Insane agents.

Sorry to say that but some of these agents are totally nuts and it's completely unrealistic how they behave.

I have this one Agent that dislikes me after I walked away from contract demands he made during our first negotiation for Manuel Neuer.

He demanded so much that it was over the maximum I was able to pay as Man Utd Manager with a transfer budget of 140€ mio.

But he wasn't willing to move one bit from his demands of 250k per week 70k per apearence and 30k for a clean sheet + around 9 mio. sgining on fee for the player and him each which was over what the board allowed me to pay.

So he decided it was better to leave Manuel Neuer at Schalke where he gets payed 60k a week instead of letting him sign for 180k per week for us.

What kind of agent does something like this?

That's beyond insane.

So I went a season with Lindegaard who did quite ok and tried to sign Neuer at the beginning of my third season again.

But guess what the idiot of an agent demanded the same **** and wasn't willing to negotiate one bit.

I told myself ok **** it then I will go for Adler but guess what happened after Leverkusen accepted my bid and I went to negotiate a contract with Adler... the same insane agent with exactly the same ludicrous demands which he wouldn't negotiate even the slightest.

So sure I had to break down these talks as well and walked away.

After that second disaster I took a look at who that guy actually was so and what stats he had not enough that he has 1 in "Willingness to tout players", 19 in "Agent Fee Demands" and "is known to prefer his clients to remain at theri current club" no he also had me on his dislike list after those negotiations with him broke down.

But even though Neuer and Adler are both unhappy now and want to leave for a bigger club they didn't fire the idiot which cost them a wage three times as high as what they earn at the moment.

Common SI this needs some serious work.

It's realistic, his stats support his behaviour, and there's nothing wrong there in my opinion. Sure, it's annoying, but in real life, Man United were put off signing players like Desailly and Batistuta because of huge wage demands, even though they could offer more than they were on currently.

That's why players sack their agents in the game - wait for this to happen, or pick other targets.

FM is now more about having a list of targets and selecting the most appropriate one, instead of identifying the best 1 player and signing him no matter what. That's no longer possible, and isn't realistic anyway.

It's realistic, his stats support his behaviour, and there's nothing wrong there in my opinion. Sure, it's annoying, but in real life, Man United were put off signing players like Desailly and Batistuta because of huge wage demands, even though they could offer more than they were on currently.

That's why players sack their agents in the game - wait for this to happen, or pick other targets.

FM is now more about having a list of targets and selecting the most appropriate one, instead of identifying the best 1 player and signing him no matter what. That's no longer possible, and isn't realistic anyway.

The problem is they won't sack him even though they cost them around 120k per week how is that realistic?

They are both unhappy but stuck with this guy anyways it's completly idiotic no agent does something like that they all want to sell and get some cash.

You won't find anyone in the buisness that says "Hey I want this guy to stay at his club because I like their manager more and I don't need that 6mil I would make during this transfer I really don't care about money that's why I'm an agent, it's all about the love you know.".

Seriously if that sounds realistic to you I can't help you.

Sound like typical Germans to me.

The problem is they won't sack him even though they cost them around 120k per week how is that realistic?

They are both unhappy but stuck with this guy anyways it's completly idiotic no agent does something like that they all want to sell and get some cash.

You won't find anyone in the buisness that says "Hey I want this guy to stay at his club because I like their manager more and I don't need that 6mil I would make during this transfer I really don't care about money that's why I'm an agent, it's all about the love you know.".

Seriously if that sounds realistic to you I can't help you.

i dont think he was asking for help.....

It does happen they might fire their agent, i spent a season trying to get Flamini to sign a new deal but his agent hated me, after about 7 failed attempts Flamini fired him and signed a nice low deal with me, stick with it and keep a close eye on them, maybe a few more failed negotiations will encourage them to sack the agent. There are agents who would prefer to keep players at the clubs they are playing for, not every single agent is out there to rip people off and act like a knob.

Not every agent wants their player to move every year. For example, I reckon Gerrard's on £80,000 a week. He could have got £120,000 at Chelsea but the move fell through, even though there was a stage when Gerrard looked quite keen on it. I'd be willing to bet the agent asked for the world and some terms just didn't quite work out.

I also reckon Scholes in his time has been offered foreign contracts worth millions but turned them down.

Maybe Neuer and Adler are really settled and would only accept an absolute fortune to make it worth them leaving. They'd be happier to be paid £60,000 for their German club because they love it, as opposed to accepting £150,000 to move to a different country. The agent demands reflect this.

