Friday Status Update (March 8)

JeffR · 03-08-2013, 09:53 PM

I thought I'd do another one of these, just to let people know where we stand a few days post-release.

The launch itself, delays aside, went reasonably well. I'm only aware of one person who's still having installation problems (but if anyone else is and hasn't spoken up yet, please let me know.) We're pretty pleased with the number of preorders. Not "time to go Ferrari-shopping" pleased; more on the level of "I can buy brand-name macaroni and cheese this week" pleased, but still a long way from disappointed. It's a good foundation to build on and a positive sign for the game's long-term viability...

...which won't matter much if we don't start getting the problems fixed. Sebastian and Malte have been making nice progress there now that things have quieted down after the launch. At a glance, it looks like about a quarter of the bugs that were added to the tracker since Sunday have received fixes already, with particular attention to the crashes/game-freezers. We're in the process of testing those fixes now, and we're aiming to have the first update ready next Monday, barring anything unexpected.

That update won't include fixes to database errors; the first database update will include those and come on Wednesday (the researchers' deadline for updates is Sunday night, and we need a couple of days to test and fix any problems after that.)

With everything going on and a late start, I've fallen a little behind on my historical database work, but the next update will, at a minimum, add players debuting in 1980-81. I won't have a good idea about how other league databases have progressed this week until Sunday, but hopefully we'll have one or more getting close to the point where we can make them playable. We've also added a few new researchers to cover some of the gaps in our research team.

Issues relating to player valuation (trade AI, scouting, drafting, star ratings, etc.) won't get much in the way of fixes this week; we're going to start with some bottom-up changes to the way player ability is assessed, and then see what ripple effects those have through the rest of the game before dealing with specific things like bad trades or star ratings that don't seem right. It'll likely be at least another week before that process starts.

It doesn't look like we'll be able to get the new random names working just yet (you may have noticed that every new player is getting an English name at the moment.) In addition to the adjustments required to get the state/province-based naming system working, Sebastian has made some changes to the way the game handles name data, which should result in some performance improvements. It's just going to take a little while to tie it all together, and there were higher coding priorities this week.

I'm very happy to see that my efforts to make the game's "really, really beta" status clear to prospective purchasers seem to have gotten the message across. People have been quite understanding about the bugs they've been running into and the tone of the criticism has been very constructive. We don't plan on taking that for granted; the show of confidence we've gotten this week deserves a proper response, and, starting with next week's updates, we'll begin to deliver that.

OpusTheFowl · 03-08-2013, 10:03 PM

First off, thank-you for you time and effort you've spent writing this and all your other posts this week. I am sure a very high percentage of the people here will be kept very happy with that alone...

Congrats on a good launch and I hope there are many more to come after FHM14...

One question: Will every revision invalidate past save games or just updates that fiddle with the database (or maybe that's one in the same)?

Thanks again!

Maplicito · 03-08-2013, 10:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeffR

I'm very happy to see that my efforts to make the game's "really, really beta" status clear to prospective purchasers seem to have gotten the message across.

I have to remind myself of this sometimes

I've had to tell myself a couple of times that the bugs are the price I pay for getting such early access. But, then I remember what it was like playing the freeware EHM when it was going through its growing pains. It was always quite the blend of excitement and frustration.

All in all, well worth it though! Thanks for the update!

JeffR · 03-08-2013, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OpusTheFowl

First off, thank-you for you time and effort you've spent writing this and all your other posts this week. I am sure a very high percentage of the people here will be kept very happy with that alone...

Congrats on a good launch and I hope there are many more to come after FHM14...

Thanks. I'm just happy to be in a position to try this again; I didn't think I'd get another serious chance to help build a hockey management game (and it's still a little odd to be doing it without my friends at SI, although they do get the consolation of rolling in giant piles of FM money, enjoying the adulation of the football world, and awaiting their eventual knighthoods.) I'm fortunate to have the opportunity, and I don't think anyone here, put in my position, would make any less of an effort to make the game succeed.

