Future of the game

[Ab Normaal]

Dear all,

Managers who play this game a long time know that years ago the original developer of the game suddenly quit and the website was blocked.
Within a day, Schizm, Melres and I got in contact and adopted it, out of love for the game, with a clear definition of the tasks.
We tried to find somebody who wanted to learn, develop and improve the game.
In the meantime the three of us tried to keep the game alive, solve some bugs and make sure that all the players could still play with a lot of fun.
That has been the case for many years now. We failed in finding somebody to take this great and promising game by the hand and make it better.
We thought we finally found one but after taken a lot of effort in it and already did a lot of work, he decided to quit because of other interests and not having the time anymore needed to do it right.

In the meantime we already lost Schizm, who have spend a huge amount of time in the game but due to development in his private life, he could not do it anymore.
So the game now purely rests on the time that Melres has, who has a familiy and is studying next to his job, and my money, since I know shit about IT. Switching server made it cheaper but this game is still costing me money.
At this moment I am in the most expensive phase of my life. My eldest two kids are studying in another city and I have to pay for that.

So for me the time has come to ask myself the question what I can still afford and what I can't. In the past years we lost a lot of managers because we were not able to solve the bugs and, I have to be honest, I don't think that I am able to turn this around.

Therefore I am looking for someone who wants to take over the game and see if he can find a developer to let the game improve and grow.
I am willing to hand over the game for free. All you need to do is pay for the server. With deduction of premium money that is about € 200 per year. If you get more players and more premium players, you can even make that cost covering.

And how nice is it if you can tell you own a game?

If you have any interest, let me know and we can talk about it.

Last but not least, I really would like to thank Frank and Helder. It was a nice journey together and I am grateful for all you have done. Also a big thanks to Naspa who helped us out as an administrator.

Wish you all the best, Arno.

[naspa]

No thanks Arno, you did a great job keeping the game alive and I know you did all to take it to a next stage.
I am also a bit in dire straights, with children being younger and needing exspensive daycare and employers neglecting the inflation of 12%+ and pretending a raise of 3% is a wonderful bid. But I am willing to take it on provided one or two other(s) will onboard. I am offering to take 50% share (100 +/-50% euro a year). And see where it goes from there.

[damiano]

Hello Arno. Thank you and the entire team for what you've done. This game must survive. I'm on board with Naspa. I'm a videomaker, so at the moment I can only support financially. However, I can look into finding support in programming. Maybe I can help with promotion and social media.

damiano

[DeRodeLantaarn]

Thank you Arno!

I have a question.
Are you only looking for a new owner of the game or will Melres also quit and do you need also someone for the updates and racebugs during the week?

[JOOP Cycling Team]

I think the game has huge potential.
Especially if you are going to work with old generations with real names/weight/height * possibly the right FA.
A new generation every year.
And to add this via the Youth scouts or Free transfers (New fresh start)

Then you get a kind of Pro Cycling manager idea.

Such an addition would already give the game a load of positivity.

The game must become one (together) and the majority agrees.

[majortinkle]

I'd be ok with helping support the game financially but I wouldn't be of any other use I'm afraid

[danpark]

Same here, I can manage to pay some more for the premium package to keep the game alive but I can't do anything else.
Maybe just helping to improve the italian translation, if needed.
I don't use any social network either, so I can't even promote the game.

Is premium money the only income? Do you get anything from banners ads?

[naspa]

I do not want to speak on behalf of others, but as far as I know, Melres/Helder is still committed to the game and willing to still put effort in it. Which is great news, he is the thin red line holding it together.

I have some ideas for the game, but most important is that we keep the current community of aficionados and try to gradually evolve the game with your understanding and preferably consent.
I do not think money for the maintenance is the problem. Many of you are willing to contribute a bit extra.

Biggest issue. I am not a leader type, we need at least one strong character with some community sensitivity and awareness that can push a bit further. And preferably a software engineer too.

[quiller]

Mar 15, 2023 19:42:18 GMT 1 naspa said:

I do not want to speak on behalf of others, but as far as I know, Melres/Helder is still committed to the game and willing to still put effort in it. Which is great news, he is the thin red line holding it together.

I have some ideas for the game, but most important is that we keep the current community of aficionados and try to gradually evolve the game with your understanding and preferably consent.
I do not think money for the maintenance is the problem. Many of you are willing to contribute a bit extra.

