FM09 going back on the shelf

I’m afraid to say that last night I played my last game on FM09 and I will now be putting it back on the shelf for good.

This isn’t your typical ‘I hate FM’ thread where the opening poster throws a tantrum and pledges to give up the game forever. Indeed, I should start out by actually saying that I love FM.

In the past, I have often spent way too much time playing it when I should have been studying or spending time with Mrs Crouchaldinho. It is the only computer game that I play and I usually continue to play each new version right up to the release of the next incarnation of the game.

FM09 is the very first edition of the game that I have become dissatisfied with. I'm really struggling to get the same enjoyment of this new game as I have with FM07 and FM08, for instance. I have found that the game just makes me grumpy and frustrated.

I’m hoping this thread doesn’t come across as a rant. I have loved this game for so long but I’ve lost a lot of pleasure in the game this year. In this thread, I intend to pinpoint the areas of the game that I have been disappointed with.

1) Press conferences – Probably my pet hate in the new game. They are just about the most repetitive and annoying new ‘feature’ in 09. Such a waste of time! I haven’t really found out how to make them work to my advantage. It seems that roughly the ‘safe’ answers each time are the best bet. The player reactions are poor, with no real information apart from a ‘positive’ or ‘negative’ reaction. There seems to be no reason or rhyme to them really. Nothing of interest but just another thing to slow the game down. I much preferred the media in 08. In conclusion, I find I press conferences boring and time consuming. I think they are very superficial and I don't really feel in control of the reactions. I also feel they are a step back from FM08.

2) Team talks - This is easily the weakest part of my game anyway but team talks in 09 have me somewhat baffled. I can't seem to find a logical pattern. I know it is all about different contexts etc., but I can't seem to apply my own 'logical' ideas to the talks as I did successfully in 08. I find it an extremely limiting part of the game anyway with what seems to me like a small benefit available at the potential cost of total disaster if you select the ‘wrong’ option. That's why I think it frustrates me because sometimes I just know I'm going to get it 'right' and other times I feel clueless. It feels a bit like it's too rigid, i.e. either right or wrong, and I'm either going to get some benefit or a huge loss in performance.

3) Away form – I didn’t want to believe it at first but this is a problem on FM09. The only thing you can say to mitigate this problem is that it is just the same for the other AI sides in whatever league you are playing in, so doesn’t necessarily put you at a disadvantage. But it does have a huge effect on the verisimilitude when you look at the league table, or when your team can’t stop racking up the points at home but struggle away. I totally support the idea that it should be more difficult to win away but some sides are actually better on the road than they are at home in real life and this is not possible in FM09.

4) General problems in the lower leagues – I’m a big fan of starting off in the lower leagues and I love managing my local team, St. Albans City. But the Blue Square South is a bit of a joke in this year’s game. I’m four seasons in on one of my saves and at least half of the teams in Blue Square South have ditched their entire playing squad and are now made up of players who my scouts say are at least good enough for League 2! Then there is the feeder club issue, where teams in the BSS end up having top quality players on loan from Premier League or Championship clubs, which just does not happen in real life. As a researcher for a BSS club, this is really frustrating, because I rate the players realistically and most of them won't even get into the first team after a year. As an FMer who loves plying my trade in the lower leagues, it means that I feel I cannot really play a ‘realistic’ game.

(EDIT: Additional - I thought of another thing I would add about FM09. The new regens also have an effect on the lower league experience. Every single youth player regen in my Saints game has walked into my BSS side, being automatically much better than my starting XI. I thought this was quite fun at first but it's another thing that spoils the lower league side of things. Most of my regens are rated at League Two potential. How many real life Saints youth players actually walk into the current side, never mind have potential for League Two? The answer is not very many at all in the entire history of the club. There is, of course, the question of realism versus fun here. I would be happy to unearth an occasional talent that is beyond my usual expectations. However, it is happening every season in FM09. It's another aspect of the game that has had an impact on my enjoyment of my Saints save).

5) Takeovers - For me, the game has to be about verisimilitude, otherwise the immersion factor is zero. I don’t mind a bit of fun with takeovers but there are far too many in FM09. On one of my saves, some of the most stupid takeovers have occurred, including Team Bath, the University team currently in BSS (and about to drop out of there), have been taken over by a consortium from France! They are now stupidly rich, have Paul Merson as manager and have signed a Championship rated striker for 500k. This is in Blue Square South for goodness sake! In addition to that, Merthyr Tydfil have been taken over by Chilean businessmen. I guess it is actually pretty funny but it does ruin the realism.

6) 3D – I was delighted when I found out my laptop would support the 3D but I quickly grew tired of it. It has made playing each game much slower for me. I often found the 3D would stutter and become jerky (which is probably my own fault due to having low spec graphics). In addition to this, I also feel as though I am better able to see things tactically on 2D classic. Having looked at both, I actually much prefer 2D classic overall, as I think it looks better and allows more imagination when watching games. I ended up turning 3D off but now I have discovered that even my 2D classic is jerky and stutters from time to time. This was really the final nail in the coffin for FM09 from my point of view.

7) General slowness – I think someone summed it up best on another thread when they said FM09 goes click, click, process, process. Nothing changes. Everything is exactly the same. It takes ages to achieve anything. Things like press conferences have just dragged the game down even more. It just feels like FM09 is ‘plodding along’ all of the time. FM09 feels less responsive than any of the previous games and seems to take a lot more time to process the data.

These are the main reasons that I get grumpy with the game. I just don’t have the time for it all and I don’t have the energy to put into it when I feel like I get so little in return.

Contrary to many people, I actually love the tactics and the match engine for 09. Whilst I agree with the people who are tired of the tactical interface and fed up with trying to translate tactical ideas into an FM tactic, I have actually really enjoyed the tactical challenge in 09.

However, I also agree that it can just be dull and laborious to get a tactic working how you want it to and, usually for me, it involves watching quite a few matches in ‘full match’ mode and tweaking in order to see if I am getting the desired effects. I wish there was an easier way, perhaps through training matches or better assistant manager feedback.

But anyway, in general I enjoy the tactical side and I love the match engine. If I could take them both, along with the new database, back to 08 then I would.

In conclusion, FM09 just feels like an enormous effort to pick up and play sometimes. I don’t want to make that kind of effort for a game which is essentially supposed to be a leisure activity for those spare hours in the evenings or over the weekends.

I ask myself, why am I bothering with this? What am I getting from this? Wouldn’t I rather read a book or listen to some music?

The game ends up making me grumpy and I’m grumpy because I feel like I ought to be enjoying it more. So I end up feeling totally fed up and frustrated because I can't enjoy it. Alas, I am afraid to say that this is where I part ways with FM09.

