FHM12 Feedback

Empach · 02-27-2026, 09:47 PM

Hello, I'll start by saying I'm really happy that you've been putting out this game for 12 editions. Hoping it continues on for many more to come. I don't play all the time but when that itch to run a franchise comes along its always nice to load up FHM.

I am playing a modern NHL game, this time as the Leafs. I've encountered a few situations that you can hopefully look into at some point in the future.

First, I got the news notice that John Tavares was considering retiring. I wanted to keep him and he was going to be a UFA so I signed him to an extension. Come July 1st he still retired. This is just one example, but I've seen it happen in past version of FHM. I would recommend that if the game has decided a player is definitely retiring he should refuse to negotiate a contract extension and just say "I am planning to retire".
I'm fine with a player still retiring even after signing an extension but it should be a low chance. Maybe this is already being accounted for but I wanted to mention it.

Second, during the June 23 signing window I identified a number of players I wasn't going to resign and put them on the trade block. From a real world perspective that would be making the players available if someone wanted to sign them before the UFA period. My memory says that when this happens in real life the player usually signs with the acquiring team.
I got offers for each player I put on the block and collected 3rd and 4th round picks. I checked and none of the players signed. This bothers me because it feels like an exploit. I would recommend adding logic that makes it unlikely for the AI to trade for UFA players after the season, and if it does makes it likely it signs them before the UFA period.

Lastly, towards the end of the NHL season the college players become free agents and I've found there's usually 2-5 worth signing. This is great, it feels just like real life. But unlike the UFA period there's no bidding war. If I want a player I get them. That really takes the fun out of getting these "free" prospects, and makes it really easy to bulk up prospect list.
I wanted to mention that in my current season the hit rate of these college and junior free agents seems pretty good. There's probably a bit too many 2.5-3.5 potential guys but I've so far been finding they mostly turn into AHLers and NHL depth, which is perfect.

None of these are game breaking bugs but if they could be improved that would really help with immersion and fun for me. Please keep up the good work!

tomkmb · 02-28-2026, 05:28 AM

Yeah, hopefully if they take a look at how the Team AI works for transactions they can stop those exploits like trading away a UFA as the season is winding down only for them to end up as FA's anyway - that's one that you've just gotta restrain yourself from doing currently.

All good points!

Empach · 02-28-2026, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomkmb

Yeah, hopefully if they take a look at how the Team AI works for transactions they can stop those exploits like trading away a UFA as the season is winding down only for them to end up as FA's anyway - that's one that you've just gotta restrain yourself from doing currently.

All good points!

I did it intentionally to see if the AI signed any of them, but in the future I'll restrain myself. Doing that right now actually

Empach · 03-02-2026, 03:34 PM

Another odd thing I've been noticing is a crazy amount of mutual contract terminations. I'm in mid February of the 2030-2031 season and there must have been 20-40 so far this season. Going off memory but the 2025-26 season had a few, then each subsequent season feels like there were more and more terminations. Almost all the players are minor. Sometimes some interesting 2.5 star potential players.
I assume the AI is attempting to manage the salary cap and roster restrictions but its not very realistic.

Colorado · 03-04-2026, 07:11 AM

Some really good points and suggestions made. Would love to see this worked on for improved immersion and more realistic team building.

Empach · 03-04-2026, 10:55 AM

This isn't a critique, just something interesting I observed. I don't have the game open right now but I drafted a promising looking center 6th overall. He was 2-2.5 stars already with good starting abilities. I thought I had a good one that was almost ready for the NHL now so I signed him right away. He didn't make the team, but I like developing guys in the AHL first anyway.
It's been 2 years now and his development has been slow. I believe this is primarily because he has spent those 2 years in the angry state. This was because of "Sent down" and more importantly "Isolated" as he was a Swiss player. I ultimately decided to send him back to the Swiss team which removed the "Isolated" tag. His development seems a bit better now.
I'd love to see the alternate universe where I didn't sign him right away. He would have stayed in Switzerland for a year or two. No "Isolated" or "Sent down". Maybe I'd have seen better development and ultimately a better player.

The interesting part for me is I've usually considered signing a draft pick to be no-loss situation. He's under contract, and I can just assign him if he doesn't make the team. But I don't believe unsigned players suffer from "Sent down" and if morale impacts ability development then it makes sense to be very careful about signing prospects. If this theory is correct I like that it adds a bit of strategy to when to sign a prospect.

