Football Manager 2014 - Update 14.2.2 - Feedback Thread

[PratoJoe]

I'm very seldom wrong.

Another thing that irritates me - and i know that it was written by other users, but i want to remark it because i really hope that the developers do something about it - it's the tendency of the goalkeepers to leave with no protection the inside post. It ends that something like 1 goal on 3 it's on their near post.

Again, this can happen, but please...here happens more often that in a kids match in some garden...

[RTHerringbone]

Sorry, I don't understand how something is relative to and don't affect it.

So, if a player is being complacent or desinterested during a match you don't think is important to draw his attention.

Your defensive line determines (in a general sense) how soon you are likely to encounter an opponent. Deeper lines present more space, higher lines constrict it.

Hassle just determines the readiness of players to break from that line to engage the opponent, but I think we are talking at crossed purposes here and you already know that.

I genuinely do not give a monkey's about player body language, not a jot.

[petergoddard]

Mechanically, there are. However, he was talking about actual very specific means of micro-control missing, with zones being definable, which some attributed to the sliders. But obviously such never existed, as the sliders were one part of a dynamic system influenced by attributes, the sliders, match context AND of course the way SI tweaked in this case the defensive line in general to behave (which could a little vary from patch to patch, game to game). Yes, you can let drop faster off or generally encourage players to close down more.

Thus at the most extreme ends you can replicate something resembling Chelski in the last rounds of the CL season 2011/2012 with everyone dropping off and keeping shape, and the most aggressive settings behave very differently with the d-line and players holding possession much longer before dropping off and thus players starting to close down higher on the pitch (thogh this doesn't even remotedly resemble a modern aggressive pressing game, like Dortmund's, if you want). But there is absolutely no need of there being "105 levels of pressing" as those don't manifest in the game. As such, you can naturally also don't define zones, or whatever.

thanks. Sometimes is difficult to translate the ideas to a foreign language :-)

That's a good point. Maybe in terms of coding or programming there are indeed 105 levels, so what ? how do I tell apart all of them during a match. I don't think I need them :-)

As for motivational shouts during a match, it's difficult to understand how do people miss this. A player not doing what he's supposed to because either is nervous, complacent or desinterested obviously needs something to be done by his manager.... either to praise him if he's playing well or a "slap on the wrist" if he ain't.

[petergoddard]

I know, I was being somewhat pedantic, but like to present some sort of fact based response to claims that options are lacking.

If people want to micro-manage specific defensive behaviour, in specific zones, in specific phases of play, then a compromise is required!

Whilst FM is regarded as a simulation, it isn't a systematic dissection of the mechanics of football - there has to be a limit.

and for instance, I wouldn't call micro-manage instructing a specifc player to be more expressive or more disciplined, no matter the TI I choose.

[RTHerringbone]

and for instance, I wouldn't call micro-manage instructing a specifc player to be more expressive or more disciplined, no matter the TI I choose.

But what is more expressive for a DC? Being a BPD? Less expressive? A cover defender?

More expressive at MC? A playmaker role? Less so? A CM on Defend?

Whilst you can't always explicitly instruct players as you think you need to, sometimes a simple Role or Duty amendment actually achieves the end result you need.

[PratoJoe]

Minor bug but i have to know...

[petergoddard]

But what is more expressive for a DC? Being a BPD? Less expressive? A cover defender?

More expressive at MC? A playmaker role? Less so? A CM on Defend?

Whilst you can't always explicitly instruct players as you think you need to, sometimes a simple Role or Duty amendment actually achieves the end result you need.

It doesn't matter the role, if it's a DC, a BPD, a MC, whatever. If you consider those questions about a PI more expressive / more disciplined, then you have to consider the same questions about any other PI that is also a TI. If I can say to all team Hassle More or Stand Off and if I can tell each player the same, it should be also possible to do it about more expressive / more disciplined.

Yes, that I can do, but as you know a role / duty has a specific structure of mentality and CF... why do I have to change the all structure (by changing the role / duty) when the role I want does what I need. A certain player does what I need him to do by having a certain role and duty, I just need to tell him "hey, look, do what you do but be a little more expressive"... "or be a little more disciplined". That's the same we do for other instructions "dribble a little more / less" "shoot more / less" "hassle more / less" and so on.

