FM2010 announcement

[Miles Jacobson]

It’s great to be able to finally start talking about Football Manager 2010 and Football Manager Handheld 2010 today, and you can see the intially announced new features at the bottom of this post and screenshots for the PC/MAC at http://www.sigames.com/softography.php?type=view&id=33 and for the PSP at http://www.sigames.com/softography.php?type=view&id=34. But before you do (yeah right!) there’s a few things that I’d like to talk to you about.

The key thing with this years game is the word “polish”.

With last years game, we had a load of big new features (hence the YouTube video) and maybe some areas of the game suffered because of that. Don’t get me wrong, I still think it was a great game, and the third patch for it was, for me, the best version of any game we’ve made to date, which has seems to have been bourne out by some of the stats - 2nd best game of all time according to a Radio 1 poll in the UK, our best selling game to date and still no.2 in the PC charts in the UK and top.5 in many European countries, and each legitimate user playing the game has averaged 240 hours of gameplay, a stat that shocked us as, well, 10 days of your life is a long time. In that time, you could watch every Man Utd game last season, still have time to watch every Barcelona and Inter match, and still have time left for the whole last series of Lost.

But back to the matter at hand. Basically, SI as a studio has grown quite a lot in the last few years. The squad is now sized 60 (full time) alongside our amazing teams of researchers, translators and beta testers. As we’ve grown, we haven’t really changed any of the dev practises in the studio, and this was causing growing pains.

Even before FM09 came out, we knew that we needed to make some changes into the way we worked. Just subtle things to make everyone’s lives easier, and get a bit more organised now that we were getting bigger.

The first of these was a big overhaul with our bugs database – we use an external tool called Testtrack which is really good, but much better if it’s managed properly! With lots of different personalities here, and different ways of working, some people were using it properly and others weren’t. So some bugs were being looked at, fixed, retested by QA and closed. Others were being fixed and just sitting around there, waving at us. Others weren’t looked at at all.

We also had far too much stuff in there. All feature requests were in that database, for example, going back 5 years. Many of them had been filtered out due to having the wrong setting here, or the wrong setting there. And, believe it or not, we had around 500 feature requests sitting in there, sad and lonely, never looked at. Over 100 of which were already in the game.

So we’ve split off the 2 databases, and now have a separate bugs and features database (the latter of which, to date, stands at over 800 feature requests – the vast majority of which didn’t make it into FM10, but certainly make it easier for planning FM11 and FM12!). We’ve gone through the vast majority of the open bugs in the bugs database, and re-tested them to see if they’re still valid, and, if they are, have set them accourdingly. We’ve closed down ones that aren’t valid, or are fixed (some of which were fixed in FM2005!) and, well, attempted to fix the ones that are still valid. I’m not saying that the release will be bug free because, as is often said on these forums, there’s no such thing as a bug free game, particularly one as complicated as ours, but we’re doing our best.

We’ve signed some top talent, both young and old, to join the dev team at SI many of whom you’ll get to meet when our new website launches later this year. We’ve also restructured our QA department, so rather than having a couple of lead testers on FM, we’ve now got a lead tester in every key “module” of the game. There are lots more meetings now amongst the dev team on FM now, with those split down into the various modules too, although anyone can attend them if they want to.

As well as the restructuring of QA, we’ve also restructured the way we do beta testing, and have handpicked a couple of hundred or so new beta testers to help us test the game, mainly recruiting via posts on these very forums where we’ve agreed with, or disagreed but understood, the constructive criticism given. This has been a massive help, and hopefully those people and the beta testers who have been with us for a while, have seen the difference in the new QA structure with their regular builds.

As I’ve got your attention (if I still have), this is also a good time to try and kill off some of the cynicism and misinformation that seems to be rife on these forums sometimes. Everyone out there has a right to their opinion, of course, but when things are factually inaccurate, it does hurt sometimes.

First off, this is not a customer service website, and is not meant to be. SEGA deal with customer service. This is a community, and a place to talk about our games, directly with us, the developers. Personal attacks are not welcome here, and are not needed, nor fair. To correct some of these… SI are not lazy. SI are not complacent. SI try our level best with everything we do. We might not always get it right, but if we get something wrong, we do try to fix it. And we care, passionately, about our games and the people who buy them. Which, hopefully, is you.

