*Official* Football Manager 2022 Feedback Thread

[properdisco]

Not going to get drawn into more people misunderstanding my point, but this counts as feedback: I feel very assured about the match engine. I know for a fact they will be focusing on that, making it the best it can be, and those IFs will be cutting inside sooner rather than later.

I don't feel similarly assured about the interface stuff which is getting worse. Problems from the last 2 games unaddressed, and everybody just logs their individual bugs, the devs seem confused and ask for an older archived save than is realistically possible and the discussions of these issues go nowhere. I don't know what is going on there frankly but it concerns me and my game happiness would go up immeasurably if this stuff could improve. For FM23, I don't want advertising campaigns about background noise like staff meetings, I want to be assured that silly things like not being able to attract a 0 fee/0% wages loan offer (and only offering at that price because nobody's sending anything reasonable) for promising youngsters will no longer happen.

[kepz]

would love nothing more than to have the little notch in my MacBook Pro display to be accounted for by the in-game UI.

[KingCanary]

Just had a very satisfying match.

My in form Norwich team going to an out of form Watford. Was warned in the build up that Watford play direct but ignored it and just chose to play my style. Watford then bullied me for 45 minutes in an old school 4-4-2, hitting it long, getting Sarr in behind and exploiting my overlapping fullbacks, was lucky to go only 2-1 down having scored my only shot in the first half.

Half time I switched to a back 3 to allow my wingbacks more freedom without being exploited, dropped the defensive line and went on to win 4-2. It is really gratifying to see the match engine respond to your changes and also to take advantage of the gaps my tactics leave. On FM20 teams just always sat deep so I could play with inside forwards and overlapping attacking wingbacks no real DM and largely avoid punishment. In this match engine teams actually seem to counter and exploit the spaces that sort of tactic leaves.

[Jonthedon26]

Just had a bizarre sequence of events unfold. My CM who hasn't been playing came to me with concerns so I said I would sell him, he said he doesn't want to leave and left the meeting content. I press continue and he comes to me again saying he doesn't see himself as a regular so wants to leave. I agree (again) and we agree a fee of £3.9m is sufficient. The next day I offer him out to clubs for that amount and he comes to me again saying I am asking way too much for him. The next day I get a message to say he has dropped his concerns over his asking price.....what on earth!

[XaW]

Lower league French tiki-taka! Some nice triangles. And the goalscorer is an inside forward!

[MarkoSRB]

Nice goal, but we came to the point where it has to be mentioned that the goal was scored by inside forward, position of all best players in the world in last decade 

[DementedHammer]

I think I've played enough now to post my own impression of the game. Personally, I think this is the best version of FM ever. For me, this is the version where a lot of different parts of the game have finally come together into a seamless whole that really adds to my experience. 

I like all the little things that make the game immersive: The staff meetings actually makes it feel like my staff are real people with a purpose, and the advice that has been offered is actually useful for the most part. The changes in stamina make squad management much more important, which means I have to plan my lineups several games ahead when the fixture list gets congested and rely on the medical centre more when trying to manage my squad fitness and training schedules. The data hub actually makes data analysts useful — I thought that I'd be scared off by the quantity of information in there but they've done a great job of making it approachable. Finally, the dynamics, although not new to FM22, really add to the feeling that I am managing a real group of people with their own distinct personalities and social hierarchy.

When I join a club, I like to play with the existing players for a sustained period of time, and I like to come up with a system that gets the best out of the players already at the club rather than trying to shoehorn players into some kind of personally preferred footballing ethos. Recent versions of FM have made this approach much more doable and I have been able to get multiple systems of play and styles of football working how I envisage them. It's great to see my tactical vision come to fruition within the match engine.

I mostly play full matches on 2D with the highlights on Director mode. (I actually like the new match day UI although I know that others prefer the old interface.)  Work, part time study, a young child, and my taste for watching full matches mean that my progress is slow. But I am really enjoying the game so far and there are lots of things that I can work on outside of the match day when I have a spare few minutes. Yesterday, I played for an hour at lunchtime reading each player's coach reports and setting up my individual player training focuses. There's lots of little things like that that I can sink my teeth into when I have a spare moment but not enough time to play a match.

I know that SI face the impossible task of trying to keep everybody happy and that, by its nature, the negative often drowns out the positive. However, for me at least, thank you SI. I think that FM22 is a cracking addition to my FM collection, and one that I can probably get stuck into for a very long period of time. I don't think that I've ever felt so positive about an FM game before. So far, I absolutely love it.

