vikeologist

Wait! How many?

You are behind on the international competitions and cups, but with the former you can holiday through the 2 years between competitions quickly once you complete the club side, and with cup, there are nations that have 2 cups, including at leat that has a cup outside of the league season, so the cup is all you're doing. But I am rooting for you in the international competitions because I know you have an anthology of hard luck stories that outsells even mine. Bear in mind that lots of people aren't in the hall of fame because they gave up. Completing in any in game year is an achievement. Usually in bloody mindedness and an inability to make healthy life decisions, but an achievement nonetheless.

I posited the theory here that this big was the same as the African CL bug, and suggested a workaround, but taking over a new team in Mexico (about 9 years into the game) has seemingly disproved it. So, I've deleted my theory.

Vikeologist's 2029 Atlas and Pumas Report I made a big decision to jump ship from Atlas to Pumas at the end of the regular season. It’s 2 whole seasons down the drain, but I’ve regretted taking the job almost from the start, and the team seem to be getting worse rather than better. Pumas are a bigger side. Their players are better. Their players are more registerable for the Champions League. They finished above us in the initial CL group stage meaning they went straight through, whereas we’re having to negotiate our way through a thankfully easy pair of playoff rounds. Both team were in the playoffs, which highlights the craziness of the league system in Mexico. Atlas finished 3rd in the regular season, with 38 points from 17 matches. We did also have a Champions League match against FC Dallas immediately in order to stay in that competition. Pumas sneaked into the playoffs on the last match of the season finishing 11th with 17 points from the 17 matches. Obviously this meant we had an extra round to get through in the playoffs. We lost that match. Having taken over, I’ve become aware of some problems. Yes, the first XI are better, but there’s no squad depth. Half my squad seems to be strikers, which is bad because I only use one striker, so I’ll have to change my formation to use 2 for the next season. However, there is money to bring in new players, should I be able to find ones registerable for the Champions League. Ideally I’ll win the Champions League this season with the players I have, and just be able to bring in the best players to win the league. I just need to do well enough in the next league season to ensure I qualify for the CL again. I just don’t think I was going to win things with Atlas any time soon. Now I just need to play the rest of the playoffs to see if Atlas win the league without me. Domestic Season Team Division Position MVP Notes 22/23 Black Leopards S African L1 5th Took over with 8 matches to go.Edge of relegation to edge of promotion. 23/24 Black Leopards S African L1 1st Kiyaam Bull SA Cup Q/F 24/25 Kaizer Chiefs S African Prem 10th Took over with 6 matches to go. Won SA Cup. 25/26 Kaizer Chiefs S African Prem 2nd Sphesihle Maduna Won Confederations Cup. 26/27 Kaizer Chiefs S African Prem 1st Mduduzi Shabalala League, ACL, SA Cup, S8 Cup. 2027 Atlas Mex 1st Ap 12th Took over after 8 matches. Lost in Playoffs Prelim 2028 Atlas Mex 1st Cl 2nd Connor Buck Lost in final. 2028 Atlas Mex 1st Ap 2nd Lost in S/F 2029 Atlas Mex 1st Cl 2nd Kevin Castañeda Lost in final. 2029 Atlas Mex 1st Cl 3rd Left before playoffs 2029 Pumas Mex 1st Cl n/a Lost immediately in playoff plelim. International Year Team Achievements 23-24 Fiji Oceania Cup S/F 24 Morocco U23 Olympics Losing Finalists 26-27 Iran Asian Nations Cup losing finalists 27- Morocco ACON S/F Challenge Progress 3/32 Club 1/10 top domestic leagues (S Africa) 1/10 domestic cups (S Africa) 1/5 club continental championships (Africa) 0/1 club world championship International 0/5 continental tournaments 0/1 World Cup

That's interesting because either this bug doesn't affect everybody. (It had affected all of us in S Africa up to now, plus of course the many others posting on the bugs tracker) or I was wrong about the nature of it. I'm pretty certain it's not been fixed via an update.

They never become registerable. I'm surprised that you can't register players that have come through your club. Post a screenshot of the registration page on this thread if it's not a hassle. I thought i understood the bug.

Apparently not, but I haven't made it there myself yet. No reports on this thread, or on the bug tracker.

I never raised many match engine bugs, because sometimes I watch real football matches and think, 'well, that's a bug'. It is to some degree subjective. However, one of the bugs that SI did fix last year was when I provided the PKM of one of my players taking throw ins that Superman would be impressed with, and it was fixed. I don't want to suggest that none of the issues I raised were resolved or reviewed properly. Just not enough, and not enough of the serious ones.

