StephenCronin

FYI: All shortlists made in older versions are going to break in the latest version. It's actually a good thing, as shortlists should work properly from now on - rather than only working if the database version and leagues loaded are an exact match to the save the shortlist was created in. However the price for this is that any shortlists created in the older versions won't work with this one. Technical explanation: Shortlists now work using the player's unique ID (UID) which persists across any save / database version, rather than from their ID/record number which changes depending on which leagues are loaded etc.

Thanks Dan, totally understand you prioritising that - though an automatic weekly export of saves would help when saves go missing. 🙂 (seeing people lose saves was actually the prompt for me to post this). But yeah I can understand why you'd need to sort that out first. Good luck, seems a frustrating one to solve.

The way it used to work (can't be sure it's still the same but would be surprised if they'd changed it) was: You need to sign a player He needs to stay at the club for at least 10 years He has to play each year (I think a couple of games is enough) He needs to retire while still at the club You need to stay at that same club from the time you sign the player until he retires When he retires there will be a news item saying that he's retired and another one about his testimonial game etc. The next day there should be another news item about your son arriving at the club etc and he should now be in the squad. Actually I don't think I've done one since the academy was added in 23, so not sure if they show up there or next day like they used to. Sounds like you've done most of that? But you didn't mention anything about the retiring part, so that might be the bit you are missing? Can be frustrating if the player keeps going and going! Haven't tried it for a while, but I generally only give them short contracts near the end until they get the "plans to retire at the end of his contract" message and then I let it run out and they normally retire early in the next season.

Hi, I understand that: the Android files such as save game files, shortlists, tactics, selections etc had to move from the My Documents folder to an internal area that is not directly accessible to the user. an Export option was added so that we could export these files to an area we could access. However, to export a save file, I need to go through a bunch steps every time: Save the game Exit to the main screen Choose Load Game Select the Career Select Export Enter a name for the export (every single time!) Load the game again so I can continue playing Problem: Unlike iOS which has the online iCloud syncing, FMM for Android does not have any way to back up / sync saves to the cloud. This has never worried me because I have been able to use another Android app (I use FolderSync, but there are lots of options) to automatically backup my saves (and shortlists etc) to the cloud. However, with the new behaviour, these apps can no longer automatically sync the currently saved files - only the currently exported ones which a) you need to remember to export and b) is not a quick process (to export). Request: Add an option to automatically sync the currently internally saved save file/shortlists etc with the exported versions (maybe every time we save something? or weekly (in game)?). I understand there will be a performance issue, but am happy to have slower saves if it lets me back them up automatically. Note, the game would need to know the export location for the current career - perhaps just making it the club name might work (although what if people change club?). Alternatively, even just giving us an export option in the Save function screen in game (Delete, Save, Export), which doesn't need you to exit the save or type in the export folder, would be enough to sync the save games (which are the most important part) much more easily. Thanks for considering this (and if I haven't explained that properly, please let me know).

Sorry for disturbing you on your break! And thanks to you and Michael for taking a look. 🙂

The shortlist format changed this year and is now based on the player record number (I believe SI call it ID), which is only guaranteed to be unique to that player for the particular save where the shortlist was created. Basically when the save is created it takes the players from the database and puts them into the save, giving them each a record number/ID. The first player added gets record number 0, the second one gets record number 1, etc. A shortlist will say for eg "get player 169", so once the order of players being added to the save changes, then player 169 will be a different person. If you create a new save using the exact same nations you used for the original save AND it is using the same database version, then the shortlist should work because it should load exactly the same players in the same order (so they get the same record number). If you load different nations from the original, then the record numbers will be different for many players (as soon as it gets to a nation that wasn't loaded last time or is now loaded in a different order, the player order will be different). And every time the database changes, shortlists are likely to break, even if the same nations are loaded - because players will have been added or removed, thereby changing the order for everyone after the first change... Not every update comes with a database change, but we've had 5 app versions this year and 3 database versions (v2403, v2404 and v2405). To demonstrate: I created a shortlist with one player (Paul Okon) in two separate saves: With England and Spain loaded: With only Scotland loaded: The last 4 characters are the import ones. In the first save Paul Okon's record number/ID is E6 57 00 00, which translates to record number 22502. In the second one his record number/ID is 32 4D 00 00, which translates to record number 19762. If I use the second shortlist in the first save, a different player will be record number 19762. If they'd used the UID (the number you can find on sortitoutsi), then that would be the same across every save and database version and shortlists would always have the right player... For Okon, his UID in the first save is 1C F4 37 77. And his UID in the second save is 1C F4 37 77. It never changes... I did mention this a month ago, asking whether they could change shortlist to work from the unique id (UID) which solve the problem, rather the record number (ID) which changes. However the SI representative said that it wasn't related to the new shortlist format... But it pretty much has to be... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I don't normally like to ping @Marc Vaughan about tickets, but I'm sure he'd understand the issue. Though perhaps I'm being unfair to the team looking into this and they already know this is the cause? Or perhaps I've misunderstood something (wouldn't be the first time! 😀)?

