UFLive Backstage Blog 5

Wow, almost a month between posts. I am really starting to run behind on this. However, I have left it a while semi-deliberately. We have reached a point backstage where tying off awkward loose ends has made progress appear slow, although we are fully aware that once we tick the next couple of boxes there will be a rapid flow of updates to follow.

It is a part of the process like cycling where we have coasted through the easy stuff for a while and then hit the first hill, right now we are powering up it fully aware that the decline and lots of progress is on the other side.

Where we have found progress is in the consolidation and presentation of the definitive provisional details of the features that will be cropping up in the game in the Comprehensive Gameplay Guide.

I thought I’d summarise this summary and pick out a few of my favourite features. Maybe even throw in some of the backstage logic behind them.

Where better to start than with my own section. Although in typical Thom fashion I have missed my own deadline in terms of publishing it (it will be up soon – probably before this blog). The first published half contains the end of contract auction.

We were keen to try and remove the tactfully named backstage ‘speculative bids’ or more commonly in the community called ‘stupid bids’. You guys told us that you wanted to be able to extend contracts so we went with that but you also like having the wage auction period. By having a closed system where the highest bid wins you allow the silly bids, by having a highest bid in a traditional auction you take away any advantage for the owner. We have opted for the owner choosing the starting bid, a generous compensation system and hiding a lot of details from bidders to try and make the traditional auction work and favour the owner. This will mean that the winning bid is a market driven one, and not a speculative one.

Another feature that we like is the youth generation system. With our announcement of academies, a continental draft and also the free agents list, there will be many ways to pick up the next Messi. We really wanted to go for one academy that you can interact with and customise, unique to your club and dependent on your investment and staff. We also wanted to let you choose your region, or nation and continental drafts let you scout and bid for players from whichever part of the world you want to identify with.

With the youth attributes, where ability and even position develop with age (after all youths are 14 to start with) the youth development system is looking very good, but we are trying to make it a system where being a hardcore gamer isn’t a necessity. We are looking at systems where the coaches can help control a youth team, but only when you don’t have time.

I think the last feature, and one I’m personally excited about is the staff aspect. There is going to be no generic ability, your staff will be handpicked and instructed by you. This means that you have freedom to manage your club from the ground up. It also means if you want a change you can sack them all and get a new team in with another focus.

I think one feature that will catch the eye is the ability to name a player. Something that many people have called for over the history of every game ever. Every manager can add a player to the database; he will then be up for auction. There will be of varying ability and you’ll have to bid to win him but Thom Morgan could be terrorising centre half’s very soon, and not just on Thursday night five a sides.

The emergence of fan sites has continued, and there are some great efforts already popping up. I enjoyed reading the articles from the Greek community in the past and it’s very nice to welcome them, along with the others. Have a click below:

http://thefloodlightsufl.blogspot.com/ - Burba

http://sheffieldallstars.wordpress.com - Superowl

UFLive Social Network - Jesus Reffori

UFLive-Fan – Peter + Co

UFLive Greece - Thanassis and WiseSif

Last time out I promised to give you a brief profile of our community team. Tommy and Noel (Nob’s or Nobular Bells) are our go to men on the social network and community scene. They also interact a lot with the media and this will grow as the game does.

Tommy comes from a land down under, Melbourne, Australia. His presence on the team gives us a 24hour online presence online, which is something we are all keen to continue. Tommy is the man behind Facebook and now Google+. You may know him from FML, but did you know he supports Western Bulldogs in the old Aussie Rules???

Noel is from Ireland and reached legendary status on FML as one of the most popular mods going. Famous for creating some of the best community events in that game we were all very happy to have him on the team. The voice on twitter (@UFLive) Nob’s has also been running our blog about the fantasy premier league competition. He’s also recently become a daddy.

Going on back stage is a lot of hard work, everyone giving as much of their own time as well as keeping up with their own lives. But we all really appreciate the continued input from you guys. We are fans too so it’s great to have the support.

Next time I write I’m sure it will be Christmas, but until then keep on keeping on and I’ll catch you all next time. Until then I'm getting a bit of a twitter groove on… follow me @ThomMorgan or I will hunt you down and...

Comments  

 

+1 # Mark 2011-11-14 16:46

Very good, but a little concerned you have said:

I will hunt you down and... share the love!

I'm sure this is above and beyond the call of duty to get UFL out to the masses!

Reply | Reply with quote | Quote

 

 

0 # Thomas Morgan 2011-11-14 20:51

Isn't that what UFL is all about though.... Sharing some love

Reply | Reply with quote | Quote

 

 

+1 # WiseSif 2011-11-15 09:22

Keep up with it Thom!

We love to hear backroom stuff and we all hope that will get an Xmas present ... maybe an alpha version? :)

Cheers

G.

Reply | Reply with quote | Quote

 

 

+1 # Whoopti-Doo 2011-11-16 21:56

Glad to see you guys are sticking with it and I can't wait until the next Backstage Blog or other community update.

Cheers,

M.

Reply | Reply with quote | Quote

 

Refresh comments list
RSS feed for comments to this post

Add comment