PureSim Transition

[Shaun Sullivan]

Hey guys, I have a pretty important announcement.

As of today, I am retiring from commercial development of PureSim. I will continue to work on the game at my leisure and release updates, but PureSim 2007 is the last commercial release of the game.

Through a combination of my wife pointing out to me that I spend almost every non-real-job hour on the game, and the fact that I have a pretty stressful (increasingly so due to a recent promotion) real job I have decided to back off. My wife made a pretty heartfelt plea to re-engage with the family and I think she is right.

This doesn't mean PureSim is dead, it just means I will no longer charge for future updates, and I'll do things on my own time. I will most likely just make the game freely available at some point soon.

I want to thank Matrix Games, and specifically David Heath for their great support over the last few years. Matrix is a great company and I would strongly suggest that any developer looking to get published consider Matrix. I have to say, Matrix really has nothing to do with this decision -- Dave has NEVER imposed a deadline on me, or been even remotely difficult to work with. In fact the opposite is true.

Dave, thanks for everything!

- Shaun

Best Regards,
Shaun

[DaddyTorgo]

congratulations on your past releases of PureSim Shaun, and I don't think anyone will begrudge you your re-engagement with your family that's for sure.

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by Shaun Sullivan

Hey guys, I have a pretty important announcement.

As of today, I am retiring from commercial development of PureSim. I will continue to work on the game at my leisure and release updates, but PureSim 2007 is the last commercial release of the game.

Through a combination of my wife pointing out to me that I spend almost every non-real-job hour on the game, and the fact that I have a pretty stressful (increasingly so due to a recent promotion) real job I have decided to back off. My wife made a pretty heartfelt plea to re-engage with the family and I think she is right.

This doesn't mean PureSim is dead, it just means I will no longer charge for future updates, and I'll do things on my own time. I will most likely just make the game freely available at some point soon.

I want to thank Matrix Games, and specifically David Heath for their great support over the last few years. Matrix is a great company and I would strongly suggest that any developer looking to get published consider Matrix. I have to say, Matrix really has nothing to do with this decision -- Dave has NEVER imposed a dealine on me, or been even remotely difficult to work with. In fact the oppisite is true.

Dave, thanks for everything!

- Shaun

Best Regards,
Shaun

Wow!

Good luck Shaun. Sorry to hear this. But, good for you to know what really matters to you and putting your family first. No one can fault you for it and thanks for telling the public alot of people develpers don't do that.

[st.cronin]

Women.

They ruin everything.

[BYU 14]

I remember following the development of Puresim since you first announced you were working on it (7-8 years has it been?) it was a long road, but you were able to do what many people never get the chance to do, and that is bring a dream to fruition.....This years game was very solid and highly received by those that gave it a chance....You also raised the bar for future Baseball sims in a few areas with a lot of the features you implemented in this release. (Almanac)

Your decision to put your family first is admireable, as it is not always so clear cut to many involved in a passion to the extent you were with Puresim. Congratulations on what you have accomplished and best wishes for the future.

Lee

[Shaun Sullivan]

No, it's not the woman.

We have been together since we were 18 (22 years) and have 4 great kids. She knows I poured my heart into PureSim and would never tell me to stop. She did (correctly) point out the insane after-the-real-job hours I worked on the game -- that was it. I think she's right.

Time to actually enjoy the weekend.

[cubboyroy1826]

Its been a great run Shaun i think you have a very good product and wish you the best of luck.

[st.cronin]

Originally Posted by Shaun Sullivan

No, it's not the woman.

We have been together since we were 18 (22 years) and have 4 great kids. She knows I poured my heart into PureSim and would never tell me to stop. She did (correctly) point out the insane after-the-real-job hours I worked on the game -- that was it. I think she's right.

Time to actually enjoy the weekend.

I was just kidding. Good luck with everything.

[SunDevil]

Thank you for the game and the time and effort you have put into it. I think something great came out of your effort. You deserve to enjoy your time with your wife and family.

[Tim Tellean]

Shaun, we love ya man, but truly family is the only thing that matters. Good luck.

[Philliesfan980]

Shaun -

I finally took the pluge and bought the latest version several months ago, and really enjoyed the heck out of it. Any chance you can quit your day job and work on text sims full time .

In all seriousness, enjoy your weekends, you deserve it!

