Please fix set piece instructions being rewritten by an in-match formation change.

[VinceLombardi]

So after fixing my set pieces mid match for the millionth effing time, I just cant do it anymore. 

Please for the love of all things holy, stop the set pieces from rewriting themselves if you shift formations mid-match.

As is, every time you change formations in-match, the set pieces readjust the positions themselves without concern for tactical setup you designed. Instead, make it relate back to the positions as designated within the tactic itself. 

For example, I have a 3-4-3 (my main tactic) which I use as my main tactic, and I shift into a 4-4-2 (2nd and 3rd tactics) under certain circumstances. Under both tactics, I have taken the time to set up all my set piece situations. In the 3-4-3 I have my best aerial player set at DC, and in my set piece instructions, I have him set to attack near post on corners and mark the tallest threat on all the defensive setups. In the 4-4-2, its the DCR doing the same thing. Simple enough.

In match, I make a shift from the 3-4-3 to the 4-4-2. A couple players end up getting bounced around like the AMC goes to DL (instead of MC?) or the DC getting kicked out to DR. No problem, I can clean that up on the tactics screen with a couple clicks. No complaints. BUT, and this is a big BUT, it also makes all kinds of weird changes on the set pieces that aren't obvious. And cleaning it up on the main tactic doesn't resolve it. AND because of the sheer number of set piece tactics, it becomes insane to resolve it across each tactic individually -- which is what you need to do.

In my case, when I go from the 3-4-3 into the 4-4-2 suddenly my MCR is doing everything I had my DCR designated to do. Near post headers? Man marking the tall boys? Yeah. Definitely want my 3-4-3 AMC, moved to my 4-4-2 MC (after I moved him back from the DL position that the tactical switch did automatically) instead of the DCR that I had designated. My DCR? He is now lurking outside of the area. There are other weirdness and positional shifts too (like DM and DR switching), but we will just focus on this one for now as its clear how this creates a huge tactical disadvantage that needs to be addressed every time I make this switch. AMC/MC is a VERY different type of player than a DC.

Now, this wouldn't be an issue, if I could just jump over to the set piece tactical screen and make a quick adjustment. But I can't because there are 4 corner tactics, 8 free kick tactics, and 4 throws. And that's just with a single routine. Heaven forbid you have more than one. Instead you have to painstakingly go through every single one and make the adjustment. And its not just a quick click and drag, because when you swap a player back on set piece defense, they don't just swap. You have to designate whether to go back, man-mark, or mark tall each time. It doesn't just automatically take the instructions of the player you dragged over. 

In total, I have to make 6 clicks on each corner defense (x2 for each side), 4 on each corner attack (x2 for each side), 8 clicks on each freekick defense (x8 for all 4 types and 2 sides each), 6 clicks on each freekick attack (again, x8), 2 for each throw defense (x2), and 4 for each throw attack (x2). Then there are the 24 clicks just navigating between the various set piece tactics. That is 168(!) clicks to fix my set pieces EVERYTIME I make a formation change. And this with optimal clicking. For example, if I accidently click and drag the set piece taker, now I got to go back to the set piece taker page and clean that up since the new rando is now thrust to the top of the set piece taker depth chart. 

Easy solution: have the set piece tactics refer back to the main tactic and don't make it effected by formation changes. The set pieces are already specific to each tactical setup so most of the work is already done.

Please tell me that this is something that can be brought into FM. I have been fighting with this since FM16 (my first FM). I expect it has been a problem for the entire franchise and I really don't understand why this hasn't been addressed to date or why it was ever designed this way originally. 

I know there are tons of other bigger things that people want to be addressed. But this seems like a really easy fix which would make a huge quality of life improvement. Please, please, please take this under consideration. 

Edited October 2, 2021 by VinceLombardi

[Platinum]

A simple solution to this (imo) massive problem is to set pieces player based rather than position based. That way they will carry on working when you change tactics.

[Kyle Brown]

We've got something similar in our Features DB already, thank you for raising this and for your patience so far.