Rin

Fantastic artwork showed up in my Pixiv feed, feels very "Amberoid" inspired so I decided to draw on that for an introductory Rin sig.
 
The artwork: https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/108320025
 
And the album artwork I draw inspiration from, done by NEGI (my favorite Rin artist!)

Up until a small handful of years ago, you could legally sit in the back seat of a car without using a seatbelt if you were 16 or older. The VHL will never know what it's like to legally make those stupid choices.

Also, this popped into my head randomly almost 2 hours after I visited this thread...
 
YOU PLAY FOR HALIFAX NOW? Times have truly changed...

Have to wait for next week, but can claim the 4 uncapped this week

Sergey Preobrazhensky, Svatopluk Puk, Thadius Sales
 
Jordan Tate, Sam Tombstone, Jean Pierre Camus
 
Kyosti Karjalainen, David Jokinen, Ronan Lavelle

let's fucking GOOO
 
I want to make something similar, but I don't have good access to VHL data. Once I get a hold of it, this will be a LOT prettier

sim league immaculate grid supremacy

I'd say I'm sorry but I'd be lying.
 
It's VHL Grid! How much do YOU know your VHL player history?
 
The grid itself:

 
The intro, rules explanation, and quick mind dump about what I'd like to do with it going forward:
 
 

I'd say I'm sorry but I'd be lying.
 
It's VHL Grid! How much do YOU know your VHL player history?
 
The grid itself:

 
The intro, rules explanation, and quick mind dump about what I'd like to do with it going forward:
 
 

Yup, this definitely lines up with some of the things I thought about but didn't mention. Especially when it comes to copy/pasting pitches and spending too much time recruiting, I remember having to dump way too much time and effort into making waiver offers when I was GMing some draft pick-missing Houston teams. It definitely got redundant and honestly not worth doing at some point, so it makes total sense as to why the shift was made.
 
It still felt a little weird popping into the Halifax LR and going "hey, looks like I'm your problem now!" LOL

@Rin I think most people agreed that the old waiver system felt a lot more personal and interesting to a new player. However, there were a few key factors that led to the change.
 
1. GM's were just copy/pasting pitches. The personal touch was basically gone outside of the GM or AGM simply being around to paste a pre-written pitch. At that rate, it didn't make much of a difference to simply make those copy/paste pitches the official pitch a new player would see when examining teams on the portal.
 
2. GM burnout. You mentioned it yourself, GMs basically had to be around constantly on the forums or discord to be able to make a waiver pitch. The waiver system for the most part was always first come, first served in a way where most new players just signed with the first team that offered. This was fairly unhealthy for our GMs as we recognized how much time was being spent in this area, and we just weren't comfortable with it.
 
3. Refocusing the GM responsibilities. Personally, I really wanted to shift more of our GMs time into working with the players on their team, instead of wasting time trying to recruit players onto the team. I think everyone can agree that M GM jobs are one of the most valuable on the site in terms of engaging and retaining our userbase. We increased their job pay to 4 understanding the amount of time and effort needed to succeed in the role, and also used the waiver system to really give them more time for their players. As a whole with other rule changes to address parity/delete the boom and bust cycle, I think the M is a much, much better community and place for new players.
 
 

Anime W

I think that title is YouTube click-baity enough! Almost feels thumbnail-worthy, with some big ballooned up letters and a red arrow pointing to something.
 
At any rate, I figured I'd do my .com article this week as a reaction to some changes that probably happened a while ago. I was surprised that the whole process of reading pitches and signing onto a VHLM team via waivers has changed. Instead of having GMs post replies in a player creation thread and asking the player to confirm a selection within the thread, the signee can now simply click a button onto the portal to confirm their selection. Team "pitches" are also included on the portal, accessible via a button that presents the user with a message from the GM in conjunction with their predicted spot in the lineup.
 
I don't want to sound like a whiny old geezer, but I think I prefer the older method. I know there were always concerns over time zones, and waiver signings were treated more like a race of "who's online now" between GMs, but it felt much more personal with people essentially being forced to reach out to you. I'm not even a new member, but I found it a little awkward to just click a button and basically force myself onto a team. Am I needed here? Wanted here, even? I know those are questions easily answered with "of course, pick any team you'd like," it just felt a little uncomfortable choosing a team and saying "hey, I'm your responsibility now." I also really miss some of the graphics that went along with pitches- team banners, slogans, some people even made little contracts that were fun to read through. That much seems to be lost with the new portal method, which is a bit of a bummer.
 
