AI Experiment - what would happen if?

[waz_nufc_awk]

Oh yes, bring on the season report.

Can't wait to see how the new and improved squad copes.

Should be a corker.

[kipfizh]

Originally posted by RKW:

but there are no starlets there. Adam Williamson, with a CA of 146 and PA of 189

What do you mean there are no starlets? The boy can be world class surely?

What I meant was that there were no starlets in the top 20 players, and therefore in the team.

So the team itself is full of players who are unlikely to improve further, which is a balance concern.

[AB-forever]

I'll try and ask again

Originally posted by AB-forever:

Out of interest, who are the 5 highest CA players from Denmark and what clubs are they at?

[williamshankley]

Didn't realise there was a new update! (too much fm )

This promises to be an extoadinary campaign!

I predict Champions league qarter final berth

runners up in the league and taking the FA Cup

KUTGW KIP

[BenArsenal]

Fantastic to be reading this again.

Bring on the next update!

[kipfizh]

Originally posted by AB-forever:

I'll try and ask again

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by AB-forever:

Out of interest, who are the 5 highest CA players from Denmark and what clubs are they at?

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Whoops - sorry missed that one!

I'll post that with the rest of the update

[chopper99]

Originally posted by kipfizh:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by AB-forever:

I'll try and ask again

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by AB-forever:

Out of interest, who are the 5 highest CA players from Denmark and what clubs are they at?

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Whoops - sorry missed that one!

I'll post that with the rest of the update </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Does that mean the rest of the update's coming soon?

[blythgeordie]

got to admire rhe dedication. I once tried a similar thing while i was waitinf for 08 to come out.Playing as Blyth Spartans i gave myself a 150k stadium atransfer kitty of 350mill.and allocated the worlds best players. cant remember them all but cech in goal,terry,ferdinand in def,ronaldo,kaka,ronaldinho,gerrard,mid,torres, rooney,att.the big difference was i set the clubs reputationto about 9250.no-one ever left won every league by a mile but gave up through boredom in championship league,most goals scored an amazing 420 in one season!smallest win was about 8-0 biggest 18-0. keep going !

[williamshankley]

Originally posted by blythgeordie:

got to admire rhe dedication. I once tried a similar thing while i was waitinf for 08 to come out.Playing as Blyth Spartans i gave myself a 150k stadium atransfer kitty of 350mill.and allocated the worlds best players. cant remember them all but cech in goal,terry,ferdinand in def,ronaldo,kaka,ronaldinho,gerrard,mid,torres, rooney,att.the big difference was i set the clubs reputationto about 9250.no-one ever left won every league by a mile but gave up through boredom in championship league,most goals scored an amazing 420 in one season!smallest win was about 8-0 biggest 18-0. keep going !

What was the point

Bears no similarity whatsoever

[Meitheisman]

Great update Kipfizh

I'm amazed at the fact that Davies spent this much money and actually signed players with good CA.

It's almost like Judging Players' ability/potential have no effect... or maybe he relies on his scouts? Is there a way to tell if he does? Like who found the players that we signed?

[polegategavin]

Originally posted by Meitheisman:

Great update Kipfizh

I'm amazed at the fact that Davies spent this much money and actually signed players with good CA.

It's almost like Judging Players' ability/potential have no effect... or maybe he relies on his scouts? Is there a way to tell if he does? Like who found the players that we signed?

This is a significant point, one thing you haven't shown before in your seasonal updates is the staff that have been appointed or released. Is it possible that better staff (particularly scouts) have been signed in the 2 seasons that Davies has been in charge.

It would stand to reason that this would be the case as all us newbies when we begin a new FM game have middling stats for all attributes yet this doesn't affect the quality of players that our scout finds for us!

Again another area of the AI which pleases me highlighted by this brilliant challenge/ holiday game!

[homerjnick]

Kipfizh,

Out of interest what is the size of the save game?

[FlownCanary]

Come on you bandits! I predict Champions League final only to be knocked out by a surprise team! Transfers looking good though! Can't wait for the update! Great work!

[Meitheisman]

Originally posted by polegategavin:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Meitheisman:

Great update Kipfizh

I'm amazed at the fact that Davies spent this much money and actually signed players with good CA.

It's almost like Judging Players' ability/potential have no effect... or maybe he relies on his scouts? Is there a way to tell if he does? Like who found the players that we signed?

