Info about the Suggestions Forum
 

Hi folks,

This suggestions forum will be used to collect ideas for the next version of OOTP, so start thinking!

Unlike previous years, this won't be a free-form "post everything everwhere" forum, because we've found that Markus and crew simply don't have enough time to do their work AND read through thousands of threads.

So, we're going to do something like we did last year:

I will post threads with specific topics, for example "online leagues." In turn, you guys can post all of your suggestions on online leagues in that thread. Raidergoo will help moderate here, and he'll be compiling responses into a database of suggestions that we will keep here.

Ultimately, later on after the final 2007 patch, we will hopefully provide some way of letting you guys vote on the suggestions, and still later we will review the suggestions with Markus and crew before work begins on the next version of the game.

NOTE: Not all of the threads will be posted immediately. If you don't see a category for your suggestion, be patient, it should be up within the next week or so!

Steve

This was considered a major success last year by Markus, Andreas, and Marc. Please try to top it with useful ideas for OOTP 2008. Small seeds can make major change, just look at Facegen.

Here's how I will handle this.

When a suggestion is made in a categoy, it goes into an Excel spreadsheet. The only changes I make is a spell check. So, Bill Gates may make a change, but I will not. I also copy the URL into the spreadsheet so Markus can read it directly, and see the context it was made.

If a suggestion is made, it will get added in its entirety.

There is a lot of flexibility in this. For example, last year, weather was considered a historical request.

If you don't see a category yet that makes sense to you, about two dozen are expected to be created over the next few weeks.

I've noted this in the threads as well, but visual aids are a huge help. Last year we had great success in "mocking up" ideas for Markus. I think visual representations go a long way to creating features that work well on the first try.

So, those of you with artistic or Photoshop talent, feel free to post images!

The organization for this plan is really good, it seems, especially for Markus and Co. (which, of course, is priority one).

But what about the value of discussion? Ideas get fleshed out, improved upon, and better understood, with full-fledged discussion. On top of that, it gauges community interest in an idea better than a "priority" rating.

(hope it's okay to comment in this thread at least :) - just wanted some clarification on this)

Chatter and discussion are great; they will lead to a better concept to be presented to OOTP Dev and SI. If needed, please take it to the General Discussions section. Try to stay as focused as possible on these threads. The discipline showed last year was just incredible by the OOTP community. It was pretty effortless putting this together last time around.

There is nothing wrong with making a suggestion, coming up with a way to improve it, and then making a new one. You can do this for your own ideas, and for other people.

I think discussion even within the suggestion threads is fine . . . as long as it doesn't derail the discussion by becoming a 30-post argument. If it seems to be a hot topic, I think we'd urge people to form a separate thread, discuss, and come up with a joint suggestion...

We certainly don't want to stifle any creativity out there! But, we also realize that just about every suggestion out there has an opposite side to it. We don't need to point that out for every suggestion out there. The whole idea is to generate ideas that Markus and crew can review. While they do want community feedback, ultimately they get to decide what is doable, and what fits with their vision of the game!

Steve

I'm curious. I have a suggestion about the game engine, but I don't see a category for it. Where would I post such a suggestion?

Heh, well, then you guys are going to LOVE what I'm doing with a customizable playoffs proposal! Screenshots and examples aplenty! (Probably too many.) :D

By the way, maybe there should be a "Fictional Leagues" suggestion category? Or a "General Suggestions" category? I don't see where a customizable playoffs suggestion would go right now

Patience, grasshoppers. Threads will be going up bit by bit!

You know how we children are...we want it all NOW NOW NOW!!! :rant:

:D

Now? Pffft, I wanted it yesterday! :D

A suggestion on the suggestion threads system.
 

Just a suggestion on the suggestion threads system. I agree 10000% with the idea of structuring the suggestions in a readable way. I suggest you take it one step further. Instead of having individual threads for each catagory why not have a sub-forum for each section. Then each suggestion can be its own thread. That way all discussion on an idea happens in that thread and not in the giant one. Then if I want to look just a particular suggestion I can open up its thread and read and comment without going through 40 other suggestions.

I'll consider that. However, it would make the collection of suggestions WAY more time consuming, as we'd have to open up each individual thread, etc...

The reason the current set up is used is because it makes it very easy to administer. I go into each thread when I have time, copy/paste a few threads into my spreadsheet, then make a marker post with the text "Processed to here."

This makes it very easy to work on in a haphazard manner 10 minutes here, 20 minutes there, between all the other daily tasks, chores, and emergencies I deal with daily. It also provides the community a marker a pointer on what is already on the record.

Wow, this format is really gonna pad my post total. Major Leagues, here I come! :woohoo:

Seriously, though. This is a great idea.

I also wonder if it would be within the capabilities of the forum to create a pre-defined "form" to insure that posts stay within the format. (I'm pretty sure it isn't, since you guys undoubtedly would have thought of it already. Then again, is it possible this might be a function tucked away somewhere in the moderator control panel? ;))

Anonymous suggestions welcome
 

Last year there were people who had suggestions who did not want to post them for one reason or another.

If you have a suggestion, or a list of suggestions, but do not want to post them, please IM me or email me at raidergoo at yahoo dot com.

There were about 30 suggestions last year that came in last year.

What do we do if we have a suggestion that even after a couple of weeks a category hasn't appeared for? A lot of mine might well end up being like that...

Pick whatever you think is vaguely correct and post your suggestion. My favorite example is weather. Last year, a request for weather was made in the historical thread.

How is weather historical league related? I don't know, but the suggestion was made, the suggestion was logged, and the suggestion was implemented. :)

There will be a "grab bag" category posted at the end. That should cover anything that doesn't have an obvious fit!

Ah - oddly enough you slightly read my mind. The suggestion (one of many) that I was thinking of was to do with the weather, in that the weather is setup against cities and then applied to ballparks (which don't actually have a city) based on the city of the team that owns the ballpark.

Weather should always be tied to the city as should the ballpark, which shouldn't be tied to the weather. Running fictional leagues and moving a team to a new city, you have to remember to create a new stadium otherwise the old one comes with you to the new city and as Crowded House would say "always take the weather with you"

So I'd want to see the ballpark editor have a city field, and for the game to pop up some sort of warning if the team is based in a different city to its ballpark.