- _james
- 2021-01-22
As our programmers are working on the new interface and the Overview page, that will be introduced as the first one, we are developing few more pages with UX and graphics designers.
Please check out the new look of the following subpages:
Calendar (list view): https://xd.adobe.com/view/6776ad00-0299-4a3f-b5de-5ccbe8a18d91-3225/?fullscreen
Calendar (monthly view): https://xd.adobe.com/view/6776ad00-0299-4a3f-b5de-5ccbe8a18d91-3225/screen/ad7df139-83a3-43fc-9466-a714711e7063?fullscreen
Training, team overview: https://xd.adobe.com/view/f5c67c60-4ccc-4885-9834-6313e5de91e1-a095/screen/1fac8341-e2a9-4e64-b9d3-25d4eb7cabcb?fullscreen
Training, player history: https://xd.adobe.com/view/f5c67c60-4ccc-4885-9834-6313e5de91e1-a095/screen/cb4ceac6-1f7f-490e-a352-6952ca375a9d?fullscreen
Training - weekly report: https://xd.adobe.com/view/f5c67c60-4ccc-4885-9834-6313e5de91e1-a095/screen/f8ee5e0e-37f9-4817-a884-1671fec4556d?fullscreen
New training system interface (10 slots to fill): https://xd.adobe.com/view/f5c67c60-4ccc-4885-9834-6313e5de91e1-a095/?fullscreen
Trainers list: https://xd.adobe.com/view/f5c67c60-4ccc-4885-9834-6313e5de91e1-a095/screen/695c5415-a4dc-43d5-b88e-1357a8f42f3a?fullscreen
We are open to all comments and ideas. Please remember that presented views are still a work in progress.
- Matsuyama
- 2021-01-15
DD39: Next upcoming changes --> new layout, graphics and overview page!
Goodbye Flash, welcome new year! After Flash replacement we can now focus on our main goal - general Sokker update.
And here are the most important news - we decided to introduce changes one by one, starting from new interface. Instead of preparing one great Sokker update, you will be able to see changes much more faster, one after another. We believe that it is a much better solution, helping us to avoid too many technical issues, or new bugs.
From user perspective it seems as really good news. New interface will be introduced page after page, starting with already presented OVERVIEW.
Overview will be our starting page, each of us will find that page just after login, and it will work as our comanding center - with all major informations, linked to most crucial game elements.
Here you can find actual look:
Desktop: https://xd.adobe.com/view/7cb4195d-54e8-49fe-b5d1-f77fafc2ca2d-29e7/screen/637a11bf-361c-4623-bf89-9fd6f3fc043b?fullscreen
Mobile vertical: https://xd.adobe.com/view/dd87c6d5-113c-4cee-a05d-7a8cb625c951-88d4/screen/2e6b0f52-3047-41f7-b0bb-5be0b460b8f5?fullscreen
Mobile horizontal: https://xd.adobe.com/view/dd87c6d5-113c-4cee-a05d-7a8cb625c951-88d4/screen/2f6fc0eb-c8ba-4d98-9055-9ebfa2662f91?fullscreen
First new page will be introduced in two steps:
1. in next 2-3 weeks we hope to develop new menu system (left bar and top bar, as its presented on links above), and adjust current sokker motive to new colors & fonts.
2. after another few weeks, we will introduce overview with all options you can see on project.
It means, that even in current season we will enjoy new graphics and first new page made in 100% from the scratch. After that we will replace next subpages one by one, starting from most popular (as calendar, training, or finances). New pages are not only about new graphics - in many cases, you will find lots of new elements - as on overview page.
Overview, short summary of upcoming innovations:
1. Alert center - you will be informed, if any crucial action for your club is needed - as trainer appointment, squad selection, friendly setting).
2. easy access for last 3 games and upcoming one (with hidden results)
3. week summary, with all important information
4. pressroom - that will help us to inform all users about most important news (in the future it will also contain news about our own club, generated by the game)
5. Club summary (with one new feature - seasonal fans expectations)
6. Transfers shortlist - it's probably most advanced element, with a lot of new features - bidding in real time (no need to refresh site), list view with key information, bidding from list level, option to skip player if we are no longer interested, or even option to roll out players skills.
We are really excited about upcoming changes, and we strongly believe that even this first page of our development will bring quite lots of new functionalities and features.
- _james
- 2021-01-08
As most of you know, we made a number of changes last week. It was not only the replacement of key Flash elements (such as the implementation of a new tactic editor and 2D match visualization), but also significant update of the Sokker code. Thanks to these changes it will be possible to significantly accelerate the game's development.
