crosby however has been with the Pens all year and has cleaned out the rookie of the month awards all year.

Seems to be a bug/issue with enforcers. I was getting 3-4 news items a week for the month before the trade deadline that teams wanted to trade for Matt Johnson and Rob Ray (who is completely past it and playing with the Senators ECHL affiliate) I don't know what the issue is - bug with teams evaluations, news items bug or just general wierdness in my game. It doesn't make sense because there are better enforcers than those two in FA and getting waived every week. Especially Ray, he is completely washed up. Johnson eventually was traded from Montreal to Nashville for a player and a fifth round pick.
I've also seen a couple of trades whereby average enforcers have moved teams for a second or third round pick that just made me think WTF?

Seems to be (again might just be my game being wierd) that marginal backup goaltenders bounce around teams way too much. JS Aubin is on his fourth team (think waived and picked up three times and traded once) Garth Snow is on his third.

Other than that... outstanding game. Immersion is great, I love scouting for the draft and trawling the European leagues for marginal prospects or backups that might be able to contribute to my team.

[CHEMICAL SOLDIER]

Has anynes seen this game on an American store yet?

[jbmagic]

Has anynes seen this game on an American store yet?


Nope. i am in los angeles too.

[CHEMICAL SOLDIER]

Nope. i am in los angeles too.
Reminds me of the distribution for WWSM 2005 last december. Looks like its another cluster for SEGA. :mad:

[RPI-Fan]

I've also seen a couple of trades whereby average enforcers have moved teams for a second or third round pick that just made me think WTF?

Don't tell the Ducks & Todd Fedoruk this.:D

[Sweed]

Has anynes seen this game on an American store yet?

The nearest Gamestop to me is in Mankato, Minnesota. Doing a search from the
GameStop site shows they don't have any on hand but it is on the way. There is a second Mankato GS that doesn't show it coming to the store and 5 or 6 stores within a 100 miles and none of those show it coming to their store.

According to what I've read on the SI site you are more likely to find the game in a store that is located in "hockey hot beds".

[Sweed]

dola

For those that have the boxed version of the game does it come with a printed manual?

If so how good is it?

Does it give good explanations of free agency, waivers, and youth hockey?

While I have a pretty good understanding of the game itself I have virtually no understanding of now the "minor leagues" work in hockey. If the manual gives good info regarding this it would go a long way in getting me to buy the game.
Not to mention it would give me something to read while I'm on the throne :)

[Swaggs]

Does the game track head coaching records on their "pages/cards" in this version?

[jbmagic]

dola

For those that have the boxed version of the game does it come with a printed manual?

If so how good is it?

Does it give good explanations of free agency, waivers, and youth hockey?

While I have a pretty good understanding of the game itself I have virtually no understanding of now the "minor leagues" work in hockey. If the manual gives good info regarding this it would go a long way in getting me to buy the game.
Not to mention it would give me something to read while I'm on the throne :)

if you download the trial and buy. it comes with a manual and it will be the same one printed marc said before.

[bhlloy]

Don't tell the Ducks & Todd Fedoruk this.:D

Good point :cool:

At least Fedoruk is not old and can actually skate

Another one if Marc or Riz are reading this... I seem to get an insane amount of repeated offers for players. Two examples:

a) for at least two months I got the same offer every week for Brian Rolston from maybe three or four teams - can't remember who off the top of my head. Every time it was a second round pick in 2006, 2007 and 2008. It seemed to be completely non-negotiable (no way I could change any of the picks, or swap a pick for a player - it would get rejected right away). In the end I must have rejected each team at least 5 times and they would come right back the next week with the same offer. Non-negotiable. It drove me insane because I'm looking to restock, but I couldn't get the deal to where i wanted it. And the teams still came back to me the next week with the exact same offer I told them to stick last week :mad:

b) I have all the prospects my scouts recommend on shortlist. One guy, Zach Hamill from Everett seemed to be the subject of a crazy amount of trade offers and of course I saw them all as he was on my shortlist. Every week without fail every single team in the OHL (?) would offer for him. I'm not kidding - something crazy like three out of every ten news items of mine is about him. Each team had a deal they would offer every week - I don't think they changed. And every time it would be rejected. I figured - maybe he's available but they are holding out for a great offer? Nope, checked and he is not on the trade block and his GM has never said that he will consider offers for him.

Anyway, that was a long winded way of saying that (in some cases at least) the AI never seems to remember that you rejected an offer or the particulars of an offer that gets rejected, and never seems to be willing to sweeten the deal. One of the great things about FM, that you can haggle a bit over transfer deals, seems to be missing in EHM right now.

[scooter]

Does the game track head coaching records on their "pages/cards" in this version?

On the "Bio" tab for any staff that have been a head coach anywhere, it says their overall record. Example on Ken Hitchcock's card:

Coaching Record
Hitchcock's current coaching record stands at: 39-34-9.

[Joe Canadian]

Good point :cool:

At least Fedoruk is not old and can actually skate

Another one if Marc or Riz are reading this... I seem to get an insane amount of repeated offers for players. Two examples:

a) for at least two months I got the same offer every week for Brian Rolston from maybe three or four teams - can't remember who off the top of my head. Every time it was a second round pick in 2006, 2007 and 2008. It seemed to be completely non-negotiable (no way I could change any of the picks, or swap a pick for a player - it would get rejected right away). In the end I must have rejected each team at least 5 times and they would come right back the next week with the same offer. Non-negotiable. It drove me insane because I'm looking to restock, but I couldn't get the deal to where i wanted it. And the teams still came back to me the next week with the exact same offer I told them to stick last week :mad:

b) I have all the prospects my scouts recommend on shortlist. One guy, Zach Hamill from Everett seemed to be the subject of a crazy amount of trade offers and of course I saw them all as he was on my shortlist. Every week without fail every single team in the OHL (?) would offer for him. I'm not kidding - something crazy like three out of every ten news items of mine is about him. Each team had a deal they would offer every week - I don't think they changed. And every time it would be rejected. I figured - maybe he's available but they are holding out for a great offer? Nope, checked and he is not on the trade block and his GM has never said that he will consider offers for him.

Anyway, that was a long winded way of saying that (in some cases at least) the AI never seems to remember that you rejected an offer or the particulars of an offer that gets rejected, and never seems to be willing to sweeten the deal. One of the great things about FM, that you can haggle a bit over transfer deals, seems to be missing in EHM right now.

This has been a problem in NHL EHM for a while now...

When you go and inquire about a player and the team comes back with an offer, then you make some adjustments... they consistently come back 3-4 times with the exact offer they originally made. If that's the ONLY offer they're willing to accept, it would be nice if they would say that up front...

[riz]

This has been a problem in NHL EHM for a while now...

When you go and inquire about a player and the team comes back with an offer, then you make some adjustments... they consistently come back 3-4 times with the exact offer they originally made. If that's the ONLY offer they're willing to accept, it would be nice if they would say that up front...

Tracking down all the past offers which have been for a specific player or to a specific team would eat up resources quite quickly. The reason why teams come back with similar or the same offers again and again, is because the trades aren't just setup with a function that randomly adds players/picks to the trade. The function to setup a trade goes through the team needs and tries to find the best players on the other team that match those needs. And because this follows a logical path with only some additional randomizing, the same offers will come up from time to time.

For the next version, I've already got it on my list to make the trade negotiations more flexible, with users able to lock objects (players, rights or picks) into the offers, so the other team will keep those items in when negotiating, rather then swapping them for something else instead. If you guys have any other ideas on how to further improve trading, now's the time, I'm all ears :)

You have to remember that haggling over money is a LOT easier than haggling over players, player rights and draft picks. When using just money, sweetening the deal means just increasing one number. When talking about trades, you'll have to either add picks, players or prospects to the trade (and maybe to balance it out, on both sides) or swap the components (players, picks or prospects) already included in the offer.

[jonesz]

The AI does seem a bit whacky. For example I offered Tyler Wright to the Kings for a 2nd round pick. They declined the offer then counter offered a 2nd round and 4th round pick for him. I guess they must have thought they would be taking advantage of me with my first offer?! Anyway, I accepted the offer and then I get a new item saying that the fans were excited that I made such a great deal. I'm a genius!

The "waiver dump" that occurs the first season is pretty annoying too. Basically because there is no waiver draft anymore, everyone and their brother come up on waivers as tehy are sent to a minor league team and you get like 100 news messages.

Also a small bug when, in midseason, you offer one of your scouts a new contract as an assistant coach. It forces you to terminate one of your existing coaches because you don't have enough room. Then the scout signs the new contract as an assistant coach and he doesn't show up on your practice screen, which leads me to believe that he won't be available until the next season. My feeling is that he should change jobs as soon as he signs the assistant coach contract.

[riz]

The "waiver dump" that occurs the first season is pretty annoying too. Basically because there is no waiver draft anymore, everyone and their brother come up on waivers as tehy are sent to a minor league team and you get like 100 news messages.


Well, there is no real life waiver draft anymore and tons of players were waived in the last few days in real life as well...It's just that in real life you don't get every single waiver notifications in the newspapers etc.

[rewissick]

Well, there is no real life waiver draft anymore and tons of players were waived in the last few days in real life as well...It's just that in real life you don't get every single waiver notifications in the newspapers etc.

