FMC (FM Classic) - Your thoughts after having played it

[Lucas]

Yeah you actually have to apply them for them to take effect

[tigerhgrrrrrr]

I used to really enjoy taking a team in the lower leagues (League 1 / League 2), signing a few gems, tweaking the tactics and then trying to get them promoted but the intense micro management of FM11 and it's ilk virually made this impossible as it took so long to do. Also, even with maximum Database I struggled to find players but now on FMC I'm finding more players than before, if I can afford to get them (like before) then they'r in the team in no-time scoring goals. Meanwhile in normal FM I'd still be answering questions on their arrival in the press conference.

Honestly i cant say this enough, FMC is a proper simulation that FM should have always been. Normal FM is more akin to a sims type game with how long it takes to do the most menial of tasks. If you want to 'manage' then FMC is the one to play. It's a shame that having viewable 'unlockables' makes it seem a bit amateruish in this regard.

Also Team Talks...please leave these out! If you want to give your team a boost you invariably change tactics anyway and long may this continue. Whilst it's true that managers do give words of wisdom to encourage their players, what do they also do at Half Time? They tell the players to 'get stuck in', 'pass to feet' etc. - basically any manner of the touchline shouts thats in the game. So TeamTalks are in the game except you now dont have to put your arm round them and plead for a good performance.

Excellent post Steve, espacially the 2nd paragraph. The "other" version of FM seems to have gotten bloated with things like complex training & Media mind games, things that are not the essence of football but which you ignore at your peril. Also the FMC skin looks how FM should look in 2012.

As the converts no doubt do not need telling there is enough depth to FMC to make it a proper experience, though there are several data screens that could be added (see other threads). I actually take ages to play the game and FMC makes this better for me, it is not all about speeding through the game, just streamlining the guff.

As an example:

My release day game playing hours last year & this year:

FM12: pre season = 24 hrs

FMC13: pre season = 13 hrs - helped in part by "instant result" (for frendlies only), although in FM12 I let the Ass Man take a number of these matches.

*hours approximated.

[Babak G]

Good comments there that its not just about speed but about streamlining. Im still wary to play it cause of the number of leagues present mainly.

[spankie]

Just to clarify the unlockables are optional or once they're unlocked they actually take effect?

They are all 100% optional. Once you have unlocked them you have to enable them.

[Babak G]

Thanks for the confirmation!

[SucksAtFM]

I have really enjoyed it so far. However I have just taken over at Portsmouth (who were 20th in the league after 20 games), I have got them up to 10th after 30 games but the board are disappointed that we aren't higher. It seems like it is taking into account the performance before I became manager.

[ima92]

I started a new game unemployed yesterday at blue square south team, but after reading this post I really feel like leaving it and start again on Fmc lol, the only thing that keeps me from not being sure is the tutoring and individual training thing, since I really like developing my younger players...

There is also the fact of not choosing where to scout since I sometimes like getting young players from certain places, but I can get over that

Also, how does team gelling work on Fmc? Same as full right? I mean you can't keep firing and hiring new players all the time right?

[Kriss]

Also, how does team gelling work on Fmc? Same as full right? I mean you can't keep firing and hiring new players all the time right?

Works the same as I found out to my cost

[ima92]

Works the same as I found out to my cost

Lol that's nice to hear , and one last question, how does loaning players work? Do I get to choose where they go or the dof takes care of all that stuff? And is it true there are no team affiliations at all?

[Babak G]

Works the same as I found out to my cost

Whats the consensus with the SI boys? Most playing FMC or the full game?

[Kriss]

Whats the consensus with the SI boys? Most playing FMC or the full game?

I really don't know but suspect most are full fat, maybe Lucas can give us an insight.

Personally I'm completely hooked on it, full fat was far too heavy for me.

[Kriss]

Lol that's nice to hear , and one last question, how does loaning players work? Do I get to choose where they go or the dof takes care of all that stuff? And is it true there are no team affiliations at all?

DOF does it if you want, myself I haven't hired one and handle all that myself.

[Lucas]

I really don't know but suspect most are full fat, maybe Lucas can give us an insight.

Personally I'm completely hooked on it, full fat was far too heavy for me.

