Should I buy FHM4? Help needed.

[herm1978]

I started playing manager games with EHM and bought the first FHM with high hopes, but I just couldnt stand all the bugs and problems I encountered so I soon lost interest. Now that the NHL season started, I feel the need to be a hockey manager again and would like to ask a few questions:

1) Something I dont like (and is not good at) is tinkering with tactics and microing every game played. How does the game play if all I want is to set the lines before a game and then sim it?

2) I like scouting and drafting, is that easy and fun to do? Can you find gems due to good scouting?

3) In EHM the training was pretty annoying, how is it in FHM4?

4) Likewise, in EHM, the hiring of coaches was a lot of work (finding good ones and handling their contracts). How is FHM4?

5) Ideally I'd like to go through seasons pretty fast and focus on the building of the team via draft mainly, can you do that and still be competetive (i.e. not having the ai underperforming when handling most of the day-to-day tasks)?

[Torgonius]

Originally Posted by herm1978

1) Something I dont like (and is not good at) is tinkering with tactics and microing every game played. How does the game play if all I want is to set the lines before a game and then sim it?

You can either have the AI do it, then clean it up, or set them yourself. Generally, you're going to only change tactics rarely, as your team will take a performance hit when you change until they get accustomed to the new tactic. Once you set your lines, you can keep them until someone is injured. They've really cleaned up the process of replacing players in lines and made it more efficient.

But the option is there for you to be totally micromanaging and changing things up as often as you want.

Originally Posted by herm1978

2) I like scouting and drafting, is that easy and fun to do? Can you find gems due to good scouting?

Scouting has gotten easier to set up, with the addition of permanent assignments, but still needs some love. If you really pay attention to the scouting reports, you can figure out which guys will be better at your chosen tactics.

Originally Posted by herm1978

3) In EHM the training was pretty annoying, how is it in FHM4?

You can choose to let the AI handle training, or you can set it yourself. You can allocate training in different areas to different players, and the amount of attention they receive is dependent on the quantity and quality of your coaching staff. You can generally set it and forget it, or you can make changes whenever you like.

Originally Posted by herm1978

4) Likewise, in EHM, the hiring of coaches was a lot of work (finding good ones and handling their contracts). How is FHM4?

I think this aspect is much better than EHM. For assistant coaches, you can sort the list of available candidates on several different ratings (so, look for the guys who are great or excellent at coaching goalies, but then choose the best of those at handling prospects) You can also choose from teaching offense, defense, skills (mental and tactical) and physical training. You can have as many coaches on staff as you wish.

This system also plays the same for scouts and trainers. You can sort scouts based on their ability to gauge potential and current ability, see in which locations they consider 'home' and then assign them to their home territories for maximum benefit.

Hiring coaches and scouts is easy. Find the guy you like, right click him, and offer a contract. He'll give you 2 or 3 options for an amount of years and a salary per year. So you might get a guy requesting 1 year at 50k, 2 years at 47.5k and 3 years at 45k.

When it comes time to renew contracts, you'll get an email from each person, and can then go into the negotiation process with the range of offers.

Coaches and scouts who are older may choose retirement as well.

Originally Posted by herm1978

5) Ideally I'd like to go through seasons pretty fast and focus on the building of the team via draft mainly, can you do that and still be competetive (i.e. not having the ai underperforming when handling most of the day-to-day tasks)?

I have played a historical sim from 1972-1990 in the days since launch, fast simming each game and simming say by day through the season. The only time I need to get involved is trades, injuries, contract renewals, drafting and signing draft picks. I let the AI handle setting lines and tactics for each game. There are others who let the game sim for a full season (or many seasons) before they choose to get involved. I have also played where I micromanage every single little detail.

The game is only 4 versions old, so it's not perfect yet, but it has come a very long way. You can now have an actual pre-season, where you can have as many players active as you like (no 23 man limit), and send players up or down in pre-season with no morale penalty. You can tinker with line combinations and tactics, or just let the PC send out the players it chooses.

Should you buy it? That's up to you. I'm pretty biased when I say I think you should try it on and see if it fits. They do offer refunds if you decide you don't like it.

[herm1978]

Originally Posted by Torgonius

Answers

Thanks for the input. Follow-up questions:

1) If you happen to sim past a contract renewal, does the AI handle it or do you lose the person (and how do you handle it if you sim a whole season)?

2) Is there a setting for the simulation to stop automatically when a contract needs to be renewed?

3) So training is a bit like EHM that you hire trainers that are good at specific areas and you have to tell them to focus on those areas?

4) Are you at a big disadvantage if you just have the AI handle training?

[Torgonius]

Originally Posted by herm1978

Thanks for the input. Follow-up questions:

1) If you happen to sim past a contract renewal, does the AI handle it or do you lose the person (and how do you handle it if you sim a whole season)?

2) Is there a setting for the simulation to stop automatically when a contract needs to be renewed?

3) So training is a bit like EHM that you hire trainers that are good at specific areas and you have to tell them to focus on those areas?

4) Are you at a big disadvantage if you just have the AI handle training?

1) You can set the AI up to handle contracts, but I'll have to verify if that is staff and players, or just players.

2) You can set your email reminders to stop simming when a message comes up for a contract renewal.

3) Essentially, yes. You hire (and assign) coaches that are the best available that you can afford. For training, you can choose a number of players to train in a general area (like goaltending mental or goaltending physical) and you get points allocated to them. The more players you assign, the fewer points per player available. Points allocated increase the chance (not a guarantee) that a player will improve in a skill in that area. You can read about the system in the manual. That will give you a better chance at grasping it than my rambling

4) Probably a little, but I haven't tested it to verify it. I'm just making that assumption based on AI being stuck to a narrow set of rules, and not able to customize like a human can. I usually let the AI handle my training, yet I still win championships.

In general, I think a human with a solid grasp of hockey and the mechanics of FHM4 will always outperform the AI, but at the cost of having to spend more time making changes. This isn't saying the AI is bad... it's just not as good as a human brain (yet). I do think that for people just starting the game, or who don't understand hockey at that 'I've been playing since I was 4' level will be able to learn from it, and then adapt as their own skills improve.

I think you could get a lot of information to inform your decision to purchase from the manual. A lot of the answers here are subjective... so where I might really enjoy an aspect of the game, someone else may think it's the worst thing ever, and another person not even care.

I love that there are a range of options for many of the systems between let the AI do it and I want total control. I think most players would be able to find the combination that appeals to them in those ranges.

[herm1978]

Well, I bought it. Now I just have to have the time and energy to try it

[Alessandro]

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