This is a significant point </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Of course it is, I brought it up

[nick...]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> quote:

Originally posted by polegategavin:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> quote:

Originally posted by Meitheisman:

Great update Kipfizh Thumbs Up

I'm amazed at the fact that Davies spent this much money and actually signed players with good CA.

It's almost like Judging Players' ability/potential have no effect... or maybe he relies on his scouts? Is there a way to tell if he does? Like who found the players that we signed?

This is a significant point

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Of course it is, I brought it up Wink </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Maybe a breif recent history of Bandits scouts and their abilities would be useful?

[magificatioN]

Wow! What a thread~! Just stumbled upon it a couple of hours ago, been hooked through 23pages ever since!

COME ON BANDITS~!

[dryden76]

so the bandits finally spend big and have a stronger squad than ever in the their first champions league campaign. and a player turns down a mov in the january window to stay with, taking this as a positive for europe and the league as he'd have left if they were struggling...... fingers crossed.........

[West Country Cop]

Come on Kip, I can;t wait for the next update

[frosty123]

Come on kipfizh, just got to this point so this is the first time i have had to wait for an update...getting withdrawal symptoms now!

Out of interest, where do you get the CA/PA stats from?

COME ON THE BANDITS, LETS MAKE THAT FINAL STEP AND WIN THE LEAGUE(would be nice if Liverpool were able to win it again though - couldnt do a screenshot of LFC's Trophy history could you kip?)

[Guest theycallmemrdrew]

Dear God...it's now 1:30am in the morning and I swear it was still light when I stumbled across this thread and started reading it!

Kip - you are a true legend.

[Meitheisman]

Originally posted by frosty123:

Out of interest, where do you get the CA/PA stats from?

FM Genie Scout

[foobar]

Kip,

This is a completely tangential request, but....

Would you consider rerunning season 1 with everything set to full detail? Earlier in the thread it was hypothesized that the detail level the matches were run in impacted the outcome of the games/experiment. A (relatively) quick way to test that theory would be to run the first season again and compare the results.

[clonabanjo]

Kip massive respect mate this thread is amazing.

Best thread ive ever seen on a forum.

Decided id do the same thing for my own little experiment but with FM 2008 and Dagenham in League 2.

Its very interesting first game Dagenham won against Chester 25-0.

I done exactly what youre doing but with a league 2 side.

What i found massively weird in the Dagenham Chester 25-0 game was that Chester had no Shots at all but had 54% of the Possession.

I just read all 23 pages over and over again and cant wait for the next update.

KUTGW Fantastic mate.

[SSC]

Originally posted by kipfizh:

Just finished playing the season, another corker.

Squad report should arrive tomorrow, and I'll write the guide too shortly dafuge

Its been a week Kipfizh! I need this update!

Go Bandits!

[AB-forever]

Originally posted by kipfizh:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by AB-forever:

I'll try and ask again

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by AB-forever:

Out of interest, who are the 5 highest CA players from Denmark and what clubs are they at?

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Whoops - sorry missed that one!

I'll post that with the rest of the update </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I think I can forgive you

After all you are doing a fantastic job

[deltablue]

i think someone should start a bandits fanclub, maybe a group on myspace, facebook, yahoo or anywhere like that.

[Number 7]

Bandits for the CL.

[5ergio]

Originally posted by deltablue:

i think someone should start a bandits fanclub, maybe a group on myspace, facebook, yahoo or anywhere like that.

Well, I thought about this about 2-3 months ago, opening a group on facebook and stuff but never spoke it aloud. If there is a demand for it & Kip honors me with this duty I'd be more than glad opening an "Unofficial AFC Bandits Fan Club" By this way at least, we can message all group members if there is a new update

[SSC]

Originally posted by 5ergio:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by deltablue:

i think someone should start a bandits fanclub, maybe a group on myspace, facebook, yahoo or anywhere like that.

Well, I thought about this about 2-3 months ago, opening a group on facebook and stuff but never spoke it aloud. If there is a demand for it & Kip honors me with this duty I'd be more than glad opening an "Unofficial AFC Bandits Fan Club" By this way at least, we can message all group members if there is a new update </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Great Idea

[kipfizh]

Originally posted by Meitheisman:

I'm amazed at the fact that Davies spent this much money and actually signed players with good CA.

It's almost like Judging Players' ability/potential have no effect... or maybe he relies on his scouts? Is there a way to tell if he does? Like who found the players that we signed?

