Unreasonable Player Complaints

It seems especially silly when they're complaining that I'm offering them for an amount that is within their in-game valuation.

It's exhausting that this happens every single time I try to sell a player. Doesn't matter if they want to leave, don't want to leave, or don't care, every single one is outraged that I've the price I've listed them at is the one in their price range.

They say "I can't agree to that number" but they don't need to or have to, it just doesn't make any sense at all.

I can't wrap my head around why this bug has been allowed to remain across multiple editions of the game now unless it's intentional, and if it's intentional I can't wrap my head around why...

Can we get an example of this from your save, i.e. the name of the player, the STR and the valuation that's being offered out at?

5 hours ago, Zachary Whyte said:

Can we get an example of this from your save, i.e. the name of the player, the STR and the valuation that's being offered out at?

The one in the screenshot is a good example, but if you open up my save, and offer literally any player for the top end of their value range, they complain every single time.

Aside from this, I can't get a single offer for any of them, no matter how low I take the price. Is this because I had the first transfer window disabled and we are now between it and the next one? I've never had this problem before. I'm hoping when the next window opens if I offer them to clubs again there will finally be some takers.

Basically I can't bring in any new players until I offload some current ones, but trying to sell my players, even when it's for their stated value, all I'm doing is angering my players (even the ones who are happy to leave!) and bringing in no buyers...

I changed all asking prices to unspecified and waited for the transfer window to open. Then I re-offered everyone for either the top end of their value or slightly below.

I hit next and my inbox is full of complaints, zero offers. It's ridiculous.

Thanks for the additional info and screenshots. We'll examine further.

Still happening at my new club but less so. This guy explicitly does not want to leave, but is somehow also mad because he thinks that an asking price within his value range is too high to get him offers. Does not make sense on multiple levels.

Try to offer Nuorela in VPS new contract.fm.

Hello, @Weston

We have extensively tested this on both the provided save and other saves.

The following is the players names, their asking price/range and the highest amount they'll accept the asking price set at:

Adewumi: value £100k - £1m, highest accepted £1.2m
Eren Keles: value £65k - £110k, highest accepted £150k
Thomas Fink: Value ££60k-£900k, highest accepted £1.1m
Sherzadeh: Value £500k-£950k, hightest accepted £1.2m
Krohn: Value £4k - £30k, highest accepted £35k (in original screenshot fee is showing as £50k, that's £20k above his max value range, over 50% extra - he won't be happy with that)

None of the players complain about the highest value I've noted above, which is above the high end of the base value. I've done this both setting the fee on transfer status page and when offering players out and they're all fine with these valuations.

With the no bids coming in issue, please create a separate post in the 'transfers and contracts' forum.

1 hour ago, Zachary Whyte said:

Hello, @Weston

We have extensively tested this on both the provided save and other saves.

The following is the players names, their asking price/range and the highest amount they'll accept the asking price set at:

Adewumi: value £100k - £1m, highest accepted £1.2m
Eren Keles: value £65k - £110k, highest accepted £150k
Thomas Fink: Value ££60k-£900k, highest accepted £1.1m
Sherzadeh: Value £500k-£950k, hightest accepted £1.2m
Krohn: Value £4k - £30k, highest accepted £35k (in original screenshot fee is showing as £50k, that's £20k above his max value range, over 50% extra - he won't be happy with that)

None of the players complain about the highest value I've noted above, which is above the high end of the base value. I've done this both setting the fee on transfer status page and when offering players out and they're all fine with these valuations.

With the no bids coming in issue, please create a separate post in the 'transfers and contracts' forum.

Thanks for testing this and getting back to me.

It's very strange that it works for you but not for me, any idea why that might be? Were we using different versions?

Separate from what the number is or isn't, there's also the big picture - in general, why would a player ever get upset by an asking price potentially being too high to receive an off if they don't want to leave / explicitly would like to stay?

I think that aspect needs some attention as well. If I were at a club I didn't care to leave and they set my asking price above my value, I would be glad, because 1) it makes me look better, 2) it means I likely won't be going anywhere, 3) if I did get an offer it would be an enticing one from a club that really, really wants me!

Got a low-ball offer for Jaume and since he wasn't demanding to leave I replied with a 1m counter offer - if they want him that badly they can pay since neither me nor the player are needing the move.

