[Suggestion] Playing as someone in the DB

[Number seven]

I'm quite often reads peoples career updates and while reading a story by forearmuss I got an idea I would like to suggest. As in his career update he added a manager that was supposed to be one of the players he had had earlier in the game as another manager. I've been thinking about doing the same. So my suggestion is what if when adding a manager, you were able to take over the profile of an existing member in the database?

F. ex I would have loved to start a game and be Ryan Giggs as a United manager. Well the easy solution is to just ad a manager as a previous international and then use Giggs' personal details. But you then want be linked to his playing history, his personality, his preffered formation etc. And also the real Ryan Giggs will be in the game.

I think being able to do this gives a lot of new challenges f.x if you start unemployed your manager won't get jobs at clubs he isn't liked, or like Giggs rivals of United. You're playing style will be in a way set at the start. The reputation and releationsships, with all their possibilities and limitations.  It would be really fun to develop a real person from the DB. F. ex being Mourinho and see if I could change him into an attacking manager. Also f.ex with the personality, during conversations and press conferences the game would only give you answer alternatives from a range based on the persons personal attributes.

Also I would suggest that this option isn't limited to tak over and existing manager or coach. But also a physio, as there are real life managers that has been physios, Nigel Adkins. Or a player. Were f.ex you can start the managing career of a player. He will of course retire as a player if selected as I can't see how the game would deal with the playing part of an human player manager. F.ex you can then start as the old player who is to start managing or a younger. Were when using his profile he will say something that he went into managing as he saw that his limitations as a player wouldn't let him be a top player, and he would try to reach the top of the game as a manager.

This will also make it possible for those who has played long term games and are to retire on manager to be able to use a profile of a player you managed and liked f.ex. Anyway it's  just a suggestion I think can make the game fun.

[ajinkyablaze]

nice !

[russianorphan7]

Definitely, I want to play as Guardiola at City or Mourinho at United or Wenger at Arsenal. It honestly blows my mind that they haven't implemented this yet. I've heard players talk about wanting this on the forums for years. Get it done SI!

[Guest]

It hasn't been done because it's not what FM is about & I doubt that such an option will ever exist.

[Number seven]

Barside can you further explain why this can't be a feature in teh game? Can't see this being against what FM is about. FM is a simulated managers game, how can it be against that simulating a real person?

[Guest]

The ethos of FM is that you are just one part of the football world that FM is simulating with the key word being 'you', not you as Arsene Wenger, Jurgen Klopp or Martin Allen. I'm as close to 100% confident as anyone who does not have the final say that the idea of assuming the identity of a real life manager is never going to happen in FM,

[HUNT3R]

I'm sure I've seen SI posts (or Miles on Twitter) saying the same thing : That the game has always been about you.

[Number seven]

So the argument here is that you are supposed to play as you, therefor this can't happen. The thing is FM is about simulating, so expanding the option of how to simulate shouldn't be against the idea of the game at all. This will be just another option, and for some this option will be preffered, by some like you, Barside,  it won't. FM is played by so many players, so I'm pretty sure that more people than me would love to simulate this way. Also this feature isn't limited only to real life managers, but to all people in the DB, f.ex a player who retires an become a manager, a coach, a physio (like NIgel Adkins IRL) or a regen. This option would make even more dynamics and options in the game, because you would have to start with the persons personality, history, friends and enemies and liked and disliked clubs. To me it seems like an exciting option, and dismissing something because some don't like it without even looking at what could be the positives and of course the negatives is in my view a hindering for development.

Hunt3r: As I've read Miles' posts I think he means that the game is for the players (but I can be wrong I'm not a mindreader), this will be a new option for the players.

 

Anyway as with all suggestions some will like them others will dislike them, that is not wrong at all, but dismissng something without evaluating what will be good or bad with a new feature is wrong.

[Guest]

 

52 minutes ago, HUNT3R said:

I'm sure I've seen SI posts (or Miles on Twitter) saying the same thing : That the game has always been about you.

Actually it's that the game is about the world of football & everyone in it with you being no more important than any of the NPC's in that world, when compared to other games FM is much less reliant on the user & other than creating the world & pressing continue or going on holiday the FM world can exist without a human manager being part of it whereas if the user is inactive in most other games the world does not move on.

