GM Games

Wayne “The Great One” Gretzky is without a doubt one of the greatest players to ever lace up the skates in the National Hockey League. While he came to prominence several years after Gretzky had already established himself as a star, Mario Lemieux is also often in the conversation of greatest of all time. These […] View the full article

While everyone is enjoying the playoffs (we’ve given our predictions for the two AL and two NL Division Series, and will do so for both League Championship Series and the World Series), we thought we’d indulge in a little “What if?” scenario, since this season’s trading deadline saw some big name players switch teams. The Toronto Blue […] View the full article

The Chicago Cubs were seeking the first step toward ending a 100-year-plus championship drought. The Pittsburgh Pirates were hoping to win their first playoff game since 1992, after two Wild Card play-in game losses in 2013 and 2014. Chicago prevailed on the road, shutting down Pittsburgh in a 4-0 win that sent them to the […] View the full article

After running repeated simulations with the opening night NHL rosters, Franchise Hockey Manager 2’s ultra-detailed game engine has made its choice for the 2016 Stanley Cup winner: the New York Rangers. While the Rangers typically finished the regular season in second or third in the Metropolitan Division, their veteran defenders and outstanding goaltending by Henrik […] View the full article

The Houston Astros’ 3-0 victory over the New York Yankees on Tuesday night punched their ticket to an American League Division Series against reigning AL champs the Kansas City Royals. Meanwhile, the Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays have known since the end of the regular season that they would meet in the other ALDS […] View the full article

Our “sim the games ahead of time” series for the 2015 Major League Baseball playoffs continues with the second Wild Card game. See our post about the Yankees-Astros game to learn how we set it up, including the new “game importance” feature that will be added to the Simulation Module in OOTP 17. (We’re using […] View the full article

The 2015 Major League Baseball playoffs have arrived, and the first stop involves the American League and National League Wild Card play-in games. We simmed tonight’s game between the host New York Yankees and Houston Astros five times with Out of the Park Baseball 16’s Simulation Module and compiled the results. You’ll find the outcomes below. […] View the full article

After two years, the makers of Franchise Manager Hockey are back with the next iteration of the game. Version 2 is being described as a great leap forward after less than stellar reviews in the first version. The first version released quite a bit of raw code and user interfacing that lacked the realism and immersion necessary to bring a buzz around the game. OOTP Developments (the makers of FHM) are determined to change the perception. They engaged the public through their forums and reviewed the features that would bring success to a hockey manager game. After a few scars from the first version, there is a growing sense of optimism for this franchise. Having had to deal with an old powerhouse in Sports Interactive returning to hockey, there are areas where FHM2 is excelling. Mac support, expansion options, different ways of player generation and a unique sim algorithm. To see most of the new features, we released a story some time back, see here: http://gmgames.org/2015/09/02/feature-set-update-on-franchise-hockey-manager-fhm2-and-release-date/ So if you are interested in the game, they have priced it at a lower price point than their sister Baseball game. The Download link in the tabs above will lead you to their commerce area. The post Franchise Hockey Manager FHM 2, Now available (PC, Mac) appeared first on GM Games - Sports General Manager Video Games. View the full article

Sports Interactive has made an announcement about the new versions of Football Manager. Details were released on September 7th, 2015 to most major game-outlets. The new full-screen version is set to be released on November 13th, 2015. Opportunities are available to pre-order through their website. Mobile and Touch screen versions are set to be released before Christmas 2015. Here are some of the new features coming soon, New Game Modes: Take on your mates with ‘Fantasy Draft’ mode – which gives you the chance to build your own dream team and compete in a mini league – or add your own custom-built team to any existing league you choose with the new ‘Create-A-Club’ option.Manager on Touch-Line: Get closer to the action than ever before with your own customisable character to bark out instructions and join the celebrations from the touchline.Improved Match Day Experience: More than 2,000 new animations make the Football Manager 2016 match engine the best ever. There’s also more control when planning set pieces and a new highlights package to keep you up-to-date with all the action from every league. Some of the other goodies that are coming out from the Sports Interactive twitter account. Have you say below on if you’ll be buying the next version of Football Manager 2016! The post The New Football Manager 2016 (FM16) Feature Set appeared first on GM Games - Sports General Manager Video Games. View the full article

