Franchise Hockey Manager 2 Release info + Feature list
 

Earlier this year we decided to move the release of FHM 2015 back (and rename it FHM 2 to avoid confusion). We want the new version to be the basis for a strong hockey manager game, growing and improving with every update and version. It became clear to us that the game was not what we expect from the game, so based on the lessons we learned in the past we think it is in the best interest of the game to move it back.

Estimated Release Date: late May 2015

So basically it is either a late 2014/15 or early 2015/16 release. ;) Whatever you call it, the game will ship with 2014/15 season data and get regular data updates throughout the summer with a final "Season Start" 2015/16 update around NHL Opening Night.

After FHM 2 we will shoot for new releases in September/October (so e.g. FHM 3 release in September/October 2016).

A short note regarding the last 2014 patch: it still is scheduled to be released before FHM 2 is released and contains the Match Engine update alongside with an updated 2014/15 roster set and many bug fixes. Please don't swamp this thread with questions on this topic, it will be available as beta patch as soon as we are happy with our internal testing.

Franchise Hockey Manager 2 in many ways will be a complete overhaul on the original, with many avenues of the game improved and tweaked.

Here are some of the highlights for the upcoming game:

1. 2014/15 and 2015/16 season data: The game will feature over 23 playable leagues, as well as a great deal of non-playable leagues. The game will ship with 2014/15 data and then be updated before the 2015/16 season starts with a new roster set to help gamers get the most up-to-date experience.

2. Completely overhauled graphic user interface and navigation: FHM 2 will have a completely new interface, which suits the complex world of hockey much better. Our two goals for this year’s game were to make the game look nicer and make navigating in the game as easy as possible. In our opinion, we have made big steps in both areas.

3. FaceGen: For the first time, FHM will ship with FaceGen support. This brings much more life to the game. We have models in place for skaters, goalies and staff, including changing colors of helmets based on the team the player is on.

4. Completely re-designed Game Engine: We ripped out the old engine and built this very important part of the game brand new, from the ground up. With the new engine, every second of a game is simulated and the engine keeps track of exactly which zones the puck and all players are, at all times. This allows us to simulate the flow of a hockey game much better than before, with each event playing out through the engine. From player passing or moving the puck up the ice, to faceoffs that matter in what zone they occur, dump-in’s, clear attempts, puck battles on the board, breakaways, and many events - it will all be an intricate part of the new simulation engine.
Note: Big parts of the new match engine will be available for FHM 2014 before the FHM 2 release. FHM 2 will feature a tweaked and refined version of the initial release of the match engine.

5. Game Rating: FHM 2 features a new way for you to evaluate the performance of your players - the Game Rating (GR). During a game, each event (good or bad) will change the GR, so you always know how well a player performs on the ice. Since the calculation includes the role of the player and the situation on the ice, you can get a pretty good picture of the performance. Not all players are goal scorers and will have their names show in the score sheet - now you can accurately track how everyone is contributing to your team’s success or failure - from your stay-at-home defensemen to your grinding 4th line forwards.

6. Redesigned Fictional Mode: We have removed the fictional mode from FHM 2014 and replaced it with a new version that is much more streamlined and stable. Now you can play with just one league (or add major junior and/or a farm team level if you like) and form it to your likings by changing selected rules and options (which stay in a sensible range - so no Hobbit league on Mars).

7. League Expansion: Before a season you are now able to expand any league you want by two teams. Want to bring the NHL to Las Vegas? Or bring a team back to Quebec? Go for it!

8. Basic Online League Support: Use FHM 2 to play an online league with your friends. GM’s can upload team files (or draft lists, for example) to the commissioner, who then simulates the game forward, before uploading a new league file. In addition the game produces CSV outputs you can use to generate a web page for your league if you wish. Prove your mettle as a GM against some of the other sharp minds who are fans of FHM!

9. Pre-season games: Need to make some tough roster decisions to get your team ready for the start of the season? Before the regular season starts, use these games to prepare your team for the regular season and find out who will make the squad.

10. Head coaches: It is now possible to hire a head coach for your team and play as GM only.

11. Historical changes: We’ve added new historical seasons to the game, so you can start even further in the past. In addition, you can now continue your game when reaching the last historical year and turn your game into a fictional league. We’ve added historical dollar values and a season preview, so you always know the situation for every season you are just about to start.

