My Thoughts on FH9

[Risk2014]

Hi everyone,

So I am a huge fan of this game but playing 4 preseason games as the Leafs I am kinda disappointed in this game.

To me I don't think there has been enough changes made to this game for the way I play the franchise.

When I play the preseason games in game and make the decisions I see the same thing happening as in FH8.

There is literally no diffrence. I am still scoring huge amounts of goals.

Game 1 9-2
Game 2 6-0
Game 3 12-2
Game 4 7-3

I am still not seeing correct hitting mechanics as the most a player had thus far was 4 hits and that was from Ryan Reaves.

I am still seeing the same skating around by the AI in circles for long periods of time.

So in game I notice nothing that has changed. Plus there are hardly any blocks of shots.

As for asking for this option for AHL and ECHL to make decisions in game this has also been left out.

The one thing I noticed is the Make this work option in the trades section. Now I thought it might come close to OOTP but it is very buggy.

What I notice is that the AI only chooses NHL players that they want in a trade. No prospects, no AHL players not even draft picks. I think this option is broken.

Even if you keep adding players the AI still doesn't consider decreasing their demand for trade.

This needs alot of tinkering.

We still see the same emails send to our inbox with the same responses and nothing has changed to make this game seem more realistic.

By OOTP 9 there has been so many changes for thr better and yet we are still getting the same game we played last year in FH8.

Well those are my thoughts.

There is got to be a way like in OOTP to control all the teams without leaving your team! There has got to be a way to control your minors affiliates also.

Very Disappointed fan here.

[Savoie45]

Just because Franchise Hockey and Out of the Park are under the same umbrella doesn't mean they get the same budget. Baseball is a massively popular sport compared to Hockey, especially in the US. Therefore, it's quite likely Out of the Park has always sold quite well compared to Franchise Hockey.

That said I agree with most of what you said, though I usually see sufficient hit and shot block numbers when compared to real life numbers. Is Make Trade Work buggy or just not producing the results you want? I do agree the AI is really tough when it comes to trades. I typically don't make trades though, as I have no problems building great teams from Free Agency, Waivers, and the Draft.

[jcard]

Originally Posted by Risk2014

Hi everyone,

So I am a huge fan of this game but playing 4 preseason games as the Leafs I am kinda disappointed in this game.

To me I don't think there has been enough changes made to this game for the way I play the franchise.

When I play the preseason games in game and make the decisions I see the same thing happening as in FH8.

There is literally no diffrence. I am still scoring huge amounts of goals.

Game 1 9-2
Game 2 6-0
Game 3 12-2
Game 4 7-3

I am still not seeing correct hitting mechanics as the most a player had thus far was 4 hits and that was from Ryan Reaves.

I am still seeing the same skating around by the AI in circles for long periods of time.

So in game I notice nothing that has changed. Plus there are hardly any blocks of shots.

As for asking for this option for AHL and ECHL to make decisions in game this has also been left out.

The one thing I noticed is the Make this work option in the trades section. Now I thought it might come close to OOTP but it is very buggy.

What I notice is that the AI only chooses NHL players that they want in a trade. No prospects, no AHL players not even draft picks. I think this option is broken.

Even if you keep adding players the AI still doesn't consider decreasing their demand for trade.

This needs alot of tinkering.

We still see the same emails send to our inbox with the same responses and nothing has changed to make this game seem more realistic.

By OOTP 9 there has been so many changes for thr better and yet we are still getting the same game we played last year in FH8.

Well those are my thoughts.

There is got to be a way like in OOTP to control all the teams without leaving your team! There has got to be a way to control your minors affiliates also.

Very Disappointed fan here.

As someone who was first seriously getting into hockey last year, I am stunned how few people have brought up your observation about the incessant bumblebee circling of players in 2D mode while (I presume) the game engine is resolving play results. It does not resemble what you see in real life; I am not sure it is even physically possible to skate in such a way.

[Savoie45]

Originally Posted by jcard

As someone who was first seriously getting into hockey last year, I am stunned how few people have brought up your observation about the incessant bumblebee circling of players in 2D mode while (I presume) the game engine is resolving play results. It does not resemble what you see in real life; I am not sure it is even physically possible to skate in such a way.

It's been brought up plenty, but I think most don't care to watch the games play out when there's not much to really look at. If the graphics were similar to OOTP, then more would probably be more inclined to watch games play out.

[3z4rivyirn]

Agreed. I bought 1,2,4,7 (refunded), and 8 and was holding out on 9 for the above reasons and more around UI which have not been upgraded based on other threads I read. Not purchasing 9.

Developers need to focus on improving the current product and not finding new modes or features to add until the base product is solid at this point.

The UI is inconvenient and needs a major overhaul. Lots of things mentioned in previous threads last year but no real changes.

