"Watching" a game comments

Genner31 · 03-05-2013, 09:07 PM

Just a few initial comments I had from the first game I actually watched instead of just simulated through. I"m not sure how much of this has already been said or how much the team is planning on changing since this is just the beta, but I wanted to add my two cents:

1. It was very hard to actually find out how to play a game instead of just have the computer sim it. In OOTP13 i think that there's an option from the team's screen menu to play the game that day. I had to come to the forums to find out how to watch my teams game unfold.

2. In-game screen: It's very hard right now to tell what's going on. All we have at the moment are where shots are taken from. I cannot follow where the play is progressing to from one end of the ice to the other. I don't think you need to represent all 10 skaters, but having an icon representing the puck as it moves from zone to zone would be helpful. It would also be helpful to know who is in possession of the puck as well. Perhaps the puck could change color or have an H or V depending on who is in possession.

3. Penalties: They just appear at the moment with no pause in play, or any indication of who committed the infraction and whom it was against.

4. Shots: The screen gets cluttered with shot as the period goes on and it's hard to know where the latest one occurred from as they are all gray in color. Perhaps the last shot taken could be denoted by a different color, which could change back to gray when another shot is taken.

5. Flow: The clock never stops unless pause is clicked. Perhaps when a goal is scored or a penalty occurs and option could be put in to have the game pause for just a moment or two so the player can assess what has happened.

Overall impression so far: I"m honestly stoked. I've played hockey since I was 7 years old - 35 now - and I never thought anyone would make a management sim for what is considered a niche sport down in the state. This sim is worth every penny I paid for it so far. As a long suffering Blues fan I as pleased to see the boys lay down a 10 spot on Colorado in their opener. I would have preferred it to have been against the Hawks, or the Redwings, but you take what you can get.

Right now i'm at home against the wings and they are up late in the first period by two, despite getting outshot heavily so the sim is pretty accurate as far as I can tell. The Note can't beat the wings when it counts.

I can't wait to see what the new builds bring. Onward to the cup!

bigtrouble77 · 03-05-2013, 09:32 PM

The problem I'm having is that this games needs to at least fill the shoes of EHM2007 to pull me away from EHM. It took EHM a few iterations of the game, but the play by play in the 2007 version was really nice. I rarely used it to watch whole games, but I loved checkout out the highlights.

I'm hoping FHM can develop the play by play a bit more to at least show player locations rather than shot locations. It's really hard to make out how plays develop and what strategies work best with your players.

Also, the shots should not be represented exactly the same as the score, makes the scoreboard difficult to read. I'm guessing that the UI elements will change drastically by launch, but I'm not confident that we'll see a graphical play by play.

Anemic_royaltea · 03-05-2013, 09:55 PM

Definitely on the raw end of things, I'm just impressed that watching a game plays out very similarly to simulating one.

PBP is still a work in progress, and I assume the same of the screen I'd like to see - correct me if I'm wrong, but there's no 'real-time' boxscore screen for the players yet?

03-05-2013, 09:07 PM	#1
Genner31 Bat Boy Join Date: Feb 2013 Posts: 6	"Watching" a game comments Just a few initial comments I had from the first game I actually watched instead of just simulated through. I"m not sure how much of this has already been said or how much the team is planning on changing since this is just the beta, but I wanted to add my two cents: 1. It was very hard to actually find out how to play a game instead of just have the computer sim it. In OOTP13 i think that there's an option from the team's screen menu to play the game that day. I had to come to the forums to find out how to watch my teams game unfold. 2. In-game screen: It's very hard right now to tell what's going on. All we have at the moment are where shots are taken from. I cannot follow where the play is progressing to from one end of the ice to the other. I don't think you need to represent all 10 skaters, but having an icon representing the puck as it moves from zone to zone would be helpful. It would also be helpful to know who is in possession of the puck as well. Perhaps the puck could change color or have an H or V depending on who is in possession. 3. Penalties: They just appear at the moment with no pause in play, or any indication of who committed the infraction and whom it was against. 4. Shots: The screen gets cluttered with shot as the period goes on and it's hard to know where the latest one occurred from as they are all gray in color. Perhaps the last shot taken could be denoted by a different color, which could change back to gray when another shot is taken. 5. Flow: The clock never stops unless pause is clicked. Perhaps when a goal is scored or a penalty occurs and option could be put in to have the game pause for just a moment or two so the player can assess what has happened. Overall impression so far: I"m honestly stoked. I've played hockey since I was 7 years old - 35 now - and I never thought anyone would make a management sim for what is considered a niche sport down in the state. This sim is worth every penny I paid for it so far. As a long suffering Blues fan I as pleased to see the boys lay down a 10 spot on Colorado in their opener. I would have preferred it to have been against the Hawks, or the Redwings, but you take what you can get. Right now i'm at home against the wings and they are up late in the first period by two, despite getting outshot heavily so the sim is pretty accurate as far as I can tell. The Note can't beat the wings when it counts. I can't wait to see what the new builds bring. Onward to the cup!

03-05-2013, 09:32 PM	#2
bigtrouble77 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 125	The problem I'm having is that this games needs to at least fill the shoes of EHM2007 to pull me away from EHM. It took EHM a few iterations of the game, but the play by play in the 2007 version was really nice. I rarely used it to watch whole games, but I loved checkout out the highlights. I'm hoping FHM can develop the play by play a bit more to at least show player locations rather than shot locations. It's really hard to make out how plays develop and what strategies work best with your players. Also, the shots should not be represented exactly the same as the score, makes the scoreboard difficult to read. I'm guessing that the UI elements will change drastically by launch, but I'm not confident that we'll see a graphical play by play.

03-05-2013, 09:55 PM	#3
Anemic_royaltea Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Vancouver Posts: 38	Definitely on the raw end of things, I'm just impressed that watching a game plays out very similarly to simulating one. PBP is still a work in progress, and I assume the same of the screen I'd like to see - correct me if I'm wrong, but there's no 'real-time' boxscore screen for the players yet?