[hoosierdude]

Sad to see you have to "retire" from active programming for sports sims Shaun, but family has to come first. Good Luck on the final full release of the game, and I look forward to seeing what you do in the future.

Enjoy the family, and your hard-earned rest.

[Glengoyne]

Shaun,

I hear you about spending too much time away from family. I do believe that you've got your priorities straight, and this should be a good thing. Probably for PureSim as well.

Enjoy the time off.

[jbergey22]

Sounds like its time to give up the "real" job and devote your time to PureSim and make it the best game ever...of course I am just kidding. Best of luck Shaun

[JPhillips]

Think of jb!

Good luck with everything. I was sorry to see you get tarred with some of the other decisions Matrix has made. As far as I can tell you've never been anything but open and honest.

[ScottVib]

Best of luck Shaun.

[path12]

I really enjoy your work. Thanks!

[Antmeister]

Wow! Good luck in the future. For some reason, I don't think this will be the end of the game. I would ask you if you considered making it open source, but with all the years you put into it, I can see how difficult that can be to freely distribute that code.

Anyways, I think you are making a good decision and as long as you do it on your leisure, you may end up discovering it will lead to a future career as more and more people discover your game when it becomes freely available. Good luck in your future ventures sir and please keep hanging around the board.

[SteveMax58]

I applaud you for doing whats best for you & your family. Enjoy the newly found free time. As a recovering workaholic I've rediscovered mine as of late...amazing how easy it is to "zone in" on work, and seemingly tough to "let loose" outside.

Steve

[Arles]

Shaun, you have been a true credit to the sports sim industry and I wish you the best. Congrats on all your success to this point and your family is lucky to have someone that understands what really counts.

[AgustusM]

good decision Shaun - I enjoyed your game, but your family is priceless - unless you found a way to do Pure Sim as your "real" job I think you made a very wise choice.

[MizzouRah]

There goes ootp's competition.

You've done a great job with Puresim and I can definitly appreciate you wanting to spend some "family" time. Best of luck to you and I'll follow Puresim's progress no matter how slow the updates come.

[Cringer]

I first tried PureSim with the 2007 edition. I loved the game. Most enjoyment I have had from a baseball sim Shaun.

My belated congrats on the real job promotion, and enjoy the family time man.

I hope to see an updated version whenever you are able to get to it. What I had seen so far looked great and something tells me PureSim will continue to be my favorite baseball game for a long time.

[Swaggs]

Good luck, Shaun.

I remember finding your old site while looking for FPS utilities and waiting/following the production of PureSim. It came a long way and you should be proud of the game you created.

[Young Drachma]

Good luck with all of this, Shaun.

[hukarez]

Wow!

Guess it's an end of an era of sorts? Really loved the last version, and I'm looking forward for the final one for sure. Thanks for providing me countless hours of entertainment over that summer season, and good luck to your future endeavors!

[Emiliano]

Best of luck with everything, Shaun.

[Markus Heinsohn]

Shaun, I wish you all the best for the future. You're one of the good guys!

I will definitely miss Puresim as a competition

[JeeberD]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

There goes ootp's competition.

Interesting...does this open up the door for an eventual Front Office Baseball?

[Ksyrup]

Congrats on your decision and thanks for your involvement in the text sim community. Now I feel bad for not buying the 2007 game.

[Franklinnoble]

Three things:

1. I'm bummed out that you're doing this, but only for my own selfish reasons. You've made an excellent game. I'm sorry it wasn't commercially successful enough for you to quit your day job for.
2. I think you're making the right decision.
3. Why not sell the franchise to another developer?

[Shaun Sullivan]

Originally Posted by Franklinnoble

Three things:
3. Why not sell the franchise to another developer?

Two reasons: First, I don't think anyone would really be interested in buying it. Second, I'm not sure I could let it go

My current plan is to simply work on the game more as a hobby, continuing to add to it, but just release it as freeware, which will keep PureSim alive and well but free me from the pressures of support and deadlines.

This was a really difficult decision, because it amounts to me admitting that PureSim will never be a full time endeavor, which has been my dream since I wrote the first line of code in {gasp} 1998. My wife has been amazingly supportive. For months at a time I would work on PureSim from after dinner until bed and all day on weekends. All while working 50+ hours a week and travelling constantly with my real job. At 39 years old, I just don't have as much in the tank anymore.

