This game is fantastic!

[Dicko99]

Eh? Forget tactics for a second:

Bojan bug

3D glitches

Centre Midfielders unable to get decent average ratings

Spanish leagues completely ruined by B teams.

Young unattached players retiring en masse every season despite heavy interest from other teams

Clubs unable to improve sponsorship

No season ticket holders in Brazil

players consistently getting pulled hamstrings/thigh strains as a result of contact unjuries.

Virtually all injuries being of the '3 weeks - a month' variety

All of these are issues that SI has acknowledged.

TBF, i could live with some of these (Maybe not the wages in spain and the young player thing) but the match engine is an absolute disaster, thankfully PaulC has said it needs sorting.

[Argel]

Of course, and I can too to a certain extent, I mean I don't expect anyone to care about Brazil, but it's affected my game, because frankly the entire league is in a right state. No teams have the money to even sign free transfers.

[Some Guy!]

match engine ruins it completely

Eh? Forget tactics for a second:

Bojan bug - This is an issue, and I've never denied that it's an issue. It's not that major though.

3D glitches - Poor graphics don't ruin the game.

Centre Midfielders unable to get decent average ratings - Purely cosmetic in truth. My midfields still play well even if they don't get amazing average ratings and in the next patch I'm sure they'll fix it right up. Not a major issue at all.

Spanish leagues completely ruined by B teams. - Never played in spain, can you explain this one to me.

Young unattached players retiring en masse every season despite heavy interest from other teams - Yes, this is quite annoying, it's an issue with the reputation system and I'm sure they'll fix it soon enough. Not a real game breaker though.

Clubs unable to improve sponsorship - Really? I've yet to see that.

No season ticket holders in Brazil - Never managed in Brazil.

players consistently getting pulled hamstrings/thigh strains as a result of contact unjuries. - True, but there only needs to be a slight tweak here. Though there are a lot of these in real life.

Virtually all injuries being of the '3 weeks - a month' variety - I think this is just because there are still too many in this variety. An illusion because of it.

All of these are issues that SI has acknowledged.

I also acknowledge them!

Not to forget:

-Players playing until their 40s

-Players refusing to retire

-Almost every regen having only one foot

-The one on one ratio, and the scoring to one on one ratio

There are issue with the game, nobody is arguing that, and I think you're just not reading what's been written here. What I'm saying is that the game is still fantastic despite annoying, but not game breaking bugs. Well, maybe the B teams bug might be game breaking, I don't know.

[Mike7077]

My opinion of the game seems to fluctuate depending on how well I'm doing, which isn't really the right way to judge it. When I was managing Inverness Caledonian Thistle and losing every game, I hated it. When I was managing Roma and doing far better than I ever expected, including playing a tactical style I just loved, I loved the game. Now I'm managing Kidderminster Harriers and have might a lightning start to the season, and I like FM09 even more. I'm not a gamer. FM is the only game, on the PC or anything else, that I ever play. Because of this, my opinion usually just comes down to how much enjoyment I get from the game. Thus far, overall, I'm getting about an equal amount of enjoyment from it that I got from FM08 after patch 8.0.2. So for me, there isn't a great deal to choose between them.

However, I still believe FM09 has a small number of issues that can be really irritating. With Kidderminster, I've been lucky to benefit from a number of hideous things in the match engine. I'm talking about things we're all aware of - own goals scored by players who've had the ball belted into their arse by their teammate, goalkeepers who stand around with the ball just waiting for a striker to come and take it off them and score, players singularly failing to control the ball whenever it comes near then. It's been easier to take in my current game because it keeps being the opposition who do these things. But my luck will run out eventually and one of those quite awful things is going to go against me. In fact, my players are always hoofing the ball into on another! Fortunately, it hasn't yet happened in a dangerous place.

I also agree that tactics are shot this year. It's a great big guessing game, more so than ever before. In the past, I've compared it to stumbling around a dark room, fumbling with your hands, hoping to come come across what you're looking for. Assistant advice doesn't help, in my opinion. He talks crap and there's no indication as to how you should implement his advice. It often feels like he's trying to mock or insult you! But the basic problem for me is that it is simply too difficult to know where to begin getting your team to play the way you want them to. And if you do, they're still going to be letting the ball bounce off them, kicking it firmly into each other's rear ends, and your still going to have a goalkeeper who occasionally stands there until someone takes the ball off him and deposits it into your unguarded net.

FM09? I've had enough fun with it to be able to choose the "great" option in the poll. But it has problems.

[Some Guy!]

