Gustav

@Beaviss

Seeing as this is week 2 of not finishing an ambitious project that should really be a media spot (and probably will be if I run out of claim weeks on my current one), I need a .com article! What better to talk about than what I do for a small bit of job pay on this site--running a team. I've now been a GM in both the VHL and the VHLM, and here's what I've found different. There is so much less of a definite way to do things. We're 13 years into this league, and I consider it an unsung benefit of the weirdness of STHS that there's no real "best" way to build a team in the VHL. Everyone's got a different plan, everyone has to think long-term, and making moves up here is so much more enjoyable than in the minors, where "can I win a cup this season" is the defining factor in the great big "do I tank or go all-in" meta. Locker room activity is just as important up here as it is in the minors. Yes, in general, VHL team locker rooms are less active than their VHLM counterparts. Fresh faces come in, ask questions, and get used to the league and its environment in the minors. That's just how it is. That doesn't mean at all that activity is not a GM's responsibility at the big level. A dead Discord means inactive members--remember, as a VHL GM, you're someone's GM for six months after you draft them, and whether or not you're able to keep that player active and interested for those six months is quite often entirely on you. You aren't "that guy who helped me" to nearly as many people. Seriously, I got so much unwarranted worship (yes, including from myself) as a VHLM GM just by being active and available to answer questions. Sure, you can be super active and helpful at the big level, but you'll never be worshipped by the new guys at the same level as you get to be in the minors. I wouldn't go back down for anything, but this is the one part of running a VHLM team that I really do miss.

Wonderful game by Bruden here. Anyone yelling about how I'm stupid for not making a 900-TPE goalie appear out of thin air hasn't been paying attention lately.

Should I link this? Sure, I'll link it. Let me know if there's anything I should add or do differently; I've never done one of these before.

