Wishlist: What you would like to see in future versions of the game. All 'list' ideas in here.

[Guest]

As it is not in FM12 I will once again ask for us to be able to set our cup expectations & to even go as far as telling fan groups at the start that we'll be playing the reserve/youth team in the [insert cup name] this season.

This should have no influence on budgets but should help in eliminating those annoying confidence hits that come with losing in a cup match that you didn't care about as you cannot convey this to the board, fans & most importantly the players.

[noikeee]

As it is not in FM12 I will once again ask for us to be able to set our cup expectations & to even go as far as telling fan groups at the start that we'll be playing the reserve/youth team in the [insert cup name] this season.

This should have no influence on budgets but should help in eliminating those annoying confidence hits that come with losing in a cup match that you didn't care about as you cannot convey this to the board, fans & most importantly the players.

Definitely a good idea, but if you get knocked out at the hands of a lower league team, surely there should be some confidence hit, even if you play mostly reserves/youngsters. Just perhaps not as much as it is currently where a bad unimportant cup result can result in some serious doubts into the team, leading into a poor patch of form in the league.

[Guest]

These single ideas keep popping into my head.

I'd like an addition to the UI that allows me to set individual preferences for offline & online games, this will be very useful because I always forgot to (un)check the move matches for TV option, I know have half a season of European club matches taking place on Wednesday.

Do the reserve in a clan game is even more catastrophic to playability.

[ron6632]

Something I have been meaning to add for a while and really simple (I would hope) to implement

Please, please, please add a "clear unavailable" to the clear selection tab on team selection. I tend to play with the "hide unavailable" filter on to clean up my squad selection and it is a bit of a pain having to keep going in and out of the filters just to remove a suspended or injured player.

Not the end of the world but would be useful!

[soldierblue123]

I would like the option at the start of the game to be able to begin unemployed and then holiday until a vacancy appears at my favourite team. For example, Simon Grayson is the current manager of Leeds United. I start the game and wait until Grayson is sacked before I take over Leeds United.

[Guest]

Imagine how annoyed you'd be if he was a success & was still at the helm after 6 seasons.

[Jonas66]

I think it would really help if when you apply to loan a player from another club, you have the ability to set what squad status they would have, such as other clubs do when loaning players from you, e.g. "they think XX would be great cover for the first team" or "XX Would be an invaluable first-team member" It might help to get players on loan a bit more, and have the club cancel the loan too if you don't play him as much as you say you would?

Also, I think we need a loan response on the managers reactions to transfer stories, e.g: "I'm not prepared to sell XX but I would let him leave on loan" that sort of thing.

Finally, I'm amazed that FM12 didn't improve the player interaction much, if I reject a bid for a player then he asks for a new contract, but I don't have the budget to give him what he wants, I can't tell him that?

[Guest]

I'd like to see a sub page in the player profile showing the reasons why a player has received his yellow/red cards (trip, persistent fouling, simulation, descent, violent behaviour. etc, etc), would help in assigning additional training or disciplinary measures in an attempt to solve an issue that appears to result in the player spending too much time being summoned over by the ref.

[Nick134]

A "lite" editor released with the FM13 demo please

[brabe2]

I've just been playing the 2012 demo and am completely underwhelmed - nothing really new, just tweaks and minor additions to 2011. I won't be buying it. For FM to progress, it really needs to become more fun; this is, after all, a game. I know there are many purists here who believe that anything that makes FM less of a speadsheet simulation is intolerable, but seriously, it should be fun to play not an interminable grind.

Here's my wishlist:

1. I want an option to never be sacked. I know many of you consider this to be unrealistic and thus a never-to-be-contemplated feature, but note that I said OPTION. I am sure there are many like me who enjoy playing a career game taking a club from level 8 to the premiership. Getting sacked is just annoying when playing this type of game. I really don't care if it's less realistic - I just want to enjoy it.

2. I want the option to control finances. I remember playing Total Club Manager (or something like that) and enjoying the RPG-like aspects of building stadia, managing budgets, sponsorships, even the gift shop merchandise. The match engine was crap but there was much to enjoy for people like me who also like strategy games and city-builders.

