Tactics Creator - A Delusion of Presentation ?

I haven't downloaded the demo yet, so I have no experience with what I'm curious of.

I have always been a hard fan of tactical depth, consistency and superiority. However as the game evolved more and more, all series long ever since CM4, which I can't say I've played as much as most of you do, I'm constantly trying to settle with a tactic, eventually finding the game nearly impenetrable. What always sounded very reasonable "on chalkboard" to me never worked out. What sounded weird to me was very well used by others. But hey, that may be me. Anyway.

So I've been reading first impressions about the demo and it's flooded with "omg tactic kreator is teh Creator indeed" messages. Sorry but how come ? Demo is out there for only a couple of hours.

Are you deluded with the new "package" in which the "old" choices presented to you -we don't know how "tactics" mathematically work out for the game so sliders disappearing does not have to mean something revolutionary or at least drastical- or do we really have a piece of clay -!AT LAST!- with which we are free to create with the way we suppose it to be and get satisfied with the sense ?

Anybody ?

Its just better and so much quicker, like I can sub off Robinho who I have set as an 'inside forward' and bring on Petrov and set him to be a 'winger' - instead of bothering with the hassle to change all the sliders accordingly

The tactics creator still has the sliders but they are more under the bonnet and so your tactics 'on the chalkboard' can become easier to realise.

There is still plenty of tweaking required to accomodate players differing attributes but as much of the slider movement is taken away by the player role and mentality settings you will find tactics easier to make.

Yeah, I actually was asking about how "it's just better".

Quicker? Ok.

Easier ? Very Well.

Better ? Don't you think there's more to "being better" ?

I've used it a little and I'd say it's different (obviously). It's hard to say whether it's good or bad since it's only been used for a couple of hours but it certainly is more convenient. I'd like to add that it's alot more intuitive than last year's version and I feel it has alot of potential.

Yeah, I actually was asking about how "it's just better".

Quicker? Ok.

Easier ? Very Well.

Better ? Don't you think there's more to "being better" ?

It's better because it does more or less what I want to do in less time than it would take manually. I can still tweak or start from scratch and I can now make changes I want to make as opposed to leaving them as it "probably won't make a great difference to the result"

It's intuitive, it gets you to build a tactic in football terms, not slider terms. That's surely exactly what FM needed? Once you use it will will understand

It's intuitive, it gets you to build a tactic in football terms, not slider terms. That's surely exactly what FM needed? Once you use it will will understand

yep thats exactly how i feel now, it feels like giving instructions to my team more than playing a video game with stupid sliders.. as well as making it quicker totally changed FM for me even though it appears superficial and nothings really changed, but loads better for it nontheless

SmurfDude is exactly right.

Before you had to understand the sliders to understand the tactics. It didn't make sense in football terms, it didn't really use footballing vocabulary.

If you play a 4-4-2 with the two wide players with "Winger" roles and the one striker as a "Trequartista" then while it's 4-4-2 on paper, visually on the pitch and in terms of tactical work it'll more often resemble a 4-2-3-1.

It would be very time consuming to get this to happen previously, you'd need to fiddle with the sliders for every individual role, moving it all over the place, now it's an easy drop down menu.

You can also change easily from and to different strategies. It's easy to build one formation with different situations in mind without spending hours at a time.

It just feels right and that is coming from somebody who'd been very cynical of the Tactics & Training forums main theroies for several years.

Yeah, I actually was asking about how "it's just better".

Quicker? Ok.

Easier ? Very Well.

Better ? Don't you think there's more to "being better" ?

Technically it isn't better, as it's pretty much the same as before. However you said it in your opening post, what seemed reasonable to you in slider terms didn't work out in the game. With the tactics creator that's a thing of the past. You set your tactic in football terms and it will work as expected, or at least your team will try to execute those instructions to the best of their abilities. So in a sense it's definately better, as you can access the underlying system better than before.

Okay, I apparently failed to get myself across.

I understand the innovations being up there and making you "feel" better with it however I'm rather interested in the actual outcome. We all know we are presented with "even more advanced tactics system" every other version. But what's (or was) out there in the end ? Same story, different setting.

No, I'm not sore, I just want to believe that I will enjoy FM for the first time in 4 years.

it's brilliant

Okay, I apparently failed to get myself across.

I understand the innovations being up there and making you "feel" better with it however I'm rather interested in the actual outcome. We all know we are presented with "even more advanced tactics system" every other version. But what's (or was) out there in the end ? Same story, different setting.

