Important changes to Press Conference structure

[playmaker]

I've been poking around the fmf files to see how much of the press conference text could be edited (don't worry this isn't an editing thread it is a suggestion). Below is an example post-match question from the media.fmf file...

<record>

<!-- QID_BIG_LOSS_AS_BIGGER_TEAM -->

<!-- Question Properties -->

<integer id="question_id" value="1048"/>

<integer id="question_type" value="37"/> <!-- QT_LOSS_RESULT_REACTION -->

<!-- Question Text -->

<string id="question_string" value="An embarrassing defeat against {an}[%team#2-short] team [%person#1-you] were expected to beat. What is [%person#1-your] reaction to this result?"/>

<string id="very_positive_headline" value="[%person#1-surname] deluded over embarrassing defeat"/>

<string id="positive_headline" value="[%person#1-surname] satisfied with embarrassing defeat"/>

<string id="negative_headline" value="[%person#1-surname] disappointed at embarrassing defeat"/>

<string id="very_negative_headline" value="[%person#1-surname] angry at embarrassing defeat"/>

<string id="neutral_answer" value="[%person#1-I] don't really want to discuss things right now"/>

<string id="repeat_question" value="Another big defeat against a team that many rank well below [%person#1-your] [%team#1-short] side. What is [%person#1-your] reaction to this result?"/>

</record>

Now what we can see here is that the question, accompanying headlines, repeat question and neutral answer are text strings held within this file and could easily be edited. However, the positive and negative answers are referred to elsewhere by what I assume is the question type. The question type, in this case 37, may be referred to by multiple questions - hence the bland, generic and sometimes nonsensical answers.

So SI, or anyone else for that matter, can add as many questions as they like, BUT they are always bound by the hard coded answers (i.e. they don’t appear in an xml file).

What I would like to see is unique, well voiced answers to every question that allow the user to put their personality (or borrow the one they like the most) in to the press conference. This is not possible within the current structure and creating a separate piece of code to deal with each set of answers is not practical.

What I would like to see is all five potential answers held in the xml file. They can still refer to the same question type, but the question type only dictates the hard coded response and not the wording of the answer. In this way, questions and answers can be added ad infinitum without impacting the code. I appreciate that translation is still an issue of course.

In the post below I will give examples of opening questions for the post-match press conference. I’m a freelance copywriter, so I am sad enough to like doing this sort of stuff! They were put together in an evening and the aim was to make it sound much more like the soundbites a manager would actually give, without being quite as wordy! There are around 25 questions, which is around 125 different answers to give and lots of variation. I haven’t covered all circumstances, but you get a fair idea.

[playmaker]

Post-Match: Opening Questions

You must be pleased with the win?

- I thought we controlled the game and showed our quality.

- I’m pleased for the lads. They worked really hard for the result.

- Three points is always pleasing.

- We’ll take that result! We rode our luck at times to be honest.

- This is the sort of game I expect to win. There are other issues that concern me.

So is that another routine win under your belt?

- I thought we were right on our game today.

- There’s not much to say but ‘job done’.

- There are no easy games these days.

- I wouldn’t say that was a routine win, but we showed great determination.

- We weren’t at our best, but it’s the mark of a good team to get the win anyway.

A good away win. How pleasing is it to pick up points on the road?

- It’s a fantastic result and I am absolutely delighted. It was fully deserved.

- It’s always good to win away from home.

- As long as we are picking up points I don’t mind whether it is home or away.

- It’s nice to reward the fans that travel with a win. We need to do it a bit more often.

- We haven’t been doing it consistently away from home, so I’m not going to get carried away.

How important was that win today?

- The pendulum has swung well and truly in our favour today.

- It was a real six-pointer, so we’re delighted to have come out on top.

- It’s always good to pick up three points.

- Today’s win is no different to any other win.

- Unfortunately, I don’t think it makes much difference in the grand scheme of things.

-

A steady win. Were you happy with the margin of victory?

- We threatened to run away with it and I think [other team] were a little fortunate.

- I’m more than happy with the three points. We were always comfortable today.

- I think the scoreline was a fair reflection on the game.

- It was a little uncomfortable towards the end. We were starting to get a little nervy.

- We didn’t perform well today and I think we got away with it.

You looked quite comfortable out there. You must be pleased with the way you sealed the victory?

- We were outstanding today and I don’t think the scoreline flattered us at all.

- We played well today and it’s nice when everything goes your way.

- I thought both teams played well today and it was a good result.

- [other team] will probably say the score flattered us a bit, but we are not complaining.

- Parts of our play were really good, but we can’t play like that every week and expect to win so easily.

