RE : Sebastian's latest update

[Mordrehl]

Sebastian wrote :

Development seems to be pretty close to "finished" now with only small tweaks each new build. Scouting the same, looks like this two areas are ready to go in the near future. Malte took a few hours to concentrate on reported game crashes and fixed them. I continue to code the improved match engine. Jeff wrote a few lines to describe it:


-------------------

Now maybe I'm just cynical, but that reads to me as one more patch before they start working on FHM15 ... which of course, we'll be charged for.

Hopefully that's one big, game fixing, balance taking patch ... as I don't see the game currently being that close to being finished.

My vision was that future versions would be about adding features (online, training camps, international tournaments), tweaking the gui and possibly tweaking balance. When the current patch can't even get contract levels correct, it seems a little insulting that we're on the eve of being asked to spend more money on a product that still has not delivered as promised.

(my contract example, I finally come back to try FHM again ... get the latest patch ... opening day, Montreal Canadiens ... Lars Eller wants 6.5mil/year as a RFA when he's currently making 1.5). Raphael Diaz who is making 1 to 1.5 mil a year (can't recall exactly), wants a similar amount. This is unrealistic).

[Lukas Berger]

Originally Posted by Mordrehl

Now maybe I'm just cynical, but that reads to me as one more patch before they start working on FHM15 ... which of course, we'll be charged for.

I'm 99.99% certain that this is not what Sebastian meant. He's merely talking about development on the current patch being close to finished before the patch is publicly released.

[JeffR]

Originally Posted by Mordrehl

(my contract example, I finally come back to try FHM again ... get the latest patch ... opening day, Montreal Canadiens ... Lars Eller wants 6.5mil/year as a RFA when he's currently making 1.5). Raphael Diaz who is making 1 to 1.5 mil a year (can't recall exactly), wants a similar amount. This is unrealistic).

There are a variety of things going on here:

-Eller and Diaz are probably both rated a little too high at the moment; they haven't really followed up on the good seasons they had last year.
-if you're implying RFA contract requests are too high, I can't agree with that; lowering the amount players ask for simply because they're an RFA would have a lot of unrealistic effects, particularly at the higher end of the scale - look at what Weber and Stamkos asked for (and got) as RFA's.
-what is a problem is the lack of aggressiveness the AI teams have about qualifying players. It seems better in our newer builds, but it's something I'll continue to monitor and adjust if necessary.
-the high amounts requested by relatively unproven players are also an issue; I think I've got a solution for this, but it's not implemented yet because I want to work out a few other issues with contracts and roster management before adding that complicating factor. At the same time, I don't want to make younger players radically cheaper; the evidence from the pre-cap, pre-entry level contract era suggests that when those artificial constraints aren't there, young guys will make huge demands - in the mid-90's top-25 salaries were normal for high picks, and that's $7m+ territory today. So the way the system needs to work is for the players to want that kind of money, but be held back by the entry-level, cap, and RFA systems.

And no, Sebastian didn't mean development is nearly finished on this version of the game.

[Mordrehl]

Originally Posted by JeffR

There are a variety of things going on here:

-Eller and Diaz are probably both rated a little too high at the moment; they haven't really followed up on the good seasons they had last year.
-if you're implying RFA contract requests are too high, I can't agree with that; lowering the amount players ask for simply because they're an RFA would have a lot of unrealistic effects, particularly at the higher end of the scale - look at what Weber and Stamkos asked for (and got) as RFA's.
-what is a problem is the lack of aggressiveness the AI teams have about qualifying players. It seems better in our newer builds, but it's something I'll continue to monitor and adjust if necessary.
-the high amounts requested by relatively unproven players are also an issue; I think I've got a solution for this, but it's not implemented yet because I want to work out a few other issues with contracts and roster management before adding that complicating factor. At the same time, I don't want to make younger players radically cheaper; the evidence from the pre-cap, pre-entry level contract era suggests that when those artificial constraints aren't there, young guys will make huge demands - in the mid-90's top-25 salaries were normal for high picks, and that's $7m+ territory today. So the way the system needs to work is for the players to want that kind of money, but be held back by the entry-level, cap, and RFA systems.