Ok learn to read please they both WANT to leave and are both UNHAPPY at their club but still the demands remain the same and the agent doesn't get fired that's the main reason I'm angry about this if the players wouldn't show much of an interest I could live with that but both revel at my praise and both have me as favored personal.

So it's entirely about the agent but he doesn't get fired for such a bad job.

On the matter of players like Gerrard, Scholes, Totti and De Rossi or any player staying at a club for a life time they are absolute expectations and really love the club they are playing at sure they would only leave for a insanely high fee.

But the players I'm trying to get aren't like that they want to leave for a bigger club and should instantly get rid of an agent that doesn't do what they want but they don't and that's the main problem here.

So saying that this is realistic just doesn't really fit, don't you think?

...and the agent does not care, because he will earn fees here and there with a contract renewal at the actual club.

Agents are even worse than bugs :-)

No need to be rude. And yes, I still think this is realistic.

It is more than possible that both players want to leave the clubs they're currently at now, since your interest, but because the agent doesn't like you, he demands higher fees with you than with other teams. Therefore, I wouldn't be surprised to see both players move to a club that's not you soon. Also, don't assume that because you're a rich club, your board will sanction huge wages/bonuses. They might have an in built limit because they don't want to have all the other players demanding huge rises. Man United used to have, and probably still do, a wage ceiling that they won't go past (pre-Rooney, of course), and that was despite their rich status.

Let's say Neuer wants to leave, but his demands are £150,000 a week and a £1million signing on fee, and an agent fee of £1million. You might be able to afford the fees but not the wages, or your board has a limit about what you can pay agents. I reckon other teams wouldn't have this limit and Neuer knows that he'll find a club that will match his requirements sooner or later. The agent isn't always after the quick money, he's after the most, so will stick to his demands and hope he can find a club that will pay them. I'm willing to bet you're not the other club interested in them, and other clubs may have a history of paying more than you, or the agent has a better relationship with them so is keen to put you off and do a deal with them.

Regardless of this specific example, I think agents in the game work pretty well, and are pretty realistic. The fees are true to life, and sometimes deals fall through because of agents, and that's fine, because it happens in real life. I like the feature.

First I'm the only club interest in him.

Second I'm the only club willing to pay the 58 mil. € for his transfer.

Third he is unhappy at Schalke and wants to leave.

Fourth he has me as favoured personal and loves it when I praise him

Fifth I offered 240k per week instead of the 250k the agent demanded and 8 instead of 9 mio. signing on fee but he doesn't move one bit in negotiations.

Sixth the player sticks with his agent until these days despite 3 failed negotiations.

I'm not arguing that the agent might be an idiot, I'm pretty sure he is but do you really think that if the second richest club in the world comes and offers you the max the board allows to pay you will tell your player "nah let's wait there will come big clubs".

Imo the player should get instantly rid of an agent how doesn't get the negotiations done of giving him a contract that is 3 or 4 times as good as his current and thus ruins the chance of playing under the manager he really likes the most?

Sorry but this doesn't add up and if you don't understand the illogical part of this then there is no need in talking anymore since we both clearly have a different view what logical behavior is and what not.

Btw I don't think that my max of sgining on fee is lower then the on of Schalke so "he will get his money even if the player renews the contract at his old club" is invalid as well.

It's a communist agent; he's not in for the money, he's a die hard Schalke fan

It's a communist agent; he's not in for the money, he's a die hard Schalke fan

Looks like it.

I have signed Lloris now since I'm not willing to wait another year or two until Neuer or Adler might or might not decide to fire their agent.

What makes you think the player knows the offer? I think it's more likely the agent just goes back and says "Sorry Manuel, but Club X didn't offer us enough". Why would the player sack his agent if he thinks you're not offering enough?

You know what you really should go into politics you're good at making excuses.

Now you're making an argument that the agent probably lied to Neuer in order to not cash in on 8 mil. because he hoped a better offer came along?

Stop being such an apologist NO agent in the world would do that no one.

Look at what the market is now it's full of agents that will tell their clients at the slightest wage increase if they know they can make some money.

What would them stop from having his client sign for me and if in few years someone else comes along who offers more he would just tell him to move on again.

Those are the rules of the market and get only broken if one player is so much in love with his club that he refueses to even take signficantly better offers but no agent in the world tells his client to stay and not gain any money at all.

