Football Manager 2014 - Update 14.3.1 Update FEEDBACK THREAD

[CityAndColour]

I've got two main strikers who I rotate in a 4-1-4-1.

First has 19 goals in 15 games, second has 12 in 16, so I reckon strikers are scoring OK, but I also thought they were fine in the last update too.

Certain set ups work better than others but I've never had any trouble getting a prolific striker on any version.

[RTHerringbone]

Has the player ratings been adjusted radically in this patch, I had 3 very decent tactics which worked very well, now after this new update I want to start my long save but no matter what tactic I load, defenders/midfielders are all rank rotten, I've went from ave 7.3 to 6.5 in the space of 2 days. Only thing to change is the update, my tactics took me 2 months to get right and TBH I was enjoying the game very much prior to this update as you've probably seen my posts moaning about the moaners on here. So far for me the game has reverted back to the horrendous FM13.

Match ratings were tweaked, and if anything, they were revised upwards for full backs in particular.

[jc1]

Match ratings were tweaked, and if anything, they were revised upwards for full backs in particular.

Were they tweaked just for full backs or all players too.

[RTHerringbone]

Were they tweaked just for full backs or all players too.

I'm not certain about that, I'm sure one of the SI guys can confirm when they are about.

From my perspective, my player ratings in general seem a touch higher than before.

I considered that FM13 was a bit generous with its ratings, and if I'm honest, think FM14 is still a bit toppy in some areas.

[dave7867]

Please create a thread explaining your issue on our Tech Forums here - http://community.sigames.com/forumdisplay.php/360-Crashes-Game-Launch-and-Technical-Issues

Also please upload the save game to our FTP so I can take a look. FTP details are here - http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/368795

Remember to state in the new thread you create in the tech forums what the file name is, thanks.

need to explain this ALOT simplier to move WHICH file to upload to where once uploaded ,to me this reads as WTF

[jc1]

I'm not certain about that, I'm sure one of the SI guys can confirm when they are about.

From my perspective, my player ratings in general seem a touch higher than before.

I considered that FM13 was a bit generous with its ratings, and if I'm honest, think FM14 is still a bit toppy in some areas.

Sigh! back to looking at my tactics again then, thought I had it sussed ready for the final update, I've tweaked them that often

[RTHerringbone]

Sigh! back to looking at my tactics again then, thought I had it sussed ready for the final update, I've tweaked them that often

If you want / need any advice, then the Tactics forum is a very useful resource

[jc1]

Went back and had another wee go, tried another tactic I know worked, tweaked it a little and won the 1st friendly 5-0 were before i was struggling to get a 2-1, ratings were better, still a couple of crap ones but in general up from the games prior.

[Lower Leagues Rule]

Loving the new update, but finished a season and got my best XI for the season, within my starting XI was a player who made no appearances at all for the squad during the season, but is listed as having 20+ games, I will need to check, but he was either in my reserve side playing for them or I had released him about mid season.

Has anyone else seen this issue?

[jc1]

If you want / need any advice, then the Tactics forum is a very useful resource

I think I know the tactics forum of by heart lol, see my above post, new update just needed tactics tweaked a little, always the same with updates. I was determined to get my 4-2-3-1 working but maybe just didn't have the players for it yet, back to the 3-1-4-2 and worked a treat.

[Carmi88]

also far too many headers in this game where a player would never ever try to score from the header, also crosses nearly going in/hitting the woodword, far too often

[jac4121993]

My fullbacks don't seem to know how to defend cross field passes. They're either coming way too narrow when the ball is central (therefore giving the whole wing to the opposition winger) or they're completely misjudging the flight of the ball when it comes across and letting the winger just run past them. I'll keep an eye on it to see if it keeps happening.

Edit: I also noticed that someone else reported an issue (in this thread) with conceding a goal from a freekick near the halfway line. Had that happen to me about half an hour ago. Ball just aimlessly floated in, too close to the keeper, should be an easy catch, instead he appears to crouch whilst flailing his arms above him. Only player anywhere near him was my defender who was out of line of sight a good couple of yards behind him. I'll make a post in the bug forum.

Edit2: He doesn't crouch whilst flailing his arms. The ball just goes straight through his hands, then he falls over backwards. Even better.

