Can I play international tournaments in custom leagues now?

Yes, FHM 11 introduces international play in custom games. Now, the structure of international tournaments will adapt based on the setup of your custom leagues. This offers flexibility in shaping global tournaments to fit the unique configurations of custom leagues, enhancing the international experience.

What’s new in historical mode?

Historical mode now includes fully playable minor leagues, starting with the American Hockey League (AHL). You’ll have access to the AHL’s complete history from 1940 to the present, with all players included, allowing for a richer historical simulation with a focus on minor league hockey development and tracking.

Has the AI trading system been improved?

Significant updates have been made to the AI trading system. The AI now uses a broader range of trade models and addresses previous loopholes in trade logic. This results in more realistic trades and challenges for players managing a team. Additionally, the European transfer system AI has been adjusted similarly, which adds more realism to player movement in international leagues.

What is the 4 Nations Faceoff Tournament?

The FHM 11 game now includes the NHL’s new 4 Nations Faceoff Tournament in its modern game mode. This addition offers players a chance to manage teams in a popular international event that brings together some of the world’s top hockey talent.

How does job security work in this version?

Job security mechanics have undergone major revisions to provide a more realistic experience. In FHM 11, owners set specific goals for team managers, such as improving team performance or acquiring certain players. Failure to meet these objectives could impact your job, while meeting them can improve your standing with the owner.

Can I track my players’ development more closely now?

FHM 11 includes a development tracking feature that lets you monitor the progress of your players over time. This tool helps assess player growth, making it easier to make informed roster decisions and to develop younger players effectively.

Do coaches have tactical preferences?

Yes, in this release, coaches now have specific tactical preferences. A coach will be more effective when using tactics they are comfortable with, and they will employ these preferred tactics more frequently, providing an additional layer of strategic management.

Are there updates to young player generation and talent distribution?

FHM 11 introduces changes to the database of younger players and the overall player generation system. There’s now a smoother distribution of NHL-caliber young players, as well as adjustments to maintain a steady top-end quality among new prospects over the course of the game, aiming to prevent talent saturation.

What changes have been made to the 2D game engine?

The 2D engine now features improved play execution logic, building upon past play-calling improvements. Teams are more likely to stick with their set plays longer, and the passing mechanics have been updated to allow for more indirect passing. This provides a more strategic and lifelike in-game experience for players.

What new league reports are available?

New reports have been added, including a Hall of Fame monitor and a review of past draft sleepers and busts. These reports help players keep track of key league achievements and draft history, offering more depth in evaluating players and understanding team progress.

How has the AI’s roster management improved for offseason changes?

The AI now better handles roster management during the offseason. For example, it can anticipate roster changes due to expiring contracts or players becoming free agents after July 1, resulting in a smoother transition between seasons.

Are there any additional features?

The update also includes previews of playoff series in the news, a mid-season award candidate preview, and new design elements. Player and team rosters are updated for the 2024-25 season, along with small improvements across the game.

These updates in Franchise Hockey Manager 11 provide a well-rounded and engaging hockey management experience for players, from improved international play to detailed development tracking and tactical preferences.

To talk all about the newest release, come join the discussion on the /r/gmgames reddit!

The post Franchise Hockey Manager 11: New Features for 2024-25 (PC, Mac) appeared first on GM Games - Sports General Manager Video Games.

The Franchise Hockey Manager series returns for the 2021-22 season with plenty of new additions.

OOTP Developments and Com2uS has packed many new features and improvements into it. Driven by community feedback. FHM 8 is their strongest entry yet in the longstanding NHL®-licensed PC hockey strategy series.

[This press release is made courtesy of OOTP Developments]

Choose one of dozens of leagues around the world and select a team to guide to glory, including a chance at the ultimate prize: FHM 8 is licensed by the NHL®, allowing you to take the reins of your favorite franchise to capture the Stanley Cup®.

