Football Manager 2021 Official Feedback Thread

[kiwityke]

I've just found the attendance and the weather...they are both in the tactical meeting before the game...weather is in the top left the attendance is in the top right. Tells you how many tickets have been sold out of X available.

Thats only taken me over 150 games and 100 hours to notice after I was looking out for it because someone mentioned it on here.

[MatthewS17]

I feel like we're forgetting this is still a game.

We are literally just clicking on stuff to make things happen. I honestly miss the old Analytical system. I use heatmaps to assess if my players are moving into the same places and to avoid that, but on FM21, you can't see anything. If I accidentally double click at half time, I can't go back to the analytics page? That's very annoying. If I'm mid game, I can't access the analysis from half time? I don't have a notepad and I'm not writing down events as they happen. I watch Extended Highlights, because I work 2 jobs and I do not have the constant time to sit through full matches and assess every single detail, so again, we're not being realistic are we, because it's not a full match. If FM then decides to implement full matches in the name of realism, then I believe my relationship with this game will well and truly end, due to my time constraints.

There is only so much realism you can build because this is still a game, and it is never going to be a substitute for reality. For example, because I don't watch full highlights, my understanding of the game and everything that went on was based on the analysis, to see how it all progresses. Because I can't do that now, I feel blind on what is coming next. Are we controlling the game? Are we getting hit on the counter too often or are they getting a bit lucky? Was the goal they scored against the run of play or am I being outplayed? Is a player being sloppy or is he just not involved? I have no actual clue what is happening most of the time. My assessment is then based on rating, and what little info is available to me, which is, well, match stats.

The visualiser is hopelessly inefficient, and for lack of a better word, useless. It displays two options in open play: Opposition attack or Player Attack. Like, what? Yes, they're going forward with the ball, but they're not just running forward headless. Are they building out from the back? Are they being conservative and patient or a bit more high tempo and direct? What are they doing with the damn ball?? "Attack" and "Attack" mean absolutely nothing to me. Having the ball does not mean you are attacking. That is so very arcade-like, and gives me the idea I've been taken back to the 1990s video games with the most basic of information.

You cannot expect to invoke realism, while at the same time contradicting it with other features.

This probable includes xG and the lack of xA as well, but that's a story for another day.

 

Naturally, this will probably fall on deaf ears, but it is one of many points of frustration for me, on what could be the best FM yet.

The problem with FM lately(since FM18) is that the games seem vastly unpolished upon release. What that means is that the base is very good, and it needs a little more work. Polish them and we'll have fantastic games. But there always seems to be a kind of step backwards upon the release and from then on.

Edited December 4, 2020 by MatthewS17

[bielsadidnothingwrong]

6 minutes ago, MatthewS17 said:

I use heatmaps to assess if my players are moving into the same places and to avoid that, but on FM21, you can't see anything.

see this thread:

 

 

 

[Sharkn20]

1 hour ago, kiwityke said:

Its been removed in the name of progress and realism because its unrealistic to expect a manager to know the weather, venue, attendance and who the referee is etc...

It is another one of the many baffling UI choices this year to replace a page that gave you lots of useful info with one that gives you almost zero info...

🤣🤣🤣

[duesouth]

11 hours ago, mp_87 said:

So after a week of playing, and watching full matches to really test it out, definitely seeing more of the foibles from 20 and even further back.

Still seeing plenty of the age old annoyance where like a GK aimlessly smashes the ball out of play or upfield when he could simply pick the ball up. Or a defender heading/kicking the ball away, usually out of play, under no pressure or the ball is going to sail out of play if they leave it. Etc etc - you all know the ones I mean.

Seeing far too much of defenders (primarily) again this edition just randomly smashing the ball forward for little reason. You're just recycling possession, and then BAM! it gets launched forward. Doesn't seem to matter what level, what quality the player, what instructions they have, applies to everyone.

Likewise, the tendency to send every other pass out to the flank has been toned down in 21, so that's progress I guess, but still too much of it. I confess, I detest (speculative) wing play and cross spam, I want short central build up as my 1st, 2nd, and 555555th option, and it just gets annoying when you have players doing their own thing and going oh look, my right winger is standing in 50cm of space, better send the ball his way!

I said in an earlier post that defending was too passive, stand by that. I know this has always been a bit of a problem in FM and allowances have to be made, but just doesn't feel quite right. Agree with others who have said that long balls catch defences out too much and you get indecision and little to no reaction. And just in general in my opinion I see a bit too much standing off and attackers getting to the ball they look odds on to lose and then face little pressure. If possible I'd like to see it rebalanced.

