forameuss

Now if the view was of the hanging gardens of Babylon, you might have a customer.

Giving an entire new footballing world to manage in, one that hopefully has significant differences in how you approach things isn't innovative, but telling you more about Torquay is? Really? Something you could get by alt-tabbing and firing up Wikipedia itself doesn't strike me as remotely innovative or even that useful.

A case study in why more communication from SI wouldn't always work. This tweet says two things - they're still working on it, and previously it's been released in the specified (vague) window. There's literally nothing to suggest that this update will release before, during or after it, yet that's getting inferred anyway. Literally worse off than if they'd said nothing.

Taking an update relating to the actual deaths of tens of thousands, and framing it as a dig at an update to a game not being here yet. Top work.

No, there isn't. Presumably as that would allow people to bulk download what is essentially one of the two pillars SI have above everyone else. Wrapping it up in a clunky editor allows people access to it, but you have to go through a very tedious process to actually use it for any other reason. EDIT: Just posted as Darj did and his is more accurate. If it's basic data you can get in-game then you can probably get it out that way. If it's anything more detailed you can't just get from the player view (or anything that isn't a player) then there's no export option from the editor or the db itself.

Roadmaps are not the same thing. They'd be for far more general things, and to be honest I'm not really seeing what benefit you'd get from it anyway. I'd rather those that actually had the internal views of such things actually concentrated on achieving them, rather than sanitised the roadmaps they almost certainly have for public use. This is talking about putting a date or a guarantee of content about a specific release. Given how easy this community is to hype rile up, that would be incredibly hard to come out of the other side without disappointment. It also doesn't really add much. They presumably have an idea of when an update is to be released and what's to be in it. Is there any measurable positive to telling someone it's going to be out on the 43rd of Julember, and it then coming out on that day, when it would have anyway? Content is more woolly, but is also far more dangerous to talk about considering that things can - and do - change, and that SI's perspective on certain adjustments often differs to the individual user. I'm all for clearer communication (although I completely understand why there's less of it), but to expect them to offer their necks for everyone to almost inevitably stamp over for no real personal benefit is always going to lead to disappointment.

What isn't "an opinion" is one of the clear reasons why they don't communicate those things, because it would be a stupid idea to do so for absolutely no benefit other than appeasing people who - since you've admitted - aren't playing anyway.

So let's imagine they do. They tell you it's going to be out on some specific date. Something comes up in final testing that needs addressing, because it would make the product actively regress, so they postpone. Do you honestly believe that news would be greeted in a level-headed way? Can you see why they might not like to say exactly when something will release when they don't even know for sure themselves?

I once did something similar in a previous save. Had my eye on a player, and they were undoubtedly the jewel in the opposition's crown ahead of the final. Spent a week trying bids and unsettling him, and come the final he had an absolutely stinking game, and we won easily, Signed him a few days later for a lot less than I otherwise would have. Of course, no doubt that's not what the AI is doing here, but still.

You're in Edinburgh, you could try heroin? In all seriousness, you do what clubs in Scotland do now. You either make regular inroads in Europe, or you buy low and sell high. There really isn't much more to it than that.

It kind of does. OP is talking about drawing opponents based on previous results, which doesn't happen. You know all the opponents before a ball is kicked, which is what the reply is saying.

I'll honestly never understand why people completely discount forming their own opinion using the demo in favour of incredibly biased (in any direction, positive or negative) opinions from complete strangers.

It's really hard to take a point that is, at it's core, probably justified, too seriously when you're going around throwing out words like "gaslighting". It's really not that deep. But as for the point itself, the whole reason the bugs forum is there is because the one party that can actually go into the code and determine whether it's a bug, a feature, or just complete nonsense are SI. If something is really bothering someone, then raising it is the quickest way to determining what it is. It's not always going to be as black and white as being either a bug or a feature.

That makes the massive assumption that this would actually solve a problem.

No Passports Needed A British and Irish Steel Attempt Chapter 7: Ayr Force One Job done, although "done" is quite a stretch. We didn't really play well at all considering we were facing the side almost destined to be relegated. We were fine, we were functional, but ultimately that's all we needed to be. Another trophy in the bag, and means we can take it easy in the last few games, and then make a decision on what we do next. All eyes on Firhill... A draw would've ended up being enough with Kelty Hearts dropping points, but it seemed like their bottle had well and truly gone. We'll win this at a canter now. And we did, with a 1-0 win against Livingston followed up by a 3-1 win against Raith Rovers, we finished in a style that didn't really befit the games I'd managed before it. In the end, Kelty didn't just bottle it, they absolutely tanked it. They lost both their final games to conspire to finish outside the playoff spots on goal difference. A terrible drop in form at the worst possible time. Partick Thistle did end up being relegated, but it doesn't seem like they're going to sack their manager. So what about me? Will I stick around?

