Alright, so in order to stem the inevitable flow of samey questions from people (and, god forbid, another Post Your Frustrations thread), this year I'm going to be curating a little FAQ and myths thread for everyone. This won't be about tactics, or help with the game, or how to get your main striker scoring 30 goals or a year, or a new ******* Diablo tactic like someone claims to have every year. This is just a simple, factual thread on what FM is capable and not capable of doing, why it isn't 'cheating', and why these myths about FM are wrong.
So, here goes:
1) FM cheats to let the AI score!
This is a popular one, partially because it totally absolves the user from any responsibility. In reality, the computer treats both human and AI players exactly the same, because it has no way of telling the difference between them. It's not programmed to do that, so it literally can't. As such, all these stories about how the computer 'favours the AI' or somesuch bollocks is just that, total bollocks. Any last minute screamers from opposition players is usually just bad luck on your part, even if you reload the save and the same thing happens. Speaking of...
2) I reloaded the save and the exact same match happened and I still lost!
You reloaded a save, changed nothing, and expected a loss to magically turn into a win? If you managed to lose it the first time 'round then one of three things were the case:
One, you were just outclassed. Nothing you can do can change the fact your players were noticeably inferior, and 9 times out of 10 you're going to lose.
Two, you were unlucky twice. I mean, you're cheating, so you deserve it, but whatever.
Three, you should've won this match but you suck so hard you've lost to worse opposition not once, but twice. And then you reload the game, change nothing and expect to win it? Hahahahahahahahah-
3) THIS IS THE WORST FM EVAR WAHRHGBARGL
The game hasn't come out yet as I write this, but short of FM15 literally not working at all, it's going to be better than FM09. That's not an opinion, that's fact.
4) Fine then, this game isn't as good as FM12.
This, on the other hand, is opinion. It's also an objectively wrong opinion, but it's your opinion and by god you'll stick with it.
I guess I'll take this opportunity to explain why FM12 looked so good on the surface but mechanically was inferior to FM14 (and hopefully 15):
FM12 was the last part of a development cycle for the match engine. As such, that particular match engine had been polished and improved and had all the bugs (remember the corner exploit? That was non-existent in FM12, as opposed to 10 and 11) wrung out of it. It was polished, responded reasonably well, and people knew what to expect from it. A few hailed it as being excellent. Many complained, generally the same ones now saying it's way better than what we have now.
Then FM13 rolled around, and SI unveiled their new match engine. It has many vast fundamental improvements, chief amongst which was actual collision detection. This was a huge step forward, since beforehand opposition strikers could just run straight through your defenders. Remember how fast opposition strikers were massively overpowered? That's because they could just sprint in literally THROUGH the defenders to get to the ball. FM13's match engine rebalanced the game hugely despite being only one year into development. Other stuff was broken in 13, and although 14 fixed some of that it also had some big bugs itself, most notably full backs not defending correctly. But 14 was still far superior to 12, not because it was more polished, but because it was fundamentally a more complete engine. As this engine matures and is improved, it'll get better and better, but the bottom line is that FM13 was already vastly ahead of FM12 in terms of the match engine. There's just no debate to be had in terms of pure match engine mechanics.
5) The match engine is terrible.
For all we know at this stage, it might be. However, when FM15 comes out, I personally will be giving very short thrift to comments that bemoan the match engine without displaying at least a basic working knowledge of it. In almost every FM there's been some kind of semi-major match engine problem, but you'd think year on year it was an unworkable mess the way people talk about it. As mentioned later on in this post, I'm sure your thoughts would be more appreciated if you first assumed the player is at fault rather than the game.
6) It takes too long to play a season now.
That's why FMC was implemented.
7) But FMC isn't detailed enough for me!
I sympathise, but SI can't please everyone. FMC and regular FM game modes capture most people's interest, and you might fall in the small gap between those two extremes, but I'm afraid that's just life. Either learn to accept FMC or learn to play the more complex full game is the only advice I can possibly give.
8) This game is scripted!
No it isn't.
This is a well-worn topic across every FM forum, and the answer from anyone who's even vaguely sensible has been this: There is no 'scripting'. The game is not conspiring to make you lose. You're probably just bad. As an aside, this is a topic I'm keen to completely eradicate on these forums, so bear that in mind.
9) So if none of this is true, what's going on?
You might just not be very good.
That's okay; this is a difficult game to understand, it's even harder to properly play, and incredibly hard to admit when you've done something wrong, especially as this game isn't the greatest for feedback. I'm no great shakes, and I used to be properly abysmal. There's very few people who properly deeply understand the game. The late SFraser on the SI Forums was one, and to this day I reccommend you all go read his threads, despite their relative outdatedness. I'm not saying there are no bugs in any FM game - usually there are quite a few - but I am saying the majority of stuff reported as bugs aren't actually bugs at all.
The best way to approach it is to first assume it's your fault, THEN if it makes no sense and you've posted on these forums and it looks like a bug, assume it is. Do not assume it is a bug right away just because something negative happened to your team. With others' help, you can and will improve, and there's plenty of people on here willing to help you if you ask your questions with an open mind and a good deal of information. A poster saying "I think I mishandled this situation, what do you all recommend?" will get much much more attention than someone posting "THIS GAEM IS BUGGY SH*T". I understand occasionally you'd need to vent frustrations, and I've got a certain amount of tolerance for that, just so long as it's venting frustrations and not making groundless accusations about the game.
That'll do for now. I'll add to this thread as I consider newer complaints from people, but I urge you all to refer back to this thread and consider what will and what won't be taken kindly in regards to your questions. The mods here at FM-base aren't downright evil Nazis, we're generally pretty laid back, especially compared to some FM forums out there.
