[Pax25]

First off, I want to say that I like the streamlined tactical system in FHM 5. By this I mean only having to select one role per player, being able to select any role, but at the same time being prevented from playing guys that are clearly "Grinders" (just as an example) from playing as "Snipers" (again, just an example).

Some have said that we should be able to select more roles for Power Plays and Penalty Killing, etc., but personally I think this is unnecessary since it's usually obvious that you want a player to play offensively on the powerplay and defensively on the penalty kill. Adding more roles to select each time a player has to be changed in and out on special teams would simply add a lot of wasted time.

Now for the negative. The main criticism I have now is that you have completely removed the coach's/GM's (i.e.- our) ability to see the appropriateness, familiarity, and interaction with our opponent's current tactics. While this may be taking place "under the hood" somewhere, it seems like it could have been implemented very simply in this version of the game. I felt that while FHM 4 was a bit too complicated for some people and made it necessary to make tons of changes at the start of each game (to maximize your counters), it was heading in the right direction and had some redeemable qualities that should have been built on.

For example, and this is just a suggestion. I think it would be easy to start by adding up a team's total player numbers on the PP, SH, etc. to get a base value in each situation. Then that number could be modified by the team or line's tactics' appropriateness (for the players carrying it out), the team or line's familiarity with the tactic, and what kind of effect it has on your current opponent (and what kind of effect your opponent's tactics are having on you). In practice, each global or line tactic could have three ratings or color codes next to it showing, again, how appropriate this tactic is for the player's you have, how familiar they are with it (i.e.- how long it has been in use), and how much it will act as a counter (i.e.-how many points it will take away from your opponent). I think really emphasizing how familiar a team or line is with a certain tactic and how appropriate it is for those players, will prevent what happened in FHM 4, where you could simply change each of your players' role at the start of each game, and get the maximum countering on your opponent.

I realize the manual attempts to do some of the above, and maybe this is all going on "under the hood", but I think this is something that should be visible since right now there is not a whole lot to do when you choose to coach games because you can't really tell how your team matches up against another, or how they are doing, other than looking and the score and maybe shots on goal. This goes along with my belief that the momentum bar should be brought back as well.

In conclusion, I think the tactics are a bit improved in that they are more streamlined and it allows those players who want to make a defensive "Grinder" play a bit more offensive (by changing his individual setting, just as an example), but by losing the ability to see how tactics interact with the team's players, how much they've practiced them, and how they are affecting your opponent, I believe is taking a step back. Especially, for those of us who really know the game of hockey. While this is still a great game, the tactical system is moving more towards Eastside Hockey Manager, where you can pretty much use any tactic, with any group of players, and not really have a clear picture of how your tactics are doing, except for viewing your wins and losses.

Just some thoughts. Would be interested to know what other players and the developers think.

Thanks.