I hope this hasn’t been a totally boring read (although I fear that it probably is!). I felt like I had to get it off my chest and get my frustrations out there so that hopefully they are taken on board for future editions of the game.

If you have any comments of your own, then please feel free to add them. It's a sad day for me in falling out of love with the game.

C.

Same I am just bored with it...I have installed FM07 instead! I loved that game so much

You seem to have summed up exactly how i feel about the game.

I seem to have spent hours and hours reading these forums and tactical guides, watching full matches and trying to tweak tactics with little success.

Just as you have put it, i seem to be putting an awful lot in but not getting that much out.

Maybe i am just rubbish at the game, i dont know. I have enjoyed pretty much all of the other games in the series ever since the amiga days and even been very successfull on most of them, yet i just cant get into this one.

I started playing CM 03/04 again the other day which has reminded me how good this game can be. I spent a bit of time on my tactics and i am doing well with a decent team. HOW I WISH FM 09 WAS LIKE THIS!!!

That's not exactly what I'm saying though Sniff My Face (curious username, by the way! )

I actually love the tactical side, have had success with it and I enjoy the new match engine. I wouldn't want to go backwards in that respect.

It's the things that I've described in the opening post that frustrate me.

C.

I didnt word my reply very well to be honest. I never do!

What i meant was i agree with your statement of "These are the main reasons that I get grumpy with the game. I just don’t have the time for it all and I don’t have the energy to put into it when I feel like I get so little in return".

I should have stated that really. Reading it again it does seem like i am saying you haven't had any sucess.

I have to agree. When I saw 2d also available as well I thought great no possible chance of me not liking it.

The 2d isn't the same as the 08 or 07. I see it follows the 3d movements. I think 3d has great potential though.

press conferences come up too much really but I haven't had any takeover yet.

The fact that you have to do opposition instructions recommended by your assistant nearly every match to suit my tactics annoys me.

I agree with most of your points there mate - they are all valid and SI will hopefully strive to improve them in FM 10. Your post for why you have stuggled to get into FM is very different to most people as they always complain about how hard the game is (mostly always tactically) and simply rant about it. Yours is about how rather dull and repititive the game is and you have done it in a constructive way.

I have to agree. When I saw 2d also available as well I thought great no possible chance of me not liking it.

The 2d isn't the same as the 08 or 07. I see it follows the 3d movements. I think 3d has great potential though.

press conferences come up too much really but I haven't had any takeover yet.

The fact that you have to do opposition instructions recommended by your assistant nearly every match to suit my tactics annoys me.

The 2-D was made much too small this year which led to me making a modification to remove the time-bar.

Im going to make one point and that is on the 3D aspect of the game; I love it. I think the 3D aspect was always going to come down to the players opinion and that is where SI fell short in not leaving 2D like it was in 08. Zoomed vertical scrolling is fantastic and, while not the best tactical view, is the most enjoyable way to watch a match.

The takeover issue was fixed in 9.0.3 but was an issue in 9.0.2.

I was Bromley and got mega rich and as soon as i updated my Yugoslavian ( ) Sugar Daddy decided he wanted to sell.

The takeover issue was fixed in 9.0.3 but was an issue in 9.0.2. I was Bromley and got mega rich and as soon as i updated my Yugoslavian ( ) Sugar Daddy decided he wanted to sell.

I'm on the latest patch and still seeing takeovers, although they might be less frequent than before. The Team Bath one I mentioned in my opening post just ruined the game for me though. They were regularly spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on players. Paul Merson as manager? Championship level striker signed for £500k? It's a Bath City fan's worst nightmare. What was funnier was that they actually failed to get promoted the first season before eventually romping home with the BSS title the next year (as you would expect).

I know I could just ignore it but I'm afraid to say it effectively ruined my enjoyment of that save because it's just ridiculous.

The 2-D was made much too small this year which led to me making a modification to remove the time-bar.

Yes, I actually get fed up of that whole screen with the floating boxes that just get in the way.

Im going to make one point and that is on the 3D aspect of the game; I love it. I think the 3D aspect was always going to come down to the players opinion and that is where SI fell short in not leaving 2D like it was in 08. Zoomed vertical scrolling is fantastic and, while not the best tactical view, is the most enjoyable way to watch a match.

I think you've summed up my feeling about the 3D in your last sentence. It's not the best tactical view.

I know some people will love the 3D but I've come to the conclusion that I'm not one of them. I think 2D classic is as good as it gets for the tactical view and for the imagination factor too. It just flows better and looks nicer to me.

However, I'm also biased due to the fact that 3D has slowed the game down for me (prob due to my poor graphics) and due to the jerking and stuttering that it seems to cause (even when turned off and using 2D).

I agree with most of your points there mate - they are all valid and SI will hopefully strive to improve them in FM 10. Your post for why you have stuggled to get into FM is very different to most people as they always complain about how hard the game is (mostly always tactically) and simply rant about it. Yours is about how rather dull and repititive the game is and you have done it in a constructive way.

Cheers for your comments Hazzydeepy.

As you say, I'm not complaining about the tactical side. I do agree with other posters who think it should be easier to translate real life ideas into FM terms. But I actually like the tactical side of things and I wouldn't change too much. I'd love better assistant feedback and the ability to test things in training matches though.

The main thing is the playability. I found FM08 fun and enjoyable and it always kept me coming back for more. I think it was very balanced. Ultimately, the new features in FM09 have slowed things down and turned me off.

C.

I’m afraid to say that last night I played my last game on FM09 and I will now be putting it back on the shelf for good.

This isn’t your typical ‘I hate FM’ thread where the opening poster throws a tantrum and pledges to give up the game forever. Indeed, I should start out by actually saying that I love FM.

In the past, I have often spent way too much time playing it when I should have been studying or spending time with Mrs Crouchaldinho. It is the only computer game that I play and I usually continue to play each new version right up to the release of the next incarnation of the game.

FM09 is the very first edition of the game that I have become dissatisfied with. I'm really struggling to get the same enjoyment of this new game as I have with FM07 and FM08, for instance. I have found that the game just makes me grumpy and frustrated.

I’m hoping this thread doesn’t come across as a rant. I have loved this game for so long but I’ve lost a lot of pleasure in the game this year. In this thread, I intend to pinpoint the areas of the game that I have been disappointed with.

1) Press conferences – Probably my pet hate in the new game. They are just about the most repetitive and annoying new ‘feature’ in 09. Such a waste of time! I haven’t really found out how to make them work to my advantage. It seems that roughly the ‘safe’ answers each time are the best bet. The player reactions are poor, with no real information apart from a ‘positive’ or ‘negative’ reaction. There seems to be no reason or rhyme to them really. Nothing of interest but just another thing to slow the game down. I much preferred the media in 08. In conclusion, I find I press conferences boring and time consuming. I think they are very superficial and I don't really feel in control of the reactions. I also feel they are a step back from FM08.

