Football Manager 2020 - Feature Announcement Blogs

[Sheriff7]

 

Edited September 30, 2019 by Sheriff7

[Double0Seven]

Mod Just said the bigger feature reveals will come through the official channels. 

Well the fm channel is the official channel right? 

Once again, can't say I'm impressed. A rule book change being implemented surely shouldn't even be considered as a big feature right? That's what you expect them to do. Not to mention stuff like club colours on clothing? Our graphics are still looking like mobile games. 

If these are "big" features... That's a joke I hope right? 

Edited September 30, 2019 by Double0Seven

[themadsheep2001]

Just now, Double0Seven said:

Mod Just said the bigger feature reveals will come through the official channels. 

Well the fm channel is the official channel right? 

Once again, can't say I'm impressed. A rule book change being implemented surely shouldn't even be considered as a big feature right? That's what you expect them to do. Not to mention stuff like club colours on clothing? Our graphics are still looking like mobile games. 

If these are "big" features... That's a joke I hope right? 

There are little bits also coming through official channels. Not everything that comes through the official channels must be massive.

They put it out on social media because they get a far bigger reach than here, and actually they tend to get a much better reaction to even niche features. This forum is good for a lot of things, but in terms of marketing and reach, its neither representative nor got the numbers

 

[StevehFC]

So far so poor. Really hope we get big updates soonish announced. 

[DiStru_]

Yay, now every Vanarama North side will be able to play from the back like prime Man City. No doubt in my mind that's what's going to happen, every year when they add something new, it's insanely overpowered... Just look at all the gegen-press exploit tactics out there, despite them saying it'll only work for top teams.

Have to say, very underwhelming "features" so far. Where's the much needed national management overhaul? Or player interactions that actually make sense? Or vastly improved AI squad building? But hey, we got a new set piece menu to waste clicks on and abuse the already very exploitable AI even more...

[Sheriff7]

 

[DementedHammer]

I work for a company that makes end-to-end automation software for a niche segment of the manufacturing industry. Customers literally pay millions of dollars to install and use our software. If there is a problem with our software, the entire factory could shut down, the wrong product could be produced or shipped, or the wrong materials ordered. Huge sums of money, even entire livelihoods, are on the line if we muck up. But despite all of that, our customers are way less demanding than SI's customer base, and a whole lot more understanding when things aren't quite right. 

It's something that I've discussed with my workmates a number of times now. The amount of expectations and outrage over a computer game that, in comparison, is literally just a couple of hours wages for most people, I just don't get it. 

 

Edited September 30, 2019 by DementedHammer

[bigmattb28]

1 hour ago, DiStru_ said:

Where's the much needed national management overhaul?

This. This is all I really want.

[Sheriff7]

1 hour ago, DiStru_ said:

 

 Where's the much needed national management overhaul? 

Propably nowhere for another season...

[Double0Seven]

1 hour ago, Sheriff7 said:

 

I agree that people can be annoying on twitter and to Miles, but this is not how you should respond. You are giving them the attention they want. It happens every time with Miles.

Especially considering how controversial Miles is. There have been worse replies from him, but from a PR standpoint I really don't understand what he is doing. 

If he considers it his job to handle some small PR stuff, he should also know how annoying people can be on the internet and know how to deal with them. 

This seriously isn't giving him a good image. 

 

Edited September 30, 2019 by Double0Seven

[themadsheep2001]

8 minutes ago, Double0Seven said:

I agree that people can be annoying on twitter and to Miles, but this is not how you should respond. You are giving them the attention they want. It happens every time with Miles.

Especially considering how controversial Miles is. There have been worse replies from him, but from a PR standpoint I really don't understand what he is doing. 

If he considers it his job to handle some small PR stuff, he should also know how annoying people can be on the internet and know how to deal with them. 

This seriously isn't giving him a good image. 

 

It's his personal twitter account. He's not doing PR 

[Double0Seven]

9 minutes ago, themadsheep2001 said:

It's his personal twitter account. He's not doing PR 

It's his personal twitter, but when you are such a figure for this game and the official channels point to him you gotta know that people will judge you somehow. 

As a public figure of such a decently big franchise, it will be PR. Whether you want it or not. 

