Potential improvement/change to SL1

[The Borg]

Over the last few days I have been in contact with Junior about giving SL1 abit of a clean up. Just cleaning up the game trying to fix any floodlight failures and small general improvements. Now as we know the game code is old so there is limits that Junior can and can't do. Could turn into fixing one thing and breaking 2 more sort of scenario. So we have to be careful.

ALL suggestions I am going to list below are all open for discussion. None of these are set in stone or going ahead until we know what we want as a community and of course, if Junior can do it with the game.

• I suggested a bigger prize for conference winners. Currently set at 1500cr no matter what you win in the top x-1-1/2/3/4. Credit prize hasn't been decided but majors etc are currently 5000cr so maybe something along those lines?
  Junior thinks this should be easy to implement.
• I put to him about nerfing the subs at Kick off glitch. There is something definitely funny about this one. It does give some sort of extra effect to the match engine. Anyway, it doesn't make sense and really shouldn't be part of the game. It could be that something is changed so that you can't sub at kick off or before a certain times for example 45mins.
  Junior thinks he should be able to patch some code to remove the ability to sub at Kick off.
• Getting the 'building squad' information put in game in the help section of the game for any current or new managers. Currently this is blank as I'm guessing it's broken. Not sure yet if this can be done but it'd help the game potentially keep hold of managers
• Removal of the formation 2-5-3. Overpowered. 2-5-3 seems to have the upper hand vs other formations regardless of the conditions and playing style. The removal of this formation would open up players to use other formations. Putting more emphasis on formation choice and potentially calming down the Transfer Market.
  Now, this one isn't such a big deal. Managers are aloud to play the formation of their choosing. Also, most managers are set up for 2-5-3. Probably 90% of competitive managers on the game so it would require ALOT of teams to change tact. Open for discussion. This one I was just mothballing to see if something like this would be possible to balance things out.

These are just some ideas to help clean up the game. There are others I haven't asked Junior about. Like for example the Lost password  link when you log in just goes to the blank screen on mobile version.

Junior thinks he could patch some bits before we have the Christmas Break for some testing to see how it goes.

Like I say, nothing has been decided these are early days but a few fixes and VERY minor tweaks we could be heading in the right direction.
So, has anyone got any thoughts? ideas? Anything they've seen needs fixing?

[stupac]

Nice work Borg!

I think upping the x-1-1 winners pot to 5000 is a good idea.
Also having the building squad and other strategy tips easily accessible in the game would be great for new managers and keeping them.

The subs glitch I hope is something that can be fixed, as it is dumb af. But simply removing the ability to sub until a certain point will just mean everyone will 3 sub at HT instead. We need to find out what is causing such an advantagge and patch it out, if that is possible.

Same goes for 253. I don't think it should just be removed as we are free to play whatever formation. Not to mention most people's squads would need to rebuild at the same time, thus flooding the market even more than it already is. If Junior can find out why it is so overpowered and nerf it, then I'm all for it. But give us a few seasons to rebuild lol.

[Marv999]

Solid recommendations Borg. Always up for anything male the game more enjoyable for all.

Love the idea of upping the credit prize for X-1-1 wins to a larger amount. Alot of people could easily just move to a X-1-4 and just get 3 lots of 1500 credits in the run up to an X-1-1 conference with no competition. So to only get 1500 for winning one with multiple good teams in seems short changed. I'd like to see that at least doubled, to 3000 but 5000 also seems totally not unreasonable. X-1-1s are notoriously hard to win. I'd also like to suggest on this front that maybe the top 4 could also be awarded a credit prize. I'd love to see like a prize fund of say 3000 for the title winner, 2000 for 2nd, 1000 for 3rd and 500 for 4th place finishers in an X-1-1. I know that's 5000 more credits extra than the game would have to give away from an X-1-1 season, but you could lower the prizes for X-2 title wins from 1000 and lower X-1-2/3/4 prizes from 1500 to compensate.

Definitely agree with addressing the 3 subs at k.o glitch. It's just silly and not something people should be doing to gain advantage. Definitely look into fixing this, and if it can't be fixed then as was mentioned by borg, block it by blocking subs until a certain time.

