And we're off!

[Travis]

The season is under way and I'm already catching and fixing bugs. Yes, I'm aware of the experience glitch with the Development Player contract. No, there's nothing that can be done to fix that first set of sims (hey, it only affected 7% of all contracted players). Yes, it's fixed for games going forward.

This is going to be a season of bug fixes and small upgrades. We've spent the last several seasons trying to deliver on larger upgrades to the game, and in that goal I think we've been successful, but it's been at the cost of some ... vexing issues going by the wayside. One of the new features we hope that will help out with this is a support ticket system. It's become increasingly clear that trying to handle bugs through the board was a bad idea. All too often are issues clouded and overwhelmed with opinions, rants, and nonsensical posts.

We hope to institute a system whereby issues are logged once and then confirmed by others who experience them. If additional details are needed to solve a problem they can be requested on an as-needed basis. The Dugout will still be used for discussing issues and filtering out garbage, but the support system will be the place where issues are resolved.

Obviously chief among the bugs to be fixed will be the playoff seeding issues that have plagued us recently. But enough of all that boring crap, here are some details on one of those small upgrades that we've already made some progress on:

HoL Points - We've been wondering what to do with training after the maximum levels have been reached in celebrity and charity, and an idea that Walter had was to convert those levels beyond 50 into points that accumulate into a pool and are used as a criterion in determining which players are admitted into the Hall of Legends. You should be able to see your HoL score from your player's page now.

There are a number of other small upgrades we want to make soon, like new player types, daily influence prizes, the return of the Casual D league, and much more. Then there are the bigger ones like the Impact Gamechangers and hitting and fielding Gambits.

It's difficult to put time estimates on anything as we're all working full time jobs now and supporting 2OR on the side. I was the last full-time employee of 2 Out Rally and it was driving me into the poor house. About a month ago I took a new full time job, and since I'm no longer drawing an income we'll be able to put almost all of our revenue back into the company rather than trying to feed myself or pay rent on my tiny apartment. This means we'll have a lot more money to put into ads to bring in new users, and revenue to invest in new features that we might not be able to produce on our own (like the player/uniform designer).

We've never been able to maintain a steady set of ad campaigns before. Soon we'll be putting almost all of our resources back into growth and we think that's going to have a big impact on the development of this game and its community. We're all very excited about the future of 2OR, and we hope that you are as well. As always, thanks for your support, and good luck in season 15!

[mikelust1977]

Again. my hats off to you guys. Congrats on these upgrades. Thank you all the hard work that you put in to keep this game fun and going and going.

I am glad to be part of this game.

[Canonico]

HoL Points - We've been wondering what to do with training after the maximum levels have been reached in celebrity and charity, and an idea that Walter had was to convert those levels beyond 50 into points that accumulate into a pool and are used as a criterion in determining which players are admitted into the Hall of Legends. You should be able to see your HoL score from your player's page now.

What the hey, what does reaching level 50 in celebrity and in charity, has to do with HoL? I know i must be missing something here!?

[mikelust1977]

HoL Points - We've been wondering what to do with training after the maximum levels have been reached in celebrity and charity, and an idea that Walter had was to convert those levels beyond 50 into points that accumulate into a pool and are used as a criterion in determining which players are admitted into the Hall of Legends. You should be able to see your HoL score from your player's page now.

What the hey, what does reaching level 50 in celebrity and in charity, has to do with HoL? I know i must be missing something here!?

Must have to have full training to be in the HoL? At least that is what i am getting at on this

[Dag Gummit]

What the hey, what does reaching level 50 in celebrity and in charity, has to do with HoL? I know i must be missing something here!?

Must have to have full training to be in the HoL? At least that is what i am getting at on this

Ditto on that.

My understanding on Training and HoL stuff so far is this:
- There are endorsements for Celebrity and Charity up to lv50
- After hitting lv50 in all three training categories, those points are then used (as one piece) to calculate HoL status in the future

What this likely means then is that:
- There may actually be a reason now to push Fitness Training (at least once you've reached all the endorsements)
- We be gettin' a Hall of Legends soon ( )
- Said HoL eligibility will likely(/hopefully) be dependent on other factors more than simply stats OR training levels

[Canonico]

My understanding on Training and HoL stuff so far is this:
- There are endorsements for Celebrity and Charity up to lv50
- After hitting lv50 in all three training categories, those points are then used (as one piece) to calculate HoL status in the future

This sounds extremly unfair IF infact is the way it is supposed to work in the future, i mean guys can have higher levels of celebrity and charity by having more bonus then others in those two areas, so that would give them an advantage if their stats from the WBL are simmilar to another player that actually has not yet reached level 50 because his bonus are not so generous in those two categorys? Or because he trains the his player on the Multiple training option making him miss on the random boosts that happens when you train player by player!

