New blog founded!

We have founded a new blog. It will replace the old forum, which we had now since late 2003. Why would we abandon a forum with 12147 articles and 627 registered users? First the amount of spam we received could not be managed and second many people did not comment on the old forum, because you had to register. In this new blog we have no spam and everyone can post a comment without registering.

I am sure you will like this blog and fill it with the life, inspiration and suggestions that made the old forum so special for me.

You can post comments without having to register anywhere!

News about TV Manager 2

I am truly sorry for the lack of news in the recent weeks. Obviously there has been a major delay in the release of the game (which is why one should never ever give out any release date, but most times one just cannot resist to do otherwise). I don´t wish to bore you with the details, but my private life circumstances changed dramatically and on top of that there are technical problems with the online part of the game. At this point I am not satisfied with the online performance of the game and I am seriously thinking about releasing it as a stand-alone offline single-player game. Some of the online features could be implemented later, but it is important to me that the GAME runs smoothly and perfectly from the start.

The good news is that the game itself was and is almost finished. Tweaking it to be a stand-alone game, writing the manual and further polishing it will take more time though. I will keep you up to date and work as fast as I can.

But … if I may … the game is lightyears ahead of the old TV Manager. In the end you will be glad for the additional work put into polishing the game. I believe that this is what indie game development is about: To add good ideas, remove some that didn´t work out and give the project the time it needs.

Some ideas about player clans/guilds

While being a single-player game (at least at the start) I have plans to include clan/guild support (in-game chat, in-game clan management) and competitions. With the game being completely client/server based and including a complete game log, there will be no room for cheat programs. This makes it an ideal playground for leagues and tournaments. If someone remembers the old tournament version of Smugglers 1 you might know that this idea always fascinated me.

Every month there will be a league/tournament scenario. Some might include some differences to the standard game scenarios to require the participants to develop new strategies. Only players in a clan will be able to play this scenario and a clan will require at least 2 and max. of 20 (?) people. The clan of the highest ranked participant will receive a reward at the end of the month. I put up for discussion what this reward might be. My idea were some advantage booster cards for every clan member.

Any thoughts or ideas?

Besides: The development progress is good, although it obviously won´t make it ’till Christmas. The current release schedule is targeting mid-/end of January.

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Betatest phase 1 finished!

Last sunday we tested the network stability of  TV Manager 2 in a small group of people. There were some minor issues, but considering this is the first online game – at least for me (Niels) and I do all the coding - it was very stable. In this case programming is very much the same like war. In war a good plan never survives first contact, but luckily this time it did.

This week the musician and SFX artist (Nathan Madsen) finished the music & sound effects too. He really did an awesome job (which I hope to be able to show you soon).

Next phase would be testing the actual game.

New screenshots

New screenshots for TV Manager 2!

Below you find a couple of new screenshots for TV Manager 2. Click on them to enlarge.

This weekend we will start the first phase of the closed betatest, which will consist of server/client network & stability testing. Shortly we will be able to start with gameplay testing. The release of the game is close…

TV Manager 2 - Log in screen

 

TV Manager 2 - Start screen

 

TV Manager 2 -Chat screen

  

TV Manager 2 - Buy new movies...

 

Smugglers 4 ship to ship combat system

I am always trying to improve my games so I would like to get to know today what do you think could be made better in the current Smugglers 4 ship to ship combat system. I am especially curious about comparisons to Smugglers 2 + 3 combat system and what you would like to see in future sequels.

As always we consider choosing betatesters for our games from the most active and most useful suggestions.

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TV Manager 2 – Wishlist

What do you expect of TV Manager? Do you have any special wishes? While the main development phase is coming to an end, I plan to add new features even after the release. I am especially looking for suggestions to make the mid-/end-phase gaming phase even more complex and enjoyable. Let´s say you have made a successful TV program, bought some new broadcasting licenses to new territories and are looking forward to gain the decisive edge over your competition. How would you like to do this? The obvious way would be to get 5-star movies and beat your competition in the “war” over the audience. But is there something else?

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Get into the TV Manager 2 beta (#1 competition)

In our newest upcoming game TV Manager 2, you take charge of a small and nearly bankrupt TV station and lead it to glory as the world’s biggest TV network! With the development of TV Manager 2 coming to an end, we are in need of beta testers.

To celebrate the new blog, we are running a small competition. In order to grab one of the few open positions for beta testing, all you have to do is to post two of your favorite movies or series, which you would like to appear in TV Manager 2. To post just click on “leave comment” at the bottom of this post. From all comments we will randomly choose one winner. The competition runs until Monday 9th November.

Should you not be chosen in this competition you can also get access to the beta test by regularly make posts and suggestions in this blog. We hand-pick the authors of the most frequent and helpful posts.

What is a beta test? Well, at the appropriate time between November and December we will give you access to an almost completed copy of the game for free. All you have to do is to play the game and report us any bugs or problems you encounter. Because TV Manager 2 is an online game you will not be able to use this copy of the game after the beta test. Depending on the amount and helpfulness of your feedback you might get a free copy of the full version.

Terms and conditions: We reserve the right to deny you or cancel your access to the beta test at any time and with any or without any reason or notice. If you decide to enter the beta test additional terms and conditions might apply, about which you will be informed before. The law of the European Union and Germany applies and court of justice is Freiburg in Germany.

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TV Manager 2 – What is it about?

We´ve started the development of TV Manager 2 – a turn-based strategy game where you take charge of a TV station. During the following months we’ll keep you up to date with news about the game. This post has been edited, completely revised and updated on 29th October 2009. Please note that the information & features contained herein might be subject to change until the final release.

What´s it about?

Take charge of a nearly bankrupt TV station and  make it become the largest network in the country. Meet other players online, watch highscores, play in leagues and clans as well as trade those awesome epic movies.

Anyone should be able to achieve success with skill and hard work – the American dream. Live this dream by taking charge of a small and nearly bankrupt TV station and leading it to glory as the world’s biggest TV network! In the game you compete against up to four strong computer controlled TV networks. You place movies, advertisements and news in your daily programme and try to get more viewers than your competitors. The available broadcasting ranges from cartoons to action movies and even live broadcasting of major sport or cultural events.

Welcome to the world of showbusiness!

What´s new?

The following feature list is subject to change.

• It´s an addictive client/server based online game, that features online highscore lists, leagues, clan management and online chat.
• Turn-based gameplay
• Different scenarios
• Computer-controlled competitors
• Hire the “mob” to sabotage your competitors network
• Buy/sell stocks to silently take over your competition
• Collect & trade so called “epic movies” that give a special bonus if broadcasted
• Strategically put together a “deck” of “epic movies” to gain an advantage in gameplay.
• Movie & ads titles are not created randomly anymore, but are modified titles of real movies. You can also edit all movie titles yourself.
• New fully colored (and slightly mad) artwork
• Play on a USA or Europe (EU) map. More countries to be added later.

Pending features (maybe not in the first release, but to be added shortly afterwards):

• Create your own movies

Any new artwork / screenshots?

When will it be released?

We´re planning for Christmas 2009, but no promises yet!

Will there be the possibility to pre-order?

It´s not finally decided, but it´s possible that you will be able to get into the betatest by pre-ordering.

How can I support you?

Please purchase our games. If you´ve already purchased all of them, please buy another as a gift for someone. And if you´ve already did that you could spread the word about our games. Spreading the word is a very valuable support. You can find a complete list of our games at http://www.nielsbauergames.com.

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