Is there anyway to sort/search thru all those waived players? I haven't been able to find any way to do it yet, and I'd really like to be able to find that 4th line guy that could help my team out without having to click my way thru 4 dozen guys.

Crosby was finally signed by Pittsburgh in my game, and he's leading the league in scoring thru the first 2 months.

[riz]

Is there anyway to sort/search thru all those waived players? I haven't been able to find any way to do it yet, and I'd really like to be able to find that 4th line guy that could help my team out without having to click my way thru 4 dozen guys.

Crosby was finally signed by Pittsburgh in my game, and he's leading the league in scoring thru the first 2 months.

Full waiver list is available in the "World" menu. Just underneath the drafts and rankings.

[CHEMICAL SOLDIER]

The nearest Gamestop to me is in Mankato, Minnesota. Doing a search from the
GameStop site shows they don't have any on hand but it is on the way. There is a second Mankato GS that doesn't show it coming to the store and 5 or 6 stores within a 100 miles and none of those show it coming to their store.

According to what I've read on the SI site you are more likely to find the game in a store that is located in "hockey hot beds".
I found a copy 400 miles away in Phoenix. I'll be driving down there right now. ;)

[rewissick]

Full waiver list is available in the "World" menu. Just underneath the drafts and rankings.

Right, I found that. But is there a search function off of that list? All I see is a button for 'Enter Claim'.
Thanks

[bhlloy]

For the next version, I've already got it on my list to make the trade negotiations more flexible, with users able to lock objects (players, rights or picks) into the offers, so the other team will keep those items in when negotiating, rather then swapping them for something else instead.

That sounds like a great idea Riz. That would certainly address the non-negotiable part (this is what I must have in return, otherwise get lost) but I still think you need something that stops a silly number of repeated offers for a player.

Throwing something out there... I assume money works on a value system like in FM (I reject an offer of £400k for a player and ask for £800k - the player's asking price goes up to £800k) Why couldn't there be an asking price for each player that the game keeps track of - e.g. in my Rolston example all I wanted was a first round pick and a third so you could put that as his "asking price" and then teams know not to come in with an offer too far below that. You would have to put a value to players obviously but would that be too hard - surely the AI already values players for trades.

If I then changed my mind and said I now wanted two first round picks for Rolston, his asking price would go up again.

In fact, why not go the whole distance and allow the user to manually set an asking price for any of his players, akin to the team needs screen. E.g for Brian Rolston I want a first round pick and a depth winger and won't consider any offers dramatically below that. AI could still come in with offers marginally below that or to the same value (e.g. two second rounders and a depth winger, a second rounder and a starting winger etc...)

[riz]

That sounds like a great idea Riz. That would certainly address the non-negotiable part (this is what I must have in return, otherwise get lost) but I still think you need something that stops a silly number of repeated offers for a player.

Throwing something out there... I assume money works on a value system like in FM (I reject an offer of £400k for a player and ask for £800k - the player's asking price goes up to £800k) Why couldn't there be an asking price for each player that the game keeps track of - e.g. in my Rolston example all I wanted was a first round pick and a third so you could put that as his "asking price" and then teams know not to come in with an offer too far below that. You would have to put a value to players obviously but would that be too hard - surely the AI already values players for trades.

If I then changed my mind and said I now wanted two first round picks for Rolston, his asking price would go up again.

In fact, why not go the whole distance and allow the user to manually set an asking price for any of his players, akin to the team needs screen. E.g for Brian Rolston I want a first round pick and a depth winger and won't consider any offers dramatically below that. AI could still come in with offers marginally below that or to the same value (e.g. two second rounders and a depth winger, a second rounder and a starting winger etc...)

Interesting ideas, you don't mind if I steal these for my wishlist now do you ? ;)

The AI teams do naturally figure a player or a pick down to a numerical value, but to get there, it has to take into account a lot of various things. It would be quite easy to track the "values" of rejected offers for Bill Guerin alone, but whatabout if someone offered you a certain deal for Guerin and Kapanen ? The package offered for those two could not be compared to the offers for Guerin alone. But I'll give it to you that there might be something behind this :)

The main problem with defining a "depth winger" as one requirement in making the trade, is that each team has their own opinion on what counts as a depth winger, and it also depends on the team in question. One team's depth winger is another team's core winger. Add to that the fact that a humans value their players and especially players on other teams in quite a different way than the AI. AI might see a decent prospect in something that looks like a never-will-be to the human, just because every team has their own opinions on players.

[Karim]

I'm not sure if this is on the official list, but one of my wishes is to have more ability to praise/criticize a player/the team both privately and publically. I'm guessing something similar is available in FM?

[Honolulu_Blue]

I'm not sure if this is on the official list, but one of my wishes is to have more ability to praise/criticize a player/the team both privately and publically. I'm guessing something similar is available in FM?
Me too.

[klayman]

me three

[riz]

Praising and criticizing players is on our "future to-do" lists. Not certain for the next version yet though. The thing is, it's quite easy to add two buttons, one that says "Praise player" and one that says "Criticize player", but creating and balancing the effects of those two buttons is a lot more work...especially when you've got such a wide variety of users playing the game, some of which would most likely be clicking these multiple times a day for one player and some would just ignore them :)

[Flasch186]

sorting the players on the waiver wire....it is impossible to compare them all when having to click on each one. That is a HUGE complaint. The waiver wire basically, as it is now, is 5% useful, 95% cumbersome and useless.

[riz]

sorting the players on the waiver wire....it is impossible to compare them all when having to click on each one. That is a HUGE complaint. The waiver wire basically, as it is now, is 5% useful, 95% cumbersome and useless.

There aren't usually that many players on waivers. The reason why there are now more than normally, is because NHL did away with the waiver draft.

How would you like to sort the players on the waiver wire ? Any additional views (ie. other columns) you'd like to see there ? We can add them in the future, just let us know :)

EDIT: Actually, now that I think of it, this is the very first time someone has had a complaint about that screen. But hey, there's always a first time for everything :D

[Honolulu_Blue]

There aren't usually that many players on waivers. The reason why there are now more than normally, is because NHL did away with the waiver draft.

How would you like to sort the players on the waiver wire ? Any additional views (ie. other columns) you'd like to see there ? We can add them in the future, just let us know :)

EDIT: Actually, now that I think of it, this is the very first time someone has had a complaint about that screen. But hey, there's always a first time for everything :D
Probably because, until the new patch, it was never an issue becuase of the reasons you state above. Back in the day, when there was a waiver draft, the big "waiver dump" was sortable because it was setup as a draft. I used to spend a lot of time sorting through players, trying to decide who to pick up. I could see where a similar volume of players could create the problems Flasch is having.

[Flasch186]

LOL, perhaps have it be setup like a regular roster screen, with the attributes tab, general tab, etc. If i were a GM Im sure I would want to be able to compare and contrast the players, etc.

[bhlloy]

Riz... couple of more random things I've noticed as I've now got to the start of my second season.

Somebody won the Lady Byng equivalent (sportsmanship) in one of the CHL leagues with 90 PIM's on the season. Doesn't seem right to me. I can check who and which league if needed. The NHL one seems to be fine though - Gagne won it and he only had 10 PIM's.

Hall of fame inductions for the NHL seems to be pretty wacky. Seven players made it including Vincent Damphousse (questionable), Shayne Corson (questionable), James Patrick (no way) and Scott Young (LOL) All had over 1000 games and over 300 points which I guess is the criteria. Seems very low.
On that issue, is there a file we can edit to allow the real life NHL hall of fame to appear in the game? That would be awesome and would really add some history and realism.

EDIT - just wanted to add that Damphousse and Young hadn't even technically retired. They were still FA's and their last season was showing up on the HOF screen as the 2006/07 season, which I haven't even started. Scott Stevens took a coaching position with some team in Florida and has retired, and he hasn't been inducted into the HOF.

[Hurst2112]

stupid question:

Have the player incentives been removed? Goals, Assists and other things per season? I look under the extras and they aren't there.

[riz]

Riz... couple of more random things I've noticed as I've now got to the start of my second season.

Hall of fame inductions for the NHL seems to be pretty wacky. Seven players made it including Vincent Damphousse (questionable), Shayne Corson (questionable), James Patrick (no way) and Scott Young (LOL) All had over 1000 games and over 300 points which I guess is the criteria. Seems very low.
On that issue, is there a file we can edit to allow the real life NHL hall of fame to appear in the game? That would be awesome and would really add some history and realism.

If you look around in the game, every league has its own hall of fame. The criteria to enter a hall of fame in EHM is not modelled after any real life criteria, as the hall of fames in the game are not real. They were introduced to store some career recaps on the players who had good careers in that league.

[Honolulu_Blue]

stupid question:

Have the player incentives been removed? Goals, Assists and other things per season? I look under the extras and they aren't there.
Under the new CBA, these types of incentives are only allowed for a certain type of player. I don't remember the limitations off hand, but these types of incentives/bonuses are limited to older guys who didn't play a full season or such.

[bhlloy]

If you look around in the game, every league has its own hall of fame. The criteria to enter a hall of fame in EHM is not modelled after any real life criteria, as the hall of fames in the game are not real. They were introduced to store some career recaps on the players who had good careers in that league.

I can see where you are coming from, however any chance you could make the criteria and the history editable for any league (maybe release the code/file details for this so a third party editor could be made?) I'd much prefer a "realistic" NHL hall of fame, and in other leagues to be able to choose the criteria as well. This would be a nice touch bringing EHM in line with OOTP.

