How much do you agree with this series of statements?

Quite often, I'm reading on this forum something along these lines:

- I just don't feel the love for the game any more.

- It doesn't have me hooked or occupy me the way it used to.

- There are too many features.

- The game is too slow.

- The game doesn't feel as accessible and easy to get into any more.

- The realism is good but it feels like the game is chasing realism at the expense of fun, imagination and fantasy.

- The game feels too much like work and not enough like fun.

- I long to play the older games that were simpler, more accessible and more fun.

So I'm conducting a poll in GD, and also inviting some of the users from OTF, in order to see how much the community agrees with these statements.

Feel free to add your own statements and to put your own perspective forward in this thread.

TBH I completely disagree with all the statements.

I agree I read them alot and agree I feel some of them too.

- The realism is good but it feels like the game is chasing realism at the expense of fun, imagination and fantasy.

This one alot but I'm not sure the realism is that good. My biggest issues are things I dont find realistic and has an expense on fun.

I think it could be a lot more realistic and still be fun.

Theres so many features they add into the game to add realism but because they never work too well they break the realism, and next year it will be no better but there will be more new features that dont work too well.

i would like to add the following statement:

- OTF > GD

i still enjoy the newer versions of FM and although CM01/02 was my favourite, and i actually went back to it a few years ago when my PC died, i find that, having played with the new additions to each game, i don't enjoy playing without them regardless of how enjoyable they are. i would go back to CM01/02 and miss annoyances like agents and press conferences, not because i enjoy them but because i'm used to them

- I just don't feel the love for the game any more.

Unsure

- It doesn't have me hooked or occupy me the way it used to.

Agree- probably to do with me, not the game

- There are too many features.

Neutral, probably leaning towards disagreeing

- The game is too slow.

Disagree

- The game doesn't feel as accessible and easy to get into any more.

Agree

- The realism is good but it feels like the game is chasing realism at the expense of fun, imagination and fantasy.

Disagree

- The game feels too much like work and not enough like fun.

Partially agree.

- I long to play the older games that were simpler, more accessible and more fun.

I agree when I'm playing FM11, but that is largely nostalgia. I don't actually enjoy older FMs more.

So I'm conducting a poll in GD, and also inviting some of the users from OTF, in order to see how much the community agrees with these statements.

Feel free to add your own statements and to put your own perspective forward in this thread.

Personally, the major barrier is pre-season. I find that more of a drag these days, for whatever reason, so I struggle to get into saves.

Well, I voted and I have to agree.

I just can't get into the game anymore. I hate press conferences and normally my assistant will say something stupid, so I have to go into them. I am not a tactical person, but I can motivate a team in say the lower leagues, doing dafuge's challenge, I can get a team to say League 1 or even the Championship, but then agent's fees came into it, I just couldn't see the whole point of it. I had to pay the agent more once I'd decided to upgrade this fella's contract, because there were other teams coming in for the same player, why couldn't I just turn them (Agents) off?!

I can't pick a team in the premiership or anything, because I would have to become all tactical, downloading other people's tactics sort of ruins the fun, I just want to play 442 with wingers using the arrows and stuff.

If there was the option to just get rid of agents, get rid of press conferences and team talks (Without them doing serious damage! I'm looking at you assistant who told the team he wanted more when we were 4-0 up at HT and we draw 4-4), then that would be great.

I just can't jump into a game now, like I used to. CM 01/02 or 03/04 were great for this, buy a few players let them gel and bob's your uncle your team would play well. I got Man City on 03/04 to the top of the league, after selling Anelka and bringing in Kevin Nolan Wanchope, Huckerby and Fowler were absolutely beasts.

Nice way of responding SCIAG. I'm going to copy that.

My answers would be as follows:

- I just don't feel the love for the game any more.

Ambivalence is the word that I would use. I have enjoyed playing FM10 but not got into FM11 due to certain features that I felt were clumsy or poorly implemented and that I was disappointed with personally.

- It doesn't have me hooked or occupy me the way it used to.

Agree to a certain extent. Having said that, I was really hooked on FM10 for quite a while.

- There are too many features.

Agree to a certain extent. It's more that I dislike some of the features and feel that sometimes the game seems too bloated.

- The game is too slow.

It's always a complaint for me but this probably has more to do with my machine than anything. I do find myself wishing that the game would play out at a quicker pace at times (mainly processing times).

- The game doesn't feel as accessible and easy to get into any more.

