GM Games

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  1. 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. […]

     

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  2. 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.



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  3. 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.



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  4. 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 Rosters

    Our 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 Engine

    The 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 System

    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 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 Support

    Want 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 Tracking

    FHM 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.

    Facegen

    Franchise 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 navigate
    • Game 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 system
    • New training system
    • New player roles
    • New job safety system
    • New player happiness system
    • Retiring players can now become staff – Is your former star forward your next head coach?
    • Revised staff contracts
    • New player fatigue system
    • New player consistency system
    • GM and Coach scores
    • All-Star Game added
    • Redesigned screens, such as lines, tactics, manager-home, and playoff screens
    • Extended draft logs – Looking back to see who some of your draft busts and booms were is quick and easy.
    • New logo templates
    • New player award icons on the player profile page
    • New 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.



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  5. 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.



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  6. 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, […]

     

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  7. 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 […]

     

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  8. Header

    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.



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  9. 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 […]

     

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  10. 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.

     

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  11. 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 […]

     

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  12. Blog Header (1)Hello managers! We are delighted to introduce you to the brand new Top Eleven Football blog. A blog about football for football fans and Top Eleven managers. On the blog, you will find content for the most informed football gurus including top tactical analysis to help hone your managerial skills.

    Please leave a comment on your favourite articles to let us know what you think!

    Visit the blog here and be one of the first Top Eleven blog readers!

    Thanks and be the best manager you can be!

     

    The post Introducing the Top Eleven Blog appeared first on Top Eleven - Be a Football Manager.



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  13. As most of you know, I've been wanting to offer a different draft option for Auto Leagues for a while. Most people turned out to be perfectly happy with the Auto Draft, but there was still a fairly large audience that didn't like that style of draft. A few weeks ago, we tested out a new daily draft in which teams rank players and the system runs a round every 12 hours. The overall feedback was extremely positive. Owners loved having more control over their roster and who they drafted. The only real negative feedback was that 12 hours felt a little long between rounds. As a result, we're going forward with 8 hours between rounds, which should be enough to keep the draft moving at a nice pace, while giving everyone enough time to tweak rankings between rounds if desired.Having gone through the initial daily draft myself, I can say I loved it. I feel more ownership over my team since I hand selected each player, and I feel I was able to build a stronger club than I would get from the typical auto draft. Everyone felt like teams ended up more balanced as well. (Although the standings say differently so far, with two teams off to an 11-1 start: Here's the league.)Because the Daily Draft leagues don't leave as much value behind in free agency, it didn't make sense to offer the typical Day 3 Supplemental Draft. Instead, free agency and drops open after the first game of the season. This style is now being offered on the Join League page, and will start to roll into more Auto Leagues. For those who enjoy the Auto Draft, that option is not going away.As always, let me know if you have any questions, comments or feedback!

     

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  14. Blog Header2

    Hello managers!

    With over 100 million registered players worldwide, Top Eleven is the most played football management game on the planet.

    As a result, Top Eleven has a large database of analytics from virtual football managers and fans from every different culture. The Top Eleven team have recently put together and studied the average tactics chosen by each nation. The study ranged from attitudes towards attacking, training routines and passing style to name a few. This was done with the hope of developing an understanding of the different attitudes to football tactics around the world and to present it to you, the managers!

    Check out the info-graphic below for some fascinating stats! 

     

    TE Infographic ENG

     

    The post Top Eleven Tactics Per Region appeared first on Top Eleven - Be a Football Manager.



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  15. TE 9th May WEB 540x280
    Top Eleven celebrates it’s 5th Birthday with over 100 million registrations!

    Since Top Eleven first reached your laptop and mobile screens 5 years ago, it has become the most played online football management game of all time!

    With a community as large as Top Eleven’s, every corner of the world is touched by passionate managers competing to fill their Trophy cabinets. Top Eleven champions can be found everywhere.

    Top Eleven Facts:

    • 100M registered players
    •  If all the Top Eleven players lived in one country, it would be the 13th largest in the world
    • Top Eleven has players in every country of the world

    All our managers have a passion for football and their Top Eleven club, it is thanks to you that Top Eleven has gone through this amazing journey in the last 5 years.

    Watch the official Top Eleven 5th Birthday below and THANK YOU for playing Top Eleven!

    The post Top Eleven’s 5th Birthday! appeared first on Top Eleven - Be a Football Manager.



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  16. Commissioners have been asking for this feature for a long time, and it's finally here! Players now come with a "potential" attribute. This attribute impacts how a player will progress for leagues that use Player Progression.For those of you who don't want anything to change, no worries - each player is tagged "Classic" by default, meaning they will progress the same way they always have. (I would recommend for those leagues switching mid-season, you keep any current players as "Classic" so as not to piss off any of your owners!)Instead of your typical "grade" (A, B, C, etc...) the community has often suggested something far more novel and creative. After considering all the feedback, I've come up with four different grades: S (Superstar), A (All-Star), U (Unpredictable), F (Flat). You can learn more about each type on the Player Potential page.What I like about this system over a "grade" is that it adds an element of intrigue to every player. Sometimes a prospect is a sure-fire bet, but many times they are unpredictable. Sometimes they are great as rookies, but end up flat through their career (or even get worse). Likewise, they sometimes start out bad and stay that way. With these ratings, you can have all of the above happen. If we had gone with your typical "grade" system, everyone would stay far away from a low-grade player (which is the problem I've always had with the games that use that system). Dare I say we may have a more innovative system than the multi-million dollar video games out there? I expect they'll be copying us soon!At the same time, if you want to run your league where every prospect continues to shine, you can use Classic or set everyone as A or S. If you want to run a league where everyone is equally unpredictable, you can do that too. It's up to you!A few notes about changes to commish tools: -Bulk Update now allows you to set potential for all players or all players on a team.-Quick Create players allows you to choose potential, or have it set randomly per player. The random feature is designed to have fewer Superstars, as you'd expect. But you should always check and make sure your prospects are balancing out as you want.-The Age Player page allows you to choose the type of potential to use. Obviously the default is to use the Player's Rating, but maybe there's a case where you want to force everyone to be progressed with one style. You can do that!-Add and Edit player now includes the potential feature.As always, a feature like this will depend on community feedback, as you have already sent a lot of input over the years that improved the progression feature. As you all gain experience with this new system, we can improve it as we go.Enjoy!

     

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