GM Games

Here’s What To Look For In Draft Day Sports: College Basketball 2018
Sports fans we are closely approaching March and you know what that means! It is time to get ready to cut down the nets and DDS: College Basketball 2018 is bringing you the biggest and best version ever to let you fulfill your dreams of taking your favorite school to the top. So get ready to hop on the recruiting trail, coach – here’s a look at ten of the newest additions to the number one college basketball franchise on the market.
1) 2017 League Conversions
Right out of the gate we’ve got some big news – those dynasties you’ve been building with CB:2017….well keep on building them! For the first time ever you’ll be able to upgrade your league files to the new version!
2) Coach Rating Tracking and Improved Increases

We’ve put work into making the increase in ratings over time better distributed for the coaches with this version and have added a new feature to the coach card that will let you track the improvements in the ratings of a coach over time.
3) Rating Progression Tracking for Players
We didn’t just leave the progression tracking for the coaches either – the player card will have the same progression tracking for player ratings to see how your fabulous freshmen turn out over their careers.
4) Coach Lineage Information

Lineage is back but in a new and improved way. Now you will be able to track every coach that worked for every team and find out what happened to them over their careers. You wil be able to sort by team or by active head coach to see which legend of your association has the best coaching tree!
5) Improvements to AI in Recruiting and Tutoring
Recruiting is the key to any great college game and our recruiting AI has been honed over many years but each year we make it better and better. This year is no exception as we have worked with the AI to do an even better job of managing their resources and targeting players to up the challenge for you. The AI also does a better job of keeping poor students eligible and if you turn on the option for the AI to manage your operations it will handle tutoring of players as well.
6) UI Improvements and New Information

One of our goals is always to add new and useful information to the game. We’ve added an Assn. Info screen that will give you info about each conference and team so that you can see more information at a glance without having to hunt. The search option also remains if you have something in particular you know you’re looking for. We’ve also added a small drop box to the left window news tab to sort different news types and a few other touches here and there to make navigation easier and the screens to look even better than before!
7) Improvements to Walk-On and Recruit Generation
One additional area of improvement this season is in the generation of new recruits and walk-ons. With the recruiting improvements teams are doing a better job of filling their scholarships so the overall number of walk-ons has decreased and those that are generated are done so with a better stature for the kind of player they should be. We’ve also tweaked the recruit generation code to improve stats for players especially at smaller schools and to see that there are fewer outlier players.
8) New Asst. Coach Poaching and Job Offer Improvements

The coaching job search page now gives you more information about all of the jobs available including showing you if a team is on probation for unethical behavior. An even bigger new addition to the coaching feature is the ability to hire assistant coaches from other programs while they are employed – and it can happen to you as well! Assistant coaches who are entering their final contract year can now be lured away in the offseason for a better position. That’s great news if you like to play as the high powered schools…and you better keep some resumes handy if you’re coaching at a lower level school now.
9) Improvements in Relationship Feature
We’ve made a couple of changes here to make this feature even more interesting. The first is that your response options to the players are now changed a bit when you make a phone call to discuss their actions and secondly you’re going to get a response in the phone call to tell you how your relationship was impacted by the actions you took and the impacts vary based on the player themselves so you can never be quite sure what the reaction will be. The other change here is that we have built in some very rare incidents that you might experience to add a little bit more variety to what you deal with as coach.
10) New End Game Improvements

The last of our new items we are highlighting here has to do with end-game scenarios. We have made players try to react quicker as you can see from the screenshot above – down five with only 11 seconds left the player raced down the floor and launched a quick three. We have also worked to see that players have the ability to attempt a long range heave if possible so you never know what the closing seconds of the game will bring and nothing will be more exciting than watching your player drain one from half court to win at the buzzer!
 
We hope you’re as excited for DDS: College Basketball 2018 as we are and because we’re so fired up we’ve got a special pre-order. DDS:CB 2018 is going to be available from wolverinestudios.com on February 27, 2018 but why wait? Pre-order today and you’ll lock in these great bonuses!
Go to the webstore, add CB18 to your cart and use coupon code CB18PRE and you will save 10%. Did you buy DDS:CB17 at wolverinestudios.com? Well thank you very much for doing so! We’re offering you 15% savings – just be sure that after you add the game to your cart that you put in your personal information including the same email address you used last time BEFORE entering the coupon and you use coupon code CB18UPGRADE. If you have any problem just contact support and we will be happy to help. Everyone who pre-orders will get a free key for the game on Steam when it is released there Everyone who pre-orders will also get access to a pre-release version of the game typically a couple of days before the official release. So coach, what are you waiting for? Your destiny awaits at the top of that ladder. Take your school to the top of the basketball world, cut down the nets and build your dynasty with Draft Day Sports: College Basketball 2018!
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The much anticipated Tournament of Champions being simulated with the new Tournament Maker feature of Draft Day Sports: Pro Basketball 2018 is underway. If you missed out on the opening games, click here and you’ll see all the action in the blog.
Before we do though have you checked out what is new for DDS: Pro Basketball 2018? What about
? Ready to start your own classic tournament? Well then hit up the webstore and order!(1) ’95-96 Chicago vs (5) ’98-99 San Antonio
MJ with 11 of Chicago’s first 15 after he blows by Jackson for a layup
 
The Admiral slams it home on a break to increase the San Antonio lead
 
Robinson with a jumper to put San Antonio up 10
 
Jordan with 34 now as he single handedly keeps the #1 seed in this game
 
Elie buries a big three to put San Antonio back on top with under 4 to go
 
Jordan with 43 now as he hits a triple to bring it within 1 with under a minute left
 
Rodman is denied once by Timmy but not twice – game tied and headed for OT
 
Jordan misses a FT that would put them up 3 – can San Antonio take advantage?

San Antonio can’t find a basket at the end – Chicago holds on 105-101
 
It took 50 from MJ to stay alive but Chicago advances to the finals
 
This game was so amazing it deserved its own update. The other half of the bracket will be finished up in the next post and then its on to the finals. Love to hear your thoughts on the tournament on our forum, Facebook or Twitter and don’t forget to grab yourself a copy of DDS:PB18 so head over to the webstore pronto!
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Hoop fans – the season is here and with another season of Draft Day Sports: Pro Basketball 2018. The included screenshots are from the default version of the game. Customers will be able to download real players and team logos from the contributors on the Wolverine Studios forums. But enough with the intro – lets get to the goods.
[Press Release details are courtesy of the Wolverine Studios blog & media]
UI Changes

DDS:PB 2018 gets some added functionality for the user by adding options for depth chart, rotation and trading players right to the team menu so they can be accessed from many screens instead of just the roster one. Buttons have been added to travel right to your d-league affiliate team and some screens have gotten a makeover to make them more visually appealing – none more so than the draft as the draft presentation and war room have been totally redone to give you an even more immersive and exciting experience.
Historical/Statistical Additions

