Game needs to be harder???

there's no real way of saying this without sounding like an idiot but isn't the game a bit too easy?

I'm managing Derby and in 7 seasons I've got them promoted and won the PL 4 times, the CL 3 times, Club world champs twice, 3 FA cups and 2 league cups. The league cups I won despite fielding massively weakened teams hoping to lose so I wouldn't have fixture pile up.

This wouldn't bother me if I was some Jose Mourinho changing tactics in matches and constantly responding to different threats but I'm not. I tweaked a tactic and now haven't changed it at all in 3 years. For the last 3 seasons all I have done is make substitutions and rotate my squad. Whilst I do enjoy winning, wouldn't the game be more rewarding if you actually had to watch the game and respond to what your opponent was doing? You shouldn't be able to win just by picking a tactic, watching key highlights and just making subs when players get tired or if one or two are under-performing compared to their team-mates. I won the PL by over 20 points last season and 4 other trophies without doing any management and my interest is going to wane soon....

I'm finding this version easier than ever. But maybe I'm just getting better at the game? Who knows.

there's no real way of saying this without sounding like an idiot but isn't the game a bit too easy?

I'm managing Derby and in 7 seasons I've got them promoted and won the PL 4 times, the CL 3 times, Club world champs twice, 3 FA cups and 2 league cups. The league cups I won despite fielding massively weakened teams hoping to lose so I wouldn't have fixture pile up.

This wouldn't bother me if I was some Jose Mourinho changing tactics in matches and constantly responding to different threats but I'm not. I tweaked a tactic and now haven't changed it at all in 3 years. For the last 3 seasons all I have done is make substitutions and rotate my squad. Whilst I do enjoy winning, wouldn't the game be more rewarding if you actually had to watch the game and respond to what your opponent was doing? You shouldn't be able to win just by picking a tactic, watching key highlights and just making subs when players get tired or if one or two are under-performing compared to their team-mates. I won the PL by over 20 points last season and 4 other trophies without doing any management and my interest is going to wane soon....

That is an outstanding achievement. Can you post a screenshot of your manager history please?

I think it's "easy" because AI clubs still make plenty of silly choices, from transfers to lineups to tactics.

Not to mention the fact managing in a well-known league is always a huge advantage... You already know which players are hidden gems, which players look good but don't deliver, which ones you can easily get or sell etc...

But mostly it's about "stupid AI"

bobo281 - how do I do that?

point is its not outstanding - not really done anything but pick a tactic and stick to it....

bobo281 - how do I do that?

point is its not outstanding - not really done anything but pick a tactic and stick to it....

lol as you can see, I'm new here so I don't know how as well... :o:o:o

just noticed while I was trying to work out how to do the screenshot - I've paid £55M to agents in the 7 seasons at Derby!!!! no wonder I'm skint

When you get to the top with the team you managing, the game indeed starts to lack challenge. Most of the games become very predictable and no AI team is capable of throwing you off your throne, so every further season is turning into routine.

As one of the above post indicates, blame the AI.

robioto - agree that we could all be getting better but those kind of stats shouldn't be possible. No-one's ever won 4 PL's in a row and no-one's successfully defended the champions league yet - the game needs to be harder. If I could consistently finish in the top 3 of the PL and reach the QF/SF of the CL but only won either every few years it would be an even more addictive game. Winning PL-CL doubles without doing much and winning cups I'm trying to lose my way out of is ridiculous

Delvish - agree and something does happen when you reach the top - had a right ding dong with man u for the first 2 titles and then in the 3rd season without signing anyone (ran out of money) I trounced them by 15 points and last season was eve worse - it does seem that when you reach the top the other teams fall away and it's something I've noticed in all the previous versions. Once you win the PL a couple of times it gets much much easier.

How much do you do to make it harder for yourself dddddd?

Examples would be things like:

A) Attribute masking always on.

B) Never use the staff search, always advertise.

C) Never use the player search, always scout.

D) Don't sign players that you have knowledge of from RL/forums/previous saves.

do what cougar said, also use fake players and holiday 5 seasons then start unemployed in an unknown league

do what cougar said, also use fake players and holiday 5 seasons then start unemployed in an unknown league

That is a solution but is an extreme, not everyone likes LLM or playing in obscure leagues. Some people just like to play with thier favourite team but with an air of realism.

