Season 135 - Are you ready?

[Grandef]

I'm sure I'm not alone regarding this, as I'm not trying to imply that the game is against me specifically. It's just that there're to many random factors at play. I mean, I get that Nordeus don't want to fix some "problems" as they're making money out of them, i.e. the tanker situation. That's fine. I get it. They don't engage in charity. They're doing business.

But there're several things they could rectify in order to make this game more realistic and fun:

- Draws: don't make it black or white. Either you manipulate the sh*t out of the draws before the season ends and steam roll your opposition the next season, or you get stuck with tankers. Just put some effort into the algorithm resulting in competitive draws. Also, what are the incentives for managers to actually put in some effort in training and finding great players if you're going to get drawn against tougher opponents? There are none. Just leave your team as it is because if you develop a qualitative and competitive team, you're going to get drawn against tankers and extremely tough opponents.

- Corners: this is completely random. You could have 5 aerial defenders and the opposition could still have 2 players unmarked in your box. I get it, sometimes it happens. But if you want us to truly be managers and take control, give us the control required. Let us decide how to set up our team on corners, i.e. chose the player positions and even how to take the corners (short, long, near post, far post). If I'm in the lead and I get a corner in 80-90', I don't want to give away possession. I should be able to play a short corner and (probably) keep possession.

- Throw ins: same here. Sometimes my AML is taking the throw in in my own half while the whole opposing team is on the other side of the field. Why? I'm basically losing out on an offensive player. Let us decide who takes the throw ins. It can't be hard to fix. Hell, even I could fix that in their coding. And I'm not even a programmer.

- Let us set individual tactical orders. Sometimes when you play and important cup/cl-game in the later stages, you have a handful of players with a yellow card. As a result, you're fearing a second booking and suspension. So what you do is you set tackling to "easy" out of fear. This is ridiculous. Let us set individual tactical orders so I can tell my booked players to tackle easy and the others to tackle normal/hard. Same goes for marking. Sometimes I want just one specific opposition player man-marked. Let me do that, etc etc.

- White skills vs. grey skills: what's up with that? Nobody knows how this works. Are grey skills unimportant or not? At least let us know. I Think it's absolute nonsense that there are teams with mutant players where a DC has negative speed value. Yes, it's not the most vital attribute, but it sure is important. You can't set up a defense with a snail and a turtle and expect to win. But apparently, that's how it works in TE. I can have a DC with negative speed value out-running a ST with 680 speed value. Come on.

- Cosmetic factors: Why are height, foot, weight cosmetic factors? Let them be important factors as it would add much to the playing experience. As it is now, I could have a 168 cm, 60 kg, right footed AML producing world class crosses with his left foot or out-jumping a 195 cm DC or tackling a 92 kg DC. Sure, it could happen, but it probably wouldn't. These are not cosmetic factors in real life. Why should they be in TE which tries to emulate real life football?

I could go on forever. There're several things Nordeus could implement that wont affect their income while considerably increasing the playing experience and eliminating the factor of randomness.

Just yesterday I had a CL game where I analysed and planned before hand to perfection. I was 3-0 up. The opponent couldn't create anything of value. Absolutely nothing. Opponent gets two corners in 80' and 90' and scores on both. If I had the possibility to set orders for corners, this probably wouldn't happen. Later I had another game against an abandoned team which I beat 1-7 in our first game. The second game ended 1-1 with the same pre-conditions as before and the team still being abandoned. I maxed out everything; training bonuses, condition, morale, league bonus for winning, +18 % overall quality, counter formation/tactics. Game ended 1-1. Why? How? They didn't have a freaking coach, no bonuses, no nothing.

Now, I get that sometimes sh*t happens. As a matter of fact, it did last week in the cup. I was knocked out in the QF on away goal which I conceded in 90'... on a corner... again. I'm fine with it. It could happen. It's still random, but could happen. But at least give us control of these factors instead of leaving them to randomness. If nothing else, it would at least not allow us to whine about the random factor anymore. As of now, it feels like these things are left out of our control in order to be in Nordeus' control so that the game engine can adjust results however it deems fit. Corners is a great example. And don't get me started on free kicks.

I've quit several other games because of the random factor. I thought TE would be different as one would be able to actually control the environment. I thought it would be a matter of strategic knowledge and probability and not a matter of randomness. I was wrong.

Anyways, the team is still up for grabs for another 24h.

/End rant.

Very well write up, I agree with you that the game should be like this. However, my understanding of the game mechanism is not as complicated, it's more or less a game of probability. What we see in 2D live match are just some preset scenes (aka cosmetic) that represent the probability (aka randomness with some bias).
Anyway, good luck with whatever you do.

[Arphaxad]

Very well write up, I agree with you that the game should be like this. However, my understanding of the game mechanism is not as complicated, it's more or less a game of probability. What we see in 2D live match are just some preset scenes (aka cosmetic) that represent the probability (aka randomness with some bias).
Anyway, good luck with whatever you do.

Thanks, mate. If I remember correct, Football Manager had all the above factors included in their game 15-20 years ago. It's not that hard to implement if there's a will. Those are pretty basic and easy fixes, to be honest. Any programmer worth his or her title would be able to make it happen.

I'm aware of the fact that the game isn't that complicated and is thus based on random probability (I know, it doesn't even make sense, but neither does TE), which is the whole reason for my animosity towards it.