I was going to put some feedback together, but much of what I wanted to say in terms of the ME is covered above.  The long, aimless punts forward from the back are really annoying, particularly when trying to play a possession game.

Would agree with mp_87 above that the defending is too passive - the reaction to the long punts forward or the slide rule passes is awful.

I've tried playing more of a direct/cross early game - but I find the cross early TI is not that effective - players are in good positions to cross and they just hold onto the ball.  When crosses come, they can be curled in front of a forward's run and are lethal - perhaps a little OP?

It was clear in the beta that this ME had huge potential, but I feel like we're going the wrong way with it.  I guess it's the old issue about the domino effect - something got changed for full release (outside of the ME, but impacted in what we see as the ME) and it's now not as enjoyable.  My frustration isn't quite at the point where I'm going back to FM19, but at times in the past week it's been close...  I certainly feel that my tactic is not being implemented on screen as much as it was in beta - then I saw exactly what I expected to see - now the players seem to ignore the tactical instruction more.

I mentioned about penalties in previous feedback - my theory is that when you have a top team vs a poor team, the poor team gives away too many penalties.  Some of them in terms of the graphical representation of them don't look even remotely like penalties - and that does add to the frustration.  I'm playing as F.C. Andorra (Spanish second division B3) and just played Athletico Madrid in the cup.  I knew I would give away a penalty in this game - and did.  I'll raise a pkm, and will add to it with other examples.

Mouse Clicks

Too many mouse clicks in various areas of the UI - the most annoying for me are:

In the tactics screen, if I go into a TI screen, make a change and then click "Done", I should then be done - but if I try to right hand mouse click to make a position/duty change, for example, nothing happens and I have to click "Done" again - lost count of how many times I've done this and I'd really like to see this be one click and done.  Right now it seems you have to click "Save" and then "Close" - but it should be one click "Save and Close".

So, for quick press conferences - how about making them come up in the box and you can click on the answer and you're done?  You have to click "Respond", answer the question and then another click to end the chat - that could be made much quicker.

For full press conferences - why 2 clicks to enter and then start the press conference - surely we can remove the "start press conference click"?

Match UI

I guess after quite a bit of use, my eyes are starting to go where they need to - but this whole thing is the weak point of FM21 and I can't see how this is to the standard that we expect from SI.  The worst part of it is not being able to view the analysis screen where I can look at average positions until half time.  Now, if I'm watching the full 90 minutes, then I would agree this would be more realistic (although clubs at PL or Champ level in England and equivalent abroad likely have real time analysis available on a tablet on the bench) - however, I don't watch the full 90 and I suspect very few people do.  Therefore, one gets a very disconnected feeling to the match.  I can maybe see an oppo's xG rising - but a lot of times I have no clue from where the danger is coming.  So, a return to being able to view analysis at any time in the 90 minutes is my number one feedback point (are there skins that have this button?).

No question, that this change has not been a good one for me - if you rolled out a patch to go back to the FM20 match UI, I would be delighted!

[joshpmilton]

I do find it baffling that the match summary news item after the game doesn't include a lot of basic information that it used to, especially match ratings for my team. I realise that they pop up at half time, but it's not possible to action any praise/criticism at that point, which makes it somewhat pointless. Side note, it seems like you should also be able to praise a player for making it into the team of the week. Some might not take any notice, but some might appreciate the praise.

[KamyKaze]

Anyone else finding the cross earlier instruction not working since the final release?

[joshpmilton]

Actually, whilst I'm here I've noticed if you decide to change formation/tactic using the drop down in the bottom left of the match screen that the Confirm/Decline button is in the top right of the screen.

1. The click to make the change and the click to confirm it could not be further away from each other
2. Literally no other change on match day requires you to click in the top right beyond Start/Finish half. As a result, I've had a few times where I've gone to park the bus and see out the game, only to notice at the beginning of a highlight that said change hasn't actually come into effect and then concede on that highlight. I'll try and grab a screenshot to demonstrate.

[samdiatmh]

This "injury treatment" message hits SUPER differently in FM21

 

[BuzzR]

There are some UI choices that feel strange, imho.

1. Team Talk screen :

User's eyes are all over the place in this screen.. players and their reactions are left , top , right. One has to go over every individual player widget to see reactions / rating. 

A list was perfect for this as you can assess immediately what has changed. Even a list of widgets, but they should be all in the same place.

Individual Team talk, again moving from bottom left to top right of the screen to check boxes.

2. Match screen

Play / Pause button is on one side of the screen , Skip replay button is on the other side under the score ( why? ) .

