AI Experiment - The Bandits are back for FM09

[BenArsenal]

On to the next page already.

[FlownCanary]

Fantastic to see the Bandits are back! And I love being in it from the start, it's fantastic! The Bandits are going to be the EPL Champions this time for sure! Bring on the first update! KUTGW Kip!

[ubik]

Very excited that this has kicked off
I'd love to see The starlets stay with the bandits for a few years this time.
Also really looking forward to the antics of the 4 idiots - Idiot GK is going to be a cult hero!

Great stuff as always Kip, bring on the updates

[Berrern]

Kip, I couldn't find anywhere what the Reputation for the Bandits (and the Sheriffs) is set to? Could you please enlighten me?

Cheers.

As for my predictions;
- The Bandits will completely steamroll through the first season, maybe even unbeaten.
- The Bandits will lose all their star players, bar 2-3, the first season. Some probably already in January,
- The Sheriffs will have the worst disciplinary record in the BSS.
- Both clubs will reach the EPL within 15 years, and I think the Sheriffs will get there first.

Can't wait for the first update!!

[kashmirshazad]

Good to see this up and running, i managed to read the whole of the first update while at work! im sure this will be just as exciting.

[kipfizh]

Also is there any chance Kip, Of the game to be up for download at the beginning of this for people to genuinely play through? If you think it'd discredit the experiment fair enough. But i thought i'd ask

Probably not, to be honest, but I am backing the initial save up on a different machine this time

[kipfizh]

Finally I have a quick question, do you know if the players who chose to represent their other nationality's youth teams can still change back before they get their first "real" cap or is it already decided?

In-game, all the players are listed as still being eligible for both nations, whether this will change or not after the play their first youth international, I'll let you know.

I found this official FIFA ruling:

"(a) Up to his 21st birthday, a player may only once request changing the Association for which he is eligible to play international matches. A Player may exercise this right to change Associations only if he has not played at “A” international level for his current Association and if, at the time of his first full or partial appearance in an international match in an official competition of any other category, he already had such nationalities. Changing Associations is not permitted during the preliminary competition of a FIFA competition, continental championship or Olympic Tournaments if a player has already been fielded in a match of one of these competitions."

It was later explained:

The major substantive change was designed to deal with repeated complaints that players had made irrevocable commitments to a particular national team by taking part in international youth tournaments when they were too young to make an intelligent decision on such an important matter and when their tender age rendered them peculiarly susceptible to pressure from others. The new provision seeks to rectify this problem by allowing a national team change in limited circumstances. It contains five limitations preventing country-shopping: the player must not yet have reached his 21st birthday when he makes the request to change his national team, he must already hold the dual or multiple nationality when he makes his first appearance in a competitive international match, he must not have appeared for the A or senior level national team of his current association, he may change his national team only once and he may not change his national team during a preliminary competition in which he has taken part.

---

So, in theory, the players should be able to switch from one nation to another until they hit their 21st birthday, or play a senior match for their country. They all have dual nationality already so that part is not a problem. But they should be able to switch only once.

This is, of course, assuming the rule is followed in the game.

[kipfizh]

Kip, I couldn't find anywhere what the Reputation for the Bandits (and the Sheriffs) is set to? Could you please enlighten me?

Both set to 950/10000

[Tomaldinho]

I was under the impression that it is Under-21 games as well as senior games that mean the choice of nationality is irreversible.

[kipfizh]

I was under the impression that it is Under-21 games as well as senior games that mean the choice of nationality is irreversible.

I guess it all comes down to the definition of an 'A' level international match. I thought that was just seniors, but I could well be wrong.

[Riz Remes]

This thread is so full of WIN

Good luck with the experiment kipfizh, I'll be keeping an eye on this thread again as the previous experiment helped us tweak things like the regens and player progress in the game.

[DB1]

This thread is so full of WIN

Good luck with the experiment kipfizh, I'll be keeping an eye on this thread again as the previous experiment helped us tweak things like the regens and player progress in the game.

This is what I love about these forums. Us, the fans, can make a difference to the actual game. KIP MBE

[kipfizh]

Good luck with the experiment kipfizh, I'll be keeping an eye on this thread again as the previous experiment helped us tweak things like the regens and player progress in the game.

Really? Blimey, thanks for that - I had no idea it'd had an impact!

