FM demo is out early, downloading now from Steam. Damn have to go back to work but it will be waiting for me when I get home.

FM 2010 Gold Demo - Available Now! - Sports Interactive Community (http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php?t=153770)

Steam release is only about 3 hours away, almost time to play:)

shit.

God I love Steam. Already 50% downloaded in approx 10 minutes. Won't have time to even open it up before having to go back to work. Maybe I can leave early?:D

AWESOME!!!

guess i won't be playing civ IV tonight...lol

maybe i can walk home on my lunch break, get my laptop, walk back, and download and install it while i'm at work this afternoon?

LOL

The Vanilla demo downloads pretty quick...

Will the first person to get the demo installed please ping me - I want to show you something :)

The Vanilla demo downloads pretty quick...

Will the first person to get the demo installed please ping me - I want to show you something :)

what? don't leave us in suspense!

i want to take the rest of the day off...really badly

I cant get steam to DL it into it's client.

For anyone that has been following this one's dev. Is the MLS fairly well represented? Can you play as an international team coach and schedule friendlies more easily. I remember a few versions back this was not well done but have not played in a couple of years since.

How many "game" years can you play with the demo? Is it simply 6 months? If so, why do companies do this? It pisses me off, and I never buy the game! I love the "play full version for 3-10 days", those are the demos that always pull me in and force me to buy the game. Anyway, sorry for the rant, have fun y'all! I'm sure the game is beyond excellent, regardless of the limitations of the demo...

I exited and reloaded steam and was able to install

MLS is not one of quickstarts that I can see, Galaril, so I can't give ya the good word.

How many "game" years can you play with the demo? Is it simply 6 months? If so, why do companies do this? It pisses me off, and I never buy the game! I love the "play full version for 3-10 days", those are demos that always pull me in and force me to buy the game. Anyway, sorry for the rant, have fun y'all!

yes, it's six months. That's actually a long time with regards to thegame world, and it avoids having them risk having a full game out there that can be just hex-edited or otherwise cracked to avoid such 3-10 days thing.

Started a demo as Birmingham (picked to just barely avoid relegation at 17th)

Man, I just signed Pablo Contreras, for 1.8 Million pounds, and the press conference was a fucking grilling, they look to really have expanded that.. got grilled multiple times if I thought this was a coup, etcetera, if I'm worried about spending such a large portion of my transfer funds on a player, could he be a flop, he doesn't speak english.. etc.. etc..

yes, it's six months. That's actually a long time with regards to thegame world, and it avoids having them risk having a full game out there that can be just hex-edited or otherwise cracked to avoid such 3-10 days thing.

Never thought about the "crack" problem, makes sense...oh well...I'll probably buy it at the first price drop anyway.

How many "game" years can you play with the demo? Is it simply 6 months? If so, why do companies do this? It pisses me off, and I never buy the game! I love the "play full version for 3-10 days", those are the demos that always pull me in and force me to buy the game. Anyway, sorry for the rant, have fun y'all! I'm sure the game is beyond excellent, regardless of the limitations of the demo...

typically copy protection reasons. in FM's case because otherwise people had cracked the copy protection of the demo to play forever and never purchased the game. that's what happened with SI's version of EHM and why its sales suffered.

damn you foz for beating me to it. and double damn-you for being home and being able to play!

FYVM*, DT, when I go to work in 20 minutes, I'm there till 10 :)


* (yeah, it means what you think it means)

hahaha - well that sucks!

you can IM with me all night and i'll tell you about new features and such if you want...

you know what would be awesome? savegame compatability between FM (desktop) and FM (handheld).

hahaha - well that sucks!

you can IM with me all night and i'll tell you about new features and such if you want...

Can I feed you into a woodchipper set to puree instead?

Can I feed you into a woodchipper set to puree instead?

or i wont if you want...

Hee hee :)

BTW, nice new option under squad "Make available for Reserves until Match Fit"

How many "game" years can you play with the demo? Is it simply 6 months? If so, why do companies do this? It pisses me off, and I never buy the game! I love the "play full version for 3-10 days", those are the demos that always pull me in and force me to buy the game. Anyway, sorry for the rant, have fun y'all! I'm sure the game is beyond excellent, regardless of the limitations of the demo...

If you can't get a feel for the game and make a decision based on 6 months of game time I don't know what to tell you. That is plenty of time.

6 months of game time in FM is also many many many hours of game time. I doubt I could really do 6 months in 3 to 10 days unless I barricaded myself in my room.

i'll probably do 2 6 month mini-games between now and when the game is released. but i spend way too much time in front of my laptop

Hee hee :)

BTW, nice new option under squad "Make available for Reserves until Match Fit"

i wonder if it'll work. i love that type of option.


i also wonder if leagues other than england (thinking italy where i love to play) will have legit reserve-leagues setup this time around

I've never gotten into the past games, but yet again, I'll give this one a try.

David Silva it tearing it up on his Man Utd debut. The 3D match engine looks a lot better, something I couldn't really tell from the small, low-quality youtube videos on the blog.

On the main screen, click on Credits, and look at "Additional External Testing", the first name.

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

I like the redone interface. The calendar at the top is a nice feature.

How many "game" years can you play with the demo? Is it simply 6 months? If so, why do companies do this? It pisses me off, and I never buy the game! I love the "play full version for 3-10 days", those are the demos that always pull me in and force me to buy the game. Anyway, sorry for the rant, have fun y'all! I'm sure the game is beyond excellent, regardless of the limitations of the demo...

FM isn't a game where you typically 'blast' through multiple seasons quickly - a six (game) month demo is equivalent to quite a few hours play through normal practice.

The reason for limiting the game in this manner is mainly to prevent pirates from hacking the game into a full version, simply put the demo has various parts of the codebase physically stripped from it (all the season updating code amongst other thing).

i wonder if it'll work. i love that type of option.
i also wonder if leagues other than england (thinking italy where i love to play) will have legit reserve-leagues setup this time around


Please bear in mind that those leagues without reserve leagues haven't got them for a very valid reason (ie. they don't have them irl).

Please bear in mind that those leagues without reserve leagues haven't got them for a very valid reason (ie. they don't have them irl).

Marc, maybe you could elaborate a little on these two parts of the full game MLS and international play as a fulltime job in game.

Please bear in mind that those leagues without reserve leagues haven't got them for a very valid reason (ie. they don't have them irl).


oh i know. it's just frustrating in some sense - i wish you could "set up a league for your reserve team" or something in those countries then. I mean what i end up doing usually is going and manually setting up a whole season's worth of scheduled games for my reserves in order to try to keep the guys match-fit.

i honestly don't know for certain, but i imagine teams in those countries must do the same sort of thing. the difference is that they have underlings to say "go arrange matches for our reserves against the local beer-league team" or whoever and it gets done. In FM I'm left scouring the country-lists for semi-pro teams to keep my reserve guys fit.

Either they should get "reserve team games" or my coaches should do a better job keeping them more game-fit. i dunno.

I'm with ya, DT. If your assistant manager can schedule friendlies for your A team, why can't he schedule friendlies for the other squads?

Anyway, I'll be keeping an eye out. Since I'm a cheater, I'll only get it if there's some version of FM Scout.

way to say what i was trying to say in about a million less words Pass.

I'm sure there'll be an FM-scout version out soon. Don't be a cheater though. Fay on you!

way to say what i was trying to say in about a million less words Pass.

I'm sure there'll be an FM-scout version out soon. Don't be a cheater though. Fay on you!

Who is Fay?

Downloading now....I fly to MN tomorrow for work, I will play on my 2 plane flights I have...or until my battery dies.

Who is Fay?

He means Fie on you!

Who is Fay?

Fay is (was) my grandmother. I'm getting some slight pressure from the family to name our kid that if it's a girl. That's just not going to happen as a first name. As a middle name....we'll see, it's still not doing the kid any favors, plus we had been thinking of using lurker's last name as its middle name, and her family already has a middle name that they traditionally use. Sigh. How DT knew about any of that, though, is beyond me.

Anyway, none of the more recent versions have a good enough Scout program for my cheating needs, so I still play FM06. :cool:

I promised myself to not to download the demo, as it just makes more impatient about the real game but.... i'm downloading it at 1.2mbps (nice connection from steam btw).

There is something that i hate from FM demos and it's not the 6 months limit but that only quick starts are included.

I know you can continue your demo career in the final game, but the problem is that the demo only has quickstarts of one league, where you can't select the leagues you want to load, the database size etc.

Why can't you make all the create new game options available, but keeping the game ending after 6 months? You still will avoid piracy but we would be able to start new games that we can continue in the full version without any limitation, also testing the different database options.

FM requires you to invest a lot of time in your team, and i hate to start again in 15 days.

FM requires you to invest a lot of time in your team, and i hate to start again in 15 days.

I skip a lot of the stuff I do when taking over a new team in the full game like hiring/firing staff and making my own training regimes. I just buy/sell a few players and play some matches.

yeah - i don't spend as much time on a demo game start as a full game start. and even in the full game, my first game i usually just screw around until the first patch comes out.