Edited September 30, 2019 by Double0Seven

[themadsheep2001]

28 minutes ago, Double0Seven said:

It's his personal twitter, but when you are such a figure for this game and the official channels point to him you gotta know that people will judge you somehow. 

As a public figure of such a decently big franchise, it will be PR. Whether you want it or not. 

He's not worried about being judged, he's interested in not getting abuse, the video is literally a reaction. The very fact that we're here talking about the video rather than the reason it exists is actually a little depressing. 

[hungmn]

2 hours ago, DementedHammer said:

I work for a company that makes end-to-end automation software for a niche segment of the manufacturing industry. Customers literally pay millions of dollars to install and use our software. If there is a problem with our software, the entire factory could shut down, the wrong product could be produced or shipped, or the wrong materials ordered. Huge sums of money, even entire livelihoods, are on the line if we muck up. But despite all of that, our customers are way less demanding than SI's customer base, and a whole lot more understanding when things aren't quite right. 

It's something that I've discussed with my workmates a number of times now. The amount of expectations and outrage over a computer game that, in comparison, is literally just a couple of hours wages for most people, I just don't get it. 

 

You're comparing apple to orange though. Your customers are happy to pay millions for the same product as long as it is stable. Also they're making money if your software works. Will your customer pay extra million for some updates without knowing what it is in advance?

I bet you won't find a lot of gamers willing to pay a full price every year for the same version + some bugs fixed and graphic changes. Having said that, I wasn't complaining about FM2020 yet, just about the way FM treat their fanbase every year.

[themadsheep2001]

3 minutes ago, hungmn said:

You're comparing apple to orange though. Your customers are happy to pay millions for the same product as long as it is stable. Also they're making money if your software works. Will your customer pay extra million for some updates without knowing what it is in advance?

I bet you won't find a lot of gamers willing to pay a full price every year for the same version + some bugs fixed and graphic changes. Having said that, I wasn't complaining about FM2020 yet, just about the way FM treat their fanbase every year.

From November 2017 to July 2018 FM18 sold 1.2m copies across the 3 versions, from November 18 to July 2019 FM19 sold 2m copies across the 3 versions. What they are doing is clearly working

[hungmn]

2 minutes ago, themadsheep2001 said:

From November 2017 to July 2018 FM18 sold 1.2m copies across the 3 versions, from November 18 to July 2019 FM19 sold 2m copies across the 3 versions. What they are doing is clearly working

I bought every version, playing since CM96. But it doesn't mean I'm happy with the way they treat myself as a fan.

[CFuller]

2 minutes ago, hungmn said:

You're comparing apple to orange though. Your customers are happy to pay millions for the same product as long as it is stable. Also they're making money if your software works. Will your customer pay extra million for some updates without knowing what it is in advance?

I bet you won't find a lot of gamers willing to pay a full price every year for the same version + some bugs fixed and graphic changes. Having said that, I wasn't complaining about FM2020 yet, just about the way FM treat their fanbase every year.

There have been quite a few sizeable improvements announced for FM20, and there might even be a few pleasant surprises that haven't been announced yet. Of course, though, what might be a game-changing feature to one FMer might mean absolutely nothing to another.

So, my question is: what possible new feature, in your opinion, WOULD have been a big enough change to FM19?

As for complaining about how FM treat their fanbase, how about I gently remind you that you are NOT obliged to buy the game every year? It's the same with FIFA. If you don't feel that you can justify paying ~£35 on FM20 because it's too similar to FM19, that's fair enough. Contrary to popular belief, Miles Jacobson won't come round to your house demanding you hand over your dog and first-born child in exchange for the game. 

[Mons]

4 minutes ago, hungmn said:

I bought every version, playing since CM96. But it doesn't mean I'm happy with the way they treat myself as a fan.

Over-sensitive much?

[themadsheep2001]

Just now, hungmn said:

I bought every version, playing since CM96. But it doesn't mean I'm happy with the way they treat myself as a fan.

I'd argue if that was the case you should stop buying it. If you're not happy with something and you keep buying it, that's on you. Software development isn't ever going to be bug free, and you will always have a cut off period in development, especially with a yearly iteration, so if how it's working doesn't work for you, don't buy. Because overall its working for them in the big picture.