[petergoddard]

Minor bug but i have to know...

you are not the first one

[Shakes]

Probably missing something but on FM13 we could ask to play the ball into the strikers feet/to run onto/to their head but can't find that on FM14?

That's because they were collateral damage from the slider removal.

[OxfordUnitedFC]

That's because they were collateral damage from the slider removal.

Thanks for the info, that's a little disappointing though. Feels like a step backwards.

[RTHerringbone]

Thanks for the info, that's a little disappointing though. Feels like a step backwards.

Passing height is tied basically to Team Passing style, so a more Direct team will tend to pass to head, vice versa for a Short passing team.

As was always the case, the Mentality you use determines the passing structure of your team, so defensive mentalities play direct at the back, short at the front, and that logic flips for attacking mentalities.

If you want players to run onto the ball, you probably want to pass into space.

[gcengic]

That's because they were collateral damage from the slider removal.

There is no such thing as collateral damage. SI will probably re-introduce it in 1-2 years time as a compeletely new feature. One thing that stands out in this fashion is that for a few itterations of the game it became impossible to see the average age of your squad and then it magically popped back in as a part of the "new feature squad overview".

Frankly I'm just losing faith, I've spend I don't know how much time since 1998 - playing hundreds and hundreds of hours per year...Sometimes we have seen massive leaps forward, sometimes we've basically seen nothing but a database/graphics update, sometimes we've seen things changed just for the sake of changing (things that worked perfectly fine and needed no tinkering), but the one thing that has been constant is that the game is in a worse state at release for each year that passes. Maybe there has been too many years of no competition from another game series and SI is starting to indulge in some hubris.

I mean the claims are that there has been extensive testing but when one references that statement with the state of the game at launch it becomes something that belongs in a looney bin. Either you let the full community beta-test for a few weeks or even a month or two or you stop denying the fact that you didn't test the game enough.

SI claims to test the patches ahead of time and yet nobody noticed any of the bugs from this 14.2.2 or whatever it is now. The tactical "meta" of FM13 changed dramatically from patch to patch and in one of them any average winger with a high pace and decent dribbling was scoring 20-25 goals per year and assisting another 20-30. In the end though, I felt that FM13 became decently playable. I was making tactics, altering the way my teams play and seeing the differences. In this game there has been a flux between only strikers scoring goals to strikers never scoring to clear one on ones being converted at less than 10% and god knows how much other insanity.

For the first time ever, in FM14 I feel completely out of control. Nothing I do seems to change anything. I get to live with basically every complaint that has been posted in the bug forums and thats for 300+ hours already. Match engines should not change dramatically from year to year - the evidence here to suggest it , and in my opinion FM should only really release a new game every 2 years, with a half price data/cosmetic update occuring every year. Although I know that's an impossibility from a business point of view.

I know one thing for sure, I will never again pre-order a copy of FM (or any other game for that matter) and I will never ever buy FM before March/April of the following year (if I buy it at all), knowing that all the problems might have been ironed out a little or I fill find a different hobby all together. I just feel like the state of the game is deteriorating at such a pace that it is off-putting for even the most loyal fans like me.

[dan99]

Sometimes the player still wack the ball off each other at kick off, giving the ball away. Certainly not as often as the last ME update though.

[upthetoon]

and for instance, I wouldn't call micro-manage instructing a specifc player to be more expressive or more disciplined, no matter the TI I choose.

what you are asking for is an incredible dissecting of football. this is all not very plausible in a football simulation game. it will turn off 99% of players guaranteed as its too micro-focus. what you require may be more suited in real-life where managers micro manage individual 'zones' in football.

even 'zones' which you mention is ambiguous and different managers have different way of teaching their team types of 'zones.' it's just incredibly complex.

but what you mention hopefully opens up a different way of approaching tactics for SI but in a less complex way trying to imitate real life. which is the usage and understanding of 'zones'.

i hope to see an approach for this but in a more simplified way. right now we don't have anything that manages any form of 'zones' on the pitch.

[daoan]

There is no such thing as collateral damage. SI will probably re-introduce it in 1-2 years time as a compeletely new feature. One thing that stands out in this fashion is that for a few itterations of the game it became impossible to see the average age of your squad and then it magically popped back in as a part of the "new feature squad overview".

