Mark Doney, England ( UK ):
A: Ahh the past :) I did play the game in the old days way back in 2002. Around that time there were a few online footie games available and I wanted an alternative to play instead of playing Championship Manager all the time against computer opponents (No Football Manager game series then).
Then I heard about Soccersim (as it was called then) and became a beta player and the rest is history. During those days I was managing sides mainly in France (Bastia and Cherbourg) but also tried Belgium (Antwerp) and England a few times with limited success.
In those days we had a couple of hundred beta testers with many countries/leagues to play (England alone had all divisions right down to Conference league) so it was very competitive but the game didn't develop that much at all..it seemed the makers didn't really care that much about the game (especially in the last few years) which was a big shame. They tried over versions of the game like a World Cup which kind of worked. Then suddenly the game ended and I had to go back to CM and Football Manager.
Then a few years ago..Soccersim (or Managersim as it was called now) came back thanks to BK..hurrah!! The present version of the game is much different but it still has the basics of the game that I loved for many years.
B: Well some 15 years later..I'm back playing Managersim and trying to do well with my PSG side in France.
Overall I've been pretty successful with this version of the game winning the Champions League and a few domestic leagues as well in Italy, Germany and now France. I also took my beloved Oxford side (bring them back to MS please BK!) in a previous server from the lower leagues into the Premiership and taking them on numerous FA Cup runs as well :)
The game has developed well at a good place, at times I feel there have been too many changes at once sometimes but overall its been very good and I'm looking forward to seeing what else is going to be done.
The community is small though and yes we do need more people to come and play the game but I know that's a pretty tough task...marketing the game is very important if its going to be successful.
C: The Future
Well that's the big question at the moment what is the future of the game..that depends if we get more players I think. Over the past few seasons the number of managers has gone down and that's not good. We need to somehow find a way to market the game more but its not going to be cheap though. Perhaps an article in a computer magazine, a regular updated Managersim account on Twitter may help. The mobile/tablet version of the game may attract many new people that is true. We do have many good options but the main aim is to attract new people.
The Concerns
The concerns are though is when you do attract new people they will be up against people who have played this game for many many years. The new breed of game player wants instant
success and they will not get that with the game in its current state. The game for a beginner isnt easy to learn (hey I'm still learning now) and unless you are a natural then success will not come easy and that will put off a lot of people I think. The game has a lot of 'hidden' stats and its not just putting eleven players choosing a formation and hoping they win every game..that just dosent happen.
Perhaps a way around this is to create a server for people new to the game (like a beginners server) and when they feel they have got use to the game move them to the main game server...a kind of tutorial server to start them off with.
Wishes
Like many people I wish the game to be successful and stay with us for many years. Credit to BK for bringing it back and doing an amazing job but us beta testers need to help him as much as possible. We need to attract more people to the game and if we don't then I dunno how patient BK will be in keeping the game alive....Managersim died a few years ago...please we cant let that happen again.
Ideas
For the game? More on youth academies I think, that's starting to happen now but it could be developed more. Option to add your own players names maybe (serious ones only though), introduce more icons like club colours/strips, bring back the 'broken' replay screen. A More improved manager of the month system. A team and player of the month awards maybe. A interactive press conference perhaps. An improved player history screen would also be nice. An improved international aspect of the game and finally perhaps a Transfer list for players coming into the game from Rest of the World. When we get more managers maybe open up more leagues in the main countries (would love to be Oxford boss again). Managersim has a lot going for it and could include many new things which people Im sure will like.
Lúcio Flávio Rios, a resident of Bahia and a Brazilian:
A: I've been in the game since the time of the Soccersim. The return was very very good. Having contact again with some managers from different countries, exchanging experiences is always very good.
B: Now I see that the game is coming back to have a certain balance. Many changes were made and some points of equilibrium were lost. I believe that this season, the dispute will be even greater.
C: I would love to see South America in our game. That would be very special. To have clubs like Bahia, Santos, Flamengo, Cruzeiro, Atletico Mineiro, Corinthians, Portuguesa, Boca Juniors would be very cool.