No, I'm not sore, I just want to believe that I will enjoy FM for the first time in 4 years.

I'm not sure what sort of answers you're expecting from us then. Why don't you just try the demo and see if you like it?

Okay, I apparently failed to get myself across.

I understand the innovations being up there and making you "feel" better with it however I'm rather interested in the actual outcome. We all know we are presented with "even more advanced tactics system" every other version. But what's (or was) out there in the end ? Same story, different setting.

No, I'm not sore, I just want to believe that I will enjoy FM for the first time in 4 years.

As Ainu said, I don't know what answer you're looking for.

It's essentially a more easily understandable version of the same system, so yes, ultimately it's the same results out on the pitch. However, what you need to look at is this:

Previously, you'd set the sliders up to what you thought would be how to get the best out of a player and a team and it wouldnt work. You wouldn't know whether this was because it was the sliders werent doing what you thought, they were but the player wasn't right or it just simply didn't work with the rest of your system.

Now, you can set up your system and it'll ensure that it's a cohesive system, if there's an issue, you can identify it more easily. It may be the player, it may be the role, it may be the whole tactic, but now you're able to address things in a coherent manner.

I have always been a hard fan of tactical depth, consistency and superiority. However as the game evolved more and more, all series long ever since CM4, which I can't say I've played as much as most of you do, I'm constantly trying to settle with a tactic, eventually finding the game nearly impenetrable. What always sounded very reasonable "on chalkboard" to me never worked out. What sounded weird to me was very well used by others. But hey, that may be me. Anyway.

This, I believe, is where your problem lies.

In the past I think you struggled to convert your "chalkboard" ideas into slider instructions. This led to your team not playing in the way you believed them to be in your head.

The tactics creator makes it easier to convert your ideas into instructions that the ME can understand leading to your team playing the way you expect them to.

As Ainu said, I don't know what answer you're looking for.

I think he's basically canvasing for people's opinions on, for example, how much easier it is now to get your team playing more the way you would like them to play, and actually doing the things you wanted them to do, not how much better the user-interface is. Whereas people have commented on how much better it is in terms of being quicker, and clearer to understand (due to being in footballing terms rather than slider terms), this would mean nothing if when you are watching the match, your players don't actually do anything like you wanted them to.

Apologies to the original poster if this is not what you meant.

I think it's a fair and interesting question to ask. Sure he could download the demo and try it for himself, as people have suggested, but that would only tell you how your own small set of tactics work with your chosen team. Whereas the multitude of forumites here will be trying all manner of wierd-and-wonderful tactics with teams of differing quality.

EDIT:

The tactics creator makes it easier to convert your ideas into instructions that the ME can understand leading to your team playing the way you expect them to.

I shouldn't have bothered with all the rubbish I wrote above, and should just have quoted this in the first place.

Anyway, it would still be interesting to hear if people have found this to be the case in practice, and not just in theory.

I think he's basically canvasing for people's opinions on, for example, how much easier it is now to get your team playing more the way you would like them to play, and actually doing the things you wanted them to do, not how much better the user-interface is. Whereas people have commented on how much better it is in terms of being quicker, and clearer to understand (due to being in footballing terms rather than slider terms), this would mean nothing if when you are watching the match, your players don't actually do anything like you wanted them to.

Apologies to the original poster if this is not what you meant.

I think it's a fair and interesting question to ask. Sure he could download the demo and try it for himself, as people have suggested, but that would only tell you how your own small set of tactics work with your chosen team. Whereas the multitude of forumites here will be trying all manner of wierd-and-wonderful tactics with teams of differing quality.

EDIT:

I shouldn't have bothered with all the rubbish I wrote above, and should just have quoted this in the first place.

Anyway, it would still be interesting to hear if people have found this to be the case in practice, and not just in theory.

Squirmy Rooter, that was a brilliant pose of empathy. Just what I tried to take gamers through.

I can see for myself, however, still, as Squirmy said, the multitude would verify what's right indeed.

I'm waiting for the "omfg that's something new !!" impression to settle.

'course, some of you are slider geniuses and the option still exists for them.

The tactics creator simply allows:

1) Those who are OK at the game but feel the sliders were rather robotic or algorithmic in nature were unhelpful

2) New players don't get overwhelmed by a bunch of sliders

3) Those who want a much nicer approach with the occasional tinkering - those who like quick, simple games without too much thinking

Okay, I apparently failed to get myself across.