Alessandro · 03-04-2026, 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Empach

This isn't a critique, just something interesting I observed. I don't have the game open right now but I drafted a promising looking center 6th overall. He was 2-2.5 stars already with good starting abilities. I thought I had a good one that was almost ready for the NHL now so I signed him right away. He didn't make the team, but I like developing guys in the AHL first anyway.
It's been 2 years now and his development has been slow. I believe this is primarily because he has spent those 2 years in the angry state. This was because of "Sent down" and more importantly "Isolated" as he was a Swiss player. I ultimately decided to send him back to the Swiss team which removed the "Isolated" tag. His development seems a bit better now.
I'd love to see the alternate universe where I didn't sign him right away. He would have stayed in Switzerland for a year or two. No "Isolated" or "Sent down". Maybe I'd have seen better development and ultimately a better player.

The interesting part for me is I've usually considered signing a draft pick to be no-loss situation. He's under contract, and I can just assign him if he doesn't make the team. But I don't believe unsigned players suffer from "Sent down" and if morale impacts ability development then it makes sense to be very careful about signing prospects. If this theory is correct I like that it adds a bit of strategy to when to sign a prospect.

It works exactly like that and I find it very, very realistic

Empach · 03-23-2026, 01:25 PM

Hello, I've been playing some more and wanted to provide some more feedback:

Offer Sheets
For I believe the first time ever my RFA was offer sheeted. It actually happened twice. I both cases I matched, but there was no explanation of compensation. It would be really helpful if that was displayed on the News message.

I tried to sign another teams RFA once. The player seemed to have agreed to my offer, but I couldn't submit. I think the reason why was because I didn't have the required picks for compensation. It would be really helpful if that was displayed on screen or as a popup.

Salary Cap and Signing Players
I find it challenging knowing how much cap space I have most of the time. The roster is okay as it lists the current and limit, but during the offseason that increases but I can't seem to find the regular season amount so I can make sure to set an appropriate roster.
It would also be nice to see a calculation on the Trade screen and Offer Contract screen, so I know how much I have to work with.

A related problem is how signing UFAs in the offseason works. I offer contracts the it usually takes a few days for either a) player signs, b) wants more money, or c) signed with another team. The issue here is I 5 million in cap space, I need 1 center, if I make offers to 2 centers for 5m and they both accept now I'm 10 over the cap. But if I don't offer to 2 players, its possible my target signs elsewhere and any other targets also sign elsewhere.
I'd like a confirm/finalize contract feature.

I'd like to suggest a larger change to the signing process for a future version. Currently you negotiate and submit with a player then wait to hear back. In most circumstances that takes a few days. I'd like to see a more robust system, I'm not sure exactly what it would look like though. An indicator of interest from other teams would be nice. Some mechanism that adds pressure to the signing period would be really fun. Maybe more options for negotiation like offering roles/opportunities - technically that exists but it feels very easy to ignore. In general I find players are often rigid - they want x amount of years, a certain role, they want their trade protection/bonus. Moving off those often just feels like a no. Something more dynamic would be fun.

That's all for now. I hope you find this useful.

GMO123 · 03-23-2026, 01:33 PM

For team stats, players, number of Face-offs, there should be a filter for number of face-offs because a sort brings up players who took one face-off, won it, and they are at the top of the list with 100% face-off success.

GMO123 · 03-24-2026, 01:56 PM

In the draft screen I'm offered trades.
However I can't click on the player's name in the potential trade to see his profile.

GMO123 · 03-24-2026, 01:57 PM

Career stats should include the number of 1st, 2nd and 3rd stars the player received each year.

Johnny B. Goode · 04-15-2026, 01:52 PM

.

scootermojo · 04-17-2026, 05:45 PM

I believe the player page is underutilized....it would really add to the immersion to have bolding or highlighting when a player leads the league in any particular category; plus, there's also a tremendous amount of waisted space between the team name and where the stats are. More of your "traditional" or "basic" stats could fit on the page 1 such as game winning goals, shots, shooting percentage; PP points and SH points, even strength goals, assists and points...even face-off stats should and could be right there at first glance of a players career and/or season stat page.

Also, be a nice touch to have a team trophy page, as well.

Javs · 04-18-2026, 12:04 PM

Quote:

There's probably a bit too many 2.5-3.5 potential guys but I've so far been finding they mostly turn into AHLers and NHL depth, which is perfect.