That was a real goalfest. You must be pleased to come out on top. How’s your heart?

- It certainly got the pulse racing. It’s good to win in style even if we did relax a bit at the back.

- That was football at its best and that what I love about it.

- I can’t take that every week. I think I’ve aged ten years!

- I would have been happy with 1-0.

- It was very entertaining, but we can’t defend like that every week and get away with it.

Not many people expected you to win today. Did you see it coming?

- We worked hard and stuck to the gameplan. I think the players should be very proud of themselves.

- There is always a chance of getting something when you’ve got quality players.

- You always hope that you can cause an upset.

- I didn’t have us down for three points today, so it was an unexpected bonus.

- We need to pick up points whoever we play. Another day it could have gone very differently.

You had to come from behind to get the win today. How do you view that performance?

- We showed great resilience and determination and I am delighted with the players’ effort.

- I always had confidence in my players and they didn’t let me down.

- It was a game of two halves.

- We took a while to get going, but we got there in the end.

- We put ourselves in a difficult position and we need to come out of the blocks faster in future.

Do you see the draw as one point gained or two lost?

- That was a good result today, make no mistake.

- It’s always good to get points on the board.

- Sometimes you draw games you should win and sometimes you win games you should draw.

- The three points were definitely there for the taking.

- We’re a bit gutted. We really should have won that game.

You came close to the win. Are you disappointed to come away with just a point?

- It was a good result and we would have taken it at the beginning of the day.

- If my players keep playing like that then I will be happy.

- We can have no complaints today. It was a fair result.

- I think we deserved more out of the game.

- We need to concentrate and see out the full 90 minutes.

Not a game for the neutral then – it was a bit of a bore draw. How frustrated were you with your team’s inability to take the initiative?

- I’m happy with a clean sheet. If you don’t concede then you don’t lose games.

- I don’t think it was all that bad. Both sides played well and simply cancelled each other out.

- That’s just the way it goes sometimes.

- We huffed and puffed, but I don’t think we really hurt our opponents enough.

- We weren’t at our best today and I’m a disappointed we didn’t do more.

You came back to snatch a point. Is that a bit of a let off?

- I thought we should have won today. We were the better team.

- A point was no more than we deserved.

- You have to keep going and we never let our heads go down.

- We might count ourselves lucky, but I thought we were good for a point.

- We had a huge let off and we will have to do better next time.

It was difficult to separate to the two teams today. Was a draw a fair result?

- We were by far the better team, but the luck was against us today.

- I thought we could have just nicked it. We had the better chances.

- The final score doesn’t lie. Both teams deserved a point.

- It was a good result. We’ll take that.

- We rode our luck a little bit to be fair.

You secured the away draw today. Would you call that a good point?

- It’s a cracking result and the team put in a good performance.

- It’s always difficult playing away from home, but we deserved the point.

- Is there such a thing as a bad point?

- I thought we should have come away with all three points to be honest.

- We can’t keep dropping points if we are to achieve our ambitions.

Just a point at home. Did you expect the win?

- When we play like that we expect the win. We came mighty close, but it just wasn’t to be.

- I’m happy with a point. We played well.

- I’ve learnt never to expect anything. Except the unexpected - I expect that.

- It was a game we should have won to be honest.

- We don’t have the right to expect anything playing like that. We need to be better.

That defeat must hurt?

- There were lots of positives to take from the game, so I’m not too disappointed.

- I thought we played well, but we just didn’t get the luck.

- It’s where we are at the end of the season that counts.

- The lads are disappointed, but now we have to think about the next game.

- We just weren’t good enough and that’s something we need to address.

With just one goal in it, do you feel a bit unlucky?

- I thought we were the better team to be honest and we were unfortunate not to come away with the points.

- We matched [other team] and I thought we deserved at least a point.

- These things even out in the long run.

- You make your own luck in this game and we will have to be better next time out.

- We just weren’t at the races today. There’s no point blaming anyone else.

A crushing defeat. How do you deal with it?

- To be honest I thought we were incredibly unlucky. We’ll just carry on doing the right things.

- It was just a bad day at the office. We have to forget it and move on.

- I have some things to think about for the next match.

- The lads will be desperately disappointed with themselves, but they have to pick themselves up.

- I feel sorry for the fans, they deserve better. A few of the players need to take a long hard look at themselves.

There were a lot of goals today. Despite losing do you take some consolation from the way you took your chances?

- The game could really have gone either way and it was good to see us attacking with confidence.

- If we can just strike a balance, it bodes well for the future.

- There won’t be too many games where we will score that many goals and still lose.

- It was a bit of a farce today. You can’t really read much into the goals.