Quote:

One question: Will every revision invalidate past save games or just updates that fiddle with the database (or maybe that's one in the same)?

It'll really be dependent on what's done in the update. This week...so far, I think the saves may be OK, but that could change with a single bug fix. And ideally, people would start new games so we're not getting bug reports because old saves aren't interacting well with new game versions.

analgesic · 03-09-2013, 12:39 AM

Thanks Jeff. A quarter of the bugs squashed already is fabulous progress! If you can find the time to do a quick write up like this on a weekly basis, I know it would help me feel more connected and engaged in this process.

Any idea what the timeline will be for the next beta release?

sizzlingpopcorn · 03-09-2013, 05:31 AM

Answer was in original post #1

: "we're aiming to have the first update ready next Monday, barring anything unexpected."

BTerran · 03-09-2013, 08:58 AM

Sounds like things are moving at a great pace.

I'm looking forward to watching the game grow over the months until it's official release

CeeBee · 03-09-2013, 09:14 AM

Thanks for taking the time from your busy schedule to keep us updated. You all are doing a remarkable job

Now get to work on the historical DB

analgesic · 03-09-2013, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sizzlingpopcorn

Answer was in original post #1

: "we're aiming to have the first update ready next Monday, barring anything unexpected."

Ha, you're right.

redcomet · 03-09-2013, 10:27 AM

I hope you guys fix the AI when it comes to trading. The AI won't accept any good trades but trades between AI-controlled teams are complete bargains most of the time.

Mafarfloune · 03-09-2013, 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redcomet

I hope you guys fix the AI when it comes to trading. The AI won't accept any good trades but trades between AI-controlled teams are complete bargains most of the time.

In due time, they will.

Hologram · 03-09-2013, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redcomet

I hope you guys fix the AI when it comes to trading. The AI won't accept any good trades but trades between AI-controlled teams are complete bargains most of the time.

He did mention issues relating to player valuation/trade/etc.

Quote:

Issues relating to player valuation (trade AI, scouting, drafting, star ratings, etc.) won't get much in the way of fixes this week; we're going to start with some bottom-up changes to the way player ability is assessed, and then see what ripple effects those have through the rest of the game before dealing with specific things like bad trades or star ratings that don't seem right. It'll likely be at least another week before that process starts.

Thanks Jeff (and the rest of the team) for taking the time to update us.

Pineywoods OOTPer · 03-10-2013, 10:50 AM

Great job so far, guys...Keep up the good work and as things improve, this has potential to really rock the house.

Methodz · 03-10-2013, 10:04 PM

Very glad that the numbers were good for you guys, a finished product will no doubt do you guys good. I would also add that a weekly update like this would keep us hooked into the going ons of the product.

dplanty91 · 03-11-2013, 02:46 PM

are we still expecting the update today? and where will we find the file?

Sebastian Palkowski · 03-11-2013, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dplanty91

are we still expecting the update today? and where will we find the file?

It is available now! Please see the sticky thread for link and details.

dplanty91 · 03-11-2013, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sebastian Palkowski

It is available now! Please see the sticky thread for link and details.

Thankyou Sebastian! Great work so far!

03-09-2013, 09:14 AM	#8
CeeBee Minors (Double A) Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Chase BC Canada Posts: 105	Thanks for taking the time from your busy schedule to keep us updated. You all are doing a remarkable job Now get to work on the historical DB __________________ Older is sometimes better.

03-10-2013, 10:50 AM	#13
Pineywoods OOTPer All Star Reserve Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: White Oak, Texas Posts: 725	Great job so far, guys...Keep up the good work and as things improve, this has potential to really rock the house. __________________ The Pineywoods OOTPer Senior Office Manager, 18th Circle of Heck. (YES, I am falling and I hear the meows)

