Make me an FM fan

[condors]

Originally Posted by TroyF

I'll call that and raise you putting that SOB center back on the transfer list and permanantly benching him after his sorry performence.

Sorry, I'm up 3-1, your error costs me one goal, you get an own goal to allow the tie game and then you get a straight red in extra time costing me the game? You will be gone in the next transfer window. Somehow, someway.

don't forget to set him on goalie training !

[Neon_Chaos]

Originally Posted by Shorty3281

I could never get into it. I don't think I had the patience to truly learn the important skills for each position and the necessary types of formations to use

You know, I just bothered to browse through the XML file for the "help" screens, and basically wrote down the advised skills for each position.

As for formation...

4-4-2. ALL THE WAY.

It's your individual and team settings that work out differently. I actually tend to play like Marc Vaughan, in that I force my style on my opponents instead of trying to counteract their style.

[Axxon]

Originally Posted by Icy

The same way that you guys breath football since kids, we do soccer here in Spain, it's mainly the only sport here.

What, no love for jai alai?

[JHandley]

Originally Posted by FrogMan

very true and to had to the cheering when your team scores and wins big games, FM is the only game where I took it personally when I got sack. I was down for a week when Luton Town sacked me the first time, really. You invest so much time learning how your players react and such that moving on to another team in this game is as close to what the real world could be, I think...

FM

+1. Or how about buyer's remorse when you take a job in another country and have to keep going back year after year to find out how your previous club is doing?

Another overlooked point that I don't think gets enough attention is the lack of difficulty levels. I love that the game just is. There's no sliders to deal with, you don't have to weigh the benefits of a challenge vs the enjoyment lost when your entire backfield gets hurt. You don't get any special treatment, but the AI doesn't either.

[Neuqua]

Now I think I am just going to see if I can find a cheap FM '06 on the internet somewhere to tide me over until December.

[I. J. Reilly]

FM is crack covered crack, with a creamy crack filling.

[Axxon]

Originally Posted by TroyF

Part of the enjoyment of FM is going to come from learning the tactics and then setting them based on the team around you. (or brining in guys who fit the tactic better)

Sometimes you take it even further.

I have been refining a tactic for years. I can disguise it's look pretty well and can run the same game from a 4-1-3-2, 4-4-2, heck I even ran it as a 2-3-2-1-2 ( right eaglesfan27 ) but no matter how I run it I already know what my players need to do.

One day I was playing as Chelsea and we had a friendly against Wigan. As it was an early friendly I was watching the entire match and I noticed their superbly talented young left back Leighton Baine and my tactic relies heavily on that position.

As I was watching him play I realized that I would simply love to have the kid on my team and I knew I could make him a star with my system. I also knew as Chelsea the kid was at least two or three years from being able to play for us.

I did two things. In that game I bought him, lent him back to Wigan for 2 years and he became an anchor on my squad.

I also though started a Wigan game immediately so I could coach him. We were expected to battle bravely against relegation but by midseason we were in 9th and cruising behind the masterful play of Mr Baine.

The chairman then got happy and told me I hadn't spent enough of his money and he wanted to see new talent so I went out and spent needlessly but it pleased him.

To make a long story short, ( too late ) I had us in 6th place by 5 clear with about 10 games left and Europe looked a lock. We were in the semi finals of the cup. Leighton Baine won the England Player of the Year so as predicted, I'd made him a star. Then the bottom fell out of the barrel.

The chairman held a meeting with me and told me that he had a new contract for me to sign. It was a pay CUT. He said he had to do it because I'd spent too much money; money he'd made me spend. Now, note that I was going to europe so the piddly money he was talking about was meaningless next to the income I had generated.

I felt really hurt. Immersion. I was ticked off, hurt etc. I declined the offer. The team sent a press release wishing me well and saying it was unfortunate that I wasn't a team player.

That blew up in their face as the players sounded off criticizing the chairman. The fans wrote in complaining. Eventually the board issued a statement that they were preparing a new offer and should have it to me before the season was over. I never saw it.

Meanwhile, the team sank. We lost the semi finals horribly by 6 goals and lost our next 5 league matches. No one stunk but the team had no heart and couldn't rise to the challenge. We dropped back to eighth.

At that point I decided that I wouldn't go back to Wigan and I didn't want to go anywhere else. I was jaded. I promptly retired that game and went back to the Chelsea game.