Take control of a national team and try for international supremacy. Choose a historical game, where you can begin in any year in NHL® history right back to the beginning in 1917. Or if you’d like to create your own customized league, you can do that as well!

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Release the Kraken!

Draft your own version of the expansion Seattle Kraken or enter the league with their real lineup.

Take control based on in-game events

Alter players’ styles and tactics in response to game events.

All new for Franchise Hockey Manager 8:

• NEW FINANCIAL SYSTEM!: Build your Legacy with the new financial system, allowing you much more control over your budget and operations.
• NEW ON-ICE DECISIONS!: You directly influence your players’ choices on the ice!
• UP-TO-DATE 2021-2022 NHL® ROSTERS: The fans are back in the stands, and we have fully-updated rosters, teams, leagues, and stats for the 2021-2022 NHL® season!
• A LIVING, BREATHING HOCKEY WORLD!: New rumours, news stories, and new stats reveal your hockey world.
• IMPROVED 2D GAME MODE!: The 2D game system has undergone many changes to improve player behaviour, animation, and statistical output, and received some new graphics and aminations too!
• REALISTIC HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: Junior, College, and European leagues in historical games have been significantly fleshed out, so young players will no longer just be free agents before they’re signed or drafted, and the Sponsorship/Affiliate system that was used by the NHL up until the 1960’s is now simulated as well.
• BUILD YOUTH SYSTEMS: European teams will now be able to take steps to improve the quality of the young players entering their youth systems.
• ADJUSTABLE TRADE DIFFICULTY: Trading difficulty can now be adjusted, allowing for easier or more difficult trade negotiations – or nearly impossible ones!
• MORE POSTGAME FEEDBACK! A new postgame analysis screen points out the good, the bad, and the ugly of both teams’ performances.
• WATCH HIGHLIGHTS: 2D Mode now has a “highlights” option that’ll allow you to view only the game’s key moments, or just the goals.
• NEW CUSTOMIZATION OPTIONS: Custom games can now add tournaments that allow the participation of teams from multiple leagues, and can add new leagues after the game has started.
• YOUR OWN NOTEPAD: Players now have a user-editable “Notes” view that can be used to record your own notes, reminders, etc. regarding them.
• HOCKEY CARDS! We’ve added a new “hockey card” style for displaying player portraits on some screens.

FHM 8 is big, bold, and packed with improvements – continuing to build on the foundation of the long-running hockey strategy series.

Join in the conversation about FHM 8 on discord or below on Reddit..

The post The Puck Drops on Franchise Hockey Manager 8 appeared first on GM Games - Sports General Manager Video Games.

The Franchise Hockey Manager series returns for the 2020-21 season with plenty of new additions.

A return of the deepest, most authentic hockey strategy gaming experience you can find. Choose one of dozens of leagues around the world and select a team to guide to glory, including a chance at the ultimate prize: FHM7 is licensed by the NHL®, allowing you to take the reins of your favorite franchise to capture the Stanley Cup®.

[This press release is made courtesy of OOTP Developments]

Take control of a national team and try for international supremacy. Choose a historical game, where you can begin in any year in NHL® history right back to the beginning in 1917. Or if you’d like to create your own customized league, you can do that as well.

However you choose to play, you have control of your team and can oversee finances, select strategies, hire your staff, make trades, sign free agents, and draft the newest generation of stars as you try to build a championship team – and then make it into a dynasty.

2D Engine

The game simulation has been rebuilt from the ground up, and now shows games in a top-down, fully-animated view that lets you see every second of the action.