I would agree with balancing the 253 formation. It's the only one prettyuch where you can play longball and passing and feel no gelling/morale punishments. It seems overpowered beyond that too. I love the variation of formations there is to use but to have 95% of managers just go to 253 because its the best is just boring. I like the idea of a future on here where no formation is better than any other. All formations equal and it comes down to tactics and player strength more than anything. It should ease the transfer market a bit also if say for example defensive midfielders become just as desired as central strikers etc. Would be difficult to implant for sure but definitely would be a benefit to the game in the long run. Could add compensation to teams running 253 in order to delete the 253 formation, or just junior to do his best and balance the 253 formation so it can still be used but isn't the runaway go to formation.

Just my thoughts on the ideas above 

[Banger]

Well done Borg - Great ideas and love that someone is trying to push this game along and keep it fresh

All the ideas you have put forward I would be fully behind with the slight adjustment Marv mentioned - The top 3 in each x-1-1 getting a little pay off for the season. Maybe 3k, 1.5k, 500  (only because I have a chance of winning something then

I too don't like the idea of 3 subs on 1 min or the dominance of 253, I'd be happy to see them both changed if poss
 

[captain_kush]

Fantastic Borg, well done mate.. I agree with what you and others have mentioned.

I think the first thing Junior needs to do is fix the sign up page because users are not getting confirmation emails to fully register their accounts. This is a must if the game is ever going to attract new players. In addition to this, the help guide needs to be fixed as it is blank. How are new users meant to understand the rules and concept of the game if there is no help or how to guide available on the actual website.

Feedback needs to be fixed and is very important. Users should be entitled to get straight in contact to raise any questions with Junior rather than having to go through me, Borg or any admins and even then, an answer is still not guaranteed.

Black Friday sale double credits needs to be removed. This is driving the TM to levels I have not seen before. a 44 year old striker went for 3K credits the other day.....

There is a bug when setting up friendlies in which you lose credits if you accept all friendlies at once whilst other friendlies have been accepted and awaiting a fixture date.

Team history needs to be sorted as well in terms of season progress. Some users also have their trophy cabinet not showing properly (this is due to the competition being a long one word name).

I'm sure there are more, these are just at the top of my head right now.

[captain_kush]

I don't think 2-5-3 should be completely removed from the game but rather nerfed especially in longball conditions.
We all know that 2-5-3 is severely overpowered but it is particular easy to see this in longball games. It seems you are getting the benefit in normal conditions as you have the 5 in midfield which makes sense but for some reason you are also getting the same thing with the 3 strikers up front in snowy/rainy conditions neglecting the idea you only have 2 defenders. Longball doesn't generally work with a low amount of defenders. As Antony mentioned in the Telegram chat, use wings is a viable option to use so simply just nerf the longball aspect when it comes to 2-5-3 and I think we are good to go..... Let's just hope nobody swaps to 5-2-3 longball any condition haha.

The 3 sub KO glitch has to be fixed 100%. It makes no sense whatsoever. I think a possible way of fixing this is to reduce the penalty of a player coming on for an injured player and only give the usual penalty if you start a player in your first 11 out of position. You could also increase the amount of subs from 5 to 7 allowing 2 extra players to fill giving more depth to your team in the game. I wouldn't even mind increasing the total squad number from 20 to 22 allowing not only depth but allowing options of playing different formations. Another option would be to introduce a new type of player to the TM. Right now we have normal players in their respective positions. We also have players that can play on any side of the pitch. Why can't we have a wide player that can play both wide positions i.e a DEFRL and a MIDRL... 

Note:
Right now an injured player is better off to stay in your team rather than swapping him out for a out of position player because the latter is a heavier penalty.
Why don't we just reverse this? Make it that if an injured player continues to play, you will be severely penalised (doesn't matter what injury it is, even a mild concussion). Reduce the penalty for an out of position player to come on for an injured player... This will make everyone use their subs appropriately as there would be no advantage. Increase sub bench to 7 so that you can cover extra positions and your good to go.

