Ultimate Europe

From all at Ultimate Europe we would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

You may have to wait longer than usual to receive your report back at the moment as several games were delayed due to the seasonal post but don't worry most of the next deadlines are not until the first week of January.

Improvements - We have added another batch of game improvements:

Player Scouting - You can now request your scouts to look for a player in a certain position for you. The instruction should be entered in the Actions section as follows:

'PS' and the the position to look for. Eg 'PS' 'AM' = Player search Anchor Man.

Your scouts will then begin to look for a suitable undiscovered player. Please note that results are not guaranteed and that you can only have one search going on at any one time.

Optional Reserve and Youth team management - You can now manage your reserve or youth team for an extra 50p per turn if you wish to (managing both will cost £1 per turn) Please note taht once you have made your request you will be in charge of the team until you resign.

To apply to manage your reserve team write 'Manage reserve team' in the Extra Prints section.

To resign from your reserve team write 'Resign reserve team' in the Extra Prints section.

To apply to manage your youth team write 'Manage youth team' in the Extra Prints section.

To resign from your youth team write 'Resign youth team' in the Extra Prints section.

Improvements - We have added the first batch of game improvements:

The European Super Cup - Played on turn 1 the game will feature the winners of the European and Uefa cups with the winner collecting £5,000,000.

The Charity Shield - Again played on turn 1, the FA cup winners take on the League winners.

End of season teams - The best performing players from the season make up the team of the season for your division and from the whole of the European leagues.

Postal thefts - Over the last month we have experienced a large amount of your MDS's going missing in the post. Royal Mail are now investigating the problem but in the meantime we need you to read these guidelines very carefully.

* Please do not send cash if at all possible (even notes are not safe) If you do need to then please send your envelope by recorded delivery.

* Cheques are the best form of payment as if your MDS doesn't get here then your money will be safe.

* If you have sent your MDS but your report comes back to you with a message from us stating we did not receive it or you have been deleted from the game please phone us. We will need you to report the loss with a Post Office form.

* Email your MDS to us if possible. Phone us for a password and make sure your team are in credit.

We would also like to hear from you if either of the following happen, please keep your envelope as proof.

* Your report is returned to you 1st class but arrives three days or more after the deadline.

* Your report is returned to you 2nd class but arrives five days or more after the deadline.

It is very important that we monitor any late or missing MDS's and reports as we hope this will help the Royal Mail identify the problem area and improve the service we all rely on. We can only do this with your co-operation so please help us to acieve this.

Game improvements - We have decided on the next game improvements following the questionnaire launched recently and have listed them below in priority.

1 Team of the season, Super Cup and Charity Shield.

2 Better scouting options.

3 Improvement to the match engine and more detailed match reports.

We have begun work on the changes and hope to be able to launch some soon.

Updated online rulebook- There is a scan of our updated rulebook for you to view online -click here.

Evaluate other teams- Now when you scout any other team from the 8 main leagues you will receive the players evaluations.

Codes for praising or criticising- You can use the following codes to praise or criticise your players or team:

Praise Player Attitude - PPA, Criticise Player Attitude - CPA, Praise Player League Performance - PPLP, Criticise Player League Performance - CPLP, Praise Player Cup Performance - PPCP, Criticise Player Cup Performance - CPCP, Praise Team League Performance - PTLP, Criticise Team League Performance - CTLP, Praise Team Cup Performance - PTCP, Criticise Team Cup Performance - CTCP.

To make any of the Actions a public statement please just add another "P" to the end of the code:

Praise Player Attitude Publicly - PPAP.

New Worldwide Statistics pages- We have added serveral new features to the Worldwide statistics page meaning you should receive a different sheet every turn. The new stats available are:

* Largest Stadium * Best average attendance * Highest weekly wage * Best average possession * Highest goalscoring team * Most expensive 1st 11 * Best goal per game ratio per team * Top average match rating for the 1st 11 * Top average overall ability for the 1st 11 * Top average positional values for the 1st 11 * Top player positional values *

Game price change- As of the 1st April 2005 the price for a standard turn in Ultimate Europe will rise from £2.00 to £2.20. As many of our existing members know this is the first time we have ever increased the basic cost of playing the game and the rise is really forced upon us by rising costs: As from the 6th April the Royal Mail are introducing their fourth and largest price increase in the last six years. We have absorbed the cost of all the previous rises but regret that we now have to raise the price of the game in accordance.

Game Improvements - We have completed another batch of game improvements which are highlighted below. You should have received a Changes sheet with your report detailing all of the additions for January. Please contact us if you have not.

Player and Manager Interaction - Each player now has his own unique personality and so player and manager interaction will become a big part of the game. You can communicate with your players and even fine them if you want to!

Player Confidence - Confidence is affected by many things but the important point to remember is that a player with low confidence can result in poorer perfomances and a possible loss of skill. However, confidence can be improved and by doing so skills and performances can also inprove.

Fitness - This should always be around 100% but if a player has just recovered from injury or has played too many games it will be lower. As it improves so will the player recover any lost points of Speed, Stamina or Control.

Trialists - Now every week you will receive a list of Trialist players at the end of your transfer list. These players will be available to your team that week only and you can sign them for nothing if you wish to.

Free weekly evaluations - Evaluations will be featured on your player statistics page at no extra charge. if you scout your youth or reserve teams you will now also receive their evaluations.

Form - We have added a recent form guide which is displayed within each divisional table.

Extra Actions and Extra Prints - We have increased the number of Actions and Extra Prints on your MDS from six to ten.

Prize money for youth and reserve teams - A £2,000,000 prize will be awarded if you win the youth/reserve 1st divsion and a £1,000,000 prize if you win the youth/reserve 2nd divsion.