Fantasy Hockey League Simulator

We hear you loud and clear on support for FHL. This page is an effort, in tandem with the FHL Forum, to address your requests for better support.

We also have a FAQ section on the FHLSim Forum which has more updated content at http://pub40.ezboard.com/ffhlsimfrm7.

We've divided up the questions into three categories:

We hope you find what you're looking for. If not, you will need to request technical support which can take weeks!

Organizational Questions

What are the plans for future versions of FHL?
We are planning on two things:
1. Developing an upgrade for the product that will see many new features be implemented, including a league conversion tool. This will be a purchased upgrade. Price will vary with the number of features we implement. It will also depend on your registration of 1.0x.
2. Fixing the more nasty bugs in the current version. Bug fix releases (ie releases to the right of the decimal point) will remain FREE.

When is the release going to be available?
We are currently carrying out the QA for the next release of FHL. Our project plan will be posted here as soon as the current plans are agreed to and finalized.  We can't commit to any dates until FHL pays enough for someone to quit their job and do it full time (unlikely).

How can I buy FHL for Windows?
See our online purchase page.

Where did Sean go for so long?
Sean, like the rest of the FHLSim.com developers, has a day job, which sometimes requires a lot of his time. In an effort to eliminate these swings of inavailablility, we have added members to the team. With a product that grew beyond his expectations, the demands also have exceeded his ability to dedicate attention.

Why doesn't Sean or anyone return my emails? Where do I get support?
We are making improvements in that area.

Questions regarding FHL's status cannot be answered in email; we haven't a prayer in getting to them all. Instead, your questions will be answered at our Discussion Forum and here so that all may benefit. Our target is to return all support email (that include registration codes) within a week of receiving it.

Is there any peer support place where other GMs and Commissioners frequent?
The Fantasy Hockey Messageboard. Other commissioners may have answers from their experience with the simulatior. We have been frequenting that board to provide support as well.

Why doesn't a newer ratings file come with FHL?
There are potential issues with the NHLPA.  However, we believe a collaborative effort is both a cost effective and accurate alternative, since commissioners are already doing an excellent job.

The FHL players in the trenches can do a much better job of rating the players than can we. We salute those efforts and stand behind any effort to build the better ratings database. We have brought in a project manager to help centrally coordinate the delivery of ratings databases. Periodic updates will be available on the website.

Where can I download the newer roster files than the ones that come with FHL?
Al Barkhouse has the newest ratings set at http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Lodge/8728/ratings/
If you are interested in contributing to ratings database, contact the FHL Ratings Project Manager, Robin Benn, at sensimcommish@yahoo.ca.
The FHL Ratings and Statistics Council is the home page for a group of people from many FHL based leagues, dedicated to providing accurate and timely ratings updates
The Washington-California  FHL Home Page and Bo Siemsen has been kind enough to host the FRSC's ratings as well, since their home page has been down recently.

What are some guidelines for ratings on each player when constructing the ratings?
Al Barkhouse has developed some standard calculations at http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Lodge/8728/ratings/ghlrateguide.html

Will XtraStats be combined with FHL?
As many XtraStats features as possible will be integrated into the new release of FHL. Bear in mind that XtraStats is a separate program and won't be integrated completely, but there are many things that can be better from within FHL. The maintenance releases will continue to be compatible with XtraStats for as long as XtraStats is developed, although it will lag behind FHL releases. We are making stability a priority rather thean extra features. XtraStats will remain free.

Program Problems

GM Editor doesn't install on Windows NT/2000/ME!

1. Install GM Editor on a differnet OS (Win95/98) and then zip up the GM editor folder.
2. Unzip the GM editor folder on NT/2000/ME in c:\Program Files\GMeditor.
3. Add a shortcut to gmedit.exe on your Start menu, desktop or anywhere else you like it.
4. You may require the FHL support files.

My registration code doesn't work!

I get a runtime error the first time I run v1.3?

