NEWS
Sick as a Parrot 2008/9 - June 1st 2008
I've begun work on SaaP 2008/9. This will introduce into SaaP the information from the European promotion and relegation movements to realign the clubs for the 08/09 season.
SaaP 2008 has served its purpose in bringing the game back to the level of stability of SaaP 2007 and earlier far more quickly than I ever imagined considering the level of changes. In SaaP 2008/9 I shall now begin introducing some of the developments I had previously had to avoid because of the limitations of the previous database. It's full speed ahead from here.
Watch this space for the release of SaaP 2008/9 when the final promotion and relegation spots have been settled.
Sick as a Parrot 2008 Final Release - May 30th 2008
The good news continues. A few more cosmetic problems from users but nothing serious and all of which were hangovers from earlier versions of SaaP not new problems from SaaP 2008. That would suggest that they're so minor they've either gone unnoticed before or been considered to minor to report. One common problem has been caused by the work-around that was included for Vista compatibility. Vista graphics are somewhat different from previous versions of Widows and can cause some unpleasant changes of appearance if not dealt with.
However, the work-arounds themselves can introduce affects that are sometimes not quite right. So far these have been fixed but if any more come along it may be time to consider an option in the drop down menu to bring in code to run correctly with Windows XP and earlier in one selection and correctly for Vista in the other. It's not necessary so far but if further problems crop up in this then that may prove to be the best solution - I would rather a single click in a SaaP dropdown menu than having to go to Vista's compatibility setting.
SaaP 2008 Final Release is now on the members' web site and the demo has been upgraded also.
Sick as a Parrot 2008 release 1.1 - May 15th 2008
Users are now putting the new game to the ultimate test. So far only one game-stopping bug has been reported and that only occurs under particular circumstances. Fortunately it did not require much in the way of finding or fixing thanks to the detailed report leading me directly to the problem. If only all bug reports were so helpful
Sick as a Parrot 2008 release 1.0 - May 1st 2008 - Now released!
Finished! The ugrading of SaaP 2007 to SaaP 2008 with the massive new database is now complete and the game avalaible for download.
The database structure of SaaP has been completed redesigned not just to add more leagues, including the Aussie A-League and a number of lower divisions from the more popular leagues, but also to include far more information about clubs and players. The old database structure has served the game well for several years now with it's frequent updates of data but the developments that I wish to include in years to come require greater detail and sophistication. The new database structure provides these and will hopefully serve the game for a few more years.
This new database has been inrtroduced in two stages. SaaP 2007 included the full database but only accessed that data relevant to the earlier games. The structure remained the old structure and the appropriate data extracted to suit. 2008 now introduces the entire database with the new structure and the full data and detail. While the appearance and flow of the game remains the same the engine underneath is completey new. As yet only minor use has been made of the new base as the first priority is to return the game to the quality of stability of the old game.
Expect several upgrades in the future.
Sick as a Parrot 2008 release 1.0 - Jan 1st 2008
SaaP 2008 now has its new database. That's the addition of a number of new leagues including the Australian A-League and the MLS updated to 14 teams. The data on club and players has been increased to the point where the new database is over 4 times the size of the old.
I've now started on integrating the new database with the existing code. It's going to be some time before I'm happy with this integration and reasonnably sure of a minimum of bugs.
It's "Watch this space" for the moment.
Sick as a Parrot 2007 Final Release - October 27th 2007
This is the Final Release of SaaP 2007. There are a few bug fixes, some problems with Vista sorted out and some cosmetic changes to the presentation of the game. This should be the definitive release of SaaP 2007.
SaaP 2008 is now well under way with a complete rewrite of the database and all code interacting with it. This is the biggy - the biggest upgrade since the original move to Windows from DOS. It'll take some time.
Sick as a Parrot 2007 release 1.3 - Feb 27th 2007
I should have known when I said that there had been no reports of bugs in release 1.2 that I was tempting fate. SaaP 2007 had been out for 7 weeks without any reports at all and then just 24 hours after my statement there were three reported bugs. Wonderful!
Nothing very serious however and most users wouldn't even notice a couple of them and wouldn't think too much about it if they did. Nevertheless, if SaaP is to retain its reputation for the least bugged smg around, it was necessary for me to fix the bugs.
SaaP 2007 release 1.3 is now up on the members' web site. The full game, upgrade and the demo all include the fixes.
Sick as a Parrot 2007 release 1.2 - Feb 20th 2007
In the rewrite of SaaP 2007 many things were changed so I've been monitoring the reaction of members including a request on the SaaP forum for feedback on the new release. An advantage that comes from SaaP Online and the forum is that user opinion can be quickly learned and user defined changes made immediately and simply.
Based on the user comments, I've made a number of small changes to improve the game. Simple things: like the inclusion of all subs on the match screen so that the gamer manager can see at a glance what alternatives he has available without having to select the substitution option or remembering the subs he's selected, the speeding up of the response to mouse input during the match itself and eliminate the slight delay (up to a second or so) that caused a little confusion as to whether the mouse click was recognised, the speeding up of the shots-on-goal animations, the inclusion of player preferred positions on the teamsheet training report summary. And so on. Nothing major but all adding up to a worthwhile improvement which I've just seen on the members' site counter has been enough to have the upgrade file downloaded by many members in just 24 hours.
Sick as a Parrot 2007 release 1.1 - Feb 1st 2007
SaaP 2007 has proved to be remarkably free of bugs which has allowed me to get onto developing the game in ways which will improve the gameplay and/or the experience of realism as well as making incremental changes to the interface to improve the intuitive qualities. There's always a problem as you increase the sophistication of software for the interface to become cumbersome and idiosyncratic. Windows itself has to be a prime example.
In the real world the match is surely the most important aspect of the manager's life. This is where his skills are eventually tested and his entire week is dedicated to winning that match at the end. Also the real-world match is exciting, entertaining action packed etc.
The smg match is pathetic by comparison.
So one of the ambitions of SaaP is to produce a match that gets closer to that of the real-world and the developments over the last month have basically been to take the current display to its limits. Ultimately the match display will be full screen but I won't move to this until later in the year and the current size of the display limits the amount of motion that can be depicted and the characters involved - refs, linsmen, managers, bench players, physios as well as the pitch players.
In SaaP 2007 r 1.0 the pitch players are the only figures depicted. With release 1.1 I've introduced refs - racing up and down the field, lecturing players and brandishing red and yellow cards, racing to point at the penalty spot when a penalty is given, pointing to the centre circle when a goal is scored etc. When a player is injured he's depicted on the floor with a physio kneeling before him before he informs you of the severity of the injury so you can decide to sub him or not. And so on. The sprites take advantage of the increased resolution of SaaP 2007 to produce smaller but better depictions - refs could never had been included in release 1.0 without very unpleasant clashes of colours but now he moves all around the pitch. The overall result is to produce a more realistic match display which in turn increases the involvement for the manager-gamer.
There's another reason for all this work on the match - the final addition to the four current club and international games and edit/database programs will be a match program that will allow you to play one-off or a home-and-away-tie games with any two clubs you wish including gamer designed teams. In developing the match simulation I've extracted the match code into a separate program which will be used for this. Then, match improvements - such as moving to a whole screen display - will first be developed for this program. It will be tested and played and then moved into the management games when satisfactory. I'm particularly excited at what can be achieved in the match simulation once it's moved to full screen and this program will be the first to test this out. Future match developments will be carried out on this before moving them into the management games.
In addition to the match improvements I've made changes to the interface to make things easier and to provide more information at points you need it. There's half a dozen minor changes which are not worth describing individually but add up to a significant improvement. Those who decry the lack of drop-down menus in SaaP have one for the first time to set match whistle, staccato speech and currency symbol options (which currently cause problems on Asian PCs) :>)
SaaP Relaunch : Sick as a Parrot 2007 release 1.0 - Jan 1st 2007
SaaP 2006 (see below) was a quick attempt to produce a program compatible with the newly released 64 bit Windows. While it would run on the new OS it was never a fully fledged conversion using the new features available and the international module and the edit modules were never converted. The rising popularity of 64 bit Windows was increasingly making it necessary to bite the bullet and redesign all modules if SaaP was to continue with its developments into the future. So in the Spring of 2006 I decided to put in the hard graft and produce the full conversion of all modules. 2006 was a looooong year!
So, on New Years Day 2007, SaaP was relaunched as SaaP 2007. The club module, the international module, the two edit modules have all had the full treatment, use many of the features of the new development system and include many expansions which will enable considerable further developments into the future. The database, for example, has been expanded four-fold. New backdrops and presentation, new interface controls, conversion to a 1024 x 720 pixel screen have all been included and a fifth program - a match program to allow a one-off or a home-and-away two match tie between any of the database teams or user defined teams - has been started using the match simulation of the management games. The fundamental structure of the games and the features that have made SaaP such a different experience for management gamers, the skeleton if you wish, have been retained but the flesh has been filled out considerably and the skeleton capable of much greater fleshing out in the future.