Again user's eyes are all over the screen in between highlights: 

  a. text commentary down middle screen,

  b. own players health and morale icons bottom right vs opposition players middle screen right,

  c. stats left screen vs stats right screen.

  d. assistant manager feedback - center screen.

  e. Scores on other stadiums , bottom left popup.

  f. There are 3 panels with 3 different sizes and/or alignments between highlights. Top left anchor, center small one, center (?!) right big one... why ?!

 

 

 

 

Edited December 4, 2020 by BuzzR

[upthetoon]

11 minutes ago, samdiatmh said:

This "injury treatment" message hits SUPER differently in FM21

 

what's the difference between treatment by 'Doctor' and 'Treat At Club'? If i decide to treat a player at the club, does it mean he won't be treated by the club doctor? if not, then by whom? 

[JordanMilly]

6 hours ago, Nick_CB said:

After successive updates, ME became boring, I will wait a few more adjustments to return to play

Just FYI, the ME has barely been touched since the beta, so if it's become boring, that suggests it was boring from the off, in which case I'd ask that you highlight any issues you've found with boring play in the bug forum (since boring play is obviously not intended performance from the ME).

[duesouth]

34 minutes ago, joshpmilton said:

Actually, whilst I'm here I've noticed if you decide to change formation/tactic using the drop down in the bottom left of the match screen that the Confirm/Decline button is in the top right of the screen.

1. The click to make the change and the click to confirm it could not be further away from each other
2. Literally no other change on match day requires you to click in the top right beyond Start/Finish half. As a result, I've had a few times where I've gone to park the bus and see out the game, only to notice at the beginning of a highlight that said change hasn't actually come into effect and then concede on that highlight. I'll try and grab a screenshot to demonstrate.

100% agree - I'm starting to remember I need to confirm it now - but it has cost me!!

[joshpmilton]

This UI is bananas. As mentioned before, bottom left is the quick change in tactics. Top right is then the confirmation, a point on the screen that I'm 99% sure no other in match decisions require you to click up here? Very odd decision.

[upthetoon]

1 minute ago, joshpmilton said:

This UI is bananas. As mentioned before, bottom left is the quick change in tactics. Top right is then the confirmation, a point on the screen that I'm 99% sure no other in match decisions require you to click up here? Very odd decision.

ah.. after 60 hours of playing I now finally know where the confirmation button is. thanks!

[orlyzao]

Guys if anyone misses looking at match stats and analysis during a match, user @Mikal found a way to get there:

 

Edited December 4, 2020 by orlyzao

[Double0Seven]

11 minutes ago, orlyzao said:

Guys if anyone misses looking at match stats and analysis during a match, user @Mikal found a way to get to there:

 

 

This is actually terrible. Who came up with these UI decisions and who approved it? Goddamn how are you supposed to figure this out intuitively.

 

Edited December 4, 2020 by Double0Seven

[joshpmilton]

Interesting, so a lot of the information is still there just really hidden.  That's really helpful, as I was trying to figure out why my centre back was having such a torrid game (ratings wise) despite being on his way to a clean sheet in a 2-0 win. I couldn't find any stats in the summaries that would indicate why that was, so having a lot of that information would be incredibly helpful.

[Zemahh]

What kind of "potential" does this Vanarama South 27 y/o have, to be worth €328M? 

[Tonton_Zola]

4 hours ago, MatthewS17 said:

I feel like we're forgetting this is still a game.

We are literally just clicking on stuff to make things happen. I honestly miss the old Analytical system. I use heatmaps to assess if my players are moving into the same places and to avoid that, but on FM21, you can't see anything. If I accidentally double click at half time, I can't go back to the analytics page? That's very annoying. If I'm mid game, I can't access the analysis from half time? I don't have a notepad and I'm not writing down events as they happen. I watch Extended Highlights, because I work 2 jobs and I do not have the constant time to sit through full matches and assess every single detail, so again, we're not being realistic are we, because it's not a full match. If FM then decides to implement full matches in the name of realism, then I believe my relationship with this game will well and truly end, due to my time constraints.

There is only so much realism you can build because this is still a game, and it is never going to be a substitute for reality. For example, because I don't watch full highlights, my understanding of the game and everything that went on was based on the analysis, to see how it all progresses. Because I can't do that now, I feel blind on what is coming next. Are we controlling the game? Are we getting hit on the counter too often or are they getting a bit lucky? Was the goal they scored against the run of play or am I being outplayed? Is a player being sloppy or is he just not involved? I have no actual clue what is happening most of the time. My assessment is then based on rating, and what little info is available to me, which is, well, match stats.

