WHL Notes

TheAlaskan · 08-15-2021, 05:46 PM

Questions/notes from someone doing WHL games.

- Bantam goalies, midget goalies, and Jr b goalies only get 1-4 games per season. Would be nice to see more stats, though I usually just judge them off scouting and ratings anyways.

- I wish I could just get a full list/table of all draft eligible players that I could scout from. As it stands now I either drill into the roster of each regional bantam roster, use my monthly scouting evaluations or use the top prospects list. Just a lot of extra clicking I'd like to avoid. I turned off fog of war but I still need to scout. I could probably be missing something obvious to expedite scouting.

- Not enough prospects from Colorado vs Texas and california. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure colorado turns out more prospects than those two states, perhaps not combined. I've been seeing better prospects come out of Hawaii vs alaska, which seems backwards.

- I would love a better way to decide which OA players to bring back. I try to cut my list to 3 OAs before the season turns over, but a mail notification would be cool.

- When I do import drafts, every player has 'Junior' as their preference, but they rarely want to sign with a Canadian team. Any better way to identify if the import player will actually sign? I've been trying to at least check to see if they are already under a pro contract, but that hasn't helped much.

- I would like to be able to sort the team history player index by position, as well as filter for players drafted by me as the GM.

- I would like mail notifications when my players are drafted into the NHL instead of having to access the NHL draft log. Would also be neat to be a part of their draft process by providing recommendations to and feedback to interested franchises.

- not sure if it's available, but I pretend players are related if they have the same last name and come into the league within a short time span.

- would love a home province boost to player morale if drafted by a junior team where they grew up. If there is a negative morale impact for feeling isolated then there should be a positive impact to not leaving their area

- I'm a big fan of recognizing player franchise milestones. Would be cool to get a notification when a player hits top 10 all time points, etc.

- would love for the sim screen during the playoffs to be the actual playoff tree vs. box scores, as well as some sort of leader board for playoff mvp candidates

That's all for now... I do love this game! Typing on the phone from the pool so please excuse typos and brevity

Castleview · 08-16-2021, 02:26 AM

I played the WHL quite extensively in FHM6 and the worst thing about it was you could trade your excess impending OA players to other teams for top prospects and picks at seasons end. Other teams would happily trade with you, with zero consideration given to the number of impending OA players they already had on their own rosters.
They would then end up having to release most of these OA players as free agents at July 1st, at which point you could just re-sign them to a one-year deal. Even worse, they didn't always even keep their best OA players, so sometimes they would retain a one-star player and release a 5-star one.

It actually made more sense to just trade away all your impending OA players, then sign the best 3 from the pool of available free agents on July 1st. I eventually had a self-imposed rule that I couldn't trade any impending OA players between the trade deadline and the following July 1st as it was such a huge advantage.

Alessandro · 08-16-2021, 02:58 AM

Well, a lot of the stuff wrote would make sense in many other leagues

Castleview · 08-16-2021, 04:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alessandro

Well, a lot of the stuff wrote would make sense in many other leagues

I'm not sure in what league it make any sense that on June 30th you can trade a 5-star 19-year-old player and get full trade value for him, when at most he is going to play one more over-age year of junior, but even more likely he will not play at all, because he has signed a pro-contract, or because of the limits on over-age players. Also it makes no sense that the next day, July 1st, the trade engine now considers him completely worthless (untradeable) because he is over-age, even though he can still play one more season. It also makes no sense that other teams would be willing to trade for him on June 30th at full value (prospects & 1st round picks), and not take into account those factors, and any other impending over-age players they already have. Instead they will trade full value for him, then just release him the next day.
The trade engine needs to value the player based on the expected future length of his junior career , and the actual needs of the other teams you are trying to trade him with. At the moment it doesn't do a very good job of that, if at all.

Alessandro · 08-16-2021, 05:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Castleview

I'm not sure in what league it make any sense that on June 30th you can trade a 5-star 19-year-old player and get full trade value for him, when at most he is going to play one more over-age year of junior, but even more likely he will not play at all, because he has signed a pro-contract, or because of the limits on over-age players. Also it makes no sense that the next day, July 1st, the trade engine now considers him completely worthless (untradeable) because he is over-age, even though he can still play one more season. It also makes no sense that other teams would be willing to trade for him on June 30th at full value (prospects & 1st round picks), and not take into account those factors, and any other impending over-age players they already have. Instead they will trade full value for him, then just release him the next day.
The trade engine needs to value the player based on the expected future length of his junior career , and the actual needs of the other teams you are trying to trade him with. At the moment it doesn't do a very good job of that, if at all.

