NHL Eastside Hockey Manager 2007

[Ruki]

When I last played the game (before my demo expired).....I had Wade Belak(sp?) get suspended for 7 games with a game misconduct, and the game he got back, he was then suspended for 10 games. Maybe I shouldn't have set his fighting stat to "encouraged"

I was bored, so I went through old posts. I do not remember this...maybe I should re-try this....WITH THE NEW UPDATE?!

[Ruki]

Well, I couldn't download the actual update....so I found one that is somewhat current! Connoley and Richards are on the correct teams.

Gonna see if I can get me some Weber

Edit: Seems like I can sign a lot of players (MacArther, Callahan, Schenn, ect...) for under a million bucks.

Edit 2: I traded Luple for the rights to Ladd.

Edit 3: Traded Komi, Finger, and the rights to some random player for the rights to Weber. Can someone tell me if it is this easy for everyone else?

Edit 4: GRUMBLE GRUMBLE GRUMBLE. Stamkos is signed

[Ruki]

So, I started a new game with the Leafs, and the first season...not so good. I traded away all my draft picks in the next two years for a bunch of high picks in the 2010/2011 drafts (when the player regens start appearing). I managed to get Parise ,Weber, Dubinski and Callahan.... so I figured I was gonna have a great season Reimer and THe Monster failed...so I traded Monster for Nitty, and signed Esche (who would come in during the off season). Ended up trading Kulie and a few other players for Taylor Hall, and then finished 25th overall. Shit.

Next year, a bit better. Signed Patrick Sharp another D-man, and traded for Doughty. Started off slow, so I traded JML to the Islanders for Jose Theodore, who came in and was the #1. Ended up trading Taylor Hall to the Pens for the Malkin! Ended up getting into the playoffs, but lost in game 7 in the first round

This off season I signed Cam Fowler (not sure why he wasn't an RFA), Seguin (same), and Corey Perry (!!!). Started off 0-2-2, then I changed my captain to Parise, and things have been going great! Traded Seguin and Dubie to get Ryan Kessler out of Vancouver...but a problem....after 13 games, he goes down for 3 months Now, my second line center will likely be a pissed off Kadri (doesn't like the media...same with Doughty).

[Ruki]

Bump!

So, it looks like there is going to be a new Hockey Management sim!

http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/board/wthm-general-discussions/214874-ootp-goes-hockey.html

MPH, I think you've played the OOTP games? How are they?

[Colossus]

It's great. The 2nd best manager sim in the market

[Guest mr. potato head]

Yeah, the OOTP baseball games are better than anything out there that isn't FM. I'm not getting my hopes up too much, though, because this seems to be an OOTP Developments B-team working on the hockey game.

[apsham]

Colour me very, very interested.

[EddieG]

Maybe it's the same team as was working on EHM at SI and jumped ship to OOTP?

[Plubby]

The first sentence makes me worry about how knowledgeable they are. Either they've *really* dumbed down the hockey lingo to suit the non-hockey crowd (the sentence doesn't really get used in-context in that fashion), or they think a "top shelf goal" is analagous to a "top drawer goal" in soccer...

[Guest mr. potato head]

Maybe it's the same team as was working on EHM at SI and jumped ship to OOTP?

They give the exact names and background of both people working on the project and nowhere is SI mentioned

(Also I'm pretty sure NHL:EHM was still mostly a Riz operation.)

[NobBe Nobbs]

I hereby suggest that Bad Eddie be officially renamed Pretty Damn Reasonable Eddie. He directed me to an AWESOME store where I picked up a copy of this to replace the one that crashed and which I got no fucking help from the pricks at SI about, and I've just finished the first season. The dataset is kinda...well, really fucking funky - the season I've just finished is 2006/2007 but the first draft is full of players from the 2010 Draft and includes...um, Biggs Tyler - but fuck it. Fantasy Draft, because I love Fantasy Drafts, and the Leafs' forward corps include Alex Ovechkin, Thomas Vanek, David Krejci, Alex Semin, Logan Couture, Mikhail Grabovski, Nikolai Kulemin, James Van Reimsdyk [in the AHL] and so on. Those first four all finished point-per-game or above, and Grabovski was damn close.

