[Should Football Manager be released every 2 to 3 years?]

The Zealander-Loki Doki debate is interesting to think how the game could be improved, but both sides are narrow because they only take the user/consumer perspective into account. We should add two other critical perspectives: business model and software development.

From a business perspective, consider how any alternative model would impact SI total revenues and profits on an annual basis. On a surface level, the current model seems to be the most lucrative one to SI from a financial perspective. Moreover, it makes sense that annual game releases sync with the football league seasons, as both run on a yearly cadence.

From a technological perspective, the software industry nearly entirely operates under the "agile" model (vs. "waterfall" model). "Agile" work favors minor feature improvements towards  minimally viable prototypes, instead of major system innovations developed over multi-year large-scale projects. Other than special innovation squads, I bet that most SI developers spend most of their time working on continual minor improvements.

I'm open but cannot see any alternative game model that can be better from a consumer, business and production perspectives.

[Has anyone ever had a start like this?!]

Yes, on FM21, about half of my matches were a draw. It was with Alfreton (lower leagues in England). Quite annoying...

[Inflated Staff Salaries]

7 minutes ago, XaW said:

I imagine they are, so if you think it's wrong, then please post it in the nation threads with proof of wrong levels.

Sure. How much will SI pay me?... I'm all up for a bit of volunteering here and there, but sometimes you guys forget that we are actually paying for this product, no?...

[Inflated Staff Salaries]

7 hours ago, XaW said:

If you have issues with the data, then please report them in the correct data issue thread. This is the Brazilian one:

 

I doubt this is specific to Brazil. Staff salaries of all countries should be audited by SI.

[Inflated Staff Salaries]

I found very strange that a physiotherapist in Brazil is making 70,000 US dollars a year on my payroll at Flamengo (see first image).

Of course this is an elite club, but I did some research on Glassdoor, and found that the actual salary for a physiotherapist at Flamengo is only 4,000 dollar a year (2000 Reais a month, see second image). A physician doctor makes 36,000 US dollars a year at Flamengo (see second image, for 15,000 reais per month).

These are quite discrepant figures that make no sense. How did SI come up with these crazy salaries?... Any way to fix it?

 

[[FM22][SKIN]Tangfu Skin 2022 beta 22.0.4 [10-25]]

This is how mine looks. I've been trying several skins for FM22, and thus far Tangfu is the best to my liking.

[How many leagues do you load? (Benchmark Thread Research)]

For my beta save, I just want a quick test drive playing with Flamengo. I typically play different journeyman scenarios, for example: all UK leagues, or, all European leagues, or a mix of global top nations, etc.

[[FM22][SKIN]Tangfu Skin 2022 beta 22.0.4 [10-25]]

Love it!   I downloaded them all. It would be helpful to add a brief description of each skin, and maybe rename old numbers. Thank you!

 

 

[Where is Zico?]

Thanks, @decapitated. Good point. I'll be on the lookout for the mod.

[Where is Zico?]

Zico has been a head coach since retirement, now in Japan IRL. But he's not in FM22. Why is that? Please put Zico back. I want to hire him.

[Either I am a tactical genius or FM22 is to easy.]

There is a good reason why the beta is easy: It’s to please a large segment of new purchasers exploring the game. Once the majority of sales is done (by Xmas), SI will start tuning up the game again.

[Either I am a tactical genius or FM22 is to easy.]

Well... Everyone who purchases Beta and posts here after 12 hours is a bit of an insane genius, izn't it?...

[Post your FM22 avatar]

[FM21 "Increase realism megapack" - October Update by Daveincid ( 01.10.2021)]

Hi @Daveincid,

As FM22 Beta just came out, I'd be delighted to be able to use your realism pack for FM22 when it's ready.

Are you planning on creating a new pack for FM22? Any idea of when it would be available?

In the meantime, would your FM21 pack work in FM22?

Many thanks!

[*Official* Football Manager 2022 Early Access Beta Feedback Thread]

I spent 40 minutes with the game for a comprehensive feel. Played one friendly with a lower-league English club.

The game engine feels better, more fluid, new moves, and I didn't see any of the crazy offsides or broken set pieces yet.

Data Hub is new. But only works after 3 league matches. Curious to see.