12. Greatly expanded news section: We added many additional news types and expanded the text of all news to give you more immersion and help bring your league to life.

13. There are many more changes and additions to the game (listed are just a small number):
- New tactics system
- New player development system
- New training system
- New player roles
- New job safety system
- New player happiness system
- Retiring players can now become staff - is your former star forward your next head coach?
- Revised staff contracts
- New player fatigue system
- New player consistency system
- Line chemistry
- GM and Coach scores
- All-Star game added
- Completely revised league/team/player history
- Redesigned screens (such as lines, tactics, manager-home and playoff screens)
- Extended draft logs
- New logo templates

Expansion? Is that just for one season,then the Leagues stay the same size or can you add two teams per season?

Any word on price and steam availability?

As of now (but that can change before release) you can have more then one expansion for a league.

The game will be available on Steam. The full price of FHM 2 will be the same as last year ($40) but during the first week it will be discounted to $30.

I'm probably not buying FHM2 after the issues FHM1 had, so you'll hear back from me in a year and a half.

Will Expansion be available with Historical Leagues/WHA?

Will the WHA still disband after the 1978-79 season(except for Edmonton,Winnipeg,Hartford,Quebec) or will be able to make the disbanded WHA teams NHL expansion teams?

Will making player transactions be easier on Version # 2?

Ok cool, I guess.:rolleyes:

No and no.

I know you have a very special way to play this games (saw your questions on the BTS forum as well) but I fear (at least in the near future) FHM will not have many features you like and ask for. Our focus for the game seems to be a lot different at the moment. Hope you still can enjoy the game.

I haven't even read this yet. I'm just staring at the list with my mouth agape. I'm so excited I might cry, I don't care that I'm at work.

Awesome, will definitely be buying on day 1.

No Hobbit league on Mars? What about the EHL on Endor? Basically the same as NHL. Some Wookies and stuff will appear as very tall players. Does FHM 2 have the ability to add nations like OOTP? Will the helmets just be team colors or will logos on the team appear on them? Will the jerseys show? and if so are they compatible with ones from OOTP?

Game Systems Discussions?
 

Just got to reading through this, very exciting. I have a lot of things I want to know more about. But instead of just flooding this thread I'll just ask one thing:

Can we expect Jeff (or someone else from dev) to post "Game System Discussion" threads like last year? I found them very useful in understanding the game and how to get the best out of it. I hope we will see some more of them, and that they will answer some things you couldn't go into detail about on here.

Sounds great....!!!

Can't wait to see it and I hope it's a very successful launch.

I'm such a sucker.....lol

STILL NO ACCURATE SALARY CAP.

all i want is a daily salary cap, that is removed during the playoffs, just like real hockey.

how on earth can we simulate a season without a realistic salary cap?

wont buy. insanely disappointed.

So excited for this! Really looking forward to experiencing these changes :D

Only question I have: will the FHM 14 patch finally fix the Mac license issue??

How do you have any idea about the salary cap and how it will work in FHM 2 without having played the game?

haters will hate, I for one am super excited for everything! Bring on FHM 2 :flowers: :)

In terms of the number of teams, how small or big can fictional leagues be?

Here...take my money!!!

I love you! If I pay you now will you release the game sooner? How about if I buy two copies?

As few as 6 and as many as 30 in the default fictional setups.

I like how you can hirer a Head Coach or Retired person can join a Staff or Front Office.
League E. Is needed.
Is League Structure turned so we can move Teams around or import Historical Teams?
Can we randomize Cities and pick Regions? Have Leagues feed into like the NHL for Draft? World Templates so we can add them to like a NHL League? Trade with other Leagues?

People are fully welcome of course to have features that are super important to them, or bad feelings if things don't work how they think they should. And I know there are issues with FHM 2014 as there are always going to be bumps in the road in any game and especially a new franchise ...

But, dismissing a game that you haven't even played yet and just presuming it won't work as intended is a bit over the top I think.

Can you have multiple GM's in an offline league, or would you have to play online if you wanted to have multiple GM's control multiple teams?