2) Team talks - This is easily the weakest part of my game anyway but team talks in 09 have me somewhat baffled. I can't seem to find a logical pattern. I know it is all about different contexts etc., but I can't seem to apply my own 'logical' ideas to the talks as I did successfully in 08. I find it an extremely limiting part of the game anyway with what seems to me like a small benefit available at the potential cost of total disaster if you select the ‘wrong’ option. That's why I think it frustrates me because sometimes I just know I'm going to get it 'right' and other times I feel clueless. It feels a bit like it's too rigid, i.e. either right or wrong, and I'm either going to get some benefit or a huge loss in performance.

3) Away form – I didn’t want to believe it at first but this is a problem on FM09. The only thing you can say to mitigate this problem is that it is just the same for the other AI sides in whatever league you are playing in, so doesn’t necessarily put you at a disadvantage. But it does have a huge effect on the verisimilitude when you look at the league table, or when your team can’t stop racking up the points at home but struggle away. I totally support the idea that it should be more difficult to win away but some sides are actually better on the road than they are at home in real life and this is not possible in FM09.

4) General problems in the lower leagues – I’m a big fan of starting off in the lower leagues and I love managing my local team, St. Albans City. But the Blue Square South is a bit of a joke in this year’s game. I’m four seasons in on one of my saves and at least half of the teams in Blue Square South have ditched their entire playing squad and are now made up of players who my scouts say are at least good enough for League 2! Then there is the feeder club issue, where teams in the BSS end up having top quality players on loan from Premier League or Championship clubs, which just does not happen in real life. As a researcher for a BSS club, this is really frustrating, because I rate the players realistically and most of them won't even get into the first team after a year. As an FMer who loves plying my trade in the lower leagues, it means that I feel I cannot really play a ‘realistic’ game.

5) Takeovers - For me, the game has to be about verisimilitude, otherwise the immersion factor is zero. I don’t mind a bit of fun with takeovers but there are far too many in FM09. On one of my saves, some of the most stupid takeovers have occurred, including Team Bath, the University team currently in BSS (and about to drop out of there), have been taken over by a consortium from France! They are now stupidly rich, have Paul Merson as manager and have signed a Championship rated striker for 500k. This is in Blue Square South for goodness sake! In addition to that, Merthyr Tydfil have been taken over by Chilean businessmen. I guess it is actually pretty funny but it does ruin the realism.

6) 3D – I was delighted when I found out my laptop would support the 3D but I quickly grew tired of it. It has made playing each game much slower for me. I often found the 3D would stutter and become jerky (which is probably my own fault due to having low spec graphics). In addition to this, I also feel as though I am better able to see things tactically on 2D classic. Having looked at both, I actually much prefer 2D classic overall, as I think it looks better and allows more imagination when watching games. I ended up turning 3D off but now I have discovered that even my 2D classic is jerky and stutters from time to time. This was really the final nail in the coffin for FM09 from my point of view.

7) General slowness – I think someone summed it up best on another thread when they said FM09 goes click, click, process, process. Nothing changes. Everything is exactly the same. It takes ages to achieve anything. Things like press conferences have just dragged the game down even more. It just feels like FM09 is ‘plodding along’ all of the time. FM09 feels less responsive than any of the previous games and seems to take a lot more time to process the data.

These are the main reasons that I get grumpy with the game. I just don’t have the time for it all and I don’t have the energy to put into it when I feel like I get so little in return.

Contrary to many people, I actually love the tactics and the match engine for 09. Whilst I agree with the people who are tired of the tactical interface and fed up with trying to translate tactical ideas into an FM tactic, I have actually really enjoyed the tactical challenge in 09.

However, I also agree that it can just be dull and laborious to get a tactic working how you want it to and, usually for me, it involves watching quite a few matches in ‘full match’ mode and tweaking in order to see if I am getting the desired effects. I wish there was an easier way, perhaps through training matches or better assistant manager feedback.

But anyway, in general I enjoy the tactical side and I love the match engine. If I could take them both, along with the new database, back to 08 then I would.

In conclusion, FM09 just feels like an enormous effort to pick up and play sometimes. I don’t want to make that kind of effort for a game which is essentially supposed to be a leisure activity for those spare hours in the evenings or over the weekends.

I ask myself, why am I bothering with this? What am I getting from this? Wouldn’t I rather read a book or listen to some music?

The game ends up making me grumpy and I’m grumpy because I feel like I ought to be enjoying it more. So I end up feeling totally fed up and frustrated because I can't enjoy it. Alas, I am afraid to say that this is where I part ways with FM09.

I hope this hasn’t been a totally boring read (although I fear that it probably is!). I felt like I had to get it off my chest and get my frustrations out there so that hopefully they are taken on board for future editions of the game.

If you have any comments of your own, then please feel free to add them. It's a sad day for me in falling out of love with the game.

C.

Good post Crouchaldinho, at least it's constructive, and not another mindless rant from a n00b.

Here are my thoughts, for what they're worth:

1) Press conferences – I don't like press conferences either, I attend every one though, but only to prevent my assman saying something stupid. Its at a stage now where I can answer without even reading the question, I just click on the safe answer every time. I wouldn't mind if there was a variety in the questions, or if questions led to other questions, not just "what is the strongest area of your team?" I think, or rather, hope this will be looked at for FM10.

2) Team talks - I follow a guide that I found on a thread on this forum, I cant remember who posted it, but it's quite in-depth, Im sure people will know what I mean. It almost feels as if the result is determined solely on a team talk sometimes, and no matter what tactical systems/formations/players whatever you employ, it doesn't make a difference (or maybe that's just me?) I would prefer a bit of variety again, instead of just "tell the players they can win this game" or whatever it says.

3) Away form – Away form is quite a big problem for me, I'm unbeaten at home, but only won one away this season...I know you can't expect to win every one, but even against teams with a relatively poor home record, or towards the bottom of the table, I'm often not favourite. I've had some success playing less wide than normal, and having my mentality slider set to normal, bang on the middle. I used to try to hold out for points with two DM's and one up front, but to limited success.

4) General problems in the lower leagues – This has happened in my game as well, I'm in the Blue Square Premier. The amount of ex-premier/championship players in the league is getting quite funny, not all of them are realistic (without player naming). I have exploited it to my benefit though on a number of occasions!

5) Takeovers - this is one part of your post I've not experienced on my game, so I can't comment, other than to say I hope some Russian oil baron comes and takes my club over!

6) 3D – I've not played many games in 3D, maybe I'm just too used to the old 2D classic look to see the benefit. The graphics aren't particularly good, I don't see a benefit in watching it in 3D, when, like you say, 2D allows more imagination when watching games. It's easier to see positions in a top down view. A pointless addition IMO

7) General slowness – It is quite slow, although I'm not in a rush. I tend to play whilst also watching TV, so if it's slow, it's not too much of a problem. I understand peoples frustrations though, definitely.