No Passports Needed A British and Irish Steel Attempt Chapter 7: Ayr Force One Confirmation of the matches going into the weekend. Kelty have to win against East Stirlingshire. No excuses. But they also know that if we win, we're champions. A draw might end up being enough, but it'll come down to goal difference. But first, there's the small matter of a cup semi-final to play as we face...Mark Watson's Falkirk. Of course. Extremely disappointing, but we gave it a damn good go. A very tight match in the 90, and when we took the lead in the 76th I thought we were going to get a fairytale ending. They equalised with pretty much their next attack, and we just ran out of legs in extra-time. Our shallow squad ended up costing us, but we can still be proud of how we played.

No Passports Needed A British and Irish Steel Attempt Chapter 7: Ayr Force One We are so very lucky that Kelty don't want to win this. They only managed to pick up two points from their two games, and our draw leaves the gap at eight with just nine to play for. Win any of those games (or two draws) and it doesn't matter what Kelty do. And you know who is up next? Partick Thistle. Bottom club, on the brink of relegation, and my desired next job. Not much on the line then...

No Passports Needed A British and Irish Steel Attempt Chapter 7: Ayr Force One Blink. We were dreadful, to be honest. We kept up our now customary domination of the play, but we were so, so wasteful up top. Dundee deserved their win, and as I threw more and more at the problem in the latter stages, it showed just how shallow this squad is. What a job Mark Watson did getting them to this point. Kelty yet to play their game, and have a massive chance to close the gap and make things interesting.

No Passports Needed A British and Irish Steel Attempt Chapter 7: Ayr Force One That's the way to do it. Game one goes incredibly well with a 4-0 thrashing of Airdrieonians. It's now about who blinks first, with Kelty Hearts keeping their composure, but Ross County falling. They can still mathematically catch us, but their defeat probably realistically eliminates them.

No Passports Needed A British and Irish Steel Attempt Chapter 7: Ayr Force One It's only bloody happening... The new system is working wonders for dominating the ball, but we were very wasteful when we did have it. Luckily, so were Hearts, and a scrappy, scrappy game ended up coming out in our favour. We'll head to Hampden for the semi final.

No Passports Needed A British and Irish Steel Attempt Chapter 7: Ayr Force One When your luck's in, your luck's in. I left Shelbourne in March, fully expecting that I'd be out of a job until the Summer, at which point I'd pick up a role and be ready to kick off a new season. Obviously not against picking up another role earlier, but it's not likely that one comes up that is so attractive, right? Mark Watson was offered the Falkirk job, which represented a jump to the league above. He was performing way above expectations with Ayr, so it's only fair he gets an opportunity, but it still seems a pretty bold decision to leave with the club ten points clear with six games to go. Not that I'm complaining, as it gives me the perfect opportunity to cross off one more trophy, and then see where we are. Oh, sorry, two trophies, as we're still involved in the Scottish Cup. Big ask to get through the remaining three ties, but if we can get good draws... But the league is the bread and butter. We have eighteen points left to play for and lead by ten, so four wins should guarantee us. And knowing the Championship how I do, everyone's going to drop points anyway. After that, I do have a slight plan. You may have noticed that Partick Thistle languish at the bottom of the league. We play them in game 34, so it's very possible that that game could end up being a dual title and relegation decider. If we relegate them, you'd expect their manager might leave...and then I could be in line to take over and lead a charge up the leagues. We shall see.

No Passports Needed A British and Irish Steel Attempt Chapter 6: Shelbourne Again Now this looks ominous. In my experience, messages like this can usually only mean one thing. But maybe I'm wrong, let's go to the finances screen and see wh... Oh...oh dear. And we weren't just projected to fail, we're projected to fail catastrophically. I suspect the real damage was done before I got here, but I certainly contributed, and with how badly under we are, I think we're genuinely at risk of not making it into Europe next year. Now this is going to inform my future decisions. I thought I was onto a good thing here, and had a platform we could really use to push ahead. Unfortunately...yeah, that's not really going to be a thing if we can't even participate in Europe. So that leaves us with one competition left to win that Shelbourne are eligible for. There's a few others, but they're all region-specific. If we win the President's Cup - Ireland's equivalent of the Community Shield - then we're done. That happens in March. If we lose that one, then we either have to stick around for another year, or leave and hope we can pick it up later. Nah, course we weren't going to lose. A dominant performance that I had geared my entire Spring towards. Job done, and off I go.

