Dynamic rivalries coming to FM16!

It's been in the works for a while with the introduction of rivalry types a few years back. But another nice addition. Good for a small team rising through the leagues picking up new rivals when they reach the big time.

been waiting for this for ages

This is a great addition, cannot wait to see how well it works.

great addition ,waiting for years , can not waiting for 16

It will bring enjoyment as the career progress in game, that will motivate players to continue their careers. Let's just see how this is implemented in 2 ou 3 months when the game is released.

Exiting months lay ahead people and a lot of HOPE...

I love the range of comments when a feature like this is announced. Ranging right from "OMG this is the greatest thing evar!"!!2w!23" to "So? I don't care about it when there's still bugs elsewhere. Down with SI!!"!12312"

The truth lies somewhere in the middle. It's a minor feature, and a step in the right direction. It'll have teething problems, as most new features do. The World keeps turning.

this is more of a concrete feature though

but I can see it potentially becoming ridiculous and you're rivals with practically everyone, just because

rivals with Real/Barca/Juve/PSG/Bayern due to continental competition

rivals with ManUtd/City/Arsenal/Chelsea due to domestic competition

rivals with Santos/River/Boca due to Club World Cup

there's 9 rivalries, that you could realistically have after starting without one (putting in a blank prem team with cash) after around 10 years

plus any clubs that break out from the pack to challenge (Atletico?)

this is more of a concrete feature though

but I can see it potentially becoming ridiculous and you're rivals with practically everyone, just because

rivals with Real/Barca/Juve/PSG/Bayern due to continental competition

rivals with ManUtd/City/Arsenal/Chelsea due to domestic competition

rivals with Santos/River/Boca due to Club World Cup

there's 9 rivalries, that you could realistically have after starting without one (putting in a blank prem team with cash) after around 10 years

plus any clubs that break out from the pack to challenge (Atletico?)

I doubt the Club World Cup will create rivalries, you simply won't play enough against a single team.

Domestically you may get say 3 or 4 max depending on how things go, you have to consider that if another team comes to the fore then it means one has fallen away and will likely drop off your rivals list.

As for continental competitions its not like you play the same club that often so you may get one or two but I can't see loads developing in this area.

I just hope the AI will be much more capable at squad management/tactics when the game progresses. I don't want to trash my rivals 8-0 every game.

rivals with Real/Barca/Juve/PSG/Bayern due to continental competition

rivals with ManUtd/City/Arsenal/Chelsea due to domestic competition

rivals with Santos/River/Boca due to Club World Cup

I agree with Cougar2010 that the CWC is just too few games to merit any real rivalries. My guess is that they will be primarily domestic and maybe also continental - e.g. two clubs meeting in the CL final three times in five years.

But I see no reason why the clubs you mention should suddenly become "everyone's rivals". Sure, everyone outside the red part of Manchester hate Man Utd, but I think creating a new rivalry will take years of competition and fighting for the same trophies. Bournemouth won't become rivals with Chelsea just because they play a couple of seasons in the PL and are then relegated again. But they might if they become a top club and compete with Chelsea for the title every year for a period.

How often do you get proper actual rivals outwith your own country anyway? At a club level.

Cannot wait for this. Been wanting it for a while!

How often do you get proper actual rivals outwith your own country anyway? At a club level.

No, the only one I might call a rivalry would be Man Utd - Bayern.

But of course this could work for nations as well. Although I think most "true" rivalries (clubs or nations) are local more than competitive, really...

At last.

The thing is, I am PRETTY sure this feature was in FM07, because I definitely remember getting a new rival after a couple seasons. But this will be a great small feature to enhance gameplay. Hopefully we can get some dynamic derbies after a dozen seasons as well.

This has never been in the game.

So, for example would this mean that teams from rival countries may have a grudge against each other? Not just Dynamo Zagreb v Red Star but all matches where a Serb/Bosnian/Croatian etc team play each other? Or a Russian club side plays a Ukrainian club side?

So, for example would this mean that teams from rival countries may have a grudge against each other? Not just Dynamo Zagreb v Red Star but all matches where a Serb/Bosnian/Croatian etc team play each other? Or a Russian club side plays a Ukrainian club side?

