Should SI remove press conferences from future FM releases?

[Govnar1]

Should SI remove press conferences from future FM releases? Inspired by STOP ASKING ME ABOUT EX PLAYERS!!!!! (caps rage)

My position on this matter is clarified in post #9

[Jibby123]

If they're not going to develop it and leave it to stagnate as they have they might as well. It's a no for me though, you can ignore them if you want as it is.

[Herbert Fandel]

No, they are part of being a fitba manager.

They definitely need real work, not just half-baked tone additions. Recent action in that regard has been beyond complacenct, but taking them out isn't the answer.

[Kazza]

No, it just needs some love and attention to make it more lively, real, funish and even relevant. It can be useful if you check the impact on your players - it can be useful to wind up opposition mangers at times. I agree that it can be too samey but rather than ditch it, improve it.

If you really do not like it leave it to your assman.

[AjaxNo1]

I like feature even if i dont attend them all its a good addidtion to the game

That and all the speak to press like when you want to try and tap a player up

[Blueflash]

They have been extremely lazy in regards tot hem in the last couple of years. I voted no, but honestly, if the best they can come up with is bad tone additions, they can scrap em.

[apalaxe]

IMO press conferences is part f FM as we know it and it should NOT be removed.

If it's possible to improve it i am all for it.

Press conferences can be automatically handled by the AM for someone who wishes. There are many other aspects of the total game experience that i chose not to handle myself; for each his own.

[dazbowski]

Get rid!

[Govnar1]

Thing is, real life press conferences are just as repetitive and meaningless as press conferences in FM. People generally say what is expected from them, especially top clubs representatives. When have you list time heard an honest answer during football press conference? Honesty is scandalous in football just like in politics/marketing and we all know FM does not simulate such behavior. This feature just does not have potential to develop into something interesting and challenging.

[Herbert Fandel]

Thing is, real life press conferences are just as repetitive and meaningless as press conferences in FM. People generally say what is expected from them, especially top clubs representatives. When have you list time heard an honest answer during football press conference? Honesty is scandalous in football just like in politics/marketing and we all know FM does not simulate such behavior. This feature just does not have potential to develop into something interesting and challenging.

I think there is a lot of truth in that. But I still think that even failing to reach the levels of 'interesting' and 'challenging' still leaves room for gargantuan level of improvement.

[spiralsecurities]

Press conferences are an invaluable tool to raise or lower the confidence or pressure on your team or an opponent. Just like real life.

[Govnar1]

Press conferences are an invaluable tool to raise or lower the confidence or pressure on your team or an opponent. Just like real life.

Do you honestly believe that?

[0gris]

Maybe if they actually were developed a LOT more.

Media pressure, fan pressure, important questions, expectations of how you'd say and different responses if you respond "out of character". Board warning for unnaceptable behaviour, fines etc.

Right now they're just press tone and keep clicking the 2nd option.

[Vami]

Just smooth talk for the lemmings.

[FrazT]

They are a part of the game that cant really be ignored but they require a lot of work to stop them from being repetitive.

[Nasarius]

Thing is, real life press conferences are just as repetitive and meaningless as press conferences in FM.

Great games have been made about everything from war to restaurant management. In reality, these things aren't fun, but you can make it a proper game by cutting out the tedium.

Press conferences as they currently exist in FM represent a basic failure of game design: they don't give the player interesting choices to make.

[Kenco]

There are options already to avoid them, like playing FMC or letting your assistant take them.

I say keep them in but as FrazT says, they need a lot of work. Until then, I'll keep sending the assistant.

FM is an evolutionary process and if something isn't working then it's best to improve it rather than remove it, if they did that in the past we wouldn't have a game now.

[ChelseaFan]

No way. Press Conferences are a great touch to the game. There's something satisfying about slagging Wenger off

[Chalky1989]

They need to overhaul them, they're tedious and boring. Things have to have more variety, I don't want to have been asked every question possible by the end of the 1st season, when I plan on playing a game for 20 seasons.

[Govnar1]

There are options already to avoid them, like playing FMC or letting your assistant take them.

I say keep them in but as FrazT says, they need a lot of work. Until then, I'll keep sending the assistant.

FM is an evolutionary process and if something isn't working then it's best to improve it rather than remove it, if they did that in the past we wouldn't have a game now.

Well they removed arrows and effectively killed transformation.

[haunted1234]

they are repetitive in real life as well.. i dont understand why people keep saying "they need alot of work" and "they are too repetetive".. yeah well in real life a team plays maybe twice a weak (usually once), and they go to the press conference, if you play football manager you have like say 10 games in 2 hours or something...

theres no real way to make press conferences attractive since you gonna have them way often obviously.

