Football Manager Handheld 12 - How would you like it?

As you noticed already, I'm a big fan of FMH11! But if I was working at SI (dream on!), these are a few things I would try to get implemented in FMH12:

I would like to see a better use of the game center. Not only a manager scoreboard, but things like achievements (i.e. every time you win a league, you get this as a completed achievement). Like a trophy cabinet

I don't know how possible it is, but it would be cool to be able to challenge your friends for a match using your current squad.

In addition, I miss some statistics. You should definitely improve the Country and Manager Rankings, add a European Coefficient for leagues and teams (such as in real-life UEFA).

Other stats would be a great bonus, such as a ranking of the players with most goals or games through their careers.

Best of all: improved national team management experience. As it is now, it feels like a lame version of a club management. By itself, it's not that fun and quite unfinished. A few bad things are: besides the position selection bug in the player search screen, you cannot scout a player for a nation if you are not managing a club; and victories in friendlies do not give you manager points. I would like to see more pressure from the press, i.e. let the press be unhappy with you if you're only calling players from one club! A *fully functional* national assistant manager would be awesome; and an improved confidence screen very welcome: criteria to be included could be Matches, Competitions and Players Selection (instead of Transfers in the club screen). Interaction with players as a national manager and pressure for calling a certain troublesome striker (hello Romário and Tevez!).

The game is awesome! But there's so much room for improvement!

Really looking forward for the feedback from SI and other gamer's opinions!

Few things I would like to see

- BSPn & BSPs

- Better interaction with players (e.g negative for red cards / head butting referee's)

- Better interaction with media (e.g playing down comments that certain players are signing for my club, praising players from other clubs, praising form of other clubs / managers)

- Rivalries (I want my Burnley team to be fired up when playing Bastard Rovers!)

I agree with achievements; what can be so hard about adding it even if your making framework yourself? From my experience it doesn't take long to code framework - graphics aside I managed it in ~½-1hour (yeah yeah, it was python; but recoding into Java didn't take much longer) and used it to add achievements to one of my pet (as of now unreleased) projects in a day including adding extra code for graphics. Given my low amounts of experience in code (Only been coding for ~10 years which might sound like a lot but given half of that was on the wrong side of me being 10 I didn't pick stuff up so fast ) I'm sure that you could do it easily Marc.

-Russian Leagues

-BSN/BSS

-The original skin

( PSP )

I want to see an organized shortlist, * the way jobs are given has to be improved its currently very unrealistic and unrewarding when building up from lower leagues *, replaced the regen system, manage Argentina and Brazil, U21 international tournaments, better go on holiday options, the scouts will scout players and compare them and place them within the hierarchy of talent worldwide not just your squad, new unlockables, viewable world player of the year history, media and board interaction, swap deals, screenshots and superior transfer feedback.

Me : Are SI going to be supporting the Vita ?

Marc : I cant discuss this issue at this time.

Everybody Interested : Alright.

Me : Can you tell me if you WONT be supporting the Vita just before it comes out so I dont waste my money ?.

Ukraine and Russian leagues, custom tactics

( PSP )

manage Argentina and Brazil

You can already, as long as you run the Brazilian league...

I would love to have a list of sponsorship deals which I could choose from. I also find it really hard to become an international manager. Also when I want to increase the stadium capacity the chairman won't allow me to. I would like to make the game seem realistic by suggesting possible transfers to board instead of having 100% control. I would like to give team talks at half time which could influence the final score. I would like to be able to hold conferences with the media. And be able to see how much the manager gets paid. Also be able to buy players illegally and match-fix and have UEFA doing investigations. Also to be able to spend your wage ie. on cars. And then you could be caught speeding, which makes you and the club look bad and then your team begins to play bad. The manager should be able to agree on a contract before signing with the club. And to top it off, the manager should be able to start conflict with other clubs by criticising the way they play, their board, their staff. And then they would retaliate and if you argue back, your fans will back you more for being loyal.

SI- I know this is almost impossible to make but if you could add 1 or 2 of these it would improve the game dramatically. Thank you!