He will be pretty fast out of business if he acts like that.

Maybe in your world it's not all about the money for agents but in the real world it is and as a simulation the game should somehow reflect that imo.

Plenty of agents tell their players to stay. In fact, that's why there's an agent attribute for "likes his players to remain at their clubs".

My only argument in this thread is that I like the fact that sometimes negotiating with agents is difficult because that seems to reflect real life pretty nicely.

Referring back to your point about me insinuating that the agent lied to Neuer, I wasn't saying that. I was just thinking that if Neuer wanted to move to a bigger club, it must mean he thinks he's a good player, and deserves to be paid the most. He has probably instructed his agent to find him a club but at no less than £x a week. The agent has probably gone out, found you, or started negotiating with you, and you couldn't meet the requested demands. The agent has therefore rejected the offer. This is probably a mix of an agent being unwilling to negotiate downwards, the player himself being greedy or too ambitious (which is backed up by the fact he thinks he's too big for his current club), and your board setting a wage ceiling and refusing to offer more.

I'll use a real life example of a club who are notoriously difficult to negotiate with - and that's Lyon. That's why Chelsea had to pay mega bucks for Michael Essien after Manchester United had had a very good offer turned down. Man United were offering to probably double or triple Essien's wages, but Lyon simply refused to do business under a certain price. So even though that's not strictly agent related, it's still an example of things having a very set price and people being unwilling to negotiate downwards.

And even supporting your argument, perhaps the agent isn't that good, and within a few years, Neuer might sack him and replace him. That might happen, in which case, this whole saga has been a very realistic and brilliantly coded part of the game.

Have you tried even commenting on him? If he is "flattered" and "tempted", the Agent might get the idea that his client is really eager to join your club. Doing so might drop the wage demand significantly.

Also, if the player is demanding £250,000 per week and £9million in signing on fee, and you offer £240,000 per week and £8million signing on fee, then the player will receive £1.5million less in the first year of his contract. That's probably enough to make him reject the offer.

However, you don't say what the agent fee demand was. Let's assume it was £3million. I think if you offered the agent £5milllion, you could drop the player wage to around £200,000 and £6million signing on fee, and you'd be surprised to see the agent accepts it. At the contract negotiating stage, only the agent is present, so keep him sweet and he'll make the player sign. Ignore the agent and don't bump up his personal fee, and he'll start disliking you, not budging an inch on the player demands, etc.

DamianJMcGrath, so do you think the agents are working perfectly then?

In my experience so far, I've not seen anything that I didn't think was hugely unrealistic so I'm very happy with how its working.

Agents ask too much and let their emotions get in the way too often. If you let your emotions get in your way in real-life, you will get fired rather quickly. The same should apply here - the player is not expendable, but the agent certainly is!

An agent that rejects a tripling of a player's salary at the top level would be quickly fired by the player as the agent is clearly not even remotely looking after his client - his job.

What makes you think the player knows the offer? I think it's more likely the agent just goes back and says "Sorry Manuel, but Club X didn't offer us enough". Why would the player sack his agent if he thinks you're not offering enough?

Yeah, the game can't even save the tactics properly but has an amazing deep A.I. layer where agents lie to their clients because the offer does not suit them, thus keeping their clients unhappy, with less money in a lower reputation team.

Yeah, that must be it!

Have desperately wanted to sign Aguero for ages...the first attempt failed because i couldn't meet his £235,000 (negotiated down from £265,000) a week wage demands.

This led to his agent's relationship with me turning to 'hatred'??? The next summer his agent provisionally asked for £325,000 a week with a £12m signing on fee and a £10m agent fee!!!!! He would not negotiate one bit.

Slightly different to your scenario but i really wanted somewhere to put this about this effin agent

Agents are dicks IRL, stop complaining

Agents are dicks IRL, stop complaining

So they introduce a feature that's annoying a majority of the gamers for realism's sake?

And we shouldn't complain because we deserve to be annoyed in a game?

In my experience so far, I've not seen anything that I didn't think was hugely unrealistic so I'm very happy with how its working.

i agree with that, ive not really had any major issues apart from Flamini, and he sacked him so all was good

So they introduce a feature that's annoying a majority of the gamers for realism's sake?