[DaveGLeeds]

For what it's worth, here's my two pence.

I think the press conferences need to stay, they're an integral part of the game in real life and of being a manager. But, they do need a massive update. I frankly found it an insult that the 'new tone system' was flouted as an addition to FM2012 and it doesn't do anything! Nothing at all.

Haunted makes a good point that press conferences do come round more often than in real life, but it wouldn't be a massive effort to write maybe 100-200 scenarios and 5 responses for each. Christ, I'm a writer - employ me and I'll do it for you

D

[andrew bowditch]

If they got rid of all the things that dont work 100% from the game, then youd just be left a job of picking 11 players and subs to watch a gamne and nothing else.

Send your ass man if you dont like it, all the features are good IMO.

[Herbert Fandel]

they are repetitive in real life as well.. i dont understand why people keep saying "they need alot of work" and "they are too repetetive".. yeah well in real life a team plays maybe twice a weak (usually once), and they go to the press conference, if you play football manager you have like say 10 games in 2 hours or something...

theres no real way to make press conferences attractive since you gonna have them way often obviously.

In Real life the questions may be very repetitive, but the answers aren't. Of course they could never replicate a humans freedom of expression in terms of available phrasing, but they must do better than offering the same 5 examples of which 2 are 3 often will have clearly detrimental effects and of which there are often some to unrealistic or cringey too ever utilise.

Even leaving the same questions and same answers could be improved if the effects were altered and less predictable

[THOG]

The current press conference module is boring, and that's the only thing that really matters. Realism debate aside, as a general rule of game design, you abstract or remove the boring aspects of activities to make the game as fun and smooth-flowing as possible. This is why the game doesn't ask us to micromanage the design of training drills, discuss the minutia of club finances at board meetings and ensure the club chef remembers to buy your star striker's favourite kind of cheese.

Personally, I think the game should have a fairly detailed media-handling module, but it needs to be very different in design from the current press conference system. The main thing SI should aim for is to create the sense that you're operating in a living, breathing media culture where, like real managers, there's a press focusing on ongoing player and club "narratives" that can potentially affect player morale. Right now, press conferences seem to operate in a vacuum with the same predictable questions being asked every time, and unlike the real world where everyone is aware of the various "stories" dominating discussion of football, it's very easy to lose sight of what's actually happening outside of your club. Personally, I've had games where I just forgot to check who won the Champions League or World Cup... that would never happen with real managers, but in FM, media-handling is like being stuck in some isolated, inescapable room with some tedious bore endlessly asking the same trivial questions with no awareness of what's happening outside of your little Sartrean hell.

Anyway, since its relevant, here's my old proposal for an alternative media module:

Essentially, press conferences should be like team meetings. While the option to engage in the mini-game should be given before and after each match, the player should be given a choice between playing the mini-game and selecting an option to give "platitudes and non-answers." If the second option is taken, the mini-game is ignored with no effect whatsoever (unlike sending an assistant manager). If the player chooses to engage in the mini-game, then the player should be given the option to address specific issues related to the match, opponents or players to achieve a specific effect, essentially replacing the current "talk to press" option.

To make things more interesting, SI can also introduce "questions and controversies," basically broader issues about your team that the media is talking about that could potentially affect player morale, fan confidence and owner confidence over longer periods of time (why isn't Striker A scoring, will Midfielder B move to a bigger club, is Defender C being pushed out by the manager, is Striker D justifying his transfer fee, etc.). Managers would then have a choice of seeing if these stories blow over with minimal effect or using the press conference to address these concerns and end (or if they fail, amplify) their effects. This could also help create more immersion as players could look at the "media" screen to see, in addition to transfer gossip, what storylines and controversies are potentially affecting them AND their opponents, rather than existing in a media vacuum until a reporter throws a question at them during a press conference. This would also create a platform for integrating controversies regarding fan behaviour, financial management, etc.

This would achieve a good balance between reflecting how managers actually deal with the media, providing an actual incentive for players to voluntarily engage in the mini-game and, most importantly, minimizing the amount of repetitive clicking that players must do.

[Things Could Get Messi]

I have voted yes because in the current form they are just boring and repetitive. It is very rare a question comes up and I think to myself that I haven't been asked it before or for a long time.

To me SI either need to improve this feature or get rid of it because at the moment it is nothing more than a dead duck.

