I want to purchase SL.

[jimbo]

Think there is bigger things to worry about than the forum personally. Like actually letting managers joining the game verify ttheir accounts. At the moment no new manager sticks about as the verify email isn’t coming through. So people are joining then instantly leaving. Couple that with current managers leaving the game is going down the pan.


What I will say about the forum is that it needs to go back in game like it was before and is on SL2. It is constantly being spammed by bots. Between 4pm and 8pm it had 30 requests. As I write this it has had another 4 more!!!!  I have a photo but it is too big to attach. This goes on all day. Easily 200 requests a day from spammers.

I agree with you Borg. Junior has responded to my text message saying:

"Thanks James. I'll have a look. Do you have any of their usernames?".

If anyone can help with this that would help Junior with looking into this forum bug. I have also asked him if he can look into new account verification email bug - will keep you posted if I get any updates.

Many thanks

Jimbo.

[jimbo]

I have just emailed Junior telling him of the current problems that need to be resolved asap.

1) Sign up verification - I can create a new registration/sign up page that will work and give any new users all confirmation needed.

2) Team/extended history - Season progress needs to be fixed along with extended history as some users don't have that page anymore.

3) Forum that is integrated on the SL1 website and not external like the current one.

I have told Junior that if he has no time due to other work commitments to fix theses, I can attempt to do them as soon as possible.

Waiting to hear back from Junior.

Thanks.

Thank you for your help and efforts Kush. If those three key points can be actioned then that would be a great solution to some of the problems.

Many thanks

Jimbo.

[Globus]

This is deeply concerning.

As many of you will know  I've advocated the sell-on of the game for a few years now to parties that are more willing and able to host, support and develop the platform.

I've offered my own services on a number of occasions and was overjoyed to see Kush take up the mantle with a view to incorporating positive change.

However, if you have a service that new members cannot sign up to due to a functional code failure, then this is potentially catastrophic.

This issue must be P1 for Junior, Kush or anyone else who has direct access to the code.

!!! FIX THIS FIRST !!!

[captain_kush]

This is deeply concerning.

As many of you will know  I've advocated the sell-on of the game for a few years now to parties that are more willing and able to host, support and develop the platform.

I've offered my own services on a number of occasions and was overjoyed to see Kush take up the mantle with a view to incorporating positive change.

However, if you have a service that new members cannot sign up to due to a functional code failure, then this is potentially catastrophic.

This issue must be P1 for Junior, Kush or anyone else who has direct access to the code.

!!! FIX THIS FIRST !!!

I completely understand and I’m with you all the way.

I know that Junior is busy with other commitments and I am more than willing to solve these issues ASAP. We cannot have a game where new users are not able to sign up accordingly and this is very worrying.

Junior doesn’t want to sell 100% of his share and I can understand this from his point of view but after some discussion and a face to face meeting, we came to an agreement where I and my team would get involved and help out and see what happens in the future. The progress I am doing is slow progress but it is better than no progress.

I am not willing to put time, effort and money into this if this is the case and these major issues are not fixed. as there is no point as the game will only go downhill but I am here to help and solve issues currently in game ASAP and I am even willing to put my own money down to improve situations for the community.

I will wait for a reply from Junior by end of day Monday and if no response, I will call him. Just to let you peeps also know; I don’t have any access to any code or frameworks for SL1.

I will try everything I can to solve these issues. I have made a promise to change the game and I will not go back on that as I am a man of my word.

Thanks.

[Cove]

The progress I am doing is slow progress but it is better than no progress.

I think any progress would be great progress so good luck with it Kush. I hope Junior answers the phone!

[Globus]

Would be nice to have the SSL cert renewed on the website as well Kush.  Could you mention this to Junior as well ?

Cheers
Globus

[davidvangaal]

hey Kush.   I can understand that Junior didn't want sell 100% of his share but in the end that would be down to what is offered.  Are we talking single figure thousands or tens of thousands?  Given the interest in this game from the people who play i ( and the lack of interest/ commitment from those who own it), is there an opportunity for a consortium of players to buy it..would junior sell if the offer was right? Also, is his share 100% or do others own part of the game, too?  Is Junior's share enough to give control if it was bought?

[deca]

Great Idea,

SL developed and owned by the people that play the game day in aand day out, apart from when the system is broken 

Cheers

Deca

[Gull]

Another thing I forgot to mention was whether SL going forward could benefit from some kind of member ownership of the game.

The brief video below succinctly explains how football trusts work in the professional game:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-2lPxgtC60

Deca & Davidvangaal, I touched upon this issue on page 2 of this thread. You may find the video above interesting!

