An Idea for the Future...

Hi all.

I have mentioned this idea before but would like to see how people felt about it once it has been fully explained as it is quite a complicated potential feature, and would certainly not be ready for FM11. I know it is quite a lot to read and I apologise, but bear with me.

Firstly, I would like to stress that this would only be a tick-option when you load up the game, like 'Load all key staff' and 'Hide some attributes,' as I realise that this would not be some people's cup of tea. However, for those who enjoy really immersing themselves in the game and look for ultimate realism, I believe that this could really add another dimension to the game.

My idea is that instead of having the attributes of each player given to you at the start of the game, you could have an option to remove all attributes, and have to enter them yourself. In real life, a manager isn't given a list of players and their attributes rated, so why should we? Instead, once you have see enough of a player you should be able to type in your own opinion from 1-20 in that area.

Of course, this would mean you would have to see a lot of a player to judge him accurately, therefore I would suggest 3D training. Although this would seem boring to some, the more committed and dedicated among us, could immerse themselves in setting up drills that gave them a more clear of view of each players strengths and weaknesses. This is why I believe this feature is not yet ready for the game, as it will need a real overhaul to implement 3D training. Furthermore, your assistant could perhaps give you 'suggested' attributes should you ask for them, giving you a general view of his key areas, perhaps only giving you their value to the nearest five, with you having to look at him at training and matches to gauge what you believe to be his true attributes.

Then comes signing players. How would you judge a player who doesn't train with you? Well, this is where I see this feature as really useful for the guys who really like to immerse themselves in the game. One could make use of the 'attend match' feature to have a look at their transfer target. LLMs could also make more use of the 'Trial' contracts, something that doesn't need to be used as much as it is in real life. Furthermore, scouts would still be useful. Like the Assistant Manager idea outlined above, should you ask for a report on a player, you could get a 'suggestion' of their ability. Depending on how much the scout watches a player and the scout's ability, you would get a more accurate view of him.

Personally, I believe that this idea of beginning the game with no logged attributes at all would add realism and add another level to the idea of LLM. What manager in real life is given a list of players with their attributes already listed? Surely they make those decisions themselves? With this potential feature, surely we could too, and give the game more realism, and therefore, more enjoyment.

Thanks a lot for reading, hope I have made it clear enough and please give me some thoughts below - positive or negative.

r_s.

but wouldn't you end up giving all you players really good attributes

but wouldn't you end up giving all you players really good attributes

He doesn't mean you decide how good they, but you judge how good they are based on your own assessment. And TBH, I really can't see the point in it.

What happens if you incorrectly judge players?

Wouldn't it take ages?

I'm sure this has a point, but I've missed it. Basically right, you want all attributes hidden but spaces to enter your guesses? Why not just turn on hidden attributes.

An option to attend a match that a transfer target is playing in would be quite useful,after scouting them first, something similar to attending the trialist match early in the season.

I would hate the game if i could not see any attributes for any player and had to rely on my own judgement. Obviously i would have some clue regarding the abilities of the more well known players (Torres has pace and is an excellent finisher, Rooney reads the game well and has a powerful shot, Gary Neville is a @£$% etc ) but imagine the nightmare trying to get players for teams in the BSN etc.

This is without doubt the worst idea that I've heard. Fair play for trying to bring something new to the forum but it doesn't add up in any capacity. So we input what we think players attributes should be but constantly change them whenever we view a game or train them or receive a scout report!?

Not for me thanks.

This is without doubt the worst idea that I've heard. Fair play for trying to bring something new to the forum but it doesn't add up in any capacity. So we input what we think players attributes should be but constantly change them whenever we view a game or train them or receive a scout report!?

Not for me thanks.

Compared to some ideas in the past, this is pretty damn good. A few years back, somebody suggested that we should tell the player in possesion who to pass to by clicking on our intended target

Bongo-Bongo, you've made me retract my initial statement. That sounds utterly dreadful, the guess the attributes idea is a close second. Don't mean to be harsh as it's much easier to shoot someone down then to actually suggest something myself but I just feel that this is a no hoper.........

An option to attend a match that a transfer target is playing in would be quite useful

You can, just find the next match they're playing in and attend it (click on the "v" in the fixture).

Ah, thanks. I had a sneaking suspicion that it might be possible.

I understand what the OP is saying, but it would be a no-no for me.

I don't even play with player attribute masking on. I don't care if it makes it more realistic having it on. In real-life managers would have a general idea of how good a player is, this is shown in the game by attributes in my opinion. Even with the attributes on, there are hidden attributes which you don't know about unless you use the editor. These are the attributes you can guess at by watching games, and these are the only attributes I want hidden.

I can't be bothered to watch other people's games in FM, so this idea would be a nightmare for me.

Not something I think is a great idea, but the OP has put some effort into his idea not like the rest of the one-liners tbf.

I just don't see anyone willing to spend enough time watching matches in such detail (and training??) to make this idea of any realistic use. Given the imperfections of the match engine too, implementing this would pretty much be impossible.

Not for me at all, sorry.

Sounds like a control freak's football manager! Saying that i dont oppose the idea too much as it will be completely optional as you enter the game. I think the part about 3d training is very good and that should be implemented in the future. But i think this is taking realism too far, it is a game after all. Games shouldnt cross the barrier of realism or it wont be fun. Not for me im afraid but good try!

I see your point , its a good idea. But i really don't think that the amount of time and work that would be needed to put in to make it would not be worth that actual amount of people that would enjoy that aspect of the game. I like the idea, and i would enjoy it, though if it were to implement it i would think that the game would turn out to be more of a job than enjoyment in the end! At least that's my opinion.

I believe that your core idea is not all that bad, Ryan, but as it has already been discussed here, it wouldn't work for this game at all. You're effectively asking a club's (human) manager to take over his coaches and possibly even his scouts jobs in grading each player individually in all of their many stats. That's where FM definitely stops being fun for me and many other people!!!

Well, that being said, I can see that your idea might find some use in the scouting network. All my games use the hidden attributes option and each time I request a scout report on someone with not all of his attributes revealed I ask myself how the process of scouting would work in real life. Much like a scout's impression about a player's ability and potential, it could be possible to introduce his opinion on attributes as well (as much as a scout might glean from some video archive footage for example, judging based on outdated stats that have changed through training). This would make the scouting process more realistic, because when I only request a report card without the scout attending any of the player's matches, his results shouldn't always be perfectly accurate or up to date down to each single ability/attribute value.

I wouldn't mind having the best scouting done in my own league with less than perfect results elsewhere, because it would definitely add a challenge and realism to the game. On the other hand, this would be an intrusion of the holy grail of FM, its player values, and would therefore require much more data for this to work globally. Just imagine not only storing but creating and maintaining player stats for each team individually to maintain said realism for computer controlled teams.

While this modified idea of mine would add some (welcome?) realism to the game, it doesn't seem very practical, does it? I believe that FM is perfect in its structure already and any improvements should be done either to its presentation (graphics, interface) or by streamlining existing features by extending them (for example like the assistant feedback during matches where before you only had the match and its statistics to draw from). Anything more than that would probably take away focus from the FM-experience that I enjoy a lot already.