[teej9]

2 hours ago, DementedHammer said:

I think I've played enough now to post my own impression of the game. Personally, I think this is the best version of FM ever. For me, this is the version where a lot of different parts of the game have finally come together into a seamless whole that really adds to my experience. 

I like all the little things that make the game immersive: The staff meetings actually makes it feel like my staff are real people with a purpose, and the advice that has been offered is actually useful for the most part. The changes in stamina make squad management much more important, which means I have to plan my lineups several games ahead when the fixture list gets congested and rely on the medical centre more when trying to manage my squad fitness and training schedules. The data hub actually makes data analysts useful — I thought that I'd be scared off by the quantity of information in there but they've done a great job of making it approachable. Finally, the dynamics, although not new to FM22, really add to the feeling that I am managing a real group of people with their own distinct personalities and social hierarchy.

When I join a club, I like to play with the existing players for a sustained period of time, and I like to come up with a system that gets the best out of the players already at the club rather than trying to shoehorn players into some kind of personally preferred footballing ethos. Recent versions of FM have made this approach much more doable and I have been able to get multiple systems of play and styles of football working how I envisage them. It's great to see my tactical vision come to fruition within the match engine.

I mostly play full matches on 2D with the highlights on Director mode. (I actually like the new match day UI although I know that others prefer the old interface.)  Work, part time study, a young child, and my taste for watching full matches mean that my progress is slow. But I am really enjoying the game so far and there are lots of things that I can work on outside of the match day when I have a spare few minutes. Yesterday, I played for an hour at lunchtime reading each player's coach reports and setting up my individual player training focuses. There's lots of little things like that that I can sink my teeth into when I have a spare moment but not enough time to play a match.

I know that SI face the impossible task of trying to keep everybody happy and that, by its nature, the negative often drowns out the positive. However, for me at least, thank you SI. I think that FM22 is a cracking addition to my FM collection, and one that I can probably get stuck into for a very long period of time. I don't think that I've ever felt so positive about an FM game before. So far, I absolutely love it.

I am at the polar opposite end of spectrum. This edition is just dreadful for me, for the exact opposite of what you have listed. No styles work, just game the meta. Currently crazy attacking high press, CWBs and Segundo Volantes attacking and three all out strikers = guaranteed wins. I literally play with 9 players on attack with a mediocre team and we cannot lose. Play a basic 433 to our strengths? Yeah right. No doubt getting sacked by mid season and every player is awful. There has to be a middle ground. 

It does fascinate me that folks can have such opposite experiences with the same thing. Cheers and enjoy!  

Edited December 14, 2021 by teej9

[Metal]

1 hour ago, teej9 said:

I am at the polar opposite end of spectrum. This edition is just dreadful for me, for the exact opposite of what you have listed. No styles work, just game the meta. Currently crazy attacking high press, CWBs and Segundo Volantes attacking and three all out strikers = guaranteed wins. I literally play with 9 players on attack with a mediocre team and we cannot lose. Play a basic 433 to our strengths? Yeah right. No doubt getting sacked by mid season and every player is awful. There has to be a middle ground. 

It does fascinate me that folks can have such opposite experiences with the same thing. Cheers and enjoy!  

. pre patch I thought they were just a few tweaks away from having one of the best and most enjoyable M.E's but now they drastically nerfed so many things in the game that I'm finding it a chore to watch and play. Most of the tactical instructions I find do not work. I usually test and create tactics but can't find any pattern of success because everything feels so rng.. Attributes of players don't seem to matter all that much. The old tactics which I created no longer work and now seem more like a decoration rather than something tangible that translates to the pitch

I can often pre-empt what kind of goals are going to be scored and what is going to be blocked, hit wide or over the bar in highlight sequences which ruins the enjoyment and surprise

There is more chance of your player scoring from a set piece corner then your attacker or winger scoring from a one vs one which I'm finding game breaking. 

Runs of play are repetitive and the variety of goals compared to prepatch are also reduced because I see the same type of plucky goals happen because the goalkeeper regardless of ability manages to pull off world class save after save.

I regret updating the game, I actually wish I turned off the update and stayed with previous version 2.1 because my appraisal of that version was in high regard and had so much fun. Now the fun seems to have been taken out and your left watching a dice roll of a game of football where you hope after getting 30+ shots on goal that one of them actually goes in before the AI scores from their one and only chance at your goal due to the poor finishing of strikers

Edited December 14, 2021 by Metal

[pearsiesgunners]

6 hours ago, XaW said:

Lower league French tiki-taka! Some nice triangles. And the goalscorer is an inside forward!