No Passports Needed A British and Irish Steel Attempt Chapter 6: Shelbourne Again First up, I just couldn't resist this. Antonello Gatta had already finished his previous loan at Linfield when I came calling, and although he wasn't that interested in joining permanently, he was very interested in re-joining me on loan. Quite an expensive one, admittedly, but I think he's worth it. And if we end up adding him permanently for £10.75m, that will be an absolute steal. A few more transfers that were already set before i arrived, including one that I started back in Belfast. Mikalsen was at Linfield but struggled for playing time. Shelbourne picked him up on a free transfer, and now he's here. I still don't think he'll get much game-time, but we'll see. Alex Palfrey was all me, and it was nice to throw my financial weight around for once. He fills a big need for the side, and should be the beating heart of this side going forward. Finally, Francisco Falcon joins as our future number 1, with the knowledge that our current number 1 probably isn't going to be around much longer. But it wasn't over yet... When you're the king, you can have whoever you want. Even if that's a key player at your rival. Definitely not the sort of age profile we usually go for, but I'm all about building a side that can win trophies now. Weakening a close rival in doing that probably helps. So we may as well do it again. We've now ripped out the heart of St Pats defence, so they surely can't end up as the same team as before. In slightly less ********* terms, here's our final signings. We've taken a squad that could probably have cleaned up domestically and almost won the Conference League and at least given depth, if not outright improvements. So what did that do to our form? It's beginning to look a lot like Linfield. Two massive games early on, and we passed them with flying colours. Had we lost in either of those, particularly against Dundalk, we probably wouldn't have stood much chance of coming out on top in the league. But we won both, and went on an unbeaten run to the end of September. We also started another European season (this summer football thing will never catch on), and proceeded into the Champions League Group Stage with little trouble. Two positive early results too. And we closed out the year looking really strong, remaining unbeaten domestically right up to the end of the regular season. I'll show the table afterwards, but we managed to wrap up the league with games to spare after Dundalk completely fell away. Operation **** St Pats also seemed to work as they ended up way back. That meant we had one match at the end of November to cap off a wonderful season, and Waterford stood little chance of stopping us. 4-0 flattered them. Unfortunately, outside of those competitions, it wasn't so good. Linfield came to our back yard and mugged me off royally in the Irish Champions Cup, and a good 3-2 win in the second leg wasn't enough to turn it around. We were OK in the Champions League, but we're probably facing a tough ask to get to the playoff round with this sequence of results. Confirmation. Seven points in the end, Dundalk just couldn't keep up despite the good results against us. St Pat's finished well clear of Waterford, but they were never really in it since we pillaged them during the transfer window.

No Passports Needed A British and Irish Steel Attempt Chapter 6: Shelbourne Again A rundown of our fixtures up to the point the transfer window opened. First up, the league. And safe to say things did not start out at all well as Dundalk ran all over us in my very first game in charge. Luckily, that seemed to more be a problem with Dundalk than with us as we went on to have a perfect record...until Dundalk beat us again in May. That prompted a bit of a tailspin as we dropped five points in June, including two to St Pats. We're going to be hoping for other results to go our way at this rate to stand a chance of winning the league, as it looks like it's very much Dundalk's to lose. In the Cups, we managed to secure our first trophy just before the window opened with a very strong performance against St Pats, just days after they matched us in the league. Another one crossed off, top stuff. And now the main event. A very bittersweet one. We had an absolutely wonderful run in the Conference League, starting with cementing our spot in just my 2nd game in charge, then turning ties around against both Hannover and Vitesse. We were in the final, and just had to get past Leeds United to secure a massively unlikely trophy. Unfortunately, despite taking the lead, Leeds were just too good for us. Bitterly disappointing, but this shows just what we're capable of, and I see no reason why we can't do this again and go one better. Nice diversion with European football, but now we've got to focus and catch Dundalk. They've been less consistent against others than against us (Hiya Crusaders, Hiya Pal!) so hopefully that continues. Next up, Archie goes shopping...

No Passports Needed A British and Irish Steel Attempt Chapter 6: Shelbourne Again Well, well... It couldn't have lined up better, really. Well, I suppose it could, it could've happened in the off-season, but given Ireland runs a different season, that was always unlikely. I was glancing at the jobs board, as I often do when the club I'm at is getting me down, and I noticed that for some reason, the Shelbourne job came available. On investigation, John Duff had left to join Celtic, and had left them in quite a good position. Only three games had been played in the league, but they were already 1-0 up after the first leg of their Conference League Round of 16 game, leaving me just one game from the quarter finals. As for the league itself, it's basically a three-horse race between Shelbourne, Dundalk and St Patrick's Athletic. We've seen at Linfield that who we face in the Irish Champions Cup always varies, but it's very rarely anyone other than these three. I probably couldn't stand a better chance of crossing off a number of Irish trophies than being here. Confirmation of our fixtures, both prior and future. Quite the baptism of fire with facing Dundalk and then Sivasspor, and it'll be the first time I've joined a club that is already entrenched within their season. No real chance to change the squad, just plug in and go. But when we do hit a transfer window, then jeeeeezo will we have some fun. An absolutely enormous budget, and even more left in the wage budget. Basically if a player is interested, we can probably have them. Never mind being in a position to cross off Ireland, maybe we could even cross off some European trophies... goalkeepers DC DL DR DM MC AMR AML ST As you can see, the team is already pretty stacked in the positions we'll need. But still plenty of room for improvement. But do you know what Ireland doesn't have - SQUAD REGISTRATION RULES! YASS!