Public Steam Beta for New Update (ver. 9.3.95)

[JeffR]

The upcoming update has some fairly complex changes, so we've decided to run a public beta prior to the official release, giving you access to at least one, possibly more, test builds of the new update before the official release. We're hoping this will let us find the type of issues that have been forcing us to issue post-update hotfixes, allowing us to address those before the final release rather than after.

Please bear in mind, if you opt-in to the beta, that these are test builds and may do unexpected things; the whole point of the public beta is to find these problems. We offer no promises that something unpleasant won't happen to any save you use with the beta version, so, if you want to take part with one of your current saved games, it's best to use the "Save Game As" option on the game's File menu to make a new version of the save and use that, so you don't ruin the "good" copy of your save. And it's definitely not a good idea to start a new game you want to continue playing long-term with this beta.

Right now we're aiming for a full release of the update sometime next week, but that plan could change depending on how long it takes to resolve any issues found in the beta and any new ones that come up.

The public beta is only available for the Steam version of the game - Steam makes it ridiculously easy to set one up (only takes a few minutes), where a Fastspring beta would require us a full-scale release process from us (most of a day, assuming we have access to the shared resources we need to use, which isn't always possible) and other versions require submitting each new version for release approval. So multiple separate versions wouldn't be practical to do when we need to turn any required fixes/changes around quickly.

To join the beta:

1. Right-click on FHM9 in your Steam Library and select Properties
2. Click on "Betas"
3. Under "Enter beta access code to unlock private betas", enter the access code, which is "updatepublicbeta" (no quotes)
4. That should populate the "Select the beta..." box above with the option "public_beta - Public Beta", select that
5. Steam should then automatically update your game. If it doesn't do that, check your update queue; if it's not in there, exit and restart the Steam client and it should appear.

Should you wish to leave the beta, just go back to the Betas page and on the dropdown menu select None. Steam will then revert you to the current public version of the game. When the final version of the update is ready, the public beta branch will be updated to that one as well, so there'll be no need to change back to get it, although it won't do anything if you do.

If you're already one of our internal beta testers, don't join the public beta! You'll lose access to the beta versions we don't release to the public.

If you find any problems with the beta, particularly fixes that aren't working or unexpected issues arising out of the changes made, continue to report them the usual channels - preferably the tech support forum on our boards, the Steam board, or /r/franchisehockey on Reddit, those get checked daily. But, when reporting, please mention that you found the problem while using the public beta.

Notes:

There are a number of additions, but we didn't get quite as much done as we wanted to: a few things turned out to be more work-intensive than initially expected. For example, tracking precise shot attempt locations, which has been requested repeatedly and will allow spinoffs like shot quality calculations and a graphical shot chart, isn't that difficult in the 2D engine, but the classic engine uses a much less precise definition of puck location, so we've had to develop a method of estimating exact shot locations that produces a sensible distribution based on the rough locations in the engine. Then that can be translated into the same coordinates 2D mode uses. That's been a little challenging to get right, so we're lagging a bit behind in that area; Sebsastian still has some more stuff he wants to get into this update, like including full shot/attempt location details in the csv exports and getting at least a rudimentary shot chart in, but not all of it may make it into this one. And a few things are still a bit wonky - the Shot Quality numbers still have a couple of issues to be ironed out, so don't expect accurate numbers out of those right now.

I also wanted to add the special drafts for historical that will handle the Cleveland-Minnesota-San Jose 1978 and 1991 situations more accurately, but that turned out to be surprisingly difficult, so we're going to have to postpone it for now and try to get it into the last update.

Speaking of which, that will be the post-trading deadline update, but it will come a while after the actual deadline, likely later in Match - aside from the backlog of stuff to get in, that'll let us do a more thorough final update to the data, since that will be the ultimate version of the FHM9 "Current" database.

