Gridiron Dynasty 3.1 - User Interface Upgrade Topic

Those two screen shots look good
4/23/2014 8:26 AM
Thanks for all the input and the well wishes everyone :)

When we heard the idea for a tutorial we knew that it was a great idea, in fact we had been contemplating something similar for a long time. In response we constructed the new interface to guide you though the pages like a tutorial might, easing the pain points and creating a much easier flow to construct the game plan that is desired. I know that there will be a some veteran users will see this thread and immediately be off-put by the creation of a new interface. I also know that some of our longest tenured veterans have been longing for a interface that will allow them to control their team like they want. Our first goal in this change was to ease pain points, and this we have done well. The second was to give as much control while reducing the complexity, this we have also done quite well. While you are reading this thread you will think the sky is falling, that much is already clear. Just remember, at What If we are striving to create a game that will not only keep the veterans happy, but also update a game that will make it fun to play. Before you give up on this, try the new features. I actually think that you will like them. Perhaps that's just me being optimistic and enjoying playing this game again, but as a veteran who has been with a while, I implore you to give this new interface a try before you condemn the unknown.  




4/23/2014 10:04 AM
I've already paid for next season so I will at least give it a try. If the game is still fun at DIII and I win as my team improves maybe I'll stay. Like most I realize there isn't another game out there like this one so my options are limited.
4/23/2014 10:21 AM
Posted by oriole_fan on 4/23/2014 10:04:00 AM (view original):
Thanks for all the input and the well wishes everyone :)

When we heard the idea for a tutorial we knew that it was a great idea, in fact we had been contemplating something similar for a long time. In response we constructed the new interface to guide you though the pages like a tutorial might, easing the pain points and creating a much easier flow to construct the game plan that is desired. I know that there will be a some veteran users will see this thread and immediately be off-put by the creation of a new interface. I also know that some of our longest tenured veterans have been longing for a interface that will allow them to control their team like they want. Our first goal in this change was to ease pain points, and this we have done well. The second was to give as much control while reducing the complexity, this we have also done quite well. While you are reading this thread you will think the sky is falling, that much is already clear. Just remember, at What If we are striving to create a game that will not only keep the veterans happy, but also update a game that will make it fun to play. Before you give up on this, try the new features. I actually think that you will like them. Perhaps that's just me being optimistic and enjoying playing this game again, but as a veteran who has been with a while, I implore you to give this new interface a try before you condemn the unknown.  




Are you deliberately trolling us?
4/23/2014 10:39 AM
I'm completely behind oriole_fan here. WIS has to do something to make the game more friendly to new users, for the long-term health of the game.

D-III was always the only entry point for new users. In my opinion, WIS mismanaged D-III in the past, tacitly incenting veteran players to stay at the beginner level forever by giving veterans a huge advantage on the learning curve over new players. Changes like the ones oriole's describing were really inevitable.

GD and WIS's other games are always subject to change, and these changes can suck. I've been there. I stopped playing Clutch Dynasty early in its lifetime when WIS shut it down mid-season to overhaul the game engine and I dropped from first place to finish in fourth. Obviously we know how things turned out for Clutch... I hope WIS is using its lessons learned from the past to implement these GD changes gracefully.

Wishing you the best, oriole. I hope this has the intended benefits.
4/23/2014 11:06 AM
Posted by rubinski on 4/23/2014 8:04:00 AM (view original):
Oriole,  Since Div 3 will be modified to help new players, will it be possible for experienced players joining a new world to start in Div 2?
I think this would be a good option. I have also never understood why an owner who has qualified for a higher division in one world has to start at D3 again if they want to join an additional world.
4/23/2014 11:28 AM
Oriole.

No one is complaining that there is a new, simpler interface with less complexity (options).  

What they are complaining about is being forced to use it or give up their team and move to another division.
 

4/23/2014 4:19 PM
Posted by pyt100 on 4/23/2014 7:41:00 AM (view original):
The biggest change to bring back owners is get rid of the stupid BIG BROTHER forum thread that has nothing to do with football and put those idiots in a non sports forum where they should be and more people will play GD again.
So, maybe only coaches in DII and above should have access to this forum thread?  You know, so it doesn't scare away more new players???
4/23/2014 5:00 PM
Posted by bhazlewood on 4/23/2014 4:19:00 PM (view original):
Oriole.

