FOF7 Steam Release And Super Bowl Sale Imminent

[Ben E Lou]

Steam Version and Super Bowl Sale

Front Office Football received the Steam Greenlight from Valve early in January and will be released on Steam the first week of February.


We are still working on a plan for qualifying customers to trade a ViaTech Front Office Footbal Seven order ID for a Steam order ID, if they choose to do so (advantages to either system).


Our price on Steam will be $24.99. We will lower the ViaTech price to $24.99 beginning on Super Sunday. Thanks for your support in helping us through the Greenlight process.


EDIT: Link To FOF7 Steam Community: http://steamcommunity.com/app/344340

[Ben E Lou]

Greenlight page: Steam Greenlight :: Front Office Football Seven (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=237225561)

[Julio Riddols]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CeRoi43azds" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[corbes]

So can I be honest that I've never used Steam (other than signing up and buying something and supporting FOF greenlight) and don't entirely understand what it is or does? I'm aware this makes me sound like an oblivious fool, but it's the truth.

1. What are the advantages of steam versus having a copy on my aging rickety laptop whose hard drive might crap out at any time?

2. I assume if you have two licenses of FOF you can access your MP games from either copy?

And to be clear, I'm buying a new steam license, not trading my old one in. #supportjim

[Dutch]

Steam will install a copy on your local machine just like if you were loading it up from the download executable.

The biggest advantage is that you can install to any machine you have simply by going to Steam-->FOF7 and clicking "Install". No more hassle with licensing codes and such.

The next big advantage is that the game will automatically upgrade for you when you log in to Steam.

What I don't know is how this will work for folks that like to play FOF from different machines regularly, not sure how many instances can exist before you have to go through the install routine.

[PilotMan]

Cross posted the announcement in the Steam Group.

[Pyser]

just to be clear this still doesnt help people on macs, right?

[stevew]

just to be clear this still doesnt help people on macs, right?

I dunno, was watching some Crossover thing to install steam on a Mac. Will let you know if it works well.

[Ben E Lou]

1. What are the advantages of steam versus having a copy on my aging rickety laptop whose hard drive might crap out at any time?Given Viatech's recent track record for taking a very long time to reset licenses, it's a huge advantage. All of the games you own through Steam are fully licensed through your Steam account. You buy a new computer or get a new HD, you just log in to Steam, download your game, and run it. Right now if your HD craps out, you have to wait several weeks for Viatech to reset your license or buy the game again.

2. I assume if you have two licenses of FOF you can access your MP games from either copy?Yes, but I think you'll need to keep the savegames updated on each one--which is no different than what you're already doing.

[Shoveler]

I dunno, was watching some Crossover thing to install steam on a Mac. Will let you know if it works well.

Steam works just fine on a Mac, however, that being said the program you want to run from steam has to have a mac version. So right now I dont believe steam will solve the Mac issue if you are not using parallels or some equivalent mac to windows OS.

[Ben E Lou]

Am I reading right that actually this "sale" is actually a permanent lowering of the price of FOF7 to 25 bucks?

[stevew]

FWIW, I got same day service from Viatech on a reset, but I was pretty shocked.

[PilotMan]

Am I reading right that actually this "sale" is actually a permanent lowering of the price of FOF7 to 25 bucks?

That's what I understand. I think it's a much better price point and allows the sales to be anywhere from $20-????. That seems to be a very attractive price for games without the massive hype and following. I know he is also sending 30% of his sales back to Valve but what an opportunity to just blow up the game. I'm cautiously optimistic that he can meet his goals for the game with the larger distribution platform.

[NawlinsFan]

FWIW, I got same day service from Viatech on a reset, but I was pretty shocked.

So are we!

[Kodos]

Congratulations, Jim. This must be huge for you.

[aston217]

Happy for you, Jim. Here's to growth in the community.

[Templar]

Hopefully Steam brings a huge boost of customers.
And hopefully this has the consequence that the MP leagues fill as quickly as possible. :popcorn:

I'm happy for Jim. ;)

[Dutch]

Happy for you, Jim. Here's to growth in the community.