And we shouldn't complain because we deserve to be annoyed in a game?

it's a simulation for a reason. simple enough?

agents fee go up the higher your bids are, try to refrain yourself from spending 40 miillion on 1 player and you wont find there to bean issue. I havn't at least.

p.s. only thing that bothers me about agents is appearance fees that seem to be high.

it's a simulation for a reason. simple enough?

agents fee go up the higher your bids are, try to refrain yourself from spending 40 miillion on 1 player and you wont find there to bean issue. I havn't at least.

p.s. only thing that bothers me about agents is appearance fees that seem to be high.

Um no, it's not simple enough.

Why does a game need to annoy you so that it can be realistic?

By your reasoning, e.g. everyone should be required to watch the ME in full because that's what happens in real life?

Also, by your reasoning, do you find the OP's experience realistic?

Agents are as many others have said very unprofessional and bitter human beings. I hate them as much as they hate me.

it's a simulation for a reason. simple enough?

agents fee go up the higher your bids are, try to refrain yourself from spending 40 miillion on 1 player and you wont find there to bean issue. I havn't at least.

p.s. only thing that bothers me about agents is appearance fees that seem to be high.

No, it's not a simulation. The agents are unbalanced and so are the fees, as have been proven by the real fees that clubs have paid for 2009-2010.

So stop acting so ignorant and proposing the stupid argument of "just don't buy an expensive player." What kind of proposal is that?

Bye.

Cesc Fabregas agent wanted £14 million for the player and £17 million for himself on my save.

This area of agent's demands and etc ARE realistic so anyone who say this isnt realistic is wrong. End of the story. SI wouldn't adjust this one bit!

Cesc Fabregas agent wanted £14 million for the player and £17 million for himself on my save.

who were you managing? How interested was he on moving to your club, that does seem a bit extreme but if he wasnt too keen on the move its understandable.

This area of agent's demands and etc ARE realistic so anyone who say this isnt realistic is wrong. End of the story. SI wouldn't adjust this one bit!

Agents are a new addition to the game, and they are working well. Everyone's experience will probably be different because agents are different, some have different stats. I like that some agents operate differently to others, it adds a new dimension, and I think SI should be applauded for getting it as right as they have. The fees are absolutely spot on.

Agents are a new addition to the game, and they are working well. Everyone's experience will probably be different because agents are different, some have different stats. I like that some agents operate differently to others, it adds a new dimension, and I think SI should be applauded for getting it as right as they have. The fees are absolutely spot on.

Thank you, finally someone who think the same as me.

Agents are a new addition to the game, and they are working well. Everyone's experience will probably be different because agents are different, some have different stats. I like that some agents operate differently to others, it adds a new dimension, and I think SI should be applauded for getting it as right as they have. The fees are absolutely spot on.

No, it's not understandable than an agent should be paid more than his players. End of story. Remove the FM glasses.

Agents are a new addition to the game, and they are working well. Everyone's experience will probably be different because agents are different, some have different stats. I like that some agents operate differently to others, it adds a new dimension, and I think SI should be applauded for getting it as right as they have. The fees are absolutely spot on.

The fees are not absolutely spot on, they are far from what happens in real life. The only dimension agents add is the dimension of a feature that does not work as intended.

What makes you think the player knows the offer? I think it's more likely the agent just goes back and says "Sorry Manuel, but Club X didn't offer us enough". Why would the player sack his agent if he thinks you're not offering enough?

Was this genuinely a serious comment?

No, it's not understandable than an agent should be paid more than his players. End of story. Remove the FM glasses.

The fees are not absolutely spot on, they are far from what happens in real life. The only dimension agents add is the dimension of a feature that does not work as intended.

You seem to have information regarding how much agents get paid, which is different to what all the Premier League football clubs recently released. The figures they released pretty much match the agent demands in FM 2011. If you have more accurate information, please send me a link to the website. Otherwise, how can you comment on something you don't know the facts about.

Was this genuinely a serious comment?

It absolutely wasn't. In FM, because they can't code proper human beings brains, they have to use numbers. FM code probably states that when an agent demands £1 million, he will only accept a minimum of £800,000. If you offer £799,999, he'll reject it. This is the way FM works because it can't work any other way. Therefore, even if the player is set to receive a huge pay rise, you haven't matched the agent's minimum demands, so it gets rejected. Therefore, the agent will say "Club X didn't offer us enough".

You seem to have information regarding how much agents get paid, which is different to what all the Premier League football clubs recently released. The figures they released pretty much match the agent demands in FM 2011. If you have more accurate information, please send me a link to the website. Otherwise, how can you comment on something you don't know the facts about.

