- _james
- 2020-07-10
We are coming back this week with the next stage of work on User Experience. This time, we prepared training-related views, because we feel that this element of the game is currently underdeveloped, and many users monitor the progress of their teams through external programs.
IMPORTANT: the projects you see today are mock-ups - sketches of the new page, showing how its navigation will work, how the elements will be arranged, and what the information architecture will be. These are NOT graphic designs. We are currently working on the new graphic design, and the mock-ups you see are only a starting point. However, this is a separate step in our work. Therefore, when assessing and commenting on these works, remember that we are talking about sketches, not the final project.
Prepared views fulfill several functions:
1. They present changes related to the training reform (10 training slots to be filled) - it shows how it will be possible to assign players to "advanced" training;
2. They add additional views that allow you to track training progress in several different configurations - weekly reports and general statistics for the senior/junior team;
3. They add a table view in the training history of a selected player, showing his progress over time;
4. They show the coaching staff’s view, they also complement it with showing the "effectiveness" of individual members of the staff.
Work is still underway on the view of the charts presenting changes in player attributes.
UX projects can be seen here. Use the cursor (right/left) to switch views.
For these projects, we also ask you to rate and give suggestions that will help us improve the proposed solutions.
The link to the form is here.
At the same time, works related to the visual identity of the game are ongoing parallel to the UX work. In just a week, we will present 3 new designs for discussion and evaluation.
- dewb
- 2020-07-07
Chapter 1 of the rules about Registration, has changed. The main changes are related to the use of VPNs, TOR, or other IP modifying tools, and some rules about the country where a user is registered and the country where he actually lives.
Please read it as it may affect both new users and current users. If you have any doubts about the changes and how it may affect you and your team, please contact the staff.
The changes are already published in English and will be gradually translated into other languages.
- _james
- 2020-07-03
In recent weeks, many linguists have done a great job helping us translate information about the development of the game and distribute our diaries locally. The work of linguists has changed over the weeks from volunteering to a much more professional work, and also more important work - their responsibilities will probably increase in the future due to the essential support in translating of the new game elements that will be introduced.
That is why we decided to give more prestige to the Linguist position and to reward people who support us in this way with PLUS.
Moreover, the number of Linguists will be adjusted to our current capabilities - we decided to support the 20 most key languages (they cover around 95% of all users) - we will work on these languages officially.
Of course, we do not exclude the development of less popular languages - that will be possible under the existing rules, where smaller communities have undertaken the same translations. We will provide solutions that allow it, but they will be additional languages - not covered by an additional benefit in the form of Plus for people who decide to do such work.
At the same time, we will make minor permissions changes in the coming week that will allow Linguists to use the source content - so they can, for example, copy the content of the post intended for the translation along with the original formatting.
Arcade match error - putting the player on TL
The arcade matches bug has been corrected, there will no longer be situations where a player was willing to be placed on the Transfer List after playing these unofficial matches. The error was eliminated at the beginning of the week.
Other bugs related to arcade matches (impact on the ranking & increase of experience and teamwork) already have prepared fixes - however, they are related to the morning Game Updates, which have been completely rewritten into new code and are currently waiting for testing. After carrying out these tests the issues will also disappear.
- Matsuyama
- 2020-06-26
One of those changes that we mentioned in the early Dev. Diary was the restriction of too intense trading. Sometimes it dominates over other elements of the game, which should be more important in a football manager game.
Therefore, another change we are making is the period preventing the player from being put on the transfer list for a specified time after purchase. To begin with, this period will be set to 4 full weeks from the date the player was brought to the club. Depending on the effects of this restriction, we will decide whether it is satisfactory or should be changed.
The need to keep the player for 4 weeks in our club will force managers to take a more prudent approach to completing their squads, will prevent them from getting players "just for one match" (we do not think that it is good for the game, a much better solution is to encourage users to maintain the appropriate team reserve, the introduced rule will indirectly affect it), but above all - it will significantly reduce the possibility of earning quickly through trade alone.