That would have been a tight call for the linesman. Lovely goal and finish.

[properdisco]

2 hours ago, DementedHammer said:

Yesterday, I played for an hour at lunchtime reading each player's coach reports and setting up my individual player training focuses

Have you not run into the coaches immediately telling you your individual focus is a waste of time/resources and to stop doing it? I have stopped really doing individual focus training because all I get is that piece of advice and rarely ever any progress in the attributes. My main issue with the staff meetings really. It's not helping the staff feel more human because I still feel like they advise you into circles like a lot of things in the game still do. Coach thinks a guy needs to work on free kicks (I've only ever seen them suggest individual focus training for free kicks, penalties and corners. Nothing else.), the next month we should stop because he's not making any progress. Nobody gains anything, next month same advice and I just ignore it. 

Glad you enjoy them but I find them quite annoying in their current state. I'm sure they'll improve but don't know why they promoted the feature so heavily when it's decorative at best and seemingly no work was done on the actual quality of staff advice.

[Sunstrikuuu]

47 minutes ago, teej9 said:

I literally play with 9 players on attack with a mediocre team and we cannot lose. Play a basic 433 to our strengths? Yeah right. No doubt getting sacked by mid season and every player is awful. There has to be a middle ground. 

It does fascinate me that folks can have such opposite experiences with the same thing. Cheers and enjoy!  

I've really enjoyed some of the goals I've seen, but that does worry me a bit, yeah.  I played a formation without an attack duty for a while - two defend and nine support duties.  It wasn't great.  Couldn't get it functioning in attack at all -- so boring and passive -- and it had all the same defensive weaknesses of any 4-2-3-1.  Now I'm playing 3-4-3 with five players on support and six players on attack, meaning none on defend, stopper or cover, and all the settings for everything maxed or minimumed -- full press!  attack ultra-wide!  very short passing!  underlap! overlap! every player in the front six tackle harder! team tackle harder! -- and I'm on for three consecutive promotions and three consecutive league wins.  And I feel like when people go to the tactics forum for advice, what they get is "start off simple, don't add too many instructions, balance your attack, defend and support duties, try to be coherent", but in reality the easiest advice to implement is actually "click every button you can think of that triggers pressing".

[DementedHammer]

15 minutes ago, properdisco said:

Have you not run into the coaches immediately telling you your individual focus is a waste of time/resources and to stop doing it? I have stopped really doing individual focus training because all I get is that piece of advice and rarely ever any progress in the attributes. My main issue with the staff meetings really. It's not helping the staff feel more human because I still feel like they advise you into circles like a lot of things in the game still do. Coach thinks a guy needs to work on free kicks (I've only ever seen them suggest individual focus training for free kicks, penalties and corners. Nothing else.), the next month we should stop because he's not making any progress. Nobody gains anything, next month same advice and I just ignore it. 

Glad you enjoy them but I find them quite annoying in their current state. I'm sure they'll improve but don't know why they promoted the feature so heavily when it's decorative at best and seemingly no work was done on the actual quality of staff advice.

I only set up the individual training yesterday and I haven't advanced the game day since that session. I have a software release at work this week, so it probably won't be until the weekend that I next get time for another session. 

To date, I haven't found the feedback to be repetitive or contradicting. To be fair, at the rate that I progress through the game, I'd probably be less likely to notice it than other people.

Edited December 14, 2021 by DementedHammer

[Viking]

While I generally enjoy the game, I must say I've never experienced so many frustrating UI issues in any version of FM before. Multi selecting players in the shortlist or player scouting lists is a nightmare. The touchline tablet refuses to remember my settings. Not to mention the confirm button on the scouting cards jumping around, something that was an issue a couple of years ago, was fixed, and now for some reason is back again. 

Edited December 14, 2021 by Viking

[XaW]

4 hours ago, pearsiesgunners said:

That would have been a tight call for the linesman. Lovely goal and finish.

No VAR in the Championnat National, and it was given!

[Thalo]

Why can I see crosses blocked when looking at immediate post game analytics for a team, but not for an individual player? However I can later go look at an individual players reports and see blocked crosses.

Edited December 14, 2021 by Thalo

[david_kax]

hace 13 horas, XaW dijo:

Lower league French tiki-taka! Some nice triangles. And the goalscorer is an inside forward!