A communication was sent out today courtesy of OOTP developments. It’s good to see the continued commitment from this development house in the hockey simulation market. With several hockey games available in different formats, FHM 2 is attempting to improve on it’s first release and forge its own identity. Here are the main elements from the newsletter while modifying some of the marketing language. On September 28th, Franchise Hockey Manager 2 will be available to the public. There is an early purchase opportunity right now before October 5th to get a copy with $10 dollars off. Choose one of 21 leagues from around the world and select a team to guide to glory. Or, create your own fictional setup and league. In FHM 2 you are in charge of signing free agents, making big trades or waiver wire pickups, drafting the next crop of superstars, setting your lines and in-game tactics and more. The game engine and many of the core systems have been completely overhauled from the first iteration. Complete 2015/2016 RostersOur brand new 2015 roster set includes playable leagues and teams from around the world, from the highest professional levels down to junior hockey. Will Connor McDavid be enough to guide the Oilers to glory? Will a Canadian team finally once again hoist Lord Stanley’s mug? Will the Los Angeles Kings or Chicago Blackhawks be able to continue their modern day dynasties? Or will a new hockey power emerge? It’s all yours to find out as you play through your own hockey universe! The following leagues are playable in Franchise Hockey Manager 2: United States: National Hockey League, American Hockey League, ECHL, Federal Hockey League Canada: Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League, Western Hockey League Czech Republic: Tipsport Extraliga England: Elite Ice Hockey League, English Premier Ice Hockey League Finland: Liiga, Mestis, Suomi-Sarja France: Ligue Magnus Germany: German League Japan: Asia League Ice Hockey Norway: GET-Ligaen Russia: Kontinental Hockey League Sweden: Swedish Hockey League, Allsvenskan Switzerland: Swiss Nationaliiga A New Game EngineThe heart and soul of FHM 2 – the game engine – has been completely redesigned from the ground up. With the new engine, every second of a game is simulated and the engine keeps track of exactly which zones the puck is in and where all players are, at all times. This allows us to simulate the flow of a hockey game much better than before, with each event playing out through the engine. Revamped Tactics SystemYou can trade for, sign, draft, and develop the best and most talented players, but that’s only part of the challenge in Franchise Hockey Manager 2. In order to truly reach full potential, you will need to put in place the optimal strategies to get the most out of your players. Or, if general managing is more your thing, you’ll have to have faith in your coaches and assistants to do the work for you – setting tactics isn’t something forced upon you if you’re less of a micro-manager. The tactics system and the entire game engine in Franchise Hockey Manager 2 have been rewritten. League Expansion SupportWant to bring NHL hockey to your hometown or favorite city? Franchise Hockey Manager 2 now supports expansion for the NHL and fictional leagues. If you’re the general manager of an existing team, you’ll have to make tough choices about which players to protect from the expansion draft – should you stick with your veteran goaltender or turn the reins over to your young unproven talent? As an expansion franchise, you will have the unique challenge of trying to build a contender from the spare parts of other teams. But with shrewd moves and some patience, your new expansion franchise could quickly become a contender! Robust and Complete History TrackingFHM 2 features the deepest and most complete history for teams, leagues and players in any hockey game available. Want to look back at old trades to see how they panned out? Review past award winners? Check out all-time and single-season league leaderboards? Or examine past drafts to see how that first rounder panned out? There is nothing you can’t find in FHM 2. FacegenFranchise Hockey Manager 2 will bring Facegen technology to the series, greatly enhancing immersion by generating individual portraits for every player and staff member. Players and coach pictures will age, gain or lose weight, and show their demeanor (keep your players happy unless you want some upset Facegens!) throughout their careers. Facegen also allows for custom-created jerseys to be used for each team, as well as having a player’s picture change jerseys when he switches teams. Much More!The above is only a sampling of the new additions to FHM 2. There’s also a host of smaller changes that will have a big impact on the game: A completely overhauled graphic user interface makes Franchise Hockey Manager much more visually appealing and easier to navigateGame Rating: FHM 2 features a new way for you to evaluate the performance of your players – the Game Rating (GR). During a game, each event (good or bad) will change the GR, so you always know how well a player performs on the ice. Since the calculation includes the role of the player and the situation on the ice, you can get a pretty good picture of the performance. Not all players are goal scorers and will have their names show in the score sheet – now you can accurately track how everyone is contributing to your team’s success or failure, from your stay-at-home defensemen to your grinding 4th line forwards.Redesigned Fictional Mode: We have removed the fictional mode from FHM 2014 and replaced it with a new version that is much more streamlined and stable. Now you can play with just one league (or add major junior and/or a farm team level if you like) and form it to your liking by changing selected rules and option.Pre-season games: Need to make some tough roster decisions to get your team ready for the start of the season? Before the regular season starts, use these games to prepare your team for the regular season and find out who will make the squad.Head coaches: It is now possible to hire a head coach for your team and play as GM only.Historical changes: We’ve added new historical seasons to the game, so you can start even further in the past – all the way back to 1931. In addition, you can now continue your game when reaching the last historical year and turn your game into a fictional league. We’ve added historical dollar values and a season preview, so you always know the situation for every season you are just about to start.Greatly expanded news section: We added many additional news types and expanded the text of all news to give you more immersion and help bring your league to life.Basic online league support – Match wits with other human GM’s!New player development systemNew training systemNew player rolesNew job safety systemNew player happiness systemRetiring players can now become staff – Is your former star forward your next head coach?Revised staff contractsNew player fatigue systemNew player consistency systemGM and Coach scoresAll-Star Game addedRedesigned screens, such as lines, tactics, manager-home, and playoff screensExtended draft logs – Looking back to see who some of your draft busts and booms were is quick and easy.New logo templatesNew player award icons on the player profile pageNew quick pop-ups when you hover over a player’s name…and many more new features and cosmetic changes! The post Feature set update on Franchise Hockey Manager FHM2 and release date appeared first on GM Games - Sports General Manager Video Games. View the full article