This is a very good points - I think he's relying on his scouts, a wise move given their ability. They have four scouts, with 172, 150, 120 and 120 CA, which given their staff status, is excellent.

One easily overlooked advantage of the Bandits' increase in reputation is their ability to attract not just better players but better staff.

Originally posted by homerjnick:

Kipfizh,

Out of interest what is the size of the save game?

216MB, which may not be as much as you'd expect, probably mainly because there isn't an active manager in the game.

Originally posted by foobar:

Would you consider rerunning season 1 with everything set to full detail? Earlier in the thread it was hypothesized that the detail level the matches were run in impacted the outcome of the games/experiment. A (relatively) quick way to test that theory would be to run the first season again and compare the results.

Sure - when I'm next writing a section that doesn't require the game running, I'll given this a shot.

Originally posted by 5ergio:

Well, I thought about this about 2-3 months ago, opening a group on facebook and stuff but never spoke it aloud. If there is a demand for it & Kip honors me with this duty I'd be more than glad opening an "Unofficial AFC Bandits Fan Club" By this way at least, we can message all group members if there is a new update

Hehe, of course I'd have no objections to this Might even make me update more often

[kipfizh]

Part 1 of the season update:

After a summer of strengthening, the Bandits fans were looking forward to a season of serious challenge – they believed the club ready to challenge for major honours, with the increased size and ability of the squad, and for the first team they hoped that their club would reach the promised land of the Champions League.

Of course, with all that optimism came concern – what if they fell in the Champions League qualifier? What if their squad was overly stretched by the unprecedented number of tough fixtures? What if a few of their relied on stars got injured?

The Champions League draw wasn’t kind – Levski Sofia were regular qualifiers for the group stage, often going beyond, and would provide quite the obstacle. But Gustavo Hernandez, on debut, opened the scoring in Bulgaria early, and went on to receive man of the match in a terrific 3-1 win. The home leg was trickier, and with Sofia taking the lead early in the second half the team began to jitter. But they never added to that lead, the Bandits going through 3-2 on aggregate. With the group stage reach, a reputation boost was now guaranteed.

The Premiership campaign, meanwhile, had got off to a poor start, with a 3-2 loss to QPR, but two wins and a draw got them right back on track before the Champions League proper kicked off. With the Bandits finding themselves seeded low, they found themselves in a deadly group, with 22 time winners Real Madrid and last season’s powerful quarter finalists Inter. Completing the group were Sporting, also regulars in this stage of the competition. The Portuguese side provided the first fixture of the group, at the Bandits’ magnificent stadium, with a win for either side almost certainly required to give them a chance against the group’s heavyweights.

But Sporting shocked the home fans by racing into a two goal lead, before the Bandits got back into the game in the second half. Despite the visitors going down to ten men, they managed to stubbornly defend their lead and leave the Bandits with an uphill task in the group.

Next up were Real Madrid in the Bernabeu, and with little expected, the Spaniards battered the new boys into submission, eventually running out comfortable 2-0 winners.

Domestically, things were going much better, three wins and three draws taking them up to fourth, before the critical double header against Inter. With the first match at home, they picked up their first point of the group in a 1-1 draw, and the tally was doubled in Italy with the same scoreline, Eduardo Castillejo unsurprisingly scoring for the Italians. While two points from four games seemed hopeless, Inter had only four after drawing every game, and Sporting had only picked up a solitary point since their win over the Bandits, so also lay just two points ahead of them.

A 3-0 win over Tottenham sent them up to second in the Premiership before a double header against Chelsea. First up was a League Cup tie, and the Bandits knocked the favourites out 3-1, before succumbing to a 2-0 loss in the league. However, two wins and a draw quickly followed, and after thirteen games they found themselves top of the table for the first time. An extra time League Cup win over Colchester put them into the fifth round, and with the Champions League dream still hanging by a thread, they travelled to Portugal for another critical encounter in high spirits.

[SSC]

Yes! So glad I was up to see more posted... hope the rest goes up tonight!

KUTGW!

[Braumiller]

Hehe, of course I'd have no objections to this Smile Might even make me update more often Wink

Someone show me where to join !

[deltablue]

it would help, because the thread is so big I've forgotten most of what i read when I read it a couple of months back, it it would take up a lot of time and space to record everything you might possibly want to look over again. a group would help provide a more ordered record without sifting over the considerable and admitedly impressive amount of data already contained in this massive thread to find what you want.

