Making money off FM, is this part of the communty spirit?

Not sure if others have noticed, but FM_Britain have released an ebook for sale, written by fm10 beta testers. Is selling a book on the net really part of the community spirit fm used to have? I remember all the free guides, free skins etc people used to release, is this now going to end so people can make money from FM aside from the developers?

What do people think?

I'm not a regular at FM-B or anything, but the guys over there put a hell of a lot of work into stuff like that.

They also release countless free guides and advice, I think it's totally fair of them to make something that comprehensive, that requires so much time, effort and expertise, for sale.

Not sure if others have noticed, but FM_Britain have released an ebook for sale, written by fm10 beta testers. Is selling a book on the net really part of the community spirit fm used to have? I remember all the free guides, free skins etc people used to release, is this now going to end so people can make money from FM aside from the developers?

What do people think?

Imagine people putting in hundreds of man-hours putting together guidebooks and not wanting to just give it all away...

Have you never bought a guidebook for any other video game? You'll pay at least, what, 15 quid for a Halo 3 or CoD guide book or somesuch, maybe even 20 or more, so what's 8 pound for a pretty good guide? And if they make a little dosh on it, more and more help will be on offer, much of it free, a few more massive ones for pay. Makes sense to me. I put my money down on it and it's a pretty good guide.

What is it with people that want everything for free...?

and people who make skins or test tactics etc dont spend hours on them?

Who said I want everything for free, I am asking what the community think, this is a discussion forum no?

NO it's not that it's the fact that FM Britain put a lot of work into the ebook they released and they feel they have the right to charge for it. Also they do release every year a TT & F ebook for free.

Who said I want everything for free?

LOL, I think you did? Or at least you lamented that it wasn't free like everything else...

They're entitled to charge for it, just as are those who wish to pay for it.

Personally I wouldn't buy it though.

As long as it is legal it is their right. I don't think that someone who does not put that kind of effort should say anything

LOL, I think you did? Or at least you lamented that it wasn't free like everything else...

No I didn't lament, I merely asked what the community thought about it, if they thought it was right, and is this the way the fm community is moving, want a killer tactic, only 2 dollars through paypall... where is the line drawn?

Give me a fiver and I'll tell you the answer.

No I didn't lament, I merely asked what the community thought about it, if they thought it was right, and is this the way the fm community is moving, want a killer tactic, only 2 dollars through paypall... where is the line drawn?

Drawing up a tactic and creating a professional sort of book like the Psycho Guide are two very, very different works. Pay for what you'll pay for, and don't what you won't. The market will either make or break it.

Have you never bought a guidebook for any other video game? You'll pay at least, what, 15 quid for a Halo 3 or CoD guide book or somesuch, maybe even 20 or more, so what's 8 pound for a pretty good guide? And if they make a little dosh on it, more and more help will be on offer, much of it free, a few more massive ones for pay. Makes sense to me. I put my money down on it and it's a pretty good guide.

Prima etc. must have permission from the publishers and creators of the game, so I would be shocked if they were allowed to do this without getting the permission of SEGA or Sports Interactive before doing so.

It would be interesting to see what they have added to this ebook, to see if they have gone through the proper channels to allow something like that to be sold for profit.

As for the Community, it does not shock me one bit. Shocked the Community has lasted so long, remember there are already websites that charge for a premium service...

Considering all the stuff they've done for free I for one do not begrudge them this one. I'll be buying it.

As someone who doesn't d/l tactics I really don't care if they go that way. I've uploaded a few of mine over the years so I'll be happy to collect any donations.

As for skins they need to get a lot better if they want to charge. Some of the ones out for fm10 wouldn't get near my pc unless they paid me. I remember the days of some absolutely blinding skins. Now, not so much.

Considering all the stuff they've done for free I for one do not begrudge them this one. I'll be buying it.

As someone who doesn't d/l tactics I really don't care if they go that way. I've uploaded a few of mine over the years so I'll be happy to collect any donations.

As for skins they need to get a lot better if they want to charge. Some of the ones out for fm10 wouldn't get near my pc unless they paid me. I remember the days of some absolutely blinding skins. Now, not so much.

FM06 skins > *

FM10 is the first time I've had to resort to trying to make my own.

FM06 skins > *

FM10 is the first time I've had to resort to trying to make my own.

Certainly does seem to be a lot less decent skins around than there used to be. Has the default skin got better or are people just less interested in making them? Or both?

I can't believe anybody would pay for the guide when most of the information is, as FM Britain concedes, available for free on their own website.

Still, there's nothing stopping them from charging if it's legal. They can do what they like, they just may not make much money!

A bit of both I think. Might release my skin after a few more tweaks, but tbh like most it's just a recolour. I think the days of radical design changes (bar restoring the tree menu) are gone.