Hopefully Steam brings a huge boost of customers.
And hopefully this has the consequence that the MP leagues fill as quickly as possible. :popcorn:

I'm happy for Jim. ;)

+1

[Ben E Lou]

I tend to doubt that this is going to cause a quick influx of MP guys. Sure, we'll get a handful of FOFCers who refused to buy because of Viatech, but I strongly suspect that FOF getting on Steam will cause a slow/steady increase in customers--not something that would cause the MP leagues to fill quickly. Also keep in mind that studies still show that the vast majority of people who buy computer games never play multiplayer. I think Steam is an excellent platform for Jim to get a good number of impulse sales that'll help keep him in business and producing new versions--which *is* good for MP leagues in general, but not in the sense of "fill as quickly as possible," but more in the long-term. Based on Jim's posts in the other thread, for example, this seems to increase the odds exponentially that there will be an FOF8.

[Dutch]

OOTP users might be able to prognosticate some on this.

[Ben E Lou]

I don't recall: did OOTP get into Steam mid-cycle, or at release time? I'd think that would make a big difference in the number of new owners.

[PilotMan]

Honestly the biggest downer in all of this is that the game is getting released after the season has just ended. He is going to miss out on a great tie in because the game wasn't picked up sooner. Timing is everything.

[Dutch]

I agree, but he had to get his foot in the door and now can time versions and updates however he wants.

Ben, despite owning OOTP, I've never tried MP and dont recall when the game launched.

[Ben E Lou]

Email search turns up the date. It was offseason for OOTP, too.

From: Out of the Park Developments GmbH & Co KG <[email protected]>
To:
Sent: Friday, December 20, 2013 9:20 AM
Subject: Happy Holidays - Out of the Park Baseball 14 now available on Steam!

[QuikSand]

Honestly the biggest downer in all of this is that the game is getting released after the season has just ended. He is going to miss out on a great tie in because the game wasn't picked up sooner. Timing is everything.

For the deep core audience for this exact game, there's an argument that NFL draft day is the single most important day to pin a sale/promo around (more so than opening day of the season or the Super Bowl).

[nilodor]

For the deep core audience for this exact game, there's an argument that NFL draft day is the single most important day to pin a sale/promo around (more so than opening day of the season or the Super Bowl).

Was thinking this exact thing.

[Ben E Lou]

For the deep core audience for this exact game, there's an argument that NFL draft day is the single most important day to pin a sale/promo around (more so than opening day of the season or the Super Bowl).I wouldn't try to argue against that argument.

[PilotMan]

My only argument would be that the deep hard core audience already owns the game. That the opportunity is for new players to experience it and while the draft is all well and good, it's got college basketball and the first rumblings of baseball to contend with and football fans have somewhat moved on for a few months.

[Ben E Lou]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>The Steam page is now open for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FrontOfficeFootball?src=hash">#FrontOfficeFootball</a>, <a href="http://t.co/lmLF6fuWZA">http://t.co/lmLF6fuWZA</a>. Game release coming soon. Please feel welcome to add content.</p>&mdash; Solecismic Software (@Solecismic) <a href="https://twitter.com/Solecismic/status/562343292508336129">February 2, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[PilotMan]

Hey you guys may not know this but there is a place where users can create game guides and upload them for other players to use. I know that I'm not the most prolific of knowledgeable player out there. There are many other far better players who know this game inside and out.

Ben may even be able to add or develop other content to add to the community page for the game in Steam curated from what we have here without too much trouble.

Here's the link to the guides section if anyone feels like really getting in there and doing some of the nitty gritty work to help build the infobase on Steam prior to the release. I'm sure Jim wouldn't mind.

Steam Community :: Front Office Football Seven (http://steamcommunity.com/app/344340/guides/)

[Solecismic]

No, not at all. I would be delighted if people add their own content and reviews.

I started by creating a series of simple videos aimed at newcomers to the game. Who knew I could blab for more than a hour about the game?

My wife said I should try my "radio voice," but when I did it came out more like "let's get it on" voice. Not a good idea. So let's just say I can do a fair Steve Buschemi impression.

[Wudu2]

So Steam Achievements are listed in the sidebar....is this going to be a launch thing? Or are we going to have to wait for those?

