If you follow my socials or read past blog posts you know I am a big lover of community based projects. Whether its a full game or just mods I love the idea of passionate hobbyists contributing to a game or genre they all love.
One of those games is Eastside Hockey Manager (EHM) on Steam. EHM is a hockey manager simulation game where you take the reigns of managing a hockey club. Originally, developed by one man the title was picked up by Sega and Sports Interactive. It had a short stint as an officially licensed NHL hockey manager before being discontinued by Sega. The last game was NHL Eastside Hockey Manager 2007 and it was kept alive for years with patches and roster updates. Then that very same community was able to collaborate with Sega and SI to introduce the updated version we have on Steam today. The version on Steam does not have the official NHL license, but with a few clicks in workshop community made rosters, logos, and face packs changes the game into the real deal.
So what do I have to do with this you ask? Well nothing I just love the game. What I want to do is create a retro roster. The amazing community at https://www.ehmtheblueline.com/site/ have lots of info in the forums on roster editing. They also have league templates for multiple different years. Based on those templates I decided to work on a 1990-91 database for EHM. My first version will only focus on North America but will include the NHL, AHL, IHL, and CHL (Canadian Major Juniors). Once a solid North America has been built I would look at European leagues and tournaments. Not sure how I will handle the USSR becoming Russia in December of 91 though.
With the rosters I want to do logo packs and face packs as well. To avoid interfering with modern logos I have been adding the "®" symbol against the teams name to differentiate it. Not sure how I will tackle face packs as it is name and date of birth. It breaks the immersion of seeing a 28 year old Doug Gilmour with a 61 year old face. Don't want to have to swap out face packs all the time. I may just have to fudge the date of birth for players who are coaches or managers today.
This is a 100% side project that will be done on my spare time. If it takes me 10 years to finish then so be it. I am saying this more to set the expectations for myself than anyone else. I have tried tackle FM databases and always get discouraged and quit because of the time involved. This time slow and steady wins the race. If I think the database is half decent I will share it on Steam.
That's it for me, thanks for reading and stay safe our there gamers.
Eastside Hockey Manager is the intellectual property of the Sports Interactive Ltd. and the Sega Corporation
This article is subject to Fair Use (US Law) and Fair Dealing (Canadian Law) as it is informational in purpose and is a critique of the product. All rights and credits go directly to the owners. No copyright infringement is intended
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