[captain_kush]

hey Kush.   I can understand that Junior didn't want sell 100% of his share but in the end that would be down to what is offered.  Are we talking single figure thousands or tens of thousands?  Given the interest in this game from the people who play i ( and the lack of interest/ commitment from those who own it), is there an opportunity for a consortium of players to buy it..would junior sell if the offer was right? Also, is his share 100% or do others own part of the game, too?  Is Junior's share enough to give control if it was bought?

Hi David,

When I had a meeting with Junior, we did not go into proper detail on percentages etc after he told me he was not willing to sell 100%. We mainly talked on how to improve the game and how me and my team could get involved to assist. Once there was actual improvements and issues being solved, we then would talk about stakes and % but it hasn't come to that point yet.
From what I remember, Junior owns 100%. There was a huge debt a couple of years ago (I think around £40-50K)in which Junior paid all of it. Legal action was threatened on Terry's wife at the time and if the debt wasn't going to be collected it would have been very problematic for the family. For this Junior got involved and paid all the debt off and therefore has 100% stake. I am not sure how much Junior is willing to sell but I do remember for a fact it wouldn't be the whole 100%. Some sort of collaboration would be suited best.  Since Junior paid a 5 figure sum to cover the debt, I see no way of him accepting anything less if he was to sell 100% and for SL at this very moment of time, there is no way anyone would pay that much to take full control including myself.

I was told that the reason why the game went downhill is due to the fact that Junior is the only person running the game and along with work and other commitments, does not have the time to do everything on his own. I understand the time constraints as I am in a similar boat myself as I'm working full time and I am involved in various projects. This has resulted in me spending time on designing a new SL1 to a minimum of approx a few hours a week.
Even though I have Juniors contact details, it is still very difficult to get in contact with him and I'm sure others here can vouch on that also. I wouldn't see a problem if a consortium of players were to get involved and buy a certain stake in the company and I would be very interested in participating. It would be awesome to work with members of the community and take this game forward as my team have struggled to come to terms on the gameplay of SL1 resulting in me mainly trying to design something myself. Having a team that know the game inside out and know what problems need to be fixed would truly be indispensable.

[davidvangaal]

kush


Thanks.  That all makes sense and the position is much clearer.  I have a background in business but not in IT.  I can understand that Junior would want to get back the debt he paid off plus some more  and he deserves too also as not only as he been part of this great game since it was launched but he has also looked after Terry's family.

I wonder if we could identify the skills that are needed to take the game forward and enquire if anybody playing the game has them and the time to contribute?  Although there are niggles with the game, they are not massive, and do not stop it being enjoyed.  The biggest improvement would be responsive management. If that could be improved it would make a lot of people happier.. people spending money expect engagement from the company. It needs to be more than just a customer interface role that gives bland messages though...the person doing it must have the ability and access to fix things themselves.   I wonder what language the game is coded in and whether anybody here  has the skills to manage it?  They don't need to change the coding yet, just administer it and keep it runnning, and make sure that new customers can sign up etc.

[captain_kush]

kush


Thanks.  That all makes sense and the position is much clearer.  I have a background in business but not in IT.  I can understand that Junior would want to get back the debt he paid off plus some more  and he deserves too also as not only as he been part of this great game since it was launched but he has also looked after Terry's family.

I wonder if we could identify the skills that are needed to take the game forward and enquire if anybody playing the game has them and the time to contribute?  Although there are niggles with the game, they are not massive, and do not stop it being enjoyed.  The biggest improvement would be responsive management. If that could be improved it would make a lot of people happier.. people spending money expect engagement from the company. It needs to be more than just a customer interface role that gives bland messages though...the person doing it must have the ability and access to fix things themselves.   I wonder what language the game is coded in and whether anybody here  has the skills to manage it?  They don't need to change the coding yet, just administer it and keep it runnning, and make sure that new customers can sign up etc.

David,

To answer what you have just said; if you was to search the previous pages of this thread, I am sure you will see what you are looking for.

Junior sent me a document late last year showing what needs to be done: I have copied and pasted content of the document here:


-----------------------

Sundayleague Plans

Here are some of my thoughts on the current state of Sundayleague and my plans on how it can change.

Current Constraints:
-   Time. I do not have the luxury of the time I used to have to devote to developing this game much further in a realistic timeframe on my own.
-   Funds. I do not have the funds to allow me to market the game sufficiently and promote it once the necessary work is completed.
-   Contacts. I do not have the contacts to forge strategic partnerships that will propel the game like we did in the past (in a short space of time).