It's taken a while and probably the rewriting of upward of 60,000 lines of code but now SaaP is back and raring to go with a whole raft of developments over the coming months and years. It's good to be back!
SaaP 2006 release 1.2 - March 20th 2006
One major change to SaaP 2006 was that the program was designed to be much more Windows friendly so that a quality Text Editor could be used to allow the gamer-manager to create and have access to whatever notes he sees sensible for effective management. A great deal of information is generated by SaaP and it can be very useful to create, at the time the information is shown, notes which will help later in decisions you have to make about team selection, tactical choices etc. It's essential that notes can be created at any time - during a match for example - and accessed at any time.
By using a sophisticated Text Editor these notes can be detailed, can be formatted for easy access and can be printed out for use with the game or when away from the game but still thinking about options. It was essential then to produce a stable and easy-to-use method of switching between the game and the Editor.
However this resulted in a program that was particularly heavy on processor usage - some users reporting up to 100% usage (though, as my own experiment showed, it was perfectly possible to run two copies of SaaP even though each was reported by Windows to be using 100%). In release 1.2 I've introduced modifications into SaaP that cut the usage considerably without compromising either the speed of response of the game to control input or the stability and ease-of-use of the Text Editor.
I've uploaded copies of the full game and an upgrade - from release 1.0 or 1.1 to release 1.2 - to the members' web site. The demo has been modified also.
SaaP 2006 release 1.1 - October 12th 2005
Just a couple of bug fixes but nothing serious - nothing to affect the game at all or cause crashes. In fact, considering that SaaP 2006 is a completely new program representing 4/5 months work, I'm delighted at the lack of problems so far reported by users.
Nevertheless, all bugs are unwanted, and so I've released SaaP 2006 r 1.1 with these bugs removed or fixed. I've uploaded and upgrade to the members' web page which can be over-installed on release 1.0 without affecting the game data. The full game files also contain the fixes.
SaaP 2006 release 1.0 - October 2nd 2005
Every few years Windows moves on and program designers look anxiously to see if their software will work well on the new OS. The beta version of the new 64 bit Windows has been out for some months now and what designers fear the worst has again occurred - many software packages will not work on PCs with the new system. Although that is not currently a problem, very few PCs currently have this OS, but it will be if nothing is done to rectify the situation soon.
Versions of SaaP, up to an including SaaP 2005 Final Release, have been tested and found to be wanting on the new OS. They don't work reliably. So, rather than leave it until users complain of problems, I set out to convert SaaP to a new development environment that works correctly with 64 bit Windows and Vista but losing only compatibility with Windows 3.1 in the process. It's been a major transformation but ensures the survival of SaaP for at least 5 more years or more.
SaaP 2006 release 1.0 is the new version of SaaP developed on the latest 32/64 bit development system. Using much of the code of SaaP 2005 release 1.6 it maintains all the features of that game, removes many of the hidden bugs (nothing quite like taking a program apart bit by bit to do this) and builds on the stability and compatibility of the earlier code. The new system also adds many capabilities previously not available to the old program some of which have already led to improvements in interface and presentation but a number of others are just waiting to be introduced into releases 2.0, 3.0 etc.
It's been a long slog, much "midnight oil" has been burned, but it's turned out well and SaaP is set to move ahead again.
Also, as is usual at this time of year, the new real-world data on clubs, leagues and playing squads has been added to the game to bring it completely up to date with the 2005/6 European seasons - hence the upgrading of the title to SaaP 2006. This does require users to begin a new game if they wish to take advantage of the new database but this would be necessary anyway because the databases are not compatible. However SaaP 2006 will run alongside earlier versions without the two clashing in any way.
SaaP 2006 release 1.0 is now available to members and as a demo.
SaaP 2005 Final Release - May 15th 2005
With the conversion of SaaP to the new 32/64 bit system, SaaP 2005 is now being frozen. No further development will take place on this version of the game. A number of bugs have been fixed in release 1.6 (found as a result of the conversion to the new system) and the security system has been locked as of this date. SaaP Online members can avail themselves of this final release knowing there will be no security problems no matter how many years they might play it into the future. Code, database and security system are all locked!
SaaP 2005 Final Release is now on the members's web site.
SaaP 2005 release 1.15 - February 20th 2005
Essentially a number of bug fixes - r 1.11, 1.12, 1.13, 1.14 and 1.15 - in SaaP 2005 release 1.10. Most of them minor but worthwhile.
A major problem has arisen - the new 64 bit Windows is causing all sorts of problems for current software releases. I'm looking into it with regard to SaaP and will be making an announcement soon.
SaaP 2005 release 1.15 is available on the members' we site.
SaaP 2005 release 1.10 - December 15th 2004
SaaP users have been calling for much greater compatibility with other Windows programs. In particular the ability to run a text editor alongside SaaP that can be accessed from within the game in order to produce management notes to help keep track of the development of players, performance of other teams etc. I did look at including a notes editor in the game itself but decided that that would be a poor imitation of a true text editor and quick access to Wordpad etc would be better.
SaaP 2005 release 1.0 - October 18th 2004
It's that time of the year again when the new European season gets underway. The new league structures have been introduced, including the updating of Serie A to 20 clubs, and the squads of all the teams but the MLS are updated. These squads match the real-world squads as they were at the end of the August transfer window.
The upgrade will install over release 4.0 of SaaP 2004 and allow you to continue a game but it is necessary to start a new game to introduce the new squads.
A small number of bug fixes in SaaP 2004 r 5.0 have been included (and have also been included in there).
SaaP 2004 release 5.0 - August 15th 2004
Three developments in release 5.0 of SaaP 2004 - the first is a complete redesign of the security system, the second an expansion of the individual player match statistics and third changes to the match display to allow greater ease of control in making tactical changes and in the rhythm of the display itself.
The primary change is a complete redesign of the security system. With email becoming ever more unreliable the system of providing emails to all members every month was becoming tedious and ever more hit-or-miss. Spam is bad enough but the antispam actions of some ISPs is arguably worse with anything they think might be spam being stripped of attachments, returned or just simply deleted without telling anyone. Each month the problems increased and some users missing put of the security keys.
The new system is much more convenient for everyone and requires only that a single email be sent to the gamer which is customised for him and will run his game for however long he likes without any further need to contact us. It will also allow the running of games up to and including games released on his membership expiry date - again for however long he likes. The key will not run games that are released after the expiry date (unless his membership is renewed, of course).
It's much better for everyone. A subsciber downloads a game immediately after subscribing (which runs for 3 days) and receives a key by email within 24 hours that then allows the game to run as he wishes.
The other developments are all in and around the match to improve the quality of the statistical information on which the manager bases his decisions. This information is available during the match either as the match runs or as the match is paused and also during the halftime teamtalk and with the press ratings after a match. Also the tempo of the match has been changed to reflect the number of passes that occur before the match graphic is updated (part of the process that compresses a 90 minute match into less than 10). The effect is more realistic but for some it may be harder to follow. For that reason there is an option to switch back to even tempo if you wish.
SaaP 2004 release 4.0 - June 1st 2004
For MLS fans the important changes will be the updating of the MLS data and structure to match the current 2004 MLS season. The player squads have been updated to the start of the regular season and the changes introduced by the MLS - such as 6 developmental players - have been included.
For fans of the European game then release 4.0 is a halfway house towards the complete redesign of the European Champions' League, Uefa Cup, Intertoto Cup etc. The current implementation of these was designed some years ago and is very much in need of improvement. To do this, it was necessary to introduce many more clubs from the smaller European leagues which meant a significant increase in the database. When I'd started this I realised that here was the opportunity to significantly increase the number and availability of players on the transfer and no-contract lists and give the gamer an even wider choice of players with which to improve his squad.
So I took the opportunity to not only expand the European database by 40% but also add South American clubs and expand the data held on the clubs themselves. The most obvious effect of this latter will be the better representation of club colours including shirt, short and sock colours on the player sprites but there is other information added which affects the progress of the game but will not be as obvious.
I'm glad to say that this expansion has been achieved without any obvious delays in the game beyond a couple of seconds. Indeed with a 2 GHz PC the savegame process is still almost immeasurable and my old 100 MHz, 16 Mbyte PC still runs perfectly without due delays.
Though some of the code necessary for the expanded Champions' League etc stuff is now in release 4.0 this will not be actuated until the completion of this in release 5.0.
SaaP 2004 release 3.2 - March 17th 2004
Another bug fix but not a serious one this time. It affects the MLS game only and does not stop the game. On start up a couple of players were transfer listed requiring the gamer-manager to offer them a new contract or let them go. It only affected the startup of the game and then disappeared. The fix doesn't affect the game data and a game can be continued.
