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Development Diary 1: COMMUNICATION & CONSULTATIONS
Let us introduce first publication of weekly cycle about Sokker development. For the start we will present our ideas for project transparency and overall communication, closely linked with community involvement and consultations, to give you possibilities to affect our direction and upcoming range of changes.
COMMUNICATION
Development Diaries – every next Friday you can expect another work summary. In that kind of news we will publish different scopes of information’s – focused on already made upgrades and changes, sometimes based of prepared ideas, or encourage you for discussion about specific range. Our main principle is to keep project regularity and transparency.
Sokker Development (en) – we created dedicated forum, pin up as default for any user. Its purpose is not only to take over “Ideas” forum role (so give you chance to share own ideas and update requests), but also to create a place for complex game development communication. You will find there any news and information published by Dev’s and general discussion about all changes.
Please note: creating new forum doesn’t mean, that we will forget about “Ideas” forum. All threads gathered there will be soon researched and analysed in terms of our current work.
CONSULTATIONS
As we mentioned in Monday announcement about Sokker Development Project, we believe that community involvement is a necessary part of whole process, to keep proper “game spirit” and use its full potential.
From the early beginning your engagement is noticed, we receive and read lot of great ideas. But to give them a chance to get realized we need to organize the way of working between us, prepare form and sequence of applications. Discussion will be proceeded in stages, to set specific topics and areas to start consultations with.
At Sokker Development (en) you can find first three consultations threads:
„Sokker – main motivation” – we would like to know what is essential for “game spirit” for you, what exactly keeps you in the game for such a long time.
„Most expected change” – from the other side, we would like to read about opposite – most annoying, demotivating part of the game, that maybe sometimes even makes you to think about leaving.
„Beginners problems” – with game development we need to make Sokker more attractive for new users, so we will be glad to hear your opinion about new managers and problems they force, why it’s so hard for them to keep playing?
As you can see, we will start with some general discussions, but extremely important. Based on your responses and thoughts we will set some crucial game values and project assumptions, to find a clear guidance for game development direction, choosing new ideas and evaluate relevance of proposed solutions.
Hope to meet you soon at Sokker Development (en), we count on your help and knowledge!
Let us introduce first publication of weekly cycle about Sokker development. For the start we will present our ideas for project transparency and overall communication, closely linked with community involvement and consultations, to give you possibilities to affect our direction and upcoming range of changes.
COMMUNICATION
Development Diaries – every next Friday you can expect another work summary. In that kind of news we will publish different scopes of information’s – focused on already made upgrades and changes, sometimes based of prepared ideas, or encourage you for discussion about specific range. Our main principle is to keep project regularity and transparency.
Sokker Development (en) – we created dedicated forum, pin up as default for any user. Its purpose is not only to take over “Ideas” forum role (so give you chance to share own ideas and update requests), but also to create a place for complex game development communication. You will find there any news and information published by Dev’s and general discussion about all changes.
Please note: creating new forum doesn’t mean, that we will forget about “Ideas” forum. All threads gathered there will be soon researched and analysed in terms of our current work.
CONSULTATIONS
As we mentioned in Monday announcement about Sokker Development Project, we believe that community involvement is a necessary part of whole process, to keep proper “game spirit” and use its full potential.
From the early beginning your engagement is noticed, we receive and read lot of great ideas. But to give them a chance to get realized we need to organize the way of working between us, prepare form and sequence of applications. Discussion will be proceeded in stages, to set specific topics and areas to start consultations with.
At Sokker Development (en) you can find first three consultations threads:
„Sokker – main motivation” – we would like to know what is essential for “game spirit” for you, what exactly keeps you in the game for such a long time.
„Most expected change” – from the other side, we would like to read about opposite – most annoying, demotivating part of the game, that maybe sometimes even makes you to think about leaving.
„Beginners problems” – with game development we need to make Sokker more attractive for new users, so we will be glad to hear your opinion about new managers and problems they force, why it’s so hard for them to keep playing?
As you can see, we will start with some general discussions, but extremely important. Based on your responses and thoughts we will set some crucial game values and project assumptions, to find a clear guidance for game development direction, choosing new ideas and evaluate relevance of proposed solutions.
Hope to meet you soon at Sokker Development (en), we count on your help and knowledge!
Dev. Diary 2: MAIN ASSUMPTIONS
Today we would like to share with you our main assumptions, in terms of the changes we are working on. Thanks a lot for the exciting discussions at Sokker Development forum, sharing your best ideas and a very clear vision of what is most important for you in the game.
The assumptions we have prepared will keep us straight in evaluating different solutions, creating new ones and help us as a guide for the game development direction.
GAME SPIRIT
First of all we would like to share with you the things, that won’t change. After last week's consultations via forum we see practically full compliance. Moreover, we also fully agree with you about some major points:
Game without pay2win – Competitions were honest and this won't change. We don’t want to develop any paid bonuses giving a real advantage over players without a subscription. Of course the game needs revenue to be developed (especially in case of needed changes), so that's why we'll work on PLUS ideas to make it more attractive, but you won't be able to “buy” a better place in league or any other improvements.
Game engine, tactics and 2d matches – These things will be changed only as much, as it’s necessary according to technical problems (flash expiration, new code, etc.). We believe, that one of most important game advantages is the option to make a real impact with tactics and to see how our ideas are executed by the players on the field. Visualization is simple and intuitive. We will develop it, but we will try not to lose its original spirit.
Simplicity – The main aspects of Sokker are easy and simple to learn. It’s also easy to notice the impact of our decisions on various elements of the game. We will avoid unnecessary new elements and try to focus on upgrading and extending current ones. Some of the changes and novelties will be designed for more advanced players, but there will be no need to use them for everyone.
Moderate game timing – Sokker is different than a lot of quick mobile games and we believe, that it’s a huge advantage. Our game needs patience and long term thinking, giving a chance to fit for different players. There is no huge difference between everyday players or those, who have much less time. But, few elements will be changed for sure – according to the fact, that the current length of a whole season is a barrier for new players.
Community – Being a Sokker community member is not only building your own best club, it's also the atmosphere and fun around the game. We'll keep an eye on forum and relationships and try to make them alive. There is no need to change too much in that area, but for sure we'll add some improvements which can benefit conversations.
CHANGES
So, what will be changed? Here you can find the main game areas that need to be upgraded or developed from scratch. These are not final ideas – it’s a kind of overall map for you, to point out the most important priorities to be addressed.
Play to win – The current game mechanism is demotivating for players focused on results. We will propose some solutions to change that, giving extra motivations for winning, new official competitions to fight in. One of the biggest issues is, that club development is possible only by using a second match in the week for training. That lead us to some upgrades about the training system (but one training update per week on Thursday will not change). Our new idea is to avoid forcing managers to let all their players play for training.
Competition optimization – We want to address the issue of the extremely long season in Sokker (only 3 full seasons per year, which is demotivating for many new players) and also give managers a chance to join different kinds of tournaments. We will propose a new competition idea, with some small game acceleration, to make the season shorter, and to add a completely new Cup. We want to present our ideas for consultation in the upcoming weeks.
Game balance – With the game's long history it’s easy to notice what areas are not balanced enough. Currently we have a huge number of top players, even in low divisions (like in Poland). The transfer system promotes daily trading and benefits managers, who are slowly gathering their founds to invest after a few seasons in their “dream team”. New players have huge problems to reach higher divisions.
All these issues are very complex and connected, so we need to act carefully and with some different, but consistent solutions. We need to upgrade the game mechanics to create more balance: to give some motivation to reach as high as your team can get, and also to help beginners improving their teams much easier than experienced players. It will be much more difficult to train the best Sokker players and differences between league levels should become less significant. To achieve all that we need to change the game economy, training speed, and a lot of small parameters, that need to be analysed and tested.
Easy to learn, hard to master – Sokker is an easy game and it should stay that way. But many game areas have a great potential to be extended, as long as the manager is given the choice to explore them or not. We want to let you some freedom to decide how deep you want to dive in. It’s a kind of a major development philosophy we will follow. It will be implemented in different areas, from game interface to stadium or youth school management. It’s also most important for beginners, to give them guidance and the right path to learn the game step by step (few options will even be blocked for new managers).
Goals and achievements – Only a few managers are able to fight for the highest prizes, since there are not too many places in the top divisions. But we know, that everyone of you has individual goals and aspirations about different game challenges. That’s why we will develop new, more feasible achievements, starting with seasonal goals, a more detailed team history and progresses presentation, ending with some new ranks and statistics, not only connected with game results.
Storytelling – This is a very important point for us, but untill now it is almost non-existing in this game. A lot of users tell stories for themselves, create own rankings, summaries, club articles, or even some “Sokker news” initiatives. We believe that most of you want to feel that history of your club being alive. Managers write their own stories, create legendary players and the game world is dynamic and full of events. We will apply storytelling on a few areas:
Dedicated „pressroom” page – Here we will see news about our club and competitions, but also reports from our staff, like training summary or tips from our assistant, and many more.
Extended statistics and records – This will give you a chance to follow different rankings and summaries, based on team, competition or players.
“Follow” option – You'll get the ability to follow news about some other parts of the game – national teams, contests, specific players, etc.
Bot teams elimination – Sokker is most attractive when we compete with real players. Therefore clubs without managers will be withdrawn from competitions at the end of the season.
