FM2010 Blog no.7 - New Tactics Creator Module

"will my old tactics still work?" and "what if I want to use the old system?" the answer to both questions is yes.

The answer to 'what if I want to use the old system' is yes?

Someone is a little keen me thinks

Give us a chance! It only went live 2 minutes ago....

by the way, it's "trequarTista" and not "trequarista"

What is that box at the top that says "How do I advance game time?"

If you set a formation up using this creator, can you then get it in slider version?

I am presuming the Trequartista role is not complete yet as it has no description and comes up blank on the player role screen? Was this a late addition, as most of the others I have seen in FML?

Looks awesome

Good work.

Looks like it is going to make it a little easier for those who can sometimes struggle with tactics.

I think it also looks like it will be easier to define roles and instructions than it is now with the sliders.

That'll be part of the advisor system.

Looks very slick, some nice improvements from FML 1.2.

I feel slightly underwhelmed. The only way I can see this wizard helping anybody is if they were:

• too busy worrying about whether one click on the sliders would make their tactic collapse to think
  
• too stupid to work any system
  
• just thought the slider system was complicated without really trying
  

I can't see it saving time compared to the pre-sets already in game. You're basically using a drop down menu to do the exact same job as the sliders for a few screens, and then using pre-sets similar to those already in the game but better, because they don't affect global settings and there are more of them.

Don't get me wrong, well done on thinking up a new system, but it seems exactly just "sliders without the sliders". A lot of programming and thinking time could have been saved by creating extra pre-sets for player roles.

Furthermore, some of the roles, especially for strikers, seem to be in twice. Would somebody explain the subtle differences between a poacher and an advanced striker? How does a defensive striker, a trequartisa (sp) and a complete forward, diffienterate from a deep lying striker? Isn't a trequartisa an AMC?

If you set a formation up using this creator, can you then get it in slider version?

Yes, it's still saved as a .tac file.

This video has made my lower regions quite jittery

I love how easy it looks, and even though I love tactics the way it is, it will be a nice change of pace to be able to use a more simplified way of killing the other team

Can't wait for tomorrows sideline shouting walkthrough

I feel slightly underwhelmed. The only way I can see this wizard helping anybody is if they were:

• too busy worrying about whether one click on the sliders would make their tactic collapse to think
  
• too stupid to work any system
  
• just thought the slider system was complicated without really trying

The second option in your example probably applies to me. Thank god then that they thought of me when designing this part of the game.

I think the game is looking brilliant and I am really looking forward now to both the demo and the game itself. Very well done SI.

The second option in your example probably applies to me. Thank god then that they thought of me when designing this part of the game.

I think the game is looking brilliant and I am really looking forward now to both the demo and the game itself. Very well done SI.

That was a bit harsh, but I struggle to see how setting "passing- mixed/short/direct/long" differs from doing the same with a slider.

My worry about this system is that it might make things a little too easy. Sometimes in real life a player doesn't know how to play a particular role and the manager has to drill all the little details into him. Maybe a lesser manager would just say "play like a trequartista" but a better manager would would pick up on little things the player is doing wrong. It seems like with this new tactics wizard we just say "be a trequartista" and that it is - we don't even have to know what a trequartista is.

One thing I am curious about is whether you can tweak the positions of the players at all. Like pulling a striker back just a little but not that far back that makes him an AM

Maybe it will not be any faster to set up a tactic, but it does sound more like how a real manager would explain his tactics to his players.

It just makes more sense than the sliders imo.

I'm officially hyped up!

Like if I wasn't that already.

Miles, how come you didn't have narration on the video?

One thing I am curious about is whether you can tweak the positions of the players at all. Like pulling a striker back just a little but not that far back that makes him an AM

Same as you've always done, click on the position go to advanced and reduce the mentality

Same as you've always done, click on the position go to advanced and reduce the mentality

That's a poor solution because it doesn't just affect the position.

I'm going to hold my full opinion once the demo is released, because it is something that could go either way.

But it is an improvement comparing to 50 pages of tactical guide for FM09.

I feel slightly underwhelmed. The only way I can see this wizard helping anybody is if they were:

• too busy worrying about whether one click on the sliders would make their tactic collapse to think
  
• too stupid to work any system
  
• just thought the slider system was complicated without really trying
  

I can't see it saving time compared to the pre-sets already in game. You're basically using a drop down menu to do the exact same job as the sliders for a few screens, and then using pre-sets similar to those already in the game but better, because they don't affect global settings and there are more of them.

Don't get me wrong, well done on thinking up a new system, but it seems exactly just "sliders without the sliders". A lot of programming and thinking time could have been saved by creating extra pre-sets for player roles.

Furthermore, some of the roles, especially for strikers, seem to be in twice. Would somebody explain the subtle differences between a poacher and an advanced striker? How does a defensive striker, a trequartisa (sp) and a complete forward, diffienterate from a deep lying striker? Isn't a trequartisa an AMC?

It does far more than what the old presets do though, I'm sure anyone playing FML can tell you that. The presets didn't fit together and they had nothing to do with your team settings

They shouldn't really have been in the game, they were there as a minor extension that didn't actually work as expected.

