Football Manager Handheld 2012 (Android) Feedback Thread

[NameOfUser]

Hi,

First of all, thanks for this good game.

Then, I'm not sure here is the good place to write about bugs. But I'll write here .
So, I've found at least one : after the game is saved after having obtained an agreement from a club for a player (so before giving this player a new contract), when we load the aforementioned savegame the signature bonus is systematically decreased to 0 (the game totally forgets the signature bonus... while the player normally wants of the dough!). Furthermore, when this number is equal to 0, it is systematically blocked and we can't increase it.

Thanks,

[Alari Naylor]

Hi,

First of all, thanks for this good game.

Then, I'm not sure here is the good place to write about bugs. But I'll write here .
So, I've found at least one : after the game is saved after having obtained an agreement from a club for a player (so before giving this player a new contract), when we load the aforementioned savegame the signature bonus is systematically decreased to 0 (the game totally forgets the signature bonus... while the player normally wants of the dough!). Furthermore, when this number is equal to 0, it is systematically blocked and we can't increase it.

Thanks,

Thanks for mentioning this, I'll check it out when I'm back in the office tomorrow.

[gc281178]

A month on and I'm still playing most days, only complaint is game is a little bit easy - I've taken Gillingham to top of the premier league from League 2 in 3 seasons - any chance of some different difficulty levels in 2013?

Also any news on 1024x600 screen res?

Thanks

[Marc Vaughan]

A month on and I'm still playing most days, only complaint is game is a little bit easy - I've taken Gillingham to top of the premier league from League 2 in 3 seasons - any chance of some different difficulty levels in 2013?

I'm not planning on including difficulty levels in FMH because it destroys the illusion of realism within the game imho, ie. difficulty levels are normally implemented in management games by making players play better or worse than normal while at a human club - this in turn means you can't judge players externally to your club on their performance because they'll play differently if they join you ...

To me the game has 'difficulty levels' in that you can join better or worse clubs, yes it'll be reasonably 'easy' as Man City or Chelsea - but they have a quality side, taking over Eastbourne Boro on the other hand is a bit more of a challenge.

Incidentally the next update has some match AI tweaks which improve the AI's reactions against flawed/unrealistic tactics which were exploiting it ... which might make it more challenging for you (its that approach I'd prefer to take in balancing things rather than difficulty levels).

Also any news on 1024x600 screen res?

I'm afraid its looking unlikely that this resolution will be supported in an update I'm afraid, simply put at present the proportion of users with devices of this resolution is quite small and our artist (Chris Rice) is presently engaged on another project and unavailable .... sorry.

Out of interest which device are you using with this resolution? - is it a phone or tablet ... I've a Kindle Fire and its very playable on that despite the 'windowed' nature of the game.

[gc281178]

Eastbourne Boro on the other hand is a bit more of a challenge.

Don't let my dad hear you talking like that, he's a boro fan - I think that might be my next challenge once I've got the champions league with the gills!

Incidentally the next update has some match AI tweaks which improve the AI's reactions against flawed/unrealistic tactics which were exploiting it ... which might make it more challenging for you (its that approach I'd prefer to take in balancing things rather than difficulty levels).

Fair enough, I have to say I've found a tactic that seems to work great, I think part of the reason I've been so successful is the quality of younger players you can get on free transfers or quite cheap, I notice some of the comments about "regens" on the 2013 requests thread, it sounds like this may be an area of the game which could be tweaked to improve realism.

I'm afraid its looking unlikely that this resolution will be supported in an update I'm afraid, simply put at present the proportion of users with devices of this resolution is quite small and our artist (Chris Rice) is presently engaged on another project and unavailable .... sorry.

Out of interest which device are you using with this resolution? - is it a phone or tablet ... I've a Kindle Fire and its very playable on that despite the 'windowed' nature of the game.

I'm using a Galaxy Tab GT-P1000, it's a 7 inch tablet like the Kindle fire, I agree it doesn't ruin the game having the black borders (I wouldn't be playing every day if it did!), it would just be nice to take advantage of some of that extra space, especially with the team selection, I find the drag + drop to be a bit clunky (often miss the player I'm after!) and clicking through to the "select position" screen would be unecesary if it had the iPad/tablet style team selection.

To put my comments in context, this is by far the best game available on Android IMO, my 2 hour commute now disappears in no time thanks to your hard work!

[NameOfUser]

Thanks for mentioning this, I'll check it out when I'm back in the office tomorrow.

OK. Thanks.

I have three other issues related to save/reload :
1. When a game is saved before finalising a contract to sell a player (after the first negotiation), and when this game is reloaded... the percentage of the amount related to future sales will already drop to 0 (and if you have the bad idea to change it to what it must do, you will lose the contract!)
2. When a game is saved after a player has to be lent and before a player has really left the team ("before signing"), and when this game is reloaded... his entire salary continues to be paid by the lender club
3. In the menu dedicated to each team's player, it is possible to "offer to clubs" to lent. If this is done, then the game is saved, reloaded, all the propositions the club will receive will be with "entire salary for the lender club" *

Please, could you fix all these unbearable bugs. Thanks,

[EDIT] * It seems that there is the same problem with "transfer status" / "lending list".

