Project NHL 36 - a 2018-19 DB with 36 Team NHL/AHL/ECHL!

[Ukko]

[sten88]

Schedule is by far the hardest part - the rest is relatively straight-froward in archi's editor. You simply need to make sure you cross your t's and dot you i's. Most crashes from editing are relatively minor mistakes - you just have to be very thorough. You can easily change the number of games played as long as your schedule dates/templates sync up.

I'd contend a 42-team schedule is not that easy if you want to make it realistic in terms of divisional and conference rivalries. Simply playing every other team twice will result in a less rivalries, less conference intrigue, etc. At that point divisions cease to matter except as an organizing tool for playoff seeding, and where's the fun in that?

I'd aim to start and finish the season with divisional games so that the big games come at important times, but from a game-play perspective I'm not sure that rivalries have any impact at all.

Another thought that's just come to me - how do the extra teams affect the draft lottery?

[Filip Croatia]

MAJOR UPDATE

NHL36 v2.0 Released
Find all the files on the TBL NHL36 Thread Downloads Section:
viewtopic.php?f=13&t=18491#p230353

- All the usual updates and tweaks.
- CA/PA/Reps have undergone a universal tweaking to be lowered. I did this to try and stop so many star players from having all "green" attributes of like 18 and above. This will not affect depth charts, drafts, or statistics in the game because it was applied universally in the entire database (a lowering by 20 and a knocking down of "-X" potentials by one peg each...since a -8 is 130-160 and a -7 is 110-140, the difference is 20 so it stays exactly inline with the lowering of everything by 20). Frankly, it won't even be that noticeable on the players attributes screens, star players will still have plenty of green attributes. I like how it "feels" though now and it better meshes the real players and future fake players.
- Most importantly, the new NHL36 alternate databases are all LIVE.
- All database ZIP files now include the appropriate Expansion Draft quick start...for example if you are playing as the Toronto Toros in the "City Lights" database, run the Expansion Draft file that is in the City Lights ZIP and you will be good to go. The Expansion Draft files will from now on always be in the ZIP file of each database.
- When the Original database gets updated, I will also always post fresh alternate databases...they will all always include the same real life updates.

Don't forget to grab logos and backgrounds for the alternate databases on the first post download section as well. There is an update file for both logos and backgrounds.

Enjoy and let me know if there are any issues (aside from the known ones) - it's a lot of files for me to keep straight!

[flyfree]

First of all, fantastic work.

The only thing that bugs me is that Kunlun Red Star in the KHL doesn't have any "homegrown" players. The only ones that appear are greyed out or chinese juniors with horrible attributes. So as a human manager you can't use half your roster.

They are mainly built around NA players with chinese heritage, euros and a few russians. Don't really know if players like Brandon Yip and Cory Kane have a chinese passport, but at least the russians should count as homegrown

[BKarchitect]

Appreciate the front page props, Archi!

I'll look into Kunlun - I'd say although my goal is to keep KHL rosters accurate, I can't say I've tested long-term play-ability in leagues outside North America.

[BKarchitect]

OOOPS

So if you've downloaded any of the v2.0 databases prior to this posting (12/17/17 @ 18:32 CDT), there was a major mistake - some the contract data (specifically, first NHL contract date which causes waiver issues) got erased when I lowered all the player ratings. I'm going to keep playing around with that but needless to say, the database becomes highly unrealistic and goofy without real contracts. Everything should function normally now but let me know if you see any major, universal issues like that.

Update: FIXED!

Thanks!

[Realpity]

Just like to add my thanks for sharing all this work, very much appreciated !!!

[WallyWallcakes]

So...I just stumbled upon this thread today (12/18) and started reading through this database/thread. Normally, I'm quite the traditionalist, and don't even like NHL 18's option for a 32-team expansion league. When I stumbled across a 36-team database...I thought, "What a mess. No way that would be good. It's too...OUT there."

But the more and more of this thread I've read, and seeing all of the incredible work put into this...I must say...Bravo, good sir. This option not only provides a different element to EHM, it does so in a very well thought out and detailed-focused way. My hat's off to you.

For someone who started reading this thread while half rolling his eyes, who is now racking his brain as to what database to try...great job.

Can't wait to dive in.

[BKarchitect]

So...I just stumbled upon this thread today (12/18) and started reading through this database/thread. Normally, I'm quite the traditionalist, and don't even like NHL 18's option for a 32-team expansion league. When I stumbled across a 36-team database...I thought, "What a mess. No way that would be good. It's too...OUT there."

