Future of the GC: Part 1

The GC has come a long way in a relatively short amount of time. Less than two years ago, almost no one had heard of it let alone used it. As of today, this GC website, which is only about 6 weeks old, has had over 1700 page views. 

This doesn’t even count the thousands of page views for GC-related content on the APBA Between the Lines forum or the 3000+ views of videos on the the GC and GCRB channels. Now, I realize these numbers are paltry by any commercial standard, but the GC is by design for an extremely niche audience. I’ve never had an interest in monetizing this product. It is strictly a labor of love.

Many of you have expressed your appreciation, and for that I am grateful. Others, I know, have been less impressed and that’s OK. The GC is not for everyone; nor is the APBA Golf Master Game.

Recently, I have been following another APBA-related thread about ATMgr, a software program that allows you to replay entire seasons using actual schedules, rosters, and lineups with Baseball for Windows (BBW). The discussion has been illuminating for me. 

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with ATMgr, it is a bear to set up correctly and comes with documentation that leaves a lot to be desired. I liken it to air travel these days. When everything goes right, it’s amazing! But when you run into problems, you wish you’d never begun the journey. Unfortunately, the creator of ATMgr passed away many years ago, so users are pretty much stuck with what they’ve got. 

There seem to be two camps of players who are interested in doing these season replays: those that love the convenience of having the computer handle almost everything and those that love holding APBA player cards in their hands, shaking the dice, and looking up play results on cards and boards. 

Those in the first camp might take a couple of months or more to set up ATMgr just the way they want it, then play out the season in days or weeks–letting the computer manage most games, while they manage a favorite team or two.  

Those in the latter camp may take 6 months to 6 years to do a replay by hand–depending on whether they want to simulate just a few teams’ schedules or the entire major leagues. Think about that. Six years to do a replay. That’s love, or dedication, or obsession, or something.

All this has got me to thinking: Are there people out there that have that same level of interest in APBA Golf replays or tournaments? I believe there are, but with a couple of notable exceptions most of them don’t seem to be GC users. Or, at least I don’t hear from them. I suppose they already had their established ways of doing things before the GC ever came along and don’t see a need to change. That’s fine. I get it.

I do know from personal experience that the GC does make it possible to play the Master Game much quicker (especially since version 4) without losing the feel of the cards or the fun of looking up PRN’s. What it lacks, though, is a computerized opponent similar to the micromanagers in BBW. (Yes, APBA actually calls them micromanagers.)

I’m wondering how others would feel about having a GC with built-in AI? It would undoubtedly be a lot of work to create. Is there enough demand for it?

Zoom-play is another option for those who like to compete against someone other than themselves but don’t have friends who are into APBA Golf. I’ve played this way a lot, and it works great!

With a Zoom account, two people can videoconference hours and hours for free. All you have to do is schedule a Meeting and send out an email invitation. (FaceTime works too, but I’ve had connectivity problems with that.)

You can cut your tournament and replay time in half if two people are playing. With a paid Zoom account, you could even have three or four players online at once.

Let’s say you’re interested in this but don’t know anyone else who plays APBA Golf. Would it be useful if I set up a page on this website where others could connect and find playing partners? 

These are just a couple of the ideas I’ve been bouncing around. Please share your thoughts in the Comments below. The likelihood of me acting on these things is highly dependent on the feedback I get.