Podrick Cast - Class of S69 Position: C Birthplace: Berkshire, United Kingdom Height: 6'3" Weight: 186 lb. Drafted: S61 3rd Overall, Riga Reign Username: @Victor Asking most VHL members about the best player of the S60s will very likely turn up the same answer, and it isn't Cast. The two-way play of Matt Thompson made him a perennial favorite in fantasy leagues, leaving the subject of this article, at times, "Cast" out of the limelight. It would be a stretch to say that, beyond fantasy love, Thompson was all that far ahead, though--Cast ranks above him on the all-time points list and ended up with a list of awards which would make most other players jealous. A pure scorer who only once broke 100 hits, his agent once said that he had no regrets in this regard, and justifiably so. Cast did what he did better than anyone else in the decade, and for that reason he was easily admitted to the Hall of Fame in his first season of eligibility, making him Victor's fifth player in a row to be inducted. Career Awards S61 - Christian Stolzschweiger Trophy (Top Rookie) S62 - Mike Szatkowski Trophy (Most Points) S62 - Kevin Brooks Trophy (Most Goals) S62 - Scotty Campbell Trophy (Most Valuable Player) S62 - Brett Slobodzian Trophy (Most Outstanding Player) S63 - Continental Cup S64 - Scotty Campbell Trophy (Most Valuable Player) VHLM Career (S60) 72 GP | 38G - 38A - 76P | +14 | 12 HIT | 20 SB Playoffs: 6 GP | 2G - 1A - 3P | +1 | 1 HIT | 2 SB Though Cast's VHLM career wasn't exactly one for the ages, he was a valuable contributor for the then-Oslo Storm. His scoring balance showed a flash of what was to come--putting up just as many goals as assists, Cast was able to establish himself as the player to look for, the one to put the puck in the net and the one to make the plays that mattered. This statline, combined with his agent's reputation as a master builder and all-time great earner, was enough to propel him to third overall in S61, behind Thompson and Samuel Gate. S61 (RIG) 72 GP | 49G - 48A - 97P | +14 | 88 HIT | 28 SB Being on a non-playoff team, Cast was immediately thrust into a significant role, and he did not disappoint, fully living up to early-first-round expectations with 97 points. Once again showing his flair as a pure scorer, he put up more goals than assists and sat on top of the rookie pile with a point total impressive for a player at any stage of their career, playing far ahead of the 56-point Thompson and earning the Stolzschweiger to cap it all off. S62 (RIG) 72 GP | 79G - 95A - 174P | +81 | 121 HIT | 46 SB Playoffs: 3 GP | 2G - 3A - 5P | +4 | 5 HIT | 2 SB ...and then S62 happened. In a season that saw point inflation in general across the league, Cast rose to the top and managed to lead the league in points in his second season. By far his best, his point total in S62 was only ever beaten once by Scotty Campbell (who, mind you, played in an era of generally higher point totals), a figure which inspires awe for any member who knows their league history. Adding a +81 rating to his over-a-goal-per-game point total, Cast was an incredible force for the good of Riga whenever he stepped onto the ice, and to say that his four individual awards (Szatkowski, Brooks, Slobodzian, and Campbell) were all very well-earned would be an understatement S63 (RIG) 72 GP | 50G - 56A - 106P | +53 | 79 HIT | 32 SB Playoffs: 11 GP | 3G - 6A - 9P | -4 | 9 HIT | 2 SB S63, widely considered the first strong first-gen class of the modern era, saw the league begin to fill up, and the point totals and widespread inflation of S62 was generally reigned in. With that fell Cast's numbers, but there's no way to logically claim that he didn't still play at a dominant level. Already sitting among the league's elite in his third season, Cast broke 100 points and hit 50 goals and became a major part of a Riga team which would go on to win that season's Continental Cup. S64 (RIG) 72 GP | 48G - 54A - 102P | +38 | 68 HIT | 16 SB Playoffs: 7 GP | 1G - 8A - 9P | -1 | 5 HIT | 4 SB Once again breaking 100 points, Cast's S64 season was brilliant. Though not leading the league in goals, assists, or points, or winning any other awards, he was awarded the Scotty Campbell Trophy at the end of the season for his second MVP win. Still putting up goal numbers just short of his assists, Cast was still the man to look for when Riga wanted the puck in the back of the net. Though Cast's streak of 100-point seasons would come to an end in S65, his strong play would, obviously, continue. S65 (RIG) 72 GP | 41G - 54A - 95P | +34 | 21 HIT | 23 SB Playoffs: 5 GP | 0G - 4A - 4P | -1 | 2 HIT | 2 SB The S63 class rising to prominence, the league continuing to fill up in S64--whatever you want to call it, Cast's continued slight decline in production could be readily explained away. Who cares? He continued to play at an elite level. The fact that, in his fifth season, 95 points represented a career low should be a testament to his great success. With a career low in goals, too, and a more typical goals-assists split, S65 was the first season where Cast may not have appeared as a freak of nature, a sentiment punctuated by a lack of individual hardware. There is still no denying that his play was stellar, and in an ever-lower-scoring era, lowering point totals left him not the slightest bit out of the league's elite. S66 (RIG) 72 GP | 33G - 47A - 80P | +39 | 65 HIT | 22 SB Playoffs: 4 GP | 2G - 1A - 3A | -1 | 1 HIT | 4 SB ...and then S66 happened! Quite the opposite of S62, S66 was a season that flipped the league on its head. With a stellar draft class that had active players selected through and even after the fifth round, recruitment was popping, and even with the addition of Malmo, rosters were relatively full and points became more spread-out. This was, unsurprisingly, Cast's career-low season, in which he put up a career-low (career-low!) 80 points, over a point per game. His +/- rating of +39 was the greatest indicator of Cast's true value to his team, on par with his earlier seasons and showing the statheads that even among a somewhat off season, he was up there with the best. S67 (MOS) 72 GP | 46G - 58A - 104P | +19 | 19 HIT | 16 SB Playoffs: 5 GP | 0G - 2A - 2P | -1 | 2 HIT | 3 SB S67 saw yet another expansion, with two teams being added in Prague and DC. It also saw Cast being traded to his agent's team, Cast breaking 100 points for the fourth and last time in his career, and Cast leading Moscow, a team in its third season of existence, to the playoffs. Though one might argue that a move to a new environment, combined with rosters opening up somewhat with an expansion, might have been responsible for Cast's rebound here, breaking 100 points was, by this time, a significant achievement for any player anywhere, and there's no doubt that a reasonable amount of success on Moscow's end was largely due to his presence. S68 (MOS) 72 GP | 33G - 55A - 88P | +11 | 26 HIT | 39 SB S68 was Cast's farewell tour, anchoring a Moscow team which didn't make the playoffs but was very much a sign of things to come--lesser-known elite Randoms, who would go on to play a major part in the team's historic S70 run and cup win, was spending his second season as Cast's teammate, while franchise goaltender Raymond Bernard had just been selected at the end of the first round. With more S66-like numbers, Cast still managed to put up an elite point total, managing to retire after three seasons of depreciation with over 1100 TPA and a career for the ages. Career Totals 576 GP | 379G - 467A - 846P | +289 | 487 HIT | 222 SB Playoffs: 35 GP | 8G - 24A - 32P | -4 | 24 HIT | 17 SB Podrick Cast ended his career at 15th on the all-time points list, with a point total not exceeded since Franchise Cornerstone's retirement eight seasons earlier. The casual, late-S60s-first-gen-wave member never quite knew Cast as dominant as he was early on in the decade, but those who do remember can still look back on his quick rise to the top and best-player-in-the-league domination during that time and shake their heads in amazement. Cast likely lost out to Thompson in terms of being the most recognizable name of the decade, but the fact that both of those players are worthy of being mentioned in the same sentence--and in the same induction--is a testament to the domination of both. Cast was built purely to score, and score he absolutely did, en route to a career among the greatest of all time.