Does that mean this is a BAD change? No, probably not. I can definitely see the advantages of this new portal solution; I'm sure GMs are happy about not having to camp out in the "new player" section in order for picks. It streamlines a process that, at times, could be very convoluted and even competitive for purely artificial reasons. But even though this new idea comes with a set of advantages, I have some nostalgia for the offer threads of yore.
 
For my weekly Rin song, I present "Utusemi," which is the only translation I'm able to find of this song's title. Since I made an Amberoid-inspired sig, it feels fitting to follow it up with a song from the album.
 

I think that title is YouTube click-baity enough! Almost feels thumbnail-worthy, with some big ballooned up letters and a red arrow pointing to something.
 
At any rate, I figured I'd do my .com article this week as a reaction to some changes that probably happened a while ago. I was surprised that the whole process of reading pitches and signing onto a VHLM team via waivers has changed. Instead of having GMs post replies in a player creation thread and asking the player to confirm a selection within the thread, the signee can now simply click a button onto the portal to confirm their selection. Team "pitches" are also included on the portal, accessible via a button that presents the user with a message from the GM in conjunction with their predicted spot in the lineup.
 
I don't want to sound like a whiny old geezer, but I think I prefer the older method. I know there were always concerns over time zones, and waiver signings were treated more like a race of "who's online now" between GMs, but it felt much more personal with people essentially being forced to reach out to you. I'm not even a new member, but I found it a little awkward to just click a button and basically force myself onto a team. Am I needed here? Wanted here, even? I know those are questions easily answered with "of course, pick any team you'd like," it just felt a little uncomfortable choosing a team and saying "hey, I'm your responsibility now." I also really miss some of the graphics that went along with pitches- team banners, slogans, some people even made little contracts that were fun to read through. That much seems to be lost with the new portal method, which is a bit of a bummer.
 
Does that mean this is a BAD change? No, probably not. I can definitely see the advantages of this new portal solution; I'm sure GMs are happy about not having to camp out in the "new player" section in order for picks. It streamlines a process that, at times, could be very convoluted and even competitive for purely artificial reasons. But even though this new idea comes with a set of advantages, I have some nostalgia for the offer threads of yore.
 
For my weekly Rin song, I present "Utusemi," which is the only translation I'm able to find of this song's title. Since I made an Amberoid-inspired sig, it feels fitting to follow it up with a song from the album.
 

1) It'll definitely help when I start building better, I feel like Rin atm is out there to stand around and hope the puck doesn't go in. Picking up the new building system has proved to be a learning curve.
 
2) Not fantastic. With a goal and two helpers to start her career and almost nothing since, I'd love to start throwing TPE at the wall to see if I can't get her to start producing more. We'll get there eventually.
 
3) Up until VERY recently, my answer would have been "none." Trying to interact with NHL fans online has felt like a lost cause, elitism runs rampant across hockey fandom and is especially perpetuated through YouTube (looking at you, UrinatingTree). Recently, though, I've found TheHockeyGuy AKA Shannon, and I've really loved watching his videos. Dude holds no biases, genuinely loves the sport and the inner workings of the league, and is a joy to listen to. It's unbelievably refreshing to hear someone who will speak positively about everyone instead of dumpstering certain teams and fanbases, especially as a Vegas fan. I've heard way too much of the "you don't deserve to be happy" or "you got handed a team" over the last few years, it's basically ruined my relationship with hockey fans as a whole. Hearing Shannon call out all of that bullshit and speak both happily and objectively about my team, as well as all of the others, is such a breath of fresh air that I can't recommend enough.
 
4) I'd love for the VHL team to be a total mystery, but as for the E...it seems like there might be a certain anime brother-in-arms (@Masu Chan) with a beautiful logo that might just serve as a nice home...
 
5) The Galveston Terrapins! Not that we would relocate, of course, but I love my turtle team.
 
6) Genuinely, absolutely nothing LOL. Houston is a wonderful place if you're 35, have a good job with healthcare, and have kids to put in good school districts. If that's not you, you probably shouldn't be here.

1) It'll definitely help when I start building better, I feel like Rin atm is out there to stand around and hope the puck doesn't go in. Picking up the new building system has proved to be a learning curve.
 
2) Not fantastic. With a goal and two helpers to start her career and almost nothing since, I'd love to start throwing TPE at the wall to see if I can't get her to start producing more. We'll get there eventually.
 