He means Fie on you!

yeah...yeah i do. :banghead:

the new UI is....wow. taking some getting used to.

so slow of a DL, cant get steam to DL it so Im doing the torrent thing and apparently so is the rest of the world.

steam's not downloading? try exiting and restarting it...sometimes the text of the DL notification just seems to hang up

At first glance, backroom advice is awesome.

Don't forget to check out the dark skin that's included this go around!

BAD NEWS: My 'System 3D Rating' (preferences->display options) is 1 out of 5 stars. Didn't think the 8600M GT was *that* bad.

GOOD NEWS: I have a new Dell Studio XPS 1645 due to arrive late Oct/early Nov and it's got a better video card :cool:

backroom advice = awesome
dark skin = much easier to see attributes. less eye-strain

I feel like Im learning to swim again in the biggest pool ever and you, Marc, decided it'd be a good learning experience to drop me from a chopper in the middle...

thanks, asshole ;)

BAD NEWS: My 'System 3D Rating' (preferences->display options) is 1 out of 5 stars. Didn't think the 8600M GT was *that* bad.

GOOD NEWS: I have a new Dell Studio XPS 1645 due to arrive late Oct/early Nov and it's got a better video card :cool:


mine is 1 of 5 too...lol

The new gui will take a little getting used to but really like it. Did a quick start in England with Liverpool and took the assman's suggestion to play the reserves in a friendly as it was the quickest way to see a match.

I too have the 1 star 3d rating (nvidia 9400 GT) but the game ran smoothly and looked better than 09. Used the elevated view in 09 but am switching to the sideline view for 2010.

Played around a little with the tactics wizard and touchline shouts. I really like when you click on a player to input player instructions that his attributes are now shown on the tactic screen with positions specific attributes highlighted, very nice.

Only used the default light skin. Pretty used to those with OOTP and FM08 and 09 the last couple of years. Doesn't really bother my eyes but I'll take a look at the dark after reading DT's post.

I've noticed an improvement in the speed of the gui when I make a click. No lag or having to click twice to get a selection to register. Wasn't a big problem in 09 but it was there. 2010 seems to have cured it on my rig.

For someone totally oblivious to this game, does it have a universe of real leagues setup already? All the leagues in the world, maybe national teams and their tournaments, etc? I'd love a game like that but am not knowledgeable enough to set that up on my own.

I have an nVidia 8800GTS and am getting 5 stars.

For someone totally oblivious to this game, does it have a universe of real leagues setup already? All the leagues in the world, maybe national teams and their tournaments, etc? I'd love a game like that but am not knowledgeable enough to set that up on my own.

You pick what leagues you want in your universe. Unless you have a supercomputer or a ton of patience you probably want to pick and choose.

Usually I'll go with anywhere from four to ten leagues. You just check a box, you don't have to setup any teams or leagues, this isn't OOTP. All national teams and continental tournaments and the World Cup and stuff like that is in no matter what.

Full WC qualifying too? Not just the later rounds?

Sounds pretty good.

I have pretty much decided I am passing on FM games until there is a native Linux version. That probably means forever or close to it unfortunately.

Man, I wish I knew enough about soccer to enjoy this game.

The Tactics Wizard is going to take some getting used to but I think its an improvment.

The match engine also seems to run smoother. I also like the little things like fans in the stands and weather affects.

My main gripes so far are the press conference selections are either not working right or just not intuitive. I played a match where an oppostion player had a bad game and I was asked how I felt about it. I selected "It helped us but no one likes to see someone stuggle" or something to that effect. The email result said that the player was upset because of my negative response. Seeing that some of the other responses were how happy I was to see him fail I thought I picked the least negative one.

I'm also seeing a holdover bug from FM09. During the half time team talk I don't have an option to change the Oppostion Instructions unless I make a tactics change. I can go in and change it once play resumes but it still kind of a pain.

Overall though I like what I'm seeing and I'll probably preorder this weekend.

Groundhog, that was some of the fun for me my first year (98?) you learn pretty quickly and it is well worth it to play the best text sim out there.

Man, I wish I knew enough about soccer to enjoy this game.That's what I thought, too, but after a few weeks, you'll know plenty enough to really really enjoy the game. FM isn't the best text sim, it is far-and-away the best text sim. Trust us.

Man, I wish I knew enough about soccer to enjoy this game.

This game taught me about soccer again. I've skipped the last 2 years, but it's time for me to dive back in.

I did nothing else last night other than play the demo.

I'm still getting used to the new GUI.

I haven't really played with the full tactics-wizard yet, i just picked the 4-1-2-1-2 suggested by one of my coaches and tweaked the roles of a few players, but I thought the process of tweaking those things was very intuitive, and I at least thought I could see the changes that I made reflected on the pitch. It definately does "feel" a lot less like "slider management" and a lot more like "pick the role and the orientation that maximizes this guy's talents or fits within the team structure," which is what it ought to be.

Tonight I'll try the full tactics builder and building something from scratch.

Lots of new media options are good - assman suggestions are great, as are all the buttons on those suggestions to have them implemented without having to go to whatever screen and do it yourself.

Press conferences do seem to have gotten a nice revamp, at least the couple that I did. I also noticed some new team-talk options, particularly for friendly matches, that I liked.

Match-engine looks good - I defiantely saw a bunch of little animations and such that I hadn't seen before, and there seems to be less "herky-jerky"ness.

Will be buried in it again tonight.

drowning in it :)

felt like christmas last night between this and the fact that i managed to click "purchase" on nba2k10 and Civ IV while the demo was downloading.

apparently the "special steam skin" is going to be a "similar to FM09 skin" i see on the SI forum (unconfirmed)

i'm actually DLing onto my work computer because I assume I'll get 5-star graphics, and I want to see just how good it can look. haha

I so will be purchasing it...but I won't download the demo.

dola:

I look forward to all the dynasties that come from this.

Did not like the dark skin myself.

There is a lot of improvement in the GUI though -- the whole interface seems more intuitive than it has before. Love the fact that your assistants can recommend something and you just click to have them implement it.

Just played two matches so didn't get too much chance to play around with the new tactics but overall seems easier.

I was going to skip this year. Now on the fence. It strikes me that some of what I was thinking of FM burnout might have been just fatigue at wrestling with the interface.....

i guess the attribute colors are easily moddable in the XML files anyways, so that's fine

downloaded here at work. looking forward to checking out a match at a higher graphics-level

A couple of people have asked about how 'full' simulations the competitions in the game are ...

We try and simulate things as accurately as possible - but generally 'start' the simulation at the earliest round which can directly affect the simulated environment.

For example in England the FA Cup is open to ANY affiliated club in the country, from very very very small town sides upwards.

The game simulates things from the point at which clubs involved in the simulation can start (Second Qualifying round). In real-life 762 clubs contested the FA Cup last year and many of the minnow clubs are far below the level simulated in the game (being wholly amateur teams) and if we simmed the earlier rounds it'd slow the game down hugely without adding much to the simulation at all really.

We DO however have most of the 762 clubs present in the Cup in the database and we do select those who qualify for the simulated rounds as realistically as possible bearing in mind their state in the game at that point.

In case you're interested the rounds missed from simulation for the FA Cup are:

First Qualifying Round
Preliminary Round
Extra Preliminary Round

Incidentally my old hometown of Royston (pop. approx 8,000 people) plays in the FA Cup, this year they did pretty well making it to the 'First qualifying round':

Extra Prelim - Stansted 2 - 5 Royston Town16/08/2009at Bishop's Stortford FC
Prelim Rnd - Hoddesdon Town 0 - 1 Royston Town28/08/2009at Hertford Town FC
First Qual - Flackwell Heath 2 - 1 Royston Town12/09/2009

(ok enough rambling ;) )

Midway through October and I haven't felt the need to mess with a slider yet. I've only gone into the advanced settings to make it so I don't have so many guys forward when defending corners, I really like the new tactics creator and player roles system.

Problem:

Just downloaded the demo, and when the download was completed, I hit open file, and my CPU asked me to choose a program to open the file. I've never had to choose before, for any demo/game download, so what type of file is this? And what "program" do I need. Again, it's simply the file (Setup_FM2010_Vanilla_Demo) you get right after the initial demo is downloaded, and for some reason it isn't associated with anything. Thanks in advance...

EDIT: Nevermind, I simply added .exe to the file name and now it's working.

Just my opinion, but..

1. I think we should try to keep all FM-related talk in this thread, going as far as renaming this thread to the typical 'Alright Boyz etc.' when the demo being out is no longer relevant. Really don't think a new thread needs to be started when someone gets a UPS tracking number or their Steam download is 69% done.

2. Let's put the soccer gaming forum to sleep for good (even if we can't physically)

Midway through October and I haven't felt the need to mess with a slider yet. I've only gone into the advanced settings to make it so I don't have so many guys forward when defending corners, I really like the new tactics creator and player roles system.

