Miles Jacobson

All the "old" camera angles will still be there.

Brocky may well not thank me for posting on this thread, but there are some posts here which I find quite incredible, and depressing, in equal measure. For at least the last couple of years the pre-order for the game has started before we've announced features. Retailers like to start pre-orders as early as possible. We like to announce features and show screenshots when we can guarantee that they will be in the game (unlike some devs) which means announcing things later than most games. But certainly way before other forms of entertainment announce things - you can't hear any tracks of a new album until a few weeks before release when the first single comes out. You can't find out a plot line in a TV show until it comes out. The loyalty scheme is exactly that - it's a loyalty scheme. For our most loyal customers. Those that, pretty much every year, pre-order the game without knowing anything about it because the pre-order opens before we announce game features. We are, literally, giving away money because the vast majority of those that pre-order at that stage would do anyway. Are pre-orders higher because of the loyalty scheme? Yes - they are. Which is awesome. It shows it was a good idea and lots of people want to take advantage of it. And it's awesome even though it's costing us money because those same people who are pre-ordering would likely buy the game anyway because to get the maximum discount, which is by far and away the one being used most, they would have to own the last 4 of our games. And I thank them very much for being loyal. And have wanted to do a loyalty scheme for years. And have spoken to Steam about it for years. And SEGA for years. And this year Steam have provided us the capability, and I thank them nearly as much as I thank those that are pre-ordering. What we are announcing, and when, is a moot point because the loyalty scheme is for loyal customers. Those that were going to buy the game anyway. For the same reason that we don't announce things until we know they are definitely going to be in the game, we don't announce dates of things until we know they are 100% going to be achieved. The official internal beta release date is "when Miles says it's ready" (not talking in the first person, honest - it's just what the date is). Sure, we have target dates, which this year we've announced as "at least 2 weeks before release". Normally that is "around 2 weeks before release" which could mean 2 and a half, could mean 1 and a half. This year it's "at least 2" which means "a minimum of 2 weeks". You want to wait until announcements about the game are made before pre-ordering? That's cool. Absolutely your choice. You want to wait until reviews come out? That's cool too. You want to try the demo first? That's why we still make a demo, when so few other studios do. It's all cool. Or sick. Or whatever the cool word for cool is nowadays. We have target dates for announcements too. But not only will those depend on me being happy with the features we're going to announce, it also depends on legal clearance, licensing clearance, getting the right screenshots, how busy we all are, unexpected opportunities etc etc. Most of those things are unknown known's. We know we need to do them, but they could be affected by lots of things - what if one of our licensing partners are on holiday the day we find the right screenshot? What if someone offers us an amazing opportunity to do something that's never been done before and we decide to change our plans to take advantage of it? We've been doing this for more than 20 years now. We've been through this process lots of times. We've seen how others do it in games, and other industries. We adapt - in the way we develop, the way we announce and the games we make. We're not perfect. No one is, company or person. But we always try our best. And to have people complaining about a loyalty scheme where we're giving money away as thank you to our loyal players who we love to bits is one of those times where I really don't know whether to laugh or cry. Right - I'm back to my monk-like forum existence now. Play nicely. And sorry Neil if you'd rather I hadn't posted this. You can tell me off in the morning

The official Early Access price is £9.99/$14.99/E12.99. But there's a 20% discount if you happen to own any version of Football Manager that is registered on Steam. The price is a special price as a thank you for helping us out with the Early Access and hopefully providing feedback that makes the game better. When the game is fully released, it will be more expensive - although no final price has been set.