That's just made my day

[Tomaldinho]

Kip to have his name up in lights...or in the manual credits at the very least.

As for 'A' matches I only think it counts U21 games because of a couple of incidents a few years ago but the laws may very well have changed following these or even as a result of them.

[magvest]

Great to see the Bandits in FM09. Followed your old thread and will do the same with this one.

KUTGW kipfizh!

[PluckaDuck]

The Bandit's are back!!!! Another 70 years, here we come

[Aesler]

Good to see this up again! Looking forward to reading it, right from the start.

Predictions

I think people are being too optimistic, I reckon it'll be 20 years before The Bandits make it to the top flight, 30 years before The Sheriffs join them.

The Bandits will stroll the first season, getting promoted alongside The Sheriffs.

First £1m transfer will be in season 3.

All Bandits to go into management.

Bandits to win their first Champions League in 2048!

[Maviarab.]

Glad to see your back and well Kip, and this is looking like it will be another excellent experiment/read.

Alreay my new favourite forum thread on the web

[Chilliconcarnie]

Kip - Make sure you backup the database as well, and if you do move machines, make sure the experiment DB is in the correct place or you will again find that the teams revert to their original names, and any created stadia or places will just not exist.

Getting really excited for this now

[chopper99]

Ah well, my work's about to suffer

Great to see the new experiment up an running, I can't believe it's been two years since the first one started, you'd think we'd have all grown up and moved on by now. But no, here we are again, eagerly awaiting the first update.

My predictions:
- Two Bandits players to stay for more than one season, the rest will leave.
- The Sherrifs to fail in their attempt to go up in the first season because of the affect that the idiots have on the team.
- The Bandits manager to manage England within 10 years.
- England to win a major trophy within 12 years.

[Wegason]

Fantastic to see this back, it inspired my experiment so I look forward to it inspiring others as well.

My predictions

The Bandits to win the Blue Square South

The Bandits to obtain more than 100 points in the Blue Square South during the first season.

The Bandits to win a cup competition within 3 years.

At least half the Bandits superstars to leave after one season at the club.

The Sheriffs to achieve a playoff place in the first season.

The Sheriffs to NOT reach the Premiership within 20 years.

The Bandits to reach the Premiership within 20 years.

England to win the World Cup before 2020 utilising Bandits/former Bandits players.

One of the idiots to end up at Newcastle United.

Ocean View Park to be expanded significantly by the time the Bandits make league football.

The Bandits to be one of the 92 football league clubs before 2012.


In my opinion, the key to the Bandits success will be the Chairman and the Board, the manager will eventually leave, probably within five years, and the players will almost certainly all be gone by 2012. The Chairman, a sugar daddy, will have a significant influence on the success of the Bandits, his choices, funding, ambition, and patience will be the key to Bandits success.

The Sheriffs will suffer from their Chairman and he will hold them back at times when he fires Managers who could have taken them to success. He will make bad business decisions and will probably lead the team to financial ruin.

If the Sheriffs are led to financial ruin then any initial success they may have had will see a consortium buy the club and subject to a decent enough Chairman, they will have the resources to (slowly) advance up the league pyramid.

Oh, and I also think the Bandits will win the Champions League before 2050.


As always, all predictions wrong or your money back.

[Riz Remes]

Really? Blimey, thanks for that - I had no idea it'd had an impact!

That's just made my day

The original was an interesting experiment, not just because the thread and your posts were very entertaining and informative, but because of the suggestions and predictions people posted on how they thought things would go. While we do run our own tests and analysis on the long term gameplay for areas like the regens and the finances, there are still things that can be learned from experiments like this one, where someone really digs into the game data over a long period. Especially when there is a lot of passion involved.

Even if there aren't things to tweak straight from the data posted from the experiment, it might spark some tests on our side to check how the game works in certain scenarios etc. which will all add up to more realism and more fun for everyone

Edit: I emailed the link to this thread around the FM team so most likely other people will be keeping an eye out as well. Ter at least, if he has the time from eating all the chickens at Nandos

[Meitheisman]

So, in theory, the players should be able to switch from one nation to another until they hit their 21st birthday, or play a senior match for their country. They all have dual nationality already so that part is not a problem. But they should be able to switch only once.

This is, of course, assuming the rule is followed in the game.