Ther figures released were about how much agents got paid during the FULL year. In FM a SINGLE agent fee can be near to what real clubs pay to agents in a FULL year.

Get your facts straight.

It absolutely wasn't. In FM, because they can't code proper human beings brains, they have to use numbers. FM code probably states that when an agent demands £1 million, he will only accept a minimum of £800,000. If you offer £799,999, he'll reject it. This is the way FM works because it can't work any other way. Therefore, even if the player is set to receive a huge pay rise, you haven't matched the agent's minimum demands, so it gets rejected. Therefore, the agent will say "Club X didn't offer us enough".

That is pure speculation.

Of course the A.I. works in numbers, but you tell me that SI can't use percentages? They could easily do it. If a fee is 99% of the asking sum, then accept. There is no reason for absolute values to be used, that is not the way real transfers work when there is bargaining involved.

Even if your theory was sound, the agent reaction is still broken, because his reply shouldn't be "they didn't pay us enough". Do you think that an unsettled player would refuse to go a higher reputation team and get paid higher wages if the difference was 1 pound than what the agent was asking?

Do you think than an agent would do that to his client? For 1 pound???

Agents are not working correctly most of the times. Period. Twisting the facts around to suit your argument won't change that.

Agents are not working correctly most of the times. Period. Twisting the facts around to suit your argument won't change that.

i would say thats wrong, the only time i have an issue with agents is with big players already on huge wages, and even then all i would like to see is the fee's they ask for reduced, otherwise i think they work quite well, not perfect but definately a good addition to the contract negotiations.

i would say thats wrong, the only time i have an issue with agents is with big players already on huge wages, and even then all i would like to see is the fee's they ask for reduced, otherwise i think they work quite well, not perfect but definately a good addition to the contract negotiations.

That's your opinion. On the other hand, I want something that has common sense and it's realistic to that end. I can't say "well, with lower reputation players the system works so I don't have a problem if with high reputation players ti doesn't". That's absurd for me.

A system should be judged on its whole if it's an implemented feature in a game. As a whole it's another system that was implemented without being properly tested or designed, as it's the rule in the series.

This annoys me to no end, as it's been happening for ever in the series. I hate that kind of approah to game design and I hope that SEGA's "lower than expected sales of FM 2011" will change this mentality a bit.

I've already made another thread about this.

Just wanted to add that agents are broken and anybody who says otherwise is seriously deluding themselves. It's a completely messed up feature on this years FM. I've done experiments using FMRTE, which I cant be arsed to go into again, but lets just say the results conclusively proved there is a serious problem with agents.

I really cant fathom why some people are trying to say it's realistic when there is conclusive evidence all over these forums that prove otherwise. It really does boil down to winning an argument, and the facts, for some people, no longer matter.

OP - Just ignore the brown-nosers, don't argue with them otherwise they flood the thread despite having only one point to make, which is that they think the system is OK.

The agent system is far from perfect. Neuer is just one example of many where players and agents make ridiculous demands and then end up on like a 5th of what they were asking elsewhere. This particularly happens with backup players at the bigger clubs.

But remember that this is the first FM where they have implemented an agent system, and this was in an FM that was rushed and highly flawed on release (and still has it's fair share of major problems - anyone playing a long term game watching the big clubs waste away because of horrible AI can testify to this). Of course it's not going to be perfect, so the agent system does need alot of refinement and development. It's basically like a prototype at the moment, they probably worked on it for half a year or something but there's only so much you can do within a limited deadline, so I expect good improvements to be made soon as there is alot that can be done with this agent system. E.g.

- have agents with their own CA and PA that develops their stats as they grow (assuming they don't already)

- have a number of the top stars being represented by a single agent or agency because they're good at getting top deals/contracts for their players

- ability to sign multiple players through agents (think of Tevez/Mascherano going to West Ham), maybe meet an agent and ask for a report on those players of his who are interested in coming to your club

- ability to have a relationship with an agent that affects your chances of signing their players (and this could have negative and positive implications, e.g. if the agent who you are on good terms with insists you do him a "favour" by signing a player of his that you don't want)

- ability to interact with agent about your players (e.g. tell the agent to lower his demands, or tell the agent to find a new club for the player as he is no longer in your plans)

etc etc.

That's your opinion. On the other hand, I want something that has common sense and it's realistic to that end. I can't say "well, with lower reputation players the system works so I don't have a problem if with high reputation players ti doesn't". That's absurd for me.