I understand the innovations being up there and making you "feel" better with it however I'm rather interested in the actual outcome. We all know we are presented with "even more advanced tactics system" every other version. But what's (or was) out there in the end ? Same story, different setting.

No, I'm not sore, I just want to believe that I will enjoy FM for the first time in 4 years.

I've been using the creator for a while now on FML. The ease of use is far better- as is subs.

But most of all is that your tactics all tie in together- so your team plays like more of a unit. Okay there is still room for you to mess up IE give a player a role that doesn't suit him, or play formation/tactical setting that doesn't a/ suit your team or b/ suit how the opposition plays.

In game shouts let you change certain setting in the actual match, without hitting pause and fiddling with sliders.

Believe me when I say that this is the best and biggest advance in a few years.

IMO th enew creater gives an actual value to what the sliders are doing, as in the past using the sliders would often contradict what you were doing with them e.g you could pass direct but with a slow tempo, which makes no sense. What the creater does is adjusts the way your team plays to actual descriptions thus putting the sliders where they should be and takes out so much guess work. You still have the freedom to tinker.

Do the creators actually know what all the sliders do!?

Do the creators actually know what all the sliders do!?

No, we just guessed.

No, we just guessed.

And you got it totally wrong as well WWFan, let me tell you!

Naturally, I'm joking.

Regards,

C.

SmurfDude is exactly right.

Before you had to understand the sliders to understand the tactics. It didn't make sense in football terms, it didn't really use footballing vocabulary.

Which is a little rubbish in the first place, as the slider effects never had to be explained this vague. Regardless, as I've already stated in the demo impression thread, it is a masking and a workaround, but as soon as you want to tweak the details - and you will some time eventually - it's back to the most immediate connection there is between you and the ME, and that is the sliders. Not a bunch of pre-determined settings, no matter how much they're labeled in real-world football terms.

Mind, I appreciate the work that went into this, and it is well done. But in the end, it's not adressing certain core issues in any kind of way.

I’ve only played one game on the demo so far, so this is not meant to be a definitive statement.

The new tactics set up certainly seems more intuitive and realistic to what a manager would do to get his team/players doing what he wants, ie setting philosophy/roles/instructions rather than selecting numerical sliders. However I still think that it will take a fair bit of trial and error to work out which set ups will work for particular teams/players, especially for formations where roles are not necessarily so generic. I also think that there will be examples where set-ups will not actually work the way you think they should on the first try.

For example I played a game with arsenal and set up a wide-ish 4312 with Fabregas selected as a ‘playmaker’ MC. When I checked the game stats, despite me winning 7-0 (and I was actually really please with how the team played overall) Cesc only made 8/9 passes in the first half (he was subbed at half time). What this shows me is that even with the new set up, its not always going to be as simple/easy as just set up a tactic once and away you go; there will be a need to test and tweak.

This I think is probably the best middle ground between those who want a more realistic and accessible game, and those who want it to be a game where you can tweak everything to the last detail.

The creator and player roles addition is probably my favourite new feature. As others have posted, it feels like you're a manager telling a player his exact job, rather than give him a list of orders, with a scale of 0-20 or rarely to often.

I haven't downloaded the demo yet, so I have no experience with what I'm curious of.

I have always been a hard fan of tactical depth, consistency and superiority. However as the game evolved more and more, all series long ever since CM4, which I can't say I've played as much as most of you do, I'm constantly trying to settle with a tactic, eventually finding the game nearly impenetrable. What always sounded very reasonable "on chalkboard" to me never worked out. What sounded weird to me was very well used by others. But hey, that may be me. Anyway.

So I've been reading first impressions about the demo and it's flooded with "omg tactic kreator is teh Creator indeed" messages. Sorry but how come ? Demo is out there for only a couple of hours.

Are you deluded with the new "package" in which the "old" choices presented to you -we don't know how "tactics" mathematically work out for the game so sliders disappearing does not have to mean something revolutionary or at least drastical- or do we really have a piece of clay -!AT LAST!- with which we are free to create with the way we suppose it to be and get satisfied with the sense ?

Anybody ?

One of the most pompous OPs I've ever read.

You haven't downloaded the demo, yet you question why people are liking it?

I've struggled with tactics for the past few versions due to it being so vague and complicated, but finally I'm able to have my team playing football the way I want them to. This makes FM10 = better than previous versions. I don't see why it's so hard to understand.

You haven't downloaded the demo, yet you question why people are liking it?

