Hockey Arena XIX - Vagrant is the King!

[GirouxGiroux]

I won the USA I.1 regular season title. Might be dropping out of the game though.

 

[Temm]

I won the USA I.1 regular season title. Might be dropping out of the game though.

Congratulations, DoubleG!
That is an amazing feat - to be at the head of one's country.
I'm sad though that you are dropping out, especially with your ticket almost claimed for a trip to the World Cup.

 

[GirouxGiroux]

Congratulations, DoubleG!
That is an amazing feat - to be at the head of one's country.
I'm sad though that you are dropping out, especially with your ticket almost claimed for a trip to the World Cup.

Thank you.

I don't think my team would be strong enough to challenge for the World title anyway though.

 

[doubleminor138]

I won the USA I.1 regular season title. Might be dropping out of the game though.

Congratulations!

 

[robotco]

anyone else getting a page that just says 'Unable to open database !' when going to hockeyarena.net?

 

[SidDidNothingWrong]

I keep changing around my teams chemistry and getting high maximum chemistry numbers, but the actual chemistry keeps staying at zero and for me to complete the assignment it says I have to raise the chemistry to at least 5 percent. Nothing I do raises the actual chemistry, only the maximum chemistry.

 

[Temm]

PitHockey23:

Chemistry is based on experience playing together. You put together a line-up, and the line starts at 0 chemistry. As you play games with that line, the chemistry of the line goes up. Note that any swaps of players out of or into that line will drop chemistry significantly. So, you will need to keep a line intact for a number of games in order to accrue the chemistry needed for the assignment.

Hope that helps!

 

[njdevscup30]

I'm still playing this game. 6. years. later.

I miss the good ol days

 

[Temm]

It still is a great game. Hopefully any risks that would affect its continuation are being mitigated.

I still have 2-3 years before my custom play cycle through all the countries for my International Junior Development Program there, which has been keeping me happy. Basically, every season I choose a separate country and get three young players from that country to be developed with my team for 4 seasons. I only have around 16 countries left before that cycle is complete. I cannot see myself starting another cycle (10 calendar years length) so I'll probably find a new direction for my franchise at that point.

 

[njdevscup30]

It still is a good game.

The other ones out there may good better or good but whenever I'm done with this one I'm done with all of them.

 

[GirouxGiroux]

I'm going to try to keep my team alive for a couple seasons while I have limited internet access. I'm keeping it simple and gonna see how good a team I can assemble without buying anyone, just players from my YS.

I'm a little bummed because I could easily have made a longer run, but I will settle for this:

21.08.2014 - 1. place in the tournament Playoff, I.1 league USA (54.season)
05.08.2014 - 1.place in regular season of I.1 league USA (54. season)
12.06.2014 - 1. place in the tournament Playoff, I.1 league USA (53.season)
11.06.2014 - 4. place in the tournament National Champions Cup (53.season)
27.05.2014 - 1.place in regular season of I.1 league USA (53. season)
26.03.2014 - 1. place in the tournament National cup, USA (52.season)

 

[Temm]

Releases 5.0, 5.1, 5.2, and now 5.3 all delivered in the last couple weeks. A good set of new features and extra statistical information. A bit of controversy on a couple calls, but one decision reversed already by the developing group who listened to its membership.

 

[Temm]

And now releases 5.4, 5.5, and a brand new update this morning.
Plenty of changes to digest - and a different player landscape will result from the changes. Great job from the developers - all we need now is to adjust to what the changes bring us.

 

[Temm]

Woo! Worked him hard and got my first U20 roster player in many seasons. Now, to keep him there and to insure some playing time on the U20 team.

 

[Spillblood Maloney]

Why do I even bother spending almost $400 million on a 26 year old 345 AI goalie that is on the USA National team when the 13th place team in my league beats me 7-4......

 

[Temm]

Why do I even bother spending almost $400 million on a 26 year old 345 AI goalie that is on the USA National team when the 13th place team in my league beats me 7-4......

You made an improvement to your team. Would have Goldy or Caldy have fared any better in that game? It was a tough game for your new tender. He followed it up the next day with only half as many goals let in (i.e. 3, and a 4th in the extra stuff.)