[deathspawn666]

Transfer system still broken:

Low value bids. Ganso is worth 7.9M and his agent told me he was available for 4.9M. He is not transfer listed, he is happy in club and he is set as Indispensable. I made the bid just for curiosity, the club accepted next day...

Agents demanding huge wages compared to current contracts. Ganso is on 130k per month, the minimum he accepts is 260k... that's 2x more for a 2 year contract, if i try to make it 4/5 years contract he demands 400k lol. i'm playing in portuguese league and no club will ever accept those wages. i guess the agent thinks it's better not to transfer the player, not winning his comission, and that player thinks it's better to stay in Santos winning 130k rather 200k, not going to champs and not winning transfer prizes. oh and no other club is interested in him

edit: another joke transfer. my DL is worth 12.5M, happy at club, not transfer listed, is on rotation status but plays regularly. Napoli offers 10M...

back to fm2013...

[THOG]

To follow up on my post about the spread of the back three defenses, here's a couple more pics from my recent game against Genoa, who played a 3-4-3 against me. While they did at times spread their CB's quite wide in attack, it didn't seem to cause catastrophe for them defensively. I'm not sure if that could end up being an issue though with a high pressing team using DW's or a DF. To have a pass intercepted in that case would probably be disastrous.

This sort of positioning is intended to counteract aggressive pressing from opposition forwards. With the DCs (or DCs + an HB) bunched up together, a DF would actually have a much better chance of intercepting a back pass. With the DCs splitting to the flanks like defensive fullbacks, midfielders looking for a back pass are guaranteed at least one safe option. The opposition can then commit more players to cutting off these options, but they would simply go down a man (or two) in midfield from doing so, likely eliminating the need for a backpass option.

It's certainly the case that this kind of positioning isn't universal, but that's the logic and, defensively, the positioning isn't suicidal by any stretch. In the first image above, the DCL and DCR have plenty of time to narrow should possession be lost, and the DCC is well positioned to hold up the centre forward if a ball is played behind the defence.

[celengan]

a wonderfull game, I have tried

[Coolcup]

Have there been any tweaks to transfers and AI offers for your players? I find it incredibly difficult to move players for anything near their stated value, even though I am Manchester United and winning almost all competitions regularly. In previous versions of FM you would get huge premiums for your players, which was a tad unrealistic but this version it is very difficult to even get the stated value.

[HUNT3R]

Have there been any tweaks to transfers and AI offers for your players? I find it incredibly difficult to move players for anything near their stated value, even though I am Manchester United and winning almost all competitions regularly. In previous versions of FM you would get huge premiums for your players, which was a tad unrealistic but this version it is very difficult to even get the stated value.

Which season are you in? First?

I've had more success getting rid of players by asking for some of the fee in monthly installments instead of everything up front.

[HUNT3R]

Transfer system still broken:

Low value bids.

edit: another joke transfer. my DL is worth 12.5M, happy at club, not transfer listed, is on rotation status but plays regularly. Napoli offers 10M...

What is wrong with that? Should they just open by offering 30m?

[Coolcup]

Which season are you in? First?

I've had more success getting rid of players by asking for some of the fee in monthly installments instead of everything up front.

No in the seventh season. I can basically get offers at best at 2-3m pound discounts to player values once the player is transfer listed. I see a few ways of doing it:

1. Transfer list a player and then offer him to clubs - usually get ~5m pound discount to player value (I am talking players who are worth ~25m or more)

2. Transfer list a player and wait - no offers come in

3. Let the player rot in reserves - usually get a much lower value as player value declines and he only gets sold 6-12 months afterwards.

I understand what you are saying when you say "why would a team offer more than their value when you want to sell the player", but my point is that the approach now, while more realistic, is a drastic change from previous versions of FM where I had no problem selling players at premiums to their value once they were no longer needed. A lot of my prior strategy in FM was based around this ability but it is now much harder to do this and none of this change was disclosed. I am playing the exact same setup (in terms of leagues and database) as previous versions of FM.