I would love to have a list of sponsorship deals which I could choose from.

Basically, this could be implemented only in these conditions:

a) A bunch of fake sponsors, i.e. Mike, Edidas, Luma, McRonalds

b) A few real sponsors, that agree to merchandise their trademark inside the game. So, you would get the same sponsors in every level of the game, in any country.

So, I think it is not happening any time soon.

I also find it really hard to become an international manager.

Well, it's hard in real life too. Unless they opened vacancies in tiny middle eastern countries, of course.

Also when I want to increase the stadium capacity the chairman won't allow me to.

Again, how often do you see stadiums being expanded? Basically, you need a lot of cash and full capacities week-in and week out. Then it's relatively easy to get it expanded.

I would like to make the game seem realistic by suggesting possible transfers to board instead of having 100% control.

As the game is now, the board gives you a budget to work with. If you overspend, they will be unhappy and you get fired. If you spend in bad players, they will be unhappy and you can get fired. 'Remember, with great power, comes great responsibility!'

I think there is no most accurate model. In real life, some clubs give more freedom to the manager, some give no freedom at all. It depends on the hierarchy, the board, the country, etc.

It would be great to see these different ways and cultures of management in the game, though...

I would like to give team talks at half time which could influence the final score. I would like to be able to hold conferences with the media.

Me too! But I would like to see it implemented in a very non-repetitive way. I hate when there is one type of talk that always works fine. Then it's almost the same as not having it, but with the extra effort of actually having to say the same thing over-and-over again... (FM2008 memories).

And be able to see how much the manager gets paid. The manager should be able to agree on a contract before signing with the club.

Basically for bragging rights You can't do much with the money, though.

Also be able to buy players illegally and match-fix and have UEFA doing investigations. Also to be able to spend your wage ie. on cars. And then you could be caught speeding, which makes you and the club look bad and then your team begins to play bad.

These things take out the focus from the management side of the game. And they're not really fun.

And to top it off, the manager should be able to start conflict with other clubs by criticising the way they play, their board, their staff. And then they would retaliate and if you argue back, your fans will back you more for being loyal.

The essence of the idea is good. But before doing that, the rivalry factors should be implemented better in the game. I sold Casillas to Barcelona, and no-one protested. And to top it, I bought De Gea from At. Madrid!

These are my top priorities for FMH12 (iPhone).

Extra match engine animations (different variety of goals such as lobs; different passages of play etc).

Deeper interaction with players (such as praise and match fines), interaction with the press (comment on other players, manager and transfer speculation) and interaction with managers (public spats and mutual respect).

Blue Square North and South leagues. I really enjoy managing from the very bottom and working my way up.

More intense rivalries. When I manage a team who about to play their fiecest rivals, I want to see more passion in the game. Also as someone said earlier, if a player signs for a rival team, there should be more to it.

Better skins. Guys at SI, you have done an awesome job with FHM - I love the game but I think the overall look to it is so poor. Most will say that this issue should be last on the list of priorities when creating a football management sim and yes, they're probably right. But there are so many things that could be improved to give it a much better, polished feel to the game. The match engine is absolutely fine but the homescreen with its six unsual sized squares make it look so basic.

To be honest I tend to have a mantra of functionality and usability being the most important thing - I don't want to make a game which looks nice but is unusable ..... which is very easy on a handheld device, hence we tried very hard to design everything with large input buttons so people could play one handed while holding onto something on a tube train for instance ....

(but I do get what you're saying - and as always we'll try and improve the polish of this side of things somewhat, theres a LOT more flexibility in this regard on the iPad because of its larger screen space tbh)

Just don't give up on the iPhone, Marc! Unless someone donates me an iPad, I'll keep playing it pocket-sized

And I don't see any problem with the 6 large buttons. I know where they are and they work fine. I guess that one of the priorities should be fixing the game engine annoying bugs (i.e. corner takers that aim to the other area, left wing-backs playing on the right, extremely long first-half extra times...)