I hate it too (and I actually already had Netflix). However reading between the lines it seems this may have been their only choice. The reasoning given by SI Games was that "Football Manager Mobile sales have been slowly declining over the last few years. We had found ourselves at a point where we were not reaching our necessary targets, which leads to difficult decisions – something we are very used to in the business of making games." Then Sega (who own Si Games) are actively cutting games that aren't profitable enough. Add the two together, and it looks like it was Netflix deal or bye bye FMM... Still sucks obviously, but having it disappear entirely would suck more. I really hope they find a way to offer it for sale as a stand-alone again in future.

@Marc Vaughan - While we are on this, something I'd love to see is the ability to develop/train these values over time. I understand the actual chance of success for pens or set pieces relies on a number of factors (I'm guessing that for pens it's things like shooting, age, pressure, etc), but there do seem to be distinct 0-20 values for penalties and set pieces in the database / save file. I think these are what's used for the star ratings in the penalty / set piece taker selection screens? Anyway, these values never change over time (at least in FMM23, haven't checked in 24), meaning if that wonderkid has 2.5 stars for set pieces there is zero chance if him developing and one day rivaling James Ward-Prowse. The wonderkid will retire 15 years later, still with 2.5 stars. While the only player whose going to have 5 stars is James Ward-Prowse and his regen (there could be a couple of other players with 5 stars to be fair, but not many and they are all older). It IS great for identifying regens. 😀 But what would be truly great would be the ability for players to train this value or even just naturally develop it over time. I know that will make balance a lot harder, but I think it would make for a richer game. 🤞

I don't know, I think it would be great. Presumably it would be using the original databases without any adjustments to PA etc. That means the young player who you expect to have high PA because they became a legend in real life might actually flop in the game! The old databases aren't always accurate. It also means that those of us steeped in CM/FM/FMM lore could go back and use those legendary wonderkids again. I'll be signing the Freddys thanks very much (Adu and Guarin)! What could be better!

Another old fart here (started on CM2, eyes aren't great), and while I don't want to discount what you're saying (there is a lot of truth in there), I agree with @DoneHisCruciate. It comes back to the audience for this game and there are some potentially very different audiences. I definitely belong to the "FM is too much, give me something like CM01/02" crowd and I think there are a lot of us out there. We want the detail. We want the control. Not too much of it, but we wouldn't want the game dumbed down. And yeah, we're the annoying fans who come on here to complain and although there are a lot of us, we are a tiny group in the bigger scheme of thing - but we show up every year and buy the game again rain hail or shine. We're also likely to buy other things if you put the right things in front of us (historic databases is a great eg, although I know there are licensing issue). The game you're describing after the changes will appeal to a different crowd. There are a lot more of that type of user, but they are also much more fickle and probably less willing to go for the current pricing point. Still if you can create stickiness to get a reasonable percentage to come back next year, then there's a lot more money to be made there - but it's not a given that would work and you couldn't make those changes without losing a large portion of the first group. Actually, I feel like SI Games have been targeting the second group and perhaps you're right and that's the problem. Their actual audience is the first group, but they haven't been giving us what we want by sticking a little too much to the "have to keep it simple for mobile users" mantra, while at the same time it's too overcomplicated for the second group who they think they are targeting. Interesting... Anyway, this would take some investment from SI Games and I think that moment is probably gone now, but if it were up to me, I think I'd probably: a) double down on FMM being for the first crowd and maybe add a little more depth (in a "there if you want it" way); but also b) leverage the database and licenses to create a new, much simpler, narrative based game at a lower price point that would appeal more to the masses. Also, I'd love them to think outside the box more. Can't release historic databases because the license at the time said player/teams/leagues/images/logos etc can only be used in that one specific version of the game? Okay, maybe they can 'update' that version to include the FMM24 functionality and re-release it at a lower price point - ie for a few pounds you could buy a re-issued FMH12 with the FMM24 functionality and original FMH12 database. People on places like Vibe seem to like doing challenges. Build that into the game, prevent cheating/reloading and create leader boards to build the community out further. Maybe add a "create your own challenge" feature and allow those to be shared centrally, both building community and maybe even charging a couple of pounds extra for some of that. There's so much more they could do with a little bit of creative thinking. Although I guess those things may be less likely in the Netflix era.