 

44 minutes ago, Number seven said:

Anyway as with all suggestions some will like them others will dislike them, that is not wrong at all, but dismissng something without evaluating what will be good or bad with a new feature is wrong.

Just like the always rejected idea of managers spending money on cars, houses, wives or football clubs this is not an original idea so it has been evaluated a number of times & iwouldn't be dismissed without thought. I just posted why it's never been close to an approved FM feature

[CFuller]

41 minutes ago, Number seven said:

f.ex a player who retires an become ... a regen.

Firstly, that doesn't happen in FM anymore. Generated players are now called 'newgens', in that they are completely new generations, with no obvious links to previous players. 'Regens' - players that are effectively reincarnations of retired players - have not existed in FM for the best part of a decade, if not longer. When Messi retires in a newer FM, that's it - there is no Messi 'regen'.

Secondly, I don't think you should have the ability to play as a real-life manager in FM. If I was to, say, replace Josep Guardiola at Manchester City, I wouldn't be playing as Guardiola - I would be playing as myself with Guardiola's name and reputation. In that case, even if I tried to think almost exactly like Guardiola would (with regards to tactics, signings, and man management), any final decisions I make at City would be pretty much entirely my own.

The game itself is not advanced enough to encourage/instruct you to manage like Guardiola if you took over his profile. I could just as easily call myself Pep Guardiola, insert myself at City, sign Andy Carroll, and then tell my other players to pump long balls into the box at the earliest opportunity... and the game wouldn't even bat an eyelid over that lack of realism.

Anyway, Football Manager is all about you making your way in the big old virtual world of football management, not you trying to be Pep or José.

[HUNT3R]

Just now, Barside said:

 

Actually it's that the game is about the world of football & everyone in it with you being no more important than any of the NPC's in that world, when compared to other games FM is much less reliant on the user & other than creating the world & pressing continue or going on holiday the FM world can exist without a human manager being part of it whereas if the user is inactive in most other games the world does not move on.

Yeah, I agree with that. I definitely remember a comment like that. Think my comment came out a little wrong in that it's supposed to be about YOU in a fully functional world that doesn't really need you, but nonetheless about you.

[Number seven]

52 minutes ago, CFuller said:

Firstly, that doesn't happen in FM anymore. Generated players are now called 'newgens', in that they are completely new generations, with no obvious links to previous players. 'Regens' - players that are effectively reincarnations of retired players - have not existed in FM for the best part of a decade, if not longer. When Messi retires in a newer FM, that's it - there is no Messi 'regen'.

52 minutes ago, CFuller said:

Firstly, that doesn't happen in FM anymore. Generated players are now called 'newgens', in that they are completely new generations, with no obvious links to previous players. 'Regens' - players that are effectively reincarnations of retired players - have not existed in FM for the best part of a decade, if not longer. '.

 

If you read the full sentence you will se that I meant taking over a profile of a regen, wich quite obviously should have been written as newgen. My bad, but you made a lot out of it.... It was quite clear that I meant taking over the profile.

[Number seven]

ANd Fuller of course you could call yoursefl Pep, Jose or whoever, but you won't get their history, their personality, their achievements, their disliked or people or clubs... Wich would add a nice dynamism to playing. That is way I opened this discussion, If you add your self as Pep now you will be a totally different Pep.

[Guest]

4 minutes ago, Number seven said:

ANd Fuller of course you could call yoursefl Pep, Jose or whoever, but you won't get their history, their personality, their achievements, their disliked or people or clubs... Wich would add a nice dynamism to playing. That is way I opened this discussion, If you add your self as Pep now you will be a totally different Pep.

But you wouldn't be Pep either, you'd be you trying to role-play as Pep based on your perception of his personality & what extra do you gain from having his history? What are the pluses of this extra dynamic you mention? 

