retired_hschoone

ok when player interaction was first introduced a few years ago it was a novel feature, but as it stands it seems so unrealistic i am astounded that it hasnt been radically changed for fm08.

1. why do i have to go through the media every time i want to talk to my player? managers are generally supportive of their players in the media apart from the odd exception e.g. a disciplinary issue like a horror tackle. most interactions are kept "in house" IRL.

2. options for interaction i find, in general, very limited. for example, when asked about the match pre game i am always asked about my chances and am given basically the same five options, which i find pointless. media interaction should be more weighted towards keeping the press happy so you can keep them (and the fans that they influence) on the manager's side, therefore helping him to keep his job!

3. options for team talks are very poor. often it is HOW something is said rather than what is said . FM does not take this into account e.g. the "dissapointed" option or "why cant you play like this every match?". what does this actually mean? how would a player interpret these words? also, when you talk individually to a player (in team talk) is this done separately or in front of the rest of the team?

4. morale is closely related to player interaction. looking at real life, if a team expecting to do well plays poorly, lose, and the manager subsequently criticises them, generally you see improvements in following matches (providing that they respect the manager). criticism in FM generally lead to poor morale and therefore poor performance. this seems very unrealistic.

5. a player progress feature would also be useful. for example, if there was a specific attribute that you thought a player should work on you could reccomend extra training which the player would do in his own time. e.g. "you are a full back. work on your marking otherwise i cant play you." obviously, different players would react to such comments in different ways.

6.player loans and transfers should be more interactive also. where would a player like to go on loan, and for how long? after a few months you could also ask how the loan is going, because you only find out after the player has returned to the club. also, if you are going to play a fringe player in certain matches e.g. carling cup when they complain to you about lack of football then you should be able to tell them about your plans in a more in depth fashion than what is available currently.

for me, player interaction is the most important aspect of football in football managing (along with tactics), and after the game engine it is (or rather it should be) the most interesting and important aspect of FM. this is why i am so surprised that it is so poor.

any thoughts?

arman920

Yup entirely agree on all interaction, it's wooden, shallow and a clickfest for me.

Training doesn't bother me, I'm happy to pay some one to do it

retired_lmkalton

Yes, I agree

fatigoworld

Also agree and second the points made. Its not the bugs that are the problem (especially once patched) with fm08 but the lack of genuine new features or improvements on 07.

I was very dissapointed to find the media/player/chairman interaction had barely been touched since 08 and still gives a completely unrealistic representation of real life. Nonetheless i still feel fm08 is a great game, as was 07, i just wish there was more of a real a difference between the two.

retired_kriskapoor

agreed here.

in fact the CORRECT offside rule should be applied to the game too. so thats the offsides subject needing an overhaul too; along with top worldclass strikers missing the goal from the 6yrd box when the goalie's out- another overhaul. and super keepers that that save 26 on target shots through out the game-another overhaul. plus the stupid question of do u think it was a penalty? - cause i dont know about u guys but i cant really tell in a definitive absolute sharp way if one circle fouled another circle! unless of course SI decides to add something like a line sticking out and getting extended from the circle who fouled the other circle and thus of course; needless to say that eventually all the circles in 2D match screen will end up looking like sperms.

dont u just love SI's comittment to quality and their wonderful quality control product testing team??!! :thup:

retired_hschoone

yes the penalty thing annoys me as well. maybe that is also a case of player interaction; the manager could ask the player if he thought it was a penalty, and how sure is he?

and what is the point of the appeals system, because nothing can be gained from it in fm as appeals are never successful. poor ref decisions have no consequence for the ref in FM.

and LMAO re "sperms"!

retired_hschoone

just realised i didnt talk about training in my original post.

my idea was that there could be a feature that you do formation/game tactics training.

individual schedules are a good feature as you can tailor to that players specific needs, but team training/match tactics training is surely just as important to improving and winning football matches.

retired_val_pal

Sort of related to the training thing, I'd love to see the facility for inventing your own set pieces. This was done yeeears ago in USM2 I think, but I haven't seen it since.

Would just be great to watch them pulling off something you've spent (virtual) hours working on in training. Rooney's volley from 25 yards off a corner springs immediately to mind

leftfoot

:thup: I would also like to see this one to one interaction implemented for when players return from international duty with their morale shot to bits.

I agree 100%. I wish someone from SI who was involved in selecting the wording of team talk choices would come out and say this is how players interpret each of these team talks.

Spot on :thup:. The whole system is very one sided in that it favours only certain personality types. For example if a player is in a poor run of form the only option we have to improve morale in between matches is using the player form comments to criticise. This is a form of negative motivation and works well for the determined/professional player but for the temperamental types it is a no go area. Saying their form is poor just damages morale further. All you can do is give the 'I have faith' team talk and hope for the best.

But at the same time I have thought about this and can't see any way for it to be introduced so that it does not become tedious. Would you want to be dealing with clicking options to affect the morale of every single player in your squad? Maybe there could be a trigger when morale reaches a certain value that gives player interaction choices and how well they respond to this could depend on their personality, relationship with the manager, affinity for the club etc. It could be like the assistant manager message you get when a player 'doesn't look their usual selves in training today' just before they demand a new contract or a transfer.

The thing with the media in this game is that in my opinion it was presented as a whole new media interaction module when in actuality it is a morale module and that is it's fundamental responsibility. Manager makes media comment => player morale reaction. But to be honest as realistic as it would be I think it would become very tedious if we had to deal with the media as extensively as real life managers do (and if you have seen some press conferences recently I think they find it tedious aswell).

I would like to see media integrated with the fan confidence section. So if the confidence screen says the fans are unhappy with a recent result/signing/player form then you get to respond in some manner. At the moment it is like being criticised for the choices you make but having no avenue to defend those choices which for me has led to frustration. If I am honest I now completely ignore the fan's opinions as it just aggravates me, especially as the fans seem to judge player performance based on 07 ratings rather than the 08 system (that's the impression I get). For example in an out of the box non patched game top class centre halfs are lucky if they get average ratings above 7 yet the fans constantly bitch about their performance.

:thup: I agree, particularly with the loan issue. I have the same grievances with the tutoring module aswell where you only find out how badly it is going when it is too late to fix it. The assistant manager could be involved with a report from training. For me it was a redundant feature on FM 07 when a news message would appear about a training ground bust up and how 'manager Y needs to do something to resolve their issues'. What exactly could I do when no options are actually presented?

I've had petty much the same thoughts as you but I have been reluctant to post them as I fear that constructive posts on areas of the game that might be improved will inevitably get shunted into obscurity by 'this game sucks SI' and 'where's the patch' threads.

retired_hschoone

great idea. media comments e.g. "do you have anything to say regarding the referee/result/new signing/specific player/team performance/other (e.g. league position)" with a drop down menu. these options could also be available pre/post game rather than the silly media questions currently asked.