SaaP 2004 release 3.1 - March 12th 2004
Just a simple bug fix for release 3.0. The bug was one that could stop the game so I thought it important to get a fix out quickly. The fix operates immediately and allows the gamer to continue his game.
SaaP 2004 release 3.0 - March 7th 2004
The improvements made in release 2.0 have now been introduced into the MLS and the International modules in SaaP 2004. The contract negotiations now take place on a conversational basis with the players' agents and have been better integrated into the complex contract rules of the MLS. Waiver players are taken on initially by taking over their MLS contract which lasts for the current season but that contract can be renegotiated if you want the player to continue at the club. The Superdraft, developmental players, Senior International players and the rules governing these are fitted into the same system.
The fatigue of players during a match has been redesigned and is closely linked with the fitness of the player and any injury problems he may have. The rate at which a player fatigues is directly related to his fitness - an unfit player will fatigue much more quickly. This will affect his usefulness for match play.
To help you cope with this and to provide another element of tactical control, you can now give individual pace instructions to players during the match. An unfit player, or a player looking fatigued, can be instructed to slow down a little and conserve energy. A substitute coming on with only 20 minutes can be instructed to put everything into it in the knowledge that he can keep that up to the end of the game. Players can be played at full pace from the start of a match and subbed when they become fatigued.
This is in addition to the normal team instructions.
SaaP 2004 release 2.0 - December 24th 2003
I've made improvements to four different aspects of the game - two major developments and two in preparation for developments to come later this year.
SaaP differs from other smgs in the way it presents information about players and their abilities etc. Where other games use a numeric rating, SaaP uses verbal comments from coaches and scouts as happens in the real world. However some advocates of the numeric method insist that this is merely replacing numbers with words. It has never been so but the method of displaying these comments has invited that criticism. In SaaP 2004 release 2.0 that all changes.
Using the speech format developed in SaaP 2003 release 6.0, coaches and scouts will now explain their opinions in what is plainly seen as speech - Joe Bloggs is a hard-tackling, aggressive midfield player ....... and so on. The overall feeling generated by this is of actually talking to the coach/scout and his expressing his opinion as he would in the real world.
This happens whenever you speak to a coach or scout about a player - assistant coach about your players, assistant scout about the coming opposition, scouts about transfer possibilities, youth coach about youth squad players, youth scout about possible new players for your youth squad and so on. In addition, the assistant coach will expand on his opinion of your players and will now compare any two players in the same manner, and your scouts will compare a possible transfer player with the nearest equivalent in your own squad.
The second major change is a presentational one. The appearance in the past has often been described as "blocky" and DOS-like and, while this doesn't trouble many of the fans of SaaP, it does have a negative influence on those new to the game and perhaps prevents them making the effort to discover the real depth of the game. I haven't done anything about this before because there are over 170 screens and it's clearly a great deal of work. But I've bitten the bullet in release 2.0 and made changes that are easier on the eye and more encouraging to spend your time on the game. There are still a couple of screens in the International module and in the far corners of the MLS screens which I'm currently dealing with but most users will not see these at this point. I hope most users will now find the game presentation more relaxing and not so much in-your-face.
At some point in the first half of this year I'll be introducing the pseudo Internet I've spoken off before. This is a realistic means of displaying statistical data and expanded data about other clubs and players - the idea being that you "log on" to an imitation Internet and surf through soccer information sites and "official" club sites. I've therefore gathered together the statistical data that existed in various parts of the game so that it can be accessed more easily. The amount of data hasn't at this point increased but access is so much easier and more intuitive.
Finally, I've removed the hotkeys recently added and replaced them with buttons from the daily news screen - there was a suggestion these were causing some PCs to crash. The changes are only temporary at this point as I want to write a small program that will allow you to set up various options from the opening screen. As the game develops and users ask for more options then this program will be the means of adding them. For the moment though they're merely placed handily on the opening screen or the daily news screen.
SaaP 2004 release 1.1 - September 24th 2003
As it turned out SaaP 2004 was even cleaner than I'd predicted. Just a couple of bugs reported in the premier European leagues - a semi-final gate problem and a problem with the promotion teams but only if you had a club in the last 3 teams alphabetically. Both fixed and SaaP 2004 v1.1 released. Members can download an update from the SaaP Online members' web site and the changes are included in the current demo games.
SaaP 2004 release 1.0 - September 8th 2003
SaaP 2004 includes a completely redefined database. In preparation for future developments - specifically the pseudo Internet that will be used to expand considerably the data and statistics on opposition clubs - the database has been doubled in size increasing the data held on opposition clubs massively. In addition, the club and league data has been updated to the new season and up to the end of the European transfer window. The game will play from the start of the 2003/4 season with club squads completely up to date to September 1st 2003.
I've also added a number of "hot keys" to the game - keyboard operations that will allow the user to change a couple of things during the game - including a quick exit via the Esc key. While the speech changes of release 6.0 have gone down very well, I've added the ability to speed them up considerably as they can become irritatingly slow after you've been playing for a while. The "s" key will speed this up considerably while still keeping the conversational feel. Currency symbols can also be included/removed with the "c" key for those who wish or have a PC that is unhappy with these symbols.
Otherwise the code is very much that of the final release of Saap 2003 with a few minor additions including an improved player development assessment from your assistant coach. For that reason we begin the Saap 2004 developments with very stable program code that will stand us in good stead as we now embark on 12 months of developments up to SaaP 2005.
SaaP 2003 Final Release - August 25th 2003
This fixes a few minor bugs in release 6.0 (see below). A couple of important bugs but nothing too serious considering the changes that were included in 6.0. This is the last release of Saap 2003. The code will be frozen from here on unless a game-stopping bug finally comes to light. With this release SaaP is returned to the high level of integrity of earlier versions and is an excellent starting point for SaaP 2004 - next!
SaaP 2003 release 6.0 - August 6th 2003
This is quite simply the biggest development I've undertaken since Supremo was converted to SaaP for Windows four years ago. The contracts and transfer market system has been completely overhauled giving a far wider range of trading options, a much improved interface in negotiations and a more realistic scout search system for finding those players you need. In addition, a new system of interaction between you and the other characters in the game has been devised to produce a more realistic role playing feel and a number of hotkeys have been introduced to allow some options to be user modified on the fly.
SaaP has always prided itself on giving the gamer-manager maximum control over the performance of his players and team through effective coaching, training, match preparation and player motivation features. So much so that some feel that it has not been as good as it might be in the trading aspects of the game. The developments in release 6.0 have rectified this and brings the trading aspects up to the same level as the performance control
A transfer negotiation can be started in one of five differenr ways; from the transfer list, the out-of-contract list, from a scout search, a direct contact with a club or from the daily news transfer messages. This will take you to the player's club (or agent in the case of an out of contract player) who will state his terms. Assuming you don't agree to them then you'll be asked to state your own terms.
You're then added to a negotiations list. This can include up to 20 concurrent negotiations including loan deals and new contract deals with your own players. From this point on you can continue a negotiation by selecting it from the list and you'll be taken to the manager/agent and can continue your talks from where you left off and both put forward any changes in requirements/offers.
I say "talks" because, in order to increase the feel of role playing, I've introduced a new form of interaction between you and the manager/agent which is much more like conversation. Your negotiation will proceed using this interaction to its completion over however many visits, over however many days/weeks it takes - unless another club moves in and beats you to it.
I've added this conversational interaction to other parts of the game in a more limited sense - talks with players, training camp encouragement etc and will be developing this considerably in the future.
There's a full demo available for download or better still you can order the game from our secure site and be playing the full game within half an hour.
SaaP 2003 release 5.4 - April 5th 2003
A few SaaP Online members asked me to make the changes to 5.3 to improve the demo available to members. So I decided to include a few small changes suggested by members on the message board to make the download worthwhile for others.
I've added the option to "talk to players" on the training ground. This is an additional motivational option to go along with the dressing room talk and general talk. The "correct" words depend on the temperament of the individual player and he responds with a comment and manner which will tell you how your talk went down. I've also added the player's temperament description immediately before your choice of words to remove the need to remember what it is for all players. I've added that to the dressing room and general talks also.
I've also made the assistant manager's training report available in full at team selection time. The training report is a crucial source of information about players' abilities and current form and can be very useful in deciding the team lineup. The best three performances are still available on the teamsheet screen but there's now a link to a screen showing the performance rating of all players in all training sessions to that point in the week.
I've made some further improvements to the interface on the daily core screen. Simple changes, making the individual stats screens available with a single click of the mouse.
I've also made changes to the colour scheme used to illustrate the gk/def/mid/att position of the players. Some users have mentioned that the primary colours scheme was too startling and so I've produce a scheme with various shades of blue to make the screens including them more "tasteful". I've also set up a poll on the message board to see if that meets with users approval and I'm quite prepaired to return to the previous scheme if users prefer it.