The problem with IFs is with the ball, off ball they make good movements, with the ball they do not cut inside or dribble inside, they get scared and pass the ball or run towards the baseline, that is the problem.

[rp1966]

Starting to get a bit fed up with non-negotiable offers - usually 0 wage loan offers, but often transfers too.  I wouldn't mind if they opened with a negotiable offer and then during negotiations locked it, but opening a discussion with a non-negotiable offer just feels wrong.

 

[KingCanary]

13 hours ago, Jonthedon26 said:

Just had a bizarre sequence of events unfold. My CM who hasn't been playing came to me with concerns so I said I would sell him, he said he doesn't want to leave and left the meeting content. I press continue and he comes to me again saying he doesn't see himself as a regular so wants to leave. I agree (again) and we agree a fee of £3.9m is sufficient. The next day I offer him out to clubs for that amount and he comes to me again saying I am asking way too much for him. The next day I get a message to say he has dropped his concerns over his asking price.....what on earth!

Yeah interaction is a bit weird. 

I had a keeper come to me to complain he wasnt getting enough game time. In the interaction he agreed to being a domestic cup keeper. Then two weeks laye, with no domestic cup games having happened he complained and said he wanted to go out on loan. 

Very odd. 

[Novem9]

В 13.12.2021 в 08:49, Prepper_Jack сказал:

*ring ring*

Bum: Hello?

Manager: Hi! I saw you were available for employment, and haven't had a job in 14 years. Are you interested?

Bum: Oh.. oh... thank God! I just ate the last rat in the city... I didn't know where I was going to find my next meal! You need a scout? I can scout for 5k a year, no problem!

Manager: Oh, no! We think you'd be a great fit as a head of our youth development program. Or, well, at least a possible affordable candidate, since with your unambitious nature and terrible skills you would be ruining the lives of many young people.

Bum: Ok, 85k a year.

Manager: Uh, look, I'm sorry, the board will only allow 35k

Bum: I ASKED YOU TO MAKE A SERIOUS OFFER, AND YOU FAILED TO DO SO. YOU FAILURE MCFAIL FACE! *click*

 

Perhaps it's just me, but this iteration of the game seems to have some questionable staff pricing guidelines.. at least for low tier professional and semi-pro outfits, who often have to settle for virtually useless staff, if they can even get them. Dozens and dozens of HoYD's and coaches just sitting around unemployed for all eternity because nobody who can afford them wants them. They don't even seem to ask for the fee waiver clause anymore, so they can stick around getting some pay while they look for better employment.

I don't like this old thing too. But this is videogame and all videogames have a conventions.
For a context you could imagine that some of them working in Sport TV or in Football Association. Also overqualified staff is real thing, probably he doesn't want to wake up every morning for smaller salary, so he enjoys free time 

Edited December 14, 2021 by Novem9

[FonzoRomano]

I have a feeling SI felt the game was too easy (maybe it was) and decided to bring the difficulty up by handicapping the player's team in the match engine.

It's okay to get FM'ed, it happens in real life, but the xG really makes it naked obvious when it happens. And it is constantly happening to me. I need a xG of 1.50 per goal, while the other teams usually score one or two if the xG is at 0.50.

I'm not going to bring screenshots because I'm not complaining about a game or another in particular, it's just the whole season, it feels like I'm swimming against the current every game. But I have to admit this rant comes from coming from 1-0 at HT against the runner up in the league to losing 1-4, while having 1.90 xG vs 1.10, with 65% possession.

Corners is a great example. Yes, near post corners were OP, my 1.98m center back had 9 goals in 10 matches before the update. But since the update, this player has scored 1 goal only - from a tap-in after a free-kick. 1 season and a half have passed. Meanwhile, every 2-3 games, the AI scores against me on a corner, with a 1.65 Full Back heading it in.

Does anyone else feel like the scales are tipped? I'm okay if SI makes the AI better, I don't know, introduce more tactics, better transfer planning, but this in-game handicap starts to make me miss FIFA's momentum...

Edited December 14, 2021 by FonzoRomano

[JordanMilly]

2 minutes ago, FonzoRomano said:

I have a feeling SI felt the game was too easy (maybe it was) and decided to bring the difficulty up by handicapping the player's team in the match engine.

It's okay to get FM'ed, it happens in real life, but the xG really makes it naked obvious when it happens. And it is constantly happening to me. I need a xG of 1.50 per goal, while the other teams usually score one or two if the xG is at 0.50.

