retired_fitnessconnection

I have read literally hundreds of threads from basically two kinds of people playing FM07 and am here to add a third kind.....ME!.

I am one of those few people that have managed success with this game, yet still has more than a few bugs to bear with it!.

I'm not about to start screaming bloody murder, i just want to point out what i have personally witnessed from watching hundreds, maybe thousands of games in full.

First of all let me say that i completely understand where people are coming from, when they mention a lack of explanation on where they are going wrong and not having the information to know why. The problem i see with this is that any extra information SI share with us is more than likely to make the game a walk in the park.

On the other hand i think its fair to sat that with the little information at hand, even the best tactic makers among us are often clutching at straws as to what will work. That does'nt mean they are not making a good job of it, but in the end it all comes down to theories rather than evidence.

Being stuck in the middle somewhere, what i have witnessed is something quite different!.

For a start i never seem to have the good fortune of winning a game i should have lost easily, yet the AI does this at an alarming rate. The tacticians among us will immediately stand up and say that the problem is in your tactic, yet surely if i have just had 20 shots in a game compared to their 1, plus 60% of possesion as well as out tackling, out passing and basically watching myself outplay the opposition for 90 minutes, this tends to suggest otherwise?.

How on Earth can i be expected to interpretate that as a mistake in my tactical set-up?.

Another obvious one is the chances i make in front of goal. Is it not reasonable to suggest that if my efforts are well worked and usually end up with my striker one on one with the keeper, whilst the opposition are reduced to pot shots from distance, that in fact i am doing something right, if not, again how am i expected to interpretate the difference?. Again the tacticians among us will simply suggest things like "your players must be rushing their chances, whilst failing too close down the opposition", but is'nt theirs more likely to be the mis- interpretation rather than mine based on what i can clearly see happening on the pitch? and if not, would it be wrong of me to suggest that this in fact is the biggest obstacle we face when trying to understand and put into practice a succesfull tactic?.

This brings me onto something else i've noticed, if i am in fact winning and the AI changes its tactics to go either more attacking or even more defensive, the biggest effect this change seems to have is on MY players and not theirs?. Suddenly under no pressure whatsoever my players are giving the ball away in the most idiotic of circumstances, whereas before the oppositions switch they were knocking the ball about beautifully?. Again the tacticians among us will simply tell you this is because the switch by the opposition has blocked certain paths available that you were fashioning your chances from, but wait a minute!, there is nothing in my tactical set-up that demands a player to pass into an area overun with the opposition, my instructions were merely to pass to players in space when available and if that space is no longer available in those areas would'nt any player worth his salt, then stop playing the ball into those areas and instead play the ball into the areas that have opened up since the opposition change?. Surely even the most dense Pro footballer would not make that mistake?.

As i say, its not like my instructions demanded a player to pass the ball into this area, its more a suggestion to pass into the space available and if that available space opens up elsewhere on the pitch, surely that does'nt take a major tactical change for that player to understand that, otherwise what are we dealing with?. This tends to suggest when watching the game that you are not in fact instructing Pro footballers, rather a round blob on the screen who can only think for himself for as long as the opposition stick to one tactic and rather like a computer needs re-proggraming after every minor opposition tweak.

Well thats a few to be getting on with and like i say, these are just suggestions to SI on how they should be looking to improve their next release. The game has certainly evolved and i'd like to think with a little understanding on their part, SI will take into consideration these pointers on certain aspects of the game that are holding it back and why so many of its customers are wondering if this series of games is ever really going to give us the satisfaction it has in days gone by?.

retired_Yiondari

Nice post.

beccalennon80

Very good post.It's not the first plea to AI.
I'll tell something.The players in FM are like machine.A player with poor morale doesn't score.Isn't this stupid.For example David Beckham leave Real.It is not a obstacle for him to play well.My Leverkusen's Voronin was in the same situation and he doesn't score 11 games.Where's the logic?
Players are not machines.Their performances are not only the result of our management.How could a player miss 5 one on one's just because he has slight concerns.
Or how could a plyer with corner attribute 19 get 3 totally wrong corners in a game with CF 10.
Or why every second free-kick is a goal against me.
I'm waiting for FM 2008,struggling with FM 2007.To say the true the only thing that stick me with this game is this great forum.
I hope SI read our objections.

retired_fitnessconnection

Well i dont agree with all objections, a lot can simply be put down to bad instructions and/or management.

My objections are mostly from i have witnessed in the game, afew of my minor objections may simply be because its the only way certain aspects of the game can be coded into the game itself, which can be annoying, but understandable!.

Another of the witnessable problems come from throw-ins and free kicks, whilst corner routines seem to favour the human player!.

I always find that throw-ins for instance favour the AI as much as 90-10, i have tried numerous ways to seek a better percentage, but it remains an issue i believe needs careful examining. A massive amount of the AI attacks and subsequent goals come from not just their own throw-ins but an amazing amount of my own(even attacking throws)?. When you have sat and watched as many full games as i have i'm sure you will witness the same thing, it's not something that stands out as much as players missing numerous one on one's for instance, but is just as blatant and difficult to redress.

Free kicks are of a similar nature, i simply can't seem to stop my free kick taker from giving the ball straight to the opposition, which often ends up with them on the counter and scoring a goal?. Again i have spent time on trying to get this right, but to no avail, now i dont want to start off any new conspiracy theories, but i have noticed that this is much more likely to happen if and when the AI is in need of a goal. Its as if my players are nervous of the AI's new instruction to close down heavily, yet it should'nt be a problem from our own set pieces when their are 4 or 5 easy options available, again maybe something else that needs looking at?.

All in all, i'd have to say that the most amount of work for the next edition of the game should go on getting the interaction right on the pitch!. Now that the game itself has evolved into one that suggests such a need for in game tweaking, it is paramount that SI get the interpretation right on the pitch, otherwise who's going to stay interested in the game and focused on their tactics, if the match itself is jam packed with unexplainable errors and a series of poor scenario's?.