Thanks for doing the research for me, I wasn't expecting this much detail tbh. Can one of the SI members who reads this thread confirm if FM follows the real life rule and if U21 matches count as 'A' level or not please?

It would be interesting to see if the Bandits starting to get call ups for England will influence the decision of those who are playing for their other nationalities at youth level or not.

[DodgeeD]

Great to see the new version up - this is not so much an FM experiment as an institution

Good to see the idiots with all the 'dirty' PPMs too - did you set their tackling to 20? Tackling of 1 combined with 'dives in to tackles' could produce a few bone crunching moments!

Personally, I predict the Bandits will have a steady rise up the league. The management structure seems very stable and they should take a risk-free approach. I think the Sherrifs may be successful initially but they will then implode. They will most likely follow that cycle as they rise up - promotions may be followed by relegations but they will get their eventually. Maybe they will eventually become like Chelsea or Real Madrid, sacking their managers on a regular basis.

Looking forward to the next update.

2000th post!

[AB-forever]

So glad to see this thread!

[allx]

Thanks for doing the research for me, I wasn't expecting this much detail tbh. Can one of the SI members who reads this thread confirm if FM follows the real life rule and if U21 matches count as 'A' level or not please?

It would be interesting to see if the Bandits starting to get call ups for England will influence the decision of those who are playing for their other nationalities at youth level or not.

My first ever post here
Hi all and KUTGW Kip

I believe this article answers the question - the players are not chosing their national team before they turn 21 unless they play for the senior squad (Bojan has U21 appearances for Spain). Whether that is followed in the FM remains to be seen.

[BenArsenal]

My first ever post here
Hi all and KUTGW Kip

I believe this article answers the question - the players are not chosing their national team before they turn 21 unless they play for the senior squad (Bojan has U21 appearances for Spain). Whether that is followed in the FM remains to be seen.

I guess. But Spain grabbed him before Serbia did. He now has one cap for Spain.

[Adamw]

On a game similiar to this experiment (but on another forum and involving real people) some players with different nationalities (one had England, Wales and Ghana) played for Ghana U21s but went on to play for Wales.

Hope that answers your question

[5ergio]

The rule is, as far as I know and understand by reading it, the player has a choice to be made until his 21st birthday. If he has U21 caps for a country and he hasn't made a choice, he has to stick with that one. But he may change his U21 country A to B in "senior" level. Senior caps are what bound players to nations. For example there are countless of debates for Germany U21-U19 players that are born Turkish but having a German passport. Some tend to pick Turkish U21, some German. But each federation tries to convince the talented ones to pick themselves for senior caps.

And now on to predictions:

o Bandits to storm the league this time, breaking records everywhere like wins, goals and stuff.
o Sheriffs to follow them behind, also getting promoted, due their squad lacking players and due their idiots.
o 2 successive promotions for Bandits, 7-8 years to Championship, 11-14 years to Premier League.
o Sheriffs can be stuck anywhere depending on the transfers they'll make but I predict they are to linguish in League football for 5-8 years and make the step up to Championship in 10-12 years. 15-20 years to Premier League.
o All Bandits players to leave in 1,5 - 2 years. Maybe the GKs will stick longer.
o Idiots to leave before the starlets, achieve quicker but disrupt harmony anywhere they go.
o Hopefully more silverware to come this time around, even a World Club Championship
o An Ex-bandit to coach or manage Bandits some time in the future. Maybe a duo like the last one.
o Starlets dominating the PotY awards in everywhere where as a completely total stranger will be the legend of Bandits. (Kinch anyone )

[redUTDgoose]

Boom, excellent news. Bandits are back. work suddenly got a whole lot less boring!

[villanation]

ooh, this is all new to me when will it be all kicking off?

[Mravac Kid]

/me pulls up a chair and gets the popcorn ready


It's so great to be able to follow the experiment from the very beginning... I eagerly await that first season report.

My predictions: Most of the starlets (and, probably, idiots) don't even reach the season proper in their original clubs. With that kind of reputation, they're headed for the top two tiers of any of the top european leagues within a few months... they can't have a very high price at that league level.

The Bandits get hurt by losing their awesome players, and only get promoted thanks to the few remaining ones. The Sherriffs fare a bit better, as they already have the rest of the squad in place.