Of course, and I can too to a certain extent, I mean I don't expect anyone to care about Brazil, but it's affected my game, because frankly the entire league is in a right state. No teams have the money to even sign free transfers.

That one sounds a game breaker!

[Rupal]

Someguy

You said that the presence of negative threads doesn't mean that the tactical system is clumsy but that it is being used by people. How else is one to interpret that other than that it is the people at fault not the tactical system? If you meant something else then you should have said it!

Learn to read your own posts and to express yourself clearly!

[Some Guy!]

Someguy

You said that the presence of negative threads doesn't mean that the tactical system is clumsy but that it is being used by people. How else is one to interpret that other than that it is the people at fault not the tactical system? If you meant something else then you should have said it!

Learn to read your own posts and to express yourself clearly!

The tactical system is not all that it could be, but it's not clumbsy, just hard to understand and I think without some of the glaringly obvious bugs of previous versions this issue where the slider system is too confusing for many people is coming right into the limelight. It's not a matter of being clumbsy, it's a matter of not being easy to understand and use. If you've played with it for years and understand it well enough, there's nothing wrong with it, but when you are new to the game or are for the first time playing with it, it's like learning that the stove is hot.

[Argel]

Yeah, it is. For example, the big teams (Internacional, Santos, Palmeiras, Corinthians et al) have assets that they can sell to make money, and I mean a LOT of money. Unfortunately, if you start small, the club will effectively never grow as a business, certainly not like in real life.

I too enjoy the game in the same way that I've enjoyed almost every FM/CM game that's been out. Unfortunately, I've never felt the need to post in GQ until FM2009, which says a great deal. I continue to play my Palmas save mainly in hope that February will bring good news on a few fronts, but I also know that some things are not going to be addressed in the patch.

[mrsl]

Overall it's great, but not fantastic yet. Better than previous versions, so it's reasonable to expect possible FM2010 to be a lot better

[Rupal]

The tactical system is not all that it could be, but it's not clumbsy, just hard to understand and I think without some of the glaringly obvious bugs of previous versions this issue where the slider system is too confusing for many people is coming right into the limelight. It's not a matter of being clumbsy, it's a matter of not being easy to understand and use. If you've played with it for years and understand it well enough, there's nothing wrong with it, but when you are new to the game or are for the first time playing with it, it's like learning that the stove is hot.

'Not easy to use' and 'clumsy' - 2 ways of saying the same thing.

How is the tactical system 'not all that it could be' while still having 'nothing wrong with it' ?? :confused:

[Barry-AVFC]

Yes i agree with EVERYONE that FM09 is Fantastic!

[thebigman1985]

its ok, dont knbow how people could call it terrible or fantastic for all the good/awful things in the game

[SCIAG]

'Not easy to use' and 'clumsy' - 2 ways of saying the same thing.

How is the tactical system 'not all that it could be' while still having 'nothing wrong with it' ?? :confused:

There's nothing wrong with Darren Fletcher, but he's not as good as Paul Scholes.

[Nomis07]

How is the tactical system 'not all that it could be' while still having 'nothing wrong with it' ?? :confused:

Just because something works doesn't mean that we should ignore possible improvments.

[Rupal]

If it could work better that suggests to me that there is something wrong with it.

However, we are getting into semantics here and away from the real issue.

[ChipK]

I voted "Okay". I think it was easier to get my team to play the way I wanted in FM 07 and 08. The match engine seems to respond differently this year around. I managed to win Serie A with Fiorentina, but my team don't play very "Italian", ie slow and defensive with short passing. Playing that way doesn't seem to work very well on this ME. At least not how I tried to to it (although it worked on previous versions).

And I was disappointed with the new features so I don't use them.

But the game is still fun. I just expected better.

[masteratt]

Definitely "Fantastic".

Has me hooked like the 07 version had!! (08 felt too samey)

And a great positive first post mate!

[pires29]

So here I am, in the 2016-17 season, managing my favorite club and in truth; I couldn't be enjoying my self any more!

This game despite a few bugs here and there is just great! The transfer system is well worked and you get teams from every end of the spectrum of transfer policy, from an AC Milan, if they weren't a star in 1871 they're not good enough, to Arsene Wenger's youth developement. Sure some people get disillusioned at the fact that some big clubs drop off and some surprising teams replace them, but this happens in real life. Who the **** were Chelsea a decade ago, where the **** did Leeds go? It really does offer some interesting dynamics.