Finally, I've removed the automatic savegame feature and given the user the option to "save and continue" or "save and exit" from the daily core screen. The user can decide for himself now if he wants to save the game after every match.
NEW DEMO: SaaP 2003 release 5.3 - March 18th 2003
I've created a new demo which has two advantages for users over the old one. Whereas the previous demo ran for 27 matches before coming to a halt, the new one runs for 21 days regardless of how many matches or seasons you fit into them. You can therefore play a multi-season game and get a much better feel for the gameplay qualities.
In addition I've altered the startup sequence of the game to allow you to build up your own squad of players much more quickly than previously. For the MLS I've included full squads as they exist at this point following the Superdraft. You can play with this extended squad through the pre-season and then decide for yourself which players you will retain as you enter the regular season. The MLS game now begins prior to the start of the 2003 pre-season.
For other leagues, I've started where the previous manager has left under a dark cloud with several players making transfer requests and others put on the transfer list by the beleaguered manager. In addition the board has made an amount of money available to you as new manager to bring in five or six players of your own choosing. You can offer new contracts to those listed players you decide you can use and add these 5 or 6 players to create a squad of players that is very much your own. It can be much the same as the existing real-world squad or significantly different if you decide that.
Both the full demo (with graphic expansions) and the cut-down demo (full game without the expansions) have been loaded up to the SaaP Online web site and can be downloaded from the demo page.
SaaP 2003 release 5.2 - February 21st 2003
I've added a new club definition file to modify the seeding that determines the quality of play you can expect to see from clubs. The original seeding was based on the end of season league tables of 2000/2001. They're now based on this weekend's league positions. The MLS seeding is based on the end of the 2002 season.
Release 5.2 also includes a few bug fixes that were introduced into release 5.1 (not described here). The worst bug, and certainly one that says it's sensible to download the fix, was one buried in the dressing room team talk that could, under some circumstances, produce super players in terms of aggression. The team talk is meant to give you the opportunity to fire up the players but the result that could accumulate over time was certainly excessive. The other fixes were minor but nevertheless worthwhile.
The new files have been uploaded to the members' web site and the demos available from the SaaP Online web site also include them.
SaaP 2003 release 5.0 - February 1st 2003
I've introduced into SaaP 2003 release 5.0 a number external events that impinge on the club, team and players and cause the gamer-manager to deal with the consequences of these events. They hit the club in three ways: a) the availability of a player b) the financial situation and c) the morale of the team. They may be negative or positive (a player in a car crash or an over-the-hill player suddenly finding a new lease of life, a tax bill or a tax rebate, a player criticises his team mates in a book or the players' thoroughbred horse wins a classic race) and are evenly balanced. They're reported along with the daily news about transfer players, other clubs etc. These mini-explosions will occur up to 4 times a season and the manager must deal with the consequences.
I've also modified some of the financial aspects of the club including improved gate prices and a change in the attitude of the board towards the purchase of new players. I've redefined the limits they set on transfer fees, overall wage levels and the maximum wages of an individual player relative to the other players. In total this both tightens and loosens up the trading aspects of the game
And finally I've introduced all the bug fixes included in patches 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3 along with a number of bug fixes that have been reported by users and revealed during testing. I think that release 5.0 is as bug free as any previous release since SaaP turned into a Windows game.
SaaP 2003 release 4.2 - January 3rd 2003
Just a minor bug fix to the International module and a modest upgrade to gate receipts.
SaaP 2003 release 4.1 - December 31st 2002
A small number of bug fixes in release 4.0 have been introduced. The interface changes included in the club module in release 4.0 have been added to the international module. The progress of fitness of players following injury have been developed to include the idea of "match fitness" - ie fitness that can only be achieved by playing in competitive matches.
SaaP 2003 release 4.0 - December 24th 2002
There are two major developments in release 4.0. The first is a major overhaul of the interface and the second significant development of the long term progress of the game.
With so many added features since the interface was first designed, access to these features has become more difficult and complicated. This has now been addressed. Besides simplifying the interface the new setup allows the gamer much more control, not just over how he accesses features, but also when and even if. Instead of dictating the sequence of events the new interface allows the gamer to determine his own sequence both in time and content.
There are three aspects of SaaP which develop over the long term - the development of the squad of players, the development of the club and the development of the gamer-manager's career. In release 4.0 each of these has been improved considerably to provide a game which retains its interest over many more seasons. The developing/fading of player skills follows a more realistic path and the introduction of new players throughout the leagues improved. The club development in terms of facilities (stadium etc) and financial development (sponser and gate improvements leading to squad improvement) is much more realistic particularly as you move through the leagues. The career path for the gamer-manager has been extended considerably with greater potential for movement between the clubs and leagues and finally to international management. This development is punctuated by wage rises and bonus payments based on performance.
The overall result is a game that is much more pleasant to play, with more personal control and greater long term interest and realism.
SaaP 2003 release 3.0 - October 30th 2002
Release 3.0 updates the European leagues, clubs and playing squads up to the start of the European 2002/3 season. There have been a couple of tweaks to the MLS code and some minor bug fixes. The database is now completely up to date and we can now get back to adding new features and improving the existing features.
Secure order/subscribe site fixed! - October 6th 2002
The problem experienced in the secure order site - when credit cards were occasionally rejected incorrectly - has been cured and you can confidently order/subscribe to SaaP/SaaP Online through the secure site as well as the Paypal system.
SaaP 2003 release 2.1 October 6th 2002
Just a couple of bug fixes and a few minor changes suggested by MLS fans who've been giving release 2.0 a going over. The main improvements have been in the module dealing with bringing the squad into line with MLS regulations in the week before the regular season begins. It's much smoother and more intuitive now.
A patch has been uploaded to the members' site and release 2.1 and the update, now on the site, have the patch included.
SaaP 2003 release 2.0 October 1st 2002
It's been a long haul but the MLS has now been included in SaaP. This is a fully featured simulation of the MLS with salary cap, super-draft and waiver draft, dual conferance structure, 28 match season, accurate playoffs, squad limitations (18 regular players including up to 3 Senior Internationals, plus up to four developmental players), correct financial structure and contracts etc.
The club rosters are set to the start of the real-world 2002 season and the game moves from there into the future. New players are introduced into the game via the super-draft (as well as into the World transfer system) - your scouts will give you useful opinions about these before you take part in the draft. Inflation of 3% is included in the game both in player costs and salary cap.
Senior International players can be introduced into the league from the World transfer market. There is a realistic reluctance by some players but under some circumstances you can persuade others to join you and boost your squad's qualities. The salary cap will also come into play as you contemplate introducing these players.
SaaP now includes the full English leagues, Serie A, Bundesliga, Spanish Primera Liga and the American MLS. All leagues are operated simultaneously - there is no need to lock leagues out to avoid game delays - and players from all leagues are available to you if you operate the International module simultaneously with the club module.
Members can download the full game or an upgrade to SaaP 2003 release 1.0 from the SaaP Online members' web site.
SaaP 2003 release 1.0 August 24th 2002
After the most hectic three months of development we now have a release schedule that's giving me headaches just thinking about it. SaaP 2003 will be released in three parts over the next 2 weeks. The three parts will appeal to three different sections of the SaaP Online membership and the third part will complete the updating of data up to the 31st August transfer deadline for all European clubs. The data will then be frozen until the end of the January 2003 transfer window when the trading information is known. A data update will be released at the end of that transfer window.
The first release is aimed at the those members playing SaaP in the English leagues which I think is the largest section of the SaaP Online membership. All the developments that were first tried out in the various preliminary releases (see below) have been included, extended and refined. Some corrections have been made to the interface changes as a result of user feedback. There have been some changes to the transfer market modules, both buying and selling, to address problems reported by users. Selling players in particular will be much quicker than previously and higher value players could well be more willing to join your club.
All the promotion and relegation data from the 01/02 season has been included in the game and the new leagues set up. The club squads as of the end of that season have been updated with all the transfers etc that have taken place during the summer up to the 17th August 2002. This data will be updated to the 31st August in the third release of this series and then frozen until the end of the mid-season transfer window. Of course to take advantage of these updates you'll need to begin a new game and then your new game will start at the beginning of the 2002/3 season.
The game and upgrade (it will upgrade p1.x games to the new release) have already been uploaded to the members' web site and demos are available from the demo page.
SaaP 2003 release p1.2 July 21st 2002
I've introduced changes into release 1.2 which effect significant improvements in the running of the game for higher end PCs. For the majority of SaaP's life the "typical" PC has been one running at a few hundred MHz with a screen setting of 800x600. All design testing has been carried out with such a PC in mind and only limited testing was carried out with higher performance machines. This has meant that the performance of SaaP with these PCs has not been as good as it might with screen output sometimes less than perfect.