And no, Sebastian didn't mean development is nearly finished on this version of the game.

Fair enough about the development of the game, and I'll retract the cynical part of my post.

As to contracts ... I could see a 8-9 rated player asking that much. But Eller and Diaz for example are rated 7.0 and 7.5. As such, it would seem more realistic imo that they would be looking for a 3-4mil/year contract in line with other 7-7.5 rated players.

[Winnipeg59]

Originally Posted by Mordrehl

Fair enough about the development of the game, and I'll retract the cynical part of my post.

As to contracts ... I could see a 8-9 rated player asking that much. But Eller and Diaz for example are rated 7.0 and 7.5. As such, it would seem more realistic imo that they would be looking for a 3-4mil/year contract in line with other 7-7.5 rated players.

The game is not that far enough along, YET, to make this statement but...
Once the game is tweaked to perfection it's not so much what they "ask" for as what they will eventually "sign" for and the negotiating power of the AI. Think PK Subban IRL and the give and take before his bridge contract leading to him definitely cashing in with his next deal.

Whether sooner or later, that's where I would love FHM to be in this specific case!

Can't wait for this patch to see how far along they are.

[BlackIce]

I think people need to start understanding it's going to take a bit for the game to change and evolve into the game we all know it will eventually come. I for one have no problem spending the required fee to support and stand behind the OOTP team and not assume they're having pillow fights and not working on the game and assuming the next patch is the last and whatever else people fabricate.

Here's to positivity from thus forth onward and I for one appreciate the work that is going on with the game. Cheers folks and cya on the Ice!

[AlpineSK]

I think the answer to your core question is a simple one:

If you have an FHM14 license you get a considerable discount on your FHM15 purchase.

[zyberianwarrior]

Weber and Stamkos are all world players they deserve that kind of contract

[MXD]

Maybe I just missed it, and maybe I'm a bit offtopic...

But is there a plan/a way to have actual performance considered as it pertains to players contract demands?

And is there such plan/way to have that performance play a role -- albeit a possibly misleading one -- in a player evaluation for scouting and even drafting purposes?

[EJ]

Originally Posted by BlackIce

I think people need to start understanding it's going to take a bit for the game to change and evolve into the game we all know it will eventually come. I for one have no problem spending the required fee to support and stand behind the OOTP team and not assume they're having pillow fights and not working on the game and assuming the next patch is the last and whatever else people fabricate.

Here's to positivity from thus forth onward and I for one appreciate the work that is going on with the game. Cheers folks and cya on the Ice!

I couldn't agree more with this post!!! Anytime you're on the ground floor with almost anything, there's going to be a required commitment from everyone, in this case both developers and consumers.

@ the critics: do you really think Marcus would have the resources to finance a three to four year development period to pound out a new game? The choices here were: a) get a workable game onto the market and improve from there; or b) not have a game at all.

[Penfold75]

I pretty much see my purchase of FHM2014 as an investment in the game. Through Sebastian's update thread I am seeing big improvements being made to the game in areas that I was concerned about and felt need a bit of work. Also it represents a vast improvement in the level of communication with the users.

I am looking forward to trying out the new patch and any other patches to come with an eye to FHM2015 being an even bigger improvement. However if I see good progress in FHM2015 but there are still a few issues that need ironed out or options I would like to see not being included I will again see that purchase as an investment in the continued development of the game. As long as the improved communication continues and we are kept up to date with the plans FHM2014/FHM2015 I will happily continue to support the game.