Player rating changes are now tracked in a database so that you can see how they have progressed over time, coach and GM hiring history has been added to the team history tracking and the array of defensive stats from prior versions of the game has made its way back – we had no idea so many people found them so interesting and useful! New scheduling has been added as well to match real life and spread out the playoff games a little bit.
Summer League Tournament

In the past the summer league games were largely meaningless – just some exhibitions run to simulate your new rookies for a couple games as well as anyone you might be scouting out for the future but that’s all changed now. Now the teams will compete in 5 or 6 matchups with the 8 best teams record wise competing in a single elimination tournament to crown a champion of the summer league.
Two-way Contracts
We’ve added our own version of two-way contracts into DDS:PB 2018. Each team will have the opportunity to sign two players to their roster on these contracts and it will allow them to stash those players exclusively in the d-league so that much like in real life you can expand the number of players your team controls. These players will be able to be called up to the normal 15 man roster and converted to league minimum contracts as well if you wish to do so.
D-League Control
Speaking of the d-league, we have added an option to give you control over your affiliate and treat them like a true extension of your team. You can leave it up to the fine folks running the team if you want or grab control of everything from the d-league draft to in-season pickups or setting the depth chart and player rotations to make sure the players you have sent there from the pro club or are stashed there on two-way contracts are getting all the minutes you want.
Free Agency Improvements

With all of the information available today teams formulate a gameplan early in the summer for their free agent strategy. Now prior to the draft you will get an email detailing the top free agents available as well as some detailed information about what they are looking for. This way if a player might be interested in you if you had the money or had another star player you have the time and opportunity to try and make some moves prior to free agency to go for it. You might even learn that the free agent you want is close with one of the players on your team and then you’ll definitely know not to trade that player away if you want a shot at bringing his buddy to town!
New Injury System
The old system of players having an injury % has been removed for a more modern day take on injuries. Players are either healthy, probable or listed as out for a number of days. The AI will act more more conservatively as in real life resting players who have injuries for meaningless regular season games but being more willing to use them if possible in the playoffs. Player ability while injured is also changed now so you will have to weigh the risk and reward of playing a “probable” player – is it worth risking a bad performance or prolonging a sickness if a player is not feeling well with the flu? Is a sore back worth missing a game or two versus having it linger with sub-optimal performances for two weeks? You’ll have to make the call.
Fantasy Draft Changes
The fantasy draft was one of the most requested areas for upgrade and we’ve done it. Now you can see the initial contracts of all the players in the grid before you draft them as well as see your team’s salary cap total so you know better how much cap space you have used up already.
Tournament Maker
Speaking of fantasy…a brand new option outside of career play is Tournament Maker mode. The sequel to Matchup Maker (which still exists in the game) will let you grab teams from a database and pit them against each other in a 16 team single elimination tournament. Tired of wondering who was the best of all-time or the best team one franchise ever had? Now you can settle it on the court.
That’s not all…

We’ve also hidden some surprises for you to find on your own – little things that will improve the game play and immersion factors and hopefully will get a “wow, that’s pretty cool” out of you when you discover them. One final thing we didn’t mention is that we’re working for the first time to be able to make DDS:PB 2017 leagues importable and all leagues being able to be carried forward from version to version from now on.
[end of Wolverines studios release]
From GM Games, we look forward to many of these enhancements coming to DDS College Basketball 2018!
The post Draft Day Sports: Pro Basketball 2018 out now for PC appeared first on GM Games - Sports General Manager Video Games.


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What’s New For Draft Day Sports: Pro Basketball 2018
Hoop fans – the season is almost here and with it another season of Draft Day Sports: Pro Basketball. We’re very excited to share just some of the new items you can come to expect in this year’s version. Be sure to check the blog frequently as we’ll be showing off screens, walking through some of the fun new features and be giving out info on pre-ordering as well as the final release which will be coming late this month. But enough with the intro – lets get to the goods.
UI Changes
DDS:PB 2018 gets some added functionality for the user by adding options for depth chart, rotation and trading players right to the team menu so they can be accessed from many screens instead of just the roster one. Buttons have been added to travel right to your d-league affiliate team and some screens have gotten a makeover to make them more visually appealing – none more so than the draft as the draft presentation and war room have been totally redone to give you an even more immersive and exciting experience.
Historical/Statistical Additions
Player rating changes are now tracked in a database so that you can see how they have progressed over time, coach and GM hiring history has been added to the team history tracking and the array of defensive stats from prior versions of the game has made its way back – we had no idea so many people found them so interesting and useful! New scheduling has been added as well to match real life and spread out the playoff games a little bit.
Summer League Tournament
In the past the summer league games were largely meaningless – just some exhibitions run to simulate your new rookies for a couple games as well as anyone you might be scouting out for the future but that’s all changed now. Now the teams will compete in 5 or 6 matchups with the 8 best teams record wise competing in a single elimination tournament to crown a champion of the summer league.
Two-way Contracts
We’ve added our own version of two-way contracts into DDS:PB 2018. Each team will have the opportunity to sign two players to their roster on these contracts and it will allow them to stash those players exclusively in the d-league so that much like in real life you can expand the number of players your team controls. These players will be able to be called up to the normal 15 man roster and converted to league minimum contracts as well if you wish to do so.
D-League Control
Speaking of the d-league, we have added an option to give you control over your affiliate and treat them like a true extension of your team. You can leave it up to the fine folks running the team if you want or grab control of everything from the d-league draft to in-season pickups or setting the depth chart and player rotations to make sure the players you have sent there from the pro club or are stashed there on two-way contracts are getting all the minutes you want.
Free Agency Improvements
With all of the information available today teams formulate a gameplan early in the summer for their free agent strategy. Now prior to the draft you will get an email detailing the top free agents available as well as some detailed information about what they are looking for. This way if a player might be interested in you if you had the money or had another star player you have the time and opportunity to try and make some moves prior to free agency to go for it. You might even learn that the free agent you want is close with one of the players on your team and then you’ll definitely know not to trade that player away if you want a shot at bringing his buddy to town!
New Injury System
The old system of players having an injury % has been removed for a more modern day take on injuries. Players are either healthy, probable or listed as out for a number of days. The AI will act more more conservatively as in real life resting players who have injuries for meaningless regular season games but being more willing to use them if possible in the playoffs. Player ability while injured is also changed now so you will have to weigh the risk and reward of playing a “probable” player – is it worth risking a bad performance or prolonging a sickness if a player is not feeling well with the flu? Is a sore back worth missing a game or two versus having it linger with sub-optimal performances for two weeks? You’ll have to make the call.
Fantasy Draft Changes
The fantasy draft was one of the most requested areas for upgrade and we’ve done it. Now you can see the initial contracts of all the players in the grid before you draft them as well as see your team’s salary cap total so you know better how much cap space you have used up already.
Tournament Maker
Speaking of fantasy…a brand new option outside of career play is Tournament Maker mode. The sequel to Matchup Maker (which still exists in the game) will let you grab teams from a database and pit them against each other in a 16 team single elimination tournament. Tired of wondering who was the best of all-time or the best team one franchise ever had? Now you can settle it on the court.
That’s not all…
We’ve also hidden some surprises for you to find on your own – little things that will improve the gameplay and immersion factors and hopefully will get a “wow, that’s pretty cool” out of you when you discover them. One final thing we didn’t mention is that we’re working for the first time to be able to make DDS:PB 2017 leagues importable and all leagues being able to be carried forward from version to version from now on. We hope you’re as excited for this year’s version as we are – feel free to head over to our forums and let us know what sounds the best to you!
 
