As always, you can discuss the upcoming OOTP hockey sim in our dedicated forum: http://www.ehmtheblueline.com/forums/vi ... .php?f=113
Basic Details
- No news as of yet in relation to the game's name.
- The developers have suggested that they may start a "road to the release" development blog nearer the time of the game's release.
- The first version will have the look and feel of OOTP 13 (such as the GUI, "look and feel", text engine and injury system), but it will not reach the scope of OOTP 13. The first version will continue to be developed post-release through patches and additional content.
- As of January 2012, it had not been decided whether or not the game would be released on Linux.
- Player scouting reports will contain estimations of hidden attributes.
- It will be possible to trade up/down draft picks but conditional pick trades might not make it into the first version (and there are concerns over how easy it might be to fool the AI with conditional picks).
- Players will have their own personalities in the first version. Attributes will include Team Player, Ambition, Loyalty and Sportsmanship.
- Contract negotiations will be handled in the same way as OOTP - i.e. you can negotiate with players without delay, but after you have reached agreement with the player, he will wait a few days to see if a better offer comes in from another team.
- Lines will play better together if they have played with each other for some time. Constantly changing the lines can be detrimental to players' performances. The game will not however have any Team Chemistry rating per se.
- Matches will be text-based only (i.e. no 2D).
- It will be possible to play just as a GM and leave the AI Head Coach to deal with tactics and the line-up - or vice-versa. There will be three gameplay modes: GM, Coach and GM+Coach.
- Fighting will feature in game and there will be a Fighting attribute. However, the hockey gameplay is rightly the developers' priority and so the fighting engine won't be an ultra-complex alogrithm.
- As of February 2012, it was unclear whether individually assignable player tactics would feature in game.
- A "don't fire me option" will be included.
- A hidden Coachability attribute will be assigned to each player to determin how effectively a player follow the input of his coach. This attribute will be used during both training and games. A player with a higher coachability attribute will respond/improve better during training and will follow the tactics more accurately during games.
- It will be possible for a player to acquire a new nationality.
- As of February 2012, the game doesn't use player/staff language knowledge. However, the players' Adaptability attribute will determine how well/quickly the player adapts to a new country.
- It might be possible in the first version to lure coaches/scouts away from their teams. If the coach/scout does not get the chance to accept a new (better) job, his contentment should decrease and it will be harder to renew his contract.
- Ticket price / arena management will not feature in the future version. It might feature in a later version.
- Dynamic team rivalry is something the developers have thought about, but it is unlikely to feature in the first version.
- The match engine will take into account home ice advantage and a team's fan support.
- The game will not have a network mode where people connect and play a multiplayer game. The game will implement online leagues in a very similar way to OOTP. The initial version might not be that deep, but the plan is to develop it to ultimately be on a par with OOTP 13+.
- The initial number of playable leagues will depend upon the number of researchers volunteering. At the very least, it will feature the NHL, AHL, ECHL and OHL/QMJHL/WHL.
- International tournaments are very unlikely to make it into the first version. It might be added via a subsequent patch, but it is very hard to say at this point.
- The number of namesets/ethnicities will not be limited. As of May 2012, 49 namesets were in the process of being developed.
- Players can be drafted in multiple leagues.
- The Dutch league won't feature as a playable league in the first version.
- The OOTP team are big fans of historical gameplay and features but this is unlikely to make it into the first version because they first want to perfect the standard gameplay.
- Any initial historical mode would concentrate solely on the NHL. A world-wide and Euro historical mode is unlikely to feature any time in the near/medium term future. It is unclear to what extent the non-NHL leagues would feature in an historical NHL mode because this is not something the developers are planning at the moment.
- The US National Development Team exists in the database, but it will be treated like any other USHL team for the time being.
- A family relationship between players/staff will feature in the game at some point.
- The start date is freely adjustable.
- It is possible to make non-playable leagues playable and vice-versa.
- It will be possible to customise league/playoff schedules.
- The salary cap can be turned on/off.
- All league rules will be customisable.
- A nation's Quality rating (which affects how skilled newgens of that nationality are) will change slightly over time. It will be affected by the nation's success in hockey. For example, a very good and successful player from a low quality nation will have a positive influence on the nation's Quality rating.
- The Hall of Fame hadn't been implemented in the game as of May 2012. However, it is likely that there will be a Hall of Fame for each league.