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***_Blitz_*** · 12-02-2023, 11:40 PM

Hey all!

It's been a hot minute since an actual State of the Sim. There's some possibly annoying news, and some that is more hopeful.

This season may be a little bit strange. We're making some changes, and it's also the holiday season. In fact, there will not be a sim on Monday, December 25th or Tuesday, December 26th since most of the sim team will be observing holidays. This will be accounted for by extra games per sim through the rest of that week.

Some of you might recall the survey that was sent out at the start of the summer that had a lot of sim-focused questions. The result was a call for more flexible scheduling, an increase of quick sims over live sims, and commentated games. All of that can be done, but not all at once. The SHL and SMJHL head offices, sim team, and I have been working on a few plans and pieces to get there. There were a lot of questions about the logistics of it all, and there's also been a lack of consistency in the sim team that should be addressed first. So, before anybody gets too excited, official commentated games are a ways off yet but they're the goal we're working toward.

So, starting Monday, all sims will be quick sims with shown box scores. As with most of the schedules this year, it will be a 5-day-per-week, 4-week sim calendar in the regular season. The idea is to get away from live sims for now and start over from a solid refresh point. We'll be focusing on sim procedure and getting to where the streams can pass from simmer to simmer with very little difference in the stream. The hope is to build out from a solid procedure for quick sims. This will last at least this season, and may stretch into next season. Aside from it being all quick sims, there may not immediately be a noticeable difference to the average user, and none of the procedures will have effects outside of the sim team. Moving forward will depend on the development of the next stage.

The next stage, however, is going to be a little more complicated. One of the biggest logistical issues in going from the Few Highlights (FH) live sims we've had to the new format is the increase in time required to play out full games. Most FH games are around 6 minutes long, juxtaposed with 20 to 30 minute games in Full View mode. We can't show 4 of those based on metrics, let alone 16 quick sims afterward or however many, it'll take hours. We have metrics from YouTube and also survey data that recommends very strongly to us that if a stream lasts longer than an hour, people start to lose interest very quickly. Multiple hours is a bad idea. So, the next stage is dedicated to trying out behind the scenes ideas for how to make the sim run with the GMs, file team, PT department, and head offices. It may seem like a regression to bring back FH live sims at this point, but it'll be a smaller and more manageable scale for what we eventually want to plan for the future. Beyond that, there's still a lot in development. I promise, I'm not playing coy, it's just not information that exists for us yet.

Finally, if you've got Adobe Illustrator or something similar, there's a job that will be posted some time fairly soon. As part of the reset, it makes sense to update the stream graphics for things like the start screen and transitions to make the leagues and tournaments more cohesive. Right now the stream graphic sets for the SHL, SMJHL, and IIHF/WJC look very different. There will be more on that in the job posting, but it's something to think about if you're inclined that way.

I know the scale for this seems drawn out, but we care about getting it right. That's going to take time while we experiment with different ideas and work on making good practices. If you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer them as best as I can. Otherwise, the sim team and I wish you all a safe, peaceful, and happy holiday season! Good luck in S74!

Troy_McClure03 · 12-02-2023, 11:46 PM

Howdy, great update. I just want to make sure I understand:

The Simmers will announce they are running the sim, and then the index will be updated? instead of any live streaming of any sims?

Or will it still be streamed still, but it will just be quick sims?

***HabsFanFromOntario*** · 12-02-2023, 11:55 PM

12-02-2023, 11:46 PMTroy_McClure03 Wrote: Howdy, great update. I just want to make sure I understand:

The Simmers will announce they are running the sim, and then the index will be updated? instead of any live streaming of any sims?

Or will it still be streamed still, but it will just be quick sims?

There will be a sim showing the box scores and details of each game

Troy_McClure03 · 12-02-2023, 11:56 PM

12-02-2023, 11:55 PMHabsFanFromOntario Wrote: There will be a sim showing the box scores and details of each game

That's what I sorta figured, Thanks!

Grum · 12-03-2023, 12:09 AM

Will playoffs be quick simmed as well?

***RAmenAmen*** · 12-03-2023, 12:53 AM

We pay PT passes to not watch games now?

***FuzzSHL*** · 12-03-2023, 02:01 AM

12-03-2023, 12:53 AMRAmenAmen Wrote: We pay PT passes to not watch games now?

Dude… you can’t be serious

Aleksi Kettu

NJBadApple · 12-03-2023, 02:22 AM

12-03-2023, 12:53 AMRAmenAmen Wrote: We pay PT passes to not watch games now?

Terrible take if you're serious.

***RAmenAmen*** · 12-03-2023, 02:25 AM

Obviously meant with hyperbole, sorry if that was unclear. But it's terrible to see live sims go. Nobody wants to turn on a stream to watch the box score when the index does the same thing. I hope we can find a solution that brings back an important part of the user experience.

Crazytomato · 12-03-2023, 02:51 AM

12-03-2023, 02:25 AMRAmenAmen Wrote: Obviously meant with hyperbole, sorry if that was unclear. But it's terrible to see live sims go. Nobody wants to turn on a stream to watch the box score when the index does the same thing. I hope we can find a solution that brings back an important part of the user experience.

I agree with this

***_Blitz_*** · 12-03-2023, 02:56 AM

12-03-2023, 12:09 AMGrum Wrote: Will playoffs be quick simmed as well?

Right now, we plan to keep one of the playoff formats we've been using, the 2 Sim or Intermission formats. There was an idea put forward to quick sim up to elimination games in the playoffs, but it was agreed that playoff games should be live as much as possible.

r0tzbua · 12-03-2023, 03:11 AM

Not a fan of this. Takes every little piece of excitement and engagement out of the sims and will impact retention especially of new user who love seeing “themselves” doing things in the sim.

I get streamlining and delivering a unified product but this ain’t it.

Amidships · 12-03-2023, 03:19 AM

12-03-2023, 02:25 AMRAmenAmen Wrote: Obviously meant with hyperbole, sorry if that was unclear. But it's terrible to see live sims go. Nobody wants to turn on a stream to watch the box score when the index does the same thing. I hope we can find a solution that brings back an important part of the user experience.

Agreed. I hope the new processes come about sooner rather than later; we're talking about two (or more) months of streams with just stat boxes (excluding playoffs?).

What was so wrong with the old system that it necessitates a rollback of the highlights version while the new process is determined? Honest question, not trying to be rude.

***_Blitz_*** · 12-03-2023, 03:19 AM

12-03-2023, 02:25 AMRAmenAmen Wrote: Obviously meant with hyperbole, sorry if that was unclear. But it's terrible to see live sims go. Nobody wants to turn on a stream to watch the box score when the index does the same thing. I hope we can find a solution that brings back an important part of the user experience.

I definitely understand and share that concern, and it was discussed. This reset was not an easy decision and the whole point is that live sims are not gone forever. They'll come back and we'll keep building up and better.

Mutedfaith · 12-03-2023, 03:35 AM

Might as well stop streaming at all, if youre not going to show any game action, but only a less convenient version of the index.

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