PureSim 2006 Status Update (long)

[KG Erwin]

Yes, get the primary new features out ASAP, and allow us to buy the public beta.

I have NEVER completed a season in my preferred method of play, which is playing every game of my chosen team. Now, saying that, I would like a fairly stable game to be bought again.

At this point, Shaun, I can't see you taking risks and putting in radically new features that could "break" the game. Incremental changes are fine.

The faithful will stick with you, of that you don't have to worry.

[redeck]

godlike expansion abilities and release away!

go Tigers!

Go Puresim!

HUZZAH

[BryanK]

Robust expansion would definitely give puresim a feature that is fairly unique among baseball sims right now..

[Dazooz2]

I liked the way the last game was released, with new things added. It's like a purchase that keeps on giving!

[FranklinNoble]

I have to disagree with the "release now, tweak later" sentiment.

I think Matrix games has a black eye over the Maximum Football release debacle. I think if it's going to take you a few more weeks to hammer out the details and release a solid product, then you should do that. Naturally, there will still be post-release issues, but the game should be playable out of the box. That's just my opinion. I'm as excited as anyone to see the final product, but I don't want to see another flamewar erupt because this game was prematurely released.

[Amaroq]

I don't think that's exactly what he's talking about - we're not looking at the 'hustle 20 half-finished features out the door', he's basically asking 'do you want 10* features in May, or 20 features in September?'

So the overwhelming response has been 'both! Give us 10 features now, and then keep rolling out features over the course of the season' - even though that typically means there won't be 20 features total, there might be more like 15 or 16 at the end of the season.

* - feature numbers are 'hypothetical', and have no relation to Shaun's actual work or planning process!

[FranklinNoble]

I get that... My concern is that the hardcore fans here might want that, but what about the casual gamers, or, more importantly the trade publications? They're going to take their first impression from the initial release - they're not going to wait three months to review a 'new' game. I think everyone agrees we want to see the game succeed commercially. It might be better to be a little more patient, that's all.

[Silverbullet]

I have followed the Maximum Football site for sometime.
This game has been in development for YEARS.
What was the "debacle"?

[galaril]

I think we are discussing whether to release with more features not with less bugs ala Maximum Football. Think Galactic Civilizations where new features are added not lets release an unfinished game and have customers pay to beta test. Shaun always has released very solid versions and I have never over the years this will be my third or fourth version bought, felt like I was beta testing. I think comparing Shaun and his game to the Max Football guy and his game is like comparing Oprah to Halle Berry.

[FranklinNoble]

I'm not suggesting the game will be buggy at all. I'm just saying, you've got one shot to make a great impression to the gaming industry media... Might be a good idea to give it your best effort is all I'm saying.

[sovereignstar]

I agree with FranklinNoble 100%.

[Amaroq]

ORIGINAL: FranklinNoble

I get that... My concern is that the hardcore fans here might want that, but what about the casual gamers, or, more importantly the trade publications? They're going to take their first impression from the initial release - they're not going to wait three months to review a 'new' game. I think everyone agrees we want to see the game succeed commercially. It might be better to be a little more patient, that's all.

Yes, that's the strongest counter-argument, I think.

Of course the hardcore fans, the ones responding on the forum, are going to be in favor of a tiered-release system.
a.) we're used to it
b.) we'd be excited enough to come download for new features.
c.) we're more interested in the content, not the appearance.

Your point about the 'casual gamer' and 'trade publications' are very good ones: both of those audiences are going to look at the game exactly once, and make a determination based on three things:
a.) What does it *look* like?
b.) How does it rate compared to the main competitor(s), in this case, OOTPB?
c.) How much has it changed from last year's version?

Based on those three things, they're going to either buy it or rate it highly, or they're going to say 'I'll wait for next year's version / OOTPB.'

[puresimmer]

Great discussion.

Welcome to my dilemma. Add to all this that it becomes exponentially harder to get a Baseball game (or any other seasonal sports sim) noticed/reviewed/purchased as the release date drifts away from the sweet spot (in this case Spring). I just wish this was my full time job so I wasn't always in this constant triage mode.

One thing I do want to stress -- I will *not* release a buggy game. It's just not an option. PureSim has a pretty good track record here. Nobody remembers that a solid game was shipped late. *EVERYONE* remembers (not fondly!) a buggy game that shipped on time.