This is undoubtedly true for me. I just can't pick it up and play as I used to with earlier versions.

- The realism is good but it feels like the game is chasing realism at the expense of fun, imagination and fantasy.

I don't think that I agree with this. It's more that some of the extra features I don't really like spoil the imagination factor and fantasy for me some times.

- The game feels too much like work and not enough like fun.

Partially agree. Sometimes I do feel like this.

- I long to play the older games that were simpler, more accessible and more fun.

This seems to be a constant theme for me. I keep desiring a return to some of the older games. Mainly the ones where I felt a greater sense of immersion in the game and where the game played out at a quickish pace and felt really fun to pick up and play. Whether, as SCIAG says, this is nostalgia or something more than that, I don't know.

I ended up voting for 'Many of the statements seem quite true to me but I don't agree with everything'.

- I just don't feel the love for the game any more - Strongly disagree

- It doesn't have me hooked or occupy me the way it used to - Strongly disagree

- There are too many features - Slightly agree

- The game is too slow - Slightly agree

- The game doesn't feel as accessible and easy to get into any more - Slightly agree

- The realism is good but it feels like the game is chasing realism at the expense of fun, imagination and fantasy - Slightly agree

- The game feels too much like work and not enough like fun - Disagree

- I long to play the older games that were simpler, more accessible and more fun - Strongly disagree

I was well into FM09 & FM10, and had two great long term games (15-20 years). I didn't buy FM11 until the second patch but just can't get into it. I've finished one full season with Bayern Munich (won the title, obviously), but any other game I start lasts just past the August transfer window.

I quite enjoy playing as a small club and finding bargains and great loan signings with a practically non existent budget, and getting them into Europe, which is what I nearly did on FM10 with Dresden. That was thoroughly enjoyable, and I would love to do the same on FM11. I've tried, but I'm never gripped. If the dynamic league reputation was present in FM10, I wouldn't have even bought FM11.

Saying that, I couldn't go back to FM10. :/

- I just don't feel the love for the game any more. - I still love the game it's just that kind of love an old man has for his rapidly ageing wife who's looks are going...

- It doesn't have me hooked or occupy me the way it used to. - I managed a 10 season run before I got bored so i'd have to dissagree

- There are too many features. - Not an issue that there are too many the issue is that some don't work

- The game is too slow. - Even on a fairly powerful machine it does seem to drag when processing

- The game doesn't feel as accessible and easy to get into any more. - Don't agree

- The realism is good but it feels like the game is chasing realism at the expense of fun, imagination and fantasy. - I want realism in a management sim, if anything I think it's what the game lacks

- The game feels too much like work and not enough like fun. - If you want all play and no work you should play FIFA or Pro Evo and forget about management sims

- I long to play the older games that were simpler, more accessible and more fun. - I don't think a great deal has changed really so honestly if you updated the database and gave me any of the other fm games I probably wouldn't notice much difference

- I just don't feel the love for the game any more.

I love the game but I feel SI doesnt love or even respect me. Even though the game has amazing potential for open ended and optional play, SI refuse to allow us users any of this. They refuse to eliminate as many bugs as possible and stubbornly stick to a 3 patch policy. Ironically, if SI allowed the game to be edited/modded, the referee bug could be easily fixed by users.

- It doesn't have me hooked or occupy me the way it used to.

It does but there are mind numbingly boring features like press conferences that get in the way.

- There are too many features.

Too many features that can be successfully implemented in a computer game and still have the game be fun; and some features like AI team management and the match engine that need a lot of work.

- The game is too slow.

Some parts of the game have actually been speeded up and made easier..like setting up training and tactics.

- The game doesn't feel as accessible and easy to get into any more.

SI could actually explain how the game works in a clear and concise way. Its still a spreadsheet game and they should provide clear definitions of ratings and simple ways to analyze data.

- The realism is good but it feels like the game is chasing realism at the expense of fun, imagination and fantasy.

Agree. And they leave out the uncomfortable realities.

- The game feels too much like work and not enough like fun.

Dont agree.

- I long to play the older games that were simpler, more accessible and more fun.

Sometimes.

totally agree with all of these points, the game overwhelms me and, TO ME, isn't as fun as the previous ones

I agree with almost all of the OP.

2011 just doesn't go with the style I personally enjoy and I'm finding it addictive but not fun. I played four hours today. What happened? I can't remember being surprised even once, or having to think for more than two seconds about what to do next.

None of them are remotely true for me. My only comment would be "There just aren't enough hours in my week to do justice to FM".

