OOTP Developments Announces Beyond the Sideline Football

OOTP Developments today introduced Beyond the Sideline Football, the latest franchise in its ever-growing lineup of sports management games. The game is currently in development by Francis Cole, a former Sports Interactive programmer who worked on Football Manager and who is a lifelong NFL fan.

“I’ve known Francis since my days working for Sports Interactive,” said OOTP Developments co-founder Markus Heinsohn. “He is a tremendously talented programmer who knows American football as well as anyone I’ve ever met. He has also been working on his own football gaming projects for years. I am convinced that his skills, combined with our experience creating excellent 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,” said 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 isn’t expected to reach Beta for 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 2D 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.

* FaceGen support allows realistic images of all players.

* You dictate the action on the field: Set depth charts and develop strategies around your preferred style of play.

* 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.

* A realistic sim engine whose creation was informed by 15 years of experience developing OOTP’s sim engine

* 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.

* A clear, clean interface that lets you easily find the information you need.

* 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.