Frankly I'm just losing faith, I've spend I don't know how much time since 1998 - playing hundreds and hundreds of hours per year...Sometimes we have seen massive leaps forward, sometimes we've basically seen nothing but a database/graphics update, sometimes we've seen things changed just for the sake of changing (things that worked perfectly fine and needed no tinkering), but the one thing that has been constant is that the game is in a worse state at release for each year that passes. Maybe there has been too many years of no competition from another game series and SI is starting to indulge in some hubris.

I mean the claims are that there has been extensive testing but when one references that statement with the state of the game at launch it becomes something that belongs in a looney bin. Either you let the full community beta-test for a few weeks or even a month or two or you stop denying the fact that you didn't test the game enough.

SI claims to test the patches ahead of time and yet nobody noticed any of the bugs from this 14.2.2 or whatever it is now. The tactical "meta" of FM13 changed dramatically from patch to patch and in one of them any average winger with a high pace and decent dribbling was scoring 20-25 goals per year and assisting another 20-30. In the end though, I felt that FM13 became decently playable. I was making tactics, altering the way my teams play and seeing the differences. In this game there has been a flux between only strikers scoring goals to strikers never scoring to clear one on ones being converted at less than 10% and god knows how much other insanity.

For the first time ever, in FM14 I feel completely out of control. Nothing I do seems to change anything. I get to live with basically every complaint that has been posted in the bug forums and thats for 300+ hours already. Match engines should not change dramatically from year to year - the evidence here to suggest it , and in my opinion FM should only really release a new game every 2 years, with a half price data/cosmetic update occuring every year. Although I know that's an impossibility from a business point of view.

I know one thing for sure, I will never again pre-order a copy of FM (or any other game for that matter) and I will never ever buy FM before March/April of the following year (if I buy it at all), knowing that all the problems might have been ironed out a little or I fill find a different hobby all together. I just feel like the state of the game is deteriorating at such a pace that it is off-putting for even the most loyal fans like me.

You know what grinds my gears more? You don't get that feeling that SI even care or are sorry about it...

Maybe a new law should be introduced, every game developer must provide a 6 month warranty for games to meet minimum standards to the consumer or something along these lines

[milnerpoint]

What grinds my gears is people thinking they know how a company feels about anything.

[Dagenham_Dave]

Maybe a new law should be introduced, every game developer must provide a 6 month warranty for games to meet minimum standards to the consumer or something along these lines

If they did, then this particular game would pass with flying colours.

[Flohrinho]

Is the false 9 working as intended? Somehow I can't see any difference to a DLF. I actually expected him to drop really deep almost into the CM/DM strata to then attack together with the team, a bit like Messi often does for Barca. So am I interpreting this role wrong or is it just not yet implemented in the way it should be? Atm when I watch full matches the link up play between a false 9 and the midfield isn't much different from any other striker, if anything a trequartista is probably more of a false 9 atm then a false 9.

[jon157uk]

You know what grinds my gears more? You don't get that feeling that SI even care or are sorry about it...

Maybe a new law should be introduced, every game developer must provide a 6 month warranty for games to meet minimum standards to the consumer or something along these lines

You get the same 'consumer rights' no matter what you buy but of course then you have to prove that it isn't up to the standards that were implied.

[PratoJoe]

If they did, then this particular game would pass with flying colours.

No.

It's your opinion, for many users this particular game NEVER pass the standard.

There are unbelievable errors. Really unbelievable.

And also considering that "it's not easy" it's not a user's problem.

A user buy a football game simulation and expect to find a football game simulation.

If this not happen there's someone like you that can find this "pass with flying colours" but certainly there's some others that find this "terrible".

In last 4 games i score 3 goals on corner action and the opponents makes 5. 8 goals in 4 games following a corner kick.

Sorry if i can't stand it.

And if someone say "it's a known issue" i say "of course, it's knowned from November".

November. We are near February.

And i don't talk - because if i do maybe i go over the limit - about the own-goals. Simply too many, sometimes seems that in a defensive corner the best instruction you can do is "stay forward" to all the team.

Flying colours? Please.