New graphic design and UX – We need to redesign game graphics and user experience, to make it suitable for current times. We will focus on new players, to give them a chance to engage in the game and learn it with some tutorial help. For some fans of the classic design: There is no need to worry, we will keep the old graphic as an option, too.
Summarizing: As you can see, the areas that we are working on are not a revolution for the game. We rather focus on the best parts, to improve and rebuild them if needed. The development process will be long enough to give the managers a chance to fit into the new reality and adjust their club strategy.
In the upcoming months we will share more detailed solutions with you, divided on specific areas, to consult them more closely and one by one.
Today we would like to share with you our main assumptions, in terms of the changes we are working on. Thanks a lot for the exciting discussions at Sokker Development forum, sharing your best ideas and a very clear vision of what is most important for you in the game.
The assumptions we have prepared will keep us straight in evaluating different solutions, creating new ones and help us as a guide for the game development direction.
GAME SPIRIT
First of all we would like to share with you the things, that won’t change. After last week's consultations via forum we see practically full compliance. Moreover, we also fully agree with you about some major points:
Game without pay2win – Competitions were honest and this won't change. We don’t want to develop any paid bonuses giving a real advantage over players without a subscription. Of course the game needs revenue to be developed (especially in case of needed changes), so that's why we'll work on PLUS ideas to make it more attractive, but you won't be able to “buy” a better place in league or any other improvements.
Game engine, tactics and 2d matches – These things will be changed only as much, as it’s necessary according to technical problems (flash expiration, new code, etc.). We believe, that one of most important game advantages is the option to make a real impact with tactics and to see how our ideas are executed by the players on the field. Visualization is simple and intuitive. We will develop it, but we will try not to lose its original spirit.
Simplicity – The main aspects of Sokker are easy and simple to learn. It’s also easy to notice the impact of our decisions on various elements of the game. We will avoid unnecessary new elements and try to focus on upgrading and extending current ones. Some of the changes and novelties will be designed for more advanced players, but there will be no need to use them for everyone.
Moderate game timing – Sokker is different than a lot of quick mobile games and we believe, that it’s a huge advantage. Our game needs patience and long term thinking, giving a chance to fit for different players. There is no huge difference between everyday players or those, who have much less time. But, few elements will be changed for sure – according to the fact, that the current length of a whole season is a barrier for new players.
Community – Being a Sokker community member is not only building your own best club, it's also the atmosphere and fun around the game. We'll keep an eye on forum and relationships and try to make them alive. There is no need to change too much in that area, but for sure we'll add some improvements which can benefit conversations.
CHANGES
So, what will be changed? Here you can find the main game areas that need to be upgraded or developed from scratch. These are not final ideas – it’s a kind of overall map for you, to point out the most important priorities to be addressed.
Play to win – The current game mechanism is demotivating for players focused on results. We will propose some solutions to change that, giving extra motivations for winning, new official competitions to fight in. One of the biggest issues is, that club development is possible only by using a second match in the week for training. That lead us to some upgrades about the training system (but one training update per week on Thursday will not change). Our new idea is to avoid forcing managers to let all their players play for training.
Competition optimization – We want to address the issue of the extremely long season in Sokker (only 3 full seasons per year, which is demotivating for many new players) and also give managers a chance to join different kinds of tournaments. We will propose a new competition idea, with some small game acceleration, to make the season shorter, and to add a completely new Cup. We want to present our ideas for consultation in the upcoming weeks.
Game balance – With the game's long history it’s easy to notice what areas are not balanced enough. Currently we have a huge number of top players, even in low divisions (like in Poland). The transfer system promotes daily trading and benefits managers, who are slowly gathering their founds to invest after a few seasons in their “dream team”. New players have huge problems to reach higher divisions.
All these issues are very complex and connected, so we need to act carefully and with some different, but consistent solutions. We need to upgrade the game mechanics to create more balance: to give some motivation to reach as high as your team can get, and also to help beginners improving their teams much easier than experienced players. It will be much more difficult to train the best Sokker players and differences between league levels should become less significant. To achieve all that we need to change the game economy, training speed, and a lot of small parameters, that need to be analysed and tested.
Easy to learn, hard to master – Sokker is an easy game and it should stay that way. But many game areas have a great potential to be extended, as long as the manager is given the choice to explore them or not. We want to let you some freedom to decide how deep you want to dive in. It’s a kind of a major development philosophy we will follow. It will be implemented in different areas, from game interface to stadium or youth school management. It’s also most important for beginners, to give them guidance and the right path to learn the game step by step (few options will even be blocked for new managers).
Goals and achievements – Only a few managers are able to fight for the highest prizes, since there are not too many places in the top divisions. But we know, that everyone of you has individual goals and aspirations about different game challenges. That’s why we will develop new, more feasible achievements, starting with seasonal goals, a more detailed team history and progresses presentation, ending with some new ranks and statistics, not only connected with game results.
Storytelling – This is a very important point for us, but untill now it is almost non-existing in this game. A lot of users tell stories for themselves, create own rankings, summaries, club articles, or even some “Sokker news” initiatives. We believe that most of you want to feel that history of your club being alive. Managers write their own stories, create legendary players and the game world is dynamic and full of events. We will apply storytelling on a few areas:
Dedicated „pressroom” page – Here we will see news about our club and competitions, but also reports from our staff, like training summary or tips from our assistant, and many more.
Extended statistics and records – This will give you a chance to follow different rankings and summaries, based on team, competition or players.
“Follow” option – You'll get the ability to follow news about some other parts of the game – national teams, contests, specific players, etc.
Bot teams elimination – Sokker is most attractive when we compete with real players. Therefore clubs without managers will be withdrawn from competitions at the end of the season.
New graphic design and UX – We need to redesign game graphics and user experience, to make it suitable for current times. We will focus on new players, to give them a chance to engage in the game and learn it with some tutorial help. For some fans of the classic design: There is no need to worry, we will keep the old graphic as an option, too.
Summarizing: As you can see, the areas that we are working on are not a revolution for the game. We rather focus on the best parts, to improve and rebuild them if needed. The development process will be long enough to give the managers a chance to fit into the new reality and adjust their club strategy.
In the upcoming months we will share more detailed solutions with you, divided on specific areas, to consult them more closely and one by one.
Dev. Diary 3: Status of work
Today we will inform you about things that we are already working on and describe some elements that we changed or will change in the upcoming days. As mentioned in our first news Flash replacement is our main priority right now. We will give you more details about that and about some other improvements.
Flash
The process to replace Flash started a few weeks ago. We already found developers who rewrite all the game elements based on Flash. The work needs to be completed step by step, of course, and the most time-consuming parts, e.g. the match engine, need a lot of work and patience. In the upcoming days we will replace a few Flash elements like:
1. Stadium viewer
2. Players portraits
3. Post game summary and statistics
We have already been working on the match kits configurator and the tactic editor. They still need to be improved in the upcoming weeks however.
We will also fix the problem with Google Chrome and the 2D match viewer. It will only be a temporary solution, but it should help some users to enjoy the game until the new visualization is completed.
Game engine – code upgrade
Parallel to replacing Flash we also started rewriting the back end, especially the “daily update”, which pushes the game forward day by day. Due to outdated technology some pieces of code need to be replaced with PHP. Our work on that part will be invisible for users (and also doesn’t affect gameplay), but it is necessary to give us a chance to implement any other, more advanced changes connected with Sokker and its game mechanics.
Leagues - reorganization
For now we have a lot of abandoned divisions in Sokker. There is also some potential for reducing the number of leagues at some levels. After the current season we will merge leagues and delete unnecessary divisions.
This should lead to more exciting rivalries between new managers, since they are facing more human controlled teams even in the lowest divisions. We will also drastically reduce the number of bot teams.
Other changes
300 sec. match viewer waiting time deleted – We decided to remove that element. Users without Plus will not be forced to wait for their game to start. To be honest – video-advertisments before the game will be introduced with the full relaunch of the game, but for sure with shorter duration than before. The advertising on YouTube is the best benchmark for it, with an included countdown button.
Relegation bug in junior leagues – There is a bug, that allows users to stay in their junior division even if they are endangered with direct relegation. Using the withdraw option and then joining the league later again, managers can reset their position and start a new season in the same division. That bug will be fixed and withdrawing a junior team will result in relegation to the lower level league.
Today we will inform you about things that we are already working on and describe some elements that we changed or will change in the upcoming days. As mentioned in our first news Flash replacement is our main priority right now. We will give you more details about that and about some other improvements.
Flash
The process to replace Flash started a few weeks ago. We already found developers who rewrite all the game elements based on Flash. The work needs to be completed step by step, of course, and the most time-consuming parts, e.g. the match engine, need a lot of work and patience. In the upcoming days we will replace a few Flash elements like:
1. Stadium viewer
2. Players portraits
3. Post game summary and statistics
We have already been working on the match kits configurator and the tactic editor. They still need to be improved in the upcoming weeks however.
We will also fix the problem with Google Chrome and the 2D match viewer. It will only be a temporary solution, but it should help some users to enjoy the game until the new visualization is completed.