Glad to hear it Quite a few guys internally are liking it as well, more than FM in some cases. In a days gameplay I can get through a season (like today in my game with my Palencia game) which is unthinkable when I have played FM in the past.

[Nolars]

Big con not being able to control scouting.......... Beat's the whole point of this game mode actually takes me longer to search for players..........

[ima92]

How do I see player attribute changes in this skin? I mean like those green or red arrows that can be activated on full fm, or we can't simply see it on classic?

[jpaiva]

FMC mode for me is the right direction to convince me buy this game eventually. I used to play and like FM since the early days (FM10 was the last I played) because of the simulation it tries to bring into the game, but it just got to a point where I feel overwhelmed about what I need to take care as a coach, which does not even happen in real life...

What is still missing:

- I want to be able to choose whatever leagues and nations I want to play! Not stick to only 3! I like to select a bunch of leagues as I like to start unemployed And I don't mind if it slows down the progress. Really, this is the main reason I am still not playing FM this year once again.

- I would not mind to have BASIC team talks if that can help work out the motivation of the players.

Also I think we should behave more like a real coach. The coach should not have the duties of buying players and offer/renew contracts. The coach should have the staff doing that duties for him, giving him options and ultimately the coach will accept or reject and he will also indicate to the staff/board what players he would like to buy/loan, to keep or to sell/loan.

I think playing FM should be more like a simulation of a real coach (obviously without all the details as in the real life because that is just not possible, nor make sense in a recreational game!). In FM today the player behaves like the president/manager/director/coach, taking all the decisions and that just adds time wasting and takes out some of the fun that I believe we would have if we didn't have those duties, just like a real coach does not have in real life.

I would like to see better 3d engine - graphics and mostly players AI. I am a little bit disappointed about what I saw in the demo.

And last but not least: REMOVE THE UNLOCKABLES. That is just noob, and it does not make any sense, it is like allowing people to cheat!! REMOVE IT. If you guys want, you can add achievements, but please remove those stupid UNLOCKABLES. I am waiting for FM14 now.

[Kriss]

Well there's a first!

First season got unexpected promotion with Nueva Chicago, second season was an unmitigated disaster and went back down with a thump.

Instead of a brown envelope thudding on the mat I got a new contract offered at 40% reduction.

Is this new?

[Diehard Si]

I'm 31, Prof worker with a new born baby at home. If I manage 10 hours a week it's a good week.

I've always wanted to start from the lowest Eng league. And now I can.

Just please add personal training.

[Lucas]

Well there's a first!

First season got unexpected promotion with Nueva Chicago, second season was an unmitigated disaster and went back down with a thump.

Instead of a brown envelope thudding on the mat I got a new contract offered at 40% reduction.

Is this new?

Yeah, I picked up into my career game in 2013, as an unemployed manager I was able to negotiate an original 18 month contract to 5 years by reducing my wages.

[Kazza]

Hi

I play the full fat on my monster PC, for the processing advantage and database and so on.

But, on my old lappy, I have started a game in FMC mode. Not touched the challenges yet but will, and I am finding that I really like the interaction, speed and feel of the game. There's some lovely little touches from the screen news update through to the overall feel of the UI.

In fact this year FM has given us a full game, fmc and the challenges, brilliant value.

My old lappy copes really well even in 3D with FMC so for me I am finding both versions great and each have their pros re my pc systems.

[SmurfDude]

I used to really enjoy taking a team in the lower leagues (League 1 / League 2), signing a few gems, tweaking the tactics and then trying to get them promoted but the intense micro management of FM11 and it's ilk virually made this impossible as it took so long to do. Also, even with maximum Database I struggled to find players but now on FMC I'm finding more players than before, if I can afford to get them (like before) then they'r in the team in no-time scoring goals. Meanwhile in normal FM I'd still be answering questions on their arrival in the press conference.

Honestly i cant say this enough, FMC is a proper simulation that FM should have always been. Normal FM is more akin to a sims type game with how long it takes to do the most menial of tasks. If you want to 'manage' then FMC is the one to play. It's a shame that having viewable 'unlockables' makes it seem a bit amateruish in this regard.