Of course, we did not avoid errors, but we tried to respond to the most important ones on an ongoing basis. Nevertheless, we managed to escape major failures, which should be considered a moderate success given the scale of these changes.
The changes also moved us to a new server - much newer and more efficient than the previous one.
We are at the very end of the first stage of our Sokker development project: eliminating all Flash elements and preparing the game for further development.
Until this stage is closed, we have to:
1. Convert the match report graphic to HTML;
2. Change the tactic view in the match settings to HTML;
3. Convert junior charts to HTML;
4. Introduce the 3D match visualization.
Elimination of remaining bugs that are still to be repaired:
1. Scheduling friendly leagues (priority);
2. Fixing bugs in the tactic editor (priority);
3. Correcting the charts (so that they correctly indicate trained and untrained weeks);
4. And any other less serious reports (remember that you can report bugs - preferably directly on the Bugs Forum).
We are aware of the forum comments related to the transition to the newer Sokker theme. We are very sorry, but we couldn't keep developing two themes any further. We have to focus on one now, because it will save us a lot of resources and time. It will significantly speed up the work on the planned change of the Sokker interface along with the new look (presented in previous Dev Diaries). However, it is important to mention that, as part of the introduction of the new interface, we are planning to prepare a few skins. Apart from the default ones based on new graphics, we are also planning a retro skin in order not to forget about the rich and long history of our game.
Although there are still a few tasks to be worked out, along with the above-mentioned works, proper programming works on subsequent changes have already started. The order of implementation of individual elements that we announced in Dev. Diaries last year will be announced in a week. The important information is, however, that you will not have to wait for those updates as long as for Flash elimination - we hope that you will see some changes in the current season.
Keep your fingers crossed, we strongly believe that 2021 will be a turning point for the future of Sokker!
- _james
- 2020-12-31
Today we are introducing Flash replacement. It is possible that you will encounter temporary issues with game access today and tomorrow, but have hope to avoid such serious complications. It's also possible that new game bugs will occur – together with flash replacement, we are also introducing huge game code actualization that will be the foundation for future game development. There will be no new options this time, but the game code was rewritten in many places – so possible bugs can be connected to different parts of the game, not only to Flash replacements.
What will change today?
• 2D Match viewer (retro version) – existing 2D viewer rewritten to HTML technology (from Flash). What is important, this viewer should also work with mobile devices;
• Tactic editor (basic version, without copy/paste button – we will add this function soon);
• Player faces (with current faces design, not the new one);
• Default left side menu – we are changing menu location to left side navigation. It’s coherent with the upcoming new layout, and we believe it’s a good time for current users to start using left menu, to make the switch to new layout smoother when it finally gets introduced.
Question mark about charts replacement – we still have some technical issues, it's possible to introduce them a bit later.
At the same time, there is an important information – Flash blockade for browsers is planned globally for January 12th, not today. So in case of any problems – we still have a few days for additional work.
About the new 3D viewer – it's almost ready, but there are still some elements that need to be improved. We decided to introduce it a bit later, we hope, in 2-3 weeks’ time.
- _james
- 2020-12-21
It is election time again! You have the opportunity to stand for election as a potential national team coach (Senior or U21) of any nation, and also vote for a potential Senior and U21 coach of your nation.
To access the election page, go to the homepage of the country in question, then click on National Team (Senior or U21), and then click on the link to the Election page.
If you stand for election, it is recommended that you open ONE thread in the appropriate country's forum after the elections start. Please prefix your thread with [NT] or [U21] (e.g. [NT] Raul or [U21] Mekene). Please do NOT spam forums, send SK-mail directly to people for votes, or spam users Guest Books. Any of those activities will result in forum banning and/or financial fine.
Please remember that a user who has been elected as an NT manager will not be able to resign from the job. It is not only for fun, it is also your responsibility to serve the full term which the people that voted you into the job thought you will serve.
Elections have started on the 21st of December and end on the 3rd of January, so start preparing your speeches, questions for candidates, and voting.
- _james
- 2020-12-18
New Year is almost here, and we are also close to the end of Flash replacement process. Today, please read a few final pieces of information about next steps and deadlines that we are planning for next two weeks of December.
Match viewers
We are happy to inform, that our work with match viewers is close to the end.Old 2D viewer is almost done, you can check final view here:
https://sokker-viewer-2d.netlify.app/
There are still minor issues to fix (ball size, or game result information, for example) but there are no serious problems that could stop us from implementing that viewer with the end of the year.
New viewer (that will combine new 2D and 3D view together) is also at a quite advanced stage, and close to the testing stage. There is a huge chance that this viewer will also be available with the end of this year, probably as "early access" for plus users. But you need to remember, that it will be a beta version, dedicated for public tests - we believe, that Sokker community can help us with detailed feedback about new viewer.
