EHM The Blue Line

Okay, I'm going to eventually be getting all the new info for customization options for EHM 2007 posted to this thread, but I'll probably post each as a message to keep it easier to read and get info out sooner. With there being no large scale release demo I haven't had the time to test everything or even figure everything out as of yet. I did try to creat projects for release that would demonstrate some of the new features for EHM 2007 though.

So, while explanations/detailed how-to's will come in following messages to this thread here's a basic 'what's in for EHM 2007' rundown:

News images:

• Same format/size as EHM 2005.
• Bugs are fixed to allow use of .jpg images instead of just .pngs to save file space.
• Multiple sets of images are now possible (thanks EdL!!) though I've only tested multiple team news items.

Player Images

• We have a new 'player trading card' style template now available with a guide image as well. It is built to reflect EHM 2007's new look and echo the 'borderless' look that UpperDeck trading cards have made popular in their "insert cards" etc. Devils88 has releasead an NHL set in this look you can check out here
• The cards format we are using for '07 is 185 x 200 and that's really as big as you should go to maintain some space around the picture in player profiles. The 007 stock pics are for some reason 157x200 and the '05 vintage cards were 144x200.
• These use the same system the EHM has used since SI tooke over, a 'players' folder for players and a 'non-players' folder for other staff members, file names are again by name and date of birth in this format: PlayerFirstName_PlayerLastName_Player'sDayOfBirth_PlayersMonthOfBirth_Player'sYearOfBirth
• Due to liscensing changes there are no default NHL images in EHM 2007.
• I've been working during testing to get the DOB issues cleared up and there may be changes soon especially affecting the ability to make more useable Staff Packs. It is however not currently in the game but could be added for a patch.
• Due to liscensing/DOB/player name and team changes the 'card' files from 2005 could be hit or miss for displaying in EHM 2007. There are players that wouldn't traditionally have been in the game under a fake name that are this year. Players not expressly included on the player lists governing liscensing for the NHLPA (only players who have played at least one NHL game) and the HPPA I think it is, anyhow the people with say-so over the non-NHLers etc must be faked. So you could have a 2005 card that has their real name and DOB but it won't show in 2007.

Custom 'Rink Markings'/Ices

• Same format and naming structures as EHM 2005 are operational, however the custom rinks will only display in the game screens that still use the 2005 style rink; so they will show on the game stats/shot chart screens for example.
• All new format for the 2d rinks with five areas of customization ("under" each faceoff dot). More info to follow.

Custom Team/Competition/League Background Images

• Ability to make .jpg backgrounds and place them in the new backgrounds folder. They will then display when you go to that team/competition/league's main page. I've only tested the team specific option and have a set available that covers att 30 NHL teams in the EHM 2007 Downloads section.

Titlepanel Images

• New this year is an image that is 400x98 pixels that displays in the titlepanel, underneath the team logo. They go in the 'background' folder. We have many available in a 'shadowed' type style but this new image size leaves all kinds of room for expirementaion and ideas.

New Image Sizes

• 'Huge' images are new for EHM 2007 and are used on the GM selection screens for the leagues.
• 'Large' images this year are not the 45x45 fixed squares of EHM 2005; these are much larger images used for team titlepanels, for example the Anahein Ducks image is 140x34 and the Canadians is 102x70. The 70 pixel height is the important measurement though so the icons don't overlap the new 'bowtie' (as I refer to them) titlepanel style. These are used for titlepanels.
• 'Medium' images are the equivalent of last year's 'large' images, up to 45 pixel high but again can be of varying widths not locked to an absolute square which is great for design possibilities/flexibility. These versions are used for the new 'Calendar Style' schedule views.
• 'Small' images are the images used for teams on the injury, trade and schedule/score listings views. Just like EHM 2005 these are rectangular 50x19 images. Due to liscensing they've had to make the full team logos appear in that space which is why they are so small! We've got a full set of 'cropped' style images ready for download that you can use instead in our our Downloads section!

Skin System
• Mainly the same as last year in function/setup though there are many many more elements to this year meaning there are many many more subfolders in the skin folders. This will take me time yet to test and get a guide out for.
• New background types: There are three instead of two backgrounds with each skin for 2007: the deafult background which is used when another custom backround isn't present, the starup background used for the startup screen and an image that is used for the backdrop of your 'Front Office' a new feature for 2007.
• A new concept I'm championing this year is 'Skin Elements'; these wouldn't be complete skins which can be very overwhelming and time consuming to produce but files you could use to replace certain game elements, such as new scroll bars or new titlepanels. I have a set of 'interface' elements in a stone pattern available for download currently.