[RTHerringbone]

I selected "No", but am not a fan of Press Conferences in their current guise, so I leave them to my AssMan.

They are stale, and as a bare minimum should by now at least have had the phraseology updated as it has been the same or similar since the module was launched.

[Bluewinterz]

The press conferences are extremely repetitive and tedious in their current guise. I say remove them, work on them for a few years, and re-introduce them once they've been substantively improved.

In the future, would it be possible for the game to potentially recognize and react to keywords entered by the human manager when answering questions with their own answers?

[Kenco]

Well they removed arrows and effectively killed transformation.

They were replaced by an improved system of player instructions.

[Ryknow]

Err no. They are an important part of the managerial reign, they are just poorly implemented.

Instead of add fancy new features SI should work on making existing features better for the next FM. Managerial interaction and press conferences need a major upgrade.

The player interaction got some more development with the international scene but more subject matters would be welcome.

For instance I physically can't offer a player what he wants yet I can't ask him to lower his demands, it's greyed out. So I'm going to lose him on a free.

The whole interaction side of a manager is very important so I would love to see this area expanded on.

[MichaelBrown]

Just need reform rather than removal, thus my answer is no.

[Keyzer Soze]

They are a part of the game that cant really be ignored but they require a lot of work to stop them from being repetitive.

It's very hard not to get repetitive when you play 5 or 6 games per day and attend to 5 or 6 press conferences.

In real life, press conferences are also repetitive, the different is that real managers have 1 or 2 per week, while FM managers, depending on the addiction, have so much more.

Apart from some illogical and buggy questions, i think the press conferences are very good... considering that this are questions beeing made by a piece of software and not real reporters.

[fmFutbolManager]

They have to be in there. They are a part of a football managers job. But they can be improved.

[Jibby123]

The current press conference module is boring, and that's the only thing that really matters. Realism debate aside, as a general rule of game design, you abstract or remove the boring aspects of activities to make the game as fun and smooth-flowing as possible. This is why the game doesn't ask us to micromanage the design of training drills, discuss the minutia of club finances at board meetings and ensure the club chef remembers to buy your star striker's favourite kind of cheese.

Personally, I think the game should have a fairly detailed media-handling module, but it needs to be very different in design from the current press conference system. The main thing SI should aim for is to create the sense that you're operating in a living, breathing media culture where, like real managers, there's a press focusing on ongoing player and club "narratives" that can potentially affect player morale. Right now, press conferences seem to operate in a vacuum with the same predictable questions being asked every time, and unlike the real world where everyone is aware of the various "stories" dominating discussion of football, it's very easy to lose sight of what's actually happening outside of your club. Personally, I've had games where I just forgot to check who won the Champions League or World Cup... that would never happen with real managers, but in FM, media-handling is like being stuck in some isolated, inescapable room with some tedious bore endlessly asking the same trivial questions with no awareness of what's happening outside of your little Sartrean hell.

Anyway, since its relevant, here's my old proposal for an alternative media module:

Very good points if they want to develop this. I get that media could add so much to this game, it's a huge part of football managers, but I think they've introduced it and then ignored it. 'Tones' added as the only change since is poor really.

Sheesh, even just something as simple as changing the text of actual questions and answers would be better than 'tone'. Which I'm a "standby sitrep wait out" on what 'tones' actually do for better or worse as to being a good or bad manager. Cosmetic at best, lazy at worst and if we cut the two down they seem to be one and the same thing anyway.

Too much frustration over rides too much actual game play effect.

[dankrzyz]

The current press conference module is boring, and that's the only thing that really matters. Realism debate aside, as a general rule of game design, you abstract or remove the boring aspects of activities to make the game as fun and smooth-flowing as possible. This is why the game doesn't ask us to micromanage the design of training drills, discuss the minutia of club finances at board meetings and ensure the club chef remembers to buy your star striker's favourite kind of cheese.

Personally, I think the game should have a fairly detailed media-handling module, but it needs to be very different in design from the current press conference system. The main thing SI should aim for is to create the sense that you're operating in a living, breathing media culture where, like real managers, there's a press focusing on ongoing player and club "narratives" that can potentially affect player morale. Right now, press conferences seem to operate in a vacuum with the same predictable questions being asked every time, and unlike the real world where everyone is aware of the various "stories" dominating discussion of football, it's very easy to lose sight of what's actually happening outside of your club. Personally, I've had games where I just forgot to check who won the Champions League or World Cup... that would never happen with real managers, but in FM, media-handling is like being stuck in some isolated, inescapable room with some tedious bore endlessly asking the same trivial questions with no awareness of what's happening outside of your little Sartrean hell.

