Our sixth update for FHM2, version 2.6.46, has just been released. (This was originally 2.6.45; 2.6.46 adds an automatic fix for existing saves with the two-GM problem that 2.6.45 only fixed in new games.)

Your existing savegames will be compatible with the updated game, but any fixes involving the database updates in the update will require a new start to be fully effective, and some of the update's fixes may not retroactively correct certain problems in existing saves.

In addition to these notes, we talk about a few of the changes in more detail at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAS7zqWW7B4

General notes: Unfortunately, a nasty bug slipped through testing in the last update, resulting in the AI occasionally hiring a second GM (and in rare cases, a third) and interfering in roster management. That led to a little initial confusion over exactly what the scope of the bug was, since we got a variety of different reports about the AI doing strange things, caused both by human users getting an unwanted co-GM and having to deal with AI teams with dual/triple GM's. That should all be corrected now. We'll still be doing the planned update post-trading deadline, but we didn't want to wait until then to get the fix out for the phantom-GM problem. The overall number of fixes and changes will be a bit shorter than usual this time, though, since we haven't had the normal amount of time to hit the smaller issues and suggestions.

While getting the bugs sorted out, we were also able to finish something we've been trying to add for a while: the addition of a full NHL-AHL-CHL setup for custom mode - you can now start with the real data for these teams and leagues instead of needing to use a generic setup and editing it yourself. Please be aware that putting the real data into the cut-down format of a fictional league is going to do some strange things, particularly with regard to roster management and player development. If you've wondered why the game runs much faster with only a couple of leagues present vs. the full-blown modern version that has the whole hockey world, this is a pretty good illustration of why: player movement and development is so intertwined between leagues that amputating all of organized hockey except the top two North American leagues and major junior has a big effect on the the surviving leagues. Look at this option as a way to do some quick-playing, fun games, as opposed to the heavy detail of a regular game. If there are game-breaking issues with this new mode, we'll fix them, of course, but we're not going to get bogged down in trying to achieve perfect realism for it, since it's intended, by design, to be a lightweight version of the main modern game.

Data is updated as of Sunday afternoon, so the Toronto-San Jose and Vancouver-Calgary trades aren't in the current database yet, but the Matthias to Colorado one is.

Changes:

1. Made salary assignments during initial drafts of custom leagues (that have salary caps) more forgiving for younger players, roughly corresponding to the NHL rookie maximum rules.
2. Two-way contracts should now be assigned to user-selected players in initial drafts.
3. Scoring summaries in the centre of the game view now have a little extra room to accomodate longer names.
4. Standings screens in leagues with the 3-2-1-0 points format will now be displayed in the format W-W(O/S)-L-L(O/S).
5. Playoff/non-playoff dividing line now shown in the KHL.
6. Contract expiry dates now shown on the staff screen.
7. AI teams (and assistants) will now tend to use two defencemen on the second power play unit more frequently.

New Additions:

8. Added real NHL/AHL/CHL league structures and data as an option in custom mode.
9. Trade deadline email reminder added.

Bug Fixes:

10. Owners will no longer occasionally hire a second GM in addition to the current one, resulting in various issues for the user's team where the "new" GM made undesired roster moves or blocked/reverted moves/trades initiated by the human GM, and similar issues when the human tries to negotiate with an AI-run team that has multiple GM's.
11. Scouts should now have their correct "home" regions highlighted, and inconsistencies between these and the scouting regions corrected - if a scout's home has any overlap at all with a scouting target area, he gets his home advantage for all teams in that area.
12. Scouts without a preferred region will no longer have the Danish Division 1 highlited as a home region.
13. Facegen uniforms should now always update correctly after player trades/moves.
14. Modern NHL playoff pairings should now always seed correctly.
15. Using "Set Initial Rosters by Draft" in historical leagues in years where the WHA is active will no longer result in a crash after setup.
16. Attempting to view some pre-1917 stats will no longer cause a crash.
17. Junior teams in custom leagues should no longer generate too many players from Aland.
18. Human-run NHL teams should no longer get error messages due to roster issues with their ECHL affiliates.
19. During contract negotiations, players should no longer occasionally say they don't want a particular role, then demand that role in their offer.
20. Fixed crash caused by KHL all-star game.
21. Players should not refuse "overseas" offers when already playing on that continent.
22. AI teams will no longer make trades for players with long-term injuries.
23. Rare crash in mid-March of 2016 fixed.
24. Scheduling issue that could prevent VHL playoffs from starting fixed.
25. Using the "Stop Draft" option no longer results in forfeiting of picks.
26. Historical WHA goalie stats no longer showing as NHL stats.
27. Various mismatches with imported stat histories corrected (ongoing process, please let us know when you see these.)
28. Crash when attempting to view player screen from Suomi-Sarja team history corrected.
29. If the trade deadline in a league is changed to be pre-December 31, it'll now correctly apply to the first year, rather than perpetually being pushed forward a year so it never activates.
30. Suomi-Sarja season end awards should now be awarded at the proper time.
31. Transactions screen will no longer describe some traded picks with the wrong round.
32. 1980 playoffs will no longer occasionally fail to start in historical leagues.
33. Scrolling down the season awards list after switching out of the goalie awards view will no longer cause a crash.
34. Certain contract extensions in online leagues that are signed during the regular season should no longer be repeated at the end of the season.