I WANT IT NOW. :D

I don't buy many games either Johnny. It's expensive. Including shipping from the UK, EHM 2005 costs $69.35 CDN. When it gets here, I'll probably have to also pay $7-$10 in customs fees. That is one of the main reasons why I didn't purchase FM.

The only difference between you and me is that I really like what I'm seeing from EHM.

I'm not too pleased with the staggered release but there's not much you can do. It's very unlikely I'll be purchasing the September version unless there are major bugs in the May version that aren't address and/or the new CBA is done and implemented in the September version. It will still have to be much less that what I'm paying now.

There isnt a game in the world i would pay 70 bucks for.....but thats just me.....I dont own any consoles, i dont have many games for my comp....just the 2 ehm's, Fof 2004, Ootp6 which i paid the 19.99 for.....Madden 2005, and NHL 2004...Thats it......IT kind of bugs me that im not interested in this game......Im a hockey fan, well aware of the text sim genre, and blah......maybe its the lockout, as i type this, im loading up my rimouski career i had going in NHL EHM, which i got bored of after 2 seasons.....so maybe that will rekindle me...until then, im expecting a dynasty from you.....full with Leaf updates :p

edit: I forgot to mention i also have TDCB, and the original TPB, but they have been retired

You don't "have to" pay 70 bucks for a game. It's just a choice some people have made when they want to especially import it all the way over the Atlantic to get they european boxed copy. I'd face the same choice myself if I wanted to get something released earlier in NA, either pay extra to get it imported right now or wait it out until I can have it at my local store (or alternatively go for a digital download version). It's a sad fact for both our NA customers and ourselves that we could not get a worldwide retail release with a decent distribution over the NA at the same time as the euro-release but I simply cannot help it myself at this point :(

And as for the "pay twice for the same game" point being a something of an issue. There have only been some early plans that Miles has talked about and nothing has been set in stone about pricing etc. regarding future (NA) versions of the game. And even in his plans, it was never suggested that we'd ever make people pay twice for the same product or a simple roster update. Why would we ? We're not an evil empire of some sorts. All I can say is that at the end of the day once all the NA stuff has been sorted out, I'm not expecting people to be out to lynch us. Well, atleast I hope they won't :p

As for the digital download version, we are still finalizing the system to be used with this version, so it will most likely be available within one or two weeks of the european retail release. This is because of the feedback received last year and the need to try out different systems to find one that suits our needs and your needs in the best possible manner. But we'll get this one done as soon as we can as well.

I got my shipping notification from cdon.se yesterday.. packages usually only take one day to arrive.. mebbe mebbe mebbe I'll have it a day early.. mebbe mebbe I'll have to take tomorrow off.. mebbe..

Looking forward to the downloadable version...

fwiw, I paid what came to 68$ cdn for my copy of FM2005 and I've now logged 17 days and 5 hours of playing time on my one career. Let's say about 10% of that time is idle time when the game was loaded but I was attending to something else in the house, okay, that is still about 370 hours of playing time with that game. 68/370 = 18.4 cents per hour. I think it was a great buy. Especially if I compare to the less than 20 hours I spent with ITP, which I played $20 US, or say about 25 cdn, which looked like an amazing price at the time, but came out to over a buck per hour of play...

It's all about how much you want it and what you're getting in return. If you still like last year's version and feel like skipping a year, I'd say it's okay too :)

FM

Don't know why, but when my copy of FM2005 came in the mail last November, I didn't have to pay any customs fees, it simply came to the mailbox, nothing to sign. Had ordered it from gameplay.co.uk... Good luck with that, customs fees suck!

FM

Custom fees do suck. I had to pay a ton to get my 24 cans of Caffrey's into the US from UK exporter direct.....

Customs can be a pain sometimes. Especially if there is a strike of some sort. Last year there was a strike in Canada and some of the gameplay orders going to specific regions in Canada got stuck in customs for longer periods due to the strike.

Any word on when the downloadable version will be available? Any chance that it'll be before the weekend? Ideally, I'd like to spend most of my weekend playing this game. Just curious.

This was posted this morning Pumpy. I doubt there will be anything updated beyond that until it's ready.

Oops. Missed that. I guess I'll be ordering a boxed copy from Europe, then. Thanks!