The visualiser is hopelessly inefficient, and for lack of a better word, useless. It displays two options in open play: Opposition attack or Player Attack. Like, what? Yes, they're going forward with the ball, but they're not just running forward headless. Are they building out from the back? Are they being conservative and patient or a bit more high tempo and direct? What are they doing with the damn ball?? "Attack" and "Attack" mean absolutely nothing to me. Having the ball does not mean you are attacking. That is so very arcade-like, and gives me the idea I've been taken back to the 1990s video games with the most basic of information.

You cannot expect to invoke realism, while at the same time contradicting it with other features.

This probable includes xG and the lack of xA as well, but that's a story for another day.

 

Naturally, this will probably fall on deaf ears, but it is one of many points of frustration for me, on what could be the best FM yet.

The problem with FM lately(since FM18) is that the games seem vastly unpolished upon release. What that means is that the base is very good, and it needs a little more work. Polish them and we'll have fantastic games. But there always seems to be a kind of step backwards upon the release and from then on.

Yes, "clicking on stuff to make things happen" is a nice way to put it. Too many of the game's mechanics, for me, are simply 'procedural', a set of 'rules' that I could train an AI to follow and click through - like clicky mini-games that you work through almost as digital chores.

To feel immersed in my role as manager I want to the opportunity to make more decisions with genuine jeopardy, upside/downside, short-term/long-term consequences. At this moment this lies principally in recruitment and tactics - which remain by a distance the most compelling aspects of this game. 

Again, for avoidance of doubt, all of the above exists in my opinion. 

[MBarbaric]

35 minuti fa, Zemahh ha scritto:

What kind of "potential" does this Vanarama South 27 y/o have, to be worth €328M? 

i think it actually wants to say his price is 0 in a really weird way. might be worth a bug report.

[kertiek]

idea, "pin views" ... for example i have a few custom views ...  what if u could "pin" them ... like in the pics 

squad:

tactics:

 

ps: i know first eleven appears twice .. it should be either greyed out or just hide it and show another pinned view instead, this is just a quick example with paint.

Edited December 4, 2020 by kertiek

[Zemahh]

2 minutes ago, kertiek said:

idea, "pin views" ... for example i have a few custom views ...  what if u could "pin" them ... like in this pics

Neat idea, worth suggesting it in the Feature Requests forum. 

[kertiek]

2 minutes ago, Zemahh said:

Neat idea, worth suggesting it in the Feature Requests forum. 

done 

 

[TioPatinhax]

Is it only in my save, or do the top goalscorers in most all leagues have a very low number of goals?

[Sharkn20]

18 minutes ago, Christmas said:

Please stop with this which is a not the exact same thing which Jack Joyce has said, no matter how many times you take him listing the minor things they did change and upon which they guessed there should be no consquently be no changes and make it into your own little dream of nothing change. You seem to think that you more you repeat your truth you make it true. Even if not revealaed to you yet it is very transparent to everyone else. Shouting "1.1" a million times doesn't make it the same as "1"/

I'm well aware that SI's ME team position is that the changes they did make shouldn't have changed anything. They did. Everyone knows it. You seem to think you can just repeat something and make it true.

Just aspects of morale in relation to ME changes were made, hence if moral is low the performance won't be as good.

ME formulas didn't change, just how the "variable" morale impacts on them. It requires a bit of abstract thinking to understand the fact that nothing changed, but nothing changed indeed.

Edited December 4, 2020 by Sharkn20

[WilltheWolf92]

Hi everyone, I wanted to ask if 21.1.3 Minor Update  is compitable with a save before the update? Sorry if it already was asked, searched for it but didn't found it.

[KUBI]

vor 1 Minute schrieb WilltheWolf92:

Hi everyone, I wanted to ask if 21.1.3 Minor Update  is compitable with a save before the update? Sorry if it already was asked, searched for it but didn't found it.

If you want any changes to competitions in your save it needs a new game, all other fixes are save game compatible. 

[Nick_CB]

Please, allow me to change the position of the players at the bottom of the screen in quick substitutions

[CaptCanuck]

2 hours ago, orlyzao said:

Guys if anyone misses looking at match stats and analysis during a match, user @Mikal found a way to get to there:

 

 

Thanks for the heads up!

That will be a really useful tip for when they fix the effed up player/team stats - so that you can actually see the passing networks and actually see if your tactic is getting those combinations going you'd like it to.

[swangin]

1 hour ago, TioPatinhax said:

Is it only in my save, or do the top goalscorers in most all leagues have a very low number of goals?

Same here.

[kiwityke]

1 hour ago, TioPatinhax said:

Is it only in my save, or do the top goalscorers in most all leagues have a very low number of goals?