[Alari Naylor]

OK. Thanks.

I have three other issues related to save/reload :
1. When a game is saved before finalising a contract to sell a player (after the first negotiation), and when this game is reloaded... the percentage of the amount related to future sales will already drop to 0 (and if you have the bad idea to change it to what it must do, you will lose the contract!)
2. When a game is saved after a player has to be lent and before a player has really left the team ("before signing"), and when this game is reloaded... his entire salary continues to be paid by the lender club
3. In the menu dedicated to each team's player, it is possible to "offer to clubs" to lent. If this is done, then the game is saved, reloaded, all the propositions the club will receive will be with "entire salary for the lender club" *

Please, could you fix all these unbearable bugs. Thanks,

[EDIT] * It seems that there is the same problem with "transfer status" / "lending list".

Thanks for this, will have a further look into the issue today!

[NameOfUser]

Thanks for this, will have a further look into the issue today!

Thanks a lot.

[NameOfUser]

I'm also thinking (good information for me...) about another thing. I have some players that I would like to sell, but nobody wants them... So, a good idea seems to bypass this by buying players with a swap.
But is there a way to obtain a list of players who can be exchange with a selected one ? And if not, could this be added to the game in the future patch, please ?
Thanks,

[Jamie King]

I'm also thinking (good information for me...) about another thing. I have some players that I would like to sell, but nobody wants them... So, a good idea seems to bypass this by buying players with a swap.
But is there a way to obtain a list of players who can be exchange with a selected one ? And if not, could this be added to the game in the future patch, please ?
Thanks,

This is already in the game, in the 'Transfer Offer' screen you can select "Exchange Player" and choose a player from the list to exchange. The list it actually returns filters out any players that wouldn't be realistic to offer. So this may be occasionally returning no players.

[Jamie King]

We're pleased to announce that the second update for Android (3.5) has been released!

The update includes 2 new purchasable scenarios, for more information check out the Store in-game.

See below for the changelist.

#3.5a - Second Android Update
Fix rare crash on starting with specific devices due to language setting
Allow warning if game started on non-supported resolution devices
Fix poor layout of physio reports when players are injured
Added no interest news when offering players to club
Improve movement of withdrawn strikers
Tweak defensive positioning against narrow formations
Exit button restored to start page
Additional Purchasable Scenarios Added
Stop players moaning for a new contract if they've only just joined club
Various match improvements based on community feedback
Tune contract requests at clubs with a sugar daddy
Tune effect of loans on players involved
Tune manager movement slightly

[Peely]

Tweak defensive positioning against narrow formations

So does this mean that the all-conquering tactics based around narrow formations (4,3,3; 4,3,2,1; 4,3,1,2 etc.) are going to be less effective now?

[Marc Vaughan]

So does this mean that the all-conquering tactics based around narrow formations (4,3,3; 4,3,2,1; 4,3,1,2 etc.) are going to be less effective now?

There have been some tactical tweaks which will have improved the engines simulation slightly - if your formation is realistic then it won't have a 'huge' effect (but yes there should be some balancing) - but if you had a totally unrealistic one which took advantage of flaws then yes it may well be nerfed.

With regards to the new scenarios - heres some 'blurb' on them for people as a couple have asked:

"You can't win anything with kids" - This challenge transfers your senior players out of the club and replaces them with up and coming kids, can you use your young stars to win a trophy in your first season in charge?

"Austerity Measures" - This asks you to cut your clubs budget to a reasonable (cough) level while remaining competitive, hard choices for hard times.

[Peely]

Thanks Marc. I'd say the formation that I'm using at the moment is fairly realistic, but I'm not sure the level of success that I've been experiencing with it is...

It'll be interesting to see how it fares after I've updated

[firewalker]

Hey guys, this post is directed towards our favorite FM creators, but for all to read and enjoy. Specially Marc, Jamie, Alari and company – please do read the post.

Big time fan here, I started playing FM back a number of years ago and have transitioned from PC to laptop to iphone to android. Hate it when i have to start a new game, but once i stay on one platform long enough, i play the same saved game for the maximum allowed period (which i believe is 30 yrs at the moment on android, right?). Didn't get there yet, but i absolutely plan to. Every time i play this game, i play with one objective - start with the lowest club in the lowest division available in England, and take ‘em all the way up to the top to win the treble. (Man utd 1999 anyone? )

Anyways, when the next version comes out, you can count on my money if the quality remains >= current. However, i'm allowed to dream (and beg) so here's what im hoping will be available in the next iteration:

1. Can i play my 2012 saved game in 2013? I was under the impression i can't, and im sure its been discussed in the forums, but if not, its certainly something im hoping for.

2. I'm all for keeping the game simple, but there are some big games that i'd like to really put a lot of time preparing, and thats when more features (in the form of individual player instructions) would really be helpful. Maybe a more expensive version with more features from pc version (i.e. more detailed)? After all, I like to play the game on handheld only for the convenience factor, I had no problem with the pc version and its detailed features.

