A new update for Franchise Hockey Manager 4, version 4.7.80, has just been released.

This will be the final update for FHM4, barring any critical issues that require a small hotfix update in the future. It includes the final stage of the tactical role/line AI changes that have spanned the last couple of updates, updates the rosters to include the moves made at the NHL trading deadline, and a number of other changes. The tactics changes in particular may have a significant impact on your current games, so it'd be a good idea to take a close look at the strategy screen after you update.

We'll now transition over to beginning work on FHM5, but we'll still be monitoring our forums and Facebook (FranchiseHockeyManager), Twitter (@FranchiseHockey), and subreddit (reddit.com/r/FranchiseHockey) on a daily basis, answering questions and offering help as needed, so if you have any problems or suggestions, please let us know. Thanks for your continued support, and we look forward to a showing you the new things we're planning for FHM5 in the coming months.

Your existing savegames will be compatible with the updated game, but some of the update's fixes may not retroactively correct certain problems in existing saves.

Changes and Additions:

-database updated as of NHL trade deadline, many other minor changes and cleanup work also done, including expanding and improving draftable players eligible for the 2019-2021 NHL drafts
-significantly adjusted tactical role fit score calculations - you'll see a significant decrease in the number of players getting 5 as a fit score for a particular role. This may also result in significant shifts in which tactics are suitable for a team (with many players at the maximum score last time, it made it a little more difficult to distinguish what was best, since it was easier for players to fit more tactics.) If you're continuing a save, you may want to check the suitability ratings of your current tactics and consider shifting to something else (if not immediately, then in the offseason) if your current tactics don't look like such a good fit anymore
-historical games started in 2009 will no longer crash during setup
-potential crash on July 2 fixed
-fixed blank player name appearing in the depth chart top prospect list
-trade value of players who are in their last allowed year in a league (i.e. overagers in the CHL) is now set to nothing after that season ends, so they can't be traded to the AI in return for players/picks that are actually worth something during the weeks between the end of the playoffs and the beginning of a new season on July 1
-newly-created players edited to an AI-run team will no longer be stuck wearing #0 despite their preferences, they'll get a number assigned automatically upon being added to the team
-the icon for the All-Star game "award" on the player screen will now update properly to show the correct total number of ASG's the player has been in, and will give their years accurately
-players will no longer occasionally be submitted to the waiver list twice when waived, potentially leading to multiple claims
-players deleted from the database (e.g. as duplicates) should no longer appear in the game as nameless retired players
-NHL playoffs from 28-29 to 37-38 will no longer put the #1 team in the Canadian division in the spot belonging to the #3 team from that division in the opening series, in addition to its own regular spot against the American division winner, occasionally leading to the same team playing itself later in the playoffs (and the series consequently not being played)
-the Team Info screen should no longer crash due to retired number errors (the errors themselves will be fixed, but this should prevent future crashes when something goes wrong when they're edited in)
-the user's news subscriptions should update to his new league when his team is promoted or relegated
-fixed incorrect first pair defenceman role requirement for the offensive tactics "Stay in Your Lanes!" and "The Funnel"
-goalie of the year award (and postseason all-star team goalie selection) formula changed to reduce importance of shutouts and add save percentage weighting
-NHL entry-level player contracts for 18-19-year-old players should now slide properly if the player plays in the AHL or ECHL (possible if he's drafted from Europe/NCAA) and doesn't play 10 NHL games that season
-custom league expansion drafts now use the default NHL expansion draft eligibility rules rather than making all players, even rookies and just-drafted players, eligible
-fixed possible crash with a particular custom league setup
-fixed issue where AI had trouble building lines for small rosters (e.g. early historical) if several dual forward/defencemen-type players were present
-fixed issue where the load game screen would show a save with the name ".", and deleting that would remove all the contents of the save folder
-starting point totals in second stage of Suomi-Sarja season should now be carried over from the first stage
-corrected problem where a Stanley Cup win in early historical years may not be credited properly in end of season results and achievements
-storylines that create player injuries should no longer trigger the news story for an off-ice injury as well as their own news item, leading to two different descriptions of how the injury occurred
-when managing and international team, all tactics will no longer show a suitability of 5
-players in a league's main nation should now never be considered foreigners, even if their team is based elsewhere
-fixed issue with play-by-play events on the in-ggme screen for away teams not being shown on correct side
-fixed issue where AHL developmental player rules were still being applied to teams after their season ended, preventing a user-run AHL team from advancing if some of his younger players went on international duty
-top goalie/postseason all-star goalie formula added a qualifier to eliminate from consideration goalies who didn't play many games
-fixed issue that could result in user in GM-only game moving into GM/Coach mode despite still having a head coach on his team
-fixed rare issue where a player could be assigned to a under-19 farm team despite being well over the age limit
-fixed potential crash in early September when user has become unemployed in recent months
-AHL captains will no longer need to be re-chosen if one of them passes through NHL waivers at the start of a new season
-fixed trade proposal PM so it doesn't call the buttons below the message "the controls above."
-custom league with 16-team playoffs should now give home advantage to the higher seed correctly in later rounds
-the playoff screen in the historical years the NHL is using the 1v3 and 2v4 system should now label the seeds correctly
-minor text and grammar fixes