Yep same here which is why people screeching strikers are OP and attack needed nerfing never made a link of sense to me.

[Johnny Ace]

Just come to the end of the first season with a holiday save, noticed we didn't sign any of the youth candidates, thought I'd have a look at them 

 

This guy was apparently a youth candidate at 46, retired & became an ass man 

[CaptCanuck]

5 minutes ago, Johnny Ace said:

Just come to the end of the first season with a holiday save, noticed we didn't sign any of the youth candidates, thought I'd have a look at them 

 

This guy was apparently a youth candidate at 46, retired & became an ass man 

So he decided to scratch that itch of being a professional footballer after getting out of the army?

[Fmfan00]

Question... SO does the Youth intake Bug have to do with adding playable players to a database... I just posted something on the general discussion... It was transfered over to the editor but it has nothing to do with the editor... I have raised all of the #'s for the training and even then it has to do with a feature within FM21 the Add players to playable leagues... Is that to do with the youth intake feature that is having problems with it... My other question is. I went to go sim part of my league and i only got 5 youth intake players is that also part of the bug going on with youth intake players as well.. Keep in mind there was no players on the team

[witticism]

Forget about the broken central play for the moment I am curious if anyone else's Match Analysis is graphically broken like that? some of the circles dont display correctly and the rest are not visible at all.

Also:

Anyone else's Combination tool broken too?

[kiwityke]

Just now, witticism said:

Forget about the broken central play for the moment I am curious if anyone else's Match Analysis is graphically broken like that? some of the circles dont display correctly and the rest are not visible at all.

Also:

Anyone else's Combination tool broken too?

Yeah and assists don't work in the analysis reports at all either. 

Also the +/- clear cut chances is also broken in there. It doesn't actually show you a correct total I went through and manually counted. Mine was showing -3 it was actually +12...

The whole analysts reports thing is totally baulked and useless this year I used to use that a fair bit in prior years.

Also what is the positions tab in that section? I haven't even worked out what that is even trying to show me.

[RinusFM]

I have played like 50+ matches, or so. I do believe the ME is a step up from FM20, which was in my opinion the worst FM since years.. Anyway the ME still has some quirks, like: 

• Players take long time to respond to loose balls. 'Oh look a loose ball. What should I do? Oh wait. Perhaps I should run after it.'
• Players close to a ball not reacting to it and enemy uses this as an advantage; loose balls, hoofs, etc
• Midfielders running towards the goalkeeper when he has the ball
• People dribbling and dribbling but do not pass or shoot and always walk into the enemy and loose ball. 
• Goalkeeper hoofing or cannonballing from goal to 85% of the field, the ball bounces, my defender do not nothing or get 'bugged', so the enemy can run freely after the ball and score. (Like that trick you can do in Fifa back then wih R2+R1 *fainting or so* and then score)
• Defending set pieces is weird. I've two strikers, I set one midfield so he can run himself free for a ball and one that usually gains the ball and runs to goal or pass to the striker further. However, set pieces-creator so set these strikers whole somewhere in a corner instead of somewhere central, etc. 
• And much more little annoyances, but not game-breaking

But overally I am very happy with this release. Only 1 game-breaking bug outside of ME and some interface annoyances. Is it worth full price? No. Thats because of the weird patch-policy. Is it worth 25-30 euro. Hella yes. 

Edited December 4, 2020 by RinusFM

[witticism]

10 minutes ago, kiwityke said:

Also what is the positions tab in that section? I haven't even worked out what that is even trying to show me.

This or something else?

 

4 minutes ago, RinusFM said:

Goalkeeper hoofing or cannonballing from goal

I play short passing, distribute to centrebacks and my GK still disregards all instructions so that makes 1/3 of that whole tactic irrelevant I guess

Edited December 4, 2020 by witticism

[CaptCanuck]

35 minutes ago, witticism said:

Forget about the broken central play for the moment I am curious if anyone else's Match Analysis is graphically broken like that? some of the circles dont display correctly and the rest are not visible at all.

Also:

Anyone else's Combination tool broken too?

Yes. Myself and others have raised bugs about it. One of which they unfortunately titled 'known issue'.

I'm sick of the UI, but can try and ignore it. The broken maps are a joke and genuinely impact your ability to play your best football/set your team up as best as possible to get results.

[CaptCanuck]

23 minutes ago, witticism said:

This or something else?

 

I play short passing, distribute to centrebacks and my GK still disregards all instructions so that makes 1/3 of that whole tactic irrelevant I guess

Yup, from open play they seem to like the Punty McPunt routine.

