retired_pschnapps13

Check the pre-match odds, that's what they're there for.

If you go from underdog to favourite over the course of the season, you'll find the AI playing differently against you.

The odds range from "giant vs minnow" to "equal game"; the AI will play more defensively or aggressively depending on this. Play accordingly.

There is no "cracking" of tactics.

firefighterhilf

Sorry but most of this is rubbish. Firstly your Man Utd 4-5-1 example is proof that even for Man Utd it's important to play the right tactic. Good tactics do not necessarily equal fancy tactics but this example proves that no matter how good your players you still need to get them playing in a good system. Of course other things other than tactics are important, but they are in the game too. Moral, training, the players you buy, team talks. All these things affect how well you perform.

And are you honestly telling me that you belive Man Utd don't play any differently against Derby than they do against Chelsea? If this was the case managers would be obsolete. Chairmen would just buy the best players they could affors and stick them out on the pitch every week, saving themselves a fortune in manager wages.

circlewalker

To quote Paul C: "The AI 'cracking' tactics is a myth".

They react to your tactics, but they don't crack them.

circlewalker

Didn't happen in 07, or any other game either.

retired_kriss89

It's not rubbish at all. My point is that Man Utd have never been built on vastly varied tactics for different games.

The difference is usually something simple, like being a little more cautious against a team that is always capable of scoring with a single chance.

In FM it's completely the reverse. You have to be clever and tactical when you play a weaker team because putting out your usual 4-4-2 and getting your players motivated and in good condition doesn't work, they go out and play like chumps against weaker opposition all because you didn't tell them to play slowly and stop creating too many chances.

The 4-5-1 example it not proof that it's important to play the right tactic, it's proof that you can't just tell your team to play a completely different system all because your opponent is likely to play differently, most teams will play exactly the same system all through a season, simply because that's what their players are used to. Whenever Man Utd try and get all tactical they usually get confused and outplayed by teams considered their equal, when they go out and play their usual system but perhaps tell them to be a little less aggressive from the start the game is much more even.

Basically, a lot of managers are not tactical wizards, they are experts at getting their players motivated and in peak condition for the game. The tactical side of FM far outweighs this and forces you to rethink your entire system just because the opposition is going to play defensive.

circlewalker

You may have to do that Tal_Hides, but a lot of others don't.

retired_stevep43017

No in both cases. In FM07 I played until 2028 and never changed my tactics. I was always in the top three in the league and did very well in all the cups.

I have only played two seasons in FM08 and have not changed tactics( different tactic to the one I used in FM07). I won everything first season.

So I would say that if your players suit your tactic then the AI does not crack your tactic.

firefighterhilf

Tal_Hides: I think you're missing the point here. In FM you do not have to drastically change your tactic when playing different teams, in fact doing so will have an adverse affect. You don't even need to change formation.

Just altering things like mentality, tempo, width and passing style as well as ticking/unticking the 'counter attack' option are the only changes you need to think about making.

And yes, Man Utd will not drastically change their tacic before each match, and certainly won't change their formation, but you can be sure they've assessed their opponents before each game and the manager has told the team how he wants them to play. Against stronger opposition this will be slightly different than against weaker opposition.

I think your confusing formations and tactics. Yes teams will play the same formation all season but you can guarentee they'll all be looking at small tactical changes they can make to give them the edge on whoever their next opponents are. No team just plays exactly the same way game after game without even taking the quality of the other team into consideration.

retired_kriss89

Ah the typical response from the usual people. Aside from the fact that there are vast threads complaining about how people can create tons of chances and yet consistently lose, and the fact that there are plenty of tactical threads telling you to change your tempo, reduce creativity and attacking mentality to beat weaker teams, it's all MY tactics of course.

It's fairly obvious that a lot of people do have to muck around with their tactics to deal with playing weaker teams or there wouldn't be so many complaints. Personally I can cope with losing the odd game to a weaker team when my team fails to score, what is frustrating is that it happens almost every time unless you actually play a lot more defensively. As I've already stated, this is not the case for a lot of real managers, they will often put the same team out, playing the same formation, and playing the same attacking football and usually their quality will show through and they will break an opposition down. That doesn't seem to work in FM, as your players will simply be unable to finish any chance they are given so long as you continue to play aggressive football and create chances.

I've had plenty of success playing FM so I'm not claiming it's unplayable. What I am saying is that the tactical changes you need to make often defy logic, making it much harder for new players to understand and which probably explains why so many people have started threads complaining. You'll notice that I have never done this, so dont try and simply group me up with the rest and claim that there aren't problems. Just because you've found a way around a problem doesn't mean it doesn't exist!

mdschneids

i'm using the same tactic for 4 years and the only changes i make is moving my MC do DM when playing away in champs league so i dont think the AI cracks tactics but i do agree with tal_hides that when it comes down to AI tactics any AI team can play very well with 2 very different formations which is totally unreal and if we try to that our team it would play like crap, which shows there's something that works for AI teams but doesnt work for human teams.