[Mordrehl]

Originally Posted by zyberianwarrior

Weber and Stamkos are all world players they deserve that kind of contract

^^^ This

As much as I love Eller and think he's very talented ... a 7.0 rated player should not be asking for 6.5mil/year

7.0 3.5-4.5
7.5 4.5-5.5
8.0 5.5-6.5
8.5 6.5-7
9.0 7-7.5 mil/year
9.5+ 8 or more mil/year

Those numbers would be far more reasonable. By having a 7.0 rated player, who realistically should be a 2nd or 3rd line player asking for 6.5 mil/year you force NHL teams to slowly downgrade the talent pool. You'll rapidly hit the salary cap if you have to start paying all your above average rated players 6+ mil a year. NHL rosters will start to be filled by 6.0-6.5 rated players, with very few players above 7

[RavenEHM]

Originally Posted by Penfold75

I pretty much see my purchase of FHM2014 as an investment in the game.. ..As long as the improved communication continues and we are kept up to date with the plans FHM2014/FHM2015 I will happily continue to support the game.

Bingo. Couldn't have put it better myself. I have no problems with the amount FHM2014 cost. The game is just getting off the ground, the only way to ensure continued improvement and continued growth/success is funding. Small price to pay in the long run when you can see the value/potential of the product. The future looks bright, especially with a great team working on the project.

[Sabres2000]

im confused... so what because of where we are in the season there will only be a few updates before they begin a new verison of the game like i am so used to playing ehm 07 and im confused what this talk of FHM15 is already when they havnt fully completed FHM14 yet

[Ciccarelli]

Originally Posted by Sabres2000

im confused... so what because of where we are in the season there will only be a few updates before they begin a new verison of the game like i am so used to playing ehm 07 and im confused what this talk of FHM15 is already when they havnt fully completed FHM14 yet

There hasn't been much talk of them starting production of the next FHM, it's just a rumor. To answer your question, they're still working on FHM14 (if you can call it that) and hammering out the issues with it.

[Sabres2000]

thanks... I am new to this patch stuff so i know for when i start my file, usually how often do the patches come out i know theres alot of bugs and stuff to add and fix and such but i don't want to get too far into the game that i have to restart my game all over again.. Is it like every 2-3 months for a new patch... I dont mean for FHM i mean in general with OOTP and stuff like that when it comes to creating games.

Originally Posted by Sabres2000

thanks... I am new to this patch stuff so i know for when i start my file, usually how often do the patches come out i know theres alot of bugs and stuff to add and fix and such but i don't want to get too far into the game that i have to restart my game all over again.. Is it like every 2-3 months for a new patch... I dont mean for FHM i mean in general with OOTP and stuff like that when it comes to creating games.

As you can see in the forum there are people playing through the game and having little problems. Yes there are problems but I can assure you they are all getting worked on. The new patch is taking a little longer then the last because, as Sebastian said himself, 'it'll be released when it's ready'. OOTP Developments are a small team (2 people work on coding FHM for example) so don't expect a patch everyweek. The way I see it right now to stop any more pointless threads about FHM is that...

1. Play the game, enjoy it best you can. If you get any bugs/crashes make sure you report them so you can be sure they will get noticed and fixed!

2. Read http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...te-thread.html and wait for the said new patch to be released before you start playing FHM properly.

**I didn't mean THIS pointless thread.

[Sabres2000]

Originally Posted by Garethw87

As you can see in the forum there are people playing through the game and having little problems. Yes there are problems but I can assure you they are all getting worked on. The new patch is taking a little longer then the last because, as Sebastian said himself, 'it'll be released when it's ready'. OOTP Developments are a small team (2 people work on coding FHM for example) so don't expect a patch everyweek. The way I see it right now to stop any more pointless threads about FHM is that...

1. Play the game, enjoy it best you can. If you get any bugs/crashes make sure you report them so you can be sure they will get noticed and fixed!

2. Read http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...te-thread.html and wait for the said new patch to be released before you start playing FHM properly.

**I didn't mean THIS pointless thread.

Thanks for explaining that greatly appreciated

[Orioles1966]

Surprised that no one has made any comments after Jeff R's update.


Doesn't sound like the new patch will be ready anytime soon.

[kohut]

They need to hire more people. OOTP 14 was a very refined product and this game lags far behind. Now they are looking at OOTP 15 and a Football version.