Grey Dog Software has been active in recent weeks bringing attention back to the Bowl Bound College Football franchise. Version 1.62 has been released for the game. Although much of their focus has been on their successful MMA series, Arlie Rahn their lead developer knows of the loyal fan base that exists for BBCF. Grey Dog Software continues to get the word out on their products by pursuing availability on the Steam gaming website. Simulation fans will acknowledge that Bowl Bound continues to be one of the finest algorithms available for College Football. GM Games is now exclusively hosting the real team names file for download. Real names are popular among simulation fans and we look forward to playing and discussing Bowl Bound College Football on the forums with the rest of the sim sports fans. Download the Real Names file here: http://forums.gmgames.org/topic/3733-exclusive-real-names-for-bowl-bound-college-football-2016/ The post Now Sharing Bowl Bound College Football 2016 Real Team Names File appeared first on GM Games - Sports General Manager Video Games. View the full article

Want to use OOTP in your class or after-school club, or know a teacher who would like to use it? We’re happy to provide free copies of OOTP for use in K-12 and higher education settings. Please get in touch via the OOTP Developments contact page. As the sabermetrics phenomenon continues to spread through baseball, […] View the full article

Editor’s note: For today’s blog, we have invited long-time Out of the Park Developments board member Tiger Fan to share one of his historical simulations with Franchise Hockey Manager 2. Please note: The screenshots have been modified to cover up league logos and player photos. Take it away, Tiger Fan: Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe, Bobby […] View the full article