Game engine – code upgrade
Parallel to replacing Flash we also started rewriting the back end, especially the “daily update”, which pushes the game forward day by day. Due to outdated technology some pieces of code need to be replaced with PHP. Our work on that part will be invisible for users (and also doesn’t affect gameplay), but it is necessary to give us a chance to implement any other, more advanced changes connected with Sokker and its game mechanics.
Leagues - reorganization
For now we have a lot of abandoned divisions in Sokker. There is also some potential for reducing the number of leagues at some levels. After the current season we will merge leagues and delete unnecessary divisions.
This should lead to more exciting rivalries between new managers, since they are facing more human controlled teams even in the lowest divisions. We will also drastically reduce the number of bot teams.
Other changes
300 sec. match viewer waiting time deleted – We decided to remove that element. Users without Plus will not be forced to wait for their game to start. To be honest – video-advertisments before the game will be introduced with the full relaunch of the game, but for sure with shorter duration than before. The advertising on YouTube is the best benchmark for it, with an included countdown button.
Relegation bug in junior leagues – There is a bug, that allows users to stay in their junior division even if they are endangered with direct relegation. Using the withdraw option and then joining the league later again, managers can reset their position and start a new season in the same division. That bug will be fixed and withdrawing a junior team will result in relegation to the lower level league.
Today we are going to open the discussion about something that already became a hot topic on Sokker Development forum – How we want our league system to be organized. We have listened to you and among all of your ideas we have selected three options. Here are the key points that we want to achieve in our new league system:
1. Shorter season: We are targeting 12 weeks, which would be 25% less than now.
2. We want you to have the opportunity to play more games. Currently those teams eliminated from the National Cup are only left with one league match per week.
3. We want to keep our moderate week flow as much as possible. Sokker is not a fast arcade game with matches played every day and we would like to keep this unique character of the game.
Below you can see visualisation of three different season fixtures with description. We are putting it up for your discussion. We would love to hear what you think, so please share your opinions with us on Sokker Forum and please take a minute to fill out the survey. Feel free to share your thoughts about your own ideas and amendments. Before we show you our three options, we want to propose some new general rules first.
International Cup – we are introducing a new international cup which is very similar to the very well known UEFA Champions League. The competition format will consist of a group stage with home-away system and the two best teams from each group will play in a knock-out system. In play-off there will be only one match. The losing team will be eliminated from the cup.
It is important that all players will get the opportunity to play in a cup. This will be a great chance to compete against other players from different countries and of course this will provide you with better match earnings. The competition format will be similar to our league system. Lower levels will have more teams. On the highest-level champions of the top leagues will play against each other and consequently if you are the champion of one of the lower leagues you will play against a team from a different country at a similar level to even out chances. The Cup will be designed in a way that the higher level you play, the better financial rewards you get, and fans will be more likely to buy tickets. By doing this we are aiming to motivate you to try to achieve the highest possible position in your league.
National Cup – we want to start a discussion about two possible options:
1. All teams from the same country are eligible to take part in the National Cup. This means that clubs from lower leagues might get the chance to play against one of the top teams in their country.
2. As an alternative to this proposal, we will have two Cups: A National Cup and a League Cup. Only teams from leagues 1-3 will play in the more prestigious National Cup. That way we should be able to keep a higher level of competition and teams from league 4 and lower will be less likely to get eliminated in the first rounds. Leagues lower than 4th will be divided into regional cups (4 League Cup, etc.) accordingly to number of leagues on certain level. One cup will never have more than 512 teams.
We will open a separate topic on Sokker Development Forum with an attached survey to give you the opportunity to have your say.
Training – this will be discussed in details in a separate Developer Diary where we are going to introduce proposition to changes, but as you can already see an increased number of matches will require a little bit of different approach to training. We want to give you more flexibility while setting up your squad. There will be a balance between the desire of upgrading the skills of your junior players and trying to achieve good results in official games.
Promotion and relegation Play-offs - Teams will fight in play-offs where the winner of two games (home and away) will be awarded with a promotion to a higher league. Teams that aren't playing playoff games can play friendly matches instead.
Friendly matches – From now on friendly matches will only have a minor effect on your training. You will be able to play friendly match only after being eliminated from the cup. This will not apply to Arcade matches as they have no effect on Sokker reality.
Propositions to the league system
Option 1
Each season has 12 weeks. Each week has three matches that are played on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday. Three league matches will have to be played on a weekday. Since the International Cup requires six matches during group stage, moving a few league matches to weekdays at the end of the season will allow us to play two official matches almost every week, even for teams that are already eliminated from the cup.
Option 2
In addition to option 1, league matches and cup matches will always take place on the exact days as previous weeks. Additional league matches will be scheduled on Tuesdays. Due to the same reason as above those matches will be played at the end of the season.
Option 3
This proposition is the most revolutionary. We are increasing the number of teams per league to 12. Similar to the current league system, each week day will have its own competition assigned. The biggest change here is that there will be two league matches weekly but as a benefit, we will be able to increase the number of teams per league to 12. This will also affect the promotion and relegation system: The two best teams will have a chance to get promoted to a higher division, the six teams occupying the last six positions can be relegated.
Apart from league matches we have set two consecutive days for the national and international cup.
We cannot wait to see what you guys are thinking and what your choices are. We would like to ask you just for one thing before you leave your comments. Try to put yourself in the shoes of somebody who just joined the game. As much as we value our current users, we would also like beginners to get more involved in the game.
You can find the polls here:
* League system: https://www.webankieta.pl/ankieta/523386/league-system-options.html
* National Cup: https://www.webankieta.pl/ankieta/523392/national-cup-options.html
Facebook profile
Last but not least we would like to invite you to join our official Facebook profile where you can find up to date information regarding game development.
Published on May 1, 2020
Dev. Diary 5: New Training changes
This week we would like to present our new training approach. You will find all informations below.
At the same time we are working on the final version of the new season calendar. That part will be presented next week, as it still requires some time.
Training changes
The training system is going to be adjusted. The main goal is to fit the maximum number of trainings into a higher number of matches in a week. This will make training more flexible so that it is possible to build the team not as trained formation vs untrained but more as it is in real life - experienced players vs young players introduced to the first team.
The key change is that instead of having one training match order you will be able to prioritise training for several formations at the same time. Obviously ther will be some limit which is 10 slots per week to allocate.
Additional rules to new training:
1. We keep training match order limits – you can train a maximum of 6 strikers, 2 goalkeepers. Playmakers and defenders will fit into the limit. You can assign a different skill for each of the 4 positions.
2. The players assigned to the 10 training slots will always receive training, even if they haven’t played a match during the week. However, they will receive a significant bonus to their training depending on how many minutes they played.
3. Minutes played in official games will be much more valuable than the same minutes gained in friendly games.
4. To achieve a training bonus which is close to maximum, the player that you set in a training slot should collect about 90 minutes across the week’s official matches.
5. The players who played but had not been put into training slots will only receive general training and just a bit of the training for their match-order.
6. The players who are not assigned to the training slots and who are not playing a match are slowly losing their skills.
7. The players who played an official match and against stronger teams will gain an extra bonus to their training.
8. In the scenario of speeding up the season up to 13 weeks, training speed will be also increased but to a lesser extent. In the scenario of 14 weeks’ season, training will rather stay at the current intensity. Scenarios will be presented with the next Dev. Diary.
9. The effectiveness of the coaches will be visible – you will be able to make decisions about your coaches seeing how their skills affect the effectiveness of each of formation’s training as also the general training.
10. The exact proportions and dependencies will get confirmed after several number of tests on the new testing server. We will simulate appropriate number of speeded up seasons to make sure that the game is balanced accordingly.
11. Stamina training needs to be reworked a bit. The other training rules remains unchanged.
Published on May 8, 2020
This week we would like to present our new training approach. You will find all informations below.
At the same time we are working on the final version of the new season calendar. That part will be presented next week, as it still requires some time.
Training changes
The training system is going to be adjusted. The main goal is to fit the maximum number of trainings into a higher number of matches in a week. This will make training more flexible so that it is possible to build the team not as trained formation vs untrained but more as it is in real life - experienced players vs young players introduced to the first team.
The key change is that instead of having one training match order you will be able to prioritise training for several formations at the same time. Obviously ther will be some limit which is 10 slots per week to allocate.
Additional rules to new training:
1. We keep training match order limits – you can train a maximum of 6 strikers, 2 goalkeepers. Playmakers and defenders will fit into the limit. You can assign a different skill for each of the 4 positions.
2. The players assigned to the 10 training slots will always receive training, even if they haven’t played a match during the week. However, they will receive a significant bonus to their training depending on how many minutes they played.
3. Minutes played in official games will be much more valuable than the same minutes gained in friendly games.
4. To achieve a training bonus which is close to maximum, the player that you set in a training slot should collect about 90 minutes across the week’s official matches.
5. The players who played but had not been put into training slots will only receive general training and just a bit of the training for their match-order.
6. The players who are not assigned to the training slots and who are not playing a match are slowly losing their skills.
7. The players who played an official match and against stronger teams will gain an extra bonus to their training.
8. In the scenario of speeding up the season up to 13 weeks, training speed will be also increased but to a lesser extent. In the scenario of 14 weeks’ season, training will rather stay at the current intensity. Scenarios will be presented with the next Dev. Diary.
9. The effectiveness of the coaches will be visible – you will be able to make decisions about your coaches seeing how their skills affect the effectiveness of each of formation’s training as also the general training.
