rdbayly

My last hope of FM24 having replayability for the duration of the cycle has been well and truly dumped on. Extreme over achievement kills all saves before they really get going and it seems to be getting worse with every release. I'll be very interested to see if the current player count drops in response to the decision to not update the ME.

A new graphics engine and UI if I recall correctly? FM24 will be the 'last of its kind' - which can be interpreted in an number of ways. The ME will be an updated version of what we currently have. I have both high hopes and huge concerns with what we might end up with. The level of challenge is diminishing year on year and I don't see this changing at all. As long as overly aggressive systems aren't punished, overachieving will be part of FM's DNA.

Never has a nail been hit so squarely on the head. This is most noticeable on counter attacks when the ball should be played where the runner is heading to rather than where they are at that moment. I'm utterly convinced that 'Pass into Space' does nothing as part of ME calculations.

'Safely ' eh?

Yet another goalkeeper, at a critical stage of the season, breaks their arm catching a cross. It's just laughable.

This screen, and the accuracy of the data presented to the user, is about as reflective of real life as Lord of The Rings.

Played Man Utd and Leeds fixtures since the update.... I don't see me carrying on with this save. As newly promoted Leicester I was predicted to finish 15th but it seems every cross is headed in and keepers can't save a thing.

Mate, if the developers are having difficulty in sorting a fix for why the AI suddenly refuses to make appropriate subs or rotate their teams, I don't think you can claim that this game isn't mystifying. Anyway, I'll leave it there.

I plucked defending set pieces and finishing at the other end out of thin air to demonstrate how utterly mystifying these interconnected knock on effects are to players of the game. For all we know, reducing the tendency of goalkeepers to punch crosses away will raise the price of hotdogs in the away end.

I bet the frustration of users on this thread is completely eclipsed by that of the developers. If they themselves cannot deliver their own vision for the simulation due to these knock-on effects, I bet they wished that they had a completely new set of tools to refine the match engine. I truly wish that the ME code was compartmentalised or ring fenced. For example, in such a scenario, making changes to defending set pieces wouldn't affect 1 v 1 finishing at the other end. It's completely mad to someone like me who has zero knowledge of how this game works that an entire team has to burn the midnight oil for weeks and months to eliminate such basic problems.

Don't get me wrong, I've stopped playing altogether as I don't feel the game is in a state that is worthy of a long-term save. The fact is though, there are countless thousands having a great time with it.

This thread has degenerated into a cycle of whether the game is playable or not playable, based on a completely subjective set of parameters that make the debate completely pointless.

Thought I would pick up my BETA save and try out a new club. I already regret it. Took over at Milan near the end of the season and managed to win the cup despite a poor season from my predecessor. Was reshaping the squad over the summer and then one by one, every single key player starts demanding new contracts. There isn't enough in the wage budget to accommodate their (ridiculous) demands, and I can't replace them if sold as the board refuse to make more that 30% of sales revenue available (despite a very healthy bank balance of over £130m). Meanwhile, all the hard earned managerial support from last season is gone in an instant. Player interactions and dynamics remain a broken shambles.

The frustration for me is that the integrity of the game world felt in pretty good shape back in the FM17 / FM18 era. Long-term saves felt far more viable as the AI could maintain and manage their squads far more effectively (not perfectly I admit). I remember having a 10 year battle with Mourinho's Man Utd well in to the future. We were always competing for the same players and major honours - and were very evenly matched. That kind of rivalry with the AI is just flat out gone. When a key component of the game objectively worsens, you have to question whether the developer is even in control of the product anymore. If adding peripheral bloat breaks existing fundamentals, then stop adding peripheral bloat.

Yes, absolutely this. It just means it takes longer to build your reputation and qualification level to a point when you can move to a higher rep club. It's essentially pointless for a one club save. The only difficulty it seems to be adding is more frequent dressing room revolts over things that make no sense. The known lack of squad depth issue being the primary example. What makes it eye-popping is that there are countless examples of the position in the squad causing concern is often the position that has the most depth. The reason that the dressing room issues are being seen so much in the YouTuber saves, is that they always choose Sunday league rep and no badges in their journeyman saves. The two issues are clearly linked.