Quite often, I'm reading on this forum something along these lines:

- I just don't feel the love for the game any more.

I didn't until I started my continental save now I love it as much as ever, so disagree.

- It doesn't have me hooked or occupy me the way it used to.

I am not as hooked as I was on FM10 or FM08 so I have to agree.

- There are too many features.

Agree, there are some pointless features.

- The game is too slow.

Totally disagree, although it cannot be slow on an overclocked i7 with 6Gb of RAM.

- The game doesn't feel as accessible and easy to get into any more.

I am undecided on this one on certain saves I cannot get going like I used to but others grip me straight away.

- The realism is good but it feels like the game is chasing realism at the expense of fun, imagination and fantasy.

I strongly disagree. Some aspects that could be brought into the game to make it even more realistic are not in it so for me it is still fun.

- The game feels too much like work and not enough like fun.

Strongly disagree if a game is more work than fun then people should find another game to play.

- I long to play the older games that were simpler, more accessible and more fun.

Disagree, progress has been made it is no good living in the past.

So I'm conducting a poll in GD, and also inviting some of the users from OTF, in order to see how much the community agrees with these statements.

Feel free to add your own statements and to put your own perspective forward in this thread.

Guess I disagree with most of them.

I agree with most of the statements.

I know quite a few people who have been playing since the start of FM/CM and have stopped playing it and they all say something a long the lines of 'You have to be jobless, with no kids and have a degree in football knowledge to play it now, it's almost a full time job that we don't get paid for', which I'm inclined to agree with. It's no fun having to read a book about tactics with a two year old and wife screaming at you.

FM11 has to be one of the worst versions for me as the realism has gone a step too far. I mean for example, agents that are crippling the in game economy is just over board. Where does the realism stop?

I disagree with all of them. In my third game save on FM11 that is beyond 5 seasons in length (just finished season 8). Still enjoying it, and feel if I was to start a new one, I would probably get into that one as well.

However, I think some of that is due to me getting a new computer, the same case as it was 2 years ago. Enjoyed FM09 quite a bit because I bought myself a computer, and so I could finally do a season without frequent crashes and long loading times. Got a new computer around new year (actually on new years eve lol) and it is more powerful, so runs quicker.

I don't think there are too many features at all. Most people who moan are those who can't just download tactics and programmes to win. That definitely isn't the case for everyone, but how many of the moaning (screaming and shouting) threads are due to losing games? These people then act out against "fanboys" because they can't take that other people are enjoying the game. I will defend this game, not because I'm a fanboy, but because I genuinely enjoy it. If people don't enjoy it, stop playing, it isn't difficult. I stopped playing Black Ops because I realised what a pile of poop it was, and every game frustrated the hell out of me. Although that doesn't quite tie in with my point, as I was a beast at Black Ops But you get my point.

- I just don't feel the love for the game any more; I'm as hooked as i was in the CM days.

- It doesn't have me hooked or occupy me the way it used to. See above!

- There are too many features. Disagree. What features? You can get by doing the bare minimum if needed

- The game is too slow. Disagree. Any faster and i'd feel shortchanged. You can go as fast or slow as you like, it's the players choice

- The game doesn't feel as accessible and easy to get into any more. Disagree. How much more accessible can it get? It's just got more depth than the old CM's

- The realism is good but it feels like the game is chasing realism at the expense of fun, imagination and fantasy. Disagree. This is down to preference, and for whatever reason, i personally value...no, i seek realism in the game. I would hardly say the game is realistic in any case, but it attempts to strike a balance. CM/FM has always been about the players imagination. I have to 'fill the gaps' with my own imagination as much as i ever did with CM. It makes up for the faults of the game, yes, but it's what i've always done with CM. Use my imagination on every aspect of the game. That's how i immerse myself into the world of FM

- The game feels too much like work and not enough like fun. Sometimes it is like work, but as above, it is down to player preference. It's a management sim, and in my opinion should strive to replicate as far as possible what management is like. Which is work. Neverthless, i think the game does well to allow the player to choose how they approach it.

- I long to play the older games that were simpler, more accessible and more fun. Disagree. I loved those games, but now i would be bored by them due to a perceived lack of depth. There simply is not enough to do in them.

The one thing where realism has gone too far is match preparation, I don't like it.

- I just don't feel the love for the game any more.

Completely disagree, I've been more attached to the recent versions than any other.

- It doesn't have me hooked or occupy me the way it used to.