A pleasure to read such a well written piece, unlike the usual 'I hate this game!!!!!11' threads that you often see on thid forum.

You raise a number of issues, many of which I agree with.

Press Conferences - A terrible addition, slows the game down completely. You can't whiz through them either, because the questions are often worded very strangely, as are the choice of answers. This means that if you don't pay much attention you'll end up telling the press the wrong thing and having a negative effect on the players. Sending the AM to take the press conference is not a viable option because he always says completely the wrong thing, and this results in confused, angry, upset players.

2D Match Engine - For starters the size is far too small. Unless you use TV view but this makes it much harder to navigate quickly and effectively. The 2D match engine is very jerky, in my experience more so than the 3D engine, which is beyone belief. I prefer the 2D engine, and as such have switched off 'enable 3d' option on the preferences screen. However this has not made anny difference to the jerkiness of the ME, which makes it impossible for me to watch, let alone enjoy. I have never had this problem in past editions of FM, and I play with nothing else running on my laptop, and my laptop is pretty good.

I think you've completely nailed general slowness and team talks on the head.

Another way the game could be improved is if you were adequetely rewarded for your achievements with clubs. This has already been discussed on these forums, so I don't feel anything else needs to be said about that.

Overall I would say I have enjoyed 09 more than 08. But I feel 08 was the poorest release in a long time. 07 was probably the best game, but it would be difficult to go back to that now with such an old database, and other things that I have got use to over the past two editions.

An excellent post Crouchaldinho, and as I'm sure you know from other threads that we've both commented in, I feel much the same way.

Luckily I'm still managing to get some enjoyment from the game with my Sunderland save, but for all of the reasons you mention above I'm not enjoying '09 as much as I would have hoped, and it certainly hasn't grabbed me as much as '08.

For me the biggest issue is speed. The game is so slow and it takes a long time to do anything. I played for an hour last night and managed to play only two matches. This was during the season, after the transfer window, so basically all that was happening was the processing in-between the games and the two matches themselves. So while I'm enjoying my current Sunderland game my real love is LLM, and I know I won't be able to bring myself to start a LLM game once I'm done with this one.

In FM08 I had many enjoyable seasons with Gateshead doing Dafuges challenge, and I did similar in FM07 before that, each time eventually getting my teams to the top of the premier league. With '09 I'll never have the time to take a club painstakingly from the football basement to the top of the world. I have no less playing time than I did with '07 or '08, it will just take so much longer to do on '09 that I can't bring myself to try

MattSFC and AlexNFFC - you both sound like your opinions of FM09 are very similar to mine. I'll just reply to some of your comments.

Its at a stage now where I can answer without even reading the question, I just click on the safe answer every time. I wouldn't mind if there was a variety in the questions, or if questions led to other questions, not just "what is the strongest area of your team?" I think, or rather, hope this will be looked at for FM10.

Totally agree with this. They are a total yawn fest.

Once, I actually decided to use a test save that I have to do some testing on press conferences in order to learn about them and I actually found once that no matter which option I selected the team reacted poorly!

On the rare occasion I have decided to be a bit more adventurous with the press conferences, I sometimes found that I had negative reactions from my players. That's fine but the trouble was that it just said something so generic that I couldn't work out what I had done wrong? 'Reacted negatively' is fine by why?

The whole thing is tiresome and very boring anyway. It just feels too much like a multiple choice question lacking in sufficient complexity to make it interesting. I haven't heard anyone say something positive about it yet.

2) Team talks - I follow a guide that I found on a thread on this forum, I cant remember who posted it, but it's quite in-depth, Im sure people will know what I mean.

I have also been trying to follow the guide. I agree with you that sometimes the team talk seems to be too much of an influence. There is too little complexity. Again, it just feels like a 'right' or 'wrong' aspect of the game. Too superficial.

3) Away form – Away form is quite a big problem for me, I'm unbeaten at home, but only won one away this season...

Yes, there certainly shouldn't be such a discrepancy between the home and away form. A little tip for away games is to start off cautious with a fairly balanced tactic and watch 'full match' for the first 5 mins or extended for the whole match. Then make changes if necessary based on what you see. Sometimes aiming for a draw is the best you can do.

4) General problems in the lower leagues – This has happened in my game as well, I'm in the Blue Square Premier. The amount of ex-premier/championship players in the league is getting quite funny, not all of them are realistic (without player naming). I have exploited it to my benefit though on a number of occasions!

I know, it is a situation where you really have to join them and sign up the 7 star players rather than play with a realistic squad for that level. Puts me off starting a lower league game. Some of the Saints players, for instance, end up free transferred by the AI and then they retire. In real life, they would find other clubs to play for. The very best Blue Square South players are normally ok, but any of the good or decent players really suffer in the game. Like I say, it puts me off starting in the BSS, which is my favourite league to play in.

like you say, 2D allows more imagination when watching games. It's easier to see positions in a top down view. A pointless addition IMO

I wouldn't necessarily say pointless. I can see that some people will love it. But I agree totally with your first comment about imagination and I also think 2D is much better for tactical purposes.

I wouldn't mind 3D if I could just turn it off and happily continue with 2D but unfortunately the whole new graphical business means that my 2D stutters as much as the 3D does!

Anyway, 2D classic all the way, that's what I say!

Press Conferences [...] the questions are often worded very strangely, as are the choice of answers.

Definitely agree. Sometimes the answers just don't make sense.

Are you happy about being knocked out of the FA Cup? Possible answer: 'I'm thrilled'. But no context at all! If it was, 'I'm thrilled because now we can concentrate on the league', then that would be fine!

Another example is, 'you've just got through to the next round, can you win it?' Can I win what? The Cup? The next round? I don't even know who I am playing yet!

The whole thing is nonsensical sometimes and the answers don't make any sense on occasion. Can't think of any other specific examples but I'm sure some of you will be able to come up with some funny ones. The trouble is, we're not meant to be laughing at the game! We're meant to be enjoying it!

Sending the AM to take the press conference is not a viable option because he always says completely the wrong thing, and this results in confused, angry, upset players.

Yes, I was messing about on a Liverpool save and Sammy Lee said, 'Manchester United will win the title', upsetting the whole squad.

You can't even rely on your assistant too offer sound advice for the team talk either. Sammy Lee just says, 'for the fans', every time! Is this why he failed miserably at Bolton?

The 2D match engine is very jerky, in my experience more so than the 3D engine, which is beyone belief. I prefer the 2D engine, and as such have switched off 'enable 3d' option on the preferences screen. However this has not made anny difference to the jerkiness of the ME, which makes it impossible for me to watch, let alone enjoy.