Naturally, improving the trade engine will benefit most of the playable leagues in the game.
However, I was more talking about improvement in scouting, in the news system, milestones, etc...

TheAlaskan · 09-01-2021, 10:26 PM

How do you retire a number for your franchise? I'm probably missing something obvious

TheAlaskan · 09-07-2021, 11:35 PM

Ok, I made it to about 2045-46 with the Vancouver Giants. Won the WHL 3 times, but was 0-5 in chances at the Memorial Cup (I hosted it twice in 3 years or so).

FHM7 is a really fast game IMO vs where it came from in the past but 2045 was about my breaking point. I've started a new game with the Brandon Wheat Kings, going to see if I can win more than 3 times in about ~25 seasons.

After about 15 seasons I was maxing out my ratings for training.

Questions:

Does improving rating for in-game tactics matter if I have AI doing it?

TheAlaskan · 09-07-2021, 11:41 PM

I wish there were a simpler way to just see your franchise's player index sorted by NHL career totals. That way I could see the most prolific post-junior careers that I had a part in developing.

Colorado · 09-13-2021, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheAlaskan

Ok, I made it to about 2045-46 with the Vancouver Giants. Won the WHL 3 times, but was 0-5 in chances at the Memorial Cup (I hosted it twice in 3 years or so).

FHM7 is a really fast game IMO vs where it came from in the past but 2045 was about my breaking point. I've started a new game with the Brandon Wheat Kings, going to see if I can win more than 3 times in about ~25 seasons.

After about 15 seasons I was maxing out my ratings for training.

Questions:

Does improving rating for in-game tactics matter if I have AI doing it?

Out of interest, how do you play? I sim game by game and it takes me an age to get through seasons. Do you play month-by-month?

TheAlaskan · 09-16-2021, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Colorado

Out of interest, how do you play? I sim game by game and it takes me an age to get through seasons. Do you play month-by-month?

I sim each game by simulating to the "next day" so it just turns out a score - I just check the scoresheet for performance. I could probably win more games if I invested myself in in-game tactics and whatnot, but I get more satisfaction about long term performance.

I'd reckon a single season will take me ~2-3 hours.

Colorado · 09-19-2021, 10:13 AM

Sounds good ��

Rusty Griswold · 09-28-2021, 09:48 PM

I also typically play CHL franchises, and have had basically all of these same exact questions/wishes.

TheAlaskan · 10-01-2021, 07:37 PM

I would also like to do an expansion junior franchise and start all my franchise's historical information from scratch.

Javs · 10-08-2021, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheAlaskan

- Bantam goalies, midget goalies, and Jr b goalies only get 1-4 games per season. Would be nice to see more stats, though I usually just judge them off scouting and ratings anyways.

I agree, that is very frustrating. I think the generic leagues need to get an update in regards to roster AI and player movement.

Quote:

- I wish I could just get a full list/table of all draft eligible players that I could scout from. As it stands now I either drill into the roster of each regional bantam roster, use my monthly scouting evaluations or use the top prospects list. Just a lot of extra clicking I'd like to avoid. I turned off fog of war but I still need to scout. I could probably be missing something obvious to expedite scouting.

There is nothing more you can do that I know of - even more frustrating is trying to find unprotected players to sign in Jr.A/generic leagues. I think it would be nice if you could sort from a list of players that are 'available' to sign, not just players without contracts.

Quote:

- Not enough prospects from Colorado vs Texas and california. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure colorado turns out more prospects than those two states, perhaps not combined. I've been seeing better prospects come out of Hawaii vs alaska, which seems backwards.

- I would love a better way to decide which OA players to bring back. I try to cut my list to 3 OAs before the season turns over, but a mail notification would be cool.

100% agree

Quote:

- When I do import drafts, every player has 'Junior' as their preference, but they rarely want to sign with a Canadian team. Any better way to identify if the import player will actually sign? I've been trying to at least check to see if they are already under a pro contract, but that hasn't helped much.

Agreed. I also don't think there is enough imports that are NHL prospects and not enough older players available for the draft. A lot of players get drafted going into their draft year.

Quote:

- I would like mail notifications when my players are drafted into the NHL instead of having to access the NHL draft log. Would also be neat to be a part of their draft process by providing recommendations to and feedback to interested franchises.

