Football Manager 2021 Early Access Beta Official Feedback Thread

[Sherkey]

Love the new analysis section at each half. Makes it very clear how my team is playing vis-a-vis the tactical setup. This will make it a lot easier to analyse and customise games. Pretty cool, overall!

[Christmas]

My no.1 item for feedback is am not wanting to complain too big as it is a new feature, so first, can SI explain utility of this screen?

 

I understand the helpful screen before it with team tactic ideas.

My issues with this screen is:

1 - it is crimped - so screen space wasted.

This relates to my second point which is - 

2 - game treats it as same screen as own "tactic" screen. So if you change "View" on this screen you change "View" on tactic screen also.

But my tactic screen is full page, not crimped, and I have it full of fields and views. I have ASSMAN CA/PA as last two very important.

They don't show up on this screen, so I like to go back to tactic screen to pick team which is much backwardly clicking.

If you want to keep this screen please

1 - uncrimp it or

2 - not linked to always "same view" as "tactics" - freestanding custom view change one not change other

[chokes]

Game’s extremely fast, early experience of the ME is positive and Am really liking the huge number of tweaks increasing immersion. But you really screwed the pooch with that match screen and interface. Struggling to think of a worse designed screen/UI in FM and gaming history. You’re presented with lots of irrelevant and useless information whilst all the relevant information is hidden several clicks away, if at all. 

[KiLLu12258]

i had a look at some players market value in the beginning of the game in the bundesliga.. how can wirtz below 100k and most of the stuttgart squad below 1m.

this is something strange.

Edited November 11, 2020 by KiLLu12258

[saihtam]

27 minutes ago, Christmas said:

 

I get this at 4k 100% zoom. Haven't seen it yet since switching to 110% but not sure if just havent had that occurence 

Please post in bug forums.

Really calling people out to do it there not post here. You can post there and link topic here if you want to point it out for more people. IT will help us all and we know they will work hard on fixing these things.

 

[bigmattb28]

 

Bangors kits are the wrong way around

[Rashidi]

My thoughts, hmm i might be repeating myself here.

Overall experience - Fantastic
Specific dislikes - Match day UI

 

Overall

I love the immersion level, the removal of role suitability circles on the tactics screen is lovely, the match engine is glorious. I did a stream last nite where i took 3 different tactics and showed people what was possible. I think the one that surprised a lot of people was my 442 which ripped through a team with some nice central attacking play. Love the fact that players can change their mind on the pitch. Central attacking play is great. I set up a tactic with a TM/Poacher combo in attack and it tore through the opposition. 

Focus play has obviously changed which looks great as well, now it plays a lot more sensibly than in FM20. I can see a lot of minor stuff in the match engine that caught my eye:

False 9's dropping deep really deep in some cases
Wingers on any attacking duty down the flank will bust a gut to help you defend, if you set up your tactic correctly
Set pieces were on default, long throws still look strong though it seems a player actually needs a good LT attribute for it
Central defenders mopping up play early if they need to and makes sense to
Players on yellow don't need to be told to take it easy, in fact all you need  to do is pay attention to body language and do the appropriate shout
Really wanted a frozen water bottle - raising it as a bug
Focus play has added a new dimension entirely
Players changing decisions mid stream, noticed a player going away thinking the cross wasnt going to happen, then our winger suddenly beat a player, the player walking away then did a surging run into the box to receive the pass. He had the highest anticipation and decision attributes. That was so nice
xG rating is a great addition, though we really need more detailed information like xG shot widgets in the touchline tablet for specific players to follow
xGA not in the game, would love to see it added
xG not added as a view option in custom views or filters. Again adding this would be a QOL difference,
Playing on low tempo is great if you have a very good team that can work the ball.
Middle blocks are really strong, so you could punish high line systems, that looks a lot better
Teams with poor positioning playing the offside trap are fun to watch

Non Match engine

Match day UI, not a big fan. Don't like the idea of not being able to resize the panels. In fact when you pop in player stats all you see is one column. So it does not really make sense that we include player stats as something that can be shown in the touchline tablet, but we can only see the first column
If I leave it with the subs panel showing then its a lot nicer, even if its limited to two panels. I prefer this view, its a pity. 
Recruitment meetings are a very nice touch
Intra day friendlies are fun to do
Can delegate team talks, press conferences and not see a terrible tradeoff. 
Can't IMPORT schedules, which is a right royal pain in the... I know its tied to steam workshop which is kinda funny cos you can import TACTICS. 
Love the idea that there are 32 gestures i think in the game, it is a mini game of sorts that i can play when i want to. Dont see a downside to this
Love how body language and morale is now tied into your shouts. Love this change, finally makes it worthwhile for me to pay attention to body language. 

