[The_Cobra]

Not sure if anyone remembers me, I started work a while back on a boxing manager project and threw up some screenshots of the project as it stood.
That project has since failed due to dataloss (plus the project itself was not ambitious enough).

The first project I attempted was going to be a visual basic app that would run alongside TBCB and would act as its management module. I started down this route to begin with because my coding skill was not very high. This was the unambitious project that failed (fragged hard drive).

After this, I started work on a more ambitious project which was to be a fully standalone management game with its own fight engine. That project also stalled due to some personal issues. At this point I had no experience in SQL programming (databases), so I was trying to do an impossible job in an impossible way by not using a database. This was a project that was always destined to fail because of that reason alone but when the personal issues hit, it made it that much easier to walk away from it.

It turns out this was the best thing that could have happened. I have since resolved my personal stuff and for the last year, have really hit the SQL textboolks hard and am pleased to say I am now proficient enough with database programming in order to make this project what it should be.

For those of you familiar with Football Manager, think of my game as boxings equivalent of that. An ambitious project yes, an impossible one? Not by a long shot, its well within my means (just really a time issue).

I re-started work in Dec 2012. Before developing the full FM style game, I have decided that I need to develop the fight engine for it on a smaller scaled game. I have chosen the Super Six tournament from a couple of years ago as the basis for the first iteration of the game. Because the Super Six tournament only had (or was supposed to have) 6 boxers, and a closed-date structure, this acts as a development vehicle on which I can develop the fight engine (quite easily the most complicated part of the game). It's much easier to build the fight engine when you're only working with a database with 6 boxers in it. Once the fight engine is developed in this Super Six version of the game to a high enough standard, then I plan to port it over to a full Football Manager style game with an open ended date structure that allows you to play on indefinitely. The full version of the game will attempt to re-create the world of boxing, and not just based around a closed-structure single tournament. Like I say, I'm working on the closed-structure project first only because its easier to develop the fight engine like that.

I'm 4 months into the Super Six Project, and I envisage it will be finished at some point in the next 3 months. When this is finished and the bugs have been ironed out of the fight engine, then I will get to work straight away on the full version of the game. I dont have an ETA on that.

There will be some limitations in Super Six that wont be there in the full game. Such as, due to the structure of the SS tournament, there is very little scope for managers to make fights of their own, since the tournament organisers have already done that for you. Super Six will play a bit like a playable demo of the full game. Imagine a Football Manager game that runs for 2 seasons and then ends (the SS tournament ran over 2 years in real life and will do so in the game too). I say it will play like a demo, but thats because its less of a game, and more of a development tool for me to build the fight engine on. It's purpose will be to provide me with a pre-structured list of fights that can be passed through the fight engine. There will still be things for the manager to do, as I will be using Super Six to develop other functions for the full game as well as the fight engine.

To put it short, what you're really waiting for is the full game, but when Super Six is finished, I will release it to the public anyway just so that you can have a taste of things to come.

I will drop a post here once a month to keep you in the loop. Later on today I will pop back and throw up some screenies of some of the work I have done so far.

Just to recap then, I'm 4 months into Super Six development and it feels like there's another 3 months to go. As soon as that is finished I will port the fight engine directly to a new project and that will form the basis for the full game. How long this will take to develop I dont have a clue, but seeing as though the most difficult part will already be developed (the fight engine) then the development of the full game should not be long at all, probably less than 6 months after Super Six is finished (but thats just a guess).

Hope you all are well. Bear with me and I'll be back later with those screenshots of development so far.

P.S @ ROB (Morris), if your're still knocking around, I'll mail you in the next couple of days. Would like you to do some testing at some point if your still up for it.