I'm not going to bring screenshots because I'm not complaining about a game or another in particular, it's just the whole season, it feels like I'm swimming against the current every game. But I have to admit this rant comes from coming from 1-0 at HT against the runner up in the league to losing 1-4, while having 1.90 xG vs 1.10, with 65% possession.

Corners is a great example. Yes, near post corners were OP, my 1.98m center back had 9 goals in 10 matches before the update. But since the update, this player has scored 1 goal only - from a tap-in after a free-kick. 1 season and a half have passed. Meanwhile, every 2-3 games, the AI scores against me on a corner, with a 1.65 Full Back heading it in.

Does anyone else feel like the scales are tipped? I'm okay if SI makes the AI better, I don't know, introduce more tactics, better transfer planning, but this in-game handicap starts to make me miss FIFA's momentum...

The match engine doesn't distinguish between the AI and the player manager's teams. There's no benefit to making the game cheat to beat you because it'd just make people angry and stop playing.

[RPM_01]

I provided concerns pre patch on this game and stated if they were to be fixed it had the potential to be a great version of FM.

After playing a good amount of time now on the patched version I feel the majority of the issues have been addressed -

• Possession is now what it should be, I had to have a look at CB's as mine were still passing around 100 times a game but looking at real stats this isn't too far off at times.
• Playing shape feels more natural again, without the compactness of the previous version.
• Crossing and corners seem to have been nerfed which is great and playing through the middle is more viable again - with through balls being the highest assist type in my team.
• VAR is now much less predictable and can't be seen by the linesman which adds more immersion, I'm sure people will spot a tell but it's harder to see at this point!
• Pressing seems to be slightly better, even though my data hub suggests otherwise and the final element of the pitch is still at 0% despite highest press intensity and line!

I haven't really tried out the IF's since the patch so can't comment on that but my IW is playing exactly how I'd like them too. 

Overall I am really enjoying the game again, well done SI for addressing the changes that were needed!

[FonzoRomano]

14 minutes ago, JordanMillward_1 said:

The match engine doesn't distinguish between the AI and the player manager's teams. There's no benefit to making the game cheat to beat you because it'd just make people angry and stop playing.

That's exactly how I feel right now. Dominating every match and losing / drawing without explanation. And pretty sure player's team gets different treatment in the MI.

[Dagenham_Dave]

17 hours ago, anagain said:

Its certainly nowhere near as bad as people say on here. 

It never, ever is. 

[DarJ]

16 hours ago, kepz said:

would love nothing more than to have the little notch in my MacBook Pro display to be accounted for by the in-game UI.

In their defence that MacBook Pro came out after the game so I doubt they had one to try it on. Hopefully for you it will get fixed soon

[Fancy Gaffot]

I got to say thanks to SI for making a major improvement in 22.2 - I play with the left stats and notable events widget open during the match and before the latest update goals appeared immediately in notable events even when there was a VAR check pending. Now it's delayed until after VAR makes the decision.

[forameuss]

2 hours ago, KingCanary said:

Yeah interaction is a bit weird. 

I had a keeper come to me to complain he wasnt getting enough game time. In the interaction he agreed to being a domestic cup keeper. Then two weeks laye, with no domestic cup games having happened he complained and said he wanted to go out on loan. 

Very odd. 

Interaction is about as close to "broken" as you could get without actually going to those hyperbolic lengths.  It's severely lacking and often nonsensical, but just about gets a pass becasue it often feels like there are no real serious consequences to failing with them.  There's no sense of nuance, and often a complete lack of logic to most conversations that take place in the game.  Reactions are often stupid.  I've had players reacting like I'd pumped their sainted mother after suggesting they'd achieve slightly more than they expected, and individual players kicking off over nothing in particular, leading me to have the decision of either fire and brimstone or bending the knee (the former, always the former).

If we assume that a proper step forward in AI isn't going to happen, as admittedly it's an incredibly difficult task in a game like this, then interactions are probably the biggest area that needs improvement for me.

[properdisco]

1 hour ago, forameuss said:

Interaction is about as close to "broken" as you could get without actually going to those hyperbolic lengths.  It's severely lacking and often nonsensical, but just about gets a pass becasue it often feels like there are no real serious consequences to failing with them.  There's no sense of nuance, and often a complete lack of logic to most conversations that take place in the game.  Reactions are often stupid.  I've had players reacting like I'd pumped their sainted mother after suggesting they'd achieve slightly more than they expected, and individual players kicking off over nothing in particular, leading me to have the decision of either fire and brimstone or bending the knee (the former, always the former).