As another example if you chose to be Wenger would you sit there idly & not spend your massive transfer budget or improve the clear weakness in your squad or would you just play oin a manner that you normally do?  This does assume that you have no issues spending money & showing ambition to win title. (yep, that's a cheap shot at Wenger & the Arsenal board)

Personally if I was to spend time working on a feature that only a minority have ever asked for & that tends against the normal way of thinking then I'd want to be convinced that it's worth spending my time & money doing the coding work over another feature that more people would enjoy & it will be the same at SI Towers,  providing a detailed explanation why taking over the profile of a 60-70 year old manager would be a worthwhile feature & you might convince the right people that it's worth their time & money.

[Number seven]

Barside: You're to hung up in the manager aspect, as I suggest that you could take over a coach, a player even a physio not Only a manager. Also there are younger managers around than the age group you suggest would be possible to play as.  Also all I say is that this would bve an interesting way of playing. SO far anything you has commented hasn't changed my mind at all. I still think this would be interesting. It's clear that this is a suggestion you don't like. But is it so that if Barside don't like something it shouldn't be in the game? I don't like the In-game editor, but if others like it well good for them. There are still a lot of players that don't like the 3D engine, well they don't use it. It would be the same with this. If you don't like it well don't use it.

Also the argument that FM should be about YOU making your way in management, well there are a lot of players that have a profile in the game, as player and coaches. For High profile examples Ole Gunnar Solskjær have often admitted he plays. I've friends that are in the DB, would the game be less about them if they could start the game with their own profile??

 

Also I'm pretty sure there are lot of features that many more would like, but this is a suggestion board, can't se why I'm wrong suggesting something I would love to see in the game. A feature that I  know other people would like too. And again if you don't like the suggestion well don't but that doesn't mean that the suggestion is wrong, or that no-one else would like it, or that it can't be a part of the evolution of the FM game series.

[Guest]

I used those examples as they are the bigger names, physio, scout, U19 assistant manager it's all the same to me.

You like the idea, I don't & historically neither have SI, more importantly we've now had some discussion & others can add their thoughts on the idea which is the reason this new section was created to replace the wishlist thread.

[russianorphan7]

On 8/20/2016 at 13:24, Barside said:

 

Actually it's that the game is about the world of football & everyone in it with you being no more important than any of the NPC's in that world, when compared to other games FM is much less reliant on the user & other than creating the world & pressing continue or going on holiday the FM world can exist without a human manager being part of it whereas if the user is inactive in most other games the world does not move on.

 

Just like the always rejected idea of managers spending money on cars, houses, wives or football clubs this is not an original idea so it has been evaluated a number of times & iwouldn't be dismissed without thought. I just posted why it's never been close to an approved FM feature

But controlling a pre-existing manager from real-life is totally different than adding all the extraneous aspects that come with being an adult in real-life (house, wife, cars, etc.). In Fifa, you "play" the soccer game with "real players", why wouldn't a manager sim allow you to "manage" a soccer game with "real managers"? How is that not intuitive?

Also, what's the harm in giving the option for players? It only seems to be an addition to the game. If you'd still prefer to create your own manager and it "be about you", then great. You do that. I know I will create myself as a manager in the game. But if you're like me and many others and you'd like to ALSO try playing with Arsene Wenger (insert coach of your favorite team) or whatever other manager, then that would be a very enriching experience that would only add more diverse experiences for players. It seems to be the highest form of arrogance from the game producers to decide that our desire to do a very intuitively desirable thing with a manager sim is a wrong application for their game. The fact that this has been a reoccurring suggestion from the community should hint to SI that they should get that feature high on the list of to-do's. It seems like a poor business attitude to ignore the consumers who pay for your product in the name of mantaining your "vision" for the game. 

Also, based on how the game currently seems to be set up, it doesn't seem to be a stretch to just allow you to take the stats, relationships, and history of an existing manager with an existing team. You literally already create the whole profile for a person. Now, it would just provide you the details already. It's that simple.

[Guest]

First of all I'm not an SI employee so I do not speak for the game producers, however I am a former employee & a long term FM'er so I can draw on that knowledge to explain why the option does not currently exists.

The FIFA comparison is an understandable one but is not like for like as although it is representing the same sport it is doing so in a very different way, it'd be like comparing Mario Kart to Project Cars.