And yes im assuming only players that played in the WBL will have the oportunity to be a part of the HoL.

[tomLitton]

My opinion (and I fully admit i may be way of base here): You should be able to make enough money to support at least a couple full time employees. You just need to entice people to spend a bit more.

My suggestions:

* Raise your prices slightly. Not enough to discourage people from purchasing though.
* Increase the number of game changers allowed (or introduce a new concept(s) that boost players, such as equipment)
* Introduce a game changer slot that boosts the team the player is on.
* Allow purchase of player and team upgrades that have increasing costs (So the first one costs 200 influence, the second costs 400, the third 800, etc).
* Reduce the amount of exp given out for a player after a few levels to encourage people to buy exp boosting upgrades.
* Increase the cost of training to encourage players to purchase more salary boosting upgrades (or invent new reasons to spend cash).

I would concentrate more on boosts to exp and cash, rather than (potentially game breaking) stats boosts though.

[mikelust1977]

I 100% disagree on raising the prices. We already have a lack of owners and making things cost more, will cause less human owned teams as they will not pay more.

having more game changers is more ways for the rich to get rich and cause the game not to be fun.

Player game changers to effect someone elses team is also a bad idea, what if the team owner doesnt want that game changer.

Reducing expereience to almost require people to pay for the game, will drop owners and players fast.

you must have no experience in these games. Most of the things you listed here will cause dropped ownership and scouts. as all of these are bad ideas.

My opinion (and I fully admit i may be way of base here): You should be able to make enough money to support at least a couple full time employees. You just need to entice people to spend a bit more.

My suggestions:

* Raise your prices slightly. Not enough to discourage people from purchasing though.
* Increase the number of game changers allowed (or introduce a new concept(s) that boost players, such as equipment)
* Introduce a game changer slot that boosts the team the player is on.
* Allow purchase of player and team upgrades that have increasing costs (So the first one costs 200 influence, the second costs 400, the third 800, etc).
* Reduce the amount of exp given out for a player after a few levels to encourage people to buy exp boosting upgrades.
* Increase the cost of training to encourage players to purchase more salary boosting upgrades (or invent new reasons to spend cash).

I would concentrate more on boosts to exp and cash, rather than (potentially game breaking) stats boosts though.

[zook]

I 100% disagree on raising the prices. We already have a lack of owners and making things cost more, will cause less human owned teams as they will not pay more.

having more game changers is more ways for the rich to get rich and cause the game not to be fun.

Player game changers to effect someone elses team is also a bad idea, what if the team owner doesnt want that game changer.

Reducing expereience to almost require people to pay for the game, will drop owners and players fast.

you must have no experience in these games. Most of the things you listed here will cause dropped ownership and scouts. as all of these are bad ideas.

My opinion (and I fully admit i may be way of base here): You should be able to make enough money to support at least a couple full time employees. You just need to entice people to spend a bit more.

My suggestions:

* Raise your prices slightly. Not enough to discourage people from purchasing though.
* Increase the number of game changers allowed (or introduce a new concept(s) that boost players, such as equipment)
* Introduce a game changer slot that boosts the team the player is on.
* Allow purchase of player and team upgrades that have increasing costs (So the first one costs 200 influence, the second costs 400, the third 800, etc).
* Reduce the amount of exp given out for a player after a few levels to encourage people to buy exp boosting upgrades.
* Increase the cost of training to encourage players to purchase more salary boosting upgrades (or invent new reasons to spend cash).

I would concentrate more on boosts to exp and cash, rather than (potentially game breaking) stats boosts though.

Big Mike speaks the truth.

[zook]

Said HoL eligibility will likely(/hopefully) be dependent on other factors more than simply stats OR training levels

What kind of criteria would you like to see for HoL induction? Championships won? Unless I'm blind (and let's not discount that ) I cannot find a record of all the championships won from the creation of the game to now.

Having over 50 on all the training levels seems to be the "first step" for consideration. I'm assuming stats would have to play a major role as that is the most common evaluation used in any/all sports. Splits for the different leagues they've been in?

With all of that being said, maybe take stats from a specific point in the game and on? I remember how the sim was still very experimental and guys were putting up .450 BAs with over 100 SBs on a pretty regular basis. I think I understand where you're coming from on this, Dag, I'm just not sure what other options are out there for logical evaluation. I like the HoL points idea as it's a step in the right direction.