Secondly, we work on 3 games here at SI towers. FM, FMH and FML. FMH and FML are separate teams to the FM team. Each game has a different producer. Each of the games has a benefit for others in the studio – more talent around, more experience of different systems and, with FML, the ability to try things out that we’re looking to put into FM sometimes, particularly with the match engine and, this year, the newly announced tactics creator.

Thirdly, and possibly most controversially, what we’ve found over the years is that the customer is not always right. They might think they are, but if you look at these forums, there is nearly always an opposite point of view somewhere, normally on the same thread. It’s part of our job to decide what is right, and what is wrong, with those opinions, and we know we cannot please all people all of the time. But, again, we do try.

Anyway, back to the announcements.

What you’ve seen on the feature lists today is the start of announcements about this years releases. As always, we’ve got a few tricks up our sleeves and I’ll start blogging properly about them, with more screenshots and (hopefully) some videos too over the coming weeks.

The blogs will be a bit different this year. There are bound to be some of me prattling on about this feature or that feature, but I’m also going to attempt to give you all an insight into the development of the game, with chats between me and some of the dev team working directly on it, interviews with some of the beta testers who have been helping with the testing of the game this year, and some indepth guides into a few of the new features which should really wet your appetitie for the release of the demo, and then the game.

Oh, and to stave off the normal questions, the demo will be released a couple of weeks before the game is released, and we won’t have a firm date for it until the game is in full manufacture. There will not be a public beta demo, due to the leak a few years back – the lawyers just won’t allow it. No decision has been made on copy protection yet for the game – we’ve been asked for our recommendation, and that’s been given, but it’s SEGA’s decision, not ours. And yes, the podcast will be back, although I’m not sure exactly when.

I hope you enjoy the announcements and screenshots that we’ve released today – I’m really excited about not only today’s announcement, but also being able to reveal more about the game in the next few weeks. I’ll be posting blogs directly onto the forums and websites, likely starting the week after next depending on whether we need to get them translated or not, and the SI_games twitter account will be tweeting when anything is put live.

LONDON (August 12th, 2009) – Sports Interactive & SEGA® Europe Ltd. can today announce that Football Manager™ 2010 for PC and Apple Macintosh, and Football Manager™ Handheld 2010 for Sony PSP will be released on October 30th.

Football Manager 2009 is the most successful in the Football Manager series to date, clocking up 22 weeks at No.1 in the UK (PC charts) and selling in excess of 1 million copies worldwide, as well as being voted the 2nd best video game of all time in a recent Radio 1 poll.

According to data gathered from Football Manager 2009, people played the game for an average of 240 hours each and developer Sports Interactive has spent the last year working closely with consumers and the Football Manager community to implement key improvements to this year’s game. Football Manager 2010 features new tools and changes across the board including some big additions to improve ease of use, navigation and feedback from the game with the introduction of a brand new match tactics system, the debut of a Match Analysis tool, a completely new look and new User Interface among other features.

“We have worked very hard with the Football Manager community to target not only the areas of the game that needed re-working but also what we could add to improve what’s already there. We’ve also conducted extensive usability studies which has led us to overhaul the whole presentation of the game, which we’re really excited about,” said Miles Jacobson, Studio Director at Sports Interactive. “There has been a lot of polish to existing areas of the game but it’s also driven us to introduce changes to answer some of the feedback. We’re very confident that having done that we will deliver the very best Football Manager to date in October.”

The introduction of a Tactics Creator makes it easier to instruct the team to play the way the manager wants, alongside the introduction of touchline ‘shouts’ and quick tactic changes for instantly altering your team’s playing style during the match. Working with coaches from various levels of football, alongside some of the Football Manager communities most respected independent tacticians, the game now has an extensive array of pre-set tactical options allowing the user to select a player’s role in the team (such as ‘Ball winning midfielder’ or ‘Deep lying playmaker’), however the option to use the old ‘slider’ controls remains.

Feedback from matches has been improved to give the user better insight into where their team is going wrong, or right. A new Match Analysis tool lets players see where shots, passes, crosses, headers, tackles, fouls and interceptions have been made on the field for all players on the pitch. Managers can view this analysis both live in-game and post match, allowing them to pinpoint the strengths and weaknesses of both their team and their opponent’s and adjust their tactics accordingly.