- not sure if it's available, but I pretend players are related if they have the same last name and come into the league within a short time span.

Siblings would be a nice addition. In general it would be nice to feel more connected to the players.

Quote:

- would love a home province boost to player morale if drafted by a junior team where they grew up. If there is a negative morale impact for feeling isolated then there should be a positive impact to not leaving their area

I think a moral boost for home-town teams would be nice, as well as a preference for younger players to play within their home region. It bothers me that players generated do not get placed on their 'home-region' generic teams. Having players from Toronto on Northern Ontario or Eastern Ontario generic teams causes a disconnect between me and the player which gets back to the point of feeling more connected to the players.

It would also be nice to have a proper affiliation system in-game, minor midget leagues, and proper underage player rules for all junior leagues.

Hopefully the CHL gets some attention in FHM 8.

Javs · 10-08-2021, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheAlaskan

I would also like to do an expansion junior franchise and start all my franchise's historical information from scratch.

You can expand junior leagues I believe, however you don't get an 'affiliate team', so it is frustrating. Also the expansion draft rules are really set-out to be CHL league friendly.

TheAlaskan · 10-09-2021, 01:56 AM

Currently in 2033 as the Brandon Wheat Kings.

No championships yet, but every year the news declares me the top contender and I have the record to prove it.

I always collapse in the 1st round due to injuries. I am lazy about changing lineups based on fitness. My dudes always injured.

Sometimes I let the injuries stand as a penance for my otherwise cheating.

My favorite part of the game is restacking my future via WHL bantam drafts.

I have a couple recommendations for the game/explain me how to fix this:

- Build one searchable/filterable view of all draft-eligible players. Regardless of region.

It is tedious to scout US bantam players who have a college preference, that needs to be a filter incorporated above.

I want to see ALL draft-eligible players to sort by specific attributes. I am going 1-by-1 through Bantam rosters sorting by Determination to add them to my watch list. So many clicks!

Also, I haven't seen an instance of exceptional player status show up.

FHM2014 for live!

TheAlaskan · 10-12-2021, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Javs

You can expand junior leagues I believe, however you don't get an 'affiliate team', so it is frustrating. Also the expansion draft rules are really set-out to be CHL league friendly.

Confirmed.

If anyone knows how to assign a Jr. B as a farm team to a CHL expansion franchise, please let me know!

Javs · 10-13-2021, 12:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheAlaskan

Confirmed.

If anyone knows how to assign a Jr. B as a farm team to a CHL expansion franchise, please let me know!

Not currently possible.

TheAlaskan · 10-15-2021, 08:17 PM

So I'm not complaining here, I'm just in awe of what a completely computer-generated player was created. He's not on my team and I didn't really look at him until he was crushing the WHL point leader scoreboard.

TheAlaskan · 10-15-2021, 08:19 PM

For what it's worth, this young man was not drafted by the NHL and will be back for a super senior year in the WHL.

08-15-2021, 05:46 PM	#1
TheAlaskan Minors (Single A) Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 96	WHL Notes Questions/notes from someone doing WHL games. - Bantam goalies, midget goalies, and Jr b goalies only get 1-4 games per season. Would be nice to see more stats, though I usually just judge them off scouting and ratings anyways. - I wish I could just get a full list/table of all draft eligible players that I could scout from. As it stands now I either drill into the roster of each regional bantam roster, use my monthly scouting evaluations or use the top prospects list. Just a lot of extra clicking I'd like to avoid. I turned off fog of war but I still need to scout. I could probably be missing something obvious to expedite scouting. - Not enough prospects from Colorado vs Texas and california. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure colorado turns out more prospects than those two states, perhaps not combined. I've been seeing better prospects come out of Hawaii vs alaska, which seems backwards. - I would love a better way to decide which OA players to bring back. I try to cut my list to 3 OAs before the season turns over, but a mail notification would be cool. - When I do import drafts, every player has 'Junior' as their preference, but they rarely want to sign with a Canadian team. Any better way to identify if the import player will actually sign? I've been trying to at least check to see if they are already under a pro contract, but that hasn't helped much. - I would like to be able to sort the team history player index by position, as well as filter for players drafted by me as the GM. - I would like mail notifications when my players are drafted into the NHL instead of having to access the NHL draft log. Would also be neat to be a part of their draft process by providing recommendations to and feedback to interested franchises. - not sure if it's available, but I pretend players are related if they have the same last name and come into the league within a short time span. - would love a home province boost to player morale if drafted by a junior team where they grew up. If there is a negative morale impact for feeling isolated then there should be a positive impact to not leaving their area - I'm a big fan of recognizing player franchise milestones. Would be cool to get a notification when a player hits top 10 all time points, etc. - would love for the sim screen during the playoffs to be the actual playoff tree vs. box scores, as well as some sort of leader board for playoff mvp candidates That's all for now... I do love this game! Typing on the phone from the pool so please excuse typos and brevity

