Franchise Hockey Manager 5
FHM5 Hotfix, Version 5.4.44, Now Available
Your existing savegames will be compatible with the updated game, but some of the update's fixes may not retroactively correct certain problems in existing saves.
This update was needed to fix an issue with penalty calling in the previous 5.4.42 update; a change in that update that was intended to make "evening-up" of penalty calls in a game instead did the opposite, which could result in a snowball effect where a team that gave its opponent 2-3 early power plays would become more and more likely to get penalties called against it. We've fixed that, although doing so resulted in NHL PIM totals dropping back to where they originally were before 5.4.42. So, we'll have to try s different approach to getting them to match the real numbers more closely (although this chane does seem to have resulted in much better PIM numbers for lower-level leagues, some of whom had issues with excessive penalties.) Additionally, a small change was made to the goon and enforcer roles to make it less likely that the AI will assign them to defencemen; this primarily affects a number of defencemen in the 1970's through 1990's in historical mode.
FHM Update, Version 5.4.42, Now Available
Please post any problems/bugs you run into in the [URL="http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/board/forumdisplay.php?f=3949"]Bug Reports Forum[/URL] (but also have a look at the [URL="http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/board/showpost.php?p=4371136"]reporting guidelines[/URL] first when reporting bugs, please.)
Your existing savegames will be compatible with the updated game, but some of the update's fixes may not retroactively correct certain problems in existing saves.
Changes from version 5.3.39:
-team roster menu no longer re-sorts in reverse after the back button is used to return to it
-added CSV exports (option is at the bottom of the World Menu csv files will be in \import_export\csv folder within saved games) - includes player ratings and season/career stats, basic team and league data; also fixed old isuues with formatting of the player_master.csv file
-user-set training will now be exported and saved properly in online leagues
-the "Online League" checkbox has been returend to the historical setup, allowing multiplayer historical games
-speed increase of around 20% over the course of a season (more for older AMD processors - this increase was a byproduct of a fix for those)
-player popups should now be working on the draft screens
-player popups for retired players no longer show random active players
-reduced growth in scoring in first few seasons in modern NHL games by having some players transition to more defensive outlooks and adjusting player roles so the defensive ones are a little more attractive to the AI
(Background: the large rise in NHL scoring in the early years of a modern game was primarily caused by a huge excess of offensive-oriented/high offensive potential players over defensive ones. This isn't really a fault in the research, as the best younger prospects, particularly forwards, will tend to be used offensively, or, at worst in a two-way role on their junior/developmental teams. However, in the real NHL, players who aren't going to be among the offensive elite often have to adapt to playing a more two-way or defensive style if they want to win a job at that level (e.g. Carbonneau, Lehtinen, Madden, etc.) That wasn't happening in the game. To fix that, we've added the possibility of players deciding, on their own, to change their playing style if that's what they need to do to survive. This works as follows:
[LIST]
<*>players will be checked a ocuple of times per year to see if they shift from an offensive to a two-way or a two-way to a defensive role
<*>only one player per team will make each type of change (i.e. 1 offensive to two-way, 1 two-way to defensive) per check, but a number of requirements must be met - being pre-prime age, having the right type of template, not having a huge excess of offensive over defensive skills, having too many better offensive players ahead of them on the depth chart that they're unlikely to displace, etc.; the coach's defensive preferences also have an effect, more defensive coaches will tend to have more players make this shift
<*>if a change is triggered, the template will move to its more-defensive equivalent - i.e., playmaking nonphysical winger becomes two-way nonphysical winger, two-way physical defenceman becomes defensive physical defenceman, etc.
<*>some offensive potential will also be removed and added to defensive potential
<*>for now, this will only happen at the NHL level and only in modern games - fictional and historical games have other mechanics to deal with this situation, and the NHL is by far the league with the biggest problem with an excess of offensive players; once we're satisfied this is working well, it may be applied to some others, but likely only to the leagues at the top of the development chain, i.e. KHL and possibly the best single-nation leagues. We'll also be looking at adding a way for the user to directly influence these changes, rather than having them all being driven by the player AI.)