The issue is related to the seeming lack of installation of the default league file. Provided you install FHL in C:\Program Files\Fantasy Hockey League\, you can Right-click and Save-As the following file in your %FHLHOME% folder: fhl.def

I can't seem to sim a day of games. FHL gets to a certain game and produces a message saying "stop statement encoutered" how do I fix that?
One of the teams submitted a lineup with less than 3 RW, 3 LW, 3C, 6D, or 2G. FHL 1.x insists on at least those numbers dressed.

Why doesn't v1.1 age my players?
This was a bug fixed in v1.041 but came back in the v1.1 update (ugh). Before running the final playoffs, use v1.041's fhl.exe. When the champ is crowned FHL will ask if you want to re-rate the players. Answer yes and they will be aged and re-rated.

I get an unexpected error when I try to run my games. It runs some games from the day then dies.
This one can result from an old lineup being loaded and a goaltender gets put into a skater position. Check the teams involved and their lineups. Another way to avoid this is to Auto Set Lines, then load lineup files.

I am getting an access violation when trying to install
You can usually safely ignore this error. The most common files that this occurs with is with MSVCRT40.dll, MSVCIRT.dll and Expsrv.dll

Its obvious you have the file already because the error is an access or sharing violation. The file is loaded... thus the reason for the error.
MSVCRT40.dll is an older file and the program is not offering anything new that would need to be updated as it applies to this file.
Expsrv.dll is a brand new JET database file that Microsoft uses with the newest JET database engine. An MFC class program was running when you attempted to install the program or if it was not running an MFC class program failed to close this shared windows file when it closed.

You have a 99.9% chance of being able to safely ignore the error and continue with the install. However, this file has a little brother called msvcirt.dll. You may receive the error again with this file because when the former is running so usually is the latter. Windows will make this sound scary to do but move along any way.

To avoid this type of error in the future, close down every program you can find that is not needed for Windows to run. Usually this is Explorer and Systray. You can find those programs when you CTRL-ALT-DELETE one time. End task on all program but the above and exit out of all programs in the task tray. (The task tray clock seems to be part of systray so don't close that one) You still may receive the error if an Operating system program is using the file.

If you continue to have installation problems, look in your %FHLHOME% folder for the file called st6unst.log. Open it with Notepad and you may find the source of the error. Failing that, send it to Technical Support and they will analyze it for you.

I am having trouble installing the update support files!

Because we are not running an install package, you may need up unzip them to a temporary folder (say c:\fhltemp), then reboot in DOS only mode.

1. Hit F8 on Startup of Windows.
2. Select Command Prompt Only.
3. Use the follwing command to copy the files to your windows\system folder:
   c:\windows\command\xcopy c:\fhltemp\*.* c:\windows\system\
4. Caution: If a file already exists, DO NOT overwrite it! This likely won't have any dire effects, but it could replace a newer version of a .DLL with an older version.
   Either way it is certain to mess up the versioning that Windows records in the registry.

I think my draft pick file is corrupted! How can I fix it?

1. Back up your league files.
2. Create a new league with the same team alignment and team names.
3. Delete your old .dpk file.
4. Copy over the leaguename.dpk file from one league to another.
   So the new league you create is called TEST, and your old league is called MYLG. You will have a TEST.dpk. Copy TEST.dpk to MYLG.dpk.
5. This will restore your draft picks to a clear default. Then you can trade the picks around to represent previous trades that have involved draft picks until the draft pick situation is proper.

FHL crashes every time my team roster report is output. How can I fix it?

Get the 1.3 patch.
Rename your lgname.csr file to lgname.csr.old. You'll lose trade splits info but it should work.

FHL crashes every time my team prospects report is output. How can I fix it?

See above.

My league is messed up and I don't have a backup! How do I fix it?

99% of the time if you restore from backup before you post results (to the web for your GMs to see) that include irregular data, you can restore from a backup, repeat the operation properly or at very least repeat the bug. Also read this FAQ beginning to end.

If you can repeat the bug, then that helps us fix any bug that may have caused the problem (it's not always a bug!!!). If you can repeat the operation properly, life is good eh?

Now, if you're a poor schmuck who didn't backup then here's how you could recover. Your mileage may vary.