The small problem is that I skimped a tiny bit on defense. Tiny bit to the tune of despite having all that firepower and leading the league with 300 goals scored, we were in a dogfight for the playoff spots right to the 81st game, then qualified seventh and got beaten in five games by the Islanders. Still, some savvy trading of excess forwards meant I had the 32nd and 33rd picks in the draft - I ended up trading them to Buffalo to pick up Cam Fowler at #4, then a couple of future picks to LA so I could get Brandon Gormley as well.

[Nikki]

I don't know if it has been posted, but the guys at The Blue Line has created a start date patch which enables you to change the start year from 2006 to 2011 (or 2075 if you want to). You can also edit every birth year in the editor so the players have correct birthyears again.

I believe it only works if you have a legal version of EHM.

http://www.ehmtheblueline.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=8288&sid=636806730a4d14e85be4e24a49dc8e70

[SeanDMan]

I don't know if it has been posted, but the guys at The Blue Line has created a start date patch which enables you to change the start year from 2006 to 2011 (or 2075 if you want to). You can also edit every birth year in the editor so the players have correct birthyears again.

I believe it only works if you have a legal version of EHM.

http://www.ehmtheblueline.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=8288&sid=636806730a4d14e85be4e24a49dc8e70

Really wish I had a working version now.

[SeanDMan]

Speaking of working versions, I figured I might barely be able to run this on my netbook and it turns out I was right. I had to hack the resolution so I can make EHM fit and it takes 2 actual years to update each in game day, but I have a new game going.

I picked the Seattle Thunderbirds, because I'd been playing as them in NHL 12 with my Be A Pro. This team however is very different since most of my players needed to be cut due to being overage, and the overage players on my Be A Pro team are still prospects here, so i don't know who to lean on.

Basically, we suck.

EHM predicted we'd finish last in the WHL, and last doesn't look good on my resume, even if I do intend to build this team through the draft and developing players, I can't do that if I get fired after the second year. So, I needed to buy time.

I went to teams with players who were on loan from NHL teams. If you've made a run to the Memorial Cup, you've experienced the pain these players can bring; at the end of the WHL season the NHL teams call them up, either to play in the NHL down the stretch if they're out of contention, or on the farm if they're the right age heading into the AHL playoffs. Either way, you can kiss your memorial cup goodbye. I had a dominating Moose Jaw Warriors team that, hit the end of the regular season, lost it's top four players to their NHL loans being called in. Four short playoff games later, it was a long offseason.

However, when you're predicted to finish last? Who gives a fuck about the playoffs. If I even make the playoffs, it will be a miracle. So I don't really care if those players end up getting called up to the NHL. I'll still have survived the year.

So, with that in mind, I went trading. Keeping my top 4 draft picks (first, second, and two thirds) was a must, so the earliest round I traded from was round 4 (a pick I managed to get incoming, before trading it out again). With nothing more than later round draft picks and Prab Rai (who is an overager and he sucks), I managed to pick up Brayden Schenn, Jordan Eberle, Shane Harper, and Johnny Lazo, all of whom the fans celebrated our acquiring and all of whom became instant first/second liners. Sure, 3 of those guys are likely in the NHL at the end of the year (Lazo is an undrafted overager, so he's gone next year no matter what), which means I have to start the whole thing next year, but I'll then have the benefit of a year of the amatuer draft and seasoning for the youth prospects I have (most of them are on defense, hence why I traded for 4 forwards).

We shall see how this goes. I hope I don't make the playoffs since I still want good draft picks.

[Ruki]

Are you using an updated roster pack?

[SeanDMan]

Partially. It's not current date, because Schenn is 20 right now IRL but he's 18 in the game.

[TGWL]

I think I may go back to playing tonight. Last year I downloaded an updated roster but never got around to playing it. I guess I'll try and find a newer update, then start again. What's a good site to find updates?