Shut up and approve my updates

Hello to everyone who's been keeping up with and/or playing Town of Salem here in the VHL! Whether you've stuck with it from Game 1 or you've just recently joined the madness, thank you for making it fun for myself, yourself, and others. I'm going to open up this thread as a change log for our forum games, to track what's changing and when...including this bit. BlankMediaGames, the makers of the actual online game of Town of Salem, announced during our last game that changes have been made to said game. Many of these changes simply have to do with streamlining gameplay and have nothing to do with our forum format, but there are many others which have to deal with game mechanics which I am able to (and, as a result, am going to) implement in our games. Here they are: -The Retributionist role has been reworked. Previously, a Retributionist was able to revive a dead Town member and bring them back into the game. This is no longer the case. The Retributionist now works like the Town's Necromancer--they are able to "reanimate" rather than "revive" a dead Town member's body, not bringing them back into the game but being able to use their role for a night and perform their action. The Retributionist will be seen visiting the person being reanimated rather than the target of the reanimation. The Retributionist may not revive targets who have been cleaned or stoned. The Retributionist may now be a Town Traitor, though they remain a unique role. Here is the role's new wiki page. -Amnesiacs may now remember unique Town roles such as Jailor, Mayor, and Retributionist. This was previously not allowed due to the possibility that the Retributionist might revive such a role as or after it is remembered by an Amnesiac. -Previously, investigative roles controlled by a Witch or Coven Leader would still receive their investigative results, albeit for a person other than who they initially targeted. Now, the Witch or Coven Leader will receive these results while the investigative role will receive none. In addition, the Necromancer previously received no investigative results when reanimating a dead player. They will now receive said results. By extension, the Retributionist will be able to receive investigative results from dead investigative roles. -An Ambusher will now receive a message when they attack someone. -Previously, a Hex Master would not attack all non-Coven players if they died the same night all non-Coven players became Hexed. This has been changed--if this happens, the Hex Master's attack will occur. -Defense messages have been standardized! If someone with any level of defense, whether temporary (given by a protective role or a bulletproof vest) or innate (for roles such as Godfather, Coven Leader, a bunch of neutrals) is attacked, their attacker will receive the same "defense is too high" message. Heals by a Doctor, or attacks on a Witch while the Witch had basic defense, previously did not return any message to the attacker. This has been changed, and players in these situations will receive the standard message.

For the week ending 8/2: 1. Davos is off to a decent start! Right now, we're fourth in the league, and the top isn't too far away. How do you feel about our chances this season, compared to the last? 2. The team lands in LA for (I think) its longest away-game flight and just wants to go to the hotel. What's the best cheap, quick takeout you can think to order? 3. What does your ideal Davos jersey look like? 4. If we had an alternate or secondary logo, what would it be? 5. NHL hockey is back! Will everything go as planned? What are your predictions for the rest of the season? 6. Yesterday, it was announced that the affiliation the VHL previously had with the SBA has been reinstated! What are your thoughts on the situation as a whole? @Sonnet @McWolf @David O'Quinn @Ahma @Josh @Brrbisbrr @PadStack @gorlab @Velevra @DMaximus

This got interrupted by the birthday triples week, but here's my week 2 claim.

