SoccerProject

SoccerProject (alternatively known as SP) is a browser-based online, football management game (MMOG) developed in Belgium and first released in 2004.

SoccerProject
Platform(s)Any computer connected to the internet
Release5 April 2004 (Beta)
Genre(s)MMOG
Mode(s)Multi player

Comprising teams from 238 different nations and available in 27 languages, the game is played by around 12,000 users.[1]

The game itself is free of charge, but users may purchase a SoccerProject Football Association membership to gain access to extra features.

Game overview
SoccerProject screenshot

As is typical in management games, users gain control over a team, both economically and tactically. Newly registered users take over a previously-vacated team (controlled by the AI), which then gets reset (a new set of players is generated, bearing the user's chosen nationality; budget and stadium size are reset to the basic default) and named by the user, alongside the stadium. In order to achieve their goals, managers must learn to choose the ideal line-ups for matches, embark on the transfer market buying and selling players, and improve their stadium and facilities, always keeping an eye on the finances and staff.[2]

Game structure
Historical Division A and SP Cup Winners[3]
SeasonDivision A Winner[4]Sp Cup Winner[5]
1 Ketoak sparta kolmont
2 Heidebloem La Gantoise
3 Racing Brugge RacingFC
4 ReesingGenk fc Italia
5 fb2004 maluyaca
6 fb2004 FC CRISIS
7 maluyaca maluyaca
8 fb2004 Beringen United
9 The Naked Chef Mado
10 Teefjes Vrolijke 11 FC Bruggenhof
11 Mado team#SoaD
12 Teefjes Vrolijke 11 Westel
13 FC Bruggenhof Westel
14 Nop's Heroes SLB Carcavelos
15 kfc de pomp Verbroedering Robbeke
16 AS Vlalex Nespereira
17 Maccbi Natanya Maccbi Natanya
18 Maccbi Natanya Verbroedering Robbeke
19 The Skunks Nop's Heroes
20 The Skunks Nop's Heroes
21 The Skunks S.A.T
22 Frrfrrr AS Bosman
23 Frrfrrr S.A.T
24 FC Inter Milano cartus
25 S.A.T FC Inter Milano
26 S.A.T .The Simpsons.
27 S.A.T De Zoeloe's
28 Juvenardus FC Bunicii
29 Bunicii Lion Team
30 De Zoeloe's FC Widlaks
31 FC Widlaks TJ Spartak Medzilaborce
32 FC Widlaks u utd
33 FC Widlaks Sokol Čejč
34 FC Widlaks fc bruges
35 FC Widlaks Fresh
36 FC Strakapůd FC Inter Milano
37 FC JEREMY FC Inter Milano
38 FC JEREMY FC Inter Milano
39 fc mac FC Inter Milano
40 FC Inter Milano Bombalaii Zalau
41 FC Inter Milano FC Inter Milano
42 FC Inter Milano AB Craiova
43 FC Inter Milano FC Remedy
44 FC Remedy Fc Adjud
45 FC Remedy FC Raffin
46 FC Raffin Viastore
47 FC Raffin FC Raffin
48 FC Raffin FC Meangreen
49 FC Meangreen FC Foresta
50 FC Meangreen me_dinamo
51 Mccgrady City Football team FC Meangreen
52 Damned United Damned United
53 Damned United Damned United
54 Damned United Armia
55 FC Remedy Noldor
56 Damned United FC Remedy
57 Noldor Chelsea champion
58 Noldor Noldor
59 Noldor FC Remedy
60 Noldor Noldor
61 Noldor Chelsea champion[6]
62 Noldor FC Meangreen
63 Noldor FC Meangreen
64 Viastore Noldor
65 Viastore S.A.T[7]
66 Viastore Totemo Baka
67 The Last Mohycan Hala Madrid
68 Hala Madrid The Last Mohycan
69 Hala Madrid Chelsea champion
70 Hala Madrid FK Raduzza
71 Hala Madrid me_dinamo
72 Chelsea champion FC_TRANSILVANIA
73 Hala Madrid me_dinamo
74 Chelsea champion FC Iasi
75 Chelsea champion FC Miechowice
76 Hala Madrid U.C.SAMPDORIA
77 FC_TRANSILVANIA ars3nal
78 U.C.SAMPDORIA ..DEPORTIVO..
79 U.C.SAMPDORIA ..DEPORTIVO..
80 ..DEPORTIVO.. Chelsea champion
81 U.C.SAMPDORIA vc el bourgemestro
82 ..DEPORTIVO.. Inter Bytom
83 Noldor ..DEPORTIVO..
84 Noldor Noldor
85 Noldor Hala Madrid
86 ruda masina berusky
87 FC Meangreen FC Meangreen
88 FC Meangreen FC Letenská šlechta
89 Hala Madrid FC Remedy
90 FC Remedy FC Remedy
91 Hala Madrid Team Eendracht Aalst
92 Hala Madrid Inter Twardogora
93 FC Letenská šlechta Chelsea champion
94 SK Slavia Simpsons Gang ACS Pardubice
95 ACS Pardubice FC Iasi
96 FC Iasi ..DEPORTIVO..
97??????

Divisional organization

Unlike other games of its genre, in SoccerProject teams are not assigned to leagues only with teams from their own nation. Rather, to accommodate nations with a small number of managers, and to avoid having the problem of having to refuse managers from one determinate nation due to lack of space, the leagues in SoccerProject are global. That is, teams from all nations compete directly with one another. As such, the game is based on one sole league pyramid, compressing divisions labelled by letters, from A to H, with A being the highest. With every step in the ladder, the number of leagues triples - i.e. there is one league in Division A, three in Division B, nine in Division C, and so forth. The winner of Division A is considered the 'winner' of that SoccerProject season. Leagues in SoccerProject are contested by 16 teams. After league play is concluded, the top two teams are promoted to the higher division and the six bottom teams are relegated to the lower division (except, of course, the ones in, respectively, Divisions A and H).

