Steve

Damn, this is the hardest 150-word article I have tried to write. I have plenty of content, but the nature of it should be kept behind closed doors. So, I will look back a bit at some of the fun times with a couple of my previous players and how my experience was back in the day. I started with Guy LeGrande, a defenseman. I got into the league and didn't have a clue what I was doing. Thanks to one member, he helped me understand what I needed to do. There were several members that were all in with how to develop a player and I always had somebody motivating me to be the best I could be. Back then, the goal was to earn and get out of the M and into the big league. Something that has changed due to the skill restructure. It was a fun time and my first player had more good times than bad ones. I made friends and pissed off a couple of people along the way but at least I didn't change my approach to earning and expecting to be rewarded for my efforts. Ya, your first player is one to remember. Word count: 202

No AI here. Moscow skyline with some smoke brush effects.

Review: Well, this is a nice bright and squeaky clean looking graphic. Most graphics you see are lacking in one of the elements. Like the text being blurred or too dark. Not this one, you did a great job making a clear, unhindered graphic that is easy to look at. The render looks a bit rough but those stick cuts take practice. Nice background that works really well with the team color theme. The text looks really good, and I am not one that uses corner banner style of presentation. You did good. It's Malmo, there is not such thing as a bad graphic for that team. Great job. 9/10

Review: Another good-looking forefront graphic. Your render looks a bit low on resolution but that also gives a nice poster look with plenty of detail to go around. I like your logo swaps, you are becoming a master at it for sure. The background is blurred to a point that you didn't lose it's meaning but pushes the render to the front. Great job with that. The font looks workable, and the landing smears you used to put the text on looks really good too. I think the text is a bit dark though. That could be by design, but a bit of pop might have helped. Great job 9/10

Wow, Moscow has had a horrible run this season. It looked like it would be our strongest season yet, but we find ourselves on the losing end more times than not. What a crazy league this is. The silver lining is that I know we are much better than the standings indicate. I am just waiting for the pendulum to swing to the winning side. I am sure it will happen at some point. Speaking of the weather, it went from nice cool 70F sunny days to 108F sunny days. Talk about sucking the motivation right out of you. When there is a lot of snow on the ground, you wish for summer. Once it's here for a few days, you wish for snow. It's odd how that works. Speaking of fast food, I ordered a plain chicken sandwich and a large order of french fries for a mere cost of $18. What the actual hell is going on with this shit. Word count: 162

Presser for the week ending 6/16 1. What's the best movie you have seen lately? 2. Do any of the anime memes that get posted make you laugh? 3. Do you ride a motorcyle? If so, what kind? 4. We have had a rough patch lately. Has Simon finally lost his mind? 5. I have faith that we will climb in the standings by mid season, thoughts? 6. What is a question that I should ask next week?

Review: Well, this is a happy looking graphic, just look at the expression on the players face. It must be nice to be in Helsinki. The graphic is looking good. Very crushed blacks with a bright shiny face is a combination for success. I really like the dust/particle effect you threw on this project. The text is brilliant too. It has it's own look and fits in well. Good job with that. The logo swaps were believable and shows off some team pride. I like the background setting as the team marches down the hall. Very well done. 9.5/10

Review: Nice one Frank. Great looking sig. I like the color palette you used, very pleasing to look at, and keeps within the team color range. The render looks over cooked to give it that heavy look, I am a fan of that style. The text really is the star of this show. Very nice font and with the effects used, it looks amazing. The balance looks good on this almost square graphic and the background adds a bit of texture without going too far. Overall, this is well done and a winning recipe for a good looking graphic. Shake and Bake! 9.5/10

Here we go again. A brand new, fresh out of the box season. It looks like the “use by” date hasn't expired, so I think we have a shot at doing great things as a team here in Moscow. I will bet that we will not fall into a wild card spot this season. We should be in the fight with any team we face. With the players we have, we should match up well with other top teams. Yes, I know, this is Simon T and anything can happen, but at some point, your talent will overcome the shortcomings of the sim engine and shit will roll in the right direction. We should have our best players in the best positions and have the ability to slot in just about any winger on any line and still have a good outcome but will a different look. The idea to be able to change things up might not look like a big move on paper, but Simon will sim different depending on who he sees on what line. I expect some changes to roll through the lineup as we play through the season. We should be much more prepared to counter a strong team that tries to take an advantage. I am sure this isn't uncommon with most teams. The season is more of a testing period as long as you can win enough games to be in contention. A very positive vibe in Moscow right now. Let's see how the season plays out. Word count: 254

Presser for the week ending 6/9 1. The season started out a bit crazy, thoughts? 2. We seem to be settling in with the sim, do you like what you see? 3. From what I can tell, Moscow has the talent to win the cup, what do you think? 4. Syko looks really good for such a strange first few sims. Do you think he will continue to improve his stats? 5. How is your player doing so far? 6. I feel this will be another season that has our players reach career highs, do you agree?