If people take the time and effort to give a guide line book to help those who dont understand and what makes the game, why shouldn't they charge for there services?

I would charge people knowing i have spent hundreds of hours on developing the ebook and i would charge alot more than what they are charging thats for sure.

I would never buy a guide book to FM as I prefer discussing the game with people I know and I am pretty sure anything covered in the guide can be found on this website. Then again if you bought a guide for Oblivion or Fallout 3 for example then it's the same thing as what ever is in the guide you pay for can be found for free on a website. At the end of the day if you don't want to buy it then don't if you do then do, it really is that simple in my eyes.

Is there not a load of audio disscussion as well as just the typical pdf file. If so then it may be worth the price. Will probably be easier to understand than some of the threads on the forums for new fm players. Have played cm/fm for years and have read some of the content on that site. I'm sure whatever is in the guide will have stuff even the experienced fm guys can look at, consider and implement into their own style of playing the game. IMO reading things about how others play fm is useful maybe a bit like in real life management. Managers, coaches etc visit other clubs to learn new techniques. Might look at getting it as its only a few pounds anyway.

lol if you think that is bad, you want to have a look around on Ebay, at least it is their own work that they have put plenty of hardwork into.

There is always people charging around £10 pound for a disk that contains skins/facepacks/soundpack and even updates such as weegie, claiming that for just £7 you can have a up to date database etc.

All made by other people and available for free on FM fansites, and you get people trying to make money off other peoples 'free' work on Ebay.

of course they have the right to produce a guide for a price... but thats not what the OP is asking...

he's simply asking if its part of the community spirit... and what our thoughts are on it..

My feeling on the matter is simple.... il pay for the prima guides as they are proven producers of top quality guides that im assured are totally correct and full of the kind of info i know i will want..

fm-britain has made a guide full of useful info for sure... but nothing that i would be willing to pay for.. simply for the fact that I cant see how their knowledge of the game is anything better then what I and others who play the game is..

but of course.. everyone starts somewhere...

there's a thread on this in the tactics forum here: http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php?t=197293

just quoting the relevant part of my post there: "but the thought that pops into my head is that whether any of the information in CPW helped by the access afforded to the people at the helm of it? presumably it's the same people who were involved some with the progress of the match engine of late as well as the design of the tactical creator and possibly more."

My feeling on the matter is simple.... il pay for the prima guides as they are proven producers of top quality guides that im assured are totally correct and full of the kind of info i know i will want..

Hmmmm. You obviously have a better opinion of them than I do.

"Community spirit" isn't the only important thing in giving out information!

It's a bit like saying John Terry doesn't deserve his wages "because it's not in the spirit of the community for him to receive such stupid wages while there are homeless Londoners". No, Terry deserves his wages as a cryba - I mean - professional footballer and as one of the best at his job. The notion of "community spirit" is a red herring.

Not knowing anything about the book, i would presume it is a book about how to be successful etc.

Firstly, this would have to take account of all 3 patches, as they all worked in different ways and so require different tactics.

Secondly, like all other guides, by reading them it takes the enjoyment out of playing the game and discovering things for yourself.

Even if it was free, i wouldn't bother with it

Secondly, like all other guides, by reading them it takes the enjoyment out of playing the game and discovering things for yourself.

Even if it was free, i wouldn't bother with it

I couldn't disagree more. I've just started perusing the guide (yes, bought it) and it's about the psychological side of the game, team talks, press conferences, player interactions, manager interactions, etc.

I consider these aspects the most arcane parts of the game, and the areas easiest to go wrong. In a sense, using the guide, getting familiar with the concepts behind the features, makes it more enjoyable, because I can focus on managing, not on trying to figure out which strange statement is going to make my star striker freak out and break his teammate's face in training...

I am not a lawyer, but as far as I'm aware charging for an ebook that discusses the game is perfectly legal. What is not legal is charging for skins and tactics etc., as these use and potentially modify aspects of the game code that is copyright SI/SEGA, and so is against the EULA which every user of the game agreed to.

So you won't see people charging for skins and tactics as the OP suggests above. I personally see no problem with charging for an ebook about the game. If you don't like it, don't pay for it! It would hardly be essential reading to enjoy FM.

So, is the guide worth the price?

Does it have pretty illustrations?

And I might buy if I could get it as a real book that I can read on the toilet

No it's not worth the price. They mention at the end about areas that they could have expanded into and gone into more detail on. I'm sorry but for £8 you really should be putting everything you know into it.

Pros: Good reference point, easier to see everything in one place rather than spread over multiple forum posts.

Cons: not enough depth, if you've read any posts about team talks (WoIfsong's, BubbaBayTuna's) and/or press conferences then you already know it, overpriced.