Alright boyz, here we go!!! The NHL EHM 2005 Discussion

[riz]

Full story here:

http://www.sigames.com/news.php?type...rticle_id=1121

Key points:

Release date: May 27th 2005

New licensed leagues include: AHL, ECHL, DEL

http://community.sigames.com/eve/ubb...5/m/1742018721

Oh, and while I'm at it, please check the latest issue of The Hockey News if you can as well
http://www.sigames.com/news.php?type...rticle_id=1122

[Blackadar]

Someone want to buy this for my birthday (which is 2 days after release)?

[FrogMan]

From your thread listed above, from Marc Duffy...

Licensed Leagues

National Hockey League
American Hockey League
ECHL
Ontario Hockey League
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
Western Hockey League
Austrian Erste Bank Eishockey Liga
Czech Tipsport Extraliga
Deutsche Eishockey Liga
Elite Ice Hockey League
British National League
ST Extraliga
Slovenian Elite League
Swedish Elitserien
Swedish Allsvenskan

tell me, does "licensed league" means "playable league"? I mean, could I manage a QMJHL team, say the Quebec Remparts?

FM

[riz]

Originally Posted by FrogMan

From your thread listed above, from Marc Duffy...

tell me, does "licensed league" means "playable league"? I mean, could I manage a QMJHL team, say the Quebec Remparts?

FM

Licensed means playable

Playable on the other hand does not necessarily mean licensed though. We have a few leagues in that had to go in with some varying degree of fake names because we could not get full licenses for them.

And yes, QMJHL is playable and has been playable already in the first game we did last year. Full entry draft and import draft as well.

[Solecismic]

Congrats, Riz.

That is my birthday, so you guys know what to get me.

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by riz

Licensed means playable

Playable on the other hand does not necessarily mean licensed though. We have a few leagues in that had to go in with some varying degree of fake names because we could not get full licenses for them.

And yes, QMJHL is playable and has been playable already in the first game we did last year. Full entry draft and import draft as well.

oh, it was? I was under the impression it wasn't, my bad. Sadly, I'm still too addicted to that other game from your parent company to even think about investing some time in a new game

You're getting there, some day, you'll be the one responsible for getting me back into caring about hockey, don't give up

FM

[riz]

Originally Posted by FrogMan

oh, it was? I was under the impression it wasn't, my bad. Sadly, I'm still too addicted to that other game from your parent company to even think about investing some time in a new game

You're getting there, some day, you'll be the one responsible for getting me back into caring about hockey, don't give up

FM

You call yourself a canadian ? Preferring soccer over hockey ?? I thought people had been lynched for less than that over there in the hockey country

[Fidatelo]

Originally Posted by riz

You call yourself a canadian ? Preferring soccer over hockey ?? I thought people had been lynched for less than that over there in the hockey country

Don't worry, the appropriate people have been notified...

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

Congrats, Riz.

That is my birthday, so you guys know what to get me.

riz will get you EHM 2k5 and you can give him TCY 2.

I will be getting this one riz, thanks! In fact, this will become my FM.



Todd

[Simms]

I confess that I'm unaware of any other movement in the league, so I apologize for the narrowmindedness of this question, but will the AHL still feature the St. John's Maple Leafs, or did you have time to get the Marlies in the game?

[riz]

Originally Posted by Simms

I confess that I'm unaware of any other movement in the league, so I apologize for the narrowmindedness of this question, but will the AHL still feature the St. John's Maple Leafs, or did you have time to get the Marlies in the game?

All the leagues are based on the 2004/05 season, so any league changes for 05/06 and onwards will not feature in the game in most cases. There are some 3rd party editors in the works though, which will give you the chance of changing stuff in the future.

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by riz

You call yourself a canadian ? Preferring soccer over hockey ?? I thought people had been lynched for less than that over there in the hockey country

You must not know how hard it is to see your team leave town and win the Stanley Cup the very following season in their new town (in this case, Colorado). My heart still aches...

I had been a Nords fan since I was about five, when they were in the WHA. I remember going to see them play the New England Whalers, with which the great Gordie Howe used to play. Me and my sister used to call him "papa Howe" Then there were the Habs/Nords confrontations, so many friendships and even families fought because of those games, you wouldn't believe. Since the Nords have moved out of town, hockey has never been the same to me. Went to see a couple Remparts games this Winter, had fun, but it's not the same anymore...

They are talking about possibly putting together a group, build a new arena, a bit like Winnipeg did, and try to bring back real professional hockey to Quebec City. One can dream, maybe then I'll rediscover hockey, unless your game has succeeded before that

Thanks for listeing to my whining...

FM

[Honolulu_Blue]

Excellent news!!!! Getting the licensing for the AHL will be an AMAZING improvement. Be able to have a little more control over your up and coming prospects development is great. I can't wait.

[riz]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

Excellent news!!!! Getting the licensing for the AHL will be an AMAZING improvement. Be able to have a little more control over your up and coming prospects development is great. I can't wait.

Wait until you actually play just as an AHL GM. I've made through a season and a half almost, with Hartford and it has been a blast. Trying to win while the Rangers keep calling guys up every once in a while to fill in for injuries and such can piss you off but then again, they can also sign some young guys and send them down to give you a boost

[Bee]

Originally Posted by riz

Wait until you actually play just as an AHL GM. I've made through a season and a half almost, with Hartford and it has been a blast. Trying to win while the Rangers keep calling guys up every once in a while to fill in for injuries and such can piss you off but then again, they can also sign some young guys and send them down to give you a boost

Now that sounds fun. I really wasn't interested in this game until reading this statement (I had thought the game was just a NHL game with a couple European leagues thown in). Not a big hockey fan, but this is the type of management challenge I think I would really enjoy. You just sold another copy riz!

[riz]

Originally Posted by Bee

Now that sounds fun. I really wasn't interested in this game until reading this statement (I had thought the game was just a NHL game with a couple European leagues thown in). Not a big hockey fan, but this is the type of management challenge I think I would really enjoy. You just sold another copy riz!

Plus, you've got the added challenge of trying to claim enough glory and reputation to someday capture a job in the NHL

You can basically start out in the game by managing in the Major Juniors (WHL, OHL, QMJHL) honing the future NHLers and then try and capture a job in the AHL or ECHL and later on in the NHL.

What I found fun with my AHL career was the decision making in the first offseason. Should I try and sign a few veterans of my own to bolster my AHL team or just wait and see if the Rangers sign some good kids that they possibly send down ? Because if I sign my own guys and then get tons of good ones sent to me, I'll have to either release my guys or try and fit them to ECHL below (which might already be full, since they have their own plans to run) or try and loan the guys out for some time. My secondary mission with my AHL career is to try and sign a few of the prospects Rangers do not sign and try and develope them good enough for the Rags (or some other NHL team) to sign.

[Icy]

No Spanish league? i think we have 2 or 3 teams that play betwen them a few times per year

It's weird that we don't play ice hockey here when we have been the European and World champions of Roller Hockey, also bronze in the olimpic games etc. It's said because we have high temperatures but so does Tampa etc in the USA.

About the game, looking forward to buy it, just a question, are farm teams related to the NHL ones in the game or can you manage them separately?

EDITED: i see you just answered above to my question.

[Pumpy Tudors]

I'm ready for the game NOW!

We had an ECHL team here in New Orleans for five years, so I used to follow the league fairly closely. Does the game model the "veteran rule" in the ECHL? I know back when we had the New Orleans Brass, teams were limited to four "veterans" on the roster. A player's veteran status was based on the number of years and number of professional games he'd played. I'm not going to hurt if the veteran rule isn't in the game. I'm just curious.

[jbmagic]

Riz

the game sounds great.

beside the real teams, can you create a fictional league too? if so will it be random and different each time you create a new league?

thanks

[riz]

Originally Posted by jbmagic

Riz

the game sounds great.

beside the real teams, can you create a fictional league too? if so will it be random and different each time you create a new league?

thanks

You cannot create fully customizable leagues, as in league structures and rules etc. However, you can start the game with fictional players, which randomizes all players and staff in the universe but the leagues are still the same.

[Bee]

Originally Posted by riz

Release date: May 27th 2005

I just wanted to say that's a great release date. Everyone should release games on Friday IMO.

[riz]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

I'm ready for the game NOW!

We had an ECHL team here in New Orleans for five years, so I used to follow the league fairly closely. Does the game model the "veteran rule" in the ECHL? I know back when we had the New Orleans Brass, teams were limited to four "veterans" on the roster. A player's veteran status was based on the number of years and number of professional games he'd played. I'm not going to hurt if the veteran rule isn't in the game. I'm just curious.

Veteran and developmental player rules are in the game for AHL and ECHL and any other leagues where they use such things (DEL in Germany has a rule where the teams must have atleast 3 native 23 years old or younger players on roster...).

However, some little things like the injured reserves for the lower leagues are modelled in a simplified way (just a 7-day IR) this year and also the waivers for ECHL are not modelled. I'm hoping to add these in the future though

[Bee]

How do affiliations work in hockey? Are the lower league teams owned by the NHL teams or are they contracted like baseball? If they are contracted, can lower league teams change affiliations? Are there teams without affiliations to NHL teams? I guess I'll need to do some research on hockey before May 27th...hehe.

[jbmagic]

Riz

how is the game manual?

i am new to Hockey, so i dont know all the rules per league, etc.


will the Manual be detail in how to play even if you never play last year version?

thanks

[riz]

Originally Posted by FrogMan

You must not know how hard it is to see your team leave town and win the Stanley Cup the very following season in their new town (in this case, Colorado). My heart still aches...

They are talking about possibly putting together a group, build a new arena, a bit like Winnipeg did, and try to bring back real professional hockey to Quebec City. One can dream, maybe then I'll rediscover hockey, unless your game has succeeded before that

Thanks for listeing to my whining...

FM

Sorry to hear that. But hey, we have a huge LNAH (yeah, that Quebec semi-pro league) fan with us in the dev team currently so don't rule out the possibility of that league being added in some day to provide some playable mens teams in the Quebec region

[riz]

Originally Posted by Bee

How do affiliations work in hockey? Are the lower league teams owned by the NHL teams or are they contracted like baseball? If they are contracted, can lower league teams change affiliations? Are there teams without affiliations to NHL teams? I guess I'll need to do some research on hockey before May 27th...hehe.

The affiliations in NHL EHM 2005 are fixed, so they won't expire/change during the gameplay. Possibly something to look at some time long in the future.

The game manual should be pretty comprehensive on the basic things around the gameplay and we've included a new screen into the game called "League Info" that will display the general rules of the league in question, so you won't be totally lost when you pick a new league to manage in.

EDIT: Here's a link to a screenshot of one of the "League Info" screens:
http://www.sigames.com/graphics/images/1034.jpg

[Joe Canadian]

Riz, is this the release date for North America as well?

[EagleFan]

ECHL? I can take over Atlantic City? Dam, I was going to try to keep from picking up any new games for a little while to save some money. I think I'll have to make this one little exception.

[jbmagic]

Originally Posted by Joe Canadian

Riz, is this the release date for North America as well?

according to SI web page it says

" This year’s iteration is vastly improved, and set to release for both PC and Mac on Friday May 27th across Europe"

Doesnt sound like it.

[riz]

We haven't confirmed the North American release date yet. However, we will definately be offering a try&buy digital download option like last year (system to be used for the digital distribution has not been confirmed yet) at the same time as the European release date.

North American retail markets are a bit hard to crack with a text-sims but we are hoping to improve from last year's release which did not quite go to plan.

[jbmagic]

Originally Posted by riz

We haven't confirmed the North American release date yet. However, we will definately be offering a try&buy digital download option like last year (system to be used for the digital distribution has not been confirmed yet) at the same time as the European release date.

North American retail markets are a bit hard to crack with a text-sims but we are hoping to improve from last year's release which did not quite go to plan.

i really hope so. it was so hard to find last year version in the States

popular stores here in the states did not have the game. Best Buy, CompUsa, Circuit City, Fry's. etc

i hope this year version are in the store shelves in the states.

if text-sim games hit the shelves in the States. believe me, once they buy it there going to get hook on it.

thanks

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by riz

Sorry to hear that. But hey, we have a huge LNAH (yeah, that Quebec semi-pro league) fan with us in the dev team currently so don't rule out the possibility of that league being added in some day to provide some playable mens teams in the Quebec region

HAHAHAHAHA That is hugely cool! Would be very funny to manager the Quebec Radio X

Not asking for his name, but is that guy from the Quebec City area or elsewhere in the province? As you must know if you've spoken with him a bit, there are quite a few fights in that league. That would need to be coded accordingly, but since you've included the ECHL, I'd have to assume it's already covered

FM

[Joe Canadian]

Originally Posted by riz

We haven't confirmed the North American release date yet. However, we will definately be offering a try&buy digital download option like last year (system to be used for the digital distribution has not been confirmed yet) at the same time as the European release date.

North American retail markets are a bit hard to crack with a text-sims but we are hoping to improve from last year's release which did not quite go to plan.

I'm not sure if you can really speculate on this... but if one was nailed down what's the earliest we could expect it on store shelves? A week later? A month later?

Because if it's going to be anything more than a month I might just order the CD from Europe.

[riz]

Originally Posted by FrogMan

HAHAHAHAHA That is hugely cool! Would be very funny to manager the Quebec Radio X

Not asking for his name, but is that guy from the Quebec City area or elsewhere in the province? As you must know if you've spoken with him a bit, there are quite a few fights in that league. That would need to be coded accordingly, but since you've included the ECHL, I'd have to assume it's already covered

FM

He is actually from Finland and is working on the dev team doing his job experience course for uni studies. He is a big fan of hockey fights and has done the research for our database of the LNAH teams and players with some people he knows from the Quebec area

And yes, it is well and truly possibly to code certain leagues to sign more goons

[Joe Canadian]

Originally Posted by jbmagic

i really hope so. it was so hard to find last year version in the States

popular stores here in the states did not have the game. Best Buy, CompUsa, Circuit City, Fry's. etc

i hope this year version are in the store shelves in the states.

if text-sim games hit the shelves in the States. believe me, once they buy it there going to get hook on it.

thanks

I found it rather easily at EB Games here in St. John's... I think they only got two copies and I preordered one of them

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by riz

He is actually from Finland and is working on the dev team doing his job experience course for uni studies. He is a big fan of hockey fights and has done the research for our database of the LNAH teams and players with some people he knows from the Quebec area

And yes, it is well and truly possibly to code certain leagues to sign more goons

This internet thing really does make the planet smaller every day

Pretty cool stuff though. I told you, keep working, you'll have me back on the dark side someday

FM

[FrogMan]

dola, speaking of the LNAH, our local team, the RadioX is currently playing the final series for the Futura Cup. They got tied 2-2 in the best of seven series yesterday night...

fwiw, the RadioX plays in the Colisée, former home of the Nords, and in the playoff, they've been getting crowds of upward of 8000 people. For a semipro league, I'd say it's not too shabby...

FM

[DanGarion]

Congrats. See you at E3!

[DaddyTorgo]

nooooo....too....manyyyyy....gamessss!!!!so should i just sign my life over to SI now in the hopes that Jim will be onboard soon and they can control all of my computer gaming??

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by riz

Plus, you've got the added challenge of trying to claim enough glory and reputation to someday capture a job in the NHL

You can basically start out in the game by managing in the Major Juniors (WHL, OHL, QMJHL) honing the future NHLers and then try and capture a job in the AHL or ECHL and later on in the NHL.

What I found fun with my AHL career was the decision making in the first offseason. Should I try and sign a few veterans of my own to bolster my AHL team or just wait and see if the Rangers sign some good kids that they possibly send down ? Because if I sign my own guys and then get tons of good ones sent to me, I'll have to either release my guys or try and fit them to ECHL below (which might already be full, since they have their own plans to run) or try and loan the guys out for some time. My secondary mission with my AHL career is to try and sign a few of the prospects Rangers do not sign and try and develope them good enough for the Rags (or some other NHL team) to sign.

Quite a dilemma I have. I really want to take the Blues to their first Stanley Cup win, but then again maybe I need to prove myself in the minors first.. maybe the Icecats?


Todd

[JeeberD]

Good thing the El Paso Buzzards folded a few years back or else I would be forced to buy this game...

[bbor]

Originally Posted by riz

You call yourself a canadian ? Preferring soccer over hockey ?? I thought people had been lynched for less than that over there in the hockey country

He's not Canadian.....He's from Quebec

So he is actually CanadiEn

[bbor]

Originally Posted by JeeberD

Good thing the El Paso Buzzards folded a few years back or else I would be forced to buy this game...

Sounds like something they serve at Olive Garden

[st.cronin]

I was really hoping the NCAA's would be playable. I'll likely buy anyway since Riz's products have been unbefuckingbelivamazingbly good in the past. Plus I love hockey with all my heart... hockey hangs the moon in my eyes.

[riz]

Originally Posted by st.cronin

I was really hoping the NCAA's would be playable. I'll likely buy anyway since Riz's products have been unbefuckingbelivamazingbly good in the past. Plus I love hockey with all my heart... hockey hangs the moon in my eyes.

I'm hoping to take a look at some college hockey stuff sometime in the distant future. But then again, since the player names cannot be licensed and the NCAA league/team licenses are prolly quite costly, I would not have your hopes too high on this issue. But you can always wish for it

[st.cronin]

Originally Posted by riz

I'm hoping to take a look at some college hockey stuff sometime in the distant future. But then again, since the player names cannot be licensed and the NCAA league/team licenses are prolly quite costly, I would not have your hopes too high on this issue. But you can always wish for it

I don't care about player names. It seems plausible that somebody would/could come up with a roster set, but even without that, it wouldn't be a big deal. TCY and FBCB are loads of fun, and don't use real names.

[riz]

Originally Posted by st.cronin

I don't care about player names. It seems plausible that somebody would/could come up with a roster set, but even without that, it wouldn't be a big deal. TCY and FBCB are loads of fun, and don't use real names.

Yeah, that is not a big issue really, the names. It's more of an issue with me allocating my time to different areas of the game to develope. It probably won't sell well with Miles and the rest of the decision makers if I decide to put a lot of time and effort into an area of the game (which would require a lot of new code and ways to handle the team management) we cannot be sure we can even put in (due to the licensing issues).

[Pumpy Tudors]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

ECHL? I can take over Atlantic City? Dam, I was going to try to keep from picking up any new games for a little while to save some money. I think I'll have to make this one little exception.

Lucky for you that they're modeling this season, considering that the Boardwalk Bullies will be in Stockton, California, next year.

[Karim]

Sounds great. I'll be pimping again on other forums. The addition of real AHL and ECHL is HUGE.

Unfortunately, I simply haven't been able to get into FM. I've been playing EHM solidly until this past month and now am looking forward to starting a new career.

[Icy]

Will be a downloadable version released the same day? if so, please, tell me elicense will handle it, not the other company you used past year