The post What’s New For DDS: Pro Basketball 2018 appeared first on Wolverine Studios.


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The Wait Is Over!
Wolverine Studios is proud to announce that Draft Day Sports: Pro Football 2018 is now available exclusively from www.wolverinestudios.com
Brooks Piggott and his team have worked tirelessly to bring you the most exciting pro football simulation available today for Windows-PC.
Draft Day Sports: Pro Football 2018 puts you in control of your favorite pro football franchise. You make the calls as you build your dynasty – build your roster through trades, the draft, and free agency while you help your players improve with custom training options. Watch the action unfold in dramatic 2D fashion where you can take control of the play calling and make the choices that lead your team to victory. Play by yourself against a challenging AI or join an online multiplayer league and see if you have what it takes to outmanage your fellow gamers.
Full game details including screenshots, the game trailer and a free fully playable demo are available from our official DDS: Pro Football 2018 homepage.
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OOTP Developments, the creators of Out of the Park Baseball and Franchise Hockey Manager have released details about the new game to be released on October 6, 2017
[Contents of this press release has been compiled from the OOTP Developments Press Release]
FHM 4 is officially licensed by the NHL®, it packs even more features than FHM 3 and takes the series to a whole new level in terms of realism and gameplay.
New features in FHM 4
2017-18 team rosters

Take over a team in one of over 24 playable leagues that feature real current rosters based on countless hours of detailed research into player ratings. In addition to the National Hockey League® license, which gives FHM 4 real logos, uniforms, and histories for all 31 teams, the game features North American minor leagues, Canadian major junior leagues, and multiple levels of European hockey leagues.
Vegas, baby!

Yes, you can roll the dice with the new NHL® expansion team, the Vegas Golden Knights™. Take control of the team as it was built through the expansion draft or return those players to their original teams and remake the Golden Knights™ according to your strategic vision.
Unprecedented customization

FHM 4 features even more ways to set up a league. In additional to pre-configured structures, choose the number of conferences and divisions in your league, its schedule length, and the number of teams.
The most hockey ever

Travel as far back as the 1917-18 season and enjoy historically accurate rosters, including the early major leagues in western Canada! FHM 4 puts more hockey history at your fingertips than any game ever released.
In addition, try one of FHM 4’s 30 new historical challenges (one per NHL® team) and see if you can repeat, or improve on, such successes as Montreal’s 1950s dynasty, Philadelphia’s 1970s expansion wins, and Vancouver’s wild ride to the 1982 Stanley Cup® Final!
Challenge Mode

You can also put your hockey smarts to the test in the modern day with Challenge Mode, a new twist that pushes you to compete and win even when the odds are stacked against you. It’s a spin on the popular Path to Glory Mode, which is now available in every aspect of FHM 4.
Commissioner Mode

You can now take the top-level view in all game types and make changes as you see fit.
Worldwide playable leagues

Take the reins of a team in Austria, Belarus, Denmark, Slovakia, Poland, and other countries, in addition to returning favorites. FHM 4 also features a European Champions League and more international competitions than ever.
Staggering detail
Many more new features include:
A new Hall of Fame system Line chemistry Player uniform number assignments Postseason awards Dramatically expanded statistical tracking Single game records Club alumni lists In-game audio and visual enhancements  
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Wolverine Studios is proud to announce that Draft Day Sports: Pro Football 2018 is now available. Brooks Piggott and his team bring you the newest pro football simulation for Windows-PC.
[Contents of this press release has been compiled from the Wolverine Studios blog]
Draft Day Sports: Pro Football 2018 puts you in control of your favorite pro football franchise. You make the calls as you build your dynasty – build your roster through trades, the draft, and free agency while you help your players improve with custom training options. Watch the action unfold in dramatic 2D fashion where you can take control of the play calling and make the choices that lead your team to victory. Play by yourself against a challenging AI or join an online multiplayer league and see if you have what it takes to outmanage your fellow gamers.
Game day is here coach
Just as the smell of grilled meat and beer suds from the tailgate subsides and the fans have taken their seats, all eyes switch to the field and more importantly what you, the head coach are going to do next.  Have you locked in the right roster?  Have you perfected your scheme? Have you done your homework on your opponent?  They’ve been having a great year so far but will today be the day that your team overpowers them in their own back yard?  We’re about to find out!
“What’s the play coach?”
The game day engine provides a slick and easy to use interface that gives you everything you need to navigate your way through game day.  You take on the role of offensive and defensive coordinators by selecting plays from your playbook and embarking on an epic game of cat and mouse with your opponent.  Just like in real life, calling a pass play against a nickel defense could be fatal, whereas making the decision to run up the gut of a 2-man front when its least expected could get you that vital fist down you need to keep the offense rolling.

Within your playbook, you get to choose the formation and the play, giving you a huge amount of variety.  There are also options at playbook with the team specific playbook or a default option to open your offense up further.  Once you have called your play, sit back and watch it play out on 2D.  Did you make the right call?  Is your rookie wide receiver about to take it to the house or is your quarterback hitting the turf before he can release the ball?  You’ll soon find out.

It’s all about the stats man
The game day screen also shows you a breakdown of stats as the game progresses so you can keep an eye on how your guys are playing.  Clicking on ‘Box Score’ will also a breakdown of team stats and scoring summary for you to analyse.  Maybe next time you’ll give that third string half back a run out instead if number 4 isn’t getting it done.  This is a results business son.

Pulled off a play that had you jumping out of your arm chair and want to see it again? Hit the ‘view replay’ button. Need to wrap this game up quicker?  The ‘CPU finish’ button will get it done for you.  I guess we will really see if you set your team up right now coach.
“The draft went well coach but its time to set the roster”
Getting down to the right 53-man roster can be as challenging as maximizing your draft picks. Cut too many of one position group and you’re one injury away from disaster, carry too many players on offense and maybe you don’t have the personnel to run all your defensive packages. A great roster will be the foundation for a good year, get it wrong….
Pro Football 2018 has a user-friendly roster management screen that helps you make the right decisions. You can manage your current roster, practice squad and injured reserve list all from one place with the ability to click and compare players as you do. There is even a handy position count tool that helps you get the roster composition right.