I just ordered from Gameplay. I gather that I'll probably have it in a little over a week. I've never ordered from them before. I used the standard delivery since I'm not home during the day to sign for a package. Now I'll just have to wait patiently. :)

fwiw, standard shipping took 13 days to get to me in Quebec City. Ordered on Nov 2, got to me on Nov 15. Gotta say November 15 is a Monday and we don't have Saturday delivery, so it could have been as early as 11 days... Good luck with your shipping! :)

FM

I've ordered CM/FM and last year's NHL:EHM from Gameplay. I'm not sure there is much difference between regular shipping and express shipping for us on this side of the Atlantic. Most of my packages from them took about 10-14 days to arrive here in Seattle. People on the east coast seemed to get their packages a day or two earlier.

All that being said, I think I'm going to wait a couple weeks and see if GoGamer puts it up on their site. I got a response back from them from my inquiry into whether they were going to have the game this year or not. They said that if they were going to have it, they would probably have it by the first week in June. I can get it from CA in about 2-3 days and it's the same game.

Oops. I could've just waited for the downloadable version, then. Well, no matter. I'll have it eventually. I just have to figure out what I'm going to play until it gets here.

By the way in case you all aren't aware SortitoutSI (http://www.sortitoutsi.net) who do skins and suchlike for Football Manager have now started supporting EHM and our other forthcoming products (ie. OOTP).

There are a host of face-packs, rink graphics and that kicking around on that site for the original version of EHM and also a fair few for the new one which people have made for the demo ..

Hope this helps,

Marc

My copy was on the doormat when I came home from work :)

Everything looks good, but I did encounter a weird bug. Crashed to desktop just before training camp, but I think it had to do with the screen where I set my "Team Needs".

I originally had it set that I was looking for a center and a defenseman. However, after a few days where I had invited players to camp, signed a few FAs etc, I was going to "continue" on to the next day. But all of a sudden I kept being thrown back to the Team Needs screen.

I then noticed that ooops, while my needs were checked, the actual positions I needed had been reset. So I ticked off the first need, then the second and boom, as I ticked off the final need I crashed to desktop...

You SI-guys recognize this?

Getting excited...

Minstrel's skins rock. He has one customized for every NHL team. It was head over heels better that last year's default skins.

That sounds vaguely familiar. I think there were a few rare crash bugs that'll be fixed in the first patch, that may be one of them.

JeffR.. are you the one who made a HNC-skin? sortitoutsi was slow, so I gave up looking for a good skin there, any idea where I might find other neat skin (including the HNC one)?

Heh...I just shelled out $85 for War in the Pacific, and there are people on the Matrix Games forum saying they'd be willing to pay up to $200 for an enhanced version of it (which would probably be the only economical price to release it at, since the user base is so small.)

Yup, that's me. I'm not sure what's up with their site, it's been unusually slow the last couple of times I've checked it. Try this link to download it without fighting your way through the menus, which should speed the process up.

The other good site for EHM stuff is http://www.eastside-uk.co.uk/, but it hasn't been updated recently - Neil's probably been too busy working on the new editor.

When will I be able to buy this game in a store in the US of A?

i sure hope so, last year version was non existent in the US compare to other games. it was very hard to find. i never saw it at Best Buy, CompUSA, Circuit city, Walmart, Target, Fry's Etc. and those places carry a lot of computer software.

i sure hope the US release makes it into all those stores like other software does.

Early fall, most likely.

Thanks for the link, but unfortunately the *.skn file seems to be missing from the zip-file.

got no problem with the "pay for the 2.25 update" policy here, if as someone else (MapleLeaf?) said it incorporates the new CBA etc. etc. If it doesn't well then right it probably wouldn't be worth picking up, although I would assume if there is a new CBA that it will pretty much have to be modeled in the game at that point. Other than that, probably waiting for the digital download version because unlike FM this isn't a game where I feel that overwhelming desire to have the CD, as much as it's a game I want to play. FM sometimes I like to have the CD so I can just sit there and look at it...caress it...etc.

Oops, how'd that happen? I'm surprised nobody else mentioned it yet, the color file is missing, too. Here they are http://members.shaw.ca/jeffrid/HNICcolskn.zip, and I'll get the sortitoutsi file changed, too.

I posted these player development results over on the SI forum, but might as well repeat them here if anyone's curious:

This is how the 2004-05 first-rounders turned out as of 2017 (note that this is a different game than the previous list I did.)