3. I want the inclusion of RPG-like features that add interesting challenges and choices to the game. For example, I want the ability to do something with my salary. At the moment, there's no upside to negotiating a bigger salary - it just eats into your wage and transfer budgets and it has no impact on the game at all. What if you could spend that money on improving your own character stats: training

badges that allow your players to improve faster or to a greater proportion of their potential; finance levels that improve your ablity to negotiate sponsorships or make ground improvements cheaper, for example; scouting levels that allow you to spot better youth talents; etc. There's a lot that can be done here with a little imagination. You would have to make choices in developng your character: do you want to major in tactical knowledge, youth development, transfer acumen. You can't be great at everything otherwise your choices are not consequential and the game is less interesting.

4. Coaches, scouts and phsios should have hidden stats. They should have different levels of coaching badges that reflect their skill and that should be all you know. For example, if I want to hire a scout, I should be able to choose scout with different levels of scouting qualifications (yes, I know, this is not real life, it's a game) and the higher qualified scouts will have higher scouting abilities, but the actual potential abilities should be hidden. If I choose to hire a level 1 scout then, I will obviously pay less than for a level 10 scout. Once hired, the club can pay for the scouts to level up, but they will only be able to progress to a level commensurate with their hidden abilities, so you could pay for a scout to level up from 7 to 8, but if he is not level 8 calibre, the money will be wasted as he will fail in the attempt. This is another interesting and consequential choice to use finite club funds: do you buy players or spend some money on developing your backroom staff. Similarly, the building of better training and youth academies should play into this too: with inadequate training facilities,you will only be able to attract and develop coaches to a certain level; to attract higher level coaches and develop coaches to a higher level, you first need to upgrade your facilities. Again, this is just more interesting choices in using club funds.

That's the gist of my wishlist: more RPG-like elements to make the game more absorbing. I could go on butI expect that the majority of die-hard fans prefer simulation accuracy over a fun game. It would be interesting to have a poll on these types of game features though - i can't be the only one that wants these things, can I?

[Plan B]

But Football Manager IS a simulation game and the whole point of the game is realism. Your time would be better spent playing FIFA Manager and taking these ideas to them as they incorporate that sort of thing a lot more.

It's alright people saying that FM12 doesn't have major improvements but a few of the new features won't be in the demo because of its life span. Also how many groundbreaking ideas do people think that SI can come up with and actually put into the game? At this stage of the series, tweaks and minor additions are all that's left, that doesn't make it a bad game.

[x42bn6]

At this stage of the series, tweaks and minor additions are all that's left, that doesn't make it a bad game.

Nonsense. There's plenty of new feature requests in this thread that haven't gone in.

Be creative and open to ideas!

[Guest]

The coaching badges idea is not too bad but there are plenty of folk IRL who do not hold coaching licenses yet still work in football, tbh I'm not sure it adds to the game as you've already mentioned the fact that the star system can be viewed as a representation of the persons qualification.

As for the other suggestions they all appear to have one common factor, they were all features in failed or defunct football management games, setting burger prices or designing your new stadium were always trumpeted as great new features but for many they were just pointless fluff & IMHO were used to distract you from the horrible flaws in the key area of the game, it's playability as a football management sim.

[2Pacalypse]

I just saw the thread where Cristiano Ronaldo signed for Vitória de Guimarães after turning 35 years old, and that reminded me of something. Using the Ronaldo situation as an example, i think it would be pretty cool if he, when reaching his last days as a football player, would start talking about a possible move to the team that made him who he is (not exactly his 1st team), in this case it would be Sporting.

As a Benfica supporter one of the most amazing moments was when Rui Costa came back to Portugal to play for my team, after all those years. I'm sure there are a huge number of other examples.

The media could be some sort of catalyst in this situation, or the player's agent could contact the respective team on the player's behalf of course.

[Guest]

I'm currently involved in a pre-season friendly & at half-time my team have suffered 4 injuries due to poor tackles, in this situation I'd like the option to call off the match (it does happen irl) as I do no want to risk players getting further injuries.

Edit: Make that 5 injuries, 3 carried off & 2 being force to hobble on.

[Guest]

Never thought I'd have an idea for FM while watching rugby, I'd like the option to save a 10 man formation & have the ability to include it in our match preparation.

[dsavvy83]

It would be really cool to have a Football Manager game from the earliest possible point where football was recorded so we can create teams like they were in the early football days. For instance if you were managing teams from the 40's there could be updates in the game saying something like 'Pele' has been born and you have to wait for another 16 seasons to nab him, like a football manager game from the beginning have to advance all the way to present day and beyond with all the rule changes that have happened over the years.