Football Manager 2010 features a brand new User Interface, with a light and a dark skin to choose from as part of a vibrant new look and has undergone a complete navigational overhaul. The side bar navigation of previous years has been replaced by an intuitive tab system at the top of the screen, making Football Manager’s famed depth easier to navigate and will make the game more accessible to new players.

A brand new Data Editor will allow the addition of new divisions to existing leagues and of entirely new leagues as well as making it easier than ever to keep the game up to date, and do so for free. The delivery of information to the manager has been refined with users now able to sign up to the News Centre, an in-game subscription based newspaper that lets you get the news that you want about the football world and filter out the stories that you do not need, making the football world as immersive as you want it to be.

Following the debut of a 3D match view in Football Manager 2009, this year’s release sees a revamp with improved AI, over 100 new animations for the 3D pitch view, new stadiums, crowds, realistic pitch degradation and better lighting, creating an even more realistic match experience.

Further new features will be announced via a series of blogs in the months leading up to the game’s October 30th release date which will ensure that Football Manager retains its position as the most realistic, most played, highest reviewed and best selling football management simulation in the world.

[SAFC1]

WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW !

Sounds great ... i ACTUALLY CANN'OT WAIT !

The tactics creator looks excellent and it looks so user-friendly to use ! ... and the new interface is brilliant

[phnompenhandy]

This is going to be MASSIVE!!!!

[ElJaffacakeo]

Woo! Cant wait. Actually, cannot.

[DanGLiverpool]

Brilliant, we can create our own leagues and competitons. Makes superleagues easier to do

Can't wait for release day now.

[SmurfDude]

It's shaping up to be something very special

[Miles Jacobson]

Packshots are live too at the same links as the screenshots.

[PERCIVA11]

78 Days, not sure If I can wait!

[Rhodan]

Wow ... just saw the screenshots, absolutely fantastic. This is gonna rock, can't wait!

[Elrithral]

Are there screenshots? I can't see them Bloomin' work filter.

[Miles Jacobson]

Brilliant, we can create our own leagues and competitons. Makes superleagues easier to do

Can't wait for release day now.

Not only can you make your own, you can make them available for others in the community to download too.

[hamilton162]

Great, some news at last

[docklanders]

sounds brilliant!

[Rhodan]

Are there screenshots? I can't see them Bloomin' work filter.

Over here mate: http://www.footballmanager.com/index.php?p=info_pc

Great work on the interface SI, it rocks!

[DanGLiverpool]

Not only can you make your own, you can make them available for others in the community to download too.

That's brilliant Miles, time to prepare my American Samoan vs Samoan super league

78 days and counting. Even better that it is released during mid-term, some extra time to play the game.

[cheekylad68]

Got to say - very dissapointed.
I was eagerly anticipating a few drastic changes to the game or some storming new features, but alas we have been given a "polished" fm 2009.

With the release of the new championship manager imminent I feel SI have missed a trick as Championship Manager has stated it will be putting the "fun feeling" from cm 01/02 into the new game.
I do feel that the fm series has become like an exam recently and this is the first one that I do not anticipate buying. I will be purchasing the championship manager 2010 game as I feel I will be able to "enjoy" this a lot more.

I understand I may be wrong and I am aware that all new features have not yet been revealed however I feel this series has now taken another step back.

[Ollyh]

Everything sounds great, tactics creator looks really good, I like the addition of "shouts" from the touchline and the prospect of actually properly creating your own league is really making me want this game already!

[ham_aka_stam]

This looks huge, KUTGW all involved.

[Elrithral]

Got to say - very dissapointed.
I was eagerly anticipating a few drastic changes to the game or some storming new features, but alas we have been given a "polished" fm 2009.

This is the first announcement, there are more to come which will include further features.

Just noticed this;

I understand I may be wrong and I am aware that all new features have not yet been revealed however I feel this series has now taken another step back.

How on earth can you tell that from a couple of screenshots?

[Ollyh]

Got to say - very dissapointed.
I was eagerly anticipating a few drastic changes to the game or some storming new features, but alas we have been given a "polished" fm 2009.

With the release of the new championship manager imminent I feel SI have missed a trick as Championship Manager has stated it will be putting the "fun feeling" from cm 01/02 into the new game.
I do feel that the fm series has become like an exam recently and this is the first one that I do not anticipate buying. I will be purchasing the championship manager 2010 game as I feel I will be able to "enjoy" this a lot more.

I understand I may be wrong and I am aware that all new features have not yet been revealed however I feel this series has now taken another step back.