If we assume that a proper step forward in AI isn't going to happen, as admittedly it's an incredibly difficult task in a game like this, then interactions are probably the biggest area that needs improvement for me.

Yeah, I think something that would help, as well as trying to create more nuanced interactions, is just the frequency of these interactions and saving many of them for the rare occasions. I only want to have playing time discussions with people I've clearly frozen out or treated unfairly, not somebody who's started 6 of the last 10 games, because that could apply to everybody. If you have players listed as regular starters (which every team will I'm sure) and rotate the team you will have to have the same interaction several times in a fortnight as all the coding registers at the same time, which is no fun. Things will be going swimmingly then you have 5 cases of dreadful morale because regular starters are coded to expect too much football.

I also had the dirt worst interaction in the team meetings. Just infuriatingly bad. My team were on a bad run so I figured I'd take my chances with the team meeting function. It gave me ONE option and they all, to a man, absolutely hated it and all their morale sunk even lower. It went something like "keep your heads up, you all have the quality to turn around this bad run of form" and the player's reaction would be 'furious' or something and they all, as a collective, say "you won't get very far here going around like that!". Like what? Doesn't even make sense. I don't need them to get other-worldly inspiration all of a sudden and start smashing everyone 6-0, but I think that's just pure crap. Not ashamed to say I immediately just changed everybody's morale back to 'fair' or whatever they were at previously, because I wasn't going to let such a lazy interaction be a defining point in my season.

When you're entering an interaction with a single option that the players all hate there's a serious problem there

[forameuss]

18 minutes ago, properdisco said:

Yeah, I think something that would help, as well as trying to create more nuanced interactions, is just the frequency of these interactions and saving many of them for the rare occasions. I only want to have playing time discussions with people I've clearly frozen out or treated unfairly, not somebody who's started 6 of the last 10 games, because that could apply to everybody. If you have players listed as regular starters (which every team will I'm sure) and rotate the team you will have to have the same interaction several times in a fortnight as all the coding registers at the same time, which is no fun. Things will be going swimmingly then you have 5 cases of dreadful morale because regular starters are coded to expect too much football.

I also had the dirt worst interaction in the team meetings. Just infuriatingly bad. My team were on a bad run so I figured I'd take my chances with the team meeting function. It gave me ONE option and they all, to a man, absolutely hated it and all their morale sunk even lower. It went something like "keep your heads up, you all have the quality to turn around this bad run of form" and the player's reaction would be 'furious' or something and they all, as a collective, say "you won't get very far here going around like that!". Like what? Doesn't even make sense. I don't need them to get other-worldly inspiration all of a sudden and start smashing everyone 6-0, but I think that's just pure crap. Not ashamed to say I immediately just changed everybody's morale back to 'fair' or whatever they were at previously, because I wasn't going to let such a lazy interaction be a defining point in my season.

When you're entering an interaction with a single option that the players all hate there's a serious problem there

Having a largely contextles interaction with weird process and output, but just having them less often isn't really a good solution though.  At this stage, it's a case of either drastically improve, or completely remove.  The latter isn't realistic, so they really need a complete rethink across the board.

[shirajzl]

11 hours ago, Sunstrikuuu said:

I've really enjoyed some of the goals I've seen, but that does worry me a bit, yeah.  I played a formation without an attack duty for a while - two defend and nine support duties.  It wasn't great.  Couldn't get it functioning in attack at all -- so boring and passive -- and it had all the same defensive weaknesses of any 4-2-3-1.  Now I'm playing 3-4-3 with five players on support and six players on attack, meaning none on defend, stopper or cover, and all the settings for everything maxed or minimumed -- full press!  attack ultra-wide!  very short passing!  underlap! overlap! every player in the front six tackle harder! team tackle harder! -- and I'm on for three consecutive promotions and three consecutive league wins.  And I feel like when people go to the tactics forum for advice, what they get is "start off simple, don't add too many instructions, balance your attack, defend and support duties, try to be coherent", but in reality the easiest advice to implement is actually "click every button you can think of that triggers pressing".

This is one of the worst, long standing issues of FM series that's not talked about enough. The "meta" has always been to just throw everything aggressively at the AI which brings both short and long term success in every version of FM (not to mention old CM). Patiently building a balanced tactic requires much more understanding of the tactics and underlying game mechanic.