Some will love the features, some won't; that's the nature of subjective choice. Doesn't make anyone right or wrong

[hungmn]

1 minute ago, CFuller said:

There have been quite a few sizeable improvements announced for FM20, and there might even be a few pleasant surprises that haven't been announced yet. Of course, though, what might be a game-changing feature to one FMer might mean absolutely nothing to another.

So, my question is: what possible new feature, in your opinion, WOULD have been a big enough change to FM19?

As for complaining about how FM treat their fanbase, how about I gently remind you that you are NOT obliged to buy the game every year? It's the same with FIFA. If you don't feel that you can justify paying ~£35 on FM20 because it's too similar to FM19, that's fair enough. Contrary to popular belief, Miles Jacobson won't come round to your house demanding you hand over your dog and first-born child in exchange for the game. 

Miles didn't create the game. I played this game before he became the boss. Your logic is like sayng a fan just boycott their club if they're not happy with the owner. If they say I give you discount if you pay early, that's fair enough. But paying without knowing what is new (apart from more conversation options) is unfair to the fanbase in my opinion. As they know, fan always buy the game

[hungmn]

4 minutes ago, themadsheep2001 said:

I'd argue if that was the case you should stop buying it. If you're not happy with something and you keep buying it, that's on you. Software development isn't ever going to be bug free, and you will always have a cut off period in development, especially with a yearly iteration, so if how it's working doesn't work for you, don't buy. Because overall its working for them in the big picture.

Some will love the features, some won't; that's the nature of subjective choice. Doesn't make anyone right or wrong

Read my previous comment and see what I meant. Did I say I expect a bug free or perfect game?

[WelshMourinho]

7 minutes ago, CFuller said:

There have been quite a few sizeable improvements announced for FM20, and there might even be a few pleasant surprises that haven't been announced yet. Of course, though, what might be a game-changing feature to one FMer might mean absolutely nothing to another.

So, my question is: what possible new feature, in your opinion, WOULD have been a big enough change to FM19?

As for complaining about how FM treat their fanbase, how about I gently remind you that you are NOT obliged to buy the game every year? It's the same with FIFA. If you don't feel that you can justify paying ~£35 on FM20 because it's too similar to FM19, that's fair enough. Contrary to popular belief, Miles Jacobson won't come round to your house demanding you hand over your dog and first-born child in exchange for the game. 

It's the first reveals for FM20. People are literally only going to be reading about the new features to get excited for the new game. Unfortunately a lot of people here aren't excited about more backroom stuff, more clicks to get through, never mind the smaller reveals, some of which boil down to "we've updated the rules!" 

There are plenty of new things they could add (and are possibly going to be revealed for FM20 still, of course.) People have been wanting more stats and more records to for a long time. Those who like international management have been waiting for some sort of update to that for years. There's even a selection of people who want to be able to work their way from youth teams! 

Of course no one is obliged to buy the game, but I think during feature reveal time, the time where we're looking at all the new stuff, is a more than appropriate time to be able to say "yeah I don't really like these features." Just because some on here have a differing opinion doesn't mean they think SI are evil personified lol. They just expected a little bit more for the first set of news we've received. 

[themadsheep2001]

5 minutes ago, hungmn said:

Miles didn't create the game. I played this game before he became the boss. Your logic is like sayng a fan just boycott their club if they're not happy with the owner. If they say I give you discount if you pay early, that's fair enough. But paying without knowing what is new (apart from more conversation options) is unfair to the fanbase in my opinion. As they know, fan always buy the game

Then don't buy it yet. There's still information to come, a beta and a demo, so loads of opportunity for information. When you choose to buy, if you do so, is entirely on you. No one is making you buy it, so take responsibilty for that decision. 

[CFuller]

3 minutes ago, hungmn said:

Miles didn't create the game. I played this game before he became the boss. Your logic is like sayng a fan just boycott their club if they're not happy with the owner. If they say I give you discount if you pay early, that's fair enough. But paying without knowing what is new (apart from more conversation options) is unfair to the fanbase in my opinion. As they know, fan always buy the game

SI are just saying, "You can pre-order FM20 now if you want. Alternatively, you can just wait for a little bit longer until you've seen what the big new features are. By the way, if you do decide to pre-order, you can play the open beta for about a fortnight until the game comes out - and if it's not 100% to your liking, you can get your money back from Steam before full release."

