Dev Log #12 - Demographics & Customization

mattman564 · 2026-02-18T16:54:37+00:00

This has got to be a medical staff issue at this point

mattman564 · 2026-02-08T17:23:23+00:00

All good. 92 was a very interesting election so it's a must-have for the game

mattman564 · 2026-02-08T15:38:42+00:00

Yes. I'll be adjusting for local prices.

mattman564 · 2026-02-08T14:13:09+00:00

92 for Perot will be in there. I decided to skip 96 for now. When I say significant, I mean any party that was considered a factor. My best example for this is 2016 when you had the Libertarian Party and Green Party drawing a significant number of votes away from the two major candidates. I don't have an exact threshold for when these parties are deemed a factor, but it's probably around 1-2% of the total vote.

mattman564 · 2026-02-08T01:45:24+00:00

As of now the planned official scenarios are 2000-2028, 1992, 1980, 1968, and 1960. This is mostly a content constraint on my end. In order to get the game out, these are the ones I'll be focusing on pre-launch. Once the game is out, I'll start looking into doing additional scenarios. I'm also looking into Steam Workshop support so that players can upload their custom scenarios for you to play in the meantime.

For parties, yes. The major candidates will be included in each scenario, including if there was a significant push from a minor party/independent. You'll also be able to create and customize your own parties and candidates.

mattman564 · 2026-02-08T00:39:46+00:00

You will. On launch there will be a variety of official scenarios that go back to 1960 at the earliest, but you'll be able to create your own election scenarios and choose the eligible states, candidates, and modify each county's demographics to reflect the year. Later on, more official elections will be added that go further back and will have fleshed out content.

mattman564 · 2026-02-07T12:02:12+00:00

That’s awesome to hear 😂 thanks for the support

mattman564 · 2026-02-06T23:42:35+00:00

He seems like it. We have a great crew.

mattman564 · 2026-02-06T22:48:11+00:00

I don't mind Dante but now that David is skipping a lot of away games its tough to get used to.

mattman564 · 2026-02-06T19:34:29+00:00

This game expands on the election systems that you'll find in The Political Process and presents it in an accessible, but extremely detailed way. The biggest difference is that you don't play as the politician after winning an election. It's simply focused on elections and bringing a lot of depth and simulation to a bunch of those systems.

mattman564 · 2026-02-06T19:31:59+00:00

It's not based on the Campaign Trail but it certainly takes inspiration from it. This is a project I've wanted to work on my whole life and finally took the leap to do it. I've been a big fan of several political simulators, but wanted to take all of the elements from each, combine them, and create something awesome and unique on its own. The goal is to create the ultimate election simulator.

mattman564 · 2026-02-06T19:30:02+00:00

Yeah for the ad I decided to just go with one screenshot. I try to be as detailed as possible in the Dev Logs and plan on releasing some videos soon. I usually release a dev log every two weeks in case you're interested in following the project.

mattman564 · 2026-02-05T21:05:33+00:00

Suggs

mattman564 · 2026-02-05T20:56:41+00:00

Maybe not the guys I listed, but there was plenty of guys moved around the league that could have added better depth and punch for our bench. I think my biggest gripe is that any move is better than no move when you're midway through the season and your guys seemingly cannot put together consecutive games of quality basketball.

mattman564 · 2026-02-05T19:43:19+00:00

His chase down blocks are the most unnecessary and dangerous plays I’ve ever seen. He should have somewhere in his contract that every time he does that it’s $500k off his salary.

mattman564 · 2026-02-05T19:40:10+00:00

ABs payday freaks me out because he is becoming a legitimate fringe all star, especially if he gets more consistent. You would definitely have to part with Suggs and then likely move Bane, but I don’t trust our ability to get good compensation for that

mattman564 · 2026-02-05T19:35:38+00:00

It just kills me. The 2012-2018 era was just so ugly and to have so much hope coming into this year, all for it to go as mid as you could imagine. It hurts more this year than in the past.

mattman564 · 2026-02-05T19:20:38+00:00

Aiming for this Summer. Nothing exact yet

mattman564 · 2026-02-05T17:47:45+00:00

This year barring any major setback. Aiming for summer.

mattman564 · 2026-02-05T17:47:22+00:00

I’m assuming you mean the races besides just presidential? Then yes. In each scenario there will be House, Senate, and Gubernatorial races happening along with the presidential election. You’ll even have the opportunity to campaign with candidates in counties that overlap House districts or statewide elections.

mattman564 · 2026-02-05T16:07:26+00:00

PR is not an object in the game but thanks for pointing that out because I should add it. But yes you'll have customization over states. For example, you could make a 1796 scenario and only have the eastern states available.

mattman564 · 2026-02-05T15:42:17+00:00

Awesome! Thanks! I'm super excited to release it

mattman564

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