- It doesn’t matter how many times we score if we defend like that.

You were expected to win today. How important is it to bounce back from defeat?

- We are a strong team and one defeat will not really affect our confidence.

- The lads are a little deflated today, but tomorrow is a new day and we will be thinking about the next match.

- What’s done is done. There’s no point in sulking about it.

- It will be important that we get our heads right and quickly put it this defeat behind us.

- There is a lot of pressure on us to perform and sadly we have not done that today. We have to put it out of our minds.

Is defeat hard to take in front of your own fans?

- The fans have been magnificent and are always right behind us no matter what.

- I think we have still been good value for money, so I hope the fans aren’t too downhearted.

- You can’t win every game and we just have to take it on the chin.

- We are just as disappointed as anyone else. We weren’t at our best today.

- The fans pay our wages and deserve better than they got today.

The loss can’t have been too unexpected today?

- I thought we played very well today, but [other team] are a good side.

- We gave it a go and I can’t ask for more.

- I’m sure everyone predicted the result, but we have to turn up anyway just in case it turns out differently

- We were hoping to get something out of the game.

- If we don’t raise our performance for the big games like this then we can’t expect to get anything out of it.

You looked in control today and the win looked assured. What went wrong?

- I thought we were good value for the lead and I never really saw [other team] getting back into it.

- We are wondering how we lost that. Our luck just seemed to run out.

- I don’t think anything really went wrong. It’s just one of those things.

- [other team] are a quality side and are always going to come back at you.

- We lost focus and let [other team] back into it.

Garth Crooks. BBC. Given the plight of the average fan and the economic downturn it seems strange that professional footballers are paid such vast sums of money. With fame, fortune and adulation comes great responsibility. Do you think that today’s result is down to the effects of living in a bubble created by the disparity in wealth between the working class supporter on the terrace and the young sportspersons who are made instant millionaires by the time they are twenty?

- I don’t know, but can I have some of what you are smoking?

- I didn’t think we had terraces any more Garth.

- Huh?

- For pity’s sake Garth, can’t you just ask a normal question about football.

- SECURITY!

Post-Match: Form

You’re on a good run at the moment. Did you expect to keep it going today?

- Definitely. We’re playing with real confidence at the moment.

- People are always waiting for you to fail, but we know what we are capable of.

- I never like to predict what will happen.

- Being over-confident would be a mistake. We like to keep our feet on the ground.

- It was a bit of a surprise to be fair. The odds weren’t really stacked in our favour.

The wins have been a bit elusive lately. It must be good to get back on track?

- I’m delighted. It was a good result and a great performance.

- I always had faith in my players. Quality always shines through in the end.

- Were we off track? I didn’t really notice.

- It’s a relief to be honest. It was starting to play on the players minds a bit.

- We need to keep that level of performance going, otherwise the win means nothing.

You’re on a bit of a poor run currently. Do you think you have enough to turn it round?

- Every team goes through a difficult stage. I’m not worried.

- We’ve got talented players at the club and they will come good.

- We just take it one game at a time.

- We might need to look at changing a few things.

- It’s not good enough to be honest. We need to start doing the simple things and we are not doing them well at the moment.

Post-Match: Events

[player name] should have scored today. What do you say to him?

- I don’t have to say anything. He’s a good lad and he’s been a good player for us.

- I thought he played well today. He just has to keep doing what he’s doing.

- These things happen. You forget about it and move on.

- We’ll work with him in training. He needs to get his confidence up.

- I’m not sure what I can say. If you don’t take your chances the other team will punish you.

[player name] made an error for [other team]’s goal. Do you need to get back to basics?

- I don’t really think he put a foot wrong all game. He’s been excellent all season.

- I think that’s the only thing he got wrong all game. I’m not going to criticize players for one error.

- I think we’ll just chalk that one up to experience.

- We’ve got to cut these errors out of our game.

- It was a schoolboy error to be honest. We were a shambles at the back.

Did you think [player name]’s sending off was fair?

- I think the referee has got it wrong. [player name] is distraught and rightly so.

- It was a harsh decision. I just wish there was some consistency in the refereeing.

- The referee makes the decision and there is no point in complaining.

- [player name] was a bit silly and he’s gutted at the red card.

- I can’t argue with it to be honest. [player name] should know better.

Post-Match: General Play

You had a lot of possession today, but couldn’t turn it into a win?

- I think the stats show that we were on top and I thought we were much the better side.

- I can’t fault the players today. They gave everything.

- The only statistic that really matters is the score.

- I don’t think we really got in behind them and hurt them.

- We have to show more desire to win.