Then there's the tactical system. I'm enjoying how much it rewards consistancy this time around. As Derby demonstrated sudden changes in playing staff and tactics can result immediate death and in this game much the same can happen. It's no longer a case of getting a super tactic and watching your u-18s destroy champions league winning sides. Sure, the sliders and that can seem daunting to a new comer, but they truly aren't that difficult to understand and in truth they aren't the be all and end all of the game.

The media is better now, though repetative as always, I've enjoyed some of the questions that they've asked and how much of an effect a bit of confidence can have... Then how much of an effect that overconfidence can have! All good fun though, especially when that Journo asked me the same question 3 times as I wasn't answering: So I stormed out calling him a [removed]...

The regens are also a lot better. Though there could be some improvements... Like saying one not having a **** poor other foot! But this can be over looked... For now! It's enjoyable to see a player reaching his potential as early as 19 sometimes, or a 15 year old banging in a goal, but on the other side of the coin it's good to see some players not reach their potential until their mid twenties. All around a better system than last year.

Whilst I doubt Frank Lampard and Gerrard are going to be playing for Chelsea and Liverpool until the age of 38, it's better than them becoming completely useless at the age of 32. Probably need a tad bit of improvement here.

Then there's physically making transfers. It seems bang on... As long as you're not Man City. Players who still have a lot to offer can also be sold at good prices. I recently sold my backup right winger for £19.25 mil. Not too shabby.

Then there's that best part of the game: [removed] happens! It happens to all of us, it happens to the computers and it is just the icing on the cake of the realism. Though a lot of people come here and have a cry about it every 5 seconds: "WAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!!!!! WHY DID I LOSE! I HAD A WHOLE 2 SHOTS MORE THAN THEM YET I LOST ONE NIL! WHAT DID I DO WRONG!!! WAAAAAAAHHHH!!!"

Almost forgot the 3d view this time... It's fantastic! Sure, it looks like it was made in 1999, but hey at least it now looks like a football match. I've even seen a bicycle kick or two!

I agree with most of what you said but i disagree on your regen comment. Even thought i agree that they better i think it's still slightly unrealistic the amount of players on my game that at 18,19,20 are top players when this doesn't happen that often IRL, most talented players tend to hit the top of their game slightly later than that.

I'd also like to point out how unrealistic it is to be able to sell your backup winger for nearly £20m, not even the best clubs in the world could be expected to get that much for a bit-part player.

[Some Guy!]

I agree with most of what you said but i disagree on your regen comment. Even thought i agree that they better i think it's still slightly unrealistic the amount of players on my game that at 18,19,20 are top players when this doesn't happen that often IRL, most talented players tend to hit the top of their game slightly later than that.

I'd also like to point out how unrealistic it is to be able to sell your backup winger for nearly £20m, not even the best clubs in the world could be expected to get that much for a bit-part player.

That would be true for the most part, but my back up right winger was amazing, just not as amazing as my main man. To make it clearer, he was first choice for his nation and one of the finest around, there are only two right sided players that I would rate higher than him, and that is my first choice, and Ronaldo. I had high wraps on the 20 year old coming through the ranks though.

Also, he played roughly 30 games a season out of around 60-65. It was a rotation with him and the first choice. Got an average rating of 7.27 in comparison to the first choice's 7.39 (7.45 this season), so he was a very good player. He was playing regularly and I just thought it was time for him to move on and let a new generation come through.

[Jirki88]

I only vote this game "okay" for the sole reason that I play 90% of my games on network, and due to a constant and massive slowdown between december and march every year, network-games are next-to-unplayable. And it wasn't fixed in the patch either... Doesn't seem to be a priority to fix those coding errors either, so the overall judgement can't get higher than "okay" from me. It's that bad that I don't play FM09 anymore; only playing on FM08.

A quick, and in every aspect correct comparation would be:

FM08 with large database, all leagues and all players from all countries loaded

...would equal...

FM09 with medium database, 20 leagues loaded and no players from any extra countries.

Those two setups give about the same speed and takes about as much RAM and Virtual Memory. Good? Methinksnot. I would be happy if they'd actually cut the crap with graphical improvements and actually try to make the game possible to run in length. Until that happens... I'm going for FM08. Clearly better than FM09.

[Some Guy!]

'Not easy to use' and 'clumsy' - 2 ways of saying the same thing.

How is the tactical system 'not all that it could be' while still having 'nothing wrong with it' ?? :confused:

Well... Not really. Clumsy suggests that it does do the job well enough. However I think that it works perfectly fine, but it's a bit hard to use if you've not wasted inordinant amount of time on it.