- Why Early Access? We originally published Eastside Hockey Manager as a traditional ‘boxed’ game between 2004 and 2007. However, we decided to shelve it at that point because it simply didn’t make financial sense to continue publishing it in the old-fashioned way. At that time we were not only badly affected by piracy, we were also hit by the way retail used to work, particularly in the US. Boxed copies of the game would fly off the shelves in places where hockey was popular, but would languish in places where it wasn’t – and there was no system in place for those boxes to be shifted from one State to another. Steam wasn’t anywhere near as popular back then as it is now, so we didn’t have a digital solution to this problem like we do now. We have never wavered in our belief that there’s an enthusiastic and active fan base for this game which we’ve seen at the Blueline community (http://www.ehmtheblueline.com/) and now, using Early Access, we want to prove that to everyone else. Getting the game into its current state has been very much a ‘hobby project’ for a few of us at the studio. Up until now we’ve worked on EHM in what little spare time we have (Football Manager keeps us all very busy) but now, using Early Access will give us some budget to be able to put more resources into EHM, whilst not losing any from FM. We’re doing it now because we’ve hired some of the people we need to cover the extra work. Early Access will also give us an opportunity to get the feedback we need from the community to ensure that this is the game they want to play. Finally, we need to prove that there is enough demand to justify resurrecting the series fully. Whilst this version has ‘fake’ data, we want to show that there is a demand for a fully licensed version of the game. That won’t come with this release but, if it’s successful, it means we can go to the leagues around the world and get licenses for future, annualised, versions (in much the same way that we do with FM). And, bluntly, nothing beats a testing resource of hundreds or thousands of people. Your help in this regard is greatly appreciated. - Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access? We’re not completely sure on that just yet. But we’re talking months, not years. - How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version? Polish, polish, polish. But we’re also planning some extra features – a play-off tree view will be rolled out in the first update, with some major improvements to player progression following in the second. At some point in the Early Access cycle we also plan to include a network game mode and some further playable leagues. And we’ll be looking at features that you, the community, suggest – if we like them (and they’re technically achievable) then we’ll do what we can to get them into the final game. - What is the current state of the Early Access version? It’s fully playable and includes 11 leagues from around the world and 13 international tournaments. At the moment the game is English-language only. We haven’t seen any crashes for a while, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be a few when people start to play the game for the long-term on a variety of different hardware configurations. If and when we do find any crashes we’ll roll out updates as soon as they are fixed. We also plan to put out a regular update every two weeks (on Thursday evenings, UK time). - Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access? Yes. It will be cheaper during the Early Access period to thank people for helping to steer the game in the right direction. - How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process? We want as much feedback and as many bug reports as possible, please. We were one of the first ‘community driven’ studios – our fans have been directly involved in shaping our games for 20 years – and we want to keep this going both through our own forums (at http://community.sigames.com/) and here on Steam for EHM. We will always make the final decision on what does and doesn’t go into our games, but we treat every idea from the community in exactly the same way as we treat ideas that come from people within the studio.

- Why Early Access? We originally published Eastside Hockey Manager as a traditional ‘boxed’ game between 2004 and 2007. However, we decided to shelve it at that point because it simply didn’t make financial sense to continue publishing it in the old-fashioned way. At that time we were not only badly affected by piracy, we were also hit by the way retail used to work, particularly in the US. Boxed copies of the game would fly off the shelves in places where hockey was popular, but would languish in places where it wasn’t – and there was no system in place for those boxes to be shifted from one State to another. Steam wasn’t anywhere near as popular back then as it is now, so we didn’t have a digital solution to this problem like we do now. We have never wavered in our belief that there’s an enthusiastic and active fan base for this game which we’ve seen at the Blueline community (http://www.ehmtheblueline.com/) and now, using Early Access, we want to prove that to everyone else. Getting the game into its current state has been very much a ‘hobby project’ for a few of us at the studio. Up until now we’ve worked on EHM in what little spare time we have (Football Manager keeps us all very busy) but now, using Early Access will give us some budget to be able to put more resources into EHM, whilst not losing any from FM. We’re doing it now because we’ve hired some of the people we need to cover the extra work. Early Access will also give us an opportunity to get the feedback we need from the community to ensure that this is the game they want to play. Finally, we need to prove that there is enough demand to justify resurrecting the series fully. Whilst this version has ‘fake’ data, we want to show that there is a demand for a fully licensed version of the game. That won’t come with this release but, if it’s successful, it means we can go to the leagues around the world and get licenses for future, annualised, versions (in much the same way that we do with FM). And, bluntly, nothing beats a testing resource of hundreds or thousands of people. Your help in this regard is greatly appreciated. - Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access? We’re not completely sure on that just yet. But we’re talking months, not years. - How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version? Polish, polish, polish. But we’re also planning some extra features – a play-off tree view will be rolled out in the first update, with some major improvements to player progression following in the second. At some point in the Early Access cycle we also plan to include a network game mode and some further playable leagues. And we’ll be looking at features that you, the community, suggest – if we like them (and they’re technically achievable) then we’ll do what we can to get them into the final game. - What is the current state of the Early Access version? It’s fully playable and includes 11 leagues from around the world and 13 international tournaments. At the moment the game is English-language only. We haven’t seen any crashes for a while, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be a few when people start to play the game for the long-term on a variety of different hardware configurations. If and when we do find any crashes we’ll roll out updates as soon as they are fixed. We also plan to put out a regular update every two weeks (on Thursday evenings, UK time). - Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access? Yes. It will be cheaper during the Early Access period to thank people for helping to steer the game in the right direction. - How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process? We want as much feedback and as many bug reports as possible, please. We were one of the first ‘community driven’ studios – our fans have been directly involved in shaping our games for 20 years – and we want to keep this going both through our own forums (at http://community.sigames.com/) and here on Steam for EHM. We will always make the final decision on what does and doesn’t go into our games, but we treat every idea from the community in exactly the same way as we treat ideas that come from people within the studio.