[klayman]

Well, I just finished my first season post-patch with the Kamloops Blazers. I was named as a challenger for the WHL title despite being listed 11th in the league. I should have know right then the season I was to have in store. After a quick start, the team fell back down to earth, and I started rebuilding by shipping out the older players for draft picks and youngsters, and letting my younger ones get considerably more ice time. However, the kids ended up producing very well, and by Christmas we were well within the hunt. A season high 7 straight wins took us to the top of the league and a spot on the Top 10 CHL list. That was followed by a season high 10 straight losses (the first 8 without a single point from OT or a shootout). We dropped very quickly in the standings, hovering around 4th in our division, 10th in the league.

This set the tone for the rest of the season, but what can you expect from 16 and 17 year olds. After dangling close to not making the playoffs, a late surge pushed us into 2nd in the division and a first round playoff battle against rivals Kelowna. I don't think I've ever seen two teams so evenly matched against each other, as the stats of both teams were nearly identical in every category. Predictably, the series when back and forth, and we managed a 7th game 4-2 win with 3 PPG in the 2nd period. Thank you Mr. Referee.

That led to a 2nd round showdown with 1st place Vancouver, who struggled early in the season, but had to be one of the best teams in the league for the 2nd half. They outclassed us all season, and quickly jumped to a 3-0 game lead, outscoring us 12-3 in the process. Only a OT goal saved us from getting swept at home in the 4th game, and as we headed back to Vancouver, I was more busy planning for the draft then expecting any further playoff action. A gutsy defensive performance gave us a 2-1 win however, and a 4-2 win at home tied the series at 3. Back to Vancouver and the kids pull it out with a 4-3 win in OT.

Then come the injuries. As if my lineup wasn't thin enough as it was, 4 of my few remaining veteran players fall before the next series against Seattle, and once again we find ourselves 3-0 down. One by one, the veterans make their way back into the lineup, and we close the gap, again forcing a 7th game. Could we do it again, and sneak our way into the final? Sadly, no. Seattle was in complete control in game 7, and brushed us aside, but a successful season considering I had given up on us getting anywhere about 10 times during the year.

As a positve footnote, one of the early trades netted the 1st round pick overall in the upcoming Bantam draft.

[JeffR]

Well, I just finished my first season post-patch with the Kamloops Blazers. I was named as a challenger for the WHL title despite being listed 11th in the league.

My bad. The team's reputation determines the expectations for them, and I hadn't updated the WHL reputations from last season because I was waiting to find a good season preview to base them on. Got one from the Kelowna newspaper now, so the final update will have them reflective of this year's expectations.

This set the tone for the rest of the season, but what can you expect from 16 and 17 year olds. After dangling close to not making the playoffs, a late surge pushed us into 2nd in the division and a first round playoff battle against rivals Kelowna. I don't think I've ever seen two teams so evenly matched against each other, as the stats of both teams were nearly identical in every category. Predictably, the series when back and forth, and we managed a 7th game 4-2 win with 3 PPG in the 2nd period. Thank you Mr. Referee.

You got lucky. ;) Kamloops has a lot of talent on paper, but serious leadership and cohesiveness problems. In 20+ years of watching the WHL, I'd never seen a Kamloops team quit when they're down by a couple, but I've now seen it three times in the last two years. Just no heart at all. And their hidden mental ratings tend to reflect that, while Kelowna's are what you'd expect from a team with one national and two league championships in the last three years.

[Joe Canadian]

I haven't downloaded the pacth yet... I'm waiting for the season update, and I'm trying to get to 2012 in my Rangers career with the old patch.

But can anyone comment on the Team Needs section? Are you able to list draft picks as a need yet... while this is a great feature, when you're rebuilding it sucks something bad that you can't tell everyone you really, really need extra picks.

[klayman]

My bad. The team's reputation determines the expectations for them, and I hadn't updated the WHL reputations from last season because I was waiting to find a good season preview to base them on.
No worries Jeff. I finished 11th and made it to the 7th game of the Western Conference Final. I'd say the prediction was right on. :)

[klayman]

I haven't downloaded the pacth yet... I'm waiting for the season update, and I'm trying to get to 2012 in my Rangers career with the old patch.

But can anyone comment on the Team Needs section? Are you able to list draft picks as a need yet... while this is a great feature, when you're rebuilding it sucks something bad that you can't tell everyone you really, really need extra picks.
Don't think so. I've noticed in both the NHL and WHL you'll get alot more picks in the AI's offers though.

[rewissick]

There aren't usually that many players on waivers. The reason why there are now more than normally, is because NHL did away with the waiver draft.

How would you like to sort the players on the waiver wire ? Any additional views (ie. other columns) you'd like to see there ? We can add them in the future, just let us know :)

EDIT: Actually, now that I think of it, this is the very first time someone has had a complaint about that screen. But hey, there's always a first time for everything :D


How about if the waiver wire had a search function similiar to the draft or regular player search? Or, add in 'Waived' as a player status so I can sort thru all of them in the regular player search screen, like I do with UFAs?

[G-Man]

yep you can download it.


but if its going to be in the US stores, then i rather buy it from the store.

Why is that? :confused:

[Honolulu_Blue]

Why is that? :confused:
Why would someone rather buy it from a store than download it? If I had the choice, I would always go with the store bought disc. It allows you to install it whenever and wherever you like. You don't have to worry about the number of installs you have or dealing with some of the headaches that arise from downloading a game.

I paid the extra money when EHM came out and had the game shipped over from Europe as opposed to buying the download.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Dola.

Any ETA on the new database update? I've been holding off starting a new career and installing the "NA Super Patch" until the most recent update is available.

[sovereignstar]

Dola.

Any ETA on the new database update? I've been holding off starting a new career and installing the "NA Super Patch" until the most recent update is available.

Have all the leagues started playing now? When does the ECHL kick off?

[JeffR]

Out by the end of the month, hopefully, but I wouldn't be too upset if that slid back a little to give us a few more days to work on the database.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Out by the end of the month, hopefully, but I wouldn't be too upset if that slid back a little to give us a few more days to work on the database.
Is this just going to be a database update or a patch as well?

[Schmidty]

So is there ever going to be an FOFC EHM league?

[JeffR]

Patch too. I think Riz and Graeme have made scattered mentions of what they're fixing on the SI boards, but I'm eyebrow-deep in database work right now so I haven't been keeping up with that.

[Sweed]

Ok, fedex just dropped off my copy of ehm and I am off until Monday :) Though I have a basic understanding of hockey there is much to learn especially
on the contract, waiver rules, free agency, etc. etc. etc.
Some I've figured out but one I haven't is on the player card, it says

value
asking

under where it shows who drafted the player and has his rights.

Could someone explaing what the value and asking is?

[JeffR]

That's mainly there for the European leagues, where players are sold rather than traded. Approximate value he'd be worth in a sale, and the team's actual asking price.

[TurnerONU22]

So is there ever going to be an FOFC EHM league?

I hope so, but I don't know if anyone has stepped up to be a commish. I bumped the thread a couple weeks ago and got little response, so I'm not sure of how many would still want to do it.

I would be willing to do it, but I would have to have a co-commish that would help with website stuff and run sims when I couldn't. There's just always a few days that I have college/grad school application stuff that is piled up and needs to get done.

[TazFTW]

Well, I did my part. Looked up EHM at Gamestop.com, used their Check Store Availability, and it listed 2 stores here that had copies. Just picked it up.

[st.cronin]

I'm enjoying this game a lot. My suggestions for patchs/future versions

1. keyboard shortcuts - I would rather navigate this sort of game with my keyboard than my mouse

2. the ability to highlight a long list of players and add to the shortlist ... the way I scout the draft is, I send my scouts to look at the incoming draft class, then add guys to my shortlist, then send my scouts to look at the shortlist ... but it's too cumbersome a process right now. Putting the shortlist together is about 30 minutes of clicking.

More to come, perhaps...

[Joe Canadian]

For those that have the patch downloaded... can you comment on the frequency of GM\Coach firing? I'm in the year 2011 with my Rangers dyanasty, and I'm estimating that 80% of GM's are still in place, and it's only within the last year or so that teams have been beginning to make Front Office & Coaching changes. When they do, NHL teams seem to be hiring alot of Euro guys... which isn't how it works in the real NHL.

[JeffR]

Looking at a couple of saves from tests on the upcoming patch, NHL GM turnover seems to be about three per year; real life is probably around 4, so it's close.

[Blade6119]

Well, I did my part. Looked up EHM at Gamestop.com, used their Check Store Availability, and it listed 2 stores here that had copies. Just picked it up.

I cant find it on their site...little help?

[JeffR]

I cant find it on their site...little help?

Looks like it's gone now. But it's still on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000BB0IGO/qid=1131172586/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-9614058-9123029?v=glance&s=software&n=507846) and Walmart (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3266920).

[riz]

Looks like it's gone now. But it's still on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000BB0IGO/qid=1131172586/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-9614058-9123029?v=glance&s=software&n=507846) and Walmart (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3266920).

Sega US is currently looking into why the game is no longer listed at Gamestop.

[JeffR]

Sega US is currently looking into why the game is no longer listed at Gamestop.

That makes me feel much better.