By the way, it sounds great so far. :)

Great News! FHM 2 Is coming out much earlier than I thought! I have a question, will the new training system affect historical leagues too in a way where there is more randomness in terms of development? Also, will the AI pick better players in the historical draft? lol, Great work I'm really happy with the news!

Are you talking multiple real humans, playing on one offline league file?

Or one human, being GM of multiple teams in one league?

Either way, I am inclined to think neither is possible.. but I will let Sebastian chime in conclusively on that.

There is of course option in the historical mode to have the players perform more closely to how they did in real life, or to simply let the FHM game engine take over, which would lead to more randomness and deviation away from exact history of course.

Sebastian will have to confirm whether the training system will be fully implemented for historical too.

And on your last point, yes, we would certainly hope the AI will perform better in all aspects of the game, including historical drafting. That stuff is of course constantly being worked on and tweaked and will continue to be so before release, you can be assured.

Great news! I'm sold! The historical game was too predictable in the old version and now I can have more fun with historical and definitely want to try letting the FHM engine take over for more randomness and deviation. I always wanted that and that's going to make Historical worth playing! Thank you!

Sounds good! I'm glad to see you've concentrated on the basics, if things work out as well as they sound this should be a much more satisfying release.
And late May? Earlier than I was expecting!

Very happy to hear that expansion teams made it in, I'd love to get some more details on how that works. Is there an expansion draft? If I control a team other than the new one do I have to protect players?

Yes and Yes.

Will there be a salary cap in this game? Will it be the same or similar to the NHL. Will it be customisable?

International tournaments won't make to FHM2? :(

1) Will there be a demo? I don't mind the $30 price tag at all if I can try the game out first.

2) All the talk about online multiplayer, but how's the hotseat multiplayer? Is it in the game?

was disappointed with version 1 but was glad to give my money to support the game ... will buy version 2

I am really excited! Day 1 for me for sure!

Will expansion teams be automatically assigned to divisions ?

What about playoffs after expansion? Still the same number of teams in the playoffs or will more teams be added,

Regarding customization:

As noted a few times in the past: our main priority for FHM at this point is the modern day (day to day) game mode (much as you would play EHM/FM) as that is the most played game mode in FHM by far. We don't ignore historical/fictional and customization completely, but they are not our main priority. I will ask Cole to write a "Road to Release" article (with our help) on the topic of customization, so you know what you can expect from FHM2 and what not.

I'll definitely write up a blog entry down the road detailing the expansion aspect of the game which will detail all of this. Truth be told I haven't yet got around to trying this feature out in game yet so I can't say for sure, but I do believe there is the draft and player protection. The playoff format would stay at 16 teams.

There is a customisable salary cap in the game.

1) I don't believe that's in the plans at this time. Sebastian can correct me if I'm wrong.


2) Truth be told, I've never in my life been interested in this style of play and never really tried it out, but I do see you can add more than one manager to a new game, so in theory I believe this works. I can try it out tonight to see how it does actually work but I believe in theory it is possible.

Great, thank you. Ever since Hockey League Simulator 2 in the early/mid-90s, we've had some great multiplayer GM weekends at my place with some friends, so it's obviously a slightly bigger thing for me than it is for you. ;)
Online multiplayer is never the same, since you can't punch people when they beat you.

Hey Seb, great news ;)

I only have 1 question - just curious if it´s also possible to play the historical mode online ?

has ai trading been fixed/revamped in fhm 2
 

i remember simming a bunch of seasons in fhm 2014 and remembering the ai not trading draft picks or putting little value in draft picks (especially 1st and 2nd round picks)...has this been looked at for fhm 2?

The trade AI is constantly being looked at, tested and improved and that will continue right up until release.

I recall one of my early tests of a trade, I did need to include a 1st round pick in a trade to get Nathan McKinnon from the Avs, so... the AI seemed to value it in that case.

First of all, sorry for my english.
FHM 2 sounds great!!! Even FHM was not the game i expected, i am glad spending my money for it. FHM 2 is a day 1 buy.

One question.
Will there be any other languages, like german, russian, french etc.?

ai trading
 

i was more concerned about when a computer gm trades with another computer gm....

...keep up the great work!!...really looking forward to the release of fhm 2 and the patch for fhm 2014