Ah, and when viewing the match (full-pitch zoom), sometimes you get a comment like: "just above the post" and then you see the ball flying out of the stadium. Normal in minor leagues, a bit funny in the Bernabeu!

In resume: less polishing, more fixing and innovating

To be honest I tend to have a mantra of functionality and usability being the most important thing - I don't want to make a game which looks nice but is unusable ..... which is very easy on a handheld device, hence we tried very hard to design everything with large input buttons so people could play one handed while holding onto something on a tube train for instance ....

(but I do get what you're saying - and as always we'll try and improve the polish of this side of things somewhat, theres a LOT more flexibility in this regard on the iPad because of its larger screen space tbh)

I completely understand with what you're saying Marc and of course functionality and usuability should always trump aesthetically pleasing visuals and menus. It would just be the icing on the cake if the menus looked a little sleeker.

By the way, playing one handed on the train/tube is something I have tried to do on many occasions!

I think a version for blackberry would be brilliant. The majority of teenagers use blackberries because of BBM, so a lot of teens would probably like to have FM on their phone. It wouldn't have to be incredibly in detail, but just something for when you're on the go.

Imo Android should trump Blackberry. There are more Androids than anything else and the majority of my mates have someform of android htc phone.

Imo Android should trump Blackberry. There are more Androids than anything else and the majority of my mates have someform of android htc phone.

I admit that Android is more popular, but that is easily transferable from iphone. I meant that SI should develop a completely different version for Blackberry.

Guys, this thread is not related to the platforms. There's another thread covering these matters.

One of the simplest things is still missing. THe ability to simply view your team or the player search results to show attributes. Please do something with the search engine so that we can add multiple criteria at once, can change existing criteria without having to delete it and re-enter it, and to display the results so you can easily see the defensive, goaly, physical or attacking attributes. Maybe this is one for the iPad which has much more space that could be used. The search engine is so basic it's a real pain. And on a related note, is there any point in using scouts? Do they find players which aren't listed on the search engine results? I like the idea of sending a scout off to south america and a month later getting a report on a teenage genius ball player living in a dismal slum. There's no point though if the search engine just brings up their name based on the search criteria anyway.

Something else that would help: The ability, from your manager profile, to go to the main menu. i find it quite frustrating having to press 'home' and wait for the game to load up again just to, for example, play an online game, change one or two preferences, or start a new career. I know it may not be possible, but if it is, PLEASE can you look into it Marc? Thanks

Nice to an explanation as to why there is no option to quit to the main menu...I always wondered

I would like to see a feature introduced (which I've mentioned before, but I understand could be hard to introduce) where you could assign player instructions to players rather than positions, whether the players are in the team, on the bench, or just in the squad. I don't currently use player instructions, because I don't want to have to change them every time I make a substitution or change my tactics. But if I could assign a player instructions to every player in my squad, and then forget about them, then I'm sure I would use them.

We have looked into it - you 'can' do this on the iPhone version but on the PSP its not possible to ensure that the memory state stays defragmented enough to handle someone potentially doing this repeatedly ... as such its not going to happen, sorry.

Ok thanks for replying anyway!

No 30 season cut off point, unlimited play instead pretty please!

No £60m transfer limit

No 30 season cut off point, unlimited play instead pretty please!

I'm pretty sure this came up when the first FMH came out - correct me if im wrong but I believe for a console format the game has to be tested through to some sort of "completion" to get released, so thats why there's a 30 season limit

I'm pretty sure this came up when the first FMH came out - correct me if im wrong but I believe for a console format the game has to be tested through to some sort of "completion" to get released, so thats why there's a 30 season limit

Marc stated that the 30 season limit was due to memory allocation on the iphone, I cant find the exact response, hold out and I'm sure someone will post it shortly

Marc stated that the 30 season limit was due to memory allocation on the iphone, I cant find the exact response, hold out and I'm sure someone will post it shortly

Can't be as the limit has always existed on the PSP aswell...unless that too has simliar memory limitations

Would like to see an option to possibly ask a players thoughts regarding current bids. Often they are happy to stay, regard myself as a favoured person etc, but upon negotiating or declining bids or deals that fall through they become upset due to not being allowed to move clubs. I really think we need some form of indication from the player as to what his plans are for the future.