Completely disagree, I've spent more time on the recent versions than previous ones.

- There are too many features.

Agree to some extent. I can't stand the press conferences and can't say I'm too keen on the team talks or elements of the match preparation either.

- The game is too slow.

Agree to some extent. With a decent machine and a quick style of play I can still get through the seasons quickly enough, but I'd like it to be faster.

- The game doesn't feel as accessible and easy to get into any more.

Disagree. I always find a new version a bit weird but I've never had any trouble getting used to it between the release of the demo and the full game.

- The realism is good but it feels like the game is chasing realism at the expense of fun, imagination and fantasy.

Disagree to some extent. I like the way the game is going but just don't enjoy some of the features.

- The game feels too much like work and not enough like fun.

Completely disagree, I wouldn't play it otherwise.

- I long to play the older games that were simpler, more accessible and more fun.

Completely disagree, I'm more involved in the game than I've ever been.

Sounds like you are pretty disillusioned with the game, which is a shame really. I'm sure that day will come for me as well eventually, and in a strange way I look forward to it. The day I fall out of love with this game will be the day I stop playing completely and leave these forums, freeing up an obscene amount of my time. I honestly thought that day would come a lot earlier, but here I am, still going in my thirties

- I just don't feel the love for the game any more.

Quite agree.

- It doesn't have me hooked or occupy me the way it used to.

Agree.

- There are too many features.

Unnecessary ones, agree.

- The game is too slow.

Quite disagree.

- The game doesn't feel as accessible and easy to get into any more.

Quite agree and disagree.

- The realism is good but it feels like the game is chasing realism at the expense of fun, imagination and fantasy.

Absolutely agree.

- The game feels too much like work and not enough like fun.

Exactly.

- I long to play the older games that were simpler, more accessible and more fun.

Agree. A lighter version.

So I'm conducting a poll in GD, and also inviting some of the users from OTF, in order to see how much the community agrees with these statements.

Nah, should have invited people to OTF.

Sounds like you are pretty disillusioned with the game, which is a shame really. I'm sure that day will come for me as well eventually, and in a strange way I look forward to it. The day I fall out of love with this game will be the day I stop playing completely and leave these forums, freeing up an obscene amount of my time. I honestly thought that day would come a lot earlier, but here I am, still going in my thirties

I'm starting to think that my time on FM is coming to an end TBH. Or maybe not, I don't know. I think a lot of my feelings have to do with the fact that I haven't really got into FM11.

The thing is, I'm still desperate to have a bash on FM but fed up with the game and not enjoying it as much recently. Ambivalence is the word. Sometimes, I love FM, whilst other times I feel really fed up with it. But always, the idea of having a save on the go is there, so it's like I'm still in love with the idea of FM but just not enjoying the game for some reason.

I didn't make the switch over to FM11 this year, as I said above, and I've still been playing FM10 on and off. However, I haven't played for weeks in all honesty. Three weeks or so, I think, maybe even a month.

I was playing my Hellas Verona save the last time I was on FM but I wasn't enjoying it really and just playing for the sake of it. You know how it is, when you're really up for an FM session but you're not into your save so you're just kind of grinding away at it. Even you must get that sometimes when you have to grind away at your long-term saves. You can't tell me that it's always fun and there isn't ever a time when even you feel a bit fed up!

Anyway, I stopped playing the Verona save and thought I might go back to my Saints save but I didn't bother in the end. Since then, I've stopped playing FM for a few weeks, read a lot of books, communicated with my wife, been outdoors etc. I have missed FM though. I've missed that special feeling you get when you're daydreaming about your team, or a certain player who is awesome, or something that is going on in your save.

Maybe I'm disillusioned with the game because I play it too much, think about it too much and want it to be perfect? I don't know.

I was annoyed with FM11 this year because too many new features felt clumsy or poorly implemented. Very little excited me and I was really just annoyed by the idea of the new stuff in the game rather than interested in it.

But, after saying all of this, I felt a similar way when FM09 came out. Then FM10 came along and I was genuinely surprised and pleased with it. Despite some of my comments above, I'd say that FM10 is one of my favourite versions. Maybe FM12 will come along and do the same? Who knows?

I'm not ready to call time on my CM/FM career just yet but I do feel a bit disappointed and fed up with the direction of the game this year in all honesty.

Quite often, I'm reading on this forum something along these lines:

- I just don't feel the love for the game any more.