So it seems that the general feeling is that the game is very solid and with a few tweaks, improved and more intuitive systems along with some bugs fixes, mainly minor it could be beyond amazing.

[Rupal]

It is possible to use the tactical system. If you read a 50 page manual not supplied by SI, that is. It is still the case, however, that the ME has numerous faults (stupid defender behaviour, excessive one on ones, goalkeepers only ever distributing by long kicks up the middle when you've told them to make a quick throw to the wings, crablike movement, etc, etc, etc) and that the pattern of play does not reflect the intentions of the human manager as well as it should. Combine this with poorly designed features (press conferences, manager talks, etc), poor sound, poor graphics considering the demands on the PC, numerous bugs......

It needs a lot more work to make it into a good game, let alone a 'fantastic' one.

I was undecided between 'okay' and 'poor'. Because I'm a sweet natured little thing I settled for 'okay' in the end!!

[Bababui]

Well... Not really. Clumsy suggests that it does do the job well enough. However I think that it works perfectly fine, but it's a bit hard to use if you've not wasted inordinant amount of time on it.

So it seems that the general feeling is that the game is very solid and with a few tweaks, improved and more intuitive systems along with some bugs fixes, mainly minor it could be beyond amazing.

I think you exaggerate with the adjectives. The game is one dimensional and MUST be played the way that SI tell you to. While it claims to be a realistic sim, many things that negatively impact the game are left out. Many minor things in the game are vastly overpowered like team talks, press conferences and player interaction.

IMHO, the FM2007 game was much better because it left out many of the ancillary nonsense and concentrated on things managers could influence.

[Cha Cha Cha]

So here I am, in the 2016-17 season, managing my favorite club and in truth; I couldn't be enjoying my self any more!

This game despite a few bugs here and there is just great! The transfer system is well worked and you get teams from every end of the spectrum of transfer policy, from an AC Milan, if they weren't a star in 1871 they're not good enough, to Arsene Wenger's youth developement. Sure some people get disillusioned at the fact that some big clubs drop off and some surprising teams replace them, but this happens in real life. Who the **** were Chelsea a decade ago, where the **** did Leeds go? It really does offer some interesting dynamics.

Then there's the tactical system. I'm enjoying how much it rewards consistancy this time around. As Derby demonstrated sudden changes in playing staff and tactics can result immediate death and in this game much the same can happen. It's no longer a case of getting a super tactic and watching your u-18s destroy champions league winning sides. Sure, the sliders and that can seem daunting to a new comer, but they truly aren't that difficult to understand and in truth they aren't the be all and end all of the game.

The media is better now, though repetative as always, I've enjoyed some of the questions that they've asked and how much of an effect a bit of confidence can have... Then how much of an effect that overconfidence can have! All good fun though, especially when that Journo asked me the same question 3 times as I wasn't answering: So I stormed out calling him a [removed]...

The regens are also a lot better. Though there could be some improvements... Like saying one not having a **** poor other foot! But this can be over looked... For now! It's enjoyable to see a player reaching his potential as early as 19 sometimes, or a 15 year old banging in a goal, but on the other side of the coin it's good to see some players not reach their potential until their mid twenties. All around a better system than last year.

Whilst I doubt Frank Lampard and Gerrard are going to be playing for Chelsea and Liverpool until the age of 38, it's better than them becoming completely useless at the age of 32. Probably need a tad bit of improvement here.

Then there's physically making transfers. It seems bang on... As long as you're not Man City. Players who still have a lot to offer can also be sold at good prices. I recently sold my backup right winger for £19.25 mil. Not too shabby.

Then there's that best part of the game: [removed] happens! It happens to all of us, it happens to the computers and it is just the icing on the cake of the realism. Though a lot of people come here and have a cry about it every 5 seconds: "WAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!!!!! WHY DID I LOSE! I HAD A WHOLE 2 SHOTS MORE THAN THEM YET I LOST ONE NIL! WHAT DID I DO WRONG!!! WAAAAAAAHHHH!!!"

Almost forgot the 3d view this time... It's fantastic! Sure, it looks like it was made in 1999, but hey at least it now looks like a football match. I've even seen a bicycle kick or two!

I hope you are paid by SI ...

[pires29]

That would be true for the most part, but my back up right winger was amazing, just not as amazing as my main man. To make it clearer, he was first choice for his nation and one of the finest around, there are only two right sided players that I would rate higher than him, and that is my first choice, and Ronaldo. I had high wraps on the 20 year old coming through the ranks though.