From deadballs it has largely been fine, but with a back 3 and distribute to CBs it sure as heck better be.

[witticism]

 

4 minutes ago, CaptCanuck said:

they seem to like the Punty McPunt routine.

I'm supposedly playing a low LoE/DL with low press intensity but the entire team disregarded those instructions just enough but not far enough to prevent the opposing GK from hoofing it over the top

[ai2ker]

So this post was inexplicably removed without explanation, but its very pertinent to the general tenor of this thread:

FM21 has been released and I'm flabbergasted at how bad some of the changes made are. There's clearly some sort of 'bell and whistles' directive coming down which is why the UI is constantly tweaked, with shaky or non-existent justifications. I think the notion of leaving things well enough alone should be taken to heart. Frankly, I think it's probably too late for a lot of this, but at least I'll feel better having aired it all and maybe the next iteration can be saved. I've also tried to offer compliments where possible so this isn't all one way traffic. Anyways to the point, and I'll have shots of FM20 as well for comparison.

Pre-Match, FM20: 

Cleanly presented info, lack of clutter. This screen is now gone. Instead we have this:

 

Where's the game? Who's the ref? What other games are going on right now? Recent Form? Previous Meetings? Prefered Formations? Upcoming Fixtures? Who's injured for the match? Why did we lose all this information? The game now feels like it is in a vacuum, not part of an on-going league or cup. Not to mention we've lost all the tabs I've highlighted in red in FM20. 

Thing I like: For Next Match only - good if you want to change mentality specifically for a game against a league leader or minnow, but don't want it to be a permanent adjustment to the tactic.

In FM20, during the lead up to kickoff we have this great graphic showing the lineups, uniform colors AND formations:

 

For comparison, here's a real television pre-match screen:

Now we have this:

 

No formation,  no headshots; a stark white sheet with a rough font instead. In FM20, you can drill down into any of the players listed if you'd like - cannot do that in FM21. We do now have a simulacrum of social media on the left, which is entirely ignorable (just like real life, or this post - perhaps I'm getting too meta). Oh and we now know who the ref is. Who the ref is is not very important, but it's a nice piece of immersion.

What I like: The match sheet could have an old-timey, authentic feel, especially with lower-league clubs, but it should be in addition to, not in lieu of the formation screen.

Next pre-match screen, the pep talk. In FM20:

Again, clean, easy to read and use. Now FM 21:

I know this has a snowball's chance in hell of being changed as what we're looking at is one of the big 'features' and others have posted about it, but it's cluttered, confusing and an eyesore. Relabeling aggressive, cautious, etc. to thrash arms, point fingers, etc is pretty underwhelming. If you cannot represent the players beyond a box with their name in them (I mean at the very least add the headshots like in dynamics), there's little reason to arrange them in this difficult way to read. I can promise you it does not feel like a locker room with me the manager in the center.

Anyways - we give our pep talk, and onto the match:

In FM20, there's several things to note - first, we have a timeline, if want to rewind or see something again.

We have full club names (even if they're the FM trademark-avoiding version) with logos (when I have the pack installed), which again can be drilled into if you want to easily see the page of the team your playing (or your own).

We have customizable match information allowing yout display what you want, and not what you don't.

We have updates, which allows you to see the live standings. 

We have all the coaching tools on the top, while commentary runs on the bottom.

In FM21:

 

The timeline - where is it? 

The club names are all again in the same harsh font of the team sheet and strangely truncated and without logos. It's a weirdly, self-enforced limitation and makes it less obvious who you're playing. You cannot drill into the names to see. Not an improvement, in fact a decided downgrade. I like to play in unfamiliar leagues and it's not easy to always know who's being played in-match at a glance.

We've completely lost the ability to curate our match information on screen. The tablet is a poor substitute. I'm sure this was 'by design'.

Updates only flash when they change - I have to activate the tablet to see them now, taking up one of two available screens there.

The tactics and subs being adjacent to the commentary is confusing and cluttered. I accept that this may just be an adjustment to make, but the commentary is a lot easier to follow when it's the sole thing on the bottom of the screen. I understand the tactics bar can be minimized, but if you're using it, it'll be visible a fair amount. 

What I like: Not much to be honest, this was the chief driver of me making this post.

What about between highlights? FM20 vs. FM21

I won't even touch the memed-to-death-already passing chart in 'the dugout' but again this is not an improvement. Information is more scattered, less intuitive. My team is still on the bottom, theirs is in formation on the right. What use to be a simple scan across is now similar to the pep talks one of up down over and around. Are you guys trying to limit screen time through sore eyes?