But with my web site hit counter now showing that over 40% of PCs are now being used with screen resolutions above the 800x600 setting I decided it was time to bite the bullet and work on improving the performance of SaaP for all resolution settings and PC performance.
Most games produce a common screen output regardless of resolution setting by the dubious method of forcing the resolution to a fixed (usually 800x600) setting from within the program itself. It's not a recommended action and it has some responsibility for compatibility problems with Windows games but it is the easiest way to solve the problem. A much superior way is to detect the screen resolution and provide separate screen output for each setting leaving the PC's parameters set to those decided by the user. Because I didn't wish to upset SaaP's excellent compatibility performance I decided to make the extra effort and design this into release 1.2.
The result is that SaaP 2003 release 1.2 will not only run correctly on anything from a 386, 16 Mbyte, Win 3.1 PC to the latest 2.x Ghz, 512 Mbyte, Win XP machine, but in fact improves the higher up the scale you go. Not only that but this now completes any Windows related developments for the foreseable future allowing developments to concentrate on gameplay improvements for some considerable time to come. Hopefully Microsoft will not make me regret that statement by introducing new problems with the coming XP service pack :>)
SaaP Online members can download an upgrade file that will install over their SaaP 2003 game without affecting their game data but the improvements will be introduced immediately. Also a demo of SaaP 2003 p1.2 has been uploaded to the SaaP Online Demo page and can be downloaded immediately.
SaaP 2003 release p1.1 June 22nd 2002
The changes made in SaaP 2003 have been quite successful and just a few bugs have been found. These have been corrected in release 1.1. The improvements to the player development profiles seem to have been effective and I've taken the ideas a little further in 1.1 and hope that it will effect further improvement.
These changes can be introduced into SaaP 2003 release 1.0 just by installing the upgrade patch and the game continued without affecting the existing data. The new code will come into play immediately.
A demo of SaaP 2003 p1.1 is available from the SaaP Online Demo page.
SaaP 2003 release p1.0 May 20th 2002
Every year at this time I get the opportunity to prove just how immediate Internet distribution proves to be. On Saturday 18th May the promotion from the Spanish Segura Division was finalised. Within 24 hours the promotion and relegation data of the major European leagues was included in SaaP and within another twenty four hours the updated game uploaded to the SaaP Online members' site for members to download. I've called it release p1.0 to indicate that the player data won't be frozen for SaaP 2003 until August when the new season begins (play in SaaP 2003 begins in August 2002). Over the next few months there will be numerous transfers throughout Europe and these will be introduced with data updates over the next 3 months.
In addition to the updated leagues etc. I've made significant changes to the way in which players' skills improve and then fade throughout all teams. There is a tendancy in smgs for the player skills to even out after many seasons which produces an uninteresting transfer market and flat leagues when that occurs. The new development algorythms have been designed to cure that and provide a more realistic progress with a realistic mix of players throughout the leagues well into the third millenium.
A demo of SaaP 2003 p1.0 is being produced and will be announced here when it's available.
SaaP 2002 release 2.2 February 25th 2002
This is the final version of release 2 of SaaP 2002. There are a number of bug fixes, a few interface changes etc to put the final touches to this release. There was a major problem for some teams in Serie A and the Bundesliga but that has been fixed and it's now safe to manage Juventus/Hansa Rostock for our Italian/German members.
I've also changed the numbering system from SaaP 200x release y.zw which had a redundant number to SaaP 200x release y.z so that the previous release is now 2.1 and this new on 2.2. The first number refers to the latest upgrade and the second to the latest bug fix. The SaaP 200x will change when the start season changes from the 0x/0x+1 to 0x+1/0x+2 - 01/02 season start game is 2002 the 02/03 season start will be 2003 and so on.
The full game and an upgrade to change all 2002 releases to the latest release are available on the members' web site.
SaaP 2002 release 2.01 January 15 2002
Nothing very major here. Just a couple of bug fixes to release 2.00. One concerned the conditions of entry to European Cups and the second modifying the opposition club morale figures in European competitions. The fix can be added without affecting a current game.
SaaP 2002 release 2.00 December 12th 2001
Looking for a better solution to the Windows XP compatibility problem caused me to turn to another compilation system to replace the shell solution that I first came up with. The result was very impressive with a compilation of SaaP that runs 60% faster than the release 1.10 and with a file size around 10% smaller - good for download times. This compilation has now been tested out on all variations of Windows and is just as compatible as the earlier system as well as running well on XP. I'm now using this new compilation for release 2.00 and all new releases for the foreseeable future.
I've introduced into release 2.00 some developments that I've been working on for some time now - an expansion of the dressing room team talks, linking the players' responses much more closely to their temperaments, and a development of the youth squad system, giving the manager much more control over the development of youth players, and introducing similar youth schemes into ALL clubs in the database. All clubs, including your own, take in 16 year old players, develop them and promote, release or transfer list the older ones each season. These players are also available on the transfer market and are usually less picky when it comes to approaches from smaller clubs - the "you're not big enough for me" response is less likely than from older more established players.
This all gives the gamer-manager a much greater choice of young players and greater control over their development allowing the lesser clubs to compete with the bigger ones by developing their own quality players through their youth system. It also fills out the rosters of all other clubs and introduces a dynamic element to their playing squads as you move through the seasons.
SaaP 2002 release 1.10 November 23rd 2001
I've continued the expansion of the database and added the Italian Serie A, German Bundesliga and Spanish Primera Liga to the range of leagues available to the SaaP gamer. You can begin your career in these leagues in three of the four game modes (not, obviously, in the "Internetional Only" mode though the clubs and players are available for selection for the Italian, German and Spanish squads). In addition you can also be offered a management position in any of these leagues as a result of a good performance in another league. In the progressive mode you can begin in the English 3rd Division, move through the leagues, on to a major Italian/German/Spanish club and eventually be offered the national squad of your current league.
One major criticism of international games - having little information about players before bringing them into the national squad - has been addressed with opinions from an assistant coach on any player you look at prior to introducing him into the squad. He will comment on each individual skill for each player.
In addition he will give you his opinion on which are the best six players on current form in any position you wish (left backs, central midfielders etc). Ask for his best six central strikers for example and he will list his choice from the entire database, describe their skills and inform you which clubs they play in. This helps you avoid introducing off-form players because of real-world reputation.
I've also developed a version of SaaP suitable for Windows XP. SaaP can now be run on Windows 3.1, 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000 and XP. If asking for a demo or joining SaaP Online, let us know you have XP.
SaaP 2002 release 1.05 September 22nd 2001
The database expansion for SaaP 2002 has been a tremendous success. Despite the enormous changes the bugs introduced have been few and minor. Users are happily working their way up the leagues, or not as the case may be, eventually aiming for combined Premiership and International management. Today Division 3, tomorrow the Premiership and after that the Premiership and World Cup double.
The expansion though has brought with it one problem which I've addressed with release 1.05. To play SaaP well, it's necessary to build up an understanding of the players' qualities so that informed decisions can be made about team selection, tactics, transfer deals etc. With the well known players from the Premiership and European leagues this is relatively easy. But with the unknown players from the lower division it can be a major problem. Easier access to information is needed.
So, in release 1.05, I've added some further information screens to help the gamer-manager work with his players until he's built up a good understanding of their qualities. There's a squad screen that will give relevant details of all players in the senior squad. This can be observed on screen, printed out or printed to file - printing to file takes place with sequential files by season and week number so that gamer-manager can build up a history of his squad as the weeks and seasons pass.
In addition there's been a considerable improvement to the assistant coach's opinion screen about the relative qualities of players. The 6 comparisons (including fitness and confidence) have been collected together into one area which, again, can be viewed on screen, printed out or printed to file. Again this last is done sequentially allowing the change in skills to be observed as players improve or fade.
Similar improvements have been made to the league tables to allow a complete history of your performance to be held and printed. The print to file options together will allow the history of a game to be taken and studied away from the computer.
Release 1.05 also contains several bug fixes and improvements to the interface to make things easier and less confusing, particularly for beginners. It installs over any earlier release of SaaP 2002 without upsetting the data allowing gamers to continue their current game with no glitches.
SaaP 2002 released August 28th 2001
This is the big upgrade. Without question the developments in SaaP 2002 are the most important and extensive since SaaP was converted for Windows 3 years ago.
Since setting up SaaP Online on the Internet the userbase for SaaP has become more and more global. Because of this, I've felt the need to develop the game so that soccer fans around the world can manage a club in a league setting of their own choosing. This has meant a complete redesign of the database to allow the easy introduction of different league structures and customised leagues.