Any additional tips would be greatly appreciated. Also, if you could explain what this point in the changelist for 14.3.0 means that would also help a lot:

- Tweaks to transfers made by the AI for users players

[HUNT3R]

No in the seventh season. I can basically get offers at best at 2-3m pound discounts to player values once the player is transfer listed. I see a few ways of doing it:

1. Transfer list a player and then offer him to clubs - usually get ~5m pound discount to player value (I am talking players who are worth ~25m or more)

2. Transfer list a player and wait - no offers come in

3. Let the player rot in reserves - usually get a much lower value as player value declines and he only gets sold 6-12 months afterwards.

I understand what you are saying when you say "why would a team offer more than their value when you want to sell the player", but my point is that the approach now, while more realistic, is a drastic change from previous versions of FM where I had no problem selling players at premiums to their value once they were no longer needed. A lot of my prior strategy in FM was based around this ability but it is now much harder to do this and none of this change was disclosed. I am playing the exact same setup (in terms of leagues and database) as previous versions of FM.

Any additional tips would be greatly appreciated.

Look at it this way:

Listing a player tells other clubs you don't want him. So offers will be lower than value. Don't leave it there though, negotiate!

Listing AND offering out tells other clubs that you don't want him and you really want to get rid of him. That's why offers are even lower. You can still negotiate though, but you'll struggle to get his value.

[Coolcup]

Look at it this way:

Listing a player tells other clubs you don't want him. So offers will be lower than value. Don't leave it there though, negotiate!

Listing AND offering out tells other clubs that you don't want him and you really want to get rid of him. That's why offers are even lower. You can still negotiate though, but you'll struggle to get his value.

Yeah I get that, its changed from prior versions to be more realistic but without providing any notice to players. Thanks.

Any thoughts on what the below quote meant in the 14.3.0 changelist?

- Tweaks to transfers made by the AI for users players

[HUNT3R]

I'm not 100% sure, but I think the AI was tweaked so that they don't constantly submit very low offers. Using your 25m player as an example, we used to get 10m offers, when he wasn't listed. That was obviously not right.

Offers now are, for the most part, closer to the player's value.

[CityAndColour]

I would expect most of the time the AI is bidding to start a negotiation process too, not because they expect to get your 12.5m player for 10m.

[jon157uk]

I'm now seeing a crazy amount of penalties, must easily be something like 8 in the last 11 games and in my last match two penalties seconds after each other, first one was saved and straight after the save my centre half ran in to the taker.... yep, another penalty was awarded...

Don't know about the AI teams of course but my lot are not set up to play hard or aggressive, just pretty standard instructions really.

[Coolcup]

I would expect most of the time the AI is bidding to start a negotiation process too, not because they expect to get your 12.5m player for 10m.

I guess that's why they have non-negotiable on their bids all the time.

[Coolcup]

Is there any way to get rid of the little yellow marks that indicate your player has a note? I find these extremely ugly and hope there is an option to turn these off. I have notes on all my players, so it serves absolutely no purpose for me.

[stevemc]

Anyone finding that regens are asking for too much money in their contract renewals?

I've got very average (2 stars) regens in my under 18's asking for £8,000+ p/w, which leads to me not signing them up and letting them leave on free's.

[Sydney666]

I just want to thank SI for all their feedback in this thread. Quite amazed by your dedication, even across weekends. Many of my questions have been answered, as well as many other posters.

Thanks again.

[CityAndColour]

I guess that's why they have non-negotiable on their bids all the time.

Mine usually don't.

[BiggusD]

I would expect most of the time the AI is bidding to start a negotiation process too, not because they expect to get your 12.5m player for 10m.

Well, they are not good at negotiation, then, because if they bid £10m for a 12.5 valued first team player with a long contract and I counter with £40m - which is similar to what they do when I do the same - I have yet to see them increase their offer with a "the game is on" mentality. They take it as a ridiculous asking price and withdraw from negotiations promptly, just to come back a while later with another £10m offer...

What on earth are they expecting? That I lure them up gradually with a £13m counteroffer which they counter with a £11m offer and then I go for £14m and so on?

I just don't get how SI thinks transfer negotiations should work when the AI is bidding. I cannot possibly know what the maximum value that can be seen as negotiable for each AI club is! Why can't they just increase their bids until they can go no further and then withdraw?