All new for Franchise Hockey Manager 7:

• Historical International Tournaments: International games have been added to historical play, so you can control a team in legendary events like the 1972 Summit Series and the Miracle on Ice in 1980. We’ve also added a large number of non-NHL players to the historical database, so if you want to see what the cold war-era NHL would’ve looked like with the stars of the Soviet bloc added, that’s now possible.
• More Customization for Custom Leagues: Custom league setup much more flexible – you can now add as many leagues as you want, all of them fully customizable. The playoff editor also has a new custom configuration option in addition to the pre-set default systems.
• Redesigned Scouting System: The scouting interface has been simplified and made a little more visually appealing with the addition of maps showing the coverage your team (and individual scouts) have. Scouting reports have also been changed to provide more useful and relevant information, and Scouting Levels now include an estimate of the player’s likelihood of reaching his potential.
• Reworked Draft Screen: Mock drafts, a draft review, and scout recommendations have been added. Additionally, we’ve moved the draft dates in modern and custom games – they now occur in early July, as they do in historical, which allows expansion teams to participate in them during their first season.
• Configurable Historical Evolution: When when you opt to turn on historical editing, you can now specify if you want changes like league foundings/closures, team expansion and deactivation, and rule changes to continue as they did historically or not, in any configuration you want.
• More Farm Team Control: If you want more control over your farm team, you can now have direct control over their depth charts and staff hiring.
• Schedule Editing: A long-requested feature, schedules can now be exported for editing, and then re-imported.
• Waiver and Intraleague Drafts: The beloved Waiver Draft has been added to historical play in the years it existed, along with its predecessor, the Intraleague Draft. Additionally, both are also available as options that can be activated for any other type of league.

Other significant changes and additions include:

• Reworked the news screen to show more headlines and flag personal messages and those which need a reply.
• Real-life full-career stats are now included on the player screens in historical mode, so you can see if a player is matching his real performance…or cheat a little, if you want to see how a potential draft pick really turns out.
• A team search tab has been added to the player and staff search.
• Various international upgrades: national teams run by the user no longer clear rosters after tournaments end, so you don’t need to rebuild them, international staff histories are now recorded, and we’ve made various UI improvements and fixes to get the international screens working a little better.
• The continue button now alerts to you to upcoming events like drafts and trade deadlines.
• Database improvements like significantly expanded international stats histories for players, award histories for most leagues, and more
• The success of a national team now has an effect on the quality of new players generated by that country.
• Players can now be designated as Untouchable if you don’t want to get trade offers for them, and players on other teams can be flagged as “Not Interested” if you don’t want them to be included in trade offers to you.
• The Aging attribute had been split into Aging and a new attribute, Development Rate to make our modelling of player career arcs more flexible.
• Roster AI has received a number of adjustments, mainly in the area of how the AI determines player value; most of these are designed to take advantage of systems (line chemistry, etc.) that didn’t exist when the last major roster AI revision was done. AI teams’ free agent-signing behaviour has also been improved.
• The player search screen’s filter now allows minimum ratings scores to be included in the filter criteria.-We’ve made some database and player generation changes to significantly reduce the memory usage of long-term leagues, allowing much better long-term game performance for users with limited RAM.
• Many new things are editable on the player, team, and league screens – contract settings, favourites, foreign player restrictions, among others.
• Boxscores can now be exported as csv files.
• The later years of historical player data got a lot of re-work, fixing some inaccuracies and significantly adding to the number of post-2010 players who haven’t made the NHL yet

In addition to all of that, there are the usual large variety of smaller and internal changes, tweaks, database changes, interface improvements, and the 20-21 team and player updates!

Join in the conversation about FHM 7 on discord or below on Reddit..

The post The Puck Drops on Franchise Hockey Manager 7 appeared first on GM Games - Sports General Manager Video Games.

[Contents of this story are pieces from the OOTP Developments Announcement]

Here’s what you’ll get in FHM 6:

New Rivalry System!

Rival matches have extra significance for success – and change over time in response to in-game results.

Fans Matter!

Supporter happiness is tracked, changing in response to in-game events and actions, affecting attendance, job security, owner satisfaction, and more!

Alter History!

Change the structure and evolution of historical leagues and teams.

Improved player modeling!

Suspensions for on- or off-ice incidents, stat-adjusted talent ratings, and personality ratings that evolve in response to game event.

Real historical staff!