09-28-2021, 09:48 PM	#12
Rusty Griswold Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Jan 2018 Posts: 22	Good thread I also typically play CHL franchises, and have had basically all of these same exact questions/wishes.

10-15-2021, 08:17 PM	#19
TheAlaskan Minors (Single A) Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 96	So I'm not complaining here, I'm just in awe of what a completely computer-generated player was created. He's not on my team and I didn't really look at him until he was crushing the WHL point leader scoreboard. Attached Images

10-15-2021, 08:19 PM	#20
TheAlaskan Minors (Single A) Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 96	For what it's worth, this young man was not drafted by the NHL and will be back for a super senior year in the WHL. Attached Images

08-16-2021, 02:26 AM	#2
Castleview All Star Reserve Join Date: May 2020 Location: Scotland Posts: 845	I played the WHL quite extensively in FHM6 and the worst thing about it was you could trade your excess impending OA players to other teams for top prospects and picks at seasons end. Other teams would happily trade with you, with zero consideration given to the number of impending OA players they already had on their own rosters. They would then end up having to release most of these OA players as free agents at July 1st, at which point you could just re-sign them to a one-year deal. Even worse, they didn't always even keep their best OA players, so sometimes they would retain a one-star player and release a 5-star one. It actually made more sense to just trade away all your impending OA players, then sign the best 3 from the pool of available free agents on July 1st. I eventually had a self-imposed rule that I couldn't trade any impending OA players between the trade deadline and the following July 1st as it was such a huge advantage.

08-16-2021, 02:58 AM	#3
Alessandro Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 6,880	Well, a lot of the stuff wrote would make sense in many other leagues

09-01-2021, 10:26 PM	#6
TheAlaskan Minors (Single A) Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 96	How do you retire a number for your franchise? I'm probably missing something obvious

09-07-2021, 11:35 PM	#7
TheAlaskan Minors (Single A) Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 96	Ok, I made it to about 2045-46 with the Vancouver Giants. Won the WHL 3 times, but was 0-5 in chances at the Memorial Cup (I hosted it twice in 3 years or so). FHM7 is a really fast game IMO vs where it came from in the past but 2045 was about my breaking point. I've started a new game with the Brandon Wheat Kings, going to see if I can win more than 3 times in about ~25 seasons. After about 15 seasons I was maxing out my ratings for training. Questions: Does improving rating for in-game tactics matter if I have AI doing it?

09-07-2021, 11:41 PM	#8
TheAlaskan Minors (Single A) Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 96	I wish there were a simpler way to just see your franchise's player index sorted by NHL career totals. That way I could see the most prolific post-junior careers that I had a part in developing.

09-19-2021, 10:13 AM	#11
Colorado Major Leagues Join Date: Apr 2018 Posts: 397	Sounds good ��

10-01-2021, 07:37 PM	#13
TheAlaskan Minors (Single A) Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 96	I would also like to do an expansion junior franchise and start all my franchise's historical information from scratch.

10-09-2021, 01:56 AM	#16
TheAlaskan Minors (Single A) Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 96	Currently in 2033 as the Brandon Wheat Kings. No championships yet, but every year the news declares me the top contender and I have the record to prove it. I always collapse in the 1st round due to injuries. I am lazy about changing lineups based on fitness. My dudes always injured. Sometimes I let the injuries stand as a penance for my otherwise cheating. My favorite part of the game is restacking my future via WHL bantam drafts. I have a couple recommendations for the game/explain me how to fix this: - Build one searchable/filterable view of all draft-eligible players. Regardless of region. It is tedious to scout US bantam players who have a college preference, that needs to be a filter incorporated above. I want to see ALL draft-eligible players to sort by specific attributes. I am going 1-by-1 through Bantam rosters sorting by Determination to add them to my watch list. So many clicks! Also, I haven't seen an instance of exceptional player status show up. FHM2014 for live!