Mine doesn't sound as bad as yours but I must say that this has been the final nail in the coffin. I gave FM09 a really good go over the bank holiday weekend but this was just the final thing that tipped me over the edge.

Another way the game could be improved is if you were adequetely rewarded for your achievements with clubs. This has already been discussed on these forums, so I don't feel anything else needs to be said about that.

Totally agree. I think it is Captain Planet's thread that is very good at detailing this. Someone will no doubt correct me if I am wrong.

But I feel 08 was the poorest release in a long time. 07 was probably the best game

What didn't you like about 08?

I wasn't sure about 08 at first but after two patches I thought it was excellent.

I loved 07 but I really felt 08 was an improvement.

Be interested to hear what you didn't like about 08?

Anyway, Mrs Crouchaldinho is happy that I have quit FM09. She says I was a miserable sod when playing it due to getting so grumpy with it!

C.

An excellent post Crouchaldinho, and as I'm sure you know from other threads that we've both commented in, I feel much the same way.

Yes, definitely.

For me the biggest issue is speed. The game is so slow and it takes a long time to do anything. I played for an hour last night and managed to play only two matches. [...] So while I'm enjoying my current Sunderland game my real love is LLM, and I know I won't be able to bring myself to start a LLM game once I'm done with this one.

Same with me really. I envisaged having a whole career managing St. Albans City. Success is NOT mandatory but enjoying the game is. At the moment, I find FM09 slow and unresponsive. I actually loaded up FM08 the other day, just to look at an old save I had, and I was amazed at how much quicker it runs and how much more responsive it feels.

In FM08 I had many enjoyable seasons with Gateshead doing Dafuges challenge, and I did similar in FM07 before that, each time eventually getting my teams to the top of the premier league. With '09 I'll never have the time to take a club painstakingly from the football basement to the top of the world. I have no less playing time than I did with '07 or '08, it will just take so much longer to do on '09 that I can't bring myself to try

Again, I see your point of view and totally agree.

On FM07, I had a huge career with Saints. Took them to the Premier League in the end but took me ages. I had some failings along the way but it was still a totally addictive experience. Also managed England and got sacked in the end and managed Turkey too. It was my all time favourite game.

On FM08, I had a career game starting off with the Saints and eventually working my way up through Derry City, Kaiserslauten, Ghana and Leverkusen. Something a bit different. I won a few promotions, got the odd trophy, but also had a few disappointments. But the game gripped me totally even though my save didn't quite have the magic of my 07 one.

FM09, well, I didn't start it until end of December when the second patch came out. This was due to the FA Cup bug. Then when I did start, I spent four years at St. Albans City, one promotion and an FA Cup 3rd round tie away to Everton (an FM first for me!) but ended up getting angry with all of the things I have written above (especially the lower league problems). Decided to give that game a rest. Then I've had one season with Liverpool in a test game where I wanted to give FM09 one more chance. And that's it. As you say, it's all taking too long for me. Too many things annoying me. Time to call it a day now.

C.

Totally off-topic, but I didn't realise I had turned 'semi-pro' on here.

Is that the sign of someone who spends far too much time on the SI Games forum talking about FM and football, or what?

C.

Good post Crouchaldinho, at least it's constructive, and not another mindless rant from a n00b.

Here are my thoughts, for what they're worth:

1) Press conferences – I don't like press conferences either, I attend every one though, but only to prevent my assman saying something stupid. Its at a stage now where I can answer without even reading the question, I just click on the safe answer every time. I wouldn't mind if there was a variety in the questions, or if questions led to other questions, not just "what is the strongest area of your team?" I think, or rather, hope this will be looked at for FM10.

2) Team talks - I follow a guide that I found on a thread on this forum, I cant remember who posted it, but it's quite in-depth, Im sure people will know what I mean. It almost feels as if the result is determined solely on a team talk sometimes, and no matter what tactical systems/formations/players whatever you employ, it doesn't make a difference (or maybe that's just me?) I would prefer a bit of variety again, instead of just "tell the players they can win this game" or whatever it says.

Could you post the link through that you found mate?

I think i know what your talking about, but can't find it atm. Would help me (Maybe OP n others) out a lot

Cheers

I agree with almost everything you put in your OP, Crouchaldinho, apart from the takeovers as I haven't experienced one yet.

Something you have missed is the "player unsettling" problem, what I mean is when you have to offer certain players 3 new contracts a month just to stop them from being grumpy as you have had to issue 3 hands off warnings a week. It makes me so mad when the transfer windows start as its gets absolutely ridiculous then.

FM Mad - There are two guides to team talks (both made for 08). Go to Tactics & Training section, then go to the sticky thread called 'unofficial tactics bible'. Then scroll down through the list of links and you will find them. One is called 'Wolfsong's Guide to Team Talks' and the other is 'Communication and Psychological Warfare'.

Hope that helps.

C.

FM Mad - 'Wolfsong's Guide to Team Talks'

Just a point. While I wholeheartedly agree that the half-arsed press conferences are probably the less thought out and generally most poorly implemented feature in recent versions of FM, sending an assistant to do them is far less detrimental than people are making it out to be. I've only done about 4 or 5 press conferences in my current 18 season long save while my various assistants have handled the rest. You get an occasional moronic comment but in general the things they say are more likely to have a positive effect on the team. I've become so used to my assistant doing them I completely forget they even exist. So I would personally recommend letting your assistant handle them and see how it works out over a longer period of time.

Cheers lads!

i totally agree with this thread it really does get boring, i used to start a league myself and play it all weekend without any bother but now i get bored after the tranfer window has completed..... the only way i know to have any fun with fm09 is to play online with friends and i suppose thats just for the extra competition and banter

crouchaldinho: I feel your frustration and had shelved the game also (basically after the latest patch). As you, I have also been doing some work over in the T&TF, so I know some of the work you have done. Patch 9.2.0 seemed to make more sense and your work there suggested that, where-as patch 9.3.0 radically changed all that. I say this because somehow in patch 9.2.0 it felt as if you had control over the implementation of tactical settings, and you had more of an understanding on what changes to make and they translated into the ME, especially the defensive aspect of the game.

Tight marking simply causes match-stat meltdown, and I know it is hard to play this way and feel good about winning 1-0 after you litterly was bombed of the field. The away controlling aspects seem to have become totally disarray where-as at home you have to do things really wrong to not get a point or three. I agree on the part that there are teams around Europe that have better away records than home records, and there should be a way to get around the statistical part of the game (in RL and in FM). Man marking just doesn't work, the fullbacks are always way out of position which is the most dangerous aspect amongst the man marking flaws.