I don't know what it will be like having a manager over 100years of age, but maybe you as a manager can leave a legacy of top managers behind so you have a son who is a great manager and so on..... do you see what i mean, the greatest football family manager legacy hall of fame.

And a chance to collect money to help you build up your own team with your own team name to manage etc.. which will take many years and decades to achieve.

Sounds like a lot of work to me but i think it will be extremely playable to go through all the greatest players in the world, and see them play or manage them, you could also include video clips of their famous games.

You could call it Football Manager 'the birth of football'

There will be a lot of research to go back to the early days, I have loads more ideas, this is just a small bit, but i would definitely like to play it.

let me know what you think or when you are thinking of making it hehe?

[Guest]

Sorry chap but I would prefer SI to spend their money on improving their take on modern day football rather than investing time on researching history (remember all the rule changes & different paying styles would have to be replicated), maybe one for the guys that like to create their own mods.

[dsavvy83]

there is no reason why they cannot improve all that within budget and improve stats on the game.

The players can start from whichever season they want, and re-live the old ways of football.

I believe this is something that will be really cool, and never seen done before.

[Guest]

Cool maybe but how much time do you propose Paul C & the team spend on designing a 1950's match engine?

I would also hazard a guess that there is a very good reason that it hasn't been done before. I do seem to recall a football game way back when had some classic matches pre-loaded & all it did was turn of the colour, I might however be imagining this.

[dsavvy83]

Cool maybe but how much time do you propose Paul C & the team spend on designing a 1950's match engine?

I would also hazard a guess that there is a very good reason that it hasn't been done before. I do seem to recall a football game way back when had some classic matches pre-loaded & all it did was turn of the colour, I might however be imagining this.

Hi

I think what is a waste of time is that 3D engine, and after a few games the appeal is lost, i think they can fit better algorithms and larger database without it, much better to have a larger database so i can search for talent around the world, Yes you are right there was a game like that but it was an old Fifa football game, not seen it in a management game like this, i think you have misunderstood the concept, i do not see how this idea would hinder the game, i think it would help to make it more dynamic.

[Lazaru5]

I'd like to see an historical FM but I'd like certain restrictions. Rather than FM today where we can sign anybody we can convince to join us and afford to pay for, a historical FM would have to have all the historical transfers too. So players would join clubs on the same dates they did IRL and leave them the same way. The same thing should happen with managers too with perhaps some caveats to avoid human managers getting replaced, or maybe even making human managers only take on a historical manager's persona and career. The aim, I suppose, would be to emulate or better that particular manager's career, perhaps with some real-life comparison available in-game or something?

Basically, same managers, same teams, same players, but you are Herbert Chapman, Alf Ramsey, Matt Busby, Alex Ferguson, or whoever. The game starts at the same time and at the same club as the managerial career of your choice and ends when and where it ended IRL. Obviously rule changes would also have to be future encoded too.

You'd get the opportunity to change that little bit of history

[PhilT]

I'd like to see an historical FM but I'd like certain restrictions. Rather than FM today where we can sign anybody we can convince to join us and afford to pay for, a historical FM would have to have all the historical transfers too. So players would join clubs on the same dates they did IRL and leave them the same way. The same thing should happen with managers too with perhaps some caveats to avoid human managers getting replaced, or maybe even making human managers only take on a historical manager's persona and career. The aim, I suppose, would be to emulate or better that particular manager's career, perhaps with some real-life comparison available in-game or something?

Basically, same managers, same teams, same players, but you are Herbert Chapman, Alf Ramsey, Matt Busby, Alex Ferguson, or whoever. The game starts at the same time and at the same club as the managerial career of your choice and ends when and where it ended IRL. Obviously rule changes would also have to be future encoded too.

You'd get the opportunity to change that little bit of history

Yeah, being able to manage through the period of the 70's n 80's. Don't think it could ever happen but a great idea

[ketchup]

I would like too see different hairstyles, to make the player look more unique

[phnompenhandy]

I would like too see different hairstyles, to make the player look more unique

There is a graphics add on that adds loads of extra hairstyles to regen pics. It's in the Graphics forum.