I have 100% control of the content of the game and I have 100% control of the ship date. Matrix is awesome in this regard. Its why I chose them over other suitors. Comparisons to Max Football are not applicable here. I haven't seen that game so I can't comment on it regardless.

This crux discussion is more around the whether the number of new features added this year are impactful enough. Unfortunately, I don't have the resources to re-skin the user interface every year. So, PS 2006 already lacks an out of the box "wow this is totally new" response from entrenched fans. This year will be no different, and that certainly shows in some areas. We all have a few screens in PureSim that we fondly refer to as "old friends" (can you say "Modify Roster" screen). Of course it will have the new almanac, graphical play by play. multiple levels of minors and some other tweaks, so it certainly has some substance, I just had this voice telling me that core fans might want to see a little more out of the gate, so I asked. You're respionses are really helpful as I chart the game's course.

[sovereignstar]

ORIGINAL: puresimmer

This crux discussion is more around the whether the number of new features added this year are impactful enough. Unfortunately, I don't have the resources to re-skin the user interface every year. So, PS 2006 already lacks an out of the box "wow this is totally new" response from entrenched fans. This year will be no different, and that certainly shows in some areas. We all have a few screens in PureSim that we fondly refer to as "old friends" (can you say "Modify Roster" screen). Of course it will have the new almanac, graphical play by play. multiple levels of minors and some other tweaks, so it certainly has some substance, I just had this voice telling me that core fans might want to see a little more out of the gate, so I asked. You're respionses are really helpful as I chart the game's course.

Yeah, I guess it all depends on what your goals are. I think part of the reason the game isn't a larger hit (at FOFC for example) is that things have pretty much always been added in tiers, maybe to the point where guys are confused as to what the game is currently like. That leads to another problem - there isn't a demo currently.

[FranklinNoble]

Unfortunately, I think the Maximum Football debacle is going to impact you, no matter how much you're distanced from it. There are already folks on other boards who have now totally sworn off anything with "Matrix" on the label because of that release. I think some carefully worded damage control will have to be done in order to convince some communities that your game is worth giving a fair shot.

And as soon as people have the impression that you're selling an "incomplete" product, they're going to turn on you, and it might get ugly. I know that's not the reality of what you're doing here, but as a relative newcomer to the Matrix scene, and not a die-hard fan, I'm just giving you the perspective of an objective outsider.

[dneely]

I think FranklinNoble has a point and he could be right to a certain extent. I purchased Max Football because I wanted to support a new game and to support Matrix. But I have to say I have hardly touch the Max FB game and it is far from a finished product.

Having said that I feel Shaun has a strong and solid reputation among those who care about baseball sims and PureSim is just behind OOTP in respect and support in the buying public.

In my humbke opinion Shaun should add what he can to the in-game managerial aspects, release the new version ASAP and add some features to keep the game "alive" and the fans looking forward to new additions and ideas. I have said for the past 6-8 months that Shaun will make a strategic error if he does not beat OOTPB to the market, and the beginning of the baseball season sales and excitement!!! Any release after May 31st will cost him a ton of sales!!!

dneely

[Amaroq]

[deleted] - just saw the target launch date notification, so further discussion is pretty much moot!!

[jeremy7227]

ORIGINAL: galaril

I think comparing Shaun and his game to the Max Football guy and his game is like comparing Oprah to Halle Berry.

I don't get it... Is Shaun Oprah or Halle Berry in this example? On the one hand he could be practically Bill Gates rich and one of the most powerful people in the world, able to make and break careers with a glance. On the other hand movie star rich and one of the most physically beatiful women in the world. You may want to Wiki "simile" and take another run at that post.

[lynchjm24]

I would agree with him. It's just not going to be a problem. He's not going to release a game that isn't ready.

[MizzouRah_slith]

Multiple levels of minors is fully implemented and I love how non-intrusive it turned out. Just one simple screen to visit for analyzing how players are doing at the 3 levels, promoting/demoting etc. No need to set lineups or rotations, stats are simulated by the engine using an algorithm that estimates playing time based on how crowded a given position is at a given level of the minors. You can also name the minor league cities just to add a little flavor.

Glad to read this part.. Micromanaging can get so tedious. So far, I like what I'm reading about Puresim 2006... looking foward to seeing some new screenies of some of the new features of the game. I say go for your goals and release the game when you and the beta team are comfortable.