Defensive Football is apparently a thing of the past, which would be a shame. Somehow after weeks of tweaking I have managed to create all the different types of defensive scenarios: dominating or not, I still haven't gotten any wiser on how the mechanisms work. Dominating possession playing with defensive mentalities almost always leads to a loss where-as being bombed off the field gives you better (not much) point average. So the only thing I learned from all this is just to avoid it, and my most defensive set-up is a mentality of 10, loose zonal marking and no forward runs for my back 4. I am actually doing quite well...

Global Team Settings is the only consistant result-wise option I have experienced that actually works. A few free roles and DC's closing down of (7) are the only 'tweaks'. I use a 4-1-2-2-1 with some of the settings that Mourinho has in the editor, and I only tweak the mentality (10,13,15 and 18 depending on match situations). So lately I have been playing a little because it feels as if my team are playing well and I finally am matching/bettering most opponents stat-wise. First season with Watford in the Championship only 1 loss in league, beat Bolton 2-0 before lossing 1-2 home to Liverpool (league cup) but a fantastic game were they scored twice late in the game (if I could have built a ultra-defensive tactic that I could have relied on it might have gone differently).

The intended Formulas have to work. First, we have to be explained how the tactical formulas work, especially the defensive aspect of the game, and then we have to be able to see why they do work and why they don't. I know that I got the defensive aspect to work in the 9.2.0 patch and could visually see the counter-attacking working in the ME. There were visual patterns when playing different types of opponents away, and you could make more or less accurate assumptions when choosing your tactical settings to counter your opponents overall strength. I don't know how they managed to get that part out of the game again and I think you feel the same way...

Hey Loversleaper,

crouchaldinho: I feel your frustration and had shelved the game also (basically after the latest patch). As you, I have also been doing some work over in the T&TF, so I know some of the work you have done. Patch 9.2.0 seemed to make more sense and your work there suggested that, where-as patch 9.3.0 radically changed all that. I say this because somehow in patch 9.2.0 it felt as if you had control over the implementation of tactical settings, and you had more of an understanding on what changes to make and they translated into the ME, especially the defensive aspect of the game.

I agree that things did change in patch 9.3 but I was still getting on well by applying my usual principles. Basically, fairly simple tactic set, reading match reports and watching what the opposition is doing. Those are my fundamental beliefs when playing FM.

However, like you, I have had to change my perspective and settings, particularly on passing and marking (as you also draw attention to in your post), since the last patch. Some of this was just natural progression but a lot of it was to do with what I was seeing in the engine.

The away controlling aspects seem to have become totally disarray where-as at home you have to do things really wrong to not get a point or three.

Yes, winning at home is barely a challenge at all with a decent side. I've hardly even bothered paying attention to the home games on the current patch. Usually go unbeaten without trying really. Boring! Whereas away, I've been often watching matches in full or extended highlights just to get a point! I believe that I could go unbeaten at home for a whole season with a decent side by processing everything at the fastest speed on commentary only without OIs or anything else!

On the match engine side of things, it's the ridiculously easy home games alongside the arduous and painstaking aways that have driven me crazy!

I agree on the part that there are teams around Europe that have better away records than home records, and there should be a way to get around the statistical part of the game (in RL and in FM).

I can think of several examples of this and I totally agree.

Defensive Football is apparently a thing of the past, which would be a shame.

I think it has been this way since FM08 though. I think FM07 was the last game where a defensive approach could really work wonders (it was in fact too good).

FM09 seems to be set up to encourage tactics with attacking mindset. Like you, I have been very rarely venturing below a cautious standard/balanced tactic.

I'm not sure I'm quite as frustrated as you about the tactical side of things but I do understand what you are saying.

Anyway, I'm glad to see that you are at least still managing to gain some satisfaction out of the game though.

C.

I love your post mate,

But at the minute I have managed to create my own tactic that actually plays good footy even if I still lose a few games. I personally am happy away.

But as for slowness DAMN Right my computer has the spec to process like hell but slows down as much as my pc that is about 8 years old.

Definitely agree. Sometimes the answers just don't make sense.

Yes, I was messing about on a Liverpool save and Sammy Lee said, 'Manchester United will win the title', upsetting the whole squad.

What didn't you like about 08?

I wasn't sure about 08 at first but after two patches I thought it was excellent.

I loved 07 but I really felt 08 was an improvement.

Be interested to hear what you didn't like about 08?

C.

The first time I left my AM in charge of a press conference was for my newly promoted Saints side against Man United away. Little did I know Wotte would say that we would all out attack them at Old Trafford. Needless to say my whole squaf was upset.

As for 08, I just didn't enjoy it very much. It's not that I found it difficult, I didn't like it and I can't really pinpoint why.

Hopefully SI are taking advantage of all the feedback on these forums, and FM 2010 is the best yet!

Im loving my FM07 save so so much better

The first time I left my AM in charge of a press conference was for my newly promoted Saints side against Man United away. Little did I know Wotte would say that we would all out attack them at Old Trafford. Needless to say my whole squaf was upset.

I'm surprised he didn't add, 'Manchester United, who are they?'

As for 08, I just didn't enjoy it very much. It's not that I found it difficult, I didn't like it and I can't really pinpoint why.

That's fair enough. I loved it.

FM07 was great to though. I think most people have fond memories of that version.

Hopefully SI are taking advantage of all the feedback on these forums, and FM 2010 is the best yet!

I've got everything crossed.

C.

Im loving my FM07 save so so much better

Did you try FM09 Mozzaa? Didn't like it... or...?

This has been a fantastic discussion so I am going to add my two cents in on the comparison between this game, FM08 and FM07.

The best game out of the three is definitely Football Manager 2007. This is soley due to the fact that I found translating my knowledge into the sliders and the sliders translating onto the pitch was the best we have seen. By this I mean that when I set-up my tactic, I knew what I was going to see on the pitch and I didn't feel that I had to read 50,000 word guides (which are fantastic) to get what I wanted out of the game. Another thing I enjoyed about Football Manager 2007 is that the whole feel to the game was very open and there seemed a lot more space on the screen than there is at the moment; the interface looked cleaner.

Now, FM09 or FM08? If you had asked this question about 3 months ago, I would have said FM08 hands down. For a lot of my FM09 play-time I have struggled to get into the game and really found the game a chore. I struggled to analyse and understand the match engine and I seriously thought about going back to 08. After all the struggling, I saw Chopper's thread and saw that he regained his love for the game and started enjoying this. This inspired me to give the game one last go and it walked. I read the fantastic 'Simplicity' guide and I have continued to enjoy the game.

Did you try FM09 Mozzaa? Didn't like it... or...?

Don't like it, for the same reasons as you & I haven't even done a whole season on FM09 since I brought it; just really couldn't get into it so given up

Could someone point me in the direction of Chopper's thread? I can't see it and it sounds like I really should read it.