In the end you'll be able to create tactics using football terms, without playing around making sliders balance.

As for the slightly different roles, you'll have to read the descriptions and have a look at the sliders to see what's different about them. If they really were that similar, they surely wouldn't both be in there?

Wow - this looks stunning.

I've never done tactics up until now, always downloaded them, because me doing tactics = my team getting relegated = me getting sacked. You soon learn! On FM10, however, I'll certainly give this a go, because I like to think that whilst I do understand the game of football, I don't understand what a few sliders do. I can already see myself setting up a successful tactic for my FM10 team, and it will certainly be good to know that we have a fighting chance of success on a tactic made by myself, as using a downloaded one always seems like I'm not really managing the team.

So I'll certainly be using that upon release, and in the meantime, I'll be wondering what kind of league set up in the competition editor I can guide my team to success in using a tactic that I've made in the tactics creator.

Excellent work SI:thup::thup:

use the default setting for default closing down instructions for each player

Use the press-off more or stand-off more settings to SLIGHTLY increase or reduce the closing from the default setting

is that mean the overall team instructions will affect individual player instructions relatively?

from what i know in previous version individual instructions tends to overwrite team instructions

eg mentality either u tick to give individual mentality level using the slider or untick to follow what is in the team mentality slider

If the definition in the tactics creator is to be correct, then there is a change in terms of the relationship between team and individual instructions.

However from what I saw in the video so far, in this version the match engine is basically the same as FM09 just that they make it easier for beginner or whoever to set up the tactic without using sliders. At the end of the day they will just transform what we selected in the Tactic Creator into the sliders.

And since they spend so much time for auto-settings with so many different scenario,

(gk,fb,wb,dc,sw,dm,cm,am,wg,st,tm in fm09

to deep-playing midfielder,sweeper keeper,etc...21 individual auto-settings in fm10,

i doubt they have the time to modify how the relationship between team and individual instructions works

now there are 2 possibilities

A) individual instructions don't overwrite team's in all previous version, they work relatively

B) the message shown in the Tactic Creator is misleading

I have to say that this looks very impressive. The tactics creator seems like a tool that invites you to create your own tactic, rather than the sliders that, at least for me were a major push off.

I have to say that this looks very impressive. The tactics creator seems like a tool that invites you to create your own tactic, rather than the sliders that, at least for me were a major push off.

Agree, much rather than do this than trial and error with sliders. The sliders always put me off and i usually ended up just downloading a tactic and tweaking it. With this new feature i'll end up playing with a tactic i've created myself for once, looks great!

The idea is definitely what the series needed in my opinion. Now, the game can (well it should) appeal to new users (as well as make it easier for those of us who were never really happy with the slider system) without being too overwhelming while still keeping the slider system for those that prefer it.

I personally have been waiting for such a system to be implemented as working with tactics seemed to have been a hit or miss in previous versions. While part of that was due to my lack of time to actually read pages of tactical discussions by the tens, the slider system was not for the average gamer and seemed to depend much on trial and error rather then reflection of the manager (gamer's) tactical ideas/formations.

The fact that you can adjust anything from the philosophy of the tactic to the individual player instructions in a more user-friendly and approachable manner says a lot. How effective the creator is and how well it has been implemented remains to be seen, however I have high hopes for the new wizard.

A long-overdue feature has finally been introduced to the series. Let's hope it's a winner.

I've been defending this system for a while now, since it was first rumoured that it would be coming across from FM Live.

I still will - the system we have in FML is awesome, I've not touched a slider once since it came in. It doesn't make it 'easy to win', since everyone else has it - and I assume that the AI in FM will too? (I've not read the blog yet, so sorry if this is covered).

It's just an interface - you choose to use it, or not to. If you want to kid yourself into believing that you understand the sliders for another year - fine, carry on. The rest of us will now be able to communicate with it in terms of actual football - and dip in to the sliders too if we feel the need to get down and dirty.

I can't wait to see it in action in FM.

Looks quite straightforward to use, and I can see it being a good addition for many who have complained about the slider system. I'll wait until I've tried it before deciding whether to use it, or stick to the sliders which I've become used to. Maybe I'll use both.

I really don't understand the hate for it, since it's main function is to prevent you from having to full screen and adjust every miniscule notch on each of the sliders yourself. Being able to say you want "x type of game" to occur and have the AI set the sliders for you (which is really just the behind the scenes settings, or should be) is just a simpler way of telling it what you want to do. It doesn't mean you're lazy.

The second option in your example probably applies to me. Thank god then that they thought of me when designing this part of the game.

I think the game is looking brilliant and I am really looking forward now to both the demo and the game itself. Very well done SI.

Totally agree Trekman, Yep, will help everyone except the Luddite King Geek Slider Tweaking Gurus who prefer log tables to tactics manuals.

Well done SI.

It does far more than what the old presets do though, I'm sure anyone playing FML can tell you that.