Now the player is upset that I've set his asking price too high *when I didn't even set an asking price I just negotiated one specific deal.*

Doing this shouldn't set an asking price, nor should the player who is not asking to leave be upset that it is high.

See save "VPS aug iiii.fm."

Edited February 4, 2023 by Weston

I even tried responding to bids this way and then changing the incorrectly automatically changed asking price field back to unspecified before hitting next and the players still get upset about it even though they don't mind staying and I'm only responding to one private offer.

On 29/01/2023 at 10:54, Zachary Whyte said:

None of the players complain about the highest value I've noted above, which is above the high end of the base value. I've done this both setting the fee on transfer status page and when offering players out and they're all fine with these valuations.

His max value is 200k and he's outraged I offered him for 180k...

See save "VPS nov.fm."

Hello, @Weston your original point is being looked into by the developers. To answer some of your other questions:

''in general, why would a player ever get upset by an asking price potentially being too high to receive an off if they don't want to leave / explicitly would like to stay?''

I feel that maybe there’s a slight miss understanding with what the asking price represents. When you set an asking price for a player you are indicating 'this is the price I will sell them for', so the player automatically is under the impression you want them to leave or are open to selling them at the right price, it’s not ‘this is how much a value you as a player’.

With the 3 points you’ve made - I understand you applying your view point to a player at your team and you might not want to leave, but the fact is if a player gets a better wage or contract length from another team it's something they'll consider, and if you're setting an asking price that is saying ‘if I get a bid for this amount, I’ll accept it, so there’s no guarantee you’ll be staying’.

Players getting upset at asking price because it’s too high is because you are potentially pricing them out of a move to a bigger/better team, a better contract or more playing time/securer role in a team. If you don’t want them going anywhere, you wouldn’t set an asking price because the asking price represents ‘this is the price I’ll sell you at’.

Essentially, if you don’t want to sell a player or don’t want them to leave don’t set their asking price & if offers come in reject them. Any setting of an ‘asking price’ indicates to a player & other teams ‘I will be prepared to sell you’

With the Jaume example you said *when I didn't even set an asking price I just negotiated one specific deal.* - that is setting an asking price. You are saying to the club that has made a bid 'offer me x amount and I will accept the offer, that is my asking price for this player'.

@Zachary Whyte Thanks for your detailed response!

If this is how it is currently set up, then it is my opinion that it should be changed as it is not intuitive/realistic.

Sometimes I'll respond to a transfer offer with a very high number simply to deter the offers because I am not interested in selling, but would sell if I got crazy money. The AI does this too - when the AI manager responds with an absurdly astronomical number I don't think the AI player gets upset about the asking price (though he may be upset if the deal is canceled if he wants to go). Obviously someone at some point in FM development understood this strategy when they coded the AI to use it - so why can't we?

If, as is often the case for me, the player is open to leaving but is not actively seeking a deal because they are happy to stay, they should agree with this - they're content to be valued as such because they don't mind sticking around, but if someone were to want them so badly they'd break the bank for them, then they'd consider going too. This seems very rational to me, and it's frustrating when we can't play the game the way we would manage realistically in real life, but have to play the game as if we are gaming FM because it works in an unrealistic or irrational way.

In many cases the player is explicitly not upset that I want them to leave, and they shouldn't be if I don't. And if they do want to leave they shouldn't be upset if I offer them for a value in line with their valuation.

And again, there's the argument that in FM too many people know about too many things. Would a player always know 100% of the time if I have a private phone call with another club? I doubt it, considering the stories of players being blindsided by being told they're already out the door.

The latest example in save "vps jan window ii.fm."

Thank you for the feedback, we will take your suggestions under consideration.

So I guess there are two parts to this - the bug where players think their value is not their value and get upset when the asking price is in the appropriate range as if it were not, and a separate feature request (?) to rework how the system is interpreted as a whole.

The guide value actually changed and now the amount I've offered him for is way below it. Still, he hates me with 45/100 possible rating for setting the price "too high"...

Two more examples of players getting outraged when I offer them for the high end of their stated value range. Regardless of everything else, this specific aspect 100% needs to be fixed - what is the point of their valuation being shown otherwise?