Review: This is a really good looking graphic with several effects that makes it stand out. I like the depth of the whole graphic, well done. The motion blur on the render looks good and you didn't overdo it. You made a really good background with just enough texture to have it compliment the render. The text looks really good, though I am not a fan of the font. I think the only things I could say about this is one, remove NHL branding, and I think the visor could have been cleaned up a bit. Overall, a very good job. 9/10

Review: You have a lot of good things going on with this graphic. Very nice logo swap for sure. I like the textured background that has a green tint, ties it all together. Your render has a cool pose and is placed in a balanced manor. Text is big and bright, and I like the font. I think with a little practice on render cuts, you will produce some high-end graphics. Maybe make the render a bit larger. Overall, you did a great job. 8/10

This has been a good off season. Many Moscow players have improved, and it looks like we have a really solid team going into this next season. I hope we can build on our success from the win streaks we had last season and just be more consistent. I think the skill level overall is on par with most any team, so I would expect we push even harder come playoff time. I am not too concerned where we finish in the standings as long as we are in a playoff spot. As we all know, regular season success doesn't really translate into playoffs wins. It's always better to tinker with the lines during the season than try to come up with a fix against a team in the playoffs. At least you have an idea how lines will work with a couple of minor changes instead of worrying about the results of making a change without ever trying it. We will have to see how that all plays out during the course of the season. We have a good leader, and the team has been well engaged. It's a good time to be on the Moscow team. Big things are coming, I am sure of it. Word count: 207

Presser for week ending 6/2 1. Are you excited about the season starting soon? 2. Has the offseason helped your player gain some skills? 3. How do you think we will start the season? Win streak? 4. Do you have any ideas that hasn't been tried to get new players into the league? 5. What kind of music do you mostly listen to? 6. Do you follow Formula One at all?

Review: Man, what a title. I believe you didn't even need a graphic after that historical rundown, but I am more than happy to see that you did include a graphic. Not just a pretty face, but a backstory to go with it. Very clever indeed. Of course, your render looks well cut and the placement is balanced. Your logo placement is good, even the shoulder patches look well placed. Those can be tricky sometimes to get right but you did a fine job with this one. The text could not be placed any better, and the font is very fitting. Overall, great job. 9/10

Review: This is a really fun team graphic to look at. You did a great job with the team and league logos on the background and the render. Very well done. You layer effect really makes the background stand out, in a good way. The render placement looks correct and brings everything together. About the only thing that looks a bit off is the detail of the background compared to the render. I wonder if a bit of clarity or even sharpen would have added enough pop to the render without taking away from the rest of the graphic. Finding the right balance is the name of the game and overall, this is amazing. Very well done. 9.5/10

Another week of off season. I wish it could go on a few weeks longer. Nothing is more fun than not waiting for the sims to post, but that opinion is most likely just mine. Moscow had a great draft. Grabbing the top two players in the draft was amazing. Moscow is looking much better than last season and might be able to play harder against those pesky teams that beat us like a rented mule. I look forward to seeing how we settle in with our players really pushing for skills, we should have some very strong lines to ice. With our goalie getting his magic goalie skills up even further, we should stop a few more pucks from violating our net. Last season we saw several players have career highs. I think that trend will continue with the new faces and a strong work ethic, we should be able to build on our success and take the next step. I'm ready for training camp. Let's Go! Word count: 168

Presser for the week ending 5/26 1. What do you think about our draft? 2. Looking at our roster, it looks like we are in the best shape so far, thoughts? 3. Do you have a hobby? No, gaming is not a hobby. 4. Do you have a favorite NHL player? I like Kopitar. 5. Are you happy with the position you chose to play? I wish I was a defenseman. 6. Who do you think will score our first goal of the season? My pick is Lewis.

I have my eye on a tight end.

Transaction ID: 2MF07364BH3083436 Doubles Week 5 Uncapped 1 mil Player Store

Review: Well this is right in your wheelhouse. Do you have a template for the text? It looks like the same style you use on just about every graphic you make and it's clever to say the least. I like the contrast of this graphic. Nice random design background with a couple of renders. I like how the rear render is black and white, but you gave him a blue helmet, nice touch. The smaller render has just the right touch of processing to make it fit very well with the larger one. I like the highlight on the face of the front render, it really adds that detail that makes this style looks great. Overall, it's a BOOM graphic and looks great. 9/10