OOTP Developing a Hockey Sim: Franchise Hockey Manager 2013

[kabbott50]

I guess there will have to be an ootiblueline.com coming soon?

[Sebastian Palkowski]

I won't lie, I'm pessimistic. OOTP is hardly the first group that does other sports that's attempted to tackle a hockey game, and honestly most of them never see the light of day and become vaporware.

If they can get a product out, I'm sure it'll be pretty good though, so let's keep our fingers crossed. I just hope they realize that hockey fans won't settle for an engine and product for another sport disguised as a hockey game (which SI never did really learn, and was part of the problem). It sounds like though that it may even have very little in common with OOTP (which wouldn't be a bad thing for the reason I just mentioned, even though I like OOTP) and will be independently devved, so... here's hoping.

It is your right to be pessimistic and our job to turn you into optimistic.

I just want to give a few details about the project concerning your second paragraph: this will not be just OOTP minus Baseball + Hockey and a Hockey Skin. The project started a few years back as a hobby project of mine which was continued by a friend when I had to stop working on it when I joined OOTP Developments last year (it does not even share the same Framework). Yes, we will share features we think make sense in a hockey game but the influences from games like EHM/FM and own visions are equally present.

[Alex the Tall]

This is a good news!

[archibalduk]

I guess there will have to be an ootiblueline.com coming soon?

Hehe not quite! I have always wanted to shift TBL to become more of a hockey management gaming community/site rather than purely EHM - hence we have a Dabo Hockey Manager Forum and news items on the main site. It's just that up until now, EHM has been the only real hockey management career sim worth talking about. Although I truly hope Dabo's project, Wolverine Sports' project and now OOTP's project (and Riz has always said that EHM will rise from the flames one day in one form or another) will all become the successors to EHM - or at least a viable alternative.

I will do all I can to support OOTP; be it posting regular news items, etc on the site or helping get volunteers for research/testing etc. I will gladly do whatever I can to help. I plan on creating an OOTP forum shortly and hopefully one day we will have a downloads section on TBL too.

I think everybody here should take the opportunity to make their hopes known. OOTP are similar to SI in that they interact with and listen to what the community thinks/wants. Now is your chance to make known what you would like to see in OOTP Hockey (or whatever the name may eventually be). I think one thing to keep in mind is that the first version isn't going to be EHM 2007. It took SI three years to get to that point. However the experience the OOTP guys have with the Baseball Manager will be really useful (especially when we think in terms of the customisation the baseball sim offers ). I really hope OOTP are in this for the long run and look to develop many versions of the game over the years (like they have done with OOTP Baseball) because I'm sure with time this is going to be one heck of a game.

I just want to give a few details about the project concerning your second paragraph: this will not be just OOTP minus Baseball + Hockey and a Hockey Skin. The project started a few years back as a hobby project of mine which was continued by a friend when I had to stop working on it when I joined OOTP Developments last year (it does not even share the same Framework). Yes, we will share features we think make sense in a hockey game but the influences from games like EHM/FM and own visions are equally present.

That's very reassuring. I was wondering this morning how long it took for EHM 2004 to be developed (I think it was just over a year or so - it's a long time ago now). It sounds like you've already got a head start on it which will no doubt help with the target release date.

Good luck Sebastian and co!

[Alex the Tall]

I am happy to see some hope it will make this community growing even more and new exciting project. I already know the quality and the miracle of some people do with a game like EHM07 when it's nearly not editable, I can't even start imagine how it will look like with this game!

Hopefully, this will make me more active around here, even though I am an oldy around here !

[Primis]

It is your right to be pessimistic and our job to turn you into optimistic.

I just want to give a few details about the project concerning your second paragraph: this will not be just OOTP minus Baseball + Hockey and a Hockey Skin. The project started a few years back as a hobby project of mine which was continued by a friend when I had to stop working on it when I joined OOTP Developments last year (it does not even share the same Framework). Yes, we will share features we think make sense in a hockey game but the influences from games like EHM/FM and own visions are equally present.

I'm just jaded. I have seen soooo many of these projects die on the vine, and some even reach "completion" but as a husk of their original potential. It seems like time after time these projects die... even the NHL EHM series is now officially and completely dead.

I think all of us here want it to be a smashing success, it's been years now since a good release. Expectations will be high with the affiliation to OOTP.

[-BEHR-]

This is incredible news, as long as the game has a 30 team Online mode, and the ablility to have real team logos, rosters, etc.... If i had my wish, the game would be equal to a hockey version of the latest "football manager" in-game sim engine. Just sayin.... hahahah.... Hope it ends up being what i have waited years to play. cheers!

[Sebastian Palkowski]

I think that is a very important point: it will be the first version of hopefully a long running franchise. Don't expect every possible feature from every existing hockey/baseball/football game available. The goal for us is to release a rock solid game which serves as the basis for future updates. I don't want to release a game full of half backed features which I have to fix for version two (meaning no time to improve the game).

