Popular games for collection Anstoss

2000 wurde mit Anstoss 3 die zweite Fortsetzung veröffentlicht. Innerhalb eines Jahres verkaufte es sich mehr als 200.000 Mal. Von den Spielemagazinen wurde es mit guten Wertungen bedacht (z. B. PC Player 87 %, Gamestar 88 %, PC Games 86 %). Jedoch war es zu Beginn geradezu gefüllt mit Bugs, was von der Spielergemeinde kritisiert wurde. Dennoch wurde es von den Anstoss-Fans mit Begeisterung aufgenommen, da es die wichtigsten Elemente von Anstoss 2 Gold enthielt und diese noch weiter vertiefen konnte. Als besonders gelungen gilt die 3D-Spieldarstellung. Der Spieler konnte sich ein komplettes Spiel seines Teams reduziert auf neun Minuten ansehen. Auch der Szenenmodus galt als revolutionär, da die Szenen nicht, wie in den Vorgängerteilen, vorberechnet wurden. Kommentiert wurden die Spielszenen durch den bekannten Fußballkommentator Günther Koch. Auch neu war die Umsetzung des Vereinsgeländes. Von Apfelbäumen über Konditionsparcours und Doping-Labor bis hin zu Wolkenkratzern konnte der Spieler sein Vereinsgelände mit Gebäuden, Gegenständen und Lebewesen mit und ohne Nutzen erweitern. Mit der Veröffentlichung des finalen Patches auf Version 1.40 wurde es nahezu bugfrei und konnte die Anstoss-Spieler überzeugen. Insgesamt wurden bis heute über eine Million Exemplare von Anstoss 3 verkauft und machen es damit zu einem der erfolgreichsten PC-Spiele Deutschlands. Trotz seines Alters wird Anstoss 3 durch die große Spieltiefe zusammen mit einem gelungenen Text- und 3D-Modus als bester Teil der Anstoss-Reihe angesehen. Dass Anstoss 3 auch heute noch sehr beliebt ist, hängt auch mit dem Multiplayermodus zusammen. So wird es bis zu 4 Spielern ermöglicht, im Netzwerk gegeneinander anzutreten.

One year after Anstoss 4, an error-corrected and extended version of Anstoss 4 was published with Anstoss 4 Edition 03/04. The text and 3D modes have been completely revised and made clearer and more user-friendly. Buyers of the previous version were offered an inexpensive exchange for the new edition. This edition was considered a kind of compensation for the fans; shortly before Christmas 2003, Ascaron released a free fan patch that integrated some of the features requested by fans into the game.

This is an unusual take on the football management game, which features virtually no statistics. Up to four managers can join in, to lead their chosen team through the World Cup, from qualifying to the actual tournament. Tactics and training are hugely important due to the game's short time frame. The players each have individual personalities, and these have been factored in during the game. Sometimes players will drink too much, fall in love, or have personality clashes with their team-mates or with you, all of which have to be factored in. The press will ask you loaded questions, so be careful how you answer.

In 1997 Anstoss 2 was published. It was convincing with its wit, complexity, 2D scene mode and text mode. Good sales figures and good ratings (e.g. GameStar 83%) confirm this. The menu navigation of the game changed completely. Now there was a bar in the lower part of the screen, which led the player through the individual screens. Anstoss 2 specialized again completely in the job of the club manager. The developers took some of the weaknesses from Anstoss 1 and improved them. The opportunity to train in the 2nd Bundesliga and the then regional league (north, north-east, south, south-west) and in other countries (England, France, Italy, Spain) was particularly well received. In addition, the game was now playable indefinitely, which was very popular with the players. There was also a new game mode: "real managerial career". While in the soccer managers the player always had to choose his team himself before, when choosing this game mode, some rather weaker teams were thrown out with which the player could negotiate a coaching position. This game mode was seen as quite realistic and can be found in every competitive manager game these days.

Anstoss 4, which appeared exclusively on DVD in 2002, could no longer build on the success of its predecessor. The game had to be completely reimplemented because the code of Anstoss 3 was considered too confused to be able to use it. This, as well as the short development time of only 12 months, meant that the program suffered from a large number of bugs that made it almost unplayable. Furthermore, the text and 3D mode was seen as too weak by the fan base and the manufacturer Ascaron was asked to make significant improvements. The manufacturer decided not to fix the program errors with patches, but rather to bring a new, revised manager onto the market based on Anstoss 4. Anstoss 4 is therefore considered to be the worst part of the Anstoss series, as it could not shine through playability, realism, or wit. Although the new database system, which now contained 145 countries, to which four leagues could be added, was praised by the manufacturer, it tended to cause very long waiting times, which massively delayed the game. Anstoss 4 differed from its predecessors not least in that the two main developers Gerald Köhler and Rolf Langenberg left the Ascaron team and switched to the competition from EA Sports to develop the soccer manager series there. Since then, the fan community has also split into two camps. Ascaron was sued by its competitor Electronic Arts for license infringement shortly before the publication of Anstoss 4 and had to crush the entire CD production and change all player names.

With Anstoss Action, a football simulation followed in 2001, the data of which can be integrated into Anstoss 3 to Anstoss 3 Action or A3 Action for short (comparable to EA Sports' “Football Fusion” technology). However, Anstoss Action could not really prevail against the competition from Electronic Arts and caused Ascaron's financial difficulties due to high development costs, which culminated in the first bankruptcy.

In 2004, a revised version of Anstoss Edition 03/04 was published again. In addition to a new user interface, a significantly improved AI and an extended text mode, numerous other changes (e.g. an improved transfer area) have been made. The changes were not visible at first glance, however, and so Anstoss 2005 was only considered a Kick Edition in new colors. Ascaron's goal, however, was mainly to attract new fans for future projects. Many ideas from Anstoss 4 were improved, but not fully developed. It is also possible here to buy a club and take over the presidency, but it is hardly possible to celebrate success here. The transfer market is also considered to be rather unrealistic, as 4 clubs always apply for a player.

In mid-2005, Ascaron announced Anstoss 2006. However, as the release was delayed, the game was renamed Anstoss 2007. On August 11, 2006, Anstoss 2007 was released, which corresponds to Anstoss 2006 except for the changed name, in an anniversary edition that contains some of the series' predecessors (Anstoss 2 Gold, Anstoss 3, Anstoss Action and Anstoss 4 Edition 03/04). The announcement by the developers to expand the text mode, revise the transfer market and reintegrate the popular network mode, which is designed for up to 64 players, was well received. However, the deletion of a national coach mode and a hot seat mode were received negatively. On January 30, 2007, after 5 patches, the work on Kick 2007 was officially stopped. Despite bitter criticism from the community because of remaining bugs and missing functions (described in the manual), Ascaron decided to take this step due to a lack of financial and human resources.