What I like: How much that passing chart made me laugh - I think the sub recommendations are okay but will surely become 'overrun in midfield' tedious. Post Beta Edit: This has been fixed, sort of. 

Finally, let's talk goals and substitutions:

Why are there no headshots with goals? When are you ever going to see them? When you drill into their individual details only? This change is inexplicable to me. Again because the bottom of the screen is now cluttered, it's actually somewhat easy to miss events. In FM20 you have goalscorers and subs prominently at the top. 

I could very well go on further, but this is enough. I realize this may read like a complete trashing, and that's not the goal. I'm obviously a fan of FM and a lot of what is done is positive- FM21 has greater speed and an improved ME which I am a fan of. Would just love a more intuitive design and things to not be so unilaterally removed when there's no demand for it. This isn't even getting into the insistence that there is only one skin (from 3 default last version) that primarily consists of purple and snowblind white. I know people will have different opinions and I welcome them, but to me this new UI/UX is obviously less clear and informative, more click-intensive and graphically worse. I am more tempted than ever to just remain with FM20 than to persist in this purple purgatory but I am hoping some of this can be redressed.

 

[BamBamBam]

19 minutes ago, ai2ker said:

So this post was inexplicably removed without explanation, but its very pertinent to the general tenor of this thread:

FM21 has been released and I'm flabbergasted at how bad some of the changes made are. There's clearly some sort of 'bell and whistles' directive coming down which is why the UI is constantly tweaked, with shaky or non-existent justifications. I think the notion of leaving things well enough alone should be taken to heart. Frankly, I think it's probably too late for a lot of this, but at least I'll feel better having aired it all and maybe the next iteration can be saved. I've also tried to offer compliments where possible so this isn't all one way traffic. Anyways to the point, and I'll have shots of FM20 as well for comparison.

Pre-Match, FM20: 

Cleanly presented info, lack of clutter. This screen is now gone. Instead we have this:

 

Where's the game? Who's the ref? What other games are going on right now? Recent Form? Previous Meetings? Prefered Formations? Upcoming Fixtures? Who's injured for the match? Why did we lose all this information? The game now feels like it is in a vacuum, not part of an on-going league or cup. Not to mention we've lost all the tabs I've highlighted in red in FM20. 

Thing I like: For Next Match only - good if you want to change mentality specifically for a game against a league leader or minnow, but don't want it to be a permanent adjustment to the tactic.

In FM20, during the lead up to kickoff we have this great graphic showing the lineups, uniform colors AND formations:

 

For comparison, here's a real television pre-match screen:

 

Now we have this:

 

No formation,  no headshots; a stark white sheet with a rough font instead. In FM20, you can drill down into any of the players listed if you'd like - cannot do that in FM21. We do now have a simulacrum of social media on the left, which is entirely ignorable (just like real life, or this post - perhaps I'm getting too meta). Oh and we now know who the ref is. Who the ref is is not very important, but it's a nice piece of immersion.

What I like: The match sheet could have an old-timey, authentic feel, especially with lower-league clubs, but it should be in addition to, not in lieu of the formation screen.

Next pre-match screen, the pep talk. In FM20:

Again, clean, easy to read and use. Now FM 21:

I know this has a snowball's chance in hell of being changed as what we're looking at is one of the big 'features' and others have posted about it, but it's cluttered, confusing and an eyesore. Relabeling aggressive, cautious, etc. to thrash arms, point fingers, etc is pretty underwhelming. If you cannot represent the players beyond a box with their name in them (I mean at the very least add the headshots like in dynamics), there's little reason to arrange them in this difficult way to read. I can promise you it does not feel like a locker room with me the manager in the center.

Anyways - we give our pep talk, and onto the match:

In FM20, there's several things to note - first, we have a timeline, if want to rewind or see something again.

We have full club names (even if they're the FM trademark-avoiding version) with logos (when I have the pack installed), which again can be drilled into if you want to easily see the page of the team your playing (or your own).

We have customizable match information allowing yout display what you want, and not what you don't.

We have updates, which allows you to see the live standings. 

We have all the coaching tools on the top, while commentary runs on the bottom.

In FM21:

 

The timeline - where is it? 

The club names are all again in the same harsh font of the team sheet and strangely truncated and without logos. It's a weirdly, self-enforced limitation and makes it less obvious who you're playing. You cannot drill into the names to see. Not an improvement, in fact a decided downgrade. I like to play in unfamiliar leagues and it's not easy to always know who's being played in-match at a glance.

We've completely lost the ability to curate our match information on screen. The tablet is a poor substitute. I'm sure this was 'by design'.