 

Overall
While I am not particularly happy with the matchday experience, my reaction to the change is less critical than the UI of FM17. While I enjoy the immersion value I have a different view of what's available as stats for top division clubs. OPTA stats are something that top clubs have access to during games, but the amount of information we have is a bit more limited. While I agree that there was too much accessible information last year, I do feel the changes this year were a bit too extreme towards the conservative scale.  

The look and feel of the UI is fantastic, the pop ups are nice. I feel that the including the shot map in the dugout was a design decision. I noticed that important information seems to be tied in with some kind of graphic. So if that was the case behind including it, I can see why. 

While I may not like the matchday UI as much, it has its pluses for look and feel. The match engine is just so good, that i can write the UI off. I am sure that in due course this will be addressed, and it will actually be something that can get better. Overall the game looks really good, I love the fact that nearly ALL my tactics from FM19 and FM20 are working in FM21. I want to take my hat off to the team at SI for producing what could end up being one of the best experiences I have encountered in a long time, and this is only the beta. 

 

[stripeyfox2015]

Played a bit of pre season with Leicester last night. Overall impressions are very good. Like the new team meetings etc

The matches I played (friendlies) looked great, with some real life like movements. At one point Albrighton looked like he'd over hit his pass but suddenly Vardy ran in from behind, latched on to it and poked it past the advancing keeper - lovely stuff!

As far as press conferences are concerned, they look much better. I might try answering all questions as if I were Nigel Pearson. Is there an option to fold your arms and ask "are you an Ostrich?"

 

[Christmas]

I agree with nearly evberything said by Rashidi.

My view is that the ME and grahpics are good, the matchday is good because a lot of information exists in the game, but the presentation is overall very honking

[Christmas]

I did notice though, noting I complained before about how fake gestures are, that if you hover over the gesture it tells you which 'tone' it used to be. 

Edited November 11, 2020 by Christmas

[hoddle1404]

9 hours ago, michaeltmurrayuk said:

Role Rating System has changed for FM21 to try and reflect you don't need to play players in their 'best' role.

Role Stars should be linked to the CA Stars - so a 3 Star Striker would get 3 Stars for Poacher if that was his best role and say 2 Stars for Target Man if he wasn't suited to that role, so it shouldn't be possible to have a 1 star Striker rated as 5 stars for Poacher.

Should also make it easier to compare your players as it should now be clearer that a 5 star Striker with a 3 star rating for Poacher is better than a 3 Star Striker who has 2 Stars as a Poacher, but a 4 star Striker rated as 4 Star Poacher would be better than either of the others.

Was this explained during the feature reveal or did i miss anything? Suddenly it just got me confused the role rating being different from FM20. 

[Eddie Boop]

Match engine much better, particularly for a beta version. Very impressive.

Side note – are there any transparent skins out yet?

[craiigman]

1 hour ago, Christmas said:

I manage newcastle black and whites and referee always in gray and black - very confusing

Can you report this one? Thinking of a Newcastle save and this will annoy me endlessly

[Gozzer]

4 hours ago, jimbo22 said:

Another quick thing.... this offers absolutely nothing. Im all for more info making things better but this is a shake head moment. 

 

This looks like a virus under the microscope...

[stripeyfox2015]

4 hours ago, jimbo22 said:

Another quick thing.... this offers absolutely nothing. Im all for more info making things better but this is a shake head moment. 

 

Yes, definitely this. I get this pop up every match. I'm no data analyst but I suspect there's not much one could learn from this screen!

 

[Gozzer]

The game is fast and smooth so far. Loading and saving times are impressive, as stated by other members. The ME is vastly improved too.

Unfortunately, the Match UI is a mess (sorry SI guys, we all know you're doing the best you can, just some constructive criticism here). The tactics banner on the bottom of the screen is blocking a good part of the pitch, the dialogue box is too small, difficult to check opposite teams stats etc. The previous setting was much better. It would be nice if we could have the choice to customise (surely there are users that might like the changes). Also, for people with eyesight problems, even the largest scaling isn't large enough. Could you recommend something for this?

[wicksyFM]

I wish you could get rid of The dugout info. Whole thing is a bit of a mess. Impressed so far with FM21 Matchday UI is pretty poor to be honest. 

[Conardo]

New FM so far impressive. But the matchday UI is a mess. Old matchday UI was a lot better.

[KiLLu12258]

yeah match day ui is terrible for me.

is it not possible anymore to add widgets to it like the other standings in the league as example?

Edited November 11, 2020 by KiLLu12258

[wicksyFM]

I would be happy if the they just got rid of the dugout box and let me customise the match stats on the left. 
I mean if you can customise the match stats then let me know as I can’t see the option. 

