Haven't played this since FM 2006

Hello everyone,

Had some nostalgic thoughts the other day when I saw an ad for the new FM, I haven't played it since FM 2006, although I used to love it.

I was going to buy FM 2011, and try and get back into it, but first I'd like to know what has changed...

- Are the regens fixed? In FM2006, the stats seemed to be all over the place, even when the regens were trained well from a young age, is it better now?

- I remember having a play with FM 2010 for 30min a while ago, and it seemed to me that the tactics had become needlessly more complicated. All these weird names for different positions etc etc. Can I use my old fashioned FM2006 tactical expertise and still win games?

- Any serious flaws?

- 3D engine looks naff to me, do you all play with the 2D view or does 3D grow on you?

- Finances were easy peasy with FM2006, you could just sit back and rake it in, have they become more realistic in the new edition? Do you need to be more careful and less wasteful? I ask as I enjoy dealing with the money side of things?

Thanks

And lastly, and extremely important things I should know before I plough right in? Any tips to get me started on the right foot and onwards to CL glory?

Are the regens fixed? In FM2006, the stats seemed to be all over the place, even when the regens were trained well from a young age, is it better now?

I didn't really play long term games in FM06 but nowadays I find that the regens are preety good, preety realistic distributions of good players, just have to put in a little bit of work to find them.

I remember having a play with FM 2010 for 30min a while ago, and it seemed to me that the tactics had become needlessly more complicated. All these weird names for different positions etc etc. Can I use my old fashioned FM2006 tactical expertise and still win games?

I'm going to guess you are referring to the 'Inside Forward', 'Deep Lying Playmaker', 'Complete Forward' etc etc. The fact is honestly all they are is a name for a certain set up of the sliders, they are just like run of the mill presets if you like.

Any serious flaws?

Selling players is annoying some times but Its something thats more of a small annoyance than a flaw.

3D engine looks naff to me, do you all play with the 2D view or does 3D grow on you?

I didn't like it at first either but its something you get used to, alot of the time the extra detail is not neccesary but it really adds something to those 40 yard bullet shots from your midfield powerhouse (full-back in my case ).

Finances were easy peasy with FM2006, you could just sit back and rake it in, have they become more realistic in the new edition? Do you need to be more careful and less wasteful? I ask as I enjoy dealing with the money side of things?

I always play as Man Utd so I generally have preety good cashflow (the AI manages them like a ****** imo so I always end up spending more team than mine if i manage someone else.. ), however in my experience if you're sensible, ie don't sign players way above your wage budgets, try not to get losses of £80 odd million on transfers like City do, then finances are really preety simple to juggle.

And lastly, and extremely important things I should know before I plough right in? Any tips to get me started on the right foot and onwards to CL glory?

Honestly, probably not as easy as it used to be. Put some time in though, getting used to the sliders and other new stuff, nothing particulalrly specific just general 'new game advice'.

I'd say it has changed a great deal from the 06 days, and for the better. Finances are tougher, definitely. The tactics IMO are easier with the tactics creator wizard, and the player roles. They are preset for how you want that player to play, and you can do small tweak in the old way with the sliders. Regens are pretty good- a few problems but they are getting fewer and fewer with each release. 3D view is great, for me, though it isn't necessary and you can still watch the old 2d overhead blobs if you like.

Other additions are good, too, better scout reports, better backroom staff feedback, press conferences (though they get boring after a bit)..all in all worth the upgrade

Mojo did a good job on answering the questions. A few personal points from myself...

Even if you still don't like/get used to the new method of tactics, you can revert to the old style. With the match engine, it has got a lot better. This is not to say that it looks amazing in 3d because, well, it doesnt. I still watch in 2d, and probably always would anyway. Easier for analysis.

As for the cash, it is more realistic these days and you will want to keep an eye on the budgets.

And as for any last tips and pointers - watch out for the agents. They are hard work a lot of the time, and fussy. And as Mojo said, its not as easy as it used to be now it has got more complicated, so don't necessarily expect trophies immediately and runs of wins. Just try the demo out, and try and get used to the new mechanics.

The only serious flaws with fm 11 seem to relate to long term games. this includes a severe lack of transfer activity leading to bloated teams (in particular ai interaction with human controlled teams), and a bug that makes human manager rep to not get recognised when applying for new jobs (more journeyman game based, but this one has been confirmed at being fixed).

the 3d engine is better than fm 2010, but a few glitches can make it frustrating.

and finances are a bit better, mostly because of the added agent fees (greedy gits)

So it hasn't become too bloated and over complicated?

Ordering it now...

nah not at all, buy it i personally think its the best version yet and with the new patch due in a few weeks you will be onto a winner!!

quick tip, avoid reading about the game too much on here, otherwise you will end up not wanting to try it.

I've gone from 2006 to 2011, and apart from a few changes to tactics (I'm not talking about "roles" but the actual instructions) I haven't had too much trouble getting into it. Just be aware that there have been some changes to the tactical side of things (no arrows, a couple of extra instructions, forward runs don't seem to work the same) and prepare to take a short while getting used to it.

If you used the arrows a lot, you'll have teething difficulties, and I'm not convinced that completely removing them was a good idea. For the most part you can still get players to position themselves where you want them offensively/defensively, it just takes a lot more effort now and the lack of side arrows is a real bummer.

The 3D engine is fine, although the 2D is still far superior for tactics.

The financial thing is always going to be a problem, as it's always going to be easier for a thinking human to be able to identify good players that cost less than an AI that goes largely by reputation. I don't know about you, but I've always found that you can sign players on a free/nominal fee that are then worth millions some point down the line.

I never understood the complaints about regens in 2006 - for the most part they were pretty believeable. Yes, there were a fair few centre backs that couldn't jump, but even so, you could just retrain them to a full back of defensive midfielder. I had loads of excellent regens in 2006 with excellent attributes in the right places...

There is also a serious problem with players morale, im my gateshead save after every game it would drop to about poor or very poor which is making it really hard to win games. This seriously needs to be fixed as it is stopping me from being successful at this game.

It's become more complex and more of a chore.

Still some great aspects to the game, but I don't enjoy it so much anymore