That's hardly "unfair" to the fanbase, is it?

By the way, this "fan" didn't buy FM18 at all. Or FM14. Or FM12. Or FM10.

[hungmn]

1 minute ago, themadsheep2001 said:

Then don't buy it yet. There's still information to come, a beta and a demo, so loads of opportunity for information. When you choose to buy, if you do so, is entirely on you. No one is making you buy it, so take responsibilty for that decision. 

Ok that's your opinion I respect that you're happy with it.

My opinion is that's not a proper way to treat the fanbase, especially the game is old enough to have some 20+ years loyalty fans

[themadsheep2001]

Just now, arwelt said:

It's the first reveals for FM20. People are literally only going to be reading about the new features to get excited for the new game. Unfortunately a lot of people here aren't excited about more backroom stuff, more clicks to get through, never mind the smaller reveals, some of which boil down to "we've updated the rules!" 

There are plenty of new things they could add (and are possibly going to be revealed for FM20 still, of course.) People have been wanting more stats and more records to for a long time. Those who like international management have been waiting for some sort of update to that for years. There's even a selection of people who want to be able to work their way from youth teams! 

Of course no one is obliged to buy the game, but I think during feature reveal time, the time where we're looking at all the new stuff, is a more than appropriate time to be able to say "yeah I don't really like these features." Just because some on here have a differing opinion doesn't mean they think SI are evil personified lol. They just expected a little bit more for the first set of news we've received. 

As you say its the first set of reveals. People might be better off waiting for all the pertinent information before making a judgement call, and shouting terrible treatment. Game isn't out for a least a month.

[hungmn]

1 minute ago, CFuller said:

By the way, this "fan" didn't buy FM18 at all. Or FM14. Or FM12. Or FM10.

I don't get this comment? Is that aim at me?
As I said, I bought every version of FM, need screenshot of my Steam?

[themadsheep2001]

1 minute ago, hungmn said:

Ok that's your opinion I respect that you're happy with it.

My opinion is that's not a proper way to treat the fanbase, especially the game is old enough to have some 20+ years loyalty fans

There aren't many places where you can play a demo, get the full beta 2 weeks before, and get a refund on said beta from steam if you don't like it. So I can't personally say I feel much sympathy for the "lack of information" argument. Because by the time the game is out you'll know exactly what you're buying or not buying

[CFuller]

Just now, hungmn said:

I don't get this comment? Is that aim at me?
As I said, I bought every version of FM, need screenshot of my Steam?

"This fan" = me. I've traditionally skipped even-numbered FMs, but that doesn't make me less - or more - of an FM fan than an annual customer like you.

Likewise, I've never been to an Arsenal match live, but that doesn't make me less - or more - of an Arsenal fan than a decades-long season-ticket holder from Islington or a long-distance TV viewer from Singapore.

[hungmn]

1 minute ago, CFuller said:

"This fan" = me. I've traditionally skipped even-numbered FMs, but that doesn't make me less - or more - of an FM fan than an annual customer like you.

Likewise, I've never been to an Arsenal match live, but that doesn't make me less - or more - of an Arsenal fan than a decades-long season-ticket holder from Islington or a long-distance TV viewer from Singapore.

You are less able to get to the stadium, that's fair enough. However, as a fan, you should be able to voice your opinion against the owner without having to give up your season ticket subscription?

[alian62]

4 hours ago, hungmn said:

Ok that's your opinion I respect that you're happy with it.

My opinion is that's not a proper way to treat the fanbase, especially the game is old enough to have some 20+ years loyalty fans

Plus they dangle the carrot that's 10% cheaper if you buy it before it's release .

[HUNT3R]

3 hours ago, prot651 said:

Plus they dangle the carrot that's 10% cheaper if you buy it before it's release .

Not sure why this is a bad thing? A lot of games offer a pre-order discount, for a start. Also, you can still get the refund if you're not happy. There are also plenty of times where FM goes on sale, so there's still a choice if you don't want to pre-order.