We analysed various solutions to this problem proposed in the forum. We decided to choose the simplest and working in the same way for everyone. It doesn't complicate the game, it probably changes the approach to many decisions that have to be made as part of the game (e.g. a different approach to the bench, but also a different approach to "bargains" on the market, where in addition to buying a player you will need to think about its wage, usefulness and/or the ability to find place in the team), but such dilemmas and decisions will be equally interesting.
At the same time, we do not think that it blocks development for business managers. The search for opportunities will continue without change, it will still be possible to earn on trade - we only eliminate transfers that were unreal (selling a player within the week of purchase).
- _james
- 2020-06-19
Dev. Diary 11: New Interface - First Mock-ups
This week we would like to share with you the first page views of the new interface prepared by the UX designer. They are the result of extended work both on a group of new users (whom we asked to set up accounts and analyze places where they get lost, problems with navigation, understanding of the game, etc.), and also taking into account the comments of current users.
IMPORTANT: the projects you see today are mock-ups - sketches of the new website, showing how it's navigation will work, how the individual elements will be arranged and what the information architecture will be. These are NOT graphic designs. The new graphic design is currently under work and the mock-ups you see are a starting point for it. However, this is a separate step in our work, therefore, when judging or commenting on these works, remember that we are talking about a sketch, not the final product.
New navigation – layout
Currently, we have several possible page settings in Sokker - the old interface and the newer version. Each of them can be modified with graphic skins and menu layouts. Most users use the newer version of the interface (nearly 80%), and most of them use bottom navigation. This layout is also default for new players.
During the audit, it turned out that it is also a basic barrier because of which new players do not stay in the game. The bottom icons are lacking descriptions and as consequence new players quickly get lost. They are unable to navigate the game and give up Sokker very quickly, practically not reaching most of the game elements.
As you will see in the new projects, the main navigation of the new interface will be pinned to the left, complementary navigation will appear at the top of the individual tabs. This organization will make it much easier for new players to engage in the game (instead of icons we have full descriptions of the tabs, this is also a layout commonly used in this type of games).
Club view, mobile browser view
In the link below you can see the basic view - the view of the selected club. As you can see it has been slightly expanded so that more key information about a given team was available on its first page.
Club page views
The link contains several views - use left mouse click or keyboard arrows to see all of them. The first is the view of the player's club (Tornado Pirates). By scrolling the page down you can see how the horizontal tabs move to the top bar.
The next view is the site of another club we visit (Almost Religious). As you can see, the layouts are the same, the club view is universal, and we want the home page of each club in the game to look the same.
The following screens show the mobile view. By now, almost 40% of the access to Sokker is from mobile devices so we pay a lot of attention to this element. As you can see, the game will encourage the user to turn the phone, thanks to which the display of elements will be the most effective (this is how other mobile managers work, from Football Manager, to Top Eleven, and many others).
Press room
Another view is the press room - a completely new Sokker feature that will add a story element to the game. You can find various types of information here, examples can be seen in the sketch. Basically, here you will receive messages generated by the game itself (match summaries, information about records, training reports, and many others), as well as your own publications (club's newsletter), and have the ability to follow other teams (selcting them as "watched").
Press room page view
Match viewer
Next, we want to present mock-ups prepared for the match view. We also have a lot of changes here. First of all, the match loading page looks different (first view). After loading the match, we see players running out onto the pitch, preparing for the match - and we get several short intro screens previewing the match, such as displaying match settings, line-ups, key information about clubs or games. In further views (switch using keyboard arrows) you can also see the match half time screen and a new view of camera mode settings, along with a possible choice between 2D and 3D.
Match page views
Comments and next steps
Finally, we share with you a link to the form in which you can leave your opinions, suggestions and ideas regarding the presented views.
Work is currently underway on further screens (including training). Sketches of individual elements of the game will be created in succession.