DMB Update on Version 10

[Padres]

Guys, this is directly from the DMB forum:

http://dmbforum.yuku.com/topic/7146/t/G ... on-10.html

I know that many of you have been waiting for far too long for updates on version 10, let alone the actual release, and I must take responsibility for how things have developed. As most of you know, last year I turned the PC game over to Luke (for reasons both business and personal). That said, I must take full responsibility for the current unhappy situation. Deadlines and announcements have come and gone, and though that is not unusual for software, this could have – and should have – been handled better.

Therefore, we need to make some changes:

1. We will be focusing on improving our communication. Going forward, I have asked David Pyke (diesel) and Elan Gelbart (sposfan) to be the communications point men for all things DMB, allowing Luke to concentrate on the software.

2. We must make the purchasing process more efficient and less labor-intensive. Accordingly, we will be moving the entire DMB order fulfillment over to eLicense, one of the more popular online commerce systems. In fact, many of you have probably already purchased something via eLicense. The process is a bit complicated however, as we need to make sure all database information, particularly your order history, is properly transferred but setup is already underway. Switching to Elicense will not only make the process simpler and more efficient, it will also enable us to offer a trial version of DMB to potential new customers.

3. David Pyke will add customer support to his tech support responsibilities. In some sad news, we are bidding goodbye to Pat, the voice behind DMB. Pat has decided that she wanted to pursue other interests, and she will be sorely missed. We thank her for years of outstanding service. David Pyke, who has been handling tech support for the past 3 years, will now also handle customer support.

4. Version 10 will be released soon. With the above changes underway, Luke is now focusing all of his efforts on finishing version 10. He is doing some final testing and will announce the release date as soon as he has one, but the eLicense transfer will have to be completed as well.

5. The price of version 10 will be reduced. After comparing it to past DMB upgrades through the years, we determined that we should not charge as much as previous upgrades, especially since you all have had to wait so long. Instead, the price of version 10 will be $14.95.

6. We are also reducing the price of a new purchase of DMB software to $29.95. We hope that promoting a lower price will bring a new generation of baseball fans to try DMB.

7. Finally, we are exploring options for version 11. It’s clear that a new and more user-friendly UI is the next logical step, especially if we are to introduce Diamond Mind to a new generation of fans, and we are already in discussions with third parties who specialize in that area.

We appreciate your business and loyalty to DMB and trust that you accept both this apology and immediate changes as a way for all of us to wipe the slate clean and work together going forward.

Dayne Myers

Imagine Sports, Inc.

[Brewers]

Well, that is nice, but still nothing on a new projection disk. Sounds like 2010 is out, but 2011 it could return.

[Padres]

Do any of our technical GM's know if v. 10 will be compatible with the current v. 9 (plus patches)? In other words, if I buy it and load will I still be able to send in MPs that work in the IBC? Will I still be able to play H2H with other IBC GM's who remain on v. 9?

I want to [and plan to] continue to support DMB even though I miss their projections ... but am I just going to buy and have it sit in a drawer until the whole league moves to v. 10? I presume that one can't have both v. 9 and v. 10 on the same PC as I would guess v. 10 would override v.9 ...

At least it is relatively inexpensive ...

[Dodgers]

As I had suspected they were going to do, this eLicense that they're moving to offers a form of DRM which will likely prevent piracy of the application. Depending on release date, I think attempting to move to V10 for any league business for the 2010 season may be too short of a time frame. (Edit: http://dmbforum.yuku.com/topic/7148/t/L ... stion.html has information about the licensing process, confirms they will be using DRM)

Do any of our technical GM's know if v. 10 will be compatible with the current v. 9 (plus patches)? In other words, if I buy it and load will I still be able to send in MPs that work in the IBC? Will I still be able to play H2H with other IBC GM's who remain on v. 9?

I don't believe you will be able to generate v10 profiles that will import in v9, but I think that v9 profiles will be able to import into v10. Obviously don't quote me, but from what I understand about their forward/backwards compatibility in the past, I believe that is accurate. I don't think you will be able to play h2h across versions.

I want to [and plan to] continue to support DMB even though I miss their projections ... but am I just going to buy and have it sit in a drawer until the whole league moves to v. 10? I presume that one can't have both v. 9 and v. 10 on the same PC as I would guess

I think you'd be able to install both versions on the same computer, however I believe v10 would be useless from an IBC perspective until the league switches over.