Haven't tried this and don't know anything about where to put it, but the current database version is 2403 (so maybe db_archive_2403?). Just a guess though

Thanks for your response @Mike Gormley, very much appreciated. Just a note about a potential issue with the new format for shortlists (apologies if I've got it wrong!). It looks to me like the new format for shortlists works off the record number for people? I believe that is generated as people are added to the list when the save is generated and is therefore not uniquely associated with the player? The problem with this is that if you subsequently try to use the shortlist with a different save, with different nations loaded, a lot of the record numbers will be pointing to different players and the shortlist will be 'wrong'. The old format was more robust and would always include the right player no matter what combination of nations were loaded. If a player on the shortlist wasn't in the save, they were just quietly dropped. Worked great! Would it be possible to do something similar with the new format? Maybe use the second id field in the person record instead of the first - ie the unique ID which is the number used on sites like sortitoutsi (when converted from HEX), rather than the record number which isn't unique? I have no idea whether this would have a performance hit or even be feasible, but it would make shortlists more useful. This doesn't directly affect me, but I noticed this issue when looking into people complaining that shared shortlists (mostly of wonderkids) were wrong. Not sure if SI Games (or Sega) have a position on fans sharing shortlists etc, but it seems to me like that's the sort of thing that builds community around the game and inspires increased loyalty etc, so it would be great if you could support that somehow. Thanks.

There is a deeper issue here that can't be solved by exporting and importing. As users we used to have direct access to these files and now we don't, we can only access them through the export / import layer. Yes, we can still access them, but it is very clunky and not direct enough. I used to use FolderSync to automatically sync my saves and selection files with a backup on Dropbox. It just picked up the files from my device and synced them. I didn't have to do anything, just save the game or save my selection. Now... well it can back up my exported save but that doesn't get updated when I save in the game. So for the sync to be useful, I have to regularly do the following: Save the game Exit to the Main menu Press Load Select the Career Press Export Name the export (yes you have to do this every bleeping time) Press Export again Press Cancel Load the save file. 9 manual steps instead of just pressing save... And I have to remember do that every couple of hours if I want a relatively recent back up. Full disclosure: I have vested interest in this because I created a scouting app that won't be able to access the save files unless the users go through those same steps each time, which is a horrible experience for them - but leaving that aside, I think this issue is a terrible step for users in general Also, who owns the save files? In the past it's been the user. It's been in the Documents folder or somewhere we could choose. I can go back to older versions and find these files still on my device. But with the new system, as soon as you stop subscribing to Netflix, not only do you lose access to the game, you lose access to your saves. Yes, you can export it before you cancel the subscription, but if you forget (or someone else in the household cancels it), then you can no longer access these files at all. Okay, you can't use the save if you don't have the app, but maybe you just moved out of home and have your own Netflix subscription now, but the only way to get your save back is to get your parents to resubscribe to Netflix. I'm on the parent save of that equation now and I can tell you, it's not happening! 😀 The whole thing just seems like a massive step backwards and moving away from being user centric. I assume it has something to do with tying the files to the user's Netflix profile? But even so, there should have been direct access to these files somehow.