For a brief golden age between 2004 and 2007, ice hockey fans across the globe could test their management credentials from the comfort of their own homes with the Eastside Hockey Manager series. The game, developed by management simulation specialist Sports Interactive and published by SEGA, appeared in three incarnations over the course of that period and developed a small, but enthusiastic global following. The trouble was, in those days before mass digital distribution, reaching that small, but dedicated audience proved increasingly difficult and uneconomic so, reluctantly, SEGA and SI shelved the game in January 2007. However, throughout the intervening years EHM has been kept alive by a dedicated section of the SI crew and now, thanks to the emergence of Steam’s Early Access programme, the game that was loved by so many hockey fans is making a dramatic return. Eastside Hockey Manager: Early Access offers fans the most realistic, in-depth and immersive simulation of hockey management available, giving them the chance to manage club or country in any one of the world’s top hockey-playing nations. EHM: EA allows you to take full control of your roster – you decide who to sign, who to trade and who to draft. You assemble the perfect coaching team and then, with everything in place, you can choose to either employ a head coach to guide your team from behind the bench, or take control of the coaching duties yourself. Whichever you choose, you’ll follow the action ‘live’ through the ultra-realistic ‘top down’ 2D match engine. You’ve always known that you have what it takes to lead your franchise to hockey glory, haven’t you? Now, thanks to the re-emergence of Eastside Hockey Manager you have the chance to prove it all over again. Eastside Hockey Manager: Early Access will be available from 6:00pm (GMT) today (26th March 2015) through Steam Early Access: http://store.steampowered.com/app/301120/ Eastside Hockey Manager: Early Access – Key Features - Contemporary League Structures EHM: EA includes 11 playable leagues (with more planned to be added during early access), each one featuring the up-to-date structure and rules from the current season. - Dynamic 2D Game Engine Follow the action through the top-down game engine, which incorporates state-of-the-art physics modelling (including realistic deflections and shot-blocking) and convincing player AI. There’s even a zoom mode for those who want to get closer to the action. - Lifelike Trade Negotiations Managers can gauge interest to trade proposals from their opposite numbers as well as getting feedback from their own assistant. Each team has their own needs and some are ready to offload prospects for that key veteran that makes them a true contender whilst others can be looking to move high-wage veterans in order to rebuild through the draft. - Intuitive User Interface The centralized navigation bar makes management easier and more intuitive with all key management controls incorporated into the main menu bar. - Improved Player Progression Players develop and age naturally, while the role-based attribute modelling makes players more realistic and more varied. - International Management EHM EA: includes 13 international tournaments for senior and U20 national teams, with tournaments hosted in a variety of nations and cities. - Database Import The database format allows the importing of user-generated up-to-date rosters and even historical starting databases (created for earlier versions of EHM). - And Much, Much More… The intuitive tutorial system takes users through the early stages, there’s an option to hide all visible attributes in the game for added challenge, a nation overview screen to view all the top leagues, clubs and players for each country, player/non-player profiles, option to start the game with a fantasy draft, up-to-date ‘all-star’ game formats with skills competitions and many, many other features.