Last night I quickly developed a hunch that the default tactics will be much more of a safe bet than they used to be.

dark skin = much easier to see attributes. less eye-strain

that's what she said

Getting acquainted with the demo has impressed me with the quality improvements to the interface. It feels much smoother and easier to use. (I'm using the dark skin.)

I love being able to implement backroom staff's ideas in one click. Also, lots of relevant information is displayed on screen at the right time. I don't have to click around as much as I felt I had to in the past. That's awesome.

i went on a buying-spree last night of guys who were transfer listed. mostly crap, but it was still fun to bring a bunch of guys in - particularly Riquelme to Juventus.

I also loaned in for the season a couple guys, so that's definately working well as intended too.

Can't wait to get my hands on this game!

oh, and filtering by contract status is hugely improved...you can now actually search for guys in the last 6-12 months, or who are just youth players, or any of the MLS designations...

one thing i'd like to see added is filtering by "squad status" so if i only wanted to see guys who were backups (and presumably less expensive) on other teams I could do that, or if i only wanted to try to poach another team's starters i could.

I just started a game with R.Madrid, as usually once the game is released i play with low division teams, so i wanted to feel what is to manage a big club.

- I prefer the dark interface, never been a fan of light ones. It's a good design, not fancy but functional, i would say following the new web 2.0 trend.

- With me being a soccer tactics nut, that enjoys tweaking each player and a few times per match, i thought i wouldn't find really useful the new tactical interface, that i thought it would be only used by players without a lot of soccer knowledge.

I was totally wrong, it's awesome what can you can tweak with a few selections, specially if you have some soccer terms knowledge, as it's perfectly defined what each option does.

For example, i wanted C.Ronaldo to play like he does in R.Madrid, starting at the wing but moving towards the area with his incredible dribbling and scoring skills. I just had to place him as AMR and then select in the drop box that i wanted him to play as "Inside Forward". The result was amazing, he did exactly what i wanted and played like the real Ronaldo, scoring a couple that way in our first friendly.

In past year game, if i placed him as AMR, he would play more like a traditional one, running the wing and crossing to the area by line. To make wingers to dribble towards the area instead of crossing was really hard if not impossible past year, unless you used some tricks like swapping the wingers.

- I love also the new "touchline instructions" that are premade setups/instructions you can give anytime to your players or team during the game, not needing to pause, go to tactics, make changes, go back to game, etc as you needed in the past.

I have not checked yet if you can customize those "touchline instructions" in the game, but even if it's not possible, it should be really easy to do them in xml files like past year you could with tactics.

- Analysis tool during games: INCREDIBLE. You can select any player and see a graphic on the filed of each pass he mad, shoot, cross, etc etc. Incredible deep tool to analyze what your players are doing. I'm really really surprised by this one and find it invaluable.

Overall i like what i'm seeing, 3D games look better, even when the hardware analizer is a bit pessimistic, and with a top PC and graphic card only gave me 2 stars out of 5. But i can't notice any slow down or framerate issue in the 3D engine with all maxed out.

I just started a game with R.Madrid, as usually once the game is released i play with low division teams, so i wanted to feel what is to manage a big club.

- I prefer the dark interface, never been a fan of light ones. It's a good design, not fancy but functional, i would say following the new web 2.0 trend.

- With me being a soccer tactics nut, that enjoys tweaking each player and a few times per match, i thought i wouldn't find really useful the new tactical interface, that i thought it would be only used by players without a lot of soccer knowledge.

I was totally wrong, it's awesome what can you can tweak with a few selections, specially if you have some soccer terms knowledge, as it's perfectly defined what each option does.

For example, i wanted C.Ronaldo to play like he does in R.Madrid, starting at the wing but moving towards the are with his incredible dribbling and scoring skills. I just had to place him as AMR and then select in the drop box that i wanted him to play as "Inside Forward". The result was amazing, he did exactly what i wanted and played like the real Ronaldo, scoring a couple that way in our first friendly.

In past year game, if i placed him as AMR, he would play more like a traditional one, running the wing and crossing to the area by line. To make wingers to dribble towards the area instead of crossing was really hard if not impossible past year, unless you used some tricks like swapping the wingers.

- I love also the new "touchline instructions" that are premade setups/instructions you can give anytime to your players or team during the game, not needing to pause, go to tactics, make changes, go back to game, etc as you needed in the past.

I have not checked yet if you can customize those "touchline instructions" in the game, but even if it's not possible, it should be really easy to do them in xml files like past year you could with tactics.

Overall i like what i'm seeing, 3D games look better, even when the hardware analizer is a bit pessimistic, and with a top PC and graphic card only gave me 2 stars out of 5. But i can't notice any slow down or framerate issue in the 3D engine with all maxed out.

funny, i started a game as real madrid yesterday also, and did the same thing with C. Ronaldo. It's amazing to watch him play just like he does in real life, cutting in and dribbling. Try also enabling him to "Roam" more Icy - that'll give him more tactical freedom and you'll see him popping up all over. And it's great all the tiny little things that you can do as tweaks - and I also very much appreciate how everything is defined for you there and it explains what the different roles and positions do with each of the different mentalities.

OMG...something I just noticed (playing at work is a baddddd idea)

when you're selecting player roles and duties on the tactics screen...down below where it shows the attributes it highlights the important ones for that role/duty. So you can match it up real easily. so if i look at benzema for example and go "why is he only a 6.8 while higuain is playing an 8.4" i can find the right role/duty for his skill-set even easier.

wonderful.

My yearly question.. how does a beginner begin to get into this game?

I love soccer, heck I run a local soccer club, but FM has always been so damn daunting for me.

Are you going to hold classes for beginners DT? :)

Stupid question, I'm sure, but I hope one ya can help me:

I don't want to watch the match/2-D/3-D/whatever, I just want to quick sim it like in FOF, where you just get the score. I don't see any button for this, or any "sim and leave game" button while in the game. Is this possible, or do I have to watch every game?

Have to "watch" every game. Best option is to select "No Highlights" and play it full speed.

FM is a slow process but once you embrace that fact its wonderful.

I think you're missing out on much of what FM has to offer if you don't watch the games--at least the highlights. Since soccer is a sport with a lot of skills that don't manifest themselves in statistics, it'd be too easy to miss how your tactic is failing if you quick sim. You need to see how your players are behaving on the field in order to ensure they're playing well AND to how you want them to play. Match rating only goes so far.

BTW, nice new option under squad "Make available for Reserves until Match Fit"

Uh, sorry, I just wet myself.

I just started a game with R.Madrid, as usually once the game is released i play with low division teams, so i wanted to feel what is to manage a big club.

...

Wet myself again (based on Icy's description). :D

I'd say there's a very high likelihood that this will replace WoW for me.

My yearly question.. how does a beginner begin to get into this game?

I love soccer, heck I run a local soccer club, but FM has always been so damn daunting for me.

Are you going to hold classes for beginners DT? :)

sure Mizzou. I'll do whatever I can to get you into the game. Hell...I think we got AlanT at least a little into 09. And I hope if he felt overwhelmed by 2009 that he gives 2010 a chance at some point too.

And it seems like with the redesigned GUI (more webbish) and the advisor-system it should be easier than ever to get into it.

frankly for most beginners i almost recommend playing a "starter" game where you almost don't even worry about your team/tactics for the first year...let your assman handle that (you can have them select the squad every week and keep the default tactic) and spend the first year just getting accustomed to transfers, personnel-management, press conferences, etc.

once you feel you have got a handle on that then it's time to layer on the tactics and the gameday management.

with all the backroom advice in this version and the new tactics wizard being much more "real world" than the old slider-based system, i honestly think it will prove to be much easier for new players to pick up.

with all the backroom advice in this version and the new tactics wizard being much more "real world" than the old slider-based system, i honestly think it will prove to be much easier for new players to pick up.

Yeah definitely. It's the perfect time for anyone who is curious to give the game a shot.

sure Mizzou. I'll do whatever I can to get you into the game. Hell...I think we got AlanT at least a little into 09. And I hope if he felt overwhelmed by 2009 that he gives 2010 a chance at some point too.

And it seems like with the redesigned GUI (more webbish) and the advisor-system it should be easier than ever to get into it.

frankly for most beginners i almost recommend playing a "starter" game where you almost don't even worry about your team/tactics for the first year...let your assman handle that (you can have them select the squad every week and keep the default tactic) and spend the first year just getting accustomed to transfers, personnel-management, press conferences, etc.

once you feel you have got a handle on that then it's time to layer on the tactics and the gameday management.

with all the backroom advice in this version and the new tactics wizard being much more "real world" than the old slider-based system, i honestly think it will prove to be much easier for new players to pick up.

Great idea DT! I think I'll do just that!


Thanks!

fabsolutely. any questions, feel free to keep em coming

I think you're missing out on much of what FM has to offer if you don't watch the games--at least the highlights. Since soccer is a sport with a lot of skills that don't manifest themselves in statistics, it'd be too easy to miss how your tactic is failing if you quick sim. You need to see how your players are behaving on the field in order to ensure they're playing well AND to how you want them to play. Match rating only goes so far.