[Sweed]

Looks like it's gone now. But it's still on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000BB0IGO/qid=1131172586/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-9614058-9123029?v=glance&s=software&n=507846) and Walmart (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3266920).

JeffR, your link at walmart is to last years version. The link here

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/search-ng.gsp?search_constraint=0&search_query=nhl+eastside+hockey+manager+2005&Continue.x=31&Continue.y=15&Continue=Find&ics=20&ico=0

shows ehm 2005 is also out of stock at walmart.

Is it selling better than expected? Hope so. Be nice to actually see it in more stores next year.

[riz]

Is it selling better than expected? Hope so. Be nice to actually see it in more stores next year.

Hopefully yes. Also out of stock at target.com apparantly. And a lot of people have been saying they got the last copy when they visited their local EB (not that those places had many copies to start with, but anyways...)

[Pumpy Tudors]

Any idea on when the next patch/roster update will be out?

[riz]

Any idea on when the next patch/roster update will be out?

The roster update / patch to version 2.1.2 will be out early this week. So very soon.

[Pumpy Tudors]

The roster update / patch to version 2.1.2 will be out early this week. So very soon.
This is excellent news. Thank you!

[Joe Canadian]

The roster update / patch to version 2.1.2 will be out early this week. So very soon.

Awesome!

[Honolulu_Blue]

Yes, this is very good news indeed!

[Apathetic Lurker]

You would think game stores in ALL NHL cities would carry this game. But no. Not damn Buffalo. EB? no..Gamestop? nope..Target, Walmart, Compusa?..zilch. Called or visited all and pestered the employees with title and UPC .. Not a damn thing.. Funny thing is I was in Abilene,TX this past summer and saw both hockey and soccer games from SI in a gamestop. Guy told me he never sold a single copy of EHM . Abeline and not Buffalo..go figure....crazy distribution.

Oh well, off my rant and time to think if I want to order from a online retailer.(not a big fan of letting my cc info traipse thru the phonelines though.)

[Simms]

2.1.2 Patch is out.

http://community.sigames.com/groupee/forums/a/tpc/f/6461934525/m/2712088471

[scooter]

Thanks, I've been waiting for this for a while.

[BuffaloHuskey]

A L - Don't you know you are in Buffalo, they can't do anything right there ;). Hell it has taken more than five years to come up with a design for the damn Peace Bridge and forget about the water front, that development will take 30 years.

Although I still have Buffalo pride, they have got to get their shit together otherwise they will continue to lose the younger generations.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Does the new patch include new data with updated rosters? I understand that I would have to start a new game to use the new data, but I didn't see any mention of new data in the changelog.

[NoSkillz]

Does the new patch include new data with updated rosters? I understand that I would have to start a new game to use the new data, but I didn't see any mention of new data in the changelog.
Data has been completely updated in this patch. We handed in the DB around the end of October so things should be accurate to that point.

[Simms]

Crosby starts on the Penguins, and combined with a few other unscientific spot-checks, it would appear that yes, the rosters have been updated.

[Pumpy Tudors]

How am I going to make time for EHM, WWSM, Civ4, and The Movies? Good grief!

[Simms]

Or you can take NoSkillz's word for it, which is probably the safer option. :)

[Simms]

Am I imagining things, or was the new silver/black NHL Shield logo included in the original post-lockout N.A. update?

'Cause if it was, it's back to the orange and black one now.

[Sweed]

Downloading now on my high speed connection. Flying along at about 9kb\sec ;) I almost forgot what dial-up felt like :)

[Godzilla Blitz]

Great that the patch is out.

Bummer that the fictional names' bug doesn't seem to have been adressed yet. Or at least, it doesn't work in my game:

http://home.comcast.net/%7Emwsmart/EHMNameBug212.jpg

[Pumpy Tudors]

Has anybody besides Godzilla Blitz run into that problem? It seems so weird that he's never been able to get past it, yet I've never seen a complaint about it from anyone else.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Has anybody besides Godzilla Blitz run into that problem? It seems so weird that he's never been able to get past it, yet I've never seen a complaint about it from anyone else. That's what gets me, too. How come I'm the only one that sees this?

Seems bizarre.

Unless no one uses fictional players?

I'd be very happy if it were simply a problem with my game, as I'd like to give the game a shot.

If anyone else wants to give it a try, here's what I've been doing to start a game. I'd be interested to see if the same thing happens to anyone else. One caveat: You can't see this clearly by looking at individual teams. You've got to go to scouting, and make sure you include all the players in your database. Then the issue is clear as day:

Game Setup
Leagues
All North American and Canadian leagues:
NHL, AHL, ECHL, All-American League 3, All-American League 4, CHL.

No other leagues.

All the above leagues set at "enhanced".

Real Players: unchecked.
Mask Attributes: unchecked or checked. Doesn't matter.

The game options screen I never saw, so the database is at normal size, and all other options are at their defaults as well.

When I start a new game, I'm defaulted as an American, which I leave as is, then I select an NHL team.

Right after the game starts, I click on scouting, player search, and start looking through the database of players. There are about 18,000 players in view at that point, and such screens as I posted above occur repeatedly. One or two screens may only have a few identical names on them, but large clusters of identical last names are immediately apparent. Before you get to your tenth screen you'll see large clusters of players with identical full names. Almost seems as if the code gets stuck on a subset of last/first names and then only generates names within that subset.

[Pumpy Tudors]

I'm going to check it out when I get home tonight. I'm sure that I'll run across the same problem. I just haven't seen it yet, probably because I don't start with all fictional players.

[JeffR]

I think you're going to need to use the Maximum db when selecting fictional players to keep that from happening. I just tried that, and I didn't get anything close to 20+ players with the same name. Looking through all of the A's, the most I had was 6 Kevin Allens and 6 James Atkinsons, neither of which is that unreasonable (neither's an uncommon name, and in the real db there are a few names that appear with the same frequency.) And a lot of the duplicates are low-level junior guys that'll never go anywhere and get recycled without the player ever seeing them, so I don't think it'll have a big impact on playability.

Besides, I just spent a month-plus getting the rosters for ten junior leagues as close to perfect as I could. Use the real names, damnit. ;)

[Apathetic Lurker]

A L - Don't you know you are in Buffalo, they can't do anything right there ;). Hell it has taken more than five years to come up with a design for the damn Peace Bridge and forget about the water front, that development will take 30 years.

Although I still have Buffalo pride, they have got to get their shit together otherwise they will continue to lose the younger generations.

They are already gone, the good ones I mean. Being a bus driver I can tell you there is definitly no future for Buffalo seeing how the "next generation" acts. that being said I'm still annoyed that such a "hockey hotbed" like Abeline has/had copies while there are none whatsoever here. I wish we could leave but the little woman has to much going on here and there is always a chance her family connections can land me a nice cushy city job eating donuts and drinking coffee if our city financial fiasco ever gets resolved. Lets hear it for nepotism.

[Joe Canadian]

Unless no one uses fictional players?

I think you hit the nail on the head right there... EHM isn't really set up like other sports sims for fantasy leagues, so I think most people who would have used that feature have stayed away from it, I know I have. Hopefully Riz can sit down with Markus and this can be implemented in a future version...

[Honolulu_Blue]

Just to confirm.

I have the European Box verison of the game. I have held off on downloading the major North America update until this latest patch.

So, I think, I am still running versions 2.0.2.

I see that there are the following updates available:

2.1.1
2.1.2 (just came out today)

I understand that once I install the NA patches, my old games are kaput. That's fine.

Do I need to download anything other than 2.1.1 and 2.1.2, or is that enough to convert the game to the NA edition?

Does any of this make sense?

[NoSkillz]

Just to confirm.

I have the European Box verison of the game. I have held off on downloading the major North America update until this latest patch.

So, I think, I am still running versions 2.0.2.

I see that there are the following updates available:

2.1.1
2.1.2 (just came out today)

I understand that once I install the NA patches, my old games are kaput. That's fine.

Do I need to download anything other than 2.1.1 and 2.1.2, or is that enough to convert the game to the NA edition?

Does any of this make sense?Yes it makes sense. Downloading the 'PC' version of the new patch should get you updated with everything you need, including the stuff done for the NA update from last month. :)

[Godzilla Blitz]

I think you're going to need to use the Maximum db when selecting fictional players to keep that from happening. I just tried that, and I didn't get anything close to 20+ players with the same name. Looking through all of the A's, the most I had was 6 Kevin Allens and 6 James Atkinsons, neither of which is that unreasonable (neither's an uncommon name, and in the real db there are a few names that appear with the same frequency.) And a lot of the duplicates are low-level junior guys that'll never go anywhere and get recycled without the player ever seeing them, so I don't think it'll have a big impact on playability.
Sorry, Jeff, you seem like a good guy, but I disagree.

The problem is similar using the the maximum database. Also, the problem is not only identical names, but players with the same last name. I just started a game with a large database to see, and there are large groups of players with the same last name. The identical name issue does seem to be slightly less, but there are still large numbers of players with identical names.

For example, in the new game I just generated with a large database, there are--in the NHL alone, and just looking at last names beginning with the letter "B":

1. 10 NHL players with a last name of Bernier. Two Ray Berniers and two Michael Berniers.
2. 7 NHL players with a last name of Boe. Two Derek Boes.
3. 10 NHL players with a last name of Boutin. Two Dan Boutins.
4. 15 NHL players with a last name of Buckley. Three Randy Buckleys. Two Samuel Buckleys. Two Dan Buckleys.