[Gull]

Black Friday sale double credits needs to be removed. This is driving the TM to levels I have not seen before. a 44 year old striker went for 3K credits the other day.....

As I've mentioned in the chat the double credit offer has ruined the transfer market. I'm sure a lot of users have stockpiled credits so I genuinely think it wont return to a fit for purpose state for a good year or two.

Increased prizes will mean another 28,000 in circulation and will add more strain to the transfer market. If the double credit offer comes off then it would be great to see a prize structure introduced to the top 4 in a division.

Removing the instant subs at KO would increase demand for anyside players. Would attacking formations become obsolete?  You can't cover all the bases and would go into games potentially having an injured player being replaced by an out of position one.

Edit: Have just seen Kushes post - a subs bench increase to 7 would be the only way to go.

I hate 2-5-3 and the idea of a one size fits all formation and only select it as everybody else does it. Definitely needs tweaking so that would be a welcomed change.

[Walpster]

Firstly, i think every single one of the suggestions above are great.

I have not done this post to give any suggestions if I’m honest, I am just so happy that Junior is ‘possibly’ willing to invest some time in to fixing a few things. This is great.

With that being said  i do hope he can sort out what Kush said with making the sign up page, confirmation emails so new teams can register, a help guide that is more accessible for new users etc, as I think if we can get new users to stay, it will generate more managers, more fun, and more money to the game! This is the key.

Edit: (not sure if this was mentioned in a different way) but The help tab doesn’t work, and if there was an option to click that, and be able to select a page that gives you the tips and strategies and all the information you need basically, so it’s clear and obvious for new users to see, as the first thing you need to know when you register and sign up, is how to play the game, this needs to be ok the main screen or in the help section.

But I agree with everyone’s points and I just wanted to stop in and say thanks for everyone involved for always trying to keep this game going and make it better!

[Banger]

The 3 sub KO glitch has to be fixed 100%. It makes no sense whatsoever. I think a possible way of fixing this is to reduce the penalty of a player coming on for an injured player and only give the usual penalty if you start a player in your first 11 out of position. You could also increase the amount of subs from 5 to 7 allowing 2 extra players to fill giving more depth to your team in the game. I wouldn't even mind increasing the total squad number from 20 to 22 allowing not only depth but allowing options of playing different formations. Another option would be to introduce a new type of player to the TM. Right now we have normal players in their respective positions. We also have players that can play on any side of the pitch. Why can't we have a wide player that can play both wide positions i.e a DEFRL and a MIDRL... 

Great post Kush
I'm not sure how easy or hard it would be to implement these ideas, although they are great ideas I can see changing that much may cause program problems.
But the 7 subs idea would be a massive help, That would get a huge thumbs up

[cha4zz]

All of the above points are good and I agree with pretty much all that Borg has written.

For me, the biggest issue as Kush eludes to is the transfer market. It's a complete joke. Surely there is a fairly simple fix that means Junior could increase the attributes of players going onto the transfer market - it should just be a case of increasing attribute parameters? This should be possible even if the code for the website is 15 years old. I'm not talking having every player on the TM with stats of 95 but increasing the average attribute would at least reduce the number of managers unable to rebuild their sides.

[bonzai]

Awesome Borg,

Here are my opinions on the proposals:

1) Bigger prize reward is always nice, but I prefer to give credits to top 3/4 in top division too. This to keep competition in all top divisions bigger, and also the elite teams don't take away all the available credits, and the "lower" teams have to spend money to keep playing.

2) I don't like subbing at kick-off. It doesn't feel naturel, and it makes setting up games more annoying and a waste of time.
Making the penalty for injuried players higher than out of position players is a good option, but as mentioned, this gives the natural formations a big bennifit as they can cover more positions then the special (Atticking/Defensive) formations.
I really love to see more teams building a special formation. The problem with these is indeed you have a harder time covering all positions in case of injury/Awol/Ban. Increasing the squad amount can help with this, but also benifit the normal formations alot.
Maybe giving attacking/defensive players an automatic 'can play on all sides' maybe equals this a bit.