[Solecismic]

I've added 78 of them. I haven't done Steam Workshop enabling because it would be too difficult to police copyrighted NFL content. But people will still have the same options to get whatever image content they want into the game. I've also separated more of the image content so it's easier to use custom graphics. Though the key ones that require more constant memory manipulation are still part of the executable.

[Ben E Lou]

Ah. Just noticed this over there:


Available: February 4

This game will unlock in approximately 1 day and 19 hours

[PilotMan]

FOFC Curator Recommended!

[PilotMan]

No, not at all. I would be delighted if people add their own content and reviews.

I started by creating a series of simple videos aimed at newcomers to the game. Who knew I could blab for more than a hour about the game?

My wife said I should try my "radio voice," but when I did it came out more like "let's get it on" voice. Not a good idea. So let's just say I can do a fair Steve Buschemi impression.

The new videos look great.

[stevew]

Steam works just fine on a Mac, however, that being said the program you want to run from steam has to have a mac version. So right now I dont believe steam will solve the Mac issue if you are not using parallels or some equivalent mac to windows OS.

I have Crossover, I'm going to attempt to install the Windows version of Steam and see what happens.

[Solecismic]

FOFC Curator Recommended!


What's a curator? And thanks. Though I'm sure I didn't miss a calling as a voice-over artist.

[PilotMan]

Here is the link from Steam about it. It's better than I can do:

Steam Discovery Update (http://store.steampowered.com/about/curators/)

Basically I can find games I like by following the right curators. So people who like the kinds of games that other FOFCers might play; might follow the FOFC Curator.

[Tasan]

I'll admit I've been waiting for the Steam release before buying, just to not have to deal with Viatech anymore. I hate that more of my money isn't going directly to Solecismic, but surely this move will make great things happen for him(them).

[djsatu]

If the people who have purchased the game prior could get a steam license, that would be awesome. I had the new game installed on a laptop that crapped out and I wasn't able to uninstall my license off of it, so im down to 1 laptop license now. Page and videos look great Jim! Newbs to the game have no idea what they are in for......

[Ben E Lou]

Heh. I just noticed that there's a link to 7.1b "released February 3rd, 2015" at Solecismic.com, but no list of what is in it. There's also a change to the "Steam Version And Super Bowl Sale" box on the front page that has a broken link to the Steam section. Further, Jim has used his Twitter feed to announce every other patch up until this one, but there's nothing there this time. I'm picturing JG working furiously at his computer to get everything ready for the Steam release, and in the middle of his task list for last night, he falls asleep, face in the keyboard, and there he is right now, bless his heart. :p

Solecismic Software: Home of Front Office Football (http://www.solecismic.com/fof/index.php)

The seventh installment of our signature product, Front Office Football Seven, was released on December 13, 2013. It is only available through electronic download. Please visit our web store for a link to the order page. The most recent version is 7.1b, which includes the 2014 rosters and schedule. This was released on February 3, 2015.

Download link (also references 7.1b) is on this page: Solecismic Software: Home of Front Office Football (http://www.solecismic.com/support/index.php)

[aston217]

Ha!

Maybe the pass numbers are going to go down again. I'm drafting here, Jim, wake up man! I gotta know what to do! ;)

[bstar]

I bought the game 2 months ago, I'll be really disappointed if I can't get a steam code.

[PilotMan]

From what I've read Jim has said that he is trying to work out a process for people who have bought the game to trade in their ViaTech license for a Steam license. It's definitely happening and one of the biggest things I'm looking forward too.

[Ben E Lou]

...but no list of what is in it....OK. I downloaded it and installed. It worked fine. Two issues in 7.1a that I noticed were fixed:

--Capping out reneg requests working again
--Delete savegame crash fixed

If anyone reported any other issues, you might want to check those, too, until we hear from Jim.

[aston217]

Capouts weren't working?

And did you mean 7.1b?

[Ben E Lou]

The issues existed in 7.1a. They appear to be fixed in 7.1b.

Capouts of reneg requests weren't working, no.

[stevew]

Approximately 21 hours to go!