10. The exact proportions and dependencies will get confirmed after several number of tests on the new testing server. We will simulate appropriate number of speeded up seasons to make sure that the game is balanced accordingly.
11. Stamina training needs to be reworked a bit. The other training rules remains unchanged.
Published on May 8, 2020
Dev. Diary 6: Leagues optimisation & National Cups idea
Off-season leagues optimisation
On Wednesday we made small adjustments to the league structures. Abandoned divisions have been deleted, and several users from those divisions promoted to higher levels. Most countries now have 3 division levels, except for a few countries with a large number of users.
Unfortunately, we faced technical problems with merging leagues together – and we won’t be able to tighten the number of leagues on the lowest levels. For the upcoming season the number of leagues in the remaining division stays the same, but we will prepare an additional merge for next season (it needs to be developed from scratch).
New season calendar proposal
We still need some time to adjust our final proposal for the new season calendar. Changes will be announced next week, together with quite a wide poll to measure different elements of our idea, to give us detailed data, if there is still need to refine the idea. We hope you can still keep patience :)
New formula for National Cups
According to the discussion about the National Cup and the results of our poll, we are able to announce our final proposal for that competition. The development will take some time, but it’s possible, that the new cup format will be introduced faster, than the general game update, maybe even within the next 4 months. We see, that most users prefer to play for some cup within their “reach”. This motivates us to add an extra cup for lower divisions. However we also think it's good to have a chance to play in one general national cup, too, and compete against the best teams. That’s why we decided to merge both ideas in one system (great thanks for some ideas from Sokker Development Forum that inspired us to do so). Below you can find a short summary of our final proposal.
National cups will be prepared in two versions - the National Cup, where all teams from the country can participate and League Cups, where only teams from the lowest divisions can play. The National Cup will start in the first week of each season, the League Cups a few weeks later. Teams from the lowest divisions, that drop out of the National Cup until the start of their league cup will also start in this cup.
Published on May 15, 2020.
Off-season leagues optimisation
On Wednesday we made small adjustments to the league structures. Abandoned divisions have been deleted, and several users from those divisions promoted to higher levels. Most countries now have 3 division levels, except for a few countries with a large number of users.
Unfortunately, we faced technical problems with merging leagues together – and we won’t be able to tighten the number of leagues on the lowest levels. For the upcoming season the number of leagues in the remaining division stays the same, but we will prepare an additional merge for next season (it needs to be developed from scratch).
New season calendar proposal
We still need some time to adjust our final proposal for the new season calendar. Changes will be announced next week, together with quite a wide poll to measure different elements of our idea, to give us detailed data, if there is still need to refine the idea. We hope you can still keep patience :)
New formula for National Cups
According to the discussion about the National Cup and the results of our poll, we are able to announce our final proposal for that competition. The development will take some time, but it’s possible, that the new cup format will be introduced faster, than the general game update, maybe even within the next 4 months. We see, that most users prefer to play for some cup within their “reach”. This motivates us to add an extra cup for lower divisions. However we also think it's good to have a chance to play in one general national cup, too, and compete against the best teams. That’s why we decided to merge both ideas in one system (great thanks for some ideas from Sokker Development Forum that inspired us to do so). Below you can find a short summary of our final proposal.
National cups will be prepared in two versions - the National Cup, where all teams from the country can participate and League Cups, where only teams from the lowest divisions can play. The National Cup will start in the first week of each season, the League Cups a few weeks later. Teams from the lowest divisions, that drop out of the National Cup until the start of their league cup will also start in this cup.
Published on May 15, 2020.
Dev. Diary 7: Season calendar - final voting
The game system – research
Three weeks ago, we asked you to complete a survey and share your comments on the proposals for the new competition calendar. Thank you for the extensive discussion. Many comments and new ideas were extremely helpful and some of them we included in the final proposal.
The winner of the survey is option 3 - a calendar based on increased number of teams in the league to 12 and 2 league matches a week. The calendar is completed by two further types of games - the International Cup (with group stage) and the National Cup. This option obtained over 60% of all votes and the choice of this option was supported by over 450 people. The results can be viewed at the survey link (we have just unveiled them for you). Here is the summary.
We are also pleased that only about 15% of users chose the option to leave the system unchanged – it shows us that you are open to see changes in the game.
At the same time, we know that some of you have submitted your own proposals on the Sokker Development forum as you were not satisfied with proposals 1 and 2 in the survey. We can see that these proposals have clarified into one fairly coherent alternative with 3 matches a week.
For this reason, we would like to introduce to you two final proposals for the vote.
Basic assumptions
Before you vote, here is some important information. First of all - we need to systematise the discussion because it is currently taking place at very different levels of generality - from the very general assumptions of the season, through the structure of individual types of competitions, to very detailed elements (such as promotions, relegations system, number of play-off matches, etc.).
At the moment, we are interested in the highest level of this discussion - mainly regarding the general system of matches (how many matches per week) and the number of matches in which we will participate, plus the structure of the league (how many teams in the league). These are the most important problems that we want to resolve first and then proceed to refining individual competitions or other, more detailed issues.
Therefore, when assessing two calendars, look at them primarily as a proposal for the number of matches per week and the number of teams in the leagues. We are still open to discuss the other elements (e.g. play-offs).
Other information relevant to your choice:
1. It is worth remembering the training system announced two weeks ago.
2. Elements related to the length of the season - will be adapted to the chosen solution (i.e. the length of the time of the injury, training pace, age of juniors, etc.) Try not to let these aspects of the game to suggest you anything when choosing your preferred system.
3. The graphics present "guaranteed" matches - those in which we will certainly play. Black frames additionally show where the next rounds of cups end. This makes it easier to assess the actual level of game intensity (remember that in cup competitions 50% less teams play at each subsequent stage).
4. Friendly matches can be placed in slots freed by cups, but they will lose significantly impact on training.
5. There was an interesting idea for a special "warm up" match which would be an alternative for teams not playing in the play-off, where the training effect would be similar to an official match. It will be considered but at the moment it is not the subject of the survey.
National Cup - is announced in the option presented a week ago, where all teams start playing in the National Cup and then the teams from the lower leagues have a chance to compete in the cups of individual league levels.
The International Cup - is announced in the initial proposal for further discussion - the cup combined with the group phase, which desire is to give each manager a certain number of guaranteed official matches, then the games take place on the basis of play-offs.
Cup discussions take place independently and are not subject to review in this survey.
Two system options
Option 1: (4 matches a week –> 12 teams in the league)
This is the winning line from the first vote, it remains largely unchanged. Its key assumptions are two league matches a week – they allow to increase the number of teams to 12 in each league.
Option 2: (3 matches a week –> league system unchanged)
This version is inspired by discussions on the Sokker Development forum. It is included in the 14-week calendar and maintains the league system in its current shape (one league match per week).
Summary:
From the development point of view, we consider both proposals to meet the requirements of our work on the development of Sokker. On the Developers' side, the preferred option is the first one, based on a system of two league matches per week. It seems optimal for us for several reasons:
1. Sets league matches as the primary competition guaranteeing two matches per week.
2. Cup games are additional challenges that enrich the game without creating too much training difference compared to those who drop out (10 available slots will be divided into fewer matches, but they can still be used).
3. Beginners starting the game during the season receive a team with two matches guaranteed.
4. We are shortening the season by 25%. It allows us to accelerate training slightly, while limiting the number of multi-divine players (thanks to faster aging).
5. It makes the main challenge of the game introducing young players to competitions mainly in league matches (giving you at the same time two matches weekly available), cup matches are an additional reward and expand the possibility of training rotation in several matches (we prevent one type of competition from being selected as "training").
6. Despite 4 matches a week, it does not seem too intense to us - remember the quickness of elimination from cup matches with subsequent rounds, only the best and most engaged players will play in such a number of matches.
Option two will require more work related to better matching of training bonuses so as not to give too much advantage to players who will play in cups longer than others (i.e. 3 official matches per week vs. one league), will also require adding bots to the cups (for a new player starting the game during the season to have a more interesting entertainment than just one league match per week). However, these elements are possible to address, which is why we present both options for discussion and assessment, understanding that regardless of which one will be chosen, we will have a significant change in gameplay compared to the current system.
Questionnaire
We have expanded the survey with several options that will allow us to better evaluate existing proposals.
In addition to the overall assessment of each of them and the choice between them, it is also possible to answer additional questions:
1. Preferred number of teams in the league
2. Number of matches per week
3. Playoffs (one match or rematch)
4. Inter-seasonal break or lack thereof
In addition, at the end we put a demographics questions that will allow us to better analyse the distribution of votes by country of origin, league level, experience, etc.
The game system – summary
The two proposed systems address many Sokker problems (of course not all, but this is a starting point for solving subsequent ones), give more emotions to all players, keep the important rule of assigning specific games to a selected day of the week. We hope that combined with information on training reform, changes will begin to appear more consistent and clearer.
Date of changes, method of implementation
Finally, we want to assure you – we still have a few seasons to play with the old game system. Changes require preparation and then detailed checking on the test server. We will not decide to introduce any new system until we are sure that all elements work in it, and at the same time it will give you time to think about tactics for the upcoming changes.
