Why is Football Manager so volatile?

I am not a programmer, I understand that often the fault of crashes etc is down to user computers and many of these are fixed BUT...

The amount of problems are huge compared to other games; is it down to poor programming, is it due to the game being made for real gaming computers that relatively few people have, is it due to bad luck, is it the fault of users trying to run too many leagues or players, or is it a combination of these factors?

I don't know the answers and I ain't looking slagged by the there are no problems k-rew, just actual honest opinions and hopefully facts about how these can be solved or are we just screwed to live with the crash dump forever.

Define "huge problems".

FM is one of the more stable PC games that I play, the only problem I've had is when I pushed the envelope & loaded every league & every single player on the db, eventually the game had a meltdown after 11 seasons.

You ever looked at the technical issue thread? Yes a good deal of these get fixed but a lot of people get by saving the game before and after every match. People who have over the minimum requirements should be able to run the game imo.

You ever looked at the technical issue thread? Yes a good deal of these get fixed but a lot of people get by saving the game before and after every match. People who have over the minimum requirements should be able to run the game imo.

I've only had problems with one version of FM and it was fixed in a patch - I think it was FM09.

Personally I believe most technical problems are down to the user.

WHS^^

A good deal of FM players are not gamers or PC guys which would lead me to the rather risky assumption that a lot of the tech issues are caused by poor PC maintenance or people not knowing the limits of their machine & pushing it too hard with an over ambitious number of leagues.

I've had a few issues - but generally not anything game-ruining.

I wouldn't say the game is 'made for real gaming computers'. The minimum specs are still fairly low.

I would say the technical issues forum is so populated for 2 reasons. The first is that a lot of people post duplicate threads repeating the same problem (not just confined to that sub forum!). The second being that the posters know that SI actively post on the forums so their problem is going to get solved in the majority of cases. I bet a lot of people wouldn't bother posting if they knew the game developers would never see their problem.

When you sift through the issues you could probably put a lot down to user error, edited databases (one of the big plus points of FM is the users ability to edit pretty much everything), using unofficial real time editors etc.

Yes there are problems with the game but IMO they are not 'huge compared to other games'. Just think how many patches other PC and console games have just to enable people to run them. I have seen a couple of game breaking bugs posted about but these people are the unfortunate few amongst the thousands of players that don't come across any issues.

Define "huge problems".

he meant 'many problems' and he used more than three words to describe his opinion,even if someone does disagree it is such a poor post,3 words.

Never had a crash with FM12 me. I have had more crashes with Civ5 than I have had with all CM/FM games put together I think. (since CM 00/01 at least) So FM being overly volatile? Not in my opinion mate - quite the contrary.

I've had 1 crash in 7 years I think.

If you think this game is volatile I advise you to stay away from something like World of Warcraft

The one problem I have always had with FM over numerous different iterations on different machines is that processing more often than not leads to the game (not responding) eventually it fixes itself but I can't help but feel this adds time to the processing? along with this the only way to set up a new game is to wait for the first part of the loading bar of a new game to complete then to click on the screen enough till it says not responding then wait. Annoying yes but I can live with it.

I've had one serious problem in about 10 years gaming i think, that was in 11, some bug that crashed the game at the same date every time, was fixed in the first patch they released.

he meant 'many problems' and he used more than three words to describe his opinion,even if someone does disagree it is such a poor post,3 words.

Whereas your post has added so much to the debate I guess? :confused:

Anyway, moving on to the OP: I had issues with FM10, which was fixed in a patch, other than that, never had any problems. For the record my current laptop is under the minimum spec and still runs it no problem. Albeit slower than I'd like.

Whereas your post has added so much to the debate I guess? :confused:

I liked and agreed with avine's post..

Really wasn't that keen to hear a stream of people say they never had any problems, as the sample size within this thread really makes it worth saying. Anyway, at the heart of this debate I am wondering is there a way or a future where games like Fm are capable of running even with user issues? Or at least a more advanced save system where if the game crashes you don't lose everything. Obviously something like that, real time saving, could cause a lot more problems but even a way of saving match results once they are processed in a text file or something?

A great number of issues are related to the users own computer set-up - that's not to say there aren't issues with the game, far from it, likewise yes it is annoying that these sorts of issues come up.

In that forum I try and get every user to create their own thread rather than have 'mega-threads' on the same issue where users can get lost in the numbers. Add to that the generic 'crash dump' message it's quite easy for a user to think they're experiencing an issue the same as someone else when in reality it's something completely different.

In all honesty the majority of 'crashes' for this version have been related to out of date graphics cards drivers, conflicting anti-virus programs which won't allow to run the game through Steam or people just running far more leagues/players than their system is capable of. In terms of 'game' errors yes some have been editor related but there has been for example, an issue in the MLS to do with the draft which caused a crash and an issue with subscriptions. Luckily the second one can be fixed by removing all subscriptions and passing the crash date - it will be fixed 'properly' with the next update.

It's in our (and mine especially! ) best interests to release a game with as few issues as possible. We try our hardest to offer support for every user that encounters an issue and yes, in an ideal world there would be no need for a bugs forum as everything would be perfect. Sadly FM is such a vast and complex game that really that isn't feasible. So we work to get as close as we can, and thanks to the great feedback we get from our community on our forums we can only work harder with updates to make the game even better.

That's one thing you have to admire about S.I. ......at least they're honest!

