Football Manager Classic - Tablet Thread

[damola3]

Have you got the app and what are your thoughts on it? I'd love to hear was people think about it. I'm downloading it as I post this.

The app costs £14.99 in the UK. Do you think it's value for money? I'd love first impressions.

The supported devices are:
[h=3]iOS[/h]iPad Air (1 and 2)
iPad Mini (2 and 3)
[h=3]Android[/h]Acer Iconia Tab 8 A1-840FHD
Asus Fonepad 8 FE380CG
Asus Memo Pad 8 ME181C
Asus Memo Pad 8 ME581CL
Asus Transformer Pad TF103C
Asus Transformer Pad TF303CL
Galaxy Tab S 8.4 LTE
HP Pro Slate 10 EE G1
HP Pro Slate 12
HP Slate 17
HTC Nexus 9
Lenovo Tab S8
Lenovo Yoga Tablet 10 HD+
Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 10.1
Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 8.0
Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 Pro
LG G Pad 8.3
LG G Pad 8.3 LTE
Nokia N1
Nvidia Shield
Nvidia Shield LTE
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 Edition)
Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2
Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 3G
Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 LTE
Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1
Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1 LTE
Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 12.2
Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 12.2 3G
Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 12.2 LTE
Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4
Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 3G/LTE
Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5
Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 LTE
Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4
Sony Xperia Tablet Z LTE
Sony Xperia Tablet Z Wi-Fi
Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet LTE
Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet Wi-Fi
Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact
Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet LTE
Xiaomi Mi Pad

 

[Lenario]

i'm waiting for first impressions too. I really hope it's as good as they've advertised

 

[damola3]

First Impressions

Firstly, i'm not the biggest fan of FM Classic. The user interface has been more or less been redesigned from the ground up and incorporated for tablet use, however at times you do feel like a shoddy job has been done to try and squeeze in surplus menus. The start of process is long and laborious, however once your tactics, scouting and shortlists are sorted, you can really get your hands dirty. One concern I did have was the responsiveness of the user interface. There are only 3 playable countries at once with all featured leagues playable at a time (you could play just the prem or all the way to conference and still only pick 3 nations) and this gave me a game speed of 3.5 stars on my iPad Air. The game ran adequately on my tablet with a reasonably quick user interface, however I did experience a slight hint of lag more often than not, which can really get in the way when the UI features slight cluttering. Lists seem to move at their own pace and this can detract from a cleverly built user interface. This can lead to plenty of frustration. Considering how stable Apple’s iOS platform is and the relative ‘newness’ of the iPad Air, I dread to think of performance on other android devices. The sidebar is littered by a series of confusing icons for even the most experienced FM player. I have been playing it since 2007 and found the icons difficult to get used to until around 1.5 hours after loading it up, however I do get that this is necessary due to the limits imposed by tablet screens. I found the scouting system here capable of making me rip my hair out. The Americas are split into 3, however Europe is despite featuring lesser inhabitants than North America, meaning that scouts go around areas like Central America, leaving you with a partial idea of what countries will be visited (does it include Spain?). The tactics screen is virtually unchanged in terms of user interface from the desktop version and I honestly wouldn’t tell the difference between the desktop version if I was playing one.

The area in which the game really excels is the beautiful match engine. As soon as I loaded it up, I felt perhaps a little too happy to see someone. It looked excellent on my iPads retina display of 2048-by-1536 pixels. The graphics are around medium compared to the PC version, however I don’t care! It looks absolutely criminally good at a buttery smooth 60fps. This means that you can see Mathieu Flamini two-footing Cesc Fabregas is glorious detail. Fully interactive crowds were also borrowed from the desktop offering. The match engine is clutter free with a carefully designed menu bar at the top. Unfortunately there are no opposition instructions, however I’ll give SI a pass. The game has a clever autosave feature which saved my lucky a*** when I locked my iPad. This was during a game and I thought that I was losing all progress, however my jaw dropped when it all unraveled under my nose. The game restarted and unsaved progress and the match report was generated and showed the exact second that I locked the app with the same scorers and players in the same position on the pitch. SI have excelled with this first attempt and while it may not come cheap, it’s a ****** good first attempt. This is a no brainer for long haul flights and dreaded morning transport into London. Just don’t let it take over your life!

 

[iamauser]

Grr. I don't know which IPad mini I have. Think it's 2 so I should be good!

 

[damola3]

Grr. I don't know which IPad mini I have. Think it's 2 so I should be good!

Go to Settings>General>About then Google the model number (brackets).

 

[iamauser]

No I have iPad mini 1 :'(