Changes:

-additional nationalities can now be added for starting draft/rookie generation in custom games
-rookie draft nationalities are now editable in custom games after the game has begun (July 1 only; the changes won't be apparent until the next group of rookies is generated the following July 1)
-added a number of new stats to the in-game display and stats screen in 2D mode - possession time, shot quality, etc. Shot Quality uses the quality assessment based on the scoring chance definitions originated on the WAR On Ice blog (http://blog.war-on-ice.com/new-defin...ces/index.html) - the range is from 0-4, with values 1-2-3 assigned depending on the location of the shot and then a further +1 if the shot attempt follows a rebound or or is on a rush and a -1 if it was blocked
-added new items to csv exports: player potential and ability in player_ratings.csv and a number of new shot-related things in boxscore_summary.csv
-database for playable leagues updated as of February 12; presets file also given some updating
-added league edit option (July 1 only) to disable waivers entirely for the league (note that the waiver draft is still a separate setting)
-on the player history screen and in the team transaction logs, when a trade is shown that includes a draft pick in a draft that has already occurred, the name of the player who was chosen with that pick is now shown (had to redesign the screen slightly to accommodate this; it may take slightly longer to load particularly lengthy player histories)
-added a new option to the World menu (World section) just under "National Data", called "Regional Data"; this lists the nations (first) and then states that make up each region
-added two new events to the NHL: on June 23, "Off-season Signing Window Begins" and on August 31 "Off-season Signing Window Ends" ao the user gets some notice that they can now start signing people from his unsigned list that are in a league with date restrictions on signing them
-added a draft option: "Serpentine", which reverses the draft order in every other round; initial drafts and some historical expansion drafts will now default to this, and it can be turned on for other drafts on July 1 in commissioner mode
-added another Historical League Editing checkbox option to Manager Options: Update Draft Rules - if this is unchecked, the draft system currently used by the league(s) will remain in place permanently, leaving it checked continues the current behaviour (where they get updated whenever there's a new set of rules, like most years in the 60's and 70's)
-the NHL all-rookie team should now appear in historical mode
-the AI will no longer automatically release overage players for the upcoming season from human-run junior teams
-the "Season-ending Performance Evaluation" modifier to fan happiness will no longer occasionally add huge amounts to the season-ending amount
-fixed issue that mistakenly allowed a human user to make trade offers (and get them accepted) for players with NTC/NMC's who would normally refuse the trade
-prospect status ("(P)" notation on the roster screen) should now be evaluated correctly in the AHL and ECHL instead of mistakenly being given to some veterans
-if a custom league with 2 conferences, custom playoffs, and the Conferences Separate/Conference Leader Seeded options checked has the playoffs start in the final, the final will now correctly be between the leaders in each conference instead of the top two teams in the league, regardless of conference
-in the top-16 playoff format used by the historical NHL in 1979-80 and 80-81, the four divisional winners are no longer (incorrectly) given the top seeds in the opening round matchups
-the scouting report (named "Recruiting Update") message for NCAA teams should now include all the players it was supposed to (had been missing a lot of the younger ones); additionally, there's now a second section that lists players from the same state as the user's team (will not apply to existing saves, new ones only)
-"team owner" changed to "athletic director" in text that applies to college teams
-if the user has chosen to defer injury treatment for a player and their team begins the playoffs with a bye, the game no longer incorrectly removes the deferral from the player and activating the injury as if the team's season has ended
-if the user is attempting to make a transfer offer to acquire a player from a team that's close to or above their player budget, the game will no longer give the response that the team cannot add that much salary to the payroll, which made no sense since the player would be leaving them
-the nonplayable player movement system should no longer move players to teams in the Under-18 generic league that do not match their nationality
-fixed problem with the previous fix for the issue with some players signing with the user's NCAA team on National Signing Day when they don't compete for them, it had still been occurring occasionally
-fixed contract negotiation interface issue that would make it impossible to submit an upgraded offer to a player in some circumstances in the first week after July 1
-fixed crash on July 1, 1971 in games with the "Draft Rookies/Generate at 17" option off
-attempting to add an all-star game to some historical seasons no longer causes a crash
-when historical teams are imported into a custom game, their team histories will no longer be imported as well (which was mixing their stats with the custom league's history)
-click-and-drag disabled for the standalone/Fastspring version, had been accidentally re-enabled but still causes crashes when used with that version
-slightly increased frequency of team harmony-affecting incidents
-box scores no longer show Bench penalties as "Player Name, Bench, 0 Minutes", but rather "Team Name, Bench, 2 Minutes"
-if a league does not award any points for a loss in overtime, when a team loses in overtime its goaltender ia now credited with a regular L, not an OTL
-adjusted 2D penalty routines to reduce excessive frequency of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties
-decreased willingness of low-intelligence players to go to college teams with strong academic reputations
-the Verbal Commitments draft list should no longer include a few players who aren't actually eligible
-the Spengler Cup should now always include HC Davos
-the Liiga Bronze Medal game will no longer stop after the first season, and is now a single game instead of a 7-game series
-players on teams that win the NCAA championship no longer get the win listed twice on their player screen icons
-the Tactical Settings Fit data has beene added to the in-game version of the tactics screen
-if the NHL schedule is re-generated in a historical game during a season in which the new historical tournaments (Challenge Cup/Rendez-Vous 87) are present, the schedule will now leave a break when it should to avoid regular-season games overlapping with them
-added best-of-3 final for the Suomi-Sarja playoffs
-promotion/relegation between Mestis and Suomi-Sarja should now properly reflect the results of the relegation round tournament
-the iron curtain rule will no longer incorrectly affect draft eligibility for some players in historical games started after its effects no longer apply
-the 1971 WHA General Draft now works properly when the "Generate players at 17" option is turned off in a historical game
-if a historical game is started with the multiplayer and enable historical editing options checked, GM's the commissioner adds are no longer given commissioner status themselves
-the Stats screen now updates everything the Possession numbers at the end of the game if Sim End is used, instead of leaving them where they were when the button was used
-added check to the Goalie Start System for AI teams that will correct over-use of a backup in place of the best goalie
-changed naming and mechanics of generic leagues representing lower divisions in larger countries and elite leagues of very minor countries
-fixed issue with player movement into the Lower Level Colleges generic league (ACHA, Div III, etc.)
-fixed issue with goalie usage change that was leading to the starter playing almost every game
-when NHL teams trades a player that is under contract to them but loaned to a CHL or European team, the contracted team should now transfer properly
-players who fail their academic eligibility check a second time (after being redshirted the first time) are now removed from the team properly
-added some additional generic international leagues to historical mode so all national teams represented in international tournaments have a local league
-added correct NHL trading deadline dates to post-2010 historical seasons