A system should be judged on its whole if it's an implemented feature in a game. As a whole it's another system that was implemented without being properly tested or designed, as it's the rule in the series.

This annoys me to no end, as it's been happening for ever in the series. I hate that kind of approah to game design and I hope that SEGA's "lower than expected sales of FM 2011" will change this mentality a bit.

I'm not getting into this whole testing argument, its pointless, no one knows how much or little testing went into the game before its release and no one will ever provide conclusive proof to back either claim up.

As i said from my point of view if they lowered asking fee's for big players the system would work very very well for me the real time negotiations are great and the agents add a bit more realism to the contract discussions.

I really cant fathom why some people are trying to say it's realistic when there is conclusive evidence all over these forums that prove otherwise. It really does boil down to winning an argument, and the facts, for some people, no longer matter.

Like I've said, there are brown-nosers on every developer forum. It gets especially worse on those forums where the developer themselves interact with the community - you end up with a small army of posters who refuse to accept any criticisms of the game and always challenge anyone pointing out balance issues, or flaws, or unrealism, or illogical AI, etc etc. There are of course a number of reasons why they do this - some have nothing better to do, others are just a tad moronic and closed minded because they think their opinion is fact, but with developer-active forums I find there's a few who are clearly desperate to become moderators or "well known" posters, probably hoping that the developers notice their diehard "loyalty" and repay them in some way, etc etc.

All I've said is that in my opinion, and in my personal experience, agents work perfectly well. Clearly, in your experience, they don't.

If they work well for me, and not for you, why do you think it needs changing? SI are obviously happy with it, otherwise they wouldn't have released it. If they're not happy, they'll tweak it in this new patch. I suppose if agents aren't tweaked in the upcoming patch, you'll just have to accept that SI believe they are fine and are content to leave it.

All I've said is that in my opinion, and in my personal experience, agents work perfectly well. Clearly, in your experience, they don't.

If they work well for me, and not for you, why do you think it needs changing? SI are obviously happy with it, otherwise they wouldn't have released it. If they're not happy, they'll tweak it in this new patch. I suppose if agents aren't tweaked in the upcoming patch, you'll just have to accept that SI believe they are fine and are content to leave it.

If it doesn't work for some people maybe that's the bug they need to fix...

And there's really no need for you to defend the agent system so vehemently if it only works for you then.

Well, a few people on here agree with me and say it works well for them. Obviously those that have a problem with it will be more vocal, but I'd suggest it is working well for most people.

If SI change it, and it doesn't work for me anymore, then I'll turn into you in this argument, so they can't win. It's all subjective anyway - I think it's realistic and you don't. SI are going to annoy someone, so all they can do is make it to the standard they're happy with and release it. I can only assume they agree with me at the moment, otherwise agents will get a tweak or makeover in the new patch.

AFAIK SI hasn't taken any sides in this agent issue, so you can't really use them to support your argument.

Well, we'll soon see what side they come down on if they don't make any amendments to agents in the patch. That will be their way of saying "we think it's fine".

If they change agents, tweak the figures they quote, etc, then it'd be clear they agree more with you, and they'll do something about it.

Also, I would suggest that if you want to encourage them to tweak agents, you can upload a save game file to them in the bugs forum and they'll investigate.

I have no problem debating opinions on this website, and feedback is the whole point of the forum existing, but when a discussion boils down to 2 different opinions, then it's reached the end of the road. Neither of us is going to think we're wrong, and it's unlikely we can convince each other. Best thing to do is wait and see what SI's judgement will be regarding fixing agents or not.

I'm not getting into this whole testing argument, its pointless, no one knows how much or little testing went into the game before its release and no one will ever provide conclusive proof to back either claim up.

The end result is proof enough of the testing and design of the feature. I am a consumer so I judge by the end result.

It's common sense.

Well, we'll soon see what side they come down on if they don't make any amendments to agents in the patch. That will be their way of saying "we think it's fine".

Yeah, because when SI thinks something is fine, it most certainly is. Just grow up.

Neither of us is going to think we're wrong, and it's unlikely we can convince each other. Best thing to do is wait and see what SI's judgement will be regarding fixing agents or not.

The problem is that a logical person would say "I haven't had any problems with agents, but I agree that the agent fees are too high based on other player's experiences."

You, on the other hand, just take your opinion as fact, dismissing other examples. In fact, you are the kind of consumer every company needs.