[HUNT3R]

7 hours ago, arwelt said:

It's the first reveals for FM20. People are literally only going to be reading about the new features to get excited for the new game. Unfortunately a lot of people here aren't excited about more backroom stuff, more clicks to get through, never mind the smaller reveals, some of which boil down to "we've updated the rules!" 

There are plenty of new things they could add (and are possibly going to be revealed for FM20 still, of course.) People have been wanting more stats and more records to for a long time. Those who like international management have been waiting for some sort of update to that for years. There's even a selection of people who want to be able to work their way from youth teams! 

Of course no one is obliged to buy the game, but I think during feature reveal time, the time where we're looking at all the new stuff, is a more than appropriate time to be able to say "yeah I don't really like these features." Just because some on here have a differing opinion doesn't mean they think SI are evil personified lol. They just expected a little bit more for the first set of news we've received. 

It's always going to be difficult pleasing everyone.

I'm quite happy with expanded existing features, updated/better AI transfer and management and an updated/improved ME. I also realise that other people will want completely new features or updates to (for example) international management, which is something I have no interest in, regardless of any changes to it.

Best to do is wait for more news. I'm quite looking forward to the match videos.

[alian62]

1 hour ago, HUNT3R said:

Not sure why this is a bad thing? A lot of games offer a pre-order discount, for a start. Also, you can still get the refund if you're not happy. There are also plenty of times where FM goes on sale, so there's still a choice if you don't want to pre-order.

No you cant get a refund because you just are not happy . Point was is they dangle that carrot to get early sales as if the game was a flop they got money in the bank

[HUNT3R]

1 minute ago, prot651 said:

Point was is they dangle that carrot to get early sales as if the game was a flop they got money in the bank

That's obviously not true, so please don't make things like this up. Thanks.

[alian62]

Just now, HUNT3R said:

That's obviously not true, so please don't make things like this up. Thanks.

Well that's your opinion if you think it isn't true . I personally think it has a lot to do with money and I don't make things up thank you . 

[themadsheep2001]

12 minutes ago, prot651 said:

Well that's your opinion if you think it isn't true . I personally think it has a lot to do with money and I don't make things up thank you . 

It's not true and this is not the first time you've spread such misinformation. It really needs to stop 

[alian62]

2 minutes ago, themadsheep2001 said:

It's not true and this is not the first time you've spread such misinformation. It really needs to stop 

its an opinion its not spreading mis information ? But yes I will not say anything more

[Sheriff7]

 

[Crispypaul]

Interesting about goal kicks being in the set piece creator.  A useful one if you've got a keeper with good kicking I'd imagine and a big lump up front 

I am pretty sure that the protesting transfers has already been in FM though.  Is it being tweaked?

[RustyRobot]

33 minutes ago, Crispypaul said:

Interesting about goal kicks being in the set piece creator.  A useful one if you've got a keeper with good kicking I'd imagine and a big lump up front 

This is an interesting one, looking forward to see how what options it gives us to implement playing from the back. However, the tweet seems to have been deleted or something?

Edited October 1, 2019 by RustyRobot

[leviathan1904]

vor 31 Minuten schrieb Crispypaul:

I am pretty sure that the protesting transfers has already been in FM though.  Is it being tweaked?

Yes, it has already been in FM. "You now have way more options in doing this"

[kandersson]

The latest B teams feature was enough to make me pre-order. Addiction sucks.

[Crispypaul]

1 hour ago, kandersson said:

The latest B teams feature was enough to make me pre-order. Addiction sucks.

Will be interesting if you can then get that B team in an active league

[pheelf]

I'm a bit underwhelmed if I'm being honest. The success or failure of the features that have been announced so far will hang on how well the AI can utilize them.

Club Vision

Okay, I can see where this could be useful although I don't see how it adds anything much to what is already there except explicitly defining things in a more user friendly interface. There doesn't appear to be very much in the way of a board philosophy which is a shame. Additionally, there doesn't appear to be any information on how the board will help the manager achieve the objectives they set.

It seems the onus is all on the manager to develop the club rather than the board when in reality, it is the other way around. I also don't think the ambition of a board should be set in stone as it's something which really depends on the circumstances.  