In SaaP 2002 I've used the expanded database to remove a perceived limitation of SaaP and provide options to manage any club in the English league in the appropriate league with full promotion and relegation. I've retained the club only, international only, simultaneous club and international options and added the "progressive" option that leads from Division 3 through to full simultaneous Premiership and International management.
With the next expansion being a full simulation of the American MLS and the CONCACAF environments I've moved halfway to this expansion by including the full range of MLS clubs and the USA national squad. These can now be managed by USA gamers and entered into the English leagues and World Cup football (via Europe) with a couple of clicks of a mouse button. It's a temporary setup until release 1.10 but hopefully it will give more entertainment to USA users than currently having to manage European clubs. Find out how DC United et al perform in the English league :>)
With the expansion and design of the new database structure I've upgraded all the club squads used in the game. The game starts at the beginning of the 2001-2002 European season with appropriate squads througout (the MLS squads are taken from mid-season of the 2001 season).
SICK AS A PARROT 2001 release 1.05 - April 9th 2001
In SaaP, the match is an important source of information about your players' skills. In release 1.05, we've increased the information provided during a match significantly by including a feature to select any player and display his passing, tackling and shooting statistics dynamically as the game progresses. This is an objective count which supplements the subjective, weighted display of players' performances already displayed.
The in-match tactical changes have often caused confusion for some gamers so we've replaced it with a bootroom style formation display which is much easier to understand and operate. There's no excuse now for not responding to the opposition manager's tactical changes which have been causing gamers many problems. This new feature makes tactical selection much more intuitive and allows the gamer manager to introduce more sophisticated tactical moves that enhance his chances of "getting a result".
One of the most intense moments in the soccer world is surely the penalty shootout. The lack of atmosphere that plagues the soccer management game match simulations is most clearly seen in the shootout. In 1.05 we've expanded the penalty shootout animations introduced in release 1.00 with much more management involvement - including the selection of your penalty takers and emotional players who will be very reluctant to take penalties. The tension of the shootout has been enhanced significantly by these changes.
A number of bugs that crept into release 1.00 have ben removed.
SICK AS A PARROT 2001 release 1.00 - February 19th 2001
Here's the first release of SaaP 2001. In the next 12 months I'll be working on the developments that have been started in this new release. There are four areas of development:
1) A match that is genuinely interesting to watch. I've started in release 1.00 with animations of the shots on goal. Although I've kept the verbal commentary for atmosphere, the action on the field of play is shown on the centre screen, 3 D, match flow display. A shot flies through the air, there's an easy save or spectacular save, the ball flies high and wide, rebounds from the woodwork or a goal is scored.
2) Expansion of player psychology detail to produce a greater feel of reality in the relationship with players. In 1.10 I've added "temperament" to a player's definition. This affects his reaction to your treatment of him and the talks that you have with him. A hothead will storm away from criticism and lap up flattery. A stoical player player will shrug of criticism and ignore flattery etc. There are four categories of temperament - hot headed, emotional, reasonable and stoical. Your influence on a player's confidence is enhanced if you deal with his temperament well.
3) Expansion of the club structure to allow gamers to manage in their own favourite real or fictitious league setting. In release 1.00 I've updated all the Premiership data to this last weekend (February 18th 2001). This prepares the database for the first league upgrades in 1.10 currently being worked on.
4) The introduction of features suggested by users on the message board and in emails. In 2001 release 1.00 I've made significant improvements to the financial side of things. These include sophisticated stadium development features based on your success, improved boardroom control over spending and transfer deals, potential signings making decisions about joining your club based on your size, success and potential, improved gate money features, TV income, sponsership income, trophy bonuses etc.
5) Major expansions to the transfer system. With FIFA and UEFA battling it out with the EC and FIFPro I've left this alone in 1.00 until we know the outcome. It's beginning to look as if the transfer system may be doomed and a wages free-for-all taking its place. I will replicate whatever comes out of this as soon as I know what it is.
SICK AS A PARROT release 1.54 - January 23rd 2001
There's a battle royal going on between game-players who've discovered the wonders of the tactical control in SaaP and the AI determining the opposition managers' tactics :) Each time the AI is improved some users see it as a challenge to find tactics to cancel it out. In 1.54 I've introduced new tactical choices by opposition managers and reacted to some of the tactics being reported by users.
The message board has come alive with members' wish lists for future releases of SaaP. Some of these refer to interface improvements and have been introduced into 1.54 - in fact 1.52, 1.53 and 1.54. Further skip options have been introduced to allow the gamer to control the speed of his game and changes to the menu system have improved the return from transfer actions, talking to players, coaches or scouts and info screens.
Release 1.54 itself has removed a bug in the passing routines in the match which had increased the pass backs to fullbacks and wingbacks when forward players found themselves crowded out by defenders. A perfectly legitimate tactic, of course, but fullbacks and wingbacks were pumping high balls into the opponents penalty area just a little too often. But it has given me some ideas about introducing "route one" football tactics into the game :)
SICK AS A PARROT release 1.51 - January 9th 2001
Release 1.51 illustrates how the immediacy and interactivity of the Internet brings significant advantages to software distribution. Release 1.51 is an update of SaaP 2000 release 1.50. It fixes an obscure bug that had been missed by testers but reported by users. It occurs only in unusual circumstances but when sufficient gamers are playing it those circumstances are more easily spotted.
When it does occur the bug does spoil the game for users and so I felt it necessary to fix it now rather than leave it until the release of SaaP 2001. In addition I've modified the wage restrictions on the signing of transfer players on a "free" in line with the comments from users on the message board.
SICK AS A PARROT release 1.50 - December 27th 2000
Release 1.50 is the last of the SaaP 2000 series. The next release, early in the new year, will be titled SaaP 2001 v 1.00 and a new series will begin.
1.50 continues the development of the AI determining the tactics of opposition managers. A number of extreme tactics - some you would never see in the real world - have been developed by gamers to overcome the increasingly sophisticated tactics of the opposition managers. Some exploit loopholes, some are genuinely innovative. The AI has therefore been refined considerably to remove the loopholes and come up with counter tactics to deal with the more imaginative moves.
Because 1.50 is the last in the SaaP 2000 series I've blitzed the code to remove a number of minor bugs. Some of these have recently crept in, some have been there for some time but have not been obvious. SaaP 2000 v 1.50 is probably the cleanest version of SaaP ever released :) I hope that 1.50 will be a fitting end to this series.
SICK AS A PARROT release 1.40 - December 11th 2000
The improved opposition manager tactics introduced into releases 1.20 and 1.30 have triggered a frenzy of new tactical methods from users. This has put even more pressure on the tactics AI to counter all these new ideas.
In 1.40 the AI defining the opposition tactics has been further developed. It opens up the play, develops wing play as a counter to packed midfields and generally responds more intelligently to gamer-manager tactical decisions.
Members have been encouraged to feed back information about their tactics and their effectiveness and further developments of the AI are expected as 1.4x over the next few weeks.
SICK AS A PARROT release 1.36 - November 14th 2000
3 weeks ago Microsoft brought out its new Windows ME release. SaaP, like many other applications programs suddenly acquired compatability problems. They have been fixed in release 1.36. In fact the modifications also enable SaaP to run on Windows NT and Windows 2000 as well as 3.1, 95, 98 and ME.
Not wanting to release a new version just for this, I decided to introduce a number of changes that had been intended for release 1.40. The interface changes from 1.35 (see below) have been very well received and so I extended them considerably for this latest release. 46 changes to make navigation simpler, faster and more intuitive have been added.
A new player data section has been created around the player performance screen described in 1.35. Similar screens have been added for contracts and training and the three brought together in one "player info" section for ease of understanding, comparison and changes in player characteristics. The training screen also allows easy setting of the individual training features, including bulk setting for defenders, midfielders etc, and allows the development of players to be easily controlled and monitored.
There have also been developments in the financial aspects of the game, particularly regarding "free" transfers, and in the opposition AI in combatting the tendancy of managers to pack central midfield. The changes in the real world first to 3 man central defences with wingbacks and then back to flexible 4-4-2 formations have been reflected in these changes. Opposition managers will often use flexible 3-5-2 and 4-4-2 formations in the same match if it suits them.
SICK AS A PARROT release 1.35 - October 6th 2000
I've paused development in 1.35 to deal with a number of requests from users of the game. The changes introduced in this revision are aimed at making the game more intuitive and giving the user options to control the speed of progress through the season. Two of the interface changes are aimed at gamers who have played smgs for some time and come to SaaP having considerable experience of the traditional games. With these changes, coming to terms with the greater demands of SaaP, is made easier.
Perhaps the most important screen in the traditional game is the one that shows lists of players, skills and skill numbers. These lists make life realtively easy when it comes to comparing the qualities of players.
In SaaP there are no numbers and no such lists - the gamer must handle the comparative skills of players in his own head in subjective terms as the real-world manager does. This is such a change from the traditional game that many gamers find it very difficult.