I think if you were to ask this forum what they wanted for FM2010, I rememeber quite well many people saying that a 'polished' game was what they wanted rather than one with lots of new features like last year, it certainly ain't a step back as clearly there were plenty of features that needed sorting out from FM09, so I think what they've done sounds great.

[Fire Island]

Sounds fantastic. I can't wait the tactics look good and makes me want the game now!!

[CrashOverride]

Wow - That new interface looks amazing and the whole game has had a huge facelift.

Cant wait for the Demo!

[Teezy.]

This is undoubtably me being very stupid, but I am very confused with the 'philosophy' section of the tactics creator. What does it mean by 'fluid' and 'rigid'?

[ham_aka_stam]

Can see from one of the screenshots that you still have the bug where some players can end up appearing higher in your team's list than their position suggests, eg

GK
*ML*
*MR*
CB
CB
CB
MC
...

hope that gets sorted.

[Neil Dejyothin]

Got to say - very dissapointed.
I was eagerly anticipating a few drastic changes to the game or some storming new features, but alas we have been given a "polished" fm 2009.

With the release of the new championship manager imminent I feel SI have missed a trick as Championship Manager has stated it will be putting the "fun feeling" from cm 01/02 into the new game.
I do feel that the fm series has become like an exam recently and this is the first one that I do not anticipate buying. I will be purchasing the championship manager 2010 game as I feel I will be able to "enjoy" this a lot more.

I understand I may be wrong and I am aware that all new features have not yet been revealed however I feel this series has now taken another step back.

You can always give the Gold Demo a try when it becomes available and if you don't like it then, then it's your right not to buy.

[Miles Jacobson]

This is undoubtably me being very stupid, but I am very confused with the 'philosophy' section of the tactics creator. What does it mean by 'fluid' and 'rigid'?

There will be full descriptions for each of those options. I'll go into this in more detail in a later blog. Or, likely, blogs.

[roberto922]

The new editor looks amazing \o/\o/

[Teezy.]

There will be full descriptions for each of those options. I'll go into this in more detail in a later blog. Or, likely, blogs.

Ahh; thank you for the quick reply.

[Ter]

Got to say - very dissapointed.
I was eagerly anticipating a few drastic changes to the game or some storming new features, but alas we have been given a "polished" fm 2009.

With the release of the new championship manager imminent I feel SI have missed a trick as Championship Manager has stated it will be putting the "fun feeling" from cm 01/02 into the new game.
I do feel that the fm series has become like an exam recently and this is the first one that I do not anticipate buying. I will be purchasing the championship manager 2010 game as I feel I will be able to "enjoy" this a lot more.

I understand I may be wrong and I am aware that all new features have not yet been revealed however I feel this series has now taken another step back.

It's not like you are just getting a polished game though. Things like being able to create your own leagues is a massive step forward and people who want to play in countries that don't ship with the game will now be able to do so very easily. And there is a lot more new stuff than that in there which you will no doubt find out about in the coming weeks.

[bcooper]

Got to say - very dissapointed.
I was eagerly anticipating a few drastic changes to the game or some storming new features, but alas we have been given a "polished" fm 2009.

With the release of the new championship manager imminent I feel SI have missed a trick as Championship Manager has stated it will be putting the "fun feeling" from cm 01/02 into the new game.
I do feel that the fm series has become like an exam recently and this is the first one that I do not anticipate buying. I will be purchasing the championship manager 2010 game as I feel I will be able to "enjoy" this a lot more.
.

Hi,

I would say that it's that difficulty / complexity / trying to work out how to tell the game to tell it what you want to do that has driven a lot of the work SI have put into the game this year, definitely the new tactics, the touchline changes, the new user interface. I think they've made some real inroads into that this year. There are some drastic changes I would say, and in my opinion. Keep the faith, try the demo, I think you'll like it.

[roberto922]

Will it be possible to create entire new nations and make the leagues playable?

[Miles Jacobson]

Will it be possible to create entire new nations and make the leagues playable?

Yes, it will.

[Nic!]

Question about the Data Editor feature to create leagues. There's been some talking about a Beneliga, a league structure where the teams of the Belgian and Dutch leagues would be merged.

Is this possible to create? Saying that a league falls under two countries, but those two countries act like one 'football-country'?