Increased game speed – tools
At the same time, given the greater number of matches per week, we will also develop a number of additional tools and improvements that will help you manage your teams faster and more efficiently, so that additional matches are not a problem. Works on the new interface and its improvements are underway, changes will be implemented, e.g. setting the squad for individual types of games, we will increase the reserve bench, we will allow to plan friendly matches in advance, and many more. Access to Sokker from mobile phones will certainly be significantly improved.
VOTE HERE -> Season calendar SURVEY
Published on May 22, 2020.
The game system – research
Three weeks ago, we asked you to complete a survey and share your comments on the proposals for the new competition calendar. Thank you for the extensive discussion. Many comments and new ideas were extremely helpful and some of them we included in the final proposal.
The winner of the survey is option 3 - a calendar based on increased number of teams in the league to 12 and 2 league matches a week. The calendar is completed by two further types of games - the International Cup (with group stage) and the National Cup. This option obtained over 60% of all votes and the choice of this option was supported by over 450 people. The results can be viewed at the survey link (we have just unveiled them for you). Here is the summary.
We are also pleased that only about 15% of users chose the option to leave the system unchanged – it shows us that you are open to see changes in the game.
At the same time, we know that some of you have submitted your own proposals on the Sokker Development forum as you were not satisfied with proposals 1 and 2 in the survey. We can see that these proposals have clarified into one fairly coherent alternative with 3 matches a week.
For this reason, we would like to introduce to you two final proposals for the vote.
Basic assumptions
Before you vote, here is some important information. First of all - we need to systematise the discussion because it is currently taking place at very different levels of generality - from the very general assumptions of the season, through the structure of individual types of competitions, to very detailed elements (such as promotions, relegations system, number of play-off matches, etc.).
At the moment, we are interested in the highest level of this discussion - mainly regarding the general system of matches (how many matches per week) and the number of matches in which we will participate, plus the structure of the league (how many teams in the league). These are the most important problems that we want to resolve first and then proceed to refining individual competitions or other, more detailed issues.
Therefore, when assessing two calendars, look at them primarily as a proposal for the number of matches per week and the number of teams in the leagues. We are still open to discuss the other elements (e.g. play-offs).
Other information relevant to your choice:
1. It is worth remembering the training system announced two weeks ago.
2. Elements related to the length of the season - will be adapted to the chosen solution (i.e. the length of the time of the injury, training pace, age of juniors, etc.) Try not to let these aspects of the game to suggest you anything when choosing your preferred system.
3. The graphics present "guaranteed" matches - those in which we will certainly play. Black frames additionally show where the next rounds of cups end. This makes it easier to assess the actual level of game intensity (remember that in cup competitions 50% less teams play at each subsequent stage).
4. Friendly matches can be placed in slots freed by cups, but they will lose significantly impact on training.
5. There was an interesting idea for a special "warm up" match which would be an alternative for teams not playing in the play-off, where the training effect would be similar to an official match. It will be considered but at the moment it is not the subject of the survey.
National Cup - is announced in the option presented a week ago, where all teams start playing in the National Cup and then the teams from the lower leagues have a chance to compete in the cups of individual league levels.
The International Cup - is announced in the initial proposal for further discussion - the cup combined with the group phase, which desire is to give each manager a certain number of guaranteed official matches, then the games take place on the basis of play-offs.
Cup discussions take place independently and are not subject to review in this survey.
Two system options
Option 1: (4 matches a week –> 12 teams in the league)
This is the winning line from the first vote, it remains largely unchanged. Its key assumptions are two league matches a week – they allow to increase the number of teams to 12 in each league.
Option 2: (3 matches a week –> league system unchanged)
This version is inspired by discussions on the Sokker Development forum. It is included in the 14-week calendar and maintains the league system in its current shape (one league match per week).
Summary:
From the development point of view, we consider both proposals to meet the requirements of our work on the development of Sokker. On the Developers' side, the preferred option is the first one, based on a system of two league matches per week. It seems optimal for us for several reasons:
1. Sets league matches as the primary competition guaranteeing two matches per week.
2. Cup games are additional challenges that enrich the game without creating too much training difference compared to those who drop out (10 available slots will be divided into fewer matches, but they can still be used).
3. Beginners starting the game during the season receive a team with two matches guaranteed.
4. We are shortening the season by 25%. It allows us to accelerate training slightly, while limiting the number of multi-divine players (thanks to faster aging).
5. It makes the main challenge of the game introducing young players to competitions mainly in league matches (giving you at the same time two matches weekly available), cup matches are an additional reward and expand the possibility of training rotation in several matches (we prevent one type of competition from being selected as "training").
6. Despite 4 matches a week, it does not seem too intense to us - remember the quickness of elimination from cup matches with subsequent rounds, only the best and most engaged players will play in such a number of matches.
Option two will require more work related to better matching of training bonuses so as not to give too much advantage to players who will play in cups longer than others (i.e. 3 official matches per week vs. one league), will also require adding bots to the cups (for a new player starting the game during the season to have a more interesting entertainment than just one league match per week). However, these elements are possible to address, which is why we present both options for discussion and assessment, understanding that regardless of which one will be chosen, we will have a significant change in gameplay compared to the current system.
Questionnaire
We have expanded the survey with several options that will allow us to better evaluate existing proposals.
In addition to the overall assessment of each of them and the choice between them, it is also possible to answer additional questions:
1. Preferred number of teams in the league
2. Number of matches per week
3. Playoffs (one match or rematch)
4. Inter-seasonal break or lack thereof
In addition, at the end we put a demographics questions that will allow us to better analyse the distribution of votes by country of origin, league level, experience, etc.
The game system – summary
The two proposed systems address many Sokker problems (of course not all, but this is a starting point for solving subsequent ones), give more emotions to all players, keep the important rule of assigning specific games to a selected day of the week. We hope that combined with information on training reform, changes will begin to appear more consistent and clearer.
Date of changes, method of implementation
Finally, we want to assure you – we still have a few seasons to play with the old game system. Changes require preparation and then detailed checking on the test server. We will not decide to introduce any new system until we are sure that all elements work in it, and at the same time it will give you time to think about tactics for the upcoming changes.
Increased game speed – tools
At the same time, given the greater number of matches per week, we will also develop a number of additional tools and improvements that will help you manage your teams faster and more efficiently, so that additional matches are not a problem. Works on the new interface and its improvements are underway, changes will be implemented, e.g. setting the squad for individual types of games, we will increase the reserve bench, we will allow to plan friendly matches in advance, and many more. Access to Sokker from mobile phones will certainly be significantly improved.
VOTE HERE -> Season calendar SURVEY
Published on May 22, 2020.
Dev. Diary 8: The Game System - The Final Decision
The game system – research
Last week, we asked you to fill out another survey and share comments on the two final proposals. Thank you for plenty of votes, comments and discussions. As the final result it turned out to be very tough to make a final decision.
During the week we will publish a more detailed report to share detailed results with you and today's Developers Diary will focus on key conclusions and our decision.
Key conclusions from the study:
* Option 1 won with around 50% of all votes, turning out to be the most popular. Your second choice was option 2 with 35%. Enthusiasts of no change is 15%.
* It is quite clear that we have two strong camps - it can be seen when we compare the analysis of the assessed options - both proposals receive a maximum rating (7) among their supporters, while opponents usually do not like the opposite option rating it at the lowest possible level (1).
* There are fears of playing 4 matches a week - the option to play with such a frequency received only half the number of votes than the option to play 3 matches a week.
* The most definite results we got from the poll on the number of teams in the country’s leagues - over 61% of participants voted for the option of 12 team leagues and this was the most popular answer. Greater extension of leagues did not get your approval - about 14% of voters voted for 14 team leagues, about 17% for 16.
It is quite clear to us that with such divided votes it will be difficult for us to choose an option that is satisfactory to all but at the same time we have to move on with further work and make the final decision.
New game system
We are deciding to choose a calendar based on Option 1 but for now we are giving up the international cup (we are expanding leagues to 12 teams and introducing two league matches per week) - this means up to 3 official matches per week as preferred by most of you. Only after implementing this system and getting to know what your acceptance is, we will be making further decisions about the possible addition of other games for all players (international).
Below is the final calendar.
Other information
Here are some additional elements / ideas that are important to us and may explain the proposed calendar.
Inter-season break : For now we do not want to give up the inter-season break. A pre-season-week seems to be sensible, considering the shorter length of the season. It should be taken into account that this is a period of average attractiveness in the game (and slower training) so a special kind of friendly matches should be introduced for this period.
Warm-up matches : This is a special type of friendly match that will be possible to play during the season break and play-offs only (for teams that do not take part in the play-off-matches). They will differ from the classic friendlies in training effectiveness - they will allow you to train your players in a similar way to official matches.
Structure of a number of divisions : Currently the leading multiplier of common league levels is x4. In the new system of enlarged leagues, we will be more flexible, and we will adjust league levels to the current situation in a given country, so as to ensure that teams of similar levels will play on the same league levels and the lowest level will be beginner friendly.
Enlargement of divisions and small countries (containing a few users): We agree that for small countries, enlarging leagues is not as attractive as for larger countries. But along with the changes, we plan to conduct intensive marketing activities that are also more focused on the markets which currently have the smallest amount of users. Thus, the problem should be reduced when we are recruiting new players. However, if this shall not happen - we will consider various ideas to solve this problem (such as ideas of merging countries into large groups).