Welcome back!

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I love this! I was super critical of the SBA at first but eventually, for myself (and I assume many others), it got to the point of "let's just get together and have fun again." I'm very happy to see that's what's happened.

The end of Day 7 has arrived! @Z16 has been arguably one of the town's best SHERIFFS of all time, having lived longer than any other and being one of only two to ever find a suspicious target. That doesn't stop the town from trying to take him out, though--three innocent townies decided to tread on @rjfryman, the VETERAN, last night, and suspicion immediately arose upon the one guy who didn't. So, up he goes, down he goes (though the trip is shorter, for obvious reasons), and the town has killed their Traitor. CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNERS, THE TOWN...AND THE SURVIVOR! That's it for this one; I hope to see many of you back for Round 9, coming approximately whenever I feel like it. Here is a link to dead chat for anyone who wants to join in the post-game discussion (whether or not you played!), be notified about future games and game news, and generally have a good time. Here is the game's spreadsheet, for all the nerds

Ferk is dead; I'm just a bit stupid. That's 5 people alive and 3 votes needed for those keeping score at home.

Correction: Barzy was a Lookout, not a Doctor.

The town wakes up to "Fortunate Son" blasting at full volume from the fire station. The VETERAN was guarding their house last night, and those left dead are as follows: @eaglesfan036, a DOCTOR Last will: @Nykonax, a DOCTOR Last will: @BarzalGoat, a DOCTOR Last will: Day 7 begins now! List of those alive (6):

That would be a question for San Diego management, but I know IR has picked out of a pool before so I wouldn't rule anything out!

That's fine; separate threads worked a lot better for me and my team personally because I followed the job opportunity forum and relay every new thread to the Discord. It's hard to keep track of the megathread, and while it can certainly be done, I'm finding it more difficult to stay on top of, in large part because there isn't a separate topic and I'd have to check the thread to be sure it's an actual opening instead of just someone adding their name to the list.

mobile Gustav noises @a_Ferk ded and he was a Tracker. @a_Ferk @BarzalGoat @Devise @eaglesfan036 @Nykonax @omgitshim @rjfryman @Spartan @Z16 I’ll get some other stuff (last will and any cleanup that needs to be done) out later tonight as I’ve got no time right now. Late morning tomorrow (finally!) so hopefully that makes up for the late night.

Apologies in advance for the general incoherence; I'm both tired and in a bit of a rush.

So this occurred to me today upon seeing that San Diego is hiring an AGM (yes, that's right, San Diego is hiring an AGM; click that link, new people). We saw big, centralized hiring threads going up after a few fairly justified user complaints relating to transparency and accessibility of job placement over direct contact from up top. The premise behind that was cool and everything, and I understand it well--make things publicly available and let GMs and higher-ups see a list of who's interested rather than just pick someone who they like without asking around. I'm sure that works in some cases, but it does make me wonder whether the thread thing actually helped anyone. The way I see it is as follows: -If you have someone in mind that you want to hire, you're going to hire that person whether there's a thread up or not. I've done this myself, even when I did put a thread up. -If you don't have someone in mind and want to pick out of a pool of applicants, it's still the smartest move to put up your own hiring thread. It's more visible and much more clear without clicking through that there is an open job rather than someone just adding their name to the list of generally interested people. Having this list is OK, but I'm still very much in favor of opening up separate threads for each hiring (which GMs do have the option to do). If the league wants to address transparency in GM hirings, then put up threads for GM hirings when they come up. The megathread idea was cool at first but now that I'm almost missing just about every job that arises and not being able to get the point across to my players in time (and I'm sure I'm not the only one here from a player or a GM standpoint in this situation), I'm starting to see the flaws of the current system. Let's be more transparent, yes--but let's not do it in a way that causes people to miss out on some opportunities which would otherwise have been widely visible.

Just a note for everyone: I am once again unable to guarantee that I'll be there right at 9 tonight. Go use your obsessive page-refreshing time on something more productive.