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Cracking on and getting some shiz done!


MMATycoon

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Hi all. First of all, I know I've been shit at updates lately. I apologise.

 

The reason behind that is basically life in general.

 

When I started MMA Tycoon I was 28 with literally nothing else to do apart from this site. My then girlfriend had a full time job and we had no kids. The game earned enough to support that and I had a hell of a lot of time to spend on it. She spent most nights working when she got home, so I was doing 14 hour days on Tycoon a lot of the time.

Fast forward to now and I'm 36 with a 19 month old kid and my now wife works part time, 3 days a week. That means I have to earn more and it means I've got way less time to earn it. My income now is split pretty much 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 between Tycoon, my own personal betting on MMA and then selling those picks on Bet MMA. So 3 times as much stuff to do any I would say probably 1/3 of the time to do it in because of having a kid.

 

The main issue is that I have no thinking time and I'm generally frazzled, so I can't concentrate enough to do complex programming. Yesterday I forgot the word for "milk"; I can't rely on myself to do 500 lines of complex code!

 

However, what hasn't changed is that I still have a full time programmer on board and he can do whatever we like. He's worked mostly on Bet MMA for me in the last year or so as I get that self-sufficient (probably 70:30 BetMMA to Tycoon) but now that's pretty much done, we can move him back on to Tycoon 80:20 or something like that.

 

Again though, I don't have the time to work out what he needs to do. Any discussion about updates takes FOREVER and I don't have time for that. That's where you guys are going to come in.

 

I want you guys to get together a group of users; let's say 20 or so, I'll make you a sub forum and you can discuss whatever you like in there and basically I want you to produce a list, one at a time, of things you want doing. I want it to be pretty much written out as a point that my programmer will be able to understand, I will check it out and see if I think it's OK then pass it on to him and he'll do it.

 

I'm not talking massive game changing things like editing the fight engine (because obviously I'd have to have a hell of a lot of input into that) but cosmetic stuff, new rankings, trophies for stuff, hall of fame stuff, new stats, improvements to buzz, or better buzz integration into the site, changes to quickfights to block certain fighters etc etc... You get the idea. I am totally open to more complicated stuff getting done - you guys are intelligent so I'm confident you can do some equations if you want to, so e.g. if you wanted to tackle the game economy / income from events then cool, go for it. But let's start off small and cosmetic.

 

Your first challenge to illustrate that you are capable of doing this is to get the group together. My suggestion is one person from each of the top 20-30 alliances. I don't think there's any reason for this to be a small group.

 

I want this to be autonomous. I don't want you guys to ever contact me whinging about someone in the group. Sort it out youselves. I don't want any of you to contact me now telling me why you think it should work X way or Y way or how there should be more than 1 person from each alliance. Sort it out yourselves. The whole reason nothing gets done is because you guys have a habbit of wearing me out with waffle and winging.

 

I'm giving you guys control of the game's future, to a greater or lesser degree. Run with it and do it properly.

 

Get a list together of the people that are going to be in the group. Someone mail me that list at the end of next week and we'll get cracking.

 

 

note: a couple of things that are in development right now.
1. staff integration for buzz so that staffers can post as a company.
2. grappling only events for orgs.

3. automation of real life UFC events for in game bookmakers.

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Giving responsibility to a group that big (20-30managers) will make it way too complicated to take decisions.

 

I fully expect this idea to turn out bad. Lets hope that I am wrong, but this will just show the diversity of the community, and not in a good way.

I am not a pessimist, but a realist.

This could only possibly succeed with a small group of around 5 managers. Anything over 10 is pretty much guaranteed overkill.

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I am sort of in agreement with Bjorn, the game only has so many alliances and so many people and I feel that the ones most qualified for this role are the ones at the top - so alliances in div 1 pyramid and div 2 make sense to be in the group as this represents for the most part the top level competition in the game. This is where the future changes matter.

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For this to work it needs order and order comes from democracy, fill the list with 20 names and we vote from that 20 for a leader. Leader instilled a council of 5 members who all 6 get the "final say" the other 14 act as a think tank and vote on things for the council to decide on

 

Just my tuppence

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I'm not talking massive game changing things like editing the fight engine (because obviously I'd have to have a hell of a lot of input into that) but cosmetic stuff, new rankings, trophies for stuff, hall of fame stuff, new stats, improvements to buzz, or better buzz integration into the site, changes to quickfights to block certain fighters etc etc... You get the idea. I am totally open to more complicated stuff getting done - you guys are intelligent so I'm confident you can do some equations if you want to, so e.g. if you wanted to tackle the game economy / income from events then cool, go for it. But let's start off small and cosmetic.

 

Your first challenge to illustrate that you are capable of doing this is to get the group together. My suggestion is one person from each of the top 20-30 alliances. I don't think there's any reason for this to be a small group.

 

I want this to be autonomous. I don't want you guys to ever contact me whinging about someone in the group. Sort it out youselves. I don't want any of you to contact me now telling me why you think it should work X way or Y way or how there should be more than 1 person from each alliance. Sort it out yourselves. The whole reason nothing gets done is because you guys have a habbit of wearing me out with waffle and winging.

 

 

To those who don't think we can get anything done with a larger group...

 

This isn't rocket science. I think most changes there's a consensus on "yeah that needs improved" or "adding that would be nice".

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I would like to be involved. My ideas are modest, I don't want to change gameplay, but I have a number of long-standing ideas about how information on certain pages can be tweaked to make fighter/business maintenance easier.

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Maybe I'm missing something here but doesn't the thread "The Best Ideas / Suggestions Thread" serve that exact purpose of filtering out all the best ideas for Mike to judge what's possible and worth implementing?

 

Sort of, but as Mike said he doesn't really have the time to go through everything. That can be a thing that the committee can look at every so often and decide whether or not that idea is actually credible.

 

Side note: I'm definitely up for being involved if none of my alliance mates want to partake.

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Sort of, but as Mike said he doesn't really have the time to go through everything. That can be a thing that the committee can look at every so often and decide whether or not that idea is actually credible.

 

Or the only thing, considering those are the ideas already approved by a larger part of the community ...

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Giving responsibility to a group that big (20-30managers) will make it way too complicated to take decisions.

I fully expect this idea to turn out bad. Lets hope that I am wrong, but this will just show the diversity of the community, and not in a good way.

I am not a pessimist, but a realist.

This could only possibly succeed with a small group of around 5 managers. Anything over 10 is pretty much guaranteed overkill.

Mike is really only giving us superficial things to decide on, not game breaking engine modding.

 

I would understand the need for such a small and highly experienced group, if we were changing the engine.

 

I dont see why 30 or so people, cant decide on whether we would want buzz intergrated more before we want grappling orgs, or which trophies get added etc.

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Since it's just about small updates, I think less managers would give a better dynamic to it. It's desirable to have the next update picked before the programmer finishes the current one to speed things up. If we have too many people debating on what's next, we might prolong the decisions and stall a bit the updates.

 

The fact that less people would make part of this project doesn't mean the rest of the tycoon community should be segregated. The ''improvements'' part of the forum is a good place for us all to share any possible ideas and since this time there will be someone hearing us, I believe this could work pretty well.

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First and foremost let's not mess about, I would very much like to be part of this group. I see the potential for real progress here and I would very much like to be part of that process.

I would also like to see GBK, Duphus, Rei, Shiv, Chris Karter, Mentor, Louie, Gus, Jamie McKenna, Sully, G Wad, Dale Mac and Bradley Burns as part of the group, offering a wide range of experience in many fields with a real understanding of how the game currently works and could potentially work. I'm sure I missed some fantastic names so please do not be offended if I did not list you, I also feel it's important while the dialog remain open and constructive at all times that a "devils advocate" of sorts be involved and for that reason I actually find myself recommending Bjorn to this project, if nothing else I feel he's passionate about the game and has a lot of forward thinking ideas that could very well provide a foundation for such a group to explore.

I do not feel like it's necessary to limit it by alliance for the record, honestly, at this point, we all want whats best for the game don't we? I don't see the need to let party lines so to speak divide us at all on these topics and excluding knowledgeable players from the table to satiate some desire avoid "control of the group" seem's self-defeating, let's just go into this with trust in mind.

For anyone who is not going to be part of the group the way to look at this is that the people in the group will be responsible for ensuring your ideas are been looked at, explored and understood by the best the player-base has to offer to see if it could work and then present it in a way that could become an actual practical change that can be implemented, this will in no way limit your voice or the value of an improvements thread post, it will only enhance the likelihood it comes to full fruition, for that reason I also support the idea of limiting the group to 10-15 players.

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I dont see the problem with a big group. It just means more ideas that others might not have thought of. And as for having a "council" or whatever, that shouldnt be neccesary; Just hold a vote between the 20 group members if a decision needs to be made.

 

I would be more than happy to get involved, but i'll wait and see if Adam wants to do it first as i think he'd be a better spokesperson for Aspire

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As a sidenote, i object to the theory that only experienced or the top players should be able to get involved. Its this thinking that alienates newer users. And if we're serious about improving this game, then we need to find a way to retain new players and keep them interested enough to actively play, so i think its vital to have a newer player in this group (not 1 day old but 6 months or less maybe) so that you have some input as to how to make the game more appealing to new users. Its all very well giving in to the requests of older players, but if the game doesnt have a healthy intake of new active players, the game will die out

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Warning, this post might hurt some feelings.

 

Lets say that there is for example a full-time basketball coach. He is the boss, decides how things work, what way the game will go, what strategy and how to train. This guy is getting money from all the kids who signed up for basketball.

Now the coach also loves betting and can make more money there. After letting his team down for months, he decides that there is another way; why not let the kids decide what will happen, how they have to train,pass, etc...?! The coach just needs to say `yes` or `no` every few weeks and gets easy money. Is that delegating, or perhaps...?

If the coach is not willing to do his job for the paying kids, then he should consider being a full-time betting specialist, instead of pretending to be doing his job. Would you accept it when you pay for your kid his basketball classes and find out that the coach is never there and isn`t doing his job...? You tell me...

 

If you are not willing to put your shoulders under the game and work for it Mike,sell it then to someone who is willing to actually put the time and effort into it.

 

If you do not see that as an option, fine, but do not expect many veteran managers to keep renewing their vip then either. Value for money.

 

I am passionate about the game, but everyone and everything has its limits. I would probably accept a position on the `board` if asked, but only if it is a small group of less than 10 people and also would have to include yourself. Build a team to actually boost the game, not to make it easier for yourself.

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I would also like to see GBK, Duphus, Rei, Shiv, Chris Karter, Mentor, Louie, Gus, Jamie McKenna, Sully, G Wad, Dale Mac and Bradley Burns as part of the group, offering a wide range of experience in many fields with a real understanding of how the game currently works and could potentially work.

 

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For real though, this is a great opportunity and I am looking forward to seeing what becomes of it. I'll gladly join the committee.

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I want you guys to get together a group of users; let's say 20 or so, I'll make you a sub forum and you can discuss whatever you like in there and basically I want you to produce a list, one at a time, of things you want doing. I want it to be pretty much written out as a point that my programmer will be able to understand, I will check it out and see if I think it's OK then pass it on to him and he'll do it.

 

As pointed out by thb already this was the original intention of my best ideas / suggestions thread, these suggestions have been made not just by those who are active in the game atm but those who are now inactive and got frustrated by the lack of updates and so perhaps the highest rated ideas on there should be a priority not just to please those who are active but also tempt those who were highly active and contributed way more than the active users do nowadays, into returning to the game.

 

Maybe I'm missing something here but doesn't the thread "The Best Ideas / Suggestions Thread" serve that exact purpose of filtering out all the best ideas for Mike to judge what's possible and worth implementing?

 

For whoever was wondering I stopped updating that list because I saw little / no progress with the ideas.

 

 

Sort of, but as Mike said he doesn't really have the time to go through everything. That can be a thing that the committee can look at every so often and decide whether or not that idea is actually credible.

 

Side note: I'm definitely up for being involved if none of my alliance mates want to partake.

 

Every idea on that list has a link where you can read through the discussion of the idea and then either +1 / -1 depending on whether or not you like the idea. Of course you can post your own thought such as what you think should be added to make the idea even better, what part of the idea you don't like, etc.

 

 

As for the 20 or so users from different alliances, I'm not sure that's necessarily a good idea. There's plenty of people from the same alliance who could make a good contribution to a group like this, then there's guys from other alliances who'll just chuck their toys out of the pram and kick up a fuss if one of their favourite ideas doesn't get picked.

 

Whilst I'm not overly active anymore, I'd like to be involved and could offer my two cents from a programmer prospective and to get another programmer prospective I'd recommend getting someone like Listerman / Widing involved as well (of course I'd be open to hearing from other programmers in the MMA Tycoon community, doesn't necessarily have to be one of those two).

 

I'd also appreciate getting a chance to discuss these ideas with the MMA Tycoon programmer himself so he can give us estimations on how long it'll take to do certain ideas.

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