Also if injuries will be penalised harder in games, we might see more teams try a psycho against a top opponent, to hope to do damage in the game, and the better teams will have lots of injuries if this happens. While Bans are mostly only 1 game. Don't know how i feel about that. (maybe decrease the time for injuries, and increase the time for bans)

3) 100%, i feel as a community we need to do everything possible to help new managers.
I feel giving new members a starting fee of x-amount of credits will help. (not the 300 for confirming email, but enough to build a first semi-decent squad), or maybe give them a semi-decent 3 season old squad to start with.

If you start as a new manager you need to buy credits to be competitive, I don't know many people that would spend money on a game with low activity and unsure if you will keep continuing playing.
Also you need to build a squad for 2-3 seasons (3-4 months) to even be semi-competitive. For new players that is a long time and a big investement.
If you can skip these steps, and let them have fun battle games in the midfield of a top conference, while building a squad, it encourages to keep playing, instead of losing 5-0 everyday to top teams, and destoying your PC-filled lower conference.

Also, maybe some managers can write a nice guide for newcomers with the basics, and some good tips. Maybe a buddy system. Top managers can become a buddy of a newby, and give them tips. I would love to advice someone new and see how they use my tips to make their own team and plan.

4) Not sure if removing 2-5-3 is the solution. before 2-5-3 almost everyone was playing 4-5-1. i think most people will follow the formation of the top teams, so there will always be a dominating formation i think. (that's what I did when i re-started again)
I feel the 2-5-3 and 4-5-1 are used so much as midfielders are easier to train. (Elite players can be bought at almost full stats).  Maybe if we lower the stats of top midfielders on the TM the massive midfield teams will suffer a bit.

Or Junior can share some weaknesses of 2-5-3, so teams can be build to counter it. But I prefer to find weaknesses of formations myself by exploring.


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My improvements ideas:

1) I think this game needs a proper working app. You need to play daily to set-up and select training. Some people can't get on a PC on a daily base, and playing from my cellphone gives me **** .

If there would be a easy to setup app, I feel this game can get a boom again and increase playerbase alot.

2) The TM is very busy, but I remember a year ago, one day all computer teams started to be active on transfer market. this also increased the amount of  bids on players. I know back then all computer teams were losing 3-0 because they couldn't field players, but you could easier snipe a cheap player on the TM. not sure if we can disable that again. -> the negative side is that PC teams and lower competitions will be dead again as they all lose 3-0.

[The Borg]

Thanks to everybody who has taken to the time to respond on here. It is really interesting to hear people opinions and thoughts with what they would like to see. what they thinks would work. what they think wouldn't work etc.

Nothing has yet been decided but I have emailed Junior over some more questions and to get more information into what is and isn't possible.
these include -
- Prizes for top 4 in the top conferences
- A fix or a more streamlined experience with the activation email
- What can be done to improve the transfer market - if thats more players, a different type of player, adding a 2nd window or increasing the max bid.
- To see if there is any data that he can see on the KO sub glitch and what is the best way forward in getting it removed or less effective
- Potentially if it would be possible to patch how overpowered 253 is when playing longball conditions. Not removing it and leaving it viable for use wings use.
- If its possible to implement the helping building your squad information onto the help pages on the game for managers. Currently blank.

Nothing has been decided. I am just getting abit more information. I will post on here the findings which can helps us decide and see what are the options.


P.S I like that Buddy idea Sem.

[spiteri]

22 player squads and 7 subs sound great if they are possible.

[Banger]

One thing I always thought would help with different formations for different conditions would be a pre-set option
When I played this game many many moons ago I played 352 for passing and 523 for longball.  But with my time lacking now for set-up times I've used the go to formation of 253 for both
If there was an option to save 2 formations and team selections it would help people switch between the 2 with the click of 1 button
This feature would come in very handy if 253 was to be nerfed

[Marv999]

22 player squads and 7 subs sound great if they are possible.

I like the idea of this too, and in my head thats probably one that's not too difficult to code in.