[leftback in the changing room]

Brilliant. Glad this is back - and I'm delighted to the the scope and scale of the experiment has expanded as well. This experiment should be much more rigorous than 07, but hopefully not too overwheming to manage.

My predictions:

- The Sheriffs will win a major trophy before the Bandits (an ambitious owner who won't accept failure means that sooner or later they'll stumble over a very good manager)
- The Bandits will be very, very successful as time passes as the flaws of the 07 management have been ironed out.
- Very few of the Bandits players will play for their second country... although the Half-Welsh Idiot is more likely to if he cant get into the English side (the other country's reputations are too low)
- Each save will take about an hour after five seasons.

Good luck Kip!

[conners]

Fantastic kip, looking forward to it.
First season predictions
Bandits to win every game
Bandits to win a game 19-0
Bandits or sheriffs to win whatever trophy the confrence has

[BayernMB]

The original was an interesting experiment, not just because the thread and your posts were very entertaining and informative, but because of the suggestions and predictions people posted on how they thought things would go. While we do run our own tests and analysis on the long term gameplay for areas like the regens and the finances, there are still things that can be learned from experiments like this one, where someone really digs into the game data over a long period. Especially when there is a lot of passion involved.

Even if there aren't things to tweak straight from the data posted from the experiment, it might spark some tests on our side to check how the game works in certain scenarios etc. which will all add up to more realism and more fun for everyone

Edit: I emailed the link to this thread around the FM team so most likely other people will be keeping an eye out as well. Ter at least, if he has the time from eating all the chickens at Nandos

I think Si or Sega should really consider giving Kip a free FM every year...

[Chilliconcarnie]

The Official Chilliconcarnie™ Predictions sponsored by Meglomaniac Industries

Season One:

• Bandits to Finish top, undefeated with the possible exception to the away game to the Sheriffs
• The Sheriffs to finish Second, no more then 10 points off the pace, but with a much inferior goal difference
• No less then three Bandits players to have in excess of 20 goals in all competitions, with at least one of the three exceeding 30.
• At least one Bandits defender to score double figures
• At least 10 players from the Bandits to break double figures
• Bandits to have the best disciplinary record
• Sheriff Idiot's to have a worse disciplinary record combined then the entire Bandits team.

All of the above predictions will operate under the assumption that few Bandits players will move on before the end of the season.

I also predict that at least half of the Bandits will move on by the beginning of the second season.

[waz_nufc_awk]

This is what I love about these forums. Us, the fans, can make a difference to the actual game. KIP MBE

Member of the Bandits Empire

[Carrotdude]

Can't wait for the first update Kip, I loved the 07 thread and I'm sure this one will surpass it!

[weeeman27bob]

This was good last time but I didn't manage to catch very much of it. Will be following closely this time.

[Upupup II]

I am really looking forward to this. I'm sure many people were inspired to do experiements by the 07 thread (I know I was). Lets hope this one can be just as successful as the last one. I'm not going to make many prediction, except:

The Bandits to Reach the Prem First
The Bandits to get a number of great youth players, that will help them take the league within 25 years.

Good Luck!!

[Walcott\'s Wonderkids]

Excellent to hear you are back with the new experiment Kip, sure it will be just as informative as the last one!

Particularly like the idea of the Sherriffs and, who I'm sure he will turn into, the infamous eccentric goalkeeper!

For what they are worth, my predictions:

* Bandits to get promotion and win this season with relative ease.
* Sherrifs to follow them up via the playoffs.

* All bar one of the Bandits will leave in the summer, with the sole survivor to leave in the following January window.

* Bandits will get through the conference in 1-2 seasons but will then take on average 2-3 seasons per division to reach the Premier League (Will be a lot shorter if the backroom staff can hang about for longer).

* One of the star strikers will have a ridiculous games / goals record for England, as they proceed to win the 2014 and 2018 World Cups.

* The Bandits will win the Premier League at one point, but will never conquer Europe.


Will be following with interest as always.

[SpeccyMatt]

Unbelievable...

I'm not sure I've ever seen a thread grow so quickly and consistently!

Sorry, this doesn't add anything to what has already been said but WOW!

KUTGW and welcome back Kip!