You looked pretty hard to break down. A clean sheet must be pleasing?

- We were magnificent at the back and never looked like being beaten.

- We did a good job at the back today and defended well as a team.

- If you don’t concede then you don’t lose. Simple as that really.

- It was real backs to the wall stuff at times, but we came through.

- I think we were a little lucky. [other team] had a chances but didn’t take them.

[playmaker]

OK, so far I have only looked at questions that work on the positive to negative range, but not every question works like that. There are already several that take a different format, but are still limited in the way they work (e.g. which part of the team is strongest and the follow up question).

Below are examples of the type of question I believe is still missing from the game that probably require separate coding for each question. The point of these questions is the variation in answers possible from match to match and the potential difference in response.

[manutdthereds]

Quality effort is this mate. Hope someone takes note and will use this you done a good job with it !!

[playmaker]

Post-Match: Man of the Match

What pleased you most about [player name]’s performance.

- I thought it was a good team effort.

- He showed what he is capable of today and hopefully it is a springboard for him.

- He dovetailed with his team mates really well.

- He was at the centre of everything good we did today.

- His quality on the ball.

- I like his strength and determination. He’s a real winner.

- He’s spirited. He kept going, kept his head up and kept plugging away.

- He’s a big player for us and we need leaders on the pitch.

- He took his opportunities well.

- He’s a predator and a clinical finisher.

- I thought his approach play was superb.

- He gave himself to the cause and works hard for the team.

- His pace is frightening at times and it scares defenders.

- He dug us out of a whole today and never gave the ball up.

-

Post-Match: Substitutions

You took [key player name] off early. Was that due to injury or was it tactical?

- Injury. We don’t know how long he will be out for, but it doesn’t look good.

- It was just a precaution. He picked up a knock.

- He’s not fully fit and we didn’t want to risk him for 90 minutes.

- He was looking a bit tired and we needed some fresh legs.

- We needed to try something different. It was nothing personal.

- He didn’t have the best of days to be fair, but he’s still an important player for us.

- Simply put, he didn’t do enough to stay on the pitch.

Post Match: Follow-up Questions

What pleased you most about the win?

- It was a great team performance. It’s difficult to single out any one player today – they were all great.

- It was a top, top performance from [select name from drop down]

- I thought we defended superbly. We looked rock solid.

- We created lots of chances today.

- We moved the ball around and kept possession.

- We always looked dangerous going forward.

- We took our opportunities well.

- We kept fighting until the end.

- I thought we showed great resilience.

- We adapted well to the tactical changes made.

- It’s nice to have someone to bring off the bench and change things.

- Three points

What can you do to improve?

- Just keep our heads up. We’re playing well. We just need that bit of luck.

- We just need to turn all the good work into goals.

- We just need time for players to get to know each other and to know their roles.

- Keep moving the ball around and keep hold of it.

- We need to keep our shape a bit better and be better organized.

- We just need to be a bit more clinical in front of goal.

- Cut out the silly mistakes.

- We might have to look at bringing in one or two players.

[Glenn Wakeford]

Thanks for the input.

As has been said in the other threads, press conferences are something we are looking at and plan to improve upon for future versions.

As I have mentioned elsewhere, the press conference module can only be as good or as extensive as the time schedule allows it to be, since all text needs to be written, translated and have code attached to each question in terms of what it does and when it appears. The plan is, of course, to expand press conferences for future versions, allow a sense of greater user freedom and have a less repetitive feel.

In regards to some of your 'missing' questions: a lot of these are already in the game in some form, although with less 'detail' than some of your suggestions.

[gazatim83]

how do you edit the media comments?

[playmaker]

Thanks for the input.

As has been said in the other threads, press conferences are something we are looking at and plan to improve upon for future versions.

As I have mentioned elsewhere, the press conference module can only be as good or as extensive as the time schedule allows it to be, since all text needs to be written, translated and have code attached to each question in terms of what it does and when it appears. The plan is, of course, to expand press conferences for future versions, allow a sense of greater user freedom and have a less repetitive feel.

In regards to some of your 'missing' questions: a lot of these are already in the game in some form, although with less 'detail' than some of your suggestions.

Thanks for the response.

A question then. Does the need for a context for each question make it impossible for fans to add questions and see them included in this version and future versions?

Perhaps there is a need for a little further restructuring that allows the context to be defined in the xml file as well. This is already possible for manager interaction, but I think this capability would get far more use for press conferences.

The fans could easily create 'press conference packs' and pass them on to fans in other countries for translation - thereby plugging the gap in terms of time. It's not possible now due to the structure and this (in my opinion) could hold the feature back.

[playmaker]

how do you edit the media comments?