3. Easy access toolbar – currently email is the easiest item to get to because there’s a consistent email icon on the top right hand of the screen. Much of the top bar is empty – it would be awesome if we can customize other quick controls. For example – I like to go to check on the player search filter list consistently (to see who became available), calendar (to see who’s coming on next, how many days’ time to recuperate and as such, who to rest for which game), line-up (to see players returning from injury and to keep rotating players), etc. This would make the user experience so much better.

4. Analyze games – yes, as a manager, we are consistently trying to figure out how to prepare for a game and what decisions to make. However, when the game’s over, we have no idea if it was my decision that helped or players were just good/bad that day. So, it would be awesome to, I don’t know, maybe pull up some critics review – (it would really help to read, that the manager’s decision to play long ball really paid off, or that putting in a Defensive Midfield really helped thwart their main Attacking Midfielder, who was the main threat.) Similarly, we can also learn from our mistakes and bad decisions.

5. Staff salaries – it would be nice to control that. This way, I know how much I’m paying for my current scout. Maybe I need to pony up more cash for this position to get better prospects scouted. Currently PES simulation game has a feature like this, but I failed to see that in FM 2012. There’s no way to fire my current scout and hire a more expensive one who does a better job at naming players, recognizing talents, etc.

These are the five main issues I’ve had more recently. Over the years, I’ve had a lot more opinions I wanted to share but I never did. Only recently I registered for this forum and so, I’ll try and share them more often. Not whining or trolling, just hoping to contribute to better this game.

[billxixam]

i have the HTC one x and i have had to uninstall the game as it causes a message to come up n say, the phone is using more current than the charger can provide, then i have problems with phone charging up, don't know if there is a way around this or not, i love fmh, its so very addictive, any ideas on a way around this problem??

[Marc Vaughan]

i have the HTC one x and i have had to uninstall the game as it causes a message to come up n say, the phone is using more current than the charger can provide, then i have problems with phone charging up, don't know if there is a way around this or not, i love fmh, its so very addictive, any ideas on a way around this problem??

I've posted a response to this in the other thread you opened earlier - probably easiest to keep things in that thread rather than dodge between two threads if thats ok.

[pikos1823]

Hello and thanks for this beautiful game! In my opinion, a big disadvantage of handheld edition is that there isn't any feedback between games, like newspapers, journalists, interviews, interactions with players,staff etc. I know that you did this because you wanted to give speed to the game. But i think that all these things that are missing, reduse the realism of the game. Is there any possibility to make the next game more complex? Thanks again for this game!

[DWCallaghan]

Hello and thanks for this beautiful game! In my opinion, a big disadvantage of handheld edition is that there isn't any feedback between games, like newspapers, journalists, interviews, interactions with players,staff etc. I know that you did this because you wanted to give speed to the game. But i think that all these things that are missing, reduse the realism of the game. Is there any possibility to make the next game more complex? Thanks again for this game!

NO. Please no. The point of FMH is that there are none of these time consuming things that dont actually add anything.

[Dec9693]

I think you are thinking too literal, I believe the media section can and should be improved vastly with feedback between games (such as speculation on a player's lack of form etc) and a lot more realistic in terms of other areas - transfer rumours is a big one. Media in football is now massive and influences teams and players, a team of the week/year is also another good example of something really missing.
Obviously this shouldn't be done too much and should be limited to a few news items in between matches but the variety should be there (interviews should be just more questions to have asked that can effect your rather than an actual interview) as if there isn't the variety or common aspect like now then the game isn't really detailed and is boring as you get used to the questions and are expecting the same ones. The media system currently isn't immersive or helpful as in reality they are a pain in the arse to a football club but some use it their advantage - admitting you want to sign a player could determine a player's happiness, the board's happiness and the club's happiness towards you and can then impact your job safety as well as financial negotiations, plus this is in my opinion great for putting your own "footprint" on the game on how you manage.

[adam_bunney]

Will we be getting new players added to the data base such as the current players paul lambert signed for villa but in their previous teams?

[Neil Train]

I've posted a response to this in the other thread you opened earlier - probably easiest to keep things in that thread rather than dodge between two threads if thats ok.

Where is that thread? Also have the One-X and it eats the game, no problems at all.....

[Marc Vaughan]

Where is that thread? Also have the One-X and it eats the game, no problems at all.....

Its probably in the bugs forum (can't recall off-hand now) - I'm guessing looking at the original post that he's charging off a computer and is using a cheap USB cable.

Reason I'm guessing this is that cheaper cables often are 'lossy' with current and so charge slower than other ones, you can see this a LOT with an iPad - use an official cable and they charge on a computer ... use an unofficial one and often they won't charge much at all but might maintain their current level in use.

[Marc Vaughan]

Will we be getting new players added to the data base such as the current players paul lambert signed for villa but in their previous teams?

FMH2013 will have a fully up to date database with all the player and club moves incorporated into it (as well as updates to competition formats, rules changes etc.).

(and much much more besides )