Agree 100%

GMO123 · 04-19-2026, 05:23 PM

Please concentrate on improving the basic game engine.

bockerboy · 04-21-2026, 12:00 AM

I just find FHM12 really disappointing. I understand that it's a small team but it really feels like you all are phoning it in. The UI is now both dated and clunky, 2D gameplay is horrendous and confusing, the AI makes the same baffling decisions, very little by way of customization without modding expertise (goal horns, arenas, etc.).

It's just 6 (sometimes 7) of us in my group that plays FHM but we've all spent 10-20 hours in this year's version and have either decided to move to HLM or just stop at FHM12.

Do better next year gentlemen. I really, sincerely hope you take this advice.

02-27-2026, 09:47 PM	#1
Empach Minors (Double A) Join Date: Dec 2012 Posts: 130	FHM12 Feedback Hello, I'll start by saying I'm really happy that you've been putting out this game for 12 editions. Hoping it continues on for many more to come. I don't play all the time but when that itch to run a franchise comes along its always nice to load up FHM. I am playing a modern NHL game, this time as the Leafs. I've encountered a few situations that you can hopefully look into at some point in the future. First, I got the news notice that John Tavares was considering retiring. I wanted to keep him and he was going to be a UFA so I signed him to an extension. Come July 1st he still retired. This is just one example, but I've seen it happen in past version of FHM. I would recommend that if the game has decided a player is definitely retiring he should refuse to negotiate a contract extension and just say "I am planning to retire". I'm fine with a player still retiring even after signing an extension but it should be a low chance. Maybe this is already being accounted for but I wanted to mention it. Second, during the June 23 signing window I identified a number of players I wasn't going to resign and put them on the trade block. From a real world perspective that would be making the players available if someone wanted to sign them before the UFA period. My memory says that when this happens in real life the player usually signs with the acquiring team. I got offers for each player I put on the block and collected 3rd and 4th round picks. I checked and none of the players signed. This bothers me because it feels like an exploit. I would recommend adding logic that makes it unlikely for the AI to trade for UFA players after the season, and if it does makes it likely it signs them before the UFA period. Lastly, towards the end of the NHL season the college players become free agents and I've found there's usually 2-5 worth signing. This is great, it feels just like real life. But unlike the UFA period there's no bidding war. If I want a player I get them. That really takes the fun out of getting these "free" prospects, and makes it really easy to bulk up prospect list. I wanted to mention that in my current season the hit rate of these college and junior free agents seems pretty good. There's probably a bit too many 2.5-3.5 potential guys but I've so far been finding they mostly turn into AHLers and NHL depth, which is perfect. None of these are game breaking bugs but if they could be improved that would really help with immersion and fun for me. Please keep up the good work!

04-15-2026, 01:52 PM	#12
Johnny B. Goode Bat Boy Join Date: Apr 2026 Posts: 1	. Last edited by Johnny B. Goode; 04-15-2026 at 03:47 PM.

04-17-2026, 05:45 PM	#13
scootermojo Minors (Double A) Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 126	I believe the player page is underutilized....it would really add to the immersion to have bolding or highlighting when a player leads the league in any particular category; plus, there's also a tremendous amount of waisted space between the team name and where the stats are. More of your "traditional" or "basic" stats could fit on the page 1 such as game winning goals, shots, shooting percentage; PP points and SH points, even strength goals, assists and points...even face-off stats should and could be right there at first glance of a players career and/or season stat page. Also, be a nice touch to have a team trophy page, as well. Attached Images

02-28-2026, 05:28 AM	#2
tomkmb All Star Starter Join Date: Jan 2021 Posts: 1,752	Yeah, hopefully if they take a look at how the Team AI works for transactions they can stop those exploits like trading away a UFA as the season is winding down only for them to end up as FA's anyway - that's one that you've just gotta restrain yourself from doing currently. All good points!

03-02-2026, 03:34 PM	#4
Empach Minors (Double A) Join Date: Dec 2012 Posts: 130	Another odd thing I've been noticing is a crazy amount of mutual contract terminations. I'm in mid February of the 2030-2031 season and there must have been 20-40 so far this season. Going off memory but the 2025-26 season had a few, then each subsequent season feels like there were more and more terminations. Almost all the players are minor. Sometimes some interesting 2.5 star potential players. I assume the AI is attempting to manage the salary cap and roster restrictions but its not very realistic.

03-04-2026, 07:11 AM	#5
Colorado Major Leagues Join Date: Apr 2018 Posts: 440	Some really good points and suggestions made. Would love to see this worked on for improved immersion and more realistic team building.