Play with and against legendary coaches, general managers, and owners, or step into their shoes with the new “Play as” mode that lets you take the identity (and abilities!) of a real GM.

New exhibition mode!

Pit any team from any era against anyone else in a head-to-head exhibition match. The possibilities are endless. Can you determine the best hockey club ever?

Up-to-Date 2019-20 NHL® Rosters

Every NHL® team features accurate rosters full of freshly rated players, along with the real clubs, awards, and trophies associated with the greatest hockey league in the world. Plus! Up-to-date rosters for the dozens of global leagues, competitions, and tournaments jammed into FHM 6.

New team reports!

Tons of new information at your fingertips, including prospect and positional rankings, team power rankings, the best and worst single-game performances, global team ranking system, and more.

25 new historical challenges!

A wide variety of scenarios await to test your skill, ranging across every skill level.

And Much More!

FHM 6 is the biggest and deepest version in series history, with much more packed in than we can possibly list here. We can’t wait for you to get your hands on it!

The post Franchise Hockey Manager FHM 6 is now available worldwide (PC, Mac, Linux) appeared first on GM Games - Sports General Manager Video Games.

[Contents of this story are pieces from the OOTP Developments Announcement]

Here’s what you’ll get in FHM 5:

Up-to-Date 2018-19 NHL® Rosters

Every NHL® team features accurate rosters full of freshly rated players, along with the real clubs, awards, and trophies associated with the greatest hockey league in the world. Up-to-date rosters are also available for the dozens of global leagues, competitions, and tournaments in FHM 5.

Improved Tactics

New, deep tactics that allow unprecedented control over how your entire team performs, down to each line and individual player.

New User Interface

We redesigned the user interface to make it easier and faster to do what you want to do while you’re managing your team.

New Chemistry Dynamics

Mix and match players to find the right team chemistry that will maximize performance on the ice.

New Player and Staff Personalities

Set your team up for long-term success by hiring staff members with the right personalities and paying attention to how players’ personalities mesh with each other.

Online Leagues

Compete against friends around the world and decide who has the best hockey strategy.

And More!

FHM 5 allows you to build your hockey franchise into a perennial Stanley Cup® winner YOUR way, in the current 2018-19 season or back through the entire history of the sport – all the way back to the very beginning! Different eras demand different tactics, and it’s up to you to put together the best club possible for every era.

The post The scoop! Franchise Hockey Manager FHM5 features for this 2019 season appeared first on GM Games - Sports General Manager Video Games.

[Contents of this press release has been compiled from the OOTP Developments Press Release]

FHM 4 is officially licensed by the NHL®, it packs even more features than FHM 3 and takes the series to a whole new level in terms of realism and gameplay.

New features in FHM 4

2017-18 team rosters

Take over a team in one of over 24 playable leagues that feature real current rosters based on countless hours of detailed research into player ratings. In addition to the National Hockey League® license, which gives FHM 4 real logos, uniforms, and histories for all 31 teams, the game features North American minor leagues, Canadian major junior leagues, and multiple levels of European hockey leagues.

Vegas, baby!

Yes, you can roll the dice with the new NHL® expansion team, the Vegas Golden Knights™. Take control of the team as it was built through the expansion draft or return those players to their original teams and remake the Golden Knights™ according to your strategic vision.

Unprecedented customization

FHM 4 features even more ways to set up a league. In additional to pre-configured structures, choose the number of conferences and divisions in your league, its schedule length, and the number of teams.

The most hockey ever

Travel as far back as the 1917-18 season and enjoy historically accurate rosters, including the early major leagues in western Canada! FHM 4 puts more hockey history at your fingertips than any game ever released.
In addition, try one of FHM 4’s 30 new historical challenges (one per NHL® team) and see if you can repeat, or improve on, such successes as Montreal’s 1950s dynasty, Philadelphia’s 1970s expansion wins, and Vancouver’s wild ride to the 1982 Stanley Cup® Final!