03-08-2013, 09:53 PM	#1
JeffR FHM Producer Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Kelowna, BC Posts: 17,433	Friday Status Update (March 8) I thought I'd do another one of these, just to let people know where we stand a few days post-release. The launch itself, delays aside, went reasonably well. I'm only aware of one person who's still having installation problems (but if anyone else is and hasn't spoken up yet, please let me know.) We're pretty pleased with the number of preorders. Not "time to go Ferrari-shopping" pleased; more on the level of "I can buy brand-name macaroni and cheese this week" pleased, but still a long way from disappointed. It's a good foundation to build on and a positive sign for the game's long-term viability... ...which won't matter much if we don't start getting the problems fixed. Sebastian and Malte have been making nice progress there now that things have quieted down after the launch. At a glance, it looks like about a quarter of the bugs that were added to the tracker since Sunday have received fixes already, with particular attention to the crashes/game-freezers. We're in the process of testing those fixes now, and we're aiming to have the first update ready next Monday, barring anything unexpected. That update won't include fixes to database errors; the first database update will include those and come on Wednesday (the researchers' deadline for updates is Sunday night, and we need a couple of days to test and fix any problems after that.) With everything going on and a late start, I've fallen a little behind on my historical database work, but the next update will, at a minimum, add players debuting in 1980-81. I won't have a good idea about how other league databases have progressed this week until Sunday, but hopefully we'll have one or more getting close to the point where we can make them playable. We've also added a few new researchers to cover some of the gaps in our research team. Issues relating to player valuation (trade AI, scouting, drafting, star ratings, etc.) won't get much in the way of fixes this week; we're going to start with some bottom-up changes to the way player ability is assessed, and then see what ripple effects those have through the rest of the game before dealing with specific things like bad trades or star ratings that don't seem right. It'll likely be at least another week before that process starts. It doesn't look like we'll be able to get the new random names working just yet (you may have noticed that every new player is getting an English name at the moment.) In addition to the adjustments required to get the state/province-based naming system working, Sebastian has made some changes to the way the game handles name data, which should result in some performance improvements. It's just going to take a little while to tie it all together, and there were higher coding priorities this week. I'm very happy to see that my efforts to make the game's "really, really beta" status clear to prospective purchasers seem to have gotten the message across. People have been quite understanding about the bugs they've been running into and the tone of the criticism has been very constructive. We don't plan on taking that for granted; the show of confidence we've gotten this week deserves a proper response, and, starting with next week's updates, we'll begin to deliver that.

03-08-2013, 10:03 PM	#2
OpusTheFowl Minors (Double A) Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Ottawa, Canada Posts: 159	First off, thank-you for you time and effort you've spent writing this and all your other posts this week. I am sure a very high percentage of the people here will be kept very happy with that alone... Congrats on a good launch and I hope there are many more to come after FHM14... One question: Will every revision invalidate past save games or just updates that fiddle with the database (or maybe that's one in the same)? Thanks again!

03-09-2013, 12:39 AM	#5
analgesic Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 211 Infractions: 0/1 (1)	Thanks Jeff. A quarter of the bugs squashed already is fabulous progress! If you can find the time to do a quick write up like this on a weekly basis, I know it would help me feel more connected and engaged in this process. Any idea what the timeline will be for the next beta release?

03-09-2013, 05:31 AM	#6
sizzlingpopcorn Major Leagues Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Halifax, NS Posts: 439	Answer was in original post #1 : "we're aiming to have the first update ready next Monday, barring anything unexpected."

03-09-2013, 08:58 AM	#7
BTerran Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 28	Sounds like things are moving at a great pace. I'm looking forward to watching the game grow over the months until it's official release

03-09-2013, 10:27 AM	#10
redcomet Bat Boy Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 3	I hope you guys fix the AI when it comes to trading. The AI won't accept any good trades but trades between AI-controlled teams are complete bargains most of the time.

03-10-2013, 10:04 PM	#14
Methodz Minors (Single A) Join Date: Nov 2011 Posts: 61	Very glad that the numbers were good for you guys, a finished product will no doubt do you guys good. I would also add that a weekly update like this would keep us hooked into the going ons of the product.

03-11-2013, 02:46 PM	#15
dplanty91 Bat Boy Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 11	are we still expecting the update today? and where will we find the file?