No highlight speed slider?

I read a review saying that the in game "highlight speed" slider is not included anymore. all that is left is the game speed slider. Got to say this could be the most annoying thing ever if its true. I dont know about anyone else but I choose to watch highlights at a normal speed and have the rest of the game speeding through. with no highlight speed slider its going to be frustrating. have to wait ages for a game to finish so u can see highlights and goals at a decent speed. or watch players flying around in a blur cos u have the game speed set to high. Does that make sense?!?!

Anyways, will the final game be set out this way, for those in the know? And what do people reckon? Its playing on my mind.

I agree, if that's how it's done it will be quite annoying. The screenshot's I've seen seem to confirm that at least in the earlier builds there indeed is no highlights slider.

what does it means, that there will be only one highlight speed when watching games, or we won't be able to select 'key', 'extened'...?

That wouldn't effect me but people who watch highlights on normal but match speed on high it would be a bugger!

Is there any reason for us to assume that the highlight speed (TV speed) will not be available to us via "Advanced Controls", as shown in this screenshot?

It was explicitly mentioned in this preview:

http://www.totalvideogames.com/Football-Manager-2009/preview-13327.html

I suppose they could have missed it too though, if it was hidden away somewhere.

Yep - from that article it sounds like it is.

From the article linked to:

What is to the detriment of the game, however, are a couple of interface features that SI has either not added in yet or simply decided to eliminate from last year's game. FM 2008 and its predecessors have two sliders that determine the speed at which a match can be viewed. If you have Highlights set to 'Key', then the Match Speed slider determines how fast minutes tick by when highlights aren't playing, while the Highlights Speed slider controls the speed of the 2D engine during a highlight. Curiously, in the build we played of FM 2009 there was no Highlights slider and only a Match Speed slider, which means that highlights play at a ridiculous speed in the 3D engine if you want to speed up the rest of the match (as most FM gamers tend to).

If that's the case, it strikes me as a tremendous oversight - hope SI have addressed it for the gold master.

It would be good if Miles could confirm this?

Surely its under advanced controls? Maybe they didnt look under ther in the review? I cant think what else advanced controls could possibly be for seeing as theres a seperate tactics menu. I also believe such a really small and simple feature that would take so much away from the game if removed won't have been removed. It couldn't possibly be an oversight not to include it if its not been, its been on most the cm and fm match engines and they'd have had todelibrately take it out rather than forget to put it in and i odubt thats been done. Have faith in SI guys, they aren't idiots!

maybe they see the majority and will use normal non-highligh options(speeded up from lst year) and a set speed for highlights. Unless you record Match of the day you cant speed that up now can you?

maybe they see the majority and will use normal non-highligh options(speeded up from lst year) and a set speed for highlights. Unless you record Match of the day you cant speed that up now can you?

We will have to wait for the demo - not long now!

Thats horrible... Definately need to put it back in if thats the case... Surely they will right I mean its not a biggie to put it back in right? Surely it doesnt effect the match engine no nothing...

I feel it's important to get a clarification on this.

I also feel we're not going to get one.

I always look at the highlights one notch quick than the default, so it is not a big deal to me.

However when the game shows me some scenes where nothing happens after I make tactical changes, it would be highly annoying not to be able to go on superfast.

I really hope it still works in the same way as all the previous versions! Its a must have to have the freedom to play the match at a speed that you want!

Surely its under advanced controls? Maybe they didnt look under ther in the review? I cant think what else advanced controls could possibly be for seeing as theres a seperate tactics menu. I also believe such a really small and simple feature that would take so much away from the game if removed won't have been removed. It couldn't possibly be an oversight not to include it if its not been, its been on most the cm and fm match engines and they'd have had todelibrately take it out rather than forget to put it in and i odubt thats been done. Have faith in SI guys, they aren't idiots!

Thing is, there is no 'advanced control' option on the screenshots where TV mode is switched off. I have no intention to use 3D and TV mode but I still need the highlights slider. I can only hope that since there are no screenshots of the 2D view there might be different options for that.

See this screenshot:http://www.gameslave.co.uk/imageviewer.cfm?img=31726&title=Football-Manager-2009

I think you can see the advanced controls panel here, and as you can see you can set the highlights (key for example) and speed aswell.

It better not be slow.

See this screenshot:http://www.gameslave.co.uk/imageviewer.cfm?img=31726&title=Football-Manager-2009

I think you can see the advanced controls panel here, and as you can see you can set the highlights (key for example) and speed aswell.

Nice, well panic over then! We can get back to waiting for the next Blog and hopefully some info on the Demo.

I think a key point to make on this is that we are all looking at the 3d matches which you'd want to watch at a normal speed and so a speed slider might not be a major issue but if I remember rightly the 2d option still exisits and no one has made mention of if the removed speed sliders involve that as well.

