Does it take too long for a season now?

[carboreeta]

My question is probaly fo rthose that have played the series for a while, and i know you can speed things up depending on how much attention we put in/time to our tactics training etc etc but then this impacts on how well you do on FM2008 generally (well done to those that never change tactics and only watch commentary and still win )

Timescales for me for the 1st season

Example CM2 = 1/2 hours game time
CM2001/02 = 3/4 hours game time
FM2008 = 10 hours game time

If this rate keeps up the next yearly instalment will be out b4 i can complete a season

additional question> if you are casual player does the lenght of time taken put you/would put you off the game?

[AFC49]

i average (without int management) 8hrs a season,i think its about right.

[The drummer from Fairuza]

I think you get out of the game, what you put into it.

If you are a casual gamer, you can just watch the text commentary, not bother with training or team talks, just play 1 league, and zip through it.

For me, I play 6 leagues, and like to move around. I spend some time on tactics, but not that much, and player scouting. I dont watch full games.

This works for me, as I have to divide my gaming time up between FM, GTA4, PES and Live for speed

Loving FM2008 at the moment though.

I remember back to the overnight end-of-season updates on the Amiga

Don't think I could do a season in 8 hours though.

[ssestig]

yes but that is due to me having an old pc

[isuckatfm]

It does kind of suck when you're at the lower end of the specs. Basically I have played 2 save games on this version. One I started with the demo and one I started with the final patch. I got to 2016 on the demo save and am in 2014 in the second patch save, but admittedly I do spend a hefty chunk of time messing around with tactics to see how they work, often coming to completely wrong conclusions .

Fired up CM 01/02 the other day and holidayed the first season in 15 minutes or so with the same leagues active as on FM 08 (BSS/BSN up). Not exactly like for like but it does have an impact on gamers like me who enjoy the match to match drama but get a bigger kick out of the saga. Developing newgens, transforming a club's fortunes, a journeyman type of career etc.

If you're not a big PC gamer then I could see it being a stumbling block. For example a newcomer to the series may be at the lower end of the specs range, so they might be less likely to purchase the next version due to having no real affinity for the series and the feeling that they put alot of time in but didn't actually get very far. But again it's perspectives and expectations and that's always going to be an issue with games like this that have no defined 'completion' point. I would say it's part of the reason that expanding into the console market will become more important in not only attracting but also retaining new customers as the PC spec demands increase.

The truth is without Vista the average PC user doesn't need multi core processing or 2 GB of RAM. They'd be more likely to spend their money on a latest generation console to play multiple games than on a newer PC just to play FM. If you add in the perspective of people on PCs, especially those who didn't grow up with one, that they are for work and consoles are for play then you can see a plateau potentially being reached with the market.

Way off on a tangent there To answer the question for me a season takes too long relatively. Will it affect me buying future versions? Probably not. Does it affect my enjoyment of the game? To a certain extent yes as there are times when it feels like I spend more time waiting for it to process than actually playing the game.

[carboreeta]

Isuck a post that went into depth and answered the questions in the OP well done

good point about the expansion onto consoles to help cover possible PC gamers losses.

Also once reason for FM Live I guess just me but I cant see a proper CM/FM players having time to do FM live as well?

[GazTheDoood]

I'm not unemployed, but I can do a season in a couple of nights; 1 gig of RAM.

[NepentheZ]

Does a season of FM2008 take too long to play?
Yes - time is money
No - I am unemployeed
Unknown - No opinion/can't decide

None of these apply to me.

No, it doesn't take too long, but I'm not unemployed

[G-Man11]

It seems to take me about 20 hours of gameplay to complete a season, sometimes more. However I do run it with something like 36 leagues loaded and players loaded from pratically all nations apart from a few small ones like Andorra and San Marino.

[stevie_G_32201]

with everything i like to do during the season i can complete a whole season in around 12 hours.

[Ched]

None of these apply to me.

No, it doesn't take too long, but I'm not unemployed

Seconded.

Just the right amount of depth imo

[javier_83]

i have to eat, thats why i tale more than 12 house to finish a season xD

[H.J]

I chose yes without fully thinking about the question at hand.

Does it take too long to complete a season?, In relation to past versions of the game, it takes longer without a doubt, but as the game gets more and more in-depth, surely this should be expected? My PC is average and I'd say my times to complete seasons are the same as carboreeta's but I load up like 40+ leagues usually. In my one, and only, game where I played 2 seasons, I had 3 countries loaded up and felt it had good loading times. However, going back to FM 07, I did the same countries and completed a season nearly 4 hours quicker. I think it's simply down to how responsive the game is to the user. I'm talking about things like tactics and media interaction. On FM 07, there was no real need to keep changing tactics, it was more pick-up and play, that side of the game, and it wasn't tedious on the media interaction. By evolving the game one year on, we simply have a few more things to do that add altogether. I'd expect the loading times to increase anyway with the database getting bigger but I don't think it should be that much slower than its previous counterpart and I think it points out that maybe the game is going beyond just a simulation, but maybe that's not a bad thing?

[Oobeish]

Yes - time is money.
I'm all for options to go faster and longer in FM. Instant results would be great - some alternate engine that uses less variables to calculate the result. 'Assistant takes control of all matches' option - it's already there for friendlies. Different gamers like to play FM in different ways, I'm not a tactics guy myself (too much detail) and mostly just 'holiday' match days - that's just the way I like my FM experience.

[arsenal_2111]

How do you do seasons so quick!?!

Ive spent about 22 days on my 14 season game IIRC!

[fmfan08]

I believe it needs to be increased, because I am personally enjoying an online game with a friend raising reputation and giving money in the ukranian leagues, raising the standards. Longer is better because you learn the players, which comes good when regens start appearing. You feel like you know them more.

Think of it, you know basicly alot of players right? What if you went 20 years into the future, you would have no clue who is good or bad. But, going through the years leading up to that 20 year target, you understand who is good and bad. I think having a long season makes you adjust to who is a good player and bad player if they are a regen.

How do you do seasons so quick!?!

Ive spent about 22 days on my 14 season game IIRC!

I think because most people have dual core or quad core or they go on holiday instead of watching matches

[Balthazars]

I'm very happy with the time it takes to go through a season; I'm currently just starting season 5 and have spent about 6 days and 8 hours playing the game. It's more than perfect, as I'm not the sort that wants to whiz through things (although when everything is going smoothly, it can whiz through pretty quick!).

I'm a nice mixture; I usually only watch 'key' highlights (rarely a full match, unless things are really going badly and I need to watch where my tactics are falling down); I spend a reasonable amount of time on my tactics (but it tends to be more of a one-off thing), so-so scouting, a bit with training, and a lot of time checking statistics and such for my players and for other players around the place.

I also write a story to go with my game, which takes more time too... but either way, I'm quite happy with the balance struck, because if I need to take my time, then I'm happy to do it.

Starting the game is always the slowest part too - that usually takes 4-5 hours before the first day is completed.

[roberto922]

I'm installing CM 01/02 now Time for some nostalgia, the case was proper dusty