Thoughts on GD Changes Topic

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The engine was a good solid version. It did need some tweaks. But it didn't need to be blown up.

Yes the majority of those coaches enjoyed what they played and didn't enjoy what came after it. These coaches were the ones who made it the game and the site that it was.

I really doubt that we will ever see the greater share of these guys ever come back. The reason I believe is that such a bad taste was left in a lot of guy's mouths. Those first 5 seasons after 2.0 was rolled out the game was really awful, it did get better. Not what it was but better. WIS should have suspended charging for 2.0 when it was immediatly known that it was a very broken game. At the very least 1.0 should have been put back in and 2.0 put into testing where it belonged.

Myself, I had as many as 11 teams on 3 accounts. I am now down to 1 team on 1 account with no plans or interest to revive anymore teams. My last team is a rebuild which has been my favorite part of GD and it is maybe over half done. I have 2-3 more seasons to finish rebuilding Sam Houston and then I will likely retire.

I play HBD now. Truly a fun and challenging game. Also giving HD another shot.

8/12/2013 10:08 AM
I won't argue that the original game engine "needed" to be blown up, but as someone who occasionally dabbles in programming, sometimes it makes sense to start from scratch.  After tweak, and bandaid, and slight adjustment, and a little bit of code here to fix a glitch, applications can become a "spaghetti bowl" of code and become difficult, if not impossible, to manage.  Plus, changes in technology can sometimes "force" a blow up in order to achieve performance increases.

The problems with 2.0 began with the developer, who simply would not listen to the input from the community at large or the coaches' council.  He rolled out a poorly tested product that had glaring, disastrous faults.  And, in a stroke of horrible timing, WIS changed the way reward points were awarded, reducing the outlay dramatically.  They may have NEEDED to do that from a financial perspective, but the timing could not have been worse, coming on top of the disaster of "Conte's Inferno".

This caused a mass exodus of coaches from the game, but not from the forum - and so anyone that joined the game at that point, even after the 2.0 engine was made -- well, less crappy would be about the nicest way I could say it - was immediately bombarded with how terrible the game was.  VERY FEW of them stuck around, and what you have left now is a sliver of what was once a thriving user community.


8/12/2013 12:00 PM
Posted by bhazlewood on 8/12/2013 12:00:00 PM (view original):
I won't argue that the original game engine "needed" to be blown up, but as someone who occasionally dabbles in programming, sometimes it makes sense to start from scratch.  After tweak, and bandaid, and slight adjustment, and a little bit of code here to fix a glitch, applications can become a "spaghetti bowl" of code and become difficult, if not impossible, to manage.  Plus, changes in technology can sometimes "force" a blow up in order to achieve performance increases.

The problems with 2.0 began with the developer, who simply would not listen to the input from the community at large or the coaches' council.  He rolled out a poorly tested product that had glaring, disastrous faults.  And, in a stroke of horrible timing, WIS changed the way reward points were awarded, reducing the outlay dramatically.  They may have NEEDED to do that from a financial perspective, but the timing could not have been worse, coming on top of the disaster of "Conte's Inferno".

This caused a mass exodus of coaches from the game, but not from the forum - and so anyone that joined the game at that point, even after the 2.0 engine was made -- well, less crappy would be about the nicest way I could say it - was immediately bombarded with how terrible the game was.  VERY FEW of them stuck around, and what you have left now is a sliver of what was once a thriving user community.


What he said.
8/12/2013 1:51 PM
This might be hard to read due to the size.  It's a chart of all the worlds and their human vs SIM population for data I have in the GUESS Database.  The line in red is when 2.0 was released (and a flurry of free seasons to go along with it.)


8/12/2013 2:01 PM

I added up ~2200 human players in all Worlds.  At $10 per season (very few if any free now) = $22,000 every 5 weeks (season).  $22,000 x 10 seasons per year = $220,000 per year.

Since they only have 1 programmer and probably 1 customer service person, I think they are still doing OK.

8/12/2013 2:43 PM
  Humans     % Full
  Pre 2.0 Current % LOSS   Pre 2.0 Current
Rockne 327 221 32%   53% 36%
Camp 242 186 23%   40% 30%
Bryant 253 203 20%   41% 33%
Wilkinson 240 163 32%   39% 27%
Leahy 329 229 30%   54% 37%
Stagg 270 209 23%   44% 34%
Warner 285 221 22%   47% 36%
Heisman 293 219 25%   48% 36%
Dobie 222 157 29%   36% 26%
Hayes 243 146 40%   40% 24%
Yost 300 207 31%   49% 34%
             
  3004 2161 28%   45% 32%
8/12/2013 3:20 PM
Those numbers are incredibly telling. Less than 1/3 of teams now are human coached, which makes for a less interesting game. The community is not always the draw but it's the hook. It gets people to stay many times. There is a cavernous void where part of the community used to be.
8/12/2013 3:45 PM
The "Pre 2.0" numbers are for the last season prior to the rollout of the 2.0 Engine.  Those are not the high-water mark by any means.  I'm not going to count the initial roll-out of 2.0 as a population high point because so many of those were free "one and done" accounts.
8/12/2013 4:12 PM
That is a shame to have lost so many coaches. Some of the best that there was.

Some started on day 1 too.

8/12/2013 7:09 PM
We have lost a lot, and like jibe said I bet most won't come back. We still get some scattered new users but many don't stay long. We used to have waiting lists for worlds and now you sometimes pick up a defending national champ or contender after rollover. Thanks for those numbers Bob, very interesting.
8/12/2013 9:44 PM
I started on 2.0 and even though there have been a few headscratchers, I enjoy the game for what it is.  I dont mind 3.0 basic and have no desire to play advanced.  one thing that has damn near killed my interest is the negativity in the game.  A problem I see is that the teams that are successful are the ones that always have a coach.  Most newbies get stuck with bottom of the barrel crap.  i enjoy rebuilds so its not a big deal with me.  When I say negativity I'm referring to those coaches that go 9-0 and get beat in a heartbreaker, then whine that the engine is broke and they go 12-1 for the season.  3.0 isnt going to save the game as far as bringing back coaches and the reason is because now the newbies get stuck with crappy teams and running basic are behind the 8 ball to make matters worse.

I'm not sure what the solution for GD is.
8/13/2013 1:05 AM
Crazy changes...but I still enjoy it, to each his own I guess if there weren't many other coaches I would just go buy NCAA 14 football for xbox but this is more fun to me.
8/13/2013 1:35 AM
I still enjoy it to.
8/13/2013 7:17 AM
Posted by starfinder77 on 8/13/2013 1:05:00 AM (view original):
I started on 2.0 and even though there have been a few headscratchers, I enjoy the game for what it is.  I dont mind 3.0 basic and have no desire to play advanced.  one thing that has damn near killed my interest is the negativity in the game.  A problem I see is that the teams that are successful are the ones that always have a coach.  Most newbies get stuck with bottom of the barrel crap.  i enjoy rebuilds so its not a big deal with me.  When I say negativity I'm referring to those coaches that go 9-0 and get beat in a heartbreaker, then whine that the engine is broke and they go 12-1 for the season.  3.0 isnt going to save the game as far as bringing back coaches and the reason is because now the newbies get stuck with crappy teams and running basic are behind the 8 ball to make matters worse.

I'm not sure what the solution for GD is.
Rebuilding teams is ridiculously easy now.  You can go from all Sims to NC in 4 seasons.  It used to be that not only did you get stuck with a bad team, but you also had to deal with a mostly/fully human schedule every season.  
8/13/2013 12:26 PM
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Thoughts on GD Changes Topic

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