Other flash elements
Rest of the flash elements are also prepared and waiting on test server - they are combined with Sokker backend code upgrade, so from developer perspective, it's quite a huge replacement to be made. It's possible that some new bugs and issues may appear after implementation, that were unnoticed during testing - that's why we decided to introduce that update close after Christmas (like 28-29.12), to avoid technical problems during that unique time.
We are totally aware, that flash problems are getting more and more serious last days - but we hope that New Year will be a fresh start for Sokker without any flash technology elements, and we will proceed to our next task - general Sokker update.
- _james
- 2020-12-04
We continue to work on the new look. You saw our approach to the new layout in previous Dev. Diaries, with dark and light versions. This time, we focused on transforming one of them (dark) into other views. We are also sharing with you how the graphics display on smartphones (there will be two page layouts - vertical and horizontal).
Thus, we are happy that we can present you a new view, already fully coloured (the overview tab - a new tab where you will be directed straight after logging in). And both finished views: club website and overview - we also present you on mobile. We are still slightly tweaking the designs so the watchful eye may notice some minor changes (slightly polished colours, better contrast, new icons).
Desktop view - overview view (welcome page after logging in, player view):
https://xd.adobe.com/view/caedb853-28a5-4e4b-8166-e0ba38b5eea6-9fbe/?fullscreen
Desktop view - club view (any club in the game):
https://xd.adobe.com/view/5ee9debe-be81-4533-80f5-ab0805ddf2f5-0bba/screen/9b64c8c0-8af7-4368-a02d-d48b1d324036?fullscreen
Mobile views (use the side arrows to see individual views vertically and horizontally):
https://xd.adobe.com/view/41b6bb04-265b-4533-bc77-1b4cbf8ba24c-14e5/?fullscreen
- _james
- 2020-11-27
Short note today - last week we were finishing new tactic editor, and it's finally done. Currently, new editor (without flash), is uploaded and linked on test server. We can start tests (all admins are involved), as there are still bugs that need to be tracked down before we upload the editor to sokker.org. Anyway, it's one of the most complicated flash elements, so we perceive that step as one of the most important in current stage of the project.
Flash is still our key focus right now, but next week we will also share with you few more graphics from the new interface!
- _james
- 2020-11-20
This week please discover more graphics and work in progress screenshots from our current main challenge - new match viewer. We are working simultaneously with few elements, like stadium visualization, player animations, or field textures. As we are getting closer to the final results, we will, from time to time, reduce the length of our Developer Diaries, and instead of text, present more screens or graphics.
New 3D / 2D viewer:
https://ibb.co/0mJmMRq
https://ibb.co/2YHK8tG
https://ibb.co/tCS9jcz
https://ibb.co/kJQq92J
https://ibb.co/QmKd1S7
Old viewer conversion:
We are also working on translation of old viewer (2D) from Flash to HTML. Here we are also moving forward, and this week we can share a set of animations with you, prepared in HTML - as you see, we have all player animations almost ready, and we can move into final part - configuration between graphics/animations and match engine data.
https://skaldy.com/mv/
- _james
- 2020-11-13
Today we would like to share with you a work update on the new 2D/3D visualization. As we have described in previous episodes of Dev. Diaries, the new visualization is meant to be the main way of watching matches and it has been designed to support both 2D and 3D view modes simultaneously. You will be able to clearly see it in the preview graphics presented today.
Currently, work is underway to optimize the way the match is displaying in the new visualization (to make it efficient even on weaker computers), as well as work related to the animation quality of players and their play.
At the same time, we are developing the entire graphic design of the visualization and we can present these elements to you today.
Check out the link below and use the arrows to see all 7 views we have prepared:
https://xd.adobe.com/view/9c019e7e-0ac2-48c6-b3a8-95e021b303ee-c952/?fullscreen
The views are displayed in the following order:
1. Match loading screen - the view that is displayed at the very beginning of the match loading. You can see the video advertising option here - this element will only apply to players without a PLUS subscription - but it can be omitted using tokens - i.e. additional in-game purchase.
2. Then there is a series of views of the match intro that are displayed as the players run onto the pitch (that is, before the match starts). Here we have one by one - a presentation of the kits of both teams, a potential advertiser, the line-up of both teams and the tactics.
3. In the fifth view you can see how the match is displayed - at the bottom you can additionally see a time bar, which allows you to scroll to selected situations. These situations are also marked on the bar with the colours of the teams and icons.
4. The last two screens are the menu view with view options and camera modes. These are two propositions for this view, the content is exactly the same, the only difference is the shape of the drop-down menu.
We hope you like the new proposals.