Challenge Mode

You can also put your hockey smarts to the test in the modern day with Challenge Mode, a new twist that pushes you to compete and win even when the odds are stacked against you. It’s a spin on the popular Path to Glory Mode, which is now available in every aspect of FHM 4.

Commissioner Mode

You can now take the top-level view in all game types and make changes as you see fit.

Worldwide playable leagues

Take the reins of a team in Austria, Belarus, Denmark, Slovakia, Poland, and other countries, in addition to returning favorites. FHM 4 also features a European Champions League and more international competitions than ever.

Staggering detail

Many more new features include:

• A new Hall of Fame system
• Line chemistry
• Player uniform number assignments
• Postseason awards
• Dramatically expanded statistical tracking
• Single game records
• Club alumni lists
• In-game audio and visual enhancements

The post Details emerge of the new Franchise Hockey Manager FHM 4 (PC, Mac) appeared first on GM Games - Sports General Manager Video Games.

OOTP Developments today announced that Franchise Hockey Manager 3 has shipped and is officially licensed by the National Hockey League (NHL) for the first time in FHM’s history. The NHL license allows all teams in the game to have real logos and uniforms for an authentic hockey experience and removes the need for player and jersey mods.

FHM 3 includes some of the following features these features:

• Officially licensed by the NHL. Teams will have their real logos, insignias, and uniforms along with the Stanley Cup Championship and post-season awards.

• New Career Mode: Path to glory: A streamlined and more approachable way to play, with improved game and information flow as well as news from around the world that impacts your experience.

• Generate your General Manager/Coach, assign your skills as you wish, start low and work your way up – or take the helm of your favorite team and take it to the Stanley Cup Championship.

• New Role-Based Tactical System: Allows the coach to choose from a variety of pre-set tactics to build their team’s “system” and then assign players specific roles that fit into that system.

• Rebuilt Injury System – Injuries are now generated directly from in-game events and correspond to specific activities – fights will break noses more than they will sprain ankles. Players are now rated for durability in different parts of their bodies, and serious injuries in one place can leave them more vulnerable to more injuries of the same type later in their career.

• Updated Development Process – Player development has received some significant changes, introducing more variability and making player evaluation much more uncertain.

• Updated Interface – The FHM 2 interface has been refined even further to make playing the game easier than ever.

• Star ratings have been rescaled so there’s much more diversity within leagues
• More logical penalty calling
• A new game rating system that adds offensive and defensive game scores
• Leagues now have a functioning central scouting organization that you can use to guide your own scouting and drafting
• A more detailed coaching model
• Improved AI throughout the game, for example trade AI, roster AI, in-game AI, contract AI and so on, resulting in a more challenging game play.

The post It’s out. Franchise Hockey Manager – FHM 3 (PC, Mac) appeared first on GM Games - Sports General Manager Video Games.

Although everyone is capable of loading the modifications available from their website or our forums, there is a certain luster these games have when the real logos, players, pictures are all available without the extra effort. Now some may be fans of playing historic modes but this also provides an opportunity to use the classic logos. Oakland Seals anyone?

Here are some more details of the latest features:

• Officially licensed by the NHL®! Teams will have their real logos, insignias, and uniforms along with the Stanley Cup® Championship and post-season awards!
• All-New ‘Path To Glory’ Mode: A streamlined and more approachable way to play, with improved game and information flow as well as news from around the world that impacts your experience.
• Generate your GM/Coach, assign your skills as you wish, start low and work your way up – or take the helm of your favorite team and take it to the Stanley Cup® Championship!
• New Role-Based Tactical System: Allows the coach to choose from a variety of pre-set tactics to build their team’s “system” and then assign players specific roles that fit into that system.

You’ll find new screenshots available in our FHM3 game hub.

The post Franchise Hockey Manager 3, Officially Licensed by the NHL appeared first on GM Games - Sports General Manager Video Games.

Before I start delving into the game, it’s worth noting two things:

• this review is based upon the second patch (version 2.2.9); and
• as with EHM, I have a vested interest in FHM, having assisted with testing and research for a number of years.

