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I play FM for the press conferences.. Joking apart, going forward, they should either scrap/automate the whole thing or integrate some sort of AI chatbot. With the chatbot route, you can have freeform responses instead of the same multiple choice answers. This would also apply to all forms of interactions.

I know. My question is whether in this example the probability of getting 160 is higher (~2/3) than getting any number in the 161-170 range on account of the 140-159 values that are are automatically set to 160.

That people won't play a harder game is just an assumption, almost a conspiracy theory conveniently used to justify the status-quo. One of the most enjoyable saves for me was with Newcastle in an older FM where I finished 8th, then 6th, then started challenging for a CL spot. In the Roma save I mentioned earlier I intended to do a long-term homegrown challenge but the fact that I won everything immediately (including the Champions League in the second season) put me off. I don't believe that the game is intentionally easy. I think the new tactical creator has made the game easier because some things are not optimally calibrated and that addressing these miscalibrations is nigh impossible, which might explain why a switch to a new game engine is necessary.

I don't know. If they truly wanted to cater to that kind of fanbase, why did they drop FM Touch? I don't have as much time to play as I used to as well. The point isn't for more time-consuming gameplay (a lot of time-consuming noise/clickfest such as media interactions could be scrapped for all I care), but for harder gameplay. There's a difference. Winning after 5 years of squad-building and steady progression is more fun than winning immediately.

What tools? In FM22, I won every single competition for 2 years with this formation and squad, before losing interest. The formation/instructions seem quite normal to me and were chosen based on the players available at the club. I never had any occasion to use the data hub, OIs, change formation/tactics to counter different oppositions, utilise the transfer market, or come up with something tactically extraordinary to achieve this feat. Correction: I also had 'slightly narrower' ticked.

I fail to see why there would be a correlation between increased sales and game difficulty. After all, players often can't gauge a game's difficulty until they've purchased and played it. There are likely other factors driving higher sales, such as population growth, increased remote work, and greater internet access.

Are you suggesting that SI intentionally dumb down the game to appeal to casual players and boost sales? Has this been a longstanding practice, predating the introduction of gegenpress? Is there concrete evidence that easier games sell better? Personally, I lose interest in a save once I achieve consistent success. I found FM22 too easy, which deterred me from purchasing subsequent editions.

But is the adjustment performed "before" or "after" the random generation? Using the same example, will the probability of the PA being 160 be 2/3 (to account for the all the values in the 140-160 range that are automatically converted to 160)? (This is for a dynamic PA project that allows for more unpredictable player development and varied saves)

If a player has a CA of 160 and a PA of -85 (140-170), can the generated PA be less than his starting CA or would it necessarily have to be between 160 and 170?

This is not the issue. The issue is that Team X plays A, B, C, D, E, etc in that order whilst Team Y (typically the closest rival) plays Z, A, B, C, D, etc. In other words, Y always plays whoever X played one fixture earlier. This issue is easily reproducible and has been present at least since FM20.

The manager doesn't even attempt to play Orsolini unlike the mentioned real life cases who amassed 25 appearances or more in their first season. Something like that would only make sense if the player suffered a long-term injury or if the manager was replaced right after the transfer.

The displayed player value should be the market value not the club's asking price. The club's asking price or a 'not for sale' declaration should only be given with a scout report. It should be possible to sort players by market value for one's own information and immersion like in older versions of FM and transfermarkt: https://www.transfermarkt.com/marktwertetop/wertvollstespieler

Strange. I distinctly remember criticisms of the HB role in that it pushed the CBs too wide.

I thought they already did that in previous editions.

I still don't understand the deal with positional play (I don't have FM24). Is it automatic? Doesn't it depend on player attributes like off the ball, decisions, teamwork, etc? Could it not be done in previous versions of FM given the right setup of roles and attributes?