Clarification on Detail Level option.

Ok I did read today on some other website that when you turn detail level down or even off to leagues or competitions, the results become unrealistic, because its not using the game engine to process the match.

Is this true?, I usually have all my detail level turned off for everything, as this greatly increases the speed of my game.

I can't reallly afford to turn them on as my game will grind to a halt.

So can anyone actually clarify what this function actually does? and if the realism is effected in anyway?

If the detail level is off, the result is generated but you cannot get any player/team statistics from the game. The higher the detail level, the more stats are generated and hence the processing takes longer.

Ok so it's just a stat's thing?, nothing to do with realism, hang on ill post what was written on the other site:

"In regards the detail level you've completely left out any mention of the negative effects

of doing this, in particular in regards realism and the fact that results are then based on things

like player reputation and CA rather than the realistic match engine that FM offers."

Is this statement true or false, if it's just a stat decrease I am not at bothered by it, but realism effects me, as it's like a sore thumb, you can't ignore it.

False, lowering the detail disables your ability to look at highlights from those games for example, suggesting is skews results either way is a bit daft.

Phew! Cheers for clearing it up, I mean I wasn't completely convinced with the statement, but I wanted anyone here to clarify, which you did, thanks a lot guys.

Does this mean you can select a shed load more leagues and increase the player count without impacting on PC perormance?

Is having a 100,000 player database any advantage at all is another question.

Ta

the game still has to process the results, just not in as much detail so you will still slow the game down if you add more leagues.

So basically if I want all the players from a league + a simulation of results without detailed stats, I should select the league with detail level off?

This is quoted from Amaroq in this thread, and I believe is the best description of the differences between each of them...

No. There's a huge difference in processing speed between "View Only" and "Playable".

In a league which is completely off, there are no fixtures, you cannot see a league table, clubs' AI is fairly inactive/passive, and promotion/relegation/European spots are done purely by reputation. What you'll notice in a long-term game is basically the same four clubs qualifying for the Champions League over and over, though if you pay close attention to their first-round C.L. match, you can figure out who finished 1st/2nd, who was 3rd, and who was 4th, and that will change occasionally based on their C.L. wins/losses. On a "Small" database, regens are fairly uncommon.

In a league which is "View Only", there are fixtures, however, each match is resolved super-quickly based primarily on the clubs' reputation. Therefore, you can see a league table, and promotion/relegation/European spots are done by table, so you'll see a bit more variation. The clubs' AI is still fairly inactive/passive, which means that the top clubs eventually "fall behind" the top clubs in your Playable nations. On a "Small" database, regens are fairly uncommon.

In a league which is "Playable", but on low detail, there are fixtures, and each match is resolved based on the quality of the players involved .. but the full match is not simulated, so it is of average quickness; you can't watch match highlights. You can see a league table, and promotion/relegation/European spots are done by table. The clubs' AI is now active/aggressive, which keeps the top clubs in line with the top clubs in other nations. Regens are created annually for every club just as they are for yours.

In a league which is "Playable" and on "Full Detail", such as the league your club is in, there are fixtures and each match is resolved in every-touch-of-the-ball detail, which is extremely slow. It does give you the ability to watch highlights or even full matches, and of course there's a league table and proper promotion/relegation/European spots. The clubs' AI is active/aggressive, and regens are created annually for every club.

. . .

So, setting a league on "View Only" gives you a marginally better experience, with more variation in the promotion/relegation/European spots. It doesn't really make the league into an active league, but it isn't going to cost you much processing time, either.

Because of the difference in A.I. strength, I like to set the top divisions of the big-five European nations to "Active" so that I know that, no matter where I'm managing, the Barcelonas, Bayerns, Milans and Chelseas of the world are going to be epically tough matches. The regens keep the international sides competitive, too. Plus, you can always take a job in one of those top leagues if you get bored of the league you're in - the game will automatically set it to "Full Detail" when you transfer into it. I also like to have the top divisions of Argentina and Brazil and active, which tends to give South America much better regens.

Of course, that does slow my game down, so its a balancing act between realism and processing speed.

I always have everything on min and I never notice any daft results coming through and for me this is a real game speed up option as when processing you don't get all the Euro games and other leagues coming up in the box, maybe only 1 form each league.