That being said, I'm hopeful (though expecting to be disappointed) that the DMB API they've been touting will allow for generating DMB profiles straight from the website. The ability to do that would probably allow us to move to v10 much quicker, as everyone would be able to send profiles that don't have to be manually input into DMB by someone else (an annoyance of the past) and then h2h becomes a right afforded to those who legitimately purchase the software.

[Padres]

From Dayne on Yuku board:

Changes at DMB

Unfortunately, we have hit an unexpected new snag. Due to personal issues, David Pyke is no longer able to provide the technical and customer support necessary for DMB. This explains why you haven’t had much communication lately, but it also presents multiple complications: not only do we not have anyone to handle the technical support issues that inevitably arise with a new release, David was also charged with setting up the eLicense store for DMB. So, we’ve been trying to figure out what to do.

Though Luke handled tech support before we hired David, he cannot step in again now. The fact of the matter is that Luke now works part-time for Tom at the Red Sox and has been doing so for the past year. This is a large part of the reason why version 10 is so late. We could not tell you due to confidentiality requirements of the contract between us and the Red Sox, but Tom has now given permission to disclose this. We certainly did not want to deny Luke that opportunity, and he thought he could do that work and still get v10 done. However, it inevitably contributed to the lengthy delay in version 10, and it now prevents Luke from handling tech support. That’s a full-time job immediately after a new release, and Luke has already committed a majority of his time to the Red Sox through the end of the regular season. (Note: this arrangement allows time each fall for Luke to produce the annual season disk, so that is unaffected).

Pat has been part-time for awhile, as you know, and she has been working at another job that she likes a lot. She has an opportunity to go full-time at the job, but she has postponed that while continuing to do the manual fulfillment of DMB orders. However, she needs to switch to the other job full-time now, so she will no longer be able to do the manual orders. April 30 was her last day doing so. With the new automated store incomplete due to David’s departure, therefore, we needed to suspend all sales of DMB until the new store is ready. One of the IS online techs will take over David’s work on the store and has started working on that and expects to finish soon. When we have a clear ETA, we’ll let you know.

Luke says that version 10 is now ready. However, until we have someone to handle tech support, we cannot release version 10, even when we have a store. David has told us that there is a possibility his personal situation will improve soon, which would allow him to return. Nonetheless, he plans to return to school full-time in the fall, so we will eventually need someone in any case. Therefore, we are looking for someone to help with tech support at DMB. Given that Luke does not have time to provide extensive training, the new tech support person really needs to be someone who already knows the game. When we last posted for this role a few years ago, we had a number of applicants and are hoping someone from the community can take this on (or maybe a combination of time from two or three people).

If you’re interested, think you’re qualified, and are certain you can commit the time, please send your resume and qualifications to Luke (lkraemer@diamond-mind.com).

We apologize for yet another delay due to these unforeseen events and understand it is frustrating.

[WhiteSox]

Shawn, this is all you buddy!

[Giants]

If the guy who does the projections is working for the Red Sox and now they don't do projections anymore does this mean that the Red Sox are hoarding our projections and keeping them for themselves?

[Phillies]

Damn I hate the Red Sox.

[Astros]

Sounds like a bunch of monkeys could run DMB better

[Cardinals]

I don't really care about V10 to be honest. It was supposed to be out last year and wasn't and frankly I'm not expecting them to release it anytime soon, if at all. We don't really need it anyway, and unless ownership changes at Diamond Mind, I'm not expecting them to release a projection disc again. Our best bet going forward is sticking with V9C which everybody already has and then bugging the people at Baseball Prospectus to get Pecota into Diamond Mind. I had done that over the winter and there had been some talks of it apparently, and it seemed to have an optimistic tone for the future. Of course, that was a few months ago and I haven't talked to them lately about it since, but it was better than an absolute no from them.

It is a good sign though that they are opening this up for a few people in their community to carry on the project since the local yokels at the DMB forum are pretty hardcore intense about getting V10. Maybe there is room for some optimism that it's not just being handled within DMB's grasp anymore, but I'm not holding my breath.

[Dodgers]

Shawn, this is all you buddy!

Wish I had the time, but I don't even have enough to take care of you goons.

[Mets]

If the guy who does the projections is working for the Red Sox and now they don't do projections anymore does this mean that the Red Sox are hoarding our projections and keeping them for themselves?

It's obviously working well this year.