Zezo forum:

Post by TSIONA | 2009-06-29 | 17:29:56

I can't understand:
It seems so easy for you to implement new features, like changing winds update time from 12:00 to 08:00 or to add boat polars for each of the popular virtual race. So Wwhy not, please explain to us this in your own forum. what happened ?
Sorry to be honest. I just wonder (thinking loudly) whether you have been not contacted by United Games or Many Players not to spoil their games by the mean of your simple but very effective software.
Thanks - Thierry

3 Comments

Post by zezo | 2009-06-29 | 22:34:41

I'm just too burned out from the initial effort and need a bit more time to get to full speed. It's been 2 months 12 hours/day writing code and answering emails.

And it has been somehow quick and dirty job in the first place, with some shortcuts here and there and needs partial rewrite to implement more than one race at the same time - like every database table needs race and leg ID. The wind change is hardcoded in too many places and not really trivial to update and test in few days, so the currently running races are out of reach.

There is one more problem - the donation-based model does not work very well (especially for the amount of effort required to support many races). It will be almost full-time job for a while and the current 500 EUR donation amount in 2 months is less than the minimum wage, so there is need of some kind of subscription - based extras (with free basic functions, whatever that means)

But I've already put too much effort into this project and will develop it for a bit more time before giving up :)

That's the story. And don't forget that I was away from computers for 12 days and that was the reason for not answering questions.

Progress towards new races can be expected in 2 or 3 weeks, probably for whatever race comes after Tour De France.

Post by Vigilante | 2009-06-30 | 03:55:05

For a product already as professional, useful and user-friendly as Sail-Sim, I think we will all be patient. And I'll start budgeting $$ because there's no such thing as a free launch, eh?

Post by TSIONA | 2009-06-30 | 09:08:54

I wrote myself code something like 20 years ago, and i know very well the effort needed to "close" a package and to release it with a calm and serene mind. But at least i got my salary at the end of the month!
You volontarily have developed Sail Sim for the community of virtual sailors. Maybe because, like i feel, this community is some king of an international and large brotherhood around the pleasure of sailing. It is, by the way, something that need to be analysed...
That you have to keep in mind is the fact that this community represents a potential of maybe hundred of thousands players. They use every possible tools to improve their scores (Vrtool,Sail Sim, RouteOptimizer...).Thats means finally and in my own opinion that they could pay 20 euros for a subscription to Sail Sim.
A quick calculation shows that this might be more than a salary...
No free launch, no free lunch !