No one is complaining that there is a new, simpler interface with less complexity (options).  

What they are complaining about is being forced to use it or give up their team and move to another division.
 

This.
4/23/2014 7:17 PM
This is a joke. I just started my 2nd season. Did I do well my 1st season? No, but it's not because it was too complex. There are guides out there for newbies, and this newbie didn't really do the guides last season, but he is this one. I never found anything really complicated, just some things were a bit time consuming, mainly creating a play book. Only thing people have to do is read. And there is plenty of time during recruiting for people to get acclimated to the game.

Basically, the players that quit after one or two seasons are lazy people that don't want to put the time in and get upset when things don't go how they want it to go. Instead of trying to get better, they quit. Though some may not like the game as well. Now, like someone else said, what happens when the coach goes from D3 to D2? Gonna get killed because they have no idea how to do the more in-depth stuff, then they will quit D2, then the change will be made to D2 and so on and so on. D3, just like in RL, is a learning ground for new the new coaches that want to move up one day. Some decide to stay in D3 for whatever reason, some decide to move up. Either way, it's a learning ground. Hard to learn anything when there is nothing there for you to learn, so you are just as clueless when you get to D2.

I'm not a veteran of this game yet I still don't like this move.
4/23/2014 10:25 PM
I can't believe you guys are basically getting rid of DIII. Horrible move that will lose you a lot of coaches that have and planned to spend the $$$ to stick around.
4/23/2014 11:15 PM
There's already a choice between basic and advanced settings. How about having a Beginner - Intermediate - Advanced - Expert. Each setting allows players to learn a new aspect of the game and gain added control. Players could choose how complicated and in-depth they want the game to be and learn it gradually. If this is really the reason why new players quit the problem is solved. If lack of success when they begin playing is the reason for quitting the problem will likely continue.
4/24/2014 1:48 AM
The thing is, is that this increases the chances of a newbie losing to an established veteran unless they get one of the coveted high vision schools. This makes the whole thing about recruiting (much like it was before) and while it was still a huge thing in 3.0 I believed that a lot of it was gameplanning and being close enough to make up that difference. Now, with no way to exploit opponents weaknesses new users that "get it" will not be able to take advantage of what they see when gameplanning.
4/24/2014 1:52 AM
The whole thing sounds like BS to me. WIS isn't able to get new players to stay after their free season. As they leave they complain about the game being too difficult to understand and too time consuming to learn. This is despite the fact that the basic setting is an extremely dumbed down option with little time required to set a team up. The translation or truth behind this is they don't win the first season with the basic setting and a team full of sims playing established coaches with better talent so they quit. WIS is saying if we want to make more money we need more people to win early so they will become paying customers. We do that by making an easy interface with a few more options (a smoke screen basically) and then attempt to force established coaches to drop their teams so some of the new players can win and pay for a few seasons (the real purpose of the change). I say it's brilliant!

They also know many of the coaches will whine, complain, and threaten to leave. However, many of them won't actually follow through or they'll come back after a brief hiatus and start playing again.  The permanent losses they end up with will be acceptable for them.

I think the only way to thwart what they are trying to do is follow the suggestion holmes44 made. Coaches can stay at DIII with their superior talent and continue to win and dominate. They'll also gain more free time thanks to the simplified interface. New players will join the game and only those who are willing to accept a few losing seasons as their talent level improves will stick with the game. The net gain for WIS in this scenario would most likely be absolutely zero. 
4/24/2014 2:16 AM (edited)
I think I saw someone point this out in a round about way somewhere else. If more teams in DIII end up with new human coaches but all SIM recruited players, they'll actually be easier to beat for established coaches with more talent. WIS will need to get new coaches to take on the teams the veteran coaches are leaving or the sims with human recruited teams will still win most of the games and the new coaches will still struggle and quit. If this is really about just introducing an easier interface it seems like a really risky way to do it. There is just too many ways for it to end up not going well all the way around. I like the idea of a simple step by step tutorial. A new player could choose this option the first time they play and skip it if they want. A lot of games let you play a tutorial game before playing on your own. A much simpler and less risky fix to what is being stated as the problem. 
4/24/2014 2:26 AM
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Gridiron Dynasty 3.1 - User Interface Upgrade Topic

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