Cougar 2010 - you're just talking about signing players/staff - my point is that the actual gameplay itself is too easy. I could pick a team like spurs and not sign any players or staff and win the league in the first season and the CL the season after that.

The things you're talking about make building a team more difficult but don't make the actual gameplay harder.

Cougar 2010 - you're just talking about signing players/staff - my point is that the actual gameplay itself is too easy. I could pick a team like spurs and not sign any players or staff and win the league in the first season and the CL the season after that.

The things you're talking about make building a team more difficult but don't make the actual gameplay harder.

I haven't played FM11 enough to comment on gameplay but certainly on FM10 it wasn't easy although it could still have been harder.

In your position I would be considering things like:

A) Did you build your own tactic?

B) Where do your goals come from?

C) Too many from the same situation could mean you've found a weakness in the ME.

D) How many from corners/FKs etc and are you scoring more than other teams in the league?

To take a screen shot, press the 'print screen' button (usually found near F12 key) on the appropriate FM page (managers history for example) then open up 'Paint' and 'Paste'

Then 'Save as' jpeg and upload to http://photobucket.com/ or http://imageshack.us/ and copy the direct link onto here in a post.

I'm not the best at explaining this kind of thing but that should be enough info.

That is a solution but is an extreme, not everyone likes LLM or playing in obscure leagues. Some people just like to play with thier favourite team but with an air of realism.

Personally I don't consider things like that an extreme, they are the norm.

Not doing those things I consider to be making the game easier.

yep built tactic myself

goals come from all over - each season try and get every outfield player to score (not managed it yet)

scoring from corners and free kicks about the same as everyone else (in proportion given I'm scoring more goals)

Personally I don't consider things like that an extreme, they are the norm.

Not doing those things I consider to be making the game easier.

Yes, the norm for you, not everyone else, that was my point.

Yes, the norm for you, not everyone else, that was my point.

You don't know that and neither do I if I'm honest. I can't say I've ever seen any long discussions/polls about playing style but I suspect more than you think consider it the norm.

There have been a number of threads over the years about the game being too easy but for the most part the user involved has done very little to help himself.

Nb. The above comment is by no means aimed at dddddd who seems to have a balanced view of the game.

Cougar - doing those things doesn't fix the problem though - just a bit harder to build your team in the first place. Besides I do play with attribute masking so I need to scout all new players. I do use the staff search but as for not using any knowledge of real life - that's why we play the game - we love football and we know lots about it.....pretty pointless if we're then not allowed to sign anyone we've heard of

cougar - in response to your comment on the 2010 version, found the same issue with 2010 as well although it was a bit harder than 2009. Its a general comment for the series really - it needs to be tougher to win individual games

Cougar - doing those things doesn't fix the problem though - just a bit harder to build your team in the first place. Besides I do play with attribute masking so I need to scout all new players. I do use the staff search but as for not using any knowledge of real life - that's why we play the game - we love football and we know lots about it.....pretty pointless if we're then not allowed to sign anyone we've heard of

As I've said I haven't played FM11 enough to comment on the ME so I'll reserve judgment for now.

As for signings its all about your approach. I look at each save as a blank sheet of paper, you send out your scouts and within a few game months you build up a shortlist of potential signings (Mine can easily have over 2000 names on it). Sure some of them I have RL knowledge of but my decision to approach a player is always based on in game information with RL knowledge never influencing my decision.

kinda agree wth it being a bit easy, i got promoted with leicester the first season the finished 5th in the premier league. Im not really complaining though its the most fun ive had in a save in quite a while

dude, you must be cheating because there is no way you have the finances at derby to do that in such a short space of time. The point im making is that I've started at Everton and am likely to finish 6th in my first season. Derby would not be able to assemble a squad to match Evertons for at least 5-6 years and thats with financial backing. I would be interested to know what players you have and how you got them.