[roberto922]

You lot deserve a medal then, one of the best changes you could have made afaic. Hat off to you

[Ter]

Will it be possible to create entire new nations and make the leagues playable?

If you mean create a new nation called "New Nation" and add a competition called "New Nation League" and create teams to play in it then I don't see why not. Although I've not tried to do anything like that before. It will be interesting to see what sort of things people try out with this.

[Latimerinho]

It would appear (in Firefox) that when you hover over the text it's hyperlinked but has no target. The colour changes to grey and increases in size slightly. Can anyone else confirm this?

May be an additional </a> required somewhere perhaps?

Page in question:
http://www.sigames.com/softography.php?type=view&id=33

[dily]

liking the look of this ....always used to hate it when I wanted to make a quick defensive sub and it only happend after I had lost my advantage..but now I think I can do that..bring it on

[SmurfDude]

Hmm if it's easy enough I may try adding a Super League for Europe's Elite, but only if I can add the competition to history pages, record pages etc and add some awesome news articles related to it

[Neji]

League creator sounds great, a pleasant surprise. I'm just wondering how flexible the rulesets will be or will they have to be based of existing leagues? That Prozone-sounding feature sounds more like what I was expecting last time too

I'm not sure I like how the news items are laid out though.

[SAFC1]

I think creating your own nations and leagues is a fantastic addition but i have one question

Will you be able to create your own leagues and then transfer that to the online mode so others can join your 'fantasy' game world

This would be fantastic if you could !

[Matt ex SEGA]

Got to say - very dissapointed.
I was eagerly anticipating a few drastic changes to the game or some storming new features, but alas we have been given a "polished" fm 2009.

With the release of the new championship manager imminent I feel SI have missed a trick as Championship Manager has stated it will be putting the "fun feeling" from cm 01/02 into the new game.
I do feel that the fm series has become like an exam recently and this is the first one that I do not anticipate buying. I will be purchasing the championship manager 2010 game as I feel I will be able to "enjoy" this a lot more.

I understand I may be wrong and I am aware that all new features have not yet been revealed however I feel this series has now taken another step back.

Nice to see you on the SI forums, Roy...

As has already been pointed out - SI are very confident that this is going to be a classic. And, regardless of the availability of other products- the FM demo will be free for all to try - so you don't have to take our word for it. Lets hope we convert you.

Cheers

Matt

[roberto922]

If you mean create a new nation called "New Nation" and add a competition called "New Nation League" and create teams to play in it then I don't see why not. Although I've not tried to do anything like that before. It will be interesting to see what sort of things people try out with this.

Just to clarify, I'll be able to create a nation, add leagues, add teams and then go into FM and play in that brand new league?

[Ollyh]

The Pitchside Instructions look really good, I love the variety of options there like 'Play Even Safer' or 'Work ball into box', looking forward to seeing how well the players respond to these commands.

And also with the creation of leagues, sorry if its a stupid question but does this mean we'll be able to create the leagues below BSN/BSS for ourselves?

[Tottiseiya]

Great news!!!

[Beware]

Creation of new leagues! USL here I come!

Thoroughly excited about the other stuff as well.

[bridport_pouncer]

Looking good - I understand it's possibly a little early to ask, but will the 2D match engine be kept for FM2010?

[Nic!]

I'm a bit confused:

"...and we won’t have a firm date for it until the game is in full manufacture"

"...up to the game’s October 30th release date..."

Or is 'it', a reference to the demo?

[Elrithral]

Improved graphics stadiums etc I expected it and for the majority that's good news, but improved graphics etc means my computer will struggle with it.

[wally13]

Improved graphics stadiums etc I expected it and for the majority that's good news, but improved graphics etc means my computer will struggle with it.

When they say improved graphics mate they dont mean mind blowing just polished up abit

[vaderspurs]

Looks awesome!!

Not that bothered about new leagues (I prefer real-life simulation) but hopeful about the news centre. Really would be great if you could feel immersed in your game world and get the stories you want (i.e. Inter MIlan's big signing as opposed to York)

Have been waiting for this announcement for an age, now it is another one till release!!!

Well done si, kutgw

[arsenal fan 123]

Sounds great to be honest better than great
But long time to gooooo

[roberto922]

Oh, when you say some features have been changed, has the constant media unsettling of players been taken down a peg?