I don't understand why I wouldn't be able to, regarding that the demo was being played for only a couple of hours by the time I brought this up. And, by even now, it still is a game too fresh to decide over.

but finally I'm able to have my team playing football the way I want them to. This makes FM10 = better than previous versions.

Voila, at least you're at where this thread intends to examine.

[deja_vu]

You haven't played a couple of different (FM) games, long enough to see whether the new way of presentation of tactics really do that or not, yet you question the doubt over it ?

[/deja_vu]

I don't see why it's so hard to understand.

One of the most pompous final ideas I've ever read. ^__/\_____^

Another thing is that the tactics creator is providing you with sets of one-size-fits-all maskings. FM's trying to simulate a vast array of players and teams from top of the world to bottom of potatoe league alike. Which obviously means you're not only going to tweak this every once in a while, but that you have to. The issue never was the sliders. The issue is they're officially explained in no-nonsense nonsensicals like: "gradually adjusting this lets your players do the more ambitious stuff." Like what? Backheel flicks? Tempo dribblings past the last line of defense? Difficult through balls? Bits of free roaming action? Trying to communicate hundreds of thousands of players the effects of a tick box? You'll never know until you'll trial&error the way out of this, or put your trust in the hands of those that already did so for days - and even those might eventually not agree with each other.

FM's learning curve remains comparably steep, and a big chunk of it is an artificial kind of steep.

Basically put the creator gives you a skeleton for your tactics for you to then adjust according to your players, team individual fixtures. Yes it does take experimentation but thats what your friendlies are for. Skip these at your peril!!!

You shouldn't need any kind of experimentation to figure out the exact effect of a slider on a match engine though. That is just nonsense people appear to put up with becasue the rest of the game rocks your socks this much - not ruling out someone who likes to engage in this kind of challenge though. It's like Civilization shipping without a single tool-tip or manual that actually explains the most basic rules and mechanics of the game, merely hinting at possible outcomes of pushing certain buttons, and you're left to figure out how to found cities and to build units yourself. That isn't experimentation. Experimentation means I'm being explained a game's mechanics - it's the very foundation that allows me to start experiments in the first place. FM is, bluntly put, guesswork. Out of the box and shipping with an official documentation like this anyway.

What I mean is that the new creator gives you everything in the broadest terms. It's then up to you to adjust and fiddle till it's perfect. If you don't want to put the time in to it you don't have to and can revert to 'classic' tactics. It brings a new element to the game and gives more variety while making it simpler to understand. It's not guess work, it's an investment of your own time to find something that works.

Tactics then becomes a more interesting element of the game for more people - it becomes more about which players would suit certain roles, and which overall team strategies to use in given situations, as opposed to "how do I get my player to behave as a deep-lying playmaker".

I couldn't agree more. I'm using Arsenal, and for my AML I use Arshavin as an inside forward but when he's not playing I use Vela and all I need to do is right click and change hime to a winger. So simple to do without having to go through loads of changes especially if I do it in a match.

Actually I agree the advanced instructions could be explained better, particularly in-game.

However, even if the true meaning of the sliders was easier to understand, that doesn't negate the need for a more powerful way of manipulating groups of sliders in one-go according to higher-level strategies and ideas.

Also, many people don't want to have to define what a 'deep-lying playmaker' is in terms of individual instructions, they know roughly it means IRL, they can read and in-game description of it which tallies with their understanding, and they can choose it for one of their players. That's a much more elegant way to play the game for many people.

Tactics then becomes a more interesting element of the game for more people - it becomes more about which players would suit certain roles, and which overall team strategies to use in given situations, as opposed to "how do I get my player to behave as a deep-lying playmaker".

Those who want the extra depth, or those who want a bit of both can then override instructions individually.

All that said, we'll be keeping an eye on the forums and absorbing all feedback about the new system with a view to building on it in future.

Well then my personal oppinion would be that SI gave descriptions in the manual how to roughly create these type of instructions so that Gamers would have to try for themselves. This would help learn Gamers how to deal with sliders and what 'values' they have, instead of an automated version that needs no real further thought...

Well then my personal oppinion would be that SI gave descriptions in the manual how to roughly create these type of instructions so that Gamers would have to try for themselves. This would help learn Gamers how to deal with sliders and what 'values' they have, instead of an automated version that needs no real further thought...

It DOES require further thought, The creator gives you a base from which you build up your individual style. It just takes a lot of guesswork out for the first part. If you'd rather start from scratch then you can. But I'd rather have a solid starting point from which to build. Maybe it's just me.

