Suggestion for Hockey Manager- Long time EHM user

[scafe18]

Hey guys, I have a suggestion as well for this new game. I have been hooked on EHM 2007 for the past 3 years and have put in wellllll over the amount of hours they would say is appropriate to not be classified as a nerd. So i'm a bit of a EHM junky. And when I heard about this project, I got pretty damn excited. So I thought maybe I would share some things you may not have featured that I feel NEED to be in this game to make it fun in the long term.

1. From the bottom up, accurate rosters- from minor hockey midget aaa to the pros, start with 100% accurate rosters. Nothing is better than 5 years in to your game drafting a player your son used to play with. Although I don't have a son, you get my drift. Also, WHL rosters should be the first level of junior that is playable, and managable. Just like EHM, it should feature all the rules, tournaments, world juniors, awards, that the real CHL gives out. 50 man protected list, that kinda stuff. I love starting in the dub and working my way up as a manager, seein how many WJHC I can GM Canada to Gold at, far and few between however.

2. Ability to control more of the in game roster moves, if a player is a -3, make it easier to bench him. If you want the top line out for the last minute, push a button. Easy to identify what i'm getting at here.

3. Expandable, Shrinkable leagues. If a team moves, make it so we can do the move, fill in the rink info, that kind of stuff, upload logos(or make that a patch), but continue to have custom teams in there, where you can adjust all aspects from the souvenir prices to the color of the seats.

Just a few ideas I thought i'd toss around, let me know what you think

Dustin

[mike2228]

Originally Posted by scafe18

1. From the bottom up, accurate rosters- from minor hockey midget aaa to the pros, start with 100% accurate rosters. Nothing is better than 5 years in to your game drafting a player your son used to play with. Although I don't have a son, you get my drift. Also, WHL rosters should be the first level of junior that is playable, and managable. Just like EHM, it should feature all the rules, tournaments, world juniors, awards, that the real CHL gives out. 50 man protected list, that kinda stuff. I love starting in the dub and working my way up as a manager, seein how many WJHC I can GM Canada to Gold at, far and few between however.

That sounds like a massive undertaking.

[archibalduk]

1. Roster depth and accuracy

Originally Posted by mike2228

That sounds like a massive undertaking.

Yes, it sounds like it's asking too much for the first version of the game.

In any event, I think adding Euro leagues ought to be more of a priority than adding the lower North American leagues. Malte/Sebastian have said before they're looking to add Euro leagues so long as they can get the researchers and I'm really glad to hear that.

I think what is more important is that there is a facility for users to add their own lower leagues / midget leagues if they want. Thankfully OOTP Baseball is all about copious customisation and we already know that the Hockey Management Game will also feature some very decent customisation in terms of adding leagues and editing structures, rules, etc. So although there might not be midget leagues in there to start with (in terms of complete and accurate rosters), it's something the community can add should there be the interest.

There is huge community support for both EHM and OOTP Baseball and I'm sure OOTP's hockey game will no doubt attract the same (I personally plan on supporting the game as much as I can via my own website). I think at such an early stage it is key that customisation options are available because it will help the longevity of the game and will suck people into the game like EHM has. If you look at the Manimal and UUDB community roster updates for EHM, you will see that there is a huge interest and commitment in keeping EHM up to date. If OOTP's game can attract the same level of interest (and customisation options will be a major factor in this IMHO) then it increases the likelihood of community members adding the level of leagues Scafe18 is looking for.

Unfortunately, my understanding is that the first version of the game will not feature an editor. I don't know whether it is their intention to release this at a later stage during the cycle of the first version or whether we will have to wait until the second/third/etc version of the game. However, if OOTP is willing to release details of their database structure (in a similar way to SI with EHM - link) then I can certainly write some third party tools to help us update the rosters. I don't have the skills to write a full blown editor (however I can write simpler things such as the Player & Competition History Editor I wrote for EHM), but I'm very keen to help the community as much as I can.