[Elrithral]

When they say improved graphics mate they dont mean mind blowing just polished up abit

No, but the introduction of stadiums and crowds is bound to increase processing time and 09 was pretty slow, so I expect 10 to even slower, on my pc. Nothing aginst the game, just can't see myself buying a new PC in order to enjoy it without frustrating lag.

[CrashOverride]

Improved graphics stadiums etc I expected it and for the majority that's good news, but improved graphics etc means my computer will struggle with it.

I think its more polished than anything Elrithral

Overall looks like an improvement to many areas of hte game

[roberto922]

there's bound to be an option to untick it.

[LCFCtillidie]

As Neji said the news looks abit dodgy, but apart from that looks fantastic!

[Blackbag]

the 3d match engine screen shots look pretty good, i know its early but do you envisage that the PC / laptop specs be similar to last year?

[wally13]

No, but the introduction of stadiums and crowds is bound to increase processing time and 09 was pretty slow, so I expect 10 to even slower, on my pc. Nothing aginst the game, just can't see myself buying a new PC in order to enjoy it without frustrating lag.

This years game mate as been improved to run quicker as miles as said if you look in the link hes provided plus you can always diasble graphics but i think you will be ok unless you have a stone age pc

[Nick Habershon]

As Neji said the news looks abit dodgy, but apart from that looks fantastic!

Rest assured that, as stated, these screenshots are all work in progress right now.

[Mystical Manager]

SI, you made my day!

[MKL92]

Everything looks very fresh and exciting and much more user-friendly - loving the post-match analysis and touchline shouts features - can't wait for more information and the demo!
Also love the fact that you are planning to 'polish' the current game,

[roberto922]

Don't suppose you've managed to make league and national reputation dynamic? Probably not but worth a go

[Sosage]

looks fantastic :-)

[Elrithral]

This years game mate as been improved to run quicker as miles as said if you look in the link hes provided plus you can always diasble graphics but i think you will be ok unless you have a stone age pc

Good stuff, however, as I said 09 was a bit of a struggle processing wise. The PC is fine, it's just that i'm used to 08 processing times

[wally13]

Good stuff, however, as I said 09 was a bit of a struggle processing wise. The PC is fine, it's just that i'm used to 08 processing times

Yeah we all know there were problems with 09 proccessing etc but this as been looked into i think you will see a big improvement

[The 92nd Fish]

Wehay the ability to create your own leagues at last! Now I can create a North American league without all the dumbass MLS rules, as Monty Burns would say, exxxxcellent.

I'm gonna miss the sidebar mind, but oh well such is progress.

[aggressive minor]

Looks awesome, can't wait!

[Ter]

Just to clarify, I'll be able to create a nation, add leagues, add teams and then go into FM and play in that brand new league?

Just checked this out and you can't create new nations. You can only edit current nations that are in the database.

[Nomis07]

I'm very aroused.

[peter-evo]

No, but the introduction of stadiums and crowds is bound to increase processing time and 09 was pretty slow, so I expect 10 to even slower, on my pc. Nothing aginst the game, just can't see myself buying a new PC in order to enjoy it without frustrating lag.

Considering the graphic requirements last year were too high for what the 3D was, I imagine/hope that the specs will stay similar. Would be suprised if it caused you lag!

To the people who are disappointed: Football Manager 2009 was very close to being the best game I've ever played. It just seemed like, as Miles said, the amount of new features meant that they seemed unfinished. If the speed, 3D, and a few minor things are fixed, then it will be the best game ever.

[ulrich87]

Shouting from sideline.. FINALLY!
I can't wait for this game!

[PluckaDuck]

New editor will be amazing.

Tactics creator will also make a massive difference and is a great addition.

As always, thanks for all of your hard work SI team and I can't wait to play!!

[Addickted4Life]

When is the podcast coming back?

[Elrithral]

Considering the graphic requirements last year were too high for what the 3D was, I imagine/hope that the specs will stay similar. Would be suprised if it caused you lag!

Perhaps lag was the wrong word. FM08 I can complete/holiday pre-season in 30 minutes at most, FM09 took well over an hour, I assume that because of graphics (i.e. graphics stored/match data etc) which have to be processed. That's no bad thing, but I just don't have the time tbh.

[dannyfc]

Not overwelhmed, but I don't think there's an awful lot of 'new' things to add.