And that is just a smattering of the samples, as there are at least a half dozen or more players with identical names, and numerous smaller groupings of players with the same last names. And that's just the letter "B".

I agree, of course, that there should be some similarity of names and an occasional identical name, but the problem goes far beyond that in the current version of the game.

I would also argue that the issue greatly impacts playability when you've got so many players with the same names. Heck, I noticed the problem in the first five minutes of playing the game, as I saw a player on one team and said to myself, "Wait a minute, didn't I just see him on another team? Did he get traded somehow?" Once I looked at the database, the problem became apparent.

[sachmo71]

The naming algorithim can be improved. GBs results are silly.

[sachmo71]

Some of the attributes for the Stars have not been changed since I was researching for the first EHM. Just odd.

EDIT: This is *NOT* an accurate statment. I just can't figure some of them out, but they have changed. Apologies to the researchers! :)

[NoSkillz]

Some of the attributes for the Stars have not been changed since I was researching for the first EHM. Just odd.

EDIT: This is *NOT* an accurate statment. I just can't figure some of them out, but they have changed. Apologies to the researchers! :)
Hahaha...I was just about to ask you who was out of whack!

If you have any problems with the Stars, feel free to post them here. My main responsibilities lie with the Northeast Division but for this particular patch, I was in charge of the Northeast, the Central and the Pacific.

[JeffR]

For example, in the new game I just generated with a large database, there are--in the NHL alone, and just looking at last names beginning with the letter "B":

Yeah, now that I look at the NHL in the fictional-name game I started, there's definitely problems with name overuse. I don't know what's going wrong there; I remember Graeme working on this and sending me a build to test, which I got much better results with, so either that somehow didn't make it into a patch or got broken again farther along the line. At least it isn't affecting the names for regenerated players; the code for that seems to be separate (e.g., when starting with fake names the players from Quebec won't have mainly French names, but the regenerated players do.) Knowing that, one way to get yourself a good fictional database might be to let it run hands-off for 10-15 seasons, which should get rid of most of those duplicated names, and then take over a team and start playing.

But the real db will still have the best selection of names - do you really want to play without the option of signing Troy Weasel Fat? ;)

[riz]

Sorry, Jeff, you seem like a good guy, but I disagree.

The problem is similar using the the maximum database. Also, the problem is not only identical names, but players with the same last name. I just started a game with a large database to see, and there are large groups of players with the same last name. The identical name issue does seem to be slightly less, but there are still large numbers of players with identical names.

For example, in the new game I just generated with a large database, there are--in the NHL alone, and just looking at last names beginning with the letter "B":

1. 10 NHL players with a last name of Bernier. Two Ray Berniers and two Michael Berniers.
2. 7 NHL players with a last name of Boe. Two Derek Boes.
3. 10 NHL players with a last name of Boutin. Two Dan Boutins.
4. 15 NHL players with a last name of Buckley. Three Randy Buckleys. Two Samuel Buckleys. Two Dan Buckleys.

And that is just a smattering of the samples, as there are at least a half dozen or more players with identical names, and numerous smaller groupings of players with the same last names. And that's just the letter "B".

I agree, of course, that there should be some similarity of names and an occasional identical name, but the problem goes far beyond that in the current version of the game.

I would also argue that the issue greatly impacts playability when you've got so many players with the same names. Heck, I noticed the problem in the first five minutes of playing the game, as I saw a player on one team and said to myself, "Wait a minute, didn't I just see him on another team? Did he get traded somehow?" Once I looked at the database, the problem became apparent.

Hmm...I'll take some time of my own schedule this week and have a dig into this. I'll run some tests with the all fictional players and try to find the underlying cause as that does not look like the behaviour I would expect either. Like JeffR said, the main game works fine with regen names and their frequencies. It has to be something very specific to creating a fully fictional database that unbalances the frequency of the name usage. We are down to basically just me looking into issues arising in the current version of the game (while also trying to get up to full speed with the development of the next full version) as Graeme is lending a hand in another project, but I'll see what I can do. Anything else you guys have problems with, just post here and I'll keep my ears open.

[Booj]

I posted this on the SI forums, but I downloaded and installed the Mac patch with no problems, but when I load the game, the rosters don't seem to be changed at all (I heard Mark Streit is now named, but he is still Gilles Imhof and Theodore, Markov are RFAs) but the Game Setup says I am running 2.1.2.

Any help would be appreciated.

[NoSkillz]

I posted this on the SI forums, but I downloaded and installed the Mac patch with no problems, but when I load the game, the rosters don't seem to be changed at all (I heard Mark Streit is now named, but he is still Gilles Imhof and Theodore, Markov are RFAs) but the Game Setup says I am running 2.1.2.

Any help would be appreciated.
Did you start a brand new game or is this an existing save? You need to start from scratch to have the new data take effect.

[Booj]

Did you start a brand new game or is this an existing save? You need to start from scratch to have the new data take effect.

I did start a new game... which makes it even odder.

[Hurst2112]

I posted this on the SI forums, but I downloaded and installed the Mac patch with no problems, but when I load the game, the rosters don't seem to be changed at all (I heard Mark Streit is now named, but he is still Gilles Imhof and Theodore, Markov are RFAs) but the Game Setup says I am running 2.1.2.

Any help would be appreciated.
So, are guys like Zetterberg and Datsyuk still playing for foreign teams? When I updated my PC version, they were on the Wing's roster. I have not updated my Mac yet so I can't verify.

[NoSkillz]

I did start a new game... which makes it even odder.Very strange...

You said that Mark Streit's scrambled name was the same as it was with the old version of the game?

I'm almost positive that when Riz updates builds, the scrambled names change...this leads me to believe that something is up with the Mac Patch...

I'm sure Riz will be around soon...

[Booj]

I took Graeme's advice at the SI forums, and it worked... just had to delete the .dam files.

Thanks for the help

[Hurst2112]

those dam files!

[sachmo71]

those dam files!


Where can i get some dam bait?

[Hurst2112]

Where can i get some dam bait?


http://www.occdsb.on.ca/~sel/rideau/images/beaver_final.gif

bait's away!

[scooter]

Some of the attributes for the Stars have not been changed since I was researching for the first EHM. Just odd.

EDIT: This is *NOT* an accurate statment. I just can't figure some of them out, but they have changed. Apologies to the researchers! :)

That was probably my fault. I tried to help you with the Stars on the first version of the game (and probably just made more work for you and Juni). I didn't touch them in EHM2005 though. This time around I was the fire-stomper for Atlanta.

[sachmo71]

That was probably my fault. I tried to help you with the Stars on the first version of the game (and probably just made more work for you and Juni). I didn't touch them in EHM2005 though. This time around I was the fire-stomper for Atlanta.


Did you like Atlanta better?

My big gripe (which I didn't change either, btw) is Antti Miettinen and his 20 checking. Because of this, I always keep him on my 4th line.

[scooter]

Did you like Atlanta better?

My big gripe (which I didn't change either, btw) is Antti Miettinen and his 20 checking. Because of this, I always keep him on my 4th line.

Atlanta was ok. Once again, I came on as a substitute researcher as the first person flaked. Most of the work had already been done for me and the database of players in general had already had one round of research done on them (for the first EHM). So it was mainly inputing histories and tracking down where guys were playing overseas during the lockout.

When SI were updating the database for the NA release, nobody asked me to do anything more, so my contributions to this game are pretty minimal. To tell you the truth, I haven't really looked at their roster much since the original game came out. I was just trying to help out with the game however I could.

As far as their roster in general goes, they have some impressive young talent (early 1st round draft picks will do that for you), but they are a little heavy on foreign talent for my tastes. Being up here in the NW though, I don't get a lot of opportunities to watch them play.

Antti Miettinen has a 16 for checking in my current game of EHM2005, so it may be one of those attributes that the computer generates with each new game. My understanding of the way he plays: he's a bit of a 2-way player but definitely not that physical. He should probably be more of a 12.

I hope you can get past that though and enjoy the rest of the game :D

[sachmo71]

Atlanta was ok. Once again, I came on as a substitute researcher as the first person flaked. Most of the work had already been done for me and the database of players in general had already had one round of research done on them (for the first EHM). So it was mainly inputing histories and tracking down where guys were playing overseas during the lockout.

When SI were updating the database for the NA release, nobody asked me to do anything more, so my contributions to this game are pretty minimal. To tell you the truth, I haven't really looked at their roster much since the original game came out. I was just trying to help out with the game however I could.

As far as their roster in general goes, they have some impressive young talent (early 1st round draft picks will do that for you), but they are a little heavy on foreign talent for my tastes. Being up here in the NW though, I don't get a lot of opportunities to watch them play.

Antti Miettinen has a 16 for checking in my current game of EHM2005, so it may be one of those attributes that the computer generates with each new game. My understanding of the way he plays: he's a bit of a 2-way player but definitely not that physical. He should probably be more of a 12.

I hope you can get past that though and enjoy the rest of the game :D


I have. I wonder why I have him as a 20 still?

[JeffR]

When SI were updating the database for the NA release, nobody asked me to do anything more, so my contributions to this game are pretty minimal.