1. Exit FHL and back up your league. Let's say it's called toastlg. Put those files in %FHLHOME%/toast/.
2. Create a new league called newlg. Use your old league files in %FHLHOME%/toast/toastlg.drs as the source data roster for creating the new league.
3. Make sure the teams in the new league are named exactly the same with the exact same team alignment.
4. You now have a virgin league called newlg.
5. Rename the newlg.ros to newlg.ros.old, and copy with the toast/toastlg.ros to newlg.ros.
   Repeat this step for your .tms and .lge files.
   Now you should have a relatively sane league unless some stats in your team's accumulated stats in the .ros file.
6. If you want your other league information back, then refer to what is in each league file and restore them one by one.

Another way is to try to mix and match your swap files in there instead of new virgin files, especially if the league files are corrupted an the virgin files you create either don't exist or would really mess up your league. The swap files would hold the very latest league database updates that may never have been re-integrated into your league files.

How do I deal with bug reports?
Check out our Bugs page.

Hints and Tips

I downloaded a file for newer players called filename.drs. How do I get it into my league?

1. Back up your league files (see below).
2. Create a new league. Use your existing league as the base.
3. From Explorer, rename the new league's leaguename.drs file to leaguenamebak.drs.
4. From Explorer, copy in the new file, filename.drs to the league's folder
5. Rename the filename.drs to leaguename.drs.
6. From within FHL, load the new league files using File|Load.
7. Run the File|Player Database.
8. Click Update Player Stats. FHL will then update each player's ratings in the .ros file from the new .drs file.

I have a new .drs file of players I want to add or update (aka rerate) in my league? How do I do this safely?

Players currently on teams in the league will only be updated if the exact name match is included in the DRS file. Players not currently in the league database will be added to the league if they are in the .drs file.

1. Back up your league files to a zip file.
2. From Explorer, rename the league's leaguename.drs file to leaguenamebak.drs.
3. Extract the new .drs file in the %FHLHOME% folder.
4. Start FHL.
5. Load your league files using File|Load unless they already come up.
6. Run the File|Player Database.
7. Click Update Player Stats. FHL will then update each player's ratings in the .ros file from the new .drs file.
8. Players not existing in the .drs file will not be affected in the league files.
9. If you have problems, you can back out by unzipping from the zip you created in step one.

How can I reset my entry draft? When conducting a draft, how do I update all my Available Players List for the Entry Draft list?

Use this procedure if you have accidentally started a draft and now want to either reset the draft or update the players list in the draft.

Overview: Create a new league from your last post-playoff league files, then create a clean set of draft files using a newly updated list of names. This set of updated draft files can then be used to replace the "dirty" league files.

1. Backup your Current League Files to a separate folder or zip file.
2. Load your last Playoff Files into FHL
3. Goto League/Start New Season, click Yes when ask.
4. Save League Files to a new folder, using the same name as your Current League Files.
5. Click Draft, now you should have the Begin Entry Draft Option, Select it.
6. Click Yes to Begin Entry Draft.
7. Point to the updated .txt containing you Available Players for the Entry Draft.
8. Click Exit, once the list loaded.
9. Save your League Files.
10. Exit FHL.
11. Just to make sure, Copy (don't move) your Backup League File to your default folder (where it was located before).
12. Copy the *.drf from the location at step 4 (above) to your default folder.
13. Start FHL.
14. Click Draft, now you should have the Continue Entry Draft Option, Select it.
15. Click Yes to Continue Entry Draft.
16. Start your Draft with your Updated Available List.

Thanks to Yves Allaire yves.allaire@videotron.ca.

Is there any way to import/export a database of players into my league files?

We are working on a tool that will convert a text and comma database file into a .drs file, which you can then update your .ros files from. The format will be:

Where the fields are defined as follows:

Your league files are all yoru league database files in your %FHL% folder. Say my league was called sensim, and I installed to c:\Program Files\Fantasy Hockey League\. The following files are my league files:

swp files are the temporary working files FHL uses to ensure some league file integrity is maintained. Unfortunately, runtime errors and other Windows errors ruin this otherwise decently functioning failsafe. Here are the mappings of swap files with league files.