[properdisco]

1 minute ago, forameuss said:

Having a largely contextles interaction with weird process and output, but just having them less often isn't really a good solution though.  At this stage, it's a case of either drastically improve, or completely remove.  The latter isn't realistic, so they really need a complete rethink across the board.

I'm just recognising that it will probably always be one of the more lacking parts of the game, as you'll never be able to personally word a message in a way that your players will comprehend and will always rely on the devs predicting what you'd like to say. At least addressing some of the over-frequency of some interaction prompts would lead to less frustration and save-breaking scenarios. Certainly not arguing against drastic improvement though!

[forameuss]

Just now, shirajzl said:

This is one of the worst, long standing issues of FM series that's not talked about enough. The "meta" has always been to just throw everything aggressively at the AI which brings both short and long term success in every version of FM (not to mention old CM). Patiently building a balanced tactic requires much more understanding of the tactics and underlying game mechanic.

Well that's not necessarily an FM problem, and more a problem that a human user can think a lot quicker and more effectively than the AI.  The AI will always try and think logically, as they have been programmed, but the user can - and often does - think illogically.  And the age old adage of unrealistic input giving unrealistic output holds true.  As sophisticated as the ME can get, and even if we get to the point where it's possible to get close to realistic tactical decisions, someone will likely still be able to come along and give something mental, and it'll be successful purely because the ME has absolutely no idea what to make of it.  How often do we see weird looking tactics inexplicably successful.

Now of course SI can do some things to guard against that, but I think it'd be a problem no matter what.

1 minute ago, properdisco said:

I'm just recognising that it will probably always be one of the more lacking parts of the game, as you'll never be able to personally word a message in a way that your players will comprehend and will always rely on the devs predicting what you'd like to say. At least addressing some of the over-frequency of some interaction prompts would lead to less frustration and save-breaking scenarios. Certainly not arguing against drastic improvement though!

Yeah, agree.  I dream of some kind of more "natural" way of talking to players that don't just boil things down to choosing one of five answers, and allow you to at least develop some kind of personality in the way you deal with players, but that's likely going to be far, far too complex to ever work, let alone work well.  

[HUNT3R]

3 hours ago, FonzoRomano said:

That's exactly how I feel right now. Dominating every match and losing / drawing without explanation. And pretty sure player's team gets different treatment in the MI.

It doesn't, as said. There's no handicapping etc of any kind. Might be worth posting in the tactics section with details of how you're setting up and what's happening (what the issues are) if you want advice. It happening once in a while isn't an issue, but if it's as regular as you say, it can be improved.

[Dequila]

Gotta say I feel like the ME regressed with the latest patch. It definitely was too easy before but it didn't exactly become harder, just different. I can't remember which version over the last years had it but it's just vertically pinging the ball to your AF who has to round the keeper or he can't score all over again, while every second short pass is misplaced and almost no other finish bar wondergoals or the keeper falling over on the line in front of a 30 meter shot results in a goal. I probably wouldn't be playing rn if I hadn't secured a backup copy of the game files pre patch since it's just so boring to see the "meta" of the game tightened up in this way. That the Messi free kicks were nerfed is pretty good though.

 

Edit: It's also interesting to see that there aren't really any new "moves" by your team unlocked by the ME fixes this year so it probably was working pretty well in SI's eyes before the patch which is nice to see. Maybe it just needs to be balanced out now

Edited December 14, 2021 by Dequila

[kepz]

5 hours ago, DarJ said:

In their defence that MacBook Pro came out after the game so I doubt they had one to try it on. Hopefully for you it will get fixed soon

Certainly, it isn't the worst playing it in a window, just miss the full-screen immersion effect! 

I am holding out hope for a good skin; people can add instant result buttons, I'm sure someone can figure out a way to add a little space at the top.

[Neil Brock]

6 hours ago, FonzoRomano said:

I have a feeling SI felt the game was too easy (maybe it was) and decided to bring the difficulty up by handicapping the player's team in the match engine.

It's okay to get FM'ed, it happens in real life, but the xG really makes it naked obvious when it happens. And it is constantly happening to me. I need a xG of 1.50 per goal, while the other teams usually score one or two if the xG is at 0.50.

I'm not going to bring screenshots because I'm not complaining about a game or another in particular, it's just the whole season, it feels like I'm swimming against the current every game. But I have to admit this rant comes from coming from 1-0 at HT against the runner up in the league to losing 1-4, while having 1.90 xG vs 1.10, with 65% possession.

