• mr_gibbage [del]
• 2008-01-30

During friendly games 30 January, some changes to the way the match engine is regulated have been made.
Whilst the changes are not big, they are intended to change the following:

• playmaker skill:
a) Changes on player pass decisions (players with low playmaking can now make unreasonable passes more often).
b) Running passes regulation.

• with striker skill it will be easier to score from long distances and harder to score one on ones (in addition to the changes made 2007-02-03).

• goalkeeper skill changes - better goalkeepers will save shots more often, and weaker GKs will save less.

Independently of player skills, it will become easier to score from penalties and long passes will become slightly more accurate. These changes are in addition to the previously mentioned changes from the news on 2008-01-08.

Any changes will be assessed during todays friendlies, with this version of the engine being official from next season. Play off games will still use the old version of the match engine.

Bugs reporting: please report all engine bugs in the Bugs / Ideas (en) forum. Please include one topic for each type of bug. Please always include the match and minute of the bug – otherwise we will not be able to find or fix that bug.

• mr_gibbage [del]
• 2008-01-08

During the next NT friendly games on 2008-01-12, we are going to test some engine code changes. What could be new for you? If everything goes according to plan, no changes will be noticable. The changes made are going to be internal changes with the future in mind, which will allow more match engine improvements to be made in the future.

Currently the planned improvements to the match engine are:
- set 2 tactics in match orders and use conditional orders to switch it
- precise player positioning (ie not forced to go in one particular segment)
- keeper tactics (ie to decide whether a keeper should come out for passes from a corner)

It is possible that there will be some bugs within the new code. All bugs should be reported to the Bugs / Ideas (en) forum, with one topic per one bug.

• forestman [del]
• 2007-12-23

The sokker staff wish you all the best for the holidays & upcoming new year!

• mr_gibbage [del]
• 2007-12-08

There has been a bug with running passes - in the match engine, defenders (DEF) rather than midfielders (MID) were making most of the running passes when they had the similar levels of playmaking.

After the fix, most running passes will be made by midfielders, with less by defenders as it should have been before. It will be very rare for attackers to make these passes.

As this is an important bug fix, this fix will be applied from 12/12/07.

• guacamole [del]
• 2007-12-06

As compensation for the period recently where matches were unavailable for a few days and the minor server issues, we have added 2 additional days to the subscription of all current plus users.

We apologize for the failures, but had no control over the issues, and did our best to resolve the problems as quickly as possible.

Enjoy your plus days :)

• mr_gibbage [del]
• 2007-11-22

We have introduced a new way of paying for plus - via PayPal.com. Due to the fees charged by PayPal, there will be an additional 2 PLN handling charge.

It is now possible to pay once again via AllPay, after the temporary problems with them.

• forestman [del]
• 2007-11-06

We have simplified adding new languages. Now linguists can create a new language by translating the english version directly on site and publishing it when completed.

If you want prepare new language, please inform us by writing an email to admins@sokker.org or directly by sk-mail to Arnau or Papcio Daniels

Please note: Adding a new language is an ongoing responsibility also - you will also have to translate news items as well as new sentences for Sokker scripts updates (for example when new features are introduced). Therefore please bear this in mind before you apply.

• mr_gibbage [del]
• 2007-10-24

We have introduced an affiliate system for new users. Now when you invite a friend to Sokker, if you encourage them to fill in your username during the registration process like the following:

www.sokker.org/?buddy=your_login

Once they buy plus for the first time, you yourself will receive a gift of 10 days of plus. If you already have plus, then 10 days will be added to your current subscription.

• mr_gibbage [del]
• 2007-10-15

It is election time again! You have the opportunity to stand for election as the national team coach of any nation, and to give your vote to your preferred manager of your own nation!

To access the election page, go to the respective country homepage, then click on National Team, and then Elections.

If you stand for election, it is recommended that you open a maximum of one thread in the forums, prefixed with [NT] , e.g. [NT] forestman. Please do NOT spam forums, SK-mail people directly for votes, or spam users Guest Books. Any of these spammy activities will result in forum banning and/or financial fine. Also, if you are running for election do NOT post questions or arguments in other candidates' threads. Their threads are for them to present their candidacy (and for users from that nation to question them), not for you to debate them.

Please remember that a user who has been elected as NT manager will not be able to resign from their job. Therefore when you stand for the NT 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 should serve.

The election deadline is 28th October so get preparing your speeches, asking candidates tough questions & voting!

• guacamole [del]
• 2007-09-22

We are happy to announce that we are starting the testing of a new match engine. The new match engine will improve a few areas of the current engine and also includes some new features.

This new match engine will be used from now until the end of this season in NT friendly games and in regular friendly games starting October 10th (after all national cups are completed). It will then be used in all matches from the start of next season.

Improvements in the game engine:

- Wingers will now turn towards goal or cross the ball further away from the goal line in order to be more effective (previously they sometimes went out of bounds or into the corner where they couldn't be as effective). They will now try to avoid making poor passes backwards and instead may look to shoot at goal.
- The offside rule will be executed correctly for players that are off field. This will correct a small bug, for example - in this match.
- Half-time / End-of-game whistle will not be blown with a player extremely likely to score a goal – for example, with the attacker having dribbled past the last defender.
- 4 substitutions will not occur. There were rare occasions when this had occurred in the past - such as here
- Corrected the conditional substitution when a player is sold or fired,as you can see here.
- Sorted conditional orders, so in all instances, when two orders exist with different minutes to execute, the order with the lower minute will be executed first. (There were rare occasions previously when this did not occur)
- The use of tactics for defending players has been improved. In certain circumstances the previous game engine would think that the defending team had possession when they did not. It therefore would select a more attacking tactic, and would leave the keeper vulnerable. Examples of this problem include when there is a rebound from the goalkeeper or when the final defender loses possession. This problem has now been corrected.
- Match generation will not start before updates are finished. This is an important fix to the issue that happened a while ago where we had to re-run matches (the "ghost matches" problem).

New features:
- Changed technique/defender probability distribution during a tackle. This means that there is now a chance (although very small ) that an attacker with relatively low technique might be able to dribble past a MUCH better defender, or a relatively unskilled defender might be able to tackle a high technique opponent. (This will be closely monitored during testing).


There are no other changes made in this engine. If you notice anything different, please report it as a bug. All bugs should be reported on Bugs / Ideas (en) forum, one topic per one bug.