[lespa]

I played today against last team in League who is 7% weaker and my team lost 4:3. Furthermore, defeat happened after my team was 3:0 in lead after first 45 minutes, and no one attended the match. Guess it was time for my team to get trolled...

[EastsiderSG]

Thanks, mate. If I remember correct, Football Manager had all the above factors included in their game 15-20 years ago. It's not that hard to implement if there's a will. Those are pretty basic and easy fixes, to be honest. Any programmer worth his or her title would be able to make it happen.

I'm aware of the fact that the game isn't that complicated and is thus based on random probability (I know, it doesn't even make sense, but neither does TE), which is the whole reason for my animosity towards it.

While it is possible. TE still has to make sure they will increase revenue. Any small change could cause many players to leave the game and there is no point putting in any effort if there is no revenue/profit gain. They have to get their analytics done right. We can discuss what we want all day here but if their data and statistics tell a different story, it would be a no go. I do not blame them, all businesses have annual profit growth targets.

[Der_Ryan_M]

Come on Arphaxad, is just a game. Take it easy.
I was at this point, where you are right now, many times. Yet I'm still here, some things you can't change, this is a simple game with many bad mechanics and gamebreaking things like friendly bug, which is still around for years, or tanking, upselling... all of that.
You will never have a fair and perfect game, which is an online game and is free on top.

And you know whats funny? @Superdunk is here to defend the game. He was at this point also many many times with his trolls in CL finals. And he is also still around.

Sure if you think, that this game is only wasting your time, you should quit.
But for me the positive moments I have with this game, and especially with the friends I know from this game, still mostly outweighs the negative aspects. The times were I tried very hard though, surely over. This game is in no way competitive imo. If it is important to you to show off your skills and be better than other managers, this is 100% the wrong game.

[RaiKo]

And you know whats funny? @Superdunk is here to defend the game. He was at this point also many many times with his trolls in CL finals. And he is also still around.

He's even started the transfers so fast. : D

[SuperDunk]

He's even started the transfers so fast. : D

I bought the player from one of my asso members, Konstantin.
Btw, are you SieCafe FC?

[SuperDunk]

Come on Arphaxad, is just a game. Take it easy.
I was at this point, where you are right now, many times. Yet I'm still here, some things you can't change, this is a simple game with many bad mechanics and gamebreaking things like friendly bug, which is still around for years, or tanking, upselling... all of that.
You will never have a fair and perfect game, which is an online game and is free on top.

And you know whats funny? @Superdunk is here to defend the game. He was at this point also many many times with his trolls in CL finals. And he is also still around.

Sure if you think, that this game is only wasting your time, you should quit.
But for me the positive moments I have with this game, and especially with the friends I know from this game, still mostly outweighs the negative aspects. The times were I tried very hard though, surely over. This game is in no way competitive imo. If it is important to you to show off your skills and be better than other managers, this is 100% the wrong game.

I even got eliminated on my old account from the CL against a good opponent. It s sad because i lost 2 trophies, but it is what it is. I think i got away from the anger that those lost CL finals used to bring me.It s just a game, in which i don t think there is the best so called manager. Manipulating and winning against worse opponents while collecting all the trophies doesn t make you the best.
Am i still manipulating? Yes. Why? Because i don t have the time to watch all my games on my 2 main accounts and i m concentrating more on the association games because they are more challenging, at least for me.
The thing is that the game takes a lot from your time and in many cases is still random, trying to change things does have an impact, but that sure impact you think you ll have in order to win games? not quite.
My team also got stale because of Suazo and AMR that played since lvl 2 together in my team and now i m lvl 13. I might go Siddharth route but i haven t found an attacker FT since my AMC that i bought 2 seasons ago.
Also this season was the 1st time i won an event and i was so happy.

[khris]

Thanks, mate. If I remember correct, Football Manager had all the above factors included in their game 15-20 years ago. It's not that hard to implement if there's a will. Those are pretty basic and easy fixes, to be honest. Any programmer worth his or her title would be able to make it happen.

I'm aware of the fact that the game isn't that complicated and is thus based on random probability (I know, it doesn't even make sense, but neither does TE), which is the whole reason for my animosity towards it.

Scenario variables, and, not precisely lots of factors, the reality is that very "few selected factors"affect a particular game scenario. Somewhere I did a resume about this, too in the spanish subforum mentioning the many existing factors and why there can't be more factors liek weight, foot etc... because we have a good list now and each scenario is so particular cause the few factors selected as determinant.

Scenario lecture and knowledge about the own team internal programming is the key here. Then once you do this right, you have the chances. And once you understand how the engine thinks, and interprets the settings, that isn't in a 1vs1 way or logical way, then you finally earned the supreme knowledge to play this game and turn every single scenario you face.

[SuperDunk]

Scenario variables, and, not precisely lots of factors, the reality is that very "few selected factors"affect a particular game scenario. Somewhere I did a resume about this, too in the spanish subforum mentioning the many existing factors and why there can't be more factors liek weight, foot etc... because we have a good list now and each scenario is so particular cause the few factors selected as determinant.

Scenario lecture and knowledge about the own team internal programming is the key here. Then once you do this right, you have the chances. And once you understand how the engine thinks, and interprets the settings, that isn't in a 1vs1 way or logical way, then you finally earned the supreme knowledge to play this game and turn every single scenario you face.

I m not diminish your knowledge, Khris. But if that should be the case you should win trebles every season, don t you? I still see some of your games where you watch them and still draw or lose. Why it s that?