Soccer Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 I guess the time has come for me to say goodbye to Football Manager series. I started out playing the football management series back in the CM 92/93 days. I remember that it was easy to manage a team. Sure, there were only commentary but there were no other features that we see today, such as press conferences, the need to tweak your play every match, mind games, etc. A season could be completed in just a couple of days if you sit down and play it. Gradually, the series got more and more complicated. More features were added. Some good, some maybe not so necessary. Matches had more visual impact, first 2D, then 3D. The virtual football world seemed to be getting more and more vibrant. However, that emotional 'connection' with my players seem to get lesser and lesser too. It's a similar case with Pro Evolution Soccer vs. FIFA series. It becomes more difficult to 'feel' anything for my players, other than they being pixels and a bunch of statistics on a computer screen. I understand that every team has its ups and downs throughout a season, or seasons, for that matter. When the game was simpler, it seemed easier to go through the 'thick and thin' with my team. But as the game becomes more complicated, more variables get thrown up, sometimes it just gets very tiring to try to analyse why my team didn't do as well as desired, or why a certain player did not perform up to the required standard. More and more time was spent on the game, as the seasons get slower. No longer can I complete a season in just 2 days. Progressively, it just seem pointless to even play the game. I have been thinking, is it worthwhile to spend my entire life playing a game, trying to win virtual trophies/titles, or would I rather spend that equivalent amount of time trying to make connections with people, experience and learn new things? The choice is becoming more and more obvious. Note that this is not to say that Football Manager isn't a great game. It is. However, there's a feeling telling me to move on, and it has become louder and more persistent over the past couple of years. So I say, thank you, Football Manager, for all the times and memories you have given me. The time has come for me to devote my focus to other more important areas of my life. Hence, goodbye to all, and thank you for all the exchanges we have had since I joined the forum. It has been fun and fruitful and I'll remember them. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbokav1971 Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 The other alternative is that you could just play half an hour every so often when it suits, (with a little longer when you are able.). That would see you maybe complete about 1 season a month and 12 months in a year gives plenty of scope for a few seasons. FM doesn't have to be played at the expense of everything else. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 FMC pal. You so blatantly want convincing to play FM again! ha :-) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartdude Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 Fine,that's your opinion and I appreciate your comments. However the FM series is far away the best football management game out there so even for its slight shortcomings and ridiculous time-consuming nature I and thousands of others be playing it until we drop !! As suggested maybe you should give FMC a go ?? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dench57 Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 See you in November for FM15. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr U Rosler Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 As ever balance is key. When I get 'burnt out' I leave it for a few days and come back fresh. Sounds like you've been putting too many hours in. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVH5150 Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 Give FMC a spin, it could end up being your new favourite game. FMC is pretty much the perfect game for me now. Thanks to everyone for making it happen. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xinxin Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 I play a maximum of 2 hours in a sitting, that equates to a maximum of 5 matches. Usually its less, around 2-3 matches. This I can do about 2, maybe 3 times a week if I'm lucky. This is, of course, due to a demanding job, 2 young kids and a dog. Oh yeah, there's a wife somewhere in there too. I complete a season in about 1 - 1.5 months. This is just enough for me to wind down and get my fill of "my own personal little world". Before the family life I'd complete a season in less than a week. What I've found is that it's all about the mentality and attitude you have towards playing computer games. I had to "switch" my mind and start thinking "my normal gaming time is now 5-6 hrs per week, not per day like I could do before". And once I managed that I found that it's just as fine I appreciate the other aspects of my life and as long as FM (and a handful of other games every now and then) has last priority I find it's possible to balance "life" and "gaming". It's all about the attitude Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
woteva Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 ermmm, whats FMC? Not been around a while.... (still playing 06) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
llama3 Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 ermmm, whats FMC?Not been around a while.... (still playing 06) Football Manager Classic - game made on FM14 (and all subsequent FM's) with all those extra features like press conferences, team talks etc all stripped back to the core features - basic training, transfers, games. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
woteva Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 Football Manager Classic - game made on FM14 (and all subsequent FM's) with all those extra features like press conferences, team talks etc all stripped back to the core features - basic training, transfers, games. Thank you. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeyBobby Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 You'll be back. You'll find the right club and be obsessed again. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wizard boy Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 I've never even tried FMC. I know its stripped down version but what is missing exactly? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fe98 Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 See you in November for FM15. Came to say, "See you tomorrow", but this'll work. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