I doubt it'll be like that. Particularly the Russia/Ukraine one - FM isn't the place for political stuff. The way I understand it, it'll be possible to generate a new rivalry against a team you're competing closely with over a long period of time. Historic and Geographical rivals will stay static, as they should, but competitive rivals could spring up. Say you build up little old Clyde from Scottish League 2 to be a force in Scotland. They currently have a historic rivalry with Partick Thistle due to sharing a ground once upon a time. That won't change I don't think, but if you start battling for the SPL with Celtic for many years, a rivalry will grow between those two.

But really we've only been told that a headline feature is coming, we've no real idea how it's going to work. The above is just my interpretation.

Now eagerly waiting for difficulty levels

Now eagerly waiting for difficulty levels

You'll never get difficulty levels.

FM is simply not that type of game.

You'll never get difficulty levels.

FM is simply not that type of game.

They're already in there -

Easy mode - Manchester City

Expert mode - Portsmouth

They're already in there -

Easy mode - Manchester City

Expert mode - Portsmouth

No, that is not a difficulty mode at all despite what some people have claimed on the forums over the years.

Sure some clubs are easier to manage than others due to the particular situation they are in but its not as simple as big club = easy and smaller club = hard.

Man City might have a lot of money but that also comes with a lot of pressure to deliver from the off.

no, that is not a difficulty mode at all despite what some people have claimed on the forums over the years.

Sure some clubs are easier to manage than others

:d :d :d :d :d

But that's not a difficulty mode...

:d :d :d :d :d

But that's not a difficulty mode...

No its not, are you having trouble understanding that?

You'll never get difficulty levels.

FM is simply not that type of game.

easy mode - can sign players for reasonable prices (around their value or slightly over)

hard mode - all players are signable for 4-5x their value (and you can't sell your own players for anything)

oh wait....

gotta love sarcasm

Hard mode... AI managers being able to use tactics and squad management properly. I don't like dominating Europe with "Portsmouth" in 5 years.

I even doubt managing Real Madrid or Chelsea is as easy as it's in game..Afterall these teams don't win titles every single year without proper challenge.

A good challenge is all we need.

That has nothing to do with difficulty levels or, more importantly, the thread.

A good challenge is all we need.

A bit of imagination can achieve that. And from a coding stand-point, difficulty levels aren't needed or wanted in this respect.

No its not, are you having trouble understanding that?

None whatsoever. You clearly are though.

None whatsoever. You clearly are though.

Seemingly you need it explaining to you

A clubs situation is dynamic from version to version & season to season. Because it is dynamic it is therefore not a difficulty level.

The concept of "difficulty levels" really does make very little sense in a game designed to mimic real life.

P.S.: Yes, I know playing FM isn't exactly like being an actual football manager...

I know that some clubs have a fixed season expectation, but isn't increasing the season expectation sort of like increasing the difficulty level? Yes, you sometimes get a bit more money, but usually not enough to really make a difference anyway.

On-topic: Wonderful addition!

I doubt it'll be like that. Particularly the Russia/Ukraine one - FM isn't the place for political stuff. The way I understand it, it'll be possible to generate a new rivalry against a team you're competing closely with over a long period of time. Historic and Geographical rivals will stay static, as they should, but competitive rivals could spring up. Say you build up little old Clyde from Scottish League 2 to be a force in Scotland. They currently have a historic rivalry with Partick Thistle due to sharing a ground once upon a time. That won't change I don't think, but if you start battling for the SPL with Celtic for many years, a rivalry will grow between those two.

But really we've only been told that a headline feature is coming, we've no real idea how it's going to work. The above is just my interpretation.

That's how I thought it would work. I was just wondering if various international rivalries may be played out at club level. I guess we won't really know until they announce more/we play the game.

Will this fix the obviously broken manager relationships? I'm at Man Utd, there's another guy at Arsenal whose profile says he'd "like to be friends" as his relationship with me, but every pre and post-match press conference he says all sorts of awful things about me. Which I understand, as a rival, but he shouldn't want to make friends with me, right?

The only way FM could ever add difficulty levels to the game would be need the game to make a further distinction between the player & AI so when you moved clubs it would then continue to change but something like.