Biggest issue. I am not a leader type, we need at least one strong character with some community sensitivity and awareness that can push a bit further. And preferably a software engineer too.

I agree with you about a strong leader (and i believe that we have him allready with arno) -- If the only direct issue is financially (200 a year short -- maybe something extra) maybe with enough members paying a little bit extra will do to keep arno on board?

also : if more people help you will that help? (IT is not my department so not really usefull there).

[DeRodeLantaarn]

I could be the 2nd one with Naspa to share the ownership.
I prefer a third manager to lower the cost and take it from there.

Unfortunately I also know almost nothing about IT.

The offer to promote the game more on the internet would be important.
Also the possibilty to add some advertisement on a few pages I support. Maybe a poll could help to find out if there is support for that on some overall pages. Otherwise it is off concerning advertisement.

Finding someone who can help with bugs or development will be difficult I'am afraid. So that will be the greatest problem.

[knygoo]

Hi,

I've played this game years ago. Sad to hear that the future of this game is uncertain.

I'm a professional software developer. Maybe I can help? Feel free to contact me.

With kind regards,

Kenny

[naspa]

That is good news, I think we are getting a team together.
The only issue is leadership.
Maybe you can stay a while on board @ab, to be our chairman? While we take over financial issues and try to master the technical part?

[sd]

Mar 18, 2023 0:10:25 GMT 1 knygoo said:

I'm a professional software developer. Maybe I can help? Feel free to contact me.

Hi guys,

Same here!

[Ab Normaal]

Hi All, thanks for all reactions.
My intention is not to leave the game. Financially the € 200 is also not the biggest disaster.

It is more that when you are running things for a while, like a soccer team, a political party or whatever, you need to improve.
And I have to be honest, this game needs only 1 thing. A programmer who can fix bugs, improve and develop the game and add thinks. Make it more attractive.
We did not succeed in finding a person who can and want to do it. We have tried but I don't see where to find him anymore.
And then just spend money year after year and see the number of active players decreasing every year more or less looks like the game is dying a slow death.

That is why I posted this.

We need a developer. I failed in finding one so I hope somebody else can. That is why I am prepared to step a side. Not because I don't like the game anymore. I am always willing to stay and help.

[cairnswm1]

Mar 22, 2023 16:15:06 GMT 1 Ab Normaal said:

And I have to be honest, this game needs only 1 thing. A programmer who can fix bugs, improve and develop the game and add thinks. Make it more attractive.
We did not succeed in finding a person who can and want to do it. We have tried but I don't see where to find him anymore.
And then just spend money year after year and see the number of active players decreasing every year more or less looks like 

We need a developer. I failed in finding one so I hope somebody else can. That is why I am prepared to step a side. Not because I don't like the game anymore. I am always willing to stay and help.

If you want a programmer, make sure you know what you want that programmer to do. Do not expect things that were not offerred or give things that are not wanted. Also make sure that you as the owners agree on what you want. 

Make a list of what you want a developer to do. 

I offered to create a new website - which went quite well until I lost everything - but you (the owners) were expecting a lot more than just a new website - but fixes - changes in training - etc etc. But as the owners you could not even agree on what changes you were expecting. Discuss discuss discuss, you wanted to make the training faster but someone in the team said that was the wrong solution - no further feedback or discussion was made.

Also - When your developer gives you some example of work done, give feedback, within days, if not hours. It does not give a developer any feeling of achievement if they do some work and show it to you and get no response. A generic "nice" is not feedback. Give ideas of what can be done better.

It was about 2 months after I showed the work that I did that I got my first feedback on the work I had done. In those 2 mnonths because I got no feedback I did very little work because it was clear (to me) that my work was not being valued.

Treat a new developer as part of the team, talk to them, tell them what you like and what you don't like, for example: comment on the colors they suggest, comment on the menu layout, try the screens, tell them if there is a better way to access or get to the information... etc etc. The feedback I finally got was great. But it was too late to keep me interested in doing any work on the game.

So, if you get a developer
1. Decide what you want them to do - make it clear
2. If you want changes - make sure you know what those changes are. 
3. Give feedback all the time, give feedback within 2 days of a new release being made available to you

Don't just expect the developer to make all the decisions.

I would actually still love to be involved. But without the owners involvement, I would rather go and write my own game than work on this one.