Greats of the Gridiron
Multiplayer and 32 Team UPDATE!
Great news everyone! After months of hard work, we are in the final stages of implementing (and testing) the multiplayer functionality. This will allow for online drafting and league play!!
Details:
1. There will be a full online draft
2. Contracts are in place, but they will not yet be adhered to
3. A dedicated server will be needed (we will set up tutorials on setting up and we will always be available here and in Discord for help)
We also had a lot of feedback about getting 32 teams in the game - and we will have that, too!
Details:
1. A fully automated scheduler for regular season and playoffs
Our expected release date of the multiplayer and 32 teams is January 1st. It may be sooner based on a few caveats such as how well testing goes as well as if anyone who has the game would like to contribute to making some of the additional 16 default teams!! This is a chance to immortalize your coaching prowess for the masses...
There will be more information about the default team building in DISCORD, so please be sure to join us there!
Thanks again for all your support and patience as we continue to update the game.
UPDATE: SCOUTING
We are toiling away in our War Room as we design and code more features of Greats of the Gridiron. Currently, we are closing in on one of the most enjoyable aspects to the season - scouting the next crop of college kids waiting for their shot at Greatness!
For the most part, during the course of the season coaches can scout specific attribute point totals for one price or a range that is represented by a grade at a sizeable discount. Another option is to simply scout their overall grade. These 3 scouting options will make increase strategic thinking in order to try and get the most comprehensive draft board possible.
Commissioners of each league will have the ability to:
- Choose to use scouting mode for their league
- Choose the weekly scouting points allotted
- Choose whether or not the allotted points are on a "use or lose" basis
Again, our main goal is to give as much customization to each commissioner as possible so that each league can be tailored for the most fun for each individual league.
Additional advanced settings that are coming are Injury Mode and Contract Mode
Here's a sneak peek at the Main Screen for Scouting...
Developer Update
I just wanted to take a moment to give an update on what is currently underway with the progress of the current task:
Dedicated Server
This is one of the most important, but also labor intensive and time consuming modules. The payoff, is that much of the remaining functionality of the Franchise management for the leagues will be part of this module.
The 'dedicated server' is a process that will run on the League Commissioner's machine (or some remote service he may have) that will be the central connection hub for all the League members. It should run 24/7/365 and will provide the direct gateway to the league data, including player/game/season statistics, trading, scouting, messaging, injuries, and all the other data processing required to run the league, in a configurable, single process. This will represent about 70% of the remaining 'feature' level development, after which, we can cross from Alpha to Beta, then the final Public Release!
There is a small downside to this, which is that realistically, it will take several months. There MAY (or may not) be a change in the database engine to accommodate multiple database connections during this time. I am going to try to avoid this, as using SQLite now is the most efficient way for a data repository, but it comes with some limitations. There will also necessarily be much development in the way of networking, and some improvements/changes may be happening there as well.
Thus, until this module is done, there will be little in the way of major updates, however, I will still be working bugs, improving performance and all that stuff. I don't know exactly how long it will take, but I will update regularly with milestones, and other general information.
There will be a full level of tutorial available on running your league via the dedicated server to help you get started when it's ready.
As always, please feel free to provide any feedback or suggestion on the message boards or on Discord, where I am generally online all the time, if you'd like to directly as for assistance, info, or generally just to chat!
Thanks for your continued support and see you in the next update!
League Update
Sorry for the delay in getting this out. Wanted to be sure we really knew as much as we could before making a decision on what our league options are:
Due to some unforeseen circumstances, we are still working on getting the online aspects of the multiplayer functionality (as in being able to hop on the game via Steam and then see all types of information about the online league such as the teams, their records, schedules, games, stats, trades, FAs etc.)
What does this mean?
As of now, we’re going to have to push back doing the league as an online/multiplayer one for now.
We understand the damper this puts on everything, but just know we are working diligently to get the multiplayer functional ASAP.
So, what are our options now?
1. LEAGUE: We can still do a league but we cannot use the multiplayer functionality of the game
a. This would mean that certain things like stats would still be tracked, but they would need to be exported and compiled via excel
b. Trades and stuff would also all need to be done offline and then reported to the league and updated
c. Basically, we would run a league but everything will require us to do all the things the multiplayer is supposed to make efficient and connective via online
d. We would have to discuss whether or not to draft. An offline draft with so many players and people (since it is an inaugural draft) would take a lifetime to complete. Perhaps we cut the draft in half – a truncated draft of 22 rounds just to fill in basic starters and then we can randomly assign backups
f. Or we can randomly create the full team rosters and then you draft a full team based on your draft position
2. TOURNAMENT: We can set up a round robin tournament and have everyone create one master playbook that will be used throughout
a. We can set some point totals and player allocation totals and allow each coach to set up their team as they want
b. Or we can do a truncated draft
c. Or we can draft premade teams
No matter which we choose - someone will get that trophy!!
3. POSTPONE: Our final option is to wait until the multiplayer is fully functional (or at least the vast majority of it)
Please leave a comment on the message boards as to what you want to do along with the corresponding option # (1, 2 or 3).
Thanks again for your support and patience as we continue to develop the game in early access.