3) Up until VERY recently, my answer would have been "none." Trying to interact with NHL fans online has felt like a lost cause, elitism runs rampant across hockey fandom and is especially perpetuated through YouTube (looking at you, UrinatingTree). Recently, though, I've found TheHockeyGuy AKA Shannon, and I've really loved watching his videos. Dude holds no biases, genuinely loves the sport and the inner workings of the league, and is a joy to listen to. It's unbelievably refreshing to hear someone who will speak positively about everyone instead of dumpstering certain teams and fanbases, especially as a Vegas fan. I've heard way too much of the "you don't deserve to be happy" or "you got handed a team" over the last few years, it's basically ruined my relationship with hockey fans as a whole. Hearing Shannon call out all of that bullshit and speak both happily and objectively about my team, as well as all of the others, is such a breath of fresh air that I can't recommend enough.
 
4) I'd love for the VHL team to be a total mystery, but as for the E...it seems like there might be a certain anime brother-in-arms (@Masu Chan) with a beautiful logo that might just serve as a nice home...
 
5) The Galveston Terrapins! Not that we would relocate, of course, but I love my turtle team.
 
6) Genuinely, absolutely nothing LOL. Houston is a wonderful place if you're 35, have a good job with healthcare, and have kids to put in good school districts. If that's not you, you probably shouldn't be here.

Coming from someone who retired early as a first gen… lots of people told me my second player’s draft stock would suck, my HOF ballet is thrown out the window, blah blah blah. Don’t care I was tired of that player and I didn’t want to keep him as a chore just for my GM’s benefit. I was earning welfare each week and had no motivation.
 
I recreated Bobandy, won a VHLE cup and was 2nd in my draft class TPE by draft day I think. Went 4th overall because I wanted to play in Seattle. Now I’m in my third season with the Bears, I’m top 10 in assists and I still have 6 seasons left. It doesn’t feel like 6 seasons is far away at all because I’ve done everything “perfect” with this player and I’m fully enjoying him.
 
The carry over TPE and just VHL knowledge is awesome and it makes controlling your player a lot more fun. You don’t need to play all 9 seasons if you don’t want to and you shouldn’t let anyone tell you that you have to play them all. It’s your player so whatever makes you happy and whatever will make you enjoy the league the most is what you should do

Yeah, accumulating more stats/awards would be the motive for sticking around longer with this player. I'd say it really depends on what your goals are- is your player on pace to break any franchise records that would be fun to have? Do you think he could take home more awards and make a push for the hall of fame? Would you be on some cup-contending rosters that would boost your total cups as a member of the site?
 
Or, if you don't have anything particular you'd like to accomplish, does the idea of starting fresh sound a lot more fun? Picking a new name, coming up with a new backstory, etc are all really exciting parts of recreating, and sometimes it's really nice to just shake things up and start anew.
 
I hate to end it with "only you can decide," but it does ring true in this situation. If you're not specifically chasing after something, recreating at the TDL sounds like it would be the most fun option. Totally depends on what your own personal goals reflect, though.

Yeah, accumulating more stats/awards would be the motive for sticking around longer with this player. I'd say it really depends on what your goals are- is your player on pace to break any franchise records that would be fun to have? Do you think he could take home more awards and make a push for the hall of fame? Would you be on some cup-contending rosters that would boost your total cups as a member of the site?
 
Or, if you don't have anything particular you'd like to accomplish, does the idea of starting fresh sound a lot more fun? Picking a new name, coming up with a new backstory, etc are all really exciting parts of recreating, and sometimes it's really nice to just shake things up and start anew.
 
I hate to end it with "only you can decide," but it does ring true in this situation. If you're not specifically chasing after something, recreating at the TDL sounds like it would be the most fun option. Totally depends on what your own personal goals reflect, though.

hunter2

hunter2

Yeah, accumulating more stats/awards would be the motive for sticking around longer with this player. I'd say it really depends on what your goals are- is your player on pace to break any franchise records that would be fun to have? Do you think he could take home more awards and make a push for the hall of fame? Would you be on some cup-contending rosters that would boost your total cups as a member of the site?
 
Or, if you don't have anything particular you'd like to accomplish, does the idea of starting fresh sound a lot more fun? Picking a new name, coming up with a new backstory, etc are all really exciting parts of recreating, and sometimes it's really nice to just shake things up and start anew.
 
I hate to end it with "only you can decide," but it does ring true in this situation. If you're not specifically chasing after something, recreating at the TDL sounds like it would be the most fun option. Totally depends on what your own personal goals reflect, though.

And what dissuaded you from that notion? 👀