[stevew]

Looks like if people could add "Management" to the tag it would help it link to FM and other games like that. The 3 most similar right now are a golf game, a racing game, and a pool game.

Maybe "Football" as well?

[PilotMan]

I noticed that as well and added the Management tag after looking at OOTP's tags.

[edit: And I see that it looks like football has been added as a tag already.]

[Ben E Lou]

I added "football" and "American football." Will add "management" in a bit.

[NawlinsFan]

Front Office Football Seven

The seventh installment of our signature product, Front Office Football Seven, was released on December 13, 2013. It is only available through electronic download. Please visit our web store for a link to the order page. "The most recent version is 7.1b, which includes the 2014 rosters and schedule. This was released on February 3, 2015."


The issues existed in 7.1a. They appear to be fixed in 7.1b.

Capouts of reneg requests weren't working, no.

[Ben E Lou]

?

[NawlinsFan]

I've added 78 of them. I haven't done Steam Workshop enabling because it would be too difficult to police copyrighted NFL content. But people will still have the same options to get whatever image content they want into the game.

"I've also separated more of the image content so it's easier to use custom graphics. Though the key ones that require more constant memory manipulation are still part of the executable."

Is this in the 7.1b file? I did a quick look and noticed that a few of the graphic files are no longer accessible, i.e. the scoreboard for SP games. Believe it was 219-222 in the bitmap folder. I didn't see any new ones that were accessible though.

[Ben E Lou]

Nawlins, that same "rosters/schedules" blurb has been there since 7.1 was released in November. That blurb isn't intended to give the granular detail of every patch, I am sure, but just to let the people who wander to his site every few months that the latest version has 2014 rosters.

[NawlinsFan]

Cool. The only other thing I have noticed so far are updated city ban files - new text, better or not is left up to the viewer. :)

[NawlinsFan]

[/U][/B]

Is this in the 7.1b file? I did a quick look and noticed that a few of the graphic files are no longer accessible, i.e. the scoreboard for SP games. Believe it was 219-222 in the bitmap folder. I didn't see any new ones that were accessible though.







Update: found most of them and they are now located in the FOF pictures folder so they can be modded without have to use resourcehacker to load them.

[MizzouRah]

So should we install the patch or not? One thing I hate having to do it reinstall all my modded stuff. If there isn't really any ground breaking changes, I'd prefer to wait.

[stevew]

What is a capout of a reneg request?

I'm assuming if a guy wants 5M bonus, first year salary of 3M, you can make it 7M bonus 1st year Of 1M?

[Ben E Lou]

That's precisely it, Steve.

[w24olfpack]

Ben - Do all league members have to convert?
Can commish be on B and some league members still on A ?

[Ben E Lou]

Ben - Do all league members have to convert?
Can commish be on B and some league members still on A ?I think that is ok. I will know for sure in about 4 hours. I am on b now. I am sure most league members are on a.

[stevew]

The "More like this" tab has FM and some other similar games in it, so I'd say the tagging worked.

[Tasan]

OOTP 15 links back to FOF as well, which should be good. Now if only FM would do the same...

[Ben E Lou]

The Solecismic site has a page devoted to moving from Viatech to Steam now.

Solecismic Software: Home of Front Office Football (http://www.solecismic.com/conversion.php)




<center>License Conversion Page</center>
As a courtesy to those who own Front Office Football Seven, and prefer the Steam environment and DRM, we will offer free conversion of ViaTech licenses until the end of February 2015.

Because of the number of customers involved and the time involved in converting licenses, please be patient with your request. We will try and update this page regularly with a general estimate of the time required, but we cannot make that estimate for any individual.

Since this process requires a lot of time, and we're not charging people for the conversion, we can only accept one request per customer. We won't be able to respond to emailed questions about the process. If we can't fill this request, that decision is final. There will be no exceptions.

Before making a request, unlicense Front Office Football Seven. There are two licenses available. Both must be unused, or the conversion won't go through. While we realize that unlicensing the game may be impossible for some customers because of computer failure of some sort, there will be no exceptions to this policy because we have no way of determining why a license is shown as in use.

