Planetarium Football Star

Infobox VG
title = Footstar.org


developer = Planetarium Games
designer = Planetarium Games
version = Beta stage
released = October 30, 2006
genre = MMOG
modes = Multiplayer
platforms = WWW
media = Website
requirements = HTML-compatible web browser, Macromedia Flash Player (Optional Features)

FootStar (Full name Planetarium Football Star, affectionately called FS) is an online, browser-based, football simulation game (MMOG) where the user is in control of a soccer player, training and playing with other players (either human-controlled or computer-controlled (bots)) in order to achieve success. FootStar was released on October 30th, 2006 and is currently in its 6th season. The game is provided in 66 countries and 31 different languages [http://www.footstar.org Footstar main page] , and has currently about 30,000 users.

FootStar is the second project of the Planetarium Games team. [http://planetariumgames.com/footstar.html Planetarium Games description of Footstar] It is completely free to play although there is an optional "FS Fan" service which can be bought in-game after registration and consists of Silver membership and Gold membership. No real in-game advantages are given, but a set of extra options and access to different aspects of the game is instead provided to the paying users. [http://www2.footstar.org/manual.asp?section=20#sec20 Footstar's Manual, section 25]

As the game is still in its beta stage the Administrators are constantly on the lookout for bugs and possible improvements.

Basics

Registration

After an user registers in the game, his registration is reviewed by one of the game's Super-Moderators. Validation by the SM is required as to prevent cheating and to make sure registrations are reliable. The validation process takes from hours to several days, but normally no more than three days. After the registration process, and providing the account has been validated, a user will have the option to choose control of a player with zero skills, from a list of available ones. Each player has its own specific name and face, that cannot be changed afterwards.

Gameplay

Each player (user-controlled or not) has its own specific skills, that, in the case of the human-controlled players, can be improved by training. Training sessions take place automatically 3 times a day, and the skills selected by the user are trained on those sessions. As a skill is trained, it improves; each skill begins at level 0 and can reach as high as level 20.Skills affect how well a player plays during matches. Matches are effectively simulations of a real football match, with, as of March 2008, all football rules implemented, except off-sides and injury time. The match simulator is currently under work for a future version that will include those rules, as well as player injuries.

Each player can either be contracted to a human-controlled team, a bot-controlled team, or none at all. Being on a team can potentially help the player improve faster, as he will have a salary (with which he can buy items or a personal trainer) and team-based training sessions, that boost skill improvements.

Other activities the user can partake in, amongst others, include:

* Buying in-game items for his player such as mobile phones and clothes in order to improve the lifestyle of the player;
* Making comments to the press about other players or interacting directly with them;
* Interacting with other users on the in-game forums.

Teams and League Pyramid

Teams play in their own countries league-pyramid; as of March 2008, there are no international club competitions.Human-controlled teams have effectively a human manager, and, if the manager wants it so, one or more assistants. They effectively control everything in the team, from contracts to the tactics and players used in a match. Team-controlling is, although, one of the paid-only options, meaning only paying users can be team managers.

National Teams and World Cups

Each country has a national federation (with an user-elected president) and three national teams (senior, under-21 and under-18). Each federation names its teams' managers and the managers elect the best players of their country to take part in the national team matches. Every season there is a under-21 and under-18 World Cup, and every three seasons there is a senior World Cup. Nations qualify to the World Cup by participating on a pre-WC qualification period, that, in the case of the senior teams, is divided into regional qualifications - the World is divided into three main regions, Europe, Americas and Africa, Asia and Oceania.

easons

Each game season takes 16 weeks to complete. Each season corresponds to a game year, and players age according to how many seasons they have played.

Community

FootStar has currently about 30,000 registered users, in 66 different countries. These users can interact with each other using several options made available to them in-game: internal messages, team-talks (between members of the same team) or the in-game forum system.

FootStar uses FIFA membership to decide whether a country is eligible to exist in the game or not. Aside from that, countries are also are divided into three main areas: "Americas", "Europe", and "Africa, Asia and Oceania". These groups play a role as they are used in continental qualification for the game's World Cup of nations.

New countries are added to the game whenever there is sufficient interest (that can be demonstrated by new users registering in countries other than their own or by contact with the Administrators). After a new country is created players in the game wishing to move to it, providing it is their country of residence, can do so by using an in-game form.

External links

* [http://www.footstar.org Planetarium Football Star]

References