The official SI forums at the moment are a complete cesspool, so it'd be nice if FM-Base didn't go the same way. By avoiding some of the above questions and myths, that might just be a possibility.
So, here goes:
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1) FM cheats to let the AI score!
This is a popular one, partially because it totally absolves the user from any responsibility. In reality, the computer treats both human and AI players exactly the same, because it has no way of telling the difference between them. It's not programmed to do that, so it literally can't. As such, all these stories about how the computer 'favours the AI' or somesuch bollocks is just that, total bollocks. Any last minute screamers from opposition players is usually just bad luck on your part, even if you reload the save and the same thing happens. Speaking of...
2) I reloaded the save and the exact same match happened and I still lost!
You reloaded a save, changed nothing, and expected a loss to magically turn into a win? If you managed to lose it the first time 'round then one of three things were the case:
One, you were just outclassed. Nothing you can do can change the fact your players were noticeably inferior, and 9 times out of 10 you're going to lose.
Two, you were unlucky twice. I mean, you're cheating, so you deserve it, but whatever.
Three, you should've won this match but you suck so hard you've lost to worse opposition not once, but twice. And then you reload the game, change nothing and expect to win it? Hahahahahahahahah-
3) THIS IS THE WORST FM EVAR WAHRHGBARGL
The game hasn't come out yet as I write this, but short of FM15 literally not working at all, it's going to be better than FM09. That's not an opinion, that's fact.
4) Fine then, this game isn't as good as FM12.
This, on the other hand, is opinion. It's also an objectively wrong opinion, but it's your opinion and by god you'll stick with it.
I guess I'll take this opportunity to explain why FM12 looked so good on the surface but mechanically was inferior to FM14 (and hopefully 15):
FM12 was the last part of a development cycle for the match engine. As such, that particular match engine had been polished and improved and had all the bugs (remember the corner exploit? That was non-existent in FM12, as opposed to 10 and 11) wrung out of it. It was polished, responded reasonably well, and people knew what to expect from it. A few hailed it as being excellent. Many complained, generally the same ones now saying it's way better than what we have now.
Then FM13 rolled around, and SI unveiled their new match engine. It has many vast fundamental improvements, chief amongst which was actual collision detection. This was a huge step forward, since beforehand opposition strikers could just run straight through your defenders. Remember how fast opposition strikers were massively overpowered? That's because they could just sprint in literally THROUGH the defenders to get to the ball. FM13's match engine rebalanced the game hugely despite being only one year into development. Other stuff was broken in 13, and although 14 fixed some of that it also had some big bugs itself, most notably full backs not defending correctly. But 14 was still far superior to 12, not because it was more polished, but because it was fundamentally a more complete engine. As this engine matures and is improved, it'll get better and better, but the bottom line is that FM13 was already vastly ahead of FM12 in terms of the match engine. There's just no debate to be had in terms of pure match engine mechanics.
5) The match engine is terrible.
For all we know at this stage, it might be. However, when FM15 comes out, I personally will be giving very short thrift to comments that bemoan the match engine without displaying at least a basic working knowledge of it. In almost every FM there's been some kind of semi-major match engine problem, but you'd think year on year it was an unworkable mess the way people talk about it. As mentioned later on in this post, I'm sure your thoughts would be more appreciated if you first assumed the player is at fault rather than the game.
6) It takes too long to play a season now.
That's why FMC was implemented.
7) But FMC isn't detailed enough for me!
I sympathise, but SI can't please everyone. FMC and regular FM game modes capture most people's interest, and you might fall in the small gap between those two extremes, but I'm afraid that's just life. Either learn to accept FMC or learn to play the more complex full game is the only advice I can possibly give.
8) This game is scripted!
No it isn't.
This is a well-worn topic across every FM forum, and the answer from anyone who's even vaguely sensible has been this: There is no 'scripting'. The game is not conspiring to make you lose. You're probably just bad. As an aside, this is a topic I'm keen to completely eradicate on these forums, so bear that in mind.
9) So if none of this is true, what's going on?
You might just not be very good.
That's okay; this is a difficult game to understand, it's even harder to properly play, and incredibly hard to admit when you've done something wrong, especially as this game isn't the greatest for feedback. I'm no great shakes, and I used to be properly abysmal. There's very few people who properly deeply understand the game. The late SFraser on the SI Forums was one, and to this day I reccommend you all go read his threads, despite their relative outdatedness. I'm not saying there are no bugs in any FM game - usually there are quite a few - but I am saying the majority of stuff reported as bugs aren't actually bugs at all.
The best way to approach it is to first assume it's your fault, THEN if it makes no sense and you've posted on these forums and it looks like a bug, assume it is. Do not assume it is a bug right away just because something negative happened to your team. With others' help, you can and will improve, and there's plenty of people on here willing to help you if you ask your questions with an open mind and a good deal of information. A poster saying "I think I mishandled this situation, what do you all recommend?" will get much much more attention than someone posting "THIS GAEM IS BUGGY SH*T". I understand occasionally you'd need to vent frustrations, and I've got a certain amount of tolerance for that, just so long as it's venting frustrations and not making groundless accusations about the game.
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That'll do for now. I'll add to this thread as I consider newer complaints from people, but I urge you all to refer back to this thread and consider what will and what won't be taken kindly in regards to your questions. The mods here at FM-base aren't downright evil Nazis, we're generally pretty laid back, especially compared to some FM forums out there.
The official SI forums at the moment are a complete cesspool, so it'd be nice if FM-Base didn't go the same way. By avoiding some of the above questions and myths, that might just be a possibility.
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