“Is he going to line up as a running back or a wide receiver, coach?”
Got a guy on the roster that played every snap in college as running back, but as all great coaches do, you saw something in him? You saw his hands were what makes him great, the crispness of his routes out of the back field are like nothing you’ve seen from a running back before, and it was enough for you to trade up in the draft and put your name on the pick. Pro Football 18 gives you the opportunity to change a player’s position on his ‘player card’, so you can maximize his production in your scheme.

“We got one heck of a QB competition going on”
Sick of being asked the same question at press conferences like “Is there a front runner for the QB job?” and “Have you seen enough from him to keep the jersey?”. The answer is simple, its time you set your depth charts. The ‘Depth’ screen allows you to set a master depth chart with a series of drop down menus or if you trust your coaching team you can make use of the ‘AI Set All’ button to speed the process up and adjust from there. Pro Football 2018 is all about choice and customization to help you get the most out of your team. You can even drill down to specific formations in your playbook and adjust your depth chart for those formations. Want a running back that runs hard for your I-form plays but more of a speedy pass catching back for your shotgun plays? Get it done.

“You got the players, they’ve got their roles, but how are you going to play?”
Are you going to be known for aggressive defense, pounding the rock or airing the ball out? Hop into the ‘Strategy’ screen and set your team up to play how you want it to. On the ‘Game Plan’ screen you can set your style, tempo, how your tight ends will play, who your primary read in the passing game is, who is the Mike and what kind of attitude your team will display on the field.

“With the first pick in the 2018 draft…”
It’s a day sports fans and collegiate athletes circle on their calendars and await with excitement and anticipation; as general managers and coaching teams assemble in the war room to decide who will be the next budding superstar to join the franchise. With so many choices, getting it right can propel the franchise to success overnight; getting it wrong can lead to the unemployment line. Rarely is there a tougher choice to be made, and now the decision is yours!
Pro Football 2018 features an all new draft presentation allowing you to immerse yourself in the draft day experience taking control of shaping your own franchise.

Take control of your war room!
Once the draft has started you can enter your war room and browse through all the eligible players; checking stats, traits, history and comparing them with other prospects to build your own draft list. As the picks fly in you monitor your list in the hope that the ‘your guy’ is still available when it’s your pick. Then you welcome him to the franchise, give your virtual team a virtual high five, and focus on your next pick.

You have the choice to watch the draft play out in full or, safe in the knowledge your prospect list is settled, you can opt to skip the CPU picks until it’s your turn again.  There is even an option to set your list and let the draft play out in full sim mode, just make sure you set your player order right before you do to avoid any unexpected surprises!  And as the draft draws to a close you can sit back and bask in the glory of your triumphant day by recapping the draft in its entirety, or by team.  Don’t forget to keep an eye on your competitors’ picks; always be game planning!

Build that roster!
Just as you finish that cold celebratory beer, it’s time to hunt for the real gems in free agency. You now have the opportunity to bid for the best undrafted talent in the nation; you decide how much they are worth to your franchise, but get it right or someone else may be reaping the benefits of the next overlooked Hall of Famer!

DDS: Pro Football 2018 is ready – game day is here and now you are able to build your dynasty.
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Kickoff Is Coming!
Well football fans, we have a very special treat for you this week.  Not only are we going to take a walk through the gameday engine, but you also get to see the brand-new trailer for Pro Football 2018.  That’s right, we are doubling down on the excitement this week as we edge closer to launch date. More on the trailer at the end of this segment.
Game day is here coach
Just as the smell of grilled meat and beer suds from the tailgate subsides and the fans have taken their seats, all eyes switch to the field and more importantly what you, the head coach are going to do next.  Have you locked in the right roster?  Have you perfected your scheme? Have you done your homework on your opponent?  They’ve been having a great year so far but will today be the day that your team overpowers them in their own back yard?  We’re about to find out!
“What’s the play coach?”
The game day engine provides a slick and easy to use interface that gives you everything you need to navigate your way through game day.  You take on the role of offensive and defensive coordinators by selecting plays from your playbook and embarking on an epic game of cat and mouse with your opponent.  Just like in real life, calling a pass play against a nickel defense could be fatal, whereas making the decision to run up the gut of a 2-man front when its least expected could get you that vital fist down you need to keep the offense rolling.

Within your playbook, you get to choose the formation and the play, giving you a huge amount of variety.  There are also options at playbook with the team specific playbook or a default option to open your offense up further.  Once you have called your play, sit back and watch it play out on 2D.  Did you make the right call?  Is your rookie wide receiver about to take it to the house or is your quarterback hitting the turf before he can release the ball?  You’ll soon find out.

It’s all about the stats man
The game day screen also shows you a breakdown of stats as the game progresses so you can keep an eye on how your guys are playing.  Clicking on ‘Box Score’ will also a breakdown of team stats and scoring summary for you to analyse.  Maybe next time you’ll give that third string half back a run out instead if number 4 isn’t getting it done.  This is a results business son.

Pulled off a play that had you jumping out of your arm chair and want to see it again? Hit the ‘view replay’ button. Need to wrap this game up quicker?  The ‘CPU finish’ button will get it done for you.  I guess we will really see if you set your team up right now coach.
That’s it for this week in the blog as we edge closer and closer to release date but the goodies don’t stop there.  Click right here to view the trailer for DDS: Pro Football 2018 and get ready – game day is almost here and it will be time to build your dynasty!
The post DDS: Pro Football 2018 – Game Day Approaches appeared first on Wolverine Studios.