Yeah, I'm starting to see that, wish my CPU could handle 3-D(it's at least 6 years old...sigh)...If FOF had this type of "detail", it would be amazing. As it stands, I'm starting to dig the new-layout. I could never get into the older versions of FM because I'd go crazy within 15-20 minutes trying to figure everything out, but the "wizard" and the updated layout really makes everything much easier to understand. I have a feeling this could go down, in my book, as the best text sim I've ever played. Can't wait till the 30th!

EDIT: Still wish I could quick-sim the friendly matches...

You can have your assistant manager take over the friendlies and then they will be simmed for you.

Yeah, I'm starting to see that, wish my CPU could handle 3-D(it's at least 6 years old...sigh)...If FOF had this type of "detail", it would be amazing. As it stands, I'm starting to dig the new-layout. I could never get into the older versions of FM because I'd go crazy within 15-20 minutes trying to figure everything out, but the "wizard" and the updated layout really makes everything much easier to understand. I have a feeling this could go down, in my book, as the best text sim I've ever played. Can't wait till the 30th!

EDIT: Still wish I could quick-sim the friendly matches...

you can. go into the "TEAM NAME" menu and go to "team settings" - set your ass man to be responsible for friendly matches. It's farther down, not the "arrange them" option, but if you scroll down you'll see it.

if your cpu can handle the 2d matches you'll at least get some idea out of them how well your tactics and instructions are doing also. not as fun to watch as 3d, but you get the same amount of info pretty much (at least as far as positioning and movement).

you can. go into the "TEAM NAME" menu and go to "team settings" - set your ass man to be responsible for friendly matches.



http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y257/Gorgonian14/sp24a2_b.jpg

so in this picture i'm the chubby asian dude with the 'stache?

no thanks

Alright alright, I'm taking the plunge..

umm...the "Captains" list you pick your captains from each year...is now ordered by suitability.

HOORAY!!!!

preferred squad numbers...sweet

Dammit stop listing improvements I actually like. I am an every other year guy.

i dunno MJ4H - there's some pretty damn good improvements this year. shit...i think the improved tactics-creation stuff alone is worth it.

it makes it much easier to get your team to play the way you want, and it's also much easier to make changes on the fly or make changes for a single game.

if you try to sign someone but you don't have the money in your transfer budget because it is in your wage budget it now will give you the option to auto-adust it right there with one click of a button, and tell you the resulting change to your wage bill

Didn't I just say to stop it.

LOL

so i just beat xerez 5-0 in the first game of the league season as real madrid

raul scored (of course. raul has to score *cue serious man-crush on raul). and my other 4 goals were all by guys on their debuts (garay, benzema, ronaldo, kaka)

pretty amusing...romp. oh...and i was down to 10 men in the second half and still scored again

I tinkered with it a little bit the other night. Seems to kind of drag on my laptop. And my desktop, while ultra top of the line about 5 or 6 years ago, is probably kinda slow too.

But this -does- look -very- good, what little I've toyed with it so far.

preferred squad numbers...sweet

09 had this too, no?

09 had this too, no?

idk did it? if so i never noticed, to be honest. lol

wait until you get a load of the editor :devil:

I'm going to try the demo this weekend - I've always loved the idea of FM but been put off by the confusing UI, where I always had to navigate a million drop down menus to do anything. This sounds like they have made some changes that may make it more approachable.

I'm going to try the demo this weekend - I've always loved the idea of FM but been put off by the confusing UI, where I always had to navigate a million drop down menus to do anything. This sounds like they have made some changes that may make it more approachable.

i think it's a lot more approachable than in past versions

The reaction to FM from non-football fans is the same for me when I load OOTP - it just seems very overwhelming. But there's plenty of people on here, hopefully including myself when my machine can physically play the game, who can offer advice on football as required :)

Hee hee :)

BTW, nice new option under squad "Make available for Reserves until Match Fit"

Hasn't that been around for a while? I use that all the time, and I'm two versions back...

damn you guys (and in other places) for your optimistic descriptions ... I was set to hold out on this years version to keep my 2 year cycle for FM, now i just might download the demo ... aaaargh :D

still playing last years FM and still having fun with it though, just now entered the 2022/2023 season after winning my 2nd champions league with Hoffenheim and entering major rebuilding mode ...

@ celeval : You could put them as available, but it was infinitely and not "until match fit" afaik

the new demo runs a lot better than 09. I stopped playing it after a while cause it slowed to a crawl after a few years. I hope the new one runs this quick with a lot a leagues loaded.

I dont like the new interface much. The Continue is in a bad spot and lots of wasted space. Cant wait for a good skin to come out to fix it. I had to change to the Dark skin cause i was getting a headache from the default one.

The match engine is much better and the tactics creator is awesome. I can finally feel like i can see the changes i am making on the pitch. Although i have to find out what some of the Touchline instructions mean(Get Stuck in?)

The 3D is better, especially the stadiums. I like how the net finally moves when you get a goal. Although i have seen like 10 shots off the crossbar so far. Cant wait for the full game!

I've been playing 06 but since this sounds awesome. I am finally getting a new laptop after almost 6 years, so perhaps this will find it's way to me. :)

damn all of you to hell.......

hehehe

I dont like the new interface much. The Continue is in a bad spot and lots of wasted space. Cant wait for a good skin to come out to fix it. I had to change to the Dark skin cause i was getting a headache from the default one.

I haven't hit continue in a long time. Space Bar continues just fine.

I refuse to play the demo so as to not get sucked in and have it all lost If/when a patch comes out that is incompatible or not applicable to already saved games. Ill wait for the full release...

in the meantime...

I hate you Marc Vaughan.

Who in the world would continue a quickstart game anyways?

I get easily attached.

Obviously a demo is a demo, but holy crap SI looks like they nailed it this time. Tactics are actually fun, trying to find that perfect role for your player to fit into and the best combination of players without having to lose sleep over slider settings or whether a 14 here goes with a 7 somewhere else.

And yeah, I hate you too Marc. Might be forced to buy a new PC to play this one (although performance is great in the quickstart for me, better than last year)

I tried it last night and spent 3 hours playing. Was a blast. Never thought I'd get into a sim for soccer. Will definitely be picking this up at launch.

Obviously a demo is a demo, but holy crap SI looks like they nailed it this time.

But don't we say this every year? I swore I wouldn't get sucked in again this year but now I don't know anymore. I really never got into last year's game.

I don't remember saying it last year. Even if we were, this year is an incredible jump forward. It's actually a fun soccer management game rather than a fun management sim with a bunch of advanced features.

I'm just talking about the on the field product. The rest of the changes this year, meh.

It's kinda cool to see you guys list features in the game that were in last years game. :) And those are people who actually owned 09!

lol - well maybe they're just easier to notice now in 2010?

Question regarding the STEAM digital download service. I'm moving in a few days, and I'm taking a netbook that doesn't have CD drive with me. I'll be able to connect to the internet at work to download the game, but I'm reading that I may need to connect to the net to play the game as well, or some crap like that? Am I screwed here? As I don't want to pay for internet(fine with free wifi at work, don't need it at home)...

I just hink you ahve to authenticate the game on Steam and then choose Play offline to play from home.

Question regarding the STEAM digital download service. I'm moving in a few days, and I'm taking a netbook that doesn't have CD drive with me. I'll be able to connect to the internet at work to download the game, but I'm reading that I may need to connect to the net to play the game as well, or some crap like that? Am I screwed here? As I don't want to pay for internet(fine with free wifi at work, don't need it at home)...

You can create a shortcut directly to the game .exe and you bypass steam. Of course that way you won't get told about available updates etc, but it's a good option if you don't have internet connection.

Marc,

What can you tell us about changes/updates to MLS? Or if anyone here was on the beta team, any changes?

Am I going crazy or did Amazon list the price as $29.99 a few weeks ago? I looked it up now and it's $39.99.

Am I going crazy or did Amazon list the price as $29.99 a few weeks ago? I looked it up now and it's $39.99.

It was 29.95 when I pre-ordered on 9/22.

idk did it? if so i never noticed, to be honest. lol

I am managing Toronto FC in 09 and we traded for Landon Donavon (I just threw up a little typing that) and it said his preferred squad number was 10. So yes it is in there.

Am I going crazy or did Amazon list the price as $29.99 a few weeks ago? I looked it up now and it's $39.99.

Yeah it's changed. Guess that makes my buying decision much easier. I was debating Steam and having it for release weekend, or Amazon and saving $10 but having to wait a few more days.

With the price now being the same it will be Steam for me.

Damn, I should have preordered for once.

dola,

WTF. On the same page as FM 2010 Amazon has WWSM 2009 listed as in stock for $63.97:eek: Somebody fucked up!

It was 29.95 when I pre-ordered on 9/22.

Ugh that's frustrating. It's still a pre-order so why wouldn't the same price be in effect until the release date?

I see it's 34.90 over at GoGamer.