Updates only flash when they change - I have to activate the tablet to see them now, taking up one of two available screens there.

The tactics and subs being adjacent to the commentary is confusing and cluttered. I accept that this may just be an adjustment to make, but the commentary is a lot easier to follow when it's the sole thing on the bottom of the screen. I understand the tactics bar can be minimized, but if you're using it, it'll be visible a fair amount. 

What I like: Not much to be honest, this was the chief driver of me making this post.

What about between highlights? FM20 vs. FM21

I won't even touch the memed-to-death-already passing chart in 'the dugout' but again this is not an improvement. Information is more scattered, less intuitive. My team is still on the bottom, theirs is in formation on the right. What use to be a simple scan across is now similar to the pep talks one of up down over and around. Are you guys trying to limit screen time through sore eyes?

What I like: How much that passing chart made me laugh - I think the sub recommendations are okay but will surely become 'overrun in midfield' tedious. Post Beta Edit: This has been fixed, sort of. 

Finally, let's talk goals and substitutions:

Why are there no headshots with goals? When are you ever going to see them? When you drill into their individual details only? This change is inexplicable to me. Again because the bottom of the screen is now cluttered, it's actually somewhat easy to miss events. In FM20 you have goalscorers and subs prominently at the top. 

I could very well go on further, but this is enough. I realize this may read like a complete trashing, and that's not the goal. I'm obviously a fan of FM and a lot of what is done is positive- FM21 has greater speed and an improved ME which I am a fan of. Would just love a more intuitive design and things to not be so unilaterally removed when there's no demand for it. This isn't even getting into the insistence that there is only one skin (from 3 default last version) that primarily consists of purple and snowblind white. I know people will have different opinions and I welcome them, but to me this new UI/UX is obviously less clear and informative, more click-intensive and graphically worse. I am more tempted than ever to just remain with FM20 than to persist in this purple purgatory but I am hoping some of this can be redressed.

 

Agree with everything you posted. Got a feeling it will not be changed though. A big let down this year.

[jeff.fit82]

Hey guys, how can i get rid of this pop-up in every match, when someone score a goal, or there's a change in the Table?

In the last FM's, we had a clearly option, to deactivate that...

but now, in FM21...i cant find it

Can someone help me with that?

[Sharkn20]

I would like to be able to see who is giving the assists to the goals during the match and have it represented in the lineup at the bottom of the match UI.

I would like something to tell me in the same bottom bar with the line up that my player took a knock and is now orange...

Also would like to see in opposition formations who are the new subs in during the match, instead lf having to guess because the don't have a rating number yet.

To finish I would like to click at my new shout after a goal, instead of having to stop the match after the replays of the goal, then shout.

Edited December 4, 2020 by Sharkn20

[CaptCanuck]

6 minutes ago, BamBamBam said:

Agree with everything you posted. Got a feeling it will not be changed though. A big let down this year.

Yup agreed. We've got 30+ pages of us pointing this out, will it matter?

They should simply revert the entire UI, really it's that basic and the only solution IMHO.

[witticism]

4 minutes ago, CaptCanuck said:

will it matter?

took them two years to admit striker central play was broken so it maybe theyll admit the UI needs fixing in 2023

[Zemahh]

29 minutes ago, ai2ker said:

So this post was inexplicably removed without explanation, but its very pertinent to the general tenor of this thread:

It still exists, probably just archived as many other beta threads. Considering it had well over 100 upvotes the last time I checked it, I'm sure SI are aware of it.

Sadly, I don't think there's going back though. We're too far into the release in and decisions like that are just too big to revert, regardless of the rightfully critical feedback. The UI is a mess, which is a real shame considering the rest of the game is really good this year. Not even just the design, they were sloppy with "removing" things we're not supposed to see as well, so you can still get to them if you jump through all the hoops. Hopefully someone can release an in-between highlights mod that makes the matchday experience a little more bearable (@michaeltmurrayuk ).

[ai2ker]

58 minutes ago, CaptCanuck said:

Yup agreed. We've got 30+ pages of us pointing this out, will it matter?

They should simply revert the entire UI, really it's that basic and the only solution IMHO.

Well considering there's been NO official response to all these very question UX moves, just moderators doing their underappreciated job, it seems unlikely. Not even receiving a 'we decided to change it to this, don't like it play something else' I'd say they're just planning on riding this out because they know there's a sizeable percentage who will buy it regardless, so it's moot. 

The hope is that they can revert some of this for 22, but let's be honest, considering how unpopular the changes made are it's clear the user doesn't mean much to the powers that be. 

.