One option I could see working are using challenges with a points based leaderboard, to score high as Wenger you need to sign a few players as possible for as little as possible & stick to the same tactic regardless of what's happening on the pitch or if it's Pep only score highly if you have high possession & pass completion stats & 100+ goals for to fewer that 20 against a in a single season or only play long ball percentage football if you assume the profile of Phil Parkinson.

Essentially create rigid scenarios that encourage people to actually role-play as the existing manger rather than simple co-op their profile with no real intent to play like they would.

[russianorphan7]

On 8/20/2016 at 15:26, Barside said:

First of all I'm not an SI employee so I do not speak for the game producers, however I am a former employee & a long term FM'er so I can draw on that knowledge to explain why the option does not currently exists.

The FIFA comparison is an understandable one but is not like for like as although it is representing the same sport it is doing so in a very different way, it'd be like comparing Mario Kart to Project Cars.

One option I could see working are using challenges with a points based leaderboard, to score high as Wenger you need to sign a few players as possible for as little as possible & stick to the same tactic regardless of what's happening on the pitch or if it's Pep only score highly if you have high possession & pass completion stats & 100+ goals for to fewer that 20 against a in a single season or only play long ball percentage football if you assume the profile of Phil Parkinson.

Essentially create rigid scenarios that encourage people to actually role-play as the existing manger rather than simple co-op their profile with no real intent to play like they would.

My comparison still seems pretty spot on and your counter example is pretty tenuous (and that's me being nice). FIFA is not a cartoon representation at all and from what I have read just now about Project CARS, it's career mode was pretty weak and probably a fairly unprioritized feature for the developers. It's hardly the comprehensive management sim that FM champions itself as.

Your option would be a nice addition but it still doesn't address the pretty simple feature request that I (and others) have. In fact, that sounds like more work than just allowing players to assume another manager's character.

Dude, the fact is that Mile's Jacobson and/or whoever else makes decisions is probably just being stubborn (and stupid IMO) about this. I'm sorry, but I just don't buy the flimsy explanation that it's all about you and you not being bigger than any other actor in the game. I mean, that rhetoric is all fine and dandy if you play as a created character, but it does nothing to address why this pretty natural extension to the game doesn't exist. Some people just want the choice to play as existing people. It's a totally reasonable desire given what the game is at it's core (a way to manage a football team, without actually managing a football team...), and having it as a feature would do nothing to detract from the other, more personal way to play the game. 

Also, the fact is SI implements tons of small features each year that have a pretty miniscule effect on the overall game experience. For those who want it, this feature would have a fairly significant effect on our experience. I think it would be a great bang for their buck in terms of value added to the gamer's experience and overall development time required.

--- 

In summary, the argument is:

(A) some probably non-trivial fraction of players want it and/or would use it (whether they know it or not) 

(B) it's (probably) simple to implement

(C) would have a significant effect on the affected player's experience (i.e. those who choose to use it)

(D) doesn't detract from the game in any way

Then why not have it as an option for those who want it? 

[russianorphan7]

On 8/20/2016 at 11:39, Barside said:

But you wouldn't be Pep either, you'd be you trying to role-play as Pep based on your perception of his personality & what extra do you gain from having his history? What are the pluses of this extra dynamic you mention? 

As another example if you chose to be Wenger would you sit there idly & not spend your massive transfer budget or improve the clear weakness in your squad or would you just play oin a manner that you normally do?  This does assume that you have no issues spending money & showing ambition to win title. (yep, that's a cheap shot at Wenger & the Arsenal board)

Personally if I was to spend time working on a feature that only a minority have ever asked for & that tends against the normal way of thinking then I'd want to be convinced that it's worth spending my time & money doing the coding work over another feature that more people would enjoy & it will be the same at SI Towers,  providing a detailed explanation why taking over the profile of a 60-70 year old manager would be a worthwhile feature & you might convince the right people that it's worth their time & money.

That's exactly what we want to do! We want to role-play (role-play in an RPG, go figure!) as major figures in the sport and act out how they would do it. That sounds like great fun to me, Number Seven and I'm sure many others. You make that sound like a crazy thing to do. Fine, you have no desire to play the game that way. Don't do it. As Number Seven said, there are a number of ways people can play a single game, that doesn't make any of them wrong. Having options in an RPG is a strength, not a weakness. Stop trying to pidgeon-hole the game when, in fact, it naturally lends itself to our idea. Also, don't act like this idea is some major redevelopment of the game's inner workings. As I said in the other answer, it seems as simple as you taking over the existing manager's looks, attributes, history, relationships, etc. and their team. In a game that relies heavily on a large database of soccer facts, that's not hard to imagine at all. 