Flags

• Two new image sizes for flags, a 'huge' option of 120x120 for use with selecting national teams to be GM of
• 'Small' flags of 18x12 which display as natinality indicators on rosters for example

More on the new customization options for the 2d ice surface here, but until further notice please know I'm just relaying information here, I haven't actually had a chance to test out any of this myself though it's high on my list of things to tryout next!

The ice itself (combined with the boards) this year done in similar style to how the skin creates the games buttons; there is one file in the skin folder for the top right piece, one for the bottom right piece, etc. The faceoff circles, net, goal lights, player benches, lines, etc are all images as well. All of them can be found in the ehm_default skin folder in the 'ingame' 'rink' subfolder:

main/data/skins/ehm_default/ingame/rink

Those changes will change the deafult appearence of the ice and markings in every ice surface throughout the game. You can change the shade of the lines as an option in the skins .col file as well if you'd prefer a darker blueline for example.

There then is the option to create images that will display 'under' the faceoff circles and on top of the ice graphics. These can be customized for every team just like we've done for previous versions. I haven't tested this myself yet but here's some directions directly from Riz about it:
A thousand thanks to Riz and all the SI guys who are so great about helping out with these things during testing when really they have a hundred more pressing matters at hand, it's a priveledge to be able to work with them.

Just to reiterate the new image sizes of logos:

• 'Huge' must be 120 pixels high.
• 'Large' must be 70 pixels high.
• 'Medium' must be 45 pixels high.
• 'Small' must be 50x19.

The width of huge, large and medium logos is not important.

There is a lot here that assumes prior ehm modding knowledge. Where does one find the info for 05?

Thanks.

Minty, you mentionned that News images are same format as in 05, but those who don't know how it was in 05 (like me) are still lost...

Should you re-mention the size please?

Also, which size on mugshots is the dominant one? Is there a dominant size? Can they be thinner if they have the right height?

Shadd666 wrote:Minty, you mentionned that News images are same format as in 05, but those who don't know how it was in 05 (like me) are still lost...

Should you re-mention the size please?

You can use any size under this but the cards format we are using for '07 is 185 x 200 and that's really as big as you should go. The stock pics are for some reason 157x200 and the '05 vintage cards were 144x200. I just figured people would take one of the three sizes as a model as all three would work. Hope that helps. I edited the original post as well it's like that because this was put together to answer the question "What are the new formats and images and sizes that EHM 2007 uses?"

thatguy wrote:Also, which size on mugshots is the dominant one? Is there a dominant size? Can they be thinner if they have the right height?

The default pictures which show if no picture is there for the player (the blue silhuet pictures) are 157x200, which is the reason I use this size. But as Minstrel says, you can use different sizes. Even wierd sizes like 144x170 will get shown in the game as I have discovered when testing pictures if I have forgotten to resize one.

Yes, the reason you can use any size as long as it's not too big for the space is that the 'display area' reserved for pics will center in the space an image of any size. We used 185x200 because the wider pics are better for action shots and it still leaves a border of space around the pic so it still looks good on the player profiles. You could use a pic that's 50x50 if you wanted to

Minstrel wrote:You can use any size under this but the cards format we are using for '07 is 185 x 200 and that's really as big as you should go. The stock pics are for some reason 157x200 and the '05 vintage cards were 144x200. I just figured people would take one of the three sizes as a model as all three would work. Hope that helps.

Thanks a lot Minstrel
I now have GIMP, which is a freeware, so i'll be able to do some graphical stuff when i'll have a bit more time to spend on it

Looking to work on some 'action' images for player 'news' pics. Anyone know the max sizes for these? Are they the same as the player face pics?

I know the player face pics will come up as a default for the news articles if there aren't specific pics for them in the 'news' folder.

I think you might be able to make them a little larger, but I cannot recall. Try downloading some existing news images and see what size they are.

Alternatively, make a large image using a single colour as a test news image. Take a screenshot in-game of the news image and then measure the visible size of the image using an editor. This will give you the definitive maximum size.

Is it possible to put logos between the blue lines?

I'll use the TD Garden ice as an example. The position of the TD Bank and Red River casino logos show up for me under the faceoff dots in EHM. Wondering how to move them if possible.

It has been a long while since I've done anything with rink logos but I don't believe that it is possible to add anything in those areas. You're basically restricted to the five face-off circles. I'm pretty sure I've tried making a larger image for the centre ice face-off circle but it was cropped by the game.