Let me guess you've been checking PAs?

how can you cheat?????? did exactly the same with nottingham forest on FM2010. If you come up with a club provided you're ok with your finances they tend (and ok I've only done this twice (nott'm forest and derby) as I got bored of playing spurs all the time) to give you at least £40M to spend and then you're laughing. From that point on just spend what you win as long as they give it to you.

both times though the chairman stepped aside in the first season and I got new chairmen who were good with transfer kitties, but nothing ridiculous. the new Derby chairman ploughed £20M into running costs once, but that goes back to my point - it's made a little too easy

just realised you might mean messing with editor for cheating - never touched it - don't see the point of that. Whole reason for playing derby and forest was a challenge as I've played spurs on 2008, 2009, 2010.....and our squad is a bit too good now - could prob win the premiership without even making a single transfer and where's the fun in that

dude, you must be cheating because there is no way you have the finances at derby to do that in such a short space of time. The point im making is that I've started at Everton and am likely to finish 6th in my first season. Derby would not be able to assemble a squad to match Evertons for at least 5-6 years and thats with financial backing. I would be interested to know what players you have and how you got them.

I agree but you're talking real life - that's my entire point - its too easy.

Let me guess you've been checking PAs?

what are PA's??

Maybe you could try not to reload even once. Even one loss can make a dip in form and lose the championship for you.

sorry prome I don't follow - what do you mean don't reload?

He is accusing you of saving before games and then reloading if you lose.

what's the point of that?

I used to think this version of FM was easy as well. But now that i have started a new save with 11.2.1 i have lost the first four games of the season with a team expected to reach euro qualification in the Netherlands. Never really had such a long losing streak in any FM before. Doubt the patch has much to do with it other than my tactics maybe not working so great anymore. Of course 4 games don't say a whole lot about difficulty, but i think the new patch does take a bit of adjusting.

what's the point of that?

In my opinion it is pointless as it brings no fun to the game. Other people might enjoy winning all the time so they reply all their matches until they are happy with the result.

Yeh let's just go accusing each other as cheating instead of addressing the issue,

The game is seriously flawed in how easy it is to win.

I was Sunderland and in my 3rd season I signed Neymar, Dzeko, Sahko, Hazard and another 7 players to replace the entire team.

It only took another 2 seasons to win the league and then the Champions League.

It's so easy.

First of all - view the Assistant Report - and sell the players with least stars.

Then scout players and buy the players with the most stars.

You may have to loan some players for the first season but just loan young players with 4 or so stars if you can.

In 3 seasons you'll have a world class team.

And when buying players simply do it on a 48 month, no cash up front and all paid over 48 months.

By season 4 you'll be virtually unbeatable.

Don't know, guys, really don't know.

I can only compare difficulty of FM11 vs FMs9&10 through my network games in Ukrainian championship, but that's what I can tell for sure:

1) Playing for a lower-league club with ****** reputation got harder if compared to previous FM incarnations:

a) It still quite easy to get promoted to the top-league (Ukrainian Premierleague in my case with FC Lviv), but once you are there, it's much harder to fight versus top-clubs (Dinamo Kiev, Shakhtar Donetsk, Dnipro, Metalist);

b) Young players from top club are not as happy to join (contract, I'm not loaning players in FM) you newly promoted team as it used to be;

c) Players from other leagues are also not so easily drawn into your squad, unless they are very very young, or very very old;

d) It's much harder financially this time. FC Lviv has only 2K stadium and unlike in FM10, board is not that keen to develop it;

2) Though it looks a bit more easy to play in the national cup.

In two words - if your club is not from TOP-5 league, has low reputation and small stadium - it's a bigger challenge that FM10.

I'm playing with preston. Got promoted in my first season through the playoffs, then survived in the Prem by a few points.

I'm still struggling to compete with the top teams in my 3rd season, and i an inconsistent at home.

Maybe i dont have the type of finances Derby does, but i'm not finding it as easy as some people on this thread.

Any insight on how you built your tactics would be appreciated.

And when buying players simply do it on a 48 month, no cash up front and all paid over 48 months.

By season 4 you'll be virtually unbeatable.

But that is an exploit and one you don't have to undertake.

FM series has always been easy. A small amount of time to figure out the logic behind the Match Engine and then it's just playing the odds. There's nothing they could do to make it too hard without seriously reallya nnoying a large amount of the playerbase.

do what cougar said, also use fake players and holiday 5 seasons then start unemployed in an unknown league

come off it mate, use fake players and holiday 5 seasons to make it a challaenge?! If that was what we had to do to make it a challenge then the game needs serious looking at.