[phnompenhandy]

Yeah, being able to manage through the period of the 70's n 80's. Don't think it could ever happen but a great idea

A couple of guys are going to work on a 'downgrade': a database of football from 1995 - it's in the Editors Forum.

[metisse]

Random thoughts.

1. I really think that ability to add multiple teams in the list of your fav. clubs whould be great. Other managers have sometimes up to 5 teams there, why human player can't have at least 3 then?

2. Ability to add/remove fav. personal. The same logic here.

3. Ability to choose your short-term/long-term plans in the drop down menu. It may be usuful to have if some big club planning to aproach you, and if their interest is only slight they may walk away assuming you have something like "happy with his current club". If the interest is big then they may still try and buy you, you greedy bastard.

[Smurf]

Posted this over here http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/278451-FM12-offering-contracts-idea?p=7167826#post7167826

I know this doesn't bother some people. Some hate it. Some don't. Some are indifferent.

But I'm really disappointed an improvement hasn't been made here. Really, they can't find a better way to off contracts to staff and players?

Here's a Flash video (10.8mb)

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/17210757/Offering_contracts_finger_dance.swf

I don't mind having to go through each player - per se.

But what if there were a few buttons thrown up there to make less clicks. You can see in that video as I was offering contracts I double backed on myself. With my proposed way this wouldn't happen.

I'd be definitely on for the "Offer Contract Button" beside each name. Once offered that becomes "Grayed out".

I'm not sure where I was going with the buttons on the right. But something to offer wages right there. Once you select this and go to "Offer Contract" it would show you what you offered and what they are suggesting/demanding.

I also really love the "i" button beside player names and throws up a list of the players stats etc. Why isn't that on the "offer contract screen"?

[grep]

3 difficulty levels :

1) Early Sunday morning player

2) Casual player ( actual FM12 set )

3) Normal player

[Guest]

We already have a difficulty setting, starting rep does to an extent define how easy or difficult the game will be. Try managing a top division side with a Sunday league rep & see how different it is to starting with an ex-pro/international reputation.

If another difficulty setting was introduce how would it show itself in the game?

[noikeee]

3 difficulty levels :

1) Early Sunday morning player

2) Casual player ( actual FM12 set )

3) Normal player

God, no. Thankfully it's been suggested millions of times and SI always rejected it.

A far better idea to tone down the difficulty of it is to allow us to turn off completely certain areas of the game. Such as the teamtalks/press conference side of things. Realistic yes, but f*cking tedious. Let the people who like micro-management have it, but let people who like to hurry up in order to do long careers turn it off.

(waits for the obligatory SI employer coming in and asking "why don't you buy FM Handheld?" )

[grep]

We already have a difficulty setting, starting rep does to an extent define how easy or difficult the game will be. Try managing a top division side with a Sunday league rep & see how different it is to starting with an ex-pro/international reputation.

If another difficulty setting was introduce how would it show itself in the game?

I disagree because even if you are somehow right stating that, the difficulty level shouldn't hit how much your players listen to you. That's not exactly a difficulty level, it's more curving game engines instead. The top difficulty could therefore be to having a mute manager so player can't hear his shouts....this is not exactly a difficulty level

Even if SI clearly stated there will never be such option ( I dunno really why SI hate it ??? ) I will keep on wishing for it.

[milnerpoint]

There is no way to program a difficulty setting into FM, what would the AI do less off to make the game easier? Or what would the AI do more of to make the game harder? Thankfully this will never make it into FM.

[Guest]

You've sort of answered your own question, how would we or SI define a difficulty level?

[grep]

You've sort of answered your own question, how would we or SI define a difficulty level?

Like every other game published since 1975 starting from Space Invaders for example ?

In Civilization V for example it is much more complicated and none the less they managed to have 6-7 difficulty levels.

Told that and considering that SI will never do that, I just wonder why having such option to choose from is worrying you. :confused:

[Guest]

Doesn't worry me as such, I'd just set it to highest anyway.

If I can ask, are you from the point of view that this game is too easy or too difficult?

If it's the former then all SI can do is keep working on improving the AI, if it is the latter then how can the game be made easier?

[x42bn6]

There is no way to program a difficulty setting into FM, what would the AI do less off to make the game easier? Or what would the AI do more of to make the game harder? Thankfully this will never make it into FM.