- It doesn't have me hooked or occupy me the way it used to.

- There are too many features.

- The game is too slow.

- The game doesn't feel as accessible and easy to get into any more.

- The realism is good but it feels like the game is chasing realism at the expense of fun, imagination and fantasy.

- The game feels too much like work and not enough like fun.

- I long to play the older games that were simpler, more accessible and more fun.

So I'm conducting a poll in GD, and also inviting some of the users from OTF, in order to see how much the community agrees with these statements.

Feel free to add your own statements and to put your own perspective forward in this thread.

none of the above. FM11 is easily the best so far...

Personally, I love this edition of FM, so I've got to disagree with all of them, great game

Quite often, I'm reading on this forum something along these lines:

- I just don't feel the love for the game any more.

I've been there for YEARS... I guess it's just a phase... after having played the franchise for a long time, it's quite understandable getting "bored" by it, even for no actual reason...

It's just a matter of taking a break, and sooner or later the love will be back. Hopefully.

I came back after almost 6 years of tepid interest, during which I could barely play past the first season...

- It doesn't have me hooked or occupy me the way it used to.

Probably because your priorities changed, or, as said above, it's one of those "I need a break" phase.

Personally I still spend time on FM, but because it's a game that allows me to play at my own pace, while doing other things in between... Something I couldn't do with almost any other game...

- There are too many features.

Seconded...

Sure it's still possible cutting some corners and playing in a more direct way with relatively small penalties, but even played at a very BASIC level, FM is still overwhelming at times.

Pre-season and the first week at a new club are the most time-consuming bits in the VG industry, this side of The Sims.

Not to mention the fact many functions are still buggy as hell, and the more new stuff they add, the higher the chance for conflicts and therefor for more bugs.

Less is more! Especially if said "less" is almost bug-free

- The game is too slow.

The game progress is indeed too slow, even by playing it without obsessing about the tiniest details...

- The game doesn't feel as accessible and easy to get into any more.

Definitely agree!

As said, the first days at a club are an endless string of chores... And even though the GUI and the game itself have been more or less unchanged, it's still easy getting lost in the micro-management part of the game.

I can just imagine how overwhelming the game must feeel to a FM newcomer...

- The realism is good but it feels like the game is chasing realism at the expense of fun, imagination and fantasy.

Agreed again.

Also it's interesting to note how realism is pursued for boring features like Press Conferences and agents, while "realism" goes out of the window when it comes to pretty much anything else...

So if I can lead a BSP side to Champions League glory in spite of all the logistic, economical, technical and historical factors, why can't I just decide "screw press conferences" or "screw agents"?

Seriously, if I have to deal with all the excruciatingly boring part of the manager's job, I want everything else to be as realistic (and frustrating) as the PR side of things...

Otherwise let's go for a pseudo-realism that is FUN under every aspect.

- The game feels too much like work and not enough like fun.

This sums FM up pretty well.

As if the "it's a damn full-time job" wasn't enough, we aren't even getting to know how our "job" works

Most of the time you find yourself taking a shot in the dark after another... You just "hope" you're picking the right option, as the game doesn't really give you all the informations to make the right decisions... So what seems right to you now can prove itself being totally wrong, destroying your match/player/team....

If I have to read 100 pages of "tactical theorems" in order to sort of understand how the game handles tactics, and then I have to go through a painstaking process of trial-by-error with "4 clicks to the left, 3 to the right" on dozens of sliders in a vain attempt to get my players to do what I want them to do, because in the end the ME rendition of the instructions is not so accurate AND there are plenty of conflicting instructions I should have double-checked AND the players weren't listening anyway.... well... probably it's not worth the effort...

When a game requires me to read manuals and tutorials the size of an academic book and to dedicate it hours just to "get" it, I'd rather go find a job as data-entry guy for a few quids per hour.

Still boring and repetitive, but at least I get PAID...

- I long to play the older games that were simpler, more accessible and more fun.

They were more fun, because with the text-only match you could imagine the match yourself... and because there wasn't much to "understand"... it was very straightforward.

Of course after years of in-depth features, 2D/3D match and polished interface, reverting to CM97-98 wouldn't be as fun as it used to be... In a way I admit there's a significant nostalgia bias in such a statement, but on the other hand it's hard to deny it was more fun when you could complete a whole season in a single afternoon.

This sums FM up pretty well.