Also Team Talks...please leave these out! If you want to give your team a boost you invariably change tactics anyway and long may this continue. Whilst it's true that managers do give words of wisdom to encourage their players, what do they also do at Half Time? They tell the players to 'get stuck in', 'pass to feet' etc. - basically any manner of the touchline shouts thats in the game. So TeamTalks are in the game except you now dont have to put your arm round them and plead for a good performance.

I agree. I know in real life managers are tasked with talking to the media, whether they like it or not. But the beauty of a video game is we can cut out all the monotonous, repetitive, and dull tasks that we'd rather not do in real life, and instead concentrate on the good stuff. This is what FMC does perfectly. For the first time in ages if I have a couple hours free in the evening I feel like I can "pick up and play" FM, because I know the time will be spent doing things that are actually enjoyable.

[Kraiden]

I have really enjoyed it so far. However I have just taken over at Portsmouth (who were 20th in the league after 20 games), I have got them up to 10th after 30 games but the board are disappointed that we aren't higher. It seems like it is taking into account the performance before I became manager.

I hope things like this will be fixed. You should post this in the bugs forum.

[Lucas]

I have really enjoyed it so far. However I have just taken over at Portsmouth (who were 20th in the league after 20 games), I have got them up to 10th after 30 games but the board are disappointed that we aren't higher. It seems like it is taking into account the performance before I became manager.

Can you post this in the bugs forum please?

[spankie]

Big con not being able to control scouting.......... Beat's the whole point of this game mode actually takes me longer to search for players..........

You need to know how scouting works in this game.

if I can give people one tip on scouting and that is to cancel the New talent search and just continuously run the Known Talent search until the scout can't recommend any other players.

The benefit of this is that the scout will within a couple of days give you a shed load of new scout reports from players where he has 100% knowledge. The first few time you run this you'll get over 20 scout reports of players who are good enough for your teams and in some instances are even better. I'm managing in BSN and I got a couple of players with League 2 potential who are in and around my first team.

The New Talent search will make the scout look in the nations where eh hasn't got 100% knowledge. In my game that hasn't yet given any results, but that because I'm only running the English leagues. I have had a manual look in Scotland and there're aren't any players interested in playing for that small a team.

[tyro]

After reading this thread I gave FMC a shot as I don't have that much time to play. It actually feels really quick and nice even though I watch the matches in 3D.

I'm still struggling without the team talks. These really made everything simpler and let you turn around when you started losing. I tried FMC with Werder Bremen and got sacked in November after losing more than winning. I never was sacked before but it inspired me to start over again and try again and see what I can change. Many times the games were very close and towards the end I got a better sense of he squad but by then it was too late and a game against Dortmund which I was sure I couldn't win sealed my fate.

Scouting is fine. The skin and information available is great and really helps you spot important things quickly. It is harder than the normal version because you have less control - training, team talks, staff.

Definitely like it but its a challenge.

Edit:

When I hired a new assistant manager the training page with the stars came up when setting his assignment. 1) I can't seem to find that page anymore, and 2) as the assistant manager has mostly judging and tactical stats the training stars were 2 and 2.5 stars.

This seems to imply that I need a really rounded as.man. to have good training and advice. Maybe it might be good to have at least another coach maybe assistant coach who can have stats focuses on training while the as.man can focus on the tactics and advice?

Another note, while teamtalks take some time, it would be possible to just use the general teamtalk option that the full version also has. Instead of being able to talk to each player you just talk to the group in general - get out there and show me something else if losing, or good job if winning, or so t get complacent. 3-5 options won't slow the game down in half time and give you some chance to turn things around with respect to morale.

[Im not Mozzer]

It does, it takes time but it works. You need to consistently play them there for them to achieve it. I've seen it happen quite a few times in my saves

Yep Marvin Sordell is now AML/ST due to my tactical insistences

[RTG]

is there a way to play with the classic mode skin in full mode?

[MacZidane]

is there a way to play with the classic mode skin in full mode?

Yeah, you can download it from various sources.

[Babak G]

I can live with all the streamlining but my main gripe remains the 3 leagues quota.

[BamBamBam]

I'd play it if you could have more than 3 leagues.

Please change this Si.