I agree with Scoham, it takes the presets and gives much more depth. Of course, you can just abandon the "wizard" altogether and do tactics the old way. Seriously. All the way. However I can say that it is very common in FM Live to use the new interface to build a tactic, but make a few individual slider tweaks to make it fit just right. Also gone is the need to build elaborate slide-tactic sets... the in-game shouts and new tactical interface allow you to tweak your strategy throughout the game with amazing ease. Pushing play wider, moving from standard to attacking, holding onto the ball, playing more direct, killing time, play your winger more like an inside forward or playmaker, etc etc etc... are just a few examples of the one-click shouts that make manipulating the minute-by-minute in-match management so much easier.

But... if you hate it, you don't ever have to use it. The traditional options are still there in full. Every way of playing is an option, no way of building tactics is eliminated.

Is there anyway I can get a higher resolution video?

I can't read anything other than what's written on that chalkboard that pops up from time to time.

Watch it in HD view and then make it full screen.

Hmm, I clicked HD (for high definition) and then full screen and could see it very clearly.

Sliders alienated me from the tactical side of the game. Now I can't wait to get stuck in

Is there anyway I can get a higher resolution video?

I can't read anything other than what's written on that chalkboard that pops up from time to time.

go fullscreen...

on: great work!

Looks sweet. Very straight forward and user friendly. I'm from the US and only started playing FM in 06 knowing nothing about football other than FM was the gold standard game to buy for sports immersion.

I would have liked to have this system in place back then. It literally took me 6 months to get a handle on how the football world works compared to American professional sports. Transfers, relegation, promotion, and rules. Then throw in player roles and tactics on top of it all and it is almost overwhelming. Over time I learned to use the sliders and get results but even now I really have to think through what I want to accomplish and how I'm going to do it while combining slider settings. Now with FM 2010 I can build my tactic using football terms and yet feel comfortable enough with the sliders if I want to go in and tweak it I can.

The only downside I see to the wizard, to new players, is never having ability to go in and micro-tweak the tactic using the sliders. However, seeing many FML players posting how they never actually use the sliders anymore kind of puts aside those fears. In the end it would have been great not just for building tactics but also for including descriptions of player roles making my learning time much shorter and letting me get into FM much quicker.

Provided it works half as well as I'm hoping, this is the feature that I'm looking forward to the most, and the one I've been the most excited about for years. Fingers crossed

The other thing I haven't seen mentioned is touchline instructions. Now yes you can set a tactic but need to make a change tactically, I would have to pause go in tactics move sliders then return to match with the new system i can do the same thing and never leave the match I can push up for a late goal (or get countered), I can go defensive to hold onto a ball or I can tell my players to go easy on the tackles to try and avoid that dodgy ref.

I play more varied amount of tactics where with sliders i tended to stick to tried and trusted now i can make things work I would never have tried in past.

Having just reread my TT&F '09 bible at work today (was a slow day) I think it's fantastic to see the tactics system being set up like this - it seems SI have taken a good long look at the TT&F and applied it to the tactics creator. The underlying mechanics haven't been altered all that significantly, but the methods for setting the tactics up should be tons easier for the average Joe. No more trying to work out if your fullbacks should be on notch 9 or 13

Hmm, I clicked HD (for high definition) and then full screen and could see it very clearly.

Thanks, I never noticed that HD button.

If FML still has the 14 day trial on you can test out the old (but similar) version in FML, or the new version when the FML patch comes (rumoured to be end of September)

Just watched the video and I have to say it does look good.

I think the wizard will result in a lot more players creating sets of tactics, rather than looking for the elusive super tactic. I'm hoping this will bring much more depth and understanding to the tactics system.

I have a question about this blog. What is the tactics creator for exactly?...I see it as an easier way to understand how you have set your team to play as, plus its simpler than the current slider system, is that the correct way to put it or am I wrong? I just hope that this tactics creator helps me break down teams that I would never have a chance in previous versions, teams like Arsenal...that everytime you play them...they are unbeatable because I haven't done my sliders properly etc.

Another thing...the current system also is very confusing, even after reading the TT&F many times over i'm left in a state of dillusion as what to do and how to setup my team, there are way too many things to consider, the sliders give you that extra bad head. The combination of sliders and deep explanation in the TT&F is a bad mix in my opinion for a football sim.

I have a question about this blog. What is the tactics creator for exactly?...I see it as an easier way to understand how you have set your team to play as, plus its simpler than the current slider system, is that the correct way to put it or am I wrong? I just hope that this tactics creator helps me break down teams that I would never have a chance in previous versions, teams like Arsenal...that everytime you play them...they are unbeatable because I haven't done my sliders properly etc.

Another thing...the current system also is very confusing, even after reading the TT&F many times over i'm left in a state of dillusion as what to do and how to setup my team, there are way too many things to consider, the sliders give you that extra bad head. The combination of sliders and deep explanation in the TT&F is a bad mix in my opinion for a football sim.

They will help you create a balanced tactic which will give you a solid foundation to build from. They won't give a win every game tho and tweaks will still be required. This is where the touchline shouts come in as you can change things in a second within a game to react to whats happening. The key to success still remains in reading the match and changing things at the right time.

They do remove a lot of confusion about tt%f and lots of reading to set up a half decent tactic.