[tomLitton]

Yes, i don't have much experience with these types of games, and i don't have a ton of experience with this game in particular. My suggestions were based on things i've seen from other MMO games that are f2p with micro transactions.

If the game isn't bringing in enough money to support at least a couple of full time jobs at this point, then i worry about the game's future. At least enough that i'm not going to purchase more influence than i need at the moment.

What do you suggest?

I 100% disagree on raising the prices. We already have a lack of owners and making things cost more, will cause less human owned teams as they will not pay more.

having more game changers is more ways for the rich to get rich and cause the game not to be fun.

Player game changers to effect someone elses team is also a bad idea, what if the team owner doesnt want that game changer.

Reducing expereience to almost require people to pay for the game, will drop owners and players fast.

you must have no experience in these games. Most of the things you listed here will cause dropped ownership and scouts. as all of these are bad ideas.

My opinion (and I fully admit i may be way of base here): You should be able to make enough money to support at least a couple full time employees. You just need to entice people to spend a bit more.

My suggestions:

* Raise your prices slightly. Not enough to discourage people from purchasing though.
* Increase the number of game changers allowed (or introduce a new concept(s) that boost players, such as equipment)
* Introduce a game changer slot that boosts the team the player is on.
* Allow purchase of player and team upgrades that have increasing costs (So the first one costs 200 influence, the second costs 400, the third 800, etc).
* Reduce the amount of exp given out for a player after a few levels to encourage people to buy exp boosting upgrades.
* Increase the cost of training to encourage players to purchase more salary boosting upgrades (or invent new reasons to spend cash).

I would concentrate more on boosts to exp and cash, rather than (potentially game breaking) stats boosts though.

[Travis]

What the hey, what does reaching level 50 in celebrity and in charity, has to do with HoL? I know i must be missing something here!?

Not a whole lot, really. It's just going to be one criterion.

[dv2325]

The oldest players are only 31 years old. Lets hold off on judging the HofL system still we actually have players that start reaching retirement status. This is still seasons away.

[Canonico]

What the hey, what does reaching level 50 in celebrity and in charity, has to do with HoL? I know i must be missing something here!?

Not a whole lot, really. It's just going to be one criterion.

Ok, hope a very small use of the Celebrity & Charity criteria. Thanks.

[mikelust1977]

may a membership fee for people who want it. members can get perks, like a free membership, bronze membership, Silver membership gold membership and platinum membership. Each membership has different perks.
Like

Free membership would be like it is now, and be able to buy influence, (max 5 teams)
$5 Bronze, 1 free player or team (player choice) 1000IP, (max 5 teams)
$10 Silver 2 players or teams or 1 of each, 2000IP, (max 5 teams)
$15 Gold 3 teams or players or 2 and 1 3000IP, (max 5 teams)
$20 Platnium 4 players or teams or two of each, 4000IP (max 5 teams)

Yes, i don't have much experience with these types of games, and i don't have a ton of experience with this game in particular. My suggestions were based on things i've seen from other MMO games that are f2p with micro transactions.

If the game isn't bringing in enough money to support at least a couple of full time jobs at this point, then i worry about the game's future. At least enough that i'm not going to purchase more influence than i need at the moment.

What do you suggest?

[Travis]

The oldest players are only 31 years old. Lets hold off on judging the HofL system still we actually have players that start reaching retirement status. This is still seasons away.

Precisely, well put.

If the game isn't bringing in enough money to support at least a couple of full time jobs at this point, then i worry about the game's future. At least enough that i'm not going to purchase more influence than i need at the moment.

That's not exactly the sort of attitude that will help the situation.

But I understand. I disagree, but I can see why you might be concerned. The fact is most of the features of the game are in place and most important functions are completely automated. Hell, we've even got the season change down from 12+ hours to just a couple.

Do we still have work to do? Sure. Do we still plan to keep developing the game? Absolutely. We've already begun making tools that will allow our moderator team to help us manage the back end of the game. So instead of having one full time person running the show you'll have several people helping part-time.

What's more, we'll be able to actually afford to make investments in the game by paying for new features we might not otherwise be able to provide ourselves. In fact, we've already got quotes from developers on a few features we want to contract out, now all we need to do is save up for them.

We see it as a turning point. We've got some awesome mods and a great bunch of core scouts. We're about to start investing in growth and I think we're primed to start growing this community. In the end, I think a strong community is the most important thing in determining success. Everything else is secondary.