This screen will allow you to compare the match performances of your players. It will also help you determine the change of performance of a particular player by comparing his current season performances with his career averages and his later performances with the season's average. You can therfore not only compare players but also how a player's form has changed. This screen is available at the club stats summary screen, the daily news screens and when making changes at team selection time.
SaaP creates a lot of information about transfer market action in the leagues in general. The daily news screens report these actions. It also produces much training feedback to help you determine the form of players. There are also timing delays throughout the week to produce a rhythm that matches that of the real-world week. But all this can be overwhelming when you first begin a game of SaaP.
I've therefore introduced what I call "skip options" which you can set to control the amount of information display throughout the week. This helps considerably if you're new to the game to get into the swing of the game without being overloaded with information. Even when you have considerable experience in the game, then you sometimes like move though the season at a quicker pace than usual. These skip options allow you to do this without removing the transfer actions and training actions from the game itself.
There are number of other interface changes to help make the game flow much more easily pause buttons, tactics buttons and so on that make user input in SaaP easier of more intutitive.
SICK AS A PARROT release 1.30 - August 30th 2000
The development of the Artificial Intelligence system designed to improve the match has been continued from release 1.20 into this new release. This time I've been working on the players.
When a player attempts to pass the ball, he will make an intelligent assessment of the best pass to make. He checks each player available to him, looks at his performance so far and looks at the opposition players covering him. He compares the various options and decides on the comparitive merit of each of the options. He then biases his passing decisions in favour of the best options.
The quality of the passing has visably improved and the shots on goal have increased by up to 30%.
There is a fatigue penalty to be paid if you change formations too often depending on the ground each player has to cover to take up his new position. Players who don't change position will not suffer but players who move from one end of the pitch to the other (eg a wingback from defence to attack) will suffer considerably.
The more often you use these changes the greater the effect - four or five changes a match will not have a significant effect but beyond that the fatigue builds quite quickly.
I've also begun the match animation improvements with a couple of minor changes - goalkicks and goalkeeper clearances - to improve the rhythm of the game. The rest in 1.40.
SICK AS A PARROT release 1.20 - June 16th 2000
SaaP 2000 release 1.20 includes the first of the developments that we've been promising for some time now. For too long the opposition team managers in all smgs have been random and unintelligent. With SaaP 2000 1.20 that situation has been rectified with the introduction of an AI system that will both surprise and delight the gamer manager.
Each club manager has been given a tendancy - conservative, pragmatic or adventurous - which dictates his tactical improvisations. It begins with his ambitions for the match which will determine his intial player selection and formation.
During the game he will review these tactics as the various effects - score, player performance, player fatigue, required result - come into play. He will vary his formation, attempt to control the pace of the game and use substitutions to replace his own poorly performing or fatigued players, attack your own weaknesses or support and reinforce those areas where his team is ahead.
This is just the start of a significant change in the quality of realism in the soccer management game - a match which is interesting and impressive to watch and yet realistic in its depiction of the game. Check back for further news as this process takes the smg to new heights :>)
SICK AS A PARROT release 1.15 - May 29th 2000
If you ever wanted proof of the immediacy of the Internet then this is it. SaaP 1.15 is being released and distributed just a few hours after the completion of the English Premier League season has finished. It contains all the data necessary to enable a start in the new 2000/2001 season. The upgrade to SaaP 2000 release 1.11 and the complete game are already available on the SaaP Online members' web site.
SICK AS A PARROT 2000 CD - May 2000
While distribution online is an enormous advantage for those happy with web surfing and downloading of files, there are still many people who prefer to make purchases offline and have a hard copy of their games on CD. SaaP 2000 is now available from Webscene in the UK and Wizard Games in the USA on a cdrom. Click here for details about the offline addresses, phone and fax numbers of these agents.
SICK AS A PARROT 2000 release 1.1 - Feb 2000
The CDROM version of SaaP 2000 is being finalised. SaaP 1.1 is the release that gives the SaaP Online members all the features of the CDROM by downloading the various files as they see fit.
The interface has been improved to make it easier to use and more intuitive. Hooks have been introduced into the exes so that the various backdrop files will be included in the game if the files are installed in a "pictures" folder but the game will play perfectly well with the default backdrops if they're not there. The backdrops will be made available for download from the SaaP web site.
The opening screen allows the user to select from three options: the full range of backdrops, a shaded blue backdrop and a plain program generated backdrop. This last is suitable for PCs with restricted resources (386/486 processors, 16/256 colour screens, 4 Mbytes of RAM).
Game improvements have mainly been introduced into the international module which has been neglected recently. The number of players has been increased to 100 recorded players. Information about the players has been extended with the best training session reporting ever used in any previous game (so much so that it has now been added to the league module as well).
The FIFA international ratings have been introduced and the qualities of the teams closely follows these ratings. This leads to much more realistic results and finals competitions comparing well with the real world results.
The links between the club and international modules have been tightened so that the players' club performances are more closely reflected in their performances in the international teams. The "John Barnes" factor has been reduced in importance (introduced when the international module was stand alone) and it is much safer now to rely on the club performances in selecting your international squad.
The result of all this is to make the international module a little more predictable though there are still some surprises in there to keep the manager on his toes. The international module is still the most difficult smg ever released :>)
SICK AS A PARROT 2000 - Nov 1st 1999
In SaaP 2000 we've introduced all the features developed over the last 18 months that have met approval from our users. To provide a reliable display of all graphic and text output across a complete spectrum of Windows versions and configurations, we have introduced new coding and colour definitions. The game can now be run on a 500 MHz Pentium lll/Windows 98, 32 bit colour, 1600x1200 pixel screen PC right down to a 386/Windows 3.1, 256 colour, 640x480 pixel screen machine with no loss of performance.
Along with the new coding, many improvements have been made to the general layout of the game and all coding and presentational improvements carried across to the international module that had suffered from lack of attention up to this point.
The idea behind these developments is to produce a match that's worth watching not only for the information it gives you about players but also as an interesting and entertaining display. The match is the culmination of all your training, selection and tactical efforts and needs to be much better than currently appears in smgs.
The latest developments in SaaP are designed to reinstate the match as the most important part of the game. The whole week builds up to this and so often it's a disappointment. We aim to put that right and in SaaP 2000 we've taken the first step.
SaaP 2000 is now the complete conversion of Supremo 99 to the Windows environment. The limitations of DOS have now been completely eliminated, many features have been expanded and many others added. This game will now be the basis for a new offline CDROM game that many of you have been asking for for some time.
SICK AS A PARROT release 1.7 - Sept 10th 1999
Release 1.7 has a number of developments to expand the database and increase the realistic feeling of the game through the manager's week. All European teams have now been expanded to include full senior, reserve and youth squads. Players retire and new young players are introduced each season and all league clubs become involved in a sophisticated transfer market. Buying of players is based on an analysis of the playing strengths of the club squad including any losses due to players leaving or retiring.
The progress through the week has been developed to mimic the real-world manager's week. There's daily news from the clubs and daily training sessions. The manager defines the type of training and there is a report of the performance of all the training players. This incorporates their skills relevant to this training, their form, fitness, confidence etc.
I've introduced a pre-season and training routine which will allow the manager to prepare his players for the new competitive games. The Charity Shield is included for appropriate teams as is the opportunity to check out your newly promoted youth players.
A new player selling routine has been introduced which allows complicated negotiations over several weeks if necessary.
SICK AS A PARROT release 1.6
Release 1.6 completes the conversion of Supremo to Windows. The player database has been completely overhauled and expanded. The players in opposition teams have been given the same player development system as the users own team. Opposition teams have been given complete first, reserve and youth teams squads and older players retire, youth players are promoted and new youth players generated.
The promotion and relegation results of the 1998/99 season have been included and the club and player data updated to the beginning of the 1999/2000 season. A new edit program will allow easy modification of team and player data to keep up with the real world and a quick method added to transfer a player from one team to another.
New daily training routines have been introduced in the league module similar to those in the international module. The manager can define each day's training individually. This is used to prepare the team for the next match. The training sessions will also inform the manager which players are playing well. This information takes account of the type of training, the skills, the fitness and the confidence of players.
A number of data slots and software "hooks" (effectively software expansion slots) have been included to allow further development of the game without requiring that users begin a new game when new features are added. Because of the slog to implement the changes in SAAP 1.6 new developments will come much more easily and quickly.
New code has been introduced to make the program less vulnerable to interference from other programs and the problem some users had with mouse clicks has been eliminated.
SICK AS A PARROT release 1.5
In release 1.5 the programs detect the screen resolution of a particular setup and apply a muliplier to compensate. The screen output for release 1.5 will appear exactly the same regardless of the setting. The game screen will always be a full screen display. There is no need to make any adjustments.