Tbh all I wanted was a better match engine and more in-depth tactics. We'll see how the engine is but as for the 'Tactics Creator'... it just sounds as if the pre-sets that were already there have been expanded and made more accessible. Are there more sliders? Do the sliders have clearer instructions or do they still have conflicting roles (i.e. Mentalitys 'Position vs Attacking/Defensive awareness).


That said... I think CM 03/04 was a 'polished' version of CM 4, and I think its one of the best games of series.

[The 92nd Fish]

I see that shouting from the touchline is in but will we finally be able to give subs instructions, it's pretty crazy that you can't say anything to them when they're sent onto the field atm.

[peter-evo]

Perhaps lag was the wrong word. FM08 I can complete/holiday pre-season in 30 minutes at most, FM09 took well over an hour, I assume that because of graphics (i.e. graphics stored/match data etc) which have to be processed. That's no bad thing, but I just don't have the time tbh.

I'm hoping that, as part of the 'polish' that speed has been refined and we will have a sharper experience. I don't see why the speed was so different in FM09 than in 08. 07 -> 08 saw the speed change maybe 09 -> 10 will too.

[Miles Jacobson]

liking the look of this ....always used to hate it when I wanted to make a quick defensive sub and it only happend after I had lost my advantage..but now I think I can do that..bring it on

Yes, you can. But the sub only comes on when the ball is out of play, obviously!

I think creating your own nations and leagues is a fantastic addition but i have one question

Will you be able to create your own leagues and then transfer that to the online mode so others can join your 'fantasy' game world

This would be fantastic if you could !

I don't see why not - as long as all that are playing in the online game have a copy of that league from you.

The Pitchside Instructions look really good, I love the variety of options there like 'Play Even Safer' or 'Work ball into box', looking forward to seeing how well the players respond to these commands.

And also with the creation of leagues, sorry if its a stupid question but does this mean we'll be able to create the leagues below BSN/BSS for ourselves?

Yes.

Looking good - I understand it's possibly a little early to ask, but will the 2D match engine be kept for FM2010?

Yes.

I'm a bit confused:
Or is 'it', a reference to the demo?

It's a reference to the demo.

Looks awesome!!

Not that bothered about new leagues (I prefer real-life simulation) but hopeful about the news centre. Really would be great if you could feel immersed in your game world and get the stories you want (i.e. Inter MIlan's big signing as opposed to York)

Have been waiting for this announcement for an age, now it is another one till release!!!

Well done si, kutgw

It's up to you how much news you get. Without giving too much away before the extended blog on it, you can subscribe to news about any club, any competition, any player, any nation, plus having default ones.

No, but the introduction of stadiums and crowds is bound to increase processing time and 09 was pretty slow, so I expect 10 to even slower, on my pc. Nothing aginst the game, just can't see myself buying a new PC in order to enjoy it without frustrating lag.

The plan is for FM10 to feel way faster to FM09 when playing, but we'll be blogging about speed and speed tests further down the line.

the 3d match engine screen shots look pretty good, i know its early but do you envisage that the PC / laptop specs be similar to last year?

Roughly, yes.

Just checked this out and you can't create new nations. You can only edit current nations that are in the database.

But not only nations that are currently in the game. So you can add a league from the vast majority of countries in the world, but not create, say, a Martian league.

[tomtuck01]

Can't say I lke the look of the new UI, hopefully it plays better than it looks. Some of the new features mentioned do sound intriguing though, especially the match analysis tool.

[iolodavanki]

As a happy gamer of both FM09 and FML, I must say that the new interface (more like FML with the menus at the top etc) is a great change! I hope I wont mix them up when playing them both simultaneously in windowed mode! lol

seriously, FM09 needed some work to become perfect (and easily accessible like FML) and I really think FM10 will be great. Giving FM09 a complete overhaul would be a mistake in my opinion and there arent that many features missing in the FM series in my opinon. Polish and database updates are enough top keep me happy!

[20leGend99]

Looks good!

Is the tactics creator the same as or similar to that in FML?

[peter-evo]

Looks good!

Is the tactics creator the same as or similar to that in FML?

A better version iirc.

[dr-nix]

Hey thanks alot for adding the ability to add new divisions and leagues. I've been waiting for this feature for quite some time.

Not sure if you've said anything about the stadiums and the other 3d graphics. But it would be cool if you could customize the game and add your own arenas (like you can add pictures of kits, players faces and so on). Yeah creating 3d stuff is more advanced than the previous stuff but i'm sure arenas and stuff like that will show up if you make it so that users can add their own arenas (for their specific teams that you have a generic arena for in the game).