For a brief golden age between 2004 and 2007, ice hockey fans across the globe could test their management credentials from the comfort of their own homes with the Eastside Hockey Manager series. The game, developed by management simulation specialist Sports Interactive and published by SEGA, appeared in three incarnations over the course of that period and developed a small, but enthusiastic global following. The trouble was, in those days before mass digital distribution, reaching that small, but dedicated audience proved increasingly difficult and uneconomic so, reluctantly, SEGA and SI shelved the game in January 2007. However, throughout the intervening years EHM has been kept alive by a dedicated section of the SI crew and now, thanks to the emergence of Steam’s Early Access programme, the game that was loved by so many hockey fans is making a dramatic return. Eastside Hockey Manager: Early Access offers fans the most realistic, in-depth and immersive simulation of hockey management available, giving them the chance to manage club or country in any one of the world’s top hockey-playing nations. EHM: EA allows you to take full control of your roster – you decide who to sign, who to trade and who to draft. You assemble the perfect coaching team and then, with everything in place, you can choose to either employ a head coach to guide your team from behind the bench, or take control of the coaching duties yourself. Whichever you choose, you’ll follow the action ‘live’ through the ultra-realistic ‘top down’ 2D match engine. You’ve always known that you have what it takes to lead your franchise to hockey glory, haven’t you? Now, thanks to the re-emergence of Eastside Hockey Manager you have the chance to prove it all over again. Eastside Hockey Manager: Early Access will be available from 6:00pm (GMT) today (26th March 2015) through Steam Early Access. Eastside Hockey Manager: Early Access – Key Features - Contemporary League Structures EHM: EA includes 11 playable leagues (with more planned to be added during early access), each one featuring the up-to-date structure and rules from the current season. - Dynamic 2D Game Engine Follow the action through the top-down game engine, which incorporates state-of-the-art physics modelling (including realistic deflections and shot-blocking) and convincing player AI. There’s even a zoom mode for those who want to get closer to the action. - Lifelike Trade Negotiations Managers can gauge interest to trade proposals from their opposite numbers as well as getting feedback from their own assistant. Each team has their own needs and some are ready to offload prospects for that key veteran that makes them a true contender whilst others can be looking to move high-wage veterans in order to rebuild through the draft. - Intuitive User Interface The centralized navigation bar makes management easier and more intuitive with all key management controls incorporated into the main menu bar. - Improved Player Progression Players develop and age naturally, while the role-based attribute modelling makes players more realistic and more varied. - International Management EHM EA: includes 13 international tournaments for senior and U20 national teams, with tournaments hosted in a variety of nations and cities. - Database Import The database format allows the importing of user-generated up-to-date rosters and even historical starting databases (created for earlier versions of EHM). - And Much, Much More… The intuitive tutorial system takes users through the early stages, there’s an option to hide all visible attributes in the game for added challenge, a nation overview screen to view all the top leagues, clubs and players for each country, player/non-player profiles, option to start the game with a fantasy draft, up-to-date ‘all-star’ game formats with skills competitions and many, many other features.

Can be found at http://www.footballmanager.com/news/game-and-data-editor-blog

sicalegs - if we find that, on Tuesday, they haven't gone through, we will do that. We're told that the way we're doing things should be OK for them, so it's a waiting game. A large % of those signing/signed up are on hotmail, so we'd rather we played by their rules than having to inconvenience those signing up for info.

sicalegs - hotmail is weird. If you haven't got the mail by Tuesday, I'd suggest signing up again using a different email address. If you ever do get a mail on hotmail, you can always unsubscribe from there. They are well known for having multiple levels of what they define as spam and are the main reason why we have to stagger the mailshots, with no guarentees they won't completely ban the sending of mails to hotmail users.

There have been 2 failed attempts, yes. I blame gremlins. But the reality is the second issue was human error. It was fixed just after midnight last night, and all of those who received the mails without codes (thankfully, from my perspective, "only" 10% of those due to get mails) will get new mails with the codes in. The other 90% will get their emails today, tomorrow or Monday. There's a huge backlog, and we have to stagger sending them or else certain mail providers will block the email address. Who knew sending emails was so complicated? (Well, we did, but weren't expecting the issues we had). Thank you all for your patience.

Is it Pancake Tuesday already? That certainly crêped up on us. But while this is undoubtedly our favourite day of the year here at Sports Interactive, the prospect of flat and floury treats for tea is only one of many reasons we have to celebrate today. First up, Football Manager 2014 has finally battered the opposition by marking a record-breaking 18th consecutive week at the top of the UK PC games chart. This eggs-traordinary feat continues a long tradition of chart dominance for games developed by Sports Interactive. We may get panned for this, but we’ve also just released the winter transfer update for FM14, so the game’s fans across the world can enjoy completely up-to-date squads and player data. The winter transfer update, which is available automatically to all users through Steam, includes all of the player moves which took place during the recently-closed transfer ‘windows’ as well as an eggs-tensive update to the game’s 3D match engine and a number of tweaks and improvements (full details are available at http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/386142-Football-Manager-2014-Update-14.3.0-Winter-Transfer-Update-RELEASED?). Finally, to top it all off, the more adventurous managers out there can now test their mettle in the Gibraltarian league, as we’ve included both of that territory’s divisions (as well as its cup competitions) in an officially licensed ‘added eggs-tra’ that’s available free-of-charge through Steam Workshop. Find out more at http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=232843105&searchtext= . While there’s no way that Pancake Tuesday can be improved, some retailers wanted to join in the celebrations with us, and they’ve decided to cut prices during the course of this special day. As a result Football Manager 2014 will be available to download at a special price through Steam or, for those who prefer their games in boxes, from game.co.uk during the day on Tuesday. Football Manager Handheld 2014 is also available at a promotional price through iTunes, Google Play and the Amazon App Store. You’d better hurry, though, because just like the pancakes, these special prices will be just a memory by Wednesday morning. To keep up to date with Football Manager go to www.footballmanager.com. We’re off now to celebrate like the tossers we are.