It's even worse than that, as a lot of stuff isn't even in the Android/data folder. Presumably it's in the private storage area for the game that is completely inaccessible. For example, there is no way to access save game files directly (that I can see). You have to export them. So if you have an app that automatically syncs save files to your Dropbox once a day (so you still have it if your phone gets flushed down the toilet), then you can't do that anymore. You can still sync the exported files, but you need to remember to export them regularly and it is so clunky (Save Game, Exit to main menu, Load, Export, Name the export, Save) vs just save the game and forget about it. Also on this front, I can't seem to find where the manager photo is stored. In previous versions it was in the Cache file in the Documents and it was fairly easy to replace with a better photo of yourself or a photo of someone else (personally I was using the wolf that is my avatar). Having things like save files and graphics etc in an accessible place was user friendly and empowered people to be able to customise and extend the game, which is important in the modern gaming landscape, but FMM24 has definitely taken a huge step backwards in this regard.

What do you want to search for? You can almost certainly do it using the main Search Players feature. Looking for a particular player you know the name of? Go to the main search and search by name, open the player and swipe to the left to see the scout report. Looking for a scout report for a u23 Brazilian STs with Movement over 15 that you've forgotten the name of? Go to the main search and enter all those search criteria and get the list of players. Maybe there are 50 results and you only scouted 1? No worries, press View down the bottom and select Scout Reports, then press on one of the star columns so players with a scout report come to the top... Or press Days to see the most recent, then open the player and go one screen to the left.

Just to confirm what @jens_dewit is saying, you better buy it before the new game comes out. Marc said the following in the general thread when asked about this: So FMM23 will be disappearing soon. But once you've bought it, it will stay in your Google Play library and you can install it whenever you like.

They are what Marc said, but maybe this will explain it: 1. You might get extra budget after beating a big opponent. You get message after the game saying "The board has made an extra $X available to you". It's not huge and if you've got enough money through transfer dealing etc, then you probably don't need this - but it can make the difference if you're budget is tight, especially if you go on a run where you string a few giant killing games together. I looked for a screenshot of this, but can't find one. 2. It can help your players level up. We're talking the little jumps of green on the progress bar after the game. Not only can you get more for a game against bigger opponents, if you are playing in a low league you may some players who have the "Needs to play at a higher level to progress" message on their training screen. These players can level up, but they are too good to ever get better playing at your level. No little jumps of green for them! Except when they play higher level teams in the cup (or ITN games etc). But you know this is a game and you're supposed to enjoy it. If you don't like cup games, put out your worst players, stick your striker in goal and change your formation to 0 0 0 5 5 and you soon won't have any cup games to annoy you! 😀

But you probably need to buy it before FMM24 comes out. SIGames normally set the old version to hidden when the new one comes out - so you can keep using it and can redownload it when you change phones, but it disappears for anyone who doesn't already own it and there's no way to buy it.

SIGames, please get the explanation post out as soon as possible. This isn't a feature tease... "We know some of you will be upset... Check back for more exciting details on why you'll be upset on Friday!!" Really if you knew people would be upset, then you should have had the full explanation ready to go at the same time as the announcement.

Translation: FMM was not profitable enough* for us to continue its development in the current manner. Therefore our only alternative was to shift to a new business model that would allow us to continue its development. We know this will upset you, but if we couldn't find a way to make it more profitable, we could not have continued to invest in it. This move will allow us to continue it's development and keep giving you (or whoever the new users are after you've left) this great game. <optional statement about the new business model allowing us to add exciting new features for you!> *it's important to note that for a tech company in 2023, a product being profitable might not be enough to justify it's continuation. It has to be profitable enough. If you spend 10M on a product and have a profit of only 1M, then you need to consider how much more you could have earned if you spent that 10M elsewhere. And if a product is only making a small profit, you're better off retiring that product and spending the money on another product that will give you greater profits. And on top of that, if you want to attract investors, then you have to get the company profits into a certain ratio and can't be carrying any products with smaller profits. I'm guessing that although FMM sells a lot, it also has a lot of costs and just isn't profitable enough from a business perspective Of course, I could be totally off on all of this.