Next steps
A new calendar will be introduced in 2-3 seasons, along with the training reform. Preparation requires time spent on development but also a large number of tests and simulations to make sure that everything works together, and the game is well balanced.
We intentionally started presenting changes from these two elements (calendar and training) because these are the most comprehensive changes we have planned and consultations regarding those had to be performed first.
Once again, thank you for filling the survey, a large number of comments which finally contributed significantly to our decision in this regard.
Published on May 29, 2020
The game system – research
Last week, we asked you to fill out another survey and share comments on the two final proposals. Thank you for plenty of votes, comments and discussions. As the final result it turned out to be very tough to make a final decision.
During the week we will publish a more detailed report to share detailed results with you and today's Developers Diary will focus on key conclusions and our decision.
Key conclusions from the study:
* Option 1 won with around 50% of all votes, turning out to be the most popular. Your second choice was option 2 with 35%. Enthusiasts of no change is 15%.
* It is quite clear that we have two strong camps - it can be seen when we compare the analysis of the assessed options - both proposals receive a maximum rating (7) among their supporters, while opponents usually do not like the opposite option rating it at the lowest possible level (1).
* There are fears of playing 4 matches a week - the option to play with such a frequency received only half the number of votes than the option to play 3 matches a week.
* The most definite results we got from the poll on the number of teams in the country’s leagues - over 61% of participants voted for the option of 12 team leagues and this was the most popular answer. Greater extension of leagues did not get your approval - about 14% of voters voted for 14 team leagues, about 17% for 16.
It is quite clear to us that with such divided votes it will be difficult for us to choose an option that is satisfactory to all but at the same time we have to move on with further work and make the final decision.
New game system
We are deciding to choose a calendar based on Option 1 but for now we are giving up the international cup (we are expanding leagues to 12 teams and introducing two league matches per week) - this means up to 3 official matches per week as preferred by most of you. Only after implementing this system and getting to know what your acceptance is, we will be making further decisions about the possible addition of other games for all players (international).
Below is the final calendar.
Other information
Here are some additional elements / ideas that are important to us and may explain the proposed calendar.
Inter-season break : For now we do not want to give up the inter-season break. A pre-season-week seems to be sensible, considering the shorter length of the season. It should be taken into account that this is a period of average attractiveness in the game (and slower training) so a special kind of friendly matches should be introduced for this period.
Warm-up matches : This is a special type of friendly match that will be possible to play during the season break and play-offs only (for teams that do not take part in the play-off-matches). They will differ from the classic friendlies in training effectiveness - they will allow you to train your players in a similar way to official matches.
Structure of a number of divisions : Currently the leading multiplier of common league levels is x4. In the new system of enlarged leagues, we will be more flexible, and we will adjust league levels to the current situation in a given country, so as to ensure that teams of similar levels will play on the same league levels and the lowest level will be beginner friendly.
Enlargement of divisions and small countries (containing a few users): We agree that for small countries, enlarging leagues is not as attractive as for larger countries. But along with the changes, we plan to conduct intensive marketing activities that are also more focused on the markets which currently have the smallest amount of users. Thus, the problem should be reduced when we are recruiting new players. However, if this shall not happen - we will consider various ideas to solve this problem (such as ideas of merging countries into large groups).
Next steps
A new calendar will be introduced in 2-3 seasons, along with the training reform. Preparation requires time spent on development but also a large number of tests and simulations to make sure that everything works together, and the game is well balanced.
We intentionally started presenting changes from these two elements (calendar and training) because these are the most comprehensive changes we have planned and consultations regarding those had to be performed first.
Once again, thank you for filling the survey, a large number of comments which finally contributed significantly to our decision in this regard.
Published on May 29, 2020
Dev. Diary 9: Test server and code upgrade
This week, we want to briefly summarize the status of work that is taking place in the background of the game. It can be invisible to users, but it is absolutely crucial so that more substantial implementations can be done as soon as possible. On the occasion of the last small corrections (mainly the replacement of some Flash elements - like stadiums, shirts), the server crashed several times (we had interruptions in access to the game), which shows that even small changes can affect Sokker's stability. In order to minimize the number of such situations, we intend to further use the test environment before implementing improvements to the official version of the game.
Purchase of a new server and setting up a testing environment
In recent weeks we have bought a new server with a stronger configuration, which will be used in the first step to test our implementations. The test environment is being set up this week and in the coming weeks we will be able to work in it - this will improve our work and allow us to quickly share its effects on the game.
Game code upgrade
Over the last months, work on the Sokker code has been ongoing - obsolete elements of the code from PHP 5.3 (not already supported) have been rewritten to a newer version (PHP 7.4), while the code of the morning game update mechanism has been updated (waiting for test stage). These changes were necessary to allow any more advanced changes to be implemented.
A team of programmers
Meanwhile, we plan to expand the programming team with another two people - to work on frontend and backend. Recruitment for these two positions is ongoing and we hope that the final interviews will take place soon.
Works on the new game interface (UX)
At the same time, work on the new interface has been underway for over a month, general assumptions for the new navigation have already been made, as well as the first views of a few selected pages (club page, club news, match view, home page). At the moment we are talking about mockups - black and white sketches of elements of the page. They are the starting point for new graphics. Work on the graphic design has also been contracted.
Next steps
After improving the code and preparing the test environment, we will be able to accelerate with changes that will be "visible" to players. On the top of the list will be repairing several errors (such as the impact of arcade matches on the ranking or the desire to place a player on TL), and some minor improvements in the page view (such as the ability to remove the observed bidding from the secretary's office).
Published on June 05, 2020
This week, we want to briefly summarize the status of work that is taking place in the background of the game. It can be invisible to users, but it is absolutely crucial so that more substantial implementations can be done as soon as possible. On the occasion of the last small corrections (mainly the replacement of some Flash elements - like stadiums, shirts), the server crashed several times (we had interruptions in access to the game), which shows that even small changes can affect Sokker's stability. In order to minimize the number of such situations, we intend to further use the test environment before implementing improvements to the official version of the game.
Purchase of a new server and setting up a testing environment
In recent weeks we have bought a new server with a stronger configuration, which will be used in the first step to test our implementations. The test environment is being set up this week and in the coming weeks we will be able to work in it - this will improve our work and allow us to quickly share its effects on the game.
Game code upgrade
Over the last months, work on the Sokker code has been ongoing - obsolete elements of the code from PHP 5.3 (not already supported) have been rewritten to a newer version (PHP 7.4), while the code of the morning game update mechanism has been updated (waiting for test stage). These changes were necessary to allow any more advanced changes to be implemented.
A team of programmers
Meanwhile, we plan to expand the programming team with another two people - to work on frontend and backend. Recruitment for these two positions is ongoing and we hope that the final interviews will take place soon.
Works on the new game interface (UX)
At the same time, work on the new interface has been underway for over a month, general assumptions for the new navigation have already been made, as well as the first views of a few selected pages (club page, club news, match view, home page). At the moment we are talking about mockups - black and white sketches of elements of the page. They are the starting point for new graphics. Work on the graphic design has also been contracted.
Next steps
After improving the code and preparing the test environment, we will be able to accelerate with changes that will be "visible" to players. On the top of the list will be repairing several errors (such as the impact of arcade matches on the ranking or the desire to place a player on TL), and some minor improvements in the page view (such as the ability to remove the observed bidding from the secretary's office).
Published on June 05, 2020
Dev. Diary 10: Further planned implementations
Today we would like to share with you a list of several changes and improvements that we have planned for further work. They are planned and probably will be introduced prior to the general game update planned for a later period, but of course they require time and testing so we ask for some patience in this case.
The system of removing bots from leagues after the end of each season
We want the game to concern primarily real players, therefore we want to remove bots from higher leagues so that real users can replace them. Bots will be deleted from the league tables at the end of the season (and their points will be zeroed), which will be followed by direct promotions of the teams from the lower leagues. This rule applies to the higher leagues - on the lowest levels bots are obviously needed so that leagues are full and that there is room for new users.
Possibility of playing a friendly match instead of a play-off match
One of the ideas gathered on the Sokker Development forum is the possibility of playing matches on the days when play-offs are played to avoid the training disadvantage (sometimes it pays off to intentionally take part in play-offs to get additional training). We will add this option. It was already planned in the new schedule, but we hope that we will manage to implement this before the main update of the game.
Determining of the length of a light injury
We will add information showing how many days is left to heal a minor injury.
Seasonal summary of the club's finances
We will add one more financial perspective showing the status of club finances on a seasonal basis compared to the previous season.
Interface - direction of the changes
Finally, important information about the game interface (primarily the navigation system and the page template, where you can then apply a skin – graphics). Currently Sokker has two interfaces - the oldest, known from the beginning of the game and the newer. Both interfaces will be replaced with the new one, developed by experts for User Experience, which means that the website will receive a new template and navigation. It will be possible to apply different graphics to this template. A new graphic design will be developed (the job has already been contracted), but it will also be possible to use old graphics (in other words, the navigation and the page layout will change, but the old graphics will be possible in the new version as a retro option).
The new interface will be introduced along with the general game update. Until then, our work will continue only on the current interface (used by 70% of players), support for the old interface will be suspended (because it would require 2x more work and thus would generate high costs). For this reason, we recommend players who are still using the old interface to upgrade to the current version, as the older one will become less efficient with each subsequent change (some changed elements on the old interface are not working anymore - e.g. a new view of stadiums that have been rewritten from Flash to HTML).
