retired_khanw1

This is NOT a thread for moaning about the shortcomings of an engine that is trying to model a game of infinite complexity, invention and skill. This thread is just for posting ideas and suggestions for improving the match engine. This is also not the place to moan about bugs. This is for suggestions in how to remodel the ending, to expand it and to hone it.

To that end, here's my offerings...

1. One-on-ones don't feel like the advantage they should be. There are too many of them per match, and too few of them result in a goal. A one-on-one, at any level, is a rare thing. Yet in a game I played the other day as Bournemouth against Gillingham I had five of them in a single half. And not one of them was scored!

This was despite the striker being in good form (he had scored 2 in the previous game, morale high, average rating over 7) and having good composure, finishing and so on, especially for league one. This really, really needs to be fixed.

One of the main problems is this - when was the last time you saw a striker take the ball AROUND the keeper to score? This is so common in football, yet I never see it in FM. Players should be dribbling past keepers for fun.

I'm not saying it is a fudge, but come on guys - it really, really, really FEELS like you've fudged it. It's almost like the engine is producing too many one-on-ones, so the fix is "make them harder to score from" otherwise you end up with cricket scores. This ain't right, I think we need fewer chances, but more of them taken rather than lots of great chances and hardly any taken.

2. I don't care if you have 80 caps for Brazil and have been released on a free by Sevilla at the age of 25 with a promising career ahead of you - wouldn't that player sign for pretty much ANY club after three to four months on a free?

Even on a rolling month-to-month contract they would, and they would play their guts out, just to get back in the shop window, and just to stay fit. Need to model this properly.

Then again, I would sooner not see that player available, although it seems to happen way too often. There are a LOT of clubs out there, and a player should never be on a free for very long. It's very unrealistic. Even **** players manange to find a club, often without really looking. That's what AGENTS are for!

3. I would like to see more long range goals. And not just from superstars. Watch the Premiership, and then watch the highlights of the other divisions. Long range pearlers scored throughout the leagues. Why? Because it happens. Ok, so a player isn't good enough for the Prem, but he's still a damn good player in the grand scheme of things, and as a long time Division Three/Division One/League One watcher, I can tell you that I have seen a damn sight more long range screamers than you might think. Certainly more than the engine models at this level.

4. Clever players need to be really clever. For me, the next level of the game is when players are capable of playing the pass that I can't see coming. Obviously that's going to be tough, but it's not impossible. Just pick the pass that looks like it would be the golden, amazing, winning ball and make the player try it. At the moment, it seems like better players just make the obvious pass, but more accurately. I would love to see some real creativity from the better players, even if it's only relative to their level.

5. Dummies - I mentioned it before, I will mention it again. No player ever fools another in FM. At no time does a player slide in to block a shot, only to find the striker has dummied him and now has a free one-on-one. Same goes for fullbacks sliding to block a cross that never comes. You HAVE to put dummies in, they are integral to the game. You already have the stats in place - anticipation, concentration, decisions, tackling from the defenders point of view. Flair, dribbling, creativity, technique from the attackers. It's surely not outside the realms of believability? We see it week in week out, but never in FM.

Anyway...other people's suggestions in this thread.

retired_w0lfpack1

*blink*

I'm sure I saw that in my most recent match. Striker appeared to be free on a one-on-one, entering the box to the left of the arc. Defender, hustling his tail off to catch up, making a diagonal run through the arc. Goalkeeper coming off his line. The defender 'threw himself' in the way of the 'shot'.. just as the striker stopped, cutting it back to his right foot.

The defender's momentum took him directly out of the play, while the striker's 'cut back' motion left the goalkeeper subtly out of position, leaving the shot to the far post wide open ..

Goal.

I've definitely also seen a winger fake the right-footed cross, have the fullback dive in to stop it, and the winger 'cut back' for an unguarded left-footed inswinger.

If you haven't seen either of these .. I don't know what to say!

This I very much agree with - its not really a "Match Engine" thing, but :thup: I'd like to see the player really come in with "shop window" demands, such as a low minimum-fee release-clause that he is unwilling to negotiate about, or a one-year-demand that he is unwilling to lengthen, that sort of thing.

retired_amyrnbsn

From what I've read in other places, I think the match engine is merely a simulation of the back process of the game - therefore, what looks like a one-on-one is in actual fact not really any different to any other shots, which makes comparing it to real life difficult.

Totally agree with 2. I've seen a few good players retire because they don't get a club, despite me really wanting them. (Also, on a similar note, some managers seem to stay out of a job for a long time. I'm approaching 2010 on my game, and Mourinho is still unemployed. That would never happen in real life)

I haven't noticed a problem with 3 - I seem to get enough long range goals.

For 4, see my comment for 1. A pass is just the simulation of a pass. Everything is not real... I'll stop, before I get too Matrix.

I agree with 5, but think that it would be difficult to show on a 2D pitch - it would just like a defender running in completely the wrong direction, and stopping. Then, there'd be a lot of boards along the lines of "MAJOR BUG IN GAME. DEFENDERS STOP WORKING. WASTE OF £25.", etc.