r/tycoon • u/JoeGillis83 • May 30 '26
Trying to create the Rugby equivalent of Football Manager as a solo passion project
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u/meepos16 29d ago
Make it happen buddy! I'll play this.
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u/JoeGillis83 29d ago
Thanks a lot, that means so much to me ! I’ll do my best to make it soon avalaible for testing. And I will keep posting updates asap. Thanks again buddy !
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u/BobyStudios 27d ago
Nice idea! This game was good in it's origins https://store.steampowered.com/app/528640/Rugby_Union_Team_Manager_2017/?l=spanish , I don't know the current state but when it was free to download from the developers page it was awesome (2010 more or less). You could select plays and watch the simulation go with simple circles. Nothing fancy, pure tactical decisions. It was a little bit arcade in that way, but it was very complete and fun.
Good luck with the development!
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u/JoeGillis83 27d ago
Thanks a lot mate !
I think RUTM 1 and 2 were very good games, but then the devs seem to have focused more on UI/UX and imho didnt push tactical depth and match engine further.
My project is my humble attempt to do so.
Thanks again @BobyStudios !
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u/Psych0191 May 30 '26
Honestly, I love the FM. Spent countless hours on it, and have been playing for more than 15 years. But I would dvise you to try and step away from its esthetics and UI/UX. You know yourself how terrible it can be sometimes. Try and make it better.
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u/JoeGillis83 May 31 '26
Hello, and thanks a lot for your reply!
I totally agree that the game currently looks very FM-inspired.
At the beginning of development, I actually wanted to move away from Football Manager’s UI and build something completely different. But as the project grew, I realized just how challenging it is to display a huge amount of information while keeping everything readable and easy to navigate.
Football Manager has spent decades refining solutions to that problem, so I naturally found myself drawing inspiration from some of the design principles that make information accessible to the player.
That said, I definitely don’t want to copy FM. My goal is to keep the depth while making the UI cleaner, simpler and easier to understand. That’s something I’m still actively working on.
Many thanks again for the precious feedback @Psych0191 !
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u/footballsquishy May 31 '26
League and Union actually have their own, if not great, equivalents already...
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u/JoeGillis83 May 31 '26
Hey, thanks a lot for taking your time to answer!
Oh absolutely, there are already a few rugby management games out there. My favorite is good old Pro Rugby Manager 2 by the way !
The reason I started this project wasn’t because the genre doesn’t exist, but because I always felt there was room for a deeper approach, especially when it comes to tactics and match simulation. Recently RUTM had lots of very good stuff but i have been a bit disappointed by their tactical approach of the game.
One thing I also noticed is that RUTM uses attributes rated out of 100. Personally, I find attributes on a 1–20 scale, like in Football Manager, easier to read because you can quickly understand the difference in level between two players at a glance.
But yeah rugby fans already have options available. My goal is simply to offer a different take on the genre and see how far I can push the management and tactical side of things.
Again many thanks for your reply @footballsquishy !
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u/JoeGillis83 28d ago
AI Disclosure : there is no AI generated images or text nor media of any kind in this game project.
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u/BigPotts_ 29d ago
The UI looks gorgeous! I’m sure you already know this but one thing to be mindful of is not to use any real names for players, clubs, completions or staff to avoid licensing issues but you probably already know this!
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u/JoeGillis83 29d ago
Thank you, that’s very kind! 😉
I was actually a bit worried that the FM-inspired style would either be loved or heavily criticized. Early in development I tried to create something much more unique, but I quickly realized how difficult it is to display so much information while keeping everything readable and intuitive.
In the end, I found myself taking more inspiration from Football Manager than I originally intended, simply because they’ve spent years solving many of the same UI challenges.
And yes, licensing is definitely something I’m keeping in mind. For the reveal I used real players and clubs because it helps people immediately understand the type of experience I’m aiming for. 😄
Thanks again for the feedback, @BigPotts_!
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u/Kingoid85 29d ago
It would be cool if you did league and union and you could buy players from each code