[Dagenham_Dave]

Yes Prato, flying colours based on over 1000 hours playing it myself, and the fact there is still regularly over 50,000 people playing it at the one time. By now, if the game WAS genuinely as broken as you make out, this figure would be rapidly diminishing. (And I certainly wouldn't have invested so many hours in it)

A few things still need fixed of course, but as usual the wild exaggerations on here make it out to be far worse than it actually is.

[milnerpoint]

No.

It's your opinion, for many users this particular game NEVER pass the standard.

There are unbelievable errors. Really unbelievable.

And also considering that "it's not easy" it's not a user's problem.

A user buy a football game simulation and expect to find a football game simulation.

If this not happen there's someone like you that can find this "pass with flying colours" but certainly there's some others that find this "terrible".

In last 4 games i score 3 goals on corner action and the opponents makes 5. 8 goals in 4 games following a corner kick.

Sorry if i can't stand it.

And if someone say "it's a known issue" i say "of course, it's knowned from November".

November. We are near February.

And i don't talk - because if i do maybe i go over the limit - about the own-goals. Simply too many, sometimes seems that in a defensive corner the best instruction you can do is "stay forward" to all the team.

Flying colours? Please.

If it NEVER passes some peoples expectations, then you really have to question why they keep buying it.

I dont like where Call of Duty has gone game play wise, so i dont buy it anymore, i certainly wouldnt buy it, just to moan on their forums about how bad it is.

[daoan]

Yes Prato, flying colours based on over 1000 hours playing it myself, and the fact there is still regularly over 50,000 people playing it at the one time. By now, if the game WAS genuinely as broken as you make out, this figure would be rapidly diminishing. (And I certainly wouldn't have invested so many hours in it)

A few things still need fixed of course, but as usual the wild exaggerations on here make it out to be far worse than it actually is.

For a second I thought you were being sarcastic

If it NEVER passes some peoples expectations, then you really have to question why they keep buying it.

I dont like where Call of Duty has gone game play wise, so i dont buy it anymore, i certainly wouldnt buy it, just to moan on their forums about how bad it is.

He buys it because it's the only game of this genre besides we were promised massive improvements as always in the pre-launch marketing videos. Anyone still remembers those promises? Much better AI transfers, better youth new gen development, Massive ME improvements, etc.. Some of you have fantastic patience, makes me jealous at times

You may not like Pepsi, but there is Coke for the others right? How do we deviate from this addiction? What alternatives do we have to enjoy a proper footy simulation? That's why people rant here, in hope for a better game, you and the mods have to respect that notion at the very least, because these 'angry birds' are the very passionate customers.

[milnerpoint]

For a second I thought you were being sarcastic

He buys it because it's the only game of this genre besides we were promised massive improvements as always in the pre-launch marketing videos. Anyone still remembers those promises? Much better AI transfers, better youth new gen development, Massive ME improvements, etc.. Some of you have fantastic patience, makes me jealous times

Which we have. The AI is better at buying players this year, the ME is an improvement on last years, there are a number of other improvements as well.

[PratoJoe]

Otherwise, i wonder why so many users write in this thread.

I agree with you saying "don't exaggerate", but it's an exaggeration also saying that this game "pass standard with flying colours". It's like intend that who underline the terrible mistakes of this game is only someone who moan out. And it's not like this. Like you me too - and many "moaners" - invest money and hours in this game.

We all know that playing FM not necessarily means that the game is good.

At least, i heard these words before every patch...but if the patches makes the game better that means - for me - that users that "moan" in some cases are right.

Sorry for my english, i hope that what i want to say it's clear.

Bad game? No.

Good game? Either. It will be good without these bugs. And the problem is not that there are bugs: the problem is we are one week to February. But if for you it's a good game a game that after 5 1/2 months got all these problems (corners...we want talk about it?) i really find hard to understand of what we are talking.

[jon157uk]

50,000 isn't really very many for a world wide release... World of Tanks gets consistently 30 million playing all at the same time and I believe it's broken some kind of Guinness world record with just over 50 million playing in one day...

Although, I do get your point of course.

[milnerpoint]

Otherwise, i wonder why so many users write in this thread.

I agree with you saying "don't exaggerate", but it's an exaggeration also saying that this game "pass standard with flying colours". It's like intend that who underline the terrible mistakes of this game is only someone who moan out. And it's not like this. Like you me too - and many "moaners" - invest money and hours in this game.