Aside from this I would like to delay transfer bids, adding another option from the accept decline negotiate to simple delay my decision for a week.

Not an exciting ask and not something that will probably appeal to many people but I would like to see unlockable game centre achievements and Facebook integration (I don't use Twitter).

With regards to Facebook integration, it was my in-game Facebook posts on FML that encouraged friends to try the game out for themselves. Maybe something to consider SI?

Not an exciting ask and not something that will probably appeal to many people but I would like to see unlockable game centre achievements and Facebook integration (I don't use Twitter).

With regards to Facebook integration, it was my in-game Facebook posts on FML that encouraged friends to try the game out for themselves. Maybe something to consider SI?

Have to agree, I dont use twitter either but would welcome to Facebook port and would use it also

PSP Version:

1. A Nice revamp of the game instead of a data update this time.

2. Hire/Fire Staff.

3. Online multiplayer. Not sure if this can be played online, every time I play I check if theirs any games hosted and theirs always none.

- James

3. Online multiplayer. Not sure if this can be played online, every time I play I check if theirs any games hosted and theirs always none.

~Really like this idea

is there any chance of any new leagues added, either iPhone or iPad. would love to see the russian and ukraine leagues

Welsh leagues, no 30 season limit, ability to export databases and ability to have an editor.

A common complaint in FMH is the assistant advice and reliability. Now many complain but none come up with a viable option to sort this out, so after a short (well short compared to the hours we normally spend) talk with Marc he has agreed to let me sell my idea to him via this article.

The plan:

Your team starts off with the current “default” assistant manager which is a blank space, now like transfers you can then bid for one by bidding for a manager from another club for up to a set amount; for this I will say the amount is £20m and then this will come out of your transfer budget similar to players at the moment. Like normal this will then go to a wage screen and their wage will be accounted for in your wage budget. Similarly to the players you can also approach free agents who will be in a new “managers” tree in which jobs, hall of fame and a manager search will be in.

Unlike players though you cannot shortlist managers and also you can convince your retiring player to become your new assistant and sign a contract a month before he retires providing you have no assistant active. Everything else will work like players and normal.

What effect will this have on the game?:

Apart from making it more in depth it will not be necessary to do it so keeping the same pace and due to not having real assistants it will not be required to expand the database sacrificing players or other features. With this comes many positive points too, your assistant will have stats like players so choosing the right one is key to help you play the game but not necessary. Also it opens up more feedback on potential signings which could be an in depth guide with ratings unlike scouts or a simple paragraph when you bid or just before you confirm a player saying how good/bad he is compared to your team and sometimes if fans will view him as a great signing. Further reports can also be requested from your assistant page on your team screen including player reports which give feedback on how he is playing, his training and what position in your formation he will work best at etc… and also recommended signings for a position and the formation he thinks he is best in which gives you more depth and opinions on your squad.

Also not only this it has an effect on managers allowing a history screen to be included like players have in the game and the ability to have more interaction with other teams as they can bid for your assistants to become their managers, allowing you to wheel and deal more to make a profit on these types of things.

A mock up of a bid for a manager

Pros:

Won't take a lot of memory due to a database of assistants won't be needed

More in depth and more realistic

Better feedback/more interaction from assistants

Can wheel and deal more

Options for managers not at clubs

Not necessary so people can avoid it

Not heavy so remains pick up and play

Cons:

Will take up memory

May slow the game down too much for people

Will take up budgets and may not be needed

May only be possible for top teams

Game could need a bit of restructuring menu wise

May lead to others wanting further staff team

Link

What are loans?:

Loans in a simple sentence are temporary deals over a certain amount of time for a player.

Currently in FMH this is very flat compared to the real life deals that occur with us only offering players a temporary contract - in which we can vary on how much wage we pay, and a recall clause in the deal.