Chris Calciano, an area scout for the Boston Red Sox since 2007, remembers it well: “I took a college catcher with a big arm and absolutely no bat in the back of the top 10 rounds and converted him to a reliever,” he says. “After three or four minor league seasons, he made his debut […] View the full article

Hi Managers! With today’s release, we are delighted to announce that we are bringing two long-awaited and highly requested features: animated live match and live ratings. Read on to learn all you need to know about the new features. Animated Live Match: The Top Eleven team met up with Matic to get feedback and analysis from a professional footballer who lives and breathes player movement. His feedback was integral to the development of the feature. You can watch the video below: Live Ratings: Either through animation or comments-only mode, you are now able to access your players’ ratings at any moment during the game. This will enable you to make the correct tactical decisions when making substitutions and positional changes. Check out our forum post for more information on both features and how they work. We hope we succeeded in providing you with a new and more realistic game experience, and in making you feel closer to your team than ever. Enjoy the new live match experience, good luck and be the best Manager you can be. The post Brand New Live Match Experience appeared first on Top Eleven - Be a Football Manager. View the full article

Franchise Hockey Manager 2 features a completely overhauled and reworked game engine that has been built from the ground up. In short, this is a massive step forward for the series, as the engine is the heart and soul of the game, which allows for the production of realistic results for every league. HOW WAS […] View the full article

When Markus Heinsohn released the first version of Out of the Park Baseball in 1999, he had no idea it would still be around in 2015, with sales continuing to grow annually. His track record is more astonishing when one considers that he has accomplished that feat from Germany, which is hardly a baseball powerhouse. Markus […] View the full article

You can trade for, sign, draft and develop the best and most talented players, but that’s only part of the challenge in Franchise Hockey Manager 2. In order to truly reach full potential, you will need to put in place the optimal strategies to get the most out of your players. Or, if general managing […] View the full article

With the rollout of the new "player potential" ratings a few months ago, I've always known user feedback would be vital to making it a success. Therefore, those leagues that use progression will now be able to compare a player's stats prior to the most recent progression on his Player Card. (This will apply for any progression run after 7/25.) There are a few reasons for this new features:1. Add more transparency, therefore allowing more tweaking based on user feedback to make the system work.2. Allow for rollback of progressions if a commissioner messes up and progresses by mistake. Keep in mind, it's not a very sophisticated rollback, so I would still encourage commissioners to be very mindful when running progression.3. Warn commissioners if they have recently run progression so they don't accidentally run it twice.And of course, it's just fun to see exactly how your players are changing over the years. View the full article

In part 1 of this series, we talked about the process involved with setting up an expansion team. Now let’s look at how our expansion teams make out now that they have been drafted (spoiler alert: it’s not pretty!) I had taken the helm of the Las Vegas Aces and shortly after the expansion draft, […] View the full article

Should NHL hockey come to Las Vegas? Or return to Quebec? Or would you like to see a professional hockey franchise land in your hometown or favorite city? In Franchise Hockey Manager 2 you will have all those options, with league expansion introduced to the series. Let’s walk through the process. On July 1, heading […] View the full article

The American League and National League rosters are set for the 2015 All-Star Game to be played on July 14 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. The pundits have weighed in with their thoughts, but we decided to sim the game in Out of the Park Baseball 16 and get a glimpse of what […] View the full article

Out of the Park Baseball provides a wonderful “What if?” laboratory for all kinds of experiments, from “What if free agency existed in Babe Ruth’s day?” to “What if baseball started expanding sooner than it really did?” It’s also great for seeing how underachieving players’ careers could have turned out, and the inspiration for this […] View the full article

Travis Weaver, who plays shortstop for the independent Florence Freedom of the Frontier League, has been immersed in baseball since he was four years old, so he knows what he prefers from a management game. When he discovered Out of the Park Baseball last year after several years playing a competing game, he knew he […] View the full article