Corners is a great example. Yes, near post corners were OP, my 1.98m center back had 9 goals in 10 matches before the update. But since the update, this player has scored 1 goal only - from a tap-in after a free-kick. 1 season and a half have passed. Meanwhile, every 2-3 games, the AI scores against me on a corner, with a 1.65 Full Back heading it in.

Does anyone else feel like the scales are tipped? I'm okay if SI makes the AI better, I don't know, introduce more tactics, better transfer planning, but this in-game handicap starts to make me miss FIFA's momentum...

Makes me quite sad when I see this kind of stuff as it's frankly tinfoil hat theories and really accuses us having little to no integrity in what we do. 

There is no difference in how the engine views the AI teams and the user manager teams. 

[kepz]

Okay, I do have one complaint now... in 2023, Klopp must've gotten bored because he just left Liverpool for Man City and now Guardiola is the leading candidate for the Liverpool job. Kinda muddied the realism factor for me a bit to see that crawl across my news feed.

[zindrinho]

On this very page people have accused the game of being too easy as long as you go attacking, and the game of being too hard when you are attacking the other team you just get FM'ed in terms of xG and even the game of cheating.

But NO ONE has mentioned how crazy the goalie is? Mine just got a crazy crossed back pass from the half way line, and my goalie headed it back 50 yrds up pitch to my other CB who was under pressure from an attacker! I've never seen such goalie action since the scorpion and JL Chilavert was playing, now its a regular feat in most divisons  

[fc.cadoni]

Just now, kepz said:

Okay, I do have one complaint now... in 2023, Klopp must've gotten bored because he just left Liverpool for Man City and now Guardiola is the leading candidate for the Liverpool job. Kinda muddied the realism factor for me a bit to see that crawl across my news feed.

I saw it in my save as well. I have actually laughed 

[kepz]

13 minutes ago, Neil Brock said:

tinfoil hat theories

Don't worry Neil, most people need the tinfoil theories to help them avoid changing their tactics away from the geggenpress

[teej9]

15 minutes ago, kepz said:

Don't worry Neil, most people need the tinfoil theories to help them avoid changing their tactics away from the geggenpress

If this version has proved anything it is to never change from Gegenpress. Most of the folks that absolutely hate FM22, me very much included, desperately want to play anything other than gegenpress. But you cannot. It is inevitable

[HUNT3R]

3 minutes ago, teej9 said:

If this version has proved anything it is to never change from Gegenpress. Most of the folks that absolutely hate FM22, me very much included, desperately want to play anything other than gegenpress. But you cannot. It is inevitable

I must be playing this game wrong if that's universally true. I'm not counter pressing but ended 5th from a predicted 13th out of 16.

[ACDBEFV]

Just now, HUNT3R said:

I must be playing this game wrong. I'm not counter pressing but ended 5th from a predicted 13th out of 16.

If you played gegenpress you'd have finished higher!

[limey150781]

6 hours ago, Dagenham_Dave said:

It never, ever is. 

I dont know.... I still remember Fm20. 

[teej9]

Just now, HUNT3R said:

I must be playing this game wrong. I'm not counter pressing but ended 5th from a predicted 13th out of 16.

You are clearly playing it right! And I am not taking your bait, good achievement!

[ACDBEFV]

6 hours ago, Dagenham_Dave said:

It never, ever is. 

FM20 was.

[kepz]

6 minutes ago, HUNT3R said:

I must be playing this game wrong if that's universally true. I'm not counter pressing but ended 5th from a predicted 13th out of 16.

I won the league without ever geggenpressing, it is possible everyone!

[CoffeeFueledCurmudgeon]

I've got a Vanilla install on my laptop, but noticed that despite not choosing a database update of any sort there's already a vacancy at Man Utd, Gerrard is at Villa etc?

When did it become practice for patches before February to mess with data?

Also - Liverpool's AXA training centre when checking the database also shows up in vanilla as basic/average condition which seems odd given it should be state of the art and very good conditions.

[zindrinho]

43 minutes ago, teej9 said:

If this version has proved anything it is to never change from Gegenpress. Most of the folks that absolutely hate FM22, me very much included, desperately want to play anything other than gegenpress. But you cannot. It is inevitable

Lol, of couse you can play whatever setup you want, what an extremely odd statement, you hate fm22 because you think you have to play gegenpress? I've always played clean slate tactic, 2-4 tweaks and BOOM! serial champions  

Edited December 14, 2021 by zindrinho
type o negatives