I've enjoyed 11.3 more because I've kept myself away from certain parts of the forums

One problem I've always had around this time of year with the FM series has been all the grievances are out in the air. There is usually a 'sure-fire' tactic out & about (ie something you can't go far wrong with if you follow the basics), good training schedules that will give you the edge and a complete list of all the best players for the present and future. With this years FM I've been much more retracted from the good player & team guide (stoke city thread aside) and barely been to the tactics section at all, besides trying to get a libero to work in my formation which I just couldn't get right. As it stands I don't know what formation is best for 11.3, I don't know what you should be doing with your training to get the players performing best & I don't have a list of wonderkids to peruse each season to see who I can snap up.

As a result I'm fumbling around in the dark and enjoying it more than ever, I'm not playing the game for it to be an extreme challenge just without the knowledge I'm usually armed with going into an FM save. It did make me realise as much as these forums can help when you're staring into the FM abyss they can ruin the game in some ways, if you know playing 5 in the middle or 3 upfront is the best you can't then not play those 5 in midfield etc. Same circumstances with if you know there is a -9 PA player available for just a couple of million you can't justify not buying him and if there is an exploit in the ME and you're struggling you will take it just because it will save you.

It has shown me at least that the forums can be very helpful, sharing ideas & learning the game better. It certainly helped earlier in 11.1 to get a handle on the wild morale swings and to keep it in-check. But if you find yourself getting bored with the game, maybe on FM12 deprive yourself of some of what you know now. The game will be frustrating at times, getting your tactics horribly wrong and seeing Chelsea 4-0 up inside 20 minutes is painful but it is swings and roundabouts rather than thinking "Hmm I can go to the newly promoted side and be guaranteed a top half finish if I use this and do x, y & z".

Hmmmm, is there one formation that is better than all the others on FM? I've never noticed and I doubt that can be true, surely?

I never play the game like this anyway, preferring to choose my playing system based on how I want to play or the players I have available etc.

I also never set out to play FM like a game - seeking to exploit the ME or buying the best players - but, instead, I play it as if I am a football manager! I pick my tactics based on what I think would be best if it was real life and I scout my players before buying. As you have found out, it is much more satisfying to play in this way, I feel.

No tactic is 100% effective I wasn't trying to get at that, but there is always a formation which makes it easy as someone else has done the hardwork, you just have to put the right piece in the right place. It was more of a case with players that spending so much time in the good player & team section you couldn't help but see them and look at them in-game for me.

No tactic is 100% effective I wasn't trying to get at that, but there is always a formation which makes it easy as someone else has done the hardwork, you just have to put the right piece in the right place. It was more of a case with players that spending so much time in the good player & team section you couldn't help but see them and look at them in-game for me.

Ah, I guess that doesn't happen with me because I don't go to the 'good player' section too often. Plus, I play mostly lower league stuff, so it wouldn't probably make much difference if I did!

Santy,

Kudos for not looking, but if you did venture into the Tactics forum now you'll see it's been tidied up. All the irritating "I wun everythink wiv Barselona wiv diz killer taktic download it now" threads have been tidied away into some corner that you don't see unless you're looking for it. So the threads are mostly asking for realistic advice, not exploits/cheats.

And it has been a massive improvement as far as I am concerned!

Using fictional players and the 8th English level of the pyramid makes just about every game unique...the only players I recognize now are one guy from New Zealand and the Phil Younghusband replicant from the Philippines. Its also really helped me refine what I demand from a player; lower league play makes ratings comparisons all the more vital.

Santy,

Kudos for not looking, but if you did venture into the Tactics forum now you'll see it's been tidied up. All the irritating "I wun everythink wiv Barselona wiv diz killer taktic download it now" threads have been tidied away into some corner that you don't see unless you're looking for it. So the threads are mostly asking for realistic advice, not exploits/cheats.

" killa tactix ownz blud ya get me"

On topic - Now that you mention it, santy001, I think I had more fun on FM/CM before I joined any forums. I find myself looking for bugs when I used to just get on with playing. Maybe I'll take a leaf out of your book for the next edition of FM and stay the hell away from the forums, although, it's nice to have a moan to like minded people when things aren't going my way as the wife just doesn't understand.

FMCU is good for that. People generally enjoying their saves and talking about them but none of the rubbish stuff. It's a good community of people, I think.

I've been enjoying the game too. I never downloaded tactics before because the appeal of the game was trying to figure out how to get the most from the team myself. That and I don't like the idea of "plugging in" a tactic and never tweaking or changing it. I like the fact that I have to tweak something just about every game or I have to find a way to get a draw against a much better team on the road. It probably helps that I'm winning more than I'm losing (at the moment)

The only guide I would honestly recommend to any newcomer is Tactical Theorems 10, which has as much relevance for FM 11 as it did with FM 10. In big parts it is because it's based on football theories, rather than trying to crack the AI and mechanics of the game - like training guides, team talk guides, "tactics advice" etc. often try to do, some stress tested with "cheating" utilities such as real-time editing tools on top. Personally I avoid those like the plague, since FM is currently the only management game that is remotely trying to simulate human behavior and communication (not only between managers and their squad), rather than being a semi-interactive database full of resources to be picked up with no personality whatsoever. Simply unpicking the numbers and logics underneath sort of feels like a waste to me compared to the satisfaction I get when the soon-out-of-contract-striker I pumped up via the press scores one against my relegation rivals. Whether that happened because I told the press I wanted to sign him or not I'll never know, sure, but FM understands ambiguity and uncertainty that is inherent to any real sports better than any other sports game I have played so far. (Though it sure ain't faultless, mind.)

But to each his own. There are many, many ways to play FM anyways. You can kick-start your own career, starting from the bottom, but you can also try to "role-play" a manager you like or try to shape a team consisting of only fourty-somethings that ends up still being competitive etc. Or opt to have a little advice from the powergamers on the forums (despite you should know better by now). The options are all there. That, in big parts, is the beauty of the game.