What's next for iGP Manager?
By Jack Basford
Last updated: Tue, 23 May 2017 16:55
Time flies! My last blog was before the launch of the iGP Manager apps. Everything has been moving at breakneck speed since then. In less than two months the apps have been installed over 150,000 times and we’ve been working tirelessly on improvements based on your feedback.
For this blog, I’m going to give you some insight in to what we’re currently focused on and what is coming to iGP Manager in the months ahead. Many of these features won't be ready for a few weeks, but we'd love to begin hearing some of your ideas and suggestions at this early stage.
Work-In-Progress: New cross-platform 3D Livery Editor
As many of you know, the current livery editor requires unity web player, so it only runs in some desktop browsers. This editor is from the original 2011 iGP Manager browser game and hasn’t yet been converted in the process of making iGP Manager cross-platform.
We recently resumed work on a new livery editor which will run on Android and iOS. It will also run in all modern browsers using WebGL, removing the need for any plugins. The new livery editor will feature your car in full 3D shown in your team garage, adding a new dimension to the experience (shown in the screenshot above).
Higher resolution visuals in-app
We are also looking at ways to improve the resolution of visuals in the apps for high-definition circuit maps and more crisp images particularly when zooming so you can see it in richer detail.
Better league management tools
To improve the organisation tools for hosts of leagues and improve communication between league hosts and participants, we're going to be adding some new features. There will be a poll system, a league mailing system for hosts, a welcome mail and an auto-kick feature to remove inactive people from leagues. We hope to add this in June.
Stability updates
Meeting the sheer demand for iGP Manager was initially challenging for our tiny team of three developers. After several performance updates the service is running extremely well on the vast majority of devices. While we are happy with the progress that has been made, we continue to seek improvements in stability or performance all the time to improve your experience.
Looking further ahead: Casual races
Longer-term, in a few months, we plan to add a casual race system which will provide an alternative to racing in leagues. This will let players race any time outside of the league schedule. We understand this is an anticipated feature so we’ll start working on it as soon as other projects are complete. An exact roadmap or date for this feature is not possible at this time, but I want to reassure everyone that we are going to add it when we can.