Also, he played roughly 30 games a season out of around 60-65. It was a rotation with him and the first choice. Got an average rating of 7.27 in comparison to the first choice's 7.39 (7.45 this season), so he was a very good player. He was playing regularly and I just thought it was time for him to move on and let a new generation come through.

Fair enough i didn't think about him being a great player since you said back up.

[MartinGregory84]

Il just say one thing...

FM10 will be amazing!!!

[Dicko99]

FM10 will be amazing!!!

i wouldnt count on it, people were sayin the same thing about FM09 and IMO and many others it is far from amazing

[Jase1982]

I voted poor because I don't like the fact SI released the game when it contained many known bugs.

I find the team talks and media correspondence tedious and repetitive and influence the outcome of a game far too much.

Don't agree about the transfer system, there is still very little scope for negotiations. I've lost count of the amount of times I've set the amount I'd like and the AI have come back with no offer. I also quite often make a bid for a player, and the AI comes back with a requested amount, I negotiate again and the AI ask for something like 25% more than they wanted in the first place! also, receiving £19m for your back up player isn't really realistic. It's very easy as well to receive £5m for a player work £75K, if he's talented and in good form.

All in all, FM is the only football management game on the market worth playing, which is why I'm into the 2046/47 season....

[AB-forever]

I voted great because there are still some very annoying bugs in the game but apart from that it's absolutely fantastic. I love the fact that negotiating works now. Recent example:

I'm chasing a young regen MC worth DKK2.3M. He's quite good so according to my scouts they'll want at least DKK9M.

I bid DKK9.25M. They want DKK15M. I bid DKK11M. They want DKK13M. I bid DKK12M. They accept.

[Rupal]

I don't see how anybody can think the game is great or fantastic when the ME is so chock full of bugs. Seriously - the long punts, crabbing, players standing still and allowing the ball to be taken from them, players running away from the ball when they are closer to it than the opponent who eventually gets it, players not performing remotely like their stats, missing of one on ones, central defenders rushing out to tackle like bulls at gates when instructed not to, passes hitting players on the back of the foot...........

[djwilko6]

I don't see how anybody can think the game is great or fantastic when the ME is so chock full of bugs. Seriously - the long punts, crabbing, players standing still and allowing the ball to be taken from them, players running away from the ball when they are closer to it than the opponent who eventually gets it, players not performing remotely like their stats, missing of one on ones, central defenders rushing out to tackle like bulls at gates when instructed not to, passes hitting players on the back of the foot...........

Because people get enjoyment from different parts of the game.

[Rupal]

Because people get enjoyment from different parts of the game.

I see that people enjoy it - but I still don't get how a game with really major faults in the ME can deserve to be rated 'great' or 'fantastic'. That ought to be the real core of the game and it isn't as good as it ought to be.

[Shizzle]

Seriously the game has way to many faults and the 3D engine is more a gimmick then anything.

It doesn't feel even remotely like watching a football match, as the movements and the way players interact with the ball and the other players is just awful.

Nothing beats watching your worldclass striker running into another player and dropping dead for no apparent reason, it's like watching 2 year old babies playing football.

2D had its faults, but atleast it felt like watching football.

And don't get me on the overcomplication of tactics, the 10000000 tweaks you can do, the teamtalk/media minigame->figure out the right answer! and the clunkyness of the game itself.

Even the game itself is slower then 08 and I'm running the game with a Quadcore,4Gb ram and a 8800 GTS.

The only way as far as I'm concerned to enjoy the game is either love torture, because this is what the game is for example:->never know why you win or why you lose and no the assistant feedback doesn't provide an answer for that.

The game became to hardcore for me with 09, I want to get payed for playing it.

Si-games should make the game more accessable and replace the sliders, of whom no one really knows how they work, not even Si themselves with a more hands on approach.

This Forum has 10 pages long theories(yes) of how the tactics in the game work, come on......and don't I didn't even get to the sloppy bugs in the game, remember 08 with the striker/goalkeeper bug?

Every new release there's atleast one bigtime bug.

[ddw31089]

Poor.

I enjoyed the game immensely until patch 9.0.2. Unfortunately since that patch the bugs have made my game unplayable (mainly the b/c contract bug in spain which totally ruined my finances). This issue should have been fixed directly as it made La Liga games worthless.

[bored101]

i voted ok.

for some reason and i dont know what but i havnt found my addiction to this game. with all previous games i have wanted to play them over and over again this one its more meh.

however there are some very good things and love that they have put in the 3d match engine.