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Hello sports fans! As we close out the month of July we have a number of exciting new things to talk about and we have been looking forward to sharing some of these new and exciting changes.
The first thing is our annual summer sale will begin tomorrow and run through August 15th – no better way to wind down your summer and gear up for our new season of exciting offerings than by picking up some great deals. Look for more details tomorrow!
Speaking of the new season – how excited are you for Draft Day Sports: Pro Football 2018? The team has been hard at work and we cannot wait to debut the game trailer, some screenshots and talk about some of the new features coming very, very soon. Make sure that you have gone to www.draftdaysports.com and have signed up for the latest news on the game so that we can deliver news right to your email box in the coming weeks.
One thing we are focusing on with DDS:Pro Football and Pro Basketball this season is getting the community more involved with the games especially with roster building. In the past this may have been a difficult task but if you visit our forums you will see we have moved all the mods into one section near the top and have started a section for DDS:PF18 and DDS:PB18. In the coming days we’re going to be providing info there to help you and the rest of the community be able to be much more active in creating and sharing roster files and making sure there is plenty of time to get them going before this season’s games are released.
Over the course of a season we get many comments regarding how some players are rated and also requests for updating files because of trades or for a new rookie class etc…we felt that these things are really best addressed by the community at large. There are some amazing modders out there who have provided logos, courts, player photos and all kinds of stuff over the years and sharing those things with the community has really upped the level of enjoyment of the games. We want to help provide you the tools to do just as good a job with the roster modifications going forward so be on the lookout in the mods section for DDS:PF18 and DDS:PB18 for more info. We are very excited to be able to focus even more time going forward on providing exciting new features and making the games even better than they have been.
Also as part of the changes we have decided that FaceOff Hockey would be moving with its developer to its own site. More details are available in our FOH forum and we thank Brian for his years of hard working keeping FOH going and we look forward to finding a new developer here that can provide the same great career based experience with hockey as we have with football and basketball.
Our new season of games is approaching very rapidly and we cannot wait to share the 2018 lineup with you! As always keep watch in your email, on Facebook, Twitter and right here in our blog for the latest details!
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DRAFT DAY SPORTS: PRO FOOTBALL 2018 COMING THIS FALL
Brooks Piggott and his team are back for a brand new season of football and we are very excited to announce that Draft Day Sports: Pro Football 2018 will be the next title launched by Wolverine Studios coming Fall 2017. Are you ready for the next generation in pro football simulation games?
DDS:PF 2018 sports a ton of new and exciting changes. Here’s a quick rundown of some of the biggest improvements coming
Brand new user interface Enhanced 2D mode allowing you to coach the games and call your own plays Hire the right coaches for your team’s success Updated play calling AI/playbook mechanisms based on coaches Enhancements to player skills and ratings Revamped free agency, draft logic and AI trading Updated HTML generation for online leagues Over the coming weeks we’re going to be sharing all kinds of news, screens and the game trailer. If you want to be the first to know about these updates visit our brand new site for our Draft Day Sports titles and click the GET UPDATES button so that you’re kept up to date as we prepare for our biggest launch ever!
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At the beginning of the season this year we put Draft Day Sports: Pro Basketball 2017 to the test and simulated the 2016-17 season. Now with the regular season in the books lets take a look back and see what sort of predictions the game made and how accurate they turned out.
But before we get on to the results we’re running a special playoff pricing sale on DDS:PB 2017 – you can save nearly 30% on the game right now in our webstore and don’t forget to pickup its college counterpart Draft Day Sports: College Basketball 2017 while you’re at it!
OK so let’s start with the championship prediction – the game predicted Golden State would take home the crown and there’s a pretty good chance that might happen but it did predict they would defeat Indiana to do so. Indiana looked a whole lot better on paper (and in code) before the season but they did make the playoffs so I guess we will have to see how that one plays out still.
As for the division winners DDS:PB predicted Boston, Indiana and Atlanta in the East with Golden State, San Antonio and OKC out West. Boston, Golden State and San Antonio all won their divisions while Atlanta and OKC finished second and Indiana only finished in third.
Other playoff teams predicted were Cleveland, Orlando, Charlotte, Philly and Chicago (2/5 there) and LA, Sacramento, Houston, Portland and Minnesota (3/5 there)
DDS:PB 17 predicted James Harden would thrive in Mike D’Antoni’s offense and would lead the league in scoring – he finished second to Russell Westbrook.
Speaking of Beastbrook – the game predicted he would go for 28.6/9.2/7.1 which at the time seemed like really lofty numbers. Instead he averaged 31.6/10.4/10.7 – just averaged a triple double per game, no big deal…Our favorite quote from our preview was “Our sim shows him dropping 40 or more 11 times out of 82 games. The crazy thing is that number might actually be low!” – turns out we were right to suspect that could be low as he did it 18 times including 4 50+ games! Maybe he used a cheat code!
Our other Misc Predictions from the game
Brandon Ingram wins ROY – almost certainly will not be the case Dallas wins the lottery while paying Barnes 90+ million for 13.5 PPG – Barnes averaged 19.2 PPG but Dallas did miss the playoffs and could win the lottery Chicago shoots 45% from the field due to spacing issues with Rondo, Wade and Butler all on the same team – Chicago actually only shot 43.2% from the floor Biggest disappointment Toronto – Toronto did manage to be the three seed in the East but in our defense we said we figured them missing the playoffs was an outlying event with the sim and that they might need to make a move during the season which they did in getting Ibaka. Least surprising team Houston – we predicted Houston would give up 111.9 PPG but they actually were only 5th worst in the league giving up 109.6 PPG. Defense took a back seat in the league this year as 5 teams including Houston gave up more PPG than the worst team did the prior year. Guess we can expect a scoring bump in DDS:PB 2018 All in all we’re pretty pleased with the realism and accuracy of the sim and it gets better with each version. Don’t forget to get in our our playoff sale while you can and look for more blog posts from us as we will sim the conference and league finals again this season.
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Baseball is back and Out of the Park Baseball 18 – the sequel to Metacritic’s PC Game of the Year 2016 – delivers countless baseball dreams!
[This press release is made available courtesy of OOTP Developments] 
 
Officially licensed by MLB.com, the MLBPA and Minor League Baseball, Out of the Park Baseball 18 includes the latest projected 2017 MLB Opening Day rosters, including the complete minor league system and over a dozen international and independent leagues, with thousands of real players. Player ratings are based on a combination of the industry-leading ZiPS player projection system and research conducted by our skilled and experienced roster team. The result is the most realistic and entertaining baseball management game on the planet. Guide your team to glory and build a dynasty!


 
New Features in Out of the Park Baseball 18 Include:
Experience a new game mode in OOTP 18: Challenge! This mode adds a unique twist, along with new rewards, while playing OOTP. Your achievements are tracked in an (optional) online profile. Are you the best OOTP manager on the planet? Improved 3D Mode & Game Highlight Reels. With even more ballpark detail than before and enhanced player animations, the 3D game mode in OOTP has taken another leap forward. New Tournaments & Fall Leagues. Set up your own national or international tournaments. Choose from different tournament modes and manage your favorite nation to international glory. Historical Negro Leagues. With the help of Seamheads.com, our historical database experts have been able to add most Negro leagues seasons to the historical minor league feature of Out of the Park Baseball 18, including accurate rosters and player statistics. Redesigned Injury System. Injuries in OOTP 18 has been reworked to be more realistic and interesting. A detailed injury history is tracked for players, the injury database has been enhanced, there are now nagging little long-term injuries, injuries to different body types have different long-term effects, and much more. Team Promotion and Relegation Support. Create a challenging new league setup where teams fight for promotion and try to defend against relegation to a lower league level. Retain player salaries in trades. Can you strike the perfect deal and save your team some money? Improved AI throughout the game, for a more challenging experience than ever. Beautiful new interface design with three different skins. Many 2017 CBA rule changes are incorporated in modern MLB games. 7-Day lineups now support double-headers Improved player morale / team chemistry system. Improved player creation & development system. Improved game recaps, enhanced play-by-play text and league news. Updated authentic historical minor league database from 1915 through 2016 (including the Federal League) with a database of more than 100,000 real players. Support for individual player import from the historical database. And of course, the Out of the Park Baseball trademark of historical seasons spanning 150 years of baseball. And much more! Can the Chicago Cubs repeat as World Series winners, despite the loss of Aroldis Chapman and Dexter Fowler? Or did the Cleveland Indians’ successful offseason set them up for taking the World Series trophy home this year? Will the Boston Red Sox’s rotation, anchored by Chris Sale and David Price, dominate in the AL East, or are the rebuilding Yankees already a contender? Which team will win the tight National League West Division, the powerhouse LA Dodgers, led by the best pitcher in baseball, Clayton Kershaw? Play Out of the Park Baseball 18 and find out!
 