But the more and more of this thread I've read, and seeing all of the incredible work put into this...I must say...Bravo, good sir. This option not only provides a different element to EHM, it does so in a very well thought out and detailed-focused way. My hat's off to you.

For someone who started reading this thread while half rolling his eyes, who is now racking his brain as to what database to try...great job.

Can't wait to dive in.

Thanks! I know it's a lot to digest, I've tried to make the main files available right off the bat on the first post but as you discovered, it probably helps to take some time and read through the entire thread to get a sense of the project. It's quite a mess of thoughts but since at its core, it's a fantasy world, this is more a testing lab than ever a really truly finished product. And mostly, it's about keeping people engaged and supportive of EHM itself so that Riz will keep making improvements and maybe someday we will see a new version of the game (which I am totally willing to pay another $50 for...or much more if need be! ).

[Filip Croatia]

So...I just stumbled upon this thread today (12/18) and started reading through this database/thread. Normally, I'm quite the traditionalist, and don't even like NHL 18's option for a 32-team expansion league. When I stumbled across a 36-team database...I thought, "What a mess. No way that would be good. It's too...OUT there."

But the more and more of this thread I've read, and seeing all of the incredible work put into this...I must say...Bravo, good sir. This option not only provides a different element to EHM, it does so in a very well thought out and detailed-focused way. My hat's off to you.

For someone who started reading this thread while half rolling his eyes, who is now racking his brain as to what database to try...great job.

Can't wait to dive in.

$50 for...or much more if need be! ).

60-70 euros without any hesitation !!!

[Filip Croatia]

OOOPS

So if you've downloaded any of the v2.0 databases prior to this posting (12/17/17 @ 18:32 CDT), there was a major mistake - some the contract data (specifically, first NHL contract date which causes waiver issues) got erased when I lowered all the player ratings. I'm going to keep playing around with that but needless to say, the database becomes highly unrealistic and goofy without real contracts. Everything should function normally now but let me know if you see any major, universal issues like that.

Update: FIXED!

Thanks!

I donwload it and all contract years are there...didn't experienced anything so far, although I just started game with Quebec and I am like two days into (pre)season.

[Filip Croatia]

"Oslo, Norway has been chosen to host 2021. Olympic tournament"....hmm...is this bug ? Olympics should be in 2022. right ?

[BKarchitect]

OOOPS

So if you've downloaded any of the v2.0 databases prior to this posting (12/17/17 @ 18:32 CDT), there was a major mistake - some the contract data (specifically, first NHL contract date which causes waiver issues) got erased when I lowered all the player ratings. I'm going to keep playing around with that but needless to say, the database becomes highly unrealistic and goofy without real contracts. Everything should function normally now but let me know if you see any major, universal issues like that.

Update: FIXED!

Thanks!

I donwload it and all contract years are there...didn't experienced anything so far, although I just started game with Quebec and I am like two days into (pre)season.

Yes contracts are fixed.

Olympics year appears to be a bug, I'll fix this for the next version.

[BKarchitect]

Small update to all the v2.0 databases...includes the minor Penguins trades, bunch of moves in the QMJHL, other typical updates and also some enhancement of the 2021 draft class (late 2002 and 2003 born players). There are now about 30 real life prospects for that draft which will extend the realism factor a bit farther. I will continue to add 2020 and 2021 draft prospects as they bubble up and as scouting reports and vitals become available.

[thecanuckles]

So i got lucky, got 1st overall in 2018, drafted Dahlin.

However i can't sign him b/c hes demanding more than an ELC allows, 1.2 per year. I offered him a normal 925k ELC with a 3 million signing bonus just for fun and still got rejected. He's the only guy doing this, and it seems from other posters that they can sign him, any idea whats up?

[Astrwlf]

Hey man, real nice work you did there! This is a really exciting project. I like the expansion teams you created and the alternate ones too, and I thought it was a shame that I would only see 5 of them every game. So I tried to modify your database with the Editor to add a couple of teams as if current teams would relocate. Here's a list of swaps I made from your original database:

3 relocated teams
Arizona Coyotes -> Houston Aeros
Carolina Hurricanes -> Kansas City Scouts
Florida Panthers -> Milwaukee Admirals

5 expansion teams
Kansas City Scouts -> Hamilton Tigers
Milwaukee Admirals -> Halifax Highlanders
Seattle Kraken -> Portland Beavers
No changes for either the Quebec Nordiques or the Saskatchewan Whitetails.