By way of explanation there, the research team was cut down to a smaller team of experienced head researchers for the North American update. With the deadlines much shorter than usual, we needed people who had proven repeatedly they could get the work done on-time and accurately. With the bigger team, most team researchers do fine, but there are inevitably problems with a small number of people not getting things back in by deadlines and/or making serious mistakes that require a fair bit of work to fix. Wasn't time to deal with that stuff this time around.

Regardless, there probably would have been latitude for the selected HR's to get more team researcher input if the minieditor hadn't been broken (broken even more than usual, that is) as a result of some changes in the database format. Getting it fixed would have required borrowing manpower from the FM team, and with them in their final push before release, that wasn't going to happen. So that ruled out most outside help, except in a few cases where researchers were willing to take on entire leagues and could get a Non-Disclosure Agreement (required of anybody getting a full-league database file) signed and back to SI very quickly.

[scooter]

Jeff, don't worry. My feelings weren't hurt because I didn't get to work on the NA release. I figured that you guys had shrunk the researchers down to streamline the process. I'm not even hurt that my name is in the credits in the wrong division (I'm under Pacific from my work on the first EHM). I looked at it as a "temp" job anyway.

You guys have done a great job with the game. And I know how much work it is to work on just one team; I can only imagine what working on a whole league must be like (especially the obscure leagues that don't have much online documentation). So thank you Jeff, Riz and the whole EHM crew.

[Apathetic Lurker]

Found one copy at a gamstop in Buffalo(boulevard mall for those interested) even though the semi-skilled monkey told me it was "delisted" over the phone.Lucky for me the little woman and rugrat HAD to go there for Christmas shopping. I hope Gamestop gets it sh*t together soon.

Excellent game.So very nice to actually see a real manual thats not 1 page folded over . Now to figure out what the hells happening. I 'm in game 27 with the sabres and on my 7th goalie. All of them are falling apart and I got some 20 yr old shmoe from russia letting them in bythe bucketful. sheesh! 0-17 since Biron, Miller AND Mika crapped out for the year. :mad:

[Galaril]

Great game. I had a couple of Noob questions. First, How to you find the shortlist and what does it do. I have seen alot of players that were in the news as released but , when I went to sign them or at least offer them an invite to training camp no option was available for it. Also, how do you cut players or is that up to your coaches to make the cut choices in camp. next, what do the numbers under players currnet form mean on the roster screen.? For example, 8-7-7-6? Thanks for any help from anyone on these.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Great game. I had a couple of Noob questions. First, How to you find the shortlist and what does it do. I have seen alot of players that were in the news as released but , when I went to sign them or at least offer them an invite to training camp no option was available for it. Also, how do you cut players or is that up to your coaches to make the cut choices in camp. next, what do the numbers under players currnet form mean on the roster screen.? For example, 8-7-7-6? Thanks for any help from anyone on these.
You can find the shortlist on the "scouting" screen. The button is there. You assign players to the shortlist either by clicking on it or by scouting them. It tends to be used as a list of players your particularly interested in either to trade for or draft. I never use it. Ever. Others do.

Are you playing as a NHL team? If so, and a player is released by an NHL team you should be able to sign them. If they are released by a non-NHL it is possible that some other NHL team has their NHL rights which would make them unsignable. There are also a certain group of players you can't invite to camp. College players for example and some others. I don't know specifically why, but I am sure it has something to do with rules regarding playing for a "professional" team. Even via a tryout.

Those numbers are the player's "ratings" over the course of the last few games. Each game a player is rated by your coaches from 1-10. Most of the time it should be around a "7". Anything from 5 or lower is pretty bad. Anything over 8 is pretty good.

[Hurst2112]

Those numbers are the player's "ratings" over the course of the last few games. Each game a player is rated by your coaches from 1-10. Most of the time it should be around a "7". Anything from 5 or lower is pretty bad. Anything over 8 is pretty good.

Here is a strange question...

if you have something like this: 8-9-7-10-6, was the earlier game the 8? Does the sequence go left to right or right to left? I think the 6 would be the last game I played, the 8 would be the first. I am not sure. I want to know because I like switching up lines and seeing how a person (Crosby) does with different line combos. Its nice to do this at a glance on the player's screen.

other than that, it's a pretty stupid question.

[Coder]

Here is a strange question...

if you have something like this: 8-9-7-10-6, was the earlier game the 8? Does the sequence go left to right or right to left? I think the 6 would be the last game I played, the 8 would be the first. I am not sure. I want to know because I like switching up lines and seeing how a person (Crosby) does with different line combos. Its nice to do this at a glance on the player's screen.

other than that, it's a pretty stupid question.

the rightmost number is the last game played.. It's an old CM/FM way of displaying "form".

[sachmo71]

oldest is to the left

[st.cronin]

Is there a way to clear your shortlist? There was in an older version, but I can't find it on this version. I use my shortlist for the draft, and after the draft, I need to clear it.

[JeffR]

Is there a way to clear your shortlist? There was in an older version, but I can't find it on this version. I use my shortlist for the draft, and after the draft, I need to clear it.

Scouting screen, select the shortlist, then Search-Clear.

[bhlloy]

I started a serious game with the Wild post-patch, and this is such an addictive game. Just got through the draft where I picked up homegrown talent Phil Kessel, and heading into my second season we are young and absolutely stocked. Still very inexperienced, but tons of great young players who are getting better all the time. Looking forward to seeing what guys like Pouliot, Kulyash, Burns and O'Sullivan can do in their first full years.

Riz, Jeff or any of the SI Guys... a question. Is it possible there is a bug in the way fatigue is calculated from practice?
I've noticed a few times that the guys who are tired on the more intensive conditioning schedules I set up haven't been guys I would have expected, but now I'm in the offseason the only guy I have consistently tired is Denis Kulyash, who is the only one of my players to have a 20 for stamina. He's consistently at 55-60%, and none of my other players seem to get much below 70%. Wierd. He is young at 23 and this is his first year over from Russia, but I have 18 year old guys on the same schedule who are above 90%.

[st.cronin]

I started a serious game with the Wild post-patch, and this is such an addictive game. Just got through the draft where I picked up homegrown talent Phil Kessel, and heading into my second season we are young and absolutely stocked. Still very inexperienced, but tons of great young players who are getting better all the time. Looking forward to seeing what guys like Pouliot, Kulyash, Burns and O'Sullivan can do in their first full years.

Riz, Jeff or any of the SI Guys... a question. Is it possible there is a bug in the way fatigue is calculated from practice?
I've noticed a few times that the guys who are tired on the more intensive conditioning schedules I set up haven't been guys I would have expected, but now I'm in the offseason the only guy I have consistently tired is Denis Kulyash, who is the only one of my players to have a 20 for stamina. He's consistently at 55-60%, and none of my other players seem to get much below 70%. Wierd. He is young at 23 and this is his first year over from Russia, but I have 18 year old guys on the same schedule who are above 90%.

I think that might be a clue that a player is injury-prone; I've seen that with guys who are always getting banged up, they also get more tired from practice.

[bhlloy]

I think that might be a clue that a player is injury-prone; I've seen that with guys who are always getting banged up, they also get more tired from practice.

:( I hope that isn't the case. I was planning to build my D around this guy. On the plus side, I just managed to get Willie Mitchell back for a 7th round pick, after I dealt him to the Ducks just before the deadline last year for a 3rd. Pretty decent investment and he's a good defensive top 4 d-man.

[Hurst2112]

i just realized something post latest patch...

brett hull isn't around! what is up with that?

[Marc Vaughan]

Either injury prone or very hard-working, you'll notice industrious players get tired more quickly than lazy players (makes sense if you think about it) - but then they also do more ..

[Blade6119]

One of the biggest turnoffs for me from the first installment, and subsequently the reason i have still yet to purchase the newest installment was that in 4-5 the draft was dominated by canadaian...to the point of where those players became the norm no other nation could even come close to competing...id have drafts where the first two rounds would go by with maybe one or two non canadians getting drafted...Is this any better in the newer version...and it has to be 4-5 years down the road as 3 years is still players in the game at start...Anyone have any thoughts on if the talent is better spread around this time?

[Young Drachma]

I'm gonna check this out now. If it's cool as it sounds, I'm gonna buy it. Seems exciting.

[JeffR]

One of the biggest turnoffs for me from the first installment, and subsequently the reason i have still yet to purchase the newest installment was that in 4-5 the draft was dominated by canadaian...to the point of where those players became the norm no other nation could even come close to competing...id have drafts where the first two rounds would go by with maybe one or two non canadians getting drafted...Is this any better in the newer version...and it has to be 4-5 years down the road as 3 years is still players in the game at start...Anyone have any thoughts on if the talent is better spread around this time?

20 Canadians in the first round in the 2006 draft in the game I'm playing right now, 23 in 2007, 13 ranked in the top 30 for 2008. Averages out to 18, there were 17 taken in the real 2005 draft.

[Blade6119]

20 Canadians in the first round in the 2006 draft in the game I'm playing right now, 23 in 2007, 13 ranked in the top 30 for 2008. Averages out to 18, there were 17 taken in the real 2005 draft.

But those are the first 3 years so those are all guys in the game originally...it doesnt show for like 4-5 years

[JeffR]

But those are the first 3 years so those are all guys in the game originally...it doesnt show for like 4-5 years

In previous games, the number of Canadians drafted seems to hit a low point in 2008-2010, then stabilizes after that to a realistic level. The European and American databases are deeper this time around, so that seems to keep things in the right ballpark.