[Risk2014]

Wow and still NHL/AHL/ECHL goes untouched. Seems like nothing has been fixed for fans who just want to play the NHL Franchise and worry about their affiliate teams. I guess I won't be playing this game this whole NHL season. What a let down.

[Swedishgamefreak]

I tried the beta in an exhibition game to see the new information screen in 2D Mode. Looks good and i'm excited to see what you can do with it in the future. Shot charts and goal charts would be amazing!

[reverist]

Originally Posted by Risk2014

Wow and still NHL/AHL/ECHL goes untouched. Seems like nothing has been fixed for fans who just want to play the NHL Franchise and worry about their affiliate teams. I guess I won't be playing this game this whole NHL season. What a let down.

Untouched, except for all the updates relating to them.

[BKL]

Will this update be compatible with existing saves?

[boscoJJ]

added some additional generic international leagues to historical mode so all national teams represented in international tournaments have a local league

So we now have like 63 teams in European Leagues?

[JeffR]

Originally Posted by BKL

Will this update be compatible with existing saves?

Yes. But see the suggestion in the top post about making a backup of them first in case something goes wrong.

[JeffR]

Originally Posted by boscoJJ

So we now have like 63 teams in European Leagues?

30. It won't be that visible, few if any NHL-caliber players will ever wind up in the new ones, it just gives the guys on e.g. the Belgian national team a more appropriate league in their history rather than winding up in, say, the Slovenian league or being free agents.