After reading this review, I highly recommend checking out views of other users on the OOTP Forum. This review is written predominantly with a focus on coaching/managing a hockey team rather than the sandbox/fictional mode side of the game.  So if you want a real feel for how the sandbox side works, I recommend looking at the many threads on the subject over on the OOTP Forum.

* Please note that the screenshots attached to this review are of the game using third party modified logos and jersey images available online. The game ships without any logos or player images.

Game Modes

The game offers three modes; modern, historic and fictional/custom.

The modern game has 21 playable leagues from throughout the world of hockey, ranging from North America to Europe and Asia. Some of the leagues’ rosters are fully up to date as of 2015/16 whereas others are currently out of date. This is really down to the number of volunteers that offer to help research the leagues rather than anything the developers can really control. It should be noted that plenty of work is going on behind the scenes to try and get all of the leagues fully up to date – so keep an eye out for future roster updates from OOTP. It is also worth noting that there are no national teams or national tournaments in the game.

Understandably, North America has been the main focus during development of the game and it really shows when comparing the in-game experience of the NHL/AHL with that of European leagues. Currently the European leagues feel a bit like they have been shoe-horned into a North American template. Many European-specific rules and features are missing right now (such as rules allowing unlimited foreigners to be present on a roster). A particular issue is the NHL-style 23 man active roster limit imposed on every European league and the rigid requirement that you must dress four lines (and players cannot play on more than one line); this really hampers smaller European teams that typically dress only three lines. It also results in teams acquiring large rosters of similar sizes to NHL teams rather than sticking to small rosters as they would in real life. The devs are well aware of this and I know it is hoped a patch and/or FHM 3 will see a more rounded European experience.

The historic mode is, in my view, the jewel in the crown. Every NHL and WHA season from 1931/32 onwards can be simulated. There are two different ways of playing; players can develop and retire as they did in real life or they can develop and retire dynamically using FHM’s development engine. The former allows you to play out each season just as in real life whereas the latter allows for more unpredictability with potential for things to unfold in a very different manner. Whichever option you choose, you will not be disappointed with the experience. It’s a great deal of fun and the possibilities are endless.

The third of FHM’s modes is the fictional/custom mode. I won’t profess to have much expertise in this area, but there is a great deal of flexibility (such as number of conferences/divisions/teams, customising game rules and adding farm and/or junior leagues). The new game wizard means creating a new custom game is incredibly straightforward and user friendly.

In addition to the three game modes, it is now possible to play FHM as an online multiplayer in the same style as OOTP.

There is also the possibility to play multiple GM/hotseat mode but it feels more like the online multiplayer commish style of play rather than being true hotseat mode within the traditional single player style.

User Interface

The first thing that is striking when starting the game is how different it looks compared to FHM 2014. The new interface is slicker and more modern when compared to its predecessor.  More importantly, the navigation system has been completely redesigned from the ground up. The jarring UI experience in FHM 2014 with a myriad of submenus within submenus is no more. In its place is a much more logical ribbon menu-style system running along the top of the screen. Navigating around the many different screens is now far easier and compliments the gameplay.

A really neat feature is the mini pop-up window that appears whenever you hover the mouse over a player’s name. The pop-up provides some basic bio data and the past couple of seasons’ worth of stats. It’s a really small thing, but it a makes a big difference to day-to-day playing as you can quickly check a player’s basis stats rather than having to delve into the full profile screen. A similarly useful function is the action menu which appears when right-clicking on a player’s name. Again, it makes key managerial controls that much quicker and easier to use.

A further major development is the much anticipated introduction of FaceGen. Every player and staff member now has a photo realistic face image which can be customised as much as you wish. The images are not true to life; rather they are randomly generated with each new game. However, there is the ability to generate true to life images and import them into the game (cue third party mods!).