2. Benching players and making in-game adjustments

My understanding is that, in a similar way to FM / EHM, you can pause the game during a match to make tactical changes etc. So I would hope that will be able to do what you hope for.

I'm not sure if Malte/Sebastian have confirmed what stats you'll be able to see during a match, but I would hope things like Pts, +/-, PIM and perhaps some sort of performance rating and fitness/condition rating would be visible.


3. Expandable / shrinkable leagues

As per the first part of my post, this will be possible owing to the customisation options that OOTP have already confirmed will be in the game.

[scafe18]

I guess my logic is that if you're going to do something, you may as well go all out right away. Take the time to get it right, get the users WANTING to buy this game. EHM is so in depth, NHL is so in depth, and they sell because of realism. If it takes until the 2013 season to be released, i'd rather wait if it meant I could win a Memorial Cup and start in the dub. Rushing things often creates problems and then franchises go downhill, see lacrosse.

Not trying to sound negative, I do look forward to this game; but unless it can make a huge stride to be better than EHM, i'll wait it out and keep playing EHM until this new game improves in those areas.

[archibalduk]

I see your point, but I guess it all comes down to the number of users who volunteer to research the leagues. It sounds as though OOTP has the infrastructure in place to add these leagues but the manpower is probably another thing. Perhaps you could volunteer to help research the lower leagues you want to see in the game?

OOTP's game is going to be a hockey sim in its own right, but I guess the comparisons to EHM are inevitable and we're all doing it. I imagine the game will be better than in EHM in some respects and perhaps not as good in others. OOTP's newgen system, for example, sounds like potentially a big leap over EHM's regen system. For me, this is a huge attraction.

[dave1927p]

Originally Posted by scafe18

I guess my logic is that if you're going to do something, you may as well go all out right away. Take the time to get it right, get the users WANTING to buy this game. EHM is so in depth, NHL is so in depth, and they sell because of realism. If it takes until the 2013 season to be released, i'd rather wait if it meant I could win a Memorial Cup and start in the dub. Rushing things often creates problems and then franchises go downhill, see lacrosse.

Not trying to sound negative, I do look forward to this game; but unless it can make a huge stride to be better than EHM, i'll wait it out and keep playing EHM until this new game improves in those areas.

I would much rather the company spend the resources on adding extra features and fixing bugs then spending a ton of time on the player ratings in various leagues. The community should do the rest as archi mentioned.

You're right about rushing things; however, i bet you that these guys don't have the income and resources to take 2,3, or 4 years to make this game...and even then it wouldn't be perfect.

They need to create a solid base (good stats engine, interface and customization) so they can then build on it year after year with all those great features we love. That is how this market works. It took EHM a few versions to get to where we know it today. If more people had your attitude it probably wouldn't of amounted to anything further then freeware.

Archi, my friend, you're wise beyond your years

[Hoiles]

The 100% accurate midget/junior A rosters is overkill, but it could be nice to have them incorporated like the HS/college feeder system in OOTP, where the best players become prospects for the major junior and pro leagues. There also tends to be the odd NHL draft pick directly from these leagues, as many play in them (instead of major junior) before heading to US college leagues.

[MacPhal]

I think your best bet for lower Junior teams is to add a option when you start the game you can import leagues. That way the community can make league packs for people to download if they want to GM Junior A teams. This can be used to make lower level Euro leagues as well.

I believe this would free them up to work on the nuts and bolts of the game while the fans can flesh out the less played leagues.

The more we can help with the game the better the game will be.

Thanks for all your hard work so far guys! Keep it coming and you will be getting my money!

[JDevil]

I think it would be reasonable to have the CHL teams available in game, this is where a good many players for the NHL draft come from, even if each player is not a "true" accurate depiction of a real player, to have the leagues in the game is vital. Thus hopefully NCAA and USHL would be there as well. The quality of play from the USHL is getting better and of course the NHL uses the NCAA in various ways as well.