Update 0.1.321
* Add fans to stadium for better immersion at game time. Use the Options Menu to enable or disable the fans as well as the count that show up to game day.
* Custom emblems can now be imported and used for your teams. Please watch the tutorial video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaOv4xod27E on how to set up and import your custom logo into the game. NOTE: league commissioners will have to distribute any league team's custom emblem to the league coaches. Logos MUST be 512x512 in size and be in .png format, or it won't work!
IMPORTANT:
If you are updating from prior to 0.1.321, please follow the below instructions to configure your data source locations for your current leagues. If you are not concerned with any previous data, you can simply start the game and use the automatically created league.
- After updating start the game, accept the Privacy Statement and wait for the game to automatically create a default league as it will on first run.
- PLEASE READ THIS STEP CAREFULLY:
Once completed, go to the Options menu. Click the folder icon next to the Data Directory option. Use this to select your preferred directory to save your data files. NOTE: this location should be a substantially large location as the data will get to be quite sizable over time.
ADDITIONALLY: you are under no obligation to change this from the default setting, however you may want to if you have a larger space to save to.
FURTHER: I am not deleting any of your files during this process, so if you are careful and something goes wrong, you will not have lost your data unless you deleted or overwrote it yourself. So - please be careful and feel free to ask for help on Discord or the Message Boards before moving any files. - Close the game - this is important as once you copy your leagues, the game will need to update your current databases on startup.
- Changing this data location will copy the default (any any other) league to this new location under a new "Leagues" directory.
- Navigate to your Steam installation and navigate to the "/steamapps/common/Greats Of The Gridiron/GreatsOfTheGridiron/Saved/data" directory. In here, you will see your current league directories.
- Copy all these league folders to your selected /Leagues directory. If you already have a Default league
- Start the game, go to a module (Play, Coordinator's Office, or League Management) and File->Open League. You should see all your previous leagues to be available to play.
As usual, please ask on Discord or on the message boards if you need any assistance.
Fixes:
* Entry Menu buttons incorrectly enabled while validating the installation
* Tweaks to grass materials
* Crash when using File Dialogs
* Improve general performance significantly.
* Clean up some logging warnings
Inaugural League and Game Update
While we could go with just 11, we feel it best to have a league full of humans so that no one is coaching against NPCs and this way trading will be more fun and active as will the initial draft. So, if you know anyone who wants to be part of history - have them reach out to us.
Game development:
1. We always knew in the back of our minds that a custom logo importer was needed - well look no further as it will be in the next release. Instructions on how this will work are coming soon
2. In the next build there will be a performance boost! Yay, say all those who are on the lower end of the specs.
3. We have added some "eye-candy" and in the next build you can have fans in your stadium! This will be a feature that can be turned on or off to help with any kind of performance on the PC. But it looks great and adds that extra detail. it's only visible when in the 3D mode of the camera during the games.
One of the things we are looking to add is a way to test the PCA without having to play games as well as a randomizer when you're practicing an offensive or defensive play out. Stay tuned as we work on those.
Again we want to thank everyone for their feedback and support - it's because you of you that we're able to make this game better and better.
Hotfix 0.1.218
* Fix: player running OOB when path to end-zone is clear
* Fix: missing mouse in Post-Sim standings
* Fix: reduce some media file sizes
* Improve menu button enabled/disabled stats for drafts
Join Official GotG League!
Reach out if you're interested in being one of the HISTORICAL coaches to compete for the first ever Gridiron Bowl! It's gonna be fun - trust me! Let me know if you want in!!
Oh yeah, there's a cool AF trophy you'll get IF you win it all!
Update 0.1.211
* Add Help items, namely, a comprehensive PDF manual. You can access this through the Help and Tutorial browers (avaialable in every module from the About/Help menus)
* Added a myriad of play templates and formations you can now use to get started with your playbooks - or any other time
* Selected PCA to multiple categories. Select specific categories to apply to multiple plays
* Delete last instruction - when setting instructions to your players, note the Scissors button. This will snip the last added instruction.
* Added All Picks grid to draft UI
* Scoreboard improvements
* When creating templates from your playbooks, you can now select multiple plays at a single time with ctr-clicking the plays you want to source from
* Added Pick Round and Pick Turn to picks datagrids in the Draft UI
* Improvements to database updates pushed from releases
Fixes & Improvements:
* Clean up to the Draft configuration process. Now it is possible to run several drafts in your seasons.
* Edit current draft settings, including adding/edting/removing players, even on a draft in progress
* Default visibility on Commentary Strip at bottom of Stadium UI.
* No auto-close of the scoreboard after a game is over
* Remove the necessity for Commissioner passwords, and thus, remove them from all UI entry points
* Fix: drafts created with a Complete status
* Format numbers in Season info grid (more to follow)
* Fix exception when previewing templates
As always, please report any bugs here: Bug Repors
Please feel free to hit up our Discord Server or Steam Community Discussion boards for any help and questions.
Update - 12 May 2022
* You can edit existing leagues including renaming them using the new Edit League window. With this you can also make adjustments to team conference/division assignments
* Improvements for Draft configuration workflow
Fixes:
* Resetting conference placement causes incorrect entries
* Enforce single emblem usage when creating new leagues
* Several other additional minor fixes