[russianorphan7]

On 8/20/2016 at 10:26, CFuller said:

Firstly, that doesn't happen in FM anymore. Generated players are now called 'newgens', in that they are completely new generations, with no obvious links to previous players. 'Regens' - players that are effectively reincarnations of retired players - have not existed in FM for the best part of a decade, if not longer. When Messi retires in a newer FM, that's it - there is no Messi 'regen'.

Secondly, I don't think you should have the ability to play as a real-life manager in FM. If I was to, say, replace Josep Guardiola at Manchester City, I wouldn't be playing as Guardiola - I would be playing as myself with Guardiola's name and reputation. In that case, even if I tried to think almost exactly like Guardiola would (with regards to tactics, signings, and man management), any final decisions I make at City would be pretty much entirely my own.

The game itself is not advanced enough to encourage/instruct you to manage like Guardiola if you took over his profile. I could just as easily call myself Pep Guardiola, insert myself at City, sign Andy Carroll, and then tell my other players to pump long balls into the box at the earliest opportunity... and the game wouldn't even bat an eyelid over that lack of realism.

Anyway, Football Manager is all about you making your way in the big old virtual world of football management, not you trying to be Pep or José.

I think you're overthinking it. It's simply just a way to role-play as that person. You obviously could totally change that coach's approach to the game. I agree that your examples are silly, but who cares. I personally wouldn't use the feature that way (and I don't think the people arguing for it have that in mind), but it doesn't hurt anything. People have probably done more ridiculous things in the game already.

The game wouldn't have to instruct you in anyway. You would still have free will, same as if you were a created manager. The most advanced accommodation I could imagine is that the media (and perhaps players, though not as necessary) comments on your sudden change in tactics. If Pep were to suddenly play long ball soccer, it would seem very strange and people would notice it. Or, say Wenger became head coach of Manchester United or Pep hired at Real Madrid. There would be major backlash by fans at those clubs, or maybe the board just wouldn't hire you (assuming you don't just take over the club) due this possible backlash by fans. That's all the realism that would be needed. 

I just don't agree about the imposed restriction about FM being about me. It can be about me, too. I like putting myself (or some other created person) in the game, but I would ALSO love to play as existing coaches. Again, when the game's structure naturally lends itself to the feature (all you're doing is taking that NPC's stats, history, relationships, etc.), why not add it as an option for players? Adding this (IMO small) feature isn't exactly re-inventing the game.

[forameuss]

I got a mention in the  OP, so guess I better opine on this.

Although I did something very similar in my career, I'm probably more on the side of this not being included.  I can completely see why it goes against the ethos of the game as SI see it, and if I want to do it I'll just use the editor, or just my imagination in the case of an already running save.  It isn't the cleanest, but it works, and you can still tell a story based on you being someone else.

The big point against this for me is "what does it really achieve?".  The parts you're adding is the chosen NPCs history and achievements.  In the current game, that would lead to possibly some different media articles.  You're no longer being asked about this being your first game, because you've been here years.  You're no longer being asked how it feels to lift your first trophy, because you've done that loads.  But essentially that's just superficial window-dressing for me.  Again, it comes back to imagination.  

In my career the most glaring occurrence of this was when I moved "home" to Juventus.  I was playing as a retired Scottish legend who spent the last few years of his playing career in Turin.  I should have been welcomed as a returning hero, but I wasn't.  Still, I was writing a career thread on it, so the story doesn't need to go just by the media items, so that's no issue.  However, at the end the player was in the legends list, and the manager was just favoured personnel, despite being the same person.  Bit annoying, but still, it's just superficial stuff again.

[russianorphan7]

Number seven, you should change this topic to [Suggestion] instead of [Discussion]. This feature is pretty simple and well-formulated. We're just discussing whether it's a good idea, not how it would be implemented. 