Expanding the system:

Now expansions can vary in depth and with Football Manager Handheld a “pick up and play” style game maintaining a balance is important. I will look at maintaining this balance while improving the system’s realism and depth.

Ability to agree “view to permanent” deals: For the first one this is probably the biggest addition I want included. In real life a lot of teams have a deal of how much they will pay if they want to make the deal permanent after the loan ends and in some cases this is utilised, with this in FMH it would allow a further depth to the game and realism that loans currently don’t have. Also it can work in our favour as we will be able to pen a deal for a striker who’s value then grows while on loan to us and sign him up for the price we stated last year giving us an edge in the market and meaning we have to think before buying; Can I get a loan with a view to a permanent for a better player at a cheaper price than one who I can buy straight off?

More clauses: Same as permanent deals there is more to a loan than just one clause – recall. There would be several options such as “Can play against parent club?” and “Ability to extend for 2nd year?” However these are not priority to extend the depth of the system but will enhance it.

Better realism post loan: After the loan it is quite hard to buy a player or reloan him so an improved bias towards the team letting you buy or loan him over another would be a great addition to the system without actually adding anything.

Money deals: Not only does this happen in real life it would dramatically improve the ways to get finances and especially for top sides who loan out their youngsters.

Option to include a loan in a permanent deal: A choice to offer a club a loan for a year with money in exchange for a player is another common occurrence in the transfer market, so yet again adds realism and allows you to save money by offering players on loan for the year for the player.

Ability to see if the club will loan the player to you: Something I have found is that a club can have a player on the loan list but often refuse your club, a bit in the section before offering the loan to say if they are willing to loan him to you would be useful and save time.

Option to ask for a renewal: If a player’s loan is expiring you can offer the club an option to renew under the same terms without having to go through the same process again. Not only this will provide a more realistic approach to this scenario it will give a better interaction between you and the other teams that is lacking in the series at the moment in this area.

Link

Just two articles by me .

Excellent idea Dec, and a really good right up good luck hope this comes in to FMH

Thanks I have done a few other things like the ability to add kits or at least view the colours of them in the game and possible future attributes (whether hidden or viewable). May have many more too (already done a top 10 things that aren't in FMH - a few were then included into FMHi or were in it like the ability to screenshot .

Thanks I have done a few other things like the ability to add kits or at least view the colours of them in the game and possible future attributes (whether hidden or viewable). May have many more too (already done a top 10 things that aren't in FMH - a few were then included into FMHi or were in it like the ability to screenshot .

is it all done by .XML code like on FM pc/mac?

The screenshots are taken from the game and edited with Photoshop, you cannot get the skin codes on your computer to edit sadly.

The screenshots are taken from the game and edited with Photoshop, you cannot get the skin codes on your computer to edit sadly.

oh they should do that, then people could change bits of the skin, like on fm pc, do they have patchs for the game like the pc version?

On iOS you can update your game with patch like updates yes, on PSP no.

As for the editing I think it would take a long time to do and not many do so on PC and with the FMH small then iOS even smaller in fanbase terms it would take a lot of work and as the consoles are less open than the PC would be very hard to transport. At the moment you cannot even put logos or edits into the iOS game so I think that comes first.

On iOS you can update your game with patch like updates yes, on PSP no.

As for the editing I think it would take a long time to do and not many do so on PC and with the FMH small then iOS even smaller in fanbase terms it would take a lot of work and as the consoles are less open than the PC would be very hard to transport. At the moment you cannot even put logos or edits into the iOS game so I think that comes first.

oh right

yeah i see your point

I'd imagine the interface is stored in XML and shouldn't be hard to open up for editing.

They are style sets (.ss) .

Damn I was looking at the wrong things . Thanks for the information Marc.

Surely that must be pretty clunky to code? Its certainly better than hardcoding stuff but...Just a simple XML configuration file would make life so much easier dealing with that stuff as you can visually build it up (not with mental visualisations ).