Going Forward
-   I have a general idea of how I wanted to see SundayLeague develop.
-   The game will have to be re-coded from scratch using a new engine in order to fix any existing bugs and allow for easy fixing of any new ones.
-   A graphic artist / designer will need to be worked with to create some mock ups of updated new screens.
-   Artist may be needed to create any artwork needed in the Sundayleague comic style.
-   A discussion needs to take place on how programming work will be handled and led, If I’m on board for this.
-   A plan for the changes and modifications is needed and some rough timeframes.

Programming & Development
-   Aim would be to convert the engine and front-end from running in C++ / Perl to PHP, which will aid in several areas.
-   Create multiple configurable options to aid in fine-tuning.
-   Have a small team of beta-testers that are not biased
-   Have multiple personnel working on the game via GitHub etc.

Server
-   Linux cPanel/WHM (Centos 7.x 64Bit) 4gb ram 60 GB SSD SSL
-   Hosted with EUKHost.com, who have excellent support.
-   No need to change this arrangement at present.


Current Setup
-   Game backend (C++ game engine that runs on a Cron script twice a day and exports data to txt files which are imported into a MySQL database)
-   Game frontend (Perl scripts that load html template files and manipulate data from the MySQL database)
Limitations:
-   Very problematic to debug backend (several minutes to compile game engine, then several more to run and load the datafiles, then to test a single issue)
-   Slightly antiquated programming language setup (Perl system is a bit outdated as well as the backend C++ game engine setup)
-   Very hard to debug front-end also.
-   Not scalable. Adding more than 4096 teams breaks the system
-   C++ code not compiled in over 10 years.


Proposed setup
-   Game backend (PHP that runs every minute in time-slices with direct connection to database)
-   Game frontend (PHP scripts with possible front controller that loads separate html templates and manipulates data from database)*
Benefits:
-   Very easy to debug game engine on development machines. (relatively instant, as there is no compiling or loading of data)
-   PHP is a well-supported language and combined with XDebug, development is easier.
-   Scalable. The Game architecture does not have to revolve around 4096 teams playing once a day. (You can have instant games if you want with real players for example)
-   Some of the R&D already completed and works.


OTHER PLATFORMS

Facebook
-   An attempt was made to integrate with Facebook with SL2. It worked briefly before Facebook changed to their API and work then ceased on my part
-   More research is needed to get the SSO working again, alongside skinning and payment systems integration.
-   Not enough time spent on Facebook and no marketing was done to see if we could capitalize on the casual gamer with SL2, but this could change for SundayLeague

Mobile Web
-   The front-end can potentially work with a mobile skin as well as for a traditional browser.
-   Relatively simple with today’s technology to create a responsive web version (Bootstrap etc).


Mobile App
-   When last checked, there were a few ways we could have a mobile app that interfaced with the game server
-   A mobile app could be free to download, but attract a brand new stream of players
-   We had plans for a simple single-player game also to beef up a mobile app
o   Quick match
o   League

[deca]

Hi Kush,

Thanks for sharing this for all of us to see, it's quite detailed, and explains clearly what needs to happen, and what skills are needed to be involved,

it also shows what a tremendous amount of work this entails, and why it will take so long if not able to have a full time committment to developing the game.

it will be interesting to see the views of others, and whether any have the required skill sets.

Regards

Deca

[davidvangaal]

Thanks Kush

Thats very interesting and encouraging.  Clearly a lot more thought than was apparent and there is a desire to do something, tempered by real, practical issues.

Unfortunately I don't have any skills to contribute to the development stage.  When its done I may be interested in contributing to a marketing budget if the product looks good and if there is a viable business plan .

Maybe others on here would  too?

Keep going mate. 

[cha4zz]

Similarly to DVG, I can't help from a development stage although I work with a couple of developers who I may be able to get to assist in some capacity (one in particular).

Where I may be able to help is from a partnership point of view as this is my everyday job - I speak fairly regularly with the partnership teams at a few Prem / EFL clubs although I'm almost certain that for them to allow us to use licences / IP you would need to agree to a revenue share model. Facebook is the wrong avenue to market this product at, with the price that you have to pay to boost any posts to make them relevant to your target demographic, there are various other avenues that would be more worthwhile. PPC and SEO are the most important initial aspects, making sure that SL is one of the first sites when users search for "online football management" or "football management games" would almost certainly drive more users to the site, especially when combined with what Kush is currently doing from a front-end perspective in terms of making sure players are able to sign-up.

Great to see you're still going with this Kush.