Closing the Playtest for now

Playtest signups close today. If you already have access, you keep it, and you keep getting updates. The latest build, v0.19.1, went out this week with a set of fixes to transfers, localisation and the club hub.

Here’s why the door is closing.

What you played is a beta, and the part that matters most isn’t good enough yet. The football itself. I’m rebuilding the match engine from scratch, because the old one had reached the point where fixing one behaviour broke another.

The new one works differently: players read what’s around them and decide what to do with the ball, and their attributes drive those decisions. A striker shoots because he sees a chance, not because a number said a goal was due. It’s early. It’s already better football. It isn’t ready to be played.

The engine is the biggest piece, but it isn’t the only one. What you played is a solid foundation, and that’s honestly all it is yet. That’s the gap I’m closing, and it’s bigger than one system.

Opening a playtest for a game whose centre I’m in the middle of replacing doesn’t serve anyone. Better to close the door, do the work, and open it again when there’s something worth your evening.

Two things I want to be clear about

No Early Access. LeManager won’t be sold unfinished. Testing a game used to be work that people were paid to do, and I don’t think that cost should quietly shift onto the people most excited about it. You’ll pay once, for a finished game, or not at all.

No release date. I don’t have one, and I’d rather say that than name a month and miss it. It’s ready when the football is right. Everything that changes gets posted here and on the Discord.

Thank you to everyone who requested access and installed it, and especially to the handful who took the time to write up what they saw. Those reports changed what I’m working on this month.

Until next time. Just one more match.

Ludo