(sorry, too many exclamation marks I know)

[pcmeister]

Great to see this back kipfizh KUTGW

My predictions:

Bandits win league by a mile
Sheriffs go up in play-offs, but have 2 managerial changes this season
Idiots become pretty unhappy early on, and move on in January
All 4 idiots play international football for their second nations
All Bandits go into management
Bandits win more trophies than Sheriffs
Bandits reach EPL 20-25 seasons time
Sheriffs reach EPL 15-20 seasons time
By 2050, Sheriffs spend twice as much money as Bandits
Both teams to play each other in the Champions League Final

[villanation]

how long til the first post!!

[mdbussen]

I can't wait!! One of my favorite threads from back in the day and I'll be interested to see how much has changed (if anything ) in 2 years of FM

[VonBlade]

As befits my life, I'm a day late and a buck short. So to business...

Good to have you back Kip. And great to see Meitheisman along too. I certainly wouldn't dare make any predictions. My experience of my own long-term games and the original Bandits is such that I know it would be foolish. With the new data set anything could happen from all the players being gone in January, to them staying on for a surprisingly long time.

I luckily can answer a couple of questions though. The FM09 regen system is amazing. In my 20 year save so far I've had fifty or so 195+ players, and suitable amounts as you down the ladder. A sensible amount of them can hit that too. They even get generated in many positions. Although there is a prevelance to blinding midfielders.

Secondly a U21 cap doesn't count as declaring for a nation. So theoretically the players could take that second nationality. Unfortunately because of the way U21 callups are worked, unless they get injured and picked for their new nation in the brief time between recovering and the next match, they'll probably be England for life. I've tried lots of things to get around this issue (making the England manager blind to talent etc) but without much success. The only real way that a superstar could boost a nation by playing for them is if that was their only nationality. Naturally that goes against the grain somewhat so they end up being English.

I have to confess to speed reading the rest of the thread, so you might have already answered, but what is the Affiliate situation? Players coming in on loan, and eventually going out on loan, has a surprisingly large effect on player development.

Buckled up tight and along for the whole ride...
VB

edit - Just want to make clear that I personally haven't had 50+, the game world has.

[Darkwain]

I fully expect the Sheriffs to "Do a Gretna" i can see there chairman bullying his way up to the premiership as failure is not an option then bankrupting the club by trying to compete at the top of the premiership

[Meitheisman]

As befits my life, I'm a day late and a buck short. So to business...

Good to have you back Kip. And great to see Meitheisman along too.

Love the intro, glad to see you on board for the 09 experiment too.

I luckily can answer a couple of questions though. The FM09 regen system is amazing. In my 20 year save so far I've had fifty or so 195+ players, and suitable amounts as you down the ladder. A sensible amount of them can hit that too. They even get generated in many positions. Although there is a prevelance to blinding midfielders.

This will be interesting to monitor, Kipfizh has already set up a section for it too.

Secondly a U21 cap doesn't count as declaring for a nation. So theoretically the players could take that second nationality. Unfortunately because of the way U21 callups are worked, unless they get injured and picked for their new nation in the brief time between recovering and the next match, they'll probably be England for life. I've tried lots of things to get around this issue (making the England manager blind to talent etc) but without much success. The only real way that a superstar could boost a nation by playing for them is if that was their only nationality. Naturally that goes against the grain somewhat so they end up being English.

Thanks for that, it's good that a few starlets were already called up for other nations then, that way we'll be able to see how one starlet can influence various nations.

[G_D_K]

A couple predictions:

Although all Bandits will leave within 1.5-2 years, at least 3 will return to play together before they end their playing careers.
Bandits average close to 3GF, .6GA in first season.
Sherrifs end up in 2nd and advance as well. However, while the bandits achieve at least playoff position in their second season, the sherrifs struggle.
Bandits achieve Premiership status after 18 seasons...sherrifs follow more slowly, taking 23 years.

[Nick Habershon]

Kip to have his name up in lights...or in the manual credits at the very least.

As for 'A' matches I only think it counts U21 games because of a couple of incidents a few years ago but the laws may very well have changed following these or even as a result of them.

Just to confirm that in FM 2009, players become committed to a nation once they play a senior game for that country or represent that country in a competitive U21 or U20 fixture. Players can play U21/U20 friendlies or any U19 games without losing their ability to play for their other nationalities.

Enjoying the thread.

[d-machine]

Read through the previous experiment on and off the past month or so, have to say can't wait for the updates.