Hard: All AI teams backroom staff & players get +2 to all relevant attributes

Very Hard: All AI teams backroom staff & players get +5 to all relevant attributes and +£20m to transfer budget

Insane: All AI teams backroom staff & players get +10 to all relevant attributes and +£50m to transfer budget

The only way would be to artificially inflate the brilliance of everyone involved in AI clubs. Players personalities would cease to be relevant as they would be maxed out on good traits, meaning the players were always likely to be at their best, managers would make far less mistakes in picking their teams and tactical set ups and you'd just be facing a legion of pretty much 20 attribute in every category across the board players.

Will this fix the obviously broken manager relationships? I'm at Man Utd, there's another guy at Arsenal whose profile says he'd "like to be friends" as his relationship with me, but every pre and post-match press conference he says all sorts of awful things about me. Which I understand, as a rival, but he shouldn't want to make friends with me, right?

pretty sure the likes of Wenger and Fergie are reasonably good friends, but always had a good war-of-words when they competed (due to being rivals)

Will this fix the obviously broken manager relationships? I'm at Man Utd, there's another guy at Arsenal whose profile says he'd "like to be friends" as his relationship with me, but every pre and post-match press conference he says all sorts of awful things about me. Which I understand, as a rival, but he shouldn't want to make friends with me, right?

I say awful things about/to my friends, as they do to me. It's part of bonding. Or maybe that's just us barbaric Scots.

pretty sure the likes of Wenger and Fergie are reasonably good friends, but always had a good war-of-words when they competed (due to being rivals)

I wouldn't describe them as friends. I'd definitely say there would be a measure of respect in there between the two though.

I wouldn't describe them as friends. I'd definitely say there would be a measure of respect in there between the two though.

Unlike Mourinho who everyone loves to hate and hates to love, regardless of club affinities...

Unlike Mourinho who everyone loves to hate and hates to love, regardless of club affinities...

Hey, you leave Jose alone, you. He listed me among his friends in an FM15 save so have to defend my good buddy

Hey, you leave Jose alone, you. He listed me among his friends in an FM15 save so have to defend my good buddy

One for the bugs forum there then

One for the bugs forum there then

It was probably just one of his mind games anyway.

Unlike Mourinho who everyone loves to hate and hates to love, regardless of club affinities...

Put it this way, if it was the WWE, Fergie would do a run-in to halt the heinous steel chair attack Mourinho's inflicting on Wenger and clear the ring. Probably with Phelan by his side. Fergiamania running wild.

Unlike Mourinho who everyone loves to hate and hates to love, regardless of club affinities...

in fm14 Sir Alex Ferguson is one of Mourinho's favoured personnel . He also likes me for some reason.

This appeared on the BBC website today, it's pretty much exactly what this feature should be able to replicate in the game.

Yeah, that's probably the avenue they'll go down, or at least one of the main ones.

I would probably agree, if I could view the video

I would probably agree, if I could view the video

I can't either, at work, but imagine it goes along the lines of

"Chelsea and Man City, they're pure both dead brilliant teams, aye? Don't they pure hate each other? Don't you want to see how these two teams who clearly hate each other get along on Sunday? Don't you?! Football! Football football football!!! BEST! LEAGUE! IN! THE! WORLD!"

Or something like that.

That would be how Sky would have made it

The video's nothing special, just a quick comparison of the two clubs and their rise to becoming title contenders. It just made me think about how the media are labelling them as 'rivals' already, which is something that has been missing from FM until now.

I said it on twitter, but it must be difficult to quantify what exactly would make teams rivals. This will be a difficult thing to get right, imo. That sounds very negative, but to put a more positive spin on it, for SI to put this into the game only now, they must have decided on various factors and be confident that they can quantify it.

I said it on twitter, but it must be difficult to quantify what exactly would make teams rivals. This will be a difficult thing to get right, imo. That sounds very negative, but to put a more positive spin on it, for SI to put this into the game only now, they must have decided on various factors and be confident that they can quantify it.

No, you're totally right. I imagine it's going to be a feature that gets it right most of the time, but has several "inaccuracies". I say it like that, because they'll be the ones that are very subjective.