Played with the division alignment too so that it would make more sense geographically. Problem I'm having though is that teams are still in their old division.

ie - I think you had KC in the Central. I moved them to Hamilton and put them in the Metropolitan. In game info page of the team says they are in the Metropolitan but in the Western conference, which is weird. And the standings still show them in the Central.

I played around with the divisions before in regular 30-team databases and didn't have any problem but I can't seem to get it to work in your database. Are the divisions hardcoded? Or did i just miss something easy?

[BKarchitect]

Hi Astrwlf, your mod idea sounds really cool - I mean adding 5 teams is fantasy so why not relocate a few too! I didn't do it simply because I didn't want to upset fans of any particular team who I might eliminate but it would be cool to see a bunch of new teams all at once!

Since this is a common question, I will try to list the steps below that you need to follow so that you can modify the NHL36 database (or any database) to work. Keep in mind I am going under the assumption that you are keeping the same amount of teams (so 36 in this case). If you keep the same number of teams and don't mess with schedules, this is pretty simple:

1) Find the club and edit the league info under Basic Data. Easy. Make sure the Detailed Division is the division you want them in. Edit reputation, support, arena, finances, etc as you see fit. I also makes sure the colours are what I want to see in the game and that under preferences I've listed rival clubs. So - easy to edit or even make completely new teams like this.


2) IMPORTANT: Any team you are replacing you need to make sure their league data is set to nothing AND you press the "Set Club as Inactive" button. If you don't de-activate a team that is no longer in a league, it likely will crash your game.

3) Go to Competitions and under Rules & Structures, find the league you are editing. Under the "Structure" tab you need to make sure every division in each conference is setup correctly. This screen does not update automatically when you adjust the league info for the Club - you have to do it BOTH places. I always click "delete all items" for each division and then hit "Populate with Clubs by Detailed Division". This will take the Detailed Division info under the Club screen and update this league structure screen. You need to do this for all divisions in both conferences. If you have the Clubs all setup properly, you will get (in NHL36), 6 teams per division and the Detailed Division listed should match the division screen itself.


It should work after that, let me know if you still have issues.

[BKarchitect]

NHL36 - The next step?

In my never-ending quest to tinker...I've been thinking...what if there are international clubs in the NHL outside of the USA and Canada?

Here are my thoughts...first, I would avoid countries with strong domestic leagues already and also countries the KHL has expanded into. I don't want to duplicate or add competition to traditionally strong regions. So my thought was - what if you place NHL clubs in places like London (I know the EIHL is well-represented in EHM but maybe one glamour club from Britain can compete in my NHL36) , Paris, Mexico City (or Guadalajara being closer), Tokyo (or Sapporo being more traditionally a winter city), etc? How would that play out? Would you put a minimum domestic player count? Would it encourage more players from those countries to develop? I might try it and see!

Actually my tentative list would be (open to ideas for cities and nicknames...but only use suggestions where you can provide a top quality logo!):
- Tokyo (Pacific Division)
- Sapporo (Pacific Division)
- Guadalajara (Central Division)
- Mexico City (Central Division)
- London (Northeast Division)
- Paris (Northeast Division)

That's 6 so I'd contract one real NHL team. I like the idea of adding the international teams in pairs so they have a rival and close travel partner. Obviously the every other day home and road schedule in NHL36 would be highly unrealistic but that could get messy to make "real" for international travel so let's just pretend there is a huge hyperloop connecting all cities for now

- I feel the DEL is good enough that I want to avoid Germany. Ame with NLA in Switzerland and EBEL in Austria. Obviously I'll be avoiding Sweden, Finland, Czech, Slovakia, Russia, China (KHL), etc).

[Astrwlf]

Oh, that's it. I forgot to set the league's structure. And I probably won't need to set any team as inactive, since I didn't "create" any new teams. I just changed their identity, so I wouldn't have any problem. Now that I think about it, I never played around with the divisions in this game; it was with EHM 2007.

I like your idea of adding teams in other countries. I had a huge international league project in my mind once, but I'm not even sure it would work. I wanted to make a league with foreign player rules (something like, all players must be from the team's country except a fixed number of foreign players) but make it international. It could have 4 canadian teams, 3 american teams, 3 swedish teams, and so on, down to like 1 german and 1 danish team. So the canadian teams could have only canadian players and somewhere between 2 or 4 players of other nationalities. I'd love to see how the teams would fill their rosters. Where would Crosby or McDavid go? With Canadian teams or with other teams as foreign players?