And that, my friends, is one of countless stories that FM fans have that make this the best game of it's sort bar none. Oh, and my original point, you can get so immersed in your tactics that you can watch guys and decide to build a team around them which I did. That's ultimate coolness even if your chairman is a jerk.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Axxon

Sometimes you take it even further.

I have been refining a tactic for years. I can disguise it's look pretty well and can run the same game from a 4-1-3-2, 4-4-2, heck I even ran it as a 2-3-2-1-2 ( right eaglesfan27 ) but no matter how I run it I already know what my players need to do.

I seem to recall holding my own against that tactic Those were some good times. I still remember my wife's shock to see that we were still up playing at 7:00 AM when she woke up one morning

[Axxon]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I seem to recall holding my own against that tactic Those were some good times. I still remember my wife's shock to see that we were still up playing at 7:00 AM when she woke up one morning

Fun times indeed my friend. I think you'd kick my butt if we play again and as soon as I move to a place with a dedicated internet connection I look forward to testing that theory.

[PadresFan104]

Originally Posted by Axxon

Sometimes you take it even further.

.....


And that, my friends, is one of countless stories that FM fans have that make this the best game of it's sort bar none. Oh, and my original point, you can get so immersed in your tactics that you can watch guys and decide to build a team around them which I did. That's ultimate coolness even if your chairman is a jerk.

Wow, I still have no interest in FM or soccer, but that was a great story!!!

[Peregrine]

After hearing all this, I may have to give FM another try. It's a game I should love, I thought I would love and I just didn't.

1) I don't have any interest in tactics or in creating strategies in play, for the same reason as I don't like to gameplan in FoF. I just want to build a team and see how it plays. I think maybe this is a big drawback for me liking the game.

2) I like to play through multiple seasons quickly, which is impossible. I found the pace of FM to be so slow it was stifling, with seemingly endless things I was supposed to be doing between games.

3) The UI really bugs me, to do anything you have to search through a maze of drop-down boxes, and I would often get "lost" in the UI and kept having to go back to my home screen. It really drove me to distraction.

4) For me the game runs really slow, even on a fast machine, it seems to take forever to play through all the games.

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by Peregrine

After hearing all this, I may have to give FM another try. It's a game I should love, I thought I would love and I just didn't.

1) I don't have any interest in tactics or in creating strategies in play, for the same reason as I don't like to gameplan in FoF. I just want to build a team and see how it plays. I think maybe this is a big drawback for me liking the game.

2) I like to play through multiple seasons quickly, which is impossible. I found the pace of FM to be so slow it was stifling, with seemingly endless things I was supposed to be doing between games.

3) The UI really bugs me, to do anything you have to search through a maze of drop-down boxes, and I would often get "lost" in the UI and kept having to go back to my home screen. It really drove me to distraction.

4) For me the game runs really slow, even on a fast machine, it seems to take forever to play through all the games.

The problem for many text-sim fans (from the OOTP/FOF/etc crowd), is that FM is not primary a GM sim - its a full fledged management sim, and you have to learn something about the sport to fully enjoy it. Transferring (read: trading/acquiring) players isn't the whole game, and there's no draft. As Troy and other examples have proven though, the game is good enough to get you to do just that.

1 - Unfortunately, unless you take a top team and just go with a "overwhelm them with talent" approach, this will be neccessary. More than any other sport, football is prone to tactical variability. The Aston Villa - Chelsea game last weekend was a textbook example of how a younger, far less talented team beat a stronger, dominant force - pretty much tactics. That being said, you don't need to do too much - the 4-4-2 is the most popular formation in the world for a reason, and sticking it with it will be okay the vast majority of times.

2- Yeah, see the first paragraph - not really an option. I can never finish a season in less than a couple of weeks, and that's because I'm always scouting players, trying to acquire players, playing the game itself (for distractions, I always take over other teams with a second manager and try and make them improve - always fun. ie, I'm playing as Southhampton now, but I spent a week of game time with Barcelona, having them sign players and add stuff). I'm a GM-style player, so that keeps me interested even when my main team doesn't have much to do.

3- the UI, IMo is light years better than any other text sim I've played. It may just be learning, but I always know how to get the information I want.

4 - Turn down the number of leagues. I like a large immersive universe so I can do what I mentioned in 2), so I play with lots of leagues even if I have no intention of ever taking a job in them (ie, I hate hate hate playing in Italy - I don't think I've ever played an FM game in 7 years where I've been an Italian team. Still, Serie A is always active for me). If you're not, you could start with just a couple of leagues active, and the game will zip.