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A new basketball season is right around the corner and so is the latest version of our highly acclaimed pro basketball sim Draft Day Sports: Pro Basketball 2017. We brought you a few developer diaries with the last version of the game and we’re going to be once again highlighting some of the new features for this year’s game. We’re kicking off the dev diary series with a look at some of the best new stuff you will find while playing out a season. Additional diaries will highlight the all new Matchup Maker feature as well as the expanded historical play. If you missed our announcement about the game and trailer video you can view it here.
SCOUTING
One of the most exciting parts of the game is of course the college draft. We’ve added additional running draft commentary again this year but the biggest addition comes in your pre-draft work options. We’ve added 12 scouting regions across the United States and the rest of the world for you to assign your scouting staff to. In order to get anything but the very basic information prior to workouts you’re going to need to commit some resources around the globe.

Depending on the amount of resources you commit to an area you also may get additional emails during the year from your scout staff on a player they were impressed with. Review your emails prior to the draft workouts or use the in game notepad to keep your own notes on players you may want to target thanks to the heads up from your scouting staff.

LINEUP TRACKING
Every general manager today craves as much data as possible whether its advanced stats (we have those) or cameras in the arena to track how fast players move from spot to spot (that’s not a feature…yet anyway) – the bottom line is information is king and we aim to bring you as much as possible to make your decisions. Introducing lineup tracking – a new feature to the series this year. Lineup tracking will keep track of every single lineup combination you put out on the floor and allows you to analyze how each lineup is doing.

The biggest strength of this new feature is that it gives you one more tool to understand your team. Maybe you find a certain combination of players that seems to perform well together and you adjust your lineup matrix to get them more minutes together. Maybe you see that an offensive superstar is actually a negative to your team unless he’s playing with defensive-minded players. You might learn that the team winning games because a player was injured wasn’t just a fluke but that there’s real statistical data to back up that he’s a better fit. The possibilities of what you can learn and then also tinker with because of the data are endless.
MENU IMPROVEMENTS
We have always made it a priority to give you an interface that made you forget you were playing a text-sim game so for this year we’re building off of last year’s UI overhaul and added a few touches here and there to make it even better. The most noticeable is the team menu bar across the top of the screen. Now changing screens from team to team is a simple click away instead of having to scroll to a drop box and scroll for the team you want.

We also realize that with the additional coverage the game received last year that we brought many new players into the fold and that jumping into the game might have been a little overwhelming or that things took some getting used to. That’s why we’ve started an in-game FAQ section to provide some tips to new players as well as serve as quick reminders for our grizzled vets.

PLAYER PERSONALITY IMPROVEMENTS
Player personalities are a big part of the game (if you choose – you can still turn off this feature if you like). Nothing is worse than finally thinking you have it all together on paper to win a championship only to be derailed by some personality conflicts on the team or even by a moody player in general who has decided he’s not giving his best effort.

We’ve made strides this year to limit the number of incidents you are presented with while increasing the importance of handling a situation. We’ve also added additional feedback this year so that when you’re answering questions from the media about a player or reviewing an incident report that you get a better understanding of just exactly what the impacts were of the actions that happened.
NEW GAME OPTIONS
Injuries are also one of those things in life that can derail a contender and we know that sometimes not everyone likes things to really be as realistic as they are so we’ve decided to give the control to you this season with our new injury factor. Want a league where everyone can play without fear of injury? Go for it. Want to see how much fun it would be for the injury report to be an injury novel? Crank it up. We’re leaving the choice up to you for each league you start.

We’ve also added some new options when creating your league. If you’re going to start with the 2016-17 rosters you’ll have the option of starting with players actually being injured as they are going into opening night or reset the league for everyone to be healthy (we’re looking at you Philly fans). We even are offering the chance to start with a blank historical slate so that your favorite franchise isn’t dogged with years of championship envy.

Thank you for taking a look at our initial developer diary – be sure to watch in the coming days for future developer diaries as well as information on the release and pre-order specials. Basketball sim heaven is only a short time away!
 
 
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Draft Day Sports: College Football 2017 Announced!

We have been teasing a new game announcement as the final portion of our 10th Anniversary Celebration and here it is! Wolverine Studios is very excited to announce that Brooks Piggott has been hard at work developing Draft Day Sports: College Football 2017 – make sure you are following along on our blog and social media outlets for updates about our exciting new college football game and be sure to join in the discussion regarding the game in our forums. We will be bringing more details to you in the coming weeks as we are very excited to share this brand new game with you! For now, enjoy our announcement trailer regarding the game.
 

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Following up on yesterday’s blog post predicting the Golden State vs Oklahoma City series here’s a look at how Draft Day Sports: Pro Basketball 2016 sees the Cleveland vs Toronto series shaking out. NOTE : since Valanciunas is injured we simmed this series without him available – just to see if it would make a difference we simmed the series again with him missing just game 1 and 2 and the results of each game in the series were identical.
GAME 1

Game 1 was an exciting one from the start. Both teams kept it close through one and then Toronto opened up a seven point lead at the break proving that even without JV they were going to be able to matchup fine with Cleveland. DeRozan was terrific as he would finish with 39 points (hey nobody ever accused J.R. Smith of playing defense) but it was not enough. LeBron wasn’t losing game 1 and helped get both Kyrie and Matthew Dellavedova going in the third. Irving would finish with 26 while the Delly served up 18. LeBron finishes with 20/7, 2 steals and a block. The game would remain close until the final minute when Kevin Love would hit a huge three to put it away.
Kevin Love ices game 1 with a dagger three

 
GAME 2 (CLE leads 1-0)

Game 2 was over from the start as Cleveland jumped out to a 22-12 1st quarter and never looked back. LeBron was fantastic again with 25 points and shooting better than 62% from the floor. Toronto got nothing from anyone and eventually both teams just packed it in and called it a day.
It was all Cleveland all day in game 2


GAME 3 (CLE leads 2-0)

