Question on in-season tactics

Declan89 · 01-19-2022, 05:38 PM

Hi all. FHM 8 is the third version I've bought and definitely the best yet for me. I'm a long, long time playing football manager (and previously championship manager) so love the idea of playing out seasons as a manager along with the GM deal making side.

The one area I struggle with in FHM (and the bit that usually stops me playing) is the amount of options for tactics. This is fine at the start of the season - all players are healthy, pick best lines, set line specific tactics and then start playing (even if it takes way too long - templates???).

My question for other players is, what do you do mid-season if, for example:

You're 1c goes down for a couple weeks - do you pop a direct replacement in and leave tactics as is? Or do you reset lines, tactics, player roles every time there is an injury?
Or you've won 8 of your first 10 games, scored a hatful and conceded few. Now you've lost 8 of your next 10, can't score, goalkeepers have gone missing - what do you tweak? The whole lot? Just a few weak performing line specific tactics?
The amount of tactical options on how to play is quite overwhelming but I don't want to just hand it over to AI.

Maybe I need to know more about hockey tactics (I'm from Ireland and only properly started watching NHL 4/5 years ago). Perhaps DZ, NZ, OZ specific tactic methods per line is just something I need to understand is realistic.

The 2D really brings the immersion needed for manager games. The UI and navigation I think is only getting better. But the amount of options for tactics and line setup is way too plentiful. I'd love to hear other peoples views who play out day by day instead of simming blocks at a time.

skunt3m · 01-19-2022, 09:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Declan89

Hi all. FHM 8 is the third version I've bought and definitely the best yet for me. I'm a long, long time playing football manager (and previously championship manager) so love the idea of playing out seasons as a manager along with the GM deal making side.

The one area I struggle with in FHM (and the bit that usually stops me playing) is the amount of options for tactics. This is fine at the start of the season - all players are healthy, pick best lines, set line specific tactics and then start playing (even if it takes way too long - templates???).

My question for other players is, what do you do mid-season if, for example:

You're 1c goes down for a couple weeks - do you pop a direct replacement in and leave tactics as is? Or do you reset lines, tactics, player roles every time there is an injury?
Or you've won 8 of your first 10 games, scored a hatful and conceded few. Now you've lost 8 of your next 10, can't score, goalkeepers have gone missing - what do you tweak? The whole lot? Just a few weak performing line specific tactics?
The amount of tactical options on how to play is quite overwhelming but I don't want to just hand it over to AI.

Maybe I need to know more about hockey tactics (I'm from Ireland and only properly started watching NHL 4/5 years ago). Perhaps DZ, NZ, OZ specific tactic methods per line is just something I need to understand is realistic.

The 2D really brings the immersion needed for manager games. The UI and navigation I think is only getting better. But the amount of options for tactics and line setup is way too plentiful. I'd love to hear other peoples views who play out day by day instead of simming blocks at a time.

If you want to keep it simple, you can.

What I strive to do with my teams is make them modular. Ideally I'd have a grinder/puck retriever - playmaker/puck carrier - shooter on each of my top three lines and then prospects who can fill those roles on the farm. If shooter 1 is struggling I'll switch him and shooter 3. If playmaker 1 goes down I can just bump everyone up. You might use different "modules" depending on what kind of team you start with. It takes time to get the appropriate players but once you do your tactics won't need much adjustment. You can set them globally too, since every unit* plays the same way! (*Other than the 4th line - I stock mine with slugs who are happy playing 5 mins a night. They just hit people.)

Or you could do it in reverse and build a team around the tactics you favour. For example, if you can find a couple of big, defensively responsible centers who aren't total slugs offensively you suddenly have the foundation for a team that uses slot overload (oz attacking), 1-1-3 (forecheck), 1-3-1 trap (neutral zone) and slot set (pp oz attacking).

Declan89 · 01-20-2022, 05:56 AM

This is great - thanks a mill! Really appreciate the detail.

I think trying to match player types across the 3 lines, have them play the same way and then a line of 5 minute bruisers is the best way for me to play it.

The info around defensively responsible centers and the different options to use that you mention is really useful - think I'll spend a bit of time reviewing the different options and break down specific player requirements for each

01-19-2022, 05:38 PM	#1
Declan89 Bat Boy Join Date: Jan 2022 Posts: 3	Question on in-season tactics Hi all. FHM 8 is the third version I've bought and definitely the best yet for me. I'm a long, long time playing football manager (and previously championship manager) so love the idea of playing out seasons as a manager along with the GM deal making side. The one area I struggle with in FHM (and the bit that usually stops me playing) is the amount of options for tactics. This is fine at the start of the season - all players are healthy, pick best lines, set line specific tactics and then start playing (even if it takes way too long - templates???). My question for other players is, what do you do mid-season if, for example: You're 1c goes down for a couple weeks - do you pop a direct replacement in and leave tactics as is? Or do you reset lines, tactics, player roles every time there is an injury? Or you've won 8 of your first 10 games, scored a hatful and conceded few. Now you've lost 8 of your next 10, can't score, goalkeepers have gone missing - what do you tweak? The whole lot? Just a few weak performing line specific tactics? The amount of tactical options on how to play is quite overwhelming but I don't want to just hand it over to AI. Maybe I need to know more about hockey tactics (I'm from Ireland and only properly started watching NHL 4/5 years ago). Perhaps DZ, NZ, OZ specific tactic methods per line is just something I need to understand is realistic. The 2D really brings the immersion needed for manager games. The UI and navigation I think is only getting better. But the amount of options for tactics and line setup is way too plentiful. I'd love to hear other peoples views who play out day by day instead of simming blocks at a time.

01-20-2022, 05:56 AM	#3
Declan89 Bat Boy Join Date: Jan 2022 Posts: 3	This is great - thanks a mill! Really appreciate the detail. I think trying to match player types across the 3 lines, have them play the same way and then a line of 5 minute bruisers is the best way for me to play it. The info around defensively responsible centers and the different options to use that you mention is really useful - think I'll spend a bit of time reviewing the different options and break down specific player requirements for each