We all know that playing FM not necessarily means that the game is good.

At least, i heard these words before every patch...but if the patches makes the game better that means - for me - that users that "moan" in some cases are right.

Sorry for my english, i hope that what i want to say it's clear.

Bad game? No.

Good game? Either. It will be good without these bugs. And the problem is not that there are bugs: the problem is we are one week to February.

With the same token, not playing doesnt make it rubbish.

There are not actually that many users in this thread, just the same ones over and over and over.

[milnerpoint]

50,000 isn't really very many for a world wide release... World of Tanks gets consistently 30 million playing all at the same time and I believe it's broken some kind of Guinness world record with just over 50 million playing in one day...

Although, I do get your point of course.

FM isnt released world wide

[PratoJoe]

With the same token, not playing doesnt make it rubbish.

There are not actually that many users in this thread, just the same ones over and over and over.

And so? They are all frustrated users? The game is good but instead of playing they prefer came on this forum and moan out?

There are no problem in this game? It's not one week to February?

Really, i don't understand.

We agree that saying "this game sucks" is an exaggeration?

We agree that saying "this game rules" is an exaggeration?

That's the point.

Yes Prato, flying colours based on over 1000 hours playing it myself, and the fact there is still regularly over 50,000 people playing it at the one time. By now, if the game WAS genuinely as broken as you make out, this figure would be rapidly diminishing. (And I certainly wouldn't have invested so many hours in it)

A few things still need fixed of course, but as usual the wild exaggerations on here make it out to be far worse than it actually is.

Need to say that if you say that 50,000 users play there is no way to specific how more are unhappy.

Believe me, not every single unhappy user came in this forum and write. But this not means that they don't exsist.

In the Italian Forum that i visit, tons of users "moan" about this game. All long time FM players, all people who loves this game.

[jon157uk]

So how come we've got so many players from all over the world?

[jon157uk]

FM isnt released world wide

steam is accessible from all over the world, so there fore, FM is released World Wide ...No?

[milnerpoint]

steam is accessible from all over the world, so there fore, FM is released World Wide ...No?

Again, no. It can only be bought in certain countries.

[jon157uk]

Again, no. It can only be bought in certain countries.

Ahhh... Ok, didn't know that.

[milnerpoint]

And so? They are all frustrated users? The game is good but instead of playing they prefer came on this forum and moan out?

There are no problem in this game? It's not one week to February?

Really, i don't understand.

We agree that saying "this game sucks" is an exaggeration?

We agree that saying "this game rules" is an exaggeration?

That's the point.

Not everyone plays FM every minute of their life, of course some spend time on forums.

I see no issue with us being one week from Feb and the game being in its current state, because the current state is very good. Needs a bit of work of course, but overall its excellent.

[jon157uk]

...still, 50,000 doesn't seem very many, it's not even the population of Crewe......lol

[daoan]

Man if this game is released in the at least 80 countries then 50k is still very low. You are talking about a football simulation of its only kind with millions if not billions of football fans worldwide (in which probably 20% of them are gamers) only 50k play this game? I would be more ambitious than brag about 50k seriously!

Anyhow rants aside, can someone kindly point me to a proper FM tactics guide video on YouTube? I feel they are rare to find, I don't mean to disrespect those who spent hours writing guides here but it's more engaging when you watch a video you know #productionvalue

[Dagenham_Dave]

I agree with you saying "don't exaggerate", but it's an exaggeration also saying that this game "pass standard with flying colours". .

The exact quote was 'minimum standards' which of course the game DOES pass with flying colours. Anything above that is more subjective.

[jon157uk]

The exact quote was 'minimum standards' which of course the game DOES pass with flying colours. Anything above that is more subjective.

Yea, I have to agree with this, even with it's many faults it can still be very enjoyable.

[PratoJoe]

The exact quote was 'minimum standards' which of course the game DOES pass with flying colours. Anything above that is more subjective.

Ok, i intend another thing over the words.

And maybe you too - but this is my idea.

Literally ok, apologize, you're right.

[Preveza]

For the first time ever, in FM14 I feel completely out of control. Nothing I do seems to change anything. I get to live with basically every complaint that has been posted in the bug forums and thats for 300+ hours already. Match engines should not change dramatically from year to year - the evidence here to suggest it , and in my opinion FM should only really release a new game every 2 years, with a half price data/cosmetic update occuring every year. Although I know that's an impossibility from a business point of view.