The easiest way is just to copy them to a sub-directory. If you have Winzip and the command line add-on, you can do it easily with a single icon.
Just use this as the command line:

"c:\Program Files\WinZip\wzzip" \progra~1\fantas~1\leaguefiles.zip \progra~1\fantas~1\sensim.*

What the heck are .drs and .ros files anyway?

.DRS and .ROS files are your league's player database files and can be found in your %FHL% folder (where your FHL.exe lives)
.DRS files are the data files that contain all the players in your current league.
.ROS files are the data files that contain all the players currently on teams and thier accumulated statistics in your current league.

How do I repopulate my .drs file from my .ros file.

There is a way to repopulate your .DRS file with your .ROS. All you need to do is first   go into players database and click on
clear db (back up first!), then release each player one by one. Once done re-assign them to their team and you'll have an up to date .DRS.

Thanks to Yves Allaire yves.allaire@videotron.ca

How do I update my current player skill attributes?

There are two ways. Confusing but true.

To update your current league's roster player ratings (.ros file):

1. Back up all your league files in %FHL% (in case you want to undo this operation).
2. Select a team in the FHL Commish tool.
3. Coach|Set Game Roster.
4. Double-click on a player.
5. Double-click on the rating you'd like to change, or in the case of age, right or left click to decrement/increment respectively.
6. Exit and answer Yes to Keep Changes? dialog box.
7. File|Save.

To update your current league's player database (.drs file):

1. File|Player Database
2. Select a player.
3. Change the attribute of your choice.
4. Click on Update Player. This updates just the .drs file.
5. Click on Merge DB. This updates ALL player statistics.

How do I create an All-Star game?
The best way is to create a cloned league and trade the all-start players onto two renamed teams.

1. Close FHL.
2. Use Windows Explorer to create an Allstar folder underneath the Fantasy Hockey League directory.
3. Copy your league files to Allstar.
4. Open FHL.
5. Load the league files in Allstar.
6. Rename two teams to the Allstar teams (ie: Campbell and Wales, World and North America, etc.)
7. Trade the players onto the two Allstar teams.
8. Run an exhibition game between the two teams.

How do I draft a random team? I heard there was a way to do it.
FHL 1.x supports assigning players to teams once they are created. I will give specific instructions here on how we did it for Sensim.

You can use a macro package such as MacroExpress to record and play back messages to the FHL GUI. Windows macro packages record GUI navigation commands such as keyboard presses, mouse moves and clicks as something called "messages". These messages are sent to a programs message queue, and the program responds to them whichever way the programmer intended.

Macro packages allow you to create and record those messages and play them back to the application window of your choice. It's not perfect, the macro packages are a little like typing on a headless console (no monitor). There is no way for the macro to know if the GUI is actually doing what was supposed to happen or not.

1. I created the teams in the league. Sensim has a simple format - 4 division of 5 teams each. File|Save
2. Exit FHL and save your league files away somewhere safe.
3. Start FHL again, and get familiar with Draft|Assign Unused Players. Know how many TAB presses gets you to what buttons that you need.
4. Create a macro that assigns a the next player off the unassigned lest to each team just once. This is the part that takes work. Be sure to return the selection focus (the dotted line around the control) to the same textbox/button/control as when the macro started. Fortunately I still have my macro file from creating SenSim this year. You can see what messages I developed if you use MacroExpress.
5. In the macro editor, duplicate the macro as many times as you can. I think I managed to do around twelve rounds for twenty teams.
6. In the macro editor, assign the macro to a hotkey like CTL-ALT-SHIFT-D or something. This means that at one keypress, I assigned 240 players randomly!
7. If you know how, speed the macro up to like 50% of normal speed. It saves a lot of time.
8. Re-load the original league file. This one might be screwed up (some teams may end up with extra players if you don't).
9. Start hitting CTL-ALT-SHIFT-D and watch the GUI be driven by the macro to assign the players. Walk away once it looks like it's working.

Thanks for your support,