Can a Champ/Footy Manager Veteran get back into the game?

Just a quick question really. I havent played this game in about 4-5 years. I used to be an avid player, from the CM2 days, but now it looks like the game has gone far beyond anything I grew up with.

Im now 26 with a semi demanding job and im wondering how long it would take me to get to grips with the new levels of details in all reals of FM!?

Is it worth getting FM11 and trying, is there a simple way of enjoying the game without having to delve into training plans and all sorts?

Really just looking for an insight into how different the game is now and how much time it takes to enjoy it and the simplest level.

Long-term CM vet here. I was in the exact same position as you. I hadn't played since CM4 i think it was(Rooney still at Everton), then i picked up FM11. With a little studying you can get to grips with it and start to understand how it works. It's highly addictive though, be warned.

Best thing to do is pick it up and spend the weekend playing and saying 'wtf i don't remember all this stuff'.

The good thing about many of the new features is that if you don't like them or don't know exactly how to use them you can have your Ass Man take care of them.

There's also the hints & tips assistant thing, and although it is more annoying than the paperclip, it's useful.

get a cheap FM11, you'll be surprised at the changes and/or hang on for FM12. Use on-line manual or in game help to get going, you'll soon pick it up

I've played since the original CM on Amiga

Compared to CM 2 I'd say FM11 is probs much less complicated anyway. Tactics have been streamlined to allow normal people to properly use them!

Many of the new features are pretty simple. Handling the media for example becomes very boring very quickly, once you figure out that being conservative is generally the best option it's a piece of cake.

You can blast through the game if you want too or you can delve into the depths so to speak, if you havent played for a while it might be worth a visit to the various tactical advise threads to read up on the improvements to the ME over the years. For me its definitely as assessable as its always been but there are a few near areas you would need to learn about. Training can be pretty much ignored if you want to, scouting can be set up and left to run indefinitely without too much input and if you want you can skip press conferences, team talks and match prep if you want too.

Personally i would suggest getting to know everything about the game if you are going to play again, then you can choose if you dont want to control certain features in the future, at least you can know what they can and cant do by then.

Well they did a lot to simplify some parts of it, but I wouldn't recommend playing it to be honest if you've not much free time.

the game isn't as easy and fun to just pick up and play for an hour or two anymore. An hour or two in FM11 is just to set up a tactic, look through your players and staff, and clicking continue once or twice. Let alone looking for players elsewhere...

You will need full 20-hour weekends once or twice a month to really get something out of it, in my opinion. That or a couple of hours per day.

the game isn't as easy and fun to just pick up and play for an hour or two anymore. An hour or two in FM11 is just to set up a tactic, look through your players and staff, and clicking continue once or twice. Let alone looking for players elsewhere...

You will need full 20-hour weekends once or twice a month to really get something out of it, in my opinion. That or a couple of hours per day.

I was just about to write something like this when I saw someone had done it already.

I'm 24 and a hardcore CM 01/02 player. My first game of the sort was CM 96/97. I've stuck with CM 01/02 because there's a whole site and forums for people dedicated to updating that classic, they're still making thorough updates every transfer window. The other reason was that, until last year, I didn't have a PC good enough to run FM with a decent speed.

So, finally, last Christmas, I got FM11, stuck into reading various manuals and guides and eventually got down to business. The transition from older games to this is very hard, trust me. As it has been pointed out, this is no longer a casual game, focused on transfers, tactics, and picking a squad. There are far more options and variables you have to take into consideration and it really requires some hard work to get a grasp of everything. Once you do, the game is fun and addictive, though.

I have to warn you about one thing; players' morale, i.e. handling press conferences, team talks, private chats...That's a huge difference comparing to the old games because, in FM, a player in a bad mood is no player at all. If you say the wrong thing at team talks, for example, you could be undermining your entire tactical efforts. While it's perfectly possible to learn how to handle all that properly, it's really frustrating until you get used to it. Older versions of CM didn't focus on players' morale so FM11 (and probably 12) will seem pretty random at times because you suddenly start losing and you're not sure what to do to recover.

The favourite thing I've always found about FM is you can always play it whilst doing something else.

I've always played it very tactics and training light. In fact, training never gets touched when I play. Tactics I generally use a slight variation on a 4-4-2 and let my players do the talking. It may not be the 'optimum' way to be great at the game, but if I find myself losing badly during a season, I spend 20 minutes or so looking into it and making some minor adjustments.

The biggest part of my season (Where I'm having to pay attention the most) is transfers. This is also by far the most fun. At game start I would probably waste an hour or 2 on this. But after that, I just have it running in the background to pick up and play, I let my assistant do the vast majority of things even.

There's friends of mine which even 'go on holiday' through the games. Playing more of a chairman mode game. That way you can blitz through a season extremely quickly.

That's one of the great things I think the game still has, you can get as much from the game as you put in. I've wasted whole days playing it, or just an hour or so a day depending on how in depth I want to be.

The favourite thing I've always found about FM is you can always play it whilst doing something else.

I've always played it very tactics and training light. In fact, training never gets touched when I play. Tactics I generally use a slight variation on a 4-4-2 and let my players do the talking. It may not be the 'optimum' way to be great at the game, but if I find myself losing badly during a season, I spend 20 minutes or so looking into it and making some minor adjustments.

The biggest part of my season (Where I'm having to pay attention the most) is transfers. This is also by far the most fun. At game start I would probably waste an hour or 2 on this. But after that, I just have it running in the background to pick up and play, I let my assistant do the vast majority of things even.

There's friends of mine which even 'go on holiday' through the games. Playing more of a chairman mode game. That way you can blitz through a season extremely quickly.

That's one of the great things I think the game still has, you can get as much from the game as you put in. I've wasted whole days playing it, or just an hour or so a day depending on how in depth I want to be.

I play this whilst learning chinese, but its takes me longer to go through the text book nowadays. Now I do it the other way round, finish off what i have to do,

The favourite thing I've always found about FM is you can always play it whilst doing something else.

I've always played it very tactics and training light. In fact, training never gets touched when I play. Tactics I generally use a slight variation on a 4-4-2 and let my players do the talking. It may not be the 'optimum' way to be great at the game, but if I find myself losing badly during a season, I spend 20 minutes or so looking into it and making some minor adjustments.

The biggest part of my season (Where I'm having to pay attention the most) is transfers. This is also by far the most fun. At game start I would probably waste an hour or 2 on this. But after that, I just have it running in the background to pick up and play, I let my assistant do the vast majority of things even.

There's friends of mine which even 'go on holiday' through the games. Playing more of a chairman mode game. That way you can blitz through a season extremely quickly.

That's one of the great things I think the game still has, you can get as much from the game as you put in. I've wasted whole days playing it, or just an hour or so a day depending on how in depth I want to be.

Same as this for me. I'm 27 full time job and minimal spare time, also stopped playing the series around the same time as you. I got back into it with this version. I go through about a season a week, sometimes more sometimes less.

Tactically I use 4-1-2-1-2 attacking at home and counter-attacking away. Training I have tinkered with it but generally just leave it as standard. Finding players is the area of the game that can take up time, but learn how to use your scouts and just go with their recommendations.