It DOES require further thought, The creator gives you a base from which you build up your individual style. It just takes a lot of guesswork out for the first part. If you'd rather start from scratch then you can. But I'd rather have a solid starting point from which to build. Maybe it's just me.

I'm with you on this.

Loversleaper - I completely understand what you're trying to say, especially in terms of it building users' understanding of how the engine "works". I've been following your guides in the T&T forum for ages and without them, getting into FM09 would have been almost impossible for me. Whilst I'm grateful for all your work in that respect, it isn't good enough the situation arose in the first place, considering I'm not stupid and I spend many hours a week watching football. The previous tactics system didn't test how well you understood football and its strategy, it tested how well you were able to translate that into a slider system. For this reason, I think the wizard is a wonderful addition to the game.

It DOES require further thought, The creator gives you a base from which you build up your individual style. It just takes a lot of guesswork out for the first part. If you'd rather start from scratch then you can. But I'd rather have a solid starting point from which to build. Maybe it's just me.

Well then it is minimal. I just had the impression that FM was the most advanced/challenging game on the market and then at the same time we get 'drop down menus' where it doesn't require any thought, why didn't we get the same options with training? We could have a drop down menu for individual training regimes.

I am well aware that this game was not built for me personally or for anyone specifically, but I can't help feeling that this game has been 'dumbed-down' a tad...

I'm with you on this.

Loversleaper - I completely understand what you're trying to say, especially in terms of it building users' understanding of how the engine "works". I've been following your guides in the T&T forum for ages and without them, getting into FM09 would have been almost impossible for me. Whilst I'm grateful for all your work in that respect, it isn't good enough the situation arose in the first place, considering I'm not stupid and I spend many hours a week watching football. The previous tactics system didn't test how well you understood football and its strategy, it tested how well you were able to translate that into a slider system. For this reason, I think the wizard is a wonderful addition to the game.

Yes, this is what I've been trying to say but you've put it in much simpler terms. Thank you. Personally I find the tactics creator the best addition to the game.

Actually I agree the advanced instructions could be explained better, particularly in-game.

However, even if the true meaning of the sliders was easier to understand, that doesn't negate the need for a more powerful way of manipulating groups of sliders in one-go according to higher-level strategies and ideas.

Also, many people don't want to have to define what a 'deep-lying playmaker' is in terms of individual instructions, they know roughly it means IRL, they can read and in-game description of it which tallies with their understanding, and they can choose it for one of their players. That's a much more elegant way to play the game for many people.

In theory you're right - talking football is easier than talking tick boxes and sliders. And yet the sliders remain the most immediate connection between you and the engine. In fact, it's the only one that is really immediate at all. And the tactics creator remains a set of pre-defined slider settings, no matter what real world football terms are trying to mask them. I'm not sure if those will work for just any team or player, given how many players from all kinds of level of football are in the game. There is no way around tweaking, which means going back to the sliders. So whilst the tactics creator might provide the basics to work with, the issue with the sliders and documentation (or lack thereof) remains.

Ideally, you should be able to define player roles yourself - roughly being able to tell a player what to do. After all, even that "deep-lying playmaker" is just a generalization of real-world players taking similar roles. And roles aren't something written in stone, nor are they something permanent that's always been there. It'll be interesting to see how this pans out for newcomers and those merely reading the manual alike in the long run.

The best thing about it is that it actually makes you feel like you are giving the players instructions, rather than prescribing a precise science.

Well then it is minimal. I just had the impression that FM was the most advanced/challenging game on the market and then at the same time we get 'drop down menus' where it doesn't require any thought, why didn't we get the same options with training? We could have a drop down menu for individual training regimes.

I am well aware that this game was not built for me personally or for anyone specifically, but I can't help feeling that this game has been 'dumbed-down' a tad...

I guess what it comes down to at the end of the day is personal preference. And that's why they've kept the old method of tactic creation too. Training remains one of the disappointments for me, and I feel with a similar overhaul to the tactics could give me something else to get my teeth into.

I'm with you on this.

Loversleaper - I completely understand what you're trying to say, especially in terms of it building users' understanding of how the engine "works". I've been following your guides in the T&T forum for ages and without them, getting into FM09 would have been almost impossible for me. Whilst I'm grateful for all your work in that respect, it isn't good enough the situation arose in the first place, considering I'm not stupid and I spend many hours a week watching football. The previous tactics system didn't test how well you understood football and its strategy, it tested how well you were able to translate that into a slider system. For this reason, I think the wizard is a wonderful addition to the game.