Not that good at predictions but...
- Bandits and Sheriffs to be promoted first season.
- All idiots to leave Sheriffs in January.
- No original Bandits players left by end of Summer transfer window (2nd season)
- 25 years before the Bandits reach the premier league, Sheriffs about 5 years later

[el sid]

Good one mate Looking forward to it

I'd say
- Both the bandits and sheriffs to storm their league in their first two seasons, with back to back promotions
- After the second season, their growth will be stunted as players will start leaving
- Idiots to have better careers than the players in the Bandits

[Neb]

Excellent, the bandits are back!

Here are my predictions-
-The bandits to storm the league undefeated
-The sheriffs to get promoted in second place.
-All bar one of the sheriffs original players to leave in January, the last following in the summer.
-All of the bandits to leave in/or before the summer
-Sheriffs to get successive promotions (due to having a squad in place)
-Bandits to struggle initially after promotion (due to not having a squad in place)
-The sheriffs to plateau in the 1st division initally then yo yo between the championship and the 1st division for a couple of years but steady progression for the bandits.
-Bandits to beat the sheriffs into the premiership.
-Idiots to play in the premiership before any of the original bandits.
-A former bandit to coach the bandits within 20 seasons

[Wegason]

Incidentally Kip, what are the stadium capacities of the respective grounds of the Bandits and the Sheriffs? You said they were big, I was wondering how big and if they'll fill them every week. Also, do the grounds have expansion capacities?

[crafty bison]

I'm irrationally excited

Bring on season one!

[Meitheisman]

Incidentally Kip, what are the stadium capacities of the respective grounds of the Bandits and the Sheriffs? You said they were big, I was wondering how big and if they'll fill them every week. Also, do the grounds have expansion capacities?

The Bandits had an 80K stadium that they regularly filled in the original experiment and Kipfizh said he kept that the same, I'd assume the Sheriffs have a similar ground but I'm not sure.

[yugo23]

Both teams to play each other in the Champions League Final

If this does happen, I hope Kip can organize live broadcast of this game.

[Vintage]

i think the grounds should have had about a 20-30k cap. so when they got big. it'll be interesting to see if they move to another stadium and if not.. would it hinder their success!

[Shroom420]

I have been so busy recently i haven't had time to read until now.
Huge follower of the last thread (didn't really become a poster until recently).
Your updates make a great read and can't wait until the ball is rolling.

Appreciate all the work you have put in over the years and the years to come

[Wegason]

I am really anticipating that first update, can't wait to see if our expectations are met and what the new AI and variables will throw up.

[FlownCanary]

Eagerly anticipating the first update Kip! Have all the players of The Bandits got each other down as favoured staff? And maybe more importantly do the four Sheriff players have each other listed as favoured staff? I hold my breath waiting for the first update! (Don't keep me waiting too long...)

[villanation]

it doesnt take this long to do a season or so surely?

[roberto922]

No... but he has that pesky thing they call a life

[crafty bison]

it doesnt take this long to do a season or so surely?

Clearly a newcomer to following the Bandits!

[Shroom420]

May even take a bit longer than it took before because of the addition on the Sheriffs aswell.
Even in the later stages i still see the updates being longer due to players going into Management.
I just know i will end up losing so much time of my life reading these updates like i did the last 2 years.

[villanation]

Clearly a newcomer to following the Bandits!

t'is true

I'm a complete noob to this bandits thing but the whole process is fascinating and I cant wait to see the results!

[Adamw]

Also, if the games are being played on full detail, it'll take a while anyway.

[roberto922]

And theres ALOT of leagues being run

[Meitheisman]

I don't think that the most time consuming thing is running the season, regardless of the number of leagues or teams, it's probably typing up the entire season report and putting all the screenshots online for us but in all honesty I'd rather wait and get a quality report like Kipfizh got us used to than speed up the process because the experiment would lose some of its quality so it's all about patience now and letting Kipfizh take the time he needs. Quality > quantity.

[JRHaggs]

Villanation -

You'll learn to be patient.

A rather disturbing number of us checked the previous Bandits thread daily for an unreasonably long time, usually with no update to be found. But it sure is sweet when there's a new update.