EDIT:

After looking through all the pictures on the Gameslave website I clearly see a match speed slider just needed to look harder boys(and girls)

See this screenshot:http://www.gameslave.co.uk/imageviewer.cfm?img=31726&title=Football-Manager-2009

I think you can see the advanced controls panel here, and as you can see you can set the highlights (key for example) and speed aswell.

Unless I read wrong what the blog actually said was that the speed you set is the same speed throughout, including highlights. and i don't see anything in that screenie that suggests you can set different speeds for each. sadly. it's not a case of anyone doubting which highlights you can select, rather the speed you view the highlights in and the speed the rest of the match goes.

Miles, Paul, Ov, Ter, ANYONE lol pleeeeaaaase tell me I'm wrong.

http://www.gameslave.co.uk/imageviewer.cfm?img=31725&title=Football-Manager-2009

look at the usual place for sliders

yes... I see one... not two... the claim is that that slider controls the pace of BOTH highlights and the rest of the match. so you can't rush through the boring bits of the match and have highlights at a normal pace.

Looking at both the images posted by myself and Rockybalboa there are two specific sliders.

In the image Rocky has posted the slider indicates the speed of the highlights whereas the image I posted indicates the match speed.

I maybe wrong in my assumptions but I think not

that would be bad if it is the case that its taken out.

i have match speed set to top and highlight speed set two notches down from top. it could just be gone from the 3D view though. because they thought it would look strange having the men run around like benny hill.

but i dont know.

that would be bad if it is the case that its taken out.

i have match speed set to top and highlight speed set two notches down from top. it could just be gone from the 3D view though. because they thought it would look strange having the men run around like benny hill.

but i dont know.

my thoughts exactly and the reason I would like to see what the 2d view of a match is like now.

that would be bad if it is the case that its taken out.

i have match speed set to top and highlight speed set two notches down from top. it could just be gone from the 3D view though. because they thought it would look strange having the men run around like benny hill.

but i dont know.

ahhh I see! I had assumed they were the same slider in two different displays, looking at them together I see what ya mean. Guess the blog people just didn't figure it out :/

Why would they run like benny hill? You set it to normal speed for highlights and very fast for non-highlights, which will not be shown in 3D.

Why would they run like benny hill? You set it to normal speed for highlights and very fast for non-highlights, which will not be shown in 3D.

what the poster was refering to was the incorrectly assumed belief that there was only one slider that controlled both highlight and match speed and so if you set the match speed to highest to avoid waiting during the dead patches of a match, when the highlight came on it didn't make the players run around like Benny Hill. Now that after further investigations it looks like there are separtate sliders for the match and the highlights they can be independantly set as was the case for previous FM incarnations.

Pompeyboyz, RockyBalboa, thanks for the linkage - I think that's pretty conclusive.

From today's blog.

A controversial change for FM2009 has been the amalgamation of the two speed sliders (Match Speed and Highlight Speed), into a single "Match Speed" slider. We felt that this needed improving, as it really wasn't clear what effect they would have on the viewing speed of a match, and new users in particular, would get quite confused about how to just "speed up the match". The simplest and most intuitive solution to this was to unify the two controls into a single slider that "does what it says on the tin": If you move the slider to the right the whole match (Highlights, commentary, the bits between highlights) will play back faster, and to the left, slower. You always get a bit of an initial backlash to any changes to the interface like this, as people do get comfortable with what has been there for a few years, but sometimes change is good, and we are certain that this will make things a lot easier, especially for new users.

I bet it'll be fine - wait for the demo to come out, then see how it affect play!

From today's blog.

A controversial change for FM2009 has been the amalgamation of the two speed sliders (Match Speed and Highlight Speed), into a single "Match Speed" slider. We felt that this needed improving, as it really wasn't clear what effect they would have on the viewing speed of a match, and new users in particular, would get quite confused about how to just "speed up the match". The simplest and most intuitive solution to this was to unify the two controls into a single slider that "does what it says on the tin": If you move the slider to the right the whole match (Highlights, commentary, the bits between highlights) will play back faster, and to the left, slower. You always get a bit of an initial backlash to any changes to the interface like this, as people do get comfortable with what has been there for a few years, but sometimes change is good, and we are certain that this will make things a lot easier, especially for new users.

Very poor decision. It's going to be a pain watching the matches, especially for those who intend to use the 3D.

new users were confused about how to just "speed upt he match"??!

all they have to do is move the sliders up one at a time and see what effect they have. not difficult or anything.

Seeing as I never speed up the match anyway this change doesn't bother me in the slightest. I always left both the sliders at default

I bet it'll be fine - wait for the demo to come out, then see how it affect play!

I know how it affects play, you can try it yourself right now by moving both sliders simultaneously and seeing if there is a combination that'll work alright for you. I know there isn't for me, the match speed must be the highest possible as I have no interest in the text strings inbetween highlights, however I don't want the highlights on full speed as it's too fast to follow. So I'll end up having to mess around with the slider all the time, which is a pain.