Development Centre

This again appears to be a rearranging of screens and is more of a quality of life improvement which I think is a stretch to define as a 'big' feature. It's strange that in some screenshots the U18s and U23s are visible in the sidebar and in others they aren't. I'm hoping that it's possible to keep them visible as if the whole idea was to streamline things then adding additional clicks in order to access the same information defeats the point.

Playing Time Pathway

If the consequence of this change is that AI managers become more competent in developing young talent then the results could be spectacular. If on the other hand it just adds busy work for the human manager then that would be a waste. I can envision a scenario where you plot the course for a talented youngster making him promises of his route into the first team only for him to suffer a serious injury which sets back his development only to be stuck with having to fulfill those promises with no ability to change them without negotiating a new contract leading to a disgruntled player. Promises as it stands are a real pain to deal with as they are often vague. It needs to be made more explicit what the new player statuses mean for playing time. When you leave things open to interpretation that's where confusion tends to kick in followed by frustration. It is also important to have context, if you sign a player for a position which is significantly better than your current first team options altering your youth players prospects of breaking through will you then be allowed to re-negotiate that pathway?

Once again though, this feature is something which could already be done in previous iterations of the series except less explicitly.

Backroom Staff

The advice given by staff has for a long time been of little value which I've largely ignored while playing the game. Hopefully, the overhaul will change this and lead to more sensible and coherent advice. I'd be interested to see what all the new staff roles are and hoping that they are more impactful than previous additions. I'd also like to see a massive improvement on the preset tactical styles which are filled with contradictory TIs that aren't fit to be used straight out of the box. 

Graphic Improvements

Some may disagree but I think this is the most significant change they've announced so far. Anything which is done to improve the level of immersion and quality of the matchday experience is welcome and it's nice to see the return of weather . I'm hoping that the changes to pitch condition aren't purely cosmetic and do have an impact on play. It'd be great to see windy conditions which affect the flight of the ball in the air or humid and hot conditions that tire players out more quickly which would add a whole new dimension to tactics and game management although that's probably asking for a bit too much.

Hopefully, the announcements to come are a bit more exciting. I'm not overly optimistic that there have been any major changes to the ME but who knows maybe they have something up their sleeve so I'll just have to wait and see.

Best Regards

Edited October 1, 2019 by pheelf

[Johnny Ace]

I can't see anything on Miles' Twitter about goal kicks, have been wondering how the'd be implemented 

[kandersson]

4 minutes ago, Crispypaul said:

Will be interesting if you can then get that B team in an active league

Absolutely. I'm especially interested in italian B teams, which should be able to enter Serie C (third tier), like Juventus under 23 did last year (Juventus was the only club that requested a B team).

[Bigpole]

59 minutes ago, kandersson said:

Absolutely. I'm especially interested in italian B teams, which should be able to enter Serie C (third tier), like Juventus under 23 did last year (Juventus was the only club that requested a B team).

But in some leagues there is a rule that b/reserve team must be at least 2 divisions below 1st team. And what if only 2 divisions are playable? 

[JamieTC13]

On 24/09/2019 at 17:59, leviathan1904 said:

Simple solution for a costumer: Do not buy it once again as long as you are not happy with the product. Try the demo in November and make your decision. SI owes you nothing.

They might not owe us nothing but they owe their loyal fans a good game and as he say's the basic's so sure they owe us that the basic stuff what keeps getting missed out year after year 

Edited October 1, 2019 by jckc221013jamie

[kandersson]

3 minutes ago, Bigpole said:

But in some leagues there is a rule that b/reserve team must be at least 2 divisions below 1st team. And what if only 2 divisions are playable? 

I'm sure they will try to respect real rules and real life format of every league as they always do. Italy is (a lot) tricky because atm Serie C is the lowest entry level for a B team. New B teams should be accepted depending on free spots in Serie C (several Serie C clubs tend to go bankrupt every year, not sure about FM though) and results/history of senior team (i.e. most reputable teams take precedence). Despite a lot of talk from many clubs for years, Juventus was the only club that even requested a B team and they're now playing in Serie C for the second consecutive season. Another fun fact: B teams can be promoted to Serie B, but if they get relegated from Serie C they do not enter Serie D (fourth tier), and become inactive for one year. So yes, a lot of weird rules .