The project is pretty far concerning features like financial system, league structures, stats, career stats, game engine and we have a pretty good picture of the final product we want to build. After all, it is in development for a few years, we just never went public. The new situation (me joining OOTP, having someone work fulltime on the project who already worked with me before on this project) and the need of finding Researchers made us go public (we did not make any PR, the amount of feedback is just amazing!).

At the moment we rework the project to get it more in line with the new OOTP13 design and add first code we want to share (like the brilliant news- and storyline engine).

We will do our best to get the best possible product out. I myself want to play a hockey manager that is actively developed and available to buy and right now this project is the only option (I don't even need to pay).

[gazzw87]

Hey Sebastian!

Firstly I like to thank you for taking on this project! And good on OOTPD for realising it needs to be done! I also hope you don't get too bothered by people's unappreciative comments. I understand what you are saying regarding making a solid first version to work from and well I can't wait to see it!

Secondly two quick questions...

Will the hockey game feature the 'dynamic evolution' system that the baseball game has? That is an amazing feature! I understand if it's too early to say yes or no!

and also, just out of curiosity what hockey leagues/teams do you follow?

Thanks

Gazz

[B. Stinson]

This is incredible news, as long as the game has a 30 team Online mode

If OOTP is anything to go by, online leagues should be very cool. I've never played one myself, but I've seen the dedicated websites people have set up for their leagues, and they're top notch.

[Konstantinov16]

This is good news!

[Richie Daggers Crime]

Great news. This Mac user appreciates the Mac love. Looking forward to seeing the product!

[Sebastian Palkowski]

Secondly two quick questions...

Will the hockey game feature the 'dynamic evolution' system that the baseball game has? That is an amazing feature! I understand if it's too early to say yes or no!

We will look into any feature from OOTP and if it makes sense and is possible to be ported we will do it. So yes, we will look into it.

and also, just out of curiosity what hockey leagues/teams do you follow?

I follow my local team here, the Hamburg Freezers. Malte and I had season tickets a while back but at some point I just missed to many games so it made no sense to renew them. We even made a lot of trips to away games back then. I will attend a few games this season, so if we have fans from Hamburg here, we can meet for a beer. Most likely I will watch a Freezers game in Berlin later this year, want to see the new arena there.

Then I follow the NHL closely. My favorite team is Chicago since NHL94, since then I follow them as much as possible. Back then I didn't even have internet so I read about them in the paper (always a few days back). The last 2 years I was able to watch a lot of games over the net, this season is tough as the only way would be Game Center and I have no idea how good the quality would be on my PS3.

If OOTP is anything to go by, online leagues should be very cool. I've never played one myself, but I've seen the dedicated websites people have set up for their leagues, and they're top notch.

Funny enough Online Leagues got me into todays situation. Back in 2001 I came back from America and wanted to start a hockey online league. Everything was setup but I was not 100% happy with my game options. Then I found OOTP3, changed the league to baseball and the rest is history. So yes, I'm a big Online League fan myself and I always thought that OOTP does a amazing job with Online Leagues.

[m0fownz0r]

Great news!!!

The last 2 years I was able to watch a lot of games over the net, this season is tough as the only way would be Game Center and I have no idea how good the quality would be on my PS3.

It is beautiful, 3000kbps flash stream in 720p and 30 FPS. It definitely doesn't move quite as smoothly or fluidly as television picture, and in a super-fast sport like hockey you'll notice it, but it's nonetheless really good.

Tip I read @ hfboards about more fluid picture, I haven't used it since on my setup it runs almost perfect.

I've noticed using the full screen button in the GameCenter player kills my FPS. In order to get around that I usually do this (using Firefox):
View - Full Screen
View - Zoom - Zoom Out (Until you can't anymore)
This will give you the player in full screen, but play it at a smooth 30fps.

[moore4807]

I'm one of the longtime OOTP players... Awesome improvements and having the developers active in the forums and VERY receptive to feedback and criticisms, hooked me from OOTP3 onwards. EHM's franchise and responsiveness is very similar to OOTP and I actually spend most of my computer time playing OOTP, EHM07 is making a dent and both are favorites for me.

I recently re-loaded EHM07 on my current computer and was able to get my license back working (thanks to e-license and this forum!) So I have not done online league yet here. I was disappointed with OOTP's online - not because of the product, but the leagues I joined both fell apart rather quickly .

I gave up way too easily and became engaged in doing solitary GM-only style playing (simming the games). Its a totally different feel than standard OOTP gaming, but I've grown accustomed to it and like the "big picture" aspect of looking at the players/managers as commodities - not pitchers,catchers etc. It's not for everybody but after being addicted to OOTP it was a way to go to bed before the sun was rising so I didnt play that last little game!

