I have a bunch of things I would love to see, which is going to make this sound too critical, so I'll put the good bit in bold up front:
This is easily the best hockey sim I've ever played. This is the first hockey sim I've played since Wayne Gretzky Hockey 2 where I made it more than about 20 hours in before quitting in frustration. I love this game! If I did not, I would not care about improving it.
So now the things I would like to see in FHM7:
Quote:
Improved tactical interaction, not guesswork
...
Improved usability - less fiddly clicking to make tactical and line changes etc, going back and forth between screens
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Yup, both of these. Tactics: Every game I get told what the opponents general tactical settings are (offensive / defensive, physical yes / no) but not mine, and I can set mine in detail (with notes like "Weak against Funnel") but no indication where I might find out that the opponent is using "Funnel." I feel like there must be some tactical point to having a guy in a specific role (Defensive / crease clearing / old school defenseman) but am unclear what it is. And it feels like the system is not remembering my tactical instructions if I set them in the game screen instead of the practice one??
Fiddly bits: Have the checked boxes not refresh moving between roster screens (or let me open a second window). ie.,
I want to see only my centers (unchecks five boxes). Now let me see the lines. Now back to the roster, No, I only want to see the centers (unchecks five boxes). Now go to lines to set my top three centers. Now back to the roster before I choose my fourth liner. No, I only want to see the centers (unchecks five boxes) ... .
Better feedback about crucial steps ... like waiver day. You get a message that says your minor league players are going to need to clear waivers; not that it's the one day a year that the waiver wire is active. There's a message about the amateur draft age changing to 20, but nothing to indicate that means there will be
no players available in the draft that year (and yes I did trade "up" for a draft pick that year ... but it was a really great trade).
Information on trades ... I keep hearing that I almost have a deal, just a little more. Then I add something and get the same message. My record is six improvements before I gave up. There are a couple of hints that work really well ("We're not giving up a high draft pick that cheap" and "We just got this guy so we're not letting him go right away"). More of this please!
I would like to see more options for general league setup. One of the best parts of OOTP is the ability to play any scenario. I would like to use any players (historical, current) in a custom league, for instance, or a mix of historical & fictional. I would like to build a relegation league (I really, really want to start with the 1917 NHL/PCHA setup and turn it into an NHL as the premier league with the PCHA as the relegated league, develop them over time and be able to build a "what if" scenario that way. I'm pretty sure I can figure out how in OOTP and not in FHM).
I would like the "Challenge" mode to kick in after I've had a chance to finish the league setup in detail. Let me build exactly the league / inaugural draft / amateur draft structure I want, then let me get fired if the "owner" chooses ... .
In any draft, there should be SOME information in the scouting screen. I have an NHL-level staff and all they can tell me is a guy is two stars and has potential to be three stars? Draft day is when I should be shaping my team (ie, a fast/skilled team vs. a grinder-heavy one). Can't do that if I have no idea who's who ... this is especially frustrating because the game already has the ideal system (scouting levels A through E) to be able to provide
some but not perfect information.
I would like a better manual / tutorial. I'm about 60 hours played in, have ticked the spousal unit off because I'm ignoring her for a computer game, and I have still just started to figure basic systems out.
Fix the nervous tic in the pbp / highlights text where, if it repeats a line or two of text verbatim the team will always score.
Fix the nervous tic in the pbp / highlights text where, if it repeats a line or two of text verbatim the team will always score. Even if it takes another dozen lines of highlights to do so. That's at least as bad as the one I've seen mentioned where the penalty clock disappears before the highlights get to the goal.
To repeat:
This is easily the best hockey sim I've ever played. This is the first hockey sim I've played since Wayne Gretzky Hockey 2 where I made it more than about 20 hours in before quitting in frustration. I love this game! If I did not, I would not care about improving it.
Thanks!