Beyond the Sideline Football NFL management sim coming in 2015
Beyond the Sideline Football is a management simulation game like the ever-popular Football Manager series, due out in 2015 for PC, Mac and Linux. Unlike Football Manager, the game is centered on a different sport: American football. Coming from Out of the Park Developments, the creators of the excellent Out of the Park Baseball management series as well as Title Bout Championship Boxing 2013, the game will include all 32 NFL teams and their current roster of players.
Like other management sims, the game has players managing their team's depth chart, simulate matches for decades and call every play in individual games. Additionally, players can bring their favorite teams to fortune (or run them into the ground) by negotiating contracts, participating in the annual player draft and make trades to better their franchise's future. OOTP Developments is boasting "nearly 50 tracked stats" for the game's virtual athletes as well as "complete histories" and automatically-generated news and stories to build the game's sporty universe.
Beyond the Sideline has another connection to Football Manager, as former Sports Interactive developer Francis Cole is the lead developer on the project.
[Image: Out of the Park Developments]
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Get Ready For the Kickoff!
Beyond the Sideline Football Announced
Last week's Out of the Park Baseball 15 announcement wasn't all we had planned - Today, just in time for this Sunday's big game between the Seahawks and the Broncos, we're unveiling the latest addition to our excellent lineup of sports management games - Beyond the Sideline Football.
BTS Football is being created by lead developer Francis Cole, who previously worked on Football Manager at Sports Interactive and joined Out of the Park Developments in October. He is a lifelong football fan and even created a football simulation as part of his college studies.
"I've known Francis since my days working at Sports Interactive," says OOTP Developments co-founder Markus Heinsohn. "He is a tremendously talented programmer who knows American football as well as anyone I've ever met and he has been working on his own football gaming projects for years. I am convinced that his skills, combined with our experience creating award-winning sports management games, will result in an amazing American football game which will bolster our product lineup for years to come."
"Having known Markus from our time at Sports Interactive together, and playing OOTP every year since, I was delighted at the opportunity to bring my football game to OOTP Developments," says Beyond the Sideline lead developer Francis Cole. "Beyond the Sideline will be an amazing American football GM game, thanks to technology such as FaceGen, releasing on PC/Mac/Linux, and having an existing code base that enables players to easily customize their leagues."
Beyond the Sideline Football will reach Beta in about a year, with a shipping date sometime in 2015. The game will offer these features:
A realistic modern day American football experience with all current rules and regulations.
All 32 real American football teams with their real players and current rosters.
A realistic 2D game engine that represents all the action on the field, with the ability to call plays and watch them unfold, complete with the roar of the crowd and other sound effects.
You dictate the action on the field: Set depth charts and develop strategies around your preferred style of play.
FaceGen support allows realistic images of all players.
A complete box score for every game played in the league during its history, so you can always look back on thrilling victories and agonizing defeats.
The ability to sim decades into the future and watch teams' fortunes rise and fall as dynasties emerge, crumble, and eventually renew themselves.
You call the shots from the front office: Participate in the draft for your team every spring; trade players; and negotiate contracts with draft picks and free agents.
All of the (non-playable) Division I colleges as well as many more, with real players, so you can draft the next crop of superstars every year.
A living, breathing world full of news articles from around the league and a message system that lets you field offers from other GMs and hear what your players have to say.
Complete histories, including stats, transactions, injuries, and contracts, for all players who have participated in a training camp during the past decade.
Nearly 50 tracked stats, allowing you to go beyond the usual numbers and dig deep into players' performance.
Each player features a Health Scan that lets you quickly assess their current situation by showing you which areas of their body are hurt, which areas are okay, and which ones are worn.
Customization options, including the ability to change team names, the number of teams, the league structure, the league's country, and a variety of settings.
Many benefits from utilizing the OOTP code base, like the user-friendly interface, online league support, HTML output, customizable text database and much more!
We know you're excited about this news, and we're ready to start receiving your questions and look forward to your feedback. Help us make the football management game you've always wanted!
The official BTS Football forum is now open for business - and be sure to check out the handy FAQ!
The official BTS Football Twitter account is now live too. The Facebook page will be coming soon.
Look for more information in the coming months, including additional features, screenshots, and more.
And by the way, why not shorten the time to the next BTS news with some OOTP 15, which you can still pre-order (with a chance to win fantastic prizes) here: OOTP 15 pre-order details