[huglife]

I would love this to be a feature in football manager and basically suggested the same thing not to long ago as well. I role play as past players and current managers all the time in football manager and would just make me feel more immersed in the game if I could add that persons history more. I've played the games for ages to and I don't see how this feature could "damage" the realism of the game as if u don't like the feature u simply don't use it and that has no effect on ur game. whilst for those of us who do like it to role play it makes a difference been able to do so. I think there would be a decent amount of people who would go for playing as there favorite manager. As for the person earlier who talked about realism in the game if u play as a current manager but a different style of play to them normally, yes I get the game has focus on reality but at least in my experience playing the game it already some times has a sense of losing reality when teams that should be struggling may end up randomly in the top section of the table and do really well and teams that shouldn't end up fighting for relegation are right down there. Also if u want to be a completely new manager yet you want to manage ur favorite club is it so realistic that ur first ever club is say manchester city yet u have no history of management and ur only seeming link u can put to a club is ur favoritism. In the latest version of fm I've seen newcastle win the premiership and chelsea relegated without doing anything to the game to make it so myself so how is that for realism? and again if u don't like it don't use it. . This is the one feature I'd love to see in the game more than anything and really hope it will happen. Like that other person said earlier adding features to give more options as to how u play should be seen as a good thing rather than thinking it would hurt a game and therefore instantly rejecting the idea. 

[stevomcdevo]

I'm not sure whether I would play this 'mode' but I can certainly see how it could shape your decisions as a manager and be an interesting addition.

I feel it would work better if you were to take over ex players or players coming to the end of their career, rather than managers.  For example, you could take 'control' of Steven Gerrard for when he retires from playing at LA Galaxy.  Your game would start with all his history, stats, achievements, and reputation.  Potentially you would need to attain coaching badges for realism, similar to starting a game as a Sunday League manager for example.  He would start as unemployed, but with his reputation, a lower league club in England is surely likely to want to take a punt on giving him a job.  It is from there that you can choose which team to manage, and manage it in your own way.  Obviously the goal (although you can decide) would be to work your way up to managing a successful Liverpool side.  It would shape your decisions as a manager and go on to complete a story that irl, would be a great one.

Edited: Or you could go the complete opposite way and go on the win the Champions League managing Man Utd, bringing the certain reactions that would come with it.  It's your story you can create.

[russianorphan7]

On 10/4/2016 at 04:01, stevomcdevo said:

I'm not sure whether I would play this 'mode' but I can certainly see how it could shape your decisions as a manager and be an interesting addition.

I feel it would work better if you were to take over ex players or players coming to the end of their career, rather than managers.  For example, you could take 'control' of Steven Gerrard for when he retires from playing at LA Galaxy.  Your game would start with all his history, stats, achievements, and reputation.  Potentially you would need to attain coaching badges for realism, similar to starting a game as a Sunday League manager for example.  He would start as unemployed, but with his reputation, a lower league club in England is surely likely to want to take a punt on giving him a job.  It is from there that you can choose which team to manage, and manage it in your own way.  Obviously the goal (although you can decide) would be to work your way up to managing a successful Liverpool side.  It would shape your decisions as a manager and go on to complete a story that irl, would be a great one.

Edited: Or you could go the complete opposite way and go on the win the Champions League managing Man Utd, bringing the certain reactions that would come with it.  It's your story you can create.

Why one or the other? Both make sense for the players who want them, and in terms of development, there would be little difference in implementing two. That's my point. Why not have it as an option? The more options, the better, as long as everything is still easy to navigate. This feature doesn't add any real complexity, just another way to role-play the game.

[Number seven]

On 29.9.2016 at 21:24, russianorphan7 said:

Number seven, you should change this topic to [Suggestion] instead of [Discussion]. This feature is pretty simple and well-formulated. We're just discussing whether it's a good idea, not how it would be implemented. 

Done!

[ChristmasTree83]

On 8/20/2016 at 07:06, russianorphan7 said:

Definitely, I want to play as Guardiola at City or Mourinho at United or Wenger at Arsenal. It honestly blows my mind that they haven't implemented this yet. I've heard players talk about wanting this on the forums for years. Get it done SI!

Have to agree with this. This should have been implemented a long time ago.

