[JeffR]

Since this will be the last major update for FHM10, we've decided to run a short public beta prior to the official release, so we can catch any significant remaining issues prior to releasing it to everyone (and hopefully avoid the need for one or more unplanned hotfixes.) The public beta is only available for the Steam version of the game - Steam's streamlined release process takes us a fraction of the time that preparing the standalone version does, and gives us the opportunity to get fixes into the game very quickly if necessary.

Right now we're aiming for a full release of the update in about a week, depending on how smoothly the beta process goes.

Please bear in mind, if you opt-in to the beta, that these are test builds and may do unexpected things; there's no guarantee that something unpleasant won't happen to any save you use with the beta version. So, if you want to take part with one of your current saved games, it's best to use the "Save Game As" option on the game's File menu to make a new version of the save and use that, so you don't ruin the "good" copy of your save. And it's probably best not to start a new game you want to continue playing long-term with this beta.

To join the beta:

1. Right-click on FHM10 in your Steam library and select "Properties."
2. Click on "Betas"
3. Under "Enter beta access code to unlock private betas", enter the access code, which is "updatepublicbeta" (no quotes)
4. That should populate the "Select the beta..." box above with the option "public_beta - Public Beta", select that
5. Steam should then automatically update your game. If it doesn't do that, check your update queue; if it's not in there, exit and restart the Steam client and it should appear.

Should you wish to leave the beta, just go back to the Betas page in Properties and on the dropdown menu select None. Steam will then revert you to the current public version of the game. When the final version of the update is ready, the public beta branch will be updated to that one as well, so there'll be no need to change back to get it, although it won't hurt anything if you do.

If you're already one of our internal beta testers, don't join the public beta! You'll lose access to the beta versions we don't release to the public, if we need to do any.

If you find any problems with the beta, particularly fixes that aren't working or unexpected issues arising out of the changes made, continue to report them the usual channels - our boards, the Steam board, or /r/franchisehockey on Reddit, those get checked daily. But, when reporting, please mention that you found the problem while using the public beta.

A note on the rosters: we normally freeze them at, or shortly after, the NHL trade deadline. However, this time around there was an issue with the data we import from Eliteprospects; basically, I used the wrong query and the data was missing some key fields which potentially could have resulted in hundreds (or more) players being placed on teams they left earlier this year. So I had to re-do the whole thing on the day I discovered the problem, March 24. Therefore, the rosters are as of March 24 at the latest; the NHL also has some more recent moves. NHL contracts signed after the deadline (typically by CHL or college players, but also a few Europeans) have been entered as future contracts, so they won't take effect until July 1 in the game. That normally doesn't cause any problems (it's how we enter contract data while working in the "offseason" prior to July 1), so I don't think that's going to break anything in the game, but let us know if you see anything weird happening involving the contracts players who've signed extensions or new contracts with NHL teams from March 9 or later. They should all move over to their NHL team's roster on July 1.

New Features

-the filter dialogs (used on player search, roster screens, etc.) have been rebuilt and now have Load, Save, and Save As options:

• "Save" sets the currently-loaded filters to be the default filter for the screen you're currently looking at - if you make changes and do not save them, they will only be used temporarily for the active screen and will be gone when you leave it. You can have different default filters for the roster view, the search screen, the free agent center, etc.
• "Save As" saves the currently-loaded filters to a file that can be loaded via the "Load" button, allowing you to swap between filters without having to re-enter all the information. Note that if you want to apply a filter to more than one screen, you'll need to load it for each additional screen, then save.
• The reset button, as before, will wipe all your currently-active filters clear and go back to the original defaults (but if you've changed the default filters by using Save, you'll need to save again after the reset to make the reset filter permanent)

-World Cup changes: it's now held in 2027-28 (and every 4 years thereafter), no more North America/Europe teams, and presumably no Russia for the forseeable future, so Slovakia, Germany, and Switzerland fill the missing team spots; the start date has also been moved a little earlier, since it tended to finish too close to the beginning of the NHL season
-csv export now exports player rights (for the leagues that use them only)
-for the csv export function, if the user exporting is in control of a team, the exported player ratings will be those adjusted for the perception of their scouts; this can be switched via a new game setting to always show the unadjusted, real ratings (in the File Menu, Setup/Options screen - this requires that commissioner mode be active
-head coaches and GM's will now improve over time (aside from the user-controlled GM/HC, which already did)
-added Regulation Wins added to the standings screen
-if the user changes a player's position manually (i.e. via right-click, change position) or the player gets a new primary position (due to reaching a 20 rating at a non-primary position), the player's template will now be adjusted to one appropriate for the new position (having the incorrect template was creating issues with things like contract negotiations, since the player would "think" he was still playing the old position
-Lester and Frank Patrick will now automatically jump to the Victoria Senators and Vancouver Millionaires, respectively, if the teams exist on July 1, 1911 (the PCHA was founded and owned by the Patricks, it doesn't make any sense for them to remain in the east when it appears)
-when determing if a player requests a No Movement/No Trade Clause, if the contract will end before the player's 7th season in the league, the player will not request one
-added several period-specific adjustments to on-ice behaviour in 2D mode to reflect historical rules: e.g. forward passing in the offensive zone will be severely curtailed until 1929-30 and in the neutral zone until 1919-20, and there will be very few offsides called until 1929. We plan on expanding this type of thing further in FHM11, to better reflect variations in the game's rules both over time and across leagues, instead of having all the 2D mechanics conform to modern NHL play
-when using create/import Player: if an initial draft is selected, players created before that initial draft will now be added to the draft class