I have a Netflix account but this is total bull.... This move will likely destroy the core community that has built up around this game over the years. A lot of the people that help others, write guides, run fan spaces (like Vibe and Discord) will disappear. I guess that SI Games are betting that by throwing their core community under the bus and tying the game to Netflix, it will open up the doors to a larger casual community that might not otherwise play the game. Will that work? Maybe, but they are sacrificing their most passionate supporter base in the chase for greater profitability. The newer more casual community they're chasing won't be as dedicated and maybe they will play the game one year and maybe they will play something else and won't bother the following year. Actually, stepping back a little... Many tech companies are doing something similar. Reddit earlier this year for example. Even the company I work for has done something similar. They are all trying to improve profitability and get it into what is considered a 'healthy' zone for investment or an exit (ie selling the company). They know it's going to harm the original users, but that's just a necessary growing pain to move their company to the next level and position their company for investment. Don't be surprised if SI Games gets investment or sells in the next year or two. The sooner we realise that SI Games is just 'a company', 'doing business', and not our friend, making the game for us, the sooner we'll understand stuff like this. Anyway, whatever the reason, the end result is the same for those of us that play the game all year round and hang out on forums and discord discussing the game non-stop - we're under the bus... It's a sad sad day

Yeah, most likely it's thanks to Elon Musk. It used to be free to use the Twitter API in the way FMM was, but Twitter changed that a couple of months ago. There is a hobbyist level that only costs USD$100 per month, but it has a limit of 50,000 tweets per month, which may not be enough for FMM. And it has a limit of 2 apps, so that may be FM and FM Touch and leave FMM out of luck? After that, prices start at USD$42,000 per month... It could be something else, but most likely due to this.

I'm in the camp of wanting instant results - letting users get through seasons quicker would definitely be useful for many people. The quickest I can get through a season (playing quite a lot) is 2 days. If I'm playing less it will be 4 or 5 days or even longer. Sometimes I'm totally fine with that. Sometimes I want to get through it quicker. By the way, I've always suspected that it's quicker to get through a season on iOS than on Android, based on the times I've seen Marc (who I think is on iOS) say it takes him to get through a season vs what I get on Android. @Marc Vaughan - Please do NOT make it a separate mode, unless there is a way to switch modes for the same save file. Here is a scenario I face a lot: For the first couple of seasons, I'm building the squad, fine tuning the tactic and generally going deep on everything, so I want to play every game. By season 10 I've won the league 8 times in a row and I really don't need to watch every game. I'm happy to dip in every so often and see how it's going and to watch key matches. Having to go through every game is a drag. But that changes depending on the stage of the save, so I really need both for the one save file. I don't quite buy the reasoning for not adding it (people disconnecting from the game), because: Having to play every game is a disconnect in it's own right - The longest save I've had this year has been 6 seasons - by that point it's such a slog that I generally lose interest and wander off and play a different game (not FMM) for a while. If people want to "hurry along to the next transfer window as this season is a bust", then they are just going to use Go On Holiday and that is even more of a disconnect as it doesn't respect the user's team selection or tactics (and if you're serious about the reasoning, then you better remove Go On Holiday!). Sorry! Not having a go, but I just can't see much in the way of negatives. If you want to discourage use, then just make it clear that you're more likely to get a good result if you play in detail and watch the game. I think it's fair that results via Instant Result are likely to be slightly worse because you're not picking up what the other team is doing or adjusting or making optimal subs etc etc. In fact I think it should be the case that a managed game gives a better result than an instant result one (not too much though). Anyway, as always, thanks for making a great game!

I think that'll be because the game is notoriously slow at improving the clubs reputation/board's generosity with promotions etc, until you win something big (like UCL). Making the final doesn't seem to count much. And for small clubs you may need to win a bit to level up to get your board to relax the purse strings. So because of that, while the club has got a lot of money, the board isn't giving it to you. I think the thing that really needs to be fixed here is the small clubs easing up on budgets etc once they get promoted etc, Anyway, the beauty of the rich benefactor unlockable is that if you go to Settings > Unlockables you can turn it off. And then turn it back on again. And then turn it off and then back on again... Each time it's turned back on, the even will happen again and there will be investment in the club and eventually enough will make it through to you that you'll have enough. Doesn't mean they shouldn't fix the problem properly, but does give you a workaround for now.