Published on June 12, 2020.
Today we would like to share with you a list of several changes and improvements that we have planned for further work. They are planned and probably will be introduced prior to the general game update planned for a later period, but of course they require time and testing so we ask for some patience in this case.
The system of removing bots from leagues after the end of each season
We want the game to concern primarily real players, therefore we want to remove bots from higher leagues so that real users can replace them. Bots will be deleted from the league tables at the end of the season (and their points will be zeroed), which will be followed by direct promotions of the teams from the lower leagues. This rule applies to the higher leagues - on the lowest levels bots are obviously needed so that leagues are full and that there is room for new users.
Possibility of playing a friendly match instead of a play-off match
One of the ideas gathered on the Sokker Development forum is the possibility of playing matches on the days when play-offs are played to avoid the training disadvantage (sometimes it pays off to intentionally take part in play-offs to get additional training). We will add this option. It was already planned in the new schedule, but we hope that we will manage to implement this before the main update of the game.
Determining of the length of a light injury
We will add information showing how many days is left to heal a minor injury.
Seasonal summary of the club's finances
We will add one more financial perspective showing the status of club finances on a seasonal basis compared to the previous season.
Interface - direction of the changes
Finally, important information about the game interface (primarily the navigation system and the page template, where you can then apply a skin – graphics). Currently Sokker has two interfaces - the oldest, known from the beginning of the game and the newer. Both interfaces will be replaced with the new one, developed by experts for User Experience, which means that the website will receive a new template and navigation. It will be possible to apply different graphics to this template. A new graphic design will be developed (the job has already been contracted), but it will also be possible to use old graphics (in other words, the navigation and the page layout will change, but the old graphics will be possible in the new version as a retro option).
The new interface will be introduced along with the general game update. Until then, our work will continue only on the current interface (used by 70% of players), support for the old interface will be suspended (because it would require 2x more work and thus would generate high costs). For this reason, we recommend players who are still using the old interface to upgrade to the current version, as the older one will become less efficient with each subsequent change (some changed elements on the old interface are not working anymore - e.g. a new view of stadiums that have been rewritten from Flash to HTML).
Published on June 12, 2020.
Dev. Diary 11: New Interface - First Mock-ups
This week we would like to share with you the first page views of the new interface prepared by the UX designer. They are the result of extended work both on a group of new users (whom we asked to set up accounts and analyze places where they get lost, problems with navigation, understanding of the game, etc.), and also taking into account the comments of current users.
IMPORTANT: the projects you see today are mock-ups - sketches of the new website, showing how it's navigation will work, how the individual elements will be arranged and what the information architecture will be. These are NOT graphic designs. The new graphic design is currently under work and the mock-ups you see are a starting point for it. However, this is a separate step in our work, therefore, when judging or commenting on these works, remember that we are talking about a sketch, not the final product.
New navigation – layout
Currently, we have several possible page settings in Sokker - the old interface and the newer version. Each of them can be modified with graphic skins and menu layouts. Most users use the newer version of the interface (nearly 80%), and most of them use bottom navigation. This layout is also default for new players.
During the audit, it turned out that it is also a basic barrier because of which new players do not stay in the game. The bottom icons are lacking descriptions and as consequence new players quickly get lost. They are unable to navigate the game and give up Sokker very quickly, practically not reaching most of the game elements.
As you will see in the new projects, the main navigation of the new interface will be pinned to the left, complementary navigation will appear at the top of the individual tabs. This organization will make it much easier for new players to engage in the game (instead of icons we have full descriptions of the tabs, this is also a layout commonly used in this type of games).
Club view, mobile browser view
In the link below you can see the basic view - the view of the selected club. As you can see it has been slightly expanded so that more key information about a given team was available on its first page.
Club page views
The link contains several views - use left mouse click or keyboard arrows to see all of them. The first is the view of the player's club (Tornado Pirates). By scrolling the page down you can see how the horizontal tabs move to the top bar.
The next view is the site of another club we visit (Almost Religious). As you can see, the layouts are the same, the club view is universal, and we want the home page of each club in the game to look the same.
The following screens show the mobile view. By now, almost 40% of the access to Sokker is from mobile devices so we pay a lot of attention to this element. As you can see, the game will encourage the user to turn the phone, thanks to which the display of elements will be the most effective (this is how other mobile managers work, from Football Manager, to Top Eleven, and many others).
Press room
Another view is the press room - a completely new Sokker feature that will add a story element to the game. You can find various types of information here, examples can be seen in the sketch. Basically, here you will receive messages generated by the game itself (match summaries, information about records, training reports, and many others), as well as your own publications (club's newsletter), and have the ability to follow other teams (selcting them as "watched").
Press room page view
Match viewer
Next, we want to present mock-ups prepared for the match view. We also have a lot of changes here. First of all, the match loading page looks different (first view). After loading the match, we see players running out onto the pitch, preparing for the match - and we get several short intro screens previewing the match, such as displaying match settings, line-ups, key information about clubs or games. In further views (switch using keyboard arrows) you can also see the match half time screen and a new view of camera mode settings, along with a possible choice between 2D and 3D.
[ url=https://xd.adobe.com/view/f61aaa88-5b28-4c7f-6d28-6c596ca4419c-802b/?fullscreen]Match page views[/url]
Comments and next steps
Finally, we share with you a link to the form in which you can leave your opinions, suggestions and ideas regarding the presented views.
Work is currently underway on further screens (including training). Sketches of individual elements of the game will be created in succession.
ublished on June 19, 2020
This week we would like to share with you the first page views of the new interface prepared by the UX designer. They are the result of extended work both on a group of new users (whom we asked to set up accounts and analyze places where they get lost, problems with navigation, understanding of the game, etc.), and also taking into account the comments of current users.
IMPORTANT: the projects you see today are mock-ups - sketches of the new website, showing how it's navigation will work, how the individual elements will be arranged and what the information architecture will be. These are NOT graphic designs. The new graphic design is currently under work and the mock-ups you see are a starting point for it. However, this is a separate step in our work, therefore, when judging or commenting on these works, remember that we are talking about a sketch, not the final product.
New navigation – layout
Currently, we have several possible page settings in Sokker - the old interface and the newer version. Each of them can be modified with graphic skins and menu layouts. Most users use the newer version of the interface (nearly 80%), and most of them use bottom navigation. This layout is also default for new players.
During the audit, it turned out that it is also a basic barrier because of which new players do not stay in the game. The bottom icons are lacking descriptions and as consequence new players quickly get lost. They are unable to navigate the game and give up Sokker very quickly, practically not reaching most of the game elements.
As you will see in the new projects, the main navigation of the new interface will be pinned to the left, complementary navigation will appear at the top of the individual tabs. This organization will make it much easier for new players to engage in the game (instead of icons we have full descriptions of the tabs, this is also a layout commonly used in this type of games).
Club view, mobile browser view
In the link below you can see the basic view - the view of the selected club. As you can see it has been slightly expanded so that more key information about a given team was available on its first page.
Club page views
The link contains several views - use left mouse click or keyboard arrows to see all of them. The first is the view of the player's club (Tornado Pirates). By scrolling the page down you can see how the horizontal tabs move to the top bar.
The next view is the site of another club we visit (Almost Religious). As you can see, the layouts are the same, the club view is universal, and we want the home page of each club in the game to look the same.
The following screens show the mobile view. By now, almost 40% of the access to Sokker is from mobile devices so we pay a lot of attention to this element. As you can see, the game will encourage the user to turn the phone, thanks to which the display of elements will be the most effective (this is how other mobile managers work, from Football Manager, to Top Eleven, and many others).
Press room
Another view is the press room - a completely new Sokker feature that will add a story element to the game. You can find various types of information here, examples can be seen in the sketch. Basically, here you will receive messages generated by the game itself (match summaries, information about records, training reports, and many others), as well as your own publications (club's newsletter), and have the ability to follow other teams (selcting them as "watched").
Press room page view
Match viewer
Next, we want to present mock-ups prepared for the match view. We also have a lot of changes here. First of all, the match loading page looks different (first view). After loading the match, we see players running out onto the pitch, preparing for the match - and we get several short intro screens previewing the match, such as displaying match settings, line-ups, key information about clubs or games. In further views (switch using keyboard arrows) you can also see the match half time screen and a new view of camera mode settings, along with a possible choice between 2D and 3D.
[ url=https://xd.adobe.com/view/f61aaa88-5b28-4c7f-6d28-6c596ca4419c-802b/?fullscreen]Match page views[/url]
Comments and next steps
Finally, we share with you a link to the form in which you can leave your opinions, suggestions and ideas regarding the presented views.
Work is currently underway on further screens (including training). Sketches of individual elements of the game will be created in succession.
Give us your opinions
ublished on June 19, 2020
Dev. Diary 12: Transfer Window
One of those changes that we mentioned in the early Dev. Diary was the restriction of too intense trading. Sometimes it dominates over other elements of the game, which should be more important in a football manager game.
Therefore, another change we are making is the period preventing the player from being put on the transfer list for a specified time after purchase. To begin with, this period will be set to 4 full weeks from the date the player was brought to the club. Depending on the effects of this restriction, we will decide whether it is satisfactory or should be changed.