But yeah, I'm not that good with the editor and I'm only 50% sure it would work so I never bothered to try it. What are your thoughts, BKarchitect?

[Astrwlf]

Concerning your international league idea, I remember someone did something kinda similar to that. He made a hypothetical NHL in a post-WW3 league or something like that. Big metropolitan areas have been bombed so we gotta put new teams in new places around the globe. He had a couple of teams in Europe and in Asia. I don't remember all the details, but I think it was a database for EHM 2007. He documented everything on the old fhockey forum, that seems to be down now.

I also remember that he was pretty extreme with the reputation for teams in countries not known for being fans of hockey. He started a career as Manilla GM. He eventually dropped it because Manilla had such a low reputation that no one would ever sign with them, he always had to trade for players with long contracts. And players would leave for world championships even in the middle of the playoffs because they didn't care about Manilla at all.

If you do something like that, don't go too extreme with the reputations lmao

[BKarchitect]

NHL36 v2.1 Databases

See the first post in the TBL NHL36 thread for download links to new version 2.1 of each NHL36 database.
viewtopic.php?f=13&t=18491#p230353

- The big update with this one is that NHL training camps once again work! Hooray!



- Also, I've filled in NHL Awards (and NHL champions) for the recent past for all the awards (save the Lester Patrick). This includes renaming the Lester B Pearson to the new correct name of the Ted Lindsay award. I got sick of looking at awards history and seeing a big gap between 2012 and 2017. A few notes:

1) For some reason, EHM doesn't show the really old award winners from back in the day even though they are coded. EHM *only* shows awards history for guys still in the game either as staff or players. So even though everything is filled in you will notice some holes regardless, especially the further back you go in time.

2) If you don't use a FULL database, you won't see all the award winners. What I did was took some guys who are retired and did not (or have not yet) become staff and made them very low-level staff just so you can see them in the awards history section. For example - Martin St. Louis. If you use a normal database, they won't show up because their non-player attributes are very low.

3) If you click on these low-level staff guys in the awards section, YOUR GAME WILL CRASH. You have been warned.






- Update includes usual transactions and contract extensions for major leagues, juniors and college. Not a lot has happened over break but Admiral in the KHL had a mass exodous (with NHL36 favorite Vladimir Tkachyov now on Salavat with a contract thru 2019 - this may affect your ability to sign him immediately) and I've also added a bunch of new MHL players based on the 2017-18 MHL All-Star selections which just came out. Another NHL36 favorite, Steve Moses goes from Rochester in the AHL to KHL power Jokerit so this also may affect his signability. You gotta roll with the punches!

[archibalduk]

Nice one!

- The big update with this one is that NHL training camps once again work! Hooray![/b]

Could you tell me how you fixed this? I think this will be invaluable to know for the future.

1) For some reason, EHM doesn't show the really old award winners from back in the day even though they are coded. EHM *only* shows awards history for guys still in the game either as staff or players. So even though everything is filled in you will notice some holes regardless, especially the further back you go in time.

I reported this to Riz a while back. Hopefully this limit might be removed with the release of EHM v1.5 (not confirmed though).

3) If you click on these low-level staff guys in the awards section, YOUR GAME WILL CRASH. You have been warned.

I am hoping I will have this fixed with the release of the next version of the Editor. If not, I'll ask Riz for some help with this issue.

[BKarchitect]

Archi - it was my own fault regarding the training camp crashes. I had accidentally re-named/re-used the "Team Blue/Red/Green/White" that are the clubs used for training camp. They are listed as clubs in the editor with no real information (basically inactive) so I thought I could get rid of them but they actually are used by the game for training camps. So I reverted them back.

PS - anyway you can have club importing in the editor via team ID # in lieu of name?

[archibalduk]

Ah I see. That's useful to know.

Regarding Team IDs - what is the idea behind using the IDs rather than matching against names?

[BKarchitect]

Ah I see. That's useful to know.

Regarding Team IDs - what is the idea behind using the IDs rather than matching against names?

Because I did something stupid and in order to clear some clutter from some unused teams I just named a bunch of teams "Unused" (this got me into my pickle with the training camp teams). So in order to find the correct ones to revert back, I had to do a manual search in the editor for the proper ID for the teams I had messed up. If 10 teams are all named exactly the same, how does the importer know which one to change?

Again - this is totally my issue alone, of my own creation but there we are