I'm sure many others, like myself are curious about what kinds of updates are in store for the game. I know there are issues with changing the engine because it would render playbooks, that are so hard to develop, obsolete, but aren't there cosmetic or convenience issues that could be adressed?
Perhaps updated or customizable uniforms, player portraits, and better sprite graphics. Maybe a better interface in general.
Thoughts anyone? Unrealistic for shareware?
There are ways to introduce new core features and not invalidate existing playbooks. Currently I'm about ready to deliver a new file system and file format that should carry PMFB for the coming years. I recongnize the need to support existing playbooks and have written a program to convert from the old format to the new. With the new file system, new features to support unlimited plays, rosters, categories, etc. will be possible as well as support for more specific player attributes. This should be availble in the coming months.
The issue of enhanced graphics is equally important and should be addressed soon as well. Clearly the current limited development resources at PlayMaker are hard pressed to deliver all of this in a timely way. So, the plan is to open the development effort to anyone within the community capable of extending the code and incorporate worthwhile changes into regular, official releases. By spreading some of the development effort and encouraging early sharing of program enhancements, I hope to enliven the update process and ultimately be more responsive to user's requests for features.
Ehanced graphics is a biggie, and it's the main reason why I stopped playing 10 years ago. I know there is a huge demand for Gimp like programs with an army of open source programmers ready, so even if pmfb was open source it may not attract talent worth attracting. But the pmfb concept is so good and life-like (from the coach perspective), it's such a shame no one from EA has even thought about buying Brinkman's code or contracting his experience to release a "coaches" version of Madden. Right now it's all quarterback and calling predesigned plays. Boooring. I want to work on plays on my breaks at work, create and play offline, and them meet up with leagues online. PMFB is the real fantasy football. I think there are at least 10k football fans willing to play $5 month to belong to a league and design their own plays. So, 100% open source with profit sharing via amount/quality of code contribution would be cool if it would work.
Marco
For what it's worth I play this game at least every other day and the graphics are the least of my concerns. In fact that is one of the things I really appreciate. And if you keep the same perspective in the new version (looking down) I can't see a need for fancier graphics. You're just looking at the head and shoulders of players anyhow, so how many colors does one need to see that?
I downloaded a John Madden trial game not long ago and quickly deleted it. It is the simplicity of PMFB that makes it such a great game and not a bunch of fancy graphics. That's my opinion...
Anyhow, cound me in as a beta tester for any new versions! :-)
Chris
ditto the previous post....graphics are of no concern!
I just purchased playmaker after trying several other pigskin games including Madden. I was looking for a coaches game not an arcade game. I hope that's what PMFB stays!!!
I suggest any updates be geared to the "nuts -n- bolts" of play design & the results on the field.
Well....as a newbie that's my two cents!
Don't think of graphics enhancements as eye candy, think of them as developmental visual aids. At the minimum it would be nice to have sprites large enough to have uniform numbers as an aid to scouting opponents. At best, PMFB doesn't have to match Madden but it would be nice to match what Ultimate-Football offers.
In fact, I would say that PMFB's main competition isn't Madden, it's Maximum-Football from Matrix Games. PMFB has the present advantage of a greater variety of platforms, while Maximum-Football is presently Windows-only. How long that advantage lasts in an era of Intel (presumably dual-OS) Macs and declining market share for Palm OS is anyone's guess.
Apart from the different visual presentation, Maximum-Football enables coaches to play Arena and Canadian rules as well as 11-man (and it offers college and pro hash marks as well). At $40 it's more expensive than PMFB, but I'd pay $40 for a version of PlayMaker that had everything Maximum offers and let me use my existing playbooks.
Best regards,
Ken
(edited to change Ultimate-Football to Maximum Football. Little brain cramp there....)
Follow-up to last message...
I had opportunity to poke through a Maximum-Football forum, and it lags Playmaker in a couple of play design respects (you don't appear to be able to hand off to a WR in Maximum-Football). The play design system appears to resemble Front Page Sports' system, to the extent that I'm familiar with it. That appears to have its good and bad points, but on the whole I'm inclined to prefer PMFB's system.
Therefore, I'm moved to modify my previous recommendation as follows: I'd pay at least $40 for a version of PMFB that had the visual front end of Maximum-Football, if it could be done. Failing that, larger sprites with uniform numbers and restored instant replay/game film function would be fine.
I can safely say I've got more play value out of PMFB than any other computer game I've ever owned (Complete Carriers at War running a comfortable second), and I really want the game to thrive.