Anyway, since its relevant, here's my old proposal for an alternative media module:

+1 to everything here. If you've ever watched a full, unedited press conference, you know how tedious and unremarkable they are. Most answers are political dodges of questions or predictable platitudes, which surely don't affect players' morale or impression of their manager. Only occasionally are there especially charged or relevant questions. Those are the very, very few that will show up on the evening sports news program or in the paper.

Right now, there are only two options: go through each question manually, or completely delegate the press conference to the Assistant. Maybe there could be a "highlights only" mode to press conferences (like there is for the actual gameplay)? Provide an option for "predictable, platitudes, and other unremarkable response" UNTIL/UNLESS a specific or charged question comes, then require the manager to specifically respond. If there aren't any, skip through the conference without consequence. Amp up the media scrutiny for an under fire manager, or against a rival, or when facing immenent relegation or a close fight for a European spot, for season long storylines, controversies etc, but allow the manager to skip through basic questions about unimpressive matches or trivial media inquiries that wouldnt draw players', fans', or the board's attention.

Everything Hand Of God said.

[RBKalle]

Press conferences IRL can be rather boring and repetitive, but in FM they're behind tedious... There's a "right" combination of answers to pick in order not to upsed the players, so all you have to do is take a quick look at the questions and go for #2 or #4 depending on the positive/negative tone of the question. Also neutral #3 or No Comment can work as a decent placeholder.

Nothing interesting, nothing really worth our time to be honest.

A much more general and broad style of media-handling is long overdue, and Hand of God's suggestion is quite interesting.

Tones are just a tiny and almost irrelevant addition to a module which is basically a relic from a different era... It could have been fine in 2003, but in 2013 it's just as bland and boring as it gets.

Take the relationship with journalists/managers... In real life you have ass-kissers coming up with ludicrously flattering questions reporting only the good bits of the conference in the most positive way possible. And then you have mudslingers who will find a way to cast a shadow over the most important and deserved win.

There are media campaigns pro/against clubs, players and managers...

In FM you can have a journalist disliking you fiercely, yet all he does is insisting to get an answer or reporting a relatively irrelevant bit of the conference in the summary.

E.g. you just had one of those awkward confrontations with an homesick player [oh the endless whinging... is there a solution besides a leave of absence?] and the player is upset and hates you... most media would have a field day with that... instead all you get is "We hear Tristinho isn't adapting to the new country wery well..."

You just say "it's not fair to discuss it.." and it's all over.

And that's only one of the 100 examples of FM media interaction being so simplistic it's barely worth being in a game published in 2012

[Govnar1]

They were replaced by an improved system of player instructions.

No, they where removed because AI couldn't (and still can't) handle transformation.

[Smac]

Some really good comments here. It is a bit of a dilemma isn't it? Real PC's are boring... Good gaming press conferences might wander off into unrealistic easily. It's a gaming element that is simulating something that is often boring if successful.

Perhaps the pressure brought to bear on you through the media should be a cornerstone of improving the conferences in the future? One problem is that you can always choose to answer with a cool head whereas in reality situations might get to you, or you might blurt something out that you'd rather not because you're excited. I can't see how to incorporate this without becoming Sims like though.

Another problem is that there is little incentive to engage in anything but platitudes. Maybe there should be more opportunity to become a media favorite for various reasons: Warnock: Entertaining, Mourinho: Surprising arrogance and hilarious mind games, SAF: hothead, Rednapp: Charming and chatty. With a media profile you might be able to raise the profile of the club or your own reputation in football. Pretty weak incentive, but at least it is somewhat positive.

Yes, you can send your assistant, but NO, that isn't as good as turning them off. Even with good assistants they can screw things up for you. I'd much prefer turning them off or using FMC's model of a single question here or there. The repetitive week after week conference is excruciating busywork, and I play my game very slowly in general. I cannot imagine how it is for those that play faster.

[isignedupfornorealreason]

Some really good comments here. It is a bit of a dilemma isn't it? Real PC's are boring... Good gaming press conferences might wander off into unrealistic easily. It's a gaming element that is simulating something that is often boring if successful.