My kids were actually jumping up and down and cheering when I told them, which makes me happy and sad at the same time.

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by Shaun Sullivan

Two reasons: First, I don't think anyone would really be interested in buying it. Second, I'm not sure I could let it go

My current plan is to simply work on the game more as a hobby, continuing to add to it, but just release it as freeware, which will keep PureSim alive and well but free me from the pressures of support and deadlines.

This was a really difficult decision, because it amounts to me admitting that PureSim will never be a full time endeavor, which has been my dream since I wrote the first line of code in {gasp} 1998. My wife has been amazingly supportive. For months at a time I would work on PureSim from after dinner until bed and all day on weekends. All while working 50+ hours a week and travelling constantly with my real job. At 39 years old, I just don't have as much in the tank anymore.

My kids were actually jumping up and down and cheering when I told them, which makes me happy and sad at the same time.

I wonder if your mind can be changed if Puresim has a breakthrough year? I am sure you have initial projections but IMO you will see an dramatic increase in sales this year. 1. Do to some of the change in the OOTP series(its was in general the same type of game and now its changed more to a different fan I am almost wondering) 2. I have read nothing but great things on these forums about the previous version and as your are probably aware, word travels fast on these forums. Just maybe after a banner 07 year your opinion will change.

[Icy]

Good decission for your own personal life, so sad for the text sims cummunity to lose a developer like you. I haven't ever bought puresim, but played a few betas and the in game graphical view was a great idea nobody else has mirrored yet. Good luck with your life.

[cougarfreak]

Shaun, I have enjoyed your product over the last couple of years (began buying in 04). Have fun with the family, as most anyone would make the choice you are making. I'm looking forward to any developments you add to the current version.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by Shaun Sullivan

My kids were actually jumping up and down and cheering when I told them, which makes me happy and sad at the same time.

Wow, definitely mixed emotions on that one. Good luck to you and your family, I know it'll be hard to let go, but it sounds like your family is ready to get their dad back.

[NoMyths]

Congratulations on making a tough decision, but one that sounds like it'll be more rewarding in the long run. Besides, you never know what kind of positive results and opportunities can arise from changing your approach -- you may discover that you're more productive in your "hobby time" in new ways.

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by st.cronin

Women.

They ruin everything.

I agree!

In seriousness, although I've never played the game, I know some here really liked it. I had no idea it wasn't your "real" job, so for you to release a good, working game and release updates for it on hobby time... that's amazing.

Best of luck to you in the future!

[Pumpy Tudors]

puresim the better game this year

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by JeeberD

Interesting...does this open up the door for an eventual Front Office Baseball?

He still needs a TCY 2 and FOF can still be improved/more features added.

[spleen1015]

Shaun have bad AI listen wife

Good luck Shaun!

[Eaglesfan27]

I admire your dedication to your family Shaun and wish you nothing but the best. I'm guessing that if you set up Paypal or something like that, you might get some donations in the future if you do decide to release Puresim as freeware/shareware or whatever. Good luck to you and your family.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I'm guessing that if you set up Paypal or something like that, you might get some donations in the future if you do decide to release Puresim as freeware/shareware or whatever. Good luck to you and your family.

I was going to ask whether he was going to do this.

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by JeeberD

Interesting...does this open up the door for an eventual Front Office Baseball?

Only if Jim makes one. Don't remember him ever mentioning an interest in a baseball sim. But who knows with Jim

[JeeberD]

I thought I remember Jim saying that at one point he was interested in making a baseball sim but that the market was already too saturated. But I could certainly be wrong about that...

[sabotai]

Originally Posted by JeeberD

I thought I remember Jim saying that at one point he was interested in making a baseball sim but that the market was already too saturated. But I could certainly be wrong about that...

I thought the "too saturated" reason was just conjecture on our part. Maybe someone would be able to find a quote.

Anyway, Shaun, have fun spending a lot more "quality time" with the Mrs. *wink wink, nudge nudge*

[rjolley]

Hate to see you go, Shaun, but with 3 kids myself, I definitely understand your reasons.

Good luck with the job and the family.

[Tasan]

Wow good run Shaun. I remember seeing hints at puresim when you were developing the FBPro utility sets you did. It has definately been a while.

[lynchjm24]

One other positive you might not have thought of yet: Now you can piss Jon off whenever you want and he can't threaten to not buy your game because of it .

Good luck and keep in touch.