I however find the game reasonably balanced.

I am finding it a lot easier to get my Sunderland side as a top four team but actually getting the title seems harder than FM10.

Yeh let's just go accusing each other as cheating instead of addressing the issue,

The game is seriously flawed in how easy it is to win.

I was Sunderland and in my 3rd season I signed Neymar, Dzeko, Sahko, Hazard and another 7 players to replace the entire team.

It only took another 2 seasons to win the league and then the Champions League.

It's so easy.

First of all - view the Assistant Report - and sell the players with least stars.

Then scout players and buy the players with the most stars.

You may have to loan some players for the first season but just loan young players with 4 or so stars if you can.

In 3 seasons you'll have a world class team.

And when buying players simply do it on a 48 month, no cash up front and all paid over 48 months.

By season 4 you'll be virtually unbeatable.

well said and exactly the point I'm trying to make. agree not all may find it easy but other games have difficulty levels, why not this one? surely it could be added so everyone could have a challenging game?

I'm playing with preston. Got promoted in my first season through the playoffs, then survived in the Prem by a few points.

I'm still struggling to compete with the top teams in my 3rd season, and i an inconsistent at home.

Maybe i dont have the type of finances Derby does, but i'm not finding it as easy as some people on this thread.

Any insight on how you built your tactics would be appreciated.

mentality's key - try and keep about 5 or 6 clicks covering your mentality from back to front so you're compact and teams cant play through you. Other than that you can fairly much tweak it to your players. I find 4 at the back essential, with a holding midfielder, 2 other midifielders in front, 2 out out wide and forward with 1 up front the best, although I have managed to get 442s working well in the past. Never managed to get near invincible though with anything other than the formation I just mentioned (4-5-1, 4-3-3, whatever you want to call it). Mentality could typically be 8 clicks for defense (gk, cb and holding midfielder), 10 or 11 for support (fb, central midfielders) and 13 or 14 for attack (wide players and striker). Long shots from midfield is good as long as they don't waste it. I always find the 1 up front the most difficult to get right but tweak that right and you'll be off and running. the 1 up front needs to be very strong and I never have anyone in my team with a pace less than 14. Plenty of others will have other ideas but the above has always worked for me on all versions of FM - just set it up and leave it so the team gets used to it.

The game has been dumbed down to appeal to a wider audience since the era of FM07. Simple as that...feel like Ive been saying the same thing over and over in different threads.

And simply saying "just don't use certain parts of the game" kind of defeats the purpose. It's like I'm trying to lose in an attempt to make myself feel like I have to try to win.

The game has been dumbed down to appeal to a wider audience since the era of FM07. Simple as that...feel like Ive been saying the same thing over and over in different threads.

And simply saying "just don't use certain parts of the game" kind of defeats the purpose. It's like I'm trying to lose in an attempt to make myself feel like I have to try to win.

agree entirely and its a shame as since 07 so many little things have developed that really add to the game - really enjoy it, just wish it was that little bit harder...

The problem comes from being too easy to sign top-players(or even on a lower league to sign free-agents that are a lot stronger for that level) using the example above.. Neymar would never sign for Sunderland..

To add that money is easy to get and monthly installments can be abused without major consequences specially on leagues with significant prize money.

The problem comes from being too easy to sign top-players(or even on a lower league to sign free-agents that are a lot stronger for that level) using the example above.. Neymar would never sign for Sunderland..

To add that money is easy to get and monthly installments can be abused without major consequences specially on leagues with significant prize money.

not tried that - thought you had to have enough in your transfer budget to cover the whole bid, even if its in installments??

not tried that - thought you had to have enough in your transfer budget to cover the whole bid, even if its in installments??

I think you only need enough in the budget for the first installment? At least on previous FM's you could buy expensive players easily with that trick.. not sure if it's different on FM11.

FM series has always been easy. A small amount of time to figure out the logic behind the Match Engine and then it's just playing the odds. There's nothing they could do to make it too hard without seriously reallya nnoying a large amount of the playerbase.

I think I'd probably come under that large number. I've only ever been able to achieve a lot with a huge amount of time and effort, if that game was made harder then I'd probably fail miserably in the short term and fail to hold onto my job.