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Post by james018 on Aug 27, 2017 11:52:59 GMT
The matches are all finished for this season as of yesterday... what now? Do we go straight into another season? Will the game need a break while things get sorted out? Are there changes in the pipeline? Is anyone even still playing?
I don't like being a wet blanket, but honestly I'm not too enthused by OCM in its current form. As I've pointed out before the game doesn't really have anything to catch the eye that other cricket management games don't already possess, and nor does it fare well in any of those games' strengths (the senior/youth management of FTP, the in-depth tactics of CC, the player potentials in Stumped...) The match engine is also poor... you have no idea what score you'll get or how your team will perform on any given day. I've consistently set what I've judged to be my best XI in every game, and although that's resulted in me outrating my opponents handily, I've lost a lot more games than I've won. I can only assume that the my use of very few available tactics are consistently lowering my side's standard, and if telling my team to bowl first with moderate (5) aggression puts me at a disadvantage relative to setting no orders at all, that's a problem.
Anyway it is early days but I'll need to see some signs of development and, most importantly, a vision for where the game is going if I am to persist with OCM.
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odin
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Post by odin on Aug 28, 2017 9:04:08 GMT
Agree with James' comments.
It's totally acceptable to close the game for a month to work on it, then restart with current teams at that time. Most (all?) of the few players here also play other sims so we aren't going anywhere. However, obvious fixes need to happen (setting orders and defaults), plus probably an increase in the tactical options open to us. At the moment it feels like the only thing we have is a combination of understanding how to rate our players, and then leaving them on relevant training. That _might_ be enough, and I'm definitely all for a game where it's very difficult to build the perfect player, but I'd really like to see/know about some development. At present, the few players you have are spread thinly around the world. No problem, as long as user base increases. Perhaps a simpler pyramid structure would be easier, something like they have in Hitwicket, or cricket championship?
I note that in other games some managers complain about lack of development even when the game is basically mature. I understand that, though I don't really buy it. In OCM's case though, the game is not mature, and requires much development both in terms of bugs, presentation, and features. I am certain the current users will be very understanding and helpful, since we would like to see this become something good. Hope so!
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Post by OCM_Dbest on Sept 1, 2017 5:42:29 GMT
Thanks for your comments and your support. I need to reassess the development needs of the game now. The number of users has been relatively low so that has not been very encouraging.
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odin
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Post by odin on Sept 1, 2017 9:28:53 GMT
The number of users has been relatively low so that has not been very encouraging. Assuming you continue with the project, this will be the make-or-break question. In many other games long-term managers whinge about the game engine. In most of those cases I don't think it's the real problem. The real hurdle is how to attract new managers to the site in the first place. For a sustainable long-term project, these things are required: - lots of people coming to the site to have a look/try - lots of them come back a second time - they end up liking it I've ranked them in order of difficulty. Unfortunately I don't have solutions to this, but you could look at two opposite ends of the spectrum - stumped and hitwicket. One, stumped, is an involved and challenging management game. HW is less difficult to play, but still requires some thought and planning in the training side of things. HW has various scores to track, including plenty of easily attainable targets (called achievements) which grant money and more points. In-game abilities are unlocked with this, and early progression is obvious. Stumped is an older style text game. I believe a higher % of players will enjoy their first and second hits to HW than will to stumped. Further, I think the raw numbers of people going to the site is much higher for HW. I don't know why this is, but I suspect there's been an investment in advertising. The result - HW has 1000s of managers, stumped has 100s. My point is that I'm not surprised there are low numbers unless you're advertising substantially. Further, the current user experience is poor, so only diehards (my hand is up) are likely to stay. Suggestions: - fix all the basic stuff on the site - get key functionality started and smooth. [this alone might generate users as the diehards invite their friends, which I wouldn't do atm] - possibly introduce some progression system, ranking system - then, only then, advertise Until then we are still here, and wish you the best:)
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Post by OCM_Dbest on Sept 1, 2017 9:33:45 GMT
Thanks for the support. I will look at fixing the core stuff right away.
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Post by OCM_Dbest on Sept 1, 2017 10:23:37 GMT
Odin, James and anyone else,
Can you give me a list of top 5 things I need to fix asap?
I will prioritize working on them.