Even with this organization model, some large enough communities will hold their own 'national championships'. A significant number of users will arrange friendly matches between their teams and the results, after being tallied, will return the unofficial 'national champion'.

The season

SoccerProject presents itself as a heavy-paced game, when compared to others. A full season (or, within the game, a year) lasts only nine weeks.[8] All leagues within the game consist of sixteen teams, all playing each other twice during the course of the season, rendering a total of 30 league games per season for every team. League games are played on every weekday, except Wednesdays, which means a league season is finished after eight weeks. Additionally, a SoccerProject Cup is played. In it, all human-controlled teams take part, and works as a single-elimination tournament. Cup rounds take place on Wednesdays and Saturdays, until the final week of every season, where the last five rounds take place.

As the game was originally started by Belgian users, it is not unnatural that, at the beginning, most of the top teams have come from there. In fact, Belgian teams dominated the Division A and the SP Cup during its early years. However, with the surge of new managers from a wider array of nations, this has become less and less so.

League and cup games are played at 04:00 (CET and server time). It is not possible for users to log in while the games are being played. During the course of the day, there are four other time slots, during which teams may, if they choose so, play friendly matches or tournaments.

Alongside these competitions, the community organizes other, unofficial, tournaments. The two best-known and most sought-after are the SoccerProject Champions League (SPCL) and the SoccerProject UEFA Cup (SPUC) (despite the name, teams from nations not affiliated with UEFA are also permitted to take part). The national coordinators of every interested nation nominate a number of teams (which varies depending on past results) to represent their nation in the competition. Teams in Divisions A, B and C take part in the SPCL; teams from other divisions take part in the SPUC.[9][10] These competitions are sponsored by the Lithuanian SoccerProject community, which pays for a SPFA subscription for the winning managers.

Roles within the game

It is possible to encounter several roles within the game, on various levels. Users in these positions are, like other users, in control of their own teams.

  • Sheriffs – these deal with cheating accusations, and will decide on which punishments to give to users who violate the game rules.
  • Beta Testers[11] – these assist the programmers, providing feedback on possible new features before they are implemented in the proper game.
  • Translators – vowing to attract people from a greater number of nations, users may volunteer to translate the game into their own language. Currently it is available in 24 different languages, with almost as many others in some phase of translating.
  • Moderators – who are in control of their national forums, and make sure all communications within them adhere to the forum rules.
  • National Coordinators[12] – are in charge of selecting which teams from their nations enter the SoccerProject Champions League and the SoccerProject UEFA Cup.

SoccerProject Football Association

In order to counter server costs and other expenses, SoccerProject allows its users to support the game financially, and become virtual members of the SoccerProject Football Association. Such will not improve the quality of the team or make it perform better, but it will make the gaming experience more enjoyable. Those features include getting rid of publicitary ads, assigning nicknames and choosing squad numbers for players, issuing press announcements, getting a trophy cabinet, and more.

The community

Being first released in Belgium, the game's initial user base came from there. For a long time, this had been the largest nation in terms of registered managers, until being surpassed by the Czech Republic, which now boasts 11000+ users.[13] Other nations with a considerable number of users within the game, and with a heavy presence within the SP community, include Romania, Slovakia, Poland, Lithuania[14] and The Netherlands. Occasionally (often once every year) users from those nations will organize national meetings and reunite.[15]

References
  1. WorldOnlineGames. "SoccerProject". WorldOlineGames. Retrieved 23 April 2008.
  2. Passe-Partout (2006). "Virtuele voetbalhelden op echte grasmat". Passe-Partout (in Dutch).
  3. Flags refer to the nations to which users have registered their teams. These may or may not correspond to the actual nationality/place of residence of such users.
  4. Huypens, Steven (6 December 2007). "20 seasons Division A". SoccerProject Behind the scenes. Retrieved 23 April 2008.
  5. Huypens, Steven (11 October 2007). "SoccerProject Cup S19". SoccerProject Behind the scenes. Retrieved 23 April 2008.
  6. Team Chelsea champion has changed his flag (nationality) from Ukrainian to Bulgarian
  7. Team S.A.T has changed his flag (nationality) from Belgian to Australian
  8. Gones, Les (3 October 2007). "V-Bal Special: Soccerproject" (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 April 2008.
  9. Van Der Maele, Stijn. "Sp Champions League - Rules". SoccerProject FIFA. Retrieved 23 April 2008.
  10. Van Der Maele, Stijn. "Sp Uefa - Rules". SoccerProject FIFA. Retrieved 23 April 2008.
  11. Huypens, Steven (15 October 2007). "Beta-tester: Job Description". SoccerProject Behind the scenes. Retrieved 13 June 2008.
  12. Van Der Maele, Stijn. "Soccerproject Uefa". SoccerProject FIFA. Retrieved 24 August 2008.
  13. Velghe, Frederik (30 July 2007). "Online voetballers komen samen in Gent". Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 April 2008.
  14. Giedrius, Aivaronis (September 2007). "Kur Ieškoti Internete". Computer Bild Lietuva (in Lithuanian): 36.
  15. Van Der Elsken, Sarah (13 August 2007). "Voetbalspel verovert Oost-Europa". Gazet van Antwerpen (in Dutch).
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