I have never had a problem with any FM since I have been playing.

I've had loads of problems to be honest (I do with every game). The vast majority are because I treat my computer worse than an alcoholic treats his liver and the rest are because this sort of stuff just happens to me. I've even crashed Minesweeper ffs

On the plus side, this stuff that keeps happening to me means I've forged out quite a successful career out of breaking games.

Did you also star in Barry's bad day?

I guess the better the computer, the smaller the chance of crash dumps and the like. I played a gargantuan database with an obscene number of (mainly user-created) leagues on my older PC, and had crash dump after crash dump. Moved to a faster PC, and the crash dumps vanished.

Tbh, the biggest issue I've had with the game is it constantly thinking the game's crashed every time I turn it off. I get a message saying there's been an error and it has to close, I click ok and it starts reloading the game again. It's addictive enough without the game loading itself!

Really wasn't that keen to hear a stream of people say they never had any problems, as the sample size within this thread really makes it worth saying.

You did ask for opinions though, and if people haven't had any major problems, why should they not say that? If you didn't get opinions from people who have had problems, or from people who haven't, then there isn't going to be anything to debate and it will just be a 'this game is crap' thread or 'FM is amazing' thread.

lets not forget the sheer size of data being processed in the game...

considere the type of issues an OS has as an example

. I've even crashed Minesweeper ffs

I didnt even think that was possible, thats a talent!!

I'm really convinced that the large majoraty of the issues/crashs that happen in FM are related with the fact that FM is a game that is easily changed by the common consumer.

You got, hundreds of graphics add-ons, hundreds of game add-ons, and all that combined is really a little "time bomb" waitting to blow up.

And this is a situation that dont happen in other games, imo.

Iused to get problems(FM9) but since i got my Graphic Card maker to send an email when a new Driver is available,i've had none!,,,FM10/11/12 have bin ok,no problems with Civ5 either,my old 9800GT has had a new driver in the last couple of days also!

I've got 400+ hours on FM2012 and yet to have a crash. FM2011 did crash a couple of times with one of the earlier patches IIRC.

i switched off 3D cameras fixes a lot, seems the more going on effects the 3D engine, at 2 and a half star it has to be turned off, 3 is your minimum for that

I have had a couple of issues on the most recent patch with the game crash dumping while I tab out of an ongoing match in the ME (this never happend when the game auto paused when tabing), and one corrupted save game becouse my comp decided to blue screen while I was saving it (thankfully it only ment i had to re-do a presession)

having spent some 1500h's playing fm12, I would say that its for the most part very stable compared to some of the other games I have played

having spent some 1500h's playing fm12, I would say that its for the most part very stable compared to some of the other games I have played

I completely disagree. The only time I have had crash dumps is with FM 2012.

I am seriously considering sending this version of FM back to SI in protest it is so crap.

I completely disagree. The only time I have had crash dumps is with FM 2012.

I am seriously considering sending this version of FM back to SI in protest it is so crap.

Have you used the add/remove league feature? Its bugged and eventually causes crash dumps as your database grows to unstable sizes.

I've had the occasional issue, but with the insane level of complexity of processing of data I understand. I've seen far buggier games that are best sellers, too - Codemasters' series of Formula 1 games is atrocious for example.

I've had the occasional issue, but with the insane level of complexity of processing of data I understand. I've seen far buggier games that are best sellers, too - Codemasters' series of Formula 1 games is atrocious for example.

How many versions of Formula 1 did Codemasters make?

SI have made more than 10 versions of FM......

FM is one of the more stable PC games that I play, the only problem I've had is when I pushed the envelope & loaded every league & every single player on the db, eventually the game had a meltdown after 11 seasons.

Is it possible to load every single league and player and still run the game?!

I dont think ive had any crash dumps from 12 that i didnt cause. Had a few issues with 11 but nothing they didnt sort out quite quickly. Call of Duty crashes on me at least once a night, Halo used to crash constantly, it took me 2 weeks before i got Half Life 2 running properly when that came out. I dont think FM is the worst for crashing.

Is it possible to load every single league and player and still run the game?!

It is not possible to run the game smoothly with any combination of leagues or players so I dare say by loading everything your computer might explode.

Is it possible to load every single league and player and still run the game?!

If you have the computer and the time to run it you should be ok for a few seasons.

If you have the computer and the time to run it you should be ok for a few seasons.

And don't forget no virus software, no facepacks, no graphics additions, up to date graphics drivers and an ounce of luck!

Oh yeah and try not to click on those players or player's biographies that will randomly produce a crash dump!

Ok we get it, you have had a few crash dumps, take them to the bugs forum and im sure the guys will help you out.

Facepacks and graphics packs are not SI supported, if they crash the game the chances are the problem lies within them, i run the game with an antivirus, its never caused any issues and if you dont have your drivers uptodate your to blame no one else.

Ok we get it, you have had a few crash dumps, take them to the bugs forum and im sure the guys will help you out.

I beg to differ. I have uploaded plenty of games to the FTP server over the years and not once have I received a reply as to my issues.

The stock standard line is "We will look into this" and off into the abyss it goes.....

Crashes are caused by one or more of many reasons- some can be caused by the game and are usually addressed in the patches, but most are caused by hardware issues or software conflicts. If have an current problem, open a thread in the specific Technical and Crashes sub forum of the main FM 12 Bugs forum and it will get attended to by the SI staff.