[stripeyfox2015]

In the interests of balance, I love the match day UI

 

[Wizard boy]

Bit of an issue. Some panels I open are partly offscreen so I can’t click the buttons. 

[Butlee]

12 minutes ago, wicksyFM said:

I would be happy if the they just got rid of the dugout box and let me customise the match stats on the left. 
I mean if you can customise the match stats then let me know as I can’t see the option. 

You can make one of the right panels match stats, and customise like you used to.

Of course it'll mean you have match stats on your page twice

[Babis71988]

The only thing i can mention is skin color. Tired eyes after 1 hour....especially at night. 

[Tiger666]

Really not happy with the information (and timeline) being taken away from us during the match. Could be a game killer for the way I play.

[anagain]

5 minutes ago, Wizard boy said:

Bit of an issue. Some panels I open are partly offscreen so I can’t click the buttons. 

Unless you have FM set to something other than your native resolution it looks like the pop up window is opening wrong.

You should bug this in the UI section of the bug forums. Full instructions on including a save there. 

I think I have seen similar feedback to this, so it may be down as a known issue. 

[RedExpress]

3 minutes ago, Tiger666 said:

Really not happy with the information (and timeline) being taken away from us during the match. Could be a game killer for the way I play.

Totally agree particularly on the timeline. I think I heard Miles suggest that the timeline was removed as it is a live match and therefore wouldn't exist in real life. However, think there needs to be a balance struck in the game on certain issues and this is one that removes a key part of enjoying the match experience.

[anagain]

6 minutes ago, Babis71988 said:

The only thing i can mention is skin color. Tired eyes after 1 hour....especially at night. 

Someone suggested to me that I look for a blue light filter in windows. It might filter out some of the colouring that makes eye strain worse.

I have had the same issues with the skin.

I did increase the UI size to 125% and that seemed to help a little. Might be something to try until some kind soul releases a skin. 

[Novem9]

Can you save a filter for players and import this for another save? Looks like FM21 ignores file in filters folders? 

[Novem9]

11 минут назад, Tiger666 сказал:

Really not happy with the information (and timeline) being taken away from us during the match. Could be a game killer for the way I play.

Wait, do you know about this button? If you push it, tablet appears in any moment

[Sterling]

Is the team selection screen now being a fixed size a bug? I have an ultrawide and the layout is not filling my screen, i have lot of wasted space on either side. and no room to add more columns.

[ferrarinseb]

This is Pass combinations of all players in entire match Usually it used to show all the players but now i think its bugged. In which section should i raise it ?

[tyro]

Some feedback so far (note I have not gotten past the first day as I am still setting everything up):

- the game processes super fast

- avatar/3D camera improved a lot

- base skin is a bit darker

- performance analysts and recruitment analysts hired (my club allows me 2/3 not sure if it makes a difference maybe like more assignments like scouting?). Ok that note, where do I hire a press officer or is that automatically provided?

- role suitability replaced with the stars and more hidden (I am very happy with that as I never liked playing someone with orange and not a full circle :))

- Staff attributes: I saw "athleticism" i would have to double check if strength and aerobics are still there

So far it looks very nice and feels different. 

[ferrarinseb]

8 minutes ago, anagain said:

Someone suggested to me that I look for a blue light filter in windows. It might filter out some of the colouring that makes eye strain worse.

I have had the same issues with the skin.

I did increase the UI size to 125% and that seemed to help a little. Might be something to try until some kind soul releases a skin. 

I agree i was feeling tired as well after an hour itself previously i could do with 3-4 hours straight with out any issue. Hope some skin comes out. 

[SmurfDude]

I actually really like the direction they have gone with the match UI. I enjoy the dynamism of the information changing as I watch; notifications coming up from other matches, it all adds to the experience. The change from percentages/numeric values to the use of icons is much nicer. I had no idea what meaningful difference it made if a player was 85% fit compared to 90% fit. Simplification is often a good idea for the end user, even if the end user thinks they want more information. 

The "passes" graphic in the Dugout is pointless though, it's far too busy and cramped to be of any use. I wouldn't mind seeing the match timeline return, but it's not overly fussed. It just made watching replays more convenient. 

Played 4 matches this morning as soon as I woke up. This ME is like a drug, totally addicted to it. I'm almost tempted to block Steam updates to the beta in case any updates ruin the ME!

Edited November 11, 2020 by SmurfDude

[lex311085]

Has anyone seen any weird signings or manigerial changes in their saves yet like klopp to man city

[ferrarinseb]

Another Bug i found is this

We still have Role Sutablitiy circles in PI's Panel. 

Does these go to GUI section ?

[fidelitywars]

9 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

Same issue, did you manage to fix it?