The mechanic is simple; if they demand 3-4x the base value of their first team or key members, I must do the same or go bankrupt/weaken my team. I am not allowed to, so the last 2-3 versions I have had to resort to offering out players in order to get rid of players I no longer have any need for. Never have I received an offer that would allow me to go and buy a similar or better player, which is the minimum requirement for -any- manager to accept a bid for anyone that is not listed. In what universe is a counteroffer ever "go away"!? Just like with the AI, if the initial bid is nowhere near where it should be, the offer is rejected, not negotiated! A negotiated offer means that I am willing to sell for the right price! That's what the AI does when I bid and they reject until I find the spot where they actually find my bid worthwhile and starts negotiating! Why isn't the AI doing the same when I reject or negotiate their bid?

In the example above, a negotiated price of £40m for a player valued 12.5 means that 25 or thereabouts is the actual transfer value - just 2x the base value and a reasonable price for such a player. But nooooo that's never going to happen regardless of which club is bidding. Real Madrid with £500m transfer budget are looking for bargains...

[obinna]

Have there been any tweaks to transfers and AI offers for your players? I find it incredibly difficult to move players for anything near their stated value, even though I am Manchester United and winning almost all competitions regularly. In previous versions of FM you would get huge premiums for your players, which was a tad unrealistic but this version it is very difficult to even get the stated value.

Player value doesn't really mean anything. Besides club valuation and contract demands, it doesn't indicate anything. Just pretend they don't exist. Secondly, constantly winning major trophies inflates nearly every players value on your team. The only thing that matters are star ratings (CA and PA). AI will pay big money for a 3.5 star or better player.

Also if you want to get better offers for your players sell them in the beginning of transfer windows (June 6, June 13, July 1). This way AI can bid on your players with a large portion of their budget remaining. Plus, the AI is still absurdly stupid when it comes to squad building and transfer fees ( I saw PSG spend $66M on Zaha and Bojan despite having a Ancelotti and a squad that just won the UCL).

The previous system was foolish (you can't double the amount you sell your player for every time) and made the game extremely boring after a few seasons.

Yeah I get that, its changed from prior versions to be more realistic but without providing any notice to players. Thanks.

Pretty sure they mentioned overhauling the transfer system during the first announcement. No need for snark.

[obinna]

Well, they are not good at negotiation, then, because if they bid £10m for a 12.5 valued first team player with a long contract and I counter with £40m - which is similar to what they do when I do the same - I have yet to see them increase their offer with a "the game is on" mentality. They take it as a ridiculous asking price and withdraw from negotiations promptly, just to come back a while later with another £10m offer...

What on earth are they expecting? That I lure them up gradually with a £13m counteroffer which they counter with a £11m offer and then I go for £14m and so on?

I just don't get how SI thinks transfer negotiations should work when the AI is bidding. I cannot possibly know what the maximum value that can be seen as negotiable for each AI club is! Why can't they just increase their bids until they can go no further and then withdraw?

The mechanic is simple; if they demand 3-4x the base value of their first team or key members, I must do the same or go bankrupt/weaken my team. I am not allowed to, so the last 2-3 versions I have had to resort to offering out players in order to get rid of players I no longer have any need for. Never have I received an offer that would allow me to go and buy a similar or better player, which is the minimum requirement for -any- manager to accept a bid for anyone that is not listed. In what universe is a counteroffer ever "go away"!? Just like with the AI, if the initial bid is nowhere near where it should be, the offer is rejected, not negotiated! A negotiated offer means that I am willing to sell for the right price! That's what the AI does when I bid and they reject until I find the spot where they actually find my bid worthwhile and starts negotiating! Why isn't the AI doing the same when I reject or negotiate their bid?

In the example above, a negotiated price of £40m for a player valued 12.5 means that 25 or thereabouts is the actual transfer value - just 2x the base value and a reasonable price for such a player. But nooooo that's never going to happen regardless of which club is bidding. Real Madrid with £500m transfer budget are looking for bargains...

If the AI is low balling you then that means your players probably isn't that good in the first place. Like I said in the previous post, player value doesn't mean that much in terms of making deals in the transfer market.

[BiggusD]

If the AI is low balling you then that means your players probably isn't that good in the first place. Like I said in the previous post, player value doesn't mean that much in terms of making deals in the transfer market.