Harder AI would look further into the future and evaluate options to deeper levels.

[Guest]

Surely that is just a better AI rather than a stepped difficulty rating.

[milnerpoint]

exactly, we want the AI to do that anyway, never mind with a difficulty setting.

[Guest]

Brazil Serie D

I can keep dreaming cant I? ;\

[phnompenhandy]

Brazil Serie D

I can keep dreaming cant I? ;\

You can make it yourself.

[x42bn6]

Surely that is just a better AI rather than a stepped difficulty rating.

It can be both. In Chess, one of the ways to make a more difficult AI is to let it evaluate more plies. A rubbish AI might evaluate 5 ply (a novice Chess player evaluates around 5-10 ply), a good AI 20 ply (IMs), and very good AIs 30+ (GMs operate at 30 ply on average, I believe).

[Guest]

You can make it yourself.

I know that. and i dont care.. i want it official.

[noikeee]

It can be both. In Chess, one of the ways to make a more difficult AI is to let it evaluate more plies. A rubbish AI might evaluate 5 ply (a novice Chess player evaluates around 5-10 ply), a good AI 20 ply (IMs), and very good AIs 30+ (GMs operate at 30 ply on average, I believe).

Yeah but that logic doesn't extend to FM very well. The AI is already a bit of a mess. Now imagine them trying to program different separate levels of AI. Not going to happen.

[x42bn6]

Yeah but that logic doesn't extend to FM very well.

I'd like to see proof of that given FM doesn't implement this already.

The AI is already a bit of a mess. Now imagine them trying to program different separate levels of AI. Not going to happen.

This is the wishlist thread for a reason.

Nobody cares about the potential difficulty of implementation - it's a wishlist. A bit like the wishlist you wrote to Santa as a kid.

"Good AI" should ideally not be on a wishlist, but be a "given", of course, but there's progress for you (in SI terms).

[Kriss]

I'd like to see proof of that given FM doesn't implement this already.

This is the wishlist thread for a reason.

Nobody cares about the potential difficulty of implementation - it's a wishlist. A bit like the wishlist you wrote to Santa as a kid.

"Good AI" should ideally not be on a wishlist, but be a "given", of course, but there's progress for you (in SI terms).

Are there any games that have good AI? I think of games like Civ, (all the Sid Meier games come to that) it's the one factor common to all games that never really seems to cut the mustard.

Although given the structure of FM I actually think it's AI could be improved within whatever constraints there are on AI development.

[lawstraljan11]

Club negotiations. Managers travel to other clubs to discuss a possible transfer for a player, and negotiate sale price etc in real-time.

[Guest]

An agent for me, I'd like someone that can be sent on a secret mission to find me a better job.

[grep]

It is just a matter of algorithms. I mean how good programmers are on " teaching " the AI how to behave in a dynamic way simulating a human behaviour that is not a strict if->then but it " learns " from mistakes and act choosing among a bunch of possibilities, dynamically.

To the common way of thinking it may sounds like a " back to the future " movie concept but in simple words the AI must be teached to learn from its own mistakes and adapt itself to correct to improve, based on statistics of course.

It is a concept the nowdays AIs are not using in games but within robotic programming that's not such a fantascientific concept instead. Japan robot programmers already started to instruct robots to change the program behaviour based on a bunch of pre-made possibilities, it works and it also gives to the program a non predictable component, at least how it is perceived.

[milnerpoint]

It is just a matter of algorithms. I mean how good programmers are on " teaching " the AI how to behave in a dynamic way simulating a human behaviour that is not a strict if->then but it " learns " from mistakes and act choosing among a bunch of possibilities, dynamically.

To the common way of thinking it may sounds like a " back to the future " movie concept but in simple words the AI must be teached to learn from its own mistakes and adapt itself to correct to improve, based on statistics of course.

It is a concept the nowdays AIs are not using in games but within robotic programming that's not such a fantascientific concept instead. Japan robot programmers already started to instruct robots to change the program behaviour based on a bunch of pre-made possibilities, it works and it also gives to the program a non predictable component, at least how it is perceived.

Yes but your not talking about 1 AI learning your talking about hundreds upon hundreds of AI managers learning all the time, now i am no computer expert but i just dont think what you want is possible with your bog standard PC, its going to take a HUGE amount of computer processing to have hundreds of AI's learning and thinking all the time.