Difficulty Levels - A solution

[sutnop]

Tone What Down?

[GrantJ]

...... no ...

[Thierry Henrhys]

I personally don't think difficulty levels are possible on a game like this.

Perhaps a fantasy mode would be better for the casual players. When you start the game ou pick your team e.g Manchester United. You get unlimited finances and get to pick you own squad of 25 players or whatever from all the players in the world. Then you start the season with that team and play as normal except with toned down tactics menu etc to the most basic so all you'll be able to set are team mentality, passing, closing down, select playmaker/targetman and whether or not you are going to counter attack.

Also maybe an option to Simulate games would be handy although i'm aware that just going on holiday for one day is the equivalent.

[postal postie]

That IS a good idea.

sounds lke a training tutorial. in essence, like the FPS ones where they 'teach' you who to crouch by making you go under a fallen tree and then they 'teach' you how to jump by getting you to jump up a lift shaft or something like that.

could be good but then it would have to be so indepth for FM that it would possibly take along time to do. perhaps a video instruction where someone from SI records themselves playing the game and describing what everything does would be good.

[JJ 691990]

absolutely shocking idea..

[martinw]

There are a lot of good ideas in this thread and a lot of strong opinions, which is what I was hoping for.

I can't say I'm surprised at the overall direction of the poll, but I am mildly surprised at the number who, if not agreeing with my idea, agree with a 'levelling' of the game of some sort (option 4 - 12%).

Whilst nearly 75% of people do not want difficulty levels at all, 25%, to some degree or other, do. That means one in four of those who contribute to this forum think it's at the very least a half decent idea that could or should be investigated by SI. Far more than I expected, especially amongst of group of people who passionately like the game.

A couple of questions come to mind with those stats:

- What would the percentages be like like amongst other buyers of the game?

- Would the (perceived) difficulty of the game put those people off in future?

Admittedly, the answers to those questions also depend on how the overall market for PC games is going to move over the coming years.

Two further questions to consider:

- If you've voted for one of the first four options, would the lack of difficulty levels (or an equivalent) in a future edition of FM (FM10 or FM11 for example) cause you to refrain from buying it?

- If you've voted against the whole idea of difficulty levels, would their introduction cause you to refrain buying the game?

[martinw]

sounds lke a training tutorial. in essence, like the FPS ones where they 'teach' you who to crouch by making you go under a fallen tree and then they 'teach' you how to jump by getting you to jump up a lift shaft or something like that.

could be good but then it would have to be so indepth for FM that it would possibly take along time to do. perhaps a video instruction where someone from SI records themselves playing the game and describing what everything does would be good.

It doesn't even need to be as much as that. A 'god' mode, where you can see how the AI uses the sliders before and during a match would help. We already use the editor, Genie Scout and FMM, why not have the 'God mode' as an official tool as well?

[monkeezgob]

Sounds like its time you started playing Fifa manager, if that's the sort of game you're after.

[martinw]

I personally don't think difficulty levels are possible on a game like this.

Perhaps a fantasy mode would be better for the casual players. When you start the game you pick your team e.g Manchester United. You get unlimited finances and get to pick you own squad of 25 players or whatever from all the players in the world. Then you start the season with that team and play as normal except with toned down tactics menu etc to the most basic so all you'll be able to set are team mentality, passing, closing down, select playmaker/targetman and whether or not you are going to counter attack.

Also maybe an option to Simulate games would be handy although i'm aware that just going on holiday for one day is the equivalent.

Yet another good idea to consider, but would it make playing the game easier?

[JJ 691990]

i think putting difficulty levels in will just take away all realism from the game.. if you wanted to make the game slightly easier, add a comprehensive in game turtorial. I think difficulty levels will damage the fun of the game.

[martinw]

There are ways to alter the difficulty of the game already though of course a good percentage of people are still finding the game very difficult. To counter that a solution needs to be found but it's not difficulty levels, they'd be too hard to code and wouldn't work for a football manager simulation like they would a FPS.

Difficulty levels and in particular the measures you've outlined aren't the answer but something does need to be done.

Personally my comfort zone is with the bigger and more powerful clubs but it's not the walk over that some suggest it to be. I understand where some people are coming from in regard to difficulty because Football Manager 2009 is such a far cry from the Championship Manager days of old where fantastic players could be bought on the cheap and tactics were relatively simple.

For me the real problem is not with training, buying players etc (not had many problems there), its with the matches. That, in my opinion, is where the difficulty levels are needed, though I also accept your point that putting them into this game may be difficult if not impossible.

[martinw]

I think putting difficulty levels in will just take away all realism from the game.. if you wanted to make the game slightly easier, add a comprehensive in game tutorial. I think difficulty levels will damage the fun of the game.

Fair point, well made.

[martinw]

Sounds like its time you started playing Fifa manager, if that's the sort of game you're after.

Tried it, hated it. The match engine, to be polite, leaves a lot to be desired. It's also not as easy as some people think. For a start, the match engine if different depending on whether you play in text or 3d mode. You have to set up different tactical instructions depending on which match style you want to play. In that regard, Football Manager is easier.

As for all the 'personal touches', they require more micromanagement than they're worth.

Fifa Manager is, to my mind, like a tropical skin disease: extremely irritating.

Football Manager is the best available. If I can't play FM, I won't play the others instead.

[postal postie]

i think putting difficulty levels in will just take away all realism from the game.. if you wanted to make the game slightly easier, add a comprehensive in game turtorial. I think difficulty levels will damage the fun of the game.

i think a really comprehensive hands on game tutorial would be great. with someone talking us through all the sliders as they play through. showing us the tactical side of things etc. i wouldn't personally view it because i know quite abit but for new players struggling,to have a video tutorial alongside the instruction booklet would be a reasonable addition