Hit the nail on the head mate. I hope SI can read this.

Nothing I did felt that I was in 'control' compared to previous FM's

[Preveza]

You know what grinds my gears more? You don't get that feeling that SI even care or are sorry about it...

I dont know about that, but I surely hope that is not the case.

Let's hope they are working hard behind the scenes and not getting complacent due to lack of competition

Would love to see a rival come out and give SI a run for it's money. Then we will see what SI are made of

[themadsheep2001]

I dont know about that, but I surely hope that is not the case.

Let's hope they are working hard behind the scenes and not getting complacent due to lack of competition

Would love to see a rival come out and give SI a run for it's money. Then we will see what SI are made of

They had two rivals, buried them both. Pretty sure they have shown what they are made of already.

[milnerpoint]

Yeah exactly, two rivals, one from the worlds biggest computer games companies tried to rival, the other being their former partners, and both failed miserably at it. I think SI have clearly shown that in this field, they are the experts.

[iMan]

They had two rivals, buried them both. Pretty sure they have shown what they are made of already.

Lol.

They buried themselves by making ***** management games.

[Preveza]

Lol.

They buried themselves by making ***** management games.

Exactly. They made putried and utter garbage. Nothing even comes close to FM series. When something does, I would love to see how SI reacts.

[themadsheep2001]

Exactly. They made putried and utter garbage. Nothing even comes close to FM series. When something does, I would love to see how SI reacts.

Ever thought that it isn't actually easy to do what SI did? Either way it comes to the same point. They tried, failed and never even got remotely close. Even EA with all their licences and endless pots of money decided it was simply too costly to keep trying. Pretty pointless to speculate about someone suddenly rising from nowhere and catching up on 20 years. If it was that easy everyone would do it.

[Blueflash]

I haven't played for a month or so now, mostly because i was fed up with all the corners. I can already here people lining up to say "It's your tactics", It probably is, but regardless of tactics 27 corners iin one game is way too high, I watch the game on comprehensive and three out of every 5 replays are corners. Watching the majority of the game has become tedious and predictable and if i wanted tedious and predictable I'd spend more time in my Chem lab. First touch is also very broken, barring my central defenders and my left winger, every other player i start with has a first touch of at least 16, yet controlling a short 5 yard pass is way too hard for them. I'm not sure if this merely coincidental or not, but Nicusor Stanciu who is my player with the highest first touch rating(19) is the one I've noticed give the ball away more than any other.

For those quoting 50k as a good number, I remember FM12 at the same point a few years ago consistently having 113k+ any time i checked, which i admit does not actually mean anything. Also, a good number of people, myself included, simply leave the game running. It's been running without me touching it for about three weeks now in my case.

[stoned_assasin]

Hit the nail on the head mate. I hope SI can read this.

Nothing I did felt that I was in 'control' compared to previous FM's

Just give it some time, i was starting to get the same feeling at the start but now i feel i have more control then i ever had over any version for a long time. The problem when given so much control is that it can go both ways, if you dont really understand completely what you are doing then ofc its natural to not feel in control (not trying to sound rude here). When a game try's to be as deep as FM does then naturally there's a million things that could go wrong if you aren't fully aware of the impacts of your decisions. FM 14 just seems a little less forgiving which in time will make us all better managers .

Imo the biggest issue (not the only issue mind) people are having atm is not that the tactics they create are bad its just the tactics are bad for the set of players they own. Im guessing people are taking over teams with a style in mind before they even check to see if there is a better style suited to the set of players he has at the club.

[PratoJoe]

In this matchday Bologna, last in the table and in crisis, face at home Cagliari, a medium team.

A victory can happen. And it happen.

In a 8 years career, nigerian-italian forward Stefano Okaka made his record of goals in 2 seasons: once in Modena and once in Spezia, both times in Serie B. Record is 7 goals in a season, both time he played over 30 games.

Here he manage to score 5 goals in one single game. Playing in the team last in the table.

I can't forget a 9 - 1 result in Serie A from at least 40 years.

[birkelse]

Minor bug but i have to know

There is a injured player behind the line or the goal