The best game out of the three is definitely Football Manager 2007. This is soley due to the fact that I found translating my knowledge into the sliders and the sliders translating onto the pitch was the best we have seen. By this I mean that when I set-up my tactic, I knew what I was going to see on the pitch and I didn't feel that I had to read 50,000 word guides (which are fantastic) to get what I wanted out of the game.

Another thing I enjoyed about Football Manager 2007 is that the whole feel to the game was very open and there seemed a lot more space on the screen than there is at the moment; the interface looked cleaner.

I completely agree with both of these points. I've never used guides or downloaded tactics/training regeimes, as I feel doing this take the fun out of what is suppose to be a game. In addition, I want to make my own decisions and be my own manager. Well, that's my opinion anyway, although I expect many people on these forums to disagree.

crouchy - my man. Its a shame to see you putting it down, but I completely understand your frustrations. The exact issues you've denoted are what inspired me to turn Real London into a sign up, to hopefully inject something new into the game for CSE'ers. Shamefully, it fell away quickly, due to the fact that the same issues were there. I've struggled to get a game going in FM09. (Only 7 and 8 seasons in 2 differnt saves. For those of you that know me well enough, you'll know that thats not very far at all for me). I'm seriously considering going back to FM08 and playing on with that, but there are issues in FM08 that have been fixed in FM09 (mainly the regens) - and kid of discourages me to do that. Which means I'm stuck in avoid of not being happy playing either version. FM09 has, ultimately, let me down. I really hope FM10 is a much better, much simpler game.

Alas, with my spare time I'm not playing FIFA09 a hell of a lot more, and really enjoying it

my E-mail is in my profile crouchy. Add me, incase we lose touch on the forums - you've been a massive help to me over the last few months

This is Chopper's thread Aja

I've been reading through it here. Nice to read a critique of the game that both makes sense and is a pleasure to read.

I've been reading through it here. Nice to read a critique of the game that both makes sense and is a pleasure to read.

I suggest you read mine aswell Not quite the same but it seems like the three threads in question are the most in depth ones and have got the most discussion and response.

This is Chopper's thread Aja

Chopper's thread has more to do with the tactical side of things. It is a good thread though and I'm pleased to see that he has managed to get back into FM09.

I have read your thread as well peter-evo, which was also a well written piece on your frustration with the game. I've also been reading and contributing to Mike7077's thread.

I think it is a shame that a lot of the people who are disappointed/frustrated with the new game are actually regulars on this forum who have often been playing the game since the the CM series. It's quite surprising actually.

It leaves me asking the question, what about the people outside of this community? What happens to them? I imagine that they will have given up FM09 a long time ago, if they even bought it. I've tried to get my brother-in-law into the FM series before, for instance. He plays a lot of football and is really knowledgeable about the game. However, he gave up after about a week of trying, and failing, to get to grips with FM. I think if I gave him FM09, he would return it even quicker!

crouchy - my man. Its a shame to see you putting it down, but I completely understand your frustrations. The exact issues you've denoted are what inspired me to turn Real London into a sign up, to hopefully inject something new into the game for CSE'ers. Shamefully, it fell away quickly, due to the fact that the same issues were there. I've struggled to get a game going in FM09. (Only 7 and 8 seasons in 2 differnt saves. For those of you that know me well enough, you'll know that thats not very far at all for me).

Hey Nep. I thought perhaps you had got frustrated with it too due to you not being on the challenge forum as much lately. Real London CSE was a great idea and hopefully you can get it up and running again for FM10.

Like you, I usually play for far more seasons than I have managed on FM09. I just can't ever imagine myself making it through 10 plus seasons on it. I actually couldn't stand to load it up again now, I'm that fed up with it.

I'm seriously considering going back to FM08 and playing on with that, but there are issues in FM08 that have been fixed in FM09 (mainly the regens) - and kid of discourages me to do that. Which means I'm stuck in avoid of not being happy playing either version. FM09 has, ultimately, let me down. I really hope FM10 is a much better, much simpler game.

I don't think simpler is necessarily what you are looking for. I just think it needs to be quicker, with more substance and less show, and with greater clarity and meaning. That's the way I see it anyway.

I agree with you about being stuck in a void. But hey, I might be able to spend more time with Mrs Crouchaldinho, as well as reading some more books and listen to some more music. I'll probably be really productive without FM over the summer. I'll maybe even end up writing that novel I've always planned.

Or... I'll be back on FM in a week! That's the trouble with being an FM addict!

Alas, with my spare time I'm not playing FIFA09 a hell of a lot more, and really enjoying it

You see, I haven't even got FIFA09 to play. I'm not really a video games person. I only really play FM so there is no other fantasy football fix in my life.

my E-mail is in my profile crouchy. Add me, incase we lose touch on the forums

Cheers. Have added you.

I'm really curious to see what happens with the new CM actually. Not sure if I will buy it. I've never played their series since the split, but this year they have leagues down to step 3 of non-League! Anyway, I'm hoping the competition will drive SI to really improve FM for the 2010 version.

C.

Yeah, I'm the exact same. Never played it either, but having the even lower leagues is tempting

the whole new graphical business means that my 2D stutters as much as the 3D does!

quote posted by crouhaldinho

With regards to this problem I downloaded a programme called Game Booster from IOBit software. It closes down all the background programmes on your computer. Before my games were very chppy and slow but now they run smooth as silk.

Fair comments, big shame though - but the Missus deserves your attention now so, so-be-it !

I tried your "Simplicity" tactic, it had it's limitations for me. Finally I returned to the wwfan T&TF set and with a little success. At present i have ditched the micromanaging of team & player instructions (the "Revie" approach with its A5 page of detailed notes) within the T&TF framework mentioned, now I go with the most appropriate of the 5 tactic set and change accoriding mainly to Ass Man comments but secondly to my own observations (my "Clough" approach, that uses 1 or 2 lines of an A5 page and is much less of an annoyance).

I mention the notetaking as it started to take over my gameplaying and was in danger of impacting upon my enjoyment - was OK when I won but a futile waste of time when I lost, and that was killing the enjoyment for me.

This simplified approach is working at present for me.

Very good thread.

I have to agree, press conferences are pointless and irritating- they simply spoil the 'flow' of the game. I too can now choose all of the safe answers without even reading the question.

3-D is also pants. Can't see the point of poorly animated sprites kicking an airless balloon around. Having said that, I love 2-D on TV view. A good addition.

Having said this, improvements to areas such as board confidence and the quality of regens mean that I am loving FM09 overall. Best yet, 2010 will be even better when they vastly improve 3D and remove press conferences.