janesy20 Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 ^^WHS^^ Give FMC a spin, it could end up being your new favourite game. Can I ask Alex, will that horrendous skin that is used on FMC be removed for FM15 and something easier on the eye? Too much going on for my liking and I can't find an FMC skin anywhere EDIT: for my two pennies worth to the OP it's something that is screaming louder and louder in my mind too, moving in with the girlfriend, uni work and just generally not being sat in front of the laptop for 10 hours a day screaming at a screen is becoming tedious. Especially when it's so difficult to understand what the game wants from me. FM15 is the last attempt for me, if the descriptions of what does what in tactics aren't improved and the ability to make a solid if unremarkable tactic home and away isn't made easier then I will start to find more worthwhile things to spend my time on. Very disappointed with FM14. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy121 Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 you will be back my friend ,as I have been saying I would buy the game every 2 years .but cant help my sellf .its my drug and I love it ,have even tried to save it till xmas day .but the temptation is there .its been the only game series where I get my moneys worth. thanks si . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
podunkboy Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 Married 24 years, don't have any friends, too old to make any new ones, I play as many hours a day as I can and remain married (someone has to clean the house and feed the children..) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
daylight Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 If I had an Euro for every time I said that. I thought I was done with FM14, I started a new save a couple of weeks ago after about 4 months without playing, I am fully addicted again. Just take a break and do something else, you will get the urge to play again and after a break you will enjoy it more. This is the most I have enjoyed FM14, of course it helps that I am winning but I also think that after all the months of struggling with tactics and some annoying bugs in the game it was good to take a step back and then come back with a fresh look on things. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
janesy20 Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 Are you retired? If not, don't you work? I make friends through working, even despite the fact that I'm in charge of them. He's talking about real life, not FM Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candre168 Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 On a serious note, if you feel a game is taking over your life, the best thing is to take a break. I had it before with FM, where all I could think about was the game, and it was affecting my professional life, social life, and ambitions. I forced myself to delete the game and only come back when my life was so busy that it'd be impossible for me to let it take over. I do feel FM has become less and less rewarding over the years as SI have made it harder, however. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
endtime Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 I'm the opposite, I find myself liking the game more the harder it gets. I sometimes fire up CM 01/02 and can't play for longer than a 30 minute stretch - winning everything with close to zero effort gets really tedious for me real quick. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
janesy20 Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 I'm the opposite, I find myself liking the game more the harder it gets. I sometimes fire up CM 01/02 and can't play for longer than a 30 minute stretch - winning everything with close to zero effort gets really tedious for me real quick. I agree, I think the difficulty of somewhere between FM12 and FM14 would be about perfect, 12 was too easy and 14 is too hard. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 Life hasn't gotten in the way yet but it should do soon. As it happens for me FM14 was the version that along with all it's genuine problems seemed to push things a little too far into depth and realism as opposed to providing simpler, smoother playing experience (I'm very much on the 'gameplay' side of the eternal debate about gameplay v realism). Not that there's anything wrong with the various new features like job interviews and the board beetings to save your job, and credit where credit's due I think they are genuinely good ideas but they're just not my cup of tea. I've gone back to FM11, not for the first time (but this time permanantly), as a tried and trusted version and perhaps pretty much the closest to being my ideal version in terms of what it's got with most of the features I like and very little (though there are a couple of things like DoF) to miss from later versions. It also seems to run a lot quicker and smoother and sticking to one version from now on means that whatever happens in the future in my life I don't have to worry about getting a lot done in a specific timeframe. It's interesting seeing a bit of discussion about going back to older versions (FM11 getting a bit of love from various other people) on here on recent weeks as well as on FMCU so it seems it's hardly a unique opinion and while there's no doubt plenty to enjoy (and should be for years to come) for a majority of players I'd definitely recommending going back to an earlier version to anyone who feels like giving up on the series altogether. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cometdude Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 Like most others have said, give FMC a bash. I was determined that FM12 was going to be my last due to the length of time it was taking to make any progress. Classic has changed that, I haven't touched the full fat game mode on either of the last two iterations and doubt I ever will again! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shirajzl Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 Life hasn't gotten in the way yet but it should do soon. As it happens for me FM14 was the version that along with all it's genuine problems seemed to push things a little too far into depth and realism as opposed to providing simpler, smoother playing experience (I'm very much on the 'gameplay' side of the eternal debate about gameplay v realism). Not that there's anything wrong with the various new features like job interviews and the board beetings to save your job, and credit where credit's due I think they are genuinely good ideas but they're just not my cup of tea. I've gone back to FM11, not for the first time (but this time permanantly), as a tried and trusted version and perhaps pretty much the closest to being my ideal version in terms of what it's got with most of the features I like and very little (though there are a couple of things like DoF) to miss from later versions. It also seems to run a lot quicker and smoother and sticking to one version from now on means that whatever happens in the future in my life I don't have to worry about getting a lot done in a specific timeframe. It's interesting seeing a bit of discussion about going back to older versions (FM11 getting a bit of love from various other people) on here on recent weeks as well as on FMCU so it seems it's hardly a unique opinion and while there's no doubt plenty to enjoy (and should be for years to come) for a majority of players I'd definitely recommending going back to an earlier version to anyone who feels like giving up on the series altogether. As much as I agree with a lot of what you said, the problem of going to the old versions is obviously that the data is outdated and it's difficult to get immersed in it. If there was a data update for FM 12 every year, I'd never play FM 14 or any future FM again, most likely. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wizard boy Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 Where would 13 be rated amongst all the fm games? Personally I think its just right for me anyway. Yes there are some issues with the ME, when isn't there issues. I've tried 14 but I just can't get into it. If fm 15 is anything like the last one then I'll be sticking with fm 13. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rancer890 Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 Just take a year off from FM imo and then re-evaluate. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