[/LIST]
-on the Team-Scouting screen, changing the dropdown menu from Assignments to Info, Scouting, or Training no longer lists all the team's staff, instead of just the scouts like the default view does
-while viewing the league standings screen, clicking standings again (in either the dropdown or horizontal bar) no longer results in a blank screen
-fixed issue causing players on nonplayable teams to get stuck on VAC status, potentially causing crashes if it happened to a league that sends teams to a tournament like the Champions League
-removed AI Setup Organization option from national teams that appeared if commissioner mode was turned on
-on Tactics-Unit, changes to the Even-Strength 3 on 3 Unit #2's Tactical Settings no longer change the values for Unit #1
-the second part of the season summary screen, where the user distributes his new points among his ratings, should now show how many points the user has available to use
-additional randomization added to player evaluation of identical contract offers from multiple teams
-the Compare With screen will no longer show attributes for players that haven't been scouted (i.e. E-level)
-penalty frequency increased, mainly via an adjustment that will make refs tend to even-up penalty calls more aggressively
-expansion teams should now hire additional staff when they need them
-expansion teams should now get a trainer when they're created
-home-ice-advantage should now work properly in the later rounds of the 1980's historical playoffs
-if a player chosen in the expansion draft has already signed an extension with his previous team (i.e., he had 1 year left as of July 1, and was offered and accepted an extension in the brief period between the start of the new season and the draft), he'll no longer be moved back to his old team the following July 1 when the extension takes effect
-fixed issues with League Edit screen that could lead to one team appearing twice in a division or otherwise breaking the league structure
-fixed seeding of #3 and #4 team in 4-team playoffs in custom leagues
-fixed reset of screen selection options when returning to the the league-history-awards screen
-if the salary cap is increased via editing league rules on July 1, the team budgets will be increased by the same dollar amount
-adjusted nonplayable transactions to route virtually all junior-age players in playable countries from generic teams to the junior system of playable teams by the time they're 16-18
-numerous player, team, and staff data changes and fixes
-minor text and UI fixes
FHM5 Update, Version 5.3.39, Now Available
Please post any problems/bugs you run into in the [URL="http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/board/forumdisplay.php?f=3949"]Bug Reports Forum[/URL] (but also have a look at the [URL="http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/board/showpost.php?p=4371136"]reporting guidelines[/URL] first when reporting bugs, please.)
Your existing savegames will be compatible with the updated game, but some of the update's fixes may not retroactively correct certain problems in existing saves.
Changes from version 5.2.36:
-additional option added to Action menu dropdown on the Roster and Lines screen to get AI help in role selection without changing any other settings
-added missing drivers to eSellerate version that were causing news/messages not to appear after a reload
-fixed crash when attempting to edit leagues in a custom game
-attempting to switch goalies on the pregame screen of international games no longer crashes the game
-fixed crash when clicking on player names in international tournament history
-player popups added to the active draft screen
-INT status now displayed correctly for players on national teams
-INT status now reset for all players on July 1 to avoid players being stuck on international duty due to tournament problems
-slightly increased goaltending effectiveness, scoring totals in first season of modern games should now be around or slightly below the average for 2017-18. There's still a noticeable rise in scoring as the game continues, peaking several seasons in and persisting 10+ years until it starts to decline, the main causes have been identified (strong bias towards offensive potential and roles in the best junior-aged players) and a potential fix developed, but it's going to require a lot of time and testing to fix and validate completely, so it won't be in this update
-managers in online leagues now have all initial draft players scouted to A-level so they can see player ratings and scouting reports at the start of a new game
-on the league rules screen, under Roster Rules, "max. Foreign Players" is replaced by "Eligible Foreign Players", since that's the one the rosters actually use
-in historical games started in 1917, WCHL teams will no longer fire coaches prematurely
-action menu on draft screen should now be visible and work properly when the commissioner switches to a human team to make a pick, and then returns to the commissioner account
-shortlist (SL) column on the draft screen should now display shortlist data properly
-head coaches can no longer be switched to another job; they must be fired/released properly
-mental development for generated players in fictional games should now occur at a normal speed
-deactivated trade buttons on the horizontal and right-click menus for human managers in multiplayer leagues
-the #2-#3 seed matchups in the first round of the modern NHL playoffs will now be put in the correct side of the starting bracket if the #1 team in the conference is from the Atlantic or Pacific division
-NHL restriced free agent compensation should now be assessed properly (instead of always requiring a first- and third-round pick) and at the current amounts for 2018
-star NHL players should no longer get an X in the C (quality of competition) column of the training screen
-scaled effect of heat rating for AI goalie selection to goalie quality, effect will be smaller the worse the goalie is
-increased effect of "Start the best-rested goalie" in goaltender starts system to counteract the excessive starts after previous fix to hotness effect on starts
-fixed error in ability calculation for a few highly-rated players in a specific range of values
-the GR column in the Stats:Summary view now sorts properly
-qualifying offers on contract renewals (i.e., submitted without the player accepting) no longer receive a news response that describes the offer as being for for 1 year and $0, regardless of the actual terms
-filter button on the Training screen now works properly
-player popups for goalies no longer cut off the OTL/T column
-sorting by the FIT column of the roster screen now works properly
-postseason All-Rookie teams now use the same criteria as Rookie of the Year award
-historical games no longer missing most of the existing (as of the game start date) Hall of Fame members
-players in random debut historical games no longer getting awards icons for awards they may or may not have won in seasons long after the current date
-moving KHL teams between divisions/conferences no longer duplicates the team on the edit structure screen
-NHL-contracted players will no longer be included in shop player responses made by CHL teams
-World-National Teams-Select Team can now be scrolled down all the way to the bottom
-the "Possible Players" button is no longer missing if you go to the world menu, then select the team and then the Roster dropdown option
-the global/unit/player tabs are no longer missing from the Tactics screen for national teams if you go to the world menu, then select the team and then Tactics
-while playing out games as a national team, the tactics screen no longer shows the one for the currently-selected club team
-the Action dropdown on individual player screens no longer allows Dress/Scratch as an option for the player even when the user is playing GM-only (would be overriden by the coach's lineup selections, regardless, but shouldn't have been an active option)
-team edit enabled for cosmetic fields (i.e. colours) in non-commissioner mode
-on the Tactics-Unit screen, the Use Settings checkboxes for each line no longer also affect all the special teams lines
-users in online league no longer get a 201 Error message when exporting unless they go to the FTP Options popup and click the "Check Account Data File" button before every export
-made several adjustments to player quality for generated players from major hockey countries
-various minor text, data, and UI fixes
FHM5 Update, Version 5.2.36, Now Available
Please post any problems/bugs you run into on the FHM5 Steam discussion board or our [URL="http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/board/forumdisplay.php?f=3949"]Bug Reports Forum[/URL] (but also have a look at the [URL="http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/board/showpost.php?p=4371136"]reporting guidelines[/URL] first when reporting bugs, please.)