[HUNT3R]

I like what I'm seeing so far. It does look a lot more "polished" and the new additions look great.

I have a question about "match day experience". Will there be any noticable differences between a BSS game and a EPL game? Or between a friendly and an all important Cup Final?

[Yarunas]

to clear another little thing, will it be possible to add new leagues to what we've already have? I mean, if Israel has 2 leagues it will be possible to add 3rd league, and 4th?

[bell]

Good to see that FM09 will be getting polished rather than adding lots of extra fluff. Getting a good solid base on which to build for future versions make more sense to me.

Glad to see the 3D getting some attention though, the lack of crowds drives me mad (yes i know it is superflous to gameplay, but still)

[Paul Atherton]

Great new, the inaccessibility of the tactics has always been a draw back since around 08 for me. Antoehr draw back, I find much development to be aimed at 1-5 season quickfire games and lots of problems often appear in longer career games. One of the most annoying is manager/club repuation seems to lag a little. For example my, my sheffield united side is a top 4 regualr in the future but clubs consistently alot lower down can still unsettle my players, as a manger I often cant apply to jobs i consider realistic as my manager repuation hasnt quite 'caught up' yet.

Can't wait for this release and i hope theres going to lots of new stuff for us long-term career gamers

[Nic!]

Question about the Data Editor feature to create leagues. There's been some talking about a Beneliga, a league structure where the teams of the Belgian and Dutch leagues would be merged.

Is this possible to create? Saying that a league falls under two countries, but those two countries act like one 'football-country'?

Can someone at SI reply to this question, please? Much appreciated.

[Miles Jacobson]

When is the podcast coming back?

From the top post - "And yes, the podcast will be back, although I’m not sure exactly when."

Perhaps lag was the wrong word. FM08 I can complete/holiday pre-season in 30 minutes at most, FM09 took well over an hour, I assume that because of graphics (i.e. graphics stored/match data etc) which have to be processed. That's no bad thing, but I just don't have the time tbh.

The speed loss in 09 was little to do with the graphics. Some of it was match engine related, some shortlist related, some quick match related. All 3 areas have had lots of optimisation work this year, although the match has a lot more info in, so the optimisation might not be noticed as much as in other areas. But there's still time for more optimisation to be done.

[Ter]

to clear another little thing, will it be possible to add new leagues to what we've already have? I mean, if Israel has 2 leagues it will be possible to add 3rd league, and 4th?

Yes. If those competitions aren't already in the database then you can create them yourself and activate them.

[Michael Burling]

Question about the Data Editor feature to create leagues. There's been some talking about a Beneliga, a league structure where the teams of the Belgian and Dutch leagues would be merged.

Is this possible to create? Saying that a league falls under two countries, but those two countries act like one 'football-country'?

You cannot create a system like this. The editor only allows you to add nations structure or add divisions to current nation structure. You cannot have two seperate nations running under one league.

[ulrich87]

A question: How will the training set-up be? I personally think the current version is "risky" and very clumsy-like. Will we see anything new here?

[peter-evo]

Yes. If those competitions aren't already in the database then you can create them yourself and activate them.

So you blew CM's '7th tier' exclusive out of the water without needing to pay for the licenses? Well played .

I imagine the lower tiers will be about not too long after release.

[therubberducky]

Can anyone official confirm whether the problems that plagued the last version have been corrected?

[Adriano007]

The tactics element of the game seems to be heavily based on wwfan's TT&F theory.

[roberto922]

the editing community will be even better this year, can see them getting a load of leagues done as time goes on

[peter-evo]

Can anyone official confirm whether the problems that plagued the last version have been corrected?

It would probably be more helpful if you give a list of the problems you faced tbh.

[Saxonaitor]

This looks awsome! I will stuck to the games shop glass on release day to be sure

[Ov Collyer]

A better version iirc.

It's a bit more advanced than FML 1.2 (our current FML live release) but will be pretty much identical to FML 1.3 (our forthcoming FML release).

[Davey Boy]

The create tactics is so promising, also the touchline instructions. roll on the demo

But can you clear up for me, what are sub-divisions? I'm a type of player that just likes to play the real leagues with real players with no unnecessary added fake teams or leagues.