To unlicense the game, click on the unlicense icon in the installation directory. The installation directory defaults to C:\Program Files (x86)\Solecismic Software\Front Office Football Seven. You don't need to uninstall the game itself, though there's no reason to keep it installed after the conversion.

This means you won't be able to play Front Office Football between the time you make this request and the time we're able to respond. So if you're in a league, you might want to wait until after the initial rush of requests to ensure a shorter downtime. Again, we will try and update this page regularly with estimates. In general, the Solecismic workday begins in the early afternoon and lasts well after midnight EST.

Using the Request Form (http://www.solecismic.com/cgi-bin/conversion.cgi), include your order ID (this must be exact, or we won't be able to find it) and your last name and zip code (or location code) for confirmation.

When your request comes up in the queue, we will either respond with a Steam license code or a notification that we were unable to make the conversion. If we can't make the conversion, that's final and we won't try again.

We are currently up to date with all requests as of 2:00 a.m., 2/4/15.

The ViaTech version of Front Office Football Seven will still be maintained, and left up for sale, though it won't have access to Steam Achievements. These versions use the same code base, so the only differences are in the DRM and the Achievements.

The ViaTech version was just updated to 7.1b to include a couple of minor bug fixes and some graphics improvements.

Both versions will share the same saved games. You will be able to continue a ViaTech career with the Steam version. The Steam installation does not automatically install a desktop icon, but that's easy to do within Steam.
I highlighted a few things that looked important.

[Ben E Lou]

I think that is ok. I will know for sure in about 4 hours. I am on b now. I am sure most league members are on a.Ran all leagues this morning on 7.1b without a hitch, with almost all exports having been created with 7.1a.

On another note, the cap-out-the-reneg-request thing worked in SP for me yesterday, but did not work in MP today. I'm not sure if it's a difference between SP and MP, or something specific to the different requests where I tried it.

Also, is Steam unlocking an automated process, or is that something that's done manually? In other words, right now it's saying it'll unlock in "approximately 10 hours" How accurate is that usually?

[gstelmack]

I believe it's pretty accurate. That feature mostly supports the desire of publishers to not compete with retail. For example, if a game is releasing Tuesday at midnight, Steam preloads it for everyone, but doesn't let you play until Tuesday at midnight.

[JMocks]

I believe it's pretty accurate. That feature mostly supports the desire of publishers to not compete with retail. For example, if a game is releasing Tuesday at midnight, Steam preloads it for everyone, but doesn't let you play until Tuesday at midnight.
gstelmack is correct. I've pre-ordered a few games off Steam before. In my experience, the unlock time has always been accurate.

[garion333]

Shoot, I'm not even going to bother with the license conversion, I'm more than happy to buy the game again.

[Ben E Lou]

Shoot, I'm not even going to bother with the license conversion, I'm more than happy to buy the game again.I suspect that you won't be alone in that. Easier, no downtime, and for those who play in multiple leagues in particular, $65 total spent on FOF7 is still an absurd bargain.

[korme]

Unlicensed and submitted my request. Let's see what happens!

[gelat]

Is there a way to get the zip code of the original order? I saved the order number but since I'm in the Army, I've probably had 6 addresses since then. I don't want to guess since it says I have one chance.

[korme]

Check your email, it has the zip in it. Just search for front office football in your email.

[Alf]

Is there a way to get the zip code of the original order? I saved the order number but since I'm in the Army, I've probably had 6 addresses since then. I don't want to guess since it says I have one chance.
In the "C:\Program Files\Soleciscmic Software\Front Office Football Seven" , I have a receipt file with my order id.

Not sure if it is me copying it or the game licensing stuff doing it.

[Shoveler]

Shoot, I'm not even going to bother with the license conversion, I'm more than happy to buy the game again.

Same here, going to pick it up again in steam and give my current license to a buddy to try out the game.

[Abe Sargent]

Yup yup, another buy here as well.

[Templar]

Many years ago I found FOF - by mistake!

I would imagine that via the Steam platform much more potential customers stumble on FOF who would otherwise never know of its existence.

[Subby]

In for another purchase. Money well spent.

[Ben E Lou]

Thread locked. Game is now live for purchase. New thread created:

The FOF7 Steam Release Thread - Front Office Football Central (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=89869)