03-04-2026, 10:55 AM	#6
Empach Minors (Double A) Join Date: Dec 2012 Posts: 130	This isn't a critique, just something interesting I observed. I don't have the game open right now but I drafted a promising looking center 6th overall. He was 2-2.5 stars already with good starting abilities. I thought I had a good one that was almost ready for the NHL now so I signed him right away. He didn't make the team, but I like developing guys in the AHL first anyway. It's been 2 years now and his development has been slow. I believe this is primarily because he has spent those 2 years in the angry state. This was because of "Sent down" and more importantly "Isolated" as he was a Swiss player. I ultimately decided to send him back to the Swiss team which removed the "Isolated" tag. His development seems a bit better now. I'd love to see the alternate universe where I didn't sign him right away. He would have stayed in Switzerland for a year or two. No "Isolated" or "Sent down". Maybe I'd have seen better development and ultimately a better player. The interesting part for me is I've usually considered signing a draft pick to be no-loss situation. He's under contract, and I can just assign him if he doesn't make the team. But I don't believe unsigned players suffer from "Sent down" and if morale impacts ability development then it makes sense to be very careful about signing prospects. If this theory is correct I like that it adds a bit of strategy to when to sign a prospect.

03-23-2026, 01:25 PM	#8
Empach Minors (Double A) Join Date: Dec 2012 Posts: 130	Hello, I've been playing some more and wanted to provide some more feedback: Offer Sheets For I believe the first time ever my RFA was offer sheeted. It actually happened twice. I both cases I matched, but there was no explanation of compensation. It would be really helpful if that was displayed on the News message. I tried to sign another teams RFA once. The player seemed to have agreed to my offer, but I couldn't submit. I think the reason why was because I didn't have the required picks for compensation. It would be really helpful if that was displayed on screen or as a popup. Salary Cap and Signing Players I find it challenging knowing how much cap space I have most of the time. The roster is okay as it lists the current and limit, but during the offseason that increases but I can't seem to find the regular season amount so I can make sure to set an appropriate roster. It would also be nice to see a calculation on the Trade screen and Offer Contract screen, so I know how much I have to work with. A related problem is how signing UFAs in the offseason works. I offer contracts the it usually takes a few days for either a) player signs, b) wants more money, or c) signed with another team. The issue here is I 5 million in cap space, I need 1 center, if I make offers to 2 centers for 5m and they both accept now I'm 10 over the cap. But if I don't offer to 2 players, its possible my target signs elsewhere and any other targets also sign elsewhere. I'd like a confirm/finalize contract feature. I'd like to suggest a larger change to the signing process for a future version. Currently you negotiate and submit with a player then wait to hear back. In most circumstances that takes a few days. I'd like to see a more robust system, I'm not sure exactly what it would look like though. An indicator of interest from other teams would be nice. Some mechanism that adds pressure to the signing period would be really fun. Maybe more options for negotiation like offering roles/opportunities - technically that exists but it feels very easy to ignore. In general I find players are often rigid - they want x amount of years, a certain role, they want their trade protection/bonus. Moving off those often just feels like a no. Something more dynamic would be fun. That's all for now. I hope you find this useful.

03-23-2026, 01:33 PM	#9
GMO123 Major Leagues Join Date: Nov 2011 Posts: 432	For team stats, players, number of Face-offs, there should be a filter for number of face-offs because a sort brings up players who took one face-off, won it, and they are at the top of the list with 100% face-off success.

03-24-2026, 01:56 PM	#10
GMO123 Major Leagues Join Date: Nov 2011 Posts: 432	In the draft screen I'm offered trades. However I can't click on the player's name in the potential trade to see his profile.

03-24-2026, 01:57 PM	#11
GMO123 Major Leagues Join Date: Nov 2011 Posts: 432	Career stats should include the number of 1st, 2nd and 3rd stars the player received each year.

04-19-2026, 05:23 PM	#15
GMO123 Major Leagues Join Date: Nov 2011 Posts: 432	Please concentrate on improving the basic game engine.

04-21-2026, 12:00 AM	#16
bockerboy Bat Boy Join Date: Mar 2020 Posts: 13	I just find FHM12 really disappointing. I understand that it's a small team but it really feels like you all are phoning it in. The UI is now both dated and clunky, 2D gameplay is horrendous and confusing, the AI makes the same baffling decisions, very little by way of customization without modding expertise (goal horns, arenas, etc.). It's just 6 (sometimes 7) of us in my group that plays FHM but we've all spent 10-20 hours in this year's version and have either decided to move to HLM or just stop at FHM12. Do better next year gentlemen. I really, sincerely hope you take this advice.