My favourite aspect of FaceGen has to be the jerseys. Already there are fan-made jerseys for many teams in the game (including a remarkable project to recreate every historic NHL jersey since the 1930s). Even for those teams without, the game generates a generic one based upon the team’s colours.

Overall, the user interface is very nicely done indeed. There are however a few issues here and there. For instance, it is not immediately obvious how to respond to a message in the messages screen (e.g. responding to a trade offer). At first glance, the Action button above each message only has the usual message options such “mark all as read”. However, in amongst these options are also the options to respond to the messages, such as responding to a trade offer. It might make more sense to separate these two categories of options/actions into two buttons; and perhaps with the “respond to trade”, etc buttons located below the message so that they are easily visible once the message has been read through. There are also some issues with the Tactics and Match screens which I will get onto later. But the odd niggle here and there is to be expected and none of these issues impede upon the enjoyment of the game.

Coaching and Managing your Team

As with EHM, it is hard to know where to begin with describing the coaching and managing features of the game. It is fair to say that all of the key coaching and GM functions are present in game. Pre-season, team practice, scouting, drafting, trading and setting lines and tactics are just a taste of what FHM has to offer.

All of the standard line types are available when setting the line-up of your team (e.g. even strength, powerplay, penalty kill, etc). Setting the lines is, however, a bit awkward right now. Each individual slot must be filled by dragging and dropping the player into the slot. With 75 slots to fill, that is an awful lot of dragging and dropping. The ability to highlight a player and then simply clicking on the chosen slots is sorely needed. This issue is made worse by the fact the game will not allow you to continue if you have an injured player in your line-up; regardless of whether or not you have a game that day. This can mean constantly adjusting your team’s line-up simply to allow the game to progress to the next day. It’s a constant battle and can get pretty frustrating if you suffer a spate of short injuries.

In terms of tactics, the game is much improved over FHM 2014. There are plenty of slider-style settings to adjust things such as tempo, shoot/pass bias, checking, etc. Ice time can also be set on a line-by-line basis. An aspect I really like is the ability to set period-by-period offence/defence settings according to how many goals ahead or behind the team is. This is an extremely useful feature; particularly if you’re like me and tend to increase/decrease the aggression depending upon the score line and how far advanced the game is.

The only aspect that is really missing from the tactical settings is the use of various offensive and defensive systems teams tend to use in real life; such as umbrella, 1-3-1, etc on the powerplay and diamond and tight/wide box on the penalty kill. There is a diagram in the tactics screen that shows the positioning of your players on the offence/defence, but none of the tactical settings available appear to have any bearing on the positions.

The game uses player roles rather than individual tactical settings. Those who like to micromanage individual tactical settings might find this a little disappointing, but I feel the introduction of roles makes for a better system. Firstly, there are plenty of roles available and so you can tailor a player’s role to quite some extent. Secondly, the player’s role has a bearing on their game rating. For instance, a poor defensive performance will significantly impact the rating of a player on two-way forward role but will not significantly impact the rating of an offensive forward. This makes game ratings far more valuable and reflective of a player’s role rather than simply being a restrictive one size fits all style of rating.

Scouting is done very well. A full report with overall rating information is available for every player scouted. The accuracy of the report varies according to how good the scout is and how recently the player was scouted.

Match Engine

The match engine generally produces realistic looking results and statistics. The re-write of the match engine really is paying dividends and makes for a very significant improvement over the stats generated by FHM 2014. Although there are reports of a few issues here and there, these will be hopefully be ironed out in time and they do not detract from what is a very decent match simulation.

The in-game experience consists of a chart showing the approximate location of the action along with text commentary. It may not be the bells and whistles experience of the 2D match engine of EHM, but it does the job just fine. The action can be followed with ease and there are plenty of match stats that can be viewed as the match progresses. There are also plenty of highlight settings so that you do not have to watch the full game commentary if you do not want to.