You're misrepresenting me. Over the years I've raised lots of bug reports, but at the start of FM22 I realised that I'd been raising less in the last couple of years than I had before. I did encourage others to raise bug reports when they complained about them on the thread I oversee, I hadn't done so much of that myself, so I made a conscious decision to actually make sure I was putting in the effort to be part of the solution. Basically I agree with the notion behind your reply that one has to actually walk the walk when it comes to reporting bugs. I didn't expect to raise a few bugs and Neil to come running to me. I'd say that up to about 3 years ago, I didn't feel that there were that many bugs in FM. There was one bad year. Maybe 15 years ago, and with FM21 I thought that maybe it was just another bad year. Understandable given the whole COVID situation. But it wasn't that my 'enthusiasm' went. I became really angry at the way that SI deals with bugs, and so the best thing was to step away because it was proving to be unproductive. I guess if you put a lot of time into reporting bugs, you have some kind of internal scale about what's an acceptable level of resolution. I'm sure that others that do report bugs feel differently than me. I don't object to others taking the time to do it. I'm just not going to encourage people to do it any more. Far better for us to assume that SI will never fix it, and try to help each other with workarounds.

Sure. My anger isn't about large bugs not being resolved, even though they are massive problems. SI have to prioritise and they're the ones with all the relevant info. (However, I do think that if a bug makes 3 leagues and 2 Champions Leagues unplayable, then even if it affects a small number of people, it's more important to fix that than an insignificant one in England that is a minor irritation). My problem is that they see the bug report, and then it just falls through the cracks. It's not me saying that. It's them. The thread they're referring to was actually about the 4th thread that had been created. I truthfully don't mind when they say what immediately followed on from the above quote. I have always understood that huge bugs require more testing. What I do mind is when they try to subtly try to blame us for the 'chaos' and suggest that people just don't continue saves in Africa or North America.

A few points I'd like to raise about 2 of Neil Brock's posts on this thread. Neil said a lot, and I'm picking out small parts that I disagree with. I do appreciate Neil's feedback, and I accept a lot of his premises. There's some I don't though. I no longer believe that issues raised in the Bug Tracker are processed competently. There are too many examples of issues being ignored, forgotten about or slipping through the cracks. I understand that the SI staff responding are real people. It's maybe not their fault, and it doesn't help anybody for bug tracker threads to turn into an argument. I think the second best option is to simply report bugs and hope they're resolved. Unfortunately, I now think the best option is to just not bother at all. Having played the game for more than 20 years, and run a Journeyman challenge for about 8, I know a lot about the different leagues, and the problems that can arise. I think there's people who do the Youth Challenge that have an excellent understanding of player development, personalities and the whole Youth side of the game. I don't know who is part of the Private Alpha, but I did reach out last year to somebody on the Youth Challenge with an obvious understanding of the Youth side of things, and they weren't part of the Alpha side of things either. So anyway, last year (FM22) I raised lots of bug reports to try and become part of the Alpha team. As people have pointed out on this thread, don't complain about bugs if you're not trying to be part of the solution. The trouble is that raising reports really drove home to me how bad the handling of reports is. About half the bugs I reported were fixed eventually, but they were mostly small bugs. The large problems weren't resolved, and in some cases weren't even resolved for FM23. So at some point I gave up and no longer hoped to be part of the Alpha. I had a brief surge of enthusiasm for FM23 and encouraged people to report a bug and take the time to provide reports and save games, but it was a waste of their time. Perhaps there is a specific problem in the League Specific side of things. Neil has said Sometimes companies do things well for a long time, and then the rot sets in. Some people are still happy with the game. Some people have never been happy about anything. I can only say for myself that for 20 years I was one of SI's biggest fans, and now I'm an extremely strong critic. As for moderators, posting one's own thoughts is one thing. A couple using their status to repeatedly be jerks is another. I agree with the need to not be abusive. As frustrated as I am with the game and SI, I try to remember that SI staff, mods and researchers are ostensibly on the same team as me. Unbelievably, this is my attempt at a short response on these issues.

I hope that the registration bug isn't in South America. Nobody has raised a report of it being there, but I dare say a lot of people have reached the same conclusion as me as to the worth of spending time reporting bugs. Anyway, you probably do need to plan ahead because you will be in continental competition with Chiefs, and if you find you can't register half your squad, it will be too late to do anything about it. I'm just trying to stop you rage quitting the game. Don't sell any good players who've never played African continental matches for another side, and don't buy anyone who has. The N American side of the bug is close to defeating me. I can only have 9 foreign players in Mexico, and it's almost impossible to find Mexican players who've never played continental matches for another side. I don't want to sign players just for the league, because I've assumed with 2 pops a year, I'd win it at some point, even though I haven't yet.

Skills, You understand the African continental competition registration bug, right?