As if the "it's a damn full-time job" wasn't enough, we aren't even getting to know how our "job" works

Most of the time you find yourself taking a shot in the dark after another... You just "hope" you're picking the right option, as the game doesn't really give you all the informations to make the right decisions... So what seems right to you now can prove itself being totally wrong, destroying your match/player/team....

if you are having to take "a shot in the dark" and "hope" then you're doing it wrong...

Most people disagreeing never enjoy the legendary CM versions, I reckon.

Most people disagreeing never enjoy the legendary CM versions, I reckon.

I loved those games more than i love my mama, so no, you reckon wrong

These games are being viewed with extreme nostalgia in my opinion. I wouldn't be interested in these games for any substantial amount of time any more. Great at the time, but the lack of depth would show after a while.

The game doesn't have me hooked as it used to do, because I've been playing the same game with mostly cosmetic changes since 2004.

Quite often, I'm reading on this forum something along these lines:

- I just don't feel the love for the game any more.

Not sure if i have ever 'loved' FM but i enjoy it now as much if not more than CM01/02 when i started

- It doesn't have me hooked or occupy me the way it used to.

I certainly play it as much as before although the last couple of years i have stopped playing the current version in May/June whereas before it was virtually all year round

- There are too many features.

I can see why people would think this, i think the touble is that every year new features are addded, but exisiting ones seem to get left behind

- The game is too slow.

Not for me

- The game doesn't feel as accessible and easy to get into any more.

Im not really in a position to comment as i have played it a bit too much!

- The realism is good but it feels like the game is chasing realism at the expense of fun, imagination and fantasy.

I dont think the game has ever claimed to be anything other than pure simulation, imagination and fantasy can be found elsewhere

- The game feels too much like work and not enough like fun.

This probably the point to come out with cliche along the lines of 'the harder the effort the greater the rewards.' Different people will have different interpretations of what fun is, for me it only comes through genuine achievement

- I long to play the older games that were simpler, more accessible and more fun.

I completely disagree with this, whilst their is no doubt that accessibillity is to be encouraged, im not sure i get the link between simplicity and fun. Is Pong more fun than Top Spin 4?

So I'm conducting a poll in GD, and also inviting some of the users from OTF, in order to see how much the community agrees with these statements.

Feel free to add your own statements and to put your own perspective forward in this thread.

10 characters

Absolutely agree. The thing is the poll is always going to be skewed towards people disagreeing, as it's the current generation of FMers, who pressumably on the whole really enjoy the game, that will be in the forum.

I loved those games more than i love my mama, so no, you reckon wrong

These games are being viewed with extreme nostalgia in my opinion. I wouldn't be interested in these games for any substantial amount of time any more. Great at the time, but the lack of depth would show after a while.

You forgot that I'm always right.

These games are being viewed with extreme nostalgia in my opinion. I wouldn't be interested in these games for any substantial amount of time any more. Great at the time, but the lack of depth would show after a while.

I'm the same. I've enjoyed every game since CM2 but it wasn't until FM06 that I really started getting into it and playing long term games instead of just a few seasons. I don't think the CM versions would have the depth for me to enjoy them in the way I am with FM at the moment, I just don't think I could go back to them and enjoy them.

You forgot that I'm always right.

are you female?

I'm surprised at the poll I thought there would be more people agreeing with you I guess there are a lot of contented lurkers.

Quite often, I'm reading on this forum something along these lines:

- There are too many features.

Its not that there are too many features its more that what features there are are frequently too shallow and repetitive. Press conferences, player interaction

and team talks all seem to much like ambiguously worded multiple choice tests. Training that can be optimized for a player on the day you buy him and then left alone for the whole of his career.

- The game is too slow.

Yes old CM games I used to play at my own pace choosing which tasks I wanted to do at any given moment. Now it seems like the game is slowing me down by throwing Press conferences, transfer speculation etc at me id prefer to initiate almost all of these things with only a few very important ones being initiated by the AI.

- The realism is good but it feels like the game is chasing realism at the expense of fun, imagination and fantasy.

Kind of id say there are to many of the boring bits of being a manager included the need to attend press conferences the need to reply to transfer speculation.

- The game feels too much like work and not enough like fun.

See my previous answer.

- I long to play the older games that were simpler, more accessible and more fun.

I long to see the long standing issues addressed before any new features are added. When the AI is unable to conduct transfer negotiations that feel like two parties haggling over a price using all the methods to structure deals to their benefit why add a third party to the negotiations in the form of agents?