I know how it affects play, you can try it yourself right now by moving both sliders simultaneously and seeing if there is a combination that'll work alright for you. I know there isn't for me, the match speed must be the highest possible as I have no interest in the text strings inbetween highlights, however I don't want the highlights on full speed as it's too fast to follow. So I'll end up having to mess around with the slider all the time, which is a pain.

Yes, I realise that it would be a pain in 08 if the two were together - all I'm saying is wait until the demo is out, have a go and see how it runs - SI aren't stupid, and will surely have taken into account that many people (myself included) play with medium-paces highlights and the rest of the game on fast.

Have faith!

What a ridiculous reason for making a change. Was there not any documentation on what the sliders did? If there wasn't, wouldn't adding documentation on the sliders make it less confusing (or not confusing at all!)?

Just found it in the manual:

At the bottom of the left menu bar are the match speed and highlights sliders. The match speed slider

controls the speed of the clock; the highlights slider controls the speed of the 2D action.

Man, that is CONFUSING stuff right there.

From today's blog.

Quote:

A controversial change for FM2009 has been the amalgamation of the two speed sliders (Match Speed and Highlight Speed), into a single "Match Speed" slider. We felt that this needed improving, as it really wasn't clear what effect they would have on the viewing speed of a match, and new users in particular, would get quite confused about how to just "speed up the match". The simplest and most intuitive solution to this was to unify the two controls into a single slider that "does what it says on the tin": If you move the slider to the right the whole match (Highlights, commentary, the bits between highlights) will play back faster, and to the left, slower. You always get a bit of an initial backlash to any changes to the interface like this, as people do get comfortable with what has been there for a few years, but sometimes change is good, and we are certain that this will make things a lot easier, especially for new users.

Very poor decision. It's going to be a pain watching the matches, especially for those who intend to use the 3D.

I get the impression that all of these tweaks and "improvements" are being geared towards the new user, whilst not considering the requirements of the existing users.

If this particular feature has been changed for the ease of use for the new user, then if they have never played the game before then they are not going to be affected by the changes!

Personally I am able to read (and enjoy) the commentary text set to maximum, with the highlights a couple of notches slower. With this change I'm either going to have to watch the highlights at ridiculous speed with the ball flying around like a pinball, or alternatively I'm going to have to watch the commentary at a snail's pace, at which I'm sure will greatly reduce my enjoyment of the game. It'll take forever.

I think this is a prime example of losing touch with your existing customers for the sake of chasing new one's- whom for the record will not know a blind bit of difference!

Shockingly bad change.

Awful decision. I always put the timer at the maximum speed but watch the 2D a little slower.

people power guys! if we put enough pressure they may give it back to us

Tis a shame indeed, but guess we will have to wait for the demo to see the result of the change..

I think Miles better get a patch ready for this to be put back into the game. I wonder who's stupid idea this was. This as made the game go backwards. Most people who play FM are regular players.

This is a strange decision, even though I keep both settings in the middle there are many that won't

I keep both mine at 3/4s up so it won't effect me but it will definately effect all those who don't. I agree its a bad decision. I hope they're ready for a backlash!

If it turns out like it sounds then its a terrible decision.

I suspect that SI know what they are doing.... I'd imagine that the SI lads play FM more than most of us, so it'd be a pain for them too.

Wow. Talk about an abysmal design decision.

What is the obsession with game developers making their games simpler and simpler on the off-chance that two or three new people can pick it up without having a moments confusion, to the detriment of the enormous userbase who've brought their game often enough to allow them to make a sequel in the first place.

If FM was akin to Masters of Orion then I can understand why it would need simplifying and why, given the paucity of sales, they might need to make more money.

But FM is, Sims excepted, about the biggest selling game on the planet. So why shaft those of us who've been here since day one? Or even day 100. Just on the off-chance there is someone left on the planet who wants a football management game but somehow finds the concept of two clearly described sliders confusing?

So what's next? Merge all the sliders on the tactics screen to one that goes from attack to defend? Shall we have an instant win button? Infinite finances?

It's the thin end of a particularly unpleasant wedge.

VB

Wow. Talk about an abysmal design decision.

What is the obsession with game developers making their games simpler and simpler on the off-chance that two or three new people can pick it up without having a moments confusion, to the detriment of the enormous userbase who've brought their game often enough to allow them to make a sequel in the first place.

If FM was akin to Masters of Orion then I can understand why it would need simplifying and why, given the paucity of sales, they might need to make more money.

But FM is, Sims excepted, about the biggest selling game on the planet. So why shaft those of us who've been here since day one? Or even day 100. Just on the off-chance there is someone left on the planet who wants a football management game but somehow finds the concept of two clearly described sliders confusing?

So what's next? Merge all the sliders on the tactics screen to one that goes from attack to defend? Shall we have an instant win button? Infinite finances?

It's the thin end of a particularly unpleasant wedge.

VB

i agree and alll those saying 'wait until the demo', i'm keen to get an answer of reassurance now because if everything flies by on the fast setting (including the highlights) it's going to make it very painful.

Having played the Demo I don't think there is a need for the second slider as the first does the job