Does the game slow down after you get years into it? It's useable on my laptop but not great. Just not sure if it'll get worse over time and I should install on my desktop instead.

It's hard to tell in a demo that only allows you to play for six months.

It's kinda cool to see you guys list features in the game that were in last years game. :) And those are people who actually owned 09!

Wait till I start listing features from CM 97/98. :)

Well, I just downloaded the STEAM application, and it has been sitting on 0% on the STEAM - UPDATING screen for the past 10 minutes. It automatically goes to this screen when I start the program and when I try to install the Strawberry Demo...doesn't look to good.

Why did they choose to go with this company for digital downloads? I'm sure it's probably safer in some respect, but having to download an app, play the game through the app, etc? I miss the days of FOF, go to webstore, buy, put in liscense, game is yours. Sorry for the rant.

EDIT: It's working now, 20 minute wait was worth it! I love STEAM!(for now...)

Well, I just downloaded the STEAM application, and it has been sitting on 0% on the STEAM - UPDATING screen for the past 10 minutes. It automatically goes to this screen when I start the program and when I try to install the Strawberry Demo...doesn't look to good.

Why did they choose to go with this company for digital downloads? I'm sure it's probably safer in some respect, but having to download an app, play the game through the app, etc? I miss the days of FOF, go to webstore, buy, put in liscense, game is yours. Sorry for the rant.


I've had no problems with Steam since making my first purchase last year, WWSM 2009, but it does seem to affect others. Home system, different ip's?
I don't know. Updates I've received from Steam have always installed in 2 minutes or less.

There are other DD options from SI to buy FM ( Football Manager 2010 - Digital Download Purchase Options - Sports Interactive Community (http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php?t=153620)) though that won't help you out in getting the strawberry demo.

Ugh that's frustrating. It's still a pre-order so why wouldn't the same price be in effect until the release date?

I see it's 34.90 over at GoGamer.

Yeah, it is a little frustrating. I also can't see a reason why Amazon would change the price, it was their best selling point IMHO to make a buyer move from Steam and Friday release to Amazon and the save $10 but wait a few days to get the game option.

Then Sov posts the gogamer price of $34.90, effort appreciated :thumbsup: though I won't personally be taking advantage of it. I know the first time I checked gogamer it was $39.99 so they actually went down.

As for me I went ahead and pulled the trigger on Steam this afternoon. Last year there was price changes, release day changes, all the way up to release day. I played that game trying to come up with the quickest way to get the game and pay the least amount of money(probably made three order\cancellations before staying with Steam). This year I'm not going to go through that again to save $5. Just not worth it.

So unless we have the US Steam release pushed back at the last minute, like last year to match Amazons release day, I'll have the game Oct 30:) and no headaches:D

I'm on a Mac and so can't use Stream. Come on Amazon.

Last question/problem/etc...downloaded everything through friggin Steam, and I hit launch game, and nothing comes up. The game is running, because I see it under my processes, but I have no clue how to actually get to the game. I'm sure there is a simple solution, and that this is a stupid question. Any advice?

Last question/problem/etc...downloaded everything through friggin Steam, and I hit launch game, and nothing comes up. The game is running, because I see it under my processes, but I have no clue how to actually get to the game. I'm sure there is a simple solution, and that this is a stupid question. Any advice?bypass steam and launch the game directly from the executable. From this point forward, you only need steam to download the full version - even the patches you can get elsewhere. Steam sucks ass.

bypass steam and launch the game directly from the executable. From this point forward, you only need steam to download the full version - even the patches you can get elsewhere. Steam sucks ass.

Sounds good, but is there an FM .exe file on my CPU? I was under the impression that Steam was storing everything.

I'm looking for it!!!

you don't have to play the game through the app!!

dude...there's a FM.exe file on your harddrive!!!!

i did it all year with FM09. it's so easy

Let me ask you guys this, because it's one of the things that frustrated me about the game last year, but is the 3D view generally choppy on your machines? The game gives my Macbook five stars but the 3D view is choppy and "jerky" and never smooth until the ball goes out of bounds and the players slow down a bit. Is this just the way the 3D view looks or is it my machine?

are you viewing key plays, or the full match?

i always watch key plays and assumed the choppiness was the game transitioning between one key play and the next, and i can live with that

"Unfortunately, that isn't the case this year. FM is using Steams copy protection system, so it needs to be running to play it. "

According to a mod at the SIgames forums, Steam needs to be running to play the FM10 demo. Last year it wasn't needed...

steam is so poo - Sports Interactive Community (http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php?t=155224)

are you viewing key plays, or the full match?

i always watch key plays and assumed the choppiness was the game transitioning between one key play and the next, and i can live with that

I am watching key plays only. The choppiness occurs when actually viewing a play unfold up and down the pitch. I am used to the start and stop of the individual highlights along the timeline. I'm referring to the choppiness of the actual highlights themselves.

"Unfortunately, that isn't the case this year. FM is using Steams copy protection system, so it needs to be running to play it. "

According to a mod at the SIgames forums, Steam needs to be running to play the FM10 demo. Last year it wasn't needed...

steam is so poo - Sports Interactive Community (http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php?t=155224)

steam needs to be running i see, but u don't need to be online

Found out it doesn't have anything to do with steam, downloaded the vanilla version on my netbook, and again, while I can see the game is running by looking at my CPU's processes, I have no idea why my CPU doesn't "switch" to the game. It's a brand new netbook, no idea why the game doesn't start like it should.

Let me ask you guys this, because it's one of the things that frustrated me about the game last year, but is the 3D view generally choppy on your machines? The game gives my Macbook five stars but the 3D view is choppy and "jerky" and never smooth until the ball goes out of bounds and the players slow down a bit. Is this just the way the 3D view looks or is it my machine?

I watch the full match and the demo runs smoothly. Core2 duo with 4 gig ram and vista x64. Last years WWSM 2009 ran smoothly for the most part on my old P4 machine (xp, 2 gig ram) with the screen occasionally freezing with players running in place for 1-2 seconds. This only occurred once or twice watching a full 90 minute match.

FWIW someone posted in a thread at SI that they had read in a thread the 3d test isn't working properly, though he didn't bother to link to it for confirmation. Post 19 in this thread System 3d rating?? - Sports Interactive Community (http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php?t=155070#post4036231). Reading through it you see guys with 1 star running at high detail and guys with 5 stars having problems, so maybe it's true?

Found out it doesn't have anything to do with steam, downloaded the vanilla version on my netbook, and again, while I can see the game is running by looking at my CPU's processes, I have no idea why my CPU doesn't "switch" to the game. It's a brand new netbook, no idea why the game doesn't start like it should.

did you restart?

For anyone playing in the EPL, what do you think about the amount of goals being scored (for the whole league, not just your team)? In my game it seemed a bit low so I did the calculations and the average was 2.40 goals per game by the time the demo ended in January. This figure is pretty close to normal although it is lower than any of the previous 14 EPL seasons (range 2.45 - 2.78), and far lower than this season so far which is a bit of an outlier with 3.05 gpg.

If anyone else can be bothered I'd be curious to know what the average in your game is.

Or even if you're running one of the other big European leagues it'd be worth posting, over the last 14 years the average gpg is fairly similar, with the Bundesliga and Eredivisie slightly higher and Ligue 1 slightly lower. EPL, La Liga, and Serie A are very close.

i could check in the La Liga game I just finished the other day...

I've found that I can play using the 2d views through the chipset graphics - the game is good: has only a couple of UI issues from what I can see, with no majorly obvious bugs through 6-7 games.

The tactics creator makes life so much easier, the touchline shouts (not shits as I just typed - that's a different game altogether!) are a nice addition, although why they can take 10+ minutes to come into effect is beyond me.

It seems so much more than the frankly very disappointing last couple of releases, and although I am still not 100% back into the franchise yet, I think it will be a purchase.

The only slight gameplay issue i've noticed through 15-20 games is that sometimes players are not agressive enough going after the ball, seems to happen a lot on through balls where the center back is right there and just ignores it, and I also had one ridiculously annoying play where the ball was sitting right in front of my goalie and he ignored it for a good couple of seconds allowing the striker to run on and tap in from 10 yards out.

I'm sure there is a calculation going on somewhere that is making this happen and these players have sub-par stats in the key attributes but it seems to be a little overdone right now.

But still thrilled with the demo so far, especially the performance on my system which is at least 3 years old.

There's a very lengthy thread over on the FM site filled with others complaining about stuttering during 3D views of games. It appears that it isn't an isolated incident.

Ok, is there a way to just auto everything but the basics to start off with? I'm so overwhelmed it's not even funny.

Ok, is there a way to just auto everything but the basics to start off with? I'm so overwhelmed it's not even funny.

i'd help you but since you were being classless in the NFL thread i don't think i will...

i'd help you but since you were being classless in the NFL thread i don't think i will...

Now if was any other team seeing as your in MA...:jester:

Ok, is there a way to just auto everything but the basics to start off with? I'm so overwhelmed it's not even funny.