#1 pick - superstar, multiple Hart and Ross trophies
2 - solid #1-2 defenseman, no individual awards but has played in a couple of all-star games
3 - looked average in the early part of his career and had some injury problems, then turned into an elite player after he was traded at 26 - 100+ points the last 2 years
4 - pretty good second liner, reliable scorer but not a star
5 - star, gets 50-60-70 assists per season playing with an 04 pick who's arguably the league's best player
6 - awful his first few seasons after being rushed into the league at 18, then had a 50-point breakout year at 24 and wound up as the winger for the #1 pick mentioned above, where he's been getting 80+ points
7 - struggled, still a 2nd-line player but whenever he puts up a lot of points, his +/- has been awful
8 - a bust, didn't produce in the AHL after leaving junior, still eventually made it to the NHL but has been a career 4th-liner, sits in the press box half the time
9 - 2nd/3rd line forward, although he's coming off a career year (55 points) at 30
10 - good #1 defenseman, was a first team all-star and Norris contender in 2012, but ran into injury trouble the next season and hasn't quite been the same since
11 - solid #1 goalie, not a star but in the upper half of NHL starters
12 - slow, steady progress through his early career, then won the Smythe trophy (and the cup) in 2015 and has been a star since then
13 - 3rd/4th liner most of his career, although he's had more points the last couple of seasons as his team has declined and he took on a bigger role
14 - looked like a bust, up-and-down from the AHL in his early 20's, then finally managed to establish himself as a #5-6 defenseman
15 - journeyman forward, with his 5th NHL team, never broken 20 points
16 - borderline star, but point totals are very inconsistent (ranging from 30's to 70's) from year to year and has been traded twice
17 - 4th liner on bad teams/minor leaguer, was even stuck in the ECHL for a while
18 - looked like a future superstar in his post-draft season, and his rights were traded even-up for an established NHL star, but turned into a massive bust in North America - managed 2 points in 19 AHL games in two years, spent the rest of his time in the ECHL, then went back to Europe where he's been mediocre
19 - an AHL star, has produced when he's gotten a shot at the NHL but defensive liabilities keep him from sticking there permanently
20 - 3rd/4th liner that seemed to fade early and spent his late 20's shuttling between the NHL and AHL before going back to Europe
21 - looked only so-so, developed slowly and was traded twice - then suddenly found himself on Detroit's first line and had a 50-goal year; the Wings were smart and moved him at the deadline next year while his value was still high, and he fell apart after that; back at the 15-goal, 30-point level now.
22 - solid 3rd-liner, dependable for 30+ points a year
23 - goalie, never really established himself in the NHL and wound up back in the AHL after his one season as a (bad) starter, back in Europe now
24 - good AHL player that hasn't been able to progress beyond 3rd/4th line NHL status
25 - bust, had a huge AHL rookie year but wasn't able to repeat that in the NHL, went back to Europe after 36 NHL games in 5 years
26 - complete bust, wasn't even that reliable a scorer at the ECHL level
27 - goalie, paid his dues in the AHL and eventually established himself as a mediocre starter/decent backup at the NHL level
28 - career 4th liner, has only played more than 70 games once but has somehow always avoided being sent to the minors
29 - slow-developer that came on after turning 25 and became a good 2nd liner, although he slipped badly last season
30 - outstanding offensive defenseman, the steal of the first round, reliable 50-60 point guy who's been a 2nd team all-star and Masterton winner

The second round had worse busts than the first, five guys taken in it are no longer playing. No real NHL stars from the late rounds, but a dozen plus guys with solid multiple-year NHL careers, and a goalie taken #153 that's been a 60-70 game guy for the last half-dozen seasons.

Some more numbers, starting with the better late-round picks from 2005-2010. I counted "late round" as anything after the #180 overall pick - based on the research I did last year, that's the point where the likelihood of an extended NHL career gets very rare.

#210 overall, 2005: 281 career NHL games, reliable two-way defenseman, Dallas's #4-5 guy the last two years.
222, 2005: 476 NHL games, offensive defenseman, looked like he was going to develop into a 30-40 point guy but tailed off after a 31-point year at 25
182, 2006: 293 NHL games, very defense-oriented defenseman, #6 guy for Colorado
225, 2006: 439 NHL games, good college forward that somehow slipped way down in the draft, developed into a decent 2nd-3rd line player
247, 2006: 493 NHL games, defensive defenseman, Flyers' #5-6 guy for several seasons
227, 2007: 277 NHL games, defensive defenseman with some offensive skills, #4-5 guy for Phoenix
233, 2007: 259 NHL games, big two-way defenseman and a huge hitter, slow to develop but has turned into a #2-3 guy with the Leafs
245, 2007: 472 NHL games, 4th line checker/grinderwho's on his 7th NHL team, but somehow manages to stay in the league
228, 2008: 466 NHL games, big 3rd line shutdown guy who has some playmaking skills, came over to Canada after being selected by the Leafs and wound up being WHL MVP in his final year and going straight to the NHL after that
185, 2009: 229 NHL games, forward who was up-and-down from the AHL in his first two pro seasons, then stuck and had a 20-goal, 40-point year, hasn't repeated that but still a decent 3rd liner
246, 2009: hasn't played in the NHL, possibly because he's making more money in the Swiss league than he would on a 2-way contract with Nashville, but is one of the best defensemen in Europe - all-star at the 2015 World Championships, 38 international games played for Switzerland
183, 2010: 108 NHL games, utility D/RW who'd been back-and-forth between the NHL and AHL until the Canucks made him a full-time defenseman, after which he put up 36 points in his first full NHL season
251, 2010: 60 NHL games, 25-year-old rookie surprise in 2016-17 after being signed by Montreal as a UFA - had been buried in the ECHL for three years by Detroit, who signed him after Nashville didn't offer him a contract coming out of junior
266, 2010: 169 NHL games, huge scorer in the lower Czech leagues who didn't come to North America until he was 22, then made the Ducks out of training camp...big guy who's turned into an effective 3rd-line checker in the NHL