Adding PPMs was great but why ask the AI to choose which players it is going to teach which PPM when the AI is so blinkered in the way it sees players it cant build squads that rival the ones at the start of the game?

The only one I agree with at all is

It doesn't have me hooked or occupy me the way it used to

And that's mostly because I'm now a 26 year old, about to get married, with 2 kids and a job. Nothing hooks and occupies me the way it did when I was 15-20 with all the time in the world and no responsibilities.

In fact, what I want is the opposite. I want FM11 (or 12) on a Windows 7 tablet so I can transfer my save between it and my PC and play the proper game while on the move. I'd take an "identical to FM12 just with a mobile skin) FMHandheld on the iPhone/iPad instead I guess, especially if it was also save game transferable.

The only way I can get the game running at a pace I'm happy with is to holiday through most matches.

That gets you maybe 2 seasons a night.

I agree with them all. Unfortunately there isn't enough quality in the alternatives to pick up CM or Fifa Manager etc. So I stick with an older version of FM until there is a better choice.

The new choice and quality of implementation of features is abysmal.

- The game is too slow.

I agree and I mean the day-to-day player processing, which manages to occupy only 13% of my i7 no matter what.

Quite often, I'm reading on this forum something along these lines:

- I just don't feel the love for the game any more.

I still love the game, despite posting mostly negative comments in here

- It doesn't have me hooked or occupy me the way it used to.

This is the FM game I have played the least. It is still early, though, but of course work interferes more now than before...

- There are too many features.

I don't think there are too many features. I think that the rewards for doing the press conferences, player interactions and manager interactions are virtually non-existent, especially when compared to the risk of upsetting players and ruining team morale. I have found out that if I never talk to the press I never get into trouble, so I don't.

- The game is too slow.

Yes the game is too slow. One game on key highlights may often take as much as 20 minutes. Even on Only Commentary and max speed it may take as much as 5 minutes. I think they should remove the Only commentary option and instead aim to make key highlights take 5-10 minutes max. Then Extended should show more failed attempts at attacks instead of just showing a longer build-up to the same chances. SI should dare being better directors!

- The game doesn't feel as accessible and easy to get into any more.

For me this is not a problem. I worry about the long term customer base of the game, though, because if it is difficult for a guy like me who have played every CM/FM instalment at least 1000 hours to understand the mechanics of the game... what would it feel like for a newcomer?

- The realism is good but it feels like the game is chasing realism at the expense of fun, imagination and fantasy.

Disagree. The realism is not good because the AI is terrible at managing teams, while incredible at leading matches from the sideline.

- The game feels too much like work and not enough like fun.

I think micromanagement is fun. However, I understand perfectly well that those who don't like that are abandoning the FM ship.

- I long to play the older games that were simpler, more accessible and more fun.

I have tried that. Fun for a few hours, then it just becomes too silly.

So I'm conducting a poll in GD, and also inviting some of the users from OTF, in order to see how much the community agrees with these statements.

Feel free to add your own statements and to put your own perspective forward in this thread.

To summarize: improve the AI, then improve the help that the human managers get from their staff. That is all that is needed.

I have voted totally disagree with all of the above statements.

This is primarily for one very simple reason.

How many people Honestly would buy a series of the same basic product every year if it were to remain stagnent since CM?

If you can answer yes, then you can have a say about whether FM should be improved

Nobody is saying they don't want it to develop?

People still buy Fifa (and similar series') with only minor changes and an updated roster.

I was all set up for this to be my last FM. I really didn't enjoy FM09 or FM10, and only received FM11 as a gift.

For the first time in a while, I didn't bother steaming into Dafuge's challenge, and instead just had a career where I did what I wanted, and didn't have to post updates on the web. My team has, by some miracle, done really well, and I'm actually really enjoying it for the first time in years.

I think it's all about success in a way - if my team is doing well, then obviously I enjoy it far more than when I'm failing. And my big gripe with FM was that my teams would fail to play properly, and I would get absolutely no indication as to why that was the case.

So a few months back I probably would have agreed with everything, but I now feel very unsure. The one thing I would say is that I think people are far too obsessed with realism. If FM was 'realistic' we'd be spending 7 days a week on the game watching training sessions and preparing for the next match... it's not the be all and end all

I agree what RBKalle said on post #25.

I have voted totally disagree with all of the above statements.

This is primarily for one very simple reason.

How many people Honestly would buy a series of the same basic product every year if it were to remain stagnent since CM?