You could just use the tactic creator and play some of the friendlies to start off if you don't want to bother with transfers. Honestly I wouldn't even bother with training and staff hiring/firing in the demo.

You shouldn't auto the matches, you need to get used to those ASAP.

You could just use the tactic creator and play some of the friendlies to start off if you don't want to bother with transfers. Honestly I wouldn't even bother with training and staff hiring/firing in the demo.

You shouldn't auto the matches, you need to get used to those ASAP.

Well I changed my formation and got players who I have on my team into those positions with green circles (natural or better fit). We've been winning our friendlies, just not sure if there's other stuff I should be doing that I'm not.

I'm the Wolverhampton Wanderers in the EPL I think (the team is right, not sure on the league, I play Man U etc...)

Chubby,

I'd make sure you have the settings such that your Assistant Manager makes most of the decisions. Watch the games being played out to get a feel for how tactics work, but don't make any real changes to what your AssMan says. As for transfers and the like, make sure you have it set to say "filter out unrealistic targets." I didn't see that for my first few months and was ready to quit because no one I asked wanted to play for me.

Well I changed my formation and got players who I have on my team into those positions with green circles (natural or better fit). We've been winning our friendlies, just not sure if there's other stuff I should be doing that I'm not.

Be warned friendlies can be notoriously fickle in soccer - not least because they're sometimes played against foreign teams who's season isn't in sync with yours (leading to either your team being hammered because they're fit as fiddles or your team hammering theirs because they're still in 'holiday' mode), you also have to bear in mind the competitive difference between the sides playing - ie. if you're beating up teams several divisions below yours it doesn't mean much, if you're playing very good sides though then it generally bodes well for the season.

Use the friendlies to 'get to know' your team - especially any new signings you might make.

I'm the Wolverhampton Wanderers in the EPL I think (the team is right, not sure on the league, I play Man U etc...)

You're right they're in the English Premiership - be warned they're a relatively 'small' side but with a BIG history, as such their supporters can often expect more than is reasonable considering the players and cash flow they have in comparison to the big sides today.

In real-life they're presently just above the drop zone (relegation area) and are likely to stay around that level all season and will likely be in the dog-fight for survival come the season end (with it being 50-50 pretty much as to whether they'll stay up or not most likely).

Don't expect to win a huge amount of games and appreciate that a draw against ANY of the big sides in the division (ie. Chelsea, Man City, Man Utd, Liverpool etc.) is pretty much as good as a win, especially if you clinch it away from home.

When taking over a side in Wolves current situation I generally try and shore up the defense as solidly as possible, look for aging stars who are still solid and have good leadership and determination - you'll need players who'll dig deep and keep trying even when the results aren't going your way - defenders and hard working midfielders are the best bet to sign, Premiership quality strikers cost a FORTUNE and if you decide to go with signing attackers expect to blow your entire budget on a single player and then find he's somewhat lacking at the level you're playing at.

(best bet for strikers if to sign youngsters from divisions below you and hope one comes good in the future rather than try and buy an established player who'll want to be paid a fortune .... which you might find bankrupts the club should you get relegated)

(oh and the bog standard 4-4-2 or a 4-1-3-2 is a decent 'starter' formation imho, I use 4-1-3-2 myself as its a nice negative formation and useful for stifling things if you're playing against clubs who are simply better than yours)

Thanks! I pretty much just want to get acclimated to the game with the demo but didn't want to pick an easy team like Man U/Chelsea...

I like attacking so I switched to a 3-4-3 Diamond, no idea if the formation is any good but my players fit into it (they are green at least). We got waxed in our 1st 2 EPL games but they were on the road and well, we stink :)

Thanks! I pretty much just want to get acclimated to the game with the demo but didn't want to pick an easy team like Man U/Chelsea...
Fair enough - good call avoiding the uber clubs imho; a lot of the fun for me is building a team.

If you want a more 'balanced' easier challenge then consider picking a club further down the pyramid - the play won't be as 'pretty' but you'll find it an easier learning curve and generally more 'forgiving' lower down.

I like attacking so I switched to a 3-4-3 Diamond, no idea if the formation is any good but my players fit into it (they are green at least). We got waxed in our 1st 2 EPL games but they were on the road and well, we stink :)
If you play attacking football with an inferior side in the Premiership I'm afraid you'll find yourself on the wrong side of some pretty nasty hammerings generally.

Everyone now and then a Championship side comes up which plays nice, attractive attacking football and promptly goes down with their tails between their legs pretty promptly (Swindon and Watford being the more recent teams - both played lovely football imho) ... that isn't to say you shouldn't do it, BUT be warned its tough at the top ...

Wait till I start listing features from CM 97/98. :)

Does the feature "Use 3-3-1-3 and proceed to OWN the opposition" still work? :D

Marc, While your around. Any updates to the MLS (other than roster changes)?

My biggest complaint when playing MLS with 09 was that whenever i would trade with another team, the other team wound up releasing the players that they just acquired from me. Although I love the game it makes MLS almost unplayable for me because I had to make a house rule to not trade at all.

I just saw that this is released October 30th, the day after my exam? Hmm. I wasn't planning on getting it, but that's some good timing...

I get a boner every time Marc posts hints and tips on this board.

bought via Steam. No problems with last years.

I get a boner every time Marc posts hints and tips on this board.

+1

This game is so much more newb-friendly than 09. Wow. Consider me hooked and excited for Oct 30.

Really looking forward to this after playing the demo. I got some choppiness too but chalked it up to working on a year old laptop that wasn't built for gaming. I wonder if those who have choppiness have crappy video cards or something.

Marc, any advice for a league to start off with as a newb? I was thinking of just taking a National team as I more or less know the tournaments and such well and it doesn't seem to be as confusing with transfers and stuff. Would that be a good place to start and then slowly moving over to a team in some major European league? I guess what I'm asking is what would you recommend for a guy who likes soccer but doesn't really know a whole heck of a lot about the players, teams, or leagues (but is willing to learn).

Really looking forward to this after playing the demo. I got some choppiness too but chalked it up to working on a year old laptop that wasn't built for gaming. I wonder if those who have choppiness have crappy video cards or something.

Marc, any advice for a league to start off with as a newb? I was thinking of just taking a National team as I more or less know the tournaments and such well and it doesn't seem to be as confusing with transfers and stuff. Would that be a good place to start and then slowly moving over to a team in some major European league? I guess what I'm asking is what would you recommend for a guy who likes soccer but doesn't really know a whole heck of a lot about the players, teams, or leagues (but is willing to learn).

Playing with a national team exclusively could be boring, as there is a game played like once per month unless there is a big international competition that year. Also there is little to do in between those games.

I would start with a middle league table team and delegate all the tasks you don't want to be managed by the assistant manager.

Marc, any advice for a league to start off with as a newb? I was thinking of just taking a National team as I more or less know the tournaments and such well and it doesn't seem to be as confusing with transfers and stuff. Would that be a good place to start and then slowly moving over to a team in some major European league? I guess what I'm asking is what would you recommend for a guy who likes soccer but doesn't really know a whole heck of a lot about the players, teams, or leagues (but is willing to learn).
My suggestion is to pick out a team in a lower division. It is fun to try and build the team up to a point where you can get promoted - often with less pressure to perform straight away.

You'll also find that you develop a sort of fondness for that team in real life. I've never had a favorite team in real life but I started to like Colchester United when they were in the English Championship (one division below the Premier League) a couple of seasons ago. They were playing in a 6500 seat "stadium" and were knocking on the door of possible promotion when they hovered around 3rd place for a while. They have since dropped to the next division below but they are still one of the first results I look for each week.

My suggestion is to pick out a team in a lower division. It is fun to try and build the team up to a point where you can get promoted - often with less pressure to perform straight away.

You'll also find that you develop a sort of fondness for that team in real life. I've never had a favorite team in real life but I started to like Colchester United when they were in the English Championship (one division below the Premier League) a couple of seasons ago. They were playing in a 6500 seat "stadium" and were knocking on the door of possible promotion when they hovered around 3rd place for a while. They have since dropped to the next division below but they are still one of the first results I look for each week.

Very true. My very first game was with Hull City (they were recommended to me as an easy team to take over in 2002 or so), and I've had a fondness for them IRL ever since.

My suggestion is to pick out a team in a lower division. It is fun to try and build the team up to a point where you can get promoted - often with less pressure to perform straight away.

You'll also find that you develop a sort of fondness for that team in real life. I've never had a favorite team in real life but I started to like Colchester United when they were in the English Championship (one division below the Premier League) a couple of seasons ago. They were playing in a 6500 seat "stadium" and were knocking on the door of possible promotion when they hovered around 3rd place for a while. They have since dropped to the next division below but they are still one of the first results I look for each week.

I did something like this in the 2008 version of the game, but on a much grander scale. I took over a team in League Two. In 4 seasons, I took them from League Two to the Premier Championship trophy. It was absolutely sick. Managed to find two players that turned into superstars at virtually the same time. Everything seemed to fall just perfectly. I doubt I'll ever duplicate that feat again, but I'll sure as hell keep trying.