I hope he gets better for you and fits in well - to make up for all the cash you forked over for him. Good luck!

 

[Temm]

Re: The increased competitiveness of new teams.

One addition that has been introduced in the last year is the increased competitiveness of new teams in HA.

Prior to the change, new teams were slotted into any of the lowest three tiers with a pretty terrible beginning team whose AI (top 22) may have averaged out to over 100 (if they were lucky.)

Because of the regular turnover in HA, I found that with this setup, I could easily remain competitive 1 or 2 tiers above the bottom even carrying and rotating in to the line-up many many youths. I did this as part of how I play the game.

For new franchises, this meant getting blown away by all competition for 1-3 seasons until the team dropped to a tier where it could be competitive. This was often demoralizing for new managers and they often quit after a short time. The continual losses piled up at the start was allegedly a cause for lower retention for new managers.

The change involves starting the new franchises with teams that have an average AI adjusted to match the average AI of the division they are being placed into. Although the team still needs to build up its facilities and figure out the game, they are now immediately competitive.

This is a great thing for new managers. Take the Saskatoon Knights for example, a brand new franchise, that have been given a team with higher AI (top 20) than my team which is now 8 years old. They are immediately competitive and can concentrate on facilities and learning the game while their team doesn't really do that poorly.

What does this mean for me, though? Well, because I keep a lot of youth and play them instead of my top players (for experience and training,) it means I have a highly-inflated team AI compared to what players I ice. That high team AI is factored in to the league average when calculating the average AI for players for new teams. As a result, new teams are given fresh teams with higher average AI and I cannot compete against them. My team, for which I was happy staying above the bottom tier with really young players, will be dropping to the lowest tier this year.

Makes for a better time to join, I guess. Or rejoin if that interests you.
http://www.hockeyarena.net/index.php?ref=206841

 

[Spillblood Maloney]

Stupid question...how do you mark a player as your "franchise" player so they dont become an UFA?

 

[MadArcand]

Stupid question...how do you mark a player as your "franchise" player so they dont become an UFA?

Via loyalty increase button.

 

[Spillblood Maloney]

Via loyalty increase button.

I had a brain fart and couldnt remember its been so long. Thanks for the help!

 

[Spillblood Maloney]

Almost a year since the last post. Any of you guys still out there playing?

 

[Temm]

You bet'cha. I cannot see myself dropping off anytime soon.

 

[Spillblood Maloney]

I just don't know what to do anymore. It seems like I have a better team, but still get beat by lesser opponents.

First game of the season in league II.2, I get shelled 6-2. The other team has 11 guys with 300+ AI. I have 14 with 300+ AI and one guy with 400+. His goalie had 296 AI and mine has 397 AI.

Seems like I should come out on top in that one, or at least not get beat so bad.

Maybe its my defense???

What strategies do you guys use on defense? I try to have one offensive d-man and one defensive d-man on each line. Is it better to have high defensive guys as both d-men on a line?

 

[nashnaidoo]

So I've been playing since 2004 and still can't give you much insight on the mechanics of the game. Laziness is part of it but I also attribute this to poor game design

For Defencemen I like High Defence, moderate Strength and Moderate Self Control. Like 160 Defence, 60 Strength and 40 SC so I can play High Intensity and not get too hammered by penalties. Those numbers are minimums.

I then round that out with 20 Speed, 20 passing. Offence and Shooting are optional. Haven't really been able to decide if anything outside of the first three matter.

 

[Spillblood Maloney]

So I've been playing since 2004 and still can't give you much insight on the mechanics of the game. Laziness is part of it but I also attribute this to poor game design

For Defencemen I like High Defence, moderate Strength and Moderate Self Control. Like 160 Defence, 60 Strength and 40 SC so I can play High Intensity and not get too hammered by penalties. Those numbers are minimums.

I then round that out with 20 Speed, 20 passing. Offence and Shooting are optional. Haven't really been able to decide if anything outside of the first three matter.

Thanks for the insight. I'm going to move some guys around and see if it has any effect.