Other Changes

-rosters and ratings updated as of March 24; we've made some improvements in how we record real-life player loans, particularly in Europe, so hopefully there won't be as many of those loaned guys starting back on their original teams
-cliques with a lot of players are now shown on multiple lines, rather than having the last names cut off
-the wording on clique announcements with multiple players will no longer use wording that implies only one player joined
-tournament scouting reports will now exclude players who only played minimally
-when looking at one of the tabs (e.g. final rankings) on the League Scouting screen, if you click on a player and view his profile, then click back out it will now return you to the last tab you were looking at, rather than the first (Future Watch) tab
-players who are traded (and possibly acquired on waivers) are no longer retaining their specific tactics (i.e. from the tactics-players screen) from their previous team
-if a game is started in 1909 with the "draft/generate rookies at 16" option turned off (so the players should generate on their actual team), the NHA teams will now get their players at the correct time
-corrected NHL tiebreaking mechanics
-AI will no longer occasionally exceed the contract limit when the league limit is low (under 40)
-the Goals Against Avg and Save Pct leaders on the autoplay standings screen now use the same rate requirement as the leaderboards to determine which goalies are shown
-if a traded player already has a contracted renewal signed, the new team's AI will no longer negotiate a different renewal
-fixed issue that was reversing the difficulty for teams to sign players away from US college teams - it was too easy to sign lower-end prospects, and too difficult to sign higher-end ones
-fixed bug that was making good college players too likely to enter the transfer portal
-teams in the top-level league (i.e. NHL/top league in a custom setup) will now release the rights to older fringe prospects that are no longer contracted to them
-potential crash if historical game is started in 1916 fixed
-the wrong team popups no longer appear for some teams in youth tournament scouting reports - e.g. the Riga U18 tournament's Central Asia U18 team showing the Peteborough Petes
-when the NHL is created on July 1, 1917, it should now set league rights properly for the players on its teams - all of the players who have NHA league rights for the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, and Ottawa Senators will have their NHA rights set to the same team
-create/import Player: if an initial draft is selected, players created before the draft will now be added to the draft class
-corrected tooltip for Fen. Rel. (Stats: Advanced roster view)
-after choosing the roster for the prospects tournament for a KHL team, clicking the "Prospects Tournament" version of the continue button will now continue the game properly
-when adding teams to a custom league, if there are already teams in the league, the local broadcast revenue amount for each new team is now set to the average amount of all the existing teams rather than starting at 0
-on draft screens, if a view with player ratings (e.g. "Skater Ratings") is chosen, the player mouseover popups now appear for the player name instead of for the first attribute listed
-teams in the one-goalie years (generally prior to 1964) will no longer replace the starter during blowout losses
-made a number of adjustments to rebalance stats in 2D mode, particularly lowering the number of shots and goals
-the Goals Against Avg and Save Pct leaders on the autoplay standings screen now use the same rate requirement as the leaderboards to determine which goalies are shown
-if a traded player already has a contracted renewal signed, the new team's AI will no longer negotiate a different renewal
-fixed issue that was reversing the difficulty for teams to sign players away from US college teams - it was too easy to sign lower-end prospects, and too difficult to sign higher-end ones
-fixed bug that was making good college players too likely to enter the transfer portal
-teams in the top-level league (i.e. NHL/top league in a custom setup) will now release the rights to older fringe prospects that are no longer contracted to them
-potential crash if historical game is started in 1916 fixed
-the wrong team popups no longer appear for some teams in youth tournament scouting reports
-corrected tooltip for Fen. Rel. (Stats: Advanced roster view)
-after choosing the roster for the prospects tournament for a KHL team, clicking the "Prospects Tournament" version of the continue button will now continue the game properly
-when adding teams to a custom league, if there are already teams in the league, the local broadcast revenue amount for each new team is now set to the average amount of all the existing teams rather than starting at 0
-on draft screens, if a view with player ratings (e.g. "Skater Ratings") is chosen, the player mouseover popups now appear for the player name instead of for the first attribute listed
-teams in the one-goalie years (generally prior to 1964) will no longer replace the starter during blowout losses
-added missing international player stats
-fixed incorrect naming for some historical international and farm teams in the first 10-20 seasons (of a 1909 start)
-various small text fixes
-fixed incorrect text options being shown for some media responses