Origins of the top 10 scorers and top 5 starting goalies (by save %) in 2016-17:

1. Drafted in 2004, starts the game in Europe
2. Drafted in 2005, starts the game in Canadian Major Junior
3. Drafted in 2003, starts the game in US college
4. Drafted in 2007, starts the game in Canadian Major Junior
5. Drafted in 2005, starts the game in Europe
6. Drafted in 2009, starts the game in Canadian midgets
7. Drafted in 2001, starts the game in NHL
8. Drafted in 2004, starts the game in Europe
9. Drafted in 2001, starts the game in NHL
10. Drafted in 2011, regenerated player

(that's a little misleading as to how well the regens turn out - 5 of the #11-20 guys were regens)

1. Drafted in 2003, starts the game in Canadian Major Junior
2. Drafted in 2000, starts the game in Europe
3. Drafted in 2007, starts the game in Canadian Junior A
4. Drafted in 1995, starts the game in NHL
5. Drafted in 1994, starts the game in NHL

Nice balance between existing NHL players and young guys/regens - most of the guys who are stars in 2004-05 are retired or declining 35-40-year-olds by 2017. The NHL isn't dominated by current superstars as long as in last year's version of the game.

And finally, the draft positions of the top 10 rookie goalies and top 5 scorers from 2016-17:

Scorers:
1. 94th overall, 2013.
2. 11th, 2014.
3. 2nd, 2015.
4. 16th, 2013.
5. 37th, 2013.
6. 3rd, 2016.
7. 13th, 2016.
8. 29th, 2009.
9. 54th, 2013.
10. 19th, 2014.

Goalies:
1. 50th, 2014.
2. 13th, 2012.
3. 109th, 2013.
4. 15th, 2010.
5. 86th, 2014.

I'm pretty happy with this - neither list is dominated by top-10 picks. Looking through the NHL rookies-of-the-year for the last 10 years, I see pretty much the same thing - high picks mixed with some 3rd/4th rounders.

You gotta love these reports JeffR comes up with :D Good stuff !

Maybe there is a subtle hint for a possible new future feature hidden in all this ?

Getting really excited now after that report...

As for a future feature, how about draft screens like:
http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/nhl1995e.html

Sure. Bring up the Steve Kelly over Shane Doan pick. You couldn't pick another year? Why do you have to hurt me so? :p

What you meant to say was Steve Kelly over Shane Doan, Jarome Iginla and Petr Sykora.

Boy the Caps sure had a shitty draft that year.

You can already see the past drafts in the game to check lists like this (except for Team Drafted From and the NHL totals but these two are on my list for future versions as well).

I didn't even know little people played hockey! That's awesome that you include their league and everything...

:D

The first patch is already out...

how are the initial "playable" impressions. not the #'s really, but how does the game "play" ? and yes i've checked out the demo, just want to hear impressions from someone who has gone further into the game

yep

what your guys initial impression so far with the new final release and latest patch for it?

As for comments of the gameplay, here's something from someone in Sweden who picked up the game yesterday:



And another comment:


Early comments seem to be pretty positive and I haven't seen much complaints about the new and improved interface, so I can only assume we have gone into the right direction :D

Must... have... patience.

must....digitally...download...soon

Me too.

Can't... digitally... download... yet.

You know... I was using the config cheat with last year's version because of the lack of AHL and ECHL licenses. Even though we won't have the NCAA players, I don't think I'll miss it too much. The players are there on NCAA teams just with different names.

The 'real' AHL and ECHL is just a huge coup, even if they weren't playable.

AHL and ECHL are now playable, you knew that right ?