Football Manager 2014 is out now in the UK for iOS and worldwide on Android! For iOS users in countries in time zones after GMT, it will be available at 00:01 local time. Please be patient as the app may take a little while to propagate across Apple and Google servers. App Store link (when available in your country): https://itunes.apple.com/app/football-manager-handheld-2014/id599937501?mt=8 Google Play link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sigames.fmh2014 Full details about the game including new features and price can be found at http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/373274-Football-Manager-Handheld-2014 Screenshots are available here: http://www.footballmanager.com/handheld If you have any issues or questions regarding the game, please take the time to read our FAQs: iOS FAQ: http://www.footballmanager.com/faq/?game=39 Android FAQ: http://www.footballmanager.com/faq/?game=40 Please leave any feedback here: http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/373417-Football-Manager-Handheld-2014-Official-Feedback-Thread

Seeing as the first question will be "how much is it", it's £6.99 and whatever that price equivalent is in other countries.

FOOTBALL MANAGEMENT’S BACK IN HAND The world’s greatest portable handheld football management simulation returns offering more depth, a greater challenge and a whole new game mode November 13th 2013 SEGA and Sports Interactive are proud to present Football Manager Handheld 2014, the latest in the best-selling series for iOS and Android devices which allows managers to take control of their favourite club and lead them to glory wherever and whenever they want. While this year’s release still offers the same blend of ‘snackable’ action and unrivalled depth of gameplay as fans have come to expect, experienced players will notice a vast number of improvements and additions, all of which add up to make this the most compelling handheld football management game to date. The most obvious change is how the game looks and feels - FMH 2014 boasts an improved user interface and graphics throughout, along with an all-new home screen and news system (tablets and HD Android phones only). Managers can navigate through every aspect of their career more easily than before, with new pop-up and drop-down controls allowing them to make those all-important decisions quickly and simply. It’s not just how the game looks that’s changed, though, as there have been countless changes ‘under the hood’ too. Managers can now set up their squads and prepare for matches in far greater detail than ever before, employing new control mechanics to make match preparation more detailed and thorough than previously possible. Managers can now create and set new formations and change a player’s position or switch players easily with new touch controls. Perhaps the most striking innovation within FMH 2014 is the introduction of My Club Mode, an all-new feature which allows managers to create their own club from scratch and compete in any league they choose. Everything can be customised, from the club name to the kit colours and even the composition of the squad – build a squad of family and friends, have a new challenge with a random squad or simply put yourself into your favourite team. It’s entirely up to you. Other improvements and enhancements include: - More realistic transfers FMH 2014’s transfer system is the most lifelike and in-depth in the series to date, truly reflecting the real world. Improved AI means that your managerial counterparts now make more intelligent and realistic transfer bids and squad management decisions – all of which adds to the challenge. - Player progress tracking Managers can now keep track of their players’ key stats throughout the season. Clear graphs show if a player is excelling or struggling in specific areas, while major benchmarks are clearly labelled to help the manager decide which members of their squad deserve a place on the next team sheet. - Improved media and player interaction Interaction with players, staff and media is the best it’s ever been in FMH14. Can you keep the media happy without upsetting the board, the fans or your squad? - More extensive analysis Just like in real life, managers now have access to a wealth of analytical data, both before and after matches. - Detailed manager history Managers can now easily look back on the highs and lows of their career, with a detailed account of their managerial records and the achievements they have celebrated along the way. - Cloud Save (iOS only) The introduction of Apple’s revolutionary cloud save technology means that managers can now continue a single career on multiple iOS devices. So, no matter where you are or whether you’ve got an iPad, iPhone or iPod to hand, you’ll always be able to load up FMH 2014 and play that next big match. - Multiple nation set-up (New to Android) Android users now have the ability to choose multiple nations when starting a new game (on selected devices). This allows a manager to move between leagues in various countries during his or her career, rather than being confined to a single territory. Football Manager Handheld 2014 is available from midnight tonight through iTunes (local time per territory) and at midnight GMT through Google Play. Please allow a little time for the app to propagate across Apple and Google servers. Store links: App Store link (when available in your country): https://itunes.apple.com/app/football-manager-handheld-2014/id599937501?mt=8 Google Play link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sigames.fmh2014 Amazon store link: http://bit.ly/FMH14Amazon For further information and screenshots, go to www.footballmanager.com/handheld. Please leave any feedback here: Official Feedback Thread