[henry296]

i just realized something post latest patch...

brett hull isn't around! what is up with that?


Since he retired early in the season, they must have removed him from the database.

[Young Drachma]

The game is fun. But I haven't quite figured it all out yet. It's fairly intensive, with all the detail and such.

[MizzouRah]

The game is fun. But I haven't quite figured it all out yet. It's fairly intensive, with all the detail and such.
You got that right. Try the walkthrough, it's really helped me quite a bit.

[sachmo71]

Since he retired early in the season, they must have removed him from the database.


Hmmm, do you guys see Scott Stevens and Al MacInnis in your database? Perhaps I'm having one of those strange problems where players are showing up when they shouldn't, but if Hull was removed, these two most definately should have been removed, as well.

[Sweed]

You got that right. Try the walkthrough, it's really helped me quite a bit.

I'll second that. I used the walkthrough while trying out the game, it was a big help getting me up and running. Once I had a handle on things I pulled the trigger and bought the game and am loving it. I'm 13 games into my first serious career (coach 'em all one at a time like my ootp games) and find my self having some success at 7-3-3 with the Bruins.

One other side effect is I never had the desire to try FM as football (soccer)is not my thing and the game seemed so complex. But since learning to play an SI game using hockey, which I do understand and like, I decided to give FM a try. I found the only copy of wwsm 2006 at the Mankato gamestop and bought it today. Just what I need, another game :D The wife will be thrilled.

[MizzouRah]

Hmmm, do you guys see Scott Stevens and Al MacInnis in your database? Perhaps I'm having one of those strange problems where players are showing up when they shouldn't, but if Hull was removed, these two most definately should have been removed, as well.
I would have to look, but I don't think they are in my current career that I just started.

[riz]

I would have to look, but I don't think they are in my current career that I just started.

Some retired players might be in the starting database...as "retired players". Which means they will most likely look to become scouts/coaches etc. but will not resume their playing careers. The ones that are not there at all, are totally retired naturally.

[MizzouRah]

Some retired players might be in the starting database...as "retired players". Which means they will most likely look to become scouts/coaches etc. but will not resume their playing careers. The ones that are not there at all, are totally retired naturally.
Couldn't I offer MacInnis enough money to come back for ol Blue? :D

[Hurst2112]

Couldn't I offer MacInnis enough money to come back for ol Blue? :D

His heart's in Calgary.

;)

[MizzouRah]

His heart's in Calgary.

;)
:eek:

[Hurst2112]

:eek:

yeah, i deserve to get kicked in the nuts for that.

[sachmo71]

I would have to look, but I don't think they are in my current career that I just started.


Sorry folks, my bad. I was still in 2.1.1

They are gone now. Best defenseman out there now is...Drake Berehowsky? :eek:

[Hurst2112]

Hey guys,

anybody know where I can get the cool facepacks that look like old hockey cards? The site that I got them from seems to be gone. JeffR, did you have something to do with these? I thought you did. I know that there was a time where they were being moved from one host to another. Just wondering if that ever finished.

thanks

[Sweed]

Hey guys,

anybody know where I can get the cool facepacks that look like old hockey cards? The site that I got them from seems to be gone. JeffR, did you have something to do with these? I thought you did. I know that there was a time where they were being moved from one host to another. Just wondering if that ever finished.

thanks

I don't have time to look through the site right now but I belive you can find them here.

http://www.ehmtheblueline.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

Hope that helps.

[Hurst2112]

that's the one. i don't think it's linked from the affiliates section on si.com anymore.

thanks!

[Hurst2112]

another question here...

what is the penalty for going over the salary cap? i have been over by as much as 10 million dollars. once, during the last half of the season, i was forced to get rid of some players. it was pretty hard. i think i had to trade somebody away. still, i was still about 6 million over. the shareholders gave me some money at the end of the year.

my second year, i was over again...the whole season. had to get rid of one guy again and the shareholders gave me more money.

what am i risking for being over the cap? will i be fired? if not, then i can spend til my hearts conent...though it isn't helping my shitty standings. hehe

[Joe Canadian]

Finally made the jump into post-patch land... few questions...

- Is BB really getting more then $4 Mill to play for the Marlies? Where the fuck was this kind of spending when the Baby Leaf were here?

- What are the staff limits now? Is it still 5 coaches, 10 scouts, and 3 trainers?

[Young Drachma]

another question here...

what is the penalty for going over the salary cap? i have been over by as much as 10 million dollars. once, during the last half of the season, i was forced to get rid of some players. it was pretty hard. i think i had to trade somebody away. still, i was still about 6 million over. the shareholders gave me some money at the end of the year.

my second year, i was over again...the whole season. had to get rid of one guy again and the shareholders gave me more money.

what am i risking for being over the cap? will i be fired? if not, then i can spend til my hearts conent...though it isn't helping my shitty standings. hehe

The game wouldn't even let me keep going if I was over the cap. That annoyed me. Where is this walkthrough everyone speaks of? I can't find it.

[MizzouRah]

The game wouldn't even let me keep going if I was over the cap. That annoyed me. Where is this walkthrough everyone speaks of? I can't find it.
PM me your email addy and I'll send it to you.

or email me at tmvolm AT centurytel.net

[sachmo71]

Anyone know what the penatly is for going over the cap?

[Hurst2112]

The game wouldn't even let me keep going if I was over the cap. That annoyed me. Where is this walkthrough everyone speaks of? I can't find it.

It wouldn't let me either. I think the work around I found was to trade Keith Primeau (whom I acquired earlier in the season). He was a 2 million cap hit. I was still over the cap, but the game let me go forward.

Actually, now that I think about it, I can't understand why it did. I would have to hit the continue button and I am not sure if it would have been possible. Grrr, now I wished I would have saved at that spot.

There is a way though. Maybe I got the warning and placed some guys on waivers. They cleared and I could have released them. I know I have done that recently as well.

Either way, my career (starting 3rd with the Pens) has gone pretty shitty. There is certainly no advantage to signing oodles of great players. hehe.

[riz]

Anyone know what the penatly is for going over the cap?

There is no penalty in the game, since no-one really knows for sure what it would be in the real life if it ever happened. However, what the game tries to do, is to prevent teams from playing games before they get back under the cap, ie. force the managers to shed salary if they are over. Rumours for the real life penalties range from big fines to draft picks taken away to games being forfeited. I guess we'll know in time sooner or later.

If you are under the salary floor in the game, you'll pay the difference in penalties every week (again, not sure what the real life penalties would be, as they haven't been made public)

[Hurst2112]

Anyone know what the penatly is for going over the cap?

Your team is featured on OLN each Monday and Tuesday.

[Joe Canadian]

Finally made the jump into post-patch land... few questions...

- Is BB really getting more then $4 Mill to play for the Marlies? Where the fuck was this kind of spending when the Baby Leaf were here?

- What are the staff limits now? Is it still 5 coaches, 10 scouts, and 3 trainers?

Anyone?

[MizzouRah]

Here's the link to the walkthrough: http://www.ehmtheblueline.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=37&func=fileinfo&id=2

Take a look around the site as well, very well maintained and lots of add-ons for EHM.

[JeffR]

Finally made the jump into post-patch land... few questions...

- Is BB really getting more then $4 Mill to play for the Marlies? Where the fuck was this kind of spending when the Baby Leaf were here?

Battaglia's salary's not set in the database, so the game should be choosing an appropriate value, which $4m obviously isn't. Not sure what's happened there, Riz may need to check it.

- What are the staff limits now? Is it still 5 coaches, 10 scouts, and 3 trainers?

Yeah, I don't think that was changed.

[MizzouRah]

What is up with the player bios being way off when talking about how many games a player has played in his carrer for a particular league?

What I mean is, just picking the first guy I see it says he's only played 27 games in the AHL when I can see on his player card he's actually played 101 total games in the AHL??

[Hurst2112]

What is up with the player bios being way off when talking about how many games a player has played in his carrer for a particular league?

What I mean is, just picking the first guy I see it says he's only played 27 games in the AHL when I can see on his player card he's actually played 101 total games in the AHL??


its not something where the past team he played on is 'unknown' or is no longer around is it?

not like i know what i am talking about. just throwing something up on the brain storm dry erase board.

[MizzouRah]

its not something where the past team he played on is 'unknown' or is no longer around is it?

not like i know what i am talking about. just throwing something up on the brain storm dry erase board.
It's not something I've been able to really make sense of.

[MizzouRah]

dola,

Another question for the pros, what do the colors mean when looking at a players ratings? Orange, Red, .. I assume the higher the rating, the color changes?

How can you tell when looking at a prospects ratings, what his potential is? I look at different young defensemen, but how do I know if one is better than the next besides what my scout says? Do stats play a major role? Is there anything like FOF that shows potential?

btw, I have masking on...

Thanks!

[NoSkillz]

dola,

Another question for the pros, what do the colors mean when looking at a players ratings? Orange, Red, .. I assume the higher the rating, the color changes?

How can you tell when looking at a prospects ratings, what his potential is? I look at different young defensemen, but how do I know if one is better than the next besides what my scout says? Do stats play a major role? Is there anything like FOF that shows potential?

btw, I have masking on...