[northjersey]

looking forward to see if the backup goalie starting check actually works!

I guess arena music still hasn't been implemented?

[boscoJJ]

I think devs should lower the minimum age of custom Minor League players to 17,so the newly generated players won't stay as free agents

[TobyInHR]

Jeff, just curious about another data point in the CSVs -- does the engine track which player draws a penalty? Like if someone takes a slashing minor, does the game know who he slashed?

I'm only bringing it up in case you and Sebastian are keeping a list of eventual CSV updates for this year or next. Ideally, with that information, we could convert the value of taking a penalty into a negative goal value based on a team's PK ability, and vice versa. Just figured I'd bring it up while I have it on my mind as I dig into the new CSV data.

[Tangerino]

Originally Posted by JeffR

-on the player history screen and in the team transaction logs, when a trade is shown that includes a draft pick in a draft that has already occurred, the name of the player who was chosen with that pick is now shown (had to redesign the screen slightly to accommodate this; it may take slightly longer to load particularly lengthy player histories)

I am checking on my save with the beta right now and it does show the pick that was traded not the year just what round the pick was in and also does not show the future player that was chosen with that pick, unless I'm on the wrong screen. I'm also using an old save from the version prior if that would make any difference.

EDIT I take it back, it actually works on all the trades I've made after the update was added. All the trades made prior to me updating still show as just the draft pick. But still a great feature add! Thanks!

[JeffR]

Originally Posted by TobyInHR

Jeff, just curious about another data point in the CSVs -- does the engine track which player draws a penalty? Like if someone takes a slashing minor, does the game know who he slashed?

I'm only bringing it up in case you and Sebastian are keeping a list of eventual CSV updates for this year or next. Ideally, with that information, we could convert the value of taking a penalty into a negative goal value based on a team's PK ability, and vice versa. Just figured I'd bring it up while I have it on my mind as I dig into the new CSV data.

Not consistently, a lot of the penalties are primarily, or even exclusively, driven by the ratings of the player taking the penalty so there's not necessarily a need to identify who the penalty was committed against. But we could add a little code to the engines to figure that out. Probably something for next year, though, particularly since it'll require some work on the classic engine.

[JeffR]

Originally Posted by Tangerino

I am checking on my save with the beta right now and it does show the pick that was traded not the year just what round the pick was in and also does not show the future player that was chosen with that pick, unless I'm on the wrong screen. I'm also using an old save from the version prior if that would make any difference.

EDIT I take it back, it actually works on all the trades I've made after the update was added. All the trades made prior to me updating still show as just the draft pick. But still a great feature add! Thanks!

Yeah, it won't show for trades that have already happened, just the ones that occur after you update.

[JeffR]

We've updated the public beta to version 9.3.95 with a few fixes, mainly related to shooting stats and the csv exports. If there are no serious new issues reported with this one, we may go ahead with a fulk official release soon.

Changes:

-improved shot location determination in classic engine
-shot quality numbers (for both the 2D and classic engines) should be in a reasonable range now
-added shot attempt totals to boxscore_summary.csv (as "Shots Home" and "Shots Away")
-added shot quality number to goals in boxscore_period_scoring_summary.csv

[TobyInHR]

Contracts appear to be working correctly now!

Seeing a few oddities in the SQ numbers, but nothing too weird -- for example, there are some goals that have a SQ of 0, which would mean the shot was blocked, if I'm interpreting the update correctly. I actually have no idea if a shot that deflects off the opposing team's player and goes in the net counts as both a blocked shot *and* a shot on goal, now that I think about it haha.

Can you share whether the plan is to eventually have SQ numbers in the boxscore_skater_summary.csv?

[JeffR]

I just posted the release version, I think the 0's are fixed already - at least I can't see any in a test with a full-season save. (Your example, though, would be a shot on goal by NHL rules - if it goes in the net, it can't be counted as a blocked shot.)

I'll see if we can get it into the summary soon, it'd obviously be useful for doing advanced shooting stats, and probably handy for me in working out issues with player behaviour in 2D as well.