[donpost2]

I've spent more time playing FMC than I have playing the last five FM versions in total - I love it! It's so much more fun now I don't have to worry about what tone of voice I use to tell my right winger not to let his performance drop, or worry about falling foul of the media because my assman said the wrong thing at a press conference.

I'd like to see a few more stats screens included though. For example a more detailed Finances screen wouldn't go amiss.

[tigerhgrrrrrr]

I dont seem to be able to access other Clubs info (stadium details, history etc), just their squad listing. This kills the immersiveness for me. I presume either I am looking for the info in the wrong way (cant find it by club info) or this info is stripped out to slim down the save file size. If the latter, this seems shortsighted to me.

[Rafalution]

history is on the profile tab, stadium details are on the information tab (both under overview). not sure where you are looking.

[ianscousemac]

I love it. I have always been a massive fan of CM then FM and unfortunately due to commitments haven't had the time to play for a while. FMC though I can bang through about 10/12 games a night and complete a season in 3/4 days where as FM 2012 i struggled to complete a season in 2 weeks.

Big thumbs up from me and I expect it to get better each year. Well done.

[smallclone]

I am hooked too. Just the right game length for me. Scouting is fine. There are a few bugs but hey ho.

What I don't like is:

-The inability to be able to add / delete leagues. I choose England and it gives me all the way downb to blue sq. What if I just want top 3 leagues to make the game faster?

-The inability for comments on performances. This for me seems a bit too sparse. You should eb able to choose a comment to tell your players at least something after the game. Otherwise, how do they know what you think of their performance?

-player attribute changes

Love the skin though.

[spankie]

You can still discipline players for a poor performance, but I've had mixed results with that.

[rich10]

Damn you FMC lovers, this is a great thread, I suppose I'll have to give it a try and see what all the fuss is about

I would agree with the 'FM has grown into a lot of micro managing' comments, I do not look forward to setting up a new game at all with the full fat version.

Hopefully FMC will allow me to hark back to my CM2 days and rattle through a season whilst still feeling in control.

[Toney]

Match Engine problems aside, I'm loving FMC.

No more meetings and other useless crap that drains your play time...

That said, and I think it's a very big issue, is the lack of personalized training. I'm fine not having tutors and individual training, but plz let us have strikers train attacking and defenders train defense (like in FMH)... you end up with very unbalanced teams and that's very frustrating.

Other than that, spot on (again, ME aside).

[markcox7]

I dont really see the need for it, in the full version you can get your ass man to do the team talks. It just looks like a slightly polished version of more tacky attempts at football manager games really. If i wanted a quick version of a football manager sim, i'd go buy one. Full version for me all the way i think

[spankie]

Thank you for the insight, have you actually played it or are you one of the people complaining about a gamemode that you never have the intention to play?

[rich10]

So I loaded up my first FMC game last night.

The presentation is impressive, from the newspaper style news screen through to the Match Plan area. Colourful and slick, a big thumbs-up to the designer on this, and it's a load-off no longer feeling bogged down in the ever-increasing tenuously-linked mail in my inbox.

I'm already at the end of September as, although this is as much to do with having £5m to spend on a Premiership quality striker, but the time between matches is swift yet informative.

The lack of personalised training isn't a big deal for me, as it means you just hire better quality coaches/Ass.Man and place your trust in them. The high-level calendar match-preparation screen is still there at least.

The Instant Result option is nice for those contractual Friendlies you find no real benefit in playing apart from fitness, the ability to give your Ass.Man guides as to how to approach them is excellent and very detailed.

As I had hoped, it seems ideal for those who don't have as much time as they used to, but still want to feel like they are progressing with the limited time they have to play.

It's still early days for me on this version of the game, but so far so promising.

[siambluebird]

It is interesting and I enjoyed the first few games, but then I got bored with it.

To me it is not what FM is about. I feel like I am playing a cheap version of a game where you just sit back and click continue.

Many things I am used to doing I can't do in FMC.

I see it as an online league option more than anything.

I don't think I will feel any success I had was earned.

I see its value though and perhaps in a year or two will find FMC more rewarding than Fat.

[Anti Spiral]

I actually had no plans to use it. But then I had a quick go after getting sacked from my team on normal mode. Now I'm 6 seasons in and kind of loving it. :o I'm planning to use the full version again, once the next patch is out or when I'm bored of this save.