The need to keep the player for 4 weeks in our club will force managers to take a more prudent approach to completing their squads, will prevent them from getting players "just for one match" (we do not think that it is good for the game, a much better solution is to encourage users to maintain the appropriate team reserve, the introduced rule will indirectly affect it), but above all - it will significantly reduce the possibility of earning quickly through trade alone.
We analysed various solutions to this problem proposed in the forum. We decided to choose the simplest and working in the same way for everyone. It doesn't complicate the game, it probably changes the approach to many decisions that have to be made as part of the game (e.g. a different approach to the bench, but also a different approach to "bargains" on the market, where in addition to buying a player you will need to think about its wage, usefulness or the ability to find place in the team), but such dilemmas and decisions will be equally interesting.
At the same time, we do not think that it blocks development for business managers. The search for opportunities will continue without change, it will still be possible to earn on trade - we only eliminate transfers that were unreal (selling a player within the week of purchase).
Published on June 26, 2020
One of those changes that we mentioned in the early Dev. Diary was the restriction of too intense trading. Sometimes it dominates over other elements of the game, which should be more important in a football manager game.
Therefore, another change we are making is the period preventing the player from being put on the transfer list for a specified time after purchase. To begin with, this period will be set to 4 full weeks from the date the player was brought to the club. Depending on the effects of this restriction, we will decide whether it is satisfactory or should be changed.
The need to keep the player for 4 weeks in our club will force managers to take a more prudent approach to completing their squads, will prevent them from getting players "just for one match" (we do not think that it is good for the game, a much better solution is to encourage users to maintain the appropriate team reserve, the introduced rule will indirectly affect it), but above all - it will significantly reduce the possibility of earning quickly through trade alone.
We analysed various solutions to this problem proposed in the forum. We decided to choose the simplest and working in the same way for everyone. It doesn't complicate the game, it probably changes the approach to many decisions that have to be made as part of the game (e.g. a different approach to the bench, but also a different approach to "bargains" on the market, where in addition to buying a player you will need to think about its wage, usefulness or the ability to find place in the team), but such dilemmas and decisions will be equally interesting.
At the same time, we do not think that it blocks development for business managers. The search for opportunities will continue without change, it will still be possible to earn on trade - we only eliminate transfers that were unreal (selling a player within the week of purchase).
Published on June 26, 2020
Dev. Diary 13: Linguists & Supported Languages
In recent weeks, many linguists have done a great job helping us translate information about the development of the game and distribute our diaries locally. The work of linguists from volunteering has changed over the weeks to a much more professional and also important - probably in the future their responsibilities will increase taking into account the essential support in translating new elements of the game that will be introduced.
That is why we decided to give more prestige to the Linguist position and reward people who support us in this way with PLUS.
Moreover, the number of Linguists will be adjusted to our current capabilities - we decide to support the 20 most key languages (they cover XX% of all users) - we will work on these languages officially.
Of course, we do not exclude the development of less popular languages - it will be possible under the existing rules, where smaller communities have undertaken the same translations. We will provide solutions that allow it, but they will be additional languages - not covered by an additional benefit in the form of Plus for people who decide to do such work.
At the same time, we will make minor permissions changes in the coming week that will allow Linguists to use the source content - so they can, for example, copy the content of the post intended for the translation along with the original formatting.
Arcade match error - putting the player on TL
The arcade matches bug has been corrected, there will no longer be a situation where a player, after playing this unofficial match, was willing to agree to be on the Transfer List. The error was eliminated at the beginning of the week.
Other bugs related to arcade matches (impact on ranking & increase of experience and teamwork) are already prepared to fix - however, they are related to morning Game Updates, which have been completely rewritten into new code and are currently waiting for testing. After carrying this out these errors will also disappear.
Published on July 03, 2020
In recent weeks, many linguists have done a great job helping us translate information about the development of the game and distribute our diaries locally. The work of linguists from volunteering has changed over the weeks to a much more professional and also important - probably in the future their responsibilities will increase taking into account the essential support in translating new elements of the game that will be introduced.
That is why we decided to give more prestige to the Linguist position and reward people who support us in this way with PLUS.
Moreover, the number of Linguists will be adjusted to our current capabilities - we decide to support the 20 most key languages (they cover XX% of all users) - we will work on these languages officially.
Of course, we do not exclude the development of less popular languages - it will be possible under the existing rules, where smaller communities have undertaken the same translations. We will provide solutions that allow it, but they will be additional languages - not covered by an additional benefit in the form of Plus for people who decide to do such work.
At the same time, we will make minor permissions changes in the coming week that will allow Linguists to use the source content - so they can, for example, copy the content of the post intended for the translation along with the original formatting.
Arcade match error - putting the player on TL
The arcade matches bug has been corrected, there will no longer be a situation where a player, after playing this unofficial match, was willing to agree to be on the Transfer List. The error was eliminated at the beginning of the week.
Other bugs related to arcade matches (impact on ranking & increase of experience and teamwork) are already prepared to fix - however, they are related to morning Game Updates, which have been completely rewritten into new code and are currently waiting for testing. After carrying this out these errors will also disappear.
Published on July 03, 2020
Dev. Diary 14: Training - The New UX
We are coming back this week with the next stage of work on User Experience. This time, we prepared training-related views, because we feel that this element of the game is currently underdeveloped, and many users are monitoring the progress of their teams through external programs.
IMPORTANT: the projects you see today are mock-ups - sketches of the new page, showing how its navigation will work, how the elements will be arranged, and what the information architecture will be. These are NOT graphic designs. We are currently working on the new graphic design, and the mock-ups you see are only a starting point. However, this is a separate step in our work. Therefore, when assessing and commenting on these works, remember that we are talking about sketches, not the final project.
Prepared views fulfill several functions:
1. They present changes related to the training reform (10 training slots to be filled) - it shows how it will be possible to assign players to "advanced" training;
2. They add additional views that allow you to track training progress in several different configurations - weekly reports and general statistics for the senior/junior team;
3. They add a table view in the training history of a selected player, showing his progress over time;
4. They show the coaching staff’s view, they also complement it with showing the "effectiveness" of individual members of the staff.
Work is still underway on the view of the charts presenting changes in player attributes.
UX projects can be seen here. Use the cursor (right/left) to switch views.
For these projects, we also ask you to rate and give suggestions that will help us improve the proposed solutions.
The link to the form is here.
At the same time, works related to the visual identity of the game are ongoing parallel to the UX work. In just a week, we will present 3 new designs for discussion and evaluation.
Published on July 10, 2020
We are coming back this week with the next stage of work on User Experience. This time, we prepared training-related views, because we feel that this element of the game is currently underdeveloped, and many users are monitoring the progress of their teams through external programs.
IMPORTANT: the projects you see today are mock-ups - sketches of the new page, showing how its navigation will work, how the elements will be arranged, and what the information architecture will be. These are NOT graphic designs. We are currently working on the new graphic design, and the mock-ups you see are only a starting point. However, this is a separate step in our work. Therefore, when assessing and commenting on these works, remember that we are talking about sketches, not the final project.
Prepared views fulfill several functions:
1. They present changes related to the training reform (10 training slots to be filled) - it shows how it will be possible to assign players to "advanced" training;
2. They add additional views that allow you to track training progress in several different configurations - weekly reports and general statistics for the senior/junior team;
3. They add a table view in the training history of a selected player, showing his progress over time;
4. They show the coaching staff’s view, they also complement it with showing the "effectiveness" of individual members of the staff.
Work is still underway on the view of the charts presenting changes in player attributes.
UX projects can be seen here. Use the cursor (right/left) to switch views.
For these projects, we also ask you to rate and give suggestions that will help us improve the proposed solutions.
The link to the form is here.
At the same time, works related to the visual identity of the game are ongoing parallel to the UX work. In just a week, we will present 3 new designs for discussion and evaluation.
Published on July 10, 2020
Dev. Diary 15: Sokker Graphic Design
In recent weeks you have had the opportunity to see the mock-ups of the new Sokker - they were only a map of functionalities, not a graphic design proposal. Works on the new look of the site have been going on for several weeks and today we would like to present 4 design propositions, which are an important step for us to continue working.
Please provide feedback on the new graphics, give us suggestions, and fill out the survey. We tried not to overdevelop it, so we are asking for answers to only a few key questions.
Published on July 17, 2020
Here you will find links to the 4 proposals:
Option 1: https://ibb.co/ZVK7pTB
Option 2: https://ibb.co/BZ2nKpW
Option 3: https://ibb.co/8cvr1vs
Option 4: https://ibb.co/Ptj9T40
In recent weeks you have had the opportunity to see the mock-ups of the new Sokker - they were only a map of functionalities, not a graphic design proposal. Works on the new look of the site have been going on for several weeks and today we would like to present 4 design propositions, which are an important step for us to continue working.
Please provide feedback on the new graphics, give us suggestions, and fill out the survey. We tried not to overdevelop it, so we are asking for answers to only a few key questions.
Published on July 17, 2020
Survey link
Here you will find links to the 4 proposals:
Option 1: https://ibb.co/ZVK7pTB
Option 2: https://ibb.co/BZ2nKpW
Option 3: https://ibb.co/8cvr1vs
Option 4: https://ibb.co/Ptj9T40