boneykingofnowhere Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 What Jimbokav1971 said... I've been playing since the beginning when I was 13 years old. I'm 34 now and still play, just a lot less... Also I only buy new versions after the final patch release around March so I don't get stuck with buggy versions that effectively waste playing time. Currently, I'm still in the first season of my first save on FM14. I've played 33 league games with Crewe in League 1, I'm 8th and chasing a play-off place with 13 games left to play. I got to the 3rd round of the FA cup before getting a 4-0 pasting from Chelsea. I've recently seen my players score one of the best passing move goals I can remember seeing on FM. I'll probably have finished my first season by October, roughly 6 months after buying the game... But it will have been worth it Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 As much as I agree with a lot of what you said, the problem of going to the old versions is obviously that the data is outdated and it's difficult to get immersed in it. If there was a data update for FM 12 every year, I'd never play FM 14 or any future FM again, most likely. I see why that could be a problem for some people but in my case I generally play very long saves (trying to stick to one a year though in practice there's often been a second), and often spend years in obscurity so an early-game that doesn't reflect real life in terms of who is where and in what leagues makes very little impact, especially as there probably wouldn't have been that many major changes until very recently. Even if it did, the differences would be no more than a very minor curiosity as I'm used to club's fortunes changing a lot over a very long career and newgens taking over for the majority so not having an accurate game world is never going to be something that I'd consider an issue, and as I said in my earlier post I'm very much near the far end of the 'realism preference' scale anyway and actually like things to be a little different. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeesterCat Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 I play a maximum of 2 hours in a sitting, that equates to a maximum of 5 matches. Usually its less, around 2-3 matches. This I can do about 2, maybe 3 times a week if I'm lucky. This is, of course, due to a demanding job, 2 young kids and a dog. Oh yeah, there's a wife somewhere in there too. I complete a season in about 1 - 1.5 months. This is just enough for me to wind down and get my fill of "my own personal little world". Before the family life I'd complete a season in less than a week. What I've found is that it's all about the mentality and attitude you have towards playing computer games. I had to "switch" my mind and start thinking "my normal gaming time is now 5-6 hrs per week, not per day like I could do before". And once I managed that I found that it's just as fine I appreciate the other aspects of my life and as long as FM (and a handful of other games every now and then) has last priority I find it's possible to balance "life" and "gaming". It's all about the attitude That basically sums up my FM/Life balance too. It can be frustrating at times especially if you're on a good run or itching to rebuild a squad in a transfer window, but if you adjust your mindset it's a perfectly fine way to play. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
greco Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 Can I ask Alex, will that horrendous skin that is used on FMC be removed for FM15 and something easier on the eye? Too much going on for my liking and I can't find an FMC skin anywhere EDIT: for my two pennies worth to the OP it's something that is screaming louder and louder in my mind too, moving in with the girlfriend, uni work and just generally not being sat in front of the laptop for 10 hours a day screaming at a screen is becoming tedious. Especially when it's so difficult to understand what the game wants from me. FM15 is the last attempt for me, if the descriptions of what does what in tactics aren't improved and the ability to make a solid if unremarkable tactic home and away isn't made easier then I will start to find more worthwhile things to spend my time on. Very disappointed with FM14. my major issue, is lack of feedback. I can understand where youre coming from. Its still easy to win in fm, perhaps too easy and that´s a matter of opinion, but the lack of feedback, - doesnt matter if you are winning or losing- is quite frankly awful. The assistant couldnt give a good advice, if his mom, dad, wife and kids life are one the line. And also, if you´ve played since the beginning - like the op - you have to consider age, time and whatever priorities you may have. I certainly dont play as much as i used to, but sometimes i get into a groove and play like a maniac. You dont have to play for 10 hours straight , day in and day out, 365 days a year to enjoy it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsouthy Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 Go back to an older version.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wiitastic Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 I aswell don't enjoy playing FM14 much anymore but I do play it when I have nothing else to do and I want to pass the time instead of watching tv and twiddling my thumbs. I maybe only now play Football Manager 2-3 times a week for an hour or 2 a day at most. I used to play it 6-12 hours a day 7 days a week. Football Manager is a good option to use when you just want a break from normal every day life. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gavo01 Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 I had a 3 month spell of no FM14, partly due to my GPU melting, but all it did was wet my appetite when my new GPU was up and running. I only play when I get some free time, which for a family man working full time isn't that much, but when I do I still thoroughly enjoy playing FM. Sometimes a break from it for a while is all it takes to rekindle the passion. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fmsaunders11 Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Just take a year off from FM imo and then re-evaluate. This is what i done i skipped fm13 and my save on fm14 is the best ive ever had and most enjoyable Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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