There is an 3rd party editor in the works and a couple of other fan-projects as well to make new custom rosters with real college players etc.

I know they're playable. I meant to say just having the real leagues in the game is a huge step forward, even if they weren't playable.

Thanks for the info on the fan project. I'll keep my eyes open for that.

With Memorial Day gone, hopefully those of us on this side of the pond will be getting copies shortly.

Just a bump to see if when people start receiving...

Just got back to my desk at work to find my brand new copy of EHM 2005.

Not only that but my order of "Preacher" graphic novels (vols. 4-6) arrived from Amazon right at the same time. Today is a good day.

Great! I'm hoping by Friday it makes it way west...

Mine was shipped on Thursday, I think. It would be a minor miracle if I had it on Wednesday, but I'm still hoping. I have big plans for the Devils. Step one: Trade Colin White. Step two: Invite Adam Edinger to my training camp. I'm sure almost nobody knows Adam Edinger, but he was one of my favorite players with the New Orleans Brass when that team was around. After a year or two in the ECHL, he got called up to the AHL and played for the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks. I hear that he has since retired to enjoy married life, but he's in the EHM 2005 demo database, and I want to give virtual Adam the NHL glory that the real Adam never experienced.

I am such a goober. :(

HB: Thoughts?!?!

Prearcher rocks - I've pretty much read them all :D

Heh! Sorry, RPI. Between work and the Pistons' game I wasn't really able to crack into things. I basically installed it and the patch. I may sneak an hour or two in today at work (shhhh!). I'll keep y'all posted.

I just started reading a few weeks back and it indeed rocks. I've had them sitting on my shelf for a few months now and following got around to them. I have volumes 7-9 in waiting.

I have to control the comic book flow into the house or Lady HB will start going down the "More comic books? What the hell? You're 31 years old, why not try reading a real book once in a while?" route. Then again, to her credit, she has tried to read a few and really liked Alan Moore's "Top Ten". Preacher, however, I don't think she'll get into. She flipped open one volume and just so happened to be the issue where Jesse, Cassidy, and Tulip crash Jesus de Sade's party. 'Nuff said.

Try getting the "Watchmen" or if she's into humour try some of the old 2000AD stuff, DR & Quinch are very funny so long as you can take homicidal alien teenagers in the right vein ;)

The 'Crisis' series which span off from 2000AD was pretty good if you like political satire, but they're getting fairly rare on the ground these days.

There are some very good graphic novel adaptations of Terry Pratchett novels kicking around at the moment also, my daughter loves these ...

I have the "Watchmen." I think I have read it once a year or so starting in 1989/90. Still my favorite of all time. All time.

I will certainly look into the other books. I was big into comics during my teens and stopped following them back in the early 90's. Over the last three years I started buying graphic novels and the sort (no time to collect individual issues of books).

The ones I have come across and enjoyed over the last 2-3 years include:
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Top Ten
From Hell
V for Vendetta
(Pretty much anything Alan Moore does)
Raising Stars
Supreme Power
Walking Dead
Preacher
Hellblazer
Sin City
Transmetropolitan
Joss Whedon's X-Men series

Let me know if you have any other reccomendations. I am always on the lookout for new stuff.

I just finished reading the 3rd Rising Stars volume, finally completing the series that I started reading years ago. Although I felt it was good, I have to say I was very disappointed by volumes 2 and 3. The first volume (issues 1-8) was amazing, just blew me away. Then volume 2 came out and I was disappointed, I just didn't like the direction it took. Volume 3 was a bit better, but still a let down. His time away from the series seemed to be evident, especially with sections where he contradicted things that had happened earlier (like the claim near the end that the specials could not bear children, even though Jason had kids and they had made it clear that the powers simply weren't transferred). Other pieces seemed to be tacked on or wrapped up too quickly.

What were your thoughts on it?

I haven't picked up Vol. 3 yet. But I agree with your thoughts on 1 and 2. Volume one was great. The origin story, the murder mystery, the politics involved, all of it. It was good stuff. Some of the best superhero stories I had read in a long time. Volume 2 did start taking things in a direction that was a bit odd and nowhere near as cool and nuanced as the first volume. I'll be sure to pass on a full review once I pick up volume 3.

Alan Moore is a god.

Watchmen
V for Vendetta (coming soon to a movie theatre near you)

Not to mention the great From Hell book.. much much better than the movie-adaption, which doesn't do Moore's excellent story any justice.

I'm not a great fan of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen though, and the movie-version was absolutely dreadful.

So, how's EHM 2005? :D

Thanks for gettin' us back on topic, Sach!

Any chance you run a season on holiday mode and let us know how the off-season is working? :D

I'm ready for the download to be available now...thank you.

I hear ya....

Honolulu_Blue

when you get some time can you tell me how the manual that comes with the game is? does it explain everything very well that in the game like tactics, ratings, rules, etc.

or just gives a brief summary only?

JB,

The manual is actual a meaty 58 pages. I think it does a good job explaining tactics and ratings. The ratings sections gives a description of each rating and what that rating is "essental for." I.e., "Anticipation is essential for top sex offencemen/top four d-men. If these key players anticipat situations quickly they can make plays happen."

As far as rules go, the manual really doesn't provide a breakdown of NHL rules (ie, icing is X, slashing is Y, etc.) I think the games assumes a basic understanding of the sport. It does provide some background on transactional rules for the NHL (waivers for example).

I hope this helps.

I would expect this is true:



:)

Ok. Enough about comic books... Sorry for that frolick and detour.

More about the game...

Well, if you've played the demo I assume you know about most of the new features such as training camp, assistant GMs, etc. It's all there and it's all good.

I love the new scouting features. Gives you much more control over what your scouts are doing and gives you much more in-depth analysis of players you're looking at. I have always wanted to be able to scout for a specific position (more so in FM than EHM), but I love the option.

The game still runs very fast. I love this. Much faster in all respects than the previous version.

I started a career with the Capitols. I decided that since I am living here, I might as well get more familiar with the team and playing the Wings (with their massive budget) was a bit too easy. Also, the prospect of playing with Ovechkin was too hard to pass up.

I have simmed through about a month or so of gameplay. Actually it's early November, I have played 13 games. All seems well.

There has been a lot of trade activitiy going on. There have been a whopping 19 trades since the season began in October. From what I can see, even though it's early in the season, it looks like teams with little prospect of competing are already begining to dump proven vets with larger salaries for prospects/younger players. For example,

New Jersey traded 23 yr. old Paul Martin to San Jose for Ozolinsh

Pitt traded Dicky Transtrom to Dallas for a 19 yr. old prospect

Detroit traded 20 yr. old Jiri Hulder to Atlanta for D-man Daniel Tarnquivst

Chicago traded Bryan Berard to Boston for 19 yr. old Patrice Bergeron

Not sure what I think about each of the trades above (except for the Boston deal, this is crappy trade for Boston), but I like what I am seeing. I assume as the tradeline gets closer we will be seeing A LOT more of these types of deals. I think this is good for the most part. It definitely was the trend in the NHL for the last few years.

Pretty much all of the decent free agents that start the game (and there are quite a few), have been snatched up. The sim engine is great. Goal scoring seems a bit down from last year's version, though it could just be that my team really sucks.

At RPI's request, I will start another career this morning/afternoon, go on vacation, and test the off-season and run through the draft.

For those of you that have been patiently (like me) waiting for GoGamer.com to get this game, today is your lucky day. Just posted today for $49.90. And with two-day shipping... :D

hmm... Marc or riz...any chance the download will be available before Monday? If not, I think I'll go the gogamer route.

Thanks scooter.

The SI folks posted an update on their forums this morning stating that they have found a partner for the digital download, but that they are still working out the particulars and that it probably won't be ready for a couple weeks.

http://community.sigames.com/eve/ubb...5/m/3752074431

Its in the hands of the biz bods ... hopefully they'll sort it sooner rather than later - I'm guessing one to two weeks for an eta hopefully ... would prefer it sooner, but its out of my control I'm afraid.

All right. I started a tester career with the Wings. I played through the pre-season, right up through the waiver draft (I am control freak. I cannot release total control). I sgined some free agents (namely: Kovalev, Lindros, Palffy, Zhitnik.), and MacInnis (just because I could and it makes the St. Louis trio complete: Shanahan, Joseph, and MacInnis, and it would drive virtual primelord insane :D)).

We'll see what happens. More to come...

With Washington, expect atleast a few years of pure sucking. Not much to start with and you cannot build a winning team overnight. I've learned my lessons with the Rangers...just signing some heavy offensive UFA's just won't cut it....hey, isn't that what they tried in real life as well :D

Good to hear you're liking the new stuff.

And if you've not picked this up yet:

NHL EHM 2005 scoops Gamersinfo E3 award

NHL EHM 2005 has been awarded as one of the Gamersinfo E3 Editor's Choice games. Amongst the 28 games selected from the games on show at E3 this year, NHL EHM 2005 was the only sports game to win the award.

Gamersinfo E3 awards:

http://www.gamersinfo.net/content/news.php?id=168

Gamersinfo NHL EHM 2005 E3 preview:

http://www.gamersinfo.net/index.php?art/id:542

Congrats on the award, Rizo! Good news. Very good and well deserved.

Yeah, the Caps will be a project. That's part of the joy. In fact, the aspect I liked most about the first EHM was drafting and player development. I played around 10 or so seasons with the Islanders and had many of my draft picks develope into big time contributors. The best thing about it was that there were players drafted from all rounds (even a 9th rounder, Mark Tobin, who developed into a 40 goal scoring power forward) who developed. It was fun.

One quick database error I noticed. It appears that the Wings have two duplicate scouts. There are two Bob Harlarsons (sp?) and two some other scout.

Oh well...just when I got it posted about the Caps, I got a saved game from someone who had played with Caps and was in the second season....he had finished with 95 points in the first season, so it _is_ possible to achieve some success if you play well :D

what more important players ratings or tactics? if you had to give a % how would you break it down?

Tough call...if by ratings you mean talent.

I'd probably go with something along the lines of 60/40 in favor of talent. You can get by with lousy tactics if you have enough talent, but less talented teams can still take you down if they employ the right tactics. But as I said, its a tough call and there are many other factors to success than pure talent and tactics.

In that case, I guess I'll be making an order from gogamer.com soon.

People in Vancouver and Edmonton have received the game and I'm still waiting....

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't care that there's a storm outside... get that thing to my mailbox!

As noted above, I simmed through a season. Unfortunately I actually had to do some work today at work (unbelievable, I know), so I wasn't able to really get into the off-season.

Anyway, here's a quick recap of what went on in this season:

1. Vancouver beat Pittsburgh, yes, Pittsburgh, in the Stanley Cup finals 4-2. I guess a healthy Lemieux makes a difference. The Pens also had Mark Recchi and I noticed he had something like 24 goals in the play-offs.

2. There wasn't a ton of activity at the trade deadline. Some, but not a lot. The biggest name moved was Craig Conroy. I guess the bigger deals went down earlier. For example, the Ducks traded Fedorov to the Sharks.

3. Jim Nill, my assistant GM, who was running the Wings while I sunned myself on some tropical shores made some dumbfoundingly ridiculous moves. First, as soon as I left he felt the need to sign almost any free agent worth a damn. I guess the extra cash in the payroll was burning a hole in his pocket. He went out and signed, almost immediately, Travis Green, Matthieu Schneider, Yanick Perrault, Drake Berehowsky, Todd Simpson, and Brian Holzinger. I didn't really think we needed these guys. And, in fact, we ended up losing Draper on waivers because of this.

That was just the begining of oddness. Nill then traded Jiri Hulder (one of our top 10 prospects) and the rights to two prospects for Ladislav Nagy. That's fine. I don't like giving up young guys, but Nagy is decent. However, SIX days later they send Nagy to the AHL and he gets picked up on waivers. Nice.

A similar thing happens a few days later. Nill trades Nik Kornwall (another top 5 prospect) for Sven Butchenson. He then puts Butchenson on waivers and he is picked up.

So, the Wings have traded away two of the best young prospects and two other prospects for absolutely nothing. That's pretty bad roster management. I left all the controls on "reasonable" while away. No idea what happened.

The trades I saw looked fine for the most part. Nothing outrageous there.

That's all I have at the moment...

I haven't gotten mine yet, although I guess I shouldn't expect it that soon since it only shipped a week ago. Should I have done the "priority" shipping from Gameplay that would've required me to sign for it? I didn't use that, and I'm now thinking that it might hold up my delivery for an extra few days. I need something to do until that damn game gets here. :(

The trades you mentioned earlier, and these moves are just plain awful.......No way any of those moves would be made......and Pittsburgh in the cup finals......wow....patch time!!!

I ordered it from gogamer.com today and got this email from them.

Dear Customer,

I regret to inform you that our shipment of NHL Eastside Hockey Manager 2005 did not make it today.

We are hoping to have it by tomorrow.

If you wish to make any changes to your order please let us know.

Regards,
Robert
GoGamer.com

Guess, I won't be able to play it this weekend. :(

Yeah, it's disappointing but that's holiday mode. I'd be much more worried if the other AI GMs were doing this during regular, day-to-day play.

I've never used holiday mode in my games so it's not a deal breaker for me.

a couple weeks for the download version? that's unfortunate. hey marc just out of curiousity, what % of SI's sales are digital download (roughly...off the top of your head I mean) ? I mean is this delay taking a big chunk out of your pockets, or are the early sales figures from EHM still looking strong?