No I am aware of that, in the context of my little Oviedo team right now in FM14. I was drawing the lines through the last 3 versions of the game, though, where the transfer system has been the same except now it is less stagnant and AI clubs actually do make offers for your players. However, they do not use the tools of the game correctly in order to get the players they are after. They do not start low and increase the bids until they get a negotiation and then calculate that they are actually quite close to the acceptable offer... and -then- evaluate whether or not that likely price-tag will be worth it or if they could get better players for less elsewhere. A negotiation means that somewhere between the current offer and the first counteroffer lies the sweet spot where none of the parties are entirely happy but both feel they have made a good deal.

The AI does not do it like that. Evidently, they require the first counter-offer to be within an acceptable (literally) range, and that's pure guesswork for us humans. When they are on the receiving end, though, they do it like that themselves.

So my question is: exactly how are we supposed to negotiate with the AI when they bid for our players, in order to get as good deals as the AI vs AI transfers often become? What i s the actual mechanic supposed to be like?

[stevemc]

I posted something similar earlier about Juventus bidding £3.9m for Adnan Januzaj, who had just signed a 5 year deal. £3.9m? Its ridiculous.

He then became unsettled and his agent was asking for an improved deal.

[Andyh21]

Now I dont know how else to put this but yes needed a good reason to start a new game hence the update being that. I gave PSG a go given not won french league and yes a very good challenge for other things They like to give you money to spend that was first thing I learnt but anyway onto my point.

First season I won the treble (2 cups and league and got to CL quarters).

Across the 2 seasons I brought in Varane from Real Madrid, Lloris, Diego Costa and Januzzi!

Ibra and Cabaye just brilliant.

Now onto second season again pretty good going, won french cup again, ok only 2nd in league but ... I won the champions league but more to the point this was first time in fm14 that I have done it having tried hard with a few others (Real,Man city and Juve hence the multi league wins).

Now is it purely co-incidence that a new update comes out and I win CL at 2nd attempt seasons wise (rather than 30+ seasons) or is there a "soft touch" in making it a bit easier?

I guess now I got to say to real again or Barca, or city/chelsea or even man u to see what happens but not till I give PSG a few more years.

So yes a very interesting with respect to the new update!!

[Mendeth]

Now is it purely co-incidence that a new update comes out and I win CL at 2nd attempt seasons wise (rather than 30+ seasons)[...]?

Quite probably, yes. However, the adjustments to the ME may well have favoured your preferred tactics, making them more effective.

[RTHerringbone]

However, the adjustments to the ME may well have favoured your preferred tactics, making them more effective.

This is the likely reason.

There is no "difficulty level" in FM (you set your own difficulty based on the team you use, applying attribute masking etc.), so nothing could possibly have been changed to make the game "easier".

[forameuss]

I posted something similar earlier about Juventus bidding £3.9m for Adnan Januzaj, who had just signed a 5 year deal. £3.9m? Its ridiculous.

He then became unsettled and his agent was asking for an improved deal.

The fact that the bid has unsettled the player makes it patently not ridiculous. It's done its job. They would now probably be able to buy the player for a lot less than if they had high-balled at the start.

[deathspawn666]

What is wrong with that? Should they just open by offering 30m?

No. they should at start offer at the player value. why would anyone sell a regular player, who wins champions titles and is international player for Argentina for a bid lower then the current value?? and this applies to any of my players, every damn offer is always below their price. i tried to negotiate that player and said 20M, AI replies with 10M + 500k in 24 months. Is this for real???? a 500k increase when i just doubled the price to 20M? why don't they just ask me to give him for free??? ofc i'm never gonna accept any AI offer.

[CityAndColour]

The fact that the bid has unsettled the player makes it patently not ridiculous. It's done its job. They would now probably be able to buy the player for a lot less than if they had high-balled at the start.

There's lowballing to unsettle and there's lowballing to such a derisory extent that the selling club will likely not do business out of principle. It seems the AI doesn't really make that distinction.

If he's going to be unsettled if Juve come in for him, why don't they just bid £200K? It would have the same effect.

[stevemc]

The fact that the bid has unsettled the player makes it patently not ridiculous. It's done its job. They would now probably be able to buy the player for a lot less than if they had high-balled at the start.

Yeah, but bidding £3.9m for Januzaj? That's peanuts considering his value was around the £10m mark, and he's one of the best talents in the game. It should at least be a realistic/believable bid.