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by Peregrine

I have to be the contrarian here. I love soccer, but I just haven't been able to love FM, I guess it's just not the kind of game I like, there's far too much fiddly stuff to do between the games and I find the UI to be confusing and having to go back and forth between screens got old fast for me.

Which is why we created FM PSP - I am well aware a few people were escaping our net

(seriously though FM PSP is like a 'quick fix' version of FM, its still realistic but much faster and more 'fun' to play - it harks back a little to our earlier CM3 games ... try it you know you want to )

[Marc Vaughan]

3) The UI really bugs me, to do anything you have to search through a maze of drop-down boxes, and I would often get "lost" in the UI and kept having to go back to my home screen. It really drove me to distraction.

The UI is an 'acquired taste' imho - for people used to other text-sims it can feel quite alien, but once you're used to it most people find it comfortable enough to use.

(the fact you can use multiple routes to reach most areas is what a lot of people find disconcerting - but we literally try to allow you to click on any game related item and browse into it, that means if something in the game takes your interest you can head off and find more about it - handy if its a report on a player or team for instance.)

[Senator]

Good read. Firing back up 2007 and playing with Halifax Town, since it looks like that is the team we are offering to buy.

[Scholes]

At the very least, it can be a way to take out some frustration on inferior New Zealanders with your mighty United squad every couple seasons:

[Senator]

Quick question, I am playing 07 and the Under18 Cup games force me to play them. I have my assistant notched to handle these games, but there is no way to bypass them that I can see.

I did witness a great shoot out we won in the second round. We are Halifax and have no business being there.

[Senator]

I will try again. I want the reserves and Under18's to play on auto-pilot, but the game is making me go to the match, and I do not have enough players on reserve to play. Basically, I am stuck. Any ideas?

[st.cronin]

Originally Posted by Senator

I will try again. I want the reserves and Under18's to play on auto-pilot, but the game is making me go to the match, and I do not have enough players on reserve to play. Basically, I am stuck. Any ideas?

I'm not sure I understand the problem, but as a last resort you can go on vacation for a day.

Is this a reserve match, or a regular match?

[Senator]

A reserve match. It makes me play the actual games of the reserve AND the youth Under 18's.


Never mind, I am an idiot.

[st.cronin]

Ok, you need to do this:

Click Manager, then Options. Make sure there is no check next to the box "control team" for reserves and U18.

If those boxes are unchecked, the problem may be that you haven't assigned enough players to the reserve team.

[Senator]

I checked the box, thinking that made my assistant control the team, whereas, it made me control the team. Dumb.

Thanks for assisting.

[TroyF]

Where is a good place to order the PSP version Marc? I've never tried it.

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by TroyF

Where is a good place to order the PSP version Marc? I've never tried it.

There are two existing versions available at the moment the 'original' and FM2007 - a new version will be coming out before xmas.

You can find these versions at most online games stores - the 'original' one is extremely cheap these days because its two years old if you want to 'try' the game out without forking over a ton of cash (for instance game.co.uk has it for £5.98 - http://www.game.co.uk/search.aspx).

Amazon.co.uk has last years version available for £16.47 at the moment which isn't too bad either - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sega-Footbal...9430142&sr=8-1

Finally if you want to check out reviews etc. for the game then MetaCritic carries a fair few:

http://www.metacritic.com/games/plat...ger%20handheld

Hope this helps,

Marc

[Izulde]

Now I'm wanting to give FM07 another crack, but I left my license and whatnot back home on the desktop, as I didn't think I'd get the urge to play it here in Spain.

Alas, said urge is now upon me.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Izulde

Now I'm wanting to give FM07 another crack, but I left my license and whatnot back home on the desktop, as I didn't think I'd get the urge to play it here in Spain.

Alas, said urge is now upon me.

there's nobody who has access to your desktop who can help you out?

shit. get someone to download the gotomypc client onto your desktop and turn it on for you and then you can just remote in and grab the license and re-DL

[Warhammer]

I fired up FM '06 on Sunday and took my beloved Lancaster Dolly Blues to try and lead them to glory. I started at around 11, and with making chili and playing FM, I never realized that I missed most of the NFL games yesterday. I caught bits and pieces, but I didn't realize until 7:30 or so that I missed most of the games.