[Savoie45]

Originally Posted by 3z4rivyirn

Agreed. I bought 1,2,4,7 (refunded), and 8 and was holding out on 9 for the above reasons and more around UI which have not been upgraded based on other threads I read. Not purchasing 9.

Developers need to focus on improving the current product and not finding new modes or features to add until the base product is solid at this point.

The UI is inconvenient and needs a major overhaul. Lots of things mentioned in previous threads last year but no real changes.

There has to be a fine balance in everything developers do. If only it was as simple as just fixing current issues. They have to add new features to a game otherwise there's no selling point to new players. If they didn't then why even release a new game? Just patch the current game. However, that's probably not possible as having the NHL license probably requires an annual release. I mean, how many times do we see "it's just a roster update" when it comes to sports titles.

They also have to balance what issues they fix as some could break the game even worse if they try to fix them. In an ideal world I'd love all sports games to be issue free and be as realistic as possible, but we don't live in an ideal world. I don't envy game developers for any reason other than they're doing what they love.

[Risk2014]

Originally Posted by Savoie45

There has to be a fine balance in everything developers do. If only it was as simple as just fixing current issues. They have to add new features to a game otherwise there's no selling point to new players. If they didn't then why even release a new game? Just patch the current game. However, that's probably not possible as having the NHL license probably requires an annual release. I mean, how many times do we see "it's just a roster update" when it comes to sports titles.

They also have to balance what issues they fix as some could break the game even worse if they try to fix them. In an ideal world I'd love all sports games to be issue free and be as realistic as possible, but we don't live in an ideal world. I don't envy game developers for any reason other than they're doing what they love.

They have to focus on a specific area and get that fixed first before moving on to new modes and fixing other meaningless issues.

If you don't have a working, perfected NHL game with Minors then there is no reason to focus on other leagues and other game modes

[Risk2014]

Originally Posted by 3z4rivyirn

Agreed. I bought 1,2,4,7 (refunded), and 8 and was holding out on 9 for the above reasons and more around UI which have not been upgraded based on other threads I read. Not purchasing 9.

Developers need to focus on improving the current product and not finding new modes or features to add until the base product is solid at this point.

The UI is inconvenient and needs a major overhaul. Lots of things mentioned in previous threads last year but no real changes.

Who do you contact for the refund?

I just don't feel like my money is well spent If I am just playing FHM8

[Risk2014]

Another thing I just cannot grasp is that this game got delayed also so they had time to include, execute other options and fix the game and still they released an identical version as FHM8 with updated rosters.

[drummerJ99]

Originally Posted by Risk2014

Who do you contact for the refund?

I just don't feel like my money is well spent If I am just playing FHM8

If you bought on Steam and have less than 2 hours played, it's easy to get a refund. If ordered directly through OOTP, I'm not sure.

[JeffR]

Originally Posted by Risk2014

Who do you contact for the refund?

I just don't feel like my money is well spent If I am just playing FHM8

Contact Steam for a refund if you have that version, or for the Fastspring version submit a support ticket here with the request.

[jcard]

Originally Posted by Risk2014

They have to focus on a specific area and get that fixed first before moving on to new modes and fixing other meaningless issues.

If you don't have a working, perfected NHL game with Minors then there is no reason to focus on other leagues and other game modes

I cannot comment on the new version, so nothing I say here pertains to FHM9 vs. FHM8. I concur with your sentiments about priorities, but stop short of asserting how the developers should allocate their development resources. I simply recognize that the development path chosen deviates from my preference, and make my purchasing decision accordingly. I have to think that their decisions reflect their market, and that the reality is that I am not part of it. Disappointing, but the real regret would come with buying the game knowing this and expecting a different outcome.

[reverist]

Originally Posted by Risk2014

Hi everyone,

So I am a huge fan of this game but playing 4 preseason games as the Leafs I am kinda disappointed in this game.

To me I don't think there has been enough changes made to this game for the way I play the franchise.

When I play the preseason games in game and make the decisions I see the same thing happening as in FH8.

There is literally no diffrence. I am still scoring huge amounts of goals.

Game 1 9-2
Game 2 6-0
Game 3 12-2
Game 4 7-3

I am still not seeing correct hitting mechanics as the most a player had thus far was 4 hits and that was from Ryan Reaves.

I am still seeing the same skating around by the AI in circles for long periods of time.

So in game I notice nothing that has changed. Plus there are hardly any blocks of shots.

As for asking for this option for AHL and ECHL to make decisions in game this has also been left out.

The one thing I noticed is the Make this work option in the trades section. Now I thought it might come close to OOTP but it is very buggy.

What I notice is that the AI only chooses NHL players that they want in a trade. No prospects, no AHL players not even draft picks. I think this option is broken.