The rosters have been updated to NHL opening night status; we'll continue to make corrections and adjustments to them, but there won't be a start option with updated transactions until a little later in the season.
Your existing savegames will be compatible with the updated game, but some of the update's fixes may not retroactively correct certain problems in existing saves.
Changes from version 5.1.32:
-fixed crash when right-clicking in an empty area of the search screen
-fixed crash when clicking on player name on the pregame screen
-scouting reports will now be sent at the correct time
-added player popups to several screens
-fixed some situation-specific issues that could prevent the game from continuing or cause crashes
-significant changes to shooting and shot choice routines; it looks like we have shot totals around the right level now (mostly by adding more shots from defencemen); goalie save percentages have risen significantly as a result, but modern NHL scoring is still a bit too high, particularly in the first few seasons, because the goals coming from the extra shots roughly matched the effects of changes made to lower shooting effectiveness. We'll continue to work on that, it's partly a systems issue and partly a data one. It does eventually stabilize at a level closer to current scoring numbers as game-generated players begin to dominate the player pool.
-selecting a new team or using the up/down buttons to change teams while looking at a stats view should now properly update the stats for the newly-selected team
-bridge contracts will no longer be requested by players who are already at a very high talent level
-fixed issue with home team's data columns being shifted to the right in the in-game boxscore
-addeed shots on goal and power play chances/goals to the boxscore shown while games are underway
-lowered ratings for older (>31) players created at the start of a custom game
-player popups no longer cut off the last column(s) of stats
-increased quality of players in the CHL Import Drafts. Still appears to be some issues with teams stockpiling the rights to foreign players, resulting in many draftees not moving over, working on solutions to that.
-the select manager menu will now scroll down properly if an online league has a large number of managers
-on the World menu dropdown, the Schedule option now opens the schedule of the selected tournament instead of the league (note that a tournament still has to be selected first, otherwise it will still show the league schedule)
-using back/forward keys or mouse shortcuts on the start screen no longer results in a blank screen or error message
-fixed alignment of GR/OGR/DGR and LVL columns
-when adding KHL teams via the structure editor, the generated staff no longer get Algerian birthplaces
-the team history player index no longer excludes retired players
-fixed problem resulting in a small (but still excessive) number of players being generated with Algerian nationality
-players who retire after the game starts and have their number honoured/retired are now named properly in the assign numbers dialogue when someone wants that number
-when junior teams cut down their number of overage players for the upcoming year at the end of June, the players being released should now have their WHL/OHL/QMJHL rights released properly instead of remaining with their old team
-slowed age-related decline of the fighting attribute
-on the team menu dropdown choices should now be in the same order as the horizontal team menu
-"not enough players" warning message prior to a game split into separate warnings for not enough skaters and not enough goalies
-fixed error in Goon role requirements that was resulting in that role being used far too much in lower-level leagues
-user-generated schedules no longer all start on October 5
-the "cannot be fired" checkbox no longer becomes unchecked in multiplayer games after creating a new GM with the box checked
-in an online league, editing a GM profile (via staff edit) to remove him from a team and then removing him from the league via the online tools will no longer cause other GM's to be removed as well
-the AI in historical random debut games should now draft players who would have the iron curtain draft restriction applied to them in normal games
-if a custom league with an initial draft is started on July 1 and expanded, the expansion team(s) will now take take part in the draft instead of skipping it (but there will be no expansion draft)
-in random debut historical games, if the July 1 start is selected, the initial draft will now be held on July 2 rather than just before the start of the preseason
-various small UI and text fixes
Thank you for supporting Out of the Park Developments.
FHM5 Hotfix, Version 5.1.32, Now Available
The only change in this version from 5.1.31 is a small fix so your OOTP account login connects to the game properly and your achievements (both the Steam and in-game versions) are correctly recognized.
Note that you do not need to sign up for a new OOTP account for FHM5 if you had one for FHM4 - your FHM4 account will still work for FHM5.