[ross8]

Top stuff yet again Kip.

Could be a massive season for the Bandits.

[5ergio]

Originally posted by kipfizh:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by 5ergio:

Well, I thought about this about 2-3 months ago, opening a group on facebook and stuff but never spoke it aloud. If there is a demand for it & Kip honors me with this duty I'd be more than glad opening an "Unofficial AFC Bandits Fan Club" By this way at least, we can message all group members if there is a new update

Hehe, of course I'd have no objections to this Might even make me update more often </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Well then, I'll try and open a group on facebook some time tomorrow. Will inform you about how to join when it's all done. Btw I looooved the update. League leaders at the moment, having a decent cup run and we STILL have a chance to get somethings out of CL. Just need to beat Sporting at Portugal and we will secure a UEFA Cup place as I understand the situation. Davies are performing above all my expections of him from the start, let's hope he continues and brings us a memorable victory. for all your work Kip.

[chopper99]

Ohhh, what a start to the season. It was always going to be a baptism of fire after being drawn in the champions league group but they're holding their own as well as can be expected. If they did scrape through to the next round it would be quite an achievement. I'd be very happy just to see them clinch a UEFA cup place at the end of the group stages, the current squad has a decent chance of actually winning that trophy, how good would that be?

You've left us nicely in suspense again Kip, well done as always. And as always I can't wait for the next update.

I also can't quite believe how excited I am about a Bandit's group on Facebook

[achilles elbow]

Great stuff as always Kip.

KUTGW

[kipfizh]

Part 2 of the season update

After a summer of strengthening, the Bandits fans were looking forward to a season of serious challenge – they believed the club ready to challenge for major honours, with the increased size and ability of the squad, and for the first team they hoped that their club would reach the promised land of the Champions League.

Of course, with all that optimism came concern – what if they fell in the Champions League qualifier? What if their squad was overly stretched by the unprecedented number of tough fixtures? What if a few of their relied on stars got injured?

The Champions League draw wasn’t kind – Levski Sofia were regular qualifiers for the group stage, often going beyond, and would provide quite the obstacle. But Gustavo Hernandez, on debut, opened the scoring in Bulgaria early, and went on to receive man of the match in a terrific 3-1 win. The home leg was trickier, and with Sofia taking the lead early in the second half the team began to jitter. But they never added to that lead, the Bandits going through 3-2 on aggregate. With the group stage reach, a reputation boost was now guaranteed.

The Premiership campaign, meanwhile, had got off to a poor start, with a 3-2 loss to QPR, but two wins and a draw got them right back on track before the Champions League proper kicked off. With the Bandits finding themselves seeded low, they found themselves in a deadly group, with 22 time winners Real Madrid and last season’s powerful quarter finalists Inter. Completing the group were Sporting, also regulars in this stage of the competition. The Portuguese side provided the first fixture of the group, at the Bandits’ magnificent stadium, with a win for either side almost certainly required to give them a chance against the group’s heavyweights.

But Sporting shocked the home fans by racing into a two goal lead, before the Bandits got back into the game in the second half. Despite the visitors going down to ten men, they managed to stubbornly defend their lead and leave the Bandits with an uphill task in the group.

Next up were Real Madrid in the Bernabeu, and with little expected, the Spaniards battered the new boys into submission, eventually running out comfortable 2-0 winners.

Domestically, things were going much better, three wins and three draws taking them up to fourth, before the critical double header against Inter. With the first match at home, they picked up their first point of the group in a 1-1 draw, and the tally was doubled in Italy with the same scoreline, Eduardo Castillejo unsurprisingly scoring for the Italians. While two points from four games seemed hopeless, Inter had only four after drawing every game, and Sporting had only picked up a solitary point since their win over the Bandits, so also lay just two points ahead of them.

A 3-0 win over Tottenham sent them up to second in the Premiership before a double header against Chelsea. First up was a League Cup tie, and the Bandits knocked the favourites out 3-1, before succumbing to a 2-0 loss in the league. However, two wins and a draw quickly followed, and after thirteen games they found themselves top of the table for the first time. An extra time League Cup win over Colchester put them into the fifth round, and with the Champions League dream still hanging by a thread, they travelled to Portugal for another critical encounter in high spirits.