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Post by james018 on Sept 1, 2017 12:16:50 GMT
I'm not sure how valuable my input is, as I tend to care about different things compared to other users. I'm not so concerned about the user interface or even the match engine as I am about the challenge of the game itself: developing and managing my team so they are the best they can possibly be. To that end, I am personally most frustrated with little things that force me to waste my time on trivial stuff that I shouldn't have to worry about. The inability to set a default team is probably the most annoying thing in the game for me, and I sense it would be a turnoff for many users.
Second, you have the little bugs going around - some of which you've fixed, like the rounding off of player skills and the sorting by player names - but others like the league table error (one team in my T20 league has 1 draw and the rest have 0, which should be impossible!) and the scout scheduling error need fixing.
Once those obvious factors are fixed up, I think it's time to start looking at game experience - how are you going to set up the game in the long run so people don't get bored? Like I keep saying, you need a point of difference from other games otherwise people will just go and play Hitwicket, Stumped or FTP instead. It could be variable training times, it could be a novel youth setup... ultimately it's up to you. What would make you want to play the game?
Those are three things that spring to my mind. Obviously Odin's also mentioned some other factors, notably improving the user interface (I wouldn't know where to start with that), effective marketing (ditto) and perhaps some sort of tutorial/achievements/ranking system (which I think is a very good idea). And as I said at the outset, the match engine definitely needs improving, but that is a longer-term project.
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odin
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Post by odin on Sept 1, 2017 14:36:34 GMT
I've noted a number of things in my other thread. You can look for some easy fixes there. Team setup for matches is a good place to start for sure.
Also, are the points-rankings generated by the software meaningful? I have a sense that they are some kind of overall player points, which doesn't help if we are looking for a batsman.
A rough guide to the engine is normal, though perhaps not necessary. Something like "line and length bowlers generally concede fewer runs" At the moment I don't really have much idea how to win a game. I play the players that have the highest scores in what appear to be relevant positions, but I'm not engaged in the decision making I would normally expect. I'm thinking along the lines of "Smith is strong and has good pace, but no experience, whereas Jones bowls RFS really effective on this pitch, but Singh tends to take more wickets....". Obviously we don't need ultimate detail, but a bit would be nice.
At the moment the game isn't fun. I think this is important. What about some attainable targets that generate manager points, stars, prestige points, or whatever. Managers can use them to name their players, rename their stadium, or enjoy other cosmetic things. Users could be ranked in various ways - everyone loves ranking. There could be season-based points and permanent points. I think this could get quite inventive, and once the code's written it should look after itself.
Hope this helps. One last thing - it might be good to set a development timeline, both for yourself and potentially for users to see.
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Post by OCM_Dbest on Sept 3, 2017 11:35:45 GMT
Thanks odin.
Its back to the drawing board. I will need to work something out to make the game FUN!
With that in mind, there might be a lull for some time, till I figure this out. I will be looking at hitwicket as the go to model for the future of OCM, and will add features of FTP.
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odin
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Post by odin on Sept 3, 2017 13:02:12 GMT
Thanks odin. Its back to the drawing board. I will need to work something out to make the game FUN! With that in mind, there might be a lull for some time, till I figure this out. I will be looking at hitwicket as the go to model for the future of OCM, and will add features of FTP. I think a lull is fine. It might be good to share some projected timelines with us, so we know where you are. Will the next season tick along, or will you suspend? Opinions may differ on what is fun - please try to gather info from other users. Perhaps a short survey sent by email? I expect HW is not everyone's cup of tea, and I bring it up mainly because they seem to have broken the curse of poor membership, unlike stumped and CC. My idea is just that there are more ways to gain satisfaction than just being the best team, since only one team can do that, and it will always be one of the older teams. Date-of-joining cups, rivalries, records, manager-points and so on offer that to all users, hence I'm leaning that way. For example, battrick has a huge list of achievements that never got implemented properly. It's a shame, as I think it would have added something to that game. Again, opinions may differ.
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Post by OCM_Dbest on Sept 15, 2017 5:11:33 GMT
Sounds like a plan.. I still need to base the game on something, so am going to look at the HW model and improve on it.
Achievements is a good idea to have and I will make sure that stats and achievements are being recorded.
The game will need a revamp. So it will be a brand new season. The mechanics might change, I am still deciding on next steps.
I see at least another 3 months, before I have something to show for it. Maybe I can start with a development blog / forum post, to let you all know the progress that I make.
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odin
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Post by odin on Feb 18, 2018 22:55:16 GMT
Hi Dbest.
I noted there have been 14 guests on the forums within the last 24 hours. There is potential in this game. Are you still working on it? Do let us know, so we can keep/stop playing accordingly.
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