Have worked around this now - my laptop's display setting was set to 150% zoom; I closed FM, changed that to 100%, reloaded FM, chose 'windowed' via Preferences and then reset my laptop's display setting to 150%. Seems to have worked fine - hope that helps

[frank_olaf]

Not sure if this is a bug or is as designed, but it's annoying that you can't go from one tactics section (In possession, In transition, Out of Possession) to the other anymore, without going back to the formation screen first.

For example, if I click on the 'In possession' box (on the tactics screen), make changes in there and then click on 'In Transition', I am first taken back to the formation screen and I need to click 'In transition' again. In FM20 I could go from one of these boxes to the next without going back to the formation view in between.

Should I raise this as a bug?

 

[XaW]

For you asking if X is a bug, please just report it in the bugs sections. SI won't be mad at you, even if you report something that isn't a bug!

[Jack Deal]

2 hours ago, Sterling said:

Is the team selection screen now being a fixed size a bug? I have an ultrawide and the layout is not filling my screen, i have lot of wasted space on either side. and no room to add more columns.

This is a bug, yes. As you say, it should be stretching a little bit more to fit the screen. One we are aware of and have under review here. Cheers!

[gunner86]

Like what I’ve seen so far. Certainly smoother and looks amazing.

BUT

Why has the ability to ‘highlight key attributes for role’ in the staff search attribute filter gone? With so much QoL going in, seems odd to take this out.

[Brighton123]

10 hours ago, michaeltmurrayuk said:

Role Rating System has changed for FM21 to try and reflect you don't need to play players in their 'best' role.

Role Stars should be linked to the CA Stars - so a 3 Star Striker would get 3 Stars for Poacher if that was his best role and say 2 Stars for Target Man if he wasn't suited to that role, so it shouldn't be possible to have a 1 star Striker rated as 5 stars for Poacher.

Should also make it easier to compare your players as it should now be clearer that a 5 star Striker with a 3 star rating for Poacher is better than a 3 Star Striker who has 2 Stars as a Poacher, but a 4 star Striker rated as 4 Star Poacher would be better than either of the others.

Not sure about this as it decreases the need to scout a player? I don't attribute mask so it's already a bit easier for me, but now I can see every players star rating before I've even sent a scout. I don't think I should be able to see that without scouting. 

Of course you should still get a scout report to understand hidden attributes etc. 

[Johnny Ace]

44 minutes ago, wicksyFM said:

I would be happy if the they just got rid of the dugout box and let me customise the match stats on the left. 
I mean if you can customise the match stats then let me know as I can’t see the option. 

The same for me, I'd prefer if we could customise the stats on the left, they don't show half the information I like, I use the match stats from the tablet on the right  making the stats on the left pointless. I only have two tabs on the tablet screen too so that's one wasted

The Dugout box should be optional, I'd rather have more tablet tabs there  & be able to just go to the analysis screen if I want that sort of info

I miss widgets, especially for 2D where you could fill the grey space with them 

[martinobremnato1]

is there a way to turn off dugout advice? You could hide it last season in match drop down notification preferences i think.

Edited November 11, 2020 by martinobremnato1

[Wilsjay27]

Enjoying the game so far but as several people have already said, not a fan of the match day UI at all, ive always customised it with different widgets of different sizes. Also as someone who plays on commentary only, the commentary box is way too small.

[Johnny Ace]

38 minutes ago, RedExpress said:

Totally agree particularly on the timeline. I think I heard Miles suggest that the timeline was removed as it is a live match and therefore wouldn't exist in real life. However, think there needs to be a balance struck in the game on certain issues and this is one that removes a key part of enjoying the match experience.

I can understand where Miles is coming from but it would be nice if it was optional, imagine trying to make bug report with timestamps without being able to freely move the timeline  

Edited November 11, 2020 by Johnny Ace

[Tiger666]

15 minutes ago, Johnny Ace said:

I can understand where Miles is coming from but it would be nice if it was optional, imagine trying to make bug report with timestamps without being able to freely move the timeline  

It doesn't make any sense, why make it harder to go to a specific point in the match? You can still do it, it just takes more than a click. It's a terrible design decision. What damage was a timeline doing?

Edited November 11, 2020 by Tiger666

[MrPompey]

6 hours ago, Aim_Less said:

so i am the only one seeing too much penalties ? both against and for me

compared to what? What are the real life stats then compare what you see in FM else it appears "your view" rather an than FM v Real Life. New handball rule in real life has tended to mean a rise in penalties

[southside]

Has anybody found a way to reverse the camera during a game in 3d. Only played around 30mins last night but first impressions were positive, polished and very fast but annoying only having the camera facing the dugout and being unable to reverse