Thanks for the kind words. I am not really knocking the set-up as such and maybe it proves to be what was needed for gamers to realise the mechanism behind the ME. I just thought it would be a better idea for the manual to describe basically what a Gamer would have to do to make specific roles so that Gamers would be moving the sliders themselves or giving them other instructions which should give the Gamers 'visual' understanding. We should also be able to 'save' them afterwards and maybe have a 'drop down menu' where we can implement them as soon as we need to...

. I just thought it would be a better idea for the manual to describe basically what a Gamer would have to do to make specific roles so that Gamers would be moving the sliders themselves or giving them other instructions which should give the Gamers 'visual' understanding. We should also be able to 'save' them afterwards and maybe have a 'drop down menu' where we can implement them as soon as we need to...

Yes that sounds like the best of both worlds - better understanding combined with the simple one click changes which could be made when personnel or opponents demand it. The problem I forsee, however, is that a lot of users would simply end up copying, line by line, the manual into the game to build their "base" tactic. In this case you may as well save the user the trouble and give them the wizard :-)

I just thought it would be a better idea for the manual to describe basically what a Gamer would have to do to make specific roles so that Gamers would be moving the sliders themselves or giving them other instructions which should give the Gamers 'visual' understanding.

Maybe this is something that could be added to the forum somewhere, kind of like a step-by-step to advance tactics as it would be far to much to put in a manual especially as there are infinite possibilities, and would be different for every manager and club.

In my Humble view, after having tested the Strawberry demo for 3 games, it seems that the game has become even more "real". Instead of screwing your brain trying to find out why the team collapsed when you upped 2 nothces the mentality of your DCs without tweaking the defensive line (one random example), now you try to find out if your MC can fit the role of a Box-to-Box midfielder, or if you should play 2 deep lying playmakers with 2 wingers one poacher and one trequartista. For me this is far more challenging and far more real than the older version. However, it seems quite more difficult for me to succeed with teams (players) I have no good knowledge of. I find it very hard to distinguish what is the best role for a player from his stats only.

I bet a dusting of the old TT&F documentation would be a great deal of a help

In my view, well done SI once again

In my Humble view, after having tested the Strawberry demo for 3 games, it seems that the game has become even more "real". Instead of screwing your brain trying to find out why the team collapsed when you upped 2 nothces the mentality of your DCs without tweaking the defensive line (one random example), now you try to find out if your MC can fit the role of a Box-to-Box midfielder, or if you should play 2 deep lying playmakers with 2 wingers one poacher and one trequartista. For me this is far more challenging and far more real than the older version. However, it seems quite more difficult for me to succeed with teams (players) I have no good knowledge of. I find it very hard to distinguish what is the best role for a player from his stats only.

I bet a dusting of the old TT&F documentation would be a great deal of a help

In my view, well done SI once again

Have a look at your backroom advice. They'll generally come to you with advice for a Target Man, Playmaker etc.

For the nth time in this thread, for dear contributors looking to play a part in the discussion:

I am, as you all are, aware that there is something new. New choices, new interface, new labels. However I'm inquiring the actual content. I could never achieve what I had in mind before and that made me worry about how tactical system worked. Yeah. It's now something new, but how effective is it ?

Same chips in new package ?

For the nth+1 time: We all know there is something new in the game. I'm asking about the practicality/applicability/effectivity of it.

Yes that sounds like the best of both worlds - better understanding combined with the simple one click changes which could be made when personnel or opponents demand it. The problem I forsee, however, is that a lot of users would simply end up copying, line by line, the manual into the game to build their "base" tactic. In this case you may as well save the user the trouble and give them the wizard :-)

You grazed on this yourself: almost everyone want's to be better at the game and for this to happen we need to have a good idea how the game mechanism is responding to manual instructions. One can always 'cheat' or copy things wearing blindfolds but they will only be cheating themselves out of 'knowledge', but for the 99% others I don't think it is the case. It makes it less 'interresting' that now the game can do it for you rather then doing it yourself, as I think it has something to do with that a lot of us want to feel as it was a self-accomplishment...

Personally, I find it very practical. It takes a couple of attempts to get it spot on but that's half the fun. It gives you in general terms the oppurtunity to build a team stratergy focused on the key elements of how you want your team to play e.g fluid or rigid, how expressive, attacking etc.

The only way to really know if it's for you is to try it. For me it's got my team how I want them to play - just like they do IRL something I've never been able to achieve with sliders alone.