Maybe they are 'boring' but IRL has one thing that beats the game. That's the fact its real life. We have outstanding (not in a good way) controversies with racism at the moment and a Dalgish showing how 'out of touch' he was with the real world backing Saurez, something I'm not too sure the other older managers like Wenger and Fergie who have been in the game would have done. But we have seen slips such as Fergie and Rio's ooh-ahh moment. We're seeing controversy in the UEFA handling of racism, the kick it out shirt fiasco. There's also diving, crowd troubles, goal line tech and so on. Oh and Rodgers who is stuck in the 70's and thinks everything is the ref's fault but no one cares with everything so awesome going on around him (apart from his own team but I digress.)

FM won't deal with those issues. FM will toe the line being 'super careful' about legal obligations even if there aren't any such obligations, just extra-cautious lawyers. And really while I'm not saying we need racism and crowd trouble being shown in FM, if you're going to do the 'realism' argument they should be in there as they are problems that require tackling in the politics of football that we as managers should feel able to partipicate in. In fact, we could be discussing women's football and such given the politics right now but we won't, we will discuss the same template of boring questions over and over, some that don't even make sense.

So yeah, they need removing. OR they need a random event trigger that plans out a five year incident, that will cause some controversies to occur over a set period of time that we as managers will be expected to know or notice and comment on. But that, would mean they'd have to work so it won't happen.

[vasilli07]

They shouldn't even have added the deadline transfer day. I only participated once and I stay clear of it.

[Herbert Fandel]

They shouldn't even have added the deadline transfer day. I only participated once and I stay clear of it.

What does your opinion have to do with whether or not they should or shouldn't have added it? They gave you the option to stay clear of it.

[kingjericho]

I don't think so. For those who don't have the patience to do them, like myself, let the ass man handle them.

[vasilli07]

What does your opinion have to do with whether or not they should or shouldn't have added it? They gave you the option to stay clear of it.

It's pretty much the same as press conferences but questions involving players instead. And yes, the questions are identical.

[Herbert Fandel]

It's pretty much the same as press conferences but questions involving players instead. And yes, the questions are identical.

The questions are not all that identical to PC questions. Yes they are repetitive, but not the same as PC questions. Also that is far from the only part of transfer deadline day, there is also all the touting going on, and supposedly inflated transfer fees, though I haven't quite seen it yet. Given the existence of all these other things, I don't see how you not liking something you have been given the option to avoid means it shouldn't have been put in the game, even though you are absolutely within your rights to not like it.

[cruyff14]

They need to stay as there part of the job however more questions need to be added and more answers. Another I think is the AI needs to ask the right questions at the appropriate times less asking what my thoughts are on world player of the year all the time and also what I think of the oppositions player who scored or had a good game. More questions on my team why player x was sent off why it went wrong today etc.. Are you feeling the pressure or is the team in a slump. I think a way forward is perhaps SI or researchers watch more press conferences and post match interviews etc... and build up a bigger database to include in the game maybe?

[markyosullivan]

FM is a simulation, it's just like real life so it should be included. Don't like them? Then use your assistant manager.

[milnerpoint]

They need to be improved, but not removed. I still do every single one even tho i could easily leave it to my assistant.

[Äktsjon Männ]

I can't see how it can be improved though without ripping the whole thing out and rewriting it into something akin to what Hand of God is suggesting above. The current module can never be anything other than tedious, superficial, repetitive and nothing to do with what constitutes a press conference in reality. Not that a press conference absolutely needs to be simulated anyway. The old school system of single questions with answers that included a blunt 'no comment' option was good enough. It indicated a media presence, allowed to use it to make an impact or ignore it with a single click without being a chore. I actually miss it tbh. Even though I would usually go 'no comment' I did feel like the media were there and I could try and play games with it. No way am I going through thousands of clicks of tediousness to very occasionally make a point though.

[Keyzer Soze]

I think someone already gave this idea, something in the line od highlights for the press conferences.

So, in the preferences we could define the highlight level for press conferences, perhaps full, extend and key, where with key we only get press conferences before/after big games or finals, and with full we get what we get now... press conferences almost in every game.

Many people say... ok... you dont like press conferences... then let you ass man do it. But... this is something that is not that linear, because we are not shutting off press conferences but letting someone else (the AI in this case) dealing with them.

[Äktsjon Männ]

I think someone already gave this idea, something in the line od highlights for the press conferences.

So, in the preferences we could define the highlight level for press conferences, perhaps full, extend and key, where with key we only get press conferences before/after big games or finals, and with full we get what we get now... press conferences almost in every game.

A better idea would perhaps be if the 'detail level' defined the number of questions in a single PC. So the lowest option would give you only the most relevant question and the highest would let you pick your favorite for the Malaysian Manager of the Year award every week if you so wish.

Would prefer it if they completely redo the whole thing though.