After about a 4 year hiatus, I picked up last year's version and really enjoyed it for a couple of months. If the right deal comes around, I may make this new version my Christmas present to myself.

It sounds promising.

After about a 4 year hiatus, I picked up last year's version and really enjoyed it for a couple of months. If the right deal comes around, I may make this new version my Christmas present to myself.

It sounds promising.

promising isn't a strong enough word. try "orgasmic"

promising isn't a strong enough word. try "orgasmic"

(posts photo showing DT masturbating while watching the FM2010 trailer)

I played last years version an awful lot. Not as much as I play OOTP, but a ton. I started playing with Real Salt Lake but it had some issues with me trading players and AI teams releasing them right away. It just wasn't fun. Then I started playing with Brighton and played for a year or two. I could never get a strategy that worked most of the time. No matter what, the results seemed random. This years seems better about that and I really like the new media interaction and newspaper subscription system. That all being said, I would really like to play as an MLS team and not have issues with trading. It's impossible to demo because the US teams aren't included and I haven't heard a peep from SI development if any changes have been made to the MLS setup. I guess I'll reserve my buying decision until I hear one way or the other from them or one of you guys can tell me if it has changed at all.

(posts photo showing DT masturbating while watching the FM2010 trailer)

:lol:

not quite.

two things i don't do while playing FM - drink or touch myself. They both are too distracting/lead to bad decisions being made.

I made that judgement after a really really drunken FM-session one time where I made some stupid decisions with a long-term game

(posts photo showing DT masturbating while watching the FM2010 trailer)

Hmm. I'm not sure if I want to hang out with DT around the time the game comes out after all...

Anyway, you guys have talked about what kind of rating your computers have for the game. Is there a link where you can find this out, or do you have to download the demo to do it?

we'll let you know Cody.

I'll actually be in Chicago on the 30th sightseeing and then getting home at night and will most likely set myself up for a marathon all-weekend FM-session

Hmm. I'm not sure if I want to hang out with DT around the time the game comes out after all...

Anyway, you guys have talked about what kind of rating your computers have for the game. Is there a link where you can find this out, or do you have to download the demo to do it?


the star-rating thing is apparently messed up.

and Pass - the game comes out on the 30th - but I'll be sightseeing around Chicago that day - I don't even think I'll get a chance to DL it until I get home that night.

Anyway, you guys have talked about what kind of rating your computers have for the game. Is there a link where you can find this out, or do you have to download the demo to do it?

I'm pretty sure getting the demo is the only way. My computer is 5 stars and it's not that great.

AMD 64 x2 Dual Core 6000+ 3.00 Ghz
3 GB RAM
8600 GT with 256 DDR3

Thanks DT.

Fozzie and Todzilla play a lot of MLS - I myself tend to play in European leagues. They might even have some additional insight into how MLS is in this version...

The Belgian and Dutch leagues are good places to start imo. There are no non-EU limits so you can sign anyone you want within your budget and there aren't so many matches to play like in some leagues (English lower leagues for one example - 46 league games and multiple cups) so you don't have to worry about squad depth as much, your best eleven can play every week unless there's an injury.

One of my favorite careers on CM 01/02 was taking a team from the Dutch second division to the Champions League Final, but it's also fun to take a mid-table team in the top league in BEL/HOL or an Anderlecht/Standard/Ajax/PSV/AZ and contend for the title immediately.

Question about signing limits since Fo brought it up. Is there a central site where you can view the various limitations as far as signing players go in the different leagues? I know that some leagues have age restrictions, amount of experience restrictions, etc. I always have issues trying to sign players from certain regions, only to find out that I can't do so even if he agrees to it. Thanks to anyone who can provide a good place to learn those rules.

Dutch league is definately fun.

France is also pretty fun - there's a definate hierarchy up there at the top with say Olympique Marseille, so you be one of the big boys there are be sure to contend for the league title and make your goal to be to win a CL.

One thing I definately want to do in this version that I didn't end up getting to in 2009 is to start a dynasty as Athletic Bilbao (can only sign Basque players) and see if I can be a credible 3rd team in Spain to rival the big guys. Or at least get myself deeper into European competition.

Question about signing limits since Fo brought it up. Is there a central site where you can view the various limitations as far as signing players go in the different leagues? I know that some leagues have age restrictions, amount of experience restrictions, etc. I always have issues trying to sign players from certain regions, only to find out that I can't do so even if he agrees to it. Thanks to anyone who can provide a good place to learn those rules.

pretty sure in the game you can see (in 09 you could) on the league screen under rules. by the league screen i mean the same bunch of menus where you can see the league table...

pretty sure in the game you can see (in 09 you could) on the league screen under rules. by the league screen i mean the same bunch of menus where you can see the league table...

But I'm assuming you can only view those rules once you're in the league, no? I'd like to be able to view all of them. At least in the 08 version, it was a bit tough for me to track down the various league tables.

i think you can view them anytime - least as long as you have the league active.

i also think in 09 there was a league rules chart included in the manual wasn't there? or was that in prior versions?

if there's not one included then sortitoutsi.com will likely have one, and i'd imagine you'll find one linked in the SI forums before too long...

There is a "View" that lists the league rules when you are looking at the "League Table". I've always found work permits to be a pain. I've never found an easy way to see if a player has played in enough caps to qualify.

There is a "View" that lists the league rules when you are looking at the "League Table". I've always found work permits to be a pain. I've never found an easy way to see if a player has played in enough caps to qualify.

I think it's somewhat fun that there's varying rules. I just wish I had a better place to view them in a central location. It's a minor gripe on my part.

I asked this in the other soccer thread but is there like a big ole graph or chart that shows you what leagues are associated with what tournaments and such. Like one that would show that the Premier League is associated with the FA Cup, etc. MLS is associated with SuperLiga, US Open Cup, etc.

I remember reading that this years version would process faster, is that correct or am i wrong ?

The one thing i hate about the game is that it takes so damn long to get going, i basically play 1 save game geting like 15-20 seasons in and then the new version comes along.

It´s not like i don´t love all the detail, but i kind of miss the good old days in that regard.


How many leagues and which database size do you guys usually select ?

IMO to make it competitive in Europe into the highest levels you´d need England, Spain, Italy, Germany (well homer pick, might as well be just the top league) with at least the top 2 leagues active, then at least France, Netherlands, Russia, Portugal with the top league active.
All on large database.

Even then at some point there´s top teams with greyed out players on the roster.

How much game time do you need per season ?

@ rainmaker : I´m afraid there isn´t. It´s like 2nd nature to people in Europe and generally not very "interesting" to people in the US unless they happen to play FM ;)

You just have to figure it out on the go, it´s propably not rocket science really if you browse through the league rules and look at the standings.

England is a special case really, other than that most European league systems are extremely similar to each other but every nation has a couple of rules applying specifically there and things like "who qualifies for which international cup" can vary over the years.

Just pick a league and then ask i´d say.

I remember reading that this years version would process faster, is that correct or am i wrong ?

The one thing i hate about the game is that it takes so damn long to get going, i basically play 1 save game geting like 15-20 seasons in and then the new version comes along.

It´s not like i don´t love all the detail, but i kind of miss the good old days in that regard.


How many leagues and which database size do you guys usually select ?

IMO to make it competitive in Europe into the highest levels you´d need England, Spain, Italy, Germany (well homer pick, might as well be just the top league) with at least the top 2 leagues active, then at least France, Netherlands, Russia, Portugal with the top league active.
All on large database.

Even then at some point there´s top teams with greyed out players on the roster.

How much game time do you need per season ?

The demo goes faster and the match engine stutters far less often on my laptop, we'll see if that works in the full game as well.

For number of leagues I always pick the top division from USA, Italy, Spain, and England at a minimum. Sometimes I'll add the top divisions from some of the following: Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, and France. The Russian league is getting better, I might start adding that in when I get the new game. I only add one or more lower divisions in the country I plan in playing in long-term, I like to keep the game processing quickly as possible. Large database, all players from USA loaded. This might expand by quite a bit when I build a new desktop in the coming weeks.

The in-game timer isn't accurate for me since I'll leave the game open and go browse the web or something while it's processing so I'm not sure how long it takes me to get through a season. It's certainly many hours and very much the opposite of my quick simming ways in OOTP and FOF, but I've grown used to it.

At best when I get a game established and have an established rotation among players and a steady roster and everything, if I'm having a power-session and i'm relatively undistracted I can probably bust through a season in maybe like 10-12 hours?

but that's without making very many gameday changes or dipping into the transfer market really

i think you can view them anytime - least as long as you have the league active.

i also think in 09 there was a league rules chart included in the manual wasn't there? or was that in prior versions?

if there's not one included then sortitoutsi.com will likely have one, and i'd imagine you'll find one linked in the SI forums before too long...

I remember way back in the day (1998? 1999?) there was a nice folded chart that was included. That was very helpful.