You'll become accustomed to the following sequence:

1) Bandits update!
2) Lots of discussion, gradually tapering off
3) A lull...
4) Intermittent posts/inquiries/speculations about the status of Kipfizh's health, professional life, hardware status, love life, pub attendance, rumored capture by wolves, suspected run-ins with the law, possible treatment related to Chutes and Ladders-related gambling, participation in government-funded zero-gravity FM experimentation, probable abduction by little green men while participating in aforementioned government-funded zero-gravity FM experimentation, etc.
5) Bandits update!

Rinse and repeat.

Welcome to Bandits Nation.

'Sack the board, sack the board, sack the board...'

[slipknot67]

Villanation -

You'll learn to be patient.

A rather disturbing number of us checked the previous Bandits thread daily for an unreasonably long time, usually with no update to be found. But it sure is sweet when there's a new update.

You'll become accustomed to the following sequence:

1) Bandits update!
2) Lots of discussion, gradually tapering off
3) A lull...
4) Intermittent posts/inquiries/speculations about the status of Kipfizh's health, professional life, hardware status, love life, pub attendance, rumored capture by wolves, suspected run-ins with the law, possible treatment related to Chutes and Ladders-related gambling, participation in government-funded zero-gravity FM experimentation, probable abduction by little green men while participating in aforementioned government-funded zero-gravity FM experimentation, etc.
5) Bandits update!

Rinse and repeat.

Welcome to Bandits Nation.

'Sack the board, sack the board, sack the board...'

Lmao....add to that frequently hitting your refresh button, glued to this page desperate for your next fix of the Bandits saga.....or is that just me?

[JRHaggs]

Oh, don't worry, slipknot. It's not just you. We're a sorry, sad, sick lot.

[Darkwain]

Lmao....add to that frequently hitting your refresh button, glued to this page desperate for your next fix of the Bandits saga.....or is that just me?

dammit I only found this yeaterdays and i already seem to be doing that

[Wee Aja]

I only caught the tail-end of the last one. I may pay more attention to this since I'm here from the start.
Very interesting indeed

[Sir_Liam]

Great to see this experiment back again.

I only started reading the 07 one towards the end, but I found it to be a fascinating insight into the game.

I predict the Bandits will reach the Premiership much quicker this time, maybe in around 15 years.

The Sheriffs will do it in a similar time. Once the idiot players leave they'll settle down and be fine, even with an idiot chairman imo.

I look forward to the first update.

[Shroom420]

Honestly i am almost as interested in Millers future for the Sheriffs.
He seems to be destined for majot things.

[PRDH]

Honestly i am almost as interested in Millers future for the Sheriffs.
He seems to be destined for majot things.

I agree. Such a potentially talented youngster in the Sheriffs first few signings bodes well for the players they'll sign in the future.

Will he pick up the idiots' bad habits though, could he play for England before any of the Bandits? Could he even more controversially move to the Bandits! The possibilities for excitement are endless!

[Martin_]

There are so many maybes that predictions are more or less pointless, but I'll have a go anyway:

Bandits to get promoted first season.

Sheriffs to bottle it in the playoffs and win the league season 2.

Bandits to get into the league quite quickly, maybe after 2 or 3 seasons.

From there I think the Sheriffs may initially rocket past The Bandits, until they crash and burn from spending far too much money. When they will crash and burn is difficult to say, but I'm going to go for in the Championship after many failed promotion attempts with cash thrown around.

Bandits will win the league within 30 years, but will not be the dominant force domestically or in europe, that will probably be a) Arsenal or b) a popular championship team that has good luck.

[Jonzii]

I don't think that the most time consuming thing is running the season, regardless of the number of leagues or teams, it's probably typing up the entire season report and putting all the screenshots online for us but in all honesty I'd rather wait and get a quality report like Kipfizh got us used to than speed up the process because the experiment would lose some of its quality so it's all about patience now and letting Kipfizh take the time he needs. Quality > quantity.

Totally agree with the above. I think the quality and depth of Kip's reports are what made the original experiment so interesting. TBH towards the end of the previous one it wasn't anywhere near as interesting when Kip was just breezing through the seasons.

Can't wait for this one to start, definately going to be even more sucessful than the previous one.

KUTGW Kip!!

[ghostwriter]

i am another who read every word of the 07 thread but never posted. caught up with it over a few weeks to around 2030 and followed from there. was fantastic.

really looking forward to this starting and see what happens...

[SpeccyMatt]

Oh, don't worry, slipknot. It's not just you. We're a sorry, sad, sick lot.