He was probably sick of doing all your work for you and was actively trying to get you fired.

Heh!

Agreed. He was jealous of my vacationing, high-paid ass.

This was my thought as well. I didn't have the time to track what GM AI's were doing, but I don't ever recall moves like this happening. I think the holiday AI is odd. I think it's more of the exception than the rule.

That's just wrong. Trade Fedorov? Definitely can see that. Trade him to the freakin' Sharks? No way in heck! :)

That would be like the Wings trading Yzerman to the Blues, or Canucks trading Naslund to the Avs.

Ok. I just ran through my first draft.

Over all, the draft felt very much like the first EHM, which I loved, with a few new bells and whistles. The biggest additions are 1) the assistant GM, head coach, and head scout reccomendation buttons. There is a button for each and you click it and they tell you who they think you should draft. I think this is based on both who they feel is the best player and what the organization needs. For example, two of the three reccomended I take a d-man with the first pick. One reccomended the highest ranked player on the board and the other two a d-man who was about 10th best or so. I selected the latter and was pleased with the rec. Later on in the draft all three kept reccomending I take a goaltender. They did this for about three rounds, reccomending goalies who weren't even ranked. I assume they felt that we lacked goaltending prospects, which is probably true. Over all the reccomended players were pretty decent and I went with a few. 2) The other new feature (I think) is the filter button. The options are just like they are in the free agent screen. It's nice to be able to only look at goalies if that's all you want at the moment.

I did not get any trade proposals during the draft. I am not sure that can happen. (Riz, can it?) There were five trades during the draft between the AI, with teams exchanging draft picks and players for picks. It was nice to see.

As expected, Crosby was the first player taken overall.

Oh yeah. After the draft I checked my "team report" to see where the players I drafted were rated in the top prospects. Six of the players I drafted were ranked as follows: 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 12. Not too shabby.


Now on to free agency...

Keep 'em coming HB!


Todd

Good news

Marc Duffy at SI said in the ootp forum

"If you do decide to get the game now, you'll pay no extra for the new season rules and data in September - it will come to you free *

looks like they change there mind for charging us a small fee for the sept release if we download it now.


http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...&postcount=100

I always had a problem with goalies in trades. No matter how many goalies I had in the minors I kept getting trade offers with mid-range goalie prospects. It got so annoying that I took everyone off the trading block. This sounds like a continuation of that problem.

So I ran through the first month or so of free agency. Everything seems to be working fine. As usual there were a number of decent UFA's available. The biggest names include: Gonchar, Aucoin, Rafalski, Stevens, Straka, Modano, Khabibuhlin, Ozolinsh, Zubov, Peca, Mogilny, Niedermayer, and Belfour. All older guys who carried hefty salaries.

I made a run at Aucoin, but he got signed by the Devils.

I also signed Mike Dunham and then tried to ship Joseph off to a team in need of a #1 goalie. First I tried Tampa. They offered me back Jarrold Skalde. I rejected it and then they signed Khabibuhlin. I then went after Toronto and the Rangers. Toronto had no interest and the Rangers (shockingly) offered two mediocare prospects. I took the deal becuase I wanted to dump CuJo's $8.5 million salary.

One of the biggest gripes I had about the first EHM free agency was that the effect of losing a player's salary was not quickly enough reflected in your team finances. For example, in my prior game playing the Islanders we had zero money within our budget to sign UFA's, but we needed some. So I played around with trying to dump Yashin's US $10 million. I finally managed to, getting under the allotted budget, but according to my finance screen, I was still over budget and the team was still limiting how much I could spend as if I was over budget. Not good.

This time around, however, I dumped CuJo and it was immediately reflected on my team budget screen. A definite improvement for cash strapped teams trying to juggle their line-ups during the off-season.

Team were pretty aggressive going after free agents. As you could probably tell from the list above, New Jersey lost 3 starting d-men, so they targeted defense and were successful. There were some trades and other signings. No big names were taking jobs at smaller European clubs. A few retirements, but only for guys north of 40 (e.g., MacInnis)

All in all the off-season seemes to be working well.

All right, I think I am going to go back to my Caps career and starting building a champion.

I know exactly what you're talking about. I experienced the same thing in the first version as well. Though, after I finally drafted a goalie, in the 5th or 6th rounds, all my people stopped reccomending goalies entirely. I think they felt like we just needed one, which I think we did.

Honolulu_Blue

this game sounds great so far. i cant wait for you to do a dynasty. i hope you can go in detail when you do your tactics and tendencies. thanks

is the view the game screen slow now when you put it on very slow? is it easy to follow?

thanks