I love the instant result at the moment, though I wouldn't want it on the full game. Trying to get all the unlockables, which is keeping the game interesting, more than it might usually.

I thought this was a step in the wrong direction when I first heard about it... now I'm hooked.

[Andyh21]

Love it, no hassle with stupid team talks etc.

Ditto well put, let alone all the nonsense of complex training etc etc and even match days just commentary does it for me. I've never liked all the 3d/player views etc of games, never been interested to watch a full game on fm such as waste of time. FMC has all you NEED tactics, simple backroom staff setup and players, that's it.

Only into2nd season mind you but yes probably would still be in pre-season of first if the whole thing was done.

[ThunderCelt]

I'm another who was lost from FM due to family, career etc. I've only bought one FM version in the last 4-5 years and have only really been been playing (and loving) CM01/02 due to the overwhelmong detail of FM for the casual PC gamer I've become.

This may well bring me mack to the fold - FMC seems like 01/02 but with a better mach engine, updated leagues and rules, and more difficult to build a team of overachievers, particularly in the lower reputation leagues. I'd like more flexibility like more than 3 leagues and more options for database size and match speed (at least, if they're there I've missed them). Being a more modern game and with my not so modern PC it runs slower than I'm used to with CM 01/02 which I'm finding frustrating, and the interface seems more complicated, but I do think it's likely to be the football management sim that drags my gaming into the modern era.

[cgonzalez]

Even with time to play the full version of FM, the classic mode in my eyes seems perfect. Does away with some of the bits I found dull and boring, and went back to the way the game used to be... also prefer the skin lol.

Doing okay with Liverpool, although the lack of budget and lack of strikers (much like real life) is seriously effecting my first season. Stupidly bought Tiote from Newcastle for £15m which at the time seemed good business, but he really has not settled and does not fit in, so he'll be going at the end of the season to free up more funds lol.

EDIT - Well it was working nicely, until my team hit a run of 5 straight defeats from no where, morale is low and theres no way to improve it with team talks etc... So another flawed aspect of FM13.

[Guest nrvallen]

I like the sound of FMC. I played CM back in the day and really enjoyed the handheld version on iPod but felt it was sorely missing the match engine.

My only concern is having to purchase the full version of FM2013 in order to access FMC. I simply cannot justify it.

Perhaps this slimline version might translate well to home consoles, which would be excellent. Especially as all my friends play on console, love football games and love to compete online.

[heron]

Have been playing 2 and a half season in FMC and I'm loving it so far. Sometimes I feel like I miss some feature from the full game (like yelling at your players when they aren't performing as you'd have liked).

But I found that when I tried playing my other save which I started in the full game, how great FMC actually is. The full game seems so much slower, with a bloated interface (too many options and submenus) and the user interface is far worse (IMHO). Just couldn't get into this game anymore.

Not saying that FMC is perfect (I'd still like extra screens with financial information and post-match analysis), but in the limited time I have (now that I'm older), at least I can get into the game and play more seasons faster.

[tyro]

I'm in the same boat as you. After some frustrating saves (got sacked by Werder Bremen twice around December) I decided to go back to the full game to be able to use the talks and the analysis tools to play better.

The result? It took me almost 6 hours to just set up the full game, getting staff, etc., etc. The loading times make it also much slower.

So I went back to FMC and it was like a different world. You really can see the most important information quickly. Morale hasn't been an issue so far as we are doing well. I'm tweaking my tactics through shouts and by watching the first 20min in full and doing great.

I really am enjoying it.

Things that I do miss? I read in the other thread that the coaches decide what my players get trained in. Then it would be nice to have maybe a second coach or 2 more to be able to have different attributes for them. It's hard to find one who has good attributes in all training categories.

I also miss some of the analysis tools: heat map, where the goals come from, etc.

Other than that I enjoy the nice lay out and the faster pace (despite watching the games for 20min or sometimes longer).

[iolodavanki]

Is there a way not to have attributes hidden by "fog of war" in FMC?

Also, would it be possible to change the attributes so that they do not have coloured backgrounds (if you know what I mean)?