My name is Matt and I'm a bandits-a-holic...

[StewartJRobertson]

Im stupidly excited by this.

My predictions for the experiment are:

*Bandits to achieve back to back promotions in first two seasons
*Sheriffs to acheive promotion season 1 but not season 2. They will be promoted season 3
*Bandits and Sheriffs will both be Premiership clubs but not for 20 years
*One of the bandits strikers to score 60+ goals in season 1
*Bandits to win FA cup in season 1
*Kipfizh to be awarded a knighthood in the next honours list (this might be a longshot)

[villanation]

Villanation -

You'll learn to be patient.

A rather disturbing number of us checked the previous Bandits thread daily for an unreasonably long time, usually with no update to be found. But it sure is sweet when there's a new update.

You'll become accustomed to the following sequence:

1) Bandits update!
2) Lots of discussion, gradually tapering off
3) A lull...
4) Intermittent posts/inquiries/speculations about the status of Kipfizh's health, professional life, hardware status, love life, pub attendance, rumored capture by wolves, suspected run-ins with the law, possible treatment related to Chutes and Ladders-related gambling, participation in government-funded zero-gravity FM experimentation, probable abduction by little green men while participating in aforementioned government-funded zero-gravity FM experimentation, etc.
5) Bandits update!

Rinse and repeat.

Welcome to Bandits Nation.

'Sack the board, sack the board, sack the board...'

This is so true, I have started this... I am starting to speculate the status of his health now lol

[Chimpos]

I've heard the ransom money has almost been gathered together and Kip should be free soon.

I don't remember waiting for the child to be born this hard to wait for!

[markec123]

kip how long do you write a new update? just curiosity...

[FlownCanary]

Oh we the ever so faithful, waiting for our next fix of Bandit-Mania. Keep us not waiting, oh master storyteller, for we grow more needful of an update.

But, seriously take your time Kipfizh, I'm looking forward to what is sure to be a fantastic update.

[iacovone]

I have a really strong feeling that today will be the day

[villanation]

I have a really strong feeling that today will be the day

best bloody be!!!

[Wegason]

I have a really strong feeling that today will be the day

I think it might be tomorrow, he has early finish Fridays

[iacovone]

I think it might be tomorrow, he has early finish Fridays

Its scary how much some people know about his life!!

[villanation]

dosen't take this long to finish a season... surely??

[Wegason]

dosen't take this long to finish a season... surely??

As has been said before, its the report writing that takes a great deal of time. I know from experience that writing detailed informative reports on an AI Experiment takes a great deal of time, just be patient young padawan.

[mikeytwigge]

dosen't take this long to finish a season... surely??

you've already said that once

[5ergio]

Why hesitate to see the update? Rather think about the joy you'll experience while reading it, watching Bandits storm the league & so on... Also do not bump the thread with asking this stuff, I got excited like the update has been posted or something

[DB1]

This thread is crazy, in a good way
We've had the introduction and thats it and we're on the second page. Wonder how many pages we'll get when we do get the update. Don't rush Kip I'm defo in the camp that wants quality and not half baked updates. If the updates are of previous quality then Kips got twice the work with the 2 teams.
Viva la bandits

[iacovone]

Well if we carry on the way we're going we'll be at page 3 within an hour .

I'm thinking I might break from the pack and declare the Sheriffs as my team from the get go. In fact, yes. There we go. I'm a Sheriffs man!! Who's with me!?

Down with the Bandits!!

[daemonic]

dosen't take this long to finish a season... surely??

As has been said before, the running of the season is the easy bit. Typing up the season report, getting screenshots, uploading them etc can be very time consuming.
I know my end of season reports for the dafuge and gundo challenges, which only run to 3 or 4 paragraphs with maybe a dozen screenshots, can take a couple of hours to get together.

[villanation]

Well if we carry on the way we're going we'll be at page 3 within an hour .

I'm thinking I might break from the pack and declare the Sheriffs as my team from the get go. In fact, yes. There we go. I'm a Sheriffs man!! Who's with me!?

Down with the Bandits!!

I think I shall join you!!

[iacovone]

I think I shall join you!!

Ok we need rules.

1) Be patient at all times.

That is all.

[villanation]

Ok we need rules.

1) Be patient at all times.

That is all.

it's a bit hard.. i do apologise