Early injuries to Fabien Vincent and Tom Finley threw their plans into disarray, and Sporting all put ended their hopes of staying in Europe with an eventually comfortable 2-0 win. There was better news elsewhere – Real Madrid’s win over Inter kept the Italians on four points, within reach of the Bandits in the race for a UEFA Cup slot. Inter needed to beat Sporting to qualify for the next round, but a loss, coupled with a Bandits win against the now qualified Real Madrid would see the latter at least manage to drop down to the secondary competition.

But form was fading. A 3-0 hammering at Scunthorpe was followed by disappointing draws against Stoke and Morecambe, and with the legendary Madrid coming to England, they needed the performance of their lives. The match couldn’t have got off to a worse start, Real taking the lead in the first minute, but Paul Dove sent the home crowd into raptures with an equaliser three minutes later. But summer transfer target Wesley van Grinsven gave the visitors the lead ahead, and despite a much improved performance by the Bandits, it stayed that way.

Left with just two points from an admittedly difficult group, they were in truth outclassed. But that is no disgrace – Real Madrid went on to win the trophy, Inter reached the quarter finals before again meeting the Spanish giants and losing, while Sporting made progress in the UEFA Cup before losing to Barcelona. They will get their time again.

A Europe-less remainder of the season began in earnest, with a thumping 4-0 victory at Barnsley, quickly followed up with a victory over title rivals Charlton. The improved form continued with an extra time victory over Morecambe in the League Cup quarter final, and a win over Arsenal to signal the end of the first half of the league campaign. At the halfway point, they were still top, with Chelsea, Sheff Wed and Charlton all challenging hard.

The second half of the Premiership began as the first had, with defeat by QPR dropping them to third, but a win and a draw got them back on track before the cups took over again. League One Oxford gave them an FA Cup scare, taking the tie to extra time in the replay before two Scott McDermott goals won it, and then it was the turn of the League Cup semi final against a powerful Charlton side.

A superb 2-1 victory in the away leg set the Bandits well on course for their fourth League Cup final, but then the second leg went horribly wrong. Charlton took a 2-0 lead in an impressive display, but Scott McDermott rescued the Bandits again with a goal four minutes from time. For the fourth time this season, they were headed to extra time, could they keep their perfect record going?

A Charlton red card in the first half of extra time put them on the back foot, but the match went to penalties, and it was to be the Bandits who prevailed 4-1 with a series of immaculate spot kicks. Having won the League Cup three years ago, they were back in the final.

Championship Fulham ended their FA Cup hopes in round four, but a win and two draws maintained their slender lead at the top of the Premiership. With only eleven games now left, the challenge was beginning to be taken seriously by the press, and with Stuart Davies’ men being praised for their fine season, they travelled to Wembley for their fourth League Cup final, against Sheff Wed, who sat just a couple of points behind them in the league.

[Chilliconcarnie]

kip if you dont get the seasons climax posted today there will be rioting in the streets!!!

Or just my bag of malteasers knocked over and strewn across the desk....

[kipfizh]

Guide to setting up AI Experiments, as requested:

AI Experiment Guide/FAQ

[homerjnick]

Originally posted by kipfizh:

Guide to setting up AI Experiments, as requested:

AI Experiment Guide/FAQ

Forget about that!!!! Get the review finished please!

[chopper99]

Originally posted by kipfizh:

Guide to setting up AI Experiments, as requested:

AI Experiment Guide/FAQ

Just like to say that the guide's excellent Kip, nice work

Now did we win the league?!?

[neilb242]

Kip - you owe me back two days of my life i just spent reading this!

Great work, very interesting to ee how AI works in the long run.

Are there any origional players still going strong in the game - obviously not still playing, but in a staff role? who is the oldest?

Keep up the great work

[Ste93]

Great work kip, cant wait for the full update!

[dafuge]

Originally posted by kipfizh:

Guide to setting up AI Experiments, as requested:

AI Experiment Guide/FAQ

Nice one

[frosty123]

Come on kip we need the final instalment

also could you do a screenshot of liverpool's competition history for me please (nice to see Liverpools manager nico kranjcar scoring against england tonight)

[Ste93]

Cmon kip, post the next installment, we need something to make up for last nights shocker

[Maviarab]

Brilliant as usual kip, cant wait for the end of season report

Also, why am I too strangely excited about the Bandits fan club lol.

[williamshankley]

Up the Bandits!

Will be interesting to see how we fair in Europe next season! ( obviously if we get there ) I'm interested to see if the mental traits of the players will improve etc!