Vikeologist's 2028/9 Atlas Report We wrote above about the number of finals we have lost in this challenge over the years, but it looked as though I might not even get to a final this season. League Apertura – Lost in semi-final (on higher league place) ACON – Lost 7-6 in semi-final in extra time NA Champions League – Lost in semi-final, largely because injuries and suspensions hit, (alongside the registration bug). League Clausura – The final, which we lost. So up to 3 finals losses in competitions that I needed. I’m after more than just a share of that record, treva. It’s not like losing any individual competition is a huge injustice. We’ve finished 2nd in the regular season all 3 of my complete seasons with Atlas. Cumulatively, very frustrating. I need to find new players who are eligible for the Champions League, sell all the foreign players not in the first team and develop my youngsters. Top Goalscorer – Jesús Esparza - 34 He didn’t start every match, so he was pretty prolific. My other striker was a very promising youngster on loan, but I have to give some of my own promising kids a chance next season. Highest Average Rating (minimum 10 matches played) – Kevin Castañeda – 7.76 Now that’s what I call a good average rating. Attacking midfielder. Ran him into the ground this season though. Man of The Match – Kevin Castañeda – 12 Most Valuable Player– Kevin Castañeda Domestic Season Team Division Position MVP Notes 22/23 Black Leopards S African L1 5th Took over with 8 matches to go.Edge of relegation to edge of promotion. 23/24 Black Leopards S African L1 1st Kiyaam Bull SA Cup Q/F 24/25 Kaizer Chiefs S African Prem 10th Took over with 6 matches to go. Won SA Cup. 25/26 Kaizer Chiefs S African Prem 2nd Sphesihle Maduna Won Confederations Cup. 26/27 Kaizer Chiefs S African Prem 1st Mduduzi Shabalala League, ACL, SA Cup, S8 Cup. 2027 Atlas Mex 1st Ap 12th Took over after 8 matches. Lost in Playoffs Prelim 2028 Atlas Mex 1st Cl 2nd Connor Buck Lost in final. 2028 Atlas Mex 1st Ap 2nd Lost in S/F 2029 Atlas Mex 1st Cl 2nd Kevin Castañeda Lost in final. International Year Team Achievements 23-24 Fiji Oceania Cup S/F 24 Morocco U23 Olympics Losing Finalists 26-27 Iran Asian Nations Cup losing finalists 27- Morocco ACON S/F Challenge Progress 3/32 Club 1/10 top domestic leagues (S Africa) 1/10 domestic cups (S Africa) 1/5 club continental championships (Africa) 0/1 club world championship International 0/5 continental tournaments 0/1 World Cup

no.

I very much doubt it will work with other leagues. It's a problem with the continental competitions in N America and Africa, not the individual nations. It's just something we have to live with.

Vikeologist's 2029 Morocco ACON Report Wasn’t at all sure about taking the Morocco job 2 years ago, but I guess we do stand a chance in this competition. We’ve only played one competitive match against a top African side (In WC Qualifying) but we did win easily. We have to reach the semi-finals if I want to keep my job. Would be nice to nab the ACON first time though. Oh, an we’ve an easy group. Tempting fate saying that, of course. Group Stage Morocco 4-1 Guinea Morocco 3-2 Uganda Morocco 1-1 The Gambia Not a reassuring set of results, or performances. Now for the heat of the meat. First off in the knockout rounds is Algeria. Second Round Quarter Final Semi Final Final / 3rd Place Playoff After The Tournament

I winder what the record is for lost finals in this challenge.I'm probably not the only one with a similar record to you. Quick check. I think 7 is my record as well, but the horrible thing is that 3 of them came in a 9 year spell at the end of the save when I just needed the Euro and Asian Cup. (I gave up the challenge at this point, and nearly gave up Football Manager). I'm at 2 already in my current challenge, which is only 8 seasons in. I suspect Goonergez may be there or thereabouts with one of his doomed challenges.

The reason for this bug has been known since the beta. You can't register players who've ever played African continental matches since the start of the save, in either African continental competition. I suspect the bug with the North American CL is identical. So, you just have to work your way around it, by only signing eligible players, or even better, never letting your eligible players leave. (Although of course if you're taking over a club in '26 or so, then probably the damage / transfers have been done). I know this is a bug forum, but because the last bug report was closed, maybe it will be helpful for users to understand what the bug is exactly. SI do know about the bugs.

Thanks, @Sons FC.

Ah, so looks like our friend of the thread is the fave to be the first to complete the challenge on FM23. Probably the last as well. Welcome to the leader board @goonergez. Sorry I've run out of ideas for getting to this point, but you've been here before. Just rooting for you to complete it.

Ostensibly it's at least similar to the African CL bug. You can't register players who've played in that continent's continental matches for another side since the start of the save. I'm not going to waste my time investigating though. I'm 100% sure on the African one.

Tempted to change the name to the Ultimate Football Manager Bugs Challenge.

My problem is that the Atlas side I took over was a hot mess, so I've had to buy a lot more new players. If I can't win the NACL first time, I might change clubs and try to win it with someone else. Who knows, maybe an MLS side. The SI advice on the bug tracker for those people who've been waiting months for a fix is to move on to another save, so it doesn't sound like they're confident they can ever fix it. Incidentally, I'm not sure it's the same cause, (players having played in the NACL for a different team). Might be. Not much point my spending time figuring it out or reporting it. Will update the bug warning at the start of this thread.

I've run into what looks like an identical problem with registration for the NACL as many of us had with the African continental competitions. @goonergez @SkyjumperTalon did you have this problem? If it's every continental competition, it's going to make this challenge very difficult.