[Joethe147]

I can't see anything good about this. It would make absolutely no difference to me. And what improvement would it bring? You could just set your reputation to International and already have a reputation.

[stevomcdevo]

On 10/9/2016 at 22:32, russianorphan7 said:

Why one or the other? 

It doesn't have to be one or the other, you can manage it anyway you like.  But if you are managing in a way that wouldn't follow a story you believe would happen irl, then whats the point in managing someone else.  May aswell be yourself then.

[russianorphan7]

On 10/19/2016 at 12:21, Joethe147 said:

I can't see anything good about this. It would make absolutely no difference to me. And what improvement would it bring? You could just set your reputation to International and already have a reputation.

Okay, so you would choose not to use it. That's how YOU will play the game, and that's totally justified. But, you are just one user among many. Say, even a quarter of the users (I'd bet more would try it, if given the option) would play around with the feature, and some fraction of them would love it and play with it frequently for the added role-play and immersion. Is that not worth it, then? Given how simple it likely would be to implement, the answer is yes. Compared to all the minor little features SI adds every year that negligibly contribute to the overall experience, this is an easy feature with a fairly significant impact on the user's enjoyment of the game. 

Also, the point isn't just having good stats, it's about role-playing and embodying the existing manager of a team you follow (or at least watch) in real life. The best managers are major actors in the wonderful theater that is soccer: Mourinho, Pep, Wenger, Simeone, Klopp, Ancelotti, etc., and they often represent the brand and identity of a football club for the tenure that they coach (and sometimes long after). To just switch your reputation to international does nothing for that role-playing aspect that some of us would really enjoy. To finish out Wenger's career in style, lead Pep's new tiki-taka re-styling of City, return Man. United to glory under Mourinho (or even someone like Giggs later on), or whatever other adventure of your imagining, all of these would be great scenarios for most users, I think. If not, then you can go on playing with your own created character. No  harm, no foul.

[henri.melo00]

For players that like creating or sharing a history online, this would be a great feature in the game.  It fills the emptiness that exists between creating a real persona using the add profile option. because it would add a whole dimension to the story that the writer wants to tell inside the game. And it would add a whole new options in media options, player interaction. Imagine if you want to use Ryan Giggs in this option, and let's say you received a offer to manage Liverpool/Manchester City and decided to accept to see the reaction and how the things would develop for you. If this happens in real  life, sports media would go nuts,  not to mention the supporters. I could list a full list of examples that  why this makes senses and it would not change the essence of the game, and it would be a great addition for many story-tellers and FM fans. Maybe the greatest since 3D.

And I could enter in the realm of possibilities to YouTube channels experiment too, but I think what is above is satisfactory to state my opinion

[russianorphan7]

On 10/20/2016 at 11:46, stevomcdevo said:

It doesn't have to be one or the other, you can manage it anyway you like.  But if you are managing in a way that wouldn't follow a story you believe would happen irl, then whats the point in managing someone else.  May aswell be yourself then.

Beating a dead horse here, but nonetheless, I will re-iterate -- allowing for users to take over as existing characters would allow an almost limitless supply of new story lines for you to pursue (or not, if you don't care for it). Whether it is grounded in reality or completely far-fetched (Guardiola taking over Madrid and playing hero ball, or Wenger taking over Manchester United and playing exclusively counter-attack) is totally irrelevant. Giving user's this new option is just that, an option. It's just another way for people to immerse themselves in the game and role-play, just as you might do with your created characters. You are free to control those characters however you like. It does nothing to detract from those created character scenarios, it only adds depth and variety to the game, with relatively little effort on the part of the developers.

[russianorphan7]

19 minutes ago, henri.melo00 said:

For players that like creating or sharing a history online, this would be a great feature in the game.  It fills the emptiness that exists between creating a real persona using the add profile option. because it would add a whole dimension to the story that the writer wants to tell inside the game. And it would add a whole new options in media options, player interaction. Imagine if you want to use Ryan Giggs in this option, and let's say you received a offer to manage Liverpool/Manchester City and decided to accept to see the reaction and how the things would develop for you. If this happens in real  life, sports media would go nuts,  not to mention the supporters. I could list a full list of examples that  why this makes senses and it would not change the essence of the game, and it would be a great addition for many story-tellers and FM fans. Maybe the greatest since 3D.