The user interface of the match screen does arguably need some polishing however. The screen in general feels rather cramped. The rink would benefit from being a bit larger and I am not convinced the player info section is really necessary in the main match screen.  Viewing team stats is a bit awkward as you have to click on the Box Score button and then scroll all the way down, below the period summaries. Trying to find period-by-period shots on goal stats can be really hard unless you know exactly where to find them (go to the box score screen and scroll all the way to the bottom). Things like period-by-period shot stats would fit perfectly on the stats screen which is pretty empty right now. Team stats would be more accessible if they had their own screen. Also, the text commentary should be visible regardless of which screen you’re viewing (currently the game will pause when you’re viewing any of the in-game stats screens)

Perhaps more importantly, certain tactical settings cannot be adjusted during the match; namely the player roles and the period-by-period offence/defence settings I mentioned earlier. Suddenly these incredibly useful settings can become a hindrance. What if your penalty kill is struggling and you want to change your enforcers’ roles to something less aggressive? It seems this can’t be done and, seeing as players cannot be benched, you’re stuck for the entirety of the game. Doh!

Customisation

FHM offers a plethora of in-game customisation. Player, team and basic league data can be edited on the fly at any time. More advanced league settings can be edited during the off-season (in order to ensure game stability). I have often started a new game with other sims in the past only to see a big trade occur in real life, making me consider editing the database and starting again. With FHM I can easily incorporate that trade into an existing saved game and carry on playing. The level of customisation is great and it seems to have none of the instability with which FHM 2014 suffered.

Unfortunately there is not an official or third party pre-game editor right now, and so editing the database is impossible. Strictly speaking, quick start games can be created from an existing saved game; but this does not offer the same sort of flexibility as database editing. Further, you lose the dynamically created attributes which are generated when creating a new game from a database. Hopefully this is something we’ll see in a future version of the game and, in any event, there should be a steady supply of roster updates from the developers so long as the game is actively developed.

Conclusion

Two years ago, the general feeling amongst most people towards FHM was very negative. The UI was awkward and the game full of critical bugs and limitations. Two years on and we have a completely different experience. The game is extremely good in many ways. Sebastian and co at OOTP should be extremely proud of themselves. To turn things around like this is remarkable.

FHM 2 has a great deal to offer hockey fans, but I can’t say I agree with OOTP’s audacious claim that it is the greatest hockey game in the world. FHM 2 does some things very well indeed (and better than EHM) and other things not so well. Most importantly, the game is enjoyable, engaging and generally realistic.

Major strengths are the historical mode, fictional/custom mode, plenty of history and stats tracking, some nice tactical and UI features and a highly customisable in-game experience. Areas which are lacking right now are certain aspects of tactics and the match engine, the European experience, roster management and a complete absence of any international hockey tournaments (and I have reflected this in the Gameplay and Replay Fun Factor ratings below). However, given how far the game has come over the past two years, I’m confident the areas for improvement will indeed improve with post-release patches and/or in FHM 3.

Bravo OOTP!

The post Review of Franchise Hockey Manager 2 – What a difference two years makes! appeared first on GM Games - Sports General Manager Video Games.

The first version released quite a bit of raw code and user interfacing that lacked the realism and immersion necessary to bring a buzz around the game.

OOTP Developments (the makers of FHM) are determined to change the perception. They engaged the public through their forums and reviewed the features that would bring success to a hockey manager game.

After a few scars from the first version, there is a growing sense of optimism for this franchise. Having had to deal with an old powerhouse in Sports Interactive returning to hockey, there are areas where FHM2 is excelling. Mac support, expansion options, different ways of player generation and a unique sim algorithm.

To see most of the new features, we released a story some time back, see here: http://gmgames.org/2015/09/02/feature-set-update-on-franchise-hockey-manager-fhm2-and-release-date/

So if you are interested in the game, they have priced it at a lower price point than their sister Baseball game. The Download link in the tabs above will lead you to their commerce area.

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The post Franchise Hockey Manager FHM 2, Now available (PC, Mac) appeared first on GM Games - Sports General Manager Video Games.