The second series of developments are aimed at giving the manager much more control over the performance of players, their confidence and commitment. The club captain will now inform the manager of the morale of players. The club assistant scout will watch opposition teams and report to the manager in the days before the match and to the players in the bootroom discussion about match tactics.
There's also now dressing room pep talks to fire up the players before a session of play - before the match, at half time and at pitch side before exta time. The manager has a range of encouragement for the team and individual players. He must, of course, take note of the particular player he's talking to and use the sort of approach that best suits that player.
The manager can also work to improve the confidence of a player who is down by playing him in the reserve team and building him up for a return to the first team.
SICK AS A PARROT release 1.4
Release 1.40 is a major step forward in the development of SAAP. The innovative management idea at the core of the game requires a wide range of coaching and scouting inputs to your knowledge of the players. Release 4 contains numerous improvements to do this.
The coaching staff has now been increased to 5 - assistant, reserve, youth, fitness and goalkeeping coaches. Each has his own unique tasks and will keep you informed of the players under his charge and take control of their development.
The scouting staff has been increased to 4 - chief, assistant, youth and goalkeeping scouts. They will find players for you from within the 2000 odd player database. In addition the youth scout will assemble a range of new youth players to select from to fill the places opened up when you promote or release the older youth players (with the help of your youth coach) at the end of a season.
There have also been a number of improvements to screens, presentation and the timing of the game to increase the overall feeling of carrying out the actions of a real-world manager.
The game has taken a big leap forward with release 1.4.
SICK AS A PARROT release 1.27
Here I've created an action shot of Ryan Giggs (available for members to download on the members' web site). Care has been taken with the text displays to ensure that it is legible regardless of the chosen backdrop.
SICK AS A PARROT release 1.26
I've given the game a face-lift. There are new multiple fonts and new graphic elements added to further improve the overall presentation of the game. It is now possible to select different backdrops and the gamer can even add his own favourite action shot as a background to the game. The game detects whether Windows 3.1, Win 95, Win 98 or Win NT is on the host PC and introduces code to match the game to the OS.
SICK AS A PARROT release 1.20
With this release Sick As A Parrot moves well beyond Supremo 99. A management "career" feature has been added. On taking on a club you are given managerial goals (depending on the quality of the club). If you perform badly then you may well face the sack but will be offered a post at another, lesser, club. If you perform well you could receive an offer from a bigger club. Your own club may make a counter offer and it's up to you whether you move or stay. The game will track your career and keep a record of your league, cup performances and your salary and bonus payments etc.
Self extracting, self installing zip files
All files on the members' page and the two demos are now self extracting, self installing zip files. Just double click on the downloaded file and input your own folder. The file will do the rest.
SICK AS A PARROT for Windows release 1.10
Release 1.10 of Sick As A Parrot for Windows has been posted on the members' web page. This has all the features of release 1.05 but now has the EDIT club data, EDIT international data and CUSTOMise club data programs added. A few cosmetic changes have also been made.
SICK AS A PARROT for Windows release 1.05
Release 1.05 of Sick As A Parrot for Windows has been posted on the members' web page. This fixes a couple of bugs in release 1.00 - notably the one which prevents you selecting players from your own club in certain circumstances. Injuries through the close season now have 10 weeks recovery time applied and a couple of colour faults have been eliminated.
SICK AS A PARROT for Windows
The conversion of Supremo 99 to a Windows environment has been completed. The league game, the international game and the integration software are now available in one SAAP package. The full game has now been posted on the SAAP OnLine members' page.
SUPREMO 99 for DOS.
Supremo 98 has been updated to include the changes to the English leagues as a result of the promotion and relegation at the end of the 1997/98 season. In Supremo 99 the season now begins with the 1998/99 season and teams and the quality of teams reflects the abilities of teams and the players at the end of the 1997/98 season.
The game has been posted on the SAAP On Line members page and is also available from myself, Lambourne Games in the UK and Wizard Games in the USA. See the order page for details.
SAAP for Windows - International.
The international half of Supremo 99 has now been converted to the Windows environment. The game is essentially the same for the moment but has had some aesthetic improvements and a number of changes to simplify the interface. All possible selections on a screen now have buttons to make them stand out for example. On some screens the selection process has been simplified and the number of point-and-click operations has been reduced.
The features added to Supremo 98 release 1.400 have proved very popular and so players in S99 can be defined by the gamer himself as well as importing them from league teams thus allowing the gamer to select any one of the 55 international squads without running out of players.
The game has been posted on the members page for download and comment.
SAAP for Windows - Improvements to match controls.
The mouse controls during the match were slow and imprecise. The code has been redesigned to produce a fast, accurate input for tactical changes and a simpler control of the display speed.
Update of Premier League Teams and Players - 14th April 1998
The original version of Supremo 98 has the players from the start of the 1997/98 season. I've now included a zipped file in the members section that will update the players and team performances to April 1998. This means that the teams will take account of the transfers up to April 1998 and the opposition teams will perform approximately as they do around that time. If you select a real-world Premier club with real world players and the "replay" mode then your first squad will be made up of the players included in that club at the start of April 1998.
Sick As A Parrot for Windows release 1.00 - 2nd April 1998
The first version of Sick As A Parrot for Windows has been completed and is available for download on the members' page.
Supremo 98 upgrade to release 1.40 - 2nd April 1998
A zipped file of the patch upgrading earlier releases of Supremo 98 to release 1.40 (including the three modifications to allow all international squads to be managed) has been added to the members page.
Supremo 98 release 1.40 - Default International Squads added - 20th March 1998
It can be a bit of a pain naming your first international squad of 21 players. With release 1.40 a number of default international squads have been included. The first squad can now be called up (it's shown as the last squad of your predecessor) with a single click and then your own changes made. When you choose to define your own squad from scratch you have an option to save this squad so that it can be used the next time you begin a new computer game (your previous squads are, of course, carried over from one match to the next in any one computer game).
Currently, default squads are included for England, Scotland, Italy, Brazil, USA and Australia. Others are being added and will be included in the SAAP On Line members page for upgrading S98 (if you have purchased S98 then email me about upgrading your purchase to SAAP On Line membership at no extra cost).
Supremo 98 release 1.30 - Define your own players - 15th March 1998
Managing any international squad other than England (the league database is based on the English leagues) can pose a problem with an adequate choice of players. With this release the gamer is given a choice of taking a player from a league club or defining his own player from scratch when he names his international squad. This means any national squad can be managed without editing the league database to artificially include suitable players.
Supremo 98 release 1.20 - Manage any International Squad - 1st March 1998
I've received a number of requests to expand the choice of international squads to include all the squads available in the game. In particular I've had requests to include the USA and Australian squads. The gamer can now choose to manage any of the 55 international squads either independantly or simultaneously with managing a league club. Australians can do what they won't allow Terry Venables to do - manage an English Premier League club and the Socceroos simultaneously :>)
Supremo 98 release 1.10 - Including 3D Match - 20th September 1997
A new match simulation has been added to the 2D display to further improve the feeling of realism to the game. The new display has a 3D perspective.
The 2D display is still available to those who prefer it just by clicking on the appropriate box prior to the match. The 2D display in Supremo 98 has also been improved in comparison with the previous Supremo 97 display.
The screen on the left is a scaled down version of the actual screen. This is a quarter size display. A fuller description can be read
of the match on another page.
Release of Supremo 98
Supremo 98 is released with all the features of Supremo 97 and improved 2D graphics for both league and international matches. The player and team data for the Sick As A Parrot game has been updated to the start of the 1997/98 season.
What SaaP does have, however, is a great deal of feedback from the match simulation which is very useful for comparison of players. In 1.35 I've increased this and produced a comparison screen of player career and current season stats - matches, goals, man-of-the-match awards and average ratings for performance. I've added to that the last 6 match ratings. The picture here illustrates that screen.
The tactical options used by the opposition managers are now available to the gamer manager at the click of a button. The match screen here shows the increased tactical option buttons across the bottom of the screen. Formation changes are defined at the bootroom stage and can be introduced with a single click as the match progresses. The formation changes can also be combined with the pace changes - see the double width lower buttons.
We've long promised developments to the match. In SaaP 2000 we've begun those. On the left here is a thumbnail of the new match screen.
There are two major developments in release 1.50 of Sick As A Parrot. The first deals with the problem of several different screen resolution settings in Windows setups. SAAP 1.4 and previous games were written to be played with a standard VGA screen. Unfortunately this resulted in screens with greater resolutions displaying a window which was only a part of the screen. The best display was achieved by setting the resolution to a VGA setting - a bit of a pain with some PCs.
With release 1.27 we have introduced the option to introduce your own backdrop to the game. This can be something you've created with a paint or graphics program or something you've downloaded from the web.