And I could enter in the realm of possibilities to YouTube channels experiment too, but I think what is above is satisfactory to state my opinion

YES!!!!!!!! Thank you for getting it; it's not like this is some unrealistic idea out of left field (to use an american idiom). Also, I really like how you frame it. When you get down to it, it's all about story-telling, whether that story be unfolding in your head as you play or one being narrated in front of a Youtube audience.

At the end of the day, it only enables better immersion and story-telling, without detracting from the experience in any way for those who just want to play as a created character. Unfortunately, we are stuck with the management at SI who obstinately stick to this unnecessarily narrow-minded "vision" that FMers should only play as created characters, because it's about "us" and "our journey" through this simulated world. Why they are so stuck on this silly philosophy towards the game, I have no idea. I guess that is how Miles Jacobson prefers to play and he believes that we should all embrace his gaming perspective. 

[HUNT3R]

I'd urge you to stop having digs at SI. You made your request known. It's up to SI to decide if that 'fits' with their vision of what FM is or if it's even possible given that licencing restricts so much these days.

[russianorphan7]

On 9/29/2016 at 07:20, forameuss said:

I got a mention in the  OP, so guess I better opine on this.

Although I did something very similar in my career, I'm probably more on the side of this not being included.  I can completely see why it goes against the ethos of the game as SI see it, and if I want to do it I'll just use the editor, or just my imagination in the case of an already running save.  It isn't the cleanest, but it works, and you can still tell a story based on you being someone else.

The big point against this for me is "what does it really achieve?".  The parts you're adding is the chosen NPCs history and achievements.  In the current game, that would lead to possibly some different media articles.  You're no longer being asked about this being your first game, because you've been here years.  You're no longer being asked how it feels to lift your first trophy, because you've done that loads.  But essentially that's just superficial window-dressing for me.  Again, it comes back to imagination.  

In my career the most glaring occurrence of this was when I moved "home" to Juventus.  I was playing as a retired Scottish legend who spent the last few years of his playing career in Turin.  I should have been welcomed as a returning hero, but I wasn't.  Still, I was writing a career thread on it, so the story doesn't need to go just by the media items, so that's no issue.  However, at the end the player was in the legends list, and the manager was just favoured personnel, despite being the same person.  Bit annoying, but still, it's just superficial stuff again.

Yes, it is superficial and probably insignificant in terms of fundamental gameplay unless they completely overhaul the media and character interactions (which wouldn't be a bad idea, as that part of the game is quite stale IMO), but I don't think that's a huge hurdle to overcome.

The difference in actual gameplay isn't really the major point, at least not initially. The feature is more about story-telling and new options for role-play (that's what this game is, at the end of the day). SI could flesh this feature out to varying degrees. All they would need to do is change the interactions about being a new coach, winning new trophies, etc., and adapt it to the circumstances of the coach you are playing as. The more in-depth and unique they make those interactions the better, but the minimum threshold for getting this feature up in running is likely not that significant. Just some new text and scenarios to allow for, all of which are supported by the game's current infrastructure as far as I can tell.

[russianorphan7]

49 minutes ago, HUNT3R said:

I'd urge you to stop having digs at SI. You made your request known. It's up to SI to decide if that 'fits' with their vision of what FM is or if it's even possible given that licencing restricts so much these days.

In my defense, I think those digs do serve the purpose (besides the obvious venting) of pointing out what I perceive to be ideological flaws on SI's part which appear to be at the core of the issue as to why this feature isn't implemented, and the biting tone is there just to emphasize the point. Nonetheless, I'll heed the warning.

If it is possibly a licensing issue, I would love to have confirmation of that from someone in the know. That would obviously go along way towards relieving my frustration. I mean, I think they could still add support for users to do it more easily and comprehensively on their own, but I would at least be more empathetic towards the studio about neglecting such a feature.

[carlmiles1879]

I would like this just so I could play as Hodgson and use the line "I don't know why I am here" at the press conference welcoming him to his new club.

[Neil Brock]

Reviewed so locked.