Game 3 proves Toronto does have some fight in them. Kyle Lowry finally stepped up and produced a monster 27/8 with 2 steals and a block in 40 minutes. Bismack Biyombo continued to adequately fill in for Valanciunas with a nice line of 6 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 blocks – his defense was key down the stretch as Cleveland put together a run at the end as was Demarre Carroll’s who had 6 steals. James had 22 and Love went for 11 and 15 boards with Irving adding only 15 points. It looks like the key for Toronto to win is going to be forcing a big turnover margin.
Kyle Lowry leads Toronto to a game 3 win


GAME 4 (CLE leads 2-1)

Bad shooting seems to be a disease running through this series and when a team catches it – good night. This game was alot like game 2 except flipped. LeBron did his thing but nobody else did much. Toronto again won the turnover battle and the series shifts back to Cleveland. In a seven game series it would seem improbable that Toronto would win but if its a best of three essentially anything is possible but they need to win game 5 because they’re not going to win game 7 in Cleveland.
Toronto evens the series in a blowout


GAME 5 (series tied 2-2)

You know what this series needs? (Some offense?, a close game?, a steel cage?). Nope. Alternate jerseys! We decided to roll out both teams alternate unis for this one in hopes it would spark an interesting game. Lowry and DeRozan combined for 53 of the Toronto 95 (that means the rest of the team only offered up 42 points) and that’s just not enough to beat anyone good. LeBron went for a balanced 26/6/6 line, Irving added 22/5/5 with 3 steals and Tristan Thompson made an appearance with 12 and 13 boards with 4 steals. Toronto did not win the turnover battle this game which leaves them little chance of winning. When you don’t have more than two options for putting the ball in the basket you better play some hellacious defense and they didn’t.
Kyrie Irving sparks the game 5 victory


GAME 6 (CLE leads 3-2)

Game 6 was the perfect ending for this series – a total clunker. Toronto only trailed by 4 at the break but LeBron and Irving were just too much to handle. LeBron had his most dominant performance with a 31 and 10 double double while Kyrie was no slouch at 24 and 6 dimes. Lowry had nearly as many turnovers (9) as points (12) and as we identified earlier in the series Toronto had to win the turnover battle in order to stand a chance. They didn’t and again didn’t get much offensive output against a stout Cleveland defense and that was all she wrote as Cleveland will win in six games.
LeBron saved his best to close out game 6


FINAL OBSERVATIONS
Well this series wasn’t nearly as fun to watch play out as Golden State vs Oklahoma City. In fact it was downright boring. There were moments of intrigue here and there in games 1 and 3 but to be honest I’m surprised it went six games. Both teams shot poorly on the whole and while Toronto has been able to survive the first two rounds (in 7 games both times) they did so against teams with one really good scorer (George, Wade) so their 1-2 punch of Lowry and DeRozan was enough (barely). Cleveland is a different animal – not only do they have the best player in the East in LeBron but Irving and Love can both score not to mention the ability for a guy like Smith or Delly to catch fire. Even Thompson can put up some points now and then.
I thought maybe Valanciunas would make a difference as a scorer but when using him the results did not change (and I had the AI try to cap him around 28 minutes both to be true to life and to simulate him coming back from injury in game 3). I think the game did identify a key in the series though and that is Toronto is going to have to play some nasty defense which they are capable of and really try and grind this out if they want to win. I don’t think there is anyway they can win a seven game series without some killer defensive efforts.
I hope you enjoyed this segment and I look forward to doing some more in the future. If you did I want to give you a special chance to own Draft Day Sports: Pro Basketball 2016 at a discount. Just click on this link for our webstore, add DDS:PB 2016 to your cart and enter the code WESIMMEDIT for a 20% discount- the code will work through 5/20/2016. Be sure to follow along our blog and follow us on our social media outlets for more cool features like this one!
If you enjoyed the posting and would like to discuss or ask questions feel free to do so in our forum!
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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!
 
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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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As GM Games continues to highlight the evolution of sports management games, there are certainly those who must be recognized for their contributions to where we are today. We plan over the next little while to compile exclusive conversations with influential people in the sports simulation industry.
One of these integral people happen to be Risto Remes of Sports Interactive Games (SI Games). Here is a bit of background about who he is to those not familiar with him.
Risto is originally from Finland and holds title of Senior Software Engineer at Sports Interactive. Home of the world famous Football Manager series. He has worked on every Football Manager product since Championship Manager 03/04. Prior to working with and at SI Games, Risto was the creator of a hockey simulator that would be known as Eastside Hockey Manager or EHM .
EHM started off as independent freeware that became so successful and advanced that it caught the eyes of the programmers at Sports Interactive. Between 2002 and 2007, Risto was able to leverage SI Games and some of their proprietary code to advance the 2D game engine to new heights.
Eastside Hockey Manager was a leap forward in hockey simulation and over time became one of the finest sports simulation algorithms ever produced. So much so that GM Games has enshrined Eastside Hockey Manager 2007 to the GM Games Hall of Fame Classics.
User communities such a The Blue Line, FHockey, Thebreakaway all grew at a rapid rate and continue to have thriving user communities. Then, everything changed.
The decision was made between SEGA, Sports Interactive, Risto, to stop the investment in EHM due to a lack of game sales. SI Games claims piracy was the leading reason. Users claim the marketing campaign and product name attributed to the overall downfall. In the end, too much of SI Games’ code lived in EHM and thus the franchise has been shelved ever since.
Exclusive conversation with Risto Remes as of February 2015.
 
I have (Chris V @ GM Games) remained in communication with Risto. Telling him about the flagship leagues we have put together to bring hockey sim realism to new heights. He has always been interested to know why the 2005 version has been the most popular for these reasons. Those conversations aside, we setup a formal conversation with him to find out how he’s been and there is even a very interesting footnote he leaves us with.
 
[GM Games]
Thanks for taking some time in your schedule to chat. Tell us a bit about your role now with SI Games?
[Risto Remes]
Since 2006, I’ve been working on the Football Manager project, initially working on finances and player progression and various other areas. Nowadays I’m mainly working on newgens, player progression, training, team talks and attendances with some other bits here and there.
 
[GM Games] 
How rewarding was the Eastside Hockey Manager series to you?
[Risto Remes]
Making the three EHM games with SI was very rewarding. Working full time on a project that started out as a hobby project on the side of my studies was like a dream come true, especially as the football management games made by Sports Interactive had been the original inspiration to my own projects.
 
[GM Games]
What did EHM help bring to SI Games in terms of engine improvements or strategy?
[Risto Remes]
Having two different projects like the hockey game and the football game helped by feeding new ideas into both projects as some aspects of the games were approached from different angles in the two projects. Obviously coming to SI to work on EHM originally helped massively with that project as we benefitted from the management game code base and other technology already established at SI.
 
