retired_jrad

Hey folks, just thought i'd chip in with my opinion. I have played the game since cm3, whatever came of willie howie. Anyway the biggest difference with this version is that you have to actually play it. You dont download the super tactic and the training, then sit back and get that ego kick anymore. I guess that rubbs some people up the wrong way.
I play a 442 formation which i have to constantly evolve to suit my team, the opposition, and the weather conditions. Winter sucks in the UK most of the time so a more direct style worked for me. Worth bearing in mind.
Many variables make this game a real challenge, especially for the smaller clubs. Trying to find coaches, players being a general pain in the ass, short success followed by a mass exodus of your best players to "bigger Clubs" 10 places below you in the league.
Its tough out their kiddies, Football sucks dont it.

retired_becca2006

Well it is a GAME not the real thing if you want it more real go into coaching. Most of us want to be abel to take our favorite teams from the lower divisions be it Lincoln, Wolves or Accrington Stanley and make something of it but it is impossible the game is just to ridiculusly hard in so many ways. Why cant just just choose the gameplay some like to dive into tactics and spend alot of time ajusting and setting them up before games. some of us just like it simple and difficult not extreme hard we don´t want to spend 40 minutes before each game tuning our tactics. It´s just to hard of a match engine with too many flaws and it will be fixed in the next version.....

retired_janellewood86

Once you get the tactic sorted though you only need minor changes to keep it running.

On my current Arsenal save I'm just ending season one, and it looks like I'm going to get third in the league, and I got to a League Cup final and a Champions' League semi, which I lost in the 93rd minute.

It took me quite a while of tuning and fine tuning (probably ten games all told) where I watched a lot of highlights, fiddled with settings and threw things at my monitor. Once that was done, the only things I changed in game were my width to deal with the opposition, my defensive line and my passing/tempo (which I always keep the same). I only ever moved them two or three clicks either way, and I knew by the end of the season which changes to make and when. I've watched quite a few games this season on key or even no highlights. Managed to beat Chelsea and Liverpool convincingly without changing a thing.

I expect next season will take me a far shorter amount of time if my home framework still works. Just load it up, flick it to extended and change if the match stats don't add up. A solid tactic can take you a long way, but you do need to spend time fiddling first.

retired_linzi_ar

Not sure how this would play with SI (not sure just how much programming it would add on t an already complex project), but perhaps for FM2008 a setting level for the AI.

Allow the more casual gamers who don't have the time or inclination to spend time constantly tinkering with tactics to set difficulty accordingly...and likewise for the tactical geniuses they could ramp it up?

I mean most other genres of games tend to include a diggiculty setting don't they?

Or would we end up with even more squabbles and accusations of elitism flying around, people being looked down on cause they couldn't win the league in 'hardcore' mode....

retired_linzi_ar

Obviously in previous post i mean a 'difficulty setting'

I have no idea what a diggiculty setting is

retired_janellewood86

There's another thread covering this at the moment, which is quite interesting even if I disagree with a lot that's being said.

However, I think there's a good case for suggesting that the AI is too good - that is, even the supposedly poor mangers can somehow find a system to get them goals or hold a lead while the human is left scratching his head. It often seems like the AI always makes the right changes at the right time. Only the Fergusson's, Hiddink's etc. should be able to do this regularly.

The "difficulty" setting should be thus:

Easy game: Brazil, Chelsea, Barcelona etc.
Hard game: Lancaster, San Marino, Andorra etc.

That's the beauty of FM and always has been. It can also stop those squabbles you've mentioned... to an extent.

retired_provrb7

Continueing on what Millie has said if you are finding it difficult to win things with Barcelona, Chelsea or Brazil then I think this game is not for you as these are, what they say, complete teams. Take time to read the threads around as they give you more then enough info on how to set up team tactics and from their tweak for your own liking.

retired_jrad

I like the idea of the difficulty settings for the A.I.
Although you can change various settings using the editor, I myself found it to be a very hollow victory. Guilty as charged.

An update to make winning more possible in a less subtle way could be the way to go, but thats a lot of hours working with the editor and to get it right would be a labour of love, or a task for SI.
I doubt they would put the time into that though as the next project is probably well under way.

I still dont buy a lot of the arguments banded about with regards to the AI, but I do admit that I play this game a lot less than I used to.
It takes so much longer.