Even if you keep adding players the AI still doesn't consider decreasing their demand for trade.

This needs alot of tinkering.

We still see the same emails send to our inbox with the same responses and nothing has changed to make this game seem more realistic.

By OOTP 9 there has been so many changes for thr better and yet we are still getting the same game we played last year in FH8.

Well those are my thoughts.

There is got to be a way like in OOTP to control all the teams without leaving your team! There has got to be a way to control your minors affiliates also.

Very Disappointed fan here.

They literally told you all of the things that have changed.

"Even if you keep adding players the AI still doesn't consider decreasing their demand for trade."

What does this mean? Does it mean that the AI makes a demand and then doesn't accept the trade even when the demand is met? Or does this indicate that the AI doesn't accept other players they don't ask for? Or does this indicate that the AI doesn't suddenly decrease the list of players they want when you offer those players? Unless it's the first, I don't understand how this is a complaint.

[brettrankin]

I have not played FHM 9 yet. I was waiting to hear about the 2D representation. That is super important to me. I want to see something comparable to Eastside
Hockey Manager. I wish they could just work with EHM on a project so we can have the best of both games.

[Savoie45]

Originally Posted by brettrankin

I have not played FHM 9 yet. I was waiting to hear about the 2D representation. That is super important to me. I want to see something comparable to Eastside
Hockey Manager. I wish they could just work with EHM on a project so we can have the best of both games.

I hope for them to reach OOTP levels.

[Anton]

Originally Posted by jcard

I cannot comment on the new version, so nothing I say here pertains to FHM9 vs. itÂ’s predecessor. I concur with your sentiments about priorities, but stop short of asserting how the developers allocate their development resources. I simply recognize that the development path chosen deviates from my preference, and make my purchasing decision accordingly. I have to think that their decisions reflect their market, and that the reality is that I am not part of it. Disappointing, but the real regret would come with buying the game knowing this and expecting a different outcome.

This guy gets it. I’ve personally downgraded myself from “automatic-prerelease-purchase” to “every-other-year” because of stagnation in development along the lines of my personal preferences. That being said, I am still a massive supporter of this game and its developers. As soon as noticeable improvements are made in the areas I care about, I’ll place my order. In the meantime, I’ll keep playing FHM8 and trust the team to progress in a way that keeps them and this game alive.

[Savoie45]

Originally Posted by Anton

This guy gets it. I’ve personally downgraded myself from “automatic-prerelease-purchase” to “every-other-year” because of stagnation in development along the lines of my personal preferences. That being said, I am still a massive supporter of this game and its developers. As soon as noticeable improvements are made in the areas I care about, I’ll place my order. In the meantime, I’ll keep playing FHM8 and trust the team to progress in a way that keeps them and this game alive.

For every day AAA games, absolutely. Those have the budget and general popularity with the casual gamer to keep them alive and well. Not to mention the other means of monetization. A game like FHM though does not have that luxury though. It's a very niche game on a what I'd imagine is a smallish budget. Not to mention the majority of hockey games outside of EA NHL games don't survive due to the lack of their overall popularity. So, while I understand the critique when it comes to annual sports games and how the improvements are generally small year over year, this franchise and even Eastside Hockey Manager I will continue to support every chance I get.

[drummerJ99]

Originally Posted by Savoie45

For every day AAA games, absolutely. Those have the budget and general popularity with the casual gamer to keep them alive and well. Not to mention the other means of monetization. A game like FHM though does not have that luxury though. It's a very niche game on a what I'd imagine is a smallish budget. Not to mention the majority of hockey games outside of EA NHL games don't survive due to the lack of their overall popularity. So, while I understand the critique when it comes to annual sports games and how the improvements are generally small year over year, this franchise and even Eastside Hockey Manager I will continue to support every chance I get.

My problem is…OOTP spoiled me. So now I compare every sim management game to it. And FHM is just way behind for me that I can’t justify buying every year at $40.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Savoie45]

Originally Posted by drummerJ99

My problem is…OOTP spoiled me. So now I compare every sim management game to it. And FHM is just way behind for me that I can’t justify buying every year at $40.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

OOTP has spoiled a lot of people, even if it has its share of faults (like every video game). I'm pretty sure it also has a bigger budget as baseball games typically sell much better than any hockey game.

[drummerJ99]

Originally Posted by Savoie45

OOTP has spoiled a lot of people, even if it has its share of faults (like every video game). I'm pretty sure it also has a bigger budget as baseball games typically sell much better than any hockey game.

I get that. But you’d think being developed by the same people that the look and feel would be somewhat the same. I understand sim engine would have to be completely different. But after 9 versions I’d expect the UI and ease of use to be much closer to OOTP than say EHM.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk