Development

In this section, you will read updates on the development of ManagerZone as Crew members explain recent releases and reveal what is to come.

The Head2Head simulator and a new Sim!

A lot of work has been put into improving the Head2Head simulator, this will continue to be the way we release updates to the Sim, ready for the start of Season 40. There will also be some traditional instant match tests, soon - more news in our CrewZone Sim Special!

There have been several updates and the most recent version, which was first released on 2011-08-13, including:

  • Referees are now more lenient and issue fewer red and yellow cards.
  • Wingers now run with the ball on their wing instead of continually switching play from one wing to the other. They may still switch the play if there is a high possibility of a quality pass.
  • Players on the wings now try to stay on the wings and only cut inside if forced to by an opponent.
  • Wing tactics now generate fewer passes to cycle the ball amongst the team. Players now prefer to retain possession of the ball and to run with it, attempting passes only to create a better attacking opportunity.
  • Wingers now may attempt crosses to their teammates who are in the penalty box even if their teammate is marked by an opponent. This applies to both passes on the ground and through the air. This is a major change!
  • passing to stationary teammates, players now look to place the ball ahead of the receiving player (relative to the goal) instead of where the player is facing. Moving players, as before, will still receive passes ahead of their path
  • Fewer backpasses when a player is 1 vs 1 with the keeper.

Air passing and heading are now far more important skills in the game. Before releasing this generation of the simulator live for regular matches in Season 40, we will examine the effects on existing teams and learn how to balance changes fairly.
Wing tactics have evolved, so feel free to experiment with player positions. Wingers are best positioned near the right and/or left touchlines for best use of their wing skills. Remember that Tactics which are successful with the current live Sim may not always be as successful with the new H2H Sim.
As we continue to monitor H2H match results, if we find something strange or unfair we will halt the trial and revert to version 1.21.
The H2H simulator will continue to evolve, and and there will be even more updates before it’s ready for release in Season 40.

A few comments on the simulator from the developers

We knew that wing play was far from optimal, so we decided to focus on updating that in this version of the Sim. Earlier, regardless of tactic, players tried to get closer to the goal all the time, either by passing the ball or by running with the ball towards the goal. We have tried to make things more realistic by getting the wingers to stay on their wings.

Our goal is to release a new simulator in Season 40, we still have a lot of testing to do, but we are on track.

We would really appreciate it if you would keep testing and giving us good feedback. Thank you!

Sticky Threads

Sticky threads have been implemented in the forums. This means that the most important threads will always stay on top of the topic list, regardless of whether someone has recently written there or not. This will help make sure everyone has a chance to read important information.

Beginners Guide

Do you remember starting your ManagerZone account? For some, the game comes naturally, but for others, perfecting a strategy might take a bit longer.
We want to help those new Managers who feel it’s a challenge to get started. While the tutorial is a great way of learning how to use the different menus, we feel that ManagerZone can improve how new Managers are educated on carrying out important tasks.
For that reason we are working on a new Beginners Guide. We have a draft ready and are going to implement it soon. Hopefully this will aid new Managers as their skills evolve in the quest for becoming the best in the world.

In the next issue, we'll talk about:

  • League Balancing
  • Walk over update
  • More Sim news
  • Training stats
  • A brand new 2D Live view!
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8