Within the media.fmf file there is a Press Conference directory which contains several xml files. You can right click on these files (once extracted) and select Edit, then change the text (without interfering with the record structure).

However, all you could do is change the question text (which generally isn't as bad as the answers) and the neutral response (which then would not fit the style of the positive and negative answers. There is not much benefit to be gained at the moment.

[Glenn Wakeford]

A question then. Does the need for a context for each question make it impossible for fans to add questions and see them included in this version and future versions?

Perhaps there is a need for a little further restructuring that allows the context to be defined in the xml file as well. This is already possible for manager interaction, but I think this capability would get far more use for press conferences.

The fans could easily create 'press conference packs' and pass them on to fans in other countries for translation - thereby plugging the gap in terms of time. It's not possible now due to the structure and this (in my opinion) could hold the feature back.

I don't know about the first query tbh, that's best aimed at someone like Nick or EdL (a couple of the people who coded press conferences).

It would be good if fans could create press conference packs I agree: I imagine many people would download them if they were available. The only worry I have with them is whether the quality would become reduced as people tried too hard to 'flesh out' the set of questions...

[SCIAG]

Fantastic, playmaker. KUTGW!

[Bennico]

These are excellent, very well written. Thanks for your time to work on them, I hope that we will see them in the game. I think the Press Conferences are a great addition, and one I thought had been missing for too long. I understand it's the first time SI have done them, so they're not going to be perfect yet, but I was slightly disappointed with the end product, in particular the lack of options available in the generic responses. Your ideas are far more 'football related' responses, and would add much greater realism if included in the next version.

Shame we can't have an additional 'Press Conferences Patch'.

[pandemonium]

I agree, this would be a great addition to the press conferences. Great work!

[playmaker]

I don't know about the first query tbh, that's best aimed at someone like Nick or EdL (a couple of the people who coded press conferences).

It would be good if fans could create press conference packs I agree: I imagine many people would download them if they were available. The only worry I have with them is whether the quality would become reduced as people tried too hard to 'flesh out' the set of questions...

There is bound to be some gimmicky or poorly written stuff about, but I think with the right approach SI could ensure there is either enough quality created in house or from decent writers on the scene that people would be able to ignore the rubbish.

The examples I posted are my vision of what I would like press conferences to be and the bottom line is asa fan of the game, I don't really mind how it is achieved, whether in house or through the fans.

I guess we will just have to see what direction things take. I agree with what you have said elsewhere that the code behind it is good - it just needs fleshing out now and that takes time.

[JoeLatics]

Brilliant ideas matey, KUTGW!

Let's hope SI take note!

[mimland]

Well it looks like good suggestions. My biggest problem at the moment is that I'm not always clear on what I'm actually answering and something like this really looks like it could clear it up.

[rougess]

This is absolutely fantastic

Would love to see it in the game.

[ryder]

Absolutly brilliant.Well thought out .This is how it should have been implemented in the first place.Give the man a job

[The_Kreman]

This has got to be one of the posts of the year so far in the General Discussion forum. Good research and an understanding of how the coding behind the game works and not just a rant about what should happen.

I agree that giving others the opportunity to create media packs is probably the best way forward at this stage. This will give the community the chance to come up with some cracking ideas that SI can simply steal and impliment within the game as/when they expand the media coding.

[phnompenhandy]

Great to see you back with top quality analysis Playmaker - hopefully you'll flesh this out for the next Bootroom

It would be good if fans could create press conference packs I agree: I imagine many people would download them if they were available. The only worry I have with them is whether the quality would become reduced as people tried too hard to 'flesh out' the set of questions...

The fans would be the judge. Programming geeks have made new events files, soundpacks and the like, as well as skins. Where they are good, they are positively reviewed, fans download them and use them. Where they are poor quality, us fans soon get to know of this and either download, try and delete, or don't bother.

[playmaker]

Great to see you back with top quality analysis Playmaker - hopefully you'll flesh this out for the next Bootroom

Sadly that's not likely to happen in the near future. Work, study and family life doesn't leave me with the spare time I used to have. I would rather be writing about FM than writing about medical equipment and IT services, but it doesn't pay the bills!

[CrashOverride]

Which is a shame because you do seem to be rather good at press confrence questions. I like the ideas you have and believe they would improve a hyped but dissapointing new feature of the game. I understand where skorp and SI are coming from about coding and translating time but I wouldnt imagine there are any major media changes coming in 9.3 so we can only hope that that team are fully concentrating on improving the module for 2010.

Im hoping this thread has been passed to SI as an idea. If not it needs one of the idea thingys that makes it easier to find for them