Coaching and Player Experience factors

[Winnipeg59]

Have never played ESHM (and likely never will now), so excuse my lack of perspective if this was part of that game. As we are now focusing on the brand new game, I would love to offer a couple of things...

Experience should play a role in the game from both a coaching and player perspective. Obviously coaches will bring certain attributes to the game that will have a bearing on the attributes of their team.

- Coach "A" might motivate better and have an impact on certain attributes
- Coach "B" might be able to turn a rag-tag bunch into a contender overnight
- Coach "C" might be better suited to a younger squad
- Coach "D" better with veterans
...you get the idea (I'm sure this will be a big part of the dynamic)

To add to that however, it would be great if there was a slight boost and/or drop in certain areas if the philosophies or chemistry just wasn't there, prompting an ultimate firing (whether it's you, as GM, not meshing with the team owner or you, as Coach, not meshing with the GM - however it's setup within the game - I would love to have EACH experience separately by the way, but especially the role of GM). You could be fired, depending on the make-up of your owner, simply by not getting along, regardless of success - or you could be given a long leash to have an impact if your personalities were completely in-synch.

More to the point, I would love to see this new game value "veteran experience" with players. We see it all the time at the trade deadline - teams bringing in guys that have "been there" to hopefully rub off on the younger players that haven't and, regardless of whether they are playing or just a good influence in the room, give some intangibles to the team to get them to the playoffs of through their playoff run.

So often (not to editorialize too much) in sports games, it's all about the "overall" or "potential" or "ratings" and the game comes down to having the best "ratings/stars/number/whatever". Depth comes with how intangible stuff factors in, on the ice, behind the bench and in the front office.

I'm PUMPED about this game!!!

[JDevil]

Originally Posted by Winnipeg59

Have never played ESHM (and likely never will now), so excuse my lack of perspective if this was part of that game. As we are now focusing on the brand new game, I would love to offer a couple of things...

Experience should play a role in the game from both a coaching and player perspective. Obviously coaches will bring certain attributes to the game that will have a bearing on the attributes of their team.

- Coach "A" might motivate better and have an impact on certain attributes
- Coach "B" might be able to turn a rag-tag bunch into a contender overnight
- Coach "C" might be better suited to a younger squad
- Coach "D" better with veterans
...you get the idea (I'm sure this will be a big part of the dynamic)

To add to that however, it would be great if there was a slight boost and/or drop in certain areas if the philosophies or chemistry just wasn't there, prompting an ultimate firing (whether it's you, as GM, not meshing with the team owner or you, as Coach, not meshing with the GM - however it's setup within the game - I would love to have EACH experience separately by the way, but especially the role of GM). You could be fired, depending on the make-up of your owner, simply by not getting along, regardless of success - or you could be given a long leash to have an impact if your personalities were completely in-synch.

More to the point, I would love to see this new game value "veteran experience" with players. We see it all the time at the trade deadline - teams bringing in guys that have "been there" to hopefully rub off on the younger players that haven't and, regardless of whether they are playing or just a good influence in the room, give some intangibles to the team to get them to the playoffs of through their playoff run.

So often (not to editorialize too much) in sports games, it's all about the "overall" or "potential" or "ratings" and the game comes down to having the best "ratings/stars/number/whatever". Depth comes with how intangible stuff factors in, on the ice, behind the bench and in the front office.

I'm PUMPED about this game!!!

I agree with you on these. Since hockey cannot always be measured by the stats like baseball for example, there needs to be more intangible influences, and players that play well together, rather than just accumulating a roster full of guys with the most stars.

[ParkBench]

I think you need to be careful with the "intangibles" aspect of a simulation game. Another Hockey sim currently on the market (STHS) uses a morale system that makes it almost impossible to recover from a losing streak. We found this season if you bench superstars with poor morale scores in favor of minor league guys with high morale, the team played better and often won.

as the human player does line construction, and sets PK and PP lines, thats a large portion of what the coach does. too much influence may influence the game more than it really should. I agree morale is a part of any sport, but when you have a good team that can't dig out of a losing streak, that doesn't make for a good, accurate experience.

[dave1927p]

Originally Posted by ParkBench

I think you need to be careful with the "intangibles" aspect of a simulation game. Another Hockey sim currently on the market (STHS) uses a morale system that makes it almost impossible to recover from a losing streak. We found this season if you bench superstars with poor morale scores in favor of minor league guys with high morale, the team played better and often won.

as the human player does line construction, and sets PK and PP lines, thats a large portion of what the coach does. too much influence may influence the game more than it really should. I agree morale is a part of any sport, but when you have a good team that can't dig out of a losing streak, that doesn't make for a good, accurate experience.

Too bad that its not possible to make more pressure in big markets too (TOR, NYR, MTL). How many players cant make it in those markets but go to PHX or FLA and play much better (until they make the playoffs ) I hope this game attempts that eventually.

[Austsaint]

How many coaches does the average NHL team have? I should clarify that with assistant coaches as well. I have played a lot of fm and imagine a system like that would be nice

[dave1927p]

i'd say most big market teams now have:

1 Head Coach
3 Assistant Coaches
1 Goalie Coach
1 Skating and 1 or 2 video coaches/analysts
1 Strength and Conditioning trainer

Small Market:
1 HC
2 AC
1 GC
1 or 2 Video Analysts
1 Str. & Cond.

[JDevil]

Originally Posted by dave1927p

Too bad that its not possible to make more pressure in big markets too (TOR, NYR, MTL). How many players cant make it in those markets but go to PHX or FLA and play much better (until they make the playoffs ) I hope this game attempts that eventually.

How about Phoenix ?

Western Conference Finals?