Cricket Manager - Devlog Entry #2

It has been nearly a year since the previous devlog. While progress moved slower than initially hoped, setbacks often offer the most valuable engineering lessons. The past few months involved extensive experimentation, identifying architectural bottlenecks, and recalibrating the project roadmap.

Key Engineering Lessons

1. Setting Realistic Scope & Milestones

Starting out, I envisioned an expansive cricket simulation packed with comprehensive features. As a solo developer, attempting to build a complex distributed simulation alongside an intricate UI from day one created unnecessary friction. Features became a hodgepodge of disparate patterns, resulting in technical debt that slowed down iteration speed.

2. Upfront Architectural Discipline

Without a strictly defined architectural roadmap, tasks were picked up in an ad-hoc fashion, spending disproportionate time on cosmetic elements while neglecting foundational domain models. This experience renewed my appreciation for disciplined software engineering practices, clean domain boundaries, and systematic milestone planning.

Starting with a Blank Canvas

To eliminate technical debt and establish long-term maintainability, I made the decision to rebuild Cricket Manager with a refined, modular architecture from the ground up.

I am also committing to sharing frequent devlog updates to maintain accountability and provide transparent insights for fellow indie developers.

What’s Next?

The upcoming weeks will center on implementing the core statistical match engine and player trait systems with clean test coverage before layering on user interface workflows.

Follow along on Twitter/X for regular development updates.