The rest:
- nice interface, more elegant, modern.
- dark skin is not nice. too dark. Why not more skin options?!
- need to recreate all my FM21 settings (formations, tables, set pieces, etc.) - bummer
- need to reinstall all facepacks and logopacks and remove name restrictions - bummer

Press conference - same experience. maybe a few answer options were rewritten.
Squad, Dynamics, Tactics - all the same
Scouting center - same. a new option/filter by letter rating
Data hub?! new to me. need to explore
Training, Medical Center - same
Schedule, Competion - same
Scouting, Contracts - look the same
Recruitment Meetings - better! Recos are better visuals

Team screen - same
Pep Talk - same, maybe a few rewritten options
Tactics - same, didn't find anything different
Dressing Room midgame pep talk - same, more/different options

All in all, FM22 is minor database upgrade with a few improvements. It's more of the same, a bit better. Don't expect anything "revolutionary".

 

* PS: Next day playing, I found that Weekly Meetings with staff is a very good addition as it compiles a variety of staff issues I need to address all at once.

I'm intrigued still by the new Transfer Value ranges (instead of a single set value). Not sure I like it yet.

Game processes faster apparently (compared to new saves in prior FM editions - let's hope it stays fast!)

Some UX issues: Recruitment profiles do not show player Attributes! Instead a big empty space for Agent demands. I have to hoover player to see attributes. Doesn't make sense not to display attributes as the main dataset on his profile.

 

 

 

[FM21 into FM22]

As we are all excited about the upcoming FM22, I wonder what you are going to do with your current FM21 save? Just stop and drop it?

Also, sorry if this is a dumb question, but a FM21 save file cannot be reloaded onto the FM22 game, right?... (It would be nice to keep my current FM21 save going...)

[Playing with 2 coaches in one save]

On 11/10/2021 at 03:15, ajsr1982 said:

My default is to have six coaches in one save, usually one per continent.

Nifty. How do you accept job offers? Also, this save must take forever to advance...

[When's the BETA out speculation thread]

Any updates on when FM22 Beta will be released? Thanks.

[The Realism Thread]

Enjoyed reading the tips and suggestions here.

Bottom line rule for realism when confronting all of FM game features, systems and options is:

if it feels like cheating, don't do it...

[Suggestions to Edit Nicknames]

I often rename my players and staff using Edit Nicknames. If you use it, can you please share some suggestions that you find helpful or fun to use?

Here's what I often do:

• Rename all first-team players to their last name
• Use CAPS if the player is 5 stars
• Use nicknames to differentiate players (ex. John and Lil' Joe; Lane and Pennylane)
• If I add an X to his name, he is to be sold or sacked.
• If I add an * to his name, he is to be hired or renewed immediately.
• If I add an * before the name, he is to be called up to my National Team (when I'm coaching a country).
• All my staff is renamed as "Job-Title Last-Name Main Rating", such as "Scout Smith 15" or "PT Brown 20".

 

[How long did an FM21 season take you? / Database sweet spots]

3 hours ago, Platinum said:

yh they mean 240 hours

Yes, in hours and not in days is a bit more precise, and avoids confusion. (The game's time log should be avoided too, as it keeps running even when the computer is on sleep mode).

I estimate it takes me a week (or 20 hours) to go through one season. I use two-second interval (sometimes adjusting it to automatic when I'm really impatient).

[City population properties]

9 hours ago, rusty217 said:

Villarreal and Hoffenheim are both tiny, yet have teams that have been in the top flight for awhile and competed in Europe.

It's very rare, and had some outside investment in Hoffenheim's case, but it's certainly not impossible.

Not sure I agree with your definition of "tiny":

Villareal has 50,000 population but it's part of Valencia metropolian area. Has big companies, and its stadium fits 21,000 people.

Hoffenheim is deceiving. It's a "village" with 3,000 people but it's actually in the suburbs of Heidelberg (population 160,000). The club stadium fits 31,000.

So, while definitely not global cities, I wouldn't say these are tiny rural clubs in the middle of nowhere either...

[Funny Screenshots Thread]

Invisible men strike again...

[City population properties]

IRL, it does affect. In FM, where you can lead a tiny rural club to the continental leagues, I'd say it's totally secondary unfortunately.

@Daveincid has developed a mod that takes economic and urban factors into account, so he is an expert on the matter and may shed some light.

[Who plays one single long save?]

Nothing against that, but I usually start a new save after 10 seasons or so (3 months IRL). Yet, the idea of playing a single save for the whole year is intriguing. It's just that I don't enjoy the game as much after 20 seasons, because all players become artificial and the whole experience starts feeling a bit too abstract to my liking. Back to the future...