In my opinion, it is a ridiculous opening bid, if a club did that in real life it would be embarrassing.

[magicmastermind124]

I am still waiting for SI to respond to a post I made to clarify the problem I am having with the FM14 editor. I know you have probably not been in the office over the weekend. It would be appreciated if this could be looked into, I have tried to help you clarify and resolve the problem.

There is at the moment a massive risk of splitting the Editing community if these bugs are not resolved. I'd be prepared to stop supporting new releases and stick to FM12 if need be, and so are other editors.

[BiggusD]

This is the likely reason.

There is no "difficulty level" in FM (you set your own difficulty based on the team you use, applying attribute masking etc.), so nothing could possibly have been changed to make the game "easier".

Except perhaps player decision-making being improved, so that less "precision" in the use of roles is necessary to make a tactic solid? Fewer people would try to fix problems they see on the pitch by applying lots of extra instructions, which of course make tactics more "specialized" in use.

I performed better this season, mostly played with 14.3, than last season, but then again I have a better team. Player performances are less volatile in my experience.

[obinna]

No I am aware of that, in the context of my little Oviedo team right now in FM14. I was drawing the lines through the last 3 versions of the game, though, where the transfer system has been the same except now it is less stagnant and AI clubs actually do make offers for your players. However, they do not use the tools of the game correctly in order to get the players they are after. They do not start low and increase the bids until they get a negotiation and then calculate that they are actually quite close to the acceptable offer... and -then- evaluate whether or not that likely price-tag will be worth it or if they could get better players for less elsewhere. A negotiation means that somewhere between the current offer and the first counteroffer lies the sweet spot where none of the parties are entirely happy but both feel they have made a good deal.

The AI does not do it like that. Evidently, they require the first counter-offer to be within an acceptable (literally) range, and that's pure guesswork for us humans. When they are on the receiving end, though, they do it like that themselves.

So my question is: exactly how are we supposed to negotiate with the AI when they bid for our players, in order to get as good deals as the AI vs AI transfers often become? What i s the actual mechanic supposed to be like?

I'm not understand your line of reasoning. If you value your player too high then there is no point in continuing discussions. I do the same the to AI teams. At the end of the day you know what you want for your player. If a bids £10m and you want 35m then chances are a deal won't be made. AI is just smart enough to know when the price is too high.

AI WILL negotiate with you if your valuation isn't that far away from theirs. I've seen an increase in £5-8m in a final sale price by negotiating. Also I've seen AI offer me sums 3X the player value for certain players (usually young players on the cusp of greatness). In my Bordeaux save I can't think of one instance where I didn't make a profit. You just have to be realistic and patient.

[obinna]

Has anyone else noticed player running extremely fast? I'm not sure if I'm imagining things or not, but the game looks so much faster. I had to turn my match speed down a notch.

[forameuss]

Has anyone else noticed player running extremely fast? I'm not sure if I'm imagining things or not, but the game looks so much faster. I had to turn my match speed down a notch.

I have noticed wingers really turning on the speed and moving past the full backs more often, but can't say I've noticed it go faster across the board. Admittedly I don't pay close enough attention all the time, so could be happening.

[CityAndColour]

3.9m for a player with one of the highest upsides in the game isn't in the realms of a realistic starting bid.

[Adzke]

Am I the only one seeing almost no development in my players? So far I've managed half a season on 14.3.0, and in my Juventus team neither Paul Pogba nor Youri Tielemans have had increases in their attributes. Almost no green arrows from their training either. I have four stars in my worst category, so it can't be the quality of the coaches being the problem, I guess?

[stevemc]

Like I said, 3.9 for a 10 rated player doesn't seem that bad as a starting bid. It would hardly be "embarrassing", especially since you say it has unsettled the player. I think Juventus would be quite happy to be "embarrassed" in this case if it meant that they eventually got the player for less money than they would have otherwise. Also, if this was just a young regen, would it seem as bad as it does since it's everyone's favourite Kosovan/Belgian/Englishman/American/Martian Adnan Januzaj?

Its a bid that will never, ever be accepted though. Also factor in that he had just signed a 5 year contract, so the player must be happy.

We will have to agree to disagree on this case.

[Ackter]

What squad status do you have him listed at?