I have a question about the back room advice. Every game so far, my Assistant Manager disagrees with the feedback from my other coach on all of the feedback. Do others see this?

I have a question about the back room advice. Every game so far, my Assistant Manager disagrees with the feedback from my other coach on all of the feedback. Do others see this?

yes, every time so far

I asked this in the other soccer thread but is there like a big ole graph or chart that shows you what leagues are associated with what tournaments and such. Like one that would show that the Premier League is associated with the FA Cup, etc. MLS is associated with SuperLiga, US Open Cup, etc.

Last time we did that was either CM00-01 or CM01-02 (can't remember which) - it was a fold out chart which was HUGE, proved quite popular at the time BUT we only had about half the leagues in that version which are in FM and it'd most likely be rather impractical now I'm afraid.

Last time we did that was either CM00-01 or CM01-02 (can't remember which) - it was a fold out chart which was HUGE, proved quite popular at the time BUT we only had about half the leagues in that version which are in FM and it'd most likely be rather impractical now I'm afraid.

The idea strikes me that you could make a webpage with that information and people could access it that way.

Just found out you can customise squad views - cool! Now I can get the info I want all on one... no... three screens as it turns out :D

Just found out you can customise squad views - cool! Now I can get the info I want all on one... no... three screens as it turns out :D

That's a good add.

Although a screen you set for the 1st team squad can't be used when viewing the reserves or youth from their base tabs by the looks of it, only by using the filters from the 1st team screen

Strange decision, but an easy workaround

what was the deal with the occasional BSOD when exiting the demo?

That'll be Windows letting you know you're still its bitch.

hahaha

no i thought i saw somebody say something about it either here on the SI forum

i've now played 2 complete 6-month demo seasons...ready for the real game!!!

i've now played 2 complete 6-month demo seasons...ready for the real game!!!

Quick, when was the last time you a) ate b) slept c) used the bathroom?

a) about an hour and a half ago. i'm overweight...i eat plenty
b) about 5 hours last night (same as every night)
c) i had a really nice #1 right before lunch - got out all the coffee. As far as #2...it was probably last night when I got home from work?

It helps that I don't have anything else going on in my life to occupy my time all night like all you married/in-relationship dudes.

OK, just checking, man. It's just a game - not worth pooping your shorts over.

:D

What - you don't wear a poop sack?

DAMNIT BONNIE...YOU LIED TO ME ABOUT THE POOP SACK!!!

something i'm wondering about - in the touchline shouts when you scroll down the list of tactical tweaks there are two "play more cautiously" and "take more risks" that always seem to be greyed-out...when will those come into play? anyone seem them be selectable?

Bios will be generated for newgens

Oh, and if you click on the dot on the "analysis" screen for a shot/pass/tackle/whatever it will show you that highlight...

something i'm wondering about - in the touchline shouts when you scroll down the list of tactical tweaks there are two "play more cautiously" and "take more risks" that always seem to be greyed-out...when will those come into play? anyone seem them be selectable?

Those are for the two extreme choices (contain and overload) on the starting strategy setting, I use them when up or down a goal in the last few minutes of a game. It's a way of making your tactics even more extreme than the two extremes, to either totally go into a shell or have every player bombing forward.

aaaah okay.

so you can't use them with anything in between "contain" or "overload" then. Gotcha.

I've used contain and overload to hold leads or come back, but i hadn't ever gone in to see that those two tweaks were active at that point.

good to know.

i've got a match report saved i should upload - i played defensive against ManU at Old Trafford in the CL and came away with a 3-2 win (was 3-1 till a late PK goal they got).

OK, just checking, man. It's just a game - not worth pooping your shorts over.

:D

Thank god for that - thought you were going for a new picture set for a minute there...

i've got a match report saved i should upload - i played defensive against ManU at Old Trafford in the CL and came away with a 3-2 win (was 3-1 till a late PK goal they got).

What's a match report? Is it just the line for line play-by-play text? Team stats? I've played the last few years and have never noticed such an option.

Just a reminder if you are using touchline shouts, they wont do anything if you gave a player specific instructions. So if i told McGeady to cut inside on his Instructions, the shout for hugging the flanks wouldnt have any effect on him. At least thats how it seems.

What's a match report? Is it just the line for line play-by-play text? Team stats? I've played the last few years and have never noticed such an option.

i said "match report" when i probably should have just said "match"

my bad. i saved the match file

What's a match report? Is it just the line for line play-by-play text? Team stats? I've played the last few years and have never noticed such an option.

The 'match report' is the commentary in game in 'past tense' - ie. like you're reading the summary commentary which shows up on bbc.co.uk for most English matches.

In the game you can save down a 'packed match file' (.pkm) which contains all the data about the match. This allows you to load up the match and watch it, examine stats, report etc. at you leisure, email it to a friend and say "Watch this cool goal" ..... or more likely email it to me and say "My *@!* keeper let this trickle past him is that a bug?" (and no it isn't he was recovering from the previous save he did a second earlier and was off balance and unable to recover in time, work on your tactics ;) ).

Just a reminder if you are using touchline shouts, they wont do anything if you gave a player specific instructions. So if i told McGeady to cut inside on his Instructions, the shout for hugging the flanks wouldnt have any effect on him. At least thats how it seems.

Its if you use 'ye olde style' tactics that the shouts are ignored - if you use the new tactics interface (ie. .assign a player a role) then they'll be listened to.

Using the old style player instructions is tantamount to giving specific individual instructions to a player to fulfil a role during a match - ie. they're individual and as such he's focused on fulfilling that during a match and will ignore any vague shouts or arm waving from the sidelines during a match.

The 'match report' is the commentary in game in 'past tense' - ie. like you're reading the summary commentary which shows up on bbc.co.uk for most English matches.

In the game you can save down a 'packed match file' (.pkm) which contains all the data about the match. This allows you to load up the match and watch it, examine stats, report etc. at you leisure, email it to a friend and say "Watch this cool goal" ..... or more likely email it to me and say "My *@!* keeper let this trickle past him is that a bug?" (and no it isn't he was recovering from the previous save he did a second earlier and was off balance and unable to recover in time, work on your tactics ;) ).

i like what you said in the second paragraph - everyone's always complaining about things that trickle past them or goals that seem "weird" but i always try to build a little story for it that's believeable in my head before freaking out that it's weird. i don't think enough people do that.

Could there be a way to signal when a player is off-balance, or any other states that should otherwise be visible, maybe similar to the green cross or a yellow card?

... is that a bug?" (and no it isn't he was recovering from the previous save he did a second earlier and was off balance and unable to recover in time, work on your tactics ;) ).QFT

Its if you use 'ye olde style' tactics that the shouts are ignored - if you use the new tactics interface (ie. .assign a player a role) then they'll be listened to.

Using the old style player instructions is tantamount to giving specific individual instructions to a player to fulfil a role during a match - ie. they're individual and as such he's focused on fulfilling that during a match and will ignore any vague shouts or arm waving from the sidelines during a match.

I'm not still sure about that as i have read mixed thoughts about that in SI forums, even from different SI staff.

My understanding is that the sideline instructions would work only for those who just use general tactics without individualized instructions for each player (that in the game means, to those players who do not have that individual instruction checkbox checked).

My question is, when you set player roles... aren't you just using an interface wizard that auto adjusts that player particular instructions the same way you could manually if not using the wizard? If it works that way, it would also be auto checking the individual instructions for that particular player, so the sideline instructions wouldn't affect him either for those instructions.

I'm not still sure about that as i have read mixed thoughts about that in SI forums, even from different SI staff.
I'll rummage in the code to double check later on tonight if I remember (I didn't implement this area I believe Kev did) - but I'm pretty sure what I said is correct.

My understanding is that the sideline instructions would work only for those who just use general tactics without individualized instructions for each player (that in the game means, to those players who do not have that individual instruction checkbox checked).
Thats what I tried to say and how I understand it works.

My question is, when you set player roles... aren't you just using an interface wizard that auto adjusts that player particular instructions the same way you could manually if not using the wizard? If it works that way, it would also be auto checking the individual instructions for that particular player, so the sideline instructions wouldn't affect him either for those instructions.

Yes you are BUT its presumed that if you've over-ridden someones instructions then you have a particular job in mind for them so it doesn't over-ride those players.

This is important because if you have a reckless defender who is always getting sent off and you've told him not to be a prat then you probably don't want his attitude changed when you tell the team to 'get stuck in', same idea if you have a winger who's told to stay open so that the team can use him as outfield distribution frequently - if you tell the team to pressure the opposition you don't really want him getting close to the opposition and losing your offensive outlet.

This sort of 'call' in the games design is always a 50-50 one tbh, it always makes some people very happy and others a little disgruntled ...

(hope that made some kind of sense and didn't confuse things further ;) )

Yeah i underestand it, in some situations it would be a good option to override individual intructions, and sometimes it would be a mistake, so maybe what we need for maximum control would be a checkbox for each player to set if we want sideline options to override his individual instructions or not.