With the upload of Version 1.0 the early access development cycle of Australian Football Coach 2020 has come to an end!
Version 1.0 is quite the update as well. Thanks to user feedback, a lot of bugs large and small have been patched. A common complaint was that the game was a little bit too random - a new database patch has replaced some of the database columns which were randomly rolled, such as player development, salaries, and leadership, with all new up to date data. Every team should be under the salary cap to start the game now as a result of this update.
Other bugs fixed include being able to pass in the draft and not being able to re-sign coaches. New features include an update to the draft screen, more refinements to AI list management, and smaller reserve teams. The game manual is nearly complete as well and should be done by the end of the weekend, which should better explain some of the in game concepts.
There's still a few things which will probably break or need to be fixed, and a hotfix is planned for early next week - but the biggest thing to come out of Version 1.0 is the end of the development cycle. Small bugs will still be patched here and there as they're discovered or reported, but the game is now feature-complete, and development will ramp up on new games unrelated to Aussie rules football. This is, in part, in order to try to create a sustainable video game income cycle: this game fills a very niche void - even rugby league managers have northern England as a market!
That being said, it's extremely likely there will be another Australian Football Coach. It's too early to tell whether this means a simple database update for 2021 or a completely new game, but one of the problems with sports management games: there's always something to add or make more realistic. A number of features didn't make it into this game that would be great to have, but I'm very happy with this game as it is and hope you enjoy it immensely.
A huge thank you to everyone who has been involved in the game so far - your willingness to provide feedback has created a better game. Whether you've joined the 100 hours club or have only played for a few minutes, thank you for being a part of the Australian Football Coach 2020 story.