If you can answer yes, then you can have a say about whether FM should be improved

You will find the answer to you question is no. All of us here that like FM11 or not, want the game to improve. Personally I rather have a more a game that is more simplistic and have more depth, by simply improving the AI management that would make the game more challenging to us players.

I can see where the OP is coming from but I think the issue lies with this. Progress is great but certain aspects of the game are just poorly implemented and tedious. For example, press conferences, agents and the match preparation. The way around this would be to have the option to have a good assistant or a Director of Football so you could just allocate them to areas you didn't want to deal with but as a poster says your assistant can be more of a hinderance than a help and as a smaller Club it is very difficult to find good assistants. You can't unfortunately please everyone all the time. Some want to just manage and some want to have control over all aspects of a Club and the game has moved away slightly from those who just want to sort out their team and tactics and that's it.

I miss the more of the plug and play aspect from olden days, more so because with a gf and a kid to contend with I just don''t really have much time for the game, let alown become a tactical nerd to get the best out of things....When I play its more of a guess and hope kinda thing when it comes to decisions as I do not have time to anylize all the situations or variables, maybe 10 years ago I would but now with the lack of time as it is that I have the enjoyment has gone as their is just too much to the game and too little time.

Saying that, I still play it, but only now and then.

People have been calling for a difficulty/complexity slider, tickbox option list, assistant manager responsibilities tab etc. ever since they started chucking in more and more features.

If I couldn't hand over press conferences to my assistant I would have given up this games years ago. I don't know why the option isn't there for more features.

I'm surprised at the poll I thought there would be more people agreeing with you I guess there are a lot of contented lurkers.

Or, more to the point, this thread has attracted a lot of, erm, old school GQ/GD posters who have migrated to other parts of the forum. Until prompted by crouchy to make a cameo appearance.

Anyway: to the questions

- I just don't feel the love for the game any more.

It's one of only 5 or 6 game series I keep coming back to play. So it must still do something for me!

(The others are Civilisation, FIFA, the Total War Series, Mass Effect, Sim City (though not any more ) and Gran Turismo/Forza Motorsport (depending which brand of console I own at the time)

It doesn't have me hooked or occupy me the way it used to.

Disagree with this. It can still eat up an evening or turn a late night into an early morning with the 'just one more match' feeling.

There are too many features.

Maybe not too many, but certainly too many features that take up too much time where you don't feel that you have too much control over their effects.

The game is too slow.

My main bugbear. As time has gone by the amount of time it takes to get through a season has gone from one night, to one week, to the current version where it takes a month just to get through one season; and I'm certainly not micro-managing.

The game doesn't feel as accessible and easy to get into any more.

Disagree. It might intimidate new players, but I've had time to adapt to the incremental changes over the years. Or even decades

The realism is good but it feels like the game is chasing realism at the expense of fun, imagination and fantasy.

Can't agree with this. I replayed CM0102 recently and I was getting frustrated at the lack of control. Using your imagination might be great but I like seeing the 3-D pitch and the 'realistic' tactics.

The game feels too much like work and not enough like fun.

Not during the seaon, but I agree with a previous comment that pre-season is just a miserable slog now, whereas in the past you could at least seek excitement in what was basically a transfer free-for-all.

I long to play the older games that were simpler, more accessible and more fun.

If there was a happy medium that allowed the game to be as detailed and thorough as it is now but allowed me to run through a season over five or six nights, and not 20+, then I'd be delighted. I was never much cop at the earlier CM's, and have enjoyed most success in the FM07 and FM10 when you could see problems in your line up and be more creative about how to deal with them.

I still enjoy the game but a few flaws can make heavy weather of playing.

1) There is too much focus on getting the tactics spot on for every match. The truth being assembling a good squad is more important than being tactically astute.

2) The away-day bug. I can beat higher division teams at home but lose to lower divisions away. There seems to be a fixation of making true the fact of winning less games away but without any regard to who you are playing.

3) The manager bug. If your AI opponent has a tactical rating of 5 and his assistant also they are not going to come up with a clever way to beat you.

4) The teams bug. If you are facing a limited side they will be limited. They won't have a make-weight score his first ever goal just because your defensive line is one notch too far to the right. By and large the team with the better players wins the most games, hence the squad building being the most important part of the game. Similarly you shouldn't win leagues because you have got your tactics right without the players to implement it.

5) Player interaction. Half of it is greyed out, in my game, and it is considered important.

Improve player interaction and make the results life like and dependant on the player quality as much as tactics and your have a good game.