[GM Games]
What are your thoughts on the hockey simulations being made today on different platforms?
[Risto Remes]
It’s nice to see hockey games coming along on different platforms. I tend to play a bit on my mobile or tablet occasionally and we obviously have Football Manager Handheld for the mobile platforms at SI. I think sports management games in general are well suited for the mobile platform as something to play whilst on the train or on the bus.
 
[GM Games]
Now, the question we all want asked lol. Do you believe that the Steam platform has potential to revive the hockey series? Perhaps even re-branding from ‘Eastside’ to a generic title?
[Risto Remes]
I like Steam as a platform for distributing and playing games and it has worked well for us at SI for the Football Manager series. I’ve always maintained that I want to bring EHM back some day when the time is right and Steam would be something to obviously look into if that time comes.
 
[GM Games]
Wow. We’ll let those reading here interpret that last answer on their own. Maybe expect a busier e-mailbox  Are there any sports you enjoy or games you would consider making in your free time?
[Risto Remes]
I still play floorball competitively in Finland and follow both football and hockey actively. I’ve been asked to do a Floorball Manager game occasionally but I haven’t seriously considered that so far…
 
[GM Games] 
Thank you again for joining us. Finally, what are your thoughts on the website General Manager (GM) Games?
[Risto Remes]
I think internet communities are vital to smaller games, especially sports management games that don’t maybe get the mainstream coverage like the big sports games. Sites like GM Games are good for finding out about similar manager games in different sports and meeting other people enthusiastic about the genre.
 
[GM Games]
And that concludes the broadcast.
 
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The GCL’s 62-game regular season has come to a close, and we’d like to congratulate the ABL Bandits, who finished in first place with a 42-20 record. They’ll face the 14-48 RIBC Birdmen in the first round of the tournament. The full standings are below, but first let’s take a look at the first-round tournament […]
 
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A brand new mobile football management game has arrived at the iTunes apple store. Title Challenge is an effort by an indie development studio named Kyan Games.
A first glance it appears they are saying all the right things. The leads at Kyan Games are paying tribute to the simplicity of the original Championship Manager 01/02 and are looking to translate the balance of that simulation game algorithm into the right recipe for mobile gaming fun-factor.
Their acknowledgement of what makes a successful game goes further in respecting the need for a high resolution user interface. A cartoon approach is their attempt at building the immersion.
It will remain to be seen if the game has the footing to uproot the fanatic following of one particular juggernaut (FMH) and the other entries in the mobile sports management territory.
Let’s get a bit more granular about Title Challenge (iOS)
 
WHY DO WE NEED ANOTHER FOOTBALL MANAGEMENT GAME?
Laurent at Kyan Games: I love the early Championship Manager games, basically since the release of CM 93 I’ve owned and played them to death. I still play modded version of those games now using DOSbox.
Paul at Kyan Games: I’ve never really stopped playing the classic Champ Man 01/02 release and I still pour hours into Sensible World of Soccer. Both of these games have the perfect balance of fun gameplay features and just enough ‘real-life’ simulation.
Laurent at Kyan Games: We felt these early games were a perfect fit for mobile and the existing games weren’t quite hitting the spot for us. So we decided to pursue our dream of building a “back to basics” football management game with a focus on fewer features, designed for mobile.
FEATURES
Manage your favourite club from England, Spain, Germany, France and Italy Update players and clubs using the free built-in data editor Fast-paced gameplay – Complete a season in a matter of hours Autosave feature – Pick up and play right where you left off Drag and drop tactics with intelligent positioning Upgrade your training facilities to develop the stars of the future Upgrade your stadium to increase your club reputation Use your scouting network to identify transfer targets  
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The well known team over at OOTP developments have arrived on a release date and what will be in store. At the moment it is looking like late-May 2015.
OOTP will be looking to make up for first release of Franchise Hockey Manager through new features and code stability. If Franchise Hockey Manager could be described as full of potential with a knowledgeable group of programmers to tap into.
GM Games as always will continue to follow it’s progress. Through our User Reviews, you will get the last say on what you think.
 
The content below is courtesy of OOTP Developments latest update:
 
Franchise Hockey Manager 2 in many ways will be a complete overhaul on the original, with many avenues of the game improved and tweaked.
Here are some of the highlights for the upcoming game:
1. 2014/15 and 2015/16 season data: The game will feature over 23 playable leagues, as well as a great deal of non-playable leagues. The game will ship with 2014/15 data and then be updated before the 2015/16 season starts with a new roster set to help gamers get the most up-to-date experience.
2. Completely overhauled graphic user interface and navigation: FHM 2 will have a completely new interface, which suits the complex world of hockey much better. Our two goals for this year’s game were to make the game look nicer and make navigating in the game as easy as possible. In our opinion, we have made big steps in both areas.
3. FaceGen: For the first time, FHM will ship with FaceGen support. This brings much more life to the game. We have models in place for skaters, goalies and staff, including changing colors of helmets based on the team the player is on.
4. Completely re-designed Game Engine: We ripped out the old engine and built this very important part of the game brand new, 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 and 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. From player passing or moving the puck up the ice, to faceoffs that matter in what zone they occur, dump-in’s, clear attempts, puck battles on the board, breakaways, and many events – it will all be an intricate part of the new simulation engine.
Note: Big parts of the new match engine will be available for FHM 2014 before the FHM 2 release. FHM 2 will feature a tweaked and refined version of the initial release of the match engine.
5. 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.
6. 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 likings by changing selected rules and options (which stay in a sensible range – so no Hobbit league on Mars).
7. League Expansion: Before a season you are now able to expand any league you want by two teams. Want to bring the NHL to Las Vegas? Or bring a team back to Quebec? Go for it!
8. Basic Online League Support: Use FHM 2 to play an online league with your friends. GM’s can upload team files (or draft lists, for example) to the commissioner, who then simulates the game forward, before uploading a new league file. In addition the game produces CSV outputs you can use to generate a web page for your league if you wish. Prove your mettle as a GM against some of the other sharp minds who are fans of FHM!
9. 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.
10. Head coaches: It is now possible to hire a head coach for your team and play as GM only.
11. Historical changes: We’ve added new historical seasons to the game, so you can start even further in the past. 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.
12. 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.
13. There are many more changes and additions to the game (listed are just a small number):
– New tactics system
– 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
– Line chemistry
– GM and Coach scores
– All-Star game added
– Completely revised league/team/player history
– Redesigned screens (such as lines, tactics, manager-home and playoff screens)
– Extended draft logs
– New logo templates
 
To join the discussion with the lead developer, the story can be found here: http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/board/fhm-2-general-discussions/251167-franchise-hockey-manager-2-release-info-feature-list.html
The post The goods on Franchise Hockey Manager FHM2 appeared first on GM Games - Sports General Manager Video Games.


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