Mine football managers cocked up at the end of the second season it just freezes and ive dun so well with my porto well at least i can play frisbee with my dog using the disc

1) Press conferences – Totally agree with you there.. Every game, without fail, you get xXx is the star man. Do you consider him a threat?, Who will you choose to deal with him (should you accidentally answer yes)?, 'Will you be springing any tactical surprises?', and What do you think your chances are?

Plus there are the buggy questions - what are you supposed to say other than "I'm disappointed" to the question "Are you happy to be knocked out of this competition?" And the ones that make no sense to the lower league teams "Do you think you can go on and win it?" is ridiculous to ask the Tonbridge Angels manager after they make it into the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup, but if you say anything other than yes then everyone gets moody...

2) Team talks - I shouldn't need to read a guide to be able to do teamtalks reasonably well.. Plus, I know there are tactical issues as well, but if my team go in 2-0 up at half time, they shouldn't come out playing in lead boots, and the opponents like men posessed, and lose 4-2 anywhere near as often as it reportedly happens (I'm not 2-0 up at half time enough to comment properly solelly based on my own experience!).

3) Away form – Again, got to agree with you, and it's particularly bad for the teams at the bottom of the table. In my current game in Greece, ten out of sixteen teams got less than ten points from their fifteen away games. The worst home record was fifteen points. That just seems ridiculous to me.

4) General problems in the lower leagues – Yes, again you're right (This is getting rather repetitive...). but isn't the problem that there are too many players rated at League One / Two level? I'm a Barnet fan, and the assistant reports that I get are ridiculous. Neil Bishop may be a bit better than your average League 2 player, but to say that he could comfortably play Championship football is a stretch of anyone's imagination, and almost the entire squad are rated as 'good League 2 players' or better. This from a team who IRL are comfortably in the bottom half of the table.There's also the problem with the foreigners - doing Dafuge's challenge this year you can sign a hell of a lot of foreigners on part time deals - there is no way IRL that a Frenchman will move to England to play part time football on similar wages to what he is currently getting...

5) Takeovers - Again, probably too many, and definitely need to be reworked for the lower leagues.. Occasionally you do get a Hoffenheim, but not one in every country in every game...

6) 3D – I like it, to be honest. It gives me a better sense of exactly what's going on, and you've got to think that it will only get better as we move through the series.

7) General slowness – Yep, agree here. Bought a new laptop recently, with a better processor and three times the memory of my old one, and FM09 is still slower on this one than FM08 was on the old one Takes hours and hours to do the processing now, can still go downstairs for a sandwich on 30th June and 31st of December, and get back before it's finished

And a couple of my own:

The effect of reputation - Particularly evident if you come up through the leagues, your club reputation doesn't rise fast enough. On my current save, I have just qualified for Europe, finished 3rd in the League (doing Gundo's challenge in Greece) and my players are still being unsettled by 'the bigger clubs' in the relegation zone. Then they get angrier when I reject bids of less than half their value and subsequently play pathetically.

How can I get such reputable staff? I have Angelo Peruzzi, Robert Prosinecki and Oliver Kahn at Panaitolikos. Some second rate Greek club? Three world class players in their generation, none of whom has any connection to the club or even the country? Prosinecki is on £220 a week - by my maths about ten grand a year. Doesn't make any sense to me

The tactics - Can and should be made so much more intuitive. An obvious pointer would be individual width sliders. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to sacrifice complexity, but can we not make it easier to work out what they do? If I have my defensive line at, say 12/20, where will that be? Couldn't you represent it on the pitch? Anyway, this point has been made on numerous occasions and far more in depth than I can be bothered to here..

quote posted by crouhaldinho

With regards to this problem I downloaded a programme called Game Booster from IOBit software. It closes down all the background programmes on your computer. Before my games were very chppy and slow but now they run smooth as silk.

I've got CCleaner, which I highly recommend, which effectively does the same thing and is good for managing your PC. (Available on google if anyone is interested).

I also followed the advice in this thread: http://www.thedugout.tv/community/showthread.php?t=40200

Absolutely no luck stopping the 2D stutter. Not as bad as before after trying all that.

C.

And the ones that make no sense to the lower league teams "Do you think you can go on and win it?" is ridiculous to ask the Tonbridge Angels manager after they make it into the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup, but if you say anything other than yes then everyone gets moody...

Does this ACTUALLY happen?

Originally Posted by Blanco (re- press conferences)

And the ones that make no sense to the lower league teams "Do you think you can go on and win it?" is ridiculous to ask the Tonbridge Angels manager after they make it into the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup, but if you say anything other than yes then everyone gets moody...

Does this ACTUALLY happen?

Afraid it does. Although I managed the miracle of getting Altrincham to the 3rd round of the FA cup in my first season, I was continially asked this question. Of course I answered "yes", but purely with a tongue-in-cheek frame of mind, along with my usual additional comment of "Bring on the (insert big club here)".

Valid point about the fact that the players get upset if you say anything else other than "no comment".

But anyway, in general I enjoy the tactical side and I love the match engine. If I could take them both, along with the new database, back to 08 then I would.

You've summed up my feelings exactly. I agree with most of your thread even if I only quote this part. I'm not that satisfied with FM09 at all and if I could take the database, tactics and ME to FM08 I would (too). I don't really want to go back to FM08 BECAUSE of the new match engine but at the same time FM09 just... Stripped Football Manager of its appeal. It's frustrating really because this just results in me playing much less. I've been playing manager games since CM2 or so and it've actually always been a part of my life, sad as it may be. Now something is missing and that just makes me feel sad.

I really pray that FM10 takes some things back to basics. But at the same time I'm looking for new features because I think they've been cruising on the same stuff for much too long now. Meh but this is not an ideas and wishlist for FM10 thread, so I better stop here.

Just a point. While I wholeheartedly agree that the half-arsed press conferences are probably the less thought out and generally most poorly implemented feature in recent versions of FM, sending an assistant to do them is far less detrimental than people are making it out to be. I've only done about 4 or 5 press conferences in my current 18 season long save while my various assistants have handled the rest. You get an occasional moronic comment but in general the things they say are more likely to have a positive effect on the team. I've become so used to my assistant doing them I completely forget they even exist. So I would personally recommend letting your assistant handle them and see how it works out over a longer period of time.

Agree- but SI have always added half assed new features, they did it with manager mind games, team talks and the media.

When will they learn that poorly implemented sections that can have HUGE effects on the outcome of games is a bad idea?

Over the last few releases Ive really wondered whether SI know what is best for the game- after all the tactical overhaul (which no doubt will be a disappointment as its just a wizard from what Ive heard) is a year too late.

SI used to appear to have their finger on the pulse as to what FM/CM needed to move forward- forgive the pun but in the last two or three years they have taken their eye off the ball, the excreable and largely useless 3D shows that SI havent a clue what is truly important to FM players.