Howdy all, this is my fist post in a while, so bear with me. ;)
This just released by Jeff Riddolls, Producer of the Franchise Hockey Manager Team with Out of the Park Developments:
First, I'd like to thank everyone for their continuing interest in FHM, and particularly those of you who've made an effort to spread the word about our game. Naturally, there's been a lot of discussion and speculation lately about the release date.
After careful consideration of the current state of the game, the resources we have available, and the demands of OOTP 14's release schedule, we've decided that the first version of Franchise Hockey Manager will not be released until September 3. While we're happy with the way the game is shaping up, it's clear that pushing a 1.0 version out the door now, before it's ready, would be a disservice to our customers and could do a lot of long-term harm to what we think is going to be a great game. So we're going to take the time to do it right. And yes, that is a firm date this time - not "sometime in September," not "during the third quarter." Tuesday, September 3, 2013.
However, if you're really anxious to play, you won't have to wait that long to get your hands on the game. Since we realize that many people have been patiently waiting for a long time and were expecting a release this winter, we're going to begin accepting pre-orders much earlier than we normally would - March 4, to be precise. And anyone pre-ordering will get access to the Beta version of the game at that time. The pre-order price will be $29.99, $10 off the full price of $39.99. For that, you'll get the release version of the game in September, as well as all the Beta versions between March and the release.
Now, just to be very clear about what kind of a game you'll be getting in March if you choose to pre-order, I emphasize the word Beta. There will be bugs. There will be missing features. The database will not be as polished as it will be in September, and may be missing some playable leagues at the start. Your saved games will become obsolete as newer versions of the Beta are released. In short, all the annoying things you'd normally expect to see in a pre-release game.
Over the next month, we'll be announcing a detailed list of exactly what will and won't be in the Beta. We don't want anyone spending their money without having a good understanding of what to expect.
But the Beta version will be as playable and feature-heavy as we can make it, and we're going to spend the next month making sure of that. To that end, I've recently accepted a full-time position with Out of the Park Developments, and will be working as FHM's Producer, That brings our full-time FHM staff to three and allows Sebastian and Malte to spend more time coding and less dealing with all the other demands of a getting a game ready for release. We'll also be adding a few more researchers to our database team.
So, on behalf of the FHM team, I thank you for your continued patience, and ask for just a little more of it. We want this game to be one you'll play for many years to come.
Jeff Riddolls
Producer, Franchise Hockey Manager I for one, while mildly disappointed, ultimately think this is a fantastic decision. Hopefully now the hockey gaming/sim community can help with the beta testing and ensure a better product release in the fall of 2013.
This is from OOTP Developer Sebastian Palkowski:
IF we change the pre-order deal before September we will announce it way ahead so everyone can pre-order if he wants.
Some random answers:
- The moment you pre-order (whenever that is) you can download and play the game.
- you are not forced to install certain updates right away, it's totally up to you.
- We will try to make as many updates save-compatible as possible but sometimes it will not be possible. We will always make sure to give you the info with every update we release.
- No promises but one reason we decided on this schedule was the possibility to get the community more involved into the development process. With you guys playing/testing the game we will listen/discuss features for the game, moving them up and down our priority list. A fictional game start wizard and international play most likely will get some love from us as soon as possible. We already now that you want it. 
- Mac Version: I will not say 100% for a March 4th release but as I now how important the Mac OOTP sales are it is very high on my list. I will keep you updated.
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iOOTP Developer - FHM 2013 Developer And, finally some of the latest screenshots:
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