Thanks!
Yeah, the colors are just there to help you differentiate between the higher and lower ratings.

As far as your other question, potential is a hidden attribute in EHM and there is no way to see exactly what this number is like you can in FOF. So you need to utilize your scouting team to help in that regard. Stats certainly play a role too but if you're looking at a guy, it's likely best to get at least two or three opinions on him before making a decision.

Attribute masking doesn't apply at all here - that's just the fancy term for 'Fog of War' - unless the guy has a high world reputation, you'll need to scout him to get information on all of his attributes.

[scooter]

dola,

Another question for the pros, what do the colors mean when looking at a players ratings? Orange, Red, .. I assume the higher the rating, the color changes?

How can you tell when looking at a prospects ratings, what his potential is? I look at different young defensemen, but how do I know if one is better than the next besides what my scout says? Do stats play a major role? Is there anything like FOF that shows potential?

btw, I have masking on...

Thanks!

I don't think I'm much of an expert, but I'll give it a try:

The colors on the attributes are just a visual way to tell the difference between numbers (1-6 white, 7-11 yellow, 12-16 orange, 17-20 red). This can come in handy when you play in the Juniors like I do.

As far as potential goes, I think you are going to have to trust your scouts. There isn't any other fool-proof way of knowing who's going to be good. When I draft in the juniors (where most players have white numbers :) ) I look for players that have high numbers in the attributes that don't seem to change - Aggression, Bravery, Determination, Flair, Work Rate and Balance (I also like players with >10 Acceleration, Speed, Stamina and Strength but those can be developed). Then I look at my scout's rating and the player's stats. This usually whittles down the group.

Edit: I type too slow...

[MizzouRah]

Thanks to the both of you!! Mostly what I thought, which seems more of a challenge than just looking at potential ratings.

[Joe Canadian]

Thanks Jeff!

[Hurst2112]

damn,

was doing really horrible in my 3rd year as pens gm. was in last place in march and was gearing up to trim some fat for the next year.

i had the confidence of the board, but my fans were callin for my head.

i got fired at the end of march. no warning. while the revenue wasn't that great (owners had to inject about 15 million the last offseason), i thought that the owners would give me some warning. they didn't.

i conceded and wasn't going to go back to my last save and beg the board for more time. i don't think it would have mattered anyway. still, it's frustrating to not be asked to get your shit together. anybody else have this happen to them?

by the way, i have found a new job with alaska (ECHL). Funny.

[MizzouRah]

Ok, I need some major help. I just signed a guy off waivers and now have 24 players on my team. I can't play my next game until I'm back down to 23 players.

I can't send anyone down without them going on waivers nor release anyone without them clearing waivers.

So, now what am I supposed to do?

[Ryan S]

So, now what am I supposed to do?
I think you need to put one of your players on waivers then demote him to your AHL team.

[MizzouRah]

I think you need to put one of your players on waivers then demote him to your AHL team.
I've tried that, but I have a game right now, no time to wait the 48 hours for a player to clear waivers.

[Hurst2112]

after you put your guy on waivers, you can take another action and send him down.

[MizzouRah]

after you put your guy on waivers, you can take another action and send him down.
Thanks!!

[Hurst2112]

Thanks!!

no prob...

that was something that bugged me from the original game (freeware version). the signings and movements always took til the next day.

[rewissick]

damn,

was doing really horrible in my 3rd year as pens gm. was in last place in march and was gearing up to trim some fat for the next year.

i had the confidence of the board, but my fans were callin for my head.

i got fired at the end of march. no warning. while the revenue wasn't that great (owners had to inject about 15 million the last offseason), i thought that the owners would give me some warning. they didn't.

i conceded and wasn't going to go back to my last save and beg the board for more time. i don't think it would have mattered anyway. still, it's frustrating to not be asked to get your shit together. anybody else have this happen to them?

by the way, i have found a new job with alaska (ECHL). Funny.

Same thing happened to me, without the cash injection. As Columbus I was going to sneak into the playoffs as the 8th seed in the 07-08 season, but was canned near the end of March of '08. The funny thing was I thought I was going to be fired a month earlier, when I dealt 2 fan favorites away for some help on defense. The press beat the stuffing out of me, but I went on to have a stellar March, and moved up from 10th into 8th on the strength of 4 straight wins. Of course, I guess my slow progress with the team (hadn't gotten to .500 yet) was weighing on the board, and they let me go. I was so bummed out that I haven't even opened the game up since then! :)

[Joe Canadian]

Anyone know when the "no faking" mod comes out?

[sachmo71]

Anyone know when the "no faking" mod comes out?


Soon. Here is the thread talking about it.

http://community.sigames.com/groupee/forums/a/tpc/f/6461934525/m/2812079471/p/2

[Sweed]

This game is still getting the majority of my playing time. Using the Bruins and coaching all of my games and so far I'm in second in the NE division and 4th overall in the east. Just came off a big road win at Ottawa, they were 18-4-2 and all alone in first place. My Bruins were 12-8-5 and in third, what a great feeling when the final buzzer sounded.

A few days before this game I was really getting fed up with my lack of consistent penalty killing. Jonathon Hedstrom was put on the block by the Ducks and I took a look at him. Although he doesn't look like anything spectacular he does appear to be built for penalty killing so I inquire what it would take to get him. The Ducks want my 6th round pick for next year. This is my first attempt at making a trade but it doesn't sound too bad to me. I counter though with an offer of Isbister (little bit of a salary dump and Hedstrom will take his place on the fourht line) and a 6th for Hedstrom and their 5th round pick. The day after the Ottawa game the Ducks accept the trade and it goes through.

I proceed to get a report from two of my coaches about Hedstrom and neither seem to think too highly of him. But since I'm the GM I get to make the call and like the skill set he brings to the team. I insert Hedstrom on the top penalty killing line and we head to Florida for our second consecutive road
game. Right away you can see this guy is doing a good job on the PK. He challenges the play, gets good position, and generally seems to always be where he needs to be.

And then it happens, Leetch poke checks the puck away from a Fla. player and comes up with it. He advances it to Hedstrom who breaks down the left side. While Hedstrom doesn't have great speed he gets a little bit of a head
start on the Fla defenseman and just beats down the ice to the net and proceeds to score our first shorthanded goal of the year! What a rush :)
It ends up being the goal that seals my second straight road win and moves my Bruins into second place in the NE.

Checking players after the game I start to see guys are saying that they like playing for me and trust what I am doing with the team.

What a great game!

Rave over ;)

[Hurst2112]

Im getting very frustrated with this game.

By the way, I figured out the 'over the cap' thing. Call it a cheat if you will but sending your high priced players on waivers seems to allow you to skip past the message "can't proceed until you get below the 39 mil' message. I have done it a few times and it works. Hoping that I won't have to do it anymore...

I am trying to play this game like I do FOF. Limited relationships with my staff and team. Scouting is very minimal. I find myself going through the motions and hoping that I get lucky with a slew of independently good players (little 'cohesion'). It's not working. I guess I was expecting it to but I have to separate myself from that fact.

So now I am at a crossroads. Do I force myself to delve further into the game and be overly in-depth? Or, do I concede to the notion that this game, like FM, is NOT for me in regards to attention span.

I try to take a back seat as far as coaching games and things. However, I now understand that I need to be more involved than I am for my team to succeed. I get frustrated in knowing that I can't just let the game play itself out and expect my high-priced team to make it to the playoffs.

grrr...

I guess I'll give it some more time.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Hurst2112, when I played the game regularly (I'm playing WWSM now), I didn't coach the team. I let my head coach set the lines and everything. I was a GM and a GM only. You can't just sit by, sign high-priced players, and expect to win. At the very least, you need to look at the stats of the players who are playing on your team. If they're not getting it done, find players who are playing well to replace them. Trust me, you can be much more "hands off" with this game than you can with FM, but you do need to evaluate your players fairly regularly. Before you bring more players in, you need to figure out who they're going to replace and if you really need them. There's some work involved, but it doesn't have to be very much work.

[MizzouRah]

Im getting very frustrated with this game.

By the way, I figured out the 'over the cap' thing. Call it a cheat if you will but sending your high priced players on waivers seems to allow you to skip past the message "can't proceed until you get below the 39 mil' message. I have done it a few times and it works. Hoping that I won't have to do it anymore...

I am trying to play this game like I do FOF. Limited relationships with my staff and team. Scouting is very minimal. I find myself going through the motions and hoping that I get lucky with a slew of independently good players (little 'cohesion'). It's not working. I guess I was expecting it to but I have to separate myself from that fact.

So now I am at a crossroads. Do I force myself to delve further into the game and be overly in-depth? Or, do I concede to the notion that this game, like FM, is NOT for me in regards to attention span.

I try to take a back seat as far as coaching games and things. However, I now understand that I need to be more involved than I am for my team to succeed. I get frustrated in knowing that I can't just let the game play itself out and expect my high-priced team to make it to the playoffs.

grrr...

I guess I'll give it some more time.
What Pumpy said. The biggest thing, imo (and I didn't know this without reading the walkthrough) is scouting. Send your scouts out all over the place.

If OOTP v7 is like this as far as scouting goes, then I will be in baseball heaven. The fun is finding those players who nobody knows about and then bringing them aboard and watching them play with someone like Tkachuk. I tweak my lines from time to time, but I let my coach do the coaching as I watch the games from my private box. :)