Best of luck to ya Sebastian! already setting money aside for the 2012 purchase!

[Big T]

I too am a huge OOTP fan and will look forward to this is due time.........

Good luck to everyone involved in the project..

[Alex the Tall]

Just a really small personal question and "request".

I would personally love if you have the ability to be the General Manager and not only a "coach" with every power. What I mean is that, if someone do not want to take care of tactics, he can give that power to the head coach of the team.

[philou21]

It would be fun too to give warnings to the coach staff and not only the players. Like told them to practice more shooting/offence or more tactics. Like in EHM you can choose what coach do what but if you think they are not following the plan, you give them a warning to stick with it and he could also give you is opinions on it. Something like "We would like to respect the plan but the lack of depth and offence of the team doesn't give us the opportunity to do so." I think it could make the game way more realistic to have some kind of "conversations" with the coaches.

[Geordie_Bolts]

For ages now I've wanted to set up an active, tier system for UK hockey that mirrors the system for football by creating 4 new, playable, leagues but haven't been able to in EHM. Seeing all the positive talk about the customisation abilities of the OOTP series leads me to ask if something like this may be possible with this new game? Either way I'm really looking forward to this release!

[moore4807]

You can create any fictional universe, there are some limitations but leagues, schedules, cities, and players are all fully customizable, or conversely you can start with a stock MLB roster set and rules (quickstart). Sebastian said he started work on this project before working for OOTP so its not starting from scratch...I'm holding out big hopes for this, EVEN THOUGH I fully expect it will be a "grown over the years" project, like OOTP was - but that was part of the magic when the actual developers listen to the audience and defend thier visions while also accepting others points of view to improve the game.

[Geordie_Bolts]

Thanks for that Moore! That gives me more hope of being able to set my dream game up!

[dave1927p]

Well i was starting to get alittle sick of recreating the National Hockey League in ootp baseball.

I'm going to try and keep my hopes down to earth though. I don't think we should be expecting ootp12 for hockey but more like ootp5 or something.

[moore4807]

LOL... dave, you crack me up! I totally agree with your viewpoint about expecting the 12th version first - the only reason I brought that up was to illustrate my point about the customizing ability of OOTP franchise. Though come to think of it is there a hockey encyclopedia akin to the Lahman database? OOTP relied heavily on it in the early versions for historical simulations.

[drewst18]

It is your right to be pessimistic and our job to turn you into optimistic.

I just want to give a few details about the project concerning your second paragraph: this will not be just OOTP minus Baseball + Hockey and a Hockey Skin. The project started a few years back as a hobby project of mine which was continued by a friend when I had to stop working on it when I joined OOTP Developments last year (it does not even share the same Framework). Yes, we will share features we think make sense in a hockey game but the influences from games like EHM/FM and own visions are equally present.

I'm just jaded. I have seen soooo many of these projects die on the vine, and some even reach "completion" but as a husk of their original potential. It seems like time after time these projects die... even the NHL EHM series is now officially and completely dead.

I think all of us here want it to be a smashing success, it's been years now since a good release. Expectations will be high with the affiliation to OOTP.

Just wondering exactly what these projects you speak about that have been started and later scrapped? I know that there was some rando project like Ultimate Sim Hockey, but that was really nothing and you could tell from the start. I have been a follower for a while now and haven't heard of any projects with any real merit or pedigree start and scrap a project. OOTP Developments is as legitimate as it gets in the Text based sim market and the team is currently (depending on preference) producing arguably the best game in the genre. Not only that but it would be a huge rep hit to take on a project when you are only producing 3 or 4 products to scrap one of them.

Not only that, but I noticed you also mentioned about not just taking the baseball engine and calling it hockey and how SI never got that. The EHM actual game engine was not based on the FM engine. EHM was being developed as a independent game when it was picked up by SEGA. While the actual skin/layout was similar the engine was most definitely a hockey engine.

That all being said, I don't blame you at all for having reserved expectations, I am flying high at the thought of a new sim not to mention produced by OOTP Devs and if it doesn't end up working out I will be crushed, so at least you won't be disappointed since you have tempered expectations going in. I was pumped for Dabo after seeing screens and then the project seems to come to a stand still every few weeks.

[B. Stinson]

Not only that, but I noticed you also mentioned about not just taking the baseball engine and calling it hockey and how SI never got that. The EHM actual game engine was not based on the FM engine. EHM was being developed as a independent game when it was picked up by SEGA. While the actual skin/layout was similar the engine was most definitely a hockey engine.

Actually, I believe EHM was based on the FM engine. Before it got picked up by SI it was certainly independent, but once it was in SI's hands, I think they took what they had from FM. In fact, I think this is why we're not seeing EHM made freeware - they can't give away the FM stuff.