Development Update: March 2026
Football Franchise has been evolving rapidly over the past weeks — and this update is proof of just how much ground we've covered. From a full bilingual language system to legal compliance pages, from a redesigned responsive header to a brand-new blog, the game has taken some significant steps forward. Performance has been a major focus as well, with database query counts slashed dramatically across key pages. This post summarises the most important changes and improvements made during our March 2026 development sprint. More features and refinements are already in the pipeline!
🌍 Language System
- Full DE/EN language system with flag switcher added to the header
- Language selection persists across pages via cookie (
ff_lang) - After switching language, the user stays on the current page — no redirect to home
- All UI strings migrated to language keys in
lang/en.phpandlang/de.php
⚖️ Legal Pages
- Imprint (
imprint.php) fully rewritten — §5 TMG compliant, fully bilingual - Privacy Policy (
privacy.php) fully rewritten — 7 sections, Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR, Google Analytics, supervisory authority
📱 Responsive Header
- 5 breakpoints implemented: 1-row layout (≥1600px) down to 4-row layout (<600px)
- Dynamic header height via JS — content no longer overlaps the fixed header
- Fixed hamburger menu alignment at mid-range viewport widths
🏠 Start Page
- Screenshots gallery (2×2 grid) added below the game description
- Difficulty modal redesigned to match the site's shared modal style
- Trade Factor info button now uses the unified
.ff-info-btnstyle - Version bumped to
v1.0-20260331-beta, copyright year updated to 2026
⚡ Performance
game.php: 5 individual queries consolidated into 1 JOIN queryindex.php: ~550 queries reduced to ~10 (Money EOS, schedule loops, division standings)team.php: ~350 queries reduced to ~18 (aggregates, player stats, trade history)- DataTables sort bug fixed — JS was blocking click events on desktop viewports
This has been one of the most productive development sprints so far. With a solid foundation now in place — language system, legal compliance, performance and responsive design — we can turn our focus to gameplay depth and new features in the weeks ahead. Stay tuned!