My current game just had the Rangers destroying everybody. I was able to get Datsyuk, Ovechkin, Brian Little, Kopitar as the stars on my team. I also have Jay Bouwmeester who's a beast.

[Ruki]

So....kinda getting excited for the OOTP Hockey Game...

Sebastian and Malte have been hard at work on the upcoming OOTP hockey management sim and have been posting snippets of information and updates throughout OOTP Developments' official forum. I have collated and summarised their updates below to help everybody stay up to date.

Please keep in mind that the game is still in development and details are of course subject to change. The following is my summary of what Sebastian and Malte have said thus far (note that this is just my summary but I have done my best to accurately summarise what they have said).

You can discuss these features in our brand new OOTP Hockey Manager Forum: viewforum.php?f=113

Basic Details

• The game's name has been decided but not yet publicly announced.
• The game is scheduled for release in quarter four of 2012 (i.e. roughly October - December 2012).
• It is to be released for the PC and Mac.
• Windows XP is unlikely to be officially supported but the game may well run on XP regardless.
• The game is a long term project. The number one priority is to get a rock solid first version as a basis for future games in the franchise.
• The game will of course be influenced by other management games (such as EHM, FM and some old German hockey manager games) but it is ultimately an OOTP game. Don't expect EHM 2007 + 1. EHM is not being used as the template for this game.
• It will have a similar look and feel to OOTP Baseball 13.
• OOTP Devs will not stop support after release. Continued updates will be provided thoughout the year.
• An iPad version will likely be developed for a future version.
• Depending on the availability of volunteers to translate, the game will be available in different languages.
  Game Features
  
  • Dynamic news and event system (based on XML files).
  • OOTP Baseball style news and storylines will feature in the game.
  • Online league gameplay and commish mode will be included.
  • Plenty of statistics - it is what OOTP Devs are know for after all!
  • FaceGen is technically very easy to implement into the game. However, whether or not it will be implemented depends on the cost of purchasing a license for the game.
  • The in-match mode will be similar to that of other text sims such as EHM and FM. The game will run with commentary for notable events. The clock can be stopped at any point in order to allow for changes of strategies or to look at player stats. This is a lot different to OOTP Baseball, but this is due to the nature of hockey.
  • A 2D engine will not make it into the first version of the game. It will be a text commentary only. A 2D engine could be included in a future version depending on time and available manpower.
  • The exact location of important in-match events will be displayed along with a short description of the event (e.g. shots, hits, etc).
    Rosters and Leagues
    
    • NHL, AHL, ECHL, QMJHL, OHL and WHL are confirmed as being included as playable leagues.
    • Additional leagues (such as European leagues and lower North American leagues) will depend on the number of researchers OOTP Devs can acquire.
    • All important leagues will be added to the game. If the devs are unable to complete a league (i.e. missing player research or rules) then the league will not be playable. However you will still be able to interact with non-playable teams (e.g. scouting and trading).
    • Recently it was stated that the database has 40 leagues, 277 teams and over 11,000 players (no ratings had been generated yet - just the basic bio data and some career stats). Only North American leagues, teams and players had been added at that time.
    • Recently it was stated that the database has approximately 90,000 cities from around the world and every existing nation/state/province.
    • Unlike OOTP Baseball, it will not be possible to generate player attributes/ratings purely from stats (due to the differences between baseball and hockey). This will be down to the work of researchers instead.
    • The developers are optimistic that a system for historic databases is a string possibility. It might be possible to generate historical seasons from the data in a similar way to the Lahman Database for OOTP Baseball.
    • The game will feature some real player names. It will be a more or less identical system as OOTP Baseball.
    • Leagues such as the NCAA will feature real team and conference names but will faked players.
    • International and contentintal competitions (such as the World Championships, Olympics and Spengler Cup) might not make it into the first version of the game. It depends on time constraints and, if not possible, it will feature in either a game update or in version 2.
      Customisation
      
    • At this stage, it is uncertain whether or not an in-built data editor will be included with the game.
    • The game will not have any hardcoded data at all. All league rules, leagues, player and teams are editable.
    • Some examples of editable data are: Names, ratings, team market, fan interest, arena quality, league structure, salary cap, salary floor, reputation of league, and point system for standings.
    • It will be easy to realign the NHL.
    • Leagues will have a reputation rating in addition to a few other settings.
    • Things such as OT, shootouts, all-star game format and roster limits (e.g. roster limits for regular season, OT and playoffs) will be editable rules.
    • The salary cap will be editable.
    • Leagues can feature automatic promotion and relgation.
    • It will be possible to create your own fictional leagues and teams.
    • Editable injury system (based on external file).
    • The game can already import schedules from individual text files and so real schedules for every league and year is possible.

    Player Regens

    [*]The regen system will be very different to EHM. For each player that retires, the game will generate a new player. The only information that the game takes from the retired player is his position and his first nationality.[*]When generating a regen player, the game will assign a quality (i.e. level of skill / potential) based upon nationality and not based upon the retired player's skill. For example, a player is more likely to be of good quality from Sweden than from Great Britain. Each nation has its own quality rating.[*]Regen players will also be assigned a type based on their nationality and position (e.g. new players from Russia will more likely be technical types).[*]The regen player's ratings will then be generated based on the assigned quality, position and type.[*]Thus it is possible (albeit extremely rare) for a generational player ala Gretzky to be generated in a lesser known country.[*]Here is an example: On average Germany would produce some NHL talent, in some years more (like this days) in other years just a few player and from time to time it would produce an above average type NHL player who could be a Winger or a defense man, not necessarily a Goalie because of Kölzig.[*]As regens are based upon the nationality of retired players, the proportion of different nationalities in the game will remain constant.[*]The name of a regen depends upon regions and ethnicities - not just his first and second nationality. This applies not only to Canada, but many other countries such as Switzerland.

    Miscellaneous
  • OOTP Devs haven't started much work on the scouting system yet.
  • No decision has been made as to whether the quality of scouts employed will have a bearing on the accuracy of attributes displayed in a player profile (this is how OOTP Baseball does it).
  • Player role / type will not be visible in game but some form of scout report should be available for players - e.g. "Player XY has a strong but inaccurate shot."
  • Training / development camps will only be added to the game if the devs can find a meaningful use for them. It must be reasonable integrated into the scouting / development system.
  • The devs are looking to make a game that is not biased in favour of offence. For example, average ratings will be based upon all actions that happen in the game and not just on goals and assists. Ice time is an important factor but a player with limited ice time on a checking line will have the chance to earn a good game rating if he gets his job done.
  • Similar to EHM, there will be a combination of visible and hidden player attibutes. Some attributes will likely be the same as EHM whereas others will be different.
  • Some hidden attributes may be grouped and displayed as a single visible attribute.
  • Before each match, the game will generate "Game_Ratings" which will form a part of the match simulation. The "Game_Ratings" change on the fly during the game based on situation (e.g. high pressure match, morale, possible injuries, etc).
  • Team marker, fan interest and arena quality will all be a big part of the game.
  • There will be a GM history and GM stats in game. Each GM will get a season/career score in order to evaluate his success. GM achievements might be implemented.
  • An Assistant GM will feature in the game in order to help new users. This feature can be turned disabled (presumably by not hiring an Assistant in game??).
  • The AI will act differently depending on whether the team is currently building for the future or is in contention for the championship.
  • All GMs have a national and international reputation. This reputation will affect things such as negotiations (i.e. how easy/hard it is to pull of a trade or negotiate a player's contract).
  • The game market will be variable. Player values will fluctuate depending on the market situation. A single totally overpriced contract wouldn't set a new benchmark but